to a T

Tomorrow
Ten miles
Trails
Trained (somewhat)
Time?
To be determined ...

Three Things Thursday

I'm still here and still suck at establishing at any sort of blogging routine - so nothing new there. So I'm going to write this post the easy way: three things Thursday, bullet-style!

• I'm still doing really well with my weight loss, nutrition and fitness. I'm at my lowest weight in years - 158.5 this morning. I found my wellness program numbers from 2008 a few weeks ago. I was 188 that August which I believe is my heaviest non-pregnancy weight. Most of those 30 pounds have been lost since September 2010 when I started my Body by Vi challenge. I feel so good and am so energized that I now go to the gym 3 mornings a week at 5:30 a.m. I'm not exactly jumping out of bed with a huge smile on my face at 4:50 a.m. in order to make the 20-minute drive into town, but I love it afterwards. Tuesday and Thursday mornings are group classes with hand weights and steps. I am a drippy, sweaty mess afterwards but it's an incredible way to start the day. Wednesday mornings are treadmill runs, which oddly enough, I really enjoy. I guess it's because I don't normally have easy access to a treadmill so I try to turn it into a speedwork session. Routinely hitting the gym this early in the morning is a HUGE accomplishment for me as I have never been a morning person!

• The Canal Half Marathon is this weekend. This is the half I ran last year with such a horribly slow time thanks to the muddy trail. It's also the event that started an emotional downward spiral that made my self-confidence hit an all-time low. My plan since last fall has been to conquer it this year. Unfortunately that's not going to happen. I didn't stick to my training plan close enough and my right heel still gives me problems for a few days after long runs. But here's the positive outcome. I downgraded to the 8k and best of all, my husband Taylor is going to run it with me. After 2 1/2 years, he's finally given in to my pleadings to join me in this "running thing." He won't admit it quite yet, but I think he enjoys it (sweetie, in case you're reading this, just agree with me).

• The ACC tournament starts today - my absolute favorite time of the year when it comes to sports. I have to say it since it's my alma mater ... go wolfpack! I don't think there's much of a chance we'll play any more this year after tonight's game with Maryland, but it would be wonderful to be wrong.

10 Mile Trail Race!

My PRs - as slow as they are - are over there on the right. Go ahead, look, I'll wait ...

See, slow, but they're my PRs and I'm hoping to set a new one tomorrow at the Medoc Trail Races tomorrow in the 10 mile race. I love this race and it's one that I hope to have on my schedule every year. The state park is only a few miles from my house and it's one that I know fairly well. There's also a marathon at this event and I would love to someday complete that as well. Who knows, maybe next year?

At any rate, I completed the course in 2:28:13 last year and hope to beat it this year. I don't know if I will or not, but I feel good and this year's training has been more consistent. We'll see ... the extra pounds I've lost should certainly help.

I'll be back to post hopefully on Sunday. We have a 5k walk at church tomorrow afternoon followed by a fundraiser dinner. Taylor and I are heading up this event at our small church, so I won't have time to post tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have enough energy to make it through the 5k walk!

Making Progress

I'm excited to report that I'm still seeing progress with my weight loss. I only lost 1/2 pound since last Friday and I haven't done my full measurements yet, but I know that there have been more changes! There is a huge difference in my clothes. I love Body by Vi and can't wait to see what happens at the end of this 90 day challenge!

Although it's difficult to post these pictures again, here's the change from late July 2010 (which was pre-challenge) to today. I'm wearing the same white top and it was stretched to the max in the first photos. I can see the change, but not sure if anybody else can since I'm not turned slightly to the side in today's photos. I'm still not to the point of being able to wear that top without something over it yet, but I'm getting there.

Another huge triumph today: I delivered 35 boxes of these and haven't eaten any ... SUCCESS!

Doris = 1 Krispy Kreme = 0

The one and only 5k I'm running this year is tomorrow morning. It should be lots of fun considering we've had 10 inches or so of rain this week. I think I'll take a picture of my feet when I finish. I'd love to set a PR but I doubt that's going to happen while slogging through the mud, but we'll see. I'm going for it anyway.


That's it for now ... I'll try to post again this weekend with my 5k report.

Medoc Ten Miler

Today has been a great day! I accomplished my goals at the Medoc Ten Miler this morning. Now, I'm on the sofa and will be napping as soon as I type this. Score!

This was a race of many firsts for me: first trail race, first time going 10 miles, first time at a race less than ten miles from my house (that was incredible), first race medal and first time at a race with a marathon (so inspiring, don't know that I'll ever be at a point where I can do that, but I loved seeing those guys/gals today).

Honestly, for the first time I felt like a REAL runner while out on the trails today. Not because I ran the entire way or because I was blazing fast: big NOT to both of those. But I really felt like I was the exact place I wanted to be and I just felt "right."

It was tough but I had a plan/goal in mind and I stuck to it. Since this was my first trail race and I knew the rocks, roots & hills would be much tougher than the paths here on the farm, my very conservative plan was to run 4 minutes/walk 1 minute. My time goal was 2:30 or 15 minute miles ... yep, I'm still very, very slow but I'm getting better.

When I came home, Will asked me "did you win, Mama?" My answer: "yeah, I did sweetie" because I did exactly what I set out to do. I finished in 2:28 something (forgot to stop my watch when I crossed the mat). I lost a couple of minutes sometime during mile 5 because I backtracked and was convinced I'd gone on the wrong trail because the flags were placed a farther apart than they had been everywhere else. There weren't too many people behind me and I was by myself most of the time except when some of the fastest marathoners passed me on their next loop.

I had a great, great time! It was so much fun and I loved every minute of it (yes, even while struggling on those steep stairs at mile 8 and during mile 9)! I'm absolutely convinced now that if I can finish 10 miles at Medoc, I can definitely do 13.1 at the Roanoke Canal Trail Half Marathon in March. I'll hopefully be running at a faster pace by then, too.

I've been looking at some online HM training plans and I've found a novice plan that I think will work for me. It's scheduled to begin the week of Thanksgiving. I'm ready to start now! But that's just the "high" from today. I'll just stick to doing easy runs 3 times a week between now and then. I'm also going to focus on losing about 10 pounds in the next 5 weeks. That will definitely help, too. I know my weight works against me and makes running harder than it needs to be. Sigh ... it's a lifelong battle that's just really, really hard.

The Canal Trail HM should be easier than today's ten miler. The Canal Trail is mostly flat and isn't rooty and rocky like Medoc's trails. Medoc has some steep ups and downs in sections, too (well, steep for northeastern NC). The good news is that, like today, I'll be guaranteed a PR since it'll be a new distance for me!

I guess that's it for now. This sofa is very comfy and I've earned this nap!

Mile 1: 12:06
Mile 2: 15:59 (includes a stop by my car to drop off my sweatshirt)
Mile 3: 15:48
Mile 4: 15:12
Mile 5: 16:32 (includes the backtrack to confirm I wasn't off the trail)
Mile 6: 13:52
Mile 7: 15:04 (ate 1/2 granola bar, steep stairs at the very end)
Mile 8: 13:56
Mile 9: 15:29 (more steep stairs)
Mile 10: 14:11

Chip time: 2:28:13.9 / 14:50 pace

I registered!

Oh my gosh ... I just registered for the Medoc 10-Miler on October 17 ... I have a LOT of work to do between now and then ...

Have I lost my mind?

I've setup a half-marathon training plan in Buckeye Outdoors. I'm hoping that will be a good preparation for this trail race. Since Medoc is so close by, I'll definitely do some of the training runs there since this will be my first trail race. It's a little rooty & rocky on much of the trails, so that's going to require a lot of attention. The kids enjoy going so we'll make some of them family outings.

3.11 miles yesterday evening when it was still way too hot (80+ degrees). I was very slow and struggled in the heat. Hopefully a couple of miles tomorrow morning will be more encouraging.