Hi there
Some stats
female
22 years old
5'4"
116 - 118 lbs
ovo-lacto vegetarian (5 years)
I have a few goals
Rest of 2007
Get my diet under control
1600 calories per day in 6 small meals
Get my 10 km as close to 1 hour or under as possible
(running 4 times per week)
Start doing pilates 2 per week
use my 3 free personal trainer sessions to figure out a weights routine
2008
Run a sub 30 minute 5 km
Run a sub-50 minute 10 km
Run my first Half Marathon ()
Run my first full marathon by October 2008
Get my weight bewteen 108 and 112 lbs and keep it there
Start karate again and get junior black (I reached brown belt in high school)
2009
Run sub 2 hour Half marathon
Run 56 km
Ultimate Goal:
To run the 2009
maintain my weight between 108 and 112 lbs
Get black belt in karate
I am here looking to finally get fit and healthy. I have a very general fitness base. I am pedestrian so I walk a number of kilometers each day just to get around, but I also go for occassional runs. I am fit enough to run 10 km without needing to walk, but I am not near my potential pace.
I used to do middle distance and cross-country running in high school, but an obsession with weight got in the way and I struggled for a few years (actually for almost a decade) with bulimia. I was never classified with anorexia, because I never got to a low enough weight, but I ranged from weeks of starvation to binge- purging cycles, to every mixture in between including the use of ipecac, laxatives and various appetite supressants. My weight has ranged between 103 and 128 lbs, but I mostly used food and let exercise slip.
For a long time my obsession was with extreme thinness, but I have stopped wanting to be skeletal. I don't think its attractive and I don't think it feels good. In addition, I know myself now and my useless repetitive yo-yoing through various weights. Though my starvation stages work at getting me thin, they can't be maintained and have dire consequences for my health and relationships.
I have finally learnt that thin doesn't matter when you hate yourself, feel ill all the time and hardly have friends and won't let anyone near you. I want something that is maintainable and doesn't ruin my life in the meantime. I also feel I need to outgrow that adolescent insecurity and be proud of who I am. Being "sick" with also feels extremely humiliating because I feel that as an adult I can't expect people to look after me. I would find it humiliating now if someone thought I needed "help" or to be "looked after". I want to be strong, independent, self-sufficient and inspiring, rather than worrying or pitiful.
For almost a year now I have made good progress at being normal and keeping my weight in a small range rather than fluctuating wildly.
Now I want to get back to sport that I used to love.
I LOVE endurance sport. My mother was a long distance runner, and marathons and ultra-marathons have always been in the background. I spent a lot of Sundays with my mom at the 5 am start of marathons and I know the great comaraderie that exists between road runners. I have seen the healthy glow, the sculpted muscles, the vitality, the openess, the pride and excitement and commitment. I want that.
I am a South African and we have a national event, the Comrades Marathon, that is the culmination of a distance runner's career. To run the Comrades marathon is to become a hero. To even qualify for the event is quite a feat and you have to have a marathon time under 5 hours to be allowed to run.
I have had my sights set on that race ever since I can remember. When I was in high school my History teacher ran the race when she was 23. I will be 23 next year and I have realized time is flying. I can't keep waiting to become a runner. I have to be one starting NOW. I want to be realistic though. It is in my nature to be a perfectionist and want results right now. I know however that this is something that will take time. I don't even want to attempt a normal marathin till october next year. My goal is to be fit enough to run the 2009 Comrades Marathon which will be shortly after my 24th birthday.
So yeah, I hope to see you around. Please feel free to comment on my diet or routines.
I am curious for instance to know what people think about 1600 calories a day for me. Is that too high or too low?
I feel quite adamant and determined about reaching 108-110 lbs. In running it really does make a difference and I have managed to maintain there quite happily for quite long periods of time before. However, if it really is too low, then I would like to know about it. I don't want to set myslef up for failure right at the start. I don't know whether 1600 calories per day will help or hinder my progress in that regard.
So please, comment away. While I feel I know distance running quite well, I feel rather ignorant in most other diet and fitness matters.
Some stats
female
22 years old
5'4"
116 - 118 lbs
ovo-lacto vegetarian (5 years)
I have a few goals
Rest of 2007
Get my diet under control
1600 calories per day in 6 small meals
Get my 10 km as close to 1 hour or under as possible
(running 4 times per week)
Start doing pilates 2 per week
use my 3 free personal trainer sessions to figure out a weights routine
2008
Run a sub 30 minute 5 km
Run a sub-50 minute 10 km
Run my first Half Marathon ()
Run my first full marathon by October 2008
Get my weight bewteen 108 and 112 lbs and keep it there
Start karate again and get junior black (I reached brown belt in high school)
2009
Run sub 2 hour Half marathon
Run 56 km
Ultimate Goal:
To run the 2009
maintain my weight between 108 and 112 lbs
Get black belt in karate
I am here looking to finally get fit and healthy. I have a very general fitness base. I am pedestrian so I walk a number of kilometers each day just to get around, but I also go for occassional runs. I am fit enough to run 10 km without needing to walk, but I am not near my potential pace.
I used to do middle distance and cross-country running in high school, but an obsession with weight got in the way and I struggled for a few years (actually for almost a decade) with bulimia. I was never classified with anorexia, because I never got to a low enough weight, but I ranged from weeks of starvation to binge- purging cycles, to every mixture in between including the use of ipecac, laxatives and various appetite supressants. My weight has ranged between 103 and 128 lbs, but I mostly used food and let exercise slip.
For a long time my obsession was with extreme thinness, but I have stopped wanting to be skeletal. I don't think its attractive and I don't think it feels good. In addition, I know myself now and my useless repetitive yo-yoing through various weights. Though my starvation stages work at getting me thin, they can't be maintained and have dire consequences for my health and relationships.
I have finally learnt that thin doesn't matter when you hate yourself, feel ill all the time and hardly have friends and won't let anyone near you. I want something that is maintainable and doesn't ruin my life in the meantime. I also feel I need to outgrow that adolescent insecurity and be proud of who I am. Being "sick" with also feels extremely humiliating because I feel that as an adult I can't expect people to look after me. I would find it humiliating now if someone thought I needed "help" or to be "looked after". I want to be strong, independent, self-sufficient and inspiring, rather than worrying or pitiful.
For almost a year now I have made good progress at being normal and keeping my weight in a small range rather than fluctuating wildly.
Now I want to get back to sport that I used to love.
I LOVE endurance sport. My mother was a long distance runner, and marathons and ultra-marathons have always been in the background. I spent a lot of Sundays with my mom at the 5 am start of marathons and I know the great comaraderie that exists between road runners. I have seen the healthy glow, the sculpted muscles, the vitality, the openess, the pride and excitement and commitment. I want that.
I am a South African and we have a national event, the Comrades Marathon, that is the culmination of a distance runner's career. To run the Comrades marathon is to become a hero. To even qualify for the event is quite a feat and you have to have a marathon time under 5 hours to be allowed to run.
I have had my sights set on that race ever since I can remember. When I was in high school my History teacher ran the race when she was 23. I will be 23 next year and I have realized time is flying. I can't keep waiting to become a runner. I have to be one starting NOW. I want to be realistic though. It is in my nature to be a perfectionist and want results right now. I know however that this is something that will take time. I don't even want to attempt a normal marathin till october next year. My goal is to be fit enough to run the 2009 Comrades Marathon which will be shortly after my 24th birthday.
So yeah, I hope to see you around. Please feel free to comment on my diet or routines.
I am curious for instance to know what people think about 1600 calories a day for me. Is that too high or too low?
I feel quite adamant and determined about reaching 108-110 lbs. In running it really does make a difference and I have managed to maintain there quite happily for quite long periods of time before. However, if it really is too low, then I would like to know about it. I don't want to set myslef up for failure right at the start. I don't know whether 1600 calories per day will help or hinder my progress in that regard.
So please, comment away. While I feel I know distance running quite well, I feel rather ignorant in most other diet and fitness matters.