Week Two Group Run: Blazing Turtles

It's the second week of training. We started at 6:15 am on Saturday. It was a little harder to get up, but it was such a beautiful morning. Great temps outside and the sunrise was gorgeous. The plan was to do 6 miles. We started on a trail through the neighborhoods near Veteran's Park. All was well until we ended up back at the Park/starting point having only ran 5 miles. I stopped to get a drink and then headed back out to finish up one more mile. I guess I got separated from my group and ended up running 7.3! Well, I guess that's a good mistake, right? I'm not sure how I got mixed up, I think somewhere along the way we weren't supposed to turn back early toward the park.

Oh well! It felt good and I paced myself. There were only a couple of spots I walked a little bit, but other than that it was a great run! I finished in about 1:15.

If anyone has Nike+ (Either the phone app or the shoe sensor) you can add me as a running buddy: Teresa_01

Nike+ provides great running stats after your run:

Wednesday Weight Watchers at Work Weigh In Day

This day will officially be known as WWWWW Day :)

I'm definitely lucky enough to work at a company that supports Weight Watchers at Work. Every Wednesday at noon we take our lunch to the conference room, weigh in, and have our meeting. It's great. I'm proud to say that I brought the program to my company when I first came on board and I'm amazed to see how far some of my coworkers have come since the start in January. It's incredible. Today's weigh in was pretty good, I worked hard all week: tracked my points, got in some exercise, and stayed (mostly) away from the bad stuff! I had a couple of higher point days but for the most part stuck close to my daily 36pts. My goal this next week is to get stay close to my daily points range, eat more vegetables, and keep running!

Previous Weight: 215

Today's Weight: 214.4

Total Loss: 0.6

Here is a snapshot of my progress report for the week. I love WW eTools!

The First Day

My alarm went off bright and early Saturday morning at 6:00 am. I'd prepared by going to bed early the night before. Sleep is so important for long running, consider me booked on Friday nights for the next 5 months! For some reason I was a little nervous but very excited, there were so many people there. I think the RunnersWorld Blog said about 400+ and counting... This is my running group "The Blazing Turtles". I hope I can keep up! Several of them have run marathons before and have been with the group for a while. I'm glad to be in an experienced group and hope to learn a lot from them.

My friend Genny (on the left) is also running the Route 66 Marathon with me (I'm on the right). Today we ran 5 miles. It was pretty hot and was a little rough. Along the way it was the most incredible view of downtown Tulsa along the pedestrian bridge. As I was running across the bridge I saw a guy standing there with a jacket and running shorts on. I thought that was really strange since it was only 8 am but HOT. As I got closer I could see that the guy was wearing a formal tuxedo jacket with coat tails, and was holding some 3x5 cards in his hands. A little further past him I saw two guys, one with a cello and the other with a professional camera. The only thing I could think is that he was going to surprise his girlfriend on her long run with a proposal! I've heard of a lot of people getting engaged there because the view of downtown is so beautiful. It really helped get my mind off the heat and running thinking about how sweet and romantic it was! It's just too bad that I didn't get to see it happen (if that's what was really going on!). Looking forward to the next long run Saturday, they've changed the start time from 6:45 am to 6:15 am. Yikes...

How I Became a Runner

My first 5k in September 2008. I'm the tall one in the center.

In July 2008 I was feeling stuck in my weight loss efforts. At the time I think I weighed 213 and didn't do much in the way of workouts. I thought walking for 30 minutes on the treadmill or 30 minutes on the elliptical was a good workout. I got on the internet and started looking at fitness articles and somehow came across fitness boot camps. I started checking on the local websites, and eventually signed up for Operation Boot Camp. It was crazy (and expensive) I thought, but I knew it would work. It was a one month program, Monday through Friday 6:00am. I made it my birthday gift to myself.

The first day was a fit test to see what your level of fitness was, and then every day after that got progressively harder. The last day was the same fit test you took the first day to see your true progress. It's an understatement to say that I LOVED it. Every morning was a new challenge, and pushed my untrained body to heights I never knew. Pushups? Yup! Running? Yikes, but yes! We ran every where we went in the park. I huffed and puffed trying to keep up with our crazy instructor. Before I knew it, the running became easier. Lots of the workouts included a "Fartlek" which was a completely foreign term to me. Basically it means run around and throw some lunges/pushups/squats etc... into the mix.

Then towards the end of the program the workout of the day was run 3 miles (one loop around the park). I thought, there is NO WAY. The distance just didn't seem conceivable. So, off we go and I'm feeling good. The assistant instructor stayed with me the whole time coaching me. When I would really start to huff and puff he told me, "Slow down, but keep the bounce in your step." That is the best piece of advice that I have learned, and could pass along to other new runners. It doesn't matter how fast you are going, as long as you keep that "bounce" and control your breathing the speed will follow. I think before that I always thought you had to run "fast" but I couldn't sustain that so I thought that I couldn't run. Before I knew it we were back to the beginning of the loop and I couldn't believe I'd made it all the way around the 3 mile loop. It was one of the most incredible feelings, it was my first PR (personal record) in my running career.

Once I knew that I could do the park loop I knew that I could do a 5k. But it was a scary thought to be with other people at a race. Our instructor signed us up for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. When our group met for the race I was so nervous. I had no idea what to expect and was surprised at the amount of people that were there. My instructor ran with me the whole way, again coaching me. I slightly hated him at this point, telling him to stop talking to me, I was tired and wanted to stop several times, but powered through and crossed the finish line. After my first 5k, I knew I would never be the same again. Running has changed the entire way I feel about everything. I am a runner.

My Goal

I have signed up for the Williams Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK Sunday November 20th. My goal: Finish the Race. Along the way I'll try to post as many pictures, stories, news, and experiences as I can about my journey and hope that you like what you read. I am also doing WeightWatchers at Work to get to my goal weight. I am 5'10" and currently weigh 215. My goal weight is 175. Here we go...