Victory!

So I wanted to follow up on my race status since the last post on my Movement from the Couch.  I have in fact completed both races, the 5K and the 4 Miler.  I am proud to say that I was able to run both the whole way!  I am not only impressed with completing those races, but my time for both wasn't half bad either.

Wounded Warrior 5K (aka - LM 5K)

So in my first for real race ever, I was mostly on time for the start.  I managed to get there, get out of the car, and find my posse I was going to start with with a handful of minutes to spare.  No one was under any illusion that we would run the whole race together.  Especially considering some flat out told me they would run the first short bit, be it a block or a mile and then walk the rest of the race.  :)  No hard feelings for sure.  By the end of the first hill we were all split up.  I fell somewhere in the middle of our group and just kept on trucking.  I have to say, the layout of this race did nothing for me.  It was an out and back (as people in the running business call it) which I have decided aren't my favorite, but for this one I couldn't remember where I had been running on the way out, so I didn't know where I was going on the way back.  That's just as annoying because you think you should know, you were only just there.  The course was anything but flat, so that also had some annoyance factor.  I think about half of the second mile was straight uphill.  The second half was at least downhill, but still not enough of a boost for all that uphill.  Haha.

Anywho, the overall weather was nice.  It felt too cool to run without a long sleeve shirt, but really, I didn't need it after about the first mile, but my bib was on there, so I couldn't just take it off.  Lesson learned.  :)

My overall time for that race was a 35:57, which put me at an 11:25 mile.  Way faster than I was hoping for, so that made me feel pretty giddy.  As for my first race, it was small, uncomplicated, and just a way to get out there and get timed.  :)

Mother's Day 4 Miler

How nuts must have I have been to sign up for a 4 mile race a week after finishing my first 5K?  My friend Megan had talked me into doing this race with her with all kinds of encouragement, "You'll be fine.  If you can run 5K, you can totally do 4 miles."  In the back of my head I was thinking, are you high?  Haha.  I am thinking of this from the perspective of a person who couldn't run a mile in February, so 4 miles seemed a bit of a tall order.  I went into this race thinking, ok, if I have to it's ok to walk.  My personal goal was to go at least 3 miles since I had demonstrated that I could handle that without many issues last weekend.  When I got to the third mile, I was thinking, "Ok, cool, well you can walk anytime now and no shame."  The back of my brain was like, seriously?  You can do this, get your butt up that hill and get on with it!   The back of my brain won out in the end.  I managed to pull it together for the last hill and finish the race without walking.  Totally shocked about that, but still kind of an ego boost.  "I CAN DO IT!"

So the overall results for my 4 mile status: finished in 46:49, which breaks down to an 11:42 mile.  I thought that was pretty fantastic for adding an additional 0.9 miles to my longest run which was only last week.  This also earned me 46 active minutes on my pedometer which topped off my max points for the day and earned me a badge of "Busy Bee" for having 45 active minutes in one day.  Winning!

So now I am an official running fool.  Onward ho!

Movement from the Couch

So I thought it might be nice to give an update on my attempts with the "Couch to 5K" program I started earlier this year (see earlier post of the subject here).  I re-read that post before starting this one and I have to say, that leap to 5 minutes, while intense mentally, my body was able to handle.  I was shocked that I didn't feel like passing out immediately afterwards either! 

I am proud to say I am still with the program and did not abandon ship at week 4 when I went up to 5 minutes of running.  I have now completed week 6 and am up to 22 minutes of running!  For whatever reason this seems to be working.  I think it's all in how this program is set up.  They really do take you from the wading pool into the deep end but at gradual stages.  I know for a fact if I had tried to just all out run for 20 minutes at the start, I would have said, "Eff this! I am going back to my couch!"  Someone was onto something when they created this.

I do find that I have more energy when I am done with a workout.  I know it's only going to be about 40 minutes from the time I leave my door until the time I get back so that helps a lot.  It's also been nice to see that I can handle an increase in physical activity with the increase in duration of running periods.  I must be building endurance/muscle to be able to handle it.  I didn't think my body was capable of that!  Shows what I know!

On these last few where I have done straight running for 20 and 22 minutes, I find it hard to keep my brain from going completely stupid on me.  I now understand why people listen to music and how that might make the workout go a bit faster.  Right now I just count in my head, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc until I get to 100 then  reset back to 1.  I count to help keep my pace right, but I probably don't need to for the entire 20+ minutes.  I just have no idea what else to do with myself while I am plodding along.  I people watch of course and pay attention to my surroundings, but from a multi-tasker, I find it hard to basically just be doing ONE thing. 

On the equipment investment, I am up to about $130 for new sneakers which were literally life changing and a pair of capri running pants.  They are super fabulous and comfortable too.  I didn't think the sneakers would make THAT much of a difference, but again, how wrong I was.  They made it feel more light on my feet.  I guess that's called support.  Haha.  The folks at Potomac River Running Company were really helpful.  They are also really big sponsors for races in the area (some right by my house) and host a number of them throughout the year. 

The crazy thing I saw the other day was a blog about motivation and fitness and something like the top 5 things to get into a routine and make it stick.  I usually scoff at these lists because they tend to be full of stupid things, but the one I found interesting was the, "Find your reason".  This may seem like a no brainer, but it made sense why they had it listed.  The reasons, "for something to do" or "I want to be healthy" probably aren't going to get you too far.  You really should make it as specific as possible.  I also want to be healthy, but I want to be healthy for my family and to be able to move and do what I need to in order to keep up with my young son.  I don't want to be the playground parent that sits on the bench and watches their kid play around.  I would much rather be the parent playing WITH my kid.  That is a specific reason and has significant meaning to me.  I am reminded every day when I hold my son or chase after him when he crawls.  He is a happy reminder that I am doing this for the right reasons for me. Might not be for everyone, but hey, you have to find YOUR reason. :)

 So far it's been working out and I hope it continues.  I have a tentative race lined up for 3 weeks from yesterday, when I should be wrapping up the training program.  We will see how close I get when I do the actual 5K race!

Couch to 5K

I have never been a real big fan of routine exercise unless we are talking yoga.  I could do that 5 times a week if only I could go to a studio and practice with people.  Have you ever tried to do yoga with cats around?  I assure you it adds a whole other dimension to your workout.  That being said, I have surprised myself with taking a recent interest in running.  Anyone that knows me would probably recall me poo-pooing the whole idea of running at some point in fitness conversations.  "Why would you want to do that to yourself?"  "How can running that long be good for you?" "You want to do a marathon?  Are you on drugs?!" 

I think having a kid puts your health in perspective.  I have been more physically active since having him and he isn't even walking yet.  It's only going to get harder from here on out.  I want to be the mom that can keep up (somewhat) with my kid(s) and enjoy spending time with them playing and running around.  And personally, I am tired of being the person who seems to be the only one who is struggling when we go for a hike or similar activity. 

So I have heard a lot about this program called "Couch to 5K" which inspires people like me who are essentially couch potatoes when it comes to running and getting them the ability to run a 5K.  They have a 9 week program which gradually walks you through the beginning and works you up to a 5K distance/time.  Straight from the web page: "Too many people have been turned off of running simply by trying to start off too fast. Their bodies rebel, and they wind up miserable, wondering why anyone would possibly want to do this to themselves."  Oh hells yes I may have done that once or twice. 

My problem always was finding a running partner that was actually at my pace.  Don't they say to get a workout partner to make you accountable?  Silly idiots.  I would tell people, "Umm, I am not very good at this and I don't run fast."  I would eagerly be greeted by "Oh me either!  It'll be fun!"  And so off we go and I was always the one, without fail, who wanted to die 10 minutes in.  I would think, ok, if this is my "this is really hard" and they are still moving and getting on with what appears to be at least 75% more ease than me, I must really suck at this.  Which eventually leads to - why bother?  Talk about demotivation.

So I have finally said, screw this, I'll figure out how to do this on my own and for ME.  So I finally looked into the program which is spelled out pretty clearly on the website and gave it some serious thought.  I was finally kicked in the rear when I found a 3 mile path that went right by our door.  Ok, this is it!  To really talk myself into this, I did the whole 3 miles walking and figured out the absolute maximum time it would take to complete.  For some reason my brain works better if I can plan out the maximum time rather than the actual time.  So I did the 3 miles in just under an hour so I knew that it would probably take less time than that for any workout and thus could form a plan of attack.

I have completed 3 weeks (although it's taken me about 5 due to weather and other nonsense) so far and I am excited and scared to start week 4.  I thought running for 3 minutes was a huge accomplishment, 5 seems a bit of a leap.  I might be repeating week 3 for a while.  But that's the beauty of this program.  You can set your own pace and expectation level. 

I think it's amazing I am still attempting any of this.  I got out in the coldest crappiest weather (for here) in the middle of February including one day in the cold rain, and I still want to do this.  I think spring is going to be down right delightful after what I have been out in.  At the end of the day, I want to be able to go out for 30 minutes, 3 times a week and get the recommended fitness box checked.  Do something to prolong my youthful years and if I loose weight and build muscle tone, all the better.

As a side note, I think it's hilarious how much physical activity can cost you once you think you really want to be "into it".  I am going to get fitted for a pair of running shoes for the first time ever.  I usually just pull a pair off the rack and say, ok, close enough!  But apparently, having the right shoes (and more importantly, the right fit) help a lot.  Since I am still going on this, I figure I can go ahead and make that investment.  And of course, buy new running capris and various other accessories.  Although I will say, March appears to be the time to buy fitness things because it's all on clearance now.  I guess if they didn't get you for New Year's Resolutions, they have already lost their top profit margin period.  Hahaha.

Happy trails!

Swinging Rackets

In our recent re-doubled effort to live a healthier, more active lifestyle, Rob and I played tennis yesterday. Played is probably too generous of a term, but hey we were out there in the heat and swinging our rackets.

Conveniently, our apartment complex has a court that we can use. It's opposite the gym on the main apartment office building. We had our options of going to the gym to get on machines or stay in the fresh air and do something different. We opted for different.

Neither of us has played in.... well, it's been a while. Thankfully through an odd series of events, we had a fresh, unopened can of balls (thanks Bill!) and both knew were our rackets were. Our first few serves were pretty silly, but we started to get into it. I don't think there was any way anyone could have kept score, but what matters is the ball moved from one side of the court to the other. Most of the time this was done with a racket. I am also proud to say we only had to fetch the ball from the woods twice, and from the parking lot three times. :)

As an added bonus, we were able to watch people hop into our very uncleaned nasty pool. Yeah, I think if I were in oh say, hell, it might start to look appealing. These are the same people who are going to wonder why they have a weird growth on their toes in a few days. Oh well.

Let's here it for getting out there and getting that heart rate up!

Fitness Challenge

In February I decided to cancel my gym membership. It was money I was spending on a service I wasn't using. Besides, our complex has the few machines that I would use if I decided I was motivated enough to go. That motivation is hard to come by especially with a jam packed schedule of full time work, a work business project done on my own time (hooray leadership programs!), school work, wedding planning, upcoming vacations, conferences, and a move on the horizon. Sometimes I just want to curl up and take a nap instead of spending more time away from everything else that seems to be calling for my attention these days. (As a side note - this also explains blog absenteeism)

Rob and I are trying to live the healthier life style. A lot of our meals come from Cooking Light and we rarely have "bad for you stuff" in the house. Even our diet soda spurt was short lived. This also means trying to stay active. Rob has done great with playing racquetball with a classmate of his twice a week. I have been keeping up with yoga and now seem to be walking a few miles a day it seems based on where I park, where I work and all the meetings I attend during the day. But we have decided a few times a week to go to the complex gym together. This serves as my motivation; having someone prodding me along.

I always liked being active and exercising. It's just clearing the hurdle of getting myself there in the first place. We both want to set up healthy habits now so they are easier to stick with later on. With his family history and health problems and me fighting my mother's genes, we will both be better off for it.

Netflix & XBox

Normally I don't enjoy writing about technical stuff. I get enough of that at work. However, I am going to make an exception because I am really impressed.

My normal take on the latest and greatest in technology is, what exactly does it do to make it worth that much? Or I seem to have gotten along fine without it so far. Or how complicated is this to learn/set up and do I want to be bothered with it? Most of the time I say forget it. I wouldn't call label myself as resistant to change, more like lazy to change. :P

Rob received an XBox 360 for his birthday last year which he was no doubt totally excited and pleased to get. Thanks to all of you that pitched in for it. I mostly smile and nod when he tells me about the cool things he has to ability to do with this machine. I think I tried to use the headset a few weeks ago, I didn't know what I was doing and accidentally invited Bruce to a party of nothing, all he heard was me swearing, and then I exited as if I hadn't done anything. That about sums up the way I approach new fangled things.

We have been subscribed to Netflix for over a year now. I am a fan of using this service. I get to watch a lot of cool stuff and they are super quick. We have the projector and sound system so I really prefer to watch most movies at home. I can get a beer, it's quiet, and if I fall asleep, I can rewind. Of course when Rob forgets to change what movie is coming if it's one of "his" movies and he then isn't able to watch it for a week, it doesn't thrill me but I just do other things instead. :P So when Netflix and Xbox combined I was a little leary of this mix, but kind of interested all at the same time.

Because we have the unlimited one out at a time, we have access to movies and TV shows through XBox. The selection is not huge, but I am pleased with it. For instance, CSI is available to watch 1-2 days after it's been aired which is nice when my school group wants to have a meeting when it's on TV. *enter grumbles here* I know I can watch it over the weekend and it's almost better because there are no commercials. Not all shows are available, but CSI is and that counts for a lot in my book.

The other neat feature with the instant downloads is you can add workout videos to your queue. So you can change up your workouts and not have to pay for the DVDs (or gym memberships) which is really nice. Of course, I have yet to actually do a workout from there, but they are in the queue. That's the first step.

So if I can figure out how to turn on the XBox and sign into Xbox live, I 'll be good to go!

The Continuing Journey of Yoga

I have now been practicing yoga for over a year. This is pretty amazing when I stop to think about it. I haven't manage to continuously do much of anything for over a year aside from yoga except blogging apparently. :)

I started yoga without much knowledge of how to do any of it. Now I feel comfortable in the classes and enjoy some of the poses. I remember the first time I went into plank pose and Vicki (instructor) told us hold it there for a minute. I thought, surely she is joking. I could only watch the class go into side plank (see below) from there. As she was doing all of this, she was talking about building your strength and knowing your limits. Well, that day I knew where my limits were. I was happy to watch everyone else in awe.

Side Plank

Last night we did some pose switching from downward dog to plank and repeat about ten times. I did it without the struggle I experienced in those first few classes. We even got to side plank pose which has not come up in class in a long time. I was actually able to get into it and hold it for a while. In fact, I tried the next level of this pose or the full expression of the pose (see below). I was not able to get my leg up that far and I was a little more hunched in, but I managed to grab my toe and pick it up a fair distance and didn't fall over! That's the great thing about yoga, it's all about personal achievements. A year and some months ago, I looked at this in disbelief that people's body's could actually do this and here I am now managing to grab my toes!

Side Plank - Full expression

Not only have I been able to achieve new poses, I have a greater appreciation for the practice itself. When I am stressed or need focus, I know I can turn to yoga to find calm and center myself. I find I have a greater respect for myself and my limits and even to some extent what I can expect of others. I am also trying to let go more or as some would put it - not to sweat the small stuff. It's not easy, but I am making progress.

Rob even got me a couple of books on yoga for Christmas which I thought was just fantastic. He emailed Amanda to get the contact into for my yoga instructor. He asked her for some recommendations of books that would be good to help me have a greater understanding of yoga. I had talked about this, but failed to get the recommendations so he did that part for me. The books I got were Meditations from the Mat and Yoga; The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness. So far I have only had the chance to read the meditations book. I like it. :)

Does this sound corny? Probably to those who don't really get yoga, but I don't care. It's my escape from the sometimes less than pleasant world we experience each day. And I think if anyone can find that escape, they should take it and savor it. It really is a beautiful thing.

Back To The Gym

It's been a while since I have been to the gym. Travel, vacation, and really hot weather have been the main drivers in keeping me away. But the good part is, I returned.

I got out of work and went straight to the gym. Going home would have doomed me to surfing the web, watching TV, and reading books. I know, it's been part of the reason I have been away so long. I got to the gym and hopped on the elliptical for a while just to ease back into things. I jammed to my IPOD which took a little bit of set up, but I got it working, and had a good old time.

When I left the gym, a considerable increase of people were trying to find parking spaces for the gym. Often they will troll the aisles in hopes of finding one right near the door. I have taken to just parking in the first spot I see, but watching people do this baffles me. They are going to the gym to presumably work out for some period of time and can't walk an extra 30 yards to plenty of available parking. Of course, I don't understand the two people who were next to me on the elliptical machines who grabbed the hand rails to off set their weight and paddle really fast either. At least they were all making an effort to be there. That's more than some I guess.

Monday Night Kick Boxing

If you have been following along at home, you know by now that I recently joined a gym. It's been almost a month now since I joined. In that time I have tried to get a taste of the classes they have to offer. So far I have made it to four different classes. No repeats yet.

The first was Cycle class. Now I thought I was in decent shape before, however I was not prepared for this hell. I am not kidding when I say, five minutes into this class I thought I was going to pass out. You basically run on the bike off the seat the whole time. Sarah doesn't run normally, never mind the bike. I managed to survive while sitting for the hour and ten minutes the class went on for. My butt hurt at the end which I considered a small price to pay to for the ability to walk.

The next class I tried was yoga. Most of you probably also know I take a separate yoga class from the gym. After taking this class, it will stay that way. It was ok, but it was just totally different. My class on Sunday - 10 people, class there - 50-60 people. Studio - mellow, calm; Gym - louder, sense of being rushed. It didn't really push me either. It's nice to go if I just want to supplement, but it will not replace.

I had been taking a water aerobics class on Wednesdays with some girls from work before joining the gym. Those same girls joined with me and we decided to try the aqua fit class. I would do this one again. I was sweating while in the pool and felt like I did some good work. The instructor doesn't know how to fill down time while we are doing the exercises so she repeats things like, "kick" about 100 times. I can tune it out. I hope.

Last night, I tried their kick boxing class. I haven't taken one since college, but I liked it then, so I wanted to be sure to try the class there. It kicked my butt from the very beginning, but I never felt like, "I can't do this" like I felt with the cycle class. I was drenched in sweat by the end, but the class flew by and I hurt today in the good way. I felt so good after class that I am looking forward to next Monday's already. I now have a date night at the gym. Me, kick boxing, Mondays, Heidi too, gotta love it. :)

Did this read a little like Goldilocks and The Three Bears? Kind of felt like it when I was typing. Oh well, point was made. I hope.

I Am A Card Carrying Member!

Yesterday I did something radical. Well, I better not get that carried away. However, I did go scope out a gym after work yesterday with two of my friends from work.

I had been looking for a long time to join one, but I didn't want to listen to the sales pitch. If it's one thing I can't stand, it's the persuasion techniques of sales people. I took the class in college that told me all about it. I can tell when they are being used on me and it urges me to punch them in the face. Not the best reaction, so I figured going in groups would help resist the urge and provide some back up to the, "I'm not stupid" look/comeback.

We got the general tour and let me just say, best locker rooms I have ever seen. The salesman tried his pitch which was not as bad as I was thinking it would be. I had gone in with what I was willing to pay for the monthly fee and the "initiation fee" (aka BS fee). I ended up paying less that half of what I had in mind. Sweet!

In any event, I felt the group approach helped because he knew he could get all three of us to sign up so he was willing to cut us a deal. Quite honestly, they can do whatever they want, but it's nice when they exercise the right to make a good deal. Haha, get it? Exercise the right? Besides, having people to go with helps.

Anywho, now I just have to go. I am considering doing it tonight, but we will see. :)

Yoga Does a Body Good

Last weekend Amanda invited me to attend a yoga class taught by a lady she has it with during the week courtesy of the county. She has been talking about it for a while now and I have kind of wanted to try it but don't know the first thing about it. This instructor teaches a Sunday at 4pm class so it's at a pretty good time when nothing else is going on.

I got there and met the bubbly instructor. She's got a good personality and didn't make me feel like an idgit for not having a clue about what I was doing. I liked that. She also didn't push to get into that "perfect pose". She said, whatever you can get to is perfect for you. Kind of like an A for trying. I am sorry, but I can not make a V with my butt on the ground and torso and legs in the air. For those that think yoga is just about stretching ought to try that pose and hold it for a minute.

At the end of the session I felt pretty good. It's weird, you get an exercise and actually break a sweat, but at the same time it's relaxing. There is soothing music playing the background, she talks in a low, encouraging voice, and it's slow controlled movements. It kind of calms and centers you. If you have never experience yoga, I would say, go for at least one session just to see what it's like.

This neat article explains some of the health benefits to yoga which I have heard mentioned time and time again. This instructor for the Sunday class is a walking example of how yoga can help. She had arthritis and scoliosis and since starting yoga, she has no pain from either and has not been sick, even a head cold. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Can't hurt to give it a whirl and if I feel better physically and mentally after each session, I think it's worth doing.