Kodak Moment

One of the great things about increasing my running miles is finding new routes to take when I go out.  This week while I'm working on my 2 mile runs, I decided to go running in the neighborhood behind mine.  I go out for 1 mile and then run back.  This path takes me past a pond.   My goal used to be to run down to the end of it.  Now I can run down the end and back up the other side.  Today as I came up on the pond, I saw the most amazing sight of egrets.  Literally half the pond was covered with these birds.  It was such an amazing sight that it almost stopped me in my tracks.  They stood there in a paralyzing state.  My running past them did nothing to disturb them, and when I came back around to them they were still there.  Oh how I wish I had a camera on me or my ipod had one built into it.  This was definitely one of those Kodak moments.

Half Way Mark

I decided to get up and run at sunrise today as opposed to sunset.  The weatherman told everyone on the news last night that we need to get up at 7a.m. because it was going to be nice, but then get hot by the afternoon again.  What a difference running in the morning is!  I am half way at meeting my goal and ran 1 1/2 miles today.

It's taken me 2 months to get to this point.  I wish I could run every morning, but 7:00 a.m is a big difference from 5:00 a.m. to me and then there's work.  When I get home from work there's the kids and housework to see about.  Somehow, I have managed to carve out 45 minutes for me at the end of most days and follow the advice of a wise person.

I have been thinking about when I want to enter my first 5k and actually run.  Since Fall is just around the corner, I'm thinking that would be the perfect time.  2 months ago I thought maybe springtime, but I do believe I'll be able to run 3 miles soon.  Now, I'm off to buy those new shoes I want and some new running clothes.  As an added bonus to running, I am a now a size smaller!

1 MILE!

It's been 6 weeks, and I'm finally able to run 1 mile without stopping!  What an awesome feeling that is!  I remember when I first started out I could barely make it down my street, and now I'm running around my neighborhood like I own it!  Well, I guess I'll share it with a few other fellow runners and maybe the nonrunners too.

I'm actually amazed that I decided to start running at all.  I have never been a runner, and the couple of times I attempted some jogging I would end up making excuses to myself and quit.  Not this time!  Maybe it was the turning 43 that did it.  I started out wanting to lose weight, but it turned into a goal of running in a 5k event.  As I train for this event, I love challenging myself to see what I can do.  Of course the losing weight and toning up is also happening.  My exercise program has completely changed my daily habits and attitude.  I no longer find myself grabbing whatever junk food I find, and when I'm stressed I take it out during my running time.  I may be running more now that school has started back.

So, on to more running and moving up to 2 miles.  But first, I think I'll reward myself by going out to buy new shoes (new running shoes)!
 

 

A New School Year

Well, here it is.  Only a few more days left until the new school year begins.  I along with many other teachers have been busily preparing my classroom for the first day of school.  I'm lucky that I have 2 months off in the summer ( I'm remembering when it used to be 3 months), but it's hard to get back in teacher mode when it's time to go back after all that time off.  This week I got it.  I step into my classroom, start making plans, and then I'm off and rolling. 

One thing that really drives me nuts is when I have to set up my computers.  It takes so much time and the next thing I know hours have passed and that's all I have managed to do.  Not only am I having to deal with a computer that's not working, but I acquired another one that was unexpected.  Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it was a new one, but it's an old one and now I have to figure out what to do with it and where to put it.  I decided to change out the one that's not working with the old one for now.  Hopefully the wonderful tech guy will come soon and get my newer one fixed!  This really sucks because all of my stuff is saved on that one.

On a brighter note, I also decided to do some painting in my classroom.  This was more fun, and I felt I had accomplished more once I was finished.  I painted my in and out doors, yes the doors really said in and out in HUGE letters, that was painted by the previous teacher.  For some reason my 4th grade students paid more attention and followed the signs than my 3rd graders.  I'm sure the last teacher had more success with that rule than me anyway.  I also made some cute signs for my classroom and replaced the flowers outside of my building with new Fall ones.  OK they are the plastic type flowers, but they put me in a good mood and will last longer.

Although my to do list should be getting smaller it's not!  Just when I finish one thing I think of something else to do.  I haven't even added all the paperwork that needs to be done.  That's another list and another blog in itself.  The count down continues...5 more days!

Objective 1 Achieved!

I did it!!!  I met my first objective towards reaching my running goal:  To run 1/2 a mile without stopping.  After a month of gradually building up my endurance, I am finally at the point where I can follow the 3 month plan from a book I am reading.  Not bad for someone who has never ran before!

Another surprise this evening as I was out running.  I decided to go a different route than my usual.  I usually run up and down my street, but last week I decided to drive around my neighborhood and clock the distance in another direction. As I was out running, I found some other runners in my neighborhood. 

Now on to my next objective to run 1 mile without stopping.

My I.E.P. (Individualized. Exercise. Plan.)

I have decided to design my personal I.E.P. (Individualized. Exercise. Plan.).  Hey, I'm a special education teacher! What do you expect?  I know how to modify as needed.  It was during my walking and jogging this evening that I suddenly had a plan form in my mind.
GOAL:  To jog 3 miles

As I thought about this new goal of mine I immediately thought of, what else, an I.E.P. and decided to add objectives with it.  So, objective 1 will begin with being able to jog 1/2 a mile.  I'm going on week 3 of my exercise goal and am happy to say that I was able to jog to the end of my street today!!!  Now this is not quite 1/2 mile, but it's getting closer. I know that walking up and down my street once is half a mile, and I originally started out walking 1 1/2 miles.  My entire workout always begins with a 5 minute warm-up walk and always ends with a 5-10 minute cool down walk.  During week 1, I started out by jogging for 30 seconds then walking 30 seconds and continued this for the remainder 1.5 mile stretch.  I thought I was going to die when I finished my first day as this all occurred in 90% humidity. (And, it does not matter what time it is, the humidity is always there!)  I carried on and finished the week out with this routine every other day.

Week 2 brought about a new challenge.  I was feeling so confident in my exercise plan that I decided to increase my walking to 2 miles.  I replaced the 30 second jog and 30 second walk with my ipod.  Music is a much better motivator!  Anyway, I decided to just jog as long as I could and then walk about the same distance.  I noticed that I was able to jog a little bit further this week, about halfway down the street without passing out.

I am now on week 3 of my plan.  This week I decided to increase my distance further to 2 1/2 miles.  The first day I really noticed how I was able to do more jogging than walking down the street.  Today, I was able to jog down one side of my street without stopping!  As I was jogging down the street I decided not to listen to music this time and to concentrate more on my breathing.  During this time I also became aware of different spot checks.  When my breathing became more heavier, I started paying attention to what I was running past.  My goal was to get past these points until the end of the street.  Check point 1:  Run past the house with the sprinkler and through the sprinkler.  It did cool me off for a second.  Check point 2:  Run past the fire hydrant.  Thank goodness I didn't have to pee!  Check point 3:  Run past the house for sale with the sign, Gorgeous Inside!  That made me feel good!  At last I could see the end of the street, and I ran to it with all I could give it.  I was so proud!  I walked down the other side of the street and then completed this again 2 more times! 

As I finished my cool down walk I thought to myself, I think I just may be able to reach my goal one day.

Weight Loss Update

I see it's been a few weeks since I last blogged, but as I sit here at 11:00 at night I suddenly got in a writing mood.

Here's an update on my weight loss progress.  I set out a month ago to lose some weight this summer.  It's really not going as good as I had hoped.  Let me just say that when you turn 40 it really sucks that your body does not respond like it used to.  It's not because I haven't tried, but in the last month I have only lost 4 pounds!!!   I started out with the South Beach Diet plan and then the 17 day diet.  Last time I checked there were about 30 days in a month.  So it's been 30 days and all I've lost is 4 pounds?!  Those diets officially suck! 

I haven't given up though.  While I have always loved walking I have decided to start jogging as well.  I've never really been a fan of running, but I am desperate for something to help jump start my metabolism.  I am proud to say that it's been 2 weeks and I am still at it.  I started out at a mile and a half and have now added 2 miles of alternating walking with jogging.  Surprisingly, I am enjoying my new fitness goal which is to eventually jog 3 miles and enter a 5k event possibly next spring. 

A challenge I know I will face is when school starts back up in about a month.  I know it will be so easy to get back into that routine and slack off on the exercising, but I am determined to keep it up.  If there are any runners out there reading this feel free to send me some motivation every now and then.  I'll really appreciate it!