Photo by bL

Not resolutions. Just looking ahead.

I’m going to lose the last 20 lbs once and and for all. Or decide that I weigh what I weigh, and move on.

Walk two half-marathons – the Chilly Half in March and the Toronto Women’s at the end of May. And then retire from half-marathon walking.

Find another activity to keep me exercising. Or determine that I need to go to the gym and workout regularly.

Read more novels.

Spend less time in the car.

Spend more time with my family.

Make more home-cooked meals.

Try to be in the moment.

Spend less.

Consume less.

Declutter my home.

Focus. Focus on the conversation I’m having. Focus on the task I’m doing. Focus on what I’m reading. Focus on the person I’m with. s.e., be in the moment.

Word for 2011. Focus.

Photo by tamaki

I’m so stuck. I haven’t gone back to the gym to do my conditioning workouts. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that I started the next half-marathon training last night. Me, my sister, and one other woman. And the trainer. Oh, well. At least I’m doing it. Again.

I am hoping that the organized walking will help me get going. Exercise is supposed to help mentally, right?

Gotta find my way out of the mud.

Photo by Action Sports International

More training. More walking. More goals. Staying active.

Now that I’ve figured out how poorly I actually performed relative to how I thought I’d do, I want to improve my time.

This is the goal: to walk a consistent 8 minute 45 second pace over a half-marathon of 21.1km in the Toronto Women’s Half-Marathon on Sunday, May 29, 2011.

This will mean improving my speed of course, but also my strength and stamina. In order to do that I’ll have to make sure that I participate in speed and strength training during the RR clinics, and it means going back to the gym for early morning workouts.

I’ve signed up for three walking events.

1. The 26th Annual Resolution 5K Run/Walk on Sunday, December 26, 2010 at Exhibition Place.
2. The Chilly Half-Marathon & Frosty 5k on Sunday, March 6, 2011 in Burlington.
3. Toronto Women’s Half-Marathon on Sunday, May 29, 2011 in Sunnybrook Park

I’ve also signed up for another RR Clinic. It’ll either begin October 25 or November 2; this depends if the RR nearest to me will have enough participants. If they don’t I’ll start a week later at the same spot as my first clinic.

As for the gym – I’ve just got to give myself a kick and get back on track.

And I’m really pleased that my sister will also be training for the walks. We’ve signed up for all the same training and walks. Yeah!

Scotiabank Waterfront Half-marathon Sep 26 2010

I finished in 3:23:51. My goal was to finish before the course closed at the 3:40 mark.

Through out the training what I really wanted to do was pick up speed. And though I did pick up some speed in the last few months, I wanted to do better.

If I decide to do another half-marathon, I know how I’d train differently.

The experience was interesting. I enjoyed watching people on the course. I enjoyed the interaction amongst the walkers and runners. I enjoyed the people and events at the water stations.

And I was chuffed to find brooke, Doug and Alnoor greeting me at the finish. That felt really good. In addition to the medal, brooke gave me a special one. It’s in the photo, on the yellow shirt.

And I had a celebratory meal with my sister and family finishing off with a yummy chocolate cake.

I recovered reasonably well. My muscles were a bit sore during the day, with the tops of my feet the sorest spots. I admit I’m not inclined to go on a long walk just yet.

My next physical challenge? I haven’t figured it out yet. Any ideas?

Photo by lemonfridge

I’m a counter.

I’m training to walk the half-marathon, and in that process I count lots of different things. Here’s a small sampling:

• how often do I have to train each week
• how far do I have to walk each time I train
• how long does my walk take
• what was my pace
• what pace do I need to complete the half-marathon walk in 3hr 40min

Then if I’m watching what I eat, I count:

• have I had enough protein for today
• how much chicken should I eat
• did I have enough water
• how much milk should I drink
• did I have enough fruit
• how many servings of vegetables did I have
• is that too much rice
• can I fit that cookie in today (editor’s note: the answer to this is almost always yes, and more than one cookie will fit, also)
• did I have enough fibre

On my driving trips, it’s:

• how far is my destination
• when should I start from home to get through the border at a non-peak time
• how much money will I need for gas
• how much money for food

You get the idea. My life seems to be a numbers game. I think it provides comfort, stability, and order.

I believe this number stuff is true for everybody, I’m just dwelling on it. Probably because I’m in the count-down to the half-marathon walk.

• four more sleeps
• two more short training walks
• one trip to pick up the race day stuff

And then 21.0975 km (or 13.1093787 miles) to the finish line.

The hard part – I’m thinking doing the uphill walking will be hard – begins the week I’m in Barcelona. Darn. I’ll try to do it on my own the weekend after I get back, and then do it with the group from then on. I’m also thinking that even if I missed one of these hard sessions, no biggie. What might be a little difficult while away is any big walks to keep my weekly mileage up. Again, I’ll do what I can, and not stress about it.

The training is given by The Running Room/The Walking Room. There are about 20 people in the group – all women. Some women have already done a half-marathon, or a full marathon. They’re doing the training again, well, for the training I suppose. We meet three times a week, and then are expected to do some walking on our own to make sure we get the mileage in that our coach has outlined for the week.

We were asked to set some goals for ourselves. I have two easy ones – at least easy to think of, that is. The first is to finish the half-marathon in 3 hours. The second is lose 20lbs by the end of the year. Easy to say – hard to do. I’m more confident in finishing the half-marathon in 3 hours, then in the weight loss. Maybe the former will help the latter. I hope so.

I know that I need to keep my activity level up, so committing to the training is important. Exercise seems to be the key for any weight loss for me, even more than the eating.

Got to go put my walking shoes on to begin week 2.

But I did it. The only thing that kept me going is the thought “only four more sessions after this, and I’ve got a month’s break.” Two more upper body workouts, two more lower body workouts, and one aquafit. And somehow a bit of walking has to be worked in.

I didn’t do my long walk yesterday. My right leg and heel haven’t been 100% and I though I might be overly cautious, I just don’t want to risk making them worse just before my trip. I’m thinking rest and time will heal the heel.

My food intake, I’m reluctant to admit, has gradually increased. Or, rather my food intake of food that should only be occasional foods, has increased. Another reason I need a reset, I think. It shows I’m tired of the same old, same old.

After the trip I’m working in earnest on my half-marathon goal. So twice a week sessions at The Running Room half-marathon walking clinic, and I definite reset on my eating plan.

More exercise. Less food. More weight loss. Keep going.

There. Another goal.

Weighing the Evidence on Exercise.

Jackie is off on her summer adventure on May 2nd, and when she returns in September she won’t be doing personal training.

It’s been an amazing time with her. I know that my fitness has improved since I began training with her in July. I’ve improved my stamina, my strength, lost weight, and lost inches. Of course, I still have lots of room for improvement.

Some sessions were depressingly difficult, where I felt I just couldn’t do what was asked in the way the exercise needed to be done. Jackie was always encouraging, always positive, always up beat. I’m not sure I ever got the “high” that some exercisers get, but the sense of accomplishment after completing a morning’s routine was huge.

Jackie has given me enough routines and ideas to keep me going for a long time. It’ll be really different doing them by myself, particularly staying motivated. I’m going to try, as I don’t want to lose the benefits I already accrued.

Thanks Jackie – you’re the best!

There’s tax stuff to do, there’s a FitBit to set up, and there’s some paperwork I need to get to. I haven’t done a darn thing.

I did, however, do another 10km walk and I’m happy to say I shaved six minutes off my time. My goal is to shave another six minutes, and then start to lengthen my long walks. I want to be able to do the 21km in less than 3hrs and 40min.

There are two experiences I have while I’m walking. One I can remedy fairly easily, and the other is tedious. I’ve found now that I have the energy to do the walk, that is I don’t seem to run out of steam before the end. But what I do find is that I get bored, and I just want to finish so I can do the next thing. This, I recognize, is my usual issue of not being in the moment. So with the walking I’ve been listening to podcasts like CBC’s Norah Young and Spark, NPR’s Terry Gross and Fresh Air, CBC’s Shelagh Rogers and The Next Chapter, NYT’s Freakonomics, TVOntario’s Jesse Brown and Search Engine, Spacing Radio, and various others. This definitely helps a lot.

The second experience is physical. I always seem to have something wrong – my hip hurts, my Achilles hurts, my foot hurts. Always something ‘effing thing. And always on my right side. It’s not a huge 10/10 of pain, usually a 2/10 or 3/10. I’d just prefer not to have it at all. I bought some compression tights on Friday and tried them out yesterday to see if they’d help with the right side pain. It could have been one of the reasons I managed to shave six minutes off my time. After walking, and this morning, my Achilles is 3/10. Not good. More stretching required.

I’ll get to my tasks this week. Really. Really. Really. Sh*t.