Running Playlist 2013

I love my current playlist.  Like LOVE.  So much so that often when I'm running, I think delusional thoughts about bottling it and sharing it with all my running friends.  It's such a weird & random mix of music.  It's got my skid roots covered as well as my 93.5FM guilty pleasures.

With a whole lot of help, I managed to post my current & top 100 songs that are pushing me to run this season.  Without further ado, behold my Running Playlist 2013.

7 in 7

Last weekend, I (apparently) decided enough was enough and that I had to do something about my body.  My body image & self esteem sucks carrots and I'm fed up with feeling like I need to hide behind Spanx-style tank tops with lots of tugging up & down and tucking in & out just to feel like I'm looking decent.

So, I decided that I'd do 7 workouts in 7 days.  And know what?  I did it!  Today is day 7 and here is what I filled my week with in terms of exercise:

Sunday/Thursday/Friday:  Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Level 1
Monday/Wednesday:  5.3km & 5.6km run respectively
Tuesday:  In-home personal training session (ouch!)
Saturday:  Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Level 2

Now what?  15 in 15.  Gotta keep it going and right now, I don't want to stop because I'm loving the muscle hurt and the determination I feel.  The Shred videos take 25 minutes tops so there is no reason why I can't work those into my day.  I want to push myself for some further runs and ideally, I should be out there 3 days a week.

Stay tuned for an update on Sunday, February 24th for the 15th update!

Desperate Times = Desperate Measures?

Sort of.  But not really.

On Friday night, I signed up for 3 months of Weight Watchers.  What?!  I wasn't even drunk!  Anyway, I had to guess my weight because at 9pm on a Friday, there was no way I was getting on a scale so I entered 150lbs.  On Sunday, I hesitantly stepped on the scale and found that I *only* weighed 138lbs.  Phew.

My ultimate goal?  125lbs.  My realistic goal?  130lbs.  God, I'd love to be (and STAY) under 130lbs but I just don't know how realistic that is for me.

I created a new amazeballs 100 track running playlist to motivate me to get out and pound the pavement.  Tonight, I did just that and went for a brisk 4.5km.  I hate winter running so I'm not going to set a minimum amount of kilometers to run but I will aim to get out twice a week.  Reasonable.

This Friday is my next weigh in and I'm not expecting miracles but I am expecting some sort of give.  Anything.  I'll take what I can get.  For true.  I know the last 10lbs is supposed to be hard so I know it's not just going to fall off.  If I could be around 134lbs by my birthday at the end of this month, I'd be happy.  My next milestone would be 128lbs by M's birthday in early April.  125lbs by June?  Yes, please!

Anyway, counting points is sort of addictive and I'm digging the fact that I can still eat things like popcorn with butter (salted...  yum!) and have wine & beer.  I am (as usual) starting my new year off by scaling back (waaaaaay back) and cutting out the alcohol for a bit or really limiting myself to when out with friends or for a special occasion.  You know, keeping it clean.  Or attempted to anyway.

So?  Stay tuned.  I'll post a weigh in update on Friday.  Fingers crossed it's a positive one.

Normal. Almost.

We're still here & we're still sad but we're moving ahead because that's what we have to do.  M still asks for Cear and talks about her like she's just in another room and it pretty much breaks my heart in half every.single.time.  The neighbours have noticed our absence from the sidewalks & parks and it's hard to tell them what happened.  We'll sing her praises forever and fondly remember her antics & nutty personality.  We're adapting to our new normal.

What else?

I'm cleansing.  Again.  Today is day 7 and I feel good.  I was bored out of my tree today and thought constantly about food & wine.  What does that say about me?

I got out last week for a couple short runs and it felt good.  My goal is 3x a week and all around the 5km mark.  Now to push myself to do it.  On that note, I had best intentions to get out this weekend and I didn't.  Lazy.

We finally started our Christmas shopping and in my eyes, M is done.  Ask D and you might get a different answer.  We don't have many to buy for but sometimes that is even harder.  It's like you really have to dig to get the perfect gift.  Hopefully we can knock a few more names off the list in the coming weeks.  I'd love to see half our list done before I go to NYC.  Obviously, it's because I want to free more funds for me & my shopping urges.

I've started planning our annual NYE party and I'm excited!  We've decided to go with an Italian theme so D & I are brainstorming a delicious menu.  

That's it, I think?  Yep, not much new to report over here.  Just checking in really...

So.

So.  I should have been running in the half-marathon today but I didn't.  I quit.  I gave up.  I pushed myself too hard too early and basically made my body & my mind lose interest.  I'm disappointed with myself but not much I can do now, right?  I haven't run in weeks and I just need to force myself back out there.

What to do, what to do... sigh.

On the training front, I ran 6km last Thursday and have basically done very little since.  After my 15km on Monday followed by my big spill on Wednesday, my knee & ankle needed some rest.  So, rest I did and I basically haven't gone back out there despite intentions to run 5 short runs in a row this week.  I need to scale back on the long SRs because I'm simply over doing it.

Yes, I realize it sounds like an excuse.  I isn't.  I hope it isn't.  My body just isn't responding as well as I'd like and believe me, it pisses me off.  Why the F did I let myself get SO out of shape after the last season ended?!  Stupid.

But I'm in a bit of a pickle now...  remember when I went on and on about walking in the Weekend to End Women's Cancers?  And then when I said I had chosen the half-marathon over the walk?  Well, I don't know what to do.  My gut (and my guilt) is telling me to WALK.  What's more important?  Personal best (not that the race would be but you know what I mean) or bonding, inspiration & just good ol' giving.  A big part of me thinks that I just won't be ready in time for the run and that's really okay.  I can run another race in the spring or I can get out there and do what I can.  So maybe I'm trying to talk myself into doing the walk knowing it may really screw my body for what I've been working towards as of late?  Sigh.  I really don't know what to do.  I want to walk because I want to be a part of that movement and it is so important for me to walk because my MIL doesn't have that chance.  I never want M to go through what D did when his mom passed away.  I want to run to prove to myself that I can do it again and that I can achieve that goal.  I want M to be proud of me for committing and being active.

I have no idea what to do.

Wednesday

So I followed up last week's 12km run with a chiro appointment & lazy 4km the next night before promptly taking 4 days off.  FAIL.  I got back out on Monday evening and pushed myself to run 15km!  It was HARD.  Really hard.  So hard that when the girl on my iPod announced that I had 4km to go, I screamed 'fuck off' to no one in particular at the intersection of Leslie & Lakeshore.

I've been really feeling it in my body since that run.  My left ankle feels a bit like it's got some bone-on-bone action and my right knee aches.  I feel old & out of shape.  Anyway, it is what it is and I just need to keep training.  I've got 6 more weeks to go and in those 6 weeks, I need to add 6 more kilometres to my longest route to date.

I met up with a friend tonight and did a 5km loop.  It was so nice to run with someone but definitely challenging to keep up a conversation while running.  Just something I'm not used to but something I'd like to practice.

Tomorrow's schedule calls for 5km and I'm hoping to get out at lunch to do it.  I need to spend some solid time at home in the evening tomorrow to get a few things accomplished.

Week 3?

I think I'm into my 3rd week of training and I like to think that I'm absolutely killing it.  Yay ME!

I did my 4km on Saturday afternoon and had plans to meet my BFF to do our big 12km run on Sunday.  Plans fell through and a couple glasses of wine followed the pizza into my mouth and I didn't get out.  Monday was a big FAIL that involved ketchup chips but I'm over it and not talking about it anymore.  Tuesday?  I got out for a 12km SR and rocked it!  I felt awesome the entire way through...  well, after my first 2-3km loosening up thing and then I felt awesome.  Followed it up with a quick 4km loop tonight.

Last night was the first night where I finished my run and immediately knew that I could do it.  I will be ready to run the half-marathon on that Sunday in October.  I'm totally pumped!

Many Reasons...

But no good excuses.  I just couldn't do the 10km this morning.  My head & body weren't into it and I felt like a bag of hammers the entire time so I cut it short at 5km.  I'm really disappointed in myself that I just couldn't push through it.

We're away for the weekend but back Monday afternoon.  I'm hoping to do my long run on Monday evening to make up for this one.

Week One Done

I'm pretty sure I kicked ass in the eating & running department this week.  Yay!

Training this week was as follows:

Sunday:  7km (I decided against the 10km to avoid potential injury)
Tuesday:  4km
Wednesday:  2.5km
Thursday:  5km
Friday:  3km (Skipped today's rest day and ran Saturday's run because we're away for the weekend)
Saturday:  10km (not yet run...  obviously...  but I've got it scheduled for the early morning)

Since Sunday, I've run a grand total of 21.5km.  I'm still working hard to find my groove and it takes a good 2km before my legs feel loose enough to maintain a good pace.  I'm still slow in the pace department but I'm trying to remind myself that "slow and steady wins the race" and that the important part is that I'm out there pounding the pavement.

I've got a long way to go but like my BFF said, I am COMMITTED.  I really want this right now.

77 Days

At the suggestion of my BFF, I've committed to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront (Half) Marathon on October 14th.  If I tell people, I'll feel accountable (or so I'm told).

So, I have 77 days to train my body and mind that I can once again run 21.1kms.  My running efforts this season have been lacking but now I have no choice.  I'm committed.  I'm gonna do it.

Unfortunately, this likely means that I won't be walking in the Weekend to End Women's Cancers this September.  I was training for this same half marathon last year but the walk absolutely destroyed my hips & feet and I just couldn't recover in time.  I knew that if I did it, I'd likely do permanent damage.

I'll be heading out tomorrow for a 10km run.  I hope I make it.

Fail & Win

I spoke too soon.  When I posted about my first run of 3 on May 15th, I was perhaps feeling overly ambitious.  That was my first and last run that week.  I have many excuses but none of them too valid.

But...

I made up for it this week!  I ran on Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.  I'm incredibly out of shape and I know this because my pace is completely off.  It's taking me way too long to complete a km but slow and steady wins the race, right?  I didn't do any great distances (between 3-5km) but I managed a collective 12.5km for the week.  It's definitely a start.

I'm planning a run tomorrow and I'm hyping myself up for a 6-8km distance.  I'm away at a retreat for work from Monday until Wednesday night so I'll already be behind for the week.  I'll have to squeeze in two short runs just to keep up with my personal challenge.

Not a clue what my weight is right now and I don't want to know.  Definitely know I'm not where I should be but my clothes are fitting and I'm sort of feeling confident in them.

May Goals

We're already at the halfway point but my BFF suggested we each pony up our running goals.  I've only been out twice this spring (not good) so I declared that I'd like to go 3x a week for the next 4 weeks.  I'll gradually increase my distance and hopefully get back into my pattern of 30km/week over the summer.

My week counts Monday to Sunday so I've got 2 left to do after last night's short run.

8km!!!

2/3

We're only a week in and I've already completed 2 of my 3 goals for November. I packed up the car yesterday and made the trip to my parent's house to store a number of items. While there, my dad helped me install M's car seat FF. It is a BIZARRE feeling to have him sitting FF and I'll own up to being on edge while driving back home on the highway yesterday. I really need to get over it.

I've set a new mini goal for this week and I'm hoping to go for 5 runs in 5 days. Distance and time doesn't matter but it's just about getting out for a run. Tonight's run was a quick 5km. I'm prepping tomorrow's dinner right now so I can hopefully get out right after work.

7.5km!

I psyched myself up ALL day and pushed myself out the door once D got home from work. I took a different route so I wouldn't be able to accurately determine the distance. I was pleasantly surprised that it was 7.5km but a little bit annoyed that I didn't cross the 8km mark! Regardless, it was good to get out for a run.

Must get out again this week... at least one more time before Sunday's CIBC Run for the Cure.

New Kicks!

After what feels like ages, I finally treated myself to new running shoes! My history as of late has been less than stellar but at least I can say my sneakers got out at least twice a week for bootcamp. My current shoes, Nike Vomero (for those who wonder what others like to run in like I do), were packing out and basically in need of replacement. I figure I put on at least 250kms on these puppies even though they say you can typically go 350-500kms in a pair before you need to replace. After trying on every.single.pair at the Running Room, I settled on the Saucony Progrid Ride 3 shoe. Hoping to test drive them tomorrow!

Run Fatty RUN!

15km!

My hips are grinding worse than they did after giving birth to M and my toes feel like death BUT I did it! I ran 15km yesterday and almost died doing so! It was insanely hot and I was exhausted & sore but I talked myself through every step of the last 5km. I have bootcamp twice this week and then I'll get out for another run (albeit shorter) this weekend.

Bain Avenue

6km sandwiched between two days of good ol' bootcamp! Well, one of those days is yet to happen but it will.

I read an article last night about training for a half marathon in 8 weeks. I just need to commit to 3 10km runs during the week and a 15-18km run on the weekend. I'm committed to bootcamp twice a week until August and even then, I was planning on doing the next session. At some point I need to decide what I want to do because not only do I need a rest day physically, I can't shirk all responsibility at home. I don't want to run too late or when it is dark, especially if I'm doing greater distances.

Right now, my gut is telling me to do the half-marathon. Whenever I start out on a run, I feel like I run weird & stiff for at least the first 2km and tonight was no different. I started thinking that my legs just won't be able to do it but once I got into the run, I wanted to keep going and it (once again) made me realize that I'm better at long distances. The little runs are great for stretching and getting out there but I feel best when I'm doing 10km plus.

The run isn't until October 16th and I've got until the 10th of that same month to sign up. I think the best thing to do is consult with a new pair of running shoes and see what they think I should do.

8.2km!

Yes, the .2 counts!