It hasn't been a great week for me in terms of exercise (well, actually two weeks). Last week was full of long meetings and even worse headaches. This week all my extra time has been consumed with mom being in the hospital, checking on her stuff, visiting her while shuffling kids around, etc. Needless to say, the treadmill time is the first thing to go when things get crazy.
Before that I had done a pretty regular 2 weeks of jogging/walking every other day for at least 2.5 miles. I was determined to be a good girl this week, but honestly, when I don't get home at night until after 9:00, all I want to do is just sit down....or go to bed.
Anyhow, my goal tonight is to get my ENG 232 blogs graded. I also want to work on the garage some this weekend, but I'll find some treadmill time somehow. Definitely Saturday if not Friday.
The good news is that I stepped on the scale this morning and had lost 5 lbs. I had weighed last week after the two weeks of exercise and lost nothing. So maybe today was a fluke. I have certainly been going out to eat less, and I've been consciously trying to avoid chips and cheese covered dishes (my absolute fave!). Maybe that has done some little bit of good. Wish me luck that it's really gone and not just a fluke from being dehydrated. ;-)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Love/Hate Relationship with the Treadmill
We all have that, right? I mean, I like having the treadmill. I like not having to go out in the cold, ice, and snow--or more normally around here, the dreadful heat of summer--but who really likes using their treadmill? I should consider myself lucky to have it, I know. At any rate, I have been using my treadmill again lately, see previous postings, only I don't have it set up the way I want it yet. It's in my unfinished basement, no TV, no real heat, nothing to do but stare at the stud walls. I do have a radio, but that's it. I guess that's an incentive to hurry up and get the exercise over with.
Okay, so here's my accountability report for last week. I was doing well using the treadmill every other day all last week: I began on Sunday and worked out on Tuesday and Thursday as well. Then, with the snow over the weekend, I slacked off a bit. I kept thinking the sledding down and climbing back up the hill would count as exercise, but there wasn't nearly enough of that. However, I was back at it tonight.
I generally do 45-50 minutes, about 2.5 miles walking and jogging. Am I making progress towards my goal? I think so. Running isn't as hard each time. The first day on the treadmill was okay. I ran in 1-2 minute stretches and arguably tried to do too much too soon. The second day on the treadmill I was extremely sore, but I quickly found myself in a pattern of running one minute, walking two. I liked the rhythm and the ability to push it then recover. The entire time was painful, and the soreness continued for a couple days afterwards, but there was no injury, just sore muscles. On day three, I warmed up extra slowly and remembered to stretch. (Well, I always remember to stretch; I just don't always do it. I know that's bad...I get that.) That time I also kept up my rhythm of running one minute and walking two (after the warm up and stretching, of course). That day was easier and less painful, with no real soreness afterwards.
Today, I started out in my run one, walk two pattern, but then I lengthened it to run one and a half minutes, walk two and a half minutes. I was a little tired, I think partly because I skipped a day over the weekend, but I felt good afterwards.
While you may argue that every other day isn't enough, and I understand that from a weight loss stance, I think it is enough for training to run a 5K. It's been years since I've run any distance, and if I'm going to stick with it, the training has to be manageable. My ideal goal is to run on the treadmill about every other day and do some walking on the days in between. I will say, however, that I cannot JUST walk on the treadmill. I get on it, and I want to get it over with. (Did I mention I hate the treadmill?) So after just a few minutes, I'm jogging. I've tried walking only, and unless I'm injured, I can't do it. I think when the weather improves, I'll be more apt to get my walking in. I like walking around campus when it's pretty, and I have three days a week when Ana's in dance that I can walk...I just don't generally want to do that in the cold and dark.
Anyway, that's it for my update. Not much to report, but I didn't want anyone to think I'd given up so soon. I am still afraid to step on the scales. I might do that next week, maybe.
Okay, so here's my accountability report for last week. I was doing well using the treadmill every other day all last week: I began on Sunday and worked out on Tuesday and Thursday as well. Then, with the snow over the weekend, I slacked off a bit. I kept thinking the sledding down and climbing back up the hill would count as exercise, but there wasn't nearly enough of that. However, I was back at it tonight.
I generally do 45-50 minutes, about 2.5 miles walking and jogging. Am I making progress towards my goal? I think so. Running isn't as hard each time. The first day on the treadmill was okay. I ran in 1-2 minute stretches and arguably tried to do too much too soon. The second day on the treadmill I was extremely sore, but I quickly found myself in a pattern of running one minute, walking two. I liked the rhythm and the ability to push it then recover. The entire time was painful, and the soreness continued for a couple days afterwards, but there was no injury, just sore muscles. On day three, I warmed up extra slowly and remembered to stretch. (Well, I always remember to stretch; I just don't always do it. I know that's bad...I get that.) That time I also kept up my rhythm of running one minute and walking two (after the warm up and stretching, of course). That day was easier and less painful, with no real soreness afterwards.
Today, I started out in my run one, walk two pattern, but then I lengthened it to run one and a half minutes, walk two and a half minutes. I was a little tired, I think partly because I skipped a day over the weekend, but I felt good afterwards.
While you may argue that every other day isn't enough, and I understand that from a weight loss stance, I think it is enough for training to run a 5K. It's been years since I've run any distance, and if I'm going to stick with it, the training has to be manageable. My ideal goal is to run on the treadmill about every other day and do some walking on the days in between. I will say, however, that I cannot JUST walk on the treadmill. I get on it, and I want to get it over with. (Did I mention I hate the treadmill?) So after just a few minutes, I'm jogging. I've tried walking only, and unless I'm injured, I can't do it. I think when the weather improves, I'll be more apt to get my walking in. I like walking around campus when it's pretty, and I have three days a week when Ana's in dance that I can walk...I just don't generally want to do that in the cold and dark.
Anyway, that's it for my update. Not much to report, but I didn't want anyone to think I'd given up so soon. I am still afraid to step on the scales. I might do that next week, maybe.
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