American Cancer Society

Flashback!

In the midst of my second month of bootcamp, I decided I wanted to run the American Cancer Society 5K Race for the Cure. Granted, the name wasn't as awesome or long as the "1st Annual Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-AM Fun-Run Race for the Cure", but it was still for a good cause...

Especially since both Grandmas have cancer right now.

I had anticipated doing it by myself, but somehow managed to get my mom and dad to come to Ames just to run the 5K with me! We had a great time, I finished with a time that was roughly 6 minutes faster than the first 5K I ran in May!! Astonishing!!

Mom loves running so much, she sweats back smiles!



Post-race bliss :)

Shame is...

seeing your bootcamp instructor from a few months ago and having to ask him to open a 20 oz bottle of soda because you can't get the cap unscrewed.

The whole thing was wrong in so many ways.

The end. For now.

Surefire Bootcamp, July edition is officially done!

Not going to share my results yet though! Can't let the cat out of the bag too early!

A lot has changed this past month...way more than I thought possible.

1. I like oatmeal. This revelation has come in just the past week. Maybe not so exciting for you, but my breakfast possibilities have been broadened!
2. I actually EAT breakfast?! I used to wait till lunch to have my first meal, but now I eat TWO breakfasts! Crazy...
3. The concept of actually getting up before 7... I've rocked 4:30 every weekday for the past month, without fail! Quite impressive, if I do say so myself...
4. I can actually SWEAT! I was told that the more in shape you are, the faster you start sweating. Upon further discussion with Emma, we concluded this applies to overweight people as well. Before bootcamp, I couldn't break a sweat to save my life. Good for me, I wasn't overweight-or in shape... Now, depending on what I'm doing, I can start sweating within 10 minutes. Woot for being more in shape (and smellier!)!!
5. My sense of navigation in the dark has gotten better. My nose is grateful.
6. Better diet! No pop or candy or going out to eat for 4 weeks (with the exception of last night and today, where I have been celebrating like a fat kid returning from fat camp). A lot more fruits and veggies and fiber and protein too. Other than being annoyed at having to spend an hour cutting all my veggies after buying them, it's been really nice having healthy alternatives to snack on rather than ridiculous amounts of junk food.

I've also realized that I take after my mom, who takes after her mom. We're eaters. If we're happy, sad, depressed, excited, bored, hungry, not hungry, adventurous, numb, you name it, it's an occasion to eat - certainly not a good habit to continue until my dying day. So while I recognize the problem, it's hard to resist the urge to munch.

ALRIGHT! It's time. Please keep in mind I screwed myself this week because I moved and found out my grandma has lung cancer, both events screwing with me terribly.

I lost 3 pounds (I was down 2 more last week and could have done better had I not slacked off - potential was 6 or 7).
I went down 2% on my body fat!
I DID 27 PUSHUPS WITHOUT STOPPING. Whaaaa?! "Who is this beast (in the most feminine way possible)?!"

So, theoretically, I've got this thing figured out and this next month, I should be able to go in, guns blazing. Hopefully that's what happens.

Not going to lie though, I miss getting up at 6:30 and going to bed at 10:30. And I still haven't figured out how to squeeze in running in the evenings... Oh well. Pretty sure Rome wasn't built in a month.

An old lover...

This past Sunday, I attempted to get a bunch of friends together to run the figure 8 at Ada Hayden (5K), and one by one, they all texted back saying they just weren't available.

(sigh) Looks like I'm in this alone.

So I drove out there, and ran THE WHOLE THING. No walking. No breaks (except for a 5 second gulp of water at the drinking fountain half way through). Just straight up running. It was amazing, glorious...

and freakin' hot.

But what do you expect when you run on asphalt at 3pm on a bright sunny day?

Anyway, if any of you are up for it and would like to join me, I'd love the company! Every Sunday, Ada Hayden. Times can be and will be changed to accommodate people (i.e. you). Please call me!

Warning/Disclaimer...my face turns a fiery red after running that long... I'm pretty sure it looked like my face was going to explode when I was done.

Introducing....

I think it’s about time to introduce you to my newest fling (though I’m hoping this is more serious than my relationship with running or P90X ever was)!

[insert your name],
meet Surefire Fitness Bootcamp!
Surefire Fitness Bootamp,
meet [insert your name]!

Maybe we’re still in that honeymoon stage, but I really feel like this is it! This is the one! Oh sure, he’s not without his downsides… The early mornings (and subsequently, early nights) are killer and he’s definitely not low-maintenance. There have also been times where I have wanted to throw up. But when I look at the big picture, I really am happy! There are times when I wish I could stay longer just because it’s so good! Yeah, there’s pain, but in the end, you know it’s for the best. No relationship was ever easy.

While results are still yet to be seen (and there had better be results…), I have had fun, amidst all the grunting and sweating and heavy breathing. (clears throat…umm…)

So, I totally don’t intend to jump the gun or assume anything on his part, but I think this is something that could last, even through next month! Let's just hope we don't get tired of each other or wimp out. (baaaaad jokes)

I still don't understand...

Zumba's going great, but once a week just isn't enough. And upon Kevin's suggestion of www.jeffbartontraining.com, I decided to check out Jeff's bootcamp. It's pretty much the same concept of P90X only it's a person kicking my butt instead of a DVD, and somehow, that makes it easier to handle. There's just something about someone saying "Good job!" to YOU, not a distance audience where you might happen to hear it once a week, 34.5 minutes into a certain workout.

Unfortunately for me, it's still 5am, but I'm learning to enjoy the extra time I have in the morning to make AMAZING scrabbled eggs. TOTALLY worth it, just for the eggs. Mmmm...

Because it's so early and I don't want to disturb my roommate, I usually get ready in the dark. No big deal really...my eyes are adjusted to the lack of light. Until, that is, I brush my teeth in the bathroom with the light on.

Now, of course, I'm completely blind when the light goes off and I go back into the room. I THOUGHT I had the layout of the hallway figured out, but apparently I missed it by six inches...

I gently pushed the door open and moved forward to go in and
SMACK!!
I smashed my nose into the doorway.

Simultaneously, I thought "FRICK. Abort, abort! Football? (Marsha?) Frick. Broken. BLOOD?!?!"

I stumbled back into the bathroom and examined my nose through flooded eyes (you can't help but cry when you smash your nose), but for as much as it hurt - and trust me, it did - there's only a tiny cut and a little swelling that even I wouldn't notice were it not for the fact that I know my face pretty intimately.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that I don't have a nose the size of a baseball, but really, the bigger the injury, the better the story. Case in point, amputation vs. broken finger. Which story would you want to hear more?

Changes...again

I quit P90X. I just can't do it. It wasn't a good fit for me, and I didn't have fun doing it, which always makes it worse. But I did learn a lot, and I know that I can do some of that on my own.

But as I promised, I am not quitting exercising. No no no.....far from it. I'm still not happy with the weight I'm at, and I'm determined to shed these pounds! I'm just stuck in a rut...

Today I signed up for zumba, which is an exercise dance routine based on salsa, merengue, cumbia, reggaeton and other international music styles and forms. (yes, I pulled that completely off of wikipedia. I'm pretty sure no one has ever heard of reggaeton before.)

I had SO MUCH FUN. I was exhausted and sweating and thirsty, but I was so disappointed when class ended!! I could have gone another half an hour! It really was a blast... I'm considering joining the Wednesday night group - the only thing is it's an extra $20, so I'm still on the fence on that one.

But seriously, I think I've found what I've been wanting!! So I'm super excited about that...

I found my hip-hop dvd too, so I'm thinking about pulling that one out. I tried it once, realized there wasn't a single hip-hop bone in my body, and put it away. It's one of those things where it's embarrassing enough that you ONLY do it when no one is home. :) For the record, there will be NO video demonstrations.

I may attempt another 5K this weekend - we'll see how diligent I am about getting up in the morning to go for my run. So far, it hasn't been good, but with the race only 4 days away, I better kick it in gear!!

Week 3 Update

I haven't been every-single-day with this thing like I should, but I'm still doing at least 4 days out of the week, which is pretty darn good in my book (having come from doing little to no exercise on a regular basis).

I haven't seen much difference either, which is disappointing and also understandable, given the fact that I haven't done every day.

However, I've been really pushing myself hard, trying to go beyond what I think I'm capable of. I'm eating better (though still not the best) and trying to incorporate more vegetables and fruits into my diet.

So why haven't I lost even a single pound?!

I'm still fluctuating around the weight I've been since I started college (or probably more specifically, birth control to prevent ovarian cysts). I can't get it off!

So it's really discouraging, which doesn't help at all, especially considering the fact that I am NOT a morning person. Getting up at 5 or earlier to work myself into exhaustion and then to go to work where I'm too tired to think, all the while not dropping a single pound is beyond frustrating.

I hate quitting because I feel like that's what I do with various exercise routines all the time, but honestly, it doesn't seem worth it. I don't have that high I had during the first week anymore. Now it just plain sucks.

I could really use some encouragement.

Ab Ripper

2 days ago, we were supposed to do a DVD called "Ab Ripper". I dreaded it all day, knowing I'd have to get up the next morning and shred myself, but THANK YOU JESUS, we didn't have time that particular morning to get very far into it.

Jesus must not have heard me, because He had us do it this morning.

And so, because I didn't do much last time, I tried to push myself to see how far I could go. Turn out, I can go pretty far, but not without some serious consequences.

All day, I couldn't tell if my abs were sore, or if I was on the verge of throwing up. Mom said that's an awesome feeling - I don't thing her memory's as good as it used to be.

Because I felt so...._____, I didn't eat much, for fear of throwing up (and I HATE throwing up). So, after my morning of working out REALLY hard, the rest of the day followed with me eating next to nothing. Not good! I needed some serious calories after working out so hard! So I crashed all day which wasn't cool either.

So moral of the story: if you work hard till you think you're going to throw up, eat anyway. Worse comes to worse, you have to eat more later. And who doesn't like eating?

P90X intro

While I'm 2 days shy of finishing my first week of P90X, I'm going to go ahead and post my week-1 impression.

In. Cred. A. Bull.

(haha...bull.)

It most certainly is as intense as you've heard it is. Even if you're taking it easy and not pushing yourself, it's intense. But P90X isn't meant to be taken the easy way. Nope, it's meant for a straight shot to an incredibly fit body.

I did take it easy this first week (with the exception of today), just to get to know Tony and see how much I'm going to dislike him over the next 84 days. One thing I learned...Tony and I will not be friends. But I will see him every morning at 5:30 am, and I will work hard, because I have nothing to lose and a lot to gain (strike that, reverse it.).

It's only been 5 days, but I feel awesome. My core feels stronger, and I just feel better, generally. If I feel this good when I'm not even a week into the program, imagine how awesome I'm going to feel (and maybe look?) in the end? Awesome.

New Hope

Sorry it's been so long. Like I said, I kind of flopped big time a while back.

BUT

I figured out how I need to run! How to do it without hating it, which is really good news for someone who hates running.

My mom thought it would be a 'fun' idea to run a 5K for mother's day/celebrate-the-fact-that-Jessi's-here. Not exactly my idea of fun...

But I ended up running a very large portion of it! (Think 80-90% of the time!) I shocked my family and myself especially, but I learned a few things about how I need to make this a habit.

First of all, no more looking at my watch. Looking at my watch has me thinking about how tired I am and how much longer I have to run. Not fun.

Second of all, no more music. I end up running in time with the music and end up running faster than I should and wearing myself out more. Not fun either.

During the race, mom and Jessi talked almost the entire way, so they were a great distraction. I listened to them which kept my mind off of what my body was doing and I ended up running further than I thought possible.

So other than really sore knees, I'm beginning to enjoy running! I've been getting up at 6 when it's starting to get daylight and the air is still cool - it's surprisingly refreshing and something i wouldn't mind getting in the habit of doing more regularly!

And speaking of regularly.... My friend just bought P90X and invited me to join her at 5:30 every morning, beginning when she receives the dvds. Yikes... I agreed, because the time works for me, but I'm also kind of dreading it. 5 o'clock mornings? I am not a pleasant person that early!! But I'd really like to lose the weight I've put on, and this might be the thing to kick my butt in gear. Fingers crossed!

Flop

Fell of the wagon and broke my leg and hit my head hard enough I went into a coma.

aka, I stopped.

Last week was nuts, and it's SO hard to find time Monday through Wednesday to exercise. Since I don't do those days (cause there is NO time), I simply skip the rest of the week too. But at least I recognize where the problem is (motivation to finish out the week).

So maybe I need to run Thursday through Sunday and squeeze in where I can on Monday through Wednesday?

That, and my digestive system has been way screwed up - every time I eat I feel sick afterwards, regardless of what I'm eating. Nasty.

Soo....I suck.

Progress, then decline

I felt pretty good toward the end of last week and beginning of this week with jogging - my energy stayed pretty consistent throughout the half hour. So I decided to bump it up a little on Wednesday since I didn't have any time on Tuesday to do anything. This time, I ran 1 minute and walked 1.5 minutes. Not too much of a difference, but I definitely felt it half way through and I REALLY struggled the second half. But I made it! I seriously wanted to just give up right there. But thankfully, since it was so nice, EVERYONE was out doing yard work. If I cut out and gave up, they'd know. They'd just know. So I didn't. I kept going. But my body hated it.

I felt weird all day anyway, and I figured it was because my body was getting used to exercise and since I hadn't, it was letting me know. Regardless, I had odd discomfort in weird places and wasn't comfortable in my body. It's really hard to explain...

Anyway, today, I took Bailey for an hour long walk (though I think it was 1.5 hours cause my watch is off?), and I think I wore her out by the 15 minute mark! Either that or she gave up trying to pull me along. It was a great walk though. I think I enjoy taking the walks more even though they're much longer. It's nice being outdoors and enjoying it instead of concentrating on my runs and walks and keeping going.

Anyway, just writing to say I'm still in this. I've gone one week now, eating healthier and MUCH less and exercising consistently. And I've lost 0 pounds. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. But I WILL keep going. This time is different for some reason, and I'm determined to keep going.

Wake up call

Day of rest! Glad to be here!

Other than today, I've been going 4 days straight so far! Woo!!

It was rough the past few days though - yesterday was another really discouraging and spirit breaking day as we went shopping in Des Moines. I hate how something that can be so fun with my family turned into me coming out of the dressing room in tears. Apparently the cute dressing room guy was looking at us, but I was so upset I didn't notice him. (That's saying something!)

I HATE those days - they're definitely my motivation for losing weight! Mom texted me, checking to make sure that I wouldn't give up and that the discouragement didn't do me in. Far from! It pushes me harder because I HATE feeling like that! I HATE not feeling right in clothes and I hate not being able to find the right size.

I did a lot of praying. A lot of asking for forgiveness for not taking care of God's temple like I should, for not being a good steward. A lot of asking for certain areas to diminish significantly in my weight loss as well. If God didn't hear my words (which I know He did), He saw my tears.

^"19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Round One

Jess asked where I got my running plan; I don't have the patience to find it again (it's at Runner's World, the website), so I'll just write what I'm doing each week.

For the rest of this week and all of next week, I'm on the following plan (with minor adjustments for this week) that last 30 minutes:

• Monday - Run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 10x
• Tuesday - Walk 30 minutes
• Wednesday - Run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 10x
• Thursday - Walk 30 minutes
• Friday - Run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 10x
• Saturday - Run 1 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Repeat 10x
• Sunday - REST. Amen.

I walked for an hour with Shane last night, so I did run/walk today. While I kept in mind several things (run on grass, walk on sidewalk, breathe naturally and not concentrate on a rhythm, take it slow and don't wear yourself out), I had a rough go of a few others.

I bought arch supports for the much needed support and maybe they're a little high? I've got swollen not-arches and am chilling out with a bag of frozen spinach between my feet now. They kinda hurt. But at least I'm finally USING the frozen spinach.

Also, my ear buds CONSTANTLY fell out. More annoying than painful.

It went well though! I got through it all without wanting to die, which is ALWAYS desirable. I noticed that at the beginning, it seemed like I walked forever and ran not long enough (even though I timed myself). But towards the end, it definitely felt like I didn't have long enough to recover while walking and I consistently felt like I was running longer than I should have been. Odd, I know.

AND I FOUND A DOLLAR. Needless to say, I watched the ground a lot more closely after that. Thanks for the encouragement, God!

Shocker, I know.

I'm back!!! And this time, armed with an actual GOAL in mind and some tips to help me prevent injury. (How was I supposed to know that you're not actually supposed to pound the pavement when you first start running? No one said that shin splints would result. No one.)

So why on earth would I willingly choose to come back?

I've purchased a pair of GOOD running shoes, so I'm hoping that just the fact that I invested a ton of money means I'll be more motivated.

I'm tired of detesting clothes shopping and being near tears when I walk out of the store. Shopping really sucks.

But most importantly, I'm going to Florida in June! And this body is NOT going in a swimming suit in Florida. It barely passes Iowa code.

It's a daunting task, but I am going to attempt to pick up running, for real this time. I've found a walk/run plan that starts me out slow enough and builds each week. Theoretically, in 8.5 weeks, I should be able to run a half hour straight. (what?!)

I'm not going to lie - I kind of laughed at the author. Me? Running? For half an hour?! Ha, not likely. He has not met me. But a lot of the comments posted on the article were encouraging, so I figure, why not give it a shot?

I'm scared though. Not of running (cause that'd be silly), but of my mom, who will be very excited that I can actually exert energy and sustain it. I fear for my pitiful body, who will be 'invited' to classes at the Y when it goes home.

It'll feel good NOT to get left in the dust though, and to feel like I'm holding everyone back. So....here goes nothing.