The 5K and Being Bored

So, as we all know, I've been somewhat of a slacker lately.  It is difficult to get up extra early in the morning to work out, so I've tried to tweak my routine so I can work out at night.  That works for my schedule most of the time.  Last week, though, I was able to run almost every night up until my 5K on Saturday.  I did improve my time on our local park track, but I must say that I didn't really prepare myself physically for the race.

The night before, one of my sorority sisters got married in Marietta, and the reception was in Atlanta.  Let me just say that it was absolutely beautiful!  The ceremony was so heart-felt, and the reception was seriously in one of the most gorgeous places in Atlanta.  It was fun, but I didn't really get in the bed until around 2 am... and I had to be at the race location at 7:15 am.  Not a good idea to stay out so late, but it's was worth it to catch up with my sisters. 

Anyway, though, the 5K was seriously the most difficult 5K I've ever done in my life.  It wasn't necessarily because I didn't have much sleep or energy, but it was uphill for almost two freaking miles!  There was *maybe* about 3/4 of a mile that was downhill, so none of us really had much of a break during the race.  I finished it in 35 minutes and 50 seconds...  by far the worst I've ever done, but I guess considering the lack of sleep, the course itself, and the fact that I didn't really train until the week before, it wasn't too terribly bad.  I will say, though, that I was completely pooped the rest of the day.  Like, for real.  I went home after an event I had to work and slept for 3 hours.  Ahhh...  bliss. 

So morale of the story, girls and boys - if you're going to run a 5K, prepare, prepare, prepare!  Get sleep, train in an appropriate amount of time, eat right, hydrate yourself, and scope out the route beforehand if you want yourself to be ready for it.  I think I'm going to do Race for the Cure in Atlantic Station this year, so I promise you that I will be much more prepared then. 

Back to Power 90, though...  I'm seriously getting bored with the workouts.  It's not very motivating when you watch the same routine over and over again, especially when I'm pretty much OCD and ADD at the same time.  I'm obsessed with something right when I start it, but I get really ADD after just a few weeks of it.  It's like the newness wears off, and I've got to find something else that's new, fun, and challenging to replace it with.  I'm trying - God knows I'm trying - to just stay on pace with Power 90, but I'm also trying to incorporate other workouts into the middle of the week, as well.  For instance, going jogging or playing basketball outside.  The weather is finally getting warm enough to be outside without being uncomfortable, so my plans are to keep myself busy with the Power 90 workouts when it's rainy and be outside when it isn't. 

I think that's a good plan...  and as long as I keep myself interested in the activities, I'll stick to it.

Patience

I seem to have a trend of posting on Thursdays.  Not really sure why, but I guess that's when I actually think about posting.  I guess once-a-week is better than none! 

So, I'm STILL at the 15 lbs lost stage, so I've been trying something different: jogging.  We have a local park that's perfect for running, jogging, and walking, so I've been going there for the past several days to build up my stamina.  I've also got a 5K on Saturday that I've got to train for.  Yes, I've got the procrastination bug.  At least I've been working out somewhat hardcore since January, so that's helped my stamina more than I realized.  The boyfriend and I did two run/walk laps around the park yesterday, and I felt pretty decent about it.  Not the fastest I've ever been, but on the flip side, it isn't the slowest.  I've just gotta keep building on it, and I'll be able to run just fine.

I've realized lately that my life theme is patience.  Patience for losing weight; patience for getting into shape; patience with relationships; patience that the right opportunities will come along.  I know I can't lose weight all at once - if it was easy, everyone would do it.  I've got to work even harder to achieve my goals and get into shape.  It's like that for everything, though - when it's time for something to come along or happen, God will make it happen.  :)

Yaay for Green Beer!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!  Make sure you're wearing green or you're screwed.  The pinch monster will drop by today at any given moment. 

I'm staying pretty consistent around the 15 pounds lost mark, but I know I've got to increase my dedication to eating the *right* things.  I eat healthy, but it's not the right kind of healthy - I need more protein, and I can tell it.  I need more water, and I can tell it.  Now, what I'm really trying to say is that I need less carbs.  I realized this morning that all I'm eating is carbs - pasta, cheerios, etc.  I have very little protein in my diet compared to everything else, so I'm going to boost that train of amino acids and hit the tracks running. 

In drink news, I've recently discovered the Minute Maid Just 10 packs.  I love juice; I'm not going to lie.  It's difficult cutting out all of the sugary juices in your diet, but this pack is only 10 calories and has 2 grams of sugar.  The Fruit Punch pack is excellent and makes me happy, so I highly recommend it.  It's yummy, fruity goodness.

So, last post I told you all about my car that I was getting on Friday...  well, it's here and I LOVE IT!  Here's a photo of it just after I washed it:

It's a 2011 Mustang Club of America Edition 'Stang, and it's freaking awesome!  I'm getting great gas mileage, which is really why I traded my 2008 Equinox Sport in on it.  If you guys want to see more photos (and pics of my other 2003 Mustang, my dad's 1956 Chevy, and some other cars), go to www.cardomain.com/id/stanggal and look over to the side where it says StangGal's Garage.  I love cars.  Especially when the name of them consists of starting with "Mus" and ending with "Tang." The end.

Anywho, enjoy some green beer, corned beef, and cabbage tonight!  I'm (hopefully) going out to dinner, so hopefully the calories won't overtake me tonight.  I'm going to try really hard so they don't.  So, raise your glass and enjoy some Killians tonight.  Er...  well...  I will be, at least.

I wonder if they can put some food coloring in my Killians?  We'll see.

GREAT day!

Okay, so last night I slightly pigged out and had some wings.  Because of this, I expected to not lose any weight last night.  Um, apparently I was wrong!  I am now proud to say that I've lost a total of 15.6 pounds so far!  YAAY!  That puts me toward my next goal: hit the 20 pound mark.  Guess it's time to go get my guitar strings fixed now.  :)

But, there's a better incentive: I'm trading my vehicle for a new 2011 Mustang that's the Mustang Club of America edition!  I'll post pics after I get the car tomorrow.  I'm so pumped. 

So, great day so far.  Losing weight and getting a new car.  Suh-weet.

Brief, but it's a post

So, I'm pretty much back on track.  For the most part. 
This week has gotten back to my normal routine of working out in the morning, going to work, coming home, chilling out, and then going to sleep.  Sounds boring, but that's how it is right now.  I manage to squeeze a few guitar sessions and tv shows in when I get a chance, though. 

I've lost .2 lbs since my last big weigh-in, so I guess that's better than nothing!  I said it in my last post, but thank goodness for the metabolism supplements.  I ate pretty badly during my trip to the mountains, but we walked all over creation.  Hopefully that balanced out.  Probably not, but I'd like to think so.

Sorry to be brief, but today's going to be a busy day!  Hope everyone has a fabulous day!  :)

Thank goodness for metabolism supplements

Yes, I've slacked for the past couple of weeks.  Good thing, though, is that I haven't gained any weight.  But on the other hand, I haven't lost any either. 

I've been out of town most of the time, and then when I am in town, my schedule is crazy.  After this week, it will be back to normal, so I'm going total hardcore again on Power 90's butt.  It's so difficult to work out in the mornings, but once I get back on my schedule of doing that, I should be just fine.

Even though my clothes fit better, it's difficult to stay motivated.  I've taken a new approach, though - I'll be using the magic #13 as some different motivation.  My dog weighs about 13 pounds, so seeing and picking her up is a great way to see how much weight has been taken off of my feet.  I've lost 13, so now it's time to lose another 13 (and so on and so forth).  I'll still have my 5 lb rewards, but this will be just another way of visualizing my weight loss.  I do better with visual learning anyway.

So, I hope everyone is having a great week so far!  Talk to you soon.