Running and my love/hate relationship with the Treadmill

I hate treadmills. I am open about. I think they're terribly boring and bad for your knees. I love running, but I hate running on a treadmill. It's ridiculous. I feel like a mouse on a wheel in a cage...


I've had a change of heart. I no longer hate the treadmill, but I like it. Not love...yet. It hasn't been bad on my knees, because part of me is thinking that I use my bad knee as a crutch, as an excuse.

I started running the C25K program outside a while back. I stopped doing it regularly, but still sometimes. It builds you up to running a 5k race. And for the record, it's much more of a workout to run outside than on a treadmill...it's been proven, but either way you're still working out!

In the past week or two, I've been doing my workout on the elliptical, for 30-60 minutes. If I am not at my target of calories burned by that I've hopped on the treadmill. It started with just doing an extra 10 minutes, to last night where I did 50 minutes. I sweat A LOT more while running than doing the elliptical, but I think I enjoy the elliptical more.

For the first time in almost 4 years I was able to run longer than 5 minutes at a time. In fact- I ran two, 20 minute sections....I went from 5 minutes to 20 minutes in one night.

What was my motivation? I have realized when I am losing weight and I'm doing well, I get off track easily, I let things slide...why-I'm not sure. I didn't do well this past weekend with my food choices, and this weekend will be equally as hard. I have dress shopping in a month, and a wedding in seven months. Things HAVE to change. Things WILL change.

I WILL NOT BE A FAT BRIDE. I WILL NOT BE A FAT WIFE. It ends now.

Yikes!

Last night I was going through a bunch of pictures I had forgotten about. A lot of those were my Hawaii pictures. I went with Kristi and her family, I was sick for half the trip, but still it was a blast. You can't be sick in any better place than Hawaii, right?

It's hard for me to say how much I weighed when I was there, but it was somewhere around 200-205. YIKES! No one wants to be a fat kid in Hawaii. Since I was sick when I got home, I weighed about 195 in the buff. This is the only picture that has truly made me cringe in a long time. When I look in the mirror I don't see a fat person, I see a very thin 120 lbs high school girl still....it's kind of a shock I suppose. When I look at pictures I don't see a fat kid, I see a chubby face, yeah yeah, but I usually tend to hide my body. That's a little hard to do in Hawaii.

I think this picture is a huge motivator for me. I don't want to continue to look like this EVER again.

And on that note, I suppose I'm off to the gym, but for the record I'd rather snuggle and take a nap with Lilly!

3/19/09

Woot! I've been sick this week and still managed to lose another 2.2! That makes it 8.2 total, and puts me at 188.8! I'm pretty excited, I know the weight loss will slow down soon, and probably be some gains, now I just have to remember not to over eat when that happens.

Ciao!

I think I can do this...

I've seem to have picked up a little head cold...I've had it for a few days. Actually it seemed to be the day after I proudly spoke at work, "I really haven't had a bad cold this season, luckily." Stupid me and my big mouth haha.

Well today was a bad morning, I slept through church, woke up at 11, had a TERRIBLE sore throat, but Chris went and got me a bagel...so that was good! I managed to put on my gym clothes and go tough it out. Friday I only worked out for about 40 minutes and Saturday I took as my day off, so today I wanted a good, long, workout.

I was there, no turning back. Since I can hardly breath I took it kind of easy heart rate wise. I did an hour on the elliptical, burned about 450 calories. I like to try and burn at least 500 so I hopped on the treadmill. Friday I had ran on the treadmill for the first time in years since it's hard on the knees, but they felt good so I carried it on today. I did 3 minutes runinng 2 minutes walking. I walked the first and last five minutes in my half hour on the treadmill and it felt good!
I burned almost 800 calories today and I'm stoked!

I never knew I could push my body like this, especially when I'm sick...really! I took some pictures after my shower, I am starting to tell a little in my face of the weight loss. I generally compare myself to what I was at 209 not the starting of weight watchers, so there is a bit of a difference, but not too much.



As Chris said (with all sincerity) "baby, you only have two chins instead of three!"-I never had three, two yes, three no. I am starting to get rid of that second one now!!!

Albany's Finest.

I am by no means, a gym regular. I go at least 4 days a week for the past 4-5 weeks. Maybe if I've been going 6 days a week for 6 months I'd be one, but I'm not there yet. One day.

With that said, I do go enough to see people there who attend regular sessions. I don't like to think I have obsessive tendencies with watching other people, but when you're on the elliptical for an hour and your songs are getting old on your ipod, you're to blind to see the TV, and you'd do anything for a cheeseburger-people watching is a good option.

You would imagine I'd spend all of my time focusing on the guys at the gym. Well...maybe if there were guys who were:

1. Not 12
2. Showered this week
3. Not native to Albany ( no offense).

The list of people who I focus on I find interesting, and you might to.

First, there is the pregnant lady. She's there almost every day I am, so she's probably there the days I am not too. She's about my height and VERY, VERY, VERY thin-especially for being pregnant. She's the true reason I ever made it to running an hour on the elliptical. I came in one night and she had already been on an elliptical, when my half hour was up...she was still running. I can't be shown up by a pregnant woman. Stupid. I find I have anger towards this woman..GO HOME AND EAT SOME ICE CREAM STOP WORKING OUT. Ugh. I find I have this same anger towards my pregnant sister=)

Second. There is an older guy...maybe mid 60's. He had a problem with his leg and had one crutch. I've seen him about 5 times. He does one leg squats. OH MY GOSH. I can't even do a squat hardly and he's doing them on one leg? Thank you and goodnight.

Third. There are simple rules at our gym. If your kids are under 12 they need to be supervised. Most times there are little kids doing their homework at the table. However, this rule should read:

Kids under 12 must be supervised UNLESS they are boys ages 13-16. They think it's really fun to turn the treadmills up as fast as they go and see how long they can stay on...ANNOYING.

Third. This is a true story.

I was about 10 minutes into my hour on the ellipicatal and in comes one of Albany's finest. She was cute, had a camo hat on, BIG gold hopop earrings. Nails long enough to creep anyone out and wasn't wearing much of anything else....and she was cute, just not that cute.

So She had a bag and I figured she'd change and start a workout. WRONG. She hopped on the tredmill just like that...hat, hoops and all....WHAT? And she ran, and ran, and ran. And 30 minutes later one of her earrings went flying off at which point she decided to call it quits.

Really....who goes out looking like that...who goes to the GYM like that?

And last but not least my new favorite. A couple came in last night and they were wearing matching track suits....oh Albany.

3/12/2009

Today's weigh in was great! I lost 2.2 and am now a even 191. At first when I stepped on it said 190.7, but it settled at 191. Oh well maybe next week!!

It's been a good week food wise...sort of. I PIGGED out at Chevy's with my sisters. I've never ever cleared my plate at a restaurant...and I did. *gasp* Not to mention like 3 baskets of chips. Sh....=)

I've really been putting effort in at the gym. It's hard for me to stay committed. Not to mention I need new shoes bad, I have a sharp pain in my heel whenever I walk. I hear it can be fixed with massaging it, physical therapy, and new shoes. I'll skip the PT though!

*gasp* A gain!!!

I totally forgot to post this last week. Whoops.

Yeah, it's true. I gained. It was only .6, the leader said it's likely that I was wearing jeans instesad of slacks. But as she said that I thought, what's it matter, it all comes out in the wash. It's not like I'll never wear jeans again b/c I gained .6.

Now if my jeans weighed about 20lbs, that'd be a different story =).

I haven't been super cautious of my food until yesterday. Friday I ate Ping's with Chris' family, Thursday I think we had pizza, Saturday I had Chevy's....ouch, but for the most part I watched my portions...not at Chevy's though. I was still pretty full most of Sunday!!

I got on the scale this morning, in the buff, and it said 188.4. Wow. 189.2 had been my road block, I haven't been able to get passed it in over a year! I mentally just shut down like, "I'm in the 180's-barely, but I can relax now" and it was just a vicious cycle.

So even though I weigh in fully clothed on Thursdays, I think, I hope, there will be a little loss. I am aiming for 190.

My workouts rocks. I am now able to control my heart rate. When I first started going, I was sitting anywhere between 185-200 which is VERY HIGH. I checked with my doc, and he said as long as I felt okay, it's probably due just to being out of shape.

Now When I work out, same workout, same intensity, it's sitting between 160-170. Things are looking better!!!