It's Gonna Be a Happy New Year

2009 is over, thank goodness.

Today, we began our vegetarian month...at Maggiano's. Let me tell you how difficult it is to eat a vegetarian meal at a delicious Italian restaurant.

Let me explain something -- we ARE eating seafood, so I guess technically we're pescetarians. Or whatever they are called. For the month.

So I saw on the menu there was lobster fettucine -- no, it's not healthy, per se, but it is our New Year's lunch with Nicole's mom, so I was going to go all out.

Lobster fettucine. Mmmm.

Until I saw that the lobster is sauteed with ham. Argh!

So I went the crab cake route, which were DELICIOUS. Amazing. Sure, I couldn't get my usual chicken marsala, but crab cakes for the New Year? I'll live with that.

So day one is over. Nicole had eggplant parmigiana (which was supposed to be for dinner tomorrow, cough cough), which she said was delicious, as well. I didn't try hers -- too much of my own food to eat.

Day one. Day one. I'm hoping I enjoy this month thoroughly...because I seriously doubt I'll enjoy vegan February.

Is Wash Park my Nemesis?

We decided to run at Wash Park last night as a sort of test to see how race day would go. We don't know exactly where we're running on race day, we just know it's at Wash Park...so we ran on the trail.

Agony.

Complete agony.

Twenty-five minutes of agony, as a matter of fact.

I think we're better off on pavement, strangely enough. I hope Tuesday's run goes a bit better...

20 minutes, suckas

Oh my heavens, we did it.

Week 5, Day 3. Take that, Robert Ullrey.

I can't believe we made it. I mean, I believe it -- one has to believe in order to survive it, but wow. We went from running a max of 8 minutes to running a mile and a half in 20! I have never run that much in my LIFE...not when I played soccer, not when I played softball...I was never capable of running that much without stopping. And there we were, 5 minutes down, 8 minutes, 10 minutes...and then before I knew it, we had three minutes left, and I thought, "My god, I can make this!" And we did.

Looked ahead to week 6, doesn't seem nearly as tough as week 5.

And this was all after lifting weights this afternoon. Amazing. Completely amazing.

Week 5 Begins

We just got back from our week 5, Day 1 run. It was, in a word, amazing. I felt great -- totally and utterly great. I never felt winded, I never hurt too much, and I never doubted that I could finish. When we finished, I didn't feel like I was staggering to get back. In fact, I sprinted about 10 seconds after our time was done...Nicole ran up behind me saying, "That's not part of the run!" I just felt like I could do it.

On Wednesday, our run consists of two 8 minute intervals with a five minute break -- we can do it. I probably could have done it tonight. Friday, as we all know, is a twenty minute -- nonstop -- run. Holy moley.

Wednesday also marks our halfway point. Turkey Trot, here we come!

Cereal and Self-Doubts

I've been eating a lot of cereal -- I'm not sure why that's relevant to the blog, but I felt like it needed to be written.

In the office of our school is a huge box of individual containers of cereal -- mostly Crispix and Cocoa Krispies...and I find myself eating one to two a day as my "snack." I wish I could say I feel guilty about this, but I really don't. Let's look at my menu for today:

This morning, I had a Fiber One toaster pastry, which was actually delicious. I also had my morning coffee.
A few hours later, I had a little box of Crispix.
Then, I had my lunch, which was an individual container of Mac and Cheese.
Two hours later, another cereal.
When I get home, I'll have some sort of fruit and then dinner. Then we'll go to the gym and that will be the end of the eating.

I don't think that's so bad, but maybe I'm warped.

In other news, I had a surge of self-doubt yesterday before our W4D1 run. Could I do this? Why on Earth did I think this was possible? I'm fat. I'm out of shape. Even in my thinnest, most athletic days, I couldn't run. I'd run a lap around the soccer field, and then go into an asthmatic fit. Or...our softball coach would have us run for ten minutes, and I would make it three. Four if I was lucky.

And last night's run looked like this:
5 minute warm up walk
3 minute jog
90 sec. walk
5 minute jog
2 1/2 minute walk
3 min. jog
90 sec. walk
5 min. jog
5 min. cool down walk

Five minutes. These people want me to run/jog for 5 minutes without stopping...twice.

And I really just didn't think it was possible. Then I look ahead to W5D3, and it's a TWENTY MINUTE RUN. And I want to fall over, throw in the towel, eat a donut...anything but even try.

So last night we get out there, and I have my knee brace on (I was really struggling), and the three minute jog begins...so there I go. Jog jog jog. Nik is ahead of me, and I keep telling myself, "It's not a race. It's not a race. Just keep going." And before I knew it -- seriously, before I knew it, the three minutes was over. I actually thought to myself, "Really? That's it?" That's it.

But it still wasn't five minutes. When the five minutes started, I stopped thinking. I started telling myself, "See that house down the road? You're going to make it there." Then I'd get there and say, "Good, now go to THAT house...THAT lamp post...THAT sewer lid." And the five minutes came and went. And I survived.

I survived -- for the first time in my LIFE -- a five minute run.

Wait. Wait.

I did it twice. The last minute of the last five minute jog was a struggle...I had to keep persuading my legs to keep going. Lift up, move forward, keep going. At one point I said aloud, "Come on, finish this." And I did. We both did.

It's unbelievable. We're out there and jogging/running/wogging. We're not eating ice cream in front of the TV. We're not drenching french fries in ranch. We're working out 4, 5, 6 times a week. It's amazing.

If I can do D1, I can do D2 and D3. I need to NOT think about Week 5. I'll think about it this weekend...

a small victory

first and foremost, the running is going really well. we finished week three (a little beat down, but we finished), and we begin week four tomorrow. after we clean today, we're going to lift weights at the gym and perhaps do a little, mini, teeny weeny jog.

but the victory is in the food. we have not gone out to eat in about...three weeks? which, if you know us, is a HUGE deal. admittedly, we got subway 6inch sandwiches one night we went to a choir rehearsal, but i mean, a 6inch sandwich? we're not counting it. ;)

yesterday, we went up to idledale -- our spot -- and were both pretty hungry. so she took me to her favorite restaurant, which is of the italian persuasion, and i ordered something i would always order: fettucine alfredo. why not? it was our combo lunch and dinner and i didn't mind splurging just once.

the salad came, and i ate the whole thing -- so delicious. then our meals came, and i looked at it, and thought, "wow, that's a lot of food."

i can't remember the last time i thought that about any meal. so i started eating -- and it was delicious -- and i probably ate 1/4 or 1/5 of the entire thing and said, "i'm so full."

and i was. i didn't eat the whole plate of pasta. i then commented to nik, "a month ago, i would have eaten all of it," to which she responded, "all of it and mine."

so, a small victory. eating at home has changed my eating habits for the better...and i'm down 8 pounds as of this morning. super duper!

Week 2 Completed

I don't have much to say about completing week 2 except that I'm glad it's done. It wasn't difficult, but I think by lifting weights three times this week, I weakened my body enough so that it felt harder than it actually was. My breathing was great, though -- I'm glad I get to concentrate on nothing but running when I'm doing it.

Nicole and I made it a little over two miles today -- a little further than Wednesday's run. She went faster than I did -- her pace is faster, and she walks a heck of a lot faster than I do. I have to keep reminding myself that it's not a race, it's about myself. I have to do this for myself, not for anyone else or against anyone else.

More thoughts on working out

Who would think that I'd be obsessively posting/reading about running? I don't get it. I don't know where it came from, but I like it. Nicole likes it, too. We're working out together, not in a competitive way, but in a loving, "keep going, babe" kind of way.

Last night, while we were lifting weights, I started to get a headache, and decided I wouldn't do the last two machines since I didn't feel up to it. Nicole said, flat out: "That sounds like the old Libby Colorado."

And it struck me. Was I making an excuse so I wouldn't have to finish? Do I like the idea of being an athlete / of working out, but can't follow through? I had to see.

She left to walk around the gym (she was finished with her machines), and I decided to buckle down and try. There were only two machines left, why not? So I did three reps on both of them. I could have stopped at two, but I felt I had something to prove. A headache from doing an ab workout was not going to stop me. My weight gain was not going to stop me. My brain telling me, "You're done, take a break" was not going to stop me. I had to push through.

I've read a lot of people's comments about running -- how even after they've been runners for years, the first mile or two SUCKS. It hurts. You have to find a rhythm. One person said that she hates the first two miles, wants to quit every time, but after those two miles are done, she can run for ten easily. And she has never quit.

I quit smoking (64 days!), I quit drinking soda, and I quit fast food. I don't need to quit anything else. I'm going to push through. Tomorrow is Week 2, Day 3 -- and we're going to run in the early morning.

By the way, and just so it's out there (again), I love my wife.

Living in the moment

It's difficult for me to be in the moment, to experience the "now." I drift off so often, thinking back, thinking ahead, but what about right now?

I'm supposed to experience the senses of now -- what do I see, feel, hear, smell, taste? What am I experiencing NOW?

This was a lot easier last night when I was running. We ran outside for the first time, and I kept thinking to myself about how my legs felt, how my feet touched the ground, how my shoulders felt, what the houses looked like, what the air smelled like. There was no time to think of anything else, just living in the moment.

Maybe that's why my DBT classes and running are fitting so perfectly together. They are allowing me to experience my life from a different (and better) perspective.

I drove to work this morning thinking about how much I love my life. I have a woman who loves me, a great home, and a new, healthy routine. My life is very satisfying.

No restaurants for us...

I just asked Nicole if it's been a week since we've gone out to eat, or had any meal outside of our home, and the answer was yes. It's probably been longer than a week by now.

I like the life we're building for ourselves; it's healthier in many ways. I'm glad to be home with her at night, eating whatever is left over or something new or a bowl of Golden Grahams, and just talking with her, playing with our dogs, or getting ready to work out together.

I have no desire to eat at a restaurant, either, which is VERY strange for me. I love food. Hence, I have plenty of weight to lose. But I am not craving restaurant food or fast food or anything of that nature; I just want to go home, make a salad, and run for thirty minutes. Not bad.

Week 2 of training

Nicole and I started week 2 of Couch to 5K training yesterday; we both had that "oh my goodness, I want to die" look on our faces. I am baffled as to how I'm going to work my way up to 3.2 miles. Yesterday was 1.75 miles, and heavens, that was enough.

My body feels differently, though. I have not stepped on a scale to start the working out process, but I can notice a difference in how my body looks. I worked out four times last week, and am planning on at least four times this week (resting is important, too).

Tonight, our plan is to jog around the track once, work on strength through machines, and then go in the pool and hot tub. Sounds like a good evening to me!

Also, I marked off number 47 from the list because I have officially driven the car successfully -- which, in my world, means that I shifted gears without thinking. It was a great drive to the store!

Welcome!

Welcome to Pink and Imperfect! My name is Libby, and my partner, Nicole, is sitting over at the other laptop downloading music to her iPod.

This is our blog. We have a mission -- crazy, but true -- to bake, bond, and fall in love through 101 "things" for the next 1,001 days. We believe this is possible.

We chose 101 activities that reflect who we are as a couple. You will see that some items are just for one of us (Nicole has to wear every item of jewelry, for example); but the list as a whole is supposed to help us work together, continue to live happily together, and eventually -- with number 101 -- get married. Perhaps even legally.

We hope you'll partake in this adventure with us; perhaps you'll even decide to join your significant other in a similar way. Thanks for stopping by.

And, in case you're wondering where this idea came from...go to the Day Zero Project.