I haven't written in a bit

I haven't written in this blog for a couple of days due to focusing on my running blog. If you read that one, I haven't written a bunch either. Sorry to say that this one will be short as I have to take my mother in law to the doctor's.

I'll be back.....

Day 2

Today I walked for 30:02 minutes.

14:30 minutes @ 3 mph
10:30 minutes @ 3.5 mph
4:00 minutes @ 3 mph
1:00 minute @ 2.5 - 1.5 mph

I really wanted to run but like I said before it is not recommended at first for beginners like me. I was even debating about whether or not I should increase the speed up to 3.5 mph but I was getting bored and actually walk faster than 3.0 mph so it felt good.

Tomorrow, I am going to try to run for longer because I think I misunderstood how long to run so I will try 10 minutes walking and 3:30 - 5:00 running. We shall see!

I did barely get any sleep last night. I fell asleep at 2:00 am - 2:01 am and then was up until 4:30 and woke up at 6:30. I did finally doze off around 8:00 ish. Thank goodness the family likes to sleep in on the weekend!

This is why I started earlier today. My goal is to eventually do this every morning before my son goes to school and outside with him.

Day One in my quest to train for the 5 mile run on August 8, 2009

Okey Dokey! I did it!!

I walked/jogged for 30:01 minutes. Here is the breakdown:

10 minutes @ 3 mph
1 minute @ 5 mph
9 minutes @ 3 mph
1 minute @ 5 mph
8 1/2 minutes @ 3 mph
30 seconds @ 1.5 - 1.0 to cool down

I felt good and my heart rate did not go over 161 which is perfect. I think the ratio is 210 - age (41) = rate.

I had a pivotal moment last night which spurred (word ?) me into action. I have been overweight for over a year. But last night I was sitting next to my son and he pat my stomach and it jiggled. Like jello. Not good! I remember reading in Cosmo a long time ago that a characteristic of a Libra is a softly rounded belly. Nothing about jello...

When I did the wedding on the 9th, I grabbed a flyer (mentioned before, I believe) for a 5 mile run. I asked my son if he wanted to give it a go with me. He said yes so this week I went to Big 5 and bought him a pair of running shoes (I already have a pair) socks, shorts and a shirt all made out of the wicking away material for both of us.

I am proud of myself and it went faster than it has before. 30 minutes can take forever sometimes!! It went faster probably because the girls were entertaining me (they are my nieces and they live with me) and my son put on some dance music for me. He is going to exercise later tonight.

I will walk again tomorrow but walk/run on Monday. I have been reading that you should not run for 2 days in a row when you first start. Maybe I will try to jog for 2 minutes. or at least 1 1/2 minutes on Monday.

I hate being sick!

I live in a house with 4 other people. 3 are students and 1 is a bus driver for Transit so whatever is going around we get and pass onto each other, over and over and over...sigh...my husband ended up on antibiotics and I managed to keep my cold abated a bit with some Comtrex Day and Night. Again, I hate being sick!

I received two Victoria's Secrets catalogs in the mail. I am thinking of ordering a bathing suit so I can use it as a visual aide in achieving my weight loss/fitness goal. I am also going to train for a 5 mile run with my son, so I should lose a bit, right? I also found a great new cooking show on Lifetime called Cook Yourself Thin and am going to order the books from both series. It originated in the UK a few years ago and I love it! I was thrilled to see Candice on a show as I loved her on Top Chef. I think she got a bad rap and Stephen was horrible to her. Look who has a show now! You go, girl!!

Regarding my weight, I managed to gain 30 lbs in a little over a year. Lack of exercise and not good eating habits probably contributed a bit, but I just found out from my doctor that the pills I take to help me sleep are actually a major contributor to my weight gain. So, I have to make a decision, getting sleep or being thin.....I better start finding something else to take! I have heard and read that being in shape helps you have more energy and you do end up sleeping better. We shall see!

I have a Twitter account using the same name and I am still undecided about it. I am following Joy Behar, Joan Rivers, the Sneaky Chef, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rachel Maddow, Kathy Griffin and one other. I suppose it would be more exciting if I had people following me as well!

The latest travel book I am reading is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Very good book! I shall write more about it when I am finished.

Well, this latest bit of ramblings is over for now!

My start!

Hello! I am new to blogging and don't find anything going on in my life, at this moment, particularly earth shattering but thought I would give it a go!

My last day with my employer was yesterday. Now I sit and visit websites trolling for a job. I live in an area that is very depressed right now so jobs are few and far between. I imagine that it is the same everywhere. I am very fortunate to have Unemployment Insurance that has increased a bit, thank you President Obama! That should get me almost to the end of summer if I calculate it right.

I am currently enamored with reading travel books, my two faves right now are Holy Cow by Sarah Macdonald and With the Kama Sutra Under My Arm by Trisha Bernard. The former is a spiritual journey through India for the author and the latter more of the travels of the author and her friend, Sally. I must admit that I took an immediate dislike to the author's friend Sally and hope that she redeems herself in the last 11 pages! Before reading Holy Cow, I had wanted to take a trip to India, but now? Not so much...too much suffering and separation of the classes. Hard to imagine that a country with such openness when it comes to spirituality would be so narrow minded when it comes to it's own peoples.

My immediate desire is to travel to Japan. My son also would like to go there as well. I was bebopping on the Internet on particular places in Japan to visit and came across the Tokyo Disney site. My son and I were thrilled! We both love all things Disney and I had forgotten about the Disney park in Tokyo.

I made the mistake a few years back in attempting to learn to read, write and speak Japanese all at the same time. Not so smart and really overwhelming! I miss the TV station AZN who would play Japanese programming on Sunday nights and I would get to guess what they were saying. I was always right....well maybe not, but at least I tried! =O)

If I want to visit Japan, I am going to have to at least learn to speak and recognize the language. I would love to get the Rosetta Stone Japanese software and try that. Maybe one day!

My son and I, who both could stand to lose just a few pounds, are going to start running. I performed a wedding (I'm an Officiant) at the Westport Lighthouse and they are having a 5 mile run on August 8th to raise money to fix up the lighthouse and I figured that it would be a good thing to train for. Heck, if the people on Biggest Loser can run 26 miles, I can do 5! Wish me luck!

I have to take my mother-in-law to the doctor's so I have to sign off. See ya and thanks for reading!