Ok, I will admit to being in a total downward spin since Friday about being taken off the running circuit against my will – mostly because I thought there wasn’t anything else out there that would give me the workouts I wanted and had come to enjoy. Last night I loaded up my NextFit keychain trainer with a new training program I found under the heading of “prenatal fitness” and hit the gym this afternoon. I am happy to report that it was a low impact treadmill workout that totally kicked my trash! At one point I was speed-walking at 4 miles per hour on a 7.0 incline and loving the sweating going on. Now that I am over THAT little hurdle, it is time to patiently wait for genetic screening test results and the baby to grow enough to solve the mystery of what sex it is! Ummm… the only problem with that being I am SO NOT a patient person!! At least I can still have great workouts with all the crazy waiting going on!
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Today was dreary and rainy and I ran indoors on the treadmill. I have decided that for many reasons I like running outdoors better – not the least of which is not having to fiddle with the damn treadmill to get the right speed settings. In the outdoors, I just decide I want to run and I run at the pace that feels good. On the treadmill I have to fiddle with numbers and buttons and it just isn’t cool to be reaching and running and trying not to stumble and fall face-first into the display while hoping to catch yourself without bouncing down onto the whirring belt below your feet to be spit humiliatingly out the back. Not that it has happened like that… yet… but it is exactly what goes through my mind every couple of minutes of walk/run intervals when it is time to adjust the speed – AGAIN. I started out strong today and felt good but by the time the 10-minutes of initial walking was over and I was ready to run, my legs were sore and I could barely get comfortably through two or three intervals before my calves cramped up on me so hard that I had to slow down and resort to walking. I only ended up logging 22 minutes. I was pretty … well… pissed, dejected, worried, exhilarated (I got almost a full 120 seconds in on my first running interval) and everything in between. I broke down and admitted I might need more info than what I had found on the Internet and turned to a friend who is a fairly new runner – less than two years – to get some sanity check and pointers. It doesn’t suck that she trained with a “real” trainer for a year and could give me real information that worked for her. I found that 1) I am training way too much if I’m running every day. Cardio everyday, OK but running everyday, not OK. 2) It may not feel like it but I’m going too fast in trying to increase the time I am running at each interval. The fact that in just over a week I have doubled the length of my running intervals is apparently not OK. 3) I’m wasting my best running energy on my initial 10 minutes of walking time. Oh, and I could probably use a masseuse to work out the poor calf muscles but tell me something I didn’t already know on that regard…. So, I am officially on the running only every other day plan and am going to switch it up a bit with warming up on a recumbent bike (I happen to even have an exercise bike at home for the running outdoors days) so I can save my legs for running up front when I get on the treadmill. I have to say, it still feels good to be achy at the end of the day because I had a good run earlier. I just have to stop comparing myself to the marathoner’s and lifetime runners that seem to surround me and realize that I AM doing good runs – for me! – which is the only one it really counts for…

Today was a personal best even though there isn’t too much to compare with as yet. First day running outdoors with my running shoes and still can’t say enough about them! I am back to my lungs giving out before my legs do. There’s one stretch of road I could easily mark progress on and I was able to go twice the distance as the last outdoor run. I had more running intervals on this run and I wasn’t sucking wind as much after any of them. I’m going to have to plot out a new route because now I am done with the route before my 30 minutes are gone. Progress is such sweet victory! And, now that word is out, I have been recruited for my first “race” which luckily I have more than a year to train for. It is a 9-person relay between two cities where each team member runs three 3-mile legs. I am still amazed it is only a week in and I am seeing the kinds of results I am with increased lung capacity as well as endurance. I balked at the thought it would only take 30 days before a non-running-never-run-before beginner could be running 3-mile stints but it sure looks now like it is possible!

I actually yelled out in elation when I started running in my new shoes. No pain in my ankles, no pain in my feet… It was like running on a cloud and it felt like I didn’t even have shoes on my feet. I am so keeping these shoes!!! Can’t wait to take ’em out on the road tomorrow. Hopefully it won’t be raining!!
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I couldn’t stop myself from going to the fitness center at work but I convinced myself I needed to do something besides run and opted for the elliptical. My ankle didn’t bother me too much and I felt encouraged that all I needed was a day to rest it and could hit the running again. And then I made my first visit to a running store. After an hour with the sales guy and a whole bunch of shoes, I walked out with my first pair of shoes just right for me. Holy shit!! Guess what, my ankle doesn’t hurt anymore! It was also the first pair of shoes I ever bought without looking at the price tag and trying to talk myself out of them because quite frankly I would have paid anything they said for the way they fit my foot. I am back in the game. Or, one could argue, I am finally officially in the game… The only obstacle now is finding a treadmill over the weekend and avoiding the temptation to just go outside and run since the sales guy (who is up there on a pedastal at this point) said I had to do a real run on a treadmill to be sure they were really the right shoe. If I run outside first they cannot be exchanged. So, I am headed to my nearest friend’s or family with a treadmill at the first available opportunity! Running shoes are the best thing since sliced bread!

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Feet up with a chai and ice on my ankle… I ran indoors today and took it easy because my ankle was still achy from yesterday’s run. I was able to run but not as long as I wanted because I was afraid of really injuring myself. I got 12 minutes of run/walk intervals in and walked more at the end than the program outlines. I am toying with taking a day off between runs for a few days to see if that will ease me in a bit easier – although I hate the thought of days without running. The 30/30 program is designed for either every day for a month or every other day for 2 months with the same results. Sadly I think I need some rest days in between – at least until I drop some of this pesky weight off my frame making it easier on my poor joints. We’ll see how the ankle feels tomorrow…
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Well, it is spring but try telling that to the weather! I got home early and rushed out for my run in hopes of being done before the rain clouds burst. While I got that wish, the run came with mixed emotions. Today, my legs gave out before my lungs. While this caused me elation since I have never been in great cardiovascular shape, I was pissed as hell that I had to walk/ limp the last 10 minutes on a cramping calf when I WANTED TO RUN! Seriously, I don’t know who I am anymore and it is only day 4. I woke up this morning thinking about when I was going to get to run. Weird for this reading couch potato! Must hit the running blogs to find tips to alleviate cramping…
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