Changes

I'm changing my routine and approach a little. Well, a lot actually. I just canceled my Weight Watchers membership. I still love the program and believe in the program and may even start back in a few months, but for right now, it is just a waste of money. I haven't been to meetings in a while and I am starting something different that I would rather put the money towards.

I mentioned the new program I signed up for last week. It is being run by a local running store and it is geared towards people that have 50lbs or more to lose. They have workouts 3 times a week and then a speaker once a week before the Saturday workout. The workouts include a lot of walking but also drills to help improve your walking and running. I think it is going to be a good addition to the Galloway plan. I am not going to be doing the Saturday workouts because I will be doing the long runs for the training program on those days but the drills on the other days should be great.

I also mentioned that as part of it, we get a discount from a local food service. I went in today for my consultation and I think it is  going to be great. They really work with you on helping you to learn what to eat, when to it and how to cook it yourself. I will start out getting most of my meals from them and then gradually start making some of ti on my own. I will probably continue to grab a few meals a week from there because it is so much easier than cooking for one. The girl I spoke with was really awesome and very committed to helping me reach my goals.

They are one of the main reasons I canceled my membership. While I am following their meal plan, I won't need to count my points. She already knows my daily points and is going to plan my meals accordingly. That is why I say I may rejoin. Once I am adding in my own stuff, I may need to track more but until then, I'm ok. I also don't want to deal with the weigh-ins for a while. I weigh myself at home every week. I don't need to have someone tell me that I'm doing something wrong when the numbers don't change. I have had to many times when the numbers stood still but my clothes fell off. I know that my measurements are going to tell me way more than the scale is most of the time so I am going to be tracking those more.

I'm excited. I'm a little nervous about it all but I really feel like this is going to be a great change.

Good run that would have been great but...

That describes tonight's 3 miles. It started out great and could have finished that way if I wasn't cursed by damn running shoes. Every time I get fitted and I try to find a shoe that proves me wrong, I am only proven right.

Tonight for the first 2 miles of my run I had a great average pace(for me, it is slow as hell for most people) and I was feeling good. Then the same old thing happened. I got a sharp pain in the bottom of my foot and I physically could not keep the same pace anymore. It happens every time I wear traditional running shoes. All this does is prove to me that I made the right decision when I switched to minimalist running shoes. I just wish the people at the running stores could understand that. Last week I went in to get a new pair of shoes as part of this new fitness program that I joined  that is being conducted by a local running store. I explained to the guy that I wear Vibrams or other minimalist shoes(New Balance Minimus - love them!)  and that I have never found a regular running shoe that doesn't hurt my feet. Instead of putting me in one of the minimalist shoes they carried he insisted that I needed a different style and that I should try something else. After trying on 5 different pairs, I found one that I thought I could live with. So tonight I tried them on my run. They made my great run end up just being a good run because during the last mile I could not do my run intervals because the pain was so bad. They seemed to be fine if I was just walking but I cannot run in them. I guess it just proves why I should be a barefoot runner. I never have any pain in my feet with my minimalist shoes. Oh well.

With the exception of the foot problem, I had a really good run tonight. I wasn't sure how I would do since this is the first time I have ran since Mac left. I was supposed to do two 30 minute runs this week but Tuesday night I had to take a friend to the ER and it was freezing ad midnight by the time I tried to run so I waited until Wednesday to try again but my body wasn't feeling it so I only did 10 minutes. Thursday, I just didn't do it because I missed my husband and I just didn't feel like it. Tonight was hard. I missed having him with me. I did really well but I broke down at the end because he wasn't there to give me a high five. I know that sounds dumb but it's the truth. I really haven't cried at all this week but now I am. I am sitting here with tears running down my face because I miss him so much. I know I am doing this all for me but I am also doing it for him. I was so proud of myself tonight and I know he would have been too and it makes me miss him that much more. Even though I miss him, I will keep moving forward so that I am a different woman the next time he sees me.

5 miles

So as per the Galloway training schedule, I did 5 miles tonight. I feel good. Better than I expected. They weren't great but my pace was better than I thought. The whole point was to finish them, and though I want to be faster by the race, if I end up at that same pace, I will more than likely finish if I have a good starting corral.

I also started something new this week. I want to talk about it more but I actually need to learn more about it first. Today was our first meeting and it was more of an orientation. Next week things will really kick off and I can better explain all of it. But as part of this program, I can purchase discounted food from a company that makes fresh refrigerated meals that are all natural and mostly gluten free. We were given coupons for free samples today and Mac and I went to pick some up. I was a little skeptical at first but they are DELICIOUS. I am really looking forward to trying more things from there and having a way to have good healthy meals while Mac is deployed, because cooking for one sucks.

And on that note. I am going to do my best to keep my training going but I can't guarantee many posts in the coming weeks. Things are about to get really tough and I always need some time to process before I can get back to normal so please bear with me. 

I am a Penguin

A while back I wrote the post Embrace your Pace. I received a comment on it about the penguin runners but had no idea what they were and didn't bother to look it up at the time. Part of me wishes I had but then another part is glad I didn't because I think finding them now was the best thing.

Back in September, I reposted a post I had written last year when I decided to do the 2011 Princess. In the post I talked about how a picture of a shirt with a quote was what really gave me the kick to make the decision. The quote was,

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

I think I may have passingly noticed that it had a little picture of a penguin by his name but I didn't really pay much attention to it.

Then, last month, I was scouring the internet looking for a shirt that a girl posted to an online group. I was using the expo vendors list for the wine and dine to check each website to see if I could figure out who had the shirt for her. One of the websites I looked at was One More Mile Running. While I was checking their site I noticed on the right side bar a picture of a penguin and the words penguin gear beneath it. I was intrigued so I opened it in a new tab and continued searching with intentions to go back and check it out later. Once I had given up on my search, I clicked the tab to check out what Penguin Gear was. As I read the little blurb at the top I was even more interested:

One More Mile partners with John "The Penguin" Bingham!
One More Mile and John Bingham have the same philosophy: that running is more about having fun and less about putting a lot of pressure on yourself. Now you can get Penguin gear from One More Mile! 

And then, when I clicked on the shirts, there it was, the shirt and quote that started it all. I had to know more so I clicked on the link for John Bingham's website.  As I read What is a Penguin? I knew I had found my place. As I read through "You might be a Penguin if... " I had to laugh because I knew the feeling all too well with the police car, the truck with the cones and the award ceremony. It felt good to find all of this. It reminded me that I am not alone in my fight. There are lots of people out there that aren't the best runners but still run. Just because I am slow, doesn't mean I am not a runner.

With all of this, I have wholeheartedly embraced that I AM A PENGUIN!! Mac and I visited Sea World recently and they had these awesome car decals of all the animals, one of course being a penguin. I plan to cut off the Sea World Logo and just put the penguin on the car with my turtle sticker. I'm sure at some point I will get a shirt or magnet from Penguin Gear. I've always loved penguins, so it almost feels fitting.

This of course leads me to something I alluded to in the last post. I have decided on my running costume for both races. Hehehe. I already have things in the works to transform this everyday runner into a real penguin runner.  You'll have to wait until after the Tinkerbell to see a pic of the fairy penguin but I am certain it will be well worth the wait. Then with a few small changes she will turn into a princes penguin for the Princess Half. I'm so incredibly EXCITED!!!

(It feels so good to be excited again.)

If anyone here is a member of Fitocracy and you feel you are a Penguin, feel free to join the Penguin Runners group I started.  If you are not a member of Fitocracy but would like to be, Click Here to use my invite code or give me your email address and I will send you an invite. Fitocracy is a fun way to track all of your activities and connect with others.