Katie saw a 3!!!!!!

138lbs! There it is! I'm kind of proud of myself. With a slight healthy change of diet, I was able to get there :) Ideally, I'd like to get to the 135 mark which is where I was when playing tennis in college, but I'm pretty pleased with my effort so far.

I was able to get 2 runs in so far this week.

Sunday, Oct 19th -- East Goshen Park -- 2 of the big loops, 3 of the little loops - 49min 23 sec
--not really sure how far that is but I think it's somewhere around 4-5 miles
--felt really good - I overdressed w/ long cotton pants and a long cotton shirt and got too warm way too fast

Thursday, Oct 23 -- Wilson Farm Park -- 4 miles - 38min 10
--counterclock wise run so it's mostly down hill w/ a longer gradual uphill
--really really good run. I felt fabulous the entire time. I felt strong.

My diet has been decent. Sticking with a mostly protein diet but, I have to add carbs so I have the energy to do my runs. Seems to working well. I'm losing weight without feeling too starved all the time.

New favorite snack is definately a banana w/ extra crunch peanut butter.

Only 2 weeks til the honeymoon!

10 Minute Mile!

I did it today! My first "official" run at a 10 minute flat pace! 4 miles in 39 minutes 57 seconds!

OK, most of it was kind of downhill run, which can be tough on the quads and knees so, it's not all THAT easy ;) I am really still not feeling comfortable on the uphills. But, you can't get comfortable with something unless you work at it so I think I really should incorporate a good hills run each week. Yeh. Great. Way excited about that.

Since last Tuesday I only had one other run.

Saturday, Oct 11th - the First (and only) Katie's Bacholorette 3.5 mile Glenside Dash - 37 min 26 seconds
--it was really warm, I was wearing sweatpants, I had been at the Phillies game the day before.....not a real good run

Tuesday, Oct 14th - 4 mile run at Wilson Park -39 minutes 57 seconds
--I went counterclockwise this time which puts the incline at the end of the run. It was a beautiful, sunny, 70 degree post work run

On interesting note....I am finding that I prefer to run in the morning which is strange because I am not a morning person.

I'm working on my pre run diet. Trying to figure out what is enough food to eat to give me energy but not make feel bloated & nauseous. It's a work in progress.

From Katie.....Run Katie Run!

I haven't posted in awhile so, let's get y'all filled in on me and my progress.

My current weight: 140lbs!!!!! I check every week to see that 139 but, so far, no go.

I have lost about 4 sizes :D That feels amazing!

I think the difference maker has been my ability to get back to running and doing it pain free!!!! WHOOOHOOOO!

I have been working with the personal trainer at work to build up my quad, knee and calf muscles. Basically all the muscles that support my left knee and IT Band. I did that for 6 weeks before I started really running again and it seems to have done it's job.

So now I want to start using this blog to document my runs and how I felt and all that fun stuff :)

Here are my recent runs:
-Thursday, Oct 2nd --- a good 4 miler at Lee Park - 43m 08sec
-Saturday, Oct 4th --- an amazing 5 mile run at Valley Forge Park -- it was around 8am, beautiful, perfect fall morning -- I did the run in 53m 13s! It was an unbelievable feeling
-Sun, Oct 5th --- a 3.3 miler at Lee Park - 33m 18s -- the interesting part is that due to the fact that the .6 mile maker is missing so it forces me to a 3.3 miler instead of a 5K
-Mon, Oct 6th --- a 3.3 miler at Lee Park - I forgot my watch but it felt good
-Tues, Oct 7th --- a 33 minute run at East Goshen Park --- I'm not exactly sure of the distance but I felt like a was running slower

The weather has been great and I have been sleeping well so I think that's helped my running. Hopefully it'll continue.

Only 4 1/2 weeks to the Honeymoon!

48.6 pounds lost

So I went to the gym to get weighed this afternoon. I started seriously working out in May, but had decided to lose weight back in January. That's when (Jan. 2, I think), I stepped on the scales and registered a 234. I was heartbroken. And fat.

Today though? 185.4 pounds.

I've lost 48.6 pounds this year. I couldn't believe it.

I'm so close to my goal. Gotta admit, that helps kick the motivation into high gear.

Since I started the gym program, it's been 32 pounds gone.

- Dustin

Some progress, not much

Why not much progress? Well, mostly because I spent a few weeks not going to the gym. I didn't mean to. Or, maybe I mean I did mean to, but just didn't get to. We've had a busy month at work -- lots of people on vacation, me filling in, a computer change in the works, a paper format change in the works, and a heated political primary season all made for not a lot of free time to hit the gym.

I know the solution is to make time to go to the gym. I just haven't done that yet.

Still, I weighed in today at 191.4 pounds. That's a total of 27.4 pounds lost -- almost 30, which is more than halfway to my goal.

I lost four inches of waistline too.

-- Dustin

1 day, 17 miles, $0 gas used

So I've gotten interested in the two mile challenge. Basically, according to this site, 40 percent of all urban driving is done within two miles of your home.

Think about it: 40 percent. Nearly half of your gas is burned up within a two-mile radius of your own house. I used the site. The house we're moving into has almost everything you need within two miles: Grocery store, liquor store, um... what else do you need?

The house I live in now isn't quite so lucky (for example, I'm about 18 miles from my job at the moment). But I am about 1.1 miles from Wal-Mart. Although I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart, having groceries and supplies so close is convenient for someone who doesn't want to burn gas.

This morning I took the bike out for a 15-mile ride. I didn't start out early enough -- it was brutally hot, but fortunately I took my Camelbak Mule, so I didn't get dehydrated or run any sort of overheating risk. Also, there was plenty of shade along the trail, and the breeze was going pretty good.

This afternoon I went to Wal-Mart for some lunch stuff. That made 17 miles today, most for exercise, but some for utilities.

I like the idea of human-powered transportation. It's free (once you buy the bike), and good exercise. The more you use it, the easier it gets.

Next up: I want to swap out my knobbies for some road tires, and finish my mt bike conversion to a touring/hybrid/street monster. I have some good panniers, but would really like some grocery bag panniers. Those you can take right into the store in lieu of shopping bags: save sme plastic and hook the entire thing right onto your bike when you're done. My panniers nw only fit one bag at a time, and aren't easy to take inside.

-- Dustin

Below 200

For the first time in... years, I'm below 200 pounds. I weighed in this morning at the gym, and was 197. That's a loss of 21.8 pounds since I started five weeks ago.

Eating healthy is getting easier, as is exercising frequently.

In some really really good news, I have a line on a rent house that is five blocks from work, which means I can walk or ride it, and the home is also close enough to downtown that I could bike / walk to restaurants, stores, etc. Not only for health benefits, but for carbon production / fuel use.

I'm looking forward to getting a vegetable garden going. :)

Here, you can see me before (left), and today (right).

-- Dustin