Rough Start, Good Finish

It's been a rough few days. Some days are just harder than others. When Andy suggested a run yesterday, I really didn't want to go. I was tired. I was emotional. I was feeling lazy. But, remembering my manta "Because I Can", I went. It was a perfect evening for a run, and I didn't have any good reasons to skip it.

The beginning was rough. My shins and calves burned. I thought of a million reasons to stop. I did stop for a little while. I allowed myself to walk to the paved section. Then I ran the rest. I was using the couch to 5k app and ran a little extra at the end to make up for walking. I ran for 25 minutes without stopping. Slow, but I did it. Once I got past my negative thinking the run went pretty well, and I felt good when it was over. I need to run more consistently. It makes me happy.

Source

On Saturday the whole family is participating in a 5k fun run/walk/bike. The girl and I are running together, and we've made a plan. We're going to do intervals for the whole thing. I'm excited. It should be a lot of fun, and I'm glad I get to share it with my girl. We 're going to be sporting some very bright ReRunning Podcast shirts.

I love them!

The whole family will be podcasting about our first family race, and it will be available at the ReRunning Podcast Relaunch - June 21st!

Appreciation.

Yesterday I was officially cleared for all exercise. I was so excited. I have been running this week and completed the first week of C25K, but I was nervous to lift again. Yesterday I lifted for the first time in about 3 weeks, and it was awesome.

I kept it short. I'm really working hard to ease back into exercising, but it's not easy. I have so much more energy now. I want to do everything!! While I was feeling bad, I had a lot of big, lofty goals that truly seemed impossible. Now, I have energy again and feel amazing. Those big goals don't seem as far away now.

For 2018, though, it is all about the 5ks. Andy and I are enjoying C25K, and it's fun running together. We're planning on doing 3-4 races this summer/fall. I may throw in one 10k. There is a local race that I've done a couple times. I may have to do it again now that I can. It's been a few years since I ran it.

Today is the first TKD tournament of the season. I am not competing. I'm kind of bummed. This is only the second time I have missed one since I started TKD, and it's the first time I've missed this tournament. I had no time to train, so I know this is the right choice. I am going to volunteer to help out instead. My kids are still competing, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone there.

Overall, I am just so thrilled to be able to move and have energy and to be in a good mood. I feel like a different person. I feel the way I used to over 3 years ago, only now I am so much more appreciative.

Two Run Saturday

Yesterday and today have been completely different. Yesterday, I was not feeling great. Low energy, no motivation, stressed. I did manage to get in a short workout.

Friday's workout:

360 hook kicks
straight leg stretch kicks 10 reps/side
chamber hold, hold side kick, chamber, hold back kick, chamber 10 sec hold/each  x2

barbell shoulder press 45#  10 reps x2
barbell row 45#  15 reps x2
overhead triceps extension 15#  15 reps x2

t-bar row 35# 12 reps x2
1 arm bar toss 35#  10 reps/side x2
skull crushers 15#  15 reps x2


Not much, but better than nothing.

Today is off to a great start. I drank a lot of water yesterday and felt much better today. I was excited to run, and I decided to challenge myself. It was cold and raining, but I was still excited to go. I chose one of my favorite routes. I decided to leave the music and audio books at home and just run with my thoughts. An hour of peace was incredible.

It was a challenging run. Lots of hills. I was also running into a headwind, and the first two miles were painful. My shins ached so much that I had to stop and stretch a few times. My hip flexors, quads, and shins were tight bands of pain. Stretching helped, and the pain eventually went away.

I made sure to stretch when I was done. I've got to stay loose. I'm breaking my long run into two shorter runs today. This morning I did 3.75 miles. Tonight, the Artist and I are running in a local Glow Run 5k. He's super excited, and so am I. I love it when we run together. He's a great running buddy. Add in that we're running at night and covered in glow sticks, and it's going to be a blast.

The two runs together will be almost 7 miles. Perfect. My running goal this week will be complete. One step closer.

Proof

I love Vermont.

Awesome Hike / Fabulous Run / Shaky Muscle Stage

It's been a long time since I posted. I've been keeping busy and eating better. I've been trying to exercise more regularly.

The Artist and I went on an awesome hike up Elmore Mountain and went swimming after. It was so much fun.

Our hike was following a very difficult TKD class. The kids had a tough class too. Lots of pushups and conditioning. The adult class had circuit training, too. One of my favorites. We were super sore for the hike, but it was awesome.

Yesterday, I went for a run. It was the first one in a while, and it was fantastic. I didn't try to go fast, but I wanted to run the whole time. The road was recently paved, which made for a wonderfully smooth run. The hills didn't seem too bad, and it was a beautiful day. It felt great.

I asked Andy to pick me up after about 45 minutes. It ended up being a little longer, but I ran the whole way and felt good. I covered almost 4 miles. Not bad.

This morning I did an upper body workout. I love lifting. I know I've said it before, but every time I lift I feel happier. I got to the shaky muscle stage today, which is the best feeling.

Not quite done for today. The Artist and I are going for a run. He wants to do the Leaf Peeper 5k again this fall, so we're "in training." Love running with my boy!

Epically Good Day

This day has been epically good.

I took this guy to Waterbury this morning for the Leaf Peeper Half Marathon/5k.

He was excited about everything. His shirt, the Bove's spaghetti sauce, his number, the 33 porta potties... It was a fun day. We ran most of the 5k, and he had a great positive, attitude the whole time. People cheered for him, and when he crossed the finish line they announced he was the youngest finisher. He liked that.

My favorite part was near the end. Just before we got to the finish line, he told me he wanted to fly over the finish line. I said, "Go for it.", and he took off. Beat me by a good 6 seconds. He asked if we could do it again next year, and I definitely agreed we should. Love my running buddy. We had such a great time.

This whole weekend has been great. Yesterday I got up early and hiked with a bunch of awesome ladies. We hiked my favorite mountain. It was cold. We saw snow near the top and a gigantic porcupine. It was an awesome morning.

Awesome weekend.

Hello, DOMS

It's been 2 days since I did Leg Day. Hello, DOMS.

My legs hurt a lot. I haven't been this sore in a long time, and honestly, I'm enjoying it. I pushed myself to do a hard workout, and I followed it up by working out with a couple of my clients that evening (again - tons of leg stuff).

I've been feeling a lot more motivated lately. Some of it has to do with not being sick anymore (yay!), but some of it also comes from dropping down to the 5k. I didn't realized how stressed I was about the half until I decided not to do it. I'm sleeping better, feeling calmer, and have so much more motivation. Still, I don't need any of those reasons to justify my choice. The Artist is so excited about the race, and that is all I need as proof that I made the right decision. We're going to have so much fun!

My growing motivation has been bleeding over into other areas of my life. I'm working on several writing projects right now and have been making a lot more progress lately. I'm getting in at least an hour of work every day. I'll take what I can get.

I'm super excited to go hiking on Saturday morning. It's foliage season and the perfect weather for hiking. Plus, I love an early morning hike with friends.

Life is good.

I Quit

Confession: I'm a quitter. Surprisingly, I'm okay with this. I almost never quit. I've spent my whole life meeting goals. I hate giving up.

I'm trying to do things differently. I've been feeling stressed and buried under commitments. I decided to cut back on responsibilities. I want to enjoy my life and focus on just a few projects. I need less stress.

For the last week or so, I have been feeling pretty stressed about the half. I've lost my mojo. My long runs haven't gone well. I keep trying to not care about how slow I am, but it's nagging at me. I've been dreading the run. I just don't feel ready for it, and I'm not having fun.

The whole point of signing up was to start running again. I wanted to find a way to enjoy it again. I was there for a while. I wanted to run. I looked forward to it. I loved it again. Then I got closer to race time, and I started to worry. I ran less. I wasn't as excited to run.

I want to enjoy it. Running is so great. It makes me feel good and helps me stay positive. I don't want to lose the enjoyment of it. I want it to be fun.

You know what sounds fun? Dropping down to the 5k and running it with the Artist. It will be his first race, and he is so excited. This is why I am okay with being a quitter. This is the right choice. I'm not in a competitive head space. I'm not looking for anything serious. Some fun mother/son time is absolutely perfect.

I'm still planning on some races in 2016. I'm sure I'll get back to a place where I feel ready to run distance again, but right now I just need to enjoy it. I love that the Artist has become my new running buddy. He's a great motivator. I'm so excited for Sunday now.

For now my fitness goals are going to be based in consistency. I want to lift 3x/week and run 2-3x/week (whatever distance I choose). I also want to work more on Taekwondo. Tournament season is coming, and I want to do my best.

I have to accept that I am not where I used to be, and it is going to take time to get back there. I can't expect it to all change at once. Slow and steady all fall and winter is my goal. Build a base. It will make training easier in the spring/summer. It's time for hiking and (soon) snowshoeing. Two of my favorite workouts that pair perfectly with my slow and steady goal.

Of course now that I am motivated again, I am sick. I've been a mess for a couple days. I'm hoping to feel good enough to do a strength workout tomorrow. It will be fairly light/easy. I'm not rushing into anything. One day at a time. Slow and steady.