First time out in a long, long time!

Well, I wish that I had a more colorful title, but my brain is not in gear today - yet!

I did make it out, but not quite the way that I had planned it. But it is still a GIANT STEP FORWARD. I awoke at 5:30 a.m. to find it still dark , and immediately went back to sleep. Hubby got up around 6:30 and went for a long bike ride. hmmm.

I got up again at 7:30 to find him still gone. He heard me say that I was going to get up early to "run", but as I wasn't up he decided to take his turn. This worked out just fine. I was worried about leaving him too much to do with the kids while I went on my jaunt, but then I figured that I did it all week, why not let him in on the fun!

So, I got up, put my running togs on, only to find it raining. This would not deter me. I admit that hubby saying "you're not going to let a little rain stop you, are you?" didn't hurt my motivation! Ha ha!! So my start was later than I had planned, but worked out fine. I didn't have any running in the dark stuff out, anyway! This will necessitate my reconfiguring of my weekday runs in some manner. Good thing that I have you guys to keep me straight!

So, it was raining harder by the time I actually got out of the house. Not too sure of the time. I have a Timex Expedition watch to help me with timing. It has a timer, which recycles without needing to push buttons and a complex chronograph that I barely know how to use other than to time the total run.

I started with a warm up walk, but then jogged past the neighbors house - I do have my pride. . . I could quickly see that a 3 min jog/ 2 min walk would not work for 2 reasons. 1. I didn't think that I could keep up the pace with the puppy that I was dragging, nor could I for the entire route. 2. My watch wasn't as good as my old higher end Ironman watch that had mutli-timer modes. I could actually set it to time an uneven amount of jog/walk. My current watch, which was about $30.00 cheaper, will only do 1 time off and on. . . So, I switched to 2 min jog/ 2 min walk. This worked out fine to start, but was feeling like too much time walking in the middle. I kept up that pace as I wasn't sure how I would finish.

Sadly, my time was much slower than I had hoped for, but I did finish without cheating myself once. I did a 15 minute pace and finished 3 miles in about 45 minutes. A 15 minute pace is about a 6.5 hour finish in a marathon, and some will not let you finish in over 6 hours. This is what happened to me at our marathon as a teammate was injured and I foolishly stayed with her until it was determined that she could not finish. This left me with a poor time, and little support towards the finish. I had set a goal of 12 minutes per mile, but functionally was up to 13 minutes per mile. Slow for most runners, but it did get me up in the miles. However, I am not training for another marathon. If you are going to attempt one, there is so much info on the web, including training schedules, diets and time calculators!

For now, my goal is to increase miles, make it easier to do so, and to feel better about myself!

I did remember a few things as I got going. Breathe. . . As I have asthma, I need to breathe too shallow, so I alternate regular exhales with a pursed-lip exhale. This helps me empty my lungs better. It also gives me a beat to concentrate on other than my feet. I also remembered to concentrate on running with light feet. This sounds weird, but if I take the time to think of myself as a fleet-footed runner, I can go farther and faster without as much body stress. Lastly, I need to remind myself to "lead with my boobs!" Ha, ha. It is way to easy to hunker down when I start getting tired. I have long legs and a short body, so I cannot afford to be hunkered over impeding my lung function!

Any ideas from you masses that read this on the early running in the dark stuff?! Let me know. My next outing will be Monday!

Peace out!
MarlaJean

Day 1 or the 2nd day of day 1

What did I learn. Plan it out, don't just think about it. I was planning on getting up at 5:00 to run by 5:30 and be back by 6:30 a.m. when my hubby leaves for work. Ha ha, that did not happen. Why? I kept it a secret, and I was not accountable to an outside voice.

So, now I am telling you that I WILL run on Saturdays, Mondays, and Thursdays. For 1 hour. including warm up and cool down.

I made steaks for dinner last night and here is how I trimmed it down. I only had 1 - 4 oz. portion of lean meat, sauteed mushrooms - a light version, a light Mexican-type of coleslaw and steamed baby Yukon gold potatoes, no butter needed.

Here are my recipes it only took 30 minutes. The mushrooms were on closeout, so I picked some up to cook...gotta cook them that day or else it is bad...

I sauteed mushrooms in a bit water, let that simmer out and finished it off with a nice splash of balsamic vinegar. As the balsamic vinegar cooks off it caramelizes on the mushrooms and you get a tasty almost fried look and they taste better than just simmered in butter!!

The steaks were rinsed, dried, then rubbed with a coarse salt, and then I added coarse ground pepper. Then grilled outdoors.

The coleslaw is something I made up from a little side-dish that I had with most meals while visiting the pacific coast of Mexico a few years ago:

Shred green cabbage, 1 med head. Chop 1/2 an onion, or more if you like, I have little ones to feed so I back off a bit. Spread out on the cutting board and lightly sprinkle with coarse salt. This will start to soften the cabbage as there will be no heavy dressing to soften it up. After about 20 minutes put into you salad bowl. Coarsely chop 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro and toss with the cabbage mixture. The dressing is pretty easy, take ABOUT a 1/2 c. of mild rice wine vinegar with an equal amount of water, and 1 T. cooking oil and mix in a small bowl with 1 t. of prepared mustard, 1/2 t. of cumin and coarse ground pepper. The mustard acts as an emulsifier, so you may use less if you will be eating all of it soon. This will make more than enough for a single meal, but I use it as my side dish for a few reasons. It is a less dense carb, it has no sugar and it is filling. I keep it in the fridge in a few smaller containers and use throughout the week, just for me.

I splurged my carbs and had one baby Yukon Gold potato. These beauties are worth a splurge now and then as they need no dressing or butter. Steaming is best with these to keep them moist and not begging for a topping.

Next step for me. GET MY BUTT OUTTA BED tomorrow to start my run/walk program.

I completed a marathon 3 years ago with this format. Please do not take this as exercise advice to you, I am not an expert or even an amateur, I am just me blabbing on a blog. First, make sure that you can handle whatever you take on. If you can't walk up the steps without wheezing, go see your doctor first. I did have asthma when I started, but as I lost weight and got stronger I no longer needed to have daily meds for that.

So, with my sister Kelley, we started with, I am not kidding here, jogging 1 minute, then walking 1 minute. This was after 5 full minutes of walking and a bit of pre-stretch. We were lazy on that pre-stretching.... After 4 months of training 4 times a week, I could do 5 minutes jogging with 1 minute off. This doesn't sound like much, but I could do it for 26.2 MILES... It was pretty easy going up to the 17 mile point, after that, it really took a lot of self talk and camaraderie with my sis.

So, I will start out tomorrow with a 3 jog/ 2 walk format for about 3 miles tomorrow. 3/2 will get you logging miles and liking it. But, remember, I have done a marathon and my body remembers this, even if my butt doesn't. So, don't be afraid to start at 1 min walk/ 1 min jog.

Honestly, the first time we went out, we just wanted to make it to the next driveway before we decided to split up jogging and walking. We both finished the marathon...

I will let you know how that goes.... oh yeah, bring water!! Get good shoes, too.

Away I go to start my weekend. I will yap at you tomorrow. Let me know if you will be joining me on this journey and I will find a way to post our efforts anonymously, if you prefer.

Lots of fun in SpoVegas
MarlaJean!

Ch ch changes

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I am making changes starting today!! You get to go along. Lucky you, all none of you.

I am getting my house in order, AGAIN. This time, I will not let little kids foil my masterpiece of home solace.

I will find a real way to lose weight for me. I ran a marathon 3 years ago, so I know some fortitude in me, I will find a way to tap into it!! Eventually, I will have a plan that I can share with other women who are on the heavy side. Some exercise plan that will be uplifting and progressive. Something that you don't have to share with a bunch of skinny girls who have NO IDEA what it is like to do those same exercises with a backpack full of weights... Real weight loss for real women. I may ask my friend Alan to give some affirmations us.

I will learn something new, like, maybe, finally learning to play my guitar. I can read music and pick a bit, but not too much... or something.

I cook like a dream, so I will turn my cooking into everyday better food for me, not just my skinny husband. He has no idea what it is like to gain even an ounce. His whole family is like that. Good thing that I love them, otherwise I would be forced to hate them!! lol!

Ok, off I go to find out why "the boys" are arguing over a pair of pants on a day when the temp may reach 88 degrees... such is my life.

Please join me!
Peace and Joy to you,
Marlajean