Super Bowl 10k

As most folks feasted on Buffalo Wings, Dorito's and knocked back beers today, I completed a 10k run. The local YMCA puts on a series of "Resolution Runs." The first Sunday is earmarked for racing ever increasing distances. We had 5k (3.1mi) in January, the 10k (6.2mi) for February and 2 more scheduled after this 15k (9.3mi) for March and 20k (12.4mi) in April. The fun thing is it's more of an organized training run than a race, with most folks looking to complete spring half marathons and full marathons. The weather was perfect for a run, but geez! Must I live in the worlds hilliest town?! Despite my quads screaming on the downhills and burning on the inclines, I was able to beat my goal time by over a minute!

Some of you know that I've recently switched to minimal running shoes, the Nike Eclipse. Actually, they are supposed to be casual shoes... Hey! They were the only thing that I could find with a super thin sole and low heel lift. My legs feel MUCH better than after any of my runs in my Saucony Hurricanes or other over-engineered running shoes/pillows. Blech! 

After I updated my Facebook peeps (or let them know I lived through the run) a friend of mine commented to me about my consistency in meeting my goals. What a compliment! I've never really been consistent in anything in life (unless it's my constant tardiness or procrastination). It made me think about how I got to where I am, from where I was several months ago. As I referenced in my first post, do the right thing most of the time and it gets easier and easier. A lot of folks have trouble sticking to a new fitness plan because they aren't at 100% with their diet, water, workouts, etc. That doesn't mean it's time to throw in the towel. 

Make the right choice most of the time and you'll find your body naturally craves 100%, whether it be natural foods, water or looking forward to setting out on your run or hitting the weights. Right now, I crave veggies and a lot of fruits and lean meats, because that's what fuels my body best. The last 15 minutes of my workday are garbage because I train after work. All I'm thinking about is my workout, where I'm running to and how fast I can change my clothes and GO!! Make the right choice most of the time and you'll find your body will build the habit itself.

Stay tuned for my post in the next couple days on why chicks need to hit the weight room!

The Beginning

I’ve always been a big girl. And by big, I don’t mean obese or anything, but big. I’m a tall chick, with a sturdy frame and I’ve always had an extra cushion of flab. To get you familiar with where I am now, let’s just take a walk down my last 6 years or so of fitness ups and downs. Uhh… mainly ups...

About 6 years ago, I embraced running. I loved it. It was free, without catchy weight-loss gimmicks and I could run anytime and (just about) anywhere. I spent about 4 months running, doing some full body weight workouts and counting all the calories I could. I lost about 45lbs during this stint and for the first time in my life I was thin and fit! I maintained this loss for about a year then fast forward through life happening, including losing my mom to Cervical Cancer and I piled that 45 back on, plus an additional 35. Yikes!

Throughout the following years, up until recently, I’ve tried just about every diet and trainer out there. My head just wasn’t in it and in retrospect, I think I was expecting that for weight loss to stick, I had to give up everything and live in a bubble. At a certain point, I became totally complacent and figured that it was just genetics. There are plenty of happy fat people out there, right? Right?! The good thing that happened through the yo-yoing was that I learned a bit about weight training, proper nutrition and a bit how the body works to burn fat and keep you going throughout the day. I added a fair amount of muscle to my body during this time and while I wasn’t always happy with the scale, as I lose weight, I’m happy to have added muscle mass.

After writing all that, I guess this isn’t technically the beginning. More like the end. The end of yo-yo dieting and binge eating, the end of choosing crap to fuel my body and the end of being a sloth. Hey! I’ve already lost 25lbs! So, I suppose you could say this is the beginning of leaner, meaner (well, figuratively) me.

I’m currently training for a half marathon – June 26th, 2010 and the Danskin Women’s Sprint Triathlon in August of 2010. I’ve got my own training plan from now until late May, when I’ll be joining the Kitsap Tri-Babes through the summer. They are a local group, of like-minded women, who gather a couple times weekly to train. While training for my half marathon and building a triathlon base, my intent is to lose another 40lbs or so. Oh, and still enjoy cupcakes and a few cocktails here and there. Heh.

The purpose of this blog is to inspire and motivate all women out there like me. Not all successful female runners and triathletes are muscley twigs! Successful female athetes are the ones that have the courage to start training for something that sounds completely unconventional and make it to the starting line. John Bingham wrote in one of his books (I believe, Marathoning for Mortals) that the part to focus on, the really hard part of the race, was getting to the starting line. After that, you get to spend the next few hours celebrating the end of your training and that's exactly what I'm going to do!

I was never a sports star, and I never will be, but dammit, I’m going to train like an athlete, complete some races and have fun and I hope you all enjoy the ride.