A Little Worried

Hello Stranger, 

It’s been quite a while since I’ve blogged. I was hoping my blog would come following Sunday, my first half marathon. Well I can’t hold it in anymore. I apologize in advance if you are reading this, it’s going to be scrambled and all over the place… I just need to vent a little. 

I’m dying with anxiousness and I’m terrified. I cannot trust in the training, I’ve failed to train properly, I slacked and did not follow my plan. I did not reach the maximum distance nor did I do strength training or hills or speed training. I am utterly out of shape and the heaviest I have ever been in my entire life. Gaining 7 pounds in the last month alone… On top of all that, I am injured. I have been seeing a chiropractor/sports doctor for the last two weeks after injuring my knee two weeks prior to that during an 8km race to get the season started. I destroyed my knee that day and rested an entire week, ran and found myself in excruciating pain again. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t move. Laying in bed was painful. I had given myself patellar tendinitis. Okay fine we figured it out during the first diagnosis and the doctor did some therapy (ultrasound? andd laser) and acupuncture… First time.. Weird. I didn’t enjoy it. Next morning after my first treatment, my foot hurt, a lot, and I was off to a 10km race… So, I did the race in a lot of pain, saw the doctor a handful of times since to treat both my foot and knee and I’m still in pain. I can’t even run 2kms without feeling like my foot is going to rip apart, how am I ever going to finish 21k?!!!! I just want to curl up and cry because I want to do this run sooooooo bad. At this point I’ll most likely be walking it but that means 4+ hours for what I was hoping for 2 ½ hours. I guess the time doesn’t matter really anymore. I just want to be able to finish, not be in pain, and be able to walk afterwards. My knee is aching and my foot is throbbing. I just did less than 2 KMs of WALKING…. This is going to be the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced.

Please don’t lecture me or try to talk me out of it. I understand. My common sense says yes I should sit this one out, no harm no foul. My stubbornness and determination says I signed up, this is what I wanted, why not try instead of giving up?!! I realize I can injure myself more and feel even more useless than I do now but I will spend the rest of my life wondering what if. 

I’m so torn… I know and understand it is okay to not run/walk this race. I just know how disappointed I will be in myself if I don’t at least try. I’d rather than a DNF than a DNS (did not finish over did not start) but most importantly, I’d much rather have a Finisher status! *sigh* 

That is all. That is where I have been lately. Being depressed about my weight, not comfortable in my own skin at all, not running, eating like a fatso, and doing nothing about it. 

Time to go curl up and try to put on a brave face… 

  

Janathon 2.31

This is the end!… Of the month that is!
31 days of jogging, logging, and blogging is now complete!!!

January 31, 2015: 1 km run + 30 Minute Nike+ Training Full Action strength workout

Overall, I have completed 123 KMs this month!!! Surpassing last year’s all time high of 105 KMs in a month! Who thinks I’ll be able to beat the 123 in February with less days? It’s not ideal with the half marathon plan I am following if I followed it to a T (that’s 102 KMs for February) but who know, maybe I’ll be ambitious! I’ll be starting with a big run tomorrow, hopefully no excuses with Janathon coming to an end!

Congratulations to everyone who was part of Janathon. I might not have had a chance to check out everyone’s blogs but you are a superstar, for your efforts and excuses! 🙂

Looking forward to Juneathon 2015!

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon Dressing Gown Dash Video Challenge

Last day and here it is!! I went with my first video even though I realized I had a different Dressing Gown that’s way cooler than this one… I refuse to go through the stress with a second video with this lack of internet and lose my mind over it. I had to take a video of the video from my iPad with my iPhone since my phone has a data plan and my iPad does not (seeing that to upload I would need my Internet to be working!).  I was excited to do this challenge in my onesie costume I used for Halloween but Cathy from JogBlog did hers and well, we have the same Penguin onesie, so I had to find another idea. Apparently, I just learned what a proper dressing gown is (I always thought it was a nighty dress sort of deal). It’s actually just a bathrobe, something open in the front and has a tie across the waist. Oh and since dashing around isn’t quite ideal, I dashed a bit, did some jumping jacks, awkard lunges, and squats for your entertainment.

Without further ado, I present my “Dashing” in a Dressing Gown featuring my pup because he got really excited I was playing outside in the snow. If you’re also watching on your phone, you may want to turn up the brightness. A little different weather here where I am compared to where most Janathoners are, eh? 😀

DGDVC Janathon 2015:

Can’t wait to see all of your videos! Please, vote for me, I’d love to win the running bracelet by ceejay, so cool!

Happy Janathon!!!

rundmach

Janathon 2.30

Guess who still doesn’t have internet?!
Earliest the technician can come is Tuesday…. Maybe I’ll luck out tomorrow and be able to upload my video.

Janathon day 30 included a very late run. Didn’t start until 9 pm (wanted to fully digest and needed extra time to get my lazy butt off the couch). Even with the late start I still felt like I was going to throw up. Only the first two KMs though, after the first bit of struggling, things got better, put on some motivational music/speeches and was on my way to steadier breathing, better posture, and the I love running now that the first ten minutes have past phase.

January 30, 2015: 7 km run

Just a small happy note, I discovered a colleague of mine ran her first half marathon last year. I shared with her my journey so far of signing up for my first half marathon coming this May. We chatted and shared our love for running and guess who else is running the half marathon this May? Yup, this lovely soul from work. She’s been really awesome since I started at this company and I am stoked we share a love for the same kind of high! Now we chat about running and I love it! Today, I am thankful for other runners, including you but especially her. I have no common ground with most of my coworkers but I found one! Or maybe she found me? Regardless, I cherish how much we, runners, can encourage, support, and drive each other to what makes us most happy. Thank you! Keep on running!

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.29

Almost made the month being proud of every day’s activities. Not today.. I did my warm up run of 1 km and then rolled around on the floor in a very sad attempt at doing planks, crunches, Russian twists, crazy Ivan’s, and hip lifts. A lot of things listed but a very few done of each. So, my saddest attempt of working out yet… Luckily only a few days left!

January 29, 2015: 1 km run

Okay, I have a sad video sort of taken from my phone off of my iPad because I couldn’t export it. Haha. Now I need to figure out how I can load it here definitely don’t think I can post it on facebook. If I post a private video on YouTube and post it here, would you be able to see it?

Hope you had a more successful night than me!

rundmach

Janathon 2.28

No internet make Diana go something, something…

January 28, 2015: 7 km build up run

I’m just speechless at the poor internet issues. Always works when I first get home from work but once I want on the treadmill, no internet. No uploading videos to edit. Hopefully I can get an extension to upload my video!

Off to do non-internet related things…

rundmach

Janathon 2.27

Sigh. No internet at the moment. On and off all night. Shortest blog thus far, too angry. Yes, there’s my excuse. Stupid Internet issues.

January 27, 2015: 5 km run

Hope you’re having better luck! Will need to catch up on blogs when I can get a bit more data into my phone!

rundmach

Janathon 2.26

I’m busy trying to figure out a free video editor since I have filmed myself for the Janathon challenge but am failing at it. So I will get in my log for today’s workout and hopefully and update to come to this post or a video coming very soon!

January 26, 2015: 1 km run, medicine ball slams, weight exercises, and some frolicking in the backyard for the Janathon Dressing Gown Challenge (aka a Bathrobe for my more North American friends)

Write again soon I hope!

rundmach

———————————————

Update: no video tonight… No internet actually. Cogeco is the worst!!! I really don’t want to bash any company. But seriously, I have made over 25 service calls in the three months we’ve had their services, 4 technicians come, 3 modems, spent money on my own router as I was told that would fix the problem, sent numerous complaints, and sent a few emails with a final complaint saying I wouldn’t pay my last bill until I actually have working Internet. I’m not paying for something that works whenever it wants to. Oh and I sent that Jan 17 and the only time I received a call back was on a Sunday at 5:30 pm, dinner time with my family, no cells phones do not get answered at this time! Called back Monday and was told the supervisor would call back again… Oh it’s been over a week. I am sooo mad!!!! What kind of customer service is this??? I can’t wait for another cold call to change providers! Sigh…

Janathon 2.25

Happy Sunday!

This is turning into my favourite day of the week! Late night last night, slept in a bit but got up quickly to eat, get dressed and head out for my long run before I ran out of time! Busy busy bee! It was -10 Celsius feeling like -18 with winds over 20 kmh. No matter, I have to take advantage of Sunday’s because it’s the only time I get to run in daylight during winter months here in Canada. Also, I didn’t have time to contemplate what to do. Unfortunately, I did not dress accordingly for my legs. Well my thighs in particular. I have windbreaker tights but thought with my jacket and knee length socks I would be okay with regular tights. Well everything else was mostly okay but my thighs now have some crazy red marks on them. I’m sure it will go away. I’m keeping a log of all my clothes and what works best in what weather. Lesson learned.

I had a pretty good run. Challenging. Pushing myself at each interval to get a little faster. The only down side was missing my first turn which resulted in almost a full km blunder. When I was ready to turn I realized j was at the wrong street and had to turn back to the right intersection. No biggie. This just added an extra km to my cool down walk (much needed but not wanted in this cold). Overall, a minute slower than last week but still and overall much faster pace than I am used to. I’m attributing that one minute to the awful winds I had going uphill and extra minute I took fidgeting halfway through the run trying to cover my face properly when my cheeks started burning.

So happy to keep logging KMs to RunderfulRunners in the Earthathon Relay and check off Janathon Day 25.

January 25, 2015: 7 km run + 1 km cool down walk

Another busy day as I’m currently in the car on my way to another food filled fun afternoon/night.

Oh before I check out, it was also so cold, my water bottle that was under my jacket was turning into ice! Not sure if this picture does any justice (blogging and logging from a phone).

A few for the road relating to today:

There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing! Luckily I wasn’t this guy:

Happy Runday!!

rundmach

Janathon 2.24

Busy weekend ahead. Lunch date with the sweetie giving me enough time to sneak a short run before getting ready for a friend’s birthday tonight. Wish I ran a little more but was worried I didn’t have enough time. Silly me, there’s always time for a run, no matter how long I want it to be! Lesson learned, don’t cut anything you love short.

January 24, 2015: 1 km run

What’s your go to “healthy” drink out/alcoholic drink? I need some help, I love the sweet stuff! Cocktails, mixed drinks, fruity wines… So much sugar!

Happy Weekend!

rundmach

Janathon 2.23

Hi,

It must be opposite week because today I thought I would want to run after all my excitement last night. I got on the treadmill and all I wanted to do was weights! I wanted to lift and row and bench and get tough! Oh well the plan said to run 7 km so I did that. As an award I gave myself a few reps of various dumbbell activities. Unfortunately, I may have been too excited and possibly hurt myself. Always remember to practice good form and posture!! Not to worry, I’m okay now, but for a good five minutes I thought I was having a stroke or was going to die from pain that ached and stabbed through between my pec and deltoid…? Then it hit my chest and heart and I had to curl up and scream a little… Oh the agony, what did I do? The chest pain is gone and now it’s only to one side. I’ve hurt this muscle or whatever it is that exists there before. I don’t know how I pulled it or strained it. But seeing that I’ve pulled the muscle once before due to my lack of flexibility I think I might have gone too hard tonight. Oh Well, that will be all tonight because it’s time to get out of sweaty clothes and stretch these arms out.

January 23, 2015: 7 km run and a few weights/squat exercises

Oh and don’t forget it’s the weekend, yay to daytime (daylight) running outdoors!

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.22

Tonight, I put myself out there again for you, my true friends. All I wanted to do was run forever. Even on the treadmill I wanted to just keep going, another km, another minute, it’s okay I kept telling myself. In the end my sensibility got the best of me. Tonight is my rest night from running and I should be doing strength training; however, all I wanted to do was run. Run past work, run past social standards, run past the norms that I just don’t jive with. I’m an awkward person. I’m intelligent and great at what I do but I just don’t fit in anywhere in the business world… Nowhere I have found yet. I know it exists because I’ve found people who accept me, appreciate me, acknowledge my skills, and even love me. Tonight, I did not want to do any weights.

January 22, 2015: 3 km run

Albeit, that’s a small distance for Janathon and Earthathon, it was a fantastic 3 KMs of running. I wanted to go longer, much much much longer but my rational self kept saying, save it for tomorrow’s 7 km run, you don’t want to hurt yourself, it’s okay to stop.

So here it is, I’m sharing a photo of me because I just can’t express myself any other way than to show how happy I am when I am running.

Happy Running.

rundmach

Janathon 2.21

It’s Wednesday right? You betchya, it’s a slightly speed focussed run night. Speed-training runs always seem way tougher than a regular run. At least it’s still a run and runs are mostly fun! 🙂

January 21, 2015: 7 km build up run

I’m not sure if you’ve gotten the idea yet, I love running. I love that as tough as it is and as much as I may be complaining about my breathing, my lungs, legs, knees, etc. It just means I’m thinking about everything running/happy thoughts and less everything else that bothers me.

Thanks to Janathon, I’m constantly keeping myself up to speed with personal time and hopefully benign part of RunderfulRunners with Earthathon, I stay motivated the rest of 2015.

This is what happened tonight:

Guess I better get to that recycling and garbage… Hopefully a good sleep tonight, not a good one last night either.

Good night,

rundmach

Janathon 2.20

It’s only Tuesday! I thought it was at least Wednesday… I wish I owned a gym… I think I would live a much healthier life style around the clock. Too bad I don’t have the capital for that.

Anywho, I just finished my run as per my conditioning plan, checked off Janathon, logged my KMs and contributed to #RunderfulRunners in the Earthathon Relay. I’m beginning to think my blogs are repetitive… Here’s something new, I’m blogging from my bathroom floor since I just ran and feel like vomiting. So where’s the safest place to cool down? In front of the loo hoping that I don’t actually throw up but I’m in a safe place in case I do… It wasn’t even a hard run since my time/pace was pretty slow compared to my own average. I gave myself well over an hour to digest dinner. It was a tough run though, a lot of walking and I don’t think I got my breathing right at all tonight.

January 20, 2015: 5 km run

Maybe this applies to running too:

Here’s to hoping I can get some more rest tonight.

rundmach

Janathon 2.19

Pathetic. How could I follow up yesterday’s great run with the saddest work out of the month? I started my workout at 10 pm since I got sucked into the TV. At least I still did something active for Janathon that I otherwise would not have. I seriously need to set up cable where my treadmill is… What I really needed was to do a serious work out after the warm up run… I did not do this, I did a few measly exercises and called it a night.

January 19, 2015: 1 km run, squats, bench press, and a few Russian twists

That’s it. That’s all. Tomorrow’s a new day.

I only want to grow old if I’m healthy enough to enjoy it. I want to continue to cherish every moment in good health. Here’s to committing to a better future with a healthier me.

Good night.

rundmach

Janathon 2.18

Happy Funday!!! Sunday, Runday, Funday!

Today I got to do a Build Up run according to my Half-Marathon Plan. What is a Build Up? I start our at the lower set pace then gradually increase to a faster pace, maintain, and continue this until I reach the faster guideline pace. Well, I wasn’t going to share any of my time stats since I’ve finally come to the acceptance of who cares how fast or slow I run? (Other than myself of course). Just to put it in perspective, I’m a slow runner and my goal was to just finish. Based on my last race time and whatever other math MyAisics is converting, my estimated finish time for the half-marathon will be 2:42. That’s good news, My first goal is to finish, second is to finish under 3 hours, and well it’d be splendid if I managed under 2:30 but really, if I finish, I know that will be enough! Any-who, today’s guideline pace was to run a build up of 9:31 up to 8:06 min/km. Yes, that is ridiculously slow as some people walk 8’s…. Well, it’s not very slow when it’s on a treadmill but outside is another story! When I do these paces on the treadmill I’m exhausted and I’m actually running! Today’s outside run, I just started at a comfortable pace, gradually increased, maintained, and then increased again. I continued to do this for a few intervals (running 10 minutes on and 1 minute walk). To put it into perspective, my total average pace on my Nike+ Running account is 7’52″/km. The run today should have been within 8 minutes. I slaughtered that!! I averaged 7’16″/km!! I am soooo stoked on that! I know, it’s still slow relative to what women my age are supposed to be running, but really, it’s faster than I’ve been running lately and I didn’t feel completely beat! I was smiling on my run and having a blast! Other than some soaking toes while stomping through puddles, I had a wonderful run!!! See image attached for my intervals recorded from Nike+. You’ll see my second interval is slower, this is acceptable due to the uphill in the course. Can you believe it though? My last 3 intervals were below 7 minutes per km! Honestly, I really want to break a 34 minute 5k and I really hope this is the year! I know 7 isn’t going to cut it but it is getting me closer to that target!!!!

So, today’s Janathon was a huge success. Day 18 of my run streak continues. Contributed to my team #RunderfulRunners with 7 kms logged in the Earthathon Relay.

January 18, 2015: 7 km run 

I am really going to have to figure out how to run in the dark again and feel safe… I love winter but I don’t like how dark it gets before I even get home from work (and it’s dark early in the morning too). I really do love outdoor running compared to the dreadmill. I have been so happy all day. I smiled most of my run, was comfortably challenged, and just felt even better when I saw the stats! A good run can seriously change how you feel and although I’m still a little angry, not very much so today. Happy and accepting, life is still good. I hope you had a great weekend of running yourself!

I’ve ran out of funny running comics so here’s a good grammar one for the road:
Sneak Peek vs Sneak Peak

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.17

Well here we are. It’s the weekend and tomorrow will be a lovely outdoor run *fingers crossed for good weather*.

Tonight for Janathon I completed a short 1 km run (doubling as a warm up session) and finished with a 30 minute strength training session from Nike+ Training Club. Just 1 km for the Earthathon relay but it’s another 1 up for team #RunderfulRunners!

January 17, 2015: 1 km run and 30 minute N+TC Full Action workout

Honestly, the only thing on my mind is how I slaved an hour over dinner and carrying it out to the table I dropped it all over the kitchen floor and carpeted dining room floor. *sigh* at this moment I think I should have taken a picture but in the moment and I reached out to the floor in slow motion screaming “noooooo” and well, plopped down to the floor and was pretty much ready to cry. Even after the working out, it’s all I can think about. How depressing! By the way, if you are wondering why my floors aren’t clean enough to eat off of, try owning a big white dog who likes to shed every minute of every day… There was no saving any of the peas, Bok Choy, carrots, or salmon.

Good luck to everyone running tomorrow!

rundmach

Janathon 2.16

Happy Friday!

What a week… I also am lacking internet still so short blog again… Maybe…

Completed my run tonight as per my half marathon plan, checking off Janathon and run streak day 16 and adding KMs to the Earthathon relay for #RunderfulRunners!

January 16, 2015: 7 km run

Today, I ate a lot and a lot of it was not very healthy. Why did I do this to myself? Because I wanted to and it’s part of my job. I got to sample a bunch of new/existing innovative food products. I do enjoy that part of my job because how could I promote something without getting a first hand experience and learning more about the companies that produce these delicious products we all know and love. So, I had perogies, cake, cookies, some energy bars, and some lattes. Good thing I had a longer run tonight so I could do all the sampling indulging I had done.

Hopefully Internet is fixed tomorrow and I can load up my run plan and update my blog instead of blogging on my phone. Thank you everyone for being so kind as this week has been tough. We’ve secured a lawyer and will hopefully have life sorted out… Until then, thanks again for bearing with my vagueness regarding my anger. I am excited for Sunday’s run because that means I can run outside in day light!

I had Apple pie and lattes today…

One more for the road:

Happy Weekend!

rundmach

Janathon 2.15

Janathon is half way through!
For the day and for the earthathon relay I continued my run streak with a 1 km run for #runderfulrunners.

January 13, 2015: 1 km run and 15 minute N+TC Beach Balance Workout

This about sums up how I feel… working out and running does not counter the amount I would like to eat.

Sorry I’m not too chatty… Still a very angry person right now.

rundmach

Janathon 2.14

January 14, 2015: 7 km run and some boxing

Janathon is probably the only thing keeping me sane right now. Logging in 7 KMs for the day so I am not steering astray from my training is the only thing I can force myself to do to sort of clear my head. It’s not cleared too much when I am stuck on a treadmill and the Internet doesn’t work. Well, here’s to the day being over and some KMs logged towards the earthathon relay for my team #runderfulrunners.

I did a bit of boxing tonight as well just a little bit to let out the aggression. It’s nice having a punching bag but it’s still not enough… Hopefully it warms up a bit and I can go back to the outdoors to run and really clear my head.

rundmach

Janathon 2.13

January 13, 2015: 5 km run

I don’t have much to say. I don’t have much I can say. Some stuff is going on and well it needs to be kept confidential as much as I’d like to scream and yell and punch and vent it out here, I put on my favourite pair of running shoes and did my training run on the treadmill. We were back in extreme cold weather alerts this morning. This means stay indoors unless you really have no choice.

Janathon, run streak day 13, and 5km Earthathon relay contributions to #RunderfulRunners completed.

Time to try to get some sleep tonight…

Good night,

rundmach

Janathon 2.12

January 12, 2015: 1 km run, squats, crunches, Russian twists, and push ups

Some personal stuff going on today… Not able to really focus right now, had to force myself on the treadmill and to get some exercises in, sorry. Being a grown up is tough sometimes.

rundmach

Janathon 2.11

Happy Funday Runday!!!

Janathon Day 11 had been a huge success!!! I was recruited and signed up for the #earthathon relay to be part of #runderfulrunners !! Our team is currently in 4th place out of 10! The goal is to get to 25,000 miles first as a team. I’m super excited to be part of this and if you have Twitter, join our team!! Or follow me @rundmach! Today I went out and logged my first run for the relay, crossed off my run for my half marathon plan, and can check off Day 11 completed for Janathon.

January 11, 2015: 7km Run

Since it’s Sunday, I got to run outside in daylight (also because the extreme cold weather is now gone). Runrchatts is also training so we started our run together and he took off, check out his blog and show him some love! Wowie!! What a fantastic run I had! Long slow run at 10 minutes on and 1 minute walking, I finished in a great time according to what my plan wanted me to do on a treadmill. Thank goodness I did not have to do the run on a treadmill today because the sun was shining and paths were relatively safe to run on. I really enjoyed the run, despite forgetting to take my inhaler before the run and gasping for air at the beginning. I absolutely love running outdoors (yes, even in the winter). The dreadmill gets the job done and I just watch a movie or listen to music. The outdoors is an experience and I am left to the beauty of the world, my thoughts, and soaking in the run. Guess I might be having a little bit of the runner’s high right now.

I hope you’re having a great wrap up to your weekend!

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.10

It’s Saturday! I’m excited for the weekend but if you’re like me, the weekend means cheat days because it’s all about family and friends. Two-three days packed of late nights, early mornings (because my body only wants to sleep in when it’s a work day) and bad food. So, I have to get my Janathon day 10 activities in early otherwise I might not do anything!

January 10, 2015: 1 km run, 20 minutes Yoga, and some arm exercises

I may have jinxed myself yesterday because after blogging my right leg started feeling really uncomfortable. It’s kind of in my hip or in my joints, I can’t really explain the pain. All I know is it hurt any time I moved my leg in bed or even in certain positions. This is why I decided to do yoga today as I’m still in a bit of discomfort. I tried the Recovery Yoga for Runners from Runners World. Boy, I am not a fan of Yoga. Whenever she had her leg straight up I felt like I had mine the same way, then I looked in the mirror and I was lucky if I was even at a 90 degree angle… Same with getting your head to the floor, my forehead was probably still two feet from the ground. I tried my best and didn’t do any of my other leg exercises like lunges or squats today. Well, I hope it helped! After yoga I did 5 intervals of 30 seconds with 10 second rests of arm exercises using 10 lb weights: rows (left arm, then right), bench press, shoulder press, and something I call butterflies but have no idea what they really are….

I may have done a yoga before but I am definitely not flexible.

Happy Weekend Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.09

Good evening, oh well it’s past 9 so I guess Good Night.

Oh why yes it was a good night for Janathon Day 9. Well as good as it can get. I did my run close to plan… I completed the 5k but had to speed up the run. The extra slow jogging pace was getting way too slow for me and I really didn’t want to be on the treadmill for the last km for twice the time I could actually finish it. So, I’m exhausted now but I emptied the tank at the end of the run so I could max myself out and get the distance covered. Whew. Feels good to finish the run.

January 9, 2015: 5 km run (3.15 miles on the treadmill)

Sometimes you just have to run a little faster to feel great! I know, don’t overdue it, follow the plan, don’t risk an injury. I may have run faster than I normally do but I did it to my capabilities.

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.08

Hi there,

Janathon Day 8 completed. I’m keeping the run streak going, woohoo! Today I ended my workout with an 8 minute run on the treadmill, a little over 1 km. I started the with a Nike+ Training Club workout for 15 minutes then moved onto my own little work out. I set a timer to go every 30 seconds. I did 30 on and 30 off for 8 minutes to do as many as I can of different exercises (safely and with correct form – the best I can). These exercises went as follows: Squats, Shoulder Press with weights, Wood Chop Squats, Bench Press with heavier weights, Squat Jumps, Crunches, Squats, and ended with a plank hold. I don’t know if you’d consider this a circuit, interval, strength, cross training, or whatever type of workout or training. It’s something and there’s so many new terms out there, I can’t keep up with cross fit, tabata, HIIT, etc…. It’s exercise! 🙂

January 8, 2015: 1.06 km run, 15 min N+TC Butt Buster workout, and 8 minute strength training/circuit workouts

I’m working a little backwards and going to blog about yesterday since I forgot to mention a few things and I’m blank for tonight since it’s 10:30 PM and I’m sleepy… Any-who, yesterday marked a very proud day for myself. Our department had a welcome back for one of my colleagues who was on mat-leave. This included 10 AM gourmet cupcakes, which I can never resist! In this room filled with people, I stared down those cupcakes, watched everyone eat them and just said no… I was then called out why I was the only one not eating one – I said I was on a diet…. WHY DID I SAY THIS? I’ve been killing myself over it, I was ridiculed and embarrassed and then worst of all, I started to feel like I was being rude for not having a cupcake….. how could I be rude?! Why couldn’t I have just lied and said I was full since it was so early in the morning? I guess I don’t think about lying in the moment since it’s not me to lie, I just speak the truth and that made me feel awful… But the rest of the day I just kept telling myself, “It’s okay, be proud, you said No to a cupcake you didn’t NEED”. I’ve had these cupcakes before and they are phenomenal! I do like eating them and honestly, at that moment, I wanted it because it looked so good but I really didn’t need it or crave it. I wanted it because it was there, not because I sat at my desk dreaming about it all day… Well, that was my win and despite feeling like it was a loss because I’m still trying to find my place at work, I stood my ground and smiled.

Everyone thinks that every woman’s dream is to find the perfect man. Actually, it’s every woman’s dream to eat anything they want without getting fat. 

One more point to add to yesterday after I had blogged… I enjoyed a no sugar, low-calorie vanilla pudding after my run as I blogged. Yes, I’m buying in and trying all these different snack to help feed my sweet tooth without having the sugars. I guess after a 7 km run, you should probably have something more nutritious because after blogging I spent a bit of time throwing up that pudding and what I had for dinner hours earlier…  So, word of advice, have something that’s better for your body after a run! Even if it is late at night and you don’t want to consume the food, you might just need to refuel yourself properly!

Happy Eating!

rundmach

Janathon 2.07

Janathon Day 7 puts me at a 1 week runstreak! Woohoo!…. I’m exhausted… I don’t care how slow I had to go today according to plan, I’m just happy I didn’t slack on Day 2 of the Half-Marathon pre-conditioning training. So, I’ve jogged and logged. Not sure what to say in this blog, I’m tired and hangry as always (don’t worry, not starving myself – just want to munch on chippies and candies).

January 7, 2015: 7 km run and Squats

Tomorrow is a rest day on the running plan, should I rest and do some strength training or still get a short km in to keep the runstreak going?

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.06

Hey There,

It’s 10 pm and I just finished my first run on my new half marathon plan. When I have a bit more time this weekend I will load up the plan. For now, in the plan I trust. No matter how fast or slow (very slow today) the pace is supposed to be. Just to share some more weirdness with my watch, on my fast runs my watch says 1km for the 1 mile on my treadmill. On my slow run today my watch read 8 KMs for the 3.11 miles (5k). A little crazy how huge of a difference it is.

January 6, 2015: 5 km run and squats

Yes, I’m still forcing myself to do squats even though my legs are burning. Go me!

No long post to share as I’m now going to try to cool down and get some sleep (if it weren’t for Janathon, I would have been in bed an hour ago with no exercise).

By the way, this whole limiting myself to 1200 calories and tracking my food, I’m constantly hungry which turns me hangry…. It’s no fun! Hopefully all the water eventually makes up for it…

Remember to take a minute to breathe and rest even with all the movement you’re doing extra this month, you’ve earned it!

Happy Resting!

rundmach

Janathon 2.05

Hi,

I think everyone who had to go back to work today felt the same way I did getting home late, making dinner, eating, digesting, and well, lazy afterwards. Oh it’s also bloody cold out so indoor workout was the plan the entire day while I sat at my desk and dreamed about how much I’d rather be doing a job where I’m physically active. So, what’s someone to do who loves to work with Excel, databases, creating awesome reports and conducting analysis, but also wants to be in an industry that promotes exercise? I’d like to spend half my day at a computer and the other half getting in shape. I guess that’s my journey I’ll have to discover…. unless you’ve got a lead? 🙂

Well, I went a little American today and ran 1 mile instead of 1 km on the treadmill… I know, I said I’d try to do 2 kms per day but I start my Half Marathon plan tomorrow with a 5 k. I keep getting told I need to make sure I take my rest days too. I’m already ready to call it quits for Janathon because I’m just so lazy but here I am, 1 mile later, I’m back on the couch watching the World Juniors. I guess I’m back to Canadian!!! Go Canada!!!! These boys are on fire!! Unlike me, I’m super sore all over from “all” this working out I’ve been doing.

January 5, 2015: 1 mile run (1.61 km run)

Thanks for always listening (reading) about my running, love-hate relationship with treadmills, and my journey of a life. I don’t have the right Oatmeal comic for today (plus I don’t want to give away his entire book) and since I’m sure other people may not always want to hear about my running or Janathon, here’s a funny little image:

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.04

Hi there!

My Janathon day 4 is complete with my jog, log, and now blog. Squats, squats, squats.  Squat jumps. Wood Chops with squats. Squats. Squat holds. I’m flooded with squats today! I just completed a 30 minutes Nike+ Training Club workout. These workouts are intense but great. I did the Slim Chance one today. If you have a chance, download the app and give some a shot. It’s what I used last year to lose some weight and help strengthen my body to speed up in my running. I’ve been starting January with Squats, Crunches, and Push Ups every morning and night (skipping it tonight by the way). Adding in this 30 minute workout that included various different squats, I’m all squatted out! I finished the workout and decided to hop on the treadmill to keep the runstreak going and completed a 1 km straight out run. Again, slightly bothered my Nike+ GPS Watch read 0.68 KMs while the treadmill read 0.62 Miles. I know the treadmill is accurate due to the pace and time it took me to complete that kilometre. Stretch, breathe, drink some water, ahhhhh, the day is a success.

January 4, 2015: 30 min N+TC Slim Chance workout, 1 km run, squats, crunches, and push ups

Although, I don’t have anywhere to log this, I’m logging it here in my blog for Janathon. I decided to walk out and get some groceries today with a backpack and walk home (instead of bus/car). In this backpack, I had a 5lb bag of potatoes, 3 lb bag of carrots, a bag of onions, 1 L chocolate milk, 2 tubs of 750 ml yogourt, a container of hummus, a big bag of frozen peas and some other various smaller grocery items (plus my sweater because it was too hot to wear it under my jacket by the time I decided to leave the store). In a separate bag I carried other foods consisting of some meat, veggies, and fruits – yes that’s right, I didn’t cave in for any bad food! So, I’m definitely counting that walk home as a big win for me! No sitting on the couch and waiting for someone else to do it for me or doing more trips with smaller portions. I went all out today and am very proud of myself for that. 🙂

I’m stoked to see so many other Janathoners keeping up because for Day 4, it feels like it’s already Day 10! Keep up all the great work! Don’t worry, if you’re not a fellow Janathoner – it’s okay, just get out there and be active!

Today’s comic from The Oatmeal is to shed a bit of light on the time I had to pause my workout today and clean off my medicine ball. I haven’t used it for so long, it felt like there were spider webs all over it since it just sits down in the basement. So, laying on my back holding the ball in front of my chest and reaching up, I thought spiders were going to drop down in my face…. this is pretty similar to how I felt.

If you’re going to use equipment you haven’t used in a while, it’s probably a good idea to give it a good wipe down!

Happy Running.

rundmach

Janathon 2.03

Hello Hello,

I’ve officially completed my weigh in for the DietBet and have been verified by the auditors. Starting Monday, I will have 4 weeks to lose 4% of my body weight. This will be tough. Regardless of all the running I enjoy doing, the last time I was 4% less my current body weight was last June.  This was when I actually worked out (strength training) and watched what I ate. This is doable since it was during Junathon that I hit this weight so hopefully this year’s Janathon challenge will get me there with some extra dollars at the end too!

Well, I didn’t have much of a plan today for my run, just make sure I get out there for Janathon because if it wasn’t for this jog, log, and blog daily, I would have had my butt firmly planted on the couch the entire day. Today was a beautiful snowy day. I got out just in time for a little bit of the fluffy white stuff to hit the ground….and then pow, ice…. then rain. After about the first 10 minutes, I think I had enough. I was already running nice and slow, shorter steps due to all the sticky snow building up but the rain was starting to soak through my pants and I wore a heavier jacket so my legs were cold but my upper body was over heating. With all this discomfort, I could also barely see. The rain was just hindering my view – especially when I couldn’t see all the cars clearly… I decided to take the first turn and make it a shorter run – so long as I hit 2 kms. By doing this, I made my run an uphill and then against the wind run. No real downhill or with the wind benefits today. Maybe at some point before the day is over, I will add in some more workouts, but for now I am counting this my success for the day.

January 3, 2015: 2.19 km run, squats, crunches, and push ups

I thought I would share this picture of after my run today to give you a bit of perspective of what I could see, compared to what the non-optically challenged runner sees. Quite a difference! While I was running I thought what another person would think if they saw the world through my eyes, from the basics of what colours look like to me and if they look the same to others down to the beliefs and morals I have based on what I see in this world. Then I just thought about that saying “You’re twice as hardcore when you run in the rain”… Does that make me a quadruple threat today? It snowed, hailed, then rained on me while I completed a short 2 kms. That’s a lot of weather.

I hope you had an inspiring run today that left you happy and discovered something new/rediscovered yourself.

Happy Running!

rundmach

 

Janathon 2.02

Good Evening Companion!

Today, I was one of those lucky individuals who had to go to work and on top of that, I showed up early at 8 and had stayed until 4:30. I was the only one sitting in my area, pretty quiet but I guess it doesn’t matter much, I just seem to sit at my desk and work away. I didn’t know I could move even less when I first started a desk job but this new job I have, I move even LESS! I sit the entire 8 hours except for the few steps I take to the water cooler and bathroom. No up/down stairs trips, no print jobs, no other departments to work with, just me-my computer-my boss’s office…. I’m struggling to fit in where I am despite how nice everyone is, I just don’t fit in. This isn’t new though, I’m definitely an awkward person to begin with and am a huge introvert. I have met a few people I really like and others I’d love to work with more. Maybe it will just take some more time….  I got lost in my work and the day actually flew by.

Despite all the noise in the world, a run can tune everything out.

Even though there are all the games I like to play, getting sucked in by my couch, and all the other distractions in the world, I love getting out and running. Yesterday’s run left me a little stiff but worse, the squats I did left my glutes ridiculously sore! That’s what I get for not doing squats since last June. Haha. Overall, a pretty successful day 2 to Janathon.

January 2, 2015: 4.01 km run, 10 minute warm up walk, squats, crunches, and push ups

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon 2.01 & The DietBet

Happy 2015!!!

Happy Birthday to Janathon who’s turning 5 this year!!! This is Janathon 2.0 for me! I’m excited to partake in the Annual Festival of Activities & Excuses for my second year. If you’re new to my blog, the point is to Jog, Log and Blog every day for the month of January. Or do any form of exercise or physical activity that will get you in a healthier state. It’s free and it’s fun! No prizes for me since I’m in Canada but for most participants who are in the UK – there’s a lunch, weekly group runs, prizes, etc. Although I’m so far away, I love being part of this in the virtual world. I love following other bloggers, getting inspired, and sharing my success….or excuses…. Let the games begin!

I have to say, I’m pretty proud of myself for this success today. Runrchatts helped me run outside and although it wasn’t too cold -5°C feels like -13°C, the wind was at 35km/h with gusts going up to 56 km/h were pretty scary. I’m certain the wind may have been worse, especially having to run into it a couple of times! My goal for this Janathon is to run at least 2 kms a day for round 2 (in 2014 I aimed to run at least 1 km a day even when I was sick!). My next level goal is to run a total of 102 kms in January to surpass last January’s 101 total. So, if you do the math, I actually should be running 3.3 kms daily. This means I’ll just have to have some big runs to average out those smaller 2 km days when I just can’t muster up the willpower to run more. I’ll be adding in some other exercises throughout the day to complete as well and list them here.

January 1, 2015: 6.02 km run, 1 km cool down walk, squats, crunches, push ups, and forward lunges (left and right)

I don’t know if you even notice 2014 go by! It’s been a blimey great year despite all of the sad in the world. I can blog about my successes and failures in 2014 or my big plans for 2015, but instead I’d like to introduce you to the DietBet challenge. Join today! I discovered the DietBet after reading a fellow blogger’s post (sorry, I don’t remember who’s it was???). Any who, the DietBet is a challenge where you bet on yourself, literally. I have put in $35 (USD) for a January 5 to February 1 challenge to lose 4% of my body weight in 4 weeks. There’s a bunch of other rules that make sure there’s no cheating (don’t worry, your pictures are private and safe between you and the auditors). This is my first DietBet and I’m excited to put my money where my mouth is at! If I succeed I will get a portion of the pot (split amongst all winners). I’m pretty certain if I changed my poor eating habits, that 4% will be shed pretty quickly! I just love to eat toooooo much and I love to eat EVERYTHING! Fruit, Chips, Candy, Bread, Cheese, Potatoes, you name it, I like to eat and it’s a problem. So, here’s to a new year, new Janathon, and a new challenge with the DietBet.

Source: The Oatmeal 

Hope your first day of the year was as successful as mine!

Happy Running

rundmach

The Return for Janathon

Happy whatever it is you celebrate! In the busy lives we live, it’s definitely a good reminder to take some time to show the people you love how much they mean to you. For me this is Christmas. Merry Christmas to all the fellow bloggers and runners across the world. I hope Santa was good to you and you are feeling loved.

It’s been a very crazy 6 months since I’ve last posted and I am now making sure that I am coming back for Janathon 2015. I have officially signed up so you can find me here starting January 1, 2015 logging all my daily activities (which will mostly incorporate running, strength training, cycling, and various types of exercises that I don’t normally partake in). I am very excited for this year’s Janathon as it will help get me off the right start as it did this last year. This will be my second Janathon and I hope to win smugness and immense self-satisfaction.

It’s not that I haven’t wanted to blog but in the last 6 months a few other things have been taking priority. I broke up with the one thing that’s been in my life longer than anything else, I quit my job where I worked for over 10 years. It’s not really work when you love the industry, people, place, and have the passion for what you do. My love did not change for what I do but the environment changed, it became a very emotionally stressful company to work for over quite a few months after a take over and it was time to leave and make sure my life was filled with positivity. Work-Life Balance is so important and if you can’t step away from your work when you leave the workplace, you better love what you do. I am one of those individuals who believe the things you do define you and I started doing things that I would never be proud to say I was part of. In this last little while, I discovered a new job and it’s still fairly new so I’m getting my feet wet and seeing what will come next. The greatest things are the people here. It is not necessarily an industry I would have chosen or even imagined I’d be in but the people are so welcoming and friendly, it has made the transition a little easier. The only negative so far, I do much much much less moving and spend almost a full 8 hours sitting. The last 6 months did include a two little vacations that reminded me what life is really about, spending time with the ones you love and enjoying every moment. Of course I can go on and on about what a blast I’ve had on vacation or what a miserable time I had making the decision to leave what has been such a huge part of me, but I’ll get into the running!

I did not succeed in all of my goals for 2014 but I am not disappointed. I ran alone, with friends, with the love of my life, and in a couple of races. I raised some money, maybe not enough as I had hoped and did not make time to volunteer but I will try harder this new year. I did do strength training and understood more of my abilities. I did not lose any weight at all but I have always known, that I run so I can eat whatever I want but also because running is the most free I have ever felt. I have learned and am accepting that running may not be the factor to losing weight (diet smiet)…. Running is me time and it is my happiness. It may sound corny to some people but I think all runners can attest that Running is the ultimate nirvana.

Recently, I ran with runrchatts without music! I went bare, no headphones, no phone with me, just the company of someone I enjoy running with and we chatted and ran and I had a blast! I’m sure I’ll still need the music for longer runs but this 5k we completed with each other was phenomenal. I listened to everything around me and soaked it all in. This is an accomplishment to me because it was a chance for me to enjoy the company of another runner and embrace the beauty of the world around.

In these last 6 months, I’ve also felt pretty accomplished as I feel like I have been officially inaugurated into the running world. I have been running for quite some time now but the whole idea of black toes and losing toenails made absolutely no sense to me. My toes had always been your average toes until recently…. I received 1 super black toe and 2 other smaller toes said goodbye to their protective upper casing. This seems very weird, but I’ve never been more proud to lose toe nails.

I think to catch you up on the last 6 months would just be ridiculous to do in one blog post as this is already getting lengthy so I’ve tried to capture some of the highlights the best I can…except for one…….

This Christmas, I signed myself up for a half marathon! On Sunday, May 3, 2015 I will be running the Mississauga Half Marathon. Merry Christmas to me!!! I’ve been toying with the idea and have blogged about it before. It’s time to hold myself accountable and put my feet where my words are. My goal is to just finish. I’m not sure if I’ll ever do another half at this point but it’s definitely a bucket list item! Funny enough, when I started blogging, my biggest goal was 10k and wasn’t even sure if I’d enjoy the 10k. It seems that I am growing and the 10k may not be enough. A Half seems almost too much but I am nervously excited!! I’ve signed up, paid, and can’t turn back now!

I know I don’t have to keep preaching on here as to why running is so great. I might just be doing this because I still need motivation to get me off my butt. It seems in my head I know how good running is for me and in my heart how much I love to run, but there’s this thing (maybe it’s the Blerch) that just makes me succumb to laziness.  So, here I am, signing up for Janathon to kick off the new year like many others promising to stay on track. Regardless of how busy life is going to get, for 31 days, I will be active and will blog daily.

Over the course of Janathon I will be sharing some fun comings from The Oatmeal. I hope he doesn’t mind but I’m in love with the comics as I just got the book, The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distance. 

I hope that you have been doing well as I have not had the time to stay up to date on blogs or anything online…. I am wishing you a successful New Year and hope that you’ll join in on these 31 days of discovery and growth.

So for whatever reason you may be running for, I hope you continue to run and enjoy it!

Happy Running.

rundmach

Juneathon Day 30 – Annual Festival of Excuses

Well, I couldn’t be happier or more disappointed that June is coming to an end. I’m torn because well I didn’t do so well this month for jogging/daily exercising, logging, and blogging every day.

June 27-29th is all about excuses. Friday night, came home from work and went right out – it was date night! I thought about postponing to later in the evening and getting my workout in but really, I didn’t want to keep my handsome date waiting so I got myself ready and headed out. I had a blast so I’m okay. Saturday, I went to visit my mom and although that didn’t take the entire day, I just made excuses to not run. By the way, it’s been smoldering hot here (even tonight, at 8 pm it is 30°C with humidity sitting at almost 40°C). Sunday came by, I had high hopes. I stepped outside, the hotness hit me, and I had just an absolutely lazy but relaxing day with my sweetheart.

Success comes today, Monday, June 30th! It’s the last day of Juneathon so I just had to force myself to get in some kilometers so I wouldn’t be such a failure. For the final day, I sweat a ton again for 3 kms. That sounds so short now after I read your blogs and how much you guys & gals are running! Oh well. It’s still a lot for me. Although I’d like to consider myself a newbie but I’d say two years of running now, a handful of races, I’m classified as a runner – maybe not a long distance or a fast pace runner, but a runner nonetheless. Thank goodness I have some determination to push myself to complete Juneathon strong!

There you have it. As the final day for Juneathon, I’m going to feature Excuses!
When is it okay to make an excuse to NOT run or not workout? It’s not really an excuse when it’s legit. But…sometimes it’s necessary.

rundmach’s Top 5 Annual Festival of Excuses
1. Sick – If you’re sick, you should probably rest, your body is already working extra hard to fight off whatever infection your body is being attacked by (vomiting, migraines, fevers, bad coughs, etc.). Or maybe you’re a parent and you have a little one who needs you. Don’t beat yourself up because you need to be by their side, they’ll love you unconditionally – you’re showing them they mean more to you than yourself.
2. Injury – This should probably be 1 but I think 1 may happen more often. If you’re hurt, don’t push it!! It’s been to take a day or a week off over having to take a lifetime off if you cause more damage. Even if you think it’s minor, you should probably RICE (rest, ice, compress, and elevate).
3.  Special Events – In this case, weddings, birthdays, or celebrations of any sort. Sometimes these events just take up an entire day and there’s nothing you can do. It’s okay to use these as an excuse occasionally. Of course we should try our best to make time for ourselves which mean running or working out (you shouldn’t always dread it, you should want it).
4. Travel/Vacation – I don’t always endorse this one but I think it’s acceptable for others. If you’re on vacation, you’re probably already being more active than sitting at a desk. I prefer to be active on a vacation and be able to run and explore the new areas or go hiking BUT I think it is absolutely your right to take time to enjoy who you’re vacationing with (or even yourself) and spend time engulfing the trip you’re on (the culture, the food, the environment, the sights and sounds, etc.).
5.  Just Because – Sometimes, we all need that one day off. It’s okay to give yourself some slack. Maybe not as much as I have this month but that’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up because you want a day off to rest or do something else (go for a walk, watch a movie, spend some quality you time, etc.).

Well, I guess it looks like you can find any reason to make up an excuse to not run or workout but that’s all up to you.

Juneathon, it’s been a blast. Thank you all for your support and inspiration with all that you have done bloggers & athletes.
I have done various other exercises (cycling, circuits/cross training) but this is all about running. Not my strongest month at all for distance covered but a successful 54 kms to wrap up the month… Janathon I completed 101 kms… I missed 9 days compared to 0. A 70% success rate versus 100%… I thought you’re supposed to get better over time? Guess I really need to step up next year for Juneathon! How did you do this month? How do you compare to Janathon?

Happy Excusing! But seriously, Happy Running!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 26 – Running Mistakes

Hi Readers,

Today’s a rest day as per NTC but really, I’ve been resting for too long. Juneathon Day 26 activities are completed. Simple 3 KM run that was going to be a light trot but turned into a serious run. I ran the first km, walked a minute, ran 900m, walked a minute, and ran the final 900m. This doesn’t sound like a hard run but the time it took me to complete this was faster than my average and faster than my recent regular “fast” pace. I’m pretty proud of the run. Yes, I may have stopped to walk but the brisk walking to have water helped reduce cough attacks (only had 2 during the run) and I swear it sped me up for the remaining KM ahead. All in all, I have jogged, logged, and blogged for today, no excuses. 🙂

I started Juneathon with a how to run feature but I haven’t focussed on how NOT to run. This is to focus on items and things you do NOT want to do or things that you may be doing too much that could be impairing your growth and enjoyment in running.

rundmach’s Top 5 Mistakes of Running for Beginners:

1. Too Much – Too Soon: Which also includes running too fast at the start. Don’t push yourself to distances your body isn’t ready for and don’t go out too fast; pace yourself. Start off slow and steady with shorter distances. Aim to start with walk run intervals. I’m still only at a little under 12 km as my longest distance ever ran… I’ve been at it for 2 years and I read blogs where beginner runners run a marathon after 9 months. That’s amazing and inspirational, but that’s not for me and that might not be for you. Maybe it will be one day but don’t rush into it!

2. Running in the Wrong Shoes: This is important at for everyone. Don’t just pick shoes that you think are pretty because I’m a Nike fan and have always wanted to be able to run Nike shoes but they just don’t work for my feet. They don’t support the arch I have, my heels, or the width of my feet. Make sure you’re getting fitted properly by someone who cares and not someone who’s just trying to make a sale. In this case, you also don’t want to be running in some random sneakers. I saw someone running in some Chuck Taylors once (super flat trendy shoe, not made for running) and all I could think of, poor feet… But I also want to try to become a barefoot runner so… whatever it is you need, make sure you’re treating your feet well, they absorb the impact of your body and support how the rest of your body will feel during and after the run.

3. Not Hydrating: Remember you need to fuel properly and drink plenty of water 24 hours prior to your run, during, and after. Water helps with performance, breathing, and restoring your muscles. Your standards 8 ounces of water a day is sufficient but maybe a little more would be nice, if it’s too much, you’ll just pee it out.

4. Listening to Everyone: This includes me… Everyone thinks they’re an expert and really, you just need to listen to yourself and your body. Use your common sense and make sure you’re doing your research. Choose your resources wisely and think thoroughly before you take any advice too seriously.

5. Comparing too Much: Whether you are comparing stats or looking at other runners, don’t do it too early. The most important thing about running is the fact that you’re just getting out there and going.

Hope this helps you keep a level head and be aware of what you’re getting yourself into/reading.
What you should do is just HAVE FUN! 🙂

Happy Running!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 25 – Sparkle

Hello!!!!!

I will start with saying I am at awe after being on this blog for over two years and you, are still as wonderful as ever. I am still sick but you help me kick it off. You, your support, and undying openness to accept my flaws and downfalls has and continue to make me stronger. Thank you for all of the comments and strength while I have been recovering from some silly sickness.

Today, I cough a lot again. At work, at the grocery store, in bed, in the shower, everywhere. NTC and Juneathon say run so I ran. 5 KMs later, and a bucket load of sweat, here I sit, proud to blog and share with you my success. I had a few coughing fits but nothing I didn’t outrun. I feel like I have never sweat soooo much during a run. I’m sure I have and it’s the recent lack of exercise making it seem like it was pouring down my face. Anyways, I’m happy to cross off a happy face on my workout calendar today.

Today’s special workout feature is sparkle or shine or glow. What I mean by this is, take a moment and enjoy yourself. Take some time to reflect in every workout and all the sweat you’ve burned. Bask in your success and hard work. Enjoy how far you have come and let it soak in. I want this feature to be about you. Your training, your wins, your finish lines, and every extra minute you have added to your life with the good choices you have made.

With this I again step out of my shell for this blog, for you, and share a little photo of me right after my run. I will not continue to beat myself up for being sick and not being able to work as hard. It is part of life. I will continue to push myself and not let myself slip and get into a funk that will be hard to get out of.

This is how you sparkle:

I run for the sweat. It releases endorphins that help me forget anything troublesome. I take pride in the sweat dripping down my face and beading off my body. I’ve worked hard for these sparkles and this, makes my heart ever so happy.

I hope you can spend just a few moments to be proud of yourself, you deserve it!

Happy Sparkling!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 24 – Sumo Squat Jabs

Ok ok I’m still in one piece.

I may not be able to breathe all that well but the rest of me seems to be sort of back to normal. I am picking up where I left off on my NTC program. Juneathon day 24 activities include 30 minute Body Flexor workout. I succeeded in completing it although I did lose count of how many coughing attacks I had during the exercises. It was depressing. Each fit hit me near the end of a rep. The worst were push ups – for the one minute reps, I spent the last 10 coughing on the floor. A few other exercises were tough on me as well but hey, I’m still alive so kiss my butt sickness and say goodbye. I say these things as I sit here blogging and coughing my brains out… Sometimes I just want to cry. Actually, sometimes I’ve been coughing so hard my eyes do water…I really hope this ends soon. Being sick in the summer just doesn’t work!

Now that I’m back, I should feature a workout of some sort. I haven’t really looked into all the benefits of this but it definitely seems to work out almost all of your body: legs, core, and arms. I’m rushing through this blog so I can go make a tea and call it a night… Without further delay, I present you, Sumo Squat Jabs.

Here’s how to Sumo Squat Jab:

1. Stand straight with your legs apart and toes pointing slight outwards (feet turned outwards in opposite directions). Face right and jab your right arm forwards.
2. Bend your knees into a sumo squat and jab forward again with the same hand. Move quickly between 1 and 2 for 30 seconds – up jab, down jab, repeat.
3. Keeping your feel in the same position, turn your hips to the left and repeat with your left arm jabbing outwards while standing straight.
4. Jab outwards to the left while in sumo squat position. Repeat up jab, down jab, and continue for 30 seconds.

Alternatively, you can repeat doing four jabs on one side, rotate hips, four jabs on the other side, rotate hips, repeat for a minute.

And there you have it. A very potentially awkward but rewarding and fun new exercise. I’m a little uncoordinated, the clumsy one…sometimes I have to take a minute to realign myself and do this but it all works out in the end. You should give it a shot!

Here’s to hoping a good sweat will put me back to normal when I wake up tomorrow.

Happy Jabbing!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 20-23 – Coughing Abs

What else can I say about the last four days other than I slept most of them away? With the exception of going to work Monday, I slept most of Friday through to Sunday. I did cough a lot. Does this count as my daily activities? Pretty sure my abs and lungs got an intense workout.

I have a lot of blogs to catch up on. I wanted to read them while I was sick but kept getting bummed out not being able to participate. I have been soo sick that all I want to do is eat something fresh and healthy and go for a run. I’ve just been so weak I’ve done silly take out and delivery. Well, that’s it. I flunked out for Juneathon…
Gaining weight and missed 6 days. Although if I hit the remaining days I’ll be at 80% which is still a pass right..?!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 19 – Grumbles

*mumble grumble*

Last night, June 19th, I thought I was feeling better. I ordered wings from my favourite place thinking I could try to stomach some food to get some energy. I’ve lost more weight this past week compared to the last 6 weeks of working out and eating healthier… It’s a little scary because it’s not good weight loss, so I am prepared to gain it all back once I can eat. I thought that was last night. To start off, my favourite wings were not so good… They were not cooked right (they didn’t bread them?) and something about the chicken just didn’t seem right, but I was STARVING. I have barely eaten since Monday. Having a snack here or there to hold me down while my stomach cries out but my throat just says no. I ate and felt great. Thought I would do some yard work and go for a short light trot to get some KMs in…. The moment I stood up, I was in so much pain. My stomach cramped up and my chest felt heavy. My heart was racing and I was sweating. I have no idea what overcame my body but I spent the next hour moving slowly between the bathroom and my bed in the fetal position. I didn’t know if I was going to throw up or have a heart attack…. At some point around 8-8:30 PM I was curled up in my bed and I guess I was knocked out. I woke up about every half hour covered in sweat…. What the heck is wrong with me? I thought my sore throat was going away but because I was so weak, I didn’t take my night-time neocitron to help… After a night of sweating and cough attacks, I decided I would take a sick day. I normally prefer to work while sick as it keeps me focussed on work over my symptoms but I coughed a lot yesterday at work and I don’t think my colleagues appreciate that very much so I decided I’ll just cover my house up with germs instead. At this current moment I’m feeling better but I’m starving. I tried to eat this morning and couldn’t. My stomach started to ache. So, here I am, curled up on the couch with a soothing freezie for my throat, hoping I feel better so I don’t miss tonight’s NTC workout, it’s 45 minutes long… I can do this, right…?! I sure hope so…

I’m pretty bummed out I missed my daily activities yesterday. I was looking forward to clocking in 3 kms and getting on the bike for a little bit. I’m very sad now that I’ve missed 2 days of 19 for Juneathon. I did better in January and I’m pretty sure I was sick back then too with a cold… 😦

Well, thanks for reading this as I don’t expect you to read this awful, depressing post about how sick I have been and how much I miss food. I hope you’re doing much better than I am and we can all get in some good activity today to make us feel healthier and happier.

Happy Thoughts!… Keep Happy Thoughts and life will be good.

rundmach

Juneathon Day 18 – Around the World Lunges

Hello World,

I’m still a bit under the weather. Today I luckily didn’t have such bad head aches but I had a constant sore throat since last night. It’s more annoying over anything else. NTC called for a 3 mile run tonight, Juneathon asks for running daily, so I did 5k tonight to claim my Day 18 bragging rights. I had a pretty good time (faster than my average) especially with a 1 minute walk after I completed each km. I did wimp out and run on the treadmill because it was raining a bit. I had planned to run and stop at the grocery store so I could pick stuff up afterwards but since I treadmilled it up, I walked over afterwards to grab myself some lozenges, ginger, honey, and freezies. Here’s to hoping I can get some sleep tonight and get better soon! Regardless of how I feel health-wise, I’m super proud and happy with myself for not babying myself and running 5k!

Tonight I will feature an exercise you should probably give a shot… I know I featured Walking Lunges before and this exercise will work out all of the same muscles plus a few more. This will get you stronger hips, glutes, and thighs! I’m talking about Around the World Lunges.

Here’s how to do Around the World Lunges:

1. Start standing feet shoulder width apart
2. Step right foot forward into a lunge by dropping your hips down and driving your weight (keeping balance) through the front heel

3. Bring your right foot back to standing, then step out to the side with your right foot into a side lunge. Keep your left leg straight while bending your right knee and driving weight into your right foot.
4. Step back into standing position and bring your right foot back into a back lunge. Step back and drop your hips keeping weight on your left heel.
5. Return to start position and repeat. In NTC I do this for 30 seconds on one side then 30 on the other. You can do reps as well.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go give it a shot!!

I’m off to make some tea and hope I can sleep tonight.

Happy Running & Travelling Around the World via Lunges!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 17 – Logging Success

Happy Name Day to me!

Thank you everyone for the get well and birthday wishes. I’m feeling slightly better from yesterday. Definitely not 100% but not as horrible as yesterday. A sore throat and on and off headache is all plus a minor cough that I’m fighting since coughing hurts my throat.

Seeing that I’m not as awful as I was yesterday, I came home to rest…. With a 2 km run and a 30 minute Body Flexor workout on the #NTC program. I can’t miss a day, I just can’t, I’m a committed and loyal person so I had to do it. The run was for myself and for earning a Nike+ Badge that I had missed last year. Also, I can’t let Juneathon slide just because I missed one day; I’m counting the run as a make-up punishment for yesterday.

It’s 11 pm and I really should be hitting the bed but I’m not feeling all that tired even though my sickness kept my up all night yesterday? Yes, despite being in bed at 6 pm last night, I didn’t sleep all that much.

I’m running out of workouts that I do like doing and want to share with you that I feel I have some decent knowledge in. Is that sad? There are quite a few that I do do but I don’t enjoy them… Why would I force those onto you? So, while I sit here and think about all the workouts I can challenge you with that make me fall and tumble all over the ground feeling worthless, I’ve decided I’ll share something better… A workout calendar!

This is my Juneathon workout calendar. It has done wonders for me and kept me inspired. I fill out each week’s NTC workout program that I need to complete and for the blank days I add something in that day that I will do. Each day I cross of my activities. Similar to a workout journal, these tools can prove success in staying committed. When you write a goal down you are more likely to achieve it than one you commit to mentally or verbally. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, If it’s written, it’s real!

I even kept a running journal at one point and that was for Janathon. That worked well for me then but this works a little better now that I’m following a program. In the journal I had the date, exercise, time, pace, distance, temperature outside, and what I wore and how I felt in it to help learn how to dress while running outside. I don’t need that specific detail now that it’s just hot and I wear as minimal clothing, that I’m comfortable in, as possible.

I highly recommend recording your efforts to see how far you’ve come and how much you’ve accomplished. Even if you aren’t seeing a physical change, seeing all the work you’ve done, documented, can be something to be extremely proud of.

Even this simple running log would work great! I know we use Running Free Online for Juneathon logging but I’m telling you, something about flipping open a notebook or calendar or blank template page and actually writing down your accomplishments seem like such greater victories!

It doesn’t matter what specifics or how vague the specifics are that you are writing down, just do it and you will feel a sense of self-satisfaction that you may not be able to get otherwise.

Happy Jogging & Logging !

rundmach

Juneathon Day 16 – Flop

Ugh. It’s 6 pm, I just got home from work and I am in bed. I have a fever, sore throat, and massive headache/earache. I want to go for a run but the fever and pounding head is suggesting otherwise. I will not be successful as completing my activities for the day. I will also be losing my Nike+ Fuel streak. This is all so sad. I only hope I can get some rest now and come back strong tomorrow, my birthday…

No activities and no exercise feature today. Just remember to listen to your body, whether you’re run or feeling ill. You will know if you are wimping out or if you actually need to lay down and call it a night.

Good night.

Juneathon Day 15 – Rice

Hi world,

Forgive me runners for I have sinned. I must confess, I skipped my run yesterday and did not make it up today. I did however complete my Juneathon activities for Day 15 with 15 minutes of Dynamic Yoga for my NTC program and 15 minutes of Leaner Legs from the NTC program as well. I’m still struggling at this dynamic yoga workout. My wrists are too weak to keep me up for all these side plank variations and I just feel so defeated each time I do this workout (and I have to do it once a week). Anyways, that’s about it for the day.

Today’s feature is on RICE: Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevation. I didn’t do a specific workout today I want to feature so I would like to focus on recovering, especially when injured or sore or tired.

RICE is used as the first treatment for many muscle strains, ligament sprains, or other bruises and injuries. RICE is used immediately after an injury happens and for the first 24 to 48 hours after the injury. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation can help reduce the swelling and pain and help you heal faster. Use this for an ankle, calf, leg, foot, elbow, arm, or any sort of injury, discomfort, or pain.

So, if you’re feeling a little injured, remember to RICE to help recover quicker.

Happy Ricing!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 14 – Golfing & Hydration

Good night…

It’s 10:30 PM and I just got in after waking up at 6:30 AM to get ready for a golf-tourney and BBQ to raise some money for charity and to play in honour of a good friend’s father who passed away 18 years ago. Golfing was fun and challenging. Some walking and swinging. In the end I reached my Fuel Points goal from my Nike + Fuel Band (which is better than most days when I work). I’m using this to gage the fact that I have been active enough all day to count as my Juneathon Day 14 Activities, playing 18 holes of golf. And just like running, I have found a similar inspirational message that I have often seen for running but turned into golf… This is exactly how we all felt after 15 holes when we wanted to take a mid-day nap.

Well, there was no 5k run as I am beat from the sun and probably around 4 hours of golfing. No, I’m no good at golf and we play best ball but I have a ton of fun and I’m out being active. As much as you may or may not believe golfing is a sport and physical activity (like I once thought), it is amazing! You’re walking, swinging your arms, bending your legs, and doing anything but sit on your butt on the couch for hours on end. I’ve taken over 8400 steps which is a little lower than the last day where I ran a 5k.

I’m not going to write a feature on how to golf because if I knew how, I wouldn’t have been +8 on the day… If you’re new to golf, the goal is to get as far into the negatives as you can (shooting under par – the recommended shots it takes to get the ball in).

Today’s feature is on Hydration.
I’ve posted some important pictures with information on staying hydrated when running and in general in the past. Water is important to your body’s survival, it makes up around 70% of your body weight.
1. Staying Hydrated is so important to your overall health, for weight loss, athletes, and for you.
2. By the time you realize you’re thirsty (Dry mouth, head ache, little urination, etc.), it’s already too late and your body is dehydrated.
3. You should be consuming at least 8 cups/ounces of water each day. No, this does not mean chugging down 8 glasses of water. You need to sip and consume throughout the day.
4. Bring a bottle with you wherever you go to track your intake.
5. Add lemon, lime, orange slices or fresh mint to the water to add some flavour.
6. Please make sure you are hydrating well 24 hours before a workout or run and hydrating during and after. I see far too many runners who look like they are covering long distances in gruelling hear and have no hydration system with them.
7. There are many reasons and benefits to stay hydrated and one I find is key, water carries out nutrients and oxygen throughout your body that is much needed. Without water helping to transport the substances your muscles and heart need, you are putting your body at risk!

Since this is a bit of a running blog, here’s a good one I found online regarding your urine colour, hydration, and recommended water to bring with you.

Happy Hydrating!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 13 – Walking & Walk Outs

Hello Hello!

My day started out early heading into the city for a doctors appointment. My annual check up…guess what? My doctor weighed me and told me I’m not allowed to gain anymore weight or I’ll be in the high risk zone… He asked if I recently gained a lot. I had to tell him I actually just lost 4 pounds in the last four weeks and I have been working extremely hard trying to lose weight in the last year. That was pretty upsetting and hurt quite a bit hearing it from my doctor that I CANNOT gain another pound. Well, after this I had the rest of the day off. I knew I was meeting my mom for a late lunch with her and some friends so I spent the next 4 hours just walking around. I did stop a bit to shop but spent most of the time just walking… To help compare just how much I walked today, on Wednesday, I ran 5k and I had about 9800 steps, today, my day isn’t over and I’m over 15000 steps. I even opted to walk the 30 minutes to the train station to go home instead of taking a bus. I walked everywhere today, as much as I could thinking I would use this as Juneathon activities. The last image shows all the benefits of walking; I am skeptical to believe it’s better than jogging though… Anyways, walking is great exercise too! Let’s be real here, I started a new NTC program Tuesday and today was a 45 minute Tighten Up workout… I got home, unwound a bit, changed and off I went to sweat-land. I did opt to do the workouts as plan without the weights. Normally I add weights to squats and lunges, not today. The toughest part will be tomorrow’s workout; NTC calls for a 3 mile run… I’ll be up at 7 am heading to a golf tournament I will be playing in and then a BBQ. How will I muster up energy late at night after a full day of sun and 18 holes?! Golfing a full round I would count to Juneathon but NTC will not let me substitute or postpone workouts. If I miss one I get 0 for completion… What a dilemma! Hopefully I will be just as determined tomorrow night to accomplish the NTC workout as I was tonight, despite my sore feet.

Enough about my day and endeavours, here’s today’s workout: Walk outs. And I don’t meant walking out of your job if you sit at a desk because yes, that would be some exercise but might not be best for long term. The focus of this is on your core and getting you the abs you want! I don’t have them yet but hopefully the more I do of these, the closer I get.

Here’s how to do Walk Outs :

1. Stand feet hip-width apart
2. Bend at your hips, keep your legs straight, bring your hands to the floor
3. Walk your hands forward until you are in a push up position / plank
4. Walk your hands back towards your feet, keeping your legs straight, repeat for a minute (I get about 5-6 done in a minute)
Note: use your core to push yourself back up without bending your knees

Happy Walking!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 12 – Back Pedal

Hello there,

Today I had high hopes for activities and house chores but I only accomplished a quarter of the things I had listed to do. I did jump on the treadmill thinking it wouldn’t be so bad. I’ve been trying to settle a pace where my heart rate would be in the correct target zone because it’s quite often too high when I run freely outside, I thought the treadmill would be a good place to do this. I also wanted to watch soccer while I ran… I didn’t want to miss the game. In the end, I only made it a little over 2 KMs on the dreadmill, a little under 15 minutes. To get to my personal goal of 30 minutes of physical activity every day to count for Juneathon Day 12, I sat on my stationary bike for 16 minutes to cover 6.57 KMs. Here’s the view:

I unfortunately haven’t done anything else other than going for a walk to the grocery store, some dishes, and laundry.

I did get to work on my blog a little bit. I’ve added the two charities I am fundraising for this year. Check out the links at the top of the page or you can make a donation to either one here: The Terry Fox Foundation: DONATE NOW , or the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation : DONATE NOW. Any donation is not too small, even a dollar can go a long way.

Exercise of the day… Back Pedal. Similar to backwards running, there are some great benefits of doing this exercise: reduced risks of leg and back injuries, helps create a stronger lower body, works muscles that you wouldn’t work running normally, and apparently helps with losing weight quicker. Here’s 100 Reasons to Run Backwards!

Here’s how to Back Pedal / Run Backwards:


In the NTC, I do this for 1 minute straight. I Back Pedal about 6 steps back, turn around and do another 6, and continue until the minute is up.

Happy Back Pedalling/Running!!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 11 – Pretzel Stretch

Hey there!

I want to blog so much but my arms and hands are tired from my first session at the driving range tonight. Woohoo! I finally made it out; better late than never. In addition to spending time at the driving range (yes, I count this as an activity, trust me, if your muscles get sore the next day, it counts), I completed a lovely 5k run today! Juneathon is turning out to be a better success than Janathon! I swear, I’m in permanent exhaustion but I have the next two days off so I get to sleep and do house work to keep me busy. Today’s run for Day 11 of Juneathon was fantastic. I gave myself the easy way out and ran a relatively flat route instead of my usual tougher route. Success! I have now completed what I think is my fastest 5k!!!!!!! I completed it in 33:54 (mm:ss)!!!!! I only say think because my stats are all messed up from when I first started running. My iPod was telling me I was running 5k but really I was not even close. Anyways, after digging a bit, this is my fastest 5k time since last May. Yay!!!! Celebration time!!! I honestly don’t know how I slowed down so much. Probably just laziness. Feels good to be a little faster again and confident!

Today’s exercise…. Is…. Actually a stretch. I’m pretty stiff and sore now already after the driving range so stretching will be sooo good. I know I did a specific runners stretch feature, but this one is a good stretch all around. I also like doing this regardless if I’ve just finished a workout or not; the Pretzel (elbow-to-knee) stretch. It’s primarily best for your obliques but is also good for your lower back and glutes! So, if you work at a desk all day and have to sit, this is a nice little lower back stretch.

Here’s how to Pretzel (elbow-to-knee) Stretch:

1. Sit up straight with your legs straight and flat in front of you
2. Cross one leg over the other, placing your foot over and flat on the ground next to the knee
3. With your opposite arm of the bent leg, cross your arm over the outside of the bent knee, twist back from your hips and breath, count to 20 (or 10 or 30, it’s your stretch, do what feels good)
4. Repeat for the opposite side

That’s it folks. I’m all beat up. Wishing I was a way better golfer but I’ll just have to keep practicing. At least I’m getting better at this whole running thing! 🙂

Happy Running & Pretzeling!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 10 – Walking Lunges

Hi there,

Today’s  Juneathon Day 10 activities include a nice 30 minute walk (when I could have had been in a car) and a 30 minute Body Flexor workout from the Nike+ Training Club program. This is my first workout of my second program, Beginners Get Toned. Although the program wants to tell me I haven’t finished a program, yesterday I finished my very first 4 weeks of the NTC Beginners Get Lean program. I was in a bit of a rush yesterday so I didn’t get to express how extremely proud of myself I am for sticking to a plan for 4 weeks straight and completing everything I needed to. I missed logging one of the workouts so it told me I only did 94% of the program and now it says I am at 0 for finishing a program but whatever! I completed it and I know so I’m ecstatic! The workout today had some new exercises that I will hopefully get much better at. Can’t wait to keep pushing myself, even if I am too tired.

The exercise I’d like to feature today, I’ve been doing this one for the last 4 weeks and it was in today’s program too, Walking Lunges. Remember how I mentioned I love Hip Raises because they help tighten your butt, well so do Walking Lunges! Add some Walking Lunges into your workout to fit into some skinny jeans or to tighten up your gluts. This exercise also helps to build stronger legs (hams, quads, and inner thigh) and help with stability.

Here’s how to do Walking Lunges:

1. Start in Standing Position with feet hip-width apart
2. Walk forward by stepping your right foot forward and low at the hips bending both of your legs
3. Step up and Bring the back leg forward into another lunge downward
4. Take 3 steps (or 4 depending on the space you have), turn around, and repeat for a minute (or do reps if you prefer)

Key Notes: Push down with your hips, keep weight on your front foot that’s being planted, and try to keep your core tight and back straight. It is tough to keep your balance at first from one lunge walking into another and I still wobble sometimes but it’s a great workout!

Happy Walk Lunging!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 9 – Cobra

Hello,

Time to keep it short and sweet. Long day, late night, so I shall log my Juneathon Day 9 activities and not get into details. 15 minute dynamic yoga from the NTC program (just because it says yoga, it’s not easy!) and 15 minute shaped back workout from NTC. Both extremely hard and sweaty but happy to put in my 30 minute exercise for the day.

Today’s exercise, although I’m not a fan of yoga (probably because I’m no good at it), will be yoga related. This pose is a nice stretch I like doing even if it wasn’t in my yoga program.

Here’s how to Cobra:

1. Lie down on your stomach with your hands under your shoulders and bows hugging your ribs
2. Point your toes down and push down into your feet. Roll your head, shoulders, and chest away from the ground. Engage your quads but keep your butt relaxed.
3. Draw your shoulder blades down the back and squeeze the muscles down your back as your lower back down the ground.
These are the instructions from Nike with their images. I’m not even sure how you squeeze back muscles… I think you inhale as you come up and exhale as you relax back down… Anyways, here are a list of benefits I found online for this pose: Stretches muscles in the shoulders, chest and abdominals, Decreases stiffness of the lower back, Strengthens the arms and shoulders, Increases flexibility, Relieves stress and fatigue, Opens the chest and helps to clear the passages of the heart and lungs, Strengthens the spine, and Helps to ease symptoms of asthma.

Happy Cobra!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 8 – Bench Press

Goodbye Weekend!

It felt just like yesterday I welcomed the weekend in and now we’re already parting ways again. What a shame; I could use some more recovery time.  Juneathon Day 8 activities were simple, an early but fast 5 k. My NTC program called for a fast 3 mile run so I have to round up and do the full 5k because I live in a metric world. I had a fantastic run for being extremely tired and having super sore legs from 2 days ago! It was a bit my fault, I stayed up to watch the Cotto vs Martinez fight and boy was it great! I’m beginning to find a new love for Boxing… I’ve learned how to wrap my hands and proper jabs…. But, back to my run… this was a “fast” run, not one of the “steady” runs. How was I ever going to pull this off? I figured, just run, who cares if it ends up being fast or steady, I just need to cover the distance. I knew I was slowing down in kilometer 2 and 3 because of all the hills on the path I take, so I told myself to just keep calm and run on. Keep pushing. Keep going. After reaching 3 KMs, I looked at my watch and realized, hey, I’m not doing so bad, a little better than my average, let’s step it up and make this a fast 5 k! In the end, I finished one of my fastest 5 k runs in quite some time! I know I normally don’t want to bore you with the stats since I’m considered a “slow” runner but I am super proud of myself so I’d like to share I ran a 7’07” pace (my average being tracked right now shows 7’42″/km) and I completed the 5 k in 35:40 (mm:ss)!!! This is super exciting because I have been running most of my 5k races in the last year around the 37 minute range. Last Sunday I thought I had a fantastic 5 K (which I still believe I did at the time) and that was 36:46! I’ve shaved off an entire minute in a week!!! Is this possible??? This honestly, has to be the work of all the cross-training/weight training/NTC exercises and workouts I have been completing throughout the week. I am just so happy that I am so close to breaking that 35 minute mark again. I think it’s been almost 2 years since I’ve been able to run a 5k under 35 but I can feel it coming!!!!

Okay, so what you’re really here for is probably a tip or an exercise that  will help with being a better, happier, and healthier you. This is of course one of my go-to’s and favourite weight exercises, the flat Bench Press with Dumbbells. This exercise is great for your biceps and triceps, as well as pecs and front shoulders (anterior deltoid) if you’re trying to work those out.

Here’s how to Bench Press with Dumbbells:

1. Start with your back laid down on a bench with weights in your hands (I am currently using 10 lbs)
2. Keep your elbows bent a little past 90° and dumbbells horizontal to your body aligned with your chest
3. Push your arms straight up so the dumbbells meet in front of you
4. Pull your arms back down and repeat (I do reps of 10 for 2 times each night after a workout)

There’s a few different variations to this with how you rest your feet or how you’re angled. Do a little research of your own and testing to figure out what works best for you. Don’t hurt yourself though!

Happy Running & Benching!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 7 – Stretching

Happy Weekend!

Now I know why today was intended to be a rest day based on the NTC plan I’ve been doing. My legs are sore in every possible area. Well, regardless, it’s Juneathon so I pulled my butt outside this morning and ran a few laps around a track for 30 minutes, a little under 4 KMs. I didn’t say it was going to be a fast run! Haha.

I will have to use this blog to rant a little bit and maybe get some insight on this situation… A fellow runner was who got me out because he was doing speed work at a track and offered to pick me up. So, it was early and hot but off we went… Drove to one high school, the track was gated and locked! What’s up with that? Let me in! I was there a few nights ago… Ok fine… We decided not to hop the fence and drive to another high school; locked out too!!? Okay, this one was a catholic school so I understand, maybe the funds are different. But the first track was a public school that is also part of a public library…. I don’t understand??? I’ve never seen this before. Our third school worked out, no gates up, but it was super beat up: pot holes in the track and the lines were barely visible, but I’m just happy I got on a track because I wouldn’t have ran as much if I had been outside running a set route. Sometimes running aimlessly with a time goal instead of a distance does really help!

All I did was run and walk today. I’ve skipped the weights; I’m lazy and tired. Today I’d like to share some stretching tips good for runners. These exercises do feel great! I don’t stick to all of them but I am going to start to try!

Here’s how to Stretch After a Run:

Happy Running & Stretching!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 6 – Dumbbell Row

Hiiiiiiiii,

Today is workout #3 of week 4 of my NTC Program. The workout is called Dream Team and lasts 45 minutes. It’s new in the program. I haven’t done this workout yet. It kind of sucked, I’m not going to lie. This was the first one that didn’t have a 30 second recovery, anywhere! I think the first 5 minutes went straight through each exercise and then I had a 10 second transition between each 1 minute exercise. Whoooweeeee was it ever tough. There was also one exercise that required balancing your back on a foam roller, lifting both legs up, and doing an opposite arm/leg crunch, I failed miserably at this the first time around. My foam roller is definitely not long enough to support my entire back so I can hold up my legs. I improvised the next two times this came around and did bicycle crunches as fast as I could for the minute. Following this 45 minute workout, I did some dumbbell weights again – rows, bench press, and curls. After a whole lot of sweat and struggles, I completed my workout. So, that concludes my Juneathon Day 6 activities.

One of my favourite dumbbell exercises is the one arm dumbbell row (bent over). This exercise focuses on the upper back and the trap muscle, and I’m sure some other benefits come with this as well. I’m currently doing these with 10 pound weights and will eventually move up a little bit more.

Here’s how to Dumbbell Row (One Arm Bent-Over Dumbbell Row):

1. Using a bench (or chair or even your couch if you have to), bend and rest one knee and hand down
2. Keep your back straight and parallel to the ground
3. Begin with your opposite hand holding a weight of your choice extended and foot flat on the floor
4. Lift the weight towards your hip until your elbow pasts 90° (a little above your back and you feel your shoulder blade press inwards)
5. Lower and repeat – reps of 10 on both side

Tomorrow is a rest day on the NTC program so I will have to improvise and plug in a run or a workout of some sort. For now, I’m off to bed.

Happy Rowing!

rundmach

 

Juneathon Day 5 – Russian Twist

Hi,

Well here we are, Day 5 of Juneathon. A little more than 8 km done (5 mile) run as per my NTC program requests. Overall, my pace was average but really, it could have been much better. Honestly, I have to vent about today’s run; the first 5 km were the hardest 5k I have ever had to run in my life! Or so that’s how it felt the entire time. Those first 5 kms felt like I was in an airplane! The wind was  so fierce, my music was getting muffled!! It came at me in every direction and no matter which direction I ran, it was against me. This was NOT fun. Each little hill and bump felt 10 times harder than it should have been. Not to mention, I slept about 4-5 hours last night. The entire run was completely MENTAL. The moment I got home my body said no, my legs said no, but really, I’m stubborn and there was no way I was going to miss this run. I’m on my last week of my first NTC Program (it’s only 4 weeks). At least the wind decided to calm itself down after 5 kms and I had a fast & flat last 3 kms. Oh and at least it wasn’t scorching hot. So, I ended today’s Juneathon activities with some Russian Twists with a 6lb medicine ball, side planks, sit ups, weights (bench press, rows, & curls) and a lot of nice stretching.

Since I’d like to feature exercises I enjoy and am doing the same day, let’s talk about Russian Twists. These things are amazing for your core and abs. You spend the entire time focusing on keeping your abs tight and holding your posture up with your core. Hopefully I do enough of these to get rid of my belly.  Also, I feel adding a weighted medicine ball or a weight plate, I’m strengthening my arms too!

Here’s how to Russian Twist with Medicine Ball (or without):

1. Sit on the ground with your knees bent
2. Cross one foot over the other
3. Lift your legs off the ground putting your body at a 45 degree angle
4.1. With your arms slightly bent holding onto a medicine ball (mine is 6lbs), twist from left to right
4.2. If you don’t have a medicine ball and don’t want to hold a weight plate, you can clasp your hands together (interlace fingers) and twist left to right
5. Aim to tap the ball on the ground – this isn’t common but this is what I like to do to add that extra little umph
6. Complete in reps of 20 (10 total for each side) or as many as you can for 30 second intervals (or 1 minute)

Happy Running & Twisting!

rundmach

 

Juneathon day 4 – Hip Lifts

Good Evening Readers,

Today’s Juneathon activities included various workouts as part of the Sweat + Shape workout on NTC. I ended the working with added weights (rows and butterflies). I’m on a mission to get stronger and will not stop until I tone up my arms and can do a pull up.

Although this is my blog, my Juneathon activities are not yet over. I’m hoping to go for a short trot to losses up and get ready for a 5 mile run tomorrow (as per NTC plan). Plus I just feel I need more activity today; sitting at a desk all day can be pretty exhausting.

In today’s workout, there were two one-minute sessions of hip lifts. Another exercise I like doing. It’s only a matter of time before I have to start posting dreaded exercises but until then, let’s keep focussing on the ones I enjoy. Hip lifts help define and strengthen your ups but also your gluten (sexy butt)!!!

How to do Hip Lifts:

Do these as many times as you can for a minute, or do reps of 10.

Happy Hip Lifting!

rundmach

P.S. Just for back from a 3km run with an extremely fast pace. So much for a trot. Haha. I went to a school track to run, I think that’s the key, I ran about 30 seconds faster than my average pace outside. Craziness! I’m so excited for the 8k run tomorrow!!! Time to step it up!!! Woo!!!

Juneathon Day 3 – Shoulder Press

Hey there!

Today’s NTC program calls for a rest day, so what does that mean when it’s Juneathon? A run!!! A nice 4 k run for half an hour of exercise plus some squats, sit ups, weights (rows, bicep curls, & shoulder press), wood chops, and some very short planks. After a long and mentally stressful day at work, nothing beats a run with myself. I am so in love with running…. After I pass the first 7 minutes, haha.

One of my favourite weight exercises to do now are shoulder presses. These make me feel like a hero! It doesn’t matter if I am doing them with 3 lb or 10 lb weights.

Here’s how to Shoulder Press:
1. Stand feet hip-width apart and arms holding weights (or start with no weights)
2. Bring both arms up to shoulders with elbows bent
3. Raise your arms up above your head and lower down half way to bent position again
4. Repeat for reps of 10 or do as many as you can for a minute

Happy Running & Shoulder Pressing!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 2 – Extensions

Hi there!

I’ve made it to Juneathon Day 2! What’s more exciting, I just finished my last workout for week 3 of my Nike + Training Club (NTC) – Get Lean program. It’s only a 4 week program so I am excited to be 75% through! I haven’t missed a workout! Today was a 15 minute dynamic yoga, it’s honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I am horrible at all these planks, side plank variations, extensions, sun salutations, etc. But I won’t dwell on how weak I am, the focus is to get stronger! So, after the scheduled workout, I added a 15 minute workout from NTC – Back Definer (which included more planks but with weights), followed with some sit ups, wood chops (squat with dumbbell swings), and weights – rowing and shoulder press.

So, I tried to do a video of myself doing the exercise I wanted to feature today, but I’m not ready for sharing this side of me to the entire world. Instead I’ve used the images in the below provided by Nike on NTC and mashed it up a little differently. Since I keep mentioning NTC, it’s a free app, I recommend you checking it out if you are better at working out with instruction and a structured plan. I’m loving it so far!

Today’s featured exercise: Opposite Arm/Leg Extension
I’ve had to do quite a few of these with the NTC program and they seem great! Challenging but manageable.

Here’s how to opposite arm/leg extension:
1. Start in step 1 form
2. Step 2, extend your opposite arm and leg like someone is pulling your opposite arm and leg while looking forward/up
3. Bring those extended limbs together as pictured in step 3 (elbow to knee)
4. Extend again without resting that arm and leg as in step 4
5. Now repeat from step 2 and bring your elbow to your knee,
6. Continue this for thirty seconds on one side (right arm, left leg)
7. Switch for 30 seconds on the other side (left arm, right leg) remembering now to rest the left arm or right leg on the ground until the 30 seconds is up
Note, when extending your leg out, point your toes and focus on extending (getting pulled) and not putting your leg up above your back (levitating it).

I find this strengthens so many points, arms, legs, back, shoulders and balance! Each 30 seconds I try to count how many I can do and try to beat it on the next interval. This is a definite must try if you are looking for something new and challenging.

Happy extensions!

rundmach

Juneathon Day 1 – Running

Hello hello!!

I really didn’t think I would be able to get myself to blog but I’ve decided I will do this for Juneathon and my love for fitness! I’m going to change the direction a bit for the next 30 days. My posts will include my daily exercise but each post I will focus on a particular form of exercise, workout, stretch, or something to share and educate the world. It will be one position/move/activity/maybe even food each day to a better life. This is my disclaimer, I am in no condition to be considered a health consultant, doctor, instructor, or anything professional. These posts are strictly based on my opinion/research. I also want to give Nike+ training club a shout out as I will be using a lot of their material to come up with new exercises to feature.

Alright, so Juneathon Day 1, 5k in a little under 37 minutes! Great time for me. Great pace. Extremely challenging with the super hot heat. All I thought about was it’s so hot, omg it’s getting hotter, wait, breathe in and out, ugh it’s soooo hot, and so on. Not my best mindset for a run but I finished strong and am extremely happy with myself.

Today, my feature will of course be running!!! Check out my form below!! Probably my happiest run and race I have done. Earlier this year in April I ran the Toronto Yonge St 10 k and that is me nearing the finish line!

Here are my tips with Running:
1. Run like a ninja – light on your feet, focus on running with the front balls of your feet and not your heels
2. Always Smile and use this time for your own thoughts, try not to think about the heat like I did today
3. Breath, in through your nose, out through your mouth
4. Back straight, chest up, hips aligned to your stride, swinging arms forwards (not sideways across your body)
5. Avoid sticking your butt out or slouching your back
6. Stay hydrated everyday, especially the 24 hours prior to your run and remember to hydrate afterwards too!
7. Dress for 10 degrees warmer than what it actually is outside
8. Be alert, stay safe, cars do not often care for you so keep your eyes peeled at all times
9. Go at your own pace, unless you’re an elite, just have fun and run; compete with yourself, no one else
10. Always, always, wave at another runner or throw them a smile if you are just too tired.

Oh and have fun!

You may want to check out a previous info-graphic posted by fitfor365 – How to Run your Best 5k with helpful tips on how to run for some more info.

Hope this helps!!

Happy Running

rundmach

Back for Junathon

Well Hello World!!

It has been quite some time since my last post. Rest assured, I have still been running and working towards a better life with added workouts. I’ve completed a couple races and sign up for a few charity ones later this year I’m hoping to raise some awareness and dollars for.

I have to admit, I miss blogging and do think about blogging but haven’t been able to bring myself to get onto wordpress. I finally realized this is all because my work had changed a bit earlier in the year; I had to use wordpress a lot more in my day at work!! Our internal communications is built with wordpress but I’ve taken on some more responsibility to creative writing and exploring wordpress. So, why would I not want to blog, it’s a different subject and audience? I can’t explain it, I realized when I opened wordpress, even to my own blog, I felt like I was back at work. And with work being a little bit of a challenge lately, I don’t feel too keen on feeling overwhelmed when I’m at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job but there is only so much of one thing I can do in a day!

Instead, I’ve also found myself all over twitter for logging my progress and following others for inspiration. Check me out @rundmach ! Follow me and I’ll follow you! 🙂
I am also doubling up my posts on Facebook too so you can find me there as well! Add me and we can be friends!!

So, what am I doing back here? Well, I’ve signed up for Juneathon!!!!

I have actually decided I probably will not be blogging everyday but instead I will tweet & post on Facebook.

Good luck to everyone else who has signed up for Junathon and to those who are just working towards a healthier, happy life.

Happy Running!

rundmach

Life Continues On

Hi there!

I’m alive!!! Today, I got to take part in The Inaugural Move Your Paws for the Polar Bear Cause at the Toronto Zoo.

February 22 Run: 21:59 (mm:ss), 3.24 km, 6’46″/km (GPS)

This was a 3k run/walk or 1 km walk event. I haven’t seen much details online about the results as it’s not timed but the turn out seemed great and I hope we really did raise some money for the Polar Bears. I event got to see the little cub, who is super adorable! We all got super adorable medals and free admission to the zoo for the day.

Runrchatts kept me going today as I found it difficult to breathe. I forgot to take my inhaler or pop a piece of gum for race time (both which at in my bag). I have not gone for a run in two weeks so I really felt it, my chest HURT! The rest of my body could move but my heart felt like it was ready to explode and my lungs would not ease up. I was also running as hard as I could even with all the hills! So, I’m guessing I had an ugly run face on as always but I had a blast and got to see some animals, I really enjoyed my day – even if it meant getting up at 5 am for the long drive.

I will be updating this post later on with some pictures once I get some loaded, not too many good ones, I have not learned to master selfies or really taking any photos.

Thank You! I’d like to send the Canada Running Series and all of the volunteers for everything today! The event was great!!! The only request I have is to have at least one building open for the runners to stay warm in before race time. I couldn’t feel my toes by the time we were lining up to start. The volunteers were fantastic and so was the atmosphere. Everyone was having fun 🙂

Okay, so where have I been the last two weeks? In addition to trying to cope since my last post, I’ve also been in a very tricky situation at work. The company I have been with for 9.5 years was just sold. This is not new to me, I’ve been with the company since we were independently owned, went public, went corporate, was sold and acquired so I can handle change. There has just been a lot more change that was not foreseeable or required more attention from me. Some changes include some major life decisions for myself as well. These changes would and will be affecting my personal life quite drastically. In all truth, I should have laced up and gone for a run, I’m sure it would have made the last two weeks easier to clear my thoughts but I got suckered in and settled for having bad food and watching mindless tv to not think about things. Adding sleepless nights thinking and having my mind racing over the thoughts and dreaming about work when I did sleep, did not help the situation. Please, I am very excited about this change, it’s not a horrible thing, there were just decisions to be made that were under short timelines. Anyways, I’m sort of back but I’m not 100% here. I want to get back to me, especially with vacation in less than two weeks, all my hard January work has been lost… I need to get fit again and work on that beach body! … Or at the least, tighten up some jiggles.

So, we live, learn and grow. We accept what we cannot change but change what we can to what is acceptable to our needs/wants. Try and fail, but don’t fail to try!

Well, I’m off to get some rest to cheer on Canada in the morning Olympic gold medal game. Go Canada Go!!!!

rundmach

It’s Okay to be Sad

Well, Hello There!

It seems so odd to be blogging now after a little break (since January, I blogged every day!).

Today, I got to run a Valentine’s 5K Run with runrchatts and for the spirit of this “holiday”, we were tied together! Luckily, there was some slack because I fell behind a couple of times (and he was already running pretty slow for his pace). He’s got another 21 kms to run today to complete his 26 km training run towards a 30k race in March!! You’re doing amazing, keep it up!!

February 9 Run: 37:05 (mm:ss), 5.02 km, 7’23″/km (GPS Watch)

The great news is that this is my fastest 5k in quite some time! I’ve slowed down a lot since this time last year. According to my watch we finished 5k in 36 minutes 56 seconds. We’ll see what happens when the race stats are loaded; yes this fun run where you’re tied together, you are given a chip and timed as a team!

I just wanted to let you all know, that I am doing okay. I am still pretty broken and have my moments. The visitation and funeral were very tough (but when is it not?). I’m still finding my struggles with my family and learning how to stay strong. I have a wonderful second family of friends and bosses, my bosses are the best in the world. People work for people and I definitely stay where I am because of my two bosses. They have been more than understanding and supportive. My friends, (yes, this includes you!), have read/listened to my thoughts and hurt, you have been there for me and provided support and extremely touching words/gestures. I would like to clarify, I do find many of you, other bloggers, to be my friend. I may not have met you but you know more about me than a lot of my family does and I know more about you than I could say about some members in my family too. You are here for me and you understand, you do not judge and you care. Thank you to everyone, from the bottom of my heart, life is too short, cherish every moment.

It seems that “enough” time has passed and I should be able to move on from grieving. That’s what seems logical. BUT I’m not ready to move on yet. I’m not ready to say good-bye and I’m still so broken up with all the thoughts of my Uncle and all of the last memories I have with him and of his funeral. Everyone is different and I guess I am just one of those people who need more time to mourn.

The heads up is that I may still have some pretty bummer posts, I don’t know how long it will take me to not be sad about this whole situation but I will continue to motor on and be the best I can be. With that being said, I have signed up for the The Inaugural Move Your Paws for the Polar Bear Cause 3km Run. I’m very excited about this run!! It’s at the Toronto Zoo and this will be the first one hosted in February with super adorable polar bear medals (yes, there is a Zoo run in August as well but this is only up to a 3km fun run).  If you live in Ontario or plan on being in the GTA February 22nd, please join in on the run! Proceeds go to the Toronto Zoo. It’s only 3 kms, and if you’re slow like me or if you choose to walk (basically my pace), you’ll be done in less than half an hour! If you walked the zoo, you’d be walking more than 3km. Oh and your race fee includes all day entry for yourself to the Toronto Zoo.

It does seem like it has been forever since blogging and my thoughts are all over the place trying to get you all caught up!
Last week, after giving up on my running streak after 35 days, I substituted the run with a Spin Class! On February 4th I rode for 51 minutes!! It was super intense and completely different from my first spin class. The instructor this time didn’t introduce herself or give me the opportunity to speak to her before the class (unlike the first one I went too). Both classes were “advanced” and yes, this one surely felt way too hard for me but as long as I kept peddling it didn’t matter much to me. I’d like to continue to spin to get a different activity in that will compliment with running.

I hope you have been doing well yourself, I have not been able to get out to read any blogs over the last week but I do plan on getting caught up this week. Look forward to my likes when I drop by and catch up on your journey!

Happy Running!

rundmach

Accepting the Truth

Good Evening World,

Thank you to everyone who read my last post and sent me some feedback/support. I’m not going to lie, I’m still pretty sad and right now I don’t really know if it’s all because I’m still “fat” or because I’m just sad my uncle has passed and my family doesn’t seem to be coming together… or maybe I am just taking this more personal than anyone else would have expected? I guess death is a hard thing to move on from and to stay strong for those even closer that are affected (like my aunt, my cousins, and my mom). Am I just being selfish and want to see family so I can get some comfort? Maybe they need their space and I should just let it be. Or maybe I am just sad because some people look at me and think I’m huge and some people think I’m small or healthy… But like I said, despite how I physically look and what people stay I am still not in a healthy weight range. I’m fat, I still huff and puff while running, and I don’t feel very healthy. I could also just be sad because I’m not very happy at work anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I love my team, but the rest of my work life kind of frustrates me… Honestly, if you don’t love what you do, go find another job, don’t just get by with what you think is minimal effort when it’s really 0 effort. Anyways, I won’t go into it but I’m a little stressed out with how some people have gotten so far in life when it doesn’t seem like they deserve it at all.

After today’s run, I am calling a quits to the run streak. Not that I’m a quitter and stopping running, but taking a day or so break. My shins hurt while I run and the last thing I want is shin splints, I’ve heard those are a nightmare for a runner. Hopefully, I will get out to a few more spin classes and try a few different machines at the gym. I’m the awkward introvert who doesn’t like talking to people or asking questions, so using new machines takes me a few minutes to figure it out, heh…

February 3 Run: 7:34 (m:ss), 1 km, 7’34″/km (Treadmill)

Well, there’s run streak 35 completed and I’m going to take a break for the sake of me… I don’t want to! I want to keep running but I guess I should listen to my body with all these new aches and pains that I haven’t had before.

rundmach

Determination or Deteriorating

Happy Sunday!

I am in dire need of some help, inspiration, and education. I am a little beat up. Today I ran 1 km again. I’m feeling a pain in my lower right back mostly when I run. It’s very low and very sharp in one spot. It makes me sad because it feels like I’m too fat and it’s causing my body to ache. After a month of activeness and now 34 days of running plus eating healthier, I haven’t lost any weight!! Before you jump to conclusions, I am not in my ideal weight. I’m borderline obese for my height and age. If I don’t continue the work I’m doing, I know I will gain more weight, it doesn’t stop. Some days I don’t feel quite as fat as today. So, I’ve been pretty sad and bummed out over not losing any weight, still feeling jiggly, and aching all over.

I’m determined to keep my run streak going but am I ruining my body by not giving myself proper rest days? But really, what is 8 minutes of running really going to do to me in a bad way? I’m extremely conflicted because I am a very stubborn person, so naturally, I do not want to break this streak because of a little pain or sadness over not losing weight – even if I am questioning it a little bit…

What would you do if you were in my shoes? Continue running even if it is only 1 km a day or take some time off?

February 2 Run: 8:00 (m:ss), 1.01 km, 7’53″/km (Treadmill)

Sincerely,

rundmach

Febathon?

This above all – to thy own self be true. – Edward de Vere (The REAL Shakespeare) 

There’s no actual Febathon challenge like Janathon, but I’m too exhausted to think of a cleaver title. I’m just thinking how I can’t stop running each day to continue my run streak. Today is day 33. I had planned on doing 2k but my body just wouldn’t have it. Or maybe it was a little mental too. I am just not feeling right, but I did the run to finish at least 1 km before stopping. I did some of my regular strength exercises after the run as well. Just a few weights and sit ups. Not a whole lot but better than none.

February 1 Run: 8:33 (mm:ss), 1.05 km, 8’05″/km (Treadmill)

I hope to continue my running daily and find new forms of energy. I’m probably just tired and cranky since I didn’t sleep well and get enough rest from all the activity I had done yesterday. At least I got in a Kilometre (maybe I should start thinking in Miles?).

Have a fantastic weekend!

rundmach

Janathon Day 31 Run #2

I do not want to live in regret! 

January 31 Run #2: 17:00 (mm:ss), 2.12 km, 8’04″/km (iPod)

Despite how exhausted I am from this morning’s 11.8 km run, my longest yet, I got back on the treadmill late tonight to run 2 kms. You may think I’m crazy since I got my  Janathon  Day 31 run in already and set some new records but really, I had one more record to set and I do not want to live in regret. I was 900 metres away from 100 kms. I have officially covered 101 kms for the month of January!!! Not much else to blog about other than my body is tired, treating myself to chicken wings and fries for dinner is not a good idea when you plan on running again in the evening, and I think I finally understand runner’s toenails? I’ve never understood how you would get purple toes and such (I had that a lot from soccer due to the impact). Tonight, while running, all I could feel were both my big toes hurting but only where the toenail is… are they going to go purple??? My toenails aren’t even long. They’re pretty short… It must have been the 1.5 hour run from this morning!… Oh well. Hopefully this is the last you hear of my feet!

I wish I could carry tonight’s run into tomorrow as part of my run streak but I guess that isn’t how it works is it? I have a feeling I’ll be pretty beat up tomorrow and won’t do much other than rest. Any-who, I am super happy I have broken a couple PRs today (nothing in speed, but that shall come soon!).

Here’s a recap of my first 2014 Janathon:

• Run – 32 times – 101.2 km – 12.4 hours
• Bike – 3 times – 32.7 km – 1.3 hours
• Daily sit ups/crunches, Russian Twists/Bicycle crunches (one or the other), bench presses, rows, bicep curls, planks/squats (one or the other), shoulder abductions, and occasionally some supermans (back extensions)

My strength training exercises weren’t set in stone and I did them after every run. I did not log those in as cross/strength training hours. I need to be doing all of those exercises on a daily basis to get my body moving. I need to incorporate more reps and more variety to tone and strengthen my body. Yay, new plans for February!

I’d like to Congratulate everyone for their hard efforts this month and success! We’re only in January and we’ve started the year so strong. Only 11 more months to keep up the amazing lifestyle we have built. Thanks again for being so wonderful, supportive, and a great human being.

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon Day 31

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. – Og Mandino

January 31 Run: 1:30:00 (hh:mm:ss), 11.80 km, 7’39″/km (iPod)

Today was my longest run to date in both distance and duration. I was only 200 metres away from 12 km!! I did this all on the treadmill and had I known I was that far off I would have done the extra 200, I had it in me!! Actually, I was aiming for 11 km because my Running Free was telling me I was 10.9 kms away from hitting 100 kms this month! I joked yesterday and earlier today that I should do 11 kms just so I could hit 100 for the month. I didn’t want to wait until next Janathon or do it next month when it’s 3 days less! I got down to my treadmill and set it to 90 minutes, that should give me plenty of time to complete 11 k and if my body couldn’t that’s okay too. I also set it to 90 minutes so I would beat my longest run time on my Nike+ from last year (1 hours 26 minutes and I think it was 10.6 km). It was time to set a new record for the new year! Well I was in quite some excitement even knowing I only missed 200 metres from 12 k… I plugged my gadgets into the computer and uploaded… Oh no, Nike+ says I’m 900 m away from 100 km for the month, what the frig?! Ok ok.. calm down, Nike+ doesn’t always seem to add up well… Where’s my notebook, let me manually add these up… Oh no, I’m still short!… Okay, let me type this up on a calculator and add it up… Oh no, now I’m short 1.2 kms… What’s going on?! Back to the Running Free site to review the analysis…. My Wednesday January 29th run, was submitted twice!!! How could I?!?!?! 2.76 kms extra added in that were not earned… It is still early in the day and if I’m not fully broken, I will get on the treadmill again to do 2 kms so I can claim my 100 km month!!!

Janathon  Day 31 has been completed (even if I’m not fully done). I got in my planks (check out Janathon PJ Off-Side-Plank here!) plus my regular mini strength work outs along with a long run. The run was 9 minutes on (5 mph) and 1 minute off (4 mph) for 90 minutes. Could it really be over already? This community has been so touching, inspirational, and supportive, I don’t want it to ever end! I even signed up for twitter (@rundmach) just for Janathon and I’m not even sure if I’m using it right! I don’t want this to stop so I’m just going to keep working out every day and keep blogging as much as I can. I don’t know if I will commit to blogging every day but I will commit to being active. Besides, I’m at 32 days of running now, let’s see how far I can go!

This month has taught me so much. I have followed the lives of so many alike and so many I adore. I have gone from strength to strength. I have thought about fellow Janathoners in my regular day and wishing them well. I am extremely thankful for each and every one of you who follow my blog, who has been active, who inspire me, who like my posts, and who is there for me. I am touched and sad this is over. I am no longer just an I. We have been through so much this month and I couldn’t be happier to have been part of this journey. We have put in all of our time to complete all 31 days and as the site says, we are all winners, and we should all be proud:

What do I win?
You win smugness and immense self-satisfaction.

We have succeeded!! Ran every day this month and was active! So, this is not the end. This is really just the beginning and I’m sure many other blogs I read today will be of the same esteem. We are all superstars!!  I can go on about how grateful I am for this month and how YOU have helped me get to where I am today. I won’t ramble on but know that each of you mean sometime special to me and I’m very happy that I get to share my life with you. I’d also like to send me gratitude and Thank you’s out to Cathy @ JogBlog and everyone else who is involved with organizing and keeping this alive!!!

For now, I need to go shower and get on with my day. Don’t be surprised if you see another blog today covering another km that I need so I can hit 100 km for the month.

Sincerely,

rundmach

Janathon PJ Off-Side-Plank!

Good Morning Janathoners, Bloggers, Runners/Fitness Lovers, Friends!

Today is the last day of Janathon . I will have a more emotional blog later today, once I finish my last run for the month.  I have finally got my PJ Plank photographed! Actually I had to videotape it and then turn it into a photo from my iPhone. I warn you, this is an off side photo and you know, why wouldn’t I? Prizes are at stake and although I’m in Canada and probably won’t get anything, I’ve been a Janathon ambassador all month spreading the word out here, so I have to get in my PJ plank! I sleep in a braid/bun and some shorty shorts… That is all… No fun animal onesies, no flannels, no silky smooth pieces… Just me and some shorts.

Any-who, as I mentioned this is an off-side-plank (haha, get what I did? I like watching hockey and who doesn’t like a good word play) in my PJs.

Okay, so maybe that one won’t count so I got my friend to take a picture of a regular plank in my morning clothes this morning.

It’s January 31st and I just made it in time to submit my plank photos.

Hope you got a good laugh! I did!

rundmach

Janathon Day 30

No matter how good or bad you think life is, wake up each day and be thankful for life. Someone somewhere else is fighting to survive. – Unknown

January 30 Spin: 58:30 (mm:ss), 23.8 km
January 30 Run: 16:00 (mm:ss), 2.12 km, 7’37″/km (iPod)

I survived my first spin class today!! Janathon  Day 30 has been completed with a double work out. A 9 am spin class and a short 9 pm running session (plus the regular strength exercises after the run). My bottom hurts a lot, particularly what I’m told are the sit bones that hurt a ridiculous amount already! The spin class was pretty awesome. I was told it was no beginner class and would be challenging but I could go at my own pace and rest when I needed. I followed the regular “rest” period as everyone else for the 45 minute duration of the class. I ended up being on the bike for almost an hour – showing up early and starting to spin away to get warmed up. My bum hurt before the class even started! I also had cycling shorts on with the padding. I’m a little shocked a lot of ladies in the class (and guys – but they can hide it better under shorts), didn’t have padded pants or shorts on??? How do they survive? My friend who came with me to spin class (he’s done it before), is planning on going back tomorrow morning! Do I dare join him?? I said I am interested and in, but we’ll see how I feel in the morning. My legs felt a little off after getting off the bike but I’m okay now. Hopefully, these classes pay off and I see my body shed a few of those stubborn pounds that don’t want to come off.

The YMCA offers a lot of classes with membership or drop in rates. The spin class was very well taught and I think the instructor was awesome. She was very nice, not intimidating at all, taught me how to set up my bike (and move it – yes, I was the awkward person trying to roll my bike over from the back of the trainer), and she kept everyone motivated. I like her, too bad she only teaches day classes – I’ll be going to evening ones after work.

The class really helped me out to start off the day today. I wasn’t able to think at all, only listen to what the instructor said and force my legs to keep motoring on through all those hills and fast speed intervals. It took a very long time to get to bed and having to wake up early, I didn’t sleep all that much last night. I was finally able to let my mind go into no where land thanks to the spin class.

This image basically sums up how I got through the class. Just keep going – persevere! Although I may not have been going nearly as fast as any of the other spinners (cyclists? What’s the correct term here??), I was giving it my all. I had set the tension to what were tough for me and when I thought I could handle more, I’d turn it up a notch (but really, I couldn’t handle that notch very long).

I am sad and it’s hard to ignore sad thoughts but overtime it will fade… I not sure how long I will be in morning. I’ve just been a bit quieter in thoughts and sitting at home, cleaning, resting, just being. I eventually got up to continue my run streak – Day 31 now completed with a steady 5 mph run for 16 minutes.

Here’s to staying strong and trying new things.

Love,

Diana Mach

Janathon Day 29

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. – Unknown, From an Irish headstone

January 29 Run: 20:00 (mm:ss), 2.75 km, 7’19″/km (iPod)

Janathon  Day 29 has been completed with a 20 minute run. I warn you today’s post is going to be a little depressing and scattered. I can’t really keep my thoughts together as my initial thought was to run for 60 minutes or really as long as I possibly could… I will try to lay out the events of my day that lead me to thinking all the running in the world will make me feel better… I don’t expect you to read all of this, I just need an outlet right now and this is all I have.

Today, I stayed home. Taking a mini stay-cataion today to Friday and Friday is the Chinese New Year where I was planning to go home and celebrate with my Mom and go visit my Uncle to have some celebrations, laughed, and food. Early in the morning, I headed over with a friend to the YMCA here to take a tour of the facilities. Yes, I have a treadmill but I’ve been thinking about trying out a spin class and maybe start swimming. Woah, those are all the triathlete  sports! I’m not sure if that’s where I’m heading since I dread road bikes but I have heard so much great things about spin classes and losing weight. I didn’t sign up for a membership yet since this facility offers a 7 day free trial. I signed up and tomorrow morning at 9 am I will be doing my first spin class (Cyclefit as they call it). Scared and anxious, I hope it turns out well because I’d like to drop a few pounds!! Plus, if I do sign up for the  facilities, I can try a run on the treadmill there and compare it to the treadmill I own (for a comparison of the distance and pace). After registering for a free week starting tomorrow, we stopped a local bike shop for him to check out some road bikes. It was 1:10 pm when I noticed at 1:08 pm I missed two calls from my mom. I immediately  called her back (my mom doesn’t call me during the day unless it’s an emergency)… It was… I don’t want to get into major details but my mom’s brother, my uncle, passed away at noon today. He had cancer. He outlived cancer for longer than he should have. I just saw him Saturday at our family dinner at his house! I was planning to visit him this Friday to wish him a Happy New Year!…. I headed home straight away… called my brothers… Curled up in bed and cried… and cried… and continued to be sad. I ordered bad food…. I curled up on the couch… I moped around… I kept thinking, the best thing I can do is just get on the treadmill and run as much as I can so I can get lost in the run. Really?! That does NOT work. You cannot run from your problems and no matter how many miles you put in, you cannot bring someone back. My thoughts keep going back to my aunt, my wonderful aunt… my cousins… my mom…. I pushed my speeds up to even 6 mph for the last 2 or 3 minutes until I just stopped because all I wanted to do was drop and curl up. I need to mourn before I can force myself to move on but all I want to do is force myself to move on. If I continued to run, I’m sure I would have fallen flat on my face. I kept thinking about my uncle and thoughts of him. Thoughts of how he was the one person of all my aunts and uncles to connect with me in any way. We’ve even chatted over running when I told him I had started running, he told me how he would go for runs before he got sick… I pushed on and kept pushing the pace higher and higher. I know that he loved me. I thought about my sweet aunt who loved my uncle more than anything. My aunt who showed her unconditional love for him and cherished him. My family may not be the closest family but this is the family I have and I don’t want to lose anyone in it. I love them all even if we only see each other once a year or only chat online every now and then. I thought about how much I wished running could take away the sadness and make everything better. How badly I wanted to shut my brain off and just run.  I should be happy that my overall run averaged a pace of 7’14″/km which is pretty darn fast for me right now. I’d ideally like to be running a 7 minute kilometre but really, I’d just like my uncle back. That was my day. I am still going to go to the spin class tomorrow and hope for the best. Sorry for babbling on…

I am just sad and no run can fix that today.

Sincerely,

Diana Mach

Janathon Day 28

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. – Alan Kay

January 28 Run: 25:00 (mm:ss), 3.40 km, 7’23″/km (iPod)

Burrrrrr! It is cold outside! It’s not quite the temperature that’s cold, it’s the wind! It’s still going up to gusts of 50-54 kms! Thank goodness I have my treadmill! Yup, I’m saying it again, I like my treadmill. Today’s run was pretty great! I did what I’ll call an interval run, 1 minute on and 1 minute off. 5.3 mph on and 5.0 mph off. That’s a 7’02″/km on pace and a 7’27″/km off pace each minute. I did pretty awesome!! It was getting annoying having to click up up up, down down down every 60 seconds BUT it was so worth it because I just felt so strong being able to run 5.3 mph and having 5 mph seem “slow”. This run was still challenging but it was amazing!

Here we are with Day 28 completed for Janathon  with a 2.11 mile run and some strength training exercises. To continue on with my 29 day running streak, I have registered for 2 additional runs for this year. My running journey continues with a Valentine’s 5k on February 9 and a 10k in the Toronto Yonge Street 10k run on April 13. I am now up to 4 races registered for this year. Ideally, I’d like to be doing 1 a month but there are none in January so I’ll count my December 31st Resolution run as my January run. Besides, Running every day for Janathon is a big race on its own!

After signing up and looking at all these races, I would really like to be doing some charity work but I just don’t know how? I’ve exhausted my friends and co-workers over the last year. How do I go about asking for more donations? I know I can volunteer my time but I don’t feel like it’s as valuable as what the money can do for finding a cure, providing medical support, spreading awareness, and supporting those who really need it. If you are fundraising, please let me know, I’m not very well off but I would love to support a  good cause.

I’m still looking for motivation to run harder and stronger. Here’s the speech I listened to today and found the video online:

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon Day 27

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. – Helen Keller

January 27 Run: 25:00 (mm:ss), 3.12 km, 8’01″/km (iPod)

It’s time to take it back a notch today and do an “easy” run. Almost everything I’ve read recommends shifting between easy, tempo, speed, and long slow distance (LSD) runs as well as adding intervals and fartleks into these runs. Having a variety of runs is supposedly the best way to lose weight while running but also increase your strength in running. When I was doing the running for weight loss program for a couple of weeks, it definitely worked for keeping weight off. Plus, with the major distances I did for myself over the weekend, I needed a shorter run tonight. My legs are a little tight. Although I did not do a walk run interval today, I kept a steady, “easy”, 4.7 mph for the entire duration of the run. Why do I keep putting easy in quotations? Because it’s still not easy! Running at  4.7 mph or 5 mph, it seems about the same challenge in terms of effort exerted. No biggie though, I completed 25 minutes of steady running for Janathon  Day 27!

Booyah! 28 day run streak so far! Only 4 more work outs before Janathon is over. Can we do a Febuthon? Is that a thing?

That’s how I feel! Excited after running and happy to be alive, happy that I have a wonderful life, and happy I run. All of this after a puzzling Monday… I didn’t enjoy my Monday too much at work – too much stuff going on (nothing out of the ordinary) but I guess I just wasn’t ready for it. Mondays are extremely mentally exhausting sometimes, a big go go go and I don’t think I had my head in the game. Now, it doesn’t matter, I ran, it’s okay! 😀

Here’s something to hopefully make you smile:

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon Day 26

The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don’t give up! – Robert Tew

January 26 Run: 50:00 (mm:ss), 6.52 km, 7’41″/km (iPod)

Well hello Sunday Runday & Readers! Yesterday, I was super stoked to have finished 5 k and said I wasn’t hurt by not hitting 6 k because the time ran out. Honestly, I wasn’t, but because I knew I still had it in me, I’ve been thinking I want to do 6 k next. For  Janathon  Day 26, running streak day 27, I completed a 6.5 k run (4 miles)! I went for a 1.5 km walk before this outside just to get some fresh air, plus it’s snowing and not ridiculously cold out today but the wind still hurt. I had a mini foam rolling session this morning to stretch out my tight calves/quads from yesterday. After the run I completed my regular  strength exercises.

I found that the run went by pretty quickly today after I got over the fact that I hung up a motivational poster in front of the treadmill crooked… I have some OCD with certain things and seriously I couldn’t look at it any more. I changed my iPod from music to motivational speeches again and listened to the one I posted yesterday twice during today’s run. If anyone knows where I can find this  BEST Workout Motivation in just audio to download, that would be fantastic! I even put on the video today and that really got me pumped! I’ve tried listening to podcasts, watching tv shows / documentaries, and regular music but nothing has worked like this video compilation.  My last session (a 5 minute run after intervals of 8:1), I increased speeds from 5.2 up to 5.7 mph! I’m actually starting to like my dreaded treadmill again!!! It’s telling me I’m running at paces I find amazing for me and helping me push myself to run long and further than I would outside. This must have been how I felt last winter when I built up to running 10k’s on the treadmill! Any ways, it does get a little boring on the treadmill but today I really found listening to different motivational speeches really got me through the run quicker than when I was switching to songs.

Do you have any recommended motivational speeches that are heart pumping?
Any recommendations on what to listen to while running?

Happy Sunday Everyone!!!

rundmach

Janathon Day 25

I will define my own bruises! I will define my own success! 

January 25 Run: 45:00 (mm:ss), 5.83 km, 7’44″/km (iPod)

Boy, if my treadmill could do the things I thought paying $800 for a machine would do, I would have completed 6 km. I know I complain about the treadmill a lot but I really wish I could just add 5 minutes to a current session without having to wait for it shut down, restart, and reselect all my run settings. I actually had set out to complete 5 km, so I set the treadmill to 45 minutes giving myself a good little buffer if I decided to run “slow”. My run felt pretty great! I steadily increased my pace from 4.8 up to 5.5 mph throughout the run. At each 8 minute interval, I had a 1 minute walk at 3.9 mph.

What drove me to running up to 5.5 mph? Well, You’ll have to thank motivational speeches as cliché as they are, they work! I was skimming through some online radio workout stations while running and I hit skip a LOT even on my own playlists. I came across this in a station: BEST Workout Motivation (warning, 9 minutes long and you will want to be a beast after this!). It wasn’t anything I haven’t heard before but I think around the 5 minute mark, the “WHO AM I?! I AM A CHAMPION” got me really really pumped up and that’s when I went from 4.9 to 5 to 5.1 to 5.3 in 1 interval. Nearing the end, with I think 4 minutes left, I looked at the actual distance and realized how close I could be to 6 km. I knew I wouldn’t hit it with my pace (I even knew 5.5 wouldn’t get me there), but I had to up the speed and get as close as I can in the 45 minutes I had set. I’m not heartbroken over not hitting 6 because that wasn’t what was going to define my successful run today, 5 k was the goal and I have achieved it. This doesn’t mean I’m settling for less either.

After the run, I continued with some more of my strength training exercises. The nice kind of sore happens almost every morning in my upper back / shoulder blades. I’m working on bringing sexy back! Haha.

So, here we are, the last week of  Janathon , with Day 25 completed early in the day. Yes, I went for my run before noon today! I have a family dinner tonight and well that will go late and include a lot of food. I did some cleaning and organizing in my basement. Prepped some of my fruits into snack sized containers. I also woke up at 7 am and didn’t get back to bed so I’ve had a pretty productive day so far! With only 6 more days of Janathon being the “reason” why I’m running, I have already been running for me but I like having Janathon be the excuse; plus it just seems easier to let myself down than an entire community! However, I am working at changing that mentality and working on focussing on me! 😀

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon Day 24

If you can’t get a miracle, become one. – Nick Vujicic 

January 24 Run: 25:00 (mm:ss), 3.23 km, 7’49″/km (iPod)

Hello, Janathon  day 24! I have completed you and continued my 25 day run streak! Boy does it feel good. I would love to be running more but really, the treadmill does get pretty boring. Today, I even contemplated running outside, I went outside for a walk to test the weather. About 300 metres out, I turned back home. The crazy wind-chill warnings weren’t a joke, up to 77 km/h winds!! I was bundled up and only my eyes were exposed under my eyeglasses. My eyes hurt from the wind so much I decided I would turn around and settle for the indoors.

It’s been over a week since I’ve run 5 k and I’m jonesing to get another 5 k in ASAP! I really wanted to make tonight the night after freshly silicone-ing up the treadmill but once I got ready, I decided I would continue to take it easy until I felt my body is 100% ache free. Man, am I getting old? I have to watch what I eat, exercise more, and weight is so much harder to shed. Is this what it’s like choosing a 9-5 desk job? I guess I should have already came to this conclusion much earlier. First 3 years in this job and I gained 30 pounds. Luckily, this year I’m halfway in and I haven’t gain any! *Whew* This running and watching what I eat must actually be working. Sometimes I envy those who get to be move active as part of their job even if they don’t realize it; for example, a teacher is on their feet most of the day, a retail associate (what I was doing before I sat my keister down for 8 hours a day) is on their feet most of their day, doctors, dentists, engineers, vets, contractors, and the list goes on of jobs where you are constantly moving. The other day at work, I sat down at 9 am and didn’t get up until 2:30 pm! I had my food and water at my desk with me so I didn’t even realize that I never even stood up for over 5 hours. I only ended up getting up to use the restroom! Isn’t that a little nuts? That’s 5 hours of sitting and all I’m moving are my fingers, typing away, analysing data, staring at a screen and giving my brain a major workout but my body a major setback. I normally try to ensure I get up multiple times a day – especially to refill my water, but to make sure I’m moving! So, how do I cope and get more exercise in? At one point I was trying to run during my lunch hour instead but really, who wants to sit at their desk all sweaty for the latter half of the day? There’s meetings and vendors to meet, no one wants to see an after run me in a professional setting.

What kind of job do you have? Is it active?
Do you have a 9-5 desk job? How do you cope?

Oh and one more thing, I saw this image the other day and it made me laugh because it’s pretty true.
Except for those of you who can buy healthy foods on a budget and learn to make it quick, the bravo!

So, today I saw this video and it’s pretty awesome! This is 200 Calories:

Happy Running Weekend!

rundmach

Janathon Day 23

Dear me, one day I’ll make you proud. – Charlotte Eriksson

January 23 Run: 20:00 (mm:ss), 2.59 km, 7’49″/km (iPod)

Today’s run was just a little scary. After yesterday’s run, my treadmill notified me I had to lube up the belt before I could run again. Well, I forgot this until it was 9 PM and I was all laced up and ready to go. I decided to bypass the notification and go for a more focussed 20 minute run. Why focused and why scared? A while back I was running on my mom’s treadmill (Frustrated Disappointment – woah July 2012!), I broke it! I broke my mom’s treadmill because she only used it for walking but when I visited her, I would run on it. After trying to figure out what was wrong, we were told that the treadmill burned out because she never greased it up and my running caused it to overheat and die. So, the run had to be focused just to be prepared if the treadmill decided to just shut off on me and scared because it’s scary when a treadmill just stops in mid-step. I am a little frustrated with reading my post from 2012 seeing that I was running at a 6 minute km pace and right now, I struggle to get a 7:30…. Add 2 minutes to the time I ran today, in 2012 I covered almost an entire km more… that’s so sad… OH but wait, my notes say that I was running at a 4.5 – 5 mph pace on the treadmill, that’s what I’m running now?! I wish I had taken note of what the treadmill read instead of my iPod. This must have been before I realized that my iPod had never calibrated the right distance or pace and is all hooey!!!

I completed my  Janathon  day 23 run which is my 24th day run streak! I’ve also been keeping up with my strength exercises after the run too!! I find it a lot easier to get these done when my heart is pumping after a run. I know I may not be running at what other runners are in terms of pace and distance, but hey, I’m still doing something that the old me would not have! I can’t believe I’ve gotten off my butt every day for 24 days and completed a physical activity outside of my regular routine of work, eat, sleep, repeat. It’s pretty awesome that right now I can say my regular routine is eat, sleep, work, run. Oh and showering is important now too I guess! Haha!

Happy Running!!!

rundmach

Janathon Day 22

One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful. – Sigmund Freud

January 22 Run: 20:00 (mm:ss), 2.43 km, 8’18″/km (iPod)
January 22 Cycling: 10:00 (mm:ss), 4.43 km

Check it out, my cycling today was about the same distance as yesterday but 2 minutes faster. I aimed to bike for 10 minutes and didn’t think about pace either. My knee is feeling much better. Thanks for all the tips fellow bloggers! Today, I ran with a knee brace/tensor and it felt good. I ran pretty slow and it was tough keeping the treadmill at a slower pace but I knew it would be good for me. I still worked up a sweat!

I’m exhausted right now so this will be a short one and not very inspirational, sorry… Pretty long day too with a lot of focus/thinking/analysis done. Great day for being productive and getting work done but very tiring. Off to bed as I could barely stay awake after 4 at work.  On a happier note, it’s been 23 straight days of getting a run in and  Janathon  day 22 completed. Pretty awesome! 🙂

Happy Resting!

rundmach

Janathon Day 21

Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential. – Winston Churchill

January 21 Run: 8:00 (mm:ss), 1.01 km, 8’00″/km (Watch)
January 21 Cycling: 12:00 (mm:ss), 4.44 km

As you can see, for Janathon  day 21, I have completed a slow 1 kilometre run with a slow 12 minute session on my stationary bike. Not only was this due to coming home from running errands after work and having dinner at 8 pm, but because my knee has been hurting since last night’s run. I’ve had this sharp pain in my right knee that can’t be stretched out and relieved. When it’s not a sharp pain it just feels dull and irritated… I’m guessing it’s from the huge jump up in speed and possibly running at a higher incline. If it wasn’t for my determination to continue my running streak (now at 22 days!!), I would not have run at all (it’s not logical to right now with this sort of pain)…. Well, the biking didn’t help too much either as that enhanced a pain on the outside of my knee that I didn’t experience before but is now throbbing as it hurt every pedal…. I’ll be taking the pace slow again and see what I can do to make this better – I may even slow it down to an 8’30″/km tomorrow! Tomorrow, I plan on grabbing a knee tensor after work to wrap up my knee. Hopefully this will help, as well as help while I’m on the treadmill. I sound like such a whiny pants but I’m actually just hoping that my sad descriptions of my pain will spark some interest or experience you may have had that you can share with me.

I’ve also never tracked my cycling on a stationary bike. I’ve never been a big bike person…….*gasp*….. okay world…. Here’s one of my deepest secrets…. *deep breath in*…..  I can’t really ride a bike! Yup, there I said it, it’s out there… So, I can ride a bike forward on flat road and that’s about it. I can’t even tell you when the last time I rode a real bike outdoors was… I can tell you that the idea of being on a road bike going downhill terrifies me more than being in a room full of snakes. Well, my overall point of all of this is, I’m not even sure what the standards are? Is this like Running where I run at my own pace and I compare myself to myself or is there supposed to be a certain speed or distance covered within a time range that certifies a good effort work out? Are there certain stats I should be looking at or focussing on?

Overall, I am proud of myself for getting in my daily dose of activity. I did skip the strength exercises on the stability ball but I did do my weights. Anything that had to do with legs I kind of skipped tonight just to play it safe.

It is now way past my relax/bed time so off I go to rest and elevate my leg (does that even work for the knee?).

Happy Living! 🙂

rundmach

Janathon Day 20

A dream only becomes overrated when not pursued by the dreamer. – Courtney Hickman

January 20 Run: 20:00 (mm:ss), 2.72 km, 7’25″/km (iPod)

Janathon  day 20 has come and gone in a flash! Boy, Mondays always seem to fly by… not to mention coming home, making dinner, then spending over an hour on a puzzle and realizing it’s 8 pm, I should run! Yes, I said it, I’m addicted to this puzzle I got not too long ago and I can’t stop!! I’ll stop when it’s done. It is the most relaxing thing ever after a day at work. I’m addicted!!! Hmm… I feel the same about running yet I have more motivation to give an hour to sitting on my butt to work on the puzzle instead of get outside to run. *Sigh* … Right, back to my original point, it’s day 20! There’s only 11 days left to Janathon… Who’s going to keep my accountable after these 11 days? Myself??? I guess so…  Hopefully with your help!

Today’s run included a higher incline for the first 10 minutes, then a faster pace for the last 10 minutes. I got up to 6.2 miles per hour for the last 3 minutes!! Pretty awesome if I say so myself. I’d love to be able to run 6.2 miles per hour as my regular pace!! That would be my ideal ultimate fast pace. It’s a 6 minute kilometre and may seem slow to you but that would put me almost 2 minutes faster than my average pace. This was such an awesome run I wanted to run more but was feeling the pain in my right knee and ankles so thought I’d stop when the time stopped. I still find it weird that my treadmill doesn’t allow me to add time to a current workout to extend the run… I have to wait for it to complete and the reset before I start over and choose all the options all over again. Wow, enough side-thoughts… I kept the momentum of the high pace running and then did my strength training exercises in ultra fast speeds. You know, you’re working out really hard when you’re only on 20 sit ups on an exercise ball and you can’t decide which hurts more: my thighs from holding them firm on the group and perpendicular or my core from the sit-ups all the way down to my knees. Overall, I had a good half hour work out.

Here’s to dreaming and working hard to achieving a Happier Pace 🙂

rundmach

Janathon Day 19

My long-term goal is to be around to run long-term. – Jeremy Dobrick, Runner’s World

January 19 Run: 25 (mm:ss), 3.30 km, 7’37″/km (iPod)

Well, I didn’t go out today… It was snowing a bit earlier and pretty cold out so I stayed in and did laundry instead! I actually quite enjoyed my Sunday; I’m pretty sure I’d be an awesome hermit (inside my own home) if that choice was logical. I got around to my run in the evening since I’m now accustomed to it. As much as I mentally kept trying to get myself ready for a run during the day, I couldn’t get into it. On the plus side, at least I can still get myself into the workout spirit even if it is in he evening time.

Tonight I completed Janathon  day 19 with my regular strength training exercises and a 25 minute run at a gradually increasing pace (from 4.8 miles up to 6 miles per hour) at  a slightly higher incline than my norm.

I’m not going to lie, Bridesmaids is on TV and it’s a little distracting.

Lucky for me, my blog is my personal journal and well I encourage you to share my personal thoughts and feelings.

I love this blog, I love your blogs, and I love being able to keep myself accountable here without being judged.

Since it’s on commercial break I can now refocus and tell you about my new goal for this year. I know I’ve been talking about doing my first half marathon but for 2014, I have decided I’d like to complete a 10 miler race and a few more 10Ks under my belt before jumping into a half marathon.

 

I haven’t found any 10 milers that I am crazy about fundraising for… There is one not too far away from where I live and the treats are all chocolate! The only negative is this race is on Mother’s day and I don’t think my Mom would want to spend the day with me for my run, I’d rather me spending the day with her, for her.

Have you ever ran a 10 miler race? I can’t find that many…
Are there any in Ontario, Canada you would recommend?

rundmach

Janathon Day 18

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results. – Willie Nelson

January 18 Run: 20:00 (mm:ss), 2.61 km, 7’45″/km (iPod)

I may have wished for too much yesterday saying “Better Sore than Sorry” because today, I am SORE! I guess I’m not sorry at all but that extra speed, the little extra push for some more squats, and probably lack of stretching has caused my legs to be pretty sad today. When I stepped on the treadmill tonight (yes, don’t remind me that I was too lazy all day to run out in the sunlight), my quad/IT band area was still hurting quite a bit. Despite the stretching and foam roller session I did today to relax my legs, I felt like I was in a bit of pain. So, run it off! I decided I would cut my run short and run 1 km then get on the bike; the last thing I want to do is hurt myself and have to stop running all together for a while. Well, luckily, the pain subsided as I kept running so I completed the 20 minutes I had initially set out at what I’ll say is a pretty good pace for being in pain. On the crazy side today, my Nike+ watch which normally underestimates how much distance I’m doing on a treadmill decided it would bump up my self-esteem by saying I ran 2.74 kms at a 7’20″/km pace. I know, I can’t really trust the watch unless I’m out with GPS on (even though the point of the watch with a foot pod is for indoors)… Enough with the stats. I’m sore and so I did my strength exercises afterwards with some stretching. I did skip the squats today because well, I did 2 or 3 and my legs were screaming at me. I opted to do my squat reps in rotating sit ups.

#MegsMiles – Today’s mile was also ran for Meg. I won’t go into much detail other than my heart sinks each time I hear a tragedy like this. My heart goes out to her family. Find out more here.

Janathon  Day 18 Completed! 13 Days left but really, I hope it turns into a life time of habit!

I missed a shout out yesterday for Nick (Striding Towards Life) who’s doing a double-header, a 5k done today and his first marathon tomorrow! Can’t wait to read all about it! Good Luck Nick!!

Tomorrow, I have to figure out how to run in the morning as I have plans in the evening in which I won’t be home until later. I have been doing all my runs during the evening for quite some time now and shifting to the morning didn’t work when I tried to get out of bed today.  Here’s to hoping my legs are happy in the morning and I’m not a big lazy bones.

Happy Running!

rundmach

 

Janathon Day 17

BETTER SORE THAN SORRY!

January 17 Run: 30:00 (mm:ss), 3.86 km, 7’46″/km (iPod)

Happy Friday! I think I’m back to normal!! Nothing like retail therapy and cheesecake to get cured from any kind of sadness, deprivation, sickness or moodiness. Today I took the day off with a friend and drove over to Buffalo. If Janathon  counted walking for over 4 hours, I would not have done a run. We spent most of the day shopping and walking (when normally, we both have desk jobs and would have been sitting all day). I got a great haul! Although I got charged taxes again on my way back through the border, I guess that’s how it works (this was my first time!!). I recently read one of Suzan’s posts (Welcome to The Nut House) where you were struggling finding Jeans and this year your goal is to find Jeans that aren’t so Mom Jeans like. I’m excited for you for finding some pretty awesome jeans because that was my biggest excitement today! I found 2 pairs today and in an entire year, I am lucky if I can find 2 pairs of jeans that fit me properly!!! Although I’m not a mom and don’t have the mom jean complex, I have the, I’m short with thick legs and well, I’m short! Finding jeans that fit me is tough because most stores don’t even carry sizes that fit me and if the waist is the right size, I normally can’t even get them past my calves. So, two pairs of jeans, a bunch of candles, a new pair of running shorts, a warm long sleeve running top, and a visit to The Cheesecake Factory, I think I’m back to normal!!!

After getting home from a mini road trip / shopping spree, I got home and laced up. I had a wonderful 30 minute run. A little tough wanting to stop each time I knew I hit a mark (1 km, 10 minutes, 2 km). I just thought, Beach Body, I want that more than I want to stop now so each time I wanted to stop I told myself at each 10 minutes I would walk 1 minute. There we have it, Janathon Day 17 completed with my regular mini session of strength training afterwards. Oh and the strength training is working, my upper back and stomach/core have been a little sore lately when I wake up (all the spots I’ve been targeting)!! This is good sore!! 😀

Thank you to everyone who has been sooooooo extremely supportive in this time while I’ve been sick and then moody. No one like a crabby sicky pants so here I am thanking you for your patience and support. Can’t wait to log some more kms like I did today to make up for those less fortunate runs!

Happy Weekend and Good Luck to all those running this Weekend!
I know Ashley’s (Miles on Oats) doing her second Half Marathon – You’ll be amazing!!
I’ll be reading some more blogs to see what else you’re all up to 🙂

Keep being awesome and never stop!

rundmach

Janathon Day 16

It’s hard to wait around for something you know might never happen; but it’s harder to give up when you know it’s everything you want. – Unknown

January 16 Run: 8 min, 1 km, 8’06″/km (iPod)

My question tonight should be, how did I run 8 minutes on the treadmill and the treadmill tell me I’m running 7’56″/km pace when I did exactly 8 minutes and exactly 0.62 miles (1 km). My pace should read 8’00″/km on my iPod and Treadmill but both don’t seem to know how to do math. Maybe I’ve been doing math all wrong my entire life? Who knows… who cares.. my bigger question tonight is why am I doing this?! I’m feeling better but soooo exhausted. My 30 minute run was cut down to 8 minutes after having a cough attack, a sneezing fit, my chest hurt/throat was burning so bad from trying to breathe, and then really really had to pee. So, I was weak and after a kilometre I stepped off, ran to the wash-room, did my basic strength exercises and came here to blog. I’m just a little stressed out and I don’t even know why. Work isn’t that stressful. I have the day off tomorrow to visit the U.S. for some shopping. I’m not as sick as I was a few days ago. Today I checked up on a few blogs and they were keeping me motivated all day to get home and get my Janathon   run for Day 16 in. Your blogs are definitely inspirational and helping… Yet here I am, grumpy and grouchy and all I want is to sleep for 24 hours. Maybe it’s time to hibernate?

Sorry for being such a downer tonight; I know I need to be back to my optimistic self to get through this and run some more. I need to run more, I love to run, but I also love sleep… I must not forget, getting a good nights rest and sleep are part of a healthy life.

Good night for now.

Happier Running wishes being sent your way!

rundmach

Janathon Day 15

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. – J. K. Rowling

January 15 Run: 18:00 (mm:ss), 2.33 km, 7’47″/km (iPod)

A little different kind of day compared to yesterday. Work felt a lot slower today, I felt exhausted, moody, and basically just cranky. Have you ever had one of those days? Well, after a day like that, nothing was on my mind – not even running. So, I gave what my goal was and did the 2 kms. I did a bit more in terms of sit ups and weights afterwards but probably still not nearly enough. I need to up my cross and strength training! That may be a goal after accomplishing 2 km’s a day for January.

Health-wise I’m probably 95%!! The only other bit is just getting some rest and getting my stomach back to normal. Although during today’s run, I did have to slow down so I could actually blow my nose… that’s not something I can multi-task.

I read a pretty helpful article on Runner’s World today, The 6 Best Exercises for New Runners. There’s some great information in this article – even if you aren’t a new runner!!! The exercises are all basic and pretty easy to perform.

Well, Janathon  Day 15 has been completed with a 2 km run. I am on a 16 day run streak! I would have never thought I’d run this many days straight!! I’d like to be a lot more excited but maybe when the month is over and I see a few pounds go (I thought I was losing weight but I’m not)… I know, diet has a lot to do with it too and having pizza for dinner tonight was probably not a good idea. I miss those days when I ate mall food every day and I weighed a lot less than I do now. I like bad foods and I like good foods. I like to eat and I don’t want to give it up. Even in fruits I’ve been told I eat it too much – too much sugar all the time and I eat it all day every day (sugar at night is not as good for you apparently). So, I’ll control myself with moderation – which is why I didn’t eat an entire pizza to myself, I can you know! … I shouldn’t be that proud of that fact but I’m proud I ate two of the smaller slices to the pizza and stopped after that.

I’m not sure how much truth there is to this image below (I’m too tired to do the research on this but it seems appropriate)…

It might be true and it might be a myth and there’s a 95% chance that the percentage is purely made up but there’s a 100% craving for some pop and burgers now… This picture is also missing fries! Haha… Stupid advertising.
Unfortunately, if our choices make us who we are and you are what you eat, I’m a big round, greasy, piece of deliciousness! Luckily, I do make other good choices and it’s not like I have pizza every day. 🙂

I hope you’ve been stronger than I and saying NO to those bad craving and substitute with healthier choices.

Until tomorrow’s run, Happy Running! (or Biking, or Walking, or Swimming, or Cross/Strength Training, or whatever you are blogging about because I like reading your blog too!)

rundmach

Janathon Day 14

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. – Zig Ziglar

January 14 Run: 38:00 (mm:ss), 5.17 km, 7’25″/km (iPod)

Tonight’s run does not include full pics of the treadmill reads since the run was split into two intervals: a 30 minute set plus an 8 minute set. This happened again by setting the treadmill to 30 minutes at the beginning when I intended to run maybe 26 (3 kms). After 30 minutes I was at 4 kms and felt good enough that it wouldn’t hurt me to run 8 more minutes (1 km). The treadmill read 3.21 miles in 38 minutes, so my pace here was pretty amazing, 7’21″/km. I did try to push myself a whole lot harder.

No, unfortunately, I’m not 100% better. However, during the entire run, I only had 1 cough attack which wasn’t so bad! Each day the symptoms seem to change a little bit but today I do feel better. Headache is gone and my nose isn’t running faster than me anymore! I am still nauseous at times and feel sick to the stomach but that little bug can kiss it while I suck it up and run. My chest still feels heavy and throat is still scratchy.

Since I’ve been sick for quite a few days now, I’ve decided I should just fake it until I make it. Who cares if I’m not feeling well? I’ve got to get in some kilometres and that’s just what I did! It’s been 2 weeks of Janathon  now and I haven’t given a rest day yet to running! How can I? Your runs and blog posts are keeping me inspired, I must keep going!

Thank you for being my motivation right now!

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon Day 13

Change doesn’t come unless you push yourself. 

January 13 Run: 18:00 (mm:ss), 2.20 km, 8’15″/km (iPod)

What’s new? I’m still feeling sick. Went to work, didn’t feel nearly as bad as I have the last few days, made it through, and got home in one piece. Feeling a lot more nauseous tonight and a lot more coughing tonight than during the entire day. Sick of being a lazy butt and doing 1 km, I put myself on the treadmill for 18 minutes – whatever distance this would have equated to would be it. I put the speed up just one notch higher than the last 2 days since I really wanted to push myself out of this self-pity of sickness. In the end I completed a bit more than 2 k at a pace a little quicker than the last 2 days. No where near back to normal – my chest was killing me and a few cough attacks during the running proved quite challenging. Janathon  Day 13 Completed.

I’d like to get back to my normal self and run outside again. Now, I am a little hesitant to get back outside; worried I will over/under-dress, slip on all the ice, waste too much time getting dressed (since the treadmill is easy to get ready for), not have water with me, etc. The motivation to get outside is not back and I’m worried I may lose momentum… Help?…

By the way, have I ever mentioned how much I appreciate YOU? The reader, yes, you! Thank you for your likes, for your comments, and for your support! You’re making me feel a lot better and helping me stay accountable to being active every day during this time where I only want to curl up in bed. Not only do I get on the treadmill – when I’m done my stretches, I do some other exercises. I would not be doing any of this without you, THANK YOU!!

Happy Running.

rundmach

Janathon Day 12

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. – Aristotle

January 12 Run: 9:00 (m:ss), 1.08 km, 8’28″/km (iPod)

Janathon  Day 12 is now complete with another 1 kilometre run. I was really hoping today would be a 3 or 5 k run outside but seriously, I am up and down with being better and being a lot worse. I had to head over to my Mom’s this afternoon to bring her an early birthday gift. Her birthday’s not until later in February but there was this cross-walk treadmill on sale that she wanted so we went to pick it up, bring it over, and help put it together. All this and being sick I felt decent being out of the house. Luckily, I have a wonderful Mom who made me a great soup to take hope (which I’m enjoying now and soothing my throat). On the way home, I got  drowsy/weak and slept in the car and felt worse again. Got in, slept some more. Finally got up and stepped on the treadmill for a measly 1k run. I feel worse today after running maybe because I didn’t even have the energy to get down the stairs to the treadmill… I’m beginning to question if running is making me more sick because my body just needs time to rest… and then I think, no way I’m breaking my running streak! I’d rather be a little weak than to ever regret not running when I physically can.

It’s your choice!

I’m sick of being sick and I’m sick of not being able to focus on anything else other than being sick.
I’m chilled to the bone even though I keep waking up in heat sweats… off to take a bath and more sleep in hopes I can survive Monday.

rundmach

Janathon Day 11

The sick are the greatest danger for the healthy; it is not from the strongest that harm comes to the strong, but from the weakest. – Friedrich Nietzsche

Even though I’m sick, I can’t break this running streak; so, if running 1 km is what I have to do, it’s what I will do.

January 11 Run: 9:00 (mm:ss), 1.08 km, 8’25″/km (iPod)

Well, Janathon  is about getting up and being active when you wouldn’t have been. I may have jinxed myself yesterday because I am sicker than ever. My head is pounding, ears are stuffed, nose is running, throat hurts, coughing, and getting hot cold spells. With all of this, I spent the entire day bundled up and lying around. I only made my way downstairs from my bed when I got hungry and had to come down so I stayed on the couch all day. Really, the pounding headache was the only thing that hurt me the most. After some ibuprofen and more sleeping I got up and “ran” a kilometre on the treadmill. It was probably a jogging pace for most but it was still a running pace for me and with the way I was drinking water for those 9 minutes, you’d think I had been running 10k.

To my surprise, after feeling so miserable all day, before, and during my run, I now feel pretty good. My nose and my throat are still being a pain but it seems I feel more awake than I have at all today and the headache has subsided for the time being. Look at this post! It’s getting long, I thought I’d only be able to log the run and then pass out!

Some might say I’m crazy for not just resting and some might think I’m inspirational for getting up, I think I’m a little bit of both. The logical left side of my brain said to stay down and be wrapped up, continuing moping around and be weak. The fantasy based right side of my brain said how bad can 1 k be? Even if I run it slower than what I’ve been running, it will still be 1 extra kilometre I would not have done.

It’s been 12 days now of running and after January, I’d like to keep this running streak going. Hopefully by day 365 I’ll have done so many kilometres, being sick won’t matter! I’ll be on vacation in March though so let’s see how that works out for running every day…

It doesn’t seem like I’m the only one getting sick, so I hope you’re all staying healthy and doing well!
I’ll end today with two little images since I couldn’t choose between them.

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon Day 10

Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running. – Sarah Condor

If my nose is running more than I have today, does that count? I’m sure it doesn’t… so after spending my vacation day curled up on the couch, staying warm, and turning my nose into Rudolph’s, I got up to run…

January 10 Run: 16:00 (mm:ss), 2.01 km, 8’04″/km (iPod)

Okay, so I’m sure I would have spent my day off being lazy but I’m sure it would have been way more enjoyable than a scratchy throat and a nose that won’t stop running. However, running with a nose that’s running faster than you are is pretty annoying. Although my run was only for 16 minutes as compared to the 40 yesterday, I completed my 2 km goal plus a few other exercises. More than I can say for all of those other sick days I’ve had. I did plan ahead and put a lot of tissues at my treadmill. I think I had to wipe my nose more than I had to wipe sweat – not that I didn’t work up a sweat! Here’s to completing Day 10 of Janathon! 

I spent all day watching mindless television and playing Catan online… I decided I would watch some inspirational videos on Youtube, so here’s what helped me get off the couch, thanks Ben!

I was looking forward to having the day off and running outside during daylight but if I get better soon, I have tomorrow or Sunday still! I have also taken the remaining Fridays off for the rest of January – hello 4 day work weeks! I do plan on spending these days being active. Next Friday I’ll be heading over to Buffalo to shop. I will be on my feet walking, ALL DAY compared to the 8 hours I would have been spending sitting at work. Now here comes a very important question – Does shopping all day count as exercise towards Janathon? 

Happy Friday 🙂

rundmach

Janathon Day 9

If you sell yourself short, so will everyone else. 

January 9 Run: 41 minutes, 5.18 km (3.22 miles), and a kicked the treadmill’s butt pace!

Okay, so here’s the breakdown, I’m still sick with a bit of a sore throat today, but feeling better. Stayed late at work today to get some stuff done (had a major breakthrough in Excel again and I booked tomorrow off). Yay, today was my Friday at work! Anyways, I put myself to the treadmill not really wanting to at all since I got home a little later than normal. I set 18 minutes to run a little more than my 16 minute 2 km run. Since the time flew by and I felt so strong, I put another 7 minutes to the treadmill. After completing my run and completing my run on my iPod, I stepped off the treadmill and still felt strong. I WANTED MORE! I even thought about setting the treadmill to 60 minutes just to see how long I could go. I ended up decided another 16 minutes to add another 2 km. All that adding puts me here: 41 minutes, 5.18 km, and an average pace of 7’55″/km (according to a pace calculator).

No real photo to give you that will have all the details and not sure what to upload from my devices that shows all of my stats in one place. I decided to upload the 3 runs from the treadmill online and this is all I get (see below). Yeah, the Livestrong treadmill kind of sucks and so does the website (it’s hard to navigate through online and the treadmill doesn’t give you too much room to be creative). Unfortunately, the Livestrong site says I only burned 183 calories and I’m pretty sure 5 k burns a whole lot more than that at my weight, haha. I don’t mean to give them a bad review, maybe I’m just so accustomed to the Nike+ site…

Now I’m sweaty and gross, again. Time to shower, again. Eat, again. Sleep, again. Run, again! 🙂

Happy Day 9 Janathon to all of those who are participating and Happy Life/Running to everyone else!
(Because really, what’s life without running?)

rundmach

Janathon Day 8

An obstacle is often a stepping stone. – Prescott

January 8 Run: 16:00 (mm:ss), 2 km, 8’05″/km (iPod)

I’m coming down with a sickness… I’ve been coughing all day… After getting a shower in the morning for work, all I wanted to do was go back to bed. It even got to a point where I had such a major cough attack in the afternoon, I just smashed my head into my desk wishing it would all end. I thought about coming home and substituting the run with a longer yoga session (I haven’t done yoga in a long time!) but at least yoga would count towards Janathon. I thought about cycling… then I thought how I’d feel if I broke my 8 day run streak just because of a silly potential sickness. I got home and slowly moseyed along until I got all my basic running items on. Two kilometres later, here I am. Glass of Orange Juice to help get extra vitamin c in and one set of hurting lungs / throat / chest. Luckily, I only had one cough attack during the run and that was early on. Boy is it tough trying to run while coughing. The best thing about today, I WANTED TO RUN all day long. That’s all I wanted. I kept thinking that I wanted the cough to go away so I could have a good run. I wanted to feel less tired so I could have a good run. I had a good run because I ran. 🙂

I wish I could spend some time writing some creative or funny blog post but really, I’d just like to go to sleep.

Good Night & Good Run!

rundmach

Janathon Day 7

Just Do It. – Nike

January 7 Run: 16:00 (mm:ss), 2.08 km, 7’47″/km (iPod)

Luckily almost doesn’t count – almost didn’t run today!
Initially I started the day off being excited that I would come home and complete day 7 of Janathon, day 8 of straight running (Starting with a 5K Resolution Run December 31!). Well, my day was exhausting at work, really mentally exhausting. By the time I got home, I just wanted to curl up in bed, get warm, and zone out. After bumming around the couch for over an hour I finally got up and put myself on the treadmill for 2 kms. Done and Done.

“Wow, I really regret that run” – Said by no one ever!
(Unless something unfortunate happens on that run… then I’m sorry… 😦 ) 

So. Brain. Dead. Tonight.. short post… Just Run.

rundmach

Janathon Day 6

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance. The wise grows it under his feet. – James Oppenheim

The way I see it… Runners grow happiness under their feet and flourish in the distance.

January 6 Run: 16:00 (mm:ss), 2.12 km, 7’32″/km (iPod)

There it is!!! Janathon Day 6 complete – another 2 km! I honestly thought that by 6 day I would have caved and done a cycling session instead. I may not have blogged it yet and as it is always said at my work “if it’s written it’s real”, I plan to run a minimum of 2 km a day for the month of January (or at least average out 2 km a day for January). If I decide to cycle instead of run then I will have to ensure the day before or after is at least a 4 km run. Here we are on a Monday after a very busy day at work, I planned that I would be exhausted (mentally) from work so I did 4 kms yesterday in anticipation. Well, I got home after a long day and all I wanted to do was run!!! Maybe I should have done more than 2 kms on the treadmill, but I was dripping of sweat so I knew I got a good work out in. Sometimes 2 kms sound so minimal to me and others it sounds like it’s unachievable! Right now, it’s perfect for me.

Oh by the way, it is -17°C (feels like -29°C) with freezing rain and wind chill warnings and wind gusts at 34 km/h up to 53 km/h. Based on the freezing rain last night, all the sidewalks were iced up and skateable! I don’t think my spikes would have saved me. This is why I opted for the treadmill tonight, haha. It was a no brainer.

Believe in yourself! I believe in me and I can’t wait to see how far my body will go with running every day for an entire month! Part of my Janathon goal is to not let my mental get in the way. I will do what my body can physically do on its own and shut my brain off!

Happy Running.

rundmach

Janathon Day 5

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. – Michael Jordan

January 5 Run: 30:47 (mm:ss), 4.01 km, 7”40″/km

Not only does it make you feel 50% more hardcore; the way I see it, you actually are!!!

That’s what I’m talking about!!! Getting back into the groove and into what my pace should be. Yes, running is running but I’d like to set some goals. I’m not competing with anyone else but myself – so I’d just like to be running faster and stronger than I was last year. Today’s run was amazing – considering I had gone for a run later in the day yesterday, I thought today’s would be a slower recovery run done early in the morning. Well, it wasn’t quite as early as I’d hope but I got out the door by 10:30 am. Luckily, I missed all the freezing rain by the time I headed out to door. Is it bad, I’m slightly disappointed I didn’t get to run in the rain?

I am proud of this run not only because the pace is faster than what it has been lately, but because I knew I could go even faster! Why didn’t I? The route I was running still had quite a bit of snow and with the rain in the morning it was pretty slushy, uck! Luckily, I had my yaktrax on (they’re amazing!), and I did my run with short quick steps… they weren’t all super quick as this got pretty tiring pretty quickly! I was motivated to run on and hit each km within 7 minutes – I did 7 minute run plus 1 minute walk until I got to today’s goal of 4 kms. Did I just say that? I included walking in my run today and I ran a faster pace? Yup!! I need to get back onto proper training (interval runs, speed runs, hills, etc…) BUT I’m not making excuses, I’d just like to spend January and Janathon being active and enjoying life. Not everything has to be so serious. Just Be Happy 🙂

Happy Running!

rundmach

Janathon Day 4

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. – Confucius 

January 4 Run: 42 min, 5.02 km, 8’20″/km

Today’s wonderful, slow, steady run was accomplished outside!! Yay, outside! Although I didn’t get my butt out there until 5:30 pm, it was already dark out! It’s 7 PM now and it look likes it should be midnight. Glad to be able to get outside again in -1°C (feels like -7°C) weather. A little windy (21 km/h) but still fantastic compared to a treadmill run! I went my pace; even though I thought I was going fast but ended up being “slow” – thanks snow! I love snow so I can’t really be upset. 🙂

runrchatts came out and joined me for my run which was great. I always enjoy his company. No music, just a little bit of chit chatting wherever I could get the breathes in to, haha. I didn’t really look at my watch too much other than for timing to see how long I’ve been running each interval. I did look at my pace as I mentioned earlier thinking I was running faster but I didn’t push myself harder or make myself go slower – I just went out and ran.

If you aren’t aware yet, I’m participating in Janathon! Run – Log – Blog for the entire month, every single day. Yes, you can substitute Runs with any sort of physically activity (I’m sure I’ll have a few cycling days). So, for day 4, I got in a good 1 hour work out, 40 minute run and a nice little walk outside after.  Thanks to @janathon_ , I have now signed up for twitter too!

So much social media: twitter, facebook, blog, nike+, Running Free (not sure how to get to my personal page), pinterest, and I’m sure I’m part of a bunch of other sites I’m not even sure how to use. The below “Social Media Explained” has been pretty helpful (even at my work I’ve used this a few times about a year ago to help get a handle on all of this and get a good laugh). Why so many different mediums? Well, I really do enjoy reading your stories and blogs but it’s a lot easier to find other Janathoners out there through twitter/facebook so I’ve joined to be able to connect with more of you and read more inspirational stories. Any-who, my username on anything I’m signed up for is rundmach so please, add me, follow me, invite me, let’s be friends! 😀

Enjoy the weekend running!

rundmach

Janathon Day 3

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. – Emelia Earhart

January 3 Run: 16:08 (mm:ss), 2.32 KM, 6’55″/km (iPod Nano records)

I had revelation today while running! I warn you, this paragraph is a little boring about stats so if you skip to the next paragraph, I won’t blame you! I couldn’t figure out why the image to the right (my treadmill) has been so different from my Nike+ Sportswatch. Better yet, I have been beating myself up about how much slower I am now than I was earlier last year while running on the same treadmill.  I was using my iPod Nano over the new watch I have!!! The Nano is off to the real distance outside when tracked with a map, but after confiding in runrchatts, I should trust in the treadmill stats. So, here we are. Treadmill reads 1.45 miles (2.32 km while my watch read 1.84 km). It’s not that I’m being lazy, it’s just because I can tell I am pushing myself way way way harder on the treadmill than I ever am outside. On the treadmill tonight I ran at 5.5 miles per hour or 11 minute mile pace; that’s equivalent to 6’50″/km when my average pace should be around 7″45″/km. Going forward, my treadmill runs will be loaded with my iPod nano instead of my watch (the iPod nano has the ability to be calibrated – this means I can adjust to the distance I see on the treadmill).

After discovering the discrepancy, I am super excited to know that I am not all that slow compared to where I was early last year. It is not about being better than someone else, but it’s about being better than I was yesterday and if I am digressing, then it’s a little demotivating. Today, I have discovered I may not be all that slow – it’s just the treadmill and the devices. Maybe I should take my own advice and JUST RUN!

Now that the extreme wind-chill and cold weather alerts are off, I’m excited to get outside and run this weekend!!!

Janathon Day 3 now complete! Woohoo!!! I hope you’ve been training, running, working out, being active and logging it in! It’s worth it!! At least for me it is. Thanks for your likes and supports! Thanks for sharing your journey with the world and me! Thank you fellow bloggers, runners, and Janathoners!

Don’t look at your watch or think too much, just lace up and run!

Happy Running

rundmach

http://www.janathon.com

Janathon Day 2

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. – William Bruce Cameron

Day 2 of the Janathon Challenge – Run, Blog, Repeat.

January 2 Run: 19:34 (mm:ss), 2.19 km, 8’55″/km

I’m getting slower on the treadmill? I thought I was going faster. On the treadmill I completed 20 minutes, 1.65 miles (2.66 km), at a 12 minute mile (7’30″/km). See below for complete comparison between the pieces of technology that will make me go insane one day.

So there it is, 3 different items with the same person doing the same thing at the same time and 3 pretty different outcomes.

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Those 20 minutes were killer and I was basically wheezing at the end of it.
I have a lot I want to keep blogging about but since I’ll be doing this for another 29 days, this one will be a shorter one as I’d like to take a bath and relax my muscles.

Good luck to all those out there aiming to succeed in Janathon! It’s only day 2 and I thought about resting – only for half a second!
Please feel free to add me to Nike+ or Running Free – my username is rundmach. 🙂

Happy Running!

rundmach

http://www.janathon.com
p.s. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to put the logo and link to the site to every blog post, so I will do it anyways.

Janathon Day 1

JANATHON 2014!!!!

RUN EVERY DAY*
BLOG EVERY DAY**
SIMPLE, ISN’T IT?***

*Or do some other form of exercise (swim, bike, etc.)
**Or tweet
***Um, no, it’s harder than you think!

So, that’s about it, Run & Blog everyday,  find out everything else you need to know about Janathon here: http://www.janathon.com.

I remember stumbling across Janathon last year right near the end of the month and figured well it’s too late now – I never knew you could join anytime!
Well, here we are in 2014 and I got home around 9:30 PM (it’s about -23°C here with the windchill) so I laced up and got on the treadmill. There was no way I was going to let myself say “Oh in another 364 days I’ll give this Janathon thing a shot”. The time is NOW!

January 1 Run: 17:22 (mm:ss), 2.02 km, 8’36″/km

Although it was a short run, I was determined to make 2 kms (aiming for around 15 minutes…). This was a treadmill run, and guess what? The treadmill says I did 2.59 km while my Nike+ watch said I did 2.02 km… If you’ve missed it before, none of my tech pieces seem to sync up but I’m gauging all of my runs off of the watch that follows me everywhere I go – so I ran the extra few on the treadmill so that my watch would add up to 2 KMs. Whooooweee was that ever a long 2 km, felt like the longest 2 k I have ever ran!
Check out the comparison below between my Nike+ watch and my iPod nano with the Nike+ built-in… a minute off (since I turned the iPod on earlier) but an extra 550 meters? I don’t think I can run that fast!

Why 2 kilometres (1.24 miles)? Well, I haven’t quite set my 2014 goals yet but if I do set one, it might be to cover a total of 730 kms in 2014 (that’s 2 kms a day). This year I did covered a total of 481 km! That’s a big difference!!! I’m not 100% sure if this is what I want to do as I’ll have my ever so enjoyable 5k runs and races along with some 10 k races but let’s not start the year off too harsh and at least get the 2kms in while I can! It’s not like the goal is to actually run 2 kms a day but to average out 2 kms a day for the entire year.

I think I’m all signed up on Janathon and on the Running Free site that is being recommended (but it can’t seem to connect to my Nike+ and I haven’t had time to figure out how to upload my workouts). I’m rundmach on those sites as well so please add me! I’ll figure all of this stuff out later when I’m not sleepy and need to get to bed for work tomorrow…

Just one more thing to cover… I got to kick off the New Year with some new kicks! I bought my running shoe in the previous year’s model a few months back because they were half the price of the pair I’m currently running. There were no major changes to the shoe so I saved them for the New Year! These are the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12’s – I’m currently in the 13’s which I have duct taped the inside to “weather” proof them so these 12’s will be my new indoor/treadmill shoe for now. They felt pretty awesome! 🙂 (I’m a big Nike fan but unfortunately, their shoes just aren’t made for my feet and for me to run in).

I’m not sure how I can keep track to run/be active everyday and blog everyday, but this will be a fun experiment to see how long I can go!

Are you participating in Janathon? Have you set some New Years goals yet?

Happy New Year and Happy Running!!!! 😀

Live everyday with Love or running – it’s practically the same thing ♥.

rundmach

Resolutions Resolved

If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today. – E. Joseph Cossman

The end is near… at least the end of this year!

Resolution Run by Brita & Running Room
December 31 Run: 39:22 (mm:ss), 5.05 km, 7’47″/km

I’m excited to end off a Year with a run. Seeing my tags for my posts with “New Years Resolution” still being one of the larger ones means I’ve kind of succeeded! I’ve continued running this entire year! I have gone for at least 1 run every month this year!! I can’t wait to set new goals for the New Year. I’ve been reading a bunch of inspiring and touching year-end recaps and excited goals for the New Year, I wish you all the best! Your stories and blogs inspire me to continue.

Tonight’s run was at the pace that is comfortable to me without my spikes… didn’t think I would need them since I thought it was a regular “race” but we ran the sidewalks and was following pedestrian rules. The sidewalks were a little dangerous with ice and snow all around so we were all being “slower” and more careful with each step. Although I kept the same pace as my last run, my average heart rate was ridiculously higher than my average, guess I really ran my heart out! There’s no medal or anything but a super cool race jacket! I am so thankful for all of the volunteers, Brita, and all of the staff at the Burlington Running Room (and anyone else who may have been involved).

Thank you runrchatts for doing this run with me! I remember a few months back I didn’t want to do this alone since it was at 5 PM race and I had to go to work this morning so I signed him up and asked him to join me 🙂 Thank you for running my pace as well.

I am a runner. A slow runner. I might be going slower than a snail who’s stuck in peanut butter but I am still moving and proud of it!

This has been an amazing year with a lot of amazing victories: my first 10k, my second 10k, a couple of 5ks in the mix, and a whole lot of money raised for causes I believe in. The only resolution that has been left unresolved is my weight – I started and will be ending the year weighing the exact same. I’m not too bummed out about this since I feel much healthier than I did last year! 🙂
I am off to plan out my New Year and decide on the runs I’d like to do, volunteer for, and charities/causes I’d like to raise some funds for.

Have a fantastic New Year!!!

rundmach

‘Tis The Season

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you’ll be a success.  – Albert Schweitzer 

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas / Happy Holiday no matter what you celebrated or will be celebrating!
I hope Santa was good to you. He was too me and all my favourite gifts are running related!! 🙂

December 28 Run: 39:00 (mm:ss),  5.00 km, 7’47″/km

It’s that time of year where I give in and have that second glass of egg nog and choose to spend time in front of the fireplace over lacing up and running. I won’t fully blame it on being sick as I’ve had a some kind of stomach bug for a few weeks now – it’s been so painful some days I just curl up until the pain passes. Today was no different. My stomach felt off and I really didn’t know what to do with myself – besides watch Criminal Minds (Marathon is on for another 7 days – STRAIGHT!). I just chose to let work take over my life and get caught up with the holidays.

Well, regardless of how I felt, I thought maybe my stomach is acting up because I haven’t been running! So, I laced up and put to use my new running spikes from runrchatts. The best part of Christmas? We bought each other the exact same thing – not only running spikes for the winter (because we just had a major ice storm here in southern Ontario), but we got each other the exact same brand and colour just in a different size, hahaha! The ice storm was so intense that people were ice skating on their side walks! Any ways, back to the run. The spikes are fantastic! I felt unstoppable! It was a little odd running on pavement with them on since some of the ice and snow has melted but the rest of the run felt steady and great! I had a very pleasing pace for my first run back after a 2 week Christmas hiatus. Everything was great – a little over dressed, body was sore and aching, my chest hurt, but the run was fantastic!

So, the running continues. My running plan is put on hold until I can get back on track with the plan itself. In the meantime, I will just get out there and run. 😀

Not a day went by in the last two weeks I didn’t think about running. I was sad I was letting myself down but was happy with the other things I was doing with family and friends. On the plus side, I didn’t let this turn into a month of no running and I was still very mindful of what I was eating and how much I was eating. I let myself have what I wanted but didn’t over do it. I hope you have been giving into your indulgences, you’re allowed! 🙂

Tuesday, December 31st is quickly approaching. Only 3 more days to the resolution run… It’s not on January 1st so it’s really a year-end run for me as I see it. A celebration of all that I have accomplished this year and getting ready for all the awesomeness in the new year!

Any who, hope you’ve been better than I and been running in the wonderful Winter season!

Merry Running!

rundmach

Snow Much Happiness

Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination. – Roy L. Goodman

December 15 Run: 45:17 (mm:ss), 5.47 km, 8’16″/km

Woah woah woah, let’s cover one thing with this pace, I was running in snow and my watch kept telling me I was running at 5’s and 6’s the whole time!! Not to fret though, I got out and completed my run after skipping the run on Friday night. I’ve been sick the last two days – not cold sick from the weather but bathroom sick which means no rapid movement allowed. Sorry if that was too much info for you.

Anyways, I got out to do the Friday run I had missed today since I felt a little better, my stomach is still not 100% back to normal but I managed. We got hit here with a LOT of snow and I’m sure all my fellow runners in Southern Ontario know what I mean since this is our first “Major” snowstorm of the season. According to the news we got hit with 25-30 cm of snow yesterday. My run today was wonderful. Very very tough but wonderful. This challenge was different from any other I have done as the issue was not with breathing or wind, it was with pushing my legs to go harder and faster because the snow felt so packed and tough to move through. I ran on the roads (against traffic) since most sidewalks weren’t done yet. I had to do mine twice yesterday and again this morning twice…. Cars were very kind even if they gave me crazy eye. Thank you everyone who was out shovelling and clearing up the sidewalks as well as to those cautious drivers who didn’t honk at me 😀

No, this did not stop me from starting my run 🙂

Eventually I made a path… then made my way to the roads!

I was dressed well and had the weather on my side. No wind!! Or not a lot anyways. My second layer of socks were soaked when I got back from my run but I didn’t notice during my run so I’m happy about that. My gloves were a tad too warm and so was my fleece buff headband. I wore the same pants I mentioned in last post and they were greats. Legs stayed warm!! 😀 In the end, it was all wonderful!! Some fluffy snow dropped a little bit during my run, oh how much I loved it!! ❤ Some shovellers were looking at my like I was crazy and they looked pretty angry and miserable… Not sure why some people hate the snow so much and choose to live in Canada? 🙂

So, I’m one run behind and I will make it up. I haven’t decided if I’ll do 3 runs in a row or if I will just shift my runs down one. The current plan I am running is run every other day. I know I have procrastinated with putting it up so here it is: Run For Fat Loss. I’ve been slacking on cross-training as well and there’s no excuse but Christmas. Hopefully I can jump back on a full strength/cross-training plan again on my days off soon! Right now I just need my days off to work and get holiday stuff ready 😀

Anyways, off to shower and get some food in this belly!!

Happy Running!!

rundmach