Running Journal 2/4/2020 – 2/10/2020

2/4/2020 – Tuesday. I didn’t end up running today. I must have hurt my right ankle a little bit playing tennis yesterday. Every time I walk and bend my foot, at least after sitting for a little while, there is pain in what feels like my achilles tendon. I spoke with Ginn and decided to rest it today and I will do my run that is on my schedule for tomorrow morning. I have been reading in my running motivation group about getting up early so I am just going to get out of the bed in the morning. No excuses.

 – Goal for tomorrow – Run the 5 miles that is on my schedule. Really wake up early. Research if I can get the sports medicine journals through work or not. Consider getting a membership for research articles. 

2/5/2020 – Wednesday. I just realized that I was a day off last week with my post and I was supposed to stop on Tuesday and not Monday… Oh well. At any rate, I woke up early this morning, put on my running clothes prepared for an early 5 miles. My pounding head had other plans and I started to feel nauseous. I tried drinking coffee and water to no avail. I took off said running clothes and got back into bed hoping another hour of sleep would help. When I got home from work, I procrastinated a good 15 minutes and went downstairs to complete my 5 miles. I was trying the heart rate thing where you run slowly to burn fat. It is difficult to run so slow but feels like you can run forever. I at ~ 50 grams of carbs immediately after as I read in one of the books I’m studying.

I needed to use the force Wednesday night.

 – Goal for tomorrow – 3 mile run tomorrow. Eat healthier, no cookies. Should be easier since I don’t have to work tomorrow. Weigh myself in the morning. Sleep in a little. Write another blog post.

2/6/2020 – Thursday. I decided today that I would start a running streak. I learned from one of my FB groups who Ron Hill is and how many years he ran everyday and it really inspired me. Of course he was an Olympic Marathon Champion but that doesn’t mean that I can’t run at least one mile every day. Today I ran 3 miles on the treadmill. I didn’t go super slow. I kept my pace a little faster to be in the Economy Zone, so 75% – 85%. I’m not 100% convinced that my MHR is correct though. I know that according to the 220 – age formula, mine is supposed to be 178, but I am pretty sure it might be a little higher than that. The ran felt good none the less. I feel sometimes like 3 miles isn’t far enough then I remember that Saturday I am supposed to run 10 before work. For this I MUST get up early. I used my heart rate monitor again. I think I like it on the treadmill. BTW, I did weigh myself… Still stuck. And I ate a cookie – damnit. 

 – Goal for tomorrow – 3 miles again. I was supposed to have a rest day but since I missed Tuesday and need to get all my miles in, I am doing those 3. Run first before anything. Study for certification. Finish coaching manual and start next book. 

2/7/2020 – After talking to my sister and discussing that I have a 10 mile run tomorrow first thing in the morning, I decided that 1 mile would have to do today to keep my streak but also rest my legs for the long run tomorrow. Now I have to decide on at what heart rate I should keep for the long run, determine how long that will take and wake up early enough to get it done before work… I published a post before running today. I just can’t seem to do the first thing in the morning running. Now I start studying again and finish up the rest of my goals from yesterday.

 – Goal for tomorrow – Run 10 miles before work. I think that’s enough of a goal.

2/8/2020 – I did get up early this morning for my run. Initially I wanted to go outside and get it done and was looking forward to going outside but it was 26 degrees out there… Too cold for me to run in, so I opted for the treadmill instead. I only completed 6.38 miles according to my watch and just over 6 miles on the treadmill, not including the .5 mile walking warmup. I stopped early to get some breakfast before getting ready for work. I’ll finish my last 4 when I get home tonight to get my total 10 in today. Later that night… I did it! I came home and went right upstairs, changed clothes and got on the treadmill. I did have to call my sister and son to help talk me into actually doing it because I was feeling pretty tired. 10 miles completed today. It really is a mental game.

 – Goal for tomorrow – Continue my running streak with a short 1 mile run, maybe I’ll do a quick arm workout for fun. Continue to track my calories. Finish my Certification Manual. I only have a couple pages left, then resume the heart rate training book. Maybe weigh myself…

2/9/2020 – Weighed myself this morning and lost 1.5 ish pounds. At work, I took a little break and got on the treadmill for a quick 30 minute walk. I spoke to my sister tonight on my way home from work tonight and she teased me and said I have to run tonight or she will look better than me at my wedding. Good enough motivation. I did get on the treadmill and ran a quick 1 mile. I walked an extra mile cause I wanted to watch the ending of Blade Runner. The original from the 80s. Love that movie.

 – Goal for tomorrow – 4 miles is on the schedule for tomorrow. I think I will do a Fartlek run tomorrow in the morning. I’m trying to incorporate what I am learning in my studies to my running program. I finished my training manual so it is time to finish the Heart Rate book. Publish this journal entry tomorrow.

2/10/2020 – I’ll admit it. I told Alexa to turn off the alarm I set this morning. The next thing I knew it was too late to run 4 miles before work. This work schedule is killing me. I was pretty tired and unmotivated most of the day. I did convince Sarah, one of my friends at work to go on a walk with me on the treadmills. So there was 30 minutes of fast paced, inclined walking. When I got home, I spent some time with Brett and then got on the treadmill. I used my new clip on metronome to see how it felt to keep a consistent pace. I set it at 164 bpm and it felt fine. I actually felt better doing that with a consistent beat then listening to music and varying my cadence according to song, especially on a treadmill. 

 – Goal for tomorrow – Since I didn’t do my 4 miles today and instead only accomplished 1 to keep my streak alive, I am going to run my 4 tomorrow and head to the gym to do some upper body training. 

Reflections of the week. I started a running streak this past week and it has kept me going at least a mile every day. I challenged my sister to do this as well. She has been a big help this week with trying to keep me motivated. My head sure does want to stop me at times. I didn’t wake up every morning to run like I wanted. This is something I will just have to continue to work on. I’m going to continue to use both the chest strap monitor and the metronome for my running this upcoming week.

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