Quick Update!

So, I've been trying to think about what exactly I want to do with this blog and I think I would like to have certain days be themed sort of segments.

For example, I want to make one day fitness focused, one day food focused, etc. I'm not sure what the format is going to be but I'd like some sort of schedule to keep me focused and make me eager to try/do/make new things. 

So far I'm going for Mission Monday (adventures in the kitchen perhaps?) and possibly a Fitness Friday (a running weekly blog post about where I'm at with my fitness goals). Maybe I can make it Food Friday instead and have a sort of "What I Ate" post, but that could also coincide with Wednesday.

Hmm...
Anyway! I'm hoping to start really posting on a schedule next week. Getting involved! Woo!

Kettlebells??

A little catch up:

Today I went on a 4 mile walk! I went to a park that's about a mile and a half away from my house and jammed around there for a little bit until I realized I was dressed in my horrifying sweatpants and aviator sunglasses with a million children running about. What a creep. ALSO it was a beautiful day but also a bit warm out in the sun. It took me forever to cool off when I finally got home! I also might have a sunburn. Anyway.
That was great, and I love going for long walks in addition to my runs BUT I understand the need for some strength training in my fitness life.
But damn it! I don't like lifting weights! I find it boring and repetitive and it's just really not my favorite. HOWEVERRRRRR if you recall from my post about running, I wasn't exactly in love with that before I started doing it either.

Enter: Kettlebells

For whatever reason I decided to be obsessed with kettlebells? It got into my head that I had to have some and use them so I purchased some online at Kohl's (I had a gift certificate). They've been sitting around doing nothing for a couple weeks but I decided to find a workout online tonight to do.

First Impression:

I do like them! I used a 10 pound kettlebell and found some little free workouts on YouTube. The only problem that I'm having is that just about every workout I find is including squats. I don't know about you, but being 270 lbs does not lend itself to squatting. My knees hate it, and I'm afraid of getting injured. My current mission is to find a workout that excludes squats but until then I'll have to just skip the sections of these videos that include squatting.
:)

Running: History and Present

"Ugh, who wants to run?"
"People sign up for 5ks for fun!?"
"But running is so boring!"

Are these thoughts familiar?

They certainly are for me.
I have honestly hated running my entire life. I remember the first major protest I had towards running from elementary school. You see, I was a part of soft ball for a couple of years and I loved it. I loved baseball! I remember collecting baseball cards, smashing the ball with a bat as hard as I could, and even having conversations with a friend of mine that we would grow up and play baseball professionally.
Notice that I said I played it for a couple years? Yeah. I quit.
"But I thought you said you loved baseball Samantha!"
I did! But guess what we had to do in every practice? That's right. We had to run. I hated running so much that because we had to do it in practice I decided to quit a sport I loved to play.
Granted, I had a little bit of an excuse. As a child I had asthma and sometimes breathing was not the easiest task for my little body. I didn't have it so bad that I needed an inhaler, but I did have a nebulizer breathing machine at home.

Not so peaceful protest

This hatred of running continued throughout junior high and high school as well. In every P.E. class I ever took, we were all forced to run 'The Mile'. In protest, I would just walk the entire thing, ending up with a time of 20 minutes. I remember dreading it so much that I would fantasize about how to get out of even coming to school on the days I knew we would have to run it. I was a pretty cautious teenager, so I never did actually find a way to skip it. (Funny story though: a couple of friends of mine wanted to get out of doing it so they asked me to trip them in the beginning so they could see the nurse instead of running. I tried, but they ended up being fine and I rolled down a hill and sprained my ankle!).

But running seems so special!

In my adult life, my attitude towards running changed. I had friends who loved to run and who would sign up for 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons. And they would act like they were going to a party when they would travel to all of these events! I started watching them and the joy they received from something I was certain was horrible. I started seeing more and more running blogs pop up on the internet and the more I saw these things the more I wished I liked to run. The idea of putting on some headphones and zoning out for a few miles sounded more and more amazing but I couldn't run, could I?

Maybe I could?

Somewhere around July-August in 2014 a coworker of mine told me about this crazy 5K her friend convinced her to do in Sacramento. The ROC (Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge). It was a 5K run, and it including crazy obstacles in between. It looked insane, but also incredibly fun. I decided what the hell!? Why not!? and I chose to join them. The race was in September 2014, and I started researching Couch to 5K which I had heard about before.

Week 1: Jog for 1 minute
Now, it doesn't sound like a whole lot, but at 275 lbs it sure as hell feels like a lot. I was miserable and I remember thinking there was no way I could be a runner.
Sure enough, I walked the ROC race. I don't count it as a failure! I still did it, and I did all of the crazy obstacles and I'm proud of myself for completing it even if I didn't run much.

I'm in the center :)

Sometimes I quit things

Afterward, because I had so much fun, I decided to try the program again. My coworker and I started together and then.....stopped together. Haha! I'd like to say I kept with it and I know run 5Ks every other day, but that is sadly not the case!
I got up to Week 4 in my C25K program, did a 5K on Thanksgiving, and then promptly stopped. A break turned into a longer break turned into a "I'm too busy" turned into "I quit!"

I'm not done yet though!

This month I started running again, and I'm hoping I'll stick with it. I started at week 3 and tonight I'm on my last day of week 4. Soon I'll be at week 5! That's farther than I've ever gotten before! I'm already signed up for 5Ks in February, March, and April and I'm hoping to add in even more. My desire to do well in these races is fueling my motivation to train for them. So far, it's looking like I might just stick to my guns this time. We shall see!

And when I think back to those moments of running hatred, especially during my teenage years when I was fat but still in far better shape than now, I get so mad at myself. Why didn't you try harder?!?!?!? You probably could have run a 10 minute mile, you fool! You exercised every day in P.E. but walked the mile? A mile isn't even that long! I am 270 lbs and I'm at least doing 15 min miles!
Haha!
So long!

Introducing...drum roll...ME!

Well...

Well, it's been fun while it's lasted. I mean, this whole being unfit and unhealthy to an extreme thing...you know it really loses its flair after 26 years. While being out of breath when I walk up the stairs and nearly dying after jogging lightly for only a minute has been wild and exciting, I think I'm ready to start something new in my life.

Me

Hi! My name is Samantha, I'm 26 years old and I weigh 270 pounds as of 2 minutes ago.
Now, obviously this isn't an ideal state of being. I mean, I doubt anyone finds out they have achieved this weight and then run (huff puff huff puff) up a mountain to shout it out to the world. (It's funny because I'm essentially doing that as I make this blog post, ahahaha what a sad person I am).

Why?

Today I'm making this blog and this blog post for several reasons:

1. I'm a sad internet junkie who feels the need to shout into the endless void of the internet for attention and possibly recognition.
2. I would like to change my life and I would like something to be in place so that I can be held accountable for the changes that I make and the changes that I don't make.
3. I would love to totally change my life and have the amazing things that I've done to improve myself chronicled in one place where I can look and reflect on my life.
4. Number 1 is a joke (sort of) (not really)

I don't know exactly what my plans are for this blog, but I want it to be as big as I am. I want to help myself and I want to help others.

More About Me

Some facts about where I am right now with fitness/weight loss:

•  Yes, I'm 270 lbs, but several months ago I was 280. That's 10 lbs down!
•  Losing weight is not even close to my main goal. I do not have a goal weight and I do not want one. What is my goal, you ask? Fitness.
•  I want to run a 5K.
•  I have started and am on week 4 of the C25K program. I'm using the app created by zenlabs and I think the program is working for me. (In case you're curious, week 4 of the program is a 5 minute warm-up walk, 3 min jogging, 90 sec walking, 5 min jogging, 2.5 min walk, repeat).
•  I am not counting calories. I have tried to count calories in the past and it works as an anti-motivator because I get annoyed having to keep track of every little thing and eventually throw the entire project out the window! Instead, I'm focusing on eating better quality foods. I enjoy vegetables, so I'm eating more of them. I'm working on learning to cook more for myself. I'm eating less sweets and enjoying more time organizing my life.
•  I work. A lot. I work at a health clinic in the medical records department and because of limited staff, I find myself often working over time, sometimes 50 hours a week (which is exhausting).
•  I attend school online. I'm currently taking a small break, but I will be starting up again soon and there goes even more of my time.
•  I don't have children, nor do I have a husband or even a boyfriend. I DO have a huge family and lots of friends, however, so my social life is not as sad as it sounds (hahaha...I'm not a sad person I swear...oh god...oh no).

Who Knows What the Future Holds

So, now that you know more about me (you being myself since I'm probably the only one reading this), I think I'll leave this here. I hope I continue with this! I will post pictures soon--