Hard to Breathe

Hi all -

I have a few quick updates and some questions for you readers.  I'm now realizing how beer can tank any progress that has been made.  They really need to make a zero calorie beer.  They have zero calorie pop (or soda for all you Southerners), so why not beer?  Someone needs to get on that STAT!

Did another 5K on Sunday - Alexandria Running Festival.  I took almost 2 minutes off my time from the week before.  48:26, which is a 15:38/mile pace.  I gotta do better.  I'm thinking about signing up for another 5K this Saturday.  Want to get to 46:00.  New shoes seem to be working well though.  

Spin shoes are ok too.  But that brings me to my first question - is it normal for the arches of your feet to hurt when spinning/biking?  I unclipped my shoes from the pedals and moved my feet so the pedals were more under the arches of my feet instead of the ball of my feet.  Seemed to feel better, so I switched between clipping and unclipping.  Am I doing something wrong?  The clips are as far back (towards my heel) as they can go on the shoes.  

I also need some new songs to run to.  Any suggestions of good, upbeat songs?  I like pretty much anything!

My last and main question is how do you breathe when you run/workout?  I know it might sound silly asking this, but I find that is my biggest hurdle.  Yes, I have weight I need to lose, but I find that I get out of breath very fast.  I feel my body could go longer, but I have to stop so I can breathe.  I also yawn a lot when exercising (even at spin class).  Any tips on how I can keep from getting out of breath so quickly?

Feel free to leave comments, or you can email me directly at missadventuresindieting@gmail.com.

Weekly Weigh In

I'm down 2 pounds from Monday.  So that has given me momentum to continue it over the weekend.  I have less than a pound to lose over the weekend to win my diet bet that ends on Monday.  Total weight loss in the first month - 8 pounds.  I plan to keep it up next month!

I Get Knocked Down...

But I get back up again!

Last night I was really frustrated with the whole weight loss/ exercise journey.  Luckily I have two good friends who talked some sense into me.  I was all excited last night to try out my new spin shoes.  I got about 15 minutes into the class and was seriously considering cutting my feet off at the ankles.  The spin shoes were killing my feet.  And dumb me, I wore my flip flops to class instead of bringing another pair of sneakers.  So I ended up leaving in the middle of class.  I went straight to the cycle store where I got the shoes on Saturday.  Turns out the person who helped me on Saturday gave me the wrong kind of shoes.  Of course, like the rest of me, my feet are freakish...  small length wise and wide.  So frustrating!!  But, I got a new pair.  Will be trying them out tomorrow morning.

My friends, Kin and Maggie, talked me back up from being upset last night.  I sometimes feel like whenever I try to take a step in the right direction with something I get knocked back down.  They helped me realize that I've faced harder things before and kicked ass...  so why not this?  Hell yeah... I got this!

50:17 - that is now my time to beat.  I did my first "real" 5K on Friday (Singles Mingle 5K at the National Harbor) with three of my girlfriends.  One of them actually placed first for the women (so S!) - I placed 66th out of all the women.  But I have a goal to beat.  And I signed up for another 5K for this coming Sunday.  On a side note, men really are crazy - it was a "singles mingle" race and I think there were 15 men and 85 women...  Not the kind of odds I like.

Horrible picture, but this is me before the run...

I started another week of C25K.  I thought about repeating week 1 since I didn't run at all last week.  I figured, go big or go home and went with week 2.  I was rather impressed with myself.  I only crapped out with the first run interval and started walking about 15 seconds early.  The rest of the time, I ran when the voice in my ear said run.  May not have been fast, but I ran dammit!

As for the food...  this was not my best week.  Considering I may have eaten cupcakes for at least one meal over the weekend.  :)  Hey, they were good!  I weighed myself yesterday and I am pretty much the same as the week before (maybe 1/2 pound heavier).  Maggie made a great suggestion - weigh myself on Fridays.  That way I can see the progress I've made during the week and it will hopefully motivate me to keep it up over the weekend.  This weekend will be the test since it's a long one.  :)

This week I'm trying to alternate C25K and spin classes with the 5K on Sunday.  Gotta focus more on food...  Will update with weight on Friday!

New spin shoes on the left... New running/walking shoes on the right.

Results, Part 1 - Pain in the back

Annoyingly this is going to be part 1 of 3.  I had my follow up appointment with the spine/pain doctor this morning.  He reviewed my back MRI and the x-rays of my knee.

Diagnosis:  bulging disc in the L5 vertebrae in my back and an order for an MRI of my knee.

So knowing that it's my L5 means that could be part of the problem with the sides of my calves hurting when I run/walk.  Apparently it's connected somehow.  I'm still going to get the foot/run/etc testing done (probably on Sunday).  Right now, since my back isn't really bothering me, I'm not going to do anything other than take pain meds as needed.  If it flairs up like before, then we may have to do injections (oh how I love needles)... 

And yes, I suck.  Skipped out on spin class this morning.  BUT I plan to go tonight instead.

Drumroll, Please....

Down another 1.2 lbs.  Another 2.2 lbs in the next 13 days and I win my Diet Bet!

Obstacles

The past week I have gotten through some obstacles both physical and mental.

Let's start with the fun one!  Foam Fest 2013!!!!  My friend, Erin and I signed up for the 5K which took place this past Saturday down in Richmond, VA.  Holy crap was that fun! 

This is me after.  I know I should be dirtier...  but we had to go through a slip 'n' slide at the end, and I think it removed most of the mud.  Just know I was drenched...  I'll post action shots if I have any of me from the official race photos.

And this is what happens when you scale an 8 foot wall and once you get over, you just let go.  Yep, that's my arm.  I promise the wall is fine.

I am pretty proud at my food consumption.  I had two days where I ate like crap (Tuesday my team at work went to Coastal Flats and I am never going to turn down some beef tips).  The rest of the week I ate well.

I went to spin class Weds morning and did 3 days of Couch to 5K.  I am slowly realizing that I'm not a runner.  I'm pretty sure that people laugh at me as I run by, but at least I'm out there trying.  I have two main problems while running - 1. I can't breathe.  Part of this apparently come from my weird nose (ask me to do my nose trick the next time you see me), which will hopefully get fixed sometime this year.  2. I have the wrong shoes.  I know I wore the wrong shoes to Foam Fest and I'm paying for it now with a blister the size of Texas on my foot.  But my main pair of shoes that I currently exercise in are not good either.  I know this by the aching I get in the sides of my calves when I run or even walk.  My goal for this coming weekend is to go get my feet/run/stride/whatever tested at one of those fancy running stores.

This coming week brings some additional challenges in the form of my busy life.  I will need to make exercising a priority where I can fit it in.  I'll probably redo week 1 of C25K because I know I can kick more ass than what I did last week.  I'm also going to do another 5K this coming Friday, but I'm going to be walking this one.

I forgot to weigh in this morning - ate breakfast THEN remembered.  Look for a post tomorrow on current loss status.

Dear Thighs...

Please shrink some.  You rub together when I exercise and it's not fun.

Thanks,
Me

Challenges and Discoveries

One week in...

And as the title of this weeks blog says, there I've had some challenges and discoveries this week.

Challenge - my aging body.  As my 35th birthday is creeping up, I realize that my body is not the same body it use to be.  I'm sure that has a lot to do with my weight.  Trying to work out and what not is harder because I'm carrying more weight than ever.

But of course as it happens, my body decides to fail me the week I decide to start working out.  My back had been hurting for the last few weeks off and on.  It was feeling a little better on Monday, so I decided to try a Body Combat class that I'd wanted to try.  Man, the class was awesome, but about 15 minutes in I was in agony.  My left leg was going numb and my back was killing me.  So, I left the class (I'll go back again though - it was awesome!).  A trip to the spine doctor on Weds and a potential diagnosis of a bulging disc in my back and an MRI on Thursday.  Will find out in a week what's really going on.  Things are feeling a little better today.

Discoveries - My new favorite "toy" is the FitBit (www.fitbit.com).  It's basically a pedometer on crack.  It kind of makes me want to work out.  And for those who know me, that's a shocker.  The FitBit not only keeps track of your steps, it tracks calories burned, floors climbed, gives you statistics about how active you were during the day and shows you how efficient your sleep is.  Oh!  And you can "compete" against friends.  As I look at my "friends" on there right now, I feel like I should start walking around the room b/c there is only 500 steps between me and the person in first place...

Another discovery is that I SUCK at tracking my food on WeightWatchers.com - even with having the app on my phone.  Luckily I have a good idea on how many points things are, so I just keep track mentally.

The most shocking discovery to me is that I'm learning how to run.  Thanks to the Couch to 5K app.  The picture below has always been my philosophy to running...  But I have now completed the first two days of the program.  Granted I'm only running for 30 seconds at a time, but that's good for me.

I done pretty well on eating.  I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on some healthy foods - chicken, salad stuff, and healthy snacks.  I'm still allowing myself some junk foods - a Diet Dr. Pepper a day, a beer here or there and, of course, chocolate.  And... DRUM ROLL, please... after one week, I've lost 2 pounds!