Saturday, July 16, 2011

Frankie says "Relax"

But don't relax too much.  Because clearly that is what I have done.  I weighed in on Friday, and I have only lost .4 pounds in the last three weeks.  And while I continue to run three times a week, I have clearly blown my good eating habits over the weekends.  I can honestly say that is what happened.  I tend to relax a little too much and throw everything I have done down the drain on the weekends.  Like I "deserve" to eat.  I have to switch that mentality quickly!  This is a lifestyle change and food rewards are just no good! 

I think everyone struggles when they commit to a change in their life and food issues really are no different.  And while, no, I won't gain back the weight overnight, I have to remember that I didn't gain it overnight to begin with.  It was a series of years in the making and a long path of poor choices.  One bad weekend leads to two bad weekends, and on and on...

So, with that, I plan to totally get back on track.  I'm ready to move to the next step which is to lose the final 2.8 pounds to put myself into a new decade! 

I sincerely appreciate all of your encouragement!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

My 5k Comeback!

Hello all!  It has been awhile, and so much has happened in the last month!  I continue to "joggle" 3 days a week and also continue to fight the good healthy food fight.  I have a weigh-in this Friday and I'm hopeful that I will enter a new decade this time.  It has actually been 3 weeks since I weighed myself.

This past Saturday, I ran in a 5k race to benefit the youth group at my church.  It was in my neighborhood, so I couldn't reasonably say no.  It was at 8:00 in the morning, so it wasn't too hot, but the humidity in Ohio is just unbearable sometimes, so it was definitely sticky!  I couldn't be more ecstatic about my results because I finished it in 37:50!  That is just amazing compared to some of the past races I have done.  My last 5k was in October, 2010, and I beat that time by 12 minutes.  The kicker is that I actually walked the first 5 minutes to warm up, so I was really putting a lot of effort into this run.  If I would have kept up that pace for a 10k, I would have beat my results of the 10k race I ran in April by almost 10 minutes.  Just awesome for me! 

I began using a new training program on my iPhone called Podrunner:Intervals Gateway to 8k, and I love it as much as the 5k training program I previously used.  I am a little embarrassed to admit that I am still on week one, but I have been doing it for almost 3 weeks.  It is really tough, and again, the heat and humidity has been exhausting, so it's all I can do to run 3-4 times a week!  At any rate, I'm still exercising and gettin' my sweat on!

I am trying to reassess my plans to run a Half-Marathon in October.  At this point, I just don't know if I'm ready for that large of a goal.  Yes, I'm wimping out a little, but I'm also trying to be realistic.  I don't want to end up hating exercise.  I am really comfortable with running 3-4 miles at a time right now, but at the same time, I know I need to push the envelope a little.  So, we shall see.  I may make my next goal a 10k and hope to run most of it.  I really think that is a better goal for me right now.

I hope all is well with everyone and that you are taking the time to get out and enjoy some of this blistering sun!