My God, I Think I Found It!

Found what? My running mojo, that's what! I was reviewing my running log last night (well, early this morning). And I was wondering what the heck happened. I haven't run consistently since some time in 2009. Then I took 10 weeks off due to injury. I started back slowing going "barefoot." I went to Miami. Caught the flu on the way back. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the flu in my recap. Told you I'd forget something. Anyway, I caught the flu at the very end of March, like the 29th or 30th. I spent about a week or so laid up. So yeah, the beginning of April was not productive in the least bit. I ran once after, and it was horrible. Got lightheaded and everything.

Then not too long after that, like the following week, I had some type of stomach thing going on where I couldn't keep any food in me. I guess it was stomach flu gone wild. That lasted over a week, close to two. I was absolutely miserable. I love food and couldn't enjoy any of it. I was limited to yogurt, apple sauce, rice and other blandness. Then I would get hard headed and eat something normal like an orange. And then pay for it within minutes. That's another couple of weeks of no running.

Okay, so that's over with. I'd run and I'd hate it. My cardio was all jacked up. I got turned off. I felt like all my runs would be crap, so I didn't run. In the meantime, I've been dubbed Yoga Queen, so that's good. That reminds me, last week I DID A HEADSTAND! I was not against a wall or a door. I had no help. I was alone in the middle of my living room floor. Pretty soon, I'll be balancing all of my body weight on just my fingertips ;) Ha! Is that even possible?

Anyway, back to what I was saying...RUNNING. I haven't been doing it. But now I want to. I've had a couple good runs. I've got a new "barefoot" approach. I've got a new mindset. I've got some goals. I want to develop my own plan. And I don't want it to feel like a chore. When it feels like work, that's when I shut down. I don't like that. So no pressure. No races on the calender. No training runs that MUST get done. No running back to back days, unless the weather dictates otherwise. No running more than 4 days a week. Honestly, I just want to keep it at 3 days (a medium run, a fast short run, and a slower long run). I operate better with a rest day in between anyway. Then maybe, once I'm back to running like a well oiled machine, I'll consider a race. Most likely, it will be a half. I prefer longer distances. I ran a 5k once and hated every minute of it. However, 10ks are pretty decent.

As far as my own plan goes, I'm trying to get into the habit of taking my resting heart rate in the morning. I just started yesterday. It was 57. Today was 56. I will be monitoring my RHR so I know when to workout and when to rest. Elevated RHR could mean I'm over-training or I'm getting sick. Either way, it's a good indication of when I should sit my butt down. I think this will be a better approach instead of going by some program made up by someone who has no idea how I feel. I gotta do what's best for me. I've been injured one too many times. And I'm not going down that road again. If my body says no via elevated RHR, irritated head of fibula, hip or IT band, headache, or whatever else that causes me to run in pain, I'm going to listen to it. Damn what the plan says. It's not worth it.

So ladies and gentlemen, that's where I am right now. The I'm-Gonna-Run-When-And-How-The-Heck-I-Want-To Plan starts this week. Wish me luck.

Oops..Please forgive me.

I'm such a slacker when it comes to maintaining this blog. If I still have readers out there, I truly apologize. Now if you took a hint and followed me on DailyMile or Twitter, then I don't feel too bad. A lot has gone on since I last checked in. I'm not going to recap everything. For one, I don't have that kind of time. And two, I probably don't remember it all.

But here's what I will recap...I've gone up to 5mi "barefoot." My calves have gotten used to it. So I don't even think about foot strike and all that other foolishness. I just run the way my body says to. But the thing is, I haven't been running much. Yes, that's part of the update. For whatever reason, I'm just not in the mood. I'm still very much active. In fact, I've been really into yoga lately, more than usual. I've noticed great improvement in my strength. There were poses that I couldn't do that I now can do with NO issue. Yay me! In other previous news, I went to Miami and had a GREAT time. That's a trip I need to make every year. I got a nice tan :o) Then lost it with this crappy weather :o( Also, I've been spending a lot of time on various dance floors. I guess that makes up for the lack of running.

So what's new? I finally figured out what I want to do. It's kind of been sitting in my face for a while now. Months even. People were coming to me like I'm some kind of fitness expert. So why don't I become a fitness expert? I'm one of the laziest people I know. I think I could motivate someone else to not be lazy. So yeah, I'm studying to become a certified personal trainer (in-home). I completed a workshop a couple weekends ago. Last week, I took classes to become certified in CPR, AED and First Aid. And now what's left? I have to study for the CPT exam. It's some dry reading, so I've had trouble motivating myself to crack the book open. But I need to hop to it so I can get to the fun stuff. Maybe later on I'll also take some courses in nutrition and such. I know how to eat, but I need some type of certification to rightfully tell others how to. Please wish me luck. I don't want to step foot into an office again. Too many times have I wanted to leap across a desk/cubicle and choke a b!tch. And with my improved strength, I could really hurt somebody.

In other news, I learned that my fitness is damn near excellent. During the workshop, I completed a series of fit tests. I was surprised at how well I did. I scored excellent in the push up test and partial curl up test. My cardio is in between good and excellent, based upon my heart rate after cardio exercise. Flexibility is good. And my personal favorite is finding out that I have 19% body fat after being measured with calipers. That's better than I expected. By their standards, I'm considered an athlete. That's not too shabby for someone who never played a sport in school. I couldn't run. I couldn't do much of anything. And now, many years later, I'm healthier than I ever was. I grow healthier each year. That is truly a blessing.

In any case, I may be going in a completely different direction with this blog. Every move I make, as far as exercise goes, is recorded on DailyMile. And whatever else that just happens to cross my mind, if I choose to share, is on Twitter. What else is there to talk about after that? So we'll see.

Anyway, I hope all is well with all of you. And I'll try to hit up your blogs soon. I'm so out of the loop.