Browsing

No, not for new clothes (although I wouldn't mind doing that)!

I'm looking @ 1/2 marathon training guides

and potential races for spring.

To 1/2 or not?......that is the question!

Input welcome.....

2010 Reflection (It's a long one)

So here we are at the end of December and I've been waiting all year to write this post.

The past 12 months have been monumental for me, life changing is not too extreme to use to describe my year. My boys are way too important to me for me to be unhealthy. Everything I do is for them, so this was the year I wanted to make me the best I can be so that I, in turn, can be the best for them - they deserve it!

This is what I looked like in January, 12 months ago (it's taking a lot for me to even post these, but I took them for a reason, so read on):

I was (at least) 30 pounds overweight and felt awful. I've been on the chubbier side of healthy (and at many times FAT) for most of my life, but several years back I lost a pile of weight and knew I needed to get back to that healthy life style.

The boys helped me make a chain link - 30 links long; one link for each pound I wanted to lose. I changed colors every five links just to change it up a little and to try to make the 30 pounds I needed to lose a little more manageable. I started and ended the links with yellow - the first 5 symbolizing the fat that was going away and the last 5 symbolizing gold medals!



On the 2nd of each month, my trusty best friend (and husband) helped me with my measurements (I measured arms, bust, waist, hips, thighs). I kept track of my weight daily (and still do) on a dry-earse board in the bathroom. Jeremy saw my weight everyday. It was good because I kinda felt accountable to him and on days my weight went down, he always complimented me (on days my weight went up, he either didn't say aything or would say something like, "we had a really salty supper last night, I'm sure it's just fluid retention." That's the kind of support that everyone needs.

The combination that I've been using to lose the weight isn't rocket science - it's the simple mathematical thought of

INPUT  + OUTPUT = RESULTS

Therefore, my input had to be LESS than my output

OR

my output had to be MORE than my input.

Diet and exercise.

I've been following Weight Watchers points system (I didn't join WW, just had some of the resources and followed those) and started exercising (being the spoiled person I am, I have access to a state-of-the-art fitness facility @ work).

My workouts consisted of treadmill, eliptical, and other cardio exercises (including some jogging intervals) from January - March, resulting in about a 20 pound weight loss over those 3 months.

Me somewhere around my 20-pound weight loss!

April 2, 2010, I decided that I was going to complete a 5K on May 16th. That gave me 6 weeks to get myself in good enough shape to make it those 3.1 miles without falling over.
My first attempt out running was not pretty - my lungs burned, my stomach ached, my head pounded, my spirit destroyed - I thought it would be easy. Ha! I'd come to find out that running is as hard as hell. Even to this day, there's no 'easy run' for me. I kept pushing forward and eventually ran 3.1 miles (with some walking intervals) in 34:00. So I decided to set my first 5K goal @ 32:00 or less.
May 16th arrived and I was so nervous for this race. It was very cold out that morning and I didn't really know what I needed as far as clothing. To my fault, I under-dressed, wearing just shorts and a short sleeve shirt. I probably needed pants and a long sleeve shirt. About 1 mile into the run, my legs were so freagin' cold I couldn't feel them any longer. 2.5 miles in, I started getting nauseous. I crossed the finish line in 30:03! Way under my goal time. The thought that crossed my mind as I crossed that finish line? Damn, I missed the 30:00 mark by 3 seconds, I'll do better next time. Even though I felt like throwing up at the moment, I knew I was hooked on running.

1st 5K - crossing the finish line

 My cheering squad

 To my total surprise, a medal! My 1st 5k - I placed!

The 5ks kept coming - you can see the list of races along the right side of my blog.
Every race has been different, but the one that that always seems constant is that I end up doing better than I think I'll do.

One highlight through all of this was vacation in Ocean City, MD. I actually took several bathing suits with me and LIKED putting them on, and didn't mind wearing them or people looking.
Here's a recap from vacation and how I stayed on my healthy journey:
http://yayformom.blogspot.com/2010/07/who-takes-scale-on-vacation.html

Photos of me from vacation

 (It took a lot for me to post this because I'm usually trying to cover myself up while in a bathing suit. Check out my beautiful running shorts leg tan)

In August and September, I ran my best 5k times 26:38 and 26:25 earning two 1st place finishes in my age category and fueling my fire for more races and maybe bigger races. On August 2nd, I started thinking about trying a race with a bit more distance - 10k - that's 6.2 miles......

October 2nd, 2010, I ran my first 10k race in Hollidaysburg. My goal was to finish somewhere around 63:00, but I came in around 54:25 - - - - -crazy! Another 1st place age category finish. Awesome!

I have 1 more 5k in a few days - it's a New Year's Eve Twilight run through Lakemont's Lights on the Lake display - should be fun.

One last major feat I hit was being able to run 10 miles. Just before Christmas break started last week, I kick the treadmill's butt by running 10 miles in about 96:00 (that still keeps me under the 10:00/mile pace).
________________________________________________________________________
A quick summary of 2010 for me:
Between 33-35 pounds GONE!
Seven 5k races (plus 1 more in a few days) and one 10k race under my belt
Ability to run up to 10 miles at a time (OK, I only did this once so far, but I can still say I did it)
A new set of clothes (in a much smaller size) :)
Ability to manage stress much better
A healthier attitude toward my health
Made some new friends through running
All around happier

My LBD (little black dress) - size small!

 Being silly with Jackson (this was at the Oct 30 5k)

Coaching Jackson's soccer team

My motivation, inspiration, my everything:

So the next logical thought is:
What's in store for 2011?
That will be my next post (that's my way of saying, "I'm not sure yet!")

Thanks for reading.

Guest Blogger

Head on over to Leslie's blog  - she let me be a guest blogger while she's on vacation!

An Error Worth Chattin' About

Nobody likes when they make a mistake, but in this case, it's for the better. The Turkey Trot results were posted today and I found that my official time was 27:08, not 27:37 like I thought. But even sweeter than that is that I didn't finish last in my age category, rather 7th out of 19 in the category! That's a big deal because I thought I was last. I guess that'll teach me to stay until all the times are posted (I thought they were, but I was wrong)! This all makes me feel better and I'm OK with my 'mistake!'

Coming Soon

I'm starting to formulate my 'end-of-the-year' reflection post. This was a BIG year for me. One that started BIG and ended much smaller.

I have the stories and photos to prove it.

Coming towards the end of December!

My First Turkey Trot!

Thanksgiving morning - Ebensburg Area Running Club sponsored a

Turkey Trot 5K! Their hope was 50-100 runners. They got over 200! I was one of those 200 runners. We woke up to a 'wintry mix.' I never ran in the rain (not even a summery shower) let alone a wintry mix. I didn't know what to wear, I didn't know how to prepare myself.

This is the main intersection in Ebensburg - notice the trees in the distance are FROZEN!

Not having the opportunity for many photos, Jeremy shot this one of me prior to the race. I think this is my "I-must-be-crazy-for-signing-up-for-this" face. Or maybe I was just trying to keep the rain/sleet out of my face. I decided to run with a rain coat (in addition to the many layers I had on to keep me warm) to try an keep as much of me dry as possible. Check out that super-cute hat. It's from Turtle Fur, a company in Vermont that makes cold-weather accessories. And also check out my Relay For Life rain coat - I earned that for raising over $1000 for Relay in 2007 (it's a little big....I was a tad larger then).

The race finished near the fire station and we were allowed to go in to get warmed up and dry off. Imagine the pure joy of my boys when they found out that we got to hang out in the fire station with about 7 different fire trucks............Jude kept insisting that we go find the 'old-fashioned' fire truck and finally we walked into the side garage and found an antique fire truck. We've never been in this fire station before and have NO idea how he knew it was in there. I guess when you're that into fire trucks you can just sense those things.

As you can see, the rain coat didn't really keep me too dry. You can see the big water marks on my shirt and about 3/4 of my legs were wet. The rain just kept beating my face and although my initial strategy was to try and run around or jump over the puddles (which I came to realize lost me precious time), I eventually gave in and welcomed the refreshing, freezing water gushes into my shoes!

Smiles! Looking a little wiped out. For some reason, it took me about 15 minutes to recover from this run. I felt light-headed and nauseated. I'm not sure if it was because I ate breakfast too early or the cold/wet run? Here's my stuff!

I don't think I realized that Jeremy was taking this picture, but I think it's kinda funny.

Me with my boys - no matter how I do in races, they (including the one behind the camera) are always at the finish line waiting for me and cheering me on (even in the wintry mix). They are my everything.

So, a race is about racing and I've impressed myself this year with the number of times I've placed in the top 3 in my age category. This race wasn't one of them. I finished (unofficially) in 27:37 and that placed me last in my age category :( 

That's a bummer. I mean, someone has to be last, but it's no fun. It is a little motivating to be honest, though.

I'm not sure where I finished overall.

Next race is on December 31 @ Lakemont Park in Altoona. I'll run through the Holiday Lights on the Lake - that should be fun and exciting.

Time to pick my butt up off the ground

I just read my previous post and man did I sound like a loser - come on, Amy, suck it up and get on with things. Geeezzz!

It's Monday and so far this week, I've logged 12.24 miles.

Now, that's more like it!