update

I have been terrible at keeping this blog up. Suffice it to say that I am working out, no running though.

I tried acupuncture for the first time today, and I was admittedly skeptical. But it turned out to be very relaxing and the doctor was very kind. I hope it can help with the pain, but the doctor said the only real way to heal properly is to ease up on running.

Sigh.

Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday

Monday--I did and intense 50 minute aerobics
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Tuesday--4 mile walk

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Wednesday 40 minutes kickboxing

Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday

Thursday--40 minutes step aerobics
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Friday--5 mile run
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Saturday--30 minutes kickboxing video
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Sunday--5 mile walk with K.

No loss this week, but no gain either.

Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday

Monday: I walked the dog for about 50 minutes. I desperately felt like running, but I held back.

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Tuesday: I did a light 60 minute dance video workout. Didn't feel like "enough," but it was better than nothing. At least I got moving.

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Wednesday: I ran 5 miles. My hip flexor hurt like Hades, so I took it slow. I am going to try and get to a sports doctor (thanks for the tip K. M.!) and see what can be done. I desperately DO NOT want to stop running, so I can train for the 1/2 marathon in September.

I stopped in at Weight Watchers--no gain or loss.

Saturday/Sunday

I ran 6 miles yesterday (Saturday). I am missing my partner, but I am doing my best.

Unfortunately another injury has slowed me. I have strained my hip flexor, and much as it is going to kill me I think I need a few days off from high impact activity especially step aerobics and running. I am practically in tears as I right this, but what is the alternative?

I feel like I am ultimately either a) doing something terribly wrong (ie I am an idiot who cannot even run a couple miles without getting hurt) or b) I am simply built wrong. Sometimes I feel like my body is betraying me, mocking me by always being in pain of some kind. I almost feel like at this point no one will believe me when I say I've hurt myself again. It is so improbable it is laughable and pathetic.

I know the 8 extra pounds I am carrying around is part of the problem. But how do you lose the weight without running and working out extra hard? It is an annoying catch-22. I have been running or doing intense workouts for an hour or more every day for a few weeks. Taking time off will not help me reach my goal. Easier workouts may make my joints and muscle strains feel better, but it won't help me shed the pounds.

Ugh.


In any case, I took today (Sunday) off and I'll walk tomorrow instead of run. :-(

wednesday/thursday/friday

Wednesday: step aerobics 1 hour

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Thursday: ran 4 miles, lost one pound

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Friday: 40 minutes step aerobics

Monday/Tuesday

Monday I did an hour of moderate to intense exercise videos.

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Tuesday I ran 5 miles--felt really good! My leg feels better, but I am still wrapping it and icing it just in case.

Saturday/Sunday

Saturday I tried to do a light aerobics workout, but my ankle and calf hurt so much it was impossible to do anything beyond a very light 30 minutes. I was terribly frustrated, but I made sure to spend the rest of the day icing, massaging, and resting my leg.

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Sunday my leg still ached, but I wrapped if from knee to foot and set out for a run. It hurt a bit for a while until the pain just sort of faded. I toyed with the thought that I probably am actually doing some terrible damage to myself, but by then the run was feeling too good to stop. I managed 7 miles and it felt great. I iced my leg when I got home and so far it feels ok.

Thursday/Friday

Thursday: Did another awesome step aerobics workout. Felt really great in addition to hard. And I lost 2 pounds!!! Weigh in was crazy scary, but my hard work paid off--now just to keep it up...

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Friday: I ran a slow 5 miles today. My ankle, calf, and knee were really bothering me. I plan to work out tomorrow, but it will be lower impact--no step or running.

Tuesday/Wednesday

Yesterday I did a 50 minute kick-your-ass step workout. Whoa. I forgot how challenging it can be! I am so into running these days that I often just don't do other workouts that much anymore.

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Today I ran 5 miles.

Sunday/Monday

Yesterday I did a 30 minutes salsa workout (low to medium intensity) and then a high intensity cardio aerobics workout.

Today I ran 5 miles.

Saturday

I ran 6 miles today in about an hour with K. It felt good, but my calf is oh so achy. Need some strength to get through my daughter's sleepover without eating junk food!!!

Yo, what a yo-yo (Friday)

So I've nearly gained back all the weight I lost a year and a half ago.

*sigh*

Part of me desperately wants to throw in the towel. It would be so easy, right, to just eat what I want, work out only minimally and scratch of my Weight Watchers meetings from the weekly calendar?

But. . .

I've lost it before and I think, I hope, I've learned a lesson here. When the weight comes off I simply cannot congratulate myself with a sundae and go back to my old habits. And with a father deceased from heart disease and a step-father recovering from by-pass it is more than my pants size I worry about. My lungs, my muscles, my bones, and my soul will benefit from healthier habits and some lost fat.

So it is back to the grind stone. My old excuses of not enough time to work out (getting my ass out of bed even 30 minutes earlier would help) or not enough money to eat healthier foods (let's face it eating LESS means buying LESS) just aren't going to cut it.

So here I go again. . . I hope to start tracking my journey here once more.

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Today--10 minutes pilates warm up and stretching; 50 minutes high intensity cardio aerobics, home video

excuses, excuses

I just wrote an email to K. that actually really sums up my fitness lately. I've posted it in part here:

I hate the cold and snow and when I run I feel like I am so slow that I am just not getting a decent workout. So I am now promising myself I will get out to run maybe 2 x a week at least on a friend's treadmill. Some friends have been working out at the high school in the evenings. The cost is extremely cheap, and they have tons of treadmills. But I've never really enjoyed working out at night, so I'll have to play that by ear on day to day basis.

I've been doing some workout videos and it has actually made me realize that I desperately need some cross training. My experience as an aerobics instructor has paid off in that I can make a fairly easy video much harder. I've had a couple great workouts this week, in fact. One video had me doing so many jumping jacks and jump rope moves that the last two days my calves have really hurt! But it is actually that good "I just had a great workout" sort of ache.

Everyone laughs when this California girls whines about the cold, but underneath it all I am dead serious. This weather is like torture to me in lots of ways. Now I feel like once again the ice and snow and cold is sabotaging my ability to get in a decent outdoor run. And the fall I took after Christmas was pretty scary.

Excuses. I'm full of them. . . .

a new year

Well, it is January fist and I, like a million other Americans, am back on the dieting wagon. It has really been weeks since I tracked my Weight Watcher's points and noted what and when I ate. Today so far has been ok, but the challenges are bound to come.

Running has been hard with all the snow and cold, and last week I fell on the slippery snow. It was a hard fall and made realize that I need to be much more careful than I am. I am going to take my friends up on their offers to use thier treadmills and try other forms of working out (like snow shoveling!).

Happy New Year!!!