End of Week 4 / Day 27 - One month down!

Today mark's the end of my 4th week.  (well actually tomorrow is the end date - but it's a rest day)    I made it through my first month of training.  Whoooo!!!  I'm not going to lie - the first month has been tough.  To prepare for this half marathon journey, I had to completely change my day to day schedule.  Prior to training, my focus was on the family and work, and now I've added "me" to the focus priorities.  Family and work are very busy so to add "me" into the picture, it took some planning and rearranging of the schedules.  I must say, it took a few weeks to work out the kinks in the schedules.  Now at Week 4, I feel pretty good and stable about my workout schedule.  It's getting easier to get up at 4:30am for my workouts.  I must admit, some mornings I'm tired and struggle to get out of bed.  This results in afternoon workouts.  If I don't make it up in the morning then I always make sure I complete the workouts in the afternoon.  As I stated in a previous weekly blog, I'm not a fan of afternoon workouts, however, sometimes this can't be helped.

This week, I'm finally finding the workouts to get easier and not a struggle. I'm still feeling some aches in my calves during my run but it's starting to decrease with each workout.   I've started to add my weight lifting into my training routines.  I try to lift weights about 3-4 times a week for 15 minutes.  I'm not doing heavy lifting but instead moderate weights with lots of repetitions.  It's all about the reps and feeling the burn and not necessarily the amount of weight that you lift.   I'm hoping this will eventually strengthening my arms and increase my muscle. 

To be honest - I haven't noticed a huge weight loss yet.  To date - I've lost 8lbs.   My monthly goal was 10lbs/ per month so I'm only 2lbs short.  I'm really starting to notice the inches.  I've lost 1 1/2 sizes.  I'm not quite ready to get into that 2nd size yet. I could see this coming very soon - probably in the next 7-10 days.   At the end of next week, I will take my monthly measurements to see how many inches are gone.  My calorie intake has averaged about 1800-2000 per day. I'm trying to limit my sugars, carbs and starches and increase fruits and veggies.  I'm definitely drinking A LOT of water this month. I'm averaging about 70-85 ounces per day.   The trainer keeps telling me - stay hydrated!

Today's Workout - Run/Walk - 5 miles 
I was very nervous about today's workout. This will be my longest run to date.  I'm worried that my calves would not hold up to the challenge.  Did I make it?  It was close - I finished 4.5 miles.  My calves began to cramp and I just couldn't run anymore today. No worries, I have to hit 5 miles again next Saturday.  This time I will make it.   I had a great time today. I averaged about 18.65 minutes per mile.  Not bad.  I know I will do better next week.

Thanks again for everyones thoughts, prayers and support.  This is life changing experience for me and I'm looking forward to my first finish line.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Happy Running!