Friday, July 29, 2011

WI Results & Goals

Since recommitting, the first week I lost 2.8 lbs!  It was a new me!  I was ready to go!  Tracking, check!  Working out, check!  BRING IT ON!!

The second week...house sat.  Made excuses.  Tracked about 3 days.  Binged on food until I felt sick.  Felt depressed because of it.  Didn't weigh in because I didn't want to see that I had gained all that weight that I just lost back and then some!

Here I am on the third week.  Tracked every single day!  Overate last Saturday at parties.  Tracked it.  Worked out every single day!  Felt pretty good.  Felt back in control.  Even though I used every single weekly point, I earned a butt load (technical term) of activity points and hadn't gone through any of them (yet).  My points reset tomorrow.  And what did the scale reward me with?

DOWN 2.0 POUNDS!  I'll take it.  It's for two weeks (since I didn't weigh in last week) but considering I did horrible last week, I was only expecting to break even this week.  So down a total 4.8 lbs in 3 weeks?  Yes, please!!

Now, I'm at 170.6.  Next week I could be back in the 160's!!  Maybe it could have been this week if TOM wouldn't always show up the day before weigh in!  Why does that always happen??  I can't wait to get back down to my goal weight!  "When will then be now?  Soon!"  (A little quote from the movie Spaceballs!)  If you've never seen Spaceballs, you don't know what you are missing!  Funniest movie ever!!

Ok, click HERE to see that clip on you tube!  FUNNY!!

I have a goal today.  Since I have been weighing in on Friday but my points reset on Saturday, I've been using Friday as a "free-for-all" eating day.  I usually have exercise points left and just figure it really doesn't matter.  By the way, I've been weighing in on Friday's because of my Saturday long runs.  I feel that my weight was all over the place by running many miles on Saturday and eating and drinking for refueling, and then having to weigh myself afterwards.  Too much stress, and not really accurate. 

But binging on Friday's just because I can, is not a good way to think.  So today, I will think before I eat!  Even if a use a few extra points today, it's ok.  As long as I track and don't just binge.

Exercise will still also be a priority this coming week.  As long as I track and exercise, I should be good to go!!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Update

Good afternoon fellow blogger friends! 

I've been a little MIA.  I was just not posting because I really don't have much going on!  What!?!  A blogger with nothing to say?  I know, I know!  So I thought I would just give you a little update on Eating, Working Out, Marathon Training and Personal Life.

Eating

Last week my eating was HORRIBLE.  Which was disappointing because I came off such a great week where I tracked EVERYTHING!  But last week, I was house, dog and plant sitting and, with fear of making it my excuse, I just didn't track or eat properly!  And which case, I didn't weigh in.  I never do that, not weigh in just because I know I've gained!  But I couldn't do it last week!  I didn't want to see that I gained all the weight back that I lost the previous week!

But since my new week started on Saturday, I have been tracking again.  Just get right back on the horse.  Saturday was a bad day food-wise.  Lots of parties and functions going on!  But I tracked it and I think I used about 60 pts that day (normal daily points are 29).  At least I had my long run that day and I have all those weekly points, so I wasn't going to fret. 

Sunday, I did great!  Monday, I had a run-in with some sugary glazed bread at work.  But otherwise, did great!  So, I'm staying on track this week and hopefully the scale will be kind to me!

Working Out & Marathon Training

Let's just combine these two, shall we?  I'm working out like a crazy fiend!  On top of marathon training, phew!  I'm tired!  lol.  Last weekend, my long run for marathon training was 12 miles.  Was it easy?  No.  But I was able to finish it.  Figuring that I've run 6 half marathons, I knew I could do the 12 miles.  And the rest of the week's runs were 3 miles, 6 miles, 3 miles.

This week is 3 miles, 6 miles, 3 miles, 13 miles.  In a few weeks, I won't be able to run with my running group for my 16 mile long run (the most I've ever had to run).  So, I asked my trainer on a little date!  A little running date that weekend!  And he said he should be able to.  2.5+ hours of running with a hard-core runner??  Sign me up, please!  Hopefully he will be able to do it for sure when the date gets closer because thinking of running that alone is down right scary!

Personal Life

First off, I joined match.com.  Not sure if I mentioned that.  Oh I think I did.  And it's just...ok.  I probably should be investing more time and energy in it but I'm half doing it right now.  That's ok.  It's only been about 3 weeks.  I have about a whole year of this!

I also scheduled a massage this weekend after my 13 mile long run.  I figured that would be a great time to have a one-hour deep tissue massage!  I'm so excited, I can hardly wait!


**Don't forget, if you would like to make a donation to my charity for the marathon, see the tab above for the information!  Or send me an email!  Thanks in advance!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Mind Games!

Thanks everyone for the wonderful words of encouragement after my great weight loss last week!  I was definitely excited not only to have lost weight, but to have actually tracked my food intake for the whole week.  That always helps me with weight loss! 

But I need to keep that motivation up.  I didn't track the last couple days!  Oops!!  Ok, I'll track the rest of the week.  It's the only way for me!

Anyway, I think I'm losing my mind!  The marathon must be getting to me!  I keep have strange dreams about why I can't train for the marathon or actually run the marathon. 

The latest dream was last night.  I went to the doctor because of a slight pain near the Achilles tendon.  After test results came back, I was advised that if I stepped on that part of my foot wrong, I could rupture (whatever the problem was) and I could bleed to death!  All I kept saying was, "But I have 12 miles to run this Saturday for training!!"  Oh my goodness, the mind is a crazy place!

Another dream I had was that I went to the gym and the gym had removed ALL of the treadmills!!  I just kept thinking, "That's weird, why would they do that!"  Funny thing is, I run outside at least half the time so that really wouldn't be too bad. 

I know I've had a few more dreams of this nature but I can't remember what they are.  I think I'm going to have to write a running journal for this marathon so that I can keep track of all of these crazy things that are going on!!  I track the miles right now but that's all.  This might be an interesting journal!

How was your weekend?  Ours was HOT.  And it's just going to get HOTTER!  Is that possible?  Yes, yes it is!  Actually, it will be in the mid-90's with a heat index of 110 or so.  Some of you may be hotter.  Is anyone hotter or colder?  What's the temps like for you guys this week?

Also, do you guys have strange dreams when it comes to a major event such as running a marathon? 

Friday, July 15, 2011

First week back to tracking!

I recommitted to tracking on weight watchers this week.  I'm the kind of person that needs the structure of tracking in order to be successful at losing weight. 

I made goal and then lifetime on weight watchers after 3 years last July.  I maintained until November to which a few things happened and I derailed.  They changed the points plan to points plus.  And I started dating "that guy" in November after a LONG period of not dating (in fact, really didn't date the whole time I lost weight on weight watchers).

Now, I never blamed these other factors for me putting back on 15 pounds.  I knew it was all up to me.  I was the one not tracking.  I was the one overeating and snacking at night.  Me!  There was no one else to blame.  Since I knew that much, that was the first step.  Every week I would try to get back on tracking.  And every week I failed.  And some weeks I just didn't even try! 

With the help of an online weight watcher group that I met in 2007, I have since recommitted this week!  I actually tracked all week!  ALL WEEK!  Every beer I had on Saturday.  The cake and ice cream I had yesterday.  I tracked it all.  Yes, some of it is guess work.  Sometimes you don't know the nutritional information.  And in recent months, when that happened, I just gave up on tracking the rest of that day (and week).

And in fact, this week, I used every single weekly point I was allowed.  I even had to dig in a little into my activity points.  But I have always been ok with using the points that I'm given.  I was never afraid to use my weeklies if I needed to. That's what makes this plan manageable for me.  As long as I track everything, I'm usually golden!

So what did the scale say  today? 

drum roll please...









Down 2.8 pounds!!

Oh yes, the scale was good to me this week.  And I was good to myself for recommitting to the plan!

I hope this can give someone inspiration that is having a rough time with losing weight and recommitting to whatever plan they are on!  Just keep trying!

Tomorrow I have a nice and easy (compared to the last two weeks) 7 mile run!  Then it really gets hard with the next two Saturdays after that being 12 miles and 13 miles respectively!

In anticipation of the 13 mile run (and because my cousin has a gift certificate), I scheduled a deep tissue massage for that day after the 13 miles!  It will be so nice!  (And so painful!) :)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

New Running Toys!

I may be a little behind the times when it comes to buying some running stuff  (or exercise stuff for that matter).  I don't like spending money on myself.  I'm incredibly frugal! 

But lately, in light of being fully prepared for the marathon, I decided to try a few things out. 

Running Toy #1:  The Foam Roller

I know most of you know what this is!  It's a large hard piece of foam that you roll your hips, thighs, quads, calves, back and even butt on!  What!?!  And people spend money on this?  Why, yes they do!  I first heard it on these boards but was NEVER going to buy it.  I didn't doubt it did what you all said it did, I just wasn't going to spend the money on it.  But I did use it in my personal training sessions at the gym a few times. 

It hurts!  Yikes!  But it's supposed to stretch out your muscles and helps prevent injury.  It's supposed to be great for runners!  After a few people in my running group bought one and loved it, and after having some tight muscles myself, I decided to get one.  I only got a small one so it was less money.  And I can't say that it's my favorite thing in the world, but that's only because it hurts!  When I use it more, I'll get more used to it.  I like how my muscles feel after I use it. 

And on last Wednesday's personal training session, he decided to kick my butt and try to simulate "hitting the wall" during a run.  What this entailed was a horribly difficult circuit training routine with no breaks!  But I enjoyed it and kept a smile on my face almost the whole time.  He was totally impressed with my ability to persevere through the exhaustion I felt.  I had lots of determination.  But later that night and the next day, I felt a little pain in my hip.  It wasn't constant.  I only felt that pain a few times, but I have been trying to focus on that muscle with the foam roller and I think it helps! 

Yay for hard pieces of foam!!

Running Toy #2: Patellar Tendon Strap

Well, this isn't actually a toy. I asked at the running store what this is used for because I've seen people with it and only heard great things about it.  He said that it's mainly for knee caps that move.  I was told several years ago by a doctor when I hurt my knee that I have floating knee caps which are more prone to injury.  And my knees do hurt.  I just run through the pain and it's not totally severe.  I can deal with it. 

But with the long miles (last week was 10 miles) that I have to run to prepare for the marathon, I decided to purchase them in hopes of trying to prevent future injury.

I tried them out on my 10 mile long run last week.  It's so weird!  Just this little band around my knees!  I did buy one for each knee because the feeling in my knees are the same.  My knee cap felt supported the whole time I was running!  I still felt only slight discomfort in my knees but I think it really did help support my knees!  I ran 3 miles yesterday without it and I think I could really tell a difference.  I'll keep you posted on this.

Running Toy #3:  Body Glide

Is this a toy?  I've heard about Body Glide before, mainly by men.  (Did you know men's nipples can chafe?  True Story!  Weird huh?).  Anyway....lol

I decided to buy body glide and used it the last two long runs.  Works like a gem!  No chaffing from my shorts, on my arms rubbing my shirt or sports bra, very nice!  I even used it last week under that patellar strap on my knees to make sure that didn't dig or rub weird.

Already owned running toy:  Garmin Forerunner 305. 

I love my garmin.  I got it for Christmas last year.  But the last few weeks, it wasn't getting signal and one day, I couldn't turn it on.  I was going to call the company but now it's working fine.  Unsure what to do about that.  I still might call because it's fairly new and shouldn't be causing problems.  But again, I love my garmin!

**What running "toys" do you have that you love?

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Personal Training in Review

Happy Wednesday!

Almost 3 months ago, I signed up for personal training.  I had wanted to do personal training for a few years now but I'm cheap  it's expensive so I never signed up for it.  I had decided to switch gyms and the gym near my house had a sale on personal training.  Each session came to only $25!  That may seem expensive to some people but personal training typically runs about $1,000,000  $50 per session depending on how many you buy. 

I signed up with my personal trainer Mike and then found out he is an avid runner and runs marathons and all that nonsense!  Perfect!  He has given me tremendous running support.  But my personal training was not for running, it was for toning and core work.

So how has it gone now that I'm nearing the end of my sessions?  Pretty well actually!  I feel like I'm stronger when I'm in my sessions.  Yesterday he made a comment about my arms that went like this..."Look at those bicep muscles!  Do that again!  Look how much definition you have!"  To which I giggled like a little girl and said "shut up."  I'm such a weirdo sometimes!  I actually hate when people look at me and so I got all self-conscience about my BIG new bicep muscles.  Haha!  I have "graduated" up levels from where I started.  He now pushes me really hard because he knows I can do what he gives me to do.

My sessions go something like this...

Mike shows me something to do.
I look at Mike like he has 4 heads.
I say to Mike, "You are crazy!  I can't do that!"
Mike says to me, "Yes you can!  Don't say you can't!"
I do the exercise and then almost pass out, but I complete it.
Mike looks at me with that cocky smile and says, "See, I told you you could do it!"

I hate when he is right!

So what are some of the things we do in my sessions?  It's always really hard for me to explain so I'll just summarize a few things.

I go twice a week to personal training.  Both days, we do some type of core work in the beginning.  The core work may involve planks (both regular and side planks...kill me now!).  Or the core work might involve something on the bosu ball that makes you work really hard on balance and in turn, you have to tighten your stomach and butt.  We may do ab work on the exercise ball (this may involve regular crunches or crunching up while tossing a medicine ball).  We do all sorts of stuff for core work.

Then usually on Monday's, we do arm toning work.  Again, this may involve so many things!  I told you before that we use the TRX.  This machine is good because you are using your own body weight for the weight.  (We also use the TRX for the ab work, the lady in the picture on the link I showed you is doing something for abs that I did yesterday).  For arms, we may do pull ups, flys, push ups, bicep work, tricep work.  It's actually really good!  You can use it for almost anything that you would use regular weight machines for.  Another exercise that I did just yesterday was on a machine.  I've used this machine on my own before but it's so hard to do!  We did tricep dips and pull ups.  3 sets of 10 which again, I didn't think I could do and thought I would die and made all sorts of faces to which Mike kept teasing me about!  Sigh...again, he was right, I did it.  For arms, we also use weights and resistance bands.  With the resistance bands, I'll put it under my feet and squat down.  One exercise may then involve bench pressing my arms up as I stand up.  Another may be bicep curls while in a squatted position.  Tricep push backs are another exercise.  So many things, so little time!  Sometimes I will stand on that dreaded bosu ball and do the arm work with weights on there, which then also works my core muscles.

Today is legs (most likely).  I will post leg exercises in a later post so I can see what we do today on those.

Since my personal training is coming to a close, I'm faced with the decision to keep going or not.  Do I renew for more sessions or say "Adios" to Mike!  I was undecided when Mike asked me but I think I may see how much it would be again (becuase they always have some sort of deal going on) and possibly sign up for 2 more months.  I really think it is doing some good.  And if I could just get my eating 100% under control, I'd be good to go! 

Saturday, July 2, 2011

98 DAYS!!!

Only 98 days left until the marathon??  AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Now that my mini-freakout is over!  Up until I looked right now, it's been over 100 days!

So how is my training going?  Not too bad.  Today was what I considered my first really long run.  And it's only going to get worse!  Today's mileage was 9 miles!  I've run 9 miles twice before on my own.  Of course, I've run 6 half marathons, so I've done a total of 13 miles before.  But 9 is the most I've run prior to a half marathon.

And it was H-O-T today!  It was about 80 while running but HUMID!  We run at about 7 am.  And I run with a running group that has water and gatorade stations throughout so that's nice.  We are specifically using what they have at the marathon so we are prepared.

And I went into today's run with a ton of self-doubt!  "It's so hot!"  "It's so humid!"  "Can I do this?"  "What if the pace group I'm running with is too fast for me?"  "My knees hurt!"  "My toe hurts!"  Would you like some cheese with your wine Amanda?

So I decided that having negative thoughts in your head will only affect your run negatively!  Training for the marathon is not for the weak-minded!  So as I started to run, I tried to push the thoughts out of my head.  And running with a group definitely helps!  They are always looking out for you.  It's like a little running family!

And as I was running, and even though it was hot and humid, and even though my toe was hurting a little (and my knees), I felt alright!  Physically, I really felt fine!  And the last two miles, you have to push through mentally.  You have to tell yourself, "I'm ok!  I'm physically fine. My legs feel strong.  It's just mental!"  And it works!  It has to work.  Because there is a goal and I have to make it there!

And guess what else?  My garmin crapped out on me!  Really??  I've only had it since x-mas!  So I'm going to call them and see if they can just send me a new one if I send the old one back.

I'm also trying to decide if I want to buy those knee band things.  There here...I was told by a doctor before that I have floating kneecaps.  And my knees hurt and crack for everything.  They don't hurt a lot but there is pain and I don't want to make it worse with the longer mileage coming up.

I went to a running store just now to buy some GU Chomps to try out and I asked him about them.  He said they are for people that have knee caps that move around.  I told him about my weird floating knee cap thing and he said that's exactly what they are for.  So I said I would ask around with people that have them (there are some in my running group) and possibly come back.  I've heard they are good.  Anyone know anything about them?

Want to know what else I did today?  Treated myself to a manicure.  One of the no-chip ones!  This is only the second manicure I've ever gotten in my life!  I'm so low maintenance!  lol

Anyone doing anything for the 4th of July?  I'm just going to my parent's house for dinner then they are coming over to mine so we can go up to the fireworks.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!!

**Other blogger news:  Check out Tami's giveaway HERE!  I'm all about free things, but also trying new things!  Thanks Tami!