No cramps!

So, today was day 3 of running.

First, some background. I suck at running. I really really do. I've never been able to breathe properly so that I don't get cramps. Until today!

I ran two miles, and didn't cramp once. Well, I ran and walked two miles. But I ran! Two miles! Without cramping or dying!

I'm hoping to get my 13 minute walk/run mile time down to around 11 or 10:30 by Christmas. But first we start with being able to run a solid 20 or 30 minutes at the 4.7mi/hr pace.

And now, late dinner of soup and half a sandwich. And reading. Oh. Reading.

My first run in ... well, a long time

I'm back!

This evening Boyfriend and I returned from what feels like our 5,000th trip in the past month. This time we were in Philly for about 18 hours, so I could interview with some firms out in Delaware, The Land Where Everything is Headquartered. As I'm interested in corporate law, it was kind of like interviewing for my dream job. Three times. At three different firms. Cross your fingers for me, please!

So. As mentioned before, I've been a bad, bad girl. And now I have Fiona Apple singing in my head. But with the traveling and the school starting, I fell off the wagon for a while. Bu now I am back on. Oh, yes. And my running shoes from Nike came Wednesday. I meant to get up before my interviews this morning and run with them before heading out, but ... well, I am not a morning person, Readers. And I am especially not a morning person the morning after driving 5 hours to Philadelphia and sleeping in a hotel bed. Even the excitement of the Nike+ and new shoes couldn't get me out of bed in time.

So instead, I ran this evening when we got back to Pittsburgh. I was sleepy, but dammit, I wanted to see how this thing works. And, if you look to your left under the My Stats section, you'll see a link to my Nike.com page that tracks all my runs through the Nike+ software. This particular run was not my best, but it happened at the end of a long day, and frankly, I'm just proud that after 11 hours on the road in the past 36 hours, I got myself to the gym for any workout at all.

So, that's the state of things here. Boyfriend and I are going to work out more and eat less crap. We're excited about trying new recipes, and perhaps even taking pictures of the finished product for you readers. Either way, I'm actually going to start sharing how to make some of the more fun things that we eat.

I hope to catch up on the blogroll this weekend -- I'm very sorry that I've neglected you all. You know how life gets sometimes.

Coming soon

Coming soon, an entry discussing:

*how I hate Fed Ex and their not delivering my shoes today
*how fat and out of shape I am, and how I should have been going to the gym for the last month, but I have not.
*the virtues of eating more fiber, less fat, and more veggies and whole grains. I've been truly bad for the last month. I repent.
*shameless pleas for advice on how to learn to run effectively. I am determined. I have Nike+! I will track my progress!
*recipes
*the possibility of taking pictures of said recipes once Boyfriend and I (and by that I mean Boyfriend, who does the lion's share of the cooking in our house) make them.

And perhaps more!

But for now, I have a tired boy waiting for me to come to bed.

Why Boyfriend Rocks

Well, if I listed all the reasons, we'd be here forever.

Seriously. He rocks.

But most recently, Boyfriend rocks because, after his iPod quit working and his running shoes wore out, he bought new ones. And then, he discovered Nike+.

And now, I'm buying new running shoes. And Boyfriend is purchasing me an iPod nano for my birthday.

It's possibly one of the most thoughtful gifts I've gotten in a long while. I love gadgets, and I love losing weight. In one fell swoop, Boyfriend has chosen a gift that will combine these two loves. And b/c my current iPod works fine, it's not something I'd ever buy for myself. Even though I need new running shoes.

So now I have a shiny new pair of Nike shoes (my first ever! EVER! And on sale!) coming to me via Fed Ex next week. This weekend we'll go to the Apple store, and I'll have an iPod nano.

Then next week, we can track our progress. All because my man rocks, and is supportive of my weight loss goals.

P.S. Unless anyone thinks that I am not equally nice to him, I bought him a grill for his birthday, which is in two weeks. It's his first grill. and from what I can tell, it's reaffirmed his masculinity in ways I had never imagined. Plus, we've eaten lots of yummy grilled foods this week.

Week II of the Running

This was my second Week 2 run with Robert Ulrey's Couch to 5K.

Can I just say how much I love Robert in California? Because I do. Sure, he picks weird music. But he's just so encouraging! There's just enough pep in his "You can do it!" and "This is your last one -- go for it!" to actually motivate me without making me roll my eyes at his enthusiasm.

But anyway, today I was feeling extra adventurous. So, instead of following the program, I set the treadmill to 5.0 and just ran while listening to the podcast. I wanted to see if I could make it to 7 minutes -- and I did! It coincided nicely with one of my 90 second intervals I was supposed to be running. So, then I did the 2 minute recovery walk at 3.6 or so, and kept up the intervals like Robert described.

I felt GREAT after. So great, that I walked halfway home, about a mile, before catching a bus the rest of the way.

I've decided I'm definitely a gym runner. I love the treadmill. I can control everything -- no hills will jump up and surprise me. I know exactly how far I've gone and how fast. The treadmill keeps me going, b/c if I just decide to stop (like I sometimes do when running outside) I fall off and the entire gym laughs.

And, it's summer, so the campus gym isn't nearly as chock full of beautiful people as it normally is.

Perhaps the best part, though, is that today was national running day, and I didn't even know it. What a great day to fall in love with it, eh?

More running

Well, A over at Walking the Distance has inspired me. She's been blogging about running, and she just sounds like she loves it. A lot. I ran track in middle school, but even then I had a touch-and-go relationship with running. As an adult, I'm going to try to get over that feeling.

There are a ton of ways to start, but since I work out with my iPod, I decided that a podcast would probably be a good idea. And dang, there are a lot of them. A lot of free running podcasts. :)

I chose a series by Robert Ullrey, Podcasts for running: Couch to 5k (A, you may have planted the seed in my head for this particular podcast -- if so, thanks! It's great!). It's 9 weeks of running, with a different podcast for each week.

What I like best about it is that it's portable and gets you started slow. For instance, this week's podcast is roughly a 25 minute workout, starting with a brisk walk (constant throughout the program) and followed by alternating running for 60 seconds, then walking quickly for 90. I believe there were 8 running sections, followed by a 5 minute cool down.

Let me tell you, I started out saying, "A minute is up already? I could have gone a lot longer ...." and ended not completely exhausted, but with that nasty side-pain you get when you run and you're out of shape.

The downside is that the music is a little ... dancy. I mean, it gets the job done, but it's not the same as my usual workout mix, which threw me off just a little. But, I'll take it, if I have someone else keeping time for me.

Anyway, it was painful, as expected, but I've been home for about 15 minutes, and feel great. My body's got more endurance, and is getting better about recovering quickly. :) All good things.

Running!

I ran!

I tried the gym, but it was closed for memorial day weekend, as it's through the university. I'd already walked the 1.5 miles to get there, and I was bored with walking. So I ran and walked. :)

I estimate that I probably only ran about half a mile of it. But, considering it's been YEARS since I even tried to run for more than a few feet, I feel pretty good about it.

I'm going to try again tomorrow!