Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

For the weekend of Sept. 17th through the 20th, the Fairfield Half Marathon that I participated in last year will go virtual, due to the virus. I plan to participate, most likely on Sept. 18 or 19.

I have been running a lot these past few months. I’ve been doing a lot of speed running on the treadmill, getting to 4 miles in a half an hour for the first time last month. I have also been doing some incline work on the treadmill as I don’t do so well on hills. I think I’m in great shape for the run.

I haven't been blogging much lately as I have been busy with work and doing physical therapy. I suffered a painful knee injury and am doing therapy to heal.

What happened was I hadn't been doing much practice running prior to the Manchester Road Race. I also never stretched, something which contributed to my injury. I did well considering I hadn't been doing any outside running for weeks. I came in at 9+ minutes per mile.

I lost track on how many 5K races I've done. They really are a lot of fun, not that I don't enjoy longer races. It just feels like these races are a lot less pressure.

I know I'm ready as I train on the treadmill 4-5 days a week at speeds of 7-8 MPH. I love it when I tell others about the upcoming race. I'll get responses like "3 miles?", or "I can't even walk 3 miles". To me, it sounds like a breeze. I usually remind those who are surprised that I ran 13 miles a few months ago.

A friend in a running group shared an article about runners and how speed is not so important. I have to admit, before I read the post, I was very competitive. I keep thinking that I wanted to increase speed, but I'm starting to rethink it.

Most people I associate with do not run. A lot of people tell me, even in their 20's, that they can't even run a mile. How awesome is it that I'm able to run, like so many of my plant based friends who have all lost weight. We are doing it because we can run.

When I was heavy, I would dread the thought of going to the gym. Just thinking about it would make me break out in a sweat!

I would work out but would get nowhere. As I eventually discovered, weight loss is like 90 percent what food you eat and only like 10 percent exercise.