"The three qualities necessary for training. Great faith. Great doubt. Great effort" ~Anonymous.

Sometimes, I don't know how I do it? When I first started my run this morning, I didn't think I could finish a mile but, I pushed through and finished 10 instead! I do not exaggerate when I say I didn't think I would finish 1 mile. It was a major struggle. I don't know what was going on with me but I was extremely exhausted. I think it was about half a mile in when I thought I'd throw in the towel and try again tomorrow. Running is hard but, quitting is harder! The Good came when I got past the half point mark (mile 5) and I knew I could and would make it to 10. Also, I like having my long run out of the way so that I can enjoy the rest of my weekend and by 'enjoy' I mean studying algebra. The Bad came fairly early into my run when I wanted to quit at mile .52. I couldn't get my breathing steady and it felt like I was lugging dead weight. It could be all the crap I ate while hanging out with my family the day after Thanksgiving. I did so well Thanksgiving by not overindulging AND journaling but somehow I more than made up for it the day after. So much so that the scale was up a pound or tw0 (sigh). The Ugly was definitely the moment when I felt so tired, so exhausted so over my run that it seemed as if I wasn't even moving and trust me I was! I literally felt like I was running in place.

I am definitely getting 'faster'. I'm never going to run 4, 5 or even 8 minute miles but, I am getting back to my 10 minute pace. When I first started running I was faster. I believe carrying the extra weight has affected my speed ( I use the word speed lightly, lol). Today's fastest mile was mile 2 (again) which, I ran at 10.29 and my slowest mile was mile 10, ran at 11.37. In fact mile 10 was the only mile that I ran over a 10 minute pace. The fact that I even made it to mile 10 is cause for celebration. I don't care if I ran it at a 15 minute pace actually, it kind of felt like I did. :-)

It's days like today that shows me what I'm made of. I went from wanting to give up at half a mile in to finding the strength and determination to finish strong 9.5 miles later. This is why I love running!

2011 Thanksgiving Turkey Trot!

This is my third year running a 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. They're sort of my tradition now. The Turkey Trot is a special race for me because it was to be my very first 'official' race two years ago. When I first started running I decided to pick a graduation race and had registered for a Turkey Trot in June of that year. Telling myself that six months was enough time to prepare myself to 'race'. Who knew that I would end up running three 5k's before that first Turkey Trot ever took place? Let's just say I am now hooked! Overall it was a great race! Though those hills were a killer! I remembered them from last year and I was not looking forward to them at all(have I mentioned, I don't like hills?). This year though, I figured I was in perfect shape to tackle the hills and finish the race strong. At this point in my runs there are NO walk breaks before three miles and if it's only 3 miles(5K)no walk breaks...period! Cut to the last hill and a walk break was definitely in order. Although it was a very brief break to recover from the hill, it was a break nonetheless. I finished the race in 32.41. I looked up my time from last year and surprise, surprise I finished the 2010 Turkey Trot in 32.41. Figured if I hadn't taken that walk break, I could've finished in 32.00. Lol!! Great race, lots of fun and I like starting Thanksgiving day off in the negative, calorie wise.

I did not overindulge this year. I didn't have seconds nor did I take leftovers. I actually decided today was the day to start journaling and tracking my food intake. I figured if I can get through today keeping track then, I can get through the rest of this holiday season. I'm going to try my hardest not to take all 10 of these pounds into the new year!!!

I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I'm now off to bed. I have an early morning spin class.

The Good:
1. Negative Calories before Thanksgiving feast

The Bad:
1. Needing a walk break during a 5k race

The Ugly:
1. I hate hills!

Some Trot for Hunger 2009, 1st race I ever registered to run

crossing the finish line at today's Turkey Trot, I am smoking that woman with the stroller! :-)

"Even if you fall flat on your face at least you are moving forward" --Sue Luke

I am maintaining my weight. That would be great if I was back at my goal weight. I have not been journaling, measuring or counting my points but, what's new? I've been saying this in every single post! I know I've been saying for weeks now, that I am going to get back to tracking. News flash...I'm Tracey and I'm a procrastinator. So, it could be another 3 months before I do what I say I'm going to do. Luckily for me, I'm not putting on weight. I work really hard to make the proper food choices and to not overindulge too much though, it doesn't always work out that way. All in all, 10 pounds down and 10 more to go. Who knew it would be so freaking hard to lose 10lbs?!

It's Saturday evening and I'm happy to report that I have gotten my weekend long run out of the way! However, I do not miss getting up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning to run 8 plus miles. Nope, don't miss it at all! I typically run on Fridays so, no Saturday runs for me. Unfortunately this past Thursday, after leaving yoga I twisted my knee a funny way while heading home. I SCREAMED out in pain!!! Yes, there were looks. Lol! I was so worried that something was torn. It was still sore Friday so, I made a very wise decision not to run. In the meantime someone from my running club asked if I was up for a 7 mile run this morning? I agreed even though 1. again, I do not miss getting up at the crack of dawn on Saturdays and 2. 7 miles is simply not enough for me these days. It was a tough run. It was really cold, really windy and have I mentioned really early? :-) She runs a slower pace than me so, I had to slow down a lot but, I wasn't complaining because I wasn't having the best run. Once we made it back to our cars, I told her I was going to keep going. I really wanted to do 9 miles and, that's what I did. Two more miles...two more really hard miles. In the end it took me 1 hour and 48 minutes to run 9 miles. This is what I meant in my last post when I said, no two runs are ever the same. Last week I ran 10 miles in 1 hour 52 minutes and the week before that, I ran 9 miles in 1 hour and 43 minutes. Sometimes I go faster, sometimes I go slower, sometimes I run and run and run, sometimes I need walk breaks, sometimes I go farther and sometimes shorter distances are more than enough but, I always finish!

The Good:
1. Finished
2. Was able to get my long run over and done with

The Bad:
1. Very cold, very windy


The Ugly:
1. I did not miss getting up early to run

No Two Runs Are Ever The Same!

Ice Cream, soda, fried chicken, french fries, bacon and Belgium waffles are just a few of the things I enjoyed this weekend. I know what you're thinking...WTH!?! It all started with having Friday off for Veterans Day. I vegged in bed, watched trash TV, worked endlessly on algebra and ate!! I usually run on Fridays but, the legs felt unusually tired. I first noticed it on Wednesday after my spin class. By Thursday(after yoga) they were done! So, I decided to give them a break and they thanked me. :-) However, being in the house all day doing school work only encouraged my overindulgence. I am an anxious eater. With the stress of trying to 'just barely' pass my algebra class, my stress and anxiety are through the roof! I really need to do better managing my stress and anxiety otherwise, I'm going to be a 300lb runner and, that can not be good for my knees. I'm not completely hopeless. I started today off right  by having a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and not waffles and bacon and, I'll finish it by having a nice healthy balanced dinner and NO desserts! I will celebrate the small things!

Lake Artemesia

What a run, what a run I had today. 1.52 hours, 10 miles, a lot of sweating, bitching, moaning and, complaining. Five minutes into my run, I was over it. The wind was brutal and all I wanted to do was turn around, get back in my car and drive home but, that didn't happen. So, I talked myself in to running a 5K before I could take a break but, 3.1 miles in I kept going. Then, I told myself get to five miles before you take a walk break but, I reached 5 miles and kept right on going. I get to 7 miles and could no longer use psychology to push through (running for me is 90% mental and 10% physical). I took a much needed 2 minute walk break before I was right back at it. At mile 9  a woman and her husband passed me and she asked 'geez are you still going?!'. It was just the boost I needed to get through that last mile which, ended up being my fastest mile. As if my complaining was not enough to annoy me on my run, my fear of 'nature' was at play also. I am a big chicken and there are deer along the trail/course where I run and I'm sorry but, I don't want to end up like this guy. In the end, what started off as a questionable run turned in to a pretty good run. Last week's long run, I just kept going and going and going and didn't need to use a lot of peep talk or mind trickery to get me there but, 'No two runs are ever the same!'


The Good:
1. Got it done & finished 10 miles with only a two minute walk break
2. Lake Artemesia is a beautiful place to run, one of my favorites

The Bad:
1. Too Windy
2. Side cramps

The Ugly:
1. Runners Trots(sorry but, imagine how I feel?)

"Running is real and relatively simple - but it ain't easy." - Mark Will-Weber

I must confess. I spent all of one and a half days journaling and measuring my servings. I tried, but have not been disciplined enough to stick to it. It takes 21 days of doing something before it becomes habit. At 2 (not even) days I didn't even scratch the surface, oh but there is good news. I'm back under 200lbs. Actually, I was only 200lbs for one day. I'm thinking that may have been what left me unmotivated. I am one of those people who do not get serious about something till the crap hits the fan. Example: tons and tons of homework, does not get done till the very last minute and, getting serious about my 10lb weight loss will not get done till it's a 20lb weight loss. Yeah, I'm complicated like that. Even though I'm not measuring and journaling I'm being pretty good about my food choices. Dessert was, is and always will be my biggest weakness. Dessert is okay...dessert x3 not so much. All is not lost. I actually realized I hadn't had a soda in a week till I went to grab one to drink today(it was a reward for a 9.01 mile run). So, I will celebrate the small things!

I have been putting in the miles to help prepare me for my 10 mile run that's less than a month away. I'm so looking forward to it because 1. I really enjoyed it last year and 2. My bff and sister will be joining me (they're walking a 5K). Today was my long run and it was a pretty good run. I had planned to 'run' 9 miles and, I did better than 'run' I actually ran! What I mean by 'run' is, whether it's a run/walk, a walk/run or a nonstop run, to me it's always running. I actually surprised myself today. I ran 9 miles without stopping well  not technically, I stopped after 8.15 briefly before I took off running again! But, I don't sweat the small stuff like, details such as those. What's even better is feeling pretty good afterwards. I guess I've been putting in the miles long enough now not to feel like I've been hit by a bus when it's over and done with. Plus, it helps when I stretch after. I don't know about other runners but for me, my goals when it comes to running changes from one run to the next. Some days, I want to go faster, some days I want to go farther and some days I'd love to do both and there are always those days you just want it to be over! Today was a day where I wanted to run as far and long as I could without stopping. I love it when I accomplish my goals!

The Good:
 1. Ran 9.01 miles

The Bad:
 1. I was carrying Gatorade and it kept dripping down my legs

The Ugly:
1. Runners Trot (why oh why does this keep happening to me?!)

This is me crossing the finish of my 1st half marathon(with two injuries). Hard to believe isn't it? Well, this is how I felt today after my 9 mile run minus the injuries of course!