Days 55/56: A Fun Weekend and Back to Running

I had a fantastic weekend with my fiancé. We decided that we were going to go to Taste of St Louis and to the Soulard Farmer's Market. I have been meaning to go to the Farmer's Market for some time now and haven't gotten to. We started at Taste of St Louis, which I looked at very carefully, ever eager to monitor my calorie count. I did fine there, eating a chicken kabob with all kinds of veggies.

The fiancé and I with the sous chef of Taste of StL. :-)

 

My fiancé's culinary school was there making food (yes, my fiancé is a chef, don't you love that? :-D) but we didn't get to try any of their food. He is trained primarily in French cuisine but has tried a number of different things and he makes a lot of good food. I was hoping to find the folks from LCB but we couldn't find them! It was too bad, too. We got to go to a lot of different places there, including some of the best foods in StL. Local Harvest Café, which is a favorite of ours, was at the festival as well, and they had $2 vegan chili! Sadly, I stuck to my chicken kebab, which was really good.

 

Afterward we went to the farmer's market and it was totally crowded! I have never seen that many people there. It was kind of hot and I was getting tired, so I also noshed on a polish sausage. I kind of wished I hadn't afterward, cause it was sort of okay but I ended up getting sleepy and crashed on the couch for like 3 hours. (Could be why I gained weight, lol.)

 

But the next day was much better. I decided that I was going to go for a run. I went to my usual park only to discover there was a HUGE 5k and triathlon being held at the park! I was insanely jealous, but still packed up my gear and went to my second choice, which was mercifully free of events and had good parking. Since it was around 65 degrees, everyone and their mom was there, lol. I decided to go a different way that time and walk the opposite perimeter of the park. I started running and realized that I was starting off at a 14 minute/mile pace, which was 2 minutes faster than my usual pace. I continued between 14-16 minute miles, until the very end when I got down to 17:01 minute miles, still a good 2 minutes faster than my last run. I even passed someone, which was a huge NSV for me because I am usually too slow to pass someone. :-)

 



Nice and sweaty after my run! :-)

 

I ran 1.47 miles, walked 2.03, for a total of 3.50 miles. I burned 919 calories and 3.5 miles took me 1:14:09. :-) I'm totally getting into running for more than a hour, though sometimes I wonder if I do anything else in the morning besides run, lol! I totally love logging long distances though, and as long as I can do it I will be doing it. And hopefully getting faster each time. I'm in my second-to-last week of C25K this week, so I'm hoping I can pull off a 2-mile run by the end! That would make me super excited. :-)

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic day. I'm going to finish reading my new running magazines (I have 3 now, it's seriously awesome!) and hopefully put a dent in some chem homework. Be blessed and enjoy the journey!

Day 52: Ran My First Mile!

I really didn't think I would make it through the workout.

Last night, I checked my C25K app, just to see if the workout changed like it did yesterday. Imagine my surprise when it said 22 consecutive minutes! This is not really a huge deal, I suppose, but 22 minutes has always been my barrier. When I was 15 pounds heavier, I tried adding consecutive time several days in a row and by 2 weeks, I had added 22 minutes of running on the treadmill. Unfortunately, I burned out quickly and couldn't get past that barrier. I remember one day I broke down crying and left the gym because I couldn't get past 7 minutes! So needless to say, 22 minutes has always been a little bit of a tough barrier for me, and I was nervous. But I decided to try out the app anyway, almost convinced it would be the one workout I didn't finish.

I started out quite weakly, and tired fast. But I pushed through. One of the benefits of having a timer is knowing exactly where you stand in the run. I ran through 10 minutes, then 15, then 20. By two minutes left I had a death grip on the cellphone, sweating profusely, and exhausted. But I made it to 22 minutes! I ran about 1.3-1.5 miles of it, but since my C25K app doesn't track distance I couldn't tell exactly how much of it I ran. I walked the remainder of the course, and then added another 1.7 miles, for a total of 3.2 miles. :-)

No double chin! Covered in sweat.

 

I was pretty shocked. I have gotten past the 5k distance, for a total of 5.14 kilometers. I have only gone past 5k distance once before, and I walked the entire time, for a total of 3.7 miles. That's the only time I have ever done it before. I could have technically could have walked/ran the entire trail if I would have added another half a mile, but by that time I was so exhausted it probably would have taken a slight breeze to knock me over. :-D

 

Tomorrow or Friday, depending on how long the lab takes, I will do 25 minutes consecutive. If I get through it, it will be my first time getting past 22 minutes. Thankfully the C25K app stays at 25 minutes consecutive for awhile, so I will be able to get used to that distance. I'm excited, and feeling very awesome.

 

I hope everyone has a great day. Be blessed and go outside!

Day 50: The Day After

Surprisingly, I am actually feeling quite fantastic after my 5k. I wasn't sore at all and my feet felt great in my favorite shoes. I am surprised but not entirely as I am getting used to running/walking more than 2 miles most days.

Today I ventured out and did C25K Week 6 Day 1, which was 5 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, 8 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, and 5 minutes running, for a total of 34 minutes plus warm-up and cool-down. Since it was a longer distance, I decided to take my Sports Beans with me. They help keep the muscles in my legs from being too sore and give me energy for long runs. The first five minutes weren't that bad and the eight minutes subsequent were only difficult during the last few minutes. I explored some different parts of the trail, and enjoyed the scenery. I ran all the way from City Hall Park to my gym, which is at least 0.5 miles or more. I am still super slow, lol. :-) I decided to continue after 34 minutes and fartlek (I love that word!) for the next 20 minutes. Doing fartlek for the last part of the run keeps me running about 5k distance, and doesn't exhaust me to the point that I can't walk to my car afterward and have to be dragged. (In case I'm found unconscious, pause the Runtastic app!) Anyhoo, I did 2.26 miles in 53:17, not the best time but I can deal. I have done almost 30 miles this month, and the month is still going! :-)

 In my favorite Outdoors Inc shirt from Memphis!

Afterwards. Either my glasses are akimbo or I am, lol.

 

The fiancé and I have talked about making some homemade hummus and pita for our night together since we don't like to spend a ton of money on eating out or eating unhealthy. My influence is somewhat rubbing off on the fiancé (or maybe vice versa since he lost 25 pounds way before I did, lol) cause now he likes to run with me and cook and eat healthy. He is finishing up his externship this week and I couldn't be happier for him. With any luck, he'll get a job offer, but if not, he is very talented and will find somewhere that will enjoy having him. As for me, my job search is temporarily on hold while I concentrate on me and getting through my third semester of college, but once I feel ready to do so I will definitely entertain the possibility of working again. :-)

 

I hope everyone has a great day! I am going to my chemistry class in a little over 20 minutes, then will be putting some gas in my car on the way back. Nothing real Earth shattering, as long as the car doesn't run out before I get there, lol. Be blessed all and enjoy the weather! :-)

Day 49: Lemon Drop 5k and Race Results

Sorry about the delay in posting. I took care of my sister all day yesterday and the day before I was just in a foul mood and couldn't shake it. But today I'm in a great mood and can't wait to post more on my race today.

My fiancé and I went to Frontenac, MO this morning (about a 20 minute drive from my house in St Charles, MO) for the Lemon Drop 5k. We saw our guys at S2 there, and we decided to enter the drawing for a BMR Bliss Go Pack. Sadly, I didn't win even though I had my fingers, toes, and everything else crossed, lol. :-D We were the last to pace, since we run around 20 minute miles on a good day, but we were off. I ran some of the race (about 0.75 to 1 mile worth) and walked a lot of it. I wanted to pace myself so that I wouldn't tire in the middle of the race and have to not finish. The fiancé was ahead of me most of the time but I was okay with that... most of the time. I brought my Sports Beans and was popping them periodically throughout. They were a little sour but otherwise pretty awesome. :-) They definitely gave me the energy to get done with the race.

The final results were as follows:

Me- Time: 57:15 Pace: 18:26/mi Rank: 154
Bryan- Time: 56:45 Pace: 18:16/mi Rank: 33

I think we may have come in dead last in both our divisions but the fun thing was that we didn't finish last overall and we had an awesome time. We both missed our Phormula-1 shakes because they ran out but I may go hassle my supplement guy sometime this week and get some of that stuff. I would love something for a recovery shake. :-) But I digress. Bryan had some bread and oranges at the free food counter but I didn't, lol. :-D

Here is a photo of me from after the race. Not the most flattering of photos, but hey, I don't mind:

Yes, I'm wearing ACTUAL running clothes this time. :)

 

I am so glad I got to do this, and Bryan and I will be running a 5k later in December called the Hot Chocolate 5k. We are both totally looking forward to that one because there will be a chocolate expo and all kinds of goodies. And that one will be more crowded and a bit flatter. And cold, I'm sure, lol. :-)

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic day. I will be doing some chemistry homework to catch up with the stuff I missed this weekend, and having an awesome protein shake for dinner since I missed mine this morning. (We went to Denny's, for shame! But at least I got the healthy egg white omelet.) Be blessed all and enjoy the nice weather!  

Day 46: Why I am Doing Awesome

I'm missing all you guys on my blog! Please, feel free to visit anytime.

I am doing awesome today, because I decided to take a rest day. I have a Chemistry lab that meets on Thursday mornings and it often makes it very difficult to run if it's hot out. Plus, my parents are taking me out for a belated birthday dinner and it will be a bit difficult to work out in the evening. (I will be just a touch full, lol.) So I decided today would be a work-on-homework-and-run errands day, AKA a rest day. :-) Normally, I don't feel comfortable doing rest days. I am always on the move and sitting down and relaxing is a bit of a foreign concept to me. Despite all that, when I do sit down and rest, I always feel infinitely better for it. So, I'm enjoying my rest day and will especially enjoy getting out on the running track bright and early Friday morning. :-)

I got my race packet from Lululemon this morning and got my fiancé's too. We have decided not to run this entire 5k but walk part of the way and run the last leg. I was expecting a T-shirt but there was a misprint on Big River's website, and there is no t-shirt. It looks to be a pretty nondescript run, which is what you get when it's free, I suppose. Maybe there will be a little prize when we get to the finish but I have my doubts. There is also a post-run yoga session, but I have my doubts that my fiancé will go into a yoga class. It's not really his thing, plus he feels awkward going to a yoga class where he will be in the minority with regards to gender. :-D We were super bummed out that we didn't get to do a repeat Glow Run this year, but they are changing the lineup and making it very much a meander around, get drunk, and not really race type of run. But we are doing the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k in December, so we will have an official, fun type of run later in the year. Then I'm doing a 10k in March at the college, so that will be fun. :-)

While I'm at it, here's a "sweat pic" from today's rest day:

Not really me, obviously, but it's so stinkin' cute I just couldn't resist sharing it.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day. I've got more homework before I go out, lol. Be blessed all! :-)

Day 38: Running On Fumes

Well, not really, I just thought it was funny. :-)

After going to put gas in the car, I went outside to run. I normally don't go outside to run when it's hot out but it was probably 77-78 degrees and I thought I could swing that. I did C25K W3D2, which is composed of a 90 sec run-90 sec walk, 3 min run-3 min walk; repeated twice. It was sort of easy on the treadmill, but it was definitely harder on the pavement.

I ran very slowly. I was worried about running too hard at the beginning and then petering out right before I stopped running. And trust me, it got tough. I was running at a 22 minute pace, breathing hard and about to stop in the middle of it. But I decided to keep on going, cause I was like, I've only got 2 minutes left, 1 minute left, and so on and so forth. I have to admit that I'm guilty of looking at the clock, especially when I have no pockets to put my phone in. Plus, if I have no guidance for how much time I have left it is much easier to give up! But still, I put in around 1.32 miles, which isn't bad at all. :-) I have done 26/50 of the 50 day challenge and am over halfway through the Lazy Girl Marathon at 14 miles ran this month! :-)

After pounding the pavement in City Hall Park.

 

 



Me and Frodo's butt. He decided he was going to get in the fun too!

My 5K is in 11 days! I am not super nervous, but I know I will not be running the whole time. If I'm lucky I will get to week 6 or 7 (I run each segment of C25K for three days in a row, then amp up the intensity. It's pretty tough, but I make it.) of C25K and at least get a fairly major part of the 5K where I actually run! I'm trying to beat my last time of 58:23 (but I was walking it, so that's not bad!) so hopefully I will be able to do that. My fiancé will be running with me so that will be good at least. He definitely encourages me when it gets hard. :-)

Well, I gotta go study for my Chem exam, but I will definitely check in this evening. I will be biking 9.11 miles in honor of 9/11 victims tonight, so hopefully it will let me record it without there being a glare on the screen. :-) We'll see, my dad's bike isn't very photogenic when it comes to recording times, lol. :-) I hope everyone has a fantastic day and is blessed! :-)

Day 28.5: Goals for September

It's September, and it's time for monthly goals! I have several different goals that I have in mind that I am interested in completing. Obviously, I'm interested in completing the arm challenge, which I have done once today and I intend to do another round of today's challenge this evening. I just want to make sure I'm getting a good workout in! :-)

Speaking of my workouts, here's something awesome right here:

This is a new PB for me! It's about even, 18 and 14 in favor of running. I want to get to about 40 minutes or so, cause I want to get to about that for a 5K time (I know it's a weak time, but I think it's better than walking the whole thing in an hour! :-) ) and then I will add increased running time and speed. :-)

And I have a bit of a weird thing I'm going to for the first time. I'm going to run outside! I have never ran outside before, I've always been a little shy about it. And now that the cooler weather is coming in tomorrow I will go running around 6am! I'm soooo ridiculously excited to run on actual pavement as opposed to the treadmill. It will be more difficult than the no-incline treadmill, I live in a very hilly neighborhood, so I will follow standard C25K and start out with the basic setup for C25K. If it works out then this will be a regular thing!

I have a few goals for September that I think would be super cool. I'm going to run what I've jokingly called the Lazy Girl Marathon, where I will do 26.2 miles in a month. :-) My goal is to do 26.2 miles or more in the month of September. And I will also finish the arm challenge for this month and possibly do a squat challenge as well. :-) Then I will spend more time in the kitchen doing healthy cooking. And finally, I will find a job somewhere I actually want to work! I am thinking of applying at several different sports and running shops in the St Charles/StL area. I don't particularly mind working in retail if I'm more of a floor person than a cashier person. Being a cashier is tough! :-)

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed my first transformation Sunday! I enjoyed interviewing my fiancé about his weight loss. If you want your story shared on the blog and the personal page, please send in your story and some photos and I will pick a winner. I have software that makes all kinds of fancy collages so if you want me to make a collage for your story let me know. I even made one for me.

 

What a difference two years makes, right? I look like a completely different person!

 

I hope everyone has a good night! I'm getting a little tired myself, it's been a long, hot day lol. We got caught in at least three really bad lightning thundershowers on the way home from the farm, which I was glad we did before the rain showed up! Be blessed all!

Day 16.5: Signs You're Getting Thinner

- You are freezing everywhere you go. I live in my WFM jacket and it's 90 degrees outside!
- When you stare blankly for 20 minutes while everyone else is stuffing their face.
- When you go into a athletic store and people don't give you a second glance.
- When you fit into your favorite jacket at REI and still can go up a size if you want.
- When it sounds incredulous that someone gets tired going to the other size of the mall.
- When you'd rather go running than eat.
- When you're stressed, you say, "Dammit, I wanna run!"
- When you're excited when you find a free 5k.
- When you go exploring after being out all day.

These are just a few for fun that have happened throughout the day and week. I have been noticing little things in my life that haven't always been present. I fit into a large jacket at REI. When I was previously at REI at around 222 or so, the jacket was very loose through the sleeves but wouldn't zip up (I have big hips and a weird waist, lol) and this time it zipped up all the way. I was psyched and I hope by the time winter rolls around I will be a medium.

My family has yet to catch up with me weight-wise. In fact, my mom is kind of sabotaging me a little bit because she always wants to eat. I wanted to eat at a restaurant with lots of healthy options, but for some reason my mom thought the other end of the mall was too far, even though technically you can just get in the car and drive down there. My mom's idea of "shopping at the mall" means going to 2 shops in close proximity to each other, and one of them is always a Starbucks. Anyhoo, she went to basically a meat and cheese mecca (AKA El Maguey) and I tried to find something healthy on the menu, and I got what I thought was a healthy meal but turned out to be covered in cheese! Next time I go to the restaurant I will ask for it without cheese. Yuck. :-P

Still, it looks like I have broken the 216-217 plateau for now. I ran six continuous minutes on the treadmill and am aiming for seven or eight tomorrow. I like to aim a little higher and try to surpass it. My goal today was five minutes, but I'm trying to get to a 30-40 minute run. I intend to run the (FREE) 5K I have signed up for, even if I have to train in a hurry. And besides, running obliterates the pounds. :-)

Well, I hope everyone has a great night! Take care all.