Baltimore Women's Classic 5k

Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. I ran my first 5k. It was a great experience, even though I was a tad nervous. Here's how it all went down.

Brian (my hubby) and I headed to Baltimore on Saturday. It made more sense for us to spend the night than to drive the hour and fifteen minutes to the race Sunday morning. So, we headed down Saturday at 11:15 a.m. and stopped in Timonium for packet pick-up. Which went very well. The bag had lots of great goodies! I got my t-shirt in a nice raspberry color, 4 pony tail holders from Goody, 2 music downloads, a duck key chain, coupons for various running/athletic stores in the Baltimore area, a Botanical Acne Gel from Kiss My Face, face care samples from Dr. Michelle Copeland, nail file, and samples of True Lemon, True Lime, and True Orange. It was a great goody bag! I also did a little shopping. :-)

After about 45 minutes, we headed off to Baltimore. We checked into the hotel, then headed to the Walter's Art Musuem. I highly recommend it. It's free, you can take flash photography, and it's got lots of neat stuff! Since we hadn't eaten since 10:00 a.m., we left the Art Museum about 4:00 p.m. and headed to the Inner Harbor to have dinner at Pizzeria Uno. There aren't any around us and since you should carb load before a race... ;-) We had a couple of beers, vegetable quesadillas (which are FANTASTIC!), and deep dish pizza. So yummy! But, totally full before we finished our dinner. After dinner, we wandered onto a Brazilian ship that was docked in the Inner Harbor. It was very nice, though B thinks we are now signed up for the Brazilian navy! We checked out the free concert going on (STEEL DRUMS!) and really cool Edgar Allen Poe sand designs before heading back to the hotel. We relaxed, then went in search of dessert. :-) We had great desserts - ME: Bread pudding with vanilla ice cream BRIAN: chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. Delish! After dessert, we headed back to the room for the night. B fell asleep quickly, while I watched Independence Day. Turned off the lights at 11:00 p.m.

RACE DAY!

The alarm was set for 6:00 a.m. We wanted to make sure that we got up in time to get on the road by 7:00 a.m. and we still had to check out. So, we got down to the desk, checked out, got the car, and headed to the race. We got there early, which ended up being a good thing. We were able to get a parking space in the close parking lot that was only .2 miles from the start. :-) I wanted that lot since I wasn't sure how I would feel afterwards.

Got to the race area and it was bedlam! There were so many people it was hard at first to know where to go. We found our way to the pavilion and I was able to find where I picked up my chip. Found a quiet spot and put it on. From there, we wandered the Village of race related companies and just chatted as more and more people rolled in. It was just overwhelming the number of people there. It was by far the biggest 5k I've been to (B has been doing 5ks for 2 years)! At about 7:45 a.m. they started telling people to line up. I wasn't ready to line up just yet. I didn't want to just stand around in the street waiting for the gun. By 7 minutes of 8:00 a.m., I said good bye and headed to the line. I put myself in the back because WHO knows long/fast I was going to be! I wasn't going to challenge myself with the front runners. As I headed back someone yelled out "Hey Jersey, where you from?" I smiled. I was wearing my Jersey Girl t-shirt, so I headed over to the two ladies who called over to me. They grew up right where I did, so we chatted about that and various 5ks. They suggested some they have done that are good. They were really nice and I wish I could have found them after the race. Unfortunately, I didn't see either of them, which isn't too surprising when I found out there were 1,845 people who registered.

Then the gun went off. It took awhile to get to the starting line and it was slow going for the first 1/2 mile trying to get around people. It was a walk/run and I was with the walkers. About the 1/2 mile mark, I was able to get past people though as people were starting to thin out. Though I will say, it was disconcerting because I was going so slow, I kept thinking I had to be further than I was. And I say this because as I hit the 1 mile marker, I was shocked. I swore I must be at the 1.5 mile marker at least! And I laughed when they called out the 1 mile time - 16 minutes. LOL! Seriously? I've never run a 16 minute mile in my life! My slowest 1 mile run time was about 13:30. Guess the rough start played a part in that. I kept moving and as I went, the area cleared out and it became much easier to run. Though I will say, when I got close to the turn around area I saw the hill. I did not remember there being an overpass bridge right before the gates of Fort McHenry. My poor little heart fell. LOL! But, since I have been running a couple times a week at Shelley Park and there are some monster hills there, I was able to get through it and run the whole time. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful. I got through the rest of 2 miles with no problems. Between the 3 mile and 3.1 mile finish, there was this walker. She passed me with a tenth of a mile to go. REALLY??? When I made the turn to head to the finish line I made up my mind - no walker was going to finish before me! I kicked into high gear and PASSED HER! LOL! Evil, huh? I crossed the finish line, they removed my chip, and I was handed a bottle of water and a rose. :-) The rose was just the sweetest touch. Who would have thought that?

After wards, I found Brian and I grabbed a banana and some more water, then headed out. It was a great time and I'm glad I did it.

Thank you for everyone who encouraged me and trusted I could do it. I appreciate your kind words and now feel like I deserve them.

Stupid Weigh In Day

So, week two of weighing in on Friday. It did not go so well. I gained .8 pounds. Yes, .8 pounds. I know it's not even a full pound, but it means I have GAINED. I do not like gaining. Really, I don't. I had a goal of 30 pounds by July 23rd and I am NOT going to make it now. I will be lucky to hit 25 maybe 26. Ugh. Sucks.

And I did everything RIGHT! I drank my water. I ate my points. I exercised EVERY day. What else does one need to do??? *rolleyes* So this week, on the advice on the WW crew, I am writing EVERYTHING down (which I have been doing any way) and trying to eat more "filling foods." We shall see how this goes. There better be a loss NEXT Friday. I'll be super pissed if not.

2 days til the Baltimore Women's Classic. Eek! In reality it's about 32 hours from NOW. A little frightened by what I've gotten myself into, but it's too late now. We're heading to Baltimore tomorrow about 11:00 a.m. and spending the night. 8:00 a.m. start time is awfully early when you live an hour and twenty minutes away! Don't worry, I'm bringing the camera. I'll post photos and a recap of the weekend's adventures after the race. Wish me luck! And if you're up on Sunday morning between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., please pray for me.

Ugh

This week has not been going the way I wanted it to. I had every intention of the following:

Sunday - 3 laps at Shelley (3ish miles)
Monday - 30 minutes on treadmill
Tuesday - 3 laps at Shelley (3ish miles)
Wednesday - 30 minutes on treadmill
Thursday - 2 laps at Shelley (2ish miles)

Instead, my week has consisted of the following:

Sunday - 3 laps at Shelley (3ish miles)
Monday - 20 minutes on treadmill
Tuesday - 1.5 laps at Shelley (1.70 miles)
Wednesday - 17 minutes on treadmill

This is worrying me as I have the 5k on Sunday. I am having a hard time sticking with my running this week. Is it because I'm freaking out over my 5k? Have I burned myself out running? Am I letting my frustration on not loosing weight the way I want stop me from working out the way I should? I don't know. It's frustrating because now I'm nervous I can't hack the 5k Sunday. I really want to run the whole thing, not stop to walk any of it.

I decided to skip my run tomorrow. I'm going to take the pressure of myself. I will run on Friday after lunch. I'm having lunch with a friend, so when I get home I'll go to the park and just go for a leisurely run and see what happens. Hopefully a good run on Friday will put me in a better frame of mind. Hopefully...

The Following Tuesday

Hahaha! Ok, not so funny, but when I realized yesterday I hadn't checked in since last Tuesday, I decided to post until today to make it a full week. Dorky, I know. Could be why no one's leaving comments anymore. LOL!

Last week was a good one in terms of exercise. I did a TON! I ran 8.75 miles last week, the most I've ever run in one week before. I was really excited about that. I almost got to 10 miles, but just never got in that last run of the week. Ah well. I'll survive.

The big issue last week was eating. And normally it would be eating too much, but instead it was eating too little. I didn't get in all my points on any day but Thursday of last week. It was bad. I was under by at least 2-3 points each day. At first I didn't sweat it, I figured one or two days wouldn't kill me. Then it turned into everyday and it did mess me up. :-(

And by that I mean, I weighed-in on Friday last week and stayed the same. :-( Was so NOT happy about that at all. I talked to the girl at the desk and we think it was because I didn't eat my points. I got my water in. I obviously got my exercise in. The only thing it could be was not eating all my points each day. Sucks.

So, this week I am working on getting in all my points each day. It's not easy when you're at home everyday. I say that because it's all too easy to get them in. I could eat everything in the house, so instead it's a challenge to only eat 23 points a day. It's a challenge to not pig out of random stuff throughout the day and then go, crap! What can I eat for dinner?

I realized yesterday that through the month of August, I'm going to have to weigh-in on Fridays. This weekend I could go Sat, but I have so much going on food-wise that to keep myself sane, it's best I go Friday.

July 4th - Family party in NJ
July 11th - wedding in NJ
July 18th - weekend in NYC with friends
July 25th - Las Vegas for friend's wedding

So, there you have it. An up-to-date accounting of where things stand. I'll try not to let a week pass again without posting.

It's Tuesday. That's it. Nothing exciting.

It's Tuesday. Such a boring day. I always thought Tuesday got the short end of the stick. I mean everyone basically hates Mondays, Wednesdays are hump day, Thursday is the day BEFORE Friday and well, Friday...enough said. And that's kinda how I feel today, eh, it's Tuesday.

Been working my butt off exercise-wise this week. I did an hour on Sunday. I did the Wii Active and my little bike. Then Monday, I did Wii Active and I ran for 30 minutes at the park. Today, did Wii Fit (since it's a rest day from Wii Active - really, it is. The machine told me so.) for 30 minutes, my 8lb arm weight routine and 30 minutes on the treadmill. It's been a good week for exercise. I anticipate doing my Wii Active tomorrow and running again at the park for 30-40 minutes. Debating upping it Wednesday or not. Then Thursday. Not sure what I want to do. I will do Wii Active, but do I run again or not. I'm debating. I could go for a "sprint" run, just to see how fast I can run a mile at Shelley, see if I've improved my 1 mile time. Then come back and do the bike again. Just not sure.

This week I am weighing in a day early because I am running in the Hershey Chocolate Miracle 5k and 1-2 Mile Fun Run (when did running become fun???). My hubby is doing the 5k and I am doing the "fun run." So, since I normally weigh in on Saturday, I am going Friday so I can run on Sat. Which means I have one less day to workout/eat well this week. I really need 1.5-2 pounds this week. I don't know if I can do it, but I really need that loss. I have 10.2 pounds to loose before July 23, which seems like plenty of time, but it's not. I'm getting nervous.

And in other running news, I signed up for the Baltimore Woman's Classic on Sunday, June 28th. Eeek! What did I do??? Well, I will do it and I will finish. My goal is to run the entire race with no walking breaks. I would LOVE to see a time in under 50 minutes, but it doubtful. Wish me luck!! I'll need it. :-)

Another Saturday Check In

Woke up this morning tired. Just did not want to wake up. And knowing I had probably gained, I didn't really want to go. I had a rough week and didn't eat all my points each day, so I had no allusions to having lost this week. But, I went. Told the lady at the counter I had gained, stepped on the scale and was down. Who knew? I lost .6 pounds this week. I was really surprised. I am willing to take it. :-) And after such a HUGE loss last week, .6 isn't too bad.

Then off to the park to run. It was hot this morning. At times overcast, but mostly not. LOL! My goal today was 3.25 miles. I'd done 3 miles for 2 weeks, why not up the distance? So, off I went. My first half mile and mile were great! My half mile time was 6:02, which was .06 seconds faster than I've ever run a half mile before. I was feeling pretty good about myself at that point. And excited to think that I may beat my one mile time. When I hit the one mile marker, checked my watch and low and behold, I beat my mile time as well - 12:16! That is 29 seconds faster than I have ever gone before! Woohoo! I was very proud of that. And then I continued on and didn't look at my watch again until mile 2. I did my two miles in 29:56, which isn't great, but under 30 minutes made me happy. And then no looking at watch until mile 3.25. And that was TOUGH! I really wanted to see where I was at mile 3, but didn't. I was kinda dying at 3.25, but I made it. And I did it in 52:02. I think a snail was cheering me on at that point, but whatever. I ran 3.25 miles. :-) And I was very sweaty. LOL!

I have a 1-2 mile fun run/walk next Sat. and I think I am doing the Baltimore Woman's Classic the following weekend. B's going to try to sell the concert tickets for Sat. night. If he can, then we'll go to Baltimore Sat. and I'll run my first ever 5k Sunday June 28th.

Starting off the Week

Monday. Bleh! Though my Monday got better at noon, when I began "working from home." Apparently boss thought about how dumb it was to have me in the office when I had nothing to do. And even more so when I had finished all the ideas she had for me. So, at noon, I officially began "working from home."

It's been a good two days so far. Yesterday I did ok. I did the Wii Active, but missed the bike. I kept saying I would get to it, but I never did. I also went over a tad in points. I had TONS at the end of the day and ate a little too much humus. Oops! But it wasn't too bad.

Today, did well. I am on points and got in 5 exercise points! LOL! I ran at the park for 30 minutes, which earned me 4 points and my Wii Active session earned me 1 point. It makes me sweat, but I really can't imagine it's "hard." At this point I have 8 points left. Ummm...I'm not getting in another 8 points...I'm FULL! I suppose that's a good thing, right? :-) Though I will say dinner was delicious! Who knew an 8 point dinner could fill you up so much?

Tomorrow we have tickets to the Hershey Bears. I have to figure out what to eat when we're there. I may try pierogies, as I think that might be the healthiest option there. Though I'm really digging their turkey/cheese toasted hoagies. LOL!

Saturday Morning

What a nightmare of a week. I found out about the job I interviewed for at work. I didn't get it. So, I am going to be unemployed starting July 1. I'm really upset over this and having a hard time with it. I had a GREAT review and I have been working in the field for three years with an additional 6 years experience in non-profit fundraising and I didn't get the job. And to top it all off, if I want to be paid through the end of the month, I have to keep coming in. Ugh.

So, Thursday and Friday took a hit eating/exercise wise. I got about 1/2 my water in Thursday, under in points, and no exercise. Friday, hardly had anything to drink all day, no exercise, and I think on target with points. So, I didn't know what to expect when I went to weigh-in this morning. Did those two days mess up all the hard work of the previous four days? So, I headed in to see what the damage was. I was down 3.2 pounds! Yea me! And it got me to 20.4 pounds down total. Thrilled with that. Three weeks ago I wanted to be down 20 pounds by the first weekend of June, but with the gain last week, I didn't think I could do it. So excited my hard work this week paid off. :-) So, now I have 10.8 pounds to go before the end of July. It's possible. Down to the home stretch. I need to take lessons from this week and continue them into next. I can't imagine I would have another 3.2 pound loss, but it might be a 2 pound loss, which would be fabulous!

After weigh-in it was off to the park to run. Got there, stretched, and turned on the shuffle to head off. But, something went horribly wrong. The shuffle was not charged! I had to run with NO music. The horror! Seriously, it was bad. LOL! So, off I went to run 3 miles without music. The first mile was going fantastic! I got to the half mile point three seconds faster than ever before. I was so excited that this mile would be the fastest I ever run. Checked the watch at 3/4 mile marker and thought I was doing great. Hit the mile marker, checked the watch, and it said 00:00. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Somehow the watch reset. :-( So upset! So, I have no idea how fast my first mile was. I KNOW I would have posted a great mile time. So sad. But, I bravely continued on and finished strong at 3 miles. Only the second time in my life I've run 3.

So, it's decision time. Do I sign up for the 5k in Baltimore or not? I have a concert the night before I would have to sell tickets to because I couldn't be in Philly Sat. night for a concert and then be in Baltimore the next morning for a race. Just insane. So, I have to decide and I have to do it before the 7th, because that's when pre-registration is over and the fee goes up. LOL!

Goals for the week:

1. Drink 64oz water every day.
2. Eat on points every day except Sat. (like every week)
3. Run 2 nights.
4. Do another form of cardio/weights 4 nights this week.

These were my goals last week and it lead to a 3.2 pound loss. I am going to keep them up. :)

So Far, So Good

Well, I dedicated myself to getting back on track this week and so far, so good. I did perfect on Sunday, which is a key day of the week for me. I have a hard time most Sundays going from splurge mode to on-track mode. I did it this week. Very proud of myself. I did the Wii Active and my bike, so I got exercise in, water, and on-points. :-)

Yesterday was a little rough. Not much, but I definately wanted more food than I should have. LOL! I did do the Wii Active again and ran at the park. Had the best time ever at Shelley for 1 mile - 13:27, which is 31 seconds faster than my fastest time there. Woohoo! Very proud of that. But, by the end of the day, I wanted more food. I don't know if it's because I exercised early in the day, when I normally do it at night or what. Eh. I went over by 1 point, but still had exercise points accumulated.

Today, great! I've been great on food, drank all my water before 5:00 p.m. and did an hour of cardio - Wii Fit, bike, and arm weights. I'm very proud of myself today. I have a couple points left and I may grab something salty. That's what I'm in the move for, so with the extra points, why not?

So far, so good. Just three more days to go!