lola's adventure:from couch to 1/2 marathon!!!

[lolakat]

Did my 45 min run last night with 3min run/1min walk intervals. Went 4.09 miles with a 11.00 min/mile pace. It felt pretty good. I took the runs a little slower since I had less recovery time and I deffinetly felt that. That's why my overall pace was about the same. The plan still has our long run at a 3/2 ratio for a while so I will play with this a little and see what feels good on race day. I'm signed up for my first race ever, an 8k, on Nov 20th. Should be very interesting.

Food Monday:
B: sandwich thin and peanut butter
S: A whole bunch of crackers (WHY??????)
L: LC medeteranian chicken
S: Apple
D: roasted chicken and asparagus
S: SC ice cream sandwich

(Today had been good so far... no candy, no crackers )

There won't be time for a weigh in tonight. The dinner I have to go to got moved up by 30min so I'll have to go straight from work. I'm going to try to get to WW tomorrow after work. They have a 6:30 mtg on Wednesdays that I can sometimes get make it to in time. The numbers on the scale at home are still down a little from the last weigh in so hopefully it won't really be a gain.

 

[lolakat]

Made it home late from dinner last night so no cross training. Maybe I will try to do something light tonight before my 45 min run tomorrow.

Food Yesterday:
B: sandwich thin with peanut butter
S: Apple
L: LC sweedish meatballs
D: mushroom/cabbage steamed dumplings and Steamed Cod
S: I had a few bites of chocolate cake wich came as dessert (wel... at least I didn't eat and crackers or candy)

Hoping to make it to a WW weight in tonight. It is a little earlier than my regular meeting but I'm hoping I can make it out. Folks at work have started to notice and comment about my weight loss. (It took about 40lbs becuase scrubs can hide a multitude of sins). It makes me feel a little uncomfortable because I don't really know any of them on a personal level. I keep thinking to myself, "ugh... this just means they'll notice when I gain it back." I must learn to have a more positive internal dialouge!! Talking about my running doesn't make me feel as self consious as talking about the acutal weight loss so I try to focus on that.

 

[lolakat]

Did 2 miles of pretty relaxed walking last night since I missed my scheduled cross training on Tuesday. I didn't want to do to much since i have to do my 45 min run tonight (plus i have an annoying head cold)

Food Yesterday:
B: sandwich thin iwth beanut butter
L: Apple and graham crackers (I know I know.. the stupid crackers again)
S: SF/FF Cappacino
D: grilled chicken and brocolli
S: SC ice cream sandwich

I did get over to WW to weigh in last night. I lost 3.2 lbs (that was over a 2 week period since my last weigh in) I was very happy with any kind of loss given all the candy I ate this week.

Curent weight: 193.2
Starting weight: 244
Total Loss: 50.8 lbs

I made it to the goal of breaking though the 193.5 lb plateau that I stayed at for a bout a year after having my daughter. Plus the big 5-0 too which just seems like such a BIG number to me. I guess my new goal is to make it to 185 lbs. That was the goal I had set when loosing weight after my DD was born but I never made it there. I'm hoping to get there before I run the half marathon in January.

 

[toystoryduo]

Congrats on your weigh-in, Lola!!! You are doing a WONDERFUL job!!! Keep up the good work!!!

I hope you start feeling better soon.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

[VernRDH]

Lola, great job on the weight loss!!! You are doing great, keep up the good work.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[lolakat]

Thanks guys. I am feeling a bit better today.

I ran my 45min run last night with 3run/1walk ratio. My overall pace was 10:42 min/mile. I'm still not used to the shorter walking intervals and I'm looking forward to my long run this weekend which will be 8 miles at a 3/2 ratio. I hope I can sneak out of work again for a couple of hours so I can run outside again. If not it will be a LONG date with the tredmill when I get home.

Food Yesterday:
B: sandwich thin and peanut butter
S: SF/FF Cappacino
L: LC chicken carbonara
S: A few of those darn mini-candy bars again (but not too crazy this time)
D: cucumber and hummus (ate light to make up for the stupid candy)

 

[lolakat]

It's been another weekend of long days at work and not so great eatting.

No work out on Friday night... I just crashed when I got home. Saturday there was no way I could get out for a run during the day so I had to face my tredmill after my daughter went to bed. After 13.5 hours on my feet at work I had less than no desire to run 8 miles but I farces myself to start and I did manage to finish the 8 miles with a 11:45 min/mile pace. It was soooo boring running for that long on the tredmill but I was so pleased to get it done. After that I went straight to bed. My legs are a little sore today.

Food Friday:
B: sandwich thin and peanut butter
L: LC sweedish meatball
S: Candy... too much candy
D: Tilapia and brocolli

Food Saturday:
B: sandwich thin and peanut butter
L: Candy and other junk... never got to actually sit and eat
D: Chicken and green beans
S: SC icecream sandwich

Today is my 14th consecutive (and thankfully last for a little while) day on service. Tomorrow I go back to office hours for 2 weeks and I will be off next weekend. I really can't wait for some down time. I'm feeling exhausted and I think that is why I'm craving so much junk food and carbs. Over all the weight is still drifting down so I really can't be too hard on myself.

 

[lolakat]

Yesterday was an off day from running. Today will be a 45 min run. I'm hoping to be able to leave the office early and run outside since I couldn't do my long run outside on Saturday.

Food Yesterday:
B: sandwich thin and peanut butter
S: Still struggling with these chocolate bars all over the unit. Also had some DD munckins. Overall a bad eatting day.
L: The above was worse b/c there was no time to stop for lunch.
D: Got home late and snacked on some hummus with cucumber

The eatting should be easier this week since I won't be around the temptations in the unit and I can control my enviornment in the office much more easily. Should also get to weigh in on time tomorrow which always helps.

 

[momof2minnies]

Lola
Good luck on the weigh in this morning.You must be beyond exhausted but you still manage to exercise- that is awesome.

Keep it up

Linda

 

[lolakat]

Thanks Linda, I am really trying to get those runs in no matter what and so far it seems to be working.

I was able to leave the office a bit early yesterday and made it to the park a little before dusk. I deceided not to run the trails in the dark but used a 0.5 mile loop that goes around the soccer fields. The run felt really good and I did 4.35 miles at a 10.25 min/mile pace. That's my fastest one so far. I used a 4min run/1 min walk ratio. It all feels so much easier running outside than when I do it on my tredmill. I'm not sure if it's in my head or if running outside is really easier but either way it sure is nice when I can sneak in some time to get outside. I'm supposed to cross train tonight. I've been really bad about getting that in so I will try to do it tonight. I need to find something fun to do. I'll have to nag my DH some more about getting our Wii set up. I think I would really like that.

I FINALLY had a full day of "on plan" eatting yesterday. From a cravings and temptation standpoint, being in the office for a regular 8ish hour day is way easier than being in the unit for 13 hours.

Food Monday
B: Sandwich thin with peanut butter
S: Apple
L: LC cranberry apple chicken
S: SF/FF Cappacino
D: chicken and brocolli stir fry with wild rice
S: SC ice cream sandwich.

After 2 weeks of wearing only scrubs I'm back in "real clothes" and I'm now forced to deal with the reality that my pants just don't fit a all and they are starting to look silly. I'm still annoyed that I got rid of all my smaller clothes but I'm just going to have bite the bullet and buy a few things. I haven't been a size 14 since about 2005 so a lot of the old stuff might have been out of style anyway. I'm not sure if I will go down another size after this or not. I'm usually a size 12 at my "goal weight" of around 175 but I haven't been there since early 2004 so who knows. For now I will just buy a couple of things and see where I settle out.

 

[toystoryduo]

Sounds like you had a great day yesterday!

Congrats on having to buy some new clothes! You may want to check Kohls and JC Penneys. They have had some great sales lately and I think both companies have coupons floating around for dollars off a purchase.

I hope you have a nice evening!

 

[lolakat]

Thanks for the advice Tracy. I do love a good coupon.

I did 2 miles of walking on the tredmill last night for my cross training. Not very intense but at least I did something. Tonight is a rest night.

Food yesterday:
B: sandwich thin with peanut butter
S: Apple
L: LC chicken carbonara
D: other half of the brocolli and chicken stirfry with wild rice
S: SC icecream sanwich.

Weigh in yesterday went great. I lost 3.2 lbs for the week. I think the loss is a little inflated b/c I got weighed in the AM before work when I almost always go at night.

Current weight: 190 lbs
Starting weight: 244 (230.6 WW starting weight)
Total loss: 54 lbs (40.6 WW total loss)


I had such cravings last night after dinner. I totally would have eatten a bag of candy or gallon of ice cream. Luckily I don't keep any "treats" in the house anymore so I had to be staisfied with my skinney cow ice cream and head to bead. Two days back on plan now and I'm feeling less out of control.

I took some time this morning to go through my closet. I tried on all my pants and packed away the ones I just cant wear anymore. I found that I have about 8 pairs that still fit reasonably well (baggy but not falling off) plus a new pair of jeans I bought a coupleof weaks ago. I think these should see me through until after the holidays. By then I should have a better idea if the weight is staying off and if I'm still loosing. Maybe I can use a shopping spree as a reward after I finish the half.

 

[eyor44]

Lola I am very happy to see that you are being consistent and doing AMAZING!!!!! Congrats on the losses and needing new clothes. Splurge on a couple of new things now, it will reinforce how well you are doing and help remind you to stay away from the candy jar.

You are going to do great at the half.

 

[momof2minnies]

Lola 54 lbs woohoo! Great job on keeping snacks out of the house.

You are doing awesome.

Linda

 

[lolakat]

Thank you ladies!

Last night was a rest night from running. I had to take an applicant out to dinner so I didn't get home until late anyway.

Food yesterday:
B: sandwich thin with peanut butter
S: Apple
L: 1/2 of a lean cuisine chicken marsala... really gross threw most of the pasta away which says a lot coming from a carbaholic like me
S: SF/FF Cappaccino
D: crab soup, grilled salmon, a dinner roll and 1/2 an apple crisp with carmal ice cream (I should have skipped the desert and the soup but oh, well I don't get out to good resturants much anymore so I splurged)

The weight on the scale at home went up a bit the last 2 mornings. Kind of weird since I've been within my points this week. Maybe I'm seeing the delayed effect of the candy from last week. Or maybe the dessert from last night but the salty stir fly from the nights before. Who knows... the body is such a mysterious thing. I'm going to try to be extra good today. Tomorrow I head home to Philly for the first time since I moved. I know there will be a lot of eatting out and I intend to splurg a bit. I'll be running my first race on Saturday, an 8k. So at least I know I'll get some exercise.

 

[toystoryduo]

Way to go on weigh in, Lola!!!

Good luck at your race on Saturday! I know you are going to do a great job!!!

Have a wonderful weekend in Philly!

 

[lolakat]

I had an AMAZING week in Philly. It felt so good to be home and see all my friends. I really felt alive for the first time in months.

I did the Rothaman 8k on Saturday which was my first race ever. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed every second of it. One of my friends ran the race as well (although much faster than me) and we spent time at the start and finish together. I used the run 4 min/ walk 1 min ratio and it worked out well. I stayed to the edge of the course and didn't seem to be getting in anyone's way when I stoped to walk. After a while I was hanging with the same general group of runners. I passed them when I ran and then they would pass be when I walked. I bet they thought I was pretty annoying. In the end I did finish ahead of some of them who tired out. My over all pace was 11.02 min/mile and I certainly wasn't last. I crossed that finish line with a huge smile on my face and I'm looking forward to doing more races in the future.

Food for the weekend:

Friday:
B: sandwich thin and peanut butter
L: Apple (on the plane)
D: I went to the Continental with some friends and we shared a bunch of plates. I had some hummus with cucumber sclices, a small piece of mushroom flat bread pizza, some lobster mashed potatoes (sinful but delish) And some thai peanut lettuce wraps. We also split a dessert which was basically a chocolate peanut butter cake. Only had one chapagne cocktail b/c I didn't to over do it before the race.
S: minature carmael apple and mini lemon cake sent to my hotel room by a friend. (didn't need to eat that but it seemed wrong to just leave it there )

Saturday:
B: A soft Philly style pretzel from the race goody bag then oatmeal with stewed strawberries.
L: Fresh mozzerella and red peppers on a bagette
S: 90 calorie quaker oats bar from the race goodie bag
D: Went to Cuba Libre. Split some appetizers including guacamole, and empenadas. My entree was a type of slow cooked brisket. I'm sure it's deadly but I only ate a little of it. Also had a couple of plantains. Had 4 mojitos made with splenda.
S: Went out dancing, had a couple of gin and tonics.

Sunday:
B/L/D: Went out for a decadent brunch at Beau Monde. I had a crepe with mushrooms, sauage a creme sauce and a sunny side up egg. Deadly, and I ate every bite but I did pull out about half the sauage. I split a banana/caramel desert crepe with a friend. Plus I had 2 mimosas.
S: 3 chocolate covered pretzels at the airport and I had a skinney cow ice cream sandwich when I got home

So overall I clearly spluged but didn't go too crazy. I walked and walked all weekend and danced for hours on Saturday night. My scale at home says I'm down 1 lb from when I left. We will see what the weight watchers scale has to say tomorrow.

 

[lolakat]

Did a 45 min run last night with 4:1 run:walk ratio. Felt a little rough for some reason but did manage to finish with an average 10:44min/mile pace. I am starting to take my Nike + paces with a grain of salt. At the Rothman 8k the Nike + said I ran 5.5 miles and gave me a pace of 9:50 min/mile but the course was 8k which is 4.97 miles and my official pace per the race timer was 11:02 min/mile. Anyway, at least it gives me something to go by even if it is not 100% accurate.

Food Yesterday:
B: sandwich thin with peanut butter
S: Apple
L: LC Chicken carbonara
S: Banana
D: Grilled chicken sandwich
S: SC ice cream sandwich

I weighed in at WW this AM since I won't have time after work. I'm down 1.4 lbs this week. Which I'm pretty darn pleased with considering my weekend splurging.

Current weight: 188.6 lbs
Starting weight: 244 lbs (230.6 WW starting weight)
Total loss: 55.4 lbs (42 lbs WW total loss)

We leave tonight for my Mom's house. It is about a 7 hour drive so we will get there in the middle of the night. It will be a crazy weekend of running around from my mom's to my dad's to my in-law's. I don't really look forward to it. Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday and, of course, there will be food temptation everywhere. Somehow I have to find time to squeeze in my Thursday night 45 min run and a 9 mile long run.

 

[lolakat]

Had a really wonderful Holiday weekend visiting home and seeing all my friends and family. The eatting was less than ideal but not as bad as it could have been ;-)

I did my regular 45 min training run on Thursday morning did a bit over 4 miles at a 10:45 min/mile pace. Saturday I did my 9 mile long run. It was a very windy day and I was visiting my in laws who live on very flat open area in DE. It was a tough run and I deffinetly felt it when I got home. I did a 10:34 min/mile pace with 3 min run/ 2 min/walk intervals. I was proud of myself for getting it done.

It's really hard to remember all the eatting since I've been gone. It's enough to say it was not "on plan." I tried to make some healthy choices but I indulged a little too and had some of my holiday favorites. My scale at home says I'm up about 1.5 lbs since Tuesday AM and I'm okay with that. If I can just keep my head around all the left overs my Mom sent home with us then that should come off quickly..... I hope.

 

[lolakat]

Did 50 min training run last night at 10:33 min/mile pace. My stomach was bothering me so the run was interupted a few times for that. Guess it's my body's way of telling me I should stay away from all those rich Thanksgiving foods.

Food yesterday:
B: SF/FF Cappacino
L: Mashed sweet potatoes and 6 marshmellows
S: SF/FF Cappacino
D: (TG Leftovers) Turkey/little bit of stuffing/spinich/mushrooms

We have so many left overs in our house we will be eatting them all week. I'm trying to avoid the pies and so far so good. The stuffing is also deadly so I'm trying to do that in moderation.

My weight on my scale at home is back down to the pre-Thanksgiving weekend number. I should be going for my formal WW weigh in tonight but I have to go to a dinner for work so I'm not sure if I will make it or not.