Follow Through Friday - the next 10

Whew, this week was tough, but I did it! The potty training I mentioned last week didn’t end up happening (after one entire day, she still wasn’t even getting it, even a little bit, so we’ll try again in a few months), but I did pretty well over the weekend without indulging too much (although DID have more than just 2 pieces of Easter candy each day, whoops!) despite not being stuck at home. I hit my 1^st and 2^nd diet bet weigh-ins this week, plus have one more tomorrow (they haven't finalized the payouts yet, so I’ll report back next week on those). And I finally hit the 150’s, which is SO exciting to me! There is just something about hitting the next “tens” spot that really just excites me!

I didn’t get in a lot of exercise this week. I still am not feeling 100% (congested/coughing) but overall feeling much better; but just ultimately didn’t take the time to get the exercise in. I did one walk, two runs, and one night of strength training. Granted, the 3 days of exercise (I don’t count the walk, that’s just an “extra”) were GOOD, solid workouts, but I really am trying to run 3x a week and strength train 2x a week. So, with that goal in mind, this week was well, weak. However, I DID shave off another 54 seconds on my 5k time since last week. I’m really trying to get under a sub-30 5k, and I think in a few more weeks, I may actually hit it (on the treadmill at least, outside it is harder to control my speed). I have a goal in 2015 to race a sub-30 5k, so I’m putting a lot of effort into my speed lately. I’m so close!

Weight: 159.6 lbs

Exercise:

     3.1 miles in 30:43 (9:55 pace)  

     3.1 miles in 30:11 (9:44 pace) <- NEW fastest 5k since having either baby!

     2.92 miles (walk)

     Shoulders/Back (2x)

     Arms (2x)

           

Total Miles: 9.12 miles

Overall Weight Lost since "Starting Point" 10/24/14: 17.0 lbs

Follow Through Friday - Crazy, Busy Week and a Head Cold

What a crazy, busy week! I was so exhausted from the weekend that I went to bed super early Monday night and TuesdayI was at a conference all day and then a reception in the evening, so by the time I got home from that, it was 8pm and I went to bed early again. It takes me a few days to catch up on my sleep if I have a late night over the weekend. WhichSaturday night I didn’t get to bed until 1:45am and was up tossing and turning at 5am so out of bed by 7. We had such a fun filled weekend with Easter festivities and a BBQ with our awesome neighbors.

I was really bad with my food all weekend and on Tuesday at the conference, which of course made me feel like crap afterwards. Such a vicious cycle I put myself through. I did however make my final Transformer Diet Bet weigh in and in 6 months, I lost 10% and won $295.94!! (Profit of $150.94 after my buy in). I’m pretty stoked about that! I’m in two more overlapping transformers and hoping the final payouts are similar! I love making money for doing what I’m doing! This week coming, I have no plans on the weekend and won’t be leaving the house as we are doing a 3-day potty training boot camp with EM so I won’t have any temptations. No eating out, no drinking, no bad snacks (other than all that Easter candy on the counter.. but I’ve been pretty good about not eating the holiday candy – I let myself have two small pieces per day if wanted!) I have three DietBet weigh ins this week (Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) and am determined to hit them, and if I do, I’ll finally be in the 150’s which is my April goal!

I did minimal exercise this week, but got in two really good runs at least. I got up early on Saturday morning and ran on the trail with some ladies from MRTT, they were running 9 miles, so I only ran ~2 with them and turned back as I was only planning on 4. Last week, I hit my fastest post-children 5k and this week I improved it by 45 seconds! I was SO not in the mood to exercise on Wednesday, but I got on the treadmill anyways and decided to give it a go. I almost stopped at 1 mile, and then 2, and then said you know what, let’s just do a 5k and see where I end up. I’m so glad I kept going and pushed myself as I’m pretty dang impressed with myself! This is the fastest 5k I’ve ran since 2011! I didn't get in any strength training this week, Tuesday I was at the conference/reception and then Thursday I went home from work sick with a head cold and slept pretty much all day/night. Feeling a little better today and hoping to get a run in tonight at least. 

Weight: 163.2 lbs

Runs:

     4.18 miles in 47:00 (11:15 pace)

     3.1 miles in 31:05 (10:02 pace)  <- NEW fastest 5k since having either baby

Walks:

     1.2 total miles (combined)

Total Miles: 8.48 miles

Overall Weight Lost since "Starting Point" 10/24/14: 13.4 lbs

Follow through Friday - Pre Baby Weight!

Posting almost a week late, whoops

I hit my pre-baby (#2) weight! I still have a ways to go before I hit my ultimate goal, or even before I hit my pre-baby #1 weight, but it’s nice to see progress! I actually started strength training this week! I did 2 rounds of my Shoulders/Back circuit (see below for description on all my circuits) on Tuesday and then did my Chest Circuit, 2x, on Thursday. I went back and read through my workouts from last year and I was supposed to do 2 rounds of 2 different circuits each time I did strength training, which I intend to do next week. This was a good start for me though; my chest is a little sore today, which is a sign of a good workout. I also have difficulty doing jumping jacks as my one knee was hurting, so I’m going to try to substitute that out for something else next week. The “bodyweight step up” in the should/back circuit was previously mountain climbers but the toes on my left foot were hurting when I did those so I changed that out as well. My right foot has been hurting too, although oddly enough, not when I run, just when I’m wearing no shoes or less supportive shoes. I have an appointment on Monday to get that checked out and plan to have them check out my left foot too. I really hope I’m not told to stop running; that would be such a bummer.

Food wise, I did pretty good overall all week. A little cheating on the weekend but nothing too serious (obviously since I lost a pound this week). This weekend is going to be killer with so many plans. We have a community Easter Egg Hunt and Potluck on Saturday followed by a BBQ at our neighbors on Saturday night (which means probably a lot of drinking) and then we will be gone all day on Easter for a yummy Easter dinner. I know my sister in law is making some Cauliflower “mashed potatoes” in addition to her regular mashed potatoes so I’m going to at least try to sub those out.

Weight: 161.4 lbs

Runs:

     3.45 miles in 39:09 (11:21 pace)

     4.05 miles in 45:35 (11:15 pace)

     3.1 miles in 33:38 (10:51 pace)

     3.1 miles in 31:50 (10:16 pace)  ß fastest 5k since having either baby

Walks:

     2.41 total miles (combined)

Total Miles: 15.2 miles

Overall Weight Lost since "Starting Point" 10/24/14: 15.2 lbs

Shoulders/Back Circuit

Bodyweight Step Up – 20 reps per leg

Bent Over Two Arm DB row – 10 lbs – 14 reps

Standing Overhead Press - 10 lbs – 15 reps

Single Arm DB Row – 14 lbs – 10 reps

Plank – 45 seconds

Band Lateral Raise – 15 reps

Kettlebell Upright Rows – 25 reps

Russian Twist – 8 lbs – 15 reps

Arms Circuit

Treadmill – 2% incline, run at 7 mph for 1 min

Chair or Bench Dips – 20 reps - Similar to the video, except you will have your feet on the ground/no weight added 

Dumbbell Curls – 10 lbs – 10 reps 

Close grip girl push ups – 15 reps 

Plank – 45 seconds

Cross Body Hammer Curl – 10 lbs – 10 reps 

Kettlebell Swings – 25 reps

Knee to Opposite Elbows – 20 reps each side alternating 

Legs Circuit

Jump Squats – 20 reps 

Lunges – 20 reps each leg 

Side Planks – 25 seconds per side

Jump Squats – 20 reps

Plank – 45 seconds

Lunges – 20 reps each leg

Kettlebell Swings– 25 reps

Chest Circuit 

Jumping Jacks – 30 reps

Girl Push Ups – 25 reps

Kettlebell Swings– 25 reps

Dumbbell Flyes – 10 lbs - 14 reps

Plank – 45 seconds

Crawl Push Ups – 5 reps (Start in same position as girl pushup.  Move right hand to center and move the lefthand out to normal spacing, basically you will shift your position to angled to the left instead of straight. Do a pushup, then move your left hand to where your right hand is at, shift your right hand out to normal spacing so you are now facing at an angle to the right. Do a pushup, then go back to starting position angled to the left side, that is 1 rep)

Supermans – 25 reps

Follow Through Friday(s) - Making Progress

Here is two weeks worth of posts.. I wrote the first one last week and forgot to post it. 

Post from 3/20:

Another week, another pound. I just can’t seem to socially eat/drink in a healthy way. There are ALWAYS healthy options, but I of course go for the non-healthy options.  Had two birthday parties, a bbq, and St. Patricks day this week and it’s a wonder I lost at all. I guess it helps I keep my eating on point during the days I don’t have any plans, but almost every single weekend we’ve got something going on and I just can’t resist the temptations. Like, we’re going to an open-bar wedding tonight and tomorrow we’re celebrating my grandfather’s birthday. One NSV (non-scale victory) this week was, I did pre-choose my meal for Yard House before I went out for lunch yesterday. I looked up the nutrition facts on their website before heading out and picked out what I was going to get, actually ordered that specific entrée (490 calorie Thai chicken noodle salad) and even though everything on the menu looked delicious I didn’t order anything besides what I planned (it was very hard to find something under 500 calories there!). It was very yummy and a big enough portion to fill me up too! Baby steps to making some better decisions? Maybe? My race on Saturday went terrible; you can read all about it here, but at least I finished and burned those calories before we went to one of the birthday parties mentioned above!

Weight: 164.2 lbs

Runs:

     2.00 miles in 25:08 (12:34 pace)

     6.20 miles in 1:15:27 (12:10 pace)

     2.00 miles in 22:29 (11:15 pace)

     1.00 miles in 10:11 (10:11 pace)

Walks:

     5.08 total miles (combined)

Total Miles: 16.28 miles Overall Weight Lost since "Starting Point" 10/24/14: 12.4 lbs

Post for this week, 3/27:

I'm at the lowest weight I have been since I had ABS and it feels great! I went shopping last night and bought a pair of size 8 shorts, granted we all know Old Navy runs bigger than most brands, like I couldn't even fit in the size 10 shorts at Target and these fit comfortably! I have a few other pairs of size 8 in my closet that are a different cut/style that don't fit yet but I'm confident they will soon! This week, I took a really quick trip to California for work, I stuck to my calorie limit while eating out /traveling for two full days, which I never seem to do while traveling. I looked everything up and logged it all. I got a run in too! More Non-Scale Victories! 

I decided I’m going to start my strength training again now that I’m not running as high of mileage each week (not that that should have been a reason NOT to do it, but I let it be a reason). I know that will help burn more fat and maybe will give me the re-focus I need.  I think 10-15 miles of walking/running a week will be my goal until I start half-training again and at least ONE day of strength training. I already have my workouts for it, just need to start. I only ran one day this week and walked one day, so that part wasn't very good. 

Weight: 162.4 lbs

Runs:

     3.1 miles in 35:08 (11:19 pace)

Walks:

     1.34 total miles (combined)

Total Miles: 4.44 miles Overall Weight Lost since "Starting Point" 10/24/14: 14.2 lbs

Winter Park Road Race 10k + 2 Miler Distance Dare Recap

Two weekends ago, I ran the Winter Park Road Race 10k + 2 Miler Distance Dare. This was my worst race last year, probably because I was about 8 weeks pregnant and hadn’t been running a lot/was feeling sick and fatigued but so far this year, it was also my worst race and I can assure you I am not pregnant again!

MRTT Mommas

Before the race, I was actually able to meet up with my MRTT Running group (I’m usually running late and miss the meet-up), and there were several chapters represented! During the meet up, I was able to find my friend Meredith, and we ran the 2 miler together. We ran a nice, easy pace and chatted the whole way. We ran the first mile straight through and then started 2/1 intervals during the 2^nd mile.  She was meeting up with a different friend for the 10k and I was on a hunt to find a bathroom between the 2 Miler and the 10k so we separated after the 2 miler. I unfortunately only had about 6 minutes between races so I wasn’t able to find a bathroom and started the 10k with really needing to pee. Luckily I was able to find a no-line porta-potty during mile 2 so it wasn’t too bad and didn’t really affect my time (not that it was great regardless of the stop). The one good thing about this course is it goes through Winter Park and there are quite a few houses under construction along the course so there are plenty of random porta-pottys for us runners.

I had a terrible stomachache/cramps during the 10k which made it just miserable to run. I kept thinking to myself, well I can just walk the rest, but then I’d think, but the more I walk the longer it’ll take to get home and showered. Plus we had plans later that morning so I knew I needed to get home as quickly as possible. It was super humid out too so it felt a lot warmer than it was. The last few races I have run in have had beautiful running weather so the humidity on this one really sucked. 

This is the second time I’ve done this race/distance dare event and both times I had bad experiences (mostly because of how I was feeling though, not because of the race itself). The 2-miler was so crowded and full of people who had zero running etiquette. This is pretty common for shorter runs and this old sold out, so it was very congested. It’s a good starter race for people who aren’t quite ready for a 5k and I only run that in addition to the 10k because it comes with a medal. I actually do really enjoy the course of both (minus the brick paver roads). There are a lot of nice things to look at (golf course, lakes, parks, mansions, etc.) and it’s mostly shaded. They do a great post-race party and always give out a nice wine glass to participants (plus the medal for the 10k). Track Shack does put on good events, although they are pretty much selling out all their races lately (good for them obviously) but it also means they are pretty crowded events. I always get sucked into this particular race because it’s a distance dare and it has medals, but I don’t think I’ll participate next year. Although, I say that now, knowing me, I’ll probably change my mind when it comes around haha.

My 2 Miler Stats:

Official Chip Time: 24:55 (overall pace of 12:14)

Place: 760 of 1037 Finishers

Place: 452 of the 671 Women Finishers

Place: 57 of 84 in my Women’s Age Division (25-29)

My RunKeeper stats:

2.04 miles in 24:55 (overall pace of 12:14) <- wow I don’t think my RunKeeper time has EVER been the exact same as my chip

Fastest Mile: #1 at 11:39

Slowest Mile: #2 at 12:53

My 10k Stats:

Official Chip Time: 1:15:27 (overall pace of 12:08) 

Place: 1914 of 3013 Finishers

Place: 1111 of the 2007 Women Finishers

Place: 160 of 281 in my Women’s Age Division (25-29)

My RunKeeper stats:

6.30 miles in 1:15:00 (overall pace of 11:54) <- I started it late

Fastest Mile: #3 at 11:24

Slowest Mile: #5 at 12:34 

Distance Dare Stats (they had limited stats, added together the two times & showed placement for gender): 

Official Chip Time: 1:40:35
Place: 272 of 462 Women Finishers

and the commemorative wine glass