A Year in Review (kind of)

With a nearly 3 week hiatus from my blog, I’m not even sure where to start this. The truth is not that I’ve been TOO busy to blog, but more too fragmented in my thinking to put it down in writing. As it is- I’m actually writing this in Word before I copy/paste and post it so that I can give it some sort of order.


Running-

I’ve had some really fantastic runs here lately. From a training standpoint- I’ve been consistently keeping my training runs to about 2 miles each (3-4 times a week). Just keeping the legs loose but haven’t started hard-core training for anything so I’m not doing a lot of mileage increase. I knew I had a 5k coming up- so I ran a training 5k on 10/22 and maintained a 12:13 pace and finished in 38:01. I was plenty happy with that since I had not run a 5k in awhile.

Then something really odd happened- I ran 3 training runs – Oct 27, Oct 29 and then Nov 3 and ALL of them were under 11 minute mile paces! It was a much shorter distance- 1.56 miles- but on the Oct 29 run, the pace was actually 10:22 per mile! As happy as I was with that- I have also learned a few things. While I can run that pace on relatively short mileage- I cannot (yet) maintain it over a longer distance. Once I get to about the 1.5 mile mark- I start to slow down. Not sure yet if it is just stamina or more mental because I know my 2 miles are coming to an end.

Going into my 5k this past Saturday, the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon’s inaugural 5K, I had a goal to finish in 35 minutes. While I didn’t blow any goals out of the water- I certainly hit it or came very close. The reason for my uncertainty? Well. . .

I assumed that since we were chipped that the start would have both a gun time and a chip time – but it only had a gun start and chip finish. I started my Nike+ as I crossed the start line though- however, upon the finish, I had trouble getting it to shut off and it took more than 30 seconds to stop it. By the time I stopped the Nike+, it said my time was 35:42. The gun start/chip finish time said 36:01 and I started myself towards the back of the pack. I’m very confident that I finished between 35 minutes and 35:15 – so while it wasn’t a clear reach of the goal- I’ll call it close enough and be very proud of my 11 minute 20ish second pace.

The REAL win? My first race this year, a 5K in February 2010 – my total time was 47:15. If I finished at 35:15, that means I have shaved 12 minutes off of my 5k time and that, my friends, is nothing to scoff at!

Strength Training-

I’ve been working with a trainer since August 3, that’s when we took our initial measurements- so 3 months. I’ve lost more than 4 inches in both my waist and my hips, 2.5 inches in my arms and additional in other areas of the body. It is so encouraging to see clear results in that period of time and be able to visibly see them as well. I am not brave enough to post the “real” pics of before/after. Maybe someday, but now is not that day :)

I’m getting stronger, fitter and able to move between exercises quicker. I can do leg and knee lifts on the chair tower- I do semi circles with my knees while raising them on the chair tower. My core strength is improving dramatically. My posture is better, my back doesn’t hurt and I recover from workouts much quicker. I still hate squats though. Really hate squats. But I know they work, so I do them anyway.

Weight Loss/Inches-

I wasn’t going to post this yet- but as I’ve been a little inconsistent with my posts, I thought I should go ahead. I began this journey to weight loss and fitness the day after my 2nd daughter was born on November 17, 2009. Since that date, I have lost 65 lbs now. Lost countless inches and gained so much in fitness and health. I still have a good ways to go- but this has become a very reachable journey for me now. It is attainable and something I know I won’t give up on, I’ve come too far.

Goals/Future-

I’ve signed up to participate in another long-distance Ragnar Relay in June 2011. This one goes from Madison, WI to Chicago, IL – 204 miles, 12 members, run-til-you-drop 3 legs each. I am considering (still JUST considering) training for a half marathon next year. I think I want to focus a little more on stretching to 10ks first and then leg it out a little more. We’ll see. I have decided to do the mini training group, however. That starts in January again and will help me safely increase my weekly mileage.

I’ve removed a certain # as a weight goal- maybe someday I’ll set a number but as my body changes between fat and lean-muscle mass and everything else- I’ve got many other things to gauge where I am – how clothing fits, fitness improvement, etc.

In a year’s time, I have made changes to my life and my body that I would not have believed possible at first –but I did stick with it and I did persevere and I am hitting those benchmarks that will get me to my goals – and I’ve learned that I can and will get there by continuing to do what I now know and love – taking care of me.