Is It Over Yet?

It's been a long week. I'm ready for it to be over... I need a restart. A long weekend is the perfect time to do that. To rest, to get my head back on straight, and to stop being paranoid that I'm missing something at work.

I don't even have any big plans... writing at Barnes and Noble probably. I started a new novel last weekend and I've been distracted so I haven't written anything in a few days.

Yes... I just need this week to be over.

Blaaaaah

Today was a very long, difficult day. I made a mistake at work and spent last night and all of today getting it fixed. Making mistakes sucks... live and learn, I guess, but still. I feel like I slapped someone's baby. My glowing reputation of awesomeness is now tarnished. Must break out the polish. Must hang my head a little longer. My point of bringing up this not so glamorous episode of failure is that I totally ditched the gym and then proceeded to comfort eat with a slice of garlic naan and some thin-mint and cookies and cream fro-yo with Oreos on top. 

I know what you're thinking: Did she dip the garlic naan into the fro-yo?

Answer: No. Gross. Although, if I had been any lower, maybe....

I may always be an emotional eater. At least I didn't go too crazy. Although, there's still time for Life cereal. Oh wait, no there's not because I finished the box last night in the midst of the start of my #epicworkfail.

Hopefully when I wake up tomorrow things will be better. I wish they were better now. There's a Raven's game on... the perfect background to do a little work on my new novel. But... I have no motivation. I'm starting to wonder if I need to go up and put my Raven's t-shirt on. I'm starting to think that it's "lucky." I'm pretty sure I wore it every day that they played last year and they won the superbowl. It's problematic that the armpits have a bit of funk to them--guess I shouldn't wear it as a work out t-shirt.

OH life.

Okay, let me put my t-shirt on and stop complaining.

Update: Unless the Ravens can score eight points in the next 2 minutes, my t-shirt didn't work. I did, however, write a few pages of my novel. So, the evening ends on an upswing.

Running Post C25K

I haven't stopped running since completing the C25K program. My goal is to run every other day and so far, I've met this goal. I've even done two runs outside (gasp!) with hills (double gasp). Of course, I can't really run up the hills yet. I try to run part of them, but my legs start screaming and I stop. I probably shouldn't stop--just work through the pain. I don't like hills. So, I'm still pressing forward, hoping to increase my speed and distance.

I feel like a need a new challenge--I think running outside is it.

C25K: Week 9

So... I did it. I finished the three 30 minutes runs for this final week in the program. I've now graduated from the couch to 5K program.

*pause for reflection* *stare into space in shock* *shake my head in disbelief*

I can now run (it's still somewhat of a jog, but at this point that's just semantics) 2 miles in 30 minutes. I have 1.1 miles to go before I complete a 5K. I find this kind of exciting actually. This week's runs have actually been far easier than any of the other weeks. I guess that means I'm more conditioned? I'm not even out of breath now. I sweat like a crazy person, but my heart isn't threatening to explode. I still have that weird shoulder pain thing, but it's getting better. My body hurts a little bit less, but it's still pretty uncomfortable. I figure, the longer I keep this running thing up the easier it'll be.

So, to make sure that I continue, I've decided to do the C25K graduate program (5K+) to improve my technique, speed, and stamina. While I can complete 30 minutes, I'm still moving a bit slow and I'd like to speed it up a little. I'm going to find a good 5K to do in October, I think. That'll give me a little time to not only get faster, but to do a few runs outside where there are hills and slopes.

Hills and slopes, oh my.

I don't think it's quite dawned on me that I've just finished something that's always been VERY difficult for me. Something that I've feared for a long, long time. I faced it and survived... this should be a lesson for all the other things that I fear.

Derailed... Momentarily

Okay... so, I haven't worked out since Wednesday, which means that tomorrow will be particularly challenging at the gym. It also means that I might be back to a 25 minute run. My goal is to do 25, push to 28, and see if I can complete 30, thus starting Week 9 of the C25K. I had all good intentions of working out when I was in NYC, but that was completely a non-option after getting less than four hours of sleep the night before we left. I really don't function well on less than 6 hours... 4, forget about it. I felt like my body was shutting down all day. It wasn't just being sleepy, my organs felt sluggish. It really wasn't comfortable and I'm surprised I made it through the day. While watching Chicago (with a lady's giant head blocking about 90% of the show), I started wondering: "Is this what sleep deprivation feels like?"

If anyone wanted to torture me, that would be the way to do it.

Even though I didn't get in a traditional gym workout while in the city, I did have plenty of activity throughout the weekend:

1. Walking through NYC hauling a suitcase up and down several subway stairs and streets.
2. Walking around the city (without the suitcase) in the rain.
3. Exploring six floors of the Museum of Modern Art (museums are tiring, don't let anyone tell you different).
4. Speed walking five blocks to the theater in a down pour, fighting tons of people and umbrellas just to get to Chicago on time.
5. Wandering the city at midnight, watching the Today Show set up for the next morning show, checking out Rockefeller Center, and walking back to the hotel.

That ended day one. I went to be at around 1:30 am (after waking up at 5am). Long, long day. I'm sure I burned calories just trying to stay alive.

Day 2 (a half day):

6. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (over a mile).
7. Walking through Chinatown
8. Standing in line waiting for the Bolt bus (standing has got to burn calories).

Lots of moving around--New York City requires it.

I also feel like I threw caution to the wind and ate whatever I wanted. I might have even declared "I'm never running again!!" I might have semi meant it too. So, I've been momentarily derailed. I've felt bad about this (off and on)--like I've lost all self control. I don't want to say that I'm "starting over" tomorrow, because I'm not really doing that. I'm just realigning the tracks and straightening out the caboose.

It was a good long weekend. I needed it, I think. I need one more day... who doesn't.