30 days later...

Well, my month of My Fitness Pal is officially over.  I stuck with it and only missed a few days of tracking. 

I have to say, the first week was really tough. I struggled a lot with being hungry.  After the first week, it got easier and by the end of the month, hunger was barely an issue.

I missed eating "free" fruits and veggies quite a bit. One big lesson I learned during this month was that I eat WAY too much fruit. I was eating about 600 calories a day of just fruit/veggies alone. I used to say all the time that no one ever got fat from eating bananas, but as it turns out...I was on my way to doing just that!

Another thing that I learned was that I wasn't tracking honestly on WW. A long time ago I chose to not track my daily coffee w/cream as well as my alcohol consumption. I also didn't track my activity and in my head these two balanced each other out. Turns out that wasn't happening at all. After eating 600 extra calories of fruit, I was drinking an average of 400 calories a night in beer/wine.  (Disclaimer: I didn't drink EVERY night...but when I did drink...I DRANK. Hence why I said "average".) 

I liked that this challenge got me back to weighing and measuring everything I ate. I really was slacking with that the last year. I also liked that my calories burned for each day were cashed in immediately for food. That saved me a lot of times when I would want to eat something or not want to work out.  Granted, I didn't work out every day, but I did increase my level of activity quite a bit.

So...How did I do?

3-Apr: 152.0 (Starting weight)

10-Apr: 150.4 = -1.6

17-Apr: 149.2 = -1.2

24-Apr: 148.8 = -0.4

1-May: 149.4 = +0.6

8-May: 147.8 = -1.6

Overall, 4.2lbs lost!  I will take that! 

This is the lowest I have weighed since July. I am about 6lbs away from my ideal weight which I was at exactly a year ago from today.

I have decided to stick with MFP for awhile longer.  I really like it and it is working for me right now.

I hope all of my WW friends understand that this decision has NOTHING to do with WW. I love, love, LOVE WW and always will. The program works and is amazing. WW changed my life. I lost 68 lbs on WW (well,technically 58 since I gained 10lbs back), and will continue to go to meetings and do my monthly Lifetime check ins.

Does this make sense?

My birthday is at the end of this month and I am running my 2nd 10k that morning to celebrate. I'm super excited. I need to plan an outfit to make it known that it's my birthday! (Can I attach birthday balloons to myself?)

Please, if you read my blog and like it...nag me to post more often. This once a month crap is silly.

xoxox

Race Recap: Bridge to Brews 10k

As those of you who follow me on Twitter or are lucky enough to know me on Facebook know yesterday was my first ever 10k.

I went back and forth between nervous and excited in the days leading up to the race. Some days I felt confident and ready, and others I felt like I would die before the finish line.  Many of these feelings came when I looked at my running log and noticed that I had only actually run the 10k distance once prior, with several runs just below that distance.  And then all my runs in the week prior were hard on me physically even though they were small distances. 

Packet pick up was on Friday.  I love it when races have free beer at these events!



I love that this was my number. 53 is my fave number and 68 is my lucky number!

 This race had the option of not getting a shirt with registration which is what I signed up for. I kind of regret that decision now. I will be looking into trying to buy one if they have any left.

Fast forward to race day.  I got about 5 hours of sleep. I made a smoothie out of leftover coffee, milk, ice , and a Weight Watchers Chocolate Smoothie mix for my breakfast. I would have liked a banana, but I was all out. While I was getting dressed I kept going outside after each layer until I had enough clothes on to not be cold before the run or too warm during the run. The Man got quite a good laugh out of it.

I got to the Max station just as the train I wanted was pulling away which meant I had to wait a half hour before the next train came. I used that time to pace the platform and stretch. I also took my traditional "look how silly I look" picture.



 While pacing the platform I was people watching and noticed that I was the only person dressed for the race that was alone. Everyone else was in groups of 2 or more.  I suddenly got super sad and lonely. I had told the Man to stay home because I was worried he would be bored waiting around for me.  I tried to self talk myself into not feeling sad, but it only got worse as the morning progressed.

I got to the race just a few minutes before the start time. Rushed to bag check where I found a friend who I knew was also racing.  I lost him in the crowd while I was heading to the Honey Buckets but we agreed to meet after the run so I didn't mind.

By the time I made it out of the potty lines the race had already started. The race was starting in waves and I knew I needed to be in the back of the line since I am slow so it didn't bother me.  I have to say, it was really well organized for such a large race in a small space!  According to my timing chip I crossed the start line about 8 minutes after the official gun. 


If you look closely you can see runners on the middle bridge!

After the first corner was the biggest steepest hill I had ever seen. It was not a good sign for me and I got winded really quickly trying to get up it at a good pace.

After that hill was the first of 2 bridges we crossed.

This is the view from ON the bridge you could see in the above picture



I love running on Portland's bridges. We have so many of them and the views are amazing. I wish I had gotten more pictures, but I needed to focus on what I was doing unfortunately.



This is another view of the 1st bridge



It was right around this area (mile 3ish) that I started to see people along side of the road waiting for their friends/family to pass buy. I saw one guy actually stop to hug and kiss his wife before moving on. It almost made me tear up.

I had over planned my wardrobe and was SUPER hot. I wanted to take off my long-sleeve shirt, but didn't want to stop even more. I ended up folding the bottom edge of my shirt up so my stomach was exposed (but still covered by my light jacket so no one would die from the sight of my floppy skin), and pushing down my knee socks to let my calves breathe. Just about everyone passing me was in tank tops. It was in the low 60's and I would have tripped one of those bitches to steal one of their tanks if I could. (Note to self: Invest in a few of those tanks before your next race!)

When we got into the downtown area, I started to struggle both mentally and physically. I wanted to barf and my head was going into places that I didn't want to be. I needed a cheerleader, and I didn't have one. So I stopped, and sent out a text to Twitter: "2.4 miles to go and I may die..." I was hoping that my Twitter friends would come to my rescue and give me the pick-me-up I needed to carry on. And they did. Almost instantly I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I didn't even need to stop and check what they said...just knowing they were there was all I needed.

The last mile and a half was a lot easier, especially when the 2nd bridge came into sight.



The 2nd bridge - saw a guy puking off the edge of this one...into the river.

Following that bridge was another hill from hell, but I knew that the finish was just around the bend so I pushed thru it.

I crossed the finish line in 1:07:46.  I had hoped to finish in 1:06 but I will gladly take 1:07!

My friend who I met up with earlier was waiting for me at the finish line and it warmed my heart enough to forget about all the faces who I didn't see at the finish line but wanted to. We went off to bag check to retrieve my ID, then jumped into the beer line!



2 free beers!  Yes, please!


We finished those beers, then had 2 more beers show up, then decided that being drunk at 10:30 on a Sunday morning wasn't a good idea so we headed out for some food (and another beer).

I got home to find the Man working hard in the back yard. He didn't care at all that I was stinky and gave me the big "well done" hug that I needed. He followed that by telling me he was sad he missed the race. If I wasn't completely dehydrated, I would have started crying. That man knows just what to say to me sometimes. I love him so freaking much.

My heart was still hurt from the feelings I stirred up while running, so I thanked all my Twitter friends for their support then poured out a rant on how lonely my race was. I got a lot of feedback from everyone that made me feel a lot better (not completely better tho).

I need to remember that I race for me, and not for glory. I also need to remember that some people are just assholes.

After a long shower, fresh change of clothes and about 80 glasses of water I got a text from the friend I saw at the race asking me to be his "race buddy". I guess he is tired of racing alone too! He has already emailed me several races to sign up for that he is doing and told me to send him any I wanted to do for him to sign up for.  I am SO excited for all of these races now, knowing I don't have to do them alone!

Stay tuned....lots more race recaps will be coming in the next few months as my racing schedule is now FULL!  :)

xoxox

Mixing it up a bit...

My super husband has been using MyFitnessPal for the last few months to track what he is eating. He has lost nearly 30 lbs and I am SO proud of him. He is about 15 lbs away from his goal and working really hard to get there.

Naturally with me being an avid Weight Watcher and him doing his thing (which is cool, not all plans work for everyone) there have been some bumps along the way.

For example, over the weekend we had the following conversation:

Man: I have 784 calories left for the day, what can I have for dinner?
Me: I have no idea. I don't think in calories, I think in PointsPlus.
Man: Okay, well how many calories are in a PointsPlus.
Me: I have no idea. Weight Watchers doesn't use calories to calculate PointsPlus.
Man: Oh...well...that sucks...and is really not helpful for planning meals.
Me: Tell me about it.

This got me thinking. 

The Man and I speak a different language when it comes to our 'diets' and that kindof stinks. 

Also, I have been in a rut for the last few months with my weight. I am still under goal, but I have been struggling to lose my 8 lb "buffer zone" I had created for myself that I gained last May.

I have been struggling with motivation to lose the extra pounds and have been only able to maintain my focus for about 3 days before I dive head first into a vat of frozen yogurt.

Thinking about all this helped me to decide to give MyFitnessPal a try.  I talked to the Man about it and we agreed that maybe a month of tracking calories would go me some good. 

Not to say Weight Watchers isn't amazing and that I will turn my back on it. That won't happen AT ALL! 

I just need something new and different to get me to where I want to be. Plus it will be a nice challenge to put myself in the Man's shoes for a while. I will gain some perspective on the value of a calorie and maybe I will discover that I do in fact eat WAY to much fruit.

Day 1 of MFP is almost complete and I can tell already that it will be a challenge. I had to log out of Weight Watchers entirely because I was comparing them. (I consumed 2/3 of my calories for the day by lunch, but had only eaten 9 Pt+...that was a BIG blow.)

(If you are on MFP, come find me! My user name is SuperRizzle.)

I will let you know in a month how things went...

...Oh, and I have my first 10k on Sunday...Totally not prepared...Ugh...

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.

Running my way

Two of my own personal struggles in life are comparing myself to others and worrying about what others think about me.  I do it all the time in all aspects of my life.

I don't think that I will eliminate this type of thinking completely but in the last few days I have removed it from one portion of my life.  My running.

Here's a little background:

I think I may have only started running because that is what all my online friends were doing.  I don't really remember what motivated me.  I do know that I hated it.  I hated it, but oddly I kept at it and wanted to be better at it.  All my friends were running 5k's so, dammit, I was going to run 5k's too!

I started the Couch to 5k program, signed up for my first race, got about 6 weeks into the training and quit.  Walked 80% of my first 5k and was ashamed of myself. But I kept signing up for races and I kept running, albeit on a random basis. For 2 years I never ran more than a mile without stopping and I never ran more than 3.2 miles at once. 

In September I ran the Race for the Cure and only walked twice.  That was a record for me.  I also ran that race faster than any other I had done before.  It turned a light bulb on in my head and made me want to run even more.

When I signed up for the Shamrock Run in March of this year, I set my goal to be the 15k but quickly realized I didn't have the time or motivation to train that hard, so I settled for running the 8k.  In my head, that translated to 6.5 miles.  I don't know why I thought it was that long...I am not very bright, I guess.

All of my runner friends run several times a week and they run long distance.   On Twitter I see updates like "XXX just finished a 200 mile run in 86 minutes and felt GREAT." It would make me feel like crap every time.  Why can't I run that far or that fast? Why am I not that amazing?  Why am I only running 3 miles in 45 minutes once a week and calling myself a "Runner"?

That guilt actually got me motivated to run more, so I guess it worked.  I bought all the running gear I could get my hands on -- GPS, compression pants, cold weather gear, warm weather gear, iPod running apps etc. Each time I would go out for a run, I would push it a little further when I felt like walking.  I noticed that if I ran slower, I can go longer without stopping.  The first time I ran for 3 miles nonstop I averaged a 13 minute mile.  I cried big fat proud tears of joy when I got home.  When I bragged about my run, I only said how far I went...not how fast. I didn't want anyone to know that grandma's could walk faster than I run.

Since that run, I have managed to push myself to 5 (almost 6) mile runs outdoors without stopping, and 3 miles on the boring ass treadmill.  I finally love running.  I feel so much better after I pound out some miles.

On my last run I let my brain wander and I thought about 2 people that I really look up to regarding running.  Both of them run long distances on a regular basis.  I automatically assumed that they run them quickly and without stopping. I learned recently that both of these things wasn't true about them.  It really blew my mind.  Why had I wasted so much mental energy berating myself for not being as good as I thought they were? Why was I only getting satisfaction when I did something better or equal to someone else? The act of running brings me so much joy, why do I let others squash that joy by comparing my success to theirs? My running, is MY business and no one else's.  I run for ME. No one can bring me gratification from my runs but ME so therefor I really need to only be concerned about how I feel.  From that moment on, I decided that I needed to reframe my thinking.

When someone jumps on the treadmill next to me, I try not to glance at their feet anymore to see if they are running faster than me.  I try not to make a mental list of who started running before/after me to see who stops first. When I see other runners outside I don't adjust my form or go faster until we cross paths (yes, I still wait until they can't see me if I want to take a walk break...). When I run past the freeway I don't wonder if the people in the cars are looking at me and thinking negative things about how slow I am. Instead I think that maybe that person is wishing they were out running too. When I see a friend ran 10 miles, or ran a 7 minute mile, I refuse let that make me feel like less of a runner. 

I am a runner.  I am amazing.  I can do anything. And I my opinion is the only one that matters!
Now, my friends, I want to leave you with a quote that has really inspired me lately. It resonates with me in a lot of ways, and I hope it does the same for you.
 

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

~Thich Nhat Hanh~

Random post about my husband...

So, this is totally random, but I wanted to share how hilariously perfect for me my husband is.

We have been together for 6 years, and married for 5 of them. He is super great.

Anyway, his job is aweful and it stresses him out a lot. He calls me frequently just to talk to me until he can relax. A lot of times I can't come to the phone or I don't have time to just chat.

So for Christmas I got him a cute picture frame that he could put on his desk to remind him of me and help cheer him up.

Due to some shipping errors and delays the frame didn't get to my house until recently.  (If you follow me on Twitter, you may recall some crying and cursing regarding USPS right around Christmas...This was why.)

I had had some pictures printed of us that he could chose from to put in the frame.

Here were the options I gave him that were taken on our 5th anniversary trip to the Oregon Coast (our favorite place)....

Some from my birthday party back in May...

Pictures of us from Disney last year...

 

Instead of those options he picked this one....

...I love that man.

2011 In Review & 2012 Goals (Updated...)

Now that we are a few days into 2012 it is time to wrap up 2011 and start making plans for the next few months.
In January of 2011 I came up with a short list of things I wanted to do during the year.  Lets see how I did...

#1) Maintain a B average (3.0 GPA) - DONE!!  Actually got straight A's and a 4.0 GPA


#2) Maintain my goal weight and weigh in at a Weight Watcher's meeting once a month.  - Semi-done and done. I weighed in every month and got my gold key in December for 12 consecutive weigh-in's.  It just so happened to be on the same day as the launch of the new Points Plus 2012 program so I got a lot of stuff that day!

Regarding my weight...well...I stayed a Lifetime member by not going over my goal weight more than 2 lbs.  Yep, that is ALL I accomplished.  I should be happy about that, but I am not.  I am 10 lbs heavier than I was at this time last year and that sucks.


#3) Shamrock Run in March  - Done


#4) Go to Seattle with friends in February - See #5


#5)  Take my husband to a fancy restaurant for his birthday and wear something tight, short, and sexy in March. - Combined his birthday and the Seattle trip into one big event.

Nothing says "classy" quite like a drunken photo of your reflection in an elevator door!

 #6)  Show my mom around town and party like I am not turning 27 for the 3rd time in May. - Done!

#7)  Starlight Run in June. - Not Done (Did a different race instead)
#8)  Celebrate one year at Lifetime in July. - DONE!! Wore a super short skirt to my meeting!

#9)  Portland to Coast in August. - Done!

#10)  Race for the Cure in September. - Done!

#11)  Something super romantic for my 5 year wedding anniversary in October. - Not done.  We went to the Coast.  It was cold. And raining.

I got a lot done that wasn't on that list too! Went to the Bruno Mars concert and got to meet him. Went to see my girl Britney Spears in concert. Completed a an additional 5k in May (Race for the Roses) and April (Race for the Roses). And signed up for a gym membership.

Overall it was an okay year.  Not the greatest, but not the worst either. If 2012 was a repeat of 2011, that would be okay with me.

But, in an effort to make 2012 better...here are some monthly goals for myself.


2012 Goals:

1)  Get back to my "Happy Weight" and stay there! None of this up and down shit.
2)  Maintain my 4.0 GPA
3) Run the 8k Shamrock Run (not the 15k like I really want, I am just not ready...maybe 2013) - March
4)  Race for the Roses 5k- April (Found out they have a 10k...thinking on this one...)
5) Personal - May
6) Portland to Coast - August - Maybe...I don't have a team this year.  I need to find one
7) Race for the Cure 5k - September
8) Graduate from College - December
9)  Go to Cleveland for Christmas - December
10)  Race for the Cure - September
11) Blog at least once a month
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?)

Added...
13) Attend a Weight Watchers meeting AT LEAST once a month, earning a new Key in December.

Well, that sums it up for now!

Here's to making 2012 a great year!

I Believe!! (Do you?)