Couch to 5K week 3

As noted in my last entry, even minor injuries can set one back.  I switched my day off from Tuesday to Monday giving my left side a chance to recuperate.  That was of course a wonderful idea, though I didn't look to see what I was supposed to be doing Monday night and so firt thing Tuesday morning I went for 30 minutes on the treadmill.  30 minutes because that's how long a video typcially is and I didn't want to run out of time to still get ready for work and leave the house.  Run/walking two days in a row wasn't bad actually and with the interval training I did on Wednesday night I think I will still be on track for increasing my time by the end of the month.


Pushing through and feeling great/sort of!  Ready to hit the treadmill running as I move into week three.

2/15/13	2/16/13	2/17/13	2/18/13	2/19/13	2/20/13	2/21/13
Run 2 miles	Shred	Run/Walk 2.5 miles	Dance	Rest	Run/Walk 3 miles	Shred

Just not a day for exercise

With my son's concert being the only interruption thus far in my schedule I was not prepared for today.  Besides the wonderful threat of a horrible snow storm coming in and cleaning for some soon to be visiting family I had an incident this morning.  While grocery shopping this morning my son who loves to push the cart accidentally ran into my left ankle, ripping a hole in my sock and leaving a red mark across my Achilles tendon.  I had hopes once it no longer seemed to bother me that I would be fine on my run/walk of 2 miles today.
Combine the minor irritation to my ankle and the shoveling of some very heavy wet snow prior to my workout; I went down fast.  I started off at a nice clip (4 mph), good music to keep pace by, nice even breath.  Then the phone rang; had to stop and answer as it was family.  My return to the treadmill attempting the same pace did not last long.  First my left hip began to hurt radiating down into my butt and up my back, then my left calf, followed by my ankle.  In all I managed 1.2 miles in 20 minutes with the last 5 minutes at a slow walking pace desperately hoping that my calf wouldn't freeze up.

Oh Well.  There's always tomorrow's workout.

Couch to 5K week 2

One week down and three more to go.  My run/walks were more run than walk.  Go Me!  I really missed working out on Tuesday and due to my son springing a concert on me (he's been telling me for the last few weeks that it was today not last night) I missed my workout last night.  Today I'm thinking I will combine yesterdays workout with todays run.

Here's my up coming training schedule:

2/8/13	2/9/13	2/10/13	2/11/13	2/12/13	2/13/13	2/14/13
Run 1 mile	Dance	Run/Walk 2 miles	Shred	Rest	Run/Walk 2.5 miles	Dance

Couch to 5K in 28 Days

I know, the challenge is supposed to be for 30, but how does one manage to squeeze in 30 days in the short stature 28 day February?  I've done a 5K before, granted it was six years ago and my time was horrible because I didn't bother to do any serious training.  While I am not scheduled to run a 5K anytime soon, I would like to be able to at least get my personal time to be less.

I've researched the traditional couch to 5K program and while it is typically spread out over 6 weeks I am going to cram it into just 4.  I am not going to go into this with cold muscles.  I have been exercising, reawakening my muscles to the more vigorous activities such as running and aerobics, which, hopefully, will allow me to complete this month's challenge sans injuries.

I'm tweaking the program so that I will be active 6 days each week with one day of rest which based off my schedule will be Tuesdays.  This first week I will alternate between running on my treadmill and aerobic/weight training at home videos.  My videos will rotate between all out cardio dance and Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred -to help build and tone those winter lost muscles.  Maybe when the spring thaw finally reaches me in the Northern Midwest, I will find a 5K to actually run and cream my last time (of 47:55).


Week 1's Schedule:

2/1/13	2/2/13	2/3/13	2/4/13	2/5/13	2/6/13	2/7/13
Run/Walk 1 mile	Shred	Run/Walk 1.5 mile	Dance	REST	Run/Walk 2 miles	Shred

January Check In

I know! The month is almost up and I have yet to update how this month's challenge has been going.

My first two weeks were a combination of light salads, protein, a detox tea mix with lime essential oil and pure unprocessed honey.  Just when I was starting to add in some exercise once again as my energy was improving post antibiotics, I got hit with a doozy of a viral infection.  Probably picked up by one of the numerous ill patients that came into the clinic or from the giant indoor playground I took my son to as a reward for him working so hard on his school work to catch up before his quarter ended.  An almost solid 36 hour sleep with only the detox tea or water when I was up and a total of three days without any solid food and I was on the mend.  Now I'm moving more towards a solid food with fresh juices detox diet and herbal supplements to help rebuild my immune system.

And now for the super cold, negative temperatures!

January's Challenge: Getting back on Track

I know January the start of a new year and everyone is proudly and boldly declaring their Resolutions.  Personally I really dislike that word.  It has become synonymous to failure in my mind as most people do just that; they over think or over pledge themselves to making radical changes without understanding the impact that those changes can have on their personal life, personal time, family, etc -and in the end the resolutions are the first thing to drop off the must do or even the general to do list.

That is one of the reasons I love doing these monthly challenges.  Beyond keeping me fresh and looking for something new and exciting to do, it forces me to constantly change my perspective of myself and my life.  30 days of change is nothing compared to the whole-hearted pledge to "Quite Smoking!" "Lose 10, 20, 30 pounds" or whatever resolution people are making this year.  At most resolutions are kept for maybe 8 weeks, 12 if you have a very strong constitution or made rather simple resolutions.  The truth is the first "big" thing that comes along that disrupts your life, even the tiniest ripple, and so much for that "fill-in-the-blank."

Enough of my tirade on New Year's Resolutions.  My challenge this month?  Well since I will be finishing this round of high-dose antibiotics which I've been on for a whooping 3 weeks, I would like to Reboot my system.  Antibiotics even for the normal 10 day stints wreak havoc on the intestinal system beyond generally being hard for the kidneys and liver which have to process and filter them.  Antibiotics are a non-discriminatory killer of all bacteria -the good, the bad, and the ugly.  While getting rid of the bad and ugly helps our bodies to heal or recover faster from whatever bacteria has invaded our otherwise perfectly closed system, we need to restock and replenish the good in order for everything to get back to a semblance of normal.  And, yes, I have been taking a daily probiotic -but after 3 weeks, I just don't feel right.

The term Reboot may be similar, you may have heard it on an infomercial or if you watched one of those anti-food industry documentaries.   In simple terms the process of rebooting your body’s natural system is very simple.  There are several ways one can go about it.  Fasting is probably one of the fastest (no pun intended) ways, but if you have never fasted before it can be dangerous.  There are quite possibly hundreds of books devoted to the lemon water fast, or the juice fast, or some such fast.  Simply put, if you do NOT know what you are doing when it comes to fasting -please don't fast!  Then similar to my summer challenge there is the elimination technique and while I enjoyed that diet I need to consume yogurt at least to help rebuild intestinal flora (the good kind that is).

While I am not sure yet which method I will go with -most likely a combination of several different types- I do wonder if when I visit the hand surgeon next week if he will put me on yet another round.  I of course am hoping that he will give me the all clear.

To your health in the New Year!  May you find a challenge to enjoy for 30 days -it may just change your life!

December Wrap Up

December was a very busy month.  I started going back to work.  A bunch of physical therapy appointments for my hand plus a scare my co-worker created thinking I might have osteomyelitis in my finger because it was still very red and swollen on top of the fact that I was experiencing erratic temperature fluctuations.  Had a follow up with a different surgeon, this time an actual hand-surgeon instead of the foot-surgeon who did the surgery on my hand -don't ask.  Then come the holidays!

As for my goal this month, I do believe I was able to significantly increase my water intake.  Due to my dogs schedule of wanting to go out well before my alarm goes off, I have been drinking a glass at that time which allows my body to process the water and be ready for breakfast 45-60 minutes later.  With the additional round (21 days worth) of extra-strength antibiotics the hand-surgeon put me on, I think that water consumption would have been about the only thing worth concentrating on this month.  While the antibiotics are killing my internal flora and my hair, my skin looks great as it has been well hydrated even in the cold northern climate.

Off to drink more water!

Have a happy New Year! Be Safe! Continue to check back for next month's challenge!