Warning: this post is going to be all over the place.
I took my blog off Facebook because, well, I want to get a little personal and I don’t need everyone reading about it. If they want to, that’s OK, but I just feel better not advertising it. If I want to share something, I will but generally, I don’t.
This is the first week that I’ve really made an effort to get back on track. Ironically, just the act of getting up early (6AM) has given me energy and motivated me. Not only have I gone running twice this week, but I have crossed more things off of my to-do list this week than I have over the past month.
I tried a new shoe and it didn’t work. The Saucony Ride 5 felt like a good shoe, but not enough arch support for me. It strained my feet and the insides of my ankles. My feet are still sore today after a five mile run 24 hours ago. This is new so I know it’s the shoes. Even though I am neutral, I do have a high arch. I was lucky to have been able to trade them in at Foot Traffic, where I bought the Sauconys, for my old stand-by the Brooks Adrenaline. I had to go up one whole size so that during, and especially after long runs my toes don’t feel like they’ve been run over by a truck. I also had to drive to the far-away store to get them in a better color. The white with denim blue looks like a men’s shoe (in person anyway — online they aren’t so bad). Ugly! I got purple, though I would have been happy with pink as well. Once I’ve determined that I like this shoe and when rain/mud season starts, I’m getting them in black with the hot pink and lime green accents. Very cool . . .
I have kickball on Mondays through the summer and hopefully I can learn how to kick better so I can actually do some sprinting and get something of a workout!
I’m going to join a running club. There are three (that I am aware of) in Portland: Red Lizards, Team Athena, and Run Portland. They each offer long run options and track nights with a coach (I think). Red Lizards is the largest and most known. Yearly fees are $30. However, I think their slowest runners are in the 9:30 pace group, which I can be in with more work, but right now I am not. And, I want support, not a face-full of dust. Team Athena is all women, which is pretty cool. Fees are $100 and I’m not sure why — perhaps because they are the smallest group of the bunch? I’m not sure how active they are or how beginner/slow-friendly they are. I have sent them an email. Run Portland . . . their website sucks big-time and I have no clue what they are about. I mean, a little, but certainly it needs a lot of help. I’ve contacted them as well. They are pretty large and fees are $30 annually.
I really did love Fit Right’s running program. It was amazing. Unlike Foot Traffic, Fit RIght has track nights and is lead by a great coach. I think Foot Traffic was awesome for me as a raw beginner just getting my miles (I remember when my first five-mile run almost killed me), but Fit Right was a great progression into speedwork as well as a more structured plan with professional support. Fit Right was $120 and Foot Traffic was $95. Even though I could start back up with Fit Right’s second session and be in a good place to do so at the moment given my hiatus recently, I’d like to find a permanent group. All of the paid running coaching through the stores offers sessions which start over each time and the people change. You can make this work, especially if you have friends doing each new session with you, but that is not the case for me. I think that if I’d had more individual support, I may not have taken my haitus. Not that I’m blaming anyone but me, and some of that was injury-related, but I really had no one out there bugging me about getting my ass back on the road. Sometimes we need that. I’m willing to do it for someone else, too. If I can’t figure out a running club that works for me at the moment, I will rejoin Fit Right’s program and keep doing my research and join up later. It’s another $120 but really it is worth it.
I have my first CrossFit class today! I decided that CrossFit SW was a great choice. There are some CrossFit gyms (they call them boxes) in Lake Oswego, but I wanted to get closer to the city in my spare time. I get sick of the ‘burbs and with any luck I will be moving downtown by next summer. As luck would have it, when I Googled CrossFit SW this morning to write down the address, I saw a Groupon! Paying a half month’s membership would have cost me about $70 today, but with the groupon I save $40! Yay!
I did enjoy bootcamp, but over time it became wrong for me. First, 5AM is too early! Second, the classes started over each month, which didn’t really work for me after about the fourth month. I think that the classes should be a progression where, of course, each exercise can be ammended for beginners or the more experienced. The new people for the month should have a first class seperate of the rest of the people to learn the basic moves (how to squat properly, for instance) and do their testing. In addition, bootcamp has a lot of teaming during exericises and since there were new faces quite often and I didn’t go with a pal, I would get teamed with someone who was very new and I would have to compensate. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to cheer her on and help her, but it also meant I wasn’t getting the most of my own workout. If I’m going to get up at that ungodly hour and pay a premium, I want to get killed! The winter space was really small and stuffy and when it was Groupon time, wow was it crowded! And, finally, because of the location, it was mostly older woman, housewives, and as a somewhat newly single and kid-free person, I really want to connect with like-minded individuals.
Don’t get me wrong, bootcamp was a great way to begin my new fitness regime. I think going for six to 12 months is ideal. Perhaps when they become more established, which I’m sure they will as they are a great team putting on a great program, they will have a solid group of ladies joining them month after month. Overall the experience was pretty good and Noelle and Katie have my vote. They are a lot of fun and very supportive and they put their heart and soul into the program. I’m just ready to move on to something different, more challenging, to keep my interest and increase my fitness level, as well as having some other interests in mind, like meeting and befriending new people.
Foodwise, I’m really diving into Paleo. I have been doing it awhile, but not as strictly as I should be. Everything got out of whack over these past few months, including my diet. So, it’s just another thing that I’m getting back into the hang of doing consistently.
I’m going to get more involved in the community. One of the reasons why I’m joining a running group is to get involved in the community. This is something I have not done since living on the east coast. Most of the running clubs also offer volunteer opportunities, whether that’s manning an aid station during a race or volunteering at the local Special Olympics. Running has brought a lot into my life and I want to not only give back but hopefully help others gain the same things I have. Girls on the Run is an organization that I would like to get started in, so I’m volunteering at their aid station next weekend during the LaCamas Lake race.
My goals are pretty much on-track. Still no drinking. I have been racing each month. If I can’t get on a Hood to Coast team, I have found some local races, both big and small, that I can join to reach my goal for August (one race). The boy situation happened and now that is finished. It definitely brought me off-course. I did gain nearly 10 lbs during my hiatus. The last five will go away easily as it’s likely all the junk and water in my body from eating like shit. The first five will take a bit longer. But, more importantly, I am focusing on getting my fitness back to where it was.
See Julie Run. 