Couch to 5K week 3 Day 1

Not bad for my first try at this weeks intervals. I can now say for certain that the hills are what make my shin hurt, as now that I am done, it has a dull ache, where all last week on the relatively flat road I had no pain at all. Probably something to do with using different muscles on hills so I am not worried about it anymore.

Intervals are as follows:
Walk 5 min
Run 90 sec, walk 90 sec
Run 3 min, walk 3 min
Run 90 sec, walk 90 sec
Run 3 min
Walk 5 min

I ran the first interval.. no problem, easy peasy....
I ran the second interval... YES I RAN 3 minutes without stopping and didn't pass out or puke at the end of it. I actually threw my hands up in the air Rocky style when I finished it!
I ran 80/90 seconds of the third interval. But I know I can do this one now no problem.
Then the hill.....and I walked...all of the rest.....I am so disappointed in myself. I could have run at least some of the last interval, but I didn't even try. I psyched myself out over the hill. It may be time to change my route a little and see if that helps me out of my funk...

But just a few days ago I didn't think three minutes was even possible, and now I did it on my first try. I know I can finish this week and go onto week four, I just know it is possible now.

The bad news is that even with all this exercise, all this eating right, I haven't lost anything the last two weeks.. nothing... the scale is exactly where it was two weeks ago. That is depressing me and frustrating me. I haven't wanted or expected much, but I was hoping to have lost a few pounds just so I could get under the 170 mark. But nothing... Guess I gotta keep going and keep trying...God I wish I was 10 years younger, I could just look at a treadmill and loose weight...

Couch to 5k week 2 day 3 second try

Yep, I completed the intervals again. It wasn't a fluke, it's actually something I can do. Yay!!!!

Today I concentrated on pacing myself. Not jumping out of the gate and then being wiped out half way through. I feel as though I did really well, I only got winded at the end of the last interval. I really feel that my legs are strong, it's my lungs that don't have the stamina and are what slows me down. I can feel the asthma making it hard to breathe, but I don't get dizzy or anything bad, and I recuperate by the end of the walking intervals so I think I am still doing ok without an inhaler.

I also took a cue from a friend who is also doing the program, but is a few weeks ahead of me, and I wore a regular bra under my sports bra. Since I have been loosing some weight, my sports bras are getting a little big around, so the combination of the two felt really good and comfortable.

I had been thinking that the week three I intervals would be impossible for me, but I think I can conquer them. It may take me a few weeks again, but I know I can do it. I am amazed by my friend who can run twenty minutes at a shot without stopping, but I know if she can do it, I can too, I just need practice, and lots of it. But she inspires me to keep going.

So a daybook, and then week three. Back to my home route, back to the hills, but back to a challenge I can conquer.

Couch to 5k week 2- day 2 second try

YES! I DID IT!

I ran all six intervals. And I have realized a few things this week. 1) my ankle pain is because of the hills, my ankles haven't hurt at all this week. 2) the pain in my shin is connected to my ankles somehow, that shin area hasn't hurt any either 3) it is ok to take more than one day off between runs...just get back up on the horse and keep going. 4) the mind is important, psych yourself up before you run, even the night before is a good thing.

Today I kept "feeling like a runner", imagining myself through the eyes of people I passed on the road and to me I looked like a runner, not just someone shuffling along the road.

So I will run these intervals one more time before going onto the next week and then start week 3. I am very excited, I feel better, I think I am loosing weight, and oddly enough I feel empowered in some new ways.

Couch to 5k week 2 day 1 second try

Well a less honest person would say that she did it, but not me. I came realty, really close.

First let me say that my nutrition ist wants me to run four days a week, not three. So according to that I was supposed to run Thursday. But I didn't feel physically recuperated from Wednesday so I didn't run. Friday I drove to my moms and planned on running when I got here, but the severe thunderstorm thwarted that idea. Saturday I had the sinus headache from he**. Running just wasn't going to happen.

So I got up today, Sunday, after three days off and ran. The road here is nice and flat, and shaded, but it crowns in the middle so I have to pay attention to the road a little more, and my right calf feels different than when I run at home, like it has worked harder.

Anyway...I ran intervals 1-3 no problem. I even ran interval 4!!! See, no hill let's me finish it. I was pretty tired at interval 5 and ran, but slow, I could have walked faster I think. And interval 6 was almost done, maybe ten seconds to go when I gave up.

So I will try again in two days, Tuesday. I know I can do this and then I can move on to week three:)

Couch to 5K week 2- day 3

Oh crappers!

From the get go my mind was against me this morning. I laid in bed, smelling the fresh breeze from the window and I didn't want to get up, I didn't want to run, and I didn't want to weigh in, shower, or go to the nutritionist today.

But I got up. I got dressed. And I started to run. My mind fighting me all the way.

I finished intervals 1-3.

And then 4 just beats me every time. Same as usual 70/90 seconds. Just two more driveways past the stop sign, but I can't do it. My legs scream, my lungs scream, and my brain is weak and gives in to them and I slow down to a walk.

This time I got myself going again and ran interval 5 too.

But when 6 came, I let it go by and just walked it. I should have pushed myself. I learned the other day that I can do it if I want to. And now I am disappointed in myself for not even trying, for being weak.

Scale says I have lost 1/2 a pound. Whoo Hoo.. Is it really going to come off that slowly? It is going to be a long, long road and I should get ready for the battle. I am not young anymore. These things are harder to do and take more time and more resilience to set backs.

Oh well, Friday is another try, and maybe, just maybe, I can conquer interval 4.

Gonna Be A Busy Week

I got lots of stuff to do..

Make lemongrass soap
Mail out orders
Call customer that her special order is ready
Go to the bank
Mail car registration
Clean hall closets
Powerpoint presentation- soapmaking history
Flyers printed

And that is just today....

Couch to 5K week 2- day 2

Soooooo close, I can almost taste victory...

I ran intervals 1-3... and went a little faster than usual. I could tell because I was at the stop sign I try to get to at the end of interval three rather than two houses before it :)

Interval 4... or interval 4 how I hate thee and thine hill of death... But I ran 70/90 seconds and I think I can conquer you yet.

Interval 5... I ran !!!!

Interval 6: 60/90 seconds. This one was weird. I got distracted by thinking about something (I can't even put my finger on what) but I lost concentration and forward momentum and just stopped there, like I forgot what I was doing. It was weird. But I know I can finish this interval.

So I try again on Wednesday. My leg didn't hurt until I was on the cool down, and now it throbs. My ankles are still sore, but manageable, they really only hurt on stairs. I feel stronger and more fit already.. I just need to keep my mind in this.

Couch to 5K week 2- day 1

So I think it was a good try... I have something to build on for sure, and although I think it will take me two weeks of trying again, I do see me being able to complete this weeks intervals.

This week is:

5 minute warm up

6 intervals of 90 seconds each, with a 2 minute walking interval between them

5 minute cool down

Today:
I rocked intervals 1 & 2, ran them no problem, even with the hill in interval 2!

Interval 3: 80/90 seconds. I lacked the mental capacity to push me those last few seconds, but I know I can do this interval easy next time

Interval 4: 60/90 seconds. This is going to be my hardest interval to compete. It is all uphill and at the steepest hill in my route. I am proud that I finished even 60 of the 90 seconds, but my chest hurt, my side hurt and my leg hurt when I was done.
Finishing this interval won't be the challenge: finishing it and being able to run the rest will.

Intervals 5 & 6 I walked. I really hurt after interval 4 and my leg just throbbed. I think I could have run interval 6 or at least some of it, but I decided to rest, take it easy, and be able to run again Sunday rather that kill myself today.

So that's it: try again Sunday. My goal is to finish the first 4 intervals, even if I have to walk the rest :)

Couch to 5K week 1 day 3 (second try)

I DID IT AGAIN!! So Wednesday wasn't just a fluke. Now I can move on to the Week 2 intervals with full confidence that I am ready for them..

However... all I can say after today's run is.. OOOOUUUCCCHHHHH!

Long Story.. See 20+ years ago I injured my right leg playing soccer. Pretty badly. Bad enough that when it wasn't healing the doctors started looking for tumors and cancers to explain why it too so long to heal. Needless to say, I am not a uge fan of doctors and I stopped going for checkups when I hit college. To this day there still is some skin discoloration (but not much anymore) and a spot the size of a half dollar that has no feeling at all.

Running in my new shoes makes it hurt. Sometimes badly. But.. the feeling seems to be slowly coming back, at least a little. I figured out today that putting too much pressure on my big toe causes it to hurt. And I learned Wednesday that getting into the shower immediately after a run and hitting it with hot water from the shower head set on massage makes the pain go away.

So I am not sure what is going on, maybe pulling away scar tissue? Maybe increased blood flow is doing something? Not sure. But as long as it doesn't hurt for long each day then I will keep running.

What's Up in the Workshop??

This week.. the answer is Nothin' Much...

Really! We are caught up on inventory that needs to be made, so except for a few special orders that I need to work on there isn't much to do.

I have Kutztown coming up and part of that show's requirements is that I demonstrate. Since dealing with making actual soap is kinda not appropriate for a show, I have tons of other stuff to do that I am putting off until then. Lots of labeling of fizzys, I am going to try and make lotion bars there if it seems like I can, at the very least I will label and shrink wrap them there. I will make sachets there and I am not quite sure what else.

So I am taking this week to catch up on paperwork, take some photos for the website, and generally get caught up on stuff around the house so that I can enter the busy season in a good place, with a clean kitchen and a relaxed mind. Wish me luck!

Couch to 5K week 2- day 1 (second try)

YES! YES! YES!!! I ran all the intervals!!!

Thank you R-WIP for the motivation I needed. See, R-WIP is in France and is going through many of the same things I am, dealing with bad eating habits that are catching up with us as we age, and needing more exercise. Although we are both going after the eating portion of our lives in separate ways, we are both running the Couch to 5K programs as part of our exercise regiment.

So last week I staged a quiet rebellion against my nutritionist. I thought I could stop logging my food and still eat on schedule and eat good things. I thought I could keep myself exercising daily even if I didn't write it down. I WAS WRONG. I am not there yet. I still need accountability. I still need to write stuff down. I still need help and guidance.

So I read R-WIP's blog, and here she was, across the ocean, going through the same things. Tired of writing down food, tired of thinking about what is best to eat, tired of finding time to exercise when your life is a blur already.

So we promised to forgive ourselves for last week, and to start again fresh this week. I broke out the food journal again. I ran this morning, I am back on the wagon to better health.

So today I pushed. I ran all the intervals. It hurt, it was hard, but I did it. I will try again Wednesday, and then move on to week two. The good news is that a few times at the start, I felt like I could run longer, so maybe week two won't be so hard?? Ahh, I doubt it!

Couch to 5K week 1- day 1 (second try)

Unfortunately close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades... because I almost did it..

I clanged my route again. Found one with more shade, and less extreme hills. There is one tough one, but the rest are less steep and I found them to still be challenging but not lung killers.

I ran intervals 1-5. Really ran them. Enough that as I sit here and write this blog post my legs are quivering and twitching.

I had to walk interval 6. My lungs were hot and I didn't want to start a coughing fit. See I said I was so close in doing it...

I ran intervals 7 & 8. I had to really push through 8 right at the last 20 seconds, but I did it.

I am a little wheezy, I can hear my breath when it is deep. But no coughs, no light headedness, none of that. Once again I felt more held back by my chest than my legs.

Oh and mental note: remember to change into your sports bra... not so comfortable without it...

Mayfair 2011

Well the results are in, and attendance was down... way down.. almost 30% down. Was it the weather? A bad music line up? Other things to do? Or is the show just dying a slow death?? I'm not sure.

Last year was good. I really thought that this show was on the upswing. I was telling people about it, telling them that I was doing good, making pretty decent sales, and that I saw potential for it to return to its former greatness.

But this year took all of that away. I could have done worse, much worse. Sales were down 15% and if you consider the attendance difference between last year and this year, I could have been down 15% more, easily.

My best nights were Friday and Saturday. I am glad that once again I chose to do all the five days of the festival, if I had chosen to do just the weekend, I would have been way, way, way down in sales. Sunday and Monday were half of what I expected them both to be and Saturday was right on the money, nothing special there, but at least it was what I had projected.

And the usual rain storms hit. Thursday's was pretty bad, with a few tents (not mine) damaged in the winds and a huge tree falling in the park, not too far from a tent. (Hearsay says there were people in it too, but I don't know for sure). I had packed up and left, knowing my tent was safe through just about anything, she was all tied down, weighted, and staked. I had been through a Mayfair monsoon before and I wasn't about to be worried about going through one again. The next day a few displays had been knocked over by the tent sides billowing in the wind, but nothing we couldn't handle or fix quick.

Another storm blew through Sunday early morning, a few more tents damaged again, and a few people had gotten sick of the low sales and bad storms so they left and went home.

So what does this armchair quarterback think can save the show? I'm not sure, but I have to say

1) lower the price of exhibiting, and get more crafters
2) stop jurying the show like it was in the past, treat it more like a craft show than an art show, and get people to bring in more things the attendees like and can afford
3) stop breaking us into sections or groups, having the "organics market" doesn't mean anything to anyone attending, it just crams people with similar products together and makes it harder for us all to make money because the competition it steeper.

Yes people come for the food, yes people come for the music, but yes people come for the crafts, and getting in more crafters will bring more people in the long run, and if this show wants to be around for the long run, they have to see how all three things work together and build all three things, not just the music.