Running and me- a surprise result

Something totally crazy and unexpected has happened to me. Running has started to go well.

Throughout the past several months I've been following a program designed to help me work up to running 5K with no breaks. Appropriately enough, it's called 5K Runner. I've had to rewind and repeat several weeks along the way, so it's taken me way more than 8 weeks.

It also tells you the mileage you ran and gives you little encouraging statements..

During the "training" (and I use that term loosely) for the last half marathon, I did these workouts during the week and did a "long run" (again, using that term loosely) on the weekends. Well, after the race, I was able to focus solely on these workouts and my training has really taken off.

Before the race, I was up to running 10 minutes without stopped. After the race I ran 15, then 20. I skipped a few workouts because I felt really confident and yesterday ran for 30 minutes. 30 minutes without walking you guys! The last time I did that was before I was pregnant with my second child (so like, 6 years ago!)

Me the last time I ran over 30 minutes without stopping (2009).

I've been on such a high from the last race that for a while I even considered training for the full marathon in December. I don't have to make a decision until June, but I think I've pretty much decided against it. I think what I really want to do is work on a strong half marathon.

The same company that puts out 5K Runner also has a 10K runner program and a Half marathon (21K) program as well. I've downloaded those and am going to follow them.

I have one more workout and I'm done with 5K runner. It's a 35 minute run (with walking warm up and cool down). The plan is to do it tomorrow morning.

Then I'll run 5Ks for a few weeks and then start 10K runner.

I'm confident that by December 11 (The Dallas Half Marathon), I'll be running a strong half marathon. My time goal is 2:30:00.

Oh and on the subject of things going well, I've joined Weight Watchers at work. Several of my coworkers joined last semester and a new 17 week session started on March 22. Our work pays for half of the entire cost, and then the rest comes out of the paycheck a little bit at a time. So I figured I would try it. And you know what, I really like it.

At Christmas on my home scale, I weighed 165. At the Weight Watchers weigh in on March 22 (on a different scale) I weighed 155.6. Last weigh in on Tuesday I weighed 151.0 (and at home I was 149). (That's the 140s y'all!)

So for now I've found something that works. For cross training I've started another round of 21 Day Fix in the mornings. I'm going to try to work up to doing 21 Day Fix Extreme. It's always seemed too hard for me, but since things are going well at the moment, this is probably the best time to try it.

I'm actually really looking forward to tomorrow's 35 minute run. I can't wait to say I completed it. Stay tuned!

I'm still going to tell everyone.

Almost finished with 21 Day Fix, Running, Work, and What Comes Next?

After a pretty lazy holiday break, I feel like I'm back with a vengeance..

Me during the break... (I found this here)

A few days before the New Year, I started a round of 21 Day Fix. I finish on Sunday and I'm pretty proud of myself. I had a few goals:

1. Get used to waking up early and working out again.
2. Run regularly and work up to 5K without walk breaks.
3. Lose some weight too.

I've done great at waking up. In fact, I wake up at 4:15 every day and don't even hit snooze. It's so nice to have a little quiet time in the morning. Some days, the baby (who is 2 and probably should not be referred to as "The Baby" anymore) wakes up, and I give her the Ipad so she can watch Barbie videos on YouTube, and in exchange she lets me workout.

Here is where this came from

The running has been going pretty well, actually. For "long" runs, I've stayed with my run 3/walk 2 plan. I've gotten up to 6 miles doing that, and I'm 60+ days from the race so I think I'm doing pretty well. For my short runs I've been following 5K runner. I'm just addicted to it. It's so encouraging.

I worked up to the Week 6, Day 1 workout, which is a 10 minute run, 5 minute walk, and 10 minute run. I did that successfully in the neighborhood near my house. But then I tried to do the next workout- run 10/walk 3/run 10- in the neighborhood around my work. There is an extreme hill on the path I take. Actually, there is a mild hill starting off and then STEEP downhill, so for the first 10-13 minutes I feel pretty good. Then when it's time to turn around I have to climb this ridiculous hill. I have yet to make it the full second 10 minutes. So, I went back to an earlier workout -run 5/walk 3/run 6/walk 3/run 5- and did that yesterday. Tomorrow I'll change the middle running interval from 6 to 8. Then the last workout of Week 5 is two 8 minute runs with 5 minutes of walking in between. So I'm working back up to that Week 6 workout. I will conquer that hill!

This was here. 

As for weight loss- well, I didn't really follow the eating plan the first week. I went a little off plan on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. But for the last 2 weeks I've been following the 21 Day Fix eating plan with the little containers. So far I've lost about 5 pounds. I think that's pretty reasonable. Not sure what my final numbers will be. I didn't measure or take before pictures (yes, I know I should have), so unfortunately I'm just going by the scale and how my pants fit (good news, they fit better!)

Source

I'm pretty lucky in that I love my job. The only thing I don't love is I don't really get paid enough for us to live on. So, I've been considering getting a second job for a while. That's tricky because with most jobs, you can't just tell them when you want to work. It's been a little scary. But, I've started to get some accompanying gigs which is awesome. Yes, it means late nights and early mornings, but I've got my Thrive to help me get through. I think I'll be ok. Plus I really have missed it.

So, on Monday I'm starting a new program since I'll be done with 21 Day Fix. It's called The Master's Hammer and Chisel. It's got the gal from 21 Day Fix in it (who I love, although I recently heard from several people that they think she's annoying) and the guy from Body Beast (who I also love). This program is a little more hardcore than 21 Day Fix. There are pull ups in most of the workouts. I'm going to have to dig out my pull up bar. But I think this will be good. I do plan to continue training for my race. In fact, this is a 60 day program so the end coincides almost exactly with the race. I may sub some Sunday workouts for long runs, but other than that I'll stick to the schedule and do these workouts in the morning, and run at lunch. It seems to be working for me.

They look pretty serious. I'm actually scared.

I also get to follow the 21 Day Fix eating plan, so that's cool. I have a pretty good handle on it.

I started taking Thrive in May, and saw some results. I was pretty excited about it. But around October, I felt like it had quit working. My energy was low. I was relying on coffee again. And my appetite was ridiculous. I ate everything. And I didn't just eat one cookie- I had to eat ALL THE COOKIES! Turns out this medication is notorious for weight gain. I know it was affecting me. So, I asked to be switched to a different medication and the difference is amazing. I think the Thrive is finally working the way it's supposed to. I wake up early even if I didn't get my 8 hours. I'm motivated. I just feel capable. That's the word- capable. Like I can handle things.

Overall, things are going great. I'm excited that I made it through the 21 days, and I'm excited about starting another new program. I'm just excited about everything at the moment!

Source

I'm Making Progress!

Well, after a few weeks of some pretty sporadic, inconsistent running, I'm having a good week again. I have increased my running intervals to 5 minutes running/1 minute walking.

source

 My goal is to run 3 times a week. Since 3 30 minute workouts a week are not enough to get me in shape, I'm also doing 21 day fix... as long as I'm able to I'll keep going.

source

I'm only running two miles. I have a plan. I'm going to gradually increase the running intervals until I can run the entire 2 miles. This will be for my runs during the week.

I will start prepping for my "long" runs on Saturdays by increasing the distance. But, I'm going to run 3/walk 2 for those runs. That's what I plan to do race day so that's how I'll do it. I probably won't start Saturday running though until we move, but that's pretty soon so it won't be long!

In fact, today is July 29. My last day at work is August 7. I have to play at church on August 9. After that, we're going to load up HOPEFULLY a tow-trailer (hopefully our stuff will fit into it- we really don't want to have to get another truck) and make the drive to Dallas. We don't have a place to live yet so we'll be putting our stuff in storage (most of it is already there) and staying with my dad while we look. New job starts August 17.

I'm confident we'll find something. I'm also confident that my husband is going to find work. He has already had a job interview and we're waiting to hear about it.

source

Everything is going to be just fine...

(4 months 2 weeks and 0 days until the Dallas Half Marathon)

Why isn't running getting easier?

As I was running today, I found myself thinking, "Isn't this supposed to get easier the more you do it?" Because it's really not...

I have been stuck at running 4 minute intervals for weeks. A few times I've been able to run those 4 minute running/1 minute walking intervals 6 times and make it about 3 miles. But the last few times I run, I could barely make it 2 miles. Today, in fact, I had to take a walk break during my last 4 minute interval.

This is not encouraging considering I'm running 13.1 miles in 5 months.

I need to be consistently running 3 miles 3 times a week before I start my half marathon training in earnest. And, to be honest, I probably won't start that until after we've moved.

This is kind of how I feel while running

To make things even harder, I restarted 21 Day Fix this week, and Day 1 has made me incredibly sore. Today is Wednesday- I did that workout on Monday and my legs still hurt. Squatting to sit down hurts. So it made running extra challenging today.

I must just be really out of shape.

So I told myself that this week I'm going to run 3 times, and run 2 miles each time. That's only a 6 mile week, but I think it's better to be consistent than to run one really spectacular day and then take the rest of the week off.

Next week the goal will be to run 3 times and run 2.5 miles each. Maybe by the next week I'll be up to 3 miles. And of course, I'll keep doing 21 Day Fix as much as I can through the moving process.

Except sometimes it hurts more...

How's it going?

Well, there are a lot of things happening so I figured I would blog about them...

I've had a couple of off weeks with running. I've been stuck at week 6. The week six workout is basically run 4/walk 1 6 times. I can do it 4 times. Maybe 5 on a good day. I went out of town the week before last and that got my running completely off track. The next week I was sick. So this week my goal is to run 4 times and to work up to doing 6 intervals (which works out to about 3 miles).

So the reason I went out of town...

I had job interview in Dallas. Dallas is very special to me. It's my hometown, and it's where my family is. It's also where I'm running a half marathon in December. So I'm pretty excited to announce that I got the job!

Of course, I have mixed feelings and a lot of stress. My goal for the next 6 weeks - between now and when I start the new job- is to keep up with my running. I also restarted 21 day fix again today. I figure I need some cross-training to go with the running and these workouts are only 30 minutes each, so it's doable. I'm going to try to keep up with this through the move.

This is how I feel about packing and moving 5 people and a cat to a place we don't really have yet:







I've recently learned the term "KonMari" from the book "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo.

It's a pretty book:

 I'm hoping I can "KonMari" my stuff while packing and have a nice, organized move where no one feels the need to drink too much or have a nervous breakdown.

Oh and I'm still getting a doctorate. I'm supposed to write my first three chapters of my dissertation in the next month. So that's fun.

Three things Friday

It's been a quiet week here on the blog, but thank goodness it's finally Friday!

1. I almost dropped my class. So I wrote to my professor and told him I was dropping the class. He wrote back and told me I had a high B and asked that I take the third exam and then decide if I wanted to drop. I agreed, and studied for the exam. I took the exam on Wednesday. Thursday I found out I got the highest grade in the class and set the curve. So, I figured I better stay in the class. Now all I have to do for this class is write a paper, that just so happens to me Chapter 1 of my dissertation. This is scary. And it's due in 19 days!

 

In other academic news, I have a presentation at a conference on April 28. It's about a project that I haven't quite finished yet. So I need to finish the project and prepare a presentation about it sometime before April 28. Just a little more stress.

2. I'm looking for new music for running. If you have a favorite workout song, can you let me know in the comments?

3. I'm thinking about what workouts I'm going to do when I'm finished with this round of 21 Day Fix. I love these workouts but I'm a little burned out. I can't decide, though, between Body Beast and Insanity Max 30.

Pros for Body Beast: I miss lifting and I need to work on pullups.

Cons for Body Beast: They are longer than 30 minutes. I'll have to drag out a lot of equipment.

Pros for Insanity Max 30: They are 30 minutes long. People have gotten amazing results. There is no equipment needed.

Cons for Insanity Max 30: I am really scared of these workouts and not sure I can do them. 

So I guess I'll continue to debate this for the next 2 weeks while I finish this round of 21 day fix...

vs.

So... what do you all think I should do for my next workout program?

Thoughts of an animal loving meat eater...

**Note: Despite today's date, this is not an April Fool's Joke. I am completely serious. **

Lately I've been conflicted. I've been eating a basic bodybuilding style diet (with lots of cheats, hence the reason I am not at my goal weight) for years now. I dabbled in Paleo too here and there, doing a Whole 30 every now and then. But the thing these diets have in common is a lot of meat.

Then I look at my cat, or someone's dog, and I think "What makes this animal different from a cow, chicken or turkey? Why does this animal deserve my love more than other animals?" And I have a moral dilemma.

So I've been wondering if I could do it. If I could slowly make the transition to vegetarian, or even (gasp) vegan?

I've started with research. I haven't changed anything in my diet yet. I'm still following standard 21 Day Fix meal plans (tightening up on those this weekend, by the way, but that's another post).

I guess my next steps are going to be to try to replace meat with non-animal products. I'm not going to cut out dairy immediately... (because OMG I love cheese!) but I will start with the substitutions listed in the 21DayFix guide. I'm also switching to Vegan Chocolate Shakeology, which will not be that big a deal I'm sure. I already drink Shakeology, just now without any animal products (mostly dairy/whey protein)

I'm telling you all this because I plan to document it all here.

Now, there was a time when I was a raw vegan. I felt really healthy, and my skin was amazing. I did it as long as I could, but the biggest problems were 1) food was really expensive and 2) I spent all my time in the kitchen. So this time, I would like to avoid those problems and hopefully be a little more successful. I have considered starting off with the 21 day Ultimate Reset, but that would be more of a crash course/sudden "OK I'M 100% VEGAN NOW!" and not at all gradual, so I may wait until I have transitioned a little more. Plus, on the Reset you're not supposed to workout strenuously, and since I see myself doing either 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix Extreme for the foreseeable future, that's me out.

Have any of you successfully transitioned to a vegetarian or vegan diet? Do you have any tips? I would love to hear them...

First Marvelous in My Monday

I'm joining the Marvelous in my Monday link up party ! #MIMM. This is my first time...


So, what's marvelous in my life today?

1. I started 21 Day Fix Extreme today. Oh. My. Goodness. So extreme. So challenging. I had previewed a few workouts before officially starting, but Plyo Fix Extreme- it was like Insanity or something!

2. I worked yesterday, which means I get Friday off this week. Only one of my children will be home. It will be like a vacation!

3. I was able to put on a pair of pants today that were quite tight the last time I tried them. Since my scale is broken and I didn't take measurements when I started 21 Day Fix, I'm using this to gauge my progress, and I declare PROGRESS MADE!

4. While I was at work Sunday, my husband took the kids to the beach. It was probably the most beautiful day we've had all year. Here they are frolicking:

What's marvelous in your Monday today?

21 Day Fix... or "Finally, something that might work..."

A little bit about me:

Back when I was at my best

I was super fit. I was in the best shape of my life. I had had 2 kids and when I was surprised to find out a 3rd was on the way, I thought I would just bounce right back after she arrived.

A few days before she was born

My sweet surprise

Well, she's almost 2 and I'm still 25 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.

I've tried a bunch of different things. I tried using old plans from before I was pregnant. I hired a trainer. Each time, I give up. I quit. I lose and gain the same 10 pounds over and over again.

This time, though, I am determined. I'm in my second week of the 21 Day Fix and it's pretty easy to follow. I'm taking away the pressure of feeling like I should be at the gym lifting. I basically started over as a beginner after a long time away from any kind of workout. I feel so good to be doing SOMETHING.

I'm also running 3 times a week. And when I say "running", I mean "working up to running 5K again".

So, stay tuned. I'm going to have some great before and after pictures.