A Runner? Who Me?
Occasionally both here and in life, I’ll mention that I’m running. More than just occasionally I’ll append my comment that I am not, in the least bit, a runner. That’s not to say I wouldn’t like to be. Just because my body wasn’t designed to run doesn’t mean I can’t try. And try I do.
One could argue humans are designed to run. Okay, perhaps those without asthma, without short legs and short midsections, and those without barrel chests and apple-shaped bodies. I suffer all these, along with my age (I’ll be 56 in a few months), and yet, I still try to run.
Running is the only exercise I’ve discovered to date that keeps my apple-shaped body from becoming a planet-sized, apple-shaped body. It knocks out my lower belly overhang within a couple of months and keeps my ample back fat from scaring the neighbors during the warm summer months.
Three-to-four times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less, I put myself through one of the P90X routines because nothing, nothing, builds lean muscle like P90X. All while continuing to try to run.
I love my treadmill. Yeah, so I’m not sure the mile-per-hour pace time is correct (it seems a little slow to me but I wouldn’t know a correct time from an incorrect time if it smacked me on the butt and called me Martha), and sometimes I worry that it, with me on it, is weakening our ceiling joists and all will come crashing down into the living room some day.
But overall, I couldn’t see living without it. We live in a charming neighborhood but it’s not one I feel comfortable running in. I’m not sure if that’s just me or not but my gut feeling isn’t going to change. Before I gave running a try last year, I walked a mile or two on my treadmill almost every day and dreamed of being able to someday do more. If it weren’t for my treadmill, I’m comfortable going on record to say that without it, I’d be a much heavier, less healthy person.
Notice I said person, not runner. I’m a runner who’s not a runner. Or maybe I am and I’m just in denial.
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Less Calories In, More Exertion Out.
We watched the Super Bowl yesterday. Neither one of us cared who won, exactly, but if pressed, we were kind of rooting for the Patriots. Earlier in the day, I whipped up a healthy seven layer bean dip sort of thing – two cans of plain, low sodium black beans, one can of plain white beans, both drained and microwaved in a big glass bowl together with a little chicken stock and cumin before hand-blending them into a much healthier version of refried beans. We then covered the beans with chopped fresh bell pepper, onion, tomato, red cabbage, and romaine lettuce, all topped with a hot sauce I made from reconstituted dried Ancho peppers and water.
As for the chips, these weren’t as healthy. I cut up a bunch of simple corn tortillas and fried them in a shallow amount of extra virgin olive oil.
Still, over all, we felt good about the football game spread we’d created. No cheese or sour cream was included. The only fat was the olive oil on the chips. Boy, was it good and filling! And half remains for leftovers later in the week.
Later in the evening, after the game, I felt heavy and extra tired. This morning, I feel about the same. I don’t think it has anything to do with our football game dinner, but because I haven’t worked out in a week. That will change today with a good mile walk and perhaps a half mile run as a follow up. Later, it’s back to the P90X wagon. And while that bean dip and those chips were satisfying and tasty, it’s high time I start tracking my food intake if I’ve any chance to lose ten pounds in the next two months.
Less food in, more effort out. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?
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I had three decent weeks of working out; running and P90X. I didn’t see my weight drop more than three pounds but I felt better. My pants fit better. My arms are better defined meaning I’m dropping fat, building muscle, and probably redistributing the rest to my midsection, the first place everything settles and the last place pounds and flab disappear.
I should continue but I’m giving myself a few days off, if not the entire week. I’m resting which as I type this sounds like an excuse. To be honest, yes, it is. The week has been mentally challenging and I let my head wander off the task of working out.
Resetting my mindset is the goal for the week. This shouldn’t be terribly difficult given our area is expected to enjoy the first stretch of dry, sunny days in months. Just in time for the weekend. Just long enough to believe spring is on the way with all that time soon to be spent working in the yard and OMG! I can’t be seen out there looking like this with all my muffin-tops hanging, flopping over. And that pesky back fat. Ugh. I’d scare puppies and small children!
No, no, no, no, no.
The sunshine will do me a world of good as will raking the flower beds, clipping branches, hauling this and that. It’ll be tough not to uncover lawn furniture so as to just sit in the sun and soak it all in (like a lump). But we’ve got another 2-to-4 months of rain to get through first. The fresh air and a few days working in the sun is exactly what I need. And next week, when I’m back on the treadmill and hefting dumbbells left and right, I’ll look forward to the next dry, sunny spell outside with a little less flab and a bit more muscle to show off.
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A slow start today. I didn’t work out at all yesterday though I had originally planned to. It was one of those “life gets in the way” days that I do plan for. Regardless, I’ll need to make up for the day’s loss.
Slept late, battled internally with myself on whether to make coffee or not (chose not), and missed running with the noontime news playing in the background as a mental diversion. Diversions are often good for me when I get wrapped up in day-to-day stuff as is often the case whether I want them to or not. Though I’d much rather be in the moment when working out, particularly when lifting weights because a person could get hurt otherwise, I’ve found that while running; learning to run continuously specifically (because I’m not a runner by nature), I need something to draw my attention away from pounding my feet on the treadmill.
Isn’t this why people strap on their iPods when running? I did that for a while. Never could find the right music that didn’t bore me to tears within a day or two. And it got to be too easy for me to waste half a day looking through our extensive music collection for just the right half an hour music track. By the time I found and assembled a good playlist, the last thing I wanted to do was run.
I’m lucky in that I have a TV in our home gym (not to mention having a home gym which is just a small bedroom with a treadmill, Steve’s rowing machine, a pile of dumbbells, and a window). My treadmill had a TV integrated in it but after TV went digital, use of that was wiped out. No way could I afford to upgrade and that would be a silly, unwise splurge of money anyway.
Having a TV in the gym helps me structure my workout days and workout times. I’m not an early morning person yet I don’t workout well in the evenings either. To be honest, I force myself to exercise around noon each day or at the very least, early afternoon. In the summer months when I’m more active outside with landscaping, I shift to an earlier workout time but still try to be on the treadmill for the noontime news.
Today, I missed that time frame, but as I’ve learned in the past, this is nothing to beat one’s self up over. Last week was a good workout week and I made progress in that I dropped two pounds and can feel solid muscle building once again in my shoulders and biceps. Another week will only increase my advancement.
“So stop typing and get to it,” my muscles say.
Big sigh. Okay.
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Today’s exercise (finally): 1.0 miles running at 14:38 minute mile pace. .60 miles walked at 20:00 minute mile pace. 15 minutes of P90X Chest & Shoulders routine workout.
Today’s weight: 159.8 lbs.
Weight goal and Goal date: 150 pounds by February 17th.
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Recently, I joined Daily Mile and installed a widget on the right side of the FitInSight page. Two days passed and I began to wonder why my daily workouts weren’t being updated. I loved the widget, loved the information it passed along as to how and what I was doing on a daily basis.
Finally, like most people I have to assume, I drilled down into the Daily Mile FAQ and discovered the site doesn’t work with WordPress-hosted sites. FitInSight isn’t hosted by WordPress but the format is a WordPress theme. Doesn’t seem to matter, the widget doesn’t work correctly, and I had to remove it. Sad, terribly sad about this. I hope it works for you because it really is an awesome tool to keep you on track.
Yesterday was one of those off days in which a lot of stuff happened to keep me from doing a full workout. Less than half a workout was more like it. It had snowed the night before and like an excited kid, I stayed awake half the night watching it come down and cover everything in glistening white.
To say I felt exhausted the following day would be an understatement. Still, I ran half a mile (only) and did fifteen minutes of the Shoulders and Arms P90X workout, both with intent to come back to finish later in the afternoon/evening. Didn’t happen. Not going to beat myself up over it.
I also changed travel plans for February, not that that should change my plans for losing ten pounds by February 17th. But I did find myself eating much more than I should have yesterday and in that regard, I am beating myself up just a bit today.
Today’s a new day, with new challenges. Our daily driver car had to go into the shop for fixes we really cannot afford and more than likely, we won’t get it back today. This is both a plus and a minus. Steve’s working from home as a result and this may keep me from attending a group meeting this weekend. Between him working out of the gym (our dedicated quiet room for both office and gym), my usual workout today will need to happen hours later in the afternoon when my motivation has drained away.
Here’s where I rely on my self-cheerleading must come into play. I must put out of my mind the time difference and question (at some other time) why this should make any difference? I need to remind myself of what I’m doing by not working out just because a little life gets in the way. I need to take to heart one of Tony Horton’s mottos in that I can’t let my ego get in the way of working out and giving it my all. Just do my best and forget the rest. Only I have to answer for what I choose to do or not do, and I want that answer to be, “You’re looking good, girl! Go you!”
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Today’s exercise: 1.50 miles running at 15:38 minute mile pace. .50 miles walked at 20:00 minute mile pace. 40 minutes of P90X Shoulders & Arms routine workout.
Today’s weight: 161.00 lbs.
Weight goal and Goal date: 150 pounds by February 17th.