Post-Workout Eating

I made four loops around the Panhandle this morning. That's half a loop more than my longest route, though I did walk some of it. I'm still proud though.

I started the morning off at my house by eating a Kashi Tasty Little Chewy bar. I don't usually eat anything before heading off for my morning exercise routine. I usually wake up, drink as much water as I think I can handle and need, get dressed, and leave; that's it. But, this morning, I woke up hungry and thought a little something in my belly would help. So, I ate my little Kashi bar before I started my way up to the Panhandle.

My four loops were slow-going but going nonetheless. The sun was out and it was warm, so I made sure to drink from the water fountain after every loop. I got passed by a number of people, but I didn't care. My form was better and my feet just kept moving me forward.

Walking back home, I was starving. I wanted to forgo the post-jog stretching for post-jog eating. But, I thought better of it. I stretch but didn't do my strength training routine, showered, and ate a bowl of Heart to Heart with soy milk. I was still hungry so I ate another, though smaller bowl of cereal.

I spent the rest of the day hungry for whatever reason and eating. I ate a polish dog, a handful of chocolate, a Morning Star veggie patty with a piece of whole wheat toast, a large bowl of udon with spinach and tofu, cheese and crackers, and a piece of toast with peanut butter. It was ridiculous how much I ate. I know I didn't work out that hard or burned that many calories to warrant all that eating.

New Workout Goals

I'm not getting any better in my marathon training. I think I'm actually getting worse. All this week, running has been a struggle and I haven't been able to run too far without having to walk. My body just feels tired, especially in my arms and my shoulders. So, I'm setting new workout goals to try to build up my muscle and core strength.

This is my new plan:

I will do at least half an hour of yoga at least three times a week. I was pretty consistent with doing at least half an hour of yoga a few times a week after I got home from work a few months ago, but stopped for whatever reason. I need to start from the beginning with this again.

I will wake up earlier on the weekdays to do at least 45 minutes of running and I mean running, no slow jog. I think I've been too easy on myself on my speed and can probably be faster if I pushed myself a little more. I will still start off each run slowly, of course, since I want to give myself time to warm up and not get hurt, but by ten minutes into the morning jog I should be running.

I will spend more time on strength training on the weekdays. And, I will not wuss out when I get tired. No more lying down on the floor and quitting when I'm tired of crunches.

I will do intervals, where I'll alternate between sprinting and jogging/walking, twice a week. I will not be embarrassed or feel silly at the fact that I'll be running as fast as I can only to follow that immediately with moving slowly.

I will do one long run, starting at 7 miles and working my way up gradually, once a week.

I will not be scared to run up hills.

I will stick with these goals.

5am

This week, I realized how ridiculously time-consuming my goal of running a marathon, even a half-marathon, is. It takes me more than an hour to jog about seven miles (the distance I'm up to so far), at least another half hour to do some strength training, and then about another ten minutes to stretch. In total, it takes me about two hours. I only have the time to do the full routine on the weekends, though I need to increase my distance.

On the weekdays, I run only about three to five miles each morning because that's usually all I have time for. But, doing so few miles during the week isn't helping me increase the distance I can run. So, I decided that I need to wake up even earlier. I set the alarm for 5:15am, half an hour earlier than usual, for Monday and Tuesday this week. Both days, I woke up with the alarm but lied in bed until about 5:45, when I finally got up and out the door. And, today, I switched the 5:15am alarm to 7:04am when it went off. I was so tired. I couldn't even force myself up later to run. I'm going to try to run when I get off work; it'll be my first afternoon run.

Mythbuster?

I made my way slowly around three and a half loops around the Panhandle this morning. I need to increase the distance I can run without stopping and am doing it very, very slowly. But, three and a half loops is good, considering that I took two weeks off from running to be on the East Coast.

But, what was more exciting than being able to run that distance after such a long hiatus was that I think I saw that Asian guy from Mythbusters jog even more slowly past me. He was wearing a gray hoodie and was going in the opposite direction. Could it be him? They do film in the Bay Area. Too bad it wasn't that cutie-pie Adam.

Resolution Runners

A few months ago, Karen gave me an iPod Shuffle and loaded up a running mix for me. I have no idea exactly what's on the Shuffle but, so far, it's been fun having something to listen to (other than myself humming or singing) as I run. I sometimes forget that I'm running and just keep going to the beat of the music. I pump my fists and have a little more bounce in my step when The Sounds or Le Tigre come on.

This morning, however, the music didn't start with an upbeat tempo. Instead, as I approached the Panhandle at 7am and turned the Shuffle on (I'll only listen to the music when I've reached the park), I was greeted with Outkast's "Spread." Okay, so I own the Speakerboxxx and The Love Below. I really like them, though it's been a little while since I last listened to either disc. But, somehow, running so early in the morning listening to the dirty lyrics of "Spread" is just wrong. I finished the whole song though, as I slowly made my way through the Panhandle.

I also noticed some new folks on this morning's run. Most days, I see the same people running past me or the walking their dogs. But, today, there were more joggers than usual and many of them didn't look familiar. I think they're resolution runners, people who vowed to be more fit this year, run more, and maybe lose a few pounds in the process. Good for them, I thought, though I started running ages ago.

Back At It

I woke at 5:43 this morning, two minutes before I set the alarm. After a few minutes of lying around, I was able to wrestle myself out of the warm bed, trudge my way to the bathroom, pop my contacts on, put on my running clothes (complete with my new bright, white running jacket purchased in Boston), shoes, and gloves, and head out the door.

I was dreading this morning. After almost two weeks of non-activity, I was anticipating pain. And, as suspected, it was a struggle. I felt my lungs sting. My arms and back were tired. My form was off. My whole body felt sluggish. But, I jogged slowly along Webster, climbed all the way up Geary, and made it back around again for another loop. It was slow going, and I never found my rhythm. But, I was proud to have gotten up and do the two loops.

I'm also back to my normal eating habits too. After two weeks of more beer and cheese than usual, I'm glad to have salad again.

Welcome Home

I dreamed of running again. But, as I got on the plane this morning, the pilot said it was 44 degrees with light showers in San Francisco. No way, I thought. New York was warmer than that.

Surely enough, though, as I got out of SFO, I could feel the chill and see evidence of rain. Google confirmed the 44 degrees. What a welcome back home. I need to get over running in the rain.

Oh, and my right knee is feeling a little wonky. Arthritis?