Beggars Can't Be Choosers, Or Can They?

About 2 1/2 years ago I had lunch with a friend of mine at a local sandwich/salad place in San Francisco. Neither one of us finished our lunch and we both decided to take the leftovers with us. A few blocks away, however, my friend and I encountered a homeless man begging on a corner and my friend gave the man his leftovers. My immediate thought was, "Does he really think this homeless man wants to eat his leftovers? He should have given him money to buy his own..." (Not that I gave him my leftovers or any money - who am I to judge, right?) Mind you, this happened a couple of years ago and I still think about it EVERY time I see a homeless person. I wonder if that man ate my friend's leftovers or if he threw them out. I wonder how hungry I would have to be to eat a stranger's leftovers. I wonder if I should make it a habit to give homeless people my leftovers, or specifically set aside half of everything I order to give to a homeless person... I wonder, I wonder, I wonder...

Which brings me to my thought this morning - after I saw the homeless person and thought about my friend's leftovers... Anyway... my thought this morning was, "Isn't it interesting how some events stick with you, repeatedly popping up in your thoughts, while other events are forgotten moments after they've transpired?"

Week 3, Day 3

I think I'm going to switch to the 8-week running program. I'm in week 3 of the 24-week program and I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere... Last night I ended up running for .4 miles and walking for .1, but I ran at a steady 12 mph pace rather than adjusting my speed every time I ran - to switch things up. So starting on Monday I'm switching programs!

Week 3, Day 1

I had physical therapy this afternoon and was sleepy afterwards, but I drank a cup of coffee (suggested by the book I bought if I needed a boost) and managed to get my run in tonight.

Week 2, Day 5

Last night I ran 2.26 miles in 30 minutes. I really didn't want to run because my neck was sore and I was curled up on the couch, but I finally went at 9pm. My feet felt like lead weights while I was running, but at least it didn't bother my neck!

Week 2, Day 3

Even though I technically missed days 1 and 2 this week because of my neck, we'll just continue as if I didn't miss them... ;o)

Since I had a great walk this afternoon and was feeling great this evening, I decided to run. I figured I could always stop if I wasn't feeling it... But I ended up having a really fab run!!!

Now I'm hoping I didn't hurt myself in some as-yet-unknown way... :o )

Achy Breaky Necky...???

While on my way to Sacramento to pick up my girlfriend for our trip to Reno on Saturday, I noticed that my neck and shoulders were sore and that it was painful to turn my head when making a turn or changing lanes. I called my friend and asked her to pack some ibuprofen, thinking I would just take a few and the pain would go away. Oh how wrong I was... :o ( Unfortunately the pain has gotten progressively worse over the last 4-5 days, resulting in me going to the doctor yesterday. I got a diagnosis of a muscle spasm, a prescription for a muscle relaxer, and a referral to see a physical therapist. My first appointment with the physical therapist is tomorrow morning - hopefully I can work this "spasm" out quickly so I can get back to running. I would really hate to lose the momentum I had going... I went for an hour-long walk during my lunch hour, to AT&T Park and back (about 3.5 miles) and it didn't seem to bother my neck. Maybe I'll attempt a run this evening as my neck/shoulders always seems to be much better in the evenings after I've stretched them out, etc. throughout the day...

Week 1, Day 6

One week down and I'm definitely feeling better about running! My shins ache a bit again, but I think I ran too soon after last night's run. I'm heading to Reno, though, for some fun in the snow! Hopefully I'll be able to run on Monday!

Week 1, Days 4 and 5

Sadly, I didn't make time for my walk yesterday, but I did run this evening. My shins ache a bit, but I'm not breathless so that's a bonus! 2.26 miles in 30 minutes tonight...

Week 1, Days 2 and 3

Yesterday I walked the requisite 30 minutes down The Embarcadero in San Francisco. It was incredibly foggy and cold out, but I didn't feel like being trapped in the gym. The Embarcadero is great for walking/running because it's really wide and there are no stop signs, etc. So, even though it was cold outside I managed to keep up a quick pace and break a sweat on my walk. Very nice.

Today I ran/walked on the treadmill for a total of 32 minutes and 2.25 miles. I'm a little frustrated with only running 45 seconds at a time, but I definitely get my heart rate up! Besides, I know that my run time will increase each week and I guess I'd rather feel like I could do more than feel like it's too much like I felt last weekend!

Week 1

For the 24-week training program, each training session is 30 minutes. On days 1, 3, 5 and 6, you run/walk (the amount of each depends on the week) for 30 minutes; on days 2 and 4 you only walk for 30 minutes; and on day 7 you rest.

For week 1 I am running for 45 sec and walking for 1:45 min x 12. Walking to the gym warms me up, but I also walked for 2 minutes on the treadmill before I started my training session. So today I logged 32 minutes and 2.18 miles for roughly 14.68 minute miles.

J and B

I love this pic of J and B. Little cuties!

Back to the Basics

I bought a book yesterday afternoon - "Complete Book of Beginning Running" by Amby Burfoot, Executive Editor of Runner's World Magazine. It seems like a very informative book with chapters on Getting Started, Nutrition and Running, Basic Training, Injury Prevention, Especially for Women, as well as an 8-week training plan and a 24-week training plan. I've decided to go with the 24-week plan. I'd much rather think that my run was way too easy than way too hard. At this point, at least...

BTW, did I mention that T has been running with me...? I love that running is something that we can do together and he even cheers me on when he knows I'm getting tired. :o )

I'm doing something wrong

Last night I attempted to run a mile, but after 9.5 min and .8 of a mile, I was completely breathless. Sadly, I made myself stop. I did run a mile this morning, in 10:41, but again I was breathless. I don't think my cardio is great right now and I'm not sure why. Should I be riding the bike as well as running? I know I'm doing something wrong, but I'm really not sure what it is...

Maybe it's not such a good idea...

Maybe it's not such a good idea to run a mile less than 12 hours after
donating blood... I had zero energy, but I still managed to walk/run a
mile in 12:25. And then another 10 min to stop feeling dizzy... Yeah,
that was stupid.

I'm a Lifesaver!

I donated blood this morning and I received a card thanking me for being a lifesaver after I was done. Now that I'm back at the office, I've teasingly asked several people if they've donated yet today (there is a mobile blood unit right outside our office for today only) and I quickly realized that NOBODY seems to want to donate. EVERY single person I asked had an excuse as to why s/he didn't/hasn't/won't/can't donate(d). My favorite is from one coworker who claims she doesn't weigh enough - I wish I had that problem! There was a sign at the "snack station" on the donation bus that said that 60% of the population is eligible to donate but only 5% of us do so. Wow. Honestly, though, I know I don't donate enough. I've been "gifted" with O- blood, the universal donor (anybody can receive O- blood). However, those of us with O- blood can ONLY receive O- blood. Oh gee, thanks. Sounds a lot like how my love life works.

http://www.bloodcenters.org/

A Pathetic Display

I went to the gym today and had a lot of energy to put into my mile… unfortunately I also had a runny nose and NO TISSUE. I was a sniffling fool (as opposed to the bumbling fool I usually am) and considered stopping several times but only slowed down instead to REALLY sniffle (yucky). I still managed to get my mile in, though, at 12:24. Not bad, I guess, but still a pathetic display. BTW, after my run I found some tissue in the women's restroom 2 flights up from where I was running. I guess that's what I get for $29 a month.

.50 mile in 5:42

I went to the gym at my place tonight and someone was using the only treadmill so I used the elliptical until he was done... 30 minutes later I was too tired to run a full mile so I ran for .50 mile instead. My shins ache a bit now. I'll stretch and hope they're fine tomorrow...

Me and T ready to zip

Mostly I just posted this pic to see if I could blog-by-email a pic from my iPhone, but this pic is from this past November when the boys and I went to the Moaning Caverns. They had a zip line and T and I decided to try it out - what a fab time! We zipped twice and will definitely do it again.

New Year's Resolution

This year I have decided that I am going to trick my body into toning up and shedding unwanted weight by picking a New Year's resolution that will ultimately result in me toning up and shedding weight--yet is not focused on just that. Yes, saying it in a long and run-on sentence is one way to trick my body...

To that end, my 2008 resolution is to run a half marathon! Even though I have now run a total of 8 times in my life (6 of which were in the last 3 weeks of 2007), I am determined to do this! Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE cycling, but it is just so EASY. No, cycling is not easy when one climbs hills, but running is a challenge to me - hills or not - and thus it will be, well... a challenge!

Right before the New Year (and the mark of my resolution to run a half marathon), I was running twice a week. Inevitably, I got sick on New Year's Eve (it seems to be a tradition for me) so I have not really been able to run much this year. However, I am now feeling much better and I ran a mile last night and pushed myself a bit to see how fast I could run. I clocked it at 11:30 - not great, but it's a start.

To reach my goal, I have decided that I'm going to run a mile (or more) every day, but that I'm going to push myself to increase my time on Sundays and push myself to increase my distance on Wednesdays. This, of course, might change as I go along but it's a start.