Day 51: Upping the Ante

I started off my workout this morning with the C25K W6D2. I was expecting all the workouts for the week to be the same, as they usually were for the past five weeks. Imagine my surprise when I look at the workouts and it says to do 2 10-minute blocks of running! I have never done that much running before, except on the treadmill some time ago. I suddenly got nervous and seriously considered doing the W6D1 again. I thought for sure that I would not make it. But I decided to try it anyway. To my surprise, I was able to do both 10-minute blocks without stopping, for a total of 20 minutes of running. I'm not going to lie, I was definitely out of breath and definitely considered stopping a few times. But then I would look at the clock and say, I'm halfway, I've got 3, 2, 1... minutes left, and so on and so forth. That has always gotten me through some difficult runs. Some folks think it's counterintuitive to look at the clock, that you should just enjoy the run. And I do! There are times when I look at the scenery and just love running. Other times I'm so out of breath that it's a struggle to get through it! I find that looking at the clock gives me a goal. :-)

I was definitely sweating after that workout.

 

I decided to up the ante and walk an additional mile for a grand total of 2.55 miles. It got easier as I went on, and I would have gone longer than that except it began to drizzle a little and I was concerned about my cell phone getting completely drenched or at the very least a little moody, so I packed up my gear and headed home. (Much to my dismay, it stopped raining as soon as I left! :-P)

 

I was a little sore after my workout, and I decided to take a little break. I drank my protein shake and did some homework, and texted my fiancé for a few hours. Then I got bored. Mind-numbingly bored. I am low on fuel and have to wait to fill up the tank again, so I've mostly been at home all day. I got the crazy idea to ride on my dad's stationary bike for a little while, since it is in the basement anyway and so am I, most of the time. I thought that I would do a short 10-minute ride and be done with it, but as usual I made bets with myself (as in, I bet I can go longer than 10 minutes!) and ended up doing 9.11 miles in 36 minutes. Not a bad deal, though I have to admit I'm still a bit sore. Sometimes I do two workouts on the bike for a total of 1 hour, but since I have been upping my run time I'm just going to stick with 36 minutes.

 

I hope everyone has a good day. Be blessed, and go outside! :-)

Day 24.5: I'm an Overcomer!

My ankle is doing much better after a lot of walking today with my friend, which made me suspect it was not properly stretched or just cramped up from all the running. I went in the gym today and knocked out 8.57 miles on the bike between 80-88 RPM. I lowered the resistance level ever so slightly (from 6 to 5) but it didn't seem to make too huge of a difference. I feel amazing and look forward to my next cardio/strength day on Friday! :-)

I have realized today what a different person I am now. I tell people when they hurt my feelings or I feel they've overstepped their bounds and I am no longer shy about it. I am not necessarily mean, but whoever is bothering me knows that I am upset. It is so weird to finally be able to say that I am an assertive person. I have never been an assertive person, and I thought I would never be an assertive person. It just doesn't run in my family; my mom literally took a college credit course on how to be assertive and interact with people. I never did find out her grade though, lol. Either way, I am making new strides physically, emotionally, and spiritually and it feels great.

I am almost out of supplements after two months of using them. It's time to visit Jake at Supplement Superstores and restock. You may think I'm weird for my supplement obsession, but I honestly will not go anywhere else except S2 for them. Complete Nutrition always kind of scares me in the mall because every time I walk by there, the guys inside there give me creepy eyes!!! Either they think I'm hot or they think I'm a good candidate for a sale. I briefly considered going in there but the same dude was there with the creepy eyes and I was like, nooooo, moving along now. If you live anywhere near St Louis, visit Supplement Superstores ASAP. If for no other reason that they give you free samples, lol. :-D

I have become obsessed also with the Healthy Choice Café Steamers. They are portable and great after a long workout when a heavy meal is just too much. I love the pasta, but I am branching out and trying some meat entrees (bad former vegan Shelly!) because I love having a variety of food. Cause trust me, nothing will make you stall out faster than eating the same thing every night. I remember when I was a teenager trying a weird version of a diet and literally eating the same thing every day (at only about 800 calories a day, don't try this at home, kids!) and never lost a thing. In fact, I think I gained because my body was in starvation mode. Now I eat a variety of things at ~1700 calories a day. :-)

Anyhoo, I am full of talking today and I think it's time to get some food. Be blessed all and have a fantastic day!

Day 22.5: Ticker Tape Parade!

I love the Newsboys! I stole that phrase from "Million Pieces," which has to be my favorite song. I remember seeing the Peter Furler-led Newsboys in 2005 and they shot confetti everywhere when they sang that song. Good times. :-)

Kind of the way I feel today.

I had my every-other-day cardio/strength combo today. If you've never heard of this particular brand of madness, I have my running every morning and then I go back every other evening for cardio/strength combo. I do my strength training first, doing different muscle groups each time. On the first day I do arms/shoulders/back/abs; and on the second day I do butt/chest/legs/thighs. I usually do free weights at the end of every workout for 3-4 minutes. Then I bike for 25-30 minutes. The total damage is usually 30-40 minutes and very sore whatever I'm working out. It's especially true on the second day when I'm running, working my legs, and biking! I usually can't walk comfortably for several hours afterward. :-)

I hope you like my tickers on the side! The bottom one is the 50 days of running challenge. My friend initiated this whole thing and I think it is absolutely brilliant. I have made it through 11 days thus far and I admit there are some days where I don't want to do it, but I always feel so good afterward that I continue. The second is the Onederland by Halloween. For those of you who don't know, Onederland means that you are out of the 200s, usually 199 when its being measured. By October 31st, I would like to be to 199. It's not too lofty of a goal, it's about 16 lbs from where I am now, but it would be super cool to see a 1 before the last two numbers! I haven't been 199 for about 3 years, and I would love to see that number again. So anyway, the two tickers measure the progress I have made each day. I host my tickers at LilySlim which is has a number of tickers, not just for weight loss and exercise. Go check them out and add them to your FaceBook or blog!

I am keeping it simple this evening, since I have some chemistry homework to take care of. I hope everyone has a fantastic evening!