Weeks 9 & 10 Goals Summary

The past two weeks haven't been very good where meeting goals is concerned. In week 9, I ran 16.83 miles, walked 4 miles, didn't played the piano, didn't play the trombone, didn't do any weight training, didn't read any of my French book.

Week 10 was worse. I had a nasty cold for all of it. I ran 11.02 miles, walked 1 mile, didn't do any weight training (purposefully [versus being lazy] since the half marathon is this Sunday), played the piano three times, played my trombone once, and didn't read my French book. Really need to get going with that last one!

Check out the high temperatures so far this month: 30, 32, 30, 54, 66, 73, 73, 72, 57, 75, low 40's today. Crimeny, a 45 degree swing. The average high is 55.

Workout

When I was running on Monday, I was planning to do a short, easy run on Tuesday and maybe 5 miles today. Yesterday, my legs were completely hammered from Monday's 11 miles, or most likely that last mile I did at a rather brisk pace after already running 10 miles, and I flat out didn't feel very well, almost as if I'm picking up cold #2 ... fluid in my right ear and all. Today, I still felt pretty tired and my legs are still recovering. Hopefully, I'll get in an easy run tomorrow in the cold (forecast high of 38).

Food

Nutritionally, I'm still out in the weeds. Will get around to what I ought to be doing eventually.

Week 8 Goals Roundup

Happy Birthday to my mom!

I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button this evening with my neighbors. I was okay, but it seemed to go on and on and on. I didn't particularly care for the way his (reverse) aging was handled in the end, though. Once again, another movie that I don't get why it was up for Best Picture. The Oscar wins for makeup and visual effects are definitely justified.

With all the hullabaloo surrounding the dog bite yesterday, I forgot that it was the end of a goals week which also means I forgot to play the piano and trombone last night as I had planned to do. So, no piano, no trombone, no French book (although I did spend a little time trying to help a friend who is taking French in college). I ran 20.62 miles, walked 4 miles, did 1 session of weight training, and spent a couple hours doing using other cardio gear (stepper, rower, elliptical, bike).

Workout

February 26, Thursday
4:45 p.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 1.62 miles, treadmill @.5%
Duration: 18:22
Pace ave: 11:19
HR ave 143, max 153
Cool down: .38 mile walk
Shoes: Pegasus 25

Today needed to be an easy effort for 4-5 miles, and it started off okay but slowly went downhill. I didn't feel like I had any energy, and I just didn't want to go anymore ... so I didn't. Bah. Had it not been so windy outside and had the timing been better (people getting off work ... too much traffic on the routes I would have run), I'd have been outside instead of in.

Food

Today definitely wasn't among the more nutritionally sound days I've had.

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

n/a

Weeks 6 & 7 Summary

Week 6 turned out pretty good. I ran 24.62 miles, walked 4 miles, lifted weights twice, played the piano a couple times and the trombone once. Didn't eat all that well for a few days, though. The weather warmed up causing the roads to clear, so I ran outside 3 times. It was so nice getting off the treadmill!

Week 7, turned out not so good. I ran only about 12.5 miles, walked about 2, rowed 3.2, spent 50 minutes doing a cardio circuit (10 minutes on each of the treadmill, stair master, elliptical, stationary bike, & rowing machine), weight trained once, turned 45, didn't play the piano or trombone because I'm in Canada and have no clue whether there's a piano somewhere on base or not, let alone a trombone, and ate far too much junk since I've been here. The good thing is that I discovered I really like the rowing machine. The one I used in the gym is an older-model Concept II. Oh yeah ... I brought one of the books written in French with me, but haven't read any of it. Figures.

Workout

February 18, Wednesday
3:30 p.m. MT
Warm up: .3 mile walk
Distance: ~10.35 miles
Duration: 1:54:51
Pace ave: 11:05
HR TBD ... had a lot of interference near the base & will have to do error correction
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 27/18, 52%, sunny, WSW@10
Shoes: Pegasus (Canada)

Eddie played pit crew for me today. All in all the run was pretty good, especially considering I haven't run since Saturday and that was just 2 miles on the treadmill and I ate too much junk in the couple hours before I ran so my gut wasn't all that happy with me. The weather was really nice, although as soon as the sun got near the horizon I cooled off really quickly. My cool down walk wasn't much of a cool down since I was already on the cool side.

On the route map, instead of turning right and heading toward the TransCan shortly before mile 10, I went straight. Distance is an estimate. There weren't any markers around except telephone poles. In fact, when I stopped running, you could do a complete 360 and not see any sign of human habitation other than the telephone poles a couple antennae/towers. I might have to go back and do a little video of the area before I head back to the States.

Food

Oatmeal and blueberries for a late breakfast, then some chocolates and chips & salsa, then a little fish, raw veg, & a tad of pasta for lunch, then more chocolates, then my run. Urf. Supper was a gyro, some cauliflower, and carrots. I haven't updated my Calorie King food diary much at all since being in Canada. When logging stuff on Calorie King, it drives me nuts not knowing exactly how much I'm eating (I'm not toting my food scale to the meals!) and what the cooks have added to the food.

Morning Stats

n/a

Week 5 Goals Summary

Week 5 was pretty good, but I needed to put in a couple more miles than I did (running 4 days instead of 5 will do that to you). Anyway, I ran 20.5 miles, walked 7.4, weight trained twice (counting the 2.5 hours of scooping snow), played piano and trombone a couple times. I still haven't started to read a book in French. I have a few sitting around just waiting for me to pick them up. I think I'll take one with me on my upcoming trip in a week to visit Eddie in Canada.

I ate lunch with Candy at The Palace today. Had chili, fries, and iced tea. Pretty tasty! Sure was cold outside, though, especially with that north wind hitting me in the face on the walk back home.

Workout

February 4, Wednesday
8:12 p.m. CT

Treadmill@1%
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 4.5 miles
Duration: 50:30
Pace ave: 11:13
HR ave 153, max 165
Cool down: .5 mile walk
Shoes: Pegasus 25

I almost didn't get on the treadmill today. Around 5:15 this afternoon I was so sleepy and cold-feeling that I laid down in bed and napped for almost 2 hours. After I woke up (ok, Eddie called and woke me up), I debated getting up and running or not for a good half an hour, but decided I didn't want to be a "Joelle." Today's run was just an easy effort. I sort of marvel that I run as "fast" as I do now. When I was training to run the White Rock Marathon back in 2003, I did good to sustain 5.1 or 5.2 mph on the treadmill and most longer runs were at 4.8-5.0 mph. Now I can (mostly) comfortably go at 5.5+ for quite a while.

1@5.3, 2@5.4, 1.25@5.5, .25@5.3

I'm a little sore from yesterday's weight training session, especially my hamstrings. Sheesh, one set of lunges and I'm sore. Good grief.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

n/a

Lots of Snow + Week 4 Goals Summary

Snow! Finally something more than a light skiff of it! It's powdery, though, so isn't so good for constructing snowmen. Will give it a shot tomorrow since it's had a day to "cure."  The downside is being confined to the treadmill all week. It's not just powdery snow, but layers of ice, sleet, and snow, and I don't own any of those cleat things you strap on to running shoes.

So, 2009 goals week 4: ran 21.05 miles, walked 10 miles, weight trained twice, ate pretty well except for yesterday, played the piano once, skipped the trombone, haven't start reading a book written in French, yet. All in all, it's a lot better than last week, but there's room for improvement.

Workout

January 28, Wednesday
12:56 p.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 5 miles [1@(5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6), .5@6.5, .25@6.0, .25@5.5]
Duration: 54:31.3
Pace ave: 10:54
HR ave 151, max 176
Cool down: .5 mile walk
Basement: 63F
Shoes: Pegasus 25

Had a nice (for a treadmill) run. Watched a program on The History Channel about various theories of what might have caused the dinosaurs to become extinct.  Did 30 minutes of weight training after running. Did about 8 upper body exercises (2-3 sets each) and 3 ab exercises.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

n/a

Week 3 Goals Summary -- not so good

Week 3 wasn't one of my better weeks, regardless of the category. I only ran 9.5 miles and walked just 1.9. I didn't do any weight training. Tearin' 'em up! I did manage to play the piano, but not the trombone. I ate tons of crap, too. I went up to West Lafayette on Friday and got back on Monday morning. I ran on the treadmill on Sunday and did 10 minutes on the stepper. It was really nice to see my brother's family, though, so that's a positive in all of it. Week 4 is bound to be lots better.

Workout

January 21, Wednesday
3:33 p.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 5.98 miles
Duration: 1:05:41
Pace ave: 10:59
HR ave 162, max 178
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 35/26, 57%, sunny, S@13
@end: 33/25, 58%, sunny, S@11

First outside run since January 11th & it was great to be out! The weather was fantastic (for this time of year, at any rate). At the start, I didn't have very high hopes for this being a good run, but it improved as I went on. I got caught by a train on the way back. I picked up the pace to try to beat it, but it was headed out of town which means it was picking up speed. I needed another 75 yards or so. The roads were all clear except for large patches on Hall St, which is also where I got caught by the train, so I had to be very cautious with my footing.

Food

I started using CalorieKing.com, again, so I don't want to log food twice. Starting tomorrow, I'll include only a link to my Calorie King page for the day. Here's today's.

Breakfast: 8:30 a.m. 2 packets, Quaker apple cinnamon oatmeal.
Lunch: 1:30 p.m. Kashi Tuscan Veggie bake, blueberries, strawberries, black grapes.
Afternoon Snacks: 4:00 p.m. Apple Cinnamon Spice hot tea.
Supper: 7:00 p.m. Birds Eye Normandy Mix, celery, grape tomatoes, 1/2 oz almonds, tomatoes.

Snacks: Popcorn, banana, light yogurt.

Morning Stats

n/a

Good Start to the New Year: Week 1 Summary

We are a week into the new year already. How am I doing on my goals for this year? I played my trombone tonight and the piano yesterday. I've run 20.71 miles and walked 9 miles (including the warmup and cooldown walks). My weight is down a couple pounds. I did strength training twice. I just need to do it all 51 more times. :-)

Workout

January 7

6:48 p.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk (treadmill)
Distance: 4.32 miles
Duration: 46:28
Pace ave: 10:45
HR ave 169, max 180
Cool down: .5 mile walk (treadmill)
@start: 30, 83%, cloudy, SW@4
@end: 30, 81%, cloudy, calm

Whoa! I did today's run in almost the exact same time as the last time I ran it (within about 1.5 seconds). Cool. The run felt hard, though, and I really wanted to walk a couple times. Average HR was 4 beats higher. The temperature was 12-15 degrees colder today than last time.  This time, my quads felt really cold, and my legs felt tired after a couple miles. I guess the fatigue could be due to lower calorie intake the past few days as well as the cold. I've got to get some warmer tights. All in all, just a fair run.

After the cool down walk, I did 20-25 minutes of strength training (chest, shoulders, triceps, abs). Biceps are still pretty sore, but the rest of the soreness has surprisingly dissipated.

Food

Breakfast: 8:40 a.m. banana, tangerine, 1/2 oz almonds.
Snack: 12:40 p.m. apple.
Lunch: 3:45 p.m. Lean Cuisine Parmesan Crusted Fish, 8 Snickers minis*.
Supper: 8:35 p.m. black bean soup, green cabbage, green grapes, herbal tea.

According to calorieking.com, I took in 1,423 calories: 21% from fat, 14% from protein, 64% from carbs. Without the Snickers, it would have been 1,063 calories: 14% from fat, 17% from protein, 69% from carbs. I really need to add a little protein. I have a hard time getting to 50g/day. Might have an egg tomorrow instead of the nuts for breakfast, but that's only 6g vs 3g.

*Gift from a kid in my aunt's class. Instead of eating 8 of them, I guess I could have done with just four. :-)

Morning Stats

weight: 152.8, 151.4 post run
bf: 31%, 30%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Goals for 2009

I prefer to set goals instead of define resolutions. Here are my goals for 2009:

1. Run 1000 miles which comes to roughly 20 miles a week or 84 miles a month.
2. Strength train 2-3x week.
3. Weigh less than 130 pounds.
4. Have body fat less than 23%.
5. Complete a 5k in 28:00 or less.
6. Complete a 10k in 57:00 or less.
   
7. Complete a half marathon in 2:04:00 or less.
8. Complete a full marathon in 4:48:00 or less.
9. Get a "real" job (yes, pretty vague).
10. Go scuba divng at least once (it's been 6.5 yrs since the last time).
11. Read two books written in French.
12. Play piano/trombone at least once a week.
    

The better I do with the first four, the easier #'s 5-8 will be. I might update this later to add more goals and define A (long stretch), B (stretch), and C (baseline) levels for the first 8.

Evansville Half Marathon Goals

The weather forecast is calling for 7 a.m. temperature of 59 degrees, 87% humidity, sunny, winds ESE@5. By 9 a.m. it's 67 degrees, 68% humidity, mostly sunny, winds SE@8. By the time I get to finishing, it'll be pressing 70. Grrrr. I'd like to buy a cloud, please, Pat [Sajak]. Oh well, can't do a thing to change it. The average low for this time of year is 49, though. Wishful thinking.

My race goals might be a little tough since it's going to be warmer and sunnier than optimal for me, but I'll give them a shot anyway.

Race goals --

A Goal: 2:15:00

B Goal: 2:24:00

C Goal: 2:29:59

Presumably as a side effect of my less than stellar diet lately, my gut is feeling pretty bloated and yucky. I hope it remedies itself before heading to Evansville in the morning and doesn't affect me during the race. I rather wonder why on earth I've been eating like I have lately. One would think I'd be eating better as race day approaches, not worse. Subconscious self sabotage, perhaps? Hmmm. Mystery. It's not like I feel better eating too much junk. Quite the contrary.

Workout

October 11

Today is another rest day. Tomorrow is RACE DAY!

Food

Breakfast: 9:00 a.m. banana, green grapes, black grapes, clementine, 1/2 oz almonds.

Morning Snack: 10:30 a.m. the rest of the bag of Kettle BBQ chips.
Lunch: 1:00 p.m. hummus, whole wheat pita, cauliflower, spinach, green bell pepper.
Supper: 7:00 p.m. @Dick Clark's - fried shrimp, slaw, club crackers, french fries, dinner roll, Country Crock.

Morning Stats

weight: n/a
bf: n/a
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Two days in a row I've forgotten to get on the scale before eating breakfast. Sigh.

Stray Kitten Meow

Workout

None, other than yard duty and the PT exercises for my ankle which seems to be doing a bit better. I have a 5k race a week from today which I still plan to run. At the moment, the extended forecast calls for normal temps that day. We'll see. The forecast will change a zillion times between now and then. I'll definitely be well-rested for it. I just hope I haven't lost too much conditioning.

Assuming the weather isn't too oppressive, my race "a" goal is 30:00, "b" goal is 30:30, and "c" goal is 31:00. If it's in the 70's though, I'll have to adjust those numbers higher, especially if the morning humidity is 90%+ as it has been lately.

I think I'm going to try a walk/run session tomorrow to see how the ankle is progressing. Last Sunday was the last time I went for a run, and I really want to get back to it ... but not too much too soon.

Stray Kitten

My aunt called me last night to tell me stray kitten showed up and G&G's (Gran & Granddad) yesterday evening as she was getting ready to leave there for home. She'd have taken it with her then, except the kitten has a sneeze and watery eyes. I gathered up some litter, food, and big cardboard box and headed over to G&G's. Some kitten, that. She managed to gnaw on the hand-hold holes in the box (a sturdy 17" computer monitor box), located well above her easy reach, and squeezed out through the hole. Great. Plan B: go back home and get the large, plastic & metal carrier. I didn't do that to start with because of the sneezing and watery eyes: my four cats could do without catching whatever the kitten has. The plan was then that I would take the kitten to the vet this morning after the yard duty at my parents' place since my aunt had a previous obligation scheduled.

Fortunately for me, my aunt's plans changed, and she took the kitten to the vet who said she didn't have anything serious. The kitten is now at home with my aunt and studying hard to become a country barn cat. She is named Fannie Mae (as in she may make it or she may not). She's about 6 weeks old and grey and black with an interesting marl-stripey pattern and has a very sweet disposition. She clearly has been around people before entering our lives since she ran up to me meowing when I called out to her (G&G had let her out of the garage by the tine I got over there last night) versus running away and hiding. My aunt & I figure the people who had her just dumped her because of the kitty cold. Until she gets bigger and able to defend herself, she'll be kept in a cage at night and when no one is at home with her.

Food

Breakfast: fruit salad - blueberries, strawberries, peach, banana; 1/2 oz walnuts.
Morning Snack: n/a
Lunch: 6 Triscuits, Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, medium-sized salad: romaine, onion, bell peppers, raisins, cauliflower, banana pepper, 1/2 0z sunflower seeds, ground flaxseed, feta cheese, raspberry balsamic vinegar, carrots, celery; one square of Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie 86% Cacao Dark Chocolate.
Afternoon Snack: Vault Zero [just want to get rid of it ... 2 to go ... been in my fridge taking up space for quite a while].
Supper: steamed eggplant, buffalo burger patty pan-fried with onions & bell peppers [no added oils], cantaloup.
Evening Snack: cantaloup.

Setting Multiple Levels of Goals

When I've run in races in the past, I usually have three different performance goals. For example, when I ran my first (and only, so far) marathon at White Rock in Dallas in 2003, my first goal was to just finish. My second goal was to do it in 5 hours. My third goal was to do it in 4:30. I hit my first goal, but missed the other two. My finishing time was around 5:17.

Why did I have three goals? Having three goals allows you to set a goal and succeed at some level without beating yourself up about being a complete failure if you miss the single goal. Since it was my first marathon, just finishing seemed like a reasonable low-level goal since I had no idea what a completing a full marathon entailed. Yes, I'd read books and online articles and magazines, but those are no substitute for having had the experience oneself. The other two goals were "push" or "challenge" goals. I figured that if all went well, I could hit goal number two to finish in 5 hours. The third goal was the "super goal," the one I most likely would not be able to hit unless I suddenly found some magical, mysterious running zen-zone I'd never before experienced.

I felt elated to finish the race. My feet were killing me. I had some huge blisters on both feet that started forming around mile 7, so that meant 19 miles of mild discomfort morphing into serious discomfort and pain. I also felt enormous satisfaction at having completed something so mentally and physically challenging, something that no one else in my family had done, something that few [from a % of total population perspective] people even attempt to do.

Given the state of my feet, I wasn't terribly disappointed to have missed the second goal of finishing in 5 hours. Since there wasn't much chance of me hitting the third goal of 4:30, missing it didn't bother me at all. Had I actually hit either of those goals, I'd probably have been whooping and hollering and carrying on like a crazy woman when I crossed the finish line. As it was, my friends Gene and "The George" were yelling an alternating chant of "Jill" and "Bob" over the course of the last several yards. That was really nice to hear.

Regarding my feet: during training I'd gotten small blisters a couple times over the 18 weeks of training, but that was it. No major problems. The shoes and socks I used during the race were ones I'd often used during long runs in training. Why on the day of the race I ended up with blisters will remain one of life's mysteries to me.

So, set more than one goal for any single event. Tie a different reward to each goal. The higher or more challenging the goal, the better the reward. Most importantly of all, take that first step and give it a good, solid effort. If you are unable to meet any of the goals, redefine them and try, try, try again.

Setting Goals

Goals can be important motivators for many people, but they must smart goals to be truly effective. Back in my Sun Microsystems days, we took a bunch of courses along the way, one of which revolved around defining those smart goals. What's a smart goal? It must be:

• Specific
  
• Measurable
  
• Actionable
  
• Realistic
  
• Time-bound
  

There are various other versions of the SMART definition, but they are all fairly similar. Differences arise with the focus, such as business management, project management, personal goals, etc.

In addition to being SMART, goals should be a bit of a stretch or a challenge without being so far out of reach you have about a 2% chance of attaining it. Those odds are discouraging for just about everyone. Perhaps a 2% chance of attainment should be called a dream instead of a goal. At the opposite end of the the spectrum, reaching a low-hanging fruit type of goal isn't much of a challenge and doesn't hold much meaning. For me, to set a goal of just finishing a half-marathon isn't much of a challenge: I've done 6 of them already.

Here's an example of a poor goal: I want to run faster.

It's not specific or time-bound, but it is actionable, realistic, and measurable although running even 1 second per mile faster counts as "faster" and it's not much of a stretch unless you happen to be trying to set the mile world record.]

Here's a SMART goal: I want to run the Evansville YMCA 5k on August 2nd in 28 minutes.

It's very specific [28 minute 5k]. It can be measured [stopwatch]. It's actionable [I can take specific steps to improve my speed]. It's realistic [I think :-)]. It has an end date [August 2nd].

Another poor goal: I need to lose weight. [not specific or time bound]

And another poor goal: I want to lost 10 pounds by next weekend. [not specific enough or realistic]

Better: I want to lose 10 pounds by September 30th. [still not specific enough]

SMART: I want to lose 10 pounds of fat by September 30th.

It's specific [10 pounds of fat ... don't want to lose 10 pounds of muscle!]. It's measurable [body-fat scale]. It's actionable [I can define steps to take, such as do cardio for an hour 5 times a week, eat at least 9 servings or fruits and vegetables, and reduce or eliminate junk food]. It's realistic [less than a pound a week]. It's time-bound [September 30th].

Notice that I start my goals with "I want" versus "I need." Perhaps, I should extend it to "I want and I will." Lots of people saying "I need to lose weight" or "I need to eat better" or "I need to get more exercise." Those statements send the message that they don't really WANT to do those things. So, start you goals with a statement of desire ("I want") and intent ("I will"). Repeat them to yourself in the mirror every morning while you're brushing your teeth. Keep a record so you can track your progress. If you need more reward that the satisfaction of reaching a challenging goal, then tack the definition of the reward onto your goal. I really want a pair of Keen Newport H2 sandals, so I might just add that as a reward for reaching one or two or my goals.

Sometimes circumstances arise that interfere with our goal. Rather than just giving up on the goal, redefine it. For example, let's say next week I get a serious ankle sprang and can't run on it for two weeks. That's going to make reaching my 28 minute 5k goal by August 2nd pretty unrealistic, so I'll need to adjust my goal in one of two ways: 1) change the date to another 5k race a few weeks later, or 2) change the time from 28 minutes to 30.5 minutes.

Of course, you can set smart goals until you're blue in the face, and that's a very important step to take [well, not the turning blue part!]. Following the setting of the goals comes the strategy and tactics and commitment to achieve those goals. Call it will-power, self-discipline, passion, desire, whatever. More on that topic later on.

Search the net for more info on setting SMART goals.