The Hardest Week So Far....Helped by Friends

Today I woke up knowing I was going to take on 6 miles. What I didn't yet understand is the amount of hills that would be on my path. I don't look at the routes in detail before we go and I don't often know exactly where we will be running to. This week we started in Newport and went all the way up to Eden Park. For those of you that don't know Cincinnati, this includes a lot of hills. There's 4 parts of the hill with only small level breaks in between. It was hard to even enjoy the places that were leveled out because all I could do was dread the next hill in front of me.

At one point, I raised my hand and said "I'm walking," and took one walking step. One of my teammates grabbed my arm and said, "Oh no you're not. Once you start walking it's hard to stop walking." Then another teammate told me I could make it and decided to stay with me as we trudged up the hill together. He is a veteran runner and got me up the very last hill. It was another episode of "Lauren's going to barf." He explained to me that I felt this way because my heart rate was too high and that as soon as I got to the top to put my hands on my head to help open up my chest. It's such a mental struggle because in my head I kept telling myself I couldn't do it. Luckily my teammate just kept saying "You are almost there. Keep going!" It was a battle in my head but guess what? I made it! Once I got to the top I caught my breath again and grabbed a drink of water. We did not get long to enjoy the view, but it surely was beautiful.

Thanks for getting me to the top Marc

On the way back I got to make conversation with Marc and hear about his journey. I LOVE hearing about everyone's journey. It motivates me. When I joined the group I just assumed everyone had always been runners and I was out of my element. This is yet another person I've talked to that started where I am today. Every week I learn more about the "strangers" that I see twice a week and it makes me feel like I have real friends behind me that want me to accomplish all my goals. When we were coming across the Purple People Bridge, back into Newport, one of my coaches, Jerry shouted, "Lauren you just broke your personal record. How does it feel?!" I cheered and my teammates cheered for me too. When we got back to the store, another teammate came up to me and said, "You did so great," and gave me a high five. My coach, Stacey told me I did awesome. Being part of something so positive where people truly want the best for each other is just so amazing. These people barely know me, yet they don't want me to fall behind. These people might not even know my name, but they go out of their way to cheer me on. Thank you to my team and coaches. Side note, I wish we had a team name!

I was very happy when I got home, which brings me to the next person I need to thank. My husband, T.J. has been so flexible during my training. I am working out 6 days a week on top of my job and meetings after school. There is always a healthy, hot meal waiting on me when I come home based around my schedule. He has done nothing but encourage me and push me to keep going. Thank you T.J.!

Although this is MY journey, and although I've said before that this is something I'm doing for MYSELF, and it's about ME..... I do nothing alone. Thank you to everyone who is encouraging me.  

Almost Ralphing....A Blow to the Ego

Today in running group we did fartleks. I wasn't sure what these would really entail, I just knew it had to deal with running at different paces. I showed up in new running gear that my mom got me for my birthday and I was ready to take on those fartleks! Look at this picture I even posted on facebook-ready to put those fartleks in their place!

We ran a mild warm up mile across the Taylor Southgate Bridge and onto Mehring Way. At a stoplight, our coach said "Do you guys want to do 2 loops or 3?" Obviously, I held up 3 fingers because hello, I was going to take on these fartleks-see above! ENTHUSIASM! Basically we did a half a mile loop at a very fast pace and then recovered by jogging the same half mile. The first loop I was thinking it was okay. At the end, there were 2 very slight inclines, but they were hard for me at that intense speed. I wanted to walk the half mile loop to recover, but instead I jogged to keep up with the group. I was at the very front and I was still going to do it right? After all, every Saturday, I've done my personal bests. On the second fast half mile I was feeling bad, like maybe I may barf bad.... I kept pushing myself and made it up those damn tiny inclines. Then I began jogging the loop even though I really.... I MEAN REALLY wanted to walk. I asked a guy from my group that I knew had done the marathon before if anybody had ever thrown up. He said, "I did in the summer group." I found this oddly comforting. At least if I threw up, I wasn't going to be the first. I began my last quick loop, quickly falling behind in my pace group. At the end, some people wanted to do another fartlek! What the heck? Are these people ironmen? I went back with the small group of us that were ready to go back home. As I jogged along, I was feeling awful. I began walking and watched the whole group pass me by. I started yelling at myself in my head, "Don't be weak. Stop giving up!" So then I began jogging again and my body was like nope. I once again thought I might throw up. I kept watching my group keep jogging, naturally not feeling good about myself. My coach had to stop to help someone who was injured and there was still the group that would be coming up behind me when they finished their fartleks so don't think I would have passed out by myself with nobody to help.

I was walking across the bridge and finally felt good enough to start jogging again. I did. As I came across the bridge, 3 younger guys were standing there and began shouting "Run Forrest Run!" They were relentless and just wouldn't give up. I wasn't in the mood. These stupid turds making fun of me were the motivation I needed to get to the finish line. Although it wasn't as good as a poster or someone shouting my name, it worked and I made it. It was about 4.5 miles. I am not sure of the pacing because my fitbit went crazy on me. It says one of my miles was 4 minutes and 38 seconds so apparently I'm an Olympian. I am hoping it doesn't need to be replaced.

I started talking to some people in my group about the blow to my ego. But I've been doing so good! But I'm running longer distances than I ever have before! But I try to stay with the front of the pace group! But I feel so great after each run! But I am woman, hear me roar! They were so encouraging. It was really nice to talk to them and realize that sometimes there will be days where running sucks. I haven't experienced that yet, so it was a shock to me. He also reminded me that night runs are hard because our bodies are tired from working all day. So true.

So my first experience with fartleks were a real fart. I'm recovering now. Although I was knocked down a pedestal today, it didn't make me want to quit or give up. It just reminded me that this is something that I really want and I know that the pain will be worth the feeling I have inside me when I cross the finish line. I've come so far. I'm not even close to the same person I was when I began this journey. For almost throwing up today, I am proud.

What I Did This Week

I was able to work out 6 days this week, which was great. Although I am really enjoying running, it's not the only exercise I do. I have started to realize the importance of incorporating weights into my workouts and doing more strength exercises. Even my running group puts things like this on our off days. If I want to be a stronger runner, I have to have a stronger body in general.

I got discouraged on the scale last week, but I'm starting to realize that as I gain strength, I don't need to be on the scale every week. My arms actually have muscles in them now that I can feel. I have a friend measure my inches once per month, and they have been consistently going down. I still have goals to lose weight, but if I'm healthier in general, I have to be happier with myself instead of obsessing over the scale. I will say that as I started the journey, the scale was the best motivator that I found, so I will not abandon it and I wouldn't tell anybody who is starting out to abandon it. That being said, STOP getting on it everyday! I don't consider that necessary for anybody. I had someone tell me today that they weighed themselves after drinking cocktails and were disappointed that they gained weight after that. Your weight naturally fluctuates throughout the day, even by the hour. There's no reason to torture yourself by constantly being on the scale to see if you gained weight after eating one cookie.

Here are some pictures from my workouts this week:

This was a hill oriented run because I missed my running group on Wednesday. 

This is a RIPPED instructor. Her class helps me focus on some strength

It was a very interesting birthday run on Saturday. 5 miles in the snow was honestly an empowering way to start another year of life. Go me! 

Now to get you caught up on my food. On Sunday, T.J. and I meal prepped some great things for the week. One was this yummy chicken salad. I ate it pretty much all week for my lunch. I just ate it plain and still enjoyed it.

We also meal prepped these egg muffins for breakfast. I looked up several recipes and we just kind of did this on our own. It included 12 eggs, steamed spinach and mushrooms, crumbled turkey bacon, and feta cheese. We added garlic powder, salt and pepper. There's literally tons of these recipes so just find one that fits your taste buds best. They were so easy to make and we ate them all week long but just popping them from the fridge into the microwave. I even wrapped them in a paper towel so I could eat them in the car since I'm always in a rush with food. This picture does not do them justice. They were really good!

I have to be honest, this was the worst part of the meal prep....

Lastly, my friends and I started a "healthy dinner club." This week, our friend Chad made Korean stir fry. I wish I could post the recipe, but I don't even know how he made it. He buys a lot of ingredients at a Korean grocery store and I can't read the labels. It was loaded with vegetables and covered in a very spicy sauce. On the side were veggie dumplings, also from the Korean grocery store. It tasted like it came straight from a restaurant. If you have friends that are on the same journey as you, it really helps you to reach your goals. Especially if they are willing to cook for you once a week. It gives you the same feel as going out to eat!

This post was long because I tried to cram the whole week in. I'll try to be better about breaking it up again this week! 

Just keep running!

Today was a four mile day. This is the longest distance I have ever run, and I was happy to be able to do it today. I am nervous about the mileage after today because I know I will be pushing myself harder than I ever have. This week also brings about hill training so I'm nervous for that as well. I'm glad that I am doing hills however because I feel like I really suck at them. Here was the hill we did today.

It may not seem very hard because it is not steep, but it is a gradual long incline. Then you get to the top and feel so accomplished to see yet another hill right in front of you! These hills are difficult for me and when I'm running up them I have to tell myself to just keep going several times. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I make it to the top. 

After the run, the shop had coffee and mini bagels from Bruegger's waiting for us.  I was able to talk to another half marathon runner, Emily. I met her when I did the Christmas Eve run because she is a coworker of my friend, Liz. Emily told me a little bit of her story and it inspired me. Hearing that other people have dealt with struggles similar to mine makes me feel like I can reach my goals and it gives me the motivation to keep going on the healthy journey that I am on. It's always good to talk to someone and feel validated in what you are trying to do for yourself. Thanks for our conversation, Emily. 

My body has been so tight lately so I took a much needed stretch break when I got home. Here are the stretches I did from Pinterest. I also used a resistance band to stretch  out my legs which I love. It felt so good. Especially when I drop it over to one side and do kind of a twist. I don't know what it's called, but it's good to me! 

After that I did some of my favorite yoga stretches for relaxation. Well....I tried.....

That's me trying to do "happy baby." It's not a very "namaste" environment around here. I'm having some problems with my left shin that I've been pushing through. I'm going to keep icing it and hope that it clears up some before my next run. I feel like I've kicked the day's butt! I hope you go out and do something for yourself today too.

On 24 degree weather....

WOWEEEE! It's chilly out there! My running group did not cancel our weekly meeting so alas, I was caught running my very first time in temperatures this cold. I felt very cold at the beginning, but once we got started I began warming up, even though my snot was freezing! The main thing I noticed was I found it harder to breathe. The air was so cold that it was hurting my throat and chest when I would suck in air. It still feels sore. I was glad I did it though, because making excuses is not going to get me to my goal!

Here's what I wore. I'm going to just let you know right off the bat that I love Nike exercise clothes. Yes they are expensive, but I feel like they are good quality and they just fit me well and they don't fall down while I am trying to run. . I have on the Nike hyperwarm running pants. These are awesome because they aren't like fleece on the inside but they are still warm. I have on the Nike hyperwarm quarter zip as well. Same thing with the pants, it's not fleece on the inside, so I don't overheat or feel wet, but it does do a good job at keeping me warm. The vest is from Old Navy's athletic department. It sort of resembles a garbage bag, but it does its' job too. My core was toasty! Obviously gloves are a must, but I took them off because my hands got hot-wear something with pockets in case this happens. The headband was made for me by a family member and helps keep my ears warm but doesn't make my whole head get all sweaty. Our running group sent out this guideline for clothing in the winter:

Finally, this is what my pacing looked like today. 

I want to be able to run my miles faster, but I still want to feel okay breathing wise. We will see where my training takes me. I know it's important to listen to my body!

Excuses are easy. Put in the hard work and you'll always be satisfied.

Why I Need My Running Group

This morning my alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. Three words came into my mind "what the ****?" (Edited for blog appropriateness and in case my mom reads this.) I wasn't happy. It was my first full week back to school so I am still getting back into my regular schedule and I wanted nothing more than to sleep in. After all, it was still dark outside. I woke up and drank a protein shake as I got dressed, which didn't settle right with my stomach for some reason. I have some terrible stomach issues for those of you who don't know me well enough to know how open I am about that. Anyways, I spent some time in the bathroom, which only increased my bad attitude because I could only think about taking a poop in the middle of downtown Cincinnati whilst running. Yes, I'm that open.

So the first thing I would like to talk about is how this running group has TAKEN AWAY MY EXCUSES. Two days a week it's where I'm supposed to be. So no matter if my stomach hurts, or I had a long day, my shins are sore, or I just don't feel like rolling out of bed, I have to do it anyways. I paid for it after all and nobody likes throwing away money. RIP  to my life of sleeping in on Saturdays...

I like that my running group has given me DIRECTION. They have given me specific instructions for how many miles I'm supposed to run each day and routes for every group run. They have coaches along the way. I literally went up to a coach today and said "I'm okay with this pace, but I don't know if I can do it for 13 miles." She replied "You can. I promise," and then began to talk to me about what I could do to help myself. Sometimes you just need someone who knows what they are talking about to tell you that.

My running group has given me OPTIMISM. I went on what I would call my first run about 2 summers ago. Liz had just moved to Bellevue and loved to run. I thought it would be fun to go with her. I couldn't even run 1 mile. I gave up for a long time before trying again. Now I truly believe that I can go the distance (so corny!) Maybe that's not just my running group, maybe that's something I've done for myself. Today while running, I felt myself cheering everyone on because I know that I need that a lot. I was yelling and nobody was saying anything back. I got a little self conscious that I was being annoying and then I yelled "We are almost there! Keep going guys!" As I ran up next to another woman she said, "I appreciate the cheering. I would do it if I could breathe." That's the validation I needed to continue cheering and being my loud self. Runners from other pace groups gave us high fives as we kept going. All of it made me feel so damn good. Seriously.

So I've had 2 days of running club, and I'm feeling this way temporarily. I know that it will suck more in the coming weeks and there will be times I feel unmotivated and I will keep you updated on that too. For now, I feel fairly joyous, and that my friends, is what life is all about.

This run included all half marathon trainers, and full marathon trainers from both Kentucky and Ohio groups.

I want to add in that while I will eat healthy during the day, my "what I ate" post for tonight would look like beer and tailgate food. I do not believe in depriving yourself of food for a specific amount of days to lose weight because in the past that has been how I've gained all my weight back. What's worked for me is moderating everything I like to consume that may not be labeled exactly as healthy and trying to eliminate or rarely eat things like fried foods, ice cream etc. I only drink once a week and this week it was easy to choose Saturday because my Bengals are in the playoffs and I will be there to watch! WHO DEY!!!!!!!!!!!

An unrelated picture of my tailgate crew because I love these brats and because Let's ROAR! 

What I Ate Today

Not surprisingly, my last food post has been my most popular post to date. This makes sense to me because food is the most difficult part of losing weight in my opinion because I don't mind exercise at all. I love having new ideas about food and/or recipes that I myself can try.

Breakfast:

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These are Think Thin High Protein Bars which I find myself eating frequently because I am not very good about managing my time in the mornings. These bars have zero sugar which is something I often look for. I have tried several flavors that I've really enjoyed. This is creamy peanut butter but there is also a chocolate brownie that I like. A few days ago I tried a caramel one for the first time and that one was also good. Lots of protein in the morning is important to me because I don't want to find myself snacking on junk before lunch. One bar has 240 calories.

Lunch:

This is the wrap I packed for lunch. I packed it in the morning and then wrapped it in foil so it wouldn't get soggy. The wrap is a Flatout brand wrap which has 90 calories. On the wrap, I spread some garlic and herb hummus. Then I placed Boar's Head low sodium turkey breast on the wrap. Next you have the layer of baby mixed greens and a tiny sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. I ate this with grapes and my water which had half a lemon in it.

Dinner:

It's 8:16 and I'm just now eating dinner. Sometimes that's just how it rolls here. Making working out a priority has meant that I can't always eat dinner at a convenient time. Honestly, that's been really good for me because at 6:00 I used to think "I have to eat, it's dinner time," even if I wasn't really hungry. Now, I feel like I sort of let eating take a back seat. I don't eat this late every night, but sometimes it happens and I've learned to be more flexible about that. I did have some hummus on pita chips before my run so I could have some energy to run. I was feeling hungry. 

Anyways, healthy broccoli chicken casserole can be found here. This recipe is made without any of those preservative ridden "cream of whatever" soups and instead uses Greek yogurt and dijon mustard. It kind of sounds weird, but it's delicious! 

This recipe requires some things that we don't buy regularly and it uses a lot of dishes and is somewhat time consuming. Therefore, T.J. made 2 pans and one of them will be put into the freezer! This is a great way to save time for those of you who have issues finding time to cook. Make it when you do have time and save it for a busy weekday when you can just pop it into the oven. 

If you try it out, let me know! Special thanks to T.J. for having dinner ready when I got home from my very first running group marathon training run. It was great, but I will post more about that after I do my second run on Saturday! 

HoliDAZE

Over the long break, my husband said to me, "What happened to your blog?" I'll admit, I wasn't posting because I felt like I fell off the wagon and tumbled downhill. I promised myself I wasn't going to do this but alas, my mom makes the best dressing ever, my sister makes the best chocolate fudge ever, and my "Friendsmas" was filled with Larosas pizza, sausage wontons, hot wings, and white castles-just to name a few. Wine was consumed at an alarming rate. I did try to maintain my workouts and running throughout this break, but I still felt like I didn't do as much as I could have. Although discouraged, I was thankful for the time spent with out of town friends and family. I had friends in town from Los Angeles, Connecticut, Chicago, and New York so I do not regret the time I got to share with these people.

On Christmas Eve I did a waffle run from Bob Roncker's running spot. Sign up for their emails and you can get information about these free runs. It was the first time I ever ran 4 miles and I felt great about myself after I recovered. I had an 11:54 pace. There were several hills which made it more difficult than most runs I've had thus far.

After the run...I couldn't even eat a waffle because I didn't feel too hot! haha

I did promise I would talk about bras a long time ago, so here's my best friend when I run:

And guys, I look just like her when I wear it! It's labeled as "maximum support" on the Victoria's Secret website. While, it is a bit pricey, it has lasted me a long time and really does create great support when I am running. My friends have suggested Athleta brands, and Avia and Champion brands. Really it's about the support for me, which is why I chose this bra in particular. Jump around in the dressing room just to make sure.

Here's a link to the Bra.

I'm making a promise not to fall off the wagon again for you guys and for myself. I'm starting a wellness club at my  job. I went to bootcamp today and my running group starts on Wednesday. I am scared TO DEATH. I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. I believe in short term goals, so try and give yourself a goal to complete by the end of January. Then you can try for a new goal in February. In my opinion, these goals work better.

This week I will do another food post and a post about how my running group goes. Happy 2016 everyone!