A New PR

Friday afternoon at work my throat starting hurting and I felt really run down. This was not good timing with the 5K I had on Saturday morning. I went to bed around 8pm and struggled to pull myself out of it Saturday morning. My sore throat had turned into a cold. Ugh. I took some meds and headed to the race thinking I'd give it whatever I had. It was an extremely humid morning and my warm up jog had me sweating like a pig. Before the race started I really felt like it was going to be ugly. Luckily, I was wrong!! I didn't have the best race but I still managed to pull out a PR and win 3rd in my age group. I had trouble breathing and was really tired but I finished strong in 21:50, beating my previous 5K PR by 45 seconds. I'm bummed I wasn't feeling good because now I'm wondering how I could have done if I wasn't sick.

7th Female overall

25th out of 160 total runners

3rd in my age group

I'm really happy with how the race went considering I've done ZERO speed work for months because of the Ultra training. This was a good test to see where I'm at and it definitely helped boost my confidence a little regarding a BQ at Philly marathon this year. Coach Jack told me today that this 5K time equates to a 3:30-3:35 marathon time. So hopefully I do have it in me and I'm excited to try!

I'm still fighting the cold today and have spent the entire day laying around with the exception of pulling myself together long enough to get a 7 mile run in. I told Andy when I headed out that I'd be either 5 minutes or an hour...I had no idea what I would do. But once I got out there, it felt great to run nice and easy.

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 4
Tues - 6 (with 6 x 50 strides)
Wed - 4
Thurs - 6
Fri - 4
Sat - 14
Sun - off

Rainy Walk

Today was going to be an off day and when I woke up to rain and a cool breeze, I really wanted to sleep a little longer. But I ended up dragging myself out of bed and going for a walk instead. It was raining and dark out but it was such a peaceful walk. I haven't gone for a walk in so long and it felt really good to just walk. It's really weird but when I started walking, I felt so healthy and happy. Seriously, I can't even explain it but I just felt so good. Maybe that was the moment I needed to get back into the swing of things and feeling fresh again. I didn't pass a person or a car during the whole walk...it was just me out there in the rain and a PERFECT way to start the day. When I got home I did the P90X ab ripper X work out. I've done this 3 times this week and all I can say is ouch. This is some workout! I can't sit myself up in bed without gripping onto the sheets for leverage or sneeze without wincing, but it's the good pain. The pain where you can tell it's working. Come on 6 pack!!

Tomorrow I'm running the Relay For Life 5k, which benefits the American Cancer Society. After my slow poke Ultra training, I'm not sure what to expect out of myself for this race. The cut back seemed to help a little this week and I found that it was easier to run a little faster when I'm not paying attention to my pace/distance. So, we'll see how tomorrow goes. My current 5K PR is 22:35 and I would love, love, love to break the 22 minute mark. I'll give it my all and see how it goes.

Weight Loss Results - Week 1

We have a lot of blanks but that's just because some people just got started this week. No worries...there's still plenty of time to catch up!! Great job to everyone so far!

Ace - 1.18%
Amanda
Coll76 - 1.35%
Dana - 2.1%
Denise - 0.32%
Erin C - 0.5%
Hoodie - 1.19%
Janice
Jeanette - 0.63%
Joanne
Katelyn - 0.29%
KK
Laura
Leah
Liz
Lo
Marlene
Natalie
Rachel
Running 365
Stacey
Tammy - 3.2%
TammyRunsWV

Sorry about the formatting...I'll work on that before next week.

Cut Back Week

I felt pretty defeated after my 16 miler on Saturday. I used to look forward to my long run all week long and the distance never scared me. Ever since the Ultra, I've been struggling on long and short runs. Mentally, I just haven't had it in me. I've been doubting myself and feeling discouraged. On top of it, I've been struggling to lose some weight and just feel down in general about fitness. Worried about the funk I'm in, I talked to Coach Jack and we decided that this should be a cut back week. I haven't really had much of a break all year so with my current situation, this seemed like a good week to just have some fun with running. So instead of heading out for a certain distance at a set pace, I'm running 30-40 minutes a pop. I headed out this morning and ran for 37 minutes. I ended up doing just over 4 miles at 8:58. I didn't look at my pace at all, ran a random route, and it felt really good. I'm going to do this all week to try to take some pressure off of myself and get my mojo back.

I also started P90X yesterday. Because of the running, I'm only doing the lifting portion of the program, which will be about 3 days of lifting and intense ab work. The first workout wasn't too bad. Since I didn't really know what to expect, I don't feel like I worked myself hard enough. But I'm planning on using this first week to ease back into lifting since it's been so long. I can tell it's going to be a good program, though and I'm looking forward to lifting again tomorrow. I really missed it!!

I've already received some results for the weight loss competition. I'll post them some time tomorrow so make sure you get your results to me by tonight. If I don't receive anything from you, I'll assume you just started this week.

Wood Poopin'

I had 14 miles scheduled for today but since I had company at the trail, who was doing 16, I decided to tack on a few miles. As I drove to the path, it was raining lightly with some thunder and lightening in the distance, but I didn't think much of it. Well, as soon as we got out of the car, it started pouring. I'm talking a torrential down pour. We tried to take cover under the trees but it was raining so hard they didn't provide any help. Soaking wet we set off...

We ran past the place where the young girl was killed by the fallen tree branch and there was a little memorial set up. Honestly, memorials on the side of the road, etc really creep me out. Please, do not do that for me if something horrific happens. After we ran past this spot, we actually heard a branch falling. But with all the trees, we couldn't tell where it was falling from. We stopped and looked around and finally saw it off to the side of the path. Made me realize that the girl really didn't stand a chance with a 30ft branch falling directly above her...ipod or no ipod.

We continued on our run, and around mile 8 I knew a pit stop would be in order. I pumped myself up to use the port o pottie regardless of how gross it would be because I knew I wouldn't make it another 5.5 miles to the actual bathroom. Well, when I reached the port o pot spot, the f'n thing was gone. Grrr!! I contemplated stepping off into the woods but couldn't do it. We kept running and in the back of my head I was trying to figure out how the heck I was going to make it another 3 miles to the bathroom. I have never had to go in the woods and wanted to keep it that way. With a little over a mile left until the bathroom I had to walk. I was about to explode. I looked around and knew I had to do it. So I went off to the side, hid the best I could, and dropped my drawers. I looked around for something that could substitute for toilet paper but I was too scared to use a leaf for fear it would be poison ivy or something. I did contemplate using a sock but come on people, I was wearing my Balega socks. I was NOT about to ruin one of those!!

Surprisingly, the whole ordeal wasn't as traumatic as I thought it was going to be. Wasn't fun and not something I want to do again, but at least I'm no longer a pooping in the woods virgin. And the shower when I got home...a shower never felt so good!

Do I Have Everyone?

Ok, here is the list I have for the Weight Loss Challenge. Some of you have emailed me your starting weight, which is fine. You don't have to if you don't want to. I won't publish anyone's weight, no worries. Just be sure to email me your total percentage lost on Tuesday!!

Now I started last Tuesday because I didn't know this would turn into such a competition, but now worries if you don't get started until next Tuesday. I'll just post results for those who started last week with me. And, I'm hoping to get more goodies for the top losers!!

If you want to join, it's not too late...

Eric C
Katie A
Running 365
Liz
Jeanette
Amanda
Hoodie
Marlene
Natalie
Janice
Lo
Tammy
Katelyn
TammyRunsWV
Dana
Coll76
Laura
Stacey
Ace
Denise
Joanne

Rules

First off, I already got one company to offer up a prize for the winner of the Weight Loss Competition. I'm not going to say who it is, but I will say I've tried it before and loved it. I'm going to try to work my magic a little more to see what else I can get.

We also have more people who are interested in joining the fun!!
Janice
Lo
Tammy
Katelyn
TammyRuns

Plus the people I listed yesterday...(365Runs, Liz, Jeanette, Amanda, Hoodie, Marlene, and Natalie).

Now, to keep it fair I think we should report our total percentage lost. This will take into account those who don't have as much to lose as some other people. To calculate the percentage lost:

((Starting weight - current weight) / Starting weight) * 100

For example, if your starting weight was 100 lbs and you lost 1 lb:

((100 - 99)/100)* 100 = 1%

RULES:

• Every Tuesday email me (dclaffey76@yahoo.com) your total percentage lost. You do not need to send me your weight.
• I will report results on Wednesday.
• Contest will go until Oct 27, 2009 (which happens to be my birthday!!).
• Everyone has to be honest!!!
• You have to report in each week, even if you had a slight set back and gained a little. Which I'm sure will happen to all of us!!

So, I'll be expecting to hear from everyone on Tuesday!! Good luck!!

Oh, and my running...it's been going pretty well. I got up early to run each day this week to beat the heat but today, there was just no escaping the humidity. I really felt it and was soaking wet when I was done. All I have left for the week is a 3 miler tomorrow then 14 miles on Saturday. Each week my long run has been increasing since the Ultra recovery and I love it. Can't wait till I'm back up to my 20 milers!!

Weight Loss Challenge

I feel really good about making the commitment out loud to get back on track and drop these extra pounds I'm carrying around. In full force I started yesterday and even tracked my calories. I feel like I'm constantly eating. I eat at 7am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 2:30pm, 4pm, 6pm, and 7:30pm. How is it that with all this eating, I'm coming in under 2000 calories a day?? I counted everything, too...even the splash of skim milk I put in my coffee! I've always known I don't eat enough when it comes to how much I work out, but I thought I was eating more than this. I'm going to give things a week and then adjust my intake as needed.

It turned out that a bunch of you were also interested in dropping some pounds. This is the list I have so far:
365Runs
Liz
Jeanette
Amanda (maybe...)
Hoodie
Marlene
Natalie

Now, I'm not the best with competitions but if people are interested in being held accountable, let's do this!! I'm going to see if I can get a company to sponsor a give away to the winner, too. If we make Tuesday our official weigh in day, I can report the pounds loss (so no one needs to say their weight) on Wednesdays and keep track of how everyone is doing. Even though I already started, I think whoever is interested should start this second. They say putting off starting just a day or two can add on extra pounds to lose because we feel like we need to binge while we can.

To sum it up:

• Email me at dclaffey76@yahoo.com on Tuesdays with your pounds loss (from this point on!!). If you want me to keep track of your starting weight, too, that's fine. I won't share that information with the world.
• I'll post the results on Wednesdays
• Last weigh in will be 27-Oct-2009

To get us started, here are some good links for tracking food intake:
http://www.fitday.com/
http://www.thedailyplate.com/
http://www.peertrainer.com/

And here is a site Natalie recommended which I need to check out myself.
http://www.eatcleandiet.com/

It's not too late to join us!! Just post a comment and I'll include you.

Weight loss, Anyone??

We're in the midst of a heat wave right now, with temperatures in the 90's. Knowing it would suck to run in the heat after work, I pulled myself out of bed this morning to get it out of the way. I started off with some Tae Bo since it was still so dark out. After I finished that up, I went for a 4 miler. I didn't struggle nearly as much as when I head straight out. Warming up with some cardio really helped. I've been feeling great all day knowing that I have a whole evening to myself. Too bad I need to go home and spend it cleaning. The in-laws come this week for a visit so we have lots to do to get ready.

We got all the stuff we need to start P90X and we've been reading through the information guide, etc. Andy is really on board and interested in making a big commitment not only to the workout but to the nutrition aspect as well. So last night we did a lot of calorie/protein/carb counting. Got me thinking that maybe this is what I need to do to see where I'm at and why I'm not losing any weight (although I secretly know the reason...I fall off the wagon on the weekend). I'm not a fan of counting calories, though. Since I eat the same thing every day, I'm not sure what the point is. However, if I counted my calories over the weekend, I'm sure it'd be the kick in the ass I needed.

I was anywhere from 7-10 lbs lighter last November when I ran Philly marathon and I want to get back there. So, my weight loss journey is officially starting today. I keep talking and talking about how I need to lose it but I'm not holding myself accountable and really trying. This blog has held me to training schedules and now it's going to hold me to reaching my goal weight. Since I didn't weigh myself this morning for fear of what the scale would say, I'll make tomorrow my official weigh in day. Each week I'm going to report how much I lost. Oh, and I guess I need a target date, hunh? Um...the end of October. Hopefully I can get there much sooner but I know I need to be healthy about this.

If anyone wants to join me, email me!! If there are a lot of people interested, maybe we can make a little friendly competition out of it.

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 4 mi
Tues - 5 mi
Wed - 3 mi
Thurs - 5 mi
Fri - 3 mi
Sat - 14 mi
Sun - Off

Early Morning

First, thanks for all the blog suggestions. I checked out most of them and ended up adding a few more to my list!!

I have off from work today because Newman has his follow up vet appointment to get his stitches out and the cone off. It's been two weeks for the poor little guy with that cone on. He's been knocking things over, walking into things...sad but also highly comical! Since I have off today I had my long run scheduled and was planning on doing it at Forbidden Drive. This is the trail I mentioned the other day where the unfortunate accident happened which killed a young female runner. Well, it turns out a woman was raped there on Tuesday night as she got out of her car to go for a run. It was 6:30pm, when there are a lot of people around and it's still light out. I have run at this trail countless times by myself at odd hours when I could go for miles without seeing a single person. But, after hearing about this, I will never run there alone ever again. I'm also thinking maybe I should carry mace while I run. Do any of you carry it?

I really wanted some company for this run so I made plans with a friend who had to start early to get it in before work. Now I'm all about getting up early but I had a 4:15am wake up call!! It's 8:15 right now and I have a 12 miler done, showered, ate breakfast and now I'm drinking coffee. Needless to say, I will be heading up for a nap very shortly. I am happy to report that it was a great run, though. After a really good week of running I think it's safe to say my slump is over.

Oh, and completely off topic...seriously Eagles?? Michael Vic?? We don't need trash like him in our city.

What's Your Favorite Blog?

I follow quite a few blogs which I love...and am slightly addicted to!! But honestly, it can be a little overwhelming to keep up at times. More than once I stumbled upon one that I really liked and wanted to go back and read through from the beginning, but I stopped myself just so I didn't add another one to my list. Because of this, I'm sure I'm missing out on a ton of great blogs out there.

So I was wondering, of all the blogs you follow, what is one of your (many) favorites? Now, don't all go listing mine, that would just be silly! ;-) And it doesn't have to be running or food related either, I'm just curious to see what fun blogs I'm missing out there. If there's an overwhelming majority for one particular blog, I'll be sure to let that person know how much they are loved.

I really wish I had all the time in the world to just read blogs and comment because I have seriously learned so much since I started blogging. I mean, I'm sprouting my own food these days, making banana soft serve, fermenting oat groats, making almond butter...all because of blogging. More about the fermented oats later, if anyone even cares....

Upcoming Races

Although I have my sights set on a BQ at Philly this year, I wanted to run more races than I did last year. Not so much to "race" but to get out there and see new courses, etc. So, as of right now, this is what I have on my calendar through the end of the year. I love having races to look forward to!!

• Aug 29th, Relay for Life 5k (balls to the wall for this one)
• Sept 13th, Lehigh Valley Half Marathon (running easy, just for fun)
• Sept 21st, Philly Distance Run (half marathon...using this as a check to see where I'm at for Philly marathon)
• Sept 26th, Run For Your Neighbor 5k
• Nov 22nd, Philly Marathon (my first BQ attempt...*fingers crossed*)

I won't lie that I've been struggling lately with the runs. I thought things were getting better last week but then I had a pretty blah 10 miler on Friday. Due to the accident at the path I normally run, I opted to run the 10 miles at the one mile path near my house. Now, I've done 24 loops at this place before so I thought 10 would be nothing. Wrong. Mentally I just didn't have it. At one point I left the path and went off on the roads just to break things up. Unfortunately, it didn't make things any better. I tried every mind game I had and eventually gutted it out. I made it through averaging a 9:18, coming in under the pace I was shooting for.

On Saturday I met up with the running club and thankfully I had a great run. I just felt like my old self again, which I really needed. I've been feeling so down after these crummy runs, I need them to get better. Hopefully this is the week where things turn around...it did start off with a good 5 miler this morning.

Here's my schedule for this week:
Mon - 5 mi
Tues - 3 mi
Wed - 5 mi
Thurs - 3 mi
Fri - 12 mi
Sat - 3 mi
Sun - off

Gnu Foods - Flavor and Fiber Bars

I'm really behind on some reviews I want to do so you might be seeing these more often...

I received a box of flavor and fiber bars from Gnu Foods to try out. I tried 5 different flavors: Chocolate Brownie, Peanut Butter, Banana Walnut, Orange Cranberry and Cinnamon Raisin. These bars pack a lot of punch in the fiber department! One bar provides almost 50% of the daily value of fiber!! We're talking 12 g of fiber in one bar!! I really liked two things about these bars in addition to the high fiber. 1) you get 6 whole grains and 2) they are low in calories (around 130 per bar). As for the taste, some were better than others. I liked the chocolate brownie and cinnamon raisin but thought the others were just ok. Considering how much I love peanut butter, I was excited to have a peanut butter bar at only 140 calories. But I was a little disappointed. They are chewy and have a nice texture but not bursting with any great flavor. I will say they are a filling little snack, though. One bar as my afternoon snack did hold me over...must be all that fiber!! I would recommend checking out their site if you haven't already. They also just introduced two new flavors that aren't yet available in stores: Espresso Chip and Lemon Ginger.

I think the packaging is really cute!

Now, for the biscuit rating...I LOVED the fiber in these bars and I would recommend them in a heart beat for someone who is lacking fiber in their diet and looking for an easy way to get some. However, I'm not sure if I would buy these as my "treat" for an afternoon snack. So, with that being said, I'm giving the Gnu bars 5 biscuits.

Tragic

I heard about this tragic accident this morning at Forbidden Drive and it really hit home as I run on this path all the time. A runner was killed by a 30 foot tree branch which fell 50 feet. It hit her directly on the head and killed her instantly. They say she had head injuries, a broken neck and a compound fracture to her leg. The articles also mention two important things...1) she was wearing an ipod so she may not have heard the branch crack/break and 2) she had no identification on her. Early this morning the news was referring to her as the "mystery jogger" because they couldn't identify her. Guys, turn down the music when you run and we all have to wear id!! I never leave home without my Road ID.

Seriously, what a freak accident. I thought all we had to worry about were cars, bikes and dogs. I was suppose to run my 10 miler at this path tomorrow but I'm seriously a little freaked out. I don't want to see where it happened if it's still cautioned off, etc.

Here's a link to one of the articles:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/52573387.html

Next Challenge

When we moved back in April, my gym membership also expired. Since I was running so much for the Ultra I put off joining a new one. Now that the Ultra running is done, I've been feeling so lousy without the lifting. I really lost a lot of my strength by doing nothing since April and I can see where I got mushy. It's been building up each week and I've just been feeling worse and worse. With the Philly training I'll be running 6 days a week so I don't really feel like joining a gym for a few days of lifting a week. So...all of this, on top of my love of challenges, prompted me to buy this!!!

P90X

Yup, I'm taking on the P90X challenge! I know some people who have used this program and they love it. They say it's intense, but totally worth it. While the program involves lifting as well as yoga, cardio, plyometrics, etc, I'll be focusing primarily on the lifting portion. How often I do the other portions of the program will depend on my running schedule for that week. I am so excited to try this!! As soon as we ordered it last night I felt so good, like I was finally going to get back on track. I'm even thinking I'll take before and after pictures...we'll see if I have the balls to post them! Have any of you out there tried P90X?

For my running, still ramping the miles back up from recovery. Since my mileage isn't too bad, I decided to do some extra cardio after my shorter runs. I can't do just 30-40 minutes of cardio a day, I need a more than that. Last night I did Tae Bo after my run. I forgot how fun those works are!

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 4 mi
Tues - 3 mi
Wed - 4 mi
Thurs - 3 mi
Fri - 10 mi
Sat - 4 mi
Sun - Off

Big Guy Update

I ran my longest run since the Ultra yesterday...7 miles. I had been struggling all week with my runs feeling like I'm putting all this effort out and not really moving. I know a few factors are playing into this...1) I'm running at 5:30 am again. I have a hard time running outside this early in the morning. On the treadmill I'm fine because I set the pace and just go. But outside I struggle to hit my paces when I'm still half asleep. 2) The humidity has been really bad this week. Even that early in the morning it's just brutal and hard to breathe. 3) This weight I put on through Ultra training and recovery is not helping. I really need to drop this weight or I'm going to be struggling through the speed work while training for Philly. I saw some pictures of me from right around Philly marathon last year and I can see that I gained the weight. Sucks.

So, the big guy came home yesterday. Surgery went really well on Friday and they removed a large stone from his bladder. Check this thing out!! I can't imagine how uncomfortable he must have been!

We were suppose to keep him confined to a bathroom for 2 days since he might have trouble controlling his bladder but after successful litter box uses and no accidents, we moved him to the 3rd bedroom last night. I slept in there with him and he was so happy to have the company. It's so sad though. All he wants to do is give kisses and he can't with the big cone on his head! He's much more alert today so we just let him out of the bedroom. He's happy to be out and about again. We just need to keep an eye on him so he doesn't push it too much. We're so happy to have him home!!