More Speed and More Stamina

Wow, it has been a very long time since I last blogged. Not to worry. I have jogged quite a few times in the last 2 weeks, despite not writing about it.

In fact I've gotten in some amazing jogs. I haven't been able to bust through the 2 mile limit I seem to have yet but I am really doing some good stuff with those 2 miles. I have more speed and more stamina which makes me happy! woooooooooo!

I'm also back to hiking. I've missed hiking. It is probably my favorite form of exercise ever. I've just been nervous about reaggravating my old back injury. Jogging sure helped that, despite the fact that my doctor really hates that I jog. Bad for the joints, she says.

But I love it. I love that feeling of just pushing through and the way you feel when you get into a rhythm.

Now I only have a little over 2 months to get to 3.1 miles but I think I'm well on my way.

Go me!

So Awesome!

I got out of the show early and still had enough light to go for a jog and for some reason I had a ton of energy. I did about 1.75 miles in the neighborhood at more of a jog and less than a walk.

So in 32 minutes I did close to two miles. Yay! And I jogged most of it. When I walked it was not as often and not as long.

Feels good to be getting ahead, even with all the issues and the blazing heat. The sun was setting and I could feel heat radiating off the blacktop like a furnace. Ugh!

Probably won't get another good one in Until next week unless I can get out Sunday.

Slightly Better

Yesterday and today I just jog/walked the neighborhood. I did about 1.5 miles each day so that's ok. I just needed to get out and do something, even if I'm currently unable to jog a mile consistently right now.
I did some hills too. I like jogging up the hills but even walking down a slight grade just jars my knees and makes them feel like they lock up. I want to train myself to slowly jog the gentle declines by October but we will see. If I have to walk down the hills and slopes I'll do it to save my knees.
I like my knees.
So far I've been using my ijog app in the neighborhood and I really like it. It seems pretty spot on in regards to distance. I compared yesterday's jog with an online map and it was the same so I'm going with spot on. I'm hoping the "calories burned" is good for my body too. I like burning almost 200 calories in one 30 minute jog/walk.
Tuesday's are off and Wednedsay is my last jog before I start stage managing. I'm hoping to fit in some quick jogs but stage managing is a giant time suck...sure it is a fun one but it is a time suck nonetheless.

NOT HAPPY

I'm so not happy! My piece of crap body is going backwards. I tried to jog a mile today and only made it 880m before my leg started hurting so bad it felt like it was on fire and I had to stop and walk or physically collapse.
I'm so annoyed. At least I jog/walked 2 miles overall. But I should be doing better by now.

I REFUSE to let my crappy body rule me. I'd rather die from jogging than from not doing anything.

I have a doctor's appointment to check on the swelling in my legs and these weird burning pains but I don't have any faith or respect for doctors. I've found that they usually think whatever they want and don't bother to look at symptoms or genetics. Boy I loathe doctors.

Sigh

Back to it

Man, I'm totally falling apart. So many health issues. Still, I refuse to let my crappy body control my desire to get back into some semblance of shape.

I went out Monday night but took it slow since I'd been off for a week. It was nothing exciting. Tonight was a nice neighborhood jog/walk. I'm pretty sure I managed to do a total of 2 miles because I've been timing myself while at the track. That way when I'm street jogging I have a time to compare.

I forgot to use my fancy new jogging app to time my miles though. Darn. When I'm at the track I don't need it and I haven't really done anything but the track in such a long time.

Right now my back hurts a little too much. Hopefully by taking time off tomorrow I'll be fine.

I'll hit that 5k. Oh yes, I will!

Argh! So Annoying.

I'm so not feelin' it.
I went out last night but jogged a super slow mile and had a lot of issues.
Sigh
First off I got in a decent 440 but then I had to stop and fix my sock and shoe which ruined my whole "jog without stopping" method.
I just decided to keep on going. I made it a mile in 18 minutes which is ridiculously slow but at least it was almost non-stop.
Still, after that mile I walked a while then ran a 220 and had to stop because it felt like the bottoms of my feet were on fire and my legs were sponges.
So annoying. I want to keep consistently jogging. At this rate I won't get to 3.1 miles though.
I can't figure out why my legs feel so weird all the time or why my back still makes my legs twinge.
I'm thinking I'll take this week off. I have a lot of stuff going on and maybe I just don't need to be thinking of jogging.
Double sigh.

Friday Nights

Well, I took 3 days off and decided not to push it too much. Fridays are just so good for getting a nice jog in. I did do some faster jogs though so that made me happy and I was able to do the first 440 in slightly under 4 minutes which made me thrilled.
For some reason my ankles are swollen so I didn't want to push it too much. Its really annoying. How I wish I'd stayed in shape and not let myself go for 5 years.
Terrible
But I'm on my way back. I may never be like I was in my 20s but I WILL jog that entire 5K.

The First Mile!

I did it!
I jogged 4 laps...1 mile...without stopping to walk!
That's the first time I've done that in 5 years!
I hit my end of July goal the 2nd to last week of June.
I guess I should redo my goals.
Now I've just got to make sure I can do a mile consistently.
And get faster. No need to be super speedy but right now I'm going quite slow.
Those will be my new goals.
Yay!

Jog-poddin'

Well, today I managed to jog-plod 3 laps without stopping or walking. So close to 4! I was very excited but my calves were burning and I had to stop and walk an entire lap. Then I only managed a 220 jog before I finally gave in.
Still, while it might be a quick jog it was productive to show me I could exceed the 2 laps I have been doing.
I'm so going to hit my goal of a mile non-stop by the end of July!

Three Days off is too Much

Well, I had to get back out there but I made myself take it really easy.
Today I only did a little bit. I walked a 440 then jogged a 440 then walked a 220 then jogged a 440 then finished off with a track and a half warmdown.
Feels pretty good. A little too tight in the calves and got that annoying thigh tingling from the back injury. Ugh.
I did time my first 440 jog and it was 4 minutes so that's helpful for when I'm not at the track because I have no idea what the distances are in my neighborhood.
It's also helpful for me to determine if I can get it down to 3 minutes or to know how long it'll take me to run the entire 5k at this point.
Good feeling getting out agan though. Three days off is too much.

So Annoying

Oy! I totally overdid it with the Friday jog. I thought I'd be able to take Saturday off and get back out tonight but I'm still feeling twinges of pain in places I need to be careful with. I'm getting those weird leg pains from the back injury and weird left knee issues and right hip issues.
Sigh.
So close and now I've got to take 2 to 3 days off. Still, at least I know I'm up there. Hopefully by Monday or Tuesday I'll be able to get in some nice, slow and easy jog time, maybe amp it up for Wednesday.
Until then I want to keep from reinjuring myself. I'm getting too old for fast injury recovery.
So annoying.

A Sweet, Sweet Jog

I had a sweet, sweet jog tonight. I didn't even get to the track until late so it was nice and cool out.
I pulled off an 880 followed with two 440s and two 220s and then I finished off with four quarters. I tried running or fast jogging the quarters, lifting me knees higher than usual.
I felt really good after. Like I'll be able to do the 5K in a decent time, jogging the whole time, maybe even a slow run at some point.
Woooooo!
I did really feel it in my knees at the end. That makes me nervous. I don't want to do anything that'll mess up my knees. I wear a brace-type thingy on the right one. I might have to get one for my left knee too if I plan to keep this up.
I'm hoping to get out twice more this weekend and do some major distance. I took three nights off in a row and didn't mean to so I've got to catch up again.

Monday Night at the Track

I did it! Yay! Tonight I managed to jog (slowly but consistently) an 880. That's two times around the track without stopping to walk AND that was my end of June goal and here it is only the 7th.
Not only did I pull off an 880 I did it twice! I was so excited! I decided to push myself tonight as hard as I could to do the two 880s with a full 440 walk between each. Then I did a couple 1/4 track jogs at the end.
I'm very impressed with myself. I had to go to the dirt track tonight to avoid the teaming crowds at the rubber track. It had many runners, including some running group and the field is roped off for seeding so no one is kicking soccer balls at the runners on accident.
I think I'll need to ice my knees. They were starting to feel it a little towards the end.
Yesterday was good too. I didn't do any 880s but I did pull off another 440 and a 4 series of 220s with 1/4 track walks and 2 1/4 jog 1/4 walk series.
The 1/4 jog and 1/4 walk series is something I started after watching some guy running yesterday. He was lifting his knees really high and doing that prancing jog thing. I tried it out for 2 of those 1/4 jogs and while it felt super weird it was a nice, different workout.

Finally Got a 440 Straight Jog

I had a great Saturday night jog at the track! I walked a 220 and then managed to jog an entire track without stopping! So exciting for me. I then dropped down to my usual 220 jog with a 1/4 track walk in between. I lost track of how many I did so it was either 3 or 4.
Towards the end my right foot was hurting so I decided not to push it. Why injure myself and make it so I had to take more down time than necessary when I could just cut a couple jogs short.
I took my cousin's advice though. She mentioned that a sun visor would help alot, both with keeping the sun out of the eyes and with keeping the sweat from dripping in the eyes. I got a nice one and wore it and was quite happy with the results.
Hoping to get out later today. Can't jog in the midst of the 90 degree weather and blinding sun.

Joggin' and Dancin'

Instead of jogging yesterday when I was in the mood to jog but not to leave the house I ended up doing an hour of Wii dance games so I got in some good exercise.
Today I wasn't in the mood to jog but I went anyway because I had such a craptacular day I needed to work it out.
Since I went so late it was cool, almost cold, and the track was full of exercisers of all types. The sun was also blinding. I guess in LA I can count on that no matter what...unless I jog at midnight or something.
I feel good after. Another 4 sets of 220s with my 1/4 track walk in between. Yay me! It's very exciting to be jogging again. I'm even getting better at the midfoot/no heel jog so maybe soon I can actually listen to music instead of concentrate so hard on my form.

Getting Even Better!

Well, I made it to the track again yesterday and it was really good! I ended up doing 220 jogs and then a 1/4 track walk between for a total of about 4 220s. That's pretty good I have to say. A total of a half mile jogging although more like 3/4 mile with the walking part.
My current plan is to be jogging a half mile without stopping to walk at all by the end of June. Then a mile by the end of July. Then two miles by end of August and three miles by end of September.
I figure that will put me on target for a 5k by October. I want to start out easy this time. I'm usually terrible about pushing too hard too fast and then knocking myself out of practice for a few weeks to recover.
I'm planning to try to get to the track tonight. We will see. After all, "Glee" is on and it is the second to last episode of the season.

School is Out - Here I Come, 440 Track

Went to the track today. I managed to jog walk a mile in about 20 minutes which I find amazing. For some reason those numbers just seem too fast. I mean, the fastest I've ever done a mile was in 8 minutes and that was many, many, many years ago, when I was young and in good shape.
Still, 20 minutes. That makes me happy. I went to the track because I hoped it wouldn't be crowded now that school is out. Just some guys playing soccer is all. Oh, and blinding sun. Nothing like blinding sun to almost ruin a good jog.
Meh.
I did a few 220s which was really helpful. I've only been doing blocks while jogging the neighborhood so I have no time and distance specifics. Now I know I can at least do a solid 220 with my new jogging method...no heels touching the track.
Yay! I'm hoping tomorrow I can get in another good round of track jogging.

I'm Back!

So the goal was to update this after every jog. Then I quit jogging so when I finally got back into it I totally forgot ot blog it.
Sigh.
Well, here's the scoop! Was down for a few weeks for various reasons but in that time I saw something about people who run barefoot. They land midfoot instead of on the heel. I figured I'd give it a try and it has improved my running and speed but it feels funny.
So far I've been out twice this week. I can't listen to music right now because so much concentration goes into making sure I'm jogging properly.
Seriously
Who knew it took such intense concentration to jog?
Anyway, I'll try to keep updating. I'm still only at about 25 minutes jog/walk alternating.

Increasing the Distance

Got in an almost 30 minute jog/walk tonight. I went out later than normal and it was pretty nice to not have the sun in my eyes. I'm also doing pretty good at increasing the jogging distance although I am doing something that tweaks the bottom part of my left pinky toe. Come on! I can't be derailed from jogging by a pinky toe.

Bah!

Still gotta take it easy. Can't overdo it and end up with another injury. I'm really enjoying getting back to the pavement.

1st Post...Clearly

I want to blog my return to jogging. I'm training for a 5K coming up in October. Yes, I know, 3.1 miles isn't really that far. I've run at least 10 miles...20 years ago that is.

Anyway, it has been a log time but I'm back in the game. And now I can let the world know how it is going.

So hello world!