New Year Commitments

Happy New Year! Here are my New Year's Eve update and my New Year resolutions commitments.

'Tis a new year and a new chance to start over. It's time to buckle down and get the job done. This is a picture from June. Every time I look at it, I'm so embarrassed that I let myself get so big. Since then, I've lost about 20 lbs, and I will be losing 50 more by May.

Current stats
Weight: 195 lbs
Run: 18 minutes at 15 min/mile
Push-ups: 10 max
Crunches: 10 max

New Year Commitments (to be accomplished by June 1)
Weight: 145 lbs
Run: 21 minutes at 7 min/mile (no less than 25 minutes at 8.3 min/mile)
Push-ups: 100 max
Flexed Arm Hang: 70 seconds
Crunches: 100 in 2 minutes
Heart: Believe in myself and push myself to be the person I know I can be
Edit: How could I have forgotten the most important resolution?? Become a Marine!!!

I will post another picture at 175, and again at 150.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.
The photo below is from 2006, but it's hilarious nonetheless.

Paintball!

I played paintball for the first time today. It was a blast. The first couple rounds I got out pretty quick , but then I started to do better and I moved around a lot so it was good exercise, too. There were other girls there, and they pretty much found a spot out of the way and hid there until the game was over. Most of them didn't get hit at all, but one made the mistake of finding her spot and staying there when she was the only girl on her team. When the game was almost over, she was the only one on her team left, and she got swarmed. That was the end of her day. But I had a ton of fun and it's something I wouldn't mind doing a couple times a month, for sure.

This last week has been absolutely miserable for me. I "intended" to get up early pretty much every day and run, but I never did. I'll be glad when Daylight Savings comes around again. It was much easier to get out and run when I could do it right after work. It's so hard for me to get up when I sleep like crap the night before (I realize I'll have to get up early when I'm in the Marines, but I'm counting on the fact that I'll be tired enough to sleep and there won't be so many extenuating circumstances keeping me awake.) I also decided to move closer to home so I can see my family more. I'm banking on the fact that if I do end up joining the Marines, I'll have more than 5 days vacation... I've told work, but I haven't told my roommate yet. I don't know how he'll react.

Something I was thinking about is maybe enlisting instead of becoming an officer. I'll make so much less, and my degree will be absolutely worthless, but I don't know if I'll physically be capable of being accepted before I'm too old. My birthday was the 10th, and I'm 27 now. I still have a lot of weight to lose, and I can't even run for 30 minutes straight yet (much less run 3 miles). Plus, there's an enlisted recruiter right around here, where as the officer recruiter is a good 45 minutes away. I don't know. There's too much to think about right now.

I also want a dog.

Home Again

Well, I made it back to Florida (sitting in the airport in Orlando, waiting on the shuttle to take me to Ocala right now). I didn't get any running in (which sucks), but I did get new running shoes that will hopefully help with the hip pain I've been having recently, and I got a lot of other exercise. It snowed a good bit while I was home, so I got some shoveling in, which is a good workout, and we went hiking in the woods in the snow a couple times. I also helped clean the barn (can you say 'ew'?), and that's definitely good exercise.

One thing I realized when I was home is how much I've missed. My mom was mad at my aunt for awhile, so I didn't see some of my cousins for a couple years. One of them (Jeremy), I was really close to for a long time. He was the cutest thing (he would serenade me with songs from Lonestar) and I used to go watch him play pee-wee football. Man, that kid could run. I hadn't seen him for years, though, until I saw him again on Saturday at the family Christmas party. He grew up so much. He's 14 now (I think), tall, and handsome as ever. I'm really tempted to move back closer to home so I can see those guys more than once a year at Christmas (with five vacation days a year, and no sick days, more than that really isn't feasible at this point).

Reading: This trip was very good for reading. I finished Fields of Fire on the trip up. I almost cried on the plane. Sometimes I think I get too attached to characters in books...Anyway, I read Generation Kill after that and just finished it about 20 minutes ago. I didn't realize it was about the same group of guys from One Bullet Away until I started it. I loved reading about them all again, from a different perspective. If you haven't read them, I definitely recommend doing so.

Going Home

I'm going home to visit my family this coming week. It'll be nice to have the time off and just get away. I'll also be doing a lot more exercise, since I'll have time to run in the mornings, plus my mom likes to walk in the afternoon. It'll be a LOT colder, though, so that might make it a bit harder.

Money's quite tight right now, which is really stressful, but I think that can be mitigated a bit by taking the on-call phone for work a bit more than I currently do.

Reading: Currently, I'm reading Fields of Fire. It's quite good.

Getting back on track

I was a bit lazy and didn't get up at 7am like I had planned. I was up just a little after 8, though (funny--or sad--thing is, I got up when my alarm went off at 7:30, but decided to re-set it for 8:30 (I'm a lazy-butt, I know). However, I didn't end up going back to sleep, so I got up just after 8). I went out to run, but I couldn't do the whole thing. I ended up stopping at 20 minutes. I can't decide if I physically just couldn't do anymore, or if I had convinced myself that I couldn't. Tuesday, I'm going to do 25. No excuses. I was initially going to move on to Week 8 of the C25k, but I think doing Week 7 once more would be best. (If I can't complete Week 7 decently, I'll jump back down to Week 6 and start over).

On a more pleasant note, I did Week one, Day one of the Hundred Push-ups program. I used modified push-ups and couldn't go down quite as far as I should, but I was able to do the whole thing successfully, and even pushed myself to do 10 sissy push-ups for the last set.

Reading: I'm almost done with Rifleman Dodd. If you haven't read it, you should. It's fantastic. The story is great and you get sucked in. It also has some very important lessons for anyone interested in joining the military.

Care Packages

I've started gathering the things I need to get some care packages over to the Marines in Iraq/Afghanistan in time for Christmas. This morning, I visited the post office and got some boxes and the forms I'll need to ship them and I also went to a used-book store and bought several books that I hope they like. I asked the owner if she had any suggestions on what I should get them, and she ended up giving me a discount on the Ender's Game series, because it's being sent to the military. How awesome is that?

So far, I've requested four addresses, but I need to stop because I can barely afford to send stuff to those. My shopping list at this point is sunflower seeds, candy, snacks, powdered drinks, beef jerky, razors, shaving cream, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and soap. Not all of the groups requested everything, but I think I might get enough for everyone, just because. I'm sure if they don't need it, they can find someone who does. I'm also going to get sandwich bags for each so they can divide the snacks, seeds, etc. up into individual packs (it'll be cheaper to buy bulk), and hopefully a vacuum-sealer of some sort so I can send the food with the soap. If anyone has any other suggestions on what I should get, please let me know!

AnyMarine.com

Edited 8:15pm: I initially had a list posted of people who had very few address requests, but then I realized the site updates so frequently, it's already out of date. I still want to encourage everyone to go to AnyMarine.com and help them out. I noticed the abundance of address requests are at the beginning, probably because there are so many, people go with what's easiest. I suggest using the search along the left and choosing # times requested. All of these guys (and gals) need help. Let's do what we can to make their fight easier.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you all have a happy, safe day with friends and family. Today, my thoughts are with those overseas (or otherwise far away from home), hoping they all at least get a slice of turkey or pumpkin pie!

Edit: I found these links on another blog and I think they're fitting for today and this whole holiday season. I've decided that what I'm going to "get" for myself for Christmas is I'm going to send at least one care package to a Marine overseas.
Any Soldier
Let's Say Thanks


Sadly, I shan't be doing anything for Thanksgiving, as I forgot my frozen turkey dinner in the fridge at work. Oh well, there's always football! I went out and did a 25-minute run this morning. I was sloooow, but it's the first time I've run more than 12 minutes in over a week, so it's a start. Push-ups tonight!

Signs

I think the world is telling me that I definitely need to get my butt in gear to join the Corps. Almost every time I turn on the T.V. there are Marine Corps commercials, and tonight, Bones is about a Marine. At least once a day, the word Marine is shown to me in some way, shape, or form (aside from that of my own intentional doing). I love positive reinforcement!

I've lost it

My motivation the last few week has just been gone. I took a couple days off two weeks ago because of a sore hip, then last week I was sick. Sunday, I tried to run but I was worn out after 12 minutes of running. This week, I was supposed to get up Tuesday morning, but I didn't sleep hardly at all Monday night. Then this morning, I set my alarm for 6:30, got up, brushed my teeth, then said screw it and went back to bed. It's hard right now to keep pushing myself when things are going so slow and no one close to me seems to care if I succeed or not (in fact, several of them don't seem to want me to).

Money is also super tight right now, and I know I need to find my own place, so I'm sure all that is adding to the stress and sense of defeat at the moment. I feel very alone and without a support system, which really sucks.

My plan: In order to combat the laziness and lack of motivation, starting Friday, I plan to get up by 7 every morning for the next week, regardless of if I sleep the night before or not. I think I let myself get stressed thinking I need 8 hours of sleep every night, then it makes it harder to sleep. I'm going to go for a walk every morning for at least 30 minutes, an hour on the days I run. I'm going to start making breakfast again, even if my roommate is home (he was annoying me, so I had been leaving and buying breakfast instead of making it). And I'm going to start the Hundred Pushups program (crunches can wait a couple weeks).

Reading: I finished Band of Brothers. It was pretty good and they really did keep the T.V. series pretty similar. I'm reading Fields of Fire next.

Correction: I'll be reading Rifleman Dodd, since I forgot Fields of Fire at work.

Still Sick

I'm still not feeling well, so the running thing hasn't worked out as planned. It almost seems worse today. I woke up and my throat had that sore, swollen feeling, plus my joints all hurt (hips, knees, ankles, wrists, etc). I did do some cardio. I walked half a mile, then ran half a mile. After that, I was even sorer and I couldn't swallow very well, so I called it quits. I went to the store and grabbed some Tylenol Cold and more OJ, so hopefully tomorrow I'll be better. I hate being out of it like this. I feel like I'm being lazy, even though everyone says "rest when you're sick."

On another note, Ohio State plays Michigan today. Fingers crossed for Ohio State!

Update 11/20

There's not too much to update. I did my Tuesday run and made it a bit further in 25 minutes. I realized I can push myself a bit harder than I have been. I was supposed to run today, but I slept like crap last night and I'm developing a cold. Orange juice has been my best friend today, so hopefully I'll be good to go tomorrow morning. If not, it'll happen Saturday.

On a personal note, I realized how much I'm getting screwed over financially living here, so I might be finding my own place soon. I moved in here to save money, but living on my own would cost about the same, and I'd have a landlord that would actually fix things that are broken. There would also be less temptation to eat unhealthy, too. It's definitely something I need to put a lot of thought into.

The Makeover for Me

This is an awesome image. I found it on an article bashing an advertisement (I think it's from 1995), but hell, it sure works for me. That's definitely the makeover I want.

The wording is a bit hard to read, so here it is (at least what I think it says):
"You can change the shade of your lipstick or you can change your life.
Because the changes you make on the inside are the ones that will last forever.
Changes that build character take you farther, make you stronger and smarter.
That's the kind of change you can look forward to as a woman in the Marine Corps.
If you're ready for change like this, we're ready for you."

My Cat's Breath Smells Like Catfood

It's true, I swear!!

Anyway, I did my second 25-minute run today. The beginning was rougher than the last time, but I think that's because I didn't sleep that well last night (I've slept like crap for the last week for some reason). Once I got into a groove, it was ok. I even sped it up for short periods. I went just over a mile and a half, which is a bit further than I did on Friday. I've decided I'm going to stay on this week (Week 7 of the C25k) until I can do 2 miles in 25 minutes.

I've been lazy and haven't started the ab routine yet. I know the reason I'm not doing it is because I'm worried about what my roommate will think/say. It's stupid and I need to get over it. I'm going to start it tonight. I can "go to bed" a half hour early and shut the door.

On another note, I realized that if I get my butt in gear and start pushing myself, I could be in OCS this time next year. I'm debating whether to talk to a recruiter this week to find out what I need to start collecting, learning, etc, so I can be fully prepared by the time I'm at the max weight. I really see no reason why I shouldn't have a 300 PFT (or darn close to it) by that time either.

25-minute Run Complete

I did my first 25-minute run on Friday. I had to take a few days off because my hip was hurting pretty bad after my run on Sunday and I didn't want to push it. The last 5 minutes of the run were rough, but I pushed through. This next week is all 25-minute runs, no more interval running.

The week went pretty well calorie-wise, too, except for yesterday, when my roommate bought pizza. So I made myself behave for the most part today to make up for it (Saturday is usually the day I don't worry about it too much). I did splurge and get a Pepsi, however. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

As for reading, I finished Ender's Game in less than 4 days. I have no idea why I didn't read it before now. It was fantastic. I love the fact that it was on the Commandant's reading list, too. I totally understand why and it was really enjoyable to read. My next books are Band of Brothers and Fields of Fire. Not sure which I'm going to read first.

I also watched Run Fatboy Run this week. Not the funniest Simon Peg movie I've seen, but it was great nonetheless. I think I liked it so much because I'm trying to become a runner myself. I don't think I'll ever be able to run 26 miles, though. That's just nuts!

Ab Routine

I figured I'd post the ab routine I'm going to try, just in case some others who read this are in my position and need a bit of help. This was sent to me by Munzino, from marineocs.com. Thanks Munzino!!

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Core strength is the key to all upper body strength. So a good ab workout is a start. Practice crunches the same way you will be doing them on the PFT. If you don't have someone to hold your feet, just pop them under a couch. Cross your arms across your chest, and move up until your elbows touch part of your legs. Now you need to see what your max is. So keep going and don't take a break longer than 3 seconds or so. Once you hit your max, whatever that may be, round it up to the nearest multiple of 5 (ex: max was 13, round to 15, max was 26, round to 30). Once you have rounded this number up that is your target goal. I'll come back to this in a second.

Next, pushups. What you want to do is find your target goal for this exercise also. If you have trouble doing pushups straight away, just put your knees on the floor for now. You won't be lifting your whole body weight, but this will help build initial strength until you can do full pushups. So reach your max, round it up to 5 like you did with the crunches.

Now that you have target goals for both pushups and crunches it's time to start a program everyday. We'll keep it simple for now.

- Do 3 sets of crunches to your target goal
- Do 3 sets of pushups to your target goal

On both of these exercises try to maintain proper form, and complete the whole set without stopping. In saying that it's more important to maintain proper form than finishing each set weakly. So take a quick break if you have to but keep pushing. Also, between sets try to keep the break down to 1-3 minutes. So do a set, break 1-3 minutes, another set, break 1-3 minutes, etc.
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I Lost!

When I weighed myself this morning, it hovered right around 200.5. That means I've lost about 7 pounds since this whole thing started. I was expecting it to go up a good pound or two since I ate so much crap yesterday and I didn't do all that well on staying in my calorie limit this week. It was a nice surprise to start the day.

I did Week 6 Day 2 of the Couch to 5k today. The whole routine was 33 minutes, but I added time on and went a total of 65 minutes. My next run on Tuesday morning will be 25 minutes. Then Thursday or Friday starts Week 7, which is all 25-minute runs. No more interval running from that point on. Whenever I'm running, I get passed by people who are taller, skinnier, and probably have been running a lot longer. I have to keep reminding myself that right now it's about endurance, not speed. I need to be able to run 3 miles before I can try to run those 3 miles in 21 minutes.

This week, I'm also going to start an ab routine to build up crunches and push-ups. I've been putting it off because I know it's going to be hard. But running was hard too, and look where I am now. I have no excuse.

A Quick Quote

I wanted to share this quote I just saw in someone's signature on SparkPeople.com.

"Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls aren't there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show us how badly we want things." -- Randy Pausch

Very motivating. I can't wait for my run tomorrow.

Just a Quick Update

I'm pretty proud of what I accomplished this morning, so I figured I'd pass it on.

I kept telling myself yesterday that if I got up at 6:30 this morning and ran before work, I could get Starbucks. I think it's the best Starbucks I've ever had. I got up as soon as my alarm went off (I usually hit snooze once or twice if it's an early morning) and got ready pretty quickly. Drove down to the park where I run and did 10 minutes of warm-up. I initially planned on doing the 8-5-8 run again, but decided to give the 20 a shot at the last minute. I think it's the best run I've ever had. After some initial soreness, my legs warmed up pretty well and I kept my breathing slow and steady. I wasn't very fast, but at this stage, that's ok. I ran for the whole 20 minutes without stopping (about 1.25 miles), and I know I could've gone longer. I'm definitely proud of myself today.

I'm such a slacker

Sorry I haven't updated in a couple weeks. Last week, I just plum forgot.

Today, I did "Week 5, Day 2" of the Couch to 5k. Run 8, walk 5, run 8. I completed it with flying colors. I was a bit tired, but not too bad. According to the schedule, I'm supposed to do a full 20-minute run next (Monday). However, since Daylight Savings is over, I have to run in the mornings now. I'm not sure how well that will go, so I'll either repeat Day 2, or move on to Day 3. We shall see.

As for reading, I got Band of Sisters from the library. The writing itself seems very Freshman English-ish, but she seems to be sticking to the facts and doesn't interject her opinions too much, so that makes up for it. A couple of the stories are making me want to go for aviation, though I don't know how likely that is, considering I have so-so vision and I'm fairly short. I'll have to find out what I qualify for when I'm to the point where I can talk to a recruiter.

Update 10/18/08

Here's my weekly update. I was sick last weekend, so I didn't do my running on Sunday. I started "Week 4" of the Couch to 5k on Tuesday. Up until this point, I've been struggling with shin splints, arch cramps, and calf pain. With the help of some friendly folks, I've discovered why. I was running wrong. I was stretching before I warmed up at all, and that was part of the reason I was in pain. I've started walking for 2o minutes before stretching, and that has helped a lot. I've also revised my running form according to this article. My feet are still cramping a little bit, but it's nothing I can't push through.

Tuesday, I was able to run a total of 10 minutes, and yesterday I finished the whole run (a total run time of 16 minutes, broken up into 2 3-minute runs and 2 5-minute runs). To add to it, I'm going to walk at least 40 minutes on the days I don't run. I think I'm going to splurge on a fitness mat so I can start working on my crunches/push-ups/stretching. The one I want is $20. It may be worth the expense.

Other things in my life that I'm improving on: I'm doing pretty well at keeping my calorie range between 1300 and 1700 (according to SparkPeople, it's supposed to be 1200-1550, but I'm not that good yet). I created a budget and weekly meal plan today, as well. My life is on the track it should have been on all along. I'm pretty proud of myself at this point.

Reading: I'm about halfway through To the Shores of Tripoli. Marines in 1800 were as bad-ass as they are now. My next book is going to be First to Fight or Generation Kill. I haven't decided yet.

Just a Quick Update

I finished Week 3 of the Couch to 5k. It was rough. I think I either need new shoes or I need to adjust the way I'm running. I'm going to try giving myself 10 more minutes of warm-up before stretching, instead of stretching right away and then warming up for 5 minutes. Hopefully that will help me stretch out my calves and such so I don't end up in so much pain halfway through. I weighed myself on Friday morning and I've lost two pounds. Not much, but it's a start.

As for reading, I've finished One Bullet Away. It was an amazing book and made me want to be a part of the Marines even more. I've definitely made the right decision on which direction my life should take. Currently, I'm reading To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines. While I'm not very far in, I've learned some things they don't really teach you in high school. It's turning out to be an interesting book.

Back on Track

I'm back on track for the most part this week. I went for a 45-minute walk/run today. There are these podcasts based around the Couch to 5k running plan. I tried to do Week 4 last week and I think that was part of the reason I had so much trouble. I simply wasn't ready for that much. I'm back on Week 3, now, and I did really well. This week's running called for a total of nine minutes, broken up into two 3-minute and two 90-second intervals. After finishing the podcast, I continued walking for another 20 minutes or so, and it felt really good. I'm also almost done with One Bullet Away. It's definitely must-read material.

On another note, the Giants are kicking butt this season. :)

Struggling

I'm having a really tough time keeping my motivation this week. I haven't been running very well and I haven't lost any weight, even though I've been exercising for almost five weeks now, and I've been trying to watch what I eat. People keep telling me it's because I'm building muscle, but it still doesn't make me feel any better.

I've also started to doubt whether I can actually make it to my goal, and I don't have anyone around me who really supports my decision. My mom and sister do, but they're a thousand miles away and I only talk to them once a week, if that. I don't have any friends here who have any faith in me.

My roommate just found out tonight that I wanted to join the Marines (even though I haven't been trying to hide it) and he was not nice. I know I'm overweight, and he's been fairly supportive about my running and trying to lose weight, but he was just a jerk about this. He started talking about how hard it was to get into the Marines and how hard boot camp is. I told him that I know and that it's not a decision I made overnight. He responded, "You may have read about it, but when have you ever done anything at all like boot camp?" I don't know what his problem is. He's always saying shit like that, trying to make me feel like I'm not good enough over certain things.

To be honest, I think his doubt just makes me want it that much more. I'm going to become a Marine Officer and prove him wrong. I'm going to do something I can be proud of, and everyone else can piss off if they don't like it. If need be, I'll find my own place. Hell, I'd probably end up saving money because I won't need the air on 76 all the time and I won't have cable.

I WILL DO THIS!!!

It's time.

It's time I did what I have always wanted to do. I am going to become an officer in the United States Marine Corps. I have a lot of work to do and it looks like a long road, but it's going to happen. As of right now, I am hoping to ship out for OCS next summer.

I have just completed my third week of regular exercise. In week one, I was running a total of three minutes out of my thirty-minute walk. As of today, I am able to run 15 minutes out of thirty-five minutes (I added an extra .2 of a mile to my regular path). According to the running schedule I am following, I should be running 16 minutes, but for being so overweight and avoiding all major forms of exercise for the past eight years, I think I'm doing pretty well.

I've been looking over MOSes that I could be interested in and I am really leaning toward Intelligence (including Signals Intel), Linguistics, MAGTF, or becoming a pilot (it's a long shot, but it's nice to dream). I plan to start learning what I need to know before I even sign a contract, so that I can be on top of my game. My goal is to go to Quantico with a 300 PFT to begin with, so that I can focus on what I am unable to master ahead of time.

Stats as of 9/27/08:
Weight: 205 lbs
Height: 5'4
Walk/run time: 35 min/15 min
Crunches: 10 per rep
Push-ups: 2 (I'm a weakling right now. This will change.)
What I'm reading: One Bullet Away. This is quite a motivating book. Nathaniel Fick did an amazing job putting his experience into words, and the book is very well written. I have purchased To the Shores of Tripoli, as a reward for completing three weeks of exercise.