Resolution Run Race Report

Hi all! As I said, this weekend was a little on the crazy side on top of the race! This is the first time I have been able to sit down and relax and it's just long enough to write this post. Gotta love college life though! :)

So, race day recap!
I decided to run a few errands in the early afternoon so I could get a good idea of what the weather was like since it's been so wacky lately. It was cold but not freezing so I laid out a tshirt and running capris for the race with a zip-up hoodie for the drive over. Well that was not the best of ideas because it dropped a good ten degrees between then and when I left for the race! It even started snowing on the drive downtown, ugh.

Car photo shoot!

My brother and roomie came to support me which was awesome! My mom told me the other day that her and my sister were planning on coming down to surprise me but it ended up not working out since it was an afternoon race. But oh well, I'll be seeing them in just over a month (how crazy is that?!) for Spring Break so it's all good. :)

My face just screams "What am I about to do?!"

I definitely got to the race WAY too early but I wanted to be on the safe side. It was 2:15 when we pulled in and the race didn't start til 3 so we just kind of hung around the Boys and Girl's Club until people started going outside at around 2:45. Of course there was a lot more families there than college students but I was there to have fun, even if I stuck out like a sore thumb a little bit! :) 

I go outside and do some "stretching" for the camera and they start lining people up! By this point I was extremely nervous and it was freezing, snowing, and I had to take my jacket off because the metal zipper doesn't work well with the race chip. Sweet life. I tried to pick towards the middle of the pack since I'm not a super fast runner but I didn't plan on walking either. I should of been further forward though because I dodged little kids and some people who got exhausted early for the first half mile or so. I tried. But I was talking to people in line and of course I got asked about my shoes. My running shoes are those toe-separated shoes. They are so comfortable (and I don't have to wear socks!) but they aren't quite like the 5-finger shoes where you can feel every little thing you step on, just some things. So I am used to all of the questions by now haha.

Again, I am terrible at hiding how nervous I am

"OMG I'm cold!"

Waiting for the gun to go off was the most nerve-wracking thing ever and once it did I just did what I normally do, I didn't even feel the pressure of it being a race because I was just there to have fun--and I did! When I registered, I looked at where the race course was and since I know the area, I knew how crazy it was going to be. Lynchburg it known as "Hill City" and I was very thankful for running outdoors around campus and running with an incline on the treadmill. 

The first half of the race was entirely downhill. Not even kidding. I hate how my face jiggles when I run downhill too, it's just so weird! So you go down a few streets and end up alongside the James River on a trail and do about a quarter mile on the trail before turning around. There was a clock at the turn around point that gives you an idea of your pace. Mine was 8:45! I was not joking about those hills for sure! Since it was  a turnaround route though, the entire second half was uphill. Steep hills, really low temperatures, and snow (moisture) is the opposite of what my lungs like. So I died and fought back tears during every single hill. No doubt did I feel defeated before I rounded the last corner. My vision was going blurry and my lungs felt so tight. Then I saw Joshua and Kelsey, slapped on a smile and waved to the camera. I knew
I had to finish strong and it gave me just the right push to finish. I may of been a wreck after I crossed the line but it was SO worth it! 

After my lungs had a moment to calm down...

My goal for the race was to finish in under 21 minutes and I finished in 19:32! Also, I came in 2nd place in my age/gender category! Not a huge deal since that only contained about 20 people, but I still am so proud of all that I have accomplished these past few months. If I can do it, I'm certain that anyone can. It was such a great experience and I'm already looking forward to the next race, a 5K (when it's a little warmer and not so wet out hopefully...)!

Some more pictures to enjoy... 

So there's my exciting first race, one last shout out to Joshua for being a champ and coming, Kelsey for listening to me go on and on and on about how nervous I was and for taking pictures and of course to my wonderful family and friends for being so supportive on this journey. I love you all. 

And I'll just leave you with this wonderful video of me crossing the finish line that Kelsey took...again I'm terrible at hiding my emotions but I did want to share my moment on here. 

30!

Well, yesterday morning was weigh-in and I was sooo nervous. Last Wednesday I weighed and I was up 1 pound and while that's not a huge deal, it was slightly devastating in my meladramatic mind. I do think I was holding on to a lot of water weight and that gain was probably because I hadn't run in a week or so and muscle stores water when you start a new workout routine (or something like that).

So, I decided to not weigh myself again until yesterday (even though my normal weigh-in day was Saturday morning). It was awful to resist, but I did it. I was nervous though because I ate like crap a good 50% of the week. I had cookies, chocolate, lots of Chinese food, and a donut from Dunkin' on Tuesday afternoon. I sucked it up and did it anyways and I lost 3.7 pounds! SAYYY what?! Of course some of it was losing that water weight, but it was still very exciting to see! I'm officially at 30 pounds lost and less than 2.5 from goal! It feels so good.

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to run a 5K distance on the treadmill for the first time ever. I can run 2.75 miles at a steady pace and a 5K is 3.1 so it'll be just a few extra minutes of running. I'm due for an increase in distance anyways. The reason why I picked the last day of my "workout week" to increase distance (usually that's done at the beginning) is because this blogger I follow, Katie at Runs For Cookies, (check out her blog, she's super inspirational) is hosting a "Virtual 5K" for her birthday. It's pretty awesome that it fell right in time with me being near hitting a 5K distance so I decided to do it! 

This will be my "unofficial" first 5K (hopefully my real first one will be soon!), which is awesome because it's still way too cold out for me to participate in an outdoors race and not get super sick again thanks to my sweet lungs. Am I crazy? Probably. Am I excited? You know it!

What's next after I hit the goal I've been set on since October? I'm not sure yet. Originally, I was just running and eating better so I could hit this goal but I'm finding that I like it a lot better than being lazy and the way I feel after I eat a lot of junk. Maybe I'll just modify it to be at more of a "maintenance" level. I am going to attempt to run further/faster (first I'm focused on further though!). Also, I want to try toning a little better. I am terrified of using weights (not for any rational reason, I just don't like going into weight rooms) so I'm going to attempt some non-weight stuff for the time being then maybe buy some small ones or get over my fear. Who knows. 

Those are the goals I want to focus on 2.3 pounds from now. It's good to have short-term realistic goals because they keep you motivated.

What are your goals?

Inspired by Others

When I take time to stop and think about it I realize how crazy it is that as the self-proclaimed "least athletic person" I am now running 5x/week. Honestly, it's pretty insane how I started out just exercising more to accompany eating right and now I'm pretty much addicting to running. It's kind of funny actually.

 What's awesome though is the number of friends of mine that have started becoming more active and even starting the Couch to 5K program because of little old me! Four of my friends have told me in past weeks that they have started as a result of my efforts and that just blows me away. Two of them will be running this intense race with me over the summer. :) And of course my family got gym memberships while I was home and I went to the gym with my parents a few times a week! The hard work of others is definitely motivating me to keep moving as well.

Yes, my cereal bowl does include a drinking straw

Anyways, I've become a big supporter of breakfast. I've always known breakfast was important but I'd just kind of eat it because it's bad to have coffee on an empty stomach (duh). But it's SO important to have breakfast or else your body goes into this crazy fat-storing starvation mode and nobody wants that.

My breakfast is becoming predictable though. 80% of the time I'll have oatmeal mixed with fruit and a very little bit of peanut butter. YUM. And the other 20% of the time I have Greek yogurt (It would be more if it wasn't so darn expensive!) or a fried egg on toast. Or both. All that is just to say that breakfast can be splendid and it really starts your day (and your metabolism!) off on the right foot.

The condition this treadmill was in made me miss the YMCA

Today I continued my interval running and I'm actually starting to notice a difference. When I started running for distance, I cut off all interval runs. That was okay, but it seemed to take a while to improve my distance without feeling like death. I've noticed a difference since adding intervals though and that was just last week! Yesterday's distance run went so much better than even shorter ones that I have done before. Also, I had to push the incline during today's run to get to the right level of nasty gross nobody-dare-look-at-me mess that I just love. All this to say, intervals really do help. Now only for it to get warm enough to do the non-interval runs outside! UGH.

On a completely random note: today I discovered Cold Turkey and I'm thinking it'll help cut my procrastinating back this semester...maybe? Time to go put it to use!

Determined to Succeed

I have been back at school since Saturday afternoon and I didn't realize how much I missed it here until I was back. But I'm going to be completely honest, I pushed off this blog post because I was ashamed in myself. And it's silly. I know most people won't get the way that I think but those who know me well for the most part understand. I am my worst critic and that is something I have been struggling with as far as I can remember. I automatically stress when I don't go above and beyond, it can be such a roadblock in my life. 

Anyways, that brings me to this week. I get back to school and I have met most of my goals. SO awesome. The only goal that I didn't meet was going to the gym 3 times/week because I was sick the last week I was home and it got to the point it was affecting my asthma. When I started running I made the commitment that I was not going to put my health on the line, so I rested until I could sit on the couch without wheezing and feeling like there was no air in my lungs. Real sweet feeling. 

I met all of my other goals. I should be happy, right? Not the case. I spent the beginning of this week beating myself up over so many things. Looking back I feel foolish but it's just my mentality. I hate my asthma and I was freaking out about how hard it has been for me to add distance. In perspective, many asthmatic people don't even attempt to run, so it should be something to be proud of. But I was just having such a hard time with that. Also, I'm five pounds from goal, which means I lost 3-4 pounds in the month I was home. That's fantastic for the time of year where most people are worried about putting on weight. But I was bummed that I didn't lose more and bummed because I feel like these last five pounds are going to take forever. How dumb is that? I've already lost close to 30 pounds but I'm beating myself up over 5??! In all honesty though, that's just the way my mind works. Putting it into perspective, I feel much better. 

All that to say--today I ran 2.5 miles straight! And to think a month ago I had never ran more than a mile straight! That was definitely the confidence boost I needed and put me right back on track. I've got this. Soon I'll hit 5K length then maybe I'll add more distance. I've also been working on speed again this week by adding in interval workouts, so fingers crossed that those help a little bit. I'm going to be realistic with speed because of my asthma, but it would be nice to be able to do a 5K in under 30 minutes. 

Yesterday's interval run! I didn't get a pic of today's 2.5, ugh!

Hopefully I'll have some exciting news soon! And to those of you that began school this week like me--happy first week back! 

Christmas Time is Here

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I'm spending time with family these next few days- so much fun!

I have been super busy the past week and a half which is why it's been really hard for me to take time to blog. I pretty much worked full time last week which was necessary for my bank account but also enjoyable because I work with such fun people!

Anyways, I have also been stalling because I didn't want to jinx some of my goals, but here we go ;)

So far (*knock on wood*) I have gone to the gym three times/week. Actually, a little more. My family got a membership to the Y in town and it is right on my way home from work. It's perfect because I leave work at 3, go to the gym for a while, then go pick everyone else up from work, school, etc... 

I have yet to step on a scale, I'm waiting until after New Year's so that I don't freak myself out. I've been eating well but also treating myself since I did just survive a stressful semester after all. 

Running outside--- hoping to tackle that goal within the next few days! There was one day this week that would of been perfect but I chickened out. I just need to grow up and do it already. Ugh. 

And finally, the one I have been putting off announcing: I ran for two miles straight! Actually, I have done it like 3 or 4 times now. I'm so dang happy about this! The first time at the Y I ran for a mile/walk for half mile/half mile then ran for a mile/walk for 5 mins/ran until I hit 30 minutes (when the treadmill turns off). After this, I decided to be determined to do the whole two miles and I did. It's the furthest I think I have ever run, as sad as that is. Officially, Week 5 of the Couch to 5K has been tackled and it's time to up the ante. I will start Week 6 later this week to work on the distance as well as adding in some shorter interval runs to work on my speed.
Hopefully all goes well and I'll keep you posted!

Time to go do some prep work for tomorrow's dinner. Enjoy the time with family, Merry Christmas!

Catching up from Thanksgiving: A Variety of Thoughts

Thanksgiving break caused me to accidentally take a break from blogging. I would love to say I did it on purpose because I was eating so terribly, but that's only a half truth. ;) I did do really well for the most part though, more on that later.

I weighed in Friday morning before I went out for breakfast. I made a point because I was at the exact one month mark from when I began being more intentional about what I eat. And in that month I lost 11 pounds! So crazy! And I can definitely tell too, I really just feel much better than before. It's hard to explain, but it is a really good feeling.

Traveling home, I was really good about what I ate. And it got downright painful because of an awful toothache that made me want something soft like a burger and milkshake instead of the Chickfila salad I stopped for and carrots to snack on. Not a good time to be me. But I packed my little box of fruits and veggies and just munched on that while I drove and drank water and some lightly sweetened iced coffee. Besides my mouth yelling at me, it was a very good experience. I think I will pack ahead for the remainder of my trips because I was less tempted to get a candy bar when there was perfectly good (and more nutritious) food waiting for me in the car. The only thing I would change would be to put the apples in a different container than the grapes and carrots. Everything tasted like apple. Poor grapes.

And then I got home. The whole gym situation was difficult because I did not want to pay for a day pass at the Y and it was cold out. Honestly, I was just making excuses for myself. I did my core workout for a few days during break, so that was pretty good. Christmas break will be different because I can buy a month membership to a gym close to home that I researched over this break.

And food. Again, only myself to blame. I went grocery shopping with my mom so I was there to pick food out. As a result of this toothache, I am on some fun antibiotics that mess with my stomach. So, it was suggested that I have yogurt to combat that. Which is how I discovered Greek yogurt. So good. And healthy. The beginning of the week was very healthy for me, smart choices for lunch by me and my parents have been attempting to eat healthy too so overall I didn't mess up at all.

The second part of the week was crazier. My whole fam traveled a couple hours north so it was fast food and then we were baking for Thanksgiving so there were some sundaes (My first ice cream in a long time!) and some pizza. Not a shining moment. Thanksgiving itself was good. I got smaller portions than I usually do for Thanksgiving dinner and only filled my plate once. It wasn't even that intentional, I just get full faster now. Of course, I did have a little of everything, it was so good! I still have not had soda, which was incredibly tempting over break. I think the most sugary drink I had was a cappuccino, otherwise it was water or coffee.

I did get some clothes shopping in on Saturday with my mom! We were waiting in Albany for a friend of mine to arrive, so I got to hit up the mall. I'm down to a size 5 in pants, which is incredible. I have never been smaller than a 7/8. So that was a really good moment for me, especially because I have been wearing these size 10 A&F jeans that are huge on me (originally I could not fit into them only a few months ago, so weird to think about now). And all the tops I got were a good deal smaller than normal too. I'm happy to have clothes that fit me now! And yes, that picture to the left is of me in the fitting room being excited that I'm finally a "5" haha.

I did go back to the gym today-no more excuses. I did continue on the path my routine was going which involved pushing myself a little harder. I hadn't run in a week and a half so I'm pretty sore tonight. But oh well, back on track for me!

Hopefully all of your breaks were well and you didn't hit too many troubles on the way home. That picture on the right was one my brother took in southern New York yesterday afternoon. My drive was kinda crazy as it was quiet and snowy for the first couple of hours, then full of traffic with much less snow for nearly the whole rest of the drive. It was pretty though!

Until next time-keep positive and take action! Don't use the excuse of "I'll get healthy after the holidays." Start now, you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish between now and Christmas.

Progress Update and Interval Workouts

       So I did my weigh in on Saturday and I was down another 3 pounds, which puts me on the other side of the halfway point of my weight loss goal! I know this last half is going to be harder than the first half, but I’m gonna stay positive and power through it.

        Today I want to share some good workouts and what I have benefited from up to this point. Starting out, I wasn’t really sure what to do. As a result, I kinda fumbled through my first few workouts until I really learned what was best in pursuing my goal. Hopefully my experience will save you some of that effort.

        I started off trying the Couch to 5K program. Several of my friends have used it and it’s worked well for them, plus I really want to become a longer distance runner. At the moment, my goal is to be in my first 5K during the spring semester. Here’s hoping!

     At the end of week 2 of the program, I was in bad shape. I’ve had really bad asthma since I could remember and I did have a few small attacks at the end of some of my workouts. So, I had to slow it down and repeat week one several times. I began increasing the speed and the incline on the treadmill as I was working out and eventually increased the length of the runs and length of the overall workout too. What I didn’t realize was that I was training myself using interval workouts. And once I read up on them, I became a strong believer. Here’s why:

       

         1. No asthma attacks! The break in between jogs gives my lungs a chance to catch up, so short bursts of intensity seem to be better for them than longer runs. Granted, over time it is getting better as I increase the length of my interval, but it has been better for my lungs to slowly become stronger in this way.

         

        2. They are so beneficial! I have read several studies that say that interval workouts burn 2-3 times more calories after the workout because of an “afterburn” effect that your body experiences. And I totally believe it because I am usually dripping with sweat by the end of interval 2 and I can normally feel some of the effects for a couple hours afterwards. It's intense.

Here’s a link to an interval workout, although I really just modify week 1 of the Couch to 5K program to an intensity that works for me. So modify and find out what works best for you! Especially if you're a beginner runner, start out slow and add intensity as you get better. I do this about 3 or 4 times a week and another couple of days are spent doing another modified interval workout on either a bicycle or elliptical. I like to keep workouts interesting so I do change it up quite a lot.

Also, I was pretty bad about toning as I lost weight. So, I buckled down these past couple weeks and began toning my stomach muscles so that I won’t look silly. I found this workout over the summer and I did it sporadically. Now I’m doing it about 3x/week and I’m noticing a difference! It isn't too difficult, really works my abs, and it doesn’t only target one area.

Hopefully these exercises will be helpful to you! Like I’ve said before- I really don’t spend much time at the gym because I can’t afford that much time out of my day. I only spend 25-40 minutes on cardio and the ab workout really only takes 15-20 minutes at the very most. All of this gives really good results as cardio is what is always suggested for weightloss, followed by some exercises to tone as well. As I start toning my legs, etc… I'll post workouts that I find beneficial.

That’s just some stuff I’ve learned and has helped so far, I’m sure my knowledge will increase on this stuff as I become more experienced, but this is a wonderful place for anyone to start in an effort for a healthier lifestyle. 

Enough with the Excuses

I was on my way to the gym today and all I could think about was how much I didn’t want to go. Real encouraging, right? My head filled with excuses:

1. “I’m tired” When I’m going on 5-6 hours of sleep, a nap is way more appealing than working out.

2. “I’m too sore” I pushed myself so hard yesterday when I went to the gym. And I was really     feeling it this morning.

3. “I’m too busy” I had a long list of stuff to do today and it’s Election Day so there was waiting in a long line to vote. That half an hour could have been used to get some of that done..

But I powered thru and went to the gym because I knew I would regret not going way more than going.

So for all of you insanely busy college students, here’s some tips for making time to be intentionally active. 

Go after class

That makes sense for me because the gym I go to is right on campus and much closer to my classes than my room. It prevents me from making the excuse later that I do not want to go all the way to the gym because I am already mostly there. I really think it is a good idea to bring your gym clothes with you to class and go right from there. That way you are taking a nice break between classes and homework.

Go at a time of day that is right for you

If for some reason right after classes does not work for you, then find a time of day that is right and commit to it. Many studies show that it is more effective to exercise in the morning and not okay to work out within four hours of going to sleep. So, go at a time of day when you will be the most motivated to go and stick to it.

Social Media

So I know by now you’re probably thinking that you simply don’t have time during the day to go between sleep, classes, homework, studying, work, group meetings, meals, and having a social life. Trust me, I’m well aware. But stop and think for a minute. How long are you on social media during the afternoon? Be honest with yourself. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc…Some college students are on any combination of social media for multiple hours a day. I’m not saying that’s wrong, but what if you took half an hour of that time to be active? Social media will still be there when you get done, but limiting how much time spent on them will really open up a block of time to be more active.

Feels more energized and more focused

Consciously making the time to be more active can also help improve your grades. Getting exercise helps you feel more energized and helps you focus more. So that little bit of time lost on going to the gym or running around campus will be made up for in productivity. Think of it as an investment in your grades.

Go for short, but intense periods

With a limited schedule, it makes sense to go for shorter periods of time. But make sure they are intense. I’m a strong believer in interval training. I feel like I have just about died afterwards and it is usually only 25-40 minutes. Also, it is more effective to do a short intense workout than a long workout at a moderate pace. Challenge yourself, but keep it within your time constraints.

Reasonable number of days per week
Do as many days as you can during the week. Starting out, just commit to every other day or something like that. I began doing three days a week until I managed my schedule to open up for more days. Everyone is different though, maybe for now you can do one day during the week and one day on the weekend, that’s completely fine. Again, be honest with yourself and don’t make excuses for how many days you can do.

Accountability

Try to find some friends to workout with you and hold you accountable. That has been when I am the most consistent. A majority of my workouts during the week are with my friends. It’s just good to have someone to go with and someone who is counting on you to be there. You are so much more likely to go if that’s the case.

Hope these little tips helped! It is definitely a lot easier said than done but it is also so incredibly worth it to commit to being more active and making room in a crazy college schedule. Also, remember that working out is only half the battle to a balanced life, eating right is also key.