It's only 3.1 miles

That's what I kept saying to folks who asked me what my upcoming plans were. "I'm running a 5k. It's only 3 miles".  Not far, right? Depends...

So Sunday was my first ever race: The Women's Fitness Festival. No I wasn't challenged or pranked into it. I balked at my friends who suggested that I sign-up for one as a goal...a reason to continue C25K. I'm not a runner, I said.  I'm still not.  Runners run because they love it.  I ran because...

Well, frankly because there were too many women in my way.

The original plan with my partner was to walk the 3 miles. We then decided to switch it up to a 2min walk/1min run.  I still waffled back to just walking since I was still nursing a strained calf and it was predicted to be raining.  It wasn't, but the road was wet.

We lined up around 8:06am. Women of all shapes, colors, and ages; some with strollers, some with with their young daughters. It was a sight to see.

As the gun shot off, we stood still - the wave to walkers was thick.  I have a long stride as it is so I became frustrated getting stuck.  Moving to the sidewalk put me in the path of runners who didn't make the 10min average cut off for the runner's wave. Finally, I couldn't take the slow pace any longer and bid adieu to my walking partner - vowing to meet her at the finish line (plus, I drove to the race so I couldn't leave without her).  Next thing I know, I'm jogging.  I did slow to a walk 4 times.

Crossing the finish line, I noted the race clock was 48:58. I was happy.  I came home to check the chip time. That was 38.0.5! Sweet. My average pace was 12.5min.  Even on the treadmill, my pace was around 13.5min/mile.  Sadly, I was beaten by an 11 year old!! Her time was 38.0.4.

All in all, Sunday was fun.  The race, sponsored by Fleet Feet-Sacramento, benefited a local women's shelter. There were over 4,000 registrants, tons of information from Kaiser Hospital along with blood pressure screening, body composition, PT, massage, breast health and information on how to escape domestic violence. Blue Diamond gave out free almonds, Whole Foods provided post-race breakfast and coconut water and Raw Bars (yum). Lara bar gave out samples, as well.

So Kim asked me if I've been bitten by the race bug.  Not too sure, but I'm thinking of running the 4th of July Fun Run and NOCCs Run to Break the Silence (benefiting ovarian cancer).

Torching Calories

I was really feeling bummed this past week since the scale has constantly gone in the wrong direction for weeks since moving to Sacramento. I contemplated Jenny Craig, but I hate prepackaged foods. I thought of WWs, but that puts me back to obsessing over food intake. I even ponder Hydroxycut or Quickslim, but I know not to waste my money on gimmicks. I'd rather buy cute workout clothes and new sneakers. 

I've put my gym membership on hold thinking that I would workout at home with TurboFire, Zumba, my kettlebell, biking and runs. This is the workout gameplan. And until the strained calf, it's been working. 

My issue is my diet. It's always been my diet. 

I eat well during the week, packing my breakfast, lunch and snacks. But the weekends - that's a different story. My house is packed full of healthy full meal options and sprinkled with temptations (now that I live with my BF) like chips and soda. 

So I read the SP article of getting back on track. I have pledged on a friend's FB page to do a 5-week clean eating with no cheat meal. And I've pledged another friend that I will do her 30/30/30/300 challenge but with my mods: 40 squats, 40 crunches, 3 planks, 100 jumping jacks (did these today). 

I am focusing on eating more fruits and veggies and less carbs (not low carb, but smaller portion at dinner). My BF is a great support and doesn't make me feel guilty if my meal is a little different from his. He cooks extra veggies on his day to cook even if he's not planning to eat them. 

I'm glad to report that I'm down 4.6 lbs just this week! I may actually start using the weight tracker on SP.

So I'm not giving up. I am taking it day by day but making an effort to make better choices. When I want something sweet, I'll grab some fruit. When I crave something crunchy, I plan to grab some nuts. 

This is a daily battle but just like I plan to keep doing TurboFire 55 until I can do the entire video straight through without stopping, I can get my eating back under control. 

BTW - when I logged my calories today, SP gave me a warning that I needed to adjust my calorie burn. Eating too little and burning too many calories is unhealthy. I don't track my food, but I know I'm not eating too little (this is why the scale is going in the wrong direction). I do love when my HRM reads 845 calories after a TF workout - FEEL THE BURN!!!!

Giving Up

And that's just how I feel some days. Like just giving up and eating whatever and lots of whatever and not working out at all. The scale just pisses me off lately - going in the wrong direction.

I can't blame the scale for being the honest "friend" (term used lightly). I would blame myself for eating bags of chips and drinking soda while watching Top Gear all Memorial Weekend. I should blame myself for the boredom and not getting out to explore this new city.

But I'm over the blame game altogether. I can't go back and edit out the weekend. I can just push forward. I've been trying to watch what I eat but when I get bored I want junk (chips) and lately, I've been all kinds of bored. I surely don't feel like working out and I think putting my gym membership on hold wasn't the brightest idea. Hey, I bought TurboFire, Shred it with weights, and I'm waiting for Zumba to come in the mail (yeah, I'm a video junkie). And while having these items wont make the pounds melt off all by themselves, I have been motivated to put Chalene in the DVD player. I've even had 2 free training sessions last week.

So what's the deal?  Bottom Line - BORED!

Being bored on the weekends for me completely sabotages everything I've done well during the week. How do you combat this?  A good question that I am still trying to work out. Gas is high so tooling around this tiny town hunting out Home Goods and TJ Maxx isn't really smart - plus that puts me in the realm of spending money which I don't need to do. The weather here isn't so great so just when I think I could go for a bike ride, it starts to hail or is freezing cold. Um, hello.  Memo to Mother Nature - it's June. Please send warm, summery weather to Sacramento.

Yes, I'm bitching and moaning...forgive me. Just feeling in a funk and trying to work it out.

On the bright side - my 1st 5K is Sunday. To add to my pity party, it's scheduled to be cold and rainy.  Oh yeah...dontcha just love this California weather?