Nicole's Journey-Marathon Dreams (Comments appreciated)

[hockeygirl]

Hey Nicole,

I really hope you are feeling better...I have been lucky so far, there is a nasty virus going around here, but I have been staying healthy (knock on wood--hopefully I haven't jinxed myself)....anyhow, all the kids in the school where I teach have been sick, it is crazy. It is great to hear that you were able to get a workout in today, and did well with your calories, even though you were not feeling 100%-that is great!

Hope you are able to get your workout in with your traniner tomorrow.....my feeling is that sometimes it is great to have someone really push you once in awhile. I used to have a personal trainier to help me get stronger for hockey-I am a goalie on a women's ice hockey team-anyhow, I would do OK when I went to the gym on my own but when I worked out with my trainer, I got my best workouts in.

Hope the snow stops out there for you...but please don't send it our way here in the east!!!

Laurie

 

[npullen]

Well, I did not do to well yesterday. Did not end up working out, my head was hurting on the other side, and I just felt really bad, sore and stiff. Plus I was over on my calories by about 75. Not terrible, but not as good as I should have done. However I have already done my workout for today, I did 2.5 miles on the treadmill. It was a good run, I averaged about 5.2 mph. Pretty good for the treadmill.
My trainer did not make it over yesterday. We had a high temp of 9 degrees, and with all the snow melting, from the high temps the previous 2 days (we hit a high of 62 on Wed, and a high of 40 something on Thu!) It was extremely icy!
But I did weigh in today, and I have lost another 2.4 lbs, for a total of 7.2 lbs over the last 2 weeks! So I am pretty happy with that, and since I have already done my workout for today, and I plan to stay on plan, I am going to weigh in tomorrow, hoping to be a tenth of a lb less, which would put me at 216.9!
So far I am very pleased with my progress, and if I can just hang in there and get through the winter, I know my running will be so much better outside! I can't wait to get back out!

Laurie- You are right, no matter how hard I try to work on my own, I always seem to add an extra push when she is here. No matter how well prepared I think I am, she always pushes just a little further than I think I can go, and I always hurt the next day!
Nicole
224.2/219.2/217/160

 

[hockeygirl]

Sorry to hear you are still not feeling so well, hang in there! It is a great that you already got your workout in today. I tend to find that I if I do my workout first thing in the morning, I feel great the rest of the day. Although during the week, I don't have time to workout in the morning, but on the weekends, I go on my run first thing in the morning. And I get it over with and I don't spend the whole day making excuses as to why i can't work out.

Although you are counting your calories closely, please make sure to take care of your health, especially when you are not feeling well!

Sending some pixie dust your way to feel better!

Keep up the good work!

Laurie

 

[npullen]

Well, didn't end Saturday well. We ended up going out to this new burger place. The food was good, and if I am trying to be positive about it, I have to admit that I did much better then I ever would have before. Normally I would have had a double or triple cheeseburger, a large fry, a large soda, probably with a refill to go, and a large, which would have been a 3 scoop sundae. What I had was a single cheeseburger, med fry, med soda, which I did not finish, let alone get a refill, and a medium, which is a 2 scoop sundae. So about half of what I would have eaten before, but still way more calories than I needed. Sunday is my "off" day for calories, but I did do toning with my sister, it took a bit over an hour and we did 2 sets of everything, so it was a good hard workout. Today has been a much better day for eating, I will actually be very low on my calories, I have just not been too hungry today, probably because of eating so much junk Sat and Sun. I am also going to do 30 mins on the treadmill.
I seem to be having a tough time with body image though. I have pretty much lost 50 lbs over the last 3 yrs, but unless I am looking at pics of myself, I do not see that much of a difference, and I am having a hard time picturing what I will look like when the weight is off. I don't think I truly belive that I will look that much better. And I can feel myself trying to become convinced that it is not worth it! I know it is worth it, and I know I will be thrilled when I am down to a 10 or 8, from the 16 I am currently at. I am already down to 16 from a 22, and that feels great, but to look at myself I just don't know. There just doesn't seem to be that much of a difference. I still need to lose 57 lbs, and I am really hoping that once I get below 200, I will lose some of this mental block, and realize that it is working, I am hoping that seeing that 1 as the first number on the scale will make a huge difference in how I see myself.

Nicole

 

[npullen]

Laurie- I meant to say yesterday, thanks for your concern. I do try to take care when I get these headaches. Unfortunately, they are a normal part of my monthly cycle, this was just a really bad month. I try not to let them run my life, it is just hard when they get that bad!

Well today has been ok, I did my toning, took about 45 mins, and it felt pretty good. Too much sugar in my diet, seems to be a recurring theme! I am not craving it, unless I see it, and then I feel like I have to have it. I think I just need to get it out of sight completely, unfortunately, my work has a ton of candy, between the break room vending machine, and the front end impulse items, lots of candy! But, I just keep trying, and I know eventually it will get easier and then I won't even think about it anymore! I just have to hang in there until that happens. I kick myself for ever going off track. It was so much easier before.

 

[hockeygirl]

Hey there Nicole, glad to hear you are hanging in there. I know the feeling about the whole eating out thing. I am a junk food nut, and I love to eat fast food. Along with my training, I am trying to cut down on the amount of fast food I eat. At first I am just cutting back to only one day a week of fast food, then I will try to go less than that. Good for you for limiting what you at the burger place, that is a great start.

As for the body image feelings, as hard as it is to not think about it, always remember that you are making an effort to live a healthy lifestyle, and if you stick with it long enough you will see changes. Remember you will not change overnight, it takes time. You are doing great so far from what I have read, you are going to have great days, you are going to have bad days and you are going to have just OK days! You have come so far to go from a 22 to a 16 so keep it up and you will get to the 10 that you want!!

Laurie

 

[npullen]

I finally did it! I signed up for the marathon today. I know it is still very early, but I am hoping that getting signed up will be an inspiration when things get tough. It is kind of intimidating, this means I really have to run 26 miles, and I really have to lose at least 50-60 more lbs. I made the mistake of weighing this morning and I am up 2 lbs. I am not sure why, but I am going to try not to worry to much about it, and just not weigh until I am supposed to, on Sunday.
I am going to try to get a run in outside today, for the first time since early Dec. There is a park near my parents house where they are actually keeping the sidewalks clean and de-iced, and I want to run around the park, if I can work it into my schedule. Plus it is supposed to get up around 40 today and be clear and sunny. The nicest it has been in several weeks!

Laurie- Again, thanks so much for the encouragement! I really appreciate it! I am a junk food nut also, I love all that fried stuff! It is a great idea to cut down to once a week. We are trying something similar, we used to go out 5 or 6 times a month, now we are trying to limit that to 2 times a month, once per pay period! Saves so much money, and so many calories. Now I just need to take that money and put it in our trip fund!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Nicole, reading your journal has been very inspiring to me! I think you are doing a great job at making the effort to change, and make healthy choices! Bravo to you for staying motivated with all that snow and ice outside!

Congrats on signing up for that marathon! I was hoping to do the marathon next year, but with a trip planned for Dec, I don't think we will be able to do the race too. I think I will start training for the 2009! It will probably take that long to make 26 miles

I hope you are feeling better, and again, great job on all your hard work so far- you are doing so well!

Lisa

 

[keenercam]

Hey, Nicole! I have really enjoyed reading your journal. You have been so conscientious about journaling and keeping track of your food. and you have already made such great improvements in what you eat. Don't you feel awesome?!?!?! Congrats on going from a size 22 to a 16 and keeping it off. That is a great accomplishment.
You are going to LOVE preparing for the 2008 Marathon. The excitement builds and builds. I don't think you've introduced yourself on weekly training thread yet, but I hope you'll become a regular there. It is on the events/competition WISH sub-forum. Let me know if you need a link.
Keep up the great work! Looking forward to getting to know you in the coming year and seeing you at the start line next January!

 

[hockeygirl]

Nicole--you go girl!!! Congrats on signing up the marathon!! that is the first step...because you can use that as motivation to continue with your training!! How did your workout go today? Were you able to get outside for a run? I hate running indoors on the treadmill, so I am getting outside as much as I can!!

Keep up the good work!!

Laurie

 

[npullen]

Well, yesterday was one of those days that went nowhere near how I had planned it, but it still turned out to be a positive day overall. I did not get to run outside, we took DD over to the park to sled, and I realized that while it looked clear from the street, they had obviously not done anything since the last storm, so it was way to icy to even walk safely, let alone run. However, I did sled with my DD for about 45 mins, pulling the sled up the hill, standing up and sitting down from basically the ground. I was tired when we were done, but I realized that a year ago there was no way I could have done that!!! Then later in the afternoon, a storm moved through, no snow, just high winds, and I ended up with bad sinus trouble. My nose and eyes burned, and I have a terrible tickle in my throat and my chest felt tight. At first I was certain I was getting sick, but today, I am just coughing and my chest still feels kinda tight, so I am pretty sure it is just allergies. I refuse to get sick again, we spent the last 2 months with someone sick pretty much constantly, since this was DD's first winter in school!
Anyway, I did not do any other workout for the day, but I figure I got at least as much exercise as my cross training sessions, so I am counting it as that. I also did much better food choice wise. I ate lots more fruits and veggies and a lot less sugar. I did go over by about 60 calories, but that is because I ate lunch at my moms and they eat low cal nothing! They only get bakery bread and deli cheese, no light bread and 2% american cheese at their house! But I am still pleased with my food choices, even going slightly over.
I also had to buy new jeans, in a size 14!!! I bought a pair of 16's on Sat, without trying them on, and when I put them on Monday, they were too big, now not huge, but definitely not a great fit, I had already washed them, so I am keeping them, but since I had to go back with my mom, I decided to try a 14 and it fit, a little snug in the thighs, which is weird as I never thought I had fat thighs, they are definitely not small, nothing is small when you weigh 217, but I never thought they were overly big, but the jeans fit very nicely in the waist and hips, but are snug in the thighs.
For today, I have not done great on calories. We got pizza for dinner, since my DH is out of town, I am sure I am over on my calories, but at least I am not going crazy on the sugar. I am going to do the treadmill, I am just not sure how much running I will do. It will depend on how my cough is when I start to get out of breath. If it gets to bad I will just slow down, and try doing hills instead of running.

Laurie- I don't blame you for wanting to be out as much as possible! If there had been any way for me to run, yesterday I would have done it, even if it meant just running back and forth, but there was no section clear enough even to do that, I would have had to go 5 or 10 steps and turn around! I would have been dizzy before my workout was even half over!

Keenercam- Thanks for the encouragement! I have not been over to the training board yet. I will have to check that out soon.

Lisa- Thanks! We love to go to Disney in Dec! We were actually originally planning to do a trip right after Thanksgiving in 2007, but then I decided I wanted to do the marathon, and we changed our plans to Jan 2008, there is no way we could do a Dec trip and then another in Jan, no matter how much I would love it! Though it will be interesting to see how I feel about park touring after running 26 miles!

 

[npullen]

All I can say is FRUSTRATION!!! I spoke to my dr yesterday, since my cough has become productive, and I am feeling very tired. She says I either have a mild cold, or more likely allergies...DUH! We have had red pollution warnings the past few days, so she figures I may be allergic to something in the air. Recommended lots of fluids, rest and Chlortrimeton (sp?) 4 or 5 times a day. So glad I didn't go in, and pay my $30 co-pay for that! So I took the stuff, and it left me feeling really wiped out. I let it get me down, and went way off track with my eating and didn't exercise. How stupid is that! I finally realized as I was sitting there feeling sorry for myself, that I need to get off my butt, and look at this as another challenge. I don't have to run all the time for now, I need to focus on building a good solid base, and losing as much weight as I can. I can still lose weight and get in better shape, even if I can't run 3 or 4 miles straight right now. So I have decided that I am going to follow my training plan, but turn all the running into intervals. I can run until I feel the cough coming on, then slow down to recover. I can also still do my cross training and my toning, just the same as always, just need to be careful not to get to out of breath. Apparently, even if it is just allergies, if I push to hard I can still develop pneumonia or a resp infection by pushing the stuff I am coughing up too deeply into my lungs, at least that seemed to be what she was trying to tell me.
In some ways it is great that the marathon is still so far away, it gives me plenty of time to get trained, and lose all the weight, and hopefully learn how to handle illness, and/or allergies, but with that being my big goal, it is always in my mind, and it seems to freak me out when things get tough, and I start to feel like I will never get there, which is so ridiculous, since it is still almost a full year away! I think I just need to keep it in perspective and remember that there will be ups and downs along the way, I just can't give up.

 

[hockeygirl]

Nicole--you are right about there being ups and downs...you are doing great!! Please take care of your cough and don't push too hard...you have such a long time before the marathon next january, you will be fine, but make sure you take care of your health first and foremost, the training will come! Intervals sound like a good plan. I know a lot of people on the weekly training board do a run/walk interval training plan. I believe they follow the Marathon for Mortals book, which has several different training plans. I know it is hard, but stay positive, you are doing a great job! Look you are down to a 14 in your jeans that is great!! From a 22 to a 14---keep it up and before you know it you will be down to the 8 or 10. But remember when you are not feeling well to drink lots of fluids, especially when you are exercising! Sending pixie dust your way to feel better!!!

Keep up the good work, you are doing great!!!

Laurie

 

[hockeygirl]

Hi Nicole--just checking in to see how you are feeling. I hope your cold has gone away and you are back on track.

Laurie

 

[npullen]

Well, today has been a pretty good day. I am still coughing, pretty badly, but I am feeling a lot less tired. I stopped taking the allergy meds on Sun, and just started taking Mucinex, to thin everything out, and it seems to be working. My chest doesn't feel nearly as tight, and everything just seems looser. Won't go into details on that! I took it easy all weekend, and just tried not to worry to much about it. I didn't even end up working out on Sat, I ended up napping with my DD for almost 3 hrs. But, today has been so much better. I have already done the treadmill, I did intervals, and just slowed down whenever I started really feeling the urge to cough. I didn't run as much as I would have liked, but it felt pretty good just to do it, and it helped my mood alot. I think mentally just getting off my butt and doing it helped, seeing that I still burned almost 300 cals! Sometimes I just get so caught up in my "plan" that I have trouble doing anything different.
I have also done great with my eating. I will be around 1550 cals and I have made really good choices. So I am very proud of that.

Laurie- Thanks for your concern. I am doing better, just have to watch this blasted cough, which seems to want to hold on. It does feel so good to be in a 14, I was telling a lady at work about it, and she looked at me funny, being proud of a 14, until I reminded her that when I first started working there, a little over a year and a half ago, I was in a 20! Then she understood.

 

[npullen]

Another good day. I will be at 1610 cals for the day, and I did my toning, took about 40 mins, and felt pretty good. I did go slower than normal, but I did the whole workout, and the coughing didn't get to bad. I do think I am finally getting better. I am still coughing, sometimes really hard, but it is not hurting as much, and I am feeling less tired. I have made pretty good food choices today, I did have a cookie at the grocery store, but I can work it into my calories, and I have found that by not stressing and feeling guilty about it, I am able to limit it to just 1 cookie, and not want to binge on sweets and just give up for the day or week! My trainer is set to come Sat morning, and we are not expected to get anymore snow until Sun, so she should be able to make it! I am looking forward to it, to seeing how much strength I have lost, or if I can impress her with how good I have done!

 

[npullen]

A good day once again. I will be below 1600 calories, and I have made decent food choices, but definitely not enough fruits and veggies. Gotta work on that. I did my treadmill, again, intervals again, ran more than on Mon, but still not the entire time. I am still coughing, and I have had a sinus headache today. But, I am doing it, just trying to look at this as a different challenge. The workouts are feeling pretty good, actually much better then I had hoped. So that is good.
I am getting really excited about the trip, even though it is still almost a full year away. I am working out a deal with a DVC owner to rent points, so that is helping to add to the excitement. I am really hoping we can work it out, because I really want to stay at OKW!!! That is definitely helping me to stay on track!

 

[hockeygirl]

Hey Nicole--Looks like you are doing a great job the last few days-I hope you are feeling better! Keep up the good work on your workouts!

I can relate about being excited about going to WDW for the races. I will be going with my family the first week of December for a family vacation, and then back down about a month later for the marathon, I am so excited already. My parents are DVC members, and we stayed at OKW on our last stay this past Nov. and I really liked the atmosphere there. My one piece of advice is to try to get a room close to the lobby/pool area or you are very far away from everything, that was my one negative about OKW.

I asked my mom about buying some points from her for marathon weekend, but they won't have enough for the annual family vacation if I do, so looks like I am just going to reserve a room on my own....hopefully at Port Orleans.

Keep up the good work on your training and calorie counting!

 

[npullen]

Well, today has been a pretty good day, all things considered. I will be at 1650 cals, so just under the top end of my range. I have eaten a bit to much sugar, but not to bad, considering I woke up with the alarm this morning and realized the heater was not working! It was only down to 64, so it had just quit, but it was only 24 outside, so it was too cold to not have a heater! Well, dh had to dig out the opening of the crawl space, still under lots of snow, and get down there to figure out what was going on. Thankfully it was just some switch thing that had gone bad, but we had to wait until this afternoon for him to fix it, cuz he had to hunt down the part and then get it in, but thankfully it worked. But since I am an emotional eater, especially stress, and since I had visions of all my trip savings going for a new heater...Well, let's just say that is was a good thing we did not have anything too sweet and sugary in the house, or I would have totally blown the diet before we even knew what was wrong with the heater, let alone figured out it was not terribly expensive! Thankfully I have finally realized that stress is such a trigger, and figured out that if I don't have it in the house to eat, I am not likey to go out hunting for it!
I also did my cross training on the treadmill, did the summit climb program. Still have to take it easy, I just cannot kick this cough, I am feeling better but the cough is still pretty bad.
I am going to try again tomorrow to run outside, the weather is supposed to be great, and the park near my DD's preschool has a nice track around it, that looked pretty clear today, even before the temp hit a high of 50!! So hopefully it will work this time. I know I still need to keep it slow, and I am sure I will be running intervals, but I am doing 3 miles for my long run this week. It is supposed to snow again on Sat, 6-10 inches, then Wed we are supposed to get another arctic front with highs in the low teens and single digits!

Laurie- Thanks for the advice on OKW! I have only seen it from the outside, when we rented a boat at DTD, but it seemed so nice and peaceful! I am jealous about your 2 trips! I would love to do that! I love WDW at Christmas! And as always, thanks so much for the support and encouragement, it really helps!

 

[npullen]

So sorry I missed posting yesterday. Our heater went out, again, this time at 5 pm. So, of course we had to call a repairman out, since apparently no regular store carries parts for our heater, and all the specialty stores close at 5 and don't reopen till Mon! So we ended up spending $384 for something DH could have fixed for probably about $20, had we noticed even 30 mins earlier!!! Anyway, it is fixed now, apparently, when the original part went out it puts alot of strain on whatever it was that went out yesterday, and had we had a repairman out to fix it originally, he would have done both at the same time, which DH did not know to do. So at least DH fixing the original problem saved us about $200. Trying to look on the bright side!
Yesterday was an ok day. I did run outside, it felt great to be out, unfortunately about 1/3 of the .8 mile track was ice covered, and between having to pick my way thru the ice, and slowing down for the cough, I ended up doing 3.24 miles in 43 mins. Pretty terrible, but at one point I looked down at my Garmin thru the worst stretch of ice, and it showed I was only moving at about 2 mph! As it was I still slipped and almost fell 3 times, in different places each time! The final lap was the best, I had it all figured out by then! I am glad that I got out. It is currently snowing again, 3-6 inches on the way, and no warming trend in sight, although the snow will stop tomorrow afternoon.
I also did pretty good with my eating. I was at 1615 for calories, just not great in choices. Once again, had we had anything in the house, it would have been all over!
I weighed in today, and for some reason I am up .4 lbs. I am at 217.4. Trying not to feel bad about that, since everything is fitting better, sz 14 jeans, a pull on jacket I have is fitting much better, and my wedding ring is actually spinning on my finger. So I just have to wait for the scale to show it, without getting frustrated and giving up. That's the hard part.
My trainer is supposed to come today in about 3 hours. Hopefully she can make it with the snow. We'll see.