Hot Chocolate and Bikini Bodies

So in my last post I mentioned my sister and I were going to be participating in the Hot Chocolate 5k and as of right now we're still hopeful that will happen. We were late and we missed the start of the race! We were only about 30 minutes late for the beginning of our wave but since so many people run it we thought we'd be ok but they sounded the horn for the last corral as we were walking up. It was really disappointing and in hind sight it turns out we could have caught up with the last group and run anyway.  At the time however, we were worried about missing the hot chocolate so we just got in line and got our finishers' mug. We felt like such imposters! Luckily though, the hot chocolate was delicious so we didn't feel bad for long! :) 

Many of you may have heard of Kayla Itsines who is an Instagram sensation (I don't have Instagram so my friend Dany told me about her) and her "claim to fame" is using diet and exercise to help women achieve Bikini Bodies. Now, I started the Bikini Body Mommy challenge a few months after having my son but I quickly fizzled. Although the exercises were fun and you could do them at home it was just hard to stay motivated on my own. Recently though Dany, her sister-in-law, and I decided to try Kayla's plan together (since then our friend Natell has joined!) so I'm hoping having others do it with me will be the motivation I need to get my butt in shape (and the rest of me too!). 

I'm not a believer in women needing to have this "perfect bikini body", so although the two plans I have used tout that as their end goal I really appreciate Kayla's mind set about what a bikini body really is. In her book she stated that her goal is to promote "a state of mind where you are confident and feel good about YOU". That is so awesome to me. I look forward to the end result and seeing, not only physical progress, but emotional progress as well. 

I'm a few days in to the plan (we started Monday) and so far it's going well. My body is definitely sore and I didn't do as much of the workout on the third day as I was supposed to but I at least did something! I'm also eating well and making a much more concentrated effort than ever before. We had to take pictures on the first day and we do so again in week 4. Maybe by then I'll feel comfortable enough to post them but we'll see. I do want to be honest about where I'm at but showing everyone pictures is terrifying to me. Stay posted for more updates as I go through this process! 

Back at it... for real!

Well, it has been WAY too long since I posted anything on this blog. I could use all my ready excuses: I have a baby, I work full time, and I have people I like to see when there is any free time, but honestly, I've just been lazy and embarrassed about my lack of progress so I haven't bothered to update this. I set up a lot of goals about a year ago and I didn't accomplish a single one of them. Not one.

This year has been really hard for me mentally. Not only have I been exhausted most of the time from taking care of a baby but any time I see another new mom who looks like she just walked out of a magazine cover I want to scream and cry. My body looks nothing like it did before I had my son and I constantly have to keep reminding myself that every woman is different and recovers differently. Also, I wasn't able to breastfeed which I realized I was kind of counting on to help lose the weight so I had a lot of grief surrounding that failure for so many different reasons. Every blog I read about losing weight after giving birth started with the same advice: breastfeed, and not being able to was the most devastating experience this past year. Luckily, I have had an amazing friend there to keep reminding me that I did not fail and that I did the best I could. She has been the best support to help me deal with that situation.

Before I got pregnant my body looked the best it had ever looked and I felt the best I had ever felt. My confidence was through the roof and I was so proud of the hard work I had put in to get in shape and be healthy. The last year has been the opposite of that. I am embarrassed about my weight, angry that I have been so lazy, and honestly, I have treated myself like crap over this stuff. It also hasn't helped that just a month ago I had co-worker ask if I was pregnant again. Yea, it's been a rough year.

I share all this because I am sick of reading blogs that are all "look at my great body after having my child 10 days ago", "look at me win a marathon with my newborn strapped to my back", and "breastfeed, eat only the rinds of fruits, and you'll look better than you did before you gave birth". Pardon my language, but that's bullshit. You want some reality? This is it.

Alright, pity party over. Here's a list of things I did accomplish: I completed the Peachtree Road Race (although I wasn't in shape to run it), I joined a gym (which until recently, I had barely used), and I have lost about 7 pounds since my last post a year ago. I see these accomplishments written here and all I can think is "I wasted an entire year" and "ultimately I failed because I didn't accomplish my original goals" and that does not feel good at all.

BUT, you know what I did today?? I ran 5k (mostly consecutively)!!!

That's right folks, I'm back at it! About a week before Christmas my husband and I started getting serious about eating better and living a healthier lifestyle. We began by focusing on our diet and I have started going to the gym more frequently. I've been doing well and have been running on the treadmill, using the elliptical, and lifting weights. I haven't run outside in a while but today was so nice I decided to give it a shot instead of spending such a nice day in the gym. I had to stop a couple of times to stretch out my calf but ultimately I totally did it!!

I signed up for the Hot Chocolate 5k, which is the first 5k I did two years ago, so this has been my motivation. I am excited about it because I'm doing this one with my sister, Jessie, and we have never done anything like this together before. Today really helped me get back in the swing of things mentally and I definitely feel like I am on the verge of getting back in shape again. The gym I joined has Zumba so I really want to start incorporating that in because I really love it and miss it. Also, Dany joined my gym and we're going to work out during the week so I look forward to that as well. She always pushes me and I love spending time with her so it always makes working out more fun.

Anyway, wish me luck! I am definitely going to keep up better with the blog this time. I feel that documenting my failures is just as important as documenting my successes. No one is perfect and if another new mom who is having trouble losing the weight stumbles across this blog I don't want them to think that any failures they face are reasons to give up.

Starting over

Now that my baby boy is here I am able to get back to training and I look so forward to it! I have felt (and have been) pretty lazy the last few months. I still walked until the end of my pregnancy but other than that I was not doing a whole lot and I really could/should have been. Oh well, I'm just going to look toward the future. Instead of having a whole ton of goals for the next year I am going to work on little goals throughout the year so I don't get overwhelmed and discouraged. I also plan on focusing on a word for the year instead of a list of resolutions (props to my friend Candice for introducing this idea to me). So I'll run through my goals and then let you know what my word is.

Goals for the next month:

• Start Zumba again! I am STOKED about this!! I miss dancing and working out at the Zumba studio I used to go to. The owner and instructors are fabulous and all the ladies who work out there are super sweet so I can't wait to see them all again. If you live in the Buford, GA area I highly recommend Z Studio Fitness (check them out on Facebook!)
• Eat better. This mainly means including more fruits and veggies. I am pretty lazy in the kitchen and like easy foods so I usually don't cook with veggies a ton (too much chopping, yes I'm THAT lazy in the kitchen) so I'm going to work on this and make it a habit.
• Go for walks on non-Zumba days. I want to try and move everyday with the intention of getting out of my rut and getting my body used to being active again.

Overall goals for next 6 months:

• Run two 5k races before June 1. 
• Run the ENTIRE Peachtree Road Race. (For those of you who may not know my history with this race please read my previous posts about it.)
• Get within 15 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight. The original goal was to attain my pre-pregnancy weight but in order to ensure my goals are attainable I gave myself some wiggle room with this one. In the spirit of full disclosure I gained about 55 pounds during my pregnancy. My pre-pregnancy weight was around 155 and as of right now I'm around 200. I lost about 15 right after my son was born and have another 45 to go. 

Word for the year: grace

I chose this word because I have been feeling really anxious since the birth about not working out. I really had to keep reminding myself that I needed time to heal before I am able to get back to training and that has been hard. Also, I need to basically start over which is going to be challenging. I wanted to pick a word that reminds me to give myself some forgiveness when I can't run a 5k right away and when Zumba feels as draining as it was when I first started it. My body has not been as active as it was so obviously I can't pick right up where I stopped like the last 9 months didn't happen. I have a constant reminder that it did whenever I look at my son. I am thrilled to have that be the reason I took my break but need to keep remembering that it took time to get where I was and that it'll take time again. Also, since I have a newborn, there will be a lot of adjustment in my attitude about certain things that were easy before, such as my schedule. There will be days when he needs me and I won't be able to just go out and run or days when I'll be late for Zumba class because I needed to finish feeding him (I HATE being late for anything). This will all take grace and constant forgiveness of myself. 

So there you have it, my goals and word of the year. If you chose a word for the year or made some resolutions I 'd be happy to hear them and encourage you in those if you want to share them. :) Thanks for reading! 

My first marathon

I'm sorry for the sabbatical I have taken from blogging. My pregnancy kind of overtook my life but I am happy to announce that it is over and we have a healthy and beautiful baby boy now! He was born on December 5 at 6:46pm. He weighed 9lbs and was 22.5 inches long. This is the story of his birth that have dubbed my first marathon.

For about two weeks before my due date I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions and hoping I was going to go early or at least on time (mostly for maternity leave purposes) but alas, my baby had other plans. I visited my midwife on the Monday before he was born (already past my due date) and she checked me. I was 3cm dilated and really hoping I didn't have another two weeks of Braxton-Hicks in front of me! I went about my week still experiencing the practice contractions on and off. On the night of December 4 something shifted in the way the contractions felt. They were more intense and regular. I tried to sleep but every time it felt like I had finally drifted off another one woke me so I decided to just stay up and watch 80's movies. My husband wanted to stay up with me but I told him at least one of us needed to be rested for tomorrow. Around 7 the next morning my husband's alarm went off so he could get ready for work but I let him know that he can go ahead and call in because we were going to have a baby by the end of the day!

I called my Mom so she could come over and pick up our two dogs then started getting in touch with my midwife and a friend who was going to come and be with us for the birth. Everyone made it over around 10am and labor was definitely progressing at that point. We spent all day listening to music, joking, and trying to keep labor progressing. About midway through labor the birth pool I was going to use was ready and I can't begin to describe how good it felt to sit in that warm water. My contractions felt much less intense and I was much more relaxed.

After a few hours (pretty much all time estimates are completely inaccurate as I am relying on my memory which is not very helpful given the circumstances) my water finally broke and I was almost fully dilated. My contractions after my water broke were much more intense and much longer but the water definitely helped me deal with them. Finally, I felt the urge to start pushing and begun to do so with some guidance from my midwife. After about 30 minutes of pushing in the water I didn't feel like I was pushing effectively and my midwife suggested pushing on the toilet. I did so and after about another hour my baby boy was finally born in our bathroom on a birthing stool!

I had taken my glasses off and couldn't see him at first really well so I started yelling at someone to get my glasses and the first sight of him took my breath away. I cannot begin to describe how good it felt to finally hold that little man in my arms. Afterwards we got cleaned up, checked out, and we got to snuggle. It was the best feeling in the world.

This whole experience has been described as a marathon in nearly all the birthing books I read and they were absolutely correct. It was the most physically draining experience of my life. I can't wait to start training again and running a marathon one day just to see how it really compares. My labor lasted 19.5 hours but I plan to run a marathon much faster than that! :) Thanks for reading this and allowing me to share the amazing experience of my first, most wonderful marathon. 

Peachtree Road Race-Part 2

Sorry for the hiatus between parts 1 and 2 but we have been traveling and I have not had time to sit down and finish this until now. Anywho...

So Kayla, her Brother-in-law, and I are waiting to approach the starting line. We were just walking along enjoying the atmosphere until we get to the starting line. We had decided to run as much as I was able to so that's how we began. It felt so incredibly good to run with a purpose again. I truly missed racing and although there was no chance in Hades I was going to win, it was still fun to feel that competitive rush again. We ran for .5 miles before my legs were done. We spent the rest of the 5.5ish miles alternating between walking/running based on how I was feeling. Kayla and her Brother-in-law were both very supportive and reassuring the whole time and I never felt like a loser when I did need to slow down and walk. We really enjoyed our time together and it was nice being able to take things more slowly and really have a chance to revel in the race.

Once Kayla and I (her Brother-in-law took off so he could finish the race strong) neared the finish line I felt immense pride at what I had accomplished. Although the overall race did not go how I had envisioned it, I was proud for having completed it and being able to get my first finishers t-shirt. After we drudged through the mud, collected our shirts, and found the Brother-in-law we headed to the Marta station. That's when the effects of not doing anything for several months and then running a 10k started to hit me.

If you have never tried to run a 10k with absolutely no training please, please, please take my advice and don't do this. If any of who have ever seen "How I Met Your Mother" and recall the episode when Barney ran a marathon with no training, it was kind of like that. At first there was a little pain, which I expected just because I had been so lazy, but over time it just got worse and worse and worse. By the time I got home I could barely climb the stairs from our front door to the main floor (yay for split levels!) and when I sat down in our tub to soak my legs in an Epsom salt bath I was legitimately worried I would never stand again. Guys, I was absolutely pathetic.

Looking back on it now it's actually really funny. I had to basically roll myself everywhere. If I wanted to lay on the couch I had to just drop down and hope I landed in a comfortable position because my stupid legs sure weren't going to be much help in repositioning my body. And don't even get me started on sleeping. There was just no way my legs were able to help me move from one side to the other (remember I am also pregnant and not allowed to lay on my back) so if, in my subconscious state, my body forgot about its handicap and started to try and move to the other side I woke up in agony and had to use my upper body to complete the turn. Luckily, this amount of pain only lasted about 3 days and then I was able to function normally again.

Overall, I am so excited/proud/impressed with myself for having finally done the Peachtree Road Race. This is something my husband and I have talked about doing for about 4 years and now I finally did it. I really look forward to doing it again next year and being able to run the whole race with my little Schatzi able to see her/his Mommy complete the largest 10k in the world!

Peachtree Road Race- Part 1

About 4 months ago Dany and I were talking and she was like "I want to try a 10k soon" and I replied "Yea? That could be fun" then she said "What about the Peachtree Road Race?!" and I said "Sure, why not?"...or something like that. Anyway, that's where our idea originated from. Since that conversation we added a couple more to our ranks. Dany, Freddy, Kayla, and I all signed up and waited the couple of weeks it took to find out if we's been accepted or not. As we each got our e-mails on March 25 declaring we were entered in to the Peachtree Road Race we posted our announcements via Facebook and got more and more pumped for it. I found out I was pregnant on March 28.

I know women can/do run great distances during their pregnancies. I know that I could have been one of those women. But honestly, I was just too tired. It seemed that no matter what time of day it was I could not motivate myself to train for that race. I luckily wasn't super nauseous but I was just so tired. For those of you who have been pregnant you know what kind of tired it is. For those of you who haven't been it feels kind of likes this: imagine the most tired you've ever been, then multiply it by 1,000, add in the fact that your muscles feel really weak from the exhaustion, and then go about your normal routine which only adds to the tired. It feels kind of like that. By saying this please understand I am in no way complaining, merely stating fact. And it's not a fact for everyone but it certainly was for me.

The first couple weeks of my pregnancy were discouraging. I had tried so hard to be the person who exercised often and ate right and all of a sudden I couldn't even summon the energy to walk a mile and my first aversion was to vegetables. I was elated to be pregnant but I did feel sad that I could no longer engage in my regular activities without the exhaustion seeping in and sucking away all the little pockets of energy I had. All of this was happening while the longest race I had ever undertaken was looming 3 months away from me. I was adamant toward the end of those 3 months, when my "training" consisted of successfully walking 2 miles, that I was only going to walk the race and would hopefully finish in just under 2 hours. Kayla was very encouraging and she, along with her Brother-in-law, promised to go at whatever pace I needed.

The day of the race had arrived and around 6:15am I got a text from Dany asking "Why did we decide to do this again?" and I replied "Because we thought it would be 'fun'". We all met up at a Marta station and rode to the race. For those of you who have never been to the race let me explain something. There is about a mile long walk from the nearest Marta station to the starting line, and a mile long walk from the end to another Marta station. This is important later. We got to the beginning, and Dany and her brother (Freddy was unable to go) went to go join their waves which started much earlier than ours. As Kayla, her Brother-in-law, and I waited to start we enjoyed the atmosphere and the excitement of the race. Luckily it wasn't raining, despite the 100% of precipitation that was promised, and although it was humid we were at least not boiling under the July sun.

To be continued... (Thus, this being called part 1) :)

A needed update

As most of you have noticed (or no one has as I'm not sure anyone even reads this) but I have not posted since February. There is one really, really, really, good reason for this. At the end of March I found out that I'M PREGNANT!! This hasn't necessarily been the direct cause of my not posting but it has definitely over taken my life and now that I'm well in to my second trimester and feeling better I am going to redouble my efforts to try and pick this blog back up. This paragraph is actually being added to the beginning of a blog post I started about a 5k I ran at the beginning of March so I have left that original post as I started it for you to read.

Original post:
I have been meaning to post about past experiences related to dieting and more about that journey but honestly, at this point, I haven't really desired to relive those experiences enough to write about them. I have been enjoying my new healthy lifestyle and I'm sure at some point I'll want to explain more about the path I took to get here but right now I am happy living in the now.

I have been consistently working out for the longest period I can remember. I started on October 22 and between then and now the longest stretch I took off in a row was a week. This has been a huge victory for me. I now try to schedule my life around exercising instead of making time for it in my schedule. This attitude change has made all the difference in the world.

I ran my second 5k about a week ago (note: this is the one I ran at the beginning of March) and it was awesome! The route we did is a familiar one as it is the one I usually do with Dany and Freddy when we are training for 5k races. There is a pretty good hill in the middle of the course that has always kicked my butt. During this race I had forgotten to double tie one of my shoes and about halfway up the hill I had to stop and retie it. As I stood up to continue running I was struck by the realization that I had made it halfway up the hill and hadn't even realized it! I ran that hill like it was no big deal!! That was just the push I needed to finish out the race strong. I sprinted at the 2.9 mark as Dany as taught me and was able to finish the race in 30:04. I listed the rest of the stats below.

Finished: 30:04      Minute/Mile: 9:41      Overall: 182 out of 586     Age group: 16 out of 53

Present Day:
Since that race I also completed The Color Run at the beginning of April. I ran with Tell and another good friend of mine, Kayla, who had recently gotten bit by the running bug. The three of us walk/ran it and actually still managed to finish in pretty good time. Luckily, that race was more for the fun of it and we really enjoyed playing the different color zones and just having a good time while not being too concerned with our times. I don't have a record of my official time since I forgot to wear my watch that day but we finished around the 35 minute mark.

Before I found out I was pregnant a bunch of us signed up to do the Peachtree Road Race (10k). With the prospect of a 10k looming in front of me I was really excited about the opportunity to push myself further than I ever had. Around the middle of March though I started to become very tired and was not feeling 100%. Now I realize these were the early signs of my pregnancy and it pretty much left me so tried that running was not an option at that time. I still did Zumba but not nearly as often as I had before. Truthfully, I was really disappointed at first. Not about the pregnancy, but just that I had worked so hard to become the person I always wanted to be and now it was all being put on hold. I don't think there is a better reason to change my lifestyle, and at this point it doesn't bother me at all, but I do look forward to having my body to myself again and being able to pick up running more fully in the future.

I have definitely scaled back the exercising. I did Zumba until my membership ran out and plan on starting again after the baby is here but right now I don't feel coordinated enough to try and dance and I definitely don't want to hurt myself. I also did not train like I should have for the Peachtree Raod Race but more on that in my next blog post. :)

Goals Update

Since my last post I have been working on achieving the goals I set. Officially I have only met one of my goals, which was running my first 5k. However, I do not feel like I failed. Here's a recap of the goals I set:

1. Complete my first 5k race.
2. Incorporate weight training in to my weekly routine. I want to start doing this 2 times a week for 10 minutes each time and build up to 30 minutes. I want this goal to be accomplished by the end of February.
3. Lose 3 inches overall by January 31. I did my initial measurements on December 27 so this will give me 5 weeks to accomplish this.

I have included weight training and actually didn't have to build up to 30 minutes but was able to do that right away. I have been doing a 30 minute weight lifting class at the Zumba studio I go to which has been fun. It's called Power Up and if anyone is interested in adding some pretty easy weight routines I recommend this class. The only reason I haven't done it two times a week is that I was sick for a few days this past month and it messed up my work out schedule and I wasn't able to make it up. But other than that little break I have done really well towards completing this goal.

The last goal was to lose 3 inches and when I measured myself I had lost 2. Even though I didn't lose the 3 inches I was planning on I am still really, really excited about this. It's been hard to find motivation because the number on the scale isn't getting lower but losing inches, any amount, is a great motivator!

I have slacked off a little on my running but part of that was because I'm not feeling well and having a crazy schedule. On the bright side, Tell is moving in with me soon for a few months so it'll be great having a work out buddy around 24/7! I have also started training my husband to run and we, along with Dany, Tell, Freddy, and some other friends, have signed up for The Color Run that is taking lace in Atlanta on 4/6! I think it'll be good to have another race looming in my future to prepare for. Meanwhile, I've been doing Zumba and adding the weights in so at least I haven't been completely lazy! :)

Here are the goals I want to accomplish next:

1. Continue to incorporate weight training in to my weekly routine. I want to do this 2 times a week for 30 minutes. I want this goal to be accomplished by the end of February.
1. Be below 150 pounds by the end of February (I'm at 152.2 as of this morning)
2. Lose another inch (Measurements will be taken February 28)
3. Complete Nike+ goal of burning 4,000 calories per week

Stay tuned for some posts regarding the fad diets I've tried in the past...

1 down, many more to go

They say the first step to conquering an addiction is to admit you have a problem. Well, I don't want to conquer this addiction but I will admit that I am addicted to running 5k races! I finished my first one Sunday. I did the Hot Chocolate 5k in Atlanta and it was awesome! There were some obstacles to the day, but overall it was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. I want to give a blow-by-blow of the day and include some very important lessons I have learned about running these races, especially big ones like this. I will warn you, some information might be to much for some but trust me, it's important to the story.

The day started at 5am for myself and my very sweet and supportive husband who wanted to come and cheer me on. We headed down to my sister's apartment in Atlanta to meet Dany and Freddy so we could ride together from there. A shout out also goes to my sweet sister who let me in to her apartment even though I woke her up, so I could use the restroom before I left. We got near Centennial Olympic park and started looking for parking. Luckily we found some not too far from where the shuttle was going to pick us up even though it was $20. As we started walking to the shuttle it was about 7:30 and the race started at 7:45. We started running toward the shuttle, along with some other late comers, and made it just in time to one about to pull out. As we headed toward Turner Field we realized we are definitely going to be late. Lesson 1: Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to get to the race.

We finally get there and see that it is absolutely packed. There were a total of 19,000 people at this race. Dany was supposed to run in corral A and Freddy and I were slated to run in corral B. For those of you who are unaware of how they line runners up for larger races, as I was, they do it based on how fast you can run a mile and line everyone up accordingly. Unfortunately, because we were late, we started out in corral G. This means we started mostly with walkers and this posed a challenge as we started to run the race and needed to try and get around people in order to pick up speed. As we crossed the starting line we went single file in order for us to run around others and try to get into some kind of open area. Danny and Freddy left me pretty early on and I began my first 5k.

As I began to get clear of people I picked up some speed and was off! I still had to dodge people but tried to run on the sidewalks as much as possible as they were mostly empty. There was one point early on where I was passing someone on their right and thought I had enough room to clear them. Apparently I didn't and as his right arm came back in his stride and accidentally hit me. I shrugged it off and quickly dodged in front of him, while saying I was sorry, because at the moment I passed him I was about to run in to someone who had started slowing down in front of him. As I did that he hit me on my shoulder to let me know he was mad at me for cutting in front of him. I just waved and kept running. Lesson 2: Be prepared that you will have to dodge and weave around people.

So, other than getting hit, the first half of the race went along without a hitch. I was calm, focused, breathing well, and had dominated every hill I came across. What I didn't mention earlier was that as we lined up for the race I realized I had to use the restroom again. I drank a lot of water on the way to Atlanta and it didn't catch up with me until we got there. About half way through the race it hit me. I was so uncomfortable and tried to run faster in order to get done and go to the restroom. As I ran up the last hill (which seemed much easier to me!) I was thankful to look over and see the finish line. Lesson 3: Make sure you use the restroom right before the race, even if you think you don't have to go.

As I crossed the finish line I was smiling, pumping my fists in the air, and telling the MC who was encouraging people at the end that I just finished my first ever 5k. I felt unstoppable and incredibly proud of myself. But, as I started walking the urge to use the restroom intensified. I walked over to a volunteer and asked her where the bathroom was. She gave me a sympathetic look and said that they were over near where we started. I thanked her and continued running! I weaved around the people walking telling them to excuse me but that I really had to pee! At one point another volunteer who had a megaphone saw me and said, "look at this girl, she's still running!" As I came upon the porta potties I saw the one on the end open and someone about to walk in. She saw my distress and let me go ahead of her. Once I came out of the porta potty I was much happier and very ready to find my husband and coaches to celebrate.

I called my husband and he walked over to where I was. As soon as I saw him I started to cry because I was so happy to have accomplished this goal! After he congratulated me I asked if he had seen Dany and Freddy. He said he hadn't so we started looking for them. Neither of them had their phones and, as I said before, there were about 19,000 people there. This post is already pretty long so I won't go in to detail but after more than an hour, and some pretty funny near misses and communication ingenuity, we were finally reunited and as I hugged Dany I felt like we had spent years apart instead of an hour. Lesson 4: Always, always, always come up with a meeting place before hand.

I am extremely proud of myself for this accomplishment and now I am thoroughly addicted to running races. And I actually did really well considering it was my first race ever, and it was a pretty difficult course. I have posted my stats below. Look out for more posts about races because this is definitely not my last!

Stats: I completed the race in 32:03 with a 10:19 pace. I finished 1566 out of 9086 overall and 137 out of 907 in my age group (females only).

Goals for 2013

As the new year starts I want to look over the goals I set for myself when I started this journey and see what kind of progress I have made. I set forth 3 goals in my very first blog post. These were as follows:

1. To run two times a week, for 1 month. (At the time I set this I was two weeks in to this goal)
2. To exercise, for at least 30 minutes, on the days I do not run. (One rest day a week)
3. To lose 5-10 pounds by the end of the year.

Goal 1-I have not been consistent in my running the whole time. I did run 2 times a week for most of the last 2 months but I did miss an entire week around Thanksgiving so this goal is not completed. Goal 2- I also have not exercised for 30 minutes on the days I did not run. Another failed goal. Goal 3-As it stands now I have only lost 1.2 pounds since I started on October 22. So basically none of the goals I set have been accomplished. However, I do not feel like I failure in ANY way!

Here's the reason why. I'm doing something about my health instead of just talking about it. I may not have accomplished a single goal, but I have accomplished a lot of others that I didn't put in writing. For instance, I have run 3 5k distances since I started running in October. This means I went from 0 miles to 3.1 in about two months. I also may not have lost weight but I am gaining muscle and my clothes feel more lose so I know I am losing inches. And my self-esteem and energy is outstanding now! I feel like I have succeeded in a lot of ways!

With that being said, now that I am over the initial hump of learning to run I want to progress at living more healthy. I have made great strides at being more active and trying to eat better but I still have a lot I want to accomplish so here are the next set of goals I want to set, and actually accomplish this time.

1. Complete my first 5k race. I have signed up for the Hot Chocolate 5k. It will be held on January 13 and I am pumped!
2. Incorporate weight training in to my weekly routine. I want to start doing this 2 times a week for 10 minutes each time and build up to 30 minutes. I want this goal to be accomplished by the end of February.
3. Lose 3 inches overall by January 31. I did my initial measurements on December 27 so this will give me 5 weeks to accomplish this.

There you have it! I will check in with how these are going in my subsequent posts. And just to give you an update on how the running has been going, it has been awesome! I went on vacation around Christmas and exercised every day I was gone which was a first for me. I have been running consistently and picking up the pace a little. My endurance is increasing and I'm feeling more prepared for my first 5k! I want to shout out to my awesome trainers, Dany and Freddy, for encouraging me and helping me feel confident about my ability to do this!  Happy New Year everyone!

A History Lesson- Part 1

Now that I have overcome the inevitable hump I always encounter I think it's safe to shift the focus of these posts toward why I'm doing this in the first place. I think that it is important to remember the point of why one starts goals so that these reasons can remain the focus of why all the work is being done in the first place. With that being said here is a brief (hopefully!) history of how I got to the point where I decided I need to get serious about my health.

I have been conscious of my weight since I was about 8 years old. Sadly, I think most women can relate to this. I was thin until one summer and then I gained a lot of weight and returned to my second grade year overweight. I was teased by the other students. I remember dressing as a bride that year for Halloween and being told no one would ever marry me because I was so fat. I was also serenaded constantly with the Jenny Craig theme song and constantly laughed at. Since then I have always been extremely self-conscious of my weight. By the time I was about to start seventh grade I was heavier than ever. I was also going to be moving from Illinois to Georgia. I was starting a new school, in a new state, and having to do so in a school system where the students had already spent at least one year together since middle schools here are 6-8 grade. Oh, and my parents had recently been divorced. This did not bode well for a good year.

As I look back at middle school all I remember is being laughed at and outcast for the majority of it. I ended up being accepted by a group of students in my middle school that were considered less than desirable by everyone. It is by the grace of God only that I didn't start smoking pot with them or engage in other risky behaviors. In hindsight thought, it ended up being a huge blessing to me that these are people who befriended me. I ended up starting to care less and less what others thought of me. When you have a group of friends that are all constantly gossiped about, ridiculed, and plan hated you start to either get a thick skin or check out mentally. Luckily, my friends all had built a thick skin and taught me to do the same by default.

This isn't to say my weight stopped bothering me. It did. But I started trying to do something about it. I exercised more and tried to eat better but at the time I just didn't want it bad enough. I would try fad diets (juice diets, vegetarian diets, low carb, no carb, etc) and nothing worked. What I realize now is that it was my dedication that was the problem. My lack of desire to care about my health. In college it got better. I had an awesome new group of supportive loving friends in college. We would exercise together and it helped to have a free gym to use. I didn't lose a significant amount of weight or anything but I didn't gain anymore either. My weight had pretty much leveled off. I did try Atkins my senior year but that didn't work well either. I love bread.... :)

To be continued.

A History Lesson- Part 2

So now I am graduating from college and oh, yea, I got married. At this point my weight has pretty much hovered near the 160-165 range for the last 5-6 years. The summer after I got married was the highest my weight has ever been. I moved in with my husband's parents, didn't have a job yet, was geographically distant from all my friends and my side of the family, and I got really depressed. I was lonely, sad, and had no drive to do anything. When I stepped on the scale about halfway through our time there and it read 173 pounds, I knew I was in trouble. I did start working out but not enough to combat all the calories and inactivity. It was toward the end of that summer that we moved to Colorado because I took a job there.

When we got to Colorado we started hanging out with my husband's best friend and his family who live there. It was through this family that a new diet was introduced to my husband and I. It's called HCG and I will discuss this in more depth in a later post. Suffice it to say my opinion of it has changed since I did it but at the time I was totally stoked. My husband and I did several rounds and I lost 40 pounds!! I had never felt so awesome in my life. I was the thinnest I had ever been as an adult and I looked awesome. The only problem I had was keeping the weight off. We ended up moving back to Georgia less than a year later and my weight had no problem creeping back up on me.

As of this morning I weigh 156.6 pounds. I have not done a single fad diet since we have moved back. When Dany and Tell told me they were running it felt like fate to me. I was sick of weighing too much but I was also sick of trying to lose weight in unhealthy and unmanageable ways. Now I write as someone who is proud of the progress I have made in other areas of my health. I am eating a normal amount of calories using livestrong.com to track my intake. I can also run 2 miles without feeling like I'm going to pass out and I will be doing my first 5k in less than a month. My weight hasn't changed a whole lot since I started this process but my mind set and attitude about my health has and that's the most awesome thing I have done for myself so far. I feel stronger and more in control of my health than I ever did when I was dieting using methods that don't account for sustainability. I still have a long way to go, and sometimes it does get me down that I don't look like I did after the HCG diet, but then I go for a jog and feel much better about life. :)

It might sound conceited but...I'm awesome!

So as you may have gathered from the title, I'm awesome. I say this in a humble way and the only reason I am saying it at all is because I have learned that by acknowledging times in my life when I make strides toward achieving a goal I am more likely to continue working on that goal. Especially when I am trying to accomplish difficult goals, such as getting healthy. It boosts my confidence and reinforces the path I'm on. With that being said, let me reiterate. I am awesome.

Here's why. On Sunday I had planned on running a complete 5k with Dany and Freddy so I could get some more training in. I ended up going alone and was pretty nervous about whether I would be able to do the distance or not given my history of being too easy on myself. I went to a local high school and started out with every intention of letting myself stop if I needed to. Instead of running the track the entire time since that can get boring, I ran around the football field, through the parking lot, and back to the field. I didn't let myself look at the distance so I could trick myself into running more. It worked. By the time I finished that first loop to the parking lot and back I had done about a mile. Without stopping. With having to run a pretty sizable hill. For me, since I was running by myself, this was an incredible feat.

At that point I went to the track and decided I would run about a mile there and finish out a third mile doing my original route. I was about 1.5 miles in when I really wanted to walk. But then an amazing thing happened. I made myself run instead. I ran, and I ran, and I ran. I slowed my pace a little but made sure to take deep breaths and just keep moving. As I sit here writing this, remembering how it felt to push myself like I did, I have tears in my eyes. I have always been really easy on myself and never try to push myself too hard to do anything when it comes to exercise. But this time I did.

After about 3 laps on the track I was bored and at risk of quitting if I didn't change it up again. I ran back outside the football stadium and went the opposite way to the parking lot, mostly to avoid the hill since my legs were pretty tired, and made a loop around the field again. After I completed that loop I had about .2 miles to go to finish out my 5k distance. I ran back in to the parking lot near my car and ran until my count said 3.1 miles. I immediately stopped the tracker and started walking. I almost laid down in the parking lot and cried from happiness. I had done it! Not only had I made myself run the entire time I was out there but I had completed a 5k and was able to get my breathing back to normal pretty easily!

With this hurdle under my belt I feel empowered to keep working toward making this possible every time I go out to run. I know that it's not always going to be easy but I do know now that it is possible for me.

Back in the Saddle

After two terrible weeks I have think I have managed to overcome my speed bump. My eating has improved (although I still struggle with not starving myself during the day while I'm out and about) and I have worked out every day this week! I started on Monday when Dan, Tell, and I were able to get back to running together again. We ran the track again and this time (with Dan's boyfriend Freddy cheering us on) we ran a mile, without stopping. This was quite an accomplishment for Tell and I and, although it was hard, it was a great feeling to be running again. We also did intervals again but this time when we ran the straight parts of the track we sprinted much, much faster. Apparently I am a pretty fast sprinter. Dan, Tell, and Freddy were pretty impressed by my speed and it felt great to be so encouraged by them all.

On Tuesday I went running by myself at the track and tried to do a mile again without stopping. I had to walk briefly 3 different times but I did the mile. It really does astound me how much of a difference there is between me running on my own and running with my friends. They are such an encouragement to me and without them it is hard for me to find the strength to push myself to continue when I get tired or my legs start hurting. Although I have struggled for the previous two weeks it have been such a blessing knowing that these two awesome women are in my corner pushing me to keep going even when I feel like giving up.

Wednesday was a rest day so when we met on Thursday I was feeling ready to try again. This time Dan had us run for 1 mile continuously, take a one minute walk break, than run for another mile. It was definitely difficult but we did it so that was encouraging. After that run Dany's boyfriend, who got to come with us again, had been working on his 5k time and needed to finish the .8 miles he had left so he asked if I wanted to try running it with him to see how I did. I agreed and he let me set the pace so I could be comfortable running the whole time. I found my pace, ran for about .9 miles, when it was all said and done my total distance for the night equaled 3.2 miles! This means, ladies and gentlemen  that I did a little over a 5k!! I was stoked and I recovered very quickly after the run which is how I know that the pace I was running was comfortable and sustainable for me. Freddy was very encouraging and I was very happy to have his advice and support.

Friday was another rest day so Saturday I tried two miles on my own. Unfortunately, I had indulged a little too much during lunch and felt pretty terrible during the run so I wasn't able to do as well as I probably could have if I had waited a little longer and not tried to do so much after having eaten. It's fun learning how food effects my ability to perform and although it can cause days like Saturday when I don't do well on a run because I don't know how much my eating effects me, it's good information to remember for later down the road! I also went running on Sunday but I'm going to post about that day separately as it is a big milestone (pun intended) for me.

Speed Bump

These past two weeks have been less than stellar. I went on vacation the second weekend of November and ate... a lot. I gained 2 pounds over that weekend and it really upset me when I got back. I also did not keep up with my exercising so when Dan, Tell, and I went running the following Thursday (we had to skip Monday) it was much harder than it should have been. We changed up our routine a little and ran on a track instead of our usual run at the park. Instead of 2 miles we did a mile but in intervals, meaning we sprinted the straight parts and walked the curves. My breathing was labored, my shins were in a lot of pain, and I felt dizzy. I felt like a loser. And because this past week was a holiday week we were off our regular schedules and did not have the chance to meet at all and I did not keep up with exercising on my own..

This is a common theme with me. I usually do really well for 2 or 3 weeks and then I get depressed that I have not accomplished my goal. I realize that it takes more than a few weeks to lose any significant amount of weight but when I get depressed like that I usually start eating more and exercising less. This obviously means that I gain back everything I lost in the time I did really well and then have to start all over again. This is an extremely frustrating cycle, which is why I have resorted to fad diets (which I'll write about more later) in order to lose weight quickly.

Which brings us back to why I started this whole lifestyle change/blog. I need to learn to exercise regularly and eat better routinely. I also need to stop getting in my own way and give myself some leeway in order to make small mistakes, learn from them, and overcome them instead of them making me stop altogether. This is all easier said than done but hopefully with a little accountability and support I can push through this minor bump and still keep going.

Flying solo

Monday marked another milestone. Tell and I were forced to run sans trainer and I must say....we were awesome! We ran for two miles and finished it in the fastest time we have logged yet at 21 minutes. It definitely wasn't as easy as it would have been with Dany there to cheer us on but Tell and I tried to encourage one another (as well as we could while still trying to breath) and afterwards we both felt pretty triumphant at our accomplishment.

Today I took in a step further and ran on my own. I did 1.81 miles and it was a lot harder for me. I don't hold myself very accountable (thus, the blog) so usually I give in pretty easy and quit as soon as I feel any discomfort. But today I did a lot better than I have in the past. I have been using Nike+ to track my progress and they have this cool feature that lets you link your account to Facebook so people can see you're running and cheer you on by liking the activity. I got two likes while I was running and each time I heard the cheers on my phone it really helped pump me up and push through my discomfort.

Here is a basic outline of what our plan is been in case anyone out there is interested. We run two days a week and run two miles each time. During the first two weeks we ran for two minutes and walked for one and repeated this pattern until we were done with two miles. Starting this week (our third week) we have been running for three minutes and walking for one, repeating until 2 miles is completed. Dany has threatened us with doing three miles and although I am dreading this push a little, I know it's necessary in order for us to progress and keep pushing ourselves.

My eating habits have also changed the past three weeks. I have taken some advice that Dany gave me and have been trying to eat 100-200 calorie meals/snacks every two hours. I work from home so on the days when I'm not doing visits and am  able to be home it is a lot easier. On those days when I'm in the car I have to put more thought in to what I am going to take with me so I can make sure to always have food with me it's harder. I have been relying a lot on yogurt, nuts, and string cheese. This is definitely an area I need to work a little harder in because in the past I have just starved myself during the day because I didn't have food accessible and I'd eat a ton at night to make up for it. If anyone has any suggestions (please remember I almost never have access to a microwave) I would appreciate it.

Weight update: I have lost 1.4 pounds since I started running on October 22.

Running...with friends

This past Thursday I hit a personal mile stone, albeit a weird one. I ran long enough that I actually felt I was going to be sick afterwards. I turned to two of my best friends and said, "I've heard about people running so much they made themselves sick but I never thought that would happen to me". They laughed and helped me walk to the car so I could SLOWLY sip water. Then we stretched and headed home.

Although its weird, I am extremely proud of this moment. I have tried to become a runner several times in my life. I have failed miserably and had pretty much given up altogether until last week when I discovered my two best friends from college (Dany and Tell) were going to start running together twice a week at a local park. Dany recently got on a running kick and has been completing 5k races for a few months. Tell and I have been doing nothing to get ourselves in shape, unless you count complaining (which personally, I do). Thus, our band of runners was formed.

Two weeks ago was my first week running with them and it was hard. Really hard. I could barely breath, my legs wanted to give up somewhere around the one mile mark, and my head ached. The only reason I was able to finish both runs that week was because I was with two people that I knew loved me and were not judging me for my performance. I have always had an issue running with others for fear of looking weaker and less capable than them. The beauty of this arrangement is that both of these women are amazingly kind and encouraging to me and I never feel this way when I am with them. During our run yesterday words came out of my mouth after finishing the first mile that I never though I would say. I said, "Wow! That was really easy!" If it hadn't been for my friends' love and support I never would have made it long enough to have this be something I ever considered possible for myself.

There is a classic fable from the collection of Aesop's Fables called, "The Tortoise and the Hare". In this story the Hare is taunting the Tortoise so the Tortoise challenges him to a race. The Hare agrees and quickly takes a big lead. The Hare decides to nap and when he wakes up he sees that the Tortoise has won the race. Throughout my life I have tried to be like the Hare and lose weight very quickly over a short period of time and then become lazy after I feel progress has been made. What I have learned is that this kind of weight loss is not sustainable. It's possible to lose but almost impossible (for me anyway) to maintain that weight afterwards. One analysis of the fable stated that  "many people have good natural abilities which are ruined by idleness; on the other hand, sobriety, zeal and perseverance can prevail over indolence". I plan on becoming like the Tortoise this time and losing weight slowly, but steadily. 

I want this blog to be several things for me throughout this journey. I would like it to be a record of how I have progressed, and although a personal journal would suit that purpose, what I also need is accountability from several sources. I have a hard time following through with certain things and exercise has always been one of them. I'm not asking that you read my entries every single time I post, but just knowing it's available to others and that if I slack off there might be some hell to pay, that might be just the motivation I need to accomplish this goal. I also plan on using this blog to record tidbits of good advice I get about running specifically, but eating healthier and exercising in general. I will also be sharing more about how my issues with my weight has caused me to try some pretty strict diets and my honest opinion about some of the things I have tried. I am not a doctor, but I think that by sharing my personal experiences about fad diets I have tried might help someone see a different perspective of something they are considering trying.

To end, I would like to list my short term goals.

1. To run two times a week, for 1 month. (I am two weeks in to this goal)
2. To exercise, for at least 30 minutes, on the days I do not run. (One rest day a week)
3. To lose 5-10 pounds by the end of the year.

Thank you for reading this inaugural post of Slow and Steady!

  <----- This guy might be slow, but he's a winner!