Finished but it was anything but pretty

I don't know if I got caught up in the excitement of the race, if my music was faster paced then I usually run with or it was just because I was feeling good...

Mile one and I was feeling good...I wasn't feeling sluggish and my legs were cooperating...which usually doesn't happen during the first mile for me...but I finished mile one with an 11:08.

Miles two through five were much the same...I felt great...I knew my pace was much faster than I was used to running...my training runs, only a 7 (avg pace 11:37) and a 8 miler (avg pace 11:24)...at mile 5 I was at 55:05...an avg pace of 11:01...I've done this enough to know what was coming next...

And sure enough...it came at mile 6...the wall...I ran into head on...I seen it coming but it was too late...it took me 12:14 to complete that mile...I recovered a little to pull off a 12 minutes for mile 7...but that was the last mile I respectively pulled off...rest of them...I completed short of crawling...All of mile 8 I held my left side since I had a horrible pain, thankfully it went away...

I had pretty much called it quits...I had given up running...walking had become a chore all by itself...I came around the corner about a quarter mile from the finish line and the road was lined with all these National Guardsmen clapping and yelling "Finish Strong" and I just had the dig in and find whatever I had left...that quarter mile might as well been a mile since I had to run uphill and my calves started burning...it felt like the muscles were tearing...each stride I thought I was to trip over my own feet...everything seemed to move in slow motion...every ounce of me wanted to quit...but once I got to the top of the hill...it was all downhill from there...even managed to squeeze out an 8:27 pace to finish it out...helping me to squeak in just under 2 hours with a 1:59:17...

I was initially very unhappy with this...but once the initial disappointment subsided I knew that a 11 min pace wasn't really realistic...I know it can take months of training to shave 30 seconds off an average mile pace for a long run...I hadn't ran in two weeks since my 8 mile run and until Tuesday...I wasn't even sure I was going to be well enough to run...then I came across a 10 mile run from last December...the last time I ran 10 miles and I had been running regularly and was running over 100 miles a month...and my avg pace was 12:16...so as I look at the big picture...I pulled it off...it wasn't a stellar performance by no means but I finished...and the last thing I told my boyfriend before heading to the starting line...I will be happy with anything less than two hours...

Tomorrow starts my half training...I have 14 weeks to train...I decided to go from running a 5K to running 10 miles in 6 weeks and lost the last two weeks of training due to being sick...but I have 14 weeks to get ready for my half...I know that I can do 10...I could have probably finished with a better time had I paced myself better and slowed down at mile two when I realized I was going too fast...I know what I did wrong...now I have time to learn from my mistakes and get it right for my half...and if I am lucky and training and I play nicely...maybe...just maybe an 11 min/mi pace could possibly be in my future.

Pre-race Jitters

Well tomorrow is the big day...my first big race since April 2012...the Reindeer Dash for Cash 10 Miler. My training fell short after coming down with a cold shortly after my 8 mile run and I was down for two weeks...only feeling like myself in the last couple of days.

I am really scared that I won't be able to finish the race without having to walk a majority of it...my last training run went great...my 8 miler, I did 7:1 intervals and my average pace was 13 seconds faster than my 7 miler and I ran that without any walk breaks...I am going to stick with the 1 minute of walking every 7 minutes since that seemed to work for me during my training run. I know my lungs aren't completely 100% yet, so I am not really sure what time to aim for...I guess just finishing should be my goal...prior to getting sick I really had a goal of 1:50 or less which would have me right on target for my half marathon training even though my training doesn't officially start until Monday...but after completing 10 miles finishing 13.1 is a piece of cake right...after all a half is just a 5K with a 10 mile warm up...right?!?!?!

I guess I have to look at it this way...even if I do end up having to walk it...my walking pace is now where my run pace was when I did my first 10 mile race in 2011...so either way it goes...I will PR for that distance...

Fingers crossed...and wish me luck

<3 Bobbie

November is Over

November has come to an end...I have spent the last twelve days feeling under the weather...but today I think I may have finally found the culprit as to why I haven't been getting better...I think I have an allergy to the seasonal candles I have purchased. I woke up feeling great today, better than I have in days. Only to have that disappear shortly after getting the house cleaned and lighting my candles. I am hoping that is really what it is so that I can get back to feeling better and back to feeling like myself again.

Training Plan

Still trying to workout the details for my half training...I need to work on my running since it makes me a stronger walker, but need to work on my power walking because I need to become faster and it helps my endurance to be a better runner...need to try to find a balance but still allows for resting and while getting 3 run days and 3 walk days each week.

I am trying to finish my Running 4 Fat Loss...I am in week 4 of 8...once I get done with that it will be easy, I will just use the half marathon training plan from my app...during the week I run on the run days and power walk on the long run day and easy walks on rest days...

I guess I could hold off on training until then, it's not like I have a race coming up...and I don't plan on doing a half until the fall...I need to figure it out soon...need to get April's workouts scheduled!

I'm sure it will work out...I just need to stop putting too much thought into it...

Tired of injuries...

Over the past year, I have tried training to run another half marathon but got injured, but after barely runnning the previous year, it wasn't a big shock. So I started from square one again...I sucessfully fnished a 5K and 10K training program then decided to skip the half training and jumped into Marathon training since my 10K training already had me running 8-9 miles on Saturdays.

For my Marathon training my goal was run/walk and for the first few weeks it was going great, but for some reason, I just cannot get past 10 miles without an injury. I don't know if it's because of the extra weight I have put on or if it has to do with the terrain I am running...The area around here is very hilly. Whatever it is though, I am over injuries that leave me sidelined.

New plan...to walk a half marathon in less than 3 hours. On January 31, 2015, I walked 13.15 miles in 3:12:08 with minimal effort, I walked at a comfortable pace for the whole distance, Avg pace was 14:37.

Splits
1 mi     14:55
2 mi     15:27
3 mi     15:06
4 mi     14:47
5 mi     14:50
6 mi     14:40
7 mi     14:37
8 mi     14:30
9 mi     14:20
10 mi   14:17
11 mi   14:16
12 mi   13:58
13 mi   14:03
14 mi   15:53

I am hoping with training I can get my avg pace down to 13:00 or less...I recently power walked my first 5K for time...my goal was 40 minutes or less...I finished it in 37:49 avg pace was 12:12...but not sure if I could keep that pace up for 5 miles let alone 13.1...If I could that would be great, that would make it my 2nd fastest half and my previous HMs I ran.

I am going to have to look into some plans and make one that will work for me. I know not all plans are one size fits all so I will have to tweak it like I always do. Once I get my plan in place, I will post it.

Takes some getting used to

Today was day two of my unofficial start to the 16 Hour Diet. I have to say it went a lot easier than yesterday. I had no hunger pangs or stomach cramps during the last couple of hours like I did yesterday. Which is a huge plus and I am eating a lot better today. Yesterday I was struggling to eat after going so long without, which was a big surprise, I thought for sure I would devour everything in sight. I had to force myself to eat my calories yesterday.

I did notice I was a little more tired today during my workout, which was run/walk intervals. It probably didn't help that I had sustained 21 mph head winds for the first 20 minutes and a hilly terrain, I did make up a little time on the way back. But I have to admit, the wind resistance did me in. The important thing was I got my cardio in.

Oh my! Did I mention my legs are complete Jell-o, I did 30 minutes of HIIT yesterday and paired with my miles today, walking up and down stairs is a challenge.

I am really excited about the official start of the February Meltdown Challenge. Just in two days my stomach isn't as bloated as it usually is and for the first time in months my jeans aren't cutting into me when I sit down.

I am also not sure what my starting weight is going to be, I am kind of nervous. I don't have a scale at home but broke down and ordered one today. It is supposed to measure hydration and body fat % too. I usually rely on measurements more than anything but I need to get serious about dropping these extra pounds.

So cross your fingers!!!

Here is today's first meal

1 can light tuna
1/2 c brown rice 
1/2 cup each chopped cucumber, chopped green pepper, grated carrot 
1/4 c shredded Swiss cheese
Jalapeños and siracha
367 calories

For my first snack I had an apple and 2 tbsp Naturally More Peanut Butter and my second snack is green tea with 1 scoop vanilla whey protein.

Not sure what is planned for dinner tonight, my honey is picking up dinner on his way home from work. Hoping it's something with a little bit of nutritional value.

Me after my workout :) 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will see you all back here on Sunday when I post my starting stats.

Bobbie

Preparing for change

I figured I have had this blog set up for a while, I better start using it.

I have struggled with my weight for years and in 2009, I decided I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and said no more. I was done living the way I was, it wasn't working for me.

A long story short, I lost 120 pounds over the period of 4 years. I didn't really diet, I just ate less and moved more.

But now I am back to carrying extra weight again, thankfully its not the 120 pounds that I had initially lost but I did gain back 30. And it just isn't coming back off. I exercise 30-60 minutes 3-4 days a week, 2 days a week I am closer to 90 minutes. I have the exercise thing down, I just cannot seem to find the food intake that works for me, either I am not eating enough or I eat too much. I have tried different website to get an idea of caloric intake but it varies drastically.

I found a woman on Facebook that wrote a book on what she had learned while intermittent fasting. And after talking here and there I decided to purchase her book. It is very straight forward and there is no drastic calorie cutting or food restrictions, it just limits the time in which you can eat. It is called The 16 Hour Diet. 

While I am not starting the program until Sunday, I am going to start increasing the period of time I fast. I already go 10 hours without eating overnight and the goal is fast for 16 hours and most of that time being 2-4 hours before bed and then while you are sleeping. Right there is 10-12 hours for me, and I am not usually hungry in the morning, I just eat because you are not supposed to skip breakfast. I can have zero calorie beverages while I am fasting, so I usually spend the 1-2 hours watching the news and checking emails while I am drinking my coffee, now I am up to 13-14 hours, spend a hour working out and a hour showering and getting ready for the day...and VIOLA...16 hours. See I just made it easy for myself :)

I will be weighing in on Sunday morning as well as taking my measurements and before pics. I am really excited about jump starting my weight loss once again.