back to work

I know.....

and this happens EVERY SINGLE YEAR.....but I forget how exhausted I am at the start of the school.....

on the first day, we were with the kids, the entire day.....I was tired at 11 am, ready for a nap......and there were still 4 more hours.

In hindsight, I should have NOT scheduled runs for the first few days of school. I could barely keep my eyes open on the drive home. I was practically in tears, ready for bed at 6 pm.

Today (Saturday) I finally feel better. After a 2 hour nap, I was ready to go for a run. I was smiling as I ran up and down the hill. My legs were tired on the last mile, but it was a very good run.

the complete opposite

As the title suggests, today was different....shockingly so

back to school (aka teacher meetings) had me setting my alarm at 5:30 am, although I woke up at 4 am, completing my ab routine, and scrambling to get ready, all before 7 am (on summer vacation, this all would happen close to noon)....I arrived at school, nauseous because I took my vitamin without food (definitely a no, no)....in fact I was worried about upchuck (sorry) in the middle of chapel.

meetings and more meetings where instead of lounging in my comfy chair, I was sitting still listening to people, while inspiration, I was having trouble keeping still.

lunch at Asia Manoa was fab, but it meant I was completely full the rest of the day....like uncomfortably so

by the time I returned home (around 4:30 pm), I was completely exhausted....almost to tears at the thought of running. I tried to nap - no luck and as 5:30 pm approached, my mind was racing with excuse after excuse for not to run (I could give myself a hall pass, first day of work and all .......I could walk instead, still exercise.......exactly how far did I really need to run, anyway to count, block to Zippy's?)

I slowly put on my running gear (note to self: my favorite polka dotted sports bar is very visible thru my UnderArmor shirt)
I decided that I would walk, and if I felt like running I would run, but if I didn't, THAT IS OKAY.....at least I was outside.

I VERY slowly walked up the hill to the light with a grimace on my face (normal procedure).....as I crossed the street, I slowly (and I mean really slowly) started to run. I went slow, frightfully so. If someone was behind me, walking, odds were, they might pass. But the point is....THAT I KEPT ON RUNNING. Eventually I warmed up and ran (a bit) faster. On Mondays I always see lots of runners and I made a point to smile at everyone (even the attractive people)....33 minutes later, 3 miles and I have completed a run I didn't think was possible.

Wahoo!

silly me

of course, when I get totally psyched for a run....ready to head out into the cool evening for miles and miles of running....I bonk.

silly me for not hydrating...or having lunch, my fault

Today is my last day of summer vacation and I think I spent the entire day counting down. NOT FUN!

I had some good runs this week. I alternated between 3 miles (slight inclines) and 4 miles (with hill and 30 second light after 23 min). Running is now second nature. There is no gearing up for a run, like before. Where i'd flit around, slowly preparing myself for the torture. I'd dress. Then check my email. Then think about why I run (or really why it be okay not to run today). Then search for my ipod.....eventually head outside. Now, I run. Period.

Today's run was awful. I didn't complete any warm up - just started, after closing the gate. By the time I ran up the small incline (which is steep enough for calves to burn), I was tired and had to slow down. So I skipped the hill. UGH! I ran to the light, took a short break and began running again. Things were better on the flats (maybe the lesson is....when no food, make sure no hills). I did eek out 3 miles. But it certainty didn't feel good.

4 miles, baby!

yep! excellent run today - I felt like I could have kept on going and going and going.....

AND I started looking at my clothes, preparing for first day of school. I fit into all of my pants. wahoo!

food for the day:
breakfast: toast
lunch: 3/4 of a rice/bean burrito
dinner: about to have a wonderful steak salad. Yum!

Ciao

Happy Monday!

wow, I can't believe it has been a week since my last post. Let's catch up!

Last Monday I had to stay up to wait for the arrival of my college roommate, Keisha. As I wrote before, her plane was delayed by six hours and she didn't land until 12:45 am. Tough to stay awake, since I usually go to bed around 10, I had to put in the MOST boring movie to stay awake. I remember circling the airport 4X (because they really don't let you park, even late at night when there was only one flight arriving). Finally, we connected a little after 1 am. Keisha was starving and the only food place open is McD's. Sigh, I couldn't resist the fries (medium), but I didn't eat them all. We watched the movie SWAT (love that Colin Farrell and Jeremy Renner!) and had great fun catching up. It was almost like we were back in our little Central apartment at Duke, hanging out discussing the really important things like why the commercials are so silly. I think I laughed until I cried, several times.

So I am sure I could go into great detail about her stay.....I'll spare you all the boring details and just write the highlights

Tuesday: didn't motivate until 1 pm, went to mall to get some walking shoes (Keisha), late lunch at CPK, crazy full run around 5 pm, watched TV until bed.

Wednesday: didn't motivate until 3 pm (yes, I sense this is a theme, but to be honest I did have a grad school assignment due)....we went for a 2hr run/walk around Diamond Head and went to Whole Foods for dinner, also hit up Blockbuster for the Mechanic (better than expected) and Battle: LA (ummm, good, but wasn't into).

Thursday: up at the crack of dawn to run because heading to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a FULL day of culture. Running in the am was a great experience. It was cool and not many people out exercising (although lots on the road, heading for work). I felt great getting the run out of the way, but I seriously know there is NO WAY I can get up early in the mornings. PCC was awesome. We took the bus to Waikiki, got on the bus at the Sheraton, and met our tour guide Rome, from NZ. As a teacher, I find it incredibly interesting to watch somebody in their element as Rome clearly was. He entertained with stand up/information for about 2 hours. Hilarious! Once at the center we met our tour guide, Sara from Finland and proceeded to head to the different villages to learn. We played with sticks in Aotearoa, watched a guy climb a coconut tree in Samoa, learned hula in Hawaii, made music in Fuji, laughed at the drum performance in Tonga, and much much more. To be honest I was toast (tired) at about 2:30 pm. It was HOT and completely covered in sweat. We still had the canoe pageant, the luau, tram to the Mormon temple, and of course the show. To sum up, food was excellent. At the temple, the guide made sure to approach us to see if we had any questions and to make sure we knew how wonderful the Mormon church was. And finally the show was AMAZING! They wove the story of growing up into the the different islands and then the finale was the fire dancers. Fell asleep on the bus ride back. Didn't get home until 11 pm.

Ok that was more than the highlights, on to Friday

Friday: again didn't motivate until 1 pm. Keisha helped me move all the crap I had outside to the curb for trash pickup. We had lunch at a build your own burger place. Saw Rise of Planet of the Apes (not sure how I feel about this - definitely will be talking about animal testing in class this year). Run at 6:30, super fast broke into the 9 min mile. Dinner at the chinese food place down the block. Back to blockbuster for Resident Evil 4 (ugh! so bad and I actually like the RE series) and Leaves of Grass with Edward Norton (hmmmm, interesting EN was excellent, but movie went in all sorts of directions).

Saturday: up at the crack of dawn for the Farmer's market. Managed to grab the last two lettuce. Yum, breakfast burrito! Watched Something New with Sanaa Lantham (funny!). Nap on couch (forgot to take vitamin) and sadly took Keisha to the airport. Managed to run after completely cleaning the house. So sad that she left, I really had a great time, even if we didn't really do to much.

Sunday: grad school project (final one for this class), short run since I was having technical issues with recording the narration to my PowerPoint

which brings me to today. eek! one week left of summer vacation. I know I should feel happy that I get time off during the summer. Some people only get two weeks of vacation a year. And many schools are already back at school. But I am in a panic about returning to school. I feel like I worked alot, but with nothing to show....and classes begin next Thursday. 3 mile run today - was cruising until the end and with 5 minutes left, I was done.

Well, to sum up.....I am proud to say that I have still run EVERY DAY in Aug. I still have a mental game to get myself outside, but I have run.

you know you are a runner when.....

the wind blows dirt into your eyes....your brain thinks &@#$.......you are blinded....

YET you keep on running!
It was weird, I was in so much pain AND couldn't see a thing, but I plugged along until the pain went away and my vision returned.

So let's update:
I last posted on Thursday and I have run every day since then. Let me just say that again, because it is that impressive. I RAN EVERY FREAKIN DAY! I don't remember the last time I ran on a Saturday or Sunday. This 30 day challenge is keeping me motivated. I'm thinking it is like a baseball streak (go Dan Uggla!). I want it to continue and that is making me lace up those shoes.

Friday's run was the one with the dirt - so it was ok

Saturday's run was in addition to a 60 minute walk to Farmers market, Post Office, and bookstore (hey, I had to pick up September's Issue of Runners World). I convinced myself that a short run was ok, and I had to get back to finish my grad school paper. Sigh, the paper was a struggle as I just couldn't see the larger picture. Intro and main part was really well written, but I had no time for a conclusion. So the paper just ended. I also turned it in about an hour late. Double sigh!

Sunday was when I hit a wall. Around 5 pm, I seriously wanted to take a nap. My body was soooooooo tired. I pulled out all the tricks: I got dressed in my running gear. I weighed myself. I took out clothing that I really hope to wear again. I pulled out the running magazines. Nothing was working. I really just didn't want to go out there and run up that killer hill.

But the streak cannot end!
I put on shoes and walked to the gate. Okay, I can do this. Impulse decision - new running route! Basically I decided that I couldn't handle hills, I needed flat roads. I crossed the street and just started running. I was tired, so I did move slow. But I just improvised as I went. Turn left, use crosswalk, rest at light, go by park, take flat road, wind back to my street. It ended up being a decent run - go figure!

Today was alright as well. I headed uphill towards Diamond Head. The steep incline at the beginning was a challenge (and I had to stop at all the roads because so many cars). But I took each section, one at a time. Slow on the severe downhill. Kept the pace on 18th st - including the uphill by the dog park. I kept plodding along. 30 minutes later and it was OVER!

I am excited about tomorrow. I think I will repeat today and maybe add a little to the end. Only thing I am worried about: my college roommate is visiting (she SHOULD be here by now, but thanks to a mechanic issue, she is currently at LAX, awaiting take-off, 5 hour, almost 6 hour delay). I'll need to take her out - hopefully that won't alter my running schedule too much. I would really prefer not to run in the heat of the day.

Ciao for now - I think I need to take a nap, before Krazy K's arrival!

you know what?

the best part of running is.......the cold G2 (my preference is fruit punch) afterwards. My new routine is to come home, grab the drink + remote, and sit on the floor and watch Around the Horn/PTI.

So it is now Aug 4th and I have run four days in a row. Wahoo!

Yesterday was no fun. I did my 20 minutes to the light, then 6 more minutes, and a 20 minute walk cooldown.

But today was AWESOME! I was distracted by Season 1 of 24 (episode 6, 7 and beginning of 8), so I didn't leave until 5:45 pm. But earlier I had a handful of walnuts which I think provided me with much needed energy. I must have sprinted up the hill (I checked, an amazing 6:28)....it was cool, my body felt good, no shin splits. I reached the light around 19:45 (another milestone). I had to wait a long time for the light, so when I saw the friendly walk sign, I took off and ran another 10 minutes. Wahoo!

Right now, I just feel great and really proud of myself!

so.....

I guess I figured out what my 30 day challenge is......July 21st when I started to think about it, after watching Matt Cutts' Tedtalk......nothing really clicked (learn how to paint?, stop watching TV? no caffeine?) and of course Aug 1st rolls around without me deciding.

So, if I state it here in the blog world (some what publicly, haha! I think I am the only one who reads this), maybe I can keep it up

ok....here goes.....

I will RUN EVERYDAY in August.

Thankfully I ran Aug 1st and today I ran again. Wahoo! Only 28 more days to go - sigh, I must get through friends visiting and the start of school. But only 28 days to go!

Let's talk about today's run. Umm, ugh! I was so excited to run today (ok - I mean excited for me - which means NOT happy at all, just convinced I would run today). I set out around 5:45 pm - the air was nice and cool, the dark clouds seemed to stay away. After about 5 minutes (about 2/3 left to go on THE HILL), I realized that I was winded and this would be no fun. I HATE this mental game. Once I get a negative thought in my head, I can't get it out. I really need to develop a mantra to help. Hmmmm......I think of something later tonight. Anyway, back to the run. I slowed down determined not to stop until the light. Slow, slow, really slowly, I made it in 20 minutes (2.25 miles). But I had nothing in the tank to continue, so I walked for about 20 more minutes. Yay for me for 20 minutes of continuous running, but I really need to run for 3 miles daily.

Tomorrow is a new day. Check ya later!

rainy run, for sure!

ok - weird, it is now Monday and I last wrote on Wednesday.....what happened to the time? I am enjoying my free time so much, that I often have to think about what day it is.

what the hell did I do on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday? (ok - I know what I did all day on Sunday - ugh! - grad school paper. I started at 9 am and worked until 6 pm. I really need to chilax on the assignments, and stop doing so much....I went into the assignment (make a how-to-guide for dance) dreading, but in the end, of course, I was doing research and reading all this extra, but interesting stuff)

Thursday is still a mystery (god, why can't I remember?). Friday, I had to deal with my car - I thought I ran, but the run was not recorded on my ipod, so maybe not? I seem to remember a long walk on Saturday. I had to get to the post office (rent, car registration)....so I decided to do my Diamond Head walk BACKWARDS. It was so weird, but I do recommend changing it up, every once in a while. I strolled through Kahala, because there were no times to beat (i.e. 30 min by the random entranceway, 60 min to the top of Diamond Head). Then I felt much safer on the incline of the hill. It was such a perfect Hawaiian day that I was so glad to be outside.

Today, I waited until the last possible minute (6:15 pm), quickly put on running clothes and headed outside to the darkening clouds over the mountains. Well, sigh, I do love to run in the rain. The plan was to walk and stretch until past the church (about 3 min of running). I seem to do much better, when I walk FIRST. No shin splits. But it started to pour as I turned the corner, so I started to run. It was tough going with the rain, wind, and the fact that I haven't run in awhile, although thankfully it was cool. I wanted to stop at the top of the hill (about 7 minutes in).....but I didn't........I wish, I could say that about the entire run. But I did stop at the halfway mark, my shins were just starting to tighten. I walked back up the hill for a minute, then continued the run downhill. Stopping was a really good idea, because I felt strong and ready to run. I even picked up the pace (aka sprinted) to the light.

Due to the rain, I didn't finish with a 20 minute walk. But I feel like I got a decent workout....and I am ready to go for tomorrow!