Oh, Hello…

Oh, yeah. I started a blog, didn’t I? Sorry I have been MIA!

I have so much to catch you up on!

As planned, I rested on Thursday. I had Friday off of work, but ended up having to work a few hours Friday morning. No biggie. I did my 4 mile run Friday afternoon.

And I still wasn’t feeling it.

My pace was better, but it still sucked! It had been rainy and the road was kind of muddy, so I wore my old shoes. I had to stop once to use a rock to peel some caked-on mud off the bottom of my shoes. I was slightly over dressed, still learning to adjust to this unseasonably warm weather. I was really feeling crappy and sorry for myself. How am I supposed to get in shape for the half I want to do in 5 WEEKS!!

I planned to do 7-8 slow miles on Sunday. That would be a good litmus test–if I didn’t die, the half might be a possibility.

Friday night and Saturday was consumed with my adventure of buying a bike (I’ll tell you about that tomorrow!).

So Sunday morning came. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The morning was about 45-50 degrees and the winds were calm. I put it in my head to run 8 miles, 4 miles out and back. I was going to go slow, about a 10:00 pace. I dressed appropriately and brought a sports drink and some Gu Chomps. I turned on the iPod and the Garmin and took off.

It was a wonderful run! I really enjoyed it! I think it helped that I slowed my pace a bit, but still averaged a 9:52 for the whole thing. FINALLY! I am back in the groove! I have some confidence back. Yes! I really hope it sticks around for a long time.

Today is a scheduled run day too. I was starving when I came home from work, so I made dinner early. Now I am letting that settle before I go out to run. I am loving this whole spring thing. I love that it is staying light out well into the evening. Remember the winter when the sun goes down at like 5pm? I hate that!

Wish me luck on the run tonight! Starting to regret eating tacos for dinner…. ugh, what was I thinking?!

Have You Seen It?

My motivation, that is?

I am getting my runs done, but I’m just not feelin’ them, you know?

Yesterday I ran 4 miles outside. It sucked pretty much the whole time. My pace was aweful. The hills made we want to die. I was overdressed and I was hot. It was windy. Wow, what a diva!

But I got it done. I wasn’t happy with the results, but I did it.

Today speedwork was on the agenda. I did a 400 meter warmup at about a 9:40 pace, then did 5 repeats of 800 meters at 8:34 pace followed by 400 meters at 9:40 pace. It really sucked. Honestly I had to stand on the sides of the treadmill to catch my breath more than once. I was dripping in sweat when it was all over. However, when I was done, I wrote my run in my log and felt a fleeting moment of a runners high! Just for a moment though… Wait, come back!

I’ve had it in my head that I want to run a half marathon on June 3rd. That is six weeks away! I better find my motivation and running joy pretty soon or I can kiss that half goodbye.

But, this happens, right? Not every run is going to be blissful sunshine and smiles. I need to just keep at it and eventually I will get some conditioning back, and the runs will get easier, right?

Ok, changing subjects. Andy and I have been working on finishing our basement. The flooring guy called today and they are coming to put it in in two weeks! Yay! The gym is in the basement. We are doing a rubber floor in the gym (specifically it is the Nike Grind flooring). I cannot wait until we get the carpet in! The bathroom in the basement has a whirlpool tub! I’m so excited to get that done so I can enjoy it! Won’t that be nice after a long run?

Rest day tomorrow. Hope my attitude improves!

Today Wasn’t a Total Loss

I just feel lazy today. Today isn’t a “run day” for me, but I wanted to do some type of cross-training. I didn’t feel like it. My only excuse was just pure laziness. And I was okay accepting that. I was too lazy to work out. I just wanted to watch TV on the couch. So I did. I was watching “Kitchen Nightmares.” Gordon Ramsay was really tearing into them. They did really well with serving the new menu items, but when things got busy, they kind of fell apart. They had a talk, and the restaurant owner said that he “wasn’t going to accept any more excuses” and that he wasn’t going to get sloppy when things got busy.

Huh, he wasn’t going to accept any more excuses…...

Wasn’t that what I had basically just done? I accepted that I was lazy and wasn’t going to work out. So that put a spark in my brain.

But what to do? Like I said, it’s not a run day. I thought about going to the basement and popping in a Spinning DVD, but I had just eaten some food (excuse!!). I could do an arm routine with weights, my arms are feeling wimpy lately.

Then it hit me! I should get my bike out of the garage, dust it off, pump up the tires and go for a ride!

I couldn’t find the pump, so I called my husband (he is a cattle rancher and was over at the ranch). He told me where to find it and said that I should be able to figure out how to use it easily enough. Well, easier said than done. I not only couldn’t figure out how to use it, but I let all the air out of the back tire! Sheesh! So I texted Andy telling him what a moron I am. He was nice enough to call me and talk me through it. Problem solved, tires aired up!

So I rode for about 4 miles. It took 30-35 minutes. I love riding bike! I really want to get a new fancy bike (I have my eye on the Trek Neko S). My current bike is a cheap-o 18 speed from Target. The Neko S has 24 speeds. My husband thinks this is funny because I never shift gears on my bike. Confession, I really don’t know how/when to shift gears. So today I experimented and figured it out. Ha! Now I can buy the fancy bike, right? That’s what I’m going to tell my husband 🙂

So today wasn’t a total loss! I “didn’t accept any excuses” and got some cross training in! Hopefully it will counteract some of the nutrition no-no’s I ate today.

Do you have a fancy bike with lots of speeds? Do you know when to shift them? Feel free to leave some comments to enlighten me!

Week In Review

I feel really good about this week! I got all of my runs in and a few other workouts too!

Here is a recap:

Monday: 30 minutes Spinning

Tuesday: 3 mile run outside

Wednesday: 4 mile run (speedwork) on the treadmill

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 4 mile run on the treadmill

Saturday: Yoga class

Sunday: 6 mile run (long, slow run) on the treadmill. (Yesterday was beautiful, but today was very windy and rainy. Dang it! That’s okay, I don’t mind the TM. I got all caught up on Punk’d. Ronnie from the Jersey Shore got Punk’d good!).

 

That totals 17 miles this week! That is great for me. I haven’t seen that kind of mileage in a long time. I’m feeling good about next week–not too many time obstacles that have me anxious that I won’t be able to get my runs in. The big challenge will be the week after that. I will be staying overnight with my parents who live 2 hours away to do some work in the city they live. My challenge will be NOT to make excuses and to get to the YMCA on Friday morning to get my run in. I have done this before last year when I was training for my half, so it shouldn’t be a problem, barring any crazy excuses I might come up with. But, enough excuses! I’m going to do this!

I gotta say, it felt so great today to know that I did all the training runs I set out to do this week! And today I got my run in early (10:00). It was so nice to have it done so I didn’t have to watch the clock all afternoon and then drag myself to the treadmill at 6pm. I hate when I do that to myself. But I got ‘er done today. It has been months since I have had any consistency in my running. I’m back, baby!

When I’m Not Running

So, what am I doing when I’m not running you may ask? Let me tell you a little more about myself.

I am a registered dietitian. If you have read my little “About” paragraph, you may be scratching your head since I mentioned how I would like to shed some lbs and get the whole healthy eating thing down. Well, knowing what to do and actually doing it can be two totally different stories! Maybe that sounds hypocritical, but I’m just being honest. I struggle with my weight. I know all the science and reasoning behind good, solid nutrition. But sometimes it’s hard, you know? I like cake. I know it is not the healthiest choice I could make. There is a lot of emotional stuff that goes in to eating. I’m working on quitting the excuses with this too.

Sometimes as an RD who also runs, I get asked questions on sports nutrition. I am not a sports dietitian. When you go to college to become an RD, there isn’t a class on sports nutrition, pediatric nutrition, geriatric nutrition, etc. You learn all the fundamentals of nutrition—the chemistry, anatomy, physiology, etc. After that, it depends on where you get a job and what you develop as your niche. My niche is geriatrics. I am a consultant to several long term care facilities (nursing homes), assisted living centers, and rural hospitals. That is my area of expertise—the elderly. I may not be able to answer your questions about sports nutrition, but I can talk your ear off about how to treat a pressure ulcer or unintended weight loss! I love my job. It is very flexible. I work part-time, usually 3-4 days per week. Since I only work part-time, I really have no excuse not to stick to my training plan and get my workouts in.

What else about me? I am married. My husband, Andy, will run 5Ks with me. He says he can’t run anything longer than a 5K because his “adult ADD” kicks in and he just can’t stand it. Hmmmm, maybe I’m not the only one with excuses? I think he would be much faster than me if he was to run all out, but he always stays about one step behind me. How nice! He always lets me cross the finish line first. We live in rural South Dakota. I am surrounded by miles and miles of soft gravel roads perfect for running and biking. We also live close to the Missouri River. We hope to get SUPs this summer and take them for a spin on the river (or maybe just a nice, calm lake).

Me and Andy on our wedding day. Awwwww...

We do not have any children. We aren’t so sure yet about having kids. I keep waiting for my biological clock to kick in, but so far nothin’, and I am 31 years old. We do have a wonderful dog, a St. Bernard named Ozzy. I love Saints and my mom and dad have had Saints since before I was even born (we always named our dogs Mabel; after original Mabel passed, we got another Saint and named her Mabel. After Mabel 3 passed, dad really got crazy and got a male we named Brutus). Ozzy used to try to follow me when I would go out for runs, but Saints are not known for their energy, so he quickly learned not to bother.

The Oz-man.

So that’s a little more about me!

Does your spouse/significant other let you win races?

Do they claim to have adult ADD so they don’t have to run longer than 5K?

Do you have a dog/pet that you love like a child?

Excuses, Excuses!

So far this week I am doing well with my “training plan” and have done all of my runs–all two of them! Don’t laugh, this is a big deal for me lately. I started keeping a training log at the beginning of March and reviewed that log yesterday. It is pretty pathetic. The first week was okay. I logged 14 miles. Then it really dropped off. I started justifying in my head all the reasons why I didn’t get many runs in.

It basically boils down to excuses, excuses!

“I’m too tired. I’ll do it tomorrow.” Guess what? You are never going to come home from work and feel fully alive and energized. I have every intention of lacing those shoes up right away when I get home and just get that run out of the way, but then my eyelids feel sooo heeeaaavy and the couch starts calling my name.

“I can’t get up any earlier and run in the morning.” Really? You did it last year when you had to.

“I need to do the dishes first.” No you don’t.

“I really need to clean the house.” Again, no you don’t. I’m not a good housekeeper. Who am I trying to kid here?

“I’ll do it at 6:00 pm so I can watch Young and the Restless on the Soap Network while I run on the treadmill.” Usually I have succumbed to the couch by this point, and I’ve made another excuse as to why I can’t go run now.

“My foot kind of hurts and I don’t want to make it worse.” Your foot hurts because you are totally unconditioned. You know what helps you get over that? Yep. Running.

I did have some legitimate (in my head) reasons why I skipped some runs over the past month. Funerals, family illness, cooking for Easter, etc. But am I just using those events as scapegoats? Probably.

What are some excuses you have used to get out of a run or an exercise session? Or do all of you never, ever skip a workout? If so, wow, congratulations. Share your secrets of motivation with me.

Today is a rest day, as is every Thursday since it is my long day at work (12 hours including the commute). Back on the plan tomorrow!

Enough Excuses!

Welcome to my blog!

Hello! Glad you stopped by!

A little bit about why I started this blog…. I started running in 2010 and completed my first 5K in September of that year. I kept on running and completed my first 10K in March of 2011 and my first half marathon in July of 2011! I shouldn’t say my first half marathon, I should say my only half… After reaching that awesome goal, I kind of lost my mojo. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t give up running. But I wasn’t very consistent. You know, other things became priorities, life got in the way, blah, blah blah. I made excuses and let those excuses win.

So I want to get back to consistent running.

I read a lot of other running/healthy living blogs. I started to think maybe I could start a blog. See, I have these secret goals. I would love to run a half marathon again, in fact I have two in mind. One is in June (less than 8 weeks away, yikes!) and the other is in July (the same half I did last year).

I kind of also want to run a full marathon….. Am I crazy? Can I do it?

I was kind of thinking about the Kauai Marathon in Hawaii over Labor Day weekend…. this year. Why Kauai? I’ll tell you that story another time (PS–it’s a good one!).

So that’s it for now! Hope you stay tuned!