Well, I've done pretty well this week. Scale boy seems to actually be reflecting that too. He's been giving me progressively smaller numbers over the last few days. This morning, he actually said 206! I don't know if that will stick or not, but I sure hope it does. That would put me only 7 pounds away from One-derland - where I so long to take up permanent residence.
I actually decided to take Saturday off from exercising. I decided early in the day, so I didn't feel like I just lazed out - it was a decision that I actively made. I know I sound a little obsessive - because I am - about the exercise thing. It's just that I'm so determined not to lose any ground on the progress I've made, or risk slipping into a non-exercising slump. So, decision made, I enjoyed giving my shrinking body a well-deserved rest.
I almost ended up missing running last night - that had miss obsessive freaked out let me tell you - because DH kept f*cking around and it got late. Then he got a phone call that he really did have to take, and that took about 40 minutes. It was 8pm then and he didn't want to go any more. I was going to take Turnip (my agressive little pride 'n joy) with me and go alone, but DH then decided he didn't want me going there alone so he came with and sat on the tailgate making sure no one got me while I was running. Since I took Saturday off, I was determined to do my 3 10/1's. My legs were not so sure. It was like running through molasses. 3 minutes into the 2nd 10 I was already making deals with myself about only running for 20 minutes, or maybe at least splitting it up into 5's or 6's. When it actually came time to the end of the 2nd 10, my obsessive voice overpowered my old fat voice and said, "Are you kidding me? You're not going backwards to running 20 minutes. Just for that, you'll do 35. Do you have anything to say about that, cause we can keep adding minutes if that's what you want?" So, fat-voice shut up and my legs somehow kept running for a 3rd 10 minutes. After 1 minute walking, I did another 5 minutes just to show me who was boss. Also, I had it in my head that I needed to get 6 APs...
I have done pretty well on the HYC challenge except that was one short of getting my 5 fruits/vegs in yesterday. Poop! Other than that, I've done well.
64+ oz water - CHECK
journal food - CHECK
5 fruits/veg - 4/5 days
stay on plan - CHECK
Run 30 min 4/7 days - CHECK (5/7 days so far)
Earn 30 APs - CHECK
Also today I am starting my 100 pushup challenge. I'll be starting with girl pushups because I can't do even 1 of the other kind. I'm ashamed to say that I can only do a couple of girl ones. I'm getting ready to run to the grocery at lunch to pick up some lunch stuff for the week. When I return I'll shut the door and get started on them. Hope no one walks in to see me on the floor in my skirt doing girly pushups and looking (I'm sure) like I'm gonna die. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm so exicted to see so many familiar names on the challenge list. This is going to be great!
Gotta go now - wish me luck on staying at 206 or lower for WI tomorrow!
Mini Goal - One-derland
Showing posts with label activity Run/Walk running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label activity Run/Walk running. Show all posts
Monday, June 16, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
So far so good...
Weight: 209
OMG, I accidentally typed that as 290 the first time! What would you think of me then if I actually gained 80 pounds since yesterday. Better question, what would you think of scale boy?
Anyway, I was happy to see the 209 this morning - so happy I'm not even upset to give up a point. I'm at 25 points as of today instead of 26. Woohoo!
Started out to do an 'easy' run (I swear I don't know who I am any more) last night. I've been trying to stick to the 3 10/1's on M/W/F/Sa and do 30 min of running, but in easier increments on Tu/Th/Su. Anyway, I was planning on doing 6 5/1's, then I started thinking how if I did 6/1's I'd only have to do 5 intervals instead of 6. So I decided on 6, but when I looked at my watch, I had already run almost 7 without realizing it (again - who am I?) so then I had one minute to make a decision. I decided to do 4 7/1's and a final 2 min run. The first 7 went really easy. I was relaxed and it was no biggie. The 2nd one was a little harder, and the last one passed being fun at about the 3 min mark. All that said, I completed it and that's what matters. The workout also included about 15 min of brisk walking for a total of 45 min exercise.
Ate late again last night, but it was pretty light. DH had bar-b-qued chicken breasts before I got home, so all I had to do was nuke it and pour some salad out of a bag - et Voila! It was really good. I looked it up and had plenty of points, so I ate the delicious crispy skin and all. YUMMY!
HYC Checkup
64+oz water - CHECK
journal food - CHECK
5 fruits/veg - CHECK
stay on plan - CHECK
Run 30 min 4/7 days - 3 days so far
Earn 30 AP's - 18/30 earned so far
In other news, I found this new challenge that I'm going to start next week. It's like the couch to 10K only for pushups. At the end, you should be able to do 100 pushups without stopping. For me, this will be like having a heavy sofa on top of me to a 10K, since when I did the test I could only muster one decent push up - and decent is probably being kind. Anyway, I've always hated not having any upper body strength, and I am planning on wearing a slinky dress to the Christmas party this year. It would be nice to get more fit and have a killer back and arms for the dress. I'm slightly skeptical of this one, but then again it's only been 2 months that I went from barely being able to run 1 minute to being able to run 10 with relative ease. For any of you who want to join me in this foolishness, here's the link: http://hundredpushups.com/index.html
Have a great weekend everyone!
OMG, I accidentally typed that as 290 the first time! What would you think of me then if I actually gained 80 pounds since yesterday. Better question, what would you think of scale boy?
Anyway, I was happy to see the 209 this morning - so happy I'm not even upset to give up a point. I'm at 25 points as of today instead of 26. Woohoo!
Started out to do an 'easy' run (I swear I don't know who I am any more) last night. I've been trying to stick to the 3 10/1's on M/W/F/Sa and do 30 min of running, but in easier increments on Tu/Th/Su. Anyway, I was planning on doing 6 5/1's, then I started thinking how if I did 6/1's I'd only have to do 5 intervals instead of 6. So I decided on 6, but when I looked at my watch, I had already run almost 7 without realizing it (again - who am I?) so then I had one minute to make a decision. I decided to do 4 7/1's and a final 2 min run. The first 7 went really easy. I was relaxed and it was no biggie. The 2nd one was a little harder, and the last one passed being fun at about the 3 min mark. All that said, I completed it and that's what matters. The workout also included about 15 min of brisk walking for a total of 45 min exercise.
Ate late again last night, but it was pretty light. DH had bar-b-qued chicken breasts before I got home, so all I had to do was nuke it and pour some salad out of a bag - et Voila! It was really good. I looked it up and had plenty of points, so I ate the delicious crispy skin and all. YUMMY!
HYC Checkup
64+oz water - CHECK
journal food - CHECK
5 fruits/veg - CHECK
stay on plan - CHECK
Run 30 min 4/7 days - 3 days so far
Earn 30 AP's - 18/30 earned so far
In other news, I found this new challenge that I'm going to start next week. It's like the couch to 10K only for pushups. At the end, you should be able to do 100 pushups without stopping. For me, this will be like having a heavy sofa on top of me to a 10K, since when I did the test I could only muster one decent push up - and decent is probably being kind. Anyway, I've always hated not having any upper body strength, and I am planning on wearing a slinky dress to the Christmas party this year. It would be nice to get more fit and have a killer back and arms for the dress. I'm slightly skeptical of this one, but then again it's only been 2 months that I went from barely being able to run 1 minute to being able to run 10 with relative ease. For any of you who want to join me in this foolishness, here's the link: http://hundredpushups.com/index.html
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
My scale and I are trying to work things out...
Weight: 210
Ok, I know I said all those bad things about him, and it's true - he does frequently lie to me and make me feel bad, but this morning he said he was sorry and he seemed so sincere. He also told me I really do weigh 210, and also that I'm looking pretty good these days. What can I say, I'm taking him back - on a trial basis. I did tell him that if he did it again he is out and that I will replace him with a newer, sleeker, more high-tech model. I think he's going to be on his best behavior.
Sorry - feeling a little silly this morning. Must be the fasting. I had my annual exam this morning and it required that I fast and have blood drawn. So it was 9:30 AM before I got to eat breakfast and I'm used to eating between 5:30 and 7:00. I'm a little lightheaded.
As you can see from the above, my scale read 210 this morning. Curious to see how much it's off from the doctor's office scale, I put on my clothes and weighed again so that I could see how much I weigh at home in those clothes and compare it. 213 it said. Strangely, it's not far off. The doc's office scale told me 214. That's good to know. I've always been prepared to add another 2-4 pounds to what i think I weigh because most home scales read lighter than the fancy medical ones. Maybe scale-boy isn't so bad after all. Hmmm.
I changed docs last year when mine was unavailable, and I really like this one. She actually 'talked' to me about things. We talked for about 10 minutes after my exam - I've never had a doc do that. I was 20 lbs lighter this visit than last time, and she was so excited for me. She kept saying, "Way to go! Great job!" She was also really happy to hear about my 7 day a week exercising and had some really nice things to say, as well as recommending a book on nutrition called "The Omnivore's Dilemma" http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213286134&sr=1-1 which I don't really know too much about, but since I'm trying to eat more natural foods I'm going to check out. Another interesting thing, I found out today that I am shorter than I thought. The thing at the docs office said I am 5' 5", which is what I was in high school. Someone told me in the early 90's that I was 5' 7", but either I shrunk (not the way I want to shrink!) 1.5 ", or they were wrong. Anyway, that means I need to look at some calculations that I have that are partly based on height.
HYC checkup
64+oz water - CHECK
journal food - CHECK
5 fruits/veg - CHECK
Stay on plan - CHECK
Run 30 min 4/7 days - 2 days so far
Earn 30 AP's - 12 of 30 earned
Oh here's something else I'm proud of. I felt really bad when I got home yesterday. I was cranky and tired and just felt like poo in general. Also it was 95 degrees and humid. I did not feel like working out at all, especially since Wednesday is one of my regular run/walk days and I'm working on the 10 min intervals now. My husband even suggested that we take a day off. I have only missed 2 days exercise I think in about 3 months, so I just couldn't. I said that I would go, but I didn't think I was going to do my 3 10/1's. DH suggested I walk. Well, by the time I got out there, my obsessive personality had taken over and I ended up doing the 3 10/1's anyway. The first one was actually almost effortless even. The last 2 were a right b*tch, but I did them anyway. It may not have looked pretty, or been fast, but I maintained a jogging motion moving generally forward at all times just the same. It was ugly running, but it was still running. I was so proud of myself. In my old life, I was always the fat girl with all the excuses. Now my inner voice is pushing me forward instead of pushing me down. It's like the good voice and the bad voice have switched places - or the power they have shifted. Geez, reading that back I sound like a schizo or something with all the 'voices' talk. Oh well, if this is crazy, I'll take a second helping please :)
I am looking forward to getting my bloodwork results in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know if there's any improvement. In the mean time, I feel fit, well fed, and in control.
Life is good today ladies. I hope you all have wonderful days as well.
Ok, I know I said all those bad things about him, and it's true - he does frequently lie to me and make me feel bad, but this morning he said he was sorry and he seemed so sincere. He also told me I really do weigh 210, and also that I'm looking pretty good these days. What can I say, I'm taking him back - on a trial basis. I did tell him that if he did it again he is out and that I will replace him with a newer, sleeker, more high-tech model. I think he's going to be on his best behavior.
Sorry - feeling a little silly this morning. Must be the fasting. I had my annual exam this morning and it required that I fast and have blood drawn. So it was 9:30 AM before I got to eat breakfast and I'm used to eating between 5:30 and 7:00. I'm a little lightheaded.
As you can see from the above, my scale read 210 this morning. Curious to see how much it's off from the doctor's office scale, I put on my clothes and weighed again so that I could see how much I weigh at home in those clothes and compare it. 213 it said. Strangely, it's not far off. The doc's office scale told me 214. That's good to know. I've always been prepared to add another 2-4 pounds to what i think I weigh because most home scales read lighter than the fancy medical ones. Maybe scale-boy isn't so bad after all. Hmmm.
I changed docs last year when mine was unavailable, and I really like this one. She actually 'talked' to me about things. We talked for about 10 minutes after my exam - I've never had a doc do that. I was 20 lbs lighter this visit than last time, and she was so excited for me. She kept saying, "Way to go! Great job!" She was also really happy to hear about my 7 day a week exercising and had some really nice things to say, as well as recommending a book on nutrition called "The Omnivore's Dilemma" http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213286134&sr=1-1 which I don't really know too much about, but since I'm trying to eat more natural foods I'm going to check out. Another interesting thing, I found out today that I am shorter than I thought. The thing at the docs office said I am 5' 5", which is what I was in high school. Someone told me in the early 90's that I was 5' 7", but either I shrunk (not the way I want to shrink!) 1.5 ", or they were wrong. Anyway, that means I need to look at some calculations that I have that are partly based on height.
HYC checkup
64+oz water - CHECK
journal food - CHECK
5 fruits/veg - CHECK
Stay on plan - CHECK
Run 30 min 4/7 days - 2 days so far
Earn 30 AP's - 12 of 30 earned
Oh here's something else I'm proud of. I felt really bad when I got home yesterday. I was cranky and tired and just felt like poo in general. Also it was 95 degrees and humid. I did not feel like working out at all, especially since Wednesday is one of my regular run/walk days and I'm working on the 10 min intervals now. My husband even suggested that we take a day off. I have only missed 2 days exercise I think in about 3 months, so I just couldn't. I said that I would go, but I didn't think I was going to do my 3 10/1's. DH suggested I walk. Well, by the time I got out there, my obsessive personality had taken over and I ended up doing the 3 10/1's anyway. The first one was actually almost effortless even. The last 2 were a right b*tch, but I did them anyway. It may not have looked pretty, or been fast, but I maintained a jogging motion moving generally forward at all times just the same. It was ugly running, but it was still running. I was so proud of myself. In my old life, I was always the fat girl with all the excuses. Now my inner voice is pushing me forward instead of pushing me down. It's like the good voice and the bad voice have switched places - or the power they have shifted. Geez, reading that back I sound like a schizo or something with all the 'voices' talk. Oh well, if this is crazy, I'll take a second helping please :)
I am looking forward to getting my bloodwork results in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know if there's any improvement. In the mean time, I feel fit, well fed, and in control.
Life is good today ladies. I hope you all have wonderful days as well.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Goal Check
HYC Goal Check for Tuesday:
64+ oz water - CHECK
Journal food - CHECK
Min 5 fruit/veg servings - CHECK
Stay on plan - CHECK
Run 30 min 4/7 days - 1 of 4 CHECK
Earn 30 AP's - 6 of 30 earned
I used to run only on M/W/F/Sa and walk the other days. Lately I've been running every day. I don't want to overdo, so I'm trying to run easier intervals on those old walk days. Yesterday was a walk day. I did 5 6/1 intervals + an extra 15 min walk. My legs were so tired yesterday. It was even cooler than usual after the rain, and I normally don't have tired legs until near the end. They were tired from the start yesterday. I was so glad it was an 'easy' day. There's no way I could've run 8-10 minutes. I had to fight for the 5 6/1's.
Ended up eating really late last night. I have to quit doing that. I just don't want to eat any APs I haven't earned, and it was late by the time we got back from running and my brown rice was done. I have extra for today though.
I decided to let the scale live another day. It said 212 this morning, which was a little easier on the ego. Hopefully I can stick to all of my goals for this week and I'll see a loss next Tuesday morning.
I have to go to the doctor tomorrow for my annual. I absolutely HATE that. The only good thing is that I will have bloodwork to compare to last year's. I am curious to see how much/if any difference in cholesterol and such.
Oh well, I have a ton of stuff to do at work so I gotta run. Still catching up on your blogs. Thanks for the encouraging words yesterday - you guys are the greatest.
64+ oz water - CHECK
Journal food - CHECK
Min 5 fruit/veg servings - CHECK
Stay on plan - CHECK
Run 30 min 4/7 days - 1 of 4 CHECK
Earn 30 AP's - 6 of 30 earned
I used to run only on M/W/F/Sa and walk the other days. Lately I've been running every day. I don't want to overdo, so I'm trying to run easier intervals on those old walk days. Yesterday was a walk day. I did 5 6/1 intervals + an extra 15 min walk. My legs were so tired yesterday. It was even cooler than usual after the rain, and I normally don't have tired legs until near the end. They were tired from the start yesterday. I was so glad it was an 'easy' day. There's no way I could've run 8-10 minutes. I had to fight for the 5 6/1's.
Ended up eating really late last night. I have to quit doing that. I just don't want to eat any APs I haven't earned, and it was late by the time we got back from running and my brown rice was done. I have extra for today though.
I decided to let the scale live another day. It said 212 this morning, which was a little easier on the ego. Hopefully I can stick to all of my goals for this week and I'll see a loss next Tuesday morning.
I have to go to the doctor tomorrow for my annual. I absolutely HATE that. The only good thing is that I will have bloodwork to compare to last year's. I am curious to see how much/if any difference in cholesterol and such.
Oh well, I have a ton of stuff to do at work so I gotta run. Still catching up on your blogs. Thanks for the encouraging words yesterday - you guys are the greatest.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Week 23 HYC Check In - 215
215. Well crap!
I'm so mad at my scale. It had the nerve to tell me I gained 5 pounds last week. That little lying piece of s....
Anyway, I don't see how it could be true. I had that night I told you about, but I did not eat ten thousand extra calories over plan. That was Wednesday and I did pretty well with staying on plan Thursday through yesterday. Also, I ran 30 minutes a day, every day but Sunday. Yesterday I actually did 3 10/1 intervals at that hilly-ass park.
I did NOT gain 5 pounds. Did I? No, I really don't think I did. I did end up eating dinner late yesterday, and it was on the salty side (sausage - healthy turkey low fat sausage, but that's probably still salty), and I didn't do that well on water at all while I was in Dallas. They only let me out 3 times a day, and I cannot drink the amount of water I drink and make it with only 3 tinkle breaks in 9 hours. We were out of the good water at home, and I left my water cup at home on Monday. Sorry excuses I know, but it added up to me not getting all the water I should. I'm really hoping that has something to do with it.
I'm nothing if not honest though, so I did update my numbers - even my badge was exchanged for a 25 pound one (sniff sniff). Full disclosure. I have posted my Week 23 HYC goals, and I am gritting my teeth and trudging on. Even if it turns out I really did defy the laws of science and gain 5 pounds for real, I REFUSE to be knocked down. It's like yesterday, I was 3 min from completing my 3rd 10 min run and still had the biggest hill in the park to run up. It was so hot and humid and my legs were really tired. It was hard. That made me mad for some reason, so I started running faster. I ran up that hill as fast as I could. It really made me feel better.
I will do this. I may get pushed back, but I will not be pushed down. I will keep eating right, drinking my water, journaling, and running. I won't quit no matter what that *(@%ing scale says. I'm going to give it a talking to tonight, and it had better get it's sh*t together by tomorrow morning or I'm liable to take a hammer to it. Wonder how many APs that would burn?
Can't wait to read all of your blogs. I need some inspiration.
I'm so mad at my scale. It had the nerve to tell me I gained 5 pounds last week. That little lying piece of s....
Anyway, I don't see how it could be true. I had that night I told you about, but I did not eat ten thousand extra calories over plan. That was Wednesday and I did pretty well with staying on plan Thursday through yesterday. Also, I ran 30 minutes a day, every day but Sunday. Yesterday I actually did 3 10/1 intervals at that hilly-ass park.
I did NOT gain 5 pounds. Did I? No, I really don't think I did. I did end up eating dinner late yesterday, and it was on the salty side (sausage - healthy turkey low fat sausage, but that's probably still salty), and I didn't do that well on water at all while I was in Dallas. They only let me out 3 times a day, and I cannot drink the amount of water I drink and make it with only 3 tinkle breaks in 9 hours. We were out of the good water at home, and I left my water cup at home on Monday. Sorry excuses I know, but it added up to me not getting all the water I should. I'm really hoping that has something to do with it.
I'm nothing if not honest though, so I did update my numbers - even my badge was exchanged for a 25 pound one (sniff sniff). Full disclosure. I have posted my Week 23 HYC goals, and I am gritting my teeth and trudging on. Even if it turns out I really did defy the laws of science and gain 5 pounds for real, I REFUSE to be knocked down. It's like yesterday, I was 3 min from completing my 3rd 10 min run and still had the biggest hill in the park to run up. It was so hot and humid and my legs were really tired. It was hard. That made me mad for some reason, so I started running faster. I ran up that hill as fast as I could. It really made me feel better.
I will do this. I may get pushed back, but I will not be pushed down. I will keep eating right, drinking my water, journaling, and running. I won't quit no matter what that *(@%ing scale says. I'm going to give it a talking to tonight, and it had better get it's sh*t together by tomorrow morning or I'm liable to take a hammer to it. Wonder how many APs that would burn?
Can't wait to read all of your blogs. I need some inspiration.
Friday, June 6, 2008
It's a tie...
Hello all...
This has gotta be really quick, but I didn't want to leave without posting something.
In the battle of me v. the road, it's pretty much a draw. I had some really good moments, the road had a few as well. Brief summary:
Working out - I did awesome with that. I worked out a minimum of an hour a day, which I have never done on the road. I ran every day. One day I even ran 3 10 minute intervals + a 7 minute. Yep, me. Can ya believe it? I earned something like 34 APs I think that week.
Food - meh. I did pretty good here. I went to the grocery store the first day and bought fruit for snacks. I did pretty good with meals. I ate some stuff I wouldn't have eaten at home, but I wrote it all down and I didn't go over my Flex. I normally don't eat all my flex, but I did use almost all of them this time.
So - I was doing pretty good until the trip home on Wednesday night. I ended up having the chicken quesadillas at Friday's - it's not a full portion, so that's not terrible. What wasn't too good was that I also had a giant margarita - yes, it was in fact giant. Then I had er 'some' beers. I'll leave it at that. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, I got upgraded to first class and the guy next to me asked me if the margaritas were any good. I really had just been wondering that I told him. He asked the flight attendant. She said they were good, but they were really good if you added the little bottle of Grand Marnier. "How about I bring you a couple and you can check them out?" she said as she jumped on me and twisted my arm painfully behind my back. "Drink it! Drink it, or I'll throw you off this plane!" she screamed at me. It was so painful and I was so terrified that I did what any sane person would do and agreed to have the margarita. (Note: portions of the previous story may be less than true.) So, I have no idea how many points all that sh*t was, I don't think my journal goes up that high. Anyway, it was fun at least. I think the road won this round.
When I weighed Wednesday morning, it said 210 (no change). Meh, I guess I can live with that. Since I didn't get to work out Wednesday, I ran last night at the park instead of walking. I really wanted to see if running the 10 minute intervals on the treadmill was a fluke due to maybe the treadmill being easier than outdoors (this was my DHs opinion and it was starting to get to me), so I decided I would run until it seemed like I should stop and see how long that was. I got all the way around the park to the bottom of the big hill. I had never run anywhere near that far before. I looked at my stop watch. TWELVE minutes! Can you freaking believe that? I walked about 3 minutes - until I got up the tough part of that big hill, and then ran another 12 minutes. The first 12 was almost effortless - the 2nd, not so much. I worked pretty hard to get from 9 to 12 minutes on that last one. I still can't believe it. I think I will run either 6 or 7 minute intervals a few times as the 12 seemed a little over my head and I don't want to hurt myself.
Weighed this morning and saw 212. yuck. Oh well, it could be Wednesday night paying me back, or it could be from abusing myself with the 12 minute runs. Not sure, but I'm going to try to get my sh*t together for the rest of the week. I'd love to see 208 next Tuesday.
Well, gotta go. I can't wait to catch up on everyone's blogs - I'm so far behind from having a craptastic internet connection while I was in Dallas, and from being swamped at work.
Have a great weekend ladies....
This has gotta be really quick, but I didn't want to leave without posting something.
In the battle of me v. the road, it's pretty much a draw. I had some really good moments, the road had a few as well. Brief summary:
Working out - I did awesome with that. I worked out a minimum of an hour a day, which I have never done on the road. I ran every day. One day I even ran 3 10 minute intervals + a 7 minute. Yep, me. Can ya believe it? I earned something like 34 APs I think that week.
Food - meh. I did pretty good here. I went to the grocery store the first day and bought fruit for snacks. I did pretty good with meals. I ate some stuff I wouldn't have eaten at home, but I wrote it all down and I didn't go over my Flex. I normally don't eat all my flex, but I did use almost all of them this time.
So - I was doing pretty good until the trip home on Wednesday night. I ended up having the chicken quesadillas at Friday's - it's not a full portion, so that's not terrible. What wasn't too good was that I also had a giant margarita - yes, it was in fact giant. Then I had er 'some' beers. I'll leave it at that. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, I got upgraded to first class and the guy next to me asked me if the margaritas were any good. I really had just been wondering that I told him. He asked the flight attendant. She said they were good, but they were really good if you added the little bottle of Grand Marnier. "How about I bring you a couple and you can check them out?" she said as she jumped on me and twisted my arm painfully behind my back. "Drink it! Drink it, or I'll throw you off this plane!" she screamed at me. It was so painful and I was so terrified that I did what any sane person would do and agreed to have the margarita. (Note: portions of the previous story may be less than true.) So, I have no idea how many points all that sh*t was, I don't think my journal goes up that high. Anyway, it was fun at least. I think the road won this round.
When I weighed Wednesday morning, it said 210 (no change). Meh, I guess I can live with that. Since I didn't get to work out Wednesday, I ran last night at the park instead of walking. I really wanted to see if running the 10 minute intervals on the treadmill was a fluke due to maybe the treadmill being easier than outdoors (this was my DHs opinion and it was starting to get to me), so I decided I would run until it seemed like I should stop and see how long that was. I got all the way around the park to the bottom of the big hill. I had never run anywhere near that far before. I looked at my stop watch. TWELVE minutes! Can you freaking believe that? I walked about 3 minutes - until I got up the tough part of that big hill, and then ran another 12 minutes. The first 12 was almost effortless - the 2nd, not so much. I worked pretty hard to get from 9 to 12 minutes on that last one. I still can't believe it. I think I will run either 6 or 7 minute intervals a few times as the 12 seemed a little over my head and I don't want to hurt myself.
Weighed this morning and saw 212. yuck. Oh well, it could be Wednesday night paying me back, or it could be from abusing myself with the 12 minute runs. Not sure, but I'm going to try to get my sh*t together for the rest of the week. I'd love to see 208 next Tuesday.
Well, gotta go. I can't wait to catch up on everyone's blogs - I'm so far behind from having a craptastic internet connection while I was in Dallas, and from being swamped at work.
Have a great weekend ladies....
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Weigh In, Tuesday May 27th
I'm a day late posting due to a day off from work, but can I have a drum roll please................
Weight: 210!
Woohoo! I weighed on Sunday and saw 210 after all of those days at 214. Then on Monday, it was up to 212. It's TOM, so I didn't worry about it. I'm glad I didn't because it was back to 210 again this morning. I even got on and off the scale about 4 times to make sure.
I am so excited. If you look left, you will see I am sporting a brand new badge to celebrate my now 30 pounds gone! I think I could fly around the room right now. I don't know if I finally broke through my exercise issues, or if the water helped, or if it was eating all of my APs, or what. I'm just going to do this week exactly what I did last week and hope to keep heading down a pound or two a week.
In other news, I 'graduated' to the next level in my running program on Monday. I ran 6 intervals of 4 min run/1 min walk. It wasn't even that hard. Granted it was at the bird sanctuary which is flat, as opposed to the hilly park, so we'll see how hard it is there - but I freaking did it! I even enjoyed it. I'm doing it again tonight, so wish me well. On the foot front, my feet seem to have gone back down to normal size and my shoes are fitting normally again. So, I haven't been having any problems there. That's good news.
Anyway, I've got to go for now, but I'll be checking in on everyone during lunch. I'm jonesing for a blog fix. :)
Weight: 210!
Woohoo! I weighed on Sunday and saw 210 after all of those days at 214. Then on Monday, it was up to 212. It's TOM, so I didn't worry about it. I'm glad I didn't because it was back to 210 again this morning. I even got on and off the scale about 4 times to make sure.
I am so excited. If you look left, you will see I am sporting a brand new badge to celebrate my now 30 pounds gone! I think I could fly around the room right now. I don't know if I finally broke through my exercise issues, or if the water helped, or if it was eating all of my APs, or what. I'm just going to do this week exactly what I did last week and hope to keep heading down a pound or two a week.
In other news, I 'graduated' to the next level in my running program on Monday. I ran 6 intervals of 4 min run/1 min walk. It wasn't even that hard. Granted it was at the bird sanctuary which is flat, as opposed to the hilly park, so we'll see how hard it is there - but I freaking did it! I even enjoyed it. I'm doing it again tonight, so wish me well. On the foot front, my feet seem to have gone back down to normal size and my shoes are fitting normally again. So, I haven't been having any problems there. That's good news.
Anyway, I've got to go for now, but I'll be checking in on everyone during lunch. I'm jonesing for a blog fix. :)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Rollin', rollin', rollin'...
Goal Checkup for Wednesday, May 21st
Drink 64+ oz water CHECK
Journal all meals and snacks CHECK
Stay on plan CHECK
Run/walk program 3/1 intervals - CHECK
Minimum 45 minutes moderate exercise CHECK
Earn minimum 29 activity points by end of day Monday May 26 - 9/26 APs earned
Minimum 4 blog entries - 2/4
Food Journal:
4 - 2 whole grain f/f waffles with 1 t. butter
3 - 2 whole wheat lite bread with 1 lite Laughing Cow wedge and 1 oz turkey
8 - brown rice and pinto beans
1 - apple
0 - large salad w/big handful of grape tomatoes
1 - 1 T lite Ranch
3 - 5 saltines with 2 T peanut butter
3 - pre running Kashi bar
4 - 2 tiny wraps (2 - 2 for 1 pt tortillas, 1 slice WW cheese, 2 oz turkey, lettuce)
1 - apple
26 points + 6 APs = 32-28 = 2 points left
Race report (tee hee):
So yesterday was my second day to run 3/1 intervals this week. I have to tell you I was nervous. I had such a good experience on Monday, but I had the miserable one the week before, so I was so worried that after I went on and on about how great it was that I would fail at it just because I couldn't keep my big yap shut (I know, but this is how my brain works). Just to make things scarier, I got stuck at work almost 2 hours later than usual. It was really hot and humid. My feet and ankles were all swollen for some weird reason which is making my shoes not fit right, and I was starving but it was too late to eat and still run.
Now 6 months ago (if I could have run 6 months ago) all of these things would have triggered an, "Aw f*ck it! I'll just skip tonight because it's not fair that everything is so against me." So, I am proud to tell you that I did run. I ran faster than I did on Monday.
Yep. Good ol GWAP (GirlWithAProblem) hauled up her big girl panties, shut her yap, and just friggin' ran. I know! I can't believe it either. I keep asking DH, "Who is this person?"
It went great. It was easier than the run on Monday actually, even with my shoe bothering me. Here's what's really cool. The park I run in is not that big, so one loop from where we park back to the truck is just under the distance I run/walk doing the 3/1 intervals. Monday I got back to the truck and still had one 3/1 interval + the final 2 min run left so I had to double back. Yesterday I started running farther from the truck than I did on Monday, but when I got back to the truck, I had already done the last 3 minute run. I only had the 1 min walk and the 2 min run left! That means I did the same distance in 3 minutes less time - actually closer to 5 because I started the set farther along the course. DH said I was going faster, but it felt the same to me. That has to be a good sign doesn't it? After that, we walked some more for a grand total of 53 minutes including my running. I got 6 APs for all that. Woohoo!
Another good sign is that I felt better physically after the Monday and Wednesday run/walk routines than I did after the plain walking on Tuesday. I haven't had any pain or soreness at all (except where my stupid shoe rubbed), so that's a good sign that I'm getting fitter.
In other news, today was the first office cake day I missed. I told you how I normally make sure to eat cake just to prove I can - but lately I really haven't even wanted it. Well today, I went in there and looked at it, but all I could think of was how craptastic I was going to feel when I try to race walk for an hour in the heat and humidity this afternoon. I walked away. From cake. From cake with cream cheese frosting. Not because I was supposed to, but because I knew my body didn't want it and would not perform well for me later. OMFG I don't think I even know who I am any more. I think the body snatchers came and took my fat brain one night while I was sleeping and left me some poor athletic girl's brain. I just don't know any more.
Anyway, that's what's goin' on with me. What's up with you guys?
Drink 64+ oz water CHECK
Journal all meals and snacks CHECK
Stay on plan CHECK
Run/walk program 3/1 intervals - CHECK
Minimum 45 minutes moderate exercise CHECK
Earn minimum 29 activity points by end of day Monday May 26 - 9/26 APs earned
Minimum 4 blog entries - 2/4
Food Journal:
4 - 2 whole grain f/f waffles with 1 t. butter
3 - 2 whole wheat lite bread with 1 lite Laughing Cow wedge and 1 oz turkey
8 - brown rice and pinto beans
1 - apple
0 - large salad w/big handful of grape tomatoes
1 - 1 T lite Ranch
3 - 5 saltines with 2 T peanut butter
3 - pre running Kashi bar
4 - 2 tiny wraps (2 - 2 for 1 pt tortillas, 1 slice WW cheese, 2 oz turkey, lettuce)
1 - apple
26 points + 6 APs = 32-28 = 2 points left
Race report (tee hee):
So yesterday was my second day to run 3/1 intervals this week. I have to tell you I was nervous. I had such a good experience on Monday, but I had the miserable one the week before, so I was so worried that after I went on and on about how great it was that I would fail at it just because I couldn't keep my big yap shut (I know, but this is how my brain works). Just to make things scarier, I got stuck at work almost 2 hours later than usual. It was really hot and humid. My feet and ankles were all swollen for some weird reason which is making my shoes not fit right, and I was starving but it was too late to eat and still run.
Now 6 months ago (if I could have run 6 months ago) all of these things would have triggered an, "Aw f*ck it! I'll just skip tonight because it's not fair that everything is so against me." So, I am proud to tell you that I did run. I ran faster than I did on Monday.
Yep. Good ol GWAP (GirlWithAProblem) hauled up her big girl panties, shut her yap, and just friggin' ran. I know! I can't believe it either. I keep asking DH, "Who is this person?"
It went great. It was easier than the run on Monday actually, even with my shoe bothering me. Here's what's really cool. The park I run in is not that big, so one loop from where we park back to the truck is just under the distance I run/walk doing the 3/1 intervals. Monday I got back to the truck and still had one 3/1 interval + the final 2 min run left so I had to double back. Yesterday I started running farther from the truck than I did on Monday, but when I got back to the truck, I had already done the last 3 minute run. I only had the 1 min walk and the 2 min run left! That means I did the same distance in 3 minutes less time - actually closer to 5 because I started the set farther along the course. DH said I was going faster, but it felt the same to me. That has to be a good sign doesn't it? After that, we walked some more for a grand total of 53 minutes including my running. I got 6 APs for all that. Woohoo!
Another good sign is that I felt better physically after the Monday and Wednesday run/walk routines than I did after the plain walking on Tuesday. I haven't had any pain or soreness at all (except where my stupid shoe rubbed), so that's a good sign that I'm getting fitter.
In other news, today was the first office cake day I missed. I told you how I normally make sure to eat cake just to prove I can - but lately I really haven't even wanted it. Well today, I went in there and looked at it, but all I could think of was how craptastic I was going to feel when I try to race walk for an hour in the heat and humidity this afternoon. I walked away. From cake. From cake with cream cheese frosting. Not because I was supposed to, but because I knew my body didn't want it and would not perform well for me later. OMFG I don't think I even know who I am any more. I think the body snatchers came and took my fat brain one night while I was sleeping and left me some poor athletic girl's brain. I just don't know any more.
Anyway, that's what's goin' on with me. What's up with you guys?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Not quite a 5K, but not too shabby...
Weight: 214 (yes, still)
Running: woohoo!
It's the start of a new week and the scale hasn't budged, but I almost don't even care today. Why? Because I had an awesome run last night. So sticks out tongue to you Mr. Scale! I'll deal with you in the 7 days to come.
For now, let me tell you about last night. For those of you that have been following my progress, you know that I have been kind of stuck at running 10 2min run/1min walk intervals for 2 or 3 weeks (seems like forever, I can't even remember) and had barely survived my one attempt last week at moving up to 3/1's. That was the run that I huffed and puffed, felt like I was about to have a heart attack, almost puked, and seriously thought about quitting at least 4 or 5 times during the session. That was last Monday I think, and after that I went back to 2/1's for Wed, Fri, and Sun. Wednesday and Friday actually seemed a little hard on the 2/1's and I was beginning to doubt myself - but I was determined that I would continue this running program if I had to run 2/1's for the next 10 years. Sunday went really well. I did 2/1's, but I experimented with pace quite a bit since I felt really strong that day. I even did my last minute of running at the absolute fastest pace that I thought I could maintain for a whole minute. It went pretty well.
So yesterday it was 94 degrees and I was tired. I was still looking forward to running in that weird way that I seem to have now, but I hadn't yet decided if I was going to continue with 2/1's or try 3/1's again. Since the last time was such a bad experience, I was leaning toward the 2/1's. Before I left work, I decided to check in on some of my favorite bloggers. I'm so glad I did. Since one of them had not updated, I decided to check out her beginning posts to see where she had started (she just ran her first 1/2 marathon just over a year later) and I saw her posts where she was struggling with the 3/1's. She, like me, had decided the rate of increase that the running program was suggesting was just too fast for her and that she would decide on her own when to increase her intervals. Reading ahead, I saw that although she struggled in the beginning there seemed to be a point where she was increasing fairly rapidly. She mentioned something about running with someone who pushed her past her comfort point a little. So that's when I decided I would give the 3/1's another chance.
It was awesome! The first couple of intervals were not very difficult. (There are 7 3/1's and then a 2 min run) There were 2 uphill intervals that I had to fight through in a couple of places, but all in all it was challenging without being discouraging. For the first time I actually ran at a decent pace. Until then, I've only been concerned that I was always moving in a jogging motion, sometimes in place if I had to, but I was going pretty slow. Last night I picked up the pace and I think that helped. I think I found a comfort zone because I maintained that throughout the run except for maybe twice when I had to run in place a few steps on the steep hills. I even poured on the speed and ran my last minute as fast as I could. DH was shocked. He kept saying how 'impressive' that was and that I 'ran forever and just kept running'. He must have been impressed because he kept talking about how proud he was and that he never thought he'd see me run like that. I have to admit it, but I am also amazingly proud of myself. I could burst!
So regarding the weight. Meh. I could've lost a couple of pounds, but I didn't. I suspect it's partially due to the reasons I mentioned in a recent post, and partially because I have been slacking on journaling points and drinking water. So, I will take my 214 (because after all 6 months ago I never thought I'd see 214 again) and I will challenge myself to some better behavior for this new week.
In the mean time, I am giving myself a big 'Woohoo!' and a virtual high five. Thanks to all of you that have offered your support here. It means so much to me. Thanks to those of you that, through blogging your own challenges and triumphs, inspire me to go faster and farther than I ever dreamed I could. You girls rock!
Running: woohoo!
It's the start of a new week and the scale hasn't budged, but I almost don't even care today. Why? Because I had an awesome run last night. So sticks out tongue to you Mr. Scale! I'll deal with you in the 7 days to come.
For now, let me tell you about last night. For those of you that have been following my progress, you know that I have been kind of stuck at running 10 2min run/1min walk intervals for 2 or 3 weeks (seems like forever, I can't even remember) and had barely survived my one attempt last week at moving up to 3/1's. That was the run that I huffed and puffed, felt like I was about to have a heart attack, almost puked, and seriously thought about quitting at least 4 or 5 times during the session. That was last Monday I think, and after that I went back to 2/1's for Wed, Fri, and Sun. Wednesday and Friday actually seemed a little hard on the 2/1's and I was beginning to doubt myself - but I was determined that I would continue this running program if I had to run 2/1's for the next 10 years. Sunday went really well. I did 2/1's, but I experimented with pace quite a bit since I felt really strong that day. I even did my last minute of running at the absolute fastest pace that I thought I could maintain for a whole minute. It went pretty well.
So yesterday it was 94 degrees and I was tired. I was still looking forward to running in that weird way that I seem to have now, but I hadn't yet decided if I was going to continue with 2/1's or try 3/1's again. Since the last time was such a bad experience, I was leaning toward the 2/1's. Before I left work, I decided to check in on some of my favorite bloggers. I'm so glad I did. Since one of them had not updated, I decided to check out her beginning posts to see where she had started (she just ran her first 1/2 marathon just over a year later) and I saw her posts where she was struggling with the 3/1's. She, like me, had decided the rate of increase that the running program was suggesting was just too fast for her and that she would decide on her own when to increase her intervals. Reading ahead, I saw that although she struggled in the beginning there seemed to be a point where she was increasing fairly rapidly. She mentioned something about running with someone who pushed her past her comfort point a little. So that's when I decided I would give the 3/1's another chance.
It was awesome! The first couple of intervals were not very difficult. (There are 7 3/1's and then a 2 min run) There were 2 uphill intervals that I had to fight through in a couple of places, but all in all it was challenging without being discouraging. For the first time I actually ran at a decent pace. Until then, I've only been concerned that I was always moving in a jogging motion, sometimes in place if I had to, but I was going pretty slow. Last night I picked up the pace and I think that helped. I think I found a comfort zone because I maintained that throughout the run except for maybe twice when I had to run in place a few steps on the steep hills. I even poured on the speed and ran my last minute as fast as I could. DH was shocked. He kept saying how 'impressive' that was and that I 'ran forever and just kept running'. He must have been impressed because he kept talking about how proud he was and that he never thought he'd see me run like that. I have to admit it, but I am also amazingly proud of myself. I could burst!
So regarding the weight. Meh. I could've lost a couple of pounds, but I didn't. I suspect it's partially due to the reasons I mentioned in a recent post, and partially because I have been slacking on journaling points and drinking water. So, I will take my 214 (because after all 6 months ago I never thought I'd see 214 again) and I will challenge myself to some better behavior for this new week.
In the mean time, I am giving myself a big 'Woohoo!' and a virtual high five. Thanks to all of you that have offered your support here. It means so much to me. Thanks to those of you that, through blogging your own challenges and triumphs, inspire me to go faster and farther than I ever dreamed I could. You girls rock!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Woohoo it's Friday!
Quick update before I fly out the door to a much needed weekend...
Thursday night was a 55 minute walk at a very brisk pace. It's weird, that one was hard too. I was so happy that it wasn't my running night. I hope I get over whatever this is and get back to a place where it's not quite so hard to keep going. We did do 5 laps around the little loop with the biggest hill last night. The first 3 were torture, but it did get better on the last 2. I just kept repeating, "I will not quit. I will not quit." whenever my legs were burning and tired. Near the end I came up with a new mantra that, when repeated fast, matches my pace when walking. I kept repeating it in my mind to try to disassociate my mind from my body, "Faster, farther. Stronger, lighter." I kind of like that one.
On other news, I haven't gone to get my bike yet. I think I will this weekend. It's just been to hectic to try to fit in an hour of exercise and dealing with that. Plus I've been so sweaty I didn't want to gross out the salesperson if they had to get anywhere near me to adjust the bike. :)
Oh, one other thing. The other day I went to buy myself some new workout clothes because I just didn't have enough things to not have to do laundry in the middle of the week. Anyway, I went to Academy and was looking at the Nike DriFit pants (I have to wear pants b/c my legs are still to chubby to run in shorts) which were $50 bucks (ouch!). I pulled out a pair of XL because that's what I always wear, unless it's XXL, and they looked huge. You know how workout pants always look like they're way too small? Well I was actually worried these wouldn't stay up when I ran. So I looked for a L to compare. They didn't have any, so I started digging through the sale racks to see if I could find something else. I did eventually stumble across 2 pairs of Nike DriFit pants in size L - on sale for 19.98! I then found 3 of the DriFit tanks in XL (they looked small) marked down to 9.98. I decided to buy them figuring that anything that was too small would fit me later. When I got to the checkout, she started pushing all these buttons after every scan and then looked at me and said "32.15 please". Huh? Miracle of miracles, they were an additional 50% off!!!! I ended up with about $180 worth of Nike DriFit for $32.15 including sales tax. Oh happy day!
So I had worn the pants already. How excited am I to be in Large pants? I had not worn the tanks because they were really form fitting to say the least. Last night I got brave and decided, screw it. If anybody doesn't like what they see they don't have to look. (yes, that was ME that said that - who am I lately?) I decided I would just take a T-shirt in case I needed to go in a store or something on the way back. After putting on my gear, I braced myself to look in the mirror and see how bad it looked...I was freaking shocked! I squealed out loud. DH called down the hall to see if I was ok. I ran out into the living room yelling, "Look! Look! Look at me!" He dropped his jaw. "Look at you! Where did you go?" he said as he headed over for a tactile inspection of my shrunken midsection. It was such a surreal experience. I could not stop feeling my middle. I looked SO much smaller. I didn't even look that fat any more. If I sucked in as much as possible, I almost looked svelte! How freaking cool is that? So, I went proudly out to the park in my skin tight Nike tank and busted my buns for the next 55 minutes. That did boost my resolve to keep going I tell you.
So, I gotta run now. DH is waiting for me to get home. Tonight is 10 2min/1min run/walk intervals. It's unusually cool and breezy today, so I'm hoping that helps make it a good experience. I don't want a repeat of Wednesday. Either way I WILL DO IT. How can I stop now?
One more thing - Thanks so much to all of you who have stopped by to say hello and to offer support. That means so much to me. I think of that when I want to quit. I think how I want to come back here and post the good news rather than some excuses. I think how I want to run races like my blogging heroes do. Thanks again.
Everyone have a great weekend! Wish me luck running tonight and Saturday.
Thursday night was a 55 minute walk at a very brisk pace. It's weird, that one was hard too. I was so happy that it wasn't my running night. I hope I get over whatever this is and get back to a place where it's not quite so hard to keep going. We did do 5 laps around the little loop with the biggest hill last night. The first 3 were torture, but it did get better on the last 2. I just kept repeating, "I will not quit. I will not quit." whenever my legs were burning and tired. Near the end I came up with a new mantra that, when repeated fast, matches my pace when walking. I kept repeating it in my mind to try to disassociate my mind from my body, "Faster, farther. Stronger, lighter." I kind of like that one.
On other news, I haven't gone to get my bike yet. I think I will this weekend. It's just been to hectic to try to fit in an hour of exercise and dealing with that. Plus I've been so sweaty I didn't want to gross out the salesperson if they had to get anywhere near me to adjust the bike. :)
Oh, one other thing. The other day I went to buy myself some new workout clothes because I just didn't have enough things to not have to do laundry in the middle of the week. Anyway, I went to Academy and was looking at the Nike DriFit pants (I have to wear pants b/c my legs are still to chubby to run in shorts) which were $50 bucks (ouch!). I pulled out a pair of XL because that's what I always wear, unless it's XXL, and they looked huge. You know how workout pants always look like they're way too small? Well I was actually worried these wouldn't stay up when I ran. So I looked for a L to compare. They didn't have any, so I started digging through the sale racks to see if I could find something else. I did eventually stumble across 2 pairs of Nike DriFit pants in size L - on sale for 19.98! I then found 3 of the DriFit tanks in XL (they looked small) marked down to 9.98. I decided to buy them figuring that anything that was too small would fit me later. When I got to the checkout, she started pushing all these buttons after every scan and then looked at me and said "32.15 please". Huh? Miracle of miracles, they were an additional 50% off!!!! I ended up with about $180 worth of Nike DriFit for $32.15 including sales tax. Oh happy day!
So I had worn the pants already. How excited am I to be in Large pants? I had not worn the tanks because they were really form fitting to say the least. Last night I got brave and decided, screw it. If anybody doesn't like what they see they don't have to look. (yes, that was ME that said that - who am I lately?) I decided I would just take a T-shirt in case I needed to go in a store or something on the way back. After putting on my gear, I braced myself to look in the mirror and see how bad it looked...I was freaking shocked! I squealed out loud. DH called down the hall to see if I was ok. I ran out into the living room yelling, "Look! Look! Look at me!" He dropped his jaw. "Look at you! Where did you go?" he said as he headed over for a tactile inspection of my shrunken midsection. It was such a surreal experience. I could not stop feeling my middle. I looked SO much smaller. I didn't even look that fat any more. If I sucked in as much as possible, I almost looked svelte! How freaking cool is that? So, I went proudly out to the park in my skin tight Nike tank and busted my buns for the next 55 minutes. That did boost my resolve to keep going I tell you.
So, I gotta run now. DH is waiting for me to get home. Tonight is 10 2min/1min run/walk intervals. It's unusually cool and breezy today, so I'm hoping that helps make it a good experience. I don't want a repeat of Wednesday. Either way I WILL DO IT. How can I stop now?
One more thing - Thanks so much to all of you who have stopped by to say hello and to offer support. That means so much to me. I think of that when I want to quit. I think how I want to come back here and post the good news rather than some excuses. I think how I want to run races like my blogging heroes do. Thanks again.
Everyone have a great weekend! Wish me luck running tonight and Saturday.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
I'm doing it!
So, I started the running program I found in Runner's World 3 1/2 weeks ago It's a little more agressive than the Couch to 10K in that you run 4 days per week instead of 3, and I believe the distance/time increases more rapidly.
Week 1 - Run 1 minute/Walk 2, 10 times
I really thought I was going to drop dead from a heart attack the first 4 days I did this. My legs burned so bad, and felt like 2 huge cement pillars. This was hard. Really hard. It was shear determination that got me through it. By Saturday it was getting better, but it was still hard enough that I couldn't imaginge bumping up the running time for the next week. I then decided that since I wasn't training for an actual scheduled race, that I needed to focus on what was really important - continuing the program. So I made the decision that I would use their program as a guide, but I would let my body be the real determination of how far/how soon.
Week 2 - Run 1 minute/Walk 2, 10 times
The program had said that this week should be run 2 min/walk 1, but I didn't think I was ready. I decided to repeat week 1 instead. I was really excited when I started running on day 1 of this week. It actually felt a lot better. I was even enjoying it. By the 3rd day, I had stopped huffing and puffing and had only my tired legs to contend with. Then near the end of my day 3 run, I experienced 2 intervals where I felt absolutely WEIGHTLESS! It was the strangest sensation. I felt amazing. I felt like I was floating. I think I got hooked. On day 4, I ran 2 minutes on my last 2 intervals to see if I was ready to progress in week 3. I did it! It wasn't even that hard.
The only thing was that the scheduled plan for the next week was to run 2/walk 1 10 times for days 1 and 2. Day 3 was to be run 3/walk 1 7 times, then walk 2 min. Day 4 was to run 4/walk 1 6 times! I was very skeptical about all of that, but I do want to make sure to push myself and not get off too easy so I decided I would see how it goes and then make up my mind from there.
Week 3
Days 1 and 2 (run 2/walk 1 x 10) went well. When day 3 came, I was scared, but determined. The first 3 min run/1 min walk interval was not that bad. By the 4th one I was convinced I was in over my head. Where I run/walk is VERY hilly (some of the hills are hard enough to walk up) and it was just too much. I was struggling so hard. For the first time since the first 2 days of Week 1, I was huffing and puffing and out of breath. My legs were killing me and I could barely make them keep moving. I wanted to quit so bad. I almost did quit, but I didn't. I had made a good decision in telling so many people what I was doing. I knew that I had people that were going to ask me how the 3 minutes went. I did not want to go back and tell them I had quit. So I decided to keep going no matter what. Then I would go back to 2 run/1 walk for the rest of Week 3. The next day, I hurt everywhere. It was the first time I had any physical pain (other than just a little stiffness) from my run/walk program. If that wasn't a sign that my body wasn't ready, I don't know what was. So completed the week in 2/1 fashion, but feeling stronger and more confident every day. On Saturday, I decided that I was going to do another 2/1 week for week 4, unless it just got too easy and then I would graduate another minute.
Week 4 - this week
Last night was day 1 of week 4. I ran my 2/1's with a very even pace, good breathing, and only mild complaints from my legs on the upsides of some of the steeper hills. As luck usually goes, it just so happened that when the last interval came up, we were at the bottom of the steepest hill. I almost detoured to avoid it, but then decided to go for it. I took a deep breath and started up the hill, trying to maintain the same breathing pattern and cadence that I was maintaining earlier. I can't believe it, but I FREAKING DID IT! Yep, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. I was like Rocky running up those stairs. I even did the obligatory boxer's fist wave over my head at the end. Then something even stranger happened. I didn't want to stop running! (yes, me) I thought, well I can run another minute - it's down hill after all. Then I looked at my watch and I had 'accidently' run one minute 15 seconds. So, I thought "I'll just see if I can run another minute." I DID!!! I ran for 4 minutes instead of 2 during my 10th interval. I was really happy with my performance last night. I felt good during most of the run.
So, I think I'm going to still run 2/1's tomorrow. I'm thinking about throwing in two intervals of 3/1 if it feels right. Maybe the last 2. I am loving this. I am so pumped. I am really doing it. I am becoming a runner. One day soon I will run for 30 minutes straight. I have to think up a good reward for myself for that day.
Tonight I think we're buying mountain bikes. I'm thinking we will go walk for 45 minutes and then head to Academy to buy the bikes. I don't know how long they will take to put them together, or if we will have to come back for them on another day. If they get them put together before dark though, I'm going to stop back by the park and go for a ride.
Who is this creature I am becoming? I don't know, but I think I like her. :)
Week 1 - Run 1 minute/Walk 2, 10 times
I really thought I was going to drop dead from a heart attack the first 4 days I did this. My legs burned so bad, and felt like 2 huge cement pillars. This was hard. Really hard. It was shear determination that got me through it. By Saturday it was getting better, but it was still hard enough that I couldn't imaginge bumping up the running time for the next week. I then decided that since I wasn't training for an actual scheduled race, that I needed to focus on what was really important - continuing the program. So I made the decision that I would use their program as a guide, but I would let my body be the real determination of how far/how soon.
Week 2 - Run 1 minute/Walk 2, 10 times
The program had said that this week should be run 2 min/walk 1, but I didn't think I was ready. I decided to repeat week 1 instead. I was really excited when I started running on day 1 of this week. It actually felt a lot better. I was even enjoying it. By the 3rd day, I had stopped huffing and puffing and had only my tired legs to contend with. Then near the end of my day 3 run, I experienced 2 intervals where I felt absolutely WEIGHTLESS! It was the strangest sensation. I felt amazing. I felt like I was floating. I think I got hooked. On day 4, I ran 2 minutes on my last 2 intervals to see if I was ready to progress in week 3. I did it! It wasn't even that hard.
The only thing was that the scheduled plan for the next week was to run 2/walk 1 10 times for days 1 and 2. Day 3 was to be run 3/walk 1 7 times, then walk 2 min. Day 4 was to run 4/walk 1 6 times! I was very skeptical about all of that, but I do want to make sure to push myself and not get off too easy so I decided I would see how it goes and then make up my mind from there.
Week 3
Days 1 and 2 (run 2/walk 1 x 10) went well. When day 3 came, I was scared, but determined. The first 3 min run/1 min walk interval was not that bad. By the 4th one I was convinced I was in over my head. Where I run/walk is VERY hilly (some of the hills are hard enough to walk up) and it was just too much. I was struggling so hard. For the first time since the first 2 days of Week 1, I was huffing and puffing and out of breath. My legs were killing me and I could barely make them keep moving. I wanted to quit so bad. I almost did quit, but I didn't. I had made a good decision in telling so many people what I was doing. I knew that I had people that were going to ask me how the 3 minutes went. I did not want to go back and tell them I had quit. So I decided to keep going no matter what. Then I would go back to 2 run/1 walk for the rest of Week 3. The next day, I hurt everywhere. It was the first time I had any physical pain (other than just a little stiffness) from my run/walk program. If that wasn't a sign that my body wasn't ready, I don't know what was. So completed the week in 2/1 fashion, but feeling stronger and more confident every day. On Saturday, I decided that I was going to do another 2/1 week for week 4, unless it just got too easy and then I would graduate another minute.
Week 4 - this week
Last night was day 1 of week 4. I ran my 2/1's with a very even pace, good breathing, and only mild complaints from my legs on the upsides of some of the steeper hills. As luck usually goes, it just so happened that when the last interval came up, we were at the bottom of the steepest hill. I almost detoured to avoid it, but then decided to go for it. I took a deep breath and started up the hill, trying to maintain the same breathing pattern and cadence that I was maintaining earlier. I can't believe it, but I FREAKING DID IT! Yep, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. I was like Rocky running up those stairs. I even did the obligatory boxer's fist wave over my head at the end. Then something even stranger happened. I didn't want to stop running! (yes, me) I thought, well I can run another minute - it's down hill after all. Then I looked at my watch and I had 'accidently' run one minute 15 seconds. So, I thought "I'll just see if I can run another minute." I DID!!! I ran for 4 minutes instead of 2 during my 10th interval. I was really happy with my performance last night. I felt good during most of the run.
So, I think I'm going to still run 2/1's tomorrow. I'm thinking about throwing in two intervals of 3/1 if it feels right. Maybe the last 2. I am loving this. I am so pumped. I am really doing it. I am becoming a runner. One day soon I will run for 30 minutes straight. I have to think up a good reward for myself for that day.
Tonight I think we're buying mountain bikes. I'm thinking we will go walk for 45 minutes and then head to Academy to buy the bikes. I don't know how long they will take to put them together, or if we will have to come back for them on another day. If they get them put together before dark though, I'm going to stop back by the park and go for a ride.
Who is this creature I am becoming? I don't know, but I think I like her. :)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Something new...
Well, I started something new. I'm training to become a runner. Yes, not to run a race, but to run - period. I have done a little running at times in my past (there were times in my life where I could run a mile or 2), but I have never stuck with it enough to get good at it - or where it wasn't so hard.
Yesterday I started a running program. It's similar to the 'Couch to 10K' thing that everyone is doing, only this one comes from Runners World http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/smartcoach/beginner/0,7146,s6-238-277-278-0,00.html
So last night was Week 1, Day 1. It was the perfect day not to start. I had to go and buy a stop watch and got sidetracked looking around at Academy, so we got a late start. I was tired and it was hot, there were big hills, but I SO wanted to do this, and I had my new stop watch and all... So I ACTUALLY DID IT! I even ran some of my intervals up hill. Now I'm not saying I wasn't huffing and puffing - hubby did ask for a confirmation that I was not going to have a heart attack on him - but I DID IT! All 10 intervals. I think I did pretty good. I tried to run softly to make sure not to injure myself while I'm just getting started. But I'm not in pain today. We've been walking that park quite a bit lately, and it does have some killer hills so I guess that paid off. I am so psyched!
Week 1 goes like this:
Yesterday I started a running program. It's similar to the 'Couch to 10K' thing that everyone is doing, only this one comes from Runners World http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/smartcoach/beginner/0,7146,s6-238-277-278-0,00.html
So last night was Week 1, Day 1. It was the perfect day not to start. I had to go and buy a stop watch and got sidetracked looking around at Academy, so we got a late start. I was tired and it was hot, there were big hills, but I SO wanted to do this, and I had my new stop watch and all... So I ACTUALLY DID IT! I even ran some of my intervals up hill. Now I'm not saying I wasn't huffing and puffing - hubby did ask for a confirmation that I was not going to have a heart attack on him - but I DID IT! All 10 intervals. I think I did pretty good. I tried to run softly to make sure not to injure myself while I'm just getting started. But I'm not in pain today. We've been walking that park quite a bit lately, and it does have some killer hills so I guess that paid off. I am so psyched!
Week 1 goes like this:
Monday - Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes - repeat this combo 10x
Tuesday - 30 minute easy walk
Wednesday - Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes - repeat this combo 10x
Thursday - 30 minute easy walk
Friday - Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes - repeat this combo 10x
Saturday - Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes - repeat this combo 10x
Sunday - REST
It's designed to get your body caught up with your cardiovascular system so that you don't overdo it early on and get hurt. By Week 8, you should be up to running 30 minutes non-stop. I am so excited.
Anyway, I figured that the Week 1 Walk/Run days are 3 Activity points (probably more actually because there is a warm up and cool down walk that last anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. But we'll just stick with 3 for now. The Walk days will actually be more than the 1 minute that an easy 30 min walk gets you because we will be walking longer at a quicker pace and there are some pretty good hills. I would say those days will be at least 2 AP.
I'm still not sure if I will eat the APs or not. I might. But I am going to start tallying them starting today which is my regular weigh in day - day 1 of my WW week.
Much more to come. I am going to try to come up with a good format for posting this activity info, but for now I'll just do it this way.
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