C25K Week 7 Day 2 - Am I ever going to enjoy running?

Calorie Summary

Calories consumed: 1600
Calories burned: 349
Net Calories: 1251

Exercise Summary

• C25K Week 7 Day 2
• Hundred pushups week 4 day 1
• Tone It Up Fine Toning Arms Routine
• Fitness Blender Kelli's Quick Cool Down and Stretch

Good news, I keep on getting faster and faster on my runs.  Towards the end of today's run, I really wanted to go faster so I can reach the end of the road before my 25 minutes were up.  I could only go so fast because my muscles were en fuego!  I realized that if I want to get even faster, I'm going to need to build up some muscle endurance.  So, I guess I will be doing a lot more squats, lunges, jump squats, jump lunges, jump / knee tucks, etc.. in the near future.  Yet again, I kept on wondering when the jog was going to be over.

Will there ever be a day when I don't want my jog to end?  This week's C25K jogs seem so daunting.  Last week's jogs seem like cake in comparison. I think I can physically jog a 5K.  The reason I don't enjoy the jogs is because I am just not mentally there yet.  By this time next week, I will think that jogging for 25 minutes is no sweat / a walk in the park.  I need more mental endurance.

I believe that the occasional burst of speed during my runs has helped me run farther.  I listen to the Katy Perry station on Pandora during my runs which generally has up tempo music.  During the chorus of songs, I try to run a bit faster to build up speed and endurance.  I don't do this during all the choruses of my run because I don't have the endurance to do such a thing yet.  I fear that if I did this during all the choruses, I will get so tired during that I will get so discouraged and stop.  I only do this when I have the energy and am feeling pretty good (which is generally towards the beginning or end of my run).  But, apparently, it's helped build endurance.  I wonder if I should challenge my fear and try to run faster during all the choruses to see what happens.


 I've decided that I need to stretch more because my muscles are constantly sore.  I did this quick stretch routine by Fitness Blender which I found highly efficient.  I'm doubtful with regards to how effective it is.

I'm also subscribed to the LivestrongWoman channel on Youtube.  I subscribed for two reasons:  First, it's constantly on the top 50 of most watched Youtube channels.  I'm very curious as to why.  Second, Cassey of Blogilates has a pilates show on the channel.  These two girls called toneitup post workout videos filmed in Hermosa every Tuesday and they look pretty straightforward.  This was a very good video, but there was one bent over back fly move that was very difficult.  Overall, I like Cassey's arm videos much better because I find those to be more challenging.

I've gone off the hundred pushup wagon, which I am not very happy about.  Today, I tried to get back on the wagon and had a difficult time.  I might've regressed in my pushup abilities during my hiatus from the program.  I would like to hop back on the wagon and continue to improve and achieve pecs of steel!

I would've had a good eating day except my uncle brought over some stir fried rice noodles.  I haven't had rice noodles in forever.  I ate a bowl of it, logged my calories in LoseIt, and realized that I made a big mistake.  It was over 400 calories (I might be over estimating).  I would like to be more careful the next time I eat a pure carb item.

I've been reading this blog called No More Harvard Debt which has been inspiring for a few reasons.  The author, Joe, had a goal, to pay off $90K in student loans in 10 months, which he aggressively pursued. I wonder if he ever had any doubts about whether he would be able to attain his goals.  He was so aggressive that he skipped out on friend's bachelor parties, weddings, and a trip home for Christmas.  Second, his blogs have an element of story telling and lessons learned which makes it very compelling.  This weight loss thing has been a lifelong struggle.  I've been inspired to be a lot more aggressive in losing weight (or going after any goal) and keeping an eye on the prize.  I talk a bit about my exercises but I think I can go into a bit more detail.  So, Mr. Joe, thanks for inspiring!

So, my goal this week is to lose 1.5 pounds.  I weighed 155.6 yesterday.  I would like to weight 154 at 10 AM on 9/24/12.  Let us see if I have the discipline to do this!