Just a little late night inspiration for ya!
(I almost titled it “Late Night Quickie” and realized that would have been bad! LOL)
I hope everyone had a beautiful day!
Today, I ran
My first 5K is behind me.
I’m not even sure how to describe it.
It was amazing. Exhilarating. Special.
The day was glorious. Cool, sunny, bright blue skies. The hubbs and I got there at 7am to pick up my t-shirt and bib.
We kind of meandered around until my sisters and brother and law showed up around 7:45. There was a walking group as well, and they were a part of it. There was a opening ceremony at 8am. It was a pretty emotional moment, to see the educators and the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School there. It’s important to not forget. They must be remembered.
The runners were scheduled to start at 8:30. I visited the porta-potty (gross) and I joined the runners. My sister’s sister in law (got that?) was also running, so it was nice to have a pal at the start line.
They started the 10 second countdown, the air horn sounded, and off we went. The hubbs was the official photographer of the day, and was snapping away on the sidelines. The day would have been great anyway, but having him there to cheer me on and document the day just made it ultra special.
I started out at a nice pace, and felt good through 3/4 of the race. Along the way, 26 “inspiration stations” (one for every victim of the Sandy Hook shootings) lined the streets. The local schools from Danbury and Newtown, CT set up little tents and held up inspiration quotes that touched my heart. They cheered us on, clapping and whooping. It was a great thing to see.
With about less than a mile to go, I started fading. On an incline, I was so tempted to stop and walk. I couldn’t seem to steady my breath and I was afraid I would have to walk to get my breathing back. I just slowed down a bit, and focused – deep breath in, deep breath out. With my breath relatively back in line, I again said to myself “just keep running. You are NOT F&%$KING WALKING!”
The next 2 inspiration stations were the ones that kept me going. One child was holding out paper flowers for us to take. I took one and held it in my hand for the remainder of the race. The next station had a little boy holding out red bracelets. I put it on and looked down at it. It stated – “Once you have hope, anything is possible.”
My firestarter song came on (Hall of Fame by the Script and Wil.i.am) and I just dug down deep.
I passed a woman on the sideline that yelled – “Only a couple of minutes more!! You can do it!”.
A few feet down, a man yelled “You are so close! Keep running!”
I believed them. I had hope.
In the distance, I saw the balloons that lined the finish line. At that moment, I knew I would finish running. I knew I would not walk. I almost started crying when I realized what was happening.
As it got closer, I saw my husband, his camera aimed at me, shooting away. People were cheering, I pumped my fist in the air, gave my hubbs a thumbs up, and I crossed the finish line.
I had done it. I ran my first 5K race. I didn’t walk. I RAN.
My husband ran to me, gave me a big hug and a kiss and told me he was so proud. He said that when I came into view and he saw I was running, he got choked up. At that moment, the tears bubbled up a bit. He knew how much I wanted to run the entire thing.
I ran at the excitement at the start.
I ran when I felt strong.
I ran when I thought I couldn’t run anymore.
And I came in running.
Tomorrow, I run
Tomorrow is my first 5K race. To some, that might be a short distance, not too big a deal, but to me, it’s a life changing moment. 10 months ago, I was obese and had trouble walking. Tomorrow I run … Continue reading
Plateaus and NSV (Non Scale Victories)
Is there anything more frustrating than a weight loss plateau? I think not. Over the last 2 months, I have gained and lost the same 2 pounds. It makes me want to pull my hair out. The other day, it brought tears of frustration to my eyes.
I mean, you do everything right and NOTHING.
My clothes are looser. I know my body is changing, but the damn scale does not move. I know logically it will, because I know I have more weight to lose, but now, I want to throw my scale into the river.
My workouts look like:
Running
Leslie Sansone Walking Videos
Lifting
Ab work, squats, inner thigh work
Stationary Bike (intervals)
My food looks like:
Breakfast – 0% greek yogurt with chia seeds and fruit or Bob’s Red Mill High Fiber cereal with fruit and a TBSP of jam or a Green protein smoothie or a veggie omelette
Lunch – Usually a Big ass salad with chicken, homemade dressing (tsp olive oil and balsamic) or a sandwich on sprouted grain bread with a side of veggies
Dinner – Varies – usually a protein (Pork, chicken, shrimp, fish) with steamed veggies, sweet potato or a cup of rice
Snacks – Apple, dates, applesauce, carrots and hummus, pretzels, Weight Watchers cookie, Fiber One brownie, Larabar
I’m staying within my WW P+, eating mostly clean, I’m working out consistently. ARGH!!!! There is that lingering doubt in my mind that asks, “What am I doing wrong?”
Most days, I can be content in the fact that I truly believe the journey is the reward. Every day, I am getting stronger. Despite my plateau, I am staying the course, pushing myself, not getting discouraged – that in itself is a victory. But some days….. man, I could punch a wall.
And I’m one tough gal.
I did have a victory yesterday. I went to the doctors for a checkup. She did an EKG and she stated that I have the heart of a marathoner!! MY resting heart rate is in the high 40′s!!!! WOW!!! That makes me so happy. She literally could not check off any ailments – she put “healthy” on the top of my paperwork! YAY!
I also rocked my new Medium Khol’s top and size 10 capris!
Sorry about my laundry in the background! LOL!
I end this post with a little fortune cookie wisdom. The hubbs and I went to a really schwanky Chinese restaurant in NYC on my birthday weekend and this was the quote in my cookie.
Hope everyone is having a beautiful week!!
Wednesday Wisdom
Oooo, lordy, I LOVE this!!! This is the truth, isn’t it?
Have a happy and healthy day everyone!
I Did It! 3. Straight. Miles.
I almost can’t believe it. But I did it. 3 miles with no walking. Averaged an 11 minute mile. My best time. I ran 3 .10 miles in 33 minutes.
Sunday morning was beautiful – cool, some cloud cover. Perfect weather. Stretched a bit, drank some water, ate a GU energy pack, laced up the Brooks, and off I went. I was feeling great, and felt great throughout the run. I only started to get tired after I passed mile 2. That is when I started talking to myself. Out loud. I didn’t care if anyone heard me.
“You are not tired.”
“You can do this.”
“Just keep running.”
As I rounded the last turn, I could see the edge of my block down the road, about .5 miles away. Then I said -
“Once you do this, no one can take this away from you. Once you do this, it’s forever. You are not f%&!ing walking.”
My feet felt as if they were barely touching the ground. My legs felt detached from my body. I got to my corner, put my hands on my knees, and felt the tears start to stream down my cheeks. I had done it. I walked slowly up my block and thought about the last year. And, again, I thought about my first walking attempt, and my desire to thank that girl for not giving up.
I can’t quite put my finger on what the emotion was that day. But I know I’ll never forget it as long as I live.
3 miles, 5 miles, 10K, maybe a 1/2 marathon! Who knows what’s next.
I can say with absolute certainty – You can do whatever you choose to do. If you put your mind, heart and soul into something, commit and do not give up, you can do anything. If I decide I want to do a 1/2 marathon, I can do it. I can. I just have to decide I want to and commit to doing the work it takes to get there. Anything is possible.
Time to Get UP!
Hey-oh!
I’ve been a bad blogger the last couple of days. Getting back into the groove after a vacation is HARD!
A week from today is my 5K! ACK! So excited and nervous. I am planning on running a 3 miles tomorrow morning without walking. My knees have felt a bit achy with all this rain the last couple of days, I’m a little uneasy, but I won’t hurt myself and will listen to my body. Wish me luck!
Going to my sister’s tomorrow for a Mother’s Day BBQ, it will be nice to see the family. Tomorrow is also my best friend Jen’s birthday, who I love more than anything and hope she has an amazing birthday and Mother’s Day.
For my birthday, the hubbs got me a Jawbone Up. I have been using it for a few days now and I LOVE IT!
It is a wristband that you wear day and night. It tracks your steps, activity, calories burned. You can track your food, link up with friends and monitor your sleep – which is the coolest feature to me. I still love my Active Link that I wear to see my WW Activity Points I’ve earned and I track my food through my WW App. I love the Up for the steps taken, calories burned, idle and active times, and the sleep monitoring.
If anyone uses the Up, link up with me and add me to your team! =) (Sharon Krausz)
New food alert! I eat Bob’s Red Mill High Fiber cereal a few times a week with fruit but I have to add a little sumthin sumthin to it. It is not the most flavorful thing to eat, but super healthy. I usually add honey or a tablespoon of no sugar added jam, but I have found nirvana.
OMG. So good and 1 WW P+ per tablespoon!
In other news, I bought this skirt at JC Penney and it is my new favorite thing to wear! I felt so svelte in this outfit! I am officially obsessed with maxi skirts. I need more! LOL!
Wishing everyone a beautiful Mother’s Day! This is one of my favorite quotes about Mother’s Day. It reminds me so much of my mom and how she truly prepared me to be independent, responsible and proud. ”A Mother is not someone to lean on, but someone who makes leaning unnecessary.”
Back on Track
Just a short recap of the last couple of days! Back to reality after a wonderful birthday/anniversary weekend……
I woke up yesterday to a little cold. The hubbs was sick this weekend with a mild cold, and I think he passed it on to me. My head is stuffy, nose runny, I don’t have an appetite. Other than that, I feel ok. I’m trying to kick it’s butt with plenty of good food, green tea and vitamin C.
I wanted to go for a run yesterday, but it was pouring down rain. I was just not feeling a run in the downpour with a cold, and the treadmill just wouldn’t do. So, it was Leslie Sansone to the rescue! Did the 4 Fast Miles and felt great! She never fails to get me in a good mood.
Like I said, I don’t have much of an appetite, but my eating was on point. Bob’s Red Mill High Fiber cereal w/strawberries, a huge ass salad, fruit, veggies, lots of water – all clean eating.
This morning, I did lifting and abs – took it a bit easy as I didn’t want to push with not feeling well. I am going to do my 5K prep run this weekend, and I was to feel 100%!
I’m back on track! Getting my groove back!
Have a happy and healthy day everyone!
What Makes a Champion
I need to remember this as I’m stuck on my plateau.
I will get back up. I will fight harder. I will put in more effort. I will stand tall. I will keep fighting.
Indulging and Moving On
I cannot thank you enough for the birthday wishes and your kind words on my “Turning 40″ post. I had a fabulous birthday, and am excited for what should be a great weekend. The hubbs spoiled me rotten, I definitely indulged – pancake breakfast, his oh so delicious and fattening canal street chicken (his own creation from the restaurant days) and Carvel ice cream cake for dessert. It is what I wanted. I loved every minute of it, and today, I’m not feeling one bit guilty. I love that.
This is what I woke up to. I was so surprised and felt very loved.
I had a great day, very relaxing. This morning, I was jonsing for a run. I ran 2.5 miles without stopping. I actually thought I ran 3 miles, I was so excited, but when I came home to do Map My Run, it was only 2.5. Major disappointment. I felt so disappointed because I could have done 3 miles, I felt so good!! Argh. Next time, I’m doing 3 miles. Still, 2.5 miles is the farthest I’ve run without stopping, and that itself is reason to celebrate. I am going to kill that 5K on the 18th. No doubt.
Stretched, had my protein/green smoothie and now I’m relaxing for a bit. We are heading down to see my parents and go to dinner, which should be fun. Having a good eating day so far, will be smart at dinner as well. A little indulgence is ok, but I know when I eat like crap, I feel like crap. When I eat healthy, I feel healthy. It’s that simple. So, I’m not beating myself up for having some decadent food. I indulged, now I’m moving on. It’s the healthiest feeling I have had about food in months. What I am doing is working.
I will trust the process.
Get head right, get body right. Can’t do one without the other.
Random thing that got me very excited! My new glasses came in! I highly doubt anyone cares (LOL), but I was waiting for them and it was a great birthday pres for me!
Whatever you are doing today, I hope it makes you happy! Enjoy!!
