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...
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
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).
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).
Sunday, January 6, 2013
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!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
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.
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. :)
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. :)
Friday, December 7, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, December 3, 2012
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.
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.
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