Running (or at least walking very quickly) Behind!

This was just one of those weeks when my blogging schedule, which has never been exactly set in stone, just got away from me completely.

It was a mixed bag this week for walks. Some went a whole lot better than I thought they might, others were disappointing for no reason I can really figure out. I keep exacting records on all sorts of things that might affect me when I'm out there, and do tons of research and then reflect on what seemed to work well for me and what didn't (and try to keep doing the things that worked!), but there are just some days when you cannot account for lousiness.

As one of my sons is fond of saying, "Whatevs."

Anyway. Let's talk socks.

My favorite socks EVER (thanks to the suggestion of a super athlete friend and her husband in Oregon, who clued me in on these things) are WrightSocks. They are thin, and have a wonderful double thickness that allows for wicking away the sweaties, while the other layer "moves" with the shoe. This nearly eliminates friction, and I have never ever had a blister (even in brand new shoes) nor a hot spot when I've worn them.The only downsides -- and these are pretty significant -- I seem to bust through the area around the great toe pretty quickly and they are not available anywhere locally that I've been able to find. The benefits so outweigh those other issues. They don't come cheap. You have to understand that I'm the sort of person who likes to buy bags o' socks for $4.99, so paying as much for one pair of socks as I usually pay for a haircut is painful.

But honey? When your feet hurt, you just flat can't look pretty, so really -- what's the better investment?

Anyway.

I also love Thorlos socks, which were the very first fancy socks I started using, when my super-athlete friend from New Jersey sent me a pair. They are chunky socks, and took a little getting used to, but since I've had a nagging issue with pain in my forefeet the generous padding is quite helpful, as it keeps me from saying OW with every footfall. They are available locally, but again with the price! Egad.

This past Saturday, on one of my long walks, I felt a little sting on my right heel. It felt like my Thorlos had slipped down my heel, and I knew if I didn't fix it quickly I'd be really, really sorry later. I stopped and reached down to pull it up, and RIPPPPPPPPPPPP  -- it broke!

Well, I had a decision to make, and so I kept walking with a very firm idea in my mind that if I got to a predetermined place down the street a bit and it was still hurting I would stop and take my shoe off and walk home. After all, I am not training for the Olympics or anything, and I'm not really on board with that whole "pain" thing.

Lo and behold, my foot felt fine when I reassessed, so I just kept on pluggin' away until I had put the mileage on that I wanted to claim for Saturday.

Got home, and continued my cool down and hydrating while I ate a banana and checked my e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, AND now Google+.   (It's a good thing nobody actually expects me to be anywhere most of the time.)

Hopped in the shower and ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWIE discovered that I had, if not the mother of all blisters on the back of that foot, at least her ugly stepsister.

It's a good thing I was in the shower. And that nobody else was home. I said things -- loudly -- that might have been misunderstood.

I am glad to say that I doctored it up the best I could, and even took my Sunday Stroll the next morning....

.... in a pair of WrightSocks with hole-y toes.

I thought that was fitting.

***

Monday, July 18

Total Distance: 5.43 miles

Total Time: 1:23:11

Pace: 15:19 per mile

Tuesday, July 19
Rest Day

Wednesday, July 20


Total Distance: 4.48 miles
Total Time: 1:06:25
Pace: 14:50 per mile

Thursday, July 21


Total Distance: 4.82 miles
Total Time: 1:11:17
Pace: 14:47 per mile

Friday, July 22
Rest Day

Saturday, July 23


Total Distance: 10.3 miles
Total Time: 2:25:34
Pace: 14:08 per mile

Sunday Stroll, July 24  


Total Distance: 3.3 miles
Total Time: 54:18
Pace: 16:27 per mile


***

I have really begun to love doing these Sunday Strolls again. I have decided that they are training for my future. Surely there will be races in years to come that still need balloon ladies to bring up the rear, right?

The balloon lady from last year's half-marathon.

Check out the Sunday play list page if you can. I really have a lot of fun finding links to some of my favorite stuff from these walks. This is off my random iTunes stuff: I'm trying to whittle it down to make it more manageable, and there are always a few that I find myself happily deleting when I'm done. There are also always a few that I have heard a thousand times, but to which I have not really listened in a long time, and that's the most fun part. 

I'd love it if you'd let me know you dropped in, and I hope you'll pass this blog along to anyone you think might be interested!  

By the way..... if either the WrightSock or Thorlos people 

wish to set me up in socks for life, please know this....

I can be bought. 

Jo Dee Messina and Me

I will walk early in the morning.

I will walk in the heat.

I will walk in the cold.

But I won't walk in the wet.

When I started my concerted efforts as a walker I always walked in the afternoons after work, because I am not a morning person. It got really, really hot that first summer I was doing this, though, and I was forced to make a decision: quit walking outside, do all my walking on a treadmill in an air-conditioned place, or get up earlier and walk before it got truly horrid.

I did the treadmill thing at our local Y's Up for a while and found it interesting in its own way but an utter bore. It also made it way too easy to quit before I got over that "hump" where you think you have nothing left, and then find that, indeed, you do. When you are out in the neighborhood walking, you kind of have to keep going to get home, and while needing to have that reason to keep going might be seen as a crutch I'm unapologetic about needing to have it. 

Another test of my resolve came this winter. Last winter, if the morning temperatures were 45 or below, I did not go outside to walk. I would head to the treadmills. This winter we had to give up our membership to the Y when my husband lost his job, so I was faced with another decision: quit walking until spring, or suck it up, layer like the world depended on it, and get out there and try.

And I did. And I discovered I love love love walking in the cold weather. I went out one morning when it was 19 degrees, and did decide that 20 would my personal cut-off point, though.  I have the ugliest compression/warm pants in the history of textiles and when I put those and my other cold weather layers on I feel like an Arctic Warrior. I also discovered that I don't really care what I look like when I'm out there since I don't have to see myself. Why it took me 53 years to hit on that bit of brilliance I will never understand.

So yesterday morning when I discovered it was a bit misty outside I thought about ditching but decided to give it a go and was surprised to find I was quite disappointed when it stopped. I got home and began polling friends who are serious about this stuff about what they do when it's raining outside -- what clothes? what precautions?  This would all be helpful to know in case there is rain on on October 1, because one thing I have learned for sure and certain is brilliance of this motto:

PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN.

~~ My Daddy

I spent free time yesterday Googling for answers, tips, suggestions, and as I went to bed last night, with the suggestion of rain in the morning forecast, I began to channel Sister Jo Dee Messina....

And guess what?

A light drizzle does not exactly a rain make, but it was more than a mist, and it got ambitious a time or two and teetered on the fence of true wetness. It lasted the entire time I was out, and I was pretty wet when I got home. I did not melt, and now I find myself hoping for a real rain, just to test myself up against it.

I never seem to stop having to learn the lesson that when I change my can't to won't I give myself the opportunity to go from won't to might was well try all the way to yes, I do. 

***

Yesterday's Walk 

Total Distance: 8.11 miles

Total Time: 2:00:53

Pace: 14:54 per mile 

Today's Walk

Total Distance: 2.89 miles

Total Time: 47:12

Pace: 16:20 per mile

** Check out the tab for my Sunday Stroll playlists! **

Bat Wings and Mockingbirds

I took a day off from walking yesterday to make sure that the issues from Wednesday were fully resolved. It's important to take a day off from almost any exercise endeavor at least once a week, and if you are really pushing the limits, two days isn't unheard of.

I don't push the limits. I generally take one off day a week - sometimes planned, sometimes just because - and I usually allow one day for just enjoying a leisurely walk. If you are really good at listening to your body, and you need to work on that all the time, by the way, you'll know when and why is right for you.

My day begins when my iPhone alarm goes off at 5:15. I scramble for it, and hit the weather icon to see what's what out there. Depending on what I see (Raining? Too hot? Too cold?) I decide whether to ignore it and go back to sleep, or spring out of bed when the I'm Serious About This alarm sounds again at 5:25.

Well, this morning, I peeked at the weather and it said 71 degrees and overcast, and I couldn't wait to get out there. The rain we've had these last few day - yippee! - had worked to make things more bearable out there.

Of course, when I got out of bed when the second alarm went off, feeling certain this would be the best morning out of the whole year so far, I glanced at the icon again, and realized it was 77 degrees.

Perhaps those of us who require reading glasses to tie their shoes need a weather app 

that reads the temperature to us. Aloud. Very, very aloud.

I sighed a deep sigh, and got all ready to go out anyway, and although it was that hot there were some wonderfully cool breezes that whipped up just often enough to make things bearable. Between the overcast skies and those little grace notes, it was a good walk.

Oh. The Bat Wings and Hummingbirds.

There were a whole boatload of people out this morning walking and/or running, most of whom were of the feminine persuasion, none of whom could shop in the junior department without somebody rolling their eyes at us. To all of us, I say GO GIRL!, but also this.....

... when those breezes began to blow, we were all so in need of some relief you began to see us lifting our arms to take full advantage, sort of like you see mockingbirds do?.

... except we did it with our bat wings.

******

Today's Walk

Distance: 5.67 miles

Total Time: 1:20:44

Average Pace: 14:14 per mile

(Intervals.... jogged a total of 10:30) 

Advice from Mr. Fields?

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again.

Then quit.

There's no use being a damn fool about it. 

~~ W. C. Fields.

I went out this morning with the intention of doing some intervals over the same route I took yesterday. I decided to use my long-time favorite tracking app -- MapMyWalk -- since I made some adjustments on my iPhone (per their advice) to accommodate some changes they had made. 

I was delighted to see a full-on green light from the GPS, but for some reason my music would not load. Well, fine. I thought I'd see how things went without it so I could add some informed thoughts to the music/no music debate. 

About a half mile or so in I really wasn't feeling great. I wasn't sick, I wasn't hurting, I just couldn't get "invested" in my original agenda. Fine - I'm all about going with the flow -- let's press on.

Having decided to ditch my plan I opted to vary the route a bit, too, just for funsies. At 1.5 miles in, I really, really began to realize that my legs were feeling unreliable, and that I was having trouble with my mind wandering. This is not a good combination. At all.  

I took the next half mile or so more slowly, just to see if I couldn't get my mind and body to get over their feud and play together nicely, but it just wasn't happening.

You might be expecting me to say, then, that I quit, but I didn't. I chose to stop. 

There is a huge difference, and if you've ever spent more than an hour with me, you will know how deeply I believe words matter, how much I believe the ones we use either empower us or dishearten us. 

Was it the cumulative effect of several days of crazy-high humidity? Not having my music?  I think it might have been a combination of both, and probably a million other little things I won't even think about.  Whatever is was, I put some time and effort out there this morning, and that counts.

It's okay to stop, but don't you ever quit.

Today's walk:

Distance: 2.63 miles

Time: 38:16

Pace: 14:33 per mile

Yesterday's walk:

Distance: 4.94 miles

Time: 1:13:06

Pace: 14:48 per mile

My 180 Life

One Thought

My Daddy ran. My Mama played tennis. My brothers played baseball, basketball, football. My sister was always on the move doing something or other. I mostly sat around and read stuff like the encyclopedia, or the dictionary, or, in a pinch, the telephone book. I was not inclined to move when it wasn't necessary -- a conserver of energy, if you will.

The running joke in the family was that whatever task might need doing, if it involved sweat you might as well not call on me. Some would say it wasn't really a joke so much as truth. 

I'm still pretty lazy, when you get right down to it. I accept this about myself. It's a sign of maturity.

Another Thought

There are certain scents from my childhood that make me very happy, and remind me of people I loved. One of those is that of Estee Lauder's Youth-Dew, which my Nannaw wore all the time. 

So much did I associate my Nannaw with this fragrance, that when my own granddaughter was born I decided I should start wearing perfume again: just pick a fragrance and wear it always so that when she picked up the slightest whiff of it even years after I'm gone, she might remember me and smile.

I've never quite gotten around to that. I'm just not a perfume kind of girl. I prefer unscented everything. Well, that's no help. It will be very hard for Rosemary to get all teary-eyed from memories of her sainted Grandmama only when something has no scent at all. 

On the other hand.... we keep her frequently on the weekends, and while her Pop fixes her some breakfast, I'm out on my walk. It's always great to see her sweet face light up when I come in the back door, and she loves for her Grandmama to pick her up and give her a big squeeze. 

When I got in from my walk this morning, I realized that she will grow up with a scent memory from me. 

You just can't bottle this stuff. 

Today's Walk

Total Distance: 4.3 miles

Total Time: 1:03:43

Avg Time Per Mile: 14:49

Pace: 4.1 mph

Hot Stuff

It ain't the heat, it's the humility. ~~ Yogi Berra

I wasn't sure this morning's longer distance would happen. 

The misery index (temp + dewpoint) was in a range I have

regarded as my "no go" zone, which is 150, but was at 151 when I struck out.

But how do you know if you don't try?

Particularly for these distance walks in the heat, I have a list of rules to which I adhere:

Enough water goes with to get me through the first hour.

There is Gatorade waiting for me at home in the beer fridge on the back porch for the second hour. If, when I stop by to get it, I'm woozy AT ALL, that's it. 

First hour is walked on the less shaded part of my long route. Second hour is full of shaded streets.

Plenty of places along that second stretch that would be safe for me to stop and ask for water or help (lots of friends in that neighborhood), and most importantly, my phone is always with me -- and for these long walks, my husband keeps his cellphone on and with him every minute I'm gone. 

As an aside, here are the two most important apps I have on my phone (other than my GPS, of course).  Even if the only walking you ever do is from the den to the kitchen and back, you should have these, too.  

See that one in the top left corner, called "Him?" All I have to do is hit that and it calls my husband automatically. (There is also a "Her" app if that's more appropriate.) Not only does this mean that, in an emergency, I don't have to fool with typing anything at all, it would also give an astute rescuer some idea that perhaps that's an important person to call if I'm in no shape to give information. 

Right next to it is the ICE app. That stands for IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, and it is my understanding that EMS know to look for that. The screen that pops up when you open it has my name, my emergency contact's name and number, an indication that I am an organ donor, and a list of any allergies I have to drugs or food. The second screen provides information about existing medical conditions, current medications, health insurance, primary care physician contact information, and information about whom to contact regarding my advance directive/living will information. 

I learned the hard way that these apps can be potentially lifesaving, and you need to have them if you have a smartphone. (We also learned at that same time how important it was for your personal "Him" or "Her" to have their phone with them when you are out....)

Ahem.

ANYWAY....

All of my safety measures were followed. I thought to bail after the first hour, but after getting my Gatorade and taking a couple swigs while slowing my pace a bit, I decided to press on. I did really well all the way up to the last mile, when there was no shade at all, and no breeze, and the sun was bearing down with what felt like a personal vendetta. I knew I only had about a mile to go to get home, and that I would be passing at least 4 houses where I knew folks and would feel very comfortable stopping if I needed to, so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. 

My mantra was, "I can stop at Wilbur's... I can stop at Dorothy's... I can stop at Pamela's... I can stop at Gail's..." As I passed each of those homes I took an honest assessment of how I was and pressed on, until I got home.

That's just the way I rolled today.

Distance: 9.32 miles
Time: 2:16:42
Avg Pace: 14.4 minute mile
Avg Speed: 4.1 mph


Misery Factor at start: 151
Misery Factor at finish: 163

Don't sweat the petty things, 
and don't pet the sweaty things. ~ George Carlin

A Mile (or so) In My Shoes

There are two very important things I should tell you right here and now:

1.  I am obsessed to a certain degree with exactitude where my times and distances are concerned.

2.  This is my father's fault.

The man has a spreadsheet for everything. Somewhere in his house are all the records from all his runs, back in the days when he ran nearly every day. When he was recuperating from the stroke he had 20 years ago and was having to learn to walk again, and then having to build up endurance literally a foot at a time, he recorded the distance he traveled on the driveway of his home every day -- and logged it into an Excel Spreadsheet. Seeing proof in black and white of your progress is a tremendous motivator.

When I first started out walking regularly for exercise I would drive to Vaughn Road Park (less than 2 miles from my house, and to which I now walk), and the only way I tracked my progress was by how many laps of that .6 mile track I covered. I was relying on the signs in the park that measure the distance, you understand.

At some point during those early days, I invested in a pedometer, and after my husband helped me calibrate it (which is the most important -- and easiest -- part of the process) I checked it out by heading to the park and doing a loop. I about cried when the pedometer read .57 miles. 

I cannot tell you the laughter that ensued when I shared with my online support group at Weight Watchers how annoyed I was that I would have to do the calibration all over again. I came to my senses, realized that I was going to have to let go of at least a measure of my obsession, and get on with it.

This is the Omron HJ-112.
There is nothing overly fancy about it, but it does what it is supposed to do. Accurately. You need one. You will thank me for telling you this. They've added a calories burned field since I bought mine. Hmmm.....  You might shop around for this, though. Manufacturer's sites are almost never the best way to buy anything, seems to me.

Fast forward a little bit to the day my son finally talked me into buying an iPhone, which led to a new hobby: downloading GPS apps! I've used several, but my favorite right now is this one:

What I love about it is that I have several different playlists on my iPhone -- most not for exercising. I have a playlist for when I want to go a bit faster, and one for longer walks where my pace is more moderate but I still like a little speed spurt. All other apps I had tried would only shuffle using your ENTIRE iPod library. This one allows you to choose a playlist and shuffle the music only with it. (We'll talk about the music/no music while exercising debate some other time.)

What I do not love about this is that there is no "walk" option for reporting updates to social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and I found myself feeling like I had to explain all the time that no, I didn't RUN 5 miles. Okay, so that isn't really a major problem, but it's a little irksome. 

And I discovered this week yet another drawback to it -- more substantial this time.

Unless you work for military intelligence or the Secret Service, or can afford a gazillion dollar personal GPS, it is probably never going to be entirely accurate. That's just a given. I'm not talking big variances, but just enough so that my Distance Calculation Zen wasn't disturbed. This week, though, there was considerable fog and cloud cover one morning, and the GPS dropped a fairly good portion of my walk -- like almost the entire loop of Vaughn Road Park. That's cool -- other apps I had used would allow you to edit your map online if that happened -- but not Nike. I don't like guessing. 

The next morning, I strapped on my Omron, and re-walked that exact route with no "intervals/jogs" since the pedometer is not calibrated for the shorter stride those necessitate for me. Problem solved, but it wasn't exactly the easiest solution. 

The most fun thing about this app, though, is a feature called "Cheers." You can post to your social media outlets that you are heading out on a run, and when people hit the like button or comment you hear, through your iPhone, cheers from a crowd! It really was fun, but it's a feature I decided not to use for each walk, reserving it now only for those LONG treks where it's nice to have something to break the monotony.

That's probably enough about all of this for today. Lots of folks just drive their cars to measure distance, and some folks just measure time, and some just get out there and could care less about either. There is no wrong approach to this.

***

WALKS THIS WEEK

Monday: 4.63 miles

Time: 1:08:49

Pace:14.52 minute mile 

Tuesday: 5.55 miles

Time:  1:24:41

Pace: 15.15 minute mile

Wednesday: 3.84 miles (intervals)

Time: 54:13

Pace: 14.07 minute mile

Thursday: 3.84 miles

Time: 57.01 

Pace: 14.51 minute mile

Friday: Day off in preparation for distance walk tomorrow.

Guilt Free Potato Salad

Today's walk was all about "earning" a little extra 

holiday BBQ, potato salad, and a cold beer.

Sometimes that's as noble as it gets.

***

Let's talk heat, shall we? I know some really physically fit, long time outdoor exercisers don't find this to be much of an issue, but I am not one of those people. It's important for each person to find a way to decide when to take some extra precautions, or maybe even to opt out of outdoor activities. Suffering heat related illness -- or death -- doesn't just happen to out-of-shape folks. Recently, in fact, Chicago's marathon had to be stopped because of the sheer numbers of participants who were in dire medical need, and one young man who was a trained, experienced runner, died from the effects of the heat.  (Read about this HERE.)

Never be embarrassed to take whatever precautionary measures you need, or which make you more confident out there. Note the temperature, humidity, dewpoint, when you head out and listen to your body. Keep notes for a while about how you feel under different conditions. A guide I've taken to using this summer is one I call the "misery index."  I ran across this formula at this WEBSITE, and I have found it to be really helpful. My rule for myself, thus far, is that I will not start a walk if the Misery Index is 150 or above. For the entire month of June I had as my sole intention to not worry about pace or distance. I just wanted to get my body used to the demands our heat and humidity might place on me. I think my plan has paid off. 

Misery Index at start of walk: 147

Misery Index at end of walk: 153

It is critically important to stay hydrated in this heat. The best investment I have made this summer was for a couple of these.....

This holds 10 oz of liquid. If I am going to be out for an hour or less, I fill it with water. It fits in the hand comfortably, and even has a tiny little pocket for a key or something, and another little pocket on the back if energy gels are something you want to have. (I can't stand them, and frankly, don't really need them for what I am doing.) When I knew it was time to begin to bump up the mileage to prepare for the half in October, I bought a second one, which I fill with an electrolyte-replacing beverage. My big distance walk Saturday provided an opportunity to test the first way of managing the two -- I simply left the Gatorade-filled bottle in the beer fridge on our back porch, and when I had depleted the water out of bottle #1 (about 4 miles in) I made my way back home and made the switch. I'm going to try a couple other approaches in the coming weeks to see what works best.

One very important thing I learned about a hydration bottle was this: see the top of this one? You just pull the cap up, tilt the bottle, and drink. I've tried bottles that you had to squeeze, and those with built in straws. These were horrible for this purpose, although they'd be better than nothing, obviously.

Anyway... today's walk accomplished, and now it's on to good food, and good times!

***

Today's Walk:

Total miles: 4.63

Total Time: 1:08:49

Average Pace: 14:50 per mile 

Just a Sunday Stroll

After yesterday's big walk I knew I was going to take a rest day today, but we've been pretty much cooped up in the house all day and I needed a little mental health break. I've been doing laundry all day (after getting the potato salad for tomorrow finished), and nothing is much more soul-sucking to me than doing laundry. 

I got the Old Guy to go with me, and we just took a little 30 minute look-see around the neighborhood, admiring some of the pretty yards, enjoying the sounds of lots of kids playing outside (what a concept!), and savoring the aromas coming from lots of different grills all over the place. Crisp new American flags are out, and there was just enough of a breeze out there to get them moving just enough to look like so many neighborly waves.

Not every walk has to have a Big Purpose. I forget how much I enjoy strolling without a goal in mind, but I did want to try out an iPhone app that I loaded some time back (it was free) just to see how it worked. 

I can't help it. I blame it on my father, who never met a gadget he didn't like. 

***

iPhone app used: Runkeeper

Distance: 1.85 miles

Time: 31:02 minutes

Pace: 16:48 min/mile

***

It's my own space, my own time, 

when I'm just out there letting my thoughts go. 

It's a part of my day like eating, and it's one of my

favorite parts.   ~~   Louise Kent, runner

Lots of thoughts went through my head this morning while I was out on my walk, one of which seemed more persistent than all the others: I am not a runner. While I break into a jog occasionally, and sometimes sprint just for the wake-up it provides, I am a walker. 

I used to be a sofa sitter, but I am now a walker. 

I used to look at runners with the idea that if I couldn't do that, what was the point? Now I look at runners, and think, "Good for you! I'm having a great time doing what I'm doing, too!"

Most runners don't give walkers much respect. That's been my experience, anyway. Heck -- I catch myself way too often saying that I just walk, which conjures images of strolls around the block where you stop and chat with neighbors. 

When I decided to transition my walking reports from Facebook to another format that only those interested would see if they wanted to, one of my friends said this:

I liked seeing your posts. I hoped that sooner or later I would be inspired

to move more myself. Knew I'd never match your dedication, but 

might at least get off the couch." ~~ CRH

Well, that set me to thinking about something that's played around the back of my mind for awhile. When I decided to start walking I discovered there was very little love out there on the internet for those of us who want to bump up those strolls to challenge ourselves a little bit, either by going a bit faster, or a bit farther, or both. Most of what information is out there for pedestrian sports is geared to runners, and we walkers tend to have to figure out how to filter that for our needs.

I hope that will change, but until it does, this little blog o' mine will serve, I hope, as inspiration to GET OFF THE COUCH, and as a place where you can ask questions and I can be challenged to find answers.

When I decided I needed to do something, and I was taking a walk and thinking, as I was huffing and puffing, that surely the block around which I walked must have been at least a mile. It was a little less than a quarter of that distance, of course, and I had to rest the next day to recover. And, by the way, that was AFTER I had lost most of my weight -- so that had nothing to do with it.

When, many many months later I was seriously looking at participating in a half-marathon as a walker, I looked back on those early weeks and was -- rightly -- proud of myself. My first paces were in the 20 + minute mile range. That's a solid range for somebody getting off the sofa for the first time, and even if you never get faster than that, you have my respect, because you are not giving up on yourself.

It is never about beating anybody else's time or distance. It's just about beating the voice in your head that says you can't do this. 

So, I'll say this here as plainly as I can. I could be a runner, if I wanted to be one. Right now, that's not what I want to do. Right now, it's enough that walking brings me satisfaction, and peace, and a sense of accomplishment. 

You do not have to be a runner to have the spirit of an athlete. 

You just have to get up.

***

Today's Walk

Distance: 9.19 miles

Pace: 14min58second/mile

Total time: 2:17:39

Please let me know you've visited!

Fast Food

 Let's just get this out of the way first. 

Another blog? And worse than that.... another "restarted" blog?

Yes. Here's why. I am, admittedly, more motivated to stick with my exercise stuff (which right now includes walking/wogging*) if I know somebody's watching. Sue me. 

I'd been putting my stats up on Facebook, but had a feeling folks were getting weary of seeing that there every day. That's fine -- I get it, because I have felt the same way about the robo-quotes or Farmville, or various and sundry things that my friends post regularly, too. Some of these things you can hide without hiding everything a person posts, but I found out recently that not everybody knows how to do that. 

While I understand that it's entirely possible that it's the entirety of my life that bores my friends enough to hide me (and I'm okay with that -- in fact, I'm okay if you want to trim me from your list altogether. I promise I'll still like you in person), there are a couple of friends who have been wonderful cheerleaders along the way, keeping this FFG ** working hard, and they have asked me recently where my reports are.

SO -- here's a happy medium. I will post this blog a couple times in the public arena (Facebook/Twitter). If you are interested at all in this aspect of my life, subscribe. If you aren't -- that's fine, too. 

Now. That's out of the way, so on to today's report. 

First, June was hot as Hades, and I realized early on that I needed to back WAY off and just get used to the wall of heat and humidity. I set a goal to maintain a 15 minute/mile pace. I'm really happy to report the following stats for June:

Total Miles: 85.93 (21 hours, 30 minutes)

Average Pace: 15:01 minutes/mile

So, yay me a little.

Here we are in July. It's still hot, still oppressively humid in places and times, but I am getting used to it a bit, have my little handheld hydration bottles (more about those in another post), and it's time to set a new goal. I hope to put at least 95 miles under my feet this month, and to maintain an average pace of 14:30 minutes. My plan is to do shorter "speed" outings a couple days a week and to begin to ratchet up the distances at least every other Saturday.

Ooh. It felt kind of good to write that out. 

And what, exactly, does Fast Food have to do with all this?

This morning, I was totally in a good zone. I knew I was putting a nice pace out there, felt more confident pushing a little bit more. During my own personal Rocky moment (right in the middle of a speed interval that I was maintaining a little longer than I'd planned), with my mouth open to maximize oxygen intake, I ran through a gnat convention on Wiley Road.

On the bright side, it helped me get my morning quota of protein in with very little effort.

That's it. Most entries here will not be this long. Lots of stuff I wanted to get out of the way.

Thanks for reading!

* Wog = walk+jog intervals 

** FFG = Former Fat Girl