I need to quit my bitchin'...

The Internet gave me a much needed bitch slap this morning. 

The first thing I do every morning is catch up on what I missed on Twitter while I was sleeping. This morning, while sipping my coffee, eating a croissant with ham & cheese, I read 3 blog posts in a row talking about struggles with weight, both losing and keeping it off.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. My 2 year Thin-aversary is in a WEEK!

For the last year I have been whining and bitching about how I am struggling to get back to my lowest weight a measly little 5lbs from where I am today.

Why am I making such a big deal over this? My pants fit (they aren't even tight). I am within my 2lb Lifetime buffer zone.  I have a "healthy" BMI. I look in the mirror and love what I see.

So why the frack does that number on the scale bother me so much?  Seriously, why?

I'm not running or hitting the gym like I used to. I suck at tracking. If it really meant that much to me to be a certain number on the scale, I would be doing the things I know I need to do. Instead, I am eating moderately healthy, and beating myself up once a week when I step on the scale.

I really think it's okay though. I'm not out of control. Things are where they should be even if it isn't were I want it to be. The few times I have been up in a not so great range, I got it back down almost immediately.

Maybe my desire to be 5lbs lower than where I am at is actually what is helping me stay in the range I need to be in?  I don't know. But what ever is going on is obviously working so I need to STFU and keep doing it.

The point however is this...I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and start feeling greatful. I need to not be such a twatwaffle because it could be much worse.
Anyway...

Here is a mid year update on the goals I set for myself in January:

2012 Goals:

1)  Get back to my "Happy Weight" and stay there! None of this up and down shit.:  See above.
2)  Maintain my 4.0 GPA: NOPE...3.9...Got a B in International Dynamics. Don't get me started.
3) Run the 8k Shamrock Run (not the 15k like I really want, I am just not ready...maybe 2013) - March: Done
4)  Race for the Roses 5k- April (Found out they have a 10k...thinking on this one...):  Nope, but did the Bridge to Brews 10k instead
5) Personal - May: Next week....gulp!
6) Portland to Coast - August: Have a team, and race is on schedule!
7) Race for the Cure 5k - September:  Need to register
8) Graduate from College - December:  Still on schedule
9)  Go to Cleveland for Christmas - December:  Plane tickets purchased and added a week in Disney to the end of the trip.
11) Blog at least once a month:  Didn't post in June.
12) Finally convince the folks at Weight Watchers to fly me to New York and make me an official Success Story. (yea,yea, this one is a LONG shot...but a girl can dream, right?):  Not yet, but I will begin drafting my 2 year Thin-aversery email tomorrow for sending on the 19th.
13) Attend a Weight Watchers meeting AT LEAST once a month, earning a new Key in December:  Still on track.

That's all I have for now. Sorry I don't have any pictures. Next month will have a LOT of pictures in the PTC post.

Oh, and I have a race on the 22nd. A 4 miler that I signed up for because it has a race medal. I want a damn medal!  I haven't run since May 27th. I imagine the race will not go well.

XOXO

Shamrock Run 2012 Recap

Last year I ran the Shamrock Run 5k, and had a blast. (Read about it here)

This year I decided to up the challenge. My original plan was to run the 15k, but after a lot of thought and several drafts of a training plan, I decided to run the 8k instead.

I signed up in early January, did the math, and figured out how much running I would have to do to get ready in time. Now, when I say "did the math" I want you to know, that in my head 8k translated to 6.5 miles. So that is what I trained for. (Yea, 8k is actually 4.96 miles...I am very stupid...)

Luckily winter started out really mild here in Portland so I was able to do a lot of long runs outside. I pushed each weekend run a little longer outside to get more distance and closer to the 6.5 mile mark. I figured once I had the distance down, I would be fine. I was in no rush to win the 8k, I just wanted to finish!

I found out a few weeks before the race, just after my first ever 6.5 mile run, that an 8k isn't actually 6.5 miles and that I would only need to run 4.96 miles. I was SO excited!  I could run 5 miles easily! I could actually focus on speed and not stopping for walk breaks! 

I did my usual pre-race ritual of getting my clothes ready and in a pile on the couch the day before the race. And like usual, I laid in bed too excited to sleep and worried that I would over sleep my alarm.




I didn't wear the shirt. I wore something else. Green isn't my color.


I dozed off eventually and at 6:02 my eyes flew open in a panic wondering why my alarm hadn't gone off. (I set my alarm for 6:04 so, it went off 2 minutes later.)  I braided my hair, got dressed and the Man and I were out they door right around 7.

We took public transportation to the race because there is no way in HELL that we would be finding parking downtown.

The 8k was scheduled to start at 8:25. We got there just after 8. There were some delays due to Amtrak, so we had to stand in the cold rain (much better than the snow that was predicted) until almost 8:45 before it was even my turn to start.

I was so excited to get running because I was so cold. I knew once I got going I would get warm quickly.

The race itself went fantastic. I didn't feel the urge to stop. I really wanted to run faster but there were SO many people I couldn't get a clear path. (Why the HELL do people stop to walk as a GROUP in the middle of the road? Please, GO TO THE SIDE! Let the runners PASS!)

The night before I memorized the course so I knew that there would be a steep uphill the last mile, followed by 2 turns then a steep downhill to the finish. Knowing that the finish was at the bottom of the hill kept me running up it. I looked at my Garmin on the downhill and saw that I was doing an 8 min mile and actually laughed out loud. When I turned the last corner, I aimed myself for the left side of the road because I knew that is where the Man would be waiting with the camera. I gave him a HUGE grin when I saw him, and then some bitch ran in front of my ruining the picture.

I crossed the finish line in exactly 54 minutes! 6 minutes faster than my goal of 1 hour! I was wet and only a little tired. As I went to find water I tried not to be upset because I felt like I should have pushed harder. I was barely out of breath and I felt like I could keep running.

I snapped out of that quickly, put a smile on my face, and met up with the Man and headed for the beer garden for my free beer and chowder!

After I chugged that beer down, we headed to our fave breakfast place so I could eat my weight in blueberry pancakes. I then went home, showered and took a LONG nap.  Spent the rest of the day on the couch doing homework.

I still feel like I should have pushed harder. My muscles weren't sore at all the next day. I am a little disappointed in myself which I shouldn't be. I ran a mother effing 8k! Next year I will be doing the 15k. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!

Oh, and I may have signed up for a 10k in 3 weeks...Bridge to Brews

And I may have my eye on a half marathon in June...or I could puss out and just do the 10k version of that race. We will see.

Can I run a 15k?

So I have been pondering running a 15k in March.

I know, it sounds crazy.  I have only done 5k's up until this point so why triple that lenght?

Well, the Shamrock Run is is in March of 2012 and they offer 3 lengths: 5k (which I did last year), 8k, and 15k.

I could do an 8k with only moderate effort.  Adding a few miles would be some work, but totally doable.

However, a 15k would be a MAJOR stretch for me and a SUPER challenge.  PLUS, finishers of the 15k get a medal!  (Yea, I want the medal...I am a sucker for shiney things...)

For the last few days I have been staring at an Excel spreadsheet calendar that I created and have been stressing about how to add training to my routine without having to sacrifice fun/school/work/sleep.

I would love some feedback from experience runners on if this is doable (and feedback from non-runners too wouldn't be a terrible thing either). 

2010 in review & 2011 goals

Time to reflect back on 2010 and set some goals for myself for 2011. 

Yea, I know, I am about 10 days behind.  Whatever, I don't care, I can do what I want. Besides, I didn't get my new fancy pants laptop until last week and I finally got it all set up over the weekend.  Baby steps!

So, I got a new laptop for one major specific reason.  In 11 days I will be sitting in my first college class in almost 10 years!  One of my goals for 2010 was to look into the possibility of going back to school, and as it turns out, it was completely possible!  I was accepted into George Fox University's Adult Degree Program while I was on vacation in Disney World.  I will be working towards a BA in Management and Operational Leadership.  I am about halfway there so if all goes well, I should be holding a degree in my hands in the Summer or Fall of 2012.  Which brings me to goal #1 for 2011.

#1)  Maintain a B average (3.0 GPA)

I was a C average student in high school and graduated with a 2.6 GPA so striving for a B average is a lofty goal for myself.

#2) Maintain my goal weight and weigh in at a Weight Watcher's meeting once a month. 

I have been a Life time member for almost 6 months now, and have only weighed in at a meeting 3 times.  Not good.  I weighed in today, and had to pay $13. 

As I am sure you are aware as you have been following my diligently on Twitter and this blog, I lost 65 lbs with Weight Watchers.  Of that 65, 35 of it was in 2010. 

I haven't been using the Online Tracker the last 6 months due to some miscommunication and budget constraints.  However, I still track my weight every Monday in an Excel spreadsheet.  One big thing I noticed was that I was only under my personal goal weight for one week.  For the rest of the time, I was up 2-4 lbs.  This needs to stop in 2011.  I want to be closer to my personal goal number and only fluctuate 2 lbs above or below that number.

In an effort to get back on track, I have started on the new Points Plus program and am tracking again.  Not with the online tools yet, since I still can't afford them, but the old fashioned way with a pencil and paper!  My first day on the Points Plus program was a bit of a challenge as I couldn't eat all my points even though I tried.  Not to worry though, I will get it.  It will just take some work. 

I also need to get my ass back on my treadmill.  I haven't been on it since November 29th.  (Yuck, that grosses me out.)  My wonderful husband has been super diligent on the treadmill lately and lost 4 lbs last week by just adding exercise.  Which says to me, we are eating the right things, we just needed to add exercise!  I don't have a fully developed plan for working out yet, but I think it may involve getting a book holder for the treadmill and doing my school reading while power walking.  There is a 5k coming up March 13th that I am going back and forth on, but I just need to bite the bullet and sign up. 

My plans for 2011 include:

• Shamrock Run in March (?)
• Go to Seattle with friends in February (?)
• Take my husband to a fancy restaurant for his birthday and wear something tight, short, and sexy in March.
• Show my mom around town and party like I am not turning 27 for the 3rd time in May.
• Starlight Run in June.  (Starlight Run was my first ever 5k in 2010!)
• Celebrate one year at Lifetime in July.
• Portland to Coast in August.
• Race for the Cure in September.
• Something super romantic for my 5 year wedding anniversary in October.

I am going to try and post blogs more often with how things are going in my life.  I promise to try!  Feel free to nag me to post more often!  I still need to post about my trip to Disney so hopefully I will get all my pics loaded on to this new computer soon and I will get one written up!