Race Report - Run the 'Hood 5k!

Well hello there! Remember me? It has been ages since I have blogged. I know I need to get back in the swing of things here. I feel like it really did help to keep me motivated and accountable back in the days when I say wrote a few back-to-back posts in a week! Yes, believe it or not, I think that did happen. Or heck, even at least ONCE a week would be better than the crickets you've heard chirping away here!

Ok, enough of all that. I will seek to improve in that area. But on to the business at hand - my race report for the Run The Hood Virtual 5k at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. 

 

 

 Yes, I ran the 'Hood! Here I am in my spiffy new shirt. I was very excited for this race because it was a way to support The Sisterhood! I even got a friend from high school back home in N.Y. to do it "with" me. She did! We ran it together several states apart.

Another reason I was excited was because I joined a running club (yes, me!)  in mid September for beginner runners and I was eager to see how this race would go as it was my first race since joining the club.

In January, I set a goal  that I would do one 5k per month for 2011. I am very proud to report that I have met my goal thus far. This Run for the Hood will count as my October race! (Ok, I am doing another one this coming Sunday and that will count for October also, but who is counting?!) I signed up to the Run the Hood like I said, mostly because it supports the great work these ladies do on that site!

Race day arrived on Sat. Oct. 22. I get up early each Sat. to go do the Scale Dance at OLPWW... also known as Our Lady of the Perpetual Weight Watcher, aka the WW center where I attend meetings at 7 friggin a.m. After that, I go w/ a WW friend to get a bagel and coffee each week. I  also had to go w/ DH to take one of our cats to the vet. When we got home, well,  I just had to watch one of my favorite cooking shows that happened to be on. Then apparently there were a lot more things I just "had" to do such as:  create a new playlist on my iPod, call the Apple Tech support guy (who was super nice and helpful) due to an issue w/ my iTunes account, log into MapMyRun.com, to see about mapping out an accurate route, map out a few more routes online while I was out it to see which I might like best, and to save some for future reference,  look up directions to my GymBoss so I could use the stop watch on it and hunt down my SpiBelt which had been MIA for a while... in other words, for some reason I was just lollygagging it all afternoon long! Finally around 3, I headed out for my run. Mission accomplished! It is a simple and direct route that I chose, an out and back course, but I did not realize how hilly it really was even though I drive on this particular street every single day.

I really did not want to have to walk any of it but I ended up walking some and I am ok with that. I am still much further along than where I used to be! I finished in 43:01, which was ahead of my goal of 45. Very happy with that! Oh and I saw another runner on the other side of the street and he gave me a thumbs up. That just made me smile and gave me a shot of adrenaline.

My one regret happened at the very end. Every race I do, I always always always sprint like a maniac once I have the finish line in my sight. I mean, I get this crazy distorted look on my face and pour it on big time. (the picture below, from my July race is just one example).

 I kept running till the end in the Run for the Hood but I did not sprint like a maniac and the ONLY reason is because the sprint would have been down my street to the finish line -- my front door-- and I was self conscious about any of my neighbors seeing me go all crazy like that. As soon as I finished I thought "who the heck cares?!" and I will know for next time not to have such a silly silly thought for this girl who has come such a long way!

Tonight w/ my running club I ran 2.5 miles without stopping! 35 minutes! I am excited to see how I do in this next 5k coming up. I WILL be completing my goal of one 5k a month by the time the year is out. Then I will have a whole bunch of race reports to catch up on!

BURST into SUMMER - Week 3 Check in! (and a race report)

Hello hello!

So, notice how the title of this blog post says Week 3?  You may be wondering - what happened to Week 2?! Well, it turns out, I am wondering the 'zact same thing!

I meant to post last week and the day got ahead of me and all sorts of things have been getting ahead of me lately which makes me feel way behind, and does nothing to assist in the shaping of said behind for that matter!

Here is me catching up:

SW 189.4

Week 1: 186.4 (-3)
Week 2: 186.0 (-.4)
Week 3 186.0 (no friggin change)

I had what seemed like an endless string of July 4th cookouts to attend and which leads me to where I am right now - in damage control central my friends. I would love to know what it is like to go to a social function and not overdo it. Seriously, I would love to see myself succeed at that just once, which of course would show me I could succeed at it a second time and a third....

The good news is that I completed a 5k last week as part of my Operation 12 Races goal for 2011 which is to do one 5k per month this year. So far I am 6 for 6. This was the Baltimore Women's Classic in downtown Baltimore. A beautiful course and a great race, open only to women. There were 3,100 participants! All ages! I love seeing the sense of sisterhood and supportive atmosphere there as all these people (and me!) turn out to do something healthy for themselves.

My July race is this Sunday! I'm all signed up and ready to go.

I look at this picture, taken with a friend of mine who could have left me in the dust but instead ran at my pace and helped me to push myself and I know I have come a long way from where I've been. I want to keep remembering to celebrate that on the inside, NOT with a hamburger AND a hotdog on one flimsy white paper plate.

June race w/ Chri - Baltimore Women's Classic 5k

2010 BWC: 51:43 (it was over 100 degrees and I walked most of it)

2011 BWC: 46:16 (ran/walked but ran a lot more than usual!)

Rotary Club Rememberance Run May 2011: 48:51

Bring on Week 4 - Here's to bursting with progress!!

BURST into Summer - Week 1 Check In

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I bring to you my first weigh in for the latest challenge at my beloved Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans

SW 189.4

Week 1: 186.4

Loss: -3

Lbs to go to hit Challenge Goal: 7

I am beyond thrilled! I think what led to a great week was increasing my fruits and veggies and "UpTheWatah" -- this is what my BL team at the gym says when we are all upping the water. Since I am from NY, they tend to poke fun at how I say certain woids words. Increasing the water intake was also part of the Sisterhood's focus for the week.

I did one round of the Shrinking Boot camp so far. That kicked my butt. I am still trying to figure out the best schedule for the Boot Camp for me -- I think Tuesdays/Thursdays and Saturdays will do it since Mondays and Wednesdays I know I already have something else built into the schedule in terms of regular exercise.

I also have been increasing the number of times I walk from the ground level to my office on the 4th floor at work - AND I have started to walk them SIDEWAYS! I saw on some health and fitness site an article about how walking the stairs sideways helps give the inner thighs a workout. Sometimes I will even move my whole leg around - sort of like a round house kick in kickboxing or else just do a high knee each time. I can definitely feel these! Oh and it's a good thing the stair wells are empty most of the time. I would hate to run into someone I know as I am walking sideways with a roundhouse kick going on!

How did you all do? Let's make Week 2 a strong one!! We can do this!

 

Heeeeeeeeeeeeere we go! A new challenge and a renewed commitment!

Here we are on Day 1 of a new challenge at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. Ladies and gents, let me introduce you to:

I LOVE the logo for this one, by the way. I love that the BURST is there just, well, bursting. As hokey as it sounds it makes me feel like I want to burst into this challenge head strong and burst into all the positive changes that will be the end result with me staying FOCUSED and COMMITTED!

Let's just go ahead and get this part out of the way, shall we?

Starting Weight: 189.4

The scale WAS a bit less today, but as I always have done in the "Hood challenges, I am going by my most recent weigh in at the Our Lady of Perpetual Weight Watcher meeting (OLPW), where I have been in attendance for far too long! I weighed in on Saturday and that's what it was 189.4. But SINCE Saturday I have been extra mindful about tracking my foods and getting that water in and the veggies and I think when I weigh in again I am going to hopefully see some real progress. That is what it showed this a.m. and so that keeps me motivated to keep on being "more gooder than badder" as I say. 

Ever since my Biggest Loser-type competition ended at the gym in March (my team won! Woot!), I have not been seeing the losses like I was back then. I am hoping this challenge will get me "unstuck".

My goal is: 179.4 which is a loss of 10 lbs. It's an 11 week challenge so I think that is doable. Now I just have to write it on paper where I can see it every day, like on the fridge or something. 

This is a team challenge. Tribe Green could not be reunited for another world tour at this time, sad to say (against the rules!) BUT, one of my Tribe Green members IS on my team (Hellooooooooo Sarah!) and I know the rest of the ladies are going to be fantastic. We are all starting to get to know each other which also gives this challenge another "burst" of energy and freshness. We've been emailing a bit already and I know I look forward to encouraging and supporting each member of our Team 7!

Welcome if you are new to reading here. Do you have a strategy for how you will attack this 11 week long beast challenge?

REVIEW: CLICK espresso protein drink

I'm thrilled to write my first review post of all time about a product which I have been excited about since we met a few weeks ago at Fitbloggin.

I'm talking CLICK, my friends!

I met up with Christy and Melissa, the fab founders of The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans at Fitbloggin and they were kind enough to give me some samples of CLICK to try. I even got a handy dandy shaker for it, which has been great to use. It comes with these two metal balls you shake around which really helps to mix things up. CLICK comes in Vanilla Latte and Mocha flavors and there's new natural flavors available now as well. The drink can be made either hot or cold.

Let me say up front I'm a bit intimidated when it comes to making smoothies (or anything else in the kitchen for that matter!). I mean, how much milk toput in? How much yogurt? How much fruit? How much ice? I am not a fan of "winging it" when it comes to recipes. I have been using Weight Watchers smoothie mix but am pretty bored with them by now. I was eager to give CLICK a try.

For me, CLICK is the best of both worlds. I get the ease of making a smoothie-type drink, with literally no fuss at all, plus a distinctive coffee flavor that I love. Not to mention the benefits you get of having protein in the morning. I made my first one, the Vanilla Latte flavor,  using just water and the mix in the plastic shaker. It was delicious! Very smooth and there was a bold flavor to it. The next time, I tried it, I mixed it with 1 cup of 1 % milk and a few more ice cubes. Even more delicous!

This morning's was the best though. I had the milk in there, plus the powder, and  half a banana and a cup of blueberries and some ice. I mixed this with a immersion blender and it was divine! So rich and creamy and downright FILLING! I could barely drink the whole thing and it kept me going strong without any hunger well into lunch.

I  look forward to browsing around the many recipes at drinkclick.com and experimenting a bit! Give it a try if you are new to protein drinks or smoothies or just want an added boost in the morning or after a workout. It is packed with vitamins and nutrients. My bet is that you won't be disappointed.

May Your Way Challenge - FINAL check in!

Ok wait, can't we just keep that challenge going a little bit longer please and thank you so that I may actually see some PROGRESS in it?!

Let's review, shall we?

Here's what I said my goals were at the start of the challenge:

Starting weight: 189

Goals for this challenge: Lose 5 lbs -- NOPE. Actually I am ending the challenge at 189, same darn place where I started!
Do a 5k for May - YES! On Memorial Day I got up bright and early for a holiday morning to do a 5k to benefit the local Rotary Club and pay tribute to our vets. This is part of my Operation 12 Races mission. One 5k per month for 2011. So far I am 5 for 5!
Add strength training 2 times per week -- Some weeks I was good on this and some not so good! But overall, more than what I was doing
One new recipe each week -- nope!
Support the 'Hood and kick some butt on my goals! -- yes to being supportive and a quasi yes to kicking butt on my goals!

Well hold up there a second. Now that I review the actual list, all in all it was not horrible! Granted, I didn't lose any weight but more and more I am trying to remember that I am not all about the number on the scale. There was a great session about that at Fitbloggin that I refer back to in my mind. WE ARE NOT THE NUMBERS ON THE SCALE!

Yes, losing weight is fantastic. But looking back at May, I want to also remember:
- how good it felt to do another race for the month, how good it felt to run more in that race than I ran last month (even though my time sucked.. it was so bloody hot out there and I was extremely lax in the hydration dept.)
- how I met some pretty darn fabulous people at Fitbloggin' including the gang from The Sisterhood of The Shrinking Jeans
- that I LOVED my first spinning class, which was part of the SisterSays for the week (do one new fitness workout). The bikes in this class are Green Revolution bikes which means they are used to generate power which is then used by the gym to cut down on its electricity bill. VERY cool! You can see a digital display right on your bike showing how many watts of power you're generating. There is also a flat screen TVat the front of the class for the whole class to see how much the class is generating as a whole. Granted, what I generated was probably only enough to light up a closet in a small dollhouse, but still, it was pretty neat! My next class I will work hard to "beat" my previous wattage. You can see a story that my former newspaper wrote about the Green Revolution bikes here .
- that the hubs and I planted a vegetable garden and things are actually starting to grow. This will help up my veggie intake for sure!
- the good memories from this past week, as I left my job of 15 years, and left the newspaper business after more than 22 years. I start a new job in a related field on Monday and I'm very excited about it!

June, let's see what you have in store for me!