TexasLindsey

Almost 90 degrees outside... 37:30 for 3.1 miles.   Alot of walking.  Heart rate was high.  It was so hot!

I'm back!  Been a long time, about 7 years since I ran consistently.... or even worked out.   I stopped when I got prego with third child and I had to return to work full-time.  I just couldn't figure out how to make time for myself.  Things have changed now.  I work from home full-time.  My youngest is 5 and my oldest is almost 15.  They will survive if Mommy steps away for an hour to go run!   No more excuses.

I started my new journey on April 8th, 2022.  I don't know what exactly hit me, but I just decided enough was enough with unhealthy habits.  I started eating healthy, stopped drinking alcohol, started going to bed early to get at least 8 hours sleep every night.  I bought a new apple watch, which has been quite fun.   I started walking, then running on my treadmill.  Now, I've started going outside to run.   

As of today, I am 18 pounds lost and it's only been 35 days!  I've got another 25 to get back to my racing form, but I'm not focusing on weight anymore.  As of today, I'm exclusively focusing on running goals. 

I found this amazing neighborhood to run in with tons of trees and fellow runners.  I ran 4.75 miles this morning.  Only stopped once.  It was wonderful and pleasant.  I am so grateful and happy to be back to running.   I decided that I'm going to try to go run this neighborhood every morning.   I've also joined a running group to do long runs on weekends - starting next weekend.  

I am sooooo slow!  Ha, ha!  I'm about 12:00 -12:30 a mile!   Guess I gotta start somewhere!    The challenge is half the fun.  I'm not worried about it.   For now, I will be so proud when I get my pace down to 10:00 a mile.   I think I'm just going to gradually increase the days per week of running, averaging 4-6 miles each day, with long runs on Saturdays.   I'm going to go as slow as I need to in order to achieve the miles without stopping much at all.  I think if I do that, I'll eventually get faster.   

I am going to pick a half-marathon for October.   

4.75 miles at a very slow 12:22 a mile.   I went very slow and easy.   Muscles ache but nothing serious.

4.84 easy miles.  I only stopped a couple times for about 30 sec each to drink some water.   I feel very slow at 12:15-12:30 per mile, but that's where my fitness is at the moment.   Hopefully, I'll speed up as I build my aerobic base and lose some weight.  

 I fell today while running.  Tripped on a raised traffic dot in the road.  It was there to prevent cars from crossing into bike lane.  I wasn't looking and I tripped on one.  Nasty skinned knee sucks.  Guess I'm not wearing a dress this weekend to the baby shower I'm going.  

5 easy miles.  I have to keep reminding myself that my primary goal right now is just to be consistent with running every day and build my aerobic base.  I am incredibly slow.  I remember what it felt like to be fast, and I can't wait to get back to that feeling, but it is going to take time and patience.   

Ten years ago I was 122 pounds, running long runs at 7:15-7:30 pace.  My 5k PR was 6:45 pace.   Now I'm 150 pounds, running 5-mile runs at 12:30 pace!  My legs feel heavy because I'm building my muscles back after 6 years of no exercise and sitting at a desk job.   

The weight is coming off pretty consistently at about 2 pounds a week right now.    If I just keep at it, I'll eventually get back down to my ideal running weight sometime this summer.  Once I'm back in the 120's, I bet it will be easy to run 9-10:00 pace.   At that point, I'll set my goals on finishing a half marathon in the fall.  After that, I'll see if I can gradually get my pace down to 8:00-8:30 by spring 2023.    

Setting these goals and trying to achieve them is fun!   I am really determined at this point. 

Man, I'm slow...  but I'm getting better.   Average pace was 11:51/mile, but the last mile was 11:00 pace.   I also didn't stop at all.  On previous runs I usually stop every 2 miles or so for about 30 seconds to drink water.    This time, I just drank while running.  

I've lost 21 pounds since I started my new healthy habits on April 8th.  That's 45 days ago.   The weight loss has really picked up since I started running everyday on May 13th.  

I've got another 20 or so pounds to get to my fitness goal weight.  I bet by then I'll also get faster.   

Considering that I didn't run at all between 2016 and now.... I'm proud of all this progress!   

Average pace was much faster than normal at 11:30.  My last .67 mile was 10:41.   

It was extremely hot and sunny.   I am extremely out of shape.  I ran about 95%, but did walk more and more toward the end because I was so darn hot.   

Oh well... It was my first race since 2015.  Gotta start somewhere.   I'm sure my race times can only get better from here.   

I felt extremely sluggish today.  I did not feel like running, but I made myself go by saying I could go as slow as I wanted.  My average heart rate was 165, which is less than my normal runs.  It was windy, hot and humid ~ about 20 mph, 75 degrees and 76% humidity.   I was not feeling it, but I did make it the full 5 miles.  Afterwards, I'm glad I did but I kinda feel guilty for being so lazy during the run.  Thinking about doing another workout later since I'm off today.