Harpoon 5-Miler - 5/20/12 - 38:23 (7:41 min/mile)

I'd been looking forward to this race on May 20 for awhile ... who doesn't love a race that allows you to wear costumes and ends at the Harpoon Brewery? The 5-mile race is so popular - there is a lottery to get in to it. You can enter as an individual or a "6-pack" ... we entered as a "6-pack" and were selected ... Go "Team Big Man"! Woo!

Next big decision - what costume to wear? Hey, there is a contest, we had to enter.

Lots of e-mails back and forth between the group before we picked a nice and timely option.

 

Yes indeed we were the Josh Beckett "situations": Beckett and Lester with the Popeye's chicken and beer ... Beckett and Buchholz out for an off day of golf. :P

Thankfully the wife came along to act as official "Team Big Man" photographer and to enjoy the post-race party! :)

The Starting Line opened up to the masses at 9:45 to prepare for the 10am kickoff.

The crowd was huge and pumped for the run. It took us 3 minutes to make it to the Start Line.

We ran the first half mile together as a group then headed out at our own paces...

I do want to state for the record that each of us ran all 5 miles WITH our props! Yes, I ran 5 miles with a golf club and golf ball. Let me tell you that it gets heavier as the course went along. :P

It was HOT and HUMID. I also am not used to running in a cotton t-shirt so I felt out of my element.

But, I gave it my all. I couldn't believe that I was posting sub 8 min/miles after 3 miles - I hadn't done that before.

There were a couple slight hills, but the real opponent was the weather. Thankfully there was some extra shade during the homestretch.

I made it almost all 5 miles without dropping my golf ball then BAM! right before the Finish Line I dropped it and thankfully the guy running next to me scooped it right up.

As soon as we crossed the Finish Line, we got a Harpoon 5-Miler Pint glass full of water ... that would later be used for beer!

I officially finished in a PR of 38:23 (7:41 min/mile) ... I finished 98th out of 999 in my division and 706th out of 3,555 overall.

Wow! I still couldn't believe those numbers came from me.

The entire "Team Big Man" finished strong and everyone had a sub 9:20 min/mile pace. Hot damn we were working it.

We enjoyed our post-race refreshments and food before the costume contest began and ...

... we were jipped!! We lost to a group from the movie "Cool Running" and a set of American Gladiators. We shoulda won! We were timely and part of the costume was based on beer! Hello! :P But, that is okay - we will win next year!!

I even ran into my friend - and Spin Instructor - Jess, who I didn't know was running until after we finished. :P

Overall, the day was a BLAST ... and I cannot wait to run it again next year!

The Blues Run 5k - 5/17/12 - PR 22:23 (7:14 min/mile)

Woo hoo! Thursday (May 17) kicked off the much anticipated Summer Run Series... with The Blues Run. I remember doing this series back in 2005/2006 when I just started running and obviously hadn't been in the state to take part again ... until now. :)

Each race has a theme, a big post-race party and a BBQ. I loved the races because they were a non-standard distance of 4.2 or 4.4 miles - something like that. But, this year they had to be shortened to a 5k because of construction on one of the bridges the race used to cross over.

Oh well ...

I knew the races would still be awesome.

Plus, if you complete all five races, you get a jacket. Yay schwag.

Well The Blues Run had a 6:30 pm start, which was a little early for us since my final Weight Watchers meeting of the day ended at 5:15 and we had to get home, change and get back to Cambridge.

Of course, we leave the house by 5:45 pm, but proceed to hit every red light, get stuck behind drivers taking what seemed like a Sunday stroll and every other traffic delay you could think of. ;)

But, we made it to the race in time and headed to the starting line.

We didn't start in the normal place - again due to construction - but we found the new line and were in position.

We couldn't remember which direction the run was going - who reads the emails with the race course in them anyway ;) - so we ended up right at the front of the Start, which was kind of nice.

The course is a familiar one for me. I used the same area for my long runs when I was training for my first marathon in 2006 and will be using them for my marathon training this year.

It is nice and flat with great scenery so I was hoping for a good time.

But, I NEVER expected to see 22:23 when I came across the finish line. That works out to a 7:14 min/mile pace. What? Who? Me? No way!!

I couldn't believe it.

Every race I amaze myself with what I am capable of. I would never give myself the credit to accomplish what I have accomplished in the past two years.

My friend Kim is doing the entire series as well ... I LOVE having so many friends in the area that love getting out, getting active then celebrating with a beer! ;)

You know I stood next to the grill to get that yummy smell... :)

---

Some people were debating on Facebook whether the course was actually 3.1 miles or not. My Runkeeper had 3.14 miles so I think it was actual length ... but we will see at the Raggae Ramble 5k on June 28.

Under Pressure...

...from who? Society? Nope.

Family? Nope.

Work? Nope.

Friends? Nope.

General Population? Nope.

The Dogs? Nope.

Myself? *DING*

---

I know that we are always toughest on ourselves, but sometimes I take it to a whole new level ... okay a LOT of the time I take it to a whole new level.

Since deciding to switch careers and move the family cross-country, I've put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed ... and quickly.

I mean - the whole moving thing was all my idea.

If I didn't get my boo-tay in gear and start excelling then the whole trip was a bust ... the whole uprooting my family was my fault.

---

So while I have been finding the move back to Boston - A-freakin-mazing, I feel like I haven't been on my "A" game. My fitness suffered slightly, my eating habits hit some speed bumps and while work was going well, I wasn't living up to the expectations I had set in my head.

The self-imposed pressure that had been sitting in my mind and heart hit the forefront over the past couple days ... where little things that happened, turned into big frustrations, which turned into me taking out the emotions on my poor steering wheel (and thus on my hands).

Finally, I cracked.

And this morning, while sitting with the dogs on the bed and being all ready for work ... out came the tears. I'm not talking a cute little tear. I'm talking full on waterworks - a full on Farrah-from Teen Mom - ugly cry. (Especially since I had already done all my makeup for work so there went the mascara)

But, you know what.

I let the tears fall and while they did out came the pain - out came the frustration - out came the pressure.

And I honestly felt amazing after I let it all out.

I released it.

The stress headache magically went out.

---

Following the waterworks, I chatted with my wife on gchat while she was at work and she brought me back to reality. If I stumbled and bumbled while getting used to our new life in Boston, the entire move was not for nothing. We did NOT move here for my career. Heck, I didn't have a job when we decided to move. We moved back to the East Coast for me to be closer to family and friends that I missed so much. And for a new adventure together - for our little family.

Perspective.

I don't have to be perfect all the time ... yes I know I am FAR from it ... but sometimes the little voice in my heads keeps pushing:

Be Better.

Be Stronger.

Be Faster.

Be Thinner.

Be Perfect.

But, that is not how I am designed.

I. Am. Human.

And sometimes I just need a little mental freak out to remember that.

---

Sharing my journey and life through this blog has helped me so much, but other times - like now - when I just want to curl up in to a ball on my bed ... I feel like sharing my world is a curse.

Showing the world that I am vulernable is hard and scary, but through this whole experience I've learned that it is better to let it out rather than hold it in (see: ugly cry from this morning).

I share what I go through in hopes that it will help someone else going through a similar situation know that they are not alone.

And while it sometimes pains me to bare my soul to the world, I know that it is necessary for me to survive ... and thrive!

---

While magically everything can't be fixed in one day and I know I have a lot to still work on and improve on - for today I know, the world will NOT stop spinning if I overindulge one day or miss a workout or forget the plug to my scale at a meeting.

The world will keep on spinning and I will keep on keeping on.

Because...

I  Am Stronger Than I Think I Am

and

I Will Stop Getting In My Own Way!

Half Marathon Training Update - 10 Miler

I had planned on knocking my first double-digit run in since January on Monday buuuutttt my legs had a different idea. They were wiped out from the Spinning & 5k combo on Sunday that Monday was a no run kind of day. So I knew that my next free day would be Wednesday, but with the rain I totally wimped out and pushed the run off til today.

Friday works out better for a long run anyway ... I just have to reception one morning Weight Watchers meeting and the rest of the day is all mine!

So today, I was ready and I needed it.

After seeing a number I didn't want to see on the scale, I took it out on the pavement! :)

Before heading to the River, I stopped by the Racemenu offices to finally pick up my official Team Racemenu singlet!

I can't wait to break it out on Sunday at the M.O.M.'s Run 5k in Somerville!

---

After grabbing the singlet, I headed out to the Charles River ... it would be my first run around that area in six years!

I, of course, had to go the bathroom as soon as I got to the running path, but thankfully - to my surprise - I saw an entire row of port-o-potties!

SCORE! (yup, I just did a fist pump to port-o-potties)

Then the plan was FOILED...

... locked!

Thankfully a few yards away, I finally lucked into an open port-o-potty. Ahhh...

Now that the TMI is over, we can talk about the run itself. :)

I was ready to rock this run after managing my first 9 under 9 last week and enjoy the beautiful scenery that the Charles River has to offer.

I even managed during the first two-three miles to snap a couple photos - even grabbed a self-portrait

The weather cooperated. It was nice and sunny during the first half of the run then cooled off just enough during the second half.

I love that my Runkeeper has the mile by mile pace breakdown. I can't believe I managed a 8:18 during Mile Three and 8:19 during Mile Four. Every mile was under a 9 min/mile pace except for Mile 7 - we can blame that on the little hills around the bridges I was crossing ... plus the wind!

Don't you love when you are trekking right along on one side of a river/street then turn around and realize the wind was at your back for that whole time? Helping you along. :P

Yup that happened a couple times.

It was nice to change up my normal running spot. It also gave me a time to re-familiarize myself with a part of the Charles River that I run a lot during the Summer Run Series (which starts on Thursday, May 17).

Once I hit Mile Nine, I started booking it. Ha! I was ready to see the 10 on the ol' Runkeeper. Proof was that Mile Nine was run at a 7:58 clip.

But that burst of energy at the end, showed me that I should be able to keep that 8:40 pace for my next Half Marathon in July.

---

Once again, as I hit the "complete workout" on my Runkeeper - I shed a couple tears.

I get so emotional whenever I prove to myself that I am stronger or faster or better at something than I give myself credit for.

As soon as the run was over, I plopped down on the closest bench and just breathed...

It was at that moment, that I just took in all that I have accomplished and how thankful I was to have so many inspirational runners that I can call on to push me through a run - even when they aren't there - especially Robin and Colleen!!

---

Today's run was brought to you by my own determination, sweat and some help from: Asics, Zensah and Lululemon:

Moms, 5k & a Popchips GIVEAWAY *WINNER ANNOUNCED*

*WINNER ANNOUNCED*

Thanks to Random.org, the winner of the giveaway is #25:

Congrats to Liz:

My favorite flavor is definitely Original!

My favorite part of healthy eating is the feeling I get of more energy and knowing it makes my body lighter and healthier.

Thanks to everyone who participated and keep your eyes out for the next giveaway… 

---

As the wife and I were sitting down to dinner a few weeks ago, she remarked how different her food choices are now compared to when she was a child ... heck compared to a couple of years back.

It got me thinking about how I will feed my kids when I become a mom. I don't foresee as many trips to Friendly's or McDonald's as when I was younger. There will be many more meals at home ... home cooked ... even with some of those fruits and veggies I can't pronounce. :P

(And I owe all of that to Weight Watchers!)

While at the grocery store this morning, I witnessed a mom LOAD her cart with the prepackaged snacks - the chocolate cakes, the mini donuts - you know the aisle I'm talking about.

I just stopped and said to myself, I will NOT do that to my children. I won't make them bring kale chips to school every day, but I will try to stay away from the snacks loaded up on sugar, etc ... the ones I used to eat.

I DEFINITELY will be sending them to school and games with fruits, veggies, baked chips or Popchips. How can they not love all these options, especially Popchips? I eat them all the time to get that chip taste without the calories/points. But, more on the awesomeness of Popchips later.

--

So this is my first Mother's Day home since 2010, but my mom doesn't really want to celebrate. I guess having me home permanently is enough of a gift.

I know! I'm the gift that keeps on giving. :P

While I may not be a mom to any humans yet, I am a mom to two adorable - yet trying - pups.

So the wife and I are celebrating Mother's Day May 13 by participating in the M.O.M.'s Run 5k in Somerville.

I absolutely love starting ANY holiday with a run. If you can't tell, I'm really trying to make this stick for any holiday I can...

Will anyone else be kicking off Mother's Day with a run? Maybe with your own mom or your child?

---

And now the fun part … the giveaway! Popchips has agreed to give one lucky reader of my blog a free Popchips prize of their own.

Here is how to enter:

*Follow @IrishEyes1982 and @popchipsboston on Twitter (if you have an account)

*Like Weight Off My Shoulders Blog and Popchips on Facebook (if you have an account)

and

*Comment on the blog below to the following questions: “What is your favorite flavor to pop?” and "What is your favorite part of healthy eating?"

… I will take responses until 10am ET Friday (May 11). The winner will be picked at random … Good luck! 

"What Motivates You?"

Motivation ... the topic of this week at a Weight Watchers meeting near you! Throughout my journey, I've had any different motivators and still do today. Like I said with anchors, there is no one motivator that can work in EVERY situation (in my opinion).

I was sitting in my Weight Watchers meeting this morning when my Leader asked "What brought you in to Weight Watchers?"

You know the day I walked into WW seems like a lifetime ago with how much has changed in that time.

But, I can remember the day like it was yesterday...

I was SOOO miserable in my own body. I had no idea how my wife (girlfriend at the time) saw in me. I didn't see any of it in myself.

I walked through the doors of the church (the meeting was held in their big hall area) just before 6pm on Monday, November 2, 2009. (How about that for details? ;))

I remember meeting the wicked nice receptionist Sharon, who I still keep in touch with now, and seeing the big words in front of me:

Goal Weight

Wah? How could I have any idea what I would want to be at the end of this journey?

But, I knew. I wanted to be healthy. So I picked the absolute highest spot of the BMI for my height and made 164 my Goal Weight.

Wow!

For two years, I used that thought to push me through the good times and the bad, the gains and the losses, the challenges and the easy days...

Someday I WILL be healthy I would tell myself. Someday!

And it worked. I did it. On November 8, 2011 (almost 2 years to the day from joining, I hit it: GOAL.

For the first time that I could remember, I was in the healthy weight range. Wow! What a feeling.

The dream that motivated me for so long was finally a reality.

---

But along the way additional motivators always came along for different situations:

*To head to the gym - desire to FINALLY fit into Lululemon clothing

*To go out for a training run - looking at my hanger full of race medals on my wall

*To avoid a certain fast food craving - remembering the last time I ate it and how it didn't taste good/wasn't worth the PointsPlus

*To stay on plan during a rough week - setting challenges on Twitter (#7daychip, #plankaday, etc)

After hitting Lifetime, goals change and here are some thoughts I had on that subject back in March.

---

What pushes you to keep going on this journey of weight loss?

Newburyport Spring Fever 5k - 5/6/12 - 24:42 (7:58 min/mile)

Have I mentioned lately how nice it is to be back in Boston? How indebted I am to my wife for picking up our lives and moving 1,000 miles from where we had set up our roots? Well, I am ... on both accounts!

Yesterday, the wife and I were able to participate in the Newburyport Spring Fever 5k, which benefited my cousins (triplets) old school.

The race didn't start until 1pm so I figured why not hit up a 70 min Spin class that morning at 9am then work a couple hours of Weight Watchers inventory at the Boston store theeennnn head up to the race.

What. Was. I. Thinking?

I ended up driving from Somerville --> Woburn --> Boston --> Somerville --> Newburyport ... which is A LOT of driving.

But, we managed to make it to the race on time. Phew!

There was one little problem however ... no port-o-potties at the starting line. Ouch! And I had to gooooo.

There was no choice other than to try to hold it as long as I could.

Off went the gun, I hit start on the 'ol Runkeeper and hit the ground running ... literally! ;)

I made it about half a mile - making good pace - before I spotted a softball field and snack shop. They HAD to have a bathroom. Not gonna lie, I definitely freaked the girl at the snack shop out as I came barreling toward her in my running attire with number yelling about a bathroom. She thankfully pointed one out and phew! problem solved.

BUT that ate up some time. I debated stopping my Runkeeper to see how long the whole ordeal actually took, but I decided against it. I would just have to try to haul butt and make up the lost time.

Most of the first mile was all down hill so we were cruising. My legs weren't as tired as I thought they would be after all the Spinning I had done that morning (and she had really kicked our butt).

I hit Mile Two and said HELLLOOOO hill. It was straight hill for at least three blocks. It looked like the hill that would never end. Halfway up the hill was the mile two marker where the woman told me I was at 16:17 - so about 8:06 pace. Darn! That is not what I wanted to hear.

So I kicked it up a notch. I was going to finish with a sub 8 min/mile pace if it killed me. :P

The last mile was tough, but I pushed through. I was enjoying the comments from people on the streets and other runners about my Superman socks. I got a few "You Go Superwoman!" which I absolutely loved!!

I crossed Mile Three and turned the corner for the home stretch and saw the clock flip to 24:17. Ahhh! My PR was 24:33. I tried to run as fast as I could down the last .1, but I didn't make it.

I finished in 24:42 ... 7:58 min/mile.

If I didn't have to make the bathroom stop, I totally woulda had a nice shiny new PR. But that's okay, I had a great time.

My uncle came in just after me at 26:02 and the wife improved on her last race with a 33:37 finish.

My aunt and the girls walked the 5k and posted a great time of their own.

We enjoyed some of the post-race festivities at their old school before heading to their house for a BBQ.

What an all around fun race.

April FLOUNDERS Bring May MOTIVATION

I think we all figured out that my April was NOT up to par. I would be on plan for like 3 or 4 days then go off the wagon - so to speak - for three or four days. There was no rhyme or reason to what I was doing. I let my will power take a vacation to some warm tropical location, while I ran around like someone who has their issues with food under control. THANKFULLY you all kept me more on track than I would've been. I thank you for being there while I fought to get back on track ... and failed.

Overall in April, I had a BLAST. Lots of time with good friends, good beers and good food ... but, I ended up gaining just under 2 lbs.

NOT what I had planned.

But, this is the time to buckle down and figure out how to be on plan, while being social.

I am using the month of May as a time to get "BACK TO ME" - time to focus on my needs, my health and for now, the number on the scale.

I seem to work better when having a goal or challenge in mind - I think back to how I kicked BUTT in December because of my Dynamic December challenge.

--

So here is what I am looking to accomplish during #MarvelousMay:

1) #plankaday - This has been life changing for me. I am not one for crunches, especially with my back injury, so this is a great way to get some core work in without sitting and doing a bunch of crunches - I don't want to do - on the floor.

This program was started by Dr. Sherry Pagoto (@drsherrypagoto) and is open to interpretation. For me, I started with doing a 60 second forearm plank every day for a week. The next week I upped it by 5 seconds and did 65 second forearms planks every day for a week. I did 5 second increments until I could hold a forearm plank for 4 minutes - yes! I can hold a plank for 4 minutes. Ahhh, I never thought that was possible.

Once, I hit that goal I switched up my planks. Last week, I did one 2 minute forearm plank and a 1 minute side plank on both sides every day. I like to keep my core guessing each day what I will do. :)

I am going to continue to do my #plankaday every day. I am enjoying the versatility and loving the #plankaday community.

2) #back2basics - I think this is a great challenge and timely for me as I am trying to get back into the swing after flip flopping back and forth in April. I also like this challenge (started by Colleen - @tryn2bfit) because it again leaves the choice of what you focus on up to the individual. I think that is a great way to keep people's attention and driven when they are working on something extremely personal.

For me, I will be focusing on hitting all 6 of the Weight Watchers Healthy Guidelines. Every day of the month I will be sure to have my required amounts of liquids (water), fruits/veggies, vitamins, dairy, healthy oils & exercise. I am pumped.

3) #30daychip - I owe a lot of success to the man that created the #7daychip/#30daychip program: Brad Gansberg (@bradgansberg). He has been a great motivator and has gotten me back on track more times than I can count.

This is yet another great challenge that you set for yourself. I have done a few different #7daychip topics, which you can see here.

The basic premise is to do something healthy for seven consecutive days ... or if you are feeling like you want a real challenge you can go for 30 or 100 days.

For this, #30daychip (which would be my second) I am looking to track my food every day. That means: log it into Weight Watchers eTools, write it up as a food log post on my blog and Facebook/Tweet it out.

4) #100ozchallenge – This is actually the first challenge that I started on my own! I have had at times upwards of 50 people participating. Woo! I feel wicked cool. Okay, that wasn’t cool. Dammit!

Anyway, this is a pretty simple challenge: drink at least 100oz water a day. That’s it. Keep yourself hydrated during the winter months. I just saw on twitter today that “Dehydration can cause ageing & can slow down metabolism as much as 3%” – I am here to not let that happen! Stay hydrated!!

--

So today is Day One, I am refocusing and getting back to my Number One Priority: ME!

What will you be doing to make May the best month of 2012 thus far and rock your own #MarvelousMe challenge?

Wordless Wednesday

This seems to be a running edition of Wordless Wednesday... :) ---

Saucony Find Your Strong event

---

BAA 5k on the Boston Marathon course

---

I WILL run the Boston Marathon

---

Non-Scale Victories: Shirt Size Small & Shorter Workout Shorts

---

BAA 5k – 4/15/12 – 24:58 (8:03 min/mile)

How cool is that? Yes the 5k course was part of THE Boston Marathon course. The bleachers were even set up for the Marathon so as you walked to the START line you could feel the energy that the marathoners would be feeling the next day. Okay, the bleachers were empty so I had to use my imagination, but man it was a cool feeling.

The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) 5k was the first race of the BAA Distance Medley, which includes a 5k, 10k (June 24) and a Half Marathon (October 7). The cool thing is you get a medal for each race then a SPECIAL medal when you complete all three. Yes, I think we can see why I signed up for the whole scha-bang. :P

What was cool was actually having a big group of runners that I knew - okay, well I met three of them that day - but it was still a fun experience. We met up before the run and got our pre-race photo in.

Are we seeing all the Sweaty Bands going on in this pic? ;)

Can you also see that Dawson from Dawson's Creek even made an appearance. Yes, best race shirt ever! :P

We made our way through the crowd to the START line. Well, as best we could with 6,000 runners participating.

This is where I had to regroup. We all know how well I handle these "big races." I had to tell myself not to expect a PR since most of the run would be bobbing and weaving through the crowd since there weren't any sort of min/mile corrals anywhere. Which really shocked me seeing as how this was a BAA race. But, I digress.

So I finally hit the starting line and started the usual process of making my way through the crowd. This was my first road race through Boston and I was psyched. It is just so nice being back and taking in all the sights I love downtown.

The first mile was the roughest ... especially with elbowing. I haven't seen so much elbowing and shoving in awhile. There was one woman in particular who got me in the right side that I was determined to pass. You know, to show her. :P

Thankfully, after the first mile, I was able to break through the tougher crowd and find more space. As the space cleared, my pace sped up.

I was impressed that my Runkeeper didn't get messed up due to the buildings so I was actually able to keep track of my time/pace.

As soon as the Runkeeper let me know 20 minutes had passed, I kicked it up a notch. I wanted a PR of course, but I would be happy if I could still finish in under 25 minutes.

(Disclaimer: when did I become the person that wants to finish a 5k in under 25 minutes?? I can remember finishing in 38:21 and now I want to finish in under 25 minutes. Wow! I still amaze myself and forget how far I've come)

I just crossed the Mile 3 marker, saw the photographer getting my "about to cross face" as a little girl comes barreling passed me on the left. Yup, definitely not going to be ordering THAT photo to show off. Hey look at me getting passed by an 8 year old at the Finish. I. Don't. Think. So.

But I hit the Runkeeper as I crossed the line and I saw 24:58. I also saw 3.2 miles instead of 3.1, but I was happier with the 24:58. Okay, I was pissed for a minute that I was 26 seconds shy of a PR, but then I remembered the bobbing and weaving and told myself to get over it.

Plus, I was a-okay once I got my medal ... and my "snack bag" at the Finish. The "snack bag" included a chocolate chip bagel. It may have been the BEST bagel I have ever eaten. Or it just felt that way in the moment.

Official Results: I finished in 24:58 (8:03 min/mile pace) ... I was 1,295 overall out of 5,253, 365 out of 2,973 females and 88 out of 587 in my division.

Not too shabby.

Oh, and I happily passed the girl that jabbed me in the right side. Take that girlie! ;)

---

The six of us headed for a post-race brunch at Brownstone Bar and proceeded to get the WORST service I have ever experienced at a restaurant/bar. The waitress was rude, the location was unprepared for a large group of customers and the kitchen produced cold and incorrect food. Boo to them. But thankfully the company was great and really that is what Brunch is all about.