Category: Random

>A Slice of Spring

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>Groundhogs day this year landed in the middle of a blizzard, which left all hope of getting any nice weather around here anytime soon. But, it’s Cleveland, and the weather changes constantly, so I gladly welcomed the warm 50 degree weather we’ve been having this week. Not only did it feel so nice out, but it helped my spirits, and put everyone in a good mood. Unfortunately, I had errands to run, the only nice day I had free from class, so I was forced to run inside after it was dark. Even with that, I was able to get some miles in on the treadmill, yes treadmill. It felt good, and I finally felt like I was getting towards my goal of running the half marathon.

We officially have four Muskie Alums signed up for the Cleveland Marathon. Two are running the full, two are running the half, and my aunt signed up for the half as well. It will be nice to have support, and not have to run alone.

>Disappointments will happen

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>Well, this weekend didn’t go as planned. I went to Fitworks for my personal training session, but I was never actually written down in the schedule, so I’ll have to come back in two weeks. The place seemed big, wasn’t in the best location, and took 20 minutes. So they’ll have to wow me to get me interested. Nothing against them so far, but it’s a 20 minute drive, and I would only be able to go 2 times minimum a week. It’s much easier to stay in my building and work out than drive to get one in. But I’m interested to see how they’re able to help people, even if it’s not me.

I did get my body into shape on Saturday, well, my arms and back. We had an additional 6 inches of snow, and being the nice daughter I am, shoveled my parent’s driveway while they were out. My body was sore, but I think I scored favorite points 🙂

This week starts my actual training, and I’m off to a poor start. I had errands to run yesterday so that nixed my chance to workout, I will get things done this week….

>Biking, Bowling and Football

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>It was a long week. I was still sore from snowboarding until Friday, but I knew it was good for me. I had a busy weekend, but I was able to get a workout in. Friday after work I went straight downstairs and biked for 25 minutes, ending with 5.3 miles, not bad, and I felt great. Biking is going to be my starting point. It still takes a lot, but I can ease into it without feeling I failed on the treadmill. Although I love running, I could easily take a day of biking over hitting the treadmill. This past summer I did the Tour de Cure for Diabetes, biked the 30 mile moderate. It felt great, who knew I’d be able to bike 30 miles in a few hours.

Friday night I did some bowling, not really a workout, but it was good for my arms. I was sore Saturday from biking. Although I live in Ohio, I am not a big fan of the Bengals or the Browns, but yes the Packers. I, however, was one of the three Green Bay fans at BW3’s on Saturday night, but I was definitely showing my team spirit. Green Bay Packers advance!

Hoping to get some good workouts in this week, we’ll see how it goes….

>New Challenges

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>Yesterday I tried something that I honestly never thought I would do. I bundled up in the 20 degree weather, thankfully it was sunny, and headed to the ski resort to battle the “mountains” as they appeared to me. Standing there I thought there was no way I was going to be able to snowboard. I cross country ski, which is great, and safe, so this was going to be a challenge. My boyfriend (Darren) is obsessed with snowboarding, he learned in the Swiss Alps while he lived in Germany for a year. To say the least, these mountains of mine were small bumps for him. Luckily for me, he had patience and spent most of the day teaching me. I fell many times, and so did others all around me, I didn’t feel left out with my lack of experience. After a bad spill and frustrating thoughts, I had decided I was done for the day and wanted to give him time to enjoy being out there. Here I was struggling with the easiest slope, and he doing jumps on the black diamonds.

Today I can feel every muscle in my body, struggling to move fast. Even my fingers are swollen, which I did not know could happen. But I had so much fun.  I was trying something completely out of my comfort level, but also doing something that Darren enjoyed as well. The hardest thing was accepting that I wasn’t going to be great my firs time out. Running comes naturally to me. No matter how long I take off, I can come back and get back in the groove. This was going to take some time to get the hang of, even though I was apparently doing as well as any beginner. It’s harder for me to accept something that I can’t get right away, I’m used to working hard and succeeding, not failing right away.

While I’m supposed to be running and training for this half marathon, I see these opportunities as ways to get my body in shape without hurting too bad. I still have plenty of time, but if I’m able to use fun ways of getting back into shape and maintaining it, I’ll take that. That’s part of the fun when I choose cross training activities. Biking is my absolute number one, but this could get up on the list. I plan on taking a few days to let my body recover and then get back in the workout room. I will be trying snowboarding again, I just need a week to get back on the board.

>Easier said than done…

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>As I expected this blog and working out haven’t been a daily thing, but I can’t completely blame it on a lack of motivation. I’ve had a migraine for the past three days, and for anyone who has experienced these, you don’t want to do anything. So I’ll start up again tomorrow.

I live in an apartment building that has a small workout room. And when I say small, I mean two stationary bikes, one treadmill and two elliptical machines. Now this wasn’t a huge deal when I moved in, it was summer and I live near the metro parks, perfect location. But since I am unable to run outside in the cold weather (40 and below my back stiffens beyond comfort) I have to deal with what I have. I have the ability to work out at the local college, as I’m getting my MBA, I can go there for free. As for now, I just want to get into a regular routine so I can at least say I’m on my way. I’ve been alternating between the stationary bike and the elliptical, hoping to get to the treadmill soon. This next week I really plan to step it up.

>New year, same resolutions

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>As the new year begins, I’m trying to decide what my resolutions will be, however, they’re always the same. But this year, I plan on changing that (just like every year). I have three: gain 10 pounds/get back into shape, run the Cleveland half marathon, and start a blog. So here I am, starting a blog about my journey of running a half marathon.

I’m not really sure how it will go, both the training and the blogging. This is my first time doing a blog, and quite frankly, I’m not sure on the guidelines. But I’ll try it, and if I keep it up, I’m sure it will be rewarding in the end. Same goes for my running.