Time to Go

Hi all!  I know I've been mostly absent for the past few months, so I'm not sure how many of you are left out there that still stop by, but just to let you know, I'm moving on from this blog.  In the two years I've been writing ER2ES, I've changed and grown a lot and I'm ready to have that be reflected more in what I blog about and what my blogs "claimed" focus is.

The goal when I started En Route to En Shape was to keep up with WW and weight loss and to start running with C25K and complete a 5k.  Now, even though I still would like to lose 10-15 lbs (who wouldn't, really?) and have lots of work to do with my running, I don't really feel like I'm "en route" to getting healthy--I already am and I just want to keep being healthy and get better at what I do.

So, I'm moving on.  If you want to stay with me and to follow me on the rest of my journey, come check me out at Eat, Run, Read.  I think that title is much more reflective of me, what I'm focusing on, and where I'm at.

Hope to see you there!

It's OFFICIAL!

I've finally registered Jon and myself for the Cincinnati Half Marathon NEXT weekend in my lovely hometown!

I've been procrastinating our registration for two reasons:
1. I couldn't find my checkbook in the move and I'm too cheap to want to pay the $11 processing fee online... Turns out, it's at my mom's... She tried to send them to us but it didn't work, so I finally got us in (with the processing fee) right under the deadline for the tee-shirt ordering!
2. I was afraid to sign up because even though I did "run" a half last weekend (I say "run" because I walked a TON starting at mile 8 when my sciatica/whatever that weird pain in my back right butt area was popped up again for the 2nd week in a row), I'm still really intimidated and nervous.

That said, here we are, no refunds from Active.com, so I gotta do it now!  I'm nervous AND excited, so we'll see.  I think it might be really cool that the half is the longest distance for the day--won't have to compare myself to the ultra awesome marathoners!

Any tips for my first BIG, LONG, SCARY race?

Living Life: What does that mean for my blog?

While I'm an avid blog reader, I'm not so awesome at writing at my own blog.  Plus, I guess now that I 'm back from France, I'm realizing that the blog for sure needs a design update (no longer running in France now am I?).

Anyway, I'm trying to do a bit of soul searching on what this blog should look like and focus on, etc.  When I started ER2ES, I was just starting to run (C25K!) and was an avid WeightWatcher.  Now (even if I'm not as consistent as I'd like), I'd consider myself a runner and I've stopped with WW.  Honestly, lately I've stopped tracking at all.  My focus has been on the following:

-unpacking and settling in in our new place (i.e. buying things, donating things, etc)
-adjusting to the new demands of being a grad student (hello, reading!)
-eating healthy and cooking healthy foods for us on a budget
-training for the half marathon on 10/22
-making new friends
-Oh, and of course, Auburn and Ohio State football (sad week, last week was)...

Being in my own place and being the person entirely responsible for what food comes into our house and what happens to it (barring Saturday morning pancakes made by Jonboy, of course) means that I have a lot of control over what we eat.  That said, while I've not been tracking, our food is pretty routine and our dinners are alway healthy (even if there is sometimes dessert and red wine!).

For example, here's today's plan, a typical day of food:

Breakfast: FiberPlus Cinnamon cereal (3/4c), skim milk, half a banana, coffee w/ a tiny splash of low cal creamer
Lunch: 2oz ham or turkey sandwich made on either Hungry Girl roll-ups or 2 slices of FiberOne bread with a slice of cheese, lettuce, and spicy mayo; a Greek yogurt; an apple; and a FiberOne bar
Dinner: Greek Spaghetti Squash recipe from WWs, possible red wine

Last night's dinner was the Coconut Curry Soup from Kelly's Healthified Kitchen.  YUM!

I'm trying to be really good about meal planning and budgeting, so having the routine for breakfast and lunch allows me to do fun things for dinner every night.  I also plan to do a baked acorn squash recipe later this week.

So, even if I'm not tracking, I'm not overdoing it AND with our increased running (did 13.1 in training on Sunday!) I'm feeling really good!  Now, if only we owned a scale in the new place so I could see how my weight is actually.  Clothes are fitting great, so I'm not that worried about it.

Anyway, that said, I'm debating trying to change the focus of the blog to better incorporate what I'm doing (studying, cooking, and running) and not really losing weight avidly.  Thoughts?  What can I say, I got the idea from Christina at Just Running.

On that note, I'll blog more later--I think it was just hard to finally get myself to sit down and blog again (you know, like it's hard to make yourself start tracking/running/etc after a long time off).  Now, off to campus!

Internetless.

So, I've been off the grid for a LONG time... in a few ways.  I haven't been tracking (though starting this week I'm eating healthy again), I took an accidental 2 weeks off of training, I quit WW (time and money), AND I don't have the internet (aka the literal grid).   But that's because I'm back on a new grid: the downtown Columbus, OH one.

Jon and I are finally moved into our new apartment and it's, in one word, TINY.  Thankfully, Jon's mom came up all the way from Montgomery to help us haul everything from Nelsonville and Cincinnati and we literally filled our new one-bedroom apartment with boxes.

We took Jon's mom to Schmidt's, a locally-famous German restaurant, as a "Thank you!" for all her help.  They're famous for their cream puffs, so clearly we each had to get one.

Then, once we'd completely overwhelmed ourselves with the amount of unpacking we have to do... We both went back to our respective other towns for work last week...  We finally moved in to stay as of last Friday and were able to get quite a bit of unpacking done.   BUT not all of it since last weekend we went camping in the Hocking Hills with friends and ran the Indian Run 10k trail run for the second year in a row!

 Pre-10k 

(I look a bit odd)

At the starting line

Post-10k w/ our finisher's medals

Our fabulous $40 tent (chalet) from Craig's List

Goofing around

We had a GREAT weekend.  The 10k was hard, since it is such a hilly course and I hadn't been running regularly these past two weeks.  Before the race, I vowed that, this year, I'd run the last 1.2 miles (that are on the road and all uphill to the lodge).  I made it half way up there and was starting to get tired and was really pep talking myself to keep running, when, much to my surprise, I saw this face jogging DOWN the hill towards me:

 

He finished the race in just under an hour and decided to come down and run the last uphill bit with me.  He said he'd missed running together during the race and wanted to finish with me (and help keep me motivated to not walk and to push through).  Seriously, one of the sweetest things ever.

That said, I did not walk at all up that hill and I finished the 10k in 1:21:57 (13:14 pace).  Almost 4 minutes slower than last year (that's what I get for taking time off), but I walked up that hill partially last year and NOT THIS TIME.  So, overall I'm pretty happy.

Anyways, aside from unpacking, moving, racing, and camping I'm also trying to get settled at OSU.  Orientation was yesterday and tomorrow is the first day of classes!  I'm currently blogging from the OSU library... we don't have power at the apt until 3pm today (they're doing work on the transformer for the complex).  Busy, busy!  

Sorry for the random post, but here I am.  Just trying to get back on track in a new city!

More soon!

Belts: A change in perspective

I don't know about you other people who have lost any amount of weight, but I, for one, have noticed a HUGE change in what I will/won't wear now that I'm feeling better about the way I look.  This month has been a frantic month of boxes and more boxes and of going though and weeding out old clothes that I kept "just in case."

I've found a TON of old shirts and things that just plain don't fit, yes, but I've also come to realize that the cuts of clothing I prefer now are different in many ways.  Gone are a lot of the floofy could-be-maternity tops that play up the boobs and hide the stomach and Hello to new, more feminine, curve-showing tops and dresses in their place.  Only now as I've started to experience with new cuts and colors am I realizing how dark my wardrobe was for so long as though black would hide my insecurities about my body along with providing a "classic" look.  I always lamented (to myself) that when I was heavy I just didn't feel like I could wear light, feminine tops and dresses... Mostly because I didn't feel very "light."  I know this was me  being really hard on myself, but it's only now that I've started to branch out that I can see how my clothing choices in many ways reflected (and projected) how I felt about me to the world.

That said, not only am I wearing different styles of clothing now, but being thinner has introduced a new accessory into my wardrobe that I shied away from in a big way before: belts.  Pre-WW, I'd sometimes wear the occasional under-boob waist-y belt with a dress or something, but a traditional "keep your pants up" belt?  Nowhere to be seen.  I felt like that added 1/2" of buckle just made me thicker and drew attention to where I wanted it the absolute least.

Now, 27 lbs lighter and 6-8 sizes down, I'm starting to fall in love with belts as I slowly reintroduce them into my wardrobe... Not only do I need them to hold up pants for once as I move through the sizes, but I think they're fun to jazz up outfits and dresses.  :)

All this to say that I bought a new belt today while at lunch.  I love it.  It's a TJ Maxx find from Michael Kors and it's the first, nice brown addition to my wardrobe.  Plus it's a 'medium.'

I roped my office mate into snapping this photo of me... She probably thinks I'm crazy.

Not sure if I like the tucked in look with this blouse, but I am loving my new belt!  How about you guys?  Have you noticed any big changes in the way you dress since you've started getting healthier and losing weight?

On that note, I'm outta here!  A friend's co-worker is giving Jon and I two tickets to the Bengals v. Panthers preseason NFL game!  War Cam Newton!!!  If I'm lucky, maybe he'll sign my shirt!!!  

WAR EAGLE!!! 

(Also, isn't this background amazing?  Our friend John sent it to us)

GREAT run (and photos for Christina)

I know I have been limiting myself to my weekly re-cap to try and stay on track, but I just wanted to stop by and say that this morning's run was AWESOME and here's why:

1. Got PLENTY of sleep so I was pretty awake and ready to go at 5:30am when my alarm went off
2. Sahara also got a lot (i.e. the same amount) of sleep and looked so eager to go that I decided to make this a puppy run at the last minute
3. My knees felt great the whole time
4. It was MUCH cooler than Sunday (since it was dark at 6am vs. sunny at noon)
5. I didn't walk AT ALL (and only stopped once to cross at a light)
6. I kept a 13:05 pace, which is at the fast side of my suggested LSD pace
7. I felt so good that I even decided to go a bit longer (extra .5)—could have done more, but, alas, had to get ready for work
8. I've just felt GOOD after and it's helping me stay on track for the day
9. The extra calories burned help make up for my several bites of queso dip last night
10. This is the first run I've had so far in training that I've actually really ENJOYED.  I've missed this feeling.
11. (Was hoping to make this a top 10 list, but alas) Tried out the Pandora app for the first time and got to change it up and listen to some new music.  Katy Perry station?  Yes, please.

So, awesome!  I feel like I deserved this run after how hard and mentally painful Sunday's run was.  Maybe this run was made possible by how hard I pushed Sunday?  As Jon said, "Now the pain means something to you and next time you might 'enjoy' the pain."  Not sure if I'd go QUITE that far, but who knows!  We have some hill repeats scheduled for Saturday night (hot date), so we'll see.

Oh, and Christina wanted photos in running gear, so here's me before/after this morning.  Sorry they aren't great!  I'll try and snap some of me and Jon in our gear this weekend!

Sorry for the doofy faces... It was hard trying to get photos of myself where I didn't look like a total idiot.  These are the best ones.  Interpret that as you like.

Now I'm really looking forward to Thursday's run: 5 miles w/2 at tempo!  I think I'll try the same strategy and get lots of sleep and get up early and run.  :)

Half Marathon Training: Week 2 Re-Cap

Tuesday:  Got myself up and out of bed for the first time EVER this summer and went for a nice morning run for my slotted 3 miles EZ.  I opted for 8/2 intervals and got some decent speeds for each interval in the 10-11min range.  My right knee started really hurting at 2.5 miles and I felt like I ran/limped my last half mile.  Other than that, the run was great, mostly just proud of myself for getting out of bed.  Trick: slept in my running clothes.  No lie.  12:06 pace.

Thursday: Set off for an early evening run and planned to do 8/2 intervals around and adjoining neighborhood.  I think I definitely found a good hill for some hill repeats.  (Guess that’s why there’s the word “Hill” in the neighborhood’s name?)  This run didn’t start off well with arch pain and when my knee pain from Tuesday hit me with a vengeance at mile 1.5, I called it a day with 2 miles and cut the slotted 4 mile EZ run in half.  I went home and did some knee stretches and exercises and called it a night… My knee REALLY hurt when I went to straighten my knee anytime that night, so I’m glad I didn’t push it… even if I’m sad to have gone off plan.  12:10 pace.

Saturday:  Jon and I actually skipped this run unintentionally.  What was meant to be a quick rearrangement of stuff in my mom’s garage so that I could put some of my packed boxes there vs. my bedroom ended up turning into a full scale clean up of the garage… that filled ALL our garbage cans plus a few boxes… and that was only half the garage.  Jon plans to attack the rest when he’s in town at the end of the week so that we can have an epic garage sale this weekend.  We also went and saw Harry Potter 7 Part II for a hot date since Jon has been diligently watching the other 6 movies in preparation for the past few weeks.  I cried a lot during the movie… just like when I saw it the first time. 

Sunday:  Jon and I overslept (unsurprisingly) and we set out for our run at noon.  There were a few moments of cloud cover, but mostly this was a run in the sun.  I am REALLY not good with running in the heat (will need to work on this before moving to Alabama, that’s for sure) and I really struggled with this run.  Jon was patient as ever as we stuck to my suggested LSD pace of 13:00-14:00. 

Even that pace was REALLY difficult for me in the sun and, while the first 2.5 miles were pretty easy for me, the last 2.5 were the hardest I’ve had since I tried to run on Auburn’s campus too late in the morning last summer.  Not going to lie, it was a REAL struggle (read almost wanted to cry) to finish this run and I did walk a few times (though no official intervals).  Jon and I had originally planned to shoot for an extra mile (making it a 6 mile EZ over a 5-mile EZ to make up for Saturday), but I couldn’t do it and he graciously walked with me the rest of the way home.  I’ve never had a run be this hard—I came home after and we tried to get lunch together and all I could get down was a cup of milk and a few bites of yogurt.  I actually felt sick… I’ve never had that happen before.  I did feel a bit more justified about being effected by the heat when I went to put on PJs last night and noticed that I had a sunburn in the shape of my running tank.  So there.  Best parts about this run: running and spending time with Jon, keeping a consistent pace, and most of all: no knee pain.  I think the extra day of rest really helped. 

Overall:  This week was just OK for running.  It’s a lot harder getting back into it than I thought it would be, but I have faith that if I can just push through this, I can actually get to a point where I enjoy it again.  Right now, definitely not enjoying it.  Here’s to Week 3:

     •  3 miles EZ

     •  5 miles w/ 2 miles @ tempo (between 11:23-11:53… see above)

     •  3 miles EZ (Jon and I are thinking about doing this hilly interval workout Sat night)

     •  6 miles LSD (13:02-14:02)

Total mileage: 17 miles!  Woo!