Mingus, our Gordon Setter, has been joining me during the shorter midweek runs three days a week. Guess he’s gotten used to a vigorous 4-5 mile run. : )
From my husband T this morning (Bonnie is our basset/terrier cross):
(Mingus is a little over 3 years old and has hip dysplasia in both hips, so the vet is VERY happy he’s running - it’s been great for maintaining muscle tone in those legs. Still, obviously not without consequences! : ) )
Another NSV: Ordered my finishers tshirt a size smaller than last year’s. OH YEAH.
Did 4 miles on the hotel treadmill this morning. Was supposed to be 5. I’ll knock out two or three more tonight.
Treadmills vs. Outdoors
PRO: I can manage my pace and know exactly how fast I’m going.
CON: It’s boring.
PRO: It’s raining outside.
CON: What the hell do hotels keep their workout rooms so warm? The treadmill has TV and can pipe in your iPod music but no friggin fan? News flash: IT’S NOT PLEASANT.
PRO: At least I have a place to run. There’s no outdoor path I can use since we’re sandwiched between an airport and a train yard. Go urban planning.
CON: Running in place. Eff me.
Good god was it boring. I am firmly an outdoor runner these days. But I did half a mile at 7.5mph, or an 8 min mile. Who knew?
Thanks, Moxy. Though I have to say, reading about your personal training sessions makes me want to crawl under the covers - badassified!
Ahahahaha!! You’re totally right. It’s my aversion to writing any fragment of “fart” and anything that kind of resembles “lick”, particularly in close proximity to each other. Those crazy Scandihoovians… In unrelated news, it’s all I can do not to type your name as bigfaStshoe. So take that as you will : )
WOW. I’m not a fan of clickthroughs, or of reblogging generally. But this is so worth your time. Read it. Fricking incredible.
Holy crap, Tribander. A true fitblr badass!!!
July 17th was my three year anniversary of going under the knife.
July 17, 2008 I had bariatric surgery and it changed my life.Although it’s common knowledge on this blog, it’s not something that I discuss here very often. Some of you may actually even be surprised to know that I had weight loss surgery. I was talking to a friend about it and everything that goes along with it…my feelings, the “stigma”, my success, my intentions and he put it just right, “You need a coming out.” So despite my coming out at different levels with different ppl…I might need a cotillion or something…no gifts please. :)
For now, here are some bullet points about my journey:
- I do not regret having weight loss surgery
According to the scale, I’m up 0.2 pounds. Meh. I was prepared to be disappointed/angry with myself, but I just couldn’t muster it. I mean, I’m at the lowest weight I’ve been in my life. Don’t take this as complacency, mind you; I know what I need to change next week. Possibly bumping down my calorie budget by 20 or 30 calories a day, changing up my running routine and probably adding some cross training and strength training. Just need to do it; no biggie.
To celebrate refocusing, changed up my morning 5 mile run with the pup a bit - in addition to running mile 1 straight through and mile 2 at my 3 min run/1 min walk intervals, at mile 3, I integrated a couple of 20 second speed bursts (poor man’s farklets fartleks (haha, thanks, @bigfatshoe), and mile 4, which I usually just run straight through, turned my 3:1s on their head and did intervals with 1 minute at a brisk pace, then 3 min slower-paced running recovery for the last mile.
RUNNING. RECOVERY. I think I looked at my TNT coach like she had two heads when she suggested that one could run at a recovery pace when I first started running two years ago. Recovery only meant one thing to me - walk, and not a particularly fast walk at that. I think I like this new strategy!
Creamed spinach (w/ unsweetened plain almond milk subbed for cream, 1T whipped earth balance margerine, 1T flour, and sauteed garlic & shallot) - 280 calories for the whole dish. Yum.
A blurry photo of my beleaguered TNT teammates on Saturday’s long run (15 miles for me.) We were heading back to our starting point and caught a storm. That’s not a big deal - it happens, and actually, the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees and the rain felt awesome - but straight line winds apparently knocked down a tree which then downed a powerline over the trail. So we were stranded for about half an hour a mere 1.5 miles from our starting point at this gas station. (I’m crouching in front left - blue shirt with my Do Life black visor on.)
I finished the run at home - but that’s certainly one of the more eventful long runs I’ve been on. Thank goodness I got there early to get in four before the official team run started.
Horribly late, but Birthday Cat hopes you had a fantastic day yesterday, Moxy!!
Isn’t it amazing what a difference a few years can make…?
Me at my highest weight in 2007 (notice my husband still adores me. He loves this picture. Every day, I wonder how I was so lucky to have him in my life and thank my lucky stars that I do. : ) )
Me last week:
I’ll take picture no. 2, sweat and all.
ETA: Thanks for all the support, yall. You all mean the world to me, and your encouragement has been invaluable. I credit this community with much of my success this time around. You guys are incredible.
@Moxy - What Moxy doesn’t tell you is that when your awesome hostess is giving a guided running of tour of Manhattan it’s impossible NOT to run fast. It was so awesome - the BEST way to see a city.
@Fitnessyear - Thanks, Nava! But don’t tell me you’re a Yankees fan!! ; )
@AlexZDoesLife - Awww, that’s very sweet. Thanks, Alex.
@BigFatShoe - Thanks for the kind words. You just wait - people will wonder where on earth you came up with your Tumblr name!
@LindsayDoesLife - Thanks, Lindsay! But ummmm at 74 pounds lost and counting, I should be congratulating you (again.) Unbelievable!
@HackingMe - D’awww. Thank you!
Wait… you get to carb load a FULL WEEK before an Ironman?
I may consider it for that reason alone…!
Ironman number two.
Swimbikerun Swimbikerun Swimbikerun.
I’ve probably trained a little less than I should; the past six months have been a whirlwind of exciting things. Do Life stuff, book stuff, new relationship, more traveling than I could have ever imagined, Do Life tour planning, Do Life…
Yes. I have friends with a baby in Oslo, and another friend studying in Oslo who was only blocks away walking home when this happened. All are ok, but still - very scary.
My heart, it is breaking.
Two tragic stories are playing out in Norway, where a large explosion today — or possibly more than one blast — caused deaths, injuries and extensive damage to government buildings in Oslo.
At the same time, there are reports that an individual dressed as a police officer opened fire at a youth Labor Party camp on an island in a fjord about 45 minutes from Oslo.
Me after our Wednesday TNT team run. Heat index hovered around 100*.
We were scheduled to do hills, but instead ran out and back along the shaded Mississippi River trail (coincidentally precisely the same location as the Do Life tour Minneapolis stop.) Our coach asked if anybody wanted to do strengthening exercises (pushups, planks, crunches) after the run. Did I mention Coach is a funny woman?
NSV: Tried on race jersey sizes for the marathon. I’m ordering a large - previous two races have been XLs. Woot!!
15 miles tomorrow… good times…
In unrelated news, the temperature in our house is back to low 70s. Two days ago it was - no joke - 88* inside and ridiculously humid. We are very, very happy to be able to stay in our home again.
Long overdue recap from the Do Life tour in Minneapolis!
First, there were a good 60 people there. I was impressed - worried that we weren’t going to get that many folks out. I shouldn’t have been concerned. There was even a couple that drove all the way down from the Canadian border - AFTER they had already gone up to Winnipeg to see a concert before leaving to attend the Do Life Minneapolis stop! That’s like 10 hours in the car!
Starting line. Was anybody else impressed by the chalk stylings? WAY better than my chicken scratch!
The 5k-ish path was along the Mississippi River. It’s a very popular route in Minneapolis and part of the Twin Cities Marathon, among other races (I think perhaps the Lifetime Triathlon as well), and for good reason - it’s scenic and most importantly shaded. The weather was gorgeous, too - just about a day before the heat wave.
Yeah, so I kind of turned into a fan girl. I couldn’t believe that I saw the Do Life-mobile in the parking lot. It DOES exist!
Meeting Pa and Ben was pretty fantastic. They are both very down-to-earth, real folks. I was also blown away by the number of folks at various training abilities. We had the guy with a running stroller who did a course and a half (had to run the stroller back to his wife), several of the Prior Fat Girl crew, and others.
I didn’t get a chance to meet Rich, but you should check out his blog - what an inspiring story. His little girl Gracie was born with Down Syndrome and a heart defect, and he decided to lose weight and make the best use of his perfectly good heart. He’s been going ever since.
And Scott and Minda are hosting a get-together in Minneapolis at the end of the month.
I probably shouldn’t be, but I was a bit surprised I didn’t see any other fitblrs there!
The run itself was great - lots of high-fiving and “woohoo”ing by Ben : ) It was truly an event for all paces - there were folks who were obviously seasoned serious runners and folks who walked the entire thing. I got my schwag and of course had to get my gratuitous picture with Ben (note: the shirt I got a few months ago is now WAY TOO BIG! I need to get a new one!):
(Yes, I wore my Do Life shirt. SUCH a fan girl. Also, yes, Ben ran the 5k in plaid shorts. Running shorts were apparently inaccessible in the car.)
Afterwards, we all went for Chipotle. It was a great evening. Ben and Pa said the Do Life tour would be through Minneapolis again in the next year or so - can’t wait!
First, an apology - I haven’t been able to be on tumblr and see all of your fabulous successes and triumphs over adversity. The whole family (hus and two dogs) have been heat wave refugees at my inlaws, which has involved 1-2 trips per day to our house and trying to make our food budget stretch just a little bit farther (turns out convenience foods are kinda spendy. Imagine.) It’s all been pretty exhausting - my day is basically full of work, shuttling dogs (we are SO READY for kids it’s not even funny), trying to be gracious guests and running. I am pretty much ready to collapse by 10pm.
So, to all of my fabulous followers who have commented and offered words of support - I am so sorry I have been so lax in acknowledging your encouragement. Thank you very much - those comments mean the world to me!
Anyway, because I’m a dedicated fitblr, I did make it to my house this morning to weigh in.
Weight change: -2.2 pounds
Previous BMI: 26.43 (marginally overweight)
Current BMI: 26.06 (marginally overweight)
BMI change: -0.37
Total weight loss: -28.4 pounds (-36.9 pounds from highest weight.)
THIRTY POUND LOSS I’M COMING FOR YOU!!!!
Whoa. Glad I got my four miles in this morning. Team scheduled to do hills tomorrow with a heat index above 100. This should get interesting.
Also - this is Minne-SNOW-ta…??? I live here specifically to avoid crap summer temps like this…
I have to say, I thought today’s long run was going to be terrible. The forecast was for heat and humidity - it was supposed to feel like 84* by 10am. I woke up to pouring rain, roaring thunder and frequent lightening (the latter raising the possibility of no run at all.) The sidewalk before our garage door flooded so my shoes were wet before I even got into the car! And I got lost on the way to our training location. But once I made it there (half an hour after I had hoped to start, mind you), I got a little over two miles in before the rest of the team arrived and did another 11ish with the team.
It was the easiest thirteen miles I’ve ever done, bar none.
The sky remained overcast for pretty much the WHOLE THING, which is amazing and contributed greatly to the hospitable run in high humidity.
I also tried out a couple of the strategies in the new Runners World for running in warm weather, focused on core temperature AND hydration. Specifically:
- The day before, I tried to eat some salty foods and hydrate well, allowing my body to retain that fluid (not great for weight loss of course, but this is a long run strategy.)
- The day before, I drank more water than I usually do - for me, that’s a bit over 2L over the day. I had the last half liter about three hours before bed.
- I filled my water bottles (I carry two in my fuel belt thingy) - one with sports drink and the other with water - and put them in the freezer before bed. Did the same with two bottles of sports drink (with a bit taken out of each to allow for the contents to expand from freezing.)
- Just to see what would happen, I froze my gus too. : ) I kept one thawed if I needed it right away in the morning.
- I made sure to sleep in a very cool room (prepared to run the AC if we had to.)
- When I got up (about an hour before running), I had two frozen whole fruit bars (120 calories total.) FROZEN is of course the key - the goal is to bring down your core temperature a few degrees before you start your run.
- I felt a bit weird after my first two miles so I ate a frozen gu (which by then was partially thawed but still cold and tasty) and had some water. Much better.
- Gave one of my frozen bottles of sports drink to one of the water stop folks at mile 5 and left the other in the car for post-run hydration.
Suggestions in the article I can still incorporate:
- Eating something salty in the morning pre-run.
- Drinking more water (about 20 oz.) first thing in the morning on the day of my long run.
I of course can’t be certain because we were spared the heat of direct sunlight, but I do know that it made a very humid run MUCH more bearable than it usually is.
Also, I did one mile race pace. Next week I want to increase that to three - we’ll see how that goes. For now, though, I’m thrilled that a 13 mile run seemed this easy and doable!
Stop sitting there looking at “thinspo.” Stop picking at your flaws. Stop hating yourself. Stop wanting to be another person.
Start wanting to be you. Start making a change. Start your life today!
Stop reblogging every single fit photo you see, because you’re note going to be that person. Start imagining yourself the day you’ll reach your goal, that’s a true motivation.
“Start imagining yourself the day you’ll reach your goal, that’s a true motivation.” True enough. Better yet: start BEING that person, even if you’re not that size yet. What would the new, healthy you have for dinner? What would the new you do in a tough situation…?
I was just figuring out my race pace intervals when I thought, hmmm, other interval runners might find this useful too.
From Run With Perserverance, a downloadable spreadsheet (note: you’ll need to download the document to modify it.) The newest version also has the ability to do changing paces through a race - perfect for my needs! Thanks, Joe, for developing this!
Crazy… I was rooting through my closet this morning and noticed the one pair of size 10 jeans I own. I purchased them the last time I was losing weight (our wedding) - they were the next size smaller than the pants I was wearing (12s).
I never got to wear them. I never really learned how to create/manage a calorie budget, which as has been said here before, is 80% of a successful lifestyle and subsequent weightloss. (It’s true - I’ve trained for and run marathons without losing weight. It pained me to admit it, but counting calories is really, really important.) So after the incentive of looking great in my wedding dress passed, I stopped eating the restrictive diet I was on, and - imagine - gained much of it back. I could never even button these jeans, let alone wear them.
On a lark, I tried them on. They are not publicly presentable yet - quite tight, and not fashionably so either.
But they were on, zipped and buttoned.
Holy crap. I have never worn a size 10 ANYTHING in my life. (And it’s worth noting I still have 15 pounds to lose to be at the bare edge of a normal, healthy BMI.) What size is my body supposed to be, I wonder, when I get to a normal BMI?
This weight loss thing is rocking. my. world.
