H-E-A-T-S-T-R-O-K-E

Well...the fourth mile felt like it anyway. It was hot here, people. My husband had alot going on this morning and was unable to keep our little guy for me until a little after 11:00. I ran into a couple of girlfriends on my way out of the neighborhood and was invited to go to the pool and lay out for a couple of hours. Oh how I was tempted. Bigger is better if it's brown, afterall. But no...I opted for the running shoes over the bikini. Sigh. It's okay. The bikini doesn't fit me that well right now anyway. I'm trying to fix that. 

My girlfriend told me I was crazy. Her jeep was reading the temperature at 86 degrees. Let me tell you, by the time I was done running, I would have sworn it was 106! I was melting out there! 

It was such the catch-twenty-two (what does that mean anyway?) because it was so hot that my miles were sloooooow and because my miles were so slow, I was out in the heat longer which made me slower....you get the drift. 

Mile 1: 11:38

Mile 2: 11:18

Mile 3: 11:49

Mile 4: 13:05 (sigh)

I told you they were slow. 

I actually walked/ran the last half mile because I'm not so mentally tough that I'm ready to run and puke at the same time. I've seen girls do it though and I always think how amazing they are. Maybe in a race someday I'll give it that much heart, but not during my first 20-mile week in the suberbs. 

I came home to find that my son, whom I had worn out playing with all morning and had put down for a nap right before I left, was still sleeping. Lucky dad. I downed two glasses of water and two glasses of OJ and rushed to change into something to lay out in. It was my only chance. Just as I was ready to head outdoors, the dogs went NUTS and woke the baby up screaming. Lovely. 

I calmed him down and handed him to dad and went outside for about 10 minutes (husband says it was 15, but I don't believe him). Ten minutes will not a tan make, but on the bright side, maybe the bikini won't be considered "indecent exposure" by the time June rolls around.  The glass is half-full. :)

Workin' Out Without Music

Let me start by saying, "Thank you so much for all the encouraging comments on this blog and emails in my inbox." Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it more than you know and it motivates me so much. :)

Yesterday was an unexpected day off from running. My mother-in-law has been visiting and we ran lots of errands and spent an afternoon at the beach. Here's the little guy and I getting ready to head out to Coronado.

It was fun and relaxing, but I have a busy week ahead of me. My goal is to have my first 20 mile week this week. 

This morning my aching knees and I headed out the door early. I hadn't eaten anything yet, so I put down a double latte gel by Powerbar with a bottle of water before I left. I warmed up and walked for .45 miles and then started running. I realized midway through the first mile that I'd hurried off without my music. Darn it! I was running alone today as well, and my times are a bit slower. I must have been showing off a bit for my husband the other day or the music gives you more "get-up-and-go" than I realized. :)

Okay. Here are the numbers....

Mile 1: 10.53

Mile 2: 10.35

Mile 3: 10.49

Mile 4: 10.57

I only cooled down about .05 miles, which gave me a total of a half mile walking. I stretched with Dan and did a couple of planks when I got home, but I really should cool down a little better in the future. Twelve more miles to go this week to hit my goal. 

Well, not the most exciting post, I realize. I'll try to spice it up a bit in the future. However, I got the run in today in the midst of running errands, nursing baby, taking my MIL to the airport, etc. Woohoo! :) 

Day 1

Today I ran 4 consecutive miles for the first time in a very, very long time. For most people that's probably small potatoes, but for me it was HUGE. I actually ran 4.21 miles in 43:30.17 and my times, though they're a little sad, make me proud. :) 

Mile 1: 10:48

Mile 2: 10:18

Mile 3: 9:50

Mile 4: 9:59

I thought about my long-term goals while I was running. I listened to really obnoxious music (but man did it keep me going) and I thought alot about numbers. I'm 8 pounds less than I was when I got pregnant. However, I'm still 24.5 pounds heavier than I was when I was 27.   :) Heh.Heh. Just keepin' it real. I was probably very hungry when I was 27. 

My husband ran part of the way with me and it was so encouraging. He came out and snapped a picture of me when I was f-i-n-a-l-l-y headed home. 

This is me....

 See that "little" spare tire around the middle there?? It makes it very difficult to run. My husband jogged along with me for part of the run and I just looked at him and panted, "Haulin' this aint easy, Honey."

Nuff said. 

Still, I'm proud of me. It's a start. It's the start of striving toward my goals. It's day 1. This picture will mean something someday. :)

Beginnings

This is the first of what I hope will be many posts. Fitness has been a struggle for me...an up and down journey with more downs than ups. In short, my story is like that of many women. After I turned 27, my body decided to pay me back for every carb I'd ever consumed. Penance began with a vengeance. It didn't help that my first year teaching I worked 60+ hour weeks and began supporting the local fast food joint single handedly during my long days and late nights of "learning the ropes." Add to that year the meeting and marrying of my husband and this girl had alot going on. The pounds started creeping on, but I brushed it away with a trite "I'll take care of it later" mentality. I always had before. 

Fast-forward about five years and 32 pounds later....THIRTY-TWO pounds later, people!! I was overwhelmed to the point of inaction. It didn't help that my husband is a professional athlete with more discipline and self-motivation than any ten other people I know put together. I felt like a rather large loser. Sigh. I was out of excuses and started the painful journey of trying to shed the pounds one monotonous mile at a time. 

I started walking and then slowly worked my way to a walk/ run routine. Finally I ran three miles without stopping. They were slow miles, but they were miles. The next day I found out I was expecting our first baby. We'd gone through several miscarriages in the past, so to be on the safe side and not have to wonder "what if?" if things didn't work out, I abruptly stopped my runs and went back to walking. That was a little over a year ago. 

Now, with a beautiful 5 1/2 month old baby, I've started back at square one. This time is different though. I have goals. I want to run a marathon and someday, I want to run a F-A-S-T marathon. I'm committing to this blog because, I won't lie, sometimes I need accountability. (Don't we all?) I figure there are lots of folks out there like me. People who were once reasonably fit and then life got busy and crazy and full-time until one day you could no longer ignore the bins of clothes that no longer fit and the numbers on the scale that were no longer friendly. Enough already! Join me on this journey to not settle for anything less than your best when it comes to a healthy and fit lifestyle. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm bound to fall on my face throughout this journey. I'm notorious for that in just about all aspects of life.....but I get up. I plan to be painfully honest and will do my best to blog regularly - - at least somewhat regularly. :) I'll keep track of my workouts and report back. I plan to ask other women to share their journeys and their thoughts on fitness and find ways to motivate myself and others who have similar goals and passions. I'd love your company along the way. :)

So where am I starting from?

The last several weeks I've been walking and/or running several days a week. I worked my way up to doing about three miles four days in a row and then taking a day off. My knees were k-i-l-l-i-n-g me, so I backed off a little and started doing two days on and then one day off. I'm currently 8 pounds lighter than I was when I found out I was pregnant. WooHoo!! :D That's a huge victory for me and is really helping to motivate me in continuing forward. 

Today was day one of "the plan." The plan to run a marathon someday before I'm dead. 

If I were really honest with you (and since I've promised to be brutally honest....)my dream is to run a sub 4-hour marathon someday. I cringe to put that in writing....I don't want to set myself up for failure....but what kind of attitude is that?! I want to go through the rest of my life at full-throttle and see what I can do! :) That's my dream and I'm going to go for it. I have other dreams, but they have nothing to do with fitness so I won't deviate from the topic.....for now. :) Just know I'm not so one-dimensional as to only have a fitness-related goal in life. :) 

My new motto at present is: Faith, Family, Fitness, Friends

in that order.

I'm a very social girl. I love entertaining and I love making new friends. However, I recently realized that my priorities were all out of whack. I was focusing on family and friends and family and friends. There was alot of what I really needed missing. There was a restlessness and discontent because I wasn't taking care of me. I needed to have faith as my priority because, frankly speaking, everything else can move out from underneath you. Family and friends will fail you at times and fitness may not always be possible. Faith is a foundation I can build on that won't shift out from underneath me. 

Family is second ~ My family means the world to me.

Fitness is for me ~ That's a new one! :)

Friends are such a blessing ~ The real ones I want to truly invest in.

So that's it in a nutshell. This is where I'm beginning. I'd love some company for this fun, but rather painful journey I'm about to embark on. Are you in?