Race Day Update

I apologize for not posting this yesterday, but it was a crazy day. My parents ended up coming to visit to watch me run, so I spent the day with them. I know you are all wanting an update, so here it is. I finished the complete race without walking, I did not however make my goal of 35 minutes. I ended up finishing in 38:17. I was extremely dissapointed at first, so much so that I could not even be proud of myself for running the entire thing. I crossed the finish line and immediately burst into tears. I am sure that my husband and my parents thought I was having a mental breakdown, because it was not pretty. It was such an emotional day for me anyway because when I first started my blog my original goal was to complete a 5K without walking in under 40 minutes. I had done that, and I was emotional because of that. Then I had put this added pressure of completing the race in under 35 minutes, and when I was unable to reach that goal I felt like a huge failure. I felt like everyone would be dissapointed in me, but I was very wrong. My family was so proud of me for even attempting the race. They were even more proud to know that I did it without walking. Slowly throughout the day I was able to process more and more, and I eventually came around to feeling proud of myself. When I first started this journey I was unable to start with couch to 5K because even the first day included running for 60 seconds at a time. I had to start with my own intervals, so I began with running sections of 30 seconds at a time. When I ran for those 30 second sections, I felt like I was going to die. I went from barely being able to run 30 seconds, to being able to run 38 minutes without stopping. I'd say that is something to be proud of!

 

With that being said, looking back there are a couple of things that I would have changed on race day. 1.) I would not have started out so fast. There were so many people, and at first I was so concerned when people were passing me that I was running at a much faster pace than I am used to. This caused me to pretty much run out of steam by mile one. I never walked, but my pace had majorly slowed at that point. For my next race I will definitely pace myself better. 2.) I would not have gotten water from the water station. I only reached for water once and I immediately regretted it. I tried to gulp the water while I was running and I ended up getting choked. I coughed for a good minute after taking that gulp of water. On top of that, the water was very cold and that was a shock to my system. Between the choking, and the cold it really threw off my breathing for a while, and I ended up getting a side stitch shortly after. I blame this comepletely on my decision to get water. 3.) I would have kept walking for a bit after I finished the race. I was in such an emotional tizzy that I just sat down and cried. I should have kept moving and I should have stretched afterwards because I am VERY sore today. I never get sore after runs, and now I know that this is due to the five minute cool down.

 

Now that I have done what I set out to do and I have run a 5K without walking, I am going to do my next 5K a little differently. I have gotten a better time than 38:17 when I was running intervals before, and I know that is because the running sections are full force because your body has had time to recover in between. I assumed that I would beat everyone who was running intervals because they were stopping to walk. I was very wrong, almost every person that I saw running intervals beat me. They weren't so spent that they had nothing left. They ran fast on their running sections, and they walked very briskly on their walking sections. I am doing the Susan Komen 5K on October 26 and I think that I am going to run that one in intervals. Running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute. I have proven to myself that I can do it without walking, so now my sole concern is improving my time even if I do it by running intervals.

 

I really apprecite you coming back to check on my progress. You were all on my mind while I was running yesterday. I hope to be able to post a better time with each race that I do. Below are some pictures from race day. The first is a before race and after race picture and the second is my bib number. Thank you again for always coming back, your support means the world to me.

Thanks for reading,

Sarah

I've been keeping a secret.

I have let you guys into pretty much every aspect of my weightloss thus far. I do admit that I have been keeping a secret from you though. I have registered and will be running my first 5K (without walking) this Sunday, September 29. You might be asking yourself, "Why would she keep something like that a secret?" The answer is simple, I kept it a secret because I was afraid that I would fail. I did not want to announce this first 5K because I was afraid that I could not complete the entire 3.1 miles without walking. If I suceeded I was going to make a blogpost about it that included pictures of me smiling at the finish line, bursting with pride at my accomplishment. If I was not successful, I was just going to act like it never happened as far as you guys are concerned. I have obviously decided not to do that though. The whole purpose of me starting this blog was to hold myself accountable. I set out to let people see my successes and failures, all with the hopes of giving readers a realistic inspiration for their own weightloss. Also, I feel that if I kept this a secret that I would be making it easier on myself to fail. If no one knew that I was running a race to start with, they would never know that I had to walk. I want to know while I am running that when I am done, I will be reporting back to you. I think it will be a lot easier to keep myself going if I know that I will be updating you guys afterwards.

 

 I have prepared for this by doing the couch to 5K program. I am not quite finished with the program yet, but I do feel ready for this race. The farthest that I have run so far was 2.5 miles, but I am confident that I will be able to add that 0.6 miles and finish under my goal time. My original goal was to finish a 5K in under 40 minutes, but I am going to one up myself and strive to finish this race in under 35 minutes. I struggled about whether to tell you my new goal time, but I did not feel right keeping my goal time at a number that I wouldn't have to try hard for. My 35 minute goal time also has a specific meaning to me personally. I ran cross country in high shcool, but I only did it to condition myself for basketball. I did not care about running, therefore I did not put forth much effort. Mine and the times of the other girls conditioning for basketball did not count for the team's overall time. Since my time in the races didn't affect the team, I really didn't care how I placed so I didn't try. My cross country coach always told me that if I just put forth an effort, that I could easily complete each race in under 35 mintues. She knew that I wasn't trying, and she attempted all season to get that effort from me. That was an effort that I never gave her. I never finished a race in under 35 minutes because when I got tired, I walked. On Sunday, for the first time in a 5K, I am going to put forth 100% of my effort, and I fully intend on finishing this race in the time that I was too lazy to strive for in school. I hope that you will come back on Sunday to check on my progress, I look forward to updating you with good news. I CAN DO IT!

 

Thanks for reading,

Sarah

It's not all rainbows and sunshine.

Remeber when I said that I would post no matter what was going on, good or bad? My posts can't always be positive and peppy, because that is simply not reality. I want to give you a true glimpse into my weightloss journey, and the truth is I have been really down for close to two weeks now. I have mentioned that even though I do my official weigh ins once every three weeks, I usually weigh everyday. I have not really seen the scale budge much at all since my last weigh in and it is REALLY starting to get to me. I have known to expect this, but it is never easy to feel like your hard work is going to waste. I have been on this weightloss journey for 6 months now, and I have never gone over my calories, not even once. I work out 6 days a week, only taking a rest day at the request of my doctor. This wall that I am hitting is not for lack of effort on my part. I hit a small plateau like this a couple of months ago, and I got really depressed then too. I only have 20 more pounds to lose, and I know that I am going to have to fight harder for this 20 than I did for the first 55. I have to find a constructive way to get past this plateau. I have found myself cutting way back on my calories, which are already low considering how much I am working out. That is not the answer! I need to make sure that I am taking in enough calories to lose this weight the right way. I am thinking back to when I hit my last wall and how I got past that. I changed up my workouts and shocked my body. Maybe that is the course of action I should take this time as well. I need to make sure that I am adding in strength training, as a lot of this last bit of weight will come from toning up. Muscle burns fat, and I have to remember that instead of being in fear of bulking up. Have you ever hit a weightloss plateau? What are some suggestions that you have for getting through it? Feel free to leave a comment and give me some suggestions. I will take all the help I can get!

 

Thanks for reading,

Sarah

I'm not a bad person...

The title of this post might seem a little confusing, but I promise I have a point. I have never been a big shopper. I am not ashamed to admit that I am cheap. I don't have a problem spending money on other people, in fact I have been known to splurge quite a lot on my husband. I have never been able to spend money on myself though. I have always shopped on the sales racks, and I mostly shop out of necessity. It is rare that I just go out and shop for fun. My family did not have a great deal of money growing up, so this is just how I was raised. With that being said, I have had to do quite a bit of shopping lately because I HAVE NO CLOTHES! None of my clothes fit, and that is a very good thing. I am definitely shopping out of necessity, but I still can't get it out of my head that I am being bad. I have been buying a few things here and there, but no large haul as of yet. Every time I get home, I feel bad for spending money. Keep in mind that my husband is encouraging me to shop, so the guilt is all me. I am not used to spending so much money on myself, so this has definitely been an adjustment. The last couple of times that I have been shopping, I have been eyeing this leather moto jacket. I have tried it on several times, and I kept walking away. I couldn't justify spending $60 on something that I didn't absolutely need. I will need a jacket eventually, but not right now. Well, I went to JC Penney again last night for some necessities, and of course I came back to "the jacket". I ran into some friends while we were there, and they ended up talking me into getting it. As soon as I left the store, I immediately felt like a horrible person. I felt so bad for splurging on myself. I got home and showed Brandon my purchase, and told him I was thinking about taking it back. He had me try it on, and he told me that there was no way he was letting me take it back. I started thinking to myself, why do I feel so much guilt over $60. Do I feel like I am not worth that? I finally told myself that I have worked very hard for the last 6 months, and I deserve that jacket. It is something that I really wanted, and it was not an impulse buy. It was something that I kept coming back to. So, I have decided to treat myself and keep the jacket. I have also decided that I am not a bad person for doing so. I have attached a picture of me in the jacket, so feel free to let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading,
Sarah

Weigh In Number 7!

It seems like these weigh ins just keep coming faster and faster, but it is that time again. I do apologize for postponing the weigh in a week, but weighing while on my period is not my idea of fun. When I weighed 4 weeks ago, I weighed in at 172.4. This week, I weighed in at 165.6! That is a 6.8 weight loss for the month, and that puts me at 54 lbs lost over all! That's right, I have passed the 50 lb mark! Also, if you didn't see my milestones post, that also means that I now weigh less than I did on my wedding day. Just had to throw that in there! Now onto the measurements.


                                            Starting                     Last Weigh In                        Current

Thighs:                                    28                                   22                                R-21, L-21.5


Arms:                                     14.5                         R-12, L-11.5                      R-11.5, L-11.5


Neck:                                      13.5                                 12                                         12


Belly:                                        40                                  34                                         33


Waist:                                     35.5                                 29                                         28


Chest:                                       43                                  37                                         37


Hips:                                         44                                37.5                                        37


Butt:                                         47                                40.5                                        39


                                    Inches This Weigh In:  6                Total Inches: 65.5

While I am very happy with these results, I can definitely tell that my progress is slowing down. That is to be expected at this point, but still something that I am having to remind myself of. A 30 minute run on the elliptical used to burn about 550 calories for me since my heart rate usually sat at a very high 175. Now when I run 30 minutes on the elliptical my heart rate usually does not go above 130, which means I burn more like 300 calories. I know that it is a very good thing that my body is in much better shape, meaning that my heart rate stays at a much safer pace. It does mean however, that I have to work much harder for the calories that I burn. I backed off of the push ups quite a bit in the last couple of weeks because my shoulder was bothering me some, but I can tell by my arm measurements that I need to pick that back up this week. I am going to focus on arms and of course belly from now until my next weigh in. I am going to the beach on October 4th, so I am kicking the ab work into HIGH GEAR for the next couple of weeks! I hope you all have an amazing week!

Thanks for reading,
Sarah

No Weigh In Today

Sorry to disappoint, but there will be no weigh in today. It is once again that time of the month, and I am sure that if you are a woman you understand my reasoning. I do however still want to share a quick story with you. As you know, I am doing the couch to 5K program 3 days a week. I finished week 5 this week, and if you are familiar with the program than you might remember that there is quite a jump in distance in week 5. The interval for day 2 week 5 is to warm up with a 5 minute walk, run 8 minutes, walk 5 minutes, run 8 minutes and then cool down with a 5 minute walk. I did well on the first 8 minute segment, but towards the end of the second 8 minute segment I was very tired. I finished, but it was not easy for me. I looked on to the next day of couch to 5K and day 3 of week five was a 5 minute warm up walk, followed by 20 minutes of running with no walking at all. That was longer than both 8 minute segments that I had just ran put together. I immediately told myself that there was no way that I was ready for that. The next day that I ran, I decided to repeat day 2 of week five, and I got through it much easier. Still the thought of running 20 minutes straight was very daunting. I decided that I was going to try it, but I still had it in my mind that I wouldn't make it. I got up yesterday and ate breakfast, all the while with this run hanging over my head. While I was giving my breakfast time to digest, I decided to get on Pinterest. I started going through my fitness board and reading tons of motivational quotes. There were several that were talking about how your mind will limit you before your body will. I decided that no matter how much my body felt like I couldn't go on, that I wasn't going to let my mind get in the way. I got to the track as soon as the gym opened, so I ended up being the only person there. I am quite happy about that, because if anyone had been there they might have thought I was crazy. I started my warm up walk and I started telling myself (out loud) that my body was stronger than my mind would let me believe. I listened to a song that really pumped me up and by the time the voice spoke over my music telling me it was time to run, I was positive that I was going to be able to do it. 13 laps around my track is 2 miles, I knew I couldn't quite complete 2 miles in 20 minutes, but I decided to count down my laps from 13 anyway. Every time I got to my starting point, I would tap the rail and tell myself "12 left, 11 left!" and so on. I kept telling myself, "You can do anything for 20 minutes." I never let my mind tell that I was hurting, or that I couldn't make it. By constantly telling myself that I could do it, I never let my mind get in the way. Before I realized it, the voice spoke over my music telling me that my workout was over. I had completed 12 full laps, which means that I ran 1.84 miles at a pace of just under an 11 minute mile. Not once did I feel like I wouldn't be able to make it. Your mind can limit you, but it can also allow you to do great things. I was so happy as I was doing my cool down. I had just done something that seemed impossible to me, and I did it with ease. I know now that in 3 weeks when couch to 5K is over, that I will be running 3.1 miles with no trouble. I got a little emotional as I was doing that cool down lap, (I will blame that on being on my period) but I was proud of myself. Don't ever let your mind hold you back from doing something great. Your body is stronger than your mind would let you believe!

Thanks for reading,
Sarah

3 Milestones in 1 Day!

Milestones are great reminders along a journey that remind you just how close you are to your destination. Losing my first 20 lbs was a milestone for me. Weighing under 200 lbs was a milestone for me as well. It has been a while since I have been able to say that I reached a milestone, but Saturday made up for that because I hit 3 in one day! I do my official weigh ins once every three weeks, but I would be lying if I said that I don't weigh much more often that. I have been getting close to the 50 lb loss mark for a while now, so when I checked my weight on Saturday I was THRILLED to see 167.8 lbs. I skipped 50 lbs and went straight to 52 lbs! To me 50 lbs sounds like such a substantial amount of weight. I was on cloud nine already, and then I realized that because I was at 167 that I was also at the exact same weight that I weighed on my wedding day. Milestone number two! While it is true that I weighed more on my wedding day than I wanted to, I gained the majority of my weight after I got married. By reaching this particular weight I felt very rejuvenated. So again, I was on cloud nine and felt like I could not get much happier. Brandon works nights so he was sleeping during the day on Saturday, so I decided to get out of the house so that he could have some quiet. I needed a pair of capri's pretty badly so I decided to head to JC Penney. I have been in an 8 in dresses for a couple of weeks but I have still been in a 10 in jeans. I grabbed all of the options that I liked in size 10, and headed to the dressing room. They all fit good in the legs, but every single one was just a tad big in the waist. I knew I was setting myself up for disappointment, but I decided to try on an 8 in my favorite pair just to see. I could not believe my eyes when they fit perfectly! I stared in the mirror for a very long time to make sure that I wasn't just seeing what I wanted and not was really there. I even sent a picture to my mom to make sure that they looked like they fit. She agreed, so I officially bought my first pair of size 8 jeans! If you had told me in August of last year that a year from then I would be wearing a size 8 jeans, I would have told you were smoking something. Single digit sizing always seemed like such an unobtainable thing, but here I am! I have included a picture of me on my wedding day side by side with the picture of me in my new size 8 jeans! I am carrying my weight a little differently this time, so even though I look smaller in some places now, I have more belly than I did then. Like I said earlier though, reaching these milestones has given me a new rejuvenation for my weight loss. I am going to kick it up a gear yet again and get this last little bit off!

Thanks for reading,

Sarah

Running with a Partner

Have you ever set your alarm clock extra early with every intention of getting up in the morning and knocking out your workout early? Well I have, and it usually ends up with me hitting the snooze button and cramming in my workout after work. I have seen so many tips online that talk about treating your workouts like an appointment that you can't miss. There is only one problem with that. If I miss an appointment that I set with myself, then I am the only person that it is affecting. I have a solution though, so don't worry. Find a workout buddy! If you plan to meet with a friend for an early morning workout, you are far more likely to force yourself out if bed to get going. It is embarrassing to have to cancel a workout with a friend, especially if you don't have a good reason. No, an extra hour of sleep is not a good enough reason to bail out on a friend. This past week, I tried this tactic. I have a co-worker named Ashley who is interested in running the color-run with me in October. She is a dancer (although she would argue with me about that) so she is in good shape, but she has not ran in a long time. She asked if I wouldn't mind running with her a couple of times per week in order to get her ready for the race. We decided that Tuesdays and Thursdays work best for both of our schedules. Tuesday at 5:30 am when my alarm went off, there was no inner struggle. I knew that if I didn't go, I would leave Ashley hanging. I got right up, got my workout gear on, and ran out the door. We met up at 6:00 am and headed to the track. I am on week 5 of couch to 5k, which starts out with a five minute warm up walk. I started to walk right out onto the track, and she stopped me and said, "Aren't we going to stretch?" I am really glad she suggested that, because my calves were not nearly as tight afterwards as they usually are. I was really proud of Ashley. For not having ran in a while, she did awesome. She kept up with me and did all of the running intervals except for one. There is no way that I could have done that on day one, so major props to her. We took a picture after our run so that I could post it with this blogpost, but I look absolutely horrendous in it so I am going to keep that little gem to myself. I do hope that you will consider working out with a friend though. I understand that it makes some people uncomfortable. I used to HATE working out with anybody. I could not keep up and it embarrassed me, but if you can get past the competition aspect the benefits truly are amazing. I know that on Monday and Wednesday nights I have to go to bed early, because now I really do have an appointment that I can't miss!