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By Jenn, on January 24th, 2012
Since it is still early in my training, every other day is a rest day. This will change in about 2 weeks, and I will only have 2 rest days a week, then as training progresses, that will drop to one. On my rest days I don’t fully rest, I walk. There are two reasons for this;
- It’s important for Wrigley and Marshall to go on a walk each day, so I go for them. Plus, I like spending time with them to start my day.
- I feel like if I don’t do something it will be easy for me to lose my momentum and I will quit all together.
So, on rest days I walk. Somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5 miles. And I don’t walk fast. Although, some days I wrestle with that decision. I wonder if I should turn it into a “power walk” and really expend the energy. But then I think that defeats the purpose of a rest day. And I know I get faster as I get more in shape, but for now, I’m not pushing the fast on rest days.
What do you think? Should I turn my walk into more of a workout? Or should i continue with my slower less taxing walks? I’d be interested to hear different opinions.
Today’s walk was 1.23 miles in 30 minutes.
By Jenn, on January 23rd, 2012
Remember that commercial where everyone was swimming in caramel? I don”t remember what it was for, but I do remember the noise made when the swimmers landed in the pool. (As an aside, i hate loud food noises…..) ANYWAY, I did not go swimming today, but the second mile of my run did feel like I was running in caramel. Everything felt slow and required way more effort than the first mile. I did slog through it, walking more than I should have, but I got those two miles finished.
I am still on my streak. I’ve walked or run at least a mile every day in 2012. My focus now is on getting faster, I’m trying not to stay at the same pace, but push myself to pick it up!
Today’s workout was a 2.12 mile run/walk in 42 minutes. My pace was a 19.5 min/mile.
By Jenn, on January 16th, 2012
Over the past few days I have made some observations regarding my training. I think they are things that also spill over to life in general as well.
1. The most difficult training days are the rest days. I am early in my training, and also still very excited about it. And I see improvements almost every day. My natural instinct is to want to build on those improvements quickly by pushing myself harder and harder. I know in my head that this is not a good way to train, that it will cause burnout and injury; slowing down my improvements. So, I rest. I still get out and walk on these days, but it’s a slower, less-strenuous walk. And it’s good for me and my training, I know it is.
2. I walk and run with my head down, looking at the ground. It’s bad posture, and probably slows me down, but I spend a lot of time looking at my feet. The other day I made a conscious effort to look up – at the world around me. The first thing I noticed was that the moon was beautiful! It also just improves my mood in general.
3. I have to give myself permission to have a bad training day. I can’t have a ton of bad days, but it’s not going to kill me if I have a day where I’m not faster than the day before, or if I just don’t feel up to finishing my entire workout. I can’t let one bad day ruin my entire week, or month. I have to give myself permission to let it slide, and realize that tomorrow is another day to start fresh.
4. I don’t need my iPod to run anymore. In fact, it’s more of a distraction then an aid. It had been needing a battery change for some time now, and I finally found the charger and got it going again. I used it twice, but just didn’t feel the same need to have it that I once did. Which is a good thing! I think it means that I am more comfortable with my thoughts and don’t need the distraction of some other noise.
I’m not sure yet what can be concluded from these things, other than I can’t just go out on auto-pilot, do the mileage that I’m supposed to and come home. There needs to be thought and effort in everything I do. And I know that this is true for my life in general. In fact, I have started another blog that will be focused on the changes I want to make in my life, including paying more attention to the world around me and not just shuffling through on automatic. You can follow along with this blog at The Science Nerd
By Jenn, on January 5th, 2012
OK, so when I first typed the title of this blog, I typed “So Fat, So Good”. Probably not the best title, although it does go along with what I’m trying to accomplish.
I can honestly say I’ve been out running or walking every day this year. Even yesterday, when the temperature was in the 20’s. I also have my training schedule mapped out from now until October 20th, which is exciting to me. I know things will come up and workouts will have to be moved or modified, but it’s nice to have a firm plan in place instead of just taking it as it goes.
I still need to get to UNCW and get my swim pass. I also need new tubes for my bike, but I built that into my training plan and am sticking with just running until Feb 15th. That gives me time to build up a fitness base and also time to get things together to start biking and swimming.
Now it’s time to get to work. Don’t you wish we all could be like Wrigley after every workout?
 Wrigley after a run
By Jenn, on December 30th, 2011
 Today I did my first workout using Map My Fitness. Map My Fitness is an app that I downloaded to my phone (for free) that keeps track of my workout while I am running or cycling or whatever. It kept track of my distance, speed, time and route. I can even see the elevation changes that occurred. It’s very cool. When i was done I just hit the stop button, saved my workout and even posted an update to my Twitter account.
I had to laugh at myself while I was running though because the workout I did was not much different from many I’ve done in the past. I ran up and down our street, my pace was average, there really was nothing new or exciting. Except this little gadget on my phone giving me all sorts of information. I almost couldn’t stop looking at it. Even though I knew approximately how far I’d run or how long I’d been going, it was exciting to look on the screen and see real time data.
My fascination was funny to me, it’s not like I’ve never seen GPS or a timer before. I knew all these things existed – had even used them in the past. But here I was, riveted. My hope is that I will keep up the excitement and turn it in to a challenge to go faster and farther.
If you are also a member of Map My Fitness look me up – my username is 3athlete_nc. Happy Mapping!
By Jenn, on December 28th, 2011
 I have been wanting a pair of Vibram 5 Fingers shoes for a very long time. I even wrote about them here. And, this Christmas, Santa smiled on me and I got a pair. They aren’t the Vibram brand, they are Fila Skeletoes. But I love them anyway. I have worn them to run twice now, and I am extremely pleased with how they feel. I am looking forward to training in them for a long time.
I have also spent some time putting together my training schedule for 2012. This is the year for an Ironman. The Beach2Battleship is on October 20th, 2012, and it is my goal for this year. I have the training all mapped out. I have already overcome one hurdle – where to swim. I discovered that as A UNCW alumni, I can use the university pool for a very nominal fee. So, sometime soon I need to go get that all set up. It takes a big weight off, because the only places that I thought I could go swim were very costly and not worth it. This makes swim training much easier.
As I go, I will try to be diligent at blogging my progress. I’d also like to keep a log of my mileage somewhere on my blog. I’ll be interested to see how the miles add up!
Be on the lookout for more posts as my training progresses. 2012 is going to be a very exciting year.
By Jenn, on November 9th, 2011
By Jenn, on November 2nd, 2011
“No matter how slow you are going, you are still lapping everybody on the couch!”
By Jenn, on October 20th, 2011
It’s been a few weeks since my fresh start, and I’ve been pretty good at walking/running every day. This week I have upped my mileage to 2 miles. I do the first mile with Marshall and the second with Wrigley. Saturday is the day to up again to 2.5 miles. I will probably up the time spent with Wrigs since he will be the one running the 5K with me on Thanksgiving. Although both of them could run circles around me easily.
I am proud that I have kept it up. Today my second mile was 3 minutes faster than my first and the fastest it has been since my new beginning the first of October. And I know it will just keep getting faster.
I’m losing weight too…..and people are noticing. It’s a great feeling! Things are moving in the right direction. I’m disappointed that I won’t be participating in the Ironman next weekend, but on the other hand it allows us to go to Gayle’s alma matter for alumni weekend where one of her classmates will be inaugurated as President of the college. It’s a big deal, and I am very glad we will be able to attend.
So, all in all, I’m pleased with my progress and looking forward to what will come in the future.
By Jenn, on October 1st, 2011
After way to long wishing I had time to train and work out I have come to the conclusion that there will never be time unless I make it and if this is something that is important to me I have to take the time.
To that end, I have decided to start over by running a Turkey Trot 5K. Part of the reason I picked this race is because Wrigley can run it with me. So, we have begun training. We walked/ran a mile yesterday and today. I’m not thrilled with our time, but I am pleased that we have kept it up (even if it’s only 2 days) and that I am not as sore as I thought I might be.
I am excited to get back to it. I am also looking forward to keeping my blog updated. I enjoy blogging, I just don’t take the time for it that I should…..same is true for my training. Here’s hoping that this new beginning has a successful ending.
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This is the story of me from fat to Iron(wo)man triathlete. It has been a long time dream of mine to compete in an iron distance triathlon. Now is the time for me to get up off the couch and get training. Let the fun begin.
Mileage Totals January 2012 totals
Run/Walk - 34.29 miles
Bike - 0
Swim - 0
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