The HALFWAY Point!

Joanna and I started this adventure on May 5, almost 10 weeks ago.  To give you a tiny bit of back history.  Last summer we completed the Color Run 5k, and had a blast doing it!  We didn't run, we walked it, but that was our plan anyway.  We did it with no problem, so this year we wanted to up the anty a bit.  We looked at 10k's, and even a couple half marathons.  One in particular, the New Albany Walking Classic, seemed perfect.  A half marathon that required you to walk.  No runners allowed.  Awesome right?  When I called to sign us up...it was booked full.  I guess they only take a certain amount of entires and then you're shut out.  We had really gotten our hopes up to walk a half marathon, so I went looking for another possibility.  My internet search eventually took me to the Akron Marathon scheduled for late September.  We rationalized that, "Hey it's only $10 more to sign up for the whole marathon, and if we only finish half?  Oh well that's a great accomplishment!"

Once we signed up I searched for some kind of training schedule to guide us.  I found a great, and simple, walking schedule, that stretched out 20 weeks.

http://www.marathonwalking.com/schedule_marathon.html

It would conclude the week before the race.  Perfect!  We agreed to do our best to get all of our walking in the first 10 weeks.  Nothing fancy, just get it done.  The last 10 weeks is when we would put our heads to the grind stone and really push ourselves.  You see, both of us started this journey very overweight, and with no recent regular exercise regime.  I knew from experience (because once upon a time I was in really good shape!) that I needed to give my legs time to acclimate to the mileage.  In the past 6 years I had really not been good to myself.  I had put on a lot of weight, stopped exercising, and lost track of good portion control.  And I was feeling it BIG Time!

Over the past 9 weeks I've averaged 15 miles a week on my legs.  Many weeks it has been over 20.  There have only been 2 weeks I've really slacked off...  Memorial week, and last week due to 4th of July.  That's not an excuse, but it is reality.  I wanted to share a bit about some of the things I've experienced so far.

1.  Shoes.  I have worn everything from $90 Asics to cheap flip flops.  I have discovered that the LESS bulky my shoe, the better my feet feel afterward.  Which is why I have decided to lean more towards a Minimalist shoe.  My buddy Zach turned me on to a book called "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall.  Here's the link if you want to check it out...

http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-hidden-ultra-runners-greatest-ebook/dp/B0028MBKVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404876720&sr=1-1&keywords=born+to+run

It basically talks about how ALL of us were designed to Run!  It is centered around a tribe in Mexico known as the Tarahumara, called "The Running People," who are known to run 100 miles without barely a heavy breath.  I am almost finished, but the reason the book comes into play when I mention shoes is that, the top ultra marathoners are all moving toward these minimalist style shoes because it has been shown over and over again that these fancy running shoes with arch support, and micro-chips, and all this fancy stuff, are actually making problems worse.  So I have been doing most of my walking completely flat-footed!

Here are the style of shoes I plan to walk the Akron Marathon in..

http://www.amazon.com/VIBRAM-FIVEFINGERS-BIKILA-EXERCISE-FITNESS/dp/B005GK9AWI/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1404879260&sr=1-1&keywords=vibram+five+fingers+bikila

2.  Equipment.  When I go walking I carry a light shoulder bag with my phone (to record my workout), a can of mace, and sometimes a bottle of water.  Although I have begun hydrating before I leave instead of carrying the water with me.  As for the mace...this is a big frustration... I carry it because people do not know how to keep their friggin dogs on a LEASH OR FENCED!  I had to mace a dog two weeks ago and I hated to do it but here's this big, unleashed dog, charging me, snarling and growling like he wanted to rip me apart, and the owner had zero control.  He was calling the dog over and over again, but the dog kept coming.  So I stood my ground, yelled "No!" at the top of my lungs (that didn't phase him) and proceeded to dispense my mace right into his face.  It stopped him of course, but I wanted to yell at the owner for not keeping their dog under control.  This loose dog thing is a very sore topic.  I have had way too many close calls.  So this time I ordered bear mace...30 foot spray.  That'll teach 'em.

3.  Eating. Ugghh...this has been hard.  With all the walking I've been hungry!  When I get home from a 3-4 mile walk, if I don't have something healthy ready to go, I will eat and eat and eat...and they're not exactly good choices.  So I've started hydrating well before AND after, and I do not eat anything until I first drink 1/2 of one of my big bottles of water.  So it's about .75L I believe.  I have resolved to stick to my daily calorie allotment and use my Weight Watchers app, which really helps keep me on track!  These final 10 weeks, you're all gonna see this chick shed some serious inches!!

4.  Making my workouts priority.  With me personally, I have so many things pulling me in different directions.  House chores, taking kids to lessons and therapies, keeping up on my nursing schoolwork (which is crazy right now), and just dealing with this guilt from not living up to my own expectations.  I WANT to have an organized house...I WANT to have dinner on the table every night by 6 so we can all eat together...  I WANT to sit and do activities with my kids like reading and legos....  there are so many things I feel I SHOULD be doing that I lay immense guilt on myself when I don't get everything done that I think I should.  I am slowly learning that it's ok to not get everything done.  I have learned that making exercise priority will infiltrate into my family life in a very positive way.  Healthy mom, healthy family.

5.  Accountability.  For the past several years, I have tried to "recruit" others to go on this fitness journey with me.  And then I allow myself to quit when they don't stick with it.  By doing this I am allowing someone else to control my outcomes.  Deep down I have known for a long time that if I am to make progress I have to do it for ME and NO ONE ELSE.  This marathon journey, for example,  I asked Joanna if she wanted to do it, but I also told her that with or without her I was doing it.  We both encourage each other for sure, but we also know that we are on separate journeys, for our own reasons.  Make sense?  I messaged my cousin last week and asked him how he's been doing so good.  He's lost a ton of weight, is at the gym every morning by 6am, and is always posting pictures of his healthy meals.  And he looks fantastic!  I asked him for any words of wisdom he may have for me to get serious about my eating.  His words to me?  "How bad to you want it?"  It was simple but so true.  How bad DO I want it.  Well I can tell ya...Pretty darn bad!!  I don't want my kids to grow up remembering their mom always being fat and out of shape.  I want them to remember me as a mom who was out there doing things with them, taking them places, and having a zest for life.  We are only here for a short while and I want to make the most of my time here with my family!  I've had several things in life that have knocked the wind out of my sails.  But you just gotta get back up and keep truckin!

So I would just ask anyone who prays to please pray for Joanna and I to have the discipline and drive to get through this training plan for the next 10 weeks.  This final 10 weeks is going to be the hardest by far.  Each week we're going to have to walk our normal schedule of Mon (3 miles), Tues (3 miles), and Wed (4 miles), and then Saturday is going to be progressively longer with walks averaging 12 miles and more.  Our last 10 mile walk really wreaked havoc on our legs.  Not to mention, I'm pretty sure Joanna had a mild case of heat stroke.  We are going into the hottest part of the summer, AND the hardest part of our training...not a great combination.  We're going to have to figure out how to do all this walking and not succumb to these hot temps.  Our only good option is to start at the butt crack of dawn.  And I am NOT an early morning person.  But guess what?  I will LEARN to be!!

Good Night ALL!!

Let's talk about Friday's 10-miler, and future goals

It is hard to believe that we just wrapped up week 5!  15 more weeks to go.. So far our weeks have looked something like this.

Monday: 3 Mile walk
Tuesday: 3 Mile walk
Wednesday: 4 Mile walk
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: Long Walk (this week's was 10 miles)
Saturday: 45 Minutes of Cross Training
Sunday: 30 Minute Walk or 30 Minutes of Cross Training.

Up to this point we have stuck to our walking schedule pretty firmly.  I think week 4 was lacking due to Memorial Day but other than that, we've stuck to walking 4 days a week and keeping up with the mileages.  I think I speak for Joanna as well when I say that we really haven't done the cross-training portion...at all.  I mean both of us try to stay ACTIVE on the weekends or maybe even do a short walk but do we really DO 45 minutes of Cross Training...No.  So as we wrap up week 5, we are at the 25% complete mark.  My personal goal for the next 5 week period is to add in clean eating.  What that looks like is lots of lean proteins; chicken, tilapia, and egg whites.  My goal is 30-40 grams of carbs per meal MAX, and cutting out the da-gum SUGAR!  I am admittedly a sugar-aholic and it needs to come to an end.  Every. Single. Time I east sugar it feels like poison surging through my veins.  I get tired, irritable...it's not good.  I'm also making it a point to drink 1.5L per day of this stuff....

Normally $2.79 per 1.5L bottle.  This month our local health food store had it for $2 per bottle...I bought 60 bottles:-)  Hydration is SOOOO important for every bodily function.  Your body craves good, clean water!  After I discovered that the other stuff I was drinking had a pH of 6.0 I had an "Ah-hah" moment and set out to find something that was more alkaline.  This stuff makes me feel SOOO much more hydrated and really has given me way more energy!  So for the next 5 weeks my main 2 goals are to:  1) get in all my walks AND mileages and 2) eat CLEAN.  If I do cross training, great, but I'm not focusing on it.  The main thing is the walking to build up my stamina, and getting good nutrition and staying away from junk; aka fast food and high sugar foods.

So Friday's walk started from our house in Ashley, and basically straight up CR 165.  For almost the first 2 miles we walked on gravel.  I never thought about gravel making a difference but did it ever!  We both commented on how it was making our feet and legs feel fatigued just that little thing.  Once the gravel came to an end I felt a renewed sense of energy like, "We can DO THIS!"  At the 3 mile mark we were both still feeling pretty fresh and ready to go!

 We both did really well until about the 5 1/2 mile mark, and that is when we both noticed our feet and calves start to feel fatigued.  Prior to Friday, the farthest we had walked was 5 1/2 miles, so it makes sense that our legs started to really protest at this point.

We pushed through though!  I don't think we took our first break until the 6 1/2 mile mark and then we stopped and stretched our legs and rested for about 5 minutes.

The first Big mile stone was the stop sign at the 7.25 mile marker.  It was sort of a "Hey you've only got as little more than 2 miles to go" reminder.

Once we turned onto the last stretch of road it started to hit both of us.  The heat, pain, and fatigue started to be a constant reminder as to how many miles we had put on our legs.  When we were about 1 mile from our destination, Joanna's hubby was nice enough to bring us water for the last leg of the journey.

After taking one more quick break to stretch our legs we headed off again.  One thing I should mention...  Joanna and I have always said we will do our best.  We were both worried about today's walk.  If we could even do it.  And when it comes to the actual Akron Marathon, if we only finish the 1/2, well hey..we will have completed HALF A MARATHON!  The goal has always been, train for the whole 26.2 miles, and on race day we'll give it our best!

So the final mile of the walk was really hard.  Joanna had been dealing with lower back issues for the past couple weeks and was seeing a chiropractor for it.  She was a trooper man!  I did not have any extenuating circumstances and I was STILL struggling!  But we kept pressing on and oh what a glorious sight when we saw this....

Joanna was a serious trooper and made it all the way to 9.65 miles!!  Go Jo!!  I was feeling fairly good at that point and was in town and covered by shade trees by that point so I decided to go for it!  It took me another 20 minutes to get all the way to Joanna's house.   My final distance was 10.29 miles at an average pace of right at 24 minutes!  When I walked into Joanna's house I collapsed on her couch and her grandma looked at me and said, "It was too far wadn't it??"  By the way I purposely spelled it that way because that is how grandma talks:-)  Love her.  I relaxed for 30 minutes or so and then Joanna drove me back home.  Surprisingly I felt pretty good.  Not too sore.  It was a couple hours later that I realized how absolutely fried my right arm and lower legs were.  

Oh....it was BAD!  My calves were so sun burnt they were a purplish hue.  Neither one of us thought about sunscreen because we left at 8am, and it was COOL.  We didn't think it all the way through I guess.  I definitely won't do THAT again!

So the days following the 10 mile walk I have noticed I have wanted to sleep more.  Maybe its the sunburn,  maybe it's my body's reaction to such a long walk.  Either way, I have been verrrry tired.  As of right now, my third day post walk, I am feeling like my sunburn is manageable and my legs and feet feel back to normal.  Just in time to start the process all over with a 3 miler today!!

Thank you again for your support!!  

Keep praying us through this!  Blessings,  Vicki and Joanna

Day 23/140: 3 Mile Walk -- Still Trying To Figure Put When/Where To Get It In

So today is Tuesday.  I spent most of the I day visiting a dear friend who has been battling cancer.  When I left their house I was greeted by a blast of suffocatingly HOT air.  I am NOT a good hot weather person unless I have ready access to water or I am gardening or the like.  But to just go from place to place in a stifling hot vehicle...no thank you.  My EARS were sweating...ok?  Gross.  So by the time I get home my little one is needing some mommy time.  I only have a nurse on Tuesdays until 7, so I have to plan my day accordingly.  So I have to get my walk in before 7, or I am stuck doing it on the treadmill, which is no fun.

So tonight I either will have to talk my hubby into staying with the kids while I go someplace safe to walk (it's not safe to walk our road after dark), or me and Mr. Treadmill will be bonding.

It's 8:08pm right now, and I'm still waiting on Kenny.  Fingers crossed I can still walk outside.

Day 22/140: Memorial Day 2014--Missed my walk for the first time since starting this!

Well it was a beautiful, sunny day.  Perfect for a gathering with family and friends.  Although I should have gotten my walk in early...I didn't.  We went to a cookout at a friends, enjoyed burgers on the grill with homemade baked beans and potato salad.  Then strawberry banana shortcake for dessert.  Shortly after eating the shortcake I started feeling tired.  Dangone SUGAR!!  This is a post for another time, but suffice it to say my body reacts to sugary stuff like its poison.  I get tired, sluggish, wanting to go to bed, UGGHH!!  It's bad.  REALLY bad.  It is just like a constant reminder that I need to make changes in my diet and cut some stuff out completely!

So to continue...

After eating I felt the sleepies coming on and I literally slept on a lawn chair...right where I sat.  Woke up drooling the whole bit.  I know, TMI right?  But I was WIPED!  I gave myself a break this time though.  Joanna and I both decided to forego today's walk and just enjoy the day with family.  Tomorrow is a new day!!

Day 17, 18, 19, 20, & 21/140: Been Slacking...Sooo Tired

Day 17/140:  Today was a scheduled 4 mile walk and I was accompanied by my good friend Kelly.  So last night another friend suggested I read the book, "Born to Run."  I did not actually read it but read the commentary and wrought reader reviews to come to the conclusion that I WANT to read it.  The basis of the book centered around the fact that God created us to walk barefoot.  We were never intended to wear all these fancy shmancy shoes with micro-chipped in soles and such.  So with all that being said, I did today's walk in flipl flops.  And honestly?.?  My feet were LESS tired, but I did have a blister where my foot was slipping around slightly.  There must be something to this.  Hmmmm.  Will definitely write a longer post about this after I read the book in it's entirety.

Day 18/140:  Rest Day.  Although today was FAR from a rest day, I ran errands and kids and was whooped by days' end.  Oh and did I mention today was my birthday too?  Big ole 41.  Seems crazy, I don't feel 41.  

Day 19/140:  8 Mile Walk.  Today was the big walk day.  We had decided to go to the Genoa Trail since it was nice and flat with no threat of running into dogs or high speed cars (like out where we live).  For the past week or so, I've been feeling (not hearing) a slight popping sensation in my right Achilles tendon.  And I only feel it when walking down steps, not up.  So it feels like it's happening on the flex.  I  am slightly concerned because I don't want to injure myself so early in our training.  There is no pain, and so I feel I just need to take it easy and pay attention to my feet.  I am sure that part of it is just being out of shape and walking 20 some miles per week after not doing anywhere near that.  So  I press on towards the goal...

Our walking team today consisted of Myself, Joanna, John, Caleb, and Cameron.  We hit the trail around 2:30 and had plans of walking (almost) to Galena. This would give us 8 miles.  It was a gorgeous day, the sun was shining, the Tempurature was hanging out around 70.  Seriously it could not have gotten any more beautiful.  About a mile into our walk, Joanna and I were both experiencing some foot pain and aches and eultimately decided to go the the Plumb Rd trail head and turn back.  The would still give us more than 5 miles round trip.  The last mile of our walk took us over a pretty, wooden pedestrian bridge, and Hoover Resevoir.  

As we arrived back at the van, my feet thanked my for not doing the whole 8 miles.  Haha.  We have been pretty much following the training plan to the T, but it will not be 100% all the time, and I determined in the very beginning not to feel guilt over anything.  It is more about getting out and doing this every day, more than it is about the distance or how fast.  The main thing is we ARE doing this!

**I will post pics from our walk soon!!**

Day 20/140:  40 Minutes of Cross Training.  Well...  I had fully intended to spend time on the medicine ball with weights and ab work.  Instead we worked outside, inside, I chased kids and...yeah...what workout?  Although. I was exhausted by the end of the day.

Day 21/140:  END OF WEEK 3!  Woot Woot!  Well Joanna and I are officially 3 weeks into this and I have to say I am feeling good.  Aside from some residual fatigue and a slightly irritated right Achilles, I'm feeling my stamina and overall fitness are increasing.

Day 16/140: 3 Mile Walk and Puppy Training

Today was one of those days where I had to figure out how to get everything in.  There were storms forecasted for today also.  I already had my mind made up that even if it rained, I would walk.  I won't walk in a storm, but a little rain never hurt anyone.  And we'll have to suck it up on race day any way!

I am fortunate enough to have found a professional dog trainer willing to meet with Solomon and I on Tuesday mornings for an hour to give me tips.  It has been an unbelievable blessing so I don't want to ever miss a session.  We are currently working on sit, stay, heel, down, and come. We are teaching him  german commands because I plan to join a schutzhund club at some point.  I really miss owning a horse and so my german shepherds have filled the void and become my new love.  Esther and Solomon are such special dogs.  They both have their own unique personality and are such a couple of goof balls.  They make me laugh at their constant antics.  When they are outside together they actually play hide and seek.  One will will hide behind the wheel barrow and when the other finds their location it is GAME ON!  Full bore running across the yard, tackling each other and, of course, there are plenty of teeth and growling, but HEY what else would a couple GSD's do?!  Lol.  

So back to Solomon's training.  We are currently working on 4 commands:

Sit "Sitz" in German, pronounced "Sets."

Down "Platz" in German, pronounced "Plots."

Stay "Bleip" in German, pronounced "Blipe."

Heel "Fuss" in German, pronounced "Foos."

We typically work with him in 5 minute increments, then let him have a 5 minute rest.  He's really made a ton of progress in just 3 sessions.  Afterwards he is always soooo tired, hahaha.  Here are some cute pics from after his training session.

I'm not tired!

Well maybe I'm just a little tired...

I will NOT succumb!

Okay I'm out!!!

So I get home from working with Solomon, and there were SOOO many things I really could have done.  Laundry, dishes, organizing, and a ton of other things.  But I knew if I put off my walk it would not get done and then I would be stuck walking 3 miles on the treadmill which drags by soooo bad!!  So I got my gear on, sucked it up, and walked!  I've noticed people driving by are starting to honk and wave.  A few are familiar faces!!  As always, Runkeeper was my coach, informing me every 5 minutes how I was doing.  It really breaks up the walk and gives me a renewed focus!!

Back from another 3 mile walk!

Day 15/140: Starting Week 3

I am SO psyched to say that Joanna and I have started week 3.  This whole thing kinda started out as this insurmountable goal that, quite honestly, I wondered if we could even finish.  Well we ARE doing it and we're supporting each other along the way.  There have been days when I just wanted to sit and not move and here's Joanna, "Come on!  Let's go."  Then a few days later we trade places and maybe I'm able to motivate her.  When we can't walk together we keep track of each other's walks via Runkeeper.  I'll just be sitting there and my Runkeeper app will alarm and I'll get a nice little message, "Joanna Phillips just completed a 3.49 mile walk!"  If I haven't done my walk by then, THAT is usually enough to get me going. 

So today I walked to Stantontown again.  That's kind of my 'go to' walk since it's almt exactly 3 miles. Today my friend Kelly joined me, so it was really nice to have someone to talk to.  I think I may have a couple more friends that will soon join me as well.  How awesome is that?!