Category: Fitness and Diet

Lazy Friday Before the Race

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Tomorrow I am planning to get up early (for a Saturday) and do the Rock Riot Run 5K to benefit the Eastside Domestic Violence Program. It was an inexpensive 5K, and a way to keep me motivated on this journey, so I’m rather looking forward to it. My biggest concern is if the weather will hold out. The weather in Seattle the past couple days has been completely schizophrenic. Sunny skies one minute, hail and clouds the next. I can only hope I’ll be properly prepared for my 3.1 miles.

In other news, I’m excited to write that I have officially put my name in the lottery to do the Nike Women’s 1/2 Marathon in San Francisco this October. A friend of mine, Emily, recently completed the Lavaman triathlon and signed up for the lottery for the 1/2 marathon. Given she’s been my workout buddy for 5 years (mostly in spirit due to her living in the Bay area), I felt like I absolutely had to join her. I’m very excited, and hope I get in. I hear there’s a fireman that hands you your Tiffany finishers necklace!

Weight Watchers (the system I’ve used to get in shape the past two years) is holding their Walk-it Challenge the next two months. Their challenge is to walk a 5K by June 6. I will be running a 5K this weekend, and will be training for the LIVESTRONG Challenge later in June. There’s a drawing for those of us who go to meetings to attend meetings during this time, and enter to win a trip to one of the prime walking cities in the US. I’m crossing my fingers on that one.

Sorry that it’s more of a personal post today – I hadn’t planned on anything, so you get things off the top of my head as filler! Enjoy! Wish me speed on my 5K tomorrow!

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

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Here’s a follow-up from yesterday’s post.

The other day I treated myself to a regular trip to Nordstrom Rack to try on ridiculously expensive designer jeans. Naturally, though I was feeling thinner, the moon was conspiring against me.

Not to mention, my body still ached from my first 5 mile attempt.

And that morning, I got a reply from a friend, on learning my pace for that 5 mile, that really, I’m not jogging, it’s more of a fast walk.

Oof.

Except that I know, despite my slow pace, I am technically jogging. In competitive speed walking, I recall people are disqualified for running, meaning having only one foot on the ground at a time. Even some of the beginning training programs I’ve found talk about your first jogging pace feels more like stumbling along as you work up your cardio ability.

I’m a bit sensitive, I know. I’ve dealt with a constant fear of not being good enough, and that translates both into competitiveness and defensiveness. At worst, it translates into me not even trying, or quitting before I really gave it a go.

The Tortoise and the Hare didn’t teach me what it was meant to. At the end, I was never impressed with the Tortoise, though he won. He was dull, slow, lethargic and single minded. He was also smug. The hare, though a bit of an asshole, I saw as ultimately being an interesting character. He’s overzealous, a bit of a braggart, but just seemed like more fun.

I’m hoping I’m neither – and that in the end, I’ll be more whatever animal relishes in fartleks. Here’s hoping.

“May I ask a simple question – how did you start running?”

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I got an email in my inbox recently, which prompted me to respond to the question of how I started running. Here’s my updated (and long) response.

I started running as a sort of “what the hell” kind of thing. I figured I’d give it a try. I picked up the Runner’s World Guide to Women’s Running and read through the first few chapters. Then I got my gear. I weighed about 195 lbs at the time, and at that point had been easily able to walk 3 mi or more (and often did on a regular basis.) I don’t think that the answer is putting on shoes and going out – it’s actually a bit more complicated than that. Here’s my
personal list of how to approach starting to run:

  1. Know your current skill level. Can you walk for 30 minutes to an hour at a reasonable pace?
  2. Get fitted for running shoes. Expect to spend $85-100. Go to Super Jock and Jill (near Green Lake) or another running store that specifically fits you for your running shoes. They should sit down with you, watch you take a few strides, and have you try on (and take a brief jog) in 4 or so pairs of shoes. Expect to spend about 30 minutes doing this. You will learn about what type of runner you are, and what kind of support you need when running. Don’t pick a shoe because it’s pretty or popular. Pick the one that feels the best, and gives you the support you need. This can help prevent injury.
  3. Invest in a good sports bra. The Moving Comfort bras are my absolute favorite. I recommend Title Nine for fitting if you don’t know what size you are, which is also near Green Lake.
  4. Get a heart rate monitor, preferably one with a chest strap. I use the Polar F11 Women’s Heart Rate Monitor WatchThis will allow you to keep tabs on your heart rate, and will basically tell you when you’re over-exerting yourself, and when you could step it up a bit. This is your best defense against turning red and having someone call 911. That, and getting to know your own limits.
  5. This is optional, but I truly believe it helps – get fancy tech fabric moisture wicking shorts and shirts. I like the Nike Women’s Pacer Running Shorts and Nike Women’s Short Sleeve Pacer Baselayer Shirt. The tech fabric helps lessen chafing, and keeps you cool and dry.
  6. Browse Runner’s World – don’t bother with a subscription. They have some great training programs and tips to get you started.
  7. Optional: Invest in a cold pack for your knees or other tender areas for your post-jog.
  8. Optional: I love my Nike+ Sport Band. It doesn’t do everything I want the gadget to do, but I love the Nike+ website, and I love the gadget. It’s also a low price for such a nifty tool.
  9. Set a goal. Example, “In 12 weeks, I will go to a 5k walk/run (aka “fun run”)”

Disclaimer: Talk to your doctor about starting any training program. This is what I did, your milage may vary! The method I started with was to do my training in a 30 minute block. For the first week, I did 3-4 days of 10 minutes walking at the fastest pace I felt comfortable, then 2 minutes jogging, 2 minutes walking (alternating) until I reached the 20 minute mark. Then, I spent the last 10 minutes walking. This is an 8 week program that gradually brings you up to jogging the full 30 minutes. Another option is to use your heart rate monitor, and find out what your optimal cardio zone is (the monitor should come with this information). Then you go out and walk/run depending on where you are in the zone. If you need to boost your heart rate, you jog, if you need to lower it, you walk.

I did all my run/walking in the neighborhood I lived in, which at the time was basically flat for Seattle. Now I’m in a more hilly neighborhood, so it’s a little tougher to find a good flat route to start on, but I found one that mostly works. Green Lake has walkers and runners of all fitness levels. It can be crowded and intimidating, but you’re not alone. There are people just like you, some even at lower fitness levels, out there doing their thing, going around the lake. Even the fastest runners had to start somewhere. I would think to myself when I’d get self-conscious, “Oh yeah, I know you d think I’m slow, but I’m awesome, I’m out here doing it!” I’m still a really slow runner, but this blog is a testament to my goals. 🙂

Week 2 of Training

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I decided, after a week of trying to train on my own that I needed an actual training program. Luckily, my Nike + SportBand links up to the Nike+ site, which includes a community as well as a Coach program, with choices ranging from just starting out to marathon. I chose the 5K training, and coincidentally, should get me prepped in time for the LIVESTRONG Challenge in June. I’m still coming to grips with the idea that by late may, I will be expected to run SEVEN miles in one day. It will be interesting to look back on this, if I actually can do the 5K in 30 minutes or less, and say “yes, this training worked.”

I am still on the hunt for a women’s running social group. I meant to dive into one of the running stores around Green Lake on Sunday to see, but was so exhausted after my 5 mile jog that I just went straight home.

As far as the fund raising goes, on Monday morning I was treated to another carrot to raise money for LIVESTRONG – every $250 I raise, I’m entered to win one of ten tickets to see U2 at Safeco Field the night of the run. I know I’ll get to my $250, but man – even if I don’t love U2 the way I used to, it sure would be nice to get free tickets to see the spectacle!

Today is my 3 mile run day. Wish me speed!

Different Skin

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I used to weigh 100+ pounds more than I do today. I look in the mirror, and on the scale, and know that I have more to lose. This is despite getting statements occasionally where some people I know believe that I’ve completed my weight loss journey. In truth, I have about 25-30 pounds to go, and I’ve been staying pretty level, without any big poundage losses, for over a year.

I won’t tell that same trite sob story about how “food is my drug” and how it was my crutch, etc, etc. Maybe it was, once upon a time. Meanwhile, I’ve always loved to move my body, even when I was at my heaviest. I’d get funny looks when I was 250+ pounds, and would tell people I’d regularly go to the gym. In fact, I was doing 60 minutes of cardio, and sometimes another 60 minutes of weights three times a week. I’ve always walked at least a mile a day, just without thinking. The food part? Food is tasty when it’s good, prepared food is almost always underwhelming and under-satisfying, and when I’m not satisfied, I want to be satisfied, so I eat more, as if my belly stretching tells me I’m satisfied. (It actually just tells me I’m stuffed.)

To say the least, I’m living in a different skin. I looked in the mirror one day, over two years ago, and said that I was done wearing that skin. I’ve used Weight Watchers the entire time on my journey, and though the meetings may be scary to some, I definitely lose more weight when I’m going to meetings than when I’m doing it with their eTools.

Long story short – what I’m getting at is that I’m having to come to grips that I’m a different person. I’m not the fat girl any more. I can shop almost anywhere for clothing (aside from haute couture). I’m active, and I run. I don’t get funny looks when I shop for athletic clothing. I get pleasant and even fun small talk from other fitness enthusiasts, who look at me as a peer. I still eat the things that are delicious, but I’ve managed to cut out a lot of the things that frankly, I don’t need, and aren’t that delicious (or functional.)

No, I need chocolate. I still have chocolate.

But I don’t eat an entire pint of ice cream, except on a very rare basis. Hamburgers and french fries, also, a rare occurrence. Pasta is regular, but the portions are smaller (Most restaurant portions are probably 2-4 cups of cooked pasta, a portion is 1 cup.) Meat? Well, there are many reasons to eat less meat. I try to cut my portions to no more than 3-4 ounces of meat for dinner (and seldom, meat for lunch). Consider it’s nearly impossible to find a burger, chicken breast, or steak at a restaurant that is less than 4 ounces these days.

I do enjoy what I eat, and since I count the calories of alcohol as well, this past year of grief and stress has me turning to pleasure as an escape – and this is why I go over my Weight Watchers points (and break even on the scale.) Alcohol, I’ve found, is seldom worth drinking more than the slightest edge of tipsy. (That’s one drink for me.) Chocolate? Ice cream? Cupcake? Ah. Once a week (or more, depending on the moon), I find myself indulging. It’s easy to do the rationalizing. Especially when it’s just a few Points over the line for the week. (Oops!)

If all goes well, I’ll be visiting Chicago at the end of the summer, at my goal weight, visiting friends who have never really known me for any period of time other than the large, loud girl.

I’m learning who I am, in this context. It’s a bit of a, how you say, mindfuck?