25 minute run! Whew!

So today I started week 7 of the Get Running App. Today's run included a 5 minute warm up, 25 minutes of running, and a 5 minute cool down.

I decided to try some place new to run today since the weather was gorgeous out! I went to Refugio Park in Hercules. I knew they had a trail throughout the small park and leads out and down the road. So that is where I began. 

Before that though, I decided to change up my music on my iPod. I went for some merengue music. Now if you don't know what it is, it is this very up tempo spanish music. I decided it was time for a change, so merengue it was!

I started out my warm up in the park and when it was time to run, I headed out. Little did I know that the trail leading out was mostly up hill. It wasn't ultra steep, but not at all flat! With the new fast music and the uphill battle, my legs were screaming at the 5 minute mark. I was really worried when I was told I had 20 minutes of more running. Wow... fast forward 20 minutes... 

Not only did I do the run, but I did a record distance. Normally in the 35 minutes I cover about 2.2 miles. Today I did 2.6! I credit that to Mr. Elvis Crespo and his merengue music causing my pace to get faster. Not only was it uphill, but I covered more distance! Yeah...I'm a runner now! :)

Slowly Committing Suicide

I know the title sounds dramatic, but it's a phrase that has rocked me ever since reading it. I'll get to that in a bit. Tonight I had dinner with my dad. I was talking to him about my weight loss and what I'm doing right now to get healthy. He told me that he had a picture of me from 2 years ago.

When I got home, I reminded him to email it to me. When I got it, I was shocked yes, but sad. You see, I had seen that phrase in my title in a fitness article. Someone had said that they were slowly committing suicide by the food choices and lifestyle they were living. Looking at that picture, I saw myself doing that. In that moment in that picture, I knew I was overweight, I was not happy, but I didn't realize the magnitude of my problem. I didn't realize that in that moment, I was killing myself. 

Two years later, I am in a better place. I want to live. I want to live a long life. And I don't want to go back there. I have dieted before, lost many pounds, and have gone back up. Not being that person is a day to day struggle. Like a drug addict, leaving the addiction behind is difficult. It's a daily choice to stay "clean." Addicts stay clean by going through rehab, having a sponsor, and a support group. Well I have better than that... I have two coaches, supportive family and friends, and a mighty God who wants the best for me. I believe this time I can beat it and live healthy.

My thoughts to you: Are you slowly committing suicide? Are you limiting the number of days you live? I urge you to today to truly look at your condition, find support, pray to God for strength, and get started. Live.

Then

Now

Another 5K Complete

I just finished week 6 run 3 this week! One of these reasons why I wanted to use the app was to be able to run a full 5k race. I had signed up for one on February 18th and even though I know I wasn't going to be done with this my Get Running app yet, I figured it could help!

Well I did the 5k on February 18th as planned. I finished my first 5k in  56:17. After that 5k, I was sore for 3 straight days. I was sore from my lower back, hamstrings, quads, calves, and down to my shins. But nonetheless, I finished.

This past Saturday for my 5k, I turned on my iPod and ran the app. I'm pleased that I jogged 2 x 10 minutes plus another 5-10 of it. My time was 53:07. I know I could've walked it faster and got a better time, but that wasn't my goal. It was to be able to run it, so I did. Let me just say that it is 2 days later, I have NO soreness. I had a bit of calve soreness, but that was it!! I went out for my 25 minute jog today and it went great.

While my pace isn't fast and my overall time didn't get dramatically better, my body feels sooo much better. I know, thanks to this app, that I will eventually lower my time. I'm so pleased right now with myself!

20 minutes! Yay!

So yesterday was the dreaded 20 minute run. I was a bit nervous as always. It was cold out and I had my baby niece with me. So on top of a 20 minute run, I had to push my niece in the stroller while running!!! The first 5 minutes were FANTASTIC!!! When she came on on my earphones saying 5 minutes passed, I was shocked!!! It went so fast and my legs felt great. I was doing great when she said half way. It was when she came on and said 15 minutes that my legs got a bit fatigued. But a few minutes later, I got a second wind. I didn't want the run to end! I ended up doing an additional 2 minutes. Wow...I'm officially a runner! Yay! I'm so excited and can't wait until Wednesday to move forward! Yay me!

2 x 8 minutes and more!

So yesterday I had my 2 x 8 minute runs! As always, I was a bit nervous with the run. I got started trying to have complete confidence that I could do it. Now I've heard people say that you have good days and bad days running. I've definitely felt bad days and ok days, but I've never had a GREAT day... that is until Friday. Wow! It was an amazing day. My legs felt super strong and had very little fatigue. I felt like I could've ran more. I even did a faster speed during my walks. I normally need to slow down significantly to allow my legs to recover for the next run. Wow... can't believe how my body  has changed. Tomorrow is my 20 minute run. I am definitely incredibly nervous for it, but I know my body always shocks me. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

Happy 30th!

Happy 30th to me! No it's not my birthday. My 30th has long passed! However, today does mark an important milestone for me. As of today, I have lost 30 pounds. I've been waiting for this day for awhile and now that it has arrived, it feels fantastic!

When you make an attempt to be fit through diet and exercise, it is tough work. I have endured many days of ultra sore muscles. I've endured many days of my stomach growling like crazy because it is used to having way too many calories. 

Now I'm onto 40 pounds. Yikes! But that's a good round number and I'm up to the challenge. Here is to the next 10 pounds. Cheers!

Week 5.....EEK!

So today I started week 5. I had 3 five minute runs with 3 minute walks in between each run. I must say it went fantastic! My legs had a burn, but a good burn. I felt tension free, my breathing was great, and my legs never felt like they were about to give out. If was far from being easy, but it felt really good.

On Friday, I move to on to 2 eight minute runs. In between each run, I'll have a 5 minute walk. Not so bad. I'm not really dreading it. I'm looking forward to it. The one that gets me afraid in Sunday's run. I am going to have a 20 minute non stop run! I have so much trepidation with this run. I've been fortunate to read about others, using the same app, make it so I know I most likely will. But, I'd lie saying I wasn't really nervous about it. From there the time continues to increase..EEK.

So from here on out...I'll be blogging about each run until I reach 30 minutes straight! :)

You Are What You Eat

You know that saying right? You are what you eat? Well...in my efforts to lose weight and eat right, I've tried lots of things...You know the "Get rid of all carbs" diet..."Say no to sugar" diet. You get the picture. A few years back I did Weight Watchers and I really liked it.

Weight Watchers basically believes in a well balanced, portion controlled diet. Meaning it's lower points food are high in protein and fiber (which burns calories to digest). The higher point stuff is fatty and bad carbs. It also taught me correct portion size. I did it for 4 months and loss almost 20 pounds before. Once I learned, I got off of it. Once I learned, it was not worth the money I was paying each month.

Fast forward to the present...I once again needed to have that same kind of Weight Watchers tool but didn't want to pay the amount again. So I searched the web for food diaries. I found one called MyPlate. It is fabulous! 

You first need to go to Livestrong's MyPlate and set up a FREE account. Once set up, you will come to the following window.

Before you start entering food, you need to know what your calorie goal is. Click on the "Calorie Goals" link button towards the top. It will bring you to this window:

The calorie goals given to you are based on your age, height, weight, how active you are, and how many pounds you'd like to lose per week. Please note that a healthy weight loss is no more than 2 pounds per week. Don't go higher, though you might be tempted to. Once your info is entered, it will tell you how many calories you can eat per day.

Now you're ready to enter in your food. Go back to the MyPlate page. Under the "What did you eat?" question, start typing in the food. Be specific. For example, if you went to Subway and ordered a turkey sandwich...then type that in. It will bring up a list of entries. I always go with the Verified entry whenever available. Click on the one that matches and that's it! The cool thing is they have a VERY extensive database of food. You'll find most of your brands and restaurants on there!

As you keep entering your food throughout the day, your calorie calculator will keep track of how many calories you have left. This is very similar to Weight Watcher's point system.

The great thing about this website is that you can scroll further down, it will give you a cumulative list of all your food intake numbers and let you know if you go over your recommended daily intake (i.e. did you eat more fat that suggested?)

It's just that easy. But in case you're not convinced, here is my list of reasons why you should do it!

1) They have cell phone app versions, so you can take it with you as you eat all day.

2) If you're going to eat out, you can look ahead of time to see what to order. This way, once you get there you do not need to be tempted by the items on the menu. Go in knowing what you want and order it!

3) You learn very quickly what items will suck up your allotted calories and you'll stay away from them.

4) You'll find yourself measuring your food, since most items are listed by size. Then you'll really know the proper portion size.

5) It's FREE!! No more paying $35 or higher for places like Weight Watchers.

Try it out, even if you're currently on Weight Watchers, and compare it! Remember... weight loss is 80% food and 20% exercise. Get the food under control and you are on your way!

Who Would've Thunk It?

So this week, my running has increased to 5 minutes! I've been reading in my Get Running forum that it is a big jump. Boy was it. I started with a 5 minute warm up walk. From there I went into a 3 minute run, 1 1/2 min. walk....THEN 5 minute run, 1 1/2 minute walk. I do this twice!

My first 3 minute run went really well. My legs were feeling fantastic. I went into the walk and again legs were great! Normally I need that walk for my legs to recover. Now it was time for my first 5 minute run. I was ok at first. Then came the burn... then more burn...then more burn. Then the girl, Claire, came over my iPod telling me I was halfway down. What?!??! Barely halfway!!! I really didn't think I was going to make it. I slowed my already slow pace down to just a tad faster than a walk. I did everything to distract myself. I turned up the music and looked around the park I was running in. I made it through the 5 minutes! Yay me! After that first 5 minute struggle, my next two runs were a lot better. Maybe the initial burn and heat up of my muscles helped loosen then or what...but I even picked up my pace in the final 5 minute run. This has been the most challenging since week 1. I'm glad I survived it. Yay me again!


So that was yesterday. Tonight I had a kick butt workout with my coach. We did different rope exercises. If you've never done them, they are killer. They are intense cardio and it works your leg and arm muscles for sure. Back to running tomorrow. 

I realize looking now that I work out 7 days a week now. I got my boot camp on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I do my running on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Crazy. If I would've told the me from a year ago that she'd be doing that, she'd laugh at me. But I think the difference now is that I'm doing this for me. I'm not doing it because my family and spouse have encouraged me to and I want to shut them up. Not because I got teased for being overweight. I'm not doing it because I hate my body...I'm doing it for a healthier me. And it feels good to take care of me and love me this way.

My thoughts for you: Make sure that when you decide to get fit, it is for you, and loving way for you. If not, the probability of keeping it up will be slim. Do it because you want a better you. Do it because you love you. There lies your success.