peace + love + cupcakes

While at the expo this weekend, I signed up for the Giant Race 5K in September. I originally wanted to sign up for the 10K but it was sold out. I was bummed and then I was amazed at myself that I was bummed that I couldn’t sign up for a 10K. What am I turning into? Whatever it is, I think I like it.

When I was filling out the form, it asked me to fill in a time for it and I put 45 minutes. Now my fastest 5K time (not counting the treadmill) has been 53:07 which was the Davis 5K in November. On the treadmill my fastest 5K time is 49:19. Why I chose 45 minutes is beyond me but the challenge has been set and I accept. If I can continue to lose weight and continue to work out, I am confident that I can reach that goal.

I also have other races coming up this summer which will keep me motivated to work out:

Do Life 5K in SF - July 10th

The Color Run in SF - July 14th

San Francisco Progressive Marathon - July 29th (my reward for reaching a 100 pound loss so I have yet to register).

July is going to be a busy month.

I did not want to work out at all today.  But I made it to the gym & walked 5K.  Wasn’t the best workout but I did it.  

I made these muffins today and they were pretty yummy.   Each of them are 150 calories/3 PP+ and have 7 grams of fiber.  

Are you giving up something for Lent?  In the past, I’ve given up coffee, soda & alcohol. I am thinking that instead of giving something up, I will commit to doing something that I haven’t been doing.   

Setting realistic goals is important.  I know that I could say that this year I want to run a marathon.  That would just be setting myself up to fail.  I’ve learned that I’ve got to set short term goals which in the long run will help me achieve my long term goals.  The 4 main things I want to accomplish this year are get a job, continue to work on losing weight, run & take more risks.  I could wait until December to search for a job, lose a couple of pounds that month, run from one side of my house to the other and cross the street without looking at both sides.  But that wouldn’t be living.  How am I going to make reach those goals?

As far as weight loss goes, I am making it my monthly goal to work out at least 1,000 minutes & to walk at least 50 miles per month.  Last month I reached 749 minutes and I’m pleased with that because there was one week where I didn’t work out because I was sick.  I also walked a total of 42.7 miles in December.  I know I posted that my monthly goal is to lose 8 pounds.  I think that’s doable and I am motivated by the fact that last month I was able to lose 11.7 pounds during what is a difficult month due to all the food temptation.

One of the reasons why I decided to join the Do Life challenge was to keep motivated.  I think that has been one of the most difficult areas for me during the past year. I’m still trying to think about how to improve my job search & also figure out how to be more fearless.  Perhaps the Happiness Online project will help me determine that.  I’m hoping to post about that program in the next day or so.  Still trying to get my head around it.  


4 things that I did well today:

1. Woke up before 9am.  Now that may not seem like a big deal but for me it is.  When I worked I used to get up around 6:30.  However the past 9 months I’ve typically gotten up around 11ish unless I had something going on.  In order to get into a routine, I need to wake up at the same time every day. 
2. I walked 5K on the treadmill even though I didn’t want to finish it.  After about 20 minutes I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath.  Instead of stopping, I just slowed down and told myself that my time didn’t matter.  Just finish the workout. 
3. Making a new healthy snack.  I heard about baked garbanzo beans so I am attempting to make them.  
4. I had a hearty breakfast and although I was extremely sleepy this morning, I only had one cup of coffee.  No need to be excessive in my caffeine intake.   My mom got me some amazing coffee from Mexico.  

Yesterday I participated in RaceEpic. I had written this submission but I don’t remember if I submitted it to the people in charge of the race. Why did I sign up for RaceEpic?

I remember being in Golden Gate Park after the Do Life race sitting around listening to people share their goals and stories. Some were talking about running marathons, participating in a triathlon or Ironman. I felt like one of those things that didn’t belong there. I had just walked my first 5K and was still trying to wrap my head around that (and probably trying to catch my breath). Lucky for me that one of the DoLifer’s introduced herself to me and told me more about what I now know to be an awesome community on Tumblr. I had really only read Ben’s blog but didn’t venture into Tumblr much. But now I can’t go a day without checking the site, supporting people and being held accountable.

I have always been overweight. Up until age 10, I was a chubby kid but I was active. I used to swim competitively and I was good at it. I also liked food. A lot. When I got into middle school, I stopped swimming. I basically stopped doing anything active. I just kept gaining weight and picking up bad habits. This was basically my life up until July 2011 when I finally got active again.

I have been inspired by so many people in this community. I am not yet a runner but I hope to be one day as I continue to lose weight. I’ve lost 79 pounds since September 2010, have become more active since July and have gained so much more confidence in myself.

What does RaceEpic mean to me? Typically, New Year’s I would be spending it thinking of what food I am going to eat and how much alcohol I would be drinking. But not this year. This race is going to kick off what I hope will be a great year for me. I don’t know what distance I will be walking but it will be at least a 5K. I have already signed up for my first official 10K in February, committed to participating in Bay to Breakers in May (12K) and have a couple of 5K’s in mind. Yes, right now I’m a walker but I hope that 2012 is the year in which I can call myself a runner. I know that 2012 will be the year where I reach goals I never even thought of setting for myself.

Today being the last day of the year I knew I had to get out there and be active. But I woke up in a funk. I started to miss my family in Mexico. I decided that I could wait until tomorrow to work out. I had breakfast & started watching television. I could literally see myself going back to my old habits of just hanging out on the couch. Finally in the late afternoon I realized what a schmuck I was being. I got dressed and headed to the gym. I proceeded to walk my fastest 5K of 2011.

What does RaceEpic mean to me? It means taking all the excuses in the world aside and doing right by me. It means making my health a priority. It means pushing myself when I feel like I can’t go on anymore. It means believing in myself. Every day I struggle with working out. Every damn day.

But I am doing it.

Someone who I follow on twitter posted a discount code for the SF Marathon in July.  I clicked on the link because I was curious to the cost (it’s $125 for the full & $95 for the half) but then I saw a fee for a 5K & progressive marathon of $35.  I’ve never heard of this before but it sounds pretty cool.   

You basically have to run/walk 23.1 miles prior to race day and you keep track on a tracking sheet they provide.  On race day, you participate in the 5K and provided you turn in a completed sheet, you get a progressive marathon medal & shirt.  How cool is that?  It’s more friendly to my budget and I know that it’s something that I can do.  

The only bad thing is that it is the same day as the Color Run in SF which I wanted to participate in.  I am 99% sure that I am going to the Vegas Color Run in February so if I would be ok missing the SF one.  

Has anyone ever participated in a progressive marathon?