What’s new with me?

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.

It’s been awhile . . .

Time sure has gotten away from me . . . tomorrow will be nearly two weeks since my last post. How can that be?!?!

I started back at bootcamp last week, which left the outsides of my knees sore . . . again. I am going to try to do less impact (I know I keep saying that!) and see if that helps. I have physical therapy this afternoon to work though some hamstring soreness and will talk to her about it. I’d hate to have to give it up because strength work is so important, but I might have to and then find another program that is more strength, less cardio. I get plenty of cardio with my running.

Last week’s track night was good and I finally had a breakthrough when it comes to effort. It was actually really exciting! I feel like I’m always putting in 100% – warming up, running, jogging, cooling down. Running is always hard and for me. I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone. When the coach asks for 80%, 90%, 95%, etc. I’ve never been able to determine this until last week. I’ve been experimenting with time and distance. It’s difficult to explain, but basically, I was finally able to quantify my efforts through my time versus difficulty because let’s face it, when you’re not a super-athlete every single effort/run/session will be harder or easier than the week before based on a lot of different of things: how much you’ve been exercising, stress, your cycle (women), what you ate and/or drank, sleep, attitude, weather, and pretty much everything else you can think of.

Last week, my hard effort (95%) running 400 meters was an eight-minute mile. My hard effort (90%) 800 meters was about a nine-minute mile. My race pace has been about 9:45, give or take, and I often feel at the end like I could’ve pushed it a little bit more. My conclusion is that my perfect race pace, if I were giving 100% (pushing myself, well-rested, well-nourished, feeling great, all stars/planets perfectly aligned, etc.) should be 9:30 at these short distances (the 5ks and the 10ks). [I just called a 10k a short distance. Six miles – a short distance – who would have thought I’d ever say that? Not me!]

Tomorrow we’re doing another test mile at track. I’m interested to see where I am. My first session ended up a 10:30 pace, my second was 10:00, and my splits have been 9-9:30. Of course, those splits are at least 80% if not more and not something I could realistically hold for a long period. Maybe at a 5k I could hold a 9:30? This weekend is the Shamrock Run and I’d like to try to hold a 9:30 for the 8k (five miles). I think it can be done, though there is a big hill at some point and that might screw up my average pace.

I had a long run on Saturday. Eight miles! It’s my longest distance to date. We ran from the store into Forest Park which was four miles uphill (really hard!). We stopped at the turn-around to wait for the rest of the group. I ran with the 10:30 group since this would be uphill and a longer distance. Everyone was really spaced out which will happen with hills and since I live in Lake Oswego, I have no choice but to be experienced with them and that placed me at the front of the pack. They are still hard though! I stretched at the turnaround while waiting and then found that on the way back my legs felt really heavy. Since it was downhill I just used the momentum of the grade and kept pushing myself until eventually, within that first mile back (mile five), everything came back. I was careful on the downhill because if there’s anything that kills the quads and IT bands, it’s the downhills. Funny, the only thing that ended up being sore were the tips of my toes.

I haven’t been great on the diet front. Not horrible either. Weekends have been killing me and I need to nix that. The 80% rule is great and all but I should at least strive for 100%. I haven’t weighed myself but I think I’m about the same as my clothes fit the same, though some jeans have to be washed and dried before wearing them a second time. I (just barely) fit into a size four skirt at White House | Black Market. But it was the only one left (and on sale) and I’ve been wanting it forever. I could wear it now with some work (can’t be bloated, probably can’t eat, have to suck it in all day, etc.) but I think by this summer (it’s a summery skirt) I should be good. It’s an a-line skirt which means that the only thing about me that’s close to a size four on my bottom half is my waist. : )

Long run

I ran with my training group yesterday, about six or so miles. It’s my longest run in awhile and they only get longer from here! I ran with the 10 – 11 minute group and often found myself behind the 9 – 10 minute group and ahead of the 10 – 11 minute group. At the end though, I was comfortable with the 10 – 11. I lost my mojo about half-way through the run when we had to stop for the bridge to come down and then someone started talking to me when we got back to running and I had to pull out my earphones and slow down to converse.

We were stopped by a train and a bridge, and then we went the wrong way which resulted in a little a extra time. At the end, our 6-plus mile run was one hour, six minutes. I’m sure their Garmins paused at the train and the bridge. Point being, at my race in October, I ran the 10k in 1 hour and 10 minutes. Yesterday I ran easy and even got distracted and cut nearly five minutes off my time. I have a 10k race on Sunday, a week from today, and my goal is one hour.

I ate horrible this weekend as I went out Friday and Saturday with my girlfriend. I was conscious of portions though, so maybe the damage was not too great. In fact, I’ve been a little lazy about the food lately and need to get back on track with that.

I also totally spaced the Crossfit seminar this morning. Don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I’ve been a total airhead as of late! So, I’m going to call the guy to discuss the program. I was thinking of alternating Crossfit with bootcamp for the rest of the year just to change things up. And, I think doing strength two days per week is better right now with all the running. My knees seem better since I’ve taken off time from bootcamp. However, they are both a little sore from my run yesterday. I haven’t been rolling or doing my exercises like I need to be.I’m not sure what’s up with my motivation these days. I need to get back on the horse. I think I’ve been distracted quite a bit (dang boys!) and I need to learn to manage things better.

I did some shopping yesterday and was excited to fit into smaller sizes. As always my waist says go one size smaller and my thighs say give us some room in here! Speaking of which, I’m down 5 lbs!

Running and weight, why I don’t like yoga, and Garmin advice?

I did not run with my group on Saturday as I had something else planned. It was supposed to be a four-mile run. I was a good little runner and did four miles on my own. Not a great run, but faster than my last run on the same route. The weather was amazing and I was actually a little too warm!

Miles: 3.86

Time: 45:16

Pace: 11:26

Yesterday was supposed to be my day off but I went hiking instead. Five miles and a quick pace. I was breaking in my new trail running shoes. I think they are ready for a short three-miles maybe this Sunday. I’d like to find a spot where I can take my dog, off-leash.

I don’t really know how much I weigh. One day last week I was down seven lbs. Then five. And today, three. I’ve been consistently down five (I weigh-in every day), so I’m gonna stick with that number. I’m still shooting for 20 lbs total and then will reevaluate from there.

Goal: -20

This week: -1

Total lost: -5

Lbs to go: -15

I decided that I don’t like yoga. Why? Let me count the ways . . .

1. I find it boring. I’m more into the loud music, fast, sweaty, hardcore stuff. Plus, you do the exact same thing every time. Which is why I do bootcamp. No work out is ever the same.
2. Hot yoga REEKS like sweaty feet.
3. It’s 90 minutes. Way too long in my book.
4. The sounds people make when they breathe out really bothers me. I don’t know why, but it does. I find it very distracting. Also, I’m imagining everyone’s hot, stinky breath in the room with no ventilation. Gross.
5. The amount of other people’s sweat in the carpet. Need I say more?

I’m sticking to my running, track, and bootcamp, and once bootcamp is over this summer I’m going to try CrossFit for some variety.

Speaking of bootcamp, I’m taking the month off. Work has been crazy and the new running/training schedule is going to kick my butt, plus track nights. I just need a month to regroup and let thinks settle, I guess. This time of year is also really hard for me, so it’s difficult enough to get out of bed, let alone add something else to my schedule. I just need a little bit of a break. I’ll be back at it in March.

Finally, I’m thinking of getting a Garmin. My Nike+ does not work for me and I can’t seem to find anyone to make it work. The pod might be dead (out of the box) but I don’t want to spend the money to find out. What a waste! Anyway, I’m thinking of a really simple Garmin device. I don’t want/need the heartrate monitor. Suggestions?

Blah

Still feeling generally tired. Stupid winter! But, motivation came last night in the way of my half-marathon seminar where my training group gathered at a local college to discuss the next 20 weeks of long runs and track nights. I am so excite for track nights! I’ve been wanting to try them forever, but the only track nights I know of were with groups of experienced (i.e., fast) runners. Even though I’m quite average and nothing to be ashamed of, I really don’t want to be the last person all the time. Tomorrow is my first track night. I will be sure to tell you all about it.

Thursday I have a run planned to preview the Rock and Roll Half-Marathon course coming up in May. This year (May 20) is Portland’s inaugural Rock and Roll series marathon, so lots of people are excited about it. The course is completely different than the other races, taking place on the other side of the river, so that’s also fun and exciting.

I haven’t made it to bootcamp this week. I just can’t get my ass out of bed. I really need to turn that around. It happens. I am not a morning person so I have to really adjust my schedule, and sometimes I get it messed up again, so I have to readjust. Time to readjust!

The weight situation? Well, I was down five lbs a week ago, now I’m back to being down two lbs. My eating over my birthday week was poor, not only calorie-wise, but the sodium . . . wow!

Funny thing . . . I can’t remember how much I said I was going to lose. But, I know I want to lose 35 now, from my total weight. I need to research that, so I can stay on-track with my updates.

I took yesterday as a rest day and did not go to bootcamp this morning. That means I should run tonight. I have an appointment this afternoon then a drink (well, water for me, anyway) with a friend, so I need to run afterward.

TGIF

This week was pretty much a wash. I can’t wait to go home tonight, put on my pjs, and watch a few episodes of Big Love on Netflix. After I exercise the dog, of course. Here’s where things stand on my week, so far.

Food:

I did happy hour (minus the happy aka booze) on Wednesday for my birthday followed by frozen yogurt with fruit. Last night while socializing I ate two handfuls of chips and a small bowl of chili for dinner after consuming 900 calories all day. I also ate a slice of really yummy carrot cake from Beaverton Bakery for my birthday with my department at work. Today I ate Mexican food for lunch (birthday outing with some other co-workers).

The rest of my meals were normal or light, so while I’m sure I went over, it wasn’t too bad. Tonight I’m eating a really light dinner. Really light. I’m suffering from a carb coma and a belly ache as I type this.

Tomorrow I have dinner with my family. Probably Chinese. I don’t have plans to do a lot of going out, other than my family birthday dinner, so I should be good there. I have a lot to do at home this weekend, things I’ve been neglecting, severely. Like vacuuming, laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning in general . . . And, a new four week session of bootcamp starts Monday and I’ve got to get back on track when it comes to my schedule. Half-marathon training officially begins on Monday, too!

Working Out:

See edits to “my plan” from earlier in the week below:

Monday: Bootcamp @ 5:30am – didn’t go / Run after work – 3 miles – did it!

Tuesday: Bootcamp @ 7am – didn’t go / Yoga @ 7pm – didn’t go (socialized instead)

Wednesday: (Day off for my birthday!) Bootcamp @ 5:30am – didn’t go / Yoga at some point or maybe a run? did yoga and ran! (birthday dinner with BFF)

Thursday: Bootcamp @ 5:30am – didn’t go (after work social thing plus a social thing after the first social thing – got home at 1:30am)

Friday: Bootcamp @ 5:30am – didn’t go / Run after work? – not going (maybe after work social thing – no way, too tired)

Here’s what’s left of the week:

Saturday: Morning long run about 6 miles / Yoga at some point (family thing)

Sunday: Morning 3 mile run / Yoga at some point / hiking?

Oops, I did it again

Because I’ve been a bootcamp slacker, my schedule has gone haywire. I go to bed around 10:30pm (too late) and can’t get to sleep until midnight, or so. 5am rolls around and I tell myself that I can’t get up because I didn’t get enough sleep. Then, I try to go back to sleep until 7am because I need it but I can’t, so basically, I toss and turn for two hours and don’t get any sleep anyway. So, so stupid! I’ve got to snap out of it.

My schedule for the week:

Monday: Bootcamp @ 5:30am (didn’t go) / Run after work – 3 miles

Tuesday: Bootcamp @ 7am / Yoga @ 7pm

Wednesday: (Day off for my birthday!) Bootcamp @ 5:30am / Yoga at some point or maybe a run? (birthday dinner with BFF)

Thursday: Bootcamp @ 5:30am (after work social thing)

Friday: Bootcamp @ 5:30am / Run after work? (maybe after work social thing)

Saturday: Morning long run about 6 miles / Yoga at some point (family thing)

Sunday: Morning 3 mile run / Yoga at some point

Today’s run

Holy hell, today was tough!

Bootcamp on Monday and Wednesday were killers, and then I went and did hot yoga Wednesday night. I was really sore yesterday so I didn’t run my four tempo miles. I had bootcamp this morning and decided that I would do my three miles right after, instead of after work. No point in getting sweaty twice, right?

With sore legs and butt and another round of bootcamp, I attemped to run. Well, I didn’t have a route (figured I’d wing it — not really a good idea considering the hills) and it was cold. My legs felt like lead. I was tired. And hungry. So, I did it, but it was short and slow. Need to rethink the bootcamp then run situation on Fridays.

Miles: 2

Time: 26:26

Pace: 13.24

I’m so gonna die

So, here’s my training/race schedule for the next five months. Holy. Shit.

It started as the Hal Higdon Half-Marathon Novice 2 schedule, and I added a twist. Mostly, I added my other workouts and my races, and I do a lot of long-run repeats on the weekends to avoid the “too-much-too-soon” issues that can arise. The original schedule calls for two days of rest but I’m taking one day plus a yoga day. I figure that with work and a social life (if I have one left after this) I will most likely be taking off an extra day here and there anyway, and if my knee(s) hurt, you’ll find me splitting my time between the couch and the physical therapist’s office.

The good news is that there may be some changes that decrease the amount of training, but that’s still to come. It depends on the training course I take for the half-marathon. I want to run my long runs with a pace group (versus alone — boring!) and one of the courses includes the track night, while the other one does not.

The yoga is hot yoga, so an hour-and-a-half. But I don’t know if I will continue it past my Groupon expiration in two months. If I do, I am planning on a weekly schedule, which is enough since I have my bootcamp (largely strength training) three times per week already. The stretching is a good thing, especially the day after a long run.  I might actually switch the long run days with the yoga days. I’ll feel that one out.

Bootcamp is over after May and while I hate the thought of not going anymore, I might give it a break while I complete the remainder of my races throughout 2012. I have absolutely no idea what half-marathon maintenance looks like. We’ll play that one by ear.

I’m also hoping to play on the office kickball team, but not as a full-time gig, maybe a couple games per month.

So, that’s what the first five months of 2012 looks like!