ADRENALINE - You´ll have to take me to the finish line (10K & 13.1 miles)

Some years ago, I have never been thinking to run or even in participation at a half marathon. Every time when I even think about going for a run, I came up with plenty of reasons not to go. The alarm goes off and instead of hopping out of bed, I rolled over. Or coming home from a long day at work and instead of a rejuvenating run, I grabbed some junk food head and sat on the couch in front of the TV. To be honestly, I really hated to run. It felt so uncomfortable for me and it didn´t make sense to me for a stupid and boring run.

Nearly exactly 3,5 years ago I went with my bf to an outlet shop for sport apparel and equipment. To give my own bastard a small kick into the ass, I rummaged for some sport shoes. There were a lot of Reebok Easytone and some Asics Running Shoes there. After trying some of them I decided to buy the best shoes which fits. (without consultation an sales staff). I chose the Asics Blackhawk 3. 

I paid –if I can remember- something 50 € (rd. $66 ). It´s an entry-level shoe for beginner.

via google

They were really comfortable, but –honestly- the most of the time they were in the shoe rack. Okay, once or no more than twice a month they saw the daylight.

Two years ago I started fitness walking with my dad – every Sunday for a course of 5 km (7 miles). Last year I did Zumba with these shoes. They were good enough for my on-off-sport.
This year in April I bought two pair of NIKE Free Shoes – they were perfect for a walk or for doing some bootcamp sessions. (read here), but not running!!

But since a few months I run regularly (2-3 times a week) and I felt more and more uncomfortable in my ASICS shoes. Regarding my overpronation (Pronation is how a runner's foot rolls laterally between footfall and toe-off - overpronation is when it rolls inwards)  in my shoes, I have special insole by BOOTDOC for my skiing and hiking shoes.  

 

via google research

I tried to wear them additional in my ASICS running shoes. That was in March this year. This was the time of my first long run (nearly 10K = 6 miles). I would have done a longer run, but unfortunately I got a blister on my feet due to the chafing insole. Without these insole there was distressing running - without any fun.

My decision was made: I have to buy some new shoes, if I want to conquer the streets in September with the 10K-Distance and the 21K-Distance in Boston in October with an acceptable time and not crawling on all fours into the finish.

Yesterday I went to the Run2-Shop by Runnerspoint in my home town (Ulm), where I got a really good expert advice by two of the sales staff (which have professional experience in high-performance sport for nearly 15 years!) – including a video analysis on the treadmill with different running shoes.

On the short list, there was the NIKE Lunarglide 5+ (as I´m addicted to NIKE), the ASICS GT 2000 and the BROOKS Adrenaline GTS 13.

I started with my old shoes on the treadmill with my old one. It was really visible in the slow motion, how extremely I cave in (reasonable with my pronation) in my running process.

Afterwards I tried the ASICS GT 2000. It´s the latest model in the award-winning GEL-2000 series. 

Naturally it continues to deliver impressive comfort and fit for overpronators. The new Guidance Trusstic is designed to work with the Guidance Line along the outsole. Together they encourage a more efficient gait, guiding your foot from heel strike to toe-off, while also giving support to the midfoot.
Also new in the GT-2000 is the Dynamic DuoMax Support System, a dual density midsole with a softer top layer for more sensory feedback and added comfort.
This model contains Gender Specific Cushioning, a softer top layer of the Solyte dual density midsole, designed to enhance cushioning and comfort for women.
The lightweight Hotmelt upper, containing less stitches and less potential for irritation, improves comfort. With its excellent cushioning and fit, the GT-2000 is perfect for longer runs.

The difference was enormous. I realized that I ran so long with the wrong shoes. The sales consultant said, that I´m a lucky girl of not getting injured.

The next shoes I tried my (optical) favourite shoes …The NIKE Lunarglide 5+ Running Shoe!

YES, I´m a woman… and I´m also take a look at the optic of something (and maybe without focusing on the functunality…*smile* ). 

The seamless single-layer mesh upper with ultra-strong Flywire threads delivers a superior fit and feel, offering ventilation and support where you need it most. For an adaptive, glove-like fit, the updated Flywire wraps the midfoot and arch and integrates with the lace loops, tightening for a closer fit and reduced pressure on the top ridge of the foot. Dynamic Support provides just the stability you need without the added weight or stiffness of a traditional medial post. A floating heel clip moves with the foot to add another level of support, moderating excessive rearfoot pronation.
The shoe's Lunarlon cushioning features a soft yet resilient foam core encased within a supportive foam carrier for lightweight, ultra-plush cushioning and springy response.

Unfortunately the stability wasn´t as good as the ASICS I tried before. If I want to be successful with my 10K and 21K-Run, I shouldn´t buy these nice…lovely….beautiful.....NIKE Lunarglide… aarrgghh!

The second sales consultant took my over the store and showed me some BROOKS shoes with nearly the same features as the ASICS does. It was the BROOKS Adrenaline GTS 13.

Lucky 13 is our best Adrenaline GTS yet. It was paid special attention to the underfoot flex by adding Omega Flex Grooves and continuing Omni Grooves in the forefoot, allowing the outsole to bend and shape naturally. Continuing with the tradition of a tailored fit, stretch eyelets lock into the medial side to capture the foot better and technologies like Flextra and anatomical Brooks DNA deliver customized stability and cushion.
The magazine Runner´s World called the GTS 13 a “classic stability shoe”, and quoted one wear tester as saying, “it’s soft enough that you can feel the road surface below, but there’s enough padding that you don’t feel as though you're running on concrete blocks.”

In directly comparison with both shoes (on the left with ASICS, on the right with BROOKS) the video analysis on the treadmill showed, that the BROOKS supports my feets better in view of my overpronation.

Additional to my purchase I bought some new running socks by X-SOCKS. 

The combination of cushioning zones and ventilation channels, these socks are particularly good for middle and long-distance runs. The cushioning on the instep and on the heel dissipates the impact and shockwaves that are created with every step you take. The patented Lambertz-Nicholson Achilles Tendon Protector™ envelops the sensitive tendons in a recessed area which functions as a support to protect against the risk of chafing and abrasions from the top of the shoe. The integrated ventilation channels of the Traverse AirFlow Channel Systems™ on the soles and the AirCool Stripes™ on the instep continue to let fresh air circulate freely in the shoe.

Thank you Oli and Toni (the consultants) for your 1,5h extraordinary support – especially over the regularly opening hours. 

In the end I´m not sad anymore that I didn´t choose the NIKE Running Shoes.

I struck a compromise: even if the shoes from NIKE weren´t suit on my feets, the apparel does!!

Now I´m geared up to do the battle of 10K and 21K….. let the training begin….. :o)

If you like I can give you my review of my new shoes after some runs. They will be break in.. VERY SOON..!!

Stay healthy and tuned !

(All text with italic format are quoted from the original website of the producer).

Run like you stole something

As my facebook follower received this pre-information of yesterday evening, there is another announcement of a cornerstone on my way of getting back into the best shape of my life.

You know, I did the COLOR RUN 5K-Challenge in Munich on 30^th June, which was really a colorful and funny event (although I catched a cold some days before). In this post some days ago you can read my summary. 

My next Running Event is planned in Ulm (my home town) on 29^th September with 10K. 
It´s called 'Einstein Marathon' regarding the birth town of Albert Einstein.

Einstein Marathon in Ulm (with the tallest church of the world in background)

I already signed in last year for the event of last year but unfortunately I didn´t focus on my training and had so much excuses… So I transferred my participation to this year. 

As mentioned, the B.A.A. (Boston Athletic Association) opened yesterday their registration for the upcoming Half Marathon on 13^th October. Whereas I´m on-site in this time I studied the pros and cons of participation/non-participation…. Until the last minute before the opening! 
I know, that I´m not a professional runner (not fast and no long distance). On a sunny Sunday morning in March this year I woke up, fastened my running shoes and ran…. Ran without heart rate monitor, without time- and distance goal. The weather was nearly perfect and at the end I did 9,7 km (rd. 6 miles). This was my longest distance so far!

Picture of one of last year´s BAA Half Marathon event (internet fund)

I couldn´t imagine the picture of being in Boston without participation and seeing the happy finisher while standing next to other viewer.

The registration open was announced for 10:00 a.m. EST / 4 o´clock CET. 
I stick a big post-it label into my diary and set the alarm in my mobile phone for not forgetting this date.

Afterwards it seemed that this was the best idea. The field-size is only for 7,500 runner and they advised to fill out the registration form VERY QUICK! Some of these was already hold by distance medley participants (medley is the BAA 5K, 10K and half), who could signed up for all three earlier this year.

I want to have one of these medals

It closed in record time of 12 minutes, as the field size limit has been reached!!! Last year happened this at 55 minutes and the year before at 2 hours.

I´m a lucky girl to register in time, but I had to wait until getting the acceptance mail.
Nearly every few minutes I scrolled down my iPhone for updating my inbox. :o)
Round about 4 ½ hours later I got the redemptive mail: 

I`M IN…!!!! 

Whooo hoooo!!

Therefore: the progress of my participation in Running Events in this year will added by one more cornerstone. 5K, 10K and now also 21K (13.1 miles).

But – to be honest – I´m a little bit scared of this participation. The longest run I ever made was nearly 10K… and in 12 weeks I have to run the double distance!!

It´s now time to train with a huge aspiration, if I want to reach the finish line without crawling on all fours. :o)
But as John Bingham said: "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."! 

Additional to this training I don´t forget to follow my nutrition plan and my weight lifting plan…(see here) :o)

This new cornerstone will be the best motivation and the best fat burner for me for reaching my goals: enter fit, shaped and healthy with a lighter weight the plane to USA for a lovely time in Boston and New York City!!

Do you have any running competitions planned this year or did already some of them?

A goal without a plan is just a wish

Some of you might already know, that I can announce my really first successful step of my weight loss journey.

This blog exists since November 2012 and starting from this time I tried to change my own bad habits into good ones.

As you know from this post in the past, I was a really bad carb junkie and I was fixed in my own prison of unhealthy food and sweets. It was like the devil´s circle!! 

In January or February this week I went to a party where I met a really lean and shaped women. Regarding the noise of the music, we tried to communicate as best as we can.  A few days later we met us again at facebook where we chat a few hours.

She is a female bodybuilder and has also experience on stage. …. And experience in weight loss. Therefore she knows exactly how I feel in my body.

After the wedding of one of my best friends (this post) and meeting some friends (which lives in other cities of Germany), I came back from holiday with my heaviest weight ever!!!

I told her my unsuccessful weight loss story so far and she promised me to help me.

It all started middle of June.

We met us in town and I told her my daily routines and my experience in different diets, my good and my bad nutrition habits and my sporty past (you know, I was a very sporty girl!! See here).

On Monday morning, June 17^th, she send me a complete nutrition and training plan for the upcoming week with start of the next day. I was so excited, that it really begans, so I went to the grocery store in the early Monday morning (before work) and tried to follow the nutrition plan. In my mind the picture of a reshaped body of myself was my biggest imagination and motivation.  

The training plan consists of a three-split weight training - cardio is only optional.

The first days (from Tue, June 18^th to Sun, June 23^th) was cleansing days. It was only allowed to drink a lot of tea (green tea is the best with the best effect of fat-burning), water, Coke light and vegetable stock. One cup of coffee with  skim milk in the early morning was allowed. And last, but not least, you can eat a maximum of 6 natural unsalted rice cakes. That’s all.

Now you might think, that this is really a small portion for a full-time working women. Yes, you´re right. My stomach grunted not only one time! (One funny story beside: I went with my bf to the hardware store and afterwards he turned into the drive-in of burger king!! Aaargh!! But I stayed strong. One of my thoughts was: “ Hey, you already had your portion of French fries and burgers! That´s the reason why you look the way you look now!” That´s helps me for not cheating in the first time).

From Monday, June 24^th to Wednesday, June 26^th my first week of nutrition change started! And there was more foods allowed. The basis is still the week before. At lunch I ate a huge bowl of salad with my own dressing (100 ml of non-fat yoghurt with pepper, salt, lemon juice, mustard and some other herbs and spices). At dinner there was steamed broccoli or spinach with a special sauce. This sauce contained also 100ml of 0,1% yoghurt and a lot of spices. The second part of this week was added with one portion of fruits: I chose yoghurt with rasperries – my own daily porn food :o)

Unfortunately I catched a cold in this week. So I have to pause my training – nevertheless the kilos/pounds flew away.

On June, 30 there was in Munich the first COLOR RUN in Germany. It was the funniest 5K I ever made. Unfortunately I was short of breath due to my runny nose. My nose was faster than me… hahaha :o) 

In this separate post you can find the pics of this fun event!

But back to business and my weight loss story:

In week two there was added also a few kcals of proteins like fish or low-fat meal such as turkey or chicken. Now I´m in week three and I can eat more kcals of these proteins.

And what should I say? I lost 7 kg (14 lbs) so far from the basis of my heaviest weight and I feel great. I lost 2 dress sizes so far and that´s not the end. 

AND...!!! I was two time on a BBQ-Birthday event. My weight gained a little bit, but after a few days it dropped off. 

My goal is to loose at least 5 more kilos (10 lbs) until my entry to the plane in 3 months.

Next week the registration for the B.A.A. Half Marathon in Boston on 13^th Oct 2013 will be opened.

As I´m on site then, I´m thinking in participation. Currently I´m in training for the 10K run in my home town at end of September - with focus on the 21K. Please keep your fingers crossed for me for catching a participation ticket. But – to be honest – I´m a little bit scared of the participation. The longest run I ever made was nearly 10K… and in three-odd months I have to run the double distance!!

But this will be the best motivation and the best fat burner for me for reaching my goals.

Stop wishing – start doing!

The COLOR RUN 2013 in Munich - multi-colored summary

Hi Sporties!

Here are some pics of the funniest and colored 5K I ever did.
As announced in my last post, I participated in the first COLOR RUN in Germany in Munich on June 30.


Here are the results - have fun:

  

 

 

 

 

 As you see, we had a lot of fun.... Hope you can participate also in one of these fun events!

Stay healthy and go running with fun!