Many Personal Bests Bested

Day 295:Run 97

I have exciting news! I just ran my fastest:

1. 1 mile - 8 min 53 sec
2. 3 miles - 29 min 11 sec
3. 5k - 30 min 39 sec

And my furthest cooper (12 min) - 2.15k

I have been noticing that it takes about a month for me to make strong improvements in my times and distances. I just have to keep doing it. I'm thinking about running every morning instead of just every other day. Any pros or cons that anyone knows about doing that? Is it better to give your body a day of rest? It might help me regulate my sleeping patterns better. hmm I guess you can only try.

Weigh day #40 came and gone without improvement. I'm so tired of being stuck here! It's a huge uphill battle. I start to get up over the hump and then I slide right back down.

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

I will tell you my real problem. FOOD. I have a love hate relationship with food. I love to eat it, but I hate what it does to my body. When I'm stressed and I don't have time to run I eat. And life is pretty stressful right now. AHHHH I have to stop eating but I don't want too! HELP

SO I created a list of my 25 favorite snacks 60 calories or less! Why so low? Because when you can only eat 1200 calories a day you cannot waste calories on snacks. So here it is!

• Motivation:  The sun was shining!

• Listening to:  A new mix I made called Running.. I say it like Charlie Sheen says winning! Running!

• Thankful for: Seeing Trenton and Jami Little driving out of the park!

Route and Stats:

So because I ran the first few miles so quickly I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up the pace because it almost killed me therefore I did 2 work outs. The 4th mile obviously killed my average for the work out.
SO I ran for a total distance of 5.1 miles and a time of 57 min 39 sec

I LOVE EXERCISE!... and water!

Day 288:Run 94

I just got done with an amazing run! I feel on top of the world! Nothing can stop me!! I have found that I have to run in the morning or else it sucks.Two days this week I went running when I got home from work/school (student teaching) and first of all they were warm days and secondly I was running so slow. I struggled through both runs and they sucked hard! Today I went in the morning like I like to do and it was amazing! When I get home I feel euphoric and don't have a care in the world! I stretch and then go in my house shut the door and dance in the entry way!

Umm I always notice how hard it is... I have to tell myself to keep going and it eventually gets better.

Also I have been getting gross sweaty which is weird for me because I normally do not get that sweaty and it is really grossing me out so I started telling myself that it's just melted fat and I am trying to deal with it that way. So when you are sweating and it is gross just tell yourself it is your fat melting and it makes it a bit more bearable!

Well weigh day 38 was a bust, but this last Wednesday (weigh day #39) was good! I actually started to lose again! Woo hoo! Ok I'm back down under my license weight (by .2 but less is less!) So I weigh 184.8 hopefully it will be less this next Wednesday as I celebrate 40 weeks of my journey! Holy cow! 40 weeks! That's a whole baby!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

SO last time I said I was going to do some major meal planning.... Yeah that didn't happen.. I was too lazy. However I have been trying not to eat late at night. Eating late tends to be the down fall of all of my weigh ins. I have also been trying hard to be conscience of my water in take. Nothing beats good cold WATER! I'm just a huge fan of water in most of it's capacities. I love swimming and showering and I love when it rains and washing my hands. Water is pretty awesome!

I do have to clarify the love the rain comment though. I'm 5'2" which means I'm short and it is hard to buy pants. My biggest pet peeve of all time is when the bottoms of my pants get wet.. UGHHHH!!

Ok back to the fitness and nutrition blog....

I still need to do major meal planning. I really need to control my eating. When I control my eating I loose weight much quicker and in larger increments. One of these days I would like to post a meal plan with a shopping list and recipes. I think it would be beneficial to me and to all of you!

 

• Motivation: Lose dat weight and a faster run time!

• Listening to:  A big mix...of my ANGRY RUN and a new play list I found on spotify! I gotta give a shout out to my girl Heidi Dueck for her GYM play list on spotify! Thanks for the good music.... my favorites are Bangarang and Reptiles theme!

• Thankful for: The euphoria I felt as I walked through my door after my run today!

Route and Stats:

The kcals on this tracker are still way off!

Weigh day #37... so it's been a while!

Day 271:Run 86

Today would be weigh day #37... I'm going to continue with that. This morning I weighed 187.6, not exactly what I wanted to see. Yes I have gained some and yes it is really frustrating because I worked really hard to get to the 30 lb mark and now I am under it, but I am more determined now to lose it!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

I am going to do some major meal planning for myself this afternoon and I am not going to let exercise count towards my calories anymore, unless of course I feel extremely hungry and think I am going to pass out if I don't eat something, but other than that I am sticking to 1200 calories a day regardless of exercise.

Yes there will be moments of hunger, but I don't believe that it is unhealthy to feel hunger. I think that a lot of people run on the idea that it is not okay to be hungry and that if we are hungry then we must feed ourselves. The reality is that our bodies are creatures of habit and if you constantly feed it and then don't feed it, it will be hungry because it will be like "Hey where's the food that I normally get at this time?" However, I also believe that we shouldn't starve our bodies because then it keeps every little morsel of fat or protein or whatever you decide to give it. The human body spends about 1200 calories a day (give or take depending on your activity level) and so that is what I am going to give mine. Anything less than 1200 begins to boarder on starvation nation and I am not down with that.

To start my meal planning I am going to look at how many calories each meal/snack should be allotted. Obviously I need to give dinner the most calories because I am also cooking for my husband who is anything but small... Side note... I wanted to see how many calories he would get using myfitnesspal to lose 2 lbs a week at his size and do you know what that lucky guy gets?.... 2900 calories a day... and that is to lose weight! Males are so lucky their bodies don't work like female bodies. SO JEALOUS!!

Anyway, back to meal planning I have to make a meal that will satisfy both of us. I am going to write down all of my options for breakfast lunch and dinner because I like variety in my food. I personally hate left overs. I had that yesterday why would I want it again so soon after I already ate it?

For breakfast I have to put my plug in for a new found love! Yoplait Greek 100!
100 calories for a nice size serving of Greek yogurt! The strawberry is fantastic and tomorrow I will try the mixed berry! I recommend it!

• Motivation:  Lose dat weight!

• Listening to: My Angry run mix, Volbeat, Stained, Three Days Grace, Seether, Shinedown

• Thankful for: The rain! I was soaked when I got home and I loved it!

Route and Stats:

The kcals on this tracker are still way off!

Beat Myself to the Punch

Day 269: Run 85
I didn't even get a chance to sit down and write out the SMART goal before I reached it!

I ran my fastest 5k today. 33 minutes and 48 seconds. My ultimate goal is still a 30 minute 5k but my interim goal was 33 minutes. Now I just need to do it consistently!

My sister had her baby last night and I am even more inspired to get fit so that I can have strong healthy pregnancies when the time comes.

• Motivation: Higher, Faster, Stronger! To be fit! To run a 30 minute 5k!

• Listening to:  My Angry run mix, Volbeat, Stained, Three Days Grace

• Thankful for: Being faster

Route and Stats:

The kcals on this tracker are still way off!

On the up and up!

Day 267: Run 84

I had a hard time getting up to go running and after work did not work because I was busy everyday. Oh well I went today and it was great!

Still listening to my 10 min/mile play list and today was not my fastest ever but I am improving. I think I really need to just get back into it to start improving.

I always think I can just jump back in where I left off and I can't. I have to build back up to it.

I think I am going to write a SMART goal for running a 30 minute 5k. well I will probably start with a 33 and then drop to 30.

 

I am definitely having breathing issues. DO you think it is more I just need to keep at it or do you have suggestions I could try to fix my breathing issues? I am also trying abdominal breathing because it will also help when I am having babies. I will take any suggestions at all!

Today's weather was beautiful and the park was oddly empty for a Saturday... I guess it was just a little earlier than all the soccer games start.

• Motivation:  To be fit! To run a 30 minute 5k!

• Listening to:  Neon Trees, Judas Priest, Quiet Riot, Peaches, Gorillaz, Weezer and on and on and on....

• Thankful for: The beautiful weather and quiet park!

Route and Stats:

The kcals on this tracker are still way off but I think I burned close to 450 kcals! Woot Woot!

Trying Too Hard

Day 261: Run 83

Today I decided to go running after work (Student teaching) because I didn't go before work. Well it was a beautiful day, but the run was tough. It has been a while since I ran my 5k route and my body reminded me. Once my breathing became strained it was an uphill battle the rest of the way (figuratively speaking). Less than half a mile into my run I was struggling to breathe and I got a bad side stitch that never went away.

Let me tell you why my run was difficult (Aside from having not run that far in a long time) I saw a pin on pintrest about songs that have a beat of 150 beats per minute which is equal to a ten minute mile if you run to the beat. I thought Awesome! Music can be a huge motivator for me so I created a playlist from a bunch of awesome songs, some new, some old and I was excited. Well right out of the gate I was trying really hard to keep up with the music, which wasn't hard except for my breathing wasn't ready to keep up with the music and that's where is became problematic. I was trying too hard to be fast, which in turn made me slower.

A friend of mine posted this picture on pintrest one day after I had a rough day and a slow run.

 Now every time my tracker reads my time to me and it is slower than desired I think this to myself. Usually in the terms "It doesn't matter how fast, just that I go" It's a tough lesson to learn.

This same friend is a runner and told me that she writes haiku poems about coffee or while drinking coffee... something like that and so one morning while running I decided to try and make a haiku poem about running... It was awesome... but I forgot to write it down and now I don't remember it.

• Motivation:  New music, 10 minute mile!

• Listening to:  The Killers, Neon Trees, Judas Priest, Quiet Riot, Peaches, Gorillaz, Weezer and on and on and on....

• Thankful for: The beautiful weather!

Speaking of the beautiful weather it was so warm that my jacket and cold weather tights were way to much! I was super hot and not in a good way.

Route and Stats:

The kcals on this tracker are still way off but I think I burned close to 450 kcals! Woot Woot!

Back On Track.. Let's Hope!

Day 252: Run 78

It's been 8 weeks since I posted. I'm sorry. I kinda went insane with trying to finish my last quarter of coursework before student teaching.
Not only did I lose control of my eating, but I lost control of my running too. I seriously lost it. After homework was done, it was the decision between 3 hours of sleep and running or 4 hours of sleep and not running. I took the extra hour of sleep.

I have a firm understanding of what it means to be my own worst enemy. I fight myself everyday and then I go to bed beat up and wore out, but I'm getting better. I know I have a ton of cheerleaders out there, but it's hard trying to be my own cheerleader. In reality when it comes to weight loss, you can thank people who have motivated you, but you are the only one there at 5:30 in the morning making the decision.

OK enough serious talk.. let's move on.

Alright well I'm still fighting the plateau and my recent eating habits did not help. I gained weight and lost my 30lb mark, but I'm almost back to.

I started student teaching this past Tuesday and thought I was going to be able to go running after school everyday... WRONG. I came home and made dinner. 23 kindergartners are unbelievably exhausting.

I also started a multi-vitamin. Never tried one before so I am hoping to see results but I have heard that the results are usually unnoticeable which is sad.
Any thoughts on multi-vitamins?

• Motivation:  Get back on track!

• Listening to:  Volbeat, Shinedown, Red Hot Chili Peppers 

• Thankful for: The beautiful weather!

Today's run was tough. Not only have I not ran for 3 weeks but I also have a productive cough going on right now. My first mile was fairly fast, I thought for sure it was going to be slow (10:58). The other two were normal (about 12:30).