Monday, June 30, 2008

All about Running

The Rules:

Tagging is easy. Just copy the following onto your post. The rules of the game are posted at the start of your blog post. In this case, I'm asking you 5 questions about running. Each player answers the 5 questions on their own blog. At the end of your post you tag 5 other people and post their names. Go to their blogs and leave a comment on their blogs telling them they've been tagged and to look at your blog for details. When they've answered the questions on their own blog, they come back to yours to tell you. Got that? This was copied from Michelle, the only person I know with a blog.

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
10 years ago, I didn't even think about running. I am a short, large busted woman. Even when I was not terribly overweight, the idea of me running was a joke. I tried a few times but it hurt. (part of that I now realize may have been because I didn't wear sports bras - but it's really hard to find them in my size) Seriously, 10 years ago, I "walked" for fitness, but the idea that I could run never even entered my head.

2. What is your best/worst running experience?
As of today I haven't had very many running experiences period. I can remember being in elementary school and chasing the boys around the playground. I remember I was fast, quicker than them. I remember running before gym class in middle school and crashing into a wall. OUCH!
But perhaps my worst running experience happened when I was in 7th grade. We were MADE to participate in Olympic Day. I remember being able to run when I was younger, but didn't realize how out of shape I really was. I was supposed to run the 50 yard dash, the shortest of the possible races. I came in DEAD LAST. I was mortified. I blamed it on the gravel track we were running on, I had no traction whatsoever. It was just very embarrassing - I was teased enough as it was, and now I had just waddled 50yards and came in last. I guess it was at that point that I came to the conclusion, "I just wasn't built for running." This is a picture of me around that time.

3. Why do you run?
In three words - Because I can! Now that I know it is possible for me to run, I love the feeling of running. I feel athletic, it makes me feel normal. I feel like I am BEING the person on the outside that I feel on the inside. I love the rush that comes from sprinting (which I do sparingly - until I'm in better shape) I can't explain the way it feels, running full force, the wind hitting me, as the ground rushes past underneath me.
In a less whimsical answer- I run to lose weight. I still have at least 50 pounds to go and running feels like a good workout and I've read that it's one of the BEST ways to exercise.

4. What is the best or worst piece of running advice that you've been given about running?

I don't know that I've really been given any advice on the matter. I guess to answer the question I would have to refer to my personal trainer who convinced me that I COULD RUN and that it was ok to start out slow and build my way up.

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.
Something surprising about me? Hmmm.. Something I learned- the hard way, running shoes hurt to walk in, it adds a little motivation to run more on my journeys. I guess really, most people wouldn't know that the person I am on the inside is vastly different from what I portray on the outside- although I am working on that. I see myself so differently from how I think others see me. It's one of the challenges of making this transformation while being surrounded by people who only know the old me- and expect me to BE the old me. I have an image in my head of who I want to be and how I want to be. I'm making changes... some progress.. but still have a long way to go.


I know I'm supposed to tag a bunch of people and tell them to come read this or something - but as I posted at the beginning- I don't know anyone besides Michelle. Hopefully through her I can meet some new people.

Grocery Shopping

Well today, Mom and I went grocery shopping. I feel good. I finally got a lot of the foods I had been missing. I stocked up on yogurt, and non-fat well... everything.

Downside of the day - I found yet another vice - Weight Watchers Lemon Cakes.

My weight has been going down pretty steadily now that I'm paying more attention to what I'm eating and I'm being even more active.

Speaking of activites. I went running again yesterday and think it's nearing time for me to answer Michelle's questions about running.

My most recent run:


It's weird, this run makes it look like I ran a lot further than I really did. I did jog for the entire 2nd kilometer, however apparently I was going slow as a jog- compared to when I was walking. It was a little hotter than I'm used to- and my stomach was bothering me- but I do feel like I'm getting back in the swing of things.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Perfect Day

Did you ever have one of those days that just makes you smile? It makes you smile even when no one is around? I had one of those today and from the looks of it, I'll have several more this summer.

Today I started my "job" at the golf course. I'm a starter/ranger. I am now officially an "insider" at the golf course. I spent from 8am until 4pm at THAT golf course. I had a small salad for lunch, I guess and then headed to the other golf course for an actual round of golf. I literally spent my ENTIRE day (8am-9pm) on a golf course- it was great! And with the exception of next Friday, this will be my EVERY FRIDAY for the rest of Summer. :)

It's the first time in a long time that I have felt content, like I was in the right place, doing things I love.

Food-wise I didn't do too badly:
Breakfast was scrambled eggs, dry wheat toast, and hash browns.
Lunch was a salad
Dinner was 2 hot dogs with 1/2 a blizzard for dessert.

I'm happy. =)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I Did it!

OK so I went to the golf course, walked 9 holes, carrying my clubs. Then I had some extra time to spare, so I got a cart and rode (and played) another 9. I was practicing so my scores.. are well.. lets just say I took a few mulligans. My 18 hole score with no mulligans was 88 though, tied for my best ever. Including my well placed 6 mulligans - I shot a 76. I chipped two shots in - both for birdies.
So after playing 18 holes (downing 2 gatorades in the process) I headed into the clubhouse for my salad. Yummy.
When I got home I had a bit of a sweet tooth, but luckily Mom had also stocked up something not Terrible! -

Dairy Queen Vanilla Orange Bars
Here's the info on these-
Calories: 60
Fat: 0g
Carb:18g
Fiber: 6g
Sugar: 4g
Protein: 2g



So now that I've had my Orange Vanilla Bar, I'm going to go cuddle up in bed with my new book and STAY AWAY from food!


In a few sidenotes -
My best friend is expecting her 3rd son.. any day now.
I got an email from Luke that greatly eases my mind about a few (monetary and business) issues :)
Hopefully I'll get to hang out with Andy sometime soon - he's been a bit of a recluse lately. - I need some FUN (aside from golf)!

Crazy Week

So, my plans were well intentioned.
Monday I was exhausted from the concert, but I went to school, moved boxes, arranged my room, and had terrible food intake. My lunch was limited to a 'Banquet' Chicken Pot Pie which had virtually nothing in it - except 21 grams of fat!!! That's what I get for not packing a lunch and teaching in a school that is literally miles from civilization. I was so tired that I didn't go golfing and my morning workouts didn't happen. (We got home after 2 am Sunday night - the concert was great though!!)
Tuesday was better. Sorta.
I took my car to the garage and my cousin to the doctor so that killed the morning workout. I'm not really sure what I did most of the day. I had Wendy's for lunch and munched on some pretzels.
My mom has also had 'Nilla Wafers in the house again, which I still cannot keep my hands off of. =(

Today (Wednesday) has been better by far. In fact I'm working on a near perfect day. I had tea and a breakfast bar for breakfast. Then I had a snack consisting of an apple and a protein shake followed by a large lunch of BBQ chicken tenders and brown rice. I'm heading to the golf course tonight and I'll have a salad for dinner there. (I figured the bigger lunch would hold me over better). I've had nothing bad today and I'm planning on keeping it that way.

I need to get back into a routine. I hate this spontaneous scheduling.

Anyway, I'm late. I'll post when I get home tonight and let you know about my game. I've also updated my weight log... the numbers ARE going DOWN :)

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Goals and Schedule

I need to make some new goals and schedule for myself. I'm a numbers, routine person, so it's time I start doing that!
I found some great workouts for golfers that I want to incorporate with my running and actual golfing.
Here are some basic guidelines for my schedule

Sunday
10:30am- WiiFit warm -up
11:00am- Outdoor Run (5k)
9:00pm- WiiFit Yoga

Monday
9:30am WiiFit warm-up
10:00am GYM Arms and Shoulders, Recumbent bike
5:00pm Golf-walking

Tuesday
9:30am- WiiFit warm-up
10:00am- Outdoor Run (5k)
9:00pm- WiiFit Yoga

Wednesday
9:30am WiiFit warm-up
10:00am GYM Legs and Core, Recumbent bike

Thursday
9:30am- WiiFit warm-up
10:00am- Outdoor Run (5k)
5:00pm Golf-walking
9:00pm- WiiFit Yoga

Friday
9:30am WiiFit warm-up
10:00am GYM Chest and Back, Recumbent bike
5:00pm Golf-walking

Saturday
9:30am- WiiFit Yoga
10:00am- WiiFit Warm up
10:30am- Outdoor Run (5k)

The times are approximate. And of course this could all vary depending on what's going on and how the weather cooperates.

Just for my own planning...
Let's say right now (June 22) I'm at 210.
If I lose the recommended 2 lbs per week...
July 27 - 200 lbs
August 31 - 190 lbs
October 5 - 180 lbs
November 9 - 170 lbs
December 14 - 160 lbs
January 18 - 150 lbs - my current long term goal.

Getting back to business

So today I woke up inspired. Ok maybe it's because I've been watching a bunch of romance movies and I'm ready for that again, but in order for me to be available to prince charming, I have to be the ME I want to be.
I decided to hook up the Wii and check out WiiFit again. The results were less than desirable, but then, that's the point right? I did surprisingly well at the hula hoop - considering I can't do it at all in real life! I find it peculiar that my center of gravity(balance) tends to be "back" too far. I would expect otherwise. Well I'll keep working.
Are there any girls who can do push-ups? I mean I can't even support my weight to start with, let alone push myself anywhere. Maybe that will come with time.
After warming up with the Wii Fit for about 20minutes, I headed out to the real outdoors to go for a run. Wow, my weight may have not changed much in the past 2 months of inactivity, but my endurance and cardio really suffered. I ran where I could but most of my 5k was spent walking at as brisk a pace as I could.


I've done well with food today. For breakfast I had my Multi-grain cheerios with a banana and skim milk, and a mug of tea (skim milk & splenda). After my run, as I'm sitting here recovering, I'm munching on a few pieces of turkey and an apple and drinking a Gatorade.

Tonight I'm going to the Tom Petty concert, so I'm sure the rest of my food choices will not be as good, but I feel good now. :)

Saturday, June 14, 2008

What a great day!

Today I played THE BEST GAME of my life! I shot 1 over par at Bedford Trails. I had a 36. Prior to this my best was a 41 I think. I parred every hole except one of the par 3s. Even my "misses" were golden. My putts were dropping, it was amazing. I'm pretty sure it's because, well 2 reasons:
1- I was using clubs that are much more forgiving and easier to hit than my normal ones.
2- I was RELAXED. I think this is the first time in MONTHS that I truly felt relaxed.

For those of you who don't care about golf, you might want to skip the next few paragraphs :) It's a play-by-play.

MY GAME
Weather was BEAUTIFUL! The sun was shining, it was nearing 80. I played in the evening, teed off around 5:45.
Hole 10 - I did take a mulligan on my first drive. Drive went to left side of fairway, just in the rough. I was about 140 yards out. I used a 6 iron and got to just short of the green, chipped up nicely and putted in.
Hole 11 - Nearly drove the green! Ball was sitting right next to the big Tree roughly 40 yards out. Chipped on, 2 putted. (no complaints- the first putt was long)
*There was a skunk wandering around while I was playing this hole!*
Hole 12 (Par 3) - Teed off with 8 iron, perfect club, ended up exactly pin high, on the right fringe. Chip went a bit far, ended up 2 putting. For the ONLY BOGEY of the day!
Hole 13 - Drive was to the right, but left of cart path. I was left with about a 125 yard approach shot, the 8 iron shot landed about 30 feet from the pin. The par putt did a 270 degree ring around the cup before falling in.
Hole 14 - I hit the drive a bit thin and it ran. It was right, about even with the group of trees, in the fairway though. I used an 8 iron to hit the 120 yard approach. It landed 27 feet from the pin (using my own feet as a rough estimate) My birdie putt LIPPED OUT!! I made par.
Hole 15 (Par 5) - My drive went far, right, but still in the fairway. I tried to hit a 3 wood from about 220 out. I won't anymore. I chunked it and ended up about 120 yards out. But the trusty 8 iron landed me close and I made the par putt.
Hole 16 - My drive went right again, but stayed in the fairway. My approach shot was only about 110 yards. I used the 9 iron and pulled it a little left. I was on the fringe to the left of the green, I chipped up, and made the 2 foot par putt.
Hole 17- The drive was long, but over near the trees, luckily I still had a shot to the green (only about 100 yards). I used the pitching wedge but ended up a bit short, my next chip was better and I sunk my par putt.
Hole 18 (Par 3)- The last hole I used the 8 iron again and landed on the back right of the green. I was close on my birdie putt, but got the par.

A note on my apparel - I wore my black athletic shorts, my new golf shoes (see yesterday's post), and my BRAND NEW "BLEWITT BACKER" T-SHIRT.

I should also note that when I went to the gym this morning/afternoon I got to see some of my friends that I haven't seen in ages.. namely Mark and Mike.

Getting Back Into Things

So today I was inspired. The weather was cooler and it seemed the perfect day for me to get back to running. I've been hesitating on answering Michelle's questions about running until I have gotten back to doing it regularly- so I can remember why I love it so much.
So I got my shoes on, dug my headphones out, headed to the driveway where my iPod greeted me with an error message "Cannot Find Receiver". This was my signal that it had been WAY TOO Long since I had last run, because I had no idea what it was talking about! I searched for 15 minutes to find it. (I did, thank goodness). So as I was about to venture outside once again I noticed, much to my dismay that it was pouring down rain! Phooey. I thought it let up at one point but then as I was about to go again, it started going heavier again.
So, determined not to lose my motivation, I quickly packed up my gym bag and headed to the gym.
My intended goal was to walk/jog/run for 5k. As I got on the treadmill I kinda realized I was a bit rusty. I stayed on the treadmill for 20 minutes, then rode the recumbent bike for 10 minutes. My feet were numbing in weird places. I guess that's an ok re-start workout. I'll be able to go further again soon, I'm confident.

New Shoes


Today I looked at new golf clubs, but bought new golf SHOES. I'm a barefoot person. If I could go all summer and never wear socks I'd be happy. Now I have yet one more reason not to wear socks.

I shot a 48 today, I had 8 fives in a row, then an 8. I was trying out my cousin's clubs to see if I liked them - I Do.
They are Cleveland HiBore's

Food today was good except when it was bad.
Breakfast: Multigrain Cheerios, Banana, Milk, Tea
Lunch: BBQ Grilled Chicken Sandwich and 1/2 order of fries, extra piece of bread/butter
Dessert: Cream Soda Dum Dum
Snack: 2 cookies similar to Eat n' Park's Smiley cookies
Dinner: 2 Hot dogs on regular buns
Dessert: Large Cotton Candy Blizzard

Thursday, June 12, 2008

A Slow Start

Today was, well, decent as far as food goes. I had to go to the dentist and get a nail removed from my tire before heading to the golf course. I was conscious of what I ate today. It was great, but none of it was absent minded.

Breakfast: Multigrain Cheerios, Banana, Milk (in cereal), Hot Tea sweetened with Splenda
Lunch: Sloppy Joe on White bun, serving of Lays Cracker Crisps, E.L. Fudge 100 Calorie pack.
Snack: Chips Ahoy 100 Calorie pack.
Snack on the course: Milky Way Bar
Dinner: Salad, Balsamic vinaigrette dressing, Grilled chicken on a wheat wrap
Dessert: Large Cotton Candy Blizzard from DQ.

OK as I type this I realize that I did a lot WORSE than I thought. It seems every time I rationalized a "snack" I had forgotten the ones I had previously.

Tomorrow will be better. :-)

I'm thinking I may make it to the gym or even running this weekend!

Tomorrow I'm going to investigate new golf clubs.

A new...continuation

I'm continuing my journey to become the ME I've always wanted to be. A major portion of this journey involves weight loss, but there is more to it than that. I have some personal goals and issues I need to work out as well. Please join me on my journey.
As it is 2:30 in the morning, I will add more details tomorrow :)

Golf Results

 

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