Back To School

 
In June we had the My Feet Your Dream Color Run. This was NOT my favorite race.

1. It was very hilly and it was obviously the first time this group had put on a color run because the color throwers would throw the colors right in your face/mouth. One racer even threw up because he inhaled some of the color. Eww.

2. My other complaint is that the race was not timed. We had number and everything, but there was no timer at all....not even a stopwatch. I understand that not every race is competitive, but I feel that the people putting on the race should have a disclaimer stating that the race is not timed when you sign up.

My time was around 37ish and Chris PR'd with at 34ish minutes.

They were not playing around with that color :)

In July we did the Watermelon 5k. 

I had stopped running in July because we moved and I threw Emersyn her first birthday get-together. July was super stressful, so I slacked off more than I should have. At the end of the month, we did the Watermelon 5k which has a hill rightly dubbed "Everest". The first mile and a half is slightly downhill and I was feeling awesome. I finished my first mile in 10:15 (which is really fast for me). Then I realized that mile 2 and 3 were all uphill, and it was STEEP uphill.

I finished in 40 min, which was disheartening, but we did have a heat advisory and I hadn't run in a month, so I deemed just finishing acceptable.

We are looking like real runners!

We have already done our August 5k.

It was the Run Wild 5k. We ran through and around the zoo. It was a nice, flat course, and I finished in about 37 minutes. Because it was a novelty run, they didn't do accurate timing; they just used a stopwatch. It was neat to run beside the animals, but it was super hot (another heat advisory).

I have now been working at getting faster and ran a 10 minute mile yesterday. That is the fastest I have run this year. I'm just getting back into the swing of school and running, so hopefully I'll be doing some big things this year.

I am wearing a sleeveless shirt! First time I've done that in YEARS!

I am now down 50 pounds (156)! Only 11 more to go!

Chick-fil-a 5K!

So I'll be updating a little less frequently now since I am on summer break, and during the summer I mostly use my phone to access the Internet.....and trying to type a blog on a phone is not very easy.


 On May 30th we had the Chick-fil-a 5K, and if you were wondering, yes they did have chicken biscuits at the finish line :)

This has been one of the only flat course we have had since we started to run, and  it was soooooooooo nice. For the second time Chris was able to come race with me! Having him always makes it more fun. Also, Brooke had just had surgery on her foot, so she was MIA, but my cousin, Avery, replaced her.

We all had a really good race. Avery was so fast that she would pass me, then stop and walk  until I passed her, then run passed me again. She ended up finishing in a little over 33 minutes and took 1st place in her age group.

I had been running mostly quick short runs to prepare for this and it definitely paid off! I PR'd at 35:05. That is a 7 minute difference from last month!

Chris and Macie also improved their times. 37+ for Chris and 45+ for Macie. Alec, sadly didn't improve (42), but I think she is having problems with the mental race.

This is my finish line picture. I got a new phone, so I lost all my group pics from that day.

Lastly, since my graduation week post , my weight had plateaued at 165. I have found that if I want to lose the rest of my weight, I am going to have to put in some more effort. The most effective way I have found is by logging my food. On my Fitbit app, there is a food log (much like myfitnesspal). I have been logging my food and becoming more aware of my snacking and have lost 3 pounds this week!
I couldn't be more excited! I am almost in the 150's. I really never thought I'd be at this weight again!


I have lost 45 pounds (161)! Only 16 to go!

Graduation Week

This week is busy! My sisters graduate from high school on Thursday, and Chris graduates with his Associates on Friday. I was excited to buy a new dress for the occasions and even more excited when I could fit into the regular size clothes at the boutique. Of course, some of the larges don't fit me well (my chest is much bigger since I have had Emersyn), but what made me most excited was that I fit into "one size fits all" leggings.

Side Note:
 I HATE "one size fits all" clothing. They DO NOT fit all. When I was pregnant, I found a cute shirt that was "one size". I told the clerk that there was no way it fit anyone, but she assured me that the shirt "does a lot of stretching, and looks cute on everyone". WRONG! I tried it on and felt like crap. So imagine my devastation when I was looking for leggings to put under my dress and the only ones the store had are "one size". I asked the clerk what size they really went up to and the clerk said "oh, you should be fine! just go try them on"...I was skeptical, but they FIT!


Running:
Last week I didn't get to run much. I ran two miles on Monday, and that was it. I am still working on my speed, though. This week, my plan is to run Monday-Wednesday since we have graduations at the end of the week.

Monday went well- I ran a mile in 11:18, which is the fastest I've run a mile since I started this endeavor. If I kept that pace up for 3.1 miles (which is doubtful) then I could run my 5k in less than 35 minutes!

Today I plan to run 5k. I'm hoping to keep my pace below 13 min/m. I am still really hoping to run our next race in less than 40 min.



I am 42 pounds down (164)! 19 pounds to go!

(if my "to go" pounds don't seem consistent, it's because they're not! My original goal was just to not be considered "overweight," now I think I could be more of my ideal weight)

Runners build up Runners

I have really been slacking off on blogging and running. Ever since the Valentine's 5K, I haven't been running regularly like I should be. I've been watching what I eat more and losing weight, but I definitely lost some of my running mojo.

In March, we did the Run to the Cross 5k; it was hilly and horrible since I hadn't run in a month. I finished in 42:17.

Last weekend, we did the Hope for Autism 5k. That one was hilly, humid, and even harder since I hadn't run in 2 months! I finished in 42:03.

I did have more fun at Hope of Autism because my husband decided to run with me. He is a lot faster than me, but lacks the endurance. Running with him has really motivated me to get back to it.

Yesterday, I ran 1 mile. I tried to do a little speedwork by running faster on the straights and slower on the curves. It resulted in a 12:15 minute mile!

Plus, a guy (who was obviously a regular runner) said I was doing great, and if I kept it up, I would definitely improve my 5k time. That was a super confidence boost! I love that runners build up other runners!

Just to update:

 I am officially down 40 pounds!

This is me after loosing  16 pounds, then after losing 35 pounds.

I don't know why I'm giving crazy eyes in both of these pictures

This picture is of me at 190, then again at 170. I'm now 166! I still have a ways to go, but I'm feeling a lot better about myself. I may actually have to start registering for medium race day shirts! EXCITING!!!

Long Time...No Run

After our Valentine's 5k I decided to take a week off of running because of some feminine issues that I was having. The plan was to take one week off and come back strong the next week. There was one major problem though......


IT ICED/SNOWED the entire next week!!!!!


Living in Louisiana, we do not see much snow....we may get ice once every few years, but this was actual soft powdery snow! I built my very first decent sized snowman! We had a blast playing in the snow, but, alas, I could not run. Because we rarely have snow, Louisiana isn't really prepared for winter storms, so there was no driving to the track or running on slippery roads. 


I'm not going to lie, I had a great time playing in the snow. I loved being off work (schools were closed for 4 days). It was nice not having to run for two weeks, but it is time to get back on track. I'm just thankful that I didn't gain any weight back during the past two weeks.



I am still down 27 pounds!

For the Love of Running 5k

Saturday was For the Love of Running 5k/Color Run.  We really had a blast. They played music before and after the race. They had door prizes, snacks, smoothies, etc. Plus getting color thrown on you every half miles really broke up the race.

My cousin, Alec, and I made it in just over 40 minutes....our best race time yet! We wanted to be under 40, but there were a lot of hills, so we are giving ourselves a break.


My aunt, Macie, ran hers in 46 minutes! She beat her goal of 48 and her goal of not being last. I think she really enjoyed this race!

Macie, Alec, and Me before the race

Alec and Me after the race! (Macie was getting water)

Our next race is at the end of March, and I hope to be well under 40 minutes by the time that one comes around.

On another note, Valentines Day was great. Chris and I had Athena's, which is our favorite Greek restaurant (and the only Greek restaurant in town). Chris also got us chocolate covered strawberries that were soooooooo good. Our Anniversary is this Thursday, and we are actually going to go out on a date Friday! We haven't gone out together since Emersyn was born, so this should really be a good time. We are thinking of going to Painting with a twist, but we haven't fully decided. 

Emersyn had her 6 month check up yesterday (even though she is 7 months). She is turning out to be tall and slim! She is in the 90th percentile for height! Also, we have been feeding her fruit in her fresh food feeder and she absolutely LOVES it.

You just put some pieces of fruit in and Pow! she loves it!

I am 27 pounds down!

WooHoo!

First of all, I ran yesterday and it felt soooooo good. The weather was great, I felt more like I was jogging instead of shuffling, and I kept up a good pace. I ran a 5k in under 40 minutes!!!! I am so excited! Anytime that I tried to do that in the past, I would end up winded and failing, but yesterday was awesome. I know that my running app is a little more generous with distance, so I hope I am under 40 for the race Saturday! I guess I can finally say that I am running/jogging, and not shuffling!

Also, I am very excited about tonight. Chris and I are celebrating Valentine's Day tonight by ordering in Athena's (one of our favorite restaurants)  and watching a movie. Emersyn and I are going to stop by Books-A-Million and get him a little Valentine's gift.

I am down 26 pounds!