Bee an inspiration!

One of the blogs I follow is Bee Fit, written by an amazing gal named Colleen. She started her weight loss journey at 272 pounds and joined WW on Feb. 24, 2010 weighing 252.6 pounds. This past June, she made her goal at WW, losing 102 pounds. Her weight loss is AMAZING and her progress photos really show the hard work she has done to get to this point.

But what I love most about her story is her determination. When she reached her 220's, she started jogging. She ran her first 5k in September 2010. Since then she has completed several half marathons and many more 5ks. This is incredible to me. You read so many stories of people who say "when I reach my goal and lose all the weight, I'm going to run a half marathon". Not Colleen. She didn't wait. And I love that. And she's not stopping anytime soon. She just completed another half marathon over the weekend and is training for her first full marathon in November.

The reason I'm telling you about Colleen today, besides the fact that you should all go visit her blog and read for yourself how incredible she is, is to tell you that she inspired me to do something. I read today's blog post while I was eating my lunch. It was about the half marathon she completed this weekend AND set a new personal record for herself. Pretty amazing, huh?

A couple hours later, I read it again. I kept thinking about how incredible I feel to go out and walk 3, 4, 5, even 10 or 11 miles. And then I wondered how incredible she must feel about herself with all she has accomplished. To run a 5k would be a huge thing for me. To run a half marathon? Well, that almost seems out of reach for me but it is something I would love to do and it's a dream I have.

So I was driving home from work, trying to beat the rain clouds so I could get to the park and log my 3.11 miles for the day. On a normal day, I will alternate walking and running - mostly walking with probably a third of it running throughout. A little bit here, a little bit there. I tend to run more near the end as I am trying to make the most of my time, always trying to beat my best time.

Today I decided I was going to run 1 mile - all at once. Colleen's ability to go out and run a half marathon and train for a full marathon inspired me to run the first mile, just to see if I could do it. And I did. It took me 12:02. Not a fast mile by any stretch, but one that was comfortable for me. I DID IT. It felt great and kept me going for the rest of my walk, during which I did more running. As always, I am thankful for my strong legs that allow me to run and push myself.

Another exciting tidbit to mention... I have a new personal best for my 5k - 40:48, beating my previous best by 17 seconds. I am SO competitive with myself.

Now, I know I can run a mile. I'll work on that for a bit and then I'll try 2 miles. And one day you'll read about me running a 5K. Maybe I'll inspire others the way Colleen has inspired me.

Don't forget to check out Colleen's blog Bee Fit . You WILL be inspired.

Sunshiney Sunday

After my 10 mile walk yesterday, which is approx. 6 1/2 miles more than I would do on an average day, I thought that I might not walk today. I would leave that decision until this morning, but I know when I was thinking about it last night, the idea of laying on the sofa all day sounded pretty nice.

Hubby went to play paintball this morning and I found myself craving the sunshine and I decided I would go out and walk. No running today, all walking. Not wanting to necessarily go to the park, I took the opportunity to go to downtown Clearwater to walk the causeway over to the beach. Plenty of sunshine there.

I filled my Camelbak with ice cold water and off I went. There is parking at the base of the causeway bridge (shaded no less!). I walked all the way over the causeway, south on the main strip and then back up again to the pier before heading back over the causeway. It was H-O-T and I was definitely getting my share of sunshine on my shoulders. This girl loves to be tan and I am loving the sunkissed look of my shoulders now.

I contemplated going over the bridge once more when I got back to my starting point but by the time I got there, I had walked 5.30 miles in 1 hr. 31 min. and I was tired, soaked with sweat, and hot as hell. I decided best not to be stupid about it and quit while I was ahead. As it is, my hubby wanted me to text him when I was done just so he wouldn't worry about me in the heat. Even at 10 am this morning the heat index was in the upper 90's and the UV index was VERY high at 10. Hence, my super sunkissed shoulders today. =)

I've walked a total of 15.30 miles in the past 2 days. That is more than I do in most weeks. I could not walk the rest of the week and be ahead of the game. Or I could walk as much as I can this week and see if I can hit 30 miles for the week. I wonder which one I'll do....

So now that the walk is behind me, I've had a fantastic cool shower, and put aloe lotion on, I am ready to take over my spot again on the sofa, guilt free.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Beautiful white sand of Clearwater Beach - such pretty scenery to walk past

View of Sand Key from the Memorial Causeway

My route to the beach and back - 5.30 miles

com·pet·i·tive

com·pet·i·tive

–adjective

Having a strong desire to compete or to succeed 

This morning's walk/run was my best to date. My 3 best times so far are:

41:04

43:34

43:35

Last weekend I shaved 1 second off when I finished in 43:34. 1 SECOND.

This morning when I hit the start on my nifty Nike+ app on my phone, I decided I was going to beat that 43:34 by more than 1 second. And I did, by 2 min. 30 sec. to be exact.

I start out walking and I have certain landmarks at the park where I will run - between signs, etc.... It's a great way to alternate walking and running with an end in site. A lot of times, I'll push my running a little farther - not to this tree, how about the next one. It's always fun to challenge myself.

I am not a fast runner. And it's certainly not pretty when I run. I am the person who looks like I'm going to keel over - heaving breathing, shoulders hunched, and a bright red face. But you know what? I'm doing it. I will never be that person who runs so gracefully it looks like they are taking a leisurely stroll. My pace will get better and over time I'll be able to run farther than I do now, but it will never be pretty.

I am VERY competitive with myself. When I beat my previous time by 1 second, my first thought was I can do much better than that next time. I ran more than normal and when I did run, I tried to run a little faster. And it made a difference. My legs feel great and they feel strong and I am super proud of myself.

My next goal? To get under the 40 min. mark. That is just a matter of time. Because I am crazy competitive with myself, moreso than anyone else.

I took this picture at the park this morning - isn't it beautiful??

Eagle Lake Park

I *heart* walking!

I went for my first long walk in 2 weeks. Being sick and just plain old life got in the way. It took me days to get over being sick and then some to really feel like myself again so I did nto walk until Wednesday. That was on the treadmill because even then I dreaded being out in the heat and humidity of the afternoon. Yesterday morning we took the dogs to the park for a walk. That was nice but my walks with them are much slower (since they have to stop and smell everything...). So this morning after we ran a few errands, I decided it was my time to get back out there and do what I do best - and what I so enjoy.

I love to walk. I am thankful for my strong legs to get me where I need to go and to allow me to walk farther ad faster as I need to. I walked a pretty good pace, 15:24 which means I finished 3.11 miles in 48:01. Not my fastest to date but still very good.

I love the feel of the sunshine on my shoulders. I think the sun is a drug, the more I get it, the more I want it.

I sweat my ass off today. There is nothing pretty about walking in the heat of summer in Florida and when I'm done, I am a disgusting mess. But man it feels good. And it makes me want to walk more. It's funny how the more I walk, the more I want to walk. But when I miss a day or two, it can be harder to get back to it.

I am hopeful to get a walk in tomorrow morning.

Strong legs

I caught a glimpse of my legs this morning when I was running. Between the endorphin-rush I was in the midst of and the sun hitting them just right, it occurred to me that I have strong legs. I have worked them hard this week, so far I'm up to 17 miles for the week and I did TaeBo twice.

I am fortunate that my body responds as it does. When I am good to it and treat it right, I get results. Obviously this isn't always an easy thing. Sometimes it's easier to sit on the couch and do nothing or eat junk food. But I am a muscular person and after doing the right exercises, those muscles will show. I'll have the legs that I used to have and the arms and shoulders that I love to show off in tank tops.

I took this picture after my run this morning. They were like jello and I could feel every muscle in them, bitching at me for pushing them so hard this week between walking, running, and TaeBo. After a rest, they'll be ready to go again and will continue to see me through this journey.