A bit better

Today I'm in a much better mood than I was yesterday. My adviser never sent back edits for the abstract I had due yesterday, so I ended up doing it on my own. I don't think it's very high quality, but I think just forcing myself to get it done and not relying on someone else really helped.

I woke up this morning and did a weigh-in (usually it's on Saturdays, but I am partaking in a New Year's Eve challenge and they weigh-in on Thursdays). Here are the results:

SW: 214.6

LW: 208.6

CW: 204.6

I'm feeling good! I don't know if it's my scale that's weird or my body, but something seems to prefer the .6 increment. Anyway! I did a nice 3 miler this morning at 33:45. It took me a WHILE to get warmed up, but I got there eventually and had a decent run because I willed myself to get past that first 1.5 miles. Also, my new Under Armor is AWESOME. Absolutely no chaffing, whereas is used to start at about mile 2. Woot!

PS - This is OFFICIALLY the lightest I've weighed in... what is it? About 8 years. At least 8 years.

Womp

I seem to be in an emotional/intellectual funk that I cannot get myself out of. I just don't care about school anymore. No matter what I try to accomplish, I end up on the verge of tears begging for the end.

Yesterday was a particularly bad day - it seemed like everything in the world was pitted against me. I bet you're thinking, "But then this really awesome thing happened, right?!" Nope. It was just an awful day, and it didn't help that I was unable to get a run in. I ate poorly (not necessarily junk, but I ate sporadically and didn't get enough nutrition), didn't get enough water, and just generally wanted to cry about every five minutes.

I got myself moving this morning and all I could muster was 2.25 miles before I was internally screaming mercy. Coupled with my foul mood, I was a bit dehydrated and I didn't eat anything before I went out. It was just no good. It wasn't the worst run ever, but it's the worst run I've had in a while. On the plus side: no chaffing!

I have an abstract due today for an academic conference in April - there's still a lot of work to be done, so here's to hoping I can bang it out and get over my moping.

Getting faster, running longer!

Today I set out thinking that I would do a solid 1.5 miles, jog slowly for a few minutes, and then pick it back up and run one more mile, for a total of ~2.5 miles. I got on the treadmill and thought to myself, "This is a dreadmill day." I don't run with music and I don't cover up the display in front of me. Running may be a physical activity, but I think that it's equally mental. Every time I run, I try my hardest to best the display, and pay less and less attention to it. I say that it was a dreadmill day because I looked at the display after about 20 seconds. This was going to be a tough one.

The first mile was tough - and it often is for me. After running only a couple of minutes, 25 more just seems so impossible. It's not, and I know it's not, sometimes it just feels that way. In any case, I made it to one mile, and then I told myself that after 1.5 miles at 5.5, I could bring it down. Then I thought, "Bring it down? You mean let this machine beat me? Ain't gonna happen!" I ran to 2 miles. Just 2 miles? I did that yesterday, easy-peasy. How about 3? And how about I run it a little faster than I did last time? Sure. After 2 miles, I did ease it down to 5.4, then 5.3, then 5.1, and I ran until I hit the 3.0 marker at 33:19. That's the fastest I've ever run 3 miles!

Mile 1: 11:03

Mile 2: 10:53

Mile 3: 11:23

I obviously slowed down a bit in the end, but overall this is the fastest I've accomplished 3 miles, and I feel AWESOME! I am 26 seconds faster than I was on Saturday, and 1:41 faster than I was on Friday!

My goal a few weeks ago was to reach 202 lbs by November 2nd, which is a week from today. That's not going to happen, because I seemed to have hit a little snag at 208. That's quite alright with me, though, at least for now. Chaffing is getting pretty bad, though. I definitely need to invest in some better shorts.

Lazy Sunday

I've accomplished very little on this beautiful autumn Sunday. I managed to motivate myself to get outside to run (something I haven't done in weeks). My body has acclimated to the easy-faux terrain of a treadmill, so it was nice to give my body a little bit of work, even in a recovery run, which today (finally) was. I ran a mile-long out-and-back.

Mile 1: 12:09

Mile 2: 12:26

Not bad considering I've only missed one day of running in the past 9 days, yesterday I ran 4 miles, I ran outside in week, and I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my lower left back. It was nice to be outside for a change, and I think my body appreciated it. The slower splits are likely a result of my relentless running this week, as well as variegated ground. I like it, it made me happy to get some sun. I also thought the run would help loosen up my back a bit. It did while I was running, but now I'm all tight again.

After my run, I showered quickly and went over to have brunch (their breakfast, my lunch) with a group of friends that I haven't had a chance to spend time with so far this semester. It was really nice, and we had a huge array of food (mostly unhealthy), but I rationed myself well. Even so, I'm still full.

Besides by run and brunch fun, I've literally done nothing today. I slept in (until 9!), lazed, ran, and spent too much time doing nothing with friends. It was so nice to see them though, so I don't care much about how my work will kick my ass this week. ALSO, one of my friends told me how great I looked! Hell yeah.

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

According to the film Zombieland, the number one key to surviving is cardio. Screw losing weight and getting healthy, I don't want to be torn to shreds by a flesh eating semblence of a human!

For this reason, and this reason alone (okay, not really), I pushed myself during my run today. I pushed hard. I set out wanting to get in a solid mile. Just one. After already running 10 this week when my goal was 7, I just wanted to keep momentum going but give my muscles a little rest. Psssh. Why not run 4? That's what I did instead. Something that I've only achieved twice before, today I did it in style.

Yesterday's 3 mile run took me 35:00. Today I got to the 3 mile marker at 33:45. I shaved off 1:15! Heck yeah, I say. Nay, I scream! At the 5k marker I was at 36:10, and I finished 4 miles in 45:10. That's awesome, especially since I only aimed to complete 1.

After the first mile I was just feeling so great that I kept going. Mile 2 was a little tough, but I got through it. Should I stop here? Nah, go for 3, I thought. Maybe you can finish a little bit faster. And I did. Then I thought, you still have some energy, might as well just try for 4. At this point, my fat thighs had chaffed to the point that the skin broke, and I was considerably irritated. Had it not been for that, I think I could have gone for 5. Oh well! It was a great run, of which I am particularly proud. I think I should invest in some longer spandex - my current pair rides up quite a bit.

Take THAT scale. I bested you in the best way possible.

Weigh-in bummer? Not really.

So I woke up this morning, my weigh-in day, so excited to see that all my runs this week had payed off! I raked in a good and solid 10 miles this week, which is huge for me! In addition to my daily runs, I got in upper body, lower body, and core strength training sessions. I also managed to stay around the 1400-1500 calorie range, and most days stayed within other nutrition ranges (fiber, protein, fat, and carbohydrates). Lo and behold, the scale wishes to try and demoralize me!

Last week: 208

This week: 208.6

I won't fall for his tricks this time: the scale is a damned fool! I won't be listening too much to what he has to say. I know I've made progress this week. On Sunday, I was only able to get in my 2 miles by taking a walking break. By Wednesday, I tackled the 2 miles full on. Yesterday, I said to hell with 2 and kept going until I hit 3.

I feel good this week, regardless of what the scale says.

Success!

FINALLY! I've made it back to 3.0 mile land. I did it a little bit slow (35 minutes), but I did it nonetheless! And with no walking breaks :)

What a great way to start the weekend! And I've been really good about keeping my nutrition within range and drinking all of my water. This is going to be a short post, because I really need to shower and do some work before my noon class. Farewell for now!

Forgive me bloggers, for I have sinned...

Tonight I ate 2.5 cream cheese brownies.

Now I feel gross. Not like, "Ew, I can't believe I ate that many calories/fat on something so dumb," but rather "My stomach is turning in revulsion of this huge amount of sugar/chocolate."

Bad move. Won't happen again. Still within calorie limit for the day though! It's not great, but at least I didn't totally trash my day.

Gym tomorrow! Weeeeee! Also, mid-term tomorrow. Boooooo!

Weight Loss

Obviously, as a 200+ pounder, weight loss is the primary goal of running, at least for me. Every time I "get back on the horse" I make it down to about the point I'm currently at, 207/208 lbs., and give up. I refuse to let that happen this time. When I came to college, I was ~235, so I've lost a good chunk of weight, and kept ~20 lbs. off for three years, but every time I stop running and stop paying attention to what I eat, I got back up to around 215.

When I started running again three weeks ago, I weighed 214.6 lbs. My last weigh-in on Saturday put me in at 208 lbs. I REALLY want to be under 207 this week. It would be the lowest weight I've been since I can remember - probably since freshman year of high school. I'm not going to brood over it if I don't, though. I should be getting my period this week, which means bloating and whatnot, so I won't be surprised if I'm 208 again.

Anyway, here's my plan. I'm eating. I'm not really restricting myself from foods, but I'm monitoring my intake and controlling portion sizes. It's so funny how we stretch our stomachs to the extent that we need a huge plate full of food to feel full - that's so unnecessary! Other than that, I am limiting myself on sweets. I was raised in an environment where greasy, salty, fried snacks were always around, and after-dinner desserts were assumed. That's not right, and that's not healthy. It wasn't until I got to college that I realized that not everyone had dessert EVERY night (seriously). So I'm not cutting desserts out, just cutting them waaaaaay back.

I have a goal to run at least 7 miles a week. So far I've run 2 on Sunday, 2 on Monday. Today's an impromptu rest day for me, for three reasons: (1) I've run on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, so my muscles could use a day to rest; (2) I got a massive blister on my achilles during my run yesterday, so I'm giving it another day to heal; and (3) I have too much to do today (worst of the reasons). I'm doing stregth training 3x a week, with upper-body on Mondays, lower-body on Wednesdays, and core on Fridays.

Also drinking a TON of water, and trying to be as optimistic as possible about life in general.

So that's that. I've got to go get some work done, but I'll be checking back in soon!

This past week hasn't been so great running-wise. I went home for Fall Break and didn't manage to get any running in - all of my time not spent with family, I was trying to complete all of my homework. Then during the school week, I was just struggling to get all of my work done.

Today I went for my first run in a week, and it was tough, but I got it done. I ran 1.5 miles at a 10:30 pace, which is way faster than I had been running in the past few weeks. I would say that normal pace for me was anywhere from 11:15 to 11:30, so that was pretty cool. I guess the intervals I did last week really paid off!

In any case, though I may not have gotten enough exercise in, I'm still down weight, from 209.6 to 208. I'll take 1.6 pounds!

It's starting to get too cold to run outside, though :( It was SNOWING yesterday. It's mid-October, and it was snowing! Preposterous. Anyway, just gotta keep on moving.

Apparently, when the going gets tough, I don't get going - I quit. This has been an obvious theme in my attempts at health, weight loss, and fitness. This is a stupid theme. I don't want to accept it. I won't accept it. I've been 200+ pound since I was 14. That's preposterous! How does a 14 year old girl get to be that fat? By eating a lot and not moving at all.

Since the semester started, I've managed to find a routine/schedule that is inclusive of adequate sleep, time to eat (although sometimes it's in class or my lab), class, class work, work, friends, and exercise! I have an okay streak going this week - I went for a run Monday, Tuesday and today.

This morning when I got out of bed (a little later than usual because I stayed up to watch the Biggest Loser on hulu last night), I almost decided to do some readings instead of hit the gym. I had to be somewhere at 9, and I reasoned that I wouldn't have enough time to do everything I wanted at the gym, plus it was raining. This is dumb. Not enough time to do everything I wanted? Sure, that's true. Enough time to do a warm-up run and get in some interval training? Of course! I rolled out of bed, threw on my running clothes, and headed out the door.

I hate running on treadmills, but as it was raining, I didn't have much of a choice but to go to the gym. I actually wasn't going to run, I was going to bike instead, but I forgot reading material and I can't handle the bike without something in front of me. Three days of plain old running in a row was not looking good for me, so I ran 5 minutes on 5.3 (I some speed and most of my endurance over the summer), then ran hard at 6.0 for a minute and walked for a minute. I kept up the intervals of one minute running, one minute walking while increasing the running speed at each interval until I got to 6.5 and then had a nice long cool down. I could have kept going, but I had my 9 am deadline, so I stretched, ran home (only about 2 minutes), showered, and made it on time.

I think I just need someone to hold me accountable, because obviously I can't hold myself accountable.