Food

Ok. The ankle still hurts. It seemed to get worse for a few days, but now it's feeling a little better. Still not well enough that I feel comfortable walking or running on it and I really don't even know that I am ready to work out at all. I just want it to get completely better so I don't run the risk of permanently damaging it. I really want to start swimming, but I changed my gym membership recently and the new place doesn't have a pool at any of their locations. Wasn't thinking ahead, I guess. So now that I can't get back to activity, I guess I have to focus on getting my food intake under control....

SO I ordered The 17 Day Diet. I've heard really good things about it and from what I've seen, it's not a crash diet and it won't force me to give up anything cold turkey. I tried Weight Watchers again, but because of the free for all I've been on for the last year, I really need to start with a little more structure. Weight Watchers works great for me when I'm already using good sense with my eating, but it doesn't help me when I've been carbing it up and eating dessert every day. It will help me to have a set meal plan to follow and I like the idea of working in 17 day cycles - timelines are good for this list-making planner. The book recommends just a walking regime to start because the calorie count is low in the beginning, so the good news is that I can continue to take it easy on the ankle.

The book will be delivered on Thursday, so after some grocery shopping this weekend, I'll start it up next week. Hopefully it won't take much longer for my ankle to feel better and within a couple of weeks I can start back with walking.

Slow and steady wins the race, right? You know I like to win.

Tape

Well I went to see my favorite chiropractor today and he hooked me up with this gorgeous tape setup to help with my ankle. I have to keep it on for 5 days and give him a call on Sunday to let him know how it's feeling. I'm crossing my fingers that this will help with the healing since staying completely off of it is just not an option. Pretty? No. But I'll deal if it means I can get back on my feet soon.

Ankle

Oh it's effed up, alright. Swollen, painful and pissing me off. I'll have to stay off of it for a bit - which blows. Stay tuned...

First weekend morning run...and bad news

The plan was that if Gage woke up early enough, we were going to go and meet my running group at the lake at 7:30a for a little walk/run. I knew we would be on our own since everyone is way ahead of the walk/run, but I just wanted to see their faces and get back into the habit of heading up there on Saturdays. Everything was going well, I got dressed, packed a few things in the car and we headed up there. He was a little fussy on the 10 minute drive, but not too bad, and then when we got there I felt bad that I didn't bring him a hat. I know it's always a little chillier and windier on the water, but it felt several degrees colder and the wind was really strong. Next time I'll pack one just in case. I put him in the stroller and realized that the hood came down really far, so he was pretty insulated in there - I thought that it might be ok. I did have a blanket, thankfully, so I wrapped him up and we said hi to a few people that were already there. We actually got there a little early and I didn't want to wait much longer for the entire group to show up, so we decided to just get going. We took off and very early on I realized I would need to stop for a potty break (ugh, seriously?), so we hit our first portapotty about a 1/2 mile in. Luckily there was a handicapped version at that stop, so the entire stroller fit in there with me and I didn't have to figure out how to watch him and potty at the same time. So obstacle #1, done. We got on our way and I realized that obstacle #2 would not be as easy to overcome: pushing that 20 lb kid in the stroller was kicking my ASS. I was really struggling to run during the running intervals, I just couldn't get into a rhythm and it was really uncomfortable. I just kept telling myself that it would get easier the more that I did it - but it was TOUGH. We turned around to start heading back and Gage started to get a little fussy - it started out with just a little whining and if I talked to him he would settle back down, but I could tell that we were on borrowed time. I had also started to notice obstacle #3: there was some pretty real pan in my right achilles. At this point I was not keeping up with my scheduled intervals, but I was trying to run as much as I could between nursing my ankle and keeping Gage happy. Finally he really started to cry, so I pulled us off of the road and got him out of the stroller for a minute to let him look around. He settled down, so I put him back in and off we went. Less than 5 minutes later he started up again, so we pulled into a water stop and I got him out again. About that time we ran into my running group and we were both happy for the distraction. He got to meet all of the ladies and he was giving them lots of smiles and sweet faces. At this point we were about a 1/2 mile from the car and I was starting to think I was going to have to carry him and push the stroller back. We talked to the ladies for a minute and then we started walking. It took about 1 minute for me to realize that we were going to have trouble so I figured I'd put him back in the stroller and run it back as much as I could and if he had to cry, that was it. Well he didn't make a peep the rest of the way, thank goodness. By the time we got back to the car though, I knew for sure that my ankle was really hurt. I'm not sure what I did, but it's pretty acute pain - felt like a bruise. We got in the car and made it home without any more meltdowns. We were out there about 45 minutes total.
So the bad news is, my right achilles is really hurt. It's gotten worse as the day has gone on and as I get anytime I get a little injured, I am REALLY upset about it. I put some ice on it earlier, but I'm pretty sure that unless I take it easy, this will only hurt more. It's just so discouraging since I'm just back into a regular running routine. I was expecting my knee to give me trouble, but oh no...something totally different. I'll have to see how it feels in the morning, but the good news is I wasn't going to run tomorrow anyway, so we'll see what's up early next week. So frustrating.

Setback

The plan was to hit the lake again tonight - but it did not happen. I am EXHAUSTED. Not only did the run not happen, but my food intake was terrible too. Just one of those days. Tomorrow morning I'm going to try and take Gage with me to meet the running group at the lake to get a walk/jog in. Start over again tomorrow.

Treadmill vs. Outside...and my early Vibrams report

Tonight was my first evening run at the lake since I started back at this. I did the treadmill on Monday and that felt pretty good, but there isn't much that beats the lake at sunset. There are pros and cons for both the lake and the treadmill:

Pros:

Outside (the Lake):

- actually running somewhere and not in place
- being outside in the quiet, by myself
- I work up a real sweat outside, I push myself more outside than when I'm on the treadmill

Treadmill:

- close vicinity to a restroom at all times
- no scary wild animals (don't laugh, I've seen more than one pack of coyotes at the lake while running)
- definitely easier, more comfortable being inside (especially in the summer)

Cons:

Outside (the Lake):

- BUGS! Ugh, I totally forgot about the bugs. I saw a swarm of gnats that was the size of my car.
- crazy bikers with no headlights and no warnings (I know not all bikers are crazy, this is aimed at the inconsiderate ones.)
- the few restrooms that are available are not always desirable places to do your business (especially in the dark)

Treadmill:

- I always feel self conscious about getting the machine set up with everyone watching.
- I also hate that the treadmill shakes and makes noise while I run, it annoys me.
- One word: BOR-ING.

It felt good to be back outside for a run today. Thanks to DST I can get out there at 7:30p and still finish before it's pitch black out there. I got to my car just as the last of the light was going away, so I never felt nervous about it being too dark - just the way I like it. I had a really tough time on the first couple of running stretches - I'm doing 2 min walk, 3 min run alternating for 30 minutes- and I had to really stretch my legs a little. By the time I turned back to do the second half, I was feeling much better. I'm not keeping track of mileage yet, just trying to build up to a full 30 minutes of running.
I'm still getting used to the Vibram shoes, but I will step out with an early review and say that it does feel great to run in them. The only complaint I have is that my calves are TIGHT and SORE. Having to change my foot strikes to be more forefoot and less heel has been really interesting. At first it felt like I was running on my tiptoes, but after a couple of weeks, it's starting to feel a little more natural. Truth is that even when I get tired and accidentally go back to the heel strike, it freaking HURTS in those shoes. So at least it's tough to do it badly since the consequence is fairly immediate and I know that the calf soreness will get better the more I get out there. But seriously, it feels awesome running in this shoes. I put my old shoes on for a treadmill run last week and it was terrible. I think one reason is that I wore flip flops or went barefoot nearly 24/7 for all of last year. Since my feet swelled so much during the pregnancy, I just stopped wearing real shoes and putting on those clunky running shoes (Nike Vomeros) felt really stifling and awkward. I wore the Vibrams for my treadmill run on Monday and it was much better. Oh and the best part is that I've gotten to be a pro at putting them on, which was really tough at first. I can get them on in no time now.
I'm targeting a 5K in May and I think that if things continue to go smoothly and I take it slow, it shouldn't be a problem to run the entire race - no time goal, just run the entire 3.1. There are a couple of half marathons I have my eye on, but one thing at a time.

Treadmill Run

I ALMOST didn't run today. I was going to go at lunch, changed my mind and then since J went to the gym first, I ALMOST talked myself out of going at all. But I did it and I'm really glad I did. It felt good, there were even moments when it felt normal again. First treadmill run with the Vibrams and I have to say that I am falling more and more in love with them. It feels really great to run on my feet without the thick shoes on. Awesome!

Tomorrow night? Core Synergystics.

New week

Well today is my weight in for WW and I was kind of bummed because for the last few days I was at a certain weight and of course this morning it was showing to be one pound more. I know, I know, one pound - but still. And of course I was still like 6 pounds down, so who cares - but I did a little. SO there's the good news - down 6 pounds! YAY! I guess I've just been shuffling within the same 5 pounds for a while so I was hoping to break that barrier. Hopefully it will happen next week. I did feel better this last week with my eating and I've been out for a run/walk at least 4 times in the last 7 days - pretty good.
Today I brought my clothes to run at lunch and of course it's gray and ugly outside. I'm hoping it will clear up enough, or I'll be hitting the treadmill after the kiddo goes to bed tonight. I LOVE running in my new Vibrams. It feels awesome running "almost" barefoot. The new stride takes some getting used to - it's hard for me to lead with my toes - I've always been so heavy footed on my heels. I can tell a difference in my knees when I do it right, though.
I think for now the plan will be to run every other day and then on my "off" days I'll do a P90X DVD. I'm not ready to hit P90X every day, but doing the core workout or the weight workouts every other day will help keep me moving.
I'm going to do a 5K in May and I've committed to Muddy Buddy in October. I know I can get fit by then.

New topics

I started this particular blog back in 2009 as something to do while I sat in class. I have since graduated school and about 7.5 months ago I gave birth to the cutest baby boy in the world. So now, my big project is labeled "Losing the Baby Weight" and I've decided that this blog will be a place for me to write about how I'm doing, how I feel about where I am, etc. I'm not going to pass this link out and I won't post these updates, but if someone finds it on accident, so be it. My goal is just to have a journal for myself.

This has been my best week since the beginning of the year. I had a hard time getting serious about things, but this week I've just been taking it a day at a time. My food intake has been better and I've actually done a little walk/run twice this week, which plans to go again tonight. I'm excited about the time change this weekend - I'm hoping that it will help me get outside to run at night, since the sun will be out longer. After a pretty good 5-6 days, I was down 4 pounds this morning. I don't OFFICIALLY weigh until Monday, but I was excited to see the needle moving the other way. My current goal is that when I lose 10 pounds, I get to have a hamburger and fries. I know that every diet advocates a cheat meal/day every week, but that's never worked for me. I just turn EVERY day into a cheat day. So I will have cheat days every 10 pounds and my current craving is a cheeseburger and fries. I'm going to hit the treadmill at the gym tonight and try to keep up the walk/run every other day for a while. I'm slowly upping my run ratio so that in a few weeks I may be able to put a couple of miles together. My goal for that is a small 5K in May that I'm hoping to run with the kiddo. I will be nice to have a bib safety-pinned to my shirt again.

That's it for today.