Food food food foodfoodfoodfoodfood

I've been craving yummy (fattening) foods this whole week. I have been "giving in" to those cravings too. Not over indulging, just eating small portions of things I love to eat. So ... no weight loss this week, but not any gaining either.

I'm holding my own.

Forced myself to go to the gym today - in fact, I found myself driving down the road towards the gym when I realized, "Hey, guess I'm going to the gym." I was debating what to do for exercise today, and my body just took over! Ended up doing a fast/hard workout on the elliptical and burned 300 calories. I wanted to give up 15 minutes into it, but made myself continue.

I need my workout partner back! Trish is sick today, not good! I hope she recovers soon. (for her sake, OK, for mine too, but mostly for her.)

2 Miles Today!!

I did it! I actually ran 2 miles today - non-stop! I did it in 23.19.4 too! So, that is just a bit faster than 12 min miles! Whoo Hooo Kay! Earlier in the month I changed my goal from running 2 miles to running 1 mile, figuring I'd struggled SO hard with week 4 that there was no way I'd make it to 2 miles by May 3rd. HA! I was wrong!

So, sometime in Feb., when I first seriously started running, I said that I would lose 25lbs and be able to run 2 miles non-stop by my birthday, and I DID IT!

I was almost crying today as I finished my run; I am so proud I could burst! I truly never thought I would be able to do this so quickly.

yea!

Planning B-Day Meal

I really really want chips & cheese for my birthday meal. Nothing remotely healthy about that, but man does it sound so very good! So, I have made a deal with myself .. if I run 2 miles and keep my weight below my b-day goal I can have cake and yummy nachos for dinner on May 3rd!

Dreaming and drooling about it!

Another Goal Achieved!

I did it!! I finally reached my birthday goal weight!

Thinkin It Just May Be Possible

The other day I ran in the neighborhood again. (well, I have done the 1.25 miles 2x now actually, so I tried something new) Being that I found the one mile run not so difficult, I decided to push myself towards 2 miles. I mapped out a run and I thought it was 2 miles, but I guess I remembered it wrong. Cause I only ran 1.75 miles or 21 mins. Still - Whoo Hoo me! And, with a run that was just a quarter mile short of 2 - my goal for my b-day -that was not that hard to complete ... I'm thinkin'

Running a full 5K nonstop may actually be possible. By Memorial Day, of course.

Contemplating Today's Workout

So, I just got back from working in the classroom. I am going to eat something and then go for a run. Am I going to do W4, or move on to W5D1 - 5/3 x3 , Or am I going to run my neighborhood run again. I might just move on to W5. ...but that means that W5D3 has me running 20 mins or 2 miles non-stop. I guess I could do it, that is only 6 mins longer than my run the other day.

Oh the decisions I need to make :)

Later:
And so, the verdict was - just run! I ended up running for 15mins straight, and competleting 1.25 miles!! I walked and ran for a total of over 30 mins today, but the biggest thing is that I ran a mile yet again!

Hmm, do I need to try for 2 miles by my birthday? I'd have to figure out another route to run, but I could do that, I guess. ...figure out the route, not run :)

One Goal Down, 1.9 to Go!

I weighed myself this am and I officially have 1.9lbs to go to reach my goal of loosing 25lbs (from Feb) by my birthday!

AND

Today I went for a run in the hood. At first I ran 5.41 mins (just a bit more than half mile) but I stopped because I had to pee really badly and every "jog" was threatening to jiggle it out of me! (note to self, pee before you go for a run!) so I quickly walked back to my house (I was on a path near our house, so it was a quick walk back!) and relieved myself, then headed out again.

This time I just ran and ran and kept on running. First I thought I'd quit when I got to the path, then I thought I'd quit when I got to the end of a friend's yard, then I though heck, I'll go all the way to the end, then I thought I'd just turn around and head back for awhile, then I thought I'd go back to the beginning of the path, which would have been 10 minutes, then ... I figured I'd go for a whole 12mins which would be a mile, then I figured I'd just go till I got back to our driveway! Which I would have, but the neighbor's dog jumped on me right as I passed their driveway, so I stopped. Which is OK, because I ran 1.23miles, in 14.28 mins. I'm OK with stopping a few yards short!

I met a goal and I'm happy!

So so so very close!

I went to the gym today and ran: 5 minute walk warm-up, 3/1.5, 5/2.5, 3/1.5 ... and then the last 5 min set I broke up into three short runs with 15-30 secs walk between them. The last one I did run for one minute at 6 or maybe even 6.5 (not so sure any longer) as I was going for the 2 mile time ... and are you ready to hear what that time ended up being? (drum roll, please) 26.24!!! Freaking awesome!!

Oh, and I have only 3 more lbs to go till I reach my May 3 goal! Damn I'm doing good!

Still Fighting Something

Still fighting some weird illness; my throat "hurts" (mildly) and I am sort of developing a cough. Maybe I am fighting a cold, who knows. Today I finally succumbed, admitted I was trying to be sick, and did my anti-cold voodoo.

Yesterday Lauren stayed home sick - a short bought of stomach flu. Luckily by mid day she was feeling better. But I was not able to go to the gym or run out doors. (She had pretty bad diarrhea, so we had to stay near a toilet just in case the sudden urge came about!) But Bill took both girls to soccer and I went to the gym. I called Trish, but her mother just came home this evening from some fairly major surgery, and she was getting her all settled in.

Poor Trish is struggling; I wish I could make things click for her. (It will come together Trish, just be patient and strong!) I have no idea what made things click for me this year, but things seem to be pretty easy. I'm doing decent food wise, and exercising 5 days a week, or more, every week. I'm really close to the 45lb mark - WOW!

Yesterday I did the elliptical for 45mins. I've been playing around with the different workout options, and I chose the hill workout last night. I did not think it felt that different, but 15 mins into the workout I was tired and wanted to quit. Half-way into the workout I was exhausted, but kept on pushing. I knew I could do it, so I just plugged my earphones into the TV outlet and watched some cool nature documentary about fish. I watched each and every minute tick off, but I did it. When I got off my legs felt like noodles, and today they are definitely tired! Of course, it does not help that I could *not* fall asleep last night so all of me is tired. And sick (did I mention that at all? snicker)

Working out today will be a tough one. Not sure what I am going to do. hmmmmm.

OK, off to be productive. and maybe take a long nap too.

Feeling Icky

I have been battling some wired sore throat for the past two days. yuck. Which makes me want to be lazy and not run.

I did not run yesterday. But today I squeezed it in. sort of.

I walked a lap, ran a lap, walked 110yrds, ran lap .... etc. for a total of running 4.5 laps. Hey, I ran; that's all I have to say.

I did pretty good, running them in my usual 3 min time. The first was under 3 mins, and I felt as if I was running fast, but I felt good so I continued at that pace. But after that lap I slowed down. Also, my walking was pretty consistantly about 1.15 secs. So time wise it was too short, but I was ok, except for the last half lap; I did want more time then. And I was just ready to quit. So I did.

Two New Milestones!

I went to the gym alone last night - nothing new, but I wish that Trish were there to share my excitement!

I was not going to run, but at the last minute I turned right rather than left and hopped on a treadmill. I cranked up my ipod and began my run. I have been pushing myself to get thru week four and seriously work towards progress in my 5K goal. Today I finally just about did the real week 4 workout! I ran 3/2, 5(!!!)/4, 3/3, and 2.5 (drop ipod and stop treadmill in the middle of Theme From Rocky) 2.5 and then about 8 mins of walking on a 4-5 incline.

So - the big milestones I'm talking about: I ***finally*** did 5 minutes on the treadmill. I also hit the 2 mile mark at 27:14!! That is the best ever for me! Now, I did not do the official week 4 workout because 1: I was having ipod issues that caused me to walk longer than scheduled, 2: at one point (I think after the 1st 5 min run, but not sure any more) I was caught up in the TV and lost track of time and therefore walked longer than scheduled, and 2: It too me a long time to recover from my 2nd 3 min run just because I was still feeling winded and such. Regardless, I did the running!! Well, I did take a small break on the last run when I caught the cord of my ipod and thus yanked it off the shelf and unfortunately also unplugged the earphones and sent the poor Purple Pal clattering to the floor. So I pressed pause, got off and grabbed ipod and rehooked earphones, and unpaused the treadmill to resume said run.

I was hot, tired, and red-faced - but it felt good to finally concur that beast of week 4!

Chicago is Full of Yummy Food

Since the girls were on Spring Break last week, Bill decided to take a few days off and we all went to Chicago for a few days. Bill and I made a point of staying at a hotel with a fitness center and we took our running shoes and clothing along with every great intention of running.

But we walked our asses off, so no running occurred!

The first day we walked from our hotel (in Grant Park) to Navy Peer - I just figured out that was approx. 2.5miles! Then we walked another 2 miles (round trip) to our restaurant for dinner. The girls were supper troopers and gladly walked all that distance ... in fact on the way home from dinner, at like 10pm mind you, Annika was dragging a bit and I was cold so I started jogging a bit to warm up. She jogged with me. Then I thought I'd run up past Lauren and Bill for fun. Well, that started this very good natured "running challenge" and we ended up jogging half the way home, laughing and having a good time. Which was a good thing (the running part) because I ate two pieces of deep-dish pizza! Oh so yummy and good!!

The next day we walked to the Aquarium, stood in line for 2.5hours, then walked all over the aquarium until 5pm when it closed. It was fun, but by then my knees and legs were tired and I had little desire to go running. Besides, we had plans to go to Ed Debevic's for dinner. We successfully navigated the train and walked the few blocks to the restaurant, only to be met by the largest crowd ever! My frustration level was beyond tapped!! So we left and walked a few blocks to another restaurant type place. I ended up eating an Italian Sausage dog, fries, and a large beer. None of that was on my diet; it was all pure frustration eating.

Lunch and breakfast meals were semi-ok. I did a good combination of eating something tasty, yet not too high on the calorie list. But man were there tons of temptations all over the place. Luckily we walked and walked and walked and walked the entire time we were there. Big cities are good for that, I guess. Around here it is hard to walk anywhere. And feel like you wont be run over by crazy drivers on 59! :)

So ... today I thought I'd finally get enough gumption up to weigh myself. Mind you I did this after eating breakfast and lunch. What do you know, I am one full pound lighter than I was last time I weighed myself ... so like last Wed. probably. Whoo Hoo! Now I only have 6 pounds to go, and three weeks, till my 44th birthday. I believe I should make my goal of loosing 25lbs (from February) by my birthday. That will put me at 50lbs total since the beginning of the year. wow!

I Really Hate the Treadmill

I met Trish at the gym last night. It has been a while since either one of us ran on the treadmill, and it showed! I started out strong, running my first 3 minutes at 5.3 no problem. Well, I was tired but I did it ... I really wanted to stop at 2 minutes, but I kept going like a good kid. (chuckle) I walked my 90 seconds, which goes by SO very fast, let me tell you! Trish pushed herself hard and finished her 3 min set too. However, her heart rate was in the 180's, so "Coach Kay" helped her get it under control before she began again.

I never ran my 5 minute set ... I have not managed to go 5 minutes on the treadmill yet! I just do not understand what is going on, but I cannot make myself do it; on the track it seems so much easier. I did a lot of 2 minute runs and one minute breaks between.

I finished with two runs of 5.7 and one run of 6.0 to get me to the 2 mile mark. I did my 2 miles in 27:30-45 (I was not paying that much attention to the time, just the distance!) and in my 35 minutes I did over 2.25 miles. Oh, and I ran one extra minute at 5.7 just because I could! I did not really want to, but I felt I needed to do a bit more.

I felt like I pushed myself pretty hard, but not as hard as I did for week 2 or 3. This being in decent shape now makes it harder to push yourself that hard. My heart-rate was up in the 140's and even in the 150's towards the end, but within a minute or two of walking (at 3.7) it would drop back down to 138-ish. That was my arbitrary recovery goal. And I have to say that when I get to the 145+ mark I am uncomfortable; I just do not enjoy anything about pushing myself farther than 145 area for more than a short period of time.

I need to get over that feeling! It is amazing, too, because I can feel when my body hits that heart rate range ... I start "shutting down" and want to quit. Without even knowing where my heart rate is, my body feels it. I guess it is good that I can recognize that physical feeling, but I would like to get past it and push myself just a bit harder.

Maybe I do better outside because I do not get as hot. That could definitely be part of it, now that I think about it. Because I felt far too hot to lift afterward; I was bubbly headed and not feeling "strong." Hmmm, I'll have to think about that for a while.

A New Possible Goal

So, Trish and I have this little "competition" going with ourselves and each other to see how fast we can complete 2 miles. So far we are both right around 27-28 minutes.

I just figured out how to get a really good (read, the quickest!) time:

1. walk at 3.7 - which I have basically upped my speed to 3.7 most of the time.
2. Run my 3 min set at 5.5 - I've recently upped my running speed to 5.2 /5.3 because thats what I seem to average outside on my own. That pace feels pretty good to me, too. And I know that I can do a whole 3 minutes at 5.5!
3. Then, run my 5 minutes at 5.2.

This will have me complete 2 miles just as I finish my last 5 min. run! Talk about motivation to keep going during the 5 minute last run! OK, this is what I want to do this week. HA!

If I ran 2 miles straight at 5.2 it would take me just over 23 minutes. Not going to happen soon, but just a little tiddy fact to keep in my hat for future thought.

Well, I *almost* did it!

I made the decision to go forward with the C25K program full force this week. This means no more putzing around with my pseudo week 4 attempts! So, this afternoon the girls & I went off to the track to run. It was cute, because they both ran some with me.

So how'd I do, you ask? Not too bad. I walked a lap in 4.22.7, then ran a lap, (I am not 100% sure of my time because I had my ipod locked and forgot about that! So that meant I pushed the buttons, but no splits were recorded. duh!) walked a 1/4 lap and began running again. I then ran 1.75 laps, or just short of 5 minutes. I thought it was 5 minutes, but I was wrong. Oh well. Walked my half-lap, then ran a full lap in 2.53.6 - which makes that full lap about 5.7ish mph! For me that is fast! I then stopped and began my walking break, but had to pee so badly! I ended up squatting on the field and relieving myself right there! Hey, when ya gotta go ya gotta go! Then I began my last run, 5 mins or 1/2 mile or 2 full laps. I did not do that run non-stop. I ended up breaking it up into 3 segments.

As I said, the kids were running with me and talking to me, and it was all a bit more complicated to get into my head and run correctly. I always feel as if I am running painfully slow on the track, then my splits prove me wrong; I end up running faster than my treadmill time of 5.0 / 5.2. I have a bit of a learning curve to work thru still. But it is all good, I am making progress and feeling strong out there.

I know I will be able to run a mile by my birthday. And, if I keep pushing myself this month maybe I will be able to run more than a mile.

Windy Run Today

Ran on the track again today - boy was it windy!!

walked quarter mile, ran half mile, walked 110yrs, ran quarter mile, walked 220yrds, ran quarter mile, walked 110 yrds ran 220 yrds, walked 220 yrds ran quarter mile.

Wait - I just did the math and I ran a quarter lap short of 1.5 miles! that means I only walked half mile out of my 2 miles I did! And actually I just stopped running because 1)the wind was really too strong, 2) the rain was starting, and 3)I had to get back to a birthday party and pick up Lauren soon. I was OK for going farther. huh, I do love running on the track so much more than the treadmill. Although, I don't truly love either one :)

I really need to make myself do Week 4 so that I can move forward. Although, I think I have moved forward more than I think I have! Still, not quite a mile straight. To repeat the 3x around performance of the other day!! Just gotta psych myself up for that one!

Its April, I Need to Get Going!

I just realized that it has been a few weeks in a row that I have not been serious about my running. I would really like to make some progress, but I simply am not pushing myself too hard. Yes, I have been plagued with some minor "injuries" and pains and such. But really, I have little excuse as to why I am not closer to my 3/90. 5/2.5, 3/90, 5/2.5 workout. I have done 5 minutes twice now .... just never on the treadmill. The above workout (my week 4 of the C25K program) is also the same as running .25 miles, .50 miles, .25, .5 miles. I could do it on the track pretty easily. Maybe this week the girls and I will go to the track and run. I can do it ... I know I can!!

I have exactly one month until my 44th birthday. I am supposed to lose another 7lbs and be able to run 2 miles non-stop by then. Well, I did adjust it to one mile fairly recently. So ... In 4 weeks I need to be able to run a full mile. I think the 7lbs should be no big problem. I'd like to lose more even, but I'm not getting greedy! Wow - that would be close to 50lbs lost! The sad thing, I have a lot more to go! Oh well. I'll get there.