Return to Running and Weight Loss

Not too long after coming back from our Florida trip, I looked at some photos that I was in and I wasn't happy with how I had let myself go. I don't want Sam to have memories of me as the mom that isn't able to do much, because of her weight.

These photos are my fuel!!

I first signed up for Runner's Edge of the Rockies (REOTR) to get into their running program for the Colfax Half Marathon. After running their schedule for a month or so, I joined Weight Watchers and have seen a drop of 13+ pounds in the last 7 weeks.

The Colfax Half won't be a problem, I'm right on track to be in good shape for it.

My next goal is the biggest, The Rock 'N' Roll Denver Marathon. I have decided to train with Team in Training (TNT), since I know their training method and like the camaraderie, which seems to be better than REOTR, since their is a loftier goal of raising money for charity.

Click HERE to donate a 100% tax deductible gift to help cure blood cancers.

Click HERE to join me in training for the Denver Marathon and Half Marathon or Nike Women's Marathon and Half Marathon with TNT.

I hope to recruit several women on my block to train with me.

I have a splinter blog where I'm going to detail my running "career." Please follow me at Running Towards 26.2.
 

Start of Lent

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  I'm definitely not one to be religious, but I want to participate in the "self-denial" portion of Lent, not for Jesus, but for my health.

According to Wikipedia:



Lent in the Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. Lent is a time of sacrifice for Jesus. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I am committing to not drink pop during work hours for the next 40 days.  For me, this is going to be hard.  I have been drinking the equivalent of (at least) 2 liters of Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max or Coke Zero ever work day for about the last 2 months.  Bad, I know!!!!


I really have to get back into drinking water and hydrating my body better.  I'm hoping that this will kick start my weight loss and move me away from drinking pop at home, too.


Do you celebrate Lent?  Are you fasting in any way?

Have You Ever Had "Guilt Tummy??"

You know, when you finish eating something that you know you shouldn't have eaten (for whatever reason-- weight loss, stress eating, etc.) and you feel like crap afterwards.

I think that's what I have.

I received a call this morning from Sam's daycare saying that he threw up AGAIN.  Of course, nothing else happens after that to him, but just the thought of him throwing up, is making me stressed.

The stress of Sam not feeling well (on top of all his other issues) and me trying to lose weight and become healthier, I ate too much of something that shouldn't have even made it into my shopping cart.  I'm not telling what it was.

The best thing that I can do know, is chalk this up to a temporary setback and get right back on the wagon.

Starting my Newest Adventure

On Saturday, I attended the Kick-Off meeting for this season's The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training program to complete the Canyonlands Half Marathon on March 19, 2011 on my way to complete my first full marathon Colfax Marathon in May 2011.

I met some of my teammates and was even able to walk away with a free pair of training socks.

Check it out- Kick Off

Today, I'm Committed to Helping a Worthy Cause

Today, I signed all of the paper work to fund raise and train with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training program to complete the Canyonlands Half Marathon on March 19, 2011 on my way to complete my first full marathon Colfax Marathon in May 2011.

During my training, my goals are to:

1. Increase my pace.
2. Continue to lose weight and get to my goal weight by the half marathon.
3. Raise $2,500 to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.
4. Have fun and continue to make regular fitness a permanent part of my life.
5. Make new friends.

If you wish to follow my fundraising progress or donate to this wonderful cause, please visit my Fundraising Page.

A Family Turn

I have not been up on this blog as much as I have been in the past. Our family has taken a turn toward healthy living and we are committed to that right now.

I started my current weight loss journey in mid-May and have lost over 23 lbs in 11 weeks. The #1 reason for my success, running. I am training to run the Rock 'n' Roll Denver Half Marathon in October and you have to put the miles in to train effectively.

The #2 reason for my success is that I have changed the quality (and quantity) of food that I eat and when, during the day, that I eat. I have pushed protein to breakfast and snack on garbanzo beans instead of potato chips and carbs throughout the day. I stay fuller, longer and have a much more sensible dinner.

My husband is becoming more fit, too. He does not follow his weight as closely and I have, but he can tell that his clothes are fitting better. His success has been training for a 50k (31 mile) charity bike ride for the Diabetes Tour de Cure. Weekly, I map out 10, 15, 20 and (this weekend) a 25-26 mile course to help him get used to being on a bike for several hours. He race is in Longmont, CO on Saturday, August 21st. If you are in the Denver area, come out to support the cause.

With my training, I have become preoccupied with my other blog, Mission Probable which I collect fitness, nutritional and racing articles. I also use this blog to record my training sessions and record my weight, weekly.

I have also adjusted the blogs that I read (which used to be about family related issues and are now about running and fitness), the twitter feeds that I follow and the Facebook pages that I "like."

The one thing that is currently missing from my fitness routine is weight lifting. Within my building, there is a small fitness room which has some weight machines, a stationary bike, a treadmill, elliptical machine and a stair stepper (which I will probably not EVER got on). Cardio is a great way to start to get to my goal, but I know that I will need to add weight bearing exercises as well.

We have free weights at the house. I should probably pull some out and bring them upstairs so that I don't have any excuse not to use them. I just need to make sure that Sam does not start playing with them. Steel is not a food group.

Please feel free to visit my fitness blog and if you are interested in donating to charity, here is a link to support Brian's charity bike ride for Diabetes.

Momma Update

I know that it has been a while since I posted something. I’m sorry about that.

I currently have a new aspect of my life that I am working on and it has taken a large chunk out of my days when I would normally post on this blog. I have decided to train for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon in October. To do that, I have been running and cross-training on the stationary bike at my office during my lunch hour.

So that it doesn’t take me 3.5 hours to complete the half marathon (which it did in 2007), I am eating healthy and losing weight as well. Running is one of the cheapest and easiest activities to lose weight. As long as you have the right shoes for your feet and specific running movement, you can run without many problems.

I have been writing down my caloric intake and daily activity so that I can be very conscience of what I am doing and am able to review if I hit a plateau.

Since starting this adventure, 2 weeks ago, I have lost 8 lbs and am running 4 days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays). My Saturday run is my long one. This past Saturday I ran 4.92 miles in 78 minutes. I know that isn’t fast for most people, but at my size, that’s pretty good. This Saturday, I’m planning on running for 1.5 hours which should put me over the 5 mile mark. I’m hoping for 5.25 miles. These Saturday runs are supposed to be easy, endurance runs. These runs will build up the time that I’m able to stay on my feet running. During the week is when speed workouts, hills and fartlek (which means "speed play" in Swedish) helps with conditioning.

During the weekdays, I have been working on my form and stride length which has allowed me to increase my pace to a 13.66 minute mile over 2 miles. For me that’s unheard of. I need to continue to work on my speed and form if I hope to complete the half in the time frame that I want (under 3 hours) which would put me at a pace of around 13:15 over the course of 13.1 miles.

If anyone is more interested in my training and articles that I have compiled to help me train for this adventure, please feel free to e-mail me at wilberta2006@yahoo.com and I can forward you my training plans and/or give you my training blog address.

____________________________
Over the course of my training, I may use some or all of the following jargon and I wanted to make sure that I offer the definitions early.

Running Jargon | Running Acronyms

5k - distance of 5,000 meters or 3.1 miles

10k - distance of 10,000 meters or 6.2 miles

Bonk crashing in a race attributed to running out of fuel

Cross Training training strategy which uses other forms of aerobic exercise such as swimming, cycling, cross country skiing

Fartlek Swedish term ("speed play") for workouts where you vary the pace of your running – a mix of slow, moderate, and quick paces at different intervals.

Half Marathon- distance of 13.1 miles

Intervals system of training using repeated short distances at greater than or near race pace

Marathon- distance of 26.2 miles

Negative Splits running the last half of a race faster than the first half

PR Personal Record.

Pronator running form with moderate inward rotation of the foot, likely to have medium arch height (I have flat feet and severely pronate)

Taper Scaling back mileage prior to a big or long race. Tapering helps muscles rest so that they are ready for optimum performance on race day.

Tempo Runs Training runs, usually 30 to 45 minutes in length. A warm up progresses to more intense pacing ranging from one minute per mile slower than 10k race pace to 15 seconds slower than 10k pace at the latter stages of the run.

Ultra An "ultra-marathon". Any race that's longer than the marathon distance of 26.2 miles.

Turning a Corner

I have made a big decision, I'm sick of being fat. Of course, my husband would never say that 3 letter word to me- FAT, but I know that I am.

I have started running again and I have made a commitment to run the Rock 'n' Roll Denver Half Marathon in October. I am using the same training program that I received when I ran the Denver Half in 2007, but I'm going to start training for the full marathon to bump up the calories that I will burn. I'm hoping to complete the half marathon in under 3 hours. It took me 3:28 in 2007.

Maybe I should define my current terms first.
Run- a slow waddle that mimics running in every way but speed. I expect this term to morph and change as I become more fit.

On Saturday morning, I ran for 1 hour. Of course I only went 4 miles, but of that 4 miles I ran one solid mile without stopping. I'm very proud of that.

During the weekday, I have worked through some of my lunches so that I can run or use the stationary bike in the workout room during my lunch. I have even started a new blog to follow my progress, but I'm not ready for it to be completely public yet.

You may not have ever thought that you could be a runner, I never did, but I have found a lot of enjoyment in the solitude of me against the road.

If you are interested in hearing more about my running program, please comment below and I can forward it to you.