I'm just going to be honest...August sucked. From the first day to the last day of the month, it was pretty awful. Not to say that there weren't moments that were a blast peppered throughout the month. There were. But mostly it was very blah.
The first week of August (6 - 12) I was struck with illness as I have mentioned before. So no training took place in this week.
The second week of August (13 - 19) was pretty good...as documented in my previous posts.
The third week of August (20 - 26) was where it got really rough for me. My cough had resurged from being sick. I went to the doctor to make sure it wasn't strep. It wasn't - which ultimately is good, but what that meant was that I just had to ride it out. This week, however, did see Allison's Bachelorette Party...which was a blast! We ate, we drank, we embarassed the bride-to be. All of that intake should have inspired me to hit the treadmil the very next week...but...
The fourth week of August (27 - 31) was really just an excuses kind of week. It was a short week because I was taking off Friday from work and heading to St. Louis to see my two best friends from DePauw (Emily and Megan). I had to wake up early to get down there, so no working out was to occur on Friday morning. And as for the other days...well...
August was a transitional month for Nick (my boyfriend). He had been in the process of changing jobs throughout August. This adjustment resulted in a shake up of the routines to which I cling to so vehemently. Nick and I had been in the habit of waking up early and riding our bikes before we went to work. And while that was feasible for us to do still, waking up at 6 a.m. when you don't really have to is not something that either of us really wanted to do. Making yourself get out of a warm bed while the love of your life slumbers on without you...it's just a challenge.
The long and short of it all is that I thrive on routine and schedules. I need them in order to accomplish what I set out to do. Those people who accomplish goals without a plan astound me. I am jealous of their ability to keep things organized and to keep on track for what they want without really thinking about it. I am far too type A for that kind of goal accomplishment.
Fortunately, September has been pretty great to make up for a rather crummy August. After returning from St. Louis where I had a BLAST with the Trio, I was ready to get back into training. Nick officially started his new job on Tuesday (after Labor Day). He has to get up at 5:45, so it's been very easy to get up with him and just go to the gym as he heads to work.
So, for the first week of September, I was at the gym three mornings (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) and kept training using the Run 5K App. I love this app! I really recommend it. The app has 8 weeks of work outs. It's the same work out for three days in each week. I'm not really following the weeks, but I am using the work outs. For example, the first week of September I did work out 1.2, 1.3 and 2.1. I actually like that I'm a little off. I like that I get to break it up differently so that each day isn't the same each time. In addition to the running, I've been focusing on my abs a lot. I'm making sure to do planks every day. I've been alternating between abs and arms, because those are my two weakest points. It's been a good September so far - on my different fronts - and I am just hoping I can keep up this momentum.
But just because I haven't been great at blogging (oops!) doesn't mean that I haven't been taking note of things I wanted to point out on my blog. None of them really
Here are my random thoughts from the gym:
- I wish there was a way to bottle the post-work out happiness that I get. If I could remember that feeling every morning at 5:45 a.m. it would make getting up that much easier.
- The past few weeks when I've been at the gym, the televisions have been set primarily to political coverage. I'm not against politics, but I don't actively seek them out as running entertainment. Today, I was lucky enough to be positioned in front of the TV set to ESPN. It's so much easier to stick to a run when you're watching sports than it is when you're watching politics. Though MObama's arms are some pretty awesome motivation!
- As much as I love the Run 5K App, I feel like the people around me must think I'm kind of spastic. I'm constantly adjusting my speed on the treadmil. I wish that they could see my iPhone screen to see that I am being instructed to do so. The screen even changes colors from green (walking) to red (running). Though, that might not make them think any more of me. And as for the color scheme...doesn't it seem like they should be flip-flopped? Iwould think that the App would want to encourage running by making it the superior and calming color (green) instead of the warning color (red).
- Running in a ball cap makes me feel more serious about running than running without one. I'd feel a little naked without my Pittsburgh Pirates hat. I think I'd probably run slower too.
