Procrastination pays

Friday morning I contacted my friend Lisa to find out about the Splash and Dash she had signed up to do on Saturday.  I started thinking that I would be really interested in doing it too.  However, it was already too late to register online and I was unable to contact the organizers during the day. 

So, I figured I would go with her in the morning, with all my stuff, and hope that they had day of registration.  If not I could be her cheerleader!  I was pretty much of the mind set that I would be sitting this one out.  We were some of the first people there and amazingly they had registration sheets and I actually had cash on me (Lisa helped make up the difference). 

I went from thinking I'd be watching to participating.  Instant butterflies.  I don't know she swallowed a (butter)fly? Perhaps she'll die.

A dolphin was spotted swimming around the buoys before the race started.  That surely had to be good luck! 

This mass swim start was a shock to me.  Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I decided to start up with the men.  Who do I think I am?!  I will never make that mistake again.  They were BRUTAL.  If some of them could have swam over me I think they would have.  I realized that one of the other events in a biathlon is the "avoiding getting kicked in the face" event.  It takes some maneuvering to manage not to get a foot in the nose. 

When the mayhem of the swim was over we went quickly to the transition area and headed out running onto the Marine Corp's base; with an uphill run to the General's house.  Holy crap does that house have a view!  I was a little worried about the hill but it ended up being much easier than I had anticipated.  I felt strong and finished fast. 

I ended up placing second in my age group and got a medal!  Woo-hoo!  It does pay to wait and see. 

How apropos

I've been meaning to make note of this and have forgotten on many occasions.  With that kind of lead up you might think I've forgotten to mention that I've found the fountain of youth or that I've found the diet that makes you lose weight without changing your food intake with no exercise.

Get real!

Actually, what I thought was really funny were the songs that were playing on my iPod when I crossed the finish line for each of my 1/2 marathons. 

The first was "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N Roses.  Could any two songs be more appropriate for crossing the finish line?! 

I think not.

Will the real Risha please step forward

I've been posting about my training and weight loss for a while now and I've certainly been able to share my results with everyone.  It's a good feeling to get stronger, leaner, build more muscle mass, and watch the scale go down. 

I think for many of my friends they would say that I don't need to lose any more weight.  Which, is very sweet and perhaps true.  How much weight do I need to lose?!  Honestly, I don't need to lose at all.  I want to.

I want to get back to what my average weight was: 125-127 lbs.  I'm only 5"2 so it really isn't an extremely low number.  I just think people have been so used to seeing me at my heaviest that my average might seem too far in the other direction. 

I have promised myself that I will not beat myself up over the numbers on the scale.  I'm working to be healthier and lose the spare tire that seemed to have claimed residency the past 5 years.  I don't know if I'll get to the "target" goal and it really is alright if I don't.  I just want to let everyone know that I'm really not crazy or obsessed.  I just want the inside me to match the outside me.   =)

Plateau

Plateaus are a thing of beauty...if you're looking at a naturally formed rock structure.  Not so much when you're looking at the numbers on the scale.  I knew I would hit it; it was inevitable.  I really can't complain because I got stuck at 136 lbs for 3 weeks and not months.  However, with the scale showing results pretty quickly it was a little frustrating seeing the number looking back at me in all it's green LCD glory. 

I looked up several articles about weight loss plateaus and how to step off of them.  Most recommended changing up your workout routine.  Ummmm...I really can't change it up more than what I'm doing right now.  Here was the shocker and what put a HUGE smile on my face.  It said that your body gets used to the amount of calories you consume.  So even if you've limited your calorie intake your body will get used to that amount and level off in the weight loss department. 

I consume an average of 1200-1400 calories a day and I burn between 800-1500 calories each workout.  I've been pretty religious in both areas.  What the articles suggested were to consume more calories, than normal, one day and on a different day consume less.  It tricks the body out of auto pilot and gets it back on track.  I can do this!  I think I like the days that I get to consume a few more calories! 

I took advantage of this and finally I lost one more pound.  Hello 135.  I like you, but I don't like you THAT much.  If you decide to make room for one of your smaller cousins I'd be happy to say Aloha! 

Brick surprise

Two weeks ago I did my first brick workout which consisted of biking and then running.  I've been doing back-to-back workouts for months now, but not this particular one. 

I had fully anticipated that my run pace would suffer at least 30 seconds slower after the bike ride.  Riding 12-13 miles will surely take a toll on your legs and endurance, right?  So I hopped up on my bike and did a 13 mile ride which consisted of two hills.  (I really need to work on hills, ugh.) I transitioned from the bike to the run in a somewhat timely manner and took off down the road.

Everyone warns you about how your legs will feel after being on the bike.  All the warning in the world doesn't compare to actually having your legs moving under you and feeling like you have no control over them.  I was certain that if a video camera had been pointed in my direction I would have won $10,000 on America's Funniest Videos.  My legs were moving quickly, yet it seemed like I was going nowhere.

Then I looked at my Garmin.  I was running an 8:30 minute mile.  WHAT?!  I couldn't slow my legs down the first quarter to half a mile.  After that I felt like I finally had some control over my body.  However, I was still running faster that I had anticipated.  A LOT faster. 

I ended up running my fastest 5K ever!  27:11.  I haven't even done that in one of my road races.  I haven't done that particular brick workout since.  I'll be doing it again this week.  Let's see if it was just a fluke or a sign of things to come.  I'm hoping for the later.

It's all in your head.

Today was the first day I did the "king" of asanas (yoga positions), the headstand.  I should say it was the first time I attempted it in the middle of the studio floor and not up against the wall. 

It wasn't perfect.  My legs were piked forward, slightly, but I got up and balanced without assistance.  Woo-hoo!

Then...I stayed up for what seemed like a world record breaking headstand.  It was probably only a couple of minutes, but when you're balancing on your head time goes by slower.    I've just started attempting this pose so I can't say if I've benefited from all the wonderful things they're supposed to do: of course help blow flow to the head and brain, help circulation, relieve lower back stress, bring a sense of calm. 

I can say that once the terror of falling over onto the person next to you subsides, it really is calming.  And any kind of calming for me is close to a miracle.  (Picture below is from yoga-made-ez.com)

Maui 1/2 Marathon

I am SO happy I decided to sign up, travel to Maui, and run a 1/2 marathon there!  It was such a wonderful and amazing experience.  You really could not ask for a better course, a more beautiful setting, or a more organized event.  It was a pleasure to be a part of. 

You'll have to excuse me while I still bask in my euphoria from the run.  I'll try to recap the best I can.

When I stepped outside of the Hyatt's lobby at 4:45 am the heaviness of the air hit me.  "Uh-oh" was all I could think.  Get that kind of thinking out of your mind, fast!  It's kind of hard to talk yourself out of how hot you feel when it seems as if a wet blanket of air is sitting on your shoulders.  I also saw a toad hop away, on the beachwalk, as I was walking toward the starting line.  I'd like to remind you how terrified I am of toads and frogs.  I believe half of Ka'anapali  heard me scream.  It was all good though.  Once the race started and we ran onto the main road the breeze picked up and the excitement took over. 

It was just one of those runs that I kept reminding myself to stay in the moment.  Actually enjoy it and remember it!  I probably looked like a crazy woman because I kept waving and smiling at everyone on the side of the road.  Trust me, there were a lot of people on the side of the road.  It was so nice to see people clapping and cheering you on as you run by.  I'm going to use the word "see" loosely, seeing I'm legally blind without my glasses; and seeing that I don't wear them when I run.  I'm almost in need of a seeing eye dog during races.  Haha! 

This slight impairment can be an asset though.  It can almost be like running while you're drunk.  Everything is blurry and has a hazy dreamlike quality.  Perhaps it helps to think I'm really just dreaming when I'm running and that I'll wake up any moment.  It also helps, the lack of vision, when you're running and you can't really make out the huge squished bullfrogs on the highway as you run past.  At least that is what I kept telling myself when I almost stepped on a dried corpse of an unfortunate amphibian.  Gag! 

The long/short of it is...I beat last year's 1/2 marathon time by 16 minutes!  I completed this race in 2:13:20 and stayed under my pace goal.  Now those evil thoughts are creeping into my head, "Maybe I can do another one under 2 hours?"  Yup, I just might be hooked.