Weigh-in Day and first day of Couch to 5K

I went up 1.6 pounds this week. But I was sick last week and lost more weight than I was expecting and it was that time of the month...Okay, in reality my gain this week probably had very little to do with these things. I tend to lose the week after ToM. And yes, I probably could have gone up a little after being sick, but I know very well the reasons why I went up. I had Wendy's double cheeseburger and fries with a Coke that claimed to be medium sized but was really probably the size of a Big Gulp. I didn't finish it. I got a breakfast sandwich at the place I get my coffee at with bacon and cheese and it was absolutely delicious but probably not worth it. I had two Trader Joe's bagel pizzas and then I went out with my friends and got a mint milk shake sort of thing with some sort of booze that I can't remember. However, I only had one potato skin, but I also had two pieces of crusty, buttery bread. Yesterday was Mother's day and I went to my grandparents, and that's kind of just asking for trouble, though I didn't do too bad. Lastly, my cookie addiction reared it's ugly head with a vengeance. On top of all that, I only exercised on Monday (which was a mistake and when my body reminded me that flu+step aerobics=stupid, idiot Fooled. It was about time I lived up to that name. I went to kick boxing on Thursday and I didn't do much better.

I have to go back to what I was doing before. I had been snacking on super healthy crackers from Trader Joe's with Laughing Cow cheese, but then I decided I was eating too much of that, so I cut down on that. Apparently there is an inverse proportion of laughing cow and crackers consumed to cookies. I'm not sure if I grammared that sentence properly, but whatever. So I loaded up on super healthy Trader Joe's crackers and laughing cow cheese.

I also went to the specialty running store around here. I didn't know there was one. I thought the closest one was in Boston. But I looked it up again and lo and behold there is one not far away at all. There was a very nice young man who fitted me for shoes and gave me some advice and gave me the student discount even though currently I'm not a student, and didn't appear to want to laugh at the fat girl who wants to start running. I spent more on the sneakers than I have ever spent on clothes ever, including a winter parka. I think. But as far as running shoes go, they weren't too bad, especially since I really do not want to be injured and go to physical therapy and not be able to exercise at all. And I figure if I really do start running instead of going to the gym so much, I'll break even pretty soon on saving gas.

I did the first day of the Couch to 5K program yesterday. I listened to the podcast with techno-y music and the guy telling you when to run and when to walk. He was a very nice man with a very un-annoying voice. However, he is a lying sonnofabitch because he told me I was almost done when there was just a little less than half left. I hate when people tell me I'm almost done when I'm doing something I don't want to be doing because then he'll say something like "Okay! Time for another burst of running!" And I'll be like, "You sonnofabitch, I thought you said I was almost done." And it would have gone on for another four intervals. And I would have hated him. It was a good thing I had looked at how much time was left so I could see where I should run next just before he announced that I was almost done.

He also told me, when I was three quarters of the way done, that I should be "feeling the effects of running but shouldn't be out of breath" and if I had the breath, I would have collapsed in front of the post office laughing, scaring the mobster looking guy mailing his documents, because I definitely was mostly out of breath. I also skipped the last twenty seconds of running because that was when I got to my house, and there was no way I could have asked my legs to run any more when the house was right there. I did, however, do the rest of the cool down.

I was coughing and hacking the rest of the day. Probably because of the fresh air and pollen. It reminded me of gym class in junior high, which coincidentally, was the last time I ran outside for more than the distance between softball bases. We had English after gym in junior high when we were doing track and field sort of things, and the whole class would be hacking away, annoying the hell out of the English teacher. I'm not sure why even the jocky sort of kids were still hacking after running. It must have been the weather. Anyway, yesterday, my face was dark red, like the first time I went on the elliptical. Once I finished the cool down, I almost had to crawl to the front steps and I sat there for nearly fifteen minutes.

I think I probably ran too fast. That's one thing I've heard that beginner runners nearly always do. I also think I didn't drink enough water before going out. I might have not warmed up enough or stretched. Actually, I know I didn't, because I'm having trouble getting up from the toilet this morning, I'm so sore. I also went to step aerobics. Quite willingly, because I figured it would help to warm up the muscles that were stiff. It actually did help, but I'm not too sure if I should keep doing what I did yesterday, if one of the selling points of running would be that I wouldn't have to do step aerobics and I have to go to step aerobics to recover from running.

I do know that I worked harder running that mile and a half or so than I do when I run seven miles on the elliptical. I was more whipped than I am when I do the super intense cardio kickboxing class. So if I can do those two things pretty well now. Not expertly, but pretty well, and I need to be challenged, I think I'll be in much better shape if I can keep up with the running.