Week 10

When this week is done I will be 1/3 done with my training!!! Wow, how great that I'm keeping the commitment! Yes, I'm patting myself on the back.

One thing that has really hit home this past week is stretching. I've never been good at taking the time to stretch, and this past week I've paid for it. My body has been in extreme pain, which caused my runs to be less than great. However, I now am committing myself to stretching after each run. I need to take that just as serious as the run itself. Having muscles strained will only prevent me from running during the rest of the week.

I've also began to monitor my food better this past week. I dropped some initial pounds at the beginning, but nutrition is just as important. So now I'm making better choices. I made the mistake of choosing pizza last Friday, but that's the end. If I have the craving I will make an at home healthy option to keep myself on track.

So now week 10 begins, below is my workout schedule.

Week 10:
Day 1: 2.75 mile run
Day 2: Cross-training
Day 3: 2 mile run
Day 4: 2.75 mile run
Day 5: 30-35 minute run or cross-training


My attached picture is from me in 2007, at my best. This is what I'm going back to!!

First post!!

I am 9 weeks into my half marathon training. I have had weight loss success in the past, mainly through intense exercise and nutrition counseling back in 2007. I was able to get down to a size 10 during that time. However, I then had a career change and got into bad habits gaining the weight plus more back.

Years obviously went by and they went quick. I've seen the difference in pictures, but my goals had changed. I'm completing my masters and graduating June of 2013 to become a school counselor. I've also started a bucket list. I crossed the first thing off in July of 2012, when I went skydiving. I decided I wanted to cross off one thing a year (at least).

That brings the half marathon goal into place. You guessed it, it's on my bucket list! Why I put it there, I don't really know. It seemed likes big goal that I wanted to be able to accomplish at some point. Well "some point" is almost here.

I am going from a big size without much activity level to an active runner. That's why I had to be realistic and do it in 30 weeks.

As I mentioned at the beginning I'm currently in my ninth week. Below is the training schedule I have done so far:

Week 1:
Day 1: Run 1/16 mile, walk 3/16 mile - repeat 4 times
Day 2: cross train
Day 3: Run 1/16 mile, walk 3/16 mile - repeat 4 times
Day 4: rest
Day 5: Run 1/16 mile, walk 3/16 mile - repeat 4 times

Week 2:
Day 1: Run 1/8 mile, walk 1/8 mile - repeat 4 times
Day 2: cross train
Day 3: Run 1/8 mile, walk 1/8 mile - repeat 4 times
Day 4: rest
Day 5: Run 1/8 mile, walk 1/8 mile - repeat 4 times

Week 3:
Day 1: Run 3/16, Walk 1/16 - repeat 4x
Day 2: cross train
Day 3: Run 3/16, Walk 1/16 - repeat 4x
Day 4: rest
Day 5: Run 3/16, Walk 1/16 - repeat 4x

Week 4:
Day 1: Run 1 mile
Day 2: cross train
Day 3: Run 1 mile
Day 4: rest
Day 5: Run 1 mile

Week 5:
- Run 1.5 miles
- Run 1 mile
- Cross train
- Run 1.5 miles
- Run 20-30 minutes or cross train

Week 6:
- Run 1.75 miles
- cross train
- Run 1.5 miles
- Run 1.75 miles
- Run 20-30 minutes or cross train

Week 7:
- Run 2 miles
- Cross train
- Run 1.5 miles
- Run miles
- Run 20-30 minutes or cross train

Week 8:
- Run 2.25 miles
- Cross train
- Run 2 miles
- Run 2.25 miles
- Run 20-30 minutes or cross train

Week 9:
- Run 2.5 miles
- Cross train
- Run 2 miles
- Run 2.5 miles
- Cross train

I'm currently in my 9th week, so this isn't compete yet. I find the first run of each week the hardest and then by the end if the week it's easy. It amazes me each week, but also gives me hope during each hard run.