21 Days to Pangie

This was a really busy day for me, so my walking ended up being walking around Target. It still counts though, right? My calves and shins hurt from Tuesday, but otherwise I’ feeling better, knees included.

Running: 30 minutes of easy walking.
Situps: Rest day.
Girly Pushups: Rest day.

Today was the first day we added in any running on the running program. I kind of felt like I was going to die a little bit. The weather was a lot nicer, which helped a lot. Still cold, but less wind. I think I was dressed more appropriately this time, too. Better layers on top so I didn’t have the bulky coat this time. I was gasping for air through my mouth for a while, and when I switched to try breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth like we did in boxing class, that helped a ton. I just need to focus on doing this.

The path had a lovely little patch of about 5 inches of snow that no one had bothered to shovel. The last set of running had us running through that. That was really hard! I ended up with a nice little side cramp after that. by the time we got back to the store, though, I had walked it off.

Running: Alternate 5 minutes walking and 1 minute running for a total of 30 minutes. Either one of our walks was 6 minutes, or we only went for 29 minutes, though, because we walked 5 times and ran 4.
Situps: Rest Day.
Girly Pushups: Rest Day.

One week down! So far so good. I am definitely noticing an improvement in the situps and girly pushups. The running program has all been walking so far, which I was already good at, so I haven’t really noticed anything there yet, but tomorrow we begin adding in running, so I’ll be noticing something! Here’s hoping it’s improvement and not coughing up my lungs.

Running: 30 minutes of easy effort walking.
Situps: 5 sets with 60 seconds resting between each set. The sets were 17, 22, 14, 14, and as many as I can do but at least 20. I ended with 20 on the last one for a total of 87. I may have been able to do more, but I was running short on time.
Girly Pushups: 5 sets with 120 seconds resting between each set. The sets were 8, 10, 7, 7, and as many as I can do but at least 10. I ended with 10 on the last one for a total of 42. Again, short on time.

Sunday is a rest day in all three programs. I kind of don’t like this, because I was just a waste of space all day. Maybe on the days where it’s a rest day for all 3, I’ll make sure to get some biking in no matter what, or something. I’ll figure something out.

Running: Rest Day.
Situps: Rest Day.
Girly Pushups: Rest Day.

I realize this is only the second time I’m doing the situps and girly pushups, but I feel like I can already feel a difference. Not much else to post, other than I fell down the stairs (I’m OK, my foot just slipped off a few steps from the bottom. Ouch.) so on to the numbers.

Running: 30 minutes of medium effort walking.
Situps: 5 sets with 60 seconds resting between each set. The sets were 15, 18, 15, 15, and as many as I can do but at least 18. I ended with 30 on the last one for a total of 93. Already an improvement!
Girly Pushups: 5 sets with 90 seconds resting between each set. The sets were 6, 8, 6, 6, and as many as I can do but at least 7. I ended with 15 on the last one for a total of 41. I am impressed.

It looks like WordPress ate my first posting of Day 4. I hope I didn’t say anything too brilliant! I’ll repost the stats, and that’s all I’ve got.

Running: 30 minutes of medium effort walking.
Situps: Rest day.
Girly Pushups: Rest day.

It feels good to have an “On” day. I suppose this is what Jen feels like on her “Down” days with her ADF. It wasn’t anything too strenuous, but it was something!

Running: 30 minutes of easy effort walking.
Situps: 5 sets with 60 seconds resting between each set. The sets were 15, 18, 10, 10, and as many as I can but at least 14. I ended with that last one at 25, for a total of 78. Not too bad!
Girly Pushups: This is set up similar to the situps. 5 sets with 60 seconds resting between each set. the sets were 6, 6, 4, 4, and as many as a can but at least 5. I ended with 10, for a total of 30! I was impressed with myself.

Today kind of felt like cheating. It was a rest day for all 3 things. But I’m following the plans, so I guess it’s still success! Melalvai commented that she’d have a hard time with something that isn’t every day. I’m inclined to agree here.

I went to the dentist today. I was all excited to tell her about my success in flossing thanks to the 21-day plan. And it showed! She said I removed 6 out of 8 bleeding points. Everything looks good, no cavities, etc. Woo! Success! Next time I will have those last two removed as well.

She was also curious about the 21-day thing in general. She said, “So that means I’d have to go 21 days without eating McDonalds to break my McDonalds habit?!” I nodded and she said she’d never be able to do that and that she can’t even go one day. Ugh. I can’t even comprehend that. Yuck.

Running: Rest Day.
Situps: Rest Day.
Girly Pushups: Rest Day.

OK, yes, I gave up on another 21-Day Cycle. It seems like if I put too much focus on what I eat, I cannot eat properly. So I am giving up on food cycles for the time being. I do still plan to follow the 4-day rotation, more or less, I’m just not going to stress about it. Instead, I am back to exercise!

Yesterday, I started a 12-week Beginner’s Running Program through Dick Beardsley Running Company which will take us from walking briskly for 30 minutes all the way up to running a 5K. This will be just in time for the Fargo Marathon’s 5K on May 9th, which I am signed up for. I’ve never been able to run, so I figured signing up for a structured program wouldn’t be a bad idea. My friends Tia and Mandee signed up for the program with me, which will be a huge help in motivation.

A couple days ago, on Darin’s Facebook, I saw a group he joined called Two Hundred Sit-Ups Challenge. I went to check it out and found a link to a 6-week training program to be able to do 200 situps. There was a point in my life when that would have been nothing to me. Sadly, that is no longer the case. So I decided I’d try this, to. I mentioned to Darin that I’d also like to try something with pushups, since I’ve never been able to do them. He informed me that there is a very similar program with a 6-week training program to be able to do 100 pushups. How handy! My initial thought was to do the situps with the first 6 weeks of the running program and the pushups with the last 6 weeks of the running program. My main problem with this is the fact that currently I can do a total of zero proper pushups. Sure I’ll have a lot more cardiovascular endurance and core strength in 6 weeks, but that doesn’t help my upper body. So my new plan is to follow the push-up program for 6 weeks, except do girly pushups instead. You know the ones, where you’re on your knees instead of your toes. I can do a few of those! They kind of hurt me knees, but if I’m kneeling on a pillow it’s not so bad. I will do those along with the situps for the first 6 weeks. Then the next 6 weeks I will move on to real pushups.

Here is what I’ve accomplished today:
Running: 30 minutes brisk walking.
Situps: Initial Test: 22 situps. Oof! That hurts my pride!
Girly Pushups: Initial Test: 7 girly pushups. Not bad!