Proof Positive of the need to Succeed

Oh look, I haven't been here for a while and have had some adventures in the meantime.
I just ran a 5k in Athens last Tuesday evening, in the rain I might add. Finished in 38:08 I think. Not a great time for me, but I haven't really been running much. I have been walking on the treadmill's incline, lots of stairs in the office building, biking in the basement, and most recently biking on the road. But not much running. I did donate to the cause and got a t-shirt. OH yeah and I was the 3rd place Female Alumni finisher. How do you like that "trophy" a coffee mug and ribbon. I like the idea, normal trophys are kinda cluttery. This ribbon I can hang on the wall of my cubicle with the rest of my memorabilia.

Good thing there were only three of us, because I was also last in the runners overall. I am pretty good at finishing last and I figure someone has to do it. Not that I actually "try" to be last, but somehow it seems to work out that way. Funny thing that night was that all of the people I know at these races are all pretty good runners. They were all winning awards for their age groups and here I am just enjoying the fun of them winning - with one hope the Alumni awards - and it paid off!
This photo is also indicative of how much work I have to do yet. YUCK. Where did that person come from. I have said it before on here, that isn't the person I see in my head. I really need to make some changes.
Come on out to Bluestone State Park this Saturday at 9am when we are having a 5k. Beautiful and challenging course. Check out the link on the right.

#3 Winter Club Run at Pipestem

Yay me! I finished Pipestem in 36 minutes and 55 seconds! My best Pipestem time ever. Timewise I did better last weekend, but I am pretty happy with this one. I haven't really been running much, so I hope that when I do increase my road time my speed might pick up. My run time doesn't really matter as long as I keep finding new and lower numbers on the scale.
Oneninetynine is on the way.

Overweight NOT Obese!

Ok, that is a crazy title, but stay with me, it is great.
I have been running off and on, mostly off, but with ambition. Last year I ran the High Rocks Celtic Knot 5k. I weighed about 223 pounds and finished the short race (it was 2.9 miles instead of 3.1) in about 35 min and 11 seconds. That shortage might not seem like a lot, but I did some math and figure that on a good day that means the extra distance would have probably taken me about 2 1/2 minutes to finish. That adjustment makes my finish time modified to at least 37 min and 41 seconds.

This year I ran the Celtic knot weighing 213 and by my watch I finished a full 3.1 in 36 min and 36 seconds - a full minute faster. Yay, me!
Where does the Overweight NOT Obese part come in? According to my Wii scale - 214 is where my BMI changes from Obese to Overweight. I made that transition last Monday and have been holding off on believing it until the week was over, but now I know it is the real thing! Yay me somemore!
Now I need to keep it up. The weather seems to be getting better and I am looking forward to a good bike ride. I am even interested in getting back into some hayfield running. We had to put a new road in through the back woods a few weeks ago. The idea of running on it has my interest. It isn't a long road, but it has a nice climb and leads out to our hayfield. I can circle it when the cows aren't in the field, but they are on the way and they will probably take up napping on the nice shaded and cool dirt of that road, so no luck there.
Either way, biking, running, or climbing the hills it will be a new twist for my fitness plans so I ought to drop a few pounds until my metabolism catches on to my sneaky plan. I hope so anyway.

Tired Days

I have seen Twofifteen and it needs a nap!
Thursdays are my tired day. On that day, by the time I climb the 3 flights of stairs to the floor that holds my work space, I have been running, biking, walking and stair climbing for at least 4 days. This week that includes 18 miles of biking, 4 miles of running, a bit of walking and 2160 stair steps. All on less than 1800 calories. (I am trying to whittle that down to 1600, but I don't like being cranky, either does FabHub). So on Thursday mornings I am tired. This week it finally paid off.I got on the scale this morning and saw 215. I know it won't last, this is just the morning low point. Tomorrow will probably be 216 again, but that is normal. I know that a low number will bounce about two pounds and then come down to a new low number, which will bounce back up and then come down again. It has been happening for 15 pounds in the last 2 months, I am starting to depend on the bounce.
So how did I celebrate on Friday? I biked another 7 miles. Now I need a shower and then I am going shopping for a chainsaw chain and some groceries and then baking up some pepperoni rolls for Saturday's crew lunch. We have a bulldozer coming to cut a road so the guys can get some storm damaged trees out of the woods behind the house. While they are doing that I will be climbing around in the woods watching and taking picutres (check my other blog for those). I will probably also end up stacking the branch trimmings, but that is a good healthy outdoor workout. Sunday I think I will take that nap - oh wait, I said I would run a 5k in town if it is above 35 degrees. I might not bounce this week!

January - End of the Month Update

When we got back from Christmas at Mom's with the treadmill, FabHub and I were both in bad shape. We had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and Mom's cooking, but it had begun to show. Badly. What didn't help was that it rained every day that we were there so it really killed my plans to run and burn up some of those calories.
Since then we have been getting up every morning and walking, running, or biking. We also do some of the Wii Fit exercises, but mostly use the Wii for its tracking capabilities. I am using SparkPeople to keep track of my calories and FH's too recently. We are both a lot more conscious of what we eat. I even look at restaurant menus and come up with a good dinner plan for us before we go. I don't force the issue though. Sometimes you gotta enjoy life.
So, what kind of results do we have? In the month's time FabHub is down 15 pounds and I am down 10 pounds. If I could manage to let go of about 3 pounds instead of playing yo-you with them I might be further along, but it will straighten out.
What analysis do I have on our weight loss? Well, according to Wii we seem to gain weight on Tuesday and/or Wednesday. Compare that with SP nutrition and I see that on Monday or Tuesday we usually have a somewhat big dinner. We eat good on the weekends too, but due to the extra work Bill does on the farm and my long run/walks we burn off more than usual so it makes up for it. Thursday and Friday are usually down days too. Awareness is the key to further success. We are aware so we will do better.
The search for my buddy Oneninetynine continues. Those analysis numbers will follow as soon as I reach the first partial goal.
Keep moving, it can only help!

Exercise and Diet Works

The changes, they have begun. No not those changes, this isn't a place for political talk. The changes I am talking about are for FabHub and me. We have been exercising for two and a half months now and are finally starting to see the scale move. Put in the work and eat right and all will be good. An old story, but one that is so hard to keep following.
I have been keeping track of miles completed on my basement bike and treadmill to motivate myself. I have also been doing at least one Spark People video a day. Together it is working. FH has been using the treadmill and other Wii stuff every morning for his workouts. Both of us are finding our clothes fit better and watching the numbers drop on the Wii's BMI scale. Good news is I am almost done with being Obese and am within a few pounds of being Overweight! I guess I broke that threshold last summer, but didn't know it at the time and then I lost it anyway. FH still has a way to go on that chart, but he is doing great too.
It is very evident by our weight increases and decreases that we eat pretty much the same thing. When his weight goes up, so does mine. When my weight goes down, so does his. So, we are having success and seeing some progress. It will continue.
I am looking forward to the day it is warm enough that I can take my new road bike out. All of these basement miles should have me in good shape for that.
Running has been difficult for the last few weeks. I put on a few pounds over the holidays and it really slowed me down. I never ran much anyway, but that extra weight... so I have been walking and doing minimal amounts of running. Today I spent a lot of time on the treadmill and did some jogging intervals. It went pretty well so now I will start building miles again. I have a 5k in March to improve upon. I might even get FH to join me. The trick will be keeping him from beating me!

Wii and Mii

I started my day with the Wii telling me that it is Sunday and I should take the day off. HA - I will take the advise for the most part. I still have to complete the 10 minute video challenge from SparkPeople, but am saving that for when FabHub goes to do the farm chores.
Originally, I didn't like the running in place aerobics part of the Wii and I still don't, but I have figured out how to combine it with the treadmill. I just use the remote receiver near the treadmill and run with the Wii Mii. I am even learning a good habit. I don't normally swing my arms enough, but I have to for the movement to register on the Wii. I am not sure if there is an equal level between swings of the arm and step of the feet, but I do know that I am moving more than if I was doing nothing.
I use the Wii yoga and strength training to stretch and then the step aerobics to warm up and then the Free Run mode on Wii to run and walk my way through whatever amount of minutes I want to do. All about the accountability.