Ultra Lauren: swimming

Friday, February 10, 2012

Did It

Exercise: 4 miles running, 8:45 avg pace and 1/2 mile swim

The gym was incredible. Little Man loved playing with all the new kids that were all around his age and I loved my workout. Music Man even came along for a swim. The gym was busy but I was able to snag a treadmill so all was good in the hood.

I set out to do a mini in-gym triathlon but I ran out of time. I barely fit in the run and swim because I grossly underestimated how difficult a 1/2 mile swim is. Especially after a 4 mile run. I'm not seeing an Iron Man in the near future.

Swimming is much harder than I remembered. After 50 yards I was worried I wouldn't be able to finish 10 lengths. But I pushed myself to 10, about an 1/8 of a mile, then to 18, then 24, and I figured I could go the full 36 to finish the 1/2 mile. But it was crazy tough and my shoulders and back are screamin'. But not enough to not do it again tomorrow ;)

We celebrated with a fun date night. We went to Prohibition which was so amazing. So if you're ever in the Valley or LA, I highly recommend going there. Oh and we also had a random celebrity sighting, this guy from The Wedding Singer.

Have a great weekend!

Former Fat Girl

I've been overweight since I was about 8. I've lost weight but always gained it back, and then some. This cycle has repeated itself many times through my life. I've tried plenty of weight loss programs and fad diets and they all worked...for a while.

I think it was around 2003 when I hit my highest weight of 261 pounds. I remember seeing that number and being disgusted. It was a wake up call. So I started walking. And walking.

Later that year I started dating a boy who was training to run a marathon. I expressed interest and he told me I was too fat and out of shape to even consider running a marathon. From that point it was on. I started running little by little.

The LA marathon was my first and it took me almost 8 hours to complete. I was 241 pounds at the time. I was proud of my accomplishments but still felt I had so far to go. One day, while walking with my mom she suggested I try Lindora.

Less than a year after starting Lindora I was down to 164 pounds and within a healthy weight range for my height. But Lindora is a fairly expensive program and since I had reached a healthy weight, I just quit. And one thing leads to another and the weight starts to creep back on.

Luckily, this time it didn't all creep back because I continued to run. 4 marathons in 2 years.

Fast forward to 2009. I had gained back almost half the weight I lost then I got pregnant. Although I walked every day during my pregnancy I still managed to gain almost 40 pounds. The day before I had my son I had reached a very round 250.

And I saw this perfect little face and realized my health no longer affected only me. At 8 weeks post partum I began running again and 2 months after that I was down to my pre pregnancy weight. I continued to exercise and by January 2011 was down another 20 pounds.

In February I started weight training and tracked my calories (similar to the Weight Watchers point system.) And the weight really came off. By the beginning of May I was down to a healthy weight.

Today my weight is around 150 pounds give or take a few depending on hormones and cake cravings. But I don't eat much cake, and when I do I don't give myself a hard time I just continue to eat healthier. And I continue to run.

I run because it keeps me healthy. I run because it gives me a constant goal. I run because I love it.

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Friday, February 10, 2012

Did It