Heat!

   It's summer, which means it's been getting really hot outside when the sun is up. After all that rain the sky is nearly cloudless now, which is fantastic... unless your working out. For a while I would get up around 8 and go for a run, but then just once I ran later in the day because I didn't want to get up early and realized how much cooler it was outside at 8pm rather than am. So now I run in the evenings so I can sleep in. It almost always works out better anyway. Except for this past run. 

   It had been a while since I ran when the sun was still high in the sky, but I had to leave to go some where at 8pm so I decided to run at 7pm. I honestly didn't think it would make that much of a difference, but I REALLY think it did. I was nearly BEAT DOWN by the heat about half way though my run which is pretty unusual here lately. I've heard it's better to run in the heat while training because your body learns how to cool itself down better. Yeah, not so sure that's worth it. I'm about 90% sure I was completely red faced by the time I was done. I finished my 11 minutes, but I didn't do the circuit more so because of the lack of time I had than lack of energy.
  
   I know not every run is going to be my best, but I really thought I was reaching a break through when I had a fantastic run the other day. I guess I just have to continue pushing through the difficult patches to get to my goal! My next run is tomorrow and it increase by two minutes (13mins) rather than just one like it has been. Then two days later it increases another  two minutes (15mins). I REALLY hope I get through them successfully, I usually don't quit on myself but I feel like a two minute increase twice in a row is going to be rough. What I do have to look forward to is the mile and a half I should be able to run in the 15 minute run! Which is half of a 5k! Half way to completing my goal!  

Debby & The Color Run

   First of all I have to admit that I had to skip a day, which really sucked. I missed the 5,10,5 day and running 11 minutes today was killer. I was thinking "psh I got this" until about 9 minutes into the run when I thought  "why did I let myself skip!" I think I stopped like 20 seconds early because I set one of those "I'm going to at least make it to that corner!" goals, and then I couldn't push myself anymore. Although I am proud to say that I can run a full mile now and after completing the circuit and showering I feel fantastic now! 

Where's Florida? 

    To the left is my excuse. Tropical storm Debby decided to send lots of wind and rain and I was not about to run through streets covered in puddles and broken branches, just not worth it. I debated going to the gym and doing the indoor track or treadmill, but something about going to the gym alone just bothers me. I feel like people stare or judge me, if someone else is with me I don't think about it as much. plus I didn't want to drive in the unpredictable weather. So I skipped a day, but I'll catch up. 

   On a better note, I now have a reason to run and complete this 5k training thing and I am extremely excited about it! I found a link to The Color Run and decided I had to do it! A couple of my friends are going to sign up with me as a team and I am so excited! The best part is that this 5k isn't all about speed so coming in first or last doesn't really matter. It's just one of those things you can say you did, plus it donates to a charity. Once I pay to register there's no turning back so I will be even more committed to training. It's not until December so I have plenty of time to get in super running shape and finish that 5k with my friends! Hopefully I can talk them into going on some runs with me while training, it's always nice to have a running buddy! 

Circuit Work Outs

   I decided that just running wasn't enough. Even though I've read and been told that running is one of those exercises that gives your entire body a good work out (which is why I decided to do it), I've also read that it doesn't do much for belly fat. So I decided to some what cross train and add some short circuit work outs that include ab exercises to my run, which I also found on pinterest. I'm not so sure about how much of a difference they're going to make, but I figured it's worth a try and at least a start. 

    Today's run was different from what it usually  is. It started with a 6 minute jog, then a 5 minute walk, another 6 minute jog, and then another 5 minute walk. When I used to have to run for P.E. in high school and what not this run, walk, run again, walk again method was usually what I would do. Now that I've started training myself for long distance I've realized that messing with my pace makes it a lot harder to pick back up and run again. Plus in the second jog I started getting shin splits even though I did my usual stretches to avoid them. I have a feeling who ever made the training schedule did it to show how hard it was to get going again after you quit. I finished the whole thing though and the jogging part ended up being a mile! It's been a long time since I've been able to run a mile with out feeling like I'm going to die when I'm done, actually I'm pretty sure that's never happened. This time I felt on top of the world! Pushing myself a little further and completing the run without giving up each time is such a reward in itself! 

    After my run I did one of the circuit work outs which went well but after wearing myself out from running it becomes more of a challenge even though it is pretty short. At first I started doing the circuits before I ran but then I realized it was making me not want to run so I switched and ran first and then did a circuit. Ultimately, once I get in a little bit better shape, I'd like to be able to stretch, do one of these circuits, run, and rest for a bit and then do a longer more challenging circuit. We'll see. 

    Oh, and in my last blog I talked about having an upset stomach before and after I ran. An update on that: I don't regret that run at all because the next morning I woke up and felt fine and haven't had any tummy troubles since then. Yay :)      

Upset Tummy

   I have been trying very veryyy VERY hard to stick to this running schedule. I've only skipped two days and one was a day that I walked all over Disney so I don't really think that counts and the other I made it up on one of the two rest days in a row. 


   The last couple days my stomach has been bothering me on and off and I wasn't very sure about running tonight or not. But like I said earlier I really hate skipping days. I'm realizing now that I should have ran this morning when I was feeling fine and it wasn't raining but instead I decided to be lazy and sleep a little longer and wait until it was cooler at night. As later hit and it started to cool off outside my stomach started acting up again. I went back and forth with myself and decided to wait for it to settle down a bit and then run. My next issue was the rain, luckily it was only sprinkling when I decided to run so the ran wasn't much of a problem except for the slippery sidewalks that made me a little worried that I was going to slip and twist an ankle. I survived. 


   I started my run with a mind set of - I'll quit running and walk home if my stomach upsets me, something is better than nothing - great quitter attitude, right? Much to my own surprise I completed the run without even a cramp, and even more to my own surprise I didn't even look at my stopwatch to see how much longer I had until the last two minutes of my run. That usually happens within the first three minutes of my run. 


   Now when I settled back down at home was a different story. I was feeling on top of the world with my success from not letting the upset tummy get in my way, and then the uncomfortable bubbles came back and I was so sure I was going to throw up. After taking a cold/hot/cold/hot/cold shower (I couldn't stand one or the other for very long) and taking a few tums I started to feel better and thankfully didn't throw up. I'm not quite sure yet if I regret running tonight, if I feel fine tomorrow I probably wont. If I feel worse I probably will, but maybe not because I'm still kind of proud of myself for not quitting. Meh "/ we'll see. 

The Starting Line

    If you ask anyone who has ever worked out with me they will tell you I [used to] absolutely HATE running! Before I started training I could barely make it from the front door to the street. (Okay maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration...but it didn't make it far before I started huffing and puffing and quit). 

I feel it is necessary to make it clear that I am in no way taking
credit for creating this training plan, just sharing the exact
one I used. 

   Pinterest. Where it all began. Now I'll admit I'm a little bit of pinterest junkie. While I'm guilty of planing my futuristic wedding and future home decor on an unrealistic budget, contrary to the pinterest stigma, my main reason to explore pinterest is for all kinds of things that I actually CAN do. When baking became my favorite category I realized I was in serious need of an exercise plan. I came across a lot of home work outs, but many I knew at first glance I'd never have the motivation, therefore they were not 'repin' worthy. I even bought Zumba fitness for the Wii, which is fun but it began to feel weird dancing alone in my living room. When I came across this running schedule I thought it just might be do able...some day, when someone is willing to do it with me. I repinned and forgot about it for a while.

   Finally summer hit, no more classes, lots of extra free time. I decided it was finally time to get exercising (bikini season was a big motivation). I wasn't really in any need to loose weight so I wasn't looking for anything too extreme, but I needed something to get a little toned and stay/get into shape. I tried to get some people to workout with me but it never seemed to "work out" (pun!). Then while going through my pinterest boards looking for a new project I came across this running schedule and thought, "I'm doing it! Tomorrow!" (I tend to start things spontaneously) that night I wrote all of the run times into my calender and believe it or not, I did it and I still am. I could barley get through that first two minute run, but I carried on. I just finished week 4 and I'm going extremely strong. 

      I've honestly surprised myself with how well it's working. Some may say I'm taking it very slow, but it's what works for me and this is probably the most I have ever committed to running without quitting. I hope to go beyond this training schedule, maybe a 10k or a marathon someday! I've begun researching tips for better running and such and one of the things I found was to start a blog about your running, write about your trials and accomplishments share it with your family and friends for encouragement. I'm always looking for something good to blog about and my previous subjects have failed. So here I am, writing. I am combining something I love with something I [used to] hate. Ironic?   

My pinterest link just in case you're interested: pinterest.com/aleist3