Over the weekend I did a local 5K. I really didn't think about it at the time, but after I got home I realized it was the weekend I'd done my very first 5K 7 years ago. My first race ever was the Peach Festival 5K in Louisiana. I left that race to go straight to the computer and find another one. I was in love! This was my 84th 5K. I've now done 137 races altogether. That includes twenty 10Ks, twenty half marathons and one full marathon. Considering the life-challenges makes each finish line I cross just a little bit sweeter. This race was HOT! I figured they didn't know what they were doing when I saw the race didn't start until 9 o'clock - in the middle of June. That's a winter race time - not the middle of the summer race time! I was right too. And..they didn't have a drop of water on the course; not one water stop. It was also billed as the "Bands on the Run" and the whole reason I signed up for this race was they said they would have...

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...

What a week this has been! My take-away from the last 7 days is that hindsight is not  20/20. My experiences have fostered more questions than answers this week. First - on a good note- I did pass my testing and am now a purple belt in taekwondo. One more testing period (8-10 weeks) and I'll be an advanced belt! Who thought this fat senior would ever get this far? lol I will have to admit that I had a rough time this week in taekwondo - just didn't feel good. My instructor babysat me though. She kept an eye out for me and kept reminding me to sit out if I didn't feel well. Like I'm going to sit out.  I made it. So I have been doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm taking my medications exactly as prescribed, I don't like that but I'm doing it. I'm taking my blood pressure almost  every day and it's been within the right range - a little at the top of the "okay" range - and I'd like it down a bit more - but not high by any m...

I am not sure why I am second guessing myself, I've actually felt really good on my last two runs. Last night I did a couple miles and then tonight I got in 4 miles. I could have gone longer both nights but time constraints and responsibilities kept tugging me off the treadmill. My first full marathon was horrible and I really  don't want a repeat of it at this year's marathon (or two -- yup, pretty sure I'm doing two of 'em this fall). I just dread the long run. Especially right now since I am limited to just the treadmill. And then of course this week I only ended up with 15 miles in all. And next week's schedule looks crammed full already. But- I have  to get at least a 10 miler in on Tuesday or Wednesday since I have a half coming up on July 14. I'm determined to do that 10-12 miles one of those days even if I have to break it up and do 3 4-milers or whatever. I've even thought about just jumping on and off the treadmill and seeing how many mil...

So last week was a total wash-out - and I partly mean that as a pun because it's been flooding in my region. (smile) I started out okay but just kind of had one of my "bottom out" weeks. I did get in two back-to-back sessions of taekwondo on Thursday night and got a few miles in. I have no excuses except I just didn't feel well - and I am laying that "excuse" aside this week and planning on kicking butt. I think what is difficult is finding that fine between pushing myself to achieve my goals and overdoing it and getting myself in a bind. It's just plain frustrating. I'm doing things right but my body doesn't act like it wants to cooperate. It's like I do real good for a couple of weeks and then the bottom falls out. I'm actually not sure if it's something I need to just push through - or if that will be a major overdo -- I don't like those at all. They knock me out of the game for several days. So today I was cooking along real...

Okay - so I haven't messed up real  bad but I haven't been as careful in my eating as I should. I'm thinking the combination of slipping slightly on my diet and an overload of stress is messing with me a little bit. Since I have the adrenal gland issues (which is what is believed to be behind the congestive heart failure) stress wears me out more than anything. So tonight's run was blah! On my dieting - I've actually had a couple of big victories and my changes have stuck. I turned down BBQ from a local restaurant this week - and opted for a plain baked potato. Then today I was starving on my way home from picking my accessible van up from the mechanic but refused to take the chance at eating out. I had a couple of things in the fridge to eat and ate them once I got home and unloaded. That was hard but because of the lack of episodes and feeling way better I just didn't want to take the chance. The negative side - I've been eating way too much cheese; an...

Today I ran my 75th 5K. I didn't check to see how many races I've done overall, just 5Ks. I actually did pretty good. I had the best chip time of any 5k since my CHF diagnosis. I'm still really slow in comparison but I'm very happy to be under 40 minutes again. That just puts me closer to the 30 minute mark and my old PR which I honestly hope to reach one day. This week I did a total of 20 miles and completed my second week of marathon training. I'm very happy with that, but it sure got me to thinking a lot about the journey I've been on. Last year I remember doing this race, the Oklahoma Strong 5K and just not feeling good. I felt like I was very sluggish and it was actually cold last year. This year it was 72 at the beginning of the race - which is really hot for me anymore. Even though I slowed down each mile, I still had all 3 under 13 minute miles. I'll take that for today. I can't get where I want to be without starting where I am. Oh, I woul...

Chris and I with Mom at Church. While I was driving to my mom's today I was working through how I would handle lunch. I had packed my bag with an extra bottle of water and a snack bag of nuts and raisins. I was thinking about how much effort it takes to keep this old body in shape and running efficiently. I looked at my wrist which is looking better but I'm on tight restrictions per the doc until the bruise and pain are completely gone. I was starting to get frustrated because while it doesn't limit my running at all (thankfully!!!) it does hamper my efforts in taekwondo. If I follow the doc's orders correctly I can't punch "anything but air" until it is healed. I need to break boards, and punch pads! And I need to spar to prepare for an upcoming tournament. I figured I have to decide how well I want to take care of myself - no one can do that for me. I started thinking about my online running community and how they gripe at me when I mess up and rea...

Ended up with an "okay" week as far as training goes. First week of full marathon training done!! And I stuck to my schedule too. I'm happy with that even though I did have two days of nothing - hope to fix that next week. I have the my calendar filled out with what's supposed  to happen, now to make it happen. I'm trying to do some gentle 2-a-days. We'll see. I'm actually starting to feel like I've been working out. I really can't explain it but I'm feeling better overall and I feel more "fit" even though I still look like a walrus. (That's going to change!) This week I played with my diet a little bit. I have been very careful to not overindulge in high sodium foods, but I did allow some small cheats. Here's what I've learned. I can tell a huge difference between allowing more salt from packaged foods versus having more salt added to my foods. I weigh in every single morning and I've been able to maintain real clos...

My son's case manager for his home health was here yesterday and took a picture of my nice little collection of medals. Why? We share a cardiologist and she took it so she could show him what I mean by running  just so he's clear on the matter. She thinks our definitions of running  might be a little different. There may or may not have been some bribery in there somewhere. lol I don't think she's really going to do that - but even if she does - I really don't care. I'm feeling so good and learning so much that I think I've got this! I haven't been perfect  on my diet but I've been doing lots better at managing my sodium intake. For awhile I really felt cheated in a way because I can't have all the "fun" stuff. I do still crave pizza by the way! No more call outs for Chinese or Mazzio's pizza and salad for me! (I had noted the salad from Mazzio's made my ankles swell the next day every single time.) I don't eat out of...

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 took a look at my training calendar last night and was totally disgusted with myself. I'm doing some things right but my running is really behind schedule. I've done some form of exercise almost every single day. Now that might be riding my bike, strength training, or just yoga. But for the last couple of months working out has been an almost daily thing and that's good, I think. But what I saw was that I haven't been getting the miles I need in. Specifically the last three weeks I have had very low miles. That makes me mad. I start to feel that I am not dedicated to the run, I'm a slacker, or I'm falling so far behind I am not going to be able to train for a full marathon. I have to fight those thoughts off and refocus. Before I start beating myself up too much, I want to take a look at what I've done well. First off, I've been eating right. If you don't count the chocolate.  My focus has been on reducing sodium intake and learning how to cook...

This week I have a renewed determination to do this thing right. Overall, I had a pretty good week last week and only had a couple of times where I slipped up and fell off the low sodium diet wagon. So I reported it to a running group (Coach Jenny Hadfield's Challenge Group). I'm trying to build circles of accountability so that I am not so likely to do stupid stuff -- or at least not repeat them over and over... lol. I got chewed out for eating one little can of ravioli last week. At first I was like "If that's all  I did I'm doing so much better!" But they didn't let it go - in a good sort of way. A whole conversation opened up about sodium and how much is in our foods. There are some types of foods that have sodium naturally. And there is added salt. Somehow I thought that "table" salt wasn't as bad as the sodium found in prepackaged foods. So I've been shakin' that shaker all over my foods. I was also making some other mistakes....