2 days out!

I am now 2 days away from my first official 5K as I try to get back into real running shape. Whew, I am nervous! I decided I should do a little test run today. I finished all 9 weeks of my couch 2 5K program, but that gets you running 30 minutes and doesn't really keep track of distance, so I wanted to run a course I knew was 3 miles. It went pretty well. My 10 year old son followed me a bit on his bike. And by follow I mean rode in circles around me, went far ahead and came back, lagged behind to try and feed some cows, you know, the usual. Except for some Pandora problems (explicit lyrics just should not be on there!) it went very smoothly. And I got to absorb this view the whole time:

You can't ask for more than that! For some reason, scenery plays a big part in my enjoyment of running. Lucky for me I LOVE pastoral farm sights, so I obviously live in just the right place. :)

 My legs were having some endurance issues, so I may have taken this photo op to camoflage needed a teeny rest...but I ran again after and finished strong!

(the poor calves my son tried to feed grass but just scared the heck out of)

I am all registered and feel pretty ready for the run. My fam is coming to cheer me on and that is a great motivator for me. I defninitely want my kids seeing me do hard things and finish them.

I won't be first, but I will finish!

Venting (or whining...)

My runs have been getting way harder lately and it's getting difficult to not be discouraged. I am running outside exclusively and it is so SO different from treadmill running. Why did this not occur to me before? Duh! But I have not given up and I am still planning on my June 2nd 5K. I think sometimes we all just get into a self sabotaging frame of mind and set ourselves up to fail. At least I do! Here's a good example.

Today I put my run off till lunch time on THE hottest day of the year so far! It was 90 degrees today in lovely southern Idaho, and instead of taking my camelback like a smart person, I ate a Yakisoba (aka 25 lbs of salt shoved into one bowl of noodles) for BREAKFAST and decided 30 minutes wasn't that long and I didn't need water. Hello! Salt...heat...thirst...this is not rocket science.

I started of pretty well, even on the inclines, then my mouth became a dry, pasty pit of thirst and I really felt how hot it was getting. I still was plowing through until I started getting dizzy and since I was running in a rural area on the side of the road with no sidewalk, I decided passing out on the road was a bad idea. So I kept walking, then running again, repeat for the last 10 minutes.

Lesson learned: you can't have a good run unless you prepare for a good run.

Here are the things I need to do to have a good run:

1. Go to sleep at a decent time

2. Eat for fuel, THINK about what I am eating and how it will effect my workout

3. Plan for the temp! If it's going to be hot go in the AM

4. Water, when in doubt bring some

There you have it.   

As an update to my sugar challenge, I feel like some sort of traitor but I am not noticing a huge difference! We'll see if that changes...

To sugar or not to sugar, that is the question

Running is, of course, only one side of my trying to be healthy and lose weight. Eating, in my case, has a much bigger effect on my body than exercise. I have gained weight in the past while going to the gym every day just because I haven't kept track of my eating. Currently I am rocking my c25k thang, but my eating...not so much. I go to weight watchers and am a semi good tracker, but I need a little kick in the tush. So when a friend of mine asked if I wanted to join in a 10 days with no sugar challenge I readily said, "Count me in!"

Then later that day I went to the store and bought chocolate chips.

Oops.

I will save them for after the challenge.

Buying them kind of made me realize how much sugar is a part of my daily life. I don't even think about it. Not so healthy. So I look forward to avoiding it and gaining a little self awareness. 

I was also thinking about how this might effect my running. I have heard that sugar is a big cause of muscle and joint pain so I plan on paying very close attention to how I feel these next 10 days and maybe making this permanent. Well...not permanent because I'm not crazy like that, but maybe really limit the sweet stuff.

In other news, I am on week 8 of my training and am running 28 minutes with 5 minutes of walking before and after. It is going great! I am still going to the gym and doing it on the treadmill, mostly out of habit. I think I will try for a few outside runs over the next 2 weeks so I can get ready for a real live 5k. I even found one in my area to do on June 2nd. Wahoo!! I am really looking forward to it!

Not easier...

I found this saying while browsing on Pinterest the other day: 

 

It is SO true! I've been thinking, since I have been running regularly for about 7 weeks now, things should start getting easier. But the truth is, it's still hard! 

Those first 10 minutes of running still are tough. 

There are times during my run that I still think about quitting.

Some mornings I still think about skipping my run.

I think what I've gained over the last 7 weeks is the ability to ignore those pesky doubts and keep going. I've practiced rolling out of bed even when I'd like to stay in and running while those thoughts are going through my head. 

So I think I am getting better! 

Not super fast or super skinny, but stronger than my insecurities and excuses.

Plan A...Plan B...Plan C...Plan D...

Today's run almost didn't happen! 

Plan A: My alarm wernt off at 6, as usual, and I promptly grabbed it, set it for 6:30 and went back to sleep. My justification: I need to do more outdoor training, so I'll run outside which doesn't take as long as driving to the gym to run so I can sleep for 30 more minutes. Seems logical.

Plan B: So I got up at 6:30, got ready and headed out the door for my run...and came right back inside. It wasn't all that cold, but the wind was freezing! So I came back in and made pancakes. I thought I'd take my 2 little girls to the gym play place when it opened and do my run on the treadmill after all.

Plan C: So after a good breakfast (my son had an important test today!) and doing some housework, I took "Beanie," 2, and "Smoosh," 1, to the gym. No sweat. Smoosh was a bit fussy when I left, but that's not anything strange. As soon as I'm out of sight she calms down. So I was about 1/4 of the way through my run and in walks the poor kid's place worker holding a red faced sobbing Smoosh. So, I collected my girls and went home. Fate was definitely against me so I should just embrace it, right? WRONG!

Plan D: I bundled up the girls, got favorite blankies and strapped them into our double jogging stroller. And finally, while pointing out cows and talking to birds with Beanie, I started my run over and finished! Wahoo!

We are all expert ats coming up with hundreds of plausible excuses about why we can't exercise or why we don't have time to eat healthy. But it feels so great to quit that and finish something hard!