A lot has happened over the last 10 months.
1. A new business venture.
2. Heart surgery--for my hubby.
3. A marathon. (Yes! Hard to believe, but I did it!)
4. Getting off track.
5. Getting back on.
I'll tell you about it, little by little...
Here's to health and happiness--yours and mine!
The Jogging Grandma
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thursday, June 10, 2010
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.
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
Monday, May 24, 2010
Tweaking the Program
Day 22 of 100 :)
The other day I mentioned something about my new exercise program to my Son-in-Law, Dany, who is a real fitness buff.
Dany listened patiently as I outlined my plan, and then he asked: "What is your goal, here?" And without thinking, I blurted out: "Next year I'd like to run a marathon, and I'd like to do it in under 5 hours. I don't want to be out there all day!" I was surprised at my own answer, but also pleased.
"Well," said Dany, "the program you've got is going to improve your fitness level, but if you want to improve your speed for a marathon, you need to do some speed training. The elliptical is great exercise for general fitness, but it's not going to help you run any faster. And the long runs you are doing are not going to increase your speed, either."
We discussed doing mid-week interval training on the treadmill, but I fell off of one of those once and now I'm pretty nervous about them. So we finally settled that I would get out my old heart rate monitor, get the battery replaced so it will actually work, and then starting with one day a week, instead of the 20 minute elliptical work-out I would go outdoors and do some running intervals. I would run as fast as I could about 50 yards, then slow to my regular pace until my heartrate went back to normal, then do it again, repeating the cycle 10 times in a row. Once I get into doing this, I'll check back with him to refine the exercise.
So today I gave it my first try. Wow, I haven't run that hard since I was a teenager! I felt like I was going to, ahem, lose my breakfast! (I think I'll have to do this exercise on an empty stomach in the future!!) It was interesting, though. My body really fought the effort, but I got through my 10 mini-sprints. I don't have the heart monitor working yet, so I just played the heartrate part by ear, but I'm proud of myself for making the effort, and for making it through 22 days of my 100. Consistency is always my biggest challenge, so each day that I go out and exercise is another day of victory!
The other day I mentioned something about my new exercise program to my Son-in-Law, Dany, who is a real fitness buff.
Dany listened patiently as I outlined my plan, and then he asked: "What is your goal, here?" And without thinking, I blurted out: "Next year I'd like to run a marathon, and I'd like to do it in under 5 hours. I don't want to be out there all day!" I was surprised at my own answer, but also pleased.
"Well," said Dany, "the program you've got is going to improve your fitness level, but if you want to improve your speed for a marathon, you need to do some speed training. The elliptical is great exercise for general fitness, but it's not going to help you run any faster. And the long runs you are doing are not going to increase your speed, either."
We discussed doing mid-week interval training on the treadmill, but I fell off of one of those once and now I'm pretty nervous about them. So we finally settled that I would get out my old heart rate monitor, get the battery replaced so it will actually work, and then starting with one day a week, instead of the 20 minute elliptical work-out I would go outdoors and do some running intervals. I would run as fast as I could about 50 yards, then slow to my regular pace until my heartrate went back to normal, then do it again, repeating the cycle 10 times in a row. Once I get into doing this, I'll check back with him to refine the exercise.
So today I gave it my first try. Wow, I haven't run that hard since I was a teenager! I felt like I was going to, ahem, lose my breakfast! (I think I'll have to do this exercise on an empty stomach in the future!!) It was interesting, though. My body really fought the effort, but I got through my 10 mini-sprints. I don't have the heart monitor working yet, so I just played the heartrate part by ear, but I'm proud of myself for making the effort, and for making it through 22 days of my 100. Consistency is always my biggest challenge, so each day that I go out and exercise is another day of victory!
Yours for a happier, healthier life,
The Jogging Grandma
Friday, May 14, 2010
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 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.
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
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
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?
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
Monday, May 10, 2010
100 Days
First, I wrote in my fitness journal "Day 1 of 500." Then I had to laugh at myself. Moderation has never been my strong point. So I amended it to say, "Day 1 of 100."
This was my first adjustment for my second try at a fitness program. Maybe 50 days is not enough; let's go for 100 days. Then, if I am getting results, I can always extend it, right?
Goals. Maybe I should concetrate on just one thing at a time. My main goal is to increase my fitness. Of course, my vanity would like for my body to trim down and look younger and sexier, but if I were to choose between fit and sexy, I would have to go for fit. Hopefully I can reach both goals, but let's do this one at a time.
So my goals for the next 100 days are:
1) Stick to my program for 100 days! (Current record is 50 days.)
2) Increase my strength by at least five pounds on each exercise. (Different muscle groups have different strengths, so it is a little hard to set a specific overall goal here, but I should increase strength in all muscle groups.)
3) Increase swimming speed by 20%. (Current speed is 60 laps in 50 min. I'll try to get that down to 40 min.)
4) Increase running speed by 20%. (Currently averaging 15 min. miles; will try to get down to 12 min. miles)
5) Increase running stamina to 15 miles. (Current weekly "long runs" are 8.5 miles, and leave me half-dead the rest of the day:)
I plan to eat moderate servings of a well-balanced diet, and continue to drink plenty of water (10 glasses per day). For now, I'm not going to make any specific weight-loss goals. After 100 days, if I can establish these fitness habits firmly, I can turn my attention to weight-loss goals.
Let's do it!
This was my first adjustment for my second try at a fitness program. Maybe 50 days is not enough; let's go for 100 days. Then, if I am getting results, I can always extend it, right?
Goals. Maybe I should concetrate on just one thing at a time. My main goal is to increase my fitness. Of course, my vanity would like for my body to trim down and look younger and sexier, but if I were to choose between fit and sexy, I would have to go for fit. Hopefully I can reach both goals, but let's do this one at a time.
So my goals for the next 100 days are:
1) Stick to my program for 100 days! (Current record is 50 days.)
2) Increase my strength by at least five pounds on each exercise. (Different muscle groups have different strengths, so it is a little hard to set a specific overall goal here, but I should increase strength in all muscle groups.)
3) Increase swimming speed by 20%. (Current speed is 60 laps in 50 min. I'll try to get that down to 40 min.)
4) Increase running speed by 20%. (Currently averaging 15 min. miles; will try to get down to 12 min. miles)
5) Increase running stamina to 15 miles. (Current weekly "long runs" are 8.5 miles, and leave me half-dead the rest of the day:)
I plan to eat moderate servings of a well-balanced diet, and continue to drink plenty of water (10 glasses per day). For now, I'm not going to make any specific weight-loss goals. After 100 days, if I can establish these fitness habits firmly, I can turn my attention to weight-loss goals.
Let's do it!
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.
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
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