What have I gotten myself into?
October 1st, 2008 Posted by likerunningforchocolateI should add this disclaimer…I wrote this entry on my Blogspot before I discovered sweat365, so I am just copying onto here!
Here’s the deal. I am going to run a half marathon in February. Simple enough, I guess. However, I am completely out of shape…still. Over a year ago I gave birth and I am still trying to lose that baby fat. Well, I guess I haven’t really been trying all that much. But I do have loads of great excuses.
See, before I found out I was pregnant I was in pretty great shape. I could run for an hour or more, no problem. I was fit…working with a trainer. Not as thin as I
would have liked, but with my job I never had that extra time for the added cardio needed to really trim down.
So, my pregnancy started out pretty normal. Nauseous as hell and not really wanting to work out too much, but still staying active and trying to be healthy. However, I did decide that because I was pregnant I could now eat whatever I wanted and did. About 18 weeks into my pregnancy my docs discovered I had a previa (I won’t go into details about what that is…cuz it is a bit gross, but most women know) and all of my working out had to stop. I will admit that I had scaled down my working out quite a bit as it was. Then, a few weeks later I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I was mortified because I thought it only affected women who were overweight and I wondered if I had caused it by my ravenous appetite for anything sweet. My doc said no…it is just hormones.
Well, having GD means no more sugar, simple carbs or anything that can spike your blood sugar. It also means eating like a mouse. A GD diet goes something like this…
Breakfast 15 g carbs
Snack 30 g carbs
Lunch 60 g carbs
Snack 30 g carbs
Dinner 60 g carbs
If you have ever been pregnant, you know that this is near impossible. But if the doc tells me I have to eat like a mouse, I eat like a mouse. And it was pure torture. Even worse, as I got closer to my due date my blood sugar levels were getting worse. Which meant I had to eat fewer and fewer carbs and eventually inject myself with insulin.
So, I asked my OB when I could have sugar. He tells me as soon as the baby is delivered! True in theory, but the hospital made me wait another day. There were fresh cupcakes the next day in my room just for me. So, after that I felt like I had a right to eat like a pig again! And I did. And I never stopped.
Being at home, you would think I would have the time to work out, go to the gym, etc. Well, I was overwhelmed by this new parenting thing, to say the least. Not to mention, I had a c-section b/c of that pesky previa (not b/c of the GD…my daughter only weighed 7 lbs). So, I had a longer leave of absence from lifting anything heavier than my little girl or doing anything “strenuous”.
Eventually, she was old enough to be in the gym daycare. I, however, was not ready to leave her in a gym daycare. So, I said I will just wait until she is older. I think you get the idea…
Well, fast forward to the present. My husband was giving me grief about the jogging stroller her bought me for Christmas. It only has about 20 miles on it and those are walking miles. And I felt horribly guilty suddenly…not because he bought me a jogger that I never use, but because I have found excuse after excuse to avoid exercise. And I realized that I am not naturally motivated to do anything. Outside influences are my motivation. They always have been. So, I decided to train for a half marathon. Running has never been my strong suit, but my sister has done a triathalon and my dad has done several biathalons. Why the hell can’t I shoot for something small…like a 13 mile run. Sure, it’s a bit nuts and I can’t run around the block without passing out, but I’ll give it a shot.
And for added pressure I have officially posted my intention on my Moms’ group message board to try to drum up a few other crazy moms. Naturally, most of the responses have been “Wow! I commend you for doing this, but I’ll just cheer you on from the sidelines!” And no, I do not blame them. If anyone would have asked me to do this 3 years ago I would have said the same exact thing! I do have a couple of other gals who are going to jump in with me. Thank God!
The training schedule we plan to follow starts out extraordinarily basic. Since the most running most of us have done in the last few years has been chasing 3 foot sprinters, we are starting out from the very beginning. I think the biggest reason people fail at running is because they have the “no pain no gain” theory for running. You just run as long as you can possibly stand it every day and eventually you can run a marathon. I think that theory is nuts and THAT is why people are intimidated at the thought of running.
Our program goes a bit like this:
Week one: Walk for 6 minutes, then jog at an easy pace for 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Aim for three sessions with that same sequence for week one.
Week two: Walk for 5 minutes, then jog for 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Aim to do three sessions in week two.
Week three: Walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 4 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Aim for four sessions in week three.
Week four: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 5 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Shoot for four of those sessions in week four.
Week five: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 8 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four of those sessions in week five.
Week six: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 9 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Try to do four sessions for week six.
Week seven: Walk for 1 minute, then jog for 11 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four sessions this week.
Week eight: Congratulations on making it to week eight! For your first run this week, try walking for 5 minutes to begin and end the workout, and run for 20 minutes in between. By the end of the week, try to run for 30 minutes without stopping.
That is the warm up to start the half marathon training. Which is a whole other schedule you can find here.
So, I have started this week and my teammates will start next week. I have already discovered that both pairs of running shoes I own are terrible and need to be replaced. I have chosen the Avia Avi Trainer. If there are any thoughts or suggestions regarding these shoes, I would love to hear them. I based my choice on a couple of reasons. The main being that Avia has served me well in the past as a great running shoe. The Avi Trainer is lightweight, comfortable, very reasonably priced and has some really positive reviews.
Well, I should close my first post. I plan to write at least one post per week on this adventure of mine and when we reach our actual training point I will be writing one post per run. I need all the motivation I can get, so if you happened to stumble upon this and actually made it through to read this part please share your stories! Or just tell me how capable I am and that I really CAN do this.
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