Thursday, December 23, 2010

10 weeks until the Princess Half

I actually should have written this post on Sunday as it's now almost 9 weeks until the race. I'm feeling AWESOME and my training is going exceptionally well. I've decided I'm going to go for it and try to break 2 hours in the half. I've also decided that the key to that happening is to drop 10 pounds. That's 1 pound a week- definitely do-able. My starting weight as of last Sunday is 155.2. If I can get down to 145 it will be amazing!

Here are my workouts for this week:
Monday- 2 mile easy run
Tuesday-off
Wednesday- 7 mile speedwork on the treadmill (3x1600 at an 8:34 pace)
Thursday-off
Friday- 8 mile long run (Christmas Eve)
Saturday and Sunday-off (Christmas Day in PA)

I need to pick up a few more days of working out and specifically work on strength training. The running has been going really well and my plantar fasciitis is great.

As far as weight loss goes; my goal for the week is just to eat sensibly and drink more water. Let's be realistic- it's Christmas. I'm making 7 different kinds of cookies and moderation is the only way to go. I'll be at my in-laws for the weekend and obviously only have so much control over what I eat. I'm going to try to make good choices. Once the holidays are over I'll try to be more strict with my eating.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Go Shutterfly!

I posted previously about the promotion Shutterfly is having: giving away 50 photo cards in exchange for a blog about their holiday cards. I've spent some time looking at their website and the choices of cards they offer. Now, I may not be the most experienced card shopper out there. I admit, I tend to look on the cheaper side of things. Although my dream is to get creative with my holiday cards, I always revert to the old standby: postcard layout with a simple picture of the girls. I have to report that I an in Shutterfly dream-land. I am impressed with their cards (and not only Christmas photo cards). I've found some cards that I am in love with!

And the first card I fell in love with was this one:

You just can't get any more classic than that. Black and white, red monogram accent; I love it! I've always loved black and white photographs. They are just so timeless. I love that the card has space for six photos. We are a family of six and we could fit everyone into their own space. Ultimately, that is what I ended up not liking about this card. I can't figure out how to arrange the photos. I don't like the idea of six individual pictures and the combinations of people don't work out equally. Although I love this card, I decided to keep searching.


Here is my perfect card:



I LOVE the colors, and the layout is perfect for our family picture. This is the perfect card for a family of 6. I have the whole thing designed. In the middle is a group picture of the six of us with individual pictures of the girls on the sides. That really appeals to be because I feel like you can get a better sense of their personalities through multiple pictures.

Although it doesn't have the classic feel of the first card, the colors are clean and crisp. The black and white pictures are a nice contrast to the colors. Even though I don't think I'll be using black and white pictures, I like that there are only two colors on the card. My color pictures won't make the card to busy. The pictures are arranged so as not to be distracting (I like the symmetry.) I also love that I can personalize the card on the inside. This is such a step up from our usual postcard type Christmas card.

To be honest, although I love sending Christmas cards, my hearts desire is to do a photo calendar for my parents and even myself. If I ever get organized and start planning for Christmas before December actually hits, this link has everything I need: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars. While I'm getting myself organized, my goal was to get my tween daughter some "cool" writing paper for Christmas this year. It didn't happen. If it had, it would have looked like this: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/notepads
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/notepads/candy-bracelet-notepad?sortType=1&storeNode=60314

Oh well, I guess she'll have to wait another year to be cool. In the meantime I hope to enjoy my awesome Christmas cards!




Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Shutterfly promotion

I was surfing my sister's blog and checked in on one of her links I always read (Praying for Bennett) when I came across a promotion for 50 free Christmas cards for bloggers. "Wow," I thought, "I'm a blogger. I should check it out." Then I wondered about the definition of a blogger. I blog (occasionally). Don't get me wrong, I like to blog; I just have a really hard time actually sitting down and writing. But I do get there- sometimes. Which got me thinking; does the definition of a blogger require that someone actually read what your blog? That would disqualify me. Because no one reads what I blog. I'm really fine with that, but I wonder if I'm qualified for this promotion. Maybe I should wait for the promotion for 50 free Christmas cards for blogs. That's what I am- a blog. I like that; it fits well.

Anyway here's the link: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Since I'm back in training mode and exhausted, I plan on checking out the website tomorrow. I hope I actually do qualify because with an unexpected car purchase and three December birthdays along with Christmas this month, I could really use some free Christmas cards!

I won a mental battle!

I woke up at 4:50 so I could get my 5 mile run in early. I was hoping to meet my running buddy but it was pouring so I knew I was headed to the gym. There is a tornado watch in effect so I was a little hesitant to drive, but I've been full of excuses lately so off I went. It is so surreal driving in the dark with leaves flying and rain pouring. There was a tree down at the end of our street so I was on alert all the way to the gym.

The workout today was a tempo run: 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles at a 9:10 pace and 1 mile cool down. The treadmills at my gym automatically turn off after 30 minutes so I knew I'd have to break up the run a little. The run started off a little rough as I had to make a pit stop after .25 miles. *** WARNING***(This is way TMI but my husband won't listen to anything that has to do with that time of the month. If you are reading this and are like him: DON'T READ ON! I tried to tell him I need to tell someone about my victory, but he said to call my sister. It's 7:20 AM and my sister's sleeping so, sorry I've got to tell it here. Let's just say I had an emergency where I had to jump off the treadmill and run to the bathroom. I could have easily left the gym at that point but chose to continue. That was a victory in itself! I was worried I wouldn't get the whole run in but I did and then bolted out the door back to my car.)

Anyway... back on track. I did the first two speed miles at a 9:05 pace but thought I was going to puke. My heart rate was over 200. It was time for the treadmill to stop so I took that as a natural break and recovered for .25 miles. The last mile I played a little game with myself where I held a 9:13 pace for 2 minutes, 9:05 for 2 minutes, 8:57 for one and then went the other way again (9:05 for 2minutes and 9:13 for 2). It makes the time go by so much faster. I finished my cool-down and I was done.

I felt so good for pushing through that workout! I'm so glad it's done! I don't know why I struggle so much with speed workouts on a treadmill. It is so mental for me.

I'm back home and it's pouring out, but I'm done with my workout for the day. My running partner is running a marathon on Sunday (she was supposed to run Philly but got the flu on Friday). I'm going to run the last 7 miles with her. I want to be running the whole thing, but I need to be happy about where I am. The plantar fasciitis is in a very good place and I'm running pain free. What more could a girl ask for?

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Two day update: exercise (B+), eating (F)

So far this week I'm on track with my working out (sort of), but my eating is horrendous! I just don't have the motivation to eat well.

Monday I didn't do my P90X workout but did a 30 minute EA Active for the Wii workout (which I'm feeling today!). Today I didn't do Yoga, but ran for 30 minutes. I feel like even though I haven't done what I had scheduled, I'm still doing well.

My husband has been out of town which completely throws my eating off. I know that going into it, but still can't manage to eat well. It was rainy and cold here today and I craved comfort food (yes, I had Ramen noodles for dinner). I know eating is my area of weakness and I go through fazes when I eat really well, but then I go through fazes like right now when it's a disaster. I really think if I can get control of my eating I will have the answer to my weight loss.

Oh well... tomorrow is a new day.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Official Training starts tomorrow

Tomorrow is the official start of my half marathon training. I'm supposed to run 2 miles. Well, it's not happening. DH is out of town until late Wednesday. We're also going out of town from Thursday to Saturday so this is going to be a challenge. Here's the plan:
Monday- P90X workout at home
Tuesday- Yoga and 2 mile run
Wednesday- P90X upper body workout
Thursday- run 5 miles
Friday- off
Saturday- off
Sunday- run 6 miles

Eating: I'n not expecting perfection here, I just want to make good choices. The goal is no junk, but I'm going to take it one day at a time.

Friday, November 12, 2010

No more chiro for me- (I hope!)

I had an appointment with my chiropractor yesterday which I'm happy to report I cancelled. My back/rib has been feeling great. I even went for a 3+ mile run on the treadmill which felt great. My chiropractor was very surprised I was still feeling good. He said it usually takes between 2-4 adjustments for the rib to stay put. He also said not to be surprised if I wake up this weekend in pain. I'm really hoping that doesn't happen.

My official training starts Monday as does my quest to drop some weight (don't know about the timing there- Thanksgiving is right around the corner). I'm going to do this!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

1st ever chiropractic visit

I went to the chiropractor yesterday. I've been thinking about it for awhile. What finally put me over the edge was this pain that I've been having in my back. I did some research on line and determined it was a pinched nerve. Every time I took a breath I felt like someone was stabbing me in the back.

It was a very interesting visit. To make a long story short, I don't have a pinched nerve- I have a rib out of place. I wasn't expecting that! He said the manipulation would be painful (thankfully it wasn't). I got immediate relief which I am so thankful for. He said no running until it is completely better and I have to go back in tomorrow for another adjustment. It's feeling pretty good so I may cancel my appointment. Of course, being the not follow directions kind of person that I am, I'm thinking about going for a short run tomorrow. He only said not to run because he thought it would make my back hurt. I'm feeling really good so I want to try it. If it hurts, I'll stop and keep my appointment.

He also worked on my foot and said the plantar fasciitis looks really good. He said there's nothing he can do for the neuroma. It's either going to go away or it isn't. That kind of bummed me out. I was hoping he would have a miracle cure. Oh well. It doesn't hurt and I actually can't feel it unless I have my shoes off.

So, overall I'm very happy with my chiropractic visit. I'm praying my rib will stay in place and I don't have to go back.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

printed half marathon training plan- it's official

Here's the quick low down. I signed up for the Disney Princess Half again. I'm still dealing with the plantar fasciitis and neuroma in my right foot, but I'm able to run. I've decided to go for it. I've been experiencing weird aches and pains and I think a pinched nerve in my back, but I'm going to give this training all I've got. I've got to drop 10 pounds before the end of February. (note to self: those magic bars you just ate at almost 10PM aren't going to get you there).

I went to Runners World and used their Smart Coach feature just to see what date a 16 week program would end on if I started next Monday. I thought I had a lot of time so I wanted to see how much. To my surprise, the date was the actual date of my half. So, I have 17 weeks. Wow. I actually got up to 8 miles two weeks ago before my hamstring started hurting. I backed off but was able to run 4 miles yesterday. Great run. I needed a run like that.

Here's my training schedule for the week. Tomorrow is Yoga, Tuesday is upper body and a 4 mile run, Wednesday is upper body, Thursday is a Body Pump class, Friday is a spin class and Saturday is a 6 mile run. How's that for a week? If I do all that and manage to eat well, I'll be doing great! Oh, and I'm going to look into finding a chiropractor to figure whats going on with the back.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Long weekend + pancakes = struggle

I am such a creature of habit. I love schedules and predictability. My husband is quite the opposite. He is as spontaneous as they get. Needless to say, this has been a source of friction for us at times.... which has absolutely nothing to do with this blog. Back to the point.... I thrive on schedules which was reinforced this weekend.

This weekend we went to the pool 3 out of 3 days, had 83 of our closest friends over for pancakes, and the rest of the time had no structure at all to our days. Add to that the fact that I have no food in the house and no grocery money until Thursday. Not a good combination. Needless to say, I struggled. I actually didn't do to badly, considering all the strikes I had against me. I didn't eat too poorly- a few potato chips is the worst thing I put in my mouth. One major accomplishment is that I had 0 pancakes yesterday. The downside to that is that I had 0 of anything. The last person left at 12:30 and I hadn't eaten anything. I know better than that, but I just didn't have time to put anything healthy in my mouth. My thought was that it was better to not eat than to eat unhealthy. Wrong. That's when the potato chips went in. Lesson learned.

I'm glad the holiday weekend is over. Today and tomorrow will be a struggle eating as I really don't have anything in the house. I'm so over budget it's not funny. I have chicken, no veggies, though. I'll come up with something. I worked out this morning and it kicked my butt again (so much for the second week is easier). I won't be able to do any double workouts this week as we have swim team in the evening. I also have to weigh in on Friday morning because we're going camping this weekend.

The weekend is behind me and I'm moving forward with a few good lessons learned.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

"3-It's a magic number." Schoolhouse Rock

Yup. 3. Today, it's MY magic number. 3 pounds gone. Not a huge number, but huge for me. I'm happy. I worked my tail off this week and it's good to see some results. One week down, 9 to go.

I'm a little bit nervous about this week. One week of hard work is relatively easy, as in I can do anything for 1 week. I have to keep this up and I think it might be more difficult this week. My husband has been awesome in encouraging me so I'm going to really count on his help this week. One day at a time is all I can do. I'm not looking back.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Week one is history

Well, I made it through week one of P90X. I'm sore, I'm tired, but I couldn't be happier. I've had a great week. I've worked by body hard and I've eaten as well as possible. If I don't blow it today (and believe me, there's a huge chance I will), I'll have made it one solid week without putting anything (did you read that?ANYTHING) unhealthy in my body. I don't think I've ever done that before.

I need to remind myself that this is a marathon and not a sprint. This is only week 1 out of 10 and I think that if I continue to push myself at this pace, I might burnout. I was very hungry yesterday, so I think I might not be eating enough. I ate when I was hungry but I'm not counting calories, so I may be low. I plan to add that in next week. I was just too much to do this week.

My first weigh in (unofficial) is tomorrow. DH told me not to get my hopes up. Too late. I have to be honest and admit if I don't see some movement on the scale, I'll be very disappointed. I've worked out 6 days this week (two days double workouts) and eaten as well as I know how. If that doesn't work, I don't know what will.

Stay tuned.....

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Yoga green bean style

92 minutes of yoga is not what makes me look forward to the day. That's a long time to do something you don't like. Let me rephrase that. It's not that I don't like yoga. I actually think it's beautiful to watch- watch being the operative word here. I stink at yoga. All those moves that look so graceful on other people, look dumb on me. I am not the picture of graceful. I have a memory from when I was on the high school tennis team playing doubles with my sister She lovingly (that's how I look at it anyway) referred to me as "a jumping green bean" when I jumped for an overhead shot. That description does not conjure up images of grace. Green beans aren't graceful. I am not graceful and I'm okay with that (usually).

So I woke up at 4:30 AM and planted my green bean self in front of the TV this morning and attempted to do the P90X version of yoga. Gracefully. For 92 minutes. It wasn't graceful. It wasn't even close. But I did it (well, most of it anyway). And it was hard- really hard. Forget green beans, I was looking and feeling like spaghetti when I was done. Legs were shaking, and I was pouring sweat. But that's okay. I reminded myself that this is about the journey. I'm doing it and that's what matters. It may not be pretty and it may be really hard, but at the end of the day I attempted something and did it and I'm more than okay with that.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper, Oh My!

I made it through my workout this morning. The shoulders and arms DVD wasn't that bad. I had a hard time figuring out the right weight, though. I started off using my lightest tension band which wasn't hard enough but when I switched over to dumbells, it was much harder. I didn't use the workout sheet they recommend to keep track of my reps. My goal for today was to just get through the DVD.

The ab ripper was hard. Ouch! He moves non-stop from one workout to the next. It didn't help that my abs are sore from Sundays workout. It's over though, and off to yoga tomorrow which I'm not especially good at.

Yesterday was another perfect eating day. I drank tons of water too and even threw in a 2 mile run to help burn off some calories. Oh, and I had my oldest daughter hide my scale. I told her she needed to give it back on Friday so I can weigh myself early Saturday morning. I'm not going to do an extra workout today so I just need to eat well and drink my water.

I know these are baby steps and I've been here before- but 3 good days down- 4 to go. Yeah!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Cardio X

This 45 minute workout was 3 parts- yoga, cardio and core. I honestly didn't think it was THAT hard. Don't get me wrong, it was hard, but not to the point where I had to stop or couldn't do the moves. My maximum heart rate was 151 and my average was 117. Workout- done. Now all I have to do is eat well today and drink my water.
I ate great yesterday. I didn't track my calories, but there wasn't anything unhealthy that went into my body. Although I'm tempted to weigh myself every day, I'm not going to weigh myself until Saturday.

So far, so good.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Biggest Loser and P90X

Yesterday I weighed in for the official start of The Biggest Loser C-Ville. My weight=158.6. My goal is to lose between 10 and 15 pounds in the next 10 weeks. How am I going to do that, you ask? Why, P90X, of course. My hubby actually suggested I try it. I'm coming off of the 30 day challenge from EA Active. It was okay. At first I was sore, but my body quickly adapted to it and I didn't find it much of a challenge towards the end. P90X is going to be a challenge. If I survive the next 90 days I should see a significant difference in my body. I'm also making a commitment to eating better. This is a 10 week challenge, so I think I can do it this time.
I plan on posting at least a few times a week. I'm hoping it will keep me accountable. The first weigh in is in two weeks so I'm going to work really hard so I can see the scale go down. I'm actually really excited for this and hope it's what I need to get those pounds off.

As a side note- I'm picking up running again, albeit very slowly. I have Morton's Neuroma in my right foot (along with plantar fasciitis) but hopefully the treatment I'm doing is going to help. So far, so good. I ran 3 miles on Wednesday and 2.25 yesterday. It's a good start and I'm encouraged.

Monday, April 5, 2010

I did it again....

When am i going to learn? No, seriously- why can't I ever keep up this blog. I am a blogger wannabe. I have lots of thoughts, I just can't seem to get them out of my head and onto this blog.

So.. the last post was over a month ago. My, how things can change so quickly. I said no matter what happens with the race I was looking forward to some sun and warm weather. NOT! The weather in FL was cold and it poured while we were at the Magic Kingdom... oh and the race was a disaster too.

The race. It actually started out quite well. I had an awesome 9 miles and it completely fell apart from there. Let me back up a little. I did a 10 mile run (supposed to be 12) the weekend before the race and felt great. I was getting my confidence back. Later that night I felt a pain in my heel. I've never had any pain in my foot so I didn't really think much of it. I took Sunday off and ran an easy 2 on Monday with no pain. Then on Wednesday I did 5 and I felt the pain again. It wasn't a really strong pain, just sort of tender when I walked. I took it easy in FL and tried to stay off of it. It was almost pain free by Sunday, race day, so I thought I'd be alright.

The first mile was slow (9:43), but I felt good. I started picking up the pace from there and miles 2-9 were awesome! (9:11, 8:54, 8:56, 8:51, 8:56, 9:02, 8:46, 8:44) I was running pretty effortlessly at a sub 9 pace. I thought I was going to crush my 2 hour goal. However, I started feeling my foot at mile 6. It hurt but didn't really effect my gait. I thought if it didn't get any worse I'd be fine. Then... disaster struck. At mile 9 I felt a tearing in the bottom of my foot and my arch was so tender I couldn't run. I tried not to panic, and started walking hoping it would get better. It didn't. I tried to run a little on and off but couldn't do so without limping. I was trying to hold back the tears and I'll never forget that I couldn't look the green men from Toy Story in the eye as they were giving everyone high fives because I was crying and didn't think I deserved one. Well, I'm stubborn and I just knew I couldn't give up. Even though I knew my goal was history, I was determined to run the last mile. I did it too, but as soon as I saw my husband at the finish- I lost it. It was a combination of disappointment and pain. I don't think I've ever had a running injury that was so painful. My finishing time: 2:05.

I couldn't put any pressure on my foot the rest of the day or the next. Unfortunately, I was in FL for a whole week and couldn't see a Dr. (Well, I could if I wanted to pay out of pocket for it. No thank you!) I saw a sports medicine Dr when I got back and have been officially diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. I actually have a good friend who did an ultrasound on it the day before the Dr appt and told me I tore my fascia. So.. it's been 0 running, lots of rest and some PT. The good news is that it's getting better. I have visions of me running in the near future. I have a parent/child triathlon in two weeks so I'll be running then- whether my foot is ready or not.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

This is why I blog

Now I remember. The whole reason I started this whole blogging thing was to be able to look back and see where my training was and see my journey. I haven't used it for this purpose; until today. I'm less than two weeks out from the Princess Half Marathon and I thought I'd look back to see what my pace was for last year. Of course, it's not there. I wrote about the race, but not my actual mile splits. (Note to self: write down the mile splits this year.) I'm bummed about that. I was hoping to gain some insight from it.

However, I did look back and see what my everyday training looked like. I was running MUCH faster last year. That is discouraging. My workout this morning was 6.5 miles- 5 at race pace (9:05) or faster. I was feeling pretty good about that until I saw that last year I was doing things like 5 miles at an 8:30 pace and 11 miles at a 9:45 pace. I did 11 miles last weekend and my pace was close to 10:30. Yikes!

I'm not feeling to good about meeting my goal of a sub 2 hour race. What I'm not going to do though, is let self doubt crowd my brain this week. I've realized that I have a problem of negative talk and I lose before I even start. Seriously I have zero self confidence in this area. I can be running and talk myself into stopping and resting instead of talking myself through it. Every time one of those thoughts creep into my head this week I'm going to kick it to the curb! In my head I'm going to meet my goal. In reality, I may not, but it's not going to be because I talked myself out of it. I have to come up with a positive mantra or something. There was a great article in Runner's World about Kara Goucher struggling with the mental aspect of running. She has words she tells herself. I'll have to come up with some of my own- and quick.

I have a 12 mile run this weekend. I'm going to take it easy and just get the miles in. We leave for Florida a week from tomorrow. Regardless of what happens with the race, I'm psyched to see some sun and warm weather!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Let the countdown begin!

I've been MIA again. What else is new? I'm not going there.

It's officially 25 days until my half marathon. It's been a tough winter for training here. We've gotten blasted with snow and it's been impossible to train outside on a regular basis. That said, I've done pretty well keeping up with my training schedule. I did skip a 2 mile run today, but I just couldn't motivate myself to get out of my warm bed at 4:45 AM and face the bitter cold and icy roads for a 2 mile run. (Okay, okay- it was going to be inside on a treadmill but I didn't want to face the cold having to get to the gym.) I don't think it will matter in the long run. I'm scheduled to do another 10 this weekend and things are looking good.

So... 25 days left. Right now I'm feeling like I can do the distance (I've done 2-10 milers). I'm not feeling very good about the speed part. I've done some speed work on the treadmill which has been okay- but not great. I have a big track workout coming up on Tuesday and that will be telling. It's supposed to be 8 miles with 4x16 at an 8:20 pace with 800 jogs. I am not confident I can do 4 miles at an 8:20 pace. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.

Other than that, I've got 3 long runs left- 10, 11 and 12 miles. That killer track workout and one more 7 mile tempo run. And that's it. I'm determined to break 2 hours and hopefully, my training will be enough.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!

2010....what will this year have in store? 2009 was a great year. I have a lot to be thankful for. I love the start of a new year... so many things to look forward to. Resolutions? Yeah, I admit- I make them. So... here they are in no particular order.
1- I'm going to lose those 15 pounds. I really am. I've been eating salads for breakfast for 5 days now. I can feel a difference in my energy level. My stomach isn't so happy about it, but I think that will get better. I don't have a time frame but by December 31st I will be 140 pounds. An interesting note- I keep a food journal (loosely) and on 12/31/08 my weight was 1 pound higher than it is now. That's something to be positive about.
2- I'm going to spend more time reading my Bible and praying. I've been inconsistent in this area of my life and I'm going to make time daily for it.
3- I'm going to find a ministry area that's outside my family. I'd really like this to include the whole family. I think #2 will help lead me in this area.
4- I'm going to break the 2 hour mark for my half marathon. I'm just going to.

I started my New Year with an 8 mile run this morning. It was great. I used my Garmin I got for Christmas and love it!