External Motivation

I didn't want to run yesterday. Well, I wanted to run but I didn't feel like running. I wanted to sit on my couch. Does that make sense?

The weather was perfect for running, my body was ready for it, and I wanted to be otuside, but I wasn't mentally present. And the results made that clear. I ran at Juilfs and didn't make any changes in path or interval times. But my legs started hurting right away (maybe I started too quickly) and all I could think about whas how I'd rather be somewhere else. It's kind of hard to keep a positive attitude when that happens. I did a lot of internal yelling at myself instead of the usual internal coaxing and encouraging.

Needless to say, I finished a little behind my last two successful runs, but I'm still under my initial goal. I finished two miles in 27:30 and I didn't cut any running intervals short. I actually was still able to convince myself to run a few meters over on about half the runs, which is good. But Week 3 still seems so far away. I'm struggling to see how I'll ever be able to move on from Week 2.

So, how do I stay motivated to keep running after iffy workouts like that? There are several motivators, but today I'm going to focus on the external motivators. This blog follows this week's trip to Atlanta for work, which included two plane rides (there and back).

Let me tell you, you don't know uncomfortable until you've been a tall, fat girl wedged into an airplane seat for even the shortest flight. In fact, this unfortunate fat-girl situation is one of my top external motivators, along with not fitting on amusement park rides, and exceeding weight limits on anything intended for normal adults (e.g., trampolines). This humiliation is unbearable. Really, weight-related embarrassment is pretty much the only kind of embarrassment that gets me down. To top it all off, these three "I don't fit" situations usually happen with some sort of audience.

Now, I would never suggest that roller coaster manufacturers re-design their seats to meet the needs of the obese. (Airplanes are a different story and I address that below.) For those of you who don't know, I spent three summers working at Kings Island, a Cincinnati amusement park, and one fabulous summer at Coney Island, it's little-yet-older sister. I spent many moments explaining to guests why they couldn't ride if the "bar" didn't click, even if they thought they could hold on throughout the ride and not fall out. (Morons.) "Why can't they just make the seats bigger?" they might ask. Well, because then kids and people of a healthy weight might fall out and there's no reason to risk someone else's safety so fat people can ride.

Tall people, different story -- you didn't chose that. Weight is a choice, unless affected by some sort of extreme health ailment, in which case you shouldn't be riding rides at all. (First PKI-er to name the 5 safety restrictions in the comments wins!) I know, controversial topic, but I am both tall and fat and feel I can speak openly about this because of my experiences. But I'm open to hearing your thoughts.

Back to planes -- is anyone comfortable in an airplane seat? Really, I want to know. If no one is comfortable, then I can stop my ranting and move on. But what's the harm in creating, I don't know, two rows of seats tht have higher arm rests and deeper and wider seats, especially if you charge those people just a little more? I'm not talking about first class seats here. I don't want extra service or squishier seats or my own private bathroom for $200 extra. I want butt, hip, and knee space for $50 extra. You could even make me check my bag if you wanted to. Just a thought.

So, sorry for the rant. It's not like the seat situation is the only thing about flying that makes me uncomfortable. My ears pop constantly, I get ill on the descent (fortunately just the decent), and I'm in constant fear of how my body will react. You see, I'm not afraid of flying like most people are. There comes a point when you just have to realize that if your plane crashes, you're likely going to die. Worrying about it is not going to help. Just relax.

I, on the other hand, get motion sick in cars and some amusement rides at the drop of a hat. Literally, that fast. The smell of a car and its airflow, even when it's sitting still, will ruin my day. Right Sarah? Mom? You've both experienced this first-hand. So, every flight since my first, which was just in February 2008, I've been petrified of uncontrollable vomiting and what have you. But, so far so good. Either my body doesn't react to plane rides that way, or my ritual cranberry-vodka OR Dramamine really helps (not both at once, I promise). Praise be to Dramamine.

So, on that note, a few slightly unrelated photos:

Here's a picture of me waiting for departure at the Atlanta airport from a previous trip.

My fearful expression is a dramatic reinactment of my first ever flight.
Oh, and this was from my trip to DC to see New Kids on the Block, October 2008.
Be jealous.

Atlanta airport, again from a previous trip.

Okay, so what have I learned. I've learned that my exercise efforts between Februrary 2009 (my last flight) and this past week's flight have not made airplane seats any more comfortable. In fact, I should have known that because I haven't lost more about 8 pounds in the last year's worth of working out. Tell me how it's possible, at my weight, to go from stagnant to working out and not see any results? I'll most definitely address this in a later post. Oh, and running when you don't want to is not fun and I'm not likely to get results when doing so.

So yes, I'm ending on a negative note. Boohoo. Please come again! =)

Keeping It Short

Let's see if I am actually capable of a short post. My money is on no.

I ran today. It was fun. The weather was nice and I felt good. Heck, for a hot minute I even thought that I might try to bump up to Week 3, just for giggles. I even got as far as to look at what Week 3 involved ... and that's when I decided against it.

HOLY COW! What a huge jump in workout intervals! Week 2 is run 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes. Week 3 reads as follows

5-minute warmup, then do this twice: job 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, job 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes

Uhhh ... a minute-and-a-half to THREE MINUTES?! That's a bit ridic, no? I might ask my friend Jeff (Jeff, pay attention) to make me a timed music mix with his amazing music editing skills. I'm thinking of doing a 2-minute run followed by a 90-second walk -- that'll help me bridge to Week 2, right? So yeah, Jeff, if you're feeling adventerous, have at it. No musicals please. =)

Well, I did run Week 2 today and did smashingly, again. Finished with 3:10 on the clock and walked a little more of the track. I now have a new finishing goal: get to the next entrance before Mr. C25K says, "Workout complete."

Okay, that's all! I'll try to run Thursday. I'm traveling for work Tuesday and Wednesday, but if I get back in time on Wednesday, I may try it then. But, eh. We'll see. The good news is I still miss getting to workout if I have to skip it. That's all that matters at this point.

Do you workout while traveling? I know a lot of people do, but I think that requires experience with a treadmill, which I don't have yet.

Another Positive Post ... And A Few Pics

Are you totally sick of my gushy positive posts yet? Well kiss it, because this is another one.

I had another GREAT run today and I'm feeling so hopeful about this whole "project" of mine.

Tuesday's run at Veterans felt good, but I didn't have a way to really measure my progress. Today I returned to Juilfs to see how I'm doing. Well, I finished my normal two laps (one mile each) with 3:10 left on the clock.

For the win!

My last run at Juilfs was last Tuesday and I finished with 2:36 on the clock. So, whoa, big improvement in a short period of time, I'd say. I think I need to up my target of 2 minutes left. Seems a bit weak now, right?

I've been trying to run a little bit -- a really litte bit -- faster, and also continue running for about, oh, 3 to 5 seconds after the walk alarm goes off. That adds up I guess. Oh, and the running down hill thing is way fun. =)

Anyway, I'm not going to drag this out today, but I do have some pictures from Juilfs. I'm continually impressed with the quality photos I can take with my iPhone!

The best playground ever!

From the top of Beast Hill. I generally run coming toward the camera.


This is where I start running. Look how pretty the sky was tonight!


AHHHHH! GIANT SHADOW MONSTER!
BOOM BOOM BOOM!

May The Fourth ... Be With You

Sorry, I had to go there. Can I tell you how long it took me to figure out why I kept seeing "May the Fourth be With You" everywhere? Oh, from about 9:30 a.m., when my favorite daily blog, Cake Wrecks, gets posted until around 3:30 p.m. "Who decided it was Star Wars Day, why is it today, and why are people posting this like they have a lisp?" Clearly I'm a huge follower of Star Wars, seeing as how I've never seen any of the movies. It's the one with the guy with the pointy ears, right? Ooooh, just kidding.

Well, the Force must have been with me today, on May fourth, because I just had an excellent run. WOOHOO! "Holidaaaaay. Celebraaaaate." (Name that movie for 10 points.) I just knew I would be rewarded for my two lunchless days of work and missing all the beautiful weather we've been having. My time has come.

I ran at Veterans Park again today. I shy away from this one because I think the total track is just a hair over one mile, and I'm afraid to disappoint myself when I don't finish two laps in the same amount of time that I finish at Juilfs. Oh well, today I went for it anyway because I didn't want to run hills. And I'm glad I went. I got to see the only flying animal I really like: ducks. "Quack, quack, quack, Mr. Ducksworth."

Here are some shots of Veterans, because my pal, Rob, told me I should post pictures. (Hi Rob!)

Such a pretty day!

One of these days I'll ask some paparazzi to get a shot of me dying/running. I promise.

Anyway, not only did I finish in a spot that was farther than I did previously, I extended one of my runs with very little suffering AND added two mini runs during my cool-down. I don't know people, but I think I may only have another week or two left before I can try to bump up to Week 3. YIKES! Now that's frightening!

Frankly, I'm shocked I did so well. I haven't run for an entire week. How does that work out for you? Do you run better after a little break or when you keep a steady every-other-day-ish workout schedule?

Oh, and I need a little info from my veg head friends. I'm getting kind of peeved with people that ask about my protein needs. The Skinny Bitch writers stand pretty firm by saying we don't need nearly as much protein as Americans generally eat. Thoughts? How much protein do you eat? Do you feel like you have to pay special attention to it? How do you ward off protein-questioning skeptics?

Next run should be Thursday since most of my schedule fluctuations have been taken care of. Fingers crossed.

I'll leave you with this photo:

I had to primer the walls in the bedroom of my old apartment.
So, I took the opportunity to do a little branding. Silly, but fun.

Wedgie Picker

Hey, hey, hey! So, I had a FANTASTIC run today and I'm so friggin' excited! What a pleasant follow-up to Sunday's monster run, right?

The weather was perfect: cold, sunny, no/very little humidity.

I was feeling good, too, and was definitely ready to stretch my legs out.

The scenery was beautiful: green and springy, and I followed a very fast-walking wedgie picker for the second mile. I swear he picked his wedgie at least twice on that lap and played with his underwear in between picks. No, he wasn't beautiful scenery, but he made me laugh out loud every time he did it. (Don't worry, my mid-workout laughs sound like dry heaves, so he was clueless.)

Anyway, I was worried at first because I started walking at a quicker pace than I usually do, and my shins started cramping pretty much right away. Never good. Then, I caught a peek of an old softball teammate (HI MICHELLE!) and that just made me happy.

Ahhh, then the best part: I ran full throttle down Beast Hill's sister, Loch Ness Monster Hill.

Weeeee!

My tactic until today had been to run down that hill on my toes to help stretch out my shins. But today I felt like running fast, so I let gravity do the work and let it loose. Way. Fun.

Oh, and one more thing. Seeing as how my last two runs haven't been exactly fun, and those last two runs were "backwards" runs at Juilfs, I turned my path back around and went the "right" way.

I'm never going backwards again.

I'm happy to discover that the backwards tactic could have been the reason for my poopy exercises, and not just my lack of progress. Whew!

Lastly and most importantly, I finished the two miles with 2:36 on the clock!!! That's 36 seconds faster than my personal best so far.

WOOOOHOOOO!

If my math's correct, that brings me to a 13:42 pace.

I feel victorious today. I'm fired up. I'm going to celebrate by wrapping up my third pass at Week 2 -- and starting Week 2 again next time I run. Ha! Yeah, I still feel like I'm going to die when I'm at the end of my 90-second run, so I'll do this week a few more times until that feeling passes. I will say that I think I could do with shorter walking/recovery intervals. I'm catching my breath a lot quicker now. Another victory! Yippee!

Okay, I need to get off here, so let's see ... next run? I'd love to say Thursday, but I don't want to commit because I'm in the home stretch of moving out of the old apartment. If I'm in a crunch on Thursday, I'll pass up running. If I'm in good shape, I'm all over it.

Little Victories, Episode 1: Today's Run Sucked

Well, it's true. Today's run was not fun. I had several elements working against me today, and I almost succumbed to the most vicious one: laziness. But, I didn't. I went to the park and I finished the workout. Little victory #1: Left the house. Little victory #2: Finished the run.

Let's see, here's my list: tired from moving, sore from painting (squatting, reaching, rolling, etc.), queasy and uncomfortably from cramps (sorry guys), sleepy from being waken up by my screeching and fighting animals, and a little congested from one allergy or another.

So yeah, despite all that, I got up and went. And I hated it the whole time. This is no, "I'm so glad I went because it all got better when I started running" story. Legs hurt, stomach hurt, arms hurt, COULDN'T BREATHE!

Little victory #3: First run of the season in high humidity (86% on my Weather Channel app). With that, I'm officially not looking forward to running this summer.

Let's continue the whining, shall we? I actually cut my second to last running interval short by about 5 seconds. Pathetic. Why not just go the last 5 seconds? It's not like I wouldn't have recovered somehow, right?

On that note, little victory #4: Running the last leg even though I excused myself from doing it after the second to last leg. I did it slow, and it hurt, and I whined internally the whole time, but I did it.

Little victory #5: Despite my whining and moaning and lack of oxygen, I somehow managed to finish only slightly behind my normal pace. Two miles in 28:20 (instead of two miles in 28:00).

Finally, little victory #6: I felt great after and for the remainder of the day. Lesson learned, again. And I'm glad I got to run after having so many days off (haven't worked out since Tuesday).

Sorry for the rant. Let's call this a slump. I think my future motivation on these crappy days will be to step back a "week" in the workout. I could have done Week 1 today and finished fine. It would have been less painful and I wouldn't have been so close to quitting. But is that okay? Do I allow myself that concession?

What about you? I still want to know when you know you need to walk instead of run. Do you ever give yourself an easy workout?

Next run: TBD.

This is the last week of the moving fiasco that is April. Things will be getting easier. I am considering giving myself a try at a treadmill workout. I haven't tried it yet. What should I expect? Easier or harder?

Moving Backwards?

Don't worry. The title of this post doesn't mean I'm regressing in my running abilities. In fact, I ran at Juilfs today and finished my two miles with precisely two minutes left of C25K Week 2; I am still holding steady at a 14-minute mile pace.

Give me a moment -- it still blows my mind that I can actually "run" two miles. Clearly the founders of my athletic self-esteem -- my elementary and high school gym teachers -- were "you can do whatever you set your mind to" kind of guys. Thank you, Mr. B and Mr. Jamoke (alias).

*I do want to explore how to and how not to encourage children to physically push themselves and to stay fit. I'll tell you now that letting them get away with whining, walking instead of running, and sitting out of gym class is not effective. Prime example, right here.*

Anyway, while I didn't lose any ground in my progress today, I didn't move forward, and that's frustrating to me. I like to see improvements. That's the best motivator, right there. Unfortunately improvements take work, and work takes motivation, and motivation takes improvements.

Poop.

So, my first set of questions: How do you stay motivated? Do you exercise simply for the joy of it? How do you get through those days or weeks of zero progress? What about setbacks?

Back to the backwards thing. Like I said, I ran at Juilfs today, my tried-and-true favorite childhood park. But, to test things out a bit and to shake up a routine, I ran it backwards.

Now isn't that a fun mental image? I'll let you sit with it for a while before ruining it. Fat girl ... breathing like a freight train ... red, red face ... stumbling backwards down a hill. Go ahead and laugh. I would!

Okay, time to focus again. Today, I ran the opposite direction on the path. I figured the Beast Hill is a long, slow incline and it's counterpart is a steeper, shorter incline. Why not run/walk down the long one and run/walk up the short one? Well folks, it was nice. It didn't improve my time at all (again, discouraging), and it didn't make the 90 second run feel any easier, but it kept me from trying to drag my butt up Beast Hill. And I got to run downhill, which is way fun -- kind of like Phoebe running on Friends.

I don't know the moral of today's experience. I changed my path to avoid a challenge and finished in the same time anyway.

Question set #2: Do you avoid challenging courses or do you take them head on? How's that working out for you?

Next run should be Thursday. Venue undecided. Let me know if you'd like to join!

A Change of Scenery

How exhausting! I mean, watching people carry my heavy furniture really wore me down ...

Right.

Actually, I have to commend the movers I used yesterday, and declare wholeheartedly that I will never as my friends to move furniture again, as long as I have $100 to spare. In case you're interested, check out Move Cheap for your next change of scenery. Cheap, awesome, polite, quick. You just have to rent and drive your own truck.

Okay, sorry for the tangent, but it explains a bit of my post today. Change of Scenery. Yes, I'm finally in my new apartment and thoroughly enjoying the wooded view out my window. The birds are singing and the wind is blowing the brand new leaves on the trees. It makes me glad the stupid cable guy didn't come like he was supposed to yesterday. Otherwise I wouldn't get to hear the nature--and fire trucks and airplanes -- out my window.

The cats are adapting nicely-ish. Well, one is still hiding under the bed, but she's happy there. She lets me reach under and pet her and has come out just a few times. Trixie? Well, she looks stressed, doesn't she?


The good news is she's not picking fights with the other cat. (Background info: Scaredy is the new cat, though she's a few years older than Scaredy. I adopted Scaredy from a co-worker in mid-January. They don't get along ... yet.) In fact, Trixie is currently snoozing under the bed with Scaredy. VICTORY!

I'm adapting nicely to the new place too. I slept well last night, which is a victory for me. I generally don't sleep well in unfamiliar places. It helps that I was in my own bed.

Another change of scenery for today: I ran at a different park this morning. I headed to Veterans Memorial Park in Union Township (disappointing website with very little info). There's no informational signage around the track to let you know exactly how long the path is, but this one website I found said 1+ miles. That is unacceptable to me. 1+ what? Booo! The power is in the details people!

Anyway, I think, if you take the right path and loop around this one little part against your insticts, it's 1 mile and 50 feet or so. There are handy little spray-painted quarter-mile markers on the concrete. At least I think that's what they were. The mark at what appears to be 1 mile is a smiley face.

So, needless to say, I can't exactly track my progress today because I tried a new venue with unclear distance markers. But I can say I didn't have shin splints today, and my breathing was fairly under control. It's still very apparent that I need to repeat Week 2 for the third time; I'm still ending my 90 second runs thinking, "OH GOD I CAN'T DO IT!" Let's just say there's nothing quite as sweet as Mr. C25K interrupting my playlist to say "Walk now." I'm going to marry him.

I'm curious, though. How do you know when to stop running in your run/walk workout? Do you use time, distance, or just feeling? How do you judge when to start running again? Do you let yourself catch your breath entirely or do you keep your heart rate going? If I ever chose to end my dependency problem with Mr. C25K, I'd like to know. I'm not good at pushing myself without outside influence.

Future running plans: Probably Monday or Tuesday. This week is going to be really nice so I'd like to take advantage of it. Although, I still have a lot of moving activities to take care of, so these plans are, sadly, tentative.

Quick Update: A Setback in Week 2

Good afternoon.

Yes, that's right, it's a Thursday afternoon and I'm blogging ... because I'm not at work. I took two days off to move. Yes, that's right, still moving. Yuu-uu-uuck. I just took a brief lunch break and thought I'd take a few moments to ensure you all that I did run this morning as planned.

An interesting thing happened, and I'm not entirely sure why. I finished with a full minute on the clock, whereas last time I ran this workout (Week 2), I had a full two minutes on the clock. The difference between these two occurrences? I started the workout walking with someone else -- my mom.

Now, she's a slow walker, even by my standards (which is slow), but she walked quickly with me for the five-minute warm-up. I guess it wasn't quick enough and I didn't even realize that I might have been walking slower than usual. But, I'm thinking that's the main cause for my slowness. In fact, for a few of the running portions, I thought I was going quite fast.

Eh, whatever. It was gorgeous at the park today, so it was worth it.

One last thing. 'Tis the season for 5Ks, and I know I've brought it up before, but I need to decide if and when I can try one. Many of you offered great feedback on the kinds of runs I should try, and I defintely agree. I appreciate the advice too; I would never have thought to distinguish between a serious 5K and a fun one. But now that you've mentioned it, I know exactly what you all mean.

There's a 5K run/walk happening in my neighborhood, literally a baseball's throw away from where I live now -- okay a really LONG baseball's throw. It's at the end of May and the route is quite hilly, so I'm a little reluctant. There are also a few throughout Cincinnati that I'd like to take a shot at: the Reggae Run (organized by one of my professors), the Reds 5K, and the Hyde Park Blast. Basically, anything with a party at the end is going to be a safe bet, I'm guessing.

Okay, I must get back to packing and moving. Forgive the short and icky post; I'll do better next time. Check back soon for my feature on BBW* exercise.

*See the asterisk at the end of my last post.

Unexpected Developments

Well, friends, I've done it. I was a bit over-ambitious yesterday in my physical activities and now I have the back pain to show for it. Or feel. Whatever.

After my post yesterday morning, I headed out for my second try at Week 2 Day 1 of C25K. The great news is that I found a place to start that keeps me from running up the beastly hill twice. WOOHOO! Oh, and I shaved some more time off the two-mile run. Since I ended my last running interval before Beast Hill (that's it, I've now named it), I was able to jog to the finish line.

New progress milestone: 2 miles in 28 minutes -- a 14-minute mile pace. WOOHOO!

Anyway, I completed my run, doused myself in a cold shower, and moved some crap into my new apartment. Unfortunately, somewhere between my run and leaving the new digs, I did something to rip my lower back to shreds. It's strange because I don't even remember straining it, or kicking any boxes (which usually does me in in a snap). Needless to say, that put a damper on my moving activities for the rest of what was supposed to be a productive Saturday.

Wah waaaaaah!

Kind of messed with my Sunday, too. I could have run this morning. I could have taken two loads of stuff to the new place. But, I settled for one minor load. At least it's something, right?

Why am I telling you this? Because I'm making an excuse, that's why. And what are you supposed to do when I make an excuse? All together now ... "SHOOT HER DOWN!"

[ducks and covers]

I'll let you be the judge of my legitimacy. I will, once again, be spending the night cuddled up with my dream man, Ben Gay. Hopefully he gets rid of this kink so I can get something done this week, whether it be running, moving, or both.

Excuses, Excuses ... and Meet My Park

Happy Saturday morning, readers!

First, I’d like to apologize for my poor showing so far. As I’m sure happens with many ambitious bloggers, I started with a bang, full of hope for my little plot of websphere, and quickly fizzled out. Well, I have an excuse: I’m moving this month – more specifically next weekend – and I’m a bit preoccupied. I got the keys to my new place this week and I just can’t keep myself away. I love the new place so much that my poor little running habit has been packed away in one of the moving boxes and I’ve had some trouble finding it. Well, I found it this morning; it was packed in the same box as my grasp on reality and the cat nip. Wouldn’t you know it, my blogging commitment was also in there. Geesh.

Anyway, this is the perfect opportunity for me to share a little more about myself:

I’m a rationalizer, an excuse maker, and an abandoner.

Usually these nasty character traits only rear their heads when I’m dreading something. For example, there was a time (most of my life, actually) when I didn’t like to exercise. Shocker! I’d rationalize not going to the gym by saying, “It’s not like the gym is helping me at all,” or “Skipping step aerobics isn’t going to make me gain weight.” I’d skip a workout with excuses like sore muscles, menstrual cramps, lack of sleep, a broken fingernail, or a happy hour with friends. Then I’d get frustrated at all my excuses and lose hope of getting back on track because of all my skipped workouts, and finally, I’d give up. A perfect example: I once signed a three-year contract for a gym and only used about 9 months worth. I’ll get into that more later.

Here’s the difference this time around: I’m enjoying running. The excuses I make now just make me sad and more eager to lace up and hit the pavement next time. I actually encountered this phenomenon with my step class; I liked the workout, I liked the cheesy ‘80s music, I liked my classmates and I hated missing class. (I’ll talk more about step class in later entries. Bottom line is it’s fun and a great workout.)

There is a significant problem with skipping a few running workouts that I didn’t experience with step aerobics. Missing a run really sets me back in my progress: I feel like I have to go backwards to continue moving forward. Skipping a step class meant I didn’t get better, but I certainly didn’t lose progress by missing one workout. Skipping a run means it'll be all the more difficult to complete the same interval next time, let alone increase intensity, as dictated by C25K.

Speaking of C25K, I finished my first round of Week 2. (Week 2: 5-minute warm-up walk, then alternate 90 seconds of jogging with 2 minutes of walking for 20 minutes, then cool down walk for 5 minutes.) This one kicked my butt, and I’m already planning on at least another two bouts with this “week.” It’s hard. I struggle to finish the 90 seconds of jogging, especially since it always seems to happen on a hill.

I’m running at a local park. I basically grew up at this park. I played softball there for 10 years, skinned my knees on its sidewalks, got the wind knocked out of me by falling off the jungle gym, got sand in my shoes and hair and eyes, received electro-shock therapy from the static generated by the friction of the slides, flew kites in its muddy fields, pretended to play tennis on its courts, and sweated all over every blade of grass within its fences. Ah, the memories…. Truly, I do love it there. It’s home, and what better place to embarrass myself as I learn to run?

Anyway, the run/walk/bike path is a mile long, which allows for convenient distance measurements, and it meanders up and down a seemingly slight hill. Somehow, no matter where I start running, the C25K dude being piped through my iPhone headphones always manages to tell me to run up the same friggin’ hill. It’s a gradual incline and lasts for approximately 90 seconds of my running speed. Perfect. Geesh.

The beastly hill at Juilfs Park

At least I’ve made it every time so far, mostly because my ability to talk myself into things is quite strong. (Unfortunately it’s not a strong as my ability to talk myself out of things, but it’s still strong, nonetheless.) I purposefully quicken my breath and start leaning forward as I approach the hill. That seems to help a bit. It doesn’t help the craaaazy shin splints that I can’t seem to escape, but it helps with momentum and breath control. (Shin splints will be a recurring theme and, again, I’ll talk about them later.)

Go ahead and throw 100 – 150 extra pounds of weight on your shoulders and see how your legs and lungs feel after running uphill for 90 seconds. Yeah, that’s what I thought. Ha!

So back to what I was saying: I’ll be repeating Week 2 a few times, I’m sure. I just need to stay on track with my workouts. It’s going to become increasingly important that I stick to a three-times-a-week regimen as the weather gets warmer, too. Ugh, even thinking about running during a Cincinnati summer brings flashbacks to high school gym class and that one dreadful year of “summer gym.” I can feel my chest clogging with humidity now. Gack! Cough! Heave!

Excuse me. Ahem.

So, huge blog. Sorry. I just have so much to fill you in on, and I will. I must learn to balance background information with current affairs. Oh, and since you’ve been introduced to my excuse-making habits, please, please, please call me out on it. If you see me drifting toward rationalization and abandonment, don’t let me get away with it. Please and thank you.

Progress report: I'm finishing 2 miles in about 28:40 (1:20 left on my 30-minute workout when I finish the second mile). So that's a 14:20 1-mile pace, right? Hmm, better than high school. Interesting.