Outside Again
2.30 in 33 minutes
Some of you might notice that I'm writing this well after the run. I had a busy Saturday :) I did run around noon on Saturday, but am writing this on Sunday late afternoon.
I woke up late on Saturday (yeah!) and watched (500) Days of Summer. If you have not seen that movie, go rent it right now. It is a fabulous movie and I've already watched it twice in 24 hours. There is singing, dancing, laugher, tears and lessons learned.
I got off the couch to go run outside (please hold your applause until the end). I put my new Under Armour headband on and new running pants. Took one look in the mirror and the pants came off. There was no way I was going out there looking like that... ha! I can't describe what I looked like, but it was definitely too much. So I decided to go with shorts. It looked a little less stupid. I did put my ear cords through my jacket thing again and tied my key to my shoes. I packed about twice as many kleenex this time around.
Everything went according to plan, but you know me, I need to find something to bitch about. So here goes... even with my new stellar headband, my nose still ran. My ears weren't too cold and it did help my ear buds stay in. My nose didn't run as bad as the first time. It was slightly easier to run outside instead of on a treadmill in terms of not noticing the time length as badly. However after the first 5 minute stretch of jogging I had looked down at my iPhone to find only 10 seconds left. It beeped signalling me to walk and I put it in my pocket so I could blow my nose. I than walked for what seemed like forever to find out I had inadvertently ended my workout on the iPhone. Needless to say I was pissed. I think I probably only walked for 1-2 minutes longer than I should have before jogging again. But still! I have worked so hard to do the whole thing exactly as it is supposed to play out. I won't think about that now, I'll think about that tomorrow (Scarlett shoutout).
I'm seeing a possible wall in the future. Next Saturday (that's right, six days) the Plan Gods are asking me to jog 20 minutes straight with no walking. Holy crap. I'd like to think I have more faith in myself and believe I can do that, but right now, I don't. I've got five days to build myself up. Bring out the tough chick music! I'm calling Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Fergie, Christina Aguilera, maybe even some Beyonce. Come on girls!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Day Eleven
2.29 miles in 33 minutes
Is it just me or has this week dragged on?! All day Wednesday I felt like it was Thursday and today felt like Friday... bummer. But on the upside my heel has felt much better. I'm hoping it's just a stretching issue and can be corrected that way.
Being that this was a long odd week, I did not quite have the high after today's workout as after Tuesday's. Don't get me wrong, I'm still proud of myself :). However it was hard and I sweated a lot and it was gross. Alright I guess that does peg me as a girl... just not used to it!
But I finally talked to my running buddy. I walked in and she was on the treadmill jogging for 1,000 miles I'm sure and another girl was doing weights. "Friends" was on the TV. I had not thought to watch TV before seeing that. It warmed my heart to see it was the episode of Ross and Rachel's first kiss. Treadmill buddy stopped and talked to the other girl about the episode. Surprisingly there is a girl who doesn't know much about "Friends" so I had to pipe in. I agreed with her that this was the best episode along with the Prom Video one. Contact has been made, go me! She even handed me the remote before they left. I see BFF's in the future.
Watching TV slowly drained my motivation, so I tried yet again another method. Jim Gaffigan. My coworker mentioned listening to podcasts and I thought I would test the idea out with good ole Jim. Unfortunately Jim did not do the trick. Maybe it's cause I have him memorized.
Here's hoping that I get to run outside this weekend and try out my new headband! Hahaha... sorry... even that made me giggle and I was trying to be sincere.
Is it just me or has this week dragged on?! All day Wednesday I felt like it was Thursday and today felt like Friday... bummer. But on the upside my heel has felt much better. I'm hoping it's just a stretching issue and can be corrected that way.
Being that this was a long odd week, I did not quite have the high after today's workout as after Tuesday's. Don't get me wrong, I'm still proud of myself :). However it was hard and I sweated a lot and it was gross. Alright I guess that does peg me as a girl... just not used to it!
But I finally talked to my running buddy. I walked in and she was on the treadmill jogging for 1,000 miles I'm sure and another girl was doing weights. "Friends" was on the TV. I had not thought to watch TV before seeing that. It warmed my heart to see it was the episode of Ross and Rachel's first kiss. Treadmill buddy stopped and talked to the other girl about the episode. Surprisingly there is a girl who doesn't know much about "Friends" so I had to pipe in. I agreed with her that this was the best episode along with the Prom Video one. Contact has been made, go me! She even handed me the remote before they left. I see BFF's in the future.
Watching TV slowly drained my motivation, so I tried yet again another method. Jim Gaffigan. My coworker mentioned listening to podcasts and I thought I would test the idea out with good ole Jim. Unfortunately Jim did not do the trick. Maybe it's cause I have him memorized.
Here's hoping that I get to run outside this weekend and try out my new headband! Hahaha... sorry... even that made me giggle and I was trying to be sincere.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Day Ten
"Boys and girls wanna hear a true story..."
I did it! I broke the two mile barrier! 2.21 miles in 33 minutes.
My heel hurt all day, I was limping around and trying not to walk around. Doesn't hurt to put pressure on it, but it hurts to move my ankle certain ways. Not good. I knew this workout was going to be the hardest yet as it required a whole five minutes of jogging... twice. Needless to say I was nervous. But I did it!
My heel didn't even hurt but it sure hurts now, even after ice. The first five minute stint was rough... but the second one was rougher. But luckily City High came on and motivated me through the last two minutes of it.
"What would you do? Get up off my feet and stop making tired excuses..."
I did it! I broke the two mile barrier! 2.21 miles in 33 minutes.
My heel hurt all day, I was limping around and trying not to walk around. Doesn't hurt to put pressure on it, but it hurts to move my ankle certain ways. Not good. I knew this workout was going to be the hardest yet as it required a whole five minutes of jogging... twice. Needless to say I was nervous. But I did it!
My heel didn't even hurt but it sure hurts now, even after ice. The first five minute stint was rough... but the second one was rougher. But luckily City High came on and motivated me through the last two minutes of it.
"What would you do? Get up off my feet and stop making tired excuses..."
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Day Nine
1.82 miles in 28 minutes
Booo Mother Nature! Alright, just for today, not for everything she's done that's so wonderful :) Yesterday (Saturday) was PA Interview Day so I got home and was so tired. I thought it was a great idea instead of freezing my ears off again, to jog on Sunday instead.
Saturday evening I went to Sport Authority to get a headband. Luckily I had one option. It'll work.
I was so looking forward to running outside on Sunday. I had pants and a headband and I thought I was going to be able to make it work. Woke up on Sunday to pouring rain. Oh come on! Thwarted again. So instead I just went to the apt gym again.
I had discovered that I don't think I'm jogging as fast as I should be. The plan wants me to be running a 10 minute mile pace next week. Right now I'm jogging at a 12 minute mile pace. So I sped up a little today. Turned out all right. I was pretty tired after, but I survived ;)
And that's the end of week 3! I read that it takes 20 days to make or break a habit... well I made it!
Booo Mother Nature! Alright, just for today, not for everything she's done that's so wonderful :) Yesterday (Saturday) was PA Interview Day so I got home and was so tired. I thought it was a great idea instead of freezing my ears off again, to jog on Sunday instead.
Saturday evening I went to Sport Authority to get a headband. Luckily I had one option. It'll work.
I was so looking forward to running outside on Sunday. I had pants and a headband and I thought I was going to be able to make it work. Woke up on Sunday to pouring rain. Oh come on! Thwarted again. So instead I just went to the apt gym again.
I had discovered that I don't think I'm jogging as fast as I should be. The plan wants me to be running a 10 minute mile pace next week. Right now I'm jogging at a 12 minute mile pace. So I sped up a little today. Turned out all right. I was pretty tired after, but I survived ;)
And that's the end of week 3! I read that it takes 20 days to make or break a habit... well I made it!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Day Eight
1.75 in 28 minutes
I got home early today (thanks Carissa!) and was able to get to the apt gym before 5. I was pretty nervous about my calf, but turned out to be a non issue. I was the only one in the gym and this time I chose the middle treadmill. This one is not in front of the mirror. Previously I've chosen the one in front of the mirror to satisfy my narcissism but frankly it's a bit distracting cause I don't have anything to randomly stare at. This turned out to be a good idea. I was able to randomly stare out the window through the blinds. Just like running outside.
At about 4 minutes and 37 seconds in I usually take off my track jacket thingy and this time what was underneath? My goEastern Tshirt :) Holla EWU peeps! I kind of felt like superwoman.
This was a hard workout, but I felt good after. I know jogging 3 minutes continuously is kind of wussy, but I'm pretty proud that I can do it. Janet Jackson's "Feedback" is what got me through the second 3 minutes. Hahaha. I have to say I just googled the lyrics and it's quite a dirty song! Oh well it worked.
Dear Couch to 5K iPhone Application Programmers,
It would be really great if the guy in my ear said something more encouraging than "walk now" or "run now". Although it serves it's purpose, he even sounds bored. And when I'm done with the workout I don't even get a beep?! I would prefer some fireworks to go off on my screen similar to when I win solitaire on the computer. This is way harder than solitaire and it deserves some fanfare.
Thank You,
Leah
I got home early today (thanks Carissa!) and was able to get to the apt gym before 5. I was pretty nervous about my calf, but turned out to be a non issue. I was the only one in the gym and this time I chose the middle treadmill. This one is not in front of the mirror. Previously I've chosen the one in front of the mirror to satisfy my narcissism but frankly it's a bit distracting cause I don't have anything to randomly stare at. This turned out to be a good idea. I was able to randomly stare out the window through the blinds. Just like running outside.
At about 4 minutes and 37 seconds in I usually take off my track jacket thingy and this time what was underneath? My goEastern Tshirt :) Holla EWU peeps! I kind of felt like superwoman.
This was a hard workout, but I felt good after. I know jogging 3 minutes continuously is kind of wussy, but I'm pretty proud that I can do it. Janet Jackson's "Feedback" is what got me through the second 3 minutes. Hahaha. I have to say I just googled the lyrics and it's quite a dirty song! Oh well it worked.
Dear Couch to 5K iPhone Application Programmers,
It would be really great if the guy in my ear said something more encouraging than "walk now" or "run now". Although it serves it's purpose, he even sounds bored. And when I'm done with the workout I don't even get a beep?! I would prefer some fireworks to go off on my screen similar to when I win solitaire on the computer. This is way harder than solitaire and it deserves some fanfare.
Thank You,
Leah
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Day Seven
1.7 miles in 28 minutes
Well today was the day that the plan doubled. I've been dreading this day. I jumped from jogging 90 seconds at one stretch to jogging 3 minutes at one stretch.
Good news... it wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be. Bad news... it was hard. My left calf hurts, sharp pain type hurt. But my nose didn't run and my ears stayed warm :)
I used my iPhone app on the treadmill and it worked pretty well. I can't change the music around without pausing the program, so that kind of sucks. I need to make better playlists. The screen goes from green to red, so it's kind of obvious looking. I also feel like the time goes by slower. Everytime I'd look down I felt like time had stopped. The last 3 minute stretch I tried not to look down and when I couldn't do that my next goal was to not look down for at least half the time. I didn't make it. Thursday I'm going to turn the phone around so I can't see it change from red to green and I have to wait for the beep and the guy saying "walk now".
"eat dinner now"
Well today was the day that the plan doubled. I've been dreading this day. I jumped from jogging 90 seconds at one stretch to jogging 3 minutes at one stretch.
Good news... it wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be. Bad news... it was hard. My left calf hurts, sharp pain type hurt. But my nose didn't run and my ears stayed warm :)
I used my iPhone app on the treadmill and it worked pretty well. I can't change the music around without pausing the program, so that kind of sucks. I need to make better playlists. The screen goes from green to red, so it's kind of obvious looking. I also feel like the time goes by slower. Everytime I'd look down I felt like time had stopped. The last 3 minute stretch I tried not to look down and when I couldn't do that my next goal was to not look down for at least half the time. I didn't make it. Thursday I'm going to turn the phone around so I can't see it change from red to green and I have to wait for the beep and the guy saying "walk now".
"eat dinner now"
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Day Six
OUTSIDE!
Holy cow. First run outside.
I woke up this morning and while laying in bed I decided to look at the App Store on my iPhone. I've been stressing about running outside and how to time myself so I can still follow my plan. I've been looking at $50+ watches, etc. Low and behold, there's an app for that. I downloaded for $2.99 the "Couch to 5K" app. Has all the workouts on it with voices to tell you when to walk/run/cooldown etc. I can choose male or female (I went male... "tougher" sounding coach I guess!). You can listen to your own music and it just tells you over the music. I was so excited I pretty much jumped out of bed.
I ate some breakfast and sang "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it" while getting ready. You're a child of the 90's if you picture Jessie singing that to Zack as he's confronting her on her addiction to caffeine pills on Saved by the Bell :). I was also hoping that there would be no overweight shirtless male mowing his lawn telling people they prance.
Heading out the door I grabbed kleenexs which turned out to be ingenious of me. I put my earphone cord through my shirt (I saw the cool people doing it) and even figured out how to tie my apt key to my shoelaces. Speaking of tying shoes... did you know there is a "right" and "wrong" way to tie shoes?! I learned that while I was researching types of shoes. My shoe lace bows always went the wrong way instead of laying nicely as they do in the commercials. Look what the internet can do for us! Now I have perfect little bows on my shoes.
Overall the run was not harder, it was the additional elements the great outdoors added to the experience that sucked. My ears and nose were the largest problems. My nose was running like a faucet, thank god I had at least 3 kleenexs... will need to bring more next time. No wonder I see runners snotting into the grass... gross... I don't think I'll be able to do that. However that was causing my ears to plug up and they were already freezing. Add to that my earbuds don't stay in very well and I was constantly messing with my ears. They throbbed when I got back to the apartment and I had a horrible headache. I think I need to get one of those headbands... should solve the earbud problem and the cold problem. Dang I have to go shopping ;)
Downside of running outside... I don't truly know how far I ran. I tried to do the mapmyrun.com thing beforehand and made a route that was about 1.27 miles. I figured I wouldn't go as far since it was supposed to be harder outside. Well I ended up straying off my path and making little loops around the blocks cause it wasn't long enough. So my guess is I did just about the 1.55 I've been doing or maybe more. I think I probably jogged faster at first cause of the adrenaline. I didn't get lost, which those who know me is actually a large concern for me. I do have GPS on my phone though, so figured I'd be ok in a friendly neighborhood.
About how cool I was tying my key to my shoelaces. I got back to the apartment, bent down to untie my shoe and gracefully pulled the wrong string so it got all tangled. Of course it's dark by my door and I didn't have contacts/glasses. I started giggling to myself thinking, oh crap this is embarrassing. Neighbor Tim is going to come out here and think I'm crazy. Finally just had to take my shoe off so I could get it close enough to see it. Hahaha still making me giggle.
Hmm... we'll see if I do this next Saturday. Need to prepare myself better I think. Suggestions welcome.
Holy cow. First run outside.
I woke up this morning and while laying in bed I decided to look at the App Store on my iPhone. I've been stressing about running outside and how to time myself so I can still follow my plan. I've been looking at $50+ watches, etc. Low and behold, there's an app for that. I downloaded for $2.99 the "Couch to 5K" app. Has all the workouts on it with voices to tell you when to walk/run/cooldown etc. I can choose male or female (I went male... "tougher" sounding coach I guess!). You can listen to your own music and it just tells you over the music. I was so excited I pretty much jumped out of bed.
I ate some breakfast and sang "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it" while getting ready. You're a child of the 90's if you picture Jessie singing that to Zack as he's confronting her on her addiction to caffeine pills on Saved by the Bell :). I was also hoping that there would be no overweight shirtless male mowing his lawn telling people they prance.
Heading out the door I grabbed kleenexs which turned out to be ingenious of me. I put my earphone cord through my shirt (I saw the cool people doing it) and even figured out how to tie my apt key to my shoelaces. Speaking of tying shoes... did you know there is a "right" and "wrong" way to tie shoes?! I learned that while I was researching types of shoes. My shoe lace bows always went the wrong way instead of laying nicely as they do in the commercials. Look what the internet can do for us! Now I have perfect little bows on my shoes.
Overall the run was not harder, it was the additional elements the great outdoors added to the experience that sucked. My ears and nose were the largest problems. My nose was running like a faucet, thank god I had at least 3 kleenexs... will need to bring more next time. No wonder I see runners snotting into the grass... gross... I don't think I'll be able to do that. However that was causing my ears to plug up and they were already freezing. Add to that my earbuds don't stay in very well and I was constantly messing with my ears. They throbbed when I got back to the apartment and I had a horrible headache. I think I need to get one of those headbands... should solve the earbud problem and the cold problem. Dang I have to go shopping ;)
Downside of running outside... I don't truly know how far I ran. I tried to do the mapmyrun.com thing beforehand and made a route that was about 1.27 miles. I figured I wouldn't go as far since it was supposed to be harder outside. Well I ended up straying off my path and making little loops around the blocks cause it wasn't long enough. So my guess is I did just about the 1.55 I've been doing or maybe more. I think I probably jogged faster at first cause of the adrenaline. I didn't get lost, which those who know me is actually a large concern for me. I do have GPS on my phone though, so figured I'd be ok in a friendly neighborhood.
About how cool I was tying my key to my shoelaces. I got back to the apartment, bent down to untie my shoe and gracefully pulled the wrong string so it got all tangled. Of course it's dark by my door and I didn't have contacts/glasses. I started giggling to myself thinking, oh crap this is embarrassing. Neighbor Tim is going to come out here and think I'm crazy. Finally just had to take my shoe off so I could get it close enough to see it. Hahaha still making me giggle.
Hmm... we'll see if I do this next Saturday. Need to prepare myself better I think. Suggestions welcome.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Day Five
Again 1.55 miles in 25 minutes.
It was a pretty busy Thursday, but I was still excited to get home and go workout. Dramatic pause. Holy crap I never thought I'd say that!
It was not raining this time, so that was nice. It was also on the warmer side so my white legs didn't get frost bite. I ran next to a girl I've ran 2 times with before. Little does she know, she's my new running partner ;). She's a bit more advanced than myself being that she runs at like "6" for 35 minutes. I like to walk at "3" and run at "5". I'm ok with that. I figure I'll work my way up to higher right?!
Today was a bit harder than the other days. I think that's kind of good, some pushing is healthy. I'm sore already and I'm just tired. I'm hoping this all makes me sleep better and improves my mood. I was so tired today that I closed my eyes briefly and learned that is not the right thing to do on a treadmill. Luckily no harm done and lesson learned.
In regards to my playlist... I learned that "In the End" by Linkin Park is not a wise song choice for trying to do something positive. What a depressing song! "In the end it doesn't really matter" What?! No in the end what I'm doing on this treadmill will matter dammit! Luckily I skipped to Kanye's "Stronger" and was uplifted. "N-n-now that that don't kill me, can only make me stronger".
It was a pretty busy Thursday, but I was still excited to get home and go workout. Dramatic pause. Holy crap I never thought I'd say that!
It was not raining this time, so that was nice. It was also on the warmer side so my white legs didn't get frost bite. I ran next to a girl I've ran 2 times with before. Little does she know, she's my new running partner ;). She's a bit more advanced than myself being that she runs at like "6" for 35 minutes. I like to walk at "3" and run at "5". I'm ok with that. I figure I'll work my way up to higher right?!
Today was a bit harder than the other days. I think that's kind of good, some pushing is healthy. I'm sore already and I'm just tired. I'm hoping this all makes me sleep better and improves my mood. I was so tired today that I closed my eyes briefly and learned that is not the right thing to do on a treadmill. Luckily no harm done and lesson learned.
In regards to my playlist... I learned that "In the End" by Linkin Park is not a wise song choice for trying to do something positive. What a depressing song! "In the end it doesn't really matter" What?! No in the end what I'm doing on this treadmill will matter dammit! Luckily I skipped to Kanye's "Stronger" and was uplifted. "N-n-now that that don't kill me, can only make me stronger".
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Day Four
Week one done!
I have a whole completed shamrock week on my grid :)
I got to the gym pretty early (5:05pm ish) and I had to wait for a treadmill. Not too long though so that was good. I waited somewhere else so as not to hover. Tuesdays seem to be so crowded! I was warned that no one works out on Thursdays (Thirsty Thursday I guess!) but Tuesdays might be crowded (what happened to Taco Tuesday?!).
Today I started a new workout and did pretty good. It upped the amount of time I jogged and I did 1.55 miles in 25 minutes. I listened to a little Christina Aguilera Dirrty and Fighter... turned out to be fairly motivational music :) I walked out of the gym to a torrential downpour. It was actually kind of fun. I knew I was going to get wet and had no hope of staying dry. I knew I had nowhere to go and nothing to do so who cared if I got wet?! Don't worry, I made sure my notecard with my workout plan telling me when to walk/jog was safe in my pocket.
"I'm singin in the rain, just singin in the rain! What a glorious feelin, I'm happy again!" Thanks Gene Kelly.
I have a whole completed shamrock week on my grid :)
I got to the gym pretty early (5:05pm ish) and I had to wait for a treadmill. Not too long though so that was good. I waited somewhere else so as not to hover. Tuesdays seem to be so crowded! I was warned that no one works out on Thursdays (Thirsty Thursday I guess!) but Tuesdays might be crowded (what happened to Taco Tuesday?!).
Today I started a new workout and did pretty good. It upped the amount of time I jogged and I did 1.55 miles in 25 minutes. I listened to a little Christina Aguilera Dirrty and Fighter... turned out to be fairly motivational music :) I walked out of the gym to a torrential downpour. It was actually kind of fun. I knew I was going to get wet and had no hope of staying dry. I knew I had nowhere to go and nothing to do so who cared if I got wet?! Don't worry, I made sure my notecard with my workout plan telling me when to walk/jog was safe in my pocket.
"I'm singin in the rain, just singin in the rain! What a glorious feelin, I'm happy again!" Thanks Gene Kelly.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Day Three
Yeah I broke 1.5 miles in 25 minutes!
Today is Saturday and I had the PA Interview Day. That went fantastically well. It is quite a long day of being "on" and up early. I came home and crashed on the couch under my wonderful down blanket. Turned on the TV. Usually this would be the death of any plans for later. However I did the unthinkable and got back off the couch. Can you believe it?! Even "13 Going On 30" was on, another actress I aspire to look like by the way. 80's night down here is the closest I've ever gotten to the Thriller Dance scene in that movie. Oh how I love 80's night.
I think I left my calculated plan (0:00-5:00 walk, 5:00-6:00 jog, 6:00-7:30 walk...) at the gym on Thursday. How embarrassing! Thank god it didn't have my name on it ;) So I made another one, but next week I'll just have to make yet another one. Oh well such is life, maybe someone got a kick out of it.
The workout went well and I do have to say I'm feeling good after them. I thought I would just dread everything about this. I'm sure the adrenaline is still high so maybe in the next couple of weeks I'll dread it, but so far so good.
Tomorrow I plan to sleep in... yeah!
Today is Saturday and I had the PA Interview Day. That went fantastically well. It is quite a long day of being "on" and up early. I came home and crashed on the couch under my wonderful down blanket. Turned on the TV. Usually this would be the death of any plans for later. However I did the unthinkable and got back off the couch. Can you believe it?! Even "13 Going On 30" was on, another actress I aspire to look like by the way. 80's night down here is the closest I've ever gotten to the Thriller Dance scene in that movie. Oh how I love 80's night.
I think I left my calculated plan (0:00-5:00 walk, 5:00-6:00 jog, 6:00-7:30 walk...) at the gym on Thursday. How embarrassing! Thank god it didn't have my name on it ;) So I made another one, but next week I'll just have to make yet another one. Oh well such is life, maybe someone got a kick out of it.
The workout went well and I do have to say I'm feeling good after them. I thought I would just dread everything about this. I'm sure the adrenaline is still high so maybe in the next couple of weeks I'll dread it, but so far so good.
Tomorrow I plan to sleep in... yeah!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Day Two
Hmmm... why was today way easier?!
Today was one of the worst days I've had in a while. Just one wrong thing after the next, nothing too major. Got home around 5:30ish. Changed and walked to the apt gym. Way cuter shorts tonight... damn Nike! I've been striving to look like Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks Notice. She is just so cute in that tennis outfit! Is it weird to wear a skirt/skort running?! :)
So looking cute and the gym was completely empty. It was kind of nice actually. I was able to stare in the mirror and not feel too conceited. Especially since my hair was doing the girly swing. I hate that. On Tuesday I did the whole half pull through thing and it looked horrible. So I went the full pony and it swung back and forth ridiculously. Come on... could it get more girly?! Will need to figure something out there.
So far my playlist has been pretty good. I love that new song by Ke$ha, Tik Tok. The only beef I have with the song is the "we kick them to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger". Who honestly wants someone that looks like Mick Jagger?! I can understand the lifestyle and money I guess... but really the looks are not something which I use on the good end of my rating scale. And yes Jay Sean, I am down, down, down.
My legs felt great this time and I wasn't gasping for air either. I could have kept going but figured I'm following a plan for a reason. The Plan God must know more than myself so I should bow my head and listen.
Today was one of the worst days I've had in a while. Just one wrong thing after the next, nothing too major. Got home around 5:30ish. Changed and walked to the apt gym. Way cuter shorts tonight... damn Nike! I've been striving to look like Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks Notice. She is just so cute in that tennis outfit! Is it weird to wear a skirt/skort running?! :)
So looking cute and the gym was completely empty. It was kind of nice actually. I was able to stare in the mirror and not feel too conceited. Especially since my hair was doing the girly swing. I hate that. On Tuesday I did the whole half pull through thing and it looked horrible. So I went the full pony and it swung back and forth ridiculously. Come on... could it get more girly?! Will need to figure something out there.
So far my playlist has been pretty good. I love that new song by Ke$ha, Tik Tok. The only beef I have with the song is the "we kick them to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger". Who honestly wants someone that looks like Mick Jagger?! I can understand the lifestyle and money I guess... but really the looks are not something which I use on the good end of my rating scale. And yes Jay Sean, I am down, down, down.
My legs felt great this time and I wasn't gasping for air either. I could have kept going but figured I'm following a plan for a reason. The Plan God must know more than myself so I should bow my head and listen.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Day One
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Oh Yeah!
This first "session" has occupied my mind now for at least a full week. I've got new shoes ($35 at Adidas... mental note: other blog topic, shopping). I downloaded my music on to my iPhone and created a "Running" playlist. I've scheduled Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays as my run days. I have my nice grid all printed out and my shamrock stickers ready.
Raced home, no pun intended. Changed in to my clothes and put my hair up. Grabbed my calculated plan on a sticky note, my iPhone, keys, a gatorade and headed to the apartment gym. I was briefly concerned that I was all in black walking down a dark rainy street, when I remembered how white my legs are and figured I would be safe. New way to flash your legs to get a ride, ha!
Gym was the busiest I've seen it, all girls. Not sure if I feel more comfortable with that or not. On one hand there is no one to impress... on the other there are a whole lot of hands to judge. I'm ok with guys thinking I'm a wuss as long as they think of me as a cute wuss ;). I don't like the idea of girls looking down on me. However I've learned to block that out, screw peer approval. So there I was staring at this massive machine thinking, how hard can this be?! Green for go, red for stop, seems pretty simple.
25 minutes later I was done with my first workout. Feeling fantastic about myself and ignoring that I arrived after everyone and left before everyone. Eh luckily I'm lacking a competitive edge.
This first "session" has occupied my mind now for at least a full week. I've got new shoes ($35 at Adidas... mental note: other blog topic, shopping). I downloaded my music on to my iPhone and created a "Running" playlist. I've scheduled Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays as my run days. I have my nice grid all printed out and my shamrock stickers ready.
Raced home, no pun intended. Changed in to my clothes and put my hair up. Grabbed my calculated plan on a sticky note, my iPhone, keys, a gatorade and headed to the apartment gym. I was briefly concerned that I was all in black walking down a dark rainy street, when I remembered how white my legs are and figured I would be safe. New way to flash your legs to get a ride, ha!
Gym was the busiest I've seen it, all girls. Not sure if I feel more comfortable with that or not. On one hand there is no one to impress... on the other there are a whole lot of hands to judge. I'm ok with guys thinking I'm a wuss as long as they think of me as a cute wuss ;). I don't like the idea of girls looking down on me. However I've learned to block that out, screw peer approval. So there I was staring at this massive machine thinking, how hard can this be?! Green for go, red for stop, seems pretty simple.
25 minutes later I was done with my first workout. Feeling fantastic about myself and ignoring that I arrived after everyone and left before everyone. Eh luckily I'm lacking a competitive edge.
Pre Training
Hello World!
My name is Leah and this is my first blog. I've considered doing a blog before but nothing epic has happened in my life. UNTIL NOW.
Believe it or not I have signed up for the Shamrock 5K Run on March 14th. Now to some a 5K is minor, drop in the bucket, child's play, etc. To me, it's major. If there are those of you who don't know me well, I have not exercised since I was 15. Keep in mind until I was 15 I danced professionally (no twinkle toes here) and was super in shape. As soon as I quit, I stopped. I was blessed with a messed up metabolism and digestive system and am lucky to not have to worry about weight. My creator gave me multiple other problems so they were merciful in this. However life has changed once again for me and I find myself living in Portland, OR. Little did I know this was running capital of the world.
Everyone I know runs. I resisted. Suddenly around my 27th birthday it dawned on me that maybe they weren't crazy. Maybe, just maybe, this is an individual challenge that one can achieve a real sense of accomplishment. Perhaps this is what I need in my life. It certainly would give me something to focus on and something to talk with others about. So the wheels started turning...
Then I discovered that the majority of my office runs the Shamrock Run. Hmmm, click, click, click. On top of that my 57 year old coworker told me about the Couch to 5K plan courtesy of Cool Running. So now I have motivation and inspiration. Click, click, click. A little googling and some online registering and I have a plan and am signed up for the Shamrock Run. Done and done.
So this is my journey. It is designed for me to just type and share. I'm not sure if anyone will read this and I'm ok with that. If you haven't sensed it already, it will be laced with sarcasm and dry humor. Throw in a little whining and overdramatization and you have me in a nutshell.
If you are still reading, thank you!
My name is Leah and this is my first blog. I've considered doing a blog before but nothing epic has happened in my life. UNTIL NOW.
Believe it or not I have signed up for the Shamrock 5K Run on March 14th. Now to some a 5K is minor, drop in the bucket, child's play, etc. To me, it's major. If there are those of you who don't know me well, I have not exercised since I was 15. Keep in mind until I was 15 I danced professionally (no twinkle toes here) and was super in shape. As soon as I quit, I stopped. I was blessed with a messed up metabolism and digestive system and am lucky to not have to worry about weight. My creator gave me multiple other problems so they were merciful in this. However life has changed once again for me and I find myself living in Portland, OR. Little did I know this was running capital of the world.
Everyone I know runs. I resisted. Suddenly around my 27th birthday it dawned on me that maybe they weren't crazy. Maybe, just maybe, this is an individual challenge that one can achieve a real sense of accomplishment. Perhaps this is what I need in my life. It certainly would give me something to focus on and something to talk with others about. So the wheels started turning...
Then I discovered that the majority of my office runs the Shamrock Run. Hmmm, click, click, click. On top of that my 57 year old coworker told me about the Couch to 5K plan courtesy of Cool Running. So now I have motivation and inspiration. Click, click, click. A little googling and some online registering and I have a plan and am signed up for the Shamrock Run. Done and done.
So this is my journey. It is designed for me to just type and share. I'm not sure if anyone will read this and I'm ok with that. If you haven't sensed it already, it will be laced with sarcasm and dry humor. Throw in a little whining and overdramatization and you have me in a nutshell.
If you are still reading, thank you!
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