oh oh the joys of week 4

This is the first week I've really ran every other day. Most of the weeks it was like 5 or 6 times a week. This morning I woke up and taped my arches before running. I always have arch and heel pain, no matter what I do. It's really one of the reasons I stopped being an aquaguide at the aquarium. I thought I'd give this a try. The tape is a little uncomfortable at first but over time it does it's job well. My feet are so pain free right now. It also helped with my shin splints.

The problem: athletic tape is really expensive unless I buy it in bulk so I'm not sure I'll tape the arches every day. For now I'm thinking I'll tape them when I run for longer periods of time or longer distances. I am very happy that I have two more days of week four before moving on to week five of the couch potato plan.

Stretching

This morning I ran my second day on Week 3. Took a different route so I didn't go by the hydrant I usually use for stretching...thus I forgot to stretch. I was reminded quite quickly when my ankles, shins, and calves all started screaming at me. I stopped and did some quick stretches...WOW! It make a huge difference. At first I was worried it was because I ran two days in a row, but turns out that's not a problem. :)

Hyperactivity

I'm so full of it today. I could bounce off the walls. I ran this morning despite not "feeling" it, and now I'm sooooo "feeling" it. Fun. Days like today I wish I had a more physical job.

Want to place bets on how long it takes me to go officially nuts?

Snooze

This morning when my alarm went off, I hit snooze. It was supposed to just be for the regular 9 minutes between buzzers, but the next time I regained conscienceness it was 20 minutes later. I was VERY disappointed. I only got to run for 15 minutes (that includes my 5 minute warm-up walk, so really it was only 10 minutes). I was so upset with myself and my alarm clock. I just wanted to run some more.

I can do more, I can do better.

My inability to follow instructions

So, I was reading the Couch Potato Plan for week three. I just shoudn't have been doing that after driving through Wisconsin. I read "jog 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, run three minutes, walk three minutes and repeat" and thought about it. I didn't re-check the instructions this morning which was my fatal flaw. I remembered 90-90-3-3-90-90-3-3 and I remembered repeat. So I did double what I was supposed to have done. I was really out of breath at the end and really relieved to learn it's becuase I'm an idiot and not because I'm out of shape.

Idea

If anyone needed more motivation to work out, here's an idea I ran across in the blog-o-sphere: HNT, or Half-Nekkid Thursdays. The idea, from what I can surmise, is that on random Thursdays (because it's been, like, twice so far on his blog) you're required to post a picture of a part of you, half-nekkid. Just follow the link to see and you'll understand that it's not dirty.

If anyone needs photos hosted, I'd be happy to do so on my server.

I'm registered

You will be happy to know that I am registered to run in the Milk Run now. Anybody want to help me pay my Visa bill for the next couple of months? The registration fee is definitely not the biggest item (considering the plane ticket, laptop battery and new cell phones). I think I may need to pick up some more hours at the aquarium...

Who else is running in the Milk Run?

Lessons about running in a sports bra

This week in Cincinnati I've been going over to a running trail I used to run at all the time. However, the three miles I used to do seems a lot more than what I'm capable of right now, also it's humid as hell here and I get very hot. This set of circustances has led to me running in my sports bra. Here are some important tips for anyone else who wants to try this:

1. Your body can cool itself off much better without a hot sweaty t-shirt to contend with. (Helps with heat and humidity.)
   
2. When stretching, especially bending over and touching your toes, you must wear your shirt. Take the shirt off after you stretch out and put it on at the end of your run before you stretch down. Otherwise the whole world gets a show.
3. I find it's helpful to run in a place where no one knows me. This helps me feel less self-conscious about not wearing a shirt.
   

back in the "running"

I was out of the loop over the weekend. Camping in cold, rainy weather is not conducive to making me think I should run. So I hadn't ran since Thursday. I was dreading it this morning thinking it would suck the life out of me and that I would be put back to where I started from. Turns out I'm tougher than that. It was fine. Even threw in an extra interval again. I feel good today. Physically, anyway.

Now if I could just get the rest of my life to stop crapping all over my parade...

Week 2 & Mr. Beller

Today was my first run on Week 2. Not too bad. I can't handle any amount of incline, but if I stay away from the hills (quite a feat in my 'hood), I do ok.

A cute boy talked to me today. Well, ok so he didn't talk so much as beller across the street. But, hey, gotta take what you can get. He said, "Buenas dias! Buenas dias! All I need is a smile...thank you for smiling! Have a good day!" So beyond the bellering part, it was nice.

ooops

I re-read the Couch Potato Plan and realized I have been running for 90 seconds and walking 60 this week and I really should be doing the opposite. Woops.

Walking

I went for a walk with Kelly & Liz last night. Around Lake Nokomis...we figured about 2.5 miles. Nice little stretch. Small things like that are definitely getting easier. Also made an unsuccessful bid to get Kelly to sign up for the Milkrun. She prefers to remain slothful.

We had a lovely conversation about gay marriage, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state. Oddly enough, Kelly and I agree on that subject. In any case, I brought up the quote from "American President", although I didn't know that's where it was from. That is why Liz posted that quote. She's nice like that.

a special gift to Amanda for completing week 1

This is the line of The American President that Amanda was talking about tonight.

President Andrew Shepherd: America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the 'land of the free'? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the 'land of the free.'

Also, don't you love that I know how to do the html code to make that link appear in a new tab/window?

day 3

I ran yesterday and today. I'm with Amanda on the interval running thing. Muscels are starting to get sore (as they should be) but not so sore that I'm dreading running again.

Tomorrow will be the test. I need to wake up early enough to run, come home and shower, and then catch the bus to work.

Easy, shmeasy

I did my last run for Week 1 of the couch potato plan. It was easy. I threw in an extra interval at the end just 'cuz I could. I'll be starting Week 2 tomorrow. Usually, I think I would like to not run on consecutive days, but this is a short week for me.

While I would like to think running while camping is an option under other circumstances; I understand that the drunks still wondering around the next morning would be a problem for me this weekend. Not to mention the lack of good paths. The campground is in an old field so it's very potholed and uneven. Usually a lot of mud too.

Decisions....

This morning I realized I need to make some decisions about what "type" of runner I am. For example, do I run in the rain? Is there a temperature at which I will not run (hot/cold)? Are there times of the day I don't run?

My thought at 6am was that I do not run in the rain (it was raining and I was tired). I've since discussed this matter with others and decided the following: I will not start running in the rain, however I am not opposed to getting rained on during my run. It would be too hard to get my muscles warmed up properly if I start cold and wet.

I did intervals (kind of) on Saturday. Mostly I walked, but then on my way back I ran for as long as I could. Sunday was my day of rest and today was...well, it was raining.

Tomorrow there will be intervals. No question about it.

Thanks, Metro Transit!

Thanks to Metro Transit and my forgetfulness, I walked to work this morning. I was 5 minutes early to the bus stop (or late, depending on how you look at it) and decided to walk down a ways instead of wait. By the time I was at the Cathedral, I looked down the street, checked my watch, and wondered why there wasn't a bus in sight. Then it dawned on me - the bus schedules changed on Saturday. So, having absolutely no idea when the next bus was coming, I decided to walk the rest of the way to work. I earned myself a blister on the back of my heel (even though I was wearing sandals), but got to stop for coffee before work. I'm staying until 6 today (if I can find stuff to do), and then walking home (unless the blister decides to get in the way).

couch potato plan

Ok, I did my first running workout on the couch potato plan. I don't have a good stop watch, so I just ran 60 paces and walked 30 for twenty minutes. I like this whole couch potato workout plan but I don't think I did it right because I'm not nearly as sore or as tired as I should be. Maybe I should really hold off on that conclusion until tomorrow...

Have fun all,
Liz

A little something to help with the "ow"

I woke up this morning with a terrible crick in my neck. At 6 am, actually. Wide awake. So I took the opportunity to do some stretching, hoping to alleviate my pain. The yoga position (praying to mecca) was the best. After I got up, I searched for my Yoga and Stretch decks, and found some stuff that might be helpful. Here's the first installation (oh yeah, the page is waaaay ghetto - no time for design today):

From The StretchDeck - For Runners

Tired.

So my 3 mile walk last night turned into at least 7 or 8. And then we looked at Amy's pictures from Equador (very pretty!!), and suddenly it was 11:00. So this morning's run was...challenging. I'm physically very tired today.

Actually, what got me through was the thought that I'd have to 'fess my sins here and I couldn't stand the thought of telling others about my lack of willpower. Not that anyone appears to be reading, but...just in case!

I did get a new pair of shoes last night. I went to the Running Room and told the young man there that I was new to running and didn't know what I needed. He had me take off my shoes and socks, roll up my pant legs, and walk around barefoot. From this exercise he tells me I over-pronate slightly. He brought out several shoes for me to try, and the rest is history. Actually came out under the budget I'd told myself I'd stick to.

Mama needs a new pair of shoes...

No running today. My "training program" says I should only run 3 times this week (he he he I have a training program!!), so I'm going with the every-other-day routine. Which is fine by me. My shins are a little sore today. I need to get a new pair of running shoes.

I am going to walk around Como Lake tonight. That'll be three miles. Good exercise.

I know there are a couple others signed up to post here...where are you? Tell me about your exercise plans!!