Workout 195 & 196

Today, I am home with a sick kiddo which gave me a great opportunity to do a couple of at-home workouts.  I did Total Body Pilates and Stiletto Strength.  Since I'm now working towards a 10K, and after that will work towards a half-marathon, I need to make sure I maintain/build leg muscle.  Both of those workouts do just that :).

XOXO,

Workout 194 ~ Running

On Tuesday night, I decided to see if I could do 1 mile at 7mph and I did!  I did it in 8 minutes, 30 seconds.  Not bad for a 30-year-old non-sprinter :).

Before I began, I could tell my ankles were sore, but I did it anyway, adjusting my stride to lesson the pain.  Apparently, however I adjusted has now caused some pretty annoying heel pain.  Today or tomorrow, I plan to go to RunOn and get fitted for new shoes.  I have enough issues that justify the cost though I've been putting it off for awhile.

Tomorrow is Gavin's and my next Fun Run!  I promised him we can go as fast as he wants to :).  I'm going to GPS it and see how fast we actually go.

XOXO,

Workout #192 & 193

I had to edit this post because I forgot to blog about my workout on Wednesday.  I did Chris Freytag's 10-Pound Slimdown: Core workout and was sore like nobody's business on Thursday.  I know I need to incorporate more circuit training to maintain my muscles and support my running.

Last night I ran 4.5 miles!  I was only planning to do 4 but ended up doing an extra half mile.  I probably could have kept going but wanted to end feeling great since I have been ending feeling low the last few runs.

I started out with a bloodsugar of 322.  I did .8 units of insulin (because when starting out that high, exercise can actually raise bloodsugar instead of dropping it) and ate 1 Clif Shot Blok every mile (except the last half which was impromptu).  At the end of the workout, I was 148.

This Saturday, Gavin and I have another fun run on Saturday, though I'm not sure how long it is.  At $20/person it better be a mile and not a 1K.  I considered signing up for the 5K after but I promised Gavin we could run as fast as he wants to at the fun run, meaning I won't have the endurance for a 5K after.

XOXO,

Workout 191 ~ 4 miles

Last night, my bloodsugar was 238--perfect, or so I thought, for a run.  After the muscle strain a few weeks ago, I did not skimp too much on a warmup (did a 3-minute long one) and then jumped into the run at 5.5mph.  I finished out the first mile, and then an upbeat song came on, so I bumped up the speed to 6mph for mile 2.  At the end of mile 2, I dropped back down to 5.5, but did not quite feel myself.  By 3.5 miles, I knew I was low, but refused to stop before 4 miles--not my wisest decision, but I run on a treadmill in my house so treatment was steps away.  When I finished, I immediately tested and was 57.  That's a HUGE drop!

Thank goodness I ordered some Clif Shot Bloks to try out.  Basically, they come in 6-packs of gummies.  3 gummies = 24 carbohydrates.  I plan to have 2 after mile 1 and 1 more after mile 3 while running 4 miles--it's going to be trial and error so we'll see.  In a few weeks, when I increase to 5 miles, I will adjust the amount based on my trials and errors along the way.  I'm just grateful there are options like this that don't require filling up my stomach like I used to have to do with gatorade in high school.  I am going to carry these around in my purse too as a quick and easy fix for low bloodsugar on the go.  That box cost $30 on Amazon.com so I will use other options when available if I'm not running.

XOXO,

T1 diabetes will not stand in my way

I realized that the type 1 diabetes may become an issue while training at longer distances.  My goal is to be able to do a half-marathon next fall.  So... I did a little research, and found these informative and/or inspirational links.  If nothing else, I'm saving these to reference along the journey.  I figure it's better to be proactive than reactive.

A type 1 diabetic marathoner

Type 1 diabetes running advice from other diabetics

Another type 1 running story

Type 1 runner blog (Sept 2012 post has gear info)

XOXO,

Workout 190 ~ Running

Today, Gavin and I went out for another training session with the goal to complete 2 miles.  Well... He has a bit of a cold and kept wanting to walk.  We completed 2.19 miles in 30 minutes which all in all isn't too bad for a 6-year-old.  I'm thinking we need to start with the C25K Week 1 Day 1 workout and work up from there.  We'll give it a try and see how it goes.

XOXO,

My First 5K ~ Workout 189

Crossing the Finish Line, it's blurry, but notice the huge grin on my face

Yesterday was a huge day for me.  I completed the first thing on my fitness bucket list: a 5K.  When I began this blog, on December 24th, 2009, I had just gone for a short run the night before.  I found the Couch-to-5K running plan and had grand plans to complete it and get back into shape.  On January 18th, 2010, I realized my dream of getting back into running was not going to happen thanks to knee and ankle pain.

I did the elliptical for a couple of months and then got into Jillian Michaels and happily got into the best shape of my life over the next 2 years.  Then, this spring, at a wedding shower for my cousin, Ramsey, my Aunt Karen recommended I try Glucosamine Chondroitin for my joint issues.  I researched it and learned that it would take about 6-8 weeks of taking it to feel a difference.  I immediately ordered it and began taking it.  On May 6th, 2012, I went for my first run and was able to run 2 miles at a decent pace.  And so it began, my journey back into running.

All summer, I worked through the couch-to-5K running program (or really the Ease-into-5K running program with the iPhone app) and completed the program on September 5th, 2012, and yesterday, I ran in my first 5K race.

So how did it go?  Well... My friend Jessalea and her husband, Marshall, ran with me and we did a good job pacing the first mile.  I was shocked to learn we completed it in like 9:45.  At that point, we got excited and started going faster than we should have, making us have to slow down later on.  The last mile was a bit excruciating because a lot of it was at a steady incline and my lack of pacing for the 2nd mile made the 3rd that much harder.  BUT, we did it!  I ran the entire time (or jogged, only walking for 3 steps to down a bit of water at the halfway mark).  I finished in 33:28, 84th out of 172 finishers and 39th out of 102 female finishers.  Jess was only 2 spots behind me :).  Her in-laws came to cheer us on and thanks to them, I have documentation of crossing the finish line at my very first 5K!  :) 

I am so proud of myself for working towards this goal.  I took running for granted in high school.  I was never fast, but it came easy to me (not many people can say they transferred into cross country having only ran 1 mile a month before and were able to run an entire 3 miles with only mild problems--I refused to walk unless I had low bloodsugar and often would have to down 16 ounces of juice and then would continue running).  It was a fight to be able to run again, and I appreciate every day that I am able to run now.

Our next 5K will be November 17th, the Color Run in Dallas.  I can't wait!

XOXO,