That journey will be completed in 2 days....TWO.....SHORT....DAYS!
(Though, I am not quite "bikini-ready" yet...as you will note in the pics below.)
I have had a lot of fun writing in this blog...and hearing the feedback from those of you who have laughed at me...and with me....along the way :)
I think one or two of you were inspired to make changes as well...even if it was for just a minute ;)
As the original purpose for this blog nears its completion, I feel like I need to find a new longer-term goal to shoot for...I am in no way, shape, or form ready to stop now! The fun has just begun!!
Along the way, it has been glaringly obvious that more than anything, I want to get down to a healthy weight. When I began at 165, my BMI was smack-dab in the middle of the "Overweight" range.
Today, I am on the cusp of "Normal" and "Overweight".....
I'd be a fool to come this far, just to stop.....
No thanks!! I've put in way to much "sweat equity" to do that!!!! Too many slugs have perished along the way...I will not let their premature deaths be in vain....
There is still so much that needs to be done!!
So...I've decided to keep blogging...but I've changed the name of the blog to "......A fat girl's journey to 131" to reflect the new focus.
Now...my week....
Last Saturday I REALLY wanted to get another 10-11 mile shuffle in before the half. I shuffled a decent 6 miler then felt something "funny" in my right knee. I had been having pain in my right heel after meeting up with that rock the week before. I am assuming I was not really relaxing my foot and landing properly...for fear of further hurting my heel... which put undue strain on my knee. That's my unscientific explanation anyway.
So, I stopped shuffling after 6 miles...walked for another mile...then decided to try out a chunk of the half marathon course....a gravely trail in another park. I stopped home to get my water shoes (no...I absolutely can NOT run barefoot on gravel...though I do aspire to be that bad-a$$ someday!!!). After warming up nicely with a 6 miler then getting into my car to drive for about 20 minutes, I was not able to truly find a good rhythm and ended up mostly walking this trail. But...I DID snap some cool pics:
Yes...that is a big, black snake crossing the trail. Now, there will be several hundred runners on this trail during the half....that thing is bound to give a few of them a fright if he makes an appearance that day. I will keep my headphones off for this part of the course...I want to hear the shrieks :)
On Wednesday, we ran our 2nd 5k (3.1 miles) of the season. You may (or may not) recall that horrible 5k I shuffled back in March. I felt much better prepared for this one! My goal was to beat my best Flag Day race that I ran in 2009 (my first year that I started running....I had shoes on that year). The time I wanted to beat was 30:07.
I felt good for the first mile! I had been a little nervous about how my heel would hold up...but my heel felt strong and pain-free...and so did the rest of me! At mile one, my time was 9:14. Not bad...especially considering that 2.5 months ago I could hardly do a 12 minute mile! Mile 2 was slightly uphill...and I was getting a bit tired. I cannot hold a "fast" pace for long...a sprinter, I am NOT! My 2nd mile split was 19:40. I did the math in my head and became quite excited. I could easily hammer out a 10 minute mile to finish under 30 minutes! (Somehow, in my hazy excitement, I forgot about that extra .1 mile...AND that mossy hill that stood between me and the finish line.) The course took us into the woods on a paved trail. The hill that met me at the entrance into the woods kicked me square in the chest. I couldn't maintain my pace and ended up having to walk the last half of it (my shuffling speed was surely slower than I could walk). As I neared the crest, a girl that had been just behind me for a good part of the race, passed me....and that ticked me off! At the top, I made it my mission to go "ninja" on her...I was going to pass her! Even if it meant exploding my heart in the process! As I came out of the woods, I descended the hill to the 3 mile mark. She began to gain some distance and I broke into a .....run??....I think??? With less than a tenth of a mile to the finish line, I looked up at the race clock. My heart sank when I saw the last seconds of "30 minutes" fade away. I literally wanted to stop, throw up my hands, and have a major temper tantrum right there...steps away from the finish line. Instead, I took out my frustrations on the poor girl in front of me and ran as fast as my stubby legs would take me....and I blew past her about 20 yards before the finish chute. 'Take THAT!!' I thought to myself as I passed her by. 'You cannot beat THIS ninja!!'
My time was 31:06 .....
and I was disappointed...
Then I made a new goal...to break a 30 minute 5k this summer...
Alright....let's get to some data!
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| Week 1 (Is this picture burned into your memory yet?) |
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| Week 11 |
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| Week 1 |
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| Week 11 |
This week's numbers:
Days until half: 2 (I get butterflies in my stomach...and my butt tingles...when I think of it...)
Am I ready? : Define "ready".....
Miles shuffled this week: 9
Beginning weight: 165
Last week's weight: 159.2
Today's weight: 157.2 (2 lbs?! Yay!!!!!!!!)
Number of times I stepped on scale: 2 (Yes...I tried to get rid of the .2 lbs...then remembered that my scale is abusive and just knew that if I stepped on it one more time it would read 160....so I left well-enough alone!)
Pilates? Bike? Yoga?: Ummm, I think you know the answer to that....but I DID cut the grass with the push mower! That counts! Right?
Next week's goal: Shuffle the half marathon in a manner that makes me proud of myself :)
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