running

November 7, 2012

Morning routine + NaNoWriMo Update

I’ve had a few people text me and leave comments to congratulate me on starting to run. I’ve also had people tell me I’m crazy for doing both at the same time, which is not all that far off, perhaps. Aside from being sick last week and this week which affected my runs, things have been going well. I managed to desire to get up and go, but just take it a little easier, which has been good.

Why am I doing two things that require so much discipline at the same time?

It’s a good question. I think part of it is is that it doesn’t feel like it’s requiring that much discipline, but here are a few more reasons.

These are two things I want to build into my life as habits. Natural responses, things I do automatically.
My morning routine had been going quite well so it didn’t feel like too challenging to add the writing challenge.
My husband has night classes three nights a week, which means I have plenty of time to write and not feel like I’m neglecting our relationship. He was the one who encouraged me to do it, anyways.
I wanted meet people outside of work who had similar interests to me.

So far, I have runs scheduled into my week and I look forward to them. The days I’m not so sure I want to go, my husband reminds me that I’ll enjoy it. I always do, so that’s a big win. I’m ahead of schedule so far on the novel in terms of word count. I’ve got nearly 10,000 words which is 1/5th of the book (obviously). I feel confident because I have lots to write yet in plot development etc. I should be able to finish no problem unless life just suddenly goes crazy, which is totally a possibility.

October 29, 2012

Update on adjusting my morning routine

Remember when we talked about our morning routine and I wondered if it was even possible if I could become one of those regular human beings who can wake up at a reasonable time in the morning? Or at the very least that it would be a bit more normal for me to be awake at 7am.

I can’t even believe I’m about to write this. I had a celebratory moment with my mentor as I shared this with her. “I can’t believe I’m hearing you say this!” was her exact words and you know what? SHE’S RIGHT.

I wake up every morning either right before my husband’s 6:45 alarm or even 15 minutes before.

WHAT THE CRAP.

Also, I’ve managed to survive every day that I’ve woken up at this hour without a nap.

WHO AM I?

I cannot give enough props to the light therapy because it’s all thanks to that blessed light. In effect, it re-calibrates your circadian rhythm so if you look at it in the morning when you wake up, it will make sure you keep waking up at that time. Glorious.

But what about the actual components of my morning? How is that going?

Exercise, Center myself, See my husband, and Day Prep.

I’m waking up on time. I appreciate having that time with the light to keep waking up. I’ve noticed it takes me about 45 minutes to become a real human being in the morning, and so it’s helpful for me to stay in bed and under my covers and just click on that light.
Then I pull out my journal and Bible from the bedside table, still under the covers. Having it right beside my bed makes it super easy to move on to. I keep the light on while I’m journaling.
If it’s a Tuesday or a Thursday, I will grab a glass of water and drink that while I’m snuggling into the lights’ rays so that I’m well hydrated for my run. (Seriously, I can’t believe I’m writing ANY of this. 6:45? Run? Hydration? Miracles do happen, people. I am evidence of that).
On those days, I eat a bowl of cereal, suit up, grab my C25K podcast and hit the bike path by the Lachine canal in my hood.
I come back home, stretch and multitask as I read my iPad, enjoy the props my hubby gives me for running,shower, eat more, and peace. Also, I put on clothes before I peace, but I think you got the drift.

Currently that schedule is pretty tight to fit everything in. I need to be more intentional about not reading twitter while I stretch after my run and think more through my day. Or find a way to add that elsewhere.

So far, though, I’m still in the honeymoon phase. It’s still exciting and fun and I’m running off the thrill of feeling like a totally different person. If I learned anything from writing that novel in 30 days when I was in first year university, though, soon the excitement will wear off and I’ll be stuck with a commitment I no longer like but am determined to finish for bragging rights.

October 21, 2012

This week’s Must Reads (Oct 15-21)

I read a lot of articles and blogs during the week. I do this for a few reasons. I like knowing a lot of things about a lot of things, though this is not always the best thing in terms of staying productive. It’s easy to find myself reading, clicking links, reading more and then I’ve spent 20 minutes reading about everything from new bridge designs in Montreal to the science of moisture wicking fabrics etc. I have various methods to keep this under control which I’ll share at another time. For right now, I want to share some of the articles I’ve read this week that are worth sharing. I may have already tweeted the articles or not.

Morning run & a Very Pink Smoothie

This week I have been working on the Couch to 5K program week one. It’s getting easier every time and I’m already starting to enjoy it. Maybe my running location has something to do with it. Here are some pics from my run (note: week 1 of C25K still involves a good chunk of walking).

Then I made a smoothie that was super duper good! I call it the Very Pink Smoothie because it just tastes pink! I like that. I concocted this one. It’s a strawberry banana cranberry flax dealio. Cranberries are great for Vitamin C but taste nasty so I’m glad I found a use for the extra cranberries we had left over from Thanksgiving. Yum yum.

Recipe

half a banana
small handful of frozen cranberries
2 slices of frozen peach
a few (frozen) strawberries
a teaspoon ground flax
1c water (if you’re using all frozen fruit)
1/2c milk or non-dairy alternative
1/2 teaspoon 1:1 ratio stevia

October 19, 2012

The third time I ran

My sleep was being affected by my lack of exercise.** Two weeks of no biking or running, I was sleeping 30 minutes to an hour more than before. I was getting home from work, eating, and by the time my head was screwed on straight again the sun was going down.

I determined to run anyways and did my third run with shoes, since it was getting colder out. As soon as I tied them up I was surprised by how heavy they were. I was afraid I was going to hate the experience again.

I was surprised by three things:

My stride did not go back to the typical heel strike that is often attributed to shoes. I kept running the same as if I had no shoes on, I could tell this because my heel wasn’t hitting first, and because my muscles in my legs felt the same as when I ran barefoot.
I didn’t hate it.
It made the bouts of walking I did easier (because it’s HARD to walk without heel-striking and that does not feel nice when you have no shoes on).

So I’m happy to say that I’m OK to run with these shoes I have, but I still would like to get some barefoot running type shoes, either Vibrams or some of the more normal-looking “minimalist” shoes.

**I wrote these three posts a few weeks ago.

October 17, 2012

The second time I ran (barefoot)

The other day I had “Run” down on my Daily Portfolio as my daily exercise. After work, supper with my husband before he left for class, finally making it back out of the grocery store, barely surviving the mob of hungry people, dusk had already set at 7:30 and the chances of my run were gone.

I was actually disappointed.

So today, as I saw an un-planned opportunity to run, I took it immediately. I grabbed my iPhone and left the house. I noticed a few things as I ran:

I felt my calf muscles differently
My endurance wasn’t particularly a problem for another short beginner run. Thankfully all that Bixi-ing I’ve done in the last month has strengthened my endurance.
I got bored quickly by going back & forth down the sidewalk near my place, but I kept going down it because the sidewalk was smooth and free of debris.
I’m not gonna lie (don’t tell my mom!), as I was running I was wondering how updated all my shots were. Good thing to ask the doctor to check when I see her next.
The pads of my feet didn’t hurt this time.

All this to say, I’m encouraged. 1.7k is a far, far ways away from 42k that’s for sure. But it’s at least 1/5 of the way to a 5k.