Believe Walk 2012

The Believe walk was more than I had expected. The streets downtown were shut down and filled with thousands of people, sporting the breast cancer color of pink. People's dogs were dyed pink and wearing tutus, grown men had pink wigs on, and even the kids were getting in on the fun. I felt honored to be among all these people supporting and raising awareness to such a giant cause.

I was not feeling well when I got there but I was too determined to run to let that deter me, so I popped in a cough drop and went on my way. Somehow, I even managed to do my best 5k time yet- just under 32 minutes! This isn't too far off from what I was doing a couple months ago, but for how hilly it was and me not feeling good, I was ok with it. I recorded my times I could find for the 5ks I have done thus far... I still REALLY want to get to my goal of 30 minutes before the end of the year.

April 2012- 32 min, 8 sec
November 2011-  34 min, 35 sec
June 2011- 37 min, 37 sec

Sometimes.

Some days I just don't want to go to the gym. Sometimes, I am so exhausted that all I want to do is lie in bed. It's these same days that I know I have to go. Tuesday was long and exhausting and the last thing I wanted to do was workout. I knew I didn't want to skip a week doing body pump, because it's even harder to pick up the next week. So I dragged my lazy ass there, moping and pouting the whole time. As soon as that class started though, I was fully focused and gave it all I had. It paid off and will continue to pay off. I was sore yesterday and still am a little today and feel myself getting stronger each time.

I am making it official. Next month my birthday gift for myself will be going to the running center and buying new shoes. I am way overdue but this month's bills/activities won't allow for such a purchase. I may try and find a type of runner's utility belt. I swore I didn't want to run with my gigantic smart phone but I finally gave the Map My Run app a chance. I love it. It's accurate, it stores all my runs, and keeps track of the routes I do. Last week I ran a little over 3 miles and saw I was still at my same running average- 12 min miles. I ran with Nicholas Sunday morning and we added sprints and were able to get those miles down to a little over 11 min. Granted, when I do the sprints, my runs become shorter because I wear myself out faster.

Below is a picture from last year's Survivor mud run along with a picture of this year's. It's nice to see how far along I have come. 

This year.

Last year. 

Time to Run Again

The weather is still hot, but it's just starting to cool down enough later in the day for me to run outside. I haven't done a good run outside in months,  so when I got a small taste of it at the Survivor mud run on Saturday, I wanted more.

I have appeared nonexistent on here but I assure you,  I have been alive and well. During the summer, I was working out or doing some kind of active sport about 5 times a week. I would love to be able to boast that I have completely transformed my body; slimmed down and toned up. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The past couple months, I have remained the exact same size and shape. I can feel the muscles and I feel stronger but it's all remaining under this shell of fat, so to speak. To keep myself from going insane, I've simply chosen to not step on the scale. I wish this was good enough, but what's really bringing me down is my lack of energy. I want to sleep all the time and there are moments in my day that I have found myself completely checked out, going through the motions but having no real excitement or feelings for it is I am experiencing. 

This is why I finally made a dr appointment. I went in today and he said I should do some blood work. I hope I can get that done soon and figure out what the heck is wrong with me. Even if I don't start loosing weight, I just want to have energy and feel alive again. 

So tired and much homework to do, so I shall post more later in regards to pictures from the mud run and (possibly?) results from the blood work. 

Til then...

Update on the 10k

So I made a decision not to do the Run through Redlands because a more exciting (at least I think so) opportunity presented itself. I received an email from Angels Baseball about their 5k. The race included a shirt, a free ticket to a game, and most importantly, the chance to run on the field! Since I hadn’t signed up for the 10k Run Through Redlands yet, this was perfect. It was like everything was set just right for me to do the Angels run. The only thing was that the Angels run was only a 5k and I still wanted to prove to myself that I could do a 10k.

So on Saturday the 14^th, I routed out what the Run Through Redlands would entail and… I ran it. I ran the whole way and I felt really good until about the last mile or so. I started to get tired (and a little bored, I have to say). I decided to run past where the finish line would be and continued home, making the total run about 6.5 miles. The longest run I have done yet! Not to mention, this accomplishes one of my goals for the year. The next day, however, I was having a little pain in my hips. The next Monday I was sick, but feeling antsy at night, so I did some squats. I was starting to really feel my right hip by then. The rest of that week, I took a break from running so that I could be prepared for the 5k on Sunday. All the way up until the race my leg (I discovered the pain wasn’t actually coming from my hip), was still there. I ran through it and as soon as I was done, I knew that maybe running wasn’t the best idea.

I am still in pain and still taking a break. I hope to be back to normal soon, because I really want to focus in on one of my other goals, and that was to do a 5k in 30 minutes. My time on this one was 32.08, which is pretty decent, considering where I started. On April 4^th of last year, I had recorded that my fastest 5k was 37 minutes (and some-odd seconds), so I have shaved over 5 minutes off! Keeping my fingers crossed that this recovery time is speedy.

Until then!

Feels Like I am Starting From Scratch

The Run Through Redlands is quickly approaching. I have wanted to do the 10k for the last couple months now, but got side tracked with other obligations and responsibilities (and well, laziness). Now it is about 3 weeks away and I need to get on it. I ran with Kale on Monday for 3 miles and I struggled the whole way. Getting back into running is not easy, but luckily the miles add up fairly quickly. I ran yesterday too and that was more work. With an insane work/school schedule, just finding the energy to expend is difficult enough. Every minute of my day is accounted for and it’s these school quarters where my planner quickly fills up with things to do. Finding the time for exercise is not an option though; I have to keep it a priority like I do with work and school.

In order to “train” for this run, I am going to have Nicholas help me with running 6 miles this Saturday and next Saturday. If I can accomplish it by next Saturday, then I should be good to go on the 22^nd  (day of the run). We used to be able to run about 5 miles and if I would have kept on that pace, this would be a piece of cake but we all know that other things get in the way. To be honest, I started doing other exercises besides running and with all my daylight being used at work and school the last couple months, I didn’t try to run in the dark. Instead, I went to the gym and started doing the elliptical and bike (and weights). Running on a treadmill is always a choice but it’s awfully boring. I can only make it a couple miles on the treadmill before I get bored and move on.

I will try not to put too much pressure on myself, because running should still be fun for me and it is, as long as I don’t stress myself out about it. I would like to do this 10k and be able to consistently run 6 miles. In a couple months, once I have that down, I will start on my speedwork for a 5k. This will come in perfect time for the hot weather that is approaching. If I am only running 5ks and working to increase my speed, then I won’t be out in the sun as long. See, it’s a win/win situation!

More to come later (including pictures) about the recent mud run I did.

Another Year, Another Competition

It’s the beginning of the year, so people like to make new years resolutions and start fresh with a clean slate. Many people have a common goal of wanting to get in shape and/or lose weight during the new year. This is no different at work, so we have decided to do another “Biggest Loser” competition. This one will be slightly shorter (6 weeks rather than 8), from Jan 3^rd to Feb 14^th. I made it through the holidays without gaining weight, so now I will jumpstart the new year with a good kick in the butt from my competitive side. Without the temptations from all the good foods that the holidays bring, this should make it a little easier to eat better.

Because I set my health goals last year, I would like to do a re-cap of those and see where I am at and make new ones or extend the goals I had previously.

Previous Goals:

-          Lose 30 pounds (done and done! I have lost 55 so far)

-          Run a full mile (the most I have ran without stopping is about 5 miles)

-          Try a new healthy recipe at least once a month (this was very difficult to maintain due to lack of time.)

-          Activate Gym membership (done!)

-          Get magazine and start taking advantage of the great tips they have to offer. (done but I could probably read this magazine a little more)

-          Continue to do my work-out video on Thursdays and find new ones (I believe this was a video I found on Netflix. I did not continue that one but I have found lots of other work-outs, including games on my Wii console)

-          Look at getting new running shoes (this has been done and I love them. However, with how much I run, I will probably need new ones in a couple months)

-          Buy an alarm clock (this is done but I think the purpose of this was to get up in the morning to run. This has proven to be difficult because the sun isn’t rising early enough for me to run. I might need to come up with another game plan for morning work-outs).

New Goals:

-          Lose 35 pounds by the end of the year

-          For Distance- be able to run a 10k without stopping.

-          For Speed- be able to run a 5k in 30 minutes

-          Try a new healthy recipe once a month (I am putting this one back on here and hope I can do it this time)

-          Get new running shoes by June 1^st

-          Schedule and accomplish 4 races (either a 5k, 10k, or mud run. I am doing a mud run at the end of March so far)

I think these are all doable and I am proud that I accomplished and exceeded most of my goals last year. 2012 is going to be just as good, if not better, than 2011!

Wrapping up 2011

My favorite thing about running is that there isn’t anyone or anything around to judge me. Not that I am paranoid and people are staring at me or anything, but running is the most selfish, raw form of workout. It is just me and the street and nothing else. I don’t have to worry about waiting for a treadmill or some kind of machine to do my work out; no numbers staring me in the face on screen, tracking every move I make. Running doesn’t require me to have music in my ears to keep me distracted. The sound of my feet against the pavement and my panting (I mean, heavy breathing :P), is enough to create a kind of music of my own. The visual stimuli can keep me entertained forever, as long as I keep moving and changing my scenery. The soreness in my legs after a run is testament to myself that I will continue to challenge my body and mold it into a healthier me. Although the holidays have been a challenge as far as my diet goes, my exercising has not ceased and that is something I am more than happy to celebrate.

This year has been quite a success for me, health wise. I have lost 55 pounds, am able to run more than 3 miles at a time, and have consumed more healthy foods than ever before. I have gained so much more respect for myself and my body. I am more excited about my future and happy to live a healthy life. I hope to build upon my goals in 2012 but more importantly, continue to carry the things I have learned this year.