ARCHYJILL's CalorieKing blog
Saturday, Aug 14 2010 - Allow me to introduce myself...
View ARCHYJILL's food & exercise for this day
Hey all,
So you may have seen me around the forums a bit, but as I plan on being a blogging freak for the next ten weeks I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself before bombarding you with inane running tales and whining about my diet.
I'm an archaeologist for the US government. We manage about 10 million acres in our district alone, and "my" field office is about 5 million acres...the hubby (also an archaeologist) manages the cultural resources for the other 5 million acres. As you might have guessed, we have a hard time talking about work and when it's not snowing we can work 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week if we wanted. I also hold a "red card", which means that I am qualified as a rookie firefighter and can work on the fireline (we get LOTS of fires out here)...but mainly when I go out on fire it's to walk in front of a dozer so that we can route fire breaks around archaeological sites. All of this sounds more glamorous than it really is, trust me. End result is my schedule is chaos and it's hard to stay in line with my training...not to mention the diet going to hell being on the road so much.
When I started training for the pack test (carry a 45# pack for three miles in 45 minutes or less) so I could get my red card I would wear a weight vest as I walked. Boy, when that vest came off did I feel free as a bird! That's when I stopped smoking, started running, and started on this journey to get fit. Not only did the running feel great, but it also had very little to do with my job, so it made a nice mental vacation as well.
Last year I ran one of each race: 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, and Marathon. I did reasonably well in all except the marathon...where I bombed big time and took 5 1/2 hours to complete. I could have done so much better! So this year I made a commitment to actually RUN a whole marathon (no matter how slow I ran!) and now the big day is just ten weeks away. I've hired a personal trainer for weight resistance and am vowing to stick to my running schedule. If you decide to follow me on this journey be forewarned, once a week you'll be subjected to a progress pic. The starting pic is included here and tells me three things: 1) I need to use more sunscreen! 2) I need a tripod for the camera. 3) I still lack a whole bunch of self confidence!
Oh yeah, and I WILL go back to tracking tomorrow. Needed a little break before the madness began!
So you may have seen me around the forums a bit, but as I plan on being a blogging freak for the next ten weeks I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself before bombarding you with inane running tales and whining about my diet.
I'm an archaeologist for the US government. We manage about 10 million acres in our district alone, and "my" field office is about 5 million acres...the hubby (also an archaeologist) manages the cultural resources for the other 5 million acres. As you might have guessed, we have a hard time talking about work and when it's not snowing we can work 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week if we wanted. I also hold a "red card", which means that I am qualified as a rookie firefighter and can work on the fireline (we get LOTS of fires out here)...but mainly when I go out on fire it's to walk in front of a dozer so that we can route fire breaks around archaeological sites. All of this sounds more glamorous than it really is, trust me. End result is my schedule is chaos and it's hard to stay in line with my training...not to mention the diet going to hell being on the road so much.
When I started training for the pack test (carry a 45# pack for three miles in 45 minutes or less) so I could get my red card I would wear a weight vest as I walked. Boy, when that vest came off did I feel free as a bird! That's when I stopped smoking, started running, and started on this journey to get fit. Not only did the running feel great, but it also had very little to do with my job, so it made a nice mental vacation as well.
Last year I ran one of each race: 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, and Marathon. I did reasonably well in all except the marathon...where I bombed big time and took 5 1/2 hours to complete. I could have done so much better! So this year I made a commitment to actually RUN a whole marathon (no matter how slow I ran!) and now the big day is just ten weeks away. I've hired a personal trainer for weight resistance and am vowing to stick to my running schedule. If you decide to follow me on this journey be forewarned, once a week you'll be subjected to a progress pic. The starting pic is included here and tells me three things: 1) I need to use more sunscreen! 2) I need a tripod for the camera. 3) I still lack a whole bunch of self confidence!
Oh yeah, and I WILL go back to tracking tomorrow. Needed a little break before the madness began!
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5 comments so far.
5.
a decade ago
Good Luck to you~ and I am on board with your journey! I can relate BIG TIME ~ I ran 2 half marathons last year and got the *bug*.....I ran my first marathon this year in May and bombed it big time after a whole winter of training my a$$ off! I finished in 5:40! I am set to run my next marathon on Sept 25th. and I'm nervous as all get out. My mental game is all over the place. Love and support all the way! You are going to be great!
by GK1026
4.
a decade ago
You are going to do great! Look at all you have done already! That's awesome! Congrats on quitting smoking that's a huge deal!!! woo hoo....
My husband has a weighted vest that we share, it's only 20 pounds but boy it is a crazy feeling when you take it off.
by MRSDSB
3.
a decade ago
Gawsh woman....wolf call!!! Don't be so hard on yourself! You're doing great and are very motivated!! I wish you the best of luck in your marathon training. Have tons of fun! I used to run with a weighted vest during training runs, not 40 pounds, less than that, but weighted nonetheless, I flew during races. It was very, very freeing!
by PAPERBACKNOVEL
2.
a decade ago
Look'n great Archy - I'm wishing you you all the best - You are such a huge inspiration to me.....You can do this girl !! I've almost forgotten how running feels like haven't done it in a while......I'm putting on my runners....I will start once again...Today...
by JANSAPPHIRE
1.
a decade ago
Congrats to you! You sound way motivated and very determined and I say finishing a marathon -- at all, no matter how long -- is an accomplishment most people will never undertake so don't discount your achievements. Can't wait to follow your journey. It is hard to lose weight while you're training, but it can be done. You're smart to keep up the weight training as you go, too!
by NMA5632