I've never ran 6 miles in a row.....

Until TODAY!!! I did it!! CELEBRATING!!! Be back later today with some food blogging :) Just wanted to scream off the rooftops!!

I RAN 6 MILES TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

It took me 1:04:53 and my goal time is to run the half in under 11 minutes per mile!

Slackin' is my middle name....

I have slacked hard on the blog comment(and even blog reading) this week. We've been buying a dresser(gorgeous! Pics to come), purchasing tile for the backsplash, looking at 2 different places for the perfect wood floors, Love built and brought home the counter tops last week, and I had dinner with my Momma last night.

We went to Cheesecake Factory...YUM!!! I hade the bbq salmon, ate a little less than 1/2 of it, ate 1/2 of the potatoes, and a little of the corn succotash(my favorite)! Of course, I got the White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake :) TO GO! Brought it home, gave it to Love and had 3 small bites. I know the calories aren't perfect, but I ate yogurt and granola for breakfast. I had a small burrito and veggies for lunch and 2 clementines during the day. So, I am doing pretty good.

Onto a more serious subject, my eyes have "caught up"! I couldn't be more ecstatic. For the longest time, I have always been "fat" when I look in the mirror. I weighed in at 126 the other week at the gym and my brain still registered 142 when I looked in the mirror. Well, last Friday, we went out for drinks for Love's cousins b-day(whom I love) and before I left the house I did the last look see. I loved what I saw. I was thin, for the first time in my life, I looked THIN! Last night, I threw on the 6's to go to dinner with my mom. They fit in the waste, but the legs were a little tight to the point that they would slide off of my waist and I was constantly pulling them up. Not last night. They  were baggy!!! YAHOO!!!

You guys are all doing so great!! I will catch up on reading/re-reading and commenting tomorrow after the traditional Saturday clean freak morning frenzy :)

Protein!

When we were at Lowe's I spotted the Hungry Girl 200 under 200 cookbook and grabbed up the last copy :) I am so excited to get cookin'!

After Lowe's and a quick stop to get Love a new phone, we went to the local market last night(which is the closest thing I have to a Whole Foods(until next January!!!!)) here in my spot in the US! I picked up some Jay Robb Protein powder packets to try, a suggestion from a "Flat Belly" book of some sort, as I ran out of protein this weekend. The Verdict? Loved it. I added the pouch to my greek yogurt(which next time will be added to something different as the serving size is HUGE!) and it was tasty. My only problem with greek yogurt is the consistency, it's not creamy but rather more chunky and I do not like that. The protein made it so good though for some reason! The kicker was that my breakfast had 38 grams of protein and I read that the average person should have 45g of protein a day. I am excited to go pick up the bigger bottle of protein to have on hand!

I did my first official tempo run today and it was hard, but I killed it. I ran 10 minutes at a 11:19 pace and then 15 minutes at a 10:06 pace. Mentally, I am working on the continuous running. It's hard, because often times, my brain wants to stop when my body wants to continue. I will continuously work on that.

I realized last week and even last night that I have no idea what portion control is, so I pulled out my best buds....the measuring spoons, measuring cups, and my biggest loser scale :). I measured everything for my dinner.

I had 4 oz. chicken
2 cups salad
2 tbsp mango vinagarette dressing
1 cup of broccoli with a sprinkle of cheese

Desert consisted of 1/2 cup peppermint ice cream and vita top chocolate

Today's eats:
Breakfast-1 Chobani Pineapple Yogurt w/ 1/4 cup granola & protein pouch
Lunch-11 oz. shrimp, 2 rings of pineapple, 2 tbsp teriyaki pineapple sauce. All over 1/2 cup jasmine rice. Salad on the side!

I am counting calories starting today. It's time to find new solutions for me, as I know I haven't done the best that I know I can!

Week 1 Down! Weigh In

Week one of half marathon officially ended with a 5 mile(56m03s) on Sunday evening! The first week was awesome. I felt strong mentally and physically for the majority of the week. I ran 10:00 miles on Saturday(2) and then got killer side pain and slowed the last mile to 11:42. I pushed myself a little harder than I should. However, it's so much easier for me to run outside than it is inside. The only problem outside is the horrid smog issues we have been experiences. I have a hacking cough after I come back in! Can't wait for it to clear up a little. I can't wait for the heat either. So, week 1 wasn't so bad. I have a 6 miler this Sunday. My longest run ever and I am pumped! I know I can do it!

Last week, eating was less than stellar. I drank 12(yes, 12!) cups of coffee with milk and creamer on Saturday. We went to Red Robin Sunday afternoon and I ate an entire bbq chicken wrap and more than half of the fries with a strawberry lemonade. Holy calories. Last night, at work(the mall job) I was craving sweets. I had 2 cookies(eep) and a diet coke. It was a weak moment, but I took a moment to think about how I felt and I can tell you, I won't be doing that again. I felt so gross and not happy. I did eat at least 1 type of dessert everyday. When I got on the scale this morning, those weak moments came back to haunt me....

128.8

That number stared me down and made me think,'You got yourself into this, what did you learn?'! This week, I learned that I need to pay attention to portion control and types of food I am eating. I should have eaten half the wrap and given 3/4 of the fries to Love and definitely gotten a water. I also didn't drink water much this weekend. Maybe 32 oz on Saturday and 50 oz on Sunday. 

This does help me refocus a little bit. I am going to start weighing in on Thursday mornings instead of Mondays. I am definitely not beating myself up though. I made the mistake of eating too much and not high quality foods and now I am just going to turn it around this week and lose all that I gained, plus hopefully a little more. I did gain a little muscle mass, so I know that 1.8 lb gain isn't all fat :) 

How did your week go? Did you have any weak moments? How do you deal best with a weak moment?

The Moment That Almost Destroyed Me>.....

So, as some of you may remember, when I first started blogging my parents suddenly told me they were getting divorced(after almost 30 years of marriage)! To say I was crushed is an understatement!! I walked around for a week in a daze of confusion, sadness, guilt, anxiety and denial. I was in the middle of training for a 10k and I didn't exercise once...not even an attempt...that entire week. I cried every single day, I feared that my own relationship would end the same as theirs did. Love and I had had problems before my parents told me about their divorce and my heart hurt to think that Love and I couldn't make it through anything! I didn't sleep well, I didn't eat much....I kind of just existed!

Then, came the back story. My 2 brothers saw it coming for years. Momma and Daddy's love died years ago. I had moved out 2 years prior and I had no clue! I thought that they would be the ones that made it, the eternal love. They didn't.....they gave up on the same day!

I realized a lot about myself that week. I opened my eyes to a lot of my weaknesses. I also realized that I have drive to not let myself or my weaknesses take advantage of me for the rest of my life. So, I took action!

I started talking to Love more about everything(after being closed off for so long), I worked on my weaknesses and continue to do so, but the 1 thing I really did was take my healthy lifestyle change to a whole new level. I got a gym membership and have used it all but maybe 10 days(minus Sundays when the gym is closed) in almost 2 months. I started eating according to my hunger and schedule, rather than eating my feelings or even NOT eating at all! I have lost almost 7 pounds and I am continuing to run!

I refuse to get down even with all of the stuff that comes up about my parents everyday! I am a happy person on a journey, taking control back of my life. I have grown immensely in a matter of 3 months! I am taking my life, my Love and my training to an all new high!

I refuse to lay down and give up! I refuse to wallow! I refuse to take my anger out on others! I refuse to put my feelings away like they don't matter!! I refuse to not live my life to the fullest!!

Thank you all for all of the support you have given me. It has meant the world to me and really you all inspired me to continue on and not give up!!

Day 4: I love cardio!

So, my schedule said I was to do a 3+mile run and strength today. Although my shins feel better, I didn't want to overdue it. So, I walked fast for 30 minutes going up one incline every 2 minutes, did the stair stepper for 8 minutes and finished with 20 minutes on the eliptical! I love the eliptical, but I found my true love at the gym....the Stair Stepper!! It burns so good :)

Eating yesterday was awesome. I have been skipping the clif bars and yogurt in the morning and having a cup of grapes as an afternoon snack, because I am always hungry 2 hours after lunch. So, it's like my desert :) TOM is coming though and I always want lots of chocolate! Not this month, I am not going to go overboard on the chocolate :)

Something for fun: When I was 5 years old, I skipped cheerleading practice to go ride my older friends bike. The bike was so big that I had to go to a curb to get on it. Well, when I was riding it, I miscalculated a turn and crashed into a chain link fence. The bike fell over and I followed planting my face into the handle bar of the bicycle. I don't want to be too graphic here, but I literally had a hole in my lips/cheek. I had stitches and plastic surgery, but it "spread" after surgery from me smiling too much. So, now I have a scar on my lower lip about an inch and a half long!! It took about 17 years, but I finallly accept and love the scar because it's a story, a part of my history :)

Have a great day everyone!! You'll be hearing from me later tonight :)

Day 3: Shin splints and positivity!

I am a stranger to shin splints. I think I have had them once in my life and that is right now! They hurt so bad. So, I iced for 30 minutes or so after coming home from the gym at 6:30 this morning :) Now, I feel fabulous! I saw the plug for Walgreen's on the show last night and will be stopping on my way home to pick up some ice packs :)

Today was Day 3 of training and crap!!! I didn't think the speed work would kick my butt, but it totally did! After 5X400 meter dashes, I was a sweaty mess. I do love the feeling of knowing I got a great workout in. Even if it was only 30 minutes :)

I have been reading a lot of blogs as of late and sometimes, I am so disappointed to see that people who lose .1-1 pound or so get so down on themselves. Even maintaining is an accomplishment. Not a reason to tear yourself down or beat yourself up. Every time I have a bad weigh in, I take it as a learning experience, reevaluate and move on! Whether it be cutting out the piece of chocolate or the 100 calorie pack, I know there is something I could do to be a little better. So, I see the .4 lbs lost and smile and say to myself, Good job!! Although it's not what you were hoping for, you still did an amazing job this week! Next week will be better!" This journey is about building yourself up and getting through the obstacles(no matter how many there are) and coming out proud of every pound lost and even every pound gained. Because you took the opportunity to LEARN and CHANGE!!

What are you proud of yourself for today? Throughout your whole journey? 

Remember, you are awesome and you CAN do this :) :) :)!!!!!