268 Days Until Race Day!

Wow! That's a bit intimidating to see the numbers so low already. It doesn't feel like it's been so many days gone by now. Yikes! Well, the heat wave finally broke, for a short time, recently which means I was able to get out for some outdoor exercise, finally! I've been trying to get some walking in when I can but yesterday was the first long walk I've done for weeks. It felt so good to get out and really get my body moving. It's not the same as running or jogging, however, it's at least progress. I know the heat is coming back, tomorrow, I think, so I've got to figure out some way to keep the momentum up without having physical issues caused by the heat.

Now that my second part time job is set to start soon, I'm hoping that all the new adjustments to my schedule are in place and I can settle into a more steady routine. Being forced to be flexible and adaptable is hard but I've always liked a challenge and this one is no different. I just have to make sure that my laziness doesn't push me towards the easier route, which usually means making excuses to put something off until later. That can't keep happening since I'm running (pun intended :) ) out of time for laters. 268 days sounds like a lot but not when I think about where I'm at in my training and where I want to be. 

I was watching this tv show and one of the lead actresses has great arms and she happens to be close to my age (in real life). So I looked up to see what she did to keep her arms in such great shape. Her solution was to incorporate exercises into her daily activities. For example, doing something like squats while brushing your teeth. This sounded like a great idea, so I printed out my different strength exercises and put them up around the house in places that I go to multiple times a day. I put the push ups near the kitchen so while dinner is cooking, I can get in some pushups. I put another exercise by my jewelry box where I get some earrings out every morning and put them away every night. And great news, it's working. I have my warm up exercises by my bed so first thing in the morning I do my warmups and I feel pretty good starting my day. I'm not up to 3 sets a day for each exercise but I am getting more reps in on a more regular basis than I was before, so I call that a win! I'm going to keep this up and work on being more conscientious about getting all 3 sets in each day. It feels do-able now, so woohoo!

288 Days Until Race Day!

 I don't know if it's good or bad but I'm starting to adjust to the heat. It's not getting much cooler than the high 80s and for me, that's not very cool at all. However, I don't feel like I'm melting when I step outside. Well, not as much as before at least. So, I guess that's a good thing? Anyway, I'm plugging away but don't feel like there is anything much of interest to report. I wish it was like in the movies where there is some kind of training montage (yeah, like the first Rocky movie) where I do some awesome training and then before you know it, I'm in great shape and ready to kick butt. That would be nice! Ah, unfortunately, that just isn't happening. Oh, maybe if I play the song "Eye of the Tiger" it might help. Ok, well, that did energize me a bit but no miracle transformations. :)

On the good side, I'm working more hours which means a more solid routine which in turn should hopefully help me establish a more consistent training routine. Yes, I do like routines. And, consistency is a great way to get results, so here's hoping that I make some training leaps and bounds soon. I'll keep you posted. I wish I could get a personal trainer/coach, I bet that would make things easier. Then I'd know that I was doing everything I could to make progress. I've never coached myself, so it's been a struggle. I don't want to over do it and risk injury, yet, I don't wan to under do it and make little or no progress. Boo! Why couldn't this be easier. Hmm?

Alright, I think I need to be tougher on myself and try to push harder. Easing into this whole thing is taking so long, maybe it's time to level up. Hee hee video game reference. Oh, wouldn't that be cool if you could level up like in video games? That would help...probably. Until I figure that one out, though, I'll just work on increasing my workout intensity at a faster rate. Yes, I think that will be a good move. Don't worry though, I'll still make sure I listen to my body so I don't cause any injuries.

306 Days Until Race Day!

 Holy Crap it's hot out there! This heat wave is kicking my butt and stomping on me while I'm down! It's been going on for at least 3 weeks now and apparently there is going to be a heat spike over the next few days. When will it end? Needless to say, I haven't been running. I've tried to get out for some walking but my favorite walking buddy said no way so I've been on my own. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to walk for very long as it's just so suffocatingly hot and I end up drenched in sweat within minutes. 

However, I do need to exercise a minimum amount or I get fidgety so I've taken up pacing in my home. I'm starting to wear a path down in my living and dining room. It's not ideal by any means, but it's something. I've tried to get back into my strength training but that's been harder to settle back into. I think I need to go back to setting an alarm on my phone as a reminder to do my workout. For some reason, that seems to help my brain be more likely to follow through on an activity. Actually, I'm going to pause writing and set the alarm now so there's no excuses. Done!

Now, looking to the future. I can't believe I'm 59 days into this challenge and I feel like I don't have much to show for it. Talk about a slow start! Ok, since I don't know how long this heat wave is going to last I need to stop waiting for that and get back to making progress. The time is going to fly by and I don't want to get to race day and be mad at myself for not trying harder. So, starting today, I'm going to get back into my daily strength training/workout. I will also get back to walking on a daily basis, I just need to figure out when the temperature will be ok enough so I can get outside. Alright, that's my plan. I've got this!

323 Days Until Race Day!

 I bet you thought I gave up. Nope! Just been moving into a new place and oh, my goodness, I am so exhausted (both emotionally and physically) and sore. Who knew that moving after 20+ years in the same home would be so taxing. I never considered myself a collector but over time, things sure can accumulate. Anyway, me and my favorite little walking buddy moved into a new place last week and we are just now finally pretty much settled in, so I promise to not take so long to update my progress again. 

On the upside, I sure did get a lot of strength exercising in with all of the lifting, bending, carrying and unpacking. Not to mention the cleaning. My muscles are almost back to feeling normal again after all of that extra exercising. On the downside, there has been a heat wave so we haven't been able to walk as much as I'd like. We've walked some but not consistently. I'm hoping the weather cools off soon so we can get back to walking and hopefully a little running soon?. Maybe.

I still want to compete and I know I have a long way to go with many obstacles, however, I'm stubborn and I hope to use that to my full advantage and not give up. I love track and field and miss it terribly so this is a great opportunity for me to recapture some of my youthful joy. Wish me luck!

338 Days Until Race Day!

 Wow! I'm doing really bad about blogging my progress. I started this recent set of blog entries to force myself to be accountable and sadly, that isn't working out as planned. I have been walking and trying to be consistent with my strength exercises, but I also find myself making excuses and avoiding the reality of the situation. I can't just skate by without doing any work. I can't expect something magical to happen and I'm suddenly in the best shape of my life. Although, honestly, I wouldn't mind the magic too much. I know the journey is important but seriously, magic would be pretty cool. 

Anyway, I did force myself to really think about my goals and whether or not I really wanted to accomplish them. I decided that I do want to accomplish them, however, I'm very afraid of failure, especially with the 3rd goal. I have not been in competitive shape for many, many, many years and now I'm afraid that I can't do it. That I won't be able to lose the weight, build the muscle and give it my all on race day. I don't want to fail. Even though I tell myself that 'not trying at all is failure', part of me holds onto the weird idea that if I don't try, then I will never know if I would have failed so I can delude myself into thinking that I could have accomplished my goals if I worked hard enough. Then I hear the song "Could Have Been Me" by The Struts. I love this song! I wish I would have heard it sooner. It makes me want to get up and go for a run. I don't want to waste anymore time with "what ifs" or reasons why I can't do it right now. Not to be morbid, but we really don't know what might happen tomorrow, so I need to make the most of today. I really want to do that...so why do I keep stopping myself?

349 Days Until Race Day!

 Life has been kicking my butt for the past however many days. A lot of things are up in the air right now which is making it hard for me to really focus on my training. I don't even know if you could call it training at this point. I've done great with the walking. Me and my favorite walking buddy are getting the miles in. It's been sooooo hot, though. In the mid to high 80s for a week or so. We're drinking plenty of water and giving ourselves a frozen fruit bar when we get home. So at least that is going well. 

I haven't been doing my strength workout which is frustrating because I can feel what a difference it makes when I'm not doing it consistently. Boy, I'm old! :)  I gave myself a stern pep talk and I'm working to get myself back on track. Those goals are not going to reach themselves. Even if there was a magical pill I could take and instantly be in great shape, I don't know if I'd take it. Obviously, I would give it serious consideration at first, but then I'd probably think about it and realize that the struggle makes reaching the goal so much more rewarding. Or maybe it's just me. I do tend to always do things the hard way. 

357 Days Until Race Day!

 It's funny how much life has such an affect on my running and training enthusiasm. I'm currently in limbo, so to speak, in regards to a job and housing. I'm attempting to transition in both areas but there just seems to be so much waiting involved. Exercise has always been a way to reduce my stress, so I'm certainly making use of that right now. It's just frustrating because I want to really get focused on my training, yet other aspects of life seem to be pulling my attention away from the excitement of my adventure back into Track and Field. I know I need to stop letting other worries take away my enthusiasm for running. It's sooooo hard, though!

Well, anyway, my training is going well. I'm getting plenty of walk time in with my favorite walking buddy. I included fartleks this week. Every time I came to an intersection, I jogged across instead of walking. I was pleased to note that there wasn't as much extra jiggle around the tummy as there used to be so I must be doing alright with the eating and exercise adjustments. Yay!

Eating did get a little rocky because for some weird reason I was craving Pretzel M&Ms. No idea why but I just was. So I bought a small bag and ate some and shared the rest. They were ok, but not worth the calories. I try to keep these little snack packs on hand that seem to help if I need a healthy snack between meals. They have almonds, cashews and a few chocolate pieces. I actually enjoy those more than most candy because they have some salt, some sweet and in general are healthy. So I guess next time i have a weird craving for a sweet treat, I'll eat one of those packs first and see if that takes care of it.