Unofficial PR

The Color Run was in our area this weekend, so on Sunday I went with some friends and we had a blast!  My best friend and I ran the entire thing ... well it was hard to run because there were 15,000 people, but we did run it.  Oh and that's not a typo. FIFTEEN THOUSAND!  Soooo many people!  It was fun though.  I did the one in Chicago and ended up not even running it because it was more fun to walk.  But yesterday we decided we wanted to run.  My best friend, Jaci, is running the Disney Princess Half with me in February and because she lives in Florida we've actually NEVER ran together, but we thought this could be a good training run with each other.  We are perfect together!  We pushed each other enough and motivated each other.  We're at similar paces ... and we both felt we ran better together yesterday than we normally do.  Always a bonus!  Running with her made me want to join that running club even more now.  We'll see ... I still need to talk myself into it.  :)

Anyway, back to the Color Run, in case you don't know it's a 5k, but it's considered the "happiest 5k on earth".  Because it's just for fun, there's no time chip, but I checked our time when we were getting started and then when we finished.  I don't know why, but I didn't actually time us.  BUT, we started around 8:31 and ended around 9:05.  That is the fastest 5k I've ever done and I'm sooo bummed that I don't even have an unofficial actual time, but I'm still so happy!  I need to run with Jaci all the time!

After the race.  They throw colored cornstarch while you run.  Fun!

Well, I'm starting my week 3 of Hal Higdon again... but I'm excited about it again.  Hopefully, I can keep increasing my confidence (and speed!).

I really don't have much else to say right now.  Until next time ...

Cheers!



Slow ...

I am a slow runner.  And when I say I'm a slow runner ... I mean you could probably walk at the pace I'm running.  I could probably walk at the pace I'm running.  It's super frustrating, because I just don't get it.  I have never been a runner ... I never wanted to run, hence the title of the blog ... but now that I want to run I have no idea how to.  I feel like I need a running coach.  Does that even exist? 

There's a running club that meets near my house that I've entertained the thought of joining ... but every time I really think about it, I get super nervous!  I actually have talked to a member and she said they have people who walk in their running club, so I feel like I could join them and maybe it would help getting tips from 'crazy' runners.  I don't know.  Why can't I just run?!


Today I was scheduled for 3.5 miles.  And today was my first day back after being sick all last week, so it was rough.  It would've been rough anyway, because I haven't been running outside in like 2 months!  It's just too hot, or I run too late and it's too dark.  So it's always harder for me to run outside, but it was actually beautiful.  There was a nice breeze and the sun was being blocked by the bleachers (I ran at the local HS track) ... I need to run there more often. 

I'm really at a loss of what else to say right now.  If I write anymore I feel like it will just end up being a rant about how I'm fat and slow ... and if you're reading this ... you probably already know that so I don't need to remind you for 3 more paragraphs.  So instead ... I'll say Adieux

Cheers!

A week off ...

Welp, I took an unscheduled week off.  My very cute nephew got me sick.  I haven't been able to even go up the stairs easily without gasping for air (okay maybe that's a little exaggeration) and I can't imagine running.  But that being said I've been trying to stay as active as I can with cleaning and whatnot around our house.  My best friend is coming into town on Saturday, and she's staying at our house one night, so I want to make sure everything is perfect!

So, since I've been sick, I'm obviously going to start week 3 over gain ... and I've even debated going back to week 2 and redoing that, since week 3 is a little bit of an increase.  I have until Tuesday to decide though ... so maybe we'll just see how I feel.

As I said before, since I've been sick I haven't done muck this week.  Slept a lot, sat around a lot, read, finished a pinterest craft!

I found the board on Pinterest, but it's from Girl Loves Glam.  It's great!  She even gives you the printables ... so much fun!  There was a chore chart that she included, which would be nice in concept, but lets be honest, I'm not going to do some chores daily - and the list on there was extensive- so I decided to just cut some fun scrapbook paper and do a Notes section instead.  My husband actually likes it too and we've already started planning our dinners for the week (a super annoying task, because we always forget each others schedules), but with this neat little board we can easily keep track.  Love it!

Next weekend is the Color Run for our area.  I'm so excited that my best friend (who lives in Florida) will be here to run it with me!  OH!  I forgot, we signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Tuesday ... so now we're getting ready for that.  The Color Run is a 5k ... and it's the only race we'll get to run together before the Half (February 2013).  Haha ... that may be bad, but we're excited about it and we promise each other we'll run the half together.

Color Run in Chicago this year - I'm on the left :)

I also had my weigh-in yesterday and I'm down another .2 lbs.  It's not much, but I'm actually okay with it.  When I'm sick I usually have a hard time eating and just eat whatever sounds good ... and usually that's junk.  So down a little is good!

Okay, that's all for now.

Cheers!

Banana Boats

Weigh in today.  I lost 1.2 lbs!  Okay ... not super exciting, but it was the fourth of July and I haven't really tracked my food this week - still tried to make good decisions - but we all know how that goes.  Anyway, I'm happy that I did well.  I know that doesn't mean I always will when I don't track, but it gives me hope. 

My sister, brother-in-law and nephew came over for dinner today.  It was so much fun.  We made some pork steak, veggies, salad and then for dessert we had banana boats.  It's where you split a banana in half and then top it with marshmallows and chocolate chips.  Delish!  We were going to make a fire and cook them on the edge of that, but it started to sprinkle so we decided to make them on the grill.  We cooked them for about 15/20 minutes on low/med heat.  Soo good!  Here's a before picture.

My sister is a little OCD ... can you tell which one is hers?  Hahaha.  I think mine tasted better though, because the marshmallows on the sides got nice and toasty!  My sister even admitted later that she wished she would've had some more that got toasty too. 

My nephew recently started walking and they live on the other side of the state so I have only seen a video of him walking.  It was so much fun to watch him walk around.  Our dog didn't know what to make of this little human.  Such a fun evening though!  Spending time with them always makes me wish they lived closer.  My husband and brother-in-law get along really well too (my brother-in-law stood up in our wedding) so it would be nice to have someone else to hang out with, especially since we're self proclaimed hermits.  ;)  Not really ... but we're pretty boring. 

After everyone went home (well back to my parents house) my husband and I were just sitting talking when we heard fireworks.  My husband went to check if we could see anything and we had a GREAT view of some fireworks from our deck.  I tried to get some pics with my phone, but nothing turned out great.  But it was a great way to end our evening. 

Until next time ...

Cheers!

Mental Toughness

How do you get mental toughness?  Today I had my scheduled 3 miles and to be honest I'm not a heat person and with this heatwave I just am not looking forward to my runs.  I'm running on a treadmill, but the air in our house just seems blah; I feel blah all day because of the heat; I'm not excited about my runs ... and then when the time comes - I just go through the motions.  When it gets tough, I give up and walk.  WHY?!  I try to talk myself out of walking, but the devil always prevails when I'm running. 

Tomorrow is my weigh in day.  I'm nervous, because while I made decent food decisions this week, it was a holiday week.  And I tend to eat things and not even realize it.  Oops!  However, my husband and I did play tennis for an hour on the 4th of July.  The heat index was 110*!!!  We were dripping sweat, but it was sooo much fun!  I love doing cross training things like that instead of the elliptical or circuits.  Nothing wrong with those things, but its so much fun to do things that I don't do everyday.  I feel blessed to have a husband who would play tennis with me on such a hot day just because I suggested it.

I have 30 minutes of circuit training tomorrow, but my husband will be working so it will probably be the elliptical again ... could be worse!

Cheers!

Week 2 Day 2

Welp, today was my 2nd day of week 2 ... all I had to do was run 3 miles.  All I had to do ... Ugh.  Well I finished 3 miles, but I was not feeling it today.  I ended up walking a good portion of it.  I ate sort of close to when I ran and I definitely felt that my food hadn't digested enough.  Oh well, at least I finished it.  I may have to redo this week - but that's why I started my training so early so I can redo weeks if possible.

ANYWAY, on to more exciting things.  My best friend and I are going to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon this winter and registration opens on July 10th!  We spoke today for about an hour, discussing all of our plans.  She lives in Florida and I live in Michigan, so it takes a lot of planning.  I probably see my best friend 2x a year so I'm so excited to go down and see her.

Sorry, I don't really have a lot to talk about today ... but no one really reads this anyway so I'm sure no one is really disappointed ;)

Cheers!

50 Reasons

To help remind myself of why I want to lose weight ... and to keep myself motivated I've decided to make a list of the top 50 reasons why I want to lose weight.

1.    To be comfortable in my own skin
2.    To be fit
3.    So I can get excited about shopping for clothes ... instead of just jewelry and shoes
4.    For ENERGY!
5.    To not feel guilty when I do eat something 'not healthy'
6.    To not feel embarassed when I get a red face after working out (This has always happened, but I'm more embarassed being overweight and having a red face than I was when I was average weight)
7.    To be a role model for the cheerleaders I coach
8.    To be able to run with my husband again
9.    To feel comfortable in a bathing suit!
10.  So when I get pregnant - some day - you'll be able to tell and I won't freak out about every pound I'm adding.
11.   So my thighs won't touch
12.   To wear shorts
13.   To not be embarassed if I get winded (I have a decent endurance)
14.   So I can wear the jeans I've been saving since my surgeries!
15.   So I'm not embarassed when my husband touches me
16.   So I don't have to feel like I'm always watching what I'm eating
17.   To look people in the eye
18.   To not make excuses
19.   To not be embarassed around extended family
20.   To not CONSTANTLY think about it
21.   So I can see myself in the mirror and not my weight
22.   To be happy
23.   To not dread the scale at the doctors office
24.   To not dread the scale period.
25.   To not be asked to join weight loss incentives at work (i.e. people I work with think I want to lose weight and invite me to join their contest)
26.   To not want to join weight loss incentives
27.   To be able to wear what I want to and not what makes me look slim
28.   So I can be excited about having my picture taken
29.   To run around with my nephew
30.   To be a role model for my future children
31.   To be able to RUN
32.   So I can go to my high school reunion and not decide not to go 'because of my weight'
33.   To not 'untag' every picture on facebook
34.   To not be jealous of everyone thinner than me
35.   To not compare myself to EVERYONE
36.   To not make fun of myself 'before anyone else can'
37.   To learn more about nutrition
38.   To learn to feed my body for fuel and not for fun
39.   To be able to wear sleeveless shirts without being self conscious
40.   To not be embarassed and feel judged when I want to buy chocolate, ice cream, etc.
41.   So I can buy clothes I want to and not think it's a waste of money because "I might lose weight"
42.   To be proud of myself
43.   For the compliments
44.   So I can be confident in myself
45.   To look forward to taking my dog for a walk
46.   For the health of my knee
47.   To enjoy being outside more
48.   To want to buy clothes
49.   To be healthy
50.   For me

Anyone out there who might read this ... what tips and tricks keep you motivated?

Cheers!

First post ...

So, I'm a self proclamined none runner.  I've always been involved in sports and at times I would get into these kicks for months at a time where I would decide to run ... but only one mile at a time.  None of this 4 miles, 5 miles, half marathon junk!  I was in gymnastics and cheerleading growing up and whenever they made us run I would say "if I wanted to run, I would've joined the track team."  I HATED it.  Actually, I think I still might hate it ... a little.  ;)

                                                            HS Cheer Pic - I can't find any gymnastics pics :)

In 2009 I was cheering for my college team and we were practicing our Nationals routine.  We were told that dreaded 'one more time' and we were EXHAUSTED.  Everyone was half assing it and I decided to go full out for my tumbling pass.  Stupid.  I think my body was just spent, and honestly, I wish I had this recorded, but I landed my tumbling pass wrong and that was the end of it.  I obliterated my ACL, Meniscus, tore some cartilage, it was a mess ... and the end of my cheer career.  (Thankfully it was my last year anyway).  That was February 16, 2009.  I had my first surgery (ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair) March 6, 2009.  Yup ... first surgery ... meaning there were more.  I don't want to go into details, but make sure you have a good physical therapist.  You think they all know what they're doing ... they don't.  I found a good therapist who was shocked at my lack of progress and when I went to see my surgeon he was disappointed as well.  He scheduled me for my second surgery May 21, 2009.  He later told us I had so much scar tissue in my knee it was like a block of wood.  Long story short (yeah right), the damage was too much and I ended up having a third surgery in December 2009 to clean out the rest of the scar tissue.

                                           Before ACL injury at my lowest weight since HS

ANYWAY ... after a year of crutches ... and 2 years of physical therapy I had made some progress, but nothing to write home about.  Considering they told me they never thought I'd really walk normal again after the damage that was done from the surgeries and lack of proper PT, I was doing really well.  I ended up joining a crossfit class that met 3 days a week and I fully contribute my status today to that.  It really targeted the muscles I couldn't get with PT alone.

Anyway, fast forward to 2012 ... I am 40 + lbs heavier than I was when I tore my ACL and 20+ lbs heavier than I've ever been.  (The heaviest I was prior to this, was after a heel surgery in 2006).  After talking to one of my friends I decided to try and get back into running.  Hahah ... 'back into it'.  I was never in it, but when I did run I always lost weight.  I had toyed with the idea in early 2011, but I could only run a mile and that was rough on my knee and I gave up.  This time I decided to set goals.  I ran a 5k in March, a 10k in April, another 10k in May and a 5k in June.  I'm signed up for another 5k this month, a 10 mile in August and a half marathon in October.  Yup, a HALF MARATHON in OCTOBER.  I feel like I may have had an aneurysm when I signed up for that ... but it's done and it was expensive so this week I started training for it.

                                                               After my May 10k ... this is embarassing :(

So far so good.  I'm actually enjoying it/looking forward to my runs which has never happened before...

I'm following the Hal Higdon Novice 1 Program.  It starts out slow which is EXACTLY what I need.  My husband is super supportive so it's helping me stay on track.  I decided to start this blog to hopefully stay accountable to my training schedule, get some support, and make some new friends!

So that's me and my story in a nutshell.  I know ... it's not too exciting ... yet, but hang around and hopefully I'll make you proud. 

Cheers!

Oh boy ... after adding the pics I'm super embarassed/motivated.  Here goes nothing!