Slow and Steady

I am the Tortoise.

So here we are, another month since my last update, and three months since I started the actual physical part of this journey. Official coached training has begun, and things are moving along now. Today I had a group training session, and we ran an out and back route down Preston Street and the along the canal for a bit. I was a little nervous about my planned session, being as its the longest (and farthest!) I have ever run in my life. One hour of running, but split into four 15 minute segments to give me a chance to rest in between (3-4 minutes, no more), which I still need :).  I managed to keep my running pace close to 9 min/km, which is of course barely faster than walking. However, that's what I have to do currently if I want to go the time/distance. As my body becomes more used to this, perhaps I will be able to speed up. Today ended up at  just over 7.5 kms, which is pretty much one third of what I will do come race day. However, as I said going into this, I have no real expectations for my first half marathon (and my first distance race of any kind ever) beyond finishing it before the cutoff time. No pressure is how I plan to keep it. At least for this event. Who knows for the future.

When the coaching began, I was up to 6 min run intervals. The first assigned runs from the coach were 10 minute intervals-- three of them, with four of them on my first Sunday "long run".  I was intimidated, but determined. To my surprise, I did them. Then it was 2 x 15 minute runs and I did them too. Then was today's run, as mentioned above, and next week I do 2 x 20 minutes, with the plan of 2 x 30 minutes for next Sunday. Given that it took me almost 3 months to get from 1 minute of running to 6 minutes, and even then we are talking totals of only about 18-20 minutes of run time in a workout, jumping to 10 minutes with a total of 30 or more for the session seemed like an incredible leap. However, there is nothing to do but try. And as Yoda says, there is no try, only do or do not. So I did. I aim to keep my mind open, my body cared for, and maybe I will continue to surprise myself.

Given that its summer here, finally, I have switched to running mostly in the mornings, trying to catch the cooler part of the day. There have still been a few mornings though that were humid and warm. I almost wished the skies had opened up with full on rain, but it has not rained during my runs since the weather warmed up. I never used to understand people out running in the rain, but now I totally get it. I think I will love running best in the fall and into (and maybe through!) winter. At rest, I am a typical woman, meaning that I usually feel cold all the time, and want to wear sweaters and blankets once the fall and winter come, and even in the summer in air conditioned malls and offices. I barely ever sweated, and could often go without a deodorant.  Now that I am running, this has changed. It seems I run hot. I sweat copious amounts and need to drink water frequently. This is just wonderful (sarcasm) on the hot humid days. Now, I can wear tank tops and shorts and still feel warm even at rest. The exception is for about an hour, after I cool down following a run. Then I tend to get chills. Go figure. All I can say is that between the sweating, the sun screen, and the bug repellent, I really look forward to jumping in the pool or shower when I get done a workout.

On a side note, in relation to bugs, they have been fierce this year. I have been diligent about wearing the spray to keep them at bay every time I go outdoors for a run or yard work. However, I washed my car one night, and while I did use some, I guess I get a little splash happy with the hose when I am washing my car or something, as when I got done, I had numerous bites on my exposed legs, which is basically from just above the knee down to my ankles. This would not have been so bad, except my body does not do well with lots of bites, and essentially takes an allergic reaction. So the next morning, not only did I have itchy bug bites, but also an awful case of hives, that extended even onto my feet.. This was about 3 weeks ago now.  I have been using anti-histamines and creams and such ever since to keep the itching down, but I have still managed to scratch my legs. A lot. So right now, I have all kinds of scabby bites all down my legs. I can hide them while I go to work, and have been, but not so much when I run since I am wearing shorts. Also, I have to say that sweat and bug spray are great at irritating them even more, and when I am done a run its all I can do not to take a scouring pad to my legs. hehheh. So, next time I want to wash the car, I will do it in full pants, and still coat myself in repellent LOL.  For now, I just hope my legs will eventually heal up, and I can stop fielding questions about what happened to them when I am out on my runs.

"I love these shoes"
http://www.patthompsonsmudgepaintinggallery.com/

I am still loving my shoes. The rest of my gear is also working, so no complaints or issues to date. My right knee gave a few twinges today- this is a knee I have twisted (pretty severely)  twice over the last 15 years or so, so I will keep tabs on it, and pull out a brace if I need to. I am hopeful that as I continue this, and maybe lose a bit more weight, that it won't bother me too much. Now that I am going for a bit longer at a time, I am feeling the effort in a few more leg muscles. Nothing that concerns me, just the tired aches of several of them saying hello (or perhaps its more of a "hello, what the &@%$ are you doing?" ).

I don't like eating too much before I run, unless I get up a good hour or more before I head out, which apart from weekends is just about never. What I will have is half a container of Boost/Ensure.  Its light and does not make me feel full, but seems to give me enough of something to keep me going.  When I have time, I will have a bagel and maybe some juice. I have been cautioned on not having dairy before a run, so I will keep that in mind and switch my cream cheese for some peanut butter from now on.  Once I am done my run, then I usually feel hungry and can have my usual breakfast (oatmeal on weekdays, something with eggs on weekends). Overall, I think I have been consuming more than I used to eat, and my weight is still slowly dropping. Others are saying they notice a difference in my body, but I still don't really see it. Maybe my face is a bit thinner. Otherwise, my belly is still jiggling like a bowl of jello, and the undersides of my upper arms still catch the breeze like good spinnakers. LOL.

On the stats front, my weight is hovering between 171 and 175 pounds, depending on the day. My body fat is at 36%, and my BMI now reads as 28.9. So these numbers are saying that at least some aspects of my fitness are improving. I can feel it in how I don't get winded anymore when I go up the three flights of stairs at work, and how I am able to run for longer periods but my heart rate is keeping lower than max now (unless I push my pace heheh).  More interesting stats might be those of the workouts. I basically started in April, when I signed up with TNT. As of today, let's look at some of the cool stats for what I have actually done:

Count:                    49 Runs
Distance:                193.90 km
Calories:                 15,301 C
Time:                     31:59:25 h:m:s
Avg Distance:         3.96 km
Steps:                    201,266 s
Avg Speed:             6.1 km/h
Max Avg Speed: 6.6 km/h
Avg HR:                136 bpm

Otherwise, my concentration and memory are very slowly improving, I think. It still bothers me that I am not as I was before Kerry passed away. However, I remind myself to be patient, and not be too hard on myself. It will take as long as it takes. Since I am still grieving, and still cry and miss him, I guess I can't expect my mental health to be on the mend yet. I am still thankful for the running, as it really is one of the only times I can turn off the brain and just be.

Fundraising has stalled, which I expected. I did send out some letters to some of the businesses we frequented, and I continue to send reminders via my Facebook and Twitter, but given that I exceeded my initial goals, I am still very pleased with what folks have donated for this endeavor. I am not the type to hound people for cash, and I am not going to go door to door, or hold my hand out at some store. Nor am I prepared to stage a more involved fundraising event. At least, not this time. I simply don't have the time, or the desire in me, to do so. I am still adjusting to a routine without Kerry, and trying to figure out how to get all the needed work/chores done and still have time for running, gaming/TV, and seeing friends. So far I can fit in any 3 in a week, which means something gets left out. Since running is only going to take up more time as we go forward, I will have to work on efficiency in other areas so that I do not slip to even fewer things in a week.