nycmermaid | Entries tagged with exercise

I did it! I completed my first 5K without stopping! I just checked the website this morning and am thrilled to learn my time was 32:12. That's actually incredible because someone asked before the race what my time goal was, and I said 35 minutes! It wasn't about time for me, obviously, but about finishing without stopping. And I did it! And you know, it wasn't even as bad as I thought. There was never a moment during the race where I actually thought I might not finish. It wasn't easy, but it was totally manageable. The greatest moment for me was actually that first mile marker, because when it came up I couldn't believe how good I still felt. Last year I slowed to a walk just a little way past that first mile marker, and picked up again later in the race. And once I passed the second mile marker, stopping was not an option. I was not going to quit that late in the game!

Yesterday I told myself that as long as I completed this race, I never *have* to run again. :b But now that I know I can do it, and without too much struggling, it would be silly to stop. I'm not saying I'm going to be a marathon runner. But it would be nice to run a 5K with a goal of how fast I can do it, rather than if I can do it at all.

I'm running in the American Heart Association Wall Street Run & Heart Walk again this year, and I'm still looking for sponsors. I hate soliciting for donations, but I have a very modest goal, so anything you could give would be great. The website unfortunately doesn't let you donate less than $25, but if you want to donate less, you can donate offline.

The link to my personal page is here.

Last year I did the run for the first time, with very little training, and though I didn't run the entire course (I did about a third - but that was without music!) I felt exhilarated upon finishing. This time I have been training more, and have even done 5K on the treadmill a few times. I don't know if I'll be able to run the entire 5K this year, but I'm sure as hell gonna try!

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Current Mood: determined

I did 3.1 miles today! Yes it was on a treadmill. With 1.0 incline. But it felt really, really good. So much of what makes it hard is psychological, I think. And having good songs come up on shuffle helps a lot too. I tried to only let myself look at the mileage at the end of each song. Looking at that thing, or trying not to look at it and then seeing you've gone half what you thought you did, can be deadly. But yay! It's a new personal record.

Then I came home and made a quiche with the leftover pie crust from the apple pie I made for my family last weekend. Hey, it evens out! :p

To do this weekend: knit. veg. shop if I feel like it. Make red cabbage dish for the healthy taste fair we're having at work on Monday. And on Sunday, hike Breakneck Ridge!

Current Mood: accomplished

- Killed a roach

- Ran 3 miles

- Bought 3 pairs of jeans on sale

Did I mention I RAN 3 MILES???? I'm so proud of myself. That's practically a 5K. Me, who used to believe I just wasn't cut out to run at all. I don't have any fantasies of running a marathon, but I'd love to enter a real 5K race now and actually be able to run all of it. Go me!

Then I went to the mall, where I'm pretty sure the peaches on my froyo were spoiled, but ate them anyway because I wasn't sure, and now I'm hoping they won't come back to haunt me. Didn't find boots or a coat but did buy skinny jeans.

cynima's birthday party is tonight, and I'm really looking forward to it. I've got a new outfit and everything.

Tomorrow (if I can get up for it after partying tonight): The New York Sheep and Wool Festival. I've never been and am going with some coworkers for a beautiful fall day in upstate NY, with lots of sheep, alpacas, rabbits, and temptation to buy yarn.

Current Mood: pleased

With the weather being as dreary and rainy as it was today I wasn't feeling particularly jazzed for the AHA Heart Run/Walk this evening. I signed up as a runner many months ago when I was starting my Machu Picchu training. Soon after I realized that I was better off on the Stairmaster than running, so I haven't been training to run a 5K. But I went with my colleague Loni to the runners side anyway. She's an experienced runner, and as soon as we started she was way ahead of me. I didn't have very high expectations for myself -- really I was only expecting to make it maybe half a mile before slowing to a walk. But I continued to run without stopping several blocks after the first mile marker. That alone is a major accomplishment for a non-runner like me. I continued to alternate running and speed walking the rest of the way, and I ran the length of the home stretch along the Hudson River. Near the end were a bunch of kids cheering us on and holding their hands out, high-fiving us as we passed. When I crossed that finish line, they were playing Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell." I was so happy I could have cried. I've always heard about endorphin highs from exercise, but I didn't think I'd ever really experienced one, till tonight! I know I didn't run the entire course. But just the fact that I tried means so much to me. It even makes me want to do another!

On the way home this song started playing in my head for no reason. It's the song the grandma sings in Pippin. I especially love this part:

I've never wondered if I was afraid
When there was a challenge to take
I never thought about how much I weighed
When there was still one piece of cake
Maybe it's meant the hours I've spent
Feeling broken and bent and unwell
But there's still no cure so heaven-sent
As the chance to raise some hell

Current Music: Pippin OBS - No Time At All

Just got back from the gym, where I ran on the treadmill for longer than I ever have before! Not really fast, but I think I beat my own personal record. And I didn't feel like dying. My hip twinged a little, not that much, and it doesn't hurt at all right now. Maybe it's the anti-inflammatory meds the doctor has put me on. They're like super Aleve. My hip has been hurting less, I think, though it hasn't completely gone away. The doctor said I should let him know how I feel mid-week. He's hesitant to subject me to an X-ray unless it's really necessary. I just want to stop worrying about it.

Saturday was my first training day at the CP Zoo. It was fun! The Zoo is a really nice place. Small, everything close together, but really nice exhibits and lots of animals to see. I'm really looking forward to learning about the animals and learning the "chats" we'll be giving to visitors. Volunteers are the ones who stand there and tell you facts about the animals while you're watching the zookeepers feed the animals, and they lead tours. There were lots of cute little kids at the zoo too. There's something really special about watching a child encounter a real polar bear for the first time, or come face to face with a bird bigger than its head. :) I suspect the place is especially pleasant in the winter, when it isn't that crowded. And I got to feed a sheep. The children's zoo has pot-bellied pigs! Next week I think I'll take some pictures.

Speaking of next week, only 4 more days till Nathan's here! I will feel a little bad having to wake up early Saturday morning to go to the zoo, and I will probably be leaving him to sleep in. He can meet me for lunch. I am really looking forward to that!

Last night my whole family went to Denise's for her Super Bowl Party. We missed the turn for the Palisades Parkway and what should have been no more than a 45-minute trip ended up taking 2 hours. Sheesh. Luckily, we didn't kill each other, and we left early enough that all we missed was the anthem. There were lots of snacks and lots of little Cowface Flutie and Tom Petty sang "I Won't Back Down" and one football guy through the ball a loooooong way to another football guy, and that guy caught the ball and didn't drop it even when people jumped on him. Even I could tell that was an exciting thing. And the score went back and forth just enough to keep the game exciting, and the New York Giants won, and everyone (well, everyone I care about) was happy and it was good. :)

Current Mood: happy

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Just a very bad wizard.

Entries tagged with exercise

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November 2013

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