Races Galore and New Pants!

A lot has happened the last two months, and I’m excited to share about it! I can honestly ramble on for hours, so I decided to try to be brief about each thing. Try.

Fun things first! I have completed 5 races already this year! First up was the Star Wars 10K in January which was a blast! Really glad I decided to do that one. I dressed up as Chewie and had some amazing custom Jamberry nails made by Misty. And come on, look at this amazing medal:

Next up was the Princess Half Marathon weekend at Walt Disney World in mid February. I could write gobs and gobs about how amazingly incredible this weekend is to be a part of, but so many others have done much better than I ever will. I had such an amazing weekend with some truly wonderful women and am forever glad I decided to go on this trip. If you are a woman and love running, this weekend is for you. I was brave, and so glad I was, and did all three races this weekend. I did the Princess 5K Friday as Ariel, then Enchanted 10K Saturday as Rapunzel, and the Princess Half Marathon Sunday as Cinderella. For completing the Glass Slipper Challenge (10K and half) I received an extra medal (gotta have that bling!). Once again had some amazing custom nails made by Misty with a little flair for each outfit of mine. I PRed my half by about 5 minutes and felt amazing the whole trip. Please feel free to ask about the weekend as I really love to talk about it, hence I am restraining myself from writing more! Here’s my gorgeous new bling:

The final race I completed was the Brea 8K this past Sunday. There was no medal, but there was tons of incredible food at the finish line! Really a fun experience and a great community event. Only downside, there were FOUR hills. Yikes. I was worried about completing it in a good time, but I did great. I wanted to complete it in under and hour, and I did by about 15 seconds. Slower than my usual times, but wonderful for four hills.

Now for some weight loss updates! I gained about 10 pounds over the holidays (sad trombone) and was determined to get it back off. Two things in particular were a huge help in that progress. A wonderful, nerdy Disney group weight loss challenge called the Pooh to Tigger Weight Loss Challenge, started up again for the beginning of the year. I love these Disney nerds and they have been such a huge help and encouragement for me! I also joined a Diet Bet for the month of February. Crazy idea with a vacation and four races, right? Well it sure did the trick! I am down a total of 16 pounds since the New Year, AND I won $60 in the Diet Bet by hitting my goal. BOOM. Thanks wonderful friends for all the motivation and encouragement!

I am officially down 67 pounds total and I couldn’t be better. I went back looking at historical weights and found out my heaviest was actually 3 pounds more than I thought. So I’ve adjusted my apps and tracking. I have had to buy all new pants, again, and just feel so incredible. These last 5 pounds have made all the difference in the world. It feels so good to go into stores knowing that everything will fit me. It’s also a problem, because everything fits me! Before I pretty much could only buy things I could find that fit me. Now, I have become familiar with the struggle that is shopping for women. The struggle is so real! It’s an amazing problem to have and I feel so encouraged and full of life. I often cry when I have to go get a smaller size of something. It’s so good to see my hard work pay off.

Latest Numbers: 67 lbs, 9 inches in my waist, 8.5 inches in my hips, 2 inches in my arms, 2.5 inches in my thighs, and 8 inches in my bust. Big numbers here!

Now, for more fairly exciting news. Originally my overall goal was 80 pounds, and I am going to fly past that with ease. So, I have decided to up my overall goal. I am now shooting for about 115 pounds. This is going to come easy and be amazing. I had a feeling I would be able to lose more than the original 80, however I wanted to set something realistic and go from there. For fun, I would love it if I could lose 131.5 pounds because then I would literally be half of my original size! How cool would that be? But, first things first! I might feel great and fine after the 115 so I shall wait and see.

I feel so incredible you guys. I can’t even begin to explain how much energy I have and how much more I love life. There’s this blogger I loved called Runs for Cookies and her journey is just amazing. Very inspiring for me. She has a page on her site called 100-lbs Gone, and it does a great job of describing how I feel already with 67 pounds gone. My quality of life is amazing and I can’t wait for it to just keep getting better!

2015 #LighterLauren Recap and What’s Ahead

Wow that year flew by! What a year it was though! I completed my first half marathon, which was an amazing achievement, and I ran a total of 9 races. Of those 9 races, 6 were in the last 3 months of the year! It’s safe to say I got a little bling crazy. Here is my 2015 bling (and some matching nails!):

Top left to bottom right: Knott’s Coaster Run 10K, Froyo 5K, Disneyland Half Marathon, Aloha Run 5K, Terrifying 10 5K, Monster Dash 10K, San Dimas Turkey Trot 10K, Dana Point Turkey Trot 5K, Santa Run 5K, and Holiday Series.

I completed a Holiday Series with Renegade Racing for which I received an extra medal. It was HUGE and brought my 2015 medal total to a nice even 10. Pleased as punch with my first year of running!

This was also my first year tracking my steps, which I loved. I am a huge data fiend and love all the technology available these days to track a plethora of data types. My total for the year was 1,481 miles, starting March 10, 2015. As I blogged about, I started with a Jawbone, and shortly thereafter I bought a Fitbit. Here are my Fitbit stats for the year (purchased July 9, 2015):

Once again, pleased as punch! Though the OCD in me hates seeing that I was a mere 10 miles away from a nice even 1,000 miles on my Fitbit.

Using RunKeeper, I tracked a total distance of 712.8 for the year for all of my cardio activity. The breakdown was 319.7 miles running, 375.7 miles walking, and 17.4 on the elliptical or stationary bike. Again these are tracked exercise, not just my steps each day.

Let’s talk weight loss. My goal was to be down a grand total of 60 lbs by the end of the year, and I was 2 lbs shy. I was 0.8 lbs away from the goal, and then we went on vacation to Walt Disney World. After that, it was all downhill for the rest of the year. I am back up about 8 lbs so my first weight loss goal of 2016 is to get back on track and be down a total of 60 lbs by the end of this month.

Still doing great tracking my calories, though I did break my insanely long MyFitnessPal streak on vacation and was super bummed! I’ve been back at for 46 days again though. I have been bored lately with food options so I started a new schedule this week to try to switch things up a bit. My problem area lately has been lunch. I plan it and bring it, then decide not to eat it. Plus all the snacks that are around this office are a huge temptation for me. I already had two cookies this morning (oops). I just need to be more diligent and find some self-control. If anyone has any to spare, please send it my way!

My overall weight loss goal for the year is to lose the remaining 20 lbs and be down a grand total of 80 lbs. Once I hit that, I will head back to my doctor to see if I could lose more, or simply maintain. Ideally I would love to have this done by the Tinker Bell Half Marathon in May.

I decided last year that I will be doing a Coast to Coast Challenge with RunDisney in 2016. This is where you run one half in California and one in Florida during the same calendar year.  I will be doing the Glass Slipper Challenge (Enchanted 10K one day, Princess Half the following day) next month in Florida. I am feeling a little crazy and also walking the Princess 5K while I am there! Then I will be doing the Pixie Dust Challenge (Tinker Bell 10K one day, Tinker Bell Half the following day) here in California for my second race. I am very excited, yet dreading it at the same time. Ahh!

Currently I have about 5 other races I am considering as well. We shall see if others get added as the year progresses!

My goals for 2016 are as follows:

• Lose 28 lbs to reach 80 lbs lost
• Run 2 half marathons / challenges
• 300 miles walking
• 500 miles running
• 1,700 miles in steps
• 4,000,000 steps
• Develop and stick with a strength routine
• Find some self-control

The mileage and step goals of course are just rough estimates based on my activity this year. I may edit them as the year goes on.

That’s all for now (yes this short novel has ended) and I will do my best to update more often this year. Though, I don’t make any promises. Here’s to another great year towards a healthier, lighter Lauren!

My Ever Shrinking Waist

The big day is fast approaching! I’m feeling really good. As part of my training program, I ran 12 miles two Saturdays ago. Wow was that long! I finished, and I finished well! My average pace was 13:17 per mile! My goal of finishing the half in under 3 hours is looking like a reality! This Saturday I will run a practice half as part of my training. I am already psyching myself up and telling my body to get ready. Most of the long distance battle is mental. If you’ve been training properly, your body is ready. You just have to prepare your mind! I am looking forward to seeing the outcome of my practice run!

Let’s talk Transformation Tuesday. I posted another one yesterday, so I thought I would share it here. You guys, this is literally the exact same shirt from my closet. This is 2 years later and 54lbs lighter! WOW! What a difference!

I received so many comments this weekend from friends about how incredible I looked, and now I see it! It’s hard when it’s you and you see yourself every day and all you can see is what you still have left to do. It’s such wonderful perspective to see literally the same shirt. Seeing where it hits on my arms, how much longer it is, how loose it is; it just really helps me see my progress. Confidence and motivation boost!

Thank you again to everyone that has been so incredibly supportive and encouraging along this journey. It has been such a blessing to hear others tell me how I’ve inspired THEM!

Long Distance and New Gear!

Once a month seems to be the trend, and I think I’m ok with that! Life is busy, and life is more important than blogging 🙂

Thank you for all the positive feedback about my Transformation Tuesday picture! I am so encouraged by the support and encouragement. Truly blessed by all the support from friends and family as well. I am almost down 50lbs as of this morning!! I am 0.8lbs shy! Hoping it comes off in the next few days.

My Disneyland Half Marathon training is going really well. Two Saturdays ago I ran 9.52 miles! The thought of doing it was pretty daunting, but I managed to complete the distance. Miles 7 and 8 were the hardest and I slowed down a minute a mile. Finished strong though with an average pace of 13:29 per mile so I am feeling really good about my pace for the half. I need to find a new route to run near my house though. I ran the same 3 miles in circles to complete the 9.5 miles. I get bored doing that. Hopefully I’ll find something by Saturday as I am scheduled to run 11 miles! Ahh! My pace for 2-3 miles has improved a lot so I am hoping I can translate that to the longer runs. Currently I am hovering around 12:15 to 12:30 per mile with 2-3 mile runs. Feeling good!

This last month I’ve purchased some new gear. It is very common for those doing runDisney races to dress up so I have decided for the Disneyland Half that I will dress in a Minnie Mouse theme. It’s traditional and easy and I already have some of it! First item of purchase was a polka dot visor courtesy of Sparkle Athletic. I love having a visor and hardly run without one now! Great investment.

After much deliberation from unceasing issues, I ditched my Jawbone Up2 and I purchased a Fitbit Charge HR. I was resistant at first to purchase a Fitbit product from all the horror stories I had been hearing. Bands breaking, stretching out and constantly needing new ones, products leaving rashes/burns on skin… It just wasn’t sounding too good to me. So I did some research online and asked everyone I knew that owned one again about their experience with Fitbit. An overwhelmingly positive response! My final decision came down to the Charge vs the Charge HR and I went with the HR simply because of the wrist band. It is far more secure. However, after owning it, I really love the heart rate monitor. It’s such a helpful tool and more data is always good to me! This software is also leaps and bounds above all other trackers. Great app, great web based dashboard, and wonderful social features. So far I am loving my decision!

Lastly, it was time for new kicks. I hadn’t realized just how beat up my old shoes were until I went to go purchase new ones. I started notice as my feet hurt during my 9.5 mile run which was unusual. The padding was clearly shot, which was a shame as the rest of the shoe still seemed fine to me. Since I was down almost 50lbs I decided to have them analyze my feet and walk again, just in case. Not surprisingly, everything was the same. The salesman still brought out some other shoes for me to try, however I ended up just purchasing the shoes I already loved. In a new color of course! These are my Brooks Adrenaline GTS 15 shoes.

I highly recommend Brooks to anyone looking for new shoes, or even gear! I also recommend getting your feet and walk analyzed, and supporting your local running store! I bought mine from our wonderful local retailer A Snail’s Pace. Great store. I head there first for all my fitness needs.

That’s about all to catch you up on for now! Thanks for reading along. Feel free to comment below with any questions or feedback!

Transformation Tuesday

A lot of people have been asking me for before and after slash progress pictures. Well yesterday at Disneyland for my husband’s birthday we inadvertently took a couple using TimeHop so I decided to make it official and start posting #TransformationTuesday pictures! I might not be consistent with them, but I’ve decided it’s time to start. I hate having my face all over the internet, but if it helps encourage others then I’m all for it!

There’s the official first picture! That’s me down about 45 pounds at this point from my heaviest. It’s crazy to see myself shrink! I’m about half way there and feeling great!

A huge thank you to everyone that’s been so encouraging to me. It really means the world. A special thank you to my amazing husband for being my rock. He has been the most supportive and encouraging person in my life on this journey. I cannot thank him enough for his support.

That Reward Sandwich

Well, I’m down over 40 lbs!!! If we all remember, I promised myself the glory that is a sandwich once I reached that goal. I am down 40 lbs as of two weeks ago and have lost another since. For my delightful reward, I decided to select something from Disneyland (surprise surprise). I was on the fence about what to get, and then Disneyland’s twitter reminded me there was a new sandwich I had not had the opportunity to enjoy. The Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe is currently serving a Toasted Ham and Swiss Cheese Sandwich with Apple Chutney, and of course a side of those delicious kettle chips.

Whilst enjoying the magnificent splendor pictured above, the Soundsational Parade passed by in the distance. It was quite a lovely meal.

Maybe a sandwich again in 20 more pounds? Seems like good motivation to me! #nomnom

Froyo Anyone?

A few of you may have gathered, but I love Froyo. What a delicious and slightly lower calorie way to enjoy a sweet treat. One day while perusing Facebook, an ad popped up. For the first time ever, I was actually interested. It was for the most glorious 5K I had ever heard of: Froyo 5K. That’s right, run 3.1 miles and receive the greatness that is frozen yogurt at the finish. Provided by none other than our wonderful west coast chain, Yogurtland.

I saw it the Tuesday before the Irvine event and I registered for it immediately. One, I get froyo at the finish line (#nomnom). Two, look at that spiffy swirly medal! Three, only a 5K! Then when they announced the flavor we would receive, I knew it was meant to be. Birthday cake batter, my all time favorite Yogurtland flavor. Yes, I will be there, please and thank you. Who wouldn’t be excited for the most awesome 5K to ever be created?! Ok fine, the most perfect 5K ever for me.

(Yes, that’s actually me. A rare sighting of Lauren in the wild. Enjoy this scarce appearance.)

What a blast! And I thoroughly enjoyed my reward. Pretty well organized, very quick and easy check in process, and pretty neat swag. They gave me the sunglasses I am wearing in the picture, as well as some other neat stuff including a Yogurtland coupon (SQUEE!). My average pace was pretty fantastic and is one of the times I mentioned in my previous post. Average of 12:39 per mile. My second my best ever time! Races sure get my adrenaline flowing!

All in all, a very splendidly sweet experience. I highly recommend this race for any and all froyo lovers.

Let’s Play Catch Up, Shall We?

Well hello there! Life seems to have gotten away from me. I’m not great at this thing they call blogging, however I’m doing great at this thing they call training! A LOT has happened, but I will cover just a couple things as to not bore everyone to death. First things first, my 10K!

What an experience! It’s safe to safe, I really really enjoy races. What a rush! It was very exciting and yet nerve wracking all at once. I finished under my goal time, which pleases me very much. I finished in 1 hour 25 minutes, with an average of 13:40 per mile. Go me! If you recall, my goal was under 14:00 minutes per mile. Definitely blew that away! My brother also ran with me, which meant the world to me. He hardly broke a sweat (whatever) but he was the best running companion a sister could ask for. He coached me the entire race. I don’t think I would have done nearly as well without him. I am very appreciative and love my brother dearly! My wonderful and supportive husband found his way to cheer me on at three different spots throughout the race. My sister in law and nephew were also there so I had a great support system that day. All in all, an amazing first race for me!

Let’s talk training. Saturday, April 18, 2015, I ran a whole mile without talking a walk break. A whole mile! That’s the first time since, well, who knows when! After that I was feeling incredible, so I ran 3 more miles! I took walk breaks about 5-6 times for about 10 seconds to slow my heart rate (apparently breathing is necessary), however other than that, I ran most of my 4.07 mile workout that day. Average pace was 13:20 so I’m doing great!

I’ve really settled in to running. I understand now what it is to push yourself, and what it is to simply run/jog for exercise. Earlier this month I ran 2.94 miles with an average of 12:39 as well as 2.04 miles with an average of 12:23, which is my fastest to date. The days following those runs my knees and shins hurt. I’ve learned that I can’t push it every run, or I’ll pay for it. I now understand the difference between race running and exercise running. Once I settled into exercising, I can run for quite awhile! Progress is such a wonderful feeling.

There’s much more to share, but for now how about an update about my weight. I am down 38 pounds! And it feels so good. I went to buy a shirt last week and I was able to buy it in the normal people section of Macy’s, not the “woman” section. What an amazing confidence booster. Pretty huge milestone for me. #LighterLauren is feeling great and getting smaller!

Hydration! Apparently It Matters (Duh)

What a weekend! I completed just shy of a 10K on Saturday (6.1 miles) and did rather well! I also learned quite a bit. I am impressed with myself and proud that I managed to keep my average pace at 14:15 per mile, even with several hills on my walk/run. I finished in 1:26:58 which has me looking good for the real thing. My miles were under 14:00 for the first three, and then the hills came. They did quite a number on me!

Hydration: Folks it’s a serious matter. I did not bring enough water for myself and I learned at that distance I could really use a Gatorade as well. After some research on the matter, I purchased the Nathan Trail Mix 4 Hydration Belt pictured on the right. (Click the image for more information.) It took some time to decide how many bottles I wanted, however when the price difference wasn’t too significant to get 4 over 2, I went with 4 bottles.

I usually do not eat before working out, however I know now I will need to make time before the 10K for some grub. Anyone have recommendations for what and when? I’ve read anywhere from an hour to two hours before the race, as well as suggestions such as a bagel and peanut butter or oatmeal with a banana. What works for you? Any ideas are helpful.

All in all, the trial run went well and I am feeling good. I was insanely sore (the good sore!) after and was for a couple days. It even slowed down my jog I usually do on Tuesday! I do not plan to do the distance again until my 10K, but I am glad I did as I will now be better prepared. Counting down the days!

For those that may have missed it, the race is March 8, 2015 at Knotts Berry Farm. Want to join? Register here!

One Month Until My 10K!

Wow. One month. One month?! Ahh!

I am excited and worried at the same time. It’ll be great, but it’ll be a first! My times are great right now. On Wednesday (Feb 4) I completed just over 2 miles with an average pace of less than 14 minutes! The test will be to see if I can keep it up for 6 miles. Tomorrow, I plan to complete a 10k to see how well I will do. I plan to try to complete the 6.2 miles several times before the actual race. My goal is to have an average pace close to 14 minutes. Currently, it feels quite achievable! Follow me on twitter to keep up to date as I tweet my activities from RunKeeper. Or feel free to add me on RunKeeper!

I’m feeling great! Let’s do this!

In case you missed it in a previous post, the race is March 8, 2015 at Knotts Berry Farm. Want to join? Register here!