Competition, a Coach, and Scottish Roots

I find that without something or someone to motivate me I often get routine and lazy when it comes to exercise and eating right. Yesterday, in order to combat this and get down to my college weight, preferably the weight I was my Freshman NOT Senior year, I upped my training to a whole new label.

I've hired a physical trainer and am competing in a group training program designed to have me loose weight. My trainer has restricted my calorie intake to around 1500 calories a day and is encouraging me to do at least 2 hours of cardio work a day. This competition continues for the next 8 weeks, until mid-June, and the winner will be determined both at the club level and at the larger regional level based of percent of total body weight lost. My Mom was brave enough to sign up with me and we are both now committed to meeting at 4pm every Tuesday and Friday for our one hour workout sessions with our trainer.

Beyond that I have lots of other classes at the gym planned to get in my 2 hours a day. Over the last two weeks, which was before this competition started I did increase my exercise and reigned in my eating. This resulted in a 7 pound weight loss in 2 weeks. I think I have a real chance of winning this competition for the women at my club, as the last female club winner lost 12% of her body weight in eight weeks. For me, with a starting weight of 178, this means I need to loose around 22 pounds, which will get me down to 156 pounds (averaging 3 pounds a week).

When I get to my 160s I'll celebrate with a message. And since I expect to loose around 3 pounds a week, that should just be a few weeks away. That will be a nice accomplishment. I'll let you know when I get there. I'll weigh in each week on Monday or Tuesday. I should weigh 169 by May 4th.

When I set my mind to things I can be really competitive and stubborn. I'm hoping that I can use these somewhat bull-headed character defects to my benefit in this competition. My old Uncle Archie used to say it was the Scot in me. Time for that Scot to come out fighting. 2 hours a day. No problem. 1500 calories or less, no problem. I'm wielding the broadsword of my ancestors now, stubborn perseverance, and no one can stop me.

5k results

I ran my own 5k using my Garmin and a Juniot High track last night. The stars were beautiful and I ran to the sound of my Ipod and the spraying sound of the nighttime sprinklers on the football field. Moonshine was my only light.

Mile One: 11:28
Mile Two: 11:07
Mile Three: 11:36

Total 5k time: 35:17

This is an 11:21 pace, which is a bit slower than my pace last July at 10:30, BUT IT shows how quickly I'm getting back in shape. Keep in mind I just had my baby girl Zoe 6 weeks ago.

I felt fast and great after this self-imposed race. It was a very freeing feeling. My first official 5k is in late May. Let's hope I can beat this most recent time then. I've also signed up for a weight loss training group at my gym. This should help me get faster as well.