Do you know what Friday is? It is July 1, 2011, the official start to the second half of the year! It got me thinking (what doesn't these days as I try to shun the vision of my bike crash on that one left turn.....oh, once again, I digress). I typically don't do New Year Resolutions. Well, not publicly anyway. Frankly, I think all too often we put too much emphasis on them, but I do, in my head, usually have some goals. But I have been thinking ahead already to the off season and what I would like to do to make sure I don't lose my training gains and can have an even better season next year. Plus, I have a half marathon to train for in May next year! Setting out my goals for the remainder of 2011 has had a much sunnier outlook than when I did them this past January. I think perhaps considering New (Half) Year Resolutions when it comes to health and fitness has some serious potential. Here are a few reasons why:
1. Everyone won't be asking you how you are doing on your New Year Resolutions unless you tell them you made New (Half) Year Resolutions! (Until this blog post rockets through the universe, right?)
2. If you are inclined to join a gym, many gyms have great deals on summer enrollment because their numbers decrease during the summer.
3. Facilities you may use will be less crowded. With the nice weather and vacations, etc, many facilities are much less crowded during the summer. So whether you are self conscious or just prefer to not wait for a machine, a swim lane, or potentially get bumped from a class at the gym, you will find much less crowding during the summer!
4. Daylight is on your side. First, the extra hours of daylight and sun always tend to give me more energy. And, if you are like me, you may want to do a run or a swim with daylight and warmer temps. Early morning workouts or late evening workouts are much easier during the summer!
5. Nutritionally, fun and exciting fruits and vegetables are much more readily available and cheaper during the summer. One of my goals is to "eat the rainbow" more consistently. What better time to find readily available fruits and vegetables, with increased variety, than during their optimal growing season! My guess is you find some choices you would not consider (or even find) during the winter. If you find something in particular you can not live without during the winter months, you can freeze, can, etc the item to have all year long at the best prices and highest quality!
6. Summer time allows you to find your bliss. The type of activities available to try during the summer - walking, running, biking, swimming, team sports, etc - are much easier to find during the nicer weather. Start sampling now and I bet you find your "must have" activity before the weather turns!
7. By the time the winter blahs roll around, you will be so entrenched in your new routine it will be a habit and something you just HAVE to continue to complete your day. Let's face it, when the alarm goes off on a cold, rainy (or even snowy) winter day at 5 am for a workout, it sure is hard to force yourself out of your nice warm bed. But by that time, if you start now, I suspect you will find you appreciate or even look forward to that time for yourself and it will be much easier to get it done.
7. Your Holiday 5 (you know, that 5 or even more pounds you put on during the holidays) will be much easier to avoid if you set up good habits NOW!
So, share YOUR New (Half) Year Resolution! What's in it for you, you ask? (well, besides a goal you can work towards?) How about a BONUS ENTRY into our Giveaway! If you have already entered our Giveaway, and comment here with a New (Half) Year Resolution, you will get an additional bonus entry! I will add all the separate comments here to the end of the comments on the Giveaway to assign it a number for our random drawing.
AND, PLEASE NOTE on the Giveaway page, each separate comment is only ONE entry. That is the best way for me to make it random with a random number generator, so if you posted all the WONDERFUL things you did in one comment, try to go back and separate each action into a separate comment so I can give you credit for all the entries you obtained. I will also email commenters separately to have them do that so they get the credit they deserve. I will be clearer next time to avoid such confusion!
Showing posts with label Workout Strategies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Workout Strategies. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The 5K Run: A Universal Motivator!
I now call a 5K run a universal motivator. Why? Well, it is simple - it is a motivator for so many people from varied backgrounds and at varied training levels, and, in my experience, one never regrets whatever 5K event they particpate in. Here is why I reached this conclusion:
1. Anyone can do this event. Seriously, 5Ks are generally low key, stroller and pet friendly, and a lot of people WALK. Now, you need to check all this out when you see an event you are interested in and if it doesn't fit for you, I am willing to bet you can find another 5K event that same day in your area that is a fit for you! Walk, run, or walk/run and you are moving - every step counts and it is a great start to becoming more active or even, gulp, a runner!
2. If you want to train to run a 5K there are lots of FREE options! First, if you have tennis shoes in a reasonably good condition, some pants you can move in, and a road/field/sidewalk/whatever you can train for a 5K. I know people who train for 5K's at the mall, in their neighborhood, at a lakeside trail, or strictly on a treadmill where NO ONE can see them! You can also search for training plans that take you from the couch to a 5K in small baby steps. Google "Couch to 5K" and you will find hundreds of free plans. One free plan I found and like is this free plan at Beginnertriathlete.com. Are you a tech junkie? I know people doing a Couch to 5K training program (C25K) on their iphones and ipods, and probably a million other tech gadgets I don't own. Googling "C25K podcast" or "C25K android" produced results, but I can't speak as to their value. As I understand it the program will run while you listen to music and will tell you when to run and when to walk over a specified period of time taking you through workouts that incorporate longer and longer bursts of running over a series of weeks until you are running the whole thing (or almost the whole thing). I wish I had an iphone or ipod! And then I wish I had the time to learn how to use it!
3. 5K events are often and cheap! Registering for a 5K is really inexpensive compared to other events. Many events are twenty dollars or less, or are available by fundraising for a particular charity. And, 5K events, at least in my area, are available (in multiples) EVERY weekend! If you need help finding an event, you can just search on 5K and your town, or look on sites that are used for registering for such events like Active.com. You can also look in your local paper, browse the bulletin board at your local sports equipment stores, or just ask someone at your gym. Many running oriented sports retailers have free fun runs on the weekends as well. One such store in my neighborhood is Roadrunner Sports.
4. Even if you are training for or running longer events or multisport events, a 5K event mixes up training and adds race day elements to your training. By adding a 5K event into your training, you can find race day motivation to push harder and just have FUN, which can be sometimes hard to do as you push toward increased endurance levels. Furthermore, during rest weeks or taper weeks in your training they can add some spice when you are frustrated by having to hold yourself back. I was talking last night with an individual who was on a taper week in preparation for this weekend's Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene. He was antsy to race and antsy about his taper week of training, but grinned as he said he PR'd his 5K this week. Even at his level of training a 5K was a fun and motivational element in his taper week. Furthermore, if you are struggling to reach a new pace level, like I am, running with others in a 5K race can allow you to mentally mark that higher pace for yourself so you can implement that pace in your training.
So, if you are looking to begin a more active lifestyle, but just need that one thing to help you take that first step, whether it be walking or running, I challenge you to look into a 5K event! Or, step back from your focus on longer events and spice up your training with a 5K event and you may add a new PR of your own! And, if you are so inclined, tell me about it here and keep me posted on how it all works out!
ALSO, if you are using a C25K app, as I know a few of my readers are, and can offer your review of the app, please share your views and recommendations in a comment or via email so I can share them on the blog!
And just a reminder, tomorrow I will fill everyone in on how my search for my perfect running shoe transpired and whether I fell off the treadmill at the store!
1. Anyone can do this event. Seriously, 5Ks are generally low key, stroller and pet friendly, and a lot of people WALK. Now, you need to check all this out when you see an event you are interested in and if it doesn't fit for you, I am willing to bet you can find another 5K event that same day in your area that is a fit for you! Walk, run, or walk/run and you are moving - every step counts and it is a great start to becoming more active or even, gulp, a runner!
2. If you want to train to run a 5K there are lots of FREE options! First, if you have tennis shoes in a reasonably good condition, some pants you can move in, and a road/field/sidewalk/whatever you can train for a 5K. I know people who train for 5K's at the mall, in their neighborhood, at a lakeside trail, or strictly on a treadmill where NO ONE can see them! You can also search for training plans that take you from the couch to a 5K in small baby steps. Google "Couch to 5K" and you will find hundreds of free plans. One free plan I found and like is this free plan at Beginnertriathlete.com. Are you a tech junkie? I know people doing a Couch to 5K training program (C25K) on their iphones and ipods, and probably a million other tech gadgets I don't own. Googling "C25K podcast" or "C25K android" produced results, but I can't speak as to their value. As I understand it the program will run while you listen to music and will tell you when to run and when to walk over a specified period of time taking you through workouts that incorporate longer and longer bursts of running over a series of weeks until you are running the whole thing (or almost the whole thing). I wish I had an iphone or ipod! And then I wish I had the time to learn how to use it!
3. 5K events are often and cheap! Registering for a 5K is really inexpensive compared to other events. Many events are twenty dollars or less, or are available by fundraising for a particular charity. And, 5K events, at least in my area, are available (in multiples) EVERY weekend! If you need help finding an event, you can just search on 5K and your town, or look on sites that are used for registering for such events like Active.com. You can also look in your local paper, browse the bulletin board at your local sports equipment stores, or just ask someone at your gym. Many running oriented sports retailers have free fun runs on the weekends as well. One such store in my neighborhood is Roadrunner Sports.
4. Even if you are training for or running longer events or multisport events, a 5K event mixes up training and adds race day elements to your training. By adding a 5K event into your training, you can find race day motivation to push harder and just have FUN, which can be sometimes hard to do as you push toward increased endurance levels. Furthermore, during rest weeks or taper weeks in your training they can add some spice when you are frustrated by having to hold yourself back. I was talking last night with an individual who was on a taper week in preparation for this weekend's Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene. He was antsy to race and antsy about his taper week of training, but grinned as he said he PR'd his 5K this week. Even at his level of training a 5K was a fun and motivational element in his taper week. Furthermore, if you are struggling to reach a new pace level, like I am, running with others in a 5K race can allow you to mentally mark that higher pace for yourself so you can implement that pace in your training.
So, if you are looking to begin a more active lifestyle, but just need that one thing to help you take that first step, whether it be walking or running, I challenge you to look into a 5K event! Or, step back from your focus on longer events and spice up your training with a 5K event and you may add a new PR of your own! And, if you are so inclined, tell me about it here and keep me posted on how it all works out!
ALSO, if you are using a C25K app, as I know a few of my readers are, and can offer your review of the app, please share your views and recommendations in a comment or via email so I can share them on the blog!
And just a reminder, tomorrow I will fill everyone in on how my search for my perfect running shoe transpired and whether I fell off the treadmill at the store!
Monday, June 20, 2011
What I learned on my blog vacation!
It has once again been some time since I wrote here. It has all been for fantastic reasons. I have so many things I want to post and have been collecting a whole laundry list of items/ideas/information/resources that, frankly, I just don't know where to start. I think I will start with just a recap of all I have learned the past 11 or so days.
Training with a friend (or even a stranger) is far superior to winging it by yourself. I was fortunate enough to be included on an invite to swim with a group of awesome ladies at our local lake. I had just gotten my new wetsuit and wanted desperately to get in the water but, for obvious safety reasons, didn't want to go by myself. I jumped at the chance to swim with a group of experienced triathletes when that chance arrived at my inbox. It was a fantastic experience. We didn't swim far, but I got in the water, built confidence, and learned I could tolerate the cold (the water was somewhere around 59 degrees). In addition to that, I met some wonderful people, gained some training partners, AND found myself registered as a two person relay team for an early race!
Then, this past Sunday, I set out for my brick workout by myself. For those that don't know, a brick workout ties two sports together in sequence, the bike and run, and it lovingly termed the brick for that oh so lovely feeling in your quads as you switch from the bike to the run and the body fights to transfer blood out of the quads to the hamstrings and other valuable run muscles. So as I set off for my 14 mile bike and then run I was actually dreading it. Separately, they are fine - well, I LOVE the bike and tolerate the run (have I mentioned I am not a runner? HA!), but transitioning is dreadful until your legs adjust. About three minutes into my bike, I was entering an intersection and turned around to see a bike behind me. Quickly I moved right thinking "where did they come from and did I just swerve into their path?" As I was about to offer an apology I was met with a "Hi!" I looked to see a rider wearing the same jersey as I was wearing, our team uniform! She was out for her long ride and, long story short, we rode 7 miles together before my turnaround. It was great, I shaved 4 minutes off my split time and got some great advice from a seasoned triathlete. She had quite a story and long list of impressive accomplishments. I was so thankful for her company and she left me with a lot of great things to think about on the remainder of my ride and my run. It was by far my best brick workout. One of the fringe benefits to wearing the uniform (and, for me, my ONLY long sleeved bike jersey) for a workout!
Even though swimming is easy on the joints and they say you can do it every day, three swim workouts in a row can throw my body way off. On my plan, my typical swim days are Monday and Wed, with an occasional additional day, but not in sequence, thrown in. So, last week I did my Monday workout (1300m in the pool) and then got the great chance to swim in the lake (see above!). So, out I went on Tuesday night to swim. We are not exactly sure of the distance, we *maybe* swam a 1/4 mile, so 400m? It wasn't a distance type of workout, but rather acclimation. Wednesdays are my coached workouts, which through last week were only swim workouts. So, Wednesday night I headed to my coached swim which was a rough week. I lost count at 1200m as to the distance and was getting my behind kicked in the workout. Our final set were sprints against our lane partners. I had been experiencing some minor cramping in my right foot, but that had subsided and although I was tired, I joked with my lane partner that he had better watch it because with fins my kick alone would power me through (we had put on fins as a means to mix it up for the sprints and focus on our arm strokes in a sprint situation). So as the coach sent us off, I did a strong push of the wall and WHAM! - massive cramp in my left calf. I kept swimming only to be in excruciating pain, and humbled by being beat by a full body length, at the wall. And, in the true spirit of not wanting to look like a total idiot, I set up for the next sprint and did the same thing - the cramp just kept getting worse and worse. By the time I finished the second sprint I was in tears and afraid I wouldn't even make it out of the pool without help. With some stretching, however, I sheepishly swam 100m of breaststroke to move the muscles a bit to help with lactic acid buildup and got out. Thankfully that was the end of our hour workout. After a little nutrition and electrolyte lecture from my coach, along with the realization that perhaps three swim workouts in a row might not be the best idea, I literally limped home. I also had the joy of waking up the next morning with a lot of soreness in my whole body.
I need a little help and supplementation for adequate nutrition. I hate sports drinks. I hate the perception that in order to perform well you have to buy these expensive engineered products to guzzle, gulp, mix, and pop in your mouth to complete a workout or race. I justdon't didn't believe in the whole sports nutrition industry. That was until my massive cramp episode and further research. I still, frankly, believe that in most cases, for recreational athletes, most of the stuff on the market is crap unnecessary. [but, read my disclaimer! LOL] I am leery of products until I learn more about their content and how much sugar/fructose is jammed into the drink/powder/gel/chew/pill. But, for me, the bottom line is I don't think I can eat enough to provide some of the needs my body has. First, I am still breastfeeding my huge baby boy. I sometimes work long and crazy days, which can cause me to skip snacks and, on the very rare occasion, lunch. I have also significantly increased my activity level over the past few months and built lean muscle mass that has higher demands for energy. I also have a history of low sodium levels and have increased, dramatically, the amount of water I drink (for example, on a light workout day, I still consume 120-140 oz of water a day!) So, nutrition right now is a crap shoot for me. The cramping and other issues I have had (cravings, unusual fatigue, headaches) have led me to believe my nutrition needs to be re-balanced (and, no, I am not expecting a 4th baby!). I am working on it through research and trial and error with some nutrition products designed for consumption during workouts. I was recently provided with some samples of gels, chews, drinks and the like. I tried them these last two weekends on my longer workouts with decent results, but not anything I can say is proof they work (although if you can get past the "snot like" consistency and fructose, Powerbar's chocolate gel is YUMMY!). I am still hoping to learn some tricks that will allow me to provide the missing elements with whole foods, but that will take some time to "test drive."
There will always be Negative Nellies, critics, and those that, well, just would love to see you fail. No matter what I do I have to realize there will be people in my life, whether I want them there or not, who will not have well wishes for me or my success. It is a fact of life, one I cannot change. It is not an indicator of a fault of mine, nor is it an indicator of their faults. It JUST IS. I need to remember to employ the patience and tolerance I try to instill in others around me when I hear them talk ill of others. I always try to look at it from the other person's position, be in the other person's shoes. In the case of those that are negative about my pursuits, goals, passions, or general lifestyle, I need to do the same thing and realize that they are never going to understand or be able to stand in my shoes and "get" my life. While it appears they don't want to even attempt to just "leave it alone" because it would take away what appears to be a source of entertainment/amusement/gratification they get from remaining negative or judging me, I need to be the bigger person and just ignore it. It is an energy suck. They haven't been in my shoes, nor I in theirs, and they have no idea of the full suite of elements of my life, nor I of theirs. The result is two-fold: give them a break because they are not fully informed, and don't take it as true (the opinions or criticisms they put forth) because, well, they are not fully informed. Basically, give them a break and give myself a break and just block it out - it is unnecessary noise.
Focusing some thought energy on those I admire is priceless. I have been thinking a lot about people I admire. For a variety of reasons, one of which is blog related, but mostly because I have been hearing about so many great things going on in my friends' lives. Two families I know recently finalized their Forever Families after a long and uncertain time. One friend has been committed to becoming more active in their lifestyle with things that interest them and their family and has successfully lost a whole bunch of weight, inches, and sizes! Another friend trained for and ran a Warrior Dash and just appeared to have the greatest experience! Another friend has lost 114lbs in less than one year and accomplished amazing fitness goals! The list just goes on and on. Thinking of my friends successes, their patience, their endurance, the unending perseverance has been priceless for my spirit and my strength!
I really would LOVE for people to share their ideas on topics I write about on this blog. I know I can learn from those that read this blog, and I KNOW many of you are people I admire so I invite you to join in, even if you disagree with me. It is all about learning for me, broadening my horizons, and hopefully providing at least one thing for someone to think about, ponder, or try!
Training with a friend (or even a stranger) is far superior to winging it by yourself. I was fortunate enough to be included on an invite to swim with a group of awesome ladies at our local lake. I had just gotten my new wetsuit and wanted desperately to get in the water but, for obvious safety reasons, didn't want to go by myself. I jumped at the chance to swim with a group of experienced triathletes when that chance arrived at my inbox. It was a fantastic experience. We didn't swim far, but I got in the water, built confidence, and learned I could tolerate the cold (the water was somewhere around 59 degrees). In addition to that, I met some wonderful people, gained some training partners, AND found myself registered as a two person relay team for an early race!
Then, this past Sunday, I set out for my brick workout by myself. For those that don't know, a brick workout ties two sports together in sequence, the bike and run, and it lovingly termed the brick for that oh so lovely feeling in your quads as you switch from the bike to the run and the body fights to transfer blood out of the quads to the hamstrings and other valuable run muscles. So as I set off for my 14 mile bike and then run I was actually dreading it. Separately, they are fine - well, I LOVE the bike and tolerate the run (have I mentioned I am not a runner? HA!), but transitioning is dreadful until your legs adjust. About three minutes into my bike, I was entering an intersection and turned around to see a bike behind me. Quickly I moved right thinking "where did they come from and did I just swerve into their path?" As I was about to offer an apology I was met with a "Hi!" I looked to see a rider wearing the same jersey as I was wearing, our team uniform! She was out for her long ride and, long story short, we rode 7 miles together before my turnaround. It was great, I shaved 4 minutes off my split time and got some great advice from a seasoned triathlete. She had quite a story and long list of impressive accomplishments. I was so thankful for her company and she left me with a lot of great things to think about on the remainder of my ride and my run. It was by far my best brick workout. One of the fringe benefits to wearing the uniform (and, for me, my ONLY long sleeved bike jersey) for a workout!
Even though swimming is easy on the joints and they say you can do it every day, three swim workouts in a row can throw my body way off. On my plan, my typical swim days are Monday and Wed, with an occasional additional day, but not in sequence, thrown in. So, last week I did my Monday workout (1300m in the pool) and then got the great chance to swim in the lake (see above!). So, out I went on Tuesday night to swim. We are not exactly sure of the distance, we *maybe* swam a 1/4 mile, so 400m? It wasn't a distance type of workout, but rather acclimation. Wednesdays are my coached workouts, which through last week were only swim workouts. So, Wednesday night I headed to my coached swim which was a rough week. I lost count at 1200m as to the distance and was getting my behind kicked in the workout. Our final set were sprints against our lane partners. I had been experiencing some minor cramping in my right foot, but that had subsided and although I was tired, I joked with my lane partner that he had better watch it because with fins my kick alone would power me through (we had put on fins as a means to mix it up for the sprints and focus on our arm strokes in a sprint situation). So as the coach sent us off, I did a strong push of the wall and WHAM! - massive cramp in my left calf. I kept swimming only to be in excruciating pain, and humbled by being beat by a full body length, at the wall. And, in the true spirit of not wanting to look like a total idiot, I set up for the next sprint and did the same thing - the cramp just kept getting worse and worse. By the time I finished the second sprint I was in tears and afraid I wouldn't even make it out of the pool without help. With some stretching, however, I sheepishly swam 100m of breaststroke to move the muscles a bit to help with lactic acid buildup and got out. Thankfully that was the end of our hour workout. After a little nutrition and electrolyte lecture from my coach, along with the realization that perhaps three swim workouts in a row might not be the best idea, I literally limped home. I also had the joy of waking up the next morning with a lot of soreness in my whole body.
I need a little help and supplementation for adequate nutrition. I hate sports drinks. I hate the perception that in order to perform well you have to buy these expensive engineered products to guzzle, gulp, mix, and pop in your mouth to complete a workout or race. I just
There will always be Negative Nellies, critics, and those that, well, just would love to see you fail. No matter what I do I have to realize there will be people in my life, whether I want them there or not, who will not have well wishes for me or my success. It is a fact of life, one I cannot change. It is not an indicator of a fault of mine, nor is it an indicator of their faults. It JUST IS. I need to remember to employ the patience and tolerance I try to instill in others around me when I hear them talk ill of others. I always try to look at it from the other person's position, be in the other person's shoes. In the case of those that are negative about my pursuits, goals, passions, or general lifestyle, I need to do the same thing and realize that they are never going to understand or be able to stand in my shoes and "get" my life. While it appears they don't want to even attempt to just "leave it alone" because it would take away what appears to be a source of entertainment/amusement/gratification they get from remaining negative or judging me, I need to be the bigger person and just ignore it. It is an energy suck. They haven't been in my shoes, nor I in theirs, and they have no idea of the full suite of elements of my life, nor I of theirs. The result is two-fold: give them a break because they are not fully informed, and don't take it as true (the opinions or criticisms they put forth) because, well, they are not fully informed. Basically, give them a break and give myself a break and just block it out - it is unnecessary noise.
Focusing some thought energy on those I admire is priceless. I have been thinking a lot about people I admire. For a variety of reasons, one of which is blog related, but mostly because I have been hearing about so many great things going on in my friends' lives. Two families I know recently finalized their Forever Families after a long and uncertain time. One friend has been committed to becoming more active in their lifestyle with things that interest them and their family and has successfully lost a whole bunch of weight, inches, and sizes! Another friend trained for and ran a Warrior Dash and just appeared to have the greatest experience! Another friend has lost 114lbs in less than one year and accomplished amazing fitness goals! The list just goes on and on. Thinking of my friends successes, their patience, their endurance, the unending perseverance has been priceless for my spirit and my strength!
I really would LOVE for people to share their ideas on topics I write about on this blog. I know I can learn from those that read this blog, and I KNOW many of you are people I admire so I invite you to join in, even if you disagree with me. It is all about learning for me, broadening my horizons, and hopefully providing at least one thing for someone to think about, ponder, or try!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Power of a Uniform!
As some may remember, I joined a Triathlon team in 2010 but two months in I found out I was expecting my third child. Well, to make a long story short, I joined again this year. Being part of that network has been so inspiring and led to some great opportunities to learn, workout, and just break out of my shell with regard to training. It has been the best decision I could have made, for my personality, for training for multisport races. The goals I have through this team keep me going and keep me accountable. Being part of a team is priceless for me.
Well, my uniform arrived today. My wonderful husband was kind enough to send me a picture at work to keep me motivated, and I can't tell you how excited I am and how proud I will be to wear it. Here it is in all its glory:
Maybe I will have enough courage to get a picture of me in it to post as well (I am still working on coming out of that shell!)
For local readers who are interested in joining a fun group of people interested in multisport, check out Raise the Bar!
Well, my uniform arrived today. My wonderful husband was kind enough to send me a picture at work to keep me motivated, and I can't tell you how excited I am and how proud I will be to wear it. Here it is in all its glory:
Maybe I will have enough courage to get a picture of me in it to post as well (I am still working on coming out of that shell!)
For local readers who are interested in joining a fun group of people interested in multisport, check out Raise the Bar!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
An Unintended Experiement on How NOT to Fuel Your Body.
For those of you that are Facebook Fans you may have seen that my run Friday morning was less than stellar! I started my normal warm up (stretching, then walking on the treadmill for 5 minutes at 3.5 - 3.8 mph). Then I started jogging at just under 5 mph. Within minutes I was just spent, and annoyed, and discouraged. I thought just push through it; it will ease as you get going. Just not the case. By 8 minutes into the run, I was kind of panicking by how horrible I felt. Two minutes later, I was back down to a walk.
I was discouraged and already thinking "If this happens, how on earth am I going to finish that 5K at the end of a sprint triathlon!" Oh, the power of negative thinking, right? Then I started to wonder why this was happening. I turned immediately to what had I eaten that previous day.
On Thursday I was extremely busy and on the run. I had those dreaded errands to run during lunch, my fridge and pantry were showing the signs of just not having the time to effectively shop for the week. I was late for work in the morning, so I grabbed a couple of bananas, and apple, and made myself a sandwich with two tablespoons of peanut butter and two slices of low calorie whole grain bread. I never ate breakfast, per se, but I had eaten half a banana before my run and shoved the rest in my mouth on my way out the door.
At 11 am I was hungry, so I decided to eat half my sandwich, but finished the whole thing (I was seriously hungry after running that morning and failing to eat any "real" breakfast). I ran my lunch time errands and, I was so proud of myself for not throwing a candy bar in with the Valentine's I needed to get for my child's preschool party the next day! I returned to work and ate a banana. That was it for the day before dinner.
We had planned on plain old baked chicken (we throw it in the oven with a sprinkling of bread crumbs), baked potatoes, and a vegetable. When I got home, it was more of the same craziness. My spouse, while trying to make my life easier, ordered a pizza. I didn't even know it until it arrived at the door. So, I ate two pieces of pizza. I love pizza, but know it is far from a nutritious meal, and I can usually always predict scale results after eating pizza the night before, and those results aren't results you hope to see (yes, I am using the pound goal, but perhaps this is a good thing in this circumstance!).
That was my day. I can't even recall, but I don't even think I had a glass of milk. I drank sufficient water, but that was about all that was sufficient about Thursday's diet!
It became clear why, 16 minutes into my run, I was spent. Now I had eaten a small pre run snack, but even that wasn't my usual snack. I usually eat half a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter on it about 20 minutes before I run. Friday morning I skipped the peanut butter! So, even after eating very little protein the day before (a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, maybe some negligible protein in my pizza in the cheese and ham) I further deprived my body of protein by skipping it in my usual pre-run "snack!" And, right after that epiphany, my stomach gave a little confirmation by growling out of hunger.
So, some things I have taken away from my unintentional experiment:
1. Plan my week better, recognize deficiencies in my nutritional supplies, and try to stock up so I don't find myself hungry for lack of variety of nutritious foods.
2. Be creative if you find yourself depleted in time, money, or just sanity, to think about nutrition. I was so excited I passed up on the candy bar, but couldn't I have found myself something suitable to eat? I passed three grocery stores on my errands, and I could have simply even stopped and gotten some deli meat for a snack (and eaten it with the uneaten apple I had brought from home) and perhaps added a small container of low fat milk, and given my body more of what it requires to just operate!
3. Communicate more effectively. If I had been better at communicating my need to eat a well balanced healthy dinner I could have avoided the unnecessary purchase of a pizza by a well meaning spouse. Our chicken dinner for four may have cost $5-$7 but instead we spend $14.00 on a pizza (and that was with a 50% off coupon!).
4. Have a plan to execute the healthy dinner as I walk in the door. I was seriously stressed. If I had communicated my needs as discussed in (3) and then had a plan to get it started as soon as I walked in the door, it would have been cooking and ready as I dealt with all the other insanity while it was cooking. All it would have taken would have been thinking about the plan for less than 5 minutes of my 30 minute commute.
Many of the things I learned are subjects I have a million ideas and confirmed tricks to deal with, but even I have crazy days where they are not so second nature as to kick in when things get a little nutty.
Now, in my Facebook post I also mentioned how my horrific run turned into something positive. I am not forgetting that part, believe me! When I hit the treadmill on January 4, 2010, I noticed and committed to memory my distance at thirty-five minutes. Even with walking more than usual on Friday, and admittedly struggling and feeling horrible, questioning my abilities, and then being frustrated with my lack of attention to nutrition for the previous 24 hours, I reached that distance 3.5 minutes sooner than I had January 4. And, here I thought how my workout was such a failure - but really, that failure was still so much better than my "best" had been not even a month and a half before! That was inspiring! So much so, although I had planned to quit, I added another run interval and kept moving for 10 minutes more than I had planned as my run began to fall apart!
So, here is the question for you, my readers - When you have a crazy day, what is one thing you can have readily on hand to provide adequate nutrition to fuel your body? And, can you make it a priority to make sure this weekend, as you hit some store, you be sure you pick some up to have it on hand? Let me know what you decide on and how it works out for you!
I was discouraged and already thinking "If this happens, how on earth am I going to finish that 5K at the end of a sprint triathlon!" Oh, the power of negative thinking, right? Then I started to wonder why this was happening. I turned immediately to what had I eaten that previous day.
On Thursday I was extremely busy and on the run. I had those dreaded errands to run during lunch, my fridge and pantry were showing the signs of just not having the time to effectively shop for the week. I was late for work in the morning, so I grabbed a couple of bananas, and apple, and made myself a sandwich with two tablespoons of peanut butter and two slices of low calorie whole grain bread. I never ate breakfast, per se, but I had eaten half a banana before my run and shoved the rest in my mouth on my way out the door.
At 11 am I was hungry, so I decided to eat half my sandwich, but finished the whole thing (I was seriously hungry after running that morning and failing to eat any "real" breakfast). I ran my lunch time errands and, I was so proud of myself for not throwing a candy bar in with the Valentine's I needed to get for my child's preschool party the next day! I returned to work and ate a banana. That was it for the day before dinner.
We had planned on plain old baked chicken (we throw it in the oven with a sprinkling of bread crumbs), baked potatoes, and a vegetable. When I got home, it was more of the same craziness. My spouse, while trying to make my life easier, ordered a pizza. I didn't even know it until it arrived at the door. So, I ate two pieces of pizza. I love pizza, but know it is far from a nutritious meal, and I can usually always predict scale results after eating pizza the night before, and those results aren't results you hope to see (yes, I am using the pound goal, but perhaps this is a good thing in this circumstance!).
That was my day. I can't even recall, but I don't even think I had a glass of milk. I drank sufficient water, but that was about all that was sufficient about Thursday's diet!
It became clear why, 16 minutes into my run, I was spent. Now I had eaten a small pre run snack, but even that wasn't my usual snack. I usually eat half a banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter on it about 20 minutes before I run. Friday morning I skipped the peanut butter! So, even after eating very little protein the day before (a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, maybe some negligible protein in my pizza in the cheese and ham) I further deprived my body of protein by skipping it in my usual pre-run "snack!" And, right after that epiphany, my stomach gave a little confirmation by growling out of hunger.
So, some things I have taken away from my unintentional experiment:
1. Plan my week better, recognize deficiencies in my nutritional supplies, and try to stock up so I don't find myself hungry for lack of variety of nutritious foods.
2. Be creative if you find yourself depleted in time, money, or just sanity, to think about nutrition. I was so excited I passed up on the candy bar, but couldn't I have found myself something suitable to eat? I passed three grocery stores on my errands, and I could have simply even stopped and gotten some deli meat for a snack (and eaten it with the uneaten apple I had brought from home) and perhaps added a small container of low fat milk, and given my body more of what it requires to just operate!
3. Communicate more effectively. If I had been better at communicating my need to eat a well balanced healthy dinner I could have avoided the unnecessary purchase of a pizza by a well meaning spouse. Our chicken dinner for four may have cost $5-$7 but instead we spend $14.00 on a pizza (and that was with a 50% off coupon!).
4. Have a plan to execute the healthy dinner as I walk in the door. I was seriously stressed. If I had communicated my needs as discussed in (3) and then had a plan to get it started as soon as I walked in the door, it would have been cooking and ready as I dealt with all the other insanity while it was cooking. All it would have taken would have been thinking about the plan for less than 5 minutes of my 30 minute commute.
Many of the things I learned are subjects I have a million ideas and confirmed tricks to deal with, but even I have crazy days where they are not so second nature as to kick in when things get a little nutty.
Now, in my Facebook post I also mentioned how my horrific run turned into something positive. I am not forgetting that part, believe me! When I hit the treadmill on January 4, 2010, I noticed and committed to memory my distance at thirty-five minutes. Even with walking more than usual on Friday, and admittedly struggling and feeling horrible, questioning my abilities, and then being frustrated with my lack of attention to nutrition for the previous 24 hours, I reached that distance 3.5 minutes sooner than I had January 4. And, here I thought how my workout was such a failure - but really, that failure was still so much better than my "best" had been not even a month and a half before! That was inspiring! So much so, although I had planned to quit, I added another run interval and kept moving for 10 minutes more than I had planned as my run began to fall apart!
So, here is the question for you, my readers - When you have a crazy day, what is one thing you can have readily on hand to provide adequate nutrition to fuel your body? And, can you make it a priority to make sure this weekend, as you hit some store, you be sure you pick some up to have it on hand? Let me know what you decide on and how it works out for you!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
