I am exhausted these last couple of days, possibly because of not enough sleep lately. Skipped the private lesson yesterday, as there was no way it would be useful. Went for a short run/walk with DS, then did 45 minutes of easy biking, which I barely managed to finish. Planned on a run this morning, but I could barely move around the house after I got up, so skipped that. Maybe a private lesson tonight, but it will depend on how I will feel when I get there. @wintermomI also think it depends on mileage. Sometimes I technically get 5 days, but 2-3 of them could be barely jogging 1 mile or so. So far for me it is the longer runs (4-5 miles right now) that leave me feeling it the next day or two. Skiing is not an option here without 2-3 hour drive, and I am scared *watching* cyclists when I am driving, let alone actually trying it on the roads 🙂

I did a short run this morning, had a lovely walk with DS, and hopefully will get a bout or two to fence in the evening (it is questionable, as almost everyone is at Junior Olympics, so it will be very empty tonight) Three days is way too many for me. I am trying for something every day. It doesn't matter how short or easy, but it has to be done, just to check the box. And I only use a fitness tracker and a smartphone, in addition to shoes, of course, and a good supporting sport bra, so I guess I have a long way to go 🙂 By the way, running on the streets is dangerous even during the day. I was running today in a bright red jacket, hoping to be visible in bright daylight, and still a car didn't stop on the stop sign, although I was half way through the intersection. Went right in front of me, and only because I stopped.

I did stationary biking, which helped with stamina, but it doesn't help with mood at all. I don't know what it is about running, but it totally energizes me for at least 36 hours. Nothing else so far had the same effect, and I have really low energy throughout the day (as in I rarely make it without a nap) so it is really important to me. I only started running 6 weeks ago, and tendons also need time to adjust, actually more time than muscles, so I think I'll try running for a while longer, paying attention to not doing too much too soon. We'll see if my body can adjust. I had tennis elbow bout when I started fencing more seriously, so maybe it is something like that with running, too, something that I'll get used to. I ran 3 miles yesterday morning, and had a private lesson. It is going to rain for the next 2 days, so we'll be inside. I don't recognize California.

It is certainly a possibility. I still hope that if I introduce it slowly enough I manage to combine both without hurting all the time. Plus, this year due to scheduling conflicts I feel like I don't fence enough for it to be my only form of exercise. Most weeks it is just 2-3 hours total. I woke up today feeling totally exhausted and with a headache, so I spent most of the morning thinking if it would be better to cancel the private lesson. I finally decided that I can manage to push myself for 25 minutes and it actually went pretty well.

Well, they travel. I never know which one will act up. The worst was at the back of my knee, where the hamstring? connects to the knee (two obvious tendons on the back of the leg just above the knee). I felt it at every step faster than a slow walk. It is gone now, but took about a week of rest to heal. I stopped everything, except light stationary biking that week. The most lingering one is on outside of my foot, below and in front of the ankle bone. That one doesn't affect my walking or running, I cannot feel it at all when I am wearing running shoes, but after a run it tends to get inflamed and hurts to the touch and when I try to move the foot to the side. And then there is my lower back and the arch of my left foot. I think the hips only hurt once in the very beginning and stopped soon after I added some low squats to my days. So, is there anything else that I still can overwork? 🙂 Oh, and I kind of figured out what makes my shins hurt, so those are also fine now. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I am ready to fall apart, but then I put myself together and go do something else. I know what you mean about eliminations. Fencing tournaments usually consist of two rounds - round robin style pools of 5-7 people, and then based on the results direct eliminations. I do have to admit that it makes it fair, without having to fence 20-300 people. And let's not think how many bouts they would have to arrange even for a small tournament otherwise 🙂 .

Thanks! I have just started running, period 🙂 Seriously, it was the first time ever I run 1km without switching to walking a few times. But unfortunately, it is not the muscles that bother me, it's tendons. I am trying to start very gently, but still usually something hurts for a day or two. My main problem is that I feel like running works like a drug on my mood and energy levels, and it is something none of my other activities does. I really want it to work, but I am afraid that doing it more will make me do it less or not at all, kwim? Soror ~ I am having PMS as well. Sleep is terrible, I am feeling hot, tired, depressed, and hungry most of the time. Hopefully, it will end soon. The competition went well. I have forgotten how much fun it is. I did OK for me, actually better than I expected, but in direct eliminations round I had to fence DD 😞 Today I am going to take DS on a short run/walk, and then fencing in the evening. Mondays are hit or miss in terms of length, but I kind of hope for a shorter version, as my thighs are a little sore after the competition.

Most of my January was great, but the last few days of it and the beginning of February are hard. Every time I run, I have some pain for a couple of days (a different one every time). If I don't run, I feel like throwing a temper tantrum (I don't, but I surely want to most of the time, and holding it all back is hard) or alternatively I am super exhausted. Grrr. Plus, my eating is far from great, and I feel boated, probably the first time I actually notice it. I blame it all on hormones. I registered for a small local competition this Sunday. Most (all?) of the people are much better than I am, so it is going to be interesting. I just hope my hormones don't act up too much.

@Murphy101Maybe next time you go for a walk, turn on the app on your phone and start recording exercise/walk. Let your tracker hand be free/swinging. It will track the distance through GPS and calculate the right stride length for you. It shouldn't be too long, just a few minutes of you normal walking. It might reset it.

It is raining, everybody is busy with their own stuff, and I have nothing better to do, so I just tested it. Standing still and swinging arm as if I am walking accurately added steps. It's trickier when walking without swinging arm. It did add steps, but only if I traveled more than a certain distance, and then less than the number of steps I actually took. So, walking around my small kitchen holding my arm stable in front of me did not add steps. Walking along my long hallway did, but in increments of 10, and after the same distance, not after the same number of steps. It also doesn't add stairs if I am carrying anything upstairs, but does it when my arm is swinging. My stride length is set to automatic, but the way it sets the stride depends on GPS-enabled (via my phone) walks/runs, and I have been running with mine, so the stride is likely different between running outside and walking inside. Oh, and I have Fitbit Charge 3, not Charge. Sorry, I missed the number. I do believe that the number of steps is about right for me, as I run around my kitchen more often than fold laundry 🙂

I have Fitbit Charge. It counts wrist swings really. I got about 1k recently folding laundry 🙂 If you carry something in that hand or hold someone's hand it will not register steps. Basically, make sure that your arm swings with every step.

Due to various reasons, I'm missing fencing till Thursday or even Friday. I ran yesterday, and then took DS for a walk. Ended up with over 20K steps for the day. Today was another walk with DS with some running included. I am trying to get him moving more, as fencing for him is just not enough (since he is younger, he can't really do open fencing, as there is nobody his level there). We started doing C25K-like program through Zombies, run app. So far he likes it, but he is OK with regular walks as well. I might do some bike tonight, but my knees are slightly tender, so I'll try and decide if bike irritates them or not.

Congrats! It's totally ok to take it slow and in several attempts. Trying to get everything done fast and perfect on the first try usually leads me to just dropping it altogether.

Feel better soon! Thanks for sharing your workout plan! And sometimes lazy is good! It's great that skiing helps your tennis! ________ I may have overdone it last week. After Saturday run instead of the usual high I just felt half-dead, even though I felt normal during the run itself, not really pushing myself. Now, 48 hours later and after very easy two days I am still not sure how I feel. Or it could be the middle of my cycle and my hormones are out of wack again.

I hope you are feeling better! And way to go on those push-ups and crawls and hangs. My hands don't like hangs at all. Maybe that's what I should add... You can do it! Sounds beautiful! I woke up early today, and decided to go for a run before I needed to take DD to CC. Another 2.5 miles. A bit later I had a private lesson, and that is it for today. I am not feeling hungry anymore, but now I am feeling sleepy . Not sure which is better.

Hope your foot heals fast! And congrats on losing weight/size! My weight seems to be relatively stable, fluctuating up and down around the same numbers, but my TDEE table says that it trends down a little, .25-.5 lbs a week. I took some measurements today, and I lost around 0.5 inch off my waist and hips (I didn't measure my chest 🙂) I did an hour of stationary bike on Monday morning, and felt really tired all day. In the evening I went to fencing, hoping to do 2-3 easy bouts. Well, the class had odd number of people, so the coach had me suit up and jump in. So, instead of easy 20 minutes I got 50 rather intense ones. Today I did a private lesson, and went for an easy run, concentrating on making it really easy. Still managed to break a couple of personal records 🙂 Tomorrow is hopefully an easy day with just a private lesson.

Sounds like a great week! WTG! Nah, not too much. Just takes some time to adjust 🙂 I am going to stay at this level for at least a couple more weeks, then we'll see. On the big goals and age... I do need huge goals for motivation, but I am totally paranoid about overdoing it and injuring myself. I do push myself, but I also listen to my body and keep my overachieving brain in check all the time. Slow and steady will take me closer to my goals and faster. You did it, which is what counts! Yay on awesome week! And sorry about migraines and allergy 😞 I'll ignore stay warm comment - I went for a run this morning wearing a t-shirt and leggings, and halfway through I was thinking I need to buy shorts 🙂 I did another run this morning. 3.3 miles. Tried to concentrate on not tensing muscles that shouldn't be tense, like my shoulders (I had a bad shoulder cramp on Tuesday). So far nothing hurts. We'll see if I eat everything in the house later.

Everyone is different. I do not react to melatonin at all as far as sleep is concerned, although I did have some sleep problems when my cycle first started getting weird. I sleep OK now, although not as well as I used to. No more sleeping in till noon for me. Unless I take Nyquil. Then I am out for 20 hours. I also tried magnesium and ended up having weird chest pains even with low doses. As I said, we are all different. And even genetics will not predict everything. Too many factors involved. I am still not sure what is the cause for my hunger. I went for a jog Friday morning and was hungry all day. Today I am fine. We'll see tomorrow after the run. So, I did 1hr bike on Thursday, 2.4 miles on Friday, plus just over an hour of fencing in the evening. I actually noticed a difference while fencing. I was much more relaxed and was less tired by the end. On the sad side, I started having slight discomfort in my left foot after Tuesday run, which was almost unnoticeable, but it is in my left foot that I use for propelling my lunges in fencing, and it got worse after fencing. I actually woke up a couple of times last night because of shooting pain there. It's OK today, but I don't like it. I went and ordered new fencing shoes, as old ones are getting beat up. I do need a good support due to high arches, so might be that, too. I went for a 35 minute walk today as my only exercise (MFP thinks it was "brisk" 🙂 ). As for goals, I am actually ahead of my 30min x 5 times a week so far. Weight is holding steady.

I think it is. My mom was done at 47, and I am 43, so timing looks right. Mine started getting shorter about 3 years ago, just a little at first, like 26 days, then I started getting terrible headaches during the first 2 days of my period, and my sleep became terrible. Around that time (2.5 years ago) I found an article about melatonin being involved in regulating female hormones, so I started taking it. Cycle went back to 28 and headaches disappeared, as long as I didn't miss too many days taking melatonin. A few months back it started getting wacky again though. 31 day, then 23, then 14. I did have to switch my melatonin pills around that time, as the old ones were discontinued. Maybe I should look into a different brand again. Or maybe nothing lasts forever. In any case, I definitely don't enjoy perimenopause.

Sounds like a good plan! Good luck! I am still figuring out what I want to do with my running. Sounds so familiar. I got my period two days ago on day 15. l also spotted all two weeks and had continued br**t tenderness, although it usually stops on day 1. Once it all stopped, the period came. Grrr. But at least at all stopped, so I hope for a "normal" cycle this time. The old one can keep that hunger, too. Felt meh yesterday, so only had a private lesson (and ate 😉 ). Today it is still raining, so I am staying home and doing the bike. Tomorrow's forecast is no rain, and I don't have to take DD to college, so I can run in the morning.

Congrats on the 5K! Are you planning on racing 10K, too? Adjusting the goal helps, especially if you feel hungry. But for me, it is not even that I stick to a number that helps, but that I stop and think before eating something. Like am I really hungry? You would think that you don't need to track calories for this, but it turns out I do. You can do it! And good job on those recipes! I really hate doing it. I'll admit that when I track I switch to single ingredient foods as much as possible, or add minimal amounts of other things, so that I could just ignore them. Or, sometimes I add something like butter/oil/whatever to dinner separately, to balance out those ingredients in cooking. 😳 It was raining yesterday, so I skipped fencing. I became such a California girl :))) I did an hour of an easy bike instead. Today I planned on skipping the private lesson, as the coach was supposed to return from Europe on Monday, but he texted me in the morning, so I went. After that I had a free hour before picking up DD, and the forecast was that it won't rain for another hour, so I gave DS an assignment and went for a 30-minute run, figuring that I'll make it. I eyeballed the distance, and came .1 mile and 3 minutes short of my plan, which was lucky as I came back just as it started to rain. But I still broke my personal records 🙂 I love how easy it is in the beginning - two short runs and another minute is off from my mile. If only it could last until some decent numbers 🙂 I think my weird PMS this cycle that decided to hang around for 2 extra weeks has finally left. I am also not ravenous today. Now I am wondering if my hunger was actually running-related or hormone-related.

I hope today really was a great day for you! So sorry about that 😞 Hopefully, you will find a way to eliminate them soon! Welcome back! No real words of wisdom, but I am sure you can lose the weight and get ready for that black belt test! From what I remember 30 seconds of bag punching were pretty brutal. I don't even want to think about 3 minutes 🙂 Do you know what else the test includes? See if there are things like crazy number of pushups, etc, which won't be really trained during classes but you can do at home during those bodyweight sessions. Once you make/find a plan, and get used to it a little, it's not that bad 🙂 I actually think I need to add them back, as my upper body is not getting enough work lately. I actually followed the plan yesterday, and only did a 35 minute walk in the neighborhood. Still, lots of steps, and some of the streets had a decent incline. And this morning I actually ran 5K! I was really surprised, but at about 1K I realized that I could do it. I guess I hit that spot where I felt I could run forever. I did run very slowly, slower than my last run/walk, but I didn't switch at all. I felt my hips were a little tight while I was running, but after a cool down and a nice soak in a tub, it feels fine. Due to our weather, my next run might be on Friday, but I am looking forward to it! I just wish my family stopped being all excited about it. When I said I ran 5k, DS asked if I was going to run 10k tomorrow. And when DH decided to brag to his parents about me running, FIL asked I was running along a particular street that is really steep. Yes, of course I am going to run 10K uphill tomorrow. It is not like I need my feet and joints for anything else. DH redeemed himself by konmariing his part of the closet today though 🙂 And I found a couple of dresses from college I could fit into. I know they didn't fit last fall 🙂 As for weight, as much as I want to lose a few more pounds, I decided that with added running and accompanying stress on muscles, I should be eating at least at maintenance. If my body decides to recomp, I am fine with that, but I feel like actively trying to lose weight is not a right thing right now. I am also watching my protein levels, as I tend to go carb/fat heavy. I did lose the 4 lbs I gained during Christmas/NY week though.

So sorry about that! Feel better soon! We do need our rest days. And 5K is great. I looked through my records, and my lazy days are 3K give or take 200. My body also really wanted a rest day yesterday, but it was a fencing day, so I dragged myself there. I managed OK, but today I am taking a day off completely. I might go for a walk, but just a walk. I'll wear jeans to make sure it is a proper leisurely walk, and nothing that requires any real effort or gets me even slightly out of breath.

Yay! You did it! And I hear you about hunger. I feel like I eat something, and 30 minutes later I am starving again. I upped my calories and I am still hungry. I don't think it's hormones in my case, though. Or maybe it is. This cycle is crazy for me. I still feel my hips, but they are getting much better. I can walk and run, but when I stand up, I walk funny for a few seconds. I still went out to run, as it makes me feel so much better energy-wise. Sounds like a great plan! It's hard to say what would be better. I can only suggest listening to your body and thread carefully if something aggravates anything in your body. With improved core strength you are likely to be able to handle more weight, but don't rush. Nice! Having equipment at home does make using it easier! And congrats on another pound! Yesterday my run/walk turned out to be the only exercise for the day. DD needed to go to orthodontist, and since it was an emergency visit, it was only available at the time when I could have taken a private lesson. No fencing today, so I did another run in the morning. I pushed it a little to hit exactly 5K. Of course, now 2 of my apps disagree as to how much I ran and how fast, and they managed to update each other in a circle, so now I need to sit down and figure out which one out of 4 runs I need to keep 🙂 That aside, they promise rain for 6 out of the next 9 days my weather app shows 😞 I guess I'll be back on my bike next week.

ThanksI I am feeling better 🙂 You can do it! Although I know it can be hard. A few days ago I had something like 9456 steps just before bedtime. Those 500 steps are not a lot, and can be done at home. I spent a bit of time how crazy it was just to walk around the house for 10 minutes. I ended up not doing it, but I kind of regret it. So, do it! And cleaner house is one of the things I enjoy about my fitbit. In addition to steps it has "active hours", so every hour I try to get up and do something to get that dot. Got 9 out of 9 yesterday 🙂 I did about an hour of fencing on Monday. Yesterday I started the day with a 30-minute walk. I did jog a small part of it, just to get my heart rate up, but I was a bit afraid to hurt myself, so I was super slow and careful. I do like how it makes me feel after, so I want to continue. Hopefully, I'll be able to run soon, but even just walking is great. I do feel like it makes me more hungry though. Then I took a private lesson, and finished it off with an intense 30-minute bike session. I noticed that bike is the only thing that really gets my heart rate up. I am afraid I am getting a bit addicted to all the cool apps though. OK, off to finish my coffee and head out for a walk.

I really should have stuck to my goals of 5 workouts a week, but no, I decided to try running. 30 minutes. Slow, with some walking. Felt pretty happy, but since I returned home my hips are killing me every time I sit down and then try to do something. The muscles are sore, too, but I think the main problem is tendons (IT band around the hips, according to Dr. Google). Not fun at all. I hope if I sufficiently warm up, fencing will be possible tonight.