Lowering the boom - 2013

They freeze really well! But it's not too much work to open the freezer door and eat them cold, either.

Sound like things are going well for you Dot! Keep up the great work, and how did the molasses cookies turn out?

Yesterday I mapped out a run from my home to work to use on my Nordic. Some day I may actually run it if they get some sidewalks in place or widen the road some. If not it's a 50-50 chance of getting knocked off the road and into a culvert by an idiot. 5.14 miles. Warmed up for one mile and then ran it. Kept the HR near 138 average.

Today will be another run in the 5-6 mile range. Might actually venture outdoors as it's not supposed to rain much.

Pickles are summer, Dot!

I'm kind of just running whatever right now too, although I set myself an unofficial goal of 25 miles per week in December. I knew that still wouldn't get me to my yearly mileage goal but 100+ for the month sounded like a good plan for the holiday season--hopefully at least stay the same and not gain! Plus my other unofficial goal was to get back to the Y for BodyPump classes. I managed that as well!

Hang in there!

Those roads sound like mine were in GA. Great hills to run,but only if you ran at 4 am when there were no cars, but then of course, you could have been hit by a deer. Keep up the good work.

Checking in here...I'm still alive and maintaining some form of fitness. Having decided that I need to run a minimum of 3 days a week right now has been a good thing but optimally I need to run 4 days. 2013 will be the year for that. I've got a plan, yep a plan.

Managed to maintain my weigh so far with a 2.4 lb loss as of last weekend. Need to weigh in one of these mornings before the first of the year. After a fairly sucky holiday season (and all the junk that goes with that) I'm going to take the one thing that I'm in control over and that is my personal fitness and what the heck I decide to eat. Goin' for it!

Team rowing challenge starts Jan 1 for one month.
Starting an extra long half marathon training plan to include some hills and a bit of speed toward the end.
Eating according to my plan (copious amounts of fresh veggies and fruit along with my healthy vegan entrees).
Cooking dinner 6 days a week, eating out once most weeks.

Onward!

She's back!

Congrats on the 2.4 pounds, especially this time of year. Once you settle into the new year and your new routines, I bet things will start to really start to click. Here's to a great 2013!

Thanks, Mark! I'm definitely going for consistency and a certain zen. In retrospect, 2012 was not a stellar year for running and fitness. Consistency will help with that.

Here's something that I've been thinking about as I put my schedule together. I cannot be super rigid about when the workouts get completed. The weekends allow for long runs so that's a given, but everything else can be done when I can get it done as long as it gets done. Initially, it won't matter so much as the mileage and time on my feet is low. This may take the pressure off a bit as my schedule is sometimes out of my control and this has been my downfall. For instance, I'll have a hill workout, an easy run and a speed workout (relatively speedy at first) along with the long run. I'd also like to cross train with some rowing and perhaps a yoga session (have never done yoga). Fit it in when I can and cross it off the list each week. Going to try that for January and February when the workouts aren't long or hard. This will give me an opportunity to select what feels best that day and what I can fit in if the schedule goes in the tank.

Pacer game this afternoon for New Years Eve. Afterwards, I'd like to have dinner some place but I don't care and I'd just rather be home tonight instead of out with the amateur drinkers. Interesting that I just don't care about going out for NY eve any more. I really just want 2012 to be over with and move on.

Okay, then....onto my schedule. Here are the workouts I completed today.....

60 minute crosstrain - Rowing 40 min/Bike 20 min
45 minute Tempo run - Didn't really go all that fast but faster than I've been doing and more like race pace. Felt good.

I have a 30 min XT, 45 min Hill run/walk, 3 mile easy run and a 4 mile long run. I'm starting it out light so I get a handle on my consistency. The training plan builds over the next 8 weeks for Part 1.

Lots of raw veggies chopped up for easy snacking, dices veggies for my salads tonight.

Not a bad first week of base training. I'm going to be able to work this new schedule quite nicely with the way it is set up. Being able to pick and choose what I want to run and be sure to get it all done in 3-4 days was enjoyable. I have the schedule both on the fridge and on the calendar in the bedroom so there's no escaping that a workout of some sort needs to be done.

Summary of the week: Ran 4 days, rowed and biked for xt. 12.7 m run, 6.8 miles bike and 9.0 mile equivalent rowing (actually keep track of it in meters but this makes more sense to most).

Watching my poor rookie Colts playing Baltimore. 12 minutes left to the quarter...not looking good.

Good luck! I started mixing in some yoga a while ago and love it - not as weird as I thought it would be

Hey, John: I still haven't gotten into the yoga or the pilates...but still intending to.

So, I have just completed 3 weeks of my base training, fitting in the runs on whichever day works out for me and trying to get two cross training days in a week. Thinking that this is the way to go, I managed to put a hitch into the whole deal. Joined up with Blue Mile Running this morning for their training group runs and coaching taking me through to the Mini. Their schedule is based entirely on time, not miles, which is okay but I need to wear my watch and be aware of what I'm doing and not slack.

So, for now I will be slated for two of the runs each week....the Saturday morning group run and the Wednesday evening speed work at the High School track with this group as well. I'm pretty excited to join up with some that seem to be my pace. The Wednesday track workouts don't start for about 4 weeks. At this point I'm looking forward to it.

I've had a pretty stressful year so far with both work and personal crap, but I see the light and after spending the day today doing chores, I'm looking forward to a glorious Sunday of football, a nice breakfast, some rowing and whatever I feel like doing to unwind.

Sounds like a great group to hook up with, Dot. I think you'll be having a lot of fun as this year progresses.

Enjoy your Sunday!

This past week I am back on track and enjoying the new training schedule with my Blue Mile group. It was quite a step back from what I know I can do but I'm taking it slow so that I can be consistent.

Ran yesterday with the group for 3.13 miles. Forgot my heart rate monitor but I was forced to go slower as the pathway that we run is not shoveled and while we only had about an inch of snow on it, it had iced over some so some places were tricky. I'm enjoying this group so far and have met a few gals there that near my pace so it's a good time. Today, I did a walk/jog for 6 miles as Sunday has always been my long day and the group isn't quite up to the mileage that I'd like to be at right now, so took it and stayed on the treadmill this morning.

Food is really going well for me today. Don't want to go into it in full depth but I've deleted most refined grains, so flours are out. It's a pretty aggressive meal plan that I'm working on as I'm already vegan. The food plan I'm using is for health purposes, not to lose weight JUST so I run faster. I have to do it for health, period.

Weight: 138.8

Just checked my weight..that's a 4 pound loss since Thanksgiving.

Nice going Dot and congrats on the weight loss so far! Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Michele! Yep, just keeping at it and trying to keep it fun at the same time. I really like the Blue Mile Group. For the first time ever, there are people around my speed. Yay!

Yesterday group run was again brisk (7 windchill) and a couple inches of powdery snow to plow through on the path. I've been getting about 15 miles per week right now and that's a good start. This week I'm starting some yoga and pilates.

136.8 lbs, another good loss. It's all good.

Two more pounds gone. Woot! Congrats.

But I really ought to congratulate you more on being able to get out there when the windchill is 7°. Gearing up for that must be a huge challenge. You don't want to freeze anything off, but you don't want to overdo it and parboil inside your clothing, either.

Not a bad week, got my runs in and now I'm up to about 15 weekly miles, plus some cycling cross training. Started a beginning yoga DVD....I think I can actually do this! While I should probably go to a class for instruction at the start, this DVD is soooo beginner that I'm pretty sure I'll be getting it right. I have wardrobe mirrors to watch my form. I also bought another copy of a favorite mat Pilates DVD to replace the one that has somehow disappeared but will now reappear since I bought the replacement.
Down to 135.8, a loss of 0.8 lbs. Not bad.

Hey Dot, just getting caught up on your blog. It looks like you trying, with good success, to find consistency in your training, weight loss, and overall fitness.
I read about the explosion in your neighborhood late last year. Thank goodness nobody was hurt. Pretty scary stuff.
Keep up the great work!

Thanks for stopping by Seth!

Seth Harrison wrote:
I read about the explosion in your neighborhood late last year. Thank goodness nobody was hurt.!

Well, the two people living next door were killed, but everyone else that went to the hospital have recovered from their much slighter injuries. The 3 accomplices are supposed to go to trial in July, over 100 counts of assorted murder, arson, intent to do bad stuff.
Today was so windy and so, so cold!! Glad that I have today off and that tomorrow morning is my easy run.

dot520 wrote:Thanks for stopping by Seth!

Seth Harrison wrote:
I read about the explosion in your neighborhood late last year. Thank goodness nobody was hurt.!

Well, the two people living next door were killed, but everyone else that went to the hospital have recovered from their much slighter injuries. The 3 accomplices are supposed to go to trial in July, over 100 counts of assorted murder, arson, intent to do bad stuff.
Today was so windy and so, so cold!! Glad that I have today off and that tomorrow morning is my easy run.

I'm sorry...I obviously didn't read your blog post thoroughly enough. That's just horrible.

Hi Dot...looks like all is going really well for you! Congrats on the weight loss! And, big props for getting out there to run when it's so cold!

Unbelievable that my town of 1800 citizens (just 724 homes) was in the news again yesterday. (yes, I'm part of Indianapolis, but my little town is incorporated) Southport Elementary school was in lock down because a couple of punk kids went on a crime spree and killed one innocent man randomly, then tried to rob others, robbed a bank, drove north of town and randomly shot a man walking his dog (he's okay although hit twice), caused a police chase where two other cars were mangled and folks injured. These punks are 15 and 17 years old. Hope they get prosecuted as adults and end up loving their new roommates!
On other notes, my wellness program is moving along and my strict vegan diet is working out well. My clothes are much looser which is a blessing. No muffin top for me! It' Valentines Day today and no chocolates for me. Funny, I've been eating this way now for 3 weeks (always vegetarian, not always strict vegan), and I don't care if I have cakes, cookies and candy. It doesn't appeal right now at all. I do love my fruit, though!

Today should be a 30 minute Tempo run and I'll try to do that shortly and get it out of the way.

Hi Kathy! Thanks for stopping by!

Ran a short run with the group again today..just 45 minutes and 4 miles. Dang it was cold towards the end. The last mile the wind picked up and it started a nice wet snow. I had several turns to make but no matter which way I turned the wind and snow was in my face. Isn't that always the way? Overall I was warm, but it took awhile for my cheeks to thaw out.
Tried out a new pair of socks today. Icebreakers, light weight, wool. Very nice in my Puma Faas 300's. Granted it was a short run, but still the seams didn't bother me, they didn't slip inside the shoe and I'm willing to take them out next week on the 70 minute run and see how they do. The guy who normally runs in 5 fingers, has a new pair of running shoes. Sigh. I enjoyed the footprints in the snow. Probably froze his feet last time out.
Food is good, weight is good and I'll report more on that tomorrow.