Follow Through Friday - 10 Months Postpartum

Well looks like I’ve got two weeks to catch up on again with my Follow Through Friday updates. I had a great race on the 11^th and shaved two+ minutes off of my race time from the previous month. I also ran one super-fast mile on the treadmill, my NEW fastest ever at 8:37! I’m doing my own kind of “speed work” and it definitely seems to be helping! Overall my exercise wasn’t that great last week, but at least I got a few miles in! Last week I was also back to meal prepping, had a pretty good week overall and hit my DietBet goal on the 18^th.

I’m finishing my first of two weeks of Business Travel this week and definitely doing much better than I normally do when I travel. I arrived on Sunday in Minneapolis and it was just so gorgeous out, that I HAD to go for a run. I looked up a trail and drove to it. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite what I thought and it was closed down. It was like a legit, in the woods trail and even had it been open, I wouldn’t have ran it since it didn’t seem safe to run alone. I thought it was like a public running path along the river from what the website described. Luckily on the way there I had passed a park, ironically called Running Park. So I went back to there, and was disappointed to find there wasn’t a running path, so I pretty much just ran around the residential neighborhood surrounding it. Since there were families there at the park, I figured it must be a pretty safe neighborhood (and it was still light out). I stayed within a mile of my car and did a 5k around the park area and enjoyed the weather.

On Monday, I got a recommendation from my supplier of where to go and I made my way to Lake Calhoun. OMG, this place was absolutely perfect! Not only was the weather once again perfect, the path around the lake was split in two, with biking on one portion and running/walking on the other. The path was exactly a 5k around and was so populated, I would have thought it was a Saturday afternoon. There were people sailing and grilling and just hanging out all around the lake. (plus the people on the path, exercising). It was so beautiful with the lake and breeze and just the overall ambience of the place. I would come here every night in the summer, if I lived here. They had a nice little place to order food (which by the time I left ad a line of over 40 people, on a Monday evening!) where I started and ended my run, with some incredible fish tacos and you could eat on the dock overlooking the lake. It was seriously PERFECT. I’m a little disappointed that the next time I come up here, it’ll most likely be cold/snowing and I won’t be able to get back to this lake!

 

my attempt at a panoramic picture of the lake and trail

 

 

Where I stay in Cumberland, Maryland there is also a running/bike path (The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath) along the Potomac River so I got another run in there on Wednesday when I arrived. The last times I was here, I was pregnant so didn’t get to fully enjoy it, as I wasn’t exercising at all, well not more than just walking around. It's literally next to the hotel, so it worked out well. Although, still not as nice as Lake Calhoun!

I didn’t make the best food choices overall but I think I made up for them with my extra exercise. I normally don’t get a lot of exercise in when I travel but I made it a priority and the beautiful (non-Florida) weather made it so much more enticing to get outside. I did stay away from the make-your-own waffle iron at the hotel breakfast and opted for a yogurt parfait each morning so that helped. Can’t say much for my lunch/dinner choices though, but I didn’t go completely overboard at least. This coming week will be harder as I’m visiting with a friend this weekend before getting back on the road for work (which I won’t really have much down time in the evenings like I did this week on travel) so I’m sure there will be some drinking thrown in there too.

Today also marks another month (10) postpartum and I’m still working on my downward trend, albeit, it is slowing down and definitely getting harder as I get closer to my goal! 10 months post-partum and 47 lbs down from the morning my water broke!

Week Ending July 17^th:

Weight: 153.6 lbs
Exercise: 
     3.10 miles in 30:54 (11:45 pace)
     1.00 miles in 08:37 < - new fastest pace ever!
     1.17 miles walk

Week Ending July 24^th:
Weight: 153.0 lbs
Exercise: 
     2.22 miles in 26:02 (11:45 pace)
     3.10 miles in 34:19 (11:04 pace)
     3.10 miles in 31:17 (10:05 pace)
     3.57 miles in 37:30 (10:30 pace)

 

Overall Weight Lost since "Starting Point" 10/24/14: 23.6 lbs.

Cool Summer Mornings 5k Series - Race #2: Military Race Recap



(source)

 

Two weeks ago, I ran Race # 2 of the Cool Summer Mornings 5k Series which was a Military theme. Everything was pretty much the same as Race # 1, last month.  I love running along the lake! They did start this race about 15 minutes earlier than last month, which considering the temperature outside, any little bit helped. It was about 10 degrees warmer than last month and it FELT it (mid 80s). I wore my Garmin this race since my phone was acting up so I didn’t get my mile splits since it was set to run my intervals and apparently my Garmin doesn’t do both. So even with the heat, having to stop TWICE to tie my shoes, and dealing with cramps, I am very happy with my time. I shaved almost 2.5 minutes off of my time from last month and that sub-30 is so close I can taste it! It’s nice to have an apples to apples comparison (other than the heat, the course is identical) each month.

I had the same problem as last month, with the course logistics of sharing with the tri-athletes. This time though I pretty much just ran in the middle and let them go around me since it seemed like no one was consistent with which side they are were running on. Parking was once against terrine, and I didn’t leave any earlier than I did last time and the race started earlier, so of course I had to park further away. It really wasn’t a huge deal though since I didn’t have anywhere I needed to be RIGHT after the race. I even had enough time to walked back to my car before the race, up a Clermont hill, because I forgot my sunglasses there.

Overall, another great race and another medal to add to my rack!

 Official Chip Time: 30:54 (overall pace of 9:57)

Place: 163 of 452 Finishers
Place: 71 of the 278 Women Finishers
Place: 12 of 35 in my Women’s Age Division (25-29)

 My Garmin stats:

3.10 miles in 30:57 (overall pace of 10:40)

Follow Through Friday - Fastest Pace Ever!

Another week flew on by so, just a quick update for this week:

The weekend was part of a 4 day weekend for me, I definitely didn’t eat well at all those 4 days and I was feeling so gross on Monday. Luckily I kicked it back into gear on Monday so I didn’t completely sabotage my efforts for the week. I didn’t meal prep on Sunday so it kind of threw me off for the week but I did track all my food regardless and was able to keep my intake within 100 calories of my 1200 calorie/day goal.  This helped me almost get back down to where I was 2 weeks ago, and I really need to watch it this week if I want to hit my DietBet goal next weekend. Luckily, we don’t have too big of plans this weekend so that should help! It’s kind of strange how much I love going back to work on Mondays in regards to my diet, since I do so much better when in my normal week day routine. Although would have been even better had I meal prepped!

I got in some good exercise this week too. Friday we walked around Seaworld for a few hours and Saturday I ran the 4 on the 4th Race which I recapped earlier this week. Monday I ran another sub 30 5k, followed up with a 30 minute walk; Wednesday I had a tummy ache so I just walked for 45 minutes and Thursday I ran my fastest pace ever and made it 2 miles! I have also successfully completed all days so far of my “Sleek Arms” Challenge that I mentioned last week.

 

Weight: 154.6 lbs
Exercise: 

     4.05 miles in 43:21 (10:41 pace)

     3.10 miles in 29:18 (9:27 pace)

     1.71 miles walk

     2.47 miles walk

     2.00 miles in 17:58 (8:59 pace) < - fastest pace ever!
     

Overall Weight Lost since "Starting Point" 10/24/14: 22.0 lbs.

 

It's a Busy Life!

I used to blog about our family and what all we've been up to. There really wasn't any reason I stopped other than I got so far behind through the holidays and I didn't know how to pick back up without giving like a million word update. Well, I'm not going to give that million word update, just kind of pick up where we are in life right now. 

Life is good as a family of four.  We stay super busy every weekend and during the week it's the same ol, same ol.. work, eat, sleep and a workout or two thrown in there. 

Last weekend, was a 4 day weekend for me, and a 3 day weekend for G. I took Thursday as a complete "me" day! Started off the morning with a massage, then a facial, and then got my hair done. I finished the day off with some shopping. G has a thing for red hair, so I told him the next time I got my hair done, I would throw some red in it... and so I did. I also chopped it short! I love the cut itself, and everyone seems to love the red, but to me it's a little pink so it's still growing on me. I've gotten a ton of compliments though and because of the length, it kind of forces me to DO my hair more often. 

Friday morning, we went and got ABS 9 month photos done as well as some family photos. We haven't gotten any professional family photos with the four of us yet and now that ABS can sit up by herself, we figured it would be a good time.  We've been using Olivia Chapman Photography and think she is just very talented and reasonably priced. (we used her for ABS 3- and 6-Month photos as well). Can't wait to see how this session turned out! 

sneak peek

And since you missed out due to my lack of blogging, here are a few of my favorites from her 3 and 6 Month photos:

After pictures, we took a ride over to Seaworld for a few hours. We got annual passes earlier this year when they were BOGO, and we are totally getting our money's worth. We usually go for just a few hours each time we go and EMS absolutely loves it there. Especially the Carousel and train ride! We finally got to see the new Clyde and Seamore show as well. It was really cute (and corny!). 

For the 4th of July, I started out by running the local 4 on the 4th Race and then we spent the rest of the day attending a party at our good friend's condo downtown. They live on the 19th floor, overlooking Lake Eola, which is a great spot to watch fireworks. We all had a great time but EMS was scared of the fireworks this year. When we were outside on the balcony watching them she was holding on to me for dear life and covering her eyes. Inside she was a little better but you could tell she was still a little scared. 

On Sunday we did a nice trip to Costco and had lunch a this new little Mexican restaurant I've been dying to try. Our local Rants/Raves/Reviews Facebook Group has been raving about it for the last few months. It's called the Ocoee Taco Company and it's a tiny, hole in the wall place but the food was pretty good and I'd probably go back (I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, but if we were around there and itching for Mexican, I'd definitely go back!) Their salsa was really great and so was their quesadillas. The tacos were alright but needed some of the sauces to add flavor. G prefers more tex-mex like Tijuana Flats vs. authentic Mexican, so he wasn't as big of a fan. 

Other than that, Sunday was left to relaxing and not doing much and early to bed! I should have been doing laundry, I've got LOADS to put away, but such is life, I'll get to it this week some time! 

Hopefully I'll be back to blogging semi-regularly about our family and life vs. just my weight loss journey!

4 on the 4th Race Recap

This past weekend, I ran a local race called, 4 on the 4th – for the 4th of July! I had ran this race back in 2013 and loved it and had I not been so miserably pregnant last July I would have ran it last year too. This race was literally two miles from my house, so it was really nice not to have to get up too early for it. I met up with some of the MRTT Mommas before the race and ran the majority of the race alongside one momma, Tracey I had started the race doing 2:00/:30 intervals but once I caught up to Tracey, I switched to her intervals which were 3:30/1:00. Except for the very end where I sprinted towards the finish as I knew I could probably beat my time from 2013 if I hustled, and I beat it officially by a little over a minute. 

The course took us through Oakland and was pretty much all residential. Since I was chatting with someone pretty much the whole time, I didn’t really notice too much of my surroundings. It was surprisingly cool (around 72 degrees) when the race started thanks to a big storm that blew through the night before.  I’m actually surprised it wasn’t more humid because of that, but I certainly wasn’t complaining. I ran with my water bottle, so I didn't pay that much attention to water stops, but I do recall there being at least two, which is plenty for a 4 mile race. My only complaint about the race was the fact that just like the Winter Garden Valentine’s 5k, they didn’t have a timing mat at the start line. Had I realized that, I would have tried to start closer to the front, granted since it was such a small race, starting in the middle of the pack, only cost me about 13 seconds. I’m assuming it must cost significantly more money for them to have a starting mat because this is the second race I’ve done, that Tri-n-Run hosted, that didn’t have this. My other complaint was there wasn’t a medal, but I knew that before I signed up so I don’t hold that against them. 

They had an event photographer that got some very unflattering pics of me crossing the finish line, but here they are and a few post-race group shots with some of the MRTT Mommas! I missed the big group picture at the beginning because I was changing into a more festive tank top but there was a good amount of us at this race. (There was another 4th of July race in Downtown Orlando – The Watermelon 5k – and MRTT won the largest team in that race!). 

As long as my schedule allows, I plan to do this race every year!  It’s a fun little local race with yummy watermelon at the end and maybe one day they’ll throw a medal into it!

My Stats:
Official Chip Time: 43:34 (overall pace of 10:53)
Place: 169 of the 312 Finishers
Place: 77 of the 184 Women Finishers
Place: 9 of 15 in my Women’s Age Division (25-29)

My RunKeeper stats:
4.05 miles in 43:21 (overall pace of 10:41)
Mile 1: 10:12 pace
Mile 2: 11:16 pace
Mile 3: 10:53 pace
Mile 4: 10:35 pace
.05: 7:31 pace

Follow through Friday - A Busy July and a Sub 30 5k

I can NOT believe it is already July… June just FLEW by! I missed updating last week but had time off yesterday so I was able to catch up!

Two weeks ago, I was actually able to work out with G. We never really have this opportunity because of his work travel plus the kids so I was excited to be able to do this. He has a personal trainer who sends him weekly workouts to do while on the road, but he saved this one for Friday when he was home (and so was I since it was my off-Friday) and the girls were still at daycare so we went together to our community clubhouse gym and did it together. It didn’t feel too tough while doing it, beside the crunches, but boy was I sore for days after it! It was also so much more fun to do it with him! Then between being sore, busy, lazy, and sick for one day, the only other exercise I got that week was a 2 mile run. I programmed the treadmill to gradually increase speed (all on incline 1.0) with a small 30 second decrease after the 1^st mile and increase back up so that I would hit 2 miles in 18:30. I increased it a little quicker than the program was set for, and finished in 18:27. It was really tough and I wanted to stop many times but I kept talking myself out of it “it’s only 8 more minutes, only 5 more minutes, only 30 more seconds” etc.  It’s crazy for me to think that there are people whose recovery paces are still faster than this whereas this took everything out of me to achieve. 

Now on to this past week. I started my exercise off on Saturday morning with a MRTT run. Which we actually did two separate runs. A few of us (4 total) met up earlier for a 3 mile run at a little faster pace than the 5k group that we had ran with a few weeks ago and then when that was over, the 5k group arrive and we did 3 miles with them (one of the girls and I continued on and did 3.2 miles). We ended up having 11 of us for the 2^nd run, it was such a great turnout! The 5k group is running their first 5k tomorrow for 4^th of July, this will be the 1^st 5k for many of them, how exciting!! I chose not to that race b/c it is further away and signed up for the local “4 on the 4^th” race tomorrow. Anyways, it is getting SO hot out now that even a run at 6:15 am is pretty rough. I’m so not looking forward to the 8am start time for my next 5k on the 11^th, it’s going to be miserably hot. And then I have another on the 18^th. Totally didn’t realize I had races 3 weeks in a row! Why again did I sign up for summer races??  I also started this “30 Day Sleek Arms Challenge” for the month of July. I’ve never successfully finished a 30 day challenge before, so I’m trying to change that!

I also have big news!! I finally ran a sub 30 5k! I actually ended up doing it in less than 29 minutes! My run on Wednesday was a 5k at 1.0 incline in 28:52!! I don't know how I'll be able to mimic that outside in the heat but it felt SO good to finally do it. I can't wait to do it again and keep improving! 

My eating has been alright, not on par, but not completely out of control either and I did gain this week. I haven’t really been sticking to the carb cycling, pretty much just back to counting calories and reducing carbs on some days but not really sticking to the 5 meals a day either. July is just going to be so crazy too but I need to at least get down to my transformer weigh in weight of 152.3 by July 18/19^th and then if I maintain the rest of the month, I’ll be happy as the last two weeks of July are going to be very tough for me as I’ll be away from home for 14 days in a row between work and personal travel. For the work travel, it isn’t like I’m in one place for several days either,(normally I am), I’ll be flying and driving from multiple locations which will make it really hard to hit the gym but I’m not going to completely write it off and will definitely try!

My stats for the last two weeks:

Week Ending 6/26:

Weight: 153.0 lbs
Exercise:
     .35 mile warm up with 45 minute strength training
     2.00 miles in 18:27 (9:14 pace)

Week Ending 7/3:

Weight: 155.2 lbs
Exercise: 

     3.02 miles in 35:15 (11:41 pace)

     3.21 miles in 39:06 (12:11 pace)

     3.10 miles in 28:52 (9:19 pace)
     

Overall Weight Lost since "Starting Point" 10/24/14: 24.4 lbs.