I want you know I’m not totally giving up on the heart rate training! Wednesday, I made a conscious effort to run slower, doing my best to keep my heart rate under 161. (I felt like that was a better starting point for me than 141.) Unfortunately, the winds were strong, and my 1st mile and a half were pretty stressful because I was headed straight into them. After that, though I did better, and actually was able to maintain a pretty good heart rate for the last mile. Overall, I give that run a C-.
I hate seeing that pace above 12 minutes a mile. :/
On Wednesday afternoon, though, I had a short run with JJ to continue his training. He kept it easy for a mile and a half, and didn’t start out too fast, like he usually does. He maintained a solid pace, and was feeling good when he was done.
Meanwhile, I don’t know what happened, but I must have been extremely relaxed for this run.
I know it was only a mile and a half, but I was pretty impressed with how low I was able to keep my heart rate.
I woke up this morning with the intent to do another modified heart-rate run. Unfortunately, it took me more than five minutes just to get my heart rate monitor to register with my watch, and that was valuable time that I didn’t have to waste if I wanted to get back home and get the kids on the bus on time. What that meant is that I didn’t have the time to walk as much as I normally would have, so I ended up just going a little slower than a normal easy run. On the bright side, my heart rate was down a little.
The jury is still out for me on whether or not I like this training, but I feel like I need to do something different.
I’m sure it will come as no surprise that I was pretty down after
my weigh-in on Monday. It was just really frustrating to feel like I had almost completely negated all the hard work I put in since I started counting calories. After my run this morning, I checked My Fitness Pal, like I often do, to see how many calories I’d burned. I was greeted by an extra little acknowledgment:
Well, look at that! I was really shocked to see that I have been counting calories for 200 days! I thought about the changes that have occurred in my life, and especially my eating habits, since then. I definitely think that the majority of changes have been positive, and I’m glad I decided to give it a try. Especially considering how much the Weight Watchers plan changed in December, I’m even happier that I’m counting calories instead of “Smart Points.” (I’m not bashing anyone who likes the new program, but this sugar-loving girl is just not a fan. 😛 )
On the other hand, there was still the nagging realization in the back of my mind that although I feel like I’ve made some really great strides in 200 days, the scale wasn’t so friendly, at least not this week. I definitely know that I feel better today than I did on Monday, but for the heck of it, I did that thing that I never do: I weighed myself on a day that wasn’t my normal weigh-in day. (Twice in one week! Blasphemy!)
Well, what do you know? It does kind of seem like Monday’s weigh-in was a real fluke, because suddenly, just four days later, I’m down more than 3 1/2 pounds! Seriously, it almost makes me laugh. Now, the reality is that I know that body weight fluctuates constantly, but the fact that today, exactly 200 days after I started calorie-counting, I weighed in at just below my original goal (120)…well, that made me feel like it was a sign that this calorie-counting thing is really working for me. 😀
Yes, I know that the scale may be completely different on Monday, but I’ll take this little victory for now! 🙂
Thanks for reading!
I am so glad calorie counting is working for you!