Week Four Complete! I DID IT!! Part 1...

After a week of doing my maintenance runs on the treadmill (mainly due to not wanting to get up early enough so I didn't die in the heat...), I completed week 4 on a high note!! (Well almost high note...but more about that later.)
On Saturday, we went to a USO event sponsored by Lowe's at Nationals Park. We really didn't know what to expect, but boy were we amazed! They had a battle of the branches grill off, tours of the stadium and an incredible lunch...all the hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream, etc you could eat. And the food wasn't cheapy either...it was a really nice spread. I was incredibly honored to be able to be apart of it. Can't wait til next year. I told Craig that he will need to sign up for the grilling competition. And just in case you didn't notice my post on FB, we had a chance to meet Carson Daly from The Voice. He was one of the celebrity judges, and he was such an incredibly nice guy. Truly down to earth!

 

 (Sorry I just had to share my excitement AGAIN...He used to be a total teenage crush for me!)

So...on our drive to Nats Park, I told Craig that I wanted to run at East Potomac Park on Sunday. He thought that would be a good idea and I prayed for decent, non rainy weather. Saturday night, I do have to admit that I woke up in the middle of the night in slight panic attack mode. This isn't the first time either. I knew I had 4 miles....my longest run to date...that I had to complete and I really didn't know how I was going to do. Is this normal? Anyone else get super nervous like this? I honestly was terrified and didn't know what to expect!

6:30 AM Sunday morning....Are you kidding me??!?!?! Craig literally had to shake me awake! This princess needed her beauty sleep. I literally blind texted Craig (cuz I was still 80% ASLEEP!!) and asked him to bring me an energy drink, 5 Hour energy, caffeine, ice bucket of water....ANYTHING to wake me up. I knew it was do or die...and I wasn't in the mood to drop dead at that moment. :)

I think it ended up taking me almost an hour to get up, get ready, and get out the door...Holy Cow! I thought this stuff was suppose to get easier. We pulled into one of the parking lots and I was on my journey. 

It was honestly amazing!!! As I left the park, I saw Craig turning around, so I knew that I wasn't going the way I originally thought I was going...So I crossed the bridge between the Potomac River waterway and the Tidal Basin and began my trek. Now granted I had walked around the Tidal Basin before but it felt so different now....I ran through the FDR Memorial, pass the Washington Monument from every different angle, past the MLK Jr Memorial, and around the Jefferson Memorial. It was the coolest thing I have done so far. And since I am still doing run/walk intervals, I did manage to pull out iPhone and take pictures during my walk interval.

 

At the beginning, as I was coming out of the Roosevelt Memorial, there was a fox, dumpster diving. Yes, folks, you read that right. He was attempting to jump into the trash can as I ran by...He literally looked right at me and stared...Funny thing, I was staring right back and the only thing I was thinking is, "OMG! Please do not attack me!" haha...

At one point, I looked at my Garmin and was shocked and  frustrated at the same time!! I hadn't even hit 2 miles yet!! Are you kidding me?!?!? At that point, I was thinking I was almost done...well, not really, but I totally thought I was time for me to turn around. :)

SO because I wasn't at the 2 mile mark, I kept on going...and then another point of panic hit me again. I knew where I was...but did I know how to get back to where I started. Uh oh! So for a few seconds of my mind racing, I looked across the bridge I was on and knew that I started where the Jefferson Memorial was so I had to get back there. Once I crossed the bridge, I ended up running the walkway along the Tidal Basin...pass the Jefferson after dodging the the tourists (once again, are you kidding me?!?!?! What the heck are y'all doing up this early on a Sunday!!!)...I saw the initial bridge that I had crossed and made the left. Home stretch...but I think I still had about a mile and a half to go...No worries! I was just completely amazed at myself at being able to go this far without stopping...without complaining...and I actually wanted to keep on going. 

I literally hit mile 2 and started clapping for myself...and when I hit mile 3, I think I even started dancing and singing a bit...

Well...I didn't realize how late it was getting...I will get back tomorrow (or rather later today) to finish this experience. 

Till then...nighty night!

Week One....COMPLETE!!

After what seemed like a LOOOOOONG day at work on Friday, I finished my work week with ZUMBA!! (Love ya Lo!! But that squat song...Holy Moly!!) I was finally really run down and tired by 3:45 that I really felt that I wasn't completely into it. But, I made it through, and I was super glad that I did.

Well, I was bummed earlier, though. We were suppose to go to the Nationals game that evening, but since it had literally been raining since Thursday evening, it was postponed until Sunday evening.

So, that night after dinner, I sat on my very-comfy couch, and it decided to sing me a lullaby. This is becoming a regular for me if we have nothing planned on Fridays....probably not a good thing. However, after working and working out all week, it is probably my body saying, "Rest up, lady!"

Saturday....I had to get up relatively early to take my PRAXIS exam. For those of you who don't know, I am a special ed teacher, and I have been for 13 years now. And I figured that I need to try a different path...so I am taking my PRAXIS in math to be certified as a middle school math teacher. I know right??? What the heck am I thinking? No matter what, I know I am definitely going to heaven. :) At the testing site, I just happen to be in the same testing room as my former Director of Schools. He is leaving to be a superintendent out of state, and I have worked closely with him for the last 2 and a half years through our intramural sports program. He made me feel really good by telling me how much he has seen me grow as a leader and really encouraged me to move on with my plans of becoming a school principal.

So, after sitting a testing for TWO HOURS and having a short and meaningful conversation with my former "boss," I walked out of the testing center on cloud 9! I was totally feeling good about the test AND I was totally feeling good about the choices that I have made in my life up to this point.
There have been many times that I have felt and wondered, "What the hell am I doing?" And, "How the heck did I end up here?" I have been lying to myself for years I believe that I was truly happy with my choices. Don't get me wrong...I have the best husband ever, and I don't regret a single choice that we have made together. But I now realize that I was probably fooling myself! And now I have finally decided that I am going to be truly happy...and not just tell myself that I am.

Well, from this feeling of realization, I was finishing up our Saturday chilling out night by surfing the Internet and found a 10K race in July...The Biggest Loser Run/Walk.

And guess what?? Yup!! I signed up for it!! OMG!! What am I thinking?!?!? Middle of July...in the heat and humidity!! I must really want to do this. Never in a million years would I ever be caught dead outside in the hear in the summer....much less actually running in it. HA!! Well, I am finally here to prove myself wrong!

So before bed, Craig and I agreed to run first thing Sunday morning. I had already decided not to work out on Saturday since I had gone to the gym every day this week, so I had to do my day three run...it was only a mile run...but I knew it was important to get it done before the end of the week.

Well, old Jessica would have told Craig to leave her alone when he asked her if she still wanted to go running first thing Sunday morning.....BUT NEW and IMPROVED Jessica got out of bed when Craig asked her. Now granted, I didn't jump right up when he asked me....I did get about 15 more minutes of sleep in...LOL!
Needless to day, with the weather we have been having here in DC, it was actually a beautiful morning.

SO I started my run/walk with a nice walking warm up, I have kinda conditioned myself to start to matter what after this slight hill on the trail. It is all psychological...I know...but it is just something that I have been doing since my first outside run in March. Anyways, I started running and low and behold, my ankle started killing me!! Seriously?? I was so annoyed! It was kinda giving me trouble during Zumba on Friday but that was 2 days ago. I worked through it for the first interval, and by the time I was on interval 3, the pain kinda magically disappeared.That's a good thing.

Have I to say....I was using my new Garmin watch. And I really liked the notifications letting me know that it was time to change up during my interval...What I didn't like is that I had set the intervals based on my 10 mile run in 17 weeks at Disney so I wasn't able to stop it after I was done with the first mile. Guess I need to read more on it before trying again. Plus, I wasn't able to upload data from today onto my computer. That is a job for Craig to help me with. He's been using his Garmin for years now....so he's an expert. Maybe??

Always as a back up, I do have my phone recording as well. And to make me feel even better, I realized that this Jeff Galloway program that I started on Monday, ACTUALLY WORKS!!! According to my RunKeeper app on my phone, I did a 12.01 min mile!! OMG!! Are you kidding me?!?!?

YAY ME!! 

To make a long story short....I ended up run/walk a mile but ended up putting in a total of 3.1 in 37 minutes. WOW!! YAY ME AGAIN!! My first 5K was on St Patrick's Day and I completed it with A LOT less running in 54 minutes. In 12 weeks, I have been able to take off 17 minutes off my time. Now I am really not worried about this 10K in July!!

To sum up the week....I ran/walked a total of 7 miles....worked out 6 days this week (I know too much...but I really enjoy going to Zumba on Wednesdays and Fridays)...and lost 3 pounds. (Now time to get my diet in check...) Not bad for my first week of making it real!

Off to bed to start Week 2!! Only 9 days left of school....I know I can do it!!!

ZUMBA WEDNESDAY!!

Today was definitely HUMP DAY!

After spending 4 1/2 hours in a room, watching kids taking their state reading assessment...can be really draining. It's almost as fun as watching paint dry. Even with the extra bit of caffeine from Starbucks this morning...(I had to get my Passion Tea Lemonade!) it just wasn't working because by lunchtime, I was exhausted!
At the end of the day, I saw my favorite Zumba instructor walking down the hall and received just the motivation I needed!
I mustered every ounce of strength to get through the hour. It was a blast as usual though!! Even the crazy squats work out that Lolita loves to do...I swear she must really love to see the torture of our faces every time we "bounce bounce squat low" Ugh! Just thinking about it is making my quads and hips hurt! :)
Well made it to 5:45...and as always, I was smiling through the sweat! I may have some troubles getting up the stairs tomorrow though....LOL!

Here we are...HOT!!

However, because I want to be as honest as possible...

As motivated as I have been getting...after looking at this picture, I get discouraged again. Like, "Why the hell am I putting this effort and nothing is changing?!?!" Ugh! I get so frustrated! Sometimes, I look at recent pics and think, "WOW! I am looking pretty darn good!" But then on days like these I just get so down on myself.  I know it takes time and patience...but sometimes I just wish it would come off as easy as I put it on! sigh...
Of course I will probably being saying something differently when I step on the scale on Saturday, but as of right now, I am just feeling a little uninspired.

Well....tomorrow run day number 2...another 30 minutes...let's see if I can do better than day 1. Plus I played with my new Garmin watch to figure out how to work it. It is so cool that I can set my intervals so I don't have to think when to change it up. Just by looking at the things that my husband's more expensive watch can do, I am totally looking forward to trying this out tomorrow. Here is the Garmin ForeRunner 210 to see for yourself!
So until then...have a great night!
Jessica

Day 1 and 2...This may be a long one...

I am gonna get caught up...only a day behind...but does it really count when I technically did start recording yesterday...)

Prior to starting, after reading several different blogs and and following different boards about half marathons, I decided to use Olympian Jeff Galloway's training program. Craig had seen him speak at a conference he attended a couple of years ago, and thought very highly of him. 

Anyways...Disney sponsors his training programs so I decided to give it a try for my first 10 miler at Disney. 

(Want more?? Here is the link to his program... runDisney Training.

So this program involved 1 long run weekly and 2 maintenance runs.Running 3Xs a week...I can totally do that. Jeff Galloway has specific programs and timelines for each runDisney race...all very similar, but one thing I like about it is that I can download and load the program into my phone calendar...so there is very little thought to working out. Just get out there and do it, right?

DAY ONE:

Got home from work and feeling slightly unmotivated...but I knew it was now or never...and I chose NOW! Of course when I walked through the door, Craig reminded me of the gym...ugh! Oh well!

Rushed to get ready...Made it to spin class with a minute to spare. 

Now...let me back up...I have always been one who NEVER...I mean NEVER!!! want to do classes at the gym...much less go to the gym to work out...I didn't even put much effort before our wedding! And doing a work-out class...FORGET IT! I always felt that being a "not skinny" gym person that I would be ridiculed or made to feel that I didn't belong...Boy was I wrong!! So if you ever feel this way, just remember that nothing matters more than what you are thinking of yourself...Everyone and anyone goes to a gym to work out, and you deserve to be there as much as they do. Took me a long time to believe this...and it is a work in progress. I still will only run on the treadmill in the dark in the cardio theater room...but I still look around a lot...but not as much as better. I am there for me and not to impress anyone else!!!

Back to spin class...best one yet!! (This isn't my first one BTW) The instructor played all PitBull songs...how much more motivating is that?? However, rather than concentrating on the class, I kept wandering to Zumba class and all the wacky dance moves we do to those PitBull songs!! (haha dork right? I know!) So about half way through, while out of the saddle simulating an uphill ride, my foot started to give out...Are you kidding me?? I was not wearing my cross trainers...I was in my shoes I use for Zumba...yup, that was my mistake! Oh well! Will never do that again! Remember to only stick with cross trainers...check!! 

Well...I made it through spin class and totally worked through the ridiculous pain! I think it was more of doing it because I wanted to prove myself that I can even overcome my stupid mistakes. Never said I was an expert...this is a total learning process! And boy does it hurt when I make a mistake. HA! 

DAY TWO: 

Moving on...like I said I think yesterday, I am focusing on my training...much more than detailing my days...but I have to say this...I got out of my car this morning at work...and as I walked toward the building all I could think of was, "WOW! This is gonna be perfect weather to run in!" I also emailed Craig and told him it was a "Drop the Top" kind of day! 

And I did just that...

I walked out of work, cleaned out the back seat (I didn't want to clutter the highways of DC with my Starbucks glasses and Nationals hats and jackets...hehe), and I dropped the top! It was so beautiful out!

Well...when I got home, Craig told me that he got a gift for me.I check in his backpack and there was this....

Can you hear the magic??? I am so stinkin' excited!! I used to think that I would never get excited for a new pair of running shoes...and I definitely never thought I would get this excited for a watch for running!! I have gone mad!! But we are all a little mad here... (catch the Disney reference??) With this watch, I love the fact that I can set up my running intervals!
The major part of these Jeff Galloway training that I had mentioned earlier is interval running based on the pace you would like to keep.
Problem...new watch..needs to charge...ugh! OK...so I guess I will have to play on Thursday.
So...with not much drive, I headed out onto the trail with Craig to do my first official run of week one training. OMG! It was so difficult trying to do the intervals without a proper time keeper...so I did best with what I had...and I set my iphone app to track and started my run.
Probably about halfway through, I started getting this weird pain in my rear end. I know it sounds funny and I couldn't help myself from laughing out laugh because every time my foot would hit the trail and I felt my bubble butt jiggle, it would hurt. It was completely comical...and this is what probably got me through it. I am starting to get pretty bored with the same songs on my iphone...so I will need to work on my playlist.
Well, I arrived back home and here is what I ended up with...

Not my best time...but I think I was more worried about not really keeping the 2/1 interval. I did the best, and even though I knew I could give more, I am happy about completing today's workout.

And because I said I would running with my camera, I forgot to take my pic at the beginning of my run, but here is my trail pic about a quarter mile from home...

Well..not bad for my first 2 days... Came home and watched Extreme Weight Loss on ABC with Craig. I think this show is way better than Biggest Loser. If you have never seen it, it is a must see show! And I think I am even more motivated than before. Plus I found out that the Tower of Terror 10 Miler that we are doing in October is SOLD OUT! I can't believe that I am apart of a sold out event! I'm stoked!

I hope you made it through my first official post detailing my work out...And if nothing, maybe I have inspired you just a little bit more.
Until next.......have a magical day!
Jessica