Warrior Dash!

This past Saturday was the Warrior Dash. I have been looking forward to this event since I registered in December for it. That's a long time to wait! This event is pretty epic. I am still ridiculously sore from it and I like to think I am in good shape. I used so many muscles that I did not even know I had. For those who don't know about the Warrior Dash, here is what is to expect...

The Warrior Dash is a 5k, but not an ordinary 5k where you run the entire thing. I can run a 5k in about 28 minutes, when in competitive mode. It took our group between 48-50 minutes to complete this 5k. It is full of obstacles, roughly 12-17 different kinds. There was a tight rope walk over what I think was a dried up stream, rock climbing walls, vertical and horizontal cargo net climbs, lots of crawling in/through dirt tunnels and under barbed wire, jumping over rusted out cars, sliding down mudslides into pools of mud, giant hills to run up and at the end, before wading in a small pond of mud, we leapt over two rows of fire. It was intense. Much more so than I had anticipated. You definitely have to be in some kind of shape to do this. There was a lot of jumping off obstacles. Kudos to my Aunt Teri, who recently had back AND knee surgery and she still completed it like nothing. It was amazing to see someone who just a few months ago was in a knee and back brace from surgery, jumping and climbing and crawling through these obstacles. She's a warrior, no doubt!

Aunt Teri and I before the race!

If you didn't take some caution throughout this race, you could seriously injure yourself. Two of the six of us in our group were bleeding by the end, and my knee is scratched up pretty good. We all survived to brag about it though, and we are getting pumped up for next year’s Warrior Dash! The obstacles change each year, my group said that last year there were different ones and about half of what there was this year, so I anticipate next year’s course! 

This is our group before and then after. The best is that Carrie, Maggie and Steve all wore white shirts and clearly you can see how dirty they are!

At one point, I think I had more mud in my mouth that actually on my body!

After the race, there was someone at the finish line giving out the medals. This was the first event that I've earned a medal! Yay! 

After the race, we hung out for a while at the festival that follows for a while. It was hot and I ended up getting pretty toasty! Once I got home, the first thing I did was shower. Twice! After the first shower, I was drying myself off and noticed there was STILL mud on me! So I hopped back in and re-washed again! After the second one, I was good to go. I drove over to my aunt’s house where we proceeded to  nice little restaurant, Brio, for appetizers and martinis and then met my uncle a little later at Adelle’s for dinner and more martinis. My aunt and I know how to treat ourselves after an event like that! 

I am still working on my Jillian Michaels’ 6 Week 6 Pack challenge. I just finished week 2 and wrote out my schedule for week 3 this morning. I hadn’t planned to take yesterday as a rest day, but I had too and after I woke up this morning, I decided I had to take today also. In the DVD, there is A LOT of upper bodywork and my upper body is still quite sore from Saturday. It is no big deal, I’ll just do the DVD workout Tuesday through Saturday and I’ll still be on track. Sunday, I’m going to the Pride parade in Boystown, so I know I’ll get plenty of walking anyway. Even on my schedules days off last week, which were Tuesday and Saturday, I got lots of activity in. Tuesday we went to see the Conan O’Brien taping and in between getting our tickets and the show starting, we walked at least 6-7 miles. And Saturday, obviously, was the Warrior Dash.

It has been an extremely active week for me and I’m looking forward to a calmer week this week. At least I came out of it a WARRIOR!

  

6 Week Challenge

For many, winter is the tougher season to lose/maintain weight, with being inside a lot and craving comfort foods in the cold months and moving less. Summertime is ideal to lose/maintain weight; your outdoors, moving more, gardening, eating less when it's hot outside, etc. I swear, I'm the opposite. Winter is easier for me to maintain. While I'm inside more and move less, I tend to eat less because I'm not in as many social situations. Once Memorial Day hits, BANG! Outside every day, with friends every weekend, BBQs and whatnot. I'm more of a fall/winter runner than a mid-July runner, but I do use my DVDs more in the summer.

This summer, my goal is to maintain/lose instead of gaining a little. I don't typically gain much, maybe 5 lbs, but I'd rather lose 5 more, right?! My biggest challenge in the summer is the weekend BBQ's and the cold drinks. There is nothing better on a hot summer day than an ice cold beer. Seriously. It's so refreshing! Plus, when we are all outside playing Ladder Ball or Bags or Bocce Ball...everyone always has a full drink. It's pretty much mandatory. Since typically the eating/drinking increases and my activity is relatively the same, I tend to gain a little.

So, on Monday I started a new 6 week challenge for myself. I've been doing Jillian Michael's 6 Week to 6 Pack DVD, intermittently, for a while now. My challenge is to do it 5 days a week for 6 weeks, which is her recommended frequency of the program. It might sound silly, but I can already see a slight difference since Monday in my core. I'm taken progress pictures so that I can see the difference from week 1 to week 6 and I will likely share. This week, my plan is Monday-Friday with rest on Saturday and Sunday...although I'll be open to running or whatnot but I won't mandate myself to pushing it too much. I really want to see just what this DVD can offer on it's own along with a healthy diet.

Sunday I'm, hopefully, participating in the Weight Watchers 5K, although I doubt I'll run it. I say hopefully because I have a bridal shower to attend at 1pm about 40 miles from my house. The 5K starts at 9am but because it's a Weight Watchers event, I end up walking the 5K a few times with members and chatting a lot.  Last year, I walked it with a new member who was by herself and didn't necessarily think she could do it. Of course, she did. I'm just not sure how much time I'll have to go there and socialize only to rush home, get ready and leave for the shower. I'm debating still.

Jumping over fire!

Next Saturday, June 16th, is the Warrior Dash. I'm so excited for this 5K! I registered before Christmas and have been anticipating it since! It's not a 5K that I will run for a PR, since it's an obstacle course. I was told by someone that did it last year, that you could run the first mile, maybe, but then it's pretty much obstacles. Climbing over cargo nets, army crawling through mud, jumping over fire...can't wait! Hopefully we get some awesome pictures! It's a very crowded race - a few hundred people in each 30 minute wave and it's a 2 day event!

Climbing cargo nets

So I've clearly other activities planned during my 6 week challenge and hopefully it's all a good mixture to help me look more toned. I'm excited to see the end results!

Tire obstacle

Mud pit!

"Fat" Days

I hope no one is offended by what I've titled this entry, but let's face, regardless if your skinny, fit, chubby or obese - we all have better days than others when it comes to how we feel in our bodies. Don't we typically label the days we are uncomfortable in our body as "fat" days? Well, that's how I'm feeling today.

Let's start this off with good news first and also the antecedent to why I'm feeling "fat" today.

After waiting for almost 4 weeks after I had a second interview at a high school nearby, they FINALLY called this past Friday to offer me a teaching position for the 2012/13 school year. I couldn't be more happy and I know I've worked hard and deserve it. It works great also because this was just my first interview for the next school year and now I don't have to worry about interviewing and can just enjoy my summer. This job is also pretty much exactly what I wanted so I'm glad I waiting an entire school year and just subbed last school year to wait for what I want. I hate settling for less than that. At any rate, after I received the phone call from the principal, I literally hung up the phone and started jumping up and down like a fool. It was a humorous site to see, I'm sure.

So, as our society is accustomed to, we celebrated with food and drink. We first went to one of my old college professors' home, who lives near us. She was having an end of school year party for the families at her children's school and invited us by for a drink to celebrate. Then, my husband and I went to a Mexican restaurant, where, since we were celebrating I ordered whatever I wanted plus two margaritas. We continued the evening at home on our patio with a few more drinks. The next morning I woke up bright at early for work (ironically, a WW meeting) and felt great! But, by the time I was getting ready to leave I was famished and everyone knows the foods you crave after a night of some choice beverages. So, I picked up 2 hot dogs for the husband and a gyro for me, although I only ate half. That night we grilled chicken tenderloins and had a balanced meal so that wasn't terrible. Afterwards, I went to my friend's house and sat on her patio and had some drinks with them. Sunday, I finished my gyro for lunch and then we went to a Memorial Day party. Naturally, there were grilled foods and different kinds of sides and realistically, I didn't too do poorly there. But, in the hot summer heat, a few more beverages were consumed. That night when we got home, I started getting hungry and made some pierogies. Not the best choice at 7pm. Finally, yesterday we had a few friends over. We used our smoker for the first time and smoked fresh salmon that my husband caught off Lake Michigan last weekend, 2 racks of ribs and had a beer can chicken on the grill,  plus the necessary sides. Oh, and how could I forget? After everyone left yesterday we topped off our weekend of gluttony with a Culver's Concrete Mixer.

So, is my "fat" day warranted now? I think so.

Ha! This is what I feel like...like my inner fat girl is torturing me with temptations, resulting in fear of the scale!

It doesn't matter how active I was or what exercise I got it, I just feel blah. I feel soft. So this week it's time to get back to my regular scheduled programming. I picked up Jillian Michaels' 6 week to 6 pack DVD that I was doing sporadically but I think I might do it as recommended, 5 days a week for 6 weeks. I did her 30 Day Shred last year for 30 straight days and loved it. So on top of running, I think I'll get back to feeling like my normal self in no time, but in the interim, this blows!

 But, this happens to most of us and the reason I have this blog is so that people going through the same journey know they aren't alone. Whether others admit it or not, no one is perfect at their exercise routine or their eating lifestyles. We all slip up, or don't give the 100% that you know you could. The important thing is, you recognize it, own it and get back on track by making a plan.

My plan this week: increasing exercise and accurately tracking my food. I know it works and it's fool proof for me. Do what works.

What Works For You?

What works for me, doesn't work for everyone. Beginning or maintaining a healthy lifestyle means something different to each individual. Lately I have heard a lot of "this is how you do it if you want to do it right" kind of tones and I don't agree with it. Everyone knows that I lost all my weight with the support of Weight Watchers, and I now work for them. This worked for me. I recognized that I couldn't do this alone and that I needed the support of other people going through the same thing as I was. I do not feel weaker because of this, but rather stronger, that I was able to put pride aside and ask for help when I needed it. However, not everyone needs a group of people to hold them accountable but rather only themselves. Perfectly awesome! Whatever works for the individual is key.

All of us on a weight loss journey have the same ultimate goal: to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. How you get there doesn't matter. I've made it known that when I began my personal journey, my main focus was on food and portion control. I exercised here and there but that wasn't a main focus for me at that point in my journey. I lost probably the first 40-50lbs with little exercise but strictly portion control and keeping my food journal. I had reasons why I did it this way. I knew that if I started off with high intensity workouts, there would be a chance that as I lost my weight I would stop exercising as much. I can't prove that this would have been the case but I know myself better than anyone, and I believe that would have happened. If I were to stop the high intensity workouts and only focus on food, I wouldn't have hit my ultimate goal. Instead, I focused on food more strictly and as I got closer to goal, increased my workout. I know that if I don't workout for a week, I won't put weight on, as long as I eat in a healthy way.

Exercise and activity is no doubt a huge part of my life now. I'm up to 7 miles of non-stop running with a 9:30/mile roughly and am training for a half-marathon soon. If I'm not running I'm using a DVD at home. Not to mention, at work I push around a 140+lb girl in her wheelchair who cannot help because she has had a few strokes and is dead weight on her left side. On Monday I ran a mile with her in P.E. - albeit a 13 minute mile, pushing 140+lbs while in work clothes/shoes (not workout clothes/shoes) I was pretty happy to have had that extra activity.

Others focus on eating and activity at the beginning and that works for them. And then some just focus on activity and not the eating portion at first and that works for them.

It's not a competition with anyone but yourself. It doesn't matter how long it takes one to reach their ultimate goal. My theory was, the longer it took me to reach my goal the more I learned and was educated about my choices.

Find what works for you and what you can maintain for the rest of your life. Forget about what everyone else is doing. If it works for you and your body, you're well on your way to you ultimate goal.

Importance of Progress Monitoring

Tuesday's are very busy days for me and I rarely get much activity. It's a simple schedule, but has me tied up just about all day. I work from 6:45am-2:30pm and then come home and get ready for my Weight Watchers meeting that I arrive at around 4:30pm and don't get home until roughly 8:30pm. By then, activity is not a priority. Sleep is. The two hours in between school and my meeting include travel times and changing from one outfit to the next and freshening. Certainly, not enough time to workout and shower. Today was different, however. School was dismissed at 11:00am thanks to PSAE testing. I took advantage of the early dismissal and packed accordingly to run home. MapQuest tells me it's 7.07 miles from school to home but MapMyRun calculated it as 6.76 miles, so that's what I'll go with.

I crushed my times and made a personal best. I ran the distance in 1 hour and 7 minutes (12 seconds). And I ran the entire thing, not stopping once.

What made me most happy is when the woman come over my music on my iPhone and said "Time is 48 minutes and distance is 5 miles." It made me think back to the Shamrock Shuffle when I ran it in just over 56 minutes and I knew I could do much better had I not enjoyed the evening before as much as I had. I love when I can prove myself right. 48 minutes. I was happy as a clam. When I got home from my run I was looking back at my old runs and the longest run I've done so far is 7.3 miles and that took me 1 hour and 26 minutes. Whether 7.07 miles is correct or 6.76 miles is correct for this run - I would have crushed my 1 hour 26 minute time if I ran to 7.3 miles.

I averaged a 9:36 min/mile this run. I guess the speed trials I've been doing are working. Lately I've been testing my speed rather than my distance to try and work up my endurance. The last run I did was 1.86 miles in 16:10 which was an 8:36 min/mile. Since the 7.3 miles I ran on March 6th was an 11:36 min/mile I'd say I've vastly improved. Funny this was, I told my husband that if it takes me more than 90 minutes to come look for me. He was surprised when I got home much earlier than he thought I would. Ahh the power of positive thinking! It really keeps you going!

This has shown me just how important it is to progress monitor your workouts. Even if running isn't your thing - take notes on the workouts you do, how you feel, and what you were capable of doing that day. To see the progression is such a great feeling - it's proof that you are getting stronger! Knowing that I've crushed my times and have improved my overall endurance really makes me happy and keeps me pushing harder with my running abilities.

Life After Goal

I find it so much more difficult to find things to write about now that I'm at my goal weight and maintaining. I had mentioned before that my new goals were to increase and focus more on my activity and I've been doing just that. Specifically, the territory in which I work for Weight Watcher is divided between two states. We are currently have a battle between states on activity - which state can get more Service Providers to be active at least 15 minutes every day, anyone who has less than 5 days of rest is entered in to win some prize. This is a great motivator for my new goal, if I have a chance to win a prize! Luckily, for me, 15 minutes is no big deal and I rarely would do activity for anything under 30 minutes. Since I have been working full time, until the end of the school year now, I've been participating in my students' P.E. class. It's not intense exercise, but I could just choose not to participate at all and risk no activity for the day. Plus, it's activities I wouldn't do at home - like playing basketball and dancing. It's so fun!

This week I'm on spring break so I've really been focusing on more intense workouts. On Sunday, I went for a 2 mile run, focusing on speed, not distance. I ran 2 miles in 18:03 which was a 9:01/mile. I was extremely happy with that, especially since I had completed a 30 minute upper body boot camp right before. The rest of this week I've been switching it up. I bought a new DVD series that I'm really enjoying. 

This Jennifer Cohen PointsPlus Fitness Series includes five DVDs
*Total Body Cardio Stretch - this is essentially a yoga DVD
* Upper Body Boot Camp
*Lower Body Interval Training
*Core Cardio
*Cardio Basic

This week I've been doing two DVDs each with their Express Workout option. It's a quick 15 minutes intense workout. I've been starting with Disc 1 which is the Total Body Cardio Stretch and then proceed to Disc 2 for the 15 minute Express Workout. Then the second day I started again with Disc 1 and then Disc 3, etc. Today I did the main workout for Disc 5 - Cardio Basic. The main workouts are between 30-40 minutes and every exercise is broken down into beginner, intermediate and expert. It's nice when DVDs offer that option because anyone can do them and you can increase your intensity at your own personal level. It's always a good way to show growth when you've been doing it long enough. It's my guess that Jennifer Cohen uses Jillian Michaels as a fitness mentor, because she says a lot of the same things I've noticed in Jillian says also, but without the intimidation Jillian has.

Tomorrow I'll be switching it up and I'm very excited to be getting back to a Bikram Yoga class. If you recall, I did a 30 day Bikram trial at a studio near my home and really enjoyed it! It's been quite a while since my last Bikram class and I've convinced a good friend of mine to join me. It should be a fun 90 minutes! I think it's time I take my measures too. All this activity surely must have changed those!

My favorite Bikram pose!

Shufflin'

 

 

This weekend was the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k race in downtown Chicago. It was my first "official" 8k. I've ran farther than an 8k on my own but never participated in an official race. I ran it with my brother-in-law and his boyfriend and it was lots of fun! We got dressed up in St. Patrick's Day gear and ran it together. We ended up with a time of 56:37 which was totally okay! It was most fun to have ran together and chat during it. We also were able to spend time at the runner's expo the night before and it was great to see all the different products out there and try some new things. It was pretty informational! It was my first race through Chicago and it was fun to see the sites, especially when main roads are closed off for you and people are on the sidewalks cheering for everyone. It was definitely the largest race I've ran, with some 40,000 people, and at certain points it was a little crowded around turns where you couldn't really run too much, but other than that it was a really nice race! The weather was absolutely perfect too. I knew we all could have ran it much faster, however, on 4 hours of sleep and *cough* slight hangovers *cough*, our time was pretty decent. We hadn't intended on that part...but the night before got the best of us. One of my goals was to run the entire race without stopping and we did just that. Not to mention, we stayed at a condo on Lake Shore Drive that was pretty far north, so we walked exactly 3.2 miles to the race, ran 4.97 miles then walked 3.2 back home. We ran/walked about 11.5 miles yesterday on top of all the walking we did Saturday night around the city! 2 5ks AND an 8k in one day. Phew! Good training for my half marathon!

This whole past weekend really was just about having fun with those we love! We had two friends visiting from Germany so we took them out into the city and ended up at two different bars. One bar we actually ran into a friend of mine from high school who was celebrating her bachelorette party! It was fun to be able to join in for part of it! Around 2am we finally had decided we should probably get a little sleep before the race in the morning.

By the time we got home from dinner last night, my body was on empty. I laid down to spend time with my husband since I hadn't seen him since Saturday morning and before I knew it I was asleep by 5pm. He woke me up to tell me to get to bed at 9pm and I slept until my alarm sounded at 5:30am this morning. Now I'm refreshed and refueled and feel like I can do it all over again today. I was surprisingly not sore today. Yesterday, a few hours after the race I was sore, but not today. I did stretch really well and I'm sure walking another 3.2 miles home helped. My next race on the agenda is the Warrior Dash on June 16th. I'm looking forward to getting down and dirty at that race!

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