Week Three: NutriMirror saved my life

http://www.nutrimirror.com/

http://www.nutrimirror.com/weight-loss-statistics.php

Well, not really, but the NutriMirror (NM) site probably saved me from getting diabetes or becoming morbidly obese at some point. This site is similar to the concept of Weight Watchers only better, plus it's free (and not trying to sell you anything). Unlike other weight loss sites, this site is more focused on healthy living throughout your entire life, not just a temporary fix, like Jenny Craig type programs tend to be. I highly HIGHLY recommend this to anybody who wants to lead a healthy lifestyle, which should be all of you reading this, unless of course you're goals are to get as fat and lazy as possible. Not recommended.

Although I do have a small weight loss goal, my main purpose for using NM is to learn how to eat healthy and stay healthy. Plus, there's an added bonus of chatting with real people about your goals, setbacks, and some priceless (free!) advice about healthy eating and exercise habits.

Before starting NM about two months ago, I did not eat healthy, even though I thought I was. (Thanks mom and dad for the fast metabolism!) Almost all of my meals were Healthy Choice microwave entrees or low-cal salty snacks. Because of this, my sodium was through the roof and I was consuming very little healthy nutrients. I also rarely came near fresh fruit or veggies, and I NEVER drank any water (just mass amounts of diet sodas). I often felt sluggish, I had blotchy skin, and I never truly felt satisfied after I had eaten. Lesson: just because the package says "healthy" or "low calories" does not necessarily mean that it's good for your body.

Just after two months of using NM, I've seen vast improvements. When I first started logging my foods, which I thought were healthy, I had a rude awakening! My diet was horrific! (and probably contributed to me developing gallstones at age 17). Since then, I vowed to change. Now, everyday I eat at least two fruits and veggies, I've completely eliminated frozen entrees and processed foods, and I've replaced diet soda with about fourteen 8oz glasses of water per day. Let me tell you, I feel great!! I have this new found energy (hence the running), my skin is noticeably clearer (which means less $$ spent on makeup :) and I can exercise longer without feeling fatigued. I'm convinced that this is why I can now run 9 miles with no problem. Before, one mile was a struggle.

This all relates to my marathon training because, without proper nutrition to fuel your body, you will feel lethargic. The instant I started improving my eating habits, I started to feel more energetic- so energetic that I decided to take on 26 miles!

If you're interested in healthy weight loss or just improving your overall eating and exercising habits, do check out this site. It should actually be required for all Americans to join the site since two thirds of Americans are overweight and one third are obese. Scary, huh?

**Note: In case you were wondering, I am not getting royalties from NutriMirror for posting this. Heh :)

Week Three Training
6/22 - Rest day
6/23 - Run 5 miles @ an easy pace
6/24 - Long run - 9 miles
6/25 - Tempo work
-Run one warmup mile
-Pick up the pace for 3 miles
-Run one cooldown mile
6/26 - Run 5 miles @ an easy pace
6/27 - Rest day
6/28 - Fred Hutchinson 5k race
http://getinvolved.fhcrc.org/site/TR/Events/General?px=1232721&pg=personal&fr_id=1120&et=kZgo2Bu9_Spp_LU8SnklvQ..&s_tafId=2950

Total miles for the week: 27

My new running partner!

As soon as this little doggy is old enough to run on the leash, she will be training along side me. This is my newest addition to the family. Her name is Peppercorn and she is a 3 1/2 month old purebred Boston Terrier. Bostons are known for their excellent endurance. I often see people running races with their Bostons and passing me! Peppercorn is slightly impartial to the leash right now, but she's a fast learner, as most Bostons are. She is also the most well-mannered puppy I have ever owned. Just wanted to share my new baby!

Week two of training: Looking back at the past

Remember that kid in gym class that was gravely athetically challenged? The kid who always managed to get hit in the head during kickball games? That was me; I was that kid. I once got hit in the head by a kickball when I wasn't even playing. I hated sports, they were trying to kill me!

Then, in middle school, we were required to up our ante and run the dreaded mile once a week. At that time, running a mile to me might as well have been sending me on a death march. Isn't this what they make prisoners do as punishment?!

The first time my gym teacher annonced that we were going to run the mile, I debated claiming that I was sick, I debated doing a rain storm dance, I debated doing anything I could to get out of running it! But as a very shy, awkward, middle-schooler, I said nothing and lined up at the starting line on our gravel track. The teacher blew the whistle for us to begin running. This is no joke, I took about two strides and fell flat on my face. It took me a second to get up and I quickly realized that both of my knees had huge, bleeding, open wounds. So I limped over to the teacher and asked if I could go to the nurse to get cleaned up and get some bandages. But no, not happening; he insisted that I keep running and said that I would fail for the day if I didn't. Being the shy girl that I was, I followed his orders and continued running while blood was running down my shins. I finished the mile in 15+ minutes - a failing time! I might as well have just went to the nurse and had my parents on the gym teacher's ass for making me run with bloody knee caps. I never wanted to run again. In fact, if I told myself at that time that I would later be training for a marathon, I would've probably dropped dead on the spot.

Ironically, I am now a runner and a very happy runner indeed. Running is my escape from life; a time to clear my mind. This is my second week of training and I am already starting to feel stronger. This week I will run 23 miles total. Now I just need to imagine running that far plus three miles in just a few hours. Yeah, I won't start thinking about that yet. One step at a time.

Also, in case anybody has a brief moment of insanity and decides to also train for a marathon, I'll post my training schedule each week, which was created for me by the professional runners at Runner's World. Note: this training regimen is for intermediate runners; I don't recommend this for somebody who just decides, on a whim, to start running. Please get a physical from a sports doctor and make sure your body is ready for miles and miles of pavement pounding.

Week Two Training
6/15 - Rest day (ran 8 miles yesterday)
6/16 - 5 miles @ an easy pace
6/17 - 5 mile speedwork:
- 1 warmup mile, easy pace
- 2 miles sprinting w/ half mile jogging in between each mile
-1 cooldown mile, easy pace
6/18 - Rest day
6/19 - 5 miles @ an easy pace
6/20 - Rest day
6/21 - Long run - 8 miles

Total miles for the week: 23

Running in Honor of Family

Dear Family and Friends,

I recently joined the challenge to raise funds to support the Shore Run/Walk, benefiting Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. I am running this race in memory of my amazing Grandma who was an unfortunate brain tumor victim. I am also running in honor of my brother who is a brain tumor survivor. Please support me by contributing. Your support will help fund cutting-edge immunotherapy research at the Hutchinson Center. For more information about this event, visit www.fhcrc.org/shorerun.

It's faster and easier than ever to support this great cause by making your tax-deductible donation online by visiting my page below.

Whatever you can give will help - it all adds up! I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.

Sincerely,
Melissa

To make a donation online, visit:
http://getinvolved.fhcrc.org/site/TR/Events/General?px=1232721&pg=personal&fr_id=1120&et=bsRvIhMJ3yVRxzXAnmr4PQ..&s_tafId=2950

Running stats so far; status: still alive

Just to give you an idea of where I'm at:


Furthest distance ran so far: 8.4 miles (3 laps around Greenlake) - only 17.8 miles to go! Did I mention that I may not survive??



Race times:

-5/17/09 - Beat The Bridge 8k (5 miles): 39:12 (Finished 58 out 608 people in my age group)
Note: 10 minutes faster than I'd ever ran it before



-6/7/09 - Komen For The Cure 5k (3.12 miles): 27:01 (Not an officially timed race)
Note: didn't expect so many hills!



-6/12/09 - Fremont 5k: 26:35 (Finished 43 out of 84 in my age group)
Note: better than before, but still too slow - a six month pregnant lady beat me!



Me! so far. After first week of training.

-Height: 5'4 1/2" (I don't expect this to change!)

-Weight: 121.6 lbs (goal is to get down to 118lbs)

-BMI: 20.8 (normal BMI for a woman is 18.5 - 25.0)



*Decently thin, but very little lean muscle and those godfodsaken thunder thighs! I'll keep posting pics throughout my training, unless of course, I somehow manage to gain weight. I have very strange luck.

The beginning of many miles

As I've told many of you, I've recently decided to become a competitive runner. This whole idea started when I was chatting with my counselor. No, not a shrink, just a regular ol' life-in-general counselor, I recommend them to you all. ANYWAY, almost everytime I go to him, he asks me about my hobbies. Well let's see here...hobbies...hobbies...hmmm....well I frequently drink a lot of beer, does that count? I think that comment just made him concerned for my well-being, great. So, I'd give him the usual, run-around - I don't make enough money to have a hobby; it's too expensive, blah blah blah. Then, about a month ago, an avid runner at my work sent out an e-mail asking if we wanted to form a team to run an 8k race (this was the Beat The Bridge event that I was begging you all for money for). So, what the hell, I signed up! I ended up finishing the race ten minutes faster than I'd ever ran it while training. Now I was encouraged; maybe I'm destined to be runnner! And shit, all you really need for this "hobby" is a good pair shoes, functioning legs, and you're set. I became instantly addicted and signed up for three more races the next day, seriously, I was that encouraged. I've done two of those races and I had a blast! Little did I know, there's more to Seattle than just a great music scene; we also have an amazing runnning culture.

Within about three months, I've become a running die-hard and even signed up to compete in the famous Seattle Marathon (26.2 miles). Believe or not, I was completely sober when signing up for this insane event and am actually really excited to train my frail little body to run like I've never ran before. Speaking of never done before, I don't usually blog because I never really have anything noteworthy to blog about, but to me, this qualifies as noteworthy, so I'm sharing. I'll continue to blog throughout my marathon training journey.

Peace ~ Melissa