I get by with a little help from my friends!!!!

My brother Benjamin decides to post that he started running and even though it has been a long time since he has exercised he went from  jogging 3/4 mile to 1.5 miles in one week. I can't help but think,"What is wrong with me?" Why am I still struggling so much? I am 6 weeks in and can't seem to keep consistent on times or speed. I felt a little discouraged. I really should be farther along than I am and I'm not sure what the problem is. For two days I keep thinking this to myself and decide that today I will push myself no matter how I feel.

I was fortunate for many reasons today and ended up feeling really good about my jog. The first thing that I had  working in my favor was the fact that the weather was absolutely beautiful! It was a perfect day for exercising outdoors! I  realized today that I can do a lot more if the air isn't cutting away at my lungs and burning my chest. I was able to push myself a lot harder simply because the air was so much easier on my lungs. I still struggle with weakness in my lungs and had a burning in my chest about half way through, but it was a different kind of burn and I could deal with it. The really great  thing that helped today was my brother Jacob. He was off work today and decided to come running with us. As I started my pre-workout stretch he decided to come help me stretch out. Jacob is a excellent massage therapist and man did his stretches feel good!!! He had me lay down  and he would move my leg and ankle this way and hold it there and then move it that way and hold it there. I felt really good! I told him he was hired and I needed him everyday at 1:00!!!! He has also started running and has been running with a marathon runner. He was able to share a lot of his running tips as we were on our jog. It was wonderful!! We were able to keep at a slow -medium jogging pace the WHOLE way!!! I didn't have to bum out once!!! YAY!!!! It was great! When we came home and were stretching I was way more flexible than I have ever been! Good things are happening, even if I feel like it is slow going. I feel really good today. I am really hoping good weather will stay and that I can keep in mind the things Jacob taught me, and work on my endurance.

Time out:37 min.

Distance covered: 2.9 miles

Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Week five begins as a bust. Well a partial bust. The gym in closed this week for remodeling and today is really cold! We started out and quickly realized that it was uncomfortably cold and windy. We decided to use the Jordan Parkway and started out just fine. The warm up went fine but 2 minutes into jogging, I felt my muscles begin to really tense up. I wasn't sure if I was tense because it was so cold or because I hadn't stretched out before we started. I tried to ignore it but I was having a hard time moving. The cold wind was also taking a toll on my lungs. Right from the beginning I was winded and my lungs were starting to burn. Things didn't look too good. We slowed down and then paused to stretch, because of the cold and wind we decided to just try a quick walk. We really enjoyed the pretty scenery, but were really frozen!

I am not even counting today as day one of week 5. I feel like I need a better start for it to actually count. We did walk the 30 minutes though and that is why it wasn't a full bust. Something is better than nothing, right?

Time out: 30 (shivering) min.

Distance covered: 1.5 miles

The good news, is that I can only progress from here! Here's to hoping Wednesday is warmer, and I am stronger. Anyone have tips on how to fix my breathing problems? I really could use some help.

Little by Little......

I have come to see a pattern in my exercising. I will feel good, push hard, then struggle the next time I am out. Today I woke up feeling a little weak, but wanted to exercise anyway. We met at the church and as soon as we started I could tell I was not feeling as strong as I had yesterday. My chest quickly started burning and the intervals were more difficult today. I was not as happy with the speed I was able to go, but had to listen to my body. At one point I started having a lot of  intestinal pain and really had to slow down. While these things frustrate me I have to realize that I at least finished and there is always another day. I really want to be strong all the time, and I am hoping that will come. I plan to stay consistent and hope I will become stronger.

Time out: 30 min.

Distance covered: 1.60 miles

Next week the program progresses each time you go out. I am really hoping for a great week where I can keep up with the program!!!

Feeling GREAT!!!

Yesterday I woke up feeling really dehydrated after a long night of a lot of output. I wanted to exercise but after I went downstairs to put in a load of laundry and came upstairs out of breath, I thought I better not. I decided to rest yesterday and exercise today. We met over at the church to run inside. This week has been much better for me physically. I feel like I did before where breathing was the only thing that slowed me down.

Today since my body was feeling strong I decided to really push myself. For our fist two intervals we jogged at a really good quick pace. I felt so good. We kept up the pace during the 5 minute interval but my chest started burning. On the third interval we were going at a slow jog while I calmed my breathing down and then we finished off the fourth interval with a steady medium speed pace. It felt REALLY good to push myself for the first half then slow down some the last half. We were able to cover more distance than we ever had!!! In fact as I was recording what we had accomplished, I told Ginny that we had done 3.3 miles in 33 minutes. She said, "Hey isn't that a 5k?" I was so excited! I jumped for joy and high fived Ginny! YAY!!! I walk/jogged a 5k in 33 minutes and feel great afterwards!!!! This makes me feel so happy!

I am really thankful that my body has been stronger this week. I am hopeful that my training will be able to progress more steadily now, and this excites me!!!!

Time out: 33 min.

Distance covered: 3.30 miles!!!!!!!

I have been looking over the half marathons. There are a lot to choose from. I like the idea of the Legacy Hwy. run. It is in Aug. which gives me more time to train, and is at night, so it wont be too hot. Does anyone have any suggestions on any other half marathons that they like? I could use some direction!!!!

Pushing a little harder.

So, I am getting a little behind on my posts. I have to be honest with you, sometimes I feel a little silly writing these posts. I always have the thought at the back of my mind of, who really cares what I am doing daily? I just can't imagine that what I am saying is really very interesting. However, I do enjoy posting and for this reason I will continue!

Last week overall was not the best week so far. I felt like my body was not wanting to cooperate with what I wanted it to do. My right knee and back ankle areas have just been causing me so many problems. It was a little discouraging. I moved so slooooowwww, that a normal walker was faster than I was. I am so thankful for a running partner who is so flexible and kind about my wimpiness. I wasn't sure what was causing the difference and felt really bad about my progress. For this reason, I decided to train at week 4 again for this week. I want to really feel good about what I am doing before I move on to the next weeks workout. I don't want to just push through at a really minimal level. I want to feel like I "passed" that workout off, before I move to the next.

My children are on spring break this week, and I decided I wanted to exercise with a group of amazing ladies from church.They go out every weekday morning. We met at 9:30 and decided since the weather was gorgeous, that we would go around the neighborhood.We only had one more friend than usual, but it made it really fun! We weren't especially speedy, but I feel really good the whole time I was out. I feel really good now too! I was able to push myself harder than last week, but didn't go to the point that I was miserable. I am really  hopeful that this week will go really well, and that I will feel strong again.

My good friend sent me a link to  a lot of different half marathons taking place in Utah. I have already had a few friends saying they would be willing to participate in one of them with me. I am constantly amazed at what an incredible circle of support I have!!! Thank you everyone!!!! I will check out the website today and figure out what half I want to do.

Today Ginny and I walked to the church and back, we also went around the outside of the church a few times while we waited for more people to show up. I only calculated the 30 min. we were doing the program, but with everything added up, I think we did about 3 miles!

Time out: 30 min. (timed)

Distance covered: 2.43 miles

A new goal!

All day long I keep thinking about this half marathon. It is such a big goal, that I know I want to do it! Then this practical voice in my head tells me, "There is no need to worry yourself with fundraising, just find a local half marathon and it is the same thing." But, I think, this one is for a really good cause. Back and forth back and forth are my thoughts on this. I am the type of person who relies on how I feel about things to guide me. I need to feel clear and confident about the decision I am making. Even if it is scary  and seems out of reach, that is okay, as long as I have confirmation that it is right. I talk to David about it, and while he will support anything, he is more cautious about the financial responsibility attached to signing up.

Several hours later, I see a post my wonderful friend Ginny has made about the race. It will be held on a Sunday......BOOOO!

Needless to say, my decision has been made for me, and in a way I feel relieved. Not because I don't want to run a half marathon, but because I know that it is not something I am suppose to be doing with Team Challenge at this time.

Here is my thought process now.......

My brother Jacob signed up to run a half marathon right here in Utah. It was a simple entry fee. I know I won't be ready for the one he is doing because it is in April. Yet this makes me think, there has to be more options out there for marathon running right? I have decided I will run a half marathon. I want it to be in July-September time frame. This way I can train and prepare. I am not sure how to go about finding half marathons to run in, and that is where I am hoping to get some help from you wonderful friends. If you know of any or know of a way to find out when some will be, will you please let me know? I also really would love friends to run with me. I really enjoy the support, it fuels me and keeps me going. Are any of you interested??? Please let me know. It would be an honor to do this together. This is a really big deal to me. I want to be able to set this goal, that right now seems sooooo far away, and make the little weekly goals to make it happen. Running this 5k is a great opportunity for me to challenge myself. A half marathon would be an incredible accomplishment that would make me feel like I took it one step higher. When I picture having health, I picture having the ability to accomplish these types of goals. I am really excited!

A new day

Yesterday went pretty well. I was still having a lot of ankle and knee pain, so I decided to take ibuprofen about 40 min.before we were scheduled to exercise. I was happy that my pain was down quite a bit before I started to workout. I was very determined to push harder today. I have realized that I need to make small day to day goals, so I don't get discouraged at myself when there are times that I haven't done as well as I had wanted to. Yesterday my goal was to keep jogging and not give up before our time was up. There have been a few times that I have stopped jogging and started walking before it was time. This time I wanted to keep going even if it was a struggle. My pace was really slow, but I was able to keep a good pace and my walk/jog intervals were very steady. Once again, our GPS froze and stopped calculating for the last half of our routine. I have figured out that inside is not the best place to run a GPS!!!!

I have been struggling with my breathing again, which is frustrating because we have mainly been inside. I am not sure what to do. I guess maybe I should talk less? I just really enjoy the conversations Ginny and I have!!! I am really hoping that as I consistently workout, my breathing, ankle and knee will become stronger and I will be able to work harder.

Yesterday I went to the TEAM CHALLENGE meeting for the ccfa.org half marathon which takes place this July. It was a really neat experience. I was able to meet with people who have done the half marathon before. It was very inspiring! Most of the people in attendance were there in honor of someone they know who has crohn's or colitis. That was really amazing for me to see!!! I really REALLY want to do this. They train you and provide a HUGE amount of  support to make sure each participant succeeds. There is a big fundraising goal to be able to attend, but more than 75% of it goes towards finding a cure for these diseases. It would be such an honor to participate in something so meaningful. Anyone want to join me? It is in July. Training starts in 3 weeks. It is $75 to join and then you fund raise for the rest of the amount. It takes place in Napa Valley California and sounds BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I am really thinking I want to make big goal to do this and not only to do it, but to run the whole way!!!!

Chugging along

Sometimes I get a little annoyed when my body doesn't think I should be the boss. I have been having problems with my ankle and heel area when I exercise and  for awhile afterwards. Today I was soooooo slow! My ankles felt so tight and sore it was hard for me to jog well at all. I also think that being sick yesterday had me a little more worn out than I thought I would be also. Needless to say today's workout wasn't as successful as I had wanted it to be. Luckily, I have an exercise partner who is so supportive and really let me go at my own pace. It is week four of the couch to 5k program that I am doing. This week the program goes as follows

5 min. brisk walk
3 min. jog
90 sec. walk:
 5 min. jog
2 1/2 min. walk
3 min. jog
90 sec. walk
5 min. jog

In 15 min, this is suppose to equal 1 3/4 mile. Well including our warm up and cool down times we only went a 2 miles.

Time out: 34 min. 
Distance covered: 2 miles 


I definitely felt a little discouraged at first. I know that I should be able to do more. Of course Ginny always makes me feel better and tells me to realize how far I have come in just 1 month! She is great! I just really wish I was able to have steady consistent workouts. I want to be strong. I guess sometimes I want the end result now. I need to realize that it will take time and things won't always be perfect. This is a lesson I seem to need to learn many times over.

Technical Difficulties

I am sorry I haven't posted for awhile. I have had a lot of traffic at my house and haven't had any computer time.

Ginny and I are still trying to figure out our "smart" phones and their apps. On Friday we walked over to the gym. It was really windy so we wanted to be inside. We also had 8 kids who wanted to come with us. When we reached the gym we found that is was already taken for basketball. We decided to walk back home, drop of some of the extra kids and try walking outside. I decided to try putting a scarf around my mouth to keep the cold air out. This seemed to help my lungs which was great!!! I know that our time wasn't as awesome as it has been because it was cold and I kept having to slow down. But I know we did do well. The problem was that we still haven't figured out how Ginny's phone is calculating things and my phone totally froze making it so we couldn't see how far we had gone. I know we at least went a mile and a half because I had seen it on my phone before it froze!!!

I don't LOVE running yet. However, I find myself wanting to go out daily, and hold myself back because the program says to. I think I just need to build up my endurance and fix my breathing, then maybe I will start loving this!!! I hope so. I really want to love running. I really want to have the ability to ruuuunnnnnn. I know I have to keep working at it, so we will see!

As a side note, I have a strange infection on my scar where my anus was removed. It has been going on for awhile and I just didn't know what it was. It was getting worse and worse so I decided to call my surgeon to see what is going on. This whole while I keep thinking, if there is something wrong and I have to go back in for surgery....... I am wondering if a stitch got left in or something. I hope it is simple. I am enjoying being well. I am not ready for big set backs. I had a small one yesterday. I had a stomach bug and was too worn out  to go running. I will be heading out in just a few minutes though. Wish me luck!!!!!