dream

I love this:

"Well, I had a dream I was running further than I've ever ran before"

*smiles*

still running

Since I started running (jogging? or whatever you can call this slow shuffling gait) I've hit several road blocks.

Being overweight and unfit I could not even run for 5 minutes straight in the beginning. I searched for a newbie running program and decided to aim for a 5 km (The Couch-to-5k Running Plan). Getting to 3 km was easy enough. But after that I hit my first wall.

I mixed it up a bit. I run to the beach, not minding if I made several stops on the way. I run on a treadmill. Pretty soon I was running my 5 km. It was like sweet victory since it was something I never thought I could do.

Then I hit another wall. I could not get past 5 km this time. For a month I was only running 5 km/run. I took a tiny break, a vacation, then suddenly I ran a 6 km without even knowing it.

Then I hit yet another wall. After 2 weeks of doing short quick runs (to the point of feeling nauseous at times) and running out of safe roads to run on I was afraid I would never run more than 6 km.

Then I run 8 km. It took me totally by surprise!

All in all, progress may be slow but I can't say I'm not doing good. Except for a few misses I'm pretty much on schedule. Even the weight loss (which was never the primary reason for my taking up running) was surprising. As it is, it seems that I will be running a 10 km sooner than I expected.

* * *

Last night I run my last 2 km under pouring rain. I thought it was just going to be a light drizzle so I kept on running. Then it started pouring really hard. I kept blinking as water dripped from my brow into my eyes. Since I was already wet I decided to finish my run. And finish it I did - with my fastest km (mile) to date =D

It's good to know that even with road blocks I'm not running out of motivation yet. I still think it would be great if I could run with someone else, though.

I do need someone to run with. It would make all this running even more enjoyable.

Is there any one in Batangas looking for a running partner? I'm a slow and plodding newbie who refuses to believe her hyperactive (asthmatic) lungs and airways are not suited for mid-distance runs.

challenges

"Sometimes the moment that challenges us the most defines us" - Joan Benoit Samuelson



I'm off to work again.

road block

I've hit a road block in running. I need inspiration. The 2009 STCAA is ongoing at the local Sports Complex. Maybe I'll drop by tomorrow.

run/walk + music

I had a bad run/walk day today.

I was only planning to play ball in the afternoon to loosen up but since the ball mysteriously disappeared from the garage I was forced to run instead.

I hadn't primed myself for a run so early in the day. After two days of not running my muscles were tight. I was starting to get bored with my usual "house" run and was planning to take a different route. But as I started with my warm-up walk I kept getting phone calls about a relative's medication changes. In the end I decided to forgo trying out the new route.

An hour after the cool down my knees started aching a bit. As if the bad run was not enough, I had to make the mistake of having an inadequate pre- and post-run stretching. I hate to wake up tomorrow with sore thighs and knees.


There is one good thing about today's run though. I found new music to run to!

For some weird reason Uh Huh Her's brand of indie electropop is just right for my easy runs.

Too bad I couldn't find good videos of the electropop and synthy album versions. Here is the acoustic version of "Common Reaction" and a stripped down version of "Say So" instead.

love your heart

I may just be on week 3 of my running program but someday I'm going to run a marathon.

happy heart

The endorphin high of recent physical activities has been addicting. It's all I can do to stop from running/walking everyday. I know I have to take it slow.

This year I would like to find the focus and discipline that was missing for most parts of 2008. I have decided I am going to use running as a tool to regain them.


A few years back when I was still working in research, I found that with my efforts to increase efficiency by multitasking I was becoming easily distracted. I was efficient and always met deadlines, but the quality of my work declined as I started to lose attention to details. I could not concentrate on one task for long periods of time.

As a remedy I decided to take up a new hobby. It was something that required me to sit still for about an hour and do only one thing.

I painted stones.

One afternoon I picked smooth and flat stones at the beach near my workplace. I bought poster colors, a brush, a fine-tipped marker and varnish. I started turning the stones into whimsical animal families. I had blue porcupines, spotted toads, "ugly" stonefishes, blue and green groupers, bright red and yellow scaly fishes, furry orange tabby's, bespectacled owls, rainbow-colored snails and tiny ladybugs.

It was wonderful. If I cared enough about the quality of the outcome I had to stay put for an hour and do nothing else but paint. If I allowed myself to be distracted for even a minute the paint would drip, I would forget what details to add with a marker and the varnish would dry. I had the right chill out music playing and for an hour I was calm and focused.

It helped teach me to plan ahead also. If I didn't think things through I would end up waiting for 15 to 20 minutes doing nothing while paint dried on a single stone. It would've been a total waste of time. By planning which stones to paint, what colors to use first and which design to pen in I could work continuously.


Running may be totally different from painting but I think I'm going to get the same results with a happy heart and a healthy body as bonus :)

r/w

Getting back to my run/walk routine after taking a break while working proved harder than I thought. I did have short 20 to 30-minute walks while I was in Mindoro. But I was walking with a friend most of the time and she wasn't very welcoming of the suggestion that we should walk with a quicker pace. We probably covered only around 2 1/2 kilometers for our half-hour walks.

While I was looking forward for the endorphin high of previous routines I wasn't exactly looking forward to the muscles aches that greeted me the morning after my first run.

Only on week 2 of my so-called beginner runner's program and I am faced with the sad realization that I have a bum left knee. On one end I blame it on all the weight I've gained, on the other end, I blame it on weak muscles that should have been enough to support my knee if only I had used them more.

I've always been on the heavy side but I used to be fitter. I miss being able to run or swim a mile and not feel achy afterwards. I miss being able to play tennis all afternoon and still have the energy to go out at night. I do feel better now that I've taken a step to becoming healthier and more active again. But I have to take things one day at a time so as not to be disheartened by what seems a very, very long road ahead.

Somebody please run with me.