Trainer or no trainer- that is the question.

I've noticed lately that even with my increase in mileage and monitoring of calories- I haven't been losing any weight. Unfortunately, the increase in mileage has caused an increase on the scale. Much to my dissatisfaction. I have had some problem's with hitting a massive plateau in the past but always managed to make progress. I've hit it hard this time and while my clothes aren't getting any tighter, they're not getting smaller either. I've tried reducing calories and portions- and all that has left me with is a lightheaded dizzy feeling when running so I'm unsure what I should do. I'm eating between 1200 and 1500 calories depending on the length of my run each day. It's very frustrating.

My significant other suggested that I look into personal training to help me break through this time. I have to admit, I'm a little skeptical and probably a little snobby. My gym (which I will not mention the name of for fear of being sued) doesn't have the greatest track record with trainers. Most look like they could be college freshman and have the minimum (or less) certification that I'm comfortable with. My gym also charges an INSANE amount for personal training (above $50 a session on top of our monthly membership). I've seen the trainers at work and I'm honestly not that impressed.

My second worry is that these training sessions will cut into my running. I know that I need to increase the amount of strength training I'm doing (currently little to none, I know I know!) but I want my strength training to complement my running, not replace it. After speaking to a few of the runners at my gym, they said that when they started with trainers there- it took months for them to get back to their regular mileage.

This is just a rant- but I HATE how the trainers at my particular gym operate. It's mostly a bunch of young guys who view "training" as an opportunity to hit on the girls there or make them feel inferior. It's blatantly obvious what they are doing and I know more women than me avoid the weight room for that reason. We've complained to management with very little change. UGH.

So friends, do you use personal trainers - if so, did you get the results you wanted? Am I worrying over nothing?

New Rule: Never Look at Race Photos

I have made the decision to never look at a race photo again until I reach my goal weight. Race photographers are evil and I really will start acting live a diva if they put their camera in my face again.

One of the goals of my blog is to help myself document my weight loss. I've told myself that the only way to do this is to be perfectly honest on here. No i'm not some size 6 runner. I wish I was. Hell, I wish I was a size 4 but that's not going to happen for awhile.

This is pretty much the starting point. No laughing... seriously i'll hunt you down.

Don't laugh at me lady, I will sit on you. Under all this flab, no one will hear you scream.

Yes, the paleness factor is disgusting. The hips are disgusting and stomach (let's not EVEN go there). But I guess it can only get better from here.

Attack of the Angry Feet

My body hates me! It really hates me and I disgust it.

Case in point. My toes.

Not so long ago, I had pretty toes. Even years of dancing, tumbling, and cheerleading didn't injure and maul my toes the way running has.

So long and farewell to my days with beautiful toes and blissful pedicures. Only runners will understand.

Leesburg 20K Recap

Holy Hills Batman! Race recap is as follows.

Woke up to pouring rain on Sunday morning. BUMMER! Came wide awake at 4:30 on the dot and got up to immediately start getting ready. I opted for my cotton/dry wick mix tank because
i can't handle dry wick in the humidity. I know it works for some people, but it just ends up irritating me and making me feel like a big fat cow.

Jenny was kind enough to drive to the race. I would have probably wrecked because I was so nervous. After waiting forever for the bathrooms, we ran to the start just as they were getting underway.

Miles 1-3
SUCKED. We didn't get a chance to stretch and I thought my ankle was going to snap in half. Jenny had problems, I had problems, it was a train wreck of a beginning of the race. Jenny waved me on and I continued on - trying to sort out why my ankle was killing me. I knew once I got in a couple of miles my body would warm up and I'd be okay. Thankfully, the Advil I took before the race really really helped. What didn't help was the constant stream of hills. I swear to you I believe that miles 2-7 was a constant stream of hills and inclines. While I had trained on some hills- these kicked my ass in the worst way. My pace fell from 9:30- 9:50 per mile to something like 12minute miles. LAME.

Miles 4-7
I saw the 4 mile marker around 47 minutes (so much for finishing well) and looked up and saw the lead male runner sprinting towards mile 8-9. Holy mother of pearl! This was also up a hill, so i just gritted my teeth and probably cussed so much that there is zero chance of me ever getting into heaven. Mile 5 started the transition from road to the WOD trail and honestly it was nice to be fully covered by the trees because at this point it was pouring. Honestly, I loved it when it was raining, it cooled me off and I could actually breathe. Miles 6 and 7 brought out the ipod and I was jamming to some Glee. By this point I had reached the run around portion and knew that i was going to have to start run/walking. I was tired, but honestly it was so humid at this point that it hurt to breathe. So I started running a mile and then walking for 5-6 minutes and this worked well.

Miles 7-10
I thought these were going to be the miles that destroyed my will to live. I had only trained up to 8 miles so I knew that this was going to be tough to push through. It was so humid that i wanted to die but I held up really really well. My pace did slow at this point to 10:30-10:45 per mile but I kept chugging on. Once I passed mile marker 8, everything beyond that was a PDR for me and I think that adrenaline helped fuel me for the rest of the run. At this point I was relying only on signs because I had stupidly hit my Garmin which stopped it for over a mile. I could use it to keep my pace but I had no idea how long it had been off. Bummer.

Miles 11-12.5
I completely missed the mile 11 marker. I never saw it (it was apparently on the ground) and was getting so frustrated. I was passing over one of the roads when the officer shouted at me that I had less than 1 KM to go and to keep my head up. WTF? Talk about being taken by surprise. I fell into pace with one of the runners who looked like they were struggling to keep it together and we both shouted encouragement to each other (Runners are awesome like that) and decided that I was going to run the rest of the course come hell or high water. It was a slow run, but I did it! YES.

Then came the crash. The adrenaline got me home. I showered, took my ice bath, and then napped for 5 hrs straight. I haven't slept that hard in forever. Got up- ate some cereal for dinner and then went right back to sleep. No shame here. I was tired!

I woke up this morning a little sore but nothing like I was expecting. EXCEPT FOR MY TOENAILS.

Oh dear god. The pain. I'm terrified of losing my toenails. The thought of that makes me dry heave so i'm hoping and praying that I won't lose them. There are only two that I am really concerned about but there is nothing I can do at this point. I fully realize i'm being a huge baby about this. BUT UGH. Completely revolting. FML

Any of my fellow runners have any tips on running sans toenails? The very thought makes me woozy but i'm mentally preparing myself for it. WAAAA!

Edit: Got home and got up the courage to take off my nail polish. So much for pretty feet- both 2nd toenails are black as can be. :(

I'm gonna miss pedicures.

I Ran A 20k (And Didn't Die!)

So, it's a Sunday night and I woke up after a 4 hour nap. A 4 hour GLORIOUS nap that I totally needed. I ran my first 20k today. The weather was pretty disgusting. 80's humid when periods of monsoon rain. The first 6 1/2 to 7 miles were all uphill. I kinda wanted to die BUT I finished in 2 hrs and 28 minutes. Pretty slow, but whatever. It's a PDR for me and i didn't die. WIN.

I was up before the alarm this morning at 4:30. Drove to meet the wonderful Jenny. Off we went.
BUT FIRST:
We have determined that this is how you know that you are a runner, when you are up and preparing for a race just as all the other "twentysomethings" are coming home from a club. This girl, no lie - gets out of a car. Clearly drunk off her ass and reaches in the back of his car and grabs her underwear. Classy. Yes, this is how I started my morning.

Full recap of the race will be up tomorrow. I'm still tired so i'm going to bed.

I'm Officially Running a Half- Marathon

So, yeah. I'm running a half-marathon. GULP

This was one of my personal goals this year. Running a half by the end of the year seemed like a pie in the sky goal not too long ago. Well, after having a fantastic long run earlier in the week- I looked at my training schedule and realized that if I could find a raise near the end of October, my training would have me in really good shape to run a half. So I started looking and found it.

On October 30th, I will taking part in the inaugural running of the Gettysburg Blue and the Grey Half Marathon in Gettysburg, PA. Let me explain why this half sounds like so much fun.

1. I'm a huge history dork
   
2. I'm southern
3. This isn't your normal half. The race is designed to sort of mimic the nation before, during, and after the civil war. All of the runners will compete under Blue (North) and Gray (South) flags. I love that you get to pick your side. (Before I get any flack about running for the South- I'm not a racist, or a redneck, or "liked" the fact that the South was supportive of slavery. I'm just from the South and thought it would be a fun race.)
4. All runners will start and finish together. (I love the symbolism in this) Everyone will run the same half marathon ( that's 13.1 miles) course. At the two mile mark, the two sides will split and run the large eight mile loop in opposite directions, crossing one another at 6.55 miles. Then both sides will rejoin after the ten miles mark and finish the last 5k together.

Love love love it.

I do have some reservations but hopefully my training will help me pull through. I'm running the Navy 5 miler a month and a half before the half marathon, and running the Army 10miler just a few weeks before the half. So I should be able to do it. My only real concern is the time frame. They start breaking down the half course right at 3 hrs. My goal is to finish in 2 hrs and 15 minutes or less, so this shouldn't be a problem. So we shall see. GULP.

You GOT this B****!

Sometimes it is amazing what a little encouragement can do.

Running is tough, but you don't need me to tell you that. Sometimes I feel like most of my friends think i'm insane. Especially with the heat and humidity that DC has had lately (the rest of the country hasn't been much better to be fair); but thanks to websites like dailymile.com, and others- i've been able to find some people who don't think i'm nuts, who understand the frustration of a 'bad run' and are super supportive.

Running in DC is weird. Don't get me wrong, there is an amazing group of runners here who are, for the most part, AMAZING. For a place that is known for being full of jerks, I have found that 90% of DC runners are uber supportive and awesome people. That being said, runners are only a fraction of this city. Sometimes, after work, you get really weird looks running in DC - once you're on the mall, people are normally fine (mostly), but getting to the mall is another story.

It is so annoying! You run by people in business clothes who are obviously more important than you are (emphasis belongs to them, not me). You try in vein to dodge tour groups that stop in the middle of the sidewalk to take a picture of the White House, Congress, the grass (yes I saw this happen this week- why you would want a picture of dead grass is beyond me but whatever floats your boat!). You hope that the DC buses will actually stop when they should (otherwise SPLAT). Getting to the mall is an accomplishment in itself on most summer days.

Most of the time, I will jog my way down 17th towards the mall, but coming back up after my run is another story. In an attempt to get myself to attempt more hills, i've started challenging myself to run the entire 17th street hill on the way back. Most days the hill makes me sick and want to vomit- some days are better than others, but it is one MONSTER hill. It doesn't like me and I don't like it and i'm fine with that.

I've become sort of familiar with the security guards that work at the White House gates and will smile and wave as I go by. BUT on my way back up this week, I was struggling- really really struggling. It was hot, I was tired, I was cramping. I just needed this hill to be over so I could go home and put on my comfy pants and be done for the day. (I'm woman enough to admit on this particular day, i contemplated actually getting in a cab to go the rest of the way to my office- no lie.)

That's when this security guard noticed me. She and I see each other at least 2-3 times a week and will smile and acknowledge each other. Seeing that she's a WH security guard, I have to think she takes her job super seriously and in my mind she was this tough, no-nonsense woman who I would never dream of messing with. She saw me struggling and yelled at the top of her lungs "Don't quit honey- you GOT this Bitch!".

I lost it.

COMPLETELY LOST IT. I busted out laughing and slowed my pace but finished the hill. It was exactly what I needed.


Thank you security guard lady. YOU are awesome!