Finished my first 5K !!!!

Well it was a great day today. I woke up nice and early excited with the anticipation of running my very first 5K race! I was nervous very nervous because I did not know what to expect. Then I began doubting myself a bit like thinking what am I doing? I could not wrap my head around the fact that my fat self was going to be running, really running in a race. It was hard to accept and I think it is because really for so many years I doubted myself and thought I could never get into shape and never accomplish anything related to fitness. It was my self doubt and hatred that put me in the fat messy place I was in these past few years. But I knew I had to swallow all those fears and quite all those little voices telling me I could not do it.

 My daughter and I in out matching fit bee shirts before the race!

So I set out to accomplish the first of what I hope to many more challenges to come. The weather was perfect cool out but not too cold and no rain, the sky was overcast so the sun was not blazing either. It was a perfect day for a run :) My beautiful daughter and her father came to cheer me on, and my very best friend and her family came it was so sweet and so awesome! It was a nice feeling to have people there supporting me, cheering for me to finish this race. Then I thought of everyone else online and following me on the blog and everything and knew I could not let everyone down! I am so thankful for everyone's support and continuous encouragement!

The first few minutes of the race were a little chaotic people trying to run fast and others falling behind but once we set our paces it went pretty smooth. I kept a steady pace and just kept telling myself keep going keep going. I did not feel pain in my legs, I did not think oh no I need a break. I just kept plugging along the path. It was kinda cool running with 300+ people and all of us working hard to obtain the same goal. It was a rush once I could see that finish line, I sprinted forward to cheers and clapping as I pushed myself harder than ever to cross that line.

And cross it I did! I ran the race in 28 minutes and 10 seconds. I came in 153rd place and placed 8th in my group of females 20-29. I felt kinda good about that being that I am on the older end at 27 hehe! I had been running about 29-30 minutes while training for it these past few weeks so I was very excited to beat my time. I stretched before and after  the race and I ended the race with my ISO 100 protein shake!

Drinking my ISO 100 shake!

My daughter and I post race. I was a little red don't you think? :)

It was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone! You feel such a feeling of accomplishment crossing that finish line. It was exhilarating! For all of you who are sitting there thinking wow I could never do that, it takes me 28 minutes to walk a mile, STOP right there. Stop doubting your self, start telling yourself I can do it and I will do it. You will do it! And do not think you need to sign up for a 5K and run it, there were lots of people jogging and walking. Lots of beginners out there. It was a great experience meeting new people and seeing people from all walks of life, young to old running! It truly was inspiring and I am already planning when the next one will be! I hope to get in 2 more 5Ks before old man winter sets in up here in New England!

Weigh in Day! Every Little Bit counts!

 

I must admit I was a little dissapointed with my weigh in this week. I know I should not be. I know in the logical part of my brain that I did eat some of my activity points and I normally do not so I should not have expected a huge loss. I still was mad I think more mad at myself when I did not lose my normal 1-2lbs. 

Then I stayed for my Weight Watchers meeting. Surprisingly enough this week was all about looking at weight loss over time and learning to be happy even for the small losses. The leader passed around a couple of items that weighed .2lbs, .4 etc. So then I thought about the big picture and realized I should be happy for the loss. I did not gain which is always a good thing. I still lost some weight. Some of that excess weight I have been lugging around for far too long! :)

Today was our first weigh in for my first challenge Shrinkvivor on the very awesome Sisterhood of the shrinking jeans website! Shrinking Jeans I am looking forward to competing in the challenge on Team Black! :)

Navigating Through Challenges

This week marks the start of my classes and for me this means the start of a crazy busy life! I work full time about 50-60 hours a week and take care of my 1 year old daughter. Finding time to study and exercise are always a challenge for me when I am in school. I am working towards my nursing degree and once I graduate it will all be worth it but getting there is so stressful!

Anyways so my main point is it will be harder for me than usual to stay on track these next 3 months. It is the busiest time of year at work and I will be putting in a lot of extra hours. The best weapon I have is my motivation. I am determined to not let this stress and busyness make me slip up on my healthy plans! 

I have my 5K coming up on Saturday and I am super excited about it. I ran for 4 miles on Sunday night in 42 minutes! It took me 29 minutes to run 3 miles and this is what the distance is for the 5k roughly 3.1 miles. I feel much more confident now. I know I will do fine and I know I will be able to finish.

To help keep me motivated through the stress and shorter time I plan to keep running 3 times a week. I will do cardio 3 other days a week and take 1 rest day. I am loving the Shred It With Weights with the kettle bell so I will keep doing that 3 days a week and No More Trouble Zones 2 days a week. I also will be cooking tons on Sundays my day off from work and having healthy options around me at all times. Everyday I pack a big bag for work with my snacks and lunch so I stay on track. I made a nice big batch of veggie soup tonight to get me through the rest of this week.

I have come up with a phrase I will remind myself every time now when I am eating "make every point count". With Weight Watchers we use a point system to calculate the amount of calories we eat and how much we exercise. So for me I want to make every point count when I am eating. I do not want to "waste" points on food that I know has little to no nutritional value and is simply not going to satisfy me. So I will make every point count every day and I know I will be more successful!