W1D3 .....And I feel fine!

Just completed week 1, day 3 of couch to 5K. Looking forward to week 2. Any joiners? I seem to do this around midnight as it is cool outside. For those of you who aren't night owls or insomniacs, I have a group of friends who train in the mornings.

Hoping to cross something off my bucket list this weekend.

Week 1, Day 2 Couch to 5K

Ooops I did it again. Just got back from day 2 of week 1 Couch to 5K. I had a little "break" due to my pulled muscle, but am back in the game. Several of my coworkers are doing this program and are several weeks ahead of me. In fact, one just ran for 20 minutes solid. visit the website http://www.c25k.com/ for more info. If one googles "chubby jones couch to 5K" there are some pretty awesome podcasts that one can download to their mp3 player. Anyhow, it's awesome running weather around midnight here :-) I just wish that I could find my strap-your-ipod-on-your-arm thingy.... can't imagine where that went... think I'll have a glass of wine and head to bed. Happy runnings.

Running a 5K and my "bucket list"

I have long wanted to run a 5K, specifically the Race for the Cure, in memory of my mother. I usually walk this race yearly, but have always wanted to run (It's been on my "bucket list" for 17 years). A "bucket list" (named after movie) is a list of things that you want to do before you "kick the bucket". So, when I started exercising last September, I had this a one-year goal. I remember my early days at the gym, I could barely jog at all, let alone for 20 seconds on the treadmill. I have improved this, but not making much progress toward the 5K goal.
Several of the girls in the office are doing "Couch to 5K" and have had good success. I downloaded the podcasts yesterday, and did the first program tonight. I think that one is supposed to be able to do a 5K in 6 weeks with this program. We'll see. Maybe I'll stick with the program, maybe not. I've really tried to be hitting it hard as I totally slacked off during June.
Also bought a cheapie bike today and went for a ride.

House and budget

My house addition is *almost* finished. I'm in the process of final, touch-up painting, and moving in furniture. Once done, it's time to get back on the ole' budget :-)

It's been awhile...

I should really get back to blogging on a more regular basis. I think that I accomplsh more when I do. Currently I am trying to drop below 145. This morning when I woke up, I was at my lowest weight that I've been at in a long time---146. I suspect it is dehydration from sweating so much yesterday at the gym and while working on my yard. I didn't stay for weights at the gym, no did I lift at my house. Instead, I did the "poor girl" weight training, and carried large landscaping rocks to their final destination in my yard. I am wondering how much I can dead lift? some of those rocks were quite large. There were only 3 that I was unable to move. I figured that my back would hurt this morning, but it didn't. My biceps area little sore.
Also along these lines, I weed-eated my yard. Last summer, I intentionally bought the biggest heaviest one in an effort to help reduce the fat on my arms...not working so far.
At the gym, I am down to 40 pounds assist on the wide grip gravitron. I can only do 2 pull-ups @ 40 pounds. I think I need to lose more weight before I will be able to do more.
Finances: well, let's just say that I should improve in this area. Here is my excuse: home addition. Seems like everytime one does home improvements, it always costs more than expected. I will have my first lawyer paid off this month and am on track to have my 2 small student loans paid off at the end of the summer. I will then take those payments and pay on my big student loan.
House-wise, I'm building my new flower beds around the addition.

Catching up

It's been awhile since I've blogged and need to catch up. I'm still trying to drop below 145 pounds and have been here for quite some time. I had a visit with the personal trainer who re-did my workout routine. I'm now doing some work with the barbells, which is nice since I bought myself a weight set to reward myself for dropping below my prepregnancy weight. I have yet to use those, though, as they aren't set up yet---waiting on the floors/trim in the upstairs to be done.
Other milestones--I have ran 1/3 mile on the treadmill and am now down to 50 pounds assist on the wide grip on the Gravitron.
House-wise, I continue to clean out drawers, nooks, crannies, etc. The addition is coming along nicely. The contractor has begun laying the flooring...
Finances? ha ha not much progress here....between decorating the addition and lawyers bills.....I'll try harder :-)

The longest 3 minutes....

So, I've done the math, and if I run (jog?) at a pace of 5.3 mph for 3 minutes, I've done a quarter-mile. And that's what I did today, and I do believe it was the longest 3 minutes ever.
Doing the math....if I continue to jog at this pace, I would need to jog for 12 minutes to run a mile. I've NEVER been able to run AT ALL, even when I was skinny. This seems like a very daunting task.
Furthermore, the 5K that I'd like to run is in October, is roughly 6 months away. Continuing at that rate of speed, I'd need to run for 36 minutes to run a 5K.
What does this mean? It means that I've got a lot of work to do. For the month of May, I'll need to increase from 3 minutes to 6 minutes, and for each month thereafter, will need to increase by another six minutes each month (or 1.5 minute increase each week) OUCH!
I think I can...I think I can...