The End

I won't be running the Volkslauf.  Not in 2012 or any other year.

Here's why.

It came to my attention because I get the weekly newsletter from Dave Draper's site.  At first, my reaction was, "Oh, that poor girl."  Then it was, "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

And then I told my husband about it and he put the kibosh on the whole thing.

I feel like a coward.  I mean, you can get seriously injured just walking down the street, right?  But, as he put it, "You're not coordinated when you're on the ground."  And I can't argue with him.  If I had a dollar for every time I've stumbled over my own toe or ran into a door frame, I wouldn't have to work any more, assuming I invested those dollars in Apple or something equally lucrative.

So, I won't stop running.  I've run three times this week and feel pretty good.  I won't stop pursuing my strength goals.  I won't stop working on my diet.  But the end result won't be a Volkslauf.  Just a happier, stronger, lighter me.

Notice What I'm Missing?

Consistency.

Although I read in Runner's World this month a couple things that made me feel better:

1. Even the elite athletes don't make all their planned workouts.
2. Elite athletes over 40 years of age need more recovery time between workouts.

Not that I am either "elite" or an "athlete".  It made me feel better knowing that even those we consider perfect don't get it all done.

I only counted calories five days this week:  daily average 2377.8.

Exercise minutes: 368.  (If I could have figured out how to count the time I spent jumping around at the Black Label Society concert on Friday, I'd have added it in here.)

So, there's the pound and a half I gained.

On the other hand, I'm down another three quarters of an inch overall.

I'm taking today off of exercising completely.  I took yesterday off, too.  (Well, except for my push ups.  I do eight today from my knees.)  Tomorrow I start my veeerrrry slow running program.  First day you only run ten seconds out of every minute for ten minutes.

No promises, but I plan on blogging more this week.  It makes me feel accountable when I report in more than once a week.

The World Gets In My Way

Kudos to you if you know what song I paraphrased that title from.

Been a long week.  A friend of mine landed herself in the hospital and I've been tending to her kitties and so haven't been online hardly at all.  Most of the week I didn't even track my calories.

Still, it's been a pretty good week:

• Down three pounds.
• Down another half inch overall.
• No idea how many calories I consumed, but I did watch my portions like usual.
• 403 minutes spent exercising.

I was supposed to do my benchmark workout last week, but that fell through due to the kitty care.  I haven't been Body Rocking like I planned, so maybe it's better.  It might have been an exercise in depression.

If the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise, she should be home today or tomorrow.  I can get back on track with both the calorie counting and the Body Rocking.

Also, October 10 marks the first day of running. If I do it right, this is going to be a long, slow start up and will be more successful than the last one.  I'd like to be running 30 minutes, four times a week by July 1st.  That's the conservative goal.

All the injuries and stuff have really set me back.  Thank god, none of them have been serious.  The only really long lasting one has been my left foot.  And I think that as I lose more weight and it takes less pounding, it will continue to improve.

I still owe myself that pair of jeans.  I'll have to work on that after I get paid.

End of Season Stats - Summer 2011

So, at the beginning of summer, I started making a real push for the Volkslauf 2012.

I went from walking about a mile at a time to averaging over 3 miles a day, 5-6 days a week.

I went from doing some yoga for strength training to doing Body Rock a couple times a week.

I've lost 10.8 lbs.

I've lost 1.5 inches in my waist, 2.25 inches in my hips, .5 inch in my arms and 1 inch in my thighs for a total of 5.25 inches.

Over the course of the fall I plan to:

• Start a running program.  (10/10/11 estimated start date.)
• Strength train 2-3 times a week.
• Continue to dial in my diet.

By winter, I'd like to be able to:

• Do at least one military style push up with good form.
• Run for 5 minutes straight. (This is where I should be if I don't hit any bumps in the road.)

Saucony Grid Cohesion 4

I finally bought a real running shoe.  It fits great and didn't cost me an arm and a leg.  (Which is good, because I need the arm and leg more than I need the shoe.)

Interestingly, I had to buy a whole size bigger than I ever have in any other shoe.  Ever.

But it made me think of this. Which is filthy and full of the F-word and not suitable for work at all.  But funny.  And, of course, I asked my husband about it while I was trying the aforementioned bigfoot shoes and he started doing the whole routine.  Minus the f-bombs since we were in mixed company.

Anyway, I wore them for the first time today.  Walked 4 miles and had no new pains.  Left heel and foot still hurt, but not because of the shoe.  DH walked behind me and said that my right foot isn't rolling in like it did in my old shoes.  They are cushy and feel like they form to my foot.  I couldn't be happier with them.

Expected start date for running is 10/10.

Woo Hoo!

Ever have one of those days when you get on the scale and want to jump for joy but don't for fear you might break it?

Today was one of those days.

Next Sunday, I'll post how far I've come since it will be Fall and I'll have been really pushing it for the whole season.

Not sure how I lost weight last week because my calorie count was 2253 average per day.  But, I collected 422 minutes of exercise.

I didn't do anything but walk and yoga this last week.  Planning on adding the Body Rocking in again starting tomorrow.

Maybe I can get organized enough to post a blog more than once this week, too.

Not Happy

I want to say that I got totally derailed this week.  There were a few victories, but overall, I'm just not happy.

Both weight and measurements are up this week.

Average daily calories was 2179.  Hence the above.

My exercise time increased to 417 minutes, so that was good.  All walking.  No Body Rock or yoga, so that's not so good.

My bloody foot is killing me.  It felt good yesterday.  This morning it hurts so bad I'm icing it BEFORE I go for a walk.  Yes, I'm still going.  It's going to hurt whether I walk or not, so I might as well try to burn off some of the blubber.

I wonder how long it takes before you get to the point where you just do the right things for your body.  Seems like I spend a lot of time complaining about how I ate too much or didn't exercise enough.  Yet, there are people out there who look and feel better than I do and it seems effortless.  Do chocolate cakes with caramel icing never jump into their grocery cart?  Do chocolate cherry Cokes never call their names?  When someone offers them a cupcake, does it never force itself between their teeth?  Does this stuff only happen to me?

Joking aside, I wonder if you have to be the right kind of person to keep yourself in check or if that really can be learned.  And if it can be learned, how the hell long does it take? Or is it just about gritting your teeth and never giving in until you reach your goal?

I guess if it were easy, we'd all be thin.