Meh

I think I hit a slump already.

Sure, I like to think of myself as an athlete, but I'm really just a lazy athlete.  I don't like running ladders, I always drank soda during season, and I'm not particularly fond of warming up.  (That last one used to drive my college volleyball coach crazy.)  Today's run?  Meh.  This is what I was supposed to do:

5 min walk (warm up)
1/4 mi (or 3:00) run
1/8 mi (or 1:30) walk
1/2 mi (or 5:00) run
1/4 mi (or 2:30) walk
1/4 mi (or 3:00) run
1/8 mi (or 1:30) walk
1/2 mi (or 5:00) run

What I actually did?  Not quite.  Last night, I basically decided to game the system and calculate the run times for each distance given my 15:00mi/9:13 mi paces.  Overall, I would have run a bit less and walked a bit more.  Which, yes, might be working the system, but I also had a hell of a time with those 3:00 runs last week, and two 5:00 runs didn't seem entirely plausible.  But I didn't even get through my long runs (at 4:37) today.

Why?  Because I'm a lazy athlete.  And easily bored.  Honestly, I might not have been able to do two 4:00+ runs, but I didnt' really push myself.  I'm not sure what I was feeling:  bored?  frustrated?  annoyed?  I mean, sure, this is supposed to be a challenge.  But at this point, it really feels like busy work.  Remember me hating ladders during volleyball season?  Yeah.  Because they feel like torture and don't directly relate to the game.  I can see their relevance to basketball because you're constantly running the court, but not in volleyball.  (Yes, I know they are still useful to get in shape and work on your quick bursts of speed.  But it still feels indirect to me.)  It's like school:  I have a PhD, which should be some evidence that I can do the school thing.  But busy work?  OMG.  As an undergrad, there was nothing I hated more and it was like puling teeth to force myself to get it done.  It was hard, sure, but mostly - it was monotonous, boring, and not interesting or challenging.  Writing that PhD was super duper boring, too, but at least parts of it were interesting.  And it directly related to what I was working towards, so I could talk myself into it.  That's how these stupid runs feel.  I don't particularly like running just for the sake of running - so I'm using it as a way to get in shape (lungs and butt), sleep better, and get back to the point that I can go hike and play without feeling old.  I might have to take Kerry's suggestion and start running outside so I can distract myself better.  And maybe I'll hunt down that running group and see if I can still join even though I missed orientation - at least then I'd have someone to talk to when I run.  I have done one marathon before, and those were the only things that kept me interested. 

Also - not an excuse, but something to note. Those "run"s are actually supposed to say "jog".  But I'm thinking that if I make this a challenge, I might stick with it longer.  That strategy might not be working as is.  I've been doing a 9:13 pace, which is really too fast for me right now.  My goal is actually to be able to do a 10:00 or 10:30 mile, and at some point, I'm going to have to just move my runs to that pace. 

I did 2.157 miles in 26:00, an overall pace of a 12:03 mile.

What exactly is a doctorate?

Well, a guy at the University of Utah explains it perfectly. 

http://gizmodo.com/5613794/what-is-exactly-a-doctorate

On the one hand...

I hate running.  On the other hand, I like knowing I'm done with it for the day.  It's just so boring!  If anyone has any tips for making it more tolerable, lemme know.  Because I need to get in shape if I want to be doing the fun stuff, like playing volleyball.  And wearing my cute jeans again.

Today I finished up week 3, and while the last 3 minute run was still tough, I wasn't dying like I have been.  In 23 minutes, I went 1.908 miles for an average 12:00 mile. 

In other news, I still have to finish writing my syllabi for the semester.  Key word there is finish - they are mostly done.  Still, I'm such a procrastinator. 

C25k: Week 2, Day 2

Oh, man.  I'm hoping this run gets easier on the last run this week, or I'm in big trouble next week.  Like, seriously trouble next week... either trouble or I'll be jogging instead of running.  My last 3-min run was brutal.  Overall, I ran 1.9 miles in 23 minutes, or a 12:00 mile.  In any case, I'm blogging as a big ole 'take that.'  After a full day of meetings and dinner, I still got my a$$ on the treadmill.  I griped about it to Xav a bunch, but I still did it.

In other news, Pepperdine orientation meetings started this week... which were also brutal.  As a wise man once said, your mind can absorb what your butt can endure.  (Remember, mom?  Gene Palmer at Targhee's ski instructor meetings.)  After a full day yesterday, I got home with low blood sugar and was very anxious - which usually means I'm angry and panicky.  (No, traffic wasn't bad.)  I felt much better once I ate and calmed down, so I decided to be more careful about having a snack this afternoon and sneaking outside for some sun whenever we had a break.  Once again, a full day of meetings and info sessions.  And we have another full day on Monday and Friday of next week.  It's a good thing I went into academia instead of teaching in HS.  I can't handle this all day thing anymore.  And starting at 8am?  Totally overrated.

C25k: Week 3, Day 1

This is very sad to admit, but the last minute of my last run cycle, I thought I wasn't going to finish.  I also thought about cheating, which is a good reason to stick with the treadmill, even though the weather here is beautiful. 

This week's workout is a 5 minute walk followed by two cycles of 90 sec walk/ 90 sec run and 3 min walk/ 3 min run.  Overall, 1.912 miles in 23 minutes, an average of roughly a 12:00 mile pace.  I'm hoping it's just this difficult because it's the first run of the week and that by the last one this week, it'll feel okay.

Right now, though, I blame all those ladies with their running and workout blogs for conning me into this.  Links withheld to protect the innocent. 

Corrupting the youth

Or, research with undergrads!

I know you've all missed seeing posts related to research, so here's one to soothe the ache.  I've accepted an invitation to join The Research Group as a Partner and University Affiliate.  The Research Group is an initiative to encourage research (and in particular, business research) with undergraduates.  I first caught the research bug as an undergrad at Utah State and I'm excited to pass it on.

C25k: Week 2, Day 3

This does seem to be getting a bit more do-able... but that's just on Fridays when I've gotten used to the week's workout.

Overall, 20 min, 1.581 miles.  Average pace 12:38. 

2 weeks down, 7 to go.  Next week there are options to run/walk for time or distance, but the distances are in yards, so I'll either need to find a track to run on or I'll just keep running for time.

Meh. 

In related running news, I found a running group that meets in Santa Monica every weekend and preps for the LA marathon.  I'm not really a runner, but it might be a nice way to meet people and keep myself entertained on long runs.  And lucky me:  tomorrow morning is a newbie orientation with timed 1 mile run.  If I actually get myself out of bed on time, that is.

fan girl

I got to meet Marv Dunphy yesterday, greatest men's volleyball coach ever.  (Seriously.  NCAA championships, Olympics, everything.) I even got t-shirts. 

But there's a back story to this one.  When I was interviewing with Pepperdine, the Chair of the Business Division got wind that I was a huge volleyball fan on my last day there and remarked that it was too bad she didn't know that fact earlier - they would have set up a meeting with Coach Dunphy for me.  When they offered me the job, I joked that as part of my contract negotiations, I required a meet-and-greet with Coach Dunphy.  Haha funny funny.  A few people in the University's administration knew the joke.  Coach Dunphy did not know the joke and had never heard of me. 

So on Monday, I decide to go walk around the Fieldhouse because in all of my visits to campus, it's one of the 2 or 3 buildings on campus I haven't seen yet.  The cute front desk lady says hi, I say that I'm just looking around and am a new faculty member, and mention that I love volleyball.  She insists that I can stop by Coach Dunphy's office to say hi someday... which turns into her walking me to the coaches' area.  Unannounced.  I met pretty much every coach at Pepperdine... except Coach Dunphy.  He has stepped out of the office to go to the admin building.  So I just introduce myself to his assistants and say I'll stop by later. 

Remember how some admin people were in on the joke?  Yeah, well, while Coach was out of his office in the admin building, someone told him about some new girl who wants to meet him.  Then he gets back to his office and hears about some new girl who just stopped by his office to meet him unannounced. 

Great.  I'm looking like a stalker.

The next day (Tuesday), I get a voicemail from Coach Dunphy saying hi and that he'd like to meet with me sometime.  Somehow, I went from being "some girl" to a person that he found, looked up in the system, and called. 

So yesterday (Wednesday), I left a message for Coach Dunphy and later in the afternoon, he called me and asked if I would have time to stop by his office.  Um, yeah.  Absolutely.  I chatted with him and a couple of his assistants (one of whom is his daughter) for 30-40 minutes.  He's super nice and shared tips on where I can find some good volleyball around here (for me to play).  I can't wait for men's volleyball season.

The end.

C25k: Week 2, Day 2

Another run.  I tend to start off feeling like I'm not pushing myself hard enough, then end by liking the fact that I'm on a treadmill so I can't cheat and just slow down because I'm tired.

I still feel like a wuss and am embarrassed I'm not in the shape I used to be in (my insides are yelling, "I'm an athlete, I promise!"), so I almost hope that no one really reads this.  But putting it up here keeps me honest.  At least for now.

Overall, 1.582 miles in 20 minutes.  Average pace is 12:38 mile.  Awesome - awesomely sad.

C25k: Week 2, Day 1

Nothing exciting, but it does feel like I'm making some progress.  Last week, I was thinking that I should speed up my run pace, but after having to run for 90 seconds at a time, it seemed about right.  And good news:  the knee felt fine. 

The week 2 runs are:
5 min walk (4 mph)
cycle:  90 seconds run (6.5 mph), 2 min walk
for a total of 20 minutes

Overall:  1.578 miles in 20 minutes.

In related news, I probably won't be losing weight anytime soon.  Actual running leaves me famished all day long. 

C25k: Week 1, Day 3

Again, ugh.  But not as bad.  I even felt like I could run harder/faster, but I've tweaked behind my knee a bit, so I'm trying to still play it safe.  I'm still doing this on my treadmill (which kills me because the weather is so great), but it keeps me honest.  It's easy to see the time and set my speeds. 

The workout (again):
5 min warmup (4 mph)
cycle:  60 seconds run (6.5 mph, 9:13 mile) and 90 seconds walk (4 mph, 15:00 mile)

Overall:
20 minutes
1.592 miles. 
Average rate: 4.776 mph, 12:34 mile - right around my super slow marathon pace from back in the day.

C25k: Week 1, Day 2

Ugh. 

I really shouldn't be doing two days in a row, but since my first day was yesterday (Wednesday) and there are three workouts each week, I'll fake it this week.  I will say it's a good thing I'm starting with the couch to 5k - especially since I'm trying to really run - because I am out of shape.  I can jog (bouncy walk) with the best of them, but this running thing sucks.  Especially when it's over 100 m.

5 min warmup (4 mph)
cycle:  60 seconds run (6.5 mph) and 90 seconds walk (4 mph)

Overall:
20 minutes
1.558 miles. 
Average rate: 4.64 mph

Resolution Update

I haven't been very good at keeping this thing up-to-date (shocker, I know), but I have kept up on my New Year's Resolution, to do something exciting every month.  So to recap:

Jan:  move to Boise
Feb:  submitted a paper for publication
Mar:  skiing!
Apr:  my first trip to Seattle
May:  moving back to Tucson - to actually cohabitate with my husband.  Crazy.
Jun:  CSST.  Some day I will write a long, exciting post about this, but for now, click here.
Jul:  moving to SoCal*
Aug:  Pepperdine.

* So, when I got and later accepted the offer from Pepperdine, I was really worried because Xavier hates LA.  HATES Los Angeles.  He kept pointing out that Malibu is *not* LA, and it was fine.  After three house hunting trips, we settled on a condo in Westwood - next to everything - UCLA, a golf course, good food, Costco, everything.  Our mailing address?  LA.  Sorry, Xav.

C25k

It might be in the water here, but since I pulled into SoCal, I've been very motivated to lose tons of weight get healthier.  Again.  It could be the beautiful weather - it's very hard to want to run when it's 110 outside like it was in Tucson.  It could be my cute skinny jeans that no longer fit.  It could be the fact that my Google Reader page has 3-4 running blogs.  It could also be the herds of girls that are 100 pounds dripping wet, but yanno, whatever.  I'll take motivation wherever I find it. Heck, I even bought new shoes yesterday (because the old ones were a key player in my injury), and we all know how new toys motivate me.

In order to avoid jumping into the running thing too quickly, I've decided to take a cue from Kelly and do a Couch to 5k program.  Today was day 1. 

I'm pretty pathetically slow, but I've decided that I'll try to actually *run* when I'm supposed to run instead of just bouncy walking.  This put my walking sections at about 4 mph and my running ones at around 6.3-6.5 mph.  Yes, I realize that this is still slower than some people run entire marathons, but whatever.

Overall, I ran a mile and a half in 20 minutes, which included my warm up.  I even stretched afterwards.

We'll see if this holds.

First Day

So, my contract with Pepperdine starts on August 1, which fell on a Sunday this year.  So I headed into campus on Monday the 2nd.

Admin:  "Oh, hi Nicole!  What are you doing in today?"

And my computer isn't in yet, which means there isn't really much that I can do after unpacking a few boxes of books.  Pretty much every one of my "first days" at work have been sans technology - even when I was working as a computer programmer.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.