Confession Time

Hey beautiful people!
I have a confession to make.... I had a major setback during my training for the Marine Corp 10K. I don't know what happened, I just lost focus. I gained back ten of the pounds I had worked so hard to lose before the Biggest Loser 5K in July.  And to be honest, I still have not been able to get rid of them completely. I did not complete the four week training program I started at the end of September. These past four months have been a roller coaster of weight, emotions, energy, and focus.

But this time has not been all bad. For one thing, I started a new job! I have been a contractor for the past three years, and my goal in this line of work was to get hired by the agency itself instead of remaining as a contractor. At the end of June my contract was up, leaving me out of a job. I spent most of July doing temp work, when BAM! I got the call from the government agency that owned the contract. They wanted ME!

First Week on the New Job!

Of course with all new things, there was a transition period to get used to the new location, new environment, etc. While I was in job training, I did not have a set schedule, so my running training had to be put on hold. And then by the time I received my schedule, I was so out of practice in run training, that I sorta gave up. I had already chalked my registration fee to the Marine Corp 10K as a loss. And my "training partner" was not much help. He basically said "Oh well, too bad, I am going to continue to train without you."

I'm not going to lie: I was depressed about losing the motivation of my training partner. It was like he didn't even care about me anymore; he just went on and on about how fabulous his running plan was going, with no motivation to get me back on board. I know I need to motivate myself as well, but why bother claiming we are training together in the first place if you could so easily just dump your partner at the first sign of stress?

Okay, okay, pity party is over. This story has a happy ending. I will tell you all about the happiness in my next post: 365 to 13:1: Marine Corp 10K Recap. Yep, that's right folks, I DID end up racing!

Tell you all about it soon. Until then, Pin Up!

365 to 13.1: One Month to 10K

I am less than a month away from a 10K (6.2 miles)! But not just ANY 10K: the Marine Corp Marathon 10K. I was so excited after the Biggest Loser 5K, I immediately signed up for the next race I could find. But then my excitement took a back seat to the business of the summer, and the next thing I knew, September was almost over. So here I am with less than a month to train and prepare myself for a 10K race.

But I am optimistic that this will go well. I have started a 4 Week Beginner 10K Training Schedule that I found on my glorious Pinterest, and as the name suggests, I am on Day 2. I didn't do too bad today, considering I had to wog (walk+jog) two miles and I had not been out jogging in almost two weeks. Below is my schedule for this week:

For cross training, I like to go for easy walks or get on the elliptical. I try to stay away from anything that will cause my knees any extra stress, since they get a pretty good beating from the pavement while jogging. And I am super excited that my rest day falls on Thursday, since the new season of Scandal comes on that night! Don't judge me... :-) 

I will let you know how tomorrow's elliptical challenge goes! Until then, Pin Up!

365 to 13.1: Biggest Loser 5K Recap

I am still SO excited from this race! The atmosphere was thrilling and the participants and volunteers were so encouraging. As I mentioned in my previous posts, 365 to 13.1 Biggest Loser 5K, this was my first real chip-timed race. And you will all be proud to know, I made my goal time!!!

But let's go back to the beginning, where I will take you through the hours leading up to crossing the finish line!

I arrived at RFK Stadium around 7:00am, and my team and I headed to the starting line. I met up with some of my sorority sisters, including one who appeared on a previous season of TBL with her husband.

After lots of mingling, and a too short warm up, I stood at the corral line as a ball of nervous energy. I did not know what to do, and there were way too many people crushed around me to get a last minute stretch going. I just stood there, anxious but excited as I waited for the countdown to begin. And then, all too soon, it was time to run!

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the participants of this race as we moved through the parking lot of RFK Stadium. These beautiful people kept me motivated. I ended up next to one young lady who helped me keep pace since it seemed we were both heading for the same split times. We did not speak to each other until the finish line, but we seemed to have an understanding that we were going to help each other out. My only regret from the day was not asking her name and number after so we could continue working out together. 

When the finish line appeared, I was hot, tired, and super sweaty. But I ran through it as if my life depended on it! Woohoo!

Chip time: 45:02

Pace: 14:32/m

My First 5K is Ten Hours Away!

I am so excited because we are almost at Race Day. All the hard work and determination will (hopefully) pay off when I head to RFK Stadium tomorrow morning to run/walk my first 5K.

I picked up my race packet today at this great restaurant/pub/bar/arcade called Penn Social. I definitely want to go back there on a Saturday night; it looks like so much fun (can we say SKEEBALL!?!) Anyway, I enjoyed the pre-race atmosphere, and I got some fun samples. I also got a coupon for 70% off a BodyMedia Fit armband, which apparently is the tech secret to the weight loss of some of the Biggest Loser contestants. I think I will use the coupon to try it out. I will keep you updated on how it works.

I am looking forward to telling you all about the race when I get back tomorrow. Until then, look for me on the course; I am bib # 1058.

It's just like riding a bike...

... or so I have been told. You see, I have a confession to make: I don't actually know how to ride a bike. But I understand the meaning of the saying. 

Do you know what would relate more to me? If people said, "it's just like getting in the water to swim". Because that's what I did today. I got in a pool after almost three years. And I was nervous. But I submerged my head after a few minutes of doggie paddling, and all my childhood swim lessons came flooding back.

All I could think was, "Woohoo! I can still swim!" I did a flip in the water in my excitement, and when I came up for air, at least three guests at our hotel looked at me in confusion. But I didn't care. Lol. 

I aM here in Hampton, VA for the Hampton Jazz Festival. This is my second time, and after i had such a blast last year, I had to come back. So for my birthday, I got tickets to the Saturday and Sunday shows (Friday was sold out). 

Anyway, the moral of this post is.... Don't sell yourself short on anything. We can do anything we put our minds to! And I know I am looking forward to the day (after many hours on the treadmill, in the pool, etc) that I will take my first picture as the cutest Pin Up Girl we've ever seen!

What is something you haven't done in awhile, that came running back to you after not doing it in a long time?

Inspirational Quotes

Today was a heck of a day...
I had four different meetings/obligations to meet that spanned from 10 this morning to 7 this evening. Needless to say, I am exhausted right now. But then I remembered a quote I saw on Pinterest this morning while I was preparing for my morning workout:

So right when I wanted to go home, I reread this quote and turned my attitude around. And here I am, utterly exhausted, but still going strong.

Have you ever had one of those days where you thought your stamina would run out? What motivated you to keep going?

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