This morning I completed the first week of the Couch to 5K program. The first week alternates 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for 25 minutes. The workouts are three times a week, which with my schedule this week was Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday, but I'll probably start doing Mon-Wend-Fri in the weeks ahead. The first day I was able to finish with no problems, the second day I struggled a little but still finished. This morning I wasn't so lucky. I was sore before I even got started, I tried to stretch out really well since I thought I might not be stretching good enough but it didn't help. I struggled just to finish the 60 seconds of jogging. After 4 cycles of walking and jogging I had to stop and just walk the remaining time. At 290 pounds I really don't want to turn sore into injured.. my body is not used to this. I will probably repeat the week one cycles next week before I move on. How can I jog 90 seconds if I can't finish 60 seconds?
May 15th I will be doing the Greek Festival 5K here in Winston Salem, which will be about halfway through the training (Week 5) so hopefully that will help me monitor my progress. If I can jog even half the race and improve on my Lillie's Friends 5K time then I will be doing good.
July 17th, which will be about 3 weeks after I finish the program and will then just be training, will be my first competitive race. The Beat the Heat 5K in Winston Salem is a US Track and Field certified course and is the site of the NC 5K Championships. This is a real race with awards and prize money rather than a charity walk (not that I have anything against the charity run/walks, I love them). My plan for this race is to run the whole distance. Do I expect to win? Heck No.. do I expect to even finish top 50? Probably not, but if I can run the whole distance and post a time in say the 25 minute range (About an 8 minute per mile pace) then I will be doing good.
My friend Amanda, who started her own running craze and has inspired mine, is planning on running the 2011 Disney Full Marathon (she has completed two Half's). My long term goal is to join her in 2012. I will run the Half while she runs the Full. After that I may eventually run the full, but I just really cannot wrap my head around going from 345 pounds to running a half marathon in 2 years, so if I can do it that will be amazing.
My training today did not go well, but I'm not giving up!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Smart Option Low Fat Ice Cream and Baked Lays
I realized I had somewhat strayed from my original intent for this blog which was to give reviews and suggestions for low fat/healthy foods that still taste good. Well here is a few I have discovered recently.
Smart Option Low Fat Ice Cream:
Smart Option is a Food Lion private label brand, so apologies if you don't live in the Southeast, but most stores probably have a similar product. This ice cream is even lower in fat than the Kroger ice cream I reviewed as one of my first blogs. I've seen it in Vanilla, Chocolate and Neapolitan flavors. It also only costs 1.99 for 1.75 quarts.
For a serving of a half cup, this ice cream contains 100 calories, 1.5g fat (1g sat.) 19g carbs, 14 g sugar and 2g protein. I know when I make a bowl of ice cream, it's probably 3 servings, but the serving to serving comparison is still helpful. Compared to a normal ice cream which might have 10-12g fat per serving.. or a premium which would probably be much higher. Also, this ice cream has a slight grainy or icy texture, but you're going to lose that creaminess as you remove the fat. There's not a lot you can do about that. Flavor-wise it tastes just like normal ice cream, and on a hot day (like the 90s we've had recently here in North Carolina) nothing is better than ice cream.
One interesting thing I noticed when I was reading the label. On the front of the box it says "artificially flavored Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry flavored low fat ice cream" and yes, "artificial flavors" is listed in the ingredients, but so is Chocolate Base, Strawberry Puree and Natural Strawberry flavor. So it's not all artificial. I guess one artificial flavor and it has to be labeled as "Artificially flavored"
Baked Lays:
I love potato chips.. they have always been one of my weaknesses. For me "can't eat just one" is not a single Lays chip.. it's can't eat one.. bag. I take a small bag of chips with me to work on the days I make a sandwich, but I try not to sit at the TV eating from the bag since that's when you hit the bottom of the bag without realizing you just ate the whole thing.
Recently our young cousins (quadruplets) came over for a visit before Easter and they brought with them some snacks. Ironically along with the fudge rounds, oreos and Spongebob push pops, they also had a bag of baked Lays. I like normal chips and I'm not a big fan of the "shaped chips" that are made from potato flakes or powder. I've never likes pringles or Lays Stax or anything like that. I figured I would give them a try, and while they don't taste anything like a normal chip.. they aren't half bad and they don't taste "fake". They also don't use fat substitutes like Olestra, which is a very good thing.
I got a bag and I've been taking them to work instead of my normal chips and they aren't too bad. They give me something to eat along side my sandwich and satisfied that "crunchy-salty" craving.
The good news? For a 1 oz serving you get 120 cal, 2g fat (0 sat/0 trans), 180 mg sodium, 23g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g sugar, 2g protein. They compare that to 10g fat for normal chips, so that's 80% less fat. Not too bad for something that still slightly resembles a potato chip (Pringles are just weird). I have it on a good source (my wife) that Baked Cheetos are basically styrofoam (not good) but Baked Doritos are awesome. I don't like Doritos, but if you do give them a try.
Smart Option Low Fat Ice Cream:
Smart Option is a Food Lion private label brand, so apologies if you don't live in the Southeast, but most stores probably have a similar product. This ice cream is even lower in fat than the Kroger ice cream I reviewed as one of my first blogs. I've seen it in Vanilla, Chocolate and Neapolitan flavors. It also only costs 1.99 for 1.75 quarts.
For a serving of a half cup, this ice cream contains 100 calories, 1.5g fat (1g sat.) 19g carbs, 14 g sugar and 2g protein. I know when I make a bowl of ice cream, it's probably 3 servings, but the serving to serving comparison is still helpful. Compared to a normal ice cream which might have 10-12g fat per serving.. or a premium which would probably be much higher. Also, this ice cream has a slight grainy or icy texture, but you're going to lose that creaminess as you remove the fat. There's not a lot you can do about that. Flavor-wise it tastes just like normal ice cream, and on a hot day (like the 90s we've had recently here in North Carolina) nothing is better than ice cream.
One interesting thing I noticed when I was reading the label. On the front of the box it says "artificially flavored Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry flavored low fat ice cream" and yes, "artificial flavors" is listed in the ingredients, but so is Chocolate Base, Strawberry Puree and Natural Strawberry flavor. So it's not all artificial. I guess one artificial flavor and it has to be labeled as "Artificially flavored"
Baked Lays:
I love potato chips.. they have always been one of my weaknesses. For me "can't eat just one" is not a single Lays chip.. it's can't eat one.. bag. I take a small bag of chips with me to work on the days I make a sandwich, but I try not to sit at the TV eating from the bag since that's when you hit the bottom of the bag without realizing you just ate the whole thing.
Recently our young cousins (quadruplets) came over for a visit before Easter and they brought with them some snacks. Ironically along with the fudge rounds, oreos and Spongebob push pops, they also had a bag of baked Lays. I like normal chips and I'm not a big fan of the "shaped chips" that are made from potato flakes or powder. I've never likes pringles or Lays Stax or anything like that. I figured I would give them a try, and while they don't taste anything like a normal chip.. they aren't half bad and they don't taste "fake". They also don't use fat substitutes like Olestra, which is a very good thing.
I got a bag and I've been taking them to work instead of my normal chips and they aren't too bad. They give me something to eat along side my sandwich and satisfied that "crunchy-salty" craving.
The good news? For a 1 oz serving you get 120 cal, 2g fat (0 sat/0 trans), 180 mg sodium, 23g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g sugar, 2g protein. They compare that to 10g fat for normal chips, so that's 80% less fat. Not too bad for something that still slightly resembles a potato chip (Pringles are just weird). I have it on a good source (my wife) that Baked Cheetos are basically styrofoam (not good) but Baked Doritos are awesome. I don't like Doritos, but if you do give them a try.
Friday, April 9, 2010
A brick wall and a milestone.
A couple of weeks ago I hit a brick wall. Shows like Biggest Loser talk about this as a plateau, a section where the weight loss doesn't come easy and you have to fight through it. I was eating better, exercising more even walk/jogged a 5K and nothing made that needle move on the scale. Well I finally got it to drop this week and so I hope the plateau is over and I can keep on moving down.
The last 4 weeks have been terrible number wise. 304, 301, 300 and then 300 again (I put 299 in my record since the needle did dip below, but it wasn't totally conclusive). Well this week it finally started sinking. I haven't had my official Sunday morning weigh in yet, but I checked on Wednesday and it was 297 and then this morning was 295. Well enough below 300 that I could count it and not just a dip of the needle. I try not to weigh myself too often since I know it can fluctuate and you don't want to get yourself caught up in chasing 1 pound up, 1 pound down etc, but I couldn't help but check to see if I was under 300.
300 is a big hurdle for me.. I've been over 300 for a long time and at 295 I am now the lightest I've been since my freshman year in College in 1998. That's 12 years. Clothes I've been wearing for a long time are finally too big for me.
295 is also a big milestone because that means from the time I started keeping track in October of 2009 (345 pounds) I have lost 50 pounds! I had an interesting experience today at work, which I have read several places in the past. I had to get some ingredients to bring to the lab and so I went to the warehouse, tossed the 50 pound bag up on my shoulder and carried it halfway across the plant back to the lab. It was rough by the time I got up the stairs into the lab. That's the same 50 pounds I used to be carrying around my waist. Insane. I recommend you do this. Even if you haven't lost 50 pounds yet, see what it would feel like if you gained 10 or 20 or however much you can carry.
I posted a picture from my race in the last post, but when I looked at it compared to the picture of me at Disney World, (my profile pic) I wanted to post them again side by side as a comparison.
This picture is from May 2009, and I don't know how much I weighed here, but probably close to 340.
And this picture is from April 2010. Quite a difference in a year eh?
The last 4 weeks have been terrible number wise. 304, 301, 300 and then 300 again (I put 299 in my record since the needle did dip below, but it wasn't totally conclusive). Well this week it finally started sinking. I haven't had my official Sunday morning weigh in yet, but I checked on Wednesday and it was 297 and then this morning was 295. Well enough below 300 that I could count it and not just a dip of the needle. I try not to weigh myself too often since I know it can fluctuate and you don't want to get yourself caught up in chasing 1 pound up, 1 pound down etc, but I couldn't help but check to see if I was under 300.
300 is a big hurdle for me.. I've been over 300 for a long time and at 295 I am now the lightest I've been since my freshman year in College in 1998. That's 12 years. Clothes I've been wearing for a long time are finally too big for me.
295 is also a big milestone because that means from the time I started keeping track in October of 2009 (345 pounds) I have lost 50 pounds! I had an interesting experience today at work, which I have read several places in the past. I had to get some ingredients to bring to the lab and so I went to the warehouse, tossed the 50 pound bag up on my shoulder and carried it halfway across the plant back to the lab. It was rough by the time I got up the stairs into the lab. That's the same 50 pounds I used to be carrying around my waist. Insane. I recommend you do this. Even if you haven't lost 50 pounds yet, see what it would feel like if you gained 10 or 20 or however much you can carry.
I posted a picture from my race in the last post, but when I looked at it compared to the picture of me at Disney World, (my profile pic) I wanted to post them again side by side as a comparison.
This picture is from May 2009, and I don't know how much I weighed here, but probably close to 340.
And this picture is from April 2010. Quite a difference in a year eh?
Monday, April 5, 2010
Lillie's Friend's Got Friends 5K
On Saturday I participated in my first 5K of the year. The Lillie's Friend's Got Friends 5K for Neural Blastoma at Tanglewood Park here in Clemmons, NC.
I've been able to jog a little on my walks around the neighborhood, so I wanted to really try to jog some. I think I walk faster in a "race" situation then around the neighborhood, even though I'm not really racing.. yet.
My wife came with me to this race, which made me very happy and also made it possible for me to get some pictures. We got there with literally moments to spare as I got checked in and got my number about 2 minutes before the race started.
I walked the first half all the way to the turnaround and water station, which included a wicked uphill stretch. However after the turnaround, I was able to jog down that stretch which was now downhill. After slowing back down to a walk, i was able to jog two more small stretches, one at about 2.5 miles and also from the 3 mile marker to the finish.
When I saw the time clock I was amazed.. the clock said 48 minutes which really helped me push the last 100 yards or so. My previous fastest time was 57 minutes, so the stretches of jogging really ate away at my time.
As I crossed the finish line, I looked over at the clock.. 49 minutes and 24 seconds! A new personal record by almost 10 minutes. I hope to shave another couple of minutes off my next race by jogging longer. Before long I'll be actually running the races.
I am very pleased with my performance despite the fact that, according to my wife, I "got beat by a three year old".
I've been able to jog a little on my walks around the neighborhood, so I wanted to really try to jog some. I think I walk faster in a "race" situation then around the neighborhood, even though I'm not really racing.. yet.
My wife came with me to this race, which made me very happy and also made it possible for me to get some pictures. We got there with literally moments to spare as I got checked in and got my number about 2 minutes before the race started.
I walked the first half all the way to the turnaround and water station, which included a wicked uphill stretch. However after the turnaround, I was able to jog down that stretch which was now downhill. After slowing back down to a walk, i was able to jog two more small stretches, one at about 2.5 miles and also from the 3 mile marker to the finish.
When I saw the time clock I was amazed.. the clock said 48 minutes which really helped me push the last 100 yards or so. My previous fastest time was 57 minutes, so the stretches of jogging really ate away at my time.
As I crossed the finish line, I looked over at the clock.. 49 minutes and 24 seconds! A new personal record by almost 10 minutes. I hope to shave another couple of minutes off my next race by jogging longer. Before long I'll be actually running the races.
I am very pleased with my performance despite the fact that, according to my wife, I "got beat by a three year old".
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Ms Obama and the Obesity Problem
I applaud the first lady for wanting to help America's children, I really do.. and perhaps I am a little biased as a food scientist who works for a food manufacturing company, but I think she is really going about it the wrong way.
Browbeating food companies, and the jackboot reaction that followed is not the way to get people to eat healthier. Large companies are stepping into the line.. "We'll reduce sugar... We'll reduce fat.. We'll reduce salt" and it won't make a damn difference whatsoever.
There are no bad foods... I will say that again.. there are no bad foods. We are bad eaters. There's nothing wrong with an occasional cheeseburger, or a handful of chips or some candy as a treat but obviously we have lost sight of portion control. Burgers and fries are huge.. Steak dinners at restaurants are 1500 calories etc etc. The answer? Force food companies to only make healthy foods? A) The food companies won't do that and B) It won't help.
When are people going to take responsibilities for their own actions? This generation (yes of which I am a part) has gotten into the habit of blaming everyone but themselves for EVERYTHING and it sickens me. A potato chip manufacturer is to blame for your kid being fat, not the fact that you sit them on the couch with a large bag of chips and tell them to sit there and shut up?
I am overweight, and I have struggled with it for a long time and I am finally getting it under control. Who do I have to blame for this? Myself of course. Eat Wendy's every day for months on end using the excuse "it's the only place open at midnight" and I defy you not to gain weight. Wendy's is not bad... Wendy's everyday is bad.. but it's not Wendy's fault.. I made bad decisions.
As someone who hopes to be a parent in the very near future, I hope not only that I continue to lose weight so I can be active and play with them but also be able to teach them, a cookie as a treat after dinner is fine, as long as you don't sit and eat the whole box.
Will I blame the cookie company when my kids are obese? No.. I will blame myself. But armed with the knowledge I now have, I hope that day won't come.
It sickens me to read the news stories and disturbs me even more the comments from the people who would have you believe that food additives cause cancer and MSG will make you fat. Let me tell you the honest to God truth. Those strange sounding chemicals on food labels? They all come from food. They may be chemically synthesized but they were originally discovered in a plant or animal product and it was determined that they could serve a specific function. The FDA monitors every single ingredient used by food companies and everything is labeled as GRAS or Generally Recognized As Safe, which means MULTIPLE studies have been performed and whatever the ingredient is has been deemed to be not harmful. Yes, if you eat 300X your body weight in Sacchrin on a DAILY basis, it will kill you.. but who does that? NO ONE.. no one even could. Some of the strangest sounding ones that people think are strange actually are as natural as can be. Carageenan Gum is derived from seaweed and is a natural product. That nasty artifical sweetener Corn Syrup? A byproduct of producing corn starch and is completely natural. Even MSG is produced from sugar fermentation by bacteria the same why wine, beer, soy sauce and other fermented products are made.
Sex, drugs, alcohol, salt, sugar, loud music.. anything in too large of a quantity can harm you somehow, but the key is learning moderation, not trying to change the products to where they are not harmful.
The food companies haven't made us fat. We have made ourselves fat, and now we have to fix that problem the same way I am.. eat less, exercise more.. it's that simple.
Browbeating food companies, and the jackboot reaction that followed is not the way to get people to eat healthier. Large companies are stepping into the line.. "We'll reduce sugar... We'll reduce fat.. We'll reduce salt" and it won't make a damn difference whatsoever.
There are no bad foods... I will say that again.. there are no bad foods. We are bad eaters. There's nothing wrong with an occasional cheeseburger, or a handful of chips or some candy as a treat but obviously we have lost sight of portion control. Burgers and fries are huge.. Steak dinners at restaurants are 1500 calories etc etc. The answer? Force food companies to only make healthy foods? A) The food companies won't do that and B) It won't help.
When are people going to take responsibilities for their own actions? This generation (yes of which I am a part) has gotten into the habit of blaming everyone but themselves for EVERYTHING and it sickens me. A potato chip manufacturer is to blame for your kid being fat, not the fact that you sit them on the couch with a large bag of chips and tell them to sit there and shut up?
I am overweight, and I have struggled with it for a long time and I am finally getting it under control. Who do I have to blame for this? Myself of course. Eat Wendy's every day for months on end using the excuse "it's the only place open at midnight" and I defy you not to gain weight. Wendy's is not bad... Wendy's everyday is bad.. but it's not Wendy's fault.. I made bad decisions.
As someone who hopes to be a parent in the very near future, I hope not only that I continue to lose weight so I can be active and play with them but also be able to teach them, a cookie as a treat after dinner is fine, as long as you don't sit and eat the whole box.
Will I blame the cookie company when my kids are obese? No.. I will blame myself. But armed with the knowledge I now have, I hope that day won't come.
It sickens me to read the news stories and disturbs me even more the comments from the people who would have you believe that food additives cause cancer and MSG will make you fat. Let me tell you the honest to God truth. Those strange sounding chemicals on food labels? They all come from food. They may be chemically synthesized but they were originally discovered in a plant or animal product and it was determined that they could serve a specific function. The FDA monitors every single ingredient used by food companies and everything is labeled as GRAS or Generally Recognized As Safe, which means MULTIPLE studies have been performed and whatever the ingredient is has been deemed to be not harmful. Yes, if you eat 300X your body weight in Sacchrin on a DAILY basis, it will kill you.. but who does that? NO ONE.. no one even could. Some of the strangest sounding ones that people think are strange actually are as natural as can be. Carageenan Gum is derived from seaweed and is a natural product. That nasty artifical sweetener Corn Syrup? A byproduct of producing corn starch and is completely natural. Even MSG is produced from sugar fermentation by bacteria the same why wine, beer, soy sauce and other fermented products are made.
Sex, drugs, alcohol, salt, sugar, loud music.. anything in too large of a quantity can harm you somehow, but the key is learning moderation, not trying to change the products to where they are not harmful.
The food companies haven't made us fat. We have made ourselves fat, and now we have to fix that problem the same way I am.. eat less, exercise more.. it's that simple.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Smart Shopping
Along with eating healthier and losing weight, I'm also on a kick to reduce my grocery bills and save money. I used to think buying in bulk and doing one big shopping trip a month was the way to go, but the more I read online I see smaller trips can work, especially when you take advantage of weekly sales and coupons.
I've read so many stories about how people go to the grocery store and buy 200$ worth of groceries for 10$. Sound's fantastic right? Well dig a little deeper and it's not as fantastic as it seems, or at least not as realistic as it should be. If you look sometimes at what they buy, they will buy 10 of the same items that happen to be on sale and it will be an odd assortment of things like laundry detergent, frozen chicken and a bag of oranges. Not your "normal" shopping trip. Sometimes you just HAVE to get something that's not on sale and you don't have a coupon, like a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, and other staple items. However this is not to say that you can't use their tips to save a good amount of money, just don't expect every single item in your cart to cost 15 cents.. not everything you need will be on sale every week, but when it is you can stock up.
I went to Harris Teeter this morning to pick up a few things that I had coupons for (they are doing triple coupons up to 99 cents this week) and a good sale on some chicken. For the first time I saved more than I spent, and I did get one item for free and some for darn near free.
Here's the good deals I got on this trip.
Packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts (healthy but expensive at 4.99 a pound) were on sale for buy 1 get 2 free. Craziness.
For three packs the regular price would have been $26.89 (5.39 lbs at $4.99 a pound)
I paid $8.95 (5.39 lbs at $1.66.lb) Savings = $17.94
Two packs of Kraft Sharp Cheese (8 oz blocks) - Regular price 3.19 each or $6.38
They were on sale buy one get one free so I paid 3.19 for both, and had a $1 off 2 packs coupon for a total of 2.19 for 2 8oz blocks or 1.08 each. Savings = $4.19
Oscar Mayer Bacon - Reg Price 5.49. On sale for 2/8$ (or 4.00 for one). Plus a 75 cent off coupon that tripled to 2.25. I paid 1.75. Savings = $3.74
McCormick Paprika for my Mac and Cheese, same thing the block cheese was for. Regular price 2.19. I had a .75 off coupon that tripled to 2.25 = FREE. (In reality the coupon only multiplied to 1.44 to make up the 2.19, so it was still free, but it didn't take off the extra 6 cents. Some people post that you can get 2$ off an item that costs 1$ and it will take a dollar off your total bill, this doesn't seem to be the case at Harris Teeter. Will have to check this at other stores.)
I also got some nature valley granola bars, boxes of hamburger helper, macaroni noodles and bounce dryer sheets that I used triple coupons or were on sale. But the chicken, the free cheese, the free paprika and the bacon are where I saved the big money.
Total spent: $25.03
Total saved: $36.28
Saved 59.17%
Not too shabby.
I've read so many stories about how people go to the grocery store and buy 200$ worth of groceries for 10$. Sound's fantastic right? Well dig a little deeper and it's not as fantastic as it seems, or at least not as realistic as it should be. If you look sometimes at what they buy, they will buy 10 of the same items that happen to be on sale and it will be an odd assortment of things like laundry detergent, frozen chicken and a bag of oranges. Not your "normal" shopping trip. Sometimes you just HAVE to get something that's not on sale and you don't have a coupon, like a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, and other staple items. However this is not to say that you can't use their tips to save a good amount of money, just don't expect every single item in your cart to cost 15 cents.. not everything you need will be on sale every week, but when it is you can stock up.
I went to Harris Teeter this morning to pick up a few things that I had coupons for (they are doing triple coupons up to 99 cents this week) and a good sale on some chicken. For the first time I saved more than I spent, and I did get one item for free and some for darn near free.
Here's the good deals I got on this trip.
Packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts (healthy but expensive at 4.99 a pound) were on sale for buy 1 get 2 free. Craziness.
For three packs the regular price would have been $26.89 (5.39 lbs at $4.99 a pound)
I paid $8.95 (5.39 lbs at $1.66.lb) Savings = $17.94
Two packs of Kraft Sharp Cheese (8 oz blocks) - Regular price 3.19 each or $6.38
They were on sale buy one get one free so I paid 3.19 for both, and had a $1 off 2 packs coupon for a total of 2.19 for 2 8oz blocks or 1.08 each. Savings = $4.19
Oscar Mayer Bacon - Reg Price 5.49. On sale for 2/8$ (or 4.00 for one). Plus a 75 cent off coupon that tripled to 2.25. I paid 1.75. Savings = $3.74
McCormick Paprika for my Mac and Cheese, same thing the block cheese was for. Regular price 2.19. I had a .75 off coupon that tripled to 2.25 = FREE. (In reality the coupon only multiplied to 1.44 to make up the 2.19, so it was still free, but it didn't take off the extra 6 cents. Some people post that you can get 2$ off an item that costs 1$ and it will take a dollar off your total bill, this doesn't seem to be the case at Harris Teeter. Will have to check this at other stores.)
I also got some nature valley granola bars, boxes of hamburger helper, macaroni noodles and bounce dryer sheets that I used triple coupons or were on sale. But the chicken, the free cheese, the free paprika and the bacon are where I saved the big money.
Total spent: $25.03
Total saved: $36.28
Saved 59.17%
Not too shabby.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Still Waters 5K
Not a real 5K... but the name for my walking loop around my (very small) neighborhood.
Using the map program on dailymile.com where I track my walking, I figured out the loop around my neighborhood is 0.8 miles. 4 laps around is 3.2 miles, or about the distance of a 5K. At least I have a distance I can do when I'm practicing for events.
Today I did 3 laps around in 43 minutes.. which worked out to 14 minutes the first two laps and 15 minutes for the third lap. I use my cellphone as a timer so it's only whole minutes, but it had just turned to 12:27 when I finished (I started at 11:44) so it was probably more like 42 minutes and some seconds.
If I had gone the 4th lap at 15 minutes that would have been 3.2 miles in 58 minutes which is right in line for my "normal" pace at a 5k.
Thursday I did two laps around, with some short stints of jogging and did the two laps in 28 minutes (first lap 15 minutes, second lap 13 minutes).
I'm trying to work my way up to actually RUN a 5K, but I know I need to lose a lot more weight to do that.
In two weeks (April 3rd) I will be participating in the Lillies Friend's Got Friends 5K to benefit Neural Blastoma research. If I can I'm going to try to jog some parts of it and improve my time.. Wish me luck!
Using the map program on dailymile.com where I track my walking, I figured out the loop around my neighborhood is 0.8 miles. 4 laps around is 3.2 miles, or about the distance of a 5K. At least I have a distance I can do when I'm practicing for events.
Today I did 3 laps around in 43 minutes.. which worked out to 14 minutes the first two laps and 15 minutes for the third lap. I use my cellphone as a timer so it's only whole minutes, but it had just turned to 12:27 when I finished (I started at 11:44) so it was probably more like 42 minutes and some seconds.
If I had gone the 4th lap at 15 minutes that would have been 3.2 miles in 58 minutes which is right in line for my "normal" pace at a 5k.
Thursday I did two laps around, with some short stints of jogging and did the two laps in 28 minutes (first lap 15 minutes, second lap 13 minutes).
I'm trying to work my way up to actually RUN a 5K, but I know I need to lose a lot more weight to do that.
In two weeks (April 3rd) I will be participating in the Lillies Friend's Got Friends 5K to benefit Neural Blastoma research. If I can I'm going to try to jog some parts of it and improve my time.. Wish me luck!
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