Fuel

 How about since its winter and I am not exactly tearing up the road running we talk about what I fuel my body with everyday to make sure I have enough protein as well as fruits and veggies.  Since I have Crohn's sometimes eating just hurts.  I won't go into great detail just know that food doesn't always feel all that great in my stomach. Its not all the time but enough of the time that I have found nutrition that works for me.

I use IsaGenix IsaLean Shakes once or twice a day as a meal.  I always have a shake for breakfast. Breakfast has been my least favorite meal since I can remember.  For many many years I would just skip breakfast because I never felt good eating first thing in the morning.  Once I started drinking these shakes I have had no issues with my mornings.  I add a little ice and 10 oz of water, they recommend 8ozs but I don't like my shakes to thick. Easy peasy and my breakfast is done.

Next I make myself a shake that I call a Modified O'Malley Monster (after the person who invented it) and it covers my fruits and vegetables for the day.  This is the way I get my nutrients in without all the fiber which is not good for me. My shake starts again with 10 ozs of water and some ice, then a scoop of IsaFruits, a scoop of IsaGreens, 2 scoops of replenish in Juicy Orange (this stuff reminds me of Tang that I used to drink as a kid), I add and ounce of Ionix Supreme, lastly I add a stick of FocusUp from a company called Zooma as an eye opener.  Shake this up and then I add in some more ice.  I like COLD beverages. I should say that my water has added minerals from something called X2O. I have a gallon jug in the fridge that I fill up everyday and add the minerals and that is what I use fro my drinking water for the whole day.  I take this shake to work with me and drink it there.

If you have any questions about any of these products I would be happy to expound on these items.  I have been using IsaGenix since June 2014 and I have been so happy with these products.  The company just added in some more products for athletes that I am excited to try out.

Start the Year Right!

Today is January 16th and so far this year I've  only ran twice.  The first run of the year was on January 1st.  I had just run the day before and had a good run, I wanted to end the year on a high note.  2015 wasn't always good to me.  But I felt I needed to end the year the way I started by going out for a run. I ran a 1/2 mile without stopping!  That is huge for me. But I digress...January 1st was an overcast day and a bit chilly.  I ended up running for .52 miles without stopping and then walked the rest of the time.  The air was just to cold and my lungs were not happy.  But I was happy to be improving!

 Happy New Year!  Its COLD!

Below is a picture of my running log.  I note the weather, what time I went out, what route I took, and my weight.  Next I log my distance and pace.  I use MapMyRun app to keep track of my workouts but then I transfer the information into my log so that I can look back and see how I did on certain days and compare.  This helps me when I wonder if I am making any improvements.  I have also started logging how I feel and any other notes on what is going on.

 On January 9th the weather was really nice, low 40's and no rain so again I put on my shoes and headed out.  This run was a little different.  On this day I decided to run/walk uphill for 3/4 of a mile to our high school stadium.  And I have to say the whole way is UPHILL.  Once at the stadium I ran 1/4 mile around and then walked a few laps.  I then decided I could run all the way back home so I did!   It was all down hill but let me tell you it wasn't easy but I did it.  I think I will add this to my running plan from time to time.  I felt great, it was hard but it felt great when I got back home.   Its nice to feel like I am making progress. Its been a real struggle this past year.

Crazy to have the whole track to myself.  It was very peaceful and wonderful to clear the mind.

Running Plan

Happy New Year!  Well I ended the year yesterday by going for a run and breaking a barrier I have been struggling with.  I ran a half mile without stopping. Then I walked .25 before running the last .25 to complete my first mile.  Boy did that feel good.  I think part of my issues are mental and part physical.  But the mental is the hardest to control! I was able to repeat this effort today but again, it was COLD. But I ended 2015 the way I started and started 2016 the way I want to end it, as a RUNNER.

It was so cold yesterday and my lungs were burning making it that much harder to to catch my breath.

I simply love running on this trail.  It is pretty much straight, flat, and I mostly have it all to myself.  Once in awhile there will be others out on the trail but its nice that I can struggle and cry and celebrate in private. The Headwaters Trail runs 8 miles from Mantua to Garrettsville.  This means I can run on the trail for a huge portion of my training.  I need to divert from the trail every so often so that I get in road miles and some hills now and then but for the most part, the trail is where I will be doing most of my runs..and its basically right outside my front door.

As I said a few days ago I wanted to layout my running plan for the new year. My plan is to be able to run 3 miles by May 8th.  In May I will begin training for my half marathon. I am not trying to kill myself but at times it feels almost impossible.

Breaking my goals down into smaller chunks I am hoping, planning, crossing my fingers and toes but the goal is to run 1.5 miles by the end of January.  Heck, I will be happy to be half that by the end of January as the weather doesn't always cooperate here in Ohio.  As long as I can do 3 miles by May my plan will be on track.

The first 5 months of the year are not to exciting.  I don't have time goals just distance goals. Speed will come later!  Once June hits I have 4 runs a week planned with my first 8k scheduled for June 25th.  That is 5 miles for those of you not into the metric system.  I hope to also be down 15 pounds by then too.

July is just training runs 4 days a week and the August 13 is my first 10k.  6 miles!  That is doubling my May miles.  Seems doable on paper.  Those hot humid months are going to be a struggle.  3 days a week I will be running for distance and the 4th day is for speed work.

September comes my challenges.  9 mile race on the 11th and a half marathon, 13.1 miles on the 24th. After the half I will just be adding miles and losing pounds each week leading up to my marathon mid January.  4 months to double the miles.  Again, on paper this plan seems so very doable.  I just need to believe in myself and I can do this.  I can't think about failure.  I have to only think success.  I have to believe to achieve.

Stats

As I said in yesterday's post I want my blog to be brutally honest and with as much information as possible for you and for me to log this journey.  I will enjoy going back and being able to see my progress and my failures.

So here are the cold hard facts:

Weight: 185.0
Measurements-
Neck:  13.25
Upper Arm (L):  13
Upper Arm (R):  13
Chest: 38.25
Diaphragm:  35
Waist: 36
Belly Button: 40
Buttocks: 42.5
Upper Thigh (R):  24.5
Upper Thigh (L):  24.5
Calf (R): 15.5
Calf (L): 15.5
Upper Knee (R): 17.25
Upper Knee (L): 17.5
Total Inches: 345.75

I took this picture after a run so I'm out of breath.

I hate my belly.

Well there you have it friends.  All my glory for you to see.  My goal is to lose 30 lbs while training for a marathon.

Tomorrow I will lay out my running plan for January.  I need to add in core workouts and strength training.  Need to add in some yoga too.  I am dedicated to getting this done in 2016.  now I need to remember where I left my motivation.  Oh, I wanted to add the reason I plan to run a marathon in January of 2017 is not just because its in Hawaii but that my long runs (those over 8 miles) will take place in the fall when the weather is a bit cooler.  I didn't want to be training for a marathon in the summer months.  I mean who wants to run 15 miles in the heat and humidity. I will be training to run a 1/2 marathon at The Akron Marathon in September, that's enough.

No running today, Its pouring rain outside and has been all night.  I like to run in the rain but I don't like to run through large puddles...my toes get cold and wet and that is not pleasant.

Have you set any goals for 2016?

Who? What? Where? Why?

What is Eating an Elephant? It comes from the joke "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."  My elephant is to run a marathon.  26.2 miles.  When I first came up with the idea to write a blog about me dream it seemed like eating an elephant was just as impossible as I was only able to run for .2 miles without having to stop and catch my breath and walk for a little while.  I would have to be able to walk .2 run .2 for just over 65 times. That is crazy!!  It would take me about 6 hours to complete a marathon, that is without stopping to take a "nature break" or to grab fuel, or to run up a hills or anything that might slow my pace.

My goal is simple...  to run a marathon in Maui in January 2017. (Because if I'm going to run a marathon...why not do it in Hawaii.) I would like to run the marathon at a 9:30 pace and figuring in a few this and that's that would have me finishing the race in 4.5 hours.  Seems totally do able.

I have charted this whole idea out and on paper it looks totally doable.  It makes my think I can eat this elephant.  However, for those of you who don't know me let me introduce myself.  I am 46 years old.  I started running in September of 2014 with the Couch to 5 k program.  I was doing great and then I tore my Achilles Tendon in my left leg in October of 2014.  I started to run again on January 1st, 2015 and took it easy to start.  Unfortunately other factors were at play with my body and I struggled to run for just 30 secs at a time.  My frustration grew and grew as I struggled with my running, and also with a health issue I wasn't really handling well.  Finally in July I went to my doctor and let him know something was wrong because before I got hurt I was running really well and now I just didn't have the stamina to keep up the pace.  Turns out...I had developed Crohn's.  Yea, that was the condition I was ignoring.  Today I am on meds and while the Crohn's is under control my running is not coming back as fast as I want.  But today!  TODAY  I ran well. TODAY I hit a goal.  TODAY running a marathon seems like I can do this.  TODAY I know I am crazy.

Now as I said in my first paragraph when I came up with this idea that I could run a marathon I was only running for .2 miles at one stretch.  That was about 2 months ago.  Today, December 26th 2015 I ran .42 miles and .44 miles without stopping. One was at the start of my run and one was at the end.  I didn't get much more running in the rest of my time but I can live with that.

The whole point of this blog is to record the journey I am trying to accomplish.  To write down my goals and keep myself accountable to those goal. To be brutally honest with you the reader and with myself. I want to relish my accomplishments and acknowledge my struggles so that I can learn what I'm doing wrong and try to fix them. I plan to record my weight, pictures of myself, all the messy stuff on here so if you are not interested in reading about how I had to pee in the woods..again, this might not be the blog for you.

Tomorrow I will give you my stats as this entry is getting long winded. I hadn't intended to start this blog today but was going to wait until January 1st but since I had a major woo hoo moment I had to start this today.

Thank you for reading.  What's your ELEPHANT?

-Tammy