Take last week for instance. I was supposed to run three miles on Monday, Thursday, Friday, speed work on Tuesday and run six miles on Saturday. I didn't do anything Thursday and Friday. The days are getting longer, but it's still not light out for long enough when I get home to run outside. I still loathe the treadmill. I have volleyball on Thursday nights, so I can't really do both. I might need to move my day off to Thursday. Whatever. I'm not going to go crazy with all of the details of the schedule. As long as I get my miles in, and I'm not over doing it, I should be okay on April 2nd, right? Yes, I know I'm rambling!
Hopefully, before too long, I'll be able to run outside after I get home from work again. However, I've found that I like doing my speed work on the treadmill. It measures everything out nicely, and I have no choice but to maintain my speed. On Tuesday, I did 5x400 repeats at 7:30 pace. This was the first time doing any speed work. It was good. I'm still not sure exactly what pace I should be running and how long my recovery time should be between repeats, but I'm looking into it. I'm also trusting my body to tell me some things. I want it to be hard, but I don't think I should be killing myself either.
Saturday's long run was good, but I was struggling a lot at the end. I couldn't wait until it was over. I could feel it in my legs and my lungs. It almost felt like there was so much moisture in the air, combined with a 20 degree temperature, that my lungs couldn't process it all. I never really asked Shane what pace we were doing. I learned my lesson and quit asking. That removes many of the mental issues I have. It quiets "the voice".
Another thing that I've been struggling with lately is weight gain. After I got through the holidays, I weighed myself and was pleasantly surprised that I didn't really gain that much weight. I was a couple of pounds over the top of my goal range, but I figured once we started training, those pounds would go away. Prior to getting pregnant three years ago, I had reached the highest weight I had ever been, which was about 40 lbs over my college weight. I was a little too skinny in college, so when I lost 25 lbs, I was happy and never wanted to return. Shortly thereafter, I got pregnant and gained nearly 60 lbs. Thankfully, it wasn't long before I was back down to my goal weight. I've remained there for about two years....until now.
My goodness, running must make me hungry!! I've gained five pounds in the three weeks since my first post-holiday weigh in. I don't know what's going on, but it has got to stop! I was happy to not be counting calories while maintaining a decent weight. But now I've got to start counting again, and I'm not thrilled. I have to figure out how to fuel myself properly (calories in) for the amount of calories I'm burning during runs (calories out). Another balance issue!
Balance, balance, balance; why can't it just be easy? Where is that stupid "easy" button from those commercials? I could use one right about now.
TEB,
ReplyDeleteI used to worry about my weight like very other female. Now I just use it as a marker (kind of). This might sound weird to people, but I weigh myself after every work out. I still do this. My science brain likes numbers and weight is easy to track as long as I have a scale. When I was working out almost every day for 3 months, I've lost 3-5lbs. I know weighing myself after a work out is not very scientific, because I work out whenever I feel like it or when I have time. It could be in the morning, after work, late at night, mid day on the weekends. During the 3 months and the months afterwards, I noticed that I wasn't losing weight but gaining muscles. I was also getting smaller and toner. For now, weight matters to me but very little.
KVHL
PS. Reading your blogs is my way of stalking you and Shane. Not to sound cheesy, but I started working out because of your blog and his. You two are inspirational (damn I sound like a hallmark card). So Thank you and keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim Vuong! It makes writing it all down so much more worth it when we know we've inspired someone else. I haven't been struggling with my weight at all for nearly a year, and I think that's because I work out at lunch regularly now. Before I'd do it whenever it fit in. I weigh in every once and a while to keep myself in check, but I definitely don't need to do it often. Great to hear from you!!
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