Best Laid Plans

Just when I had my whole month of December mapped out....

....I got a call for a second interview!

The second interview last Tuesday turned out to be a job offer, and I started last Wednesday.  I'm trying to keep my excitement in check because at the moment it is only a one month contract (but there is a possibility that it could extend for a full year depending on a few things).  For now, I'm just trying to enjoy it, learn as much as I can, and hope for the best.  The work is right up my alley and without giving too much away, I'm very excited about the project I'm working on.

As I get used to a new job, I'm also getting used to a new routine.  Starting things off on the right foot, I ran Wednesday and Thursday morning last week and this morning before the sun was up.  Today I also went for a post-work walk with the Cookie.  I've been packing healthy lunches, planning ahead for dinner and getting to bed early. It is a big change from my old job where I worked from home and set my own schedule, but I'm a person that thrives on structure so I think it will work well for me if I can keep a positive attitude about it.  It will get easier to get up when the alarm goes off in the dark, right?

The Barely Plan Plan

I know that when I don't have a plan at all, I don't run as much as I would like.  I also know that when I have a very detailed plan, I lose my love for running, though an upcoming race keeps me motivated.  Without a race on the horizon, still working with pretty short runs, snow on the ground making speed work a challenge, I've come up with a sorta-plan.

(I gave up rotating this one!)

No set mileage, no set times, no set workouts, no days assigned.  I know that each run will be at least 5K, and I know that I'll push myself harder on some runs to try to get faster.  I know that I will do some kind of race in the spring, but I haven't decided on distance.  For now, if I feel like doing more, I will, and snowshoeing and skiing are inter-changeable depending on what I feel like doing.  As long as I do some strength training of some sort each week, I'll be happy.  It's about building a habit this month, not getting a six pack.

How much do you plan when you're not training for a race?

November In Review

Time is flying by!  I really don't know where it goes, but I can't believe it's already December.  This week I'm trying to figure out what happens to my day(s).  I'm not working, so surely I should be done my Christmas shopping/have a sparkling clean house/be keeping up on correspondence, right?!  Oh, if only that were true!  Despite setting out to complete at least a project a day in order to feel somewhat productive, I'm behind on all of the above.  More on this soon, as I am tracking my time this week to figure out how to get the most out of December!

Before we get to that, I need to take a look back at November.  I started November with my longest no-rest streak ever.  I didn't run every day, but I did SOMETHING active every day for 21 days.  Usually, I went out for a full hour of walking or running and walking combined, though I did have to cut it short a couple of days due to some job prospects. This started at the end of October and took me into mid-November.  Then I took a rest day, for no good reason, and then kinda lost my steam.  I had an interview and was a pile of nerves that should have run, but didn't, and there was a day spent baking...  After an off week I got back into things this week and finished off the month with three snowy 5K runs with Cookie.  It is getting too cold to walk in the same clothes that I run in, so we're either going to have to run longer, or go out twice in two outfits if we're going to keep aiming for an hour a day.

Time spent running:   6 hours 32 minutes

Time spent walking:  14 hours 57 minutes

Time spent yoga-ing: 2 hours 50 minutes
Homemade Christmas gifts completed:  2

Christmas cookies in the freezer:  102

Christmas cookies in my tummy:  I've lost count.

What I'm looking forward to in December:  Night-skiing and a weekend away with the girls!

Monday Bullets

A little catch up...

• 21 days.  I did one hour of exercise (running, walking, yoga, or abs) every day for 21 days.  I took a rest day on Saturday, and back on track on Sunday.
• Dressing for run-walk combos is getting trickier now that the weather is colder and the running part is getting longer.  I find I'm freezing during the 30 minute walk, and roasting 5 minutes into the run.
• Cookie had an eye infection last week and I went for my first run without her in months.  I felt like I was forgetting something!  She is such a good running buddy.
• I've been on a smoothie kick lately.  
• One of my good friends from my time in Bangkok ran her first half marathon on Sunday - in Thailand! She is training for a full marathon.  I am so proud of her and impressed that she can run in that humidity.  Way to go Miss Moon!
• Another friend ran her first marathon in Philadelphia on Sunday.  Yay, Julie! All of these races have me itching for a new training plan...
• The job hunt continues...  Speaking of which, I'm going to be making a few blog changes over the next few days, just to make sure I'm anonymous to potential employers.  I don't think I've said anything offensive, but just to be safe. 

Problem? Solution.

I have a problem.  Whatever I bake, I end up eating it for breakfast.  I usually justify it.  "If you can't eat a cupcake for breakfast on Halloween, when can you?"  or "If you can't eat shortbread cookies for breakfast at Christmas time, when can you?" or "If you can't eat cake for breakfast on your birthday, or on a Friday, or the day after you make it...."  It's a serious problem.  Despite my best intentions, I do it.  EVERY. TIME.  Making matters worse is that I'm currently unemployed.  I have lots of time for lots of baking.  I also find baking is a good stress reliever and keeps me calm when I get worried about the job hunt.  I want to bake.  I don't want to eat apple pie before noon.

Every problem has a solution, and I think I've found a good one:

The Breakfast Cookie!  I did a search for a recipe and found one that called for ingredients that I had on hand here.  These were quick, easy and tasty.  They might not be quite as healthy as a non-baked good breakfast, but they sure beat a cupcake.  

Come on, fess up.  Do you ever eat baked goods for breakfast?  Do you have a good healthy/healthy-ish baked good recipe?

 

DoYogaWithMe.Com

Happy Monday!

This morning I was in the mood for doing a little yoga.  I normally save yoga in the winter for days when the roads are messy or it is too bitterly cold to be outside.  Today was not one of those days, but I just felt like doing some yoga.  I didn't feel like doing any of the DVDs in my own collection so I did a little search online and came up with a 60 minute Yoga for Athletes.  This turned out to be not quite what I was expecting, but gave me a really good stretch which I apparently really needed after a lot of walking over the weekend.  When I finished, I was clicking around some  more and realized that this video was part of the treasure trove of all yoga videos on the internet!  How have I never come across this before?!

The web’s best selection of high-quality, high-definition, 100% free, streaming yoga videos.

 I will definitely be going back to try more videos.

Do you have any favourite online resources for yoga?  Do you do yoga at home or in a class?

October Wrap Up

This month I finally feel like I'm back into some kind of exercise routine.  I'm not running that many miles, but that will come in time.  I am fairly consistently spending at least an hour a day being active.  I missed 8 days in the month of October, and I think know I can do better in November. 

Time spent running:  5 hours 28 minutes

Time spent walking:   20 hours 21 minutes

Time spent yoga-ing:  1 hour 50 minutes

I'm a week away from finishing the Pooch to 5K plan with Cookie.  She has done really well with the plan and it has worked well for both of us.  It built really slowly, and I think that's why it works so well. It's also based on time, rather than distance, which I think is better to focus on when you're not going that far! In the past, I know I would have been eager to get into longer distances as quickly as possible, but I don't want to run too far, too soon with the Cookie Monster. Also, in the long term, I want to get faster before I tackle another marathon. Instead, in November, I just want to add a 4th day of running to our routine, and keep aiming for 60 minutes of exercise every day, but with no more than 30 minutes of running/day.  I like having some kind of plan to go from, so I'm working on putting something together, which might include some tempo runs toward the end of the month.

Can you believe this snow?