Plateau Busted!

It's time to CELEBRATE!!

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I have FINALLY broken through my weight-loss plateau! That's right ladies and gents, I'm officially back to 205. This is the weight I was when I ran my half marathon last year! Woohoo! I still have 2 months until my next half marathon, so I'm hoping that as I continue with my training, I will drop those last remaining 5lbs (plus one or two more). That will put me under 200lbs for the first time in about 10 years. Crazy!!! I'm so excited and proud! As you all know, I had just about given up because I had been stuck at 210 for so long- but thanks to everyone's support and motivation, I managed to keep muddling through and it paid off. So, THANK YOU!

On another celebratory note, I decide to follow some of Kara's advice the other day and went out for a run. There was no mileage goal in mind, no set time limit- I just went out to run and see how far I managed to go. I did set my watch timer, but only so I could log my run. I started the stop watch and then put it in my SpiBelt so I wouldn't be tempted to check it. I maintained a steady pace for most of my run, extending or shortening my route as I felt. When I finally hit my street again (I did and out and back loop), I stopped my watch to see that I had been going for 1:20:07. Not too bad for "just going for a run"! I went inside and logged into my DailyMile account to put in my route. Turns out I did 6miles! 6 miles in 1:20:07?! Holy crap crackers, Batman!! Apparently, I need to run without my watch more often. I think I get so stuck in trying to beat my time and speed up my pace that I actually slow myself down by psyching myself out. Anyone else ever feel like this?

Anyway, it's a great feeling knowing that I'm back on track with losing weight and that I had such an awesome long run. Gives me motivation to keep going! Did anyone else have any amazing achievements this past week?!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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How did YOU celebrate your Valentine's day?

Personally, I celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday as both my boyfriend and I had to work late tonight. It was very nice on Saturday though! We had a nice dinner and exchanged gifts. I got him a Build-A-Bear puppy (since I couldn't afford to get him a real puppy like he wants) and he got me some gorgeous earrings. (Seriously, he spoils me like you wouldn't believe!)

In any case, I decided that since I wasn't going out to dinner or anything after work tonight (like most everyone else was), that I would go to the gym and get in a short run. The gym was practically deserted and I had my pick of treadmills. I hopped on one and got to it! I felt good for the first 15minutes but then I started getting a wicked cramp in my right side abdomen. I slowed down my pace but the cramp wouldn't let up. Eventually, it got to the point where it was uncomfortable to breathe because when I tried to expand my torso it was super tight. I slowed to a walk for a bit, but to no avail. I ended up doing 1.83 miles in 25 minutes. Not my best time, but not my worst either (and definitely not too bad considering the monster cramping in my abs).  

Anyone know a good stretch for the abdomen? 

Or what may have caused the cramping? 

I'm excited because only 11 pounds to go before I'm under my first goal weight of 2012! HOORAY!!
On the agenda for tomorrow I have a 2 mile run and a Zumba class. Just need to make sure I can drag myself out of bed in the morning again. But, I keep repeating my mantra to myself -Little black dress, Little black dress (my boyfriend says it to me as motivation also). 

Oh! As a side note- I'm still doing gluten free! YAY! I'm kind of surprised I've lasted so long. I just feel so much better not eating gluten. Less bloating and, definitely, much less lethargy after I finish a meal.

 It's a great feeling!

A New Look and 100th Post Give Away!

It's official! 

I am (currently) posting my 100 blog post!

In order to celebrate, I gave my blog a bit of a remake. Something slightly vintage but still cute.

I love it! Don't you? Of course you do. :)

A bit of news before I post about the give away:

1. I am feeling leaps and bounds better now that I've been on the iron pills for two weeks. I'm not nearly as lethargic and I feel almost like I'm back to my old self. HOORAY! I even went to the gym this past week and did two 30minute circuit trainings and then followed each one up with a short run.
It feels good to be back on track.

2. I am going to be running another 5k this Sunday. I almost forgot that my friend Chris had asked if I wanted to run in the Petit Race (in honor of the Petit family and their loss). It's a great cause and looks to be a pretty flat course. Kristin from Running to Somewhere will also be racing so I'm sure we will meet up. Sadly, Stephanie said she had to work. Boo!!

Alright, now for the fun part! 

The Amazingly Awesomely Fantastic 100th Post Give Away!

Ok, it's a bunch of fun stuff I threw together but they are definitely things that (I think) are important for every runner to have in their arsenal. The Give Away Gift Set includes:

• Relaxing Lavender Foot Cream (because let's face it, we are pretty rough on our poor feet).
• Fresh Eucalyptus Foot Scrub (to help with the calluses and such).
• Stress Relieving Coconut scented Bath Soak (for after a hardcore strength training workout- a nice soak is always on my list).
• Pina Collada scented shower gel (because I didn't feel right including an actual bottle of pina collada mix).
• Sport Spray On SunBlock SPF 30 (it's summer folks, we need to stay safe in the sun).
• Chapstick with SPF15 (believe me, your lips can get sunburned also).
• CLIF Bars in assorted flavors (a great pre- or post-run snack).
• 3 vouchers for Free Zico Coconut Water (chock full of electrolytes and just as hydrating as water- love it!)

So there you have the break down of everything YOU could win!

Here's how to enter:

-Be a follower of this blog and leave a comment saying so (+1 entry)
-Follow me on Twitter (biggergirlsrun2) and tweet "I wanna win @biggergirlsrun2 Amazingly Awesomely Fantastic 100th Post Give Away! And you should too!"Leave a comment to let me know (+2 entries)
-Like me on Facebook HERE (+1 entry)
-Share this give away on your blog/facebook/myspace and leave a comment (+1 entry for each)
-Tell me your all-time favorite race you ran (+1 entry)

All entries must be submitted by NOON on July 22nd and the winner will be chosen on July 23rd.

Good luck everyone! And thanks so much for reading!

It's the Little Things

HELLO EVERYONE!! :)

I hope y'all had a fantastic weekend, I know I did! I had another birthday celebration weekend. This time it consisted of a group of friends and I going down to the casino and having a blast at Margaritaville. Fun times were had by all.

Today I got back on my running schedule. I was supposed to run 35 minutes, but I ended up only running 32 because of time constraints in needing to get ready for work. Some pretty exciting stuff happened for me on the treadmill today though. Let me just preface this upcoming news with a few thoughts: In the book I'm reading, Dawn (the author), mentions how a lot of runners in training never take the time to celebrate their small accomplishments. Everyone is always so focused on how much they have to run the next day that they lose sight of how much they JUST ran. And for some people, especially non-runners, that can be a pretty big deal, you know? I mean, yes, 13.1 miles is a long, long distance for most people, but for someone who's life philosophy used to be "I only run when being chased by something large and deadly", running a mile straight through without having to stop and walk is also a long distance- and it deserves some celebration damnit! Keeping this in mind, I have some news to share.

I am pleased and beyond proud to announce that out of the 32 minutes I spent on the treadmill, I ran 26 of them!

AND... (yes, it does get better!) I ran 1.4 miles without stopping. That was the first 20 minutes of my run! That's the longest I have ever run IN MY LIFE! I've officially hit superhero status!

HELLO ENDURANCE!
(Yea, I feel pretty awesome about myself right now)

I finally feel like I've broken through that wall that was keeping me from ever being able to run longer. It's such a great accomplishment for me. (It may seem small to some people who run like 15 miles a day, but try and remember back to when you started running and how that felt. Or any kind of hurdle you have come up against in your training that you eventually managed to break through- that's how I feel right now.) Thanks go out to Chelsea and Kurt for helping me keep going and also for the advice on how to work through my hurdle.

I am going to run another 35 minutes tomorrow, and though my body is sore, I'm hoping I can still run a fair amount of time before I have to stop. Now that I have done it once, I know I can do it again!