Monday, July 18, 2011

Go Speed Racer!

It's hotter than hot here in the Lou. I don't like hotness. Especially when you are gasping for air just to breathe outside much less wog. I HAVE been going to the gym and doing the dreamill. Have I mentioned I HATE the dreadmill?????? But since I like heat and humdity even less, it's the dreadmill or nothing.

I am kind of skipping around on Couch to 5K and just doing what I am in the mood for. I've been mostly focusing on weeks 4 and 5. 5 minutes is the longest I have gone in one stretch, but it wasn't too hard so I think I'm ready for more. I'm planning to hit the gym tomorrow. I've also been doing weights after my wogs since I'm only doing about 2 miles on the treadmill.

Last Thursday I focused on speed. I mentioned in my first post that I was sprinter in high school. I was pretty fast for a white girl. I started on Couch to 5K Week 1 day 1: 1 minute of jogging with 90 seconds of walking. I tried to RUN those 1 minute intervals. I normally wog at about 4.5 on the treadmill (12:30/mile or so I think). I tried to bump it up to 5.8-6.2 (6 is a 10 minute mile). It felt GREAT to be moving faster than I had a long time. Have I mentioned I have oompa loompa stumpy legs?? I swear I have the shortest stride of anyone I know. So have to work twice at hard to move the distance of most people!!

Tomorrow I will attempt to go LONGER than 5 minutes per stretch! I still need to conquer that first mile!!!!!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

And They're OFF!

 
 
My first 5K was a fundraiser for a local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group, the Sunrise Stampede. I've been active in MOPS for *gulp* 8 years or so. So this seemed like a perfect race for me. It was very small race. I was joined by my brother and 2 friends. My brother is a former marathoner who has the uncanny ability to run 6-7 miles any time he wants even if he hasn't run in years. Dork. My friend, S, is a runner, too. She has been super encouraging to me every step of the way. My friend, J, is at the start of his running journey, too.

As we approached the starting line, I was pretty nervous. I was so tired from Samuel being sick. I knew I wasn't ready. AND...I wasn't. After about 20 seconds of jogging I had to walk. It was badness. The first 1.5 miles or so were UPHILL. I was used to my treadmill or the minor hills in my neighborhood. I ended up walking most of the race. But apparently I was hauling booty during my wogs, because we finished in about 45 minutes or so. It was just under a 15 minute mile. I was glad we didn't finish last. There were 2 old ladies that finished after us (lol).I guess I'm not going to set any speed records any time soon! ;) I felt great when the race was over. I was GLAD it was over.... I felt like I had accomplished something. I was very disappointed in my performance though. If the race had been held a few weeks earlier, I would have been able to wog my little heart out, but sick kids were my demise this time.

My next race came on the 4th of July. Between my first 5K and this race, I wogged maybe 4-5 times. I spent 10 days in Disney World and then it took me about a week to recover from that. It was a really BIG race, TONS of ability levels. It was a 10K and 5K race and everyone started together. I was joined by a new-to-wogging friend for her first race. It was a fun race. Mostly flat which was great. I had been worried about the 4th of July heat, but the weather was actually great. It was overcast and kind of misty rain. We didn't finish last...not even close...which felt great. Granted I finished 554th...lol....but it felt great to beat people. My official time was just under 50 minutes with a 16:00/mile. Just call me speed racer...lol! I would say the best part of the race was the food at the end. Free Chick Fil A? Are you kidding me? Worth every drop of sweat!

My next race will be in September. I am hoping to wog MUCH more than walk next time. I'm getting back to training today!!! BRING IT ON!



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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Wogger Blogger

Let me introduce myself! My name is Mama E. I'm a mid-thirtysomething, Bible-loving, Facebook-addicted, New Kids on the Block and Disney-obsessed, happily-married, stay at home mom to 4 kids that has become a wogger (Walk + Jog = Wog). I guess that makes me a Wogger Blogger. I'm fat and sassy. I would like to change that, well....at least the fat part. I have spent most of my adult life very overweight. I'm talking about "Biggest Loser" big. I lost nearly 50lbs in 2008 and then gained back most of it. And even with the 50lb loss I still had about 25-30 to go. I lost 25+ lbs near the end of last year but I've been gaining and losing the same 5 or so lbs since then.

In early March, I decided I was tired of just being an observer. I've spent the past few years watching dear friends accomplish amazing things like marathons, 1/2 marathons, and really fast 10 and 5K's. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!! I'm done with settling for mediocrity in my life. I've literally sat around and watched life pass me by. In the Bible in John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." God wants us to have a FULL LIFE. Not a sit-on-your-booty-all-the-time life. One of the biggest "thieves" in my life is my own willingness to be mediocre.

I knew I had to do something. I started out by downloading an app to my iPhone for the Couch to 5K program. You can also find the program HERE. I signed up for my first 5K race in late May and started the Couch to 5K program. I am NOT a runner. Even when I ran track in high school...I was not a runner. I'm 99.9% sure I have never run a full mile in my entire life. When our track coach told us to run the mile loop by school. I "ran" until he couldn't see us and then talked to my friends while we happily walked along. My competitive races were 100 yard sprints...that I could do. I remember not passing the Presidential Fitness Test because I feared the mile run. For some reason, I fear the mile....I need to overcome that fear ASAP!

I started the C25K program in early March. Running for even 10-15 seconds exhausted me. After a few weeks of using the program, I saw a steady improvement. First it was 30 seconds without stopping, then 1 minute, then 3-4 minutes. One time I even made it almost 10 minutes without stopping. THEN...my 2 year old got chicken pox. Yes...chicken pox. He was miserable for over 2 weeks. He was waking up constantly at night. I was exhausted. My training suffered. So I went from nearly running a mile straight to only being able to run for a minute or 2 at a time. My 5K was rapidly approaching and I KNEW I wasn't ready but I had made the commitment to run/walk on May 21 so I did!! I'll talk more about that in a separate post.

I'm at the VERY VERY beginning of this journey!! Come get your WOG ON with me!