Health & Fitness in December

For the month of December, I took a break from all running.  I won a FitBit through a drawing at work so I decided to start it on December 1 and track my steps for the entire month.  I didn't do anything outside my regular activities (ie going to work, social events, etc.) for this month so these numbers are a true baseline for me.  And I was stunned at the end of the first week when I hadn't managed to hit the daily goal of 10,000 steps one single time. 

Dec 1 - 5,793 steps

Dec 2 - 6,442 steps

Dec 3 - 5,181 steps

Dec 4 - 9,349 steps

Dec 5 - 2,823 steps

Dec 6 - 7,379 steps

Dec 7 - 8,195 steps

I managed a pretty good streak to start the next seven days and managed to get fairly close to my goal on each of the other days.  A simple one or two mile walk work have easily pushed me over my goal on each of those days.

*Dec 8 - 12,198 steps!!!!*

*Dec 9 - 11,543 steps!!!!*

*Dec 10 - 10,354 steps!!!!*

Dec 11 - 7,136 steps

Dec 12 - 8,407 steps

Dec 13 - 7,911 steps

Dec 14 - 7,923 steps

Then, a cold/sore throat struck and I was even more sedentary than usual.  Ugh!!  I rarely feel crummy, but when I do it is no fun at all.

Dec 15 - 5,593 steps

Dec 16 - 5,949 steps

Dec 17 - 5,201 steps

Dec 18 - 6,153 steps

Dec 19 - 3,728 steps

Dec 20 - 7,711 steps

Dec 21 - 3,523 steps

I flew to Kentucky on the 21st where I spent most of my time in a car for several days straight and hit my lowest numbers of steps for the whole month.  I sure did enjoy all that time with my family though!!

Dec 22 - 3,665 steps

Dec 23 - 3,770 steps

Dec 24 - 3,164 steps

Dec 25 - 1,887 steps

Dec 26 - 3,014 steps

Dec 27 - 3,761 steps

I made a bit of a surge the last few days of December even managing to hit my goal one last time before another holiday was upon me.

Dec 28 - 8,877 steps

Dec 29 - 5,981 steps

*Dec 30 - 10,713 steps!!!!*

Dec 31 - 5,466 steps

Overall, I learned from this month that it is crucial to my health and fitness that I make a concerted effort each day to exercise in some form.  Maybe one day it is a run and others it is a walk.  Or perhaps I decide to spend time going through a workout video.  Whatever way I choose to do it, I learned from tracking my steps with the FitBit this month that it is extremely important to be much more active than I anticipated!

How was your December??

Andrea :)

Health & Fitness in November

This month started strong with the running of my second NYC Marathon, but then it held some much needed rest!  I needed it desperately after the marathon.  However, I didn't want all of the efforts to get in running shape to disappear after the big race so I made the choice to sign up for a short 4-miler at the end of November.

I started back at the beginning the week before the 4-mile God's Love We Deliver run with one solitary mile.  I ran the entire mile...and it felt good.  Two days later, I ran a couple solid miles.  Still felt good.  Another two days, I gave it my all for three miles.  A bit more difficult for me to not take any breaks, but I did it.  I was ready!  My plan worked well because I ran for the entire time during the 4-mile race...finishing with my best time all year - 11:52 per mile!

Nov 16 - 1 mile run on treadmill

Nov 18 - 2 mile run on treadmill

Nov 20 - 3 mile run on treadmill

I gave myself another break for the Thanksgiving holiday, but I know I've got to get back to it for December.  I began tracking my daily steps with my new FitBit starting on December 1 so it will be interesting to see how I do with step counts all month!  I don't have any races on the books for the next couple of months so it will be more important than ever that I make time for the gym!

What are you favorite winter workouts?

 
Andrea :)

Thankful Thoughts

There is SO much to be thankful for today...and always!!  I love seeing all the posts and facebook statuses to reflect our thankfulness this time of year.  It is a great reminder of all the wonderful aspects of our lives.

I am most thankful for a gracious and loving God.  One who is patient with me on my worst days and who continually guides me even when I don't always want to follow His direction. One who is always there - day and night - waiting and ready for me.  One who I truly don't deserve, but am eternally grateful that I have on my side.

I'm blessed with a wonderful and caring husband that also never gives up on me. Just as he stated in his vows to me a little over a year ago, he is there at 7am (the bad) and 7pm (the good).  He is the best part of my day...and I am so thankful to be his partner in life.

It is difficult not being able to spend this holiday with my family, but technology allows me to feel like I am sorta there.  I can't really fathom who I would be without being shaped by my parents and brothers throughout the years.  These people are my foundation.  I am beyond thankful for each of them and always find myself counting down until the next time we'll be together.  Fortunately, work has me close enough to see some of them later this weekend - thrilled beyond words about that!!

Friends - near and far - make my days brighter on a regular basis.  My closest of pals are mostly scattered all over, but that only makes me extra thankful for the few I have left nearby.  I'm excited for all the upcoming get togethers - book club holiday dinner and the annual cookie swap. And happy to use all my spare time to catch up via phone with others.  As I grow older, I am realizing just how important quality friends are in life.

In a year that saw me crossing my second marathon finish line, I am so thankful for my health.  I know there are areas I need to work on to continue to improve in this category, but I am so glad that I don't have any major concerns.  Health is something that we often take for granted.  You never quite realize how fortunate you are to have good health until a report comes back negative or an examine raises questions for further review.  Thankful God is there to hear our prayers when those times arise!

I could go on and on and on listing so many other things that I am thankful for like all of you, my freedom and responsibility as an American, creative outlets like photography and writing, the ability to read, having fresh water and food to eat each day, and the list goes on endlessly.  Instead of continuing here, I will be heading into our command center at work for the first football game of the day and then spending some time with Christopher's family in Long Island.  I have a Tricia Pie ready for both occasions!  Let the Thanksgiving fun begin....

Andrea :)

Health & Fitness in October

In September, I didn't manage to prioritize my fitness goals properly so I promised myself I would do better in October.  I am happy to report - I met that goal!

Not only did I complete a half marathon, but I also hit all my training runs.  I did modify when needed, but I was thrilled to be able to mark each and every one off my calendar!

As you are reading this, I am running my second NYC Marathon!  I shared my goals with you on Friday.  Most importantly, no matter what happens out there on those 26.2 miles I plan to be smiling at the finish line!  Thankfully, we are set to have beautiful weather!  I look forward to sharing my journey with you soon!!

Andrea :)

Rock 'n' Roll...Oh, no!!

I finished the race!  The tech shirt is great!  The medal is massive!

That is the extent of my positive feelings toward the extremely disorganized inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Brooklyn Half.  The communication from sign-up to race day was non-existent.  No email reminder the week of the race to outline expo details for packet pick-up.  No easy to navigate packet pick-up for that matter.  And...nearly an hour delay at the start line on race day.

But let me back up two days.  It's Thursday.  The race has a 7am start time on Saturday morning.  I go for one last short 5 mile run to give me some confidence headed into race day.  And, I trip...and fall - hard!  It hurt.  Really hurt.  Being a mile away from my apartment, I had no other choice but to run/walk home.  So I did.  And then I cried.

Chris helped me get the gash on my arm cleaned out and doctored up.  I alternated between ice and compression for my badly bruised knee.  It was not a good look a mere 36 hours to the start line.  Not to mention that this half was only on my schedule as a training run for the NYC Marathon...only three weeks away at that point in time.

The night before the race my knee felt better.  Not great, but better.  I felt like I could move forward with the race.  I would have to alternate between running and walking more than I originally planned, but I could make it.  I would be ok.  I set the alarm for 5am and went to sleep.

As usual, everything took me longer than expected when I woke.  It didn't help that I wanted to ice one last time before I headed out.  I arrived at the start line about 15 minutes after 7am.  Guess it worked to my advantage that my corral didn't officially begin the race until a few minutes shy of 8am.  Fortunately, I found my friend, Rachel, in the crowd of people! 

The race itself was a challenge for me.  I'd like to think it wouldn't have been so trying if I hadn't somewhat injured myself, but in all honesty it likely would have still been tough.  This round of marathon training has taught me that long distance races are simply not in my future.  It's too difficult on my body and time at this point in life.  That's a story for another day though.

I managed to keep a pretty consistent pace throughout the race.  I anticipated being around 13:30 per mile, but instead I clocked an average of 14 minute miles for a final time of 3:03:27.  It was certainly my slowest half marathon, but I felt proud that I pushed through and finished the race.  I felt EVERY single step of this one.  It was not easy by any stretch of the imagination.  Perseverance was the name of the game for me in this race.  I'm happy I stuck with it even though I felt like giving up more than once along the way.

I'm not sure if I will ever challenge myself with this distance again, but it certainly won't be any time soon.  Except, of course, when I double it next weekend for my second NYC Marathon.  But seriously, then I'm all about that 10k course for the foreseeable future!

Andrea :)

Health & Fitness in September

Honestly, this past month has been a major struggle on the marathon training end.  The month began with a long weekend visit as we hosted my out-of-town parents.  Straying from my routine for those five days wasn't so bad.  I could have recovered from that small deviance easily.  However, the day after my parents left, Chris and I boarded a plane for our west coast adventure.  We did manage a couple of days of significant hiking and walking the steep terrain of California, but I didn't run once during our 10 day journey.

September 1 - 4 mile run

September 3 - 5 mile run

September 10 - 2 mile run; 6 mile bike

September 22 - 4 mile run

September 24 - 7 mile run 

September 26 - 16 mile bike

September 29 - 5 mile run

So...you can imagine my trepidation when I returned on September 21 with only a handful of short runs under my belt for the whole month.  I expected to be in real trouble.  And maybe I am, but I also think the rest gave my legs a much needed break.  I felt strong in those first two runs after the trip.  I am working hard to attempt to return to a reasonable level of endurance in the long runs.  My true test will come next weekend when I try my hand...or rather legs...at the Brooklyn Rock-n-Roll Half I'm signed up to run.  It is sure to give me an indication of how this marathon will pan out since I'm just under a month away now!

Here's hoping for a quality October in the training department!

Andrea :)

Health & Fitness in August

I'm one month into marathon training.  It's going well.  It started off rough though.  Really rough.  But after a month, I'm good.  Well...as good as I could have hoped at this point! Surprisingly, I stuck with my schedule of running (sometimes in more of a walk/run pattern) four days a week.  It was great in the beginning.  I felt like it really helped me to get back into the swing of things.  However, as the month progressed and my body got used to running those short(er) runs during the week, it started to feel a little repetitive to run back-to-back on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Given that and a number of other reasons, I decided to make a switch for September.  I am going to cut back to three runs per week.  As the mileage increases both during the week and on the weekend long run, I want to ensure I give myself a proper amount of time to recover between runs.  We'll also be gone for a portion of the month and I know it won't be realistic to keep up with all the runs then so I am attempting to keep things somewhat attainable.

My only other update to the schedule is the addition of a half marathon the second weekend in October.  Originally, that was scheduled to be my final long run (20 miles), but after further reflection I think a timed race at that point will be more beneficial for me.  Mostly, I feel it will give me a realistic idea on my pace for the marathon itself.  Either way, I am looking forward to the challenge/test!

Andrea :)