Hardcore Mental Training

Tomorrow marks the last day of my first week at the new job. This past four days have been intense, to say the least. My brain is fried, but in the best way possible. It’s information overload, but when it comes to training, it’s the only way to be.

My only issue? I can’t master everything in my first week! It’s  uncomfortable not knowing things, and that discomfort was what kept me from pursuing new things in the past. I’ve been watching people who make this stuff look so easy, and then I get in front of the computer to try it and I can’t brain enough to remember minor html code. But I do know that mastery comes with time, and I just have to be patient. I’m optimistic that the day will come when I’ll make it look that easy. Like a boss.

Though I will never have such luxurious hair as this.

Besides work, I’ve managed to get things done in the after hours as well. I’ve become a fan of little routines and a constant to-do list to help myself stay on track. The 20 minute timer on my UfYH app has been keeping me rolling. If I turn on the timer, my mental switch flips and tells me to work. So I work. It also helps that the fog of NaNoWriMo is over, so I feel mentally ready to take on other things. Go figure.

Other updates:

Walking – It’s coming along slowly but surely. I’ve walked to work the past two mornings but then drove in the afternoon. The walks are uncomfortable and I’m irritated by that, but I have to keep pushing. The plan is to walk to and from work at least once a day for the next week, then try to up it to walking with no driving. I’m also trying to get up every thirty minutes at work and I currently have a goal to go up the stairs at least four times a day (I’ll bump that up in a couple weeks as well).

My car – My car is a hot mess right now. It’s making weird noises and leaking out of places. Luckily it gets us from point A to B, but we won’t be making any major trips in it until it gets looked at. I have a feeling everything wrong with it is super minor and that the cold is just doing a number on it. Which is probably why I’m not overly stressed about it.

Hobbies – I’ve been doing some knitting and reading. I’m trying to do more reading so I can get caught up on all my NetGalley reviews before the end of the year, but the book I’m reading right now is slow. I’m taking a break from writing this month. Gaming will resume again next week (everything got sidetracked by November). Haven’t been in the mood to bake, but maybe with the holidays coming, that might be a thing. Everything else I ever do is taking a back burner right now until I feel like resuming. If you can call TV watching a hobby, J and I have been watching Season 16 of The Amazing Race, so that’s been fun.

Also, got the email today that I was approved for a new VoxBox from Influenster, so I’ll be doing some reviews shortly. All of the VoxBoxes have been good, but I’m particularly excited about this one.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

A.

 

5K Prepping and Training

I hadn’t been planning on walking a 5k for a few more months. I’d thought about signing up for the Glow Run in June, but I didn’t make that a thing because of money, time, etc. (excuses, right?). I figured my first true 5k wouldn’t be until the Orc Stomp at Gen Con (if they’re holding it this year, of course).

But then a fellow worker bee tagged me in an FB post, and it was “challenge accepted” from there. Why? Because I want to walk one, and I didn’t really have a good reason to say no. I’m fairly prepared, and I have time to get even more prepared. So instead of finding more excuses, I went ahead and signed up.

These shoes were made for walkin’.

That was a couple weeks ago. Fast forward to the present. We’re two weeks from the walk and in true me fashion, I’ve procrastinated. This past week brought very little physical activity and way more unhealthy eating than planned. While I rarely get caught up in what I do and don’t eat, I know I’m not feeling my best and I know why.

I was a little apprehensive about our training walk today. Besides lack of regular activity, it’s been a couple weeks since we walked this distance. Instead of doing our normal track, we decided to test drive the actual track for the event.

This track is dirt, not pavement. It’s relatively flat and in a nice area. Because I wasn’t familiar with the longer loop, Jon walked with me instead of at his own pace, and that made for a much more enjoyable walk since I had someone to visit with.

We didn’t follow the exact path that the race will take, but we monitored using the markers and our Fitbits, and by the time we got back to our car, we’d walked about 3.20 miles in about 1 hour and 10 minutes. This marks my best walking time. Granted, it was flat terrain, and a lot of hills would take me longer, but I don’t even care. I feel good about it.

When it comes to walking, it’s hard for me not to compare myself to other people. I’m so slow. Even when I feel like I’ve got a good pace going, other people breeze past me. I’ve been told I walk weird, and I’m sure that’s true. Sometimes I have a limp depending on what hurts. I apparently walk on the ball of my foot, not my heel. I’m sure all of these are factors. I’m sure others would say weight and motivation are factors too. Either way, I think I’m destined to be the tortoise.

And really? That’s okay. I’m not in it to win anything or be better than someone else. I’m doing it because I can (which hasn’t always been the case). I’m doing it for movement and to help out a cause and to feel like I accomplished something.

Before today, I was a little nervous about this walk, but not as much now. Even if Jon leaves me in the dust and I come strolling in a half hour after everyone else, I know I’ll at least have finished it. That in itself is pretty awesome.

If anyone in the area wants to sign up, you can do so through Manhattan Running Company. You can also read here to find out how to make a donation if you’re so inclined. I’ll have a recap of the walk after it happens. Until then, wish me luck!

A.

Saturday Walk and Manhattan Running Company

I made it out this morning to take my 5k walk despite being tired from getting to bed so late. Jon didn’t join me due to a sore throat and looming cold, so I made it to the track solo after grabbing breakfast and a bottle of water. It was a tough walk today. It’s warmer, and the sun made things a little more uncomfortable. Not complaining in general…I love the sun and I’m glad to see it might stick around for a season. But this means I need to invest in sunscreen and get in the habit of carrying a water bottle while I walk.

Even though I was tempted to stop after every lap, I didn’t. I made it around four times…which I think is more than the 5k distance at that track…and I maintained the hour and a half walk time. It was slightly longer due to stopping to take a phone call and to text Jon, but it was close.

I also got to break in my new shoes!

Pay no attention to the old school carpeting and the super baggy sweatpants.

The Most Comfortable Pair I’ve Ever Worn Adidas shoes I bought for five dollars at Goodwill were too worn in the sole to be able to walk and jog comfortably. I have another pair of Adidas, but they’re not as comfortable for wearing in general.

About a week ago, I received an email from Manhattan Running Company that reminded me of their free gait analysis. I figured it would be a good idea to try it out. Plus, I’d like to start supporting some of the city’s small businesses and keep my money local, so Jon and I went up there to see what they had.

They did a test to see where I put my weight when standing (on my toes, apparently), then they had me jog on the treadmill so they could record what my feet do when I’m running. The woman who helped me showed me my video alongside the video of a runner with an overpronation. It looked so weird…like his ankle was going to snap. I know part of it was an optical illusion…but it was a little unsettling, even though I know it’s common and one of those things that differ with people.

I learned two things with my analysis: I don’t have a pronation and I strike on my toes, not my heels. Apparently there’s no right or wrong way to do it. The woman mentioned that runners who strike with their toes have to work harder. However, word on the street is that that’s how barefoot runners run. And while I have no intentions of running barefoot, I figure I’m just going to stick with what’s comfortable for me, even if it is the less efficient way to do it.

I picked from a few different shoes and ended up with the blue ones based on fit, comfort, and price. They were on sale, and I can’t say no to a discount. Because I mentioned the email, I also got a free pair of socks,They may be the most comfortable socks I’ve ever worn (besides hand knitted socks, which aren’t ideal for exercise). They’re really lightweight and soft. I didn’t “get” it before, but I think I see why runners invest in more expensive socks.

Besides the gait analysis (which I think is a really cool thing) and my wanting to support a local small business, MRC is just a cool place in general. They have all sorts of running gear. We’d gone there before because they were the only place in town we could find armbands to fit our phones. The service was great too, and the woman who helped me was nice and patient in answering all my questions. There’s always that thought that a place is going to get weird when I tell them I want to run at my size, but I didn’t get a judgmental vibe at all from them. If you’re in MHK, I recommend this store. If you’re not, definitely check your local listings for a good small business running store. Keep it local, peeps…if you can, of course.

When Jon needs new shoes, I think we’ll head back up there and get him fitted and analyzed too. Hopefully they have his shoe size. Dude’s got big feet. Either way, I bet I’m buying more socks.

I only tried out the new shoes with walking, so tomorrow I’ll test how they feel when I run. Even though the walk itself was rough, the shoes felt awesome. Side note: during my test, I realized that jogging on a treadmill is actually easier than jogging on the track. Didn’t expect that one.

After the walk, I was pretty much out of commission for the rest of the day. I showered, did some stuff online, and watched some movies. Beside this blog, I tried to do some other things that required thought, but I just couldn’t. Every once in awhile, I just need to let everything rest, and this was one of those days.

Here’s to hoping I’m a little bit sharper tomorrow so I can check some stuff off the to-do list.

A.

Quiet Days and Post-Christmas Indulgence

Work today was weird, but in a good way. There weren’t very many people in the office (there weren’t many people in the whole building, to be honest), so it was really quiet. I managed to get a bunch of stuff done with a minimum of stress. Definitely my kind of Friday.

However, it was also a very indulgent Friday. I took an early break to get Starbucks for me and some others in the office who were craving a treat. I had failed to get breakfast before coming to work, so I was starving. My choice of treat from the ‘Bucks was a creme brulee latte and a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. To avoid any delays or limits in the drive thru, I went in to place the order and was greeted by this guy:

Then for lunch…which arrived way sooner than I expected due to the flying of time today…I ventured out and picked up a Little Caesar’s Hot ‘n Ready and some crazy bread for the few of us who were feeling the pizza action. It was delicious, but it was definitely feeling.

I walked on my breaks, but that didn’t seem to help overmuch with the fullness. My current thing is walking and reading. My Kobo Mini is the perfect size to carry in my hand, and since I’ve gotten better at walking, I can now do it on autopilot, which means I can read and still navigate the halls. I’m actually finding this enjoyable, which is good, because it means I’m apt to take more walks and get more steps. I haven’t tried it on the treadmill yet, though I’m sure it would work fine. I wouldn’t even have to hold it, I could just prop it up on the panel. Maybe I’ll try this soon. Might be good for “recovery” days, because…

…I’ve decided to go ahead and try the Couch to 5k program again…this time training to RUN. I’m kind of excited about this.  Though I wanted to get the Zombies, Run! 5K app, I think I’m going to hold off and keep it simple for now. I have the free app that Jon and I started doing when I was upping my walk endurance, and I’m going to make some playlists specifically for training. I’ll still do the Zombie missions on most recovery days, and the reading and walking (or reading and doing the sit down machine) will help change things up so I don’t get bored.

I realize this isn’t going to be easy, but I’m up for the challenge. I mean, heck, I couldn’t even walk at the beginning of 2013, and anytime someone said the word “run,” I pretty much figured that was never going to be something I’d do. But I’ve managed to surprise myself by being able to run the zombie chases. Maybe by the end of 2014, I’ll be able to run a short distance.

I figure that even if I run slow, it’s still more fun than walking. And like walking, I’ll slowly but surely increase the length of time I can run at once, since that’s kind of how these things work. We don’t start out awesome, but we can eventually get to a point of awesomeness. My first goal will be to run a mile without stopping. Right now, that goal seems pretty impossible, so just wait until I reach it…that moment is going to get its own reward and blog post.

To kick off this decision, I went to the track today and did the first day of the C25k program, just to get an idea of where I’m starting from. As expected, I’m starting on a pretty low rung of the running ladder. I managed to get through half of the thirty minute session before I reverted to just walking. The program is five minutes of walking to warm up, then alternating sessions of a minute of running and a minute and a half of walking. At the halfway mark, I gave up running for a couple reasons. One, there was ice on the track that I had to be careful of, especially because I was out there without Jon tonight. Two, my ankles were cramping (I really need to figure out a good way to relieve that). Three, for a healthy dose of TMI, I really had to go to the bathroom and since the bathrooms at the rec center aren’t open, I had to be careful of how I moved. I mean…I really had to go.

Walking through the parking lot lake also added to the discomfort, since my feet were nice and wet.

As I said, I’m starting off slow, but I’m actually proud of being able to do that first session for fifteen minutes. Now the first short term goal is to be able to do it for a full thirty minutes. Once I can do that, I can progress into the actual program. Go me! Even that little bit of running was effective. My legs are really sore tonight.

I showered right after getting home, and even though I didn’t check off much of my to-do list today, I think I’m ready to lay down and read for a little while. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so Jon and I are going to Topeka. We have to do a little bit of clothes shopping anyway, so we’re making a day of it. We’re going to the zoo and then probably to walk around Gage Park. We might do some geocaching, we might see a cheap movie, we might just cruise around and find ways to get into trouble. Either way, I’m really looking forward to getting out into some good weather.

A.

Training and Office Shenanigans

It doesn’t feel like Wednesday. In fact, most of the day I’ve been stuck on the fact that it’s Tuesday, when it’s not. This week is flying by. Even today went fast and it wasn’t a good day for me. This morning, I let the stress of things get to me, and I didn’t seem to have the mental capacity to get as much done as I like to. I have one of these days at least once a week, sometimes twice. Maybe it’s a brain defrag, but it’s kind of uncomfortable and makes me feel bad. By the end of the day I was rolling with it, but up to that point, things were kind of rough.

I lost track of time last night, and by the time I realized I hadn’t blogged, I was too tired to think. It was another busy day with nothing major to note. Jon’s ankles were hurting, so he was going to take a rest night and I was going to walk the track.  But when I got out there, the parking lot was a sheet of ice, and I wasn’t brave enough to trek across it, especially since I was out there by myself. My balance still isn’t great, and I have a fear of falling on the ice. So it ended up being a mellow night at home. I made up for it today, though.

My day started with some office shenanigans. Even being in a low mood, this cracked me up, as do the daily events in the lives of our resident elf and nutcracker.

Our team really enjoys their breaks.

Later in the day I did some training as part of my job transition. Some of it involved working with html code, a subject that makes me think of Jon and his infinite love of all things web design. My work won’t be that detailed, but what I learned was pretty interesting.

Besides the elf and training, another highlight of the day was that the new app from Six to Start came out today. I’ve been waiting for The Walk to come out since I first heard about it a couple months ago, and I bought it right away, considering it my Christmas present (one of them at least).  Since Zombies, Run! has done wonders in keeping me motivated to move more, I’m hoping The Walk gets me up more at work and gives me incentive to utilize my breaks and lunches for some extra step time. It did the trick today. I finished the first chapter/mission at work, walking on first break and half of my lunch.

As for the app/game itself, so far I like it. There are still a few things I have to figure out, but it looks like I can run it at the same time as Zombies and I can use it with a radio app if I’m tired of my playlists. At the moment, I can’t use it on the treadmill because it acts as a pedometer and tracks the walking you do. I’m still nervous on the treadmill, so I still hold on to the rails while walking. At some point though, maybe I’ll be comfortable to let my arms swing and I’ll wear my armband.

I was able to test this out after work when we went to the gym and on top of my work walking, I got another thirty minutes in: twenty on the treadmill and then several laps around the track. We cut it short to make it to a geocache event in one of the local parks. It was a quick flash mob, so we weren’t there long, just long enough to sign the book, do a quick geocache toast, and visit with some fellow cachers. It was cold, but fun. We each got another cache container, so at some point in the near future we’re going to have to hide something. Before we left, we were visited by a cop who’d seen the cars and the people and wondered what was going on.

I wasn’t feeling up to working on any knitting projects tonight, so I took the evening off in favor of working on some writing. I’ve been using my UfYH timer to do twenty minute stretches of revising my novel between ten minute breaks on Pinterest and Twitter. This last twenty minute stretch is devoted to finishing this post. Then it’s off to shower and read before getting some sleep.

Word on the street is that we’re going to get some nasty weather this weekend, possibly in the form of freezing rain on Friday. Do not want! I’m looking forward to our work holiday party, and I don’t want the weather to jack up our plans. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

A.