Dear Kel...

Since I want to use this blog as a journal, I think it's important to keep posting regardless how much or how little I think I have to say.  So this is just a quick update to myself!

Dear Kel,

The last time you posted here, you were down 21.9 pounds.  Today, you are down 25.8!  Last week you bought yourself 3 pairs of capris 2 sizes  smaller than where you were when you started this thing.  TWO SIZES SMALLER!  And now, those capris are already too roomy.  You picked up 2 pairs of work-acceptable shorts 3 sizes smaller than where you started.  You can get them on - including buttoning and zipping - but right now, they are just a tiny bit too snug to wear comfortably.  But that's ok!  You're almost there!  (And on that note, it's time to find a smaller workout shirt.  I mean, look at how that thing hangs on you!  lol)

After Week 6 Day 3.

You just finished week 6 of the C25K program which means you're 3/4 of the way done.  Your last run was 22 minutes straight, and even though you got that stupid "side bite" that makes you want to quit, you didn't.  You allowed yourself to slow down a bit but you never stopped.  This run was much easier than your 20 minute run in week 5 which means you're getting better.  Just remember: your focus is on endurance, not speed.  You can work on your speed after you complete the program.  But seriously, you're rocking this thing and you should be freaking proud of yourself!

You've done a little bit of research and found what seems to be a good long-term weight loss goal.  The number itself seems completely unreal, but hey, so did 25 pounds and guess who's currently carrying 25 fewer pounds than she was before?  That's right Lady.. that's you!  You've decided to cut the long-term goal in half so you can reach 2 smaller goals rather than 1 large one.  Your first short-term goal is to lose another 18.5 pounds, but don't let it get into your head.  You're focusing on finishing the C25K program and making good meal choices.  As long as you keep doing that, you're going to bust through those goals in no time!

Don't forget, you've had 2 friends tell you that they'll run your first 5K with you.  How cool is that? You're almost done with your program and you know how you are... the last workout of the program is to actually run a 5K and if you don't have one scheduled when you get to it, you're going to go insane.  Do yourself a favor and find one NOW that you can do in 3 or so weeks.  Get RM and LW to sign up with you, see if CK wants to join you, and cross that bad boy off your list!  I am telling you right now, you'll regret it like crazy if you don't do it.  Do it, have fun, then start in on the 10K training program.  :)

And finally, remember . . . running is hard.  There really isn't anything particularly easy about it, but you LOVE it and no matter how difficult your run may be, you WILL feel great afterward.  This is your reward and for goodness sake, you deserve this!

<3

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Week 5

May 3rd - Week 3 (the first one), Day 3

Week 5 is upon me and this is the week that things start getting real.  This is an 8 week program so by entering into week 5, I've officially made it past the half way mark!  (And, considering I did week 3 twice, this is actually my 6th week running.)  Not only that, but this is when the workouts get longer and more difficult.  Someone on the C25K Facebook page was saying they were extremely worried  about week 5, day 3 and was asking for advice on how to get through it.  Now, silly me, I don't tend to look at the upcoming workouts.  I pretty much just pay attention to that day's workout.  But, this piqued my curiosity (not to mention got me a bit worried), so I scrolled ahead.  Now I understand.  

"Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking."

What??  Two miles??  NO WALKING??  I'm not even running yet and I already can't breathe!

But my cousin is in town from Denver and she's also a runner.  Lucky for me, she still has an office when she comes home and that office happens to be in the same complex that I work in.  So we are running together this week.  And what's most awesome about it (besides getting to spend time with my cousin), is she's going to be there to push me when I need it most, so I will have no choice but to finish that run on Friday!

Yes, part of me is scared as heck over it.  But, another part of me is secretly semi-excited.  I've already proven to myself that I can run for a mile straight without stopping.  It wasn't easy by any means, but dang it, I did it and I couldn't have been any happier.  That was two weeks ago.  I'm curious to see if I've improved since then.  My pace seems to average about 13:30/mile so in all honesty, I will probably hit 20 minutes before I hit the two miles.  Maybe I'll aim for a mile and a half in 20 minutes.  We'll see how it plays out.  :)  

Changes!

So I mentioned that I had made it 10.5 pounds down last week.  I also mentioned that I've been seeing the scale creep up and then back down.  This past week was no different.  I hated to see it go back up after hitting that huge (to me) milestone, but I managed to remain calm.  I knew it would go back down, and it did.  I'm back down and even down a little bit more than before.  

Aside from the scale going down, something very exciting is that all of my jeans are getting to be too big!  On one hand, I hate that I only have two pairs of jeans that fit. And on the other hand, I ONLY HAVE TWO PAIRS OF JEANS THAT FIT!  :D  That means that I'm going to have to go shopping for new ones!  What woman wouldn't be excited by this? I'm excited about the need, but I'm actually nervous about it.  I'm afraid of going in, trying on a size smaller only to find that they are too small.  What a spirit killer, eh?

And TMI warning:  This is a side note more or less to myself . . .

• My shirts seem to be fitting differently in the chest area.  Not filled out as much up there?  Uh oh!
• I feel like I'm losing weight in my tooshy, which by the way - THANK YOU GOD! - my unders seem to be a little more roomy in the backside.  
• My tummy seems to be getting softer.  This is probably from a lack of muscle tone.  I'll need to try to add some core work into my routine.

My dear husband commented tonight that my face looks thinner, my legs look more firm, and my arms look a bit thinner.  

I think it goes without saying that I'm super pleased with my progress.  Can't wait to see what the scale says tomorrow!  lol

Milestone!

Milestone

In my first post, I mentioned that I before I started running, I started taking walks during my lunch hour.  It was right around this time that I started changing my diet.  I won't bore you with the details about how bad my lunch habits were, but trust me... it didn't help that my work just moved into a building with a cafeteria downstairs and Chik-Fil-A within walking distance!  So I was starting to get some exercise and eat better.  On April 9th I also began weighing myself every morning.  Now, I know they (who are "they" anyway?) tell us not to weigh ourselves daily, but weekly instead.  I'm happy with this daily routine.  Strangely enough, I look forward to it most days.  The thing is, I'm not unrealistic enough to expect to see big changes each day.  I'm not unrealistic enough to think that the only change I'm going to see is the number on the screen getting smaller.  The number IS getting smaller, slowly, but it's going down.  As a matter of fact, the number goes up here and there too, but only by a pound or two, and then goes back down.  So yes, I do look forward to getting on the scale right before I get in the shower every morning.  If it goes up, I'm ok.  It's not a trend, it's just normal.  However, if that number goes down, it's party time!  :)  

10 pounds down!!

So again, I started weighing myself on April 9th and then started running on April 15th.  This morning, I weighed in at 10.5 pounds down!!  I'm not going to share the gory details on where I started or where I'm at now, but I'll say this . . . I haven't been this light in FOR-EVER!  I don't remember being this weight ever.  I have another milestone coming up right around the corner.  It's so close I can almost grab it.  It's within reach, but I just have to get there.  It's a personal one so I'll have to think about sharing it.  But we'll see.

Today's Run

We were a little short handed at work today so I had to adjust my lunch schedule a bit.  This put me out on my run a couple of hours earlier than I usually run.  The weather was absolutely perfect for it.  Warm and sunny, but not at all too hot.  What I noticed right away was that there were more people out utilizing the Greenbelt.  In the beginning, this would have bothered me.  I would have been wondering how I must look to all these people and even considering slowing down to a walk until the coast was clear.  I've found though that I don't care anymore.  I think to myself, "Yup.  I'm a big girl, and I'm killin' it out here!"  

I'm very picky about my running music.  It can't be too slow, it can't be too fast, it can't be too wild or too old.  I pick music that pumps me up and keeps me going.  My workout playlist is housed on Spotify.  When I get outside, I scroll to it and hit shuffle.  Today however, it wasn't cooperating so I had to quickly pick another playlist that I had saved to my phone - which isn't many at all!  I ended up running to some of my favorite country music.  I was worried about what this would do to my pace.  I was especially worried about being in the middle of a run and getting hit with a ballad.  That would definitely kill my groove!  Thankfully, that didn't happen.  Overall, the change in music didn't slow me down, but it really didn't give me the boost that "Lose Yourself" or "Fighter" does.

I was able to finish all the running portions without too much difficulty.  One thing though that still gets me are some of the slight inclines along my routes.  Now wait.. before you ask... here's a bit of a backstory...

One of my coworkers - I'll call him J - is a mega-athlete and runs Robie every year.  He was cheering me on in the office telling me that I should go and climb Robie as part of my training.  I just stopped in my tracks, gave him that, are you even serious? look and said,  "J!  I can't climb Robie.  I can barely handle the inclines on the Greenbelt!"  He just looked at me dumbfounded and said, "What inclines?"  "Exactly."  lol

So yeah.. this is hard for me to admit but there are small inclines out there that slow me up.  I haven't gotten the hang of planning for these things in advance so they just seem to creep up on me.  Today, toward the tail end of my run, I get to one of these dreaded "hills" and decide to avoid it (I know, I'm a wuss.) by cutting off the Greenbelt along a little walkway that goes out to one of the main roads.  But oh crud!  There's another hill here - an even steeper one!  Ugh!  I'm pooped and I really want to be done with this, the final stretch of run in today's workout.  But instead of walking it or slowing down, I somehow manage to dig down deep and come up with some extra strength to power myself up that little hill.  After I made it up that, I continued on.  I will admit though, that I spent the last 30 running seconds grunting (and not caring if the guy hocking strawberries on the street corner can hear me or not), and sputtering, and maybe letting a swear word or two escape my lips.  It's not pretty folks, but it's how I manage to keep going!  :)

Looking forward to Friday's run!

The Day I Found My Strength

When I left off in my last entry, I had shared that I decided to go ahead and redo week 3.  I have zero guilt over that decision.  As a matter of fact, I think it was the best decision.  

During one of the walking intervals of my program, 5/8.

A friend of mine, Christine, and I thought it would be fun to run together.  She's a new runner also, but she's been doing it for a month or two longer than me, with a group of other people, and with way more intensity than I have been.  Between each of our schedules, we decided Wednesday was the best day for us to get together.  Now, when I agreed to run on that Wednesday, I really didn't take into consideration that Wednesdays are my normal running days.  I just went along with my normal schedule and ran my week 3, day 2 run that day - which I killed, by the way!  Felt like I could keep going!  :)  

So anyway, after work I changed back into my (still wet from sweat!) running clothes and headed over to her house.  Since I had already completed my program run for the day, this was going to be a just 'whatever goes' kind of extra run.  

{Something to consider here, up until this point, I had been running completely alone.  Three weeks earlier when I first began this journey, the thought of running alongside someone else made me cringe.  The LAST thing I wanted to do was have someone join me only to be held back by my (lack of) speed.  Besides that, I look terrible in my running clothes - all clingy and such.  Not to mention the jiggle.  There.  I said it.  I jiggle!  I don't want other people to be witness to my jiggle!  But I decided to get over it and run with a friend.  So I feel like that was another milestone that I reached!}

From her house, we walked down the neighborhood street out to the main road - a couple of minutes, max - and started running.  The biggest difference I noticed, aside from having a friend alongside me, was that I could actually hear myself breathing.  If you read my last post, you'll remember that I mentioned that that's something I didn't really WANT to be able to do.  But since I was with a friend this evening, it was only natural not to run to music, therefore keeping my ears unplugged.  What a difference!  As much as I love running to music and as much as I utilize it to keep me going, actually hearing my breathing really helped me find my rhythm made it easier to keep going.  So I focused a lot on that comfortable rhythm of inhales and exhales, and chatted a bit here and there.  At about .9 miles, I said I'd go until 1 mile and then I'd need to walk a bit.  Oh, and a potty break.  Forgot to go before leaving the house!  lol  But did you see what I said?  I'd need walking break at one mile!  I JUST RAN A MILE STRAIGHT WITHOUT WALKING!  Oh yeah!  I didn't even know I had it in me!  This, the girl who just a week ago couldn't run 3 minutes without needing a walking break, just ran A FULL MILE!!

So we walked the block back to her house and had our potty break.  And then she asks me, "Did you want to keep going, or do you want to call it good?"  Here's my out.  I can call it good here and not feel too much guilt because #1, I already successfully did my regular run, and #2, I just ran way longer than I ever have and I'm currently on a pretty major high.  Call it good?  HECK NO!  "I'm not done yet!"  So we walked back out to do the same route.  

I found that after a certain point shortly after starting this second "lap", I wasn't able to really converse and breathe at the same time, so she kept talking to me, gently coaxing me along, reminding me to focus on my breathing (wait.. was I running, or giving birth? lol) and to just keep going.  And I did.  My legs were starting to feel like cement, and it was getting harder to pick my feet up, but I did.  And once again, at the 1 mile mark, we called it good and took a nice slow walk back to her house where a yummy Hawaiian chicken and rice dinner was waiting for us.

So on this day, May 8, 2013, with  the help of my dear friend, I found the strength to reach a new milestone.  With each day that I run, I am learning that I am capable of more and more.   

Go Me!

"Welcome back Kel!  It's been a year since we've last seen you.  Are you going to stick it this time?  Time will tell!" - Signed, Blogger

Ok maybe not.  But they might as well send me this message.  :)  It has been a year since I posted (on my other blog), but I have something fun and exciting to write about now.  Are you ready for this?... I started running!  :)

For years and years I've had this deep seated desire to be a runner.  I would see other people running down the greenbelt, down the sidewalk, through a neighborhood - wherever - and I would actually long to be doing the same.

• But I'm out of shape.
• I would never make it.
• I'm SO out of shape.
• I probably don't even have the coordination for that anymore.
• I'm SO VERY out of shape.
• I have foot problems - I probably wouldn't be able to walk for a week afterwards.
• Not to mention my leg problems.

I had obviously already convinced myself I would fail miserably if I was ever brave enough to try.  (Yeah right.  Me?  Brave?  HA!)  But I was.  And I did.  And you know what?  I DID NOT FAIL!  I actually surprised the heck out of myself!

This is how it happened:

The weather was finally starting to improve and it finally became spring-like out here.  Now, I'm that person in the office who works through her breaks, often including lunch.  But after moving into a new office space, I lost my window so I now feel a little more cooped up.  I needed to get outside for a bit during the day so I decided to start taking walks during my lunch hour.  The problem I found with this, is that I don't stroll when I walk.  I am not capable of a nice leisurely walk.  I walk with purpose and I book-it.  So I kept coming in from my walks flushed and almost sweaty.  Not awesome.  So then I decided that if I'm on the verge of needing a shower anyway, why not make it worth while?

I had heard from a few friends that they started running using the C25K (Couch To 5K) app and had heard that they liked it and it had worked well for them.  Now, I honestly have no idea what made me think that I could actually pull this off (maybe knowing that the program started you out slow?), but I downloaded the app and decided to give it a try. Three days a week, 30 minutes a day sounded completely doable to me, as long as I didn't pass out on the greenbelt.  :)

So I did it.  Day 1, My shins hurt, my legs felt like cement, I struggled with my breathing, and I just knew I wouldn't make it to the end.  But I did.

Day 2, again, my shins hurt and I struggled with my breathing, but I didn't doubt my ability to finish quite so much. And I did.

Day 3, my shins hurt slightly less than before, and I still struggled with my breathing but knew I was going to finish the week.  And I did!

Dang the breathing!  I knew I was going to have to learn how to run, but I did not expect to have to learn how to breathe too!  I KNOW I sound like a dying cow out there because every time one of my ear bud falls out - which is too often (it's always the left one.  Dang tragus piercing!), I can hear myself.  Oh. My. Word.  Deep breaths mixed with shallow ones, with some long exhales mixed with lots of spit-flinging sputtering ones.  Yes.  "Dying cow" is pretty accurate.  Thank God for my noise-cancelling headphones, because if I can't hear myself breathing, no one else can either.  Right?  :)

So I completed week 1.  And then I completed week 2.  I was feeling great about my progress, even adding a couple extra runs in between.  Then week 3.  The dreaded week 3.

      "Brisk five-minute warm up walk, then do two repetitions of the following: jog for 90 secs; walk              
       for 90 secs; jog for 3 minutes"

Sounds easy huh?  Not so much.  On at least 2 of the 3 days for that week, I wasn't able to complete the second 3 minute run.  I could go for about 2.5 minutes before wanting to keel over.  My legs were fine, my shins only moderately hurt, but I was definitely realizing how important the breathing thing was going to be.  

Feeling slightly like I had failed, I weighed the option of redoing week 3 versus continuing on to week 4.  I thought about it for a day or two and decided that it doesn't matter how long it takes me to complete the C25K program.  It just matters that I complete it.  I know myself enough to know that if I go too fast and it becomes too hard, I'll quit.  So, rather than setting myself up for failure and going too hard, I decided to go home and read a bunch of articles about how to breathe while running, and then redo week 3.  So it'll take me an extra week to complete the program.  

Here I am after completing week 1, day 1 of C25K!  Still smiling!

So what?  

Who cares?

Anyone?

Please speak now or forever hold your peace.

Anyone?

I didn't think so.

I'm not quitting and that's the only thing I care about!  :)

So I (re-)started week 3, and you know what?  I'm killin' it!  I'm finishing both 3 minute runs and I'm convinced I could keep going!

And here I am, turning myself into a runner.  ME!  A runner!  I'm no longer sitting on the sidelines wishing I had the motivation and strength to do it, because I. am. doing. it.

I hope you'll join me in this new adventure and help cheer me on!

GO ME!  :)