The Five Stages of a Runner - Step #1

The Beginner: Stage One: Making the Break

Every beginning is precarious. There you are, perched on the edge of starting something entirely new, yet there are distractions, even criticisms, that cause detours and dead ends. You want to be more healthy and fit, but you may not realize how secure you've become in an inactive world. Each time you go out for a run you encounter a new side of yourself - one that must somehow be integrated into your daily life.



There is usually a struggle within and without. The old lifestyle is there and offers security. When the energy of "beginning" wears off, it's harder to motivate yourself to go out for that daily run. You'll face a lot of obstacles at first. It's all too easy to stop when the weather turns cold, when it rains or snows, or when you feel the aches and pains of starting. You haven't had to deal with these things before and the temptation to quit is strong.



Your running may also be threatening to your less active friends. Eventually you - the beginner - and your non-running friends work it out. The transition period, however, can be unstable and uncomfortable for both. If you falter, the old world - comfortable in many ways - is waiting for you to slip back in. If you're lucky enough to make new friends who share similar fitness goals, you'll probably find refuge in the "fit" world while you gain your "running security."



Social reinforcement makes it easier to establish the fitness habit. One good approach is to find a group that meets regularly. Or you can make a pact with a friend who drags you out on bad days and vice versa. Races and fun runs are great opportunities to meet people.



At times you may not progress as fast as you expected. We Americans are traditionally hyperactive and impatient. When we plant a seed, we not only want it to grow, we want it to become a tree by next week. We want results. When you start, you want to see physical and psychological benefits. But if you push too hard, you can tire yourself out and end up quitting in frustration.



The seed of exercise - if you don't crush it - will survive periods of moisture and drought. Just when it seems to be drying up, it will spring to life, rejuvenated, and propel you further down the road. Don't be discouraged, even if you've stopped. Tomorrow's another day. Many beginners stop and start again 10 or 15 times before they get the habit established. Beginners who don't put pressure on themselves seem to have an easier time staying with it. If you simply walk/jog 30-40 minutes every other day, you'll find yourself gently swept along in a pattern of relaxation and good feeling. Your workout starts to become a special time for you. As you make progress you find within yourself the strength and security to keep going. At first you're "just visiting" that special world when you go out for a run. But gradually you begin to change. You get used to the positive relaxed feeling. Your body starts cleaning itself up, establishing muscle tone, circulating blood and oxygen more vigorously. One day you find you're addicted, and the beginner becomes a jogger.


By Jeff Galloway
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/beginners.html


GOSH..If this here blurb doesn't hit home......I'm definitely in stage 1.

Today's run....

Is nothing to even write about.  Woke up super stopped up and congested.  My sister said last night my mom would keep my niece so we could run together.  I was good with that but she called at 9am-ish. At that time I was sneezing and just trying to sleep.

Last night I went to my friends wedding and we danced ALL NIGHT.  My legs are so sore and I just wasn't feeling it.  I finally got up just to get my 10 mins in. 

I walked/ran 2 miles today. Nothing phenomenal.  Just needed to get it in.

Oh I did try my new headphones and my new fanny pack.  I love them both and so happy my hands are finally free of clutter.  And don't be mistaken, my fanny pack is hidden under my shirt. I'm still too fly for a REAL fanny pack (though Rhinna pulls it off very well!)



http://chataignestyle.com/2011/01/22/trends-return-of-the-fanny-pack/



Hoping 2 days off of running will help me get in a good run Wednesday!  Have a great Sunday!

10 min Challenge

This is pretty random, but I figured I'd better add it to my blog. I'm participating in Sparkpeople's 10 minute exercise challenge.

The purpose of the challenge is to get you on track of consistent exercise. I so love this idea! Many people (I know I've done it) take on these ginormous fitness goals way to early in their journey leading to BURN OUT!

For me, I would try and do 2 a days, 90 minutes of cardio 5-6x's a week.  That is WAY too much, especially because it made me super hungry and I hadn't changed my nutrition, thus I was only maintaining my weight, not losing.

Anywho, I've committed to 1,000 days (YES, 1k) of exercising at least 10 mins per day. I never have complete rest days, so when you hear me say rest, I'll probably be doing the minimum 10 mins. Stretching, light stroll, something "easy".

What's cool about this challenge is even though 1,000 days is over 2 years, who can't spare 10 freakin minutes?  Some days I really had to squeeze it in, but shoot, 10 mins is only about 4 songs on Dance Central (and yall know how I feel about DC, it's hard to stop. It's just that fun!)

There is an app called Habit Streak in the Android market that helps you keep up with your days. Every morning at 4am (you pick the time) I get a notification on my phone that asks:

Did you exercise for at least 10 mins yesterday?

All I do is check yes, and it tells me what day I'm on. COOL HUH??? 

Today is Day 74! I have done some type of workout 74 days in a row! Working my way up to 100 days! PARTY!!

I'll blog periodically about what day I'm on or if I had to break my streak to let you know how it's going.

Did I mention I love Sparkpeople?  Did I mention I love Dance Central? Did I mention I love my Android phone? Yes? Oh. ok. Just checking.

You should join me in the challenge!!! 

Freestyle Friday Run

I set out this morning to complete W2D2 of the training but somewhere after mile 1 my app FAILED.

For some reason I got a random itch to take a new route. That almost never happens so I went with it.
Instead of turning left out of my subdivision I took a right and to the right is A MAJOR HILL.  I just needed the change today I guess.  It's kind of good the hill is in the beginning of the run when I have the most energy so it wasn't horrible.

I decided to run to the Wal-Greens because SURELY that is 3 miles away. NOT. Only 2. Barely 2. Something about turning around takes some of my energy (this is dumb I know) because when I headed back I was tired.  Had to stop at an intersection and all my running momentum left me. 

I SO wanted to be able to come back and tell you I ran 4 miles today.  But I can't.  That's ok though. I ran a good 3 and ran/walked (mostly walked) the last mile. 

I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have a deadline. I'm going to take my time and enjoy the training.  I don't know why but I start to chase goals and attack them full force to the point of burn out. I don't want to do that with running. I would really like to become a life-long runner (as health permits).

Oh yeah, need to add that I changed the settings on runkeeper to only give me mile notifications and not time and pace. I did cheat a few times and check my pace and I'm averaging about a 13 min mile.  I also found a new music app to download some new songs (Music Download) I didn't have time to download anything new EXCEPT Beyonce - Party ft Andre 3000 & Kanye West. I will be getting a new playlist soon. YES!!

Title boxing was hard yesterday. I mean my legs were JELLO so I kind of figured today I wouldn't be 100% for my run (no. seriously. I'm not making excuses. LOL) 

My legs are definitely getting stronger and I'm seeing a muscle in my calf.  I have big (BIG) legs so anytime I can actually SEE something transforming there is pretty AWESOME! This is motivating me to keep going. I want nice long legs.

I'm proud of myself thus far for just going out there and running. It's still a challenge, but maybe challenges move me. I don't know.

Tomorrow is definitely a "rest" day.  A nice stroll in the park. That's it. I promise.  Though I am getting the urge to play Dance Central tonight!

Happy Friday!!!

pace...Pace...PACE Yourself - Week 2 Day 1

Like I said last week, I decided not to run the RunKeeper app anymore. Although I do like the fact that I know how many miles I've run, I get too obsessed with trying to keep a certain pace. This early in the game, I need to focus on getting in those miles, not how fast I'm running. So I started thinking this to myself:

If I know I have 13 more miles to go, how fast would I be running?

Not fast at all! I slowed it down and it worked! I read somewhere on the Internet that your pace should allow you to hold a conversation with someone.  While running I was definitely able to do that so I knew I was doing ok.

This was a VERY good run. I was able to complete the entire training session and wasn't exhausted when I finished.  My legs were stiff and my stomach cramped up (whats this all about?!) but other than that, I was good!

Oh, my phone died in the last 10mins of my last run.  I  know I said before I didn't need music and would try to train without it, but I did and it's ok. I can't say it gets me through, but sometimes it takes my mind off the time.  Usually I would use a dead battery as an excuse to stop but I kept going. Again, gotta be ready to run in non-perfect conditions!

So yeah. Good run yesterday.  Am actually looking forward to Friday's run.  Wait. Did I just say that?  I did!!

I think I can do this!!!!

I can't stand the rain.....Week 1 Day 3

But real runners run despite the conditions so I laced up early this morning and set out for day 3 of 10k training.

It wasn't raining too bad, just a light steady rain.  Now let me say this is HUGE. Black girls don't do rain and my hair wasn't happy about it even though I had a hood on. 

This was THEE best run so far.  I found my headphones so I had some music going (not sure if this helps or hinders). I like music, but I kind of like my own company more. I guess today I was able to have some of both. 

I decided not to use RunKeeper in the background. I was focusing too much on my pace.  Today I slowed it down and allowed myself to run at a pace that didn't make me out of breathe or tired.

It started coming down a bitter harder in the middle of my run, but it's funny that I couldn't tell really.  Hood on and focused, I kept going.

I'm still very nervous about this. I just hope I can hang in there when the weather isn't the best.  Ouch! thinking about those early mornings when it's cold and the bed is warm. Lord help me.

Bridge to 10k Program - Week 1 Day 1



courtesy of appfinder.com


The bridge to 10k program is designed for C25k graduates (ME!) and gently adds more running to the intervals.

Week 1 
5 min warm-up
10 min run
1 min walk
Repeat run/walk 4 times
5 min cool-down

courtesy of appfinder.com

When I saw this I thought, 10 minutes isn't too bad BUT 4 intervals with only 1 minute walking in between....YIKES

I fully intended to get up and meet my friend at the trail around the corner. I couldn't sleep thinking about my run. Worrying. Scared. Nervous. Anxious.

I was up at 4 am and we weren't suppose to meet until 7am.  So I tossed and turned and dozed off until 8am! UGH.  I  began  talking myself out of starting today and thinking I'll just start tomorrow. It's a kind of cold outside, a little rainy, I'm sleepy. Yeah. Excuses.

But I knew I had to face my fear of getting out there and just go. Since I'm working from home today I decided I will go over lunch.

In order to get my butt moving I got up and put my workout clothes on and shoes. I think this helped me get my mind in the game.  So there. When I start feeling whishy-washy about going out, I'll just put my clothes on anyway.

I couldn't find my headphones, but I kind of sort of think I run better without music. During all of my 5k's I've never had music and it wasn't bad at all. It allowed me to think and meditate. 

Finally about 11:30ish I set out for my first run.  I skipped the warm-up.  The first 10 min run wasn't bad at all.  My pace was a little under a 12 minute mile.  Then the walk. 

Wow. 1 minute walk isn't a lot at all.  Just enough to catch your breathe and relax some.  Second run was just ok.  I think I was able to do about 8 minutes before I started walking again.  So that gave me a 3 minute walking interval.

The third run started off really great. I guess that's when I hit my second wind or maybe it was mentally knowing I was halfway there and only had one run left.  My pace slowed down a lot at this point. Maybe 12 and a half minute mile.  I was able to run about 9 minutes of this run.  Then I took another 3 minute walk interval.

I started off running the last 10mins, but I mentally checked out. I was tired.  I know it was mental because I don't think I was tired physically, just mentally.  I ran for about 2 minutes and decided I would walk the rest of the way back home.

During the run I felt my stomach cramp up. This happened to me right after my 5k last Sunday too. I wonder if it has to do with being hydrated. Today I ate breakfast before the run, but last Sunday I ran on an empty stomach and had a banana right after. WAIT. I had a banana this morning too. Hmmm. Wonder if they are causing my stomach issues. *shrugs* Not a good feeling though.

I am not disappointed in myself that I couldn't run all the intervals today.  I am accepting where I am and praying that I progress. The only way to get better is to keep going and if that means giving myself longer walking breaks, so be it! I don't want to burn out. I didn't want to force it and have a bad run. When I do that, I'm slow to get back out there dreading another bad run.  I am PROUD of myself for starting!

Even though you are suppose to do this 3x's a week (non-consecutively) I am going to do it again in the morning. I decided I will do  W1D1 (week one day one) as long as it takes me to get comfortable with it. I am in no rush. 
I really need to figure out a schedule to work this program. It's hard for me to give up Title since I love going so much. 

I'll figure it out.  So there it is, day #1. COMPLETE!!