I Know What Needs to be Done...

So why the hell don't I just do it!

I know that to be a successful runner, I need to complete my runs.  Earth shattering statement right there...

I know that to be healthy, and feel good, I need to eat foods that are nutritious.  Not processed foods and candy.

If I already know this information, why is it so hard to follow through with?!

I could chalk it up to being super busy at work and stressed out from it.  Or dog sitter two extra dogs Wednesday - Sunday.  Or still not feeling 100%.  But, those are just excuses when in reality, I've just been a giant lazy ass.

Since I've failed at my half marathon training thus far, I had to redo my training schedule.  The half is now only 8 weeks out.  I found this beauty on Pinterest.

I like that this program uses varied training techniques instead of just listing mileage.  It is also awesome that it gives a detailed description of the techniques.

Here's to hoping I follow through with this plan!

As for goals this week, I have two.

{ONE}

Track EVERYTHING I eat. 

My eating has been out of control lately.  I have barely been tracking, and can only image how far out of my calorie range I've been going.

{TWO}

No bread or pasta.

Lately, I have noticed that I don't feel the greatest after I eat bread of pasta.  Maybe it's all in my head?  Maybe I'm developing a gluten intolerance?  Either way, I want to experiment and see how I feel by cutting these out of my diet for a week.

Link up with Carolyn to share your goals!

Here's to a Better Week!

Last week was off to a great start!  But then on Wednesday, it all went downhill.

I only made it through 3 hours on work on Wednesday before I went home sick with a killer headache.  Currently, I STILL have throbbing remnants of said headache.  I slept away basically the rest of Wednesday, and woke up feeling a little better on Thursday.  It's a busy time at work for me though, so I didn't want to take another sick day.

Being as I could barely move my head without it feeling like it was going to explode, I didn't complete my runs on Wednesday or Thursday.

Friday, I started feeling even worse.  On top of the headache, I started to feel uncomfortably bloated and would get a sharp, searing pain through my stomach.  At first I thought I just had to go to the bathroom, but that didn't help.  Somehow, I made it through the rest of the work day, and then immediately put myself to bed.  The stomach pain would only come every few minutes, but sometimes it hurt enough to make me moan out loud.  This led me to sleeping with another bedroom so I wouldn't bother Nick.

Saturday, I felt a little better.  I didn't feel bloated, but I still had some pain in my stomach.  I met up with my mom Saturday morning to do some shopping and grab lunch.  I explained to her how I was feeling and she thought I was having issues with my gall bladder...she had frequent gall bladder attacks when she was my age, and had hers removed... She wanted to take me to Urgent Care, but after some reading, I didn't think it was necessary.

From reading up on gall bladder attacks, I gleaned that the doctor would just take some scans of my abdomen, prescribe me some pain relievers, and send me on my merry way.  I don't know all the ins and outs of my insurance, but I didn't really want to possibly end up paying out of pocket for the scans, and I already have pain relievers at home.

Now, I am not a doctor, nurse, or expert, but what I got out of my gall bladder research, is that many people experience gall bladder attacks once in their life.  They will have one episode, and it will never happen again.  If it does happen again, it's likely that it will continue happening, and you should look into getting your gall bladder removed.

Since I was hurting all day, my Saturday run didn't happen either.

After suffering through the rest on Saturday with the pain, it finally went away on Sunday.  Only to be replaced with a sour stomach and lots of diarrhea...sorry for the TMI.  So, I spent all of yesterday in bed/near the toilet, pounding liquids so I wouldn't become dehydrated.  I REALLY, REALLY wanted to get in one of my runs, but I would have probably shit myself, so, yeah...didn't happen.

A new week is here, and I finally feel almost normal.  My headache is still lingering, but my bowels are under control, and the stomach pain is gone.  I think I made the right choice in not going to the doctor this weekend, but if those pains ever occur again, I'm getting my butt to see a doc asap!

Moving on to this week, which I am sure will be much better!

Last week, my only goal was to complete all of my workouts.  Considering I wasn't feeling well the majority of the week, I didn't even come close to completing my goal.

M - Cross Train

T - 3 miles & Strength

W - 5 miles (this is an added run to make up for missing my long run)

R - 4 miles pace & Strength

F - REST

S - 6 miles

S - Stretch & Strength

This week, I am just going to stick with the same goal.  I am running a half marathon in just 9 weeks!  I need to get my runs in!  Here is my training plan for the week:

M - 3 miles & strength

T - 4 miles

W - cross train & strength

R - REST

F - 5 miles

S - cross train & strength

S - 7 miles

Wish me luck!

WIW

Not a very good weigh-in today.

174.5

I was actually excited to weigh-in this morning!  I thought for sure I would have a good loss.  Instead, I gained 1.1lbs.  I'm just going to chalk it up to muscle gain...riiiiiight.

My weigh-in may not have been great, but I had a fantastic run last night!

Not quite sure why mile 2 ended up being significantly slower, I felt like I was flying the entire time.  I did have to wait a few seconds to cross a busy street, but it was only a few seconds, not 20.

Besides running yesterday, I also had strength on the schedule.  Since running in my current priority, I am not doing anything drastic or too strenuous when it comes to strength training.  

All I did was 25 [Sally]Push-Ups, 20 chest flys with 5lb weights, and 20 standing rows with 5lb for arms.  

Then for core, I did 20 standard crunches, 20 bicycle crunches, and 20 hip raises/butt lifts/I'm not really sure what they're actually called crunches.  My legs are still getting used to running so I didn't do anything extra for legs.

Link up with Ash & Heather to share your Weigh-In Wednesday, and discover some other awesome blogs!

Training Fail

I did AWFUL on my goals last week.  Really, really awful.  Let's take a quick look back at what those goals were.

{ONE}
Complete all of my scheduled runs and workouts for the week.  Here is what my week looks like:

M:  Cross-Training

T: 2mi run with hill repeats

W: 3mi run & strength

R: Rest (but I will probably at least walk the dogs, and stretch, a lot.)

F: 2.5 mi pace run

S: 5mi run

S: Stretching & Strength

As you can see, I only complete 3 of my 7 workouts.  I guess I technically completed Thursday too since I didn't do a damn thing...  The training plan that I am following builds up long run mileage really quickly.  I skipped my long run this weekend, and next weekend's is already up to 6 miles...not good.

{TWO}
Track everything I eat.  You can follow me on MFP, if you'd like.

Uhhhh, I think I tracked for 1.5 days... Maybe a little more, maybe a little less?  I ate like shit all week, which made me really not want to track because I didn't want to know the reality of how bad it really was.

{THREE}
Take measurements and photos.

I took care of this one, so I guess I didn't completely fail.

On a positive note, my pace run went super, totally, baller-ly, fabulously awesome!  Since my first run of the year had 10:13 average pace, I was aiming for my pace run to be 10:00, and ended up being even faster than that!  I even had negative splits, heck yeah!

My only goal this week is going to be completing ALLLLLLL of my workouts this week.  ALL of them!

M - Cross Train

T - 3 miles & Strength

W - 5 miles (this is an added run to make up for missing my long run)

R - 4 miles pace & Strength

F - REST

S - 6 miles

S - Stretch & Strength

NSV

I went on my first run last night in 4 months, or 116 days, but who's counting...

Tuesday, I was supposed to run 2 miles with hill repeats as my first, but I skipped it.  Not going to lie, having hill repeats as your first run in months is intimidating!!  I'm also using the excuse that it was in the low 30's and raining...

Anyway, I finally got my butt out there last night, and it felt amazing.  I was extremely nervous pre-run.  I was worried I wasn't going to be able to do it.  I've taken a lot of time off, and I've put on more than a few pounds.  I am beyond proud of myself though because I was able to run 3 miles without stopping.   

As you can see from my mile times, my pace is slower than it used to be, but not that much slower.  I really thought I was going to be like a turtle and having like 12:00 miles.  

I did stay away from hills though because my legs were tired, and my muscles tight, early in the run.  You can see from the graph above just how flat my route was!

Tonight, I have rest, but lots of stretching (my entire body is sore, the bad-ass, beast-mode kind of sore, so I will still do the stretching), on my workout schedule.  Instead, I think I am going to make up the run I had scheduled for Tuesday.  I may skip the hill repeats though...we'll see how the legs, and the rest of my body, feel throughout today.

What are your non-scale victories?!  Link-up with the fantastic KTJ, and share!!

WIW

One of my goals this week is take body measurements and photos to help track my fitness progress.  For the first time, I took said measurements this morning.  The number on the scale is sometimes hard to see, but these measurements were even more sobering.  Without further ado, here they are.

Left Arm: 12.25"

Right Arm: 12.5"

Bust: 36.625"

Waist: 30.875"

Hips: 40.75"

Left Leg: 23.75"

Right Leg: 24"

As for my weigh-in, I am at 173.4.

Finally, here are my photos.

The shorts I am wearing, are an adorable pair of size 8, burgundy, semi-dressy shorts from Target.  I have only worn these shorts maybe two times because they have always been a little snug.  Currently, they are extremely snug.  As in, I could barely get them buttoned.  I want to be able to wear these comfortably this summer so therefore, I am going to continue wearing them in my progress pics so we can all watch them start to fit better :)

Check in tomorrow for an update of how my first run of 2014 went!

Half Marathon Training: Day 1

Happy Monday, everyone!

I am actually excited for a Monday for probably the first time in my life.  Today, I start what I thought was a 10-week, but is actually an 11-week, half marathon training plan.  I run my 4th overall half on 5/25/14.  On the schedule today, I only have cross-training.  My first run since No-freaking-vember is tomorrow.  It is only a 2 mile run, but it has hill repeats worked into it.

As for my cross-training workout today, I'm going to do an at-home circuit like this, but with some modifications.  I think I'm going to modify it by doing 30 seconds of cardio between each strength move instead of saving all the cardio for the end.  I also plan on taking the pooches for a nice long walk after work.  It's supposed to be almost 50 degrees here today!  Whaaaattt?!

And since it is a Monday, it's time to link up with Carolyn and create some goals for the week.

{ONE}
Complete all of my scheduled runs and workouts for the week.  Here is what my week looks like:

M:  Cross-Training

T: 2mi run with hill repeats

W: 3mi run & strength

R: Rest (but I will probably at least walk the dogs, and stretch, a lot.)

F: 2.5 mi pace run

S: 5mi run

S: Stretching & Strength

{TWO}
Track everything I eat.  You can follow me on MFP, if you'd like.

{THREE}
Take measurements and photos.
I decided today to start taking weekly measurements and photos.  Once I start making some progress, I think the having this information will be very motivational and inspiring.

Make sure you link up with Carolyn too to share YOUR goals!!

5 on Friday: Runner Wants

Since half marathon training begins on Monday, I have a whole list of things I NEED.  Well, I guess I don't really need them per se, but I do WANT them. 

{ONE}

New running shoes.

I actually do need these.  For the first time ever, I am going to go get professionally fitted at a running store.  I have no idea what the pros will come up with for me, but in my dreams, these are the shoes I'm lusting after.

Asics GT 1000

Asics GT 2000

Asics Noosa Tri 9

Asics Noosa Tri 8

Asics GT 1170s got me through my very first half marathon, so I would like to try some of these other models out.  I've always been an Asics girl for running shoes, so I have a strong feeling of brand loyalty.  I'm scared the professionals will turn me away from my loves, but they do know whats best for me!

{TWO}

Target C9 sports bras.  To me, these are the most comfortable bras ever!  I have a fairly small chest, so I do not need a ton of support.  If you are more busty, these probably wouldn't be a good fit.  There are so many bright, sassy colors to pick from.  These are my 3 favorites. 

{THREE}

Gu

This is my third year as a runner, and I have yet to try Gu or any other energy aids.  Like any other person, I can get fatigued during my runs, so I think Gu would be beneficial to experiment with.

{FOUR}

Non-booty [compression] shorts

Reebok 7" compression shorts

During summer/warmer temperatures, I like to wear shorts and compression socks.  

Problem 1: my chub rub makes normal shorts ride up which leads to chaff-age.  

Solution 2: compression shorts.  

Problem 2: many compression shorts are only 3", and I'm tall so they are basically booty shorts on me.  Solution 2: I need 6" or longer shorts so said chub rub doesn't chaff.  

Problem 3: 6" or longer compression shorts, that are not black, are really fricken hard to find!!  

Solution 3:  Does any one have recommendations of where I can find longer non-black compression shorts?

{FIVE}

Neon Pro-Compression socks

I already have a quite a few pairs of Pro Compression socks, but these are their current sock of the month so they are 40% off.  I love the color combo, so obviously, I NEED them!

Lent

Lent is upon us!  

I have made the decision to sacrifice my sweet tooth, and give up candy and sweets for the next 40 days.

If you read my last post, #12 in particular, you may be wondering why I am even participating in Lent.  Though I don't believe in God, I am from a Catholic family, and I always participate in Lent.  I will be honest though, and state the fact that I participate only as a benefit to myself, not to honor Jesus' sacrifices for us... 

I'm an asshole, I know.  

Not eating sweets for the next 40 days will be beneficial to my health.  It is also great timing because I start an aggressive 10-week half marathon training plan on Monday.  On Sunday, May 25th, I will be running my first half marathon of the year, and fourth overall.  Nixing the candy and tempting desserts will help me align better eating with my training schedule.   

(order dress: my brother is getting married in October, and I still need to order my bridesmaid dress...oops)

This is my training schedule for March.  My very first run is going to be hill repeats...eek!  This winter, and its frigid (!) temps, have really messed with me, and I have put off training for about as long as I can.  I now only have 10 weeks until the half so I really really need to kick it into high gear.

As you can see via the RunningAhead widget, to the left of this post, I haven't gone on a run since November.  The next 10 weeks will be interesting.