Day 151 - Record speed & 1.8% down!

So, today I got my second Bod Pod Body Scan done. I had my first done back in May and its results were the kick in the butt I needed to really get motivated. They were also the inspiration for the title of my blog "Losing 8", which refers to the 8% of body fat I would like to lose. When I first got scanned I was at 29.7% body fat which put me only .3% away from the "Execessive Fat" catagory. If I were to lose 8%, I would be on the border line betwee the "Lean" and the "Moderately Lean" catagories.
I was totally disguished with the results from the first scan. And, I must admit, I am disappointed with the results from this second scan. Over the last four months I have lost 6 pounds, which is AWESOME and what has gotten me into my favorite dress from college for the first time in 7 years. I am finally back under the 130 lbs mark!!! I was shooting for 130 - 135, but surpassed that :) However, only 4 lbs of that was fat. The other 2 lbs was "not fat body mass" which includes muscle. How is it that when I actually excersise I LOOSE muscle?! (Please don't actually try to explain that to me. I understand the science, I am just frustrated.) Because of the "not fat body mass" lost, I have only lost 1.8% body fat. :( GRRR!!!
Apparently, if I want to loose body fat specifically, I need to switch my focus from distance jogging to sprints and calestinics/weight lifting. Why does this have to be so hard?! :(

Anyways - I tried to take the various advice I was given today and went over to the larger of the gyms in my complex to "work out". I did small amounts of weight (usually 20 lbs) on all of the machines there. The choices were limited, but I did triceps, shoulder press, vertical chest press, and two leg machines. I also tortured myself on the sit-up machine. I did 30 reps on each machine. I am not sure if that is right or not, but it is a start. :) Then, instead of doing 3.1 miles slow and steady like I normally would - I decided to try and pick up my speed instead. My fiance told me that the Navy's standards for women my age is to run 1.5 miles in 16 minutes. (That is of course the maximum time accepted). For those who are in the service and keep up their physical conditioning that should not be hard, but for me - it is my new goal. :)

1st lap - 5:55 min - jq (jogged quickly)
2nd lap - 11:19 min - jq
3rd lap - 15:52 min - jq

I DID IT!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!! It's a record for me AND a barely acceptable time for the Navy :) According to the standards chart my fiance sent me this morning, I would be deemed "Satifactory High" for that time. Only two rungs from the bottom of the pact, I will take it and revell in it :)

Of course, to truly earn my rank I would need to do 15 push-ups and 47 sit-ups in two minutes each. I will start working on that tonight. I have a feeling the push-up thing will take A WHILE.

Day 150 - My fastest mile yet!!!!!!!

Tonight I decided that until after this weekend's Race for the Cure, I will be doing only 3.1 miles at a time. No over exerting before the big day :) OH - but in the midst of my "not over exerting myself" first jog of the week, I jogged my fastest mile yet: 10:36 minutes!! YAY :)

1st lap - 6:10 min - j
2nd lap - 12:16 min - j
3rd lap - 18:31 min - j
4th lap - 24:25 min - j
5th lap - 5:45 min - j
6th lap - 10:36 min - j
.1 mile - 11:08 min - j

144 - 149

Is it possible to be a bum and busy at the same time? I think this week was an example of that. I was too bummish to jog, but too busy to sit on my butt. That plus from Wed. - Sat. my tummy hurt. Its hard to be motivate to jog when you don't feel good. :(

Day 143

Yeah, 5 miles was AWESOME! But, the hip, knee, and ankle pain the day after is NOT. I feel amazingly satisfied with myself and really old at the same time :) Tonight I attempted to continue my glory streak, but failed. :) I only managed to squeek out 1.5 miles. I must admit though that I proud of myself for at least trying.

1st lap - 6:23 min - j
2nd lap - 12:48 min - j
3rd lap - 19:16 min - j

Day 142 - FIVE miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY GEEZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just jogged FIVE miles!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right world: FIVE miles!!!!!!! With no walking :) :) It was awesome! My right knee and my hips hurt some, but other than that I felt GREAT! I didn't even get super winded until the last lap when I decided to push myself on speed and tried to run it. I managed to run about half of the lap before I had to slow down to keep from hyperventalating. Still though, my boosts of energy, which came from my excitment about the acheivement, helped me to do my fastest mile in a LONG time: 11:32 minutes :)

1st lap: 5:58 min - j
2nd lap: 12:30 min - j
3rd lap: 19:05 min - j
4th lap: 25:37 min - j
5th lap: 6:16 min - j
6th lap: 12:22 min - j
7th lap: 18:40 min - j
8th lap: 24:48 min - j
9th lap: 6:02 min - j
10 lap: 11:32 min - j

Day 140 - 141

I was a bum again these past few days. And, I TOTALLY blew my attempts at healthy eating. Friday was dinner, comedy club, and kareoke with JeJuJoMi. Saturday was shopping with Mom and an event for work.

Day 139

Today was my late day at work so I go in at 9am and leave at 7pm. Normally I prefer to jog in the evenings because I am NOT a morning person, but today I decided that I should get off my booty and get moving. So, I woke up at my normal time (7am) and jogged a 5k before going to work. That's right - a full 5k! I think taking three days off between jogs thoguh was a BAD idea. I managed to complete the jog and do so in times that aren't too far off my usual, but it HURT. I felt like I couldn't take a complete breathe (probably because my sports bra, which shrank in the wash was constricting my chest) and moving my feet was like picking up concrete blocks. It was ridiculous. I can not take off that many days anymore - it is too hard to recover.

1st lap - 6:23 min - j
2nd lap - 12:50 min - j
3rd lap - 19:12 min - j
4th lap - 25:17 min - j
5th lap - 6:15 min - j
6th lap - 12;17 min - j
.1 mile - 13:01 min - j

Days 136 - 138

UGH - Total BUM!

Lessons from the Bear Trail - A random aside

While in graduate school, I breifly attempted to take up what seems to be a favorite passed time of my fellow Bears: jogging. This has been an on again/off again goal of mine for several years prior to starting this actually successful attempt in May. Anyways - the trail around campus is about a 2 mile square and my goal was to jog the first mile and then walk/jog the second. I only jogged the whole thing once and it was SO slow it barely counts. :) I wrote this based upon my observations from my trips to the trail. I hope it makes you laugh or motivates you to keep trying :)


Lessons from the Bear Trail
(In no particular order)

1. There is no perfect shade of lipstick to go with “Hold up! I think my heart is going to explode!” So, get out there and don’t worry about your makeup!

2. Wear a hat! It serves multiple functions:

a. It helps to hide the flaws you would normally cover with make-up
b. It hides and keeps out of your face your not washed hair (Be eco-friendly people! There is no point in showering before you go jogging, because you are going to have to shower again when you get back.)
c. People can’t see your face, they think they know you, they wave – it makes the Trail a friendlier place to be.

3. The only person you are competing with is yourself – Just ignore the track stars and concentrate on not hyperventilating

4. It is a baby step process – Step One: Get your lazy butt off the couch and on the Bear Trail!

5. Be realistic! You are not going to set any world records your first lap around. Instead, set personal goals like: Jog a whole mile, or get from your door back to your door in 30 minutes. (Those are mine, but you are free to use them)

6. As the Tortoise and the Hare taught us: slow and steady wins the race. Rather than using up all of your energy right off the starting block, slow down some and your energy will last you longer.

7. Be your own cheerleader! It is vital to your success that you are on your own side. Telling yourself you can’t do it, defeats the whole purpose. Of course you can’t do it right now – if you could it wouldn’t be a goal, it would be an accomplishment! However, you CAN do it in the future if you WORK at it! If you want to reach and exceed your goals your mantra should be “Just a little bit further! You can do it! Just keep going!”

8. The best time to jog is Sunday morning: it is not too hot, all of the good Baylor students are at church, and the bad ones are still in bed – so there aren’t as many people to watch you jog.  (By morning, I mean around 11am - If you were going to get up earlier you should go to church.)

9. Celebrate even the smallest achievements! Cut yourself some slack and be proud of yourself every step of the way. It may take some time to reach your goals, but the fact that you are out there and trying is something to be excited about in and of itself!

10. Not everyone should be running around in tiny shorts and a sports bra. DO NOT feel like you have to be one of those girls to utilize the Bear Trail. It is public space and you have as much right to be there as those model wannabes, so DON’T be intimidated by them. Just wear comfortable clothes and jog your way into the sports bra and tiny shorts! (Or continue to wear clothes because you aren’t a tacky, shallow person who feels you have to flaunt your small waist: whatever works best for you.)


I hope these lessons benefit you as they have me! HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!! 

Day 135 - Part 2

Normally I love being right. Today having my suspicions confirmed is frustrating. I went up to campus and drove the path of the "5k" I jogged this morning only to discover that it was only 2.4 miles long. :( GRRR...... SO ANNOYING!!!!!!!! I paid $20 to be able to proclaim victory over my goal of jogging a full 5k. Of course donating money for a good cause is always nice too.

So, I decided to fulfill my promise to myself and jog a 5K today! It was awesome :)

1st lap - 6:10min - j
2nd lap - 12:13 min - j
3rd lap - 18:20 min - j
4th lap - 24:24 min - j
5th lap - 6:17 min - j
6th lap - 12:51 min - j
.1 mile - 13:39 min - j

So - In conclusion - I jogged 5.5 miles today! :) :)

Day 135 - My real 5k (ish)

This morning was my big day! The NOAH 5K was held on campus this morning at 7:30am. It was WAY to early for me to be awake on a weekend morning, but it did feel good to finally do something I have been working so hard for :)
As I have mentioned many times before, I am VERY slow. So slow that I was the LAST of the people in the jogging group. But again, as I have said many times before, I am not competing with other people I am competing with myself. COMPLETION is the goal - not time.

According to my watch it took me 26:28 minutes to complete the jog. That has me a little skeptical though. I have never jogged that fast before, so I am either MUCH faster when there is an easy to follow 3.1 mile trail to follow or they measured the trail wrong and were short a mile. We will see - I intend to go back to campus this evening when their full event is finished and measure the path with my car.

Day 134

I spent 6 hours today in defensive driving. It was a colassial waste of my time! I learned nothing of value and watched Dinesy movies (yes, actual Disney movies) about traffic problems. After that I talked to Jon and then had dinner with Kristen.

Day 133

The weather today was gross and hot - not abnormal in Texas, but still unpleasant. So, between that and the time crunch I had before I had to go back to work for our Welcome Back Dance, I decided it was best to do the elipical machine instead of jogging outside. I did 20 minutes total. 10 minutes of that was backwards to work my calve muscles - plus my thighs were burning. The eliptical machine is like pedaling a bicycle standing up.

1st mile: 6:48 min
2nd mile: 13:54 min
3rd mile: 20:54 min
.1 mile: 47 secs

Day 132 - 3.1 miles = 5K

Today was a good day for my jogging! YAY :) I remeasured the distance around the complex with my car so that I could be sure that the distance I have been jogging is actually .5 miles per lap. I am :) Also, in the process I figured out where the .1 mile mark is so that when I went jogging tonight I did an actual 5K!

1st lap: 6:10 min -j
2nd lap: 11:50 min - j
3rd lap: 17;44 min - j
4th lap: 23:40 min - j
5th lap: 29:35 min - j
6th lap: 5:43 min - j
.1 mile: 6:30 min - j

Day 131

I honestly don't know what was going on with me that day, but I totally passed out at 7:30pm. I got home, cleaned my bathroom, and then laid down to settle my stomach. I had no intention of taking a nap, but I didn't wake up until my parents' 4th frantic phone call jarred me from my slumber. Yeah - I know they are paranoid, but they do actually call 4 times in an hour and a half if I don't pick up the phone. Ugh - anyways, I got up long enough to eat and then went back to bed at 10:30pm. It was much needed rest :)

Day 130

The rain has not let up yet. We are getting the outskirts of the tropical storms and hurrricanes that are in the Gulf so it is gross outside. Cool, but gross. Plus because tonight is Tuesday, it is $5 movie night - so I went to see Going the Distance with a coworker. I will jog tomorrow though, even if it has to be on an eliptical machine.

Day 129

Today was my last day at the beach :( My sorority sister woke me up as she left to say goodbye and since my other friend was still asleep and the temperature was cool, I decided to go jogging. The other options were read a book on the porch or go back to sleep. Sleep was very temping, but the meal I had last night was heavy enough to make me sick (literally) so I figured that it was about time to work off some of the weekend's fun. I followed the same path I had done on Friday. It was tough because for half of the time I was running into some decently strong winds, but I managed to stick to it until the end. I even had enough drive to sprint the last two blocks back to the cabin. I can really move when I want to. :) For short distances of course. :) I forgot my watch though, so I do not have it timed. All I know is that I left a little after 9am and was back in the cabin at 10am. I am glad I went when I did - the rain started coming down shortly after I returned.

After packing everything up, I drove the path to see how far I had gone and was sad to discover that I was just shy of 3 miles: 2.9 to be exact. Oh well - I am still pretty darn proud of myself! :)

PS - I jogged in shorts and a sports bra again :)

Day 127-128

BEACH DAYS!!!!!!!!!!! Sitting, swimming, sunning..... Board games, s'mores, friends it was an AWESOME weekend!

Day 126 - Beach Jogging

Today was the first day of the long Labor Day weekend! I love having an extra off. It's actually ridiculous how much happy that one extra day makes me :)

So, in honor of the holiday, my friends are going to come down to my family's beach cabin to sit in the sun for a few days and relax. In order to beat the crowds on the Ferry line, I went down as early as I could after work and managed to drive right on. The weather was really nice when I got there (well there was a small reminent of a thunder storm that had rolled through earlier, but that just cooled things off), so I decided to take advantage of it and go for a jog. Yes - this is a FIRST: I brought excercise clothing on vacation and actually USED them! Miracles of greater proportion have happened, but still this is on the list! :)

Anyways - another miracle occured as well: I only used some of the workout gear I brought. :) Let me explain: at my university (the one I was a student at, not the one I work at), we had a jogging trail around campus. It was approxiametely 2 miles square and was used CONSTANTLY! Seriously, there were people out there at all hours of the day and night. And, most of the girls wore tiny cheerleading shorts and sports bras to prance around the trail with barely any sweat, fully done perfect make-up, and a ribbon matching the shorts in their shiny, bouncy ponytails. No - I am not exagerrating. I on the other hand, when I would go out there, would be in an oversized t-shirt, baseball cap, no make-up, and would be dying from heat stroke and lack of oxygen to the brain. Thus, it has been a secret goal of mine (sense starting to jog) to go back to that train and jog the whole thing in shorts and a sports bra. The significance of the outfit is to of course show off your athletically toned body, which I have never had. I still don't think I have the perfect body for the outfit, but I finally have the confidence :) I jogged at the beach in cheerleading shorts and a sports bra! Insignifant to most, but a personal victory for me. Though, I stayed true to my no make-up and baseball cap policy. :)

Alright - so onto my actual jogging. Because there is no defned trail and I didn't want to mess up my fancy jogging shoes, I decided not to jog on the beach itself. Instead, I started at my cabin and jogged up and down each street between it and the beach, then jogged straight up the main road back to the cabin. I am not sure how long of a jog that is distance wise, but it took me 38 minutes to do, so my guess is about 3miles.

Day 125

I don't remember why I didn't jog, I have slept sense then :)

Day 124 - 3.5 miles again!

OH YEAH! Today I kicked booty! 3.5 miles :)OH - And today I officially registered for the Race for the Cure :) My friends are amazing and donated almost instantly. Literally, I had the Komen tab on my Facebook page for less than half an hour and there were already 4 donations! AWESOME!!

1st lap - 5:54 min - j
2nd lap - 12:17 min - j
3rd lap - 18:45 min - j
4th lap - 25:18 min - j
5th lap - 6:23 min - j
6th lap - 12:40 min - j
7th lap - 18:54 min - j

Day 123

Today I gave myself a break. It was my late night at work and then I had to pick up a bridesmaid dress for a wedding I am in next month and had to get tank tops for the Race for the Cure. I am going to decorate them for my friend and I to wear for the Race. By the time I got home and had dinner it was way late and I was tired. Excuses? Maybe.

Day 122

YAY Me! I completed 3 miles again tonight! :) I am excited about this: my first attempt at a jogging a 5K is on September 12th which is only 13 days away!!! I think I may actually be ready for it :)

1st lap - 5:56 min - j
2nd lap - 12:20 min - j
3rd lap - 18:40 min - j
4th lap - 25:48 min - j
5th lap - 6:20 min - j
6th lap - 12:17 min - j