Post coming soon

An update on the 15k and life since is coming soon.  Hopefully tuesday... depending on school and work and such... but it will come soon :)

Time to get serious

Ok so I went to my WW meeting today and I was not shocked with the results. 

2 weeks back I went and gained 3.2lbs.  Again not shocking since I had not worked out, and was eating like crap.  I dropped 2 last week, but i think that was because of the 4 mile run I had just completed before the meeting. So today I was up .2, which is not a huge gain, but it is not a loss.

I was talking to my leader and she asked me what was going on, and I told her that I didn't have any self control any more and was making bad choices... She informed me that it wasn't that i didn't have self control, it was that i was choosing not to exercise it. A very true statement. So her suggestion: She took a rubber band and wrote "make better choices" on it and told me to put in on.  This would be used as a reminder every time i went to reach for that piece of candy or apple fritter. I think this is gonna be a good trick for me.

I really just need to learn to say no, not only with food but in other parts of my life. I was starting to think that my time in Chicago had begun to teach me independence and how to cope with being alone, which in ways it has. For almost a year I only went out every once in awhile (mainly because I didn't have a friends base), but now Im going out all the time which is not good for my liver, my weight control, or my education. I think most of this is fear of rejection and just not wanting to miss out on things. Both of which i need to get over real quick! And again, Im not saying I don't say no sometimes... cause I do... its just hard to do it all the time.

Anyway goals for this week:

1. Track- I am going to try to track EVERYTHING, even the large amounts of beer I will consume tomorrow.
2. Stick to the Points- I will only use my extra points, and not my activity points I earn. This is gonna be the hardest, since tomorrow is gonna be a train wreck.
3. Workout- I have missed Yoga the past 2 weeks and have not been running as much. I will go to yoga Monday, run Tuesday and wed and hopefully Thurs!
4. Say No!- My uncle thinks its a good idea to bring home apple fritters from the shop, and they manage to get eaten even if i don't want them. Im gonna try to make better choices when it comes to these and other sweets I encounter.
5. Do work- Im hoping if i stay distracted with my school reading and such, I will have a better time saying no and doing the above!

So that being said, here is to a new day and a new week. Hopefully it will be successful!

losing control

So i have officially lost control of my life and dont know how to get it back.  I was doing so well and then i just fell off.  I hoping when training starts again i will get back on track since ill have to... i think i have realized that i CAN NOT train on my own... it just doesnt work for me. 

Training starts in 2 weeks.

Can i also say that i am absolutely terrified about this 15k coming up.  Not only is it gonna suck since i havent run more than 4 miles in the last 3 months, but its gonna take me FOREVER to do it.  I hate when people have to wait for me, but everyone one is gonna be finished like a hour before me and then have to sit around and wait. I know lots of people doing it so we have kinda planned brunch after but its gonna take me an extra 40min to finish after the 15k people let a lone like 2 hours after the 5k kids are done... I hate being that slow girl who makes everyone wait.

im gonna try to go to the gym tomorrow during work and just see what i can do but no matter how much i run in the next few weeks, im not gonna be prepared for this :(

Morning Motivation

So as far as my schedule goes it hasn't gotten any easier to fit everything in... but i think im starting to get back on track with my life.  Last thursday I got up and ran 4.5 miles which was great and I even thought to myself at some point on the run... "hmmm, i kinda miss running." a crazy thought since I have never been athletic in my life and running was never fun.. but i do really miss it... theres something about being outside and just going and then finishing a goal... granted there is a lot of walking involved when it comes to my kind of running but at least im getting out there.

But anyway back to my getting back on track... so work on thursday was horrible and I left so stressed. This stress turned into going out and drinking way too much and not being productive on Friday. Saturday I worked all day and then Sunday was marathon day, so I spent the whole day watching people run 26.2 miles... which is INSANE! I know what your thinking... "how is this getting back on track?" Its NOT! But i did realize that i really need to get my life together, and that involves running. Even though I am stressed running and yoga and biking really help me to chill out.  So, last night was yoga... which was nice and relaxing and then i got up this morning and ran for about 35 mins. My run today is really what helped to motivate me.

So, i was running with my new friend ashley, who isnt a running at all. I would say she is probably more athletic than I am but doesnt run.  She has started running every once in a while and I have begun to slowly convince her to run more.  She is officially signed up for her first race on Nov 6- Hot Chocolate 5K! She is also now planning on joining Winter Warriors with me and she told me this morning that she is officially going to do the Princess Half Marathon with us in February! Its kinda nice that I have "paid it forward" as the family likes to say and have convinced someone to start running. I really feel like it has something to do with this city. Its a crazy amazing place and it truly has changed my life in so many positive ways.

So with all that said, now that I have convinced someone else to get up and run... im going to follow my own advice and get my butt outside more often! Winter Warriors starts in 2 weeks but until then you will find me on the path at least 3 days a week!

time crunch

So i have come to learn that one of my biggest issues with working out right now is that i have very little time.  now that school and my internship have started my schedule is jam packed during the week.

Here is a little breakdown of my schedule:

Monday:
6am- wake up
7:15- leave for school (7:15-8:30- bus time)
9:00- 4:20- class
4:20-5:30 bus time
6:00-7:15 yoga
7:30-?? dinner and reading

Tuesday:
6-9- gym or reading (usually reading)
10:15-11 bus time
11-8- work time
8-??? reading

Wednesday
6am- wake up
7:15- leave for school (7:15-8:30- bus time)
9:00- 5:00- class/ work
5:00-6:15 bus time
6:30-7:00- dinner
7:00-??? reading or gym (usually reading)


Thursday
6-9- gym or reading (usually reading)

10:15-11 bus time
11-8- work time
8-??? reading

Friday
9-5 work

Any free time i do get is dedicated to rest or reading... so im a little stressed. this 15k that im suppose to run in 4 weeks is gonna kick my ass unless i find time to get out there and run. 

Heres to hoping that the time crunch some how works itself out and i manage to find time to get to the gym.

one foot in front of the other

So my run today was not that great.  I did a 13:02 pace which isnt great for me but def not my worst. In my defense i was still sick so im cutting myself a little slack.  My goal is to run at least twice this week and stay on track.

This is gonna be a crazy week though since i start my internship on tuesday.  Im hoping that i can fit all of my exercise and reading in so i dont have to sacrifice one of them :(.

Wish me luck with this week.

Total points used today: 25
Exercise points gained: 6

lets try this again

Ok so I have been having some issues sticking to the plan and staying on track.  After I completed my first half marathon in august, I kind of just fell off the wagon.  I havent been running, going to meetings was not really happening, i was drinking and going out a lot and my I have not been eating as well as I should be. I did go to a meeting on friday and one of the girls mentioned how she had a blog which kind of kept her accountable for her weightless and what not.  So Im gonna try this again.  I am now committed to keeping track of things and getting back on track. 

I have a 5k today which btw is going to kick my butt.  Ive been sick all week and was up all night coughing so this should be interesting.  But Im gonna use this 5k as my new beginning point.  I know that im not going to be happen with my time but this will be something that i can use as a start.  I have a few more races coming up in the next month which i think i can use as motivators.  My next big race is the Hot Chocolate 15k on Nov. 6! That is def. going to be interesting, but starting to day, I will track my foods, points and exercise here!

Ive decided that if i put myself out there a little bit that maybe being accountable to others will force me to get my act together... lets see how that works.

So right now I have about 45lbs left to lose before I hit my goal wieght (which in reality I dont think my current goal weight is actually realistic, but a girl can dream right?)

I turn 24 7 months from today (30 weeks). I would love to be at my goal weight by then, but i know that is not realistic... so im going with 24 by 24. That would put me half way to my goal, which i want to be at by my 25th birthday.  I feel like 25 is a milestone year and I want it to be that in more than one way!

So some short term goals:
1. actually run during the week
2. eat better
3. go down a pant size
4. be able to buckle an old pair of jeans
5. feel good about this journey again.

So any motivation will help. Hopefully I can get back on track!

The little successes are the best!

So the purpose of this blog is for me to document my journey of losing wieght, becoming a better runner, furthering my education and becoming an all together happier person. 

I have realized that even though i have end goals of where i want to be in the future, these goals will not keep me motivated every day... probably because they seem like the impossible.  Well, if i begin by celebrated the small successes that i have, then maybe these will help keep me going.

The last few weeks have been really tough.  I haven't really been able to stick to a schedule and definately have made some poor food choices, but there still have been a few things this week that make me believe that this is all possible and I will reach my goals eventually.

Here are a few of this weeks successes:

1. A coworker gave me a jacket to wear cause its freakin freezing in our office.  I put it on and it fit, which i wasn't too surprised about since she is about my size (if not a bit bigger).  What makes this a success is that i eventually looked at the size and it was a L.  Most of my clothes are XL or bigger, so putting on a L jacket that fit was pretty freakin exciting.

2. I went to WW this week and celebrated reaching my 10% mark.  Granted this isnt that big of a deal since, I am really double that because i lost about 22lbs before joining WW.  But it was exciting because again I did it. I reached a goal and i got some really nice bling out of it.  Its a small token to show how far i have come and all the hard work i have put in to get there.

3. Today was super hot so i decided to run on the tredmill instead of outside.  I havent run on a tredmill in about 3 months so that in itself was a little strange.  but it asked for my weight to calculate the calories and i automatically went to hit the 2 button to enter a 200+ weight which is what i was use to.  I was really freakin stoked when i realized that i am no longer (or will i ever be again) over 200lbs.  Thats crazy to me at this point. 

So in all yes this journey is hard and its taking forever, but im gonna get there one brick at a time.  Each of these small successes is another brick to add to my path to happiness.  Without each one i would be lost on this journey.

One Year Later

Ok so it has officially been a year since I came to Chicago and so much has happened in the last year that all in all, moving here has probably been one of the best decisions in my life.

Lets recap a few of the great things that I am proud of in the past year:

1. I actually made an effort to apply to grad school and got into all 4 school where i applied. I will be attending the University of Chicago for my Masters in Social Work. This is the number 3 school in the field and has a tremendous reputation. I am actually incredibly excited about starting school again, which is really strange. I have never really been excited about school or about learning, but I can't wait. I recently got a book in the mail that I have to read before orientation and for the first time in my like I wasn't annoyed about a summer reading book... I actually wanted to read it.

2. I managed to keep my job for the entire year, which I was not sure was going to be possible around January. I came very close to quitting many times but stuck it out and was strong.

3. I am now about to sit in a room by myself and not want to kill myself. Before this year, I was very dependent on others and hated just having me time or being alone, but now I enjoy me time a little. I feel like emotionally I have grown up so much and Im pretty proud of myself. I am now confident that I will be ok. I may have my days, but I will be ok and I will survive regardless if I have someone by my side or not.

4. I have learned that its ok to be me. I will tell you what I think and stick up for what I believe no matter how you feel about it. Ive realized that by sticking up for what I believe, I could be having a positive effect on others.

5. I completed a half marathon. I trained for 12 weeks and was able to run 13.1 miles. Granted it took me 3 hrs 14 mins... but i finished, which is more that 96% of this country can say.

6. To date I have lost 45lbs.


These are just a few of my accomplishments and the things I have learned in the last year. I am strong and I can do whatever I put my mind to.

With that being said, today starts round two of journey to grow and be happier with who I am. I have realize in this year that things do not happen over night. It is a process, and the only way for the process to work is if you keep up with it and stick to a plan. My plan now is to continue what I have been doing!

My new goals for this coming year:

1. Lose another 45lbs.
2. Run at least 2 more 1/2 Marathons in the next year
3. Work out at least 3 times a week.
4. Join a club/ Become involved in a service group
5. Complete a triathlon
6. Learn from my past and just be me!

In the spirit of Chicago Endurance Sports (CES)... Its all about the Journey!

My journey is not over yet, it is only beginning! This year has been great, but the next year will be even better!