Exercise and fitness

It can be a little embarrassing to have to run to the ladies room every 30 minutes; but, I drink a lot of water. Add to that, I parked on the far side of the lot, walked up and down a little hill during lunch and took a stroll around the office space. That was pretty funny because people probably wondered what the heck I was doing, LOL! I don't think I got anywhere near 10K steps; but, tomorrow I have a short 4-mile training run and that works out to be somewhere near 20K steps.

Even when the weather is inclement, you can try to get 10,000 steps indoors.

That's the coach in me coming out, LOL!

Some creature knocked one of my herb garden containers off the little ledge next to my porch bench, so I got to do a bit of gardening today, LOL!

We're in an unusual situation here at empowher.com where we all work in an airplane hanger. The good news in terms of fitness is that we are on the second floor and don't have an elevator, which requires us to walk up the stairs each day. I try to walk up and down the stairs about a half-dozen times a day. Not sure if my stairclimbing makes a huge difference, but every little bit counts. Good idea Alysia.

As I was patiently waiting for the guy from IT to fix whatever the problem was with my PC, I was standing at the window near my cubicle and pondering how I would get in 10,000 steps during the day. It occurred to me that I should wear a step counter to see how many I take going back and forth to the ladies room (from the constant water intake), on the occasional trip to the break room, across the parking lot, et cetera.

The lady in the next cubicle was lamenting that she hasn't had time to get on her treadmill at home, so I suggested we start tracking our steps every day at work.

Although I didn't have a step counter on today, I'll bet I didn't quite get 10,000 steps, in spite of how much walking at work, at the crafts store and at the grocery store I did today.

Go ahead and share what exercise you were able to get in today (this is a rolling post).

Congrats on your weight loss and exercise regime! Hope you do well in the marathon and please let us know how your training is going!

Hi, Trula:

Congrats on making the commitment to such an arduous goal! I'm concerned, however, about the number of days you're running during the week, and I didn't find mention of a formal training program. Forgive me if I missed this information, but it sounds like you're trying to go about your training on your own. Are you following a plan? Are you also following a nutritional plan for runners? Have you joined a running group or training program? Have you run distance before?

I have coached half marathon and full marathon runners and walkers with an internationally recognized program and we never have our participants run more than 2 days in a row. Our long runs are on the weekend when we can allow ample time for recovery (and any injury treatment); our conditioning and endurance runs during the week are for periods of time, not focusing on miles. We also do our speed training and tempo running during the week, and we follow a "stepped" plan for increasing our base mileage (work up to a certain distance, drop back, etc.).

It's okay to combine a run and strength training in the same day, then take the next day off for something else - like recovery or stretching, etc. It sounds like you're doing very well with your cross-training.

Don't be surprised if the weight doesn't drop as quickly as you want while you're training. Your body has to adjust to burning the calories you will require to fuel your runs and build your strength and endurance. Just be patient.

I would love to hear that you're going to make it through your training injury free so that you can enjoy your event. There's nothing more exciting than crossing that finish line smiling and standing upright!

All the best to you.

Trula,
Awesome! I just visited your blog, and you're a busy person! :-) I loved that your health goals included things that most people don't think of/consider as "health", like flossing daily, for instance.

I can definitely relate to your running mileage story; I hated, HATED running...couldn't see why anyone would possibly run...until a friend of mine talked me into joining her at an organized training program for women. I was desperate for friends, and the camaraderie and energy there was amazing, so I kept attending. When I started out, it was agonizing to take every step while I walked/jogged just one mile. I met my goal of 3.2 miles (doing a 5K race), then just like you, I got up to 10 miles! I was so excited about it!

And, do you have this experience---no matter if I am running a 5K or a 10-miler, the first mile is still the killer. ugh!

Last year I lost over 70 pounds, and this gave me hope and encouragement that I could run a marathon. This year I'm running in the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon on May 18th. I was originally planning to do the half-marathon event, but now considering running the whole thing. For training I run nearly every day, taking 1-2 days off a week. I started running 2-3 miles at a time;now I'm up to 10 miles. I'm really excited about it. You can read my marathon progress on my fitness blog, which includes weight loss pics:
Supple Mama