I Ran...Two Days in a Row

Chris and I have been having discussions about the difference between a desire to go to the gym and a committment to going to the gym.

I want to go to the gym. I write it on my schedule and pencil in the time specifically to go to the gym just like I do with my tutoring, my teaching, and my extra-curriculars. Somehow I never end up at the gym though as something always comes up that takes precedence before the gym.

Nothing ever comes up that replaces anything else on my schedule (or very rarely), but the gym always seems to get crossed off. Chris explained to me that if I wanted to go to the gym as much as I say I do then nothing would stop me. This has been proven by my committment to other things I also want. This was a bit of an obvious awakening that I needed. It was also reiterated when I read another blog I often visit "Shrinking Carrie" at http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/02/26/1365/ for the link pertaining to interest vs. committment.

On this note I started running again. I went to the gym two days in a row and I plan to go tomorrow and run the block on Thursday. I have set my sights on committment.

1km treadmill run Monday 7min 40sec
1km treadmill run Tuesday 8min 09sec

Travel Questions from FMM

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here and at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers.

Now it’s time for this week’s topic!FMM: Travel

Where did your most recent trip take you? I last went to London, Ontario with a girlfriend to visit my family (my lucky hubby got to stay home). But, my last "real" trip was a Carnival cruise to several islands in the Caribbean.

Is there a place that you’d like to visit that you haven’t yet? If so, where? I would really like to go to Colorado. No idea why. I've just always been drawn to it. I would always like to travel through Europe and go out West here in Canada.

Do you travel lightly, or do you cram as much into your luggage as possible? I do not travel lightly. I fill the biggest suitcase I am allowed to take and bring a carry-on. Sometimes I even put stuff in my husband's suitcase too. I do know how to pack light though and can if needed. I just choose not to. Oh, and I always make sure I leave room to bring stuff home from vacation.

Do your eating and exercise habits change when you travel? If so, how? I don't purposefully exercise on vacation (not that I'm doing much of it lately at home), but by pure excitement and interest in doing everything I am way more active on vacation than I am at home because I'm walking and exploring more. I eat more on vacation because we make a point of trying new foods and eating like the locals. But, I think it balances out with the increase in activity as I have never gained weight on vacation.

Tell us about a place you’ve been that you’d like to go back to. I want to go back to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Chris and I had a port of call there on one of our cruises for the evening. We went on a walking tour and stopped at a restaurant to try mofongo (yummiest thing I ate that whole week). I would love to see the city during the day as it is very colourful and historic. I could easily spend a few days there.

Do you prefer to travel at a certain time of year? I love to travel in the winter to warm places so I can escape the cold Candian weather. I also love to travel in the summer to beaches and museums in my province. My favourite season is fall though so I should find a cool travel location in those months to immerse myself in the colours and warm breezes. As a teacher though, my travel is now restricted to Christmas, March, and summer breaks. At least until I'm 56 and retire.

If you had to choose, would you go to the beach or the mountains? Why do I have to choose. I am more likely to go to the beach (history dictates), but I would love to check out the mountains. But first, I need to learn how to snowboard.

Have you ever needed a passport to travel? I got my passport for the first time in 2007 when I went on a trip to Las Vegas. I needed one to fly into The United States of America. I had flown to the States before for a cruise, but a passport wasn't necessary at the time. I just used my birth certificate. I just renewed it a few months ago as I used it for both my cruises with Chris.

Do you collect anything in your travels? I like to bring back artwork, musical instruments and something that reflects the culture. I hate picking up trinkets that are made overseas and then stamped with the country's name on it. We saw lots of this in our travels as the snowglobes for example were all the same, but with a new island name. I have bowls made out of wood native to the country, instruments made out of nutshells from local trees, a carved mortar and pestal to make mofongo at home, artwork painted and sold by street artists, etc.

Where do you plan to go next? I answered this on Chris' blog. I am planning a cruise for March break 2013 on Carnival to the Southern Caribbean, leaving out of San Juan, Puerto Rico so we can spend a few days there too.

See Saw Up and Down

I taught a couple of periods of gym and music yesterday to my kindergarten and grade 1 classes. They were pretty wound up which resulted in me changing my activity for the day. What did my genius mind come up with on the spot????

Chair aerobics!

I sang this song "See saw, up and down, in the air, and on the ground" over and over and over again as we stood up from our tiny kids chairs and sat back down again with the song.

ie. See (stand up) saw (sit down), up (stand up) and down (sit down)

We did this many, many, many times. We then repeated it by raising one or both legs while seated and one or both arms while seated. We then repeated the standing up sitting down portion by adding a jump in the air each time.

I was a little out of breath as I was singing while doing all of this activity for a full 100 minutes between my two classes. The kids loved it and I felt great!

Then came today...I climbed out of bed and Oh My God my legs were so sore and stiff. It felt like I had done a hundred squats. Then I realized I had done way more than that. Teaching yesterday was a way better workout than I could have gotten at the gym.

Have you ever surprised yourself with a workout from an unexpected place or activity?

If You're Feeling Generous...

Please sponsor my first 1km run.

https://www.runningroom.com/dashboard/donations/index.php?raceId=7281&eventId=22795&memberId=UzNSbFI1AGIDZ1BjBDQ%3D&item=8&guest=1&lan=1

Running is Confusing

I was determined to obtain an accurate reading of the time it takes me to run 1km so I squeezed in a treadmill run between work and a night out. This meant I hopped on the treadmill in jeans and a sweater when I stopped at my dad's to pick up the mail. Not ideal, but it worked.

I started with a 3 minute run at 4.5mph, walked 1 minute at 3mph, then ran 1 minute at 5mph, walked 2 minutes at 3mph, ran 1 minute at 6mph, and walked 1 minute 28 seconds at 3mph for a grand total of 9 minutes 28 seconds to complete a 1km walk/run.

I am happy to complete my run in under 10 minutes and look forward to it getting quicker as I build by endurance for running the full duration, but I am very confused. It took me longer to run/walk on the treadmill than it did to just walk outside (9 min 22 sec). I'm confused by how this happens as I was working harder on the treadmill than I was outside. I can only presume that I walk about 4mph at a steady pace when I'm outside and that this is equivalent to me running (or rather jogging) at a faster pace, but then needing to walk at a slower pace to catch my breath.

I did some internet reading and found out that this is a common problem for beginner runners. Lots of people "run" slower than they walk because they are stopping their momentum when their feet pound the pavement at such a slow pace. It turns out to be healthier for you to walk fast at the 4.5mph pace than to jog it. 6mph is the recommended speed to be actually running. This gave me some things to think about.

Looks like next time I hop on the treadmill I will be setting my pace to 6mph since I know I can run that without falling off the treadmill as long as it is for short bursts. I will aim to run 1 minute at 6mph, walk 1 minute at 4mph, and continue alternating, increasing my run time by 15-30 seconds a set each new day I workout.

Running, Runnning, Running

February 9, 2012.

"Running, running, running when the drum says running. When the drum says stop you stop!" This is a song I sing with my younger students while playing a buffalo drum. It is how I felt last night on the treadmill. Typically my treadmill workout consists of 10 minutes with alternating minutes of running and walking. Last night I was determined to run as long as I could in one go.

This was no small feat as I was highly frustrated with my inability to locate the power button for a good 20 minutes, although this stumble gave me an arm workout as I opened and closed the treadmill multiple times and dragged it across the floor to try different outlets in my dad's house. By the time I got on the working treadmill I was tired, but I upped the speed to 4.5mph and set off running.

Frustration hit its uppermost point when I could not read the display to find out how long I had been running for (defeated my intent to time myself on how long it took me to run 1km) and I could not remember the conversion for how much of a mile I needed to run to hit 1km (turns out it is .62 miles). Chris in his effort to help me tried to encourage me to keep running until I hit my 1km mark while he tried to sort out my display. I was annoyed, I snapped, I stopped running, but then I got back on.

A rough estimate is that it will take me 8 minutes to run 1km. I'm going to time it for real tonight. The good news is that I ran for 3.5 minutes then 2 minutes straight. This goal is seeming realistic and achievable at this moment. I'm looking forward to running the 1km without stopping, lessening my time as I run faster, and running for longer distances (I would like to train for 2km so my 1km race is easy).

Now to send an email to match up with my new running buddy...

How to Schedule in the Gym?

February 5, 2012.

I ask my husband this question all the time. How do I fit the gym into my schedule? His response is always the same - you don't fit the gym into your schedule you fit your schedule around the gym. That's all well and good, but he works a 7-4 kinda job with weekends off. I would like to share my upcoming weekly schedule with you to see if anyone can help me out. Where would you fit in the gym?

My weeks are always different, but this a typical week in terms of being busy. I have not scheduled in daily chores of house cleaning. I try to fit those in where I can and thankfully have a wonderful husband who keeps house too.

Sunday
9am make pancake breakfast
Work 11am-11pm

Monday
Clean out car, buy necessities at store (1.5 hours)
10:15-4:15pm Teach
4:30-5:30pm Tutor
grab dinner on the go
6:15-8:30pm Ladies Darts League
8:30pm grocery shop
check in with husband for quality time
10pm bed

Tuesday
5:45am wake up and leave for 1.5 hour drive to work
7:45-1:30pm Work and travel home
lunch on go and check on dad's house
2:15-6pm get together with friend to purge my house of clutter
6pm-7pm make and eat dinner with husband
7-10pm (free time to spend with husband?)
10pm bed

Wednesday
6:30am wake up
7:30-3:30pm Teach
3:30-4:30 (free time?)
4:45pm chiropractor
6pm (likely tutoring, but not scheduled yet so possible gym?)
8pm-9pm make and eat dinner with husband
9-10pm relax
10pm bed

Thursday (my "day off" from work)
8am wake up
9am Dr. appointment
10-10:45am (free time?)
11am-noon massage!!!
lunch, check in on dad's house, test treadmill (time for gym, but who wants to after a massage on their only day off this week?)
4:30-5:30pm make and eat dinner
6:15-8:30pm Tutor
8:30-10pm time with husband, lesson planning for teaching, make treats for "treat day" at work tomorrow
10pm bed

Friday
6:30am wake up and get ready for work
7:30-4:30pm Teach
5-6pm Tutor
6-9pm Monthly Games Night with friends
9-midnight (free "me" time while Chris is at hockey)
1am bed

Saturday
7am wake up and gym!!!
11am-11pm Work

Weekly Weigh-in 2012 Week 5 and Running

February 5, 2012.

I am frustrated this week! I have set goals for myself and I am not accomplishing them to the degree I would like. Plus, I have totally fallen off the workout band wagon.

This week I'm up .7kgs in weight. Not a surprise since I haven't been to the gym in ages.

I did, however, achieve part of my goal for the week. I walked the 1km around my block and it took me 9 minutes 22 seconds. This was walking at a pace that did not require much effort, but was faster than my typical doddle around the neighbourhood to enjoy the weather and the sightseeing. It was also done on icy sidewalks in winter boots. This means I know for sure I will finish my 1km run in under 10 minutes and can certainly aim for a goal of under 7 minutes. I believe my husband runs 1km in 4 minutes 23 seconds roughly.

On the upside, I have gained a running partner. Yeah me! One of my husband's work ladies would like to get into running again and has offered to run the 1km with me. She would like to start off by training with 1 min run, 1 min walk alternating for the 1km. This is where I'm at if I push myself so I think it's a good match. Plus she is super nice.

On the downside, I really screwed up my back just over a week ago. My lower left back was super sore and I've been told by my chiropractor that I have swelling of the sacs around the vertabrae there in addition to having the vertabrae locked up. I then slipped on the ice one icy snow day on my way to work and did my back in even worse. This has kept me from the gym to test out the treadmill. My dad got a treadmill for Christmas though and I'm house sitting to take advantage of his hot tub so I will try out his treadmill this week in case I have to wuss out.