Setting goals

One of the things that I am sure is holding me back is the fact that I am setting long term goals which are not easy to measure and can make it difficult to stay on track. Setting a goal to run a first marathon in September is all well and good, but I need something short term that I can celebrate success with and keep me striving to reach that goal. I also set a goal to lose 40 pounds by the end of next year, but looking at the scale and not seeing results is frustrating. So I am making some changes to my plan here and now by setting small, measurable goals. 

Short term goals:

Starting today Saturday 11/28/15 I am going to eat a serving of fruit and a serving of vegetables at lunch every day through next Saturday (and hopefully continuing on after that but we are thinking small here).

Starting today I am going to stick to my training plan every day through next Saturday (again hopefully continuing on).

Intermediate goals: 

I am currently 176 pounds according to my scale (Honesty I feel is important). My goal is to be at 170 by December 31.

Longer term goals: 

Run my first half marathon in the spring. There are currently two I am looking at and I would love to do them both!

Run my first marathon in September 2016! I really want that 26.2 bumper sticker on my car!

There they are for all to see! Another goal I have is to have at least weekly blog posts to update my progress even if I am the only one who reads them. It’s going to be a long road and I have a lot of factors against me. (Time, motivation, stress, my tendency to stress eat, the holiday season). The biggest barrier that I have is me and changing these unhealthy habits that I have formed. I’ve said it before but this time I hope that I am going to stick to it because I am ready!

For my training program I looked around online and selected a program that I think includes all the qualities I need. I have added the link below for anyone who is interested in joining my little adventure. There are a couple different levels based on experience. I selected intermediate for myself. That's about it for today. Wish me luck!

http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51132/Half-Marathon-Intermediate-Training-Program

Marathon training week one

My name is Amanda. I am 29 years old. I am about 5 foot 4 and weigh 172 pounds. Why do I tell you this? Because I am ready for a change. Today completes my first week of marathon training with 19 total miles run. Some days were harder than most but I am glad that I am going for this and need to just stick with it. Yesterday was a definite hard day for me. I only ran 3 miles but I hadn’t made the best eating choices the two days before hand and I think that had an impact on my workout as well as the fact that I have only been running on and off for the last few weeks. I realized how much I missed it though when my son and I did the pink dress run 5k, a fundraising run for Broome Oncology patients fighting cancer. I really want to do a marathon. I have been wanting to do it for a long time so I decided that day to make the commitment to myself and start training. I have come up with my own training plan. I am adding on miles every week until I reach my goal and the marathon I have chosen is the Herald of Victory Marathon in Binghamton on May 29 of next year. I have also started doing research on marathon training and proper nutrition for marathon training because I have a serious Achilles heel when it comes to good nutrition. So my family and I have made the jump to about 90% of our meat being local grass/pasture fed meats for good sources of lean protein. We only buy free range eggs. No more buying food from the cafeteria at work (I make poor choices in my rush to get back to my nursing unit). Hydration is also an area I am working on as well as nutrition during my distance runs. So I will be sampling and reviewing products that I try. Another way to keep me motivated is I am planning on joining in on group runs with the local running club and going to start doing group runs. Tomorrow I am also doing another fundraising 5k: the Village to Village 5k that raises money for leaders of villages and supports health care in countries that need it. Expect many more blog posts in the future.

Treadmill Running

Personally I rather dislike running on the treadmill. However since I have a full time plus job, many responsibilities at home as well as a family sometimes my schedule doesn't permit me to run outside as much as I would like to. So for this blog post I did some research on how to get a quality workout on the treadmill and to make it a bit more interesting because my main problem is I think running on the treadmill is really boring.

There are some advantages of running on the treadmill. Treadmills offer a safe running solution when faced with less than ideal conditions such as icy road patches, dark roadways, extreme temperatures, etc. They also provide a solution to people whom have busy schedules like me. According to Coach Jeff from runnersconnect.net treadmills also give you the ability to simulate a race course either by programming in the course if you have a fancy treadmill or by making manual adjustments. This is something that I hadn't considered but will definitely be trying in the future. Another thing that I learned is that if you set the treadmill on a 1% incline grade for your run it puts you on a energy exertion equal to running outside with wind resistance.

Proper warm ups are important when running on the treadmill because its so easy to just jump on and start running, something I have been guilty of and ended up regretting it later when I develop shin splints and have to take a couple days off putting me at risk for losing ground. So I found what looks like a pretty good warm up routine that I am going to attempt. This is from on active.com

"Walk for 3 minutes: Start easy and build it up to a brisk walk in the last minute. Jog for 3 minutes: If you know your marathon pace, this effort is about 1 to 1.5 minutes slower per mile. 3 x 20/40s: This is 20 seconds fast, 40 seconds recovery. Goal here is to get the blood pumping and have you ready to hit your intervals / training session at 100 percent."

After some more research I found a couple of tips to help make treadmill running more interesting  (hopefully). I am going to be incorporating these into my routine.
1. Interval training- add some incline, change your speeds. Interval training is a great way to change up your routine and keep you from a plan boring run on the treadmill. If you're not sure what types of intervals to do there are plenty that you can find online.
2. Multitask- grab a pair of 2 or 5 pound weights and do some bicep curls or other upper body strength exercises while walking on the treadmill.
3. Add music/television- listening to music or watching television is a good distraction technique. Increase the speed or interval to change up the routine to changes in the beat of the music or during commercials.
4. If you want to walk instead of running simulate a hike by using a preprogrammed course or by increasing the incline at set intervals.
5. Be spontaneous with your workout. Don't schedule it at specific times or you will start to talk yourself out of it.
6. Maybe move the treadmill to a different location. Some people move their treadmill outside.
7. Create a progress chart with goals and rewards for yourself. Log your miles and reward yourself with healthy treats or workout gear.
8. Grab a workout buddy to keep you company.

References

http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/treadmill-vs-running-outside http://weightloss.allwomenstalk.com/7-ways-to-make-the-treadmill-more-fun http://www.active.com/running/articles/5-tips-for-a-better-treadmill-workout http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/treadmill-winter-workout-tips-for-runners

The beginning...

December 22, 2014 I decided that I needed to stop waiting until the weather got nice to start running. Basically it was an excuse to not do it. The weather would eventually improve and I would find other reasons not to do it. Living in upstate New York we have all four seasons. Starting running in December was definitely interesting. At that point I didn't have a treadmill or a gym membership so I was running outside in the snow, sleet, and freezing temperatures. The first two 5k races that I ran happened to be in the midst of polar vortexes and absolutely worth it. I learned I love running even in the depth of winter but you definitely need to do your research and dress appropriately.

Last month I tried something that I have never done before. I ran a 10k trail race at Buttermilk Falls. It was absolutely amazing. It was the farthest distance I have ever run and the most complex terrain I have ever run. Trail running is absolutely something that I am glad I started doing. Currently I am training for a half marathon and have a few more trail runs coming up that I can hardly wait for. I am a slow runner but I don't really mind at all. I don't race to win I race for the camaraderie. Every race I have been in the participants cheer each other on. Its a wonderful display of community spirit and pride in the sport.

This blog will pretty much encompass posts about my training, research on running, my reviews on races I participated in etc. The next race is the Forest Frolic 15k in Virgil hosted by the Finger Lakes Running Club and I am very excited about it. If interested you can find out more about the run here:
http://fingerlakesrunners.org/trail-runs/forest-frolic-trail-runs/

Stay tuned for more posts and Happy Running!