Picking myself up for the Fall

It's September. The sun is shining. The air is cool and crisp. And I have been inside on the couch all week. All summer really.

In April I ran another half marathon in Washington DC. I have run maybe three times since then.

I signed up and started for a V barre class at my gym but stopped going after the third week due to my crazy theater schedule… And laziness. 

It's a sad state of affairs. 

Today I went to Weight Watchers for the first time in months. I decided to purchase and sign up for their ActiveLink program. This involves a small activity monitor which tracks your movement, your steps & your energy all day every day. You then upload it to your computer and it works hand-in-hand with the weight watchers points system.

Ta Da!

Starting tomorrow I will be in the assessment phase which tracks my baseline activity for the week. From then on I will be tracking my daily activity and once I reach my baseline activity for the day, I can earn points activity points for anything I do beyond that. It sets up goals for me to increase my activity over the next 12 weeks. All in all it seems like a great way to be accountable and motivated to be more active in my everyday life. And hopefully the right kick in the butt to get restarted on my journey.

Until next time

Day 6

Apparently posting on the weekend is a little difficult in my world...but I'll still do my best.

Went for a run on Saturday with my teammates & one of my friends. It was sunny and brisk, but we warmed up quickly for our 3 mile run. I was still pretty stiff but it felt good to get the run in. We started out nice & slow, but by the time we got to the end, we had sped up considerably.

Today I made it to the gym just in time for my strength training class. I got in my workout & then hit the treadmill for a brisk 15 minute walk. It definitely feels good to be active again

Day 2

Attempted to do either a run or a workout...what got done was half of The Biggest Loser workout DVD...the low impact beginner version.
I'll be working a little at our Bowl-a-thon so I'll be on my feet, but I definitely should fit in a walk tonight.

31 days of Fitness

Along with my December challenge, I will be logging my 31 days of fitness here.

Again, even if it's just a walk around the block or an extra set of stairs because I forgot my keys, I want to blog every day & log what I've done each day.

Day One: Nada so far...planned afternoon walk.

January Running Recap

I know it's not the end of January just yet...but I figured I'd take the opportunity to recap this month's running progress. Note mileage is approximate because of uncalibrated Nike +
Week 1: Finally got my butt in gear & got running...started using my Nike + system
Total miles: 13+ (a couple of gym workouts were not logged-including hill intervals)
Accomplishment: Ran my longest distance ever of 6 miles with the TNT group run. Felt AWESOME!!! (And Lance Armstrong congratulated me on Nike+ system)
Week 2: Should have been psyched from the accomplishment...found it difficult to get out & get motivated to run. Only one weekday training run plus group run (started run/walk)
Total miles: 9 miles
Accomplishment: Ran in the snow? Completed another 6 mile run

Week 3: Still struggling to get in gear during week & now fighting with eating habits. Again, only one weekday run--with group but felt sluggish for 3 miles. Group run was cold so only did 4 miles, but repeated hill
Total miles: 7+ (due to extra hill)
Accomplishment: Kicked hill's ASS...TWICE.

Week 4: Missed Monday's trip to weigh in & gym, but hit the gym last night for a tough 4 mile run on the treadmill. Run frequency starts increasing next week so gotta keep on top of things...
Still to come: Thurs 4 miles, Saturday 7 miles, Sunday 3 miles

Total estimated miles for January: 47 (with this week's runs...)

Things I learned: Runs are easier with someone who stays at your pace...or with music. I CAN run hills. 6 miles is half of my goal. Just have to do my weekend runs twice to complete the race! You are what you eat & drink...bathrooms are never close enough.
To Do: Improve stretching habits, Mind over matter--Get out to run no matter what, learn how to eat for running, find running buddy for weekday runs

Will update soon with more progress.

Setting the bar high

So in training for the marathon, I thought I'd set myself a goal for the end of the year...

I will run 1000 miles in 2011.

I figure 1000 miles in 52 weeks about 20 miles per week. That may seem like a lot now with 2 and 3 mile runs, but when I'm doing 5 mile runs 3x a week and a longer run on the weekend, I should be well on my way to that goal by the time the 1/2 marathon comes around in May.

I do want to find some kind of widget to track my progress towards that goal...they have one on the Nike+ website, but there doesn't seem to be any way to share that. Also I may not always wear my Nike+ sneakers and there's no way to add workouts without the Nike+ on that website. Ah well. I created an excel spreadsheet to keep track...just gotta figure out how to create the graph :)

Yesterday was a great hill interval training on the treadmill. Not the same as the road, but still good and I made it through with flying colors. Though the pace was slow, I did complete each hill interval at a 4.0 jog. Wuhoo! :)

Half Marathon Training 2011

Just thought I'd kick this year off right-I've already started the process of training to run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on May 15, 2011 and am doing my training with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program.

In my awful attempts at pre-training, I have gotten up to jogging 4 miles. It's not an easy 4 miles but I'm doing it.

The training program for this week is as follows
Sunday-3 miles (I did not do this...)
Tuesday-3 miles
Thursday-3 miles (I think)
Saturday-6 miles (yikes)

Saturday's run is with the TNT group and 6 miles is a scary thought. I've created a workout schedule for me this week...
Monday-Gym: Elliptical & legs workout
Tuesday-3-4 mile jog
Wednesday-Legs & walking
Thursday-4 mile jog
Friday-Arms workout & possible ice skating
Saturday-6 miles!
Sunday-Rest

Additional stretching/yoga exercises fit in throughout the week. Also I'll be trying out my Nike+ system of tracking my runs...technology is pretty damn cool these days :)

Exciting stuff on the way!!