Day 272 - It's a miracle!

I went to the park this afternoon with a friend and accomplished the unthinkable - I jogged 4.25 miles!!! The weather was absolutely perfect and I really needed to be outside. I have been feeling crazy and overwhelmed all week so the fresh air was something I have been looking forward to since Sunday. Anyways - I am not sure which stars aligned just right, but I trudged through and didn't even get super out of breathe until the last quarter mile. And that was because I was trying to catch up with my friend and she was listening to her head phones too loud to hear me. I finally gave up and threw something at her to get her attention. Either way though - I am BEYOND surprised at and proud of my achievement. And not only did I jog all of 4.25 miles, but I did it at a fairly decent pace.

1st mile - 11:37 min
2nd mile - 23:55 min
3rd mile - 12:42 min
4th mile - 24:45 min

I didn't time the quarter mile. After the jogging, I walked a quarter mile as a cool down.

After the miracle - my friend and I met up with a 3rd amiga for happy hour. We celebrated with delicious frozen beverages and free nachos. Haha - not the best way to suplement the calories I burned, but it tasted great! Until... it didn't anymore. But, the queesiness passed so I was able to enjoy an evening roaming around the boardwalk with the 3rd amiga. :)All in all - an AMAZING day!

Day 268 - 271

This week was crazy for me with work stuff. I had two days of Bake Sale-ing for the play I am producing. It was fun, but hectic. The first day I did really really well and only had one cookie the whole day. I caved more on the second day and had two cupcakes. Still not bad considering the amount of sweets I had readily available for 16 hours straight. Anyways we raised almost $700 for our charities. Then on Thursday, I had my Stalking Awareness Month program. It went pretty well. The speakers were amazing and the turn out was respectable. On top of being busy with these programs I also stayed late each night to teach RAD - the basic self defense class I teach. We had a small class so I decided to go through the attack simulations with them. I haven't done them since I went through instructor training last year. I was hoping for more of a fight, but I am proud of myself for the good shots I did get in. In my second attack, I was taken to the ground and managed to get a heel to the groin shot which would have definitely put him down. In my third attack I did a text-book shin scrape/heel stomp on the first guy after getting him to put me down and a perfect sweep kick on the second. I am happy to know that I can still do it and not just teach it. :) Needless to say though with getting home at 10pm each night there was no time for jogging.

Day 267

So, last night I ate myself into a pizza comma. That of course, totally negated the calorie burning I had done earlier in the day. Today, I decided to make up for it - at least a little. Sadly though, the 1.5 miles I had started out trying to do didn't happen. I made it a mile before I thought my lungs would explode. After that I went to the gym before heading back out on the trail. In total I did 3 miles, but it was much more spread out and included a lot more walking than I had desired. However, it was the first time I had done 3 miles in a LONG time. I am pretty proud of myself actually.

1st lap - 5:45 mins - jogged
2nd lap - 11:27 mins - jogged
Gym - 20 lbs with arms and 40 lbs with legs
3rd lap - 7:36 mins - walked
4th lap - 13:13 mins - jogged
5th lap - 6:08 mins - half walked, half sprinted
6th lap - 14:33 mins - walked

Day 266

After spending most of the day in the house taking care of the chores I needed to do, I got off my hiney and went jogging. Although, I had pipe dreams of doing all 3.1miles I used to do, I was only able to squeek through 1.5 miles. I supose I should be happy, it feels like I am starting over completely, but this time around I am starting at 1.5miles. When I first started this little venture, I was barely able to push through 1 mile. Anywys - here is the breakdown.

.5 mile - 5:33 minutes
1 mile - 11:05 minutes
1.5 miles - 16:32 minutes

I hit the gym again when I was finished. All of the arms was done at 20 lbs and the legs at 40 lbs.

Day 264 - 265

Thursday was a late night at work and Friday was Dad's birthday. So, I was a busy lady and working out wasn't able to be squeezed into the calendar.

Day 263

Tonight I went jogging with Michelle for the first time of the new year. I love jogging in the park because its prettier, but it was cold outside that night. Not as cold as it has been, but cold enough to require that I wear the new "winter" work out clothes that I got for Christmas. I would like to believe that the cold was what slowed me down, but if I am being honest with myself it was probably my lack of consistancy. Either way, I managed to limp through 1.5 miles before we shut it down. The first mile took 11:21 minutes, which is actually a pretty good time for me. The .5 miles took longer than I would have liked and I finished in 17:34minutes.
To make myself feel better about being so slow, I decided to head over to the gym at my complex when I got back from the park. The workout was followed by stretching.

30 reps on the bicep curl at 10 lbs
15 reps on the bicep curl at 20 lbs
30 reps on the row machine and the shoulder pull down at 20 lbs
30 reps on the shoulder press at 20 lbs
30 reps on the bench press at 20 lbs
30 reps on the thigh machines at 40 lbs both directions
20 reps on the leg press at 40 lbs
10 reps on the leg press at 60 lbs
30 reps on the calf machine at 40 lbs

Day 255 - 262

Nine days worth of couch surfing most likely does not count as excercise. If only it did... can you imagine the shape I would be in?! Let's just say, I would be bikini ready for sure! :)

Day 254

Yay - for getting back on the horse, so to speak. Tonight I did a quarter mile on the treadmill with the speed set at 3 and the grade set at 5. Man that was a workout! After that, I did 1.5 miles on the eliptical machine. I had originally intended to do 30 minutes on the eliptical machine because it was crazy cold outside. Jogging outside would NOT have happened. Unfortunately, I am so out of shape that 30 minutes was also NOT going to happen. I had to work with all of my might not to give up before the 1.5 miles that I did. I had also intended on doing some light weights following the eliptical, but again once in there I realized that was NOT happening. So, overall, not even close to my best showing, but you have to start somewhere right? Anyways - I did the first mile in 10:43 minutes and the total 1.5 in 16:41 minutes. As a cool down, I stretched before heading back to my apartment to crash.

Day 250 - 253

Yeah, so I am a bum...

Days 239 - 249 Christmas - the New Year

Wow - Anyone who believes that a diet/excercise plan of any kind be properly maintained over a holiday break is a nutjob. Between all of the holiday food, eating out with Jon, and massive amount of things we had to do and people we had to see I have done nothing remotely close to excercise (accept for trapsing around San Antonio, which does count because we had to have walked at least 3-4 miles New Year's Eve alone) and have most certainly gained back at least 3 of the pounds I had lost. Thankfully, my new, smaller sized work pants still fit, but the hint of a muffin top creeping out over the waist band and the bloated puffiness of my belly suggest a deep need for rededication to working out and eating less. Tonight I my last night with Jon and we are going out to dinner with our families. After this dinner, I will be adherring strictly to the "eat less & eat less crap" moto that had carried me through my initial training. I will also reestablish a consistant jogging routine. Twice a week with Michelle and once or twice over the weekends on my own. I have to do this - for me!

Day 238 - Christmas Eve

Yes, today I jogged! Jon went to a movie with his Dad leaving me with a few hours to kill before picking up Michelle to take her to the airport. Overly ambitious (haha) me, decided to use some of that time to take Chance, one of Jon's dog's, jogging with me around the complex. He is a huge dog (about 80 lbs) and as a hunting dog is very used to running. I was told he would be a good partner. Ehhh --- he wasn't bad, but I definitely prefer to jog alone. We managed to do 1 mile before I couldn't deal with his weaving in front of me anymore. He is a good dog, but can't seem to walk a straight line to save his life. The last thing I need is to trip over him and bust my face on the parking lot. Anyways - not the progress I was hoping for, but at least I did something - right?!

Days 234 - 237

Jon is home! :) Needless to say, with preparing for his return (cleaning my apartment), working, and enjoying his company I have not found time to jog.

Day 234

Today Michelle and I decided to attempt a full 3 miles. She is training for a 5k in January and I haven't done a 5k since Novemeber 2nd when I attempted it in honor of the October 2nd Race for the Cure. :) Yes, I am a dork. Anyways - I am depressed at my results. Pacing Michelle wore me out and I ended up having to walk a bit to keep my chest from exploding. Again, I had to wave her on and meet her at the end. She has this need to finish her race in approximately 35 minutes because she heard somewhere that people can walk that distance in 40 minutes. I did the Race for the Cure in 39.44 minutes. Of course that was dodging a ridiculous number of people and waiting for my two friends. I am condifident that I could have finished quicker. Anyways - I am so out of practice that I can't now. I did my 3 miles in 39:09 minutes with the walking. That is not good. I had been averaging 12 minute miles, now - not so much. I have done this to myself, but I am basically going to almost have to start over with my training. Anyways - here is the breakdown:

1st mile - 12:56 minutes
2nd mile - 26:20 minutes
3rd mile - 39:09 minutes

Days 231 - 233

We are getting into the Christmas holiday time frame and things are getting hectic quick! Not the best reason to be a bum, but what can you do?

Days 228-230

So, for two of these days I have no excuse. Pretty much just being lazy - again. On day 230 though, Michelle and I ventured back out to the park to try our luck at speeding up a shorter jog. As Jon has suggested in the past running shorter distances faster can help build muscles, whereas slower longer runs simply burn calories. Thus, we have decided to try alternating between the two options. This week we did 1.5 as fast as we could. I am not thrilled with my time. I was trying to keep pace with Michelle who is in much better shape and jogs much quicker than I do, so I thought for a bit that I was going to die. Instead, I waved Michelle on and told her I would meet her at the finish line. I ended up doing my 1.5 miles in 15.31 minutes. Which isn't too far off from what I had been doing previously. It is still not great though and I definitely need to improve. Michelle did her's in 14.30 minutes. I will get there - eventually.