Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

Hi guys--I survived the Zombie race!! Actually, I lost all of my "life" flags, so I finished "infected." Nonetheless, I finished. It was a lot of fun, but all of the sprinting from the zombies really took its toll. I am used to running at a slow, steady pace, not dodging the undead at high speed!.

@laurie--glad you enjoyed the day off and have gotten through some training. I'm sure you'll do great at your 5k next weekend. I would definitely be interested in doing a relay, but not sure how we would work that out since you, me, and beth are all over the place. Maybe we could find something on the east coast and I could come out for a visit? I already have 2 trips (both destination weddings) planned for next summer, so not really sure I could afford another trip. It's something to keep in mind for the future though.

Oh, and though I agree with beth that if you don't like running there are plenty of other exercises, I also will say it took about 6 months of running (and NOT loving it) before I really fell in love with it. So I guess my advice is to do it a bit longer before writing it off. I also know you want to do a tri--so maybe training for that will change your view of running.

@robin--between your hip pain and your baking fiasco, you aren't having a great day. I predict tomorrow will be better--and yes, you will have a funny story to share. :laugh:

@pie--glad you are enjoying the running--and a cruise would be a great motivator. Tomorrow, the DH and I are booking our trip to Punta Cana next summer. I'm going to use it as a motivator to start pushing myself more at the gym.

@beth--you have a great memory! My birthday isn't until next monday (9/30), but the Zombie 5k was my b-day present to myself and I invited friends to do it with me as a sort of birthday celebration. Only a couple of friends came which I completely understand since the registration fee was $85--kind of pricey if you don't love running through mud being chased by scary zombies. :laugh:

As for the weight gain, at least you've caught it and can turn it around now. I'm also struggling scale-wise. I upped my calories a month ago and everything I read said I would have an initial 5 lb gain and then the scale would start moving down again. Well, I've gained the 5 lbs and now I'm just stuck. :grumble: Everything I read also said to give my body 6-8 weeks to adjust to the calorie change, so I'm trying to be a patient Grasshopper. :ohwell:

@kelley--congrats on the compliments!! No, they never do get old!

@tracy--no Bears/Vikings this week, so we are friends again!

(more) Friday Fitness:
One thing I learned from today is I definitely need to add some sprints into my workout--may start doing HIIT a couple of days a week on the treadmill. It seems like a good time to do this since I will soon find myself running indoors more and more due to weather. I also need to use the incline more--I'm such a wimp when it comes to hills! :blushing:

Saturday Success:
Well, finishing today was a success, but I am already starting to stiffen up. I will pay for this race tomorrow! I already have scrapes and bruises all over my knees and elbows from all of the obstacles. :drinker: The good news is I'm not nearly as sore as I was after the Rugged Maniac--today's obstacles were much easier even if those sprints were killer.

Tomorrow I will focus on grading. :noway:

Exercise goals:
Mon-walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Tues--run outside w/ gunner NOT DONE but did a 2 mile walk instead
Wed--walk gunner + gym NOT DONE ran outside w/ gunner instead
Thurs--walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Fri--rest day DONE but did walk gunner
Sat--Run For Your Lives!!! DONE + walk gunner DONE (yes, he insisted on a walk when I got home!)
Sun--we'll see...pretty sure this will be a rest day.

Grading Goals:
1. 2/73 AP essays

@laurie and karen -- perhaps we could meet in western ohio or eastern pennsylvania for a tri-relay in 2014? I'd be totally up for any distance swim, including the full-2.4 miles... of course that one comes with a 112-mile bike (laurie) and a full marathon (karen), so we might want to start a little smaller. :laugh: Heck, I'd be totally down for this one in two weeks, in Laurie's backyard... http://rev3tri.com/half-full/races-hf/olympic-rev/ I bet there are fare specials this time of year from Chicago to Baltimore, plus we could have a belated birthday celebration
@laurie - thanks for the info on running - i always thought of swimming as the best exercise/overall fitness improver, but i suppose running works too. Good job getting some of your grading done. I live in Connecticut, but that's definitely on the way to Vermont. You could totally stop by as you head to or from the bike trip. A friend and I are hoping to buy a farm in Vermont as soon as we can work out the financials... she wants to get a little land (total farmer at heart and has been working/learning at other peoples' farms for the past 9 years), but doesn't have the money/resources to do it on her own and I want a quiet, secluded cabin in the woods (near a pond or lake) for retreat and writing space, but don't have the money/resources to do it on my own... so together, we should both be able to achieve our hearts' desires. Hopefully. With some luck and blessings. By next summer, we hope.
@karen - six months of not-loving running?! yikes. well maybe i will give it a try someday... congrats on finishing the race and managing some sprints!!! (even if the undead infected and bruised you) :noway:
@robin - sometimes the best-laid plans go awry, eh? darn new oven. well, store-bought desserts can be delightful too. good job getting your exercise in so you can enjoy the lunch tomorrow, and CONGRATS on your continued scale success! Seems that you've got this figured out! I wish a salt-water pool would work, but I've heard that they just convert the salt into chlorine (it's not at all like ocean-swimming, which is what i had hoped), so it seems unlikely that I could swim in that - darn anaphylactic shock. i can do baqucil, but it's more expensive and tends to gum up the pool-works, so most folks don't use it. I will have to turn to hiking (which will make the dogs happy) and biking and kayaking for the fall months and wii fit, snow-shoeing, or a (dreaded) gym for the winter. someday i will buy my swim-spa which i will run with an oxidizer or some baquacil or something that lets me breathe. Or maybe I should just move south - too bad my friend wants to go even futher north for our farm. :ohwell:
@pie - thanks for the post - inspiring story, indeed! perhaps all you budding runners will motivate me yet! and hey, great job booking another cruise for continued motivation! that will be such a great reward!
@tammy - i know you will post less now that your DH is home, but still hope to hear from you from time-to-time. Enjoy your month together!!!!
@tracy - good luck with starting to lift! you can conquer your fears and do this!!! it's really never quite as bad as our minds make it out to be! funny story? when i bought my kayaks I was over the weight limit (I think the posted limit was 300 pounds and i was around 330)... of course, i had no idea what the weight limit really meant... would the kayak be a little less steady or would it sink to the bottom of the river the minute i sat in it? so the first time i tried it, i put it in the canal-to-nowhere (no longer maintained) in my back yard, so that no one would see whatever misery would befall me. the kayak rode a bit lower than it should have, but maneuvered fine, and the next time i took it to a public boat launch so i could paddle farther than 100 yards. :laugh: i was over the weight limit for the first three years, but it never stopped me. i'm also sure i've looked completely ridiculous out huffing and puffing up mountains on my week-long pacific crest trail backpacking trips (i was over 300 pounds for all of those too), and they (plus my overnight appalachian trail hike) have been excruciatingly difficult at times, but they've also been soul-restoring (I love nature), confidence-building, and inspiring to others. Still, each time i go, i'm all like, "sheesh, beth, you are undoubtedly the fattest woman on this 2,650 mile trail... what are you thinking?" and then I'm all like, "so what's your point, beth? i'm a bad-*kitten* hiker girl!" Sometimes i just have to talk back to my negative self. :laugh: In thru-hiking, there is an expression - HYOH (Hike Your Own Hike)... don't worry about how fast or far other people are going - do your own thing. of course, the thru-hiking community is extremely supportive of one another - and everyone i've run into on the trail - or who encountered my 74-year-old father this summer -- has been super complimentary and nice. Everyone should behave like distance hikers... then the world would be a truly lovely place. but i've totally digressed and gone on and on about me. Tracy - my point is that the boat won't sink to the bottom of the river, and even if it does, someone will be there to help you up -- so go run, lift, play basketball, and skate to your heart's content!!!
@tom - are you still stuck in the 260s? i got out of them... unfortunately in the wrong direction. :grumble: perhaps we could try together to get below 250 by year's end? i love a good challenge....

well, i haven't been posting much lately, but i have been reading daily.... you all inspire me, through your successes AND challenges. a couple NSV's from august that i don't think i reported... I went white-water rafting on the Colorado river!! Whoot-Whoot!!! Tons of fun! And swimming in a mountain lake! And hiking five miles up a mountain! It's so hard to breathe above 9000, even the swimming was a challenge - the hiking was oh-my-goodness-i-don't-think-i-can-take-another-step-and-oh-crap-that's-fresh-bear-scat-better-keep-moving difficult -- but i did it! I also found hobo hot springs (my not-so-new-anymore profile picture), which is absolutely amazing and free... the first day we had it all to ourselves, but the second day, just as we walked up, a boat with four fit guys - probably river guides - pulled up. i was all like, "oh, no... i soooo wanted to take a soak." then i was all like, "heck, yes, i'm taking a soak. if they don't like it they can leave." and i stripped down to the bathing suit and took a dip. and they didn't stay long, but i don't think it was because we were there, but even if it was, who cares? and for my last nsv (this is two-months worth to report, lol), when my SIL and niece visited, we went to the adventure park near my house, where i (almost successfuly) completed 3 of 5 ropes/zip-line courses. OMG! Talk about a core/arm work-out!!!! Laurie, I thought of you and all your climbing... obviously, the ropes courses are not at all the same as your rock-walls, but i bet they work some of the same muscle groups and provide some of the same challenges. I say I "almost successfuly" completed three courses, because i did get stuck on the zipline on the third course, after not successfully landing on the platform - bounced off, couldn't pull myself back up, and zipped back to the mid-point, sigh. and my arms were just too tired to move me. so some young, strapping lad had to come out and pull us both back, and it should have been utterly humiliating. but it wasn't. he was super nice and people were patient. and even if they were saying things under their breath or thinking them, i didn't really care. i had a blast. and next time, i will land that darn platform!!!! actually, i'm thinking about work next summer, and i'm hoping to get in shape enough that i could work there (this will require gym-membership and lots of heavy lifting) or as a lifeguard. that is, unless we are able to buy the farm, in which case, i will be working on building terraces for planting, a pond for swimming, and a little house for living in... :happy: (not-so-new ticker pic is on the farm we would like to buy)

@robin--glad your dessert worked out the second time around! :drinker: The way the zombi run works is you start with 3 flags on your belt (like for flag football). The course has areas where you are running and then you' will come upon an obstacle like hay bales to climb over, or barbed wire to crawl under through the mud. That's what scrapes up the knees is all of the crawling through the rocky mud. In addition, there are areas where you have to run through a gauntlet of zombies. They are gathered together in a stretch of the course and you have to sprint through to keep them from getting your flags. If my sore body is any sign, I would say I'm still infected. :laugh:

@beth--I'm jealous of your adventures as well! I plan to do a white water raft trip and try zip-lining at some point--I don't have anything planned right now, but those are both activities I've always wanted to try. Another is shark diving which I'm hoping to do next summer on my trip to Punta Cana. Also, I never have any intention of running a full marathon, but I love your confidence in my ability to do so. :laugh: Seriously the 6.5 miles for that Revolution one is more my speed (and trust me, I would have to work up to that!). I can't do it this year b/c I already have a 5k on the October 4th, but maybe we could try to plan for it next fall?

@nicole--I agree with robin about keeping the healthy snacks at hand--I am the worst if I don't get to the grocery store. I'm struggling right now as well--I've upped my protein and am usually under my calorie goal, but I'm still not losing. I'm going to give my current calorie allowance a couple more weeks, but if there's no change I will be making another adjustment. :grumble:

Sunday Share:
I don't think there are a lot of newlings this week, but just in case, I'm Karen. I'm 43 though today this body is feeling about 90! You know you're getting older when it's your joints that hurt after a race rather than your muscles. This is another reason I want to do more heavy lifting--the stronger my muscles are, the less stress on my aging joints. That being said, I'm skipping the gym today but will surely take gunner for his walk. Otherwise it's a grading day for me, but 1st I'm going to book our trip to Punta Cana! :flowerforyou:

Exercise goals:
Mon-walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Tues--run outside w/ gunner NOT DONE but did a 2 mile walk instead
Wed--walk gunner + gym NOT DONE ran outside w/ gunner instead
Thurs--walk gunner DONE + gym DONE
Fri--rest day DONE but did walk gunner
Sat--Run For Your Lives!!! DONE + walk gunner DONE (yes, he insisted on a walk when I got home!)
Sun--we'll see...pretty sure this will be a rest day.

Grading Goals:
1. 2/73 AP essays

Sunday Share: Hello to all who have joined recently -- I'm Carla, 44, from SW Missouri. Married for 20 years, 2 teenagers, and a dog. I love Zumba and am learning that I can run. Who knew? lol I don't check in here as often as I'd like to and not quite up to speed with the "personals" but I am loving the support and happy attitude I have received here on Robin's thread My weight loss has slowed tremendously this year and I'm working on moving my focus to fitness and health instead of the scale. Together we can do this!

Hello all... just back from the annual show/event/camping trip. Need to catch up my logs, and catch up on your posts
More as soon as possible.

@nicole--it's nice that you can get a head start on some of the work for your class. Great job with the big shopping trip, too! :drinker: I wish doing schoolwork and grading burned calories!! Is any of it reading that you could do while walking on a treadmill or doing the elliptical? I'm terrible at doing that--I just like to focus on my workout. However, I see lots of people doing that at the gym, so apparently some people like it.

@vickie & marca--good to see you back--you'll have to tell us about your trips once you get caught up.

@carla--I am also trying to focus more on my fitness and health vs. the scale #--easier said than done. It's one of the reasons I want to start lifting more--I figure I can see progress in my ability to lift heavier weights and can ignore the scale #. I've also been tracking my body fat % on my home scale, but that also entails looking at my weight every day which makes it hard to downplay that number. :ohwell:

AFM--I got through 11 papers today--not ideal, but better than nothing. I also walked gunner this evening, so I got in a bit of exercise. Tomorrow I will go to the gym after work and lift. I would also like to start working on some HIIT on the treadmill--one of my goals is to beat last year's Turkey Trot time (my 5k PR) of 35:59. That means I need to improve upon my 11.5 minute mile pace. My hope is that if I focus on intervals over the next 8 weeks it will improve my speed. I'm thinking I can do HIIT 2-3 days/week and then run a full 5k once/week. Of course I will continue my lifting and ab work as well.

Also, we booked out trip to the Dominican Republic next summer. We are going for 8 nights--6/24-7/2. I also searched the internet to find someplace to go cage diving with sharks, but I found something even cooler!! You can go on a snorkeling trip and actually swim with nurse sharks and stingrays!! :noway: My husband will NOT do it with me. However, since several of my friends will be there for the wedding, I should be able to find someone who will join me; if not, I will go by myself. Here's the link in case you want to check out:

http://www.marinarium.com/marinarium/

Exercise goals:
Mon-walk gunner + gym (lifting and HIIT)
Tues--walk gunner + cardio (at gym or run outside)
Wed--walk gunner
Thurs--walk gunner + gym (lifting and HIIT)
Fri--walk gunner
Sat--walk gunner + gym (lift + run 5k)
Sun--walk gunner + cardio (at gym or run outside)

Grading Goals:
1. 13/73 AP essays

@laurie--the most I've ever run is 5 miles (8k), so by next summer I could definitely run 10k (about 6.5 miles) but probably not 10 miles. Fortunately, I believe the Sprint tri is 5k and the Olympic tri is 10k. I was looking at Ram Racing's website b/c I know they hold a tri every summer in Lake Geneva called the Bigfoot. The good news is if you and beth could get here for that one, we would have free lodging at my friend's house b/c she lives in Lake Geneva with plenty of spare room (4 bedroom/5.5 bedroom 7200 square ft house and it's just her). The bad news is that next year it is on June 22nd and I leave for Punta Cana on June 24th. :ohwell: Maybe we try for something in your neck of the woods next year and plan for the Bigfoot in 2015? Also, I didn't see anything on their website that said if we could compete as a relay team--my guess is it wouldn't matter, but we just wouldn't be allowed to medal.