FINDING BALANCE

Third Monday of the week.

Ok, weigh in last week was good but I think it was better than what showed up on the scale. I was down another half lb BUT I think it was more. Here's why. I ate a large dinner the night before weigh in but it was a near zero point dinner. It was, however, a large dinner and when I woke up I was still full! I thought it would digest before the morning because it was only a bunch of stir-fried veggies easy for the body to deal with and I thought I would go through the normal morning "duties" before weighing in...but I didn't! Ugh... That being said, I was still down a half lb at 161 even for a grand total of 18lbs gone...bam!

....of course, over the Memorial Day weekend I sort of went overboard. But I'm still within striking distance. I'm less than a lb up from weigh in. So, I'm trying like Hell to get myself to the 160lb goal for weigh in this week. I think I can do it.

I seem to have found a great balance between running and eating. First, it took a couple months for my metabolism to adjust to trying to run and have a lesser general intake of food, I won't lie, it was uncomfortable going out to run and feeling lower on energy than I was used to. But now I think I have learned what is good to eat on a run day and when to eat it and still stay within my WW point limit.

I went out last Friday for an 8 mile run. I was sooooo sleepy. It was really hard for that reason. I had gotten such a crappy night's sleep for some reason. But I made myself go out for my run AND it was a hill run, to boot! I'm so proud of myself for getting out there and doing that. It was not any faster than my typical 8 mile pace. Actually, it may have been a little slower due to my being so tired. I managed a 10:45 pace but I still think that's just fine, especially under the circumstances.

Just LUUUV those ramps!

Yesterday, I went to the stadium and did my stadium workout. I only had a half hour to workout but it went better than I expected. I was able to run the dreaded ramps more times than I could before.

 I didn't do any bleacher steps or bleacher seats, though, because it was raining and lightening. I just won't run in the lightening. So I stayed within the walls of the stadium, mostly.

It wasn't this bad but was close enough!

It was a good and challenging workout. I still hate stadium workouts because they are hard. But therein lies the reason I do them, lol.

Well, TTFN

WOOHOO

Third Monday of the week.

I can't wait for Friday. Three day weekend! Woohoo! And speaking of woohoo, last blog I wrote about how I was hoping my WW weigh in would be what my scale said, 161.4, and it was :-D. I really hope I can come in at 160 this Saturday. That would be UH-MAZING! When I get to 159 that will mark my 20lb point! Maybe I'll post a before and after pic of some sort then.

For the first time this week I have had 3 people ask me how much weight I've lost! That's so cool :-). It's noticeable. I don't notice it so much in terms of looks but my clothes definitely fit better and are even a little loose. Actually, I got into 2 pairs of pants that I haven't been able to wear in years. They fit perfectly. I love that. I can't wait till those are too big.

I am consistently running sub-10 minute miles now. BUT, I really need to test that on a moderately longish run, maybe 8 miles, soon. I actually have no idea what my pace would be beyond 6 miles right now. That's about the longest I've gone lately. Yup, gotta put my nose to the grind stone and up those miles more.

But, on the upside, I have not missed a run day in 4 weeks. Training is going well, despite the heat. It is in the mid 90s now on a regular basis and it really makes running those longer distances hard. But, I have been running in the heat to acclimate to it. If I can do well in the heat then I will have a ball in cool weather.

Well, gotta go. Chat at y'all soon.

TTFN

I'M GOOD WITH THAT

Finally Friday!

Well, as of my weigh in last week at WW I actually was at 162.4! Woohoo! I saw 161.4 on my scale today but I don't know if that will hold up for weigh in tomorrow.... I'm still afraid the WW plan won't work but so far so good. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed to lose at the very least 14 more lbs by the end of August for the Hood to Coast Relay. That's only 1lb/wk. That's totally reasonable. That would put me at 148lbs. I' good with that...as long as it keeps going beyond that after the race.

I have been keeping a little higher running schedule. Not nearly as much as it needs to be but I'm slowly building up distance, again. I've been maintaining 13-15 in-week miles and strength training the last month or month and a half. I know that doesn't seem like much but I was at about 6miles/week for a while because of my marathon burnout, lol. So, I'm building again. If I can average about 25-30 overall miles/wk over the summer I'll feel pretty good. I just gotta rock those miles.

I'm trying something a little different for training this year. I'm trying out shorter but harder workouts/runs in lieu of crazy long runs. I'm not training for a marathon; I just need a break from fulls this year. But, I want to crush the half. I want to make or break 2:00:00.

I've been reading about how shorter but harder runs and speed work can get you faster for the same long distance but with fewer injuries. I'm intrigued. So I think my longest runs this year will be the occasional 15 miler but mostly 10-13.

Well, I will let y'all know how weigh in went.

TTFN

T MINUS 37 AND COUNTING

Fourth Monday of the week.

Super excited today! I stepped on the scale and saw a brand new number I haven't seen since going in the wrong direction. 162.4! Woohoo! I'm down another 2 lbs for about a total loss of 17 lbs. I hope this is a real number and not an anomaly but I'll take for what it is!

I did exercise hard yesterday, though. I did my stadium workout for about a half hour then went for a slow jog (not by choice,lol) for another 20 minutes after that.

Weather for the next 10 days! Ugh!

It was so hot, 94 degrees, and the ramps and stairs were so hard. I'm so happy that I was rewarded with the lower number on the scale. I hope it doesn't reflect dehydration....hmmmm. I tried to stay well hydrated, though. I guess I'll know tomorrow.

Well, it appears summer is almost here. When the humidity matches the temperature it's summer. I might as well enjoy the dry air while I can despite the heat :-(.

I need to acclimate myself to the heat, anyway. It will make running darn near anywhere else so much easier since it's hard to match the heat here and harder, still, to match the heat coupled with the level of humidity we get.  It will just make me a stronger runner in cooler temps ;-P.

I guess elevation might negate the cooler temps since I am at sea level. Well, I'd be willing to try! I can't quit running, anyway, till I at least run a half or full marathon in each of these great 50 states! I think I have 42 to go. Let's see, I have done, in alphabetical order: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Washington DC. I know DC is not a state but I have to include the capital of the country in my endeavors. Ok, so that is 8 plus DC. ...can't wait to do Hawaii some day! This year I'm hoping to add South Carolina. I'm definitely getting Nevada in November. Wow, that would be 20% of the country. Cool!

Ok, enough for today. Gotta go.

TTFN