Thought I'd add a quick post...  I did 8 miles last Saturday, and believe me, Rock Tape is a lifesaver. My right knee was a little sore that day, but my the next morning I felt like I could run another 8. Although, the goal is to get my legs and muscles strong enough to run without anything, but the tape has helped me go further without injury.

Also, I went to my first Ragnar meeting. I'm so excited now. My team has awesome runners, most of who have already done it, and who all have a great sense of humor. Can't wait!

Well I'm still training. Which despite of how dull that may sound, it's a really good thing. I've never lasted this long a single exercise program. It's hard sometimes because I don't feel like I've progressed that much, but when I look back at where I started, I think I've done pretty well. Yesterday I did my longest run so far, which was 7 miles. That's more than half way to my goal of a half marathon, Yay! It was easier than I thought it would be. The only down side of running further is my knees. After about 5 miles, I really start to feel the strain on them. R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate) helps a ton, but lately my right knee has been giving me a hard time. It's taken longer and longer to recover. I've seen runners with tape on their knees and figured I've give it a try. I bought some Rock tape from Salt Lake Running co. and put it on. So far I'm really liking it. I'll have to see how it works out when I do my long runs.

I've also decided to run the Park City marathon this summer. That's right, a full, 26.2 mile marathon. It's something I've always wanted to do, at least once in my life. So I figured if I'm going to be putting in all this training, I might as well go for it. Plus it's supposed to be a beautiful run through park city. Maybe it will take my mind off all the pain I'll be in. For now I'll just keep running.

Registration

It's official! I finally registered for the Salt Lake half marathon. No backing out now. It's set for April 16th at 7:00 am. I'm starting to excited now. I'm up to 4 miles and running is coming so much easier than it did at first. I think having music to listen to made all the difference for me. I used to run at work and just watch whatever was on tv, but I'd get really bored really fast. So I had my husband create a playlist for me on my mp3 player that just had fun upbeat workout music. Now, I really enjoy my runs. Not only am I getting healthier, but I get a little 'Me' time.

Last Saturday was the hardest run I've done. I ran outside for the first time in months (first mistake) and not only did I freeze my butt off, there was a strong headwind for the first half of my run. Then to make things harder, I thought it would be a great idea to take my dog with me (second mistake). He's a Schnauzer/Dacshund mix and not very well trained. He actually did pretty well as far as keeping up with me, but he was so excited to go for a walk he kept running right in front of my feet and weaving back and forth. So I could either step on him or awkwardly try to leap over him the last second. It's makes it a lot harder to keep your pace and breathe when you're constantly worried about falling over your dumb dog. Lastly I hadn't checked out the route before hand to see if there were side walks or room on the road to run (third mistake). So for the second half of my run, I had to run through dirt and gravel next to the road, and make sure I didn't get run over by a car. But I've learned my lesson. For now I will definitely stick to the treadmill.

Christmas is coming...

Well I'm still running 2-3 times a week. I've increased my speed a little and shaved a minute off my average mile. BUT, I haven't lost any weight! Grrr. I'm guessing it has to do with the all Christmas treats and Holiday goodies. So I've decided to take a new approach. A friend at work told me about high intensity weight training. Basically you do one set of 8-12 reps of really heavy weights, doing one exercise per body area (legs, abs, chest, back, biceps, triceps) one or twice a week. It only takes about 15 minutes, so I figured it couldn't hurt. He told me the more muscle you have, the more fat you're going to burn. Makes sense right? He also said you have to cut back on your calorie intake a little. (There's always a catch) So the new plan is to keep running, do weight training once or twice a week, and at least one day of yoga or pilates. I've been pretty good about squeezing in a yoga workout here and there, but having two little girls and a dog jumping all over me makes it really hard to meditate. Aleah will actually jump in and do it with me once in a while. I thought it might be fun to get her a little kids mat. So what if my yoga buddy is 3 years old, I'll take any support I can get :)
My goal for now is to just survive the holidays without blowing up like blimp. It might sound counter productive, but I'm also putting away my scale. Whenever I feel like I've had a really good week I hop on the scale only to find that I gained a pound. It gets so discouraging that I just feel like giving up, like "what's the point!". Plus I think I freak myself out a little. The more I think about dieting and weight, the hungrier I am. So no more scale. I'm just going to stick with my workouts, eat in moderation, and if I feel healthy that will be enough. Merry Christmas! 

Still running

Well it turns out there's not a whole lot to write about running. Still training, getting a little bit better at a time. But yesterday I agreed to participate in the Ragnar relay for 2011. It sounds pretty fun. You get a team of 12 people together and take turns running from Logan to Park City. It ends up being about 188 miles. My husbands boss and his wife do it every year and needed anothet team member. It seems a little intimidating, but it sounds like a lot of fun, so why not? It gives me another great goal to train for. Well that's all for now. I just need to keep at it, and make it through the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well it's been a fairly good week, relatively speaking. I'm not ashamed to admit that I ate a lot of food. But hey, it was Thanksgiving. Being a good American, I had to observe this great holiday and stuff myself until I couldn't move, and then eat a little more :) But I'm (sort of) proud to say I only gained 1 pound. Considering how much I ate, I feel that's a success. As far as my training, I did slack off a little last week, but it wasn't entirely my fault. Aldo, myself, and the the girls were playing on our bed having a tickle fight. Aldo is really ticklish and apparently doesn't know his own strength. I ended up flying off the bed and landing awkwardly on my knee. So as to not injure myself further, I did a few miles on the eliptcal instead of running. Now some wives may have gotten pretty upset about being so roughed up, but I did get my redemption. After Aldo had pinned me again, I yelled for Aleah to help me. Bless her little heart, the next thing I knew Aldo was hit in the back of the head by a hair brush. After that we called it even.

So it's a new week and a fresh start. My goal this week is to drink more water. (Apparently the ice in my Dr. Pepper doesn't count, Sheesh!) I have noticed I'm already feeling better and my legs are getting more toned. Woo Hoo!  

Well last week turned out to be a rough one. I missed my long saturday run and gained .4 lbs. Oye! Oddly enough, it wasn't because I didn't want to run, we just had a million different things going on and I just couldn't squeeze it in. With Thanksgiving coming up, I'm determined to stay on schedule. Since running is coming a little easier to me, I really need to start cross training too. I know I should be doing it almost every day that I don't run, but I didn't want to get burned out. But I think I'm ready to commit. A lot of people have told me yoga and swimming are great for cross training. I love yoga and would do it every day if I had the time. Swimming, I'm not so sure about. Unless sitting in the shallow end of the kiddie pool with my kids counts :) I'm just not that great of a swimmer, and I get bored doing laps. Another thing I think I'll try is pilates. That's usually what I do right after having babies. It doesn't require a lot of flexibilty or strength, but it seemed to realy help me after I had Aleah. I remember pulling out my mat and being so excited that I could finallly work out again, only to realize I couldn't even sit up from laying on the floor. I had to roll on my side and push myself up. (sigh) Anyway, today is back to training!