Change is Good

Here it is, October 24th. Time has just flown by and I've neglected my blog, yet again. But, here I am, ready to write!

Hmmm, let's see. I completed the Couch to 5K program successfully (Yay!!) and have been running regularly ever since. Which means I've been running for almost 5 months. Now I run outside, which was VERY hard at first. I got discouraged...felt like giving up and being a treadmill runner. I was great on the treadmill. Ran for 50 minutes and 4 miles...with maybe a couple of 1 or 2 minute walks for recovery purposes. I've gone through not being able to run for longer than 1 minute, to knees that ached...but finally am on track and doing well. Am running in my first official 5K on November 6, and after a month of thinking "What was I thinking??", I can now say I'm ready. I am doing interval running and have improved my time by shaving off approximately 3 minutes to run 5K (3.1 miles). Now I'm looking forward (with excited anticipation) to that 5K in Tempe on Nov. 6th!

The temps here have not cooled down a lot, although compared to 105 or higher during the summer, having most days in the mid-90's isn't so bad. Except when I wish it were cool outside...sweater weather...fire in the fire pit weather. Today some clouds have moved in, which is fine with me. By the end of the week things are expected to cool down in the 80's. That means nights will be cooler...hopefully.

New happenings here...Anthony & I have chosen to eliminate meat from our diets. He still is eating tuna fish in his lunch simply because I am at a loss for what to send him to work with. I've got a new cookbook that has a "Better Than Tuna Salad" recipe in it, which I will be trying by this weekend. If he likes it, then that will be his lunch. We also are avoiding dairy...although this isn't a strict rule, since it is very difficult to do so completely. So, we are not intentionally eating or drinking dairy...except for me when I use half and half in my morning coffee. Tried coconut creamer and it just isn't really creamy enough...but, I do plan to try again and hopefully I will stop using dairy half and half soon. More on these developments later...why, how, and what our food choices look like now that we are vegetarians/almost vegans. :) And I wonder...is there such a thing as an "almost vegan"??

It's Been Awhile...

Midsummer here in the desert. Hot, as you can imagine. Humid, as well, due to monsoons, which are a good thing here. The monsoons could be better, but they have been pretty good so far.

I'm about to begin Week 8 of the Couch to 5K plan...am now running/jogging 25 minutes at a time, but starting tomorrow (Day 1 of Week 8) I will be upping it to 28 minutes. Week 9 is the last week of the program, so I'm almost there!! More importantly, I have persevered, have become more fit and strong, and have grown in ways that can only be experienced when one challenges their physical abilities. I am very happy and, yes, pleased with myself!! I want to run. Crazy, huh?

Next up, committing to running a 5K. There is a local one in October, but I'm thinking of holding out for one in Tempe in early November. I've got friends doing that one, so it may be a better choice...something to share with friends, and experiencing the camaraderie of digging in and doing a real 5K. My husband will be there, as well, cheering me on and helping me to stay focused. He has been great, and is very proud of me...the wife he always referred to as being the most lacking in physical/athletic abilities. He has regularly been asking me "What have you done with my wife?" (joking, of course), as well as giving me kudos and lots of encouragement.

All this happened because I got on the treadmill one morning after hearing about this Couch to 5K thing, and figured it could be easy. After that first day, I was hooked. Me. The woman who grew tired when just hearing others talk about running. The woman who previously wanted to be as far from running as possible. The woman who was satisfied to just walk (rather slowly) on her treadmill and call it exercise. The woman who would choose reading over moving every time.

I AM A RUNNER.