No French Fries??

So the other day I stupidly said something to the effect of not wanting or needing to eat french fries. Lately I have been consuming a lot of french fries. For some reason I said aloud that I might give up french fries for the year of 2010, kinda like lent but about 10 times longer.

I don't know why but it came up again, and apparently my husband thought I was half serious.

So, then I got to thinking. If I give up french fries will I feel deprived? Do I really like french fries? I hate potatoes so do I like french fries or just ketchup. Could I find another venue for the ketchup? Probably.

So for two meals thus far I have resisted french fries. First at Cheese Cake Factory I ordered a Shrimp Club-delicious and it came with the choice of fries or salad. No brainer right...fries should be the answer. But I picked the salad knowing that the sandwich would be more than enough to satisfy! It was! Victory!!

Then at Los Altos Grill I ordered the Tuna Burger. Do you know how much I love Tuna burgers? Probably not, but now you do! I <3 Tuna! The waiter asked "Would you like ketchup for your fries?"

And I eeked out, "Actually, can I have tabouli?"

I know I was astounded too! Usually my response would be -Actually, yes I would like to bottle of ketchup :)! I <3 Ketchup almost as much as tuna...maybe even more. But so far so good.

Then I started to panic a little. Does this mean I can never have french fries again? O no! What if I want French Fries again. What if I can't make it the 9.125 Lents that would be a whole year. What if I only eat them on Sunday like as if it really were Lent. Nope my husband a Jew said that would be cheating. What is a girl to do who cannot commit to going 365 days without French Fries!

So I made a deal with myself. If you know me, you know I love a good deal!

So for every 100 miles I run I can have a small french fry! But I don't really like fast food french fries, so the deal extends to whatever portion of French Fries served with the Asian Chix wrap served at applebees! I love applebees fries! Is that strange? Yes. Applebees food is not that good, but their fries are so yummy and season salted and I cannot wait to go run 100 miles to get my first 'cheat' of the pretend long lent that I artifically set up for myself to eat less french fries.

I am totally delusional. I know.

New Years Re-commitmen

My bestie just called and said, "Do you think we will still be friends when we are 30?"

Um she is my best friend so I said, "Well I hope so."

She was like- Ok, well then do you want to run a Marathon with me when we are 30?

I said well sure...I am going to run one before I turn 26.2 but I should be able to do another by the time I'm 30-I mean it shouldn't take that long to recover from the first should it?

So this year I am committed to pushing myself farther!

My running goals for 2010 are:
Run a 5K in January in under 28 mins
Run a 10K in March in under an hour
Run a Sprint Tri sometime between April and September
Run a Half Marathon sometime between the Sprint Tri and December 31, 2010!

This sounds exciting!! And hopefully I can keep myself and said friend motivated until we are fit and hot at 30!!

A new social network...

I just joined dailymile.com. I actually read about it in some other bloggers post. But it seems like a great motivational tool to keep me going!

I think I will probably join a challenge or two and see what I can get done!

Currently I am feeling sort of lazy. Not like an overarching thematic feeling or like I am in a real rut, but that it looks cold and cloudy and dark and I don't want to go get on a treadmill. I want to cuddle up an read a book and fall asleep and be a bum, and since it is the weekend I can!! wooo!!

I should also go to the grocery store and a few other errands, but all of these things sound so much better than going outside or even changing into my running cloths and going to the gym.

As long as I go tomorrow, which I will because if I don't I will probably jump out my cube window, all will be good.

Should I feel bad for my co-workers?

I just got back from the gym. I like to go over to the gym and jump on a treadmill during my lunch hour for many reasons. First and foremost because then it is done. I don't have to drag myself to the gym once I am home. Also because my manager makes us take an hour lunch so instead of eating for an hour I would rather burn calories.

So today I went to gym and ran. And I ran pretty fast! I ran 3 miles in 27 minuets 10 seconds. (I would like to be doing it in less that 27 minutes, but you have to start somewhere right?)

I then walked a tenth of a mile and ran another half mile just as a sort of cool down at 6.4. Surprisingly my body felt good. (Surprisingly because I over-ran on Monday and I am feeling sore). But really the running felt good.

I walked like a minuet after that and then zoomed to the locker room for my quick shower and re-dress for the rest of my day at work. I blow dried the sweat in my hair so as to make it appear clean, dry, and normal. (I am not sure this is convincing but I don't really have time to get it completely wet).

And then I walk about maybe .2 miles back to my building and take the elevator to my desk. I know my face shows my workout my cheeks are bright pink! So I am not really fooling anyone, they all know I go workout. But the thing is I take the shower as a goodwill effort to not smell for the afternoon at my desk.

Unfortunately my sweat really starts pouring off my body right around the time I get back to my desk because my body is only just begining to truly cool down.

So should I feel bad that I sweat for about 5-10 mins hardcore in my cube? Do you think my co-workers notice and think I am gross?

(Not that it will change my routine, but I do wonder about social norms sometimes :))

Forgiving

Sometimes I forget how forgiving the human body, my human body in particular can be. I ran yesterday, Monday for the first time in 6 days. The last time I ran it was a the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I was really starting to feel good about my running shape again. I was doing 5k without to much effort but still a lot of sweat and hopefully a lot of calories burned.

But then I had some disappointments in my non-running life that felt like a brick wall in every part of my life. I laid on the couch all of Wednesday just festering with negative energy.

Thursday I pretended like I was fine, but I was still pretty upset, in fact I continue to pretty upset but I have started to transform that negative energy into my running. It is hard, but I am really trying to channel all the crap stress into the treadmill.

It was essential that I turned my attitude, because I was really starting to hurt my body. Packing on the Thxgiving leftovers, slouching around the house, and just being genuinely depressed was doing a number on the scale and my fitness!

Thank goodness my body already began to forgive me.

I got back to running yesterday Monday mostly because I needed to get away from my desk. My disappointment, stress, and depression all relates back to my job. So naturally to get away from my desk I do a quick swither-roo to my non-business casual magic black running pants and zip across the street to the basement gym where when I set the treadmill to my in the zone speed of 6.4 miles per hour the world melts away. It's just me, my ipod, and my sweat.

Like all good things my workout has to end to dash through the shower, run a brush through my hair, and pretend to slip back into my business cas attire.

I walk back through the glass doors of my office building and BAM that wave of stress rolls over my fresh vigor found on the treadmill.

I also hit up the Y with Anne.

In total I ran about 5.5 miles, which is pretty great for a regular Monday. Now to keep up the fresh running attitude, the commitment to upping my mileage in hopes that will also lower the number on the scale, with the intention of shaving seconds off my time.

If I can just keep motivated.

Anyways, thank goodness for the forgiving body. I can only hope that my mind will forgive me so easily and keep up serious motivation.

Holiday Weight-Loss Plan from Runner's World.com

Holiday Weight-Loss Plan from Runner's World.com

Back at it...for reals

I am really re-dedicated to running, because I love the feeling it gives me.

I started back at running pretty consistently and seriously about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Instead of going through the motions and watching the numbers turn on the treadmill I have really started to think about what will make me a better, fitter, faster, stronger runner!

Yesterday I went out for a long run. And going through the proper preparation was the most important thing that propelled me through all 6 miles even though I have not really set the best foundation yet.


View 10K Run Route in a larger map

1. I decided a distance that was definitely a stretch for me! (Sundays should always be my stretch day)

2. I got on the goggle maps and figured out a new route that would be interesting an challenging

3. I did a load of laundry so my magic pants were clean! Magic pants meaning stretch black pants that make running magical! They don't ride anywhere and I look pretty damn good for a pudgy girl in them. They give me that extra self confidence I need.

4. I made sure my ipod was plenty charged.

5. I woke up and decided---'yup it is time to go and conquer 6 miles again'

It has been a long time since I have actually gone out and done a truly long run. Maybe 4 months, and yes I paid for it a little. It was painful after about mile 4. I tried to stop and walk for just like 50 yards to recoup, but that was actually more painful than just going.

I had a couple of obstacles along the way.

1. My I pod sensor stopped working so I had to use the stop watch feature and my map to figure out my millage and average pace

2. I got lost in Alviso...not the best place to get lost because it is so strange.

3. I haven't ran outside in probably 3 months.

I overcame these small obstacles. I would not rank my Sunday November 22 run as a best in the history of Kate's runs, but it was a great starting point to build long runs from.

Sampling and Stomping through NYC!

My husband, Dave, and I went on a wonderful long weekend visit to New York City! We visited our friend Katie who lives in Brooklyn's adorable Park Slope neighborhood as well as spent time with our friend Virinder who drove down from Albany to adventure through the city with us.

We had a great time! We sampled all the food we could find in New York! So I thought I should detail it so that I don't forget a single bite! I wrote it down in my food journal for just this reason and I will recant it here to share it with the world. I hope you enjoy it almost as much as I did. (Not quite as much because I had to consume the calories myself, and therefor work them off!).

We arrived Wednesday evening:

A street side bite: Dave got a street vendor Pretzel-I had a bite and was not impressed

Dinner: mmm mmm mmmm- Carnegie Deli I ordered Matzo Ball Soup with Matzo Balls and Noodles (DELICIOUS!) and a side order of French Fries-Only after I received my soup did I relies I did not need the fries because the soup came with 2 HUGE balls!! They were seriously the size of a tennis ball! And everything comes with New and Old pickles! Delish! I am feeling more like a Jew every day.

Dave ordered a Woody Allen sandwich- IE the most meat they could fit on one sandwich, seriously. It was corned beef and pastrami piled about 10 inches high! No Joke! I had a bite of the meat off of one half it was really really yummy! They had super tasty brown mustard and the meat resided on pretty good rye bread.

Dave at half the sandwich and we took the other half to go.

Later that night: The rest of the sandwich. I probably ate 1/4 of the second half so 1/8 of the entire sandwich and it was delicious!

Thursday

We met V for a fun filled days adventure! We started with the Statue of Liberty.

Breakfast: 6 peanut MandMs 3 Honey Wheat Pretzels from the bottom of my bag and a cup of coffee on the ferry to Liberty Island. (I could have planned a little better).

Ferry Ride Bite: Dave bought a street vendor pizza I had a bite it was SUPER yummy, but I couldn't ask for more because I knew he was hungry.

"Lunch": At 3:00 in the afternoon we had finally made it back to Time Square by way of Liberty Island, Ellis Island, Wall Street, Trinity Church....on and on and on...V had expressed his LOVE for pulled pork and when Dave hears PORK he answers the call with action--so Famous Dave's was the sight of PORK for lunch.

Except for me. I had a turkey burger! with Cheese 'Memphis Style' which means it had coleslaw on it. I enjoyed it, mostly I enjoyed trying all the different bbq sauces. I got it with a side of Wilbur Beans...then I figured out why they called them 'Wilbur' beans--Charlot's Web...needless to say I was sad about eating them after that.

O and it was happy hour by then so clearly we needed some Margaritas! mmm

Drinks: We had drinks at the top of the Marriott Marquis hotel in Time Square, because my cousin said that it is fun. So we went and sat at a giant window and enjoyed fun fancy*expensive* drinks! I had white Sangria- it was tasty with a floral taste-Katie met us and it was fun! V is trying to make me a better sharer so I had to share my drink, but luckily he shared his Red Sangria with me so I feel ok about it!!

Dinner: Little Italy! We decided to head towards China Town, but apparently we landed on the border between little Italy and China Town. So we decided Italian food sounded good. But we are really bad at making choices. So finally one of the promoter people outside was like you will like this, you have to have dinner here.

So, we did. And it was good!!

I had gnocchi in bolognese (that I cannot figure out how to spell). Now, I don't like potatoes and usually I don't order gnocchi, but in the interest of trying to eat less flour (I think I am allergic) I thought ok...people like it, and it sounds ok I will give it a go. It was delicious! But I was also able to recognize when I was full...and didn't eat it all!! This is possibly the largest breakthrough I could have had at an Italian restaurant ever! I let Dave finish it.

...And that was all for food in Day 2! We went to the Top of the Rock and checked out the view and it was beautiful and I was tired.

Friday:

Breakfast: Yummy pancakes! We went to the Majestic Dinner-some funny little dinner right in Time Square. I knew now that I would not miss breakfast and eat old pretzels from the bottom of my bag. I ordered the pancakes with sausage links, because usually me and bfast sausage are best friends. But actually I thought they were really gross so I tried 2 bites and I was over it! I didn't even eat a whole 1!!

who am I??

Lunch: Random Pizza place in Time Square-I had a Spinach Roll -spinach and cheese in a bread stick, which was pretty tasty! And a slice of 'lasagna' pizza-it was pretty good, but nothing to special.

Snack Time: Starbucks and street nuts! The nuts doubled as hand warmers until we found the Starbucks!

Dinner: Most Fun Dinner Ever! This was my 'pick' for the weekend. We went to a Chinese place in the Upper West Side that my former New Yorker friend suggested called 'The Silk Road Palace'--It was hilarious! We (Dave, V, and I) met Katie there at 5:30 and it is a good thing we did it got really busy.

Instead of a craft of water for the table they brought crafts of Franzia-boxed wine that just kept coming and coming!! I LOVED IT! You would love it to! I swear.

We clearly did not go for the food, but I ate it anyways. I got Sesame Chix and it was O.K. not exactly hot, but it was fine once I was about 4 glasses of Franzia deep!

Another Street Side Bite: Dave bought chix on a stick from a vendor outside the theater where we had just seen AveQ-which was Great!!

The chix was also great! I only had one bite I would have had more, but I could see the glee in Dave's eyes about his chicken on a stick from a street vendor so I wanted him to enjoy every remaining moment.

Drinks: We got some beers at an Irish Pub next to our seedy hotel. Well I had a beer-Blue Moon! and Dave and V had car bombs and black and tans.

A good idea: was to grab a tray of grocery store sushi from the liquor store next to the bar next to the hotel! Mmmmm it was a good way to tuck myself in. Dave and I shared. It was delicious.

Saturday:

Coffee: Starbucks-totally necessary. And they had Thanksgiving Blend-best kind for sure!

Breakfast: NYC Style Bagels I had Cinnamon raisin toasted with butter. It was good, but a little to buttery.

We were almost late because of the bagel stop over to meet our friends and walk the Brooklyn Bridge! Which was just beautiful!

Flee Market Food: Asian Inspired Hot Dog!! mmm I got the Vietnamese style one. It was an all beef hot dog with pickled dai-kon (an Asian root vegetable), shredded carrot, cilantro, and jalapenos on top. It was SUPER tasty! We shared it among the 3 of us (Dave, V, and I), so it is ok that I also had

Lunch: Famous Gurridos Pizza! It is this super famous New York Style Pizza place. The line was two hours long for reals! So we called in an order and ate it at a nearby park even though it was quite cold. We got 2 large pizzas for the 4 of us and we ate it all!!

1-Was vegetarian because Katie is a vegetarian and that is what I had the most of-Mushroom and Basil
2-MEAT-Sausage and Peperoni-Dave really liked this.

The funniest part of this experience is that I think in the end Virinder- who is a very small man ate the most. Or at least very close to it!

Seriously...I think the next thing we did was eat again

Warm-Up Drinks and Snack: Hot chocolate-the most hotchocolaltey hot chocolate ever and yummy cookies!

Shortly after our warm-up drinks we thought we would seek shelter in Katie's apartment. Unfortunately for us and for everyone in her building there is no heat currently.

Stay Warm Snack at Kate's Apartment while Playing Ucher:
Apple Bubbly Wine that V brought from Albany, Enchanted Carmel Chocolate Chai tea it was really enchanting. OMG it was so cold in her apartment...so after a while we had to go to

Dinner: El Bistro Peruvian restaurant with delicious chips and salsa! I had salmon with a black bean and plantain cake--YUM!

Dave ordered some mojitos so naturally I had a little of that also

Bar: And we finished the night off in Brooklyn with some beers at The Pacific Standard a little California themed bar near the subway. I had 2 delicious beers!
1- was a Russian River beer that had a berry flavor.
2-was a Pumpkin beer with the pumpkin of over 1000 pumpkins in each batch!! AMAZiNG! It really did taste like pumpkin!!

Upon actually writing down everything we did/ate on Saturday I cannot believe how much food we ate....really for real I ate that much in one day??

Sunday:

Breakfast: We met Virinder and Katie back at Carnegie Deli. Dave was obsessed with getting blintz and latke so we did. I ordered the Latke and OMG! They were HUGE!! I ate one whole one and felt soooo full...and I think my arteries actually started to clog.

I also sampled Dave's blintz' and they were tasty! Cherry and Cheese-Yum!

Pickles: The one stop that everyone or at least one of our friends said we had to make was The Pickle Guys! So we went to the Pickle Guy. And it was sort of gross in a way just huge barrels full of pickles in every way possible.

Dave was particularly excited that they allowed us to sample different kinds before making a purchase. We, (Dave, Katie, and I) ended up buying 6 pickles. I had a 'New Horseradish' pickle. It was actually really tasty and I think I needed it to help balance the breakfast grease in my stomach.

After that we walked for miles and miles trying t0 get rid of our heavy breakfast.

Eventually we made it to the airport barely in time to get some Panda Express for the flight home.

WOW we ate a lot of food for a short amount of time.

I have already lost 6 lbs from the night I got home until today...5 days later. That is what you call OUT OF CONTROL!

But I did it. I ate my way through NYC and now...I will be paying for it for weeks to come.

I just have to make the miles count. -- I will add pictures of some of the more amazing foods that we ate once I have them all downloaded!

Good food choices

I have been thinking of making better food choices lately. Even when I don't make the best food choices I am still making better food choices than if I did not think about it just a little bit.

Saturday we went to Costco around 11:30. And me being the breakfast eating kind of person that I am thought consciously before making something tasty at home for breakfast. I decided to wait since I knew that Dave would want to get lunch at the Costco food court. I mean yes I know that the Polish Dog has 12 points. I really understand that, however it is better than what I would normally do which would be eat 6 or so points at home and then go to Costco and eat the additional 12 points for a total of 18. Instead I just fantasized about the Polish Dog with Sour Krout and then enjoyed it!

And then Saturday for dinner...I had DELICIOUS sushi! I ordered a reasonable 2 rolls and enjoyed the heck out of them!

Sunday was a food fest too...but for me it was a healthy food fest. I invited some friends over to make omlets for brunch. We ended up hanging out eating delicious egg white omelets with loads of veggies for a while. We watched some football. I made some meatballs and only had a very few of them myself.

Later I made an impromptu dinner for 6! I was pretty proud of myself! I made grilled chix, spice Italian sausage, pasta with red sauce, a big spinach salad, slightly steamed zucchini! It was great!

We sat around and ate and drank and watched football, so it was pretty great! The best part was that I ate salad, half a chicken breast, and zucchini! I didn't even eat the pasta! I was so proud of myself!!

Best football sunday ever! And it didn't even seem hard to make a good choice. I must be getting better at it or something.

And today I have made several good choices already. 1pt English Muffin, Light and Fit Yogurt with Fiber 1, and 2 bottles of water! I deserve an award for this shit!

:) Good choices bread good choices...which hopefully eventually show around my waist line!

Every day...is a day to recommit to a healthy lifestyle

Sometimes the daily grind can really suck. Today is not one of those days, instead today is a day I feel full of energy and hope for the days to come. I need to bottle this and keep it here in my blog for the next day when I ask how can this healthy lifestyle thing be a lifetime commitment?

Today I did some really good things for me!
1. I stopped at Starbucks...ok not the healthiest thing in the world, but a nice treat for me! And it wasn't all that bad. I stopped and got a vente drip coffee and a reduced fat delicious turkey bacon sandwich. DELICIOUS!
2. I went to Spin! Shea-Ra Princess of Power kicked my ass so good!
3. I met Ann at the Y for a run on the treadmill and a short ab workout and stretch.

So no I didn't do brain surgery, or get a new job, or graduate with honors, or make a 12 layer cake, or ...anything out of the ordinary today. But I feel recommitted!

Today I did things that were good for me and in line with the person I strive to be every morning when I wake up. And that feels really good!

And this sort of attitude might help me lose 25 lbs and it might help me run 26.2 miles. I need more of this and less nachos.

For reals

It's not just me...everyone gains a little weight.

Nicole Eggert is BACK IN BAYWATCH! from Nicole Eggert

Calories In Calories Out...if only I understood basic math better

Today is a sort of typical Friday around my office. It is one of my co-workers birthdays, and in her honor I made mini-cheesecakes! They are pretty cute, well I should say they were pretty cute. Another friend brought in some apple strudel from Costco.

And of course for a special persons birthday we had to go out to lunch. Well, not really had to but we did. I thought I would be good by ordering just an appetizer. I was WRONG. I ordered nachos with chicken.

It was the size of a mountain. I should have taken a picture so I could remember what made me feel the way I feel right now. I thought it looked so wonderful...uhhhh I feel so gross.

But honestly if I could remember the simple version of weight loss, happy healthy body, and just overall fitness.

Calories In + Calories Out = deficit = weight loss...why why is it so simple in theory and so complicated...(i guess complicated is not the correct word choice, maybe the necessity of being deliberate about it) in practice?

I don't think it will ever come naturally for me to choose right, choose best, choose most healthful choice. I can only hope to make better choices and run a little further, a little harder, a little more...

eventually there will be a deficit.

Back at it...and blogging for accountability

Hi! I have re-entered the world of regular exercise. You might think at first...when did she leave? And I don't really have a true answer to that question. As the wedding build up happened I continued working out, but apparently not updating my blog.

Following the wedding...I drank and ate Mexican food. That was definitely my exercise of choice for the honeymoon week. I think I kept doing that for a couple of weeks once back in California also. I might have also indulged in some delicious sushi! But...alas...this working out of my jaw did not help my cause.

So...here I am back on the running, spinning, moving kick.

Yesterday I went out for my first outdoor 5k with my brand spanking new green ipod nano! It was great! Out to a sheep grazing pasture and back.
There was actually a small hill, which felt good.

Today was my first Wednesday back to spin class for the quarter. Denise also known as She-Ra Princess of Power around our office was of course the most amazing instructor ever. I forget how grueling simply 'Push-Pull' can feel.

According to She-Ra the art of spinning is 1. Push-Pull 2. Keep your butt on the seat.

I can guarantee I will be feeling it tomorrow. I mean I might already be feeling it.

But it feels so good!

It has been a long time. I am going to start writing here again. I will do my first for real blog this afternoon...after my spin class that starts soon!

it has been a long time...seems like the story of my life right now.

I went to MI! it was glorious!

Then I came back to CA...it is cloudy...LAME.

Super busy. Still fitting in lots of workouts! I gained 2 lbs in MI for 4 days, but luckily I have already lost that...that is good....

Busy Busy Stress Stress...

trying to keep up the serious work!

O...and my wedding dress now zips!! Woop!

My pudgy brother is the gent on the left. Yes that is correct, the one that looks like his cheeks are about to explode. That is my competition in the game we call life.

His goal is to lose 60 lbs before my wedding on July 4. He is already 25 lbs of the way there!! I will have to get a new pic from this weekend while I am at home in Lowell to update you on the progress.

My secret hope is that the summer weather will make him thirsty again!! :) Then his pudgy cheeks will return!

...with the spring has sprung so has my asthma!!

So I have had asthma for a long time, and usually that is not a big deal. I generally don't use my inhalers or have reduced activity as a direct result...but when spring comes around pollen if flying it really gets to me.

I have a Dr. apt tomorrow morning to get a new inhaler, but until then I just feel short of breath, tired, and lethargic.

I did get out for a few good runs over the weekend! Friday I ran The Dish in 48 min. It's about 4.15 miles I think and it's all hills. I really enjoyed it! It was definitely challenging. That is when my asthma initially started bothering me.

Saturday am I went and did about a half an hour in the gym. 20 min on the elliptical and 15 on the recumbent bike.

Sunday I got up and did a quick! 5K! My fastest on my ipod record! That was pretty great! Lance Armstong came on and told me congrats! 27 min and 40 seconds.

And then Sunday afternoon I went to Rancho San Antornio the cutest park ever! There is a cute little farm and stuff adnd I did about 2 miles with some friends-mixed run walk!

Overall it was a lovely weekend! I hope the dr apt goes well and I can get back at pushing hard.

A relaxed running week

I must admit, the lack of posts is consistent with the lack of energy I have had this week as well as the lack of control over anything in life!! Ahhhhh I feel like I am spinning right now!

First let me rewind, because I had a MAJOR running life accomplishment last Sunday that I have neglected to share. I ran, finished, and did well in my first 5K race!! It was exhilarating! I ran in the Dublin Shamrock Fun Run! It was a community event to go along with all sorts of St. Patrick's Day celebration stuff. Everyone was decked in green and it felt great to be among salt of the earth people! It was filled with families running together, people that were there to enjoy physical activity, and even some people with just it lick of competitive edge!

It was a great combination to get out there and run, as fast and as hard as I could go with 1,000 other people running in a small space!

I finished 27th in the female 20-29 age group and I am totally happy with that time! I did approximate 10 min miles, but in my defense a couple of things. 1-It was crowded 2. We started way back from the start line and the gun was the official start time for everyone 3. There were hills I did not know about or train for 4. Most everyone ahead of me finished with like 6 min miles!! CRAZY!

I was really happy with my time and the experience! I will be doing another 5K in May and I am really excited about it! Maybe I can shave a few min off my time!

And my friend Anne did the run with me!! (that is her and I in the pic!) We had a great time and it was sort of re-begining of running for me! I loved it!

But then this week has been a crazy one...outside of my running life. I have not been sleeping well, I have some sort of a cold or viral infection or something. I just feel rundown and wierd, but I really have not had time to take a day for me. My ankle has been pretty strange lately. I gave myself 2 days off! (tuesday wednesday) and then I did a light warm up of cardio followed by an upper body and abs workout last night. It felt pretty good and I am pretty sore this morning.

Shortly I am going to go out for a run! So that is great! I am trying to keep taking care of myself by both getting enough physical activity and balancing it with the right amount of rest. It is a challenging balancing act for me!

Nervous

I am getting nervous! I know it sounds stupid, but I am nervous about my long run today. My plan is to run for 6 miles on the treadmill. Realistically I will probably job briskly for about 3.5 miles or so maybe even 4.5, but the rest will without a doubt be a struggle.

I am working on feeding/hydrating my body in preparation for my run, but it is always that nervous feeling until then minute I start my run and the first mile and a half. I wonder if it will be an easy day? a hard day? Will I need to pee so bad that I have to stop and restart, because that will not be good for finishing strong.

All the crazy things that run through my head pre-run are insane. I just hope it goes well!!

This was me last Christmas (Christmas 2007) I went home to see the fam for the holidays, and I knew that when I came back to CA post holidays I was starting my new life...on the road to a skinnier and healthier person.

I was significantly heavier then, think about 40 lbs heavier!!

I ate A LOT in preparation for the new life that started just post-new years. I think I got back to California on January 7?

And the journey began. It has not been an easy road! But it's a new way of life for me.

Here is a similar picture...hopefully you can see the change in my face silhouette since then! I sure notice the difference! Think double chin and face so pudgy apparently my eyes would not open! Ok maybe not that extreme, but there is a difference!

Feeling more fit...not showing a lot of loss on the scale

I have been working pretty hard the past two weeks at cardio as well as pushing myself farther/harder to build muscle. I haven't lost really anything at all. There are two reasons for that.

1. I have been eating more. It's simple math if I am burning more calories and eating more to compensate for that. I am not going to lose weight if I eat when I am hungry.
2. I have gained a lot of muscle. I am not a big subscriber to if you gain muscle you don't lose weight. The whole "Muscle weighs more than fat" excuse for not seeing a loss on the scale.

I do believe that muscle weighs more than fat. But I don't think it is a viable reason for not losing weight. If you body has more muscle than it burns more calories at rest? Right?

The bottom line is I need to eat less. I have been making decent food choices, I just need to eat less...the story of my life. Now...how to make that happen...it could be as simple as stop putting food in my mouth, but let's GE (get serious) that is not going to happen.

I think basically I need to make some food swaps...when I reach for ________ I should eat carrots instead or celery. Less calories same amount of food mass in? I wonder if that would work? I mean I know it would work, but would it really satisfy my psychological need?

another day and another spin!

I went spinning today against my initial excuse!

I had a dentist apt this morning and I had plans to give blood in the afternoon because there was a blood drive at my office. I tried to convince myself that giving blood was a good reason not to go spinning, but after I was about halfway through my dentist apt I felt guilty. But unfortunately I didn't bring my workout cloths with my.

So, I went to walmart right after my dentist and bought workout cloths! It wasn't terribly expensive (it was walmart after all) and I need some new stuff anyways. I have like 4 t-shirts and 3 pair of running pants in my rotation, so I am in pretty desperate need of adding to the rotation.

I felt so great after spinning! It kicked my ass like always, which was great. Most importantly I think I got over my mental hurdle. It was nice!

I also gave my blood! And luckily I drank enough water and had a hearty enough bfast and lunch that it didn't really have an affect on the way I felt after giving blood! And I secretly raced my friend, she had no idea, but I beat her!!

1pint of blood is equal to a pound! How great is that! Hopefully it shows on the scale also!!

run run run run

I just went for a 4 mile run on the treadmill!! It's crazy to think about how far my body has transformed in 1 year! Last year at this I was still feeling really good after a 1 mile run! i would push so hard to do 1 mile in under 10 min.

Today I did 4 mils in about 38 min and I feel good. I don't feel particularly winded or like I will be in a lot of pain tomorrow, so I am just really proud of my ability to push my body to knew and different territory.

I am trying to decide if I should do a half marathon in may. Technically I am on track with the training program that I could potentially do it. But I seem to have a commitment problem. It is hard to commit running every day or at least 3 days a week and cross training 5 days a week.

I should do it because really working towards a running goal will help me spur my weight loss and maybe help me get faster??

I am going to have to keep thinking about it. But in the mean time, I am definitely going to keep training as if I am going to run it. For the rest of the week that means spin tomorrow, 4+ miles thursday, 40 min cross of 5K on Friday, and 6 miles on Saturday.

DAY 1

I feel like every day is day 1. Day 1 of a million more days of trying to be a better steward of my body, trying to make better choices of food that goes in, energy spent, relationships built, bad habits broken....the list goes on. Today is day 1 of Confessions of a Pudgy Runner...my new exercise, food, life, chaos blog.

Just a little about Day 1 starting point. I am a 24 year old female who has never been particularly athletic, but I have always thought of fitness as something important and achievable. I played soccer in high school and got in decent shape towards the end of my 4 years there.

In college...I tried to stick to working out regularly. I definitely put on the freshman sophmore junior 15. I severely dislocated my ankle and broke my leg at the end of my junior year and put on a love 20 lbs probably. And I for sure stopped working out. I could barely run a mile when I finally decided enough was enough and I needed to get back to running.

Over the past year I have lost about 40 of my extra lbs that I have carried around. I would like to be running a half marathon in under 2 hours and I would like to lose another 20-40 lbs.

O and I am getting married! July 4, 2009. It would be nice to feel good wearing a white dress in front of 200 people.

Here is to day 1 of the journey of a lifetime!