June 23, 2015

NSV and physical therapy progress

I had a physical therapy appointment yesterday, but it wasn't until 12:30 pm, so I had time to run in the morning. I've been doing my runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, because my PT wants me to have a day of rest in-between each run. I've always had Wednesdays as a rest day, but I really like running on Wednesdays now--my Weight Watchers week starts on Wednesday, so it's nice to start the week off with activity Points.

Anyways, I decided to increase the running portions of the run/walk. I wanted to add just 10 seconds, but my Garmin only allows 15 second increments, so I set it for a 75 second run and 30 second walk. It was extremely humid when I stepped outside, and I was grateful I was only doing a 3-miler and not a long run.

It ended up being one of the toughest runs I've had in the past few weeks! The humidity made it really hard to catch my breath during the walk breaks, and I wasn't even pushing the pace for the running segments. I definitely felt the extra 15 seconds of running, but I know that I have to progress that eventually, so I was okay with that. It was just the humidity making it hard to breathe that made it feel so difficult.

My average pace was a little faster, but that was only because I was doing longer running segments; obviously, the longer you run, the faster your average pace will be. I'm curious to see what my pace ends up at once I reach two minutes of running and 30 seconds of walking. I'm hoping it'll be below 10:00, but even if it's not, I'm happy with how the run/walking is going.

Finished the run, and the sweat was literally pouring off of me and dripping at my feet. That's what the humidity will do! I took a picture, but you can't even really tell how bad it was.


I was trying to get this tank in the picture, too, because it's an NSV (non-scale victory) for me right now. Activyst sent me this tank several months ago (it's says "GOTTA RUN") and I typically have been wearing a medium shirt, but I wanted it to be a little loose, so I requested a large. When it arrived, I was shocked to see that it was tight! It sat unworn in my bedroom, and just for the heck of it yesterday, I tried it on.

Even though the scale has only gone down a couple of pounds since I started Weight Watchers, it fit pretty well! I've noticed that my clothes have been fitting much better lately, and a few people have said to me that I look like I'm losing weight--so I'm not sure what the deal is with the scale, but maybe it'll catch up sooner or later. I'm happy that I'm seeing progress in other areas!

After my run, I went to my physical therapy appointment. My PT had me warm up on the StairMaster--to be honest, I've ever used one (that I can remember, anyway). He set it for 10 minutes, while he finished stretching out another patient, and holy smokes--that was tough! Especially for a "warm-up" ;) We went through some of the exercises, and talked about the run/walking I've been doing.

He told me I could go ahead and add a one-mile run each week--not a run/walk, but running the entire distance. I was kind of surprised, because I expected it to take much longer before I progressed to that, but I'm curious to see how it goes. He wants me to take it easy, but not too easy (when running too slowly, it can mess up my form, which can cause further injury).

He told me that I could add a fourth day per week, and do just the one-mile run on that day, or I could swap one of my shorter runs with that one-miler. I think I'll try it tomorrow, by walking a mile, then running a mile, and then walking a mile (so I still complete three miles total). I'm a little nervous, but excited at the same time.

After doing the PT exercises, he said that my hip has shown improvement, but it still needs a lot of work. I'm going to work on those for about a month before I go back again, as long as everything is going smoothly. It was a good session--I left feeling optimistic.

Since I'm going to St. Louis tomorrow (coming home Saturday), I won't be able to go to my usual Weight Watchers meeting. I asked Glenda if she had any meetings today, and she did--so I decided to go to the one at 10:30 this morning. It's been six days since my last weigh-in, when she told me to increase my daily PointsPlus target to 29 (instead of 26). I was very happy when I got on my scale to see that I lost 1.5 pounds this week! After several weeks of losing just a fraction of a pound, I was getting discouraged, but I guess my body just wanted me to eat more. I'm going to continue with the higher PointsPlus target, as long as it's working.

Today was the eighth and final week of Glenda's challenge. I attended all eight weeks, even when I had to go to different meeting times/locations to fit them in. I always like challenges that are a specific length of time, because it seems very do-able. That's why I like to do monthly challenges (which reminds me, I haven't done that in a while... I need to come up with one for July!).

I'm not sure if I'll be posting for the next few days, but I'm going to bring my computer and hopefully post from the hotel. Tomorrow evening should be interesting. Purina is having a happy hour reception... with pets included! I was a little curious when I booked my flight, and they asked me if I'd be bringing a pet. If it were practical, I would have loved to bring Joey!

My long run is Friday, so I'm going to try to be adventurous and run in St. Louis. I always get nervous to venture out in unfamiliar places, but it's a great way to see a new city!

11 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 23, 2015

    Good for you on the progress you're making, Katie! Today's picture definitely shows that you've lost some weight. Congratulations on the binge-free streak.

    I can't wait to hear about your adventures in "Purina-Land!" I am really excited for you. I wish I could bring my tank to something like that; I'm sure she'd love it.

    Keep up the great work!
    Martine

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  2. I'm from St. Louis. If you're able to get to Forest Park and run they have nice trails and it's a scenic run.

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    1. Yes! My hotel is right at the corner of the park, so I was mapping out a big loop. It looks great for running! The weather isn't looking great, so I hope it works out.

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  3. Forest Park is a great option. I'd like to run there myself, but living on IL side I can't convince myself to drive that far for a run. But you'll see a lot of people out and about. I can't wait to hear about your run. I expect the rain will be very scattered so you should have time to run. Saturday is suppose to be very nice.

    Have you ever done measurements? I've been doing them this year and one month I was really stuck on the scale, but I lost inches. I love having various ways to measure my progress. The scale can be a jerk sometimes! And it seems like you are losing inches based on the fit of the tank top. :)

    Very interesting that you had a good loss when increasing your points. I'm fully convinced that sometimes the body needs more food. And you just proved that! I get so annoyed when friends tell me they haven't eaten all day. . . so not good for your body. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Great non-scale victory!! I need to start looking out for more of those because since having a baby -- the scale is just a liar liar, pants on fire. (Oh geeze, will I forever think and speak like a child now that I have one? Haha)

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  5. AnonymousJune 24, 2015

    So happy for you! You are doing great.

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  6. I love doing the circuit it Forest Park. It's about 6 miles. I can't run the whole thing, but usually get it done in about an hour, 35-40 mins depending on how fast I push myself. It takes you past the Zoo, which if you have time, you should go, it's free!

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    1. A free zoo?! Maybe I'll go this afternoon. That's awesome! :)

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  7. NSV are sometimes better than what the scale says, because scales only get a fraction of the whole story. Congrats, Katie! The tank looks really good :)

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  8. I've never commented but I lived in STL last year. I miss it so much and running in forest park is great. The science center is free too if you have extra time... Also in forest park. There are a lot of free things to do there!

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