I caved and bought running shoes. I say "caved" because I was pretty sure my old New Balance would be just fine. But after ankle pain, foot pain, and crazy blisters, I decided that perhaps proper footwear would make my runs slightly less physically damaging. 

Purchased for comfort, not style.

The shoes were expensive, but they feel like walking on a gel-infused cloud. And after running 2 miles today, I'm *slightly* less stiff than normal! Hooray mild improvement! 

I worked out today:

2 mile run (35 minutes)

Tomorrow is weigh day. Here's hoping my new back-to-teaching lifestyle has burned off a few extra pounds.

Oy my feet.

Seriously, I've got GIANT blisters. Time to get new running shoes. Time to stop wearing flip flops to work.

I worked out today:
25 minute run (1.7 miles)

People have started commenting at work that it looks like I've lost weight. I say, "I have, thank you" and then I glow in my accomplishment for a couple minutes. This has been a super slow process, but I'm determined to keep going.

Remember how I'm going to Jamaica over spring break as a reward for all my hard work? Best. Reward. Ever. 

Swim a little, read a little, drink a lot. Jamaica!

I worked out today: 

2.41 mile run (39 minutes) - I was shooting for 3 miles again, but started getting really dizzy. When I got back inside and sat down, the whole room looked like it was still moving forward. I'm glad I stopped when I did. Trail fainting is no one's idea of fun. 

Running after a day on my feet is difficult. To make matters a bit worse, my left foot/ankle has been reeeaaalllly stiff for the past few days.

Running, I will not let you hurt me. Understand?

I worked out today:
1.09 mile run (16 minutes... Would have run for longer if it weren't for this damn ankle)

Get out of work. Workout.

Summer is officially over. No more sleeping in until 10am. No more leisurely pre-workout facebook checks. The school year is back in action, and that means I've got to work a lot harder to fit in my physical activity.

One bonus of school returning is the chance to work out after school with teacher friends. I don't think I'm ready to run in front of anyone yet (lest I sweat all over everything in front of everybody), but I can definitely walk quickly whilst gossiping about the day.

I worked out today (after a day of work!):
24 minute run (1.5 miles)

I just checked my inches for the first time since early June. I've lost 6.75 total inches so far!

Chest: OLD = 47" NEW = 46"

Waist: OLD =  42" NEW = 40"

Hips: OLD =  54.25" NEW = 53"

Right Thigh: OLD =  34" NEW = 32.5"

Left Thigh: OLD =  34" NEW = 33"

Right Bicep: OLD =  17" NEW = 16"

Left Bicep: OLD =  17" NEW = 16.75"

It has started getting into the 50s at night, which I love. The mornings are cooler, and cooler air means a better run. At least for the time being... I'm not particularly looking forward to running in 30s or below.

I worked out today:
2 mile run (34 minutes)

It's becoming a chore to blog about my workouts. Maybe I'll switch to a twice weekly update? We'll see.

I worked out on Wednesday, with a 1.25 mile run. 

I worked out yesterday with a 2 mile run. This was after a day of work on my feet, so I felt rather proud that I had the motivation to go and do any workout at all, let alone a 2 mile run. 

And the best news of all? I've lost a bit more weight. As of this morning, the scale read 267.8. That means I'm down 14.2 lbs since I started this madness. 

Hooray for progress!

I tried to meet my 13 minute mile goal yesterday, and failed by nearly 2 minutes. I am not good at running with any sort of speed.

What I CAN do, however, is run slowly for a long time.

I worked out today:
3 mile run (54 minutes)

Yay goal! Boo blisters.

I worked out today:
1 mile run in 14:59 (a trail best)

Running is difficult.

I took a trip to Chicago. It was lovely to get away, but I felt guilty about not working out from Sunday through Tuesday. I counted calories, however, and only went over my limit when I had ten bajillion drinks on Sunday night.

Binge drinking = not paleo.

Anyway, I worked out yesterday and forgot to blog about it. It was in the mid 80s, and I'd taken four days off, so I was prepared to crap out after 10 minutes or so. For whatever reason, I actually had plenty of energy and ran for a full 30 minutes. It felt great, and I was really excited to run again today.

Today's temp was about 10 degrees less than yesterday, but with 85% humidity. It was like running in a sauna. My glasses fogged up and I felt sticky almost immediately. After a mile, I'd had enough.

I worked out today:
1 mile run (18 minutes)
75 sit ups

I saw two snakes on my run today. Actually, I saw the first while I was walking out the door to start said run. I said "Hi, Mr. Snake!" and then it slithered away. Does anyone else greet animals like this?

The spiderwebs are increasing. Each day, I carefully move aside at least ten webs with my safety rake. The spiders are really strange looking. After some online searching, I discovered that they are Spined Micrathena. Neat! Anyway, usually I apologize to the spiders when I move their webs. They worked so hard, but I have work to do too.

This is what happens when you spend the summer alone. You start talking to animals. Also your pre-run routine involves something you just referred to as a "safety rake".

I worked out today:

1 mile run (17 minutes... would have gone longer but it was already 87degrees and I felt dizzy)

75 sit ups 

After setting up a new playlist on Spotify, I enjoyed a not terrible morning run. Thanks, Missy Elliot! Afterwards, I cleaned for four hours. House cleaning burns about 50 calories every ten minutes. Because I was cleaning, I forgot to eat lunch. Long story short, I've burned more calories nearly the same amount of calories as I've consumed today. Needless to say, I'm very tired.

I worked out today:
30 minute run (1.65 miles)

Oops I skipped a day.

I worked out yesterday:
-10 minute run around the back yard (not in the woods) with my dog. She quit after 7 minutes and waited at the back door.
-10 minutes of sit ups (25 x 3), kettle bell swings (20 x 3), and bicep curls (15 x 3).

I felt sorta crappy yesterday, similar to the day before. Revelation: menstruation makes exercise more difficult.

Working out today felt less crappy, but still not totally great and fulfilling like last week's 38 minute workoutathon. I want every run to be positive and empowering, but I'm learning it's not always going to be that way.

I worked out today:
25 minute run (1.42 miles)

My new app, which I was so sure would be the solution to all my run-tracking problems, is not working out quite as well as I'd hoped. While RunKeeper used to short me on distance, iSmoothRun is now adding distance I didn't actually run. If I ran out on the road, I'm thinking I wouldn't have these issues. Since I'm determined to keep my workout confined to the privacy of my woods, I think perhaps I'll just have to figure distance manually. Ah well.