Two Months!

I have exactly two months until the Peachtree Road Race! My training is going well. I am started Week 11. Repeating Week 11, Day 1 tomorrow. Although I have three weeks left in my plan, I am no way near six miles. I am barely running three miles. No matter what, I will get across that finish line!

This weekend I had a very unfortunate incident. I have been debating whether or not to blog about it. However, it is part of my journey and I want to be able to look back on it at some point. Anyhow, I'm running, minding my own business. This woman pulls up into a parking space next to the path, gets out of her car, and says, look at that fat stomach! I am not sure why she felt the need to say anything. Part of me wanted to stop and say something but I said a prayer for her and just kept running. Part of me wanted to go all angry black woman at her but it wouldn't have helped anything. I went to my car, text my friend about what had happened, and drove home.

I walked through the door and thought about crying but couldn't. I told myself I was not going to allow some stranger to steal my joy! You cares what anyone says to me. I am doing what I am doing for me, myself, and I! I also reminded myself that I have been very lucky. Most people smile, wave, and give me the thumbs up. There has been much more good than bad. I am doing much better out there sweating, with my fat stomach, than sitting on the couch, with my fat stomach, eating chips and ice cream.

I am so sorry that person felt the need to say anything to me. Maybe she thought I couldn't hear her because I had a headphones. Who knows...who cares.... Anyhow, I just wanted to get that out. I will not be bullied by anyone. Whoever you are, lady, screw you! You do not know anything about my journey!

It also brings home to me just how vulnerable we are when were out. I already felt a little uneasiness because I forgot my pepper spray. Even though the park was filled with people on the fields and playgrounds and I saw a police car patrolling around, I was still vulnerable in that time and space. I've got to do better about keeping my pepper spray next to my keys. What if that lady had come up and approached me? I do not run that fast.

A couple of months ago, some guy tried to abduct this 18 year old girl who was jogging in her neighborhood. She had a pocket knife on her. Who knows...maybe she was trying to start a confrontation....

Easter Brings Hope

Today was a beautiful day. Easter has always been my favorite holiday. I love the message of resurrection, renewal, rebirth, and hope. How light comes from darkness....

Today I tapped into that message of hope and checked off a goal on my fitness list. For the longest time, one of my goals has been to be able to run around this loop at Wills Park. This is the path I usually walk. I know that in order to prepare for Peachtree I need to be able to run uphill. It was my intention to try running around this loop in June.

Last night I spent some time catching up on my blog reading. I read something about how running is also mental. So I spent some time visually myself running around that loop. For whatever reason, when I woke up this morning, I decided to give it a try. I did it! I really took my time, checked in with my body, stayed present with my thoughts, focused on my breathing, and run around that loop 1.25 times. So, now my next goal is to do two laps. Before my race, I will complete four laps.

Today was a real confidence-builder for me. For the first time, I believe I can be well-prepared for this race. I know it is a little out of my reach, but I can do my best to be as prepared as possible.

Sweat Saturday

Today was a very challenging day. All I wanted to do was stay in bed feeling sorry for myself. The sun was out. I had no excuse not to go outside and work on my running. I found myself in a very ugly place mentally. Why, oh, why did I talk myself into this? I am not going to have enough time to train? It's going to be hot, etc., etc., etc. It took me about two hours to get out of my head and out of the door. I was totally convinced it was going to suck! Guess what? It didn't! I complete eat run with no problem. It felt great! I was shocked!

Is it Friday yet?

This is how I feel about today's workout:

Couch to 5k: Week Six, Day One

As soon as I got out of bed this morning, I repeated my new favorite mantra:

Because I'd had three days off, I have to admit I was a little nervous about today's workout. Remember the quote above reminded me that the hard part was over. I walk out the door and started to smile as I felt a cool breeze rush across my face. As much as I hate getting up at 5:30 am, I often enjoy how the morning greets me. My perfect weather conditions...cool with a light breeze.

For the most part, it was uneventful. I did get another little sign from nature as this rabbit dashed across my path. The last two minutes were hard but I kept telling myself, you can run for two minutes, you can run for one minute, you can run for 30 more seconds.... Two thumbs up!

The disappointing part was looking down at my app and seeing I had barely ran two miles and my pace was 15-something. I realize I can't get too hung up with those numbers or else I will get discouraged. Right now my focus is on being able to run a 5k without any walk breaks.

Week Six Weigh In

Down three pounds this week! This makes my total weight loss so far this year at five pounds. I pray these pounds are gone for good! More than my exercise plan, I really need to stick to my food plan. I've been tweaking it and I truly believe this is the reason the scale is beginning to move. Woohoo!

Week One - Couch to 5K

I did it! Week One of my Couch to 5K training is done. I really did not feel like running today. My stomach had been upset all day. I felt a bit better around 5:30 so I headed to the gym. I hate running on the treadmill but I needed to be close to a bathroom. It was the longest 30 minutes I’ve spent in a while! I am so grateful to God I was able to stick with my plan. I think I’m going to repeat Week One just to get my body used to running again. I’m working on building my endurance and strengthening my core. My goal is to run my next race nonstop – no walking. If I stick to my plan and work diligently, I’m sure I can meet my goal.

Winning Wednesday

Weekly Weigh-In: Week Four

Today’s weigh was a big, fat disappointment! I’m not sure if these weekly weigh-ins are more detrimental than helpful. We’ll see….

I just watched a very inspirational video by Mindy’s Fitness Blogthat really touched me. She talked about setting New Year’s resolutions and how it is more important to set monthly goals. HELLO! I’m doing great in this area!

I started taking a nutrition course this week. I also started Spin classes a few weeks ago. I know all about S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting yet I still allow that number on the scale to discourage me. So, as January is coming to an end and it’s quite apparent I will not be where I would like to be on the scale, I’m still off to a very good start with my goals.

I will continue focusing on my daily, weekly, and monthly goals and my yearly goal to be at a healthy weight will take care of itself.

Nonscale Victories

Since I have been so frustrated with the scale, I saw a post on Facebook about celebrating nonscale victories (NSVs). It dawn on me that I do not do this enough. So here are my recent NSVs: 1. Finally completed my goal of being able to run a mile nonstop 2. Joined a gym 3. Started strength training three times a week 4. A friend gave me a pair of jeans that were too big for her and there are almost too big for me! 5. Completed a spin class 6. Learned how to swim 7. Planked over 1 minute 8. Ran (with the exception of the hills) a 5K 9. Complete a set of 100 squats I'm looking forward to added to the list this year!

The Good, The Bad, The Encouraging

I just returned from my doctor's appointment. I like my new doctor. I think Dr. G did a great job in choosing her to take over her patients. She has the same approach about prescribing as little medication as possible. Well, according to her scale, I've gained five pounds since my visit three months ago. The encouraging news is that she thinks it may be due to the results of my thyroid test. My TSH is 4.21. I think that's the highest it's been. Anyhow, she wants it to be around 2.0. So, she's going to work on tweaking the dosage on my Synthroid. This gives me encouraging hope that my efforts have not been in vain. I truly believe I've been giving it my all during my workouts. Hopefully, getting my thyroid regulated will help kick my metabolism in gear. The bad news is that my A1c went it. Last visit it was 6.0. The visit it was 6.1. It's not that big of a deal but my goal is to get it under 6.0. My plan of action is to make sure I'm getting enough protein and work on paying more attention to my carb intake. The good news is that she's cutting my cholestoerol meds in half! My total cholesterol is still 100. My HDL is 65 and my LDL is 19. So I have some work to do. I already set a goal to add more green veggies to my food plan. I think this will help lower my A1c. There's not that much I can do about my thyroid besides take my medication. I will continue to monitor my fat intake and eat my oatmeal for breakfast.

Two Weeks and counting!

I did 3 miles today.

I have been riding a mental roller coaster this week. I am so nervous about my event. I've come so close and I just want to do well. I kept thinking of all sorts of things that could go wrong.

Once I got over all that negativity, I was able to focus on my outstanding achievement. I have been walking five days out of the week for nine weeks. I can hardly believe it.

Slow and steady wins the race. I'm so proud of myself for getting out there and trying. I tried and tried and kept making progress.

Today was real emotional for me. I really wanted to walk 3 miles, nonstop, today. First of all, it was cold and rainy. I wasn't about to let this stop me. I get out to the walking path and there is no one there. I couldn't believe it. Where are all the diehard athletes? Well, I stretched, looked at my watch and started walking. After .25 miles, I saw two women jogging. Okay, I'm not the only dummy out here in this weather trying to exercise. When they passed me, one of them gave me a thumbs up and said, good for you. I almost cried. It made me feel so good to receive encouragement from a perfect stranger. I have no idea why it meant so much to me in that moment, but it did. Here and there, I encountered other on the path. Somehow I felt they understand how important it was for me to be out there walking. I thank them for their encouraging smiles. An hour and twenty minutes later, I was done--literally. I wanted to walk three miles today and I did. For this, I am truly grateful.

I'm going to do this. I'm really going to do this!

Week Four

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun, right?

Before I move on to Week Four, I want to comment on yesterday's walk--not good. I went to Azalea Park to walk. I love the "professional path" because of the quarter-mile markers and the ability to sit by the river. It was a bit chilly. I started out okay. My confidence is a bit better when walking here among all the joggers, rollerbladders, and other walkers. Well, about 1/4 mile into my session I had to go to the bathroom (oh great). I ignored it and moved on. About 1/2 mile, my legs felt weak, my back tight, and I felt a little light-headed so I turned around and headed back. I had to stop about 1/4 mile later. I stretched, sat down on a bench, and focussed on my breathing. A friend called so I chatted with her about 5 minutes. She was encouraging. I felt disappointed for stopping in the middle of my work out. I brushed it off and walked the last 1/4 to the Jeep.

Oh, the crunches. Thursday I did 12 out of 15. Cramps! I'm not sure why I cramped. I did them right after my walk so I would assume my body was warm enough. Oh well....

Week Three is over and Week Four begins tomorrow. Today is an off day. I got up this morning and practiced the Mountain Pose for 30 minutes. I'll spend some time throughout the day stretching.

Week Four Plan is as follow:

Monday - 20 mins.
Tuesday - 15 mins., 20 crunches
Wednesday - 24 mins.
Thursday - 15 mins., 25 crunches
Friday - off
Saturday - 32 mins.
Sunday - off

I consider Week Four a milestone. I started this program with the determine to stick to the schedule no matter what's going on. I plan to celebrate the end Week Four with a special treat for myself. Jeju Sauna! I love this space. I'll spend some time relaxing my body by sweating, steaming, and soaking. I can't wait!

I'll work on my shopping list and playlist later on this afternoon.

Thank God It's Friday

Today is an off day so this entry will probably be a bit of rambling.

First of all, I'm glad today is an off day because it's cold outside. I've done some stretching today. I'll do a bit more, read up on nutrition, meditate, and do some more stretching.

In addition to walking yesterday, I did a little strength training on my upper body.

My rant of the week has been exercise gear for big, fat, overweight, plus-size, whatever you want to call it, people! Why is it so difficult to find decent gear? I need a good bra with some support (don't laugh). Is that so hard to ask? I don't have the time to go on about it know.

Speaking of support, it's interesting to observe the way people are being so supportive (or not so supportive). You can also get the glimpse of the mindset of people around you. Are they encouraging? Discouraging? I don't need anyone around me right now that is going to support me in making excuses!

I have been getting a lot of inspiration (and information) from reading other blogs.

I guess that's it for now.