363 Days Until Race Day!

 It's been a little busy here with my favorite walking buddy graduating tomorrow. I can't believe it! We've still been getting our walks in, though. It's been pretty warm but we've been bringing along our 50oz. water bottle so it hasn't been too bad. No soreness and I can easily hold a conversation. I even jogged a couple times today...to cross the intersection...so not far but it didn't feel terrible so maybe some short jogging ventures will be in my near future?

I haven't been super focused on losing weight, however, I have been eating less so I have noticed that I am lighter. I haven't weighed myself and I'm not sure if I will any time soon. I don't know if it is helpful to depend on the scale so much. I don't want it to discourage me if my weight doesn't drop quick enough. It's getting a little easier to make healthy food choices so I'm trying to focus more on positive things I'm doing so I don't get caught up in guilt tripping myself to eat better. 

I found another exercise to add to my strength routine. It's called a single leg deadlift. You can just use your own body weight or add some intensity by using a kettlebell. To start, I'll just use my body weight and see how that goes. I added it because I wanted to target my hips with some more exercises. I'm worried about my hips being weak. Last year my dad fell and broke his hip so now I'm worried about my hips being too weak. Well, this exercise also benefits my back, glutes and core, so yay!

365 Days Until Race Day!

 So the Senior Games, more specifically the Track and Field events took place this past weekend. That means, I am in the official countdown to next year's games. Ok, technically I was already counting the days but now I'm doing it more officially. :) I'm going to set my goals, include my schedule for this week and give my status update. 

When I was a kid, I used to set 3 goals for a big race. The first goal was one I could achieve as long as I put the work in. The second goal was harder and required extra effort. And the third goal was really tough but still achievable as long as I give it my best. 

My three goals are:

1. Compete in my age group in the 1500m run.

2. Place 1st in my age group in the 1500m run. (I just looked at the 2022, 2023, and 2025 results and only 2 women ran this event each year)

3. Beat the 2025 best time for women in the 1500m run (5:41.70 )

Ok, all of those goals will require me to get my butt in gear and be focused, however, I know that if I give it my all, then I can accomplish at the very least, the first and hopefully the second goal. The third goal is definitely going to be extremely difficult. It wouldn't be a challenge though, if it was easy.

My schedule for this week:

1. Strength training routine - 4 days/week (2 sets of 10 reps/exercise)

2. Walking - 4 to 5 miles per day

I might add an eating aspect to my schedule at some point but for now, I'll hold off on it.

My status update:

I walked for approximately 3 miles today. I need to make sure I increase to at least 4 miles starting tomorrow. With the Summer break starting soon and bringing the hotter temperatures, I may move my walking to mornings when it will hopefully be cooler.

Day 45, 46 and 47

 Still working out and that is going well. I think next week I can up the sets to 3 for each exercise. The warm up and cool down also make such a positive difference so I'm glad I added those in. Walking is going great and yesterday I did an extra long walk...almost 2 and 1/2 hours. Whew! And then another 45 minute walk with my favorite walking buddy. And best of all, I wasn't sore or anything. Woohoo! I'm eating better. Still having some chocolately goodness but I feel like overall I'm eating less junk and fewer snacks, so that's good. I'm also being more aware of how I feel as far as checking to see if I'm hungry before eating. That has worked well especially at night. I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't eat past a certain time in the evening so that your body has enough time to process food before sleep. So I try to keep that in mind when I decide whether or not to have an after dinner snack.

To continue my backstory, I did so=so in Cross Country for my Junior year and then Basketball wasn't good. All the years of running and jumping on the concrete floor finally caught up to me and I was diagnosed with "Jumpers Knee" in both knees. I don't know what the scientific name is but it basically meant I had to do some physical therapy for most of the season. Unfortunately, it didn't help. I wanted to quit Basketball but caved to peer pressure and stayed on the team. I wasn't able to run track that Spring and that did not help my attitude at all. Then, for my Senior year, my anger continued as well as my bad decisions. I ran Cross Country but didn't do very well. Then I played Basketball even though I knew it would mean no Track and Field. See, with my knee injuries, it wasn't obvious from the outside that anything was wrong. I would tell people about the pain I was in but since they couldn't see it, they didn't really believe me. Which of course just made me angrier.

I understand that ultimately, I only have myself to answer to for choices I made. And I absolutely have regrets about not speaking to my parents about this. Sadly, we can't go back in time and undo mistakes. Instead we can only move forward and try to learn and grow from them. For me, that took quite a few years. Eventually I got back into running and even completed a mini triathlon and two marathons. However, raising a child and going back to college to complete my degree, along with other life experiences, took my attention away from running. It's always been a part of me, I just ignored it for a while. But now, it's time to stop ignoring that call of the road (or track) and see what I can do. 

Day 41 - 44

 Walking is going great! So much so, that I think I'll increase the distance even more. And I think I'll increase the pace, too, since I'm able to carry on a conversation with no problems at all. I did get a little jump scare today, though. When my favorite walking buddy and I were walking our usual route, a coyote suddenly raced across a yard and passed only a few feet in front of us on the sidewalk. It didn't pay much attention to us, instead it quickly made its way across the street and away from us. I had my pepper spray out and ready but didn't need it. The coyote just wanted to get away from that area. Ever since COVID we've had a lot more coyotes wandering into town.

Exercises are going good but I feel I'm not quite ready to increase the reps or sets yet. And my knees have finally forgiven me for using them so much while packing up my lego-like toys. Now I need to see where I can donate them. I feel kind of bad having them just sit around and collect dust instead of being played with. Anyway, I really like the exercise bands I use. I wish I would have known about them sooner. They are easy to store and easy to use. They come in different levels of stretchiness to make things harder or easier to do the exercises. I especially like the fact that I don't need dumb bells or exercise machines to get a good workout for my muscles. 

To continue my backstory, I kept training with my dad throughout Junior High and to the end of my Sophomore year of High School. That final track season, I did the best I had ever done. I felt great, had no injuries and ran the best 1500m of my life. I got 5th place overall and was thrilled. Then, that summer, my dad told me that if I wanted to really keep running, it was time for me to train myself. Other parents had been telling him that he was working me too hard and he finally caved to the peer pressure. Unfortunately, instead of me talking to him about it, I just felt hurt and turned to being angry. I had no idea how to train myself and I was too mad to ask for help. 

Day 36 - 40

 Sorry for taking so long to get back to my entry. I've been cleaning and bagging all of my lego stuff, well, it's actually not legos but rather lego-like. I'm doing a little Spring cleaning so I thought I'd go through the stuff on my shelves and see what to donate and what to keep. Anyway, I kind of got sucked into the project and haven't had much time for anything else. On the down side, my knees hate me for using them too much. On the bright side, it has helped me avoid snacking during the day. I've eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner but no boredom snacking! 

And another yay! I have been doing my exercises this week and no soreness after. The workout still feels a little tough so I won't increase the reps or sets just yet. I'm very happy, though, that my body seems to be getting stronger, even if it is going slower than I had hoped, it's still progress. Also, my new pillow is working out great for my neck. It would be kind of a hassle if I still slept on my back and sides because I would have to keep turning the pillow around to have my neck rest properly on it. But since I only sleep on my sides, it's working out well.

To continue my backstory, when I was a kid, my family used to participate in road races on the weekend. Not every weekend, but probably about once a month. We would travel to different parts of the state, usually no more than an hour away. We'd run different distances, mostly between 5k and 5 miles. I really enjoyed road races because I almost always won a medal or trophy. A lot of people just participated as a way to be healthy, where I liked to compete to win. Once I started Junior High, I joined the Track & Field team. I also played Basketball in the winter and Soccer in the Fall. I did these three sports every year from 7th grade until 11th grade. 

Day 33, 34 and 35

 My toe is all better! Yay! I'm still not sure what it was but I'm glad it's gone. Walking has been going well and I've been continuing to get in extra miles each day. Also the strength exercises are going alright. I'm kind of bummed that I still feel sore the day after the exercises. I'm hoping that the soreness goes away as my muscles get stronger. It sucks that I'm so out of shape that this small amount of exercises its so tough for me physically. I just need to not get down about it. I'll get stronger and the exercises will get easier. 

The heat hasn't been too bad. It's warmer than I'd like but at least we aren't having any heat waves yet. I've gotten a larger water bottle, though, just to be prepared for when summer hits. Oh, and I also bought a new pillow that I'm hoping will help with my stiff neck. I've been getting them on and off recently and I think it's because of being a side sleeper. I can't sleep on my back anymore because of an eye issue so it's been an adjustment to only be able to sleep in my side. I bought a pillow specifically designed to help keep your body in good alignment while sleeping on your side, so I hope this will help prevent any more stiff necks.

To continue my backstory, after that first summer, I don't remember what changed or why, but I started to enjoy running. My dad became my coach and we figured out that I was better at longer distances. He created a running schedule for me and we started running together almost every day. I had to keep a running journal and I even have a part of it still. I don't know what happened to most of them, but it's fun to reread the entries I kept. By the time the next summer came along, I was ready to compete. I looked forward to the training and competitions. I loved to run. I'm hoping to get back to that feeling some day.

Day 30, 31 and 32

 Listening to Ozzy right now as I type this up. :) So I checked my toe the other day by holding a mirror under it and found out there is a bump. I guess it's a bug bite of some sort, maybe. I'm not sure but at least it doesn't hurt as much and the bump seems smaller. When I walk it hurts for a little bit at first, then feels fine until I get home. Weird. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it and hope that it goes away really soon. 

Strength exercises and walking are going well. Today didn't feel quite as hot as yesterday, so that's good. Also, I did a little experiment last night and totally regret it. I've been good about no screen time for the last hour before bed and I've been sleeping fairly well. Then last night I decided to test my luck and doom scrolled up until right before bed. I got caught up in learning about some different bands and where they are now and all that fun stuff. Well, very bad idea. I slept very poorly, had bad dreams and woke up tired. So definitely no doom scrolling tonight. Bad!

To continue my backstory, I remember that first summer we did Track & Field with the Summer Rec program and in particular, one specific day. We went to another school for a track meet and my parents even showed up to support us. I don't remember most of the day but I do remember my 400m race. The 400m race is one loop around a track. I hadn't done any type of training or preparation for this day, so I just started running when the gun went off and the other kids took off. I must have been very, very slow as I don't remember anyone else around me. And no, it wasn't because I was in first. I jogged but really did not want to be there. I cried almost the entire race and desperately wanted to get off the track and go home. I even looked up into the bleachers hoping my parents would just magically remove me from the track. They didn't, of course. I finished the race. Absolutely last. And for some reason, my parents kept me in Track & Field for the rest of the summer. And, as it turns out, I returned to that Summer Rec program for Track & Field every summer for the next 7 years. The program was for 14 years old and younger.