yucky run

Today was my first run on pavement. Up until now, I've always run at the parks near here, but I figured I better get used to running on pavement for my 5k. It started out reasonably well! I was chugging along at a decent pace, ignoring the people gawking out of their car windows (I mean, do they really think all fat people sit around in fat scooters watching soap operas and eating Big Macs?) and enjoying my awesome new running mix from RockMyRun.

But then I started to get hot. And thirsty. Really, really thirsty. I've read that short runs (under 5k) absolutely do not require water, but I have a tendency to doubt that when I'm doubled over after 30 minutes, honestly about to drink out of a random stranger's garden hose. (I would not do that, though; because if there's anything worse than dying of thirst, it's looking like an idiot.) But anyways. I had to stop ~23.5 minutes into my run because vomiting seemed like a very real possibility.  I'm absolutely certain I could have kept going if I had been properly hydrated.

I have my eye on this water bottle, which looks inconspicuous enough; and you can clip it to your waistband. I already feel like a packmule while running (heart rate monitor, armband, iphone, car key in hair...), and this will just add even more of a ~special touch.

Workouts this week: 1
Miles walked/ran this month: 30.1 eep, next month it will just be "miles ran"!
How awesome I feel today: 8

l o l

I'm a Zumba-er, but I am getting more and more interested in Crossfit. I found this, and I DIED.

"No, you really don't get it. Zumba is the cult. You all just want an excuse to wear ugly clothes and dance like idiots."

it's true, though

it's happening

Whenever I undertake weight loss endeavours, it inevitably takes me quite a long time before it actually registers that I'm really losing weight. I write the first 5 - 10 pounds off as water weight, and next few as "just getting lucky". It usually takes at least 15 pounds before I actually consent to the fact that, yes, I am getting smaller; and, yes, it's because of sweat, tears, and nixing the french fries.

I'm almost 25 pounds down, as of Saturday. I looked in the mirror yesterday and it was actually comical how my XXL shirt was hanging off my shoulders and swallowing me up.

Looking in the mirror is starting to suck less, lately.

just a quickie

:-P

• I registered for the Reggae Run! Officially! It's 2 weeks from this Saturday, and I'm nervous. But I'm fairly certain I can do it.
• I joined a 10 week challenge on MFP! The women in the group seem really nice and supportive, and the tiny bit of competition might do me well. I have been extra exercisey since I joined yesterday, because I gotta rock that first weigh-in! 
• I went running tonight even though I'm tired, hungry, and it's raining. Caroline-from-3-months-ago would still be watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother and stuffing her face with pizza. I have a feeling she would be scoffing at me. But I think she's so gross, and I never want to associate with her again.
• I've been considering my gymish options. I'm really never going to be able to do Zumba in the fall (waaaaah!), so I don't think I'm going to renew my membership to the Natatorium. It's a wonderful facility, but it's super pricey and I'm intimidated by the strength training area. Which is really the only thing I'd need out of the gym, if I'm getting my cardio through running. 
• Crossfit? I'm seriously contemplating giving it a shot. The intro class is free, so I think I'm going to sign up and see what they could do for me. It seems painful and hardcore, but I want to be awesome and it does seem to make people awesome. 
• I said "goodbye" to the 250s today. First 270, then 260, and now 250? Life is good. Total weight loss to date: 21.4 pounds! I don't think I've had this sort of success with anything before. 
• Our exchange student arrives in exactly 3 months hahahaHAHA did I say "months"?  WEEKS. THREE. WEEKS. Dear god. 

Workouts this week: 3

Miles walked/run this month: 24.5

How awesome I feel today: a solid 7. could be better, could be much worse...

week 5, day 3

also known as The Day I Ran for Twenty Minutes/1.94 Miles and Didn't Hate It.

I DID IT. If this blog ever shows up on search results for C25K W5D3 (I totally googled that last night, ngl), just know that you CAN do it. Trust the program - it would not make you do something you can't do. I had to push myself, but it was doable.

Anyway. So, so proud.

Workouts this week: 4
Miles walked/ran/awesomed this month: 19.7

aaaand AWESOME!

First week back to work, and I survived. I actually managed to stay more on plan than I usually do on weekends, what with the very rare opportunities to put food in my face. No, I spent my weekend putting food in babies' faces. "Fun" isn't quite the word for working 10 hour days with three small children, but I survived.

Yesterday was the first day in almost a month I didn't do a scheduled exercise; and, yes, I felt shitty about it. I would make an excuse, but excuses suck. However, I did do my running this morning, way early so as to not actually roast in the obscenely hot temperatures that are apparently a thing this week. I ran in the 90s last week and I felt queasy for hours afterwards. Never. Again.

I'm on week 5. Oh dear god. I was anticipatory as all hell, but I ROCKED it. I went from nearly dying during the 3 minute and 5 minute runs last week to being perfectly dandy with just 5 minute runs. Curious. This week is going to be awesome, I can feel it. Challenging, but awesome. Looking at the program, this week seems to be the real turning point - if I can get past it, it'll be smooth sailing from here on out. :) I'm 99.9999% sure that I'm going to do the Reggae Run in Cleveland on August 11, but I'm going to make sure I can do the full 20 minute run at the end of the week before I sign up.

I ordered a heart rate monitor (the Polar FT4, to be exact), and it should be here this afternoon! I can't wait to try it out.

Workouts this week: 1
Miles walked/run this month: 15.54

rewards and things!

I've been contemplating setting some weight loss related goals + rewards for myself for awhile now, and I think I've come up with a few to start with.

current weight: 253ish (the scale at the gym was all fudged up last week)

goal weight #1 - 245

• reward: $75 worth of new workout clothes

goal weight #2 - 220

• reward: new pair of Vibram FiveFingers and a heart-rate monitor

goal weight #3 - 195 (no longer classified as "obese" for the first time in 6 years; and, similarly, the first time in years I've been under 200 lbs.) OR upon successful completion of Bridge to 10k

• reward: register for the Disney Princess Half Marathon (or similar fun thing, seeing as how the 1/2 might be sold out by then)

I don't want to think too far into the future. This hopefully will keep me busy until about December or so!

Workouts this week: 3

ew.

My run today sucked. I started week 4 of C25K, which is arguably when you actually start running a little bit for real. I managed the two 3-minute runs and the first 5-minute okay, but between the HILLS and going off a bit too quickly at first, I withered out during the second long run. Had to take 2 walk breaks, but I made up for the time lost by running again on my way back for a song (~3 - 4 minutes). How slow I'm going is really starting to irritate me. I'm stuck at about a 13:30 minute mile. I started out at ~11/10:30 minute mile, but I think that's because I was using the super short intervals as sprinting opportunities. This is the absolute fastest pace I can reach at the moment to sustain myself. I know that I can do speedwork later, but I just feel SO GODDAMN SLOW.

Funny little things that made me happy today:

• A woman passed me, turned around and gave me a thumbs up and said "great job!". I don't know why this cheered me up so much, but it did. It kept me going. :)
• I use MapMyRun to track my runs, mostly so I can see my pitiful speed and record my mileage. There was a particularly hilly "course" on my route, and when I went to check it afterwards, I came in 10th place! Out of 11! I didn't come in last! I can't believe I'm counting "not coming in last place" as an accomplishment. But whatever.

My current favourite thing to eat for breakfast/lunch/always is a scrambled egg with homemade salsa and a sprinkle of queso fresco, all wrapped in a tortilla. It is so good and filling, and it tops out at about 350 calories. I hate to be that person, but I've been incredibly enamoured with traditional Mexican food since I read Born to Run. I also got another book about indigenous diets around the world associated with "cold spots" - places where there are unusually low occurrences of Western diseases - and I've been making a lot of recipes from it. It's called The Jungle Effect by Daphne Miller, MD. 

Workouts this week: 2

Miles walked/ran/oh my god i cannot breathe this month: 8.9

How awesome I feel today: 7

last few days of freedom

I go back to work this Thursday. To be honest, I'm really nervous. I do this thing when I'm working where I'll justify coming back home and plopping on the couch because I'm so tired. And I do get so tired. I'm thinking that exercise and eating better have been helping that; but, without a reliably exhausting thing on a daily basis as of late...we'll have to see. I love Zumba. I love running. I'm not going to let this slow down my progress.

My gym membership expires in a month, and already I'm contemplating what to do next. I need a gym membership. I know for sure I'll backslide without regular access to fun aerobic exercise that I love. Not to mention, everything is getting so much stronger and more "toned" since I've started strength training, and I can't afford to lose that. The Nat is a whopping $42/month, though. $62 if I only go for the monthly membership. I know that it's worth it to work out at a place that I love and that I'm comfortable with, but I might tour the YMCA before I make my final decision. It costs half that, and it's 10 minutes closer. Leaving my Zumba class already seems like such a depressing prospect, though. I'm probably going to stick with the Nat.

Last Saturday was the end of week 3 of C25K, and it was awesome. I wore my Vibrams again and, mysteriously, the ankle/calf pain that's been pretty unbearable for the past few days went away as I started moving, and it hasn't come back since. I'm definitely a believer in my feet knowing what's best - they do not need to be "corrected" with fancy running shoes. I didn't turn around halfway through my run, so at the end I was a good 2 miles away. I'm lazy and value my time and didn't feel like walking all the way back; so I did a run from week 1 over again and got a cumulative 54 minutes of exercise and 17 minutes of running! I was proud. It was fun doing week 1 over again, because I remember struggling so much with it just a few weeks ago. Not anymore!

Workouts this week: 1
Miles walked/ran this month: 6.5
How awesome I feel today, on a scale of 1 - 10: 7

kaboom

I went running during a thunderstorm today. It was lovely - very quiet, very lonely, very zen. And the couple of times I did pass someone else, I didn't look away like I usually do. Friendly hat-tip, because we are running in a severe thunderstorm together. Also, I wore my Vibram FiveFingers for the first time on a run! And thank goodness I did, because I can't imagine anything worse than sliding around in soaking wet sneakers and socks. Aside from this persistant pain in my left ankle/shin/calf/everything, it was good! Great, actually. Focusing on not getting struck by lightening and splashing in puddles took my mind off the whole running = work thing, and I could relax and enjoy it. C25K has been deceptively easy thus far. I haven't felt like dying, nor have I ever looked at the run lengths and freaked out. I think that's the key, really. If you think there's no way you can run for 3 minutes/5 minutes/20 minutes, you're right - you can't. GTFO, negative thoughts.

Workouts this week: 4
Miles walked/ran/huffed and puffed this month: 3.76
How awesome I feel today, on a scale of 1 - 10: 9!

Mondays are difficult.

Getting out of bed sucks. I drag myself to the gym, even though my brain is screaming "hey! hey you! stop that! you deserve a day off!"

But then I say "stuff you, brain. I took a day off yesterday."

And I go anyway. Exercising is such a thoroughly interesting thing - while no one actually wants to do it, we feel so awesome during/after that we couldn't imagine not. After working out 5 days a week for the past couple of months, I am so confused as to how I managed to do absolutely nothing for so long. Like...how?

Anyways, today was a bit of an off day, but I find Mondays are usually like that. Zumba was tiring. But I had to work off the (fat free, HORRIBLE) brownies I had this weekend. I've decided that fat-free things suck. I'd rather savour the real thing rather than grumpily eat half a pan of shitty brownies. Grumble. I'm still losing weight though, despite brownies and cookies and other "weekend" foods. Oh! And! A peculiar phenomenon: ever since I dropped Slim Fast, weight has been falling off of me. I know "starvation mode" is a load of crap, but I do think there's something to properly fueling your body for all the new movement and muscle it's getting.


I'm debating signing up for the Akron Marathon relay. The last leg is 5.5 miles, mostly downhill. I don't know. I realise that's really pushing it, but we'll see. 


Workouts this week: 1
Miles walked/ran/huffed and puffed this month: 0 (yet.) hello, July! 
How awesome I feel today, on a scale of 1 - 10: 6 meh