Wishful Thinking

I have been doing my workouts in shorts this week as a means of protesting the very un-Spring-like weather.

I live in the Midwest, so I’m not about to complain about the weather. It’s totally normal for it to be cold in March. But wishful thinking is okay, right?

Looking forward to brighter (and warmer) days,

Running is a Mental Sport

It’s been a while, but I’m back in action! France was wonderful for my soul. I truly believe that taking care of yourself needs to extend beyond the things you do for your physical body. If you’re not healthy emotionally and mentally, your physical health doesn’t mean as much.

That being said, this post will be an attempt to draw a connection between mental and physical activity. Here we go!

Most of you know I have been working my way through the Couch to 5K training program. Starting out, I could not call myself a runner by any stretch of the imagination. I remember doing distance running in track my senior year of high school. I quit after three days. It was not fun.

So when I decided that I wanted to start running this year I knew I would be facing some hurdles.

The first four weeks of the nine week program went smoothly. I worked my way up from doing 1 minute running intervals to eventually doing 5 minute intervals. After every run I felt good about what I had just accomplished. And then came week five.

Week five had me doing eight minute intervals, which was intimidating enough since I had never run for eight minutes in a row EVER. But I did it, and it actually seemed pretty easy. Unfortunately, the last day of week five calls for a five minute warm up walk, followed by a twenty minute run, and finished up with a five minute cool down walk. TWENTY MINUTES. I was terrified.

I put up a post on Fitocracy about how nervous I was for this one. I received so much encouragement from people who have successfully gone through the program. They assured me that while it looks scary on paper, the twenty minute run isn’t as bad as it seems. I was confident that my body could handle it, but I was really looking at a mental hurdle. The true test would be whether I could overcome my fear of this thing.

And I did. I woke up at seven this morning and I killed it. As I finished the last thirty seconds of the run, I must have looked like the biggest goofball. I had a huge smile on my face because I was so proud. Proud of what my body was capable of, yes, but mostly proud of my willpower to overcome fear and intimidation.

Recognizing that running is more than just physical determination, but mental determination as well, made me think about how many times I have made excuses and held myself back. How many times have I claimed that I physically can’t do something when it was really just an issue of errors in thinking?

In light of these events and realizations, I am determined not to let my brain hold me back. I am going to set goals and run at them.

Looking forward to brighter days,

Taking a Sick Day

Ughhh, I have been dealing with an ugly cold since Friday.

Normally I’m all for pushing through discomfort and challenging myself to workout even when I don’t feel like it, but this time I knew I needed to listen to my body. That meant no morning run today.

My body is thanking me, and I’m sure all my fellow gym-goers are thanking me for not coughing/sniffling/sneezing all over everything.

Anyway, the plan for today is tea and (maybe) some yoga. Hopefully I’ll be back in the fitness center Wednesday morning!

The Challenge to Change

One thing I have noticed is that it is really easy to hit a plateau and get discouraged. When you’re still working hard and eating well but you don’t see any victories, scale or otherwise, it’s hard to keep going. But in my experience with plateaus, both my own and others’, I have learned that the best thing you can do is to change it up.

You have to challenge yourself. Push beyond what has become normal to something that makes you uncomfortable.

That’s why I have decided to switch up some things with my diet and exercise plans. I haven’t quite figured out what those changes will look like, but I know I want it to be something that challenges me. Of course, I am open to suggestions.

Question of the Day: What is the last thing you did to challenge yourself?

To My Goal Weight and Beyond!

I did it, I did it, I did it! I hit my goal weight!

After eight and a half months of hard work I am officially down 32 pounds, taking me BEYOND my goal weight of 150. That’s right, when I set goals I don’t just reach them –I exceed them.

I recently asked what I should do to celebrate this achievement. You all had a lot of really great ideas! I have decided that after I get back from my trip next month I will be buying myself a new bathing suit. Something new to show off the hard work (although I tend to pick suits that are on the more conservative side). I’m thinking about this one.

If you have read my 2013 Fitness Goals post you know that 150 isn’t my stopping point. When I started this journey, that number sounded good to me. I can’t remember the last time I was this light. Early high school? Middle school maybe? But now that I reached it, I realize that I can and want to go farther.

I know that I can push myself harder. I have just scratched the surface of all that I am capable of doing. After giving it some serious consideration, doing research on healthy weight ranges, and realistically considering how much work I am willing to put in, I have set a new goal for myself: 135.

It will be fun to keep up with this forward motion. Even if I never make it to the next goal weight, I am happy knowing that these lifestyle changes are not impossible. I am more than satisfied with how far I have already come.

I will try to keep up with the encouragement and the stories as so many of you have encouraged and shared your stories with me. Will you continue on this journey with me? The road may be long, but travel is more fun with friends. :)

Here’s to brighter days ahead!

A Cold and Quiet Morning

You know what I like more than an early morning run? A walk through the snowy trees before my early morning run.

Campus was so quiet and calm this morning. No one was out and about yet since we don’t have classes today. It was my time to take a deep breath, gather my thoughts, and take everything in. My alone time. My peaceful time.

And to think that I would have missed this if I didn’t have the discipline to get up early and run.

Ice Cream and Bacon and Burgers, Oh My!

Hello bright eyes! I haven’t posted in a week-ish, and in that week I experienced a setback. This setback took the form of SuperBowl food. That’s right: bacon, pigs in a blanket, burgers, and ice cream. How can something so wrong taste so right?

Anyway, my encounter with ice cream on Sunday night left me craving sweets for the next three days. My body was practically demanding sugar every few hours. And I had extra ice cream in the freezer, so I gave in. I admit it: I’m weak.

But that is in the past. Today is a new day, and I am refocusing. This is Week 3 of my Couch to 5K plan and those mornings in the fitness center still feel good. I am trying to wean myself off of the sweets until I get back to the point at which my body no longer craves them. That isn’t easy with all of the Valentine’s candy that has begun to find its way to me. My willpower is obviously being tested.

I’m just trying to take the journey one decision at a time right now, because that’s all I really can do. I’m going to make some stupid mistakes sometimes (SuperBowl food was a stupid mistake), but that doesn’t mean I should give up. Fall down seven times, get up eight, right?