The 10K

So as I mentioned in my prior post - I was gonna give some details about my road to health and fitness. Here's what I'm thinking...

I currently can run 5K fairly easily, but I'm am by no means a regular runner. I just can kind of push through the pain and bust out a 5K without THAT much effort. So... to make sure that I push myself and get into a serious running regimen, I've set my first goal at completing a 10K. I'm sure all the runners out there in the blogosphere know of Hal Higdon, and after looking through alot of training plans, his seems like the best strategy for me to fit into my life. I don't have a particular race I'm planning for at the moment, considering that Hal Higdon's plan is only 8 weeks - and by that point it'll be around Christmas and the dead of winter up here in Canada... so not a whole ton of road races to choose from. I will likely be completing my training using a combination of outdoor running, and classes/machines at the gym as the weather gets colder.

I am planning on making a few slight modifications to Hal's plan, so I'm thinking my plan will look something like this...

Monday: Stretching & Strength Training (45 minutes)
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Cross-Training (Yoga Class + Cardio Machine)
Thursday: Off
Friday: Short Run + 20 minutes Strength Training
Saturday: Cross-Training (Spin Class, Walking, Kickboxing etc)
Sunday: Long Run

So only some minor variations on the plan - but I think it'll work well for me.

There are only a few challenges I foresee in this plan. #1) I'm moving at the end of December - and its not just a little move - I'm moving from Ontario to Alberta - so umm, I dunno 4000+ miles. :S #2) The reason for this move, is the man in my life (MIML) got a job out West, and my job is a contract position that ends just before xmas, so the timing for this kind of change is good in that sense. Downside is, I will be without a boyfriend to motivate me for about 6 weeks (he leaves next weekend), and I'll be stuck in Ontario packing up our life ... wooo, fun! NOT!

Hopefully, this blog and my exercise plan will be a good distraction for me while he's away. I'm also hoping that if I get out West and can find a good gym quick enough, I won't miss out on any of my training plan... (Anyone know any reasonably priced gyms in Calgary? I could really use some tips!) Assuming all goes well, I am planning on running in the Calgary Marathon next May, hopefully either a strong 10K or a half-marathon if I can really push myself.

I figure that will give me lots of time to adjust to a regular running schedule, and figure out what works best for me. I'm also planning on trying to eat natural, healthy foods from this point out and I will try and document some of that to share with you as well. I'd love to know what some of the experienced runners out there thinking of this training strategy, I'm still pretty new at this so I'd love to learn more. Nonetheless, I will keep you posted on my progress this week. Wish me luck!

Why Blog?

Hi All,

So I've decided to start two blogs, one work-related that allows me to vent my views on the PR industry, you can visit it here. This blog however, is gonna be my blog about my passion for fitness/health, and basically a long story of how I try and implement "wellness" into my everyday life.

I wasn't always as interested in health and fitness as I have been lately. I'm 24, and graduated from college 2 years ago... and let me tell you, when I was in undergrad - staying healthy was about the furthest thing from my mind. Needless to say, I paid for it when I weighed myself sometime shortly after I graduated and freaked out a TAD. I was always one of those kids that was always stick skinny, so I guess the whole idea that I would have to workout and eat right to maintain my weight never really occurred to me in the first place (don't hate me!). I think back on my high school prom pics and I was so tiny! Well, maybe not tiny physically, I'm tall (bout 5'10ish) but I was tiny weight-wise and in all honesty, that was too skinny for someone my height. I think my ideal weight would be around 130-135ish.

I remember the first time I joined a gym after college, it was a Goodlife Fitness - for all you other Canadians - and I was BEYOND overwhelmed! I got suckered into everything I probably shouldn't have, I didn't know how to barter on monthly fees, so I probably paid more than I had too and somehow I ended up signing up for 8 personal training sessions that I couldn't afford, simply because I didn't really know how to say no. I will say the personal training sessions were useful in the fact that I was shown how to properly use the weight equipment, which, for safety reasons, was probably a good thing.

After this initial gym experience, life got in the way a bit. I got a job that had me working weird hours (ie. finishing at 11:30 at night), and it was harder to keep up with the gym. But I was always interested, and always intended to go - even if at that point, it only happened like once a week.

Over the past few months I've been learning alot more about fitness through listening to podcasts, reading blogs and even following health guru's on twitter. You know how they say, knowledge is power - I believe that's true, because sometimes just reading/listening to how someone got themselves to the gym that day despite obstacles - is motivation for me.

So I hope that some of you will read, or even follow, my journey to better wellness. I'll post more details on what my plans are to achieve this in a later post, and I'll try and add useful links to articles or fellow bloggers that inspire me. Hope you enjoy.