Virtual Route 13 and Small Success #7

Still plugging along on my way to NYC. Have you voted on when you think I'll actually arrive? If not, the poll is on my sidebar.

Here's where I am right now. As always, you'll need to click on the picture to actually see anything.



















I am thrilled to finally make it to Iowa! I love crossing into new states, especially since I've never really been to Iowa. Makes me want to go. Maybe someday I'll drive this virtual route. Wouldn't that be fun?!

Stats:
Start date of this leg: 11.01.09
# of days traveled: 26
# of stationary days: 4
Miles traveled: 95.2
Hours on the road: 23.75
Calories burned: 12,026
Total miles traveled: 1150
Miles 'til NYC: 1206.6

Thoughts:
This was a good exercise month. I worried as the weather turned colder that I would struggle to exercise, since walking outside is my favorite exercise. However, I think that dilemma has been solved; a friend and I started walking at the college indoor track together in the mornings. With the mornings being as dark as they are, I'd never be able to get myself out of bed at 6:10 am to go walking, especially if I had to drive somewhere first. Knowing that she's waiting for me is the push I need not only to get out of bed, but also to get to bed at a decent time the night before.

As far as my goals, I accomplished the goal of walking 15 times in the morning and of only missing 4 days of exercise! Woohoo! That morning number should go up with my new morning routine, so I'm not even going to worry about it as a goal for next month. I'm bummed that I missed the 100 mile mark by just a few miles; this month I'll have to make sure I go further when I exercise. I only managed three two-a-days, four short of my goal. Sigh. I've got to try harder.

I'm running longer periods now that I'm running around a track and can measure how far I'm running. I've been averaging about a mile a morning of running and 1.5 to 2 miles of walking, running one lap followed by one or two laps of walking. Yesterday, however, I had a Small Success - I ran 6 laps without stopping! I decided to see how far I could go before I couldn't run any more, and 6 is what I got. That's over 1/2 a mile! That's two times around a normal track! And, I didn't stop at that, I continued to run 2 laps at a time and ended up running 1.6 miles and walking 1 mile. It's the first day that I ran more than I walked. Woohoo! In case you don't remember from last month, here are my running goals:

1. Run once around the track (or 1/4 of a mile) without stopping. DONE!
2. Run a mile without stopping.
3. Run a 5k without stopping.

I really enjoy running. It feels amazing to have my body working so fluidly. I find myself looking forward to running again, though it's still hard dragging myself out of bed that early. My knees hurt a little bit after I've finished for the morning, especially since I have to go down a couple flights of stairs, but they don't hurt while I'm running and they feel fine by the time I get home. And, I think running has kick-started my weight loss again! All in all, I'm very pleased.

Next Month's Goals:
1. Only miss 4 days and travel 100+ miles. Totally do-able if I exert enough effort.

2. Have 7 "two-a-days". There's no reason I can't do this. I just need to make more time in the evenings.

3. Run a mile without stopping. Why not incorporate my running goals into my monthly goals? This may be a little lofty, but I know that I'll be able to accomplish it one day.