The week is going pretty well so far. I didn't run Monday like I was supposed to, but I did run yesterday. My intent was to switch Monday's running with Tuesday's walking, but I never walked on Monday... so I kinda skipped for the first time. Yesterday went alright - I took Cillian out in the jogging stroller (its debut use), and ran outside for a change instead of at the little neighborhood gym. It was nice to feel the breeze and be in the sunshine.
I've come to a dilemma though. My knees are really starting to bother me (and I assume that's because my body isn't used to running with 40 extra pounds on said knees), but I really want to stick with the program. I've come this far, I'm halfway through week three, and I only have 5 weeks left until I've worked up to running 2 miles straight. I can already tell that my endurance and breathing are improving.
Yesterday, after my run - which I reeeeeally had to push myself through - I iced my knees for about 15 minutes and that seemed to help. Today they don't feel nearly as sore as they did yesterday. So, the dilemma being... do I continue with the running and just get through it (with the ice packs and possibly ace bandages for support), or just take a little time off and walk a couple miles every day to take it easy for a bit? I really, really don't want to stop now because I know I'll probably lose my momentum. And it takes me a long time to build up that momentum, so I'm scared I'll be back to being unmotivated or just check out by justifying my not running anymore.
I'm leaning toward pushing through with it and seeing what happens.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Cheers.
Here's the Quote of the Day:
"Whatever you may be seeking, seek it with all your strength, but do not expect your own search and efforts to bear fruit of themselves. Put your trust in the Lord, ascribing nothing to yourself, and He will give you your heart's desire."
~ St. Theophan the Recluse
Showing posts with label Exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exercise. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Progress and Plans
As a new mom, I think I've been craving routine of some sort - for me. Cillian is finally in a good routine now (which is bound to change at any time, I'm sure, now that I have gotten the pattern down,) but I still haven't had much of one. Something Caleb and I have decided to do, which I think will really help my need for consistency, is having breakfast together in the mornings before he goes to work. The routine is that we get up at 7 and he takes a shower and gets ready for work while I go downstairs and make eggs and toast and sausage for us.
And my, it's a wonderful thing...
So this week, we have succeeded in having this routine start out our days twice out of the four days so far. Monday, Caleb took the day off and took me out to Cracker Barrel, and yesterday morning both of us decided sleep was much more important than eating. So this morning we struggled a bit to get out of bed, but I really wanted to fight this and get into a good habit of it. I know how much better my mood and general attitude towards the day is when I start off the mornings right, and especially with Caleb.
I want to make this a good habit. After all, we go to bed together and have a good evening routine - why shouldn't we have a good morning one together as well? It makes me so happy to do things with Caleb. I think it's really important for a marriage to be a wife first and a mother second. They go hand in hand, don't get me wrong, but Caleb is my baby too and he came first.
Along with breakfasts, we have started eating healthier, which is something that has needed to happen since we got married. We haven't been eating entirely unhealthy things, but we as not as healthy of eaters as we could be. For me, eating healthy means starting the day early enough to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and not just breakfast and dinner as a result of starting my day at 1 PM. So, the getting up with Caleb change works beautifully. I'm still a bit tired, but as we gradually get to bed earlier, that will change and get better too.
So, on the menu this week starting Tuesday, (Monday doesn't count because we a) had Taco Bell, which is not healthy and b) grocery shopped that day) we have had Chicken Caesar salads as a dinner, Wednesday we had Penne pasta and alfredo with green beans, tonight we're having stuffed chicken and corn or green beans (I haven't decided yet), and tomorrow we're having tilapia with a vegetable. We are also trying to stick to serving portions given on whatever food we eat. And it's all going pretty well so far.
Another change along with beginning to eat right is that we're going to start a normal exercise routine. We decided to start this coming Monday rather than in the middle of the week so that it begins right. We're starting a running program that my sisters-in-law have done, one of whom ran her first half-marathon an impressive 8 months later. The program is designed in such a way that you will be able to run 2 miles straight after completing the 8-week training. You do something every day, six days out of the week (hence why we want to begin on a Monday). The first day is ten repetitions of a walk 2 minutes/run 1 minute pattern for a half hour, the next day is just walking 30 minutes, and it alternates for the first four days, then the fifth and sixth days are running/walking days and Sunday, you rest. Then the next week, the pattern is slightly different, and it gradually gets more challenging week by week. I'm very excited about it. I really, really want to stick with it. It says the first two miles you run are the most difficult you'll ever run, and after that, it's pretty easy to work up to however many miles you want to run. I think 3-4 sounds good.
So, with eating more healthily and exercising, I'm hoping to a) lose my baby weight, b) tone up (especially my core), feel stronger and have more energy and c) look better in my clothes and go down a few sizes.
I'm going to be vulnerably frank here - I gained nearly sixty pounds from pregnancy. My wedding weight was somewhere around 125-130, and my weight up to delivering Cillian was about 190-something. I would love love love to get back down to my wedding weight, but my realistic goal for now is 140. I think I would be very healthy to be down at that weight, especially if I'm noticeably more toned. My numbers currently dance around 168-170. So I'm going to keep updates on the blog as to how everything is going - how the running and exercising is and how the eating, meal planning and cooking goes. I'll also post a weekly weigh in. (That'll help me!)
I'm very happy about all of this. Finally changing my attitude (though it be gradual) about food is very refreshing. It's amazing how appealing a salad every day sounds. My new diet consists of breakfast with Caleb, which is two eggs overeasy with one piece of toast (buttered), and two sausage links; between breakfast and lunch, I'll have some fruit (an apple or banana) and maybe some peanuts or cheese; then lunch is a big spinach salad with a little bit of chopped nuts, a sprinkle of parmesan, and the correct serving size of raspberry vinaigrette with some soup. It's very yummy. Just having more salad and drinking plenty of water makes me feel better. I like it when I'm in control of my stomach. It feels right, and it feels so good. No wonder fasting is spiritual! It is certainly one of the passions I have the most trouble controlling, but now I think I'm off to a good start.
Also, we're trying not to eat after 8 PM, which is a great habit to introduce for anyone. And I'm going to try and start drinking more water too. I was so good at this when I was pregnant, but I've kind of lost my urgency for it, which shouldn't make any sense as I should be drinking more water than ever now that I'm breastfeeding. Ideally, you should be drinking half your weight in ounces, but I need to be drinking more. So, I'm going to try filling my 32-oz. water bottle up three times a day, trying to have a full bottle between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, and then in the evening and throughout the night when I'm up breastfeeding.
So now, I'm drinking my morning tea and enjoying this gorgeous morning. I'm so happy it's fall.
Cheers.
Here's the Quote of the Day:
"Think nothing and do nothing without a purpose directed to God. For to journey without direction is wasted effort."
~ St. Mark the Ascetic
And my, it's a wonderful thing...
So this week, we have succeeded in having this routine start out our days twice out of the four days so far. Monday, Caleb took the day off and took me out to Cracker Barrel, and yesterday morning both of us decided sleep was much more important than eating. So this morning we struggled a bit to get out of bed, but I really wanted to fight this and get into a good habit of it. I know how much better my mood and general attitude towards the day is when I start off the mornings right, and especially with Caleb.
I want to make this a good habit. After all, we go to bed together and have a good evening routine - why shouldn't we have a good morning one together as well? It makes me so happy to do things with Caleb. I think it's really important for a marriage to be a wife first and a mother second. They go hand in hand, don't get me wrong, but Caleb is my baby too and he came first.
Along with breakfasts, we have started eating healthier, which is something that has needed to happen since we got married. We haven't been eating entirely unhealthy things, but we as not as healthy of eaters as we could be. For me, eating healthy means starting the day early enough to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and not just breakfast and dinner as a result of starting my day at 1 PM. So, the getting up with Caleb change works beautifully. I'm still a bit tired, but as we gradually get to bed earlier, that will change and get better too.
So, on the menu this week starting Tuesday, (Monday doesn't count because we a) had Taco Bell, which is not healthy and b) grocery shopped that day) we have had Chicken Caesar salads as a dinner, Wednesday we had Penne pasta and alfredo with green beans, tonight we're having stuffed chicken and corn or green beans (I haven't decided yet), and tomorrow we're having tilapia with a vegetable. We are also trying to stick to serving portions given on whatever food we eat. And it's all going pretty well so far.
Another change along with beginning to eat right is that we're going to start a normal exercise routine. We decided to start this coming Monday rather than in the middle of the week so that it begins right. We're starting a running program that my sisters-in-law have done, one of whom ran her first half-marathon an impressive 8 months later. The program is designed in such a way that you will be able to run 2 miles straight after completing the 8-week training. You do something every day, six days out of the week (hence why we want to begin on a Monday). The first day is ten repetitions of a walk 2 minutes/run 1 minute pattern for a half hour, the next day is just walking 30 minutes, and it alternates for the first four days, then the fifth and sixth days are running/walking days and Sunday, you rest. Then the next week, the pattern is slightly different, and it gradually gets more challenging week by week. I'm very excited about it. I really, really want to stick with it. It says the first two miles you run are the most difficult you'll ever run, and after that, it's pretty easy to work up to however many miles you want to run. I think 3-4 sounds good.
So, with eating more healthily and exercising, I'm hoping to a) lose my baby weight, b) tone up (especially my core), feel stronger and have more energy and c) look better in my clothes and go down a few sizes.
I'm going to be vulnerably frank here - I gained nearly sixty pounds from pregnancy. My wedding weight was somewhere around 125-130, and my weight up to delivering Cillian was about 190-something. I would love love love to get back down to my wedding weight, but my realistic goal for now is 140. I think I would be very healthy to be down at that weight, especially if I'm noticeably more toned. My numbers currently dance around 168-170. So I'm going to keep updates on the blog as to how everything is going - how the running and exercising is and how the eating, meal planning and cooking goes. I'll also post a weekly weigh in. (That'll help me!)
I'm very happy about all of this. Finally changing my attitude (though it be gradual) about food is very refreshing. It's amazing how appealing a salad every day sounds. My new diet consists of breakfast with Caleb, which is two eggs overeasy with one piece of toast (buttered), and two sausage links; between breakfast and lunch, I'll have some fruit (an apple or banana) and maybe some peanuts or cheese; then lunch is a big spinach salad with a little bit of chopped nuts, a sprinkle of parmesan, and the correct serving size of raspberry vinaigrette with some soup. It's very yummy. Just having more salad and drinking plenty of water makes me feel better. I like it when I'm in control of my stomach. It feels right, and it feels so good. No wonder fasting is spiritual! It is certainly one of the passions I have the most trouble controlling, but now I think I'm off to a good start.
Also, we're trying not to eat after 8 PM, which is a great habit to introduce for anyone. And I'm going to try and start drinking more water too. I was so good at this when I was pregnant, but I've kind of lost my urgency for it, which shouldn't make any sense as I should be drinking more water than ever now that I'm breastfeeding. Ideally, you should be drinking half your weight in ounces, but I need to be drinking more. So, I'm going to try filling my 32-oz. water bottle up three times a day, trying to have a full bottle between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, and then in the evening and throughout the night when I'm up breastfeeding.
So now, I'm drinking my morning tea and enjoying this gorgeous morning. I'm so happy it's fall.
Cheers.
Here's the Quote of the Day:
"Think nothing and do nothing without a purpose directed to God. For to journey without direction is wasted effort."
~ St. Mark the Ascetic
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