Going the distance

Today I ran my new route for the second time. It's 3.1 miles long, which is a 5K. I still find it somewhat hard to believe that I can run 5K, since I started out struggling to run for more than 30 seconds!

Beach turbo

Turbo kick class tonight was on the beach. On the one hand, I loved it because the view was of course beautiful and the weather was very cooperative (it was warm but not hot, and the constant light breeze kept me from sweating profusely which was a bonus!) On the other hand (well, actually the other LEG), I am here to tell you that doing Turbo Kick on the beach will work out calf muscles intensely. That's a good thing in general, but I suspect those muscles will be tight and achy tomorrow!

Mapping and measuring

I spent about half an hour the other night driving around to measure the length of potential new routes. I needed to create a route which was 3.1 miles long. I did that, and was a bit overwhelmed by how long it seemed. But then today I ran the whole thing! It was nice to not run in circles around the same block a couple of times (that's what I had been doing as I extended the length of my route by a bit each week), and also not to run by my house multiple times, but rather to just end up there when I'm done.

Form

When I ran with Tyler, he gave me a few tips on running form, one of which was a bit unexpected. He said to not swing my arms. No, I wasn't swinging them wildly, but just moving them back and forth - pumping them, essentially - the way many people do while running. Tyler's point was that, when running any distance, you need to conserve energy as much as possible, and using some to swing your arms is essentially wasting it. I'm working on not swinging my arms, but it's harder than you might think to be conscious about not doing something that you do without conscious thought. I have found that it does help when I remember to not swing them, though, so that keeps me focused. Well, relatively focused. I do catch myself swinging several times during a run, and have to remind myself to stop again.

Not as flat as it looks...

Ocracoke is a sandbar, and therefore it is pretty darn flat. But I (along with my calf muscles) am here to tell you that it's not completely flat. I run a handful of hills intentionally, by going into the Oyster Creek area, over all three bridges, and back out again for six hills in total. But then, for the rest of my route, I'm on roads that I bet seem basically flat to most people who drive, bike and even walk on them. And they are mostly flat, but not completely. There's a gradual rise to some of them, which I actually find more difficult in terms of the effect on my muscles than the obvious hills, mostly because it goes on for a longer distance.

No bread?

I went with a couple of friends to the Back Porch restaurant for dinner tonight. We had met to stick labels and stamps on over 260 invitations to a bridal shower, so by the time we finished that, we arrived at Back Porch somewhat late (about 25 minutes before closing time). We therefore decided to eat at the bar. Our friend Cheri was tending bar that night, and took really great care of us. My favorite part was when she asked "Do you want me to bring a basket of bread?" and went on to say "I know Jamie is preparing to wear a wedding dress, and I see Kati running by my house all the time, so that's why I thought maybe you would rather not have the bread." This is one of the things I love about living in a small town - people know what is going on with each other, and often choose to use that knowledge in a way that is supportive. Thanks, Cheri!

Shoelaces...

...are apparently too long. At least the ones on my shoes are. For the first several months of the year, when the weather was cold, I was running in pants. Now that things have warmed up and I'm running in shorts, the plastic tips of my shoelaces have been hitting my ankles. It doesn't hurt, but is annoying! So I've started tucking the ends of my shoelaces under the part of the laces which is flat against the shoe (the criss cross section), which helps. I continue to be surprised by the odd little things that I discover while running.

Boston

No, my goal is not to run the Boston Marathon. I have a friend from high school who just ran it, though. On his 39th birthday. And set a new personal record. All of which I thought was really awesome.

Anyway, my friend stayed in a hotel in Boston from where he could see the finish line. Since he is a long distance athlete, and an Iron Man, he was back in his hotel room before all the runners finished, so he was able to watch some of them complete the race. He commented on Facebook that he saw people finish at around 6 hours. I did the math and figured out that running a marathon in 6 hours comes out to a 13 - 14 minute per mile pace, a fact I found quite encouraging. There are people who run as slowly as I do who run marathons!

The case for lunch

I unintentionally skipped lunch today. This is pretty unlike me, as I'm typically good about eating regularly, before I feel overwhelmingly hungry. Today, though, I had a late breakfast. We went to Pony Island Restaurant and had breakfast with the Easter Bunny. And so did pretty much everyone else with small children on the island, residents and visitors alike. There was therefore quite a wait to get seated at a table, and we ended up eating at about 10:45 AM. It felt more like brunch. (Pony potatoes made it worth the wait, though. Plus Connor loved seeing the Easter Bunny. So it was all good.)

Anyway, as a result of the late breakfast, I never felt particularly hungry, so I didn't eat an actual lunch. (I did have a very small snack in the afternoon.)

I shouldn't say I never felt particularly hungry, because - of course - I eventually did. About 15 minutes into Turbo Kick, I suddenly realized I was very hungry. So hungry that I was having trouble concentrating and getting through the routine.

So, lesson learned and note to self: do not skip lunch. Nutrition is needed for your body to have fuel to burn during exercise. (Duh! Yes, I certainly knew this with my head before; but having really experienced it today, now I absolutely get it...and hopefully won't forget it!)

Slightly longer

I'm extending the length of my runs just a smidgen each week. This week, I'm running 2.75 miles. (Today was my second time running that distance.)

Yes, for those of you keeping track: that's a whopping 1/4 of a mile more than last week! I'm okay with slow but steady progress - it's generally, in my experience, the kind that sticks and has long term effects.

Full day

I had an insane day today, full of meetings and appointments, and I didn't manage to work in time to exercise. This fact ticks me off. That fact (that I'm ticked off) cracks me up, because it's pretty different from the person I used to be. So I'm not going to stay ticked off for long, just going to make sure I exercise tomorrow!

Upper body work

I didn't get any traditional exercise today, but I spent an hour working in my garden. And by working, I mean "weeding the heck out of it". After I finished...well, actually, it's still not finished...so let me rephrase that. After I decided to stop for the day, I realized that I had gotten some decent upper body stretching/toning exercise. I also realized that weeds (specifically pennywort) are prolific and relentless. And that gardening is somewhat like exercise, in that it's one of those things in life that you have to work on every day if you want good results. I'm hoping for good results this year, both in my garden and in my body.

Just keep running

The other day, as I was running and thinking thoughts along the lines of "I'm not sure I can finish this", when suddenly, out of the blue, I thought of Dori. Not my friend Dori from high school; Dori the fish from Finding Nemo. She was singing to me, albeit a slightly different lyric than her usual. "Just keep running. Just keep running." Silly, I know...but hey, it helped!

Running with company

Today, I ran with my sister and her boyfriend Tyler. Well, my sister actually biked while Tyler and I ran, because she hadn't packed running shoes for her visit here. Anyway, it was interesting running with other people, since running is usually such a solitary thing (or at least it has been, so far, for me). I was a bit self conscious, because I run so dang slowly, but Tyler was very encouraging and gave me several tips on running form and how to deal with side and leg cramps. Thanks Tyler!

Morning run

I had a full day planned today (we threw Connor's third birthday party this afternoon), so I ran this morning fairly soon after I got up for the day. A part of me enjoyed running in the morning, and I definitely loved the fact that it was done and I could go on with the rest of my day knowing I had already exercised. But my energy is definitely lower in the morning, so my running pace wasn't great. (Not that my speed is terrific to begin with anyway!) Guess I'll stick with afternoon workouts.

Visitors

I love when people come to visit me. I really do. The primary reason is because I'm a people person, and I enjoy the company of others. I also like showing Ocracoke to people, both those who are discovering it for the first time, and those who have been coming for years (in many ways, those people are more fun, as it's I like the challenge of finding something new or as yet unknown (to them anyway) to show them). The final benefit of having visitors is that it forces me to clean my house!

I have three guests arriving today. So I spent much of last night tidying, vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning bathrooms. I know that doesn't burn as many calories as Turbo Kick or a good run, but hey, I'll take calorie burn wherever I find it!

Run past home?

I was describing my running route to my friend Amy today, and when I mentioned that I run past my house she said that she couldn't do that when she was running, as she would be tempted to stop and just go home! I probably would be, too, except I don't run past the house until well into the route (just before hitting the 2 mile mark), so I'm pretty motivated to keep going at that point, plus I'm "settled in" (breathing calmed down, feeling like I can actually finish and not die, etc.) If I ran past the house early in my run, I might stop and lie down in my hammock instead. Good thing it's past the 2 mile mark when I run past my friend Lyn's hammock!

Flowers

I enjoy seeing all the signs of spring as I run. Since I follow the same route, I get to see the little changes as things start blooming. There's one house in particular which has a wonderful garden. Makes me want to hire them to fix mine!

Cooped up

I spent the day cooped up in my car again today, as I had to report for jury duty in Swan Quarter another day. This morning, however, the mainland ferry did not run to Swan Quarter, so I had to drive around to get there, only to be dismissed less than an hour later, at which time I started the drive back around to go home again. I did get some exercise in when I got home, mostly because I wanted to move my body since it had been so still all day!

I love longer days

It's a good thing there are more hours of daylight these days, since that meant I was still able to go for a run after getting home from spending most of the day in the car today. I had to report for jury duty in Swan Quarter, which meant riding the early morning ferry to the mainland. I was dismissed by shortly before noon (although I do have to call in after 5:30 today to find out whether I must report again tomorrow for consideration for the next case). Anyway, the early dismissal enabled me to drive around and get back home while there was still some daylight left in which to take a run. It was a good thing, too, because I had some delicious french fries for lunch!

Hot turbo

The school is putting on a play in the Community Center, and they have it decorated with their set and props. The school gym is fully under construction and no longer available for use at all. So we've been doing Turbo Kick at the Fire House (upstairs) recently, for lack of a better place. With the recent sunny days, it has been really HOT in that room. Add to that a bunch of sweating exercising women, and it starts to feel like a sauna! At the end of our workout today, one of the ladies said "I think my eyeballs are sweating"! I guess the good thing is that we're definitely burning a few extra calories and sweating out a bunch of impurities.

Huff and puff

I discovered recently that really focusing on my breathing helps me to get through a run. And by "really focusing", I mean "forcefully blowing out breaths before taking the next one". I probably look pretty crazy, huffing and puffing along the street, and I hope no one who sees me will worry that I'm overexerting myself. (I also tend to get really red when I exercise, so with my luck someone will call the EMTs if they happen to look out a window and see me huffing and puffing, red faced, as I go by!)

Running in the middle of the road

If you live here on the island, and you ever see me running down the middle of the road, it's not because I've lost my mind or become a tourist. It's because I've discovered that our darn streets slope off pretty noticeably on each side, to facilitate water runoff. Unfortunately, that slope also facilitates pain in my calf muscles, which is alleviated when I run on a flatter surface. Like the dead center of the road. Luckily, I run on relatively quiet roads, so it works out okay for me. And of course, yes, I do move to the side when I see or hear a car coming!

Zumba from before it was called that

I did a workout today with a DVD created and distributed by Prevention magazine. I'm not sure what year the DVD came out, but I think it was a while ago (I got it at a yard sale). Anyway, the concept of the workout is "dance yourself thin". It was a good, relatively low intensity (excellent for fat burning) workout. It reminded me of the Zumba class I took while at Massanutten on vacation, and I realized that essentially that's what it was: Zumba from before someone came up with (and began marketing) that name.

Single tasking

I bet you've heard of (and practiced) multi-tasking. (If not, do you live under a rock? Even I multitask, and I live on an island!) I'm multitasking right now while writing this blog.

Anyway, I realized recently that this is one of the reasons I enjoy running. It's single tasking. When I'm running, I'm just running. I suppose I could think about all sorts of other things while running, but I really don't find myself doing that. I pretty much think about running - how I'm feeling, my pacing, my breathing, etc. I do sometimes think about the scenery I am running past, usually in terms of appreciating it. But then I go right back to thinking about running. There's something quite relaxing and mind-clearing about single tasking. Yes, I know it's funny to say that I find running relaxing. But in a sense, I do.

I ran 2.3 miles today. I've lost 15 pounds and am about 17% of the way to my goal.

No fun?

A friend of mine told me recently that a friend of hers had said to her that, because she is choosing to eat more healthfully, she is "no fun". It really bothered me. I don't mean I thought "well, that's rude" or "how annoying". I mean, it pissed me off. Yep, that's right. I was downright angry that someone had made that comment to her.

So here's the thing. Every person needs to make his or her own choices. If one chooses to eat healthfully, that has absolutely no bearing on whether he or she is fun. People who choose to eat differently than that person have no right to claim that their way is "more fun" and that therefore the person trying to eat healthfully is not fun. If it's more fun for them to eat however they want to eat, then they should do so, regardless of how other people choose to eat. If choosing to eat less-than-healthfully (large portions, dessert, whatever...) while the people in your company are not doing the same thing makes you feel guilty, then that's your issue and you need to get over it. It's not okay for you to try to transfer your guilt to the other person by telling him/her that they are "no fun".

I have experienced this myself many times, and before I had the level of self-worth that I do now, I let other peoples' opinions affect my motivation, and as a result I stayed heavy and unhealthy for much longer than I should have. No, I'm not blaming those people. Only I make the choices about what I put in my body and whether I exercise. Nobody held me down and forced me to eat anything, or tied me up and prevented me from working out. But the influence of friends and family is a powerful, complex thing. So if you have a friend or family member who is working to change his or her life or meet a goal (whatever that goal is...it doesn't have to be health/fitness related), use your influence to encourage and support them...not to make them wonder whether they are "fun". Whatever the heck that even means.

Okay, end rant. :)

Sunscreen

Today was a beautiful, sunny day. I like beautiful, sunny days generally, but I learned that they definitely create a different experience when running outside than I have had to this point since I started running during the winter. Specifically, I got really hot and sweaty. Ugh. (Yes, of course, I always get somewhat hot and quite sweaty when running, but on cooler days it hasn't been quite as bad.) I have to hope I will either a) be fully used to getting really hot and sweaty or b) get a treadmill so I can exercise in the comfort of my air conditioned home by the time summer arrives! Just kidding...I know getting hot and sweaty most likely won't kill me, if I stay hydrated like I should.

The other thing I discovered was that I will need to remember to apply sunscreen before running now that the weather is turning sunnier. And yes, I know that UV rays are still present even on overcast winter days, but they are not as intense. Combine that with the fact that my workouts are longer than they used to be, and my UV exposure is much greater now than it has been. So...sunscreen it is.

Finger exercise

Today I spent hours doing my taxes, and got no exercise as a result. Well, I suppose I exercised my fingers on the keyboard! (No, I don't really think that counts...)

Persistent

Today, it started raining while I was running. I decided to just keep running. I was determined to finish my two miles! It worked out okay (I was lucky), because it only rained lightly and briefly, and then stopped. Which was a relief. I'm not sure how long I would have stayed persistent if it really started pouring!

Consistent

Well I'm still slow, but at least I'm consistent! I ran two miles again today and it took me the same length of time as it did the last time. Not a short length of time, but at least the same length of time.