A Series of Unfortunate Events

Huff. Puff. Huff. Puff. Huff. Puff.

That's the sound of me trying to catch my breath. It's the sound of me coming up for air. It's the sound I make when climbing the stairs, too, because I have woefully set aside my running in favor of other important things, like working my butt off so I can pay my bills and feed my family. Unfortunately, my butt doesn't disappear as quickly with this kind of work as it does with running. That, I fear, will have to wait. While my running partner chugs along (have you registered for the 5K yet, Kim?), I'm left in the dust. In lieu of running, I dream about it. Literally. I've composed an essay in my head about my running dreams, but I haven't stopped my life long enough to write it.

The past month has been eventful. Every moment has been occupied. I've been rising with the sun, but it's been beating me to bed each night. If you've ever seen a candle burned at both ends, you'll know what I look like.

Each morning brings the urgency of getting to the garden. With our wet, cold early spring, not much happened after the initial tilling. Now the herb garden is planted and mulched, the veggie garden is filled with onions, swiss chard seeds (yet to come up), peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, more onions, marigolds, basil and cilantro. The asparagus on which I had given up poked its many heads from the cool earth, only to be snipped off by a gang of marauding goats. Still, it persists and I hope for a bountiful harvest next year.

This seems to fit in with the theme of the month--hope deferred. Seeds that don't want to germinate. Newly placed seedlings that fall to the fate of a hungry goat kid. Threatening letters from government agencies holding my precious world in its fists lest I cough up several months' pay for taxes I owe. A new birthday camera just in time for my computer to crash. The cultivator quits when gardening season begins. Life=challenge. Most days, I'm tired and grumpy and my family takes the brunt. A few moments, like waking up from this afternoon's nap to the sound of birds and little girls singing, looking out my window over the finally green hillsides, turning silvery in the breezes of this spring day, almost make me want to grab my camera and my journal, but I barely have the desire. This home and hillside, this desire of my heart, this fruit of my labor, is only tenuously mine. Any act of God, unavoidable tragedy or certified letter might pull it out from under my bare gardening feet, leaving me on my rump, disillusioned and desolate.

These things have been occupying my mind, and more days than not, I find myself deep in depression. Work takes me from home, home greets me with more work, and never am I completely caught up. Even today, a day off from work outside the home, gives me an opportunity to pursue those things that have been niggling at me every day while I'm away, but my energy is zapped, and curled up in bed is where I'd like to be.

That's hardly anything inspiring to write about, though I do think about jotting down thoughts now and again. Life isn't all that poetic right now.

I need air. I need to resurface and take a deep breath. Something fresh and clean to purify my body and renew my energy.

A bit of hope would help, too.

Stream of Consciousness Whilst I Avoid Getting Ready for Church

I really should be taking a shower now, but I'm here instead stealing what few moments I can get to press my fingers against these keys and make some clickity-clacking noise.
Life has been moving at breakneck speed.
The greenhouse, where I've been spending most of my time, has been burgeoning with life.
The greenhouse, where I've been spending most of my time, opens tomorrow.
The Pierce Pettis show was tops. We had over 70 people here and Pierce was a real trooper, singing his lungs out even though he was recovering from bronchitis.
We had a great jam session after the show where about a half-dozen musicians, including Pierce, had fun with songs like Man of Constant Sorrow, Aimee, Harvest Moon and lots of old-time tunes, reels and jigs. A few of us practiced our Irish step dancing. Some of us weren't as good as others. Still, it was quite fun.
I got to cuddle on my nieces and nephews, which was quite loverly.
Bo and I have still been delivering pizzas.
I've still been working, ever so slowly, on the Couch Potato to 5K. Kim and I ran a mile straight on Friday. And I'm still alive.
School has been a very, very hit and miss with my work at the greenhouse. Reading aloud has suffered. The boys did come to the greenhouse with me on Friday and did some schoolwork there, but it was quite distracting for them, so they didn't get a whole lot done. I hope to set up a table somewhere where they can work and not be distracted. It's such a beautiful work environment.
Bard has also been working at the greenhouse, when she isn't doing speech and debate or classes or drama.
Spring is here! My perennials are coming up, and I'm quite jazzed about that.
My asparagus didn't come up, and I'm quite bummed about that.
I think I lost my red raspberries too. The goats got out and made short work of them.
I haven't lost my weeds.
Bo tilled the gardens yesterday. He made a couple of patches for pumpkins and melons as well.
The boys have been working on their treehouses. REMIND ME TO WRITE ABOUT THIS!
I have to get ready for church. I know there's more, like the baby goats and houseconcert stuff and dinners out (I have to write about my early birthday dinner!) but I really need to get in the shower now.
Be blessed!

Couch Potato to 5K: Hit the Road!

Kim and I hit the trail on Friday morning. I wasn't really up for running and had planned to slowly acclimate to the trail with a nice, brisk 3 mile walk. Kim had other plans. She arrived with stopwatch in hand, encouraging me to get back into the swing.

It wasn't all that bad, save the nagging nausea that seems to attack partway through the first leg of my run. I've done a bit of reading, and, apparently, that's just from being out of shape. I've tried eating and not eating, both with the same result, so it seems that I simply need to keep at it and the nausea will abate.

The schedule:

5 min run
4 min walk
5 min run
4 min walk
5 min run
Walk the remainder of the 3.3 miles (or so)

Today, I decided to run on my country road. It wasn't all that bad, and even the small hills were okay to tackle. I took it very, very slowly, jogged .6 of a mile, walked a minute or two, then jogged .5 mile. I was sweaty and it was definitely enough of a workout for me, but I hope to get up to jogging the whole thing, then adding to it.

Interestingly enough, I was most concerned about what the neighbors would think of the "crazy English woman" running on the road. I guess if I do it long enough, we'll all get used to it.

Tomorrow, it's off to the trail with Kim again. I'll try for 8 minutes of jogging. I think I'm ready for the push.

The 15 foods runners need every week for good health and top performance

I didn't run today, but I did get encouragement from your comments as well as from a fellow runner today. I hope to run sometime this weekend, if the weather permits, but in the meantime, I found this article online while searching for the best foods for runners. Very good to read. I hope to implement more of them. I already buy mixed greens, frozen berries, raw and salted almonds, yogurt, oranges and bananas and I ocassionally use whole grain pasta but I've also been making my own pasta and haven't experimented with the whole grain stuff yet. What I really need to add are eggs (don't like 'em), salmon (not a big fish eater. Like to the tune of I never eat it), and chicken is so expensive that I rarely buy it. But I know that if I and my family are going to start running, we have to eat to run, as one commenter said. So, here, according to Runner's World, is the...

The Best Grocery List of All Time

The 15 foods runners need every week for good health and top performance
By Liz Applegate Ph.D.

Most supermarkets stock more than 30,000 items, yet every time we race up and down the aisles of the grocery store, we toss into our carts the same 10 to 15 foods. Which isn't such a bad thing, as long as you're taking home the right foods--ones that will keep you healthy, fuel peak performance, and easily cook up into lots of delicious meals. So before your next trip to the grocery store, add the following 15 foods to your must-buy list. Then, when you get home, use our tips and recipes to easily get them into your diet and onto your menu.


Add to your cart: Almonds

Runners should eat a small handful of almonds at least three to five times per week. Nuts, especially almonds, are an excellent source of vitamin E, an antioxidant that many runners fall short on because there are so few good food sources of it. Studies have shown that eating nuts several times per week lowers circulating cholesterol levels, particularly the artery-clogging LDL type, decreasing your risk for heart disease. And the form of vitamin E found in nuts, called gamma-tocopherol (a form not typically found in supplements), may also help protect against cancer.

Add to your diet: Add almonds and other nuts to salads or pasta dishes, use as a topping for casseroles, or throw them into your bowl of hot cereal for extra crunch. Combine with chopped dried fruit, soy nuts, and chocolate bits for a healthy and tasty trail mix. Almond butter is perfect spread over whole-grain toast or on a whole-wheat tortilla, topped with raisins, and rolled up. Store all nuts in jars or zipper bags in a cool dry place away from sunlight and they'll keep for about two to four months. Storing them in the freezer will allow them to keep an extra month or two.

Add to your cart: Eggs

One egg fulfills about 10 percent of your daily protein needs. Egg protein is the most complete food protein short of human breast milk, which means the protein in eggs contains all the crucial amino acids your hard-working muscles need to promote recovery. Eat just one of these nutritional powerhouses and you'll also get about 30 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin K, which is vital for healthy bones. And eggs contain choline, a brain nutrient that aids memory, and leutin, a pigment needed for healthy eyes. Choose omega-3 enhanced eggs and you can also increase your intake of healthy fats. Don't worry too much about the cholesterol: Studies have shown that egg eaters have a lower risk for heart disease than those who avoid eggs.

Add to your diet: Whether boiled, scrambled, poached, or fried (in a nonstick skillet to cut down on the need for additional fats), eggs are great anytime. Use them as the base for skillet meals such as frittatas. Or include them in sandwiches, burritos, or wraps as you would meat fillers. You can also add them to casseroles and soups by cracking one or two in during the last minute of cooking.

Add to your cart: Sweet potatoes

This Thanksgiving Day standard should be on the plates of runners year-round. Just a single 100-calorie sweet potato supplies over 250 percent of the DV for vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, the powerful antioxidant. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C, potassium, iron, and the two trace minerals manganese and copper. Many runners fail to meet their manganese and copper needs, which can have an impact on performance since these minerals are crucial for healthy muscle function. There are even new sweet-potato varieties that have purple skin and flesh and contain anthocyanidins, the same potent antioxidant found in berries.

Add to your diet: Sweet potatoes can be baked, boiled, or microwaved. You can fill them with bean chili, low-fat cheese, and your favorite toppings, or you can incorporate them into stews and soups. Baked as wedges or disks, sweet potatoes make delicious oven fries. Don't store sweet potatoes in the fridge because they will lose their flavor. Instead, stash them in a cool, dark place, and they should keep for about two weeks.

Add to your cart: Whole-Grain Cereal with Protein

Look for whole-grain cereals that offer at least five grams of fiber and at least eight grams of protein. For example, one cup of Kashi GoLean cereal, which is made from seven different whole grains, including triticale, rye, and buckwheat, fills you up with a hefty 10 grams of fiber (that's 40 percent of the DV) and is loaded with heart-healthy phytonutrients. It also contains soy grits, supplying 13 grams of protein per serving. If you pour on a cup of milk or soymilk, you'll get 30 to 40 percent of your protein needs as a runner in one bowl. Other high-protein/high-fiber cereals include Nature's Path Optimum Rebound and Back to Nature Flax & Fiber Crunch.

Add to your diet: Of course whole-grain cereal is excellent for breakfast--a meal you don't want to skip since research indicates that those who eat breakfast are healthier, trimmer, and can manage their weight better than nonbreakfast eaters. Cereal also makes a great postrun recovery meal with its mix of carbohydrates and protein. Or you can sprinkle whole-grain cereal on top of your yogurt, use it to add crunch to casseroles, or tote it along in a zip bag.

Add to your cart: Oranges

Eat enough oranges and you may experience less muscle soreness after hard workouts such as downhill running. Why? Oranges supply over 100 percent of the DV for the antioxidant vitamin C, and a recent study from the University of North Carolina Greensboro showed that taking vitamin C supplements for two weeks prior to challenging arm exercises helped alleviate muscle soreness. This fruit's antioxidant powers also come from the compound herperidin found in the thin orange-colored layer of the fruit's skin (the zest). Herperidin has been shown to help lower cholesterol levels and high blood pressure as well.

Add to your diet: Add orange sections to fruit and green salads, or use the orange juice and pulp for sauces to top chicken, pork, or fish. And to benefit from the antioxidant herperidin, use the orange zest in baking and cooking, as with my Grilled Herbed Salmon recipe (above). Select firm, heavy oranges, and store them in the fridge for up to three weeks. Orange zest can be stored dried in a glass jar for about a week if kept in a cool place.

Add to your cart: Canned Black Beans

One cup of these beauties provides 30 percent of the DV for protein, almost 60 percent of the DV for fiber (much of it as the cholesterol-lowering soluble type), and 60 percent of the DV for folate, a B vitamin that plays a key role in heart health and circulation. Black beans also contain antioxidants, and researchers theorize that this fiber-folate-antioxidant trio is why a daily serving of beans appears to lower cholesterol levels and heart-disease risk. In addition, black beans and other legumes are low glycemic index (GI) foods, meaning the carbohydrate in them is released slowly into the body. Low GI foods can help control blood sugar levels and may enhance performance because of their steady release of energy.

Add to your diet: For a quick, hearty soup, open a can of black beans and pour into chicken or vegetable stock along with frozen mixed veggies and your favorite seasonings. Mash beans with salsa for an instant dip for cut veggies, or spread onto a whole-wheat tortilla for a great recovery meal. Add beans to cooked pasta or rice for extra fiber and protein.

Add to your cart: Mixed Salad Greens

Rather than selecting one type of lettuce for your salad, choose mixed greens, which typically offer five or more colorful delicate greens such as radicchio, butter leaf, curly endive, and mache. Each variety offers a unique blend of phytonutrients that research suggests may fend off age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. These phytonutrients also act as antioxidants, warding off muscle damage brought on by tough workouts. You can usually buy mixed greens in bulk or prewashed in bags.

Add to your diet: Toss a mixed greens salad with tomato, cucumber, scallions, and an olive oil-based dressing (the fat from the oil helps your body absorb the phytonutrients). You can also stuff mixed greens in your sandwiches, wraps, and tacos. Or place them in a heated skillet, toss lightly until wilted, and use as a bed for grilled salmon, chicken, or lean meat. Greens store best in a salad spinner or the crisper drawer in your fridge for up to six days. Just don't drench them in water or they won't keep as long.

Add to you cart: Salmon

Nutrition-wise, salmon is the king of fish. Besides being an excellent source of high-quality protein (you get about 30 grams in a four-ounce serving), salmon is one of the best food sources of omega-3 fats. These essential fats help balance the body's inflammation response, a bodily function that when disturbed appears to be linked to many diseases including asthma. A recent study showed that people with exercise-induced asthma saw an improvement in symptoms after three weeks of eating more fish oil. If you've been limiting seafood due to possible mercury or PCB contamination, simply aim for a variety of farm-raised and wild salmon for maximum health benefits.

Add to your diet: Bake, grill, or poach salmon with fresh herbs and citrus zest. Gauge cooking time by allotting 10 minutes for every inch of fish (steaks or fillets). Salmon should flake when done. Precooked (leftover) or canned salmon is great in salads, tossed into pasta, stirred into soups, or on top of pizza. Fresh fish keeps one to two days in the fridge, or you can freeze it in a tightly sealed container for about four to five months.

Add to your cart: Whole-Grain Bread

Runners need at least three to six one-ounce servings of whole grains per day, and eating 100 percent whole-grain bread (as opposed to just whole-grain bread, which may contain some refined grains and flours) is an easy way to meet this requirement since one slice equals one serving. Whole-grain bread may also help weight-conscious runners. One study showed that women who eat whole-grain bread weigh less than those who eat refined white bread and other grains. Whole-grain eaters also have a 38 percent lower risk of suffering from metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by belly fat, low levels of the good cholesterol, and high blood sugar levels. All this raises the risk for heart disease and cancer.

Add to your diet: Bread is versatile, portable, and ready to eat right out of the wrapper. Spread with peanut butter or stuff with your favorite sandwich fillings and plenty of sliced veggies for a one-handed recovery meal. Coat with a beaten egg for French toast, or use as layers or crumbled in a casserole. Just be sure the label says 100 percent whole grain (all the grains and flours included in the ingredients should be listed as whole, not milled or refined). And don't just stick with the popular 100 percent whole-wheat breads. Try different varieties of whole grains such as barley, buckwheat, bulgur, rye, or oat.

Add to your cart: Frozen Stir-fry Vegetables

Research shows that eating a combination of antioxidants, such as beta-carotene and vitamin C, may lessen muscle soreness after hard interval workouts by reducing the inflammation caused by free-radical damage (for more on this, see "Should You Be Afraid of Free Radicals," page 61). Most ready-to-use stir-fry veggie combos offer a potent mix of antioxidants by including red and yellow peppers, onions, bok choy, and soy beans. And frozen vegetable mixes save lots of prepping time but still provide the same nutrition as their fresh counterparts.

Add to your diet: Dump the frozen vegetables right into a hot wok or skillet, add tofu, seafood, or meat, your favorite stir-fry sauce, and serve over brown rice. Or throw them into pasta water during the last few minutes of cooking, drain, and toss with a touch of olive oil. You can also mix the frozen veggies right into soups or stews at the end of cooking, or thaw them and add to casseroles. Vegetables store well in the freezer for about four months, so make sure to date your bags.

Add to your cart: Whole-grain Pasta

Pasta has long been a runner's best friend because it contains easily digestible carbs that help you restock spent glycogen (energy) stores. Whole-grain versions are a must over refined pastas because they contain more fiber to fill you up, additional B vitamins that are crucial to energy metabolism, and disease-fighting compounds such as lignans. And even better, pastas such as Barilla Plus offer whole-grain goodness along with heart-healthy omega-3 fats from ground flaxseed and added protein from a special formula of ground lentils, multigrains, and egg whites to help with muscle repair and recovery.

Add to your diet: Pasta makes a complete one-pot meal--perfect for busy runners--when tossed with veggies, lean meat, seafood, or tofu. Or combine pasta with a light sauce, a bit of your favorite cheese, and turn it into a satisfying casserole.

Add to your cart: Chicken

Runners need about 50 to 75 percent more protein than nonrunners to help rebuild muscles and promote recovery after tough workouts. And just one four-ounce serving of chicken can supply about half a runner's daily protein needs. Along with protein, chicken contains selenium, a trace element that helps protect muscles from the free-radical damage that can occur during exercise, and niacin, a B vitamin that helps regulate fat burning during a run. New studies also suggest that people who get ample niacin in their diet have a 70 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Add to your diet: Chicken's versatility makes it perfect for runners with little time to cook. You can bake, broil, grill, or poach chicken in broth. Leftover chicken works well on top of salads, mixed into pasta, or stuffed into sandwiches and burritos. Fresh chicken stores safely for two days in the fridge, but can be frozen for six months or more.

Add to your cart: Frozen Mixed Berries

The colorful compounds that make blueberries blue, blackberries deep purple, and raspberries a rich shade of red are called anthocyanins--a powerful group of antioxidants that may help stave off Alzheimer's disease and some cancers. Anthocyanins may also assist with postrun recovery and muscle repair. Not bad for a fruit group that contains a mere 60 calories or so per cup. And remember: Frozen berries are just as nutritious as fresh ones, but they keep far longer (up to nine months in the freezer), making it easier to always have them ready to eat.

Add to your diet: Frozen berries make a great base for a smoothie and there's no need to thaw them. Once thawed, eat them straight up or add to some vanilla yogurt with chopped nuts. Or liven up your hot or cold cereal with a big handful. You can also bake berries with a nutty topping of oatmeal, honey, and chopped almonds for a sweet treat after a long weekend run.

Add to your cart: Dark Chocolate

As a runner you deserve at least one indulgence--especially one you can feel so good about. Chocolate contains potent antioxidants called flavonols that can boost heart health. In one study, a group of soccer players had lower blood pressure and total cholesterol levels, and less artery-clogging LDL cholesterol after just two weeks of eating chocolate daily. Other research suggests that the chocolate flavonols ease inflammation and help prevent blood substances from becoming sticky, which lowers the risk of potential blood clots. But not just any chocolate will do. First off, dark chocolate (the darker the better) generally contains more flavonols than milk chocolate. Also, the way the cocoa beans are processed can influence the potency of the flavonols. Chocolate manufacturer Mars has developed a procedure that apparently retains much of the antioxidant powers of the flavonols, and their research shows just a little over an ounce (200 calories worth) of Dove dark

chocolate per day has heart-healthy benefits.

Add to your diet: Besides the obvious (just eat it!), you can add dark chocolate to trail mix, dip it in peanut butter (my favorite), or combine it with fruit for an even greater antioxidant punch. Just keep track of the calories. Buy chocolate wrapped in small pieces to help with portion control.

Add to your cart: Low-fat Yogurt

Besides being a good source of protein and calcium (one cup provides 13 grams of protein and 40 percent of the DV for calcium), low-fat yogurt with live cultures provides the healthy bacteria your digestive tract needs to function optimally. This good bacteria may also have anti-inflammatory powers that can offer some relief to arthritis suffers. Just look for the live-culture symbol on the yogurt carton.

Add to your diet: Low-fat yogurt is great topped with fruit, granola, or nuts, or used as a base for smoothies. Plain yogurt can be mixed with diced cucumber and herbs like dill and spread over grilled tofu, chicken, fish, and other meats. Yogurt can also double as a salad dressing with vinegar and herbs. Or mix it with fresh salsa to stand in as a dip for veggies and baked chips.

Couch Potato to 5K: Week 5, Day 2

Well, I did it. I went on to Day 2 of Week Five, which means:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk (3.8 mph), then:
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) 5.6 mph
Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) 3.8 mph
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) 5.6 mph

I finally realized that I need to get up to 6 mph in order to do the three miles in 1/2 an hour. Duh. Yes, it really did take me that long to figure out that very simple math problem. I guess I just wasn't doing it mathematically, but trying to sort of figure out how much faster I'd need to run to make the 3 miles in half and hour. Silly, I know.

Anyway, it was killer. I was so entirely bored and tired of running, and panting up a storm that I really couldn't wait until the time was over. All said and done, though, I only ran for a mile and a half, but not in a row. 3/4 mile at once and then a five-minute walk followed by another 3/4 mile.

What I don't understand is that the next day of the Couch Potato to 5K program calls for 20 minutes of running. That's more than TWICE what I did today! With no walking in between! You'd think they'd at least do a set with less walking in between before hoisting me right into the 20 minute run. Am I missing something? Am I reading this chart wrong?

In other running news, I convinced my seventeen-year-old daughter Bard to start the program, so pretty soon, I'm going to start the program all over again, only with her beside me. We'll do this either on my off days with Kim or in the evenings. Bard is most definitely NOT a morning person.

And in other weight news, I realized that the last time I weighed myself prior to my previous post was here. Two week ago. So while I'm not losing as much as I'd hoped, I've lost two pounds in two weeks, which is pretty darn good, considering that I could really eat an entire raw cow on some days. Seriously. That's how hungry I feel.

Which brings me to my next point; for some reason I've been really having problems with food the past couple of weeks. I'm just terribly hungry. I eat a huge salad. Still hungry. Down a 1/2 pound of beef with onions. Hungry. Scarf several pieces of pizza. Hungry yet still. The only thing that seems to satisfy me lately is a big bowl of ice cream or a piece of pecan pie. Today I just wanted a candy bar. The whole day. I mean, my mind was completely and totally focused on NOT having a candy bar. To the point of obsessing about it! Generally, I'm not a candy-eater, but I really, really, really want a candy bar lately. Whassupwitdat?

It makes me frustrated to the point of believing I'll never actually lose the weight I want to lose. And once I do? How do I keep it off?

Argh. Quite frustrating.

Couch Potato to 5K: Week 5, Day 1

Stepping on the scale this morning may have been a mistake. I don't know how accurate the scale is (one woman told me that she's seen people adjust it if they think it's not set right), but according to it, I've lost two pounds since I last weighed myself. I was really hoping for more, but I also know that I haven't been very careful with my eating this past week. I can't seem to help it. I'm just so HUNGRY! I've been craving protein more and more, like a great big chopped steak, but I don't tend to have those things around the house. I have been trying to watch my portion sizes, but sometimes it's hard. And this weekend, we ate chicken and jo-jos--FRIED FOOD!

Still, I've avoided soda and juices entirely and I've cut down on my ice cream consumption. When I'm as hungry as I've been, I simply can't see stuffing myself with a salad. I want SUBSTANCE! I want FLAVOR! I want something with CHEESE or CREAM or FAT. And if you can fry it up, that's all the better.

I really have changed my eating habits, though. No fast food, nary a french fry, no candy and chips lying around the house. I know that I've changed my eating habits, because, while I use to rid my car of fast food bags and soggy drink cups, I now remove yogurt containers, apple cores and banana peels.

So I'm down to 172, which still makes me sick, but at least I'm going somewhere with it. Right? Right?!?

This morning, we started Week 5 of the program. It went like this:

Brisk five minute walk (3.8 mph)
Run for 5 minutes (5.6 mph)
Walk for 3 minutes (3.8)
Run for 5 minutes (5.6)
Walk for 3 minutes (3.8)
Run for 5 minutes (5.6)

Cool down with 3.8 walking for a while, then about five minutes of 2.5 walking. It wasn't too terribly bad, but the last 5 minutes had me panting pretty good.

The next session is supposed to be:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)

But I may just stay on the 5 min/3 min thing until next week, unless I really feel like pushing myself.

One thing I can very clearly see is that I'm not going fast enough. The running/walking intervals were supposed to take me to 2.5 miles today, and I was just at 2.5 when I was finished, including my warmup and cooldown. So I guess if I want to hit this thing, I need to pick up the pace a bit.

We'll see what I feel up to doing tomorrow.

Couch Potato to 5K: Week 4, Day 2

Kim and I met at the gym and decided to begin with a stretching session. We haven't been stretching beforehand at all, but going right into it with a five-minute brisk warm-up walk.

After the stretch and the five-minute walk, we did our Week Four intervals. This was my second day of doing Week Four and Kim's first, but she'd gone to the gym alone and done a higher-paced Week Three day, so she was ready for this.

Our intervals went like this:

Five Minute brisk warm-up walk at 3.8 mph
Three minute jog at 5.2 mph
90 second walk at 3.8 mph
Five minute jog at 5.3 mph
2.5 minute walk at 3.8 mph
Three minute jog at 5.3 mph
90 second walk at 3.8 mph
Five minute jog at 5.3 mph

That took us to 24 minutes total and a little over 2 miles, so we walked 3.8 mph for the rest of the 5K (3.1 miles) and then walked at 2.5 mph for the remainder of our hour. Then we did some cool-down stretching and experimented with an ab machine.

That second three-minutes was very tough for me--much tougher than the first five minutes. The last five minutes was pretty tough, too, and around four minutes, I felt nausea coming on, but pushed past it. Yeah, I feel like a wimp, but considering that the nausea used to come at 45 seconds, I'm thrilled to be to this place.

We're going to try to push ahead to Week Five next week. Can we do it?

I'm willing to wager. ;-)

Couch Potato to 5K: Week 4, Day 1

I wish I could get myself as motivated to go running BEFORE I do it as I feel AFTER I've done it. I think this is a cruel joke that God has decided to play on us humans. Okay, I don't really think that; I honestly don't think God is cruel, but still, I wonder why He, in His infinite wisdom, made it so that we have more energy after we've done aerobic activity than we have before.

For whatever reason, every morning, I have to convince myself that I really do need to go running, that it's no okay to skip a day, that I don't have more important things to do (like checking my e-mail seventy-eight times), and that I can actually achieve the goal I've set for myself before I'll get myself out of bed and on my way to the trail or the gym (I keep typing "trial" instead of "trail." Does that mean something?)

Today was another one of those days.

But when I finally made it to the gym, I determined to kick myself into gear and go for Week Four of the Couch Potato to 5K program I'm trying to kill myself with master. Week Four looks like this:


Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

That's two miles of running/walking plus a five minute warm-up and a five minute cool-down. And I did it. It's out of the way. Two more of these babies, and I could, conceivably, move on the Week Five.

It really wasn't all that hard. I did a 3.8 mph warmup walk for five minutes, then I intervaled with 5.1 mph jogs and 3.8 mph walks. I cooled way, way down with a 2.5 mph cooldown, so it all totalled out to a little over 3 miles and it took about 45 minutes, including the warm-up and cool-down.

I'm worried that using the treadmill is easier than hitting the trail (it's been too cold to run outside) and that, when I get to the trail, it will be harder and I'll have to work myself back up to where I think I am.

Ah, well. I guess I'll just work towards my goal and get there when I get there.

Anyone else running with me?

That's for me...

I wasn't sure I wanted to run today. I just feel apathetic about it. So I was wasting my time putzing around on the computer, preparing for an upcoming workshop when I read this:

"Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites."

I'm heading to the gym, now...

Couch Potato to 5K: Week 3, Day 2

My new hobby is chatting with other runners. I don't really mean to do this; somehow, it just happens. For instance, I was at our first speech tournament of the year this past weekend (update on that later) and I sat down to chat with my son's debate partner's mother. Turns out that she ran her first marathon last summer and has been running since she was in high school. She encouraged me to keep running, reminded me how good it is for me, promised me that there will come a time when I won't want to die every time I run.

Thursday morning was not one of those times.

I decided to go running on Thursday because I knew we'd be at the tournament all weekend and I likely wouldn't have time or opportunity to take a jog. Once I was on the track, I decided to move on up to the next level of the Couch Potato to 5k. Week Three. 90 seconds running, 90 seconds walking, 3 minutes running, 3 minutes walking. It. Was. Torture. I'm not going to lie about it. I was panting, praying, and coming thisclose to dying.

But live I did. I did intervals for 33 minutes and was on the trail for a total of 50 minutes.

More than actually stay alive, I actually felt good when I was finished. AND I felt good enough that I went running again today. Kim and I braved the weather and, er...um...visited the health club again. What? Stop looking at me like that. I know I said I really love the outdoors and don't mind running in the cold, but it was BELOW ZERO this morning! That's, like, BELOW ZERO! They called school off everywhere! I may be insane, but I'm not crazy.

So we did the treadmill thing, and we decided to do the Week 3 thing together.

And I actually didn't want to die while I was on the treadmill. You know what else? It really wasn't all that hard! Now, I may not have run as fast as I could have, and I didn't have to brave the cold, but I actually did the intervals and didn't want to gnaw my own leg off.

We did 35 minutes of intervals and 60 minutes of exercise total.

And you know what else? Kim talked me into standing on the scale again. And I'm at 174! Yeah me! That means that I have less than forty pounds to go to reach my target weight, and it means that I actually HAVE lost weight! Especially considering that I weighed in at 185 last time I stepped on the scale.

I'm thankful for encouragement. This is almost addictive, now. While I may want to die again in the future, for now, Kristi's right--I'm actually enjoying it!

Couch Potato to 5K: Trying to Give Up

I found a way out of it yesterday. After all, I'd slept fitfully through the night. I don't think I'd had more than a couple of hours of sleep, tops. And that's all put together. I certainly didn't get that much all at one time.

And the stomach pain. How could I run with stomach pain? I mean, it's not completely my fault that I ate two pieces of birthday cake. And ice cream. I hadn't had birthday cake with its Crisco-based icing for ages. Sure, I had to force myself to eat it, to choke it down. But I finally convinced myself it was good, and the cake part actually was. Well, so was the ice cream part. But that's always good. I didn't say I hadn't had ice cream in ages. Just Crisco-icing cake.

So how could I really have been expected to run yesterday?

And it all turned out fine, anyway. Kim needed a break, too. I decided to try harder the next day. Which was today.

When the alarm went off, I pretty much wanted to die. When I awake on running days, that's basically my first conscious thought. "I want to die. I can't run today. I'll fail. I want to die."

My stomach turns all knotty. I worry about my bladder. What if I have to pee while we're running? Then what? I worry about my bowels. I've seen those photos of marathon runners with the brown stains on their behinds. What in the world is worth that?

I slammed my hand on the "snooze" button. Okay, I really just pushed it with my finger. But I felt like slamming it. Rolling over, I tried to get a few more minutes of sleep. But I couldn't. My brain said, "You can't do it. You're such a wimpy burger. You really, really are a failure, aren't you?" And I, crying like a little girl, said, "Yes. Yes, I am. And I'm not getting out of this bed."

But eventually, my body urged me out of bed, and I slid from the warm, cozy cocoon into the world of good morning.

"Good morning," my husband Bo mumbled.

"Ergh," I answered.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"Arachk," I spat.

"What's the matter?" he persisted.

"I have to run. I have to...run. I hate running. I don't want to go. Why do I have to go?"

"Baby. Don't go, then," the demon temptation that is my husband spoke.

"What's the MATTER with you? Of COURSE I have to go! I'm not giving up all this work I've done! I'm not quitting for nothing! How dare you?"

I checked the weather. Fourteen degrees. I hear insanity slips away from you around fourteen degrees.

I pulled on my black long underwear and my tan Columbia Omni-Tech® Nubby Faille HP™ with 100% polyester Ultra-Wick™ brushed mesh lining cargo pants, a built-in-bra camisole and three layers of shirts, topped with a hooded sweatshirt. And one pair of socks. My feet usually don't get cold when I run.

We were the only ones on the trail, Kim and I.

"Are we gonna run?" She asked.

"I don't know," I confessed.

I told her all about my morning battle, how I psyche myself out, convinced that if I come running, I'll surely miss my goal. I'll surely fail. And then what?

"Let's just try," she said.

And we did.

There had been others on the trail before us, evidenced by their footprints in the snow, but they turned around during our first interval.

"This is now uncharted territory," I told Kim as we puffed along. "We're officially insane."

But I'm not so sure about that, even now as I sit in the warm house with my sheepskin slippers keeping my toes toasty. If I could but describe the beauty of the winter trail, the snow-capped trees, the silent snow, the peace, I would rival Wordsworth, Dickinson, Teasdale and Longfellow combined. This snow, this scene, was too beautiful for words. Ocassionally, the wind would catch a branch and, like a domino effect, a few completely soundless clumps of snow would crash, unheard, into a pine bough, which would move in seeming slow-motion, bouncing noiseless and flinging more silent snow to the ground, like giant hushed snowflakes begging for a laconic description. There is none. "Silent," is the banal, overused word that just keeps lunging into my mind. But it's not enough.

We trudged on, and I pushed myself. "If I let my brain win," I told Kim, "I'll give up. I'll be a failure." And so we ran more, longer, endured. And when we thought we were done, we ran one more interval, just in case.

90/90, 2 min/2 min, 2 min/2 min...repeat. We did three repetitions in all, 36 minutes of nine running/walking intervals, and then we walked the remainder back, noticing the difference of our lone back-trail, mine tattling how my feet kick outward as I run, Kim's as straight and steady as a pair of railroad tracks.

We high-fived when we finished. Kim did a little victory dance. My body had won. My brain had been defeated. We'd passed another milestone. We'd lived to run another day. I'd tried to give up, but I hadn't let me.

Next time, I'll likely try to find a way out again. But remembering this day will help. As will the encouragement of my friends (Hi, John! Hit the road!) and even my dear husband, who isn't a demon at all, but the very one who assures me that "it's going away" and he pats my posterior.

It's going away.

The Thighs, They Are a'Changin'

I don't know if I'll ever get the hang of this running thing. I was so proud of myself on Monday for finishing my run and thought that today would be easy since I'd already done it. Guess what?

It kicked my tuckus.

From the second I stepped onto the trail (I just typed "trial" and corrected it. I shoulda left it), I was wondering when I would be done. Ugh! It was work every. step. of. the. way! And looking for the bluebirds? Forget it. It didn't cut it at all. I tried counting in my head. I tried staring at my feet. I tried letting my mind drift. Nothing doing. It was hard, hard, hard, all the way. I felt like I was going to vomit a couple of times, and I literally wanted to quit, but I didn't. Kim and I finished the goal. 90 seconds jogging (and I do mean j.o.g.g.i.n.g. Every muscle and flabby place on my body flopped like a dying fish), 90 seconds walking, then two minutes jogging and two minutes walking.

It was tough, I tell ya. Tough. Kim handled it like a trooper (she *is* superior to me, I must say) and barely even panted. But me? I was close to howling.

But I did it. And we're that much closer to Week Three (90 seconds jogging, 90 seconds walking, 3 min jogging, 3 min walking). We both confessed today that we're really not in that big of a hurry, and that, while running a 5K sounds yummy, it wouldn't break our hearts if we didn't make the goal. We *could* do it, if we really, really, really, really, really, really wanted to. But do we really, really, really, really, really want to? (I just typed all those "reallies," but the way. No cheating with the cut-n-paste for me.)

In a way, I do. I mean, that's what inspired me to start running in the first place, seeing a group of sweaty human beings crossing a finish line on Turkey Day. There were even a couple of people in costumes. There was, no joke, a running banana and two running penguins. I'm not sure I'm that crazy.

But I would like to run in the Spring 5K here. If, that is, I could talk my body into it. Ack.

I have to admit, though, that under the flab that's on my legs? Muscles. Oh, yeah. I can feel 'em. I mean, literally, with my hand, I can feel 'em. How weird is that? I wake up each morning and pull on my belly fat to see if it's any smaller (remember the "pinch and inch" commercials? I've got enough for all of ya), then I feel my hips and legs to remind myself that, yes, I have been actually running. This isn't a dream. Then I look in the mirror to see if my love handles are gone yet. Not quite, but they're getting there. Before you know it, there'll be less of me to love.

That reminds me--do you know that I actually have real, valid reasons for staying overweight? I do. I have actually talked myself into believing that being overweight is a good thing! For example, I've comforted myself with the knowledge that I'm not a stumbling block for any woman's husband. I've also patted myself on the back for being non-threatening to my friends. I've preened in front of the mirror reminding myself that I'm the kind of woman Rembrandt or Rubens would have painted, full-figured and healthy. I've pounded it into my head that extra pounds are healthier. I've thought that I'm just meant to be this size. I've thought all of this. And more.

But I've never been happy being overweight. I've longed to be truly healthy since I first gained this weight eighteen years ago.

I want to keep running, in spite of the fact that I want to quit running. Does that make any sense at all? It doesn't have to. It's just true.

It's really hard to type when I have to keep stopping to feel if my thighs have shrunk any more, so I'll just leave you with this last thought. I'm reading the book French Women Don't Get Fat and the author says that it's important to institute a lifestyle that you know you'll maintain. I'm trying to find that balance now. It's very difficult. Tonight, I just wanted a great big steak and a large, fully-loaded baked potato and a roll slathered with butter. That seems to be a trend. I've wanted beef recently like nobody's business.

It's just another sign.

My body is changing. I can just feel it.

Dang...

Well, I guess I got a little bit overexuberant. I went back and checked the CPto5K running schedule, and I'm actually on, like, week 2 1/2. Week three is 90 seconds of jogging, 90 seconds of walking, THREE minutes of jogging, then THREE minutes of walking, alternating for 25 minutes. Ick. I only did two minutes. And it was not at all jolly.

But still, I feel good, and I pushed myself further than I'd been before, and I'll be much more ready for Week Three when I finish this one because I stepped it up a little.

Onward!

Couch Potato to 5K: Week 3, Day 1

I'm on Week Three of the Couch Potato to 5K. I took 15-year-old Houdin along with me for moral support as well as being a body guard. He served as a distraction, too, tossing snowballs by my head and telling me silly stories so I didn't have to hit the pavement (read: snow) thinking, "When will this interval be over?" with each step. I was able to do eight intervals of 90/90 and 120/120 without dying. We then walked the rest of the way, totaling a one hour workout. I feel refreshed, but I was absolutely famished. Even after eating a full but healthy lunch, I was still hungry. Once home, I ate two mugs of vanilla ice cream, and now I feel happy and sleepy, though slightly guilty.

I discovered The Daily Plate today and thought you'd be interested, too. You can enter what you ate as well as your daily exercise and see how many calories you're afforded. I was encouraged by what I saw.

Tomorrow, walking with Bard.

It's the truth. It's actual...

When I went walking with Bard on Thursday morning, I remembered why I would much rather brave the cold, icy morning on the trail than stand on a treadmill in the warm, televisioncentric club.

Bluebirds.

Bard and I only had a short time to walk on Thursday morning, but I really felt that I needed to take that time. We bundled up and rushed to the trail, leaving behind us the fury that was a family preparing for debate class.

It was crisp and delicious on the trail. Trees creaked ominously above us while the occasional Northern Flicker or Downy Woodpecker laughed at the sillyness of our feet on the pavement. Up ahead, two male cardinals picked through the debris of a road apple, left there by one of the many horses that pull one of the many Amish buggies from the little Amish districts up North to the Stuf*Mart down south. That's one of the reasons this trail is so successful; it gives the Amish a way to travel off of the dangerous, speed-driven main roads from their simple homes to town--to join the bustle of the big town; the doctors' offices, the grocery store, the thrift store, Stuf*Mart, Burger King and Subway.

Shortly into our walk, a dart of blue flitted by, followed by another. And another. I pointed them out to Bard.

"The bluebird of happiness," she said.

It's not likely that's something you'll see in the club.

Yesterday morning, Kim kicked my butt with a little running-program-boost. For the first time, we did 90 second jogging and walking intervals. 90 seconds. No waiting until I was "ready." No prescribed 2 minute walking intervals. 90 seconds of jogging, ninety seconds of walking, and ninety seconds of jogging. We did this for twenty minutes, and then continued our regular walk for the remainder of the hour.

I have to admit that I absolutely dread getting up to run in the morning. When I awake and realize it's a running day, I literally get nauseated and I worry all the way until my very last joggy step. I'm sure I'm going to fail. I'm sure I'll never actually do this. I'll give up. I'm not even remotely able to think positive. I know, when I awake on running mornings, that I am going to die.

But when I'm out there, and I'm doing it, I know it's the right thing.

My feet hit the path in time with Kim's. All I can hear is my breathing and hers, and the crunch of our feet on the snow. Whatever I can do to occupy my mind until that interval is over takes over my whole existence--watching the trail move beneath my feet, picking a distant spot that will likely be our ending place (I often call it right. And I thought I had depth-perception problems.), counting very, very long seconds, coming up with a theme song for the run (yesterday, it was Run to the End of the Highway by Keith Green. How appropriate.), or concentrating on my breathing. Sometimes, I just try to let my body fly away and encourage my brain to do the same. I want to get to the place where this is easy, where it actually feels good to run. I'm trying to think positive, see?

The last leg of yesterdays run, we turned around and covered our previous path to make our way back to the trailhead. There was something incredibly comforting and encouraging about jogging over our lone footprints on the snow, the prints we'd made on on our seventh, sixth, fifth intervals. Our steps were even--our pace had been the same. No other prints disturbed the thin layer of snow, just ours. And as we ended our last jogging interval, we high-fived it. Yes. We'd done it. Another, higher goal had been met.

We walked the rest of the way back. I was even tempted to run a couple of times, but I decided to keep with the CPto5K program instead. Pace myself. Enjoy my victory. The snow danced so delicately around us. We talked about the wonder if them, the incredible uniqueness that proves there is a God who loves beauty. Who loves us.

And there were the bluebirds. I mentioned them to Kim.

"The bluebird of happiness," she said.

This is why I'll leave the treadmill where it belongs and take myself to the place where I belong--braving the weather and embracing the beauty of bluebirds.

Note to Self: Stay off the Scale

Yesterday was killer. I don't know what it was that knocked me down like it did, but I'm still not completely up again.

Some days are like this.

There are days when I feel like I can take on the world. Give me any chance, I'll take it. Give me any rule, I'll break it.

But there are other days, like yesterday...

I didn't want to get out of bed. I was supposed to run with Kim, but it was raining. Not just raining, but really, really raining in a gray, depressing kind of way. I was going to cancel our run, but Kim, being the ever-encouraging walking/running partner that she is, found a way around the dilemma and got us into the local club for the day. We did the treadmill for an hour, and it was absolutely no fun. I hate the televisions and the noise and the heat and the whole being-on-a-treadmill feeling. I'm much more of a nature girl, really. But we did it, and I think the little blinking lights said that I burned like 325 calories or something. Kind of depressing. Not really even a meal's worth.

And then I weighed myself. I weigh 185 right now. 185! That's terrible. I never, ever, ever want to weigh myself again. I guess it doesn't help that I used to be 110. I guess it doesn't help that I topped out at 180 when I was nine-months pregnant with my first child. I guess it doesn't help when I see that other people can lose a whole person in ten months, because I'm totally not interested in eating fake fats and counting everything I put in my mouth. I don't want to live that way, really. I just want to find a healthy, happy balance. I want to enjoy my life and not hate my body.

Yesterday, when I came home from the gym, I spent time wtih my kids for a while, reading and talking and laughing, and then I got really, really tired. By three o'clock, I crashed. I couldn't stay awake any longer. It didn't really matter if the house was burning down, or if my childen were shooting each other. I...just...needed...to...sleep. It was all I could do.

So, I closed my eyes and slept. For three hours, I slept.

When I awoke, my head was splitting open and there were angry thoughts in it.

I spent the entire rest of the evening in bed. My husband brought me wine and peanuts. My daughter brought me toast and eggs. I tried using my sinus mask, but it didn't help. I drank another glass of wine. Finally, I asked for ibuprofen, and I went to sleep.

This morning, I still didn't want to get out of bed. Is this illness or depression or what? But I did get out of bed, and I did actually go with Kim and we did actually run. Not three miles, or seven miles, or ten miles, or a marathon, but we ran. We ran a total of twelve minutes with intervals of walking in between.

Why doesn't that make me feel better? Why is it that I feel worse about myself right this minute, in my size-twelve thrift store pants, than I felt six months ago in my size-sixteen jeans? Why am I suffering this anxiety, that I'll never lose weight? That I'll be 185 forever? That I'll have to eat nothing and like it in order to look the way I want to look?

I don't know. Maybe this will pass. But today, I just want to go to bed and cry.

I might just do that.

Talk amongst yourselves. I'll return to my normal program following this plunge into depression.

Couch Potato to 5K: Week 2, Day 2

Fine flakes of snow drifted down around us as Kim and I continued our Couch Potato to 5K program. The trail was quiet, we were wearing our layers, and it was hard work.

But we did it.

We took a little longer between jogging intervals than is prescribed, and we jogged at a nice, easy pace, but we completed our training for today and were on the trail for a total of 57 minutes and 18 seconds.

During our session, we talked about frustrations of weight and eating and trying to find the balance of a healthy lifestyle. Even though we both see that we're making progress (the first week, forty-five seconds of jogging just about killed me), we don't feel like we're seeing the physical evidence we'd like to see.

For me, I still have wa-a-a-ay too much flab on my belly, my underarms, and my inner thighs. While I've decreased my clothing size and things do fit better than they did before, I'm not seeing what I want to see.

I mean, I want to see progress. Progress! I want to see a flat belly, a distinct six-pack. I want a belly that deserves jewelry, I tell ya! Every morning, I wake up, and just about the first thing I do is grab my gut. Is it getting any smaller? Am I shrinking? Am I wasting away to practically nothing?

The problem is that I feel like I've hit this plateau. The real problem is that I'm obsessing about it. I don't want to obsess about it. I just want to get svelte. I just want this almost-forty body to look like it's 18. I just want to be drop-dead gorgeous. Is that too much to ask?

Tomorrow, I'll walk with my kids. The day after that, I'll walk with my kids. And the day after that, I'll run with Kim. I have to. Kim went and told a couple that we see on the trail every day that we're training for the spring 5K. Way to go, Kimmie (I can call you Kimmie, right? That's what Julia called you when I picked up the club card). Now we're commited.

My next big choice...do I eat a salad or a Whopper?

Week three, look out. We're coming at you fast and furious.

Running progress for January

When I started walking in the late fall, I couldn't have imagined walking through the winter. But because of our very mild winter weather this year and my walking partner's company and encouragement, here I am, in the middle of January, and I'm still hittin' the trail three times a week or more.

And it's paying off.

Today, I picked up two pairs of pants from the rack at our local thrift store that are two sizes smaller than what I was wearing just six months ago. I wasn't sure if they'd fit. To be honest, I was afraid to try them on. I just keep worrying that I only think I'm losing weight (I don't weigh or measure myself) and that I'm actually not changing at all.

But when I stepped into the dressing room and pulled on those size twelves? Yes! They fit! I can now say that I really am no longer a size 16!

My energy level is higher, my eating has been healthier (who wants to eat five brownies when you know you had to really, really work that morning to get your butt out of bed and get to the trail?), and I just feel better.

On Thanksgiving, after seeing a group of runners doing a Turkey Day Run, I got inspired. For the first time in my life, I thought, "I could do that." And the thought didn't exhaust me.

I started the Couch Potato to 5K program the Wednesday after I came home from visiting my inlaws for the turkey holiday. It was hard work, but I did it. The next day, Kim said she'd join me in running.

I had horrible running shoes, so I got blisters very badly and my feet were incredibly sore. The first day I ran with Kim, I could barely go 45 seconds. When it came time for the walking interval, I thought I would puke. We didn't do the whole program that day, I don't think. And after that, my muscles, blisters and feet hurt so badly, I didn't think I'd ever run again.

On the recommendation of a reader, I bought a pair of very good running shoes on eBay and we eased back into it.

I had kind of felt discouraged, thinking that I wouldn't be able to complete the Couch Potato program and dreading my sessions until another reader posted that she'd been inspired by my Couch Potato to 5K decision and was going to start the program herself. When I checked her blog, I found that she was on WEEK FOUR! WEEK FOUR!!! And I was still on week ONE! Something about that knowledge encouraged me, and I decided that it was time to kick butt.

This week, Kim and I started week 2. And we did it! What's more, I wasn't totally exhausted AND I didn't even feel like puking!

As we ease into these colder Ohio months, I'm hoping that Old Man Winter will continue to look down upon me with favor so that I can get through this program. My goal is to be ready for our local 5K in May.

Two Days of Anniversary

Thursday night, Bo informed me that he had taken Friday off work so that he and I could begin celebrating our seventeenth anniversary. I was so thrilled and surprised! The bummer was that I didn't really know what I wanted to do, and neither did he. We're low on cash, so there really weren't a lot of options.

After a bit of thinking, I decided what I wanted to do. I told him that I wanted to go into the Big City and shop for a hand-crank pasta maker. Bo works in the Big City, and since his boss was under a little bit of stress, we decided that he could take part of his vacation day and go get some phone calls made while I did a little bit of shopping, then we would meet back up and do some more shopping together.

So, I awoke Friday morning to meet my walking buddy. We decided to do our Couch Potato to 5K routine, alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking. Because I'm a wimp, we've modified it to 60 seconds of jogging and enough walking to regain consciousness. Kim has so much more endurance than I do, but I'll get there eventually. We did the whole session, eight reps of jogging with walking in-between. I can't say that it was fun, but it did feel good, and I hope we can progress to week two before long.

After jogging, I hit my favorite thrift store, because I like to and because a friend who volunteers there had informed me that she had something for me. I found a new pair of rollerblades for Monet and a couple of other small things for The Baby, and when I got to the counter, I discovered that my checkbook was gone. Bo had taken it out to use and I'd forgotten. My friend stepped in and saved the day, paying for my purchase. She's my goat-grain supplier, so I'll repay her when I pick up goat grain on Monday.

When I'd recovered from the embarrassment of not having my checkbook, my friend directed me to the back of the building, where her car was parked. There, she unloaded a large box of beef for our family! I was so thrilled. Meat is a rarity in our house; I really only buy it on special occasions. She said that her family had been blessed with excess and decided to share. What a blessing! She also gave me several loaves of my favorite bread as well as dozens and dozens of eggs (pasta!). I love how the Lord provides!

I stopped at the library to pick up books on pasta and pizza, my two current obsessions, and headed home. Once there, I did some bedroom cleanup, wrote a blog post or two, then Bo and I took our trip to The Big City, which is about an hour from us.

While Bo worked, I abandonned my idea of shopping and read for a while instead. Then I fell asleep. After a nice nap, I was refreshed. And hungry. So we went to eat--where else?--at our favorite Italian restaurant. This, my dear readers, is a very rare and wonderful treat that I do not take lightly. Only on anniversaries and children's 16th birthdays do we indulge such. It was wonderful, but, if I may be so bold, I do still prefer home-cooking. As long as someone else cleans up the mess. :-)

The rest of the evening was spent in pursuit of a pasta maker that never materialized. I was, however, able to score two very well-priced Playmobil toys for The Baby's birthday, which is fast approaching.

*******************************

This morning, we woke everyone but Houdin, who is not feeling well, and The Baby, who isn't the best walking partner, and we hit the trail. Monet and Sweetheart roller-bladed while Bo, Bard and I walked. I have made an unspeakable deal with Bard in exchange for her walking with me every time I ask, without complaining, for six months. I think she'll do it. And I think she'll like it. :-)

Another quick trip to the library, another quick trip to the thrift store (to donate, this time), and a pitstop at the store for a few essentials--fruit, paper products, etc--and then it was on to our favorite dairy for fresh, raw milk. I've been making yogurt almost daily using delicious whole jersey milk, so thick and creamy that we'll never go back to Dannon! Almost as good as Stonyfield, but without the cream on top (how *do* they do that?). Home to refrigerate the milk, and then off to a couple of shops in town to check for pasta makers.

The first shop had just about everything else--ravioli molds, spaetzle makers, electric pasta makers--but no hand-cranked pasta maker.

The second shop...SUCCESS! After searching SEVEN different stores, we finally found a store just fifteen minutes from our home that stocks three different top brands of pasta makers, accessories and attachments. But the prices were quite high, so I opted to check online.

Home again home again, and we decided to tackle cleaning our fruit cellar and basement laundry room. They were HORRIBLE! They're much better now, but not done. Still, we were able to burn a bunch of boxes/paper/paper products, and we hauled a large bag of recycleables out of the house. It was a nice opportunity to get a bite to eat, so we rounded out our two-day celebration with a sandwich and onion rings (now I'll have to run some more) and headed for home.

Regular family chaos ensued, and now everyone lies sleeping but I'm still awake. Even though my husband was the one who indulged in late-evening coffee. Go figure.

Sunday school comes early, so I'll sign off, go check my yogurt, and try to hit the hay.

It's been a good couple of days.