Brick. Wall.

This week hasn't been so good. At all.

First of all, I've been drinking soda. And eating fried food. Too much of the former, not as much the latter. It started on Sunday when I was working. Have I mentioned that the breakfast in the cafeteria is soooo good? Well, it is. Scrambled eggs (probably made from the powder), and their fried potatoes? MmmMmm. You have to wash it all down with a fountain Pepsi. That, my friend, is delicious. And unfortunately, completely filled with unnecessary fats and sugars. Well, I went down Sunday morning, thinking that I deserved such a breakfast (especially since I hadn't had one in such a long time), and I think that set my course for the rest of the week. On Monday when I grabbed a Raspberry Coke at Moe's, my husband questioned it, but I told him it's been just about a month so it's okay. And pretty much the rest of the week everything was terrible. Fast food and everything. Ga-ross.

Secondly, I talked last week about having issues running. Cramping, mostly. Well I changed shoes and tried again on Monday and, again, felt defeated. Same cramping problems. I talked to my husband about it -- everything -- and he thought maybe I'm running too slow. I set the treadmill at 4.2 mph when I'm "jogging" and I do think it causes my stride to be shortened. So, tonight I increased my speed to 6 mph and wahlah! No problems with calf strain, but I did run into a new problem -- breathlessness! I felt so short of breath after only running a minute! I'm definitely off with my running plan, so I feel very defeated. But I came up with a new plan for this upcoming week. I'm going to merge Week 3 and Week 4 together. M, T, W I am going to run (at 6 mph) Week 3; R, F, S I am going to run Week 4. I probably should have some rest time, so I might consider taking W off and picking up with Week 4 on R. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm still on pace with the schedule to be ready for the 5K in October, but I just hate feeling so defeated! I like feeling exhausted, but I hate feeling like I can't complete something.

Thirdly (which may contribute to point one and two), I have been dealing with migraines this week. I think it's weather related, as the temperature dropped and it's been overcast for a few days, but who knows. The first day I tried avoiding caffeine and chocolate (my first go-to's when headaching), but then caved. I can't tell if it helped at all or made it worse. Probably the latter. It sucks to wake up and feel like crap, ya know? I need to figure out a way to deal with that, because currently it has not been healthy.

I'm working all weekend, which always messes up my work out schedule (my gym is closed during my available hours). But, my husband got a new DVD for his birthday to use with his spin bike. I'm also going to map out a route that should coincide with the distance I should be completing with the Couch to 5K plan. Between those two options, I'll get my workouts.

One thing I'd like to start doing (I would say this week but I think I might be overshooting it...) is cross-training. Specifically with yoga, Zumba, and swimming laps. All are offered at my gym, so I should take advantage of them! More on that later.

Oh, and since I felt so cruddy, I never did do a weigh-in this week. I have done sporadic, non-official weigh-ins throughout the week and I've been within weight range, so I'm crossing my fingers I didn't gain any weight with all my bad decisions this week. Wish me luck!

-A

A Lil' Update

Last week I started the fourth week of Couch to 5k. I had problems all week with it (the intervals are 5 min warm up/3 min running/90 sec walking/5 min running/2.5 min walking/3 min running/90 sec walking/5 min running). During the 5 minute running intervals, about 2 minutes in, my calves would cramp up like crazy. I would have to pause the treadmill, stretch my legs, and continue, to only be in pain for the duration, until my little break in running. It was terrible. But throughout the week, it seemed to be getting better. One thing I have definitely noticed is that I don't get as tired, out of breath, in my heart is pounding sort of way. So things are improving. I remember when week 2 seemed impossible! Anyway, so by the end of last week, I decided I should repeat week 4 so I feel more comfortable without the frequent pauses/stretching.

Over the weekend we stayed at a cabin in Georgia, so Saturday and Sunday we spent hiking (Sunday was our longer hiking day). Well, my calves, again, were cramping like crazy! They feel really tight and it's painful to walk with them (this was also during steep inclines during the hike). Usually my problem is that my heart is racing and I feel out of breath, but just like w/ the running program, same problem. Ugh.

On Monday I went to the gym like a good little girl (after fattening ourselves up on frozen custard in Greenville -- woowee!), and attempted, again, to complete week 4. And, again, my legs were cramping up like crazy, so soon into the run! I decided Tuesday would be a rest day, because after all, my muscles were still sore from weekend hiking. I talked to several friends that are runners and they seem to think it could be my shoes. That's entirely possible. The shoes I have been running in have been used several times for hikes, and perhaps there is too much wear and tear. So, I'm going to use my work shoes for the gym today (before going out and buying a brand new pair of shoes for running) and see what happens. But overall this week has felt very off with my workout schedule. Right now I need to work out today, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to complete my 5/5 goal. It stinks because I work this weekend and the gym isn't open before I leave or after I come home from work. So, I'll have to plan long walks with my dog.

In other news, I weighed in on Tuesday (instead of Monday, because we weren't back into town the morning of), and I'm down another 2lbs. I was surprised because it was a vacation weekend and I consumed more than usual beer and wine. I guess the weekend hiking paid off, though! These 2lbs mean I'm down a total of 11lbs. Woohoo! I still don't really notice the difference with my body, and everything seems to be fitting the same. I'm hoping once I get to 20lbs of loss in a few months that's when I'll really be able to see it.

Well that's what is new in my neck of the woods. What about you, S.? (: