So I have taken this week off after the great overdo of last week. I have walked a couple of miles here and there but have kept it real low key. I'm happy to say my blood pressure is back within a safe range, although it's not perfect yet. My weight hasn't changed in 3 days (and that's monumental); and my heart rate has stopped spiking. It settled down about Tuesday but I'm still being nice. I've been changing my diet over the last few weeks. I've done some experimenting and testing to see what really works for me and what doesn't. We are all individual and have to figure out what does work for us. Even those of us with similar conditions have to figure out our own bio-individuality. So my conclusions include these tidbits: Salt is a no-no, period. My body cannot handle prepared foods, at all. Fast food is poison to me. I can live without a lot of grains/breads. I can eat whole grains like rice and whole oats. I do well with more fruits; and...

That's it!! So I have been stepping up the miles this week as well as my activity in general. I've also been watching my sodium lots better this week. Last night in a weak moment I finished off the last of the ice cream. Today's the day to go totally clean. As a health coach, I know what to do - but even with the training and knowledge, it doesn't make it any easier. Add to that all the other many factors of having a condition like CHF, and it is an uphill battle. Personally, I battle depression and emotional eating. Am I a failure? Nope. I figure I'm in a better position to help others because I really do understand! Kind of like teaching math. Not only am I good at it - I'm gentle and patient with my students because I also struggled in math. The struggles make us stronger in the long run. With that being said - I am going to the store today and my son and I are both taking the leap. We're going to eat totally clean and raw - as much as is reasonable...

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...

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...

It started out pretty- but by the end I was rethinking why I even run to begin with! lol This was a very unusual race for me. First of all I started out great - had no breathlessness or any of the normal-for-everyone warm up feelings of yuck. Before I knew it, I was at the first mile marker and my Nike app told me I'd done it in just over 11 minutes. I was shocked because I thought I was running at a comfortable pace. For the first 7 miles it was a picture perfect race. I was holding strong and at the 7 mile marker I was at less than an hour and a half. That's nearly monumental for me. Then by mile 8 -close to 9 it all went away. My body decided I'd gone too far too fast and it began to revolt. I decided to push it since I was still in line for a half PR. I know... it was a very bad idea. For the first 6 miles I was under 13 minutes except for mile 3 which was a 13:06. I ended up with a 13:19 minute mile average - which all things considered is not too bad. I had...

My head is going about 900 miles an hour! That may or may not be an exaggeration. I have a 10k tomorrow afternoon but with the last year's events and the latest diagnosis my head starts running long before the race. I have all these questions like Will I be okay this time? or Will I have a rough day tomorrow or a good day? What will I do if I'm having an issue? How much will I need to walk? These are all on top of the "normal" questions runners have prior to races. You know, like figuring out what to eat when and sorting through all our regular pre-race rituals. This race is an afternoon race so that by itself has its own dynamic. One second I feel prepared for anything and the next I do not. I worry that I've overdone it - then worry that I didn't train enough. - Just normal racing stuff! Add all the health issues on top of the normal stuff and my mind is a mess. lol! I have actually done well this week with my eating and I think I have finally adjusted...

This morning's run started out to be one of the most frustrating I've ever endured. First, I didn't do any type of exercise yesterday because I just didn't feel well. I really hate to admit it but it looks like days after good long runs are going to be off days. I've noticed that pattern already. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good long run; it just means I have to adjust my mind set to taking the day after off to allow my body time to recoup properly. That's what I did yesterday - it was rather forced on me - but I did take the day off. So this morning I got up thinking I still didn't feel good but I wanted to get a couple of mile in at least. I still need to build my base miles for marathon training. Once I got on the treadmill I realized it was not a good idea! I felt so sluggish. My motto is to use what my body gives me to reach my goals each day and I wanted to hit at least 2 miles today. I always start out slowly anyway but felt exceptiona...

When I first started running I really thought it was all physical. As I continued training and increasing my mileage I learned that there is a lot of mental activity that keeps you in the running game. As I turn my thoughts to training for another full marathon (something I never thought I'd even say again) I'm finding there's a lot involved. My life has so many more complicated issues than it had 3 years ago! One thing I'm already learning is that I have a tendency to just jump - and think later. But this is different - and pretty hard on me. I have to make a lot of purposeful preparations just to get ready  to train. I have to get okays from multiple doctors - specifically the cardiologist. I have to work on getting my diet right and my body ready. You'd think I've been running for 6 years and should be in shape, huh? No - I have let so many things go; I'm ashamed. One of my goals for right now is to get some form of exercise in every day. I'd like...

Running for me seems to be about setting goals. Some of them are kept and some are not. Today as I was running in the heat I was determined to reach my newly set goals. Over the last few years I have set and made lots of goals - and set and not made lots of goals. But a couple of weeks ago it hit me real hard when I weighed in and found that I was overweight. (not a happy camper) I determined right then and there to make a difference. You see, I eat to fill a void in my life. But over the last few weeks I realized that eating more foods may fill my tummy but it will not erase the pain of the circumstance. It's up to me to change -  and I'm committed to the journey. By now I have earned the right to call myself a runner even though I didn't start until the year I turned 49. I've completed over 60 races - 7 of which are half marathons and one marathon ( that I crawled). Some might say that this is amazing but I still talk myself out of that. It's not really that ...

Well, I just finished running 6.6 miles. That's the longest distance I have completed since I busted my knee back in August. I must say it was not easy! I had done 5 miles last week, and that was pushing it. I guess my run today made me realize how out of shape I am. My body is not just talking to me right now - it's screaming that I have to get myself back in shape by eating right. I know I am eating out of pure emotions - but I gotta figure out how to stop doing that...it's not easy either! I sort through a lot of my thoughts while I am running. It really seems like it makes it go a lot faster and I get a lot of goals set for the coming days and weeks. (usually) In between I do have crazy thoughts about things like not spitting into the wind and fears that I won't make it back to the bathroom in time! But I get a lot of my emotions and thoughts all lined up and controllable.  6.6 miles - not too bad for an old lady I guess. It's a little better than half of ...

I am planning on pushing myself this week. I think i want to shoot for over 20 miles this week. And I do have a plan! My biggest obstacle from here is actually the hot weather. It's nearly 80 for the night time lows! And by the time I run around 8 in the morning it's usually 80 or above already. But I will win this thing!! While I was working on my technique for tackling longer runs last week I had a lot of thoughts... that's actually very normal for me no matter what I'm doing! I was thinking about how far out of reach the half-marathon feels right now. The pressure is that I have to complete it in under 2:45:00. My first was just under 3 hours.. so that's a little bit of pressure. I'm not sure the distance is the largest factor - my speed is. That's why I am really pushing for a higher base speed...  As I was running I was thinking about how tired I was etc...but because of the half marathon I have out in front of me I must keep pressing on! So my tho...

I cannot believe how long this terrible heat wave has endured! It's kicking my butt on my morning runs...and yesterday I had the worst run ever! I think it was slower than when I first started...but it worked to get my attention that's for sure. I thought for sure I'd gone at least 4 or 5 miles... I ran an hour! When I got home I and logged the run I barely had 3.8 miles. Boy was I mad!  So I went through my list of excuses ...it's hot, I'm not hydrated, my eating habits suck, I'm fat... yeah, that went on quite a while really...then I decided to suck it up. All of that except the heat - can be changed. Ugh! Change? Well, I embraced it and made it through yesterday. I stayed within my eating guidelines and drank tons of liquids...and guess what; my run this morning was great! I even started later so it was hotter - and I did lots better!  So sometimes bad things can be good. Instead of using them for excuses to keep from changing or progressing - let them he...

Runners know what an important role the diet plays in fueling the run. For me, it really is the pasta dinner the night before. You kind of have to experiment with a few things to find out what works for your body. And we all know how rough finding out what the no-no's are! That can mess up a really good run! (lol- runners know what I am talking about!) But I don't think that what we eat is the guts of the matter. What really fuels the run is found when you top that huge hill that was just taken in stride, or you shave a few seconds off a PR, or you get that medal in your age group at a race...all summed up in one word: success. That's really the "stuff" behind why we continue. Think about how discouraging it would be to run at the same pace every single day and never be able to get any faster ever - or if the same hill kicks you in the butt every day and you never conquer it...discouraging to say the least. I think this is true in many aspects of our live...

I must admit that I am just learning about running. Although I've been at it for just over two years I consider myself pretty much a beginner. One thing I am learning though is that there really is a balancing act to be done to make the body all work. For me, it's a body,soul and spirit thing and they all have to come into balance to make me into a decent runner - which I am determined to become! My body does all the physical part, of course. But then I have learned how stress, emotions and situations can really slow me down and affect my performance. That was amazing when I started seeing that one! But the time I run is my time; it's when I do a lot of my praying and sorting things out. So I think it's easy to say that my whole being is involved in my running adventure! What if we could (or would) engage our whole being into serving Him? What if we literally threw our entire being, body, soul and spirit into His service? It's too easy to divide it out - our spi...

That's what my running was yesterday! I had this glitch in my back that had been gone for a few days. Only it would have a little twinge now and then. And I had forgotten to take my naproxen for ...oh.. how ever many days (that's the trouble of course I keep forgetting!). So about a little more than half a mile into my 5.5 mile run it decided to "glitch" again! I was so mad... but determined! I thought about going back but I just don't keep that in my vocabulary. So I pushed forward. My thinking was it is not a run related injury so it shouldn't hurt it more - even though it might irritate it somewhat. And that it did! A little more than half way through it got a little better - but it was one of my toughest runs so far. I still only did the loop 7 minutes longer than the first time I did that loop. And I was going the other way which is more uphill. So I didn't feel too bad about my time. I think I am feeling the time crunch with the half coming up in ...

I have so much to do this week and it's going to be difficult to get it all in. I am moving! Yeah! But that means exploring new routes too. I have to play a lot on runner's world maps to figure out new routes for next week. Today I sign my lease. See, I am a cargiver too so I only have 2 hours M-F to get my run in. That's why I am doing the half instead of the full marathon. I can't train in the one 3 hour spot I have on Fridays. Anyway - I realized with moving and packing this week that I pretty much can rearrange my whole life around my run! I use the two hours for running and then whatever time is left I do my errands! lol! I saw my nephew's finisher medal for the Austin half that he and his dad did a few weeks back. And that fuels the fire even more! I will try to run three days of 6 miles this week to get close to my 20 mile a week mark. Then next week I'll be back on with a 10 miler. But I am shooting for a full 13 by next week! I can't believe I...

I did it! I made my first 10 miler... and I'm still breathing. Oh it wasn't a pretty run; and it certainly wasn't very fast, but it is done! Yeah, me! I so wanted to give up along the way. I think everything I have was hurting by the time I got to mile 7. I was looking for short cuts, but encouraged myself to stay on the charted course for the entore distance. But I did have tons of crazy thoughts along the way... Whose idea was this? Are you trying to prove something? I don't think I'm built for long distance running ugh! my feet hurt all the way up to my head when I get to Boyd street, i could cut straight up and be home faster... there goes the hip i wonder if i can bathe in ibuprofen how does your thumb hurt when you're running And the list went on and on... But then I got just past mile 7. Well, I just did 8 miles last week so I knew I could get that far. When I plotted my route to make sure it was indeed 10 miles I noted several distance spots....

I think this was one of the first lessons and the most important that I have learned from running. It's easy to look down on someone running the same roads you run without knowing anything about them. Running is gaining in popularity and it seems there are more runners out there all the time. It's easy to be smug as I pass another runner on the road. Somehow I think I am better than them because I just left them in my dust. (that doesn't really happen much!) But you can't really tell much about a runner that you pass on your route. They may be running their first mile ever; or they may be cooling down from a 20 miler! It's totally irrelevant to your run if they are pouring with sweat or not! They aren't going where you are going and the chances are good that they are not training for the same reasons you began your own. You really just can't tell. There is no way to tell where they are on their journey. It could be their first season or their fiftieth!...

I started running basically for my life. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. All of my days were spent sitting in the hospital with my adult son who was seriously injured in an automobile accident. In general I am a very active person and I was feeling myself go downhill fast. Joining a gym was out of the question since I was not sure what the future looked like or where we would be. One afternoon I went out to catch up on the laundry and was looking for something different to read when I discovered a popular running magazine. As I was reading it I thought it might be something I could do to help me stay in shape. I figured it could be done anywhere and would have very little expense. I was so out of shape that I had to "work up" to begin the beginner's program! The initial goal was to run 2 miles, or 30 minutes. It took me two weeks to be able to run one minute and walk two - repeat 10 times! And even then I ran one minute praying each second would go a lit...