Running Update

Well, I can't ignore it anymore.  If I want to succeed at this goal, I have to start working on it.  And, since I now have an actual 5K scheduled, I really have to buckle down.  The School Government Association is holding a 5K run/walk on September 29th so that's as good a goal as any.  Which means that, in order to be prepared with my interval training program, I need to run every single day until the race.  Yay.  I did get started today, so that's something.  Though I'm not encouraged at the moment...

Running Goal: Week...

Sooo....you may have noticed that I haven't made any posts lately.  (Or, not, if you don't really care about any of this, but, for the sake of my ego, let's assume you do care.)  There are a few reasons for that.  The first, and most obvious, is that I haven't been running.

I've still been going on bike rides or walking or doing my physical therapy exercises at home, but I haven't been able to run much lately because of the heat and humidity we've had here lately.  For example, yesterday, when I went on a bike ride with my friend Beth, I was huffing and puffing and felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest, making it that much harder to do simple tasks.  Even the inhaler hasn't been helping recently.

The other reason... well, here's a look at it:

Nah, I didn't need that toe...

Last night, I made the mistake of walking into the living room in the dark too quickly and had an unfortunate encounter with the ottoman.  Basically, the second to last toe stopped moving and my foot kept going.  Just be glad I didn't show you a picture of it before I wrapped it up - it looks like a rainbow trout.  So, with the broken toe, I'm going to refrain from running for a little while since, with the new style I've been trying out where you run on the ball of your foot, you are supposed to allow your toes to do a lot of the work.  Sigh.

Writing Goal Update

So, as I mentioned in my post about the background of my summer goals, I was hoping to write a play this summer.  I had an idea I had been thinking and brainstorming about, I bought a book with some helpful information in it and some writing exercises that I was going to work on, and I had a vision in my head of what I wanted to do.

And that's when it kind of fell apart.

Let me back up a bit.  I used to write all the time.  Like, constantly.  Unbidden.  I've been making up stories since I was three years old.  My dad would pick up a yellow legal pad at family gatherings and ask for a list of 20 words.  Then he and I would have to make up a story around the words, kinda like it was reverse madlibs.  I caught the storytelling bug and it's been with me ever since.  Poetry, short stories, even school papers - any time I could write I would.

Until college was almost over.  When I was rejected to every creative writing program I applied to, I sort of hung up my journal and pen and wandered into the real world, lost.  I even actively pushed away the idea of writing.  But it hasn't disappeared.  (Take this blog as an example.)  For a while, though, I've been grieving my storytelling career, until I realized that it hasn't been dead - it's just been in hibernation for a while.  It shows up in the comments I write for my students or in the ways I explain a difficult concept in the classroom.  I practice my word choice in my Facebook status updates or my comedic timing when relating a funny experience I had.  When I give my Autobiography students an in-class writing assignment, I write about the same topic.

But I hadn't been actively writing until last summer.  I was afraid it would be too hard.  I was blocked.  So, at the recommendation of a friend, I went through the book The Artist's Way.  For 12 weeks, I wrote morning pages every day, I did the workshop tasks, I kept artist dates with myself, and I started to feel creative again - not only in writing, but in teaching, and in everyday life.  I could almost define myself as a writer again rather than someone who dabbles in it from time to time.

And then life got in the way.  I stopped writing every morning.  I stopped making time to be creative.  I stopped, well, playing and having fun with creativity.  So that's when I decided I was fed up and that, this summer, I was really going to write something.  That's when I had the idea for the play.

Which brings us to the last few weeks.  Where I've been stuck.  Stymied.  Blocked again.  So I decided to write morning pages again.  If I'm going to write something as a project, then I need to at least start writing, period.  After I did that for a few days, I decided I needed some more encouragement.  So I picked up the book that comes after The Artist's Way - The Vein of Gold.  While the first book is about finding your inner artist child and digging her out of the hole she climbed into, this one is about recovery - now that the urge to write is back, what direction do I take it in, kind of thing.  I felt I needed to work on this for a little bit before I could dive right into a project.  Just like my running goal, where I have to build up my stamina with intervals, I have to flex my writing muscles before I can throw them into a 5K-type project.  They need a warm-up.

Part of that warm-up is my next project.  In the first part of the book, you're supposed to reflect on what has brought you to this point, year by year.  It's called the life narrative.  You look back on each year of your life and write about one or a couple of images that really stand out in your mind.  It's sort of like going to counseling with yourself because you end up realizing what is integral to who you have become as a person and how events have shaped your perception.  By examining the past, you can move forward in the present. So, I'll be updating you on the progress of this life narrative as well as the play itself.  Since the main goal is to get writing again, at least I'm getting back on track as far as that goes.

Tally as of today:
Life Narrative: Year 1 (29 to go)
Morning Pages: 5/last 7 days

Running Goal: Week 1, Day 3

As you may have noticed, I'm titling these posts based on the week of the program, not by the actual time that I'm completing them by (since there's almost a week between the last two posts.)  It's taking me longer than I thought since the weather's been so warm and humid, making it hard for my lungs to soldier on and get out there.  The link to my most recent run is here: info.  I must be getting the hang of it because my fastest running pace was 7:27/mile and the slowest was 10:06.  Hopefully, I can continue at that pace when I start adding longer intervals of running.

I've also been going for a 30 minute bike ride at least three times a week during the middle of the day with my friend Beth.  I'm hoping that will contribute to increasing my stamina (and muscles!) in conjunction with my physical therapy workouts.  We'll see.

Running Goal: Week 1, Day 2

The above photo pretty much says it all.  Not too bad today, but not great.  I had to stop for a few minutes after the 6th running interval because I felt like an elephant was sitting on my lungs, but, after walking around for a minute, I finished out.  The worst part about all of this is that I hate feeling weak.  Oh well.  Stats are posted here, if you're interested:  Run 2.

Running Goal: Week 1, Day 1

I had racked up about five or six weeks on my Couch to 5K program before the end of the school year and then, somehow, all my effort seemed for naught.  I tried to run the week four interval set the other day, thinking that it would be a nice way to warm back up to the program, and, let's just say, I was struggling.  It's amazing how quickly my stamina regresses.

I've been using the Android RunDouble App for several months now because it follows the interval program, allows you to use your own music playlist, keeps statistics for you including a map of your run, and prompts you between intervals.  It's been a great help, but there is no app that makes me want to walk out the door and get started.  (If they invent that, let me know.)

So, today, I started over again with Week 1, Day 1.  This consists of a warm-up, eight 60 second intervals interspersed with eight 90 second intervals, and a cool-down.  I decided not to have any expectations and to just go out and...well...go.  I did pay attention to one thing, though: my gait.  A couple years ago, my friend, Kacy, wrote about her experience and research on barefoot running.  This intrigued me.  The concept is that, basically, because humans have become used to padded shoes, we don't use our feet like we should.  Instead of walking or running on the balls of our feet or our midsoles, we tend to rock from the back to the front.  This can cause heel injuries, put us out of alignment, and, generally, doesn't allow the nerves in our feet or the feet themselves to work properly.

Now, though this idea intrigued me, I never thought I would be able to wear the minimalist shoes that are so popular since I have back issues.  I was sure I needed the cushioning.  However, a couple weeks ago, I needed new sneakers.  I went to DSW to get my go-to Saucony sneakers because I have to wear men's sneakers a lot of the time; Saucony sneakers run narrow so they fit my feet better.  ( I should mention that I've been too cheap to ever get fitted for sneakers, though I do plan to do it the next time I need a pair.)   Billy, bored with the mall crowd, wandered off to find a pair of sneakers and attempt to make the pain of the shopping experience end quickly.  He found a pair of minimalist sneakers on sale so I tried them on and walked around.  They were quite comfortable, extremely light, and fit much better than the other ones I had been trying on.  So I decided to buy them.  I found that, when running, I was able to push off the front of my foot instead of landing on my heel and having to gain the momentum to move forward.  This made it much easier to run and much easier to believe my eyes when I see people running down the street, making this form of exercise seem effortless (though I'm clearly not there yet.)

Starting over with the program today, I made sure to land towards the front of my foot rather than the back.  I felt like I was flying.  The closest thing I can compare it to is when I took ballet classes as a kid and you had to stay on the ball of your foot.  It even helped to align the rest of me a bit more so, though breathing was still difficult, it was much easier than I was used to.  And, apparently, it made a difference since, with walking, I brought my pace down from an 11 minute mile to a 10 minute mile.  My average running intervals were also in between 8 and 9 minutes rather than 10 and 11.  I know it's going to be difficult to keep moving, but it's encouraging to know that, with a few tweaks, I might be able to be more successful this time around than I have been in the past.

Stats, Week 1, Day 1:
Overall Pace:  10:59
Overall Distance:  1.68 miles
Time:  18:30
Fastest Interval:  8:07
Longest Interval:  0.12 miles

(Including Warm Up/Cool Down):
Overall Pace:  12:07
Overall Distance:  2.35 miles
Time:  28:30

To see the map of my run, click here.

Summer Goals: Background

This summer, our school has decided to add to our summer reading assignment.  We have chosen the theme of goal setting and each student (and participating faculty) must choose one of the six books listed that focus on goals to read and discuss on the first day of school.  In addition to this, everyone must set at least one goal to attempt to accomplish over the summer and keep track of the progress made towards that goal.  (If you want to see a more detailed explanation of this project, go here.)

As part of this, I have chosen to pursue two goals over the course of the summer and, in order to make myself accountable for following through on these, I've decided to blog about them here.  If I've published it, I have to go through with it, right?  I'm going to be posting updates periodically, divided by the goal that I'm talking about.  I would appreciate if those of you who are actually interested in my progress can occasionally check up on me to help motivate me a bit.

So, what are my goals, you are probably asking by this point?  One is physical while the other is more creative/emotional.  Let's go with the physical one first:  I've been wanting to be able to run a 5K, without having to stop to walk, for at least the last three years.  I've continually attempted to do the Couch to 5K program, which is nine weeks long, but I've never been able to get past week 6 and, usually, I have to do some of the program for a couple weeks in a row.  Part of this is due to the fact that I'm not in as good of shape as I'd like to be while part of it is simply my exercise-induced asthma.  The closest I've come to completing this was during the Buffalo Corporate Challenge when I ran about 2/3 of the 3.5 miles in 42 minutes.  Not great and my back started hurting partway through, but, still, a place to start.

I don't have a particular race in mind yet.  I've looked for local ones that are a little more than nine weeks out to allot for doubling up on a couple of the weeks, but I have to be careful not to schedule anything at the end of August or the beginning of September because of the girls moving back in, orientation, and the beginning of school.  I think I'm leaning more towards the end of September or the beginning of October so if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.  Anything I write about this particular goal will be tagged "running goal" if you want to search the blog that way.

Now, on to the second goal.  The creative one.  I would like to write a play.  I came up with an idea I fell in love with a few months ago and I would like to see it come to fruition.  At this point, I'm not sure how much of the play I can feasibly write before the school year begins again, so part of my goal setting process is determining what a reasonable amount to have accomplished by the end of the summer would be.  Anything I write about this goal will be tagged "writing goal" if you want to keep track of that one.

If you do read this, feel free to cheer me on or make suggestions.  Even if you don't, thanks for providing the possibility of an audience to help me stay on track.