Blue Monday

January 18th, 2010 is considered the most depressing day of the year. The good news is: at least this day is behind us -- meaning the remaining days of 2010 won't be nearly as depressing. Dr. Cliff Arnall's formula for calculating this "bleak prediction takes into account factors like post-holiday blahs and debt, failed New Year's resolutions" and the weather.

Source: "The Most Depressing Day of the Year" on MSN

Okay all that nonsense aside, I hope none of my loyal readers thought the last they heard of me was a sad little post titled "Doubt & Injury" and that I have succumbed to another New Year Resolution failure ... although last Tuesday was a bit of a reality check, that is hardly the case. I appreciate all of your kind words, suggestions and support after last week. Despite a little knee soreness, I am back at it this week with my first swimming workout Monday and ran/walked 1.25 miles on the treadmill.

On a related note, my Uncle Tom (who lives in Australia) trains triathletes to complete the running portion. He is a former track star, original Nike-wearer, and track coach. In other words, I trust his advice. His regime (for lack of a better word) is to continue using the treadmill and run at the same pace for 3 minutes, then walk for 2 minutes; then repeat this for as many time as I can. My goal is to build up to 12-15 reps and then back down the amount of time I am walking.

This seems so simple, and gives me permission to walk -- when all along I have been feeling as though that is somehow cheating or giving up. I started this regime today with success -- I completed 3 reps (1 rep = 3 min run, 2 min walk) and managed to run/walk farther than my previous workouts. Although my knee is sore, I think I could have pushed myself farther.

Thank you Uncle Tom for your words of wisdom, encouragement, support and practical advice! I hope to make you proud!

"To win without risk is to triumph without glory" -- Corneille

Doubt & Injury

Welcome to another installment of "Chasing Becky" a journal-blog about my journey from a non-runner to a triathlete. Today marks my 6th workout, and my first injury and bout of doubt. The injury (my knee) is nothing serious; my knee is sore and there is likely some inflammation which seems to benefit from ibprofren and ice.

It is the doubt that has me the most concerned. Today, I felt myself watching the runners around me and not pushing myself. I could also see my feet in the reflection of the partition in front of me and I looked slow ... and felt slow. I know this will pass; but, I am missing some way to snap myself out of that negative funk when I am in the middle of a workout. Depending on how my knee feels, I will run again Thursday and focus on improving my attitude.

If you have any suggestions or inspiring quotes they are more than welcome.

A huge thank you to my new workout buddy -- our scheduled 9 am workout forced me out of bed at a decent hour (typically, on my days off I sleep until 10-10:30). In addition to getting in an "early" morning workout, I also accomplished my To Do List before noon! Bonus!

Another huge THANK YOU to Paula who put her Physical Therapy skills to work and constructed an exciting lifting program to help me develop my slow twitch endurance muscles. I am especially excited about the "hydrant" which involves me pretending to pee on a fire hydrant. THANK YOU!

TTFN,

Chasing Becky

New Kicks

Just a short post today ... I took a break Friday and Saturday. However, Saturday the triathlon wasn't far from my mind as Eric and I shopped for new running shoes! I ended up with a pair of Nike Torch 5 in blue (sadly, they didn't have red in my size).

Today was another successful 12:50 work out at 5.0 speed rocking my new kicks. In preparation for getting serious about biking and swimming I bought a cyclometer (measures how far you have traveled) and a new racing swimsuit from JD Pence. I also spent a considerable amount of time Saturday uploading old rap mixes to include in my new workout playlist.

Happy Sunday,

Chasing Becky

Influential?

I am proud to announce that this experiment in triathlon training and blogging has inspired two people. First, my friend Emily has now begun blogging about her challenge to drop some pounds. She is an incredibly witty writer (http://cupquake78.blogspot.com/); secondly, another friend and kickball teammate (who will not be named only because I haven't asked her permission) has committed to joining me at the gym Tuesdays and Thursdays!

"You don't have to be a 'person of influence' to be influential" - Scott Adams

In addition to the warm fuzzy feelings from inspiring others, I have more good news. I tried a couple of new strategies at the gym today. The past two trips I have completed my mile and then continued with another 20-25 minutes of cardio on the EFX machine. My strategy was to simply get the hard stuff out of the way first (i.e. the mile -- enter dramatic music). But, knowing that I would also be doing the EFX caused me not to push myself as hard as I possible could. So today, I did the EFX machine first -- only 15 minutes and 1.5 miles -- and caught up on the latest issue of Health magazine. Then I braved the treadmill for my mile [enter dramatic music]. I also decided to step it up a bit and increased my speed from 4.5 to 5. Incredibly, I completed this mile in 12:50 -- ONE MINUTE FASTER than my two previous runs. Additionally, I also only walked 1/10 of the mile.

"We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere" -- Author Unknown

Wait, did I tell you that I ran the mile ONE MINUTE FASTER!?

This is cause for celebration -- and I will do so with a carmel filled drumstick -- cheers!

Until next time,

Chasing Becky

Ready to Bloom

Bally's Total Fitness (my gym of choice) is 3/4 miles from my house and they have recently installed new TVs that display motivational quotes, fitness tips and healthy snack ideas. One quote stuck with me today:

"And the day came when the risk to remain in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom" -- Anais Nin. My mantra this week is: Ready to Bloom. I am ready to really embrace exercise again and learn to love becoming healthy. It is a risk; but an important life changing risk that will result in becoming a healthier person (physically and otherwise).

***

Today I ran another mile!

Although my final time (13:50) and speed (4.5) were the same as Sunday's workout, I did see some improvement -- I was able to run a 1/2 mile before needing to walk; and then only walked again after completing 3/4 mile. Gold stars for me!

***

I need some help. I am trying to compile a list of body moving music to help with that extra boost. Today I felt my music selections were a little lack luster -- and I need some new grooves for my iPod. Help!

What song(s) gets your body moving?

***

Thank you to everyone who posted comments of support and enthusiasm on here as well as on facebook -- it means a lot; and will hopefully help motivate me when things get discouraging. Keep them coming!

Why not try a triathlon?

Many of you have probably already heard -- but this year my goal is to train for and complete a triathlon in May. I will do a sprint triathlon which includes 500 yards of swimming, 15 miles biking, and 3.1 miles running. I am not a natural athlete; and I have some unresolved issues surrounding running specifically. Growing up in Eugene I played nearly ever Kidsports sport as possible (except soccer). Here is a breakdown of my athletic history:

1st grade: T-ball

2nd grade: baseball (coach pitch or T-ball?)

3rd grade: basketball, baseball (coach pitch?)

4th grade: basketball, softball

5th grade: basketball, softball

Middle School: basketball, softball, volleyball

High School: swimming & waterpolo

Post-High School: nothing consistent :(

2009: this fall Eric and I did participate in a kickball league

However, despite this level of activity when we were charged with running the mile in P.E. class I developed some sort of mental and physical block. Specifically I remember one day in second grade when I struggled with the mile. I don't remember how much of it I ran; but I likely walked the majority of the way. What I do remember is being the last one done by a long shot. My PE teacher at the time excused the rest of my classmates and I had to complete the mile all by myself. All I remember is feeling like a disappointment and a failure as the PE teacher yelled at me to keep running and was clearly unimpressed by my resistance. Since that day, I decided I couldn't run and didn't want to run. Throughout the years I continued to have to complete the mile in PE and I would continue walking the majority of the way.

Another hang up I have regarding running involves how I run -- I feel like I never really learned. Maybe that sounds silly because running is supposed to come naturally -- as a flight skill. However, I had a coach (he would probably be hurt to know how this has effected me) who would tell me I was running flat footed. He was a former track athlete, so I took his advice to heart. But, I feel like I never really learned how to not run flat footed, or really what flat footed meant.

Why am I telling you this?

Because training for this marathon, learning to run, and consistently running with the goal of being able to run 5 miles is a BIG DEAL for me. Today I actually ran a mile for the first time since being forced my sophomore year in high school ... and I didn't do half bad. I did stop to walk twice; but I completed my first mile in 12 years on the treadmill in 13:40 seconds. This will be my baseline as I work over these next months -- wish me luck!