Day 6: ow ow ow

Weight: 135.2

What I did today: Today was day 3 of week 1 of C25k. I got off work early enough to run home and get started before it got dark outside. Brrr! The temperature was supposedly 45 or so but it felt a lot cooler. After the 2nd set of running my arch pain came back with a vengeance. It wasn't as bad as the knee pain but it's clearly a sign of something else. I've know that I overpronate (basically I'm flatfooted) and have shoes to help with that, but back when I was walking I was still having issues so I got extra inserts which made a difference. But now I'm pretty sure those inserts were causing major knee pain when I was running. Needless to say I'm feeling pretty disheartened.

After my run I ran over to the library and picked up "Running Injury-Free by Joe Ellis (according to the book plate a donation from The Rodale Press," thanks guys!) and I'm already halfway through. It's kind of terrifying to read. The author keeps talking about horror stories of injuries that were never treated and bones just snapping all over the place. Did you know that women are more likely to get a running injury? Me neither. Apparantly it's those child-bearing hips. Grr. Now I'm trying to deliberate whether I should go by a new pair of sneakers or just cut to the chase and go to a physical therapist. I'll see what the rest of the book says, maybe there's still hope. If anyone had success with a PT in the past please let me know!

Day 5: Hip Hop Abs, All Day Long!

Weight: 135.2 (woot wooooot!)

What I did today: Tuesday nights are Fit Club at the library (my main source of exercise for the past year. Tonight we did Hip Hop Abs Extreme Cardio, which is a supplement video for those who have already done HHA before. I won't lie, I absolutely love Shaun T & HHA. There's something to be said for a workout you spend laughing - in a good way. The guy just cracks me up. I'll be buying the "big" Hip Hop Abs set in the beginning of the new year and I'm really looking forward to it.

My thoughts for now: The biggest thing that has surprised me so far is that I'm barely sore. I've been trying to focus on different areas each day so I don't overwork my muscles. I'm also thinking about seeing a nutritionist for my diet. I would like to lose weight, but I'm mostly worried that I'm not getting enough of the nutrients I need. If you've seen a nutritionist before, let me know what you're thoughts are.

Excited for tomorrow, back to running!

Day 4: I need some new workout clothes

Weight: 136.2 (this better be muscle weight gain...)

Since I ran yesterday and needed to switch it up a bit, I headed over to the local gym for some elliptical action. I ended up talking to the owner for a while, I mentioned that I was training for Tough Mudder and he said that he did it the year before. He's promising to load me up on tips (huzzah!).

The only thing that stinks about the gym are all the mirrors. I'm sure some people find them useful, but all I do when I workout is look at myself and think about how scummy I look in my gym clothes. I bought some real workout pants a while ago, but the rest of my uniform consists of Penn State t-shirts and even more t-shirts. 

Today's Selection

 

 

I think I'll buy myself a new real workout shirt for every two weeks that I stay on target. Unless, you know, I'm broke. Or I find a t-shirt I really like.

Day 3: If I can do this hungover, I can do anything

Weight: 135.6 (scale still broken?)

What I did today: C25k W1D2, Slim in 6 Slim & Limber

Last night was my ten year high school reunion, so I did what most normal people do: drank copious amounts of alcohol. My apologies to anyone I embarrassed last night, and thanks to a friend who drove me home (it was either that or a taxi).

I woke up this morning feeling pretty rough. After a few cups of coffee I finally got my butt outside to start Day 2 of Week 2 in Couch25k, which is the same as day one except five minutes longer. After discussing the major amounts of pain I was in on Day 1 with other people and all of them telling me "Yeah, that's not normal," I ended up taking the extra inserts out of my sneakers. PAIN IS NOW GONE. I could have danced, except I was too busy RUNNING! After a while I was starting to get sore, but nothing like the pain I was dealing with the first time. I had bought those inserts for extra support while walking (the arch in my right foot is collapsing and it really comes out when I walk).

I also downloaded the Couch25k app (thanks Janna!) which prompts you when to walk and run. This is a zillion times better than trying to count the seconds down and having people stare at me like I'm since I can't do this in my head. The app could work better - it kept messing with the volume of my music and I had to restart the program when stupid Apple Shuffle decided to stop playing. I downloaded the free version but will probably upgrade to the paid when the week is up.

I'm horrible at stretching, so when I got home I popped it Slim & Limber. Ohhhh my god I feel like a bowl of Jello now. Slim & Limber is a nice 15 minute stretching program that came with my Slim in 6 DVDs, a great workout program that I've been using for a while now. Now I'm convinced that the whole set was worth it just for that stretch.

I'm starting to get really excited, I might actually be able to do this. Maybe?

(Note: If you want to know more about Slim in 6, please let me know. A friend of mine is a TeamBeachbody coach and I like to support her when I can as she's been my biggest supporter in trying to get in shape)

Day 1: In which I realize my stupidity

Today's Weight: Between 132 and 135 (Thanksgiving was yesterday, I'm hoping my scale is wrong but it's probably not...sigh)

The Story: In a moment of drunken stupidity yesterday, I challenged a marathon runner to do Tough Mudder next year. I called him chicken for not wanting to do it as he's not a fan of being electrocuted (a portion of the event) and said "Hey, I'd do it," or something along those lines. Next thing I know he's got a maniacal gleam in his eyes and says, "Ohhh really?" At this point I have realized I have made a huge mistake, as now my options are #1 not do it and let him gloat for an unknown period of time or #2 actually sign up for it and suffer the obvious consequences. I signed up.

Why? I have been trying to get in shape for a while, but what better way to push myself than sign up for a non-refundable completely insane obstacle course six months from now? Why not?

I tried to find a picture to stick in here but all I got googling "pain and suffering" was people holding their face in their hands. Feel free to picture me doing this.

The Facts (as I know them):

• I am not a runner. This is bad, because it is recommended that to compete for this, you should be accustomed to running 5 or so miles twice a week. I can walk that much, but that's as far as it gets.
• I am only marginally in shape. I've been working on exercising several times a week for about two months now, but it's mostly light cardio and very little muscle building.
• I smoke and drink and eat too much. This may hinder progress.
• I am completely terrified.

The Plan: I'm going to start with the Couch to 5k program (hey, baby steps, right?!?) which you are supposed to do three times a week for nine weeks. During this I will try to exercise another two times a week, slowly adding in muscle building. Once C25K is over, then I'll attempt to increase my distances with running and adding in the Tough Mudder training program.

I'll keep posting here to hold myself responsible, so to speak. I'm hoping people will read and comment during this whole process so I don't use lack of readership as a lame excuse to not post and keep my butt in gear.

What I did today: Registration for TM is already done, Team "The Honeybadgers" created. My office closed at 2pm today so I was able to get home and get on the local rail trail to start C25K. Here's what Week One looks like:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Easy-peasy right? Well if you're me, you'd be wrong. Walking was swell, but after about 3 seconds of running, all my brain could register was PAIN OUCH PAIN. I told you I am not a runner. I finished though, and I will add that it got about 5% easier towards the end. That's something, right?

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Black Friday, and enjoy pigging out on turkey day leftovers (I know I will).