Step by Step

Well, I'm slowly making some progress. I've gotten only four runs in the past couple of weeks, but it's better than nothing, right? :P I'm getting about four miles per workout, which is right around where I want to be, according to the training schedule I have. I need to work harder at getting at least three runs per week. The next coming week will have me doing some speed work, which I've never done before. It'll be interesting to see how I do with that! 

In addition to learning to run on a regular basis, I'm trying (once again) to watch what I eat. My husband and I are trying to cut way back on meat and junk food. I'm not shooting for strictly vegetarian because, well, I know I just don't have the will power to give up meat completely! I figure, though, if I can cut my meat intake to only two, maybe three servings per week (as opposed to per day, haha!) that could mean a good boost to my weight loss... hopefully. Of course, I also need to learn to snack healthier, try and limit the sugary crap, that sort of thing. I do better with it some days than others, but I'm trying to take it a day at a time, one step at a time. 

And I Thought Running Was Hard...

I didn't get as many workouts in as I was hoping to this week. My family took a last minute weekend trip to my grandparents' to visit. Sadly, My grandpa doesn't have very long, so this was a chance to see him one last time before he goes Home. Our family had a really good visit, we shared some good memories, told some jokes (Grandpa always has a joke to tell!), and said our goodbyes. He has lived a very full happy life, and while it's hard to let go, I know this parting won't be forever. We'll see him again someday!

Over that same weekend, I had also started to feel like I was getting a cold, so I didn't want to overdo it and have it get worse and get set back even farther. Plus, one of our cars decided to take a dump, and with my husband working nights in Salt Lake, it's hard for me to get to the gym in the evenings when I usually do. If it were spring or summertime, that wouldn't be a problem, but in the wintertime, it's already totally dark by the time I'm off work, and I don't run in the dark, because I don't want to get pillaged! Anyway, to make a long story short (too late, I know), I finally got a decent workout in today. I decided to do the one P90X workout that I hadn't tried yet: Plyometrics *cue doomsday type music* When I did the full P90X program last year, I did the P90X Lean, and that version doesn't include the full Plyo workout. I figured this workout would be a decent substitute for running... I'm afraid I was right. That workout is a beast! It doesn't help, of course, that I haven't done any of the P90X stuff since, what... last March I think? Maybe April? Yeah, it has been a long time! I had already broken a sweat after the warm up, and my legs were Jello by the end of the first set of moves! Holy crap! I got through it though, more or less, and I do feel good getting a good workout done. I want to at least incorporate some of the P90X workouts with my training for my race. It's always good to supplement running with strength training, right? And if P90X isn't strength training, I don't know what is!

Awwww here it goes!

I had the day off work today, so after getting a rather large amount of laundry done, I went for a three-mile jog... and really started to wonder just what I'm getting myself into... While I have run this distance plenty of times in the past (3 miles, I mean, not 13.1), I haven't been out for a good run since *cough* Thanksgiving *cough* ...So I slacked off through most of the holiday season... don't judge me... Okay, judge me, whatever. Anyway, it's been a month and a half since my last run, so of course it's going to be hard, but I wasn't expecting this! I had slowed down to grrannnyyy pace by about a mile and half! I was pretty sure I could have walked faster than I was running! If I can barely make it through three miles, how am I supposed to add ten to that?! I was really starting to second guess my choice for a bit. But I remembered that thankfully, this race I'm doing isn't, like, tomorrow. It's not till June. I have plenty of time to get in shape and prepare for this. It'll be okay! I can do it! However, this really woke me up to the fact that I will really need to stick with it and train regularly if I'm going to finish this thing without being completely miserable!

Hello, is there anybody in there?

Happy New Year! As you can see, I haven't updated this blog in practically forever. I have been exercising, but not as often as I was and should be. I plan to change that! Here's the deal, I signed up for the Utah Valley half marathon coming up this June. The longest race I've run yet is only a 10K... and that was six months ago. So I have six months to train and get ready to run a race that's more than twice that long!

That's my New Year's resolution. Be ready to run a half marathon... without dying. Can I do it? Yeah, I think so. Am I going to need to work hard at it starting, like, now? Yeah, just lot. Am I excited? H-YES! I will resume my blog to track my progress/show some accountability/chart my descent into insanity.

Since I've never done a race this long, I've never really done any super-organized training. So half the battle/fun is going to be figuring out some good training routines to work up to the length of the race. I've done some reading and will use some of the pointers I've found, and any advice you readers may have (I know there's only, like, 5 of you out there, but that's because you're awesome!) is welcome. Or if you just want to point and laugh at me via blog comments for subjecting myself to the pain and hardship that I'm bound to experience, you can do that too. But you're sooo not invited to my I Just Ran a Half Marathon Without Dying party that I may or may not host after I run the half marathon without dying.

Anyway, I think that's all I've got for now. I really have signed up, so there is no turning back (unless I'm okay with wasting over 60 dollars, which I'm not). So, let the... craziness...begin!

This should be good.