Day 62: The half marathon that turned into a 10K

Finally back into the blogging world. Was away this weekend to run my Half marathon but as you can see from the title of the post that did not happen.

First of the Marathon was in Nairobi, Kenya. It was the Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon and it was all going to a good course. The theme was “Run for a reason, seeing is believing.” The money raised from the marathon was to go towards helping prevent blindness in children under the age of 9. Since its inception in 2003, it has helped over 4000 children countrywide.

 

The marathon was on Sunday and I was running with my brother Norb, two other brothers were too lazy to run so they came as spectators.  The marathon was organized in 3 shifts. The first was the full marathon and participants had to be there by 6am and the start time was 7am, I was to be in the second shift that would sign in at 6:30 and the start time would be 7:30am, the last was the 10K which was to get off at 8 am. There was also the family run that was a 5k for school kids and those who were out juts for a little fun.

To make a long story short, I was late. Norb forgot to bring his running kit and had to go back to his college room to pick it up, this wouldn’t have been a problem except all the major roads were closed for the marathon and the traffic was bumper to bumper.  We got there 30 minutes late and were just in time for the 10K. The half marathon folks had left over 30 minutes before. Was I fucking pissed. I got over it fast though and I ended up enjoying the 10K. I did it in about 70 minutes, which was pretty bad. We did end up walking for a bout 1K of it.

Me and my bro before teh Race

 

 

This race really made me doubt if I am ready for the full I will be running in about 3 weeks. It was only a 10K and I felt pretty burnt out. After a bit of thinking, I have decided that I need to change my running schedule and kick it up a notch. Oh and here is a picture of the Full marathon, in Eldoret. If you have never heard of Eldoret its where all the Kenyan runners come from. A lot of them will be at this Race and if that wasn’t intimidating enough, the hills on this race are pretty damn scary( what the fudge am I gonna do) I’m putting on a brave face. I’m glad I participated in this race coz it taught me a few things about myself.

What I learned about myself (when it comes to running)

1. I don’t need carbs. I ate some cereal before the run and it gave me the worst stitch ever. I also did not feel the need to up my sugar during the run. The Full marathon my need an energy bar midway but breakfast will be an omelet

2. I don’t need to rest before the rest. I red up on runners world that a two-day rest is the best preparation for a race. Ummm….. apparently not for me. I felt unprepared and rusty because I had not moved my feet for two days. I think I will take long hard walks before the race so that my muscles don’t forget how to move

In other news, I weighed in after my trip, which by the way was full of bad eating and a lot of alcohol, and I had lost 200g for a new weight of 167.8. Not too bad. Lets hope the scale keeps moving down. The biggest impediment to my running is my weight. It needs to get down proto.

Ps. WP wont let me upload pics. will do it later after I figure out the problem

Elite runners doing the 42K. fastest time was 2.10

After the race, we borrowed some medals from the full marathon runners to take ics with.

me my bro DJ UV and Norb with the marathon clown

I did it; the 10k that is

My Bro 🙂

Day 58: Official weigh-in

After the psychotic way my scale acted a few days ago, i decided to weigh in again yesterday and i think its a little bit sane.

Last weigh-in 170.0

Current weight: 168.0

Loss: 2 pounds.

I am happy with that.

Tomorrow is race day and I hope I can do it. Im afraid if I can’t complete my Half, it will totally fuck up my mind over the full 3 weeks later.

Wish me luck.

 

Day 56: The one with the Psycho scale

 

First of I got a great comment yesterday about eating more. I know in the long run eating at a low net caloric deficit is not good for me. Even though I am eating about 1400-1600 calories a day, I am burning about 1000 and not eating any of it back. I just feel like if I eat all my exercise calories back, I will be over-eating and will gain weight. This is a mental game.  I need to be able to eat what my body needs and not feel guilty about it.

It will take me some time to get to that place. I have been over eating for so long and I am just now trying to teach my body to eat what it needs.

 

Today I did no go for my run. I got up and just thought that I need rest before the race and went back to sleep. Now a few hours later I feel guilty. I jut think that I was lazy and making excuses about rest so as not to run. I am only 2 days away from my race and I need to finish this half in order to prove to myself that I can complete the full marathon next month.

 

Because I wont be around on Sunday to weight in, I decided to step on the scale today to see how my new low carb is going. My scale went Crazy.

My previous weight was 170.0 . When I got on this morning I saw a 161.2 !!!!!!! What???? I couldn’t believe it.  No way had lost about 9 pounds in less than a week. So I got back on and what do I see 164.0. TWICE!!!!!!. Now I am completely confused and kinda pissed off.

I turned off the scale and got back on again. I got a 162 twice and 165.8 at least 3 times. So this morning’s trip on the scale gave me a range between 161-165. I have no idea what weight to put down but to be on the safe side I will note it down the highest weight of 165.8. Either way, I should be glad that I am out of the 170’s. I wouldn’t be surprise if I got back on and was back to the 70’s. That’s how nuts my scale seems to be.

 

At any rate, going back to my low carb ways sees to be working for me. I haven’t been as strict as I was before and have been averaging about 100g this week. I think I will keep it there unless I plateau again and need to lower it again.

 

I wont be able to get on here again until after my race. I will be out of town with 3 of my younger brothers. This means its will be noting but junk food and alcohol for three whole days. Dear lord give me the strength to resist all of it.  I will track everything and be absolutely honest with myself. I plan of getting some healthy snack in my bag like nuts to help me fill up and resist the junk.

My race is on Sunday and I hope I can finish the whole 21KM. I will not be setting a time goal and I will be doing it on low cab. I think I have read enough from others who run low carb and this will be my test before my Full marathon. I might carry an energy bar just incase I feel I need it.

 

I have types up a bunch of recipes and taken pictures. Will need to put them up soon. I just need time to organize it all.

 

Have a great weekend everyone and make great choices. (I hope I can)

 

 

Day 55: Cravings

 

I’m craving carbs. Today I’m am just hungry. I have no idea why but I feel like I just need to eat eat eat. Well actually I might have an idea why, I have been burning upwards of 1000 calories and haven’t been eating any of them back. My net caloric intake has been pretty low. I know better than to do this but I am just so tired of being stuck in the 170’s that I need to do something drastic about this. The problem with denying myself is that I get cravings for that which I am avoiding. I’ve been trying to get back on track with my low carb diet and it’s harder this time than at the very beginning. The weird thing is that low carb is very filling. All the fats and protein keep you fuller longer. I just need to up my protein and I’m sure this hungry feeling will pass.

 

This morning I confused my training day again and went for a shorter run than I was supposed to 9K instead of the 15K I had earlier planned. I am glad though I was too tired to run the whole way and I decided to walk after the 5K mark. I really need to learn to listen to my body and not push too hard. Tomorrow, I plan on doing a light 5K and rest Friday and Saturday. By rest I mean go for walks that don’t need too much effort.

 

3 days to Race day.

 

Day 51: The one with a bit of TMI

Here are yesterday’s stats

Calories: 1460

Net carbs: 162(very bad. Had a lot of rice mostly because I hadn’t prepared my food)

Protein: 64 g

Water: 3.85 liters (under my 4L goal)

Exercise: 749 cals

Distance: 11.03Km

Plank: first 60 sec and second 25 sec (goal is to get to 2 minute planks)

 

I think I am getting back on track with my weight loss goals. Yesterday was not as great as I had hoped with my eating. Went over my carbs by about 100g (not good) but other than that, I think my calories, water and exercise was not perfect but definitely improved.

I have all my food ready for the rest of this week. It’s mostly going to be soups and salads. I made two soups yesterday (recipes and pictures coming soon) cabbage and butternut squash. I also made some TVP sausage patties that were deliciousssssss.

 

*Warning a bit of TMI and bodily functions.

So this is a problem I have had when I go for long runs. I looked it up on the internet and I am glad I am not the only one. Well the thing is that sometimes I feel the need to (how to I put this delicately) PO

Morning run. 1 really hope to get my 10K closer to the hour mark

OP during my runs. Today was especially pretty bad. I had my 10K easy run and I was so backed up that I thought there was no way I could make it through my run. It started giving me tummy aches and I felt that I really needed to go which was not an option seeing that I was 5K in and had no where to go. Uuughhh I need some clues on how to avoid this. It really slows me down and I can’t have this happen during my Half and full marathon coming up in the next few days. I think the culprit was the Weetabix I ate before my run. Does this mean I cant eat before my runs?? This is going to be a problem because I need to carb up before my runs if I’m going to run without losing steam midway.

 

I need to find a solution soon.

 

The plan for today I to keep a tight watch on my carbs. I think they will be higher than I would like because of the Weetabix I eat before my run. My only hope is that I burn them off and they don’t turn into fat in my body.

 

Make good choices today.

 

 

 

Day 53: I have been a very bad girl

 

Lets get the bad news out the way. On Sunday, I weighed in at 170.0 lbs. after the week I had I honestly thought it would be worse.

 

Last week: 169.4

This week: 170.0

Weight gain 600g

 

So I haven’t been on here since Wednesday and it hasn’t been very pretty.

There really isn’t any excuse for my behavior and this morning while in bed I realized that my mind isn’t focused on weight loss as it had been the past few months. I am not really watching what I am eating and not planning ahead.

 

A few months ago, I had a menu and knew what I would be eating throughout the week. Breakfast lunch and dinner. I would make my own food that is separate from my family and cook two separate meals. This pat month, I couldn’t be bothered. I eat everything they eat even though I know its bad for me. I am just too lazy.

 

The only exercise I have been doing is running for my marathon training, no ab work or any type of strength training. Today, I was too lazy to even get up to go to my run. I feel like I have become a fat lazy slob again. My body doesn’t feel as strong as I did a few weeks ago. The weird thing is that I am only 5 pounds up from my lowest weight.  But that 5 pounds has done a lot of damage. My stomach feels puffy, I feel unmotivated to move and I have no self-control when it comes to eating carbs.  The surprising thing is that I haven’t binged or eaten over my calories even once. I haven’t eaten any junk or processed food except for some fries I had on Thursday.  My calories have been low but my carbs have been upwards of 250 a day. I guess for my body, a calorie is not a calorie. I know there are those who think that as long as you eat less than you burn you should be losing weight; that theory doesn’t work for me.

I also went drinking with my siblings, which is something I haven’t done in about six months. I was totally sotted and this made me make bad eating choices. The hangover the next day meant that I missed my runs.

 

So what am I gonna do about this. First of, my birthday goal is out the question. I don’t think I can lose 11 pounds in the next 2 weeks. So I have a more sensible plan.

And it starts today.

• I am making a cabbage soup that I will be having for lunch for the week. I will alternate this with having a salad.

• For breakfast, I will make my famous TVP patties and will have those with a scramble egg and maybe some avocado.
• For supper, I will be making a butternut-nut squash soup (recipe coming up) and will be having this with a salad. The salad will be some Thai inspired tofu and some green veggies.
• My plan is to stay under 50g of carbs and have my calories between 1400-1200
• Water intake is to be at around 4 liters.

I know this sounds a bit monotonous, but I need to make everything in advance so that I am not lazy and tempted to eat off track. \

My brother singed me up for a half marathon this Sunday and my plan this week is to prep for it. I will be running Monday- Friday and rest on Saturday.

 

Here is my plan.

Monday – 10-mile fast walk

Tuesday – 6 miles/9.6K Easy

Wednesday- 15K easy

Thursday – 5 miles/8K with 5K@ tempo

Friday- 3 miles/5K at tempo

Saturday –Rest

Sunday – RACE day

 

I know the best training for a race a few days before is rest, however, I run better when I have been consistently out running.

I also plan on doing some ab-work and strength training everyday this week. I think I need some strength in order to feel like and active again. I will be doing the Kardio Killer workout I posted a few days ago.

 

I will get back to posting my daily stats at the end of the day. I think this keeps me accountable.

I hope that if I can keep this goal at the back of my mind for the next two weeks, I should be able to get firmly out of the 70’s by my birthday on the fourth of November.

 

 

 

Day 48: I must be F@$%*& Nuts

So today my younger brother talked me into joining him for a half marathon in about 11 days. He is 19 and I finally talked him into getting healthy and running and I feel I need to support him in this.

The problem is, I signed us both up for a full marathon on the 18th of November that would be 21 days after the half. Part of me thinks that 21 days is enough for me to rest and get back up for the full but I’m also afraid that I’m pushing it too hard.

Anyway its done. Registration has been sent in and I guess I’m running a half in about 11 days. Is there anyone out there who signs up for a race 11 days before??

Went for my 10K this morning. My Nike froze 7k into the run and I had to stop and reset it. This totally there off my mojo and I lost my pace. Lets just say the rest of my 10k was a walk. Tomorrow is my rest day. I’m gonna cross train and I have a work out that is high cardio and is called the fat burner deluxe. I got it from an app and it really gets the heart rate up.

Friday is my long run 13 miles at tempo.I’m planning ahead and taking an energy bar with me. I think a sugar boost mid run is what will get me through.

Talking about food, my carbs are out of control. I’m pretty sure that’s what holding my weighloss back. It seems it doesn’t matter how low my calories are as long as I’m eating rice and bread, I’m at a standstill. I’m hardly eating my exercise calories back. I know there are those who swear by eating them back but it doesn’t work for me. I sometimes i’ll eat them sometimes I wont. I need to be lighter in order to run faster. My goal is to be a great runner and these extra 20 pounds are weighing me down. My ultimate goal is to lose weight. Running at this point is secondary.

Daily stats: Tuesday 10/16

Total calories : 1453
Exercise calories : 597
Water : 18 glasses
Carbs : 196 (higher than yesterday. My carbs are out if control)
Protein :55g
Miles run :5.52
Plank : 0 minutes. (2nd day and no plank, I’m never getting a six pack at this rate.)

Make good choices. I know I’ll try.

Day 47: Mid run advice from other runners~ Yay or nay?

The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start. -John Bingham

Daily stats: Monday 10/15

Total calories : 1609
Exercise calories : 1051
Water : 18 glasses
Carbs : 187 g (pretty darn high WTF)
Protein :64g
Miles run :10
Plank : 0 minutes -I’m a loser.

Today was my 5 miles with 3 mikes at tempo. Well I was exhausted and did not even feel like going out. I also did not eat anything before my run and I am now a firm believer that I need to eat something before my runs. Some weetabix and milk really gives me the energy I need to power through my runs. I did manage to do the 3 miles at tempo but pretty much crashed the last two miles and did a lot of walking.

On a different note. What do people feel about mid run advice from other runners.
It drives me nuts. I’m sure they mean well but ugh I always wanna scream back at them “you dont know me! ”
Yesterday during my run some guy was telling me I need to wear a jacket during my morning run. Now I usually run at about 5:30 am and its a bit chilly. I leave the house in a sweatshirt but usually take it off a couple miles in when I have picked up my pace and my body is warm and I’m even breaking a sweat. I run better when I am cool. I like to feel the breeze right through me coz it bakes me feel freeeeee like a bird (lol)
Anyways,so I was a little peeved when the guy felt like he needed to tell me to put my sweatshirt that was tied around my waist.

The other thing I hate is when I’m taking a walking break and someone feels the need to helm me I should run more. Ummm at this point I’m probably a couple miles into my run and some random guy is suggesting I’m lazy. This drives me nuts.
Or maybe I’m over reacting.

I like runners who nod or wave hello. It makes me feel like I’m in some type of secret club and we all know each other even though all we do is wave at each other in the morning. But the advice, I really don’t need it.

32 days to marathon. Today I’m going to watch my carbs. Yesterday was a disaster.

Make good choices today.

Day 46: weekly goals and marathon prep

Day 46: weekly goals and marathon prep.

I have no idea what the hell is going with my weight loss.
I gaining and losing the same 3 pounds when though my exercise is consistent and I NEVER go over my calories. I track daily and really work on keeping my carbs under control. Still nothing. Its really driving me nuts. I want to try and increase my calories but I’m terrified of a weight gain. Right now I’m pretty sure my gains are water and bloating. But if I increase calories. The gains will be fat. Ugh.

I have a few recipes I plan on sharing as soon as I get ky computer working. I also want to work on my blots and add more pictures of my self and my progress. I feel the more I invest in this blog, the better my weight loss will be.

Goal for this week.
° drink atleast 3.5 litres of water.
° blog my daily starts at the end of the day. This include my carbs, calories, water, exercise calories and protein
° push myself with my marathon training
° complete my goal of running 75K this week.

Here is my marathon training schedule. I have just a little over a month left.

Week 2 (10/15-10/21)

Monday : Morning 5K/3 miles run at tempo. Afternoon 10k walk

Tuesday : 5 miles / 8k easy with 5k @ tempo- my goal is to set a temp I can sustain at 10min/mile

Wednesday : 6 miles /9.6k easy

Thursday: – cross training. I will do some strenght training to build muscle in my legs. And maybe a 5k walk.

Friday : long run 20k/ 12.5 miles

Saturday : repeat Tuesday – 5miles/8k easy

Sunday : repeat Wednesday 6 miles /9.6k

Have a good week. And make good choices.

weigh in

Last week 168.2

Today 169.4

This week was a gain. Can’t explain why. Never went over my calories. Logged in about 70k total in runs.
I’m not going to freak out. I’m sure it’s not a fat gain.
my stomach has been out o sorts this whole week. I need something to set it right.
next week I’m plan on going hard on the marathon training. I think my body has sufficiently recovered.