Just a quick update.....lost 2 more pounds when I weighed in on Thursday, that makes me offiicially at 80 pounds lost!! I'm into a new 'decade' of numbers as well so it's very exciting. :)
I feel like this week I've been back on track - the vacations are done, the interruptions are done and this week I've been able to hit the weights on the days I'm scheduled to without missing any and I got my runs in. Tomorrow morning I'm planning a longer run, hopefully 65 minutes. We're planning to run in a 5-mile race on Nov. 20th (Gerard's birthday) so I want to make sure I'm ready for that. I'm pretty confident I am because of my long weekend runs but I normally have a bathroom break during my runs so I want to be sure I can do it.
After that I'll begin training for a half-marathon. (YIKES!) There is one in Brooklyn in May that Jerry thinks I can be ready for.
We're almost to a full year since I started this journey....hard to believe November 4th, 2010 was my first weigh-in and how much things have changed in that relatively short time. I'm excited though!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sometimes life gets in the way....
Sorry I haven't posted much....been a little hectic around here. So I did end up losing 3 pounds when I weighed myself on October 6th. Do I know myself or what!? lol That was the day we were heading to Florida in the afternoon so I wanted a number to go off before I left....that makes 78 total. While in Florida I did pretty well with food and maintained my weight. We were able to run 3 out of the 4 mornings I was there, including a 5k in Tampa on Saturday morning. Friday morning, we ran on the beach with Isaiah. That had been a dream of mine, to run with Jerry on the beach, I'm so thankful we were able to do it. He said that he has always hoped for things the way they are now, to be able to work out together, go on runs together, etc.
I tried new things in Florida - I've always been kinda 'eh' about seafood but we went to a nice restaurant - The Oyster Bar - while there and I actually had tilapia for dinner! It was parmesan-crusted so I'm sure that helped. lol I tried Jerry's shrimp & scallops as well and liked them! We're planning to cook a similar meal here at home soon.
We just found out about a 5-mile race in Waterbury in November, on Gerard's birthday, actually. I think we're going to run it! Jerry just did his first half-marathon on Saturday and did great. I'm going to begin training for a half-marathon, hoping to run one in Brooklyn with him in May. I'm finding it's fun to look for races to do together. We're also looking to take swim lessons in the winter at the YMCA. I've never had formal lessons and Jerry wants a refresher. We figure maybe that's a good way to get a little taste of summer during the colder months.
Hoping to lose 2 pounds by my next weigh-in this week - that will put me at 80 pounds!
I tried new things in Florida - I've always been kinda 'eh' about seafood but we went to a nice restaurant - The Oyster Bar - while there and I actually had tilapia for dinner! It was parmesan-crusted so I'm sure that helped. lol I tried Jerry's shrimp & scallops as well and liked them! We're planning to cook a similar meal here at home soon.
We just found out about a 5-mile race in Waterbury in November, on Gerard's birthday, actually. I think we're going to run it! Jerry just did his first half-marathon on Saturday and did great. I'm going to begin training for a half-marathon, hoping to run one in Brooklyn with him in May. I'm finding it's fun to look for races to do together. We're also looking to take swim lessons in the winter at the YMCA. I've never had formal lessons and Jerry wants a refresher. We figure maybe that's a good way to get a little taste of summer during the colder months.
Hoping to lose 2 pounds by my next weigh-in this week - that will put me at 80 pounds!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The good....the bad....*sigh* and I guess....the ugly
When I started this blog I said I would post the good, the bad, and the ugly....this last 2 weeks I suppose, was the ugly. I didn't gain weight which is a bonus....but I didn't lose either. I was disappointed but not shocked. Between that time of the month, stress at work & other life stresses, I had a rough 2 weeks. I still did great workouts and had good runs, but I could tell the difference in my food choices. I didn't eat horribly -- then again, I never really do -- it's just I didn't make the best choices.
Lesson # 1: I cannot buy Kettle Cooked chips!! They are EVIL!! lol I can count out my portion size and have some but then I cannot stop! So it's better to just not have them available to me. (By the way, this is a lesson I've learned previously as well but obviously didn't learn that well.) This time I know for CERTAIN: kettle cooked chips + me trying to lose weight does NOT = weight loss for me. lol
Lesson # 2: I need to find other/better ways to handle stress than through food choices. That is something I used to do, both with stress and boredom. I need to choose a different path, maybe take a walk, do some lunges, jumping jacks, anything! It used to be when I was stressed, I'd play piano to take my mind off stuff...it worked beautifully. But we don't have a piano...and believe it or not, the church I work at does not have a piano either (isn't that weird!?!) So I need to consciously make other choices in that regard.
I'm certain this next 2 weeks will have better results.....that seems to be a pattern for me over these last 11 months (I'm almost to a year -- November 4, 2010 was my first official weigh-in!) I have a rough 2 weeks, then my next weigh-in I'll lose 2-3 pounds. I'm hoping that happens this time.
We're heading to Florida next week for a quick trip...normally vacation might be a concern with falling off the wagon as far as food goes...but I have a secret weapon with me: Jerry! lol He will keep me on the straight and narrow, for sure, so I'm thankful.
I'll keep you posted!
Lesson # 1: I cannot buy Kettle Cooked chips!! They are EVIL!! lol I can count out my portion size and have some but then I cannot stop! So it's better to just not have them available to me. (By the way, this is a lesson I've learned previously as well but obviously didn't learn that well.) This time I know for CERTAIN: kettle cooked chips + me trying to lose weight does NOT = weight loss for me. lol
Lesson # 2: I need to find other/better ways to handle stress than through food choices. That is something I used to do, both with stress and boredom. I need to choose a different path, maybe take a walk, do some lunges, jumping jacks, anything! It used to be when I was stressed, I'd play piano to take my mind off stuff...it worked beautifully. But we don't have a piano...and believe it or not, the church I work at does not have a piano either (isn't that weird!?!) So I need to consciously make other choices in that regard.
I'm certain this next 2 weeks will have better results.....that seems to be a pattern for me over these last 11 months (I'm almost to a year -- November 4, 2010 was my first official weigh-in!) I have a rough 2 weeks, then my next weigh-in I'll lose 2-3 pounds. I'm hoping that happens this time.
We're heading to Florida next week for a quick trip...normally vacation might be a concern with falling off the wagon as far as food goes...but I have a secret weapon with me: Jerry! lol He will keep me on the straight and narrow, for sure, so I'm thankful.
I'll keep you posted!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
I heart New York
Goal # 2 on my original goals -- scratched off my list!! We headed to NYC earrrrly on Sunday morning - I'm talking we left the house around 4:45am. It didn't feel like an insane time to Jerry & I though because we normally get up for the gym at 3:50 anyway. lol
Here is Stephen Siller, the hero we were running in honor of and whose steps we were retracing....what a privilege. It humbles you to think about what he did.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation had sent about 20,000 emails leading up to the race encouraging people to arrive early because they were expecting record crowds with it being the 10th anniversary of 9/11. So we heeded their advice and arrived around 6:30am or so....by the time we parked in the garage and got to the shuttle buses it was close to 7. Jerry & I got on the shuttle bus which took us to Brooklyn while Sarah, Isaiah, and Sarah's friend Kate hung out close to the finish line in Manhattan. Thankfully Sarah, Zay and I have done this a number of times while Jerry ran so they were used to it. Kate went with us last year and loved it so it's a new tradition for her to go with us. :)
Jerry and I hung out in Brookln; after signing in and getting our bibs, we had time to have a snack - I came prepared with PB&J sandwiches and protein bars and waters. We just mingled with the other runners since the race didn't start until 9:30am.
Meanwhile, Sarah, Kate, & Isaiah went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and spent their time planking and meandering around Manhattan.
Here is Stephen Siller, the hero we were running in honor of and whose steps we were retracing....what a privilege. It humbles you to think about what he did.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation had sent about 20,000 emails leading up to the race encouraging people to arrive early because they were expecting record crowds with it being the 10th anniversary of 9/11. So we heeded their advice and arrived around 6:30am or so....by the time we parked in the garage and got to the shuttle buses it was close to 7. Jerry & I got on the shuttle bus which took us to Brooklyn while Sarah, Isaiah, and Sarah's friend Kate hung out close to the finish line in Manhattan. Thankfully Sarah, Zay and I have done this a number of times while Jerry ran so they were used to it. Kate went with us last year and loved it so it's a new tradition for her to go with us. :)
Jerry and I hung out in Brookln; after signing in and getting our bibs, we had time to have a snack - I came prepared with PB&J sandwiches and protein bars and waters. We just mingled with the other runners since the race didn't start until 9:30am.
Meanwhile, Sarah, Kate, & Isaiah went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and spent their time planking and meandering around Manhattan.
As far as the race itself, we did great! That being said, we couldn't push ourselves too much because of the sheer number of people - over 30,000 people ran or walked this year! It was insane, to say the least. We couldn't even get going running until after the start line and once you did get going, then you would have big slowdowns, particularly in the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. Of course there's only so much space and cramming all those people in is not easy! Plus the walkers were not very cooperative (at least some of them) and they were spread out instead of staying to the right (hello, this is fitness etiquette, people!) lol It was a good thing though, because with Jerry wearing his turnout gear, he couldn't go too fast anyway and it kept me at a manageable pace. I felt GREAT - though it was extremely humid and I was sweating buckets (okay -- who are we kidding -- I'm always sweating!), I felt awesome. I barely felt winded even when the tunnel started the upward grade towards Manhattan. I was SO proud of Jerry - he plugged right along, passing other younger firefighters running in their gear who had slowed down to walk - he ran the entire time. We crossed the finish line holding hands, he was just as excited as I was for me to accomplish such a huge goal. Surprisingly, I didn't bawl! Though I came close to it a couple times. lol
After the race we fought the crowds to get our t-shirts and got some food and hung out for a while. We had promised Isaiah we would get pizza at the same pizza place right by Ground Zero that we had gone to with Cheryl and the girls in July....so we did that! It was yummy -- how can you go wrong with New York pizza!
By that time, we were ready to head home....a bit more walking back to the garage and then home. Everybody was exhausted!
Looking forward to next year's! Isaiah said he wants to run it with us. We're also going to try to stay overnight in NYC the night before; we've always said that would be fun to do the night before the race and make it easier....I'm already planning it and wrote it in my planner at work so I don't book any parties on the night before! (like this year -- heehee).
So what's next? We're heading to Florida in the next week (Jerry on Monday, Zay and I on next Thursday) so what could be better than running a 5k in Florida!? That's what Jerry and I are planning to do Saturday morning the 8th - we found one in Tampa. :) I am officially a running fanatic! Haha
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
It's almost time!!
The Tunnel to Towers Run is coming up very quickly!! Sunday, Sept. 25th is the day I'll run it with Jerry (who, by the way, is running with his turnout gear on). Is he trying to make me blubber all the way to the finish line? Not that I'm an emotional person in the first place. (Hahahahahaha!!)
I'm getting really excited but also nervous. I'm nervous that I won't be able to finish - which is kinda silly in the first place because I've run 4 miles no problem, I've run 50 minutes at the gym no problem (on Sunday, actually). I'm nervous that I'll be too emotional - this is a legitimate concern, knowing me. lol As I said in this post, it's always very moving to be a bystander at the finish line -- watching firefighters run for their fallen brothers, watching firefighters from around the world, including Australia, England, and more, watching Wounded Warriors run, many times with prosthetic legs, all in honor of these heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11th. During the run, the course takes you through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, retracing Stephen Siller's footsteps, up to where the Twin Towers stood. In the Tunnel, people are chanting, "USA! USA!" and there are firefighters from the FDNY lining the tunnel wearing banners, 343 of them, to be exact, each one with a big picture and name of a firefighter who died that day. After the race, there is a brief parade as well and the banners are worn through the parade route. That is difficult enough to watch -- it gives you goosebumps. For me even imagining seeing them line the tunnel makes me get choked up -- I'm hoping I can hold it together during the run! My best defense may turn out to be my iPod....if I can keep music going in my ears, hopefully it will keep my brain just enough distracted so I don't have a meltdown during the run. I'll give a full report afterward with pictures!
Hand-in-hand with me running this 5k is the fact that I will have reached 2 out of the 3 goals I laid forth in that post I linked above. Goal # 1 was to wear 'average' size clothing....while I'm not to my goal weight yet, I am officially in 'average' clothes. I haven't bought anything in the plus-size section in a WHILE. In fact, I bought a new shirt at Target last weekend that was a regular Large! (I could never even fit a XXL from the regular women's section -- only something from the Plus Size section). Goal # 2 was to run this 5k....so I'm almost there! Goal # 3 was to lose 80-90 pounds....I'm almost there too! I am currently at 73 pounds lost with an updated overall goal of 100 pounds.
I can see the finish line, friends! Or at least the ribbon across it...then I have to keep running because once I reach all my goals there's this whole business of maintaining. lol
I'm getting really excited but also nervous. I'm nervous that I won't be able to finish - which is kinda silly in the first place because I've run 4 miles no problem, I've run 50 minutes at the gym no problem (on Sunday, actually). I'm nervous that I'll be too emotional - this is a legitimate concern, knowing me. lol As I said in this post, it's always very moving to be a bystander at the finish line -- watching firefighters run for their fallen brothers, watching firefighters from around the world, including Australia, England, and more, watching Wounded Warriors run, many times with prosthetic legs, all in honor of these heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11th. During the run, the course takes you through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, retracing Stephen Siller's footsteps, up to where the Twin Towers stood. In the Tunnel, people are chanting, "USA! USA!" and there are firefighters from the FDNY lining the tunnel wearing banners, 343 of them, to be exact, each one with a big picture and name of a firefighter who died that day. After the race, there is a brief parade as well and the banners are worn through the parade route. That is difficult enough to watch -- it gives you goosebumps. For me even imagining seeing them line the tunnel makes me get choked up -- I'm hoping I can hold it together during the run! My best defense may turn out to be my iPod....if I can keep music going in my ears, hopefully it will keep my brain just enough distracted so I don't have a meltdown during the run. I'll give a full report afterward with pictures!
Hand-in-hand with me running this 5k is the fact that I will have reached 2 out of the 3 goals I laid forth in that post I linked above. Goal # 1 was to wear 'average' size clothing....while I'm not to my goal weight yet, I am officially in 'average' clothes. I haven't bought anything in the plus-size section in a WHILE. In fact, I bought a new shirt at Target last weekend that was a regular Large! (I could never even fit a XXL from the regular women's section -- only something from the Plus Size section). Goal # 2 was to run this 5k....so I'm almost there! Goal # 3 was to lose 80-90 pounds....I'm almost there too! I am currently at 73 pounds lost with an updated overall goal of 100 pounds.
I can see the finish line, friends! Or at least the ribbon across it...then I have to keep running because once I reach all my goals there's this whole business of maintaining. lol
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Confession (no, not the Priestly type) lol
So I wasn't going to weigh in today.....I've had a rough few weeks or month. Between going to Mass for Isaiah's tournament, going home to Ohio and being 'bloated and moody', I haven't been too confident in my workouts or weigh-ins. I was going to push my weigh-in to next week - like Jerry said, it's not like I have a deadline to weigh-in, there's no absolute rule that I have to weigh in today.
But then I got into my new workout routine of doing weights on Mondays, Weds., and Fri., and running on Tuesdays & Thursdays (and the weekends) and I noticed this past Monday that I felt REALLY good during & after my weight workout. I already felt stronger, I didn't have a bad attitude about doing weights instead of running, I feel like something clicked. Like hey, maybe Jerry does actually know what he's talking about! lol
I did well again yesterday with my legs/back workout - and that was without Jerry being there -- he had to go to the firehouse. I pushed myself, raised some of my weights when I needed and just had a great overall workout. On Monday, when I did my arms workout, I had enough time that I was able to throw 10 minutes in on the elliptical as well. Since yesterday was legs I didn't do elliptical so I could rest them; plus, I knew I'd be running today.
Soooo....needless to say, I went ahead & weighed in this morning and lost 3 pounds! 73 total, only 27 to my overall goal! And probably 2 pounds until I officially and definitely weigh less than Jerry. :) I will confess though....if I hadn't lost, I probably would've pushed my weigh-in to next week. Haha! That wouldn't really be fair....but it's how I felt! lol
Had a great run again this morning, ran for 40 minutes on the treadmill then did 8 on the elliptical. Over 600 calories burned supposedly.
As for my overall goals, I think it's safe to say I've reached one of them officially - to not have to shop in the plus size section or stores anymore. I bought jeans last week that were in a 'normal' size (3 sizes down from my old ones) and bought a skirt in Ohio that was 4 sizes smaller than I used to wear. I'm more excited about shopping now than I've ever been....but not excited about spending too much money - I'm stingy. lol I am going to shop for a new dress for a baby shower I'm going to in September so I can't wait to do that! What a difference 10 months makes. lol
But then I got into my new workout routine of doing weights on Mondays, Weds., and Fri., and running on Tuesdays & Thursdays (and the weekends) and I noticed this past Monday that I felt REALLY good during & after my weight workout. I already felt stronger, I didn't have a bad attitude about doing weights instead of running, I feel like something clicked. Like hey, maybe Jerry does actually know what he's talking about! lol
I did well again yesterday with my legs/back workout - and that was without Jerry being there -- he had to go to the firehouse. I pushed myself, raised some of my weights when I needed and just had a great overall workout. On Monday, when I did my arms workout, I had enough time that I was able to throw 10 minutes in on the elliptical as well. Since yesterday was legs I didn't do elliptical so I could rest them; plus, I knew I'd be running today.
Soooo....needless to say, I went ahead & weighed in this morning and lost 3 pounds! 73 total, only 27 to my overall goal! And probably 2 pounds until I officially and definitely weigh less than Jerry. :) I will confess though....if I hadn't lost, I probably would've pushed my weigh-in to next week. Haha! That wouldn't really be fair....but it's how I felt! lol
Had a great run again this morning, ran for 40 minutes on the treadmill then did 8 on the elliptical. Over 600 calories burned supposedly.
As for my overall goals, I think it's safe to say I've reached one of them officially - to not have to shop in the plus size section or stores anymore. I bought jeans last week that were in a 'normal' size (3 sizes down from my old ones) and bought a skirt in Ohio that was 4 sizes smaller than I used to wear. I'm more excited about shopping now than I've ever been....but not excited about spending too much money - I'm stingy. lol I am going to shop for a new dress for a baby shower I'm going to in September so I can't wait to do that! What a difference 10 months makes. lol
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