Status- Long One

After a really lovely weekend at home (details to come), I'm back in the city. First thing on the agenda was to go and exercise.

I love this attitude. And just realized that if this is a lifestyle change (which I REALLY want it to be)... I have just finished 5 days out of the 24,255 days of the rest of my life, give or take a few thousand (based on living until I'm 90). So these 5 days have been 0.0002 of the rest of my life. I've got this, no problem.

Regardless, it's a cool feeling.

I ran into my first obstacle today though... my biggest fear, in fact. Other people. There were two very fit people working out when I got to the mini-gym this evening. She was running fast enough that I wasn't about to hop on the treadmill next to her, no way. So I walked confidently over to the bike (as stylish as a fat person can be in spandex) and went to town.

Stupid plan, friends. 20 minutes later my legs were starting in with a dull ache, and I'd not even started running. My heart rate was right around 150 for about 15 minutes of the ride though, so I thought it was a good cardio start to the workout.

The skinny fast girl FINALLY got off of the treadmill, so I felt a little better about hopping on... at least I wasn't next to her feeling judged. I also thought that the other people in the room might be some motivation to run a little faster. I did my first 3 workouts this week jogging at a 4.0 mph pace, and then kicked it up to 4.5 mph for workout 4, 5, 6, and half of 7. This morning I realized about halfway through the 30 minutes that I wasn't that tired, so I went up to 5.0 mph to jog. Naturally, I thought this might be a GREAT plan for tonight... but I forgot that my legs kind of hurt already.

Oh well... at least I got to call myself "sweetie" aloud a few times at the end. "Good job, sweetie. Huff, huff, whoooooo, huff. You did it, sweetie. Huff, huff, hufffffff. I'm proud of you." And THIS is why I like to workout alone.

Okay- observations and new things to add:

1. I like biking, a lot. And since a triathlon is in the works for July (LONG time from now, I know...) I figured maybe it is a good thing to add in to the week every once in a while. For cross training, obviously.
Goal... three times a week, 20 minutes. AFTER RUNNING, STUPID.

2. One of my kind-of idols commented on this blog, advising me that core strength is what running is all about. Since she looks sexy, I'm going to go ahead and trust her. About (dear Lord...) 4 years ago I did approximately 3.4 core body workouts with a big fun ball and a video. I do believe that I stopped because they were SO FRIGGIN DIFFICULT, but maybe a good thing to add into my routine.
Goal... twice a week.

3. I've been thinking about the necessity of strength training as well. Not crazy ripped muscles... just toned and healthy muscles. This whole exercise thing isn't just about running a 5K... it's about getting fit and looking good. There is a set of free weights along with a bench in the gym... I'd like to incorporate these into my routine in some way. I also have some resistance bands that I would like to (re) incorporate into my routine. I'll do some research on the free weights first.
Goal... resistance bands 3 times a week, free weights twice a week.

I'm on it. And oh oh oh yeah! There is an AWESOME (free) site called Map My Run. Find it HERE. It tracks your miles, average pace, and a host of other things... and also allows you to map out distances for outside runs using Google Maps. It's fantastic, so much so that I have already mapped out some routes for when I get the confidence to run outside (my goal is by March 1). You should check it out :)