Decide. Commit. Succeed. (Borrowed, but brilliant.)

I want to really absorb these three words, until they resonate in my brain as a mantra.  They are apparently a company's copyrighted catch phrase, but they are brilliant.  Simple, concise, powerful.  Decide.  Commit.  Succeed.

Running Notes to Self

So, I did a 5K today, and oddly enough, it's gotten me feeling a little out of sorts.  I have been getting my workouts in for my first few weeks of the Couch to Half Marathon program, but I haven't been doing anything about the losing weight part.  So, working up from just walking to now supposed to have jogged continuously for two miles a couple of times (which I have only succeeded in doing without walking once), and today the long run was to be a 3 miler, so doing a fun 5K event seemed logical.  Here are some thoughts it generated, in no particular order:

1) Working out alone is comfortable, cathartic even.  Running a fun, themed race alone is a little lonely.

2) It is easy to only compare yourself to yourself and your own progress when running alone.  It is easy to feel reeeeeally poorly about being a BOPer ("back-of'the-pack-er") when there are so many hundreds of super fit people around.

3) My MapMyFitness app isn't working right anymore.  I've suspected so lately, but this race confirmed it.  This is a certified course and had the mile markers, and at the end of the race it said I had gone a lot farther, so not commenting on my time/pace yet because it wasn't real.  When they post the results I will understand a little better- seemed like being amped up made me go too fast, but yet I walked a lot.  We'll see.  I'm gonna have to switch to Nike+ or something.

4) Running with this much extra weight on feels TERRIBLE.  I'm building up slowly, but as such, you push yourself a little further each time, so it's never old hat or easy, it always feels terrible.  I felt more terrible than I expected to for longer than I expected to today.  That sucks.

5) I'm tired of feeling like this.  Tired of feeling so tired, unhealthy, out of shape, large, self-conscious, etc.

Sorry for the downer post.

The "Sale" Trap

I have been doing a pretty good job of laying off the worst of the chocolate habit since the weekend, however I just got suckered back in a little bit by mistake. Do you ever buy things just because they’re on sale? I typically don’t, and I’m not much of a coupon user, either. Inevitably to use coupons makes me adjust what I was going to buy to brands I don’t prefer, or buy stuff I don’t need yet, and I’m not a fan. I have no room for mass storage in any convenient places in my house and I really dislike stockpiling in general. (Especially since I’ll forget I have something stashed and buy more when I need it, anyway, saving me nothing…)

I just went to Target for a few specific items, which is always an exercise in not spending myself blind on random things I “need” as it is, and I was doing pretty well at first. I even happened to look at the Easter candy and think “no, I don’t need any of that yet.” But then, somehow I passed by the leftover Valentine’s stuff that is 70% off, and picked up a little packet of M+M’s that called out to me. (It did, I swear.) Only because it was 70% off. What kind of logic is that? This is what is killing me, but since it’ll cost me 60 cents instead of $2.00 I’m in. REALLY?! It was only a single serve pack, and a normal person can indulge in that once in a while, but for me it’s a door to disaster. I’m going to do my best not to open it any further.

3 Miles, So Sloooowww

Got today's workout in.  At night, when I'm usually out of gas.  At the gym, which I do not prefer.  The assignment was a 3 mile walk.  Technically running isn't required for a couple more weeks, but I sprinkled in several jogging intervals.  This is a pretty big deal for me, because of late I have only run brief downhill stints, on rare occasion, over the last couple of years.  Three miles in 52 minutes is sloooow as dirt, especially when running is included, and yet for me it was an achievement.  I'm both embarrassed and proud, which is a little weird.  However, I am going to look at it as a starting point, the before picture, the benchmark from which I shall only improve as I work my way through this training program.

Goose Fiiight!!

Sunday I started a "couch to half marathon" program.  I know, that's a big leap.  HUGE.  There are a lot of different versions of those kinds of programs out there, but I did choose one that I thought started from the most genuine "couch" point.  Granted, it probably still doesn't quite mean "overweight and married to the couch," but I needed something to kick myself in the oversized ass.  So, with that, I chose an event, signed up for it, filled my calendar out with all the workouts between now and then, and off I go.

The first day's workout was a 2 mile walk.  I've actually been doing several of those lately, so it was not too bad (although after several walks this week with turbo-boss my ankles are pretty sore with their recurring issues).  I had a near miss with skipping it (already), though, 'cause the husband had to go into the office, and I had to do it by 7 am if I was going to get it in.  So, when I was reluctant at first to get up, he pointed out that if I wanted I could count the prior days' 2 mile walk, but I realized that would set a crappy tone if I was already cutting corners on the first day and I went.  Now, freezing as it was, I love and prefer walking outside whenever possible as opposed to on a treadmill.  However, it.   Was.     COLD.  I suffered a fair bit in the wind, and was relieved to have it be a short workout.  But, as always, I was rewarded with some amusing wildlife sightings, this time in the form of a full-on goose brawl.  There were about 20 of them, Canada geese, and there were two main ones fighting each other, but I am not kidding the rest of them were lined up on teams for support and backup.  I've never seen anything like it, it was kind of awesome!

One More Week to Kick Off Workout Mode

I may have mentioned it before, but I am considering signing up for a half marathon this year.  I found a local event that really interests me, happening in June, and I also found a "couch to half marathon" training program that would require a start date of next week (and which really does start from a point of just walking 2-3 miles, which is the range of "couch" that I am at.)  Many "couch to __" training programs are a little advanced from what I would consider "couch", but this one is just right.  I've not yet signed up for the event, however, and I've not mentioned it until now, because I didn't want it to be another thing I signed up for and didn't do, 'cause those do happen.  I really didn't want to start the training program cold, either, but my getting started on a consistent workout problem has been intermittent at best, and plagued with excuses.  Saturday is typically my longest/best workout day, and this Saturday, it consisted of kid stuff, errands, and not working out.  Sunday is also a good workout day for me sometimes, and this one consisted of attending a baptism, eating more lunch than I needed to, and a nap.

Now, I'm not knocking the nap, 'cause balling up on my fantastic couch under a blanket with my family nearby and no particular time limit is a little slice of heaven, and I don't regret that part.  But I have exactly one week to accomplish the following:

1) get over the cold/dank winter and/or feel more like going to the gym;

2) figure out which times of the day I am going to be willing and able to sacrifice comfort and sloth and establish a workout schedule (the two most logical times are going to be early morning or late eve, both of which are VERY challenging mentally and energy-wise); and

3) just do it.

Mixed in there I've got some dental work that rattles me pretty good, a busy week at work, and I'm still waiting on some job news that I've been excited/anxious about.  But I can't let that stuff mess me up, because I am pretty sure any week of the year I could come up with a list of "issues" that are making things more challenging to focus on me and my health.  But this is important.  There's someone in there, under all that busyness, laziness, angst, and years worth of bad habits and personal neglect that I have been in part before, and would really like to fully be.  Someone who has more energy, is healthy, active, effective in everyday life, and takes good care of not only others, but herself too.  She is buried under an intricately woven, warm, and comfy (but not really anymore) quilt of excuses.  It is one of those well-worn, favorite blankies that's really hard to come out from under.  But really, isn't it getting near time to find a big pair of scissors and cut that sucker up?

Long Walk Was Frigid and Short

2 miles. 17 min. pace. Pretty poor, but the effort wasn’t- I was FREEZING! Just being out there was an accomplishment, but I probably should have chosen the gym.

Sunday FELT like I worked out, but it was in the non-cardio (but just as tiring) form of getting stuff done around the house on my feet: dishes, laundry, tidying up, cooking. If I had also worked out, my legs would have given out before I was done, unfortunately. This week’s workout plans are ambitious considering how little I have been doing, will report on progress.

Oh, and I only lost one pound last month. Fairly accurate representation of my level of effort, but it’s better than zero or gaining!