Stumbling into Running, Again

Wandering through the adjacent fancy-pants neighborhood to ours with the dog is a brilliant way to:

a) be a total voyeur looking in all of the ridiculous embassy houses (where no one actually seems to live)

Iris at one of my favorite new parks.

b) discover some amazing gardens and parks that are tucked in to tiny corners and the roses smell amazing right now

c) scope out future delusional real estate purchases

d) ease from walking back into running

By bringing the dog along, I just seem less creepy (at least I think I do...) doing all of the above and I can blame my super awkward running stride on the dog. He's a total fall guy in this situation.

At any rate, a huge thank you to all my friends near and far who continue to post about their own running exploits, because it continues to inspire me to choose my running shoes over my flip flops and to drag myself out of bed far earlier that I would every normally consider doing (particularly on a Saturday).

So this past weekend when I managed to actually run (let's pretend it's running and not the slow slumped jog it really is) just shy of ten miles, in a row, and didn't die; I realized... why yes, I can be ready to run to the Army 10 Miler this fall and yes, I will be able to have my mile time be fast enough to not get swept. 

Here's hoping I get a bib this week when registration opens up for the rest of us. And now that I've written this I'll try and force myself not to wimp out.

Can't Type Eating

So it turns out my efforts to break up with McDonalds have be futile. And I can actually trace my weight gain to about the time my resistance started waning and then just flat out gave in. After eeking out my first 10 miler last year on the fumes of the previous year's training and coasting into summer on a runner's high, I flat out stopped. I mean just stopped.

While any individual with an ounce of common sense can wake up every morning and say simply: eat less, exercise more. Make healthy choices. Every time you eat you have a choice. Don't watch more TV, watch less by going out and doing something. I have ignored said knowledge by sitting still and feeding myself nonesuch.

Therefore I should not be surprised by the predicament I've eaten myself into. I take full responsibility for my expanding pants and inertia. Sure, I could give you a long list of environmental factors: stress at work, increased travel schedule by DH, breaking up with my trainer, and on and on. But the reality is, I have the time to make it happen and I'm not.

This morning my alarm was set to catch the 7am yoga class before work, my clothes were set out, but when the alarm went off, I rolled over and took over both sides of the bed since DH is traveling. Not exactly a calorie burning exercise.

I have 137 days until the Army 10 miler and I have to get my act together.

My über awesome, running her first half and full marathon this year, friend Kelly has recommend Jeff Galloway's training method and I'm looking at starting from the beginning with his 5K training podcast. I need to start a new routine. Create a new set of incentives so I stop going through the drive through and start going to the gym.

Lenten Loathing

The ironic nature of starting a blog to track your own efforts in mindful living and then avoiding said blog because you're on a mental hiatus from moving forward is obvious in the time between posts here.

Lent as a marker in time during spring often serves as an apt reboot for new years resolutions. In the past few years I've pep talked myself not into giving up things such as caffeine or chocolate, but rather adding something new to my routine like more gym time, yoga, swimming, etc. As a result, I hit my training goals in 2009 and then promptly road my healthy achievements right off a cliff.

The odd nature of falling off a life precipice is that you are often in total free fall for an extended period of time before you really sit up and say "wow, when did that happen?" And by that, you of course are asking why you suddenly find yourself nearly 15+ lbs. heavier than when you started training, completely divorced from your gym routine, without any yoga centering left, and the closet you've come to runner's high in months was breathing deeply while driving past someone else running on a gorgeous day.

As I rounded the corner into 2011, I knew I was in trouble. The fumes of training that had propelled me across the 2010 Broad Street 10 miler were long gone and I was committed to kicking the 2011 race with some serious training. Then I canceled my trainer because I wanted to save the money. I haven't seen the gym since.

My friends and I sporadically tried to get reinvigorated by going to yoga, fail. We signed up for an 8k in March to give us a midway training goal. A  friend ran the race wearing my bib because the number of times I've put on my running shoes in recent months? Zero. Nada. Not even close.

Number of excuses? Infinite. Number of legitimate life altering excuses? Zero.

So Lent was to mark a new beginning for me, a chance to refocus. With less than three days to go, I am no further ahead than I was at the beginning. I actually can't run the race next weekend because I literally couldn't finish in the allotted time and taking your body from zero to ten miles on a single morning is unwise and potentially damaging. So that free fall? I think I'm starting to see the bottom of the canyon.

I know all of the one day at time adages, one foot in front of the other, try not to focus on the big picture, just start with something small. So my something small is acknowledging that I've lost all accountability.

I'm going to start climbing out now, I need go dust off my running shoes.

Cold Meds Are Cramping My Style

A dense cold infused fog has settled into my head and is refusing to depart. It's untimely arrival during our weekend trip was not ideal, but lucky me, it waited to go all out until I was back at work. It's gotten so bad I've had people spontaneously offer me cold medicine. I think death warmed over is probably a generous description of my current look. Sorry co-workers.

Yet, I am encouraged to persevere as the signs of spring are multiplying daily and I work to shake off this cold like the February blahs. So I am endeavoring to reengage with writing, running, and yoga this month so that the Broad Street 10 miler doesn't run me over.

Anyone else dusting off their mindful endeavors as March begins? I know I'll be adding new running shoes to my mix this month (the Brooks I've been running in are not comfortable) and hoping they magically make me wicked fast. Hmm, that might be the speed button on the treadmill.

I've signed up with my trusty race buddies for the St. Patrick's Day 8k-- that's going to be painful. I'm also loving a new Yoga Basics class at DownDog on Wednesday nights at 7:45pm.

The biggest shift, and I know this will sound easy for some, I'm going to try and make the flip from evening gym person to morning gym person. This may be harder than the actual hour I need to spend running at said gym. Mornings and I do not talk. Suggestions for updates to my run mix are welcome.