Day 74 and 75, 76 and 77 Looser shorts

Wow. I am busy.
One assignment after another. It's really hard because I don't think my friends understand when I have to reject them all the time when they ask to go out. That part stresses me out more than the assignments actually.

Day 74 and 75 I did two runs, 30minutes and 45 minutes. It's getting warmer and running is definitely getting harder. Lately I have been running without music to get used to my breathing and running so exposed now that it is daylight saving and nearing summer so it's getting much lighter at night. Lighter and hotter.

Day 76 and 77 I did nothing. 76 was a Tuesday which is the day I'm usually always buggered beyond belief on. And day  77 I had a work induction and just really didn't want to exercise. Soooo I had a Mcflurry instead. Not a good choice, I am aware of that.

Those shorts I was talking about a while ago which were tight when I bought them? They are loose now. A good fit but bordering on a bit loose. At least I have a job now so I can pay for smaller size clothes :-)

I also haven't done strength training for almost 2 weeks now. It's hard to find the motivation because I would rather run any day. Day 78 I will do some strength training.

Day 72 - first compliment, day 73 - size 10 jeans!

Day 72 - I received the first compliment on my weight loss by someone I hadn't seen for many many weeks. They said hey have you lost a hell of a lot of weight? and i said did <person> tell you to say that?? and they said no! and later on they mentioned it again saying 'i really can't believe how much weight you've lost, you're wasting away on us!'.. It felt really good!!!!!!!
Went for a nice lone run too about 45minutes.

Day 73 - my jeans are down a size!!!! I was size 10 Australian and they were just getting too baggy and gross to wear anywhere so i went to the store and tried on some size 11s, but they were still too big so I had to actually ask for size 10. and they look sooo much better. You really need clothes that fit you properly to show off your actual figure. I was so happy!!

Day 67 - Looooooong long run, ultimate calorie burner

7km. 60 minutes. Felt awesome. Did 3km, kept going, finished 5km then thought hey it's time I increase my mileage (or kilometreage) and I went for about another 2km. So my run was around, perhaps just over the 1hour mark. ULTIMATE calorie burner

Made a huge salad that I can dig in to over the next few days. Had a home-made chicken burger and salad for dinner followed by yoghurt and muesli. Wanted more (that run made me ultra hungry) but I resisted temptation and had a green tea.

Tomorrow I will do an easy run and/or indoor bike and hopefully some strength training.

Day 66 - Run and McFlurry

Did strength training in the morning. A 30ish minute run tonight. Then got a McDonalds McFlurry ice cream. 460 calories worth.  And it was AMAZZZZZZING!

Then had a piece of fish. Then had a small bowl of cereal.That was my dinner.

Sat on my arse all day doing uni work. Was good to get out the house.

Day 64 and 65 - Short 3km 20min run

Day 64 - Went for a run with the boy but got a horrible stitch right underneath my rib about 20minutes in and had to stop. Wore my new running bare shorts, so light and airy and comfy!
Had a piece of birthday cake for dessert....

Day 65 - no exercise, had a job interview and it went really well I think! :-)

Day 62 No exercise, job interview

Didn't get the job. Was for a surf shop and I think they may as well have just asked for a photo for the online application because the people who moved through to the next round all looked like the typical people that work there.

I woke up at 1:30pm and had to leave for the job at 5pm so my whole day was revolving around the clock, showering, working out what to wear and when I got back I was annoyed and didn't exercise.

I'm going to make up for it tomorrow though. A run in the morning because it is meant to be nice and cool around 21 C and depending on how long I run for I may do strength training in the arvo.

Day 59, 60 and 61- new running gear!

Day 59 was boiling hot! I went for a morning run and really struggled as I'm not used to running in the heat. I lasted for my 20min 3km loop then went home. ALCOHOL that night.

Day 57 was cold and rainy! I considered going for a run and for some reason I just didn't want to run in the rain. So I did interval training on the exercise bike for 20 minutes doing 8 second sprint, 12 second recovery.
Then I proceeded to go to a house party where I had white bread roll and lots of desserts- mars bar slice, chocolate spider and a lemon cupcake. oh and ALCOHOL!

Day 58 was cold and rainy again. I had sushi for lunch (not sure about the calories of sushi), a bowl of cereal for afternoon tea and cereal for dinner. (Really craving cereal that day). I went for my long run - 5.3km about 45minutes wearing my new running gear - my peformax tights and I also bought some runnign bare running shorts which are heaps light and airy and small seams so hopefully they wont rub on me

Day 56 and 57 - 144.5lbs! and 8 Weeks

Weigh in - 65.5kg or 144.5lbs!!!!

Thats like 3 kg or 7 pounds less than last weigh in!!!!

Did no exercise day 56.

Day 57 - Long long run 45-50 minutes 5.5km or so and felt great like I could run forever!

Had a milkshake and banana bread today. Had an ultra healthy tea and long run to make up for it. I had good reason to have that food though! (involving stuck on the highway on way to uni for 3 hours)

Day 53 and 54 - Addiction is taking hold

I haven't done strength training in a while. I am well overdue for it. But I can't stop running. At the end of every day I want to run. I know that if that happens then I should run and do strength but I usually eat tea after my runs and then get too full.
My own fault.

Day 53 - Did a 25min run with my boyfriend. First time I have ever run with him and was so happy I could keep up and last the distance. Had apple pie and icecream for dessert....

Day 54 - Sat on my arse all day doing assignments and got out for a 30min run. Was realllly meant to do strength but I needed to run! Had takeaway chinese for tea.

I haven't had the strictest end to the week, and my weigh in is on Tuesday Day 56. I need to step it up and not get too relaxed now that I'm doing longer runs with my calorie intake. But I have definately felt hungrier.

Has anyone else increased their food intake as their running times and distances increase?

Day 52 - Ran 45 min

Or thereabouts.

Did. not. want. to.

But I just kept going telling myself that I was allowed to walk whenever but to just go a little further to push myself. And I did my 5.3ish km!
And felt wonderful afterwards!! :-)

Am well overdue for strength training now though. I just love running too much!

Day 48 - Running in my sleep

Argh. I haven't been getting enough sleep. Not good for weight loss. So much stress on my mind of late I keep tossing and turning for ages. So I'm in bed early tonight and hopefully get proper rest.

Ran for ages today. My 5.3km route, plus a little extra. NO BREAKS! Felt bloody amazing!!

Does anyone else who road runs (or footpath/sidewalk whatever u call it) do interval training?
I'm not sure how that will go not on an oval or on a treadmill. I want to give it a try since it's meant to be great for fitness and fat burning...

Day 45 - Longest run ever!

5.3km or 3.3 miles!

Wasn't the best feeling run ever but eventually I broke through the wall and everything just steadied out.

On my last major long winding hill I made it 3/4 up then stopped for about 45seconds-1min. More for a mental break than anything. My breathing was heavy but I knew it would steady out once I got to the top but I took the break then kept running.

Went out for dinner and had a Caesar salad with no chicken. The first salad I have ever ordered as a takeaway or restaurant meal and not given as a side.

I don't know if they are the healthiest for you but I didn't eat too bad during the day and it is still much better than a hamburger or chicken snitzel and chips.

Day 44 - Scheduling exercise

I'm writing this at the beginning of Day 44 as a plan of the exercise and food I am going to eat today, to keep myself in line. But in particular, to make myself do the exercise.

I have written today's meals in my Food Diary

and my exercise plan is - Strength training (I don't set a time limit for this I just do 3 sets of 12-20 reps of various exercises)
& A LOOOOONG run! A 5k run. In fact I think the route I'm aiming for is actually almost 6km.

I'll update this at the end of the day with how I went.

UPDATE


I did the strength training successfully. But my run was terrible!!!!
I was exhausted. Probably from sitting on my arse all day, whereas usually I'm walking round uni and my muscles and lungs have stretched and warmed over the day, whereas sitting on the lounge watching TV for several hours doesn't have that same effect.
So the devil was sitting on my shoulder throughout the whole run letting me know how hard I was finding the run and telling me to just stop.. But the quiet (very quiet) other voice said just keep going to that next street, just to that next turn. And I made it through my whole longer route so about 25/30minutes. Didn't end up doing the 5km but I was still happy.  Man I was buggered when I stopped for a cool down. But I'm so proud that I kept going. I really didn't want to fall back to my early days of having walking breaks, I want to stay past that stage now.

Day 41 - First 5/10k race?

The Sydney Running Festival is coming up and there a 2 races which I am tossing up between entering in with my dad - A 4km Family Run or a 9km Bridge Run, which goes over the harbour bridge and by the Opera House (they are closing the areas/roads off for the few hours of races).
I feel like the 4km one is too short BUT I don't think I will be ready for the 9km one as the festival is in a couple of weeks. I guess I can run/walk it though...and it goes over the Sydney Harbour Bridge which appeals to me more too,  I think the 4k just goes by it.

Anywho, I went for a run with my dad tonight. He runs frequently so he set quite a fast pace which I didn't think I would be able to maintain for the whole half hour, but I did! I kept up and it was really good at making me push myself.
I also did some strength training a couple of hours before the run so my limbs were a bit jellyish.

Day 40 - Hangover and running

Nasty hangover on top of my having my rags today. Did NOT want to exercise or do anything.

But, after an afternoon hangover nap, I put on my running clothes telling myself I can just walk but I have to get out there first.
And I ran for a nice 25minutes, sprinting past the people eating fathers day meals at the local pub.
Felt much better after that!

Day 37 - McDonalds. Read if you dare.

So, today, I ah...might have ventured up to McDonalds with my boyfriend.
And I ah...may...or may not!..have purchased a $1 Cheeseburger.

I did purchase and subsequently consume a $1 Cheeseburger.
And you know what? I didn't feel too bad about it. I don't feel bad about it.
It was bloody cheap! Well...for Australia at least, the land of tiny portion sizes and rip of prices for them. But hey that's probably what has stopped me becoming obese by now so I should be happy we get served less than Americans.
Mcdonalds has a $1 Cheeseburger promotion on at the moment, max of 4 per transaction, I managed to restrict myself to just one.

Anyway I kicked a soccer ball around with the boy and went for a stroll with him too, started an essay due in 1 day and had a nice afternoon nap today. Was sooo tired, did not want to exercise, especially after my lovely nap. But I did it! And ran and ran and ran and felt GREAT! Total run was about 30minutes of non-stop running.


Now after my run I thought hey I would love some dessert tonight but I waited till dinner settled in my stomach and thankfully no longer felt like it. Oh wait, I just remembered I did have some yoghurt actually. But the original plan was a banana and ice-cream, much worse!

Day 36 - Can't believe how fit I am

I really can't!

Going for a run last night I felt myself going faster and so much easier. I was trying to run slower to not potentially burn out but I just felt like I could push the pace a bit and I did. I found myself reaching the tops of once heart-pounding-lung-aching hills and not even noticing I had come up them.
I extended my route even further and tacked on a bit of my shorter route.
The next step is to combine the long and short routes and have run 5k!

Had lasagne and vegetables for dinner. The serving size for the lasagne was quite big so I added extra veges and cut down my portion.

Day 34 - Lightbulb moment

.

What was your 'light bulb' moment that spurred you to make a change in your
life? Mine was a photo. I'll upload the photo one day..


I had a moment of a different kind today, another break through moment where I ran past the shops in my area, and more importantly past all the people shopping and dining. I would never ever have done that 4 weeks ago.

I was meant to do strength today but I felt like going for a run instead so I ran my whole long route and tacked on a little extra at the end by going through the shops. I want those shorts to be looser by next weigh in!

Day 31 - Breaking through the wall

Went for a run tonight on my long route - 3km (about 20min). Started off and thought that I probably wouldn't be able to run the whole way. My brain just wouldn't shut up! It kept talking about how far I had to go and when I should stop.

But I told it to SHUT UP! And I ran the whole way, non-stop :-D And I feel GREAT!

I have come so far it just amazes me. I added my short route on to the end of my run but I just walked that to stretch out and cool down and get a bit more exercise in.

I also bought some Natures Way Protein in vanilla today. I had it 1 hour before my run with water. It was pretty nice, would be much much better with milk but I only wanted a snack. Anyone else drink protein drinks?

Day 29 - My Week 8 goal completed in Week 4!

I ran the whole of my long route! No breaks!  :-D Which was my week 8 goal, and its only week 4 now!

Felt so good, had moments of considering giving up but I kept going and did it! I can't believe that just 4 weeks ago I could only run a 100m or more before puffing my lungs out. I have come so far since then!
The goal now is to keep that up but not expect that the next time I run it I'll be able to do it non-stop, if I need a break I'll take one, and just let each run become easier and easier.