Running Injuries, Stress, Weight Gain, and Going Back to What Works for Me

After being so inspired by all of the amazing people that I am following on twitter (especially Healthy Diva AKA Tasha Malcolm) I thought that I would be able to get my butt in gear...I did not not 100%. I started hitting the gym regularly and even trying new things (yoga) BUT when it came to food and beverages I was a mess. I guess I should go back to where it all started.

Last fall I was at my goal weight after joining Weight Watchers (WW). I was feeling great and I beat my previous half marathon by 7 minutes. I was so excited and I realized that as much as I loved running 1/2 marathons I wanted to try for more. I wanted to be able to upgrade my 13.1 sticker to a 26.2 and I was thinking it needed to be pink.

I pretty much stopped using WW because I was where I wanted to be weight/clothing size and I figured that I would be able to regulate myself. I was so wrong. I put on a few pounds over the winter but my fiance' (Scott) had said he wanted me to weigh a little bit more because he thought my goal weight was too thin and so I didn't worry about it. Once our Marathon training started I wasn't worried about using WW because I was running all of the time. Training was hard but I was really proud of myself and my running partner Jen. Disaster struck at week 15 while I was on my 20 mile run.

At mile 16 of 20 my knee pain (combination of IT band and inner knee pain) was so bad that I literally couldn't run, even walking was a challenge. I was crushed and I still had a few miles back to the car. Luckily,  Jen's step dad, Clint, was riding his bike along side of us. He offered to run the last few miles back to the car and let me ride his bike. I was very grateful.

To make a long story short I started going to Physical Therapy. I was not able to run the Eugene Marathon. I had to settle for the half and my time wasn't great. I had to walk/run the last few miles but I finished. My awesome friends Tasha and Jen were able to run the 26.2 I was both proud of them and a little jealous. I had trained for the full and I wanted it. Bad.

I was registered for three 1/2's in the upcoming months and I completed all of them but it wasn't great. Hippie Chick was the week before Portland Rock and Roll and it had gone OK and so I thought I was ready to run the very next week. I wasn't. My knee started hurting at mile 1 of Portland Rock and Roll half I had to Wog (walk/jog) the whole thing. Seriously miserable. I hated my knee. I wanted to quit but I had registered for Helvetia in June and I was going to do it. Again, I finished but my time was bad. I had to Wog the last few miles. I have still been going to PT and my knee is improving but I am not back to normal yet.

Throughout all of this time I should have gotten back on WW but I didn't and I just continued to eat my feelings and gain weight. I am getting married in August. I have a gorgeous dress and I want to look gorgeous in it. Planning the wedding has been fun but STRESSFUL. I am so ready for the day to arrive and not have to worry about details.

I have been beating myself up over my weight but not fully committing to change. Today is that day. This morning I signed up (again) for WW. I have one month to lose some weight and I am going to do it. I am going to quit beating myself up mentally. I am going to embrace the permanent lifestyle change. I am going to enjoy all of the benefits of exercise and healthy living. I want to look and be my best for me and for Scott.

Questions:

1. How do you overcome negative self talk?

2. What lifestyle changes have/are you implemented(ing) in your life?

3. Are you following me on Twitter? c_deturk

Blogging Hiatus...thank you Twitter for bringing me back

I have been on a blogging hiatus for over a year. Wow, that is pathetic and shows very little discipline. When I first started this journey my goal was to lose weight. I succeeded in doing that and I lost 30 pounds. I was thrilled. Unfortunately, I reverted back to some on my old ways and I gained over 10 of those pounds back.

I lost my discipline, motivation and inspirations BUT I have found them again. Believe it or not Twitter helped me locate it. I had a Twitter account for a while but I rarely used it. My BFF, Healthy Diva, was the reason that I actively stated using twitter. Through I have started following some amazing women and men that daily motivate me to hit the gym and eat healthy. I am a teacher and so I have the advantage of not working for two months during the summer. I am getting married on August 11 and so I am going to be busting my butt to get back in shape and I know that east tweet that I read is going to help me keep going.

Follow me on Twitter: @c_deturk

Stay Disciplined!

My Three Week Roller Coaster

Where have I been? That is a great question. I have been here but I haven't updated in about three weeks. My last update was about losing .6 lbs and how it is better than nothing. Since then I have been on quite the roller coaster.

I weighed in on March 6th and I had lost 1.6 which I was very happy with. My exercise had been moderate for the week. The next weigh in on March 13th was going to be trouble. Big trouble. I was pretty good all week knowing that Friday night was going to be a totally splurge. I met up with a bunch of friends and went to the SIP food and wine classic in McMinnville. I enjoyed lots of wine and all kinds of tasty foods and desserts. The following morning I went out to eat and had a half order of corned beef hash and it was amazing. I knew that the scale was not going to be my friend the following morning. I took a deep breath and stepped on and YIKES I had gained 2.2 pounds. I had expected a gain but not that much. I was really disappointed in myself. After my weigh in I headed to downtown Portland it was time for the Shamrock Run. I ran the 15k with my friend Jen. I was really happy with our time and our pace. The first 4+ miles of the run are at an incline and so I expected our time to be a lot slower than it was. It drizzled the entire race which it better than a downpour but sunshine would have been nice. :-)

Monday, the 14th, I did my kettlebell workout even though I felt like I was getting sick. On Tuesday track started and so I didn't get to work out during the evening. I promised my self that after spring break I would be getting up really early in the mornings to get my workouts over with. By Wednesday my cold had hard. I have been miserable ever since. I had to cancel plans with friends on Saturday night and my 10 miler on Sunday (today). I am hoping to get some exercise later today and then do my long run later this week. My next race is Race for the Roses a half marathon on April 3rd.

So that pretty much bring us up to my my weigh in this morning. I had been weighing myself daily to see how many of my "SIP pounds" I was losing. I had hoped that sticking to my daily points, not drinking, and fighting a cold would help me to shed those extra pounds plus a few. It paid off and then some. I lost 5.2 pounds this week bringing my grand total to 15.4 pounds. I am 2.3 pounds away from losing 10% of my body weight and I am about 12-17 pounds away from my goal. I am feeling pretty great because I am halfway there.

Weight Watchers Quote of the Day: "Your goals, minus your doubts, equals your reality." Ralph Marston 

.6 is better than nothing...

After running Hagg last weekend I have been a total bum. The only workout that I did this week was a 10 minute long ab video. I am a slacker with a capital S. :-) To makes things worse I went to happy hour twice this week and went to a party last night. My food and beverage choices were not the best. I am also suffering from a case of the slows today. I need to force myself to get some exercise.

Anyways, I was dreading stepping on the scale this morning because I knew I wasn't going to like the number. I had a feeling that I was going to have gained weight from my last weight in. I was shocked to see that I had lost .6 pounds and that brings my grand total to 10.8.  I am happy with .6 because it is better than nothing but I should have been more disciplined this week. If I had been more disciplined I would have lost more weight. I had taken a break from wearing my bracelet and this week proves that I am not yet strong enough to stop wearing it. I know that I will get there though. I spent time looking through pictures of myself from a few years ago and I want that body back and I am going to have it.

Weight Watchers posted a great quote today:

"If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning." -Mahatma Gandhi

This quote totally fits my attitude today. :-)

Summer Races with Tasha

I am counting down the days until June/summer and it is not just because I need/want a break from work. I get to see my best friend, Tasha, three times. Tasha and I have signed up to run to races and participate in an amazing race type event. I am posting links to the three so that you can check them out and maybe join us in the fun.

CityScape Adventures-Portland on June 4th:

http://www.active.com/more-sports/portland-or/cityscape-adventures-portland-2011

Helvetia Half Marathon on June 11th:

http://www.runwithpaula.com/helvetia-half

Go Girl Trail Run on July 10th:

http://www.runwithpaula.com/go-girl-trail-run

Tasha has always been an inspiration to be because she is an incredibly hard worker and an amazing runner. I can never keep up with her pace but she signs up to run races with me so that we can spend time together before and after. I appreciate her support and encouragement. <3

Hagg Lake = Hardest. Race. Ever.

Hagg Lake Ultra is the hardest race that I have ever done and it is the longest race that I have run. I participated in the 25k which is 15.3 miles. The course had been run on twice the day before in the 50k race and my friends and I run slowly so the course had been run on for the third time before us. It was incredibly muddy and some parts were still icy. To say that we ran the course would be a lie....what we really did was a combination of running, jogging, walking, skidding, slipping, jumping and the occasional bounding. I was lucky enough not to slip and fall but my friend, Jen, managed to bite it four times and luckily never get injured.

Our pace was incredibly slow (it took us four hours to finish) and there was nothing we could really do about it. I decided that since we were already going so slow that we might as well take some pictures. :-) Here are some pictures of Jen, Robyn and me during and after the race. I am also posting a picture of the front of the race shirt and the finisher socks.

BTW...we didn't finish last!!!

Snow Day = Catch Up Day

Once again I have been slacking on my blog posting...I promise to do better. I got the day off of work today because of snow and so I figured that this is the perfect opportunity to play a little catch up. The good news is that while blogging hasn't been a priority sticking to my WW plan has. The amount of exercise that I have been getting could improve but dieting...I mean a life style change has been going well.

My last post was almost two weeks ago and I had gone for a 10 mile training run out at Hagg lake...that following week I did a short run or two but nothing to write home about. I have been letting myself use some of my cheat points and have been making sure that I am satisfying crazing that I have. I weighed myself on that morning and I wasn't really expecting much....I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had lost another 1.6 pounds. That put my grand weight loss total at 7.8 pounds. To me that seemed so close and yet so very far from 10 pounds. 10 pounds to me that is a huge number and I wanted it so bad. My good weigh in inspired me to go for a 7 mile training run. the run felt great and I felt like I was running a little faster than my 7 miler two weeks before.

The week before the Hagg Lake run (Feb 20th) I was super busy. I didn't feel like I had time to run and part of me just wanted to rest my legs for the 25k (15.3 miles) that I would be attempting to run in the mud. My diet was pretty much the same as it has been since joining WW. I wanted to hit the 10 pound mark so badly but I knew that I wasn't working hard enough to achieve it. The morning of Hagg I woke up and got on the scale with pretty low expectations...I looked down and did a double take...the scale showed that I had lost 2.4 pounds that week bringing my total loss to 10.2 pounds. I couldn't believe it, lol, and so I weighed myself two more times and luckily the scale stayed the same. I was and still am ecstatic about it. I hoped that was a sign that Hagg was going to go well...