Hoosiers Outrun Cancer

Cancer has touched my life. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who has not been affected by cancer. It's a horrible word, it's a horrible disease, and we all need to fight for a cure. One way I try to help aid this fight against cancer is to participate in Hoosiers Outrun Cancer. I have participated over the years by being a volunteer and by taking part in the race. It is seldom really a race per se. We walk. Generally very slow. But, we walk, and we visit and we do it together.

Together we fight to end cancer.

We walk in memory of so many loved ones.

We walk to celebrate those who are fighting cancer.

We walk for those who have won the battle.

This was Aiden's third walk. He has been to too many funerals in his short lifetime. Most were for loved ones who were taken from us by cancer.

This group of ladies has participated in some form for as long as I can remember.

Tricia, me, Amy, and Sarah

My sister, Sarah, me, Jay, and Amy. The Zija distributors, representing at HOC.

I know that there are a ton of races out there. I know that there are many ways to raise money to help fight cancer. This. This is the one thing I do every year to honor those who are fighting. Those who we have lost. Those who have beat cancer.

Success

NOTE: I wrote this post last week but have had difficulty in getting my photos uploaded. It's no longer timely, but I figure everyone likes this kind of post, so I'll do it anyway. Enjoy!


I managed to get my booty out of bed and to the gym every. single. morning last week (two weeks ago now)! I also completed all but my Friday afternoon post-work workouts. :) To say I was exhausted would be an understatement. In fact, I was fighting to stay awake when I gave in and went to bed at 8:30 on Friday night. Yup, I'm pretty cool.

I'm going to count this as a successful week of workouts. We were supposed to do arms on Friday morning and I was supposed to do cardio Friday afternoon. However, we ended up doing a cardio circuit with jumping jacks, jump rope, shadow boxing, push-ups, lunges, and sit-ups for a good 45 minutes Friday morning. I shall count that as my cardio for the day. I'm really proud of myself for completing the week!

So, in celebration, check out some progress photos of me. I gained a lot of weight while I was pregnant. My Doctor never said I was gaining too much. I recently looked up something online that showed how much weight you should gain with a pregnancy based on your starting weight. I was surprised to see that I only gained a little bit more than is suggested. So, here is a picture of me pregnant. I believe it was a couple of weeks before Aiden was born.

Here I am about a week or so after Aiden was born.

Photo by SBChilds Photography

Here I am six months out.

Here is a picture just after Aiden's 1st birthday.

Photo by SBChilds Photography

This is a picture from earlier in September, right around Aiden's 2nd birthday.

I've come a long way. I've worked hard. I still have a ways to go, but as my blog title says, it's a journey.

Change of Plans

Good news, yesterday was upper body day and it went well! I modified my workout by lifting less weight but doing more reps. It felt kind of silly doing chest flies with five pound weights. In fact, I increased to 7.5 weights after my first set. That was probably the only time that I really felt my shoulder. I was careful not to go to far and stretched really well after I was done.

We then did my favorite abs workout. Two of us lay on decline benches and Dale throws a medicine ball to one of us, we both lay back and sit up, do a twist, and the person with the ball throws it back to Dale. He then throws the medicine ball to the other person and we repeat. It's a good workout for the abs, and it's fun. After we finished he had us turn around so we were holding on where we usually lock our feet in. We would then pull our legs up in a pike position and he would throw them down. Neither of us lasted long, but it was an awesome workout and I felt it last night.

Yesterday I met one of the girls who works out in the morning for lunch on the Monument. I'm pretty sure that yesterday was really my first time on the monument. I often see people sitting there to eat their lunch, but I had never done that. Unfortunately I had forgotten my lunch, so I grabbed a salad from When Eddie Met Salad and joined my friend. I couldn't believe how peaceful it was. Well, with the exception of the fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars that went by three different times. I will have to have my lunch out there more often! Here is a little picture of my view while eating.

I was planning on doing cardio with Jay after work, until my co-worker reminded me that we had a meeting last night at the Children's Museum. There was just not enough time to pick up Aiden, get to the Y, work out, shower and get back downtown. In fact, there wasn't much time to get Aiden, head home, make dinner, and then head downtown. So, Jay was so kind as to pick up Aiden and fend for themselves for dinner so that I could go to the downtown Y for cardio with my co-worker. We just did a quick 30 minutes on the elliptical, but it felt great to get that cardio in. Then we showered and headed for our meeting. Which was great by the way. I need to get to the Children's Museum with Aiden and Jay very soon.

I am so appreciative that Jay supports me in my quest to become healthier. He could have told me to get Aiden and make dinner, but he didn't. He did however go to a German restaurant that I have been dying to go to for years. Now I'm jealous! :)

Back in the saddle again.

Who isn't singing "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry now? You're welcome.

I'm two days in to returning to my regularly scheduled workouts. Yay! Technically today was supposed to be my first day back, but yesterday was legs day, so I figured that if my shoulder started to hurt (which it shouldn't) I would take it easy. Everyone at the Y was happy to see me again. It appears that they noticed my two week hiatus. It turns out that Dale was actually asking some of the ladies what they did to me to make me not come back. I'm not going to lie; it was nice to be missed. :)

So, I knocked out legs yesterday morning. It felt great! I didn't push too hard, but I am definitely feeling it today.

Then yesterday afternoon I did the elliptical for 50 minutes. It felt great. I managed to forget my iPod at home, but between the music playing at the Y, my reading materials, and the televisions, the 50 minutes went quickly. Still no shoulder pain.

Actually, my legs were starting to feel pretty sore last night so I took a minute to stretch. Never mind that I was stretching on the kitchen floor while my peach was broiling. The result of that stretching session was great. I got a good stretch and when I was done I got to eat a peach sprinkled with brown sugar, drizzled with honey, and stopped with vanilla bean ice cream. Yummy!

This morning I got up to swim. I grabbed a kickboard just in case my shoulder hurt. I considered just using the kickboard, but decided to try a couple of strokes in the shallow end, just to see how it felt. Amazing!!!! No pain at all. I was able to swim the entire 50 minutes without using the kickboard. I was even able to do push-ups in the deep end. I didn't do as many as Dale wanted me to, but I didn't want to push it too far on my first day back to swimming.

When we were done Dale complimented me on my improved swimming. He said that I have improved 100%. I mentioned that it would have been difficult to get much worse. He agreed, but was really pleased with my progress. I'm doing so much better with breathing and getting more comfortable in the water. It still bugs me to no end to have water in my ears, but I have swimmers ear that I use when I get out of the pool. Hopefully someday I'll get over that.

I am so happy to be working out again. I was so busy the past two weeks and in so much pain for a portion of it. I'm glad to once again be pain free and moving. Thanks for sticking around!

Peanut Butter Bars

Well, I started this post yesterday and then realized that my pictures didn't upload to dropbox like they should have. So, now you get two posts in one day. Lucky you!

This weekend I decided that I was going to make some kind of protein breakfast type food to eat before my workouts. Having a little bit of protein before my morning workout is something the nutritionist recommended. So, I searched my pinterest boards and came across peanut butter bars that required three ingredients and about 15 minutes of my time. The best part was that I already had all of the ingredients on hand. Well, I think the recipe called for natural peanut butter, but I have an abundance of regular old Jif in my pantry, so that's what I used.

Here are the ingredients

(I'm pretty sure that my water dispenser is photo bombing my picture!)

I mixed a cup of peanut butter and a cup of the honey together in a large skillet until liquidy. Then stirred in three cups of quick oats.

Finally, press the mixture into a greased 9x9 pan and let sit overnight. I might have left a little on the spoon to try right away. :)

The next morning I sliced them into nine bars and grabbed one on my way out the door. On my way to the Y I drank my Zija and couldn't even attempt to eat the bar. However, as soon as I got back in my car I was able to eat the bar on the way to work. Boy, was that good! It is very thick, so I probably could have used more water. I actually drank most of a bottle of water while eating it. I really like it though. It is nutritious and tasty and helps me want to drink more water. Win, win, and win. :)

Do you have a simple recipe for protein foods/breakfast foods that I should try? Let me know if you have tried this one or a variation of it.

Eating well while traveling

Since I'm still on a work out hiatus, I don't have anything exciting to share. However, I drove to Bloomington and back after work on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. To say that I'm tired of being in the car would be an understatement. And since the question has already been asked, no, I could not have combined my trips into one day, or even two for that matter. I really have a hard time eating well when I'm on the road. Certainly I'm not alone.

Tuesday's trip was in the afternoon after a half-day of work rather than after a full day of work, so that wasn't bad. I also ended up getting a cortisone shot. I rewarded myself with a reese cup blizz from Chocolate Moose. Yes, I'm five and need a reward for getting a shot without crying or throwing a fit. But, if you grew up in or around Bloomington, you know that Chocolate Moose cannot be duplicated. And for the record, I did not get eyes. :)

Wednesday's trip down and back did not allow me time to have dinner with my parents and Aiden. Therefore, when I got home at 8pm I had to give Aiden a bath and put him to bed. It was just after 9 before I could even consider dinner. Everything in my house required preparation and I just wanted to go to bed. Unfortunately, Steak N Shake is across the street from my house. So, I headed across the street and got a Chicago hotdog and fries. None of it tasted good, I knew it wasn't a good decision, but I needed food, fast.

Thursday's trip down and back didn't exactly allow for time for dinner either. I ate lunch early (for me) and never got a snack. So, on my way to pick up Aiden I stopped by Subway and got a kids meal turkey sandwich and apple slices. I then had some left over pulled pork at my parent's house, but was still hungry. I headed home and was so tired I didn't want to make anything again. I had two slices of bread with a little bit of butter, Aiden's left over macaroni and cheese from the weekend, and a pumpkin donut that Jay had lovingly saved for me. I forced it all down and passed out.

I hate eating fast food but sometimes it seems like the only option. I know my food choices have not been wonderful the past three days, but I kind of did what I could based on my situation. We are heading to Ft. Wayne this weekend. I will pack fresh fruit and string cheese for Aiden, and probably some extra for me and Jay, but I'm not sure what else travels well. Any suggestions? What do you eat on the road? Where do you go for nutritious meals on the go?

Nutrition

I'm sorry I've been MIA. I hurt my shoulder about a month ago and reinjured it while having a dodge ball fight with beach balls on Labor Day. Yup, I was acting like a kid and hurt myself. Oh well. I'm pretty well used to that at this point in my life. I went to one of my favorite Doctors on Tuesday and he somehow convinced me that a cortisone shot was the way to go. Now, two days later, my shoulder is actually starting to feel better. I guess he knew what he was talking about. :) Thankfully I can return to working out next week. Tuesday is probably the day he wants me to return to working out, but Monday is legs day and I don't do any machines that have pads resting on my shoulders. Of course I will take it easy and not do something if it hurts my shoulder, but I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym!

Tuesday was a big day for me. Not only did I get a cortisone shot, I also met with a nutritionist. I won't tell you where, and I honestly don't remember her name, but I don't feel like I got much out of the meeting. However, in her defense, she doesn't know me at all and could only speak based on her knowledge of nutrition and the very limited amount of questions she asked me. In my defense, I wasn't sure what all to tell her. I certainly didn't try to hide things from her, but really, how much of my life story did this girl really want to hear?

However, I did mention my previous conversation with my friend from high school regarding not consuming enough calories. She asked me my typical diet, which I laid out for her, and she agreed that I am not eating enough. We did not discuss number of calories consumed on a daily basis, but she then proceeded to tell me that I should be aiming for 1300-1400 calories a day. Huh? Did we not just come to an agreement that what I was eating was not enough? So, thinking I misunderstood her, I asked if I should be increasing my caloric intake on days that I work out. She said to only eat more if I'm hungry. So, that seemed like a bit of a conversation that was going nowhere.

We then switched gears and discussed a meal plan for me. Which is identical to what I eat right now. Thanks. Now, she did suggest that I have some protein before I lift first thing in the morning. I don't typically eat before a workout because I feel like my food is sloshing around in my stomach. But I have been drinking my XM+ on my way to the Y and adding a hard-boiled egg or tablespoon of peanut butter shouldn't be that big of a deal. So, there was a benefit to our meeting.

I'm sure this was a difficult meeting for her. Other than my inability to drop desserts, I tend to eat pretty healthy. I guess I wasn't specific enough in my conversation to help her help me. Don't get me wrong, I am certain that she is incredibly knowledgeable and she was very sweet. Like I said before, I'm sure that I didn't do a good job of letting her know what I am looking for. So, I will meet with her again and see how the next meeting goes. I think I can meet with her a handful of times before I have to start paying. I don't want to waste my time and I don't want to waste her time, but I want to give her another chance to help me.

So, in the meantime, and going forward, I want to learn about food. I want to learn about what foods fuel my body and when I should be eating them (before/after workouts, how many times a day, etc.). I realize that there are many different thoughts on these topics, but I know that I have several friends that have significant knowledge in this area. So, what books do you recommend that I check out? Really, anything that you recommend that I check out, books, videos, etc. I'm all ears. :)

Sometimes I think I should have become a physical therapist.

Seriously. I have spent so much time at the orthopedic Doctor's office, at phyical therpay, with athletic trainers, etc. Dr. Weidenbener, one of my two favorite orthopedic Doctors, says that I have the thickest file of anyone else my age. Now that's something to brag about! Ha! Really, who else at 31 has had three knee surgeries after many years of wearing knee braces (I even had one specially made to match my high school cheerleading uniform!), a stress fracture in her back, broken cheekbone, shoulders that partially dislocate on a regular basis, plus an assortment of broken feet and arms, and cesnoiditis (which really means they have no idea why my foot sometimes feels like it is broken even when it isn't)? Am I missing anything? Probably. I am a walking injury waiting to happen! You would think I would give up and sit on the couch. But I don't.

Tomorrow morning I will go to a different Doctor for my foot. Did I mention I thought it was broken six weeks ago? I wore a boot for about a week and then ditched it. I wasn't suppose to run for two weeks but could swim, bike, and do the elliptical. I have run four times in the past six weeks, all of which were after the two week time frame. My foot still hurts, it's still swollen, and still bruised. I don't want to go to someone other than Dr. Weidenbener, but this Doctor is closer, and I already have an appointment scheduled.

Now my shoulder is killing me. The Wednesday before the Warrior Dash I felt a tweak while doing chest flies. It didn't hurt too bad for the Warrior Dash, but there was a little bit of adrenaline during the dash. I've tried to take it somewhat easy, I skipped shoulder day last week, but swam twice last week. Yesterday we ended up playing an impromptu game of "dodge ball" with beach balls. It was a lot of fun, but one throw teeaked my shoulder again. It kept me awake last night. I hurt to do my hair, it hurt to get dressed, etc. Really? My foot isn't enough? Wrap me in bubble wrap now! So, I skipped swimming this morning and will probably have to skip lifting tomorrow morning. Arg! I know that I need to rest in order to heal so that I can continue to do all of the things I love to do, but it's hard. Ya know?

So, what do you do when you have an injury? Change the workout routine or become a bump on a log during recovery?

I completed one trip down the pool!

I started to say that I completed one lap. However, I believe that consistutes one trip down AND back. I most definitely did not do that!

I really wanted to be able to complete one trip down the pool without stopping and gasping for breath or choking on water. So, I made that my goal for today. I thought that if I could do it once I could do it from that point forward. Wrong. I did it once and I almost did it a second time, but then I got tired. Seriously, who would have thought that swimming is so hard! And exhausting! I spent almost an hour in the pool this morning. My arms are already tired, so we will see whether I can life my arms tomorrow or not.

It was one of those mornings that I reset my alarm and had every intention of sleeping in until 5:30 and skipping my workout. I'm so glad I didn't! I accomplished a goal that I had set for myself and made quite a bit of progress in learning how to swim. I still have a long way to go, but I don't feel like I inhaled as much water as usual.



Oh! I almost forgot. I tend to like healthier foods, but I also really, really, like dessert/sweets. I've been trying to eat better and decided to take a picture of my lunch yesterday.

It was tasty! I did pretty well yesterday. I had a candy bar as an afternoon snack, but I ordered a healthier dinner. Well, Jay talked me into the artichoke dip, but my sandwich was a Lo-Cal Cluck Lite from Scotty's with only 230 calories. And, I only had a handfull of the wedge fries. Hmmmm, maybe yesterday wasn't such a good eating day. I need to work on that.

I'm looking for quick and easy breakfast foods. I generally eat once I get to work, so I need something that I can make on Sunday and heat up each day of the week, or something I can make at work with only a microwave, toaster oven, and toaster. I hate fungus (mushrooms) and can do eggs, if I have something with them, but I'm not a huge fan. Any suggestions?

I'm getting there.

Well, I managed to get up on Monday and workout with Dale's group. We did legs. Dale showed me how to use a couple of machines that I hadn't used in the past, so that was good. I also informed Dale that he came in 1st in his group at the Warrior Dash, which he didn't know! They were all teasing him that he was probably the only one in his age group, but he was excited anyway. I also found out that he is only 69. Whoopsy. Have I mentioned that I'm really bad at guessing ages? So, technically he is the same age as my dad. Which is a weird comparison for me. My dad looks younger than he does, but I can promise you that my dad could not have completed the Warrior Dash. It's very interesting how people age. If I had to guess right now, I would say that I will definitely NOT be competing in a Warrior Dash when I am 69! So, way to go Dale!

Oh yeah, and Dale didn't complete the monkey bars either. He has made it his mission to make sure that both he and I make it across the monkey bars next year. We start training this week. That's probably about how long I'm going to need to train in order to cross those things. Why were the monkey bars to easy as a kid and so difficult now?!

Monday evening Jay and I met at the Y and we started the couch to 5k training program. I am signed up for three 5ks between now and mid-October. I'm not even going to try to run Hoosiers Outrun Cancer (I'm just going to outwalk cancer) or Wine at the Line. Both of those are fairly hilly. I can't run a 5k on a treadmill, I'm not delusional to think I can run on those hills! But, the final 5k is Get Your Rear in Gear and it is located in Noblesville (I think). I'm hoping the course is a little flatter than Bloomington terrain. I also have plenty of time between now and then to complete the 5k program.

Yesterday I swam with Dale's group. I did much better than the first time. I still felt like I swallowed a ton of water, but I was much better prepared. I had goggles and a swim cap this time. We were in the outside pool which is olympic length. I could make it about half way down the pool before I would need a break, but I'm getting there. I'm also getting more comfortable in the water and not freaking out at much about water in my ears. The girls really encouraged me and said I was doing well, and Dale gave me some pointers. Then he made me swim all the way down only using one arm, then all the way back only using the other arm. It was rough, but I did it.

Today, I. am. sore. I was supposed to get up and lift upper body, but I could hardly raise my arms, let alone try to lift weight. Aiden got up at three something and only wanted me. I reset my alarm and, of course, got very little sleep until I got up at 5:30. Since I was home this morning Aiden was all out of whack and wouldn't let go of me. It was nice to get the love and hugs and kisses, but it was sad to hear him crying as I left for work. Note to self, get your butt out of bed and go work out, no matter what!

We are going out to dinner tonight with Jay's sister, so we won't get our cardio in tonight, but I hope to get back in the pool tomorrow morning.

So, my goal for today is to stay within my calorie limit and be as active as possible (considering I sit at a desk all day for work). What are your goals for the day?

Colts Preseason 5k

I'm still trying to get into my groove of blogging. I'm trying to figure out what computer to use, whether to post in the morning or at the end of the day, how to post pictures so that people actually want to look at my blog, etc. Thanks for sticking around as I try to feel my way through this new world.

This past weekend I participated in the Colts Preseason 5k with a co-worker/friend of mine. It was early. The race started at 7:30 and I had to be downtown, parked, and ready to go around 6:30. Why on earth I felt that was so early is beyond me because every week day I get up at 4:30, workout, and get to work by 7am. I actually got to sleep in to participate in the 5k. But, as we lined up for the start of the race, I took this picture of the sun rising.

It wasn't until we were lining up that I really realized that the sun hadn't risen.

As we were waiting for our heat to start I took a picture of Lucas Oil Stadium and a selfie of Jamie (my co-worker/friend) and I.

We were both nursing minor injuries and hadn't trained appropriately, so we probably only ran half a mile or so and walked the rest. But, we still managed to finish in 42 minutes. Not the greatest, but we had a good time. I took a couple of pictures along the way.

The Monument on the circle.

Lucas Oil from West Street.

Lucas Oil as we were approaching to make our final 40 yard dash.

The final 40 yards was timed for a 40 yeard dash. Jamie finished about a second before me and I completed my dash in 9.47 seconds. I was by no means near the fastest dasher (is that a word?) but I was please. Plus, it was so much fun to dash across the football field! The ground was cushioned and it was neat to see the stadium from the point of view of a player. Below is a picture of the tunnel we ran through and the finish line.

Me with my finishers medal.

Jamie and I post race.

We had a great time and I can't wait to do it again next year!

It's been a bad week full of excuses

So, I was going to post my reasons for not working out much this week, but then I realized that they are just excuses. Then I remembered that this blog is to help me stay accountable to myself, so I am going to list them anyway.

Monday:
I was supposed to get up early and lift at the Y at 5:00am (legs day) then do cardio after work with Jay.

My knee was still hurting from the Warrior Dash and I was concerned I had actually hurt myself. So I didn't go in the morning. At this point I can't remember all the way back to Monday, but I'm 99% sure I cycled with Jay on Monday.

Tuesday:
I was supposed to get up early to swim.

Aiden was up from about 11:45pm until 4:10am. The last thing I wanted to do after 20 minutes of sleep was go swimming. I took clothes to work to get a workout in during lunch, but forgot that I was giving blood that morning. I skipped the lunchtime workout and hoped to get a workout in that evening. Of course I didn't workout that night. My evenings are full, that's why I work out while the rest of the world was awake. Who was I kidding? Oh, me, that's right. ::eyeroll::

Wednesday:
I was supposed to get up early and lift at the Y at 5:00 am (chest, shoulders, and back day) then do cardio after work with Jay.

At 3:30am someone turn on the faucet inside my nose. My shoulder had also started hurting pretty bad during the day on Tuesday. Holding Aiding Tuesday night was extremely painful. So, I decided that sleeping in until 5:30 (or trying to sleep with a runny nose) and not hurting my shoulder more was a better idea. After work I grabbed a handfull of tissues and still did cardio with Jay. It wasn't pretty, and I stuggled through, but I did it.

Thursday:
I was supposed to get up early to swim.

I decided that trying to blow air out of my nose and mouth while swimming would result in snot all over the pool thanks to this nasty cold I have. I figured that my fellow swimmers would appreciate it if I didn't share my cold and if they didn't have to swim in nastiness. I also really wanted some more sleep. I considered calling in sick to work, but sick days are reserved for the little guy these days. I did nothing last night but make dinner and go to the grocery store. I even went to bed early.

Friday:
I was supposed to get up early to lift at the Y at 5:00am (arms day) and then do cardio after work with Jay.

I didn't get up. I really, really, really wanted to sleep. It's dumb though. I set my alarm for 4:30, I reset it for 5:30. I never get good rest from 4:30 to 5:30. I don't know why I even try. Regardless, I still didn't get up and lift this morning. Aaaand, I have no intention of doing cardio after work today. I feel like crap. I was really hoping that going to bed early would help me feel better this morning, but I don't. This cold needs to go away!

The other reason I don't want to do cardio after work is that I am supposed to run a 5k tomorrow morning at 7:30. The likelihood of me running the entire thing is slim to none, but I will be completing the 5k regardless. So, I don't think it is a good idea to do cardio and then 12 hours later attempt to run a 5k, especially with as miserable as I feel.

I will be participating the the Colt's Preseason 5k tomorrow morning.
It should be a really good time. I'm actually looking forward to it and hope that I miraculously feel better tomorrow. :)

I know it isn't a workout, but I will be walking to Lucas Oil stadium during my lunch today to pick up my race packet. Since the first water stop is less than a block away from my office (the one mile mark), I'm going to guestimate that I will walk 2 miles during lunch todya. At least it is something. Plus, tomorrow I will run, and next week is a new week. No excuses!

Have a great weekend everyone! Will anyone else be at the Colts Preseason 5K?

Starvation mode

Sorry for the lack of posting; I've been feeling like crap and had virtually no access to a computer outside of work this week. Thanks for sticking around. :)

One of my recent frustrations is the fact that I haven't been losing weight recently and I'm starving all the time. I mentioned that I use to track my caloric intake on a daily basis. I used to be really bad about it and only track until I knew that I would be over my calorie allotment for the day and then stop. Obviously that is not a good game plan. So I started forcing myself to track all calories, no. matter. what. Well, there were days that were shockingly high, and others that were only over by a few calories. What I found was that the program said I should still be losing weight, but I wasn't. I mentioned this to my sister and some co-workers who suggested that maybe I wasn't eating enough. Not enough, that's silly! If you want to lose weight you make healthier choices and eat less. Duh!

So, after I finally went public with my blog earlier this week, a girl I did gymnastics with in High School contacted me. She had the best name, Kim, and trains people both regarding workouts and eating. Unfortunately, she is in Pennsylvania, so I won't be spending time with her, but she suggested that maybe my body was in starvation mode. So, clearly I listened to her. She suggested that I find my basal metabolic rate and use that number to determine the number of calories that I need to consume in a day. To my utter surprise, I found out that I need approximately 1,000 more calories a day. You read that right, 1,000! No wonder I was starving all the time. So, I have manually reset my fitness pal to my new calorie goal. I am already seeing results (very minor weight loss) but most importantly I am not hungry all day long. :D

So, I still love my fitness pal, but be sure to check out your own basal metabolic rate and determine the appropriate caloric intake for your body. I just googled basal metabolic rate and clicked on the first link. And a big THANK YOU to my sister, my co-workers, and to Kim for helping me help myself. Now I need to focus on making the right food choices on a more regular basis. Oh! If you are on my fitness pal, look for me, Ladybug7121.

Warrior Dash

Oh. My. Goodness! I survived. I didn't break anything, I think. Something in my knee popped at one point and it has hurt and been wobbly since, but I'm sure I'm fine, right? Pamala and Sarah kept promising that as soon as it was all over we would want to know when the next race is. They were wrong. We had to wait just a little bit longer, but by Saturday evening Jay and I were both ready to sign up again for next year with this fun group of people. Here is a picture of the ladies before the race started. Here is the first obstacle. Holy cow was that water frigid!!! When I first came upon this obstacle I thought, no big deal, it's like the beam. Wrong! Add mud and water and it becomes a little bit more challenging! A view from the top of a very tall wall that was straight up and down. No angle like many of the others. As we stood in line for 30 minutes to climb this wall we kept saying that it must be harder than it looks. For the record, it was. The sign after the wall. The final wall of the race. Again, looked less challenging that it actually was, but not horrible. The final challenge was gross, but not terribly difficult. Swimming through gross muddy water, under barbed wire. No big deal! Post race, pre-wash. Jay and I washed off before this picture was taken. I was ready for a shower! Enjoying our complimentary beer. Those who survive receive a medal. Be jealous! Oh, it's a beer bottle opener too, in case you couldn't tell. This is what our shoes looked like after cleaning them off! Finally, a really bad selfie of Jay and I. We aren't very good at these. I promise, we will try to improve. Man are we sore today! I didn't get up and meet the group for weight lifting this morning because my knee hurt too bad. However, I did go to the Y after work and rode the stationary bike. Tomorrow morning I try swimming again. Hopefully this time I'll leave some water in the pool for everyone else! I almost forgot! A huge thank you to Pamala Dunscombe for the pictures from the Warrior Dash! Have you ever done an adventure race like this before?

Rest Day

I'm really, really, really, bad about taking rest days. Especially since I have been working so hard to lose weight and eat healthy and the scale just does not want to budge. Very annoying! But yesterday I was exhausted from my first attempt at swimming, worked all day, then went to the fair until 9pm (my usual bedtime). I didn't get to bed until after 10pm. I made the decision last night that I was not going to get up this morning and workout. Jay and I also decided that we are not going to do a cardio workout at the Y tonight. Of course, on my way to work this morning I was thinking about how nice it would be to take a bike ride as a family. While I won't entirely take that off the table, I really should rest today. Tomorrow Jay and I, along with several friends, are running the Warrior Dash. I'm excited and nervous, but mostly nervous. I'm really not all that strong so I'm afraid I won't be able to complete the obstacles. On the other hand, I don't have anything to prove to anyone and when we signed up it was in the spirit of having a good time. The group of people that we are dashing with come from all age ranges and fitness levels, so hopefully I'll fit in nicely. Then, once we complete the race, we get a free beer. I don't really like beer, but if you are going to give it to me for free, I'm not going to turn it down. :) Then Sunday I will be back in the pool trying to figure out this whole breathing while swimming thing. Wish me luck!

Who drained the pool?!

Um, that would be me. I pretty much inhaled or swallowed every last drop in the pool this morning. I'm not sure if it is time for the staff at the Y to clean the pool, but now would be a good time. Seriously though, how do people swim regularly for exercise?

Not only did I look like I was drowning, I felt like I was drowning! I was taking a breath on every stroke and feeling like I was swallowing the pool. Dale then told me to try to wait every two strokes. Are you kidding me?! I can't hardly make it one, let alone two! After I finally got over the fact that I would be getting water in my ears (which is a HUGE issue for me), I could at least keep my head in the water. Well, kind of. I felt like I was keeping my head in the water, but they kept telling me that it was sticking up. My understanding is that I'm supposed to look at the bottom of the pool. Then every third or fourth stroke you turn your head to the side and take a breath. I don't know about you, but if my head is submerged under water and I turn my head from facing forward to facing the side my head is still. under. water. The biggest problem with that is that I forgot my air tank at home. Silly me! I also find the bottom of the pool boring, it's just white with large blue stripes down each lane. Someone needs to paint something fun, like fish. That would help me look at the bottom of the pool. Then I can look like this.....

So, now my neck hurts from trying to swim flat on my stomach but keep my head up in my attempt to breathe. We don't swim again until Tuesday, but I think I might try to find some goggles and go back on Sunday to see if I can get some practice breathing. Everyone in the group was super supportive and trying to help me, but I felt like I was holding up the ladies sharing a lane with me. Tomorrow we workout our arms, then I will attend the abs class. It looks like tomorrow is going to be another embarassing morning. But, everyone has to start somewhere at some time. I'm so grateful that I have joined up with Dale, the trainer, who is so patient with me, and the wonderfully supportive women (and one guy) that work out together each morning. Have you swam laps before? Any tips on how to leave a majority of the water in the pool?

The start of weight lifting.

Yesterday morning was a rough one. I started to leave my neighborhood and had to stop to check my tires because my car said that I had low tire pressure. None of my tires look low, but annoying none the less. Then I got stuck waiting on a train. By the time I got to the gym, I was running about 15 minutes late. I hopped on the elliptical and was able to get a pretty good 35 minute workout in. I really like to do a 45 minute workout, but sometimes time just won't allow for that to happen. The worst part was that I burned 300-350 calories and proceeded to the Hardee's drive through where I consumed two cinnamon raisin biscuits. At a measly 500+ calories, my day didn't start off well. Especially considering I knew I was going out to dinner last night. Oh well, today is a new day. Speaking of today, I worked out with Dale and the workout group this morning. Dale walked me through each exercise and introduced me to everyone. The group primarily consists of women, but one person's husband also lifts with them. Everyone was so nice. Dale even complimented me on my form. He was impressed with my ability to do a pull up. It was an assisted pull up, so I'm not sure why he was so impressed, but it made me smile. :) When we were finishing up several of the group was heading to Dale's cycling class. I had to head to work so no cycling class for me. Not to worry, I will be back at the Y this afternoon with Jay for my own cycling class. The group, lead by Dale, swims on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They invited me to join. Actually, not only did Dale invite me, but two of the ladies also invited me. I guess tonight I will see if my old bathing suit fits.....

Improvise

This morning was supposed to be my first morning working out with Dale and the ladies at the Y. But, Aiden had different plans for me. Jay woke up at 2 something this morning because his toe was bothing him. He hit it on a shopping cart last night and tore the nail off and it was bleeding like crazy. He was struggling to find bandages and triple antibiotic ointment so I had to get up and help him with that. Afterward he decided to get a snack and while he was downstairs Aiden woke up crying. Jay is an amazing dad and loves to cuddle with Aiden, so I figured that Aiden would be joining us in bed when Jay returned. I was right. Unfortunately, Aiden wasn't really tired anymore. He kept moving and fidgeting and flopping. Needless to say, I got very little sleep after 2am. So when my alarm went off at 4:30 I wanted to keep sleeping, especially when I got up and Aiden followed me to the bathroom. I actually carried him back to bed, reset my alarm and laid down with him. And then he started moving, fidgeting, and kicking. I knew that I wasn't going to get anymore sleep. I also knew that it was too late to get to the Y. So, I improvised. I grabbed Aiden and went downstairs, set him up with some blueberries and milk and put Chuggington on TV for him. I searched through my pinterest workout boad for a leg workout and did it. Several times Aiden wanted to be held, so I did my squats and leg lifts with a little extra weight. Approximately 24 pounds of extra weight. But, I'm so glad I did it. It's so important to me that I stick with a workout plan, and improvise when plans change. After work I'll pick up Aiden and head to the Y to do some cardio with Jay. Well, I think I will do cardio with Jay. With the whole toe issue he isn't sure he wants to work out, but might try the stationary bike. I guess we will see.

This is the cute little guy who changed my plans this morning. Good thing he's so cute! What ways have you improvised to get a workout in when plans change?

I need to do more research!

I did my usual elliptical this morning. Next week I can return to the treadmill. I know the Drs don't want me running anymore, but I already signed up to run a 5K with a co-worker/friend of mine. I have a long way to go before then, and I really want to be able to say that I ran a 5k at some point in my life. I'm signed up for other 5ks, but I can walk those without feeling bad. I also joined the abs class this morning for 30 minutes. Just like last time, it was challenging! Feel the burn! Tonight we are taking Aiden to a firetrucks and ice cream event so we are going out to dinner. Nothing super exciting, but we plan to go to McAlister's Deli. Since I have been really bad on tracking my calories lately I decided to look up the nutrition menu ahead of time. Holy calories!!! Things that I thought weren't too bad calorie wise are horrible and some menu items surprised me with how few calories they have. Unfortunately, my beloved chocolate-loving spoon cake has over 700 calories. I'll need a hard core workout before I can even think about that tasty treat. So, I wrote down several "healthy" options and will take my list with me to dinner. I don't want too many calories, because I will eat ice cream. :) Oh, and Monday morning I am going to join the lifting group at the Y. Jay says he will start going in the afternoon after work, if I go as well. So, next week I will be going to the Y twice a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and once a day the remainder of the week. Let's see how this goes!

Weight watcher friendly?!

I did NOT want to get up this morning. I wanted to keep sleeping, past my 4:30 alarm, and past the 5:30 alarm that I could have set my ipod to. The problem was that I knew that if I stayed in bed I would not get quality sleep for the next hour. I also knew that I would not get a good workout in today. I have a lunch meeting, so the cycle pump class is out, and I really need to get some stuff done around our house, so an evening workout is out. Not to mention the fact that I ate about 90% of an elephant ear last night, in addition to the prime rib meal and the best lemon shake up ever! I needed to get a workout in just so I didn't feel like the fair was walking around with me for two days. And I'm glad I did. I had a great workout. Elliptical. Intervals. Not the most exciting thing in the world, but man did I burn some calories. Then I headed to work and had some really amazing Umpqua Oats salted caramel meltdown oatmeal. Oh. My. Gosh. If you need oatmeal on the run, in a wide variety of flavors, Umpqua Oats is your gal (or guy, I'm not sure of the sex of oatmeal). I usually make my own at home, but I had planned on eating what I had at work and decided last minute that I really wanted oatmeal. Speaking of breakfast. I pinned a site of suggested weight watchers breakfasts. I don't follow weight watchers anymore, but have had good results in the past. I use myfitnesspal.com now, primarily because it is free, and I like that my workouts count for today's calories only, and not some random day down the road. I'm not a big egg fan so I'm always looking for something that tastes good and fills me up. So I decided to try whole wheat waffles with almond butter and a sliced banana on top. It is very tasty, I'll give you that. But at 460 calories, I'm not sure what is weight watcher friendly about it. I only get 1380 calories per day. That's one third of my calories out the door before the day has really begun. I eat every few hours, something that high in calories is just too much! The worst part is that I hate to waste food and money, so I am forcing myself to eat this horribly high calorie breakfast until it is gone. I have two days left. I think I can, I think I can. What do you eat for breakfast?

Sleep!

I went to bed at approximately 7:30 last night. I probably didn't fall asleep until 8 or so, but when I woke up this morning my sleep ap said that I got 100% sleep. Woohoo! I needed it. Especially after two days with a migraine. I got up this morning and headed to the Y to get my cardio in. I was planning on doing a C25K run, but I somehow forgot my earbuds even though I had my ipod. I figured that the other people at the Y didn't want to hear when I should and shouldn't be running, so I just did some fairly consistent cardio for 45 minutes. I am reading "The Secret Life of Bees" and really enjoying it. So, my morning run went quickly. A friend of mine from law school just joined the Y and goes early in the morning. We have talked about doing some classes together, so I'm excited to see what we can do. It's always nice to have someone to workout with but it is really hard to find someone who is willing to get up before the sun to workout. Now I just need to figure out how to get some weight lifting and/or toning in. Of course I still need to check out crossfit and the ballet fitness classes that I bought groupons for. Time to start looking at the calendar. But, we are going to the State Fair tonight, so that will wait. :)

Migraines, ugh!

I have a migraine. It's not unusual. Unfortunately I get them once a month, or more if I'm lucky (insert eyeroll here). I know what is causing them but I haven't found a doctor who can help me. Although I haven't looked very hard either. In addition to them making my head feel like it is going to explode, sometimes losing my vision, and making me nausious, it means I can't work out. I hate that. This one started just after lunch yesterday which means I didn't get to work out last night. I was glad that I at least could finish the laundry and clean up the kitchen from our house guests while taking several breaks to lay down, but not the workout I was hoping for. I set my alarm to get up this morning, but as soon as I opened my eyes I knew I wouldn't be workout out today. Hopefully I can take it easy today and get back to working out tomorrow. My migraines often last 2-3 days, but they are shorter if I don't work out while I have one. So, I'm crossing my fingers that it goes away today.

Cleaning as a workout

Yesterday was a crazy busy day and I didn't get in my typical workout, but I definitely burned quite a few calories while cleaning the house. I spent a good three house picking -up, cleaning, and doing laundry. Based one myfitnesspal.com I burned over 500 calories. Woohoo! I'll take it. Not only did I really need to clean the house but it helped me burn the calories that I usually burn during a workout (actually more than I usually burn during a workout). So now my house is kind of clean and today is a new day. Unfortunately, we had house guests over until after 10pm last night. I am usually in bed around 9 and asleep long before 10pm. After they left I didn't get to pick up our dinner dishes and clean off the table, counters, and stove. But, I will do that when I get home before I make dinner tonight. Then, at some point this evening I will have to do some kind of workout because there was no way I was going to be able to get up at 4:30 this morning. Funny enough I did wake up on my own at about 4:35. I considered getting up and workout out, but I didn't have my bag packed or clothes laid out, so I would have been scrambling. I decided to sleep in until 5:30 (I know, 5:30 is sleeping in?) and I will either ride my bike, go to the Y, or maybe even just do a workout video at home. Jay is taking Aiden to Bloomington tonight so I will have the house to myself. I need to finish the final loads of laundry so I'll probably break out an old workout video or two. I don't want to push it though, because I don't think I should workout hard tonight before tomorrow morning's 5:00am workout. How was your weekend?

New Cardio

I got up at 4:30 again this morning. Back to my routine. :) Or at least what is becoming a routine. I tried the new cardio that FG suggested. I did the elliptical for 50 minutes, but after the first 5 minutes I ran as fast as I could for 15 seconds and then normal speed for 45 second and repeated for a total of six times. I did the same thing again after 30 more minutes. It was much more difficult than I anticipated. I would like to work my way up to 30 seconds of really fast workout with 90 second of normal speed, but it will take a while. After the elliptical I joined an abs class put on by a guy who is probably in his 70s. He's in great shape though and leads a good abs class. I'm not sure why, but I was surprised that I was the only female in the class. The class wasn't very big anyway, but I was the only girl out of 4 participates and the instructor. It was a good workout regardless. The only thing I don't like is that it made me 30 minutes late to work. It's not a big deal and my employer doesn't mind at all, it just throws of the rest of my day. But, the good news is it is FRIRDAY!!!!! I've eaten my oatmeal and had an americano. Oh! This morning I mixed chocolate chips and cinnamon in my oatmeal. So good! I actually think that I put too many chocolate chips in there, so I will have to work on the mixture, but it was good.

Fitness Assessment

My employer has recently started a healthy living push. I call it a push because they previously provided a discounted membership at the YMCA, or reimbursement for fitness classes up to a certain amount. In May of this year they started offering discounted membership to the YMCA and another facility AND reimburse for fitness classes up to a certain amount. When they rolled out this new program they had a wellness fair and I signed up for a fitness assessment. I figured it would be your usual; hold this contraption and it will tell you how obese you are, let's discuss your eating habits and have you start eating rabbit food and taking supplements, and finally you should be doing this certain workout because that is what all of my clients are doing. However, it was free, so I signed up. We had to reschedule my first appointment due to a migraine, but last night we finally got together, and boy was I wrong about what this entailed. Not that I think anyone reads this blog, but I don't want to reveal my fitness guy's name without his permission, so I shall call him FG (for "fitness guy"). He sat down with me and asked me a bunch of questions about my health history, my exercise background, injuries (there was a lot to discuss here), diet, and goals. Then he had me do some basic stretches and just movements of my body while he watched and did some minor touching of joints and muscles. He was able to determine that my quads are really strong but that my glutes and hamstrings are most definitely not. He also gave me some exercises that will help my shoulders and posture. My shoulders partially sublexate anytime my arm is pulled on. In normal person language that means my arms come slightly out of socket when pulled on. So I now have stretches and exercised for my shoulders/back/chest and my hamstrings/glutes to do three times a day for the next several weeks. He suggested that I only have dessert twice a week. THAT is going to be challenging. I have a weakness for sweets. Primarily chocolate, but I won't discriminate. If someone offers me dessert, I pretty much always say yes. As a matter of fact, I track my calories through myfitnesspal.com and will eat less food to make room for dessert. I think I may have a problem! :) I'm going to try to cut back with the ultimate goal of having dessert twice a week, but I can't just quit cold turkey. Finally, he told me to stop running. My knees are bad, my back is bad, and I've given birth naturally. All of those things are reasons not to run. He said that running is horrible for women who have had children, but even more so based on my injury history. He suggested doing cardio on the elliptical, bicycling, or swimming. He was happy that I have been doing 45-50 minutes of cardio and that I tend to do intervals, but wanted to change it up a little bit. He suggested doing a 1 to 3 ratio of really hard core burst to consistent pace, but to only do 6-12 bursts. I was kind of surprised at this suggestion, but I am looking forward to trying it. Unfortunately, Aiden was up a ton last night and ended up in bed with us where he still didn't sleep well. We are trying to figure out what is going on and how to get our awesome sleeper to sleep again, in his own bed. So, for the first time in over a week, I did not get up and head to the gym. I'll probably regret not working out this morning, but I brought my workout clothes with me to work so I can go at lunchtime if I want to. Today is the cycle pump class I love, or I could try out the new cardio routine that FG suggested. I guess we will see what the day brings.

What?!?! A picture!

One of the benefits of working out at 5am is that when I'm done I get to leave the Y and see this beautiful masterpiece. I know I won't get to see a beautiful sunrise like this one all year long, so I will soak it up while I can.

10,000 steps by 10am

It was hard to peel myself out of bed this morning. My alarm went off and I was certain that I had miss-set it. Unfortunately, it was correct, it was time to get up. For a second I considered staying in bed and not working out, but I reminded myself that I am never going to get to my goal of being healthy and fit if I flake out on workouts. So, I got up and headed to the Y. This morning I did the elliptical for 50 minutes and had an AWESOME workout. I was so please with my hard work today. I actually even managed to finish a book while I was working out today. I headed to work and realized sometime short of 10am that I wasn't terribly far from 10,000 steps for the day (based on my pedometer). Since my daily goal is 7,000 steps, and a friend recommended 10,000 steps as a more challenging goal, I was excited to have met that goal so early in the day. Now I can sit around and be a slug the rest of the day! Yeah right, not going to happen. I secretly (or maybe not so secretly) hope to get to 15,000 steps today. I guess we will see what happens. I was also excited this morning when one of the Y employees invited me to join a group of women who workout together Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. I have admired these women from afar for quite a while now. They are all very toned and look hot. I want to be them. I'm not sure how I will work out lifting with them and still getting my cardio in since I go to work at 7 and don't really want to adjust that, but I guess we will see. Jay and I have talked about meeting at the Y after he gets off work. They have child care during that time and although it is generally pretty busy right after work, it would be good incentive to get us both there for a workout. So maybe I lift in the morning and then do cardio in the evening with him. Ugh, I'm getting tired just thinking about it. I guess we will just have to see what happens. Ultimately, I was honored to be invited to join this group of women who I have no business trying to keep up with.

Groupon Love

I'm so excited! I just purchased two different Groupons. The first one is three training classes and five crossfit classes at a box not terribly far from my house. I have been wanting to try crossfit and am excited that I get to try it out for half-price. I also got a Groupon for a place that offers ballerobica classes. I've wanted to do this since I heard that Kelly Ripa does it to maintain her amazing body. I've have a pure barre workout video that I really like, but I am looking forward to doing this in a group setting. They also offer pilates (which I love) and Zumba (which I have never tried). I cannot wait to try out these two new forms of exercise. Have you ever done either of these before?

Who turned on the faucet?

I started my day with some stationary cycling. It was eh. I've had to blow my nose every 2.3 second this morning and it makes it hard to get a good workout in when you would rather be asleep or blowing your nose so it doesn't run down your face (sorry for the visual). But, I cycled for 15 minutes, did some push-ups and sit ups, cycled for 12 more minutes, did some dips and side planks, then finished off with 15 more minutes of cycling. The first 15 minutes of cycling I alternated between resistance 12 and 1 for 60 seconds at each level. The second 12 minutes of cycling I did 30 second bursts of sprinting with 30 second rests in between. The final 15 minutes of cycling was consistent, not sprinting, but not just cycling. I tried to keep my rpms (I think that is the right term) above 100 and my resistence was fairly low at 3. The thing I hate about cycling is that my pedometer doesn't track steps. Obviously because I'm not actually taking steps, but I feel like if my pedometer doesn't register it, then I must not have actually done the workout. I know, it's silly. Tomorrow it's back to the elliptical, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Not slowing down, on the exercise front that is.

I had a great workout on Friday morning, until my foot started killing me. I was most of the way through a 45 minute run/walk and all of the sudden my foot hurt so bad that I had to stop running. Then I had to hold the sides of the treadmill to finish off the last 4 minutes of my walk. It kind of hurt while I headed to the locker room, but twice while in the locker room I stepped in some way which caused excruciating pain. My foot had hurt since last Saturday, but never this bad. I iced it at work and took Aleve. After work we decided to take advantage of the unseasonable beautiful weather (70s instead of 90) and went to an Indianapolis Indians game. It turns out I was not the only one who had this great idea and by the time we got to the box office the only seats left were lawn seats. After quite a bit of searching we found a spot that wasn't too wet that would hold 4 adults and one toddler. We had a great time and Jay got a wonderful picture of his sister, her boyfriend, Aiden, and I. The next morning I got up and worked out. I decided to stick with the stationary bike after Friday morning's painful run. It caused me no pain during the workout. I headed to the local sports medicine walk-in clinic after my workout. I was the first patient in the door and didn't walk out until an hour later. It was a tad frustrating, but it was determined that I sprained my mid-foot. Not my ankle, no broken foot, sprained foot. I have to wear a boot until I see the Dr. The person I saw anticipated that I would be able to see the Dr within two weeks. I have an appointment for September 4th. Not two weeks. Oh, and I can do the elliptical and bicycle in the meantime. Yay! I was dreading going to the Dr because I didn't want to be sidelined. I just started this serious journey and I didn't want to have to stop already! So, this morning I got up and did my "run" on the elliptical. It was great. I haven't used the elliptical in quite a while and I forgot how many calories I can burn. I had a great 45 minute workout and burned 461 calories!!! I then proceeded to get a bagel thin breakfast sandwich from Einstein Bagels. It wasn't as tasty as I remember, but it was better for me than a bagel and schmear. I ate horribly this weekend and need to get back on track food wise. I ended up not workout out yesterday like I planned, but I got up this morning and have started my week well. I hope you are having a great Monday so far!

4:30 is early

I generally work 7-4 Monday through Friday. I like to try to fit workouts in during my lunch break, but then you get all sweaty and have to take a shower, then my hour lunch turns into a longer lunch, then I have to stay late, etc...... I still do lunchtime workouts, but not everyday. I like being a member of the YMCA because they have child care during certain hours which I try to take advantage of. So, sometimes I workout after work, but that throws off dinner or I wait until after dinner and then my son's sleep schedule is thrown off.                                                  

Soooo, I voluntarily get up at 4:30 in the morning to go workout at the Y.

Let me tell you, when that alarm goes off the last thing I want to do is get out of bed. But yesterday I had the best workout. I usually go to the Y and then back home to get ready for the day. Yesterday I took everything I needed to get ready for work. Oh. My. Gosh. I can't believe the difference it made! I was able to get in a quality workout that was 50 minutes long, shower, get ready, and I even got to work early! It felt great to get in such a good workout before starting my day.

What kind of workout did I do? The treadmill. Yippee! I am starting back at week three of a C25K program for some upcoming 5ks I have signed up for. It was a pretty simple run of 1.5 min running, 2 min walking, 2min running, 2 min walking intervals. I just extended it beyond the designated 26 minutes and alternated walking and running for 45 minutes. It was a great workout. It pushed me, but not too hard, plus I burned almost 400 calories in 50 minutes! I may actually have to consider this run/walking thing my sister is doing.

The only bad part was that my foot is hurting. It has hurt since the weekend and although it didn't bother me while I was running, walking is painful. I've been icing it and taking Aleve. It already feels better today, so I'll try to baby it a little bit longer. I brought my ice pack to work with me today, so that should help.
I was told to take it easy today, no running. So I am going to head to the Y during my lunch and do a cycle pump class. I love the intervals and intensity of this class. The instructor is great and very energetic. It looks like I will be working late today, but it will be worth it. :)

I hope you are having a great day!

Note to self....

Keep a bag with workout clothes in the car at all times. I had planned on working out before work today, but when my alarm went off, I could not get out of bed. Fail. I ended up being a clients house from 7am until 4pm with a break from 1-2:15. If I had kept a bag of workout clothes in my car I could have gotten a run/walk in during this break. Oh, well. Live and learn.

So, what did I do during this break instead? I went shopping, ate some lunch, and ate a cupcake.

                             

Yup, clearly a good use of my time. Now I'm getting ready to go help with the ice cream social at my son's daycare. While we wait for daddy to get home I'm trying to forget that there is some of the world's greatest fudge in the next room. :)

Tomorrow is a new day, and I will try to get up at 4:30 again tomorrow morning so I can work out before work.

I hope you are having a healthier day than I!

I start today!

I've been thinking about starting a fitness and healthy living blog for just over a week. I kept playing around with names but couldn't find anything that I loved. I wanted to start last week. I ate fairly well, but I didn't work out until Thursday. Then this past weekend we had a family reunion and I sat around and ate, and ate, and ate. So, today is the day. Today is the day I start to hold myself accountable. If am going to see the results I want to see, and live the healthy life I want to live, I have to start now. No one else is going to do it for me.

I hope to use this blog to share workout ideas, healthy recipes, and general healthy living ideas with my friends, family, and anyone who reads this blog. I also welcome input from others who are striving to live a healthy life. While I am sure that there will be days that I feel negative or upset about my choices or progress, I will try to remain as positive as possible. I hope you will join me on this journey.