Running errands

I actually finished an errand during the morning run.

Had to go to the local postoffice-2.9miles from my house, so 5.8miles round trip, which is what I had to do for my LSD today.

Took 37min going there-which is 12.7minmile!!- I was so excited by that. But ofcourse I had cheated- that length of the road is all downhill, so I actually completed the first 2 miles in 24 min! Had to wait for 23 min at the post office to get my stuff done.

The trip back took 40 min because now I had to go up the hill, which I walked today instead of running up, because was tried-mentally more than physically. Even then it is 13.7minmile coming back, which is good for me.

So I am all excited about my running progress, and I am all set to have a bad run one of these days, because thats how it goes, one good run followed by a series of not so good ones.

On the weight loss front, which is the main topic of this blog, I have gained a pound. Yes, gained a pound. After silence for almost 20 days , I get a shoutout that I am not trying hard enough. I was ready to throw in the towel, stop all this blogging and running etc.
Then read the Feb issue of More magazine and they have an article on chronic illnesses like chronic back pain, chronic autoimmune disease etc. Women in the 40-55 agegroup are more prone to these. Having a healthy weight in the less than 25BMI range, eating a healthy diet full of veggies and fruits, having a regular exercise program all helps.

So I am back to logging and blogging and hope that each positive action I take today helps me in the future.

No excuses.

Woke up this AM, feeling lazy, didnt want to go for the scheduled run/walk.

Then read a thread on www.active.com started by a 55yo and included atleast 15 pages of people ranging in age from 50 -60 years, some who are starting to run, some who started a year ago and have run any number of marathons by now, some who write 'Oh, I dont run, I shuffle along at 12minmile!', some who want to improve their time of half marathon to faster than 1hr45min!. I was slightly discouraged and then very motivated, who knows in another year or so I might say, 'Oh, I am so slow, I run only 10minmiles', yeah , right!!

Anyways, did go for my run this AM, It felt good afterwards. Still some shortness of breath, some discomfort in the left knwee and behind the right knee.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day, lets see if any progress towards the GOAL!

Running better??

Ran yesterday. 3miles in 39 min-13min mile. Was very glad.

But to recap the run- the first 1.5 mile is a gradual uphill incline. I started running after a warmup of 3-4min walk and it seemed like a major effort to run. Tried a 5minR/1minW. The shinsplints showed up after 5-7min and stayed thruout the run. I was very surprised when I finished the first mile in 13 min, because really I was dragging by the end of it. Tried some speed intervals too for a min each, and then ran out of steam so walked, but walking after a good effort is more painful. So shuffled along painfully. The last 0.75 miles is a gradual downhill incline, so ran that and was pleased to see 3miles in 39 min.
So maybe, will be able to do 3miles in 36 min in another 4-6 months. Thats my goal. I know that puts me in the back of the pack for any race, but at this time I am not asking for more.

Saw 'Spirit of the Marathon' while on the elliptical today. Dont know how I did that marathon! now looking back it seems amazing. Maybe sometime in the future. The only thing holding me back is the time commitment. So will do the half marathons for now. Which reminds me I still have to register for the one in May.

The one pound lost seems to have settled in, so I can safely say I have lost 4 pounds since Nov 1st- @ 1.5pounds per month- I will take it! Better than being zero pounds or +4pounds since then!!

Jan1-Jan10

I think I have lost a pound. The scale did register -1, but now the question is that is it because I ran yesterday and didnot eat a big dinner, or is it the real thing. Time will tell. Ofcourse my first instinct is to eat the pan of brownies the 14yo made yesterday, but I think I will give my body a chance to feel lighter by a pound.
Its really difficult to be aware of what one is eating at all times.
Exercise is easy, schedule it, do it and forget it. But eating- so many choices, at all times of the day , and affected by so many factors- family, friends, moods, the days weather, etc etc etc.Today, just for today, I am going to be strong and manage my food intake sensibly. Just for today.

Its so beautiful outside today- may go for a walk later.

And so it starts.

Picked up my 7yo from her play date and she told me, nearly in tears, that she weighed 70 pds and her friends were 65, so they said she was fat. First thought, you r not fat!!. And shes not, shes an active 7yo, who like all 7yos prefers McDonalds to home cooked food, but no, no superfluous flesh. So told her she was heavier because of the muscle she has, that helped only when it was echoed by the 14yo sister, and she calmly went onto eat a 100 cal snack.

Lets see what the long-term repurcussions of this new knowledge are. For now, she seems to be OK. We will have our fat vs fit discussion soon.

I ran today. And have realised, running after a 2 day gap is grrreat! I went so fast, I was worried I would fall on my face! And I could run longer sessions than before. 4.1m in 53 min. Want to be able to do 4.1m in 48min. Shave off 5 min till May. Was reading the Feb issue of Runnersworld and there is an article on effect of age on running performance which says it improves for the middleaged starting runners till it peaks 10 years later- or something to that effect. Basically means I can expect improvement in my running times for another few years. My goal is very small- to be able to run a 12 min mile- thats all. Good for now.

The 'why' of weight gain

Was watching Oprah yesterday and then browsing some weight loss sites and blogs- nowadays the calorie counting and exercise is only a small part of the whole weight loss program. Now there are questions to be answered:

- why did you gain it in the first place,
- what do you want- which was repeated atleast 50 times if not more on Oprah yesterday and apparently there is a very deep meaning to it,apart from calorie dense gooey, chocolatey, treats and then why do you crave those
- who makes you eat,
- who sabotages your efforts,
- when do you tend to eat the most,
- what sets off the binges?

So now apart from math for counting calories and anatomy/physiology for knowing how the body responds to exercise, we will have to become adept at psychology to understand our deepest feelings towards food! Well, I am all for higher learning and education.

I did think over the above questions.

I gained weight for the very reason most of us do, kids, the stresses of family life, a full-time job, hormonal?reasons, just plain greediness. But the major question for me now is that all those triggers have resolved, my kids are older and there are no leftovers for me to clean, they dont need me 24/7, I am set in my job and family, so why am I still fat? Narrowed it down to two reasons- general greediness for food, anything to keep chewing- dont like gum- and plain and simple boredom. I have enough to keep me busy but the calorie damage can happen in the 2 minutes it takes from going from one activity to the next.

I think I am just holding onto any excuse not to change my habit of over-eating. I exercise, so I think I can eat as much as I want which is not true. I want to be healthy and look good- well, as good as a 40YO can look, but I dont think I have made a commitment to put in my 100% yet. I am talking the talk , but not doing it yet.

When do I eat the most? The binges happen when I am cold, when I enter the house after a days work, when I am with family and friends, when I am thinking-my mind working furiously so my mouth has to keep up too. Do I know all this? Yes. Do I do anything about it?- well, today I switched on the heat first thing as I entered the house and ate a veggie sandwich instead of standing in the pantry followed by a hot cup of tea, but this happens maybe once in a week.

So , its basically me who has to make the change, when will it happen?, when I decide, not before, not after. That realisation- that I cant blame anyone else is the most defining one, the one which will help me change. Till then, happy eating and logging!

Proud of me....

...which is easy to be. Since I dont do much normally and when I do do something which I was supposed to be doing anyway, its a good thing.

I was supposed to run/walk 4 miles today. Today is the beginning of my 16-week program to a half-marathn in May2009. Well, it was raining, so I decided to move indoors on the elliptical or treadmill. I dont like our t-mill, so the elliptical was the torture of choice. Then I had to take my 7yo for her activity of the day and an hour later the 14yo for soccer practice. I also had to cook and do some minor picking-up-stuff around the house.

It was 7.20 pm by the time I dropped the last girl at her house and turned towards mine. At this point I was just thinking of changing into my nightclothes and burrowing under the comforters. It was cold,damp, foggy, end of the day, one day of missing exercise wouldnt matter much,I am hungry, as it is even with exercise I am not losing much, etc,etc,etc.

And then I saw her. Imagine a typical old black and white movie scene- your car stops at the stop-sign, its raining, you can see the raindrops under the golden light of the lamp-post and then, instead of a handsome guy/beautiful girl,a middle aged lady passes under the lamp, walking slowly, but clearly for exercise. And that scene touched me more than my DH calling me'fatso'. If she can do it in all the above conditions, so could I! Came home, fed the 14yo, made tea for the DH, helped the 7yo send email to all her friends and family and got on the elliptical for a full 47 min,3miles,450calorie session. Finished at 8:45, had enough time to shower, snack and sleep.

Yay meeee!!

Size 14- happiest!!

So this was the heading for a news flash at the bottom of the msn.com homepage. And ofcourse I read it. And it said that size 14 women were the happiest, while size 6 came at the bottom of the list. Wow!! So all this effort I am trying to do to reach a size 6 is useless? This is the happiest I will ever be??

I know why they(whoever 'they' is ) came to this conclusion. See, at a size 14, I have so much to do to reach a goal of size 6. Firstly, I have a goal. Then I exercise and diet to reach that goal. For that, I first surf the web or the library aisles for all sorts of types of exercise and diet. Then I try those one by one. Its not as simple as it sounds. All this takes time., Trying out each new fad diet or exercise program and discarding it, going into a funk when things dont work and teying to get out of that funk. So all this keeps a size 14 busy and therefore happy.
Now look at a size 6- what does she have to do? Nothing. She is at her ideal weight and has a program set in place to keep her there, so that frees up a lot of hours in her day. What does she do with those?? Idle mind, Devil's workshop!

Have you ever read the comments of a person who's completed a long journey e.g. climbing the Mt. Everest or finishing a long race? They all say the journey was more enjoyable and fulfilling than the final destination. So for a Size 14, the journey from being an overweight person to a slim-trim sz 6 is emotionally satisfying and therefore makes her happy.

Ok, all that was said in jest. Who knows who these people are, or the science behind these facts. And who says science is always right, maybe I am the sz 14 unhappy with her weight and therefore trying to lose it. Tho I still feel its easier to climb a mountain than to lose weight. And I am always right!!

New beginnings!

First run of the year done in brand new Asicss-gel-panthera shoes! No shin splints. Tho the run seemed difficult but time was slightly less than 14minmile so that felt good.

Have got my 16 week program to run a half marathon , which reminds me , I have to sign up for it today. I have made this paper log and sign off each day, the number of logs I have it seems I must be a world class athlete, or doing really good with the diet and exercise.
Lets see, I log my food intake and daily activity on fitday.com. It shows me a calorie balance for the day and week and month etc, I always seem to be in the negative( which means I have gone beyond the daily goal of calorie intake)
Then I have this blog where I log in the daily activity under'see my progress'.
And as mentioned above I have the paper log which I keep in my paper journal!!

You would think all that logging would keep me busy enough to prevent stuffing myself, but no, it takes only 2 min to do serious damage to the daily calorie goal.
I am getting slightly more serious about the weight loss goal. I really want to get faster in running, just upto 12 min miles and I know that even losing 10 pounds might help me reach that goal.

Also, as I get near another birthday, it seem as if each extra pound I have is the reason for looking older than my chronological age. I am too old to be influenced by the media images but I see women in my neightbourhood who really look 10 years younger, simply because they are of ideal body weight and less. This feeling will last maybe all of 2 hours, I have been observing them for the last 4-5 years with no change in my actions towards the positive, but still.

Aiming for 3 fruit and 3 veggie serving today.

Happy New Year!!

To everyone.
New beginnings, and hopefully good endings.

Went for a walk today-5.8miles. It was really cold, so that I was all stiff by the end of it. And walking at that slow pace didnt cause much warmth even at the end of the walk.
The DH wanted to celebrate the new year by splurging on a Black Forest chocolate cake, which we did , hence the long walk today, tho I doubt the 400 or so calories expended would help control the damage done. Its OK, new years day comes once in a year-definitly cause for celebration;)