Friday 08/26/11 - The final day of the Week of Accountability!

Today's weight:  198.0


*sigh*  Well, at any rate I should be down at least 3 lbs this week for weigh in tomorrow morning.  I'm pretty disappointed in the back and forth I've had the last few days, but like I said, that's why I don't weigh myself every day normally.  It's too discouraging.

Wall push-ups - 5 sets x 12 (arms were still feeling noodle-y from Wed. so I had to break it up a bit)
Tricep dips - 150 dips, Week 1 Day 3 - 10/13/9/9/13
Bicep curls - 5 lb dumbbells - 2 sets x 15
LOTS of IT band stretches

I wanted to run this morning but my hip was really bothering me.  Aching and popping with nearly every step.  First the lateral knee pain, now the hip on the same side is making me think I may have an IT band issue.  I'm going to keep stretching the heck out of that thing and buy a foam roller this weekend if they have them at the local running store.  I've been icing a couple times a day, but I might up the ante and try some ice massage.  I should have known better than to think there'd be no repercussions from running over 7 miles without stopping when my longest prior was a run-walk that was only a bit over 5, and it was nearly a month ago.  :(

Today was not stellar food wise.  I didn't eat breakfast, and Mom has Friday's off work so she always wants to go out to lunch.  We went to Macaroni Grill.  They've recently changed their menu so sites like livestrong and myfitnesspal don't have their nutrition estimates for the new dishes as of now.  I checked there because the restaurant doesn't give full nutritional info, but they do give calorie counts, so I estimated roughly 40 calories per point to come up with my numbers.  I do appreciate that they now offer whole wheat pasta, and I believe they have a gluten-free option as well.

As I said in the title, this is my last day of daily posts with my tracker and whatnot.  I imagine I'll do it again sometime in the near future as a way to renew and refresh my healthy habits, but I'm not sure how many people want to read me babbling about boring stuff every single day!  There was some interest expressed on my facebook page in continued postings of my daily food log, so I'm going to continue to list my meals there.  If you want to follow me on fb, there's a link in the upper right of this page.  :)

Thursday, 8/25/11 - Day 6

Today's weight:  197.6


Back down a little.  I think I need to be drinking more water, as odd as that may sound.  I already drink a gallon a day, but I've been working my butt off and sweating A LOT.

Treadmill - speed work - 3.67 miles in 45:00 (12:16 pace)


My knee was just okay.  It was twinging a little in the beginning but felt fine after a while.  I guess my body compensated for it subconsciously because my hip on the same leg was aching afterwards.  Ah well, ice is my new best friend.

It seems to be my week for minor running casualties, because I have a raw spot on my second toe on the right, and a blister on my big toe on the left.  Must have missed some spots with the BodyGlide!

Wednesday 8/24/11 - Day 5

Quick recap of yesterday since my day somehow got away from me and it was bedtime before I knew it!

Wednesday's weight:  198.0


^That^ is why I generally do not weigh myself on a daily basis.  You're bound to see gains at some point during the week.  I'm blaming this one on the Tuesday night Taco Bell visit.  Sodium is not my friend.

Treadmill - 30 min (not sure how far I went - alternated running and walking, and my knee was hurting on the runs...boo)
Zumba class - 1 hr
Wall push-ups - 3 sets x 20
Tricep dips - 150 dips, Week 1 Day 2 - 8/10/8/8/9
Bicep curls - 5 lb dumbbells - 2 sets x 15


Elisa invited me to go to the gym as her guest so we could get some treadmill time in before Zumba.  Class itself was tough, it's been a while since I've attended...and somebody standing near us had some near-fatal gas issues.  Good lord.  If you are feeling some rumbly in your tumbly and you know it's gonna be nasty, please save yourself and everyone around you some agony and embarrassment and do not attend a super crowded exercise class!

Tuesday, 8/23/11 - Day 4, halfway there!

Today's weight:  197.2


Still on the way down!  I've made up for last week's gain, and have less than 2 pounds to go until I'm back where I was before I left for vacation.


Amazingly, I have no muscle soreness in my legs after my long run yesterday, but my right knee is bothering me when I go down stairs.  I wanted to run again, but didn't want to exacerbate whatever problem I'm having, so I stuck with a fairly easy ride on the bike.

- Stationary bike - 5.5 miles in 30:00


I had a quesadilla for lunch and Taco Bell for dinner.  I seem to be really good at picking the type of cuisine for lunch that my mom decides she wants for dinner.  Oh well.

I realized I hadn't met my oil requirement by dinner, so I went all Macaroni Grill on that thing and dipped some delicious bakery bread in olive oil for a snack this evening.  Much tastier than eating it on my salad, but then, I'm a ranch or bleu cheese dressing girl at heart.

Monday 8/22/11 - Day 3 of the epic Week of Accountability

Today's weight:  198.2

Whaaa?  I'm starting to feel really silly for not getting back on track right when I got home from vacation...I've already nearly made up for my 3.4 lb gain from Saturday.  

Wall push-ups - 2 sets x 25

Tricep dips - Week 1 Day 1, 150 dips program - 6/6/5/5/8

Bicep curls - 10 lb dumbbells - 2 sets x 10 (too heavy for good form, I'll be using 5 lbs next time)

Treadmill - 7.86 miles in 1:45:00 (13:21 pace)

I will admit I got a little teary-eyed after the run.  I ran over 7.5 miles without stopping to walk.  It finally really hit me that I am actually a runner, no matter how slow I may be.  I mean really, what percentage of the population can say they have *ever* run that far?

Seems like a really long time to spend on the dreadmill, but I was watching Beetlejuice so I was thoroughly entertained.  I LOVE that movie!  "What are your qualifications?"  "Ah, I attended Julliard. I am a graduate of Harvard Business School.  I travel quite extensively.  I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that.  I've seen 'The Exorcist' 167 times, and it keeps gettin' funnier EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT.  NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY!"  Ahh, good times.  And of course there's this classic scene:

I tried to do the dance along with them while I was running...it didn't work very well.  Does anyone remember the Beetlejuice cartoon show?  ...I digress.

I had my post-run nausea thing hit me again (it's been a while), and I'm fairly sure I'm going to be very sore tomorrow (I'm icing my knee as I type this because it's pretty achy), but I am pleased as punch with myself.  23 Activity Points in one go!  I also discovered that BodyGlide might be necessary on long runs on areas that I hadn't even considered...

As for the food log, I went a bit over my daily allowance on points today.  Weight Watchers gives you 49 extra points for the week that you can use if you so choose, and considering I burned off well over 1000 calories today, a little more food isn't gonna hurt me!

Dinner was really point-heavy.  Mom asked me to finish off the chicken salad, but I still had another dairy serving, both oils, and 3 fruit/veg to meet my healthy checks, so I ate a lot (not that that's a hardship or anything).  As for lunch, I had a Morningstar Farms Veggie Corn Dog for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised!  I honestly couldn't tell the difference between that and a "real" corndog, and even when I ate some of the "meat" by itself the taste was very close.  Thumbs up!

Sunday 8/21/11 - Day 2!

Today's weight:  200.2


Not too shabby!  Glad to see things moving in the right direction.  Seeing numbers above 200 when I told myself I would never be there again is definitely a lesson in humility.

- Treadmill - 1.5 miles in 20:00 (13:20 pace)

I know I said I'd be getting up early for a long run today, but when my alarm went off this morning at 5 I found myself with stuffy/runny allergy nose and a headache.  So I went back to sleep and attempted it on the treadmill this afternoon, only to have my stomach go absolutely nuts (HIGHLY unpleasant, I'll spare you the details), so I only managed my '30 Day Challenge' requirement of 20 minutes.  Better than nothing, but I'm very annoyed...my bod was just totally against a run today it seems.  Pushing the long run back to tomorrow.

Here's the food.  I meant to continue the trend of taking a picture of dinner throughout the week, but I forgot today.  I'm sure you can imagine what a baked potato and some grilled steak look like.  :P

Right on target and met my all my healthy guidelines again.  I did make a discovery today that dairy servings are not always equivalent to the serving size on the container, so I actually have not been getting enough dairy on most days.  I posted a note on my facebook page if you're interested to see all the stuff that's equivalent to dairy serving/glass of milk.

And so it begins...

Today starts my Week of Accountability!  I will be posting every day with my food log/points tracker, my daily activity, and a weigh in.  I don't recommend weighing daily, but this week I really need to make sure I'm on track.

As I said in my last post, I'm putting on my noob hat.  For the first few months on Weight Watchers, I was absolutely obsessive about tracking accurately and making decent choices...I need to get back there.  So the paper tracker is coming out, and the online tools that have been neglected as of late will be put to good use.  The measuring cups and spoons will get a workout, as will my WW pocket calculator.

And so, without further delay...my weigh in from today's meeting.

Weigh in:  Saturday, 8/20/11 - 201.2 - 3.4 lbs gained 


My daily point allowance went *up*...how terrible does that feel?  Ugh.  That gain is since last Saturday's out of town weigh in, for a net gain in two weeks of 5.8.  Yeesh.  That's not to say that I'm surprised - I've been off track for a while now, and this past week especially I was NOT eating like a mentally sound individual.  It actually could have been worse, and it was when I checked Friday morning, so I did make up a little ground by getting back on track yesterday.

After a much needed trip to the grocery store, I came home and got in my activity for the day.  I follow FitnessGetzEasy on Facebook, and a challenge has been issued to be active for at least 20 minutes EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for 30 days.  Today is my Day 1.

I also found an interesting set of training programs that are designed to increase your strength and get you doing insane amounts of body weight exercises in 6 weeks.  I decided to start on the 100 push-ups and 150 tricep dips programs...but then I realized I can't even do a decent push-up from my knees (my arms barely move, it's pretty pathetic really).  So I'm going to do wall push-ups for now and just try to increase my strength enough to move to the bench or floor versions.  Tricep dips I can do though!  Today was just my 'initial test' day, so I'll start the actually 150 dips program on Monday.

- Wall push-ups - 50
- Tricep dips - 13
- Stationary bike - 3.9 miles in 20:00 


I did some intervals on the bike - 30 seconds at max effort, 1-2 minutes recovery.  Max for me ended up being around 16-17 mph, and recovery was 10-11.  It amazes me that folks can maintain my interval pace for hours on end...I think I would die.  I went to walk up the basement steps when I was done and almost yelled - glutes made of pain.  Not sure if it was sitting on the bike seat, or the effort.  Ouchie.  But it felt good to sweat and have that wobbly-limbed sensation again!

Here are some screen caps of my tracker today!

I have 34 points per day right now, so I was right on target today!  I got in every single one of my healthy checks, which are 2 servings of dairy, 5 of fruit/veg, 2 tsp of healthy oil, and a daily multivitamin.  Weight Watchers recommends at least 6 8oz glasses of liquid a day, and it doesn't have to be water.  When I track, though, I check off a box for every 16oz I drink since my personal goal is to drink a gallon each day.

Here's a pic of dinner!  My mom was super considerate and asked how I wanted my porkchop cooked since she and Dad were having them breaded and pan fried.  (She knows I'm really stressed about gaining, I about had a breakdown yesterday morning talking to her about it.  Blargh.)  She seared mine with some olive oil and then baked it in the oven for me.  :)  I may have defeated the purpose by putting a little gravy on it.  Oh well.  And yes, I know, I know - two starchy vegetables!  Corn and mashed potatoes are my dad's preferred dinner sides...those, plus green beans, are about all the veggies I ever had growing up!

That's today done!  Tomorrow's plan is to get up super early and hit the pavement - 1 hr 35 min run scheduled, which for me should be around 7 miles.  I'm gonna stick close to home in case I need to refuel, I've never run much more than an hour!

Workouts for the week of 7/30-8/5

Saturday, 7/30/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 8 - 3.1 miles in 36:35 (11:48 pace)


Carmel 5k for Haiti, which I recapped here.  Official time was 36:35.  I finished 195/286 overall, and 84/154 women.  Nearly half of the ladies in the race finished after me.  Not too shabby for a somewhat 'weighty' gal such as myself.  They still haven't put up race photos yet, so you all will have to wait a bit longer for the unflattering picture post. :P

Sunday, 7/31/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 9 - cross-training - yoga video, 20 min


I always end up having to tell my mom to quit watching me while I do exercise videos.  She ends up snickering and distracting me.  Helpful.

Tuesday, 8/2/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 10 - 2.73 miles in 33:00 (12:05 pace); 4x100m


This was a struggle...ate too much pepperoni pizza the night before and there was some indigestion goin' on.  I used the cul-de-sac I live on to run my strides at the end and had my neighbor who lives on the end of the street yelling 'YOU GO GIRL!'

Thursday, 8/4/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 11 - 2.7 miles in 33:00 (12:13 pace)


Didn't manage to get up early enough to beat the heat, so I did my hill work on the now-fixed treadmill.  My usual intervals of 2.5 min incline, 5 min flat.  I definitely like running outside better...I feel like I have to have a staring contest with the clock on the treadmill when I'm on it.

Friday, 8/5/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 12 - 5.24 miles in 1:07:50 (12:56 pace)


Did the long one as a run-walk, 2:1 intervals.  I should have just stuck with 1:1, since my pace was nearly unaffected from my long run 2 weeks ago when I used that.  It was late in the evening so I didn't have quite as much pep as usual, and I only ate once yesterday.  Not ideal conditions.  Friday night jogging apparently puts me at the risk of a contact high due to the clouds of marijuana smoke I had to run through.  And I got heckled by some charming high school boys.  Adorable.  /sarcasm off.  Definitely will try to stick with early morning jogging from here on out.

Also, why do folks slow down while they're passing me in their vehicles?  It makes me paranoid that someone's going to jump out of the car and snatch me.  This happened a good few times.  I'm jogging on the sidewalk, I'm not impeding the flow of traffic.  Move along!

Workouts for the week of 7/23-7/29

Saturday, 7/23/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 4 - cross training - Zumba class, 1 hr


Much fewer people in class because there was a substitute instructor.  She was fun!  Some difficult steps, but I like learning new routines and it's more fun in a way when I have to think and figure it out.

Sunday, 7/24/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 5 - 3.68 miles in 48:00 (13:02 pace)


My first long run day on the 1/2 marathon training plan.  Since just completing short runs while maintaining pace and not stopping to walk is a challenge, I've decided to do long runs using the Jeff Galloway method.  I alternated a minute each running and walking for the whole 45 minutes I had on the schedule, and it kept me right on my desired pace of 13 min/mile.  My calves were veeeery tight after this, which I found odd...maybe because walking more changes what muscles are used?  No idea.

Tuesday, 7/26/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 6 - 2.73 miles in 34:00 (12:34 pace)


Actually got a break from the oppressive heat this day...it was 70° at dawn rather than 80°.  Essentially the same route I took last Thursday, and the same pace, but it wasn't an epic struggle this time.

Wednesday, 7/27/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 7 - 2.41 miles in 29:00 (12:01 pace)


Schedule called for hills, so I went to the park.  The elevation change is actually not much different than in my neighborhood, but the hills are a lot steeper, it's not as gradual.  I am shocked at my 12 min/mile pace!  Maybe having people to pass helps me to go faster?  For the record, I was definitely the fastest person out there.  Yes, everyone else but 1 or 2 others were walking, but hey...when you're slow like me and you get the opportunity to lap someone, it's a pretty big deal. :P

Wednesday again - Zumba class, 1 hr


I hadn't been to Zumba on Wednesday before, but made an exception this week because the instructor offered a free class for her 1 year anniversary teaching at the gym.  Yes, FREE!  They opened up the indoor half basketball court to us to accommodate more people.  There were 60+ ladies there shaking their booties and having a great time.  It sort of felt like we were on display because the court is open save for fences around it, so all the folks using the weight machines could see and hear us.  Some even stood and watched for extended periods, lol.  She handed out raffle tickets and gave away some Zumba merchandise...I didn't win, my ticket was a mere 1 number away for one of them though.

I gave myself a break for Thursday and Friday so my muscles can be refreshed and ready to go for the 5k tomorrow!  Starting to get a little nervous...I really hope I can run the whole thing.

Weird story - my dad offered to drive me to the race tomorrow (offered out of the blue - at no point did I hint or ask anyone to be my mode of transportation to this shindig), but he expressed no desire to cheer for me on the course or at the finish.  He wanted to just sit in the car for the 2 hours it will take for packet pickup, race, and awards.  He said if I wanted him to stand outside at the finish then I could drive myself.  Uh, wasn't I going to do that anyway?  So it's as if he was *trying* to be supportive, but not really, lol.  Still baffled.

Workouts for the week of 7/16-7/22

Saturday, 7/16/11 - Zumba class, 1 hr


I already mentioned this class in last Saturday's weigh in post.  First time going to a class by this particular instructor, it was packed and very high energy.  Definitely the most fun Zumba class I've been to so far.  My friend Elisa who joined WW around the same time as me attended class with me and we both had a blasty blast!

Monday, 7/18/11 - PALA beginner 1/2 marathon plan, Day 1 - cross training - Zumba class, 1 hr


Zumba twice in a week!  Elisa told me she was going, so I said 'why not?!'  Same instructor, same packed class, still fun, but it was the sweatiest Zumba EVER.  I was absolutely shiny by the end, and it's the first time I've ever felt even remotely like I was going to be sick during a class (it was really hot in there and I'd just eaten beforehand - bad idea).

And yes, I've moved on from the 10k plan...it's half marathon time baby!  I'm using the plan from the active.com partnership with the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award.  It's free, you can find it here.  So most of my runs will be a little shorter than usual at the beginning here.  I'm still deciding if I want to sign up for the Indianapolis Women's Half Marathon, which I would walk most of because it's only a little over a month away.  The one I'm more seriously considering, as it would coincide more with the end of my training plan, is the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon/Half Marathon.  I would be tacking on a few weeks to the program due to the fact that I'm a slowbie and need more time to cover the appropriate distances, and then still have 2-3 weeks for taper.  Ooh, look at me mentioning tapers like I know what I'm talking about.  Special!

Tuesday, 7/19/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 2 - 3.22 miles in 43:00 (13:21 pace)


I recapped this run already in this post.  I really picked a helluva time to start running outside.  It is so damned hot!  When I got back home and stood in the driveway to stretch, I had my own little puddle of sweat that dripped off my face onto the pavement.  Lovely!

If I'm running outside I probably won't break down when I ran and when I walked, because frankly, it's a lot harder for me to keep running for the designated amount of time outside, and I have no way to keep track of the time of my walk breaks.  I've mentioned before that I have pacing problems - to give you an idea, while on the treadmill I was doing easy run days at 4.5mph, which was right on target for my pace this day.  BUT (big but), I walked about 15 minutes of this!  How fast was I running?  No idea, but it's safe to say it was too fast for me to maintain, especially in the heat.

I think I'm going to try the Galloway method (walk breaks at intervals) for long run days and see how I like it - first one will be this coming Sunday.

Thursday, 7/20/11 - PALA 1/2 plan, Day 3 - 2.53 miles in 32:00 (12:38 pace)


Nasty hot again, and the city told everyone to stop watering their lawns for the rest of the week because we haven't had rain in forever and there's a water shortage...I didn't encounter any refreshing sprinklers.  That's not to say that everyone paid attention to the request, because I heard some sprinklers running, they just weren't on my path.  Sadface.

And hello?  Under 13 min/miles?  This felt harder than Tuesday even thought it was shorter, and once I got home, mapped it out, and discovered my pace, that made sense.  I did manage to run 25 minutes straight, which was exactly what my plan called for!  Go me!


This post got really long...sorry to all dozen of you who read this!  I'll leave you with a poor quality cell phone photo of my makeshift sexy Hogwarts uniform that I wore to see Harry Potter.  Elisa and I went together...bless her for not calling me crazy for dressing up for a movie that had already been in the theater for nearly a week at that point.  I just pieced it together from my wardrobe and yoinked a necktie from my dad.  Please take note of the giant locket, which would of course represent the Slytherin locket horcrux...duh.  I'm a huge nerd, clearly.  (PS - I did NOT wear Spanx under my pencil skirt!  Though I'm unsure if that's a result of improved body confidence, or just the fact that it's too darned hot.)


I have always preferred the books, and this was no exception - there were some things that I loved that were completely left out or downplayed, and then the standard adding of random stuff by screenwriters.  I won't go into it, in case you haven't seen it.  All that said, though, I still REALLY enjoyed it.  I had tears streaming down my face for the whole pensieve sequence.  I can't believe the story I grew up with is over!

Workouts for the week of 7/9-7/15

Saturday, 7/9/11 - 10k plan, Day 21 - 2.87 miles in 40:00 (13:57 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.7, 30 min jog @ 4.5


Sunday, 7/10/11 - Zumba class, 1 hr


I was one of TWO people in class this past Sunday.  I'm just glad someone else showed up because that would have been awkward if it was just me.  I went on a campaign on facebook to get some of the folks on my friends list to come, after which I found out that the Sunday class is now cancelled for the rest of the month due to lack of attendance.  The regular instructor is in grad school and will be graduating soon, so she hasn't had time to promote the class.  She teaches at a couple local YMCA branches, but they charge $8 or so for admission for guests...I really cannot swing nearly $10 a class.  So I'll be going to the Saturday class at the gym this week, which is a different instructor, but I don't wanna just stop going for the rest of July!  I believe I've got my buddy Elisa coming with me to class tomorrow after our WW meeting!  <3

Been feeling blah and had some drama go down early in the week, so I wasn't feeling the working out, took Monday and Tuesday off.


Wednesday, 7/13/11 - 10k plan, Day 22 - 3.99 miles in 55:00 (13:46 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.7, 45 min jog/incline work @ 4.5


Thursday, 7/14/11 - 10k plan, Day 23 - cross-training on air resistance bike - 4.8 miles in 30:00


Again, just pedaled and read a book - Hit List, the newest novel in Laurell K. Hamilton's 'Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter' series.

Tried to get on the treadmill on Thursday evening but it was acting up again.  Dad and I know how to temporarily fix it, but even that has stopped working.  We have an appointment sometime next week for someone to come look at it, from a more legitimate source than our random repair guy.  Clearly the motor and belt we replaced were not the issue back in March, because that fix only held out 3 months, and now we have to tighten stuff every few times I use it (or in the case of this week, we tightened it after my run on Saturday, I used it Wednesday, and then it was back to crazy on Thursday).  Bleh.

I really need to start running outside anyway, but that means I'm going to have to get up super early right when the sun comes up.  I will not run around any portion of Indianapolis in the dark, and it's 90+ degrees with 129478% humidity during the day.  Time to become a morning person - fat chance on that one!

Weigh in tomorrow - I stuck religiously to my daily points this week but I don't think I'll see much of a loss, if any.  It's hard for me to pull more than a fraction of a pound after a big loss like last week!

Workouts for the week of 7/2-7/8

Zumba class was cancelled on Sunday due to the holiday weekend, and I was feeling somewhat lazy after cleaning the house before company came over on the 4th, so I didn't work out until Monday.

Monday, 7/4/11 - 10k plan, Day 17 - 3.67 miles in 50:00 (13:38 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.6, 40 min speed work/jog: 4.4, 4.8mph intervals - 10 min, 10, 5, 10, 5


Hello, under 14 minute miles!  What is going on here?!  I know the distance isn't there, but it gives me hope that I'll one day be able to do a Disney run and still have time to stop and take pictures!


Tuesday, 7/5/11 - 10k plan, Day 18 - cross-training on air resistance bike - 4.7 miles in 30:00


I've pretty much been skipping the cross-training days on the plan up until now, but I realize that I need to do other exercises lest my running muscles get overdeveloped and start pulling my kneecaps out of line and other lame injuries.  (I worry about that one in particular because last week my right knee was cracking and feeling off track.)  
I *HATE* our air resistance bike with a passion.  It's ancient and ugly, but that doesn't really have anything to do with it.  It doesn't matter how slow I pedal (and clearly this was quite slow), I get all sweaty and worn out.  And my butt always hurts the next day, even though we installed one of those huge padded bike seats on it.  I didn't really put much effort into this, I just pedaled at a very comfortable pace and read a book (paranormal romance novel, actually...one of my many guilty pleasures) rather than using the moving handles on the bike.


Wednesday, 7/6/11 - 10k plan, Day 19 - 3.62 miles in 50:00 (13:49 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.7, 40 min jog/incline work @ 4.5


I've been bumping my speed up by a tenth of a mile per hour each week recently.  I may hang at 4.5mph for a while, I'm not really sure yet.  I was supposed to do 6x100m at the end of this run but I spaced it.


Friday, 7/8/11 - 10k plan, Day 20 - 5.52 miles in 1:15:00 (13:35 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.7, 60 min jog/incline work @ 4.5, 4x100m @ 5.3


For anyone that may be keeping track - ok, who am I kidding, it's just me - I jogged 4.5 miles without stopping this evening!  That's like...over 1/3 of a half marathon!  :P  It was not easy though...I was at our local casino today - I came home with more $$ than I arrived with, don't worry!  I was using freebie credits to play - and ate at the buffet for a late lunch/early dinner and am now aware that I should never eat heavy on the day of a long run, regardless of how long I wait in between eating and exercise.  I seriously pondered throwing up multiple times during my time on the treadmill.  It didn't happen, but I have a feeling one day it's going to as my runs keep getting longer.


Speaking of marathons, I've been thinking about how unrealistic Disney is in my current financial situation (no job and all).  BUT the first-ever Indianapolis Women's Half Marathon is coming up right here in Indy on Labor Day weekend!  I know that's really soon, but I am seriously debating registering.  The time limit is 4.5 hours, which is a 20+ min/mile pace...I do believe I could leisurely walk the entire thing and still finish in time as long as I didn't collapse or anything.  I'd like to run some of it, but running the whole thing would not be realistic right now.  What do ya think?  Anyone interested in joining me?  I can offer you a twin size bed or queen size air mattress here at my parental units' house for accommodations!

Obligatory workout log post

I logged 41 miles in the month of June!  Over a mile a day on average...for someone who was essentially sedentary only a few months ago I think that's pretty good!

This week's workouts:

Saturday, 6/25/11 - 10k plan, Day 13 - 3.2 miles in 45:00 (14:04 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.5, jog/speed work: 10 min @ 4.3, 8 min @ 4.7, 2 min @ 4.3, 8 min @ 4.7, 7 min @ 4.3

Getting faster...

Sunday, 6/26/11 - Zumba+Abs class, 1 hr

Again there weren't a lot of people in class, and there were 2 ladies who stood in the back of the room and talked the entire time until we did abs at the very end.  What is up?

Tuesday, 6/28/11 - 10k plan, Day 14 - 3.49 miles in 50:00 (14:19 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.6, 40 min jog/incline intervals: 2.5 min incline @ 4.4, 5 min flat @ 4.3

Wednesday, 6/29/11 - 10k plan, Day 15 - 5.26 miles in 1:15:00 (14:15 pace) - 10 min walk @ 3.6, 50 min jog @ 4.4, 10 min walk @ 3.6, 4x100m strides @ 5.2

This was pretty heinous...the dreaded side stitch struck a few times.  Also I noticed over the course of the week that my right knee has been popping and almost feels as if it's off track, if that makes any sort of sense.  During this run it started aching, so I iced it immediately after I was done cooling down and stretching.  It stopped hurting after that evening but is still popping. *frowny face*

Friday, 7/1/11 - 10k plan, Day 16 - 2.8 miles in 40:00 (14:17 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.6, 30 min jog @ 4.4

Believe it or not the treadmill started stuttering AGAIN just as I tried to start this one.  Had to have my dad help tighten the belt on the motor like the repair guy showed us.  Seriously, it's been less than a week since he was here.  Temporary fixes that we have to take the damn thing apart to perform every time - that's just not gonna cut it.  I may be giving up on it and running outside soon, in which case I will probably have to backtrack on my training and/or get a Garmin to help with pacing.  The middle of summer in the Midwest is not what I would call ideal running conditions...boooo.

Why is everything breaking?!

The cable was out from Monday morning to Thursday afternoon.  My tv (old school tv, not flatscreen) has gone wonky in one corner, and the color is all off.  And, the worst...the treadmill is broken again!  The belt seems to run smoothly, but once someone gets on it, it's all you can do to stay on and not be thrown when it jerks randomly.  Repair guy is coming tomorrow.  We already did this back in March for the exact same problem!  Replaced parts and everything.  I need my treadmill!

Okay, done whining.  Workouts for this past week:

Saturday, 6/18/11 - 10k plan, Day 11 - 3.14 miles in 45:00 (14:19 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walk @ 3.5, tempo jog - 10 min @ 4.3, 15 min @ 4.5, 10 min @ 4.3

15 minutes at 4.5!  Still slow, but I'm getting faster!!  And another 5k distance in under 45 minutes.

Sunday, 6/19/11 - Zumba+Abs class, 1 hr


There were only 5 people in class.  Only reason I can come up with:  it was raining and no one wanted to leave their house and get their butts to the gym.  Ah well, it was fun anyway!  The ab workout was killer though...I really cannot do planks to save my life.

Tuesday, 6/21/11 - 10k plan, Day 12 - 4.78 miles in 1:10:00 (14:38 pace) - 10 min walk @ 3.5, 45 min run @ 4.3, 10 min walk @ 3.5, 4x100m strides @ 5.1


45 minutes!  My longest one yet.  And I jogged in between my strides rather than walking.  Progress!

Rather than drinking water, I tried some G2 since this was a "long" run.  I didn't have any nausea issues, so maybe that helped.

It was Tuesday that I noticed the treadmill was really starting to jerk.  I noticed it before, but tightened the belt and it got a bit better so I wasn't terribly concerned.  But I told my dad about it, and went to show him the issue and practically got thrown off the thing.  So no more treadmill this week...

Wednesday, 6/22/11 - 3.2 miles in ~44:40 (13:57 pace) - lots of alternating walking and jogging


Went to the local park which has a running/biking path of 1.6 miles.  I did 2 loops.  This should have been 30 minutes straight of jogging on my 10k plan, but I really failed to pace myself and just couldn't keep it up.  I ended up alternating walking and jogging each time a new song started on my mp3 player after the first 10 minutes of jogging.  Whenever I decide to regularly run outdoors, I'm definitely going to have to get a Garmin or something of that nature that can tell me my pace.  On this run, my pace was faster than ever, even though I walked half the time, so I was definitely jogging way too fast.  Not maintainable at all for me.

Funny story...I used G2 during my park run.  Seemingly unrelated:  I'm a mouth-breather when I work out.  Yucky dry mouth + bright blue sports drink = blue teeth.  I didn't realize this until I was in the car to head home.  I smiled at almost everyone I passed on the running path.  Whoops.

No workout yesterday or today because the repair guy was supposed to come today for the treadmill and I figured I'd be able to use it by now, but then he rescheduled.

Lastly for today, here's my dinner from last night:

• Nature's Own Whole Grain sandwich thin - 2pp
• Boca Spicy Chik'n Patty - 4pp
• blue cheese dressing, 1 tsp - 1pp
• extra hot sauce, red onion, pickle - 0pp
• Ore Ida Sweet Potato Fries, 1 serving - 4pp
• grapes, 1/2 cup - 0pp
• Fanta Zero - 0pp

Weight Watchers PointsPlus total for dinner:  11

Yes I eat on a tv tray.  Don't judge me.  

The big pink thing is my Bubba Keg.  34 oz, filled with water.  I also frequently use a purple Nalgene bottle.  I drink a gallon or more a day usually.

I'm going to try to keep posting meals and recipes from time to time, hopefully the ideas will be helpful to someone!  :)

A wee bit frustrated

Workouts for the past week...I left off at Monday's run.

Tuesday, 6/14/11 - 10k plan, Day 9 - 2.37 miles in 35:00 (14:44 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks@ 3.5mph, 25 min jog @ 4.3

I had a rest day scheduled on Wednesday, but I got bored and felt like I needed to do *something*, so I browsed the exercise videos on demand on cable.

Wednesday, 6/15/11 - Yoga video, 15 min

I enjoyed some of the exercises, but planks can kiss my ass.  I must have done them sort of correctly in the millisecond that I could hold them, because I was feeling it in my abs the next day.

Thursday, 6/16/11 - 10k plan, Day 10 - 3.05 miles in 45:00 (14:44 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.5, 35 min jog w/ incline intervals: 2.5 min incline @ 4.3, 5 min flat @ 4.2

I took a break on Friday because I'd checked the scale and was getting a bit discouraged.

And now, on to today's weigh in!

I did better than I have in weeks, possibly months, with exercise and staying right around my daily allowance on points this week.  I know 'a loss is a loss' is a great mantra, and I try to remember it, but given my dedication in the past week I really expected it to be a little more.

Weigh in:  Saturday, 6/18/11 - 208.8 - 1.4 lbs lost, 41.4 total


I know over a pound in a week is great, but I'm confused.  In weeks when I haven't been on plan at all (namely right after I got back from vacation),  I lost 4 pounds...two weeks in a row!  And when I really try it's 1.4.  Meh.  It leads me to think that I should be using some of my 'extra' activity/weekly points.  So I'll try to do that in the coming week and see where it gets me!

Beast mode!

There was this guy on Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition last week who kept saying he was on 'beast mode' when he was working his butt off and doing really well.  I've decided I like the phrase, and that it applies well to this week because I'm doing awesome!

I've been tracking everything and making good decisions.  A preview step on the scale today shows that I should get rid of my gain and then some.  I've also put all my workouts for the week into my tracker already to give me a little more incentive to finish them all and earn those activity points (49 total for the week!).

I worked out on Thursday and Friday so I gave myself a rest day on Saturday, which is the first day of my Weight Watchers week. 

Sunday was Zumba day!!!  It had been over a month since my last class.  Out of town for two weeks, busy with yardwork the next, then class was cancelled for Memorial Day weekend, and last weekend I was just off plan and didn't really have a good excuse.  This week there was a substitute instructor, and she kicked our butts!  She was very big on isolating one area of the body for a whole song.  I am still hurting today!  Shoulders and quads mostly.

Sunday, 6/12/11 - Zumba class, 1 hr

I was a bit confused while at the class, because there was a girl behind me who was NOT into it.  She looked fairly thin and fit, but she was barely moving in the way the instructor was asking us to and just looked bored.  She half-assed it the whole time.  The instructor even went right up to her and stood in front of her to get her to shake it, and she would have none of it.  I don't understand why one would pay for an exercise class and then not even try to work out.  Not to mention Zumba is supposed to be fun!  I may be drenched in sweat, and my chub is jiggling all over the place, but I'm smiling most of the time I'm in there!

Moving on...I was absolutely dreading Monday's scheduled run, but I did it!

Monday, 6/13/11 - 10k plan, Day 8 - 4.33 miles in 1:05:00 (15:00 pace) - incline work - 10 min walk @ 3.5, 40 min jog @ 4.2, 10 min walk, 4x100m strides @ 5.1

When my training calls for incline work, I've settled on 5 minutes flat, 2.5 minutes incline on the treadmill.  I've tried 5 flat/5 incline intervals and I end up having to walk because I get winded during the incline portions.  I alternate the inclines between 3-5%.  More daunting than the incline work itself was the fact that I was supposed to jog for 40 minutes straight!  Logically, I knew my body could do it - I've done 35, why not 40?  But it was still intimidating.  I did have an unexpected stop for about a minute right in the middle, because I was toweling off my face while jogging and lost an earring.  I wanted to make sure to find it so it didn't get stuck in the works of the treadmill, but once I did I was right back to work.

I have another (much shorter) run scheduled today, and then I'll have another rest day on Wednesday.

I've been having an issue when I push myself past 'normal' during my workouts, like I did last night.  Maybe anybody who's reading that is a fitness guru or has experience with running/cardio can help me.  I feel fine right after, tired, but fine...then about an hour later I am intensely nauseated.  I thought I was gonna lose it last night, I ended up just laying down while sucking on peppermint and going to sleep because doing anything just made me want to vomit.  It's happened to me a couple times before; I don't know if I'm depleting myself by sweating so much or what.  Any ideas?

I'm still alive!

I know everyone was worried.  ;)

I never posted weigh-in from last week, so I'll do that and yesterday's right now:

Weigh in:  Saturday, 6/4/11 - 209.4 - 1 lb lost, 40.8 total

Weigh in:  Saturday, 6/11/11 - 210.2 - 0.8 lb gain

I had my bad few days before the first weigh in, and then the few directly after it I still wasn't on track, so the last couple weigh-ins were a wash.  I did get my next 5 pound loss star sticker for losing 40. 

As of yesterday I am cracking down on my nonsense and will be tracking everything!  I've also started tracking bottles of water (about 16 oz) rather than cups (8 oz) on my Weight Watchers etools.  It has 8 check boxes on the tracker  I'm trying to drink a gallon of water every day, so that's 8 bottles - works out well.

Here are my recent workouts:

Tuesday, 6/7/11 - 10k plan, Day 5 - 1.97 miles in 30:00 (15:11 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.4, 20 min jog @ 4.2

Thursday, 6/9/11 - 10k plan, Day 6 - 2.68 miles in 40:00 (14:54 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.5, incline work/jog @ 4.2

Friday, 6/10/11 - 10k plan, Day 7 - 3.16 miles in 45:00 (14:14 pace) - 5 min warmup walk @ 3.5, 30 min jog @ 4.3, 6x100m strides @ 5.1

I did 5k in under 45 minutes!  Pleased with myself on that one. 

I'm trying to increase my speed a tiny bit.  I get a little discouraged because one of my ultimate goals is to run a Disney half marathon, and they require a 16 min/mile pace.  I can barely keep up a 14-15 min pace for more than half an hour or so.  I won't even consider signing up for a race at this point first off because I don't have the funds, but mainly because the last thing I want to do is pay all those entry fees and not even get a medal because I didn't finish!  Once I get through this 10k program I'll probably move on to a half marathon plan to see if I can even cope with the distance.

"When you wish upon a star..."

I'm back to my old standby.  "Old" as in the last time I tried to lose weight before this blog was thought of.  Disney movies while on the treadmill.  I am a serious Diz-geek.  So when I post my workout logs and I'm jogging or walking, odds are I'm watching Disney while doing it.  Lemme tell ya, it's hard to get all choked up and teary and still be able to breathe properly while running (yes, I'm that big of a sap for touching moments in film).

Wednesday, 5/25/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 2 - 2.6 miles in 40:00 (15:23 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.4, incline work @ 4.2 w/ a couple walk breaks

Friday, 5/27/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 3 - 2.67 miles in 40:00 (15:00 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.4, 30 min jog @ 4.2

Sunday, 5/29/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 4 - 3.94 miles in 60:00 (15:14 pace) - 10 min walk @ 3.4, 35 min jog @ 4.2, 10 min walk, 4x100 strides @ 5.0

Sunday was pretty tough.  I'd been out in the sun on Saturday and Sunday gardening...being in the heat is draining in itself, but my hamstrings were also complaining from the constant bending that yardwork calls for.  I pushed through it, and was rewarded with some killer nausea a little afterward.  I think it was due to dehydration...I got in my normal amount of water for the day, but I should have consumed a lot more considering how I sweat while I was outside, and then of course while I was jogging.

I was planning on going to Zumba on Sunday instead of jogging, but the instructor emailed saying it was cancelled, probably due to the holiday.  Hopefully next weekend I'll get to class...it's been a month!

Activities!

Weight Watchers has been plugging the Walk It Challenge, which is a 6 week program to encourage folks to get moving and walk a 5k.  I didn't participate in their training program since I can easily walk that far already, but I did go with my WW leader and a couple other ladies from my meeting on a walk around the neighborhood to complete the 5k.  We get a charm for our keychains for stepping up to the challenge...hopefully we'll get those next week so I can post a picture.  We kept a pretty decent pace considering we stopped to chat and had to wait for cars to pass to cross the street and whatnot.

Saturday, 5/21/11 - walked ~3 miles in ~53:00

On Sunday I did some yardwork - trimming bushes with the electric hedgetrimmer and some manual clippers.  I earned a couple activity points.  I also apparently got a mad workout on my forearms because they are sore today!  That powertool is heavy!

I debated going to Zumba, but I was wiped from being out in the sun working.  Ended up going to a late lunch with the parents and didn't get back home until after class start time, anyway.  Hopefully next week!

Today I finally got myself back on the treadmill.  I decided to restart my 10k training program, since I haven't run for distance in about 3 weeks.

Monday, 5/23/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 1 - 1.97 miles in 30:00 (15:15 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.4mph, 20 min jog @ 4.2

It wasn't too bad...really sweaty as usual, but not abnormally out of breath.  I could tell my legs aren't used to running for more than a few minutes at a time right now, but I got through it fine.

I'm starting to think about my loose skin, and how I need to be filling it back out with toned muscle.  These batwings need to diminish ASAP - not cute.  I hope it's not *too* unsightly when I get to the end of all this.  On the bright side, when I have babies I shouldn't get any extra stretch marks because I have them all over already!  Ha.

Zzzzz

I am dog tired, so I'll make this short.

Wednesday, 4/27/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 6 - 2.61 miles in 40:00 (15:18 pace) - incline work

Friday, 4/29/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 7 - 7.5 miles in 02:10:05 (17:20 pace)

Today was meant to be a crosstraining day.  I ended up putting on a long movie, jogging about 10 minutes and just walking the rest of the time, none of which is considered crosstraining.  Meh, oh well. 

It was over 12k total, so I think it's safe to say I could finish a 10k race without falling over...though maybe not without being swept, heh.

Weigh in tomorrow morning, I hope that really long walk will do me some good on the scale!