In which I have a great run

C25K Week 4, Day 2 and I had the best run of my very short running career.

I got 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night and I got to the gym 2 hours later than normal. I not sure if those were the deciding factors of awesomeness, but they sure helped. This week, I'm running more than walking, and today I felt super smooth and strong.

I think slowing down the speed on the treadmill helped a lot, too.

It was the first run in which I felt at the end, "That's it? I'm done. I want to run more." But I know running too far and/or too fast while getting your body up to speed greatly increases the risk of injury, which I want to avoid at all costs. So, I stopped, very happy with the time spent.

I can't believe it, but I'm actually looking forward to my next run day, Wednesday. However, as is the norm so far this year, a snowstorm is predicted for Wednesday, so next run day may not be until, sniff, Friday.

C25K Week 4, Day 1: Yeehaw

I stepped on the treadmill today relatively nervous: It would be the first workout where I ran (and for longer periods) more than I walked. Could I do it and make it through the workout?

Every time I go to the gym to run, I experience self-doubt. Sometimes it's top of mind (like today) and sometimes it's there, hiding in the back. I worry: Will this be the day I fail? That sounds pretty depressing, but after a lifetime of not moving much and weighing a lot, it's ingrained when it comes to most physical activity. It will take quite a while to get over that, and I know I will, but for now I still have to beat it back.

Anyway, I warmed up this morning and then looked at the run/walk intervals (which were switched up so much from previous weeks I had to write them down on a Post-It note and surreptitiously sneak it on the console so I wouldn't screw it up).

The lineup for this week:

Run 3 minutes.
Walk 90 seconds.
Run 5 minutes.
Walk 2.5 minutes.
Run 3 minutes.
Walk 90 seconds.
Run 5 minutes.

My warmup was over and it was time to run. Before I knew it, 3 minutes was up. The 90 seconds passed quickly, then it was time for a 5-minute run. Soon, that was over and I felt pretty good. I followed the rest of the schedule and I sooner than I expected, the workout was over. I could do it, and I didn't fall off the treadmill (always a concern).

I also dialed back the speed on the treadmill to between 3.5 and 3.8. Still glacierally-slow, but I ran smooth and controlled. I can work on speed later.

C25K Week 3 Roundup: Is 9 weeks enough?

Just finished Week 3 and the ability to un a 5K, even slowly, seems far away.

My workouts were decent this week, but nothing great. However, that's just the nature of running, I would guess, it's not always (or rarely?) perfect. I did get one of the nagging annoyances solved: What speed do I dial up on the treadmill? I found Coach Jenny Hadfield on Facebook, where she answers running questions, especially from newbies. I asked her my speed question and she advised to use the talk test: If I can't talk while running, it's too fast. I'll give that a try on the next run.

Onto Week 4, which will be a big one. In Week 4, for the first time I'll be running more than walking, and for longer intervals (3 minutes straight, 5 minutes straight, both twice).

Week 20: Weigh-In

This one was a big surprise.

After 2 weeks of losing 3 lbs each, I fully expected this to be a -1.x week. That's usually how it goes: big loss, smaller loss. But the past 2 weeks have been surprising in that I had 2 big consecutive losses, so there's no way this one will be anything big.

Happily, I was wrong, -2, getting me past another 5 lbs down for a total of 55 lost. You would think after all my WIs at WW over the years, I would stop trying to predict an exact loss. I'm attributing the big losses to the gym workouts and eating (but not overeating) more whole foods, fruits and vegetables, thanks to Points+.

For the 4 weeks I've been doing C25K, I'm down -10.2 - that's huge for me.

OK, next week, I am expecting -1.x, but Weight Loss Gods, feel free to give with both hands.

In which I wonder, 'Is this really me?'

If, even a few months ago, you had told me, "You'll soon be getting up at 5:15 am four times a week to run at the gym." I would have asked if you wanted another drink.

And now, here I am, willingly getting up at 5:15 am on a Monday, in the pitch black of a January predawn, in below-zero temps to work out.

I'm not trying to break my hand patting myself on the back, but this is so alien for me. And weirder still, I don't mind.

In which there is water, water everywhere

When I restarted WW, I decided to buck my Type A personality and not try to be perfect.

Instead of doing everything perfectly from Day 1 (eating within Points range, 5 fruits & veg a day, 48oz of water a day, regular exercise, 2 healthy oils daily, etc), I decided to do one thing, do it well, then add another. I was concerned that trying to do it all perfectly would burn me out and give me reason to quit.

So, for the first month my only real goal was to eat within my Points. After a month, I added regular exercise (4x week) to boost my losses. A few weeks after that, I concentrated on getting in my 5 servings of fruits and veg (this is a lot easier now with Points+).

The last big thing I had yet to incorporate was water. I'm not a big water fan and for the longest time I'd choke down watered down Crystal Light to get it in.

But, over the past few weeks, I've been putting water way like it's nobody's business - a good 80+oz a day - with little effort. Working out regularly helps, it's easy to drink 32 oz in a 45- to 60-minute workout.

I'm very encouraged that my (nontraditional for me) patient approach is working.

Week 19 Weigh-In: Worth the Wait

So, I tragically missed my usual Tuesday 10 am weigh-in due to a snowstorm.

This morning, the roads cleared and even though I had all the kids home from preschool due to a delayed opening, I would not be delayed again. Plus, I was starving (I don't eat or drink before weigh-in, so punctuality is important to my mood).

My favorite receptionist, Donna The Wonderful, was at her station - a nice bonus as I don't know her schedule aside from my meeting. A different leader was there and when Donna and I started talking, she introduced herself. Before I could introduce myself, Donna pipes in, "This is one of our superstars." That felt nice.

"How much weight have you lost?" the leader asked.

As I stood as still as I could on the scale, I replied, "We'll find out..."

The extra day was worth the aggravation, I lost 3.4 lbs. I was very surprised as I lost 3 last week and rarely follow a big loss up with another one. But, I'll take it, especially since I reached my next mini-goal, entering the 220s. Next goal, 55 lbs down, which is 1.2 lbs away.