Gear for beginning runners & C25K update

This post contains Amazon Associate links.

I'm in my final week of the Couch to 5K program. It's going pretty well. I'm slightly frustrated that I'm not faster and that my breathing is such a mess, but I'm still managing the 28 minute runs without too much trouble. I mean, I'm slow as molasses at the end, but at least I'm running!

With the longer runs, I got bored and had to branch out of our neighborhood. The trail around the neighborhood is too dark for my comfort at 5:45 in the morning. So, I'm running around the neighborhoods next to ours. Turns out, that means some slight hills. Boy was that fun last week. Ha!

I usually run in the street because our neighborhood is so quiet. After two mornings, I knew which houses had people leaving early and other than that, I only saw the newspaper delivery car. Now, in the other neighborhoods, there are some larger thoroughfares so I'm having to use the sidewalk more. Want to know why I avoid the sidewalk? I'm clumsy. Yesterday morning, I almost went face first in to the sidewalk after tripping on the curb. The only thing that saved me was the fact that I was running and the momentum meant I got one extra step in so I caught myself. Thank god... it would not have been pretty for my face or my arms.

Only one close call in 9 weeks, though? That's remarkable. And I've only had a couple itty bitty run-ins with wildlife. I haven't injured myself. I haven't quit. I only repeated one week. And I'm running for nearly 30 minutes at a time. I am astounded by my progress some days.

I started running with a goal in mind. The only thing I had was a shiny new pair of shoes and the socks that the guy at the running store recommended. I don't have a great deal of experience, but I thought I'd share my favorite beginning runner things. If you're looking to start out, these few things will make your life a bit easier, I think.

• Get good shoes! Comfy socks, too. If your feet aren't happy, you're not going to last long. 
• Invest in a good sports bra. Glamorise has fantastic options.
• I held my phone for the first few weeks. Once you're running for a big chunk of time, that gets old. Get an armband for your phone. I have one, but never remember it so I just tuck my phone in my bra. I need to use the darn armband!
• Headbands make everything less annoying. My hair still gets in my face on windy days, but the headband keeps it from being plastered to my sweaty face.
• I love this Camelbak water bottle. I use it when I get back to the house. I like to use it around the house and in the car to make sure I'm drinking enough water. Get yourself a fun color or fun design so you'll be more inclined to keep it around and use it.

What are your essentials for running? Or your favorites, even. I love to see what everyone else is using and hear tips and tricks.

Get paid to exercise!

Post contains Amazon Associate link.

Running is going well. I'm continually surprised by how much I like it. I told Doug the other day that I think a lot of moms must like running because it's 30 minutes completely to yourself where no one can ask for anything, remind you of anything, or say your name 47 times. That's not true just at my house, right?

A couple years ago I started using a BodyMedia armband to track activity, sleep, weight, and more. I was pretty good about using it for quite a while, but discovered that tracking calories is frustrating for me. That's one reason I switched to Weight Watchers. I hated getting dinged for lots of fruits and veggies when counting calories. With WW, they don't have points and I feel like I'm doing a much better job overall.

One thing I discovered while I was using the BodyMedia was a reward site called EarndIt. You can connect different devices and activity/exercise programs and earn points toward different rewards. How fantastic is that? You run, you bike, you walk, you whatever, and you get the physical and emotional rewards, plus fun rewards? I'll take it!

It turns out, there are a whole bunch of different  reward sites out there. The supported devices, apps, and programs for each are different, of course, but there's sure to be one that you find interesting and useful.

AchieveMint
Earn rewards by tracking activities through your favorite fitness apps. You can earn cash or rewards.

EarndIt
Earn rewards for yourself, or donate to charity. You can also participate in fitness challenges. EarndIt links primarily to devices, not apps.

EveryMove
Earn rewards by connecting many different devices and apps. This seems to be very flexible because it supports so many different options. It also has a great resource to help you figure out what devices or apps might be the best for the activity you're doing.

FitStudio
This service earns you Shop Your Way points which are good at Sears, Land's End, or KMart. It has a short list of supported devices and apps, but also includes a number of different gym equipment options which track workouts.

Pact
Make a pact and earn cash rewards every week in one of three categories.

Walgreens
You can connect to your Balance Rewards account at Walgreens and start earning reward points. Devices and apps are supported, but you can also manually enter workouts.

Have you tried any of these before? I'd love to hear what rewards you've earned and what you think about these reward programs.

Reruns are good

I'm repeating a week of the Couch to 5K app.

It's not a failure. Six months ago? A year ago? I would have felt like I'd failed, like I just couldn't do it and I should just stop.

Not now. Not at all. It's been four weeks and it's habit for me to get out and run every couple days. I feel good, and not just because I'm exercising more consistently than I have in years. I have so much more confidence than I think I ever have. I'm generally a pretty positive person, or at least I try to project that, but lately, I'm just feeling positive about everything. I'm happy, I have great support, I have great resources, and I'm having fun. A recipe for success!

So, here I am, repeating week four of the C25K app. Week four has been hard. Week four, day one was the first time I ran five minutes straight. And I had to do it twice each day. I didn't quit. I think I was walking faster than I was running, but I was doing it. As I said to Doug, I was sore and my legs were exhausted, but not injured sore. Just my body saying, "hey, we don't actually use those muscles."

I finished week four and then looked ahead to week five. Oh boy. Doug prefers not to look ahead. He goes out, starts the app and just does what it tells him to do. He's been running longer than I have, though, so, while it might be difficult for him, he's more accustomed to doing it in the first place. Not me! I want to know exactly what I'm getting into.

The last day of week five is a 20 minute jog. 20 minutes straight. I read that and about fell over. I know I can't do it. And not in a "I can't ever do that" way, but realistically, for where I am right now. My legs aren't ready for it. As someone who has tried, over and over, to get some sort of exercise routine in place, only to get discouraged and quit, I don't want to see that happen again. I'm not going to let it happen again.

So, I'm repeating week four. And I'm happy about it. I need the practice and I need the time to get stronger so I can do those 20 minutes straight. I'm stronger now than I was one month ago and I'm getting better every day. In a couple weeks, I'll be finishing that 20 minute run. And you're definitely going to hear about it!

Have you done the Couch to 5K program, or something similar? I'd love to hear about how it worked for you and how you handled any setbacks or interruptions in the program.

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Watch me go!

I started running last week. I'm doing the Couch to 5K app and so far I'm loving it.

I went out to the trail around our neighborhood Monday night. I didn't quite know what to expect of myself. I've never really run before. Doug and I tried about 6 years ago. We were mostly doing sprints and intervals and stopped when it got to be 100 degrees every day in July. He's kept running, on and off, for years. Not me.

So, I got out on the trail, I warmed up and I started jogging for the first interval. And I thought, "Hey, this isn't that bad. I'm not speedy, but I'm not dying either." And really, it just got better from there. I was definitely shuffling along slowly for the last interval but I was doing it. And I didn't make any excuses and I didn't think to myself that I couldn't do it.

I wanted to do it, so I did.

I went out two nights later to do the second night. I was sore and I knew that was going to be the hardest day. I didn't even try to talk myself out of it as I've done with workouts in the past. I didn't even want to. I wanted to go out and do it.

Doug and Phee came down to the trail and played frisbee and baseball and catch while I was running. Do you have any idea what a boost a cheering section is? After I did a couple run/walk sets, they gave me high fives as I passed them. I could hear Phee yell to me a couple times. She was adorable to watch while I was running, and she was the best little cheerleader.

I'm proud of myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I could run and I'm going to do it. My end goal is the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I've got a fun run on the horizon at the end of August with some friends. I'm totally going to do this.

I blame it all on newfound confidence. I'm not sure when it happened or quite where it came from. I know I have a wonderfully supportive family. I have surrounded myself with friends who are comfortable in their skin and with themselves. And me, I'm comfortable in my skin, too. I wasn't always, but I am now.

This is one goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year that is actually going to be accomplished. I know that I can do this. I'm excited to prove it to myself.

Great things, people, great things. I'm making them happen.

What about you? What goals are you working on and what have you already accomplished this year?

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Mind over Matter

I quit the gym.  Well, let's be honest... I quit the gym months ago.  I cancelled my membership this week.

Seems counter intuitive, right?  Yes.  But, let me lay it out for you.

I joined the gym close to work and started going at lunch time.  It's just about the only chunk of free time I regularly have.  Except I meet the family for lunch sometimes.  And if I have to run errands, I try to do that at lunch because once my daughter and I get home after work, we generally don't go back out.  I don't like cutting into the time we have to hang out and play at night.  So, then I start going to the gym less frequently.  And I start to beat myself up about it, making it even more daunting to go, until I finally don't go at all.

I do it with the gym, I do it with diets, I do it with most everything.  Once I miss a meal, a day, have a bad week, etc. I'm done.  I start to get down on myself about it and then I just lose any motivation I had.  I have a really hard time getting past that mental process and gaining enough momentum to see me through the first few rough weeks.

So I quit the gym.  I took that negative out of the equation.  I'm focusing on food.  I do the meal planning and am going to start Weight Watchers.  Our dinners are always very healthy, but we'll be adding even more veggies to them.  It's going to take a lot of extra planning on my part to put together healthy breakfasts and lunches and then remember to take them to work.

It also means I'm going to have to find a way to deal with my impulsive habits at work when I get stressed out and ticked off.  No more running over to the drug store or grocery store for junk or diet Coke.  No more.  That is going to be the hardest part, I think, because those days are the ones that threw me off in the past.  One bad decision and I'm mad at myself.

Most of all, I'm going to work on changing that mentality and working with myself rather than knocking myself down.