Getting to the Start Line

Boy, I don't know how these people in the blog-o-sphere do it! Sure, I've never had a problem finding something to say, it's just finding the dang time to do it! I need more uninterrupted writing time at work, that's all there is to it. 

To bring you up to date on the happenings in my weight loss world, I am happy to share that the tendinitis issues seems to be gone. Cross your fingers that on my 11 mile training run on Saturday, it doesn't pop back up. I'm still down 30lbs, but really happy with the leanness of my legs from running and actually find that in photos my weight loss in noticeable.

From now through the end of May, I'm still focusing mainly on my running and building base for the half marathon in late June. By April I will have ran more than 13.1 miles, so I'll have a rough idea of what I'll do for the half. 

I'm officially signed up for the Danskin Women's Triathlon in August. I'm very much looking forward to training with about 100 other crazy women throughout this summer. And, I received an email from a friend about a half marathon in September, that I may do a couple weeks after a local tri. Tired, yet? 

Looking forward to these races... Can I just say that I've just now become comfortable with calling them that? Because I'm certainly not in the running for any awards. Anyhoo, looking forward to these races, it's hard not to think about what your time will be and have a goal. When you register for half marathons, they make you estimate your finishing time. Shoot! I have no idea. It'll be real slow now, but 6 months (and hopefully 30lbs) later, it should be faster... Aren't I supposed to be running this for myself?! And not some time?! 

I let myself get a little worked up about times and hitting time goals. Then I spoke with a good friend of mine, Katie Savage, an accomplished cyclist, triathlete and personal trainer. She gave me some great advice. So great in fact, that I don't time anymore of my training runs. "First year," she said, "focus on getting the training done and getting to the start line. The second year, it will get easier and the third year, the speed will come."


So, with that said, I'm focusing on building the base and letting the speed show up later. I'm going to ride my bike to and from work tomorrow, wish me luck!

 

Slackin' on my pimpin'

I've got to thank my friend Deana for that phrase that makes the title.

The last couple weeks have been uneventful in trainingland. I've stepped back a tad on my running to deal with some tendinitis issues developing in my foot/ankle. Gotta thank my grandpa for the family ankle issues and freaky high arches. So, I've added in a little more cross-training and upped my tri base training. Registration for the Seattle Danskin opens in a little over a week! Woohoo!

Now, back to the slackin'. The main slacking has been diet related. Maybe it's in my head, but I feel like I've been allowing myself to get a little lax in tracking what I eat. Since I can't focus on my mileage as much (I get too frustrated.) I've been trying to eat more natural foods and get in lots of healthy fats. However, by not tracking it, I'm not sure it's actually happening. Luckily, the scale hasn't changed at all, in the upwards realm, so I know I'm still doing well at least maintaining. I'm officially down 30lbs since October, but my goal is to hit another 20lbs down by my birthday in June. That means, it's time to stop Slackin' on my Pimpin'! 

I'm an organizational freak about my diets/workouts, so I bought a new log to track in. I'd keep everything in excel, but I like having it with me all the time, so I'm going to build teh master excel diet spreadsheet and then copy it to my new logbook. I'll have all kinds of boxes to check and items to track. I get excited just thinking about it!! (Which is funny because if ya asked me to track anything at work other than daily stuff, I pitch a fit!)

Anyhoo, that's about it. March is full of fun stuff. I always seem to hit a lull here, with spring/summer on the horizon, so I'm incorporating some fun classes at the gym. I've found that changing up your workout regime every of often keeps your body responding, but it also gives your mind a break and a new challenge. Gyms in my area are beginning to roll out new programs and classes and I've seen a LOT of outdoor boot camps starting up all over the place. Check your local Craigslist or even do a google search to find one near you. The nice thing is many accommodate busy people. They have early hours or now later ones, since it's beginning to stay lighter later!

This week, I have a Tuesday off, so I'm tackling a couple of my favorite gym classes, Boot Camp and an Abs class. Then, some friends and I have a local St Patrick's Day Dash. The end of this month, I'm going to join another friend for some rec indoor soccer. Come on 20lbs, exactly 3 months to lose!!