Run, run, run.

Well, after stalling on the training for a few several-day increments, I'm feeling it . . . Granted, I'm in the section of training where I'm still walk-running a lot of it, but I'm trying to keep my walk breaks to a minimum.

I had the pure delight to meet and run with Jeff Galloway last week and I kept up with him as he led the group in a 3 mile fun run. He also autographed my book and let me take a picture with him (I'll post it up later).

So I'm inspired . . . I also picked up a foam roller at Fleet Feet (where the Galloway event was held), so I have no excuse to not work on my temperamental hip. Psoas muscle be darned!

Am also trying to work on doing pilates more (to build up my postural muscles so my back doesn't ache so much while I run) and trying to climb more (strengthening exercise that torches calories? sign me up!).

But it's a work in progress . . . Have discovered my pure joy at running trails -- SO much more fun and interesting than road racing. I don't know why I never tried it before!

Progress-ish

I was supposed to run for 50 minutes yesterday, but since my plans for the run included a strong, overzealous 70-lb. golden retriever and a crowded beach, I got in a good 20 minutes (ish . . . probably more like 15) and called it good.

Today, it took me foreeeeeeeeever to get the lead out and actually put my freakin' shoes on, but it was good once I did. It took me about the same amount of time to run the 3-mile out-and-back from last week (2.77 in 37:44), but I was definitely sluggish as I ate nothing but junk today. Seriously. Just plain junk.

I tried to redeem myself with a salad for dinner (romaine, lentils, feta and artichokes with some olive oil and lemon juice), but of course, the amount of junk consumed in the last 24 hours probably completely undid every ounce of goodness of that salad in triplicate.

Better luck tomorrow.

It's a rest day tomorrow according to my training, but maybe a two-mile jog in the morning would be good -- you know . . . to make up for my failed attempt at beach running with the pooch. :)

Yeah!!! Rock on!

I came home from work feeling REALLY tired and not wanting to run. I had started to drive to the trail, but changed my mind and came home instead. I made dinner and decided that I would run tomorrow and cross-train today (the training plan would have me run today and cross-train tomorrow).

Around 8, I realized that I would be more likely to skip the run entirely if I postponed it until tomorrow (do I know myself well or what?), so I changed and laced up my Asics and headed out.

Even though I was tired, I still ran a majority of the distance -- I impressed myself! Three miles, baby! Woohoo! So now I don't have to worry about it tomorrow and I can enjoy my evening with some cross-training and a friend's concert in Los Gatos.

I'm a little bit proud of myself right now. :)

I suck.

Wow, I majorly suck with this blog . . . Sorry. I really am trying . . .

Today was my very first trail run. Ever. It . . . was . . . AWESOME. Kicked my butt to run 2.56 miles, but dang if it wasn't a thousand times more interesting to run on a scenic trail instead of laps around my city block. Even though my breathing wasn't great (pretty sure I'm dealing with some undiagnosed asthma), it was still much better than when I'm running on busy De Anza Boulevard.

Psoas muscle acting up a little (reminiscent of Big Sur), but stretching and some ice should help.

I'm drinking a beer and toasting my first day back in running shoes (at least in a serious, training-minded way), and looking forward to ACTUALLY being as serious about this blog as I pretended I was to start it.

Here's to Napa!

Guess who's back?

I was certain that my readers (all one of you) were wondering where I've been . . . I've been posting nightly at Something Over Coffee, but what about Chasing Boston?

Well, I'm back . . . again.

There's about a month left until the Big Sur relay, but further on the horizon is the Napa Wine Country Marathon. Yes, I signed up. Yes, I'm crazy. And yes, come Hell or high water, I'm running the whole dang thing.

Now where are my running shoes again?

Another mile. :o)

Well, again, I'm not exactly breaking ground in the consistency department, but I did run today. It was the first run since the last (a week ago), but I'm encouraged: three weeks into our office's Biggest Loser challenge and I'm about 6 pounds down . . . almost.

I'm really excited about this. Running is getting a bit easier, even with my lack of consistency. Partly I think because I'm running on a treadmill lately (better on my knees) and partly because not hauling around extra pounds means it's a little easier to haul what I do weigh.

I'm going to be ready for that marathon relay for sure! ;o) And I'm definitely signing up for a half this summer and a full this fall. That's my goal.

One. Again.

I struggle with my consistency, but I'm doing better with the amount that I've been running. I ran a mile today on the treadmill and it went pretty well. I don't really care for treadmills much, but here at my complex, there's a TV and I was lucky to be the only one in the fitness center for a while. I found "13 Going on 30" on Fox and tuned in while I warmed up for 1/4 mile, ran 1 mile and cooled down for another 1/4 mile.

Even though it was warmer than I would have liked, I feel like my lungs responded better to the warmer, stagnant air in the fitness center. Typically, I run outside and my lungs burn something terrible. Partly because I'm not always good about warming up before workouts, partly because there's really something wrong there. This week I'll be making an appointment with a pulmonologist to listen to my lungs and tell me if I'm right in thinking there's something a little . . . off. As a tyke, I rounded several bouts of croup and bronchitis and at least one of RSV all before age 4. Needless to say, the fact that I try to avoid dairy has helped a lot -- I'm not as phlegmy (sorry to be gross) and it keeps my lungs a little clearer.

So, continuing on with fitness, I've started following a crazy number of fitness blogs, I've renewed subscriptions (accidentally, but that's a story for another day) to Runner's World, Self and Women's Health magazines and I'm fairly active (though a little less lately) on SparkPeople, and of course, the office is having a Biggest Loser Challenge. In about two weeks, I've lost almost five pounds, and a couple of inches here and there on my body. I still have a ways to go, but I'm tickled pink about this -- I feel like as I get lighter, running will be a little easier, but for now, I'm running with the body I have.

It is good.

Mmmmmhmm!

Gosh I'm getting so good at this optimism thing.

It's 8:30, I've gone running, worked out some . . . and have plans to do it all again tomorrow. For now, though, it's off to take a nice bath and unwind for bed.

But I'm getting better at the running thing, too. Still haven't quite made it as far as I'd like, but I'm getting there . . . Getting there. Soon I'll be at 2 miles . . . then 3 . . . then 4 . . .


I'm working my way back and I'm really excited about it. :o)

Yeah, buddy!

I ran again! :o) I did a little more than last time, which is a gooooooooooood thing. I know I'm not blazing trails, but I'm proud of what I accomplished today. I gotta start somewhere, right?

I had some technical issues in the sports bra department -- namely that I might be a little too busty for the one I was wearing, but it will have to do for a while.

I haven't calculated how far I've run, but I'm sure I'm scratching close to that one-mile marker. Writing that made me chuckle, knowing that one mile used to be a "warm up," but for now, I'm taking it where I can get it. Eventually I'll be back at that level again.

Another milestone run!

Basically, I'm having to rebuild my running base -- that's how long I've been out of it. I've signed up on SparkPeople, which I'm really hoping will help me meet my fitness goals.

I'm really excited about the new year. I'm going to do a marathon relay in April and hopefully a full marathon in June or July . . . Maybe in the fall. I guess it depends on how quickly I'm able to feel comfortable running again. My goal is five miles a week. I know that's not much, but I figure it will be easier to set the bar pretty low to start and build up from there. It's also more motivating to know that I did the (very short) run that I wanted to do -- because running what I CAN run tends to leave me feeling grumpy about it . . . I know I can do it, but I'm so out of practice that it leaves me stiff and sore and not wanting to lace up my shoes for a while.

So tomorrow, not today, I'm going to run again. (Because I ran yesterday, you see.) And hopefully I'll do a little more.

Goals for this week:
- Do a 1-mile loop focusing on form (because I'm sure mine's all over the place)
- Strength train 2x this week
- Yoga at least once this week

Crossing fingers!

A marathoner in recovery.

Tonight, I barely ran a mile. I mean B-A-R-E-L-Y. It seems like soooooooo long ago that I crossed the finish line at Big Sur. Yeah, I didn't do that the way I ought to have, and yes, I walked a bit, but I still did it right?

Tonight I was huffing, puffing and moving slowly -- partly because I'm out of shape, partly because I've been eating a LOT of junk lately (what is it about company that encourages "vacation" eating habits?), and partly because I'm getting over a cough.

I know it's a step in the right direction, but here I am . . . taking the path out of inactivity and still feeling like I have so, so very far to go just to get back to where I fell from.

Slacker.

I'm a slacker. Haven't run in . . . well, I can't really even remember.

Tonight, I will run. I might not make it a mile . . . I might not make it a foot. But I will run! :)

(I promise.)

Good hair = good luck?

Friday, I drove out to the Employee ID office for Stanford University. I'm technically a hospital employee, but in order to use the Arrillaga sports facility, you have to have a separate ID card.

I had anticipated a $20 fee, but I was happy to pay for it because it was a one-time expense for unlimited access to an amazing gym. They didn't charge me anything -- it really was my lucky day!

So this morning as I was getting ready for work, I threw exercise pants, a sports bra, a shirt into my tote bag (the shoes were already at the office) and I'm ready to roll after work! :)

Goals for today:
- Lower body exercise machines (the little gym at my apartment complex only has upper body weight machines - I've got big guns already)
- 1 mile on either the track or the treadmill (they have an indoor track)
- pilates when I get home (I really do hate the DVD I have, but I don't know how willing I am to give it up yet . . .)
- Maybe (maybe) do a bit of boulder work -- though I don't have shoes or chalk yet, so I don't know how well that will work out . . .


On an unrelated note -- it's been a good hair weekend. Have been wearing it curly for several days straight and I'm finding that when I do this, it's much more agreeable, less frizzy (probably because I try not to shampoo it when it's going to be curly) and all aroud more cooperative.

And really, when it's a good hair day, isn't it just a good mood day all around?

Not today.

I just couldn't sleep last night. I couldn't shut my brain off. Or rather, I couldn't come to the conclusion last night that I need to be proactive. That I could be doing more. This two-way street is indeed two-way and that the best thing I can do for myself is to keep busy, stay positive and make myself just a bit less available.

Time for myself -- much needed. Running? Yes. Other activities? Yes.

But until I realized that just a few hours ago, I couldn't sleep. I woke every 20 minutes, tossing and turning and frustrated. So I'm not planning on running today.

I hope you understand . . .

Zero.

I didn't run tonight. Not a bit... It's a shame, really, because I could use the so-called "endorphin high" right now...

One is the loneliest number.

I ran one mile last night. One measley mile and I feel so relieved to have even made it that far. As I was approaching one mile, I thought, 'I'll just keep running and do a little more than that.'

No. At one mile, my goose was cooked. I figured I should stop before I hurt myself.

I remember the day that I first ran double digits. A ten-mile run in preparation for my marathon. I was elated and grinned through my chattering teeth -- it was also the first time I'd ever tried an ice bath, which is another experience I will have to blog about later. Yowza.

So now I sit, thinking about one mile, wondering if I'll even try to do more than that tonight or if I should just rest on my laurels for a few days. Either way, I look back on the dozens of miles that got me through two half-marathons, one marathon and a 5K, I can't help but realize:

If you don't use it, you lose it.

Thoughts from a chubby runner.

I won't even tell you how much I ran (or didn't run) last night. I mean, I have never liked treadmills, but since it was dark, I live in a city and would be running by myself, I opted to stay inside, jump on the StarTrac and crank out a few miles.

Or so I thought . . .

Let's put it this way, the caloric burn calculator on the treadmill estimated that I burned 29 calories. Yeah, you read that right.

Ouch.

So I'm looking into a membership at the Arillaga Sports Center. It's on Stanford's campus, has state-of-the-art everything and one of the perks of being a hospital employee is being able to use it for the low price of $20. For $20, I get an ID that they can swipe at the door and let me in -- no monthly fees.

We're working on this, Body. We can do it!!!

But oh man, if that treadmill didn't make me feel like a joke.

Inaugural post.

I'm fairly certain that my running shoes are collecting dust. I fear that slipping them onto my feet will make me cry.

But sometimes you have to jump and trust that there's a net to catch you.

So tonight, I'm putting on my shoes. I'm hitting the treadmill. If I make it a mile without dying, I'll be thrilled. Carrying an extra 40 pounds of weight doesn't make training easier, that's for sure, but I'm hoping that I'll gradually trim down to a fitness level that will carry through many races to come, including the big kahuna and my ultimate goal: the Boston Marathon.

Last April, I ran the Big Sur International Marathon. It was my very first marathon and was so overwhelming for me. I balked at training at times and slacked off out of fear and nervousness. Not now. No. We're gonna do it, Body, aren't we?

I have a sticker that says '26.2' on my desk. Seems like a slight joke since I know, I KNOW, I could have done so much better. But that little sticker is staring me in the face, daring me to try again.

But oh, this is gonna hurt . . .