My first 10 mile run...

So yesterday I ran my first 10 mile run. I started out with just the idea of completing an hour worth of running. While I was running, I started thinking of how far in could run in one stent. I know that I have to start pushing myself if i want to be able to complete my first half marathon in a good time. I also know that I need to be able to run the 10 miles regularly to condition my body and mind. My goal is to complete the 13.1 mile distance in 2:30:00. I feel that this is a time that I can meet if I work hard. I also know that I will have to work hard and press myself. To meet that time I need to get to a pace of around 9min30sec per mile.

When I was roughly half through my initial 60 minute run, I decided that I would try and go 10 miles. I was thinking about how to make myself go the distance even if I got a little tired. I decided that I needed to not do laps around the ISU campus or my neighborhood, I needed to go strait away from my apartment so that no matter what, I had to go the distance to get home.

That idea worked well! I know that if I had just been doing laps around my neighborhood I would sort likely have stopped before I got to 10 miles. But because I chose a course that I had no choice, I was forced to go the 10 mile distance.

I was shocked when I was done! I felt great!! I think that if I had more time, I could have continued on and made it the whole 13.1 mile distance. My time yesterday for 10.1 miles was 1:54:00 roughly. That time also included a five minute warm up walk.

My ending goal will be to run 5 miles, take a 1 minute walk break, run 5 miles, take a 1.5 min walk break, and then power through to the end.

My training has somewhat been based on a 10K distance up until this point, but now I am going to ramp up my training. I am going to start on a 13.1 mile training plan. Ai want to be able to successfully run the 13.1 mile distance without any problem so that I can continue right on into a 26.2 mile training plan. My ending goal, roughly October, is to be able to run a marathon. I am hoping that before Halloween I will be able to successfully be complete a marathon and be able to go to Halloween parties dressed as a runner with my marathon medal as bling!

The half marathon that I will be running is the Indy Mini Marathon. It is the largest half marathon in the nation. My family is planning on being there to watch me take off and then cross the finish line! I cannot wait to party with them after the race and celebrate my accomplishments!

What a surprise!

There is nothing quite as shocking as stepping onto a scale and seeing a number you weren't expecting. I do it most days to make sure that I am not gaining any weight, and hoping that I can loose more. After not seeing a much difference for several weeks I had gotten out of the habit of stepping in the scale so when I did yesterday, I was hocked at what I saw!

I know that the calorie counting has only been happening for about a week but I think it is really going to make a difference. I stepped onto the scale and saw that I had lost more weight. Not only a few more pounds, but it got me to another milestone in my weightless journey!

Officially 60 lbs lost as of February 10, 2012!

I think that the biggest change has been a two parter. First was my 10K race I ran. It reinvigorated me and got me back on track making running a higher priority again. Second is the calorie counting. It is making me very aware I what I am eating and keeping me in a fairly strict 1500 calorie diet.

With the new weight loss I am only 7lbs away from my goal weight! I am so excited about this!

I know several people that tell me counting calories doesn't work. I think that they think that because of what they are eating. If I were eating McDonald's or pizza all day every day, I'd be able to eat only once a day, but with the smart choices that I make with my food, I can have three balanced meals and still have some room for a few small snacks. That's why it works for me.

With weight loss, if it isn't working and you're not getting results, you can't be expected to continue. The only reason that I have been successful is because I have continually been seeing results.

Tomorrow will be the seventh month mark if when I started this long journey. If you had asked me a year ago if I would ever be a runner and be able to loose 60lbs, I would have laughed and continued eating my McDonald's. I look back now and can't think of how I ever let myself be like that. It's easy to look back and see the fault, but it only took that one decision, that one step on my first run to get me to where I am today!

I did it and I was the fattest, most out of shape person! I know anyone can do it when they make the decision and commitment. It isn't when they make the decision, it's if they can. Anyone can do it, but not everyone can make the decision.

Can I really eat this??

As a follow up to my last post about tracking calories, I think there are some flaws.

Today I went for a run. I logged the time and pace into my app and it then tells me how many extra calories I can eat to make up for what I used running.

Even though I have these "extra" calories, should I really use them on a 420 calorie cheese Danish from Starbucks?? My feeling is no, yet I already ate it as it tasted amazing!

The app doesn't take into consideration what I am eating. If I only ate healthy things great, but if I only had a few horrible foods, it would think I'm still doing well because I met my caloric intake goal.

Long story short, I'm still going to have to try hard to make right food choices, even when the bad ones can fit into my calorie goal!

Oh the qualms of a fat runner!!

Did I really eat all that?

Yesterday I downloaded an app for my phone that allows me to keep track of my calories I consume in a day, and it also calculates how many calories I should intake to lose the weight I need to and meet my goal.

I first thought this was great. I could see how many calories I was eating in a day. Then I realized I didn't want to know at all. I couldn't believe how many calories were in the food items I was eating. I knew that some were unhealthy but I didn't realize how unhealthy.

To meet my weight loss goal, the app says I should be eating 1500 calories a day, and when I run, I get to eat more. Yesterday I burned around 1000 calories with a run, so I got to eat much more than I did today. Today I only had my 1500 calories and I thought I was going to die! I know I am not really hungry, but when I am at work (Starbucks) all I want to do is eat the delicious pastries that we sell.

With my app, I can really see how many calories are in those sweet things I love to eat. Needless to say, after finding out just how unhealthy my favorite treats are, I didn't eat anything from the store tonight. It will be much harder for me to eat the food when I am having to watch it e deducted from my calorie bank!

I am so glad I started tracking my calories. I know that that alone won't help me lose weight, the exercise still has to be there, but I will definitely be eating a lot less than I was previously. I recommend that anyone starting on a healthy lifestyle or weightless journey to look into some type of food log or calorie counter. It will ell you see exactly where your big calorie loss is every day. Mine is at night. And I will stop it!! Goo luck!

First Race.... What did I get myself into........

I had found this race online back in December, and told myself that I would do it. When I sent in my registration I was running a distance of 5K a few times a week, so I thought that I would be ready for that distance of a race. Recently, as the race got closer, I had been increasing my mileage some and was able to run the equivalent of a 10K. I was torn as to what to do. The race that I had registered for also offered a 10K and 15K option, but I had only registered for the 5K. I knew that I could run a longer race, but would that be smart?

I was torn as to what to do. I could probably set a really good personal best time running the 5K, but would I feel good about that? I could run the 10K and finish it, but what if my time wasn't very good, would I feel discouraged, which would lead to slacking off on running because I wasn't happy with what I had been able to do? I knew that whatever I did, it had to be my decision, but the problem was that I didn't know what my decision was going to be.

Friday night before the race I drove home (my parents were going with me to the race and my mom was going to do the 5K) and told my parents that I was going to switch to the 10K race. I wasn't sure what would happen, but I was going to give it a try.

When we got to the race location, I told the people at the packet pickup location that I wanted to switch races, and they said it wouldn't be a problem. That was the easy part. I got my bib on, my timing chips tied to my shoes, all my warm clothes on, my iPhone to track my distance and also for music, and I was ready to go.

The nit before the race it had snowed some, so the roads were lightly snow packed. That was one factor working against me already because I had never trained on any other pavement except dry asphalt. There were other people that would make me unconsciously try to keep pace and that might wear me out quicker than I would at my own pace, so another problem. All in all, I was scared I was going to fail, at least in terms of my personal goals for the day.

It was a small race, only 44 people in total running the 10K, and I started in e back of the pack. I didn't want to feel stupid if all the people passed me and I was dead last. I figured it would be best if I just started there.

To my surprise, when the race started, I was able to focus on my own pace, get into a groove, and get moving. And I was actually passing people. I was feeling pretty good, and the snow on the roads wasn't giving me any problems. I was feeling great. That's when I realized that the course wasn't quite what I was expecting. There were hills, and not small hills; hills that had long, steep inclines as well as some a pretty steep downward drops as well. I was feeling ok, but it started making myself freak out about the hills. What if I couldn't make it without walking a lot? What if I was the last one to finish? I would look stupid, at least in my eyes. But I was able to continue. It hurt. I used a lot of muscles that I don't normally have to utilize, and that was worrisome, but I continued on. I was determined to walk less than 5 minutes total the whole time.

I was tracking my distance with my phone so that I knew how much father I had to go, and when I realized that I was almost done I got a little more pep in my step. I wasn't overly familiar with the course and the end point kind of snuck up on me. I finished hard, with my parents cheering me over the finish line.

When I got stopped and caught my breath, I saw that my phone was giving me an unofficial time around 1:08:30. I had estimated my time to be about an hour and five minutes, but with the hills and snow I was feeling pretty good about that time.

I grabbed a drink, dropped my timing chips into the bucket, and went inside (the race started and ended at an elementary school), and went to look at the official time sheets.

I was shocked. My official time was 1:02:34 and I had come in 4th in my age division. I was only a few minutes away from the person that finished 3rd. Shocked didn't even begin to cover how I was feeling.

What a great first race experience, and skipping the 5K and jumping strait into a challenge was exactly what I needed to kick start my running again. I am fully engined and ready to make the push for the Indy 1/2 Marathon in May. I know it will be hard, but I'm going to do it!

The picture is of me and my Mom before my race started.