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Jingle all the way

This past weekend I participated in my first race post-vertigo, my first-ever winter race, and my first race dressed in a costume....The Jingle Bell 5K.

I originally wasn't going to do this. After the Great Race in September, I assumed my running events would be over until spring, but then my company gave away 20 free registrations and a co-worker twisted my arm to do it with her (okay that might be a slight exaggeration on my part).

First I was just going to wear a homemade tutu and a Christmas shirt. But in the end, my outfit turned into this...

I found the tights last minute and my friend gave me the gloves before the race. I don't know how I would have managed without either of those considering the temps were in the lower 30s and it was windy.

I saw all kinds of interesting costumes, like this guy, dressed up as the bunny from A Christmas Story...

And these ladies...

There were also plenty of dogs dressed up too. I've never done a Jingle Bell Run but I can definitely say that it is one of the more entertaining and fun 5Ks I've seen.

There were a little over 2,000 people participating and even though it was another walk/run like the Great Race, this one wasn't so congested. The walkers seemed to stay pretty far back and let the runners go first. I was somewhere in the middle since I am nowhere near what you would call a fast runner. I wasn't constantly surrounded by large groups of people and was able to run and keep a steady pace without having to zig zag  around people.

The course was flat, which was a first. I usually wind up in events with hills, lots and lots of hills. I spent the good first couple of miles trying to warm up. I kept blowing on my hands and shaking them to get the blood circulating because they were starting to go numb from the cold. I had cotton in my ears due to have an off-and-on ear ache since the day before. The last thing I needed was to get worse from a 5k race.

At around mile 2, I finally warmed up. I felt a little cold, but my hands were now getting so hot I almost took off my gloves. I still do the walk/run thing. I finished around 40 min with a 14 min mile pace. I figure all that matters is that I am out there and I am still lapping everyone sitting on the couch, and considering I hadn't run at all in a month and before that I had only run occasionally since my vertigo stopped, I think I did pretty well.

I have definitely fallen off the wagon as far as eating right and exercising goes. That is definitely something I have to get back to. I'm scared to even get on my scale at this point. I may just break it! LOL

I have another winter event coming up. In February a few of my friends and I are doing Running Outta Our Mines which is an underground 5k in a renovated mine. So, that gives me a couple of months to hit the pavement (or at least the treadmill) and see what happens.

What's your motivation?

People have asked me how I got started with losing weight and getting in shape. Some seem a little disappointed when they realize I have no quick fix, no fad diet, and no special pills. It takes hard work, determination, motivation, and the willingness to fight through the tough times. You need to realize that you will have success but you will also have failures (and many of them!)  So, here are some motivational tips to get you started and hopefully something will "click" and inspire you to GET MOVIN'!

Get Back Up

In Toby Mac's song "Get Back Up" he says:

We lose our way,
We get back up again
It's never too late to get back up again,
One day you will shine again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever

That's how I feel today, because I finally did it. After almost 3 months, I made it back to MMA last night. I had a slight panic attack in the car as I sat outside the gym. I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to do. I wasn't sure if one wrong move would cause me to get dizzy or light headed. When you deal with vertigo for as long as I have, even when you begin feeling better, there is this fear that comes over you. Although I have now been 2 weeks vertigo free, I've stayed away from the gym and any intense workouts for fear that something might cause me to have a vertigo attack. It's as if those 2-3 months sucked out my confidence and replaced it with fear. Well, I am proud to say that I destroyed that psychological block last night!

My instructors told me to ease into it and do what I can. They told me they understood if I needed to sit out or wanted to modify things. We began with some squats, 50 jumping jacks, and push ups. I was feeling unsure at first, but once I got through some of the cardio and realized that I was feeling pretty awesome, my confidence began coming back. We moved into some of our combos (various punches/kicks) and I gave it all I had. I really couldn't believe how great I was feeling.

When it came to sparring, my instructor told me he would follow my lead and my pace. We would go as slow and as easy as I needed/wanted to. Well, I killed it. I'm not sure where the energy or stamina came from, but my instructor told me it was as if I had never left. We did about a half hour of sparring and I felt like I could keep going.

At the end of class we did some more cardio: planks, push ups, burpees, sit ups, etc. I struggled a little with the planks and the burpees, but that was nothing new! LOL. Class is an hour and a half and by the end of it, I felt like I could do it all over again.

I definitely gained back my confidence last night. I'm no longer worried that fast movements or bending over is going to make me dizzy. I can now say that I am 100% free from vertigo. I've been told that 90 percent of people who get vertigo, get it again...but I can't worry about that. I'm ready to get back in the game. I'm really looking forward to getting back to the gym this week and maybe some Insanity and PiYo. Yesterday was exactly what I needed to knock down those walls I had built up and find myself again.

Couch to 5K

I have successfully completed week 1 day 1 of the Couch to 5K program. It was fairly easy, all things considering. One day I was feeling light headed but didn't want to have vertigo rule my life anymore so I decided to "suck it up" and get on my treadmill during my lunch break (a perk of working from home!) I actually felt much better afterward.

I could easily feel down about myself that I am having to start running all over again with Couch to 5K, but I won't. I'm just thankful that I am at least well enough to be able to get active again, even if I'm taking baby steps. Some people can't run. Some people don't have the mobility I do. Some people have much more serious health problems than what I've been dealing with, so I choose to be thankful that I can even walk let alone run.

In my last post I mentioned running a relay in the Pittsburgh Marathon. Well, not sure that is happening now. We already lost our hill runner because of personal issues and now our team captain is thinking of running the half himself. Then I started thinking...what if I were to attempt the half? This coming from someone who can't even run an entire 5k yet. I haven't registered yet and won't for a while, because I want to mull this over. I do want to attempt some longer distances in 2015. There is a 7.5 mile trail run I might attempt next June. I chickened out of it this year. I gave my friend the excuse that I had a 5K the next morning which is a pretty lame excuse considering I previously did an obstacle course on a Saturday and then a 5k color run the next morning. :)

Ouch

It's been so long since I trained and ran an event that I forgot what it feels like in the days after.

I woke up Monday and could barely move. I can't believe how sore I was. I had the day off from work so in the morning I did Day 1 of Couch to 5k at the local trail. That loosened me up until I got home and tried to get out of my car. I hobbled to my front door like an old lady! I actually decided to go to the store and invest in a foam roller to help loosen me up. I contemplated going back to MMA but I was way too sore. I'm hoping to try on Thursday or next Monday. I sure do miss those guys! It's been 2 months since I stepped foot in there and I just know that when I go back it's going to be tough.

Health-wise I am okay. I have gotten a little light headed this week but both times I took just 1/3 of a Mecklizine tablet (the pills they gave me back in August for my vertigo) and then I am as good as new. I will never take a whole one again because of how much it knocks me out. So far, just taking that little piece helps get rid of whatever vertigo is left. Hopefully soon, I won't even need that. :)

My next race is the Pittsburgh Officer's Down 5K in November. Other than that, I have nothing planned so I'll be working on getting back into training and setting some goals for 2015. I have already decided to join a co-worker and some friends from the Facebook group RunJunkees and participate in the 2015 Pittsburgh Marathon as a relay team. We're doing a Superhero theme and our team name is the Runtastic Five. :) I volunteered to take the first leg...5.5 miles. I refuse to do the 3rd or 4th leg both of which are 6 miles and all uphill. My leg seems fairly flat. I may not be running the entire 26.2 miles but I am so excited (and nervous) to be running alongside actual marathoners in an actual marathon! Who knows, maybe it will inspire me to do the half the following year, or maybe the Pittsburgh 10-miler in 2015.

Not sure what other goals I will have for 2015. I heard someone talk about setting birthday goals. Every year on her birthday she sets the goals she would like to meet before her next birthday. My birthday is coming up in November and I am thinking of doing something similar. That way I don't have to wait until the new year. It'll be interesting to see what I come up with. :)

Great Race 5K

Well, this was it. My first event since June (not counting the virtual run I did a couple weeks ago).I actually woke up this morning without any vertigo symptoms. That alone is a miracle. Everyday I seem to wake up with a little light headedness, but it eventually goes away and then it will come and go through the day. It truly is annoying. Yesterday was specifically bad. I even had to miss out on a party I was looking forward to going to and wound up in bed at 7pm.

But this morning was different. I woke up feeling awesome, which is a good thing considering I had to get up at 5am. My cousin picked me up at 6am and we headed into the city where we took a shuttle bus to the start line.

There were 5500 people in the 5K and 10,000 in the 10K. I have never been in a race with so  many people! I'm not the biggest fan of crowds but I figured the crowd would eventually spread out once we got started. There were no corrals so all the 5K runners AND walkers started together. the 10K people began an hour after us.

The first mile was amazing. I think it helped that most of the course is downhill which is new to me. I usually wind up doing events where everything is uphill, so this was a nice change. I ran the entire first mile. I have never been able to run an entire mile, so I thought I'd do great.

Then came mile 2