It's been a while...

Its' been a while, I know. I have been slacking in my blogging. In my head I know what I am going to write about but when it comes time I find myself with brain drain. I have been getting closer to finishing my challenge on dailymile and I am excited! There was a time when I thought about the lifetime of running shoes. Three months or three hundred miles, as I recall it, seemed like I would always hit the time limit before the distance. It amazes me that I have logged so many miles right now. I'm glad that I joined dailymile for the encouragement that I get from everyone--total strangers at that--and the record keeping that it has done for me. I have heard it said that if you need motivation than sign up for a race, well, the challenge has been good for me so far. I don't think I am quite ready for a race yet because even a 5k would take me longer than I would like. I think I am running at an average of 12 min/mile so far and at that pace I would be looking at a 36-40 min 5k time. I guess I should be happy that I completed it at all but let's face, I am competitive. Right now I think numbers are keeping me going. Trying to squeeze in 180 miles in just over three months has been keeping me going because I don't want to flake out on myself. SUCCESS! I said, myself! That is a great achievement for me! Thus far it has been that I kept going because I didn't want to let my workout buddies down.


BABY STEPS.... BABY STEPS...

I am moving forward. To what, I don't know. I already have planned what I am going to do during the winter once my challenge is done. I hope I can keep it up. Once my challenge is done, I will do yoga on days when it is cold, excuse me, too cold to take Thing 3 out and I will run outside when I don't have to take Thing 3. I think I need to step things up a bit. I know my workout buddies will be canceling on my a lot this winter. I hate to say that but I know it is true. They both have babies and I'm sure will not want to take them out in the weather. I am used to it. I did it quite a bit with Thing 2 and had no problems.

As of late I have been having problems with shin splints and foot bone problems, and it feels like my arches have fallen (if that is even possible.) With all these things occurring to me, it leads me to wonder, what am I doing wrong. Why would walking, a thing which I have been doing since infancy, cause me injuries? I don't feel like I am doing anything different other than pushing a stroller. I haven't been losing any weight lately. But that is probably my own fault. I don't think I have been as good at counting calories as I should these past couple of weeks. Mystery solved! or is it? I have not taken Thing 3 out much this week just because I had a babysitter so I have been running instead of walking. If you were to look at my pace, however, you would see that my running pace is only slightly faster than my walking pace. I would consider myself to have a bouncy walk instead of a run. I am building up my running ability. I can go 2 miles now without stopping. It isn't fast but it's the whole way. There was a time when I ran two miles in 17:34. That equates to an 8:37 mile. My personal best. Right now, I'm looking at around 12:06. I think on one of my runs I might have gotten in the 10 min/mile range but often my time is highly suspect. Because of this sudden increase in the type of exercising I have been doing, my shins have suffered and my feet, hips, knee, and hamstring have all been screaming at me too. I read an article today that made me wonder if I'm doing more harm than good to myself. In a nutshell it tells you the warning signs that you need to give yourself a break. Right now I walk M-F save for the few breaks I had for air quality and a mini vacation. If I didn't walk then I ran. I have been feeling the effects of this behavior for a while now and it is making me wonder. One of the points laid out in the article said that you can lose a couple of pounds but gain fat. I think that is me. I don't feel like the exercise has made a difference in my physique at all. I find that most people say they lose inches but not weight. I am wishing I was in that category right now. I could weigh two hundred pounds if I could fit into a size 3. That will never happen. I will never weigh two hundred pounds and my hips would never allow me to be a size 3. I could be on the verge of death due to anorexia and I would still not fit into a size 3. I know it, it just isn't in the cards for me. I accept that.

Well, I've rambled on enough for this post. Sorry for the novel but it's been a while.