Half Assed Fitness

I love when I try to talk myself out of running in the morning and I can't! That happened this morning and I'm really happy with myself over it. 5.51 miles this morning! Never thought I'd see that day in my life.

This last week I repeated week 6 of the 13 Week Walk/Run program. Actually, just two days of it; one day was lost to lack of sleep. When I get woken up 4 times by my husband's work, I get a little cranky so I decided to grab the zz's while I could.

In addition to the running, I participated in another circuit training class. I can tell I'm getting stronger because it's getting easier and I'm not as sore.

I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm actually down 2 pounds now. That's the best progress I've made in awhile. Two more and I can start a new goal!

This week I repeated week 5 of the 13 Week Walk/Run Program to ease back into it after a month long break while on vacation. I ran three times for a total of 11 miles, did yoga before bed one night, and I also did a one hour circuit training class for a total of 5 workouts this week! I'm pretty proud of that and the scale shows that I am down one pound! Only three more pounds to go for my current goal!

One of my observations from this week is that my sense of smell has been significantly more sensitive this week; especially on my runs. My appetite has been kind of out of control too, most likely from the increased activity. I've been trying to make good food choices to minimize the impact of my eating. Lots of fruit, lower calorie meals, etc. I've had a few dessert disasters though.

My motivation is high again; I'm determined to complete the 13 Week Walk/Run Program in full without further delays.

Persistence is the key. The fact that I am starting over, yet again for the million time is not a bad thing to me. The fact that I've gotten lazy and quit a million times is where my weakness lies. I've changed the focus of this blog from educational and encouraging to other people to more of a personal tracking diary; something to refer back to for inspiration and motivation for myself.

In January, I started the 13 Week Walk/Run Program which I should have technically completed in May. Along the way I got very ill, moved, and went on a month long vacation. So here it is August and I still haven't finished it. But, I haven't given up completely either. I'm still running at least once a week; I'm just kind of stuck. It's time for a kick in the pants.

The biggest setback I had of all so far was the vacation. I thought for sure I would be able to find time to go for a morning run no matter where I was, I packed my shoes and gym clothes and wrote down the program for the weeks that we would be gone. Good plan, it just didn't happen. We had too much fun eating out, staying up late and drinking draft beer (we can't get that here so it's a big deal) that I just couldn't drag myself out of bed and get it done.

Once we got back home, I wasn't sure where to start again. I missed an entire month! I was on week 9 when I quite but I opted to start back over at week 4, a recovery week. Unfortunately, I loaned out my book so I only had day 1 of week 4 written down but I do have this blog to refer back to for some of it. I've done day 1 of week 4 once a week for the last month now. I'm ready to move on.

Re-reading my old entries is motivating and so is the 4 pounds I put on on vacation. I've also started a circuit class to round out my program to go along with the random gym time I've been squeezing in maybe once or twice a week as of late.

It always feels so good for me to get back into it; I always wonder how I managed to get off track. When I look back on my life, more often than not, I'm active. I like to hike and kayak, Ive always liked the gym and weightlifting and even though I have to get up really early to do it....I like running.

My new goal is to lose those 4 pounds I gained on vacation and get back on track and complete the 13 Week Walk/Run program. I want to run in a 10k! There is one coming up in May so I'm hoping I can complete the program and start working on my speed so that I can be an actual contender this year. After the 4 pounds are gone, I'll start working on the other 15 I've gained since I got married. 5 at a time, 5 at a time!

Tonight my husband made a wonderful roast in the crock-pot. It stewed all day and he even stuffed whole garlic cloves into the meat as well as bay leaves and a touch of cajun seasoning. It was awesome. I LOVE garlic!!!

In addition to the roast, there was a big batch of buttery corn and to top it off, brownies with caramel and chocolate sauce.....not to mention the wine.

Sweet, right?

I hate to disrespect my husband in any way but he knows I'm trying to lose weight, he knows I've been excersicing more and cutting back on things like cheese, and desserts.

What I don't think he has a clue about is calories in/vs. calories out. I'm going to have to educate him; Or be fat...


Try the Calorie Counter at MyFoodDiary.com

This week I did much better with my calorie goal. I had a couple of high days where we attended a party one night and had friends over for dinner another. I let myself go a little on those nights, consciously.

The running program is starting to get quite challenging. My legs were so sore yesterday. I am grateful for the two days off this weekend. The running seems to be helping my varicose veins. I have a spot on the side of my thigh where they get kinda ugly and they have minimized significantly.

While I am having a terrible time getting the scale to show any progress, I did take my body measurements again and I've lost a full inch off my waist. I could tell my shorts/pants were sitting a little lower but my rear end and thighs haven't changed yet. You know, that's not 100% true. My rear end is firmer. I noticed that when I was climbing the stairs earlier today; it doesn't jiggle quite as much.

I know it's not an overnight thing and I am seeing a few small improvements but I've been at this for almost 8 weeks now. Oh well. As long as I don't get any bigger I won't complain too much. In fact, if I remember right the first time I tried to lose weight it was about two months before I really started seeing serious progress. I imagine this is different for everyone.

So, I'll keep plugging away at it. Hopefully you will too and maybe something in my experiences will be helpful to you.

Try the Calorie Counter at MyFoodDiary.com