Getting Faster, Next Race, & Weight-Loss!

One of my goals for the year is to get back to my running best, which means I need to complete a 5K in better than 28:30.  I also want to set a PR (personal record) in a 10K (need to beat 64:20)!!  I’ve been putting forth more effort when it comes to training, and last Friday I had an amazing 5K (3.1 mile) run on the treadmill…I beat any recent times by at least 30 seconds.  I’m an interval runner, and I completed Friday’s run in 33:26, an average pace of 10:47/mile.  (I would run 6 minutes at 5.8ish mph, and then walk for 1 minunte at 4 mph, repeating these intervals for 3.1 miles.)  Not sure I ran a 5K that “fast” in all of 2013!

My next race is The Chi-TownBig Game 5K on Super Bowl Sunday (2/2/14) at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Last year was the inaugural event, which I participated in, and it was AWESOME!  The pre- and post- race events were held in the posh United Club in the stadium!!  Taking some family with me this time… the sis, bro-in-law, and maybe even my cousin!

SHAKEOLOGY UPDATE:  I’ve now been replacing at least one meal per day with Shakeology for 7 weeks, and am down 13.5 pounds!  If you’re new here, please scroll back through some of my other recent posts to learn more about me… one key point you’ll find is that I had hit a weight-loss plateau long ago and Shakeology has helped me start losing weight again!

I read or heard somewhere that when your body is getting the nutrients it really needs, that you don’t crave the “bad” stuff (the greasy, sugary, yummy bad stuff).  I’m beginning to think this is true.  The longer I’ve been incorporating Shakeology into my routine, the less I crave those things, which further helps my overall efforts!

For more on my Shakeology experiences, check out the following two recent blog posts:

12/26/13:  -7 Pounds in 3 Weeks
1/6/14:  I'll Give it a 10

1/14/14:  That’s Just Dopey

If you’re ready to make a positive change in your health and wellness, contact me (there's a contact form on the right side of my blog, or find me on Twitter or Facebook).  We’ll build you a Beachbody Challenge Pack with Shakeology and a fitness program that suits your needs (whether it be the all-new 30-minute workouts of P90X3, Tony Horton’s 10-Minute Trainer, Insanity, T25, or one of many more great workouts)… a complete nutritional and exercise package!  And we can even get you plugged into an online Facebook support group of other like-minded people to help hold you accountable and challenge you to work hard to reach your goals!  (Learn more about the Beachbody Challenge at www.beachbodycoach.com/joangrott.)

That's Just Dopey!

Jeremy PR'ed the 26.2 & has announced
his retirement from full marathons.

My biggest news of the past week is that my brother-in-law logged 48.6 miles in 4 days at Walt Disney World!  A few years back my bro-in-law, Jeremy, decided he wanted to do something epic… he wanted to become a runner.  My sister Anne and I followed along with the idea and became runners too!  Over the weekend, Anne and Jeremy were in Florida for the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend where Jeremy completed his ultimate goal, the Dopey Challenge.

What, you might ask, is the Dopey Challenge?  Well that crazy son-of-a-gun ran a 5K on Thursday, a 10K on Friday, a half marathon on Saturday (along with my sister Anne), and the full marathon on Sunday!! In the process he earned two additional medals for the Goofy Challenge (half + full) and the Dopey Challenge (all four races)!!

Jeremy's inspirational message for you: "If you put your mind to it, it can probably drag your ass to the finish line!" He also added that "Princesses love finishers!"  You can follow Jeremy and Anne on Instagram:  Jeremy is @mrbasseypants and Anne is @boilerbean1.

My Bondi Band headband doubles as
an excellent lightweight ear warmer!

As for me, on Saturday while they were running a half marathon, which my sister said was the most hot and humid race she has ever run, I was running through icy slush puddles in beautiful Chicago, where I ran the Polar Dash 5K!  My unofficial time was 35:26, which WILL BE my slowest 5K of the year as I work my way back to 28:30 in 2014!  (As long as I gave my sis and bro-in-law Instagram shout-outs, I might as well reiterate mine: @joangrott

And finally, just an update on my on-going Shakeology “experiment”… after having hit a weight-loss plateau at 217 pounds, I’m now down to 205 after six weeks of replacing my breakfast with Beachbody’s Shakeology.  This is the only major change to my routine, and I now truly believe that Shakeology is helping me correct the nutritional piece of my health and fitness puzzle!

I am an Independent Team Beachbody Coach, and my team will be conducting a Shakeology Test Panel for the month of February to celebrate the all-new strawberry flavor that just launched.  If you are interested in learning more, contact me quickly, as space is limited!  If you’re on Facebook, visit tinyurl.com/StrawberryYum for more details.

For more on my Shakeology experiences, check out the following two recent blog posts:

• 12/26/13:  -7 Pounds in 3 Weeks
• 1/6/14:  I'll Give it a 10

Running in a Winter Wonderland!

Time to rekindle the blog!

Today my sister and I braved the winter wonderland of Chicago to run the Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run 10K in Lincoln Park, along the Lake Michigan shoreline!  The run started at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, ran north through the park for 3ish miles, looped around, and returned to the museum.  And it was a classic, snowy winter day in Chicago (which consequently resulted in poor traction, which we figured helped burn extra calories)!  Here’s a collage that showcases some of our pics from today:

Jingle Bell Run 10K - Chicago, IL - 12/14/13

Perhaps since I haven’t blogged in a while, I will gradually bring the blog up-to-date with my latest races, as I continue to attempt to run at least one event per month.  With that in mind, my November 2013 race was the Turkey Trot 10K in Valparaiso, Indiana.  It was a bitter cold Thursday morning, but I was super-proud of my time of 1:12:51 (a pace of 11:45/mile), as I was consistent through all 6.2 miles, and I haven’t been running much lately.  I’ve gotten to a point where I was just running my monthly races and not much in between.  Now, I’m committed to running at LEAST twice per week, and am working to get back to my best times!

Turkey Trot 10K - Valparaiso, IN - 11/28/13

In other news, I recently became an Independent Team Beachbody Coach, which means I want to be your cheerleader in you fitness journey!  It also means that if you are in the market for Beachbody products (including, but not limited to: P90X3, Insanity, T25, Shakeology, and more! Learn more at www.beachbodycoach.com/JoanGrott.)  Currently, I’m working on becoming a product of the product through replacing my breakfast with Shakeology daily… so far, I’m enjoying the shakes, and after week 1, I was down a pound (after having previously hit a weight-loss plateau which I could not break through).  Stay tuned as I continue my fitness journey and keep you updated on how improved nutrition with the help of Shakeology is helping me!

For daily motivational thoughts and more regular updates about my fitness and nutrition journey, like my new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JoanGrottFitness!

Merry TubaChristmas!

For my family, this story begins at Purdue University in West Lafayette, where my sister (a tenor saxophone player) met her now-husband (a tuba player) when they were members of the best darned band in the land, the Purdue All-American Marching Band. Through my brother-in-law, I’ve come to know that tubas are a culture of their own. One of the finest tuba traditions I’ve yet to learn about is TubaChristmas.

According to http://www.tubachristmas.com/, “TUBACHRISTMAS was conceived in 1974 as a tribute to the late artist/teacher William J. Bell, born on Christmas Day, 1902. Through the legendary William J. Bell we reflect on our heritage and honor all great artists/teachers whose legacy has given us high performance standards, well structured pedagogy, professional integrity, personal values and a camaraderie envied by all other instrumentalists. The first TUBACHRISTMAS was conducted by the late Paul Lavalle in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink on Sunday, December 22, 1974. Traditional Christmas music performed at the first TUBACHRISTMAS was arranged by American composer Alec Wilder who ironically died on Christmas Eve, 1980.”

TubaChristmas is celebrated in locations all over the U.S. This year, my brother-in-law participated in TubaChristmas concerts in Dayton, OH (Wright State University), West Lafayette, IN (Purdue University), Chicago (Palmer House Hilton), and Antioch, IL (Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church). Check the TubaChristmas website for a list of locations. Locally, it’s celebrated annually at Valparaiso University’s Chapel of the Resurrection on the first Sunday of December.

I’ve been lucky enough to be a spectator at the Chicago event in both 2009 and 2011. Hearing 300-400 tubas and other low-brass tuba cousins perform all the classic carols is quite a moving experience… you can truly feel it! And TubaChristmas is for all ages of players and spectators. This year, the youngest musicians at the Chicago event were 10 years old, and the oldest was 88!

The TubaChristmas season is likely over for 2011, but I encourage you to find some video footage on-line…though I’m sure it won’t do justice for the in-person show! Be sure to mark your calendar for a TubaChristmas concert next year!

Merry TubaChristmas!

2009 TubaChristmas, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois

Year-to-Date Running Update

I’m a blog slacker, but I want to try to resume my blogging on a semi-regular basis.  Originally, I started this blog to share my fat-to-fit journey.  Sharing my progress with whoever will read this makes me feel somewhat accountable and keeps me on track.  Therefore, let me quickly bring you up to speed with my 2011 running events.  (And to make this update easy on myself, I’m just going to copy and paste from a Facebook album I have in which I chronicle these things.)  J

When: February 20, 2011

Where: Western Veterinary Conference 5K (Las Vegas, NV)
Time: 30:20
Photo Caption: I tagged along with my sister to the BEST VET CONFERENCE EVER and we ran their 5K.  This picture was taken at the Mandalay Bay conference center before we headed out to the 5K.

When: March 20, 2011

Where: St. Paddy's 8K (Chicago, IL)
Time: 49:30 (57/110 females 30-34; 614/933 overall; 9:59 pace)
Photo Caption: Never thought I could sustain a 10 minute/mile pace for 4.96 miles, but I did!  I had set my goal at 52:30, 'cause I figured I'd end up slowing my pace since it was a longer run for me.  I beat my goal by three minutes!!!

When: April 2, 2011

Where: Ringing in Spring (Valparaiso, IN)
Time: 29:43.7 (7th/27 in Athena Division!)
Photo Caption: Running hard toward the finish line!

When: April 16, 2011

Where: Race to Wrigley 5K (Chicago, IL)
Time: 29:17 (94/332 females 30-34; 1300/2916 overall; 9:27 pace)
Photo Caption: PERSONAL RECORD!! 40-something degrees and rainy, but I shocked myself with my time!  I believe this was the largest race I ever participated in, so I continually had people to pass, which kept me going.  I was afraid I wouldn't reach my goal because of all the zigging and zagging I had to do to get around people, but it turns out I beat my old best by nearly 30 seconds!

When: April 25, 2011

Where: Dyngus Day 5K (Michigan City, IN)
Time: 29:17 (2nd in my age division = I won a medal!)
Photo Caption: NEW PERSONAL RECORD!! Probably about 40-something degrees and rainy, but I once again set a new record!  Lori and Kristen ran this one too, and did great!!  It was kind of a boring route, partly due to a limited field of runners, but I’d do it again.  It was close to home, and it was a Monday evening event, which is my time of day!

When:  May 1, 2011

Where:  Flying PigMarathon – Relay (Cincinnati, OH)
Time:  I ran the first leg of the relay – 6.84 miles 1:16:26 (pace = 11:11)
Photo Caption:  My bro-in-law, sis, and cousin Kristin ran the 26.2 as a 4-person relay.  I never ran this far before in my life!!  It was a rainy morning, but it was exciting, as I got to start the run in the corrals with all the marathoners and half-marathoners and other relay runners (like 30,000 people)!  I had never been in such a major event before, so it was cool to be involved with the start!  Cincinnati has a bit more topography than I was accustomed to, my leg of the run ended on a brutal up-hill street.

When:  May 28, 2011

Where:  Kent’s Run 5K (Boone Grove, IN)
Time:  28:20 (20/86 females 30-39; 72/436 all females; 247/783 overall)
Photo Caption:  Another new PERSONAL RECORD!!!  Gotta love Kent’s Run, great cause, great race!  My cousins Richard and Kristin brought their families out for this one!!  It was a very cool morning, but great for running.  It was probably 50-ish degrees and cloudy for the run.

When: June 4th, 2011

Where: Sunburst 10K (South Bend, IN) - MY FIRST 10K!
Time: 1:10:56 (76/103 females 30-34; 419/584 females; 929/1159 overall; 11:27 pace)
Photo Caption: Not the time I was shooting for, but respectable for my first 10K.  It was very warm and humid...the event was actually "black-flagged" before all the marathoners (and probably some half-marathoners) were finished!  Also, I ran too hard in the first two miles, which wrecked me for the last four!  I need to work on appropriate pacing for longer runs!!!

When: July 4, 2011
Where: Run for Riley (Children's Hospital) 5K (LaPorte, IN)
Time: 31:24.6 (12/26 females 31-40; 102/175 overall; 10:08 pace)
Photo Caption: No new records on this day, but I was just happy that the weather was pleasant.  Last year's 4th of July 5K was way too hot and humid.  This year it was probably 60s-70ish with no noticeable humidity at race time.  Cousin Richard ran this one too, and shattered his anticipated finish time...estimated 40 minutes, got 'er done in 37!!  Good work, Richard!

When: August 13, 2011
Where: Warrior Dash (Crawfordsville, IN)
Time: I never looked it up, doesn’t really matter…we walked a lot due to the terrain.
Photo Caption: My former 4-Her Sierra convinced me to do this crazy, muddy, "hike with obstacles" with her and her friend Doug. It was fun, but I don't know if I need to do a muddy run again... :)

When: September 10, 2011
Where: Popcorn Panic 5-miler (Valparaiso, IN)
Time: 59:43.4 (Overall 904/948; Pace 11:57/mile; Age Group F30-34 74/78)  (Certainly not my best, but I've been a slack-ass lately. And this may be the sort of comfortable pace I adopt if I'm going to run a half marathon!)
Photo Caption: Annie came to visit and I convinced her to run in the Popcorn Festival's 5-mile run with me.  We ran together for the whole thing, and then pigged out on some Designer Dessert cupcakes when we finished!!!  :)

When: October 30, 2011

Where: Trick or Treat Trot 10K (Chicago, IL)
Time: 1:09:54 (Pace 11:16/mile)  (Second-ever 10K, and a 10K PR!!!)
Photo Caption: Posing with a chocolate milk so that I had a photo to use for my application when applying for a Chocolate Milk Refuel grant!

p.s.- Vote for me (Joan Grott) for that Chocolate Milk Refuel grant through 12/15/11 at http://www.refuelwithchocolatemilk.com/grants/vote/

Running Update

I guess it’s been awhile since I last posted a blog, since my last one was about my 4th of July 5K. Anyhow, I’d like to provide an update on my running activities…

Disneyland 5K