10K training week 2

Hi all! Here to say that I survived my second Saturday run with my new group. It's getting a little easier to talk to people but the slowest are dropping away so I'm pretty at the back of the pack. I had set an intention for my yoga practice the night before that consisted of two words. Calm and courage. I promised myself I would carry that with me for the morning run and it helped some. I still felt a little panicky and barely slept but it was ever so slightly better than last week.

What I WASN'T doing was keeping up with the training plan during the week and quickly realized that if I'm going to stick with this group, I'm going to need to practice. I still get desperately out of breath, to the point where people ask me if I'm okay which doesn't help with the anxiety of it all. It's from allergies, lack of cardio and carrying around a bunch of extra weight and nothing is going to change that except pushing myself to do it every day!

This morning it was hard but I'm proud to say I did it. I woke up at 6, had some coffee (which I'm not sure is a good idea?!) and then set out to do a 5k. I thought the whole way around the golf course was a 5k and turned out it was 3.9 miles according to my Nike+. I didn't believe it so I mapped it on google pedometer and it was pretty close. What a great surprise! There are a few hills I walked but I challenged myself to keep running on the smaller hills. There is nothing in the world like that shower after a tough morning workout.

Here's to a great week!

The fastest of the slowest

Thanks to all who have made me feel better about starting my running group - it wasn't bad. In fact, it was good! I was not the fattest, nor the slowest as feared. I was the fastest of the slow group which sounds much better than the slowest of the intermediate group. I really was dead in the middle of the two, by myself, and aside from gasping for air on the hills, it was great. We did about 3 miles. The coaches are fun and it really spans ALL levels. It will be interesting to see who keeps coming. I slept badly since I was nervous and woke up every hour looking at the clock. I HATE getting up at 6 am on a Saturday but I can do anything for 11 weeks. We're already 1 week down! Afterwards I wanted carbs desperately of course there was a bagel shop in the shopping center where we met, but I felt so good about my accomplishments that I went and got a spinach smoothie instead. It's a beautiful day in the ATL and I'm going to put some of this extra energy into the garden! Have a great weekend everyone!

Please forgive my lack of blogging....

I was here

We were supposed to be in Scotland but we were flying standby and all the flights got full so we re-packed and went to Key West. This is a sandbar in the Atlantic which we got to by jet ski.

It was a great trip but I'm happy to be back to normal. Even though lost 3 lbs by biking 15 miles a day and then even more walking, I drank a TON and will be detoxing for a while.

We couldn't necessarily afford this trip but I figured it was a much needed break before starting a new chapter in my life (yet again!) I'm going back to work part-time for the agency I've been working with on a freelance basis. I'll be there 9-2 every day and then come home to do all my other freelance work. I will have to adjust to the new routine but the steady pay is something I'm really looking forward to.

and the biggest, scariest part of it all...

my running group - the official training for the Peachtree, starts saturday morning at 7:30
I'm absolutely terrified. I may end up being the largest and the slowest but that hasn't stopped me before so I guess it shouldn't now. I feel a little better after getting an email from the coach asking us all about ourselves, our fitness levels etc. so they will know they have a 200+ pound beginner on their hands. At least I can run/walk a 5k without dying and not necessarily starting from scratch. Also, it's put on by the Atlanta Track Club who is a very reputable organization that seems to cater to and respect all abilities.

See? I just talked myself out of being so scared right here in the blogosphere. I have to remember how helpful it is to blog about it all and keep doing it. I promise I will keep y'all posted on my progress. Good and bad!

I "won"?

So, I found out this morning I won a number in the Peachtree Road Race this year. It's the largest 10K in the world and I will be running with 59,999 other people, up hill, in the 90ish degree heat. Suddenly it doesn't seem like much of a "win" but I promised myself that if I was lucky enough to get in, I had to do it.

I think that I'm going to participate in the official 11 week training program that meets on Saturday mornings at 7:30. It will keep me accountable (that is key for me!) and hopefully help me build some confidence. Plus, I've always wanted to join a running group!

I started running again after 5 weeks off (it was supposed to be 6 but I couldn't take it anymore) and it feels so good! I did a 5k on Friday then 2.5 miles today with ZERO pain in my foot. My quads, now that's another story! :) I didn't fall too far behind and I think my work with my trainer, hours on the elliptical and yoga really helped that. I'm glad I didn't just give it all up for that long!

This should make for an interesting summer!

Down but not out!

Just wanted to let y'all know that I've been down with a cold and we're having the worst pollen season in Atlanta history which means a head that feels like concrete. In fact, the air resembles my favorite post-workout treatI'm still drinking my veggie smoothies twice a day which is starting to taste more and more like dirt so I'm going to have to mix it up a bit. I have yet to buy a VitaMix or a juicer because I can't decide between the two. Either way, they aren't cheap so it's going to have to wait a little while. Luckily I have a wonderful juice place halfway between my trainers studio and my house and I treat myself twice a week to their spinach slam which has mango and pineapple. Delish!!

The scale? Not moving as per usual. I was hoping the juice would be the secret but nothing seems to work. And yes, I'm getting REALLY depressed about it. There IS some light at the end of the tunnel. I can run again in 2 weeks and my foot feels great and I'm feeling pretty energetic despite the pollen (it's from all that spinach!) I know what I need to do - that energy needs to be used for MORE cardio. Ugh! Can't we just do yoga and pilates? :)

All juiced up

Y'all are going to get sick of me talking about juice so I'm just going to share what my trainer has to say about it....

Oh and I've lost 4 lbs this week by juicing during the day and eating a sensible dinner (I should note I worked out like crazy too!) I have energy to spare, my skin is baby soft and my pee is a funny shade of green ;)

Back...with a vengeance...and a green smoothie

This time I really mean it when I say I'm going to blog more. I miss it. I miss everyone's blogs I read. I really missed EVERYTHING. Especially my life!

The strange thing is that I feel like I lost my job again and that was an unexpected reaction. I guess when you go from 120 miles an hour back to normal pace it's a little bit of an adjustment. I've been equating it to when my wedding was over and how strange it felt not to think about it constantly. The project was a HUGE success and I'm proud to say I finished it with no mistakes and barely any meltdowns. Did I mention I gained 10 pounds?

So, back to my desk at home, my dogs, my gym, my trainer, my yoga and my own kitchen. All making healthy living possible again. I'm also ridiculously inspired by "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and if you haven't seen it, drop what you're doing and watch instantly on Netflix :) For right now, I'm juicing during the day and having a sensible dinner and I can't believe how amazing I feel. I never in a million years thought I would crave a drink that had vegetables in it but I want it more than food. It's the strangest thing.

And for even more good news I got 2 cortisone shots in the foot (ouch!) for a tendonitis issue and it seems to have cured me. I can't run or walk for 6 weeks (down to 5 now!) but I can do everything else. The workout schedule is brutal and expensive but if that's what it's going to take then I'm just going to keep doing it until I can't any more or I run out of money!

I wish I could bottle up this energy and save it for the bad times (I'd mix it in a smoothie!)