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.

Another Week Closer

I have a year and three weeks left until goal.

I'm down about a pound, but my waist and hip measurements went up. My bicep and thigh measurements went down.

Average calories were 2106 for each day this week.

I spent 377 minutes working out.

I got in three Body Rock workouts without falling over or being so sore I couldn't move, but I didn't walk as much as usual. I did get in two yoga workouts.

Temps outside are twenty degrees lower than they were at this time yesterday. I have long sleeves on for my walk. Yay!

The Migraine, The Foot and The Pie-hole...

...and other moaning.

I was down with a migraine for two days. I've had them for so long that my coping mechanisms are pretty good. I can still work, although slowly and with more confusion than usual. Working out usually makes them go away, until I stop anyway. I take Goody's headache powders and they ease the pain so I'm functional, so I manage. Until the Goody's catches up with me.

It gives me the runs. So that I don't dare leave the house to walk for fear of messing myself in public. No walk for me today.

I could take Immodium, but in my mind it seems stupid to stop myself from going if that's what my body needs to do. If I had needed to go to work, I would have taken some. Taking a walk didn't seem important enough to constipate myself for two days. I BodyRocked this morning and I'll be doing my yoga CD after I get done blogging, so I'm hoping that will make up for it.

The foot is not getting better and this is probably because I'm not following my Ibuprofen and icing program. I walked 2.8 miles yesterday and today it hurts every time I get up. So, I drank a sixteen ounce bottle of water today with some MIO in it. (If you haven't tried it, you should. The fruit punch is yummy.) Then I refilled it, put the lid on loosely and put it in the freezer. I'm going to be using this to ice my foot after walking and after work. Easier than making an ice pack and reusable until the bottle breaks. Tomorrow, I'll start the Ibuprofen again.

Once again, I have allowed my pie-hole to betray me. Today I was craving toast with butter and brown sugar. I tried to fight it until I decided I couldn't and succumbed. On the bright side, I made it with my homemade bread and my butter and canola oil blend, so I can pretend that it was a little good for me. This is something I crave consistently a couple times a month. I never have been able to resist. I've often thought that it had something to do with being premenstrual and that maybe there was iron in brown sugar. Turns out, I was right. Two tablespoons packed has three percent of the RDA for iron. A cup has 23%. Odd how your body knows this stuff. So, tomorrow, I'm going to be eating a bowl of Total for breakfast to try to replenish my iron stores. In fact, I'll probably do that for the next few days. Even if I don't eat it every day, it still helps up my overall iron intake for the week. Can't hurt, might keep me from jamming my face in the brown sugar container.

Check in with you on Sunday or so.

Meh.

I wanted this to be a better week.

Weight is down nearly a pound.

Lost another half inch overall.

Average calories 2095 per day.

361 minutes spent working out.

This week I'm adding an additional BodyRock workout. So I'll be doing three a week in addition to walking.

I bought some workout gloves. They helped a lot with the traction when doing push ups, but the seams hurt my fingers. Guess you can't expect comfort for ten dollars. Hopefully they'll soften up over time.

I really wanted to be down two more pounds this week. The average calories per day tells it all. I need to get it at 1800 per day if I want to start seeing more significant weight loss.

More than anything, I'm learning that consistency is key. I can't fall off the wagon and have a 3000 calorie day with several beers in it and expect the weight to come off. Even my workouts suffered this week because of that one day. I didn't exercise at all that day and could only do 30 minutes the next day. I could have had 420 minutes of exercise last week except for that. Not that I should never enjoy myself, but I can't have my beer and drink it, too.

Benchmark Workout

So, I've been doing BodyRock workouts twice a week all this month. Since this is the eighth workout, I did a "benchmark" workout. I'll do this workout once a month and see how I'm improving.

Nightmare 300 Rep Workout

Side Lunge with Knee Tuck Left Side 30 reps

Side Lunge with Knee Tuck Right Side 30 reps

Plank Jump Push up and Rollover 30 reps

Side Crunch 15 reps each side

Sandbag Swing 15 reps each arm

Pull ups 30 reps

1-2-3 up One Leg Half Squat 15 reps each leg

Hanging Knee Raises 30 reps

3 Low Jacks and Jump up 30 reps

Triple Knee Tuck and Side Step Push up 30 reps

My modifications:

Plank Jump Push ups and Rollover were done on knees.

Side Crunch was done with bottom leg on the ground.

Sandbag Swing was done with a 1 pound weight.

Pull ups were actually pull to's.

Hanging Knee Raises were Leg Lifts.

3 Low Jacks and Jump up were done no impact style.

Triple Knee Tuck and Side Step Push up were done on knees and there was no side step, just a push up.

Workout time 33 minutes 29 seconds.

I feel like a dirty wet mop.

***

In other news, we went to the City yesterday to celebrate our anniversary a little early. Two pints of beer and way too much food later and I'm holding water like crazy. (Hopefully this sweat session got rid of some of it.) Otherwise, my calorie intake has been pretty good this week.

Off for a bite, a shower and a nap...

Good Start

Exercised Sunday, Monday and today.

Calorie intake was reasonable, if not perfect on Sunday and Monday.

My weight has gone down a bit each day this week so far.

I did a BodyRock workout yesterday in addition to walking. It was intervals 10/30 seconds and was nine rounds of High Knees and Squats. 12 minutes and I was sweating like crazy.

My foot feels pretty good today. I'm trying to stick with an Ibuprofen and Icing program for the rest of the month. I think if I can get the inflammation down and keep it down, I'll be good to start running in October.

OK, So That Didn't Work So Well...

I guess if I'm going to plan on blogging more than once a week, I probably have to schedule it. It doesn't do much good to say it and then not make any plans to do it.

So, the goal is three blogs again this week. Today, Tuesday and Friday. Let's see how that goes.

I'm up a half a pound. Blah.

Here's why: Average daily calorie intake for this week is 2117.

On the bright side, all my measurements have gone down except my thighs, which went up.

I spent 377 minutes exercising this week.

Big Picture:

I'm down 6.4 lbs since the beginning of Summer.

My waist is down 1.5 inches.

My hips are down 2 inches.

My arms are down .5 inches.

My thighs are down .25 inches.

My average daily calories are down 82 per day. (Damn the pie-hole.)

My time spent exercising is up 244 minutes per week.

I can't tell if I'm getting stronger or faster really. My endurance is way up, I can tell that.

All things considered, I'm doing pretty good. I wanted to be lighter by now so that my foot will be in good shape to start running in October. But, just looking at the last 8 weeks, I seem to either lose pounds or lose inches. I don't seem to do both at exactly the same time. Since I've been about the same weight for the last three weeks, I think I'll probably lose a pound or two this week.

I just really need to rein in the eating. Honestly, it's mostly about being lazy. It's easier to throw a pizza in the oven than to cook veggies and chicken. And, frankly, pizza tastes better. I can make the chicken and veggies taste like pizza, but then the calorie count ends up being about the same, too. **Sighs dramatically.**

See you Tuesday.

Fair to Middlin'

Meh. Only lost a half pound this week. Pie-hole issues. And, ya know, it's that time of the month and all.

That said, here's what the numbers looked like:

• Average calories per day: 1861.4
• Days ate less than burned: 5 of 7
• Total minutes spent exercising: 345

The fact that I'm on my feet at work for 7 hours helps me out a lot. If I had a desk job, I'd have to eat like 1200 calories a day to lose anything.

I have higher hopes for this week. I should shed the last of the "monthly weight" and I'd like to really keep my eating under control. Exercising has been easier than controlling my eating.

I'm also learning that I really should only buy like 2 or 3 days worth of produce at a time. It doesn't last and then I end up throwing it out. Especially leafy things. Other stuff you can freeze or use to make soup. Not an option with lettuce.

I'm planning on posting more often. I know I keep saying that, but I'd like to shoot for 3 times a week. Then I can start detailing my workouts and daily calorie counts. At some point I'd like to actually be able to look back and see how my workouts are improving over time. Especially when I start doing pull ups. I'd be excited to see more than one on there. Hell, I'd be excited to see one if I did it by myself.

Finally!

I feel like I'm finally making some progress.

I averaged 1989.1 calories a day this week. This is the first time I've been under 2000 kcal per day since... well, maybe this is the first time since I started blogging.

I worked out every day except one. On two of the days I walked and did strength training.

According to my FitDay account, I burned more calories than I ate 5 out of the last 7 days.

And, guess what? The scale went down and so did the measuring tape. Odd how that works.

Since I broke a 5 pound barrier, I'm going to buy myself some new hair clips this week when I get paid. Next 5 pound barrier gets me a new pair of jeans.

Onward!!

Not So Much

Well, the second half of the week is not quite as good as the first half. Too much filling of the pie-hole.

Wednesday: 46 minutes walking. Ingested 2170 calories.

Thursday: 65 minutes walking. 2578 calories.

Friday: 39 minutes walking.

12 minutes of Body Rock workout:

4 rounds. 10 seconds of rest, 50 seconds of activity.

Side Plank Burpee (no jumping) 8, 4, 5, 5

Reptile/Butt Lift (on knees) 8, 8, 7, 9

Squat (no weight) 17, 14, 14, 10

Ate 2502 calories.

Today I am sore. Not excruciatingly so. But I know I worked out yesterday.

A thought on food journals:

The nice thing is that you can look back and see where you went wrong. The not so nice thing is that unless you pull your head out of your butt and make changes, you get to see yourself making the same stupid mistakes over and over again.

Pretty Good Week So Far...

Sunday: 45 minute walk. Ate 1565 calories.

Monday: Body Rock Workout "300 Reps of Brutality" which I did the "Super Beginner" version and only did 30 minutes of and made it through 3 rounds. 46 minutes of walking. Ate 2197 calories.

Tuesday: No workout. I was TIRED and I actually slept in. Ate 1711 calories.

The best part? For the first time in MONTHS, I got on the scale and was happy. Like, do a little cheer happy. And I thought I'd be completely wasted by that workout. It was hard, but I'm only a little sore today. I can still walk and everything. It makes me feel like I'm finally gaining some fitness.

Heading out for a walk now. Bye.

Off Again, On Again

My back seems to be better. And, in answer to my question on a previous post, yes, our menstrual cycles do have an effect on our injury rates. That week that Mistress Period is working us over, we are more flexible than usual and that can cause us to overstretch and hurt ourselves. I am now being more careful with my yoga routine and those forward bends. Also, my transition from Cobra to Downward Facing Dog will be done from my knees instead of moving directly from one to the other.

I've been walking and/or doing yoga consistently, so I feel pretty good about the exercise end of this. As usual, it's my pie-hole that's causing me grief. Or, what I'm putting in my pie-hole anyway.

Once again, I'm trying something new: 1600 kcal 5 days of the week and 2300 two days. This keeps my calorie total within range for the week but lets me have two "cheat days".

On the bright side, I have found BodyRock. Monday, I plan to do my first BodyRock workout. Normally, I see these thin, beautiful, young women and my eyes automatically roll. However, there is something absolutely charming about Zuzana and I like her despite the fact that she looks like a Czech Goddess rather than a human being. It would give me the biggest charge if someday I could send her pictures and a story like some of the other BodyRockers on her site. Just thinking about it makes me smile.

I'll let you know how that first workout goes. I'm also going to be posting my workouts and calorie counts. Maybe feeling accountable will keep Snickers Bars off my menu.

Getting Old

Seriously. All I'm doing is walking and yoga and somehow I have torqued my lower back. I don't recall doing anything that suddenly hurt, so I can't pinpoint where I went wrong.

I'm getting really, really frustrated.

Does every non athlete who tried to do something athletic get hurt? Is this what I have to look forward to for the next year and three months? If so, is it worth it?

My diet has been going really well this week. I've exercised all but one day, some days walking, some days doing yoga. I don't think I'm overdoing it. I wonder if it has to do with the "time of the month" that it is. Maybe females are more injury prone during their period.

I don't know. I don't care. All I know is that I cannot progress if every time I start gaining steam I have to stop again and heal an injury. This stuff is getting old faster than I am.

Too Long Between Posts

Jeez. What's the point of keeping a blog if you're not going to blog?

Anyway, that said, I've been doing better. Icing my heel and taking Ibuprofen has lead to several nearly pain free days, even if I walked and worked the same day.

I've exercised every day, even if it meant just doing some yoga.

Still not keeping my eating under control, but I've had a good last two days.

So, the scale didn't show any changes, but my measurements all went down a quarter inch this week. I'm making a little progress.

I'm going to continue the way I'm going, but I'd like to add a couple strength training sessions in. I've fallen off that wagon completely. Unless you count the yoga as strength training. I don't.

I plan to check in again on Thursday or Friday.

Locus of Control

What I eat, what I drink, and how I train are all I can control. I cannot control anything else, including how my body reacts to my diet and training. I can change the method to try to get better results, but that's all.

So if all I have to control is those three things, why is it so hard? My answer to myself is usually that I don't want it bad enough. But, when I think about that date looming ever closer, I feel anxious, like I'm not going to make it. Still, I regularly shoot myself in the foot, pushing me farther from my goal. Fear of success? Fear that I'll make it to the race and get a DNF? Fear that I'll train and life will get in my way and I won't be able to race after all?

I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that I know what to do. I know I can do it. I just need to do it.

Begin Again

I feel pretty good today. Despite a pound and a half weight gain.

I walked 4 days last week and did yoga one day. It was my eating that did me in, as usual.

Today, however, I'm doing a tuna and water diet. Just today. Not for three days like Dave Draper recommends. Because I know myself and there's no way I'd be able to do it. I hope it will give me a good jump start for eating healthier.

My left foot is hurting pretty bad again. Back to the Ibuprofen and ice. I expect the pain to become less as I lose more weight. I'm starting to think that the pain is more about that than anything else.

If all goes according to plan, I'll start running again that first week of October.

Wish me luck on the old Tuna and Water Day.

Better

Every time I fail, I try something different. I don't know if this is a good thing or not. Maybe if I'd stick with a plan, it would eventually work. I get frustrated and think it's the method that's at fault.

So, being frustrated and disgusted, I am trying something different again. It looks good on paper, I'll know by next Sunday if there's any results.

I'm up a half pound this week. On the bright side, I thought I had hurt myself on Wednesday. I tried skipping (do not attempt when you have plantar fasciitis). However, on Thursday, I was able to walk for several hours all over the zoo and Friday, Saturday and today I was able to do yoga with no noticeable problems. I guess I'll be OK.

Yesterday was the first day on the new eating plan and it worked out pretty well. I'm shooting for the same thing today, only with a few more vegetables.

Tomorrow is strength training. I'd like to do that three times this week. I'd also like to get in 3 walks, even if they're not long.

Here we go again.

Inertia

A body at rest tends to stay at rest.

I'm beyond frustrated. And instead of getting off my butt and taking a step toward the goal, I'm sitting here being mad about it.

Yeah. That's gonna help a lot.

I am down another .8 lb. So that's a good thing.

I only worked out once this week and it was yoga. Not so good.

I'm out of time. I'm out of patience. I'm going to be out of luck if I don't get moving.

Success is...

...getting up one more time than you fall down.

Another lost week. If someone can explain to me why every day brings a new bloody crisis, I'll take a minute away from putting out fires to listen.

Jeez.

Good news: I'm down 3 pounds again. Got rid of that vacation weight.

Bad news: My left foot is back to it's original pain level from before vacation.

Good news: I get paid this week and boneless, skinless chicken breasts are on sale for 1.99/lb.

Bad news: They're raising my rent $100/month. There goes my planned fall gym membership.

Good news: I'm grocery shopping Tuesday night and those Eat Smart Veggies in the produce area will still be on sale.

I'm not giving up. I'm just frustrated. I'll be better in a couple days.

Trying too hard

So, I've had a migraine for two days now. It's letting up, but now I have that "migraine hangover" to drag me down.

When my head is on fire, I eat. So, I imagine the scale is not going to have anything nice to say tomorrow, but I'll get on it anyway.

Anyway, the real point of this post is that I'm spending so much energy "trying" that I don't spend any on "doing". I set goals that get left behind as soon as the least thing gets in my way. I worry that I'm not getting strong enough fast enough, so I'm paralyzed into sitting still.

This has become retarded in the truest meaning of the word.

There is no "try". There is only "do". "Do not" is not an option.

Post Vacation Blahs

I'm just coming off having nine days off of work. Nine days, with only two yoga workouts and lots of food and drink that I don't normally consume.

I'm up about 4 pounds.

More than anything, I think it's the alcohol. It makes me hold water like no one's business. A couple of days drink-free should help move some of that off.

Further on the down-side, I thought my heel would be a lot better after having time off work and not wearing shoes much or pounding on it. That didn't happen. It's sore again today as if I had never had time off.

In any event, I have about 6 months until my next vacation. I'd like to be significantly further along in this quest by then. Like, down to within ten pounds of goal weight and at least starting a running plan.

Goals this week:

1800 kcal per day

3 days yoga

3 days strength training

Really?

Here's my frustration for today:

Saturday, I got on the scale. I was happy with my weight and excited because it boded well for Sunday's official weigh in.

Sunday, I'm up a pound and a half and the exact same weight as I was the previous week. Ugh!

Today, I get on the scale and I weigh what I weighed on Saturday. AAARRRGGHHH!

I could have posted a loss. Now it looks like I accomplished nothing last week.

Diet wasn't perfect last week, but somewhat better. I did exercise 5 days in a row and no injury.

I'd really like to lose some this week. Next week is vacation and honestly, my goal will be to just maintain my weight instead of gaining five pounds like I always do.

Go Me

Worked out five days in a row. No injuries. Minimal DOMS. I think this is a PR for me in 2011.

Epiphany

For fun this morning, I input what a perfect day's eating would be according to this new plan I'm (unsuccessfully) following.

It came out to approximately 1600 calories, 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat.

When I swapped out 8 ounces of chicken breast for 8 ounces of hamburger, it still came out to less than 1800 calories.

Even swapping out a glass of milk for half a cup of ice cream kept me under 1900 calories.

I don't know why, but I was amazed. Just sticking with the plan puts me exactly where I want to be.

So, that's the goal for the next 3 days. Stick with the plan and see where my weight is come Sunday.

It's the little things

Ok. So, the diet, as usual, is not going so great. I have, however, worked out three days in a row. The best I've done in a long, long, time.

I do some very basic Sun Salutations to warm up (meaning, I skip the lunge on each side). Because I am not very strong yet, I do "knees-chest-chin" to "cobra" instead of "four post pose" to "upward facing dog". But today, "knees-chest-chin" seemed easier to do. I don't know if my body finally learned the movement or if I have gotten just a wee bit stronger. Whatever it is, it felt different in a decidedly good way today.

It's little things that give me hope.

I just realized...

... that there's less time left than I previously thought.

Yesterday I was thinking about getting new glasses. I can't go until December since my insurance will only pay for new glasses every other year. So, I thought I would talk to the optometrist about how to keep my glasses on during Volkslauf.

Right about then, my heart sunk.

In December, I'll have about ten months of training time left. Not even a whole year. And here I sit: fat, injured, and no stronger than I was six months ago.

The only way I can help my foot (short of going to the doctor and paying ridiculous amounts of money) is to lose weight. I pound those floors at work and when I'm not walking, I'm standing still on them, which is worse. Since I can't work on running with my foot like this, I need to turn my training focus to getting stronger.

I tried a new eating plan yesterday. It seemed to work really well. I didn't feel like I was starving and I came in well under 1800 calories. It goes like this:

• 5-8 oz. of protein/day
• 3 servings of dairy/day
• 3-5 servings of vegetables/day
• 2 servings of fruit/day
• 6 servings of grain (including peas and corn and beans)/day
• 6-8 glasses of water/day

I'll keep my focus on the strength training until my foot is healed and then I'll start over with running. I anticipate that I'll be able to start running by October.

Goals for this week:

• Stick to the eating plan.
• Strength train three days, walk or do yoga two days.

Seems like I do a lot of moaning...

...about how I didn't get to do this or that because this or that was wrong with me.

Maybe it's just the getting older thing that's got me down. Maybe it's that I'm paying closer attention because I'm trying to do something I've never done before and it all revolves around my body and how it's functioning.

In any event, I'm sorry for being a downer.

That said, here's this weeks update:

I was down with a migraine for three days. All those storms down south were wreaking havoc with the barometric pressure and my skull. I did discover that I eat a lot more when I'm hurting. As if that might help. And it's all sugary, caffeine-laden stuff.

I only worked out a couple times last week as I was still babying that sore calf. It seems fully healed now.

I lost all the weight I had gained last week. I didn't count my calories every day, but I did a better job of watching my portions (after the migraine was gone.) Goal is still 1500-1800 a day.

So, this weeks plan:

• Keep calories 1500-1800 per day.
• Walk or Yoga three days.
• Strength train two days.

Onward.

Wow. That's not working, either.

"Eating mindfully" turned out to be a bad idea. My scale almost screamed in pain when I stepped on it this morning.

Jeez.

So, back to counting calories. 1500-1800 a day.

As far as exercise goes, my left heel still hurts. Unfortunately, this may be a six month project getting it healed. Maybe longer since I'm on my feet for seven hours or more at work. And I pulled a muscle in my right calf last week. It's a lot better today, so I plan on trying a workout tomorrow. We'll see how it feels.

The thing I'm not good at is consistency. So, that's the thing I'm going to work on the hardest this week.

Slowly getting better

My left foot wasn't excruciating this morning. This despite the fact that I never got a break last night and so was on my feet for eight hours.

Down two pounds from last week. I'd like to be down ten pounds by the time I take my vacation from work. (Five weeks away.)

Strength trained this morning. Will probably try a walk tomorrow morning.

I'm tired (didn't sleep well last night at all) but I'm feeling more optimistic today than I have in a while. I may yet reach this goal.

Healing

The heel is better, but not completely healed. Admittedly, I haven't been taking the Ibuprofen like I should to reduce the inflammation. I did, however, get the plantar's wart cleared up. Or, whatever it was. Last night when I pulled off the dead skin, a tiny cyst came out; oval shaped. It left a nice round hole in my foot, not even a millimeter wide. I'm not entirely sure why this hurt as bad as it did (only when walking around barefoot, mind you). But, it's gone now and I put some Neosporin and a band aid on it and I hope that's the end of that.

As far as eating this week, forget it. I stopped recording my calories several days ago and I haven't exercised. Being injured and not able to run really brought me down this week. How am I going to run a race if I can't train? Granted, I still have a really big window, but I'm starting to feel like I'm running out of time.

I'll report in tomorrow. However, the goals this week are as follows:

• Eat mindfully.
• Take Ibuprofen and Omeprazole as prescribed to heal my heel and my stomach.
• Work out ask scheduled, alternating Yoga or walking with my strength training program.

It's kind of depressing

I know all the right things to do. I can give you all the advice in the world and if you follow it, you'll lose weight. But I can't do it myself. I'm blue because I finally made it to one and a half minutes running (the farthest I've gotten on the running program yet) and I'm hurt. Again. So, instead of controlling the things I can (what I eat), I just let it all go to hell in a hand basket. I'm up two pounds this week. Oddly, my husband keeps telling me I feel thinner to him. And when I measured this morning, my waist is down a quarter inch. There's no way I could have gained two pounds of muscle in a week. I know I shouldn't be so dedicated to the scale. I should take into account how I feel and how my pants fit and stuff (and they are getting looser). But I want that number on the scale to move down, damn it. Significantly down. Anyway, I'm trying not to just scrap the whole project. I'm doing yoga and I think I'll be able to walk today (did I mention I also, in addition to my sore left heel, have a plantar's wart on my left foot?) I've been reading a lot of running, yoga, and diet information on the net. I'm thinking more about plate construction as a way of cutting calories. If half your plate is filled with vegetables, and you eat them first, it's easier to control your caloric intake. Brad also bought me some bottled water and those MiO things they've been advertising on TV. My fluid intake was much higher yesterday and I actually had to pee when I woke up this morning, so that's a check mark in the good column. Here's to a more "in control" week than the last.

*Sighs* Again?

I'm injured.

I either have bursitis in my heel or a stress fracture. Either way, the treatments are basically the same and I don't care to go to the doctor and have her yell at me for running when I'm obviously too fat to do that. (Frankly, this heel had been giving me trouble before I even started running due to worn out shoes I was wearing to work.) So, bit of a layoff coming my way.

That said, I can still do yoga and I can start working on my strength training. Instead of running four days a week, I'll do yoga three days and a body weight workout three days. I'm also considering the possibility of race walking instead of running. Frankly, the Volkslauf is in the MUD so I don't imagine anyone builds up any kind of speed anyway. That said, we'll see how it goes.

My weight this week was basically the same as last week. I have a new plan for my calorie intake, so we'll see how that goes this week.

• Sunday 2500
• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday 1800
• Thursday and Friday 1500

I ended up way low yesterday, but I think I'll just take that as a bonus day and leave it alone instead of making up the calories another day.

If at first you don't succeed, ADJUST.

Getting mad at garbage.

What does that mean? Just exactly what it says. I went for a run this morning and got mad at the trash on the road. Not because my fellow humans are slobs, but because everything I saw reminded me of the bad choices I've made that got me here.

There was a Keystone beer can that made me mad because I thought of all the times I've drank even just one beer and then felt so relaxed I ate an entire plate of nachos or something similar. There was the Styrofoam cup that reminded me of all the Mr. Pibb I drank out of that old fashioned machine at work that gave you ice in a cup with your pop to which I contribute that first 15 pounds I gained after being married. There was the Arby's bag that made me think of all the times I've gone out to eat and consumed a day and a half's worth of calories at lunch and then did it all over again at supper time.

This is the truth of it: what you put in your mouth matters. A lot. If I had controlled my intake, I would be 100% further on my journey. Now I'm just plodding along, barely started with my running instead of running 3 miles a day and doing pull-ups in the garage.

On that note, I drank my last sugary soda today. A homemade chocolate cherry cola. I'm limiting my processed foods and no baked goods unless I make them myself. If I don't control what I put in my body, I'll be stuck here forever.

Well...

...it's been a "good news/bad news" kind of week.

Good news is that I dropped another pound.

Bad news is that I ate poorly and didn't get all my workouts in.

I did much better eating Saturday and Sunday. And I ran yesterday. One minute running alternated with two minutes of walking.

Brad bought me a step counter which has been great fun for me. I took over 15000 steps yesterday between running and working.

Today, I'm skipping the workout. Female issues. Tomorrow may be limited to yoga. Wednesday, I plan to run. Thursday: yoga and/or walking. Friday and Saturday: run.

Also, I'm using Sun Salutations to warm up before running. After I return from running or walking I'm doing a short yoga routine that I got from Runner's World. At night before I go to bed, I'm doing yoga to stretch my hamstrings. The hamstring routine takes about ten minutes and ends with Legs Up the Wall which feels good and is very relaxing, especially after work.

I'm going to work on that three month plan on my days off. Actually, it will be more like 9 weeks, because my sister gets here on 5/22 and that week will be an off week at best. This time, I won't gain 5 pounds like I usually do when she's here.

Migraine Hell

I've spent the last two days in Migraine Hell. Ate too much and didn't work out at all. Fortunately, I did make it to work both days, so at least I burned some calories there. I don't know why my first inclination when I get a migraine is to eat. And eat bad stuff, at that. That Chocolate Cherry Coke from Sonic sure tasted good and kept my nausea down, but WOW, that's a lot of calories.

Anyway, Brad bought me an electronic pedometer. I'll be really interested to see how far I walk at work. Today won't be a good measure because we have 3 med aides on Wednesdays, so I don't have as far to walk. But Saturday should really tell me something. Makes me kind of excited to go to work.

Feel tired today, but no pain. *Singing* Back in the saddle again...

Feels just like starting over.

I looked back at my data from when I originally started working on this Volkslauf thing. I am almost exactly where I was a year and a quarter ago. Sigh. I know, it's my own fault, but I could be at goal weight already if I had applied myself.

Oh well.

Calories came in at 1972 yesterday. I didn't get to eat at work, so overindulged when I got home. Still, 1972 is better than the 2500 or 3000 I've been consuming. I didn't workout, but I was plenty busy at work. Lots of extra walking last night.

This morning the scale said I was down a pound from last week, despite my overindulging and not working out as planned.

I got a run in this morning and ate a healthy brunch, so the start of the day is good. The momentum should keep me going through work. It's after I get home that it gets more difficult.

I am sick of me

It's starting to feel like I just make rules so I can break them. I set goals so I can fail on purpose. I'm not sure why. I like when people compliment me, when they tell me I'm doing a good job. It makes no sense that I should constantly sabotage myself.

It occurred to me this morning (after eating like a pig yesterday and being sick to my stomach until three in the morning and then deciding not to go for a run) that my problem is that I'm thinking like a 43 year old woman with a job and a husband and dogs and not like an athlete. If the goal is to run in the 2012 Volkslauf, I need to think like an athlete at least in regards to what I put in my body and what I do with my body.

So, I ran a search for "think like an athlete". I came up with three useful articles and wrote down the information in them. The top three pieces of advice as far as I was concerned were:

1. Break down the goal into three month increments.
2. What you eat, what you drink and how you train are all within your power.
3. Be flexible, life is always changing. You don't give up on your plans, you adjust.

There were other things I wrote down, but these three things seemed the most concrete to me. So, be prepared for some goal setting posts and some schedule posts and more frequent reporting on my calorie intake and workouts. I can do this.

Slowly figuring it out.

OK. It's not enough for me to give myself a calorie limit and an exercise goal. It's not working. Somehow I manage to justify overeating all the time, not just once in a while. And this last few days has been harder than usual. All in my head, I know.

Yesterday I walked. Today I'm doing my first run/walk since January. I've lost a month of training to bad weather and that cold that knocked me on my fanny for two weeks. Today should be interesting.

I think the deal is that I just need to eat "clean". It's always the processed foods that get me in trouble. Today is Wednesday (already). For the rest of the week, I'm going to limit the processed foods and see where that gets me. I have plenty of unprocessed foods in the house, so lack of groceries is not going to be the issue. Meat servings will be four ounces or less.

This gives me four days on the new eating plan. I put on a pound last week. I have three days of running scheduled this week. (Would have been four but I missed Monday.)

Regroup. Onward.

Been Sick

I started getting sick LAST Thursday and I'm just now starting to mend. Somehow this is a mix of an upper respiratory infection along with an intestinal component. I ran a low grade fever on and off for the last 10 days as well. Yesterday, I must have been sweating it out because my t-shirt was damp for about half the shift. I'm hoping today will be better.

Anyway, despite lack of calorie counting and exercise, I'm still down nearly a pound. As long as I continue to improve, I plan on walking this week and then start running next week. I'm re instituting the star program starting today. Perfect will be 26 stars. Calorie goal this week is less than 1800 per day. 23 stars gets me a new pair of jeans March 7th.

I'm finding this to be a very slow journey. When I finally seem to be getting on track, that's when Mother Nature reminds me that she's in charge. I realize I still have more than a year and a half before the Volkslauf, but I really thought I'd be way closer to my fitness goals than I am. I'm hoping this glitch is just that and that I'll be in a forward motion for a while. I want to run my first 5K this fall and that only gives me about 8 months to get it all in gear. For a girl who hasn't done any competitive athletics for over 10 years, it sounds both too short and too long.

Mother Nature is in a mood...

...and not a good one.

We had the February 1st snowstorm followed by flesh-rending cold that shut me down, exercise-wise, for a week. Then we had the same sceanario February 9th. Now, today, the weather is beautiful and what am I doing?

Sitting in the house with a stuffy nose, running eyes, low grade fever (99.1, thank you) and a cough that sounds like a dog barking.

I made it all winter long without getting seriously ill and now, when I could be out running, I'm stuck because just walking is hard.

Whatever.

I'm so disgusted, I could scream. Except that would make me cough some more.

Ugh.

The plan this week is to get well. As soon as I feel reasonable good, I'll walk for 7 days. Then I'm starting to run. 30 seconds followed by 2 minutes of walking.

Maybe I'll get to start running March 1st (a full MONTH after I planned to be running).

As for the star plan, that went directly down the tubes. Maybe I'll start that once I can run again.

In my defence, I did lose another pound.

Calorie breakdown last week was:
Average daily calories: 2102
Carbs: 47% of total
Fat: 32% of total
Protein: 18% of total
Alcohol: 3% of total

Here's to the return of good health.

Another tactic.

OK. So last week didn't go so well. No running. Almost no walking and a little yoga. Mostly it was work and battling the weather. And I ate too much of the wrong stuff. (Average daily calories 2297. 35% fat 17% protein 45% carbohydrates and 3% alcohol.) Go me.

Nevertheless, I'm down a pound.

I want to try something else for the next two weeks. Each day that I eat under 1820 calories, I get a gold star (or it's metaphorical equivalent). Each day that I exercise, I get another gold star. This gives me 13 possible gold stars for the week (because I don't plan to workout on Sundays) or 26 for two weeks. My goal is approximately 90% compliance, which leaves me with 23 gold stars.

If I get 23 or more gold stars, I get a new pair of jeans next payday.

Also, I'm giving up completely on keeping a paper notebook for the rest of this journey. The pages keep ripping out and it's only serving to make me mad. Instead, I registered with Runner's World website and I'm using their training log along with FitDay and this blog to record everything.

So, yesterday was day one and I got no gold stars. I don't workout on Sundays and I went over my calorie limit.

I'll let you know how today goes.

So, I'm a day late.

Good news or bad news?

OK, bad news first. I didn't manage to stick to any of my goals.

Good news, the scale went down.

What I did:

• Average calories per day was 2213.
• Breakdown of calories was 19% protein 43% carbs 37% fat 2% alcohol.
• I walked two days and run/walked three days.

I am not going to be able to eat a 40% 40% 20% mix of calories. At least not at this time. What I will strive for instead is to get more protein than fat.

Calorie-wise, I am shooting for an 1830 or less average per day this week.

We have a winter storm coming in today. I'm not going to make any goals for working out because not only will icy roads prevent me from running, but I may be pulling extra shifts to cover for people who can't make it to work. Once the roads are safe and things settle down, I'll start my running program. This week would have been run 30 seconds and walk two minutes for a total of 30 minutes on four days. I'll be glad to get two days of this in.

Dropped the ball... sort of.

So, already I've dropped the ball with this blog. I guess I was just down because I didn't seem to be getting anywhere. My own fault, I know, but somehow I still think I should be farther along than I am.

Here's a quote I got from my Dave Draper newsletter this week:

The task is easy, a daily practice without beating yourself, demanding quick and unrealistic results or applying numbing scrutiny. Discounting laziness,
lack of ambition, irresponsibility and other ignoble disabilities, only one
enemy stands in your way: doubt, a deception also known as negativity,
misperception, suspicion and poor attitude. We win not by luck or
brilliance, but through trust, confidence and persistent, positive performance.

I've been running, though I've taken the last four mornings off. I've been eating too much, thus the lack of downward movement on the scale.

Goals this week:

• Eat less than 1840 calories per day.
• Aim for a 40% 40% 20% split of carbs to protein to fat.
• Monday: Walk 10 minutes, run 10 seconds and walk 50 19 times then walk 11 minutes.
• Tuesday: Walk 40 minutes.
• Wednesday: Walk 10 minutes, run 10 seconds and walk 50 22 times then walk 8 minutes.
• Thursday: Walk 40 minutes.
• Friday: Walk 10 minutes, run 10 seconds and walk 50 25 times then walk 5 minutes.
• Saturday: Walk 10 minutes, run 10 seconds and walk 50 28 times then walk 2 minutes.

I'll get back here on Sunday and let you know how I've done.