Weigh In: Week 8

This week I love the scale :)  I did some things different this week and I'll explain more in a seperate post, but it has to do with the way I journal my food.

Also, I have been continuing to run and I ended up starting the Bridge to 10K (B210K) program.  The first day, Saturday, was pretty hard, but not as hard as my first day of C25K.  The second day, this morning, was about as hard as any workout I've had so far. 

I did it on an empty stomach and my pace was really fast (didn't realize I was going so fast).  I don't know exactly what my pace was, but I can tell you that when I arrived back home, I still had 5 minutes of running left (if I had done my normal pace, I would have arrived back home at exactly the end of the 5 minute cool down - so that is 10 minutes ahead of schedule).

C25K - I graduated

Tonight was my final workout of Couch to 5K.  Week 9, Day 3!!!  It was really easy tonight.  I ran 30 minutes straight and covered somewhere between 3.1 miles and 3.4 miles (including the 5 minute warm-up and 5 minute cool down).  My GPS tracker acted up a little, so that is why I don't know the exact distance.

I've been thinking about what's next for me.  There is a Bridge to 10K plan that I would like to do.  I also thought about just adding 2 minutes per week (i.e. 32 min next week, 34 min the week after that, etc).  All I know is that I don't want to lose the momentum that I have built up!

A neighbor walked by earlier today when Lance and I were working in the flower beds outside and she said, "WOW, you are looking skinny!  Look at your legs!"  I can't tell you how good her comments made me feel.  Espically since I have been feeling like the scale is stuck for about 5 weeks now.  It even helped me to make good choices when we went out to eat for lunch.  I had grilled chicken with steamed brocolli instead of chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy :)  So if you are reading this Diana - thanks!!!

Goals

I am going to start setting goals on this blog each month until I reach my ultimate goal.

When I weigh in next Monday, I'm going to count that towards April.  Therefore, April will end up being a long month (3/28 - 5/2), and so I think its very reasonable to set my April goal to lose 7 pounds.  I've already lost five, so that is two more to go by Monday.

For May (5/2 - 5/30), I have two goals:

• Lose 5 pounds
• Finish the C25K program

Speaking of C25K, I'm doing Week 7, Day 2 this afternoon.  I'm finding myself looking forward to running days and excited to see what I can accomplish for each run.  When I started C25K, I did it because I thought it would be an effective way to get in shape and lose weight.  I never did it because I thought running was fun.  But the more I do it and the better I get, I'm starting to find it very enjoyable and fun.  It's amazing how much can change is just 7 weeks :)

Post-Workout: C25K 6-2

I finished my run earlier today and to my surprise it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.  Just as a reminder, here is what today's workout consisted of:

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 10 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 10 minutes
• Cooldown 5 minute walk

I coasted along for the first 10 minute run.  It felt really good and it was challenging but not necessarily hard.  The second 10 minute run was a little different.  I did great the first 5 minutes and then it seemed like as soon as the beep in my headphones went off saying "5 minutes" left, I immediately started struggling.  I think it was all in my head, so I just pushed through and somehow made it through the last 5 minutes without stopping.

Day 3 will really be a true test - 25 minutes without stopping?!?! Holy smokes thats a long time!

Workout Routine

First, a quick update on the scale.  I am down about 1 pound this morning.  Today is a hard workout day, and I swear if I weigh in tomorrow morning having gained weight, I may just stop working out all together.

Now on to the real post, I wanted to just give an update on what I've been doing for exercise.  I am 6 weeks in to the Couch to 5K program (C25K).  The whole program is 9 weeks long, so I can see the end in sight.  It consists of running/walking for about 30 minutes, 3 times a week .  Here is what week 6 looks consists of:

Week 6, Day 1 (Monday)

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 5 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 8 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 5 minutes
• Cooldown 5 minute walk

 Week 6, Day 2 (Thursday)

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 10 minutes
• Walk 3 minutes
• Jog 10 minutes
• Cooldown 5 minute walk

Week 6, Day 3 (Saturday)

• Brisk 5 minute warmup walk, then:
• Jog 25 minutes with no walking
• Cooldown 5 minute walk

I did Day 1 on Monday and today, I will do Day 2.  Day 1 was actually pretty easy.  I'm afraid Day 2 is going to be tough.  It might be an easy workout for a lot of people, but not for me!

In addition to the C25K, I just started doing Power Yoga on DVD this week.  I needed to add in some strength training and I thought Power Yoga would be a good start towards that.  Eventually, I will want to add in some weights or resistance bands.

I did Power Yoga on Tuesday and I was so sore on Wednesday and I am still sore today.

Week 20: Weigh In Results

Well, I missed weigh-in again last Thursday.  I will confess though, that I've probably put on about 1.8 pounds since my last weigh in.  :(

Now that Lance has started football, it is very hard for me to get up to Weight Watchers with both kids.  I'm either going to have stop going to the meetings and just do it on my own at home - OR - I'm going to have to just go weigh in and not stay for the meeting.  I really like going to the weight watcher meetings, I like having an offical weigh in for the week and I like hearing the meeting topic, other people's perspectives and mingle a little.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Now for some good news - I started running again today.  You might remember that I started a while back, but quickly began having some pain in my feet that brought my running program to a screeching halt!  Well, I figured out that I have plantar fasciitis.

For the last 2 months, I have been doing heel and calf stretches and wearing my fancy new running shoes all day long (no more going all day bare foot).  My feet still hurt, but it has improved alot.  Today, I again did Week 1 Day 1 of the Couch to 5K program.  It was pretty tough, but I'm proud to report that 1) I did it and 2) my feet didn't hurt that bad. 

That's about it for me today.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready for the new week!

C25K - Week 1 Day 2

So, I completed the second day of C25K yesterday and it felt great.  Let me clarify: my endurance felt great and I had alot of energy, but my feet are KILLING me!  This happened when I started running after I had Brady too. 

I even went to an Orthopedic Surgeon back then because it hurt so bad.  He took some x-rays and came to the conclusion that I must have some hairline fractures in my heels.  He didn't see anything out of the ordinary on the x-rays, and since hairline fractures don't show up on x-rays, that is why he concluded that must be the problem.

Now I'm not so sure he was correct, since I know there has been plenty of time for the fractures to heal, if there ever were any.  The pain eventually went away, but that is because I stopped working out.  I'm wondering if I have Achilles Tendonitis?  This picture shows where it hurts:

I am going to assume Achilles Tendonitis for right now (unless any of you know what else it might be) and try the things they recommend on the About.com page I linked to above.  This includes a) stretching the Achilles Tendon, b) getting a heel wedge for my shoes and c) icing my heels. 

The best laid plans

of weight loss often prove successful!

OK, so I know that isn't the real quote, but I like my version better.  It seems that when I plan my weekly meals, I do so much better.  So, without further ado, here is my plan for the week:

I don't expect you to be able to read it, but just know that I did it.  This board hangs inside of my pantry door and my intentions are to update it every Sunday and then go to the grocery store.  But half the time it ends up hanging there completly blank or a week out of date.  Not now though!

Also, my plans for exercising are to do the Couch to 5K (C25K) program 3 days a week and weight training twice a week.  I finished C25K - Day 1 today (for the third time) and I'll continue to post updates on how C25K is going.  Maybe I can find a Labor Day 5K to run?  Anyone want to do it with me?