Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Great Debate

The following is an example of the typical conversation I have with myself every other day in the summer heat of Houston.

Lazy Me:  You don't want to run outside in this heat.
Less Lazy Me:  Tell me something I don't know.
Lazy Me:  Um, what's on TV?
Less Lazy Me:  That's your solution to everything.
Lazy:  Food network?
LLM: You're trying to distract.
Lazy: You ate terribly the other day.  You are not going to run well.  Plants versus Zombies?
LLM: I don't need to stay distracted.  I need to get focused.
Lazy:  Have you thought about doing laundry?  You have laundry you could do.  That'd be productive.
LLM: Training first.
Lazy:  What about setting up the calendar for the fall play?  You could always do that.
LLM:  I need to get out there and run.
Lazy:  Other people don't run.  They don't run and they're happy.  Ask them.
LLM:  Other people also have metabolisms that work. 
Lazy:  Yours works.
LLM: Not so much there. Mine works on occasion.
Lazy:  Still counts.  Stay inside.  There's a bike.  You could do that spin class thing.
LLM:  I need to get out on the track.
Lazy:  Triple digits.  The temperature is in triple digits.
LLM:  Houston.
Lazy:  Well now, how long are you going to keep this up?
LLM:  Keep what up?
Lazy:  The running thing, the healthy thing.
LLM:  Excuse me?
Lazy:  That's not you.  You're about bacon and buttered pecan.
LLM:  That was actually my old nickname, I think.
Lazy:  Running? You get tired and stop.  Your back gets tight.
LLM: And the point is?.
LAZY:  You're terrible at running.
LLM:   I am not.
Lazy: Well you aren't good.
LLM:  That's friendly.  I am on my way.
LAZY:  ...But you could play guitar, go to lunch with a friend, do whatever you want.  Why run?
LLM:  I like it.
Lazy:  Are you sure?
LLM:  I am today.
LAZY:  Because you didn't do it for a while after the last run.
LLM: I got distracted.  Now I'm better.
Lazy:  Well, fine.  Just know that the creme brulee and the gumbo aren't going to eat themselves.
LLM:  I think there will be a few items of food left.
LAZY:  One last time.  The couch is comfortable and the weather outside is painful.  I mean, I heard that people are able to fry bacon in the window sills right now --that's how hot it is.
LLM:  Houston.  Get over it. 
Lazy:  So you're really going to do it.
LLM:  I am running.
Lazy:  Rats.  ...I'll try again tomorrow.
LLM: Good effort.


Weekly report: (Lost 2 lbs.)   Ran a few times, walked a few times, swam, cycled, and tried P 90 again.  Currently, P 90 is really about P 5 and a 1/2 ...X.   Truly, it's a killer.  I hurt my back a bit after the Plyo.  Still, I was on the Team Beachbody website and saw so many success stories that I feel like I need to continue trying the darn workouts. They are insane, but there is a lot of proof that the program works.

I have the Bridgeland Triathlon this weekend.  This time around  I have simple goals --to survive the swim without getting kicked in the face, to cycle with clips,  and to have a more solid run at the end --something I did not do last year.

Monday, July 25, 2011

THE MARATHON TRAINING BEGINS

It's the 25th of July and I'm in my second week of marathon training. 173 days left to go. So far, it's been brutal as Houston isn't known for its easy summers. Every mile in the park feels like cross training - an unnatural hybrid of running and swimming as the air is so thick. My friends and I call it Houston's Chewmidity Index as in, "Houston's air always seems humid enough to chew." While this may do wonders for my skin, it certainly impedes my desire to get out and train.

So I have gotten out of the habit of daily exercise and careful eating since January. Excuses have been plentiful. February was recovery from the marathon. March and April were casual (and I had the play). In May and June, things were sacrificed to other projects and work and my first real rest since the play. And then of course, ...I just didn't wanna. Okay, now it's the end of July. There is no time left to goof off. I need to reignite the fires that got me running in the first place.

The goals are simple. I want to finish the Houston Marathon in under 6 hours. I want to wear size 34 jeans before I turn 41. Finally, I would like to step on a scale and not see a 2. That's it.

How far away am I? ...Far away. Far.  Think of your hopes for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull versus the the reality of that film.  That's how distant my goal is from reality right now.

I mean yesterday, I ran intervals for 2.25 miles and then walked it in to complete my loop. That's a bad sign. Slight back spasm and the heat was a killer. I am out there again today and my plan is to make it all around without slowing once. Also, I need to keep working on my core. As Dad always said every morning he dropped us off for school, "Today's the day to start the big push."  Big push.  Got it.  Big push.  Here's to hoping the advice means more to me now than it did when I endured Latin class.