Running out of my rut.

My mapmyrun(.com) calendar is looking pretty sad lately.  For awhile I was logging about 40 miles a month.  I haven't even run 40 in 2011 yet. 

And I have a 5K in three weeks.  I am totally 100% unprepared.  I know I'll be able run the whole thing and should have no problem finishing under 30 minutes, but I want to PR, dammit!  I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that's not going to happen, since I'd need to shave more than a minute off of my current pace to do so. 

The weather here in lovely upstate NY has been less than stellar so far this spring.  The snow didn't fully melt until, oh, April.  And since then it's been rainy and cold.  Not ideal running weather.  For me anyway.  I'm not that hardcore ;)  And we've already discussed my hatred for the dreadmill.

Knowing that I have the 5K coming up though, I dragged my ass off my sofa yesterday afternoon and strapped on my fancy new running sneakers.  Purple!  And they're Nike Ipod+ compatible! 

 Can you say reflective? 

Ipod+ might be the coolest thing ever.  No more checking my watch every few feet minutes to see how long I've been running, trying to guess how far I've gone and what my pace is.  Now the magic lady on my Ipod tells me all of that whenever I'd like to hear it!  Totally made running more fun.  On a side note, it also told me that my favorite quick run through my neighborhood is a tenth of a mile shorter than I had previously calculated.  Oops. 

I'm actually excited to get out of my office and go for another run this afternoon just so magic Ipod lady can talk to me!  I think I shall name her Sophie.  For no other reason than it's the first name to pop in my head. 

So, Sophie, are you ready for me?  Just don't tell me today that my pace is above 10min/mile, okay?  I'd like to keep our relationship civil.

Confession to myself.

I haven't been being honest.

See this pretty little weight tracker from my Spark People page?

It looks pretty great, right?  I'm so close to the finish.

If only I was being honest.

I was honest when I logged that beautiful 133 back in, oh, October.

I even managed to get down to 131.5 for a few glorious days.

And even better than that, I stayed put at 132 throughout the ENTIRE holiday season.  I call that an accomplishment.

Somewhere along the line in January, though, I got horribly off track.  In my own defense, I had a very busy social calendar. 

And as previously discussed, I don't do well when I'm walking through life tired and hungover.

I still went to boot camp once or twice a week and played volleyball a few times but other than that, I got almost no exercise for a full 6 weeks.  I have no excuse other than pure laziness on my part.  I also ate like crap.  Those six days in St. Louis were brutal... mexican and margaritas, way too much wine, late night drunk-sledding followed a trip to White Castle, etc, etc, etc...

Somewhere near the end of January, I reluctantly stepped on the scale.

137.

Oh.  My.  God.

I mean, I guess I wasn't truly shocked.  5lbs isn't all that much when you consider the crap I put in my body, but damn.  I was so happy at 132. 

Enter February and slightly warmer weather.  I got back on the exercise train with a couple outdoor runs and I've been going to spin class at least twice a week and playing volleyball every Thursday.  And I've gotten my eating back on track.  For the most part.  I eat so well Monday-Friday then blow it every weekend with multiple course meals and far too much alcohol. 

So explain to me why I was surprised when I stepped on the scale Saturday morning to see it read 137.8. 

Surpisingly though, I don't feel all that bad about myself.  My clothes still fit, only some pants are a bit tight and I think I look pretty damn good.

I've come to a conclusion though.  This high-maintenance, calorie-tracking, exercise-fiendish lifestyle I try to live really isn't condusive to my wine-loving, social-hostessing, all-around-fun life.

So in an effort to be honest with myself, I'm changing my weight-tracker to reflect this weight gain and I plan to be fully honest with how well (or not well) I'm eating and not let a few nights of fun hinder my progress.

Ah, honesty... be nice to me please.

The day I pulled a muscle blowing my nose.

Isn't that a lovely title for my 100th post?

100.  100!  Let's see... accomplishment or failure?  Accomplishment as in I've actually written 100 posts.  Failure as in it's taken over a year and I still have next to no readers.  Oh well. 

Back to the topic at hand. 

I really wish I was making this up.  I seriously pulled (strained?) a stomach muscle yesterday during a violent coughing, nose blowing extravaganza.  I walked around most of the evening holding my side.  And you know how when it hurts to laugh, all you want to do is laugh?  Yeah.  That happened.  Thankfully it doesn't hurt nearly as bad today. 

And ooh!  Today!  Boot camp started again today.  Much to husband's chagrin.  I compromised though... I'm only going to be going once a week this session.  Hopefully it will be enough to make my soft parts hard again (take that however you'd like) and motivate me to get to spin class and/or the gym two or three times a week.  I need to sign up for a few races.  That should get me moving.  I like having a goal... working out for the sole purpose of working out doesn't do it for me.  Knowing I could embarrass myself at a race I haven't prepared for?  All the motivation I need.

How's that for a completely random and utterly pointless 100th post?

ha.

Winter makes me lazy...

Pretty sure I posted almost this exact same thing last year. 

I'm having a problem keeping up with my workout routine.  Boot camp ended the week before Christmas and I'm embarrassed to admit that I've only worked out twice since.  Ugh. 

Granted, the holidays definitely got in the way.  It's kinda hard to find time to workout when you're running yourself ragged shopping, cooking, decorating, baking, cleaning, entertaining, etc. 

"But Carolyn, why don't you just get up at the ass-crack of dawn like you're used to and go to the gym before starting your day?  What's that?  Oh.  Right."  WINTER MAKES ME LAZY.

Here's the problem.  I despise the gym.  And avoid it at all costs.  Running on a treadmill is about as fun as being punched in the face.  Or so I imagine, as I've never been punched in the face. 

I really tried to pry my butt off the couch last night but failed miserably.  I even found myself doing laundry to distract myself.  And laundry is seriously my least favorite chore.  Alas, laundry beat out going to the gym.  Things must be pretty bad.

I really, truly just want to go outside for a run, dammit!!  That's what makes me happy.  That's what I enjoy.  What I do not enjoy, however, is cold weather.  (But I love snow.  Figure that one out.)  I'm not a fan of freezing my face off for the first 10 minutes of a run only to find myself sweating, wishing I hadn't worn so many layers.

And it's dark pretty much all the time now.  And my neighborhood has no street lights.  And lots of traffic.  This does not bode well for a relaxing run.  'Cause you know, I'd prefer not to be run down by the speeding teenagers on my street. 

And yes, I've considered purchasing appropriate cold weather running gear.  But I'm cheap.  If I'm gonna spend money on clothing, I want it to be cute clothing that I can wear out.  Not semi-attractive spandex-type stuff that I can't wear for anything but running.

Ah, complaining.  I'm pretty good at it, no? 

Moving on.  I think the plan will be to give myself a break through the end of the year and then jump back into my routine.  Boot camp starts on January 18th and I bought a spin class membership.  I can tell you with 100% certainty that I will NOT be at the gym in January though... need to give all those resolution-makers out there a chance to lose motivation.

The incredible shrinking Carolyn

So. Saturday marked the end of another session of Boot Camp. Insert sad face here. Unless you're my husband who is overjoyed for it to be over. I guess he likes it when I'm actually awake when he gets home from work, as opposed to being sound asleep thanks to my little friend, Ambien, in preparation for my 4:30am wake up calls. Can't complain... it's nice to be wanted.

Anyway. At Boot Camp, before our 30 minute run and relay workout, we were measured. Gotta tell ya... I was a bit nervous this time. My eating has been less than stellar over the past few weeks. I was really starting to miss wine. And carbs.

In true Carolyn fashion, however, I ate like a champ the day before and limited my sodium intake to, you know, lessen the belly bloat on measurement day.

And guess what?

It worked!

Or maybe it really was all the hard work I put into my workouts. Go figure.

Onto the results:

I'll start from way back in July when I first posted my accomplishments. Just because I know you want the refresher. Not at all because I like to gloat. ha

(Numbers are from 6/19/10, 7/29/10 and 10/23/10)

weight: 145 - 138.5 - 132.5
bicep: 11.25" - 10.5" - 10.25" (Guns, baby!)
chest: 36.75" - 36" - 35" (This is starting to scare me... I'm out of back fat so it means that yes, my boobs are shrinking. Sorry husband.)
waist: 30" - 28.5" - 27.5" (I seriously uttered a "nuht uh" when she read that measurement. The lack of sodium the day before must've worked wonders. I don't really think this is accurate on a daily basis, but whatever.)
hips: 39" - 37.25" - 36" (woo hoo!!)
thigh: 21" - 20" - 20" (No change. Poo. Although my thighs are seriously solid so I guess I can't complain.)

So as you can see, my body is still working it's magic and ridding itself of unsightly fat. When I first started, my goal weight was 132. But now that I'm so freaking close, I'm pushing for 130. And when I get there, I'm sure I'll want to go further because OH MY GOD, haven't seen the 120s since my teens!!

And now for some more oh-so-lovely "after" pics.


Honestly though, I think I look quite bloated in these pics. Must've been a bad sodium day. I feel like my stomach looks flatter than that in real life.



And shut up. Cameras DO lie.











Still have a slight belly bulge. Judging from my mother though, I don't think I'll ever rid of it. She's taller and proportionately thinner than I am and has had one her entire life.


Ooh, but look! Or don't, if you happen to be my brother reading this. I have (kind of) an ass! All of those walking lunges are paying off!


Be gone, flat-ass syndrome, be gone!

New me?

So I'm in desperate need of an update here...

I was just scrolling through my archives. And laughing at myself as I scrolled. I can't believe some of the crap I've written over the past 9 months or so.

As evidenced by my last post, I've made a pretty drastic life-style change recently. And I'm happy to say that it truly has become a life-style change and I can't imagine going back to the way I was before.

It all started a few weeks before I began Boot Camp Challenge in June. I'd just finished running my first 5K (did I even post my results? I'll have to check...) and I was prepping myself for Boot Camp... i.e. running at least 4 days a week and starting to cut calories. Any normal person probably would've just waited til the class started but I wanted a "good" mile time during testing at the first class. God forbid I show up and show them all how horribly out of shape I really was.

Anyway, a BIG part of Boot Camp Challenge is nutrition. My fabulous instructor really focused on the fact that you cannot make a big change to your body with fitness alone. I've really embraced this theory, and holy shit, it worked! To track my nutrition, I've been using an amazing site called SparkPeople . I cannot even describe how helpful it's been to my transformation.

It's really easy to track my food intake on the site and I've found that it's become kind of a game to me... it's fun to see how much food (wine!) I can squeeze into a day while staying within my calorie limits. I'm also having a blast discovering new low-cal foods and healthier versions of recipes I've made in the past.

SparkPeople also has some pretty great articles and features. I've made even made a few online friends through the site who help keep me in check using things like a daily accountability message board.

On top of my nutrition make-over, I think completely differently now about exercise. Boot Camp has been AMAZING, to say the least. I've learned that I can push myself to limits I never thought I'd reach. I used to be such a lazy worker-outer... I'd go to the gym, get on a treadmill for 20 minutes, think to myself "eh, at least I did something" and leave, probably having burned only 150 calories. Then I'd go home and eat a bowl of pasta, wondering why I wasn't losing weight. I'm a smart one, I am.

I'm now seriously in love with exercise. I even dragged myself out for a tranquil run through the Hamptons while on vacation last weekend. I've NEVER worked out on vacation before. And I honestly think I'm in better shape than I ever have been. It's a nice feeling.

Ok, now that I feel like I've updated the blog-world on who I've become (am becomming?), I feel better. Looking at my old posts is almost embarassing. Here's hoping I continue this upward battle towards life-style improvement!

Progress.

Kinda can't believe I'm doing this.

But I'm proud of myself.

6 weeks of Boot Camp Challenge, running and healthy eating actually worked! Imagine that!

So to completely embarrass myself, I'm putting my before and after pictures out there for the world to see. Maybe it'll keep me accountable. There's no way in hell I'm going back to the way I looked before. I didn't realize I had a back roll until I saw the picture. How do you miss an entire, foldy, pudgy backroll?? Seriously.

Today was the last day of boot camp for a few weeks. We tested and were measured, the same as we were on day 1. I knew I'd improved my endurance and strength and I lost about 5% of my weight but I had no idea I'd improved this much. I lost a total of 5.75 inches. Amazing. And I really increased my strength and endurance.

And just so you don't think I'm making all this up, here are my stats:

Measurements: (first number listed is from 6/19/10, second is from today, 7/29/10)

• weight: 145 - 138.5 (first time under 140 in over 3 years... YAY!!!!!)
• bicep: 11.25" - 10.5"
• chest: 36.75" - 36" (At first I thought my boobs were shrinking... then I realized it was actually the back fat!!)
• waist: 30" - 28.5" (Only an inch and a half, but I'm completely out of my tens and almost back into sixes!)
• hips: 39" - 37.25"
• thigh: 21" - 20" (They do, however, still touch in the middle. Ick.)
  

Endurance/Strength:

• mile run: 8:52 - 7:57 (7:57?!! That's faster than I ran during track in high school. This surprised the hell out of me.)
• 2 minutes of full sit-ups: 43 - 59 (Abs of steel, baby, abs of steel)
• 2 minutes of push-ups: 9 - 16 (I seriously suck at push ups)

Not so bad, huh? I was pretty impressed with myself. Feeling a bit smug today ;)

Stats aside, I feel so much healthier. I have more energy and I'm happier. I ran most of the days in between boot camp classes and am consistently running 10 minute miles and I'm up to about 3.5 miles per run. Not to mention that I don't drink as much wine (GASP!) so when I do, I get drunk pretty much immediately. Bonus! haha

Seriously though, I'm so glad I did this. It's such a motivation to see results. Classes start again in 3 weeks and I can't wait!

Now here's what you've been waiting for. Prepare yourselves. I wasn't lying about the back fat.

(Befores on the left, afters on the right.)





So there you have it.

And just so no one gets the wrong idea, 'cause we all know I put way too much emphasis on what others think about me, I didn't post this to brag. I'm seriously proud of myself. I worked my ASS off over the past 6 weeks and it paid off.

Now for a relaxing weekend away in Montreal. Here's hoping I don't gain all the weight back ;)