50 Days....

Yes, you read that right. 50 days. A little over 7 weeks. Not much time to start from almost scratch in regards to half-marathon training. But I am determined and have assembled a great team of ladies to help and keep me motivated during this so short a time.

First and foremost is my good friend, the "Dingo" to my "Bunny", the divine Miss "M". Miss Marg, with her amazing Running Coach credentials and extensive workout knowledge, put together a half-marathon training program for me based on a walk/run approach similar to the one that I grew to absolutely love in the Run Your Butt Off! (RYBO) book.* Miss M and I plan to just run and have fun at the Rock n' Roll half marathon in May. No PR's, no stress, and keep it fun. She is one of those genuine people who tells you like it is with an edgy humor and endearing snark. She also runs a fantastic fitness enterprise called "Blue Ox Running". (http://www.facebook.com/blueoxrunning) I would be lost and floundering without her enduring support and love. Be sure to check out her Facebook page and show her some love!

Another great supporter of mine who deserves a shout-out is one Jessica Bienvenue. She's my Beachbody coach, a great friend and top cheerleader when it comes to her teams motivation. Her group of ladies on Facebook (I couldn't begin to list you all!) has kept me on the path many-a-times when I've wanted to throw in the towel. She has an astonishing number of marathons, ultras, halves and other misc. training and experience backing her wise words and is a constant source of inspiration, perspiration and kindness. Her group "Success With Jess" is a fast growing and supportive place that is run without judgement and the cattiness is typical of a lot of fitness boards. (http://www.facebook.com/groups/SuccessWithJess/)

So there are examples of just two people from my fantastic support group! I'll continue to post in the coming weeks vignettes about the other personal "heroes" that abound in my life.

As for the plan for the coming week:

Saturday (Mar. 31st): Day off / Wii games

Sunday (April Fool's Day): Cardio & Abs

Monday: 4 mi. Elliptical

Tuesday: 5 mi. Elliptical

Wednesday: Abs/Core Only (Hip Hop Abs?)

Thursday: 4 mi. Elliptical or run

Friday: LONG RUN: 7 mi. Elliptical

Saturday: REST (easy abs only)

Stick with me folks!!! A lot of updates to come!

As a personal aside, I am applying for EMT school this week! Keep the good vibes and thoughts heading this way! :)

~Grace

[Caveat]* It's not the only program to use the approach, but I liked how well it was put together, its simplicity and step-by-step ramping up, building upon each concept method.

A Series of Unfortunate Events....

So, my knee was a major pain and ended up being a bigger issue than I'd realized. I got a nasty nasty shot under my knee cap, have damaged cartilage and I'm still on LOA (limited activity) and I'm not allowed to run, bicycle (unless I spin at a high cadence instead of "mash" the pedals), or do any weight-lifting or exercises that use a "squat" or "lunge" stance. Completely frustrating!

Add to that that I've made poor choices overall when it came to food intake since February and I'm in hurt city!

From tonight I have 67 days to train for the May 20th RnR half-marathon in Portland. *eep!*

Physical therapy started last week and goes for another 5 to 7 weeks depending upon my progress, then I can get back to Roller Derby. More importantly though is prepping and being ready for the upcoming half.

My basic plan is as follows and allows for a LOT of leeway depending upon how I'm feeling, time constraints and my knee's temperament:

1. Swim - 30 minutes of laps 3-4x/wk, these are slow laps to get form in line and work the core

2. Elliptical - Ramping up from 30-60 minutes 3-4x/wk - switching between intervals, speed work and long slow "runs", without actually running.

3. Stretching - Daily

4. Jacob's Ladder, Slideboard, Core work, Freeweights 2-3x/wk - a switch-up of the aforementioned exercises to round out the mass amount of cardio I'm pushing (gently) in the coming weeks.

My goal is to NOT re-injure myself, but to lose weight while getting back to where I was without any actual running. I know, I know, the only way to get better at running... is to RUN. But until my knee is cleared, I have to take it easy, no stairs, no running, no mashing the bike pedals.

I'm re-committed to my fitness. Things are starting to look up in life again and I need to get back on the fitness wagon so I don't lose ALL of the wonderful progress and weight-loss gains I made in January 2012. Here's to a new perspective, a new appreciation of my life, renewed conviction and an abundance of ambition!

Warmest Regards...

Your,

Grace

A difficult week....

Last Sunday I made a derby team. Monday, I woke up with a painful knee. Nearly a week later and the knee is still tweaky, I haven't exercised for a week and I have eaten HORRIBLY. So badly, I haven't been logging my food, I have ZERO mileage for February and I've got some serious blues.

Today is a new day. My knee is still sore, but I have to do something. I'll walk the dog today and see how it does and go from there. Derby is tomorrow and I'm in desperate need of new knee pads.

I jump back on the scale Monday to see the damage of this weeks binge eating. :(

Day 29-34: Off.

~Grace

I MADE A DERBY TEAM and other late updates!

Big news of the day, I made a derby team last night. I'm officially a derby girl and I'm SUPER stoked!

Of course, this morning I woke up and my knee hurts. Badly. I can't bend or kneel on it. It feels like it got hyper-extended, so I'm going to take it easy and take some time off of it to see how it feels in the coming days. I'll be sure to update you all here.

Other great great news . . . . I am down to 172 lbs!!! I have lost 13 lbs since the start of January and this challenge! In 4 weeks I have also managed to take off 8.5 inches total!!! I'm super stoked! Now to just wait out this knee thing... :(

Quick recap of my workouts from day 21 to present:

Day 21: 2 hrs Derby

Day 22: 2 hrs Derby

Day 23: Day off

Day 24: Ran 1.47 mi, Derby 2 hrs

Day 25: Walked w/ a friend 2.86 mi, ran 1.665 mi, Derby 2 hrs

Day 26: Day off

Day 27: Day off

Day 28: DERBY TRYOUTS! I made a team! WOO!

Day 29: Knee hurting, taking today and tomorrow off.

Day 30 (end of January): Day off

My total running/walking mileage for January ends at 24.816 miles. I was hoping for 25 miles total at least, but due to the knee, I'm calling it here.

End of month one in the 60 day challenge! Onward and upward to month two!
~Grace

Days 19 & 20

Day 19 - Took a rest day

Day 20 (today) - Ran & walked 3.3 miles with Goji

Running plan is to increase my mileage by 1 mile or so a week for the next few weeks, then up the mileage by 2 miles/wk for a few weeks.

3.3 miles run today. 14.432 miles run this week. 18.821 miles YTD (from Jan 1). T-minus 119 days until Portland RnR half marathon. Scale said I was -1 this morning as well. I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm feeling good right now.

7 days from tomorrow is derby team tryouts. 1 week. Holy moly pudding pie. Time flies.... I hope I'm ready!

Lets maintain this New Years momentum!

~Grace

Oh! And I got a rescue dog!

I would say that's quite the big news as well! My apologies for leaving that little tidbit out!

He's a golden lab/staffordshire terrier mix, appx 5 years old and my heart dog. He's velcro'd to my side during the day and he goes pretty much everywhere I go. His nickname is Goji (short for Gojira aka "Godzilla") and he's an absolute sweetheart. We're working on getting him in to better shape slowly so as I ramp up my runs, he will too. He's not too bad, just a bit on the hefty side. I have no doubt we'll get him svelte and fit in no time! He's great with both of the kids and so far.. the cat. *crossing fingers*

Okay, that was my quick aside for the evening! I'll post a pic of him in my next post.

~Grace

Days 17 and 18

Yesterday I was feeling run down so I took the day off. I played with the dog in the yard since we had a huge snowfall and wore him out.

Today I did Hip Hop Abs: Total Body Burn and then ran treadmill intervals for 4 miles.

Tomorrow's plan is to stretch & hydrate in the AM, then HOPEFULLY go to speed skating in the evening if its not cancelled due to snow. I've missed out on a few workouts this week due to cancelled derby practices because of inclement weather.

So the big news is I'm officially signed up for the Portland Rock n' Roll half-marathon on May 20th. I also have another half-marathon in June that's closer to home and there's potential for another half up in Vancouver BC in August. If I do the Seattle to Portland bike ride in July (birthday weekend) that gives me quite a run of events!!! Plus Derby. We'll see how this plays out.

Other than that, nothing big to report. Off to bed and on to another day of workouts! T-minus 10 days to derby team tryouts and a bit under 18 weeks to my first half-marathon.

With warm workout wishes,

Grace