Suckiest Week EVER (well, this year)

This has officially been the suckiest week of the year. First, I left my driver's side car window down Tues. night, which wouldn't normally be a problem, but it rained/stormed all night. My car was soaked when I ran out to the car (in the rain) to go to work (already 45 mins. late). It's been raining pretty much since then, so my car seat is still wet because I can't leave the windows down to let air in and the sun hasn't been out. Stupid Starfruit.

Second, all my 1/2 Marathon aspirations have been cruelly crushed a little over a week before the race. My left foot has been hurting since my training jog this past Sun. It got worse over the week, so I went to the doctor yesterday. Apparently, I have either a stress fracture or a sprained/ruptured ligature in my left foot. The doctor can't tell from x-ray, so I go in for an MRI on Tues. Either way, it doesn't look like I am going to be able to do my 1/2 Marathon next Sat. or even jog for a while. I'm really, really upset and disappointed. I might ignore the doctor and go anyway and try to walk the 1/2 Marathon. I know it's not realistic because the more I walk on my foot, the more painful it gets...but right now, the thought of attempting to do the 1/2 Marathon is the only thing that makes me feel any better. I want my t-shirt from the race; it will be the most expensive t-shirt I have.

The only good thing that has happened this week is that I lost 3.7 lbs. No clue how that happened. Maybe the pain in my foot prevented me from walking to the frig./cupboard to get food as often. Or it could have been the homework from my WW leader - no eating after 7pm for the week. I think that will be a rule I continue.

I'm Having Second Thoughts

About this whole 1/2 Marathon thing. First, I got my race booklet in the mail a couple of weeks ago and it has completely freaked me out. There are 26 starting corrals with approximately 1500 people per corral. That's like 35,000 people. Plus, there are these rules and an emergency weather flag system. It's kind of scary.

Second, I have really slacked in my training over the past three weeks and it shows. I barely made it through my 8 mile jog yesterday and I had to walk the last 2 miles or so of it. In my defense, it was pretty breezy and due to the direction of the wind and trail I was on, I jogging into the wind coming and going. But in reality, that is no defense. The 8 mile jog should have been a piece of cake yesterday and it wasn't. This distresses me. Not too mention the thought of having to do another 5.1 miles on top of that. I wouldn't have made it yesterday. I hope I can pull it together in the next 2 weeks.

On a good note, I did lose 1.5 lbs. last week. So that made me happy. Hopefully, I can keep it up this week.

Backslide

I gained 3 lbs. this week which doesn't surprise me since I started eating last Friday and haven't stopped. I did so well last week not eating crap, not going out to lunch everyday and sticking with my training schedule. This week...not so much.

Not too mention that I'm supposed to do my 13-14 mile training this weekend and it's supposed to rain and snow on Sat. and Sun. I don't want to run in the rain and snow. If it's raining and snowing in 3 weeks in Indy, I'm going to be pissed. Sorry, I'm being so whiny.

Anyway, I'm off like a prom dress.

HAPPY EASTER EGG! (as my little sister likes to say) I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Down 4.2

Yay! I'm down 4.2 lbs. this week. It's the 4.2 lbs. I gained over the previous 2 weeks from eating out for lunch at fast food restaurants pretty much everyday. It's a blessing, but also a curse, because I wasn't a 100% on program this week and I had a huge loss. With Easter this weekend, I have to be extra careful, so that I don't make so many splurges that it equals a gain. Ok, that's all. Except, welcome back, Kmbuckeye :-) !

Wow...

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted. I had no idea. Well, this is what's going on with me. I finally did my 11-12 mile training jog. Actually, that makes it sound longer than it was - I completed 11.02 miles. Not a short distance, but not exactly close to 12 miles either.

I learned a couple things too. First, I'm not part mountain goat. Second, you should do research before deciding to try out a new outdoor trail. Since it's been nice, I've been jogging outside. I decided to try out Highbanks Metro Park for my jog this past weekend. Silly me, I thought it would be relatively flat given that it's in the middle of Ohio. I was wrong; hence I discovered I'm not part mountain goat. I made it about 4 miles before deciding that I wasn't going to jog up/down hills for another 7 miles. So, I went back to my parents' house and jogged the final 7.02 miles there. I'll probably go back to Highbanks in the future to jog, but not when I have an extremely long distance to go.

This coming weekend I have a short training jog - 7 miles. I've been doing pretty well on my during-the-week jogs too. I'm averaging about a 12.50 min. mile which is down from 13.26 min. mile. And I'm also jogging over 4 miles during each jog. Last night I hit 4.46 miles in 60 mins. and that includes a 5 min. warm-up and 5 min. cooldown. I felt good after the jog too - not overly winded or tired. I probably could have jogged further had I needed too. So I'm happy.

Weight loss efforts are going enh... I'm doing better this week than I have in the past month, but I haven't been 100% on program. I'm working on it though. Hopefully, my efforts will show on the scale. If not, I will just focus on my non-scale victories with my 1/2 Marathon training. If I hadn't been training for the 1/2 Marathon, I would totally be a blimp after my eating habits of the past month. Just tatoo Goodyear on my bum.

Dirty, Little Secret

My dirty, little secret is that I punked out on my 11-12 mile training jog this weekend. I didn't do it on Sat. because I had plans for St. Patty's Day. And I had every intention of doing it on Sun., but I didn't. I got up, put on my jogging gear, got all my stuff together and went over to my parents' house for breakfast and to throw in some laundry. Yea, I ended up staying there all day and falling asleep on the couch for 3 hours. Real nice.... I'm a lazy bum. It was a really good day to jog too. A little on the chilly side, but sunny, and not a whole lot of wind. Oh well. Better luck this week.

11-12 Miles... Yikes

Well, this weekend is my 11-12 mile training jog. I'm really nervous about it. Last weekend I completed my 10 mile training, but it wasn't pretty...at all. First, although I finished, I had to walk the last 1.5 miles because I just couldn't jog anymore. Second, after I finished the jog, I was sick for about an hour and puked. Not good. Not good at all. I hope that doesn't happen this time around. It wasn't an enjoyable experience. Part of it can be explained, I think, by the fact that it was the first time I had attempted a training jog outside. I wasn't very good at pacing myself. Sometimes I would be jogging at a 13 min./mile pace and other times at an 11 min./mile pace. I wasn't consistent. Other than that, I can't explain why I felt so bad afterwards.

The upside of my jog last weekend was I got to use my brand new Garmin Forerunner for the first time and it was fantastic. I love it, love it, love it. I don't know why I've waited so long to use it. Oh wait, I know why, because it's been winter and it's been gross and I haven't wanted to jog outside.

On a slightly different note, my weight loss efforts haven't been going so great. I had a 0.6 lb. loss over the past 2 weeks, but it was pure luck. I ate a large, doublecheeseburger extra value meal from McDonald's yesterday for lunch. Not my finest moment. The rest of the past 2 weeks haven't been much better. I don't know why I can't get back on track...it's very frustrating. Hopefully, better luck this week.

9 Down, 4.1 to Go

I jog/walked 9 miles yesterday. Yay for me! It went pretty well. I was doing great for the first 6.25 miles. I felt great; my legs weren't overtired and my lungs didn't feel like they were going to explode. But then I got a really bad cramp across my ribs, so I had to walk for 7 mins. (about .5 mile) until the cramp went away. After the cramp, I had to slow down a little bit and switch from a 3 min. jog/1 min. walk split to a 3 min. jog/2 min. walk split, but I made it in about 2 hrs., 10 mins. I'm not going to be breaking any records (except for maybe the slowest 26 year old ever), but at least I'm going to finish the race.

I have approximately 8 weeks of training left before my race. My goals for the next 8 weeks are (1) do ALL of my scheduled training (code for stop skipping the cross-training days) and (2) get back on track with my weight loss efforts, so I don't have to carry as much weight 13.1 miles on race day.

I'm Back

Sorry, I have been MIA lately. It's been a combo of things - busy with my job, computer issues, laziness. But I'm back. Things have been up and down the past couple of weeks. One thing that has definitely been up is my weight...boo. I've gained about 3 lbs. this month despite my 1/2 marathon training. I think the weight gain is, in part, due to my new office mates at work. They have atrocious eating habits, i.e. most of their meals come from the vending machine and consist of chips and/or candy and soda. Due to my lack of conviction and almost non-existent will power, they have led me down this path as well for the past couple of weeks. Lucky for them, they don't have to worry about their weight, but for me, it all ends today.

Training has been going okay. Last week was a bad week. I only made it to the gym once for my workouts and on Sat. I didn't complete my 8-mile training jog. I did 4 miles and then did almost 7 miles on the bike. I copped out; I just didn't feel like jogging anymore and I told myself that it was too busy at the gym to continue for another 4 miles. I had been kicked off my treadmill because people were waiting, but I could've waited about 5 mins. and gotten another one. This week has been much better. I felt good during my shorter jogs and cross-training this week and tomorrow I WILL complete my 9-mile training jog. It might take me forever and a day, but I will do it.

My final observation for this post is: Britney Spears foreshadowed her own demise. Have you ever really listened to the lyrics of her song "Lucky"? I pondered this on the treadmill a couple days ago when the song played on my iPod.

"She's so lucky, she's a star
But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking
If there's nothing missing in my life
Then why do these tears come at night

Lost in an image, in a dream
But there's no one there to wake her up
And the world is spinning, and she keeps on winning
But tell me what happens when it stops?"

Apparently, when it stops you marry K-Fed, pop out 2 kids in short succession, have a mental breakdown and shave your head. This should be a lesson to everyone ;-).

Level 2 - Snow Emergency

HELP! I'm stranded in my house and I want to eat everything in sight. I'm bored...work is boring when I don't have co-workers to chat with. When I'm bored, I eat to break the monotony. And there is an alarmingly large amount of bad food to eat. My mom made my favorite sugar cookies with frosting for V-day. They are extremely tasty, but I want to eat them all. Boo!

Non-Scale Victory

I posted 1/2 lb. gain this week, which was a bummer. But on the upside, I had a non-scale victory this week. I tried on a pair of jeans last night that are a size smaller than I currently wear and they fit! Well, they fit much better than they used to. I've been able to get into them and zip them up for a while. But now I look more like a girl wearing a pair of jeans and less like a stuffed sausage in a jean casing. Apparently, the past 4 weeks of 1/2 Marathon training are paying off. I'm not quite ready to debut the jeans yet; maybe after a couple more weeks of training and a couple less lbs.

Pleasure

I have discovered the BEST treats ever! Keebler 100 cal. pk. Fudge Stripe Mini cookies. They are so tasty. They look and taste like the actual real Fudge Stripe cookies, which I adore. It's official, I'm addicted. And the best part is, 1 package is only 2 points.

In addition, here's the recipe for my breakfast oatmeal. It sounds boring, but I've finally hit on a combination for oatmeal that is Core and not completely repulsive and/or baked.

1/2 c. Quick Cooking or Old Fashioned Oatmeal
4 tsp. Splenda (or 2 pkg.)
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1 c. Fat Free Milk
1/4 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

Mix together in a microwaveable bowl and cook according to directions. Approx. 3-4 mins. in the microwave.

Note: Sometimes I substitute 1/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice for the Cinnamon.

Crime & Punishment

The Crime: Skipping my 5 mile training jog on Sat.

The Punishment: The worst workout EVER this morning. At least, it was the worst workout since my first week of training, which admittedly, wasn't that long ago. I managed to struggle through the workout; but it was painful. I thought I was going to die. My calves felt like they were going to explode, along with my lungs. Like I mentioned, it was a bad workout.

Maintain

Sorry I'm so late in posting for last week. I've been really busy at work or in the alternative, extremely lazy when I'm not at work or the gym. In any case, I maintained this week, which didn't really surprise me. I didn't have the best week foodwise and it was TOM. Hopefully, I will see a loss this week on the scale.

Now I must confess my dirty little secret - I didn't do my 5-mile training run this weekend. I feel horribly guilty right now, but I definitely didn't feel guilty this past weekend. It all started out that I needed to go over to my parents' house on Sat. to watch my little sister, when I was supposed to be at the gym. I figured that I would just do my run on Sun. But yesterday, I was really lazy, like didn't get out of my bed except to get food and drink or get dressed until like 5pm, when I left to go over to my parents' house (again) to watch part of the Super Bowl. So I'm bad. I need to get back on track with my training and I will, starting tomorrow. Today is an off day.

Woo Hoo!!

I'm down 4.8 lbs. over the past 2 weeks! That makes me very happy. Too bad I was just re-losing the weight I lost during the Challenge, but I'll take it. I must have a more competitive nature than I thought. I know I'm competitive about a lot of things, but who know I would be competitive about weight loss as well? I did so well staying OP during the Challenge, but then right after Christmas, I lost the drive to stay on track.

Anyhoo, I got up at the crack of dawn this morning (5AM) to go to the gym. Actually, it wasn't even the crack of dawn because the sun hadn't risen yet. It was interesting; I'm not sure how much I like exercising that early in the morning. Plus, now I'm kind of tired and it's only 9:20 or so in the morning and I have a long day of legal research ahead of me. Boo.... On the upside, it wasn't very crowded, so it would probably would be easier to fit in my entire jogging session if I went in the morning instead of at night. It's really crowded right now at the gym in the evening due to New Years Resolutions; I figure by the middle of Feb. it will calm down because I think most people give up on their resolutions by then. In any case, I've completely lost my train of thought, so that's all for now!

1/2 Marathon Training & Weigh-In

Well, yesterday marked the end of my first official week of training for the 1/2 Marathon in May. It went alright. I didn't do the cross-training days like I was supposed to, mostly because by the time I got home from work and ran errands, it was late and I was tired. That is no excuse though. This week I'm going to do much better, I promise (to myself). I think I might try working out before I go to work instead of after work. Although I don't know how well that is going to work, because I would have to leave my house by 5:30am in order to have enough time to work out, shower and get to work by 9am. And technically, I'm supposed to be at work by 8-8:30am.

On the upside, I was able to jog 3 miles with no problem, so that made me happy. I think I'm going to jog-walk the 1/2 Marathon, not jog the whole way. The training schedule I'm using is for jog-walk. I think the cycle is jog 4 mins., walk 1 min. for the entire distance. We'll see.

As for WI, I didn't go this past week. I was supposed to help out with the concession stand at my little brother's wrestling meet, but instead, I stayed at my parents' house with my little sister while my parents both went to the meet (Mom to work the stand, she's in charge of it; Dad to watch Zach get smacked down, literally). That was my excitement.

9 Healthy Habits of Weight Maintainers

Note: I got this in an email from my WW Leader and thought it was interesting.

There is a mountain of information available telling you how to lose weight. However there is precious little guidance telling you how to maintain your body weight.

So what are some habits that keep people lean? We all know someone who eats like a horse, but resembles a beanpole - however this is the exception rather than the rule. Most people who maintain their weight do so because they have implemented some positive habits.

1. They have pre-planned sessions of exercise. Incidental exercise is good, but in all honesty - it's not enough. People who maintain their weight have learnt to schedule dedicated times of exercise. Those times are not torture sessions, but times when they look forward to the stress-release and the positive feelings of well-being after the session.

2. They take an interest in nutrition. Most people that look after their bodies know exactly what they are putting into it. They know how to read food labels, and they understand what it means. They know the difference between processed foods and whole foods.

3. They eat mindfully. Eating mindfully means you are fully aware of how much you are eating. Everyone can get distracted, but the maintainer knows which situations make it difficult for them to eat mindfully (buffets, TVs, stress).

4. They go easy on fast food. I've seen people who scarf down cheeseburger after cheeseburger and yet maintain their weight... and then they grow out of their teens and into their late twenties and thirties and discover a bulging waistline. The maintainer knows that fast food consumption has to be carefully managed, and good choices must be made. They know the good choices because of #2.

5. They know how to vary their food intake. Some days you eat more, some less. Sometimes you have big meals, sometimes small. The maintainer knows that if you overeat, then you must balance that out - and that overindulgence is an occasional thing - not a daily habit.

6. They know when they've had enough. A common issue today is that people have lost track of when enough is enough. Whether due to hormonal imbalances, poor food choices, or behavioral issues - we don't seem to know when to stop eating. The weight maintainer has learned to follow cues from their stomach, and to stop eating before they are uncomfortably full. And even when they can't trust their belly - the maintainer knows what an appropriate portion size is.

7. They've learned that good things take time. Someone who maintains their weight knows that a crash diet will never have the long-term affects that they desire. They know that quick-fixes are not the answer; and that many things - including building fitness, losing fat, building muscle, take many months or even years of dedication.

8. They have learned new coping strategies that don't involve food or alcohol.

9. They have learned how to enjoy a healthy, balanced diet as part of a new lifestyle.

Source: diet-blog.com

Up One

NOTE: I tried to post this on Jan. 12, but for some reason Blogger was being a pain in the arse.

I'm not too upset about my gain this week - I've been eating like a pig. Luckily it wasn't a bigger gain, otherwise I might not fit into the dress I bought for Broccoflower's wedding. I'm very excited about the dress; it was a fantastic deal. I got it off the clearance rack at TJ Maxx for $16.01. Yay! I'm also very excited for the wedding. It's going to be a blast.

I start my 1/2 Marathon training this coming week. It should be interesting. Last week, I finally returned to the gym after taking like an 11 week vacation. I'm suprised I didn't drop a lung on the treadmill. I also got my Garmin GPS Forerunner 301. I can't wait to use it for my first outdoor run. The thing measures my distance and heart rate and it has a "virtual partner" that will tell me whether I'm going too fast/slow for the pace I've set. It also does some other neat crap. I think I'm a little too excited about my nifty gadget.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope 2007 is going well for everyone so far, even if it is only 1 day in. This post is going to be devoted to my New Year's resolutions. I'm trying not to go too crazy, so that I don't set myself up for failure. But, just like everyone else, I feel like I need to set some goals for myself for the upcoming year.

Last year's resolutions were:
1. Return to high school weight by my birthday (but birthday was crossed out at some point and Christmas was inserted) - I'm still 42 lbs. from my HS weight...whooops.
2. Go to gym 5 times per week - Until about 11 weeks ago, I wasn't doing too poorly. Again, whoops.
3. Lower cholestorol - I will be making an appointment in a couple of weeks to see if my meds are working.
4. Get employed - I was semi-successful with this one. I have been employed in 4 different part-time jobs this past year.

Here is my initial list of 2007 Resolutions:
1. Reaffirm my commitment to losing weight AND continue losing weight. I ended 2006 18.3 lbs. lighter than I began it. It's not the most auspicious loss on record, but I hope for at least that amount of success in 2007.

2. Train for AND complete the Indy Mini-Marathon on May 5, 2007. Training begins tomorrow. Hopefully, I won't die on the treadmill :-). I have 123 days to whip myself into shape.

3. Get employed FULL-TIME. I needed to qualify this resolution for the upcoming year. I crave stability and a steady paycheck. I'm very tired of being poor and uncertain as to my employment status.

I'll probably amend or expand the list over the year. But for now, three things is all I can handle at once. Just for fun, I'm also going to include what my top 5 resolutions should be based on my astrological sign (Leo) according to MSN's Astrocenter Team. They are suprisingly appropriate, so I might keep them in mind. However, they also fall under the "Setting myself up for failure" category, which is why none are added to my official list. Without further ado:

Leo:(July 22 - August 22)
1) Serious? Yep. Lately, anyway. So first, resolve to enjoy life again.
2) Aim for romance, romance, and more romance, from June through September.
3) Choose one of those playmates and have a real, live relationship by November.
4) Turn your most-loved hobby into a part-time income, at least.
5) Make it the way you earn your daily bread by the time you hang the mistletoe.

Happy 2007 to everyone ~ "May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door."