Couch to 5K

Ok, so I started this a little before the new year, but I didn't know if I could actually run anymore.

At the end of the last school year one of my teacher friends suggested we start the couch to 5k program.  She had done it before and so we, and another teacher friend *J* started around the end of April.  Well, the teacher friend that suggested we start soon got too busy to continue, so *J* and I just kept chugging along.  We ran up until my wedding in June.  We got to week 5, we had to repeat some of the weeks because the end of school is a CRAZY time and we wanted to be comfortable running the week we were on before we kept going.

Anyway, a couple weeks after the wedding I was doing some weight training with my hubby and I hopped onto the torso twist machine.  I think I overdid it a bit and at the time I thought strained a muscle in my lower back side (the latissimus dorsi.)  Every time I started to run after this strain it hurt like hell.  Not to mention anytime I twisted the wrong way it hurt.  So I stopped all activity for about a month.

After a month of sitting on my butt I decided to get back in the exercise game...  I couldn't run, because my back still hurt (I'm a tosser at night and every time I turn over it wakes me up) and although it was better than the onset, it was still not healed.  I took to swimming, then back to weights, then on the bike for a bit and then I just got too busy for it all with winter concerts and school stuff going on.

6 months later and I'm pretty sure I've got a nerve problem with my back.  It's becoming more apparent that it may be something I have to live with until I can afford to get an MRI so the doctors can tell me there's nothing wrong with me and give me a muscle relaxer.  It hurts when I tense up or twist the wrong way.  OOOOOO tangent, not the point!

So I wasn't sure I could run and last week, when I was thinking about all my New Year's goals, I decided I wanted to attempt running again.  I texted *J* to see if she wanted to start c25k with me again and she was game but we were both going out of town for Christmas activities so we couldn't start right away.

I just wanted to see if I could do it so I did week one, day one on my own.  Here's how it went....

5 min warm-up

repeat the following 3 times...
run for 30 sec
walk for 45 sec
run for 45 sec
walk for 60 sec
run for 60 sec
walk for 90 sec

5 min cool down

I took my dogs out with me and did ok.  I have to remind myself not to tense up and keep breathing when I tweak my back, but it was doable and not at ALL like the last time I attempted running!

I went to my mom's for Christmas and went to the gym with her on the 23rd and did week one day two (same as day one.)  I ran this on a treadmill and I tried a different way of running.  I have always been a hardcore roll-your-foot kind of person.  I was in marching band and it's ingrained in my brain!  My brother has recently started dating a marathon runner and has always had trouble with his knees.  I couldn't run until she told him he was doing it wrong.  She said serious runners don't roll the foot.  Coming down on your heal you send a shock straight up your leg into your spine.  If your going for distance this kills your joints.  Instead you should come down on the ball of your foot.  This way your foot takes all the shock and saves your knees and back from pain.

He can now run a little over 3 miles and suggested I give it a try.  It might help my back.  So I did and it did feel better, more natural, to run this way.  It's killer on the leg muscles because you're using them in a way you wouldn't normally use them.  It wasn't necessarily any easier on my back but I decided it would probably help me to keep the change in the long run.

We went down to the hubby's parents house on Christmas day and on the 26 I started talking to his sister about my New Year's goals.  She wanted to get in on the losing weight goal so I took her on Week one, day 3 with me.  We did this outside and I felt pretty good about it.

Now, I was supposed to start all this with *J* so I had just planned on starting over on week one with her when we got back to town.

Hubby wanted to start with us so we were all going to meet up and go tonight.  *J* had to go to the doctor and has all sorts of illness going on so she couldn't come with us, but Hubs and I went to the Y and did week one, day one together.  I'm definitely ready to move on but I have to remind myself to take it easy and it will be better to keep everyone on the same track.

I'm hoping that I'm able to keep up with the program and eventually run a 5K this year.  Right now it's looking like a pretty good possibility!  I'm excited to be working toward a goal and it's definitely easier to do it with other people that will keep me honest and motivated!  So a little jump start on my goals before 2012 lands on my shoulders!

Tomorrow we've got to sit down and go over our finances and pay bills.  Maybe start house hunting??  Who knows!

New Year's Resolutions

I have never been one to put much effort into keeping up with my new year's resolutions.  Sure, every year I say "I want to do this this year..." but I have never really kept up with those thoughts.  It has never been a priority.

This year I am trying to change my path and get life organized.  I have a huge set of goals I need, not want, to accomplish this year.  I am also one of those people who needs to be held accountable for something in order to keep making it happen.  If it is just me trying to keep myself in line I make excuses and get lazy.  I also tend to really like checklists!  As I go on my New Year's adventure I will be posting my progress here.

So here they are.  A HUGE list, but things that I really want to accomplish this year.

1. Lose at least 50 pounds.  I have been overweight as long as I can remember.  I have been on and off diets and in various stages of caring but it is time to get myself healthy.  Realistically I need to lose more than 50 pounds, but for my short-term goal I'm going for 50.  I would like to work REALLY hard and lose the pounds by August.  A pretty mighty goal, but I'm going to hold myself to it.

2.  Set a budget and stick to it.  I really want to get my financial life in a good place.  I have never been very good at managing my finances.  I don't keep track of my spending and often times spend money on frivolous things I don't really need.  When I got married this summer things started to get really strained.  My husband moved to the town I live in and has just recently found full time work.  We have had a hard time balancing our spending with our income and that is just not how I want to live.

3. Get my teeth fixed.  I, by no means, have BAD teeth.  They are straight (with exception of one of my bottom front teeth that got pushed a bit by my wisdom teeth in my teens.  I am, however, not very good at taking care of my teeth.  I don't brush as often as I should and I don't go to the dentist regularly.  The last time I went to the dentist I had to have an emergency root canal.  I knew then that I have some cavities to take care of and I need to go back.  I just haven't because committing to that kind of money kind of scares me.  I need to get back on the train and really start taking care of myself.

4.  Get my car tuned up.  Same story with my teeth.  I am just BAD at keeping things that cost a lot of money on my priority list.  There are some things that I need to do with my car to get it back in to good shape.  Just general maintenance for the mileage I've got on the car.

5.  Run a 5K.  As part of my weight loss effort I have started the Couch to 5K program and I want to finish it and run an actual 5K.

6. Create a diet plan and stick to it.  I am pretty realistic about crazy fad diets.  I am planning to regulate my caloric intake and portion size and taper both down until I hit the healthy mark.  I know if I change too much too soon I will not succeed.  It's all about persistence!

7. Become more organized at work.  I don't think I can ever fully accomplish this one, but I would like to become better at creating and utilizing thorough lesson plans and keeping my room and office at school more neat and organized.

8. Get my husband prepped for the LSAT.  Becoming a lawyer is a dream of his.  At this point a lot of our future is hanging in the unknown.  If he makes it into law school we are going to kind of put everything on hold while he goes to school.  If he doesn't make it this year we want to try to have a baby.  Because of my profession (I teach) we are going to have to plan pretty carefully when we want to start a family and this means we need to be pregnant by the end of August.  The next LSAT is in June and from there we will decide which route we take.  That's a pretty good deadline for all of our goals and what we're shooting for right now.

9.  Start making a bigger dent in loans and credit cards.  Student loans, credit cards....  Need I say more?

10.  Move into a bigger place.  Right now hubs and I are crammed into my tiny two bedroom condo with two dogs, two cats and two fish.  This was the condo I had already filled to the brim before hubs moved in.  We really need a bigger place but we're not ready to buy right now so we're on the hunt for a bigger rental in our price range.


I have a lot of BIG stuff on my list but if we are really trying to send my hubby to law school or start a family they are things we absolutely need to get a handle on RIGHT NOW.  I am hoping to get started on this list right away and we'll see how we do!  Keep your fingers crossed that I can really become a grown up and get on the ball.