This is a double update that covers the last 2 weeks. My nieces were in town for a week, and I chose to hang with them rather than spend my time on Blogger. I hope you'll forgive me and read on.
Day-by-day
Monday 29: awesome weather for an early morning 2mi run. shaved another 30 seconds off my previous time. loved having the alone time after having a full house all weekend.
Tuesday 30: 30-minute Get Toned Beginner Body Flexor workout. after 3 weeks of 45-minute workouts, 30 minutes seemed to be over as soon as it began. I think it was also because it was all exercises I've done before, including a lot of squats and lunges, so that also helped it go by quickly.
Wednesday 31: another 2mi run. it was about a minute slower than Monday, but that was partly because it was raining for the first 1/2 mile or so, so I was treading carefully. the rain definitely kept a lot of people indoors, because I didn't see any of the regulars I normally see when I'm out at that time. it was nice and cool while it was raining, but once it stopped, it was a bit muggy the rest of the way.
Thursday 1: 30-minute Get Lean Beginner Jump Start workout. this one again felt like it was over as soon as it started, but this time I was not complaining, especially after the squat jumps and mountain climbers and tuck jumps. those are hard on the quads.
Friday 2: 3mi run. this one was a lot tougher and a lot slower than last week's 3-miler. my guess - which I'm completely making up, by the way - is that my eating has been really bad this week [too much Indian food], and my body was just not in the mood for that run. and me being me, I decided at the beginning that I should try to push myself, which meant I was struggling at the end. either way, I was definitely glad when it finished. lesson learned for future long runs: take your time, and make sure your body is prepared to follow through on your mind's plans for it.
Saturday 3: sleep and rest.
Sunday 4: 3.5mi run. I slowed my pace down and took my time, and I'm really glad I did. My run was good, and I felt like I still had something in me at the end.
Monday 5: 2.5mi run. this was the first time I've had to run on back-to-back days, and I was initially nervous about how my knees would hold up, but it turned out to be alright. I did, however, fall almost straight back into bed once I got back home. two mornings in a row of waking up at 5.15am took their toll, and since the brother and the nieces were still sleeping, I figured I might as well, too.
Tuesday 6: 30-minute Get Strong Beginner Full Action workout. talk about ouch. squat flips, multiple sets of tuck jumps, and some wall sits. my quads were not very happy with me. I'm really glad this one was only 30 minutes, because it was rather intense.
Wednesday 7: 3mi run. probably the worst run I've had in my 4 weeks of training. I was super sluggish, it was majorly humid outside, and I just didn't feel great about it. the incline coming back on Forest Hill-Irene nearly did me in, and I actually had to pause my run a few times to catch my breath and stretch my hamstrings.
Thursday 8: 45-minute Get Strong Beginner Pump Station workout. overall a pretty good workout. I'm still having trouble with plank rows and plank walks, but I'm slowly improving. I just still find them really awkward, but I'm hoping I'll get used to them.
Friday 9: 30-minute stretching session. it was nice to have a kind of day off and to stretch out my muscles.
Saturday 10: 4mi run. not as good as the 3.5 miler from the past Sunday, but still better than Wednesday's 3. the humidity is what is really getting to me, and that hill coming back on Bazemore was tough, but I made it through. I changed up my route a bit, and I'm glad I did; it was nice to get some new variety. I ran the length of Forest Hill-Irene to Walnut Grove, then up to the light at Sanga, along Sanga to Bazemore, up Bazemore, and then across FH-I and around Riveredge [it wasn't as complicated as it sounds]; the run on Sanga was particularly nice and was a stretch I'd not run before.
Sunday 11: rest! sleep in! joy!
Marathon, not sprint...
I was feeling pretty proud of myself after those runs the previous week, so this week I tried to push myself to lower my pace even more. What I forgot was that my diet was all screwy because of the combination of leftovers in our fridge, being too lazy to make a salad or some fish each evening, and then the arrival of my nieces from Houston for a week, which meant we were eating out and eating junk a lot. The result was that some of my runs were painful. More painful than they should have been.
Going into Sunday's run - on the 4th - I had to keep reminding myself: "this is a marathon, not a sprint". That is to say, "slow down, Veen. stop pushing yourself so heard, and listen to your body when it's trying to tell you something". I have a feeling it's a mantra that is going to be on repeat in the next 3 months, and one of these days, I'm finally going to listen to that inner monologue of mine.
Getting back on the healthy eating train
So my eating. To put it simply, it's been terrible the last 2 weeks. We've had visitors, we've been making a lot of Indian food, we've been eating out a lot, and I have felt how it's taken a toll on both my body and my training. I also got out of the habit of logging my food, simply because it's too difficult with Indian food. So with all of that going on, my eating took a turn for the worse.
With no visitors on the horizon, I am employing my self-discipline and am going to be extra careful with my eating in the coming weeks. I foresee lots of fruits, salads, and fish in my future. I like all of those things, so it's not like it's going to be painful or difficult; it's just that it's going to take a good bit of self-control. And I still allow myself some indulgences from time-to-time.
So here we go, back to it.
xx
Day-by-day
Monday 29: awesome weather for an early morning 2mi run. shaved another 30 seconds off my previous time. loved having the alone time after having a full house all weekend.
Tuesday 30: 30-minute Get Toned Beginner Body Flexor workout. after 3 weeks of 45-minute workouts, 30 minutes seemed to be over as soon as it began. I think it was also because it was all exercises I've done before, including a lot of squats and lunges, so that also helped it go by quickly.
Wednesday 31: another 2mi run. it was about a minute slower than Monday, but that was partly because it was raining for the first 1/2 mile or so, so I was treading carefully. the rain definitely kept a lot of people indoors, because I didn't see any of the regulars I normally see when I'm out at that time. it was nice and cool while it was raining, but once it stopped, it was a bit muggy the rest of the way.
Thursday 1: 30-minute Get Lean Beginner Jump Start workout. this one again felt like it was over as soon as it started, but this time I was not complaining, especially after the squat jumps and mountain climbers and tuck jumps. those are hard on the quads.
Friday 2: 3mi run. this one was a lot tougher and a lot slower than last week's 3-miler. my guess - which I'm completely making up, by the way - is that my eating has been really bad this week [too much Indian food], and my body was just not in the mood for that run. and me being me, I decided at the beginning that I should try to push myself, which meant I was struggling at the end. either way, I was definitely glad when it finished. lesson learned for future long runs: take your time, and make sure your body is prepared to follow through on your mind's plans for it.
Saturday 3: sleep and rest.
Sunday 4: 3.5mi run. I slowed my pace down and took my time, and I'm really glad I did. My run was good, and I felt like I still had something in me at the end.
Monday 5: 2.5mi run. this was the first time I've had to run on back-to-back days, and I was initially nervous about how my knees would hold up, but it turned out to be alright. I did, however, fall almost straight back into bed once I got back home. two mornings in a row of waking up at 5.15am took their toll, and since the brother and the nieces were still sleeping, I figured I might as well, too.
Tuesday 6: 30-minute Get Strong Beginner Full Action workout. talk about ouch. squat flips, multiple sets of tuck jumps, and some wall sits. my quads were not very happy with me. I'm really glad this one was only 30 minutes, because it was rather intense.
Wednesday 7: 3mi run. probably the worst run I've had in my 4 weeks of training. I was super sluggish, it was majorly humid outside, and I just didn't feel great about it. the incline coming back on Forest Hill-Irene nearly did me in, and I actually had to pause my run a few times to catch my breath and stretch my hamstrings.
Thursday 8: 45-minute Get Strong Beginner Pump Station workout. overall a pretty good workout. I'm still having trouble with plank rows and plank walks, but I'm slowly improving. I just still find them really awkward, but I'm hoping I'll get used to them.
Friday 9: 30-minute stretching session. it was nice to have a kind of day off and to stretch out my muscles.
Saturday 10: 4mi run. not as good as the 3.5 miler from the past Sunday, but still better than Wednesday's 3. the humidity is what is really getting to me, and that hill coming back on Bazemore was tough, but I made it through. I changed up my route a bit, and I'm glad I did; it was nice to get some new variety. I ran the length of Forest Hill-Irene to Walnut Grove, then up to the light at Sanga, along Sanga to Bazemore, up Bazemore, and then across FH-I and around Riveredge [it wasn't as complicated as it sounds]; the run on Sanga was particularly nice and was a stretch I'd not run before.
Sunday 11: rest! sleep in! joy!
Marathon, not sprint...
I was feeling pretty proud of myself after those runs the previous week, so this week I tried to push myself to lower my pace even more. What I forgot was that my diet was all screwy because of the combination of leftovers in our fridge, being too lazy to make a salad or some fish each evening, and then the arrival of my nieces from Houston for a week, which meant we were eating out and eating junk a lot. The result was that some of my runs were painful. More painful than they should have been.
Going into Sunday's run - on the 4th - I had to keep reminding myself: "this is a marathon, not a sprint". That is to say, "slow down, Veen. stop pushing yourself so heard, and listen to your body when it's trying to tell you something". I have a feeling it's a mantra that is going to be on repeat in the next 3 months, and one of these days, I'm finally going to listen to that inner monologue of mine.
Getting back on the healthy eating train
So my eating. To put it simply, it's been terrible the last 2 weeks. We've had visitors, we've been making a lot of Indian food, we've been eating out a lot, and I have felt how it's taken a toll on both my body and my training. I also got out of the habit of logging my food, simply because it's too difficult with Indian food. So with all of that going on, my eating took a turn for the worse.
With no visitors on the horizon, I am employing my self-discipline and am going to be extra careful with my eating in the coming weeks. I foresee lots of fruits, salads, and fish in my future. I like all of those things, so it's not like it's going to be painful or difficult; it's just that it's going to take a good bit of self-control. And I still allow myself some indulgences from time-to-time.
So here we go, back to it.
xx
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