Week 4 plan

Monday: Rest (Good, because the weather will not be good for outdoor walking).

Tuesday: Cross-training (This is supposed to be a 3 mile day, but due to other commitments, I will swap Tuesday and Wednesday)

Wednesday: 3 miles

Thursday: 4 miles

Friday: Cross-training (Pilates for me)

Saturday: 5 miles

Sunday: 4 miles

The schedule ramps up fairly slowly, adding a mile to one walk or another for a few more weeks.

Sunday Training

I walked 3 miles (Yes, I walked almost exactly what the day's plan called for, can you believe it?). I just did a neighborhood walk. It took less than an hour (gotta like that!). No shin pain, no hip pain. And I am even beginning to sort of enjoying walking alone. Probably helped that I walked with my sisters yesterday, so today was a return to walking alone. There is something to be said for going when I want to go and walking at the pace I want to walk, which is oddly faster than I expected. Now, if the weather would just start to cooperate!

Saturday Training

I walked over 5.5 miles with all of my sisters. It was a good walk, the weather was decent, a bit chilly, but definitely not horrible. And the paths were all dry. My shins didn't hurt (YAY!) and my hips didn't hurt. In all a decent walk. Oh, and I found out we supposedly can't have ipods on the 3-day. ARGH!

Friday's training

Pilates. From a video. And some Wii batting practice and tennis.

I am supposed to walk 5 miles today (Saturday). It is cold, again, though the sun is out. I will probably wait until afternoon, to see if it warms up a little. It is only in the 20's right now....

Thursday training

It got cold! And it was windy. I contemplated walking outside, but since I doubt the windchill will be 20 degrees in August, I decided that was one type of weather I didn't need to train in. Instead, I went to my sister's house, she has a treadmill. That was the plan anyway, but since we both needed to do 4 miles, which takes more than an hour each, she took me to her athletic club as a guest. YAY! So we walked on treadmills side-by-side for 4 miles. And I managed to finish mine in just over an hour! I can walk faster on a treadmill, I think. That and I am getting faster overall.

I don't actually enjoy walking on the treadmill. My shins don't hurt as much, but it irritates my hips more. Good thing I don't have space for one anyway!

Wednesday Training

I didn't do pilates. I did do a little strength building (I walked on my heels again, too. It is getting easier!). And I worked out with the Wii. I did batting practice, I boxed, I bowled, and I played tennis. I think the batting practice will give me some sore arms tomorrow!

Tuesday Training

It rained all day. I dreaded walking all day. I don't like to get wet. But about 7 o'clock tonight I put on my rain suit--yes, I have a rain suit. I know, I said I lacked proper rain gear. I have a rain suit, but it isn't very breathable, so it get warm quite quickly. Still, it keeps me dry. So I put on the rain suit and my walking shoes. Then realized I didn't want to ruin my shoes by soaking them to the core. SO I dug out some ancient shoes that I have kept on the outside chance I ever have to mow the lawn. I put them on and I headed out. My hood lacks a bill so I had large drops falling into my eyes for a while, but then...IT STOPPED RAINING!!! And I even saw glimmers of sunshine! I walked 3.5 miles (because I stink at estimating and I didn't follow the original route because it stopped raining and I didn't feel the need to stay quite as close to home). I need to get waterproof shoes, though, because those ancient shoes should be put back where they came from...they really aren't good for walking anymore...

Rest day

Also known as the laziest day ever. It was rainy, windy, gray, all day. I have had no motivation, and I am dreading tomorrow, since the forecast is for rain, again. I don't want to go to the mall and walk (there have been some not so great things happening around there lately, I guess). I did find some online pilates instructional videos, so that should help, eventually. I think i am going to have to invest in some really good waterproof shoes. I have to be able to walk in all this weather or I will never be ready!

Week 3 training plan

Monday: rest (which is good, because it is supposed to rain. While I know I should train in ALL kinds of weather, I don't think rain at this point would do good things for my motivation! And I lack good rain equipment.)

Tuesday: 3 miles

Wednesday: Cross-training (I'll be doing some strength and pilates exercises)

Thursday: 4 miles

Friday: Cross-training (Probably. If we go to the zoo, I'll be walking!)

Saturday: 5 miles (huh, that is what I did for week 2!)

Sunday: 3 miles

Sunday's Training

I am terrible at estimating while I am out walking. But if I map a path before I go, it seems too daunting. So I sort of ball park it, and go from there. Well, I tend to under estimate how far I have gone. So today's 3 mile walk was actually about 4.25 miles. I do think it is better to be a little under than a little over, which is probably why I am so bad at estimating!

Saturday Training

Once I get myself out the door, it really isn't so bad. I walked just over 5 miles, in just under an hour and a half. Not bad. I stopped twice in the first two miles to stretch. I find that if I stretch my shins I get some relief for the next little bit. By half way through the walk my shins feel fine (or maybe they are just numb), but if I stretch them often, it makes that first bit much more manageable.

Walking alone

I am getting tired of walking alone. And I have only done it for a week. And these are the short walk days! How am I ever going to cope with the longer walks? UGH. I am finding it very hard to motivate myself to go out, even with the sun shining and temperatures near 60. HELP!

Friday's Training

I did just a bit of cross training today. Not much. I walked on my heels in an attempt to strengthen my shins. Who knew that would be as hard and painful as it was! YOWZA! Guess I need to do a lot more of that. I also did some stretching. I need to really figure out what cross training will be, and I haven't done that yet. As it gets warmer, I suppose biking would work. Pilates? Yoga? Ideas?

Thursday's Training

Training today was non existent. I can't even count a walk with the kids, because we didn't go for a walk. Guess I'll call this my day of rest and cross-train tomorrow.

I did look up stretches and exercises to do to work my shins, since they seem to be the most painful thing right now. I found this website on racewalking. While I am not race walking, I figure a lot of it still applies. They have quite a few stretches with photos to tell you what to do. Of course, one should always check with a professional! :) But I will probably be trying out a few of them.

Wednesday training

While I had planned to walk the normal Wednesday 5 miles, my walking partner had to cancel on me this evening, so I let the lazies get me. I walked almost 2.5 miles. Not enough, but better than I was going to do. I almost didn't go at all. See how much I need cheerleaders? On the up side, the sidewalks, paths, and roads are much drier than they were. It is not nearly as treacherous as it was.

Tuesday Training

It was supposed to be a cross-training day, but unless I count climbing on playground equipment or cooking for the better part of the day as cross-training (and maybe I should!), I didn't get it in. St. Patrick's Day took over the house. I did walk 1.5 miles with the kids and we played at the park. Certainly pushing them on the swings was good for arm strength, no?

Monday training

I managed to get in about 4 miles today. Early this afternoon I took the kids out on our "daily walk." They managed to walk 1.5 miles with me, but the pace was considerably slower than what I normally walk. The 3-year-old was setting our pace. The fact that she actually walked nearly 1.5 miles is actually quite impressive to me!

Later, just before dinner, I went out and did about 3 miles in 45 minutes. That is actually faster than I usually walk! I think the fact that dinner was going to be ready by the time I got home helped motivate me. That and the beautiful weather. There are still some massive puddles I have to navigate around, but they are becoming fewer and farther between.

My shins are still bothering me a bit when I walk. They are worse the first half of the walk. By the second half they have gotten to a tolerable point.

Mileage this week: 4
Mileage since start of training: ??? (I'll figure it out and get back to you!)

This weeks training plan

Monday: 3 miles--the weather is supposed to be FABULOUS!

Tuesday: Easy cross-training/strength building

Wednesday: 5 miles (I have a walking partner most Wednesday evenings, and we regularly do 5 miles, so I'll stick with that)

Thursday: easy cross-training/strength building

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 4 miles

Sunday : 3 miles

Sunny Sunday Walking

Training goal for today: 3 miles
Actual: 4+ miles

The weather has definitely perked up. The wind is still strong, so there are moments of chilliness, but overall, walking outside today was quite pleasant, weather-wise. It is still a bit treacherous, however. The puddles from the melting snow are very deep; to bypass them means to walk on the icy edge of the side walk, in the muddy grass, or move to the street. No matter which choice is made, the walking slows. Still, I managed to get just over 4 miles in. I walked from my house to Target, just over two miles away. A sure way to curb impulse buying is to know that you have two miles to walk back home! I needed a charger for my ipod, as I cannot find mine. They were out. I bought nothing and turned around and came home.

Come train with me!

Virtually!

Each week, I'll post the training plan for the week here on the blog (probably on Monday, but maybe as early as Sunday). I'll post how I am doing. You can choose to do the same training schedule I am doing, but I certainly don't expect it. Honestly, if I wasn't gonna be walking 60 miles at the end of August, I wouldn't be doing this either! Join in where you feel you can. If you want to commit to training at 1/3 the rate I am, great! Just knowing that there is someone out there who is going to do something because I am doing it will help motivate me to actually put on the shoes and do it.

You can also just be part of my cheering squad. Check in here to see how it is going, motivate me, inspire me, commiserate with me, help me keep going. While right now the training isn't hard, I can see a point where walking the miles required may not be so appealing. I'll need all the prodding I can get!

That's it. You can be virtually training with me, walking where ever you are and letting me know it, or you can cheer me on from where you are. Either way, your energy will keep me moving toward the goal!