Brushing off the dust...

It started with a sneeze.

I had been doing so well! I was 22 days into the 100 I was aiming for. I had upped my exercise time and intensity; I was determined... and then I sneezed.

Once, twice, ten times. Hard sneezes. My hubby wondered if I had an allergy, but I don't.

As the day wore on, I started feeling very, very poorly. Fever. Blocked sinuses. By evening, I was totally miserable. I spent the next four days on Tylenol and Mucinex. Exercise was out of the question. The fifth day, I finally felt better. But the next day we were leaving for a long weekend, so it wasn't worth it to go to the gym for just one day...

After the long weekend, my arms and back were sore from water skiing. So, no gym. By the time I got over that, I had totally lost all my momentum. I was gym-free for the rest of that week, too.

The crazy thing is, that after months of exercising and eating right, without losing a single little pound, not an ounce, in those two weeks that I didn't exercise and I was eating whatever I felt like, I lost five pounds, at last. Does that make sense?

Here's what I think: my body is so well programmed to hold on to its weight, that it struggled to hang on through all that exercise and dieting. But when I upped the exercise, my body just couldn't keep up with the calorie burn any longer. Even so, it fought all the way. At last I broke through the threshold and began to lose weight, but my body fought so hard it made me sick!

The next thing was to get started exercising again. Not an easy task. But that's what we do, isn't it! We fall. We get up. We brush of the dust. We start again.

Saturday, I met with my running club. That's the upside of belonging to a small, close-knit group like ours. It's more than a running buddy; it's ten running buddies. And if nothing else, I have my pride. So there I was, 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning. We meet, we run, we meet again. We have different levels of skill (they are all better runners than I am), so I sometimes end up running alone. At least I was spared the embarrassment of anyone witnessing my sorry little jog!

Fifteen minutes into the run, I felt utterly sick, and had to make for the nearest restroom, another half hour away. I almost didn't make it, I tell you! I toyed with the idea of turning around and going back--by that time I was well past the half-way time for the run--but I was stubborn enough to go ahead and head up the hill and on to finish my route.

I got back to our meeting place 20 minutes late. My friends were waiting, welcomed me, chatted for just a bit and then we all headed home. I was tired, but satisfied. It had been a rough day, a rough run, and I didn't beat any PR's. But I had gone out and I had done my 8.5 miles. I congratulated myself.

The dust was off. Day one of one hundred.

Yours for a happier, healthier life,

The Jogging Grandma

Wow! I just realized...

You know what they say about the subconscious working towards your goals even while you aren't thinking about them?

I just realized that without realizing it, I have reached a goal I set for myself several years ago!

In 2006, when I was learning about the power of goal-setting, I wrote this physical fitness improvement goal:

"I CAN RUN FOR TWO HOURS, UP AND DOWN HILLS, WITHOUT STOPPING."

That's the way you're supposed to state your goal, in the present tense, phrasing it in a positive way, and making it clearly measurable.

At the time, it seemed almost unattainable. I could run a 5 K by then, and I was doing daily runs of about 2.5 miles, but I had never been able to run farther than that. I had tried longer runs a few times, but always had to stop and walk.

Nevertheless, I repeated that goal, along with some other major goals for different areas of my life, out loud, several times a day, every day, for months!

The year came and went. I gave up on chanting my goals out loud to myself every day. They seemed ridiculous and I became discouraged.

Now, suddenly, as I was writing another blog entry, I realized that when I do my weekly 8.5 mile runs--and as I say, my times are slow-- I AM ACTUALLY RUNNING FOR TWO HOURS, UP AND DOWN HILLS, WITHOUT STOPPING, and doing it every week. My goal, which I chanted over and over to myself, has become reality, without me even realizing it!

How did this happen? Well, here's what I think.

That subconscious goal must have influenced my decision to join the running club when I was invited. And it must have helped me push this old body of mine from a 6 mile walk to a 6 mile run. It could be what inspired me to go ahead and try the longer, 8.5 mile route, and kept me putting one foot in front of the other, no matter what. Even on days that my running partners slept in and left me to run alone. Even when I was very, very tired. Even when my running partners stopped to walk, or wanted to take a shorter route. Something kept pushing me on. I thought I was just running to improve my fitness, but it is too amazing to be a coincidence, for me to come so quickly up to exactly what that goal--which I reinforced over and over a few years back--had prepared me for: running for two hours, up and down hills, without stopping!!!!

Simply amazing. Think I'll pull out those old goals--still valid--and begin to chant them to myself again! And I'll begin saying to myself: "I can run a marathon in under five hours."

Yours for a happier, healthier life,

The Jogging Grandma

The Exercise Program

During my previous program, I was doing strength building exercises three days a week and 20 minutes of aerobic intervals on the eliptical machine the other two days a week. I joined a running club and began running on Saturdays, starting with a 6 mile "walk" and ending up doing an 8.5 mile weekly "jog". Slow times, true, but just being able to jog that far in itself was a great deal of progress.

So now we're upping the ante. I'm going to keep the strength training program, because it is good, thorough and balanced. Upper body one day, lower body and abs the next, MWF, very methodical and intense, following the program outlined by Bill Phillips in his classic masterpiece, "Body for Life." I'm feeling very strong, and can see progress, increasing my weights every few weeks and improving my form from session to session.

Now, for my new program, on these strength-training days I've added an aerobic component: a 20 minute interval stint on the elliptical and a 30-lap swim (aiming for 20 minutes).

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, while my weight-lifting muscles are recuperating, I'm going to be doing a 60 minute run (aiming for five miles) and a 60 lap swim (aiming for 40 minutes).

This new program more than doubles the total exercise that I was doing previously. SOMETHING different (and good) should happen, right?

Yours for a happier, healthier life,

The Jogging Grandma

Taking Stock

I tried to take stock of what might have gone wrong.

1) The detox program. Maybe it was all bunk. Maybe all those terrible toxins we take in (and coffee and diet coke are full of them!) actually have little to do with our waistlines. I mean, it all sounds reasonable, but who knows? What science says today it changes tomorrow--that we have all experienced! But the detox program probably wasn't hurting any, either.

2) The nutrition program. We were supposed to be eating 6 small meals a day--high protein, low carbs. Well, I had tried the 6-meals-a-day before, and gained weight on it! But I thought I would try again. It makes sense to keep the blood sugar levels on a more even keel. And smaller meals would make for a smaller stomach, over time, which should make it easier to eat less, right? But I found the nutrition part the hardest to follow. First of all, because I was exercising a lot, and the more I exercise, the hungrier I feel.

In the past, the only way I have ever been able to lose weight has been by starving myself. I mean, really drastically reducing caloric intake. Now, all my reading indicated that this is not the best way of doing things; the body goes into starvation mode and lowers its metabolism, and muscle is torn down. So I tried to eat a moderate, well-balanced, evenly distributed diet. But it was hard. Often I would follow it all day, only to go on a ravenous eating binge in the evening. Hmmm. No, I had not found peace with this part of the program.

3) The exercise program. I was faithfully following a well-balanced exercise program. Strength training three days a week, aerobic two days a week. I joined a running club to get extra work in on the weekend. I think what I was doing was good; it was just not enough.

In the end, losing weight has to be about stimulating the metabolism and expending more calories than you take in, right? But somehow, I could see that I needed to make some adjustments to my program if I was going to see any results.

Yours for a happier, healthier life,

The Jogging Grandma

My Favorite Moment

My absolute favorite moment at the Ragnar Relay Race?

On the way from one Exchange Post to another, I stopped by the park in Woodland Hills where my team was getting some R&R between turns on the road. It was a huge park, designated as a Major Exchange, with thousands of running enthusiasts present!

My team captain took me over to the buffet supper and made sure I got fed, and then we went over to the spot where the rest of the Van #1 riders were resting. I rolled out my sleeping bag, stretched out, and had a Memorable Moment....

How long had it been since I stretched out to take a nap under a tree with a bunch of my friends? Decades! Friendship, the cool of the evening, the spongy, grassy turf, the weariness of having worked hard all day long, the full belly after a day of not eating, the distant chatter of other groups of runners, the far-off sounds of the runner Exchange--clanging and clapping as each new participant arrived... It all just came together for a Perfect Moment.

The whole weekend would have been worth that single half-hour of rest and perfect happiness.

Life is full of adventure and pleasure, if you dare to grasp hold of it whenever you can!

Happy jogging!

Whew!

Sometimes I get so caught up in LIVING that I don't get a chance to REFLECT on life...

Lately I've had a lot of fun. We had out-of-state visitors, which meant trips to Disneyland, Hollywood, the mountains, the desert, the ocean... all the typical Southern California "Things to See."

Then from April 22-24, I participated in the much-awaited "Ragnar Relay Race." 200 miles along the coast, from Ventura to Dana Point. Twelve runners, running three legs of the race each. Two vans, transporting runners from one Exchange Point to another. We left for Ventura at noon Thursday; our team had dinner together there (carb-loading, you know) Thursday evening and stayed overnight. The first teams left Ventura at 6:00 a.m. Friday morning; our team left at 10:30 a.m., arriving at Dana Point about 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

Running is often a lonely sport, extremely individualized. But belonging to a little running club like ours makes it more sociable, and a great event like a Ragnar Relay makes it an absolute blast!

I actually didn't run this time, myself. Each team needs to provide three volunteers, and I was my team's three volunteers :) So I spent the first 24 hours of the race, from 5 am Friday to 5 am Saturday, helping to man the posts at three different Exchanges. It was a lot of fun, calling in the runner's team numbers as they approached the Exchange, so their relay partner could be ready for them to come in, cheering them on, seeing all the fun costumes and great runners. I had a wonderful time. I didn't know if I could stay awake, working hard for 24 hours, but I did it!!!!

When my last shift was over, I caught up with my team and spent the rest of the day hanging out with them. Some of the legs of the race went through city streets, but others were along the very edge of the Ocean, and it was an absolutely perfect day, weather-wise!

If you ever get a chance, don't miss out on an experience like this! I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

Happy jogging!

Something New Every Week

Every week I try to do something new in my exercise routine. My fitness run, for example.

About 8 weeks ago, my 26-year-old daughter invited me to join a little running club she belongs to, that meets Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. I was very happy to do so, if for nothing else, to have a chance to hang out with my charming but busy daughter!

I had not done any running at all for a couple of years now, and was pretty much totally out of shape:) That first week, one of the experienced runners and my daughter took me "under their wing". They picked a fairly flat, 6 mile run. I jogged as long as I could, then walked the rest of the way. They were good sports, running ahead and then running back to me, then running ahead again. They got in a lot of good exercise, and I felt encouraged and accompanied as I puffed along.

The second week, I jogged a greater part of the same run, and the third week, it was about half walking and half jogging. The 4th week, I jogged more than I walked, and the 5th week I managed to jog the whole route. My pace was slow, but I managed to jog the whole time.

I was gone skiing for the following weekend, and when I got back, my daughter told me she had been doing a harder run during the midweek: about three miles out, a couple of miles of uphill, and then three plus miles back in. Hmmm... I always love a challenge, so we tried it together that weekend. I made it the three miles out, but I had to walk the uphill stretch, and the last three miles was walk/run/walk/run.

So this last weekend I summoned up all my determination, and kept jogging the entire 8.5 miles, uphill stretch and all. My pace was nothing to brag about, but I am very proud of myself for keeping going the whole way.

I think I'm on my way to getting back in shape!

With best wishes for a long and healthy life,

The Jogging Grandma

P.S. Check out this link for a great deal on another fun way to get fit:
http://dotsmarket.offershop.net/offer/apply/37823/1761/56879

Getting Fit

Over the next four years, my fitness level slowly increased. A friend had told me that when I could swim a mile, he would teach me to scuba dive. That sounded like a lot of fun, so I started training. Again, the first time I got in the pool, I couldn't even make it across once! I had to stop half-way across to catch my breath! But with scuba diving on my brain, I kept at it. Day after day, little by little, I got to the point where I could do all 66 laps which constituted the mile. Sadly, he never did come through and take me scuba diving, but I was swimming in an outdoor pool with beautiful scenery on the horizon, so I enjoyed the swims, anyway, and they really helped me improve my fitness level!

With best wishes for a long and healthy life,

The Jogging Grandma

P.S. Here are some other fun ways to get some good exercise! Check them out:
http://dotsmarket.offershop.net/offer/apply/37823/1645/3516

Exercise, who me?

Fast forward twenty-some-odd years. The empty nest struck. And I mean REALLY empty.

Our house had always been a rather hectic place. We were both teachers at a small private school in the Spanish countryside. It seemed our home was always filled with students, friends, family, or visitors of some other kind. We sometimes slept on an air mattress out on the balcony for months at a time, because every bedroom and every sofa was filled with guests. It was a happy, bustling place.

In 1997, our older daughter married, and flew off to another country with her beloved the following day. Later that same year, our younger daughter started hanging out with her first serious boyfriend, and in full throws of adolescence, basically stopped sharing her life with us as she had done until then. In 2000, our marriage of 26 years gave signs of disintegrating and my then-husband moved to his own apartment. In 2001, the younger daughter decided to follow her sister to that far-away place (which happened to be California), and I was left alone with a very, very empty nest.

I explain all this only as a basis to say that at that point I found myself in the grips of a deep depression. It was all I could do to move forward each day, go to my job, attend to my students, and return home in the evening to my big, silent house, with everything and everyone I had ever lived for gone forever.

At Christmas time, I took some time off to go visit my daughters in California. I stayed with my eldest and her husband. They were pained to see my pain. Every morning my daughter would say to me softly, "Why don't you trying getting out and exercising, Mom? It would make you feel better."

After about of week of her urging, I decided to give it a try. I borrowed some sports clothes from her and went out walking. The truth is that the sunny blue California sky and the fresh air DID cheer me up some. The next day, I decided to jog around the block. Ha! Did I say jog? I got as far as the corner, and then had to go back to a walk.

I did this every day for the rest of my visit, and by the time I left, I could actually make it around the (rather small-sized) block at a slow jog.

When I returned home, I signed up for some aerobic and step classes at a local gym. For an hour a day, I huffed and puffed and jumped and stepped and skipped with a whole lot of younger--and fitter--girls and guys. But it really did help. I would get a very pleasant high by the end of each session.

In 2002, I signed divorce papers, resigned my position at the school where I had worked for exactly 30 years, packed my favorite clothes in two suitcases, and returned to California, where I had lived as a child, and where my two daughters were now living. I was 51.

With best wishes for a long and healthy life,

The Jogging Grandma

P.S.
For great deals on sportswear, check out these folks: