Weekly Wednesday Weigh In

Date	Change	Total	Total From Beginning	Work Outs in Week
11/3/2010	-1	-17.4	-35.4	5
11/10/2010	2	-15.4	-33.4	5
11/17/2010	0	-15.4	-33.4	3
11/24/2010	-2	-17.4	-35.4	3

Woot! I lost 2 lbs this week. It isn't a mystery to me how that happened either. I worked my butt off for those 2 lbs!  I brought my lunch for work most days. One day I did eat out with my coworker but we went to a delicious salad place where they chop up your salad and you get to pick the toppings you want. There are so many toppings that it's easy to go a little over board, but as long as I was picking wisely then I will pay the extra fee for a few more veggies.

I wish I had gotten more workouts in this week but I did what I could at the time. My plan was to get a 4th workout in last night but then I woke up feeling pretty crummy yesterday. I was achy and couldn't breathe well so I figured I shouldn't push it and work out.  I might have worked out if this week wasn't Thanksgiving and Matt's family wasn't coming in town, but since it is I was focused on getting better as fast as possible. I'm not 100% today but I'm definitely better than yesterday.

This year for Thanksgiving Matt's family is coming to town to have Thanksgiving with my family. It will be the first time the families meet each other. I'm a little nervous but not really because I think our families will mesh well and if not then both families are polite enough to pretend. :)  His parents are staying in town until next Wednesday so they can go to a Duke basketball game and football game.  This means there will be a lot of eating out this coming week.  That's okay because I will just make good choices when I eat out and work out as much as possible. I think a reasonable goal for this coming week with everything going on is to maintain my current weight.

This year I am thankful for my amazing fiance, family, friends! I'm also thankful that I have the ability to be able to work out and make myself healthier.  What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Weekly Wednesday Weigh In

Date	Change	Total	Total From Beginning	Work Outs in Week
10/27/2010	1.3	-16.4	-34.4	4
11/3/2010	-1	-17.4	-35.4	5
11/10/2010	2	-15.4	-33.4	5
11/17/2010	0	-15.4	-33.4	3

Today I need to focus on having a positive attitude so I am skipping my regular post and instead going to have a Wordless Wednesday (well almost wordless).

Free to Breathe 5k with Club Shannon

Saturday morning Matt and I rolled out of bed bright and early at 7 am.  (Kelly if you are reading this I know you are thinking “wait until you have kids!”, but I don’t have kids and 7 am on a weekend day equals too early)  I had a light breakfast of toast and a little bit of milk followed by a lot of water.  My friend Amanda and her new husband came over to ride with us and we were off. 

We got to the race and met up with the rest of Club Shannon.  JMJE from Making Stuff is Fun appropriately made the ladies “Club Shannon” t-shirts to run in.  I liked them because it made it easy to spot my friends during the 5k and well of course because they are fabulous.  After a short delay and some confusion on where the race starts we were off.  I started with Matt next to me for about 2 seconds until he zoomed off ahead of me. That was fine I didn’t expect for anyone to run with me and really to be honest did not want someone to.  I do not like when I run with Matt (or anyone) and they are right in front of me. It makes me feel like I need to catch up with them the whole time and I don’t need that stress when running.  Also this race was about me. It was about me crossing the finish line knowing I did my best and pushed myself. It was not about me being faster than my friends (which is good since I wasn’t).

About a mile into the race we approached the first turn around of the loop. A guy from a radio station was at the turn around and was saying “Good job you are half way there”. I got really excited until I looked at my iPhone and realized it had only been 12 minutes.  I then knew he was either a big fat liar or I was going to majorly improve my 5k time.  Sadly he was spreading lies to everyone.

For some reason I had a really harder time than normal running this 5k. I have decided to try why and I have come up with the following reasons:

1. My Nike sensor thing didn’t start working when I started off, I knew the time, but not my pace or how long I had ran, and I don’t do well with the unknown

2. It’s really hard to not focus on the run when you are in an actual race and are surrounded by other people running

3. I had never run this course before and had no idea where the half way point was (see number 1 to reference my feelings for the unknown)

4. For some reason I had negative vibes in my head…things like “why in the world did I decide to do this” to “I feel like I might die” and also “that’s it who cares I’m going to walk”

Despite my poor attitude I didn’t walk at all. At times I jogged s-l-o-w-l-y but that’s okay as long as I didn’t walk.  I finished the 5k in 37 minutes and 37 seconds. 37 seconds over my goal but I’ll take it, especially since my real goal was to finish it without walking.  I don’t want to stop running now that the 5k is over. I think a spring 5k is in my future…anyone game to join in?

Team Club Shannon after the race. (And yes that is my fiance in the winter hat and gloves that you can't see while we are all in short sleeves. He's such a Florida guy!)

PS - How could I forget one of the best parts of the 5k which was the celebration brunch after wards with everyone

PSS - Of course the really best part of the 5k was that it raised over $75,00 0 for Lung Cancer research

Weekly Wednesday Weigh In

Date	Change	Total	Total From Beginning	Work Outs in Week
10/20/2010	-1.1	-17.7	-35.7	5
10/27/2010	1.3	-16.4	-34.4	4
11/3/2010	-1	-17.4	-35.4	5
11/10/2010	2	-15.4	-33.4	5

Big fat boo! I'm not sure what really caused the 2 lb gain this week.  I have been feeling bloated the last few days and it is that time for me so hopefully that's to blame... I really hoping I'm just retaining water. I guess next week the scale will tell me if that's the case or not.

I worked out 5 times this week. My workouts were 3 runs, 1 Bikram Yoga class, and 1 Zumba class.  On Sunday I ran a full 5k in 37 minutes. I am getting pumped for the 5k that I'm running with a group of friends. The 5k is this coming Saturday and I'm ready to do it. My goal is to run the whole thing without stopping to walk in 37 minutes or less.

Now that the business is taken care of I can get to what today is really worth celebrating for....

Happy 1st Birthday to the sweetest niece ever!  

Bikram Yoga Take Two

Last night I went to my second Bikram Yoga class with my old roommate.  This time was a little better than last time. I think the biggest difference was that I knew what to expect during the whole class.  There were still times when I had to sit down and take some deep breaths before I could keep going. The heat is just so intense!

I also had a big towel under me this time which makes a huge difference.  Trying to do those poses with sweat dripping and then you slipping on your sweat is not so awesome. I made the mistake of not knowing my instructors name the last time I went so I ended up with the same one this time. She sounds like she is a  auctioneer instead of auctioning things off though she is demanding you stretch into awkward poses. She says "lean back, way back, keep going back, push back, you might feel like you are strangling yourself but you aren't, keep pushing back". I wanted to tell her "that I was going to push her back, way back.".

The pose I probably hate the most is the Locust pose. It's the most painful and unnatural thing. You have to somehow cram your arms under your body with your palms facing up. Your elbows are suppose to be under your body too. My old roommate and I were in the back row and were trying to figure this pose out when the instructor looks at us and says "just because you are in the back row doesn't mean you can not do it, I can see everything, get your elbows underneath your body". What? Really? I wasn't trying to cheat the teacher I was trying to figure out how to get my body to move in that way.

Looks like a lot of fun...huh? The best part of class is at the end when you get to just lay there and they bring you a cold washcloth for your face that has a citrus scent to it. Then after class when I finally get to breath in air that is not over 100 degrees and they give you an flavored ice. That flavored ice is the best 25 calories.

Weekly Wednesday Weigh In

Date	Change	Total	Total From Beginning	Work Outs in Week
10/13/2010	0	-16.6	-34.6	5
10/20/2010	-1.1	-17.7	-35.7	5
10/27/2010	1.3	-16.4	-34.4	4
11/3/2010	-1	-17.4	-35.4	5

So I lost 1 lb this week. Not terrible but not amazing either. I worked out 5 times this week.  All of my workouts were training for the 5k I have coming up in a 1 1/2 weeks.  I really have been able to see progress.  On Sunday I ran 3 miles without stopping! Well it might be safer to call it a jog since I averaged a 12 minute mile. Like I said before though I'm not really concerned with speed right now. 

This coming weekend I am headed to my hometown for JMJE's 30th Birthday extravaganza. Very excited for that and to hang out with my besties. Nothing much else going on this week out of the ordinary.