Pride

I am so proud of myself today.
Saturdays are the day I do my long run with my running club- and those runs are according to our training schedule for the Half Marathon in May. My club runs by time, not mileage- which I believe is superior (at least for my style). I don't feel overwhelmed having to try to reach a certain mileage- and that allows me to relax and focus on form and pace management. Today's run was 50 minutes. We run on the Monon Trail in Indianapolis, so we go half the time one way- and then turn around to return. The goal, as set by the trainers, is to settle into your pace early and do the second half of your run slightly faster than the first half- helps you keep from going out too fast and sputtering out.
My run graph from Nike+ is great because it shows that I really did that- it was slight, but I did return faster than the first half of my run. But it also shows a consistent pace overall and a fast one for me! This is one of my longest runs ever- and the longest in a very long time.

In a couple of weeks- I have my 2nd ever 10K to run (the last one was run in 2006, the same day I found out I was pregnant with my oldest daughter). I am now confident that I will be able to RUN the whole thing without walking. There is nothing wrong with walk breaks- but this is a personal goal of mine- and I am so proud to know that I can do this. 

All kinds of love

Happy Valentine's Day!

I realize I have not posted in almost a week and it really has just been because of being busy and not making the time to blog, being out of town, and now- sick children. Life happens.

This past Saturday, I had a 5K. It was the 500 Festival Mini Marathon Training Series 5k. This race is significant because it was the marking of 1 year since my first race back after having my 2nd daughter. Last year was the same training series race, but I had only been back to running for 6 weeks (and was working my way through couch-to-5k again). I started that race out way too fast and lost all steam very early and walked most of it (no shame, just not what I wanted to do). I complete that race in 47:10. This year, one year later- My official time for last Saturday's race was 36:29. That means I shred 10 minutes and 40 seconds off of my overall race time. It wasn't my fastest 5k ever- and that's ok- it was nice to have races to compare.

On another note- my friend Liz did a guest post at Fit City Indy about the perceptions of Fat/Skinny and Fit. It is a very interesting read and I agree with what she is saying. As someone who has struggled with weight all of my life, I am only now realizing that my success at losing (and keeping it off) is directly related to my relationship with the scale. I used to be obsessed with it. And after several days or weeks of the "wrong" numbers, I'd give up- completely. It has only been since I acknowledged that the number on the scale is just a guide- one part of many factors- that paint the picture of health and fitness. It is so often overlooked that many "skinny" people are highly unhealthy because they are overly sedentary and eat nothing but junk food and crap - but happen to be blessed with metabolisms or DNA that make it easy for them to lose or not gain weight- appearing more healthy, perhaps than someone overweight. Just like Liz said- I know I'm over my ideal weight. I'm not even close to it at this point. However, at this point- I also know I am ok if I don't actually get into that specific range but maintain (and grow) my level of fitness - which is a very active lifestyle (I very consistently workout 5-6 days a week). I can run 3+ miles without stopping. I can lift weights and have core strength I never dreamed of. My goals have changed from once being a number on the scale to being a clothing size range and fitness goals - Something realistic and maintainable for life. That is the key to success in weight loss and fitness- small, building-block, attainable goals that add up to sustainable lifestyles.
Again- like Liz said- I don't have a perfect relationship with food either. I make bad choices sometimes- but they are choices I make with my eyes wide open now too. And, unlike before, I made 1 bad choice and then make a lot of great ones. Or my "bad choice" may be better by controlling the portion. What works for me may not be what works for the next but Liz's point of not judging a book by the cover- simply based on weight - is a very good one. You may never know the true athlete standing in front of you.

Catching up a few days

After a very busy weekend of just me and the kids- I took a step back and looked at my goals and what I really want. And the biggest theme from that thought process? Take out the stress!!!
So- I think I made the best choice for me by taking a day off last week and leaving the #100 days challenge idea...I just had to take a break.

But after taking Sunday to play with my kids and play- I got back into my training schedule (which I'm happy to say I hadn't missed any of those scheduled workouts) for the mini marathon in May. There was still too much ice on Monday to run outside- so it was the treadmill again- but that's ok. I've given the treadmill some credit for being there for me :) I am hoping to get back to running outside tomorrow- it will be cold but sunny- which is fine for me.
Today was a strength training day and I did core and lower body.

1 more thing. Seven Zero

As of Friday's official weigh in- I am down 70 lbs since Nov 2009.

:-)

Bring it on!

The club run I was planning on going to, I skipped because I heard the conditions on the Monon Trail where we run were very poor. I really dread the treadmill, but I definitely don't want to risk injury with the goals I have this year.

So- I went to my training session first- lots of core, lots of kettlebells, pushups (real pushups!). Then I ran on the treadmill for 40 minutes. 5k next weekend- still trying to decide if I want to do the race or not.

Had some unexpected snow this morning- about 4 inches actually. So- when I got home from the gym with the kids, I put one down for a nap and the other down for rest/tv while I went out to shovel the back and front walk. I don't know exactly how many calories I burned today- but I know it had to have been a lot. I'm seriously considering getting a BodyBugg or something similar to calculate total caloric expenditure on a daily basis.

*grumble*

So. I don't like the word failure. I won't call it that. I made a conscious choice tonight NOT to workout. I needed a break. It doesn't matter that I could have done 30 minutes of anything- I needed to do more than 30 minutes of NOTHING tonight.

My husband is going to be out of town for the next 3 days, and I'll have my 2 rambuncious girls all to myself- they'll more than make up for the activity loss for today- I plan to run tomorrow and already have my club run and a training session on Saturday. Sunday's activity TBD.

So- while I may not have accomplished 100 days in a row of activity- I'm still proud that I got more than 25 in. And maybe next time I'll aim for 30 in a row- or maybe not. I think some activity every day is a great goal to have- but it is also a lot of pressure. Having to be honest with myself, I put a lot of pressure in my life already between work, kids, fitness, weight loss, etc - it's OK to take a break. I think I NEED a break every now and then. And with my strength training schedule and running training for both the Mini 2011 and the Ragnar Relay in June- I think a solid day off at least 1x a week is well within reason.

I fought with my thoughts on this for a long time tonight. But I'm listening to my inner voice this time- jammies on, couch potato. And I am OK with it.

26 days completed- 26 days. Until next time!

It's true, ice is a motivation killer!

Day 26 and had to eek this one out. I wanted to run- but I wanted to run OUTSIDE. But as crazy as I am and as cold as I like it- I was NOT going to run with 1"+ ice on the ground- that just wouldn't be smart. There really isn't even snow on top of it for traction.

I'm lucky to have a very nice treadmill at home - but since I became a convert to outdoor running, we have sort of a love hate relationship. So- I decided that since my mini-training schedule called for 25 minutes of effort- I was going to just run/walk it (the only way I can get through a treadmill workout anymore) and then for the last 5 minutes to add up to 30, I slowed the treadmill way down and did slow walking lunges and then some pushups on the handles and a few tri-dips backwards.

As always- I felt so much better when I was done; really sweat the laziness right out. Something about being couped up all day with 2 restless kids and a cranky husband make you want to sit on your butt. But I didn't, and I'm thankful.

1/4 done- 25 days!

This was a tough day to get done because with all the ice we've had- and having to drop off and pick up kids and take my husband for a medical procedure- I really didn't have the desire or energy to do it. So- after dinner- my husband was playing Guitar Hero for our kids - and I started moving- just dancing around then picking up the baby and doing squats with her and using her as my mini kettlebell (all 22 lbs of her).
It wasn't all high energy- but I got a decent sweat going and kept it going for 30 minutes. It wasn't your typical "workout" but It was what I had today :) Tomorrow- I think I'll be running on my nemesis, the treadmill. bleh.