A little pep talk goes a long way. Last Thursday Derrick and I talked for about an hour on Facebook. He gave me a little motivational pep talk and I have been on a roll ever since. Since we talked on Thursday, I have lost four pounds.
Today I went back to the gym for the first time in like two months. Anyway, I have been thinking lately about canceling my gym membership. I kind of went today with the thought in my head that we would see how it goes and if it didn’t go well I would cancel my membership. Well, the IPod gods were on my side tonight. I got on the treadmill with the goal of seeing if I could run two miles without taking a walking break. Last time I ran I did the mile, so I thought I would just try.
OK, this next part is so cheesy, but true. I was nearing 1.5 miles and about ready to give up when the IPod gods put Michael Jackson’s Man in The Mirror (very motivational song if you don’t know it, how could you not know it?) in my ear. The craziest part is this is the second time this song has popped up when I was ready to give up since Michael Jackson has died. Spooky!!!! I did love him when I was little. Maybe he’s up there looking out for me. LOL.
So anyway, I told myself to fight through the song and then the next song and before I knew it I had run the whole two miles without stopping to take a walk break. After I did that, I went to the weight machines and did 172 leg presses (the goal was 200, but I tanked at 172). After that I did 5 miles on the elliptical. In the end, I was there for two hours and I had one of the best workouts I have ever had in a long time, maybe ever. Thanks Derrick! Oh and the IPod gods :)
Monday, April 19, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Ringing in The Spring 5K
It is race day!!! I am trying something new. I am going to write this blog before I see my official time because too often I let my official time effect my mood when I write these things. My new attitude is my time is interesting to see, but the bigger deal is that I am off of my couch doing something to work on my health and fitness.
The race was at 9:00 this morning in Valpo. It started at the YMCA and then weaved through a hilly neighborhood. Last Wednesday Diane and I did a practice run of the route, which helped me greatly. I knew where the killer hills were and I knew when I was about half way done (thanks Diane!). Right before the race Cathy asked me if I wanted to borrow her watch (thanks!), and so I now must go back on what I said after my last race. Last time I went off of feeling and thought that was the way to go, but now that I ran this race with the watch, I think that is the way to go. I did a 2/1 interval and felt like I was pushing myself a lot harder during the runs. The watch also helped me keep my breaks to a minimum. Anyway, the race was good. It started off with very light rain, but as the race went on the rain got heavier and heavier, which you know if you saw my facebook pictures. I felt great during the whole race except for at the end when a little kid sprinted passed me and some guy asked me if I was going to let that happen, so I sped up and got a stitch in my side, but it was still funny and made me laugh :) I really enjoyed this race. The set-up was good, it was close by, and the course (though hilly) was beautiful. It will be on my calendar for next year for sure.
On another note, I changed my exercise plan a bit this week. I am still going to do my Monday, Wednesday, Saturday runs and I have added a mile walk around my neighborhood every night after dinner, however I have stopped Zumba (it was time to pay again and I am poor). As far as dieting goes, I have started watching what I eat better, but am not going to put myself on any specific strict diet that I know I won’t stick to. It’s all about gradual weight loss people that will last. I lost about 5 pounds last week, which I believe was due to all the evening walking.
Next race will be Share Your Soles at Soldier Field on May 23rd.
Happy Running!
Sally
PS. OK the official times are in and I ran it in 41:13. My fastest 5K time is 38 and slowest is 42 so this is about right.
The race was at 9:00 this morning in Valpo. It started at the YMCA and then weaved through a hilly neighborhood. Last Wednesday Diane and I did a practice run of the route, which helped me greatly. I knew where the killer hills were and I knew when I was about half way done (thanks Diane!). Right before the race Cathy asked me if I wanted to borrow her watch (thanks!), and so I now must go back on what I said after my last race. Last time I went off of feeling and thought that was the way to go, but now that I ran this race with the watch, I think that is the way to go. I did a 2/1 interval and felt like I was pushing myself a lot harder during the runs. The watch also helped me keep my breaks to a minimum. Anyway, the race was good. It started off with very light rain, but as the race went on the rain got heavier and heavier, which you know if you saw my facebook pictures. I felt great during the whole race except for at the end when a little kid sprinted passed me and some guy asked me if I was going to let that happen, so I sped up and got a stitch in my side, but it was still funny and made me laugh :) I really enjoyed this race. The set-up was good, it was close by, and the course (though hilly) was beautiful. It will be on my calendar for next year for sure.
On another note, I changed my exercise plan a bit this week. I am still going to do my Monday, Wednesday, Saturday runs and I have added a mile walk around my neighborhood every night after dinner, however I have stopped Zumba (it was time to pay again and I am poor). As far as dieting goes, I have started watching what I eat better, but am not going to put myself on any specific strict diet that I know I won’t stick to. It’s all about gradual weight loss people that will last. I lost about 5 pounds last week, which I believe was due to all the evening walking.
Next race will be Share Your Soles at Soldier Field on May 23rd.
Happy Running!
Sally
PS. OK the official times are in and I ran it in 41:13. My fastest 5K time is 38 and slowest is 42 so this is about right.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Spring Break
Well, spring break is now over. Sob. LOL! Only kidding it was actually a really good break. I almost forgot to do my weekend blog update. What was I thinking? I got in exercise a couple of days, but stayed busy and active all of break (I did a lot of painting and yard work). I started two things while on break. First, I gave up pop for the 1200th time in my life. I figure if I keep trying, one of these times it will stick. I decided to try again after seeing two shows during break that talked about how horrible pop is for you. A fact that I already knew, but it is good to be reminded of from time to time. The second thing I am now trying is a Monday-Wednesday-Saturday running/walking schedule. On those three days I have to go for a walk or a run. If it is a run I have to run for at least a mile. If it is a walk I have to walk for at least an hour. Of course I can go for walks or runs on the other days of the week, but on those three days it is not optional. On Saturday I walked for an hour around Hobart and really enjoyed it. I love Hobart because it reminds me of my grandparents. Between these three days and my Tuesday/Thursday Zumba class, that makes for at least 5 days a week of exercise. The key is going to be forcing myself to go on Mon-Wed-Sat for the first few weeks no matter how I feel.
Anywho, those are the two things I am focusing on for the next month. My April race is next Saturday. It’s a 5K in Valpo. I wish it was more towards the middle of the month since my March race was just last weekend, but I am super excited to be running a race in Indiana instead of taking the train to Chicago.
I hope everybody has a good week, and don’t forget to eat a green thing every day.
Happy Running!
Sally
Anywho, those are the two things I am focusing on for the next month. My April race is next Saturday. It’s a 5K in Valpo. I wish it was more towards the middle of the month since my March race was just last weekend, but I am super excited to be running a race in Indiana instead of taking the train to Chicago.
I hope everybody has a good week, and don’t forget to eat a green thing every day.
Happy Running!
Sally
Monday, March 22, 2010
Shamrock Shuffle
Another race is behind me. The Shamrock Shuffle was yesterday, and it was actually a pretty typical race. Nothing exciting or out of the ordinary happened (not a bad thing). The weather was cold, but not horrible, and it was paradise compared to last year. Standing around before the race was horrible, and I couldn’t feel my legs for the first five minutes or so of the race due to that cold, but after that, that feeling went away and everything was fine.
I don’t have a watch anymore, so I did the same thing I did last weekend on my practice run. I went totally off of feeling and ran until I needed to walk for a bit. I feel like I walked less during this race than I normally do, however when I was running I was running slower. This probably isn’t a bad thing considering my goal is to finish a 5K one day without having to take any walking breaks.
I finished the race in 1:13:12, which is about where I figured. My goal was to finish in less than 1:15. My time is average for me, but becomes a bit depressing when I hear that I came in 25,125th place out of 25,560. 36,000 people registered for the race and 25, 560 finished.
Congratulations to my sister who finished ten minutes before me, bum hip and all, and to my cousin who ran his very first race and finished in 45:28. Slow down Derrick, you are making me look bad.
Anyway, I am starting to get mixed emotions about the Shamrock Shuffle. I love this race because it gets me pumped to start running again every spring, and it’s pretty much the only race I do that’s not a 5k, but it is getting so expensive. On top of the high registration fee, you have to pick up your race stuff the day before at Navy Pier which means two days in Chicago. The price just piles up. I guess only time will tell what I do next year.
My next race is Ringing in the Spring on April 3rd in Valpo (yeah no South Shore to run!!!) I plan on taking a couple days off and then will start training for that later this week.
Happy Running!
Sally
I don’t have a watch anymore, so I did the same thing I did last weekend on my practice run. I went totally off of feeling and ran until I needed to walk for a bit. I feel like I walked less during this race than I normally do, however when I was running I was running slower. This probably isn’t a bad thing considering my goal is to finish a 5K one day without having to take any walking breaks.
I finished the race in 1:13:12, which is about where I figured. My goal was to finish in less than 1:15. My time is average for me, but becomes a bit depressing when I hear that I came in 25,125th place out of 25,560. 36,000 people registered for the race and 25, 560 finished.
Congratulations to my sister who finished ten minutes before me, bum hip and all, and to my cousin who ran his very first race and finished in 45:28. Slow down Derrick, you are making me look bad.
Anyway, I am starting to get mixed emotions about the Shamrock Shuffle. I love this race because it gets me pumped to start running again every spring, and it’s pretty much the only race I do that’s not a 5k, but it is getting so expensive. On top of the high registration fee, you have to pick up your race stuff the day before at Navy Pier which means two days in Chicago. The price just piles up. I guess only time will tell what I do next year.
My next race is Ringing in the Spring on April 3rd in Valpo (yeah no South Shore to run!!!) I plan on taking a couple days off and then will start training for that later this week.
Happy Running!
Sally
Sunday, March 14, 2010
One Week to Go!
The Shamrock Shuffle is one week from today. The bad news is they are talking snow for next weekend, which gives me horrible flashbacks to last year. Last year we ran in the middle of a blizzard and it was the worst experience ever. The good news is I feel prepared. I am not as prepared as I could have been, but I am prepared. The reason why I say that is because the past month I pretty much left the running to the weekends. I had a whole training schedule written up and kept to the weekend schedule, but completely blew off running Monday through Friday on most weeks.
I wanted to run 5 miles this weekend, which is the distance of the Shuffle. I usually run on Saturdays, but completely blew it off yesterday. Today I spent all afternoon in a baby shower. By the time I got home it was too late to go to the gym (they close at 5:00 on Sundays). I knew that if I didn't run today, I would be mad at myself all week, so when I got home I said screw it and went for a five mile outdoors and it took me 1:14, which is about right for me. Last year because of the snow my time was a slow 1:23 and the year before that it was 1:11.
Today was the first time I have run outdoors since last summer. Usually I would say I prefer running indoors (temp and conditions are controlled and the only people watching you are the people doing the same thing), but I don't think that is the case any more. First, running outdoors seemed to go much faster today than running indoors. I usually do Galloway Running, but because I no longer have a proper watch, I was running on feeling today. I would run until I could no longer take it and then walk for a little bit. I found this worked great. It turned into a game. I would tell myself to run to a certain tree and when I got there I'd tell myself to keep going to the next tree or the next street, etc. I ended up running for longer intervals than I probably would have on the treadmill. I also found my walking breaks were shorter too. Often, I'd only be walking for a few seconds and then pick it up again. I also didn't look at my cell phone until I got back to my car. I guess what I am saying is I just enjoyed my run and wasn't a slave to a clock, which made it more enjoyable. Secondly, I notice that my muscles are a lot more tense when running on a treadmill. Maybe because I have terrible balance and always feel like I am falling off. Anywho, after today I think I will try running outdoors more often.
Next Sunday is the big day. I plan on going out to Chicago on Saturday, so my sister and I can go to Navy Pier to pick up our packets and stay out there until Sunday or Monday. Until then...
Happy Running!
Sally
I wanted to run 5 miles this weekend, which is the distance of the Shuffle. I usually run on Saturdays, but completely blew it off yesterday. Today I spent all afternoon in a baby shower. By the time I got home it was too late to go to the gym (they close at 5:00 on Sundays). I knew that if I didn't run today, I would be mad at myself all week, so when I got home I said screw it and went for a five mile outdoors and it took me 1:14, which is about right for me. Last year because of the snow my time was a slow 1:23 and the year before that it was 1:11.
Today was the first time I have run outdoors since last summer. Usually I would say I prefer running indoors (temp and conditions are controlled and the only people watching you are the people doing the same thing), but I don't think that is the case any more. First, running outdoors seemed to go much faster today than running indoors. I usually do Galloway Running, but because I no longer have a proper watch, I was running on feeling today. I would run until I could no longer take it and then walk for a little bit. I found this worked great. It turned into a game. I would tell myself to run to a certain tree and when I got there I'd tell myself to keep going to the next tree or the next street, etc. I ended up running for longer intervals than I probably would have on the treadmill. I also found my walking breaks were shorter too. Often, I'd only be walking for a few seconds and then pick it up again. I also didn't look at my cell phone until I got back to my car. I guess what I am saying is I just enjoyed my run and wasn't a slave to a clock, which made it more enjoyable. Secondly, I notice that my muscles are a lot more tense when running on a treadmill. Maybe because I have terrible balance and always feel like I am falling off. Anywho, after today I think I will try running outdoors more often.
Next Sunday is the big day. I plan on going out to Chicago on Saturday, so my sister and I can go to Navy Pier to pick up our packets and stay out there until Sunday or Monday. Until then...
Happy Running!
Sally
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The Times They Are A Changin'
Today was the first time in a long time I actually had fun running. My goal was to do 3 miles at a 1/1 interval. I actually did the first mile at 1/1, the second mile at 2/1, and part of the third mile at 3/1, so I did better than expected! My time was slow as I knew it would be. Last summer when I was running pretty consistently my 5K time was usually between 39:00 and 41:00. Today I did 3 miles in 43:00, so obviously much slower, but not as bad as I was expecting. I’ll take it!
It’s funny how mental running is and how you can mentally pump yourself up or psyche yourself out. For the first two miles I was running in between two rather attractive, obviously well-trained runners, and I was pumped and in the zone. “Hey fellas. How you doin’?” LOL. The music was blaring and I was gliding along. Somewhere around mile two one of the guys got off and a skinny, pretty, blonde girl got on, and I was done, ready to get off (I didn’t though of course). Oh the mind games one can play with themselves!
Anywho, I really enjoyed my run today, and in an unrelated note I buried my scale in my closet. I am done weighing myself. It messes with my mind and confidence too much.
The race is three weeks away! Marcia and Derrick, I hope your training is going well and I am excited to see you that day!
Happy Running!
Sally
It’s funny how mental running is and how you can mentally pump yourself up or psyche yourself out. For the first two miles I was running in between two rather attractive, obviously well-trained runners, and I was pumped and in the zone. “Hey fellas. How you doin’?” LOL. The music was blaring and I was gliding along. Somewhere around mile two one of the guys got off and a skinny, pretty, blonde girl got on, and I was done, ready to get off (I didn’t though of course). Oh the mind games one can play with themselves!
Anywho, I really enjoyed my run today, and in an unrelated note I buried my scale in my closet. I am done weighing myself. It messes with my mind and confidence too much.
The race is three weeks away! Marcia and Derrick, I hope your training is going well and I am excited to see you that day!
Happy Running!
Sally
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tackling The Emotional Part
Phooey!!! I seem go to extremes lately when it comes to this whole getting healthy thing. I went for two weeks with very strict diet and exercise. I was pretty much eating salads and drinking water and that’s it, and exercising every day. Now for the past week and a half, I have been eating nothing but crap and have not exercised once.
There are a few things going on here, some physical and some mental. First off, as Marcia told me on Saturday, sugar is like my own special brand of crack. If I have just a little I want more and more. I’m not sure where this leaves me. I could cut it out completely like I did the first two weeks. It was hard at first, and I spent most of those first weeks dying for pop and chocolate, but on most days was just fine. Or I could eat it/drink it, but in moderation. Part of me is saying do it in moderation because it is more realistic you will stick to it. However, my whole diet started to fail over a week ago because I said, “One little candy bar won’t hurt me,” and then it did. Like Marcia said it was like crack and I couldn’t get enough once I started. The other part of me is saying, “You know this is your biggest addiction (especially in the form of pop), so just like smokers and alcoholics have to do, give up your drug cold turkey and completely.”
OK, this next part is so private. Probably the most private thing I have ever shared with anybody, and now I am about to share it with all of you. I have been thinking about this for a couple of years and maybe, even though I am no therapist, this will be a little freeing for me once I put it out there. All these shows that have weight loss experts on them say that usually people who have been overweight for most or all of their lives have some underlying emotional issue that has nothing to do with their physical capabilities to lose weight. I could be completely wrong, but in my mind for the past couple of years I have been thinking that maybe I subconsciously sabotage myself all the time on purpose. I started getting overweight around fifth grade. It didn’t really start to become an emotional issue for me however until eighth grade. That was when I started hearing mean girls (we all know there are plenty in middle school) making little comments. That is also about the same time I started losing friends. Up until then I had always had plenty of friends to hang out with. In high school and college I had very few friends and in my entire life, I have only gone out on dates with three people, and have only dated one seriously. I have always blamed my lack of friends and dates on my weight, which gets me back to what I was saying. Maybe I have been hiding behind my weight, and am afraid that if I lose it, I will discover that it hasn’t been my weight this whole time that people haven’t liked, but it’s really me as a person, so I keep the weight on for fear of that not being the issue. I know some of you are reading this and rolling your eyes, and others are thinking I watch to many talk shows, but I think there might be something to this, and is something I need to work through…OK or maybe this has nothing to do with this and I just love pizza. Hahaha.
Wow it got deep there for a minute. I don’t know where all of this leaves me. I guess I am just damaged goods and I need to work on fixing myself, not just physically but mentally too. If you got this far in my blog, thanks for reading and caring. It was a very emotional weekend, but now the weekend is over and I have to figure out what is going to be best for me.
Shamrock Shuffle 5 weeks away…
Happy Running!
Sally
There are a few things going on here, some physical and some mental. First off, as Marcia told me on Saturday, sugar is like my own special brand of crack. If I have just a little I want more and more. I’m not sure where this leaves me. I could cut it out completely like I did the first two weeks. It was hard at first, and I spent most of those first weeks dying for pop and chocolate, but on most days was just fine. Or I could eat it/drink it, but in moderation. Part of me is saying do it in moderation because it is more realistic you will stick to it. However, my whole diet started to fail over a week ago because I said, “One little candy bar won’t hurt me,” and then it did. Like Marcia said it was like crack and I couldn’t get enough once I started. The other part of me is saying, “You know this is your biggest addiction (especially in the form of pop), so just like smokers and alcoholics have to do, give up your drug cold turkey and completely.”
OK, this next part is so private. Probably the most private thing I have ever shared with anybody, and now I am about to share it with all of you. I have been thinking about this for a couple of years and maybe, even though I am no therapist, this will be a little freeing for me once I put it out there. All these shows that have weight loss experts on them say that usually people who have been overweight for most or all of their lives have some underlying emotional issue that has nothing to do with their physical capabilities to lose weight. I could be completely wrong, but in my mind for the past couple of years I have been thinking that maybe I subconsciously sabotage myself all the time on purpose. I started getting overweight around fifth grade. It didn’t really start to become an emotional issue for me however until eighth grade. That was when I started hearing mean girls (we all know there are plenty in middle school) making little comments. That is also about the same time I started losing friends. Up until then I had always had plenty of friends to hang out with. In high school and college I had very few friends and in my entire life, I have only gone out on dates with three people, and have only dated one seriously. I have always blamed my lack of friends and dates on my weight, which gets me back to what I was saying. Maybe I have been hiding behind my weight, and am afraid that if I lose it, I will discover that it hasn’t been my weight this whole time that people haven’t liked, but it’s really me as a person, so I keep the weight on for fear of that not being the issue. I know some of you are reading this and rolling your eyes, and others are thinking I watch to many talk shows, but I think there might be something to this, and is something I need to work through…OK or maybe this has nothing to do with this and I just love pizza. Hahaha.
Wow it got deep there for a minute. I don’t know where all of this leaves me. I guess I am just damaged goods and I need to work on fixing myself, not just physically but mentally too. If you got this far in my blog, thanks for reading and caring. It was a very emotional weekend, but now the weekend is over and I have to figure out what is going to be best for me.
Shamrock Shuffle 5 weeks away…
Happy Running!
Sally
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Scale is not my friend
I have never kept it secret that I am addicted to the scale, and this addiction bit me in the ass this week. During the first week of my Go Green Get Lean diet I lost 7 pounds and then hit a wall. This was week two and I couldn’t lose an ounce. I noticed on Wednesday that no matter what I did this week, the scale wasn’t moving. The next day I started to sabotage my diet. I went out to lunch with some co-workers on Thursday, and it’s been downhill ever since. I even ordered a pizza tonight. Deep down inside I know it was because the scale wasn’t moving this week, so I thought what’s the point? I know that is totally wrong thinking and I need to get rid of my scale. It could have been that or it could have been that I have been sick since Monday night, and when I am sick I, as do most people, crave comfort food from my childhood. As I am looking back on the week, I went out to dinner with friends three nights this week plus I went to Subway on my own for lunch one day. During week one when I lost 7 pounds I didn’t eat out once. I think I need to limit myself to going out to eat only once a week, which means I am going to have to start telling people no, something that has never been easy for me.
On the positive note, I did keep up with my workouts this week. I exercised five days. Most days it was brutal because I could hardly breathe out of my nose (difficult when you are running), but today was actually really good. Today I ran 2 miles and increased my interval to 2/1. After talking to Diane (her husband is trained in Galloway Running) I have decided tomorrow to go back down to 1/1. He said instead of increasing my intervals, I should be increasing my distance, which makes sense to me.
With the Shamrock Shuffle six weeks away, there is no time to mope about this week’s failures. Instead I will pick myself up from the bootstraps and start again tomorrow.
Happy Running!
Sally
On the positive note, I did keep up with my workouts this week. I exercised five days. Most days it was brutal because I could hardly breathe out of my nose (difficult when you are running), but today was actually really good. Today I ran 2 miles and increased my interval to 2/1. After talking to Diane (her husband is trained in Galloway Running) I have decided tomorrow to go back down to 1/1. He said instead of increasing my intervals, I should be increasing my distance, which makes sense to me.
With the Shamrock Shuffle six weeks away, there is no time to mope about this week’s failures. Instead I will pick myself up from the bootstraps and start again tomorrow.
Happy Running!
Sally
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Party is Over
The Party is Over…
…The pity party that is. Two big things happened last weekend. First, I went to the library and stumbled across this book called Go Green Get Lean by Kate Geagan, and secondly I signed up to run in the Shamrock Shuffle on March 21st.
Let’s talk about the race first. I have run this race for the past two years. It is five miles in downtown Chicago and by far the hardest race I have ever run. I wasn’t going to do it this year. I hadn’t run at all since November and hadn’t run in a race since last Spring. Well, last weekend three different people mentioned the race to me, so I took it as a sign. I signed up knowing that I am nowhere near able to run a 5 mile race right now, but knowing that it is two months away and this would force me to get back to the gym, so I didn’t put my registration fee to waste. It has worked. Every day this week I have worked out. Tuesday-Thursday I worked out at school with the school nurse. We walk the halls (including two flights of stairs), run twice around the gym, and repeat for half an hour. On the days that we didn’t do that, I did the treadmill and bike at the gym. Right now I am running 2 miles at a 1/1 interval. I will do that for one more week and then bump it up.
Now, the book…I got super excited about seeing the title Go Green Get Lean on the library shelf, because that tackles two of my four New Years Resolutions, which were to get healthier, go a little more green, read more, and stay in better contact with people. The book, as you can guess by the title, is to make better choices for both you and the environment. The first two weeks of following this plan are all about getting your body in balance, getting rid of all the sugars and such in your body that cause cravings, therefore, for the first two weeks you are not allowed to have any beef, cheese, added sugar (natural sugar found in fruits is ok), or any foods containing high fructose corn syrup. I am at the end of week one and have stuck to it. I do get a little sugar in my cereal, but that is about it. I have avoided high fructose corn syrup all together, which was quit a victory. Last Sunday I got rid of everything in my house that contains HFCS and I found out to my amazement that was almost everything. I had become, without even realizing it, addicted to HFCS. I know how bad it is for you, and knew I got a lot of it in the coke I drank almost every day, but if I realized it was in almost everything else I ate too, I might have done something about it sooner. The reason why I love this book is because not only does it tackle two of my new year’s resolutions in one shot, but it gives you options. The first two weeks are pretty strict, but after that the plan is very flexible, and no my meat eating friends, it is not a vegetarian diet although the book does give that option. By the way the book claims that you will lose up to 9 pounds in the first two weeks. I started this last Monday and have lost 7 pounds, so 9 by next Sunday should be no problem.
Now, as far as the title of this blog about the pity party being over, I don’t know what happened, but this weekend was like an awakening for me. I have been feeling down about living alone and being single, as most single girls of 30 feel, but I realized something yesterday. This is 100% easier for me because I am single. Now is the time for me to do this. If I had a family I would have to worry about cooking for them and making time to work out. If I was dating somebody odds are we would be going out to dinner and hitting the concession stand at the movie theater. This would make this phase of this diet next to impossible. When I meet “the one” I don’t want to be this out of shape. I want to be full of energy and feel comfortable going on crazy trips and such when I meet the person who was meant to be in my life, so I am no longer going to think poor me. I am going to surround myself with positive people who like me for exactly who I am, tackle my health, and know that I am preparing myself for the next big adventure.
Happy Running!
Sally
…The pity party that is. Two big things happened last weekend. First, I went to the library and stumbled across this book called Go Green Get Lean by Kate Geagan, and secondly I signed up to run in the Shamrock Shuffle on March 21st.
Let’s talk about the race first. I have run this race for the past two years. It is five miles in downtown Chicago and by far the hardest race I have ever run. I wasn’t going to do it this year. I hadn’t run at all since November and hadn’t run in a race since last Spring. Well, last weekend three different people mentioned the race to me, so I took it as a sign. I signed up knowing that I am nowhere near able to run a 5 mile race right now, but knowing that it is two months away and this would force me to get back to the gym, so I didn’t put my registration fee to waste. It has worked. Every day this week I have worked out. Tuesday-Thursday I worked out at school with the school nurse. We walk the halls (including two flights of stairs), run twice around the gym, and repeat for half an hour. On the days that we didn’t do that, I did the treadmill and bike at the gym. Right now I am running 2 miles at a 1/1 interval. I will do that for one more week and then bump it up.
Now, the book…I got super excited about seeing the title Go Green Get Lean on the library shelf, because that tackles two of my four New Years Resolutions, which were to get healthier, go a little more green, read more, and stay in better contact with people. The book, as you can guess by the title, is to make better choices for both you and the environment. The first two weeks of following this plan are all about getting your body in balance, getting rid of all the sugars and such in your body that cause cravings, therefore, for the first two weeks you are not allowed to have any beef, cheese, added sugar (natural sugar found in fruits is ok), or any foods containing high fructose corn syrup. I am at the end of week one and have stuck to it. I do get a little sugar in my cereal, but that is about it. I have avoided high fructose corn syrup all together, which was quit a victory. Last Sunday I got rid of everything in my house that contains HFCS and I found out to my amazement that was almost everything. I had become, without even realizing it, addicted to HFCS. I know how bad it is for you, and knew I got a lot of it in the coke I drank almost every day, but if I realized it was in almost everything else I ate too, I might have done something about it sooner. The reason why I love this book is because not only does it tackle two of my new year’s resolutions in one shot, but it gives you options. The first two weeks are pretty strict, but after that the plan is very flexible, and no my meat eating friends, it is not a vegetarian diet although the book does give that option. By the way the book claims that you will lose up to 9 pounds in the first two weeks. I started this last Monday and have lost 7 pounds, so 9 by next Sunday should be no problem.
Now, as far as the title of this blog about the pity party being over, I don’t know what happened, but this weekend was like an awakening for me. I have been feeling down about living alone and being single, as most single girls of 30 feel, but I realized something yesterday. This is 100% easier for me because I am single. Now is the time for me to do this. If I had a family I would have to worry about cooking for them and making time to work out. If I was dating somebody odds are we would be going out to dinner and hitting the concession stand at the movie theater. This would make this phase of this diet next to impossible. When I meet “the one” I don’t want to be this out of shape. I want to be full of energy and feel comfortable going on crazy trips and such when I meet the person who was meant to be in my life, so I am no longer going to think poor me. I am going to surround myself with positive people who like me for exactly who I am, tackle my health, and know that I am preparing myself for the next big adventure.
Happy Running!
Sally
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