Five things that being injured has done for me.

Ok, quick recap for those just joining us.
I am overweight, trying to get healthy. I found out that I love running. I ran too much and now my knee is super angry-face at me.

Ok, now that we’re all caught up.

Five things that being injured has done for me.

1. I've been forced to try new things.

I got into a groove where I was running 3+ days a week and only picking up the weights when I couldn't come up with a good enough reason not to.
Now, I ride a recumbent bike, I lift weights, I go for walks, I even started going to Deep Waterfit!

2. I've had to refocus my goals.

Like I said, I was running a lot. This made me able to eat quite a few unhealthy meals a week, and still lose weight. However, now that I’m not running, I've had to become more nutrition focused. Which reminded me that I was STILL putting WAY more unhealthy foods in my body than I should have been. I had also started getting obsessed with running faster/farther. However, this interruption reminded me why I started all of this in the first place - HEALTH!

3. It has allowed me to connect more with my sister.

My sister (who is freaking awesome, BTW) has started her own health journey. However, she is not too interested in running. So I've been able to go for walks with her and we went to Deep Waterfit together too! Breaking out of the "need to run faster/farther" helped me remember that ANY exercise can be done with others!

4. It has given me the chance to prove how much I want this.

All too often, we are thrown a ‘wrench in the plan’ or a brick wall is put up to stop us. We then have to choose if we want to push ahead, or cave to the pressure. This is less black and white than I’m making it out to be.  However, it’s exciting to know that I want this badly enough to try out new things & step outside my comfort zone.

5. I've gotten quite the mental workout.

Anyone who has been injured before knows how hard it is to basically have life tell you “Hey, you can’t do that thing you love doing anymore.”
I've been through weird bouts of near depression. I've been sad about not running, sad when I know my friends are running and sad when I see other runners.  I was just starting to consider myself a ‘runner’… and now I feel weird saying it because I can’t run.
It has been hard to motivate myself to do workouts that take up as much or more time, but don’t burn near as many calories as running does. Running provides a release of emotions, a way to slough off the day. Then I'd kick myself for feeling negative about not running. As if I didn't deserve to feel badly about being injured.
Getting over THAT mental wall is the hardest part, in my opinion.

Basically, to sum things up: This injury hasn't been all bad.

It’s important to remember that you’re not the first to have an injury, hit a wall or feel sad about stuff. There are so many amazing blog posts and resources on the internet (and beyond) to help remind you you’re not alone and to help you cope/recover.

Also, don’t forget how important it is to share how you’re feeling with those who are close to you. You’ll never get help if no one knows you’re hurting.

I ran another race.

As the title clearly spells out – I ran another race. This one was the Bazan Bay 5K. I thought it might be appropriate to do a little race recap! (Even though I'm a little late in doing so.)

It’s a little weird, because lately I’ve been running longer distances. Before the race, I couldn’t remember the last time I ran “only” 5K. I had no idea what to expect of myself.
I set a goal between “There’s no way in hell” 30mins, and the “Would be cool” less than 33mins. The fastest I had ever run 5km was just under 34mins and that was with Skye pushing and (pretty much) yelling at me to go faster. This was actually my first race ‘by myself’.
I ran my warm-up with Lara and felt completely psyched out. I was feeling tired and winded… but I wasn't tracking how fast/far we were going… so who knows, maybe I was setting an unrealistic warm-up pace. I placed myself near the back of the pack at the start line. Which leads to kind of a hilarious moment when they announce “3, 2, 1 - GO!” and you end up just standing there waiting for the crowd ahead of you to get going. Then finally: Time to get moving!

I started out “easy”, because I like to gauge how much I’ve got in the tank, and then attempt to use it all by the end. At my pace, I was in this awkward group of people who were walk/running. So I played hopscotch with a handful of people. There was this one girl in particular who was easy to spot and I chose her to “keep up” with.
The course is an out and back. So less than halfway through (at my pace) you get to see the ‘Elite’ runners coming back. It is SOOO awesome to watch. The only downside is that it tricked my brain a little and made me start thinking that the “back” part of the “out + back” was happening sooner than it was.
On the way back, my legs were excited, and pushed onward. HOWEVER, it wasn’t all rainbows and lollipops. My breathing was getting really bad. I was breathing HARD and making the strangest noises. So much so, other runners were looking at me like I was crazy/going to die. I kept hearing Rayna saying "who can't run 2km?", an inside joke we love to say when things are feeling uncomfortable.

Before I knew it, I saw the finish line. I was EXCITED and pushed myself as hard as I could. I got close and I started SPRINTING, I got across the line and then I heard Skye yelling from the sidelines "You're not done!! Keep going!!" That line was just the start of the 100m sprint. *Facepalm* I had NOTHING left. That last 100m, an 80yr old man with gout could probably have gone faster than me. I had passed the girl who I was trying to keep up with, but in that last 100m she made it past me. Sweet victory was all mine though when I found out my chip time was faster than hers.

I almost forgot to tell you my chip time! 31:33, baby! What a crazy awesome achievement. I'm feeling reeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaally good about that time. Cutting over 2 minutes off my previous PR.

Do What Works For You

I'm one of those people that don't like to plan out too much. I'm not sure if it is because I'm lazy or if I just dislike when things don't go my way. Normally when I plan something, I plan out the bare bones and then just wing it from there. I like doing this. I don't like being regimented to a single possible outcome.

My Brain: Enemy #1

Clipart by Amy Vangsgard -
http://clipartof.com/1110809

Blog post worthy runs usually happen when I don’t find time to blog about them. I’m finding time now, so join me as we venture back in time a little…

I had taken Thursday as a rest day and since one of the #LetsGetPhysical rules is you can’t go two days in a row without working out; it meant I had to go for a run. I was NOT up for it. My legs were sore, I was cranky and I knew that the run was going to be hard. A hard thing about working out is overcoming the mental “I don’t wannas” or “This is going to suck” and trying to remember how good it feels to just get out there. However, some days your brain will play a lot of tricks on you. Friday was one of those days. I forced myself to get changed and strap on my runners. I was doing a couple of light stretches and then BAM: Started Crying.

The day the XL was next.

I've made it no secret that I'm trying to eat right and exercise regularly.

One of the benefits of this is weight loss. I know this seems like an obvious statement. HOWEVER - the day that weight loss becomes a benefit and not the thing that is your motivation: You're Winning.

Uploaded by: asifthebes on www.sxc.hu

One thing about weight loss, is it all revolves around a single number. A number that can fluctuate enormously throughout the course of a day. A number that can manipulate you into eating too little the day before "Weigh-In Day" because you just want that number to be less than the last time.

Here's the thing though: If you live a HEALTHY lifestyle, your body can't help but to lose the weight. You'll be able to celebrate after every meal, after every workout because everything you do is done with the intention to succeed.

Now I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh and how much I was when this all started - YET. That's another bog post.

What I can celebrate with you is this: I have a new article of clothing. It is a Womans XL tight fitting sweater. Have you ever had a piece of clothing that is "the one size down"? The one thing you can't wait to fit into?
This sweater is that one thing...

Bring it on world, XL is next!

But I don't waaaaaaanna!

In my last blog post I talked about how I am doing this "#LetsGetPhysical" lifestyle change.

Well I just want to talk to you about a common 'problem' I run into at least once a week. I call this problem the "But I don't waaaaaaaaanna!"s.

Holy Moly. Did I just do that?

So... I took up running.
Yeah, for those of you who've known me for a while, I know what you're thinking.

First Walk/Jog Home from Work

August 28th, 2012 I started an initiative to get healthy. I call it "#LetsGetPhysical".