First Run Move(y)

Day 8 of Fit in 42

As part of my campaign to – as King Julian puts it – “move it, move it” (also sometimes known as “procrastination, nation”), I went for a run Friday. And I lived to tell the story. So far.

I didn't run at all last summer due to a minor but nagging injury. An injury which was not caused by running or lifting (sounds like irony, but it's not). Moral of the story: don't sit on one hip while staining the deck, and don't ignore an injury hoping it will go away.

Anyway.

Yes, my Hokas are larger than the pine tree.

Inspired by the sunshine and joggers I saw in Iowa City, I laced up my new Hoka's and hit the road. After stretching, of course. And swearing. A LOT. I may have set a new personal record for saying “Oh, sh*t” during this hour of exercise.

First I had to find my old, but serviceable Garmin watch and set the run/walk feature (that's at least 10 “oh, sh*ts” right there). Then I had to track down my old, but serviceable ipod, armband (right where I left it), and ear buds (not where I thought they were). On the plus side (!), both the watch and ipod were charged up and ready to go because I've been planning this for … quite a while.

I am terrible at guesstimating how warm I will be while running, so after finding a sweatshirt and deciding it would be too warm, finding a light jacket and deciding it wouldn't be warm enough, I settled on the sweatshirt and headed out the door.

How long has it been since I ran? Long enough for me to forget how to untangle the cord on my ear buds, to forget which bud went in which ear, and to forget how much it hurts when that rubber-y cord tangles in my hair.

I really want to avoid another injury, so in a rare show of sense and sensibility, I decided to follow one of the BAZILLION Couch to 5K programs that can be found online, and set off on a 1 minute run/2 minute walk interval for 10 runs.

I was out of breath by the end of the 5 minute warm up walk. My left foot hurt and my right knee ached. In other words, nothing out of the ordinary.

During the first 1-minute run interval, I ran half a block. But my knee didn't hurt any worse, and my foot felt fine.

Random running thoughts:

From the beginning of the run: “Who knew one minute was such a long time?”

From the middle: “I should learn the difference between wild parsnip and poison ivy.”

From the end: “Who knew two minutes was such a long time? Who needs a two minute recovery time?” (Spoiler alert: Me. That's who needs a two minute recovery time.)

At the end of my 5^th run interval, I had completed one mile! WOOT! It had taken me 15 minutes, but I had done it. I remember watching the big, digital clock at the finish line of my second 5K (the first one when I didn't FALL), and putting all my effort into finishing in less than 45 minutes. It took 44 minutes and 55 seconds, but I came in at under 45 minutes. That became my time to beat. Friday's 15 minute mile isn't going to finish a 5k in under 45 minutes, but it's a start.

15 minutes is the time to beat. Don't bet against me.

Weighty Thoughts

Day Five of Fit in 42

Wednesday I came up with a list of goals, which, even before I posted, I realized were incomplete. Still, you gotta start somewhere, amIright?

My successes so far have been mixed:

+ I have made some more healthful choices regarding foods. (I passed on the fries. Once. Trust me, this is an accomplishment.)

- I haven’t fully implemented my Master Meal Planning Plan. (I can never remember, is it “Keep It Simple, Stupid” or “How Freakin’ Complicated Can I Possibly Make This?”)

++ I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support! I’m not in this leaky canoe all by myself, and that helps. Hearing about how others have repaired their leaks gives me hope that I can do the same. And I hope I can give others … um, hope.

In other news, there was this: 

I carried 32 kg! I couldn’t actually lift it into place for the goblet carry by myself (my “bell boy” :) had to do that for me), and I carried it only about 30 yards (3 times), but hey, I did it! And that’s something to celebrate.

I don’t know when I am going to need to carry 70.5 lbs for 30 yards, but by golly I know I can do it.

And that’s the point.

When I saw this on my program I thought it was a typo. Lemme tell you, there’s a BIG difference between 24 kg and 32 kg (like, 17 lbs!), and 24 kg was challenging. The first time I tried, I hoisted that 32 kg kettlebell to my waist … and no further. I thought “Well, that’s that. Uh-uh. Ain’t gonna happen.”

But as soon as I put it down, I got a little mad.

I wasn’t going to let that weight get the better of me. After all, I had lifted it part way up.

With Adam’s help, I got the kettlebell in place, and started walking.

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t easy. (It could have gone horribly wrong at any time, so please use discretion.)

But I did it. Next time I’ll do even better.

Finding out you can do what you didn’t think you could? Wow. What an amazing feeling. I think one of the biggest benefits of lifting weights (and I'm biased towards Grit Gym) is the incredible amount of confidence it gives you.

And that confidence leaks out of the gym and into every facet of your life. If I can carry 32 freakin' kilograms, I can finish Book 2. I can change my eating habits. I can say no to french fries (some of the time).

I can.

(The video is on my facebook page, and at https://www.facebook.com/gritgym/)

Day Three. And welcome to it.

How will you know when you get there, if you don't know where you're going?

How will you know how to get there, if you don't know where you're going?

I have goals. I've always had goals. But I've never been one to write them down. I usually just kept them as abstract and intangible ideas floating around me, loosely tethered. When I sat down to write this I called them “ephemeral,” thinking that meant gauzy, wispy things you couldn't touch. But it doesn't. It means transitory and fleeting, and maybe that's what they became.

So, there's that.

But, if I'm really going to commit to getting control of my health and happiness – taking back my life – I have to make my goals tangible and tactile and measurable. I need to know where I'm going so I have some idea of how to get there.

Or at least have some idea of where I want to go so I know where to start. I see a very fine line between setting goals and creating limitations. I also have problems with affirmations and challenges. What can I say? I'm my own kinda' crazy.

I want to:

1. Feel better.
   To do this I need to: eat more healthy (health-ily?).
2. Finish book 2.
   To do this I need to sit down and work. Avoid my favorite forms of procrastination ... like making lists :)
3. Lose weight.
   See #1.
4. Get sh*t done.
   See #2.
   To do this I need to take control. Figure out how I let my schedule get so chaotic.
5. Wear that little black dress with the leopard print shoes.
   See #3.

So, today's goal? Make a schedule.

Tomorrow's goal? Stick to the schedule.

And take over the world.

Time to Begin Again. Again.

Once upon a time, about three or four years ago, I wasn't happy with how I looked or how I felt.

So, I started getting serious about working out and I paid closer attention to what – and how much – I was eating. I started eating less, tried to eat better, and exercised more.

Little by little, like the proverbial frog being boiled alive (which is to say, without noticing it) I started losing weight and changing my life.

When life threw stress in my way, as life always does, I ran more, lifted more and ate less of the crappy foods that made me feel crappy.

Then one day I realized my knees didn't hurt, my hips didn't hurt, I was having fun doing things I never thought I'd do, going places I'd never gone, I had dropped two (sometimes three) clothing sizes, I had written more consistently than I had for a long time, and I had finished writing a novel like I had always dreamed of doing.

It wasn't easy. There had been good days and better days, bad days and badder days. But I was happy with how I looked and felt.

Unfortunately, like that boiling frog, I still wasn't pay attention.

I grew complacent.

And the wheels fell off.

That's not true.

I ripped the wheels off, built a bonfire, roasted marshmallows on the bonfire and made s'mores.

When life threw stress in my way, as life always does, I stumbled. When injuries – unrelated to my workouts – made me change the way I exercised, I grew depressed by the things I couldn't do, instead of focusing on the things I could do. When the pain kept me awake, I fretted over not being able to sleep, ensuring I couldn't sleep. When I was too tired or achy to go places and do things, I sat at home and felt sorry for myself.

Then one day I realized I was depressed.

Because I was depressed, I deserved a cookie instead of an apple. Since it hurt to walk, I deserved to sit and binge watch TV. Since I couldn't sleep, I didn't have get up for that early morning workout.

So what if my clothes didn't fit as well as they used to? So what if I didn't have the energy I used to? That extra slice of pizza made me feel better. That brownie, those chips, that ice cream, that pudding with whipped cream, that candy bar, that doughnut, that soda . . . .

I had good days when I felt like I had almost pulled myself out of the quicksand. I had bad days when I realized I was no closer to the top of the dark well I was trapped in than when I started. All those little set backs and disappointments, all those tiny little insignificant, first-world, non-life threatening problems were boiling me alive.

I don't have the energy I used to. My clothes don't fit the way they used to. I'm not happy with the way I look or the way I feel, or what I've accomplished. (But let's face it, I'm mostly upset about the clothes thing. Damn it. I have a whole closet full of cute clothes I can't wear without looking like an overstuffed in all the wrong places sausage. And I'm too cheap to buy a whole new wardrobe. And cute shoes can only carry me so far.)

It's time to start over.

Again.

Let's do this.

Today I'm starting a new program at my gym – https://www.gritgym.com/ – because I realized I need a little extra help when it comes to making good food choices, setting fitness goals, and finding better ways to deal with stress.

Because this frog just realized the water's getting a might hot.

(And those new leopard-print shoes would be totes adorbs with that little black dress.)