Saturday, April 26, 2008

This is it!

Today is my first Trail Marathon! I've been looking forward to this race for a long time and I'm really excited that it is finally here. I will post a write-up as soon as I can.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Preparation for the marathon

I've done my last run before the race and I'm now trying to increase my carbs. I have to say that it isn't doing much for my weight loss goals. The good thing is that I know a lot of it is carbs and the water that goes along with it.

I want to make a public declaration: When this race is over, I WILL concentrate on my weight loss goals and I will lower my weight and my body composition. I will determine the specifics in the next couple of days.

Off to school!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Confession Time!

I have had a couple of days of: "I JUST DON'T CARE ANYMORE!" - speaking of weight loss and healthy living of course. There have been many factors contributing to this attitude and as a result I haven't been checking in here and I haven't been following a good program either. The only constant has been my running. I'm in my taper week so I ran 5 miles on Monday, 4 miles today and 4 more are on tap for tomorrow. After tomorrow, running will cease until the marathon on Saturday. I will admit that I have started each day with the best intentions but have given in to that inner brat each and every day. I'm writing about it now so that I can get the ship going in the right direction today!

Today has been going well. Here are my meals (actual and planned):
1. Fritatta
2. Smoothie
3. Crab & pasta salad with veggies
4. Veggies & cc dip (planned)
5. Buffalo steak, baked fries & salad (planned)
6. LL cheesecake (planned)

I will write again tonight to update today's results and plan for tomorrow.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Friday 4/18/08

Not much time but I did want to check in. Today wasn't a great day - started first thing when something wonky happened with my alarm and I overslept by an hour. Eating was only so-so and I never got my lifting in.

Tomorrow is my last long run before the marathon. I want to go at least 10 miles but that is going to depend on the people I'm running with. I won't run the trails alone so if they need to leave I will finish with whatever I have.

Gotta go - better planning tomorrow!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Review of Thursday & Plan for Friday 4/18/08

Had a few too many snacks today. I found myself eating some bite-size turnovers at work today. They are one of those things that if around....I eat. I tried to modify the rest of my meals but they were still calories that I didn't need to have.

Tomorrow is a room day at work. That means that the kids are off and all the teachers get a chance to do "whatever" needs to get done. We have an open house coming up and I'll probably be working on some of those crafts. I'm really looking forward to being on my own schedule and just doing what needs to be done.

I got my new running shoes today. Lori told me about Holabird and they do have good deals. Shipping is free if you order is over $50ish and I got the shoes in a day and a half. Lori has been using them for a while and has had nothing but good interactions. I may find myself as a regular customer as well.

Goals:
1. Monthly goal: I will weigh 146# by 5/1/08.
2. Weekly goal: I will lift 2x & run 5x by 4/20/08.

Nutrition:
1. Fritatta
2. Smoothie
3. Tuna and baby carrots
4. Veggies & cc dip
5. I have this planned but I don't' have the menu in front of me - it will be healthy
6. LL cheesecake

Workout:
Tomorrow is a rest day from running but I am going to do an UB workout.

Friday Goals:
1. I will lift in the am.
2. I will follow my nutrition plan - taking my snack and lunch to work.
3. I will drink 72 oz of H2O - did well today (over 72).

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Review of Wednesday & Plan for Thursday 4/17/08

Today was an excellent day! It started with a small drop on the scale. Then I met my friends for a run and we decided to do an "easy" 5 miler. Well, that didn't last long! The group started out with a pretty quick pace - after about a mile I told everybody that I didn't want to go as fast as they were running and was slowing down. Now, that usually has at least one person drop back with that person but not today (at least for a bit). I decided to just hang onto the back of the group and not push the pace but they were pulling away. Just about that time, Lori decided to drop back with me - it was nice to have a partner again! However, at about the 3 mile mark she started to pick it up again and I knew I was fighting a losing battle so I decided to just go with it. Shortly thereafter, Lori made the comment that she would love to pace the other 3 runners (they always seem to push the pace). I told her that I had given up on trying to have an easy run and that if she wanted to go we were going. As we passed the other 3, they made a comment to the affect: there go our speedy down hill runners. My comment back was, "I've given up on an easy pace so now it's time to go". At this point I was pissed and ran like it. We ended up running the 5 miles in 45 minutes flat. A 9 minute per mile pace may not sound super fast but we usually go at about 10 to 10:30 per mile so the increase was substantial. I will not be running that fast again tomorrow - I've had 2 hard days in a row and I need to start a bit of a taper for the marathon.

My eating has also been good today as was my lifting routine. I followed my plan - I ate according to plan AND lifted after work. It really feels good to be back in a groove!

Goals:
1. Monthly: I will weigh 146# by 5/1/08
2. Weekly: I will weigh 148#, lift 2 times & run 5 times by 4/20/08

Nutrition:
1. Fritatta
2. Smoothie
3. Turkey sandwich
4. Veggies & cc dip
5. Steak Fajitas
6. LL cheesecake

Workout:
4-5 mile run with group

Thursday Goals:
1. I will run first thing in am.
2. I will drink 72 oz of water (freeze jug and then take to work)
3. I will follow my nutrition plan (take my snack & lunch to work)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Review of Tuesday and Plan for Wednesday 4/16/08

Today was a good day! I had a few snacks but overall I stuck with my plan and am pleased with my effort.

I'm going to go get some new running shoes tomorrow. While running today, I started to get some pain in the top of my left foot and last week I had some pain on the bottom of my foot. Pain on the top + pain on the bottom = New Shoes (in my book anyway). Speaking of today's run, it was a great one! We set out to run our 5.5 mile hill course and for some reason we started pushing the pace pretty early on. We ended up running 7 miles and had an average pace of 9:28m/m. I'm very pleased with that because the hill is steep and long and Danielle and I pushed it hard the whole way.

Goals:
1. Monthly: I will weigh 146# by 5/1/08
2. Weekly: I will weigh 148#, lift 2 times & run 5 times by 4/20/08

Nutrition:
1. Fritatta
2. Smoothie
3. Tuna & grapes
4. Veggies and cc dip
5. Chicken fried rice (Precision Nutrition)
6. LL cheesecake

Workout:
4-5 mile run (pretty flat course) & UB lifting session

Wednesday Goals:
1. Run first thing in am.
2. Lift when I get home from work.
3. Follow nutrion plan (bring snack and lunch to work).
4. Drink 72 oz of H2O.
5. Buy new running shoes.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Plan for Tuesday 4/15/08

Today is finishing well!

Goals:
1. Monthly: I will weigh 146# by 5/1/08
2. Weekly: I will weigh 148#, lift 2 times & run 5 times by 4/20/08

Nutrition:
1. EW omelet & 1/2 banana
2. Protein/fruit smoothie
3. Tuna & apple
4. Veggies & cc dip
5. Turkey, cranberry sauce & mixed veggies
6. LL cheesecake

Workout:
Run - 6 mile hill climb

Tuesday Goals:
1. Run first thing in am.
2. Follow nutrition plan - make sure I have everything made and ready to go tonight.
3. Drink 72 oz of H2O - freeze jug tonight and take to work.

I am hopeful that I will see a bit of a budge on the scale tomorrow morning. I will also start posting that info to keep myself accountable.

BTW - if you want a really inspirational read, try reading Julie's blog! She is an amazing person and a great runner to boot!

Monday 4/14/08 Review

Today was both good and bad in terms of my plan. I woke up first thing this morning, to do my lifting, and just couldn't get moving. I felt exhausted! So right off the bat things were going south - but that didn't stop me! I made sure I had breakfast according to plan and made my protein shake for meal 2. Off to work I go and then I realize that in all the morning preparation, I forgot to make my own lunch. After school was over and in between errands I grabbed a burger which again was not to plan - but that didn't stop me! I made sure I did my lifting when I got home and my next meal was according to plan. So far I have had 5 of my 6 meals and feeling confident that the last one will be just how I planned. I have also consumed 72 oz of water.

So, even though my day didn't go exactly how I had planned it, I am quite pleased with how I stopped myself from allowing the day to spiral out of control. Tonight, I plan on making all of tomorrow's lunches so that I don't feel as rushed in the morning.

Tomorrow's plan to follow later!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Plan for Monday 4/14/08

I'm going to try journaling here. I am usually most successful when I'm consistently journaling and it just hasn't been done lately and as a result my weight loss has stalled. I haven't had a plan most days and it has resulted in poor choices. My hope is that I will be able to write each night as my plan for the next day, so here we go.....

Goals:
1. Monthly goal - 146# by 5/1/08
2. Weekly goal - lift 2 times, run 5 days and weigh 148 by 4/20


Nutrition:
1. Fritatta
2. Protein shake with banana
3. Tuna salad with veggies
4. Veggies and cc dip
5. Baked chix strips & mashed cauliflower
6. Protein packed pumpkin pie

Exercise:
Lifting - UB

Monday Goals:
1. Exercise first thing in am
2. Drink at least 64 oz or H2O
3. Follow my nutrition plan

Hopefully by posting this and coming back and documenting how I've done will keep my mind a bit more focused on what I need to do to achieve my goals. Speaking of goals, my trail marathon is coming up in 2 weekends and I'm really starting to get excited about it! I've done 1 previous marathon but this is going to be completely different and I think that is why I want to do it so much. Lori was talking about possibly downgrading the other day and I told her that I DID NOT want to downgrade. Fact is, I know I can walk the distance so finishing the miles is not the issue. In fact, I'm planning on walking part of the race - I just want to run the best race I can and hopefully finish in less than 6 hours. LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Runner's High!



We had a wonderful run this morning! The temperature was about 58 degrees at 4:30 am. I was able to run in shorts and a T-shirt for the first time this year. I've been in shorts this year but not shorts with a T-shirt. We felt great the whole run. It is so much easier when you don't have all the extra clothes on! We ran for about 2:30 hours without stopping. This may not sound all that amazing but we were running on some very hilly and some very challenging trails. 2:30 hours on the trails is NOT equal to 2:30 hours on the roads.


OK, we didn't run it at Bionic speed but it still felt great! We were able to cover about 14 miles and went for a total of 3:03 hours. During the last couple of miles we hit some pretty steep hills that were absolutely covered with crazy roots and rocks so we walked a bit more than we would have wanted but we just didn't feel safe on the hill.
I think I'm actually starting to feel better about the marathon. It is in 2 weekends and I'm still nervous about crossing the water but I'm not nearly as nervous about being able to cover the distance. I want to get another hilly trail run in tomorrow but I'm not sure if the timing is going to work out.
I'm also trying to make sure I get in at least 2 lifting sessions each week. I'm not necessarily going for heavy weights but I would like to make sure I get in at least those 2 sessions each week. I'm hoping that it will help me to drop some more of this weight.
Speaking of weight loss....my eating hasn't been great over the past week or so but it hasn't been horrendous either. I feel like I'm making some forward progress but I still have a way to go!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Thursday 4/10/08

I thought these were great quotes:

"If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk. "
Bill Rodgers
“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us daily. ”
—Sally Koch, author

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

This week has been much better!

I've actually run 3 days in a row and tomorrow will be 4! I've covered 17.77 miles so far this week and I'm scheduled for another 4 tomorrow. Friday will be a rest day and then we'll be running for about 4 hours on Saturday (assuming the weather isn't crappy!).

The trail marathon is in a couple weekends and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. I know I've been down this road before but I just don't feel like I've gotten enough consistent training in. In the back of my mind I know I will be able to finish because I will be combining walking and running. I think it is just the fact that I was sick that one week, then I didn't get to run the following week because my husband was out of town and most importantly, the weekends have been horrible in terms of weather. It seems like every weekend it rains and our runs either get cut short or cancelled.

But, the race is in the future and my runs are here and now. I'm just going to enjoy each day and each run as they happen!