long time no post

Well, I had a slip back into unhealthy habits: smoking, no exercise, etc. Then again, the past few weeks have been difficult. My dad passed away a month ago. It was swift and unexpected, and I miss him dearly.

To add to this, I learned something about tragedy -- it brings out the best and the worst in people. My mom and my sisters have been amazing, but my brother has shown his true colors...shades of brown like an asshole.

It's funny how some people see their family in pain and see that as an opportunity to bully, insult, threaten and try to take charge even when they've been estranged for 3 decades. His abuse has multiplied the pain of loosing my dad, and it's simply unfair, unnecessary, and unforgiveable. Oh well. It's his loss. I was nice to him and opened my heart despite his past abuse, and he only disrespected my efforts by throwing unreasonable accusations and threats at me...in a flood of text messages at 2 o'clock in the morning.

In dealing with this and losing my dad so suddenly, I started smoking again, and when I smoke, I don't exercise. But in missing and loving my dad, I'm also getting back to taking care of myself now because he would want that. His health problems all stemmed from his smoking, and he would proselytize to me about the dangers of it. There's rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, which he had, and both are triggered by smoking...both can be heriditary as well.

So, there it is. It'll be slow getting back into the routine, but day by day, I'll get back to running regularly.

Mon: walked 1 mile with Nola
Tues: walked 1 mile with Nola
Wed: Walked 1.5 miles with Nola
Thurs: Walked 1.5 miles with Nola...try to do some yoga tonight
Fri: walk/run
Sat: walk/yoga
Sun: walk/run

Week 15 V 2.0

I'm not going to count the previous "week 15." I'd injured my foot and had to take a break last month, but I'm getting back to it this week. Easy does it in shifting gears again.

Monday - walked 1 mile with Nola.

Tuesday - walked 1 mile with Nola again, and swam in the pool for a bit.

Wednesday - walked 1 mile with Nola.

Thursday - walk 1.5 miles with Nola

Friday - walk 1.5 miles and hit the gym

Saturday - dog training day. I'll try to do some yoga when getting home

Sunday - running, swimming, walking

Goal: 12 miles.

total distance this week:

mileage on these shoes:

What I Learned About the Peroneal

To begin, when you strain a tendon...or have tendonitis from overuse....it stinks. I'd use something more colorful, but 'stinks' pretty much covers it. I don't know if it's a strain or actual tendonitis exactly because I haven't seen a doctor, but my guess is tendonitis since I've been running regularly. No matter. The important part is that it hurts and keeps me from running, neither of which I like.

So, what is the peroneal? It's the area on the side of the foot, and the peroneal tendons are here...which is exactly along the area where my foot hurts:

I would have never really thought about these tendons, until injuring them, but now that I've have the "opportunity" to research them, I find that they're interesting. These tendons are largely responsible for our ability to maintain balance. They help maintain the foots position when walking and running, and control muscle contraction when moving the foot to the side.

Okay. o_O

So maybe not that interesting, but I found some exercises to help strengthen my feet. Dance exercises at that! Releves help strengthen the feet and ankles, building balance. Here's a nifty gif of dancer feet.

and these arch stretches...

and eventually working up to this! It's crazy. I know. But with these exercises and yoga tree poses, my feet will be so much stronger and happier...

except you might not like them when they're angry.

Week 15

I'm taking it easy this week. Somehow, I have peroneal tendonitis in my right foot. Hmmmm. So, it's yoga, walking, cycling and swimming for the next 2-4 weeks.

Monday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola.

Tuesday - walked 1.5 miles with the dog, and I'm switching up our routine. With the telecommute, I have more time in the morning, and Nola loves the dog park. So, it only makes sense that I use that extra time to throw the ball for her, right? Dog logic = yes.

Wednesday - walked 1.5 miles and ran 3 miles. 3:1 minute intervals at an 11 minute mile running pace. It was ok, but I'm paying for it. I should not have run.

Thursday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola and went to the park. Nola is pretty good at the agility equipment there, all two pieces, but it's something. She can jump through the hoop, and even walk the seesaw teeter. I'm so proud.

Friday - walked 1/2 mile and went to the park. Nola continues to get better at the teeter, and I always feel guilty when we leave. Then again, she is a pro at giving the guilty eye. She must have been a Jewish mother in a past life. :-) In the afternoon, I went to the gym with Sean, but didn't run. Instead, I used the recumbent bike and did 6 miles....burning about 200 calories in 30 minutes. It wasn't bad, but not the same as running. At least it didn't hurt my foot though. I just have to be patient and let this heal.

Saturday - dog training day. I'll try to do some yoga when getting home

Sunday - cycling, swimming, walking

Goal: 8 miles.

total distance this week:

mileage on these shoes:

Week 14

This week wasn't good. My monthly was hell this time around, and I didn't walk or run for the entire week. Oh well...next week.

Week 13

Last week was good, and my goal is to keep it going this week while adding yoga back in. It takes 21 days to make a new habit. So, if I can get 3 runs in this week and next week, I'll be doing really well. I do need to get some new inserts for my running shoes though. My dogs were barking after yesterday's run.

Monday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola and did 1 hour of yoga. It was fabulous and followed by a yoga-high which I haven't had in ages, and I'm looking forward to doing it again tomorrow. I'm so glad to have fixed the old DVD to play on the iPad. This rocks.

Tuesday - walked 1.5 miles with the dog. It was nice. There was a cooling breeze, and it felt as if rain would come soon. No such luck on the rain, but Nola and I will take the cool wind.

Wednesday - walk and a shorter run. Building speed, I'm going to try 3.25-3.5 minute runs at a 11 minute mile pace with 1 minute walks for 30 minutes. -- Oops. I completely forgot about increasing the time on my run, but my body isn't quite ready for it yet anyway. I was able to do 2/3 of my run at an 11 minute mile pace, but couldn't keep that up for the whole 30 minutes. However, I did run for 35 minutes total, 3 miles altogether with the warm-up and cool-down.

Thursday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola. The humidity made it tough this morning. After only 10 minutes, I was covered in sweat, but we kept at it and did our full loop.

Friday - walk, yoga and short run. Pushing the speed again, I'll try to match Wednesday's results...hopefully moving a little faster. -- I only did yoga on Monday. My schedule simply hasn't allowed the extra hour in the morning, but that's really no excuse. There's plenty of time in the evening. BUT, all the more reason to get back to it today. I'm even telecommuting while writing this, and that shaves nearly 2 hours of driving time. I won't do 2 hours of yoga, but there's no reason to not get my vinyasa on.

Saturday - I just don't seem to have time on Saturdays for exercise, not with an 8am class for Nola and then dog training work till 4 in the afternoon.

Sunday - I wasn't feeling all that great and only ran 3 miles, but at least it's something.

Goal: 20 miles.

total distance this week: 14

mileage on these shoes: 164

Week 12

Sticking with it this week, and that includes making good food choices.

Monday - walked 1 mile with Nola in the morning. I didn't have the energy.

Tuesday - walked 1.5 miles & yoga. My energy level was low starting out, but I stuck with it this time. We made it through the entire loop. I didn't have time to do yoga before work, but I'll do it in the evening.

Wednesday - walked 1.5 miles & ran 3.5 with warm-up and cool down.

Thursday - walked 1.5 miles.

Friday - walked 1.5 miles and ran 3.5 with warm-up and cool down

Saturday - rest

Sunday - ran 4.5 miles. 5 miles counting the warm-up and cool down. Woo!!! It took an hour, but I did it.

Goal: 20 miles.

total distance this week: 19

mileage on these shoes: 150

I didn't do yoga as much as I'd prefer, but there were some technical difficulties. I've outgrown the DVD I've been using, and my other kept skipping in the Xbox. I did eventually rip the DVD and reformat it to be compatible with Apple iPad and iPod.

Week 11

I'm going to bump the 3:1 interval to 3.5:1 this week. We'll see how it goes.

Monday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola in the morning. Nola was feeling pretty spry, and we kept a good pace. However, I'm glad to have the running routine because I don't feel pressured to push her to walk faster. Our morning walks are mainly for her benefit, for exercise and fun, and I enjoy going at her pace.

Tuesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola.

Wednesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola but didn't run. Sean and I came down with a stomach bug.

Thursday - sick

Friday - walked 1.5 miles & ran for 30 minutes. 3 miles

Saturday - nope

Sunday - walked 1.5 miles. I was lazy and not good with food either. It wasn't a healthy day overall.

I didn't meet any of my goals this week, and that seems to be a trend -- a good week or two followed by lazy weeks. This needs to stop.

Goal: 20 miles.

total distance this week: 10.5

mileage on these shoes: 131

Week 10

Monday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola.

Tuesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola.

Wednesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola & ran for 30 minutes...approximately 2.5 miles

Thursday - walk 1.5 miles with Nola.

Friday - walk 1.5 miles & ran for 30 minutes, 2.5 miles

Saturday - I rested, and it was glorious.

Sun - This week's long run was 4 miles of running with nearly 1 mile cool down on the treadmill, not counting the walk home. The last mile was hard, and I extended the walk from 1 to 1.5 minutes to give me a little more recovery time.

Goal: 18-19 miles.

total distance this week: 17.5

mileage on these shoes: 120

interval this week: 3:1

Very close to goal this week, even without walking on Sat or Sun. I'm feeling good about the routine. My legs feel strong, and I'm starting to push the speed a little. Now, I'm nowhere near as fast as I'd like to be, and right now, my lungs start to burn after running at a 10-min mile pace for 3 minutes. I can't keep that pace up without tiring out too soon, but I am able to keep running for 3 minutes at a 12-11 minute mile consistently.

Week 9

Monday - walked 0.5 miles with Nola in the morning.

Tuesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola.

Wednesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola & ran 4 miles. Woo!!

Thursday - walk 1.5 miles with Nola.

Friday - walk 1.5 miles & ran 2.5 miles. This was a harder run today. I'm not sure why, but my body just tired out quickly.

Saturday - walk 1.5 miles

Sun - walked with Nola and Sean 1.5 miles. I did not run today, but that's alright. I wasn't feeling very well, with emotional processing of upcoming events and hormones from my moon.

Goal: 20 miles.

total distance this week: 16

mileage on these shoes: 102.5

This week did not start out easy. My stomach began bothering me on Monday: gas, indigestion, abdominal pains and general grumpiness because of it. Wednesday, it was still bothering me, but an incredible thing happened during my run. It stopped. While running, I focused on my breath and my foot rhythm, and the pains in my belly went away. Woohoo!!! I've run/walked over 100 miles on these shoes. Yay!!!!

Week 8

Monday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola in the morning.

Tuesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola. Ran 3 miles.

Wednesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola & 45 min of yoga in the morning.

Thursday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola.

Friday - walk 1.5 miles & ran 3.5 miles at the gym

Saturday - walked 1.5 miles

Sun - walked with Nola and Sean 1.5 miles. Then, Sean and I went to the gym, and I ra/walked for 50 minutes!! ...3.5 miles

Goal: 18 miles.

total distance this week: 20.5

mileage on these shoes: 86.5

Week 7

Monday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola in the morning, will run tonight at the gym (3.5 miles, depending on what I can manage). Also, I did 45 minutes of yoga this morning. (5 miles)

Tuesday - walk 1.5 miles with Nola. 45 min of yoga

Wednesday - walk 1.5 miles with Nola...running in the gym 2.5 miles & 45 min of yoga (4 miles)

Thursday - walk 1.5 miles with Nola & 45 min of yoga

Friday - walk 1.5 miles & 45 min of yoga

Saturday - walk 1.5 miles

Goal: 15 miles.

total distance this week: 15

mileage on these shoes: 66

Week 6

I skipped week 5. Bad, yes I know. I've just been stressed and then started smoking again, but I'm back at it this week...slowly.

Monday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola

Tuesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola

Wednesday - walked 1.5 miles with Nola

Thursday - walk 1.5 miles with Nola

Friday - walk 1.5 miles

Saturday - free day...

Sun - walked with Nola and Sean 1.5 miles. We did 30 minutes of light, or what Sean calls "baby yoga" after walking and then we went to the pool and swam for a bit.

Goal: any

total distance this week: 9

mileage on these shoes: 51 miles

Week 5

Monday...walked 2 miles. We walked 2 miles this morning. Nola was slow, but then again, there were many spots that needed sniffing.

Tuesday...walk with Nola and run. Nola and I walked 1.5 miles, and I walked an extra .75 on my own while talking on the phone with my mom. Running, 1.5 miles in 19 minutes at 1.5 min run: 1 min walk intervals. My legs are still really sore from dance class, but overall, I feel alright.

Wednesday...walked 1.5 miles this morning. My legs are still sore from dance class, and because of that, I took it a little easy today. Besides, I'll be camping this weekend and will get plenty of exercise.

Thursday...nope

Friday...nope

Sat & Sun...nope

not a good week for running

Goal: 17 miles

total distance this week: 6.5 miles

mileage on these shoes: 42

Week 4

Ok! This will be the 4th week. Wow. Nearly a month into the running routine, and I feel good. This is great, and I've got a hunch that it's something I'll stick with. The only negative feelings circling around are weight related. It's been 3 weeks, and I haven't lost any weight. However, I just have to stick with it and keep in mind that this class started out doing only a half mile, which doesn't burn many calories. We're getting into the 2 mile mark now, and the pounds WILL drop away. My inner defeatist will not win this bout, and I refuse to give into the voice that tells me, "Why bother? You're not losing any weight. Let's just watch a movie and eat some brownies."

Monday... walked 1.2 miles

Tuesday...walked 1.2 miles, ran 1.5 miles

Wednesday...walked 1.2 miles

Thursday...walked 1.2 miles, ran 1.5 miles

Friday...walked 1.2 miles

Saturday...Run 2 miles. We ran 2 miles with 1:1 intervals, and it took 24 minutes for the entire run. I was tired at the end, but it felt good.

Sunday...break. I went to a Bollywood Shake class, and decided to skip the walk. Nola also got to go on a trip to the canine center this morning. So, she got her exercise, too.

Goal: 17 miles

total distance this week: 11 miles

mileage on these shoes: 36 miles

Week 3

Time to start the week 3 post. This Saturday, we'll be running 1.5 miles on the trail. My goal for this week is to be able to run 2 miles, and to walk 2.5 to 3 miles.

Monday...running. Nola and I got out and ran this morning, for 1.5 miles. I increased the running time to 40 seconds, keeping the 1 minute walk break. Nola even ran ahead of me twice, and in all, it was a good run. 2


Tuesday...walk. We walked 2 miles today. Nola was slow at first, but that's her usual sniffing everything till finding an appropriate potty spot routine. It felt good to be out, although I found myself wanting to stop after half a mile. With everything going on at the office for now, I'm having a daily battle with depression. Walking and running helps. It really does. If I weren't active right now, I'd probably be a puddle of teary mess at home this morning. Instead, I'm braving it and am at work. The not knowing is stressful, and combine that with the hostility from a certain co-worker, you get nearly unbearable. I'm stronger than this though, and everything will be alright, job or no job. No matter what's going on emotionally and mentally, I'm going to keep up with the physical, and I finished the 2 mile walk. Besides, the other aspects will follow along, or so the hope goes.


Wednesday...run. 45 seconds, 1 minute walk intervals. Nola was SLOW. I'm beginning to think that it's too much for her, but I'm going to give her another chance on Friday. On this last shot, I will bring incentive for her, i.e., hotdog, and maybe that will get her moving. I know she can run, but this morning, I spent most of my energy encouraging and pulling on her leash. She simply didn't want to, and now, I'm exhausted while I should feel energized. In spite of it though, we ran 1.5 miles. I think. It might have been 2 miles. I had to focus on keeping her up to speed, even though I wasn't running fast, and I may have lost track of a loop. There was no rhythm in this morning's run, and that's unfortunate because with the stress at work I really needed that today. Oh well. I'm not giving up on her yet, and even if the run wasn't what I dreamt it would be, it still got my heart going.


Thursday...walk. We walked 2 miles today, and I'm rethinking the plan to run tomorrow. Yesterday's activity of keeping Nola going did not help my knee, and I can feel it today. I'll just have to listen to my body, but walking another 2 miles tomorrow won't be a bad thing.


Friday...run. Nola's last shot. I'll see how she does, and if she drags again, I have to face that she's just too old to run with me. I don't want her to be old yet, and I hope she keeps up. 45 seconds, 1 minute walk intervals. -- Okay! We did half a mile with the running interval, and Nola kept up. Encouragement with a treat is the trick. So, we 're going to keep trying together. After the running, we walked an additional 1.5 miles. 2 miles total today. Woohoo! That's over 12 miles this week.

Saturday...run 1.5 miles. Done! Overall, it was a good run. My legs are starting to feel stronger, and my thighs are already sore from the run. This is the first time I've had any soreness since starting the class, and it's not bad, just enough to remind me that I'm doing something good. The only bad parts of the run were the humidity and finding out that my running buddy is moving to Flagstaff in 2 weeks. However, I'm happy for her. She got a great job and will be able to pursue her MBA.

Sunday....Nope. This was a recovery day from the night before. Oh, well. Back at it for the rest of the week. The bad part is that Sean and I smoked Saturday night.

Side note: There's a crosswalk on the trail I walk with Nola, and it doesn't matter if I press the button that causes the crossing light to flash for drivers. I've lost count of the number of times I've nearly been hit by drivers who will slow down just enough so that I think they're going to stop, only to speed up and drive through the crossing anyway. I'm not sure of what I can do about this. I could throw rocks at their cars, but then take the chance of the rock bouncing back and hitting me or my dog. Let's not forget that it's probably illegal as well, and they could potentially press charges even though they nearly hit me. Although it would be funny to argue that they couldn't have seen me, because if they had, they would have stopped. So, maybe I'll start taking a pic of their cars and jotting down the license plate number. That way, I'd at least have car identification if anyone ever does hit me or my dog. --- I called 311 about this, and they're reporting it to the Metro department. Maybe they'll update that blinking yellow to red. Case # 97352

total distance this week: 11.5
mileage on these shoes: 25

Week 2

Despite what many fanatics may believe, the end is not nigh. Bill (Nye) is fine, and this post will be full of my running report by the end of next week.

Monday, walked 2 miles with Nola.

On Tuesday, I kept the previous goal of 1 mile. Running 30 secs , and walking 1 minute. This time was a little more difficult. I got tired quicker and sweated more, but it was also later in the day with a higher heat index. However. Nola did not slow down, and she even ran ahead of me for part of the lap.

Wednesday, reading "Running: Getting Started" by Jeff Galloway. I walked 1.2 miles with Nola in the morning, approx 25 minute walk.

Thursday...Nola and I did two laps around the pond this morning (the pond is a 1/2 mile loop). It was very humid, and hopefully that weather produces some rain soon other than making runners sweat. Obviously, I got a good sweat in, and the breeze (and shower later) was a gracious treat. On treats, I took a hotdog for Nola also, and this worked really well. When I had a bit of hotdog in my hand, she kept up to my speed, smiling the whole way. We did the recommended 30 seconds of running and 1 minute of walking. It took us a little over 30 minutes, including warm-up and cool-down walks of about 8 minutes. My legs are a little tired now, but aside from that, I feel pretty good. I noticed a little boost in other things this week, too. ;-)

Friday....walked 1.2 miles with Nola. It was a slower walk because Nola stopped to sniff often, but I take responsibility for that. :-)

Saturday...class. We ran 1 mile at 30 second run and 1 minute walk intervals, with a warm-up and cool-down of 8 minutes each as always. It felt good, and get this. I was at the front of the pack!


Sunday...I walked with Nola for 1.2 miles. Aunt Flo came to visit bringing along her imps, Pinch and Cramp. Their visit is not welcome, but I pushed through it and walked anyway. Exercise does help, however counterintuitive that may be when, in the moment, I just want to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea.

Random. I want this tattoo on my arm. Of course, better than this image. I found this tattoo here, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKReoDKucxYX5vLD_DzA4-Y66-zGrr1h5CEIxAfaSWpmcO6QXOqyUMmzHzEbBUs824ZywywvDiIrRd9dOtTJn2yhWh_Q8cMkN4Tun0cO8PM8Gi12eDHUr6iDj6nmmId6Oj3gdxgABuaY/s400/Dog+tat.jpg, and then modified it to say Nola.

total distance this week: 10.5
mileage on these shoes: 13.5

Week 1

Last Saturday marked the beginning of a brand new routine for me. Running. The RunTex class went 1/2 a mile, running 20 seconds and walking for a minute. It was easy-peasy. :-)

On Sunday, I stepped it up and ran 1 mile. Running for 30 seconds and walking for 1 minute. Nola even went with me, although she was a little slow. Afterwards I felt great!

A good first week, and I'm looking forward to class in the morning! Bring on week 2!!

Total distance covered: 3 miles

Starting somewhere

New beginnings. I've started running. Correction. I've starting running again, but with full intention this time. Granted the only other time I've attempted running, it lasted less than a month. If I can get past that point, it'll something completely new for me.

A friend convinced me to sign up for a running class for beginners, and so far, it's been a great experience. We're starting out slow, running mixed with walking, and it's more walking than running for now. At the end of 10 weeks, I should be able to run 5 miles. Woo!!

Here's my running journal.