Maybe Treadmills Aren't So Bad...

First of all I ate sensibly at the family party over the weekend. Yay! I had one plate of food and one dessert. : ) I've really been examining how I've developed a tendency to binge. I think it all started with the Body For Life program. It called for strict eating during the week and one free day each week where you can eat as much of and anything you want. When you only get what you want weekly it's only natural to eat as much as you can since it will be awhile again. lol I developed a habit of binging. But since I am petite, a big splurge can destroy all of my hard work for the week. I just can't get by with what a man or a taller woman can no matter how hard I work out.

So while I believe in structure, small meals, and getting enough protein, I also think too much strictness is a nutritional disaster waiting to happen. At least that's how it works for me. I've made much better progress lately after years of hard work by allowing myself proper portions of treats when I want it and at special occasions. I've found that doing it this way I want less sweets and I don't binge. : )

As far as running goes, it is going very well. My husband organized our extra bedroom and made space to put my treadmill back together again. He's so good to me. : ) A couple of times lately I've used it to warm up and then go directly outside to run instead of walking in the cold weather to warm up. That's been great! But today I decided to actually run my whole five miles on it. If I hadn't had The View to keep me mentally occupied it would have been way too boring. But the nice, flexible deck I have on the treadmill sure felt good on my feet! Ended up being a great run! I feel very confident that my first 6 miler this time around will be great too! I'm actually looking forward to it. : )

Weekly Report and New Personal Record

My plan to run 5 miles on M,W,F worked out as planned! I even broke the 10:00 pace barrier for a 5 mile run yesterday. I managed to do it at an avg. 9:55 pace! That's really good for me! What is even more pleasing to me about it is that is seems to be happening naturally without having to to push really hard. I also continued doing a full body free weight circuit followed by 20 mins of elliptical machine. This week I did my xtraining on Tues, and Sat.

Next week's plan is to run M,W,F and run 5,5, and 6 miles respectively and see how it goes. This will be the beginning of my long run build up. I figure since your long run isn't supposed to exceed 50% of your total weekly mileage that gives me room to work up to a 10 mile long run before I need to increase Monday or Wednesday's run or add a 4th day.

I believe my leg injury is now fully healed! I no longer feel any stiffness or pulling in that area. It's finally gone and feels normal again. : ) I'm very happy about that.

Now for tonight's challenge, an extended family Christmas party. I have been eating so well lately and have allowed myself small treats along the way. This has kept me from any binges. I know these situations with lots of food like a party or buffet are triggers for me to binge. I plan to enjoy a normal sized meal with one dessert. I will NOT go crazy! I always feel so yucky after a binge anyway. That alone SHOULD keep me from it. I'll report about this in my next entry!

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

And to think I almost missed it! I'm not used to the idea of running in cold temps yet. It was 29*. So I considered running in circles at the YMCA instead. lol All the beautiful sunshine I experienced was a super boost to my mood and energy.

I went out on my favorite route and saw lots of bird activity. I love them! I even like the vultures from a distance. lol I'm planning to put up a couple of bluebird houses before Spring. I noticed when we moved back to Cincy that quite a few bluebirds have taken up residence in the area. When they get back here again, they can have their choice of new condo. Noticed lots of deer carcasses along the sides of the road too. I counted 8 in my 6 mile round trip. I'm guessing they are automobile casualties from all the movement during mating season.

The run went very well too. I did my planned 5 miles at an avg. pace of 10: 02! Good for me!!!

Five More Miles in the Bank!

It's a beautiful day here. We're in the mid 50's! Took full advantage of getting out there in shorts and doing my thing. It was a good 5 miles with the exception of the wind picking up some while I was out there. So it ended up that in 2 sections of my route where I was headed south, I was running directly into the wind. Ugh! But I still loved it because I GET to do this. I believe it's a privilege to do this running thing. : )

As a side note, I've noticed recently that my right foot hurts. lol I may have figured it out though. I have huge callouses on the sides of my big toes that I keep trimmed back. Happened to see that the right one is noticeably bigger than the left. I trimmed that baby again and my foot seems all better now. I think that little bit of extra callous was changing my foot strike just enough to bother my foot. It's funny how little things can at times make such a difference.

Working Things Out

Not ready to dive into a "real" long run yet. I'm really being cautious. I keep feeling a twinge here and there in my leg which alarms me. But they are just twinges. They're not pain and not lasting. I'm hoping before long that I won't think about it anymore and just go on with things. I think right now I'm being hyper vigilant and I notice everything! lol

Last week I ran M-W-F with 4, 4, and 5 miles respectively. They were all fairly easy runs and having a day or two of recovery in between has kept me pain free. I xtrained on the days in between with weight training and elliptical or spinning. This week I'm planning on the same but doing 5, 5, and 5 miles. If that works out, I'll start building again for a long run, going for 6 in the week after that on the 3rd day. Maybe if I'm feeling VERY good, I'll just go ahead and do that this week! lol

So the key words for me right now are caution, balance, and experimentation!

Back in the Saddle Again

November has been a rough month of false starts and hopes and skinned knees. The last time I ran at the beginning of the month, I fell and banged up my knees pretty good. And my injury never got better until I rested it. But today seems to be a new turning point for me in my running. I ended up having to take off two weeks to heal this injury while cross training. I still wasn't sure that I was OK at the beginning of this week and thought I may need more time but it looks like I'll be fine.

I did two 3 mile runs earlier in the week and topped it off with a 4 mile "long" run today. This is what Hal Higdon's 1st week of the novice half marathon plan required. I'm starting over so as not to injure myself again and get a good base going . I wanted to use the Run Less, Run Faster plan but it requires that you are all ready running 15 miles/wk. I also don't think I'm in a position to push too hard with the speed work it requires at this time.

This injury has been very frustrating and has opened my eyes. I really didn't think I would ever get injured. With the exception of a past back strain from doing yoga, I've been able to abuse/overuse my body and do pretty much whatever I wanted until now. I really hated not having the luxury of doing whatever type of exercise I pleased on any given day. It has made me deeply appreciate the gift of a healthy body. I plan to be much more kind to it from here on out!

Steady Improvement

It's been about a week since my last post and things are looking up. I'm really trying to be careful about training and not overdoing it. I really put my legs through a lot the past four days:

Sun- I cycled to my destination and ran 3 miles

Mon- Did a killer leg workout of bb squats, db walking lunges, ball curls, and single leg squats. Lunges always make me super sore.

Tues- Killer spinning class. There were times I felt like I might have to stop!

Weds- Warmed up with the elliptical and then ran 4 miles. My longest run in a month! Also had a great pace at for me at 9:41. I plan to stay at 4 miles for a week or two. I'd love to do the 100th Cincy Thanksgiving Day Run 10k. But we'll see. It always seems like I need a few more weeks to get ready than what I have.

I had to take a break today. My hamstrings are so sore (especially just above the knee behind the leg which has been bothering me) and I had plans to run tomorrow. Now I'm thinking of opting for some upper body weight training instead and do the run on Saturday. I was a little worried about my soreness last night and this morning. I've iced a lot! I have found bags of frozen corn to be miraculous for this purpose. I feel much better tonight. If I wake up feeling perfect, I'll run. But if not, I'll wait and take another day for recovery. Not sure if I'm needing so much recovery time due to injury, running less over the last month because of injury, or just need more time to heal due to age. Maybe it's all the above! lol

Well, all I can do is keep on keepin' on! Hopefully I'll be able to work through this. Just have to take my time with it. "Slow and steady wins the race" Right?