Slow & Steady Wins the Race

Annie and I continue to progress with our run:walk intervals. A week ago, we did 10 intervals at 4:1... and then on Friday evening, we ran 5 miles at 4.5:1 intervals. Although, there were a couple of times when we took a 2 minute walk or 1.5 minute walk between - but nevertheless, it felt good to go 5 miles! She and I were discussing how quickly we lose our "in shapedness" when we slack off the running. It's unbelievable to me to think that just a few months ago (ok... so 8 months ago), I ran 13.1 miles - really ran it - I think I only walked about 5 minutes of the 2.5 hours of running... and now, sheeeeeesh. But, I feel like I'm making some really healthy lifestyle choices and thinking of this as being a slow and steady addition to my life that will be lasting.

In addition to running, I have also been riding my bike to work - not every day, but I've done it several times over the past week. It's about 3 miles each way. I admit, I am SLOWWWW. It takes me about 25 min. to ride, so that's like 8 min/mile, which many people RUN faster than that, but I am sure that with time, I will get stronger and faster. I got my gears fixed, which is helping quite a bit, too.

So, with the running and bike riding, I have also decided to make some food lifstyle changes. I am a total carb/sweets junkie and that does not do great things for the scale, which in turn does not do great things for the running. So, I have decided that rather than eat whatever I want (which is what I have been doing), I just need to cut down on the carbs/sweets and try to avoid super fatty foods. In practical terms, what this means is that I'm trying to only eat complex carbohydrates (I'm not counting fruit as a carb), and only one serving per day. To satisfy my appetite for my other meals, I am trying to add a lot more veggies - eating a lot of salad and whatnot. I am not going crazy with it, though. So, I still allow myself some natural fatty foods (e.g. olives, avocado), and I allow myself to eat cheese, although much of the time, I eat part-skim string cheese.

I don't have a clue where our scale is, so I don't know if it's actually making any kind of real difference, but I feel like I'm doing a "healthier" thing for myself, and I like it.

I give myself one "off" day per week, too, on which I don't really have to watch what I eat at all - although I do try to temper myself and not go totally overboard. I am not always successful.

Soooo.... now, if I could only force myself to get a little more sleep... so I'm off to bed.