Cue the Insanity...

After a weekend of running, relaxing, and Richmond, I am back on the grind today.  Oh yeah... I ran a 5K this weekend in Richmond, Virginia.  But not just any 5K.  It was "the happiest 5K on the planet":  The Color Run. 

I had a blast!  I had paint tossed at me at several points during the race.  I guess I shouldn't call it a race--there were no timing chips and I certainly didn't time myself.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

After my race, I was plum out of fitness goals.  This is not a good thing.  Without a goal, I become hapless and complacent, trudging through each day without purpose or any kind of caring.  So, I set another goal.

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And as long as I'm scaring the crap out of myself here, I thought about the one program I've always wanted to try, but assumed I didn't have the guts to complete:  Insanity.

Insanity is a 60-day conditioning program, full of high intensity cardio and resistance exercises.  I'm trying to make this lifelong fitness journey less about aesthetics and more about my total health.  But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm secretly hoping Insanity will help me get ready for my birthday "freakum dress."   Just sayin...

I've heard that Insanity is tough, but I've seen people get ridiculous results from it.  So I'm giving it a whirl.  Why?  Just because right now I think I can't, and I really want to change my mind. But in order to do it, I have to start thinking that I can.  I can and I will.

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As far as my diet is concerned, of course I'll be keeping better track of it.  My primary concern is getting enough calories, so I will likely use My Fitness Pal to track my diet.  There is a handy dandy nutrition guide (with recipes) that comes along with the Insanity package, so I'll utilize that to plan my meals.  We're talking lots of lean protein, fruits, and veggies, and 5 meals a day.  I have a basic idea of how I want to structure my meals, so I'm excited to hit the grocery store and stock up!

I'll take before, 30-day, and 60-day progress pics.  I would take measurements, but I never seem to do those right. I will post before pics in the next post, along with my results from the Fit Test. 

Stay tuned!

ETA:  So I didn't post pics on the next post, but they are coming soon!

Did I mention I ran a 10K???

Run4Shelter 10k, Kent Narrows MD

On Saturday, September 8th, I left my house at O-Dark-Thirty in the morn to head across the Bay Bridge to the Run4Shelter in Kent Narrows, Maryland. The race event was held to benefit a local homeless shelter.

Armed with my iPod and water bottle in hand, I started out on a 10K course with high hopes of finishing what I started after the Warrior Dash in May.  I had been training like a beast, running twice a week until the end of July.  My resolve began to dissolve and all of a sudden I stopped caring.  I've been under a lot of stress lately, and have been struggling to manage it.  I know now that I can't let anything else bring me down but we all fall off the horse from time to time.

At the start, I was pumped.  I took off with a swarm of runners, across a bridge and onto a beautiful wooded trail.  There were runners of all ages, shapes, and sizes.  I even spotted a young girl with her father.  I later found out the girl was just ten years old!  I pictured myself as a ten year old girl... yeah I was amazed!

Anyway, I set a *really* modest goal of simply finishing the race.  Then I decided I would finish in under an hour and a half.  I knew it had been a couple of weeks since I had a really good run and that I would need to pace myself.  And pace myself, I did.  I made it past the halfway point before slowing down for my first walk break.  After a sip of Gatorade, I picked my pace back up and headed for the finish.  I ran and walked for a couple more miles after that first break.

Around Mile 5, an ambulance pulled up behind some of us, and I noticed a young lady curled up on the sidelines with an oxygen mask around her face.  I still don't know how she fared that day.  The last mile was sooooo long.  Even once I passed the 6 mile mark, with two-tenths of a mile to go, it seemed to stretch on forever.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I crossed the finish line.  I couldn't believe that *I* just finished a race, much less 6.2 miles.  I imagined me as the overweight, asthmatic little girl who always finished last in gym class.  I hated running and could not jog even a quarter of a mile without literally gasping for breath.  I watched for my time and didn't place among the first 217 runners.  I checked my time online a few days later, and discovered that I completed the race in 1 hour and 21 minutes.  My pace was slow and I did walk for about a mile or so, but I FINISHED what I started, and that counts as a VICTORY for me!

My next goal is to maintain my 10K and improve my speed.  Half-marathon training may be on the map sometime in the future, but I want to work on my pace first.  I joined a running group called BGR, and ran with them for the first time on this past Wednesday.

Since I traveled to the Run4Shelter all by my lonesome, I only have the 2 pictures I posted on this blog.  However, there are professional pictures from the race at the following link:

http://chessiephoto.com/f922952373

To view my photos, enter "rs49" in the search box at the top right.  I'm not sure how long these photos will be available, but I was not about to pay $53.85 to post them here.

Oh!!  But I also found this YouTube video clip of the 10K starting line.  See if you can find me (in the gray Warrior Dash T-shirt--the one with the horned helmet lol) at 0:26!