Day 61

Hurricane Alex has blown in some drizzle, so instead of using that as an excuse (which I normally would) I went to the gym in my complex and used the elipticle machine. Rather than focusing solely on the distance like I do when I jog outside, I set myself a 30 minute, fat-burning routine. I love the eliptical machine! It works my arms and legs in unique ways that jogging doesn't. After jogging normally for 10 minutes, I ran backwards for 5 minutes. Plus it makes me feel good because I can go a lot further in a shorter amount of time.

1st mile - 9:30min
2nd mile - 18:20 min
3rd mile - 26:47 min

I completed the work out with a 5 minute cool down that I did backwards. I ended the session having jogged a total of 3.79 miles.

I have to admit that I am pretty darn proud of myself for getting down the gym rather than cuddling on the couch like I wanted to :)

Day 60 - HOLY GEEZE :)

I DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! That's right people: for the 2nd time in my whole, unathletic life - I JOGGED 3 miles!!!!!!! E even walked a bonus cool down lap for a total of 3.5 miles!
I am awesome :) :) SLOW, but AWESOME!!!!!

1st lap - 6:31 min - j
2nd lap - 12:50min - j
3rd lap - 19:19 min - j
4th lap - 25:42 min - j
5th lap - 6:20 min - j
6th lap - 12:40 min - j
7th lap - 20:46 min - w

Day 59

Today I was motivated to go jogging by my new fabulous shoes! :) Their bright baby blues beckoned to me while I was at work - sitting by the door, just waiting for me to put them on. So, after work I met up with my co-worker from my complex down by the mailboxes to go for my first jog in my official shoes. True to our purpose, we jogged 1.5 miles before we decided we needed to walk for a bit. But, to "punish" ourselves for doing so, we walked an extra lap for a total of 3.5 miles!
GO US! Here's the break down:

1st lap - 6:32 min - j.
2nd lap - 13:08 min - j
3rd lap - 19:43 min - j
4th lap - 28:36 min - w
5th lap - 6:47 min - j
6th lap - 15:22 min - w
- We didn't time the last walked cool down lap.

Day 58 - My B-Day!!!

That's right people - It's my BIRTHDAY :) :) :) In honor of the occasion I took the day off and ate two large servings of my Mom's homemade blackberry cobbler :) I don't care how much that set me back in my whole quest to lose 8 - it was worth every calorie :)
I did do something productive though: I got fancy shoes! My parents and grandparents pooled their resources and got me a new pair of jogging shoes and micro-fiber socks for as my gift. Randi, who is training for a marathon, recommended a a place in my area where they have a machine that helps to measure how I stand and they watch you walk to see what type of shoes will be best for you. Apparently the shoes I have been wearing are called stabalizing shoes, which are not right for me. The way they are built up on one side makes me land on my feet tilted instead of flat. I have high arches and put a large amount of pressure on my right heel. They recommended neutral shoes. He also said that based upon the wear and tear on my old shoes that I have been buying them a half size too small. All this to say, I got a pair that are fantastic! They are very light weight too, which I LOVE. I'm not too crazy about the color (they are baby blue), but I suppose it doesn't really matter what they look like. They feel great on my feet and will hopefully help me reach my goals. Plus, I look like crap when I jog anyways (the red-faced, wind-sucking look is not my best). :)

Day 57

Thanks to Randi's constant encouragement and Brett's check-ins, I actually got up and went jogging this morning. Yay for me! Despite Randi's advice to get up early and beat the morning heat, I slept in. So, I didn't make it downstairs until 10am. You wouldn't think it would be that bad at 10am, but it was HOT. I jog on concrete raod which literally radiates the heat upward onto whatever is in the way. This morning I happened to be in the way. Thus by the time I finished my morning jog, I looked like a suffocating lobster. With me not being able to breathe well due to the oppressive heat and having taken 2 weeks off, I didn't do as well as I had hoped. Pretty good, but not fantastic.

1st lap - 6:24 min - j
2nd lap - 13:02 min - j
3rd lap - 18:33 min - w
4th lap - 27:03 min - j
5th lap - 7:55 min - w
6th lap - 14:55 min - 1/2 w. 1/2j

Day 49 - 56

This week I was just a bum. I don't know why, but I felt completely sluggish and tired all week. This will have to change - I am not sure how, but it will. :)

Day 44 - 48

I gave myself Sunday off because I was feeling like a bum. Monday - Thursday I taught R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) Self Defense classes after work. With working 10 hour day then teaching for 3.5 after that I didn't get home until 10pm each night. Jogging was just not an option - even if I had wanted it to be.

Day 43

Today I actually did 2.5 miles! Woo - Hoo for progress!

1st lap - 6:11 min - j
2nd lap - 12:27 min - j
3rd lap - 18:52 min - j
4th lap - 24:57 min - j
5th lap - 6:07 min - 1/4 w, 3/4j
6th lap - 12:37 min - 1/4 w, 3/4j
7th lap - 20:48 min - w

Day 41 - 42

Another break :)

Day 40

Today I got back on the ball (or trail really). I must admit, I am pretty happy with today's showing. I jogged 2 miles straight through and then did another mile part walking, part jogging. Of course, my ultimate goal is to be able to repeat my success and jog all 3 miles, but this was pretty close. :)

1st lap - 6:26 min - j
2nd lap - 12:36 min - j
3rd lap - 18:57 min - j
4th lap - 24:57 min - j
5th lap - 6:20 min - 1/2 w, 1/2j
6th lap - 12:54 min - 1/4w, 3/4j

Day 38-39

I gave myself two days off. I know I said originally that I wouldn't do that, but I did. After jogging four days straight my muscles hurt.

Day 37

Today was my "get back on the horse" day. Despite the ridiculous heat, I decided that I needed to go ahead and get off my booty and go jogging before the looming rain clouds unloaded their droplets. Though not as awesome of a showing as I would have liked, I was able to force myself through the first 2 miles. After that I walked my 3rd mile. Here is the break down:

1st lap: 5:56 min - jog
2nd lap: 12:02 min - jog
3rd lap: 18:10 min - jog
4th lap: 24:24 min - jog
5th lap: 7:45 min - walk
6th lap: 15:21 min - walk

Again, I am proud of myself on my consistancy with the timing on my first two miles. Also, I am again somewhat disappointed by the barely there difference between the time it takes me to jog a mile and the time it takes to walk. Oh - well - speed isn't really my goal anyways. :)

Day 25 - 36

Eleven days: Life + Laziness = No jogging for me this past week. I could elaborate or make excuses, but that would be pointless. What is important is that I get off my expanding booty and get back out on the complex loop.

Day 24

This week is Jogging Buddy week. Today I met up with a friend from work and jogged around campus. She has started the PX90 workout plan, which sounds ridiculous. In addition to that she wants to start jogging so we agreed to meet up once a week to help keep each other accountbale.
My high school friend was late, but ended up tracking us down as we jogged. My coworker has a pedometer that showed that in total we did 3.61 miles, but I don't know how much of that was actually jogged. The jogging path we took isn't marked (we are just jogging through the parking lots and on the streets). Again, I wish I could keep better track of things, but I am glad that I went.

Day 23

Today I jogged with a friend from work who lives in my complex. She is in much better shape than I am, so she pushed me by setting the pace a little faster than I normally jog at. It was nice to have someone push me, but I wasn't able to keep up as well as I would have liked. For that reason, I we jogged a mile then alternated walking and jogging for another 2 miles. I forgot to start my stop watch because we were talking so I have no idea how long it took us. I am pretty sure it was much longer than normal though because of the gossip :)

Day 22

Today an old friend from high school joined me for a jog. I did a mile before she got there in 12:24 minutes. When she arrived we walked a lap while catching up, then finished our 2 miles by jogging the last lap. We walked another two laps after that. It was nice to catch up with her, but I am not sure I like have a jogging buddy. I am too easily distracted by chatting when I have someone there with me. At least I went though. :)

Day 21 - May 23

HOLY GEEZE!!!!!!!!!!! I did it!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually jogged a full 3 miles!!!!!! I am WAY ahead of the schedule on which I thought I would be able to achieve this goal :) I know it sounds a little silly to be so excited about something as simple as jogging three miles, but this is something I honestly did not think I owuld be able to do and never really wanted to. What's even more exciting to me is that I was able to do so while maintaining a steady pace. :)Here's the break down:

1st lap - 5:50 min
2nd lap - 12:17 min
3rd lap - 18:36 min
4th lap - 24:48 min
5th lap - 30.55 min
6th lap - 36.77 min

WOO - HOO :) YAY ME!!!!!!!

Day 20

Today the extra miles I have been doing caught up with me. Although I was able to complete my 2 miles, I was not able to jog all of it. Instead, I jogged the first three laps and then walked the last. I still finished in 26.28 minutes. Although I am not really in this for speed, it is kind of sad how little difference there is between the time it takes me to jog a lap and the time it takes to walk a lap. Oh - well. I will work on speed once I get the distance conquered :)