Dinner, New-er Book, and Success

This was our dinner tonight.  I didn't finish all of it, but it was good!  It is parmesan encrusted tilapia (a huge hit for everyone in our house), Persian super basmati rice, and steamed broccoli with a little Molly McButter on top.  The kids can't get enough of the parmesan tilapia and they love rice plain.  Broccoli, on the other hand, is only a hit with mom and dad!

I know that in one of my recent posts I said that I was going to read Ultramarathon Man.  I had every intention to do so, but my great sister-in-law said that Born to Run was the buzz book at the moment.  I went to amazon.com and looked it up, and the premise was much more interesting than UMM.  I'm about 80% done with BtR, and I LOVE it.  Christopher McDougall did a great job with the book.  It feels more like a narrative than a running how to book.  He definitely favors barefoot running.  It makes me a little excited to take my fivefingers out for a run soon.  He looks into the science and history of running in an interesting way.  Two amazing runners who have inspired me (thanks to the book) are Emil Zatopek and Scott Jurek.  They were/are amazing people who happen(ed) to also be great athletes.  They're definitely worth looking up on Wikipedia.

Success- I met my running goal for today!  It was so pretty exhilarating :)
Here's a breakdown of my run:
4 miles @5.5mph
0.5 miles @5mph
0.5 miles @4.5mph
The rest @4mph

Total miles = 5.51
Total calories burned = 986

I have to say that I am incredibly grateful for my running partner, Terilyn.  She's the reason I was able to finish my first 5K in just over 33 minutes, and it is so much easier to run 4+ miles with her on the path or treadmill with me.  If you're trying to pick up running, a running friend is invaluable.  I'm good at pushing myself, but I am more determined when I know that someone else is counting on my to reach the goals I've set for myself.  Having a blog to keep me accountable has also been great.  I appreciate all of the blog comments, e-mails and Facebook comments I receive from people who read my posts.  It definitely helps me keep my eye on the prize.

Terilyn and I are scouting out 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons!  It's possible that we will attempt a half marathon in the fall :)

Sometimes the Scale is Not Your Friend, and that's Okay

Today when I weighed in I was surprised to see a 0.7lb gain.  It really didn't bother me because I knew that it wasn't from lack of exercise or watching what I had consumed.  I was expecting weeks like this because I've lost weight before and I know that sometimes your body needs a week or two to breathe and take in the ridiculous amount of change you're forcing on it.  Hopefully I'll have a really great loss next week, but if I don't, that's okay too.  I know that I will reach my goal.

Things that are improving in spite of the scale:
- I had to buy new work out shorts because most of my old pairs are falling down when I run
- My small jeans are starting to get a bit loose
- I can fit into shirts I haven't been able to in years
- I can wear my engagement ring for the first time since Daniel was born

I met my running goal for Friday!  I was really proud of myself.
This is what my run looked like:
3.5 @5.5mph
0.5 @5mph
0.5 @4.5mph (I can actually walk at this pace now...weird)
The rest @4mph until my 5 minute cool down

Total miles = 5.32
Calories burned (according to the machine, taking into account my weight and age) = 921

This week, I'm going to aim for 4 miles @5.5mph.  I might even try to throw in a little bit of 6mph in there.  I am really hoping to be able to run a 10K in the near future.  I am seriously enjoying running.  I used to scoff when someone said they ran for 8 miles.  Now, running eight miles sounds like a blast!

*Fun Fact*
According to an expert in Runner's World Magazine, if you work out for longer than an hour, your body needs electrolytes.  On my running days, I never felt like I could get enough water (even when I was drinking 4 liters per day).  Apparently, I needed to get some electrolytes in after working out.  Another fun fact, peaches are a great natural source of electrolytes.  I just picked some up at the commissary today ;).

Dinner, New Book and Goals

  Here's a picture of my dinner tonight.  Dinner consisted of baked herb-lime salmon, a little Persian super basmati rice and baked sweet potato fries.  It was all really good.  The salmon wasn't the most exciting recipe I've tried, but it was pretty quick and easy.  We're trying to eat fish on a regular basis, so I'm trying all kinds of recipes.  If anyone has an awesome tilapia or salmon recipe, please shoot it my way ;)  My favorite snacks right now are low-fat cottage cheese, almonds and blackberry Greek yogurt. 

Photo taken on my iPhone

I decided to buy a new book on the Kindle today.  It's called Ultramarathon Man.  I never plan on being an ultramarathoner, but I am hoping to run a marathon next year and I think it would be interesting to see what he went through to become the crazy runner that he is today ;).  It's supposed to be a running "classic."  I'll let you guys know once I finish it. 

I have been working on setting goals for my running days.  It really helps keep me motivated.  I'm trying to up my speed and endurance, so it's good to know what to aim for.  Yesterday, my goal was 3 miles at 5.5mph, 0.5 miles at 5mph and the rest of my time at 4mph.  I felt so proud of myself for pushing through all three miles at 5.5.  I beat my 5K pace :)  Tomorrow, my goal is 3.5 miles at 5.5mph, 0.5 miles at 5mph and 4mph for the rest.  Next week, I'm going to start working on 6mph.

As far as weight goals go, I would like to lose over 100 lbs by the time all is said and done.  I've still been mulling over the idea of posting before and after pictures on here.  I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to post my month by month pictures once I've lost about 60 lbs. 

Saturday is my weigh in day.  I'll try to post a blog so I can update on my progress :)

-36, New Running Shoes and Today's Run

As of Sunday morning I've lost 36 lbs :) I tried to post a blog yesterday but Blogger kept acting up.  Super lame.  Anyway, 36 lbs down feels like a huge accomplishment.  I have so much more to lose, but I'm making great progress.  I took my month two picture yesterday night and there was definitely a marked difference from last month's.  I'm thinking that when I get closer to my goal I'll post my month by month pictures so people can see.  For now, there are four or five people that I send the pictures to.  It helps keep me accountable and it reminds me that I have a great support system in place. 

I got new running shoes on Friday!  The shoes I had been running in were not really intended for running, and they were a couple years old.  I decided to try out Nike's new LunarGlide+ 3.  Here's a picture

They're a bit louder than my typical exercise shoes, but they fit great and the cushioning is excellent for long runs.  I think I still need to break them in a bit, but overall, I think they're great.

Today I decided to add a bit of length to my run and try to kick up the pace a bit.  Here's what my work out looked like:

1 mile @ 5.5mph
1 mile @ 5mph
1 mile @ 5.5mph
.5 mile @5mph
1.5 miles @4mph
Cool Down
Weight Training
Stretch

It is amazing that 5 mph feels pretty easy for me now.  A few weeks ago I was struggling to jog @4.5!  I'm really hoping to make my way up do 6+ mph.  Will and I were running next to each other today and he had his treadmill up to 8.4 for a little bit and I was green with envy.  I can't wait to be able to run that fast even for a few minutes! 

Current Running Playlist

I promised my running playlist, so here it is :)  I want to preface this by saying that this list isn't indicative of my general taste.

"Till the World Ends" Britney Spears - I've never owned a Britney Spears album in my life, but for some reason this song makes me want to run.  Double embarrassing...it was also written by Kesha (I refuse to do the dollar sign ;)).

"I Wanna Go" Britney Spears - See note above ;)

"Parachute" Ingrid Michaelson - I love her, and this is just a fun song.

"Stronger" Kanye West (Clean) - "Tha-tha-tha-that don't kill me can only make me stronger"  It's something that I like to be reminded of when I'm starting my second mile ;)

"Starry Eyed" Ellie Goulding - I love her!  She's British and I really fell in love with her version of Elton John's "Your Song."

"Lights" Ellie Goulding

"Hate On Me" Glee Cast

"Gold Digger" Glee Cast

"Crazy in Love" Beyonce & Jay Z - I just love this song.

"Wonderman" Tinie Tempah &  Ellie Goulding - My friend Seanna introduced me to this song.  I'm such a dorkie anglophile, so I was in love from the moment her rapped the word petrol ;).

"Set Fire to the Rain" Adele - Adele is probably my favorite vocalist.

"Uprising" Muse

"Airplanes" B.O.B. & Haylie Williams

"Dog Days are Over" Florence & the Machine

"Hallelujah" Paramore

"Love Stoned/I Think She Knows" Justin Timberlake -  A lot of his songs would make decent running songs, but I like this one.  If I play it at the end of my work out the second half makes for good cool down music.

Okay, that's all I have for work out music today.  I am now down 35 lbs!  I'm keeping to my schedule, but today I got to go to the gym super early (5:30) and without the kids.  It was nice not having to be in the family room because the equipment there is somewhat limited.  This morning I shortened my bike ride a bit and added 10 minutes on a rowing machine.  I love rowing machines!  I'm hoping to add some rowing on to my work out at least once a week :).  I hope that everyone is doing well!  I'll try to post again on Sunday.

Work Out Plan for the Week

I have been surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response to my last post.  Since I've been getting messages from people wanting me to continue on the subject of getting healthy/losing weight, I thought that I'd go through my typical week as far as work outs go.  I took some notes the last couple of days so I could share. 

Monday - Wednesday - Friday

- 65 minutes on the treadmill
     - Run 3 miles @5mph (my knees are still a bit sore from the 5K, so I'm saving 5.5mph and above   for next week)
     - Walk for the rest of the 60 minutes @4mph and then do a 5 minute cool down
- 3 sets of 12 reps on all of the weight training machines
- A ridiculous amount of stretching
- At home - 150 crunches on a work-out ball

Tuesday - Thursday - Saturday

- 65 minutes on an elliptical
     - The interval setting at a decent pace (typically burns about 780+ calories)
- Bike 35 minutes with a bit of resistance (typically burns about 160-170 calories)
- At home - 150 crunches on a work-out ball
     - A couple of rounds of Wii boxing

It may seem a bit excessive to some, but it's working really well for me.  I actually love to work out.  I'm able to spend so much time at the gym because our base has a family room with a children's area.  I  work out while watching my kids :)  I push myself really hard, so my legs are typically a bit on the sore side.  I told my mom that I end up walking around smelling like a tic tac thanks to icy hot.  According to her, my new perfume is Eau de Icy Hot :) 

I asked people on Facebook to share some of their favorite running songs the other day, so I'll try to share some of mine in the next few days.  I absolutely have to have music while running or it feels like a chore. 

I'm still trying to work up the courage to post my month by month pictures on here.  I have the first month's pictures, but I am taking the second month's after pictures on Sunday. 

I ran a 5K! *And other thoughts on working out/being healthy*

Here's a picture of me in all my sweaty, tired post 5K glory :)  I still can't believe that I did it, but I actually ran a 5K!  I'll get into the race in a minute, but first I'm going to explain how I even ended up running it.

I started working out really hard at the gym 6 days a week about two months ago.  I was in TERRIBLE shape.  The worst in my life.  I would (and still do) work out for 1.5-2 hours each day, and I really pushed myself.  It hasn't been easy, but it's been ridiculously rewarding! 

In the past two months I've:

*Lost 32 pounds (thanks to the exercise and changing my eating habits pretty drastically)
*Gone down two jean sizes
*Yesterday I got to order a pair of jeans from American Eagle in a size that I haven't worn since early high school!  I'm just getting into the lowest size I currently own :)
*I can run after my kids without feeling like I'm going to collapse
*I can go up multiple flights of stairs without feeling winded
*I can run!  5.5 mph for 3 miles!
*I actually like going out with friends again...I'm not completely ashamed of the way I look
*My mood has been 100% better

Honestly, that list could go on and on.  There are a ton of things that have improved since I started exercising more regularly, but I want to get on to the 5K.  I started jogging about two weeks ago.  I have never been a jogger/runner.  Even in High School when they had us do the mile run test, I would speed walk and when the gym teacher would look at me, I'd add a bounce to my step ;).  In June, my sister-in-law ran her first full marathon.  Her knee went out on mile 3 and she kept running. I couldn't believe it.  I decided that if she could finish a marathon with a bum knee, I could at least try to jog one full mile!  So I went to the gym and made myself jog a full mile at 4.5mph.  Will was running next to me and he was cheering me on, which was so great!  From there I started trying to add distance until I finally got up to jogging 3 mph without stopping at 4.5mph. 

Friday morning, I got a facebook message from a friend saying that a race that was supposed to be a 10K was changed at the last minute to a 5K.  At first I wasn't going to run it, but I changed my mind when we pulled up to the gym.  I'd only ever jogged on a treadmill, so I was a little nervous.  Luckily, my friend was there and we were able to run the race together and encourage each other.  She was so great at getting me to push myself!  I finished the race at 33 minutes and 29 seconds which is about 5.5mph!  That's a full mph better than I have ever done on the treadmill.  I'm planning on running more 5Ks as the come along and hopefully working up to 10Ks soon.  I want to run the Dublin marathon in October of 2012, so I'm working my way up to that!

I think this blog will probably be a mix of cooking/baking and a way to keep myself honest about weight loss and exercise.  I've been so busy working on getting healthy that I haven't had a ton of extra time lately, and I wasn't sure that anyone would be interested in a blog about exercise.