On Saturday June 5th, I met with my training group from CK Sports to run a "magic mile" to determine pace groups for the training class. I am going to document my training for the 2010 Dallas White Rock Marthon. The marathon is on December 5th, 2010 so I have six months to get my big booty prepared to run for 26.2 miles!
Let me explain how I came to this decision.
November 2008-One of my students begins the Medifast program and I watch her lose almost 20 pounds in a month and she tells me how the diet works.
December 2008-I am flipping channels and stumble upon the season finale of" The Biggest Loser". I have never watched the show, thinking that it was a farce or something used to make fat people feel even worse about themselves, and I had no idea that money was involved in the process! I watched as Michelle, from Dallas, went from my current weight to a teeny tiny 128! At that moment I was fascinated and swore to watch the next season.
January 2009-Began watching "The Biggest Loser" and seriously reassessed my health and my weight.
Febraury 2009-Still watching TBL and realized that if the 400+ pound man can get on the treadmill, then I really don't have any excuses. At this point I start walking on my treadmill just a little bit two-three times a day. However, I am still not 100% committed to cutting calories.
March 2009-My friend starts Medifast and sure enough, she starts losing weight. I am still watching BL, eating a little better and still trying to exercise some. I break down and go sign up for the Medifast program. I committed to lose 50 pounds in 20 weeks by following their recommendations and meal plans. I lose five pounds during each of the first three weeks! After the first three weeks, I am cleared to start exercising more.
April 2009-Surprisingly I am wanting to exercise more and going to the gym for classes isn't appealing to me and I am enjoying my time on the treadmill or walking outside. One of my very closest friends is the epitome of fitness, she runs all time, has qualified for Boston every time (but once) when runs marathons and has been very supportive of my new pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. She and another teacher at my school start a running/walking group that meets three times a week. I go to each meeting and at first I just wanted to walk a mile in under 20 minutes-I am NOT exaggerating I was that slow. We have a goal race of a Memorial Day 5K. I want to walk/jog the race in under an hour.
May 2009-The diet was going well-down almost 30 pounds, it was the first time in 5 or 6 years that a 1 was looming in front of my weight. I continued the walking/running group and begin jogging a little bit more each time. My friends both encourage me not to do too much too soon, the seasoned runner friend told me that it was totally okay to jog one minute and take five or six minutes to recover.
The day of the race arrived and I am scared, really truly scared that I am not going to be able to do a 3.1 mile race or that I will finish last. We go to the race and it starts. I tell myself to go slow, so I don't overdo it and I promise myself that I will jog the hills and inclines, which I did. I finished the race in 45:11, which was the best time so far for me! I was very excited and a little proud of myself.
June 2009-The running group sort of disbands and I begin to freak out. However, at this point my husband and I are both very committed to seeing this healthy lifestyle continue. We run at night or I get up and walk/run during the day. I also start going to the gym in the mornings since I have nothing else to do. I decide to have LASIK surgery towards the end of the month and it sidelines me from working out too hard for 10 days-so I all I can do is walk on the treadmill and try not to sweat too much. I am still doing the Medifast thing and steadily losing weight. We decide to do another 5K on Father's Day and surprisingly I finish in 39:21, not too bad I shaved almost 6 minutes off my time, meaning mile pace is picking up. I still can't run a whole mile without stopping, but I am up to at least 1/2.
July 2009-Still dieting, still exercising, not happy with my eye surgery at all. It restricted me from running and wakeboarding. Did another 5K 40:12, but I had to hold back because of my eyes (I couldn't get sweat in them for 10 days). Total weight lost 50 pounds! I hit my goal weight in 18 weeks instead of 20, so I decide to try to lose 25 more in 12 weeks.
August 2009-Someone forgot to tell me that it is nearly impossible to run outside in Texas during the summer, so I had to try to find something else to do and that resulted in not a whole lot. Just kind of loafed around with yoga class and weight training. Ran another 5K the first of August on a Friday in 96 degree heat, my time sucked 41:31, but I was actually happy that I even did and ran as much as I did. I really didn't run much the last half of July or most of August.
I am now down almost 60 pounds and everyone at my work is convinced that I had some kind of gastric surgery because no one can lose that much weigh without cheating! I went from a size 20 to size 12 from March to August. The beginning of the school year is always a trial for me. It was especially difficult to try to manage exercise, diet, and my job. I managed to stay on track.
September 2009-still running, still dieting, down 65 pounds and ran another 5K and did it in 35:48!!! I finally feel like I am making serious progress with my running and I am ready to start tackling longer lengths.
October 2009-I really wanted to start training for a half marathon, but the running group is defunct and I have no idea how to start, so I just find a 10K program and start working on my own. I didn't run a race this month :( , I signed up for one, but overslept. This is the month when I am finally able to run more than one mile without stopping to walk.
November 2009-Husband and one of our running buddies decide that they want to run a half marathon (well gee whiz...that's what I have been asking to do!). We start training for the 3M Half in Austin on January 24th. Ran a 5K Thanksgiving weekend and I did a 32:29!!! I am so excited. I only walked when I got a glass of water! On on long run my husband and I jogged seven miles, I kept up with him and didn't stop to walk, just stopped for traffic a couple of times.
December 2009-I haven't been on the treadmill since June, I have done all of my running outside, but guess what? For some strange reason these stupid Arctic fronts start invading the DFW area and I am forced to go run on the treadmill. I HATED IT!!!! I am trying to run 5 miles three times a week and then do various long runs. I told my husband and running buddy I don't care how cold it is, I cannot do a long run on the treadmill. So, off we go to get some cold weather running gear. Under Armour Cold Gear tights=best $50 I have EVER spent and a Brooks running jacket I found at TJ Maxx on clearance for $15 saved me! For Christmas my husband bought me a super nice Nike jacket I wanted. I hit the gym for cross training (spin class) and the date of the race draws near. No 5K this month either.
January 2010-A new year, and a totally new me. I have lost 78 pounds at this point, eat extremely healthfully, and work out 5-6 days a week. I feel accomplished, but as our training draws to close we decide to do a 13.1 miler just so we will know how it feels. Once again, I am scared, scared that I can't do it, scared that I will get lost on the course, scared I will collapse and no one will find my dead body. I start out by myself and somewhere around mile 7 I lose my map and just have to guess where to go. At that point I am pissed at my husband, pissed at his running buddy, pissed at myself for eating Clif Blocks without enough water to wash them down and I want just want to quit and go back to the car and sulk. However, I don't. I keep going and eventually remember the route, but I shortened it by a mile. It is only about 30 degrees and I am freezing and I still have Clif blocks stuck in my throat. I feel that I can finish the course.
January 17 2010-I decided that a 15K would be a good long run and wind down before the race on the 24th. My husband and I go and run the Too Cold to Hold race. He did a 1:15 and I did a 1:37! I never walked and I never slowed down. My second half of the race was three minutes faster than the first. I got second in my weight class-yes I am still entering the Athena category.
January 24th 2010-It's a cold windy morning and I am wondering what the hell I have signed myself up for by running this race? The race is delayed an hour because the wind has knocked down all the signs. This does not help my nerves. The race starts and of course, my husband and his running partner take off and leave me (nothing new here, just kind of aggravating). I run and run and run. At mile 7 I desperately need to pee, so I get in line and lose four minutes of time, but it was so much easier to run with an empty bladder. At mile 9 I am feeling like this sucks, and sucks big time I want to stop to walk, but I know that if I do I won't ever start running again. So I keep going. At mile 10 I get to feeling weird, like this is almost fun, and I realize for the first time I am experiencing a "runner's high" and I know that I will be able to finish this race! My goal was to finish in 2:45, I crossed the finish line at 2:31 and then I found out that my chip time was 2:24!!! I was so proud of myself. I trained by myself and ran by myself!
February 21 2010-For some strange and insane reason I promised a friend that I would run the Stonebridge half marathon with her....I had not ran much since the 3M , so I wasn't expecting to do well at all. The morning of the race it was raining and I was not happy, but I had paid $60 and promised I would be there. I put on my cap and the closest thing to a rain jacket I had and went out the door. I cheered up when I realized it wasn't raining in west McKinney and took off my jacket. However, at mile 4 it started raining and raining hard-the jacket went back on and I continued to run. Around mile 8 I was beginning to think it would never stop raining and then it started lighting and hailing!! Wonderful.....I kept going, but I stopped to walk a few times and was splashing in the puddles at one point laughing, so I wouldn't cry. I came to mile 12 and the rain stopped, seriously, one more mile...I couldn't believe it. I crossed the finish line in 2:26:48! I was shocked and not too unhappy, considering the conditions.
February-May 2010: Since the Stonebridge race I have not really dieted, tried to do bootcamps four nights a week, cut it down to two nights a week, sporadic running, but never less than three miles and at least twice a week. I did a 5K in March on a flat course and did a 28:59, one in April that was hilly and it was a 30:25, another April one in 30:12, one in early May that was a 29:25 and the anniversary Stonebridge Memorial day I did a 30:33. Almost fifteen minutes faster than a year ago. I gained back three pounds, but I am okay with that. I am 75 pounds lighter, can run farther and faster than I have ever dreamed and I am going to run a marathon in December!
That is such an inspiring story!!!!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work!