Ramblings from a somewhat insane mind

I will admit.  I went over my calories yesterday.   I knew I was most likely going to go over the calories before my day started, but I made a conscious decision to do the best I could and not worry about it.....to take it as my free DAY.   Did you get the emphasis on the word DAY?   That is on day.  So how did I do????

In calorie speak......I ate 1713 calories.  I did walk more than 7 miles yesterday.  I hiked with Todd and then I walked with my friend Paula.  Each was about 3.5 miles.  And then Todd and I roamed around through an outdoor flea market and some other walking activities  So more than 7 miles walking under my belt. Sadly, I didn't run my virtual 5k in the warm weather yesterday....oh well, we will get to that later in this post.  So it SHOULD be a maintain because calorie wise I'm OK.  But we know that if I eat my exercise calories I do not lose.  Such is my body and I'm OK with it.

So fast forward to this morning........and I'm showing a maintain from my weight yesterday.  (which amuses me...what's the odds that my weight was exactly 230.8 both days....seriously)

During my walk with Paula yesterday we made plans to run together at least once a week  Last year when I was completing the C25K program I was doing it in tandem with Sherry.  Every Sunday we would hook up and run.  It kept me (and I think her) focused because we knew that we couldn't skip runs.  If we skipped runs, we would not be synchronized in our running.  One of us would pull ahead and the running together would no longer work as well.  (ok, we would have made it work).  It was the accountability that I needed to run consistently each week.   Soooo Paula and I are planning to run together as much as possible through the week......at least once  Why at least once?   Right now Paula and I are very similar in where we are at in our running progress.  She runs between a 12 and a 13 minute mile...but typically only runs 1 mile.  I typically run between 2-3 miles and have been running right at about a 13 minute mile 13.25.  (I expect today to be bad because I haven't run in a while)   So add miles onto her and she will probably even out to right where I'm at for her average.  Perfect.   Soooooo, I know that if I'm not running through the week, she is going to improve and I'll be left in the dust.  Well heck!  I can't have that!

So this returns me to my tentative proclamation  that I have made a few times.  What am I talking about?   Running a half marathon.  A few weeks back I even made a declaration and said which one I'm thinking about doing.  Paula and I have talked about it before and after talking to her we are seriously going to start working toward the Habitat for Humanity half in September.  I think I have my feet under control....somewhat.    KT tape is still my best friend (I should buy stock).    I'm not going to say that the plantar fasciitis and the tarsal tunnel don't hurt.  They do. But I'm learning how to manage.  I want to do this.  I'm NOT a quitter anymore! It's in my head, which means that I need to accomplish it!   Soooooo, my plan...right now I just need to focus on running consistently.  Running my three times a week.  Watch my pace get faster.  Watch my endurance build.  Add miles when at all possible.  Just run. In the meantime plan out a 12 week training program...which will need to start roughly the end of June. (that's assuming that the western maryland habitat run is scheduled for this year....I think I saw it somewhere!....and if not, I'm sure Paula and I will find another one that we can run in the same time frame!)    Big plans.  Is it possible.  I don't know.  Depends on my body.  But my mind is ready to roll with it!

The only kink in the works???  Bike riding. I was out on the canal yesterday and holy moley I saw bikers and I was drooling thinking about how much I want to be on MY bike....get on my trek out on the canal!  And then Paula and I were walking on the battlefield and I saw a few road bikers and it made me drool, thinking about how much I wanted to be out on the road....on my litespeed!   Hmmmm....can I manage the running and biking and still have the occasional zumba class????  (maybe not all three, but at least two fixes of the ever inspirational and incredibly hard workouts of Anita?)  Bike one day...run the next???????   I want to knock that century bike ride off my bucket list this year!!!!!!

Am I completely insane???

  Hmmm, all I have to say about all this.......we better get that hot tub up and working again (we shut it down a while back with a thermostat problem.....it kept heating us up to astronomically high and unsafe for human use temps....we have a new thermostat to install...just have to get it in and all working again) because holy cow, I think I may need the soothing waters of a hot tub if I manage to accomplish what I want to this summer on my bike and on my feet.

So this morning I had my virtual 5k to run.  I sat around and actually started this blog post just thinking about what I needed to do.  Finally I stopped myself and said "If you never start you'll never get it done."  So I picked myself up and went to get dressed.  I ran into  problem when I dropped my right foot into my shoe.  HOLY COW...PAIN!  I quickly took my shoe off and looked the HUGE blister on the back of my foot.  Are you serious?  I felt a pain there yesterday but it didn't bother me anymore so I didn't pay attention to it.  OH yeah, wait, I wasn't wearing shoes...maybe that's why I didn't feel it!  I grabbed some band-aids and tried the shoe again.  GRRRR ouch.  KT tape.  (Have I mentioned this stuff is wonderful?)  I put it on really tight over the blister area.  It actually worked.  No, it didn't make it 100% better but it wasn't bad.  SO shoes on, off I went.

Brrr....it was so nice yesterday...teeshirt weather.  it was freakin' COLD this morning.  And my blister hurt.  Maybe I should run in miserable conditions more often.  I was listening to Pink.....maybe that's the reason...I always have incredible runs when I listen to Pink for some reason.  Whatever the reason....my run was my best ever. (I have my doubts that mapmyrun was correct...ha ha ha)  INCREDIBLE run for me!

Just sayin'!  

The jury is out

The jury is out.  Am I certifiably crazy?   

I find myself in a very weird situation.  I don't know if I should be committed for  being mentally crazy or if I'm perfectly sane.    But either way I'm torn in two.

A month back I FINALLY had the money and found a road bike for myself.  I had been saving and looking for a good deal that was in my budget for quite some time. You see, I have long had some bike events on my bucket list.  Events that I really did need a road bike for.  I was super excited. I was going to be riding....I was ready and stoked!   It was roughly at that same time that I kinda started to fall in love like running. 

I was immediately torn when I got my new bike.  I want to ride my bike yet I want to run.  How does one decide what to do?  Ohh add into the mix that I love my Zumba.  Zumba has been a salvation of sorts for me. In a misguided effort to be the perfect wife and thereby single handedly save my marriage I had boxed myself into a corner.  I didn't do anything that might interfere with my marital responsibilities...heaven forbid me not be at the house waiting in case he called needing something while he was at work.  (yeah, really boneheaded maneuver on my part, I know that now...but it seemed like a good idea at the time) Zumba helped bring me back out of that bubble.  My friends that I made at Zumba helped me to realize and rediscover myself!  So dropping Zumba is really not a valid option for me...it keeps me grounded!  :-). So in torn between biking and running.  Not so difficult, I can do both right? 

So I've read a few race reports about people doing half marathons.  I used to read them in awe...then a few weeks ago I read one and felt a tingle of interest that went beyond awe, it was tingle of recognition that maybe, just maybe I had it in me to complete a half.   The tingle grew and I think I want to aim for a half marathon.  Yeah...cue the little man with the straight jacket with my name on it...this is where he is needed!   Me do a half marathon?  ha ha ha.  I'm not committing, I'm just putting the idea out there because I think I could do it.   I must be crazy to even ponder this!!!

My biggest deterrent right now is the fact that I want to focus on riding!  I'm totally torn.  To bike......to run.....that is the question.  I could be happy doing either one...but will trying to do both hold me back from achieving my goals???

The only thing I will say about this before I move on.  I have tentatively found a few halves that I could conceivably run.  One in Hershey on October 20th..( There is also a half in Gettysburg on that same day.)to follow the Hal Higdon 12 week training I would need to start really training the end of July.  (and continuing running my 3 miles a few times a week until then).  There is one closer, to benefit Habitat for Humanity.    That one is in Hancock, MD on a Sunday in September (September 15).   (Ironically enough that race was already in my crosshairs as I was pondering doing the 5k race that day).    All of those half marathons are on Sunday so no worries about work (there is a half that goes right through the town where I live...in fact it goes right by my work...but it always falls on the weekend I work...and this year is no exception...so once again this year I will be at work and cheering the runners on when I'm not inside with a customer!).    The Hancock half I would have to start training diligently the end of June.  Hmmmm.......

So anyway.....no commitment to anything...just thinking wild and crazy thoughts!

Meanwhile, this morning I went out for a run. I don't know what struck me but I decided to push myself further.  (it was probably sparked by all this talk about half marathons and such).   I ran 5.33 miles in just over an hour...That is 2 complete miles longer than I have EVER run in my entire life.  I did not stop to walk.  I ran every stinkin' step!!!!  My average pace was 12:34 (my fastest yet) and one of my miles was in 11:58  YIPPEE!   So not only FASTER but longer!  And I didn't die.....and my legs seem to be still attached to my body and working relatively well.  :-)  

Up tomorrow morning.....a bike ride!   But in the meantime...off to work I go...followed by an hour of zumba!  WEEEEEEEE