Goal found

I had a roll of negatives transferred to a cd this week and one of the images struck a chord with me. I remember how I felt back then and although I wasn't skinny, I was still healthy and confident. In order to reach this goal, I have 50 pounds to lose.

Now that I have this goal I feel like I am on my way. Here we go everyone!



- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

Easter got me

So I've been trying to be good about watching what I eat, but I've found that if you don't log the calories immediately, you tend to fudge over items you have eaten. (I can't even write a sentence without mentioning food; I need help). While out to dinner with friends Saturday night, I was logging my food as we are and I was surprised by the actual calorie counts.

For example, I didn't realize that even with hollandaise sauce, asparagus is only 43 calories for 3 spears. My filet was over 700 calories before i counted the blue cheese crust. My meal at Gibson's put me over 790 calories for the day!

For my Easter meal, I managed to stay within my calories by filling up on steamed green beans and tomatoes. I was still able to have ham and potatoes, I just made sure I had reasonable portion sizes. I need to rethink my eating habits.

My chiropractor has asked that I only work out one day a week for the next two weeks. She is afraid I will get ambitious and overdue it and possibly get injured. Luckily I have a huge paper due, so this will be easy to accomplish.

Reinventing my eating plan will be tough but apps like Lose It make it easier and hold me accountable. Especially when my friends harass me.

- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

First day back in the fitness center

I used to belong to Ballys for a low monthly fee of $15 for the rest of my life. I hadn't been inside a Ballys in year but I kept the membership just in case. When my debit card was stolen, the pre-authorized payments ceased and given the subsequent sale to LA Fitness, I lost my lifetime membership. Where am I going with this? Well, as a student at DePaul, I am allowed to use their fitness center for a daily fee of $6, or a quarterly fee of $82, as long as I am a student.
I've been going to DePaul for over two years yet until today I never set foot inside the fitness center. I had decided to make a change in my life this year and the first step is rebuilding my strength and endurance. The fitness center is amazing with all of the latest equipment and fancy locker rooms and aquatic area.
I put my items in a locker and headed up to the cardio and weight machines. I settled in on a "gazelle-like" machine which I thought would be a easy lead into cardio. After about five minutes, I realized I was more out of shape than I thought. I decided to move to the weight machines to help rebuild my muscles. I spent 45 minutes using all of the machines and discovered I did not lose as much muscle mass as I had previously thought. Once I finished with weights, I went to use the elliptical machine facing the DePaul campus. After a mere 10 minutes at a 10:35 m/m pace, I realized that I probably shouldn't overdue it on my first day back.
I stopped by the grocery store on the way home and found that my usual cravings for brownies or any other sweets had diminished. I came home, took a nap for about 90 minutes and then took my dogs for a 45 minute walk. When I returned I made dinner and found I wasn't as hungry as I normally was. This exercise thing might have a positive effect on me after all. Taking the first step is always the hardest.




- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

Getting Lucky...Again

This past weekend I participated in Team Ortho's Get Lucky 7k for the second consecutive year. As I have been working on a paper for school, I really hadn't trained for the race at all, but I figured it was only 4 miles and I should be able to complete it without too much trouble. What I did not anticipate was a cold front moving into Chicago the morning of the race.
Unfortunately the race was not the only thing I didn't prepare for. I forgot my gloves and did not wear the inserts for my shoes. As I crossed the start line my only goal was to finish with a sub 14 minute/mile. The first two miles went easily and I was on track with my pace. I stuck to my walk/run method and felt strong. At least until the start of mile three...
We turned and headed north along the lakefront and were faces with cold winds whipping off the lake and snow pelting our faces. This change in the weather proved tougher than I thought as my pace slowed to an 18 m/m pace.
While I was not proud of my time, I am proud that I finished. This race was what I needed to get myself back in gear. I have 65 days until the Soldier Field Ten Miler and I plan on actually training for this race. I am on my way to becoming the healthy person I want to be.



- Trying to shed my potato skin and find my inner skinny fry.

Starting over yet again

So here I go again, which is the title of an amazing book I read over the weekend by Jen Lancaster. But I digress...

I am starting my quest for health and wellness and towards my goal of completing a half marathon. I've let myself get distracted and overwhelmed by life lately. I have a paper due for school in two weeks and need to concentrate on that before beginning my training. I haven't really run since last November and will need to reinitiate myself to running slowly in order to prevent burnout and injuries.
I have a few friends that are runners and they are quite motivating. Plus, I graduate in June and would like to look less like Violet from the Willy Wonka movie and more like an older version of the woman I was in my twenties. I have a 7k race in two weeks which will indicate the start of my running season. I am going to be smart about my training and know that my eating habits need to change. The first step was the elimination of diet coke from my daily diet. This change has already manifested in the disappearance of gastrointestinal ailments.
Please join me as I start on my final journey to a healthier life. First up, my second running of Team Ortho's Get Lucky 7k on March 16th. Hoping to capture another bling for my collection.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Starting Over Again...

 After 4 weeks off training due to a stress fracture, heel spur and the beginning of arthritis, I am ready to get back into my training. 

Last Sunday I took a Good Form Running class at Fleet Feet Sports in Lincoln Square. Our class was small and our instructor had run the Rock and Roll Half Marathon that morning, yet he was moving better than I was.  I was the heaviest runner there but I was there to learn how to prevent injury and improve my running.

Our instructor had each of us run in our shoes while he video'd our form.  Next he had us run in bare feet so that he could compare our form.  It was awkward and I didn't run as I would normally run, but more about that later. Most runners believe that you should strike with your heel and roll to your toes.  The problem with this form is that your knee locks and takes all of the strike as your foot hits the ground.   This occurs over 1700 times per mile, which explains why some runners have extensive knee problems.  As each runner's video was played, the instructor critiqued their form.  My form was relaxed in the knee and I didn't strike on my heel.  I did even better barefoot, striking on the midsole of my foot.  However, I had flailing arms and poor upper body form.  The instructor suggested I strengthen my core to help with my form.

This class succeeded in igniting my racing fire again.  While I haven't started running yet, I have increased my walking with the dogs every day, adding an additional half mile per day.  My foot will occasionally hurt from the arthritis, but all in all I have felt good after each walk. 

My next race is Saturday, September 17th: Mad Dash to Madison.  This race is for the Blackhawks and each runner gets a Patrick Sharp bobblehead.  I have also decided to run Chicago's Perfect Ten, which is a 10 mile and 10k run on November 12th.  I am running the 10k and there is a finisher's medal.  I have decided that the races I will run must have bling for me to spend the money.  If there is something when you finish, I feel that I will be more motivated to run and complete the race. 

I am in the process of training for a half marathon as part of my externship for school.  I will need to follow a plan, cross train, and I want to finish the race in less than three hours.  The externship requires that I journal my experience and I will have to be diligent about this blog as my grade depends on it.

My 25th high school reunion is in 14 weeks.  I would like to lose 30 pounds before the reunion and if I do my training correctly, this should happen.  I have been on staycation all week and I have lost weight and curbed my sweet tooth.  I just hope I can continue this next week.  My stomach has shrunk and I don't want to expand it again.  I will hold myself accountable and hope you all will too.

Logging it...

I haven't been posting the last month or so, but that is about to change.  I need to hold myself accountable and this is the best way to make sure I stay honest and stay connected. 

So far this year I have registered for three events:

1. Race to Wrigley 5K
2. Bark in the Park 5K
3. Soldier Field 10 Miler

Today was my first official day of attempting to train for the races.  I finally used my Nike+ system to track my progress.  I went for a 5K walk, but my neighbor and her dogs went too which means I didn't move as fast as I would have wanted.  Also, she wasted about 6 minutes waiting in line at Dunkin Donuts to get an ice tea (on a cold day, go figure).  She then complained the rest of the walk about how cold she was.  There is nothing more annoying than someone that slows you down because of their own stupidity.

But I digress.  The 5.46 kilometer walk took me 1:06 for a pace of 20:20 m/m.  Hoping to improve the pace tomorrow when the dogs and I will go by ourselves.  This was our second walk of the day, the first one being 2.7 miles and taking about 45 minutes (poor Casey was freaked out be the el and caused a diversion)

I feel good and am happy that I am on my way to achieving my goal.  Another goals is logging in every day to track my progress.  Let's hope I continue on my current path.