TURKEY WEEK

I met another goal. Lose, cumulatively, 20 pounds by Thanksgiving. As of today,over the past 14 weeks, I have lost 21. I am grateful for that. I feel so much better and my clothes are finally telling me I am losing weight. My goal of 20 by Thanksgiving was to help me not pig out and scrap exercise during the holidays. I don't want to mess up what has been done so far. Crossing my fingers it works. Also, I am going to try to do a calorie count on all my favorite foods. Not to say I won't have them, but if I know that one piece of toffee bar is 800 calories I won't have 6 of them at one time (I don't know how many calories they are yet and I won't be so annoying as to let the rest of my family know, unless they want to know.)

On Thanksgiving Day I am running the Turkey Trot 5k in Springfield. My goal? To run the race in 37:30. That would be about two minutes off my last race. That is a lot to ask, I know. But got to have a goal.

I have had trouble with the mid-afternoon sugar fix. Haven't figured out how to overcome except the fact I have no money to buy something. :)

A Little Bit of Catch Up

It's been a while since my last post. A little to bring you up to speed on.

I ran another 5k in Springfield last week. My goals were met. I wanted to be able to run the whole race and break into the 30's on my time. I did run the whole thing and my finish time was 39:36. It was pretty cool because I got to run it with my brothers and nephews. That made it fun.

Tomorrow is my second "6 week test." I had some strength goals, 15 push-ups, 10 burpees? (I think that is right). I am not worried about those. I will do them. I set a 10 pound weight loss goal. I am a little nervous about that. I feel good about losing 7-8 but might fall a few pounds short of 10. While I have made great strides in eating and exercise I still have some habits to kick. I guess I can't expect to change 15 years of bad nutritional thinking in just 12 weeks.

Thanks for all the help and support. I am still, overall, having fun. The competitive side in me really likes setting goals and working towards them. I also think I am truly addicted to running. I know, hard for me to believe too. I didn't run yesterday and all day I could do nothing but try and think of how I can make time to get a run in. I enjoy the feeling afterward.

Run To Read 2009 - Race Results

Ran the Run to Read. 2 years ago this race was my introduction to the 5k. So to put this in perspective here are my results:

Run to Read - 2 years ago - 49:59
NewTown Run - Aug. 2009 - 42:45
Run to Read - TODAY - 40:50

I honestly was REALLY hoping to be in the 30's. I will let that go. I RAN two miles before I did any walking so that was good. On to more training and the Bass Pro 5k October 31st in Springfield, MO.

My bodybugg told me I burned about 800 calories in the race. That is crazy. What a great return for 40 minutes of workout. I just might be bit by the running bug.

Amber rocked the race. You did great! Missy and Andrew both came in first in their brackets! I would have been 2nd in Andrew's bracket if I was just a BIT younger. :)

Tomorrow is Racing Day!

WHOOOO HOOO! Tomorrow morning is racing day. Washington Missouri Read To Run 5k. Goals: Run non stop for 2 miles and break 39:59 or less (3 minutes off my last race and breaking the 40 minutes mark.

Could it Be I'm More of an Addict Than I Think I Am?

So I must admit a downfall. I went WAY off diet on Saturday. I ate a candy bar, smarties, and drank an energy drink. I'm not claiming temporary mental insanity here but it was odd how when in the store by myself I was able to justify my poor decision quite easily. Something else I have noticed is that in my old life, as well as on Saturday, I can't just eat a little. When I go off board I GO! While I make a little light of this I do need to say sorry to Amber: for straying from a commitment and keeping it from you, granted we are talking about eating candy BUT we are doing this together and I didn't tell my partner. To Missy: You are giving me your time and knowledge. I don't want to give that away. To myself: In the end, I am cheating Chris Strickland and setting him up to fail. I logged my candy fix on my diet chart...869 calories. Brings me from a 1683 deficit to 815 calorie deficit. The candy was definately not worth it.

You may be reading this thinking, Good grief, a little emotional over a little candy setback! Yeah, it is just candy. But it's a new way of life. I move on from here and learn from my weakness. Proves to me all the more that I need help.

On a lighter note, I started doing two-a-days yesterday. I ran for 2 miles in the morning and then did a Missy style workout last night after the kids went to bed. I like it. I am scheduled for a day off today so I think I just might run a mile and be done. I think I am at a point where I need to put this "project" in front of me and a priority each day. Saturday is RACING DAY! Washington Run to Read 5k!! I'm excited because this was the first 5k I ever ran. I remember the first time I didn't make it around the other side of the lake (maybe .25 mile) before having to walk. I am shooting for running at LEAST 1.5 miles of the race without walking. I will. :)

Results a week late

Last time I blogged I was about to go to my first 6 week evaluation. It went well. I dropped two inches from my waist, 4 inches from my hips, lost 6 pounds, did 10 push-ups (first time I only did 5), and I am drinking more water, not quite teh crazy 4 liters a day I set out to do but definately more. So good stuff.

New goals for next 6 weeks:
10 pounds
2 inches off measurements
15 push-ups
10 burpees (crazy exercise that kicks my butt everytime)
RUN 1.5 miles by October 10th (Run to Read 5k)
RUN 2 miles by November 1st (Bass Pro 5k)
RUN a whole 5k by Thanksgiving

My Bodybugg arrived today. Basically, a device I wear on my arm that downloads calories burned, steps, and activity meter. Then I go to the software every night, put in what I ate and it automatically calculates if I had a calorie defiency. Also helps me figure the math...I want to lose 10 pounds in six weeks so I need to eat X amount of calories and burn X amount to have a defiency every day of X. Then I can see for instance, yesterday I didnt make it so I need to burn more/eat fewer calories today to make up. The cool part about the Bodybugg software is that it has a tutorial about how weight is lost, setting realistic goals, what you have to do to achieve...and EVERYTHING I already knew because it was information my great trainer, Missy had told me already. Thanks Missy, you are the best!

Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement. I don't know if you read these blogs and that is okay if you don't. It has been a good place for me to reflect. Most of all, I want to thank Amber. Without your encouragement, movtivation, and pushing me along I couldn't do it. We are doing this together!

tomorrow morning is the big day

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is my 6 week check in. I'm nervous. My endurance is SO much better but I don't think I have lost more than maybe 4 pounds or so. My goal is 302.8. I will let you know how it goes!