bekeeblog

i'm not sure when it happened, but after we decided we were going to do this silly running thing, we knew shoes would be important.

i like to support local businesses when we can, and shoes are something that should be tried on... so we went to catalyst last saturday in order to prepare for our new endeavor.

the wife half of the owners was there and she was really friendly and helpful. they have a treadmill in the shop, and she uses it and a digital camera to record your feet while running to make sure you get an appropriate pair of shoes to fit the way you come up off the ground. we both ended up being pretty flat, which i think means we can get any kind of shoe? i'm not sure. she brought us each three pairs to try on. she also was kind enough to bring us shoes that were on sale since she knew it was our first time.

i mentioned to the same running coworker that told me about the stretches that it was like running on pillows!

here they are:

Posted by bekee in at 9:51 AM | permalink | licks(0) | tracks (0)

yesterday was a solo run for both of us. matt works wednesdays, so he ran earlier. when i got home, i walked the dogs on a quick leash-walk so i could get the run over with. a leash walk is just a couple blocks, otherwise they just meander all over the park and it takes too long.

i put on my modified running outfit (monday was a little cooler), and popped the ipod holder onto my arm and headed out the door. the first minute of jogging reminded me that my shins hurt, but it went really quickly. i decided i wanted to figure out how far i'm traveling while doing this week's training, so i just took the sidewalk and followed as straight of a line as i could. it appears it's just over two miles round trip, which can be seen here.

there are eight repeats of running/walking, so this time i kept count... i'm not sure if it was a
good idea or not. during the second to last run, i had to tell myself to get going.

i also figured out that when the app says, "there's one minute left!", we're supposed to book it like there's no tomorrow. oops!

needs for future: new shorts and a water bottle.

Posted by bekee in at 9:34 AM | permalink | licks(0) | tracks (0)

i mentioned to a running co-worker that my legs seemed to get more sore as the day went by and he reminded me that i needed to stretch!

i had completely forgotten this step in an exercise routine, so i made him show me. apparently, you hold all of these for 15 seconds (don't forget to do both sides!)*:

groin:
hands on a surface, back leg extended straight and front with knee bent.

thigh:
hold yourself up, grab foot with hand and push knee backwards.

hammys:
leg extended on surface, toe pointed up. bend forward at the waist.

hip (he described this one standing, but i prefer the sitting method):
sit and put an ankle up on a knee. push knee to ground while leaning forward.

calf:
place bottom of foot vertically on surface with a straight leg, gently lean forward.

i just realized this will add 2.5 minutes to the duration; i wonder if it should be done before or after the cool down walk.

*i am not a doctor. don't blame or sue me if you hurt yourself.

Posted by bekee in at 4:26 PM | permalink | licks(0) | tracks (0)

after donning makeshift running clothes, we clumsily stepped out of the house, sans heavy bag, wallet, and coats; it felt kind of vulnerable.

the first five minutes of the 30-minute workout is a brisk, warm-up walk. we stumbled through that as we tried to get our apps synced to the same time. eventually, we just used mine and i indicated run/walk times.

after the walk, a cute, little voice says, "begin running!" all cheery like. what a jerk.

so we run. 60 seconds has never felt so long. i thought of my new shoes and how expensive they were, and the sports bra that is a little too small (understatement?), but i hope the running will make it fit better in a couple weeks. then, the cheery voice says, "begin walking!". i sigh and slow down.

thankfully, my brain was kept busy processing a decent route for us to make some sort of circle back to home, without really knowing how far we were going to run in total.

instead of my first plan of going halfway and then turning around, we meandered through the neighborhood between woodman's and cottage grove road and olbrich. when cheery-lady said, "you're halfway done!" i thought, "only halfway? omg." so we kept on running and walking. right when the cool-down five-minute walk started we had just gotten to olbrich, so we ended up cooling down on the way home from there.

all in all, it wasn't so bad. my legs are pretty sore today, but it's the type of sore that makes you feel like you did something good to deserve it.

the regimen recommends running three days a week, with a break in between. so, tomorrow, i'll run by myself after work. i had intended on bringing the dogs, but i'm not sure now. it might be a little too distracting for the first week. i'll see how i feel tomorrow... if i walk them first and then go run, it adds an extra 45 minutes to the evening's routine. if i bring them with, they will have to follow along, and it might be a steep learning curve.

Posted by bekee in at 7:19 AM | permalink | licks(0) | tracks (0)

i forgot to mention that matt and i are starting couch-to-5k tonight.

ugh.

Posted by bekee in runny at 2:38 PM | permalink | licks(0) | tracks (0)

time flies when you're not blogging. so i will fill it with pictures.

here's jones and burnie hanging out with me on the couch while matt was at work:

a close up of burnie without flash:

jones, snoring:

i put all of the toys that were under the couch onto jones. he knows them by name and will grab the correct one out of the toy bin when asked to.

quackers, hoggie, olliphant, and rock lobster.

we finalized the party menu and will be working on the shopping list soon. also, a very nice friend is calling in a favor at furthermore brewing and we'll have a barrrel (half or quarter? idk) of proper for matt to drink!

Posted by bekee in at 7:00 AM | permalink | licks(0) | tracks (0)