Friday five - valentine's day and love

Happy Valentine's Day!  I'm linking up with the DC trifecta for another Friday Five post and the theme for this week is love.

So I'm going to talk about 5 things that I love, not necessarily in any order.

1. I'll start with my husband.  He is amazing and the perfect match for me :) He is thoughtful in so many little ways throughout the day.  

Last week, he saw a popcorn truck (how is that even a thing?!?) and knowing my insane love for popcorn, decided to stop and buy some kettle corn to surprise me with.

2. I love both my kitties, even though they can be difficult at times.  Perry somehow managed to open the cupboard where we keep the cat treats, drag out the bag of treats, chew through the bottom, and precede to feast.  He's kind of food motivated, if you can't tell.  Poor Shelby had dental surgery and needed pain medicine for a couple days.  We had to squirt in her mouth twice a day and she did not like it.  She shredded up poor Mike's hand.  She still has a shaved spot on her leg as that's where an IV was inserted.

You can see the shaved spot here.

3.  My parents and brother.  They're always supportive but also provide honest and constructive advice.  Plus, we always have fun together!

If you're from Ohio, you'll know what we're doing :)

4.  Friends, especially those that are keeping me motivated on this journey toward a healthier lifestyle by also taking part in a similar journey. This includes old friends as well as new friends like those I've met through the running group.

5. Last but not least,all of you!  I love that there is this entire community out there of runners, new and experienced, that are so supportive to newcomers.  I have learned so much from reading other running blogs. Thank you for letting me be part of your community.

What are you loving on this Valentine's Day?

Becoming a runner?

I've read a lot of things saying that if you run, you're a runner. By that measure, I've been a runner since some time last year. I started running because a friend wanted to do a 5k color run. I signed up and figured I better start "practicing" if I wanted to actually make it through the race. I started just on the elliptical and then with a Couch to 5k training app. It was definitely much more walking in the beginning with a gradual increase in the amount of running. But I wasn't doing it because I actually enjoyed it. I just viewed it as something I had to do in order to get through the race.

Then I received results on my annual medical and the cholesterol was very high for someone my age. I knew that I had to keep excercising even after the color run was over in order to improve my health. Also, I enjoyed the color run so I figured another similar event would be fun and keep me motivated. I signed up for another race and kept up with the training. But again, the training runs were just something I had to do and not something I enjoyed.

I don't know when that began to change. But last week I turned to my husband and said that I feel like I'm beginning to have more good runs than bad runs now! It doesn't necessarily feel like something I have to struggle through anymore, at least not all the time. I still have those type of runs but I'm beginning to have more and more when I actually enjoy myself while I'm out there. Part of the key was getting off the gym machines and getting outside. Another key was varying the places I run and going to the various trails and parks in the area instead of just runing around my neighborhood. I never thought I'd wake up on a Saturday morning when it is less then 30 degrees outside and look forward to going running. But I do!


Hiking is probably as close as I've gotten to running in a park before.

I was talking to a friend about running and she indicated that she preferred things like yoga because she didn't want to engage in activities where she felt divorced from her body because of the pain. And I definitely felt like that when I started running. I would try to distract myself from the pain I felt in my body any way I could. But now, there are times when I almost feel more centered in my body when I'm running. I've begun to be able to embrace the physical sensations, hear my breath and my footsteps, revel in the new-found strength to do things I couldn't do 6 months ago, and really connect not only with my body but with my environment. These moments of magic don't happen all the time, but it's amazing when everything falls into place and I can feel that type of "zen."


Photography is another hobby through which I oddly find some peace and ability to be "in the moment."

So in my own personal definition, I think this is the year that I'm becoming a runner. It is something that I look forward to instead of something I'm forcing myself to do and that makes a huge difference in the fact that it is now something I want to identify with instead of an instrument of torture I use against myself.

Anyone else remember the transition to enjoying running or is it something that was enjoyable from the beginning?

Week in review

It was a decent fitness week.  Monday was a rest day.  Tuesday was the track work out with the group.  We did 20 minutes total with a 1 minute walk break in the middle.  No guest speaker today so it went by very quickly.

Wednesday was a strength training day.  Thursday was supposed to be a run on the treadmill day but my thighs were sore from Wednesday's squats and lunges.  Therefore, I changed my schedule up a bit and decided to do yoga on Thursday instead of run.  I did a YouTube video for strengthening yoga.  It was a fairly good core workout but I probably won't do that one again.  I didn't enjoy the instructor's style.  Perry didn't seem to like it either since he kept trying to knock me over!

Friday was a rest day again.  Saturday was a group run and we actually ended up running 3.1 miles!  It's a little strange since we're training for a 5k at the end of March.  One of the coaches said that we would probably be up to 5 miles by the time the training group ended.  This run went ok but I had a contact lens pop out eat the beginning of the run.  I stopped to put it in and had to run a bit faster to catch back up with the group.  I think that might have tired me out a bit more than usual.  The intervals this week were 6 minutes running to 1 minute walking.

Sunday I ran in my neighborhood in the morning.  It was a really short run according to the training schedule, 5 intervals of 4 minutes running and 1 minute walking.  I was done in 25 minutes.  It was a fun run that went pretty well in spite of the cold.

I did notice that some houses had not taken down their holiday decorations, but it added nice little splashes of color to an otherwise gloomy day.  In fact, it started snowing again this afternoon.  I'm really ready for Winter to end.

Next week, the plan is to rest on Monday, run on Tuesday, strength training on Wednesday, rest on Thursday, run on Friday and Saturday and end with strength training on Sunday.  Anyone have exciting plans for the week or Valentine's Day?

Review of Penguin Pace 5k

A friend and I were looking for a February 5k and this is the one we settled on.  It is organized by the Howard County Striders and proceeds were donated to a local senior center.  Howard County is still in Maryland but about 30 minutes from me.

Packet pick up was at a running store near the race course.  They did offer same day packet pick up but I decided to drive up on Saturday the day before the race so that I knew the route.  Mike went with me and we explored a new restaurant for lunch.  Packet pick up was very smooth and there was no line at all.  I'd been wanting to try some compression socks so I picked up a pair of those as well.  The packet included a reusable bag, a long sleeved tech shirt, a water bottle, a pedometer and some coupons.  Not bad!

The race was scheduled to start at 7:45 but the roads were closed starting at 7:30.  So I wanted to make sure I was there early.  I got there at 7:00am and there was plenty of parking.  My friend was running late so I picked up her packet for her from inside the senior center.  It was a little chaotic but didn't take too long.  She got there right before the race started since it started right on time.  We were planning on starting at that back anyway so it worked well.  And then we were off.

People gathering at the starting line

The route was an out and back through a neighborhood, so not spectacularly interesting.  There were some hills but not too bad.  There was some snow on the ground but the street itself was mostly cleared.  The roads were closed so there wasn't traffic but a few of the people who lived in the neighborhood had to leave so there was an occasional car.  There was one wonderful woman standing outside her house cheering us on and she stayed there the whole time!  There was one water station at the halfway point.

There was fruit and baked goods at the senior center afterward.  The baked goods were gone by the time we got there :( I checked the results and we were 498 and 499 out of 520.  They also announced some awards  and had a raffle giveaway.  It gave my friend and I a chance to continue catching up for a bit post run and warm up before heading back to our cars.  Here are my stats for the race according to runkeeper.

Overall, it was a well organized race and everyone was very friendly.  I would do this one again if I couldn't find anything else in February but it wasn't special enough to make it a no questions asked repeat.  After all, there are a lot of races out there :)

Friday Five Apps/websites

Today I'm going to talk about five apps/websites that have been helpful with my fitness journey.

1. The first is Weight Watchers for tracking my food intake.  It's amazing how much mindless eating I did before I began tracking.  I still eat unhealthy things some times (pizza for dinner yesterday) but at least I do it knowingly and with intention.  Of course, weight watchers isn't the only app out there that will let you do this.  I have friends that use a free site called sparkpeople.com and they're very happy with it.

2.  The second is Runkeeper for tracking my running.  It's a free app though you can upgrade to the paid version.  I'm still using the free version though I may upgrade at some point.  The free version allows you to use your phone to track your running as far as miles and pace.  You can also dig deeper to see splits and elevation on your runs.  It allows you to put in intervals for your run and it has training plans available as well.  Some of the training plans are free and some have a cost.  But this is a great way to track progress.

My first runkeeper entry

3.  Next, I love my fitbit!  There is an initial investment as you have to buy the fitbit.  The fitbit syncs wirelessly with your mobile device and you can see your steps for the day.  Some models also track things like stairs or sleep as well.  This allows me to see how active my day is outside of exercise.  I try to get at least 5000 steps per day with just my daily activities, so I take extra walks at work, park further, etc.  My overall goal is 10000 steps a day which I generally make on days I run but struggle with on other days.  You can link up with friends and see who's winning on number of steps so it has a social element as well.

Almost hit the goal this day!

4. This is a new one for me so I'm not sure yet how I'll like it.  It's Fitocracy and it's an app which makes fitness into a game.  You get points and can level up for logging activities that you've done.  You can also engage in challenges, earn badges, etc.  The reason I joined is because I wanted a way to track my strength training activities, and this should work for that.

5.  Facebook doesn't technically have anything to do with fitness, but I find that a lot of people share interesting things on there, whether it's personal accomplishments, tips, motivations, or articles.  This definitely helps to keep me engaged and inspired!

Any apps/websites you would recommend?  I'd love to hear about it!

Interesting running articles

A friend of mine shared this article with me and I thought it was a great read for people who started running as adults.  Plus, it has fun little cartoons :) She calls it her "Ode to Adult Onset Runners."  I definitely agree with her section on these individuals being inspirations for others.  I don't know if I would have began running without hearing inspiring stories from others who came to running late and still managed to find a love for it.


He is not an Adult Onset Runner!

Here is another interesting story about running.  This one is about why the author runs long distances (more than marathons) told mostly through comics.  This one isn't as personally applicable since I don't think I ever intend to run such distances but it's very interesting to hear an this reasons for doing so.  And again, fun comics!

Lastly, blogger is giving me some difficulty :( Comment Luv has randomly disappeared for some reason.  I'm not sure what's going on but I'm hoping to figure it out this week as well as make some other adjustments.  We're expecting ice tonight so I'm glad I got a run in this evening and have strength training planned for tomorrow.

Week in review

The week went ok, but got better as it went along.  Monday started out with a weight training class during lunch time but as I talked about last week, it was too shout-y for me.  I was also super sore.  I actually remained sore until Friday because of this class :(

Tuesday was a track workout with the running group.  They had a physical therapist come in to talk to us before the run.  She talked about stretching, warm up, injuries and then told us we could feel free to contact her with any questions.  The run was just 17 minutes around the track with a minute walk break.  I forgot to turn on runkeeper but the run went ok in general.  I had some difficulty breathing because of the cold but it wasn't too bad.

Wednesday and Thursday were both rest days because of how sore I was.  I actually scheduled a 30 minute massage on Thursday and that helped a lot.  Friday was some light yoga.

Saturday was a run with the group.  We did intervals of 5 minutes running to 1 minute of walking.  I had been doing 4/2 so this was a bit more running that I was used to.  But it went really well!  I was able to jog all the running intervals.  It was a little cold, but not as bad as Tuesday.  Here is a photo of some ducks swimming in the partially frozen stream I saw before the run :)

And here is a picture of the building where we meet and have a snack after the run.

Here is a runkeeper entry for that run.  This includes the 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down walks.

Saturday was the penguin pace 5k in Columbia, MD.  I ran it with a friend and we had a great time!  I'll be reviewing it soon, as well as my performance, but for now I'll just say I was happy with my results :) Here is a photo of me and my friend warming up after the run.  I'm the one on the right.  I love that I've found a way to socialize with friends that involves a healthy activity and doesn't revolve around food.

Sunday wrapped up with a skype call with old friends who have moved away and a Super Bowl party with a small group.  The game wasn't too interesting but at least the company was!  And there was delicious homemade cornbread and two types of chilli (veggie and not) with tons of toppings.

This week will be running on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  I'm thinking strength training Wednesday and Sunday.  Today and Friday will be rest days.

I hope all of you had a great weekend and a good week ahead!