Back in the saddle aka running shoes :)

Time to get back to the running schedule! 40th birthdays are fun and all that, but I am missing my running and since I'm signed up for a 5km race this coming Sunday, I have to get my lungs back in gear.

I might have mentioned this in my last post but this time, for some strange reason, taking a break from running didn't make me feel like a big fat loser hahahaha The first week that I was "away" was a stay-cation that involved a fair amount of physical labor (mostly climbing up and down a ladder) and last week I had a few days off just to bum around in the days around my birthday, but I didn't sit on my laurels (what the heck are laurels anyway? def: award: a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction Oh well, now we know!) So I didn't sit on my "awards" (ouchy on the buttocks is all I can say there) and I did some fun running around like spending my birthday gift cards and walking around malls in general. Not high intensity cardio, but enough to take care of some of the extra food calories :)

I think at weigh-in this week I will either be the same or one pound or two higher.

But enough of that garbage, I'm tired of maintaining the weight that I don't want to be. I know I have myself to blame, and I know that I've not been dedicated enough to add extra amounts of exercise and way more diligence on the food plan front.

It's time to get out of the 230's and into the 220's and I want to accomplish that before Christmas. It's a reasonable goal, and I think with some reasonable adjustments to my life and renewed commitment to making the scale in the right direction instead of up or horizontal -> that 10 to 15 pounds can be lost before the Xmas family reunion.

I did get some great running gifts for my b-day: Running socks and a baseball cap headlight from Alex and with the gift cards from 4 other good friends I finally bought my geek running nerd toy that I have coveted for awhile.. the Garmin 305. Yes it's the older clunkier version, but I don't care, it's going to be awesome to be able to track my distance.

I was not thrilled with the end of my last running clinic when the group was down to me, the instructor and maybe 2 other people. The instructor would call out the route, everyone would take off and I would make it back to the store before everyone else, not because I'm speedy Gonzalez, nope, because I was so far at the back of the pack that when they would reach the store with their GPS watches and realize they hadn't yet completed 5km, they would run a few more circuits around the street behind the store, but I would have no clue where the heck they were ... so I would do my stretches and go home pissed off that I'd only run 3 or 4kms. Damn my slowness! Now with my new toy, I don't have to rely on others, I can run my own speed without stressing out and I can complete my kms as per my schedule.

Another thing I'm looking forward to testing out is pushing my pace to go faster and wearing the heart monitor to see how much time I spend in that good heart pumping zone. You know, just after getting off the couch and just before heart attack :P

Tonight it's back on the running schedule... not sure if I can run 6kms after 2 weeks off, but I'll aim for more than 3kms and see where that takes me.

I am also planning to try and get my life a bit more organized so that I can do the 30 min Shred in the morning before work a few times a week *shudders in fear* The hardest part is getting out of bed, but I'm sure that after a week or two of doing it, I'll get used to is... but be prepared for a ton of cry baby whining until I get used to it!

I'll try and post some pics of my 40th... after I steal em from my friends heheheh