Ok, Now What?

So 20 lbs have been lost and I find myself at a plateau of sorts.  It’s time to get serious and keep this journey moving in the right direction.  Ok, so now what?

Well, it’s going to be all about nutrition.  The problem is that there is a PLETHORA of information out there about what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat the good stuff, how much bad stuff is ok, what you should never, ever eat and what’s ok here and there.  Plus, let’s also consider how much training is getting done.  (Really, 2000 yards in a pool leaves a person VERY hungry so what can I eat after that?) 

Gotta keep the fuel tanks full but not over full… 

And it’s more than carbs, proteins and fats.  What about vitamins and minerals?  And what about all the conflicting information out there?  (I read comments on an article about losing 10 lbs.  Article says “drink skim milk instead of whole” and comment said something like “drink whole milk because skim milk lacks the full benefits of whole milk”.  Well, who is right?!?!  Very frustrating…) 

Perhaps I need to post the nutrition blogs like I was supposed to a few months ago… Ok, that gives me something to do on Sunday…

For now, it’s going to be more fruits and veggies during the day and more water consumed.  And breakfast will be eaten (in some form) in the morning.  That’s a good (and easy) start!    

The Best Laid Plans

Well, you know what they say about the “best laid plans”…

How many times have you heard that in your life?  I’ve heard it plenty of times and for the most part, it hasn’t ever bothered me to hear it.  You make a plan so you have some framework to reference on your path.  Then you change and re-work the plan so it jives with your life.  Well, my plan was to lose some weight, (ok a lot of weight), run a marathon, then train and complete an Ironman triathlon.  Well, I lost some weight (25 lbs. and counting), I ran a(nother) half marathon and there’s no IM in my future.  I mean, in my 2012 future.  2012 was supposed to be IM year.  But it costs about $500 to register, plus my bike needs serious upgrades (my bike is 20 years old- seriously).  I just don’t have the finances to make this happen (yet, I’m signed up for a Ragnar in AZ and Bay to Breakers in CA- so it’s not like I’m living in a box). 

So here I am, thinking about my running/racing/triathlon future.  I was going to join a gym, but haven’t.  I was going to research new bikes, but haven’t.  I was going to take the month of December off but… oh, wait, I DID do that!  (But I have soooo much “off time guilt” it’s causing me much anxiety.)

The main reason I’m writing right now is to let everyone know that I have decided there will not be an Ironman for me this coming year.  That’s ok and all, because I’m just re-working the plan.  There WILL BE an Ironman for me someday. 

Just need to work it into the plan…

So, what’s the plan?  Well, THAT’S the problem.  I have no plan…

My Philadelphia Half Marathon

The first five miles...

Lately I have been breaking my running down into increments of 5 miles.  Either at the reservoir or on the boardwalk or tackling 13.1 miles it's all about each segment of 5 miles.  Usually it takes me about an hour to run that far and in the morning that usually coincides with a very important bathroom break.  And no matter what, the first 5 miles are usually the worst.  

This time, however, it was the first mile that was the WORST.  I didn't even get 1/2 mile in before I had to stop and fix my iPod.  (Learn from this... Just use the lock feature from the beginning...)  I started running and the volume sky rocketed into my ears!  I couldn't get it back down so I had to stop, adjust, get it back in the stupid back pocket and continue on.  I took off like a bat out of hell too in an effort to make up lost time and attempt to catch Paul whom I told, "Just go ahead!"  

It also dawned on me, during mile 1, that my ever important bathroom break was upon me.  But it's mile 1!!  I still have time.... Oh that hurts!  My belly was not happy.  But I just couldn't bring myself to stop and wait on line so I kept going.  I was miserable and beginning to change my plans of finishing for time and even finishing at all.  I did not feel well.  

I skipped bathroom stop #2 as well because of the line.  I had decided, "the next bathroom should have less people... just stop at that one..." but the line was 10 people deep so I forged on.  (Stubbornness does not help in this situation.)  Running up Front St. I was begging to see anyone I could connect with on the sidelines and request to use their bathroom.  It didn't work out.  I considered using the diner on South St. but something inside said, "just keep going".  I ended up having to walk on South a bit.  I can honestly say I haven't felt this bad in a race in a long time.  Nothing was going according to plan.  I was becoming defeated when the water stop around mile 5 appeared as a beacon.  “Ok.  Water!  There HAS to be another row of Porta Johns here.  WHERE ARE THEY? You HAVE to stop at this bathroom!!  THERE!!”  I don’t usually talk about using the bathroom in any great detail so I’ll just say it was the happiest I have ever been to see a row of Johnny-On-The-Spots and 1 person in front of me. 

I was now ready to continue my quest of a 2:30:00 half marathon.  Let me just get some hand sanitizer like any good, semi-germ-phobic person.  “Oh, that’s sticky… THAT’S NOT HAND SANITIZER!! THAT’S SOAP!!”  The phrase that goes with the acronym, AYFKM, was repeatedly going through my head as I ran back to the water station to rinse. 

On the plus side, I was feeling MUCH better now. 

And then my iPod died…

I hit Chestnut St. with renewed energy.  I was back!!  I was going to destroy the next 8 miles and hit my goal time.  One of my Jersey Girl’s song choices came on.  I thought it was going to be “Click, Click, Boom!” by Saliva.  (This is one bad ass song BTW.)  However, it was actually Linkin Park’s “Runaway”.  Followed up by Rob Zombie’s “Never Gonna Stop”, Florence and the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over” and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” and I was rolling.  People lined the street, all cheering for the runners.  “Go Jersey Girl!!”  I was passing 11^th, 12^th, & 13^th streets.  This is my old neighborhood!  I’m feeling good.  “Go Jersey Girl!!”  I hit the bridge into west Philly.  And then silence in my ears.  “Maybe there’s just some dead air after that last song… Or maybe I can’t hear the music lead up to the next song…” I was thinking in my head.  But a minute goes by and I find myself reaching back to the pocket for my iPod.  I get it and the screen is frozen at the beginning of The Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil”.  I begin pressing all sorts of buttons.  I’m holding them for 3 seconds, then 6 seconds and finally for what seems like forever.  (And I’m pressing with all my might now since harder equals better, right?)  It won’t even shut off.  Just stuck at the beginning of a song… Tantalizing me… I looked for the all-powerful “reset” button.  I couldn’t find it and officially gave up on the iPod.  But giving up on the iPod pretty much meant giving up on my goal time as I realized I was 98% relying on my music to get me through.  Epic iPod fail. 

My Garmin…

It seemed my Garmin was .1 - .2 mile off of the race course flags.  That was just annoying.  But I did, and do, love knowing my pace.  I knew what I needed to average to hit my goal and the Garmin kept me on track.  But I hit “lap” instead of stop at the bathroom break.  I hit “start” to keep going before I realized I had soap in my hands and had to hit “lap” again after rinsing and apparently, since it’s set to “lap” every mile, it just picks up from where it is and every mile will tell you the “lap” time.  I had to reset it around mile 7, and then realized I was confused so I reset it and restarted at the mile 8 flag.  It still seemed “off” though.  This is something that just needs some learning and practicing though.  An easy fix.

The Knees, The Toes, The Pain and Only 2 Miles to go…

Knowing you only have 2 miles left in a 13.1 mile race is a strange feeling.  Because it’s 2 miiiiilesssss… But, only 2 miles!! And really, maybe 25-30 minutes of running after 2 hours?  No sweat right?!?!

But my knees hurt worse with each step, my toes are numb (and painful) and I’m questioning ever doing a race longer than a 5k ever again in my life.  But I’m SO, NOT going to WALK!!  Lincoln Drive is curved in this area before the Art Museum.  I have to run on the center lines, using the raised paint to act as a metatarsal lift.  Weird, I know.  But it seems to work.  I rotate my legs so my feet are landing in an upward slant.  Again, weird, I know.  But it works.  And it takes my mind off the knee pain.  I know I need to move faster to make any kind PR.  So, I do. 

The kick…

I don’t know where my kick comes from but at the end of every race, I have “kick”.  I’m dead tired and don’t want to run anymore but I finish with, in my opinion, amazing speed.  Maybe I just want to be done sooner than later.  I don’t know.  But I kick.  And I finish!  The clock reads 3:03:??.  I know I was about  23 minutes off that time so I figure I PR’d at 2:40 (confirmed later). 

The End…

I don’t know how I felt at the end of the race.  Good about the PR but disappointed about missing my goal.  Even now I just don’t know what to say about it.  I feel good today, albeit a little sore.  But… Another story for another blog… 

Happy Running!!  J

Updates 10.3.11

So here I am, 10 weeks into this journey and 13 lbs. lighter!!  Woo Hoo!!  Not really going as fast as I wanted but I’m still happy seeing progress every week. 

Things should pick up now too since I just started a job and I’m on my feet, running around all day.  It’s awesome! 

I also need to up my training for the marathon.  My longest run so far has been 10 miles and my training is NOT consistent.  It’s time to make the commitment to the goal of finishing my first marathon. 

And dropping this weight once and for all! 

Food-  I have been focusing on making better, healthier choices but there’s a 5 Guys right next door to my Road Runner.  And a Chipotle across the parking lot!  But there’s also a SaladWorks and Subway too.  And I started bringing my lunch as well.  Need to shop on off days and be prepared with a variety of lunches because turkey sandwiches every day gets boring real quick.  I have been working on eating something in the morning, a “lunch” on my break and a light dinner.  I’ve been trying to avoid soda and beer but this past week I had a few of each.  I do find myself drinking water more every day and substituting it for soda.  I still need to reach out to the dietician. 

Mental- I am approved for 8 free visits and am reading a book to decide which practitioner is my best option.  I’m off tomorrow and will dedicate some time to this area. 

Those are my biggest obstacles right now.  I’m working on them every day. 

Because there ain’t no mountain high enough! Ain’t no valley low enough! To keep me from my goals! (Thanks Marvin Gaye for the borrowed lyrics!!)  

The Power of Positive Thinking

A few things bring me to this blog today… The 90/10 rule, PetSmart training, and a quote from my high school track coach. 

Life is 10% of what happens and 90% of how you react to it.  (Charles Swindoll)  Think about that.  It’s so true.  We all have a CHOICE to feel and act as we do.  When the going gets tough, you can choose to give up, keep going, or piss and moan about it.  What do YOU do?  When I was in high school, one of the boy’s high school basketball coaches spoke to us one time and he used that quote.  It really struck home and I was glad to be reminded of it yesterday. 

My dogs are not leashed trained.  They pull, jump on people, bark at everything, go nuts when they see other dogs, etc, etc.  I’m embarrassed when I walk them, and hope I don’t see anyone, because they are so bad.  But guess what?  They haven’t been trained well enough to walk on the leash.  So I laugh at myself when I get SO angry with them.  PetSmart teaches you to only reward good behavior and ignore bad behavior.  So again, when I am yelling at them for barking or chewing on something I start to laugh.  I even have said, “NO! Stop it!  Why don’t you understand me?  Oh wait, because you are a dog and have no clue what the big scary monster lady is saying to you.  All you know is she’s crazy and yelling at you and you are scared.  You don’t understand that I’m trying to stop you from chewing up a (insert several expensive or unsafe for dogs to chew item here).”  It’s not easy to ONLY be positive when training a dog.  I might have anger issues too though…

Finally, Coach Wilson once said, “I don’t know why you guys are so stressed out.  Life is short and you aren’t going to get out of it alive anyway, so you might as well enjoy it while you can.”  Or something like that.  But again, so stinking true!

I can tell you, that in my life, I FEEL better when I am thinking positively.  I’m not a failure!  Yeah, I have been unsuccessful here and there, but so has everyone else.  So try it out… Fix every negative thing that happens with a positive thought about it.  It’s hard, but in the end, you’ll feel better for trying. 

Have a great day!   

First Two Weeks

Let’s see here… I came up with some lofty goals, but what have I done to work towards them?  Two weeks ago, I made a decision to make some life changes and this is what I have learned so far…

• The food journal helps but I start to slack around Thursday and usually play “catch up” on Sunday.  I actually lost a few days in that process. 
• This is going to take more effort on my part, both with tracking food and getting off the couch to exercise.  
•  It’s not easy to say no to food.
• It’s very easy to say yes to staying in bed or in the apartment (to organize). 

In the past two weeks, I ran once, and had one day of swimming in the ocean and biking.  Two days of exercise in the span of 14 days?!?!  Unacceptable. 

So this week, my goal is to work out at least 3 times.  I have a sprint triathlon on August 28th so swimming will be my focus right now since that is my weakest event.  Running is a close second so I will work that in as well. 

Slow and steady wins the race right??  :)

Weigh in Wednesdays

I am one of those people who likes to weigh myself almost every day.  Let me be honest, it's every day.  But that isn't good to do because, 1. I'll only be happy to see the numbers drop and it simply isn't healthy to drop a pound per day and 2. Your body is ever changing so day to day to day just doesn't give you good measurements (in my opinion).  So I decided that Wednesdays would be my official “Weigh In Day”.  I am making this easier for myself by storing the scale between the toilet and cabinet, standing upright.  This way, it takes a little more effort to get on it.  So far, so good. 

First weigh in was 220lbs.  Over the first week I lost 2 lbs!  Yay!  Next weigh in will be Wed. Aug. 10^th.  


Aug 10, 2011- 216 lbs.  
Aug 17, 2011- 217 
Aug 24, 2011- ??
Aug 31, 2011- 217
Sept 7, 2011- 215.6
Sept 14, 2011- ??
Sept 21, 2011- 211.8
Sept 28, 2011- 207.8 
Oct 5, 2011-