I have been having a blast so far this spring/summer working out and running. It is certainly paying off physically too. I have been approached by numerous people at the gym who I do not know telling me how great I look and how I've been motivating them. What amazing things to hear!!
I've been super excited about the fact that I have signed up for my first half. While I'm outgoing, I'm not terribly amazing at asking for things (especially at work). I was telling Greg how I was thinking about asking the owner of the gym we go to if he'd sponsor me for the race if I wore one of his shirts with something about starting 2012 at 270 lbs and relatively inactive and look at me now running my first half. He said that he doesn't typically like to do stuff like that since he feels that he needs to do it across the board for everyone that asks, but he has noticed how great I've been doing, and that it is a great accomplishment and he will definitely be doing something for me. Greg thinks he might give us a month free membership (which is slightly more than the entry cost of the RnR half), so that would be a-ok in my book!
I've always been a long term planner and it's starting to come out now. I'm already forming goals for 2013, 2014, and 2015. Insane, I know, but it's who I am. There's also a chance it will change 5 times between now and then. So my current in-head timeline:
Sept 2012: First Half-Marathon
Aug 2013: First TriAthalon
Jan 2014: First Marahon (fingers crossed)
Oct 2015: Ironman
I know I'm getting waaaay ahead of myself. But it will definitely keep me focused and motivated.
The only problem I'm having is over doing it. I was EXHAUSTED this morning. Like my alarm went off and I was like my kids when they stay up too late. I was walking into everything. Too exhausted to keep my eyes open but I grabbed my running clothes and headed to the bathroom to start my routine. I could barely stand up straight on the scale. I headed back into bed and fell back asleep. I must have been tired because that NEVER happens. Once I'm up I'm up and nothing can get me back down. This is the first morning that I haven't been out the door to start my morning with a workout since the 13th. I know that it's ok to take a day off, but I'm having incredible self-loathing and guilt about not doing anything this morning. I passed three runners on my commute in and all it did was make things worse. I don't know how to not be a head case. Any pointers would be welcomed!!
In non-headcase news I made my first weight goal this week. I am officially 230 pounds! I've lost 40 since January. My next weight goal is to lose 15 more. Then I will be the weight that I was when I walked across stage to receive my high school graduation. What a thought!! I would love to make this goal by the time the half rolls around. I do think that this is entirely doable as it's just about 1 pound per week. After that I only have one more weight goal in mind. I'd like to end at 195. This takes me out of the obese bmi category (into overweight, but I don't want to be in normal range, I'd like to have more muscle mass than that). Greg and I both think that I ought to have the skin removal surgery when the time comes. I'm already nutty about how I look now. I was never self-concious before. My body (while large) was round and smooth. I didn't mind that. I do mind this droopy, wrinkled, old lady skin. I don't feel young looking at myself. I think planning wise, I'd be looking to do it after the Disney race in 2014. Then I'd get a few months of recovery and have about a year to train back up for the Ironman.
Sorry for the novel, but this is bound to happen when I don't get on enough for shorter more frequent updates!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Summer Vacation!!
Greg and I both took off last week from work. It was so nice to spend so much time together as a family. I don't think we do enough sometimes because we're so busy. We didn't go anywhere amazing. The kids had received ticket booklets to Gillian's Pier in OC, NJ for Christmas so we rented a house about a half mile away (so we could walk) for a couple nights.
In addition, we hosted a bbq, went to 3 birthday parties, spent a day at Sesame Place, and Des attended his first Tae Kwon Do class. It was definitely some busy days off.
With all the fun comes all the food. Honestly, I did not try very hard to limit myself. When I wanted to indulge I did, but I never took it too far. I was also able to get a lot more mileage in than usual. I got roughly 26 miles in for the week. That's my best so far! I know that it certainly helped warding off some pounds. Of course, not all pounds. So I'm back at the same 238 I have been for about 4 weeks now.
Yesterday was the Color Me Rad 5k in Philly! It was totally worth the $17 I paid on groupon to participate! I would love to see groupon post more races!!
We all had a blast! It HAD to be my fastest 5k yet. It was so fun going through the color stations (even though they backed up, so I didn't get nearly as colored as other individuals since I didn't want to wait in line), that I didn't take a single walk break. First. Time. Ever. It was awesome. I completed the 5k before the last wave of runners even left. The last wave was scheduled for 8:20 (my wave was at 8:00), and there's NO way I ran sub 20, so they must have been running late. I'm bummed that it was completely untimed. I wish that they would have at least had a clock going at the finish line for me to have an estimate, but nothing! I didn't wear my garmin, because I wasn't sure what the powder would do to it, and it took me at least 20 minutes to find my family so I couldn't even check my phone for a ball park finish time. Oh, well. Such is life! The kids had a blast playing in the powder and throwing it at runners. I couldn't get a happy picture with them, because they didn't want to stop throwing the "paint balls" as they called it.
I have another race scheduled for tomorrow, which may be the most challenging course yet. I heard from a friend that it is super hilly. We'll see how that goes. Greg is thinking about running it too. It would be his first 5k. I told him he might want to pick something less challenging as his first. I really don't want to see him get discouraged right off the bat. I would love to have someone to run with (even if it means finding someone else to watch the kiddos while we run). He's already made it clear 5k is his max he has no interest in anything longer than that.
Which brings me to....
My first HALF-MARATHON!! :) Scheduled for Sept. 16, 2012. I have been thinking a great deal about doing the Philly half in November. But November and December are seriously my busiest time of the year with work. I put in up to 60 hours some of those weeks, with all the holiday crap going on in my personal life. It's rough, and I don't think that I want the pressure of my first half going on during that time.
I've been able to get through 6 mile runs recently without much problem. My biggest problem is finding the time for long runs. Now I will just have to make it work. I have a little training schedule that I have set to start the day after we finish the mud run.
I'm hoping that this keeps me focused through the summer. After that I will need a new focus!!
In addition, we hosted a bbq, went to 3 birthday parties, spent a day at Sesame Place, and Des attended his first Tae Kwon Do class. It was definitely some busy days off.
With all the fun comes all the food. Honestly, I did not try very hard to limit myself. When I wanted to indulge I did, but I never took it too far. I was also able to get a lot more mileage in than usual. I got roughly 26 miles in for the week. That's my best so far! I know that it certainly helped warding off some pounds. Of course, not all pounds. So I'm back at the same 238 I have been for about 4 weeks now.
Yesterday was the Color Me Rad 5k in Philly! It was totally worth the $17 I paid on groupon to participate! I would love to see groupon post more races!!
We all had a blast! It HAD to be my fastest 5k yet. It was so fun going through the color stations (even though they backed up, so I didn't get nearly as colored as other individuals since I didn't want to wait in line), that I didn't take a single walk break. First. Time. Ever. It was awesome. I completed the 5k before the last wave of runners even left. The last wave was scheduled for 8:20 (my wave was at 8:00), and there's NO way I ran sub 20, so they must have been running late. I'm bummed that it was completely untimed. I wish that they would have at least had a clock going at the finish line for me to have an estimate, but nothing! I didn't wear my garmin, because I wasn't sure what the powder would do to it, and it took me at least 20 minutes to find my family so I couldn't even check my phone for a ball park finish time. Oh, well. Such is life! The kids had a blast playing in the powder and throwing it at runners. I couldn't get a happy picture with them, because they didn't want to stop throwing the "paint balls" as they called it.
I have another race scheduled for tomorrow, which may be the most challenging course yet. I heard from a friend that it is super hilly. We'll see how that goes. Greg is thinking about running it too. It would be his first 5k. I told him he might want to pick something less challenging as his first. I really don't want to see him get discouraged right off the bat. I would love to have someone to run with (even if it means finding someone else to watch the kiddos while we run). He's already made it clear 5k is his max he has no interest in anything longer than that.
Which brings me to....
My first HALF-MARATHON!! :) Scheduled for Sept. 16, 2012. I have been thinking a great deal about doing the Philly half in November. But November and December are seriously my busiest time of the year with work. I put in up to 60 hours some of those weeks, with all the holiday crap going on in my personal life. It's rough, and I don't think that I want the pressure of my first half going on during that time.
I've been able to get through 6 mile runs recently without much problem. My biggest problem is finding the time for long runs. Now I will just have to make it work. I have a little training schedule that I have set to start the day after we finish the mud run.
I'm hoping that this keeps me focused through the summer. After that I will need a new focus!!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Impromptu 5k
This past weekend was absolutely beautiful! So beautiful I managed to put in 10.23 miles over the course of Saturday and Sunday! It was 60-70 degrees and sunny. Absolutely perfect!
Since Sunday morning was so nice out, I could not resist showing up at the local 5k in our area. It was a super hilly course, and by that I mean if we weren't going uphill we were going downhill, there was not a single stretch of flat on the entire course. All of the houses were absolutely gorgeous as well! They were all $1,000,000+ which was nice to look at. They had there own gates, guest houses, etc. One even had it's family crest adhered to the facade. Unbelievable!
I was super excited because this was the first time I was able to meet my family at the finish line. This is probably one reason I was able to end strong. Seeing Des jump up and down saying "Go mommy!" was one of the best feelings. It was a small race too. There were only 155 runners. I'm not sure how many walkers there were, they actually seperated them all out.
I absolutely hate when races end in an uphill. I don't think it's nice. And this one did just that. On my way up it I was walking, and this guy (who had already finished) was running back encouraging everyone. He looked me square in the eye and said "It's right around that corner. You got this!" He said it with incredible gumption, like he knew I could more than I did. So at that moment I put in everything I had and it felt GREAT!
We went out to breakfast afterwards and then Greg wanted to hit the gym. So I went with him (why should I have to start the yard work all by myself?). And go figure - it was his cardio day. I had lifted weights the day before after my run, so I didn't have it in me to lift again. I did 2 miles on the treadmill next to him. I think it would have gone a lot better if I hadn't just eaten at a diner. But I focused on doing some speed intervals. The fastest I got was a 9:13 pace for three and a half minutes, then I'd have to back off and walk a couple minutes, run at my typical 11:31 for a few minutes and then try to push it again.
Then I got to mow the yard and go grocery shopping and clean the house. It was super productive, I really need more days like that!!
Now I'm just trying to get through this week. Our big bbq is this upcoming weekend and next weekend I'm off for vacation. I cannot wait to run on the boardwalk at 7 am! I think I read online that it's 2 miles long, and we're sitauted almost near the beginning, so it should be a great change of pace. I can't imagine what it's like to run on a totally flat terrain. What an indulgence!
Since Sunday morning was so nice out, I could not resist showing up at the local 5k in our area. It was a super hilly course, and by that I mean if we weren't going uphill we were going downhill, there was not a single stretch of flat on the entire course. All of the houses were absolutely gorgeous as well! They were all $1,000,000+ which was nice to look at. They had there own gates, guest houses, etc. One even had it's family crest adhered to the facade. Unbelievable!
I was super excited because this was the first time I was able to meet my family at the finish line. This is probably one reason I was able to end strong. Seeing Des jump up and down saying "Go mommy!" was one of the best feelings. It was a small race too. There were only 155 runners. I'm not sure how many walkers there were, they actually seperated them all out.
I absolutely hate when races end in an uphill. I don't think it's nice. And this one did just that. On my way up it I was walking, and this guy (who had already finished) was running back encouraging everyone. He looked me square in the eye and said "It's right around that corner. You got this!" He said it with incredible gumption, like he knew I could more than I did. So at that moment I put in everything I had and it felt GREAT!
We went out to breakfast afterwards and then Greg wanted to hit the gym. So I went with him (why should I have to start the yard work all by myself?). And go figure - it was his cardio day. I had lifted weights the day before after my run, so I didn't have it in me to lift again. I did 2 miles on the treadmill next to him. I think it would have gone a lot better if I hadn't just eaten at a diner. But I focused on doing some speed intervals. The fastest I got was a 9:13 pace for three and a half minutes, then I'd have to back off and walk a couple minutes, run at my typical 11:31 for a few minutes and then try to push it again.
Then I got to mow the yard and go grocery shopping and clean the house. It was super productive, I really need more days like that!!
Now I'm just trying to get through this week. Our big bbq is this upcoming weekend and next weekend I'm off for vacation. I cannot wait to run on the boardwalk at 7 am! I think I read online that it's 2 miles long, and we're sitauted almost near the beginning, so it should be a great change of pace. I can't imagine what it's like to run on a totally flat terrain. What an indulgence!
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