When Will I Be a Runner?

How long does one have to run to be considered a runner. I'm not talking about days or months, I'm talking about second and minutes. Today I did 10....seconds that is. I do not consider myself as a runner yet. But when will I?

I went to the treadmill again today and did the same workout as yesterday except the last 20 seconds I walked at 4.1 for 5 seconds, at 4.2 for 5 seconds and jogged at 4.3 for 10 seconds. 4.3 mph is my "breaking point". You know, the point you can't walk and keep up, you have to break into a run. I did it for 10 seconds today and I didn't fall off the treadmill or die. I was going to do the elliptical tomorrow but I think I'll stick with the treadmill. I want to try to increase the amount of time I run gradually. I am just a little concerned for my knees till I get some of this weight off. If they start hurting I will go to the elliptical for a while.

I did really well with my eating....this morning and afternoon. Then I went to out with my dad and ate an entire calzone! A big one. I was so hungry! The tuna fish, cheese, and orange for lunch are not doing the trick!. I did drink over 2 liters of water today though.

I was sent this today by a friend via my Suzanne's Rocks Facebook Page. I love it!

 

I think I need to see this every day! Thanks Terry! It was 5 seconds yesterday, 10 seconds today, soon it will be 30 minutes. Okay, maybe not soon, but I'll get there! I am torn between being optimistic and realistic. Sometimes my realistic seems more pessimistic but I don't mean for it to be.

 

Only 2 more days of grad school then I have a week off! I will have to say, I HAVE done very well at taking my lunch to school with me. That's something!

 

Today's question: What is a medium range goal you have and what are you doing to reach it?

 

Well, I had better get my protein shake made and vitamins taken and set out for the morning. 5:00 am comes early!

 

 

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Treadmill?

That would be me! You see, for a statistics project class in my undergrad I had to keep track of something I did several times a day. I tracked how many times I tripped. Tripping and treadmills DO NOT mix! I can literally imagine myself flying off the back of one....the image plays vividly in my mind. This morning I piddled a little to long and got to the gym just 5 minutes after I normally do. That 5 minutes meant I didn't get an elliptical! Really, why are so many people at the gym at 6 in the morning. Don't people sleep? There was a bike available but I decided it was time to really test out my new shoes, the ones I got from Fleet Feet in Murfreesboro. Before today I had only used them on the bike and the elliptical. So I found a treadmill.

Let me back up, because I seriously don't remember if I mentioned this in a past blog and I am too lazy to go back and look. About a week before I made my 3 commitments I set a goal to be able to walk 3 miles at 3.0 mph by June 30th. Doesn't sound like much, but I was going much slower starting out because of my foot pain. I kind of put that on the back burner to focus on the metabolic training. I now really believe that was the perfect thing for me to do. There is no way I would have been able to do what I did today without some prior conditioning, not that what I did today was very impressive, but it was impressive for me where I am now, new shoes or not!

Okay, back to the Big Bad Treadmill. I walked for a minute at 2.5 mph, kicked it up to 3.0 for the rest of my warm up. NO FOOT PAIN... YAY!!!!! now for the real testing of my fear. I wanted to still do interval training. but I didn't truly rest for 20 seconds. Instead, I bumped it up to 4.0 for 20 second then back down to 3.0 for 20 seconds. I did this for 12 minutes. My heart rate made it into the 80%-90% zone easily. By the end of my workout, 3.0 felt slow. And NO FOOT PAIN!!!! Did I say that already? Oh, the last 20 second interval I did 4.1 for 10 seconds, 4.2 for 5 seconds and 4.3 for the very last 5 seconds! I had to jog a little the last 5 seconds. It was a little proof that I am not going to fly off the back.

So, tomorrow I think I am going to find me a Big Bad Treadmill. I'm going to mix it up though, Thursday I think I'll make sure I get there on time and get an elliptical.

I am postponing my recipe till Thursday. I wasn't planning on eating out for lunch but I got out of class early and was able to eat with my nephew, his wife and new baby, my sister and dad. They were in from New Jersey. I don't mind getting off track for something like that. Life happens. But I am not really hungry, so I am saving my fajitas for Thursday night. This is a victory in itself. Before I would have gladly eaten another big meal for dinner.

My dad and Aubrey

 



Today's question: Is there a piece of exercise equipment that scares you?