Test: Failed

I went for a long run today to close out my first week of training for the half marathon.  I met my friend who is training for the Ogden Marathon.  She was due to run 15-18 miles today and I only needed to run 13 so we started together and she went on at the end to finish her run.  I decided to try out a new program I installed on my phone.  It's called Endomondo and it is designed to use the GPS system in my phone to track my run, time it, and post it online.  I pressed Start and didn't look at my phone until the end of the run.  (Running with my phone was a pain--all the jostling and bouncing.)

The run started out fine but I felt tired and unmotivated--this combined with a horribly, bitter-cold headwind made it difficult to keep up spirits.  The return run was easier with the wind at our backs and running down the long incline we'd just run up.

I finished the run feeling achy and tired.  I guess that means I worked hard enough.  I took a look at the finished map created by my phone's GPS and looked at the distance run--1670 miles?  I don't think so.  I guess I'll be testing other GPS programs for running in the future.  Ideally I'd like to get a Garmin but that requires money! 

I think a good stretch session is in order tonight.

Something worth training for

My running is going well and I enjoy working toward this goal of 1000 miles.  This doesn't mean, however, that I'm content not training for any races.  So yesterday, in a food-induced search for something to further motivate good eating and exercise habits, I signed up for the Provo Half Marathon.  I'm really excited to start training for this race and to start including speed work and tempo runs into my workouts.  I'm also recommitting to my WW plan and now have my dear husband on board with me which will help tremendously. 

Let the fun begin!!  My race is May 1st.  I may be signing up for some other races soon but I'm still researching options.  Perhaps a triathlon?

The Saturday Run

A few months ago I'd have given anything to be done with the long and sometimes dreaded Saturday run.  But today is was welcomed.  My friend whom I have semi-trained with in the past invited me to run with her today as she has started training for the Ogden Marathon.  She was supposed to run 14 miles today and since I've only been up to 7 miles this year (and on a treadmill), I told her I'd love to go but that I'd only be able to do maybe 9 or 10. 

We left around 9 since neither of us had anywhere to be and it was nice to start a little later.  That's the great thing about running in the winter--you don't have to get up early to beat the heat.  There was a light drizzle for the entire run which was nice.  I've always loved running in the rain.  I felt good and it was nice to have company and to be running outside.  We are blessed with such beautiful running trails here and only a short distance from home. 

We ran together for 10 miles and she continued on to meet her 14 mile goal.  My legs were definitely feeling the distance but it wasn't too hard and I'm glad I went.

Hiatus

For sanity's sake, I took a brief hiatus last weekend from my Weight Watchers habits.  It was not without penalty, however.  I hesitated to weigh in on Monday, not because I was afraid of gaining, but because I didn't want that little graph with my weight loss to show anything but losses.

After weighing in this morning, I was even with my lowest weight so that felt good.  I know I'm not too far off track.  I've been doing very well since Monday and feel refreshed with the healthy eating habits again.

I think I have hit middle ground now--where binging doesn't satisfy and doesn't really even appeal anymore but its still difficult to eat so consciously all the time.  I've never cooked so many vegetables in all my life!

I ran 4 miles today.