I think whether due to holidays, or just life, we have all found ourselves not quite hitting our target lately (whether nutrition, exercise, daily activity level, etc), but are definitely committed to doing better. So I thought today's threadstarter might apply to a few of us. Plus, puppies!


Today is a scheduled home workout day with no run. Also first day back at school for son. I'll be getting today's exercise a little at a time throughout the day (a squat set here, a lunge set there, etc). Probably DH will pick up son because it's too cold to get lil girl out for no reason. That's it. A relatively easy day for me with runs scheduled for the next two days (so fingers crossed for dry streets).

Have a good one!

Aprilfoolbride wrote: »

Sherry, can you see me?!?!.

I do see you! Well, I "read you". Why?



Well, it sounds like lots of good intentions being challenged by circumstances and everyone trying their best to stick to it. Doesn't it always seem like right when you get really determined to make improvements, that the Universe sends little challenges our way (such as work lunches and dinners and temptations and the like)? Good job sticking with it and with accountability check-ins!

April, great job on the steps and the recumbent bike!


So my day got wrecked when DH called in the last minute to say I'd have to pick son up. So I raced around pulling together enough layers for me and lil girl to go out (neither of us have winter coats). Then DH met us at the school anyway (?!?) and when we got home he monopolized my entire afternoon and night with some trip planning and other looooooo....ooooooooo..oooooong discussions. Phewee! So no leg workout, but I did some walking/pacing in the living room during our convo, to get some steps at least. Heard Sunday is going to be warmer (60's), so I'll probably make my long run Sun instead of Sat. I'll hit the gym Sat before a meetup we have planned. Tomorrow just a normal slow run. Well, that's the plan anyway.

Jen, I started running around April 2013. I was going to do C25k, but stopping to walk was no good for me, so I just took it slow. Things didn't really take off for me until I got out of the half mile loop at the park and started running around the city. I fell in love. I had many starts and stops due to vacations etc, but by Fall 2013 I started a goal to progress distance. By Spring 2014 I was getting 8-10 miles sometimes, but I was also having some pain. By Summer, I went to USA and went to a proper running store and learned my shoes were a couple sizes too small!!! I knew they were small because I can't get my size in Greece, but I didn't think it was THAT bad. July 5th I ran a very nice 10 mi, but the pain of my calves and Achilles just became unbearable by then and I worried I could do permanent damage. I ran some more 5 mi with walk breaks that Summer in the US. August was on an island and no running and I discovered how those small shoes forced my calves into constant stress and finally understood my problems. I tried a few times to do 5k and maybe once tried 10k in September, but by Sep 19, I was done. I needed to stop completely til healed. I planned to start back January, small distance at a time (even though I really want to do 5milers). Then Laura reminded me of heart rate training, which I'd tried in the Spring and hadn't liked but was considering trying Sept...but with all my problems I totally forgot. It basically is an aerobic function building program that can also help to condition the body too, to help against injury. So I basically run about as slow as I usually walk, lol, according to a heart rate zone. Over time, my speed should progress within that zone. The catch is that any anaerobic work will impede progress. Since I'm not doing any hiit like workouts, only my weight routine is anaerobic, but I read a guy online who continued his upper body strength and switched lower body weight routine to endurance level, so that's what I've done. From what I understand, the lactate flooding the muscle has smthg to do with it (thus the lower body workout being kept easier, in the endurance range), but also the use of glycogen (doing anaerobic) instead of fat. Since the upper body is small, I don't think I'd use that much glycogen during my workout, so as to totally ruin my program. Anyway, the running is so easy that I can go farther than I was planning and my ankles don't hurt...it just takes much longer. The thing is, it's important for people to "just run" in the beginning, because if they had to worry about all this crap they'd probably never start, but the truth is that running is not that simple and a lot of people get injured because of the "just run" mentality. But, if you fall I love like I did, you find yourself educating yourself and determined to "do what it takes".

Sorry for the novella! Lol!

Oh yeah, I'm not really interested in races, but might like to run in the Athens Classic Marathon which follows the original path from Marathon to Athens someday, as a bucket list type thing.