“Fitness Date?”

Two blogs in one day! It’s been a busy few weeks! I guess I got a lot to say.
I haven’t been working out like I should have this past week.
Life got in the way again. With Graduation season upon us, the youngest member of my family, my beloved nephew, has completed High School. Now that he has his diploma, let the festivities begin!
I have been with my family almost every day this past week, & my exercise plan has suffered.
So I texted my husband this afternoon while he was at work: “Fitness Date?’
Since we are blessed to live within walking distance to many shops and restaurants, I planned a 1.7 mile run to our favorite Vietnamese eatery,

a walk to watch the sunset over Lake Erie

an obligatory selfie

and a nice stroll towards home.
It’s been a great week of family time, but the best days are those of just Dave and me

First 5K

I can’t describe the feeling I felt after my very first 5K on May 17, 2014.

Us before the start

After the initial high of the feeling of accomplishment, as the day went on I felt more and more exhausted, but strangely I also felt refreshed. It was such a wild range of emotions that I could not put my finger on what exactly I was feeling. I am still struggling on what that feeling was and wonder how come I don’t experience it after all of my runs. It could have been that I didn’t sleep well the night before…pre-race jitters…or was it because I was so nervous/excited the morning of that I wore myself out? Whatever it was, I LIKED IT and now I have to experience it again. I know that a person does not experience runner’s high after running only 3 miles, but I can understand how this sport can be so addictive!
I was pleased with my time of 29:52:29.

FINISH!

We ran down by the lake shore and through residential neighborhoods. The homeowners stood at the end of their driveways rooting us on, holding signs and letting us know when we hit each mile marker.
I really drew upon those friendly faces, because mentally, as usual, I was at war with myself.
Today as I sit here, I feel more pleased with my finish then I do of my recent weight loss. My alter ego that weighed 276 pounds 16 months ago was not me, although I must say that I had less mental crazy talk during those 16 months than I do over the course of a 30-45 minute run. For this reason, this race was one of the biggest challenges of my life. When I began this journey to reclaim the old me, that nagging Little JuJu voice never really surfaced much. There were days I just didn’t want to work-out, but for the most part, I turned off my brain and did what I had to do. When I run, Little Juju comes roaring to life with negative thoughts and all she does is nag nag nag.
Now I know how my husband feels!

Excuses, Excuses

We had a wonderful time at a local restaurant on Mother’s Day with my parents and sisters and their families.
I got the Bruschetta Chicken and savored every last morsel!
Dave and I got a little more dressed than the rest of the diners, we stood out but who cares! I got a new dress and wanted to wear it.
I started digging through my old pictures looking for a good “before” pic. Odd how when I’m looking for comparison pics, I’m searching for the absolute worst photo. I would of never been caught dead as the subject of a picture. My grandmother was the same way, we have hardly any pictures of her. She was a beautiful lady, and I don’t know why she didn’t want any taken of her, but my reason was clear, I didn’t like how I looked on film.
It’s funny how the perception I had of myself was so obscured. I really didn’t know how much I weighed in August of 2012.

This selfie was taken on our island vacation:

I look back at these pictures and I kept telling myself
it was a bad angle;
I wasn’t standing right;
that’s not my good side;
there was too much light;
my clothes don’t fit right;
that camera takes bad pictures…
I had every excuse in the book. Then I realized that everyone else looks like themselves in pictures. Holy cow, this is how people see me! Kinda like how I don’t like my voice on answering machines, but that is another issue!
These are the pictures that made me have a long hard look at my life.
That and the diagnosis of Pre-Diabetes later that year.

This one was taken on Mother’s Day 2014.

I can honestly say that I am not sitting here scrutinizing this photo. Dave and I have worked very hard to achieve this.
For once in my life, I like what I see!

Cute Shoes Make Everything Better

Got my new running shoes today.
Someone somewhere said that the brighter the shoes the faster the runner.
Being that my New Balances are Electric Blue, I need all the speed I can get!

Dave and I ran a new route tonight. We finally had a beautiful spring day and so we decided to get off the treadmill and take advantage of it.
We went to the park to tackle the naturally hilly terrain.
I was very intimidated by the hills, two pretty good sized ones, and the rest of the route was a gradual incline or decline with some rolling hills thrown in.
We did the first mile and I felt pretty good. It took me the first mile to figure out my comfort zone on the steep hills, and on the second mile I realized that I was really enjoying myself! My brain wasn’t trying to talk me into slowing down, it was too busy making preparations for the next round of rolling hills.
I realized that when I ran my flat route, it was a constant mental battle to keep on. Could it be that I was too bored? I guess I needed more of a challenge, or is it that cute shoes make everything better?
The third mile was when my legs really started to burn, but that is the best time to push through. The last quarter mile was the steepest part and I dug in and sprinted up fast as I could.
My time was about 39 minutes, but my runners app flipped out on me during the second mile, so that is just an estimate.
I don’t think my time is too bad, I got to debut my new shoes and tackle a new route.
Our first 5K in in 8 days, next week I’ll try to get some sprints in and try to calm my mind.
Wish me luck!

RUN JUJU, RUN

Yesterday was a big day for me.
I never ever thought of that I would run for anything but my life.
I had always looked at people running past my house as crazy people. Why-oh-why would you ever want to run around for leisure? My leisure time? I prefer wine.
Dave asked me if I wanted to go for a run with him. He has been training for our upcoming 5K for about a month now.
I started training 2 weeks ago. Not thinking I would go very far, I decided, “Hey, what the hell? Just try!”
I started my training on the treadmill going 2 miles less than 23 minutes, not to bad, I thought, considering I haven’t run that long since high school.

My second run was exactly the same, and this is the session that I realized that I felt pretty damn good afterwards!
The weather finally broke yesterday, It was 70+ degrees (!) with little wind.
Perfect day to start my outdoor training.
Dave had our route all planned out & the Runtastic app was ready to go.
We started down the street , and I must say I felt really, really good. Dave let me set the pace since this was my first. All throughout the run, I was so focused on breathing and pace, it hit me that, I was outside! And I’m not wearing a down parka and snow boots up to my knees! What a realization that was!
The skies were blue and the birds were chirping, It was truly a beautiful day, we haven’t seen a day like this in MONTHS! I also found 40 cents and a marble on the road. This feels like a treasure hunt! But I won’t tell what my husband called me!
I am happy to report, that I beat my husband’s time. My time was 37:20 and his was 38:12.

Not that this was a competition, but I was very pleased with myself and Dave was very proud of me. Although, he did call me a slave driver because I got too far ahead of him at one point. Sorry Dave!
So today I sit here reflecting, If my ankle allows it, I will continue to run. I truly did enjoy it. I guess I’m one of those crazy people now!

The Best 4 Pounds I’ve Ever Gained

Soooooo…
Here it is March 2, 2014.
A day that I have not looking forward to seeing.
We just returned from vacation yesterday,

 

 

and I woke up this morning in my own bed. I ALWAYS experience vacation remorse and this time is no exception.
My husband was invited to work with the Cleveland Indians in Goodyear, AZ, and for one glorious week, he spent his days interviewing players, coaches and staff, while I spent my glorious week with family.

 

 

There was all the happy preparations that go along with vacation planning, but there were also moments of anxiety and uncertainty.
How were we going to eat right?
When were we going to exercise?
We weren’t going to see much of each other–we really rely on each other for support and encouragement–and we would not have much control over what went into our mouths.
I didn’t want to be THAT kind of houseguest!
On the advice of the our trainer, we decided that the best way to handle this would be to just let go and enjoy the week. He told us to set a goal before we left, work our butts off to reach it, then, relax and enjoy.
OK, sounds like a good idea. It’s worth a try, we haven’t been on vacation in over a year, and we needed to learn how to let loose and enjoy ourselves without guilt.
Before we left, we weighed ourselves, recorded it and then forgot about it.
We left with the mindset that we would exercise if we could and calorie counting would be put on the shelf for the next 7 days.
And here I am sitting on my couch in the frigid Great Lakes area, leaving the gorgeous 80 degree weather behind, and reflecting on the week.
I am happy to report that I have gained 4 pounds.
I am happy to report this because, attached to those 4 pounds, are a weeks worth of phenomenal Mexican food, a new way to enjoy gelato, hours and hours of family time and a mani-pedi that is called Double Happiness

 

I completely enjoyed my weight gain….now it’s back to real life. In addition to dealing with jet lag, I’m washing my workout clothes, planning my meals for the week, & penciling in workouts.
Those 4 pounds are history!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Got my butt kicked by Megan, my indoor cycling trainer today, but it’s my own fault.
For about 3 weeks, my husband and I have been instigating our X-Fit trainer, Steve, to take cycling with us. He finally caved and joined in. Megan also recruited another trainer to join in too. Today was (not) our lucky day!
“This is going to be a fun class!” she said as she warmed us up. She had to prove to the boys that cycling is no joke.
I haven’t been worked that hard in a very long time, but I am very proud to say that Megan kept telling the boys that “Julie has you left you guys in the dust! She’s out-sprinting all of you!”
It was a grueling 45 minutes of pure hell, but I got through it….I almost dropped after it was over…but I made it through.
After it was all over, the other trainers had nothing to say, I like to think they were too exhausted to even speak!
Lucky for me, today was the day for my full-body massage. I’d say that was perfect timing!
Lesson learned:
Don’t provoke your trainers, in the end, you’re only hurting yourself!

It’s Officially Offical!

I have a personal goal of losing 6 more pounds before February 22. I’m at 4 down with 2 to go.
I was really beginning to doubt my progress, I re-injured my ankle, and a particularly challenging cross-fit-like class resulted in a pulled calf muscle. Excellent timing, with just 2 weeks til my goal date.
I started icing my injuries every evening and scaling back on cardio. I began to focus on weight training my arms, shoulders and abs. I re-evaluated my eating plan and increased my water intake, all in a desperate attempt to lose 2 more pounds. I kind of began to think that I was losing control, I have been fighting hard not to become obsessive.
Then I got on the scale on Thursday morning…my official weigh-in day.
I held my breath, closed my eyes and stepped onto the scale, the whole time wondering why that number has such an impact (maybe because I’m a tad obsessive :)) on my life.
To my completely unexpected delight, I was down to 175 pounds!
I officially reached my main goal of a 100 pound loss… AND my mini goal of 6 pounds by 2-22-13!
My husband, as of today, has lost 150 pounds. Him and I have lost a person. A good-sized person. Our trainer has commented that we lost him!
It’s hard for me to realize this goal that I have reached. It is still sinking in. I am very grateful to a lot of people that has helped me on this journey. I appreciate all the positive reinforcement from my family and friends, co-workers, and those on the SparkPeople community!

Views from The Beach

It is below freezing here on the shores of Lake Erie.
It is not an ideal time to be out in the elements exercising…although, one must keep moving to keep warm!
I summoned up some courage last week and set out for some super fresh air.
This is what I stumbled upon:



These are views from the breakwall on my local beach. Because it has been sooo cold for the past few weeks the ice and snow is piled upon the beach and resemble sand dunes that usually reside behind the beach.
I was ALMOST tempted to step out beyond the breakwall onto the ice, but the thought of falling through keep me on more stable ground.
The thought of getting a outdoor workout in did NOT cross my mind as a pleasant task that day. I don’t know what force prompted me to get out and get moving that day, but if I wouldn’t of drug myself out the door, I would of never seen such spectacular views. And right there in my own backyard!
Lesson learned: Get out there and get moving! And don’t forget your camera!

33% Down

I am sitting here watching The Biggest Loser weigh-in, and I’ve had a realization.
It has occurred to me that I have lost 33% of my body weight.
I have lost one-third of myself.
I began this journey on January 3, 2013 at 276 pounds. I have lost 92 pounds, which now finds me at 184.
This brings a few unsung victories:
1. for my height, I am no longer considered “obese”, I am officially “overweight” (I am aware that the BMI calculator is flawed, but that is the measure I used at the beginning of this process & I want to remain consistent).
2. I am the same weight that is stated on my drivers license! The next time the person at the DMV counter asks me if the information on my license is correct , I can truthfully say “YES!”
This has been the most important journey of my life. I am very grateful to be where I am. I still have goals to reach and weight to lose, but I know I can do it.
If this loss has given me anything, it has been a confidence that I didn’t know I had.