Spring In My Step...

When I go running, I need motivation. Some are able to run in groups. I've never felt as comfortable running that way because I'm not good about running and talking. I could run in silence next to someone, or if we both have headphones in. But not so much running while talking. So when I run, I like to have an mp3 player. I have finally acquired (thanks to my mother-in-law) one of those nifty arm bands to hold my mp3 player while I run. I have it packed full of fun and fast-tempo music to keep me feeling energetic and help me keep a good pace. Without that music, I would find running extremely difficult. When you're out there alone, as I am, it's just you and your head. Being alone in one's head can make the time go insanely slow. Sometimes as I'm delving in my thoughts, I'm able to get on a tangent so I'm not thinking about the running, but I get really focused on the tangent. This helps me to not think about the running and how far I've gone. When my mind gets focused on how far I've gone, how my feet feel, or things like that it makes the running very tedious. So for me, I listen to music. I've even found a select list of songs that have a tempo which is pretty similar to my running speed. So it helps me to keep going when I start to slow down, because I'll run in time with the music. I don't know other people's tricks for keeping their speed, for keeping their motivation while in the midst of a run, but for me music certainly keeps me going.

H2O

I was recently reminded of how important it is to drink plenty of water. Not only when being active, but just in general. While I was pregnant, I tried to up my water intake because I wanted to keep myself as healthy as possible. But I really wasn't good at it. I already felt like I was frequenting the bathroom a bit too much, and drinking 8 cups of water a day wasn't going to help. But I still wanted to try, so I ended up buying a water bottle so I could keep water around me all day long. I have since learned that my water bottle holds approx. 3 cups of water. So if I fill it up 3 times a day, I'm getting 9 cups of water. This last week I had gotten out of my water bottle habit, so I'm picking it up again. I know they say how important water intake is, just for general health. But I have learned more specifically that when being active, drinking extra water will keep you from getting as sore. I'm all for not being super sore. (Speaking of, I wasn't horribly sore today. Hooray!) So if that means drinking extra water, I'm on board. And who isn't thirsty after a good workout anyway? Cheers for H2O.

Tracking Progress...

I went out for a run this evening. I found a way to track my distance and I did 2 miles. My first mile was 11 minutes. (Not too bad considering how long it's been.) Then I walked a little under 1/4 mile and ran the rest. My second mile (walking included) was 13 minutes. So from here on out, I'll be able to track my progress and set myself more running goals. I like being able to track myself. It makes the improvements more tangible, which makes it more motivating for me.

The hubs told me I'd be sore tomorrow. He's probably right. But I'm still considering going out tomorrow morning. He's working tomorrow, but not til 9. So I should be able to get out and done after the baby wakes up and get some breakfast. I'm certainly feeling much more motivated now that things are getting going. The baby having a great day didn't hurt either.

A note about progress. When I first got into running, I didn't solely rely on the scale, although I did weigh myself somewhat regularly. I relied on measurements. Once a week I measured myself in a few keys spots. This way, even if the scale wasn't showing drastic progress, I could see it in the numbers from my measurements. Sometimes the scale doesn't tell the whole picture because our bodies are complex. Muscle mass and other factors make the scale a not-so-accurate portrayal of fitness. I'm not going to be doing that this time. At least not for now. Having just had a baby, and still dealing with the jelly-belly issues, I know that I'll be able to see the progress in my waistline. My pre-prego jeans fit decently. Except for the waist. So it'll be easy to see if that is getting smaller.

Moderation...

So despite all of my goals and desires, I have to say that I'm a fan of moderation. In all things. That's why I just got done eating my daily oreos and milk. If I deprive myself of all things sweet and sugary, it just makes me grumpy and then I end up pigging out in a bad way later on. Since I was pregnant (It's only been 8 weeks since she was born. I can't believe it.) the hubs bought me oreos to help me drink more milk and because they're my fave cookie and I like to eat them when I've had a bad day. He's continued getting them for me and I've made a ritual of eating a few with a glass of milk after I've put the kids down for a nap. It makes me happy, and I find I don't purge on bad stuff since I get a nice, moderate daily dose. So with all things, moderation is most certainly the key, not exclusion. Even in sweets and treats. :)

ps You just can't let yourself feel guilt over your treats. Guilt is the best way to ruin sweets. Just moderate yourself and then enjoy every single bite!

Intentions...

There's an old saying that talks about the road being paved with good intentions. I'm realizing that fitness is the same way. I have so many good intentions about my personal health and fitness. But good intentions won't make a dent on the scale. I remember before I had my 6 week check-up feeling so much excitement over getting out there and getting in shape. I remember just wishing I could do sit-ups every night or something to get in shape. Now that I've been given the okay, I'm still having a hard time getting out there. Granted, I have a high-maintenance 7 week old. It makes it hard to make committments with my time. But I'm realizing now that my intentions, as great as they are, will not get me anywhere without making the choices and acting. I'm not going to get down on myself, but hope that this realization will help me to start acting, not just dreaming. As things settle down around here I'm sure that I'll be able work things out. Especially with a hubs who is so extremely supportive. The road to fitness may not be paved with good intentions, but perhaps it's a start. :)

Out Again...

I was able to finally get out again! It was a short run, since I had a bridal shower to get ready for, but it still felt so nice. It was lightly raining out and reminded me of when I was at my peak last summer. We had a week when it rained a ton, but I still went out anyway. It was such a positively nostalgic feeling. :) I'm getting more motivated to make sure I get my time to go out as often as possible. I know it won't be daily, but I'll have to do my part to make sure I can get out there whenever possible.

In the meantime, I know there's so much else I can do to help myself get fit and be healthy. I'm currently working on my nutrition. I'm not a dieter. I just don't have it in me to stick with a diet. But I am a firm believer in eating a balanced diet. Since I had my second child ("Monkey" who is 2.) my diet changed quiet drastically. I started eating a lot more fresh fruits and veggies. Since she was born, I've only gotten better. My veggie-desires dropped off at the end of my pregnancy, but they're back. Especially with garden season in full bloom. Love those fresh garden veggies! So I'm going to be focusing on eating right, as well as getting in exercise. I took a nutrition class in college and have never been able to shirk the knowledge I gained about nutrition and how it affects your body. Having young children is also a great motivator for me to eat right because I want them to eat well too. I have a harder time eating poorly when I'm forcing them to eat veggies at lunch. :)

For those who don't know, I have a food blog I started years ago where I share recipes. Just recently I've started healthifying my regular recipes. Using more whole wheat, adding flax seed, etc. So I'll start blogging those new ones eventually. Made With Love

I'm also going to start sharing some great links I've been saving about good work-out habits. For now I'm trying to get my running-mojo back. But eventually I want to have a well-rounded work-out with weight lifting, etc.  Here's one: 4 Things Women Should Be Doing In Their Fitness Training, But Aren't

Oh, I weighed myself last Sunday. I've gained 1 pound since my 6 week check-up. But hopefully now that I'm getting a bit more focused and getting out on the trail, I'll be able to start the numbers going down. :) My goal for weight loss is now at 22 lbs. Better get to work!

On The Road Again...

Last night I went for my first run on the trail again. I have to say that it felt awesome! When I first started running, I had a huge smile on my face. The only thing I'm wishing I could do is judge how far I've run. The trail I run on (which is right next to our place and so convenient) was recently re-routed around a highway bypass. The new section isn't marked for distance like the original is. So once you run through the bypass, you no longer have distance markers. If I knew how long the bypass section was, I might be able to figure it out. But until I do, I just don't know how far I run. I think it was between 2-2.5 miles. The first thing to hit me between 0.5-.075 mile was that my lungs were burning. I knew I would feel a muscular kind of tired, but I wasn't expecting my lungs to be so out of shape. That feeling eventually went away. Just in time for my muscles to get tired. But I think my pace was pretty decent. Especially considering the new section has some pretty drastic ups and downs, which I'm not familiar with. I tried to stretch a bit before and after to reduce soreness. I took some ibuprofen last night too as a preventative measure. Tending 3 kids with a really sore body can be tough, so I'm going to try and pace myself. But it felt really good to be out again.

I don't know how often I'll be able to get out. My baby (7 week old Munchkin) is still not very easy. She does great at nights, but her days are currently pretty difficult. I'm hoping it's just a growth spurt, and she'll grow out of it. (literally) The hubs is really supportive about me getting out and exercising. He really wants me to be have the time I need. But until the kids make it easier (Yeah, that's not likely) I won't be able to have much of a predictive exercising schedule.

Oh well. For now I'll take what I can get and hope that (at least in the beginning) I can shave some numbers off the scale.

If The Shoe Fits...

For a Mother's Day gift, the hubs said he was going to get me running shoes. We both knew I'd be getting them anyway, but it was very thoughtful because he knew I wanted them. So this week I've been checking out shoe stores and I did a bit of research online today. I finally went out and bought some running shoes today. Just trying them on was pretty exciting. So many people have favorite brands and whatnot, and I just didn't know how to go about it. I finally realized that the only way to know which ones will work for me was to put them on and see which ones felt best. So I did.

I ended up going with Nike Air Pegasus. I put them on and felt like my feet were getting a hug. :)  I'm so excited to wear them on a run. I didn't go running today however. Me and the fam walked to our local farmer's market, which was a decent walk, so I had already had some good walking time. That and I played volleyball on Thursday in my first act of exercising and I'm still sore. :) But I think with my stretching today and tomorrow, I should be ready for Monday or Tuesday.  My running schedule will probably have to remain pretty flexible because of the kids and things that the hubs has going on. But he's totally willing to give me the time, I just have to find it and make it work. Can't wait!

I Have Dreams...

I get the final lines of this song in my head whenever I think about this blog. I have dreams. This blog is a lot of things. One of them is a place where I want to work on goals, challenges, dreams. The first one is going to be getting myself in shape. Just having had a baby and all. I had my six week check-up and I'm officially able to "be normal" as my doctor put it. Tomorrow I'm going to go buy some running shoes so I can get back out and start running again. I'm very eager to begin. I had just reached my goal of running 3 miles when I got pregnant last summer. I know it's going to take me time to get back where I was, but I feel like it won't take as long as it did the first time.

I have a lot of things I want to do and random goals I want to accomplish. But before I feel like I can tackle any of those I'm going to tackle losing this baby weight. (Well, most of it won't actually be baby weight, but just extra weight.) I've lost about 20 pounds since my baby was born. I have a goal to lose another 20. That's a pretty high goal. If I lost 10, I'd be about where I usually am. But that's still not where I want to be. So I'm setting my goal high. Aside from just running, I have a plan to start a more balanced exercise plan, including lifting weights and whatnot. I'm also going to try and make sure I'm eating a more balanced diet. My food intake has improved pretty drastically over the last 2 years, but it can still get better.

So over the next while, I plan on sharing this journey with whoever wants to read it. I don't know how often I'll post. I might write about running, about keeping motivation, about nutrition (a subject I get really into), or something else in any of these areas. I don't know. But this is my current dream. So feel free to dream along with me.

:)