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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Movin' on up

I really wish I had more hours in the day. I would love to have enough time to blog everyday along with everything else I have to do. I enjoy this a lot, but alas I will just have to do it when I can.

Today I started the second week of the Couch to 5K. This is the farthest I have made it so far, and I am very proud of myself. I was really nervous starting out today. I had to run for 90 seconds and walk 2 minutes for 6 cycles or so. I don't know why I was so nervous other than not knowing if I could do all the cycles. I am happy to say that I did!! I started walking a little early on some of them, but I am ok with that. I did around 1.5 miles in 30 minutes. I still have a ways to go, but I am getting there. I have noticed that I run slower in the evenings as opposed to first thing in the morning. Not a big surprise there though.

I also got my new running pants in the mail today too. I didn't like the shorts I had for working out. They work fine for lifting weights, but not so well for running. I got them from Kohl's and I love them. I didn't feel like they were chafing or anything. I am also pleased to have found some plus-size running capris that are also kinda cute.

I also got a t-shirt to wear while running. I will have to try and get a picture of it to show. It says "I run. I am slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter, but I run!"

So with that, I am off to bed. It wasn't a great run, but I am happy with how it went and how I am progressing.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Day 2 - plugging along

Today I decided to download one of the Couch to 5K apps for my phone. I have used one of the free ones before, but I didn't quite like it. After looking around at different ones I decided to actually buy the app from Active for their C25K training. It is the first app I have bought in YEARS! I am so cheap when it comes to free that I won't download something unless it is free. Unless the ads are really bad I can deal with it. I really liked the app though. Along with an annoying female voice telling me when to run it had a GPS in it. So it ended up being a bit more accurate than using the treadmill at the gym.

Today was so nice that after work Marshall and I did today's run outside at a park not far from the house. Today went a LOT better than Monday. My legs were sore and heavy from the workout on Monday, but not bad. My knee twinged a bit at the beginning too, but it got better. Mostly my body complains at me. But today I was able to run every time I needed to even if I wasn't running much faster than I walk. I was happy with how I did though. 1.52 miles in 30 minutes. I still have several minutes to shave off my time, but it is MUCH better than I thought it would be.

I love going to the park near our house. There's a pond that people either go fishing in or rent one of those peddle boats. With the weather being nice today there was a lot of people watching opportunities. I loved that because I could focus on something other than how much my legs hurt. The funniest one was a guy sitting on a bench swing playing his guitar. As we went past he asked us if we listen to a lot of Judas Priest. I told him no and kept going. I don't listen to a lot of music like Judas Priest for a variety of reasons. Mostly it just sounds like noise to my ears and not music. Anyways, he hollered to Marshall that he looks just like the lead singer. Marshall just looked at him and said, "I do NOT look like Rob Halford!" It just made me laugh.

We came home and put together our new grill. It was a wedding gift and I love it. It is a CharBroil infrared electric grill. It is a small one that fits on our balcony perfectly. Some grilled brats and mushrooms later and we had happy bellies!

I think I am going to go read a bit before bed. I have gotten sucked into a book I bought on the clearance table at Barnes and Noble. It is a novel called Angelology. It is really quite good. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the energy to actually think of taking some pictures to share

Monday, July 22, 2013

Couch to 5K - Will Run For Chocolate!

It has been a busy year for me so far. There has been a lot going on that has kept me busy, mainly with getting married 10 days ago. :)

Now that I have a ton of free time on my hands, I have been thinking about what I want to do. A coworker/friend of mine mentioned a 5K/15K that she will be running in October. It sounded like so much fun I decided I had to try it too! The Hot Chocolate Run 5K/15K in Denver! At the finish line you get fondue instead of beer. Sounds like my kind of race!

After work today Marshall and I stopped and got some running shoes. He needed shoes, and I needed to replace mine. Sadly mine haven't been used much since the Chick-Fil-A contest ended, but they are sure worn out. We went to a running store here in town called Altitude Running. I figured it would be best to go to the pros (since the shoes cost about the same no matter where you go) and get a proper fit. I have some particular issues with my feet and needed a good fitting again. I have horribly flat feet and tend to pronate pretty badly. I figured it couldn't hurt to have Marshall properly fitted either. I have never gone to a running store before because I am always kind of intimidated. The gal was awesome though. She wanted to know what we would be using them for, if we had a training plan, and a few other questions. She put us in some neutral shoes to try and then we walked on the treadmill for a bit. She recorded how we walked and analyzed our gaits to see what we needed. It was really awesome to get to see it. I had been buying the wrong shoes for years!!! It turns out my feet don't pronate as much as I thought! The shoes I had been buying were part of the cause to my twisted ankles in high school and college!

But we both got our shoes and went to the gym tonight to start running. I got us a membership to a SnapFitness. I quit my other gym a while back. My schedule was too weird while I was on nights to ever try and make it more than once a week, and it was getting really expensive too. As much as I love a pool, the SnapFitness has the basic equipment we need right now.

The first run about killed me. It was a warm up for 5 minutes, jog 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds, repeat the walking and jogging for a total of 20 minutes, and cool down for 5 minutes. I ended up walking the last 5 minutes of the alternating sets. I had pushed myself as far as I could tonight. I knew if I went further I was either going to break down and cry or get sick. So I chose to cut back and listen to my body. Overall I feel good....wheezy as all get out, but good.

I went a mile in 25 minutes, and I have a ways to go. I need to be able to do a 15 minute mile or less for the 5k. But I can do this. :)

I think I might talk to my Dr. if I need an inhaler though. I sound awful tonight.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

So ready to call it quits tonight

Back in January I started on Ideal Protein. Both of my parents started last year (dad in September and mom in November) and had some good luck on it. One of my fiance's sisters has been on it too. So I figured what the hell, I'll give it a try. The last workout I had with Sandy I was telling her about it, and she encouraged me to look into it.

To date I have lost 30 pounds and 3 pant sizes. I'm thrilled overall.

Tonight I want to quit.

IP is a fairly restrictive diet. The only carbs I get are from the IP food packets, I eat a regular evening meal of protein and veggies, and I have to eat 4 cups of veggies a day. That's a lot of stinking veggies. But I am restricted on veggies. Some I can't have at all because of natural sugar content (squash, potatoes, etc.), and some are restricted to twice a week because of the natural sugar (sugar snap peas, eggplant, etc.).

Tonight I just want to say some nasty words and quit.

I have plateaued for about the past month...and it gets harder each week. Easier to cheat more here and there. Easier to not go for a walk. It's easier for me to give up than keep trying or try harder.

I feel better, but I don't like feeling so restricted but it is what I need to do to allow my body do what it needs to.

I'm down 3 pant sizes.

I want sweet potatoes

My face has gotten thinner to the point my glasses don't like to stay on.

I don't want to spend the money I am spending on my IP foods

My blood pressure is down.

I have every reason to keep going but tonight I just don't give a damn. Some day I will be able to eat what I want again. Yes, I still want cookies, cakes, and candies. I have a horrible sweet tooth and I am a chocoholic. But more than that I want a sandwich. I want CHEESE. I want a glass of milk. God I would kill for a glass of milk right now.