feel the burn

last week i started using the weight machines at the y as planned. i think i did okay, i made sure to cover each major muscle group, i found the amount of weight that made my sets doable, but challenging... and i felt the burn. i happily report that my ankle is doing much better. i ran 2 miles with no pain on the alternate days, i think i'm back to pre-tweaking status.

i checked out the new rules of lifting for women from the library, and so far i'm enjoying the read. i will not follow their nutritional plan, but there is a wealth of information about weight training and how muscle is formed. they are adamant about the use of free weights, so i might muster the courage to head on over to the predominantly male section of the gym to try them.

i joined a choir last week! it's the community/student choir at a nearby university. i think it will be enjoyable and the first piece we read was randall thompson's last words of david. i performed that with the uw concert choir, so it was nice to have something familiar to get back in the groove of things.

i am also knee deep to gre studying materials... it's nerve-wracking. i want to study a bit before taking the gre and know my score before beginning the application process, but i also have to ask my references very very soon if I plan on applying this spring for the fall. aaaah! life decisions. i think i'm ready for a challenge.

darn my weak ankles

well folks, i tweaked my ankle about a week ago while running. i noticed it, but kept running because i was on a roll. it's not bad enough to warrant a doctor, but it definitely refuses to keep up with my running schedule as planned. last night was the first night i really attempted running, at a slower speed than my current normal, and lasted about a half mile before switching over to weights. i'm frustrated, but also don't want to cause further injury and make the healing take longer. boooo you weak ankle!

this hiccup is irritating, but hopefully positive as i am forced to mix up my work out schedule (and that's a good thing!). i've been reading a lot regarding weight training and it's benefits... i tend to randomly use the weight machines and don't really use them as i should (correct weights/reps to actually make progress). today i will be configuring my new weight training program, i hope to commit to a full body weights work out 4 times a week. (or maybe upper/lower body, not sure yet!) while also slowly testing my ankle with some aerobic and cardio. if i can heal and get ready, i'd love to do a 10k in may!

holy toledo, a new year!

hey folks! epic fail on my part of posting regular updates, but i realized that today is the 15th... and there's no better time to do a mini-update!

i'm chugging along. some really great days, some not so fabulous. i'm getting antsy and have started researching graduate school options. so i guess it's a good antsy. weighed in this morning... 151.0 :D and last week i ran 3.5 miles at 6.0 mph ( that's in 35 minutes yo). my goal is to keep that pace, and increase distance slowly. i actually tweaked my ankle last night, so i'm glad i'll be forced to rest this weekend at my p/t job. otherwise, i'd want to run and possibly injure myself further.

last night i used the slow cooker for the first time, and i'm in love. love that i have food for a couple days, love that i don't have to spend hours in the kitchen preparing the food, just love it!

that's the stats i guess! i hope everyone finds 2010 a wonderful year so far!