Fitness Friday

So I slowly started working my way away from the elliptical & on to the treadmill or road. I started out warming up on the elliptical, moving over to the treadmill for a mile, then finishing up my miles on the elliptical. I was pretty sore, but mostly painfree. Taking it slow was driving me bonkers, but I was getting there. Then last weekend I was asked if I wanted to run the warrior dash 5k in London at the end of the month. It's a 5k race with obstacles throughout. I really wanted to run it, but I needed to test out how far I could run pain free to see if I'd be able to run this. So I went to the gym and hopped on the treadmill. Instead of just running 5k & declaring myself ready I decided to throw in a bit of circuit training.

Run 1/2 mile, strength training, run 1/2 mile, strength training, etc.

I ran 2.5 miles doing pushups, squats, deadlifts, dumbell jerks, and reverse crunches in between each half mile. I didn't want to run any further & push my luck, then end up injured and unable to run for a while. So I hopped off and experienced the best runner's high. I knew that if training continued I'd be able to run the race pain free!

Since then I've not stepped back onto an elliptical! I've been on the treadmill and the road! The other day I set out to run a 3 mile circuit on the treadmill, but ended up running 5!! Five beautiful, pain free miles! Well, mostly pain free. My injuries aren't flaring up, my body is just not used to running so much anymore so I end up more sore than I used to get.

This time around I am also determined not to hit that 5k plateau. I'm a rare fat runner, and I'm tired of going to races or being the only one at the gym that doesn't look cute in exercise clothing. Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour clothes are not made for my body shape. They're the most comfortable fabric to work out in, but they are grossly unflattering on me. 

So instead of just doing around 3 miles on pretty much every run, I am slowly working on building that up & including a long run EVERY WEEK, not just once every month, or whenever I bloody feel like it (which was hardly ever.) I think my problem was running too far for my fitness level & then taking far too long to recover.

My biggest challenge will actually be not stuffing my face after every run with all the foods in my kitchen. 

The past month I've actually been really good about this. I still have days where I am ravenous, and want to eat everything in sight, but I've been able to contain myself. I won't claim that I've had a prefect diet this month, but trying to eat paleo meals & cooking at home instead of going out has helped tremendously. 

I've lost NINE LBS since I started running after my costochondritis injury!! 

I am quite proud of myself.

I just need to keep this up. My hard work & willpower will pay out in the end. I won't just be a runner; I'll actually look like one!

Wish me luck for my Sunday run. I'll be running 6.5 miles around the flight line. It'll be the longest run on the road since I injured my foot when I tried to run that route as my first run back after the costochondritis.

**I wrote this out yesterday, but I just noticed it didn't post. So this is fitness friday a day late!