Okay, I know it’s not really hard. But, two days in a row now I have woken up to an alarm, gotten OUT of the bed, and decided to climb back into the bed.

I have not been to the Y yet. Ugh.

In an effort to not ditch the blog even though I have so far ditched any fitness efforts, I thought I would share my next goal.

Ultimately I want to improve my time from last year’s Smithfield Sprint. My plan to do that is to up my running training and switch to clip pedals on my bike (and soon, so that I can begin to train with them). I think those two things alone should help my time tremendously.

So, to keep my running goal in focus, I am going to register for the Shamrock 8k Run on March 21, 2009. (I heard about it from Sarah.)

My husband, who has become quite the runner this past year, wants to run in his first marathon that weekend. So, I thought it would be fun to be included as well. An 8k is nothing compared to a marathon, I know that. But it is a good goal for me considering my triathlon is 3 weeks after and will only have a 5k run.

I still have not ever run more than a 5k at one time.

Anyway, so that’t that. I hope to be back tomorrow to post a workout.

I won’t be reaching any goals anytime soon if I’m not actually working out. I know that.

Well… it’s that time of year again. No, not the holidays. The cold… the dark… the down and out.

My husband went to the Y yesterday and re-activated my membership for… get this… FREE. Yeah, apparently Active duty soldiers and their spouses can use the YMCA for free now. I am not sure if that is nation-wide, state-wide, or just here in my little town. (That’s doubtful since this is NOT a military town.) But isn’t that the coolest thing!?

I haven’t been yet. I was in the office at 6am this morning. Tomorrow is my first day of the holiday season and you better believe I’m going to be resting. Well, I’m not really… but I’m not going to be working out, either. I have 3 photoshoots scheduled during my trip home as well as 3 recipes I am responsible for on Thursday… so it seems like I won’t be resting too much!

But when I get back Monday morning I plan on making the Y a regular morning activity. I have missed activity. I have been down and out lately… glum… blah… bleh.

And… completely stressed. There’s just too much on my plate. Work, photography, marriage adjustment, social life, homesickness, stress, stress, stress!

Plus, I think my heart/lungs are in bad shape. I plan on getting to the Dr. a.s.a.p. (we’re in the middle of an insurance swap due to husband’s job switch). I have had trouble breathing (getting deep breaths) and at times getting slightly dizzy because of it. I will be careful during any exercise routine and listen to my body, but I just know I need some activity.

All that aside, Smithfield is next March and I plan on being there and improving my time from last year (significantly!)….!

I’ll be back next Monday to let you know how it goes! (How’s that accountability for ya… man I love this site!)

1. I’m super swamped these days @ work and haven’t been blogging much in general (even at my regular blog).
2. I haven’t been timing my runs (err, walk/jogs!). So I don’t really have much to submit in the stats department.
3. I actually have no clue how far I have been walk/jogging. I follow the same route in my neighborhood for the run almost three days a week. I think it’s about 2.4 miles, but I really don’t know for sure. What I do know is that it is a completely rolling course and though there are no flat areas, there sure are enough downhills to keep me encouraged.

So my friend Megan and I meet at least twice a week, sometimes three times a week, to exercise. We take a stroll (walk/jog) through one of our neighborhoods follwed by some strength exercises. It’s been really enjoyable and just recently we decided to zip our lips (we were wasting a lot of energy trying to talk!) and plug our ears with music. I ran twice as far (before having to stop & walk) with the music in my ears than I had since we started exercising again!

It’s been nice.

Also, I went to the VA Beach 1/2 Marathon to support my cousin. I didn’t run it… but I think I will next year! A TON of people walk the event, and even more walk/jog it… I know that I could absolutely do it. Question is — do I want to torture myself for 2.5-3 hours?!

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 08/14/2008
• Time: 06:45:00
• Total Time: 00:32:00.00
• Distance: 6 miles
• Average Speed: 11.25 mph

When I pulled my bike out of the garage, I realized this was the first time I had been on it since the triathlon. Whew.

It actually was a really nice ride. The trail was extremely flat, cool, so nice… and I surprised myself with how not out-of-shape I was… as far as the bike goes. (Let’s not talk about running.) I am really looking forward to getting clip pedals next month (is that what they are called?), I can’t wait to see how much it helps improve my time and speed!

This was a quick ride, but really nice. I prayed a lot and enjoyed it. (Complete opposite of my runs.) I met up with Sarah and she pulled ahead of me immediately. But had she not been there, I don’t think I would have pushed myself as hard as I did. I love the accountablity of fitness friends! She also helped me figure out why I have never successfully pumped my own tires — because my pump doesn’t actually fit my tire. Duh. Anyway, it was great to see her again and I hope to train with her more often… she challenges me and I like it!

I need to bike more — it’s something I enjoy. I need to participate more often in the (what I consider) enjoyable side of fitness to remind myself why I am doing this. Because it is fun and good for me.

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/13/2008
• Time: 18:10:00
• Total Time: 00:35:00.00
• Distance: 2.4 miles
• Average Pace: 14:35.91/mile

Met up w/ Megan again. This time in my neighborhood — the rolling course. I showed her the ropes. She likes my neighborhood, saying “it’s pretty.” Haha. I think our walk/runs are good for my soul. I was a little dehydrated but she pushed me through it. When it gets hard and we want to walk, we’ll say it and then let the other make a mini goal for us: “Okay, we can walk when we reach that stop sign up there.” I think that is helping us push one another. We both miss being able to run the full two miles and enjoy it the entire way.

So, we’ll get there!

This was nice. Actually I hated it, but…. not as much as the first day. It’s getting easier.

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/11/2008
• Time: 18:00:00
• Total Time: 00:20:00.00
• Distance: 1.5 miles
• Average Pace: 13:20/mile

Megan and I met up for a slight jog. She was babysitting her cousin’s daughter and wanted so badly to NOT miss our run because of it that she went out earlier that day and bought a jogging stroller! Do you remember that this is my newlywed friend, Megan? Haha. I admire her dedication. She said “I am going to need one some day anyway!”

I was relieved to find that she was just as out of shape as I was… though she was pretty disappointed in herself. We spent most of the trail walking and talking. I think we might have needed the talk more than the run. But overall, it was a good time!

We’re meeting again tomorrow to run in my neighborhood — a rolling course! Yikes! Hopefully we’ll do more running than walking. (I think we will.)
Last night Tommy told me I should do some push-ups because I “have great arms” and push ups would make them “look even better.” How funny is he? I told him about the 100 push-up challenge and he said he would do it with me. I guess we’re starting it today.

MAN I am terrible at self-motivation!

Also, I mentioned to him that “everything seems so much better when I am working out.” He agreed whole-heartedly. I feel better, I drink more water, I eat better, I see friends more and get better conversation which is good for my soul, and I get more sunlight which also does a lot more than people give it credit for!

We can’t be eating dinner directly before bed time! So I suggested we “eat raw” for dinner… to avoid eating bad foods and then hitting the sack immediately and cancelling out all of our hard work during that day. He is up for that!

Well, that poses another challenge. If he is eating raw for dinner, that means he needs to be eating good, solid healthy foods through the day. PLANNED meals. Well, I know what snacks are good for me to eat and what are good portion sizes for me. But I have no idea how to help my husband maintain a good diet throughout his work day. Plus he is 1.5 hrs away from me so it’s not like we can meet for lunch and hold each other accountable.

Any ideas of good snacks I can pack for him for his work day? He leaves the house at 4:45am and isn’t really up for eating anything until after his 7am run. He eats lunch at 12pm on the dot every day and those meals range from a Subway sandwich to a full on Italian meal, depending on his attitude towards his diet that week and who is inviting him to lunch (or not). I would like to pack him a variety of snack food he can eat throughout the day and advise him of a few different lunch options he can choose from throughout the week at different restaurants in the area (ceasar salads, subway sandwich, etc?).

I think I am trying to gain all of the same nutrition information I’ve learned about my own body in the last 10 years about HIS body in the next week. Ha ha. Can anyone give me a heads up?

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/07/2008
• Time: 17:20:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 15:00/mile

This was a “let’s run on Thursday” plan with Jen. So we met up… and it was miserable. And I KNOW everyone says “Running is 90% mental.” And I countered that the whole time saying “I hate this… I hate this… this is absolutely miserable.” Because it WAS. I hated it.

Jen said “Why? Why do you hate it?” And I thought about it and analyzed it and here’s what I came up with: I am heavy! And it hurts when my body bangs to the ground! And I haven’t worked back up to running again or even halfway enjoying jogging.

By the end of the “run” (ha ha) I remembered what it was that got me into enjoying the jogging scene (no I was not enjoying myself, but I did recall what might help me enjoy myself in the future). And that is music and deep breathing. I do enjoy listening to my breathing and hearing myself get healthier (that’s what I like to think of it as). All the while listening to my little ipod and encouraging myself. So, maybe I need to get out there for a few jogs on my own.

Time’s a’tickin’….

Tomorrow I have plans to meet Jen for a run at 5:15pm at my favorite trail in town. Yippee! Yesterday Megan and I planned two runs a week for the next four weeks. They are on our calendars and we’re serious about them. I am so excited!

Tommy and I also talked last night about watching our diets and getting serious about being more active. He’s running 4 miles a day at work now. They just started a compressed work schedule and he gets paid for PT, so I think he’s trying to spend MORE time doing PT, haha. So that is encouraging to me, too!

I am excited! It’s actually really fun to go back and read older blog entries of mine, too. More encouraging than I thought. Pretty neat.

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/04/2008
• Time: 08:15:00
• Total Time: 00:40:00.00
• Distance: 3 miles
• Average Pace: 13:20/mile

I found a friend to run with. If you all remember, my being able to get out there and run highly depends on me finding a running partner. Well, I found a new friend who also wants to train for her second triathlon also, so we are in this together! It’s great because we are on the same level, too.

We walked/jogged a lot of this 3 miles but I couldn’t believe how quickly the end came! At one point she said “let’s run again, that’s the end up there.” I said “What!! It is?! Okay, let’s go!” She lives about 45 mins from me and we met halfway to run a well-known loop. We passed a few runners and  lots of other walkers, too. I am excited to stick to familiar trails because it’s so great to see myself improve and KNOW I am improving when I run the same trails.

In perfect timing, my friend Megan emailed me today and said “I want to start running again, tell me your schedule and I will work around it. I will even come to your neighborhood.” How great is THAT!

In addition… I just spent the last 15 mins or so reading through all old entries under the category “run” and wow… was that encouraging. I am glad I was so open and honest in my writing. I had forgotten how fun it was to run and see myself improve so quickly. Not to mention, I do really miss the camaraderie around here.

Alright, so this week I hope to get in two more runs and at least one bike ride. I also hope to get new (clip) pedals put on my bike early next month. Woohoo. I think this triathlon I will have to do without new running shoes. We’ll see…
I’m excited!