Is this realistic?

[Dis_Yoda]

That is a good comment about making changes you actually are able to keep versus crash dieting or super focused-non-sustainable actions.

I've seen it with a few people I'm friends with at work getting off and on the wagon way too much. They restrict themselves to a diet so clean that as soon as they reintroduce something with carbs or greasy fat, they get off the wagon really really quickly and stay that way. Then 3 weeks later they are back and it keeps going back and forth.

I know I don't eat the best but I've stayed at least strict to my workout plan for the most part. If you restrict too much, chances are it won't be sustainable.

Keep up the training! Even if you do end up towards the balloon ladies, from what I've read, they are super encouraging and try to keep you moving so you don't fall behind them.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I didn't worry about what I ate while I was camping. I knew that I was more active overall than usual so I did splurge. I found that I could not eat things I normally would have as they gave me a stomach ache. That was interesting. I'm good with how it worked out.

All reports I have read indicate that participants get a medal whether they finish or not. It has made a lot of finishers upset and there's a lot online regarding this. I stand by my comment to *earn* it vs *getting* it. 2 months to go to work on that. I will try to fit in more runs as I've kind of substituted zumba in their place recently. I'm not sure about doing speed work. I kind of feel as though it would be pointless because of where I am at.

This weekend my mom commented on how I looked as though I had lost weight. Today my boss made a comment as well. It is nice for people to be commenting on it and reinforces all my work. I have not lost much weight, but I have toned and strengthened what I do have. I am ok with slow progress as long as it is trending in the right direction. Could I lose faster? Sure I definitely could BUT I know that I would fall off the wagon and end up right where I started. So this way I am incorporating it as a permanent change. Works for me.

Its a great feeling when people start noticing the weight loss. Gives you more motivation and gets you fired up to keep going and pushing hard. You look at yourself everyday, it is hard to see the changes. Even now, down 30 lbs, I still look at myself in the mirror and still look fat to me. But, I saw my old boss Monday, when I went to try and get my job back, and he commented on how different I am looking. I haven't seen him in a couple years. It must be pretty obvious.

Keep up the good work. Pretty soon you will need to start buying new clothes. That's a bittersweet experience because you don't wanna spend money on new clothes but at the same time you feel great about buying new clothes if that makes any sense???

 

[Waiting2goback]

Keep up the training! Even if you do end up towards the balloon ladies, from what I've read, they are super encouraging and try to keep you moving so you don't fall behind them.

I have actually heard the same thing. I also heard they stop toward the end of the races so as long as you make it to mile 8, for example, then you are safe.

 

[StayCool]

That is a good comment about making changes you actually are able to keep versus crash dieting or super focused-non-sustainable actions.

I've seen it with a few people I'm friends with at work getting off and on the wagon way too much. They restrict themselves to a diet so clean that as soon as they reintroduce something with carbs or greasy fat, they get off the wagon really really quickly and stay that way. Then 3 weeks later they are back and it keeps going back and forth.

I know I don't eat the best but I've stayed at least strict to my workout plan for the most part. If you restrict too much, chances are it won't be sustainable.

Keep up the training! Even if you do end up towards the balloon ladies, from what I've read, they are super encouraging and try to keep you moving so you don't fall behind them.

Thanks! I'm trying. For some reason it was fairly easy for me to get back to eating better but I'm struggling with starting my exercise again. I was going to run Tuesday but we had a severe thunderstorm. I should have ran on the treadmill but didn't want to. Wednesday I had a bad headache and just felt exhausted. Today I am going to walk with a friend and tomorrow I'm missing Zumba again because my son has a dr appt. I will try to get up and go at 5 am but it is hard to do that when it's my day off.

Its a great feeling when people start noticing the weight loss. Gives you more motivation and gets you fired up to keep going and pushing hard. You look at yourself everyday, it is hard to see the changes. Even now, down 30 lbs, I still look at myself in the mirror and still look fat to me. But, I saw my old boss Monday, when I went to try and get my job back, and he commented on how different I am looking. I haven't seen him in a couple years. It must be pretty obvious.

Keep up the good work. Pretty soon you will need to start buying new clothes. That's a bittersweet experience because you don't wanna spend money on new clothes but at the same time you feel great about buying new clothes if that makes any sense???

I will shop at the thrift store for clothes. lol I'm crazy like that.

Has anyone ever done the RockinRun Marathons? I'm looking for things to keep me motivated and there is a half marathon there this year that looks like fun. I'm not looking to run it this year, but would definitely keep an eye on it for next year. And the pace requirements would be fine for where I'm at now.

 

[bumbershoot]

All reports I have read indicate that participants get a medal whether they finish or not. It has made a lot of finishers upset and there's a lot online regarding this.

Disney races? Everything I've ever read says that you are given the medal along with your box of food if you get swept.

What each person does with that is totally up to them. For me, getting it would be good (b/c it's part of the race fee) but I would have to keep it separate from the others. (not that I've displayed ANY medals yet, they are all in a box) It would then be motivation.

The bibs are what I really feel are IT for me; they show that I signed up and I trained and I was there. The bib is the culmination of my efforts, and I do display those.


While losing I wore a "uniform"...it was all Old Navy jeans and "perfect tees" and "vintage" tees. I figured they weren't going to change the way they size things to a different level than they already do, so I could rely on the numbers on the tags. Plus ON can be cheap if you get them at the right time. Then I donate them to Goodwill, so thrift store shopping works, too!

 

[StayCool]

Disney races? Everything I've ever read says that you are given the medal along with your box of food if you get swept.

What each person does with that is totally up to them. For me, getting it would be good (b/c it's part of the race fee) but I would have to keep it separate from the others. (not that I've displayed ANY medals yet, they are all in a box) It would then be motivation.

The bibs are what I really feel are IT for me; they show that I signed up and I trained and I was there. The bib is the culmination of my efforts, and I do display those.


While losing I wore a "uniform"...it was all Old Navy jeans and "perfect tees" and "vintage" tees. I figured they weren't going to change the way they size things to a different level than they already do, so I could rely on the numbers on the tags. Plus ON can be cheap if you get them at the right time. Then I donate them to Goodwill, so thrift store shopping works, too!

I want the medal because at the very least *I tried*. I did train. I didn't just show up and think I could just stroll through. I've never trained for anything before and that alone has been a huge learning process.

For now I can still wear my clothes and truly I'm only concerned about work. When I get home I change into "comfy" clothes which is generally all stretchy and forgiving. lol For work I have to wear dress clothes. I'm getting away with rolling the tops of my pants for now. And I really will go to the thrift stores and look for things. Finding good plus size clothing is difficult, but it won't be too much longer and it won't be plus size anymore!

I tried on my homemade mickey head tie dye today. Let's just say it fits but not in a way I am comfortable with. I have 55 days until I leave. I need to get motivated again and I am really struggling with it. Eating is ok but I could really tighten up on that. Exercise has fallen by the wayside this entire week. Starting tomorrow I am going to do my best to get in 5 workouts a week. My body just feels a bit worn out right now. I'm not sure if that is due to vacation or what. So the plan is 2 days of Zumba and 3 days of runs. The biggest difficulty is the 2 runs during the week. I need to figure out how to make them happen and not make excuses.

I'm hoping that everyone is having a good weekend. I will be running 3 miles tomorrow instead of 7 because I just think I need a break. I will do the 7 next weekend.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I need to get motivated again and I am really struggling with it. Eating is ok but I could really tighten up on that. Exercise has fallen by the wayside this entire week. Starting tomorrow I am going to do my best to get in 5 workouts a week. My body just feels a bit worn out right now. I'm not sure if that is due to vacation or what. So the plan is 2 days of Zumba and 3 days of runs. The biggest difficulty is the 2 runs during the week. I need to figure out how to make them happen and not make excuses.

I'm hoping that everyone is having a good weekend. I will be running 3 miles tomorrow instead of 7 because I just think I need a break. I will do the 7 next weekend.

Don't feel bad about the lack of motivation. The same thing happens to me when I take any time off from my workouts. If I miss 3 days in a row or more it is so hard to get started again but once I put 2 days of exercise together in a row then I am back in the groove. You just need to force yourself to do it. Even if you do a lesser workout, like you mentioned, as the ice breaker it will make it easier.

Today is my long run day. I am shooting for 10 miles today. Keeping my fingers crossed. My legs are sore from my Friday run still. It was an "easy" run on my schedule but something happened and despite me trying to run slow I was running as fast as I did the day of my 10K. It was good that day but might make today harder.

 

[StayCool]

Good luck doing your 10 miles today.

I had to fight with myself to get out there this morning, but I did. I did 3 miles. I walked the whole thing and just focused on keeping up my pace. The sad thing is that I walked it faster today than I have ever ran it. Oh well. Here's to recommitting and continuing to move and at least maintain.

Off topic, I'm starting to get into the details a little more with my trip. It is hard because no one in my family has any interest in helping me plan. So I guess we will just do what I want and they will deal. I am getting a little overwhelmed though. No matter how much research I've done, there is so much I don't know.

 

[Waiting2goback]

No running for me today. My shins are hurting, which hasn't happened yet. Normally I might have ran but had an arguement with the "wife" today and it sucked all the motivation out of me. I know I shouldn't have let it, but I did.

Great job getting out there and forcing yourself to workout. Very hard to do. And it doesn't matter why you were faster, whether running or walking, the important thing is you were faster.

There is so much to do at WDW it can be overwhelming for sure. Try not to let it. The fact is, you won't be able to see it all on this trip. So, my advice would be to go and see the major things on your list and try to enjoy the rest. You might see something you enjoy that you didn't expect. You might get ideas for your next trip. I do very little planning on my Disney trips. I plan when I'm going and where I'm staying. After that I don't worry much about it because I know I will have a good time and I just go with the flow. Now, when I do finally go with my kids I will have to plan A LOT more because my son has food allergies so there will be a lot of planning for meals that I haven't had to do before. But, that is years away at this point.

 

[StayCool]

Today I got on the scale. I really was not expecting much because I didn't work out all week last week and my food choices weren't the greatest. I pretty much ate everything in sight yesterday until I gave up and ate some carbs, well a lot of carbs. I was down 1.8 lbs! Totally was not expecting that and am soooo stinking excited. It puts me at 11.2 total and I finally broke through the 10 lb mark! It comes at a great time because I've been still struggling with motivation so this helps me know I AM doing the right thing even though it is slower than I would like.

Today it is gray and rainy and plain yucky out. As much as I would like to run in the rain I think I will just make myself get 2 miles in on the treadmill. Bleh. But I really want to keep the momentum. Since I am so worried about the balloon ladies, I'm going to try to commit to getting more runs in. One a week just isn't cutting it and if I was honest with myself, I should have known that. I got distracted by Zumba... Oh well. Here's to another week!

 

[Waiting2goback]

Congrats on breaking the 10 lb barrier. Now you're in double digits. That's a big milestone. I see you are struggling with motivation and hopefully this will help. And, I just want to remind you, hopefully without nagging, that you have a goal of finishing this race and not getting swept. You NEED to push. You can't afford to lose motivation. I know it's easier said than done as I am struggling with motivation lately too. But, I would HATE to see you be disappointed or regret not putting in enough work and getting swept.

Weather can't be an excuse. Work can't be an excuse. And I am saying this to us both. I am running 3 days a week, which is OK. But, I am NO WAY near where I have to be to be ready for my marathon on 10/19. We need to push each other. It is official I am not running the ToT. The wife told me yesterday that she doesn't care about my goals or me running my race. She'd rather see the money go to waste. So, I can either let it get me down or I can push through. I am pushing through and I will cross the finish line in my marathon if I have to crawl. Only illness to me or one of my kids will prevent a finish.

I may not be running your race with you but we can still push each other.

OK, enough of my rant. I am off the soapbox. It's going to rain tomorrow and I will be out in the rain. I just can't keep making excuses.

Have a great night.

 

[StayCool]

Congrats on breaking the 10 lb barrier. Now you're in double digits. That's a big milestone. I see you are struggling with motivation and hopefully this will help. And, I just want to remind you, hopefully without nagging, that you have a goal of finishing this race and not getting swept. You NEED to push. You can't afford to lose motivation. I know it's easier said than done as I am struggling with motivation lately too. But, I would HATE to see you be disappointed or regret not putting in enough work and getting swept.

Weather can't be an excuse. Work can't be an excuse. And I am saying this to us both. I am running 3 days a week, which is OK. But, I am NO WAY near where I have to be to be ready for my marathon on 10/19. We need to push each other. It is official I am not running the ToT. The wife told me yesterday that she doesn't care about my goals or me running my race. She'd rather see the money go to waste. So, I can either let it get me down or I can push through. I am pushing through and I will cross the finish line in my marathon if I have to crawl. Only illness to me or one of my kids will prevent a finish.

I may not be running your race with you but we can still push each other.

OK, enough of my rant. I am off the soapbox. It's going to rain tomorrow and I will be out in the rain. I just can't keep making excuses.

Have a great night.

Can you defer TOT until next year and see if you can go then? Maybe your life will be settled a little more then and at least you won't lose the money you paid for the race.

I did not run last night. Instead I started fiddling around my house and getting things together for our trip. BUT this morning I did convince myself to get on the treadmill. It wasn't anything wonderful and no incredible distance but my UP says that I did 2000 steps in less than 20 minutes. I pushed myself harder since I knew it was only going to be a short workout instead of trying to survive a specific distance. I am going to try to do this during the week. The weather is gray and blah again. Zumba is tonight and I'm going even if I have to drag my friend out of her house. lol

 

[Waiting2goback]

Good job getting up this morning. I need to get up and run in the morning. The wife now plays soccer on Thursday nights so I need to run in the morning. Not looking forward to it. When I run on an empty stomach I get shaky and weak and if I eat first I will get cramps. But, I need to do it.

The saga continues. I can defer until next year but the wife already said she won't let me run next year either. So, spending $45 to not be able to do it next year does me no good. But, after finally accepting that I wouldn't be going and moving on from it, I even let everyone know on the ToT thread. She texted me randomly today telling me I could go. So, now I think she is up to something. Pretty bad that this person I once loved and trusted with my life I don't trust as far as I can throw her. Weird how life works, huh? I'm sure you know how I feel.

Now I can go I guess. I am not getting my hopes up though as she might change her mind again tomorrow. She's already changed it twice.

Tune in tomorrow for the latest developments.

 

[StayCool]

Good job getting up this morning. I need to get up and run in the morning. The wife now plays soccer on Thursday nights so I need to run in the morning. Not looking forward to it. When I run on an empty stomach I get shaky and weak and if I eat first I will get cramps. But, I need to do it.

The saga continues. I can defer until next year but the wife already said she won't let me run next year either. So, spending $45 to not be able to do it next year does me no good. But, after finally accepting that I wouldn't be going and moving on from it, I even let everyone know on the ToT thread. She texted me randomly today telling me I could go. So, now I think she is up to something. Pretty bad that this person I once loved and trusted with my life I don't trust as far as I can throw her. Weird how life works, huh? I'm sure you know how I feel.

Now I can go I guess. I am not getting my hopes up though as she might change her mind again tomorrow. She's already changed it twice.

Tune in tomorrow for the latest developments.

Maybe instead of running on an empty stomach or a full stomach you could get a gu/gel or something along those lines? It would give you the fuel you need to get started without taxing your GI system. If I wake up hungry I will have half a banana before working out.

Idk, if you think you will get to end up going then I wouldn't do the deferral. Otherwise I would do it because your situation now is likely not going to be like your situation next year. By then you should have worked through a lot of this stuff.

Last night I went to Zumba and my normal instructor is on vacation so we had another girl. She kicked my butt! I feel better today though than I have in a week so it is helping keep me on track. Tonight I will run in some form. Treadmill probably. Then tomorrow is Zumba again. Sunday will be my 7 miles. I'm getting a little nervous about it because I know at some point I'm going to do a long training run and exceed the amount of time allotted for TOT. I will be bummed. But one foot in front of the other... Who knows what will happen??

 

[Waiting2goback]

I have heard horror stories about those Gu's and gels making people sick so I am not willing to take the chance. Plus I heard they are expensive. I just have a couple spoonfuls of sunflower seed butter before I go out. But lately, even if I have a full stomach I feel shaky in the middle of my runs.

I'm not going to do the deferral even if I can't run this year. First, the $45 is only good until some day this month, not sure which day. After that it goes up more. Right now she is saying I can go so I won't defer. Plus, it is her money, if she wants to waste it just for the sake of sticking it to me then that's her choice.

As for your running. I understand being nervous but I have to say, I sense a lot of self doubt in your posts lately. Hopefully I am not offending you by saying that. You seem to be questioning stuff a lot. I will tell you this though. I wouldn't worry about the speed as much right now. First, you still have like 6 weeks. If you STAY CONSISTENT and get in 3-4 runs a week you will be fine. Second, I learned through experience that you will run faster during the race. Why? Because you will have others around you to pace you. Just find someone in the crowd going faster and tell yourself that you will not let them get out of your sight. This will keep you working hard to keep up with them. You will feed off the energy of everyone else around you. Once the fireworks go off to start the race you will be pumped up. When you train it is by yourself, no fireworks, no characters, etc... It can get boring and when you are struggling you stop cuz there is nobody to push you. My fastest run yet was my 10K proof of time run. 2 months later I still have not run that fast.

The only concern I have that could throw a wrench into the plans it the weather. If it is humid it will slow us down. Just keep working hard and you'll be fine. Plus, if you keep doing the right things you will probably be down another 10-15 lbs by then, making the race easier.

 

[StayCool]

I have heard horror stories about those Gu's and gels making people sick so I am not willing to take the chance. Plus I heard they are expensive. I just have a couple spoonfuls of sunflower seed butter before I go out. But lately, even if I have a full stomach I feel shaky in the middle of my runs.

I'm not going to do the deferral even if I can't run this year. First, the $45 is only good until some day this month, not sure which day. After that it goes up more. Right now she is saying I can go so I won't defer. Plus, it is her money, if she wants to waste it just for the sake of sticking it to me then that's her choice.

As for your running. I understand being nervous but I have to say, I sense a lot of self doubt in your posts lately. Hopefully I am not offending you by saying that. You seem to be questioning stuff a lot. I will tell you this though. I wouldn't worry about the speed as much right now. First, you still have like 6 weeks. If you STAY CONSISTENT and get in 3-4 runs a week you will be fine. Second, I learned through experience that you will run faster during the race. Why? Because you will have others around you to pace you. Just find someone in the crowd going faster and tell yourself that you will not let them get out of your sight. This will keep you working hard to keep up with them. You will feed off the energy of everyone else around you. Once the fireworks go off to start the race you will be pumped up. When you train it is by yourself, no fireworks, no characters, etc... It can get boring and when you are struggling you stop cuz there is nobody to push you. My fastest run yet was my 10K proof of time run. 2 months later I still have not run that fast.

The only concern I have that could throw a wrench into the plans it the weather. If it is humid it will slow us down. Just keep working hard and you'll be fine. Plus, if you keep doing the right things you will probably be down another 10-15 lbs by then, making the race easier.

You need to have some kind of fuel for your runs. If you don't want to do gu or gels or the like, you will need to figure something out because you can't last 26 miles without some kind of fuel.

I don't think that I would call what I am expressing on here self doubt. Instead I would say it is anxiety with a dose of realism. I am running 17-18 minute miles at the beginning of my runs. It gets even slower the longer I go. I guess you could say I am preparing myself for worst case scenario. Something you should know about my personality is that at the core I am a negative person. I work very hard to over come this and surround myself with positive people and I am much better than I ever was. With that being said, I am not the type to sugar coat things, especially when it comes to self awareness. I am proud of the progress I have made and compared to where I was in the beginning of this year. It still may not be enough. I am not giving up. I'm already considering seeing if I can rope a friend into running the Wine & Dine in 2016.

I was supposed to go to Zumba today but my normal instructor wasn't there. So the fill in didn't want to have the class with just me. So run tomorrow and Sunday to make it up I guess.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I know I need to fuel my body for my runs. I just don't want to use the gels and gu's. When I go out for my long runs and I get shaky and weak I pop in some skittles for a bit of sugar. But, I know I have some work to do on my fuel plan for my marathon. I am also concerned about the ToT, if I end up running it. I am not worried about the 10 miles. I know I'll be able to do that barring injury or illness. The people on the ToT thread have me nervous because of the heat and humidity. Plus, I have been looking and trying to figure out what I am going to eat that afternoon for my prerace meal. So, these are all concerns right now.

I am pretty negative by nature as well so you aren't alone. I too and working being more positive. But, we are in a similar position. You are worried about not being ready and being swept for the ToT. I am VERY worried I am not going to be ready for my marathon. Like I said, I feel confident I can do that 10 miles for ToT but another 16 miles on top of that just 2 weeks later? It is intimidating. But you know what, I HAVE to do it. I can't come home from that race without the medal. So, we just need to do what it takes to accomplish our individual goals.

I still think you will be fine. You still have plenty of time. If you do 3-4 runs a week (even if you DREAD the thought of it) for just 6-7 more weeks I think you will be surprised how well you do.

I need to do the same thing. Even if it means getting up at 5 am and getting my runs in the morning. I just need to do it to prove to myself I am not the failure my "wife" tells me I am.

We just need to commit!!!

 

[StayCool]

This morning I did my 7 miles pretty early. I just couldn't sleep and decided to just get out there. I'm going to post the splits for my 6 mile run 2 weeks ago and then today's 7 miles to compare the times. Sorry for all the dots but it is the only way I could think to format it.

...................6 miles....................7 miles
Mile 1............17:40.....................16:19
Mile 2............19:27.....................17:18
Mile 3............19:10.....................16:32
Mile 4............18:38.....................17:02
Mile 5............18:53.....................17:03
Mile 6............18:38.....................18:15
Mile 7..............n/a.......................18:19

Total time:.....1:52:43..................2:00:52

I changed up quite a bit of things today. I drank 16 oz of Gatorade instead of only drinking water. I also ate a Gingersnap waffle Honey Stinger (yum!) and a peanut butter Hammer Gel (I didn't like this one so much). I did those at mile 2 and mile 4. I really did feel a difference with using the fuel vs just running on empty. I also had half a banana before I left the house. I ran/walked/ran the first 5 miles and felt good. At the beginning of mile 6 I stopped running and just walked the rest because my right hip started hurting pretty good and I didn't want to risk injuring myself so late in the game.

The other thing that was really different is the weather. We are having some cold weather in NY and when I went out it was 58 degrees with almost 100% humidity. It was sprinkling during part of my run. The positive? It is much easier to run in cooler weather. The negative? The humidity triggered my asthma and I had a little difficulty the first mile or so. After that was fine.

I have to say that I was excited that I was running better. My 5k time was 10 minutes faster than it had ever been. That helped me keep moving along. I am very happy to see progress and the only real bummer is that I got a blister on my pinky toe. In my husband's words, "Maybe you will make it after all!"

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Congrats on getting your 7 miles done & making gains in your pace! Its good you are playing with the fuel now rather than at race day as there is the rule "nothing new on race day"

Keep the training up!

 

[StayCool]

Congrats on getting your 7 miles done & making gains in your pace! Its good you are playing with the fuel now rather than at race day as there is the rule "nothing new on race day"

Keep the training up!

Thanks! I have to say that it feels weird to eat on the run. I felt a difference in my body by doing it though. Less sluggish and more endurance. My stomach wasn't sure about it at first and I thought I was going to be nauseous but that passed pretty quickly. I've been eating out of the stuff Stride Box sent me. Any recommendations on places I could get individual things to try?