191; Day 28; Mile a Day

Let's just say that I believe that I am a Mile A Day Failure.  But that it's ok.

In the last year or so I've seen people try to keep a running streak over a month.  Trying to get so many miles in every day.  I kept thinking that it sounded cool and that I could do that.

Well.  Not so much.

Running everyday, no matter if it's a mile or more, is hard on your body. 

First of all there is the fact that I have to get my ass out of bed at 4:30am to get to the gym EVERY WORK DAY so that I can get it done and get home to get ready for work.  Now I like working out in the morning, but holy crap...every day?  No.  Then the weekends started turning into me being at the gym at 6am when it opened.  That meant 5:30 on Saturday AND Sunday.  Talk about no rest for the weary.  I was strong until 2/24/13 when my niece and nephew stayed the night.  I just could not get my ass out of bed at 5:30 so I could get to the gym and home before they woke up.

Secondly, it's hard on your body.  Your body naturally needs rest days.  Every training regimen has rest days.  Every single one.  Your body needs time to recover and running or walking hard every day doesn't allow the body to recover.  I never felt very strong to run more than a mile and running a 5K was a struggle.  I hated that.

So I ended up running 22/28 days in February for a total of   miles.

All that said...I'd encourage anyone to try it.  See how far you can take your body.  Just be honest about what you can do and plan your month accordingly.

189.8; Mile A Day, Day 11

Saturday night we had freezing rain.  Sunday morning we had freezing rain, sleet pellets (that hurt when they hit your face...) and then snow. 

Neither rain, nor sleet or snow will stop my Mile A Day February.

Cheesy?  Yes.  I agree.  But I did my 3 miles and then went home.  And took a nap.  Seriously. 

This morning was more blowing light fluffy snow.  I slid my way to the gym  and put my mile in and spent 60 minutes in Body Pump.

Every time I do Body pump I'm so impressed with myself.  Yes, seriously.  My muscles seem to pop for a day or so and I feel stronger.  So when I come home I flex for Pete.  In turn he smiles the first time.  The second time he smiles and laughs.  The third time he just shakes his head and laughs.

Last night I flexed and told him that people needed gun control because of my muscles. 

More laughing.

If you follow me on Keek (Shevyblue there) you'll notice that I posted a video about the honesty of losing weight.  The reality is that I've lost 95 pounds and I was big for 10 years.  That 10 years wasn't good to my skin.  Exhibit 1:

I have shoulder and back muscles and biceps.  You'd never know it, but my triceps are there too.  You'd never know it, because I have hanging skin.  There is still some fat there, but there's a good inch excess hanging down 'stuff'. 

I've been working hard at Body Pump to work out my triceps so that they build up.  I'm working out so that my muscle build up can 'eat' away at the fat that I have left.  I'm trying.  But I'm no where form perfect.

I keep reading blogs and stories from people, ok women, who are afraid to lose the weight because of excess hanging skin.  And it blows me away!  I can't help but think...you'd rather be obese because that looks better than having hanging skin?  No.  Just no.  Lose the weight and worry about the skin later.  Get healthy and worry about the skin and any other issues later.  Don't stay fat because you're concerned about hanging skin - it doesn't make sense.

190.0; Weigh In Wednesday

I'm linking up with Erin at She's A Big Star and Alex at Skinny Jean Pilgrimage for weigh in Wednesday.

If you've been reading my posts, you can see that I put my daily weight in the title of each post.  I resisted posting my weight when I was in the 250s, but after being heavy for so long, I'm shouting out the fact that I'm under 200.

My weight has stayed pretty steady in the last 2 months.  And in fact I'm cancelling my appointment with my gastric band surgeon.  I don't need a fill and I'm not having issues.  Next month will be 1 year since my band was put in and I'll have a big appointment then.

I continue to get at least a mile run each day, although I'm dragging ass every morning getting up.  I have to tell you though, I've found a whole new boatload of bloggers who are losing weight and it's kind of inspired me to keep going and to rethink about my goal and that I can get there.

190.6; Mile A Day...Continued

2/1/13:  1.2 mile and Body Pump.
2/2/13:  2.3 miles.  (I had to get up at 5:30 on a SATURDAY to get this done before my full day).
2/3/13:  2.83 miles, hot tub and sauna afterwards (felt SOOOO good!).
2/4/13:  1.25 mile and Body Pump.

So today, I had planned on running the mile.  But my legs were tired.  They're not used to daily running any longer.  So I put the treadmill on incline 5 and walked the mile.  It's still a mile, right?  The trainer at the gym cautioned me about my legs and giving them a chance to rest.  We talked about how the muscles will work and like to work, but also need the time and rest to reset themselves.  So while I'll try to get runs in most days, there will be some days of walking.

As for my reward, I figured it out.  I'm going to pay myself for every full mile that I complete.  I'm hoping that it will get me to complete a mile when I start it.  I don't know what I'm going to do with the money, but I figure that it will be somewhere between $50-$75.  Enough to splurge on something that I wouldn't have in the past.

; Mile A Day

So I have this friend from afar.  I've met her and everything, I'm not a stalker.  Honestly. 

Anyway, I've noticed that for the month of January she's done a mile a day.  She's posted often on Instagr.am (why do you think they put the period there?  Why a period at all?)  Some days are good and you can tell from her capti.on (just trying the period thing myself there...).  While others are clearly a struggle. 

I've also watched a couple of times as Ann from Twelve In Twelve has done a mile a day for a period of time.

So yesterday/Thursday/the 31st/last day of the month...I got a wild hair/hare up my, um...booty.  (I'm guessing the phrase is hair because hare would hurt.)  (On second thought, maybe it is hare because they're bouncy and fast and go...hmmmm) I decided that I want to run a mile a day.  (nothing like waiting to the last minute)

What I realized is that this would give me motivation daily.  It would get me to the gym.  It would be a small goal each day towards a bigger goal.  It would get me back on track with getting to the gym.  Plus other things that I can't think of right now.

Oh fine, I realize I'm cheating.  It's the month with only 28 days.  Yes, yes, yes.  I know.  But it's a start.  It's a goal.  It's fitness. 

But I need to add some rewards.  So naturally I texted Pete and asked him what my rewards should be.  Something small each day.  You don't want to know his inappropriate answer.  I'm guessing that his second choice would have been motorcycle parts and possibly even for my bike instead of his.  But it's hard to think of 28 small, non food related rewards. 

So here's to Mile A Day.

PS...I'm still thinking about what my reward should be...