Busy Busy Busy

I've just gone through a couple of busy weeks with my business, but somehow I've managed to keep up with my training.  In my last post, I was optimistic about the pain I've been having; however, after my workout on Tuesday (1.44 miles in 17 minutes), I found that my hip was pretty sore. My stroke improvement class is coming along - I seem to whine less and less each week.  Yesterday, I got to work on my back crawl, which used to be a nice relaxing stroke; however, I have learned that there is much more to it than I had thought!  I had the pleasure of company for my workout last night.  I think that having someone with me made me push through the pain, but I'm definitely paying for it this morning (1.47 miles in 18).  The other day, I called a physiotherapy centre that was recommended by my doctor, and found out that I can get a whole running package to help get me started.  I hesitated because the cost is fairly substancial, but I think that it will be essential for me actually making it to running a marathon.  So, I suppose later today I will book my first appointment and worry about how I'm going to finance it later.  Add in new shoes, a new swim suit (my old ones are either waaay to big or waaay too old), and maybe some appropriate workout clothes, and I'm going to be eating pb&j for a while lol!  I price I'm willing to pay.  It's been almost 10 years since I met my last big goal, and I'm so glad that I have finally found the next big one :)

One Blah Sunday in January

I haven't been out to the Y as much as I would like lately - I was torn between resting my whining ankle and hip and maintaining my schedule.  I went out this afternoon not knowing what I was going to do when I got there.  As I'm wandering through the machines, I look at the bikes and the elliptical machines and thought ick!  So true to form, I hopped on the treadmill hoping that all would be well.  I was pleasantly surprised when there was only some minor pain - moreso from the walking than from the running.  Now this is where I may have been a little overzealous - I decided that I was going to skip up to running 1.5 min intervals the whole way through.  I really enjoyed the workout and didn't have a problem with the increase - but I again was overzealous and decided to see how long I could run at the very end of my workout.  So, after 50 min of walking and running, I managed 3.5 min (0.26 miles) before I came to my senses and cooled down.  So today I did a total of 1.36 miles in 17 min, and a grand total of almost 4 miles in 58 min.  I must admit that it felt great, but I know I'm going to pay for it later.  As I write this, my cheeks are still rather pink.  The one thing I wish I could change is how red my face goes.  Perhaps that is something that will lessen as I get more in shape.  Hopefully I will get out to the Y for a swim tomorrow - test the waters out in Collingwood.

Speedbump or Roadblock?

I think I was trying to ignore the fact that my ankle was hurting more, and that the pain was beginning to move into my hip as well. Saturday evening I went to the Y and talked myself into continuing with my running schedule... bad move. On Sunday, I had to admit that this problem wasn't going to go away if I didn't change something. So, yesterday I went to the pool to work on my rather lackluster swimming skills. I can't believe how hard it is just to swim two lengths in a row! I guess as a kid I never really swam in a straight line and my objective was more to see how many somersaults I could do consecutively! I managed to do a total of 12 lengths in some fashion or another. This morning I realized just how hard the swimming is on my neck and shoulder. It seems that I am amassing a number of issues to work out. Right now, I’m contemplating what I am going to do tonight – do I test out the ankle? Do I work on the swimming? Or maybe I should try cycling for a change so that I can add a pain in the derriere to my list of annoyances.

It's Always About the Math

I sat here tonight and calculated just how I'm going to make it to 3 miles by June first.  My original plan was to use five minute intervals to convert walking to running, with a total of 10 intervals.  The plan was to start at one minute of running per interval, then after three weeks, up the running to one and a half minutes, and so on.  Over the last week, I have been adding the half minute to one interval at a time.  This means that today, I did four 1 1/2 minute intervals and six 1 minute intervals, and Friday I will do five and five.  I checked out the math of this second strategy and it will actually get me to my goal just slightly ahead of time.  This new strategy makes sense to me and seems less painful overall.

I'm starting to appreciate some of the fringe benefits of working out - chatting with new people, checking out what other people are up to, and feeling like I belong there.  I realize that the Y will slowly take on the smell of an old arena change room, and the equipment will begin to show the telltale signs of age, but for now, it is a great place to spend a couple of hours! 

0.96 miles today, and next workout will be 1 whole mile - woohoo!

A New Home for My Thoughts on My Journey

After fighting with another program for a few days, here I am, and hopefully here I stay. Saturday morning swimming was a bust after discovering that the remote for the cable box was not working. After an hour of jiggery-pokery, I admitted defeat over the remote and realized I was too late to go for a swim. I did manage to make it out that evening though. I thought I'd jump in, work on my technique, and have some fun while I was at it. One of my worst enemies - frustration - hampered my plan. I just couldn't seem to get comfortable in the water; breathing was next to impossible. I managed to make it across the pool a few times and relied on my exceptional floating abilities to keep me going. I discovered the evils of chlorine that evening. I smelled of it after I showered, I smelled of it after showering the next day, and my hair still smells of it! I suppose I will have to ask around to see how others deal with it. Today I struggled to get out the door when I intended to, but I made it for my workout. While I was running, I realized that I probably need to increase my pace again to make the running seem more natural. I'm not sure how that will affect my game plan, but I suppose I will find out. Today I ran 0.9 of a mile and hopefully next time will be 0.92 or 0.96. It would be great to be at 1 mile by the end of the week. Upward and onward!

I think I Left the Best Parts Out of the First Few Blogs...

First off, I have to say that I am pretty proud of myself for dragging myself out to the Y this morning - it was about the last thing I felt like doing after having a rather sleepless night. I'm now up to 0.86 of a mile and by the end of next week I will be over the mile mark :) In my earlier posts I think I left out some interesting facts. I was infact terrified of the treadmill to begin with. I held on for dear life going about 2 miles an hour! Every time I got off I felt like I had just been on a roller coaster. I take my mp3 player (thanks to my brother and sister-in-law) and listen to the new Black Eyed Peas album. I don't think anyone else there has as much fun as I do rockin out on the treadmill :) The only problem was that I would get so into it that I would snag the earphone cord with my hand and send the player halfway across the gym! I found that rather embarassing and quite annoying. Once, I didn't wait for the belt to completely stop before turning around and trying to walk off of it... I think I hurt my pride a little more than my butt when I fell off lol! I actually looked around and said out loud "Did anyone see that??" and then laughed my head off for the rest of the workout. It didn't take too long for me to figure out how to safely dismount the treadmill and keep my mp3 player from launching across the room. I've also overcome the need to hold on for dear life and enjoy just walking or running hands free. Tomorrow I think I'm going to go work on my swimming technique - I saw some of my classmates practicing today, so I suppose I should get out there and do some too.

Not that it means a whole lot, but I'm ranked #3 in my age group for the number of fitpoints earned so far this month. The scary thing is, I was ranked #1 last month!!

Can One Survive Without the Use of Their Arms?!

I think the stroke improvement class is going to kill me! So far I like the instructor - she's a bit young but seems to know what she's talking about. I was pretty intimidated going into the class, but the other people seem pretty nice and it was fun. I have never really swam with goggles before and that will take some getting used to. I think the first thing I really need to work on is learning how to breath effectively and keep my head in the water. Hopefully by next week my arms will have recovered - I've never had a very strong upper body. Tomorrow it's back to the treadmill - although I'm tempted to take the day off to recharge a bit. The last two weeks have had some really big changes, and sometimes i need to learn to slow down and have a little patience.

The First Speed Bump

I was thinking earlier this week what my first real challenge would be. I think it's here. I've had a kink in my neck for almost a week. It's driving me nuts - but worse is that it's making me feel not so great. It didn't stop me from going to work out this morning (0.82 miles) but it sure makes getting anything done more difficult. I'm wondering how my stroke improvement class is going to go tomorrow... I've endured chronic migraines for years - if I let a little pain in my neck stop me now, it will be a sad sad thing. I guess I'll continue to worship the Advil gods and hope that it works itself out :)

Happy New Year!

It's the 4th day of the New Year, and I am so glad to get back to a somewhat normal routine. I made it out on a cold blustery Saturday and got my workout in (3 miles - only 0.77 running) and today as well. I never would have thought that I would prefer to run over walking. Walking gives me the worst shin splints, but running doesn't! I can't wait until I up my running time (two weeks give or take). I did increase my running speed, so next time I will almost be at 0.8 of a mile. I kind of have mixed feelings about the stroke improvement class on Thursday - I don't know what to expect, and I'm going to have to get up a lot earlier than I would like to lol! Oh, and Zumba tomorrow - that is gonna kill me, but it's so fun!