Why run when you can swim, bike AND run?

I have decided to train for a triathlon! I'm so excited! Well that is, until I realized 1. I can't swim(actually, I can but only a little) and 2. I don't have a bike. Lol! Small obstacles, I'm sure I'll be able to overcome. Last year around this time I was gearing up to run a 10 mile trail run for my 36th birthday(UNTRAINED). After that race, that very same day, I registered to run a half marathon for my 37th birthday(which is this Sunday). Now, here I am, registering for a triathlon for my 38th birthday. What will I do for my 40th? Bungee Jump? I don't think so! Hey, that's what birthdays are for, right? Nothing says happy birthday like some endurance sport to remind you that, you're a year older. Can you believe I already have a race in mind? Yeah, neither can I! So, what's my plan going forward with this swim, bike, run? For starters I just paid to take swimming lessons and, I'll keep up with my spin class(es) while I look into buying/renting a bike.. The run...oh, not a problem! o_O. Remind me I said that after Sunday's race.

I honestly think this will be good for me. It gives my knees some much needed rest and it pushes me to get out of my comfort zone. I'm sure during my training there will be many blogs titled...what the hell was I thinking?! I hope you guys will tag along on this crazy, unpredictable, spontaneous journey with me.

Back under 200lbs! - 10 mile run!

When I first lost the weight, my biggest milestone was getting under 200lbs. Yes, there was the 25lb milestone, the 50lb milestone and even the 75lb milestone but nothing and I mean nothing brought me as much joy as seeing the scale read 1..! I don't think I was as happy reaching my goal weight than I was when the scale no longer read 200. So, stepping on the scale this morning I said something I'd said the very first time I saw 199 during my weight loss journey. I will never again get over two hundred pounds. Well let's hope so because since around June 2010 I have hit the 200+ mark a few times and have uttered those words each and every time I've done so. I hope this is the very last time I have to uttered those words for I am sick of going up and down on this twenty pound roller coaster. For now I will celebrate this milestone and, that I'm closer to my goal weight. :-)

 Last Long Run

Today was my last long run before my half marathon next Sunday. Most of the ladies in my group are running the Park Half Marathon in Bethesda, MD Sunday, September 11th so most of them did their last long run last weekend however, there were a few who had planned to meet this morning I being one of them. I just could not get out of bed to save my life. I was tired and the last thing I wanted to do was run 8 miles. I did eventually realize that I needed to get that last long run in (like at 2 pm). I begrudgingly got dressed and headed out to make that happen. First, I charged my iPod. I haven't run with music in months somehow it felt like one of those days when I was going to need it and, I was not wrong. It wasn't a good run. In fact it was more of a walk/run not to be confused with a run/walk. It was hot! I got dehydrated and felt like I was running on empty. It took me 1 hour and 50 minutes to reach the 8 mile mark. Last week it took me 1 hour and 35 minutes to reach the 8 mile mark so you see, I was struggling a bit. In the end, I completed 10 miles. More than I had originally set out to do. I kept asking myself, am I ready for next week and, I kept coming up with NO for an answer. I have struggled this summer training for my half. There was the knee injury and the excessive heat and humidity. Not to be outdone by the extra 20lbs I'm carrying around and not fueling my body properly. There use to be a time when I could push myself and just keep going and going and going. Somewhere along the way, I've lost that ability. I think it's time to reevaluate. However, I too have accomplished a new goal. I'm now capable of running every single hill without stopping. You see before, there wasn't a hill I wouldn't walk up. My motto was...why run a hill when you can walk it? Lol! But, I'm officially a 'hill runner'. Yay!!  I got sick and yes, this is becoming a 'theme'. I don't know what's going on with my body but after a run, now I'm dehydrated, sick to my stomach and lightheaded. Again, it's time to reevaluate. I would like to get back to running where I'm enjoying myself and it's hard(running is never easy for me) but not difficult. No matter what, I WILL cross the finish line on Sunday September 18th at the Rock & Roll Half Marathon! I may not set a PR but I'll accomplish what I always set out to do when I run, whether it's an official organized race or a causal 3 mile run through my neighborhood.....finish!

"The miracle isn’t that I finished; it’s that I had the courage to start." 
John Bingham, The Penquin



The Good:
1. I finished!
2. Ran 2 miles more than I had planned

The Bad:
1. Took a lot longer than it should have
2. Hot ass hell! Middle of the day running(during the summer)...a NO NO!

The Ugly:
1. Getting sick, yet again at the end of the run

Stress + Overeating = More Stress and Overeating!

I'm stressed to the max, so naturally that means I've been pigging out all day and making poor food choices. Example: Eggo Waffles for breakfast. They're a lot of points but most days totally not worth the splurge, today being one of those days. It's extremely frustrating when you're fully aware of what you're doing. It's one thing to sit and be mindless while eating. That was not the case with me. I knew with every bite I took that I was well over my daily Weight Watchers Points. I wanted to stop but, I couldn't. To make matters worse, I saw the Orthopedist today and good news...I'm okay(well mostly). The bad news, I got a cortisone injection to help me cross the finish line in less than two weeks with as little pain as possible. So, because of this injection I cannot work out for two days. I would feel a whole lot better if I was at least burning some calories but, the only calories I'm burning today includes my trips from the sofa to the kitchen and back to the sofa...repeat x20. This gloomy, rainy, sunless day isn't making things any easier for me. Let's do a tally shall we?...depressing weather, stress, unable to work out and overindulging with food. Not good, not good at all! Though all hope is not lost. I will not let this one day get in the way of my ultimate goal, to lose these last few unwanted pounds. I'm going to journal all that I've eaten (I'm a little scared, lol) and let the rest of today be a fresh start. Why wait till Sunday?

The hit list:

2 Eggo Waffles 
2 slices of bacon
2 tsp of butter
2 tbsp of syrup
Cup of coffee w/ cream and sugar(1 tsp each)
16 Townhouse  Flabread Crispers
2 tbsp Salsa
16oz Caramel Macchiato (skim)
1 cup of pasta w/ 2 Italian sausages
1/2 cup of Marinara Sauce
1 piece of garlic toast
1 Klondike Bar ice cream sandwich
1 mini Entenmann's chocolate donut
lots and lots and lots more of Townhouse Flatbread Crispers

A total of 48 points, not including all the Flatbread Crispers I didn't bother portioning out (my daily point value is 31). Typing this list has actually made me feel fuller. Seriously!

My troubled 8 mile run (deja vu?)

What is it with me and 8 mile runs? We ran three 8 milers this summer, training for our half and all three were tough for me. The first one back in July was an extremely hot and humid day. It was the first time I had ran 8 miles since April when I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and yes, your body can forget how tough it is to run 8 miles after three short months. Our second 8 miler was just a few weeks ago and I shared that lovely story with you guys on my first official blog. Again, it was hot and humid but, running at 12 noon didn't help any. Saturday's 8 miler was bad and, not in terms of running but because I had eaten a bad egg. Uh huh, I know what you're thinking....a bad egg? I was pretty sick to my stomach by mile 4. I was running along with a pretty good pace. My breathing was great and I wasn't feeling like I couldn't run the entire 8 miles. Well mile 4 changed all of that. One second I was running along and the next I was bent over head in the bushes, getting sick. I'm a procrastinator and never ever do things on time. I'm also a big avoider. Great traits to have, right? Wrong! These traits caused me to not check my stock to make sure I was prepared for breakfast because I didn't want to make the trip to the grocery store. Anyway I woke up late (as usual) boiled my egg and, when it was done I take a bite and I'm going hmmm this doesn't taste right. So naturally I check the expiration on the egg carton and sure enough....expired eggs! Too late, I had eaten most of it. That little mistake cost me. And, if eating the bad egg wasn't bad enough, I followed that up with a big spoonful of peanut butter. Hey! I was running late and had very little to choose from in terms of eating before a 7 a.m 8 mile run. After my little 'pit stop'. I got myself together and finished strong. So, my troubled 8 mile run wasn't so troubled after all!

The Good
1. I finished!

The Bad
2. It was our last long run as a training group :(

The Ugly
1. getting sick during (and after the run) from eating a bad egg

Ups, Downs & In betweens

How many times a week is too many times a week, to step on the scale?

I'll confess, I'm a slave to the scale. A lot of people feel it's not healthy to be, but me? I believe it keeps me on track, for the most part anyway. During the entire time I was losing the the weight, I weighed myself practically everyday. Not everyone feels the need to weigh themselves more than once a week. It's a personal choice. Here's a quote from an article that addressed this topic. 'According to a December 2006 Nutrition Action Health Letter article “The Weighing Game,” people who want to keep the pounds from returning should check in with their scale daily. In an eighteen month study, only 26 percent of the participants who weighed themselves each day regained five pounds compared to 58 percent of those who did not weigh themselves every day. In another research study, Natalie Gingerich in “Make Friends with Your Scale” published in Prevention says, people who weighed themselves daily lost twice as many pounds than those who weighed themselves weekly. Perhaps making the scale your friend can be the best way to lose weight'.

You should check out the rest of the article. It goes on to say, 'don't be consumed by the scale'. Here's the link.----> http://www.bestwaytoloseweighthq.net/should-i-weigh-myself-every-day/

Below are a few pics of me through the span of a three year 100+ pound weight loss(and gain). The one thing these pictures all have in common (except for the first one) is, at some point during the day the photo was taken, I had weighed myself.

July 2007 (around 280lbs)

December 2008 (85lb weight loss)

December 2009 (Goal Weight! 100lb loss)

December 2010 (10lb weight gain)

May 2011 (20lb weight gain)

Plateau?

It's week two and I haven't lost one single pound this week, in fact, the scale has gone up. Clearly at week two I couldn't possibly have hit a plateau could I? No, of course not! So what gives? I've looked over my food journal to see if I had veered a bit off course. Nope! I stayed within my points range and, earned a whopping 85 activity points. You read it right, 85 activity points. On average Weight Watchers recommend you try and earn around 28 activity points per week. Can we say I surpassed that and then some? Typically I don't earn so many activity points but, I am training for a half marathon and with increased miles comes increased activity points. On average I typically earn around 50 activity points per week(still a lot). So, how could I stay within my allowed points, earn a huge amount of activity points and not lose a pound? Better yet, how could I have gained a pound?!

I will be the first to admit that I do not always make the healthiest choices. I am not in denial. If I drink a soda, not only will I own up to drinking said soda but, I'll gladly write it down in my food journal. If I have an ice cream sandwich, it too goes in my food journal. It's all about accountability. I'm not going to say, I've been really good, how come I haven't lost anything? How will that help me? I would only be lying to myself. However, looking over this past week, I was indeed making pretty good food choices though, they could've been better(there's always room for improvement). I even decided against that little visit to Coldstone Creamery after my 13.72 mile run, after burning 1,822. How will this week affect me going forward? It won't, at least not negatively. It's all a part of the weight loss process. You have weeks when you're really good and ...lose nothing. You have weeks when you're really bad and....lose a pound, sometimes more. You have weeks when the scale doesn't move at all no matter what you've done! It really is a part of the process. I'm hoping that this weeks weight loss will show on the scale next week. That does happen. It's like a 'delayed' reaction. So, at this point 'claiming' a plateau is a pretty big stretch. Nice try though. :-) So what is my strategy for next week? More strength training. It's a must. You really need to focus on cardio as well as strength training and I've really been lacking with the latter. Bottom line, I'm carrying around 4lbs less than I was two weeks ago. Now, that's a cause for celebration!!