Another week in the books! A few things on my mind this week.
Running - miles have been going good. All of my three planned runs were accounted for this week and I even added an extra mile and a walk. Last week the long run was six miles, this week it slid back to four miles to get ready for next week's seven miles. "Going well" is a new perspective. I thought I would be a little farther along with pace at this point. First, pace doesn't matter. It is not the end all be all, I know that. I am moving. Period. But the past few years I have worked on increasing my pace - especially when I lost weight. Recap.... I lost about 45 pounds right before COVID and has lost some weight prior to that so I was down about a total of 70 pounds over the past few years. WOWZERS, running felt good. Then COVID hit. Newsflash.... weight gain happened. I could go on and on why, but it doesn't matter. I gained about 25 pounds back. Not terrible, but not ideal. My running has still been going well but I had to slow up a bit due to the lbs.
Pace - so where am I at? When I started running about 10 years ago, I was at about a 13 minute mile, maybe even 14. I remember when I got to around a 12 minute mile, I was so excited. Then as I lost weight, I was running around a 10 minute mile for longer runs and was even at about a 9:40 for shorter runs. I was SO impressed with myself. Now that I am back up those few pounds (25 ugh). It is a total mental game to be ok not running a 10 minute mile again. BUT... I am still running. 45 year old busy working mom who kept running while earning a doctorate degree - I am still running. So there's that. And if I am really ok with pace, the slower time shouldn't matter. A few weeks ago I was struggling a little bit. Go out to fast, try to hit that 11 minute mile, tank soon, pain, followed by guilt. Not a good pattern. The past two weeks I have changed my mind set. I have purposefully slowed down and now run my entire distance without walking and without being miserable. My last few four milers have been right at a 12 minute mile. I am good with that (for now). And just to add...... I am a middle to back of the back runner and love the view back there. To all runners, I am not judging your pace..... 14 minute mile and an 8 minute mile still run a mile. I pay zero attention to other's pace. For me, I use the pace as a benchmark and will shot to get back into the 10:30 range by mid-summer
Early Morning - the other thing on my mind has been early morning workouts. My best running buddy is a morning person in general and likes to work out in the morning. I don't even like to be out of bed in the morning. I have NEVER been a morning person. I have a hard time getting up and moving. I am a night-owl so I stay up late - which makes mornings hard. I have also had some struggles with mornings related to thyroid disease. I have been stable in that area for a few years so it is getting a tad easier to get up. Over the years I have maybe worked out a few times in the morning but nothing consistent. Once I got into the NYC marathon, I have realized I need to take advantage of as many hours in my day as I can. Last week, I went to bed a little earlier and got up at 6:00 am THREE times to work out! That is a 100% improvement! I have to admit, I did love later in the day knowing my work out was done. On a day I wasn't planning on working out, I still woke up on my own before 6:00 am. OMG what is happening to me? I know this is a commitment I have to make in order to get all my workouts and runs in to prepare for 26.2. Morning it is.
Weight Training - the last thing on my mind is weight training. I am trying to lose the 25 pounds I gained back and maybe even another 10. I know where I need to be for nutrition and I know how to crush cardio with my runs. What I have never mastered is weight training. Of course I have read everything about weight training. I know why it works. But I just don't even know where to start. Upper, lower, total body, sets, reps, blah blah blah. UGH. The kicker... I have a full gym in my basement including all of the weights. I just feel so overwhelmed. This weekend, I finally took a deep dive and figured out a plan. After reading several plans, I will commit to two upper body and two lower body works outs each week the next several weeks (not back to back). I created a list of 15 different moves in each category and will rotate through a few of them each workout. I plan 3 sets with 12 reps for about a 30-35 minute workout each. Bonus.... tomorrow I plan to accomplish my first one at 6:00 am. We will see how it goes and if the scale budges the next month.
Just a few photos this week.....
