Weekend workouts

I took a day off yesterday. I don't do that very often but I just felt like I needed it. I was not an uneventful day though. We were very busy and didn't really stop much.

Today's workout consisted of a fast-paced walk. We are also planning of getting to our local State Park for a hike with the kids. I haven't done that in so long - I am REALLY looking forward to it! I am not going to lift today because I am starting my HST ( Hypertophy Specific Training) program tomorrow. It consists of an all out max testing session (15 reps). I can't remember if I've discussed this or not but it is a program that Coach Tom at LL recommended to help me build muscle and maintain some cardio fitness at the same time. The program I will be using is a full body workout 3 times per week. I've also spoken to others at Club Lifestyle and everybody gives it great reviews. I'm excited to give it a try. I will say that I really enjoyed getting back to the POF routines and will definitely get back to them some time in the future.

Have a Happy New Year everyone!!

Friday - Biceps & Fast Walk

Today's lifting session was EXCELLENT! I really felt strong today - I lifted in the afternoon versus early morning which may have made a difference. I felt really strong and was able to, in some situations, increase both weight and reps. Here are the numbers:

Modified superset
Standing curls x10 @25#; x6 @ 27.5#; x8 @ 27.5#
Concentration curls x10 @ 17.5#; x8 @ 20#

Drop set
Incline curl 1x12(10) @ 17.5/15#; 1x 11(6) @ 17.5/15#

Aftershock superset
Incline hammer curl x11@ 15#
Standing hammer curl x11 @15#

This morning I went out for a 30 minute fast walk. It felt good to just get out and enjoy the morning! My weight was 137.5 this morning. No drop from yesterday but I'm feeling good about the way the week is going. I've been discussing my next move with Coach Tom at LL and I will be switching programs soon to Hypertophy Specific Training (HST). I'm really looking forward to seeing what I can achieve!

Thursday - Triceps & CV

Today was a good workout. I lifted triceps - I didn't know how the workout was going to go because I was extremely sore the last time I did this workout. Everything turned out great though. I was able to increase my reps on the modified superset but after this increase I was not able to increase the drop sets. I'm happy though because I'm really just shooting for some sort of increase each session.

Here is the workout:
Modified superset
Lying extensions 3x12 @ 20#
Kickbacks 2x12 @ 15#

Drop sets
Overhead extensions 2x8(7) @ 20/15#

Next workout: I will increase the weight of the modified superset (and decrease the reps) and try to add 1 more rep on the drop set.

Cardio: immediately after my lifting session I went out for a run. I wasn't as concerned about overall pace because I wanted to incorporate some hill work in the middle. My plan was to run about 4 miles so I wanted to place the hills at around 2 miles. I ended up putting them in at about 1.75 miles and then did 4 hill repeats (sprinted up the hill and then walk/jogged combo down). The hill was in the ball park of 1/10th of a mile long. After the hills I completed the remaining distance so that my total mileage was a touch over 4 miles. My overall pace was about 9:30 per mile (including the walking during the hills) and my max pace was about 6 min. per mile. I'm pleased with the effort.

I was also happy to see another drop in scale weight. I'm now at 137.5# and I'm feeling better every day. It feels great to be getting back on track!

Wednesday - Back/CV

Back is a tough area for me to work. I have to do all my exercises with dumbbells and tubing so it can be difficult to get a really good back workout. I'm thinking about getting a pull-up bar (one that screws into the door frame) and that would help a lot. I can't do many (if any) pull-ups but would love to be able to and I used to have a bar that I could hang over and around the door (removable) but boy did it tear up my door frame. Since getting rid of that bar I've had to try and find ways to work my back with limited equipment. However, overall I think today was a good workout. I concentrated on increasing reps today and back day, I will concentrate on increasing weights.

Here's the workout:
Modified supersets
Lat pulldowns 3x10-12 w/ blue tubing
Scapular retrations 2x10-12 @15#

Drop sets
Pullovers x10 @ 20#; x9 @ 15#
Pullovers x9 @ 20#; x8 @ 15#

Modified superset
Chest supported rows 2x12 @20#
Rear delts 2x12 @ 20#

Drop sets
Forward lean shrug 2x12(11) @ 30/25#

After lifting session, I was able to get out for a 30 minute run. The wind was making it feel pretty hard but I was able to maintain a pace of 8:30 per mile and covered 3.45 miles. It has been a while since I've gotten out for a run so I'm pleased with the time and the effort.

Side note: my husband got me the coolest present for Christmas. He saw an article about these gloves that have a light on the back (thin red strip) that you can turn on and have it either be a steady light or a flashing light. I wore it for the first time today and it worked great. It is very dark, at this time of year, when I go out for my runs so I love to have as much on as I can to help drivers see me. The gloves are also very comfortable and have nice finger grips on the inside too.

Tuesday - part 2

Little update: I was able to get in a fast walk CV workout. It was about 30 minutes long and felt good. My legs are still pretty sore after my leg workout the other day (and playing twister with my kids) so walking was about all I could muster. I'm hoping to start getting in some running in the next couple of days.

Tuesday - Chest 12/26/06

Today was a good workout I was able to make increases in all areas of the session (both decline and incline). I allowed myself some freedom yesterday because of Christmas but now I really have to get back on the program! I am going to set a weight loss goal on LL because I have allowed myself to get too far out of control.

Here is today's workout:
Modified superset
Decline bench 3x10 @ 32.5#
Decline fly 2x10 @ 22.5#

Superset
Hands together pushups x15
Decline fly x8 @ 20#

Modified superset
Incline bench 3x8 @ 27.5#
Incline fly 2x8 @ 20.5#

Superset
Hands together pushups x15
Incline fly x8 @ 17.5#

Sunday - Legs

Today was a tough workout. I have a love-hate relationship with leg workouts. There are times that I absolutely love to do leg workouts and times when I absolutely hate to do leg workouts. Today was one of those "hate" days. I just didn't want to get my butt off the couch and get started but I did and I feel good about my accomplishments.

Today's workout:
QUADS
Modified superset
Alternating lunges 3x10 @ 25#
Stage squats 2x8 @ 45#

Sissy squats 2x10 body weight only

HAMSTRINGS
Modified superset
Stiff-legged deadlifts 3x8 @ 45#
Standing leg curl with tubing 3x12 @ blue tubing

CALVES
Drop set
1 legged calf raises 2x12(10) @ 40/35#

Seated calf raises 2x25 @ 45#

Speed reps
Donkey raises 2X25 @ 25#

I don't think I outlined some of the finer points of the workouts. The modified superset is just a superset with a break between exercises. So, instead of doing the 2 exercises back to back, you take a 1-2 minute break between them (1 minute for everything except legs where you take a 2 minute break)

Also the leg workout has some interesting aspects to it. The first is the stage squat. The exercise has you squat down and do the bottom 2/3 of the rep. Then after about 10 reps, you drive up and do the top 1/3 of the rep making sure to squeeze your quads at the lockout point. The second is the sissy squat. I don't have much experience with this exercise and find it a bit awkward. The final part is the seated calf raises. I have trouble getting a weight on my legs that allow me to really feel the exercise. I ended up doing very high reps instead of doing the drop set that the actual workout called for because the weight felt so light. Also all the weights are using dumbbells and so it is the weight of 1 of the dumbbells. So, if it says that I doing a squat with 45# that means that I'm holding 2 45# dumbbells.

I won't be lifting tomorrow because it is Christmas but I'm afraid that I'm am going to be one very sore cookie tomorrow!

Saturday - shoulders

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I got on the scale this morning and it read 138. I know some of that may be water weight but I know that some of it is also fat! I have been off my LL program for long enough and today I get back on schedule. I did my shoulder workout and also went on a very fast walk. I also had a good breakfast (protein french toast) and will have meal 2 in about 20 minutes. I've also made a plan for the day - something I have been slacking off on for quite a while.

Here is my shoulder workout:
Modified superset
Shoulder press 3x8 @ 25#
Standing lateral raise 2x8 @ 10#

Drop set
Incline lateral raise 2x 8(7) @ 10/5#

I need to increase the weights/reps on this workout. The shoulder presses were difficult but the others could stand to be increased. I will definitely increase the drop set weights next time, the others I will try to increase the reps and then see about increasing the weights.

I am confident that today is the first day of my turn around!

Thursday - Rest; Friday - Biceps

I had a bad day on Thursday. The 2 Christmas parties (and therefore late nights) took it's toll and with my lingering cold, it all got the best of me. I felt like crap most of the day and then I took a 2 hour nap which helped. Then I went to bed early and slept of about 11 hours - that is something I never do but boy did I need it!!!

Friday's bicep workout was a good one. I kept most of my weights the same but tried to do 1 more rep than I did the last time I did the bicep workout. I also increased the concentration curls the second time around.

Modified superset
Standing curl 3x9 @ 22.5#
Concentration curl 3x9 @ 12/15#

Drop set
Incline curl 1x9(5) @ 17.5/15# & 1x6(6) @ 17.5/15#

Aftershock superset (brachialis)
Incline hammer curl 1x9 @ 15#
standing hammer curl 1x9 @ 15#

The incline curl was very difficult today but I'm pleased with the effort I put out. My goal next time around will be to hit the goal reps of 8 for both sets.

I also want to start getting more consistant aerobics in. I will see how my cold is doing tomorrow and see if I can add some back in.

Wednesday - Triceps

Today was a tough workout mostly because my upper body is pretty sore from my previous workouts this week. Today will be another busy day so I'm glad I got up and did my workout. Today is our last day of school for the year and we will be doing our Christmas program, then I have a luncheon to attend and our staff Christmas party tonight. Hopefully after today I will be able to get myself back onto a normal schedule and stop these bad habits that I'm starting to fall back into.

Tricep workout:
Modified superset
Lying extensions 3x8 @ 20#
Kickbacks 2x8 @ 15#
Drop set
Overhead extension 2x8(7) @ 20#/15#

It seems a lot shorter than the other workouts but it was a huge struggle because my arms are already sore from earlier workouts.

Tuesday - Back

Today was a pretty good workout. The program I'm using calls for pull-ups in the first superset but I don't have a pull-up bar so I had to substitute pulldowns with exercise tubing. It isn't even remotely similar in intensity but it is the best I have right now. I had a moveable pullup bar, that fit around the door frame, but it started to completely destroy the door frame so I had to get rid of it. I'm hoping to get a bar put in the frame but I'm not sure if I will be able to (here's to hoping).

Modified superset
Lat. Pulldown 3x10 blue tubing
Scapular retractions 2x8 @ 10#
Drop set
2 hand Pullover (1 DB in each hand) 2x8(7) @ 20#/15#
Modified superset
Chest supported rows 2x10 @ 20#
Rear Delts 2x10 @ 20#
Drop set
Forward lean shrug 2x8(7) @ 30#/25#

Overall a decent workout but there are a few exercises that I want to increase next time around. I am still a bit sore from my chest workout so I'll just wait and see how I feel tomorrow.

Chest Day - Monday

I had a really good workout this morning. I'm really enjoying this POF routine. However, I'm not completely decided on whether I'm going to stick with it. I've been speaking with my LL buddy Liz, who is also a Figure Competetor and she suggested a full body routine 3 days per week. I've got some thinking to do about the subject but at least for this week I'll be continuing with the POF routine.

Here are my numbers:
Modified superset
Bench press 3x8 @ 30/32.5/32.5
Decline fly 2x8 @ 20
Superset
Hands together pushups - max(15) on knees
Decline fly 1x8 @ 15
Modified superset
Incline bench 2x8 @ 25/27.5
Incline fly 2x8 @ 20
Superset
Hands together push-ups - max (15) on knees
Incline fly 1x8 @ 15

I'm planning on some increases next time around - the weights were heavy but I think I could increase just a touch. I was really trying to concentrate on going slow and squeezing the muscles. I know that makes all the difference in your training session but it is something I don't always do.

Tomorrow is my back routine. I will occassionally get spasms in my back and neck areas so I'm a touch nervous to try and go heavy. In fact, today I could feel a muscle sort of "tweeking" so I've put a heat pack on it to try and loosen it before it can ever tighten up on me. I'm not going to get all worked up about it because it may never happen.

Saturday - a bit of cardio

I took it a little easy today - fast walk for cardio (35 min.). I have really been suffering from headaches lately. I think some of it is from sinus stuff (you know that cold that just won't totally go away - one of the perils of being a teacher) and some of it may be from the crappy eating that has invaded my life lately. I'm really tired of the headaches!! It is all sitting right in the front of my face which is what make me think it is mostly sinus related but I'm sure the food has a part in it.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I want to set up my lifting routine. I'm not sure if lifting a body part once every seven days is enough but yet I want to keep the routines streamlined so that it doesn't take hours to finish the routine. I don't have that sort of time each day. I think I stick with what I have right now and see how it goes.

New Beginning!

Last night I decided to try a new lifting program. It is something that I've looked into before but never gave it a really good try. The lifting program was created by 2 men at Ironman Magazine and uses a POF style (Positions of Flexion - "the concept of working a muscle through its full range of motion"). You do exercises from a mid-range, contracted and stretched position. The 2 men that created the program developed a program that can be done at home with PowerBlocks so it fits my situation perfectly. I also decided, although I am waiting for a call back from Coach, that I would choose 1 body part per day - that way the workouts won't take as long and I can be ready for work on time and maybe get in some aerobics too. I want to gain some muscle but I also want to maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle.

Today's workout was biceps (no particular reason for starting with biceps - it was the first sheet on my pile): it uses standing curls for the mid-range movement, concentration curls for the contracted movement and incline curls for the stretch postition. The program calls for modified supersets where you combine your mid-range postition with your isolation or contracted position exercise. The program also uses drop sets to help increase time under tension to help recruite different fibers. All body parts use these basic techniques so the sessions are pretty much set up in the same fashion. Here is my bicep routine:

Modified Superset:

Standing dumbbell curls (3x8) @ 22.5#

Concentration curls (2x8) @ 12.5# & 15#

Drop Sets:

Incline Curls(2x8(6)) @ 17.5# & 15# (only got 4 reps on the second set)

Aftershock Superset (brachialis)

Incline hammer curls 1x8 @ 15#

Standing hammer curls 1x8 @ 15# (had to switch to individual arm curls in order to finish the prescribed number of reps).

The workout took about 30 minutes but is gave a great pump to my arms. I was also trying to really concentrate on (1)using a 2 second up and 2 second down count for all reps; & (2) really squeezing the muscle on each rep. These are 2 things that I generally slack off on during a workout. I'm very pleased with how the session went and am looking forward to progressing with my program. I'm also going to try and post on here daily about my workouts.

New Goals?

Well, I heard back from Coach David yesterday, and I'm trying to decide what my new goal is going to be. The two goals I've up with are to continue with my distance running or try to add muscle (mostly upper body because I workout at home and don't have access to weights that would allow much increase on the lower half). I think I'm leaning toward trying to gain some muscle because it would be something really different for me. I don't think I've ever really tried a program where the main goal was to put on muscle - I've always done weight loss programs and tried to preserve the muscle that I already have.

This would be really new ground for me. There are a few people over at LL that I want to talk with to see how different the programs are. Just try and get some tips from them. I also want to talk some more with Coach to see what he has to say about the idea. I also need to find out how to use the LL site when trying to gain muscle instead of losing fat.

I'm getting excited about trying something different! I have a feeling that it is going to be a pretty hard adjustment but I'm up for the challenge. Now all I have to do is get started!

I've been doing crappy this week!

It is time for me to wake up and realize what I'm doing to myself. I've been eating like crap, not exercising and not planning my days. I'm feeling out of control and for the first time in my life I can actually feel the affects of my unhealthy choices. I used to listen to people say how they can really feel a difference when they are not eating right but I never really believed it to be true. Sure I could feel it when I didn't exercise but as for the eating part....I never totally bought it. Well, now I do! Since Saturday morning I've been having headaches off and on and I realized that it is because I'm eating too much processed food, too much sugar, not enough protein and haven't been sticking to my schedule (ie. I've been skipping meals).

As you can see by that laundry list of problems, the week really has been bad. I've been using Christmas preparations and school preparations as an excuse. Yes, there is still all that work to be done but I've done it in the past and I can do it now too! I can get all my work done and take care of myself too.

Need to pick up my daughter from school - more on this topic later.

Out of Action Phase:-(

I have definitely moved out of action phase. My life seems to have been taken over with Christmas preparations. Not only am I trying to get my family ready for Christmas but I've also added the extra responsibility of getting my classes ready for it as well. I know that this year will be especially tough because I've never had to do it before - hopefully I will learn from this year and be better able to manage next year.

I thought I had started preparing early enough but I will definitely start just a touch early next year - with my home stuff that is. We can't really start any earlier at school in terms of doing projects with the kids. However, I am hoping the planning process will be better next year. It really is a whole new world - I love teaching but it is a touch more difficult when it is a co-teaching situation. There have been many times when neither of us were completely sure what was going to happen next. We need to find a better way of communicating what is going to happen next. We are taking it one day at a time and learning things from each other.

Anyway, with all this going on I feel like I have lost some of my "fire" on the fitness front. I'm feeling very tired and I know some of that is because I'm not on my normal routine. I need to find a way to get back in the groove. Having the Christmas "treats" around isn't helping either. I am definitely the type of person that does better when I just don't have the "treats" anywhere near me. Should I not do all my holiday baking, probably but it brings a lot of joy to the people I give them to and I love getting my hands in their and making things. I feel like it shows the people I'm giving them to that I really do care. I cared enough to spend that time making them something instead of buying it.

I guess this is just one of the cycles in life. Right now I'm definitely in a downward phase in terms of my fitness. I don't really have a goal right now and that is probably part of the problem. I'm not sure where I want to go right now. Maybe I need to talk to Coach and see if he has any suggestions.

I Made It!!

I made my leverage goal - the shoes are MINE!! The timing couldn't have been better. Tomorrow is the party that I'm throwing for my kid's birthdays. I don't want to totally go off plan but having reached the goal allows me to have a touch of dessert without guilt. It is also one less thing to worry about during a time when I've got a lot on my plate.

Holiday Chaos

Things are so crazy right now. School is extremely busy - not much time and a huge amount of things to do. Here at home there are 2 birthdays, a party and of course Christmas. I do lots of baking for presents and because of the added responsibilities at school I'm finding it hard to get it all done.

Then there is my exercising. I'm trying to really buckle down and hit my goal so that I won't have to have that hanging over my head. I really need to hit my 127 soon. I'm about a pound away and I'm hoping to hit it by the end of this week. I don't want to go crazy over the holidays but I also don't want to have the leverage hanging over my head either.

The good part is that I don't really feel like I freaking out about everything I need to do. The things that get done get done and those that don't - don't. I'm just going to try and take those baby steps and just keep doing things little by little. That's the only way to go.

What a Great Workout!

I had the best workout this morning! My cold is still hanging around and making it impossible to run for long periods without coughing my lungs up. So, as I was laying in bed last night, I came up with a routine that I thought would work and I was right. I decided to alternate between running and biking. I ran for 10 min (8:26 pace); biked for 10 min (140-160 bpm); ran for 20 min (8:11 pace); biked for 10 min (140-160 bpm) and ran for 10 min (8:06 pace). My legs were really shaky everytime I'd start to run after the bike but it felt awesome. The total time was a little over an hour.

Then after this workout, I setout to get the house in order for the kids party next Sunday. I plan to do a detailed cleaning this weekend - getting through as much of the house as I can this weekend and then on Saturday I can just do a quick run through the house dusting and vacuuming. Overall there was a lot of energy expended today.

My carbs were a bit high today and I need to work on getting things a bit more balanced.

Tomorrow is a lifting day. I don't know if I'll get any CV in because of all the cleaning. That's what happened today - I was so tired as the day progressed I just kept going with the cleaning and let the extra CV go.

I'm really feeling confident about being able to reach my goal of 127. I need to buckle down a bit and I'll be there before I know it!!

I'm Feeling Really Good!

Things have been going really well lately! I finally got my head screwed on straight. A friend, from LL, told me something the other day that REALLY helped. I told her (Katrina) that when I get sick I tend to eat poorly. She told me about a conversation she had with Coach David where he said that if you are really sick you will probably lose weight not gain it. All the crappy eating was mostly you feeling sorry for yourself and trying to comfort yourself with food. BAM!! Light bulb moment! That was exactly what I was doing and I was then further using it all as an excuse when dealling with my leverage. I need to thank both Katrina and Coach for that message because it has made a huge difference. I have gotten my weight down to 130 and am really feeling great.

My workouts have been pretty good too. I'm still struggling with my cardio because of my chest congestion. If I go too hard I start coughing to the point where it feels like I'm going to get sick. Yesterday I went out for a 45 min session but combined walking and running (10 min walk followed by 10 min run and then repeated. Finished with 5 min walking). The walking was very fast paced but it is frustrating that I still struggled with it at the end. My legs feel good and really so does my endurance it is just the silly coughing that gets me.

My lifting has been awesome. I entered my routine into LL's Muscle Professor and it has been great. The program progresses your sessions and gives you easy, moderate & heavy days. I am getting awesome pumps during/after my workouts and I haven't gotten that in a really long time.

I have about 2 weeks to reach my goal of 127 and I am going to make it - I can just feel it!!!

The Day After

I made it through Thanksgiving quite well. I allowed myself to have a small taste of most things but kept my portions very small. That way I didn't feel deprived of anything and I didn't gain any weight whatsoever.

I have given myself an extra week to reach my goal of 127 because of my illness. It is still hanging on but I'm not feeling as run down. I haven't started back to running yet because of the coughing but that will begin again very soon. I've been lifting, started using the Muscle Professor at LL, and then using fast walking and cycling for my aerobics.

I have my 20th high school reunion tonight. I am quite comfortable going - I will look great and feel great. I actually weigh less now than I did while in high school. The one thing I am sort of worried about though is the food. Since it is a catered event, I have no control over the food available. Because of where I am in my weight loss journey I don't have the luxury of letting loose tonight. I just have to stay very controlled and not let this be an eating event. The other problem is that the party doesn't start until 7:30 pm which is pretty much about the time I usually stop eating. I should go and not have anything to eat but I will admit that it would be very difficult to do that. I'll just have to see how the evening goes and just keep my goals in the back of my mind all night.

Hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving! On toward Christmas!!!!!

I'm sick and frustrated!

I've been sick for about a week now and I'm frustrated. I tried to exercise yesterday (a quick paced walk - nothing really strenuous) and I think it made it worse. I felt run down - big time! I hate not being able to exercise, especially because it makes it harder for me to stick to my nutrition plan. At least for me, one feeds off the other - when I'm exercising consistently, my eating is better and vice-versa. I'm also worried about reaching my leverage goal. If the illness continues and I can't exercise I don't think I'll reach the goal. I'll have to talk to Coach about what to do.

I'm On a Roll!

Things have been going really well lately! This weekend could have been a disaster but I stayed strong and it was excellent. One of my goals for this weekend was to lose some weight. I'm usually content to just maintain over the weekend but not right now. I need to lose the pounds each and every day (so to speak).

Saturday was a football day so that means tailgating but I stuck to my veggies and dip! Sunday was a get together with friends. When we get together with these people it usually turns into an eating-fest but not this time. I again brought my veggies and dip and stayed away from the pizza, brownies and spaghetti.

Today was also a good day but I will admit that it was hard. I was having cravings most of the day. I also didn't get my workout done this morning (I was feeling VERY tired). The good news is that I didn't give into the cravings AND I got my RT workout done this evening. I'm really proud of today's accomplishments!

Victory!

I sort of feel like the warrior in the above picture. For some reason I have really had to fight during this round of weight loss. I plan my days and I start out with really good intensions and then I just let the whole thing fall apart. I was starting to feel like I was losing the war. But not today, today I won the battle. The war isn't over but I won one small battle today - I ate clean and I finished all my exercising.

I think part of my "problem" is that I'm doing this purely to see how it feels/looks. It is definitely a different mindset than I had over the summer when I lost the majority of my weight. I need to view this as another challenge and get out of my comfort zone. Coach, at LL, was talking about stepping out of the comfort zone just the other day. He is bulking up for a bodybuilding contest so he is having to pretty much eat non-stop. One of the members commented about how she envied his being able to eat large amounts. Coach then said something very interesting. Change is difficult regardless of what it entails. Purposeful weight loss or weight gain is still change for the body and it is difficult - it takes us out of our comfort zone. I thought that was a very powerful thought process. Just because it is difficult doesn't mean it can't be done though - Coach is doing awesome! Now it is my turn - I need to keep taking those little baby steps and string a bunch of good days together. I will be taking one meal at a time and one day at a time and I will reach my goal! I have put myself behind the eight-ball in terms of time so now I don't have much room for error. I want to keep my shoes though so I need to step up and take control!

Where has the time gone?

Boy, time sure is flying by. Before you know it Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here. I started a team on LL about 2.5 weeks ago and I think things are going pretty well. Activity on the forum page has dropped way off but the team numbers are looking pretty good.

I was doing GREAT but over the past couple of days I seem to have slipped off the wagon a bit. I made a bit of a recovery today but it was not a "perfect" day. I had a great lifting session this morning. I really felt like I was pushing really hard because I used the weight I was lifting for 10 reps and went for 15 reps. It really showed me that it is time to up the 10 rep weights. Then I taught my gym classes today and really tried to keep moving the whole time - especially during our warm-up runs. I finished the day by running to my staff meeting. The distance was a touch under 2 miles and my pace was 7:53/mile. I was going to run home but I got yelled at by everyone because they thought it would be too dangerous. They were probably right so I decided to accept a ride home.

Tomorrow we don't have school - election day. GO VOTE! I'm not sure what my run will be tomorrow but I do have some extra time if I decide to go a bit farther than normal. I also need to really start to buckle down on the nutrition aspect of my program - I'm not really sure where I got off track. I guess it is just having the Halloween candy around. It is triggering all the bad food habits/desires that I have. I honestly believe that if I can just get 1 "perfect" day under my belt it will go a long way to getting me back on track.

I contacted a photographer today about our Christmas family pictures. I think I'm going to have them taken Thursday evening. I'm going with a different photographer this year. The one we've been using the past few years never called me back after I had left a message so I decided to go with the one who did our school pictures. She does a great job and I can't wait to see how they turn out.

Since there is no school tomorrow, I'm planning on taking the kids to our local natural history museum. Hopefully the neighbors down the street will be able to come too. It would be a lot of fun for me to have another adult to talk to and the kids love to play together too. Hopefully a great time will be had by all!!

Off to finish my nightly routines and to do my journaling for the day.

I DID IT!!!!!!

I DID IT!!!

I purchased the above shoes to use as a leverage for my present challenge. If I make 125 by Dec. 8th, I get to keep the shoes. If I don't make it, then my dh will donate the shoes. I really want/need those shoes so there is no way I won't make my goal!!

I've been feeling really good about my nutrition and my workouts. Speaking of working out, the funniest thing happened tonight. I had just gotten back from buying my shoes and my ds comes running up to me. He is all out of breath but he's still impatiently asking me if I'm going to go out and get on my stationary bike. He REALLY wanted me to go out back and get on that bike. I hadn't planned on going out but with encouragement like that, who could resist! I went out and did a good hard 15 minutes. Now it is time to start me evening routine so I'm signing off. Here's to good health and weight loss!!!

Renewed Spirit?!

I am feeling awesome and very confident right now. I'm not sure what exactly happened but I am feeling great! I was able to keep my diet very clean on Saturday (football tailgate) and my weight stayed the same. It usually goes up on the weekends and then I fight all week long just to get back to square one.

Ever since then I have just been feeling really good about the whole thing. I have had great workouts and my eating has been much better (still room for improvement but I'm working on that). Today is on track to being a perfect day - exactly according to plan. We had one of our 2 Halloween parades/parties today and I didn't have one bite of any of the treats. It really makes you feel good when you set a goal and then achieve it!

I know that this feeling could be gone at any moment but I am definitely going to ride this wave for all it is worth! I am loving life right now! There are 2 quotes that have really struck a cord with me lately: "Bad food choices are NOT an option!" taken off the LL forum and Every quit hurts and every success helps! (paraphrased from David Greenwalt).

Off to make dinner - salmon, rice and salad (yummy)!

Confused but.....

Confused but happy. Yesterday was not a good day food-wise but when I got on the scale this morning, I was down to 133.5#. I don't understand it but I'm definitely happy!

I've had a better day today although my son was trying REALLY hard to send me into a stress eating episode. I didn't give in though and that made me not only happy but proud of myself.

Something else really cool happened tonight. I was at a store getting something for my daughter's Halloween costume and decided to try on some slacks (my others are all too big now). I wasn't sure exactly what size I was so I grabbed a 10 and an 8. You guessed it, the 10 was way too big. I slipped into the 8 and had room to spare - what a rush that was!!!!!! Now, let me add that they were probably the ugliest pants I've ever seen but I was just going for size. Speaking of clothes, I'm not one of those "trendy dressers" - never have been and never will be. Before I lost the weight I had a couple of pairs of simple pleated Dockers and I love them. I'll be darned if I can find a similar pair. Why in the world to clothes makers get rid of one of the most basic and classic styles? I know it is to make money but come on! All I want to find is a simple, basic pair of pants! Rant over!!

"You can do anything you want, but....."

"You can do anything you want, but you can't do everything you want." David Greenwalt

I don't think truer words were ever spoken, at least for me. I am finding that I have trouble balancing multiple things in my life. When I'm at work, I don't have any trouble multi-tasking. However, when it comes to balancing multiple things in my life I definitely struggle. Right now I'm trying to get things around the house in order because of the Holidays. On top of the normal holiday hub-bub, both my kids have December birthdays. So we have Thanksgiving and then a bunch of parties right before Christmas.

My problem is that if I focus on the house, I tend to slack off on my weight loss goals. I am not gaining any weight, and I'm at the same weight I was in high school, but I'm not losing any weight either. My goal is to get down to 125# by December 8th but I find myself sabotaging myself day in and day out. I'm having a really difficult time focusing on the weight loss aspect of my life. I'm not sure how to remedy the situation so if anyone reads this and has any suggestions please let me know.

One thing I think I'm going to do is go out and buy myself a new pair of running shoes and use them as leverage. I will take a picture of them and then have my dh keep them. If I don't make my goal he will give them away to a charity. I will make this purchase with my own money so that it isn't a strain on the families budget. That is the only idea I've come up with so far.

I think another reason why I'm struggling is that I know I'm already in good shape. I look good and feel good and honestly, I'm not sure if I'm going to even like being at 125#. Is it really worth putting myself through all this? Sure there are some areas that I would like to "fix-up" a bit but overall I'm happy with the way I look. I'm babbling at this point but that is what the blog is for - right?

Hopefully, I will be able to find some answers and some direction.

Use It To Lose It - Day 1!

Today is the first day for my LL team. I started the day very excited and was able to get out for a 4 mile run and kept an 8 min/mile pace. It was a touch chilly out but it felt great and I was able to maintain the pace I set as a goal the night before. Overall, a great way to get the day started.

I knew going into it that today was going to be a challenging day because we were taking the kids to the zoo. At a minimum, I would be out of the house for 2 meals. I planned ahead and brought food for those meals and as a result have been able to stay clean. I am going to have my splurge dessert tonight and I'm really looking forward to that.

Tomorrow is going to be a challenge too because we have been invited to our friend Mary's house and there is always lots of eating going on there. I am really going to need to be rock hard tomorrow if I'm going to stay on track with my eating. I have been making some progress with my weight over the past couple of days and I definitely don't want to mess that up with one day of eating poorly.

Here's to having another great day tomorrow!

Let The Games Begin!

Starting tomorrow, I will be leading a team at Club Lifestyle. It is the first time I've done anything like this but I'm really looking forward to the challenge. A LOT of people signed up for the team so I'm hoping everyone will be very supportive of each other as well as push each other and challenge each other every single day.

I feel like I've been very successful today. My eating has been much better - not perfect but a huge step in the right direction!!! My lifting session went well (able to increase the weights on my shoulders, triceps and biceps. I was also able to get in an additional 35 minutes of cardio. I'm hoping that this successful day will manifest itself in some weight loss tomorrow morning.

My next big Transformation Goal is to take my weight down to 125#. If I lose 1 pound per week it will take 10 weeks to attain that goal. I would LOVE to be able to accomplish that in less time but as long as I get there I will be happy. Truth is, I'm not sure how I'm going to like being at 125 but I want to give it a look see - I can always bring my weight back up if I don't like the way it looks or feels. I will definitely keep posting about the transformation process!

I'm Really Excited!

I'm getting a chance to help people with their fitness goals. This has come about in two ways at the same time. I've decided to start/lead a team at Club Lifestyle and some people at work are starting an 8 week program. I made some suggestions after taking a look at their initial plan and they really seemed to like the changes I offered. All I did was suggest some of the techniques that I learned from Coach David (leveraging being the biggest one). One person in particular seemed intrigued by the ideas and she is probably the one who needs the changes the most.

I can't express how excited I am about all this. I may also start exercising with another co-worker which would be really cool! I can't tell you the last time I had a chance to really workout with another person. It will definitely be a boost for my program!

Today (Sunday) is a new start for my program. I've already made some of my "staple" foods so that I have no reason to go off my nutrition plan. I want to make a couple other things too so that I'll have options and variety. I'm going to my parent's house today and I've already made a plan for the remainder of the day. Detailed planning has been a bit on the back burner lately but that is changing starting today!

Getting back in the groove

It feels good to get back into a routine again. I was able to get in a resistance training session yesterday. It was an easy one but it still felt good to pump the iron again! I also got out for an easy jog this morning. I'm taking it slow and easy on purpose - I don't want to jump in too quickly because of this silly cold. It doesn't seem to be getting much worse but it isn't really getting better either. The congestion is still sitting in my chest and my voice sounds quite froggy.

I'm also getting back in the groove at Club Lifestyle. I had let some of my routines slip - I wasn't lifting, I wasn't logging my food (which of course led to more and more "splurges") and overall my head just wasn't in the game. That changes starting today! I decided that it was time to step up and take control. As a result, I decided to start a team - we will be working hard for 6 weeks in preparation for the Holiday season. As this time of year approaches, our attention turns to family gatherings and holiday parties. If I want to look fabulous for these occasions I need to start now and kick things into high gear. What better way to do that than to try to get a bunch of people together and try and fire them all up. When I help others it totally fires me up too! I may also get the opportunity to help some of my co-workers. I'm really hoping that situations develops as well both for me and for them.

Assuming I still feel good physically, I'm lifting again tomorrow and trying to go heavier than I did on Wednesday. If I'm able to gradually increase my workouts, I'm hoping that I won't lose much fitness and will allow my body to heal at the same time. That's the plan anyway!!!

Race Day Results!

I couldn't have asked for a better day yesterday. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect (about 50 degrees). The best part - NO WIND! The race had about 235 runners and because it was the 24th year that it was being run, everything ran very smoothly (no pun intended).

I was very excited about the race all morning. I thought I did a pretty good job at keeping myself calm. I packed all my stuff up and headed to check-in about 45 minutes before the race. After getting my race number I went out for a bit of a warm-up run. I had on pants and a long sleeve shirt (over my shorts and T-shirt that I was going to wear for the actual race) and boy did I feel heavy. I was sort of nervous at that point because I was just warming up and my legs felt heavy and tired - not a good feeling! However, once I took off the extra clothing I felt 100% better.

A couple of minutes before the start of the race I headed over to the starting line. Not many of the other runners had headed over yet so I tried to figure out where a good starting place would be. Then the other runners came over and I found myself back in the middle of the pack. It wasn't a bad place to start, I was just aiming for a touch closer to the front. The "gun" sounded and we were off. I got hemmed in a bit but not too badly. I was able to weave my way out of the congestion and settled into a nice pace.

My goal was a 7:30 pace and at the beginning of the race I had settled into a pace at about 7:40. I was pleased with this pace especially at the beginning but I knew I needed to go a touch faster if I wanted to make my goal time - if my chest cold would let me. I just tried to maintain a constant pace during the middle section of the race. However, once I hit the turn around cone (which meant I had about 3 miles left in the race) I decided it was time to see what I had left. I was feeling pretty good and as I was approaching the cone I counted the women who past me on the way back and I was the 21st woman in the race. So, when I hit the turn-around cone, I decided to see if I could start picking off the women and move up in the standings. To be honest, I was amazed that I was that far up in the overall standings (I had no idea where I stood in my age group). So one by one I started setting my sights on the woman right in front of me. Slowly but surely I started moving up on them and passing them.

At this point, I looked at my watch and my pace was at about 7:15. I wasn't sure if I would be able to maintain that pace for the rest of the race but I sure was going to give it a try. I just concentrated on the woman in front of me and catching her. As I neared the end of the course (about 3/10ths of a mile left) I passed the woman who was in 16th place and could see the 15th place woman. I kept my pace going and was reeling her in but I didn't know if I had enough course left. As I made the last turn into the straightaway to the finish, I looked at the race clock. I saw that if I gave it one last push I would make my goal time so I put it into overdrive. I passed the woman in front of me and made my goal time! My official race time was 1:09:48 (6 seconds faster than my goal time) and my official pace was 7:31 (last year's pace was 8:25). I ran almost a minute faster per mile this year than I did last year!!!

Needless to say I was thrilled! My family was at the finish and I heard my kids cheering me on at the end. Then after I got across the line they came running up to me and gave me a hug. Definitely the best part to the whole event!! There was only one more goal to try and get - finishing in the top three of my age group. Obviously I wasn't in total control of this one but I had given it my all and I was hoping to walk away with a plaque. After waiting around for a while the awards ceremony finally started. I waited for them to get to my age group and then I heard it. I had placed 3rd in my age group! To give you an idea about how things can change from year to year, I had also placed 3rd in my age group last year and my time was much slower.

Now the really insane part to the entire day. The winner of the race finished in 46:28 the second place finisher ran it in 47:11 and the third place finisher ran it in 49:28. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to run 9+ miles in under 50 minutes and only place third in the race! BTW, the winner's pace was 5:00/mile. Those times simply blow my mind!!!

Now that the race is over, I'm going to take it easy for a couple of days. Probably get out for some walks but nothing too strenuous. I want to get rid of this cold I have and then start into a more balanced program for a while. I'll probably be shooting for 3 days of lifting and 3 days of running. I'm not sure what my next goal will be but there is a local 1/2 marathon in March and I'm leaning toward trying to run in that this year. I've wanted to do it the past 2 years but have gotten sick and haven't been able to get my training in. We'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks for all the support and for taking the time to read my race report!

Race Day!!!!

I've made it - the day is finally here!

The cold is still hanging around but I'm not going to worry about it. I'm going to give it my all. Hopefully I'll be able to hit my goal pace but if I don't, I'll know that I gave it everything I had both in training and on race day.

I'm really excited right now and I'm trying hard to keep everything nice and calm because I don't want to get too hyped up too soon. It looks like it is going to be a great day for the race. Sunrise is in a little less than an hour so it's still very dark right now. The temperature is 52 degrees which is what they are calling for at the start of the race - great running temperature. The skies are still pretty cloudy from the rain we had yesterday but that is supposed to clear out when the sun comes up. There also doesn't appear to be much wind, which in my book is an excellent thing!!

I'll leave in a little over an hour so that I have plenty of time to check-in and warm-up. I also want to make sure that I have lots of time to use the bathroom. It is always a big concern to me (especially during long races) because I tend to have to use the bathroom when I run. Running first thing in the morning (training runs) doesn't allow me the time to void the system and it is common for me to have to stop a run around mile 4 so that I can use the bathroom. It's part of the reason why I get up so early on race days. I eat at about 5:30 so that everything has time to work through my system. That way I get a chance to go at home and then at the race I can just do the last couple of clears.

Well, I guess it is about time to get the rest of my stuff together. My next entry will be with my race results - Wish me Luck!!

One day until the race

Well, the day is almost here! Tomorrow morning at 8:30 am is the scheduled race start and I won't necessarily be at my best but I'm going to do everything I can to put up my best time.

Today's weather is cold and rainy. Fortunately, tomorrow is supposed to have better weather. I'm looking forward to a nice cool start. Hopefully there won't be much wind. There isn't much worse than running into a really strong wind - maybe running uphill and into a strong wind (LOL). I've run in all sorts of weather (including wet, icy snow) and I think I dislike the wind the most. It not only make the going harder but it also hurts my ears.

That's it for now. I will be getting up nice and early tomorrow so that I can get a nice hearty breakfast in (and hopefully go to the bathroom so I don't have to worry about it during the race). I will try and post tomorrow morning before I leave for the race.

Here's to having a healthy, fun and safe day tomorrow!

I'm Getting Sick!

This is such a bad time to be getting sick! While I was typing my blog and some other things last night, I could just feel the scratchy throat start. I sort of expect to get a little bug after my race because of the energy expenditure but getting sick before the race was definitely not in the plans.

I did not do my run this morning and I'm not sure I'll do tomorrow's. I feel a touch guilty about it but I think it is better in the long run (no pun intended). There is that little voice in the back of my head telling me that if I don't run this week it will really hurt my performance. That may or may not be true but I do know that if I do run, it will definitely hurt my performance (if I still feel the way I do now.

I'm pretty bummed about the whole thing but I will not let it get me too down. I have a race coming up and I will be the best I can be. That is all we can ever ask of ourselves.

Tuesday - another day closer to the race!

I had a great run this morning. I ran 4 miles and my pace was 7:53/mile. My legs really felt like they had some spring to them. I'm hoping that it continues through Sunday!!!

Tomorrow is a 30 minute Tempo run. I've enjoyed the Tempo runs. I hadn't really done them before but I will definitely continue them after the race.

Speaking of after the race, I'm trying to figure out what my routine will be. I'm leaning toward running on Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday with Tuesday being a 3-4 miler, Thursday being a Tempo run or interval run & Saturday being a long run. Then on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I would do my resistance training (something I have left go by the way-side recently). However, I haven't decided whether I want to do a full-body routine 3 times per week or if I want to break it down some other way.

I have also been spending a lot of time recently re-evaluating my "Why". Coach David is big on knowing your "Why". This is something that I've always struggled with - my health has pretty much always been good and my family is relatively healthy. It occurred to me the other day that living this healthy lifestyle (like the one outlined in Leanness Lifestyle) is just a part of who I am. Without being able to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle, I would be a touch lost. Almost like I lost a part of me. Could I adjust, probably, but I don't want to! Maybe that's the point.

Race Countdown

Well, here we are. The week before the race and I am really ready! I have been working so hard for so long and I am champing at the bit for the race. Part of me just wants in to be over so that I can move my focus to something else. The other part of me just wants Sunday morning to be here so that I can put all my hard work to the test.

Hats off to Julie who ran the Portland Marathon, on Sunday, in 4:25! Julie, I've said this before, but you really inspire me! You have accomplished so much in the time that I've known you - you are amazing!

Tomorrow is a 4 miler. I'm trying to take it somewhat easy this week. Every once in a while I start to get the pre-race butterflies. Did I mention?....I can't wait until Sunday!!!!!

Sunday 9/30

I ran 10 miles this morning and I'm pleased with the pace (8:15). I felt really tired at the start but came around as the miles progressed. It was also a hard start because the temperature dropped to about 43 (down from about 60) degrees. I was actually running in pants at the start and boy did my legs feel heavy. After about 2.5 miles I was able to take them off and then I felt much better. Right now my joints are pretty sore - I'll be glad when the race is over and I can drop some of my mileage. I think my joints will be much happier.

I was able to find some new cross-trainers today. I'm really hoping that it will help with all the pounding my body takes during my gym classes. I was so sore this week in my hips. I definitely don't want to go into the race sore.

Going to a college football game tonight - they are a lot of fun because it is something that we do without the kids. We have some really fun grown-up time. Then tomorrow it is off to my parent's house to pick the kids up. Busy weekend, but great fun too.

Wednesday 9/27

Work-wise this week is going well. I had two great days in gym, not only did I have an awesome time teaching the classes, but the kids had a ball too. It is so awesome to have the kids come into your class with huge smiles on their faces because they are looking so forward to your class. I even had one of the classes swarm up to me in a huge group and we all had an awesome group hug!

The only bad part was what the floor did to my body. It wasn't even an aggressive session but it really did a number on my hips. I have not run the past 2 days because my hips have been so sore. I did get on the bike tonight though. I have also been really tired in the mornings - not sure if that is because of the classes or PMS but I don't like it (especially this close to the race).

I have gotten back onto my Leanness Lifestyle routine - more or less. I still need to do some work with my nutrition and get back to a more balanced fitness routine. I've not been doing much in the way of lifting lately because I've been struggling at adding a second session to my day. I just feel like there is so much to do (with home, work, kids...) and so little time to get it all done. I know time is a common excuse for not exercising - I'm still exercising, I'm just struggling to get in an extra session. There is no excuse for my eating.

I just had a thought. I have a theme for my gym classes this year: "I Can Do Anything!". If this attitude is good enough for my kids, it's damn well good enough for me! I am going to find a way to make it all work!!!

We are back from our weekend trip to the beach. We had an awesome time! The kids, especially, love to go on the beach and run away from the waves. They don't really know how to swim yet so we basically stand, holding hands (which I love) and move forward and backwards with the waves. The waves were pretty big too, so we couldn't even get them out deeper holding them. But ya know what, it didn't matter. We were together and having a blast!

We were also able to get the kids to some amusement rides. The smiles on their faces were worth every penney we paid for the tickets. I'm just kind of bummed that we could stay longer.

Now onto my workouts. I have set a new goal on Leanness Lifestyle. I didn't really want to have to focus on losing weight before my race was over but I've had enough. I need to find a way to regain my focus before this gets out of hand. I am going to try and find some time to read parts of the LL book but time is really short right now. I'll just have to see how things go.

I started my gym classes at school today. All the classes went really well and I think everybody had a good time. I like teaching in the classroom but I have to tell you that I just love getting out there with all the kids during the gym times. We run and jump and just act crazy (in a controlled way of course). I just have the best time! I have 4 more gym classes tomorrow and I can't wait!

Off to plan for tomorrow!

I Feel Like I've Lost Focus!

This weight maintenance thing just plain sucks - it really messes with my brain! While I was in the process of losing all the weight these last 5 -6 months I was really able to focus on that goal. Since I've attained my weight loss goal, I've felt a bit lost. I am really struggling with sticking to my nutrition plan (and yes, I still make one each night - well most nights anyway). There always seems to be this little voice that tells me, "you've reached your goal you can let go a bit - if you're a couple pounds above your target weight, it's not that big a deal......". It's all bullsh** and I know it but yet I am still finding myself with food I know I should not have and shoving it in my mouth.

I remember reading a section in the Leanness Lifestyle book where it talked about going through stages of readiness. These past 5 months I have definitely been in the Action stage, but somehow I've backslid out of that stage and now I'm feeling lost. Yes, some of it is because I can't give my fitness program my undivided attention - school has to have a high priority right now. I'm still learning the ropes at being the primary teacher for a class, last year I was an assistant and worked with one of the best teachers I've had the privilege to be around. She was always in such control and had a wonderful program (helps when you've been doing it for 15+ years). I'm really striving to have a class just like hers. Unfortunately it doesn't come easy when you are just starting out and it takes A LOT of work. Plus, I'm trying to adjust to a new schedule - my dd is now in full day Kindergarten and I've entered the world of having to stop my day in order to go and pick her up at 3 pm.

I'm not trying to use these factors as excuses. I am making the choices about what goes in my mouth and the choices are not currently the right ones. I guess I'm just listing things out in order to try and get a handle on them myself. I'm not quite sure where to start right now. I'm finding it hard to get done all my normal daily "things" so sitting down to re-read LL or something along that line isn't in the cards right now. I need to find a way to get my head screwed back on right. Maybe a leverage is what I need. I'll need to think on it for a while.

I will be going to the beach tomorrow - it's a surprise to the kids and I can't wait to see their reaction. We will be going for the weekend and I'm really hoping for some nice weather so we can have one last hurray on the beach.

Work hard, EAT RIGHT and reach for your goals!

Tuesday - 9/19

Thanks Julie and Anna for your support with my problem the other day. We ended up throwing out 3 of my son's toys because of his uncaring attitude (we are actually donating the toys). As for the lying, we think we got the story about what happened but their stories were still just a touch different the whole time that we are completely sure whether we got the full story or not. We've discussed the situation and hopefully it won't happen too much in the future. I actually read somewhere that when your kids lie (especially at a young age) it is an indication that they have a quick mind - they are testing their imaginations as well as their boundaries.

My runs have been going well. On Sunday, I ran 9 miles at a pace of 8:15/mile. Last year, I ran my race at a pace of 8:25/mile. To say that I'm pleased with this would be an understatement. I'm thrilled that a training run was actually run faster than my race time! It did take a toll on my though - I was exhausted on Monday. I was tired to the point that I didn't do my 3 mile run that was scheduled for that day. I did do about 20 minutes of lifting in the afternoon though. Today, I was still a bit tired but I was able to get out for a 4 mile run.

I also realized something very cool yesterday. I was worried about going to school the day after my race because it is one of the 2 days that I teach my gym class (for 1/2 the school). Well, yesterday I realized that, the day after the race is Columbus day and I don't have school! I will be able to rest and recover! I will need to teach my gym classes on Tuesday but I'm hoping to be in better shape by then.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

It's been a while......

....since I've posted. This week has just flown by! Trying to get all my routines (home, work and exercise) in place has been not only tough but also tiring. Each day was gone before I knew it.

Workouts have been progressing, I'm still experiencing periodic foot twinges but it hasn't been happening quite as often. I will admit that I have had days where my focus isn't where it should be. On these days in particular, I have made sure that I've not done an afternoon workout. I don't want to push myself into an overtraining situation.

Something happened today that has really made me angry. I'm hoping by writing about it I will feel better. Yesterday I stopped at the local dollar store, to see if there was anything I could use at school. I found a couple of things for school and for my own kids. Both my kids had seen recorders (instrument type) and wanted one. So when I saw a 2 pack for a dollar I thought what the heck. I also bought my son a small nerf type football. Well, some time last night my son took off the small bottom portion of the recorder. I asked him where it was and would he please find it so we could put it back together. He said he didn't know and that he wasn't going to look for it. I told him that if he didn't find it I was going to have throw it away because it was broken. After less than one day he told me he didn't want it and I should throw it away. I told him that if he didn't care about the things I've gotten for him, maybe I should take the football back too (he begged for both the ball and the recorder yesterday). He told me that he didn't care.

I really thought I was doing something really nice for him and I feel like I've just been kicked by my own son. I know he is young (almost 4) but it still really hurts my feelings when I've tried to get him something that he would really enjoy. This on top of a situation last night where both kids where flat out lying to us about something that happened to one of their toys. I know kids try and push their boundaries but I want to believe that my dh and I have taught them better - no lying and appreciating the things they have.

I guess we need a bit more work.

First day of school

Today was a first for 2 people in my family. My daughter started her first day of Kindergarten today and I started my first class today. Ally, my daughter, did really well. It was pretty obvious that she was pretty tired but nowhere near as exhausted as I thought she would be. It will be interesting to see how she does as the week progresses. I really think it is going to take her a couple of weeks to adjust to the longer days - I forgot to mention that she is doing full day Kindergarten. Not all the schools in our area are doing full day classes but it is moving in that direction.

My day went well too. We appear to have a good group of kids in my M, W, F class. I also know most of the kids from last year, so that makes it easier too. I don't know many of the kids in my T, Th class because they are new to the school. This will make it a bit more challenging but it is also a smaller class so that makes it easier. There is still a bit of ironing out that we need to do in terms of how we will work the class but overall the year looks good!

I had a good run this morning. It was nice and cool out, but the wind was a bit of a challenge at times. Still, I was able to run at around an 8 min pace for the 3 miles - very pleased with that. Tomorrow is a 4 mile run. This weekend is supposed to be a shorter "long" run (cut-back week) but I think I'm going to do the long run that is scheduled for next weekend. We are going down to the beach for the weekend and it would be much easier to find a 4 mile route than a 9 mile route. I don't think it will make a whole lot of difference in the long run.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Just found a picture from last year's race

Here is a link to a picture I just found.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dean_delaware_aflac/detail?.dir=e650&.dnm=add6re2.jpg&.src=ph

Hopefully it will work. I look like such a tub! I am so glad that I found Leanness Lifestyle and have made such awesome advances in my health and my appearance!

8 Mile Run & Some Venting!

I had a great run this morning. The weather was beautiful, although it was a bit foggy where I was running. I has some low areas and the fog always settles down in those areas on the cooler mornings. My pace was under 9/mile - I'm not exactly sure what the exact pace was because I got a couple of really funky readings while I was out there.

I did get a couple of twinges in my foot around mile 2 but it cleared up pretty quickly. I'm really starting to think that it is the bunion on my foot that is causing the trouble. I'd be lying if I said it didn't scare me. From past work experiences, I know that foot problems can be really hard to deal with. Even if you go to a podiatrist and have things corrected it can continue to give you trouble for a really long time. Unfortunately, since it hasn't cleared up, I'm afraid I will need to seek medical attention.

I also need to buckle down on my nutrition. Since reaching my weight, which I am maintaining by the way so no real problems, I've been allowing myself some extra "extras". I'm saying this from a performance point of view. My body needs the best and I need to make it a priority to give it the best.

Now I have to take a moment to vent! My husband just got back from his exercise session (he walks). While he was walking a woman drove up next to him and started to verbally abuse him (vulgar language and everything) - the reason for the explosion? She was an EXTREMELY large woman and she was mad at him because he's skinny and because he exercises. We exercisers apparently make those who don't, look bad. Well duh! I'm sorry, I just don't have any patience or sympathy for these people! I'm not going to look down on you because you are overweight but I'll be damned if I'm going to feel bad or take your crap because you are insecure about yourself. I look good! I feel good! I am healthy! That's a whole lot more than she can say.

I think I'll make up some business cards that say Leanness Lifestyle up. If she ever comes near us again, we can had her a card and share with her how much of a difference it can make in your life. Hey Coach David, if you happen to see this entry, don't worry - I would never do that without getting an OK from you. I feel better now - thanks for letting me vent!

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Conferences

Today was our first day of conferences at school. Things went really well! I will also add that I'm still a bit nervous about all the things (paperwork type things) that I will have to do this year. I'm sure that once I go through the process once things will be fine - just experiencing the fear of the unknown I guess.

My run didn't feel all that hot today. It wasn't bad (about an 8:30 pace for around 4 miles) but I just never felt "good". My foot was a bit sore today. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to see someone about it. The weird thing about it though is that I can't pinpoint one thing that always flares it up. It isn't sore to the touch and there is no swelling - I'm at a loss!

It's getting late and I will be off to bed soon. Since I've been kind of tired lately, I'm actually going to sleep in a bit tomorrow since the only thing I have scheduled is my LBWO and I can do that after school. It's pretty sad when sleeping until 5:30 am is sleeping in - LOL!

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Very Crazy Tempo Run

I just finished a crazy run this morning. It was my scheduled 40 minute Tempo run. I use my Forerunner to help me with my pacing (because I pretty much stink at maintaining a steady pace on my own). The problem though was that my Forerunner was all over the place. I would be running, and didn't feel like I had slowed down much if at all, and all of the sudden the pace would register 2 minutes slower than I was just going. Then, all of a sudden, I was going too fast and the pace was telling me to slow down. I was very confused!

The above was written very early this morning and now here it is, 8:36 pm and I'm just now getting back to this entry. I can't believe how busy my days have been lately. Between exercising, working, my FlyLady routines and every day life - my days have been VERY full lately. I again have to credit Leanness Lifestyle with giving me the energy to complete these days. Not too long ago, there would have been no way I would complete these days with as much energy as I have. Now don't get me wrong, I am dog tired at the end of the day. However, this time last year, I would have been this tired but I would have completed only 1/2 as much work.

Tomorrow is the start of conferences at school. I am a touch nervous because it is the first time I will have ever done one. Even though I'm nervous, I know that it is going to be a great year and that we have worked hard and done everything we could to get ready. Much of the rest needs to wait until we meet the kids and find out their likes and dislikes and then tailor the class accordingly.

It's getting late and I need to go to bed and get some sleep. Have a wonderful night!

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

It's raining.....Again!

I got up this morning to run and what did I find? More rain falling from the sky. I am so tired of rain and cloudy weather! However, I wasn't going to let some rain stop me from exercising! Today's run was supposed to be a 6 miler so I decided to do an hour on my bike (it's hooked up to a stationary trainer). It was a good workout!

Today was also the unofficial start of school. The kids don't start until 9/11 but this week we (the teachers) need to get in and finish decorating the rooms and just getting things ready for conferences and the start of classes. I've actually been going in every day for over a week so we are really close to being ready.

I've also been trying to get back into my cleaning routines. In the past I've use FlyLady's routines. They have worked well for me in the past so I've decided to try to start them up again. It will take me a while to get back into a good routine but it will be worth it! There is nothing like a nice clean and organized house.

I'm still getting lots of compliments on my body transformation - and I have to be honest....It still feels great every single time!!! I was talking about cleaning routines with FlyLady - Leanness Lifestyle has given me fitness routines that will last a lifetime. I have no doubts about that whatsoever!!!

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

"I'm Ready...I Am Invincible...I Can Do Anything!"

The above title comes from a CD that I bought my husband for his birthday. I was kind of a joke gift for him and a CD that the kids can listen to and I can use at school (especially when I'm teaching my gym classes). The CD is filled with songs inspired by the kids show Kim Possible. One of the songs is titled "I'm Ready" and in the song are the words "I am invincible, I can do anything!" How awesome is that for not only kids to hear but also us adults. I played the CD while I was driving to where I was doing my long run this morning. It is such an uplifting idea and upbeat song that it gets me all fired up to workout. It is definitely going in my psych-up collection.

My run went well - 7 miles at a 8:54 pace. I didn't need any emergency bathroom stops (I was able to plan my route around some bathrooms and stopped even if I didn't feel like I had to). My timing was perfect on the bathroom front. I did have a couple of twinges in my foot, mostly at the beginning. After I got warmed up, it felt really good. I felt very strong the whole time I was running - I really can't believe how far I've come in 6 short months. The weight is gone and I'm feeling strong running 7-8 miles at a time. I know I keep mentioning it but Leanness Lifestyle really feels like a life saver to me. I can't believe just how yucky I felt before finding this program. It has changed how I view everything in my life!

Speaking of feeling strong and doing amazing things - let's here it for Julie A. who ran 18 miles yesterday. Way to go Julie A.!!!! I also want to send some huge woo hoos to Julie B. who is running somewhere between 32 and 38 straight hours - now that blows my mind!! I'm not sure exactly when she started or when she will finish but that woman is amazing!!

Just as both Julies have:
Work hard, eat right and REACH FOR YOUR GOALS!

"It's Raining...It's Pouring..." (part 2)

Just wanted to post that I was able to get my workout done. My UBWO went about 40 intense minutes and then I had a great 30 minute fast paced walk. Had my tunes cranked and had a great time!

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals
Leanness Lifestyle

"It's Raining...It's Pouring..."

Today was supposed to be my long run day but we are getting drenched by a tropical depression. I can't even ride my bike today because everything is all wrapped up and tied down to protect it from the rain. I will do an UBWO though - at least I'll get some exercising in today.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Leanness Lifestyle

Awesome day - 9/1/06

We had our first inservice day at school. It was the first time I had seen some of my co-workers in about 3 months. Many jaws dropped when they had seen how much weight I had lost. Compliments were coming from all over the place! I was telling anyone who would listen, what a great program Leanness Lifestyle is. I don't know if anyone will look into it but it just felt good to let people know that there is a smart and safe way to make a huge transformation!

Today was a rest day. Unfortunately, our weather here on the east coast is pretty stinky right now. I don't think I'll be getting out for my long run tomorrow. I will however, get it done on Sunday. Hopefully, the wind and the rain will be gone by then.

Hopes and prayers go out to all who are being hit hard by this bad weather.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

I'm Wowin' them at work!

I haven't seen all my co-workers yet but the one's I've seen have been really impressed with my weight loss. If this is your first time reading my blog (thank you) and feel free to take a look at my before and after photos. I owe everything to Leanness Lifestyle and if you've never heard of it and want to get in shape click on the link and learn all about it. It was absolutely the best fitness move I ever made. I'll warn you that there is not magic pill - you will have to work you butt off (literally and figuratively) but it is worth every ounce of effort you put into it.

OK, now to my workout. Today I set out to do 6 X 800 intervals. Unfortunately, due to bathroom stops I was only able to do 4 of the 6. They were good quality efforts though. I don't have my split times as I write this but I know that they were all pretty much in the time zones that I was shooting for. So, I'm pleased with the overall outcome of today. One thing is for sure though - I'm going to have to start getting up earlier on these workout days!!!

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Wednesday's Thoughts

Boy have I been tired this week! I'm in the process of trying to get my classroom ready for the start of school. I'm spending the morning in the room, cleaning, throwing out old stuff, putting things on shelves etc and then coming home to finish my workouts and do some cleaning. It has really worn me down but I can't imagine how tired I would be if I hadn't gotten in such great shape with Leanness Lifestyle. As you can see from my previous post it has done amazing things for the way I look. But it is the inside stuff that amazes me the most. Not only am I able to do more but I also feel powerful both mentally and physically. It is truly an amazing feeling. I never really felt this way with BFL. Yes, I felt good but not like I do now. It's just AWESOME!

But, because I was so tired, I didn't do my speed workout this morning. I decided to do it tomorrow instead. I just couldn't get my butt out the door this morning. I was dressed and everything but just couldn't do it. I did however, get my LBWO done this evening and even jumped on the stationary bike for 30 minutes. Overall, I'm pleased with my workouts for the day.

nutritionally, it is a different story. The day started off bad - because I was tired I went for a lower nutritional choice because it was convenient. I can't allow myself to fall into that trap because it ends up messing up my whole day. Then, we (the kids and I) went into school and I stayed way passed lunch time so I ended up taking the kids to a fast food place and again made a bad choice. I feel like kicking myself because I know better. But the good news is that I turned the day around from there and the rest of my day was good. Tomorrow I will start the day off better and as a result the rest of my will be better as a result.

Thanks to everyone who has commented on how impressive my before and after pictures are. I look back at those pictures and remember how awful I felt. I feel and look like a new person and I owe it to LL. If anyone out there is on the fence about this program - get off because it is great! You definitely have to do the work, there is no magic pill. If you are willing to work though, awesome results await!

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Before and Afters

I finally took my after photos last night. The before pictures are from the beginning of my journey in 2004 and were taken right before I started back into BFL (after having my 2 children). I did pretty well with BFL but decided I needed something a bit more intense, so in April of this year I started The Leanness Lifestyle and there has been no looking back!

4 Mile Run

My plan called for a 4 mile run today (it is a step-back week for me) and I'm happy to say that I was able to complete the run with hardly any pain in my foot. In fact, there was only 1 small twinge that lasted only a couple of seconds and then it felt good. I did not push my pace at all - I don't even know what it was yet. All I really wanted was a pain-free run. I will continue to ice and hope for the best. I just wish I knew what the cause was!!!

Onto better news......I'm officially in a maintenance phase on my weight loss. I have reached my goal of 133 (now I can get myself a new watch - YEAH!!)!! I decided to not worry about anymore weight loss until after my race. Even then I'm not sure I'll jump right back into it. My weight right now is slightly lower than it was when I was in college and high school (my weight stayed the same in college but I changed the composition greatly - played 2 collegiate sports so I was in really good shape). I'm not sure what my calorie intake will be like - I have a note into coach but I'll just have to wait until he gets back to me. I have to say that I'm looking forward to not stressing about the weight loss for a while though. I know I'll still have to be careful so that I don't gain a bunch back but it will be nice to have some increased calories without stressing about whether I'll reach my goal for the week. New territory and I'm excited!!!

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Busy, busy, busy!

This week has been crazy! I don't feel like I stopped all week. School will be starting soon and as a first year teacher, I have a lot to do to get not only myself ready but the room also. I finally got a look at my class list and I have 16 kids in my M,W,F class and 5 in my T,R class. There is still a lot of work to do in the classroom because there is a lot of "crap" leftover in the room. It is going to so much better after we sift through everything and get the rest organized.

I think all the work at school is rubbing off here at home too. Today was the only day all week that I was able to stay at home and get things done. I worked my butt off here today. Unfortunately no one seemed to notice (at least they didn't say anything). Anyway, I'm thrilled with my production today even if no one else is impressed.

My workout wasn't so hot this morning - 2 mile run that I walked a good portion of because my foot started to hurt. This is really the first time I've experience it during a run. I've been having some occasional pain on the top of my right foot. I'm not sure what is causing it and I would be lying if I said that it doesn't concern me. It doesn't have the symptoms of a stress fracture so I'm happy about that! It starts to bother me when I get up on my toes - so I've been trying to avoid that position. I don't think it is my mileage increases because there hasn't been any huge increases (following a Hal Higdon plan) and I have over 120 miles on my current running shoes so it isn't from a sudden change in shoes.

I've decided to just wait it out a bit. I'm trying to ice 3-4 times a day. There is no visible swelling or bruising so I'm not taking any meds. I'll give the ice some time to do it's thing and go from there. I pray that it isn't anything serious and that it won't affect my race.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Awesome day!

Today has been great! I got all my workouts finished - 3 mile run, LB workout and an extra 25 min bike on the trainer. I also drank all my water which hasn't always been completed. But, best of all, I was able to stick to my nutrition plan all day. I didn't give in to any stress eating and I feel really good about everything.

I'm looking forward to sticking to my plan tomorrow too. It is Bill's birthday tomorrow so I may have one small bite of cupcake but other than that I'm going to stick to my plan. I can't wait to give Bill is present. I've saved so long for this and I can't wait to see his face - I really hope he likes it!!! Just in case Bill reads this (I don't even think he knows about this blog but I'm going to be careful anyway) I'm not going to write what the present is but I think he is going to love it.

Well, it has been a long day and I still have some prep work to do for tomorrow.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

It feels like forever since my last posting.

I think my brain is on overload lately. Mentally I think I'm wearing down - the weight loss and the training for the 15K is taking it's toll. I realized the other day that I've been really concentrating on the weight loss since April. I'm wondering if the trouble I've been having lately is because it has been so long non-stop. Add on to that all the training I've been doing and I just think it is starting to wear me down. Physically I still feel great! My training has been going well and I'm still not only having fun with it but also looking forward to the workouts.

This week is my goal week for reaching my 133# goal weight. If I really focus on what I need to do, I will reach my goal and be able to go into a maintenance phase until after my race is over. I wake up every morning with my goals set and my nutrition plan made but for some reason, during the past few weeks, I've been having a really hard time sticking to my plans. The past 2 days I haven't even done my journal writings (the place where I list my goals, plans, meals etc).

I also took a day off on Friday. I didn't get on the computer or do any exercising. I was hoping that the break would refresh the entire system. It didn't seem to work because my eating plan went right out the window on Saturday. My run Saturday morning was great though! I'm always really hungry on Saturdays because it is my long run day. It is also my higher calorie day because of that but yesterday I went way over board. It reminded me of when I was doing BFL and would have my "Free Day" instead of my splurge meal. It still makes me scratch my head when I look back and I would wonder why I wasn't losing much weight. My free days were killing all my weekly progress.

Today has been pretty good. I have still had some "extras" (off my meal plan) but it is much better that it has been. I consider it a step in the right direction. I will have to do much better this week to reach my goal though.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

What a Workout!!

Today was my speedwork day. The workout consisted of a 5 min. warm-up, 1 mile jog, 5 X 800 repeats (1/4 mile in between each 800) and then a 5 min. cool-down. My goal is to run the 800s in about 3:30 (7 min/mile pace). My times were as follows: 3:35 (not bad); 3:37 (pretty close); 3:29 (right on); 3:27 (right on); 2:57 (WHAT WAS I THINKING!). I'm not sure what happened on that last one but boy did it kick my butt. I am so glad it was the last one because after running that pace I'm not sure I would have been able to do many more. I just remember thinking to myself that I have to push through this last one. I use my Forerunner and it beeps when you go either too fast or too slow but does tell you what the pace is (or at least I haven't figured out how to find that number). I knew I was going faster than my target pace but I had no idea that I was going that much faster than my target pace. The thing that really blows my mind is that people run at this pace for entire marathons - WOW!!!

I still have to do my upper body lifting routine later today. I still have to figure out exactly what weights I'm going to use but I will do that as soon as I'm done here. I have not been as excited about my lifting sessions as my running sessions. I seem to go through phases during the year. At some points I am really focused on the lifting aspect and at other times I am really focused on the aerobic portion. I never stop either one but I really notice a difference in my excitement level as I approach the workout. I wonder if that is normal for most people???

We are also planning of going to Bike and Hike tonight. I think I am going to try and have Ally ride her bike with me running next to her. Bill can ride my bike with Will in the bike seat. They will obviously ride on ahead and go back and forth while I stick with Ally. I'm not sure how far we will be able to go but I'm really looking forward to it.

My nutrition has been really good the past couple of days and I'm well on my way to making today another great day. My weight has gotten down to 135.5# so know I only have 1 more pound to lose in order to reach my leverage goal. I am so close to my ultimate goal of 133! I really need to just buckle down and go for the goal!

Work hard, eat right & reach for your goals!!!

Bit Of A Blunder This Morning

I got up this morning all psyched to do my 5 mile run. I got out of bed nice and early, got dressed and was out the door by 5:01 am. I was running a new route and I think that was part of the excitement. It was pretty warm and humid (75 degrees & 81% humidity) this morning. Made me realize just how cool it had been the past few days.

Anyway, I get out there and I felt pretty good. My pace was around 8:30 for the 5 miles. Everything is good right? That was until I looked at my training schedule and realized that I should have run 6 miles! I know it is not going to make any difference what-so-ever but it still frustrates me that I wasn't paying enough attention to my program!!!

On the positive side, my eating has been right on the past 2 days. Yesterday was perfect and as of lunch today is as well. I even kept myself strong today when this yummy pastry smell made its way past me. It smell sooooooo good but I just stopped, thought about my goals and stayed away. I have to say that I was quite proud of myself!

Lately, I've been really interested in triathlons. I just recently finished a book, I think it was called "Be IronFit" (or something similar) and I really enjoyed it. Last night I got a book called "Your First Triathlon". I've not read much of it but it seems interesting. I don't belong to a pool so I won't be training for a triathlon any time in the near future but I hope to some day. I'm trying to talk Bill into joining the Y - not only would it be cool for me but I think it would be good for the kids too. They could get swim lessons as well as all the other activities they could participate in. I'm not sure if it is in the budget but hopefully we will be able to make it work. I'm not real sure Bill wants to even think about it either. I guess I'll just have to wait. I'll enjoy all the reading in the meantime.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Today was a Great Day!

I'm really happy with the way today went. I had a good 3 mile run this morning and a challenging lifting session this afternoon. I also kept my eating clean and drank plenty of water. It has been quite some time since I've been able to put all 3 parts together like I did today.

I'm also looking forward to tomorrow because we are going to have lunch with some friends that we haven't seen in a couple of months. They may also be moving to Germany at the beginning of next year so we really want to spend as much time as we can with them.

Well, it's starting to get late and I need to get ready for tomorrow. Then off to a peaceful night sleep - hopefully!

Work hard, eat right & reach for your goals!

I'm Stoked!!!

I tried on 2 articles of clothing today, that I haven't been able to wear in probably a decade. I was able to fit into both of them. One was quite tight but I don't care - I was able to fasten the button!!!

I also had a really good workout this morning. It was my 60 min. cross-training day. I got out on my bike and rode about 11.5 miles. I haven't done a long ride like that in a long time. In the back of my mind, doing a triathlon is still lurking. So, each time I do something like today's ride it just flares those thoughts up even more.

Work hard, eat right and reach for your goals!

Feeling good today!

Last night, I fell asleep at 6:30 pm and slept until 8 pm. I didn't really intend to fall asleep but it sure did feel good! I felt good this morning too. I'm not sure if it was the extra sleep or not but I'll take what I can get!

I had a 7 mile run scheduled and I ran it over at Delcastle. Actually, I ran around the neighborhood surrounding the park. It turned out to be about a 3.5 mile loop (so I ran it twice). I had to stop for the bathroom twice (very unusual) and my stomach, at times, felt a tiny bit crampy. I think I'm going to try eating a bagel or something before I run to see how my stomach react to that - especially on Saturdays when I do my long run. I really enjoyed the different scenery. It just felt good to get away from the same old path I usually run.

Other than the stomach and bathroom "problems" the run felt pretty good. My pace was right around 9 min/mile. I'm unsure whether I should be trying to run my longer runs at a faster pace or whether the one day per week, of tempo and speedwork, will be sufficient to hit my target pace. I'm not sure who to ask - maybe I'll try some running message boards.

The day is winding down - I think I might go for an easy spin on the bike trainer.

Work hard, eat right and reach your goals!