Making October Rock

Ever since my brother came to visit, I have been off the wagon.  I tracked my food, mind you, but, I ate whatever I wanted and gained back 9.5 pounds.  9.5 horrid pounds that I had worked so hard to get off so that I could get closer to 250 for race day on the 28th of September.  

My excuses, valid or no, are just that, excuses.  I left two beloved part-time jobs to pursue an exciting opportunity at a new full-time position.  My schedule got messed up and I didn't try very hard to fix it.  

Well, today is a new day and a new month, so, I decided, like many others on Facebook and MyFitnessPal, to give myself a do-over and do it to it.

I burned off a ridiculous amount of calories this morning doing some kickboxing.  I ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes, well, I did run/walk intervals, but still, I did 1.85 miles in 30 minutes.  

I also set 5 goals for myself for the month.  I thought, I can set 5 reasonable goals for myself.  Then, I thought about what they could be.  I needed feasible, yet challenging.  Here's what I decided upon:

1. Weighed in this morning at 269.5. Goal weight for the end of the month is 259.5 or less.
2. I will accomplish total of 2,000 push ups this month.
3. I will NOT go over my allotted calorie intake any day for the entire month. I will also NOT eat back my exercise calories.
4. I will do better than 1:42:15 for my next 10k, the Monster Run on 10/19, because I will train diligently this time and continue training for the Perfect 10 on 11/09.
5. I will have gone to the gym at LEAST 15 times this month. 

I am aiming for a 10 lb. weight loss.  The actual goal is just to get under 260.  At 253, I'll be taking my next set of progress pictures.  I take them every 20 pounds down.  I am not posting those any time soon.  :)  That will have to wait until I am at a point where I am satisfied, preferably after I complete my marathon.  If I stick to my other goals, goal number one should be a given.

2,000 push ups are so doable!  Seriously, I work 19 days this month, so I figured I'd do a 100 for every day I work, then rounded it up to the closest thousand.  It's totally doable.

Number three is a tricky one.  Up until I fell off the wagon, I was eating my allotted calories and splurging my exercise calories.  So, now, I have to get used to eating what I'm "supposed to" eat and eat healthfully.  I went to the farmers market today with my DH and got a bunch of farm fresh veggies and some apples I had never heard of before.  We bought some called miltons and I forget the other kind, but the miltons are supposed to have a raspberry taste to them and are great for desserts.  I also purchased some gorgeous sweet potatoes, some yellow onions, some fresh plums and the hubs procured some beautiful little pears.  I could have gone nuts there, really, and it was worth the trip.  I found a recipe for some summer corn chowder and may send him back there tomorrow for the corn, since we already have the potatoes and onion.  

Goals 4 & 5 pretty much go hand in hand, since it's vital that I train on schedule per my coach's instructions to be able to do this next 10k and own it like a boss.  I would be happy to even only shave 2:15 off the time, since the last one was 1:42:15.  I just want to do it and get through it, because I will want to really kick some tail at the 10k I'm doing in November with my coach.  I am SO excited, because I have been under her tutelage and I will get to do a race side by side with her!  It's going to be epic, I'm sure!  Hopefully not too cold, though, after all, it's in the Windy City!  Also, the sub-reason for going to the gym at least 15 times is that I get a reimbursement from work for going to the gym 10 times a month.  In the month of September, I only managed to find my way there 5 times.  It's sad, I know, but, hey, it's a new day and a new month and I made it there today.  

One of the highlights of my day was that the kickboxing instructor let me do my warm up on the treadmill, so, I killed two birds with one stone.  AWESOME!  Besides, that, I don't really enjoy the warm ups for that class, but he's a runner, so, when I told him about my training and asked if my mill miles would count for a warm up, he was all about it and thanked me for giving him a heads up, because then he knew I would be coming to his class late but all warmed up!  Bonus!  

Tomorrow, I will go to sleep after I get home from work, then I will wake up and go lift some weights.  I promised my coach I'd only run as much as she told me, but the temptation to run again tomorrow is strong.  I just don't want to injure myself and make it so I can't run.  That would be devastating.  I have goals, and I need to obtain them.  I can't even believe I am typing these words about running.  It's surreal and wonderful.