A New Year's Challenge you can do TODAY!

Tomorrow is the new year and I was trying to think of what I could do TODAY that would make next year better. You know what I did?

I registered for the 2010 Iron Girl 10 mile run!!!

It feels great to know that I am leaving this year behind with plans already made for a great new year!!

So, I'm challenging you to step it up today and sign up for a race for 2010! Even if its a walking event, 5K, 10K, 1/2 or full marathon! Make the last day of 2009 a step in the right direction!!!!

(oh, and don't say you're already signed up for something. So am I, but I KNOW you can do more then ONE event a year!!!)

Goodbye 2009

Its that time again. We all do it. We sit down and think of all the possibilities lying in the new year. Today I wanted to sit down and look at the year that has passed. This was my first entry of 2009:

Its a new year, what are you going to do
with it?
I can tell you what I am going to do with it. I am going to lose the
last 40 pounds. In fact, since that should only take me 6 months, I will also
add on that I will train to run a marathon in 2010 with my friend.
Scratch
that.... I am going to focus on one day at a time. I am going to focus on eating
right everyday and getting in at least 30 minutes of cardio in a day. I am going
to focus on drinking my water. I am going to focus on pushing myself to be a
better runner. If all of that brings me to 145 pounds then grrrrrrrreat! But if
I only lose 10 more pounds this year, that will be just as great. As long as I
am going down the right path, trying to do the right thing... then that will
mean I am succeeding.. and I will be happy with that.
Remember.... Its the
journey that brings you happiness, not the destination!

Its funny because this past year I did not lose the last 40 lbs. I lost 15 lbs...err, 10 if you count my Christmas gain..... I did not exercise EVERYDAY, but I did do better then last year! I DID become a better runner!! In fact, I ran a 5K and a 10K this year... and will be doing a half marathon in 3 weeks!!!

"As long as I am going down the right path, trying to do the right thing... then that will mean I am succeeding.. and I will be happy with that."

I definitely feel like I succeeded in bettering myself this year. I found a new path that has sent me down a whole new direction. I sometimes strayed from that path, but somehow always found the on-ramp to get back on!

This year I do have a couple of resolutions to make. They wont have anything to do with reaching my goal weight. They won't have to do with running marathons... eating clean... or even staying on track. My resolutions this year are simple...

LIVE
LAUGH
LOVE

.... and I know exactly how to make that possible!

Find Joy in the Journey... NOW

(5 A.M. Christmas morning!!)

180


No, its not a typo. I have gained weight the past couple of days like no body's business. Sure I have 'excuses' but we all know that making up excuses is a bunch of dog doodie. The truth is, its been a rough couple of days and I haven't handled them as well as I should have.


On Tuesday, December 22 my grandmother suffered a stroke. She was rushed to the hospital where they decided to air lift her to the city. (remember, I live in the mountains... crappy hospital) This was the first time in 60 years this amazing woman has been in a hospital. The last time was when she was giving birth to my mom's OLDER sister... yep, after the first one she popped the other two out at home.


To say the least, she is against taking medication of any kind. This includes aspirin. You can imagine the fit she was throwing in the ER when they were poking and probing her!!


She recovered well from her 'mini' stroke and was flown back home on Christmas Eve.... only because she left the hospital AMA (against medical advice) after they told her she should get a stint. They gave her some meds too... but I don't think she has even filled the prescriptions yet. You can't force a woman who has lived 83 years to do something she doesn't believe in!



Anyway, that was the start of my bad 'couple' of days. Ok, so its been almost a week. Cookies, chocolates, bread galore!!! (oh, and tamales, as you can see!)


Just thinking about what I ate is making me feel nauseous again. Yes, again.

I did have an "AH HA" moment though. I lost focus of one of the major reasons I started this healthy living journey. I wanted to be healthy so I could be happy! I have spent so many days worrying about how many tenths of a pound down my scale will show in the morning that my sight was blocked by the scale.

Yes, there is a weight I want to reach. Yes, goals are awesome to make.... but holy crud, don't miss out on everything in between!!! Enjoy wearing a size 16, 14 and 12. So, they're not the numbers your aiming for... but they are still YOUR numbers. Its still you. Have fun with it.

I am putting my scale in the closet and will be bringing it out once a month... you heard me, once a MONTH (the 1st of the month) to weigh myself. The rest of the month will be spent waking up to a beautiful day... and NOT worrying what my numbers will be that day.

Don't be fooled. I am still on a mission. Just one that is a little less controlled by the number on the scale. It will be a mission fueled by life....adventure.... kids.... running.... and eating the way God intended us to eat. Healthy.

Day 4

176.4

1500 calories

128 oz of water

Rest Day (Gonna take the girls to see Princess and the Frog!)

Day 3 - Sprint Triathlon

178

1500 calories ( went to a Christmas party... my guess is around 1800)

128 oz of water (barely got in my 64 oz)

Sprint Triathlon (Today)

Swimming : 20 min (20)

Bike 12 : 60 min (54)

Run 5k: 36:20 min (33:04)

Day 2

177.8 (-1 lb)

GOALS:

1500 calories (1023 calories: Missed my afternoon snack because I was Christmas Shopping)

128 oz of water (96 oz: forgot my water too!)

2 miles (DONE!!)

I'm feeling good. Yesterday went smoothly. I am using an awesome (FREE) website to keep track of my calories in/calories out... Check it out: My Fitness Pal

Notice the weight loss? Yep, I think y'all were right. If I just focus on running, the rest will follow. Tomorrow I have a Sprint Triathlon at 6 a.m!!

I'll come back tonight with todays number results!

On your mark, get set....

30 days from today I will be standing in the streets of Phx waiting for the whistle to blow. 13.1 miles is a little intimidating to me. Mentally I know I can do it, physically I'm scared to death.

I'm going to change it up a little bit on my blog for the next 30 days. I will simply be posting my weight, my calories, my water, my workout and my mood. (OH, and I will be posting at night so I can give you a more accurate account) Why? Because the next 30 days are going to be busy and I don't want to waste a minute of them. I need to be out running, not on the computer!! At the same time though I want to document how I'm doing. Not only so that you can follow along with me, but so that I can look back and see how I did when this is all said and done!

So, until day 31, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... and keep up if you can!!!!

178 lbs (morning)

(My goal for the day)
1500 calories (1228 calories)
128 oz of water (DONE!!)
4 miles (3 miles, 20 minutes Tae Bo)


I will post my final numbers tonight.

Why can I have one without the other??

"Should I just concentrate on losing the weight or should I concentrate on running?"

I asked my husband this question a couple of days ago. Knowing that I only had a month before my half-marathon and knowing that I can't focus on both (yes, I know, that weird) I asked him which he thought would benefit me more.

If I just concentrated on dropping weight, I could be a healthy 156 lbs for the race and just pray my body kicks it into gear when its time...

or

I could continue my training and not worry about the weight. Just get my body ready to run for 13.1 miles.

I know most of you are wondering why I can't do both... well, for a couple of reasons. First, my body is a pain in the ass when it comes to losing weight. I have to keep my calories down to about 1000 a day to drop weight. (yes, even my doc said it) We all know that you can't train for a half marathon on a 1000 calories a day...

My husband told me to stick to the running and that the weight should follow.

The only thing I have noticed while training is that, although my weight is not dropping, my body is getting more aerodynamic! Its changing, moving around, flattening out and toning up. But this morning I weighed in at 180. Talk about a punch to the gut. From 176 to 180... yikes.
I'm really praying that its all water retention in the new muscles I'm making!!!!

I am doing another Sprint Tri this weekend. I'm addicted. The feeling I got afterwards was amazing. EVERY muscle in my body was screaming out for more. I can't stop! I think I need a coach and a nutritionist.... I can totally see myself succeeding.

Another Day

I'm not sure if it was the 30 laps or the 12 miles on the bike... but since my little Sprint Tri I did on Saturday my abs having been killing me. Its a good kinda hurt though... the kind that reminds me I'm actually doing something positive for myself!

Yesterday I had planned to do a run outside when Hubby got home from work. The snow and ice have melted and although its not a warm 50 degrees outside it has warmed up out of the freezing range. Anyway, I spent the day cleaning the house and by the time he was home I was exhausted. He gave me the disappointed shake of the head... but I just couldn't.

Today I have a few things I need to get done around the house, but then I will be ready to dash out the door the second Hubby gets in. That's the plan anyway!

I talked to my running partner, Roni, and she wants to do the Sprint Tri again this weekend. I am excited to see if I can beat my time now! I am hoping my muscles will be recovered enough by then...

Well, it's another day... and another chance to make it what you want!

I Did A Sprint Triathlon!!!

Not an official one. I was the only one competing in this little challenge at my gym. I went online and found out all the distances for doing a Sprint Tri and here are my results:

750 meter swim: 20 minutes

(10 minutes to change into my workout clothes)

12 miles on the bike : 60 minutes

(took 5 minutes to get the funny feeling out of my legs)

3 miles run : 36:20

Total for my Sprint Triathlon (excluding in between stuff) : 1:56:20

I am very happy with this. I actually beat a record with my running... by 4 MINUTES!!

The swimming was easy for me. I can swim for hours and not tire. My only complaint was the guy doing laps next to me who was making bigger waves then God. I kept getting water in my nose every time he went by. :P

Then on to the bikes where I realized just how much I had used my legs for swimming. Yikes. I had to rotate between the regular bike and the chair-like bike after 6 miles because I was hurtin' so bad. The last 4 miles of the ride they finally stopped hurting and I pounded out the miles as fast as I could.

I was a little worried about the run. I was walking on the treadmill at first but realised I would never get done like that and increased my speed to an easy jog. My legs felt GREAT! You must use totally different muscles biking then running, because I felt like I had just started my workout... other then the other muscles making me walk all jiggly and wiggly. LOL I ran for a 1.5 before stopping to walk a little. Then picked it back up and jogged the rest. I beat my all time record of 40 minutes for 3 miles by 4 whole minutes coming in at 36:20. This AFTER doing my swim and bike ride. Too cool!

I think this may be my workout every Saturday. Being that it was snowing today I did it in the gym and enjoyed the sweat pouring off of me!!! When I walked outside I had steam rising off of me. :) I'm totally hooked and feel much more confident about my half marathon next month!!

Page 2

Page 2

Some people are saying I'm too hard on myself (*ehem* Michelle and Hanlie)... and in a way, I know they are right... Hell, I'm WISHING they are right so that I can back off and just enjoy the experience. But I know that it's not true. My words may seem harsh on this blog, but in all reality I have to be that way. I know myself better then anyone and unfortunately the one person I lie to the most is myself. If I wasn't hard on myself I would be walking all over myself.

Don't think that I don't enjoy life... I do! I just know that when it comes to dieting, working out and making the right choices I know that I am the first person I will try to talk out of it all.

So, yes, I am hard on myself... because I would be nowhere if I wasn't. I do hope, some day in the future, I will be able to relax a little more and just set myself on cruise control... but until that day comes I'm gonna have to kick my a$$ every step of the way. Only because I love myself that much.

(Michelle and Hanlie... I love you guys and you are the best bloggy friends I could ask for. No hard feelings... <3)

30 Pages, 30 Days

"Its time to break down these walls"

Page 1

Dear Journal,

How hard is it to change? You would think it would be as easy as dawning a new hat or a shiny new pair of shoes. Instead I am finding it harder then any other challenge I've faced. I'm not looking to change my whole self... just the part of me in charge of my physique. I dream of being slender, yet strong. Of having arms and legs that are long and sleek, yet curved in just the right places. Of having a stomach that is tight and flat. Of being the perfect weight.

I know the only thing stopping me is my lack of discipline. In my head I can see myself doing months of workout, clean eating and perfect days. In reality I face agonizing days of disappointment and despair. Why does my mind tell me one thing only to push me the other way in reality?

I must find a way of breaking through the barriers. Of facing my fear of succeeding and turning my back on the old way of thinking.

30 days. I'm giving myself 30 days to break open the flood gates. I need to find out what I'm really made of. Journal, its a good thing you have way more then 30 pages.

A Moment In Time

The winds are blowing, sometimes up to 73 mph, and snow is everywhere. Luckily we still have power, but we built fires in both fireplaces to help the electric heater to keep the house warm. My Hubby has not worked in days and I just sent him out the door to assist my Godfather in the next town over who got snowed in, power is out and has no heat.

This time of year is always a two sided coin. On one side its the holidays where families gather together and children are giddy. The snow makes the Christmas lights shine even brighter and the fire crackling always makes a home seem more, homey. But the other side creeps up on me too. The freezing cold that you can't seem to shake. The sad stories of people with no money for food, heat or Christmas. The clouds that keep a constant gloom on my house. The stress of bills, work, food and Christmas presents.

I hate this time of year.. all but the one day of Christmas where I watch my children with awe and wish I could once again see Christmas through innocent eyes.

Being prone to depression, this month is the worst. I often find myself wanting to hide in my house with the blanket drawn over my head.... if it weren't for being a mother of two very lively little girls who talked their father into hanging Christmas lights from every corner of this house... inside and out.... I would be having a very rough month. Instead I am surrounded by laughter, lights, giddy girls and warm hugs.

I may have seen a glimpse into the secret of seeing Christmas the way a child does.... its not about EVERYTHING. Its about the moment. The one moment you are in right now. The moment the lights come on and shed rainbows across the walls. The moment you hear the bells on the door knob telling you Daddy is home. The moment you open the curtains and see an ocean of pure white. The moment your locked in an embrace with warm arms. At those moments, nothing else matters.

Enjoy your moment.

-2 lbs.... +2 feet of snow

It will be a very long week. We are supposed to get 2 feet of snow today... and the blizzard is supposed to last until NEXT Saturday. This makes me very sad. I hate snow and it always makes me feel a little bit depressed. Today I am staying busy getting my house back in order after a long weekend celebrating birthdays, an early Christmas, and a late Thanksgiving. *phew*

Now I have 10 loads of laundry to do and a floor that desperately needs a mopping.

HAIR CUT

On to good news... I am loving my hair cut.(you can see my tattoo on my neck now!) It makes me feel so much more put together. I have a real 'style' now! The only down side is that I have no hair on my neck and it is VERY cold back there! I have been wearing a scarf inside and outside for three days now...

If anyone has some scarves they no longer want... please email me and I will give you my address!!! I have two... and not everything looks good with a green or black scarf. LOL

WEIGHT

I am down 2 lbs this week. THAT is a very good feeling!!

I did it... I chopped my hair!!

Keeping my hands busy...

Obviously I did not make 4 hours the other day. I think it is impossible for me to workout out that much in one day. I physically, and mentally, could not get 'in the groove' for my second hour of working out and just gave up. I think one hour a day is just right for me!

Yesterday I spent the day knitting. ALL DAY knitting. Talk about addictive. Mostly because once I started the project I could not wait to see the finished product! I also made the mistake of telling the kids I was making a teddy bear... any time they saw me doing something other then knitting they yelled at me.

So, here is the first teddy bear I made:

The second one ( I have two kids, whether I wanted to, or not, I had to make TWO) I decided to make it a bunny rabbit. It came out a little bit more 'even' in places and was much cuter. I think if I kept making them they would eventually come out perfect... I just don't think my hands, back, butt and neck could handle another 14 hour knit session! LOL Maybe in another month.

If you have any easy knitting suggestions.. send them this way!!!

This weekend is full of more threatening dinners... family is coming into town and we are having yet ANOTHER Thanksgiving dinner to make up for them not being at the first one. Aye! Then we are celebrating TWO birthdays in the family on Saturday and on Sunday we are having an early Christmas with said family.

If I make it through the weekend without gaining a pound, I will be extremely happy!!

See you Monday

How many HOURS a day do YOU workout??

Watching the Biggest Loser last night I was surprised to hear Amanda say she was supposed to be working out 4 hours a day while at home. FOUR HOURS??? No wonder they are losing baffling amounts of weight at the ranch... but how are you supposed to get that kind of time in at home?

Being a stay home mom I have an opportunity to workout a lot at home. I have a treadmill, weights and workout DVD's galore. As long as I stay away from my computer... tv... books... and anything else that sucks me in for hours at a time I should have plenty of time to do some workouts. But is it physically possible... or healthy??

Today I decided to add a little more to my workouts. I want to see how many times, and how many hours, I can get in a good workout today.

I will update this as the day goes on... (maybe, if I actually get more done!)

1:10 (2 mile run + Tae Bo cardio workout)

To cut or not to cut, that is the question of the week.

Yesterday rocked. I ran 5K on the treadmill... which actually sucked, but there was ice all over the roads so the treadmill was my only choice. I ate fairly well... does anyone else get nasty munchies around 3 pm?? I usually eat something around that time anyway, but man its like I just can't eat ENOUGH. Any ideas?

Ok, so I am feeling like I need a change. I took the girls to the salon last week to get their hair trimmed. Baby ended up getting a really short bob that is absolutely adorable (not to mention SO much easier to handle)... and Angel got her hair feathered in the front.. kind of like a Farah do! It looks great on her.

Anyway, that sparked a little something in my head. I am so tired of my hair. Its long and naturally curly and as much as I love it some days... it doesn't always look as nice as I would like it to. Its also getting REALLY thin at the ends so it just doesn't look healthy. I'm thinking I need to chop it all off.... to the chin. Maybe that will thicken it up a little and maybe get it healthy again. I could also spend less time on it... even if I straightened it everyday, it would take less time!

So, because I am on the edge... I need some of your thoughts on it. There is a poll up on top... let me know what you think! If I do decide to cut it, it will be on Friday night when my awesome aunt is coming to visit (who is also the best hairdresser in the world! oh, and free!!).