What In The Sam Hill Is Going On With My Spilts?

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April 12 WalkToday has been a bit stressful. So I decided I just needed to get out of the house for a nice 3 mile walk. My first 5K is tomorrow so I if I could average a 16:30 pace/mile I’d be happy.

I went fast right out the shoot. Stressful days require channeling that energy and walking fast was a better choice than punching. When I hit mile 2, I decided to slow the pace up a bit. I really wanted some gas in the tank for when I started going uphill on mile 3. I finally settled in on a really comfortable pace.

April 12 SpiltsFor my last mile, which was up hill, I got super hungry but otherwise I felt great.

When I checked my splits after the walk, I was surprised and shocked that mile 3 matched my mile 1 pace. And my average mile was 16:26 – 4 seconds under goal. I really didn’t feel as if I was going that fast. Maybe I needed to release the stress. Or perhaps my body is simply adjusting and soon, I’ll need to push myself again.

Either way, I am awesome!

Pedometers – Are They Really Worth It?

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I considered buying a pedometer. As I plowed through the online reviews, it struck me that people really love their pedometers. Even in my Weight Watchers meetings, people talk about the wonders of pedometers. It’s as if this little device came from the fitness gods and holds the key to unlock the mysteries of weight loss.

Well to that I say:

That’s right. I call Shenanigans!

Sorry, but I just don’t see it. It counts steps. It’s just a tracker and not much else. Yeah, I’ve seen the articles about how it inspires you to get moving. I started a blog about my weight loss journey…how much more inspired do I need to be? It just seems that I would have to obsessively track all that I do. That’s not how I roll. I just don’t want to over think this workout stuff.

Do I track what I eat? Yes. Do I track my walks? Yep. How about my workouts with my trainer or other activities? You betcha. But I can do that via Weight Watchers’ eTools and it takes about 15 seconds. Not much effort involved. Yes, I have been using MapMyWalks for my daily walks. I would love for it to count steps too (it might, but I don’t want to pay for it). Sure, the data it provides helps me push myself a little more each walk. But it’s on my iPhone. So is my playlist. And a way to call for help. Both of which I consider a necessity when walking. I just don’t want another gadget to carry around.

So I looked at pedometer apps too. Sigh. I just thought, I’ve got too many apps as it is. And lets get real. If Weight Watchers were to add a kick ass walking tracker to their app, how long do you think MapMyWalks will last on my phone? The fewer apps, the better I say.

Am I missing something?

14:56 Baby!

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Today is the first day of Weight watchers’ LiveLife Active Challenge. My goal today was to walk for 45 minutes, or 3 miles. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather so I decided to break my walk into 2 segments – a fast morning walk and a moderate walk this evening.

For the fast walk, I just decided that I would go as fast as possible without jogging for one mile. My speed goal for the past few weeks is the elusive 15 minute mile.

Turns out today’s the day. I hit 14:56 during my morning walk. Since I was going a total of 2 miles, I nearly had nothing left to finish my walk. I actually had to stop after I hit one mile for about 45 seconds to catch my breath before continuing. Mile two I finished at a pace of 16:39 – not too shabby.

I now just have to keep building up my stamina to consistently hit 15 minutes for that first mile, but have enough gas in the tank to hit 15 minutes on that second mile.

Short Strides, Not Long Strides

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April 7 walkI’ve been getting closer to the 15-minute mile during my walks. I’m walking slightly more than 2.5 miles/day. Today I decided to try going 4 miles. My plan was to focus on distance, not speed.

Heh. Well so much for planning. The pace for my first mile turned out to be my best – 15:08. I was walking fast and taking long strides. For the first two miles I was pushing it but my body was not responding. My stomach was cramping, my heart rate was a bit too high and my legs were going wobbly. Oh and I ran out of water.

Luckily I had reached a little strip mall. I popped into the Chipotle for a cup of high quality H2O and sat on a bench outside for a few minutes. I felt so much better after downing the water. Clearly I was feeling dehydrated.

Something had to change before my trek back home began. Then I recalled a conversation I had earlier with my friend Miss E. She is encouraging to transition over to running. She recommended I focus on short strides, not long strides. Short strides are more efficient and prevent injuries.

So I picked up a bottle of water at the Exxon station and started my uphill trip back home, taking short strides along the way.

What a difference. I felt re-energized by the water and the shorter strides actually made the last 2 miles seem easy.

Lesson learned.

And I Ran, I Ran So Far Away (Well, Not That Far)

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Today was a beautiful day. Unfortunately I was stuck in doors working on our budget. I planned to go on a walk early afternoon, but that just didn’t happen. I did convince my husband to go for a short walk (just a mile) this evening before sunset. Boy, it was cold and the wind didn’t help either. He’s having a bit of a problem with one of his baby toes. So the deal was if he was feeling up to it we could go more than the planned mile.

Now I haven’t gone on one of my dailies for a few days. Wasn’t sure if I was going to feel sluggish or not. Oh, and something you should know: Before the weight loss, I always struggled to keep up with my husband in parking lots, let alone walks. He’s got very long legs and has huge strides. I use to always complain about how fast he walked, but in reality, it’s his regular pace.

Tonight was a different story. I felt great and walked faster than the hubby the entire time. Before Easter, my pace was around 16:40/mile. Tonight try 15:10/mile. I just decided to go all out, thinking we would only go a mile (and I was right about that). So I wanted to maximize my workout. The most awesome thing, I actually ran for more than a block in the final stretch.

Now I’ve done little sprints previously, but 1) only about 10 yards and 2)being totally winded afterwards. Not tonight. I felt great and could have gone a little more, but I didn’t want to push my luck. I do worry that I might mess up my knees. I just don’t know what a safe weight would be to start running or if there is even such a thing. Part of me thinks I’m being paranoid and I should give it a try while the other thinks I should focus on my walking speed. Ugh!

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Kicking My Plateau’s Arse

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Dot to Trot's smooth yoga moves? Nope. An image courtesy of ponsuwan/ FreeDigitalImage.net

Dot to Trot’s smooth yoga moves? Nope. Image courtesy of ponsuwan/FreeDigitalImage.net

If you are trying to lose weight then at some point or another you will hit a plateau. Plateaus are my mortal enemies. The quickest way to spell the end of my diets – hitting that damn plateau. They are just so maddeningly frustrating to break through.

I experienced a hellish one back in January. For nearly 7 miserable weeks the scale seemed stuck at 280. Oh, it would tease me and dip to 278 only to sucker punch me the next week to 282. No matter what I did food wise, I was stuck.

My normal M.O. when a plateau crosses my path is to give up. Not this time. Why? Attitude.

My only thought was how bad I was going to kick this plateau’s ass. People were going to feel sorry for this plateau when they realized how far my foot was up its butt. I knew I was on the right path – my clothes were all loose, I had way more energy, I didn’t want to eat unhealthy foods. Nothing was going to stop me.

So how did I kick this plateau’s arse? Yoga.

Because of my injuries, I lost weight just by eating right. However, come January, my metabolism settled in and my body got use to what I was doing. I couldn’t cut back without feeling hungry all day – not good when you are a fat chick! Eating healthy was no longer enough. Thankfully my doctor give me the clear to do yoga. I started doing yoga 3 days a week. And then, like magic, the scale started to cooperate.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve added daily walks to my routine, kicking my metabolism up a few more notches.

Obviously, the closer I get to my goal weight, the slower the weight will come off. While I’ve been averaging a loss of 3.5 lbs the last few weeks, I don’t expect to keep that up. Also, I know my plateau will come back someday. So I plan to be better prepared to give it another ass-whupping.

Working Out With The Pups

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Peekabu passed out after her walk.

Peekabu passed out after her walk.

Since we are seeding our lawn, we have to walk the dogs. They get 4 walks a day. It’s the perfect amount of exercise for them.  Peekabu could lose about 5 lbs. We’re taking advantage of our spring weather as VA summers are not ideal for walking Old English Sheepdogs.  Shadowfax, our Mini Schnauzer is at the high end of his weight so it couldn’t hurt him to lose a few pounds.  He’s 10 and the the walks are giving Shadowfax a little perk in his step. Always a good thing.

I do the noon and late afternoon shifts. Each dog is only allowed one pit stop along the walk for sniffing or whatever.  So the pace is pretty good and I feel that I’m actually exerting myself. If I have to clean up after a dog, the pace gets a wee bit faster until I come across a trash can.

I walk each dog separately. Peekabu, as well behaved as she is, does occasionally get spooked. At that point I need both hands to control 90+ lbs. of rambunctious fury.

Having already done my 2.5 miles this morning, I decided to actually track the walks with the dogs. We do a simple walk around our block. Distance? Half a mile. So .50 Miles x 2 Walks =  1 Mile.  The dogs’ afternoon walk is a bit longer, so I’m curious to see where that ends up.

Am I One Tough Mudder?

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Dot hiking in Shenandoah a few years and 61+ lbs ago.

Dot hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains a few years and 61+ lbs ago.

I really want to do this! But I’m in no shape to even attempt Tough Mudder…yet!

Goals!
I’ve decided that when I weigh 200 lbs, I’ll start training for the Tough Mudder with the goal of doing TM when I’m within 20 lbs of my goal weight. According to my last weigh in, I need to lose 64 more pounds before training starts. Easy Peasy!

So in the meantime, I’m going to continue with walking everyday, increasing my time and distance each week. Since I’m not ready for Tough Mudder, I’m going to register for a few 5k walks in the area. If I walk everyday, I’ll reward myself with a weekly pedicure. For the 5k walks, I’ll treat myself to a facial.

By late April I plan to start hiking again. I really do miss hiking. Its been more than 4 years since my last outing. Far too long. I figured I’ll start off with day hikes in Great Falls, Roosevelt Island, Bull Run Mountain Conservancy, etc. Then come summer I’ll be ready for the weekend hiking trips to the Shenandoah or Dolly Sods – complete with backpack! Glad I didn’t let my REI membership expire.

Making My Feet My Friend

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Tuesday 2013-03-19 at 9.11.10 PMToday’s walk was great. The weather was sunny and warmish. I must have been feeling good because today was my fastest pace. I hit 17:13 min/mile. The same route on Sunday I was at 17:30, and I was trying to walk fast since it was cold.

Last week I was averaging 2 miles a day. This week my goal is 2.5 miles/day. The plan is to do another 2.5 Wednesday and drop back to 2 miles on Thursday. Friday I’ll be back up to 2.5. If all goes well, I’m going to shoot for 4 miles on Easter.

Clint Made My Walk

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Screen Shot 2013-03-17 at 4.35.30 PMIt’s cloudy, windy, rainy and 38 degrees out. Walking 2.5 miles was the last thing on my mind today. But alas, I laced up my pink and black nikes, put on some stretchy pants, and slid into my blue hoodie.

The first mile was awful. The cold breeze was blowing in my face and I couldn’t keep my hands warm (note to self: knit gloves). I was miserable and just wanted to go back home.

To make the walk even more enjoyable, starting at the 1.5 mile mark my remaining path was all up hill. For the more experienced walker/runner, think of a 1.0 incline on a treadmill. But to me, it was going up the side of a mountain.

I tried to go faster to end my misery quickly but I just ended up with a slight cramp in my right calf. As I stopped to tie my shoelace and stretch my leg, I saw him coming towards me.

Actually barreling at me. His leg movements, fast and frantic, were worthy of a grant from the Ministry of Silly Walks. I just finished tying my shoelace when his 2 large front paws crashed into my chest, knocking me promptly on my butt.  I looked up and got a big sloppy kiss on the mouth. 

I learned my harasser’s name is Clint, a playful 10 week old yellow Lab who lives in my neighborhood.

It is not possible to have bad thoughts when an adorable puppy crosses your path, especially one who gives great hugs and loves to snuggle. Clint was what I needed to snap me out of the whiny hole I was digging. The truth is I felt great after the walk and can’t wait until tomorrow’s walk.

That’s what I need to remember the next time I start to whine. That, and my new friend Clint.