I have subscribed to PrayFit for quite some time and today's story just really resonated with me. Please take a moment and read it:
http://www.prayfit.com/2014/08/its-a-runwalk-2/
Let me tell you my story...
For some strange reason, when I was in 6th grade I decided to join Cross Country when I moved to 7th grade. I know Mr. Haight was the coach and totally the coolest teacher in the school, so hey that was a perk, but I was not really athletically inclined. Yeah, I played outside with my siblings all day long every day of summer break, but I wasn't really into sports, so what was I thinking. To this day, I couldn't tell you.
But autumn came and I was on the Cross Country team. I was the slowest runner on the team, and I don't mean by a little, but rather by a lot. I think I ran a race at 20+ minutes. My last race of the season was a speedy 12:00 per mile. I just could. not. run. I was very disheartened.
A couple weeks later, we had to do our stupid physical fitness test in gym. Every single year for as long as I can remember, we walked around the track 4 times and that was our time... pitiful!!! But that year as we started walking, I was like, man, I can run this, at least a little bit. So off I went... I tested out that year with a mile of 7:38. Say what?!?!?!?!?!?!
The next year we switched schools and I never got back into sports... ever! Then I got sick and my physical fitness levels just dropped even more.
Many years later, I moved to VA and my mom and I started walking our road. Just 1 mile up and 1 mile back. I can't even tell you how long that walk was, somewhere around 45 minutes..... But we kept trying. Didn't seem to do much, but we went...
I got a job within an easy distance of a park. I wanted a 2 mile course to equal what I was walking at home. I used my pedometer at the time and kept adding extra loops to make 2 miles. I was walking it three times a week, averaging about 50 minutes. Somewhere along the line I got a smart phone with a GPS tracker. Come to find out my 2 mile course at the park was a lot closer to 3. The pedometer I'd been using was worth the money I paid for it.... Next I joined a group at church, had to be there once a week at 7 PM, so between work and church, I walked my course twice, 6 miles, plus 3 miles the other 2 days. Still walking... Still averaging 45 minutes for my walk. But slowly, surely, I started getting a little faster, making it a goal to run down the 'big hill' and one day.... I did it!
Then I decided to try to run one of the big races in the area, a fun run 10k. OMG! What am I thinking... But with a lot of hard work and great coaching, I ran that 10k, average pace 12:30! Not only that, but my momma walked the race behind me, unofficially, right on target for our practice walk the week before.
No matter the start, no matter the fight, no matter the test, if you persevere, if you keep fighting, you will make it!
My next goal?? To qualify for a seeded wave in the race... sub-60:00. I got this!!!! And so do you!!!!
Please subscribe to PrayFit for some amazingly inspiration motivation!
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Success!!!
Wow! What a wonderful feeling. Even the smallest little thing can feel like a giant leap in the right direction if you have been waiting, and let me tell you... I've been waiting!!!
As my Loser Peeps already know, I've been have a pretty good run of successes here lately, and I just wanted to share with all of you!
Using miCoach, I have been steadily increasing my speed on the treadmill over the last several weeks, from June 26 at only 1.4 mph to July 18 I maxed out at 5.0 mph. I will grant you that my entire workout was not at 5.0, but I still maintained that pace for more than a minute. To me, that is a huge accomplishment when a very few short weeks ago I could not break 20:00/mi.
I have been going to the gym, doing my strength workout, then my treadmill workout, and then going home and doing another 2 miles there as well. The last time I walked with my mom, we broke that 20:00 mile, but I just thought that she must have been pushing me really hard and it was a fluke. Thursday, I broke 18:00 by myself and was stunned! Friday, I went home after the gym and set out... My first mile broke 16:00. Now, let me tell you... I was grinning like a stupid fool because I am back! I may not be 100%, but I am getting there!!! My second mile at home that night was a little slower, but my overall pace still came out to be 16:16. Oh my... It felt so good! More like unbelievable!
For the last several weeks, I have been yoyo'ing between the same 2 lbs, up, down, down, up. Now I know that you should never see an immediate response to any type of fitness routine or diet. All of those 'burn x in y days' gimmicks are just that... not sustainable. Well, I finally got my reward for my hard work. Friday morning I posted a 5 lb loss! Yes, I have already started yoyo'ing again, but this is just a few lbs below where I was. Keep working and watch it come down more!!!
I have been using a Fitbit One for about 18 months now and absolutely love it! Supposedly, it is going to get you taking more steps as you see all of your friends above you. Well... I've always been real lucky if I could manage to break 20,000 steps in a week until I renewed my commitment. My very good friend A.P. and I tend to get a little competitive and as I started getting closer to his average of 35k steps, he started moving a lot more to stay ahead of me, but you see I was cheating... I was getting up first thing in the morning as he was driving to work and walking 2 miles, 4-5 days a week. I was going to the gym and getting on the treadmill for an hour and walking 2-3 miles, 2-3 times a week. And if I got home before dark, I would walk another 2 miles a day. My steps count quickly flew through 30k and up to 40k. Now, the 2 of us will still battle it out and bounce back and forth, but I checked standings one night and out of my friends, I was ranked 3rd... Wait what???? Now I know that my friend M.M. was unable to sync his tracker, but how did I get to third??? WOW! Then Saturday, I checked ranking and I had passed my very good supporter, G.P. (sorry....), but M.M. was back from his trip and was at 80k+ steps!!! How was I ever going to catch up?!?!?!?! Oh yeah, and one of the guys from church went on a mission trip to Brooklyn last week, and HE was sitting in position #1 with almost 90k steps. My jaw dropped as these 2 challenged me like never before. I guess I'm not getting #1 this week... Oh wait, my trainer decided to drag me out for a 6 hour, 12 mile hike and by the end of the day.... 30k+ steps later... I claimed victory! For the first time ever, I am sitting in the #1 spot. (I think I need more Fitbit friend, cuz I beat all these ones...)
Now I know, that all of this won't last and this is just a temporary high that I am enjoying, but let me tell you what...... I am going to enjoy it for as long as I can!!!!! So, please... get out there and start moving today... I need some Fitbit challengers! :-)
As my Loser Peeps already know, I've been have a pretty good run of successes here lately, and I just wanted to share with all of you!
Using miCoach, I have been steadily increasing my speed on the treadmill over the last several weeks, from June 26 at only 1.4 mph to July 18 I maxed out at 5.0 mph. I will grant you that my entire workout was not at 5.0, but I still maintained that pace for more than a minute. To me, that is a huge accomplishment when a very few short weeks ago I could not break 20:00/mi.
I have been going to the gym, doing my strength workout, then my treadmill workout, and then going home and doing another 2 miles there as well. The last time I walked with my mom, we broke that 20:00 mile, but I just thought that she must have been pushing me really hard and it was a fluke. Thursday, I broke 18:00 by myself and was stunned! Friday, I went home after the gym and set out... My first mile broke 16:00. Now, let me tell you... I was grinning like a stupid fool because I am back! I may not be 100%, but I am getting there!!! My second mile at home that night was a little slower, but my overall pace still came out to be 16:16. Oh my... It felt so good! More like unbelievable!
For the last several weeks, I have been yoyo'ing between the same 2 lbs, up, down, down, up. Now I know that you should never see an immediate response to any type of fitness routine or diet. All of those 'burn x in y days' gimmicks are just that... not sustainable. Well, I finally got my reward for my hard work. Friday morning I posted a 5 lb loss! Yes, I have already started yoyo'ing again, but this is just a few lbs below where I was. Keep working and watch it come down more!!!
I have been using a Fitbit One for about 18 months now and absolutely love it! Supposedly, it is going to get you taking more steps as you see all of your friends above you. Well... I've always been real lucky if I could manage to break 20,000 steps in a week until I renewed my commitment. My very good friend A.P. and I tend to get a little competitive and as I started getting closer to his average of 35k steps, he started moving a lot more to stay ahead of me, but you see I was cheating... I was getting up first thing in the morning as he was driving to work and walking 2 miles, 4-5 days a week. I was going to the gym and getting on the treadmill for an hour and walking 2-3 miles, 2-3 times a week. And if I got home before dark, I would walk another 2 miles a day. My steps count quickly flew through 30k and up to 40k. Now, the 2 of us will still battle it out and bounce back and forth, but I checked standings one night and out of my friends, I was ranked 3rd... Wait what???? Now I know that my friend M.M. was unable to sync his tracker, but how did I get to third??? WOW! Then Saturday, I checked ranking and I had passed my very good supporter, G.P. (sorry....), but M.M. was back from his trip and was at 80k+ steps!!! How was I ever going to catch up?!?!?!?! Oh yeah, and one of the guys from church went on a mission trip to Brooklyn last week, and HE was sitting in position #1 with almost 90k steps. My jaw dropped as these 2 challenged me like never before. I guess I'm not getting #1 this week... Oh wait, my trainer decided to drag me out for a 6 hour, 12 mile hike and by the end of the day.... 30k+ steps later... I claimed victory! For the first time ever, I am sitting in the #1 spot. (I think I need more Fitbit friend, cuz I beat all these ones...)
Now I know, that all of this won't last and this is just a temporary high that I am enjoying, but let me tell you what...... I am going to enjoy it for as long as I can!!!!! So, please... get out there and start moving today... I need some Fitbit challengers! :-)
Thursday, July 10, 2014
15:00... Say What???
If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you have heard about miCoach by Adidas. It was probably one of the first fitness apps that I downloaded on to my phone. It was mostly love at first use (once I figured out how to adjust the speeds). I don't always use it, but I constantly find myself going back to it for my walking / jogging / running workouts. If you are interested in interval training at all, I cannot recommend it enough!
Today marks 2 weeks back in the gym and mostly I have met or exceeded my expectations from 2 weeks ago. My trainer has already given me a really good strength workout that works my body out well and I have been doing pretty good with my walking as well, following miCoach's Lose Weight Level 2 program.
Since I am doing my cardio on a treadmill, I have been using the heart rate version to track my workouts instead of by pace. My heart is definitely not the strongest muscle in my body. During workouts, I regularly hit 150, 160, even 170. Last year, I ran my entire race between 175 & 193. Not really a great heart rate to have as anyone in the medical field will tell you and to maintain that heart rate for the 75 minutes it took me to run the race? I'm lucky I didn't end up in an ambulance.
miCoach uses blue, green, yellow and red zones for training. The program I am using only uses blue and green. Blue is 127 bpm and green is 147 bpm for their lower limits. As my workouts have progressed over the last 2 weeks, I have seen my pace increase as I try to maintain 127 bpm. I started at 1.5 mph, 1.7 mph, 1.9 mph, then a jump to 2.3 mph and today I hit 3.0 mph to maintain 127 bpm. When I had to jump to the green zone, 147 bpm..... I kept increasing my speed until I hit 4.0 mph, 15:00 mins/mile!!!! Like OMG!!! And my foot was not really protesting... sore, but ok. If anything, my other foot was protesting more than my injured foot was.
I may not be ready for a race tomorrow, but I got this!!!!!
Today marks 2 weeks back in the gym and mostly I have met or exceeded my expectations from 2 weeks ago. My trainer has already given me a really good strength workout that works my body out well and I have been doing pretty good with my walking as well, following miCoach's Lose Weight Level 2 program.
Since I am doing my cardio on a treadmill, I have been using the heart rate version to track my workouts instead of by pace. My heart is definitely not the strongest muscle in my body. During workouts, I regularly hit 150, 160, even 170. Last year, I ran my entire race between 175 & 193. Not really a great heart rate to have as anyone in the medical field will tell you and to maintain that heart rate for the 75 minutes it took me to run the race? I'm lucky I didn't end up in an ambulance.
miCoach uses blue, green, yellow and red zones for training. The program I am using only uses blue and green. Blue is 127 bpm and green is 147 bpm for their lower limits. As my workouts have progressed over the last 2 weeks, I have seen my pace increase as I try to maintain 127 bpm. I started at 1.5 mph, 1.7 mph, 1.9 mph, then a jump to 2.3 mph and today I hit 3.0 mph to maintain 127 bpm. When I had to jump to the green zone, 147 bpm..... I kept increasing my speed until I hit 4.0 mph, 15:00 mins/mile!!!! Like OMG!!! And my foot was not really protesting... sore, but ok. If anything, my other foot was protesting more than my injured foot was.
I may not be ready for a race tomorrow, but I got this!!!!!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Life Struggles
I had a great plan in January to get my life back on track. I was gonna do it. Making changes here and there in positive directions, trying to move all of me towards my goals. Sometimes, that really is easier said than done....
I fell and severely injured my foot. Ended up wearing a boot / brace for close to 2 months.
Had a family illness that demanded my time and energy.
My car decided that it needed a total makeover to pass inspection.
I completely destroyed the budding relationship that I was in.
And of course, Gypsy season was starting up.
Sometimes, the universe just doesn't play very fair. I came entirely too close to cracking under all this pressure. Through the grace of God and some very amazing friends that would not let go of my hand no matter how hard I tugged, I struggled through.
In the middle of May I received a phone call asking me to go back to the job where my fitness journey began. I looked at the big picture, comparing my current job with the old job and all the positives and negatives involved with each. It did not take me long to figure out that I would be very interested in going back to the old job and get a second chance with my fitness journey.
I am back in the gym with an energy that I haven't felt in ages (also a really weird debilitating soreness that follows me home from the gym... lol). My recovery from my foot injury will be a very long road until I am anywhere near the 12:30 pace of my race last year.
I am getting my dietary choices back on track slowly.
I know I have a long road ahead of me, but you know what. As long as I don't quit, then I can't fail!!!
I fell and severely injured my foot. Ended up wearing a boot / brace for close to 2 months.
Had a family illness that demanded my time and energy.
My car decided that it needed a total makeover to pass inspection.
I completely destroyed the budding relationship that I was in.
And of course, Gypsy season was starting up.
Sometimes, the universe just doesn't play very fair. I came entirely too close to cracking under all this pressure. Through the grace of God and some very amazing friends that would not let go of my hand no matter how hard I tugged, I struggled through.
In the middle of May I received a phone call asking me to go back to the job where my fitness journey began. I looked at the big picture, comparing my current job with the old job and all the positives and negatives involved with each. It did not take me long to figure out that I would be very interested in going back to the old job and get a second chance with my fitness journey.
I am back in the gym with an energy that I haven't felt in ages (also a really weird debilitating soreness that follows me home from the gym... lol). My recovery from my foot injury will be a very long road until I am anywhere near the 12:30 pace of my race last year.
I am getting my dietary choices back on track slowly.
I know I have a long road ahead of me, but you know what. As long as I don't quit, then I can't fail!!!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Gave up Facebook for Lent (kinda......)
This post is not really about my weight loss journey... like, at all... but it is part of the Lost Cause journey and I have been composing this over the last several days and can't get it out of my head, which is why I felt the need to bite the bullet and just write it. I am sure I will upset some people with this post, and honestly, I don't care. A negative reaction is more than the passive reaction I am currently receiving.
Sometime in January I got so upset with one of my Facebook friends that I decided to take a break from Facebook for a bit... A couple of days or so... But as the couple of days progressed I started realizing that maybe it was more than this friend causing the break from Facebook. I would spend all day long checking my account looking for the newest and latest with everyone and posting about the newest and latest in my life. Going through my feed and pushing the like button a million times....
The like button.... Such an easy button to push... So and so is pregnant... 'like' Hey, he just went for a walk... 'like' Just bought a new car... 'like'
Like, like, like...
I just got tired of trying to come up with something that would incite a conversation! Like, words people... Heard of them?
So as the days slipped by from my temporary break and I started realizing how much of my time was being taken up by the 'like' fest... I started thinking about this break being a little bit longer.. Within a week or so, I made the decision that I was not getting back on to Facebook until after Lent. I didn't really realize that Easter was not until late April and that I was going to be off of Facebook for over 3 months... By the time I figured out that the Lenten season was no where near where I was... I was more than happy to stay off...
I went to an amazing conference for Airbrush Gypsy where I took a ton of balloon and magician classes. I started practicing henna a lot more. I have practiced my magic act. I have played with balloon sculpting and decor. I have practiced face paint. (Wow, this break from Facebook has been a serious boon for my value to Airbrush Gypsy!!!)
Unfortunately, I have not spent my new free time exercising and continuing my health journey as shortly after I made this decision, I fell and seriously injured my foot. I am facing a very long road to recovery, but that is another story.
My personal and family life have fallen apart in the last couple of months and not being on Facebook has allowed me more time to deal with those issues. You might be thinking that I could have used some support from Facebook during my difficult times. Actually, the amount of support I have ever received from Facebook has been lacking at best. I don't know if it is the quality of people that I have as friends, or what... But generally speaking, when I post looking for whatever variety of support, I know before hand who (generally a single response, or maybe 2 responses) is going to respond and very, very rarely am I wrong.
Speaking of support during difficult times, reminds me of the other social network that I belong to, although my presence has been as lacking from there as it has been from Facebook. The other network being something that my regular readers will be very familiar with... Lose It. For those who are not "Losers", there is no like button on Lose It. If you want to tell someone that they did a great job working out.... You say exactly that. There is no passive socialization going on!!! And when I ask for support on Lose It, it comes in abundance. I am continually amazed that these strangers that I have never met are more interested in my life than people who I see or talk to or have met.
Easter was Sunday (obviously...) so I wished everyone a Happy Easter, my first post in over 3 months... Received several likes. Scrolled through my news feed and saw so many Happy Easter messages, clicked that like button too. So easy to fall back into old habits... I quickly caught myself and since Monday, I try not to just click the like button but to post a comment. Trying to start a conversation, fairly unsuccessfully.
I have posted several times in the last couple of days and received several likes... Not so many comments.... I realize that it has only been a couple of days... But seriously people... The only people that commented on my posts are the same people that were in contact with me during my hiatus... Because, *gasp* there are messengers and emails and phones and in person visits..... A real social life? Like, really!?!?!?!?!
So what have I learned over the last several months? The probably Facebook is going to remain a lost portion of my life. It certainly is not adding anything to my life. It certainly is not taking anything away, except time and that is so precious and needed elsewhere...
Thanks for reading my (not so passive) aggressive rant about Facebook... Certainly not expecting the world to stop using Facebook, but give a thought to checking your newsfeed just one less time today... See if you can find the time to take a walk, pick up the phone and call an old friend, or start learning magic... [ok, not really on the magic... Leave that one to me! :-) ]
Sometime in January I got so upset with one of my Facebook friends that I decided to take a break from Facebook for a bit... A couple of days or so... But as the couple of days progressed I started realizing that maybe it was more than this friend causing the break from Facebook. I would spend all day long checking my account looking for the newest and latest with everyone and posting about the newest and latest in my life. Going through my feed and pushing the like button a million times....
The like button.... Such an easy button to push... So and so is pregnant... 'like' Hey, he just went for a walk... 'like' Just bought a new car... 'like'
Like, like, like...
I just got tired of trying to come up with something that would incite a conversation! Like, words people... Heard of them?
So as the days slipped by from my temporary break and I started realizing how much of my time was being taken up by the 'like' fest... I started thinking about this break being a little bit longer.. Within a week or so, I made the decision that I was not getting back on to Facebook until after Lent. I didn't really realize that Easter was not until late April and that I was going to be off of Facebook for over 3 months... By the time I figured out that the Lenten season was no where near where I was... I was more than happy to stay off...
I went to an amazing conference for Airbrush Gypsy where I took a ton of balloon and magician classes. I started practicing henna a lot more. I have practiced my magic act. I have played with balloon sculpting and decor. I have practiced face paint. (Wow, this break from Facebook has been a serious boon for my value to Airbrush Gypsy!!!)
Unfortunately, I have not spent my new free time exercising and continuing my health journey as shortly after I made this decision, I fell and seriously injured my foot. I am facing a very long road to recovery, but that is another story.
My personal and family life have fallen apart in the last couple of months and not being on Facebook has allowed me more time to deal with those issues. You might be thinking that I could have used some support from Facebook during my difficult times. Actually, the amount of support I have ever received from Facebook has been lacking at best. I don't know if it is the quality of people that I have as friends, or what... But generally speaking, when I post looking for whatever variety of support, I know before hand who (generally a single response, or maybe 2 responses) is going to respond and very, very rarely am I wrong.
Speaking of support during difficult times, reminds me of the other social network that I belong to, although my presence has been as lacking from there as it has been from Facebook. The other network being something that my regular readers will be very familiar with... Lose It. For those who are not "Losers", there is no like button on Lose It. If you want to tell someone that they did a great job working out.... You say exactly that. There is no passive socialization going on!!! And when I ask for support on Lose It, it comes in abundance. I am continually amazed that these strangers that I have never met are more interested in my life than people who I see or talk to or have met.
Easter was Sunday (obviously...) so I wished everyone a Happy Easter, my first post in over 3 months... Received several likes. Scrolled through my news feed and saw so many Happy Easter messages, clicked that like button too. So easy to fall back into old habits... I quickly caught myself and since Monday, I try not to just click the like button but to post a comment. Trying to start a conversation, fairly unsuccessfully.
I have posted several times in the last couple of days and received several likes... Not so many comments.... I realize that it has only been a couple of days... But seriously people... The only people that commented on my posts are the same people that were in contact with me during my hiatus... Because, *gasp* there are messengers and emails and phones and in person visits..... A real social life? Like, really!?!?!?!?!
So what have I learned over the last several months? The probably Facebook is going to remain a lost portion of my life. It certainly is not adding anything to my life. It certainly is not taking anything away, except time and that is so precious and needed elsewhere...
Thanks for reading my (not so passive) aggressive rant about Facebook... Certainly not expecting the world to stop using Facebook, but give a thought to checking your newsfeed just one less time today... See if you can find the time to take a walk, pick up the phone and call an old friend, or start learning magic... [ok, not really on the magic... Leave that one to me! :-) ]
Sunday, January 19, 2014
"What Will You Gain When You Lose" - Special K Challenge
If you have been here for any length of time, you know that I don't do diets, but that I am totally and entirely a lifestyle change girl.
Years ago, I actually tried the Special K challenge. For a cereal addict, a cereal challenge sounds fabulous!!! But when was the last time you checked the serving size on a box of cereal? Like 3/4 of a cup and 1/2 a cup of milk? This girl just likes cereal a lil bit more than that. And the meal replacement bars that they have? To seriously live off of just 3/4 c of cereal and 1 meal replacement bar, plus 1 regular meal a day, I don't know how any one can do that, but I can certainly understand how you can lose a pant size in 2 weeks...
But that is not why I am writing about the Special K challenge. I love the new 'What will you gain when you lose' aspect of the Special K challenge and it completely fits into my Lost Causes lifestyle.
So what do I want to gain?
I want to gain confidence. To know that I am my own person, to know that I can do this, to know that I am strong enough to survive, to know that I do look good!
What do I want to lose?
My insecurity... To constantly question if I am making the right choice, to wonder if I can achieve my goals.
What do you want to gain?
What do you want to lose?
Years ago, I actually tried the Special K challenge. For a cereal addict, a cereal challenge sounds fabulous!!! But when was the last time you checked the serving size on a box of cereal? Like 3/4 of a cup and 1/2 a cup of milk? This girl just likes cereal a lil bit more than that. And the meal replacement bars that they have? To seriously live off of just 3/4 c of cereal and 1 meal replacement bar, plus 1 regular meal a day, I don't know how any one can do that, but I can certainly understand how you can lose a pant size in 2 weeks...
But that is not why I am writing about the Special K challenge. I love the new 'What will you gain when you lose' aspect of the Special K challenge and it completely fits into my Lost Causes lifestyle.
So what do I want to gain?
I want to gain confidence. To know that I am my own person, to know that I can do this, to know that I am strong enough to survive, to know that I do look good!
What do I want to lose?
My insecurity... To constantly question if I am making the right choice, to wonder if I can achieve my goals.
What do you want to gain?
What do you want to lose?
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Day 4
Slept through yesterday morning's workout... Spent all day at the hospital with my grandfather, but made it home before dark for once. Decided that since I skipped 2 previous workouts.... Last night I plugged it in for 45 minutes on My Fitness Coach. The recommended target area was core. If you have been following me for any length of time, you know I hate core, don't have core, and am I really considering a 45 minute core workout? Yes, yes I was. Yes, yes I did.... Fyi expect crunches, crunches, crunches, got a change of pace crunches, and don't forget crunches... And my crunches barely get my shoulders off the ground... Someday.... Oh well, that is another post. I did my crunches and the rest of the 45 min workout.
Although I considered sleeping through this mornings workout, I got up and did it.... And looking forward to doing it again tonight....
Just one step at a time, one workout at a time, one sore muscle group at a time.
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