hit the ground running

12 miles of purpose

2012-03-11T18:09:00.000-04:00

Here it is {already} week 9 of my half marathon training program and I am surprised, pleased, shocked and still loving the training. I'm surprised because yesterday I ran 12 dang miles. I'm pleased because I've stayed with the program. I'm shocked because I've stayed with the program AND ran 12 miles yesterday. I'm in love with this program because I'm feeling like a runner.

A year ago, I was well into my weight loss journey and as you can see, my March totals were pretty...sad. Keep in mind, those 10 miles were probably over 5-10 runs, and when I say 'runs', I mean mostly walking and some running.

(and it's okay that I ran or walked last March, I'm just comparing my progress)

When March is over, I'll have at least 60 miles done. Not just 60 miles, but 60 miles of purpose. Every step meaning something. Every hill tackled. Every breath in 20-30 mph wind - with extreme effort. Every run with focus and determination. Every run is a run closer to running my very first Half Marathon.

The day before my 12 mile run, I mapped it out with my car. I was surprised ~~but not really~~ that my run would take me to Lincoln. Last summer I remember joking around and saying "wouldn't it be cool if I ever ran out here?" Guess what? That's where I went. It was a goal I never really took seriously, but I ran up and down all those hills for 6 miles. Yes, hills. In fact, going west on that country road is one long incline with a nice series of torture, I mean hills. Now, add in the wind. Straight in my face...for 6 miles. I knew it would be hell and it was, but I also knew I'd be earning that downhill...and I did. It was worth every step to be able to turn around and have that wind at my back. I was still doing hills but overall, they were downhill. There was even a gust of wind that caused me to trip up my step, but I was running the best part of the run....and I just kept going. I loved it.

see this? There's like 10 more of these little inclines

Week 9 of training was no joke. There's no limping around 12 miles, you do it, or you don't. You hydrate hard all week, you eat foods that fuel you, you don't drink alcohol, you sleep properly...all in the name of a good long run. I loved waking up on Saturday at 7am just to go running. I keep asking myself 'who am I?' but I'm realizing I'm a runner, I'm really a runner.

My next "I DID IT" picture will be with a sweet, hard earned medal. I cannot wait!

2012-02-29T12:25:00.000-05:00

Please welcome BJ as my very first guest blogger! Also, be sure to check out his running blog and follow him on Twitter!

Maturing as a Runner

Story by BJ of theblog RunningBJ.

I think every runner has a little crazy inside of them.

What else explains having a compulsion to spend hours at atime training for a marathon? Ortravelling on your feet for miles just to end up…where you started? I think we can all agree that most runnershave some issues.

I’m no exception. I took up running a few yearsback as a stress reliever and never stopped. I started with a treadmill run, built up tosome longer distances, competed in a few races and then signed up for the holygrail of running: the marathon.

I set my eyes on completing the 2011 Baltimore Marathon andstarted training. When it comes tothings like this I tend to research it to death, develop a training plan, andthen focus on completing the training to a T. I ran every run on my training plan for several months, making sure thatI hit exact mileages. I ran if I hurt,or if I was tired, or if it was 100 degrees out. My OCD would kick in on runs and I would haveto touch mile markers on trails because Ididn’t want to cheat myself.

Thispicture doesn’t do justice to how hot it was that day!

By the end of July I started having some life issues:transferring positions at work, spending more time with the kids, the usualgrown-up stuff. Well, long story short,I got kind of tired of killing myself personally, professionally, andphysically. Something had to give, andmarathon training felt like more of a chore than a joy anymore. My training became very sporadic.

Kids arereally needy! But cute!

When October came around and it was time to run Baltimore Idecided Iwas going to keep my promise to myself and run the marathon. I toed the line and took off on the starter’sgun (I think it was the starter’s gun, but it was downtown Baltimore…), butafter 16 miles my lack of proper training became evident. I slowed, and slowed, and slowed. Those last ten miles were horrible. My only consolation was having the personalknowledge that I still pushed myself to finish the run, even though it hurtreally bad.

I took a few months off after that experience. I knew I loved running, but I needed a breakto think about what had happened and to reassess where I was. I needed to rediscover why I loved to run.

I finally came back to my sport in the beginning of thisyear, but I returned with a new attitude. Instead of killing myself and pushing through pain and fatigue, I’mwilling to admit that some runs are not, and should not, happen on certaindays. I’m listening to my body. I’m enjoying my long runs and taking my timerather than trying to hit a certain pace. I’m trying to let go of a little bit of my OCD.

In other words, I’m growing up. There is no sense in killing myself to trainfor a race I will not win. I’m learningto enjoy the journey rather than focusing only on the destination. I’m still willing to push myself to improveand get stronger, but I have to remember to strike a balance between runningand everything else in my life. If Idon’t, more experiences like the 2011 Baltimore Marathon are in my future. I don’t want that.

So that’s my story. My advice to any runner out there is this: If you’re not having fun, askyourself why you’re doing it.

Relax. Have fun. Let go. In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If youdon't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Enjoy your training and have fun at your races. I hope to see you out there, enjoying a run!

BJ is the authorof RunningBJ. He can bereached through his blog, or you can follow him on Twitter@running_bj.

training love

2012-02-27T19:24:00.000-05:00

This thing called 'training'...I don't know what it is about it, but I love it. LOVE IT. I love being sore all the time and in new places. I love ~~kind of/not really~~ looking at my body and seeing changes. I love how this thing called 'training' is actually working.

I've also added the 100 Push Up Challenge to my training. I figured it was a safe thing to add to running, "safe" meaning no real risk of injury. I have done this challenge before, but never done it with the 'guys' push ups. The difference between the girl and guy push ups is staggering. It's clearly much more difficult but even my abs are sore! I've always been one to say that girls can do anything boys can do, probably even better if they really try, so I am determined to give this challenge all that I have.

As thrilling as push ups are....they are not the highlight of my week. For that, I will mention my first ever...9 mile run. Me. ME. I ran 9 miles. I ran up and down hills, I ran over creeks and over dirt roads. I ran in the wind because, IT'S ALWAYS WINDY, so I decided to just suck it up. I did it. I really ran 9 miles, I'm starting to think not only will I actually finish my first 13.1 mile run, my finishing time might not be as embarrassing as I once thought it may be.

Up next...10 miles. I'm beginning to think if I can do this, what can I not do?

Pain & Gain

2012-02-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

Week 6 of half marathon training is a wrap. Thank God. I mean, I loved it but I really love that it's over, this week whooped my booty.

Monday I ran on a treadmill looking for a great pace/time. I ran SO HARD and only came up with shaving a minute off my 'fast-ish' pace. Stupid treadmill. I really feel like it's just so much more work on those things. I'm breaking up with the treadmill unless we get 67 feet of snow. Oh, and I was sore after this run.

Wednesday was my four miler. I laugh because in four miles I can pretty much cover all of my small town. That's pretty funny until you have to run on a 4 lane highway and that's pretty intimidating to me, so I run fast(er) to leave that road to the huge, thundering trucks. I don't think mace can keep a truck from running you over, speaking of which...I need to get mace. (still pretty sore here!)

It's Thursday now and my glute is borderline painful. You know that 'good sore' you get and you feel all strong and happy because you know you had a really effective workout? Well, it wasn't that. I was hurting.

So, I 'rested' on Friday with a 2.5 mile recovery walk. A very easy, easy walk followed by tons and tons of foam rolling. Tons.

Friday night I went to a fundraiser and had 95 glasses of cabernet, ate red meat and stayed up late. This is what every runner does prior to a long run, right? (urgh.)

Saturday is here and I have 8 miles to churn out. EIGHT MILES. My headache reminds me of the cabernet I should not have had and I slowly roll out of bed, pop some ibuprofen and begin to hydrate. A bit later I ate oatmeal and a banana, and then drank a Sugar Free Rockstar.

I geared up, fired up the tunes and headed out the door toting a half bottle of water.

One mile down, I remember thinking, wow...that felt like forever.
Two miles - I set the water bottle on a bridge, tired of carrying it. Carrying it was pretty annoying actually. This meant my only form of refueling would be at 6 miles.
Mile three...I look ahead and hmmm, it's looking like this road is going uphill. What.
Mile four is over and I'm SPENT, but now I turn around and it's downhill and I'm halfway! (I ran four miles out and had to go four miles back to get home) Headwind.
Mile five. Totally ran out of gas, I needed and missed my GU energy! this is also where I change my music to Eminem, this helped a lot. Apparently, lots of f-bomb dropping keeps me running.
Six. There's my water, while it's refreshing...it's not what my tummy liked. I tread on and realize this is all in my own head now. I think, time to go back to my basics...I change the music to military cadences and they carried me home. I don't even remember mile seven. I do remember that I hurt all over, ALL OVER.

But guess what? I ran 8 miles and can't wait to do it again this Saturday. And? I have already scheduled a running partner. How do I feel today? I feel amazing...not sore but accomplished and eager to keep going. Ok, I'm a little sore.

Week 7? Bring it on. Definitely less wine, though.

(this image totally choked me up)

Halfway to Half Training

2012-02-13T17:30:00.000-05:00

I'm about halfway through my half marathon training, so I figured it was time for a post.

It's really pretty amazing to me how LAST YEAR I had just begun my weight loss journey and feeling pretty lucky to walk/run 1-2 miles. Mostly walked. I didn't realize I would actually run a 5K in July and wasn't really preparing for it at that time. My mindset sometimes says, I think 'once an able runner, always an able runner', but when you take months or years off, there's no choice but to start over. I was totally starting over, completely.

Why did I quit after my Couch to 5k in September 2010, I really don't know.

After my miserable 5K in July, I became really, really ill. Because I was in bed (literally) for two weeks, I lost my stamina and energy but my desire to run was still alive...and I was starting over....again. I still wanted ~~needed~~ to run, but I knew a new, more demanding goal would only get me to seriously run again.

10K.

Done.

In fact, I was running a 10K about once a week, our fall was delicious and I loved getting out there...then one day in November, something began to creep into my mind. Half marathon?

Here I sit halfway into my first half marathon training. I love it. Don't get me wrong, it's tough, it pushes me...and I need that. Long runs are on Saturday and now I run long runs when all the 'real runners' do theirs. I'm a runner? I'm a runner. It's still difficult to call myself that.

This Saturday, I run 8 miles. EIGHT MILES. During this run, I know I'll be thinking "how in the hell am I ever going to run 13.1 miles?"

I don't know, but I do know that I will.

Easy and No-Fuss-Low-PointsPlus®-Taco-Salad

2012-02-11T17:26:00.004-05:00

First off, I love all Mexican food...it makes me happy and I could eat it until the cows came home. If Hubby asks me where I would like to go out to eat, 9 out of 10 times, I say "Mexican". I blame my Dad. No, he's not Mexican, but he likes Mexican food a lot, too. He covers his food with hot sauce and he's happy. Anyway, I wanted tacos the other night (homemade) but I didn't want to use the points for the hard shells or tortillas, so I whipped this up and I'm pretty addicted to it. Can't lie.

Lori's Easy and No-Fuss-Low-PointsPlus®-Taco-Salad

You'll need:

4 ounces of lean ground turkey - 5 PointsPlus®

1/2 cup of fat free refried beans - 2 PointsPlus®

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil - 1 PointsPlus®

2 teaspoons of a taco seasoning - 0 PointsPlus®

1/2-3/4 cup of fat free salsa (mild, medium or hot if you're spicy) - 0 PointsPlus®

1/4 cup of fat free sour cream (optional) - 1 PointsPlus®

greens - I used a lot of spinach and lettuce - 0 PointsPlus®

red onion (used as a garnish/topping, it's not necessary and use what you like) - 0 PointsPlus®

matchstick carrots (as much as you would like to add) - 0 PointsPlus®

First, you'll get out your ground turkey. I slice and portion mine when it's mostly frozen for less mess and it's great to just 'grab and go'. So, here I have my pre-measured 4 ounces of lean, ground turkey.

I toss that in a small skillet and dump my salsa on top of that and add my taco seasoning. This is also where I add 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.

While that is browning (and it doesn't take too long!) this is when I chop up my greens. I used lettuce and spinach. (some green onions would be nice in here, just thought of that!)

By the time you're done chopping and have added your matchstick carrots (best thing ever), your meat and salsa combo should be ready for the refried beans. Keep stirring together until nice and heated through, then remove from heat.

Next you'll dump the cooked meat/salsa/refried bean combination onto your leafy, green salad. Top with 1/4 cup of fat free sour cream, maybe a little salsa or zero point taco sauce and stir!

Here are the Weight Watchers® totals! Remember the PointsPlus® may change with any variations in this recipe! Not only is this super filling, but you get to check off oils and fruits/vegetables on your Weight Watchers® Healthy Checks! Happy Eating! ~~but who's going to clean up the kitchen?~~

* apparently I call 'shredded carrots, matchsticks carrots....no idea why! I swear it said matchsticks at the store!

wərk it

2012-02-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

Soooooo, about that "weigh-in" day. I'd kind of like to just pretend it's not here, but it is here, and I did weigh-in. *&^%$#@!

weight/wāt/

Noun:

A body's relative mass or the quantity of matter contained by it, giving rise to a downward force; the heaviness of a person or thing.

I'm not fretting too much about my weigh-in today. My body is changing, I SEE it changing. I'll sometimes ~~often~~ get stuck admiring myself in the bathroom mirror... some of my ~~former blobs of~~ fat are now thin(er) or gone. (admiring is a very strong word!) It's rewarding to see some results of all of my hard work, all of the miles that I have been running, all of the weights that I have tugged and pushed and pulled. My shoulders are developing some nice definition, my thighs are (a teeny bit) more muscular...but I am thinking .... can I work harder?

work/wərk/

Noun:

Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

Werk it!! Of course I can work harder. It hit me like a ton of donuts yesterday that I need to work harder on my three mile runs. I really want to run a faster mile, but it's not going to be granted to me like a wish with pink fairy dust and a sparkly magic wand. I have TO EARN THAT FASTER MILE. So, yesterday, I ran fast.....er. And this week, I'm going to work harder and next Wednesday, I'm going to hit the 50 pounds lost mark. Because, more than I love a goal, I love crushing them.

Oh yeah, I was up 1.6 pounds this week. *shakes fist at Super Bowl*

Super Bowl food and David Beckham

2012-02-06T19:18:00.000-05:00

I always look forward to the Super Bowl, I couldn't tell you who's playing or what they're doing but I love the hype and the food. I love the food so much, I almost called it the Super Food the other day and I'm realizing that would be a totally appropriate name.

Or, the David Beckham Bowl. Or, Super David Beckham. Did you see that commercial????!!!!!?

Now, I'm all flustered because I'm now just going to recap that beautiful commercial, and it was the best commercial, too...however, I'm not sure what he was marketing. Was it tattoos? Or muscles? Yes, he was marketing his tattooed muscles. I'm so nice that I'm even going to share it with you, ~~and I'll just have to watch it again for like the 25th time.~~

I just can't take it. Where was I? Who am I? OMG, EVEN THAT STILL SHOT OF HIM IS JUST SO UTTERLY DELICIOUS.

Dear Friends,

Yesterday was the Super Bowl and I made wings and potato skins and riblets and buffalo chicken dip and then I saw this commercial and died.

The End.

not every run is a good run

2012-01-30T17:04:00.001-05:00

Not every run is a good run, but what makes any run good, is finishing. This goes for any type of workout, really. I believe that my bad running days make the good running days..SO GREAT.

I don't think many people run because they're 'bored'. I think it's for a goal: weight loss, better health, personal achievement...there's a reason why we workout. In a perfect world, every workout would be packed with oodles of fat burning, cheeky smiles and little effort. ~~This is certainly not my world, especially today.~~

I ran 6 miles on Saturday, and although I've done this before, it's been a long time. Wait, when I've done it before, there was plenty of walking on my run. I'd get distracted: walk. I'd think my legs were tired: walk. See a butterfly: walk. Whatever reason, and they may have been super good reasons, my prior long runs have included some level of walking. (and that IS okay). But, I want to run now sans walking, and I did this on Saturday. YAY.

I rested on Sunday. NO workout activitiy whatsoever, mostly thank you to Mr. Back-Spasm-Painful-Idiot-Jerk. But, I rested like my half marathon training schedule told me to do, and I knew I'd rock out an easy 3 or 4 miles today.

HA. Today was so much more challenging than Saturday! I typically give myself about 15 minutes to get into the groove, and my groove was no where to be found.

However, I kept going. And going. And going.

I even added an overpass to my route (I must be crazy) but really, I knew my run was going to happen no matter what OR how I felt and I figured I might as well 'DIG DEEP', even chanting my new favorite mantra "HARDWORK DEDICATION" (thank you Dolvett Quince, you sexy beast).

Now, it's done, and I'm damn glad I could feel good about this run...mostly, I'm damn glad it's over.

2012-01-26T16:59:00.000-05:00

I just ran. I ran to the other side of my small town, I ran across the tracks as fast as I could to avoid waiting for a train, I ran against a 30 mph headwind for at least half of my run. I'm really happy I ran, I'm happy I pushed myself to pass the elderly couple using the entire sidewalk. I'm happy that I didn't fall when I nearly tripped on an uneven sidewalk. Point is, I 'worked' on my run. I burned about 450 calories and I'm really happy about that. I earned those burned calories, but I didn't earn them to eat them....right?

I thought I'd google some of my favorite foods to see how fast I could completely obliterate my run.

Cheeseburger, 1/4 lb meat (beef modified in fat content) on bun - 408 calories

Original Glazed 2 doughnuts - 400 calories

Small Banana Split Blizzard - 460 calories

Between 3 and 4 oz. of a margarita delivers between 150 and 300 calories, according to CalorieKing.com. Since a jumbo margarita provides a much larger portion, the calorie counts may increase to between 500 and 700 calories per drink.

this is not me...my eyes aren't blue.

In average pre-prepared french fries cooked in oil:

578 calories in a large portion

458 calories in a medium portion

291 calories in a small portion

Nutty Bars Little Debbie

There are 310 calories in Nutty Bars

(evil, evil things)

Calories in Texas Toast Five Cheese Frozen Bread - 150 (and we never just have one)

I have such an evil habit of snacking at night, I can't NOT do it. It's terrible. If I have an adult beverage, forget it. I'll have a full blown meal. HOW BAD IS THAT?

I'm working way too hard to eat these empty calories, as delicious as they may be. Just ask my thighs, they're tired and sore. Now, if only my thighs would speak to my brain about eating crap, I will be nice and tiny in no time.

See also: Skinny person running half marathon.

Sources:
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/
http://www.calorieking.com/

All in

2012-01-23T17:27:00.002-05:00

Well, friends. It's official. It's scary. It's EXCITING.

I am registered to run in my very first

HALF MARATHON.

Even as I read what I just typed, it's almost hard to believe. I never, ever dreamed that I would even want to run 13.1 miles, let alone do it. The race is in Kansas City, Missouri, which I love because it's only 3 hours from where I live. I also love that my sister-in-law is registered for the race, too. This half marathon journey is is quite a feat for me, and I feel incredibly lucky that she is training for the 13.1 race, too. Together we are officially 'training' for this run, we have entered week three of training and it's been so great.

It's amazing what happens when you have a goal and a training schedule. The accountability is huge, the training is...fun? I love having a schedule of what to do and when to do it. I feel my runs are more purposeful but less difficult, does that make sense? I'm also doing circuit and strength training. WHO AM I?

I'm not sure who I am, but I like how I feel. I love having such a huge goal. I love looking forward to runs. I'm obsessed with this website Rock the Parkway because I cannot wait for this race. I'm feeling stronger and maybe even a little faster...and April 14th can't get here fast enough!

Love it

2012-01-16T13:48:00.001-05:00

Wow, I was going to start this post by saying last September, but it was in September (ish) of 2010 when my sister had one of those at home jewelry parties. She sent me a catalog and because it was jewelry (duh), I really wanted to get one item to help her out with her party. I needed to help HER. ~~Ok, that was my excuse.~~ At the time, she and I were learning to run with Couch to 5K. It worked, we were happy with doing it and then I bought a necklace.

I loved choosing this necklace mostly because it was kind of, not really, like my name. L-O for love and Lori, I've always wanted a necklace with my name, so this 'love' necklace seemed to be the perfect purchase.

Until it arrived.

It was too small. "What?" you say? Yes, it choked me. I was sad, I wanted to wear it but it looked so stupid. The word 'love' poked out of my neck like a plank on a ship. It looked like I had a spatula coming out of my throat. I wrestled with getting the thing off my neck, because....it was too tight.

Sometime early 2011, I put the necklace back on and it was tolerable. Then it became more and more comfortable. I realized during a really intense run or workout, the necklace would slowly turn so that the 'love' would end up at the back of my neck. I liked coming home and discovering 'love' was in the wrong place, but I always slipped it back to the front.

And now, I always wear my 'love' necklace. It reminds me of my progress and cheers me on. It tells me to never have a fat neck again, it signifies when I've had a workout and more than anything? It fits.

1-11-11 to 1-11-12

2012-01-12T15:06:00.004-05:00

One year ago yesterday I decided to begin a healthier lifestyle. I ate better (mostly), drank less (I tried), upped my water intake and started some natural supplements (I'm old). At the time, my hubby was on board with me, and we both lost about 20 pounds rather easily and felt really good about that. Except...I was still way overweight.

When I moved to Nebraska in 2007, I weighed 63 pounds less than on 1-11-11. SIXTY THREE. As I type that, it's embarrassing and definitely something to be shameful about. I remember our first summer here in the land of all things beef...and being excited about grilling steak and burgers and even wrapping most of the food in bacon. I experimented quite a bit with food, and ate all of it...happily. I recall saying in a joking manner "Nebraska is making me fat", and as I said that, and the more I said that...the more acceptable it became. Then, I got fat, for real fat.

So, then I'm the fattest I've ever been and eating whatever I want, like that's really 'ok'. Adults really CAN'T eat whatever they please. Or shouldn't. Or maybe I shouldn't or shouldn't have. Then it happened, that 'moment of clarity' that hits you like a Mack truck. I saw a recent picture of me with 57 chins and tiny eyes and my face looked squished with my features being swallowed by the fat. Not to mention the fat on my...I'll stop there. I chipped the dust off my scale and weighed in and I was totally surprised but not really. The scale confirmed my nightmare. Fat.

It was early in the new year and as much as I hate being on the new year resolution bandwagon, I knew it was time to change. A special date was approaching (1-11-11 (and Grace, I love you) ) and it was time.

Fast forward to April, after I had pretty easily lost 20 pounds, the weather was getting better. I had been running about 2 times a week, short miles, cold miles, but SOME cardio is better than none. I kept running. I'd gain a pound, then lose 2. This was pretty much my story until July, I ran a local 5K and hated it, I felt slow and weak, but it was an accomplishment. Then I got so sick, I almost died. Ok, not really DIED, but it was the sickest I think I have ever been. I was literally in bed for three weeks. Completely debilitated, totally out of commission. Eventually, little by little, I regained strength, but I was sad that I knew I had lost my running stamina and the push up strength I had gained by doing the 100 push up challenge. I had to get it back, all of it.

I started out with some dinky runs. I quickly realized that I don't want to run 5K's...I want to run 10K's. So began a new goal and new training and I loved it. How could I ever run 6 miles? But, I did. Then 7 then 8 and then I started flirting with a new goal. We flirted in my mind off and on in November. Then the flirting got pretty serious in December, and by mid December...we took the flirting a step further and entered into a secret and exciting new affair. We were into it. I was head over heels in lust with this thought. I was craving it. Who knew I'd want to run 13.1 miles so badly. A half marathon. A mini. WHAT. Yes, I will be running at least one half marathon in 2012. ME. I will.

One year later and 45 pounds lighter....I'm officially 'training' for my first half marathon. My support system is crazy insane. I have met MANY incredibly supportive, helpful and awesome runners on Twitter. I couldn't do what I do....without it. But mostly, I credit a great friend, Bob Myer for EVERY BIT OF RUNNING ADVICE up to this point. He's been a huge source of support and such a positive influence. We went to high school....different years but same school at the same time. I'm older *cough*. He even lives about an hour away from me, although I haven't seen him in years. He's awesome and I'm pretty sure without him, running wouldn't be what it is to me now. Many, many thanks, Bob.

And? Erin. My sister's friend, Erin. We met via Twitter, and she's been a critical part of where I am now. She encourages me, pushes me, MOTIVATES me. She is so motivating. You are so awesome, Erin, I thank you from the bottom of my running shoes. Thank you.

I hate long blog posts, and I apologize. I will close by saying, I can't wait to see what 2012 is like and what my 2013 post will have to say!

45 pounds - FORTY FIVE POUNDS

2011-12-21T12:59:00.000-05:00

I tracked EVERY bite.

I measured, I weighed, I counted. (I've asked for an electronic scale for Christmas)

I worked out EVERY DAY

(my typical workout is between 400-500 calories, here I ran 5 miles and used interval inclines)

I drank my 100+ ounces of water daily

ate endless vegetables, at least one banana everyday (yuck). I was never hungry, and I even indulged in one of our favorite local restaurants, Parker's Smokehouse and BBQ.

I ate EVERY BITE.

I wish I had screen captured my loss this week, I was JUST SO excited. I wish I could have seen my face. I looked at the scale and said 'no, no way'. I stepped off, put my hands over my mouth, tapped the scale again, then stepped back on. It said the same weight. I really just had a five pound loss this week. Tracking works. (thanks to http://www.weightwatchers.com/ )

I joined a gym and I like it

2011-12-12T12:10:00.000-05:00

Now, when you read that title, I hope you're channeling your inner Katy Perry and saying it like "I kissed a girl and I liked it". If you don't sing the title of this post, then it's a pretty lame title. Anyway!

I joined a small local gym, "yes!" we have a gym in Smalltown, Nebraska! I looked for one month specials online and found a special for ten bucks. TEN DOLLARS! Lucky for me (not really) we've already had two significant snowfalls this season, 'with the local street departments rule of not even going out to plow unless it's 2 inches', well, it's a mess here. The shoulders of the roads that I typically run along, are nicely stacked with snow and ice and extra nightmares. I didn't want to stop running, so I researched and scored a really nice deal. It was actually an 'online only' deal, but I went in and talked to someone (an angel sent from above) and he said if I wanted to continue my monthly membership ($34.00), he'd waive the $75 registration fee. HOLLA. So, I think maybe I've found my new 'home' away from the snowy roads, maybe even until March or so.

Still? I miss road running, I miss jumping off the sides for cars, I miss the endless 'waving of hello' to each passing car. I miss the never ending fields, the pastures of animals, the creeks...heck, even the gravel roads. I just think I will get outside when weather permits and when it's not so treacherous and until then, I will enjoy watching tv, listening to my tunes, and running inside on a treadmill with a giant fan on my head. Who knows, I may even start some weight lifting to build some muscle. (so I can burn more fat and maybe, maybe even run faster).

Also? I freaking love the elliptical machine.

And? I'm about to register for a half marathon in May. What-the-what. I'm crazy and excited and crazy-excited.

Creepy McCreepy

2011-11-27T12:52:00.001-05:00

This weekend we made the decision to travel to Iowa and stay with my husbands family. My in-laws. My brother and sister in law and their almost 1 year old, Jacob. It's only 3 hours away, and we spent the night on Thanksgiving and Friday, leaving on Saturday after a football game.

I LOVE where they live. Love it. It's in Knoxville but seriously it's more of a tandem of Lake Red Rock, which is the largest lake in Iowa, which means...wildlife. Like, deer. Everywhere. All-the-time. My father in law says he sees coyotes running around in speedy, silver groups. If you're there in early spring, you can look up and see bald eagles and where they are nesting. All you have to do is walk less than half a mile to see these majestic birds, and just walk anywhere to see any other wild animal. I love it...and couldn't wait to actually run through the closed (for winter) campgrounds. Just me, my music, looking for deer. Running.

I put on my cold gear, which was too much, I knew I was going to be hot, but it didn't mind. Off I go. Now, I'm out running and about to enter the campground, and notice the gate is wide open. This fall, the weather has been SO nice, nice enough to allow people to drive in and walk or run, even hike the awesome trails...so the park isn't really 'all' mine, and that's fine, I can share.

I'm noticing my run is more 'labored' than usual, I blame the Thanksgiving meal and my lunch that day. I always say "fuel your runs", because it's so true. Crappy food = crappy run. (but really it was ok, and totally worth it). I have both ear-buds in, just like I'm not supposed to but there is zero traffic, and as always I'm focused on my surroundings and aware of when loud, little red trucks with chain-smoking men are about to pass me. Stupid truck has now ruined my 'only me' run, but it's a big campground, so whatever.

I'm finding my groove and look up ahead to see a ~~pretty huge, ginormous, almost 90 degree~~ hill ahead of me...with that little red truck parked at the top. Now facing me. Parked. I think to myself "well, I can turn around and avoid the hill and The Creeper", or just keep going. I kept going. I think I chose to keep going because if I turned away, I thought that would show fear. (oh, and he's not parked in some real parking place, he's just parked on the side of the road, opposite side of me) I finally make it to the top of the hill and just ignore him totally *whew*. As I'm passing him, I'm inhaling his cigarette smoke but he's now up there and I'm running down here. I'm realizing as I run, this campground has one way in and one way out, probably like most state campgrounds, but that meant that I may have to see him again. That small, wrinkled, weathered face, with a ciggy dangling out of his mouth. But guess what? He passes me again, so now he's leaving and now I'm feeling safe-ish.

Of course I have to run up that hill again, and now who's parked AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT HILL? Are you kidding me? My mind races and I think to call my husband, but I know his phone is downstairs and off. I look right and left and there are huge ravines ~~perfect for hiding bodies~~ but if I got past a ravine, it's surrounded by water. I actually stopped running to gauge the real or not danger here, and I knew I could outrun him, not a bullet, but him. P.S. I'm very dramatic.

I run down the hill. I pass him...but now his truck is slowly rolling WITH ME. WHO DOES THIS? I died. My arms went numb and I quick turned left into an RV camping area, he is still on the main road...I think. I walk through that camping loop and when I want to leave, he's parked outside that loop. I march up to him and pull out my phone and take a picture of him. I shout "WHAT?!?!?! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Him: "I'm just waiting for my wife, she is walking our 6 pound dog". (he chuckles when he says 6 pound dog like that's cute or something)

WTF.

Me: "She's not right here, get away from me".

I walk in front of the truck and take another picture of him behind me.

I use every fiber of my being to get out of that park as fast as I could. I never saw him again. Creepy fucker.

I realize he quite possibly was there to walk his wife or dog or whatever, but he did harass me. I wasn't there for his entertainment. Maybe he missed that memo.

Ended up being over 5 miles of physical endurance and 10 lifetimes of mental strain.

Creepy, huh?

Mostly Wordless Tuesday

2011-11-22T11:54:00.001-05:00

Today is Mostly Wordless Tuesday for heck of it. This past week has been pretty exciting for a small town, Nebraska woman. I had a birthday. I got ~~finally~~ an iPhone. I ran 8 miles. I bought some 'cold gear' for running. And, I ran 8 miles...wait, I said that already.

This is getting pretty wordy for wordless, so I'll share some of my first iPhone captures.

my Nike Pro Combat 'Cold Gear'

Me modeling my reversible thermal Nike headband - both ways. There needs to be an app that says "brush your damn hair".

my celebratory wine...and that glass isn't as huge as you think...it's an iPhone app called "make your wine glass appear huge"

and a birthday muffin...stinking 470 calories and 24 grams of fat...I had two.

My birthday lunch. We had to head to Omaha for some things, so we tried a new restaurant -- Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen. There are no words to describe how fantastic it is. Is there an app for licking the plate clean and no one will see it?

Dessert. Duh. My birthday means dessert. And can we have an app that changes high calorie and fat foods to something light and good for you? But can it taste like this did? Because. O-M-G.

and my 8 mile route

This picture was near the end of my 8 mile run, and I realized it was also the end of a pretty great week...but also, possibly the beginning of many more great weeks to come.

Seven. Shichi. Siete. Sieben. VII

2011-11-15T12:20:00.001-05:00

I ran 7 miles yesterday. SEVEN. I can hardly believe it myself.

After taking the weekend off from running, I pretty much felt I could do a 5+ mile run. My 'favorite and comfortable' run is 4 miles, relatively quick (45 minutes or so) and around 500 calories burned. I'm okay with those numbers, but I know all runs can't be 4, 5, or 6 miles...can they? I never really know how far I'll be running until after about a mile or so. Do my hips feel ok? Are my quads tight like they love to be? Any discomfort I can't mask with ibuprofen? (and yes, I take ibuprofen before almost every run because I am old, and things just .... ache). So, yesterday being beautiful, and I was feeling pretty good, running to my new play list, I thought to myself "Hmm, maybe I could run 7 miles today."

I started with what I call 'Lawson Loop', and it's a small graveley 'track' around the new high school baseball field. I've attempted to figure the distance and IF it's what I think it could be...it's around 3/4 of a mile. I think. Maybe. Or not. Who knows. I did two loops and thought I'd be crazy to run a billion loops for seven miles, so I hit the road heading out of town.

There are some 'not-as-busy' roads in the country, but most are pretty busy being they are arteries. I hopped onto a side road, found my groove and ran, and ran, and ran. Now, I'm running on gravel because when you live in the sticks, all roads eventually turn to gravel/stone/loose dirt. The gravel was ok, just have to watch for extra large boulder size, ankle twisting stones, which thankfully, I avoided them all.

Still running 'out of town', I notice a water treatment plant that I had no idea existed. I see many, many identifiable footprints of deer and dogs or maybe those are coyotes and wolfs, but since I'm running in their territory, I'll call them something non-scary, like, chihuahuas. Up ahead and around the bend, I know there's a turkey farm. However, I realize the turkeys are probably gone since I'm noticing 12358425 white feathers along the road, which of course happened when they were attacked by the killer chihuahuas, or, when the were loaded up for slaughter. Ugh, the smell of a turkey farm is not a pleasant one, time to turn around. I check my ipod, and I'm just over 5 miles...which is perfect. Oh, but I'm hot. Long sleeved black shirt with a t-shirt over it, and it's 58 degrees and I'm sweating like a whore in church. Like, Biggest Loser sweating. My back is soaked, oh, the sweat.

Heading back, I'm now back onto the familiar paved roads, waving to any vehicle that makes room for me. Not really a 'wave' more like...I'm flashing them deuces to the side. And, by 'vehicles', I'm speaking of dump trucks, farming things, trucks towing fertilizer and semi-trucks. They're all real friendly, slow down, move over ... and WAVE.

I cut back over the Lawson Field and see a snake. A snake. I noticed it was gnawing on something red and meaty as I screamed and ran away. I've just hit the six mile mark and realize I'm closer to home than I need to be, so I will need to extend my run in the neighborhood, and that's just what I do. I'm starting to feel dehydrated and a bit fatigued, but at this point there's no way that I'm not going to put a seven miler in the books.

I do a loop and check the ipod...and yes, seven miles done. By me. First time ever. I go inside my house and my arms begin to cramp, the dehydration is worse than I expected, but that's ok. I JUST RAN SEVEN FREAKING MILES.

run-away weekend

2011-11-14T11:58:00.001-05:00

I didn't run this weekend, and on Friday, I only walked. I love weekend running because it's a great time to try new routes, paths or even trails. The weather was even perfect, mid 50's. Sunny. Dry. I still did not run. Was I lazy? Yes, I do think that was some of the reason why. Mainly, my legs are tired. Achy. Tired.

I'm not going to beat myself up about two days of not running and in about an hour, I will be lacing up and starting the week right with a nice, long (to me) run! Who's running.walking with me? How far did you go?

why you need to work out today

2011-11-10T14:37:00.001-05:00

I will start by saying that I read this article probably almost a year ago, a year ago I was NOT exercising and eating everything in sight, soon gaining the most non-pregnancy weight of my life.

I love the above 'image'. It's a thought process MOST people go through, most of the time..that is unless you're just eating whatever you like and unless you're not even wanting or trying to get thirty minutes of exercise in daily. I think we all 'want' to eat right, lose weight or improve something about ourselves. Our bodies are meant to move. Clearly. This is why we can't sit around and eat endless fat and calories and be thin or fit. We need to move..and not from the computer to the refrigerator. Nice try ;)

What is our bodies biggest enemy? We are sitting on it.

You might not want to take the following stat sitting down: According to a poll of nearly 6,300 people by the Institute for Medicine and Public Health, it's likely that you spend a stunning 56 hours a week planted like a geranium — staring at your computer screen, working the steering wheel, or collapsed in a heap in front of your high-def TV. And it turns out women may be more sedentary than men, since they tend to play fewer sports and hold less active jobs.

Even if you think you have an energetic lifestyle, sitting is how most of us spend a good part of our day. And it's killing us — literally — by way of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. All this downtime is so unhealthy that it's given birth to a new area of medical study called inactivity physiology, which explores the effects of our increasingly butt-bound, tech-driven lives, as well as a deadly new epidemic researchers have dubbed "sitting disease." - Women's Day by Selene Yeager.

Then, I read this.

When you sit for an extended period of time, your body starts to shut down at the metabolic level, says Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri. When muscles — especially the big ones meant for movement, like those in your legs — are immobile, your circulation slows and you burn fewer calories. Key flab-burning enzymes responsible for breaking down triglycerides (a type of fat) simply start switching off. Sit for a full day and those fat burners plummet by 50 percent.

As if that wasn't enough.

And even if you exercise, you're not immune. Consider this: We've become so sedentary that 30 minutes a day at the gym may not do enough to counteract the detrimental effects of eight, nine, or 10 hours of sitting, says Genevieve Healy, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Cancer Prevention Research Centre of the University of Queensland in Australia. That's one big reason so many women still struggle with weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol woes despite keeping consistent workout routines.

So, this is not rocket science...get out there and move. Every day.

read the article in it's entirety...NOW. Please.

sometimes TV shows are jerks and running can't fix everything

2011-11-03T12:52:00.000-04:00

Sometimes television shows are jerks, and they don't even mean it. Hubby and I watch about eight shows/week. We DVR them then snuggle up on the couch and have little marathons. We love 'our shows'. NCIS, NCIS LA, Criminal Minds, The Mentalist, Dancing with the Stars, Biggest Loser. We've even added 2 more shows, Up All Night and Modern Family. As you can see, some shows are about crimes and detective work, some are light and entertaining and some are just flat our hilarious. The entertainment value is priceless, taking our minds off of the daily grind is always a good thing.

Last night we watched Criminal Minds (one of my favorites), and as usual, it was fairly gripping, twisted and dark. Hello? The name says it all. There were two story lines in the show, one was the bad guy and how he had previously had a terrible after death experience. The second story line was how a long divorced couple were reunited ... only, she was dying of a terminal disease. She wanted to die on her own terms, so she took a bottle of pills, and laid her head on her former husband and barely muttered a question to him. "Do you think he'll be there?" He held her tight and he was quietly crying, then he assured her, "Yes, I know he'll be there."

Next scene, cemetery. He is sitting by two headstones, one is hers. The other is their son - born and died on the same day some thirty years earlier.

My husband grabs my hand and squeezes it so tight, and we both just sit there, choking for air, tears falling, not able to say a word. We weren't expecting that, clearly. It took us each a good fifteen minutes to regain composure and to go on with the night. It wasn't so much the headstone of the baby but more the question of the mother "will he be there?"

We know this is how we both will meet our son and daughter. In the afterlife. And I know seven years after losing our first baby, the pain is still so raw and real. I want to think of them all the time, but it's hard to. So, when a silly weekly tv show rocks my foundation of cope, I know it's time for me to think of them again, and, I will.

I will wonder how tall Jonathan would have been and imagine the color of Grace's hair. In my mind they are the closest of friends, never separating, always smiling and happy. I will picture the bedrooms they will never have and wonder if they miss us as much as we miss them. I hope they are happy and warm. I hope great-grandparents are reading them stories, and hugging them tight. I long to hear their sweet voices. To smell their hair, watch them play.

For now, they are forever in my heart, so close yet so far. I won't ask the question "will they be there?" because I already know "they will."

this stone is in my pond landscaping, it makes my heart swell when I see it

PlankADay and ThankADay - Day One

2011-11-02T16:41:00.000-04:00

I planked. Holy embarrassment. ELEVEN SECONDS. I knew my core was weak or non-existent..but eleven seconds? I literally laughed out loud when I finished. I am excited to see where I end up at the end of November. Please join the PlankADay and ThankADay Challenge I mean, why not? You can plank almost anytime. Your core will love you. Eventually.

While planking for eleven seconds, I gave thanks for the ability to run the six miles that I ran yesterday. I couldn't really give thanks to a real person or even God, there wasn't enough time! Today's goal - fifteen seconds.

a goal without a plan is just a wish

2011-11-01T18:05:00.000-04:00

Personally, I love the beginning of a new month. I love the newness of it, I'm usually ready to flip the calendar, and I'm always ~~sometimes~~ thinking of some way to challenge myself for that new, upcoming month. I love early November, it's still very autumn-y...temperatures are still tolerable, Thanksgiving is weeks away, my sons birthday is ten days away, and a certain someone will be another year older *looks at ceiling*.

Happy First Day of November! I ran six miles for the first time ever. I can't lie, it was pretty grueling. I'm confident I wasn't physically ready to do this as I totally ran out of energy at mile five. Mile five is my body's truck stop. Done. Finito. No más. It's not my breathing ~~huffing and puffing~~, that's fine...my body...just...stops. Live and learn, but hey, I did SIX MILES. Which is four miles short of my current running goal. Did I just say that? Yes, I did!

Goals. First of the month. Set some. Now.

Here are mine:
Run at least twenty miles/week
push-up training
Plank-a-day (one plank a day for as long as you can hold it)
Less wine (boo! hiss!)

Why not start with a walk? Or less snacking? More water? More sleep?

What are your goals for November? Share! Share!

a compliment can go sooo far

2011-11-01T13:31:00.000-04:00

Last night I was chit chatting with my husband and reminiscing about my trip to Indiana. My ramblings go on and on and it's funny how one thing leads to another and I eventually end up my yapping with a something my Mom shared with me. Something pretty great, something she made sure to tell me, something that made me feel accomplished and really, really great.

My Dad said to my Mom "You can really tell Lori is running and exercising....it's really noticeable.'"

I so love that she shared that with me. THIS IS WHY I WORK OUT. I want to look better, feel better, but really, look better. When someone notices my efforts AND tells me...it just doesn't get much better than that.

Do not reward yourself with food, you are not a dog

2011-10-28T18:44:00.000-04:00

The weekend is finally upon us! For me, that usually means i will eat whatever the heck I want and drinking more wine than I usually would.... if I was drinking wine. *cough* I can rationalize anything when it comes to a food I love to eat. I'll say "oh, I ran today and burned 600 calories, so I can eat this and be okay." In fact, when I hit the measly ten pounds lost mark...I rewarded myself with.... A CHEESEBURGER. Not just a little McDonald's cheeseburger, a burger from the local ice cream shop (which has killer bar-type food). I remember the wintry afternoon, sending my husband out for a 'real' burger, because Hey, I just lost a whopping ten pounds.

That burger sucked and was burned and dry and almost inedible and I still ~~ate every dumb bite.~~

I was all mad. I kept saying "that was not worth it." The burger was terrible, I wasted hard earned, burned calories. Then I thought..."what if the burger was good?" It was then, back in March....I realized that rewarding with food...isn't a reward at all. It was a trigger for more bad food, an excuse to eat bad food, a great way to feel bad for eating bad food. I realized...you cannot reward yourself with food!

So, this weekend, think twice about what you eat. Do you need it? Are you truly hungry? Are you feeling snacky? Is there fruit available instead? Have you had your water? Is it the best possible choice for fueling your body? I know those are tough questions, I battle them daily. One step at a time, and we'll all end up happy with our choices and happier with our bodies.

Confessions of a Traveling Sister

2011-10-27T13:08:00.000-04:00

I'm home...again. Now, where to start? The scale.

I had to, HAD to weigh myself. Even if I was gone 14 out of 18 days. I 'weighed' in (kinda, unofficially) at my sisters house, once. Scrunching up my nose at the scale, I decided to wait to do official weigh ins at home, starting the first Wednesday I was there. Cue Wednesday...got on the scale and had a gain (duh) of 1.8 pounds. WHAT?? I was soooo happy with that number! Also, today I got on the scale and I am within half a pound of my 'low'.

Next up, the food.

I ate at McDonald's, Papa Johns, Industrial Revolution, Steak-n-Shake (at 3:00am), Sophia's House of Pancakes, Jimmy Johns (3 times). At home I feasted on... Beth's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Beth's Awesome Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada's, Beth's Quick & Delicious Pasta, Amy's Amazin' Hot Dog Roll-Ups and Mom's Creamy-Good Cream of Chicken. Breakfasts were a 'healthy' bowl of cereal and coffee. and, quite honestly, there was very-little-to-none of that dreaded 'snacking'. I do sort of feel bad for not sharing some of my corned beef hash with Beth, I kept catching her staring at it. She did say something about 'dog food' but underneath that comment, I know she wanted some. Next time, though. Anyway, I ate what was served and ordered what I wanted and I have zero regret. I knew I'd come home and get back on my healthy eating and that's exactly what I did. I got up on Tuesday morning, dashed to the store for a few items for the week, knowing I have set myself up for a successful week of eating 'good for you' food.

Now, the running.

Not good. I ran 4 of 14 days away from home. My plan was to run every morning while I was there. The first morning, I did run. It started pretty rough but by mile three, I felt I could go forever, ~~or just another .65~~ ~~miles~~, which is what I did. I'm not happy with running only 4 times but it is what it is and I can't change it. So, it's time to rack up some miles, eh?

So, there it is. The good, the bad and the very ugly. It was fabulous week. Sweet babies, sister time, some laughs, some naps...I wouldn't trade even one of the moments for a run. I loved the whole week and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Oh my God! I just remembered I had wine EVERY NIGHT! And, we had donuts on the day I left. But, like I said, I'd do it all over again....maybe more donuts though.

2011-10-13T18:21:00.000-04:00

For now...I am home. What a fantastic little trip that was! That was SO good for my soul on so many levels. Where do I begin? Well, first off.... the running...was amazing. My sister, Beth, recommended a gorgeous trail close to her home...and the weather couldn't have possibly been more 'fallish' and perfect and warm and bright and windy and absolutely perfect. The weather was amazing EVERY-SINGLE-DAY. The trail? 3 miles of sand, some slight hills, a little boardwalk, a little sidewalk, falling leaves...and hello? I had a running partner! I really love running with someone. Again, perfect.

The eating? Not so perfect. I had wine (duh), a few donuts (omg), meatloaf and homemade mashed potatoes, taco freaking salad (dying), and so many delicious things my sister's friends dropped off. She is so blessed to have so many wonderful friends. I really have no regrets on the food, well...maybe I should have had more? HA.

Then? I'm going back! Monday morning, bright and early...well, not bright, it's actually pretty much in the middle of the night, but I'm returning and cannot wait... for? Baby holding, toddler playing, sister chatting, mom hugging, wine sipping, and more running on that amazing trail.

Cannot wait.

Maintaining complaining

2011-10-05T09:45:00.000-04:00

Weigh in day. I weigh in every Wednesday, it's the one day of the week where I strip completely and step on the cold scale, shiver and wait. It takes forever for the numbers to pop up (or it seems to). This week was a different week for me...I tracked EVERYTHING. You know, like you're supposed to. Usually, if I have wine on the weekends, I won't track it....actually, on the weekends I usually don't track much. Maybe I'll only track AP's (activity points), and yeah, that's not how you're supposed to do it. So, anyway, I tracked like a good little weight watcher girl, and guess what I found out? I simply eat too much. Maybe I'll share what I ate last week. Oh no, Weight Watchers doesn't have a glutton recap page, I wonder why? ;)

I don't eat bad food. I cannot remember the last time I had fast food. Whole wheat pasta, oodles of veggies, at least one banana a day. Whole grains are my favorite - LOVE them. So, maybe two slices of whole grain bread a day - either in a sandwich or toast. It doesn't matter, I still eat too much of the good-for-you-food. I get a weekly allowance of 49 points to use any way that I desire, that's on top of my daily 30 points. This week I earned 74 activity points, too....and according to weight watchers, you can eat/use those. Well, I did. I swapped and used 38. I consumed 297 points this week! Oy vey!

Back to tracking. I know this works, down almost forty pounds and four years ago I lost fifty. However, I need to lose a lot more than fifty this time around *cough* now give me a donut.

2011-10-04T18:09:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited! I'm traveling this week. ROAD TRIP! My sister had a baby, so my sister-in-law and I are heading to Indiana. I seriously haven't left the state of Nebraska since Easter...so this isa much needed break. Why 'leave the state of Nebraska?' .... well, I knowabout four people here and everyone else is far away. I can't wait tosee my sister, my mom and dad and some of my nieces and nephews. Anyway,my sister-in-law, Teresa is about eight hours west of here, in Colorado. So, she'll leave Thursday morning and head here. It's funny, I liveabout five miles from Interstate 80, so she and my sweet niece will come here,spend the night and we'll leave on Friday morning. I'M GOING TO INDIANA,I'M SO HAPPY!!

But, I'm also worried. I'm worried about my eating choices,I know this five day getaway will NOT derail me from my fitness and WeightWatchers goals (but there’s so many restaurants there I love, and so manymargaritas and so much wine.) I *do* know when I get home; it will be asthough I never left. I'll easily slip back into the daily routines I have created over the last 4-5 months. Also, proactively, I did chat with my Mom and Teresaand we know ~~like it's not even aquestion~~ that we will be running. Teresa is now a running addict– I so love that! I'm really excited to finally have some runningpartners, how motivating! In fact, I'm thinking maybe of Teresa and megetting up early on Friday and hitting the road before we even leave - shhhhhh, don't tell her. Ithink that would be totally bad-ass. I'd also love to Shred...oops, did Isay that? Hey, as long as I'm running...I'm happy with that. Oh, and something else that makes mehappy? Meeting my new, beautiful niece.

and today's little motivation piece...I may be 'busy' in Indiana, but I won't be too busy.

2011-10-02T20:19:00.000-04:00

There's something I've been thinking about for some time. Maybe it's because I feel my weight loss is going slower than it should be...but I am losing about 1.5 pounds/week on average, and I do know that is perfect. BUT I'M RUNNING SO MUCH.

So, I chatted with a trainer. She wanted to know everything about my diet, habits, sleeping, drinking, running...everything. Two words. Resistance training. She said you "can lose weight with only cardio, but it is much slower and you probably won't like your body too much". So I asked her about the 30 Day Shred (by Jillian Michaels) ...she said that would be perfect! So...I shredded, twice. It was hard, yes, but did not kill me. I'm ok with that. Oh, and this resistance training goes along with my running.

So, after much thinking, and for the first time - EVER...I'm going to take my measurements and track my changes in actual places on my body. Maybe taking some focus off the scale? I'm thinking as much as I'd love a 2 pound loss, I'd be pretty freaking stoked to see my measurements shrinking. Do you track your measurements? Why or why not? Should I? Should you?

2011-10-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

This is as much for me as it is for you. I didn't work out yesterday due to a tantrum and a crying fit. I hate, hate pms'ing. Makes me feel like a ravenous, deranged, lazy, bloated alien. ~~and I ate a restaurant burgerwithsomefries~~ What? I did. Now my points plus are all out of wack on Weight Watchers. When I say 'out of wack', that means I think I ate all of my points right up until Christmas. *sigh* I was so looking forward to Thanksgiving!

BUT! Today is a new day. I WILL RUN. I WILL SHRED. I WILL NOT MAKE BAD CHOICES! Now that I've shared that, there's some accountability. I also find, for me....by putting off my daily workouts, then my mind begins to cheat on it. I start to think about watching a movie, or, taking a nap *gasp* or, finding a workout on Netflix when we don't even have it! *ahem*

How are you taking care of your goals today? We'd love to hear what you're doing to 'sweat'!

I'm Falling Behind.....Can I Catch Up??

2011-09-29T16:37:00.000-04:00

I am nowhere near where Lori is in all of this. I am working my way back into working out on a regular basis, where I was before summer started. I have fallen behind. I was doing my Wii Active 5 days a week and walking at least that many, nothing could stop me from my workouts. Then came summer, I stayed with it for the first part and then came camping and that just completely derailed me. So where am I now? Eating worse, not doing my Wii Active and trying to get into running...slowing and sporadically. I am now in awe of my sister, Lori who is doing an incredible job of training for a 10k and eating healthy. I have my inspiration, I'm definitely not lacking that.

So what's my problem? I think the worst part is a new routine. The kids are back in school and I am going back to work...sort of. I am in a substitute position so there may be some days I'm up all dressed to run and then the phone rings....I'm going to work. So I've got to figure it all out and have a back up plan. I need to dig my treadmill out. I guess I can't use it to hold paper towels, toilet paper, grass seed, an extension cord a lasso and oh yes, our camouflage Snuggie. That way on days when I get called into work, I can get on the treadmill when it's dark.

I do plan on running a 5k on October 22, the Run Scream Run http://runscreamrun.com/. I am running...ok run/walking it with a friend of mine and I need to get my butt in gear! Let's just hope I can stay motivated and do it right this time.

2011-09-29T16:18:00.000-04:00

Did you sweat today? I ran today...I noticed I was almost to the half mile mark when I was already breaking a sweat. How awesome is that? So, that took me...about 5-6 minutes to begin sweating. Sweating means your moving and moving means you're DOING SOMETHING! What did you do today to get that sweat drippin'?

2011-09-28T12:26:00.000-04:00

This morning, I'm going to recap my opinion of Biggest Loser. So...if you have tivo'd or DVR'd it and have yet to watch, don't read, ok? And if you still read...don't be all up in my grill about it, because see...I warned you.

Ode to Boston Johnny. This guy, where do I start? First off...what's with the face he's always making. Don't say, "that's just his face", because ...it's not. Kinda looks like he's....oh never mind. But really? What's up with this face? I know in this scene he was faking eating donuts by making ~~disgusting sexual noises~~ eating noises. Not sure. I was happy when his part of that challenge was over...then they brought him back! Cringe-worthy moment of the show for me.

Anyway, I liked this challenge, and I swear I wished I could ~~eat~~ smell those damn donuts. Or maybe just rub them all over my body. I'm not picky.

So, when Team Blue had the lowest percentage of weight loss, I immediately said 'bye-bye' broken knee Bonnie! Not a fan. She also has a 'face' that I don't get. I do feel bad about her knee situation, and when Dr. Evil told her about her really, really bad knee and then her daughter called while she was still in the office, maybe I cried. Stupid show. Back to Johnny, at one point during the show, I said out loud "awww, he's cute", but I'm still trying to recall when I said that. Why was he a slacker? My thoughts are that he felt 'safe' due to his large weight loss week in week one. Why did he jump off the treadmill with on SIX MEASLY SECONDS left? That was weaksauce and if I were Anna, I would have punched him in the back of the head. So, he had a bad week but a fantastic 'last chance workout' HAHA. Too little, too late...and back to Boston he went.

Oh, and is it just me or do you want to work out during the entire show, too? I kept thinking, "man, I could totally be doing some push-ups right now." Of course, I didn't.

Now? I must/have/need/want to share eye candy with you all, because, really...OMG.

the-dreamiest-bestest-motivationalist-buffest-trainer-ever

I love his name, too - Dolvett Quince. I have so many inappropriate things to say about 'saying' his name and how it's like a smooth, creamy, rich, dark chocolate melting in your mouth....but I won't.

So, there it is, friends...my recap of Biggest Loser. See you next week when we bid adieu to Bon-Bon Bonnie, same bat time, same bat channel!

2011-09-27T21:38:00.000-04:00

This is for my run today! SUCKED so hard! And? not only did it suck... my Ipod quit halfway! And? It was 1245287 degrees outside! And? The sun was making my face boil and melt off my skull! And? I felt like I had a beach in my mouth. And? My hip flexors hurt so bad, I wanted to lay on the side of the road! And? IT SUCKED!!

BUT?! At least I didn't get run over by a John Deere, or bitten by a wild turkey, or fell into a hole to the pits of hell, right?

So? Not all runs are fabulous and most days aren't easy to 'eat right.' Just some are much worse than others.

2011-09-27T13:42:00.000-04:00

You did. I did. We ALL have said this. So, let's stop. Start today. Start NOW. People say 'tomorrow' or 'Monday'...what's that doing for you? It allows for another day of cheap eating, another day of not moving, another day of not loving your body. You don't have to be a size 2 to love your body....but wouldn't you love feeling energetic rather than sluggish? Wouldn't it be great to feel and see your body changing - is there anything MORE motivating? No. Feed your body what it needs, not what you want. It will change...remember this though "it's a marathon, not a race". Meet you at the finish line.

Lunch...because I'm not a 'turkey sandwich' every day kinda gal

2011-09-26T16:43:00.000-04:00

hardest part of this? Cutting up the veggies. Just cut the veggies, it's SO WORTH IT.

Water chestnuts, sugar snap peas, baby bella mushrooms, broccoli, red onion over a half a cup of whole grain rice, seasoned with fat free italian dressing (measured of course). Oh, and shrimp! A long time ago, I decided to no longer purchase 'Smart Ones' or anything of that nature. Too dang expensive. I realized since I was not working, I'd create my own 'Weight Watchers friendly meals'....and I'm loving it. Total points plus value = six!

recipe:
1/4 cup small shrimp, cooked, peeled, de-tailed and deveined
1/2 cup Uncle Ben's whole grain rice (I love the boil in a bag, and then I just keep it 'ready' in the fridge.)
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
sugar snap peas - all you want
broccoli - all you want
mushrooms - all you want
red onion - all you want
water chestnuts - all you want
green pepper - all you want

(get the idea with the veggies? GO CRAZY!)

in a small frying pan, add olive oil and garlic...dump in your shrimp, dump in all of your veggies, drizzle 2 tablespoons fat free italian dressing, lightly cover, cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes and tossing every minute or so...and you're done. Serve over bed of rice and then drizzle another tablespoon of dressing and enjoy!

hit the ground running: and...I'm back with a new, more purposeful blog! ...

2011-09-26T00:29:00.000-04:00

hit the ground running:
and...I'm back with a new, more purposeful blog! ...: and...I'm back with a new, more purposeful blog! I'll quickly recap this year so far...started on yet *another* weight loss journey. Th...

2011-09-26T00:06:00.000-04:00

and...I'm back with a new, more purposeful blog! I'll quickly recap this year so far...started on yet *another* weight loss journey. The story of my life, as sad as that is. I began on 1-11-11, it just seemed so right. As of today, 9-25-2011, I'm about a pound away from FORTY POUNDS LOST. Yet? there's more to go. I'm on Weight Watchers and that really is a great tool for me to learn how to eat and learn a healthy lifestyle. I'm realizing fast food is not part of healthy living. I'm also realizing drinking margaritas aren't in the daily 'five', no matter how many limes are used. (Hubby calculated calories and carbs of light margarita mix, can you say ... equal to the carbs in four quarter pounders with cheese?) So, no more. If I'm going to be 'charged' for four quarter pounders with cheese, I'm sure as hell going to eat one.

Anyway, this blog will have some of my tastiest food recipes, I will discuss wine at times, but more than anything...this blog will reflect my quest to be fit...and that is just so exciting to me. My new love is running...I just LOVE it. I'm approaching a 10K, which is something I've never done...but I will do it, and it will be fabulous.

What I would love to get from this new blog...are readers and followers (duh) but why? Because anyone else fighting the fitness battle, you all inspire ME. Twitter and Facebook have been a huge, ginormous, huge support group. I'm held accountable. I feel as thought I 'report in'. They care. They cheer. They understand. Then, we can all celebrate healthy together, and plow our way through the workouts... and? Feel pretty freaking awesome.