Since the spring of 2009, I have only run 3 races, all 5Ks. My running has been intermittent due pregnancies and other life craziness, until recently when I have finally gotten some consistency with my running. So I was a little nervous when I hit the enter button for the 10K portion of the Freedom’s Run in Shepherdstown, WV.
The race is in less than 6 weeks which doesn’t give me much of a margin for error in my training. A 10K at the end of October or in early November would be more reasonable, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to run this gorgeous course at a beautiful time of year. My husband ran the half-marathon here a few years back (being 7 months pregnant, I skipped that one) and it was a great time. The next year, I had no fitness level and couldn’t dream of participating. The year after that, pregnant again. Finally, this year, I’m in.
There is a 5K option but I want to see as much of the course as I can and I want the pressure of a 10K. I can run a 5k tomorrow with no problems. It might not be fast but it would be pretty easily handled. A 10K is going to take some training, but I have no doubts I can do it. I ran 4 miles on Monday with minimal walking (less than a minute total) and I have 5 more weekends to add two miles to that. Worst case scenario, this race is walker friendly and I can walk those last few miles in. But I want to run. 
So I have my training plan mapped out, 4 runs a week. And for the next 6 weeks I need to get focused on my calorie intake. I don’t think I can drop 20 pounds by race day but even 5 pounds would be nice. Imagine running with a 5 pound sack of potatoes versus without. I must quell the night time snacking monster that dwells within me. He is my saboteur.
37 days of focus. I think I can, I think I can.
*Photos from Freedom’s Run website. http://www.freedomsrun.org/Course.aspx
I’m a girl who loves numbers and analysis. Excel is my best friend. I love to pour over numbers and see what the trends have to tell me. When I was trying to get pregnant, I would stare and stare at my temperature charts willing them to tell me whether this was the month. What if I just alter this number a little? What if tomorrow’s temp is this? Or this? Playing around with the graphs until I had covered every possible scenario.
So it should come as no surprise that I also have the same fascination with the number on the scale and the various ways I can use that number. Again with the excel. What will my BMI be ten pounds form now? 20? Or worse, what could my weight be if I hadn’t screwed up July? How much could I realistically lose by the end of the year? It goes on and on.
As much as I love manipulating those numbers, the scale is actually not my friend. Even though I know better, I frequently let it ruin my day. I know all about fluctuations, etc but I still live and die by what I see on that digital read-out. I can eat a salty meal and get on the scale knowing it will be up and still, I am disappointed when I see the number.
I’m not one who necessarily believes that the number on the scale doesn’t matter. It does to an extent. You can tell yourself you are doing everything right but if the number on the scale is still 223 (in my case) you are still obese. That’s just the way it is. But, weight fluctuates. Even when it doesn’t make sense and the scale is only one way to gauge your weight and fitness, it shouldn’t be the judge, jury and executioner.
And so I’m giving the scale up for a while. At least, until I know that I have made some tangible results.
These pants are the next pair in my closet that will fit. I can zip them now but they really don’t fit and I won’t (by public decency laws) wear them out in public.
Clearly, I need to clean the mirror in my bathroom, but that’s a problem for another day.
I am going to use these pants as my barometer for when it is time to step on the scale again. When these pant fit, I will have obviously made some progress and I will weigh myself to see what my current number is. If this experiment works well, I will do the same thing with the next pair of pants in my “closet o’ many sizes.” I have enough clothes in a wide variety of sizes to keep this up all the way down to my goal weight and then some.
I decided to start a little segment reviewing my workouts for the week and setting goals for the next week. the point being to have it all in one place so that I can see what I’ve done and use that info to move forward. Additionally, I can’t wait to look back a year from now and see how far I’ve come.
Sunday: Run 3.5 miles, 43 minutes
Friday:3.11, 36 minutes (I’ve decided to do a monthly baseline 5K to measure improvement)
Total Miles: 6.61
I didn’t get the runs in this week that I was hoping for. My heel was torn up badly from my new shoes. I’ve let heal for a few days and gotten some new socks so I am praying I won’t have that problem again.
Goals for next week:
Run 13 miles
One non-running workout (I’m a one trick pony right now)
August Review
I don’t believe any progress was made on the scale this month. I haven’t weighed myself because I don’t want to see it. My 2 y/o brought the scale in the bathroom this morning (from its hiding place in the closet) and thought we should “play” on it. If only it brought me as much joy as it brings her.
I did run 35 miles (10 shy of my 45 mile goal) and ran a 5K with no walk breaks so it wasn’t a bad month all in all.
Onto September:
Goals:
Run 50 miles
1 non-running workout per week
Just say no to sugar
Challenges expected:
The Great Frederick Fair
Pumpkin spice flavored anything everything
Same runner (me), 5 years, 2 kids and 70 pounds of difference. I may not ever get that thin again (it required a lot time and dedication as it was not my body’s happy weight but I can’t continue to look like the second picture. I CAN NOT! Plus I really want to have that much pep in my step while running again.
Lately, I have a had a solitary lunch obsession and it is this.
Tex-Mex Quinoa and Black Beans
It is so simple and tasty, I just can’t get enough. The best part is you can really customize it to your taste. It started out as a filling for stuffed peppers, and just evolved from there.
2 cups water
1 cup dry quinoa (that’s keen-wah, in case you didn’t know)
1 can black beans
1 can diced green chiles
1/2 cup green tomatillo salsa
1 cup grated Mexican Cheese blend
salt and pepper
Bring the water and quinoa to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Fluff the quinoa with a fork and add beans (I like to rinse them first), chilis, salsa and cheese*.
Mix
Salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy
I make 3 lunch servings out of this recipe. I eat is as a stand-alone meal. Obviously, it could be used as side with a smaller serving size.
Seriously, could that be easier? No! And quinoa is like a super food so you get the amazing combo of tasty and good for you. What more could you ask for?
*You can add as much or as little cheese as you desire. Less makes it healthier and lower cal. More makes it delicious, but fattening.
Yesterday, during lunch I went for a run. During that time, I was in a helicopter crash but I survived. Unfortunately for me, we crashed down in zombie territory and I was forced to run for my life. Luckily, I had radio communication from the nearby town and they were able to guide me and have me pick up some crucial supplies on the way. The zombies were hot on my tail the whole time.
It was all great fun!
I completed Mission 1 of the Zombies, Run game/iPhone app. And I have a new running love.
There is a video on the website that describes the game much better than I can.
https://www.zombiesrungame.com/
When the zombies get close you can hear them growl, a sound that I found ridiculously unnerving and caused me to pick up the pace to escape them. It was excellent fartlek training. That is great for me because I tend to be a lazy runner and am hesitant to really push myself. Clearly, I’m going to have to though because I think the zombies got a little too close.
I can’t wait to go out today for my next mission.
Bender. That is really the only word I can come up with to describe my eating lately. I just can’t seem to stop myself.
Sugar is the problem. Sugar is my meth and right now I am deep in it. I have been eating, candy, donuts, brownie, cake, you name it. If it is sugary, I’ve been mainlining it. I am disgusted with myself. How can a person who knows so much about healthy eating, eat such crap? How can a person who is adamantly against refined/processed foods, be loading up her body with them like a god damned junkie.
It has to stop. It stops now. I’m putting it out there for the world- as of this moment I am going cold turkey off all refined sugar.
Fat Mom hath spoken. It shall be done.
10:22AM EDT August 23, 2012
Follow my diary on My Fitness Pal (see link on the sidebar) to hold me accountable.
St Jude 5K
August 18, 2012
Frederick, MD
I meant to pick up my packet on Friday afternoon so that I could sleep in a little on Saturday morning. But it started storming on Friday and I didn’t feel like dragging the littles out in the rain, so I planned to get up early (and let’s face, sleeping in was a long shot anyway). The alarm went off at 5:30 and I got up and started prepping for a 6:30 departure. Packet pick-up was from 6:30-7:45, the race was less than 10 minute from my house, but anyone who knows me knows that I had to get there early. It’s just how I roll. Less than 2 minutes after we arrived I had my packet in hand and we were left with more than an hour to kill. If you need to kill time with a 2 year-old in tow though, Baker Park is the place to do it.
Best dressed runner in the field.
Before we left the house, I told my daughter that I was going to run in a race and the she, Daddy and Landry would cheer for me by yelling, “Go, Mommy!” She immediately corrected me and told me that she was also running in the race and the Daddy and Landry would yell, “Go, Mommy! Go, Caroline!” Ummmm, welll umm we’ll see. And so I left it at that assuming she would forget about it.But anyone who knows 2 year-olds is probably laughing now. Because she , of course, didn’t forget and kept insisting that she was going to run. I looked around, lots of people would be walking, lots of strollers, lots of kids running and decided what the heck. We took our place at the very back of the pack and sent our cheering squad, Scott and Landry, up a couple of blocks to wait on us.
The race started and Caroline was a natural. She took off and loved every second of her first race. That lasted only a few blocks until I dropped her off at with her Daddy, but it was absolutely the highlight of the race for me. She loves to run and I would be so happy if she would grow up loving to race.
The rest of the race was pretty uneventful. The course was flat and wove around the park and through the surrounding neighborhoods. As usual, in Frederick, there was no crowd support. This is sadly, not a town that supports running. The residents balk at being inconvenienced by races. One letter to the editor after the Frederick Marathon a few years ago referred to “being held hostage by running terrorists.” It’s like that. So no cheering outside of the race start/finish area. There were also no water stops. Not really necessary in a 5K but it was the middle of August, so it wouldn’t have been unwelcome. Not a big deal though, there was plenty of water and gatorade at the finish, as well as the standard post-race offerings.
My cheering squad
All in all it was a very nice race. Nicely run and organized. I will run again next year if it is held.
Today for lunch I ate crap and I didn’t run like I had planned to (I fell victim to the lure of a social lunch). This afternoon I feel gross, slightly ill and like I will crash face first asleep onto my desk at any minute.
This is not a coincidence.
Tomorrow morning I will be getting up bright and early to run my first 5K in over a year. In the spring of 2011, after a year of living in the new mother fog, I finally got my act together and managed to drop about 20 pounds that I had gained when I was pregnant with my daughter. In doing so, I went through the Couch-to-5K program* and capped it with a local 5K in May. Two weeks later I had a positive pregnancy test and here we are today, having recently completed the C25K program once again.
I am really looking forward to it. I love races. Not that I would ever have a chance it hell of finishing anywhere near the front of the pack, but the atmosphere, community and challenge are just so great at a race. Even Especially at a small local race such as this. My running fever is already sparked but this will really turn up the flame. I better start figuring out how to pay for race entries.
There are two things I really love about this race.
1. It benefits St. Jude, on of my favorite causes. I’m lucky that no one in my family or friends has ever needed St.Jude’s services but it is wonderful to know that if we ever do they are there and that we would never be turned away because inability to pay. I am happy to fork over the race fee for this cause.
2. It’s a family event. Strollers and dogs are allowed, though I will not be running with either. My family will be there supporting me, I just chose not to run pushing 50lbs of kids while be yelled at by a two year old. There will also be lots of walkers, which means no chance of me finishing last.
I only have one goal for this race That is to run the whole thing. Run as in no stopping to walk. It shouldn’t be a problem, I have run that far without stopping a couple of times already this week. Not that there is any shame in walking. I have never run a race further than 10K without incorporating some walking. Walking is awesome. I just have a goal for myself and I want to show that be bigger doesn’t mean you have to do less. Overweight people can run. We don’t have to do it halfway. I may not be running as fast as I would it I were lighter but I will be running.
I’ll be back tomorrow with the report!
*This is not my first foray into running. Back before I had kids I ran all the time. Lots of 5Ks, 10ks, half-marathons and even a marathon under my belt. I just let myself give it up when I was pregnant.
fat mom gets fit 