Proper Running Shoes

Okay, so I've been running now for about two weeks and I'm starting to get some hip and foot pain. I think this is due to my current sneakers not being real running shoes. I only got them for going to the gym and doing classes like turbo kick and zumba, not for running several miles each week. Today I decided to visit a running shoe store, one where they know about proper support and cushioning and somewhere with a treadmill and video camera for checking my pronation.

I ended up going to a store called the Texas Running Company located in the Gateway shopping center off 360 and working with a nice guy named Shawn. Sure enough, he had me run on a treadmill and it was fascinating seeing my gate. I kept going back and forth thinking I was an overpronater then an underpronater and as it turns out, I overpronate on my left side only so that's why it was hard for me to tell what's going on. He had me try on several different brands to see what felt best and I decided on the Saucony Hurricane 14. They have lots of cushioning which is apparently good since I'm heavier and they are one of the shoes Runner's World suggested to me (only they suggested the 13).

Hurricane 14 running shoes

I'm excited to take them out on Monday (since I already ran today and Sunday is my rest day). I'm hopeful that they will feel a lot better and improve my stride.

Game Warden Interview

Well, I had my interview today up in Temple (since I live in region 9) and I think it went okay but not great, although I'll admit it was very hard to read the three wardens on my interview panel. They did a great job of remaining stoic and keeping their poker faces. I think I answered most of the questions well but I'm pretty sure I bombed at least one of them. I've been told that it's to my advantage being a woman since they don't get a lot of female applicants; I guess we'll see!

I'm not allowed to discuss the questions or the process though it went about how I thought it would. I'm still nervous because even if I get past this stage, I still can't do 13 push-ups and I didn't want to ask the interview panel about that. I will keep working out and trying my best to get stronger; then if I make it to the physical fitness test, I'll give it all I've got and hope for the best. At least I can do the other portions of the test. (Well, I haven't tried the handgun part, but I think I can do it.)

The Sprint

Got up today and did my running again without stopping. It felt a bit more difficult I think because I am really sore from yesterday. I hope that means my upper body muscles are growing and repairing themselves. I only ran for distance today, not time, so stopped at about 20:52 with a distance of 1.51 miles but that's because I wanted to pace out another route to practice the sprinting portion of the test.

I walked through my apartment complex and over to the frontage road by NI because there is a nice, straight gravel path there. I wasn't sure just how far 300 meters would be but after pacing it out with my app (I was able to just switch over to km from miles), it seemed doable. But, though I got a good start running back, I quickly lost steam. My body just sort of gave up and I wasn't able to run it in 109 seconds. I think I probably can but was just tapped for today.

300 meter sprint track

I walked back to my apartment and tried to do some ab work but didn't get very far. I was able to do my 21 sit-ups and two 30 second planks then 24 crunches but that was it. This afternoon I started researching a push-up improvement plan and I think I have found a good one. It's called one hundred push ups and is a six week plan to get better at push-ups. I will be doing this along with weight training. Tomorrow, I will try the initial test to see how many push-ups I can do though I suspect it's still zero.

Week 2 of Training

Okay so I flaked out Monday and Tuesday and didn't workout. My body was tired and I ended up going to bed early both nights and sleeping a lot. I am trying not to overdo it too quickly but I also need to keep up my pace so that I keep getting stronger. Of course, I think I overdid it today.

I got up and it was raining but I still wanted to run outside; I really can't stand the treadmill. It actually didn't rain on me and I had my best time yet with 1.58 miles in the time allotted! That's an average pace of 13:58 minutes per mile, sweet. I hope that number just keeps improving.

After running, I went to the fitness center to start upper body training. I did three sets of bench presses with free weights; three sets of bicep curls; three sets of triceps curls and three sets of rows for the back. I also did three sets of dips to further build up my triceps. This evening, I went back to go to Zumba class and got there about 18:00 because sometimes our instructor is there early doing pilates but she wasn't, so I did more weight lifting.

I weighed myself after class and was down to 195. I'm sure some of that is water weight but awesome, I'm already going down. I just have to keep working at it and eating well. Wes and I went to Souper Salad for a date night and I had a pretty awesome salad with all the things I like and then treated myself to one of their gingerbread squares. Yum!

Running without Stopping

Woohoo! Today for the first time and only five days into training I ran the full time and full distance without stopping or walking at all. I feel quite proud about that. I went a total of 1.56 miles in 22:00 (that includes several seconds that it takes for me to put away my iPhone and pull it out again to stop the timer) and I had an average speed of 14:06 per mile so getting close to 14:00.

My dad was asking me if there is any bonus for finishing faster and I don't think that there is. At this point, I just want to pace myself to where I pass comfortably but don't blow it out because I will have to have energy remaining to do all the parts of the fitness test since it's all done in one day. I'm also not sure how long you get for the entire test. As I get better a running consistently the entire time and getting faster, I will also start to run for longer so that when I only have to run for 21:36, it will feel easier.

I made it around the lake once and then around to the corner where the path goes away from the river (I realize that doesn't mean much to you, the reader, but it's a good benchmark for me). I should mention too that I have been running this path clockwise and would like to be able to make two full laps at some point in the time frame. I walked back the rest of the way to the house to cool down.

I went around twice but stopped running at the red arrow on the second pass.

First Full Run

I'm down at my parents' house this weekend and I got up early to go running with my dad (well at the same time as my dad and the dogs) around my parents' lake. I ran the entire first lap without stopping and only did so in order to pause the MapMyFitness app to see how far it is around the lake. My dad thought it was 0.75 miles but it's actually 0.94 miles. I then continued running until my timer went off again and walked the rest of the way back to the house.

Loop Around the Lake

I also did my sit-ups today but did them outside in the grass and got covered in burrs, lovely. My dad ran the opposite direction as me and wasn't totally kicking my ass so that was nice (he is a lifelong runner). Later on we talked and he looked at my shoes and suggested I try to find some better running ones if I plan to continue doing this. He also said that from what he's read about push-up training, it's best to do every other day to give your muscle a chance to rest and grow.

Running in the Morning is so Much Better

I went out about 07:30 today and it was pretty nice, though muggy since it is almost summer in Central Texas. I tried doing some push-ups and completed my sit-ups before running. I think I will start doing some sort of upper body training Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with ab work Tuesdays and Thursdays in addition to the other workout stuff I do.

I went the full 1.5 miles today in 22:17 which is an average pace of 14:51 minutes per mile. I need to get this down to 14 at least. I ran longer but still wasn't able to run for the full time. I really like using the MapMyFitness app because I can see exactly where and how far I went and in what amount of time. I am also able to re-do the same route over and over to see how I improve.

This route is good because it has some elevation changes to help challenge me. Since I know my exact halfway point of 0.75 miles, what I've been doing is setting my wristwatch timer to 10:48 (half of 21:36) and seeing if I can make it there before it goes off. Getting closer!

Elevation Change in my Training Route

My First Run

Ugh! That was very difficult but I have mapped out a 1.5 mile training route and will attempt to do that in 21:36 and to run the entire time. I went out in the heat of the day to do this for the first time and I think that was a bad idea. I will do all my running in the morning!

According to my fitness program, it took me about 22:10 to go 1.47 miles (I actually need to make it to that cross street for 1.5 miles) and I had to walk a lot. But hey, it's a start and I got out there. Tonight I'll be going to yoga. I'm also back to watching what I eat more closely. I usually have a pretty good diet but I tend to overeat at night and to indulge in sweets. I am also going to avoid cheese since it's so bad for you (if you eat it a lot like I do) and because I have been trying to have a more vegan diet but cheese is like my Achilles's heel.

Training Route for Running

The good news is, I can do 21 sit-ups with no problem. The bad news is, I can't do a push-up to save my life. I am going to have to research how to improve my upper body strength or I'm flat out going to fail. I don't think they let the women to "girl" push-ups (from the knees) or at least I don't think they should.

Revisiting my Blog

Wow, I was in Blogger the other day for something else and looked back over some old stuff I'd done and had pretty much forgotten about this blog. But I am going to bring it back because I have something to write about and it is again fitness-related just like the last set of posts I did here almost four years ago.

Interestingly, I am at the same weight as my last post here: 198 lbs. That is after going down to about 184 two years ago and staying at that weight for over a year. But life, stress, grad school and work got the better of me and I gained again. You really can tell when your pants are too tight!

Something else of note is that I have applied to be a Texas Game Warden which is a law enforcement position with a physical fitness requirement, one I cannot yet reach. I might not even make it to that stage since I first have to pass an interview, but I need to start training now if I have any hope of completing the requirements which are as follows:

• 21 sit-ups in one minute
• 13 push-ups in one minute
• 1.5 mile run in no more than 21 minutes 36 seconds
• 300 meter run in no more than 109 seconds
• a handgun stability test involving dry fire of a revolver; five consecutive trigger pulls with each hand from a standing position while holding the barrel inside a 5 inch ring, five consecutive pulls inside a 5 inch ring while holding the firearm in both hands from an unsupported kneeling position
• swim test: an applicant must fall backwards in the water and remain afloat for 30 seconds, then swim 100 meters without assistance or rest in no more than 5 minutes

Some of those, like the handgun stability test I have no clue about and will need to research. Others, I need to figure out just where I stand fitness-wise. Today I started down this road to better health. On Wednesdays, I try to go to Zumba class at my apartment complex and following that, I ran for five minutes on the treadmill at about 4.5 mph which is what I need to do to meet the time requirement. It was hard! Tomorrow, I will try running (or at least going) 1.5 miles and see how long it takes me.