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 32.5: Unwinding

Not as bad as it sounds, folks! I've been chilling for most of the day except for my class in the morning and my run in the afternoon. I have discovered I have lost my taste for excessive shopping. I don't know why, just not really that interested in shopping anymore. I used to go out and buy everything I could find, buy tons of cheap makeup and clothes, and all kinds of things. Now, I have only bought a C25K app, my breakfast this morning at school since I forgot to grab my breakfast bowl, and I replaced my Thyro-Drive. That's it. No makeup, clothes, or anything, and that's been the case for the past few weeks. Sure, I get the urge to go dither around from time to time and think about buying things, but I just don't have the strong urges that drove me to buy insane amounts of stuff anymore.

I also notice I rarely eat out anymore. I just don't feel the need, since I have plenty of food at home. It will be so weird at fall being soda and coffee free-- I always used to stock up on pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin frappes and apple pie and pumpkin pie. Lots of fruit and veggies, but tons of sugar to negate any goodness they might have. I was just thinking, "No pumpkin spice lattes this year, holy moly!" Besides, coffee with my supplements makes my stomach hurt like crazy and makes me all jittery and sick, so I couldn't really have it even if I wanted to. It just seems so weird. Now I'm looking forward to running in the fall at the lake watching all the leaves change, going on hayrides and pumpkin picking, and Halloween parties at my friend Meghan's house (she throws amazing parties, I have to admit). Not really hung up on the food as much. Though I have to admit, I love pumpkin caramel latte... scented soap. Haha, got you! :-)

I have noticed more and more changes coming with each day. I have been doing collages with Smilebox and love it, and I have put together a few of them and just marveled at them. Here is one I did, with my first running shot and my latest running shot:

This is only about 7 days apart and already I can tell a difference in my hips and stomach. I'm starting to get sexy curves! And that jersey is my 8th grade softball jersey. It is a medium. :-) My arms are also slightly smaller from the arm challenge. We'll see what happens with the subsequent runs but I like what I see.

I also did some collages with my highest and current weight. I weighed in at 240 at my heaviest (got real close to that last time at 231) and when I saw my heaviest weight for the first time, I kicked the scale hard and it hit a wall and broke. I never have gotten a new scale after that. Anyhoo, I was at 240 and I haven't let these pics become public for some time. But either way, here is the photo montage I took:

 

I look completely different, in the face and in my smile. I can tell I just look happier with myself, more content. And I have lost a bit more weight since the photos in the blue shirt were taken. :-)

 

And now, a little light humor....

 

 

Underdog didn't stand a chance against the BEASTMODE GLASS. He could only manage a feeble punch while smiling. Sorry, I couldn't resist, and yes I do have an Underdog figurine, what of it? I have all the DVDs too. :-D

 

I hope everyone has a great night! It's back to the chem homework with me. Be blessed!



Day 31: Former Fattie???

I went for an interview at Lululemon today. I have to admit I was very, very nervous. As in, can barely concentrate on my classes or anything else because I'm so nervous. I have been on dozens of interviews dozens of times, so something like this shouldn't phase me by now. But I have to admit it was ridiculously out of my comfort zone. I've got at least 50-60 pounds on everyone there, but I persevered through.

We did a lot of working out, myself included. I added the bits from my arm workout in, expecting I'd be the only one who did a fitness routine. Turns out, I was one of four. The other folks did harder routines and I found myself doing my first spider pushup. It was super hard at first cause I wasn't exactly sure how to do it, but then I was like, on the floor, hardcore spider pushups where two weeks ago I wasn't even able to plank because it hurt my knees so bad. I told my "Never Settle" story and I got a few wows and you're an inspiration to mes, which was super cool. Even the interviewers didn't seem to expect it from me.

That's what gets me there.

I realize at this point I have lost 25 lbs, I can do spider push-ups at ~206 lbs, I should be proud of myself. But I have to admit, running with the big dogs kind of freaks me out a little bit.

I realized today that none of my clothes fit anymore. Like, literally none. Two pairs of jeans and several medium and large t-shirts and maybe one or two bras. I have to borrow clothes from the closet that I don't think have seen the light of day since 2003, when I was at about the same weight. I have running shorts I bought two weeks ago that are now super loose on me. I will have to get a new pair soon cause I don't think anyone really wants to see me run around City Hall Park with my shorts around my ankles (though I have to admit, seeing their reactions would be funny as hell). And today, I finally went to INTERVIEW AT a store I wouldn't even think of going into 30 lbs heavier because I thought everyone would laugh at me and wonder what I was doing there.

I, ladies and gents, am now a former fattie.

Don't freak out, folks. I just realized today that I am losing weight and not acting the part. I am way underdressed, first of all. I looked in the mirror today and for the life of me could not figure out why I looked so dumpy and huge. When I went to change for my interview, I realized the shirt I had worn out shopping today was a 1XL and my pants were a 24, and my bra was a band size too big. It was another one of those "Never Settle" type of moments where I'm like, whaaaaaa? I went out in a 24??? That's 4 sizes too big for me, first of all. Not to mention I thought I looked kind of okay in it. :-P I'm amazed that I let it get this bad for so long and even more so, that I kept wearing these clothes even after they didn't fit!

I keep getting new revelations about how far I had let myself go in the past, and today was one of those days. I just couldn't believe it, and what I had been doing to myself. I am worth so much more than to dress myself in clothes that are 4 sizes too big. I should be owning my body and dressing it in a way that looks good. But it's just so hard to see the person in the mirror being the same chick I feel like inside. But I know that I can keep owning this title and doing better things. It's just wow, it hit me hard.

Anyhoo, I have more to say, but I seem to be lacking a bit of eloquence tonight so I'll deal with it the only way I know how: to get into beastmode. :-) Be blessed all and have a great day.

Day 23.5: The Great Day Continues

I am so excited about how the day has gone. My mom was late coming home but I let it slide since it's pretty easy to reschedule that appointment. I cleaned up while she was gone and took my sister out to eat at Ruby Tuesday. It was ridiculous because I got a lunch plate and didn't even finish it! I got grilled shrimp, potatoes, and broccoli and left some shrimp and potatoes and my sister was more than happy to polish off the rest of my shrimp! :-D We came home and she fell asleep and I worked on my chemistry homework. I got a lot done!

My mom came home around 4 and decided to pay me a huge paycheck for taking care of my sister. I don't feel comfortable divulging the amount, but it was a good sized check. I went to Wal-Mart and picked up some new gym clothes, and some necessities and not so necessities, including a new watch! I am super excited about my watch because I had this fantastic watch that my mom got me from Nordstrom Rack and I can't find it anywhere! My new watch is pink and has all kinds of fun gadgets on it. The damage was only $8.88 for the watch and I can't wait to wear it! It will be nice to be able to tell the time when there isn't a clock nearby, lol. I also bought my favorite shampoo and deodorant, and the latest issue of Glamour! Before you know it, I'll be in those clothes. :-D

I went biking and biked 7.04 miles! It was super hard because of the heat and because I had been out walking at Wal-Mart at previous. I struggled through it and dripped lots of sweat (thank God for deodorant!) but I made it! That's a total of 340 calories and 8.28 miles today! I am so geeked out! I came home and made some pasta margarita (in the microwave, I don't do a lot of heavy duty cooking) and watched Extreme Weight Loss. I would love to be able to afford a personal training session, and for those of you who don't know, when I hit goal I'm going for my CPT certification! I will be so excited when that happens. :-) I will also be getting a tattoo, much to my fiancé's chagrin but he said if it's not huge than he will deal. I will get "Never Settle" tattooed on my upper back, right beneath my neck. I would love to do one on my neck but I hear it hurts like crazy! :-)

I am so grateful for all my new friends and I appreciate all your likes, comments, and encouragement! It really means a lot to me and works wonders when screaming "NEVER SETTLE!!!!" inside my head while I'm working out doesn't work, lol. Be blessed all and have a good evening!

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.