Week 4 updates

I’ve mostly been updating with just the long runs, which are important, but I haven’t really been keeping you up to date with my daily experiences. My training schedule is 4 days of jogging a week (Monday, long run, Tuesday a shorter approximate 3 mile run, Wednesday rest (I do upper body strength training) Thursday a shorter approximate 4 mile run, Friday rest from running, work with hand weights, Saturday 4 mile run, Sunday rest). Later in my training some of the 4 mile runs will turn into 5 or 6 mile runs. When I first started I would be wiped out and feeling like I never wanted to leave the couch, especially on days where I had to go to work after, but now I’m able to complete my run and go to work feeling fine. (2 of my running days usually land on days I work and I wake up a couple hours earlier than I usually do to get my run in).

I thought I’d be sore today after my 8 miles yesterday, but aside from my muscles getting tired faster and my feet still being tired I’m not that sore. It took me a tad longer to complete my 3.4 miles today than it did last week.

I’m doing well with the “rules” I gave myself. I haven’t skipped one running day since I started this thing. I can see improvement. It’s fun to see how much more quickly I recover at the end of a run (I don’t feel out of breath any more at my front door, unless I sprint the last stretch which sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t) and how much further I can go now before walking compared to a month ago. Yesterday was my first big milestone in this experience because I have never jogged much further than 6 miles before I started training and that was far for me to go, so the distance I’ve gone in my long runs before now I had already done at some point in my life. I was a little apprehensive before my run yesterday, and I almost wanted to cry at the end of it because I finished it with the same pace I did 6 miles the week before and it showed me that I could do something I’ve never done and I was capable of going a distance I never thought I’d go. I was so proud of myself. For the first time I felt like I could do this if I keep working at it. I’m starting to feel like a real jogger and not just a wannabe.

I’m letting myself eat whenever I’m hungry…which I still feel like is a lot. I’m making progress with my rule of not feeling guilty about it and I think I’m happier that way. I haven’t lost any weight, but I haven’t gained any weight either. I just remind myself that I’m not doing this to lose weight- I’m doing it to be able to run further and complete a marathon. I’m already a healthy weight, so even if I feel that I have some flab I’d prefer not to have I’m not going to worry about it. And in order to not hate my life during this time, I can’t be starving myself.

I took my pulse before going to sleep last night and it was 46-48 BPM. I always like trending my pulse at rest. So far that’s the lowest I’ve gotten it. It was 50 when I woke up this morning and 54 right now.

I kind of miss dairy. I discovered silk vanilla light, which I absolutely love though. It has more calcium, less sodium and less calories than a glass of skim milk and I think it tastes way better. Rarely would I drink a glass of plain milk, but I really enjoy the vanilla flavored silk. I use it on my cereal too. I can’t really use it in cooking or other things since it’s flavored, but I was very pleased with that as a substitute for my cereal…and just drinking. Really surprised how much I like it. I still don’t have a replacement for my cheese and yogurt, so I’m just doing without. When I’d normally have cottage cheese and fruit, I’m just having fruit and leaving cheese out of stuff I’d normally put it in.

Before my 8 mile run yesterday I ate a banana and 2 costco rolls with a bit of blackberry jam on them for breakfast. After my run I had a bowl of life cereal (with my vanilla silk light) and took a shower. Then I ate a piece of baked salmon, a bowl of brown rice and spinach. I went Christmas shopping and on my way home I was starving and decided I couldn’t even wait for water to boil to make 3 minute ramen once I was home, so I was going to stop at Safeway and get my favorite sandwich there, but then realized part of what made that sandwich so delicious was the marinated mozzarella cheese, so I went to subway instead and got the cold cut combo foot long with all the veggies on honey oat bread and no cheese…and a macadamia nut cookie. I inhaled the first half of that sandwich so dang fast. Haha. I thought I would die before I could eat it. I ate the other half a while later and continued to be hungry rather frequently and ate something every couple hours or so until I went to bed.

I will say this: I am glad that my brother convinced me to train for a marathon over the holidays. It’s not like I indulge every day, but probably for the first time in a long time if not ever I feel no remorse what so ever for any goodies that I do eat. It’s a good feeling. Haha.