I'm happy to report that my pulse and blood pressure have been holding steady inside the normal range. I've been more than religious about sticking to a healthy, clean and low sodium diet and I'm starting to realize the impact of these changes. However, I'm still moving forward with lots of caution and taking it easy to make sure I don't overdo it. Once I see the changes are working and I'm feeling better, it takes more discipline to hold back than it does to "make" myself exercise. I'm learning how to balance out resting, active resting, working out and running to my benefit. Yesterday I did an easy 5 mile run on the treadmill. I have started walking for 5 minutes to warm up and allowing myself time at the end to cool off. I also take at least the first mile very slow and easy. If I'm feeling off in any way I keep it slow and easy. When I feel pretty good I gradually increase and play with my speed. I was pleasantly surprised at how good I...

So I delayed marathon training by one week so it's time to get started. Tomorrow is my official starting date for full marathon training. I am using a 4:1 run/walk interval plan. It's Coach Jenny Hadfield's marathon training plan. It includes 4 running days and 2 cross training days each week with one total rest day. That's going to be my foundation. My 2 cross training days are of course taekwondo nights. Part of my plan includes NOT running on those days. Even when I am having a great day it can be too much too easily. This week I used as sort of a trial week. I set my goal miles (20) and tried to achieve them without overdoing it. You know what? I did it!  I spread out my workouts and threw in cross training and even an additional 30 minute cardio class one night. The cardio class is after my taekwondo class and I was playing it by ear. If I felt okay and did well in taekwondo - then I could stay for cardio. I did fine so I stayed. I did not push it as hard as the...

I've decided that my latest mantra is every step a victory  because with each step I take running I am declaring a victory over congestive heart failure. That in no way implies that I am throwing caution to the wind (not that I wouldn't love to do that!) but that every step I take I can cherish as one more that keeps me ahead of the game. I hadn't run since the half on Sunday partly because I have been sore this time and partly because I didn't want to take a chance at overdoing it. One of the things I have planned into my marathon training is taking days off. Days following long runs and even harder runs I'll have scheduled off. I think this is necessary in order to protect myself from overdoing and getting myself in a bind again. So today I went out to grab a couple of easy miles and I did pretty good I think. I didn't try to go fast or hard, just enjoyed the sunshine on my skin and the fresh air in my face. The park behind my house is the perfect place to...

Or at least I hope so! I am determined to (carefully) beat this heat thing. I will figure out how to increase my miles and speed so I can do well in this fall's half marathon! I have begun altering my diet and have drank so much water in the last 24 hours I probably won't need another drink for a month! - well - it's worth a shot!  I'm getting ready to head out the door for this first experimental run. I have drastically increased my intake of fluids over the last couple of days. I want to see if there is any noticeable difference on my run this morning. I am also dressed and ready to shoot out the door right at 8 so that I can get on it as early in the morning as possible...we'll see if that's a winning combination.  I hope I can develop this kind of determination in other areas of my life. It's kind of funny (not the ha-ha kind) that when situations and difficulties present themselves to us in a lot of arenas we just walk away- or sit down and quit. Bu...

That may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but I almost had to sacrifice my Monday run due to another obligation. It was okay, but it only gives me 4 days in a row to run and some weeks I need an off day in the middle. My goal of course is to work up to running all 5 days - with a little biking thrown in. I have several goals right now - but I can do them all at the same time basically, so it's not too overwhelming. The heat has got to be beaten, miles have to increase, and I need to lose at least another 10 pounds. Since none of these are mutually exclusive I should be able to work out a plan! Sometimes we give up too soon on projects or plans because it gets too complicated. That can make us feel like none of them is do-able! I am finding that if I hang in there and don't change the goals just because of a complication I can figure out a way to accomplish almost anything! Here's an example. When I am running I get all sorts of ideas. I write stuff in my head f...

I completely didn't reach my goal of running 11+ miles today. There were many contributing factors. For one I started some cross training yesterday which caused my thighs to be pretty sore and tight starting out this morning.. no worries though, right? I can run through that! The the weather turned crazy on us. The wind was blowing like crazy with gusts up to 50 miles an hour. It was wild and cold this morning! I had decided to run a 5.5 mile loop double - out one way then double back and do it the other way. I chose to run the uphill direction first so that on the second half I'd have more downhill...however, the wind was in my face after I turned around and even downhill was a super challenging full-body workout! I am so sore - even my arms were tired from working it! I cold feel my toenail coming off as it's been in bad shape for quite some time. But I ignored that right? It's minor details that are better left unattended while running. But my foot had this pain ...