I went to the gym today and had a great workout. I did a 4 mile run, followed by leg weights (working to strengthen the muscles that support my knees), pushups, crunches, planks and then 10 high intensity intervals on the bike. I finished up my workout with lots of stretches.

Over the last few months I haven't been able to exercise as much as I would like. There have been a couple of reasons for this including the problem with my knee and a problem with time due to the longer commute I've had the last four months. Now that my knee is a lot better I want to kick up the exercise and hopefully be in better shape for the marathon this year.

A second goal that I've had for a while is to run a race in every state. Rodney and I have always wanted to visit every state and this is an additional incentive. I initially thought to run a marathon in every state, but realized that might be overly ambitious, so I am going to aim for a race of any distance as long as it fits into the travel plans. I'd better get busy on this goal soon because I'm not getting any younger and there are a lot of states!

Since I've been working out regulary with my trainer I've been doing modified push-ups (on my knees). Last night I did 5 full push-ups! I was so excited, I've never done a full push-up in my life. My form wasn't fanstastic, but I did them and I will continue to get stronger and be able to do more and do them better! One of my goals has been to do full push-ups!! It is so exciting to see the improvements in my strength.

I have a problem with all or nothing thinking - it is probably one of the big reasons I gained as much weight as I did - I was either on a diet or eating all out! Recently somebody posted on the ObesityHelp exercise board that she finished her Saturday long run on Sunday. The goal was to get all the miles in. I've read about splitting up runs between the morning and evening as a strategy also. Of course, I've never applied that concept to myself, either I got my run in or I didn't. After reading this post, something clicked for me and I've applied it the last couple of times I've been to the gym. I wanted to run 4 miles, but can't get to the gym earlier enough to get all 4 in before my training session. So, the lightbulb went off and I realized I could go back after the session and finish my run!

Today I did my first duathlon, which consisted of a 2 mile run, 12 mile bike ride, 2 mile run. It took place on the campus of SUNY Old Wesbury. I was so nervous this morning, I had butterflies in my stomach. I was hoping to get out of doing the race somehow, but that just wasn't happening.

Rodney came to the race with me and helped me get everything situated. It was a very well organized race. Here I am with my bike in the transition area before the start of the race:

Here is a picture Rodney took of all the bikes in the transition area:

Before I knew it we were off running. The run was brutal and started with a hill. Actually, never mind started with a hill, just about the entire course was uphill, or at least it seemed that way. I started out too fast, but it was ok and I got through the first run without too much difficulty.

I finished the 2 miles and was faced with the transition area. This is the part I was nervous about, but it went fairly smoothly and before I knew it I was headed out for the 12 mile bike portion of the race.

I was hoping the bike portion wasn't as hilly as the run, but that hope was short lived. It was a very hilly course and I worked really hard to finish. The course consisted of 3 4 miles loops. One good thing was that the loop seemed to go faster each time as I became more familiar with the course. On the first loop, I did a bad job of shifing my gears on a hill and my chain fell off, so I lost a little time there. Other my chain falling off, the day getting hotter by the minute and screaming quads, I made it through the biking portion of the race. Now I had to face the 2 mile run again before I would be finished.

The run was harder than the first time around. It takes a while to get your running legs back after biking. Knowing that it wouldn't be much longer before I was done with the race kept me going! It wasn't long before I was crossing the finish line.

I finished the race in 1:48:24, placed 114 out of 124 and 4th in my age division. I even won a medal for the Athena division, which just make me laugh. The Athena division is for the heavy weight women, over 150 pounds. I placed first in this division. I find it funny that I placed first in the heavy weight division after losing so much weight!

So, I conquered this new challenge. I was really nervous about the race, and I did it and finished. It was a lot of fun and I would definitely do a duathlon again.

Here are the complete results from the race:

Recently I went to a Fitness Conference and I wanted to share a few key points I picked up with regards to exercise and women. The major point was that strength training is key to maintaining muscle tissue as we age. Muscle tissue is more active and therefore burns more calories and helps us to not gain weight. As we age we naturally lose strength and need to fight that loss with strength training

The Average Woman

• Loses about 5 pounds of muscle every decade.
• Adds about 10 pounds of fat every decade.
• Reduces her muscle mass by 1/3 by the age of 50. Strength loss is 12-14% per decade after the age of 50.
• Can lose half her original muscle tissue by 60, leaving her with a high percentage of body fat.
• Might not have enough muscle mass. This will absolutely increase the risk of serious problems such as lower back pain, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and bone loss.
• However, there is no difference between male and female muscle tissue, nor is fiber type distribution different between men and women.

Menopause and Weight Gain

• In the pose-ovulatory phase (the two weeks before the menstrual flow begins) a female's metabolic rate increases by about 200-300 calories per day.
• At menopause the loss of the menstrual function could cause a weight gain of approximately 4-6 pounds per year if the female does not make an adjustment in either her energy expenditure or food intake.
• This is not a hopeless situation as exercise can make a huge difference. In a cross-sectional study comparing female athletes and sedentary women between the ages of 18-69, there was no difference in body fat percentage and fat free mass between the youngest and oldest athletes. In addition, the older athletes' metabolic rates were similar to the young athletes, not to the older, sedentary controls.

To help combat the weight gain that comes with aging, we need to get out there and exercise (and be sure to include strength training). Be sure to get approval from your physician before starting any exercise program.

I went to the doctor for my annual check-up on Monday and during the examination he commented that I have a runner's heart. I wasn't sure what he meant, and I wanted to be sure it was a good thing, so I asked him what he meant. It said I had a slow and steady heart rate. How amazing is it to go from an out of shape 302 pounds to having a runner's heart? I was thrilled!