10 Miles: Frustration Rears Its Ugly Head

Another mentally tough week for me, although it was nice to see the scale go down three pounds. I earned my five pound loss badge from FitBit.

Monday's two mile run was a full on disaster. I walked it all and was insanely slow. I stopped my Garmin at thirty-five minutes. I iced a lot more this week and was looking forward to my long run.

I woke up on Saturday and things were already going to crap. My water bottle tasted how my dogs smell, I forgot to defrost my Uncrustable and had to microwave it (helpful tip...don't do it) and I forgot to Body Glide a few lower body parts.

I got to Umstead and was in pretty foul mood. My husband and I had a argument about running injuries the other night and it was stuck in my head. I was distracted by that and the fact a woman about seventy passed me.......walking. WALKING. I slowed down to a walk because when I run angry, I push too hard and then I actually do get injured. I didn't want to risk it, so I slowed down. I got a second wind at six miles and put on my music. Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters and Stevie Wonder got me thru the last few miles. At eight miles, I realized that I miscalculated and had to run out another half mile and back. I wasn't pleased at all. When I finally finished, I looked at my Garmin and it read 2:28:16. My goal was 2:15, I drove home frustrated and pissed off.

This weekend I thought about my running and how frustrated I got. Everyone has bad runs, but I have felt lately, that I've had more bad runs than good. My goal of a 2:30 half marathon is fading further away every week. I'm really going to focus on relaxing and enjoying running and be out in the cooler weather. I still have the dream of at 2:30 half marathon, but I think anything under 2:53 will make me happy as well. I just want to do better than my best time. I'm definitely going to have to work on relaxing and enjoying the run....a lot. I'm going to try really hard, but c'mon. Let's be real-haha!

I checked out a video of the Manchester City Marathon half marathon course and it's hilly. Hills are tough, but luckily they are rolling hills. I can handle those. I'm a bit concerned about the River Road section, but I'm happy that the last part is downhill.  I'm excited because the course runs behind my parent's house, which is pretty cool.

Last week's interview with Kasie was my highest viewed blog ever! I want to thank Kasie again for the great interview. In honor of the Carolina Hurricanes Opening Night, I have a interview with Pete Friesen, the Hurricanes Head Athletic Trainer/ Strength and Conditioning Coach coming up on Wednesday. 

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Weight In #1

I weighed in this morning and I'm down 2.1lbs. I'm not getting too excited, but it's encouraging. I'm not getting too excited bc I've been down this road before, losing and gaining, losing and gaining. Same old story. I'm not getting down on myself, I'm just being realistic. I have a long road ahead.

I racked up 6 activity points this evening with 30 minutes of biking and 30 minutes of strength training. I was SUPER hungry and Matt made such a great dinner! It was a serving of Trader Joe's BBQ Chicken, 1 cup of Bird's Eye Rice and some green beans, all for 8 points!

I'm excited bc FitBit announced on Facebook that we will soon be able to sync our FitBits directly to our phones soon and I'm so excited! I always forget to do it bc I have to hang out by our desktop and wait for it to sync up. I can't wait for this! 

In other news, it looks like I'll be heading to New Orleans in March with some of my friends for a long weekend. I'm really excited bc I have never been and I really want to try alligator and craw fish. I'm hoping to be down at least 15lbs by then and will be able to fit in some fun clothes. 

I'm gonna kick back with a Mini Ice Cream Cake and an US Weekly, have a good night! Did you workout today? 

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Review of 2012

So, another year is upon us and I figured I'd do a year in review.

January:
  It started out with the Winter Classic...ah, miss it. I was watching the Pats and was dealing with the loss of our beta fish. I was also training for my fifth half, The DC Rock and Roll Half in March.

February: 

On February 9th, my best friend and her husband (Denise and Roy) had their baby boy, Bronson Avery. I immediately planned a trip at the end of the month and met Little B. I also finally gave blood again. Yes, I was still training for the half but struggling with aches and joint pains at night that we never figured out but went away in May after lots of testing and bloodwork.  

March:

Matt, Jess, Ryan and I headed to DC for my half and it was great. My race went well and the trip was so fun. We saw tons of sites and ate at an amazing restaurant, Filomena's with my Uncle Ray and his friends. Amazing food! I also celebrated my 33rd birthday with my friends and saw the Hunger Games, which I loved. 

April:

This month I found out that my cholesterol was 250 and was shocked. I tried kickboxing classes to try to get my motivation back. It was tough! I tried to make changes, but I still struggle to this day. My weight and health will always be an issue, I think. I was excited for Deadliest Catch and began watching the NHL Playoffs. Very exciting! We also did our annual Angels Among Us 5K and our team, Take That Tumors, raised almost $1,000. Our team walks/ runs because my uncle and family friends have passed away from cancer. It is a great cause and I'm happy to do it every year. 

May:

We voted AGAINST Amendment One but unfortunately our state didn't agree with us and I was devastated. I firmly believe in equal rights for all. Our family also lost an amazing family friend, Danny Duval. He helped him out so much and was an inspiration to all. 

June:

I started my sign language classes in June and I'm still continuing my education. I've learned a lot! We headed to Sunset Beach for our annual trip with Matt's family. We had a great time and even went on a boat and saw dolphins. 

July:

I was focused more on my health bc I found out that my cholesterol was up again. BCBS actually sent me a pedometer, which was really cool. It also helped that the Olympics were on bc every athlete is so inspiring. 

August:

August started out with Denise, Roy and Little B visiting us. It was such a fun trip and it's so amazing to see him grow! We took him to the park and also went to The Pit for an amazing meal. Mid August, I was admitted to the hospital bc I lost peripheral vision and my arm went numb. I was put in the neuro unit and monitored. I did a bunch of tests and found out that I had a pituitary mass that will need to be re checked in Feb 2013. 

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Healthier Me Campaign Started Today...AGAIN

So, I came home from NH with a few added pounds....almost ten! I decided not to wait til 2013 to get started on getting back on the wagon and truly losing the weight I really need and want to. I have been the same weight for almost three years and it's time to get off my ass and lose it.

I already have a FitBit and I got the Aria scale that I asked for, so I'm set on that. It showed me a  startling weight and body fat percentage that made the decision that I needed to change...stat! I also ordered an indoor bike. If I'm truly honest, I HATE running in the winter but I love bring warm and watching TV. So, I figured, hey! Indoor bike to ride while I'm watching TV! Perfect.

My diet will go back to when I dropped my cholesterol almost 60 points: more water and green tea, more fiber, less fat and sugar etc. Matt and I hit Trader Joe's and got some new and healthy dinners. I got on Sparkpeople and Pinterest and got new recipes to try, including a spinach quiche and some Zoku treats.

Today, I got in my water and green tea, ate well and went for a walk with my husband and the dogs. I think I might try the DVD I got months ago tomorrow called Ballet Body.

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Cholesterol Update

I got my extensive cardiac testing back and the results weren't great, but they are better than at the end of October. My cholesterol went from 258 to 202 and my LDL was in the 160's and now in the 130's. I still have a ways to go, but I'm on the right track. My MD told me to get some red yeast rice and take that daily along with my fish oil.

My diet and exercise definitely still need improving, but I'm doing better every week. I'm hoping my Fit Bit will help with getting me moving more. I will re test again in January and I'm hoping for perfect numbers by then!

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Fit Bit

I got a Fit Bit the other day and I'm really loving it. It really shows how sedentary I can be at work when we don't see patients. It is very eye opening, which is a great thing. I love earning badges, I'm hoping to score my first two tonight.

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