Training vs working out

Seriously - what is the difference? People generally make this distinction, but for the life of me, I'm not sure why.

If your workouts are desgined to make you faster or better for some event, near as I can tell, this makes them 'training'. But what about training for life? Or for weight loss? Or for physique? Does it have to be an event?

And really, isn't it all just semantics?

I will readily admit that I have a greater compulsion to hit all my training sessions moreso that I do all my workouts. Maybe it's because training implies a seriousness that should not be ignored and an end time frame which cannot be changed. Or maybe it's because by its nature, the word training indicates that if you do it, there will be progress.

Whatever the reasons, 'training' sounds better than working out. For from now on, I'm in training. :-p

Progress report

I'm not sure if I am going to use this blog to track my training or if I'll use some other source. For now, I'll just update when I can and call it good. I'm not much into writing these days and yet I know that when it's all said and done, I'm going to want a record of my journey.

I've started 'running' since my last post. I put the word running in quotes because you cannot justifiably call what I do running. It's more like fast walking with some run intervals. I'm up to 24 min walk with 6 min of running. I'll do one more at this length tonight and then I go to 22 min walk/ 8 min run. I'm up to running at 6.0 mph or faster for the intervals - but seeing as they are so short, it's not hard. I actually prefer to run faster to blow off the frustration of forcing myself to walk so much! My foot has been pain free until the last week when it aches occasionally, but nothing too much to take.

On the recommendation of some women on TE, I bought the ChiRunning book. It's about running using the principles of Tai'Chi to help you be more efficient, and to be pain free. It's all about using the correct biomechanics in your form. It sounds amazing and I really, really hope it works. I just hope that I have the ability to learn all this stuff from a book! I might check to see if they have an certified trainers here in my area. I could certainly use all the help I can get!

Yesterday we explored the aquatic center. It was nice! The smell/feel of the pool area brought back a lot of memories from high school. I'm looking forward to getting some swiming under my belt. I'd really like to get my husband to swim with me a few times to get me started, but I'm not sure if he's going to commit or not. Even if he doesn't, I'll still force myself to go. I know it'll get easier once I get the hang of it. And to be clear - I'm nervous about the etiquitte of swimming and using the pool and the lanes...not about the actual swim itself! I have two suits that will work, but neither are perfect. There is one more on its way, so one of the three will have to do. I also have goggles (but no swim cap yet). I have very short hair still, so I may not be required to wear a cap, but I'll want to get used to one as we get closer to the TRI, of course. We didn't join the pool when we were there because we've been spending SOOO much money this weekend. I get paid on Wednesday though - so I'm thinking I'll sign up and do my first swim next weekend. Eeek!

Lastly, I've been doing full body FIRM weight workouts about once a week. I know that's not enough, but hey...it's something. ;-)