Monday, February 28, 2011

Running for Beginners

Perhaps "beginner" isn't strong enough. How about "Introduction to Running" or, even more appropriately, "Remedial Running 101"?

Regardless of the title, it should be known that one of my closest friends and I have embarked on an 8-week training program to prepare us for our first 5k. The program consists of 30 grueling runs over the course of 8 weeks; each run exceedingly more challenging and horrible than the last. Currently, Hannah and I have completed Day 1 of Week 2, wherein we were forced to walk 5 minutes before jogging 2 minutes (clearly we are firm friends). We had to repeat that cycle a total of 3 times! I know what you are thinking, "how were you able to complete such a physically taxing and extremely strenuous activity?" The answer is simple: sheer physical prowess.

Okay, fine. Perhaps a total of six minutes of light jogging in a day is not necessarily the most impressive feat, but it is a huge step for us. Neither of us are very good at running. In fact, my parents used to overhear other parents discussing my awkward form and slow speed during my middle school basketball games (note: this was a while ago, I am not currently a 6th grader). Hannah and I despise the activity to the very core of our beings; however, we realize its importance, and want to be capable of it. We know that there are times in our lives where we have little choice but to run. We have both chased after runaway dogs and missed classes because we refused to run for a bus. Most importantly, neither of us want to end up like that chubby kid on the football field in the beginning of Zombieland.

Considering our utter disdain for running, we have actually done a very good job at sticking to the program thus far. Part of our motivation stems from the fact that we usually run with the two extremely adorable dogs that Hannah rescued, but most of our motivation is because we are running together and talking all the way. We don't want to let each other down, and being together makes it way more enjoyable and way less embarrassing.

We have both attempted this same program by ourselves in the past, with less successful results. Well, I shouldn't say that. I actually got up to Week 7 last time I tried it. My downfall lied in the fact that I had been training on a treadmill. The minute I moved my training outside, I met the usual difficulties that come with moving an activity out of a controlled environment and into the untamed wild of suburbia, and promptly gave up.

I think we will be picking up tomorrow evening with Week 2, Day 2. Any encouragement would be greatly appreciated!


Finally, if you are itching to get into running as well, but don't know where to begin, try our 8-week program that I found on some random website!

Week 1 - Run 3 times during the week
     1) Warm up - 5 minutes
     2) Walk - 6 minutes
     3) Run - 1 minute
     4) Repeats steps 2-3 2 more times
     5) Cool down - 5 minutes

Week 2 - Run 3 times during the week
     1) Warm up - 5 minutes
     2) Walk - 5 minutes
     3) Run - 2 minutes
     4) Repeats steps 2-3 2 more times
     5) Cool down - 5 minutes

Week 3 - Run 4 times during the week
     1) Warm up - 5 minutes
     2) Walk - 3 minutes
     3) Run - 4 minutes
     4) Repeats steps 2-3 2 more times
     5) Cool down - 5 minutes

Week 4 - Run 4 times during the week
     1) Warm up - 5 minutes
     2) Walk - 2 minutes
     3) Run - 5 minutes
     4) Repeats steps 2-3 2 more times
     5) Cool down - 5 minutes

Week 5 - Run 4 times during the week
     1) Warm up - 5 minutes
     2) Walk - 2 minutes
     3) Run - 8 minutes
     4) Repeats steps 2-3 2 more times
     5) Cool down - 5 minutes

Week 6 - Run 4 times during the week
     1) Warm up - 5 minutes
     2) Walk - 2 minutes
     3) Run - 9 minutes
     4) Repeats steps 2-3 2 more times
     5) Cool down - 5 minutes

Week 7 - Run 4 times during the week
     1) Warm up - 5 minutes
     2) Walk - 2 minutes
     3) Run - 11 minutes
     4) Repeats steps 2-3 2 more times
     5) Cool down - 5 minutes

Week 8 - Run 4 times during the week
     1) Warm up - 5 minutes
     2) Run - 30 minutes - Note: if this is too difficult, try jogging 20 minutes at first

     3) Cool down - 5 minutes

Game Changers

After weeks of planning, I have finally done it. I have finally gone to the grocery store (I know, what an amazing feat I have now accomplished). I even rode my bike there! While this would usually be an extremely mundane event (and still is, in fact), I find it very significant in that it means that I finally have healthy snack food. More importantly, it means that I finally have some healthy grab and go breakfast options that consist of yogurt cups and bananas.

Nearly every morning since starting my new job (three weeks ago), I have been feeding myself in the morning with either a McDonalds Sausage McMuffin with Egg (plus hashbrown) or kolaches from this donut place I pass. This is upsetting, albeit delicious, on so many levels. Not only is this really unhealthy and therefore making it difficult to win my contest with Mom, but I think the guy that works the window at McDonalds is starting to recognize me. I even took a much longer route last Friday so that I could go to a McDonalds where no one knew me. I feel like that should really be my red flag that something is wrong. In fact, I remember promising myself that I would never become a regular at a fast food establishment when I was having lunch at Wendy's once and a 300 pound woman came in who already had her "usual" order basically waiting for her. She was apparently friends with the employees, and it seemed from their conversation that they had not previously been friends, but became friendly because she had eaten lunch there at the same time almost every day for so long. I even recall the cashier saying "I was wondering when you'd get here today!" I have been a regular at campus dining halls, campus wrap cafes, and San Antonio sandwich shops, which is bad enough, but a fast food drive thru? No thanks.

On the bright side, this trip to the store has already gotten me to make healthy decisions today. I grabbed a banana for breakfast and am drinking water in the morning (note to self: get soda with a lot of caffiene before afternoon meeting). I even brought a healthy lunch just in case my team isn't eating together today. (I don't like missing lunch with the whole team, but I also am tired of wasting money and calories buying lunch for just myself when we aren't eating together.)

This just might turn out to be a big game changer.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Mmmm... Stakes

My Mom and I have decided that a challenge is in order. We are competing to see who of the two of us can lose 15 pounds first.

The challenge began less than a week ago, and in that time, Mom has started Phase One of the South Beach Diet (in which you can expect to lose up to 14 pounds in the first two weeks). I, on the other hand, have been to McDonalds roughly 5 times (their Sausage McMuffin with Egg is one of my many weaknesses). Something tells me that this challenge will end poorly for me.

Usually, challenges really work for me, as I am extremely competitive. The week we started our wellness challenge at work, I spent roughly 12 hours on the stationary bike (the challenge is based on minutes of activity). I think the lack of motivation in this challenge stems from one source: namely, that we have not decided what the stakes are (and now you understand the misspelling in the title).

Many ideas have been thrown out for the stakes:

1) Loser has to cook dinner for a month. This seems a little one sided, considering that for one, Mom would be doing that anyway, and for two, I will be moving out in the next couple months and even now only eat at home half of the time.
2) Loser has to clean the house regularly. Again, I am moving out soon, and me having to clean the house seems way worse than Mom having to clean my newly moved into (and therefore not gross yet) apartment.
3) If Mom loses, she has to watch a month's episodes of Glee with me. I didn't actually throw this one out there, because I feel like her dislike of the show would put a damper on my watching experience.
4) Loser has to buy a meal for the other. This one seemed counterproductive, as cakes and fried things were mentioned in the general conversation.


I am thinking about offering to do a lot of preparation for my parents' future garage sale (such as cleaning and fixing up items to sell and going through the attic) for my punishment. This would be a huge motivator to lose the weight as fast as possible, because I would genuinely hate preparing for a garage sale. My only concern in bringing it up is that I am definitely the underdog in this challenge.

Mom keeps saying that I should have to up my goal to 20 pounds, because the younger you are, the faster you can lose. What she keeps forgetting (on purpose, I imagine, because this way she has the upper hand), is that I already lost 30 pounds this year, so it is a lot harder for me to lose weight now. That, mixed with my lack of motivation and her South Beach Diet, put me at a definite disadvantage.

Wish me luck!

So It Begins

On Monday, February 21, 2011 at 9:42PM, history was forged.



...



Okay, so not exactly. But on Monday, February 21, 2011 at 9:42PM, my mother and I began what would prove to be the most demanding physical and mental challenge of our lives.


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Again, I exaggerate. On Monday, February 21, 2011 at 9:42PM, my mom and I decided to have a contest to see who could lose 15 pounds faster.


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Actually, to be perfectly honest, I don't remember the day or time this agreement took place, but it WAS some time early this week.




...SO IT BEGINS!