<p>Oh Deborah T, I think a race does not yet hold any appeal. Running is still too much work! But I do appreciate (so, so much!) all of the encouragement I get from you and others here :)</p>
<p>Today I ran for 30 minutes, and then took a walk with H for a total of 6.5 miles. I thought the running would be easier after the sand, but alas, I was wrong. I worked to keep my HR under 150 with a finish at 165 (trying to get the HR elevated near a max); I think I’m going to have to back off and do some walking stretches to build a better base. Thoughts? I am running slowly, very slowly, but still the HR creeps up. Today felt like an early summer month with very high humidity and temps in the mid 70’s. Add 10 degrees and it’ll be a typical Florida summer morning…heading into the 90’s. The walking part with H was easy enough–HR dropped 30 plus points in a minute–but I would love to be able to run for at least 20 minutes without working so hard at the breathing. Maybe this is not possible for some people (like me?). </p>
<p>Go Saba! I can’t wait to hear your C25K progress!</p>
<p>Plantmom, as a new runner , here’s a couple things I have discovered about breathing- when I’m running outside. </p>
<p>First of all, for me, the first 10 mins are among the hardest. I think I’m always still a little anxious when I first start the run, so it’s hard for me to gain control of my breathing. After 10 mins, I seem to fall Ina better pattern- still needs work, but better. Also, kind of along those lines, sort of by accident I discovered if I took just a few seconds walk in the midst of the not-so-in-control breathing time, the FEW seconds allowed me regain control - better at least!</p>
<p>I’m determined that time will make a difference but I also wonder what my body will say when the temperature here starts to climb.</p>
<p>One thing that is key to me is starting slow enough. I can pick up the pace later, but if I start too fast I’m sure to regret it. I’ve discovered I usually have more energy in the morning; running mid-afternoon is tougher for some reason. I feel better if I’ve had a 1/3 to 1/2 a banana 45 mins before I run. When temperatures are warmer, I run during the cooler part of the day. I’m trying to remember when it was I hit a wall. Somewhere in my fourth or fifth month I think. I backed off a bit, built back up, and was fine. There are days that feel great, others when it’s a slog. Nature of the beast?</p>
<p>That’s what I can think of, 10 3/4 months into this.</p>
<p>This morning a short walk giving an architectural tour of the neighborhood. I think I lost most of my calories from the cold! This afternoon did:
30 pushups
30 kettleball swings
30 goblet squats
20 TRX inverted rows
45 sec plank on the stability ball
10 ea side of the 3 point dumb bell row
and the Rachel Carsgrove warmup to start with - I manage to do the split squat with a twist without tipping over once!</p>
<p>Haven’t added up my calories, but dinner was yummy:
cod with romanesco sauce and olives
green beans sauted with baby bella mushrooms
salad
sauvignon blanc from South Africa
and a little glass of orange muscat for dessert</p>
<p>Too many alcoholic drinks tonight celebrating H’s bday. Not a lot as I was the driver but more than usual for me once I drove home. Oh well…the rest of the week will be better! :)</p>
<p>Upped the ante on the planks and modified side planks by incorporating a Bodylastics resistance band. Oh man. I stick to modified side planks because I do my exercises barefoot and I want to preserve my ankles.</p>
<p>Another muscat fan, but it’s a long time since I’ve had a glass of it.</p>
<p>Too much pizza tonight, but my excuse is that I’m carbo loading for a stair climb race tomorrow. 69 flights of stairs. I would normally wimp out at this point, because I really don’t feel like doing this, but we need all four of us to make a team, though my time doesn’t have to count. My husband is hoping we win it, but there are far larger teams, and much younger people. At this point, I’m hoping to just be able to crawl away when it’s done.</p>
<p>Thanks Deborah. I am feeling happy tonight, and then I remember about it, and start thinking, oh crap! Then I forget for a few minutes, then back again to oh crap! I don’t know how people do races and competitions all the time, it seem so stressful.</p>
<p>Emergency! Family reunion BBQ tomorrow. I’m supposed to provide poolside drinks like margaritas. Any low-cal/low-carb recipes you love? I searched the internet but it’s too overwhelming.</p>
<p>Thanks CJane. Hopefully you also won’t be reading about me. I can visualize the Times Living section headliner on Monday;</p>
<p>“Local woman crawls up final set of stairs, setting a record for worst time in race history. She then follows up by projectile vomiting, eliciting horror from drenched innocent bystanders, and is banned from further stairclimb races in the United States.”</p>
<p>Okay, I can see what my dreams are going to be like tonight.</p>
<p>On this breathing thing, I’m trying to teach myself to do good full breathing from the diaphram (expanding the belly with each inhale), even when my heart rate is up and I’m breathing heavily. When I first started exercising (after smoking for 38 years), I couldn’t even breath like that sitting in a lounge chair. The fact that I can do it while exercising now is pretty amazing, but it still falls apart when I start really huffin’ and puffin’.</p>
<p>Mrs. College, Skinny Girl Margaritas are a hit with my sisters when dieting. You buy them at the store and serve on ice. If, like me, you’re inclined to add a shot of grand marnier however, all bets are off on the “skinny girl” part ;)</p>
<p>Sabaray, kudos on the c25k decision. And completion party in order for plant mom. You go girls!</p>
<p>Good luck Busdriver. My legs ache just thinking about all of those stairs! </p>
<p>Mrscollege–how about a white wine spritzer (wine and selzer) or a fizzy cranberry drink (vodka, cranberry juice, seltzer)? Or a homemade cosmo (vodka, triple sec and cranberry juice). Then there’s always a bloody mary for a savory option. Or ice cold light beer.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips on my running. I do think starting slow is key, and like Deb, I find mornings to be easier already. I am working on the belly breathing, and yesterday I read about trying to inhale with both the nose and mouth (I tend to be a mouth only breather when my heart rate is up. I strongly suspect that in spite of my intentional slowness, I am still going too “fast”. I ordered some HR training books (library and I’m going to give the training in my zone 2 a try; I’ll be running with walking intervals as needed to keep the HR between 115 and 135. Sound familiar? Now to figure out how to program the watch:) If I do this while the heat is building here, maybe I’ll actually have a better base by summer. Regardless, I don’t want to stay stuck in the slow, gasping or “huffin’ and puffin’” stage. I-dad, I am so impressed by your progress, and how much you’ve improved on the lung/breathing ability. Now, there just has to be a way to build up my capacity to get oxygen in and CO2 out, there has to be…</p>
<p>College kid out this door this AM for the last half of his last semester. He saw my copy of the Idiot’s Running guide and had a big guffaw at my expense; “Mom, running is not that difficult.” Yes, young man. I want to see you doing this :)</p>
<p>Good luck on the stairs busdriver. Better you than me!</p>
<p>PlantMom, I hope you are more successful than I was with the 135. But I have never been known for my patience! I have to say that just slowing down to 155 has been very helpful for me. Last year I never did make it to 6 miles without walking, but I can do it this year without much trouble at all.</p>
and I’m going to give the training in my zone 2 a try; I’ll be running with walking intervals as needed to keep the HR between 115 and 135. Sound familiar? Now to figure out how to program the watch:) If I do this while the heat is building here, maybe I’ll actually have a better base by summer. Regardless, I don’t want to stay stuck in the slow, gasping or “huffin’ and puffin’” stage. I-dad, I am so impressed by your progress, and how much you’ve improved on the lung/breathing ability. Now, there just has to be a way to build up my capacity to get oxygen in and CO2 out, there has to be…</p>