Week 1 is almost done, I have an “easy” 45 minute run tomorrow. At this point, I am not sure if my runs are “easy” at all but I am telling myself it will get easier. As I mentioned in my first post, I was looking for a unicorn to help me on what will hopefully be a (magical) journey to a healthier, stronger me and running the London marathon in 2025.
It was daunting to see what was out in front of me, especially the nutrition. I have spoken with nutritionists before, tried weight watchers at least a few times, concentrated on macros or doing a calorie deficit and while it would usually work for awhile, it never stuck for good. As some may know, training for a marathon and trying to lose weight can be quite difficult. You need to balance fueling your body for a lot of mileage with trying to lose weight. I am nine months away from the marathon and the hardcore training starting closer to December/January where for now I can try to focus more on weight loss and strength training.
In my first appointment with Lauren, my dietitian at A Healthy Balance, we talked about what I currently eat and how often I eat on a normal day. With some of the foods I eat she either offered healthy swaps or other options in general I might like. It was so much great information and I wish I had brought a notebook to take notes. **Note to self** take a notebook to next appt
I went home and immediately started looking up recipes for myself and for my family that would hit on some of the goals we talked about. I looked up chia puddings, vegetarian or carb free meal options and healthy cake pops for my son. When I went to the grocery store, I bought 4 lbs of strawberries instead of 2. I got chia seeds. I did not buy the 40% Cape Cod potato chips just to have on hand. So far, we have made one carb free recipe and my son and I made some greek yogurt strawberry/pistachio bars. Small steps…
Fitness wise, I was excited to see what the personal training team had in store for me. The week started out with a personal training session with Alicia. 9 AM on a Monday. I could do this. She would be there right next to me the whole time helping me with whatever I was attempting to do. It was tough, but it got done and I felt good to be doing strength again. That is until I woke up the next day. I went out for my 30 minute “easy” run and came home and stretched. However, as the morning went on, the soreness set in from moving my body in ways I had not done in a long time…Wow did it hurt to stand up and sit down. I tried to get up and move as much as I could to keep my muscles loose, but this was rough. Advil was a must on Tuesday.
Oof. I was nervous to go into my 5:30 AM semi private training session Wednesday morning. But, Alicia had texted me the day before to see how I was feeling so she knew I was hurting slightly and would hopefully take that into consideration with my programming. Becky was great at helping walk me through the new exercises and made sure my form was right. Another member was there with us as well and it was nice to feel that camaraderie that I missed from the other group training classes I had taken in the past. My workout plan for the day was personally written for me. It was not a general, haphazard workout that an entire class was doing the same thing. Alicia knew my fitness level and my goals and it was tailored for me. This is definitely something I need and appreciated versus other group class formats. Getting our own workouts done in the studio but also chatting about our lives was a nice distraction from the pain too. All the members in the 5:30 am session have small children at home so we had lots of things to talk about!
Being almost done with Week 1, I am feeling accomplished, especially with getting consistent workouts 6 days this week, 3 outdoor runs and 3 strength training classes. For taking an even closer look at my food. I feel like I am back to where I was with feeding and napping a newborn since I am trying to watch the clock to make sure I am eating every 3-4 hours. I may not have done it everyday but I am trying to make a conscious effort. It’s one day at a time and I am thankful I have a team that checks in with me and understands what I am trying to accomplish.
Until next week…
