I'm gonna make a supersonic manoutta YOU!

There is nothing that causes greater inner confusion than being 2 minutes and 30 seconds into a 3 minute jogging interval, feeling as though my lungs are going to near explode from my chest, and hearing Queen on my ipod "Don't stop me now! I'm having such a good time... Oh I'm having a ball!" It makes me laugh a little every time, and I love it! Queen is my friend when I run.

Anyway, I just received a little email that went something like this:

Registration Confirmation for: Hess Cancer Foundation Legacy Bike Tour and Half Marathon

Dear Mallory,Congratulations! You are now registered for Hess Cancer Foundation Legacy Bike Tour and Half Marathon on August 29, 2009. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.hesscancer.org View your complete registration details »Thank you for helping us with this great cause! Pick up your race packet on Friday, August 28 from noon - 8:00 pm at the South Davis Recreation Center.

It's true. I took this advice and suddenly found myself registering for a race. OK maybe it's not exactly a real true race, but it's a 2 mile fun run which is as close to a race as I've EVER been so I'm still very excited :O) We even get T-shirts and have to wear numbered bibs! I'm doing it with my handsome husband, and his sister and her husband.


Slight concern- The race is in 8 days. And at this point in time I can only jog for 3 minutes and 18 seconds without needing a break... so roughly .35 of a mile. Hmph. I guess it goes without saying that I'm going to be sporting my running shoes from now until then in hopes of building up some stamina! I think either tomorrow or Saturday I will start week 4 of couch to 5k and hopefully get to where I can jog 5 minutes without stopping. Whew! I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it, but very excited too! I'm thinking I need to make a little goal for myself to work towards. Something attainable, but that I'll have to work for. Like to finish within 25 minutes or so?! Wish me luck!

Week 2... DONE

Heaven help me!

We start week 3 of couch to 5K on Wednesday and... I'm so nervous! Up until now, 90 seconds of jogging is all I had to do at a single time, but in week 3 it becomes 3 whole minutes of jogging intervals. That's one full lap, at the pace I've been going.

I'm so nervous but I know I can do it! It's going to be haaaaard but I'll do it and I'll do it without stopping!!

And I am officially going to do a 5k this fall with my sister in law. I'm excited to have a real goal to work towards! And knowing that she's going to be doing it with me is the extra push I need, so I know I absolutely can't give up, because she's counting on me! (Not to mention she's tiny, so I'll have to really work it to keep up with her!) Next phase is signing up for an actual race. Just thinking about that makes me nervous but I'm doing it!

This week is going awesome so far. As far as exercise AND eating well. We did the c25k last night and tonight I'm planning on a 60 minute bike ride. Anyway, as a girl who has spent most of her life feeling insecure and inferior and bad about herself, when I have proud moments I try to really appreciate them all I can. And today at lunch I had one of those moments. And it's as simple as this- I went to the cafe and ordered my turkey sandwich as usual, and rather than ordering the little bag of chips along with it, I got mixed fruit. Because I 100% didn't even want the chips. I just thought about how the grease and oil and fat of the chips would dissolve into all the cells in my body... and about how if I got fruit all the nutrients and vitamins would dissolve into the cells in my body... and when you think of it that way, it's a really simple choice after all! Anyway that was just a proud little moment for me and I wanted to share :O)

Cherish even the small signs of progress.

Week 2 Day 1

Last night the husband and I headed to the track for w2d1 of couch to 5k. I'll be honest... it was more difficult than I was expecting! Hence the clipart :O) I did feel like my heart was going to burst out of my chest at the end of every single 90 second interval, but I didn't have to stop jogging during any of the 90 seconds! Of course I wanted to, but I kept thinking 'I've just got to push through this one, because if I can finish this whole session without stopping, then I'll be able to do the next 2 days of week 2 without stopping too, because I'll know I CAN do it!' So with that thought, I kept pushing and it was a success. I am also very happy to be able to say that my calf/shin is feeling great today! No soreness whatsoever! Since it was so incredibly sore after my last jog, the husband and I went to WalMart and got us both (he had extreme foot/leg pain after his last attempt at jogging as well) Dr. Scholls shoe insterts. And I bought an ace bandage to wrap around my calf while jogging AND we were on the track rather than the road. So between these 3 variables, the jog was a great success with zero pain ailing me today. John said he felt great as well, so that was a great improvement for us. I like that he is jogging with me. We both have tomorrow off and are planning a morning jog for day 2. Woohoo! Soon enough I'll be at week 3!

I'm doing really well on my goals for this week, except for today I'm going to miss working out. Which is ok, because I plan to make up for it either Saturday or Sunday. I'm glad I wrote those goals down. I really wasn't in the mood for doing my elliptical on Tuesday, but I made it happen because I wanted to be able to have a good report of my goals at the end of the week.

She's graduating

From week 1 of Couch 2 5K, that is!

I'm very happy to be able to report that I have officially completed week 1 of C25K. I ended up doing it last night instead of elliptical'ing. It was my third and final go at week 1, and it was the best one yet. I'm sure it has a little something to do with the fact that it was the evening and perfect weather (not blistering hot like the other 2 days I've done it) but I felt SOOO good jogging last night! At the end of each 60 second interval I kept thinking 'Wow, I could totally just keep going!' And I DID a couple times. I jogged a couple of the intervals as 90 seconds rather than 60, just because I felt like it. And then on the very last one, I went ahead and jogged for 2 minutes rather than 1. I know they say not to jump ahead in the program (which I'm not really...) but I just wanted to push myself and felt really good about it. And another crazy thing is i'm actually craving to go jogging today! I wont because my calf is sore AND I know at this early on in the program I really do need to be giving myself a day in between jogging. So needless to say, I'm really excited about starting week 2 and seeing how much more I can progress in just a short week. I'll be jogging a full mile without stopping in no time! That will be a HUGE freaking milestone for me. I haven't done that since 10th grade which was about 7 years ago! One small problem I am having is a sore calf/shin after jogging. I'm not sure if it's a shin splint or what, but it's hurting after I jog. I try to focus on my form and everything, but it's giving me troubles every time. I guess all I can really do is be careful, ice it after jogging, and keep going to strengthen whatever the problem is! I really am so excited about this program. I feel like in a way it is giving me a break on watching my weight so closely. I typically weigh myself every day and focus on that a lot more than I probably should, but I feel like this is giving me something else to work towards and focus on, rather than just losing weight. I can't believe i'm saying this but I am honest to goodness thinking about signing up for a 5K this fall. I never thought those words would pass my lips, but I have a feeling that I can push myself a lot harder/farther than I ever realized. Maybe I will become one of those crazy people who loves running afterall!

My Goals for This Week

This morning Stephanie asked me what my goals for the week are. I HAD been thinking about what I should do this week as far as exercise goes, but I didn't have any definite goals so she got me thinking. My goals for this week:

1. Couch to 5k Tuesday, Thursday (morning!!), and Saturday. Thursday will be my 1st day of week 2, and my first day of doing it in the am!!
2. Monday and Wednesday, 60 minutes of working out either with a video, elliptical, bike, or tennis.
3. Be MINDFUL of what I'm putting in my mouth.
4. Eat more veggies (I've been slacking with this one lately)

Let me take a minute to write about the C25K thing. I'm still really excited about it and anxious to see what kind of progress I make! I did day 2 on Saturday and at the end of each 60 second jog I felt like 'Hey... I could totally keep jogging for a little longer!' Which was an exciting feeling to have, but I didn't do it because I want to stick with the plan and not over do it. I decided that the easiest way to stick with this is to tell people that I'm doing it. That will help keep me accountable for sure. I've told John of course, and Stephanie (duh), but I've also told my sister and my mom, and my sister in law. I also joined the Spark Group (it was after reading some posts in the Spark Group that I decided it was something I should do), and I will be posting regularly there for a little feedback and accountability. I'm looking forward to this week, sort of as a way to un-do all the bad that I did to my body over the weekend. I need to learn that it's OK to flat out say NO to cravings. It's just soooo not worth it! Ever! I feel like when I'm craving something, I will push it off to the side of my mind for a while. And I will push and push and push, until I can't hold it off any longer, and then I cave in. I need to stop doing that and realize that I DO have the strength to just flat out say NO.

I am going to my hometown on August 7th for my friends baby shower. Right now I'm using this as a little motivation stepping stone. I want to feel and look great when I see my old friends!