Poundage lost last Saturday ! Finally...

though I guess I am exaggerating being that I lost .4 pounds which hardly qualifies as poundage. But hey, when the nice lady at Weight watchers said nice job as I got weighed in on Saturday morning I thought, I'll take it.
Remember my last post when I wrote about my year of running? I think that writing about that helped me re-assess my fitness goals. In reviewing my running journal to get the figures straight I could see how I slacked off on the running last June, July & August. I had good reason to in July & August, I had a bit of a health issue happening that prevented me from running & June was a month filled with one event after another. So yes I had good reasons not to be running but the point is as soon as I got back into it I noticed how I seemed slower & I was wondering why that was. After reviewing my exercise patterns it seems obvious now. I wasn't running as much, so of course I would get slower! Anyway, I've been running steadily again for the last few weeks and I am picking up the speed.
So now that I am back on track I think I do need to set some new goals. I think running 12-15 miles a week would be reasonable. I was proud that I was able to run 259.5 miles last year but when you average it out that is only about 5 miles per week. I did supplement my running with biking and walking and hiking, but I don't get my heart rate up as much and I never sweat as much. I feel that running gives me that extra edge I just don't get from the other exercise. So there it is, my new goal. Last week I ran a little over 12 miles so I've already begun.
Tomorrow I am going to talk about new weight loss goals.

a year ago today...

I added running to my exercise regime. It was a desperate attempt on my part to try and change my mood. I woke up that day with a dark cloud hanging over me and I wanted it gone. I always heard about the endorphin high people claimed to experience but I just didn't think it was worth all that jarring of the bones. Besides, I enjoyed biking, hiking and almost daily hour long walks. I didn't feel the need to run.
The dark cloud morning came after a reprieve of not having one for awhile. I haven't written about this in a long time but the fact remains that I lost my dear brother-in-law Paul one year and nine months ago. It was such a complete shock. He died suddenly of a massive heart attack. That afternoon he was playing ice-hockey. He was only 43.
So there was a sea of grief that enveloped us all and still does to some extent. I found that losing a family member changed everything. Life as we knew it would never be the same.We all had to find a new way to navigate our days. I am writing we because as a family we are inextricably linked. When Paul died, we all felt it like a painful ripple effect.
So here I am having run 259.5 miles passed that dark cloud morning. I miss my brother-in-law Paul. I think of him everyday. I know he is with us though, watching over all of us. Sometimes I feel his presence when I am running. It feels like he's right behind me, rooting me on.

so the good news is...

I haven't gained any weight. This is my vain attempt to put a positive spin on the fact that I am not losing any either. I am thinking positive which is a small miracle given my mental state the past few days. Suddenly today, literally like a light bulb turning on, I realized I hadn't exercised since last Friday! ! ! No wonder my mood was declining. I had planned too, it's not like I forgot to do it, but things got in the way, boring excuses you don't want to hear about.
Anyway, as soon as I became aware of this realization, I immediately knew that it was imperative that I go for a run. Not ten minutes into my run, and I know you have heard me say this before, but I still just can not get over how this endorphin thing works, I felt so so good. I felt so good that I started to wonder why everyone doesn't do this. Which brings me to my next topic. Have you ever seen the documentary King Corn?
I am not a self righteous vegetarian. I grew up eating meat. it doesn't disgust me that people eat meat for nourishment. The main reason I share this information is because if anyone truly wants to know why I deprive myself of eating meat, this movie explains it perfectly and unpretentiously by two self professed beef eating men. My interpretation of the movies main message and how that jives with my reasons for giving up meat is as follows, I love animals and I love nature and it just aint natural for us to be growing junk food so we can eat fat disguised as meat. Never mind the whole soda/ liquid candy topic.
I know that seemingly those last two sentences do not make much sense. So let me try & explain it the way the movie does. The majority of corn grown in our state of Iowa is modified to be low in nutrition and high in starch. This serves two purposes, one is for cattle feed and the other is for high fructose corn syrup primarily used to make soda. Our food system with regard to beef production is so completely removed from anything remotely natural.
If you feed this type of corn to a cow in containment, they get fat real quick. Since the rapid weight gain contributes to the cows poor overall health, they are continually kept on antibiotics. The film pointed out that 70% of antibiotics in the U.S. are used on cattle!

I couldn't watch the scene where they discuss what happens to the cows stomachs so I will leave you with how this all relates to my initial "why" question. Well... sort of. Why isn't everyone a vegetarian? or rather, why is the majority of Americans eating this type of meat?
& if you doubt anything I have written here, please see King Corn. Despite the heavy topic it is actually very entertaining.

running...

As I began my run last night I felt old and rickety. I felt like I would be lucky if I made it around the block once. By the time I was half way around I kept thinking, just make it around once, that's all you have to do. When I completed the first lap I felt like, hmm... OK, I can definitely do another one. I had a nice tempo going I thought, plus I was sweating and sweating is good. By the third lap, I forgot about my little pep talks and was on to other things like the inspiration I get that seems to pop up out of thin air as I continue running. Everything seems to flow and it's the best feeling. It's not so easy when I first begin but I know by now those endorphins will kick in and if I just stick it out I will feel better shortly. I find it to be the most amazing and rewarding experience. As I was finishing my fourth lap, which is the equivalent of a little over three miles, I felt like I could do a fifth one but I didn't have the time. It was already 6:40 and I needed to get home. Still, it was good to know I felt like I could do it.

I stumbled upon this amazing garden last Sunday at Farmingdale State College. Please click on the photo to get a better view of the lush plantings. If you would like to see another picture from the same garden, go here.

I missed my weight watchers meeting this morning!

Yikes! I can't stand the thought of missing it. I'm writing down what I eat today and I am definitely walking for an hour- at the least.
I've been exercising a lot this week and my hip has been bothering me. I need to commit to more stretches because I don't want to give up running. I am too addicted to the runners high to give that up.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Boston Marathon

After Stephanie's we walked outside the surrounding neighborhood & stumbled upon the finish line for the Boston Marathon. I had no idea it had just taken place the weekend before our visit. I also didn't know it was the world's oldest annual marathon.
I had to take a picture of it of course! Pretty cool huh?

Energy

Photo taken by Ian

When I first started running at the beginning of last October it took me 12.5 minutes to run 1 mile. I actually ran 1.6 miles in 20 minutes & I remember feeling like I was running uphill the entire time. Though it was a mighty challenge for me I wanted to do it because if you have been reading my past posts I was looking for some of those magical endorphins. I found it amazing that within my first 10 minutes I experienced a shift in my attitude and I was sweating. I like to sweat, but unless it's hot outside I usually don't while I exercise-at least, not a lot. I could be riding my bike outside on my favorite trail traveling 15-20 miles per hour & I barely break a sweat. So this is good news that I was sweating. Dr Oz the informative DR that appears on Oprah regularly, suggests we sweat at least 3 times per week. It makes me feel like I am taking care of myself properly when I follow DR Oz's suggestions.

Yesterday while squeezing a quick run in before going out for the evening, ( I had to mention that because once in a while I really love going out at night) I ran 3.2 miles in 33 minutes. That means it took me 10.31 minutes to run 1 mile! That also means I have shaved 2.2 minutes off of my running time. Don't get me wrong-it's not as if getting faster is my goal. Mainly I am just trying to run-something I find fairly difficult to do. I kind of assumed this would take place as I continued running over a period of time. It has & I'm glad because this means I can cover more distance in a shorter amount of time providing me with a more intense workout. I remember one of my running mentors explaining to me to start out slowly & gradually increase my workouts by time first, that I shouldn't worry about speed. Doing this I believe is what prevented me from getting injured. At least I didn't get injured by way of shin splints or other running side effects. It would be dishonest of me if I neglected to mention that I did take a nasty spill that literally sent me airborne for what seemed like an eternity causing a trucker to stop & wait for me to land so he could ask me if I was alright. As I was flying through the air I wondered exactly how I would be hurt in the end. Finally when I rolled to a stop, my only injury turned out to be a dessert plate sized purple bruise on my upper thigh. I didn't enjoy getting hurt, but it did make me feel young again.

Lastly, I am sure losing the 10.8 pounds definitely helped increase my speed. After all, I couldn't imagine running while carrying a ten pound weight.

Jesse puts into words why I actually am starting to like running now. I think after I read this I realized how running inspires me.

I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs. ~Jesse Owens

Some reasons to continue running

-I'm not feeling that flab shake up & down anymore.

-euphoria is nice.

-accomplishing something I didn't think I could do is good for my self-esteem

-I get to see stuff like this. Click on photo to enlarge the picture so you can check out the glowing moss.

Day 4...

& I am feeling good. How could this be? It is so weird, but so good. I think starting running may have something to do with it. I started running 6 weeks ago hoping to get some of those endorphins I would hear about every so often. Wondering if it would work one day while at the brink of a mental meltdown I thought I would give it a try. I couldn't believe the results. First I thought I would run to the bank. It was very hard. The entire time I felt like I was running up a hill. My body felt so heavy & I could feel my flab shake up & down. I felt really uncomfortable. That took eight minutes. After waiting at the bank for 5 minutes I wondered if I could continue to run. Thinking of those endorphins & knowing I needed at least another 12 minutes for them to kick in, I knew I had to at least try. As I ran again I just kept thinking, let me try to get to that next corner and when I got there I felt so good about achieving that goal, it compelled me to run to the next corner & then the next until I completed another 12 minutes. It must have been my running angels because I hated running. Everyone talks about how it really isn't good for you & how it'll ruin your knees. Personally I know I may suffer some consequences, but the feeling of mental well being I experienced for the rest of the day after I completed my little challenge was worth it. Not only did I definitely feel some sense of inner balance, I felt really good about achieving something that I wasn't sure I could do.

I asked my friend how I should continue. She just completed her 16th NYC Marathon (& her knees look fine). After much encouragement & congratulating me on my taking up what she refers to as a dificult sport, she advised me to run for 25 minutes at least 3 days a week for 3 weeks & then gradually increase my time by 5 minutes every 3 weeks. She told me not to concentrate on distance right now, just run the allotted time. She says this way I will avoid injury as my body gets used to it. She also said that if I am running & suddenly feel I can't do it & I need to walk, I shouldn't get down on myself, I should just take comfort in the fact that I am listening to my body. My other friend who has been running as long as I can remember told me so much of it is mental. She said the first mile is always her hardest,but once she gets past that she knows she can go as far as she wants. What sage advice from the two of them. As I continued to run over the next few weeks their words kept coming to my mind making me feel like I wasn't alone & that I could do this.

I think running has given me some of my confidence back therefore giving me the courage to believe I can actually lose weight if I want to. & now for some reason which I probably will only ever figure out in hindsight, I really do want to lose weight.