Last running update was near the end of May. I missed the end of June update because of the New Mexico trip. The bad news is that I am running much less than I thought I would, but the good news is that these 3 mile fun runs that I am doing are feeling much better than I thought I would since I'm not in practice.
Since the end of May I have only made 2 fun runs over the last two months. And while I'm skipping the one tonight so that I can go to a movie with a friend, overall I think I'll have a much better attendance over August and September.
The key impact is that I don't have any more extended trips - and I'm a strong introvert (not meaning that I don't like people, but meaning I get my energy by being alone [groups sap my energy]). These trips sap my energy and I need time both before and after to get me back to "being me". Another impact is that there are several of the funner fun runs in August and September (corn roast, meatball OU812 run, the runs near to my house, etc). Plus I'm refocused on the weight loss effort - before the New Mexico trip I had reached my first BMI goal but in the stress of preparing for that trip and then the trip itself, 4th of July events, and the excess of house-boating I've put on a few pounds.
Somewhat surprisingly, I'm not really very worried about the extra pounds I picked up. I'm not thrilled with them but I feel like I can remove them fairly easily over the next few weeks by following the Light Weigh program and bumping up my exercise efforts. I have to say it is really nice having this confidence and not being overly worried about it. In reference to this post title - I'm looking for the horse to get back on! Its been a few weeks of excess and bad habits, but that is over and done with and I'm ready to rededicate myself to this program and goals.
Update on the specific running goals
First goal is to be ready for the BLS Fun Runs
Overall summer pace goal is to be a 9+ minute miler by the last of the fun runs.
---First goal is solidly achieved. I feeling confident and able to easily complete these 3 mile routes. The overall goal of being at near a 9+ minute miler is not seeing improvement. I'm still much closer to a 13 m/m than a 9 m/m - I do have expectations that cooler weather and running more will quickly make a significant improvement. I'm also doing some small interval fartleks with Zeus where I now run at his pace for a house or two a couple times during our walks - it's a small step but its in the right direction.
Second summer goal is compete a long distance race.
-- I have tentatively selected the BLS Discovery Run as my long distance run. It's at the end of October (27th) and is 15K (9.3 miles). Another option is the North Face Endurance Challenge - which also has a 10K on Sun, Sept 16
Third running goal is to run with Zeus.
-- update - the vet re-evaluated the heart murmur and said it wasn't that bad and pointed out that a lot of puppies outgrow them. So nothing to worry about. The new tentative plan is to revisit this in September and October when the weather gets cooler. The approach will be to take him to Laphem Peak's easy trails and see how he does. Hopefully he will be able to do the distance, the hills, and both of us will be able to run small sections of the trails.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Vacation Valley
I thought about call this post Vacation Hangover. I'm having a rough time getting back into the swing of regular life. But I think its more than the vacation hangover of trying to get caught up again, in this case it also includes some stress related to getting my sh*t together for Houseboating in just over another week.
The key stumbling block is that I am once again overwhelmed with the amount of tasks I want to get done. So overwhelmed that I don't know where to start - part of that is my perfectionism for efficiency coming into play. I want to complete things in the most efficient order, because remember I have a lot to get done ;-)
The good news is life with the dog is getting better. He has been so much better since he got back from almost two weeks of boarding while I was in New Mexico. In part, I think they don't (and really can't) baby the dogs so Zeus has gotten better about communicating when he needs to go out, be feed, and even wants to be played with. Plus he's 'gotten it' that he needs to poop while we are on a walk and if we are headed home and he hasn't pooped yet, now he does poop as we get close to the house. This is a huge improvement! He used to get distracted, not poop and then come in but need to go back out 15 -30 minutes later and often that same cycle would repeat - need to poop, go outside and get distracted and don't poop, come inside, and need to poop, go outside and get distracted and don't poop,....
The eating has been poor. It started with the dinner/evening in the hotel on Saturday night and has continued. Although I'm aware of the problem and that awareness is part of the solution. Today I've been making a real effort and doing much better but the 2pm energy lag hit me harder than I would have liked - but its was not as bad as it has been the previous days. So its slow but steady progress in the right direction.
Another huge factor is the weather. Brookfield has been in the 100s. I went for a short bike ride yesterday and literately felt like I may faint - I got home as fast as I could to get myself out of the heat and back into the air conditioning with a cool drink. I worry about Zeus. He wants to play while we walk but ends up a hot, heavy painting mess within just a few minutes.
The nice thing is that its been very quiet at work this week because of both the US July 4 holiday and the Canadian Canada Day holiday.
As always I have high hopes for how much I can get done this slow week - and as always I have overestimated and that stresses me when I don't get as much done as I thought I would. Oh, the cycle continues.
Instead of rushing through my pile on the to-do list of things that are really not important, I am going to take a break and figure out some goals. I think that may be near the root of my problems - I'm feeling a bit rudderless and not sure of my priorities. I was searching out the list of bloggers going to FitBlogging (which I considered attending since I really liked the Health Living Blog event I went to a few years ago). So many of them use their blogs to track and inspire their goals -- I need that inspiration back in my life. Not sure with what types or target deadlines for these goals but the start of July is the start of the 2nd half of the year so it is great timing.
The key stumbling block is that I am once again overwhelmed with the amount of tasks I want to get done. So overwhelmed that I don't know where to start - part of that is my perfectionism for efficiency coming into play. I want to complete things in the most efficient order, because remember I have a lot to get done ;-)
The good news is life with the dog is getting better. He has been so much better since he got back from almost two weeks of boarding while I was in New Mexico. In part, I think they don't (and really can't) baby the dogs so Zeus has gotten better about communicating when he needs to go out, be feed, and even wants to be played with. Plus he's 'gotten it' that he needs to poop while we are on a walk and if we are headed home and he hasn't pooped yet, now he does poop as we get close to the house. This is a huge improvement! He used to get distracted, not poop and then come in but need to go back out 15 -30 minutes later and often that same cycle would repeat - need to poop, go outside and get distracted and don't poop, come inside, and need to poop, go outside and get distracted and don't poop,....
The eating has been poor. It started with the dinner/evening in the hotel on Saturday night and has continued. Although I'm aware of the problem and that awareness is part of the solution. Today I've been making a real effort and doing much better but the 2pm energy lag hit me harder than I would have liked - but its was not as bad as it has been the previous days. So its slow but steady progress in the right direction.
Another huge factor is the weather. Brookfield has been in the 100s. I went for a short bike ride yesterday and literately felt like I may faint - I got home as fast as I could to get myself out of the heat and back into the air conditioning with a cool drink. I worry about Zeus. He wants to play while we walk but ends up a hot, heavy painting mess within just a few minutes. The nice thing is that its been very quiet at work this week because of both the US July 4 holiday and the Canadian Canada Day holiday.
As always I have high hopes for how much I can get done this slow week - and as always I have overestimated and that stresses me when I don't get as much done as I thought I would. Oh, the cycle continues.
Instead of rushing through my pile on the to-do list of things that are really not important, I am going to take a break and figure out some goals. I think that may be near the root of my problems - I'm feeling a bit rudderless and not sure of my priorities. I was searching out the list of bloggers going to FitBlogging (which I considered attending since I really liked the Health Living Blog event I went to a few years ago). So many of them use their blogs to track and inspire their goals -- I need that inspiration back in my life. Not sure with what types or target deadlines for these goals but the start of July is the start of the 2nd half of the year so it is great timing.
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