Day 35/151 Left…Took a Break…BAD IDEA.

I’ve ended up taking about 1 1/2 weeks off from training and now it’s near impossible to find the motivation to get going again. Ugh.

This is basically my first big test since I started. I took a family vacation, thus taking a break from training and now I need to find the motivation to get back into it. It doesn’t help that my last run before the break was not a good one. It was way too hot and humid outside and I had pushed it too hard the day before…so yeah, I barely ran one mile before I had to stop and walk.

On a positive note, I spent time with family in NYC and while walking around to see all the things, it felt like my training was finally starting to pay off. I didn’t get tired walking the long blocks and I felt like I could just keep going. I just need to remember how good that felt, channel it and use it to motivate me to get back to training.

So conclusion from today’s short post: time to once again get off the couch and hit the pavement. No more taking breaks. I only have 151 days left and I HAVE to cross that finish line.

Day 22/165 Left…Hi, My Name is Michele and I’m Addicted to the Olympics.

Oh man. London 2012 has started and I can’t stop watching. I am OBSESSED. Normally, I just watch swimming and gymnastics in the summer and figure skating in the winter. I’ve been watching gymnastics (Jordyn Wieber’s reaction to not making the all around basically broke my heart) and swimming (I LOVE Missy Franklin) like usual…but now I’ve gotten hooked on volleyball (regular and beach), diving, canoe/kayak, soccer…this list keeps growing. I even watched water polo today. I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WATER POLO. I seriously need an intervention. And track and field events haven’t even started. Thank God I have a break from work these next two weeks.

The good news is that it’s now making me super motivated to train harder every day…like I’m training to compete. During my run yesterday and today, I pushed it hard towards the end and was thinking “and this, ladies and gentlemen, is for the gold medal.” Same for when I swim: I always do a 50m sprint before I cool down…and always imagine I’m swimming for gold. Yeah…I am such an Olympics nerd.

On another note, I joined a new gym – for only $30 per month, too. Super stoked. It’s brand new and about 5 minutes away from my house. AND will have a pool and a ton of things to use. Here’s a pic of the facility layout. It’s CRAZY.

Okie – that’s all for today…back to watching the Olympics. PEACE.

Day 20/167 Left…Breaking In and Interval Training is a Biatch

I’ve been breaking in my new shoes this week: the first run on Sunday wasn’t fun but the rest have been great! Wasn’t fun is a bit of an understatement actually. I don’t know if it was because it was the first time in these shoes, because I was just very tired from the week or because it was disgustingly humid outside but I could barely run it. I forced myself to get through the first mile and then practically walked all of the rest with some running here and there. So while I did the 4 miler, it was ROUGH.

On a happier note, my run the next day went super well. Minus walking about 3 minutes of it (after running 30 minutes straight), I ran the entire 3 miles…and at a higher speed on the treadmill than usual! It felt really, really awesome and like I’ve actually improved some!

My cross training days on Tuesday and Friday were great, too – loving the swimming. I swam 86 laps (!!!) on Tuesday and 48 on Friday.

Wednesday’s run was…an experience. I decided to just go home and use our old treadmill instead of staying at the rec center after camp. It was WAY too hot outside (by way too hot I mean it was still in the 90’s two hours after the sun set) to run and I figured I should try out our treadmill. Well, I overestimated the condition our treadmill is still in. First, the digital screen part no longer works, so I have no idea how many calories I burned or, more importantly, how far I ran. Second, it is indefinitely stuck on a very nice incline. No matter how hard I tried, it will not go back to flat. After trying for about 5 minutes to run on a hill, I felt dead. My dad suggested that instead of doing the 3.5 mile run I set out to do, that I do some interval training where I would run for 5 minutes, rest for 2 for a total of 5 sets. I thought, well, this can’t be too bad. It’s just 5 minutes at a time, no biggie. Boy was I wrong. I would get through the first minute and think, well this isn’t so bad. Then I would run for what felt like 2 more minutes, but was actually about 2 more seconds and be like OH GOD, 4 MINUTES STILL LEFT?! I made through the 5 sets of 5, but boy is running on a hill for a total of 25 minutes TOUGH. While it was super hard, I think I might work interval training into my workout schedule more as my dad explained it will help strengthen my legs and improve my regular runs. We’ll see how often I do it!

That’s all my training updates for now – nothing major. Now, just have to see if I can keep this training up with camps being over and the rec center no longer being RIGHT there (for free). Time to look for an affordable gym membership me thinks – most likely at the rec centers but there are a few possibilities around the area, so I will look around.

Day 13/174 Left…Exhaustion, Scrapes and Some New Swag

I apologize for being MIA…I seriously have to get better at blogging.

What have I been doing the past week and a half?
I’ve done a 4 mile run (more about that later), a 3 mile run, two 3.5 mile runs, and swam for 2 more days. Phew. When I write it all down, it seems quite daunting.

All but the 4 miler I did on a treadmill after working camps and boy was I exhausted. By Friday, I was so tired that right when I got home, I promptly fell asleep on the living room couch for an hour. I’m hoping this week will be better and I won’t be as exhausted! I swam for an hour with my big brother who was in town and I think I tired him out…while I was still going strong. Win for me.

Moving on, this week’s long run, the 4 miler, aka the longest run I’ve ever done, was an experience. I ran around part of a local park with my friend and her new puppy (SO CUTE). It was lots of fun and going pretty well until I stepped wrong on a root. 5 years ago, I sprained my left ankle really badly and eventually had to get surgery to repair it – it’s been fine since. But guess which foot stepped on the root wrong and guess which ankle got twisted because of said root? Oh yeah, the left one. Not only did I twist it but I fell and scraped up my right shin on lots of dirt and gravel. At least there were no hot guys around to watch my disaster – it’s the small things right?

My ankle was pretty sore for the rest of the week but I pushed through and did the rest of my runs and workouts.

On Thursday, I wanted to try out something I found on Pinterest (aka my new obsession) – turning an old t-shirt into a workout tank! And…SUCCESS!! I can’t wait to doctor more of my old shirts. I hate wearing sleeves when I run, so not only am I saving lots of money and repurposing old shirts, but I will be super comfy when I run! I think I might use a cute ribbon to tie it up next time and add a little flair. Here’s the end result: cute, huh?

And my last update before I turn in for the night and get up early for my second 4 miler tomorrow: I FINALLY bought some beautiful new running shoes! I headed over to Potomac River Running this afternoon, tried some out, and fell in love with an awesome pair of black and lime green Brooks Ravenna 3s. It was past time for me to buy some new shoes. Here’s a pic of my new babies:

That’s all for now – can’t wait to break in my new shoes tomorrow!!

Day 2/186 Left…Let’s Go For a Swim and Find Some Motivation in Unlikely Places

I was pretty wiped this morning. I’m not sure if it’s from the 3 mile run yesterday or from our attic fan which is making this god awful squeaking sound all night long and making it hard to sleep (cough DAD PLEASE FIX IT cough). Either way, I was pretty physically and mentally tired this morning. This was not good for working all day with campers: exhaustion + 25 campers = very little patience on my end…”NO. I DON’T KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING NEXT. STOP ASKING!” By the end of the camp day, I was literally propping myself up while checking kids out – where was I going to find the energy to train?!

Luckily, today’s training was either run 2 miles or do cross training…I went with cross training in the form of swimming! Swimming is my favorite. And I always seem to underestimate the rejuvenating qualities of jumping into a nice, cold pool. The minute I was in the water, ready to go, my exhaustion vanished and I completely forgot about the past 7 hours of chasing kids around. 60 pool lengths later, I felt great! It was a really awesome workout. I did some freestyle, some breaststroke, worked with the kickboard and pull buoy and even improved my flip-turns.

Tuesdays and Fridays on my training schedule call for cross training and I definitely plan to continue swimming for that! Right now, I can only do 2 full laps (4 lengths) of freestyle (with flip-turns) before I have to stop and catch my breath. I’m hoping by week 4, I can double that amount and do 8 lengths without stopping, by week 8, be up to 12 lengths/6 laps and by the end of week 12, be able to swim at least 8 full laps without needing to stop and catch my breath. I think that’s a plausible goal!

I had a really good realization moment while I was swimming today. I ended up sharing my lane and the other swimmer and I stopped to talk for a few minutes. He was a pretty big guy (for some reason, he reminded me of Philip Seymour Hoffman in both appearance and demeanor) and I was not expecting to find out that he is a seasoned triathlete who trains with a local triathlon team, Team Z. Talking with him helped me realize that it’s not about being the most fit, most athletic looking or skinniest person at the race. It’s about working hard before the big day and crossing the finish line at the end. No one is going to care if I am not the thinnest girl there. They will be cheering me on because of all the work I did and for finishing at the end. And that’s ALL that matters. I don’t think it was a coincidence that I spoke with “Misha” this afternoon. I think it was a sign that I can WILL succeed and that there will be people along the way to help me realize that.

On that note, that’s all for tonight. More training tomorrow: 3.5 miles…EEK.

Day 1/187 Left…3 Miles?! Excuse Me?!

I looked at the training schedule and thought, 3 miles. First day. I can handle that. No problem.

I’m currently working as a summer camp counselor at my county’s rec centers, so I’m taking advantage of the free gym and pool usage that comes with the job – why not, right?

After a long day of dealing with campers for 7 hours, a run seemed like the perfect way to release all the stress and frustrations working with children tends to build up. I nabbed a treadmill and set to work. 1st mile down, 4.2 speed. Not too tired. 2nd mile…not so easy but only stopped to walk one lap of it. By the time I finished the 3rd mile, my legs were a bit jelly-like but I only walked about half to 3/4 of a mile of the whole run. So, much better than I thought it would be! I think I need to get over the “runner’s sticker shock” – aka freaking out when I see the training schedule say something like “run/walk 3 miles.” Seems like a lot, but really isn’t too bad! We’ll see how I feel after I do this week’s long run of 4 miles…eek…

Side note: during my final 3 laps, where I must say I was a sweaty hot mess, some teeny tiny girl who looked about 12 (she still had freaking braces on!!! what are you doing at the gym?! aren’t you supposed to be out acting all emo at the mall at that age?!) steps up on the treadmill next to me and starts running like it’s her job. Confidence I had just worked on building up while working my butt off at a slow pace? Just a bit shot. Not a lot, but still…getting shown up by Bieber’s main fanbase kind of puts you in your place.

A few hours later: my legs are a bit sore but I feel really, really good! Tomorrow is swimming. I love swimming, so I can’t wait!

The Delusional Reasoning

My best friend from high school has talked me into running a half marathon, 187 days from now. I’ve never run more than 4 miles in my life and detested the mile run all during high school…but go big or go home, right?

I’ve been trying to come up with reasons to justify this choice. Reasons other than the fact that I suck at saying no to acceptable peer pressure…acceptable being things that are actually good for you, though considering running more than a mile being “good for you” is still questionable in my mind.

So, after much thought, here are my reasons:

I’m tired of being overweight. I’m all about honesty in my life, so I will be honest here. I am 208 lbs, 5 ft 5 in and wear anywhere from a size 14-18 in clothes. I’ve always been “the fat kid” and I’m sick of it. So reason #1: training for the half gives me a real goal along the way to finally getting fit. I would like to fit into a size 10, hell even an 8 some day. But more importantly, I want to be healthy and get in shape. No more getting winded after climbing 3 sets of stairs.

Reason #2, I’ll be running in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon…if I’m going to drag myself through errr run, 13.1 miles, then Disney characters like Belle and Buzz Lightyear better be cheering me on along the way. And I better get at least one “you can do it” high five from Mickey Mouse.

Reason #3, I tend to have issues with commitments and procrastinating. I started a blog when I studied abroad for ten months…and posted about 3 times. I’ve tried to do the Couch to 5K program about 4 times now and somehow never make it past week 3 before I forget to keep doing it. All through college, about 99.9999% of my papers…were started the night before they were due. I tried keeping a journal when I was younger and never wrote past the first page. You get the idea. So, it’s not just going to be the actual event that challenges me at the end of these 187 days, it will be training for it. I want to prove to myself that I can commit to training for something so far out. And this is not an event I can procrastinate for, at all.

There are my big 3 reasons, folks. Can I do this? I honestly do not know yet. I have a training plan (thank you, Hal Higden), a lot of motivation and a great support system. We will see how this goes.

I plan to update you all along the way and some more words of encouragement are always needed! So, come join me for the ride as I train, test my limits and step up to the starting line on January 12 at Epcot.