Update

It's nice to be able to look back and see that I've lost at least 8 lbs since school ended in mid-May (I didn't weigh myself right away). Additionally, since I received my bodybugg on 5/22, I've lost 5 lbs.

My half-marathon training is going better than ever. I'm just about 2 months into my training, and I feel so much better now. At first, I probably pushed myself a little too hard, but I made it through that, and now I feel like I'm really ready to take it to the next level. I never feel like I'm going to die anymore. The only downside is that my body has gotten much more efficient, so I'm burning less calories in these workouts. That's fine for now. I've found that having fitness goals works way better for me than just having weight loss goals.

I love that I've lost 5 lbs. This is exactly what my bodybugg predicted that I'd lose. It is so helpful to have realistic expectations, instead of trying to lose 5 temporary lbs in a week. On average, I consume about 1400 to 1500 calories per day, and I rarely feel deprived. I'm also trying to find ways to sneak in extra calorie burning...like taking the stairs or morning walks. If I have a heavy workout day, I allow myself to eat a little more. It's just not that bad. Yes, it would be nice to lose 15 lbs in 3 weeks, but that just isn't going to happen for me. Instead, I will lose it in 15 - 20 weeks. This also gives me some room to have some cheats. I need those cheats, because I love to eat.

I had a bad week in June, but knowing that I am on a mission helped me to try to contain it as much as possible. I had fast food a couple of times, but no more than once per day. I grilled out and ate all the sides, but on those days, I tried to keep my other meals lighter. This tactic, along with my workouts, helped me to just maintain rather than lose for that week. Fine. Who cares. This is a lifelong effort here. One week's delay isn't going to hurt - unless I gain. Gaining is unacceptable at this point. It was really nice to just be able to pick myself back up and push forward again to lose another lb.

I've also been reading a lot of articles on weight loss and fitness. One article said that naturally thin people tend to eat mostly the same things every day. I thought about that and realized that this was true during my most successful periods of weight loss. I tried that again this week, and I think it helped so much. I went back to the same breakfast, same snacks, same lunch, etc... and mix it up slightly for dinner. This was my easiest week by far trying to stay within my calories.

Anyways, my goal is to continue this trend and lose another 3 - 4 lbs before my family reunion at the end of July.

Have a great holiday weekend, everyone!

"Speed" Training

Tonight I ran 5.5 miles, which included the following:

• 20 minute jog @ 4.5 mph
• 3 x 1 mile @ 5.8 mph with 2 minute recovery between each mile @ 4.5 mph
• 10 minute jog @ 4.5 mph

It went quite well, even though the gym was warm.

My diet was great yesterday and today. I decided yesterday that I was going to attempt to shave off 50 - 100 calories per meal, if possible. This seems to help keep me within my desired range.

I plan on doing some form of cross-training tomorrow. Moving right along...

7 mile run

My 7 mile run on Sunday went great. I completed it in 01:21:37, and I know that I could have gone further and/or faster. I think this is the way that I should feel during a long run, so I will probably stick with this plan.

The plan this week calls for:

• 4.5 mile speed training on Tuesday
• 4.5 mile tempo run on Thursday
• 8 mile long run on Sunday

Other than that, I really don't have much to say. Have a great week.

Father's Day 5k

Yesterday morning, me and the fam got up bright and early to head out to the Father's Day 5k. It was sooooo nice to have my husband and kids with me. They were there to send me off and greet me on my return. I finished in 32:45, which was better than I expected. I have only been back to running for 6 weeks now, and this was a couple minutes less than my fastest training run. Plus, my training focus has been on endurance rather than speed anyways. Oh well. I think that it's disappointing to me that I let myself get out of shape, but it's still nice to see where I'm at.

I started out WAY too fast - finished the first mile in 10 minutes, so the next 2 miles were probably a little more rough than they should have been. I'll definitely need to work on pacing myself better. Hopefully I'll figure that out before the 10k in 3 weeks. I signed up for that today, so if anyone in the area is interested...please let me know and I'll send you the details.

Other than that, I had a fantastic weekend. Very full...and satisfying. Unfortunately, I did not eat properly. I doubt I will lose any weight this week. I can handle that though...as long as I don't gain.

Ok. Off to bed...

Not too much to say

Yesterday, I felt completely famished all day long, and I ended up going over my desired calories consumed; however, I didn't want to end the day with a caloric surplus, so I ended up going for a 2 mile walk/jog.

I was much better today, and I was successful in spacing out my meals/snacks better. I somehow ended up only consuming less than 1200 calories (far lower than usual). I also ended my day with a 4+ mile tempo run. This was a little more difficult for me, because it's going the same pace for a long time. I didn't have a problem with the distance or the pace...it's just that I always like to mix up my speeds just to keep it interesting; however, it's probably good practice to try to train the mind more than anything. Plus, the tempo run is at a slightly faster pace than the long run, so I think it will help with the longer runs on Sundays.

Sunday is my 5k. I don't expect a very good finish time, but I'm excited nonetheless. It's a good starting point.

Early morning 4 miler

I had a terrible night sleeping last night, and I was dreaming about different workouts. I decided to get up early and head over to the gym to get my 4 miler done. It felt good at the time, but I really feel beat now. Ready for bed...

6 Miles

Today was my first 6 mile run of my half-marathon training, and I think it went incredibly well. I feel that I was in good shape mentally, which is just as important as the physical. Listening to audiobooks is definitely helping me get through the longer distances...and doing the longer distances helps a ton with the shorter distances. It's amazing how short 3 miles feels these days.

Mentally, I broke down the run into 3 parts... 3 miles, 2 miles, then the final mile. For the first part, I stayed at 5 mph, then I went 5.2 mph for the 2nd part. I mixed up the final mile a little. My body could have gone much faster, but I decided to pace myself to avoid injury.

I also came up with a plan to carry me through to the half in October. I will continue with the 12 week program I'm currently on (Hal Higdon), and then I will work on improving my time with the 10 week Runner's World plan, which is still only 3 days a week of running (with cross-training on 3 other days).

For events, I will be doing a 5k next weekend, a 10k in July, a 10 mile in August, and the half in October.

My diet has been pretty good overall. I've averaged a caloric deficit of about 500 calories per day, and I've lost 3 lbs in 3 weeks...exactly as predicted. Even though it's only 3 lbs, I can see differences in my shape, which is the most important part anyways.