My First 7K

Since I haven’t really lost any new weight for a couple of weeks (gain from Florida and then lost that again) , I started this week determined to kick ass. Well, Monday started off on the right foot, and then …

Tuesday was parent-teacher conferences. The PTO provided lunch and treats. I ate too much lunch and too many treats.

Wednesday, there were leftovers from Tuesday. Lather, rinse, repeat Tuesday’s mis-steps.

Thursday was Pi Day. Between my two math classes, my students brought in three pies, three cookie cakes, six pizzas, and some candy. Guess what? I ate some a lot.

Friday, there were “Payday Treats” (aka junk food in the lounge). I told myself I was going to avoid the lounge, but well, you know the end of that story. Plus, there was pie leftover from the day before.

Am I making excuses? Heck no. I made a conscious decision to partake in all of that gluttonous eating. No one forced it upon me.

This was a week, however, that I wish my willpower was stronger. I wish I was better at “just saying no.” And I wish that food wasn’t constantly on my mind.

Still, I tracked all of the food. I owned it, and it is what it is. Although I felt nauseatingly full at times and a little bit sick all week long from all of the food that my body is no longer used to, I never felt completely out of control. I crossed the line from being totally in control to eating mindlessly for no reason, but I don’t think that I ever entered binge territory. And for me, that is huge.

Still, regardless of how many not-so-healthy choices I made in the world of eating this week, I can no longer deny the amazing gains that I have made in the world of fitness. I can see muscles in my arms when I flex. I can do 10 pushups on my toes. I can teach a full, high-impact Jazzercise class without feeling exhausted or losing my breath. (And follow that up by teaching a Body Sculpting class.) And I can run a 10-minute mile without stopping. Or so I thought.

It turns out I can run 4.3 9.5-minute miles without stopping. Outside. In 28 degree weather. BOOYAH. (Sorry, I don’t know where that came from.)

Today, I participated in the Lucky Leprechaun 7K in Milwaukee, WI. My goal was to finish in less than an hour. I have only been “training” (I use that term loosely) on the treadmill at the gym. I never ran more than one mile consecutively, because I get soooo bored, and I always stuck to running in my comfort zone at 6.0mph, a 10-minute mile.

I never ran outside once. For one, I think thought it is too darn cold in Wisconsin to run outside. And two, I never know how far or how fast I am running outside, and that really brings out the OCD crazy in me.

But today, I proved to myself how strong and fit I really am. It also served as a friendly reminder that I could probably definitely be pushing myself a little harder when it comes to my fitness goals.

My goal was to finish the race in less than an hour. I acknowledged that I would take walking breaks as needed (I anticipated once per mile) and listen to my body. The first thing my body told me is that is was freaking cold. I was layered in running tights, Brad’s Under Armour Cold Gear, a long-sleeve cold gear shirt of my own, a green dry-fit shirt, and my Lululemon jacket. Almost all of these were items that I have never run in before, so I knew that I was breaking the cardinal rule of not wearing new or different gear for a race.

I met up with a couple of friends at the starting line and we agreed to run at our own paces and meet up at the end. All of a sudden, it was time to go. I popped in my earbuds and started to run. I really couldn’t feel my legs or body for the first mile or so. Maybe this helped? When I passed the first mile marker, I told myself that I was 1/4 of the way and decided that I didn’t need a walking break. Soon enough, I was passing the Mile 2 sign. I twisted my arm to check the time on my iPod and saw that it was about 9:22. That’s 22 minutes if we started on time, I thought to myself. I wasn’t feeling exhausted yet, so I encouraged myself to keep running. Why take a break if you don’t need it? I grabbed a sip of water and trudged on.

There were some small inclines that were tough. I think running at 1.0 instead of 0.0 on the treadmill lately helped to prepare me a little bit. All of sudden, I passed the third mile marker. 3 miles without stopping! If you’ve already gone this far without taking a walking break, I think you can push through ’til the end. How great would it feel to finish 4.3 miles without stopping? The third mile felt like it went SO quickly. I saw the Mile 4 sign and immediately starting running faster. 0.3 miles until the end! That one-third of a mile felt longer than any of the previous full miles. I actually feel like the signage might have been off, but what do I know? Seeing all of the spectators cheering really helped to motivate me to the end.

As soon as the finish line was in sight, I picked up my pace again. It was so awesome to watch myself crossing the finish line on the big screen. I was so busy checking it out that I almost missed the clock. When I saw 42:08, I was elated! It was definitely one of my proudest fitness moments ever. After feeling so crappy all week about my eating, I reminded myself of all that I have accomplished and all of the amazing things that my body is capable of. I definitely don’t think I could have run that fast 23 pounds ago.

When I got home, I checked the results online. My official time? 41:37. I took 978th place out of over 3200 runners. And 48/161 in the female 20-24 age division. And my pace? 9:35 minutes per mile.

Today, I am going to bask in the glory. I am so proud of myself, and not afraid to shout it from the rooftops. (Or on my Facebook page. Whichever is easier.)

What is your proudest fitness moment?

P.S. If you made it to the end of the post, congratulations. It got a little long. But it was such a proud moment for me, I had to let the word vomit pour out.

Refreshed

I know it’s been a week since I got back from Florida, but I am just getting to this post now.

Vacation is so refreshing. Even if the reason for the “vacation” was “work.”

There were so many things about my vacation that weren’t perfect – the weather was cold (really cold for Florida!) and I didn’t always make the healthiest food choices – but at the same time, it was amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Brad and I flew into Orlando on Thursday evening. Before we left, we stopped at Perkin’s for a quick lunch. I ordered an omelet with Egg Beaters (egg whites weren’t an option) and mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, and cheddar cheese. I had fruit and pancakes on the side. I only ended up eating about half a pancake, because they weren’t THAT good and I was stuffed from my omelet.

We landed in Orlando around 7:00pm and had a quick cab ride to our beautiful resort, the Rosen Shingle Creek.

We dropped off our luggage in the room, wandered the resort, and eventually had a late dinner at Banrai, the sushi restaurant at the resort. I decided to be adventurous and ordered a roll that included alligator meat. When in Rome, right? It was actually not too bad … I know it’s cliche, but it tasted like chicken.

The next morning, I woke up and got ready for my panel. I brought some snacks with me on the trip, so I had some breakfast and snack options when I needed them. I had a Luna bar and a clementine before my session. I was really nervous before I spoke, but all went well. It was a great opportunity!

After the session, I immediately changed into some comfier clothes, and Brad and I headed to … Disney World.

After lots of deliberation, we decided that Hollywood Studios would be our park of choice. We had a blast checking out all of the attractions.

For lunch, I settled on a chicken caesar salad, as it was the least greasy option I could find.

And how could I forget my afternoon snack? Ice cream is my weakness, and I allowed myself to indulge on vacation.

For dinner, we headed over to Downtown Disney. There was a long wait for most of the restaurants, even at 8:30pm, so we ended up eating at the House of Blues restaurant. It wasn’t our top choice, but the food was not bad at all. I was going to get a salad, but Brad really wanted to try the bacon-wrapped meatloaf and lobster mac and cheese, and who was I to disagree? So, we ordered both and split them. I forgot to get a picture, but trust me, they were tasty. I did snap a pic of my drink!

On Saturday, we visited Universal Studios. After checking out the attractions at each park, we decided to stick with traditional Universal rather than visiting Islands of Adventure.

While Brad grabbed a bagel, I fueled up for the day with a smoothie.

Although it was quite chilly, we enjoyed lots of rides and shows.

(I’m so sad that the Jaws ride is gone!) During the day, Brad surprised me by suggesting that we go to the Blue Man Group Show that night and buying tickets. It was a really interesting show, and, appropriately, I enjoyed a Blue Kamikaze … with a souvenir cup!

Before the show, we had dinner at the NBA Restaurant. I ordered a turkey burger and side salad, and it was nothing special. Good thing I had some Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream as an afternoon snack.

Sunday morning, we woke up and got ready to go the airport. I was so bummed that our vacation was almost over.

At the airport, we were approached with the option of waiting for a later (direct) flight in exchange for free flight vouchers, since they overbooked our flight. I was happy to do it, but they ended up having room for us on our original flight.

At the airport, I had a turkey cobb salad from Au Bon Pan. I asked for vinegarette dressing instead of blue cheese, because even though I love actual blue cheese, the dressing just doesn’t appeal to me.

Two quick flights later, and our vacation was over.

Still, it was a fabulous time! And there was one reason I was happy to come home …

Snow Day

I woke up to an unexpected snow day today. I wanted so badly to be excited, but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated at first. I was supposed to have my annual observation by my principal today, and I had already spent lots of time on my lesson plans and having my pre-observation meeting with him. Now, I will have to start the process all over again. Plus, I am on my way to Orlando, FL tomorrow to speak at a conference (and enjoy a little weekend getaway with brad), and my sub plans were already written. Since we didn’t have school today, the plans must change.

However, after accepting that these things were out of my control, I made my most of my snow day. I guess God just wants me to work on being more flexible, right? I am really working on actively adjusting my outlook and attitude on life lately. While it’s true that I’m not the happiest at my job, I don’t want to be an unhappy complainer all the time. Life is too short.

So, I seized the day and got lots of housework done that I normally put off. I cleaned the bathroom, did a few loads of laundry, and washed all of the sheets and towels. Even more exciting, I did a little closet reorganizing and cleaning. This weekend, I asked Brad to bring up my “extra clothes” from the basement (AKA clothes that I put away for awhile because there was no way that I was squeezing into them and they were taking up precious closet space). And guess what? Many of them fit and I anticipate that most of them will in the next month or so if I stay on top of my game. So I swapped some of my “fat clothes” that are obviously too big for me out of the closet and replaced them with my smaller duds. How’s that for some motivation?

Then, I headed to the gym for an intense snow day workout, since the Jazzercise class I was supposed to teach was cancelled. Reluctantly (but excitedly), I signed up for a 7K on March 16th. I’ve only run one 5K before (last St. Patrick’s Day), so I am definitely nervous. However, I really want to challenge myself and up the ante in regards to fitness, so I figured, why not? A couple of girls at Jazzercise are doing it, and I’ll be joining them.

So, I’m working on increasing my running endurance. Normally, when I run on the treadmill, I do intervals, because I know they are a good workout and they help to eliminate boredom. However, lately I’ve been trying to run longer distances. Key word is trying, because I get so bored! I started with a 5-minute walking warm up (4.0mph) and ran two 1-mile repeats at 6.0 (a 10-minute mile) with an incline of 1.0. Then, I did a third mile with one minute running and 30 seconds walking. I cooled down by walking until I hit 4 miles.

I’d love to be able to run 4.3 miles (about a 7K) in one short, but 1) my body is not ready for that yet and 2) I get so antsy on the treadmill. Does anyone have any advice for how to get better at this?

Pooped!

After I hopped off the treadmill, I threw together a little strength circuit that looked like this:

Circuit #1:
Weighted jumping jacks (3 pounds)
Push ups (10 on toes and the rest on knees)
Kettlebell swings (20 pound kettlebell)
Plank jacks
Curl and press standing on the bosu

Circuit #2:
Box jumps
Full sit-ups
Step-ups
Weighted oblique leans (10 pounds)
Plank

I do each exercise for 45 seconds then break for 15 seconds before the next move. I repeated each circuit twice. Most of my strength training lately is in this format, because that is how my personal training was organized and I really enjoyed it. It works for me!

How are your workouts going this week?

I’ll be back next week with a little report on Florida!

Out of Hiding

After a week of little working out, I had an incredible week in the weight loss department. I think sometimes the body truly needs a break, and slipping on the ice forced me to take one.

As of my most recent weigh-in, I am down almost 23 pounds since my friends and I started our friendly Biggest Loser competition on January 6th.

Although I am still not to the lowest weight that I saw on the scale about three years ago when I did Weight Watchers, I am getting closer. I tried on the jeans that I wore for my 21st birthday and they zipped! They are still a little too tight to actually wear comfortably, but I am well on my way.

The jeans

And I am about 17 pounds from my tentative goal weight. I say tentative, because when I get there, I plan to re-evaluate and decide on another goal. For me, it’s more about how I look and feel than the number on the scale.

But what I’ve noticed more than anything is that I feel like I am coming out of hiding. Over the past two years or so, I slowly but surely gained weight (almost 30 pounds!). As that happened, I started to let myself go. It wasn’t intentional, but I started to fall into the “relationship rut” and put less and less effort into my appearance.

Now, I know just as much as anyone, that beauty shines from the inside out. It shouldn’t be about your weight, hairstyle, the or clothes you’re wearing, but, let’s be honest … all of those things help us to feel beautiful and confident. At least, that’s the way it works for me.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have invested a little (ok, a lot) in my appearance. Because I have been working my booty off (literally?) to lose weight and get healthy … and I deserve it. I got my eyebrows waxed, a mani and pedi, a haircut and highlights, and even a bikini wax (TMI?). And guess what? I feel frickin’ fabulous!

I had been letting my eyebrows grow for awhile and now that they have a shape, I feel as though my whole face has changed. (Not to mention it’s looking a little less round these days, if you know what I mean.) I got some shellac on my nails to help me kick my nasty nail biting habit. I brought back the blonde highlights. (While it’s true that brown was much less maintenance for me, I just don’t feel like myself without some blonde!) And I even took the plunge and finally let my hairstylist give me side bangs. Sure, they are taking some getting used to and require a little more work to style in the morning, but – excuse my for tooting my own horn – they are sexy!

So, really I swear that the point of this post is not to brag about how great I’m feeling, but rather to reiterate that it’s important to paper yourself sometimes. Because when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you make good choices and treat your body right. And when you’re healthy and fabulous, you can rock all of the other important things you have going on in life.

Ok, so maybe you didn’t need the reminder … but I sure did!

How do you pamper yourself?

Highs and Lows

High: According to my weigh-in on Sunday, I lost 3.4 pounds last week, bringing my total weight loss since January 6th to 16.8 pounds.

Low: Many of my clothes are now too big (okay this is a high too), but most of my “skinny” clothes are still too small, so I’m sort of hanging in the midst of ill-fitting clothing.

High: I had a meeting yesterday morning (in place of working with my students), so I got to catch an extra half hour of sleep in the morning.

Low: On my way to the car, I slipped on a patch of ice in the driveway, injuring my elbow, back, neck, and head and breaking my work-issued laptop that was in my backpack.

High: Not only have I been keeping up my regular workouts, I’ve realized that I actually look forwarding to working out not (Jazzercise or not). I can’t wait to hit up the gym or teach a Jazzercise class after a long day of work or in the mornings on the weekend.

Low: I haven’t been able to work out for the past two days due to my spill. (I actually had to take a day and half off of work because I am in so much pain. And  I am going stir-crazy. I think I have formed a healthy addiction to exercise.

High: I decided that since I have dedicated myself to reaching a healthy weight, I should start to take care of my overall appearance more (i.e. eyebrow wax, keeping up with my highlights, maybe a manicure …)

Low: I had to cancel my much-anticiapted hair appointment today. Luckily, I could reschedule for Sunday to get it done before …

High: I am traveling to Florida next Thursday to speak at a conference and have a mini-vacation with my boyfriend.

Low: As a teacher, taking days off of work is more stressful than actually being there. There are sub plans to write and other things to get in order and often I don’t know exactly where we will be until the day before.

High: Overall, I have a lot to be thankful for and happy about lately. I am committed to my own health and fitness, I have the most supportive boyfriend ever, an adorable puppy, and an exciting trip to look forward to.

Low: No matter how hard I try, I just don’t love my job. I love the kids and am really dedicated to being a good teacher, but I don’t enjoy the environment that I am working in and am not sure that the teaching profession is for me. There is so much more involved in being a teacher than actually teaching, and the politics, policies, and administration just make it less than desirable for me. However, I am trying really hard not to let myself get down about it, and instead start to explore other options that might work for me.

One of my favorite quotes is by Henry David Thoreau:

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.”

I’ll keep working on it until I get there.

Dealing with Setbacks

Sunday is my weigh-in day.

I showed a gain on the scale this morning. Granted it was only 0.6 pounds, but it was still a gain.

However, it wasn’t a surprise to me. My eating was subpar this week. It’s not like I was eating burgers, fries, and frozen custard, but I surpassed my calorie target every day. I did far too much mindless snacking, and as I posted on Friday, I felt myself slipping back into old habits.

I still worked out 5 out of 6 days, but this is just evidence that losing weight is really 80% what you eat and 20% exercise. I already knew this, because back when I was really overweight, I gained the weight while still working out regularly.

I keep telling myself not to freak out. It’s 0.6 pounds, and I can bounce back easily. But I am still kicking myself for losing momentum. I was doing really well and settling into a routine of healthy living, and then I let myself slip. I don’t want to fall back into the Katie that I have been for the past two years.

So I won’t. The difference is that I am acknowledging that this week I lost my “do” attitude and instead was just “trying”, but this doesn’t have to continue. I am setting myself up for success this week. As if my ultimate goal of getting to a healthy weight and feeling confident in my own skin isn’t enough, I have a short trip to Florida coming up at the end of the month, and I’d love to lose a few more pounds before then. Here’s the eating plan for this week:

Breakfasts: Greek Yogurt with a piece of fruit
Morning Snack: Apple
Lunch: Flat Out Wrap with Turkey or Roast Beef and Veggies or Salad with Chicken and Veggies
Afternoon Snack: Larabar or Lunda Fiber Bar
Pre-Workout Snack: Banana
Dinner: TBD
Post-Dinner Treat: Vitamuffin Top

Repetition doesn’t bother me, because it helps me to stay on track, and I will get a little variety with my dinners. Plus, my regular workouts will continue:

Sunday: Teach Jazzercise and Body Scuplting
Monday: Teach Dance
Tuesday: 30 Min of Treadmill Intervals and 20 Min Strength Circuits
Wednesday: Jazzercise Class
Thursday: 30 Min of Treadmill Intervals and 20 Min Strength Circuits
Friday: 30 Min of Treadmill Intervals and 20 Min Strength Circuits
Saturday: Teach Jazzercise
Sunday: Teach Jazzercise and Body Scuplting

I also pledge to make sure to have a tall glass of water with lemon in the morning to get things moving and avoid all unnecessary snacking (grabbing candy from the stash for my students, eating in front of the TV, and heading into the lounge for “payday treats” on Friday).

How do you get back on track after a setback?

Old Habits Die Hard

Last night I binged.

For some reason, this week has been really hard for me food-wise. I’ve been hungry and craving sweet and salty food like crazy. Last night, being cooped up at home got the best of me.

We got a big snow storm yesterday, so I didn’t head to workout after school like normal. I truly believe that my workouts help to ground me. No matter how on track my eating is during the day, after a workout, I feel refreshed, re-engergized, and want to refuel with something healthy. And even if my dinner choices aren’t the most fantastic, I can always revel in the fact that I got a workout in.

Last night, I felt like a blob on the couch. And when my boyfriend headed outside to shovel, I dug through the drawers and found a package of cookies that I forgot we even had. I took one and returned the package to the drawer. Then, I went back for another. And another. I think I ended up eating five or six before I took control and threw the rest of the package in the garbage. I felt like a fat failure. But instead of stopping, I reached for a 100-calorie pack of baked cheetos, because I always crave sugar after salt. Then, I called it quits.

I felt so defeated after that binge. I have been doing so well, and was so disappointed that I let old habits get the best of me.

I woke up today with good intentions. I didn’t want the events from last night to haunt me like they have so many times before and lead me down an unpredictable path of unhealthiness. I was doing well until my mid-day hunger struck and I reached into my desk drawer and started mindlessly eating chocolate from the stash that I keep to reward my students.

I know myself well enough to know that it is NOT safe for me to keep a giant bag of chocolate candy in my desk. In fact, when we were at Sam’s club, I hesitated when Brad picked that bag out after I asked for a suggestion. Currently, I lack the self-control to really have an endless supply of any “easy-to-eat” candy in my classroom. (Suckers have been a good option so far this year, because they don’t really tempt me.)

Anyways, after three pieces, I had the decency to choose a more substantial snack and nip the binge before too much damage was done.

I went to the gym after school, had a kick ass workout, and even made healthy choices when the BF announced that Noodles and Company was his restaurant of choice for take-out tonight. (PSA: The Med flatbread sandwich from there is phenomenal.)

And despite my slip-ups, I have continued to track everything I eat on MyFitnessPal to remain accountable.

So, even though old habits die hard, I am ready to prove to myself that I can bounce back and settle into a healthy lifestyle once and for all. And part of being healthy means accepting that not everyday can be perfect … and being genuinely okay with it.

I’m getting there.