Monday November 14, 2011

Catchup since last Wednesday


Thursday - KenPoX
I switched out the normally scheduled yoga and did KenpoX instead.  I love Kenpo.  Its fun and it goes super quick.


Friday - Back & Legs
I enjoy back & legs, but I feel like I lost some strength during the recovery week because I wasn't able to do as many pullups as previous times.  I so rarely feel like my legs get a really decent workout, and this workout does it.


Saturday - stairs
I did not run on Friday because I knew I was doing the stairs the next day.  


The Tieri's came for the weekend and I brought Jason to the stairs on Saturday morning.  It was awesome - I love the stairs!  Its such an awesome workout and its really different.  I want to incorporate it in some more, just not sure how.  This was the first time I've done the stairs with someone and it was fun to talk while we did it.  And it was fun to kick his butt on the last set of running :)  


Today - Monday - P90x Shoulders/Triceps/Shoulders
Ugh, this is so hard!  There are so many slow and weird pushups in this workout, my arms are still really, really tired and it has been almost 6 hours since I did the workout.  I also ran for 30:00 / 2.75 miles right afterward.  My heart rate was around 174 at a pace of 5.5 or 10:54/mile.  I'm not thrilled with slowing down my pace so much, but I had to remind myself that I was running in order to condition my cardiovascular system, not as a training or distance thing.  


Ate a lot of garbage food this weekend - pizza, candy, chicken wings, cake.  My weight WAS down to 126.6 on Saturday, but this morning was back up to 128.0, which is actually not too bad given how much junk I ate.  I'm kind of thinking about counting calories instead of doing weight watchers points.  Jason said that it works really well for him.  I don't know why it is so different for me and why I hate the calories vs. doing the points.  Maybe I could do it without having to enter everything into the computer - I could keep a running total on paper, like I do with points.  Maybe that would work.

Monday September 27, 2010

Workout: 3.7 miles
Time: 34:32
Pace: 9:18
Weight: 128.0
Two years Ago

Not sure where I'm at in terms of what to do next after the race, but I know that I don't want to take too much time off.  I ran home from Ryann's soccer game tonight and was fine.  Jason was shocked that I ran already since Saturday, but really, I felt so great after the race - not really tired, not really sore, not super hungry, just really, really good.  Best I've ever felt after a long run, so why not run already on Monday?  


I'm going to keep my mileage down for now as I try to focus my energy on losing these pounds rather than on training for a race.  I did well with points and did well with keeping track of them.  I know that 128 is high due to water retention, since I weighed 125.? after I ran at 6:30pm, so I'm not concerned that my weight is THAT high, but I would like to get down near 120.  At some point I need to recognize that after 8 years of making my goal 115 and never having gotten below 119 maybe its just not possible :)  So 120 is my goal and I'm going to need to really put a lot of energy into it because this is the worst time of year - halloween, thanksgiving, christmas.


Thinking about doing a 5k on Thanksgiving up in Grand Rapids, then training will begin for the 5/3 Bank River Bank Run - 15 miles.  May 14, 2011.  It will be good to have something to train for during the holidays.


Haven't had a chance to think about what I want to do before then, however, I do know that I need to change my thinking from training to simply working out.  I need to do heavier lifting with fewer reps, make sure I'm doing 30-45 minutes of cardio on my non lifting days and 20 minutes of warm up/light cardio on my lifting days.  Drinking water is a must - I did okay on that yesterday.  My face has been so dry since the race - it hurt so badly after I finished and I know it is dry because I'm not drinking enough water.  I need to increase my vegetables and consider cutting sugar out completely - that needs some thinking.  At any rate, my mindset needs to change for a while as my goal has changed for now.

Wednesday September 21, 2010

Workout: 2.4 miles
Time: 22:00
Pace: 9:10
Weight: 127.4
Two Years Ago

I am officially finished training for this race!  I ran 4 miles on Monday morning at a 9:04 pace - my fastest ever!  This morning I ran 2.4 and I'm done.  I have rest days tomorrow and Friday and then the race on Saturday.  I am ready for this and ready for it to be finished!

My run this morning was fine.  It was pretty humid out, but not too warm.  I actually had to push myself pretty hard to run the entire thing without stopping to walk.  I wanted to stop and walk before I hit a mile, but I would have been pretty pissed at myself if I had.  I knew that I could get through it, but it was a mental battle for a while.  I also spent a portion of time figuring out which way to turn when I hit 151st.  I think that took my mind off of the battle as I weighed my hill options for either route.

On Monday, I think I was in pain for almost the entire run.  I could tell I was running pretty fast, but I didn't want to slow down - I wanted to see how fast I could run the 4 miles.  I felt labored for the first 2.5 miles and then I felt ulcer/abdominal pain for the next mile.  For the last 1/2 mile I just kicked it in and got home.  It was a good, good run and I was really excited to see my pace.  I won't be running the race at that pace, but I'm encouraged that we may get a faster time than our last race.

I continue to be discouraged with my weight, but I'm letting it go until after the race.  I counted points for a couple of days, but I think the long runs on the weekends particularly messed with my mind in terms of points.  I didn't have the energy to count points on Saturdays.  So now that this is all over, I can concentrate more on this rather than on the training.  I'm going to need another goal to work toward after this race is over, so I might as well make this my goal.  I think 115 is nearly impossible.  I've been making that my goal for so many years, but I haven't ever gotten past 119 and I haven't maintained 119 for very long.  So I think I need to make my goal 120 and I need to work at maintaining that.  I'm going to cut my miles down and look at things more as a workout, rather than a run and a number of miles.  I need to reset my mindset on all of this.

But now, for the rest of the week, I focus on water - which I have not done a good job with for the last 2 months.  I need to get rehydrated before Saturday.

Thursday September 9, 2010

Workout: Intervals on the treadmill
Time: 32:15
Distance: 3.25 miles
Average Pace: 9:51
Weight: 125.2


Intervals:
1:00 at 4.0
1:00 at 6.0
1:00 at 6.5
1:00 at 7.0
1:00 at 7.5
Repeat


This wasn't the best workout of my life, but considering the fact that I went to bed with really no intention of working out this morning, I would say it was successful.  I had wanted to get a little more sleep this morning so I didn't feel like getting up at the crack of dawn to do intervals.  I figured having a rest day wouldn't be the end of the world, but when Cornbread's alarm went off at 6 and I knew I wouldn't fall back to sleep, I figured I might as well get up and do some intervals.


I didn't do them very well, but at least I completed them.


I counted my points yesterday and did well - My daily point target is 18 + I earned 6 activity points.  I ate 19.5 points.  I was pretty hungry most of the day, which makes me irritated that I have to count points, but I got through it.  I haven't been drinking water like I should be, but I'm happy to see the scale go down by miniscule increments nonetheless.  I again ran errands for a good portion of yesterday afternoon... I need a day of just being home.

Wednesday September 8, 2010

Workout: 6.3 miles
Time: 59:45
Pace: 9:31
Weight: 125.4


Had a really, really good run this morning.  I could tell I was running fast, but I felt awesome.  Best run I've had in a good while - perhaps taking a week off wasn't a bad thing.


Kind of got caught up in running errands yesterday and didn't count points.  I'm redoing my kitchen cabinets and ran all over looking for hinges that would fit and didn't eat breakfast and didn't have a chance to figure out points for the food that I'd eaten.  I sat down and have figured some of them out today, so I'm good to go now.  Still need to drink more water.

Tuesday September 7, 2010

Workout: 25:00 cross training + upper body
Weight: 126.4 (I think)


Went to the gym this morning.  I am hopping back on the horse.  All excuses are being thrown out and I am forging ahead with a renewed energy.  I got my kitchen and family room painted, my cabinets are in the process of being painted and I feel some major self-discipline coming back.  Seeing 129 on the scale may have had a little to do with it:)  But having that major painting project out of the way frees up space in my head for other goals and thoughts so that has a lot to do with it too.  


I did 25 minutes on the stationary bike and then upper body weights.  My heart rate was in the 130's, which I consider a good number for the bike.  I was not trying to kill it, but rather just doing some normal cross training.  Weights were also good.


I rejoined Weight Watchers because I could do so without paying the registration fee.  I rejoin mainly for the ability to use the recipe builder.  I have just slightly more than a month to get down a few pounds and I'm going to do it - there is no half-hearted feeling about it this time.  I will portion and count and get there.

Monday June 14, 2010

Workout: 2 mile warm up, upper body

Weight: 125.4

Two years ago

Running this morning was pretty difficult. I was having the same abdominal pain as I've had in the past. I also felt very labored for the entire 20 minutes even though I slowed my pace down to 5.7 for the first 10 minutes. Not sure if the pain is a result of not eating well over the weekend or having a beer last night or just random. I was having stomach pain last night after dinner, too, so maybe it is related. I'm also pretty dehydrated, which would explain my 2 pound weight gain and possibly the difficult running. Today I'm going to try to hammer the water - already pretty dehydrated + high humidity = bad news for me.

Went a little crazy over the weekend, but I did my best to count up all of my points. Basically I need to stick to my daily points and not go over at all because I think I ate all of my flex points and all of my anticipated activity points for the week. I had a moment of weakness on Saturday night and we got twisted frosty's. Not too bad at only 12 points, but add that to the couple of pieces of pizza I had and it wasn't good.

Friday June 11, 2010

Workout: Intervals on the treadmill

Time: 37:25

Distance: 4.01 miles

Pace: average 9:20/mile

Weight: 123.4

Ran on the treadmill again today because Cornbread really wanted to go to the gym before going to the office. We can't both go in the morning and I'd rather he goes in the morning so he can come home earlier at the end of the day.

I only wanted to run long enough to cover the points I would have accumulated if I had gone to the gym. I actually earned 1 extra activity point because I ran to the even 4 mile point.

WW was okay yesterday. I don't think I ate all of my points, but I'm not sure, I didn't keep track very closely... but I ate lightly because of the previous night and what I did count shows 15 points.

Thursday June 10, 2010

Workout: 4.25 miles

Time: 40:00

Weight: 123.4
Two years ago

Ran on the treadmill again even though I really, really need to get back outside. Today was more a matter of the time that I went to bed last night. We went to Mark & Jane's to watch the Stanley Cup game and didn't get home until 11:30, didn't get to bed until midnight and there simply was no way I was going to get up in 5 hours to go running. I only did 4 miles because I had to get off to buy tickets. I thought about going back on to run another 2 miles, but at some point I have to recognize when its good enough.

Did not do well with WW points at all yesterday. I did okay during the day, but then we had bratwurst for dinner with the hockey game. I also made healthy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and had to sample some as well as eat some after dinner. I wasn't going to even count up all of my points because I was scared to figure it out, but I was good and went and figured it all out. I ate 35.5 points yesterday (my best estimation as some things could not be exact). Ugh - that would be almost 20 more than I should have. Oh well - life is about balance sometimes. I didn't go overboard by any stretch of the imagination, just had a normal meal. But it is a good example of why it is so easy to gain weight and stay overweight - a normal meal was 22 points.

Tuesday June 8, 2010

Workout: 6.5 miles

Time: 62:02

Pace: 9:33

Weight: 123.4

Ran on the treadmill at 3:50pm, but have still not eaten lunch (it is 6:15 now). We were at the library and grocery store at lunch time (and I ate breakfast at 11:15) and after getting home, giving the girls some lunch (at 2:45) and getting the groceries put away and this done and that done I never took the chance to eat. Ugh... I have a slight headache that I'm sure has a little to do with it. This day really, really got away from me... pretty much everything has been later than intended today and I really have no reason for it. Huh.

Run was good. Read my new book and enjoyed it. Thats another bonus - just the simple fact that it gives me an opportunity to read, which I love to do, but somehow don't make time to do. So it is enjoyable in all aspects. I would have run outside this morning, but Cornbread really wanted to go to the gym before heading to the office and I knew it would be rainy when I woke up, so I took the opportunity to sleep instead (7:45 am - unheard of for me!).

WW is still going well. Last night I was at Target and Walmart between 6 & 8:30. That is a dangerous time for me to be in those places. I was hungry and I love to buy stuff to eat in the car on the way home... usually some form of granola or trail mix. Or Combos, which are always at the Walmart checkout and are like crack for me. BUT, because I'm watching my points, I did not buy a single snack item at either store. THIS is a huge deal. One of my favorite things is eating Archer Farms' granola/trail mix on the way home from Target. So. Good for me - I'm patting myself on the back!

I was going to include a link at the top to whatever I posted a year ago so I could see a comparison to where I was a year ago and how much different things are for me now. How much easier running is - even though it wasn't super hard for me then. I was shocked to see that I posted only 2 times in the entire year 2009. That is incredibly disappointing because it was the year that I really turned myself into a runner. The year that I cracked down hard and made myself get through the hard parts and worked harder than I've ever worked at this. By this time last year, I was running 8 mile long runs on Saturday, but really hurting by the time I turned into my subdivision. I was willing myself through them because I wanted to be someone who COULD run an 8 mile long run. Cornbread thought I was nuts for doing it, but I willed myself through them anyway. It was hard. hard. hard. And I don't even remember how I felt about it - accomplished? proud? crazy? sick of it? I really, really wish I had posted last year.

I'm starving. Must wash hair and then grab food.

Monday June 7, 2010

Workout: 2 mile warm up + upper body

Weight: 123.4

I actually made it to the gym this morning. Its kind of nice going at 6 instead of 5:15ish since the girls are out of school and I don't have to be home in time to do my devotions AND make lunches and breakfast before 8:35. I think I can handle it.

And then the girls slept until 10. I can definitely handle that.

At any rate, I think I ran a tad bit over 2 miles in 20 minutes. I did the first 10 minutes at 5.8 which left me lagging behind the 10 minute/mile mark, so for the second 10 minutes I ran at 6.2 or 3 - don't remember. Caught up to the 10 min/mil mark at 16:00 and then went below the 10 minute mark. at 17:30 I jacked it up to 6.5, increased to 6.7 at 18:00, 6.8 (or 9) at 18:30 and 7.0 for the last minute. Don't remember my exact mileage, but it was slightly over 2 miles.

I was also pleased to see that my heart rate was in the 150's during the first 10 minutes and in the low 160's while I was running at 6.2 (or 3). This is a very measureable difference from when I started running at the first of the year and my heart rate was in the 180's while I was running at 5.8/6.0 on the treadmill. I can confidently say that I'm in great shape.

I also went on to do upper body weights. Ugh. Hate it. I think I mostly hate it because after doing 30 minutes of vigorous weight training, I only earned 1 activity point. Running 30 minutes = 3 APs, weight lifting for 30:00 = 1. Ugh. I'd rather run. But weight training is important so I will continue doing it. I almost failed most of my exercises on the last set. I'm working my back and shoulders particularly hard because a) I love toned arms and back and b) those muscles are pretty important to a running stride. So work them, I will. And then I will complain about how much I hate it:) And my arms were very jelly-like afterward which made washing my hair uncomfortable.

Didn't do bad with the diet over the weekend. I didn't count points, but I didn't eat terribly either. I'm glad to see my weight is down slightly from where it has been resting for the last few months. That is an encouraging sign. My official WW weigh in day is Friday so hopefully it is down even a slight bit more by the end of the week. I'm used to the eating/points again, so I'm again confident that I can handle it and not be so crabby and irritable about it. Once training starts up again, I'll reevaluate whether or not I want to continue, but I suspect it might not be so bad since my mileage and activity points will increase pretty dramatically at that point.

Still looking forward to the training - the structure and the actual workouts and the goal of the race on September 25th. I shall have much more motivation because of it.

Friday June 4, 2010

Workout: Intervals

Time: 30:23

Distance: 3.25 miles

Pace: Average 9:21

Weight: 124.0

Today should have been a 2 mile warm up and weight training, but since I got up so early yesterday I wanted to sleep in this morning. I was going to skip it altogether, but wanted the activity points:)

Interval workout was as follows:

intervals on the treadmill at 1:20pm
*warm up: 5:00 at 6mph
*intervals: 20:00 alternating - 2:00 at 7.0 (8:34 pace), 2:00 at 6.0 (10:00 pace).
*last minute of intervals: 8.0 (7:30 pace)
*Cool down: 4:00 at 6.0

I felt good the whole time. Strong, comfortable, able to do it. I wondered if 2 minutes at 7.0 was going to be tough and it really wasn't. Next time I do intervals I'm going to increase them to 2:15 for each speed and hope to eventually get more and more time at each interval and a longer total workout, too. I wanted to keep it at around 30 minutes today due to timing and other stuff I have to do.

I really enjoy interval workouts. I'm excited for the training to begin because every week includes intervals and hill repeats. I look forward to the variety and the intensity. Two of my friends from high school are going to do the training plan and the race with me and I'm really jazzed about that. Not sure what kind of training Cornbread is going to do - may prove difficult for him to find the time to do what I'm going to do.

Weight Watchers was good yesterday. I stuck pretty close to my points. I'm not sure how many I ate exactly. I had 9 points left for dinner and then Cornbread walked in the door with a plate of leftover lasagna and spinach dumplings from a Chamber of Commerce dinner he had attended. I had a bite of the lasagna, just for the taste of it, but I ate all of the dumplings (there weren't a whole lot on the plate). Then I had a bowl of high fiber cereal and that was it. I think I did okay and didn't go too far over considering I had 6 activity points that I wasn't planning to use. And I was happy to see my weight down this morning - I was beginning to think that my actual weight was that high. It also helped to motivate me to continue with the plan.

Thursday June 3, 2010

Workout: 6.099 miles on the treadmill

Time: 60:00

Pace: 9:50

Weight: 127.0

Ran on the treadmill this morning because it was pretty windy outside. Also, I've rigged up a way to be able to read while running, which makes it more enjoyable. I got some large print books out of the library, so its even more enjoyable! This could be a bad thing for my training;)

The run was kind of rough. I could feel that I wasn't strong or full of energy. Could be due to the early time (woke up - unintentionally - at 4:30 and finally got up at 5), no fuel, dehydration, fewer calories during the previous days, etc. etc.

I did better on WW yesterday - I wasn't quite so ticked or bitter about it and decided to try my best. Since I didn't workout, I had only 18 points for the day and I ended up eating 18.5. I was hungry in the afternoon as usual, but I got through it. I need to figure out something to get past that afternoon hunger. The very first time I did WW I used to eat 3 cups of plain, air-popped popcorn (1 pt). I think I will try that today and see if it goes better.

I wore one of my favorite summer outfits yesterday - my Title Nine dress. I could see a little tummy bulge in my bottom peripheral vision. I decided that is motivation enough for me to continue with WW:)

Wednesday June 2, 2010

Workout: was supposed to be 2 mile warmup and weights

Weight: 127.0

The power went out at 1:30am last night and didn't come back on until around 9am. Did get to the gym because I figured their power was likely out, too. School is out, so I can't go in the afternoon, so I guess today is scrapped. Oh well. Maybe I can figure out how to do it in the basement later, but that sounds like a whole lot of no fun.

I would like to take this time to have a full blown complaint session about weight watchers and being short. I tried to do the points yesterday and by the afternoon I was so ticked that I was ready to quit. I'm going to see how it goes today and reconsider.

Anyway, here are my complaints...

* I am 5'1" and I weigh in the 120's. Per WW, to lose weight I need to stick to 18 points/day (+ 35 flex points/week + activity points). Okay, so lets say that I don't use my flex points because I like to not count points on the weekends. So I get 18 points/day + activity points. Yesterday I had 4 activity points, so a total of 22 points for the whole day. I ate well yesterday:
Breakfast: bowl of high fiber cereal + milk = 4pts

Lunch: egg muffin - 3pts, yogurt - 2pts, frozen veggies - 1 pt: 6pts total

snack: 1/2 of a large apple (could only eat half) - 1pt

So by dinner time I had 11 pts left. In reality - thats not a whole lot of points for a dinner. Considering that I've never, in the several times that I've done weight watchers, eaten my activity points and have always stuck to my 18pts/day, then I figured I had 7pts left for dinner, which is hardly anything.

Okay - so I can deal with that... I am most successful on WW when I stick to my 18pts/day, but I eat prepackaged frozen meals for dinner. Trying to make low point meals and figuring out the correct portion size has never worked well for me in the past.

Here is where I take issue with all of this: In the afternoon, I was hungry and wanted to have some fruit, but I didn't feel like I could use my points on fruit because then I wouldn't have enough for dinner. I don't think its right that I look at strawberries or an orange or an apple and think, "I can't have that".

* WW advises that a person should have 3 servings of dairy, 5-7 servings of fruit/veggies each day. I'm not sure its possible to get all of those servings in and stick to my 18 pts each day.

* Because I'm short, I'm screwed - I feel like my height limits me to like 500 calories/day. I know that is extreme, but I do feel like because I'm short I get so many fewer calories/day than average or taller people. 1200 calories/day is not a whole lot.

I'm just venting. I know all of this is not truth, but its frustrating for me. I feel like WW teaches me good eating, but at the same time I create bad habits, too. I don't think eating frozen meals is extremely healthy, but since they are preportioned and have the points figured out already, they are the easiest way for me to be successful. Somehow, I have never been able to do this while cooking real meals for my family - even meals that I make out of a WW cookbook.

So I'm not sure where to go from here. For one thing, I need to eat a lower point breakfast - I need to get back to my 2pt oatmeal, rather than 4 pt cereal. I also need to consider eating my activity points, I just don't like to do that because I know I don't count on the weekends. And, I need to get used to the fact that I'm going to be hungry for a couple of weeks.

I drank a whole gallon of water yesterday. Still retaining water - can feel it in my arms this morning. Bugly just broke my gallon water container, so I'll have to count glasses today instead.

I can do this until the 17th. I can. I can.

Tuesday June 1, 2010

Workout: 3.5 miles

Weight: 127.0

Once again my weight is fluctuating like crazy due to water retention. Although after spending a weekend with my in-laws, there might be a little more than water retention going on - but not THAT much more.

Ran 3.5 on the treadmill this morning because I didn't have time for much more than that. It wasn't very easy and I'm not sure why that is. I know it is partly due to being dehydrated - I could feel it in my mouth that I was pretty dehydrated. I'm sure that after eating all of the crap that I ate this weekend, it affected my running and how my body felt. Thats okay - I gave myself the weekend to be crazy and now I'm starting Weight Watchers with a concerted effort.

We have our summer regional at Blue Harbor resort in Sheboyagan, WI over the weekend of June 17-20th. It is a water park and it will be a blast. It will also be nearly impossible to eat incredibly healthy as many of the meals are hotel buffets (think pasta, burgers, lots of butter, eggs, cheese, etc. etc.) So I am committing to eating well beginning today all the way to the 17th. I am giving up sugar today and am going to start counting points and measuring my food. I'm also going to make huge efforts to drink a gallon of water every day. I have my gallon of water sitting out on the counter and need to remember to fill up and drink often. My goal is to have it gone by the end of the day.

I don't have a specific weight goal in mind for the 17th, but I would like to at least have a consistent weight by then. Not 127 in the morning and 121 in the evening and 124 two days later and 127 three days later. That means I need to be consistent with my water and my eating. Usually when I do weight watchers I stick with my 18 points during the day and don't eat my activity points, but then don't count points on the weekend. I'm not sure I can do that if I'm running more than 3 miles at a time.

Here we go!

Monday May 24, 2010

Workout: 20:00 warmup run, legs

Weight: 124.4

Workout was fine this morning. I cut out the abs because I was running late... I'm babysitting again, so I definitely try to get home in time in the morning to be able to do my prayer/devotions before he comes over (which could be any time between 7:30 & 8). The 2 miles on the treadmill was a little wonky... just tightness in my lower back and thigh again, but overall, fine. I ran at a 6.0 pace, which felt a little slow and kind of painful. For the last few minutes I upped it to 6.5 and then back down to 6.3 and those felt more comfortable.

Legs - I increased weights on a couple of things. Feels good to be lifting heavy again.

Saturday, I ran 10 miles on the treadmill in the basement. I could have waited until Cornbread got home to run outside, but I was a little upset about something and was itching to run it out so I got on the treadmill. I had planned to do between 8 & 9, but as I got closer I figured I might as well just do 10. I really probably could have done a few more, but by that time I had decided to stop at 10, so I did. Felt good... started out at 6.0, but ran most of it at 6.2 or 6.3. I can definitely feel a difference between running on an empty stomach in the morning and running in the afternoon after having eaten breakfast. I should try to eat a few almonds or something before I head out in the mornings from now on.

Thought I might start with WW this week, but then remembered that we have to meet my MIL for dinner tonight - probably Giordano's - and then we have Memorial Day weekend, so I should start up next Tuesday. It will give me some time to psych myself up for it and do some grocery planning. I have to psych myself up for being hungry because I always am for a couple of weeks at the beginning. My subscription ends August 9th, so I'll try to hit it hard at least through June and then when I start training again in July, I'll have a better way of figuring out how to eat while running higher mileage.

It is really hot out. I can't step outside without sweating right now. My face has broken out quite a bit and feels incredibly greasy - like I need to wash it several times a day - due to the humid weather. I hate that more than anything. Ick. I really wish that there was a time limit on zits... like once you hit 30 you magically never had another one. I had 2 good, clear years and now the last 5 months have been horrible - not sure whats going on... kind of sick of it, though!

Thursday May 20, 2010

Workout: 5.28 miles

Time: 52:05

Pace: 9:52

Weight: 126.4

Run was great this morning. Went back to my old 5 mile route, which is an out-and-back route... meaning the hills that are there on the way out are there on the way back, but reversed. My new 5 mile route is less hilly on the back end, this route is hills the entire time.

I very consciously tried to slow my pace down so I wouldn't have to stop to walk. Pain in my lower back/hip/thigh was there, but not as severe as the last couple of times. Other than that, it was a great run - lilacs are blooming, sun was out, perfect weather.

WW - after trying to cancel WW, they tell me that I can do so, but I will only get a refund of $6 - I paid $54 for a 3 month subscription and only used it for 2 weeks. I understand why, but I'm irritated with myself about it. So now I need to decide if I want the $6 or if I want to just hit it hard for a month or so and do the points thing hard core to try to lose the 5-10 pounds. Any weight I lose will make running easier, which is a motivating factor... so I have to think about this. In order to do it successfully, I'm going to need to measure and eat frozen meals so I have to decide if its worth it.

Wednesday May 19, 2010

Workout: 2 mile warm up run + lower body & Abs

Weight: 126.4

Workout was fine. Nothing exciting. Lifting heavy again and it feels kind of good.

I came home from the gym and immediately cancelled my WW membership. I was thinking it over at the gym... I'm comfortable with my weight, with the number. I've been fluctuating a lot over the last several months, but I'm okay with it. I feel good, I look good, my clothes fit. I joined WW again in order to get a better handle and discipline on my eating. I realized this morning, though, that I know how to eat healthy - I just need to do it. I need to be more disciplined myself. What I don't need is the obsession about points and how many I'm eating at any given meal or any given snack. I don't need to do that right now and I don't want that in my life... that aspect of dieting is absolute clutter for me at this point. It works - definitely works, but until I'm 10 pounds heavier, I don't have the motivation to add that clutter back into my life. For the little bit that I'd like to lose, I can do it by tightening up my diet on my own. And if I don't lose that little bit, I'm still okay.

This all came to me because I made a good and quite healthy dinner last night: Turkey meatloaf and steamed dirty broccoli. It was good. It was healthy. And I felt guilty about eating it because it was more points than I wanted to eat at dinner. What is that? That is the clutter that I need to be rid of. I need to focus more on eating plant first and eliminating the junky food that has crept into my diet and into our home... chips, animal crackers, ice cream, etc. THAT is what I need to change.

Tuesday May 18, 2010

Workout: 5.21 miles

Time: 50:58

Pace: 9:47/mile

Weight: 126.4

I struggled through this run and was pretty upset with myself about it - until I got home and saw the pace. No wonder I was struggling. That pace included quite a few short walk breaks, so i was actually running quite a bit faster than 9:47/mile.

I had the same lower back/hip/thigh pain as I did last week when I ran outside. It was terrible. I stopped a lot due to that pain - trying to stretch out my lower back - but it didn't go away until quite far into the run. I ran a 2 mile warm up on the treadmill yesterday and didn't have any pain at all. Not sure what is going on with that. Cornbread said he had the same lower back pain on the treadmill yesterday.

I have to say, I don't really enjoy running outside around here. I really struggle with all of the hills and inclines and having it be so tough all the time. I had to remind myself several times this morning that I ran a whole 13.1 miles without stopping. You would never know it from how crappy I run out here. I need to figure out a way to defeat these hills. I can definitely run them, but I'm struggling and laboring afteward... and if it were just one or two hills that struggle and laboring wouldn't be a problem, but since there are so many and so close together it seems like I'm struggling and laboring through the entire run. I have to remind myself that the hills are making me a better and faster runner -- that was proved to me at the Mini.

Yesterday I did 2 miles on the treadmill as a warm up and then 31 minutes of heavy upper body lifting at home. I am pretty sore this morning and could feel it while I was running.

Didn't count my WW points yesterday because it was Ryann's birthday. I did pretty well, but had a couple of pieces of pizza and a small piece of cake. I will begin counting today.

Wednesday April 28, 2010

Planned workout: 3 miles
Actual workout: 3.64 miles
Time: 35:15
Pace: 9:44
Weight: 126.8

I am still astonished by my pace. I have never run under 10:15 outside. Never. And really, I took a full minute stop at the drinking fountain, so my running pace was actually 9:28, which really amazes me. Really.

I'm so proud of myself. My confidence was waining to be sure. I really felt like I sucked even more every time I went out. So to go out and run that fast just astonishes me and moves me forward in a huge way.

I'm going to get through this race and then probably join Weight Watchers again. I know my true weight is not as high as 126.8 - that was my first thing in the morning weight, but I weighed myself after I ran and I was 124.0 - however, I would still like to lose 5-8 pounds and I think I need some discipline training again. I need to lower my mileage and start adding the diet discipline back in and get a clear idea of how much to eat. I think that for the most part I don't eat enough calories, but I need some help figuring it out... especially as I increase my mileage again in the middle of the summer when I start training again.

I think we're going to run the half marathon in Holland, MI at the end of September. Its super cheap ($30) so you can't beat that, but it also sounds like a beautiful course - 4 miles along Lake Macatawa, ending in Holland State Park. It will be a good time of year, my parents can watch the girls, we can meet up with some friends, etc. Just sounds like a good one to do and I'm looking forward to it. I think we have 20 weeks between the Indy and the Holland, so training would begin in mid June or in July depending on what kind of mileage I'm doing before then.