to the core.

hardcore. and frozen to the core.  that's what today was all about. the temperature in the gym has been, to say the very least...up and down. so today we get in there (yesterday was a "rest" day.) and it's 46 degrees. no joke. luckily, i had a feeling that it was going to be a bit chilly in there..so i brought a blanket for my "little sidekick." i didn't think she'd actually need it!  dang!!! it was so fricken cold in there, i couldn't even feel myself sweating. but i wasn't going to get up that early and put on my workout clothes just to go back home. so only ran 2 miles. but it was a good 2 miles and better than nothing.  :) i'm hoping the thermostat is fix tomorrow...otherwise it's gonna be another chilly day! yeah..i know it may not be the best thing for my "little sidekick" but sleeper jammies and a blanket kept her happy today.  hoping for a better tomorrow!  oh and i got my new shoes yesterday. will be lacing them up and using them tomorrow.

getting into half.

this is week #5 and that means this week is the halfway point for my 10wk goal. i'm very proud of the progress i've made so far. this week is also my cross-training week, which i like because it gives me the "change up" i like.  as of last week, my total miles is at 39.14.  not too shabby for me!
i finally ordered new shoes today and they should be here in the next day or so.  (thank you zappos!)
oh and i don't know if i shared this or not, but since i started running over 7 months ago, i've been chewing gum while i run. i've found that it helps regulate my breathing. weird, maybe? all in my head?  i don't know. either way, i think it's been working for me and thought i'd pass it along as a tip.

the track.

i like running because it gives my mind time to roam. today i realized that even though i'm only just beginning week 4, i've gotten a bit off track already. i realized that i've been focusing on the wrong thing. i've been focusing on how many miles i've been running, instead of my original goal--which is to be able to run 30 minutes without stopping. i'm not sure if it's the blog, or the run schedule that i have hanging on my fridge that i fill out each day or what..but i've been feeling like i have to compete with each day, each week and see an increase in my mileage. but that's not the point of these 10 weeks. i know that i can run 2 miles with a good time and speed.  but can i keep up that speed for 30 minutes? no, probably not...at least not right now.  yes, i like seeing that daily number on the treadmill, on my schedule and being able to report how many miles i ran in a week, seeing the number go up, impressing myself...  but...again, i'm missing the point of my own goal.  i'm not competing in a race. i'm not trying to pass a fitness test.  i'm not trying to beat anyone..except for myself and to meet this goal.
so today as i was running, i decided to keep it at a slower, but steady/even pace. and even though i didn't get the exact mileage in today that i wanted to, i kept up the pace the entire time.  and THAT'S what my goal is all about. so i'm glad that i got back on track today and re-focused my brain on what i'm striving for. it's not about the miles. it's about the distance..ha..does that even make sense? well, it does to me.

a new week.

i ran 3.25 miles today. it was a good run/jog combination.  my inner left thigh is sore, which means i either needed to stretch a bit more before i ran, or pilates opened some muscles up for me that i hadn't used in awhile. either way, it was a good workout. i'm still nowhere near ready to run at a fast pace for 30mins without stopping, but i'm on my way.  and i'm running more than i have in the past months and pushing myself to run farther and longer, so that makes me proud of myself.  i wish i didn't have my "little sidekick" to attend to, otherwise i'd be able to devote 100% of my attention and focus on my goal, but alas, wishful thinking doesn't make anything better. and i'm doing the best that i can with the situation, so that's all i can ask of myself.
i still need to go and get new running shoes.  i may do that at the end of this week. oh, and i did really great with my arm placement today. i held onto my mp3 player while i ran, so i think that's the key for me until i get used to it.

finally!

geez! it's about dang time! i FINALLY got a good pilates workout in this morning.  yay!!! i'm very happy with myself for getting that done. i dug the dvd out of a box that all my workout dvds went into once we moved into this place (since it has a gym) and as soon as the "little sidekick" went down for a nap, it was ON! i can't remember the last time i did pilates.  it's been such a long time. i think it was probably right around the time that we moved in here, so...april, maybe? either way it's been quite some time and i'm hoping to make this an every sunday ritual. so even though i disappointed myself with only 6 miles this week, i did manage to get my pilates done that i've been talking about doing for the past few weeks, and that satisfies me. and hopefully this cold/snotty thing goes away quickly, so i can bump it back up to my regular miles.

ps..the three pilates highlighted links are the dvds that i have.  the one by Brooke Siler is my favorite!

FAIL.

i failed today. no workout at all..unless you count all the dancing that i did with the "little sidekick" tonight.  ha! i just felt dumpy, didn't sleep well, all stuffy/snotty/gross..yeah, i know. i'm playing the blame game. i could've totally gotten up and worked out.  but i didn't. so today is a major FAIL for me. and i hate that i disappoint myself like that too. and i hate that i'm so hard on myself.  i'm such an "all or nothing" type of person.  so basically, in my head i totally sucked this week and that's that.  but tomorrow or sunday i'm hoping (crossing my fingers!!) to get some pilates done.  i love one of the dvds i have and i miss doing it.  so that's my plan.

cold and stuffy.

so i have a cold and i'm all stuffy and i have a sore throat. this has been going on for a few days now, but i can't complain too much because its been about 8 months since the last time i had a cold.  despite being all icky, i still got up and had a decent workout. i took it a little bit easier on my run since it was harder to breathe, but i got that done and abs as well. oh and along with my stuffy cold...i was COLD when i walked into the gym this morning..the thermostat said: 55 degrees.  BURRRRRR.