Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Weight on Wednesday--09/30/0215

Up.
Down.
Up.
Down.
Up. Up. Up.

Seems like the story of my life.  Just when you think something is going right, it goes wrong. Normally we like things to go up. Our bank account. Our credit score. But weight and dress size is something we all try to keep in check, if not wanting to go down.  So here are my numbers for this week.

                        9/23/2015          9/30/2015
Weight            148.0                   148.0
Fat                   35.8                     36.2
BMI                23.9                      23.9

So same weight, but more fat.  Hmmm....why is it when I casually weigh myself throughout the week, the numbers are lower.  I was down to 146 on Monday. Of course, I was having a medical scare, so my appetite was minimal that day as well.

The good news for this week is that I have spent my birthday money to join the gym down the street.  It was POURING rain this morning, and after a week off of exercising, I HAD to get something done about it.  So I tried out the gym, and not only had the energy for 3 miles on the elliptical, but also a weight workout.  I cooled down with 0.6 miles on the treadmill.

Fingers crossed and prayers said that adding some strength workouts will help melt the fat off!

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Race Recapping: Paducah (KY) Iron Mom Half-Marathon

In planning my spring race schedule, there were several factors that went into my planning process.  First, I did NOT want to run St. Jude's Country Music Marathon (or Half-Marathon, in my case). Again. Nope.  Been there, done that, have the t-shirt and medal to prove it.  Because my first half marathon was also along that same course, I knew the hills that I would be facing, and I was still having nightmares from them!  Ok, not really.  But I did not want to do the same course....again.

Second, I was looking for something flat. Flat should equal fast, right?

Third, it had to be close.  I was working as a substitute teacher, and while I can take time off without being punished, I really enjoyed my job and we kind of need the money for our upcoming move to Boston.  So nothing TOO terribly far. The closer the better.

I searched the internet and found Paducah's Iron Mom Half-Marathon. It fit all of the criteria, as well as falling after the CMM (which Joel was running) and the yard sale that we were having the first weekend in May.  Even though I am in my mid-30s, my parents still don't like me driving by myself, so my Mom volunteered herself to drive me there and stay the night with me.  The bonus was I would have someone to drive me home after running for over two and half hours.


I registered for the race, made the hotel reservation, and had my mom join me for the trip after our day at school. (Fitting, right, since the race was held the day before Mother's Day?)  But it was not a race that I would like to remember. At.all.  At the start of the race, it was already 72-degrees with what felt like a gazillion percent humidity. Seriously, at one point, probably around mile marker 9, I wanted to cry.  I was alone, no one to cheer me on, and felt defeated by this race.  Why, oh why, should I continue with this race? Oh....right.  I PAID to do this.  So I drank some water, sucked it up, and a runner reminded me at the ten mile marker, "Only a 5K left!!"  Running is such a mental game, I kept reminding myself that surely I can run 3.1 miles.  I do longer runs during the week than a little ol' 5K.

My first half marathon was also my worst up to this point. At 2:44:01, I set that as the "I don't want to see a time larger than that" barrier.  Bummer, because I broke it on this race.  The 2:44 rolled past on my watch, and I thought "Ok, make it within this minute, and it will be ok".  But then 2:45 popped up. At that point, I strive to beat the time within 15 second increments. But I FINALLY made it over that finish line at 2:45:28. I was not happy at all, but my mom was there at the finish line cheering me on like all mom's tend to do.  She stayed with me while I downed chocolate milk, bananas and a hot dog.  She didn't laugh as I soaked my feet in a ice filled cooler on the way home. And she reminded me that I finished about half way in the pack of racers.  Definitely what I needed to hear.

No pictures from any point in this race.  At that time, it was certainly not something I wanted to remember. But I marked "Kentucky" off the list of states to run.  Two states done, forty eight more to do.

Cute medal for finishing




Friday, September 25, 2015

Weight on Wednesday--09/23/2015

My WOW entry...on a Friday. You ever get that feeling like you are swimming towards the edge of a pool, but the edge keeps getting further and further away??? Yeah.....that is the story of my life around here.

I DID weigh myself on Wednesday, so here are the numbers.

                        9/09/2015          9/23/2015
Weight            147.6                    148.0
Fat                   36.00                    35.8
BMI                23.8                       23.9

So weight and BMI are up, but my body fat is down.  I am hoping that the weight gain was just muscle being added. :)  At one point this week I was down to 146 pounds. But then I decided to have a second bowl of ice cream, and then umber went back up.  Lesson learned.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

My favorite day to run

Recently I wrote about my least favorite day to run, and today I though I would bookend that entry with my favorite day to run.

Since we moved to a "suburb" of Boston, the traffic is heavier than the suburb we were used to in Tennessee.  Watertown has plenty of traffic going in and out of the surrounding towns, and I have a fear of getting hit by the crazy drivers around here.  So I try to stick to the sidewalks and side roads. But it makes for some boring runs, or having to turn every quarter mile. I find myself having to stop my watch while waiting for the traffic lights to change....grrrrr!

Which brings me to my favorite day to run...the Weekends! With the current temperatures, I don't mind starting at 7am and running into Cambridge.  That city during the week is all hustle and bustle.  The many cars, bikes, buses, and pedestrians make it difficult to drive in that city, and running is nearly impossible. At least for me.  But early on the weekend mornings, it is a ghost town.  There might be a few delivery trucks coming into make their deliveries to the local restaurants; a few early morning walkers with their dogs on the leash in one hand, coffee from the local coffee shop in another; maybe one or two buses running their route.  

There is one particular corner in Cambridge, where I am turning right onto Mt Auburn Avenue from Brattle Square that is constantly jammed with traffic.  The MBTA buses have to turn left into the station and there is also construction happening on the opposite side of the street.  The construction trucks take up space, which in turn makes the buses move over the line of traffic. It is a tight squeeze in my mini-van, and I find myself either needing an aspirin or a shot of liquor after making it through that particular intersection.  But on weekend mornings, all is quiet.  There is no construction. There a fewer buses. The rhythm of my feet pounding the pavement, my breathing going in and out...in and out....the sounds of everyday living is still sleeping, while I can enjoy the peacefulness of the city before it awakes for the business of the week.


Favorite route for my weekend run