Training Recap - Week 4

Hooray, another week of training is complete!  I don't have a lot to say about this week.  It was a good week overall and I completed all of my goals.  I am finding that my energy levels are starting to increase which is good because that means I get more done each day.  I am still struggling with the nutrition side.  I am a picky eater especially when it comes to vegetables and most fruit.  I am working on trying new things since I know that will help with the weight loss and help me feel better during my training.  I also have a hard time getting up in the morning (I am a night owl) to have breakfast so I have to pick things I can either eat on the way to work or once I get to work. This is another area I am working on.  One thing at a time though. 

Sunday February 16th --Rest day. 

Monday February 17th-- 2.62 miles  36:32 mins  Fitbit log 10,683 steps 

Tuesday February 18th-- Yoga 60:00 mins Fitbit log 10,035 steps

Wednesday February 19th--2.61 miles 36:24 mins Fitbit log 11,886 steps

Thursday February 20th-- 1.25 miles 30:02 mins. Fitbit log 13,007 steps

Friday February 21st--Rest day Fitbit log 11,090 steps

Saturday February 22nd-- 2.82 miles 40:08 mins Fitbit log 10,122

Training Recap-Week 3

Another week finished.  This week was tough physically and surprisingly it started with an intense massage on Monday night.  My massage therapist has been trying to help me get the tension out of my back, upper chest, forearms and shoulders.  I have been feeling numbness and tingling in my hands lately. The tightness in my shoulders and upper chest causes poor circulation in my arms.   Sitting at a desk all day for 8+ hours typing on a computer doesn't help.  I was a little surprised by how it affected my entire body. I felt like I had just completed an intense workout.  Tuesday I felt fine so I decided to try my first run out in the cold air.  My lungs didn't agree with it. They were burning when I got back home and I coughed the rest of the night.  I am going back to training on the treadmill until it gets warmer and the Utah air is a little cleaner.  Wednesday I was beat.  My whole body just ached.  I took the day off to rest.  I did some stretching which helped a lot but I did not walk or run at all.  Thursday was much better. I was still sore but ready to get back to my regular training schedule.  Friday was an easy day and unfortunately I missed my run on Saturday but I spent the evening chasing a 9 and 6 year old while carrying a 7 month old baby so I figure that was my workout for the night.  My nieces and nephew came over to play while my brother and sister in law went out for their Valentine's date. 

Sunday February 9th --Rest day. 

Monday February 10th--2.57 miles  36:11 minutes  Fitbit log 10,592 steps 

Tuesday February 11th--2.44 miles  36:33 minutes Fitbit log 10,304 steps

Wednesday February 12th--Rest day. Fitbit log 7,705 steps

Thursday February 13th--2.43 miles  36:22 minutes.  Fitbit log 9,519 steps

Friday February 14th--1.29 miles 20:02 minutes Fitbit log 10,226 steps

Saturday February 15th--Fitbit log 7,108

 

Weekly Update (February 2-8)

I can’t believe January is already over.  It was a super busy month for me so I guess that is why it went by so fast.  Superbowl Sunday was so much fun this year.  I was cheering for Bruno Mars.  He is one of my favorite music artists right now so I was super excited that he was performing in the Half Time show.  I think my family saw a side of me they haven’t seen in a long time as I danced to every song.  It was so much fun and I had a great workout too.  I forgot how much I love to dance.  My niece Ella danced with me for most of it.  As far as the real purpose of the super bowl I didn’t really care who won but I wore Seattle Seahawks colors since I don’t own any orange.  I chose the right colors to wear apparently.  I felt bad that the Broncos lost by so many points though.  The game was a little boring for me.  I prefer a game with a lot of action and close scores.   The commercials weren’t all that great either in my opinion.  This was the year of great music though.  Both "America the Beautiful" and our "National Anthem" were amazing and as noted above I loved the halftime show.  Overall it was a fun night.  For those who don’t know me that well, I really do love sports.  I prefer to go to live games especially baseball, basketball and soccer. 

I didn't take any pictures this week. Most of this week was dealing with some issues at work.  Monday and Tuesday were extremely emotional days.  By Thursday after some changes things looked better.  I don't want to get into a lot of details but these are changes that have needed to be made for several years.  I have been doing the work of 2 1/2 full time employees for three years and lately I have been very burned out.   After a long discussion with my boss and our HR director we were able to come up with a better system and I think things will start to improve over the next few months.  I love the work I do and I wanted to continue to be happy with my job but some changes needed to be made.  The other thing that happened is that my closest friend at work quit so that was a little hard for me as well.

Outside of work most of my week was spent training and resting.  I have some organizing projects that I have been working on.  I just can't seem to get my space organized and clean.  I am a perfectionist and want it to be exactly as I have planned.  Unfortunately a lot of my ideas don't work in the space I have at my parents home.  It will come together eventually though. 

Training Recap – Week 2

The second week is complete.  I got a little lazy this week because I haven't been feeling like myself.  I had a very emotional couple days at work.  I just wanted to climb in bed and never get out.  I still did my 4 days of walk/runs but I did not do my best.  By Thursday I had snapped out of the funk and I was ready to get back to work.  Thursday was an easy walk day which I needed.  I felt so energized after the walk. 

Sunday February 2^nd --Rest day.  I don’t usually exercise or even wear my Fitbit tracker on Sunday but I did today and I logged a whopping 2,905 steps.  I really took it easy today.  My body needed the rest. 

Monday February 3^rd--2.59 miles  36:18 minutes  Fitbit log 10,107 steps 

Tuesday February 4^th--Rest day from training. Strength (abs, back, arms). Fitbit log 5,546 steps

Wednesday February 5^th--2.14 miles 31:11 minutes. Fitbit log 10,094 steps

Thursday February 6^th--Easy Walk 1.05 miles 25:03 minutes.  Fitbit log 6,591 steps

Friday February 7^th--Rest day from training. Yoga. Fitbit log 7,150 steps

Saturday February 8^th--4.31 miles 1:05:24 hours Fitbit log 15,005

I was able to increase my walk/run ratio this week to 60/60.  I was doing 30/45 which means 30 seconds running and 45 walking.  Now I am doing 60 seconds running and 60 seconds walking.  It was an easy transition for me so I felt really good about it.  After all I have been doing 2-3 mile walks about 3 times a week for the past 6 months so it wasn’t like I started this training from scratch or from the couch.

I may have over done it a little on Saturday.  I did a lot of walking while out shopping with my mom plus my regular training.  I logged a little over 15,000 steps.  It felt great though.  I hit a new record of logging 50 miles walking on my Fitbit.  I have had it for over a year but I haven’t used it steadily until just recently.  It was fun to hit that record on Saturday.

I have decided that it is time to try training outdoors.  I have been training indoors the past two weeks because I didn’t really have the correct clothing to run out in the cold.  Today I went and purchased a couple new tops to wear outside in the cold. On my next training day I am going to try my first walk/run in the winter air.  I am hoping it doesn’t snow or I will end up on the treadmill again. 

The most exciting thing that happened to me this week is that I discovered we have a Lululemon store at Fashion Place mall (a mall fairly close to me for those readers who are not from Utah).  One of my favorite bloggers and youtubers (organizedjen) that I watch on a regular basis talks about the running/yoga clothing from this store.  I am excited that we finally have one nearby.  The clothing is a little on the pricey side and I am not quite down to the size they carry in most items but it gives me something to look forward to as I get closer to my goal.  I am determined to buy a super cute exercise outfit from there when I reach my ultimate weight loss goal.

First Week of Training

I know I said I was excited about the Half Marathon but this week I got a little nervous about it.  What if I can't maintain the 16:00 minute mile that is required to complete the race?  What if I get injured?  What if it is super hot?  What if?  What if?

I decided that I need to think positively.  I can do this.  I can walk a 15:00 minute mile so I should be fine.  My training is going great.  Besides it has only been one week.  I have until August 31st. 

I chose to do Jeff Galloway's Run Walk Run method for my training.  I love it.  You complete 4 days of Run/Walks, 2 days of 30 minutes, 1 day easy walk and the 4th day is a long run/walk that increases in mileage each week.  The other days you do cross training.

Day 1 --- 2.65 miles 26:24 min
Day 2 --- 2.06 miles 31:36 min
Day 3 --- 1.29 miles 20:02 min
Day 4 --- 3.31 miles 51:18 min

I did a little extra light walking on my cross training days.  I need to figure out some good cross training exercising to do on my non run days.  As far as my health goes I am feeling great.  I have a little more energy and I am starting to sleep better at night.  Next week I need to focus on eating better.

January Update

January has come and gone.  I seriously meant to write each week but January just flew by.  It was a busy month for me.  Work has been super busy with new goals for the year and trying to complete a few goals that were left over from last year that I did not accomplish. 

The most exciting thing that happened in the month of January was deciding to make another of my dreams a reality.  I registered to be a part of the Disneyland Half Marathon in August.  This may sound like a crazy dream to most people but it is something I have wanted to do for the past 5 years.  I started training on January 26th and so far I feel great about everything.  I am planning to blog about my training and the journey.  It is going to be quite the journey!