I just finished a hill run this morning and I’m still warm and maybe even a little sweaty. Pretty sure I sweated out all of the water I have drank in the last week. It feels good. This was my 12th run since January 1st and my 66th run since I started running in August.
66 30-40 minute runs = 2.310 minutes of training. That’s 38.5 hours of working out. 1.6 days of running.
Okay, I’m sure this is nothing for other runners, but for me, this is amazing. There are days when I am so excited to get my shoes on and put 110% of myself on the treadmill and there are days that I wonder what the hell I am doing. I’m grateful that the excited days outweigh the unmotivated days and I push myself regardless. I have myself to be accountable for and well, I have you guys pushing me on.
This weekend, we celebrated Derek’s 40th birthday and almost every one of the 60 people who showed up to celebrate asked me about my training. Social media is keeping me honest. Speaking of honesty, I’m beginning to question why the hell I went from running a 5k to 21k. I’m not saying it’s impossible, nothing in life is impossible, I’m just saying that I worry about how I am going to get there. I have a lot of work to do. At times, it can be pretty daunting.
Instead of focusing on the task in front of me, I’m choosing to reflect on how far I’ve come.
Distance Running:
- November: consistant 30 minute runs at 3.3 miles/hour (5.3 km) including 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down
- December: consistant 40 minute runs at 3.4 miles/hr (5.47 km) including 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down
- January: consistant 40 minute runs at 3.6 miles/hr (5.79 km) including 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down
Speed Intervals:
My speed interval training has evolved into me running as fast as I possibly can. It’s a challenge to say the least.
- December: Fastest speed 4.0 miles/hour (6.43 km)
- January: Fastest speed 4.5 miles/hour (7.24 km)
Hill Training:
Hill training kills me. Like, makes me feel like dying/sweat my ovaries off. Don’t tell Jessica (my trainer) that I am still walking most of the inclines. I tried running a couple of weeks ago and almost fell off the treadmill. Me = clumsy.
- November: highest incline: 9 for 5 minutes.
- December: highest incline: 9 for 5 minutes.
- January: highest incline: 8 for 8 minutes.
There have been some big strives in my physical fitness and I’ve lost quite a few inches since the start of my half-marathon training. They break down like this:
Inches Lost: 30
- Neck: 1 inch
- Right Arm (Upper): 0.5 inches
- Right Arm (Lower): 1 inch
- Left Arm (Upper): 1 inch
- Left Arm (Lower): 0 inches
- Bust: 3.5 inches
- Waist: 11 inches
- Ribcage: 3.5 inches
- Right Leg (upper): 2.5 inches
- Right Leg (lower): 1.25 inches
- Left Leg (upper): 1.0 inches
- Left Leg (lower): 1.5 inches
- Hips (added in December: 2 inches
So, that’s a pretty awesome loss of inches over 14 weeks. The only thing that isn’t awesome is the sizing of plus size clothing for women.
Plus size clothing typically runs XL, 1X (or XXXL), 2x, 3x, etc. Because of this, there is a large amount of loss or gain that needs to be done to go up or down a plus size. It’s actually really demotivating. Yes, I have lost 30 inches off of my body, but my clothing is the same size. You would think that losing 11 inches off of my waist would put me into a smaller size, but it doesn’t. I realize this is for numerous reasons, including the fact that all of this loss in inches has been a 6 pound loss.
I have noticed a different in how my clothes fit though. A pair of pants that I bought in October are baggy out of the dryer now and I don’t have to stretch out my sweaters before putting them on anymore. That’s super rad. I think this is the big piece that matters.
I’ve also stopped calculating my calories. I found that I felt like I had to eat extra calories, even when I was full. My internal dialogue would tell myself that I HAVE to eat the extra calories so I would make myself some hot chocolate or grab some ice cream. Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? I just eat when I’m hungry and leave treats for special occasions now.
Overall, I’m doing pretty awesome. I’m stronger, faster and leaner than I was when I started this journey. Even on my slow, less motivated days, I’m running circles around people on their couch, as my friend Meghan keeps reminding me.
Here is a comparison between my face after my first run and my face after my 66th run. Who knows, maybe I will even crack a smile in a photo soon.
If you would like some background on this journey, here are the posts to check out.
The Thought of This Terrifies Me in Ways I Can’t Even Express
Sweat and Rain: Half Way to 5K
Half Marathon Training Update: Week 2
