I like your interval training method, so I might do that on my next fartlek day (next Tuesday). I'm running my maintenance on Sunday, fartlek on Tuesday and long run/slower pace on Thursday. My slower pace is about 4.8-5mph and my "normal" pace is 5.3 to 5.5mph. I can only get up to 6.5mph, but I might try going up to 7 or 8 on my intervals. I got short little legs, so anything above about 8mph is going to really hurt.
I might stick with my 40 minute run though; I'm torn between increasing my speed and running for longer. I don't feel as though I've done enough if I run less than 30 minutes, but I want to get my 5K in, but I want to run faster so I can do my 5K in less than 30 minutes. ARGH!!!
So I saved some calories up last night so I could have a BIG bowl of fresh cherries. I was at the store -- I saw the bag of cherries -- and they looked DELICIOUS! I was looking forward to them all day. Then I ate them, and they weren't very good! I was SOOOO bummed! They weren't sour, but they just weren't very sweet. They were kind of tasteless.
Any chance they will sweeten up? Can I do anything to them to make them yummier?
Anyway, I'm at 203.2 this morning, which is up from 202.6 yesterday. Probably because I ate dinner later than I usually do. I'm just happy that I seem to have broken through my 205 roadblock!
I'll be at work late today, so maybe I'll treat myself to a McDonald's Grilled Chicken Southwest salad and a fruit and yogurt parfait after the gym. I have to admit -- I really REALLY like those salads at McDonald's. I wish I could find that lite Newman's Own Southwest dressing somewhere to buy...
I'm gonna aim for 3 miles at 5.5 mph. Next week I'm going to give those intervals a try!
You runners are a true inspiration! I am NOT a fast runner, but I love to go long distances. I am currently doing 4mi for my short runs and 6 on the weekends. I would like to work up to 8 on the weekends and 3 / 4mi runs for a nice even 20mi per week.
I apologize for not responding to everyone's posts. AFChick you GO GIRL!! I will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever wear a two piece suit...ever. I will leave it up to ones that can do them justice.
Not well today at all. ToM is back after a long hiatus of 2 pregnancies and nursing and is KILLING me. I feel worse than I did in those days post delivery. I was up several times in the night and muddled through my 4 mile run this morning. I have had several laser surgeries for cysts and endometriosis - this time around I'm going to see if they can't just do a partial hysto and get this over with.
Enough whinning - I'll catch up with you all later....now where's that last vicodin from the "bad back" days??.....
Last edited by mortonpixie; 06-03-2010 at 09:02 AM.
I might stick with my 40 minute run though; I'm torn between increasing my speed and running for longer. I don't feel as though I've done enough if I run less than 30 minutes, but I want to get my 5K in, but I want to run faster so I can do my 5K in less than 30 minutes. ARGH!!!
I try to work on both. You have to get the distance, but unless you run faster, you'll never run faster...(sound funny put like that doesn't it?). The nice thing about the intervals is you've run 20 of the 30 minutes. I do 30 minutes because of the time allotted for lunch those days, but you could up the number of intervals to 15, so your run time is 30 minutes.
THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE for the kind words. I know I can always count on you chicks to make me feel great!
I don't want to do any more goals. I keep failing them. My calendar says I should be @ 168. I'm still fluctuating in the 180's. Stupid calendar. I WOULD like to lose 25#s by the end of August when we go on vacation. That's kind of a goal. NSV..I can see my pecs when I flex. Off to bed. It's 3:45 am.
Mel- 168! Stop that! You are NOT failing at your goals, you goals are very ambitious! I do that same thing. You are doing great! I need to remind myself sometimes that weight loss is not linear and that I need to focus on my everyday healthly lifestyle habits first, then the scale will follow. Sure I could make my diet uber strict and workout like a nut that would make Bob and Jillian beam with pride, but what good is it if I can't maintain it? Slowly and healthy I can maintain. Ease up on yourself. You're probably stressing yourself out too, which is not helping.
I totally agree with Jenn. My original goal was to be sub 160 by now...I'm at 181. I couldn't keep up my original pace. I had to slow or risk completely falling off the bandwagon.
Think of it this way--not gaining is a win, any small loss is a win. You've made an awesome lifetime commitment to health! As my mom always says, "Slow and steady wins the race!".
Awww, you guys are sweet. I'm not that worried about it. I think I have liberated myself from the ball and chain that is/was the scale. It was causing me a lot of stress. I'm just trying to focus on the changes that the weight training is making on my body. My chest and shoulders are visably stronger. That's cool. Anyway, I don't want to set scale-based goals because it's only 1 measure of success and it's easy to obsess over it.
Pix, I suspect that my DD has some sort of endrometriosis. (spelling?) She gets really bad cramps (like cramps with vomitting) and has periods every 2-3 weeks at times. Then there are times when she is regular. Is that normal? She's 18.
Okay, is the world out to get me? I knew I'd be late at work tonight and going right to the gym after, so I planned on treating myself to my favorite McDonald's meal -- grilled chicken Southwest salad and a fruit and yogurt parfait. Well, I ordered, I paid, and then when I got to the last window the guy said they needed a minute to get the grilled chicken. He asked me to pull forward and wait. (Can you see where this is going yet??) A few minutes later a young guy comes out with my food. And an Apple Pie to make up for the wait! I mean, who sends out a damn apple pie to someone who ordered the two lightest things on the menu!? Maybe some apple dippers or something...
Anyway, I smelled it once -- took a big long whiff. Then I drove home and dropped it the dumpster on the way from the car to my door.
I was very happy with myself! And it topped off a great workout -- I ran my 3 miles at 5.5 mph and it felt really great!!
Well it has been quite the day over here. I didn't get exercise in because we had an emergency here. The bf was riding his motorcycle in the canyons and wiped out! Thankfully he wears all of the gear and is okay, though he might have a few cracked ribs and a badly sprained ankle. So half of my day was spent taking care of that, so no time for anything else. I did avoid fast food even though it was kind of calling me with the stress, but now I'm home and having a big salad and it's fitting the bill. I will have a drink though lol It was a big wake up call though, one of those reminders to treat every day if it may be your last, make sure people know you love them, that kind of thing.
Wow, so much going on, I wish I could respond to everyone......
MelO, I am getting a lot out of weight training too. I feel better, tighter, and am glad to do more than cardio. I am still running, usually between 5.0--5.5 mph. MP, I wish I could do a 6 mile run; I used to be able to, but not lately....I am working towards that! BigKnitter, sorry to hear about your boyfriend! Life is so short, I learned this lesson big time in my career.....any time a big trauma comes in, I think "But for the grace of God, go I" and say a prayer of thanks that I am not in that position, or my family isn't. I do my best to take care of the patient and family, especially if the patient doesn't make it. Glad to hear that your boyfriend is doing okay--helmets for everyone!!
Anyway, I am on a roll this week, 2 pounds down so far. I am so happy to see the scale move after staying in one spot for so long. I have been super careful about my food, logging everything.....it seems to be working for me right now.
Tomorrow our daughter will graduate first grade! I'm so proud of her, she's so excited for the last day of school. Our 4 year old is jealous that he's not going on a field trip, too.
I am going to eat some fruit now and snuggle with my husband while we watch a little TV.....tomorrow I weigh in again.
I gotta say that I had a bit of a mental victory today. I wanted desperately to come home after school and crash. But I didn't. I forced myself into that gym for my dreaded long run. 55 minutes and 4.1 miles later, I thought I did pretty well (well, it's really 4.4 miles since I don't count my .3 mile/5 minute warm up walk). Also had a lady next to me on the stairmaster tell me that I was doing really well. Funny enough, I felt REALLY good after my long run, like I could go for another hour or so. Good to know for next week. Ran 5 minutes at 5mph for every 1 minute of walking at 4mph. I didn't actually think I could make it. Go me.
I saw 79.0 on the trend this morning but just bombed out with dinner (pasta always makes me gain). The 600 calorie burn would have burned off my lunch plus a little more (big lunch today- I was STARVING!!), so I might be in deficit. We'll see, but I feel really heavy right now.
AFChick: Got another question for you. When you're increasing your speed, are you dropping the number of miles or the amount of time you're running initially and building up?
I've been wondering if I should get some extra miles under my belt (20-25 miles per week) before I start training for speed increases. I'm only at about 10 per week now.
Rebound - bummer about the cherries...any way you can put them in a brown paper bag to ripen them up? Those aren't cheap either. Boo.
MelO - I feel for your daughter. I get a host of gastrointestinal maladies when I have ToM. Endometriosis is when the lining of the uterus grows on the outside...it can attach to your other organs causing issues. Most people have terrible pain and extremely heavy periods...also cycles can be terribly irregular. The Pill can help even out the hormones and lesson symptoms. I started on the Pill at 14 (no "other" need for it at that time, for sure!) I was told at age 20, after 2 surgeries, that I would likely not have children. Well...as usual Love finds a way. Anyway...PM me if you have any more questions...I'm sure nobody wants to hear me whining on here.
BigKnitter - I pray all is well with your BF. Scary... My mom crashed her bike and called me from the hospital several years ago. Holy crap - that was frightening!! She broke some ribs and her clavical...at 55yrs old! Crazy woman...
RunningtoSmile - WTG on the 2lb loss!! BTW, I love your screen name.
Mollz - if you want to increase your miles run, then do. Don't worry about speed or the time it takes you. Focus on finishing the miles. I run 3 or 4 miles three days per week, then 6 or so on my "long run day". I work on running faster one of those shorter days. I allow 15min/mile for time considerations even though it doesn't take me that long. I wear a heartrate monitor and focus on keeping my HR at 80 - 85% of max. As my weight goes down, and my strength increases, my speed increases and I finish my miles in less and less time.
Just my two cents worth.
TGIF, ladies!! I slept like a person in a coma last night. Right after the babysitting kids left I had Skit Practice at Church. For VBS I am playing a super hero in a 2 part skit every night that week. It's a BLAST and a half but a lot of physical work. We are jumping around, running on and off stage and just acting goofy! We have messy "challenges" (think whipped cream pies, raw eggs, water guns...) and complete costumes. I'm gonna drop me some major pounds that week...
I've been wondering if I should get some extra miles under my belt (20-25 miles per week) before I start training for speed increases. I'm only at about 10 per week now.
That training schedule looks good. I've read not to increase by more than 10% per week. I would definitely focus on more miles vs. more speed. Your speed will come. It also depends on your goals...do you want to be a sprinter or a marathoner?
Like I've posted in other threads, I am new to this. I did register in December and posted a few times but my 'official' start date to my weight loss was June 1st and I am still going strong!! I have been doing the 30 Day Shred every night with my husband and I love it. It is really nice to be able to do it with someone else for the support.
How is everyone doing? I just weighed myself and I am at 227 now. Last week I was 230..woohoo! I know it is a small amount but it has me excited!!
You look hawt. 
I was SOOOO bummed! They weren't sour, but they just weren't very sweet. They were kind of tasteless.
I will leave it up to ones that can do them justice.
Anyway...PM me if you have any more questions...I'm sure nobody wants to hear me whining on here. 
