Boredom-Setting New Goals

I was reading another blog (Runsforcookies..check it out) and she was talking about how she eats a lot when she isn't setting running goals for herself. Now I haven't had a problem with eating a lot lately as I have been pretty good about tracking. But I have been completely bored with my workouts.

I looked into kickboxing and it is quite expensive and not a lot of great options close to my house. So I finally came to my conclusion: I need to set new running goals..not distance goals because that messes with my eating, but I think setting a few short-term running goals will do the trick.

Also, I need to hit the Under Armour Outlet when it opens this weekend and get cold weather running gear...because the treadmill is destroying my soul.

Here are my running goals to be completed by December 31, 2013

1. Run an 8 minute mile
2. Run a 5K in under 30 minutes
3. Run at least 1 mile a day for 30 days starting on November 18, 2013 (as I will have hit the Under Armour outlet by then:))

Happy Cold Weather Running!

Addressing "Fake" Weight Gain

This last week I have been getting back on track with eating. During my friend and former roommate's wedding "month" I found that I was doing a lot of stress and emotional eating. As of Sunday morning, the scale was up a significant amount of weight. My body is one that gains and loses water weight at a pretty rapid speed so I knew at this point the weight wasn't real. However, I also know that if I don't address it, it can become real weight very quickly.

On Sunday I was up about 15 lbs. Through a lot of prayer and meal planning, I was able to get back on track with eating and exercising, working through emotions rather than eating them. This morning I weighed in with 11 of those 15 lbs gone (told you it comes and goes quickly) so I am thankful to say it was probably just water weight.

It also feels good to be back in control of eating. Meal planning and following that plan is what started me on weight loss 2.5 years ago in the first place so it's always the thing that will bring back to where I need to go.

Now I am also trying to address the exercise problem. I am finding that I am burned out and bored with running, walking is still doing the trick as far as calorie burn but I kind of want to find something I truly enjoy.

I ALWAYS loved kickboxing even when I was super overweight, so I am in the process of trying to find a kickboxing gym that has classes that fit into my schedule. Especially with the temperatures getting colder, I think this might be a good attempt at transitioning to indoor exercise.

Either way, it feels good to be back in weight loss mode after a hiatus of weight loss. I should be reporting a total 110 lb loss soon (hopefully in the next two weeks if the scale cooperates). I'll keep you posted..oh and if you know of any good kickboxing gyms in the Omaha Metro Area, feel free to let me know:

Friend's Wedding Day!

I had so much fun this past weekend celebrating one of my closest friend's wedding day. We have been planning and getting ready for this for months and I was so blessed to see her walk down the aisle as the most beautiful bride to be joined together with a man who loves her with everything in him as well as having a deep love for Christ . What an awesome wedding.

I was so honored to be a bridesmaid in Tami and Grant's wedding but I am even more honored to get to call both of these amazing people such good friends.

When I was looking at these pictures of me as a bridesmaid, I also took a look at the bridesmaid photos of the last wedding I was in..a little over two years ago. I can't believe what a difference 100 lbs can make.

That first dress is actually 10 sizes bigger than the dress I am wearing in the second photo...isn't that crazy? Whenever I feel like I am struggling, it is good to see pictures like this to remind me of how far I have come.

Back to Weight Loss Mode

Now that I have finished being in training for races for almost a year, I have started to concentrate a lot more on weight loss. I have a goal to be under 200 by the end of December. This is a completely reachable goal for me but does require some work.

Lately I have been getting up between 5am and 6am in the morning in order to get a decent morning workout in. I found that working out early in the morning tends to keep me on the straight and narrow with eating for the rest of the day. I have also started drinking a smoothie made up of 1 cup coconut milk, 1.5 cups of spinach, 1 cup of berries, and 1 banana. Putting most of my fruits and veggies into my body before I even hit the gym in the morning seems to be helping out a lot with healthy eating as well.

So there you have it..my next goal. I have been working on this weight loss goal for 2.5 years and I am just ready to get there already. I haven't been under 200 since 7th grade and I am excited to see that number. I'll keep you posted with the progress, but to me, hitting this goal is the only option.

Choice made.

Marathon Day-I can't believe I did it!

Yesterday I completed a marathon! This was absolutely the HARDEST thing I have ever done in my life. There are pictures of me smiling during this thing but this is what I actually felt like most of the time.

I had been anxious about getting done in the allotted time for days. So when I started the half-marathon portion (for this course you ran a half marathon and then turned around), I was really running for time. I was really excited because each mile seemed to get better and better. I was running faster than I than I thought I could run this course. So fast that I skipped the first 4 water/food stops.

Big Mistake

Mile 9 is always my enemy and it was no different on this day. Thankfully, I had friends meeting up with me at mile 10 so I figured I could get through mile 9. I was happy this was an up and back course because I believe I would have stopped at the half-marathon mark had that been an option.

At around mile 10, two of my friends, Melita and Jessie, started running the course with me and it was good that they started running with me because that's when I started to think "I don't have any idea how I am going to run another 16 miles." Around mile 11, my friend, Tami caught up with us and decided to run.

This is also the part where my stomach started having significant gastrointestinal problems. I felt extremely sick and needed to stop. But, I really wanted to get a better half-marathon time than I did at the Lincoln Half-Marathon so I kept going without stopping and I beat that time. I was also on track to finish in the allotted time.

It all went downhill from there. After I hit 13.1, I started walking because I NEEDED to stop or I was going to be sick. We finally got to a porta-potty and I was able to stop. After this, a lot of the race is a blur. My stomach was going crazy, I had to walk a lot more than I wanted and my blood sugar levels were so low due to not fueling much during the half-marathon portion, that I thought I was going to faint. At this point, it was one foot in front of the other to finish.

I didn't end up finishing in the allotted time but that was ok, because I finished. I've decided that finishing something that feels impossible, fundamentally changes you. I don't think I have an excuses anymore because when I had 9 miles left, I really didn't know how I could make it through those miles and somehow I did. It makes me believe that I am capable of more than I have ever allowed myself to be capable of.

I was also overwhelmed by all the support. Friends came out to cheer for me and run with me. All of them are amazing (Jess, Amber, Alicia, Sarah, Jane and Erin). And each friend that came out meant sooo much and gave me a little bit extra that I needed to complete the race. I remember saying yesterday that I needed to make a note for myself about how terrible the marathon was so I never run one again. But honestly, now I kind of want to. It was HORRIBLE but with a little more training, hopefully I'll be out there for significantly less than 7 hours and now that I know that I can...I feel like I really should:)

Amber and Alica both came out to cheer for me, it was awesome!

Jenny was one of the people with the race, she was nice enough to stay with us until we completed the race..otherwise we might have gotten super lost:)

Melita and Jessie ran with me most of the way, Melita was awesome enough to stay with me almost the whole time even though she probably could have finished in half that time. Jessie ran 17 miles with us! (Which really means she needs to run a marathon soon)

At the end of the marathon..don't I look relieved?

Tami came out and did 13 miles of the marathon with me, she wants to run the Lincoln Marathon next year. Go Tami!

Each Run is a Gift

Last night I had trouble sleeping. I have been anxious about the marathon and timing and finishing every day this week. Last night I realized that if I already wasn't sleeping over this, it was going to be a long 5 days. So I prayed for God to give me peace and rest during this time.

I decided that this morning I was going to run one last 5k before the marathon at a decently fast pace to see where I was at and calm my anxiety. I got to the beginning of the Keystone Trail and there was this beautiful double rainbow in which it seemed as if that was God's way of saying. "Trust me, you have done the work..trust me to take you the rest of the way."

I started to run the first mile and just began to be thankful. Thankful that I have legs to run on, thankful that what used to be a 300+ lb body is now a lot more slim and can carry me 26.2 miles. I realized that getting to run the marathon is a gift rather than something to stress over.

The second mile, the rain just started pouring down but I kept running. I had to slow down considerably because I didn't want to fall on wet pavement and get an injury but I continued to run and be thankful and worship God in the rain.

The third mile was when the rain stopped and my stomach started hurting really bad. I ran through it and ran pretty fast. In the end I averaged just a little over 13 minute miles and realized that I could do this. I could complete this marathon even if I'm the slowest one and the course has been taken apart by the time I'm done. I can and will finish 26.2 miles and I choose to be thankful the whole way.

(I wish I had a picture of the actual double rainbow because it was pretty spectacular, but I didn't have my phone with me on the run.) This is the closest to what it looked like.

Marathon Fears

Next Sunday is the marathon (September 22 if anyone wants to come out for it) and I'll be honest...

I am terrified.

I thought I would talk about why I am terrified because it probably isn't what you would expect. Am I terrified of being able to complete the marathon? No, last year at this time at a significantly heavier weight, I walked a marathon on my own on the Keystone Trail. So I know that I have put in the time and training and can run this thing. I know that I can finish.

But what am I most afraid of? I am afraid of my own pride. I am afraid of my own self-talk when I run this marathon.

I am afraid of being the slowest one out there.

The reality is that I am a very slow runner. In fact, I am not even sure that I will finish in the allotted cut off time which means that all drink stations and everything will be taken down.

I know how this works because when I ran a half-marathon in college (10 years ago or so), I was one of the slowest people out there and all the support was gone. It was awful. But the difference was that with the half-marathon, at least there were still people around because people were still finishing the marathon.

I worry that I will run into a ghost town and even after finishing a marathon, feel like a fat failure...which sounds ridiculous if you think about it. But that's the truth. I think by being open and honest about our fears, they lose their power so that is what I am trying to do here.

So if you could all pray for me during my marathon, I would appreciate it. Conquering this is a huge step for me and I have been sitting in this fear for far too long.