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.

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.

My first (and probably last) Troy Turkey Trot

I'm having trouble remembering why I thought it would be a good idea to sign up for the Turkey Trot.  Stupidity, perhaps?  My husband will whole-heartedly second that sentement.   Dragging him out of bed at the crack of dawn (well, 8am) to stand outside in the frigid cold was not in anyone's best interest. 

We were all a little cranky this particular Thanksgiving morning.  Hangovers, sub-freezing temperatures and relentless crowds will do that to you.  But on we went.

Sis and me trying to stay warm, pre-race.

Where's Waldo?  Oh, there she is in the middle trying not to freeze her face off.

We look happy, don't we?  That's because our mouths are frozen in that position.

I kid.  Kind of.  The race was (semi) fun but OMG was it cold.  My toes were literally numb for the first half of the race.  I didn't actually ever truly warm up.  And do you know how hard it is to run when you're sucking in cold air? 

One more complaint.  WAY too many people.  There was something like a total of 7,000 people running.  Most of whom ran the 5K with me.  I can't tell you how many 7 years old I came thisclose to running down.  I ended up running the majority of the race on the side of the road.

When I signed up for the Trot, I had silly visions of live turkeys kicking off the race.  You know, running down the road for all of us to chase.  How fun would that be?  (Do you ever wonder where my mind is?  I do.) 

Alas, there were none of these at this so-called "turkey" trot.

But we did have one of these!

There are no pictures of me running this race because I got totally disoriented toward the end and didn't know which side of the road husband would be on.  I apparently ran right by him, unnoticed. 

My goal for the race was to simply finish under 30 minutes.  I ran with the group in the beginning, at a pace significantly slower than my usual.  I picked it up around the mile and a half mark, hoping to make up time.  I never really hit a good pace because of how crowded it was.  I was so surprised that the road never opened up.  I was constantly maneuvering myself around people.  But even with all of the elements working against me, I managed to finish at a respectable 29:17.  Nowhere close to my PR but I was satisfied.  

And freezing.

So can anyone tell me why we decided to go for a post-race ice-cold beer? 

Stupidity, perhaps?  haha

A tale of three 5Ks.

Never again will I attempt what I did this weekend. Back to back 5K races. One Saturday morning and another Sunday morning. So much fun but so incredibly exhausting!

My foray into 5Ks began in May when I signed up for the Freihofer's Run for Women... a wildly popular race with over 4,000 runners. It was a great way to break into races because there were so many women there, at all different fitness levels. I half-heartedly trained for about 3 weeks prior to the race and set a goal to simply finish. No time restraints this time. I ended up doing fairly well for my first run, only stopping to walk twice for about 30 seconds each time. I finished with a time of 33:54. Not great, but I did it. And here's the icky, sweaty proof.



I am not one of those pretty girls after a workout. I sweat. It's disgusting ;)

Anyway.

Shortly after that race was when I began my Boot Camp Challenge classes. I also continued running on days in between boot camp. Over the summer, I became much more fit (imagine that, ha!) and dramatically increased my pace and became more and more confident in my running abilities.

About a month ago, I decided to sign up for a couple more 5Ks. There are a TON of them this fall in my area. After signing up for one for Sept. 12 and one for Oct. 2, my boot camp instructor approached me about doing another one. On Sept. 11. I couldn't say no, even though I'd now be running two races in one weekend. I figured at least I wouldn't have to put in an actual workout that weekend now ;)

Now it's Sept. 15 and I finished both races. My goals going into them were to finish sub 30 minutes. I've been running pretty consistently lately at about a pace of about 9:30. So I figured depending on how hilly the courses were, finishing under 30 minutes was do-able.

I started the race on Saturday at a pace a little faster than I'm normally comfortable with but I felt okay, so I kept going. When I reached the mile #1 marker, I looked at my watch and saw that it read 8:24. What??! Continuing on, I reached mile #2 at 16:28... I shaved 10 seconds off my pace! Mile 3 was tough... uphill ALL. THE. WAY. I want to know who the cruel person is who set the course to finish on an uphill! Ugh! Even though I slowed down for that awful mile, I never once stopped to walk and crossed the finish line at 26:28. I seriously can't even tell you how proud I was. I blew my goal time out of the water! Here's an oh-so-lovely picture of me crossing the finish line.



I look stunned. Maybe it's because I don't know how the hell I managed to run so fast... 8:31/mile average! Or maybe it's because I was dumbfounded that I came in second in my age group. Second, people! Perks of crossing that 3-0 threshold, ha!

So after my impressive run on Saturday, I set a goal for Sunday to beat that time. I knew the course wouldn't be nearly as hilly so I figured I could do it. Sunday morning came and I was pretty sore... I started to doubt myself but stretched and stretched and began the run! I hit mile #1 at 8:44... normally I'd be ecstatic with that, but I knew if I didn't speed up, I wouldn't beat Saturday's time.



So I set my sights on the two chatty-Cathy college girls ahead of me who honestly hadn't even broken a sweat and picked up my pace and finished at 25:57!!! As I was rounding the corner toward the finish line, I saw the clock approaching 26:00 and sprinted across the line just before it hit.



I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging but I am so incredibly proud of myself. My pace for this race was 8:22. A few short months ago, that didn't seem even kinda possible.



What a truly great weekend I had. As I said earlier, running two races in one weekend was tough, but in the end, I'm glad I did it. Now to rest up and prepare for my final 5K of the season on Oct. 2!

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 ;)

I think I've lost my mind...

In addition to the 5K I signed up for (it's a week from Saturday... EEK!!) I registered for a Boot Camp Challenge session yesterday.

Seriously, what the hell was I thinking???

I'm horribly out of shape.

And the class meets twice a week at 5:45am and on Saturdays at 6:45am.

Have I mentioned that I am NOT a morning person? Quite the opposite, in fact. I prefer staying up late and often find myself starting a huge project, like laundry or house cleaning at 11pm. And I love Love LOVE sleeping in.

I proudly exclaim to husband every weekend, after rolling out of bed at the crack of, um, 10:30am that "sleeping in is my FAVORITE!"

So. I obviously need to make a lifestyle change if I expect myself to be up and ready for an intense workout pre-sunrise. Or fake an injury to get out of it altogether.

I kid.

I figured I might as well start my new routine this morning, even though the class doesn't start for 3 weeks. And I've got to get my ass in gear and train more diligently for the 5K. Alas... alarm went off at 7:30 this morning.

Uuuuggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Somehow I managed to get out of bed, narrowly avoiding stepping on Miles, make my across the room, get dressed and get out the door.

Not so bad thus far.

Then I started my run. I stupidly picked a loop this morning that starts on a pretty major incline. I barely made it to the top. After the hill from hell, my run wasn't so bad. I managed to make it about 1.7 miles before dying. I wasn't happy with myself for having to stop and walk but I seriously thought I was gonna pass out.

Damn you, irregular heartbeat.

I walked the remaining .3 miles back to the house. Miraculously though, my time was great. Before I tell you how I did, let's please keep in mind that I'm a slow runner. And when I say slow, I mean slow. I'm not trying to be all "woe is me, I only run a 9 minute mile... Gawd, I'm so slow." I really am slow. I expect to come in close to last place at the race next weekend. So much for self-confidence ;)

Last year when I was running regularly, my pace was between 12 and 13 minutes a mile. That seemed perfect for me. I could maintain my pace and run for 3-4 miles.

This morning my pace was just over 11 minutes a mile. And that included the walking. I really don't understand how I've picked up my pace so drastically... especially with the 5lbs I've gained since last year and the lack of a regular fitness routine.

I blame this increased speed however, for the fact that I haven't been able to make it farther than 2 miles on a single run so far this season. I really need to regulate. If I don't get my pacing under control, I don't think I'll be able to finish the 5K running. And it would be a total embarrassment (to moi) to have to walk with all of those people watching. Maybe I should invest in one of those runner's watch thingies. Anybody have any suggestions??

Running like the wind...

So I've been off to a fairly good start with my non-resolution to pick up running again. I'm actually impressing myself. Since last week, I've been running at least 3 miles each time I make it to the gym. Just don't ask me how many times that has been ;)

To keep this routine up, I need some motivation by way of actually signing up for a few 5ks. I'm not sure where to start though... I know they exist around here. I always seem to hear about them after they're over, though. Please help. I need a recommendation or 3 of a good race. And a running partner. Who's slow.