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!

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!

Great day!

Weigh in:  Saturday, 7/16/11 - 200.8 - 0.8 lbs lost, 49.4 total


Better than I expected!  One pound away from ONEderland, and a itty bitty 0.6 lbs away from 50 lbs lost!  Also, the weight on my driver's license is 200...I'm no longer lying when someone cards me!

I fit into a smaller bra this morning.  You might not think that's something to be excited about, but for someone who pretty much HAS to shop for bras at Lane Bryant because of her cup size, it's very exciting to go down one.

I went out in public in spandex workout gear, and didn't feel the least bit self-conscious.

Elisa came with me to Zumba, and the class was *packed*!  It was super fun though!  Really high energy, I'll definitely go to the Saturday morning one again.

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!

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!  :)

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?

Still playing catch-up

I left off at my last weigh-in, which was Saturday morning.

That afternoon was more 10k training.

Saturday, 4/23/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 4 - 3.94 miles in 60:00 (15:14 pace) - 10 min walk @ 3.4mph, 35 min jog @ 4.2, 10 min walk again, followed by 4x100m strides @ 5.0

35 minutes!  My longest jog ever!  I'll be saying that a lot in the coming weeks if I stick to this training plan.  That's almost 2 1/2 miles.  Getting closer to 5k distance.
As for the strides, those are defined as running strong and relaxed for a short distance.  Not sprinting, but faster than you'd run on long distances.  The plan says to jog for 30 seconds in between each 100m, but I chose to walk at my normal pace instead, since jogging isn't exactly easy for me and I was tired!
I also spent some time on Saturday afternoon potting tomato plants, peppers, and various herbs.  The combination of bending over repeatedly to do this and running 2 days in a row had my hamstrings pretty upset with me!


Sunday, 4/24/11 - Zumba+Abs class, 1 hr

My first time at Zumba!  It was fun, but definitely no joke when you're as out of shape as I am.  I was absolutely drenched by the end of it.  A fair portion of the dance moves involve squatting in some capacity, and I was definitely feeling it since my hammies were already hurting from the day before.  Once we cooled down from the dancing we did a short ab workout on the floor...thinking I may need to get a yoga mat now because I don't really like the idea of using the gym mats - yuck.  I plan on going back next Sunday;  class is $5 at the Gold's Gym by my house, and I don't have to be a member to attend!  Yippee!


Monday, 4/25/11 - PALA 10k plan, Day 5 - 2 miles in 30:00 (15:00 pace) - 5 min warmup/cooldown walks @ 3.4, 20 min jog @ 4.3

It took some willpower to get this one done.  First of all, I had the brilliant idea of not eating anything before working out that day.  I don't know how some folks can work out first thing in the morning without putting anything in their bellies.   I feel like I can't put forth as much effort because I have no energy!  My ideal food+workout combination is to eat something kind of light and then wait an hour or two to do cardio.
Second, Zumba seriously kicked my ass the day before, without me even knowing it.  My entire lower back and my shoulders were screaming when I got out of bed!  I understand the back - lots of hip wiggling while dancing causes all those muscles around the waist to work.  But why the heck did my shoulders hurt?  Soooo out of shape.  Add to that my still-sore hamstrings and it was definitely a treadmill session where the whole time I stared at the clock, wishing to be done.


And so ends the catching up! 

No cardio today - I've done 4 days in a row!  I may pick up my dumbbells and do some arm work later, not sure yet.

My daily scale-jumping is starting to wear on my nerves.  After doing so poorly last week, but staying at essentially the same weight, I've cracked down and have been tracking everything now.  But I'm halfway through my week and I'm heavier than at weigh-in!  Grrrrr...

I'll leave you with a pic of today's lunch:  1/2 teriyaki-marinated grilled chicken breast, grilled veggies (grape tomatoes, red onion, red & green bell pepper, mushroom) & pineapple, and 1/2 cup of chicken-flavored Rice-a-Roni.  This was leftover from dinner this weekend.  So yummy, and only 8 PointsPlus for this giant plate!