all signed up

i think i might be just a little bit crazy. i am signed up for three, count 'em three, half-marathons in three months. how did that happen you ask? well, let me tell you how i lost my sanity.

last year, my first half-marathon was the deadwood mickelson trail. my sister-in-law has done it for several years now and i was supposed to run it with her. instead, i ended up having surgery in april and just walked it. i was proud of myself for walking it, but i told myself that i would run it this year instead.

june half-marathon - check.

a few weeks later, a friend of mine, danika, sent out an email asking for friends to run the colfax half-marathon with her. i checked the calendar and i had just enough time for training so i agreed.

may half-marathon - check.

finally, my friend from high school, trina, sent me a message on facebook asking me to join them in running the platte river half (she ran it last year with friends). i will only be at the 10-mile mark in my training, but i am a sucker for a 10th anniversary medal. :)

april half-marathon - check.

yep, mental.

breakfast

i am not a fan of breakfast. i never have been. i can usually force myself to eat something small, such as a string cheese and 2 slices of bacon or a half a grapefruit and a glass of milk. so much is made of breakfast being the most important meal of the day. i prefer eating breakfast for dinner (something we call 'brinner').

do you like eating breakfast? what do you make yourself?

sedentary hobbies

i spend a lot of time sitting. sitting to read, sitting to knit, sitting to scrapbook. sitting, sitting, sitting. sitting in front of the computer, sitting and watching my kids play sports, sitting to visit with friends.

i struggle to incorporate hobbies into my life that are more active, other than running. i will do them for a while but eventually get sick of doing them and stop.

have you struggled with this too? i don't know how to make activity/exercise a hobby that i enjoy and look forward to doing.

prayer

lysa terkheurst wrote a great book called 'made to crave'. in it, she talks about her addiction with food and needing help making right choices for her health. i struggle with the same thing.

Lord, i am asking you to fill the hole i try to fill with food. fill me with the strength Jesus had to say 'no' to temptation. satisfy me so that i am full of thoughts of your greatness, not food. take mercy on me, i pray. amen.

yogacycle

i love yogacycle! 30 minutes of cycling followed by 30 minutes of yoga. it's intense and i feel like a limp noodle when class is over. in 30 minutes, i cycle 14.1 miles and (per my heartrate monitor) burned 433 calories. gotta love that burn!

hey runners, do you enjoy cycling as a cross-training activity?

let's talk heart rate monitors

i have a polar ft4. i like it and find it very helpful. mine cost around $100 and i got it at runner's roost.

i am sure i could have gotten something cheaper. i am sure i could have gotten something with all the bells and whistles. the ft4 keeps track of my heart rate and calories burnt. although it would have been nice if it also kept track of distance, it does what i need. straight forward and simple.

do you have one or are you planning on getting one?

procrastination

i feel so good when i exercise. why, then, do i procrastinate and put it off?

it makes me feel energized and strong. it gives me a release for my stress. it helps keep me healthy. there are a million reasons to 'just do it', but it only takes one reason not to. that reason is usually one of three thing: 'it's too late to get started' or 'i don't want to get off the internet' or 'i am tired'.

do you have a problem with procrastination too? what is your excuse?

zumba undate

am i the only one in the world not enamored with zumba? i think i might be. don't get me wrong, it was okay. fun, even. but i can't imagine continuing on after my groupon is over.


**do you love zumba? tell me what i'm missing.

bacon!

hubby's sandwich:


my salad:

first day!

today is my first day back to exercising in a long, long time. i'm scared, worried, excited and inspired. i am going to breathe yoga for align and flow today. tomorrow is yogacycle, which i can't wait to try. (yoga! and cycling! together!) thursday is flow and friday is yogacycle again. all this is leading up to zumba at core progression on sunday (another first!) with my friend amy.

it's my first day of many. what does your workout week look like?

my top foods

for over two years, myfitnespal.com has kept track of my top foods. my list includes:

(breakfast)
Alpine Spiced Cider
Amish Friendship Bread Muffins
Bananas
Grapefruit
Sugar
Hormel Lower Sodium Microwave Ready Bacon
Banana Blueberry Muffins
Large Over Easy Egg
Nature Valley Chewy Granola Bars Fruit and Nut
Organic 1% Milk
Precious String Cheese
Peter Pan Honey Roast Creamy Peanut Butter
Sara Lee 45 calorie Bread
Santiago's Breakfast Burrito with Green Chili
Simply Orange Orange Juice with Calcium and Vitamin D
Stoneyfield Okios Organic Greek Yogurt Honey
Strawberries
Green Tea with 1/4 cup Milk 1tbsp Honey

(lunch)
Fun-sized Butterfinger
Baby Carrots
Cucumber
Cuties/Clementines
Fugi Apple
Wild Coho Salmon
Fresh Express Spring Greens Mix
Green Giant Green Beans
Kraft 2% Natural Mild Cheddar Cheese
Kraft Light House Italian Dressing
Yellow Mustard
Panera Bread You Pick Two: Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Greek Salad
Starkist Albacore Tuna
Pepperjack String Cheese
Fage Greek Yogurt Honey
Taco Bell Crunchy Taco Supreme
Turkey Avocado Sandwich
Typical Mexican Restaurant Order of Chips and Salsa

(supper)
Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff
Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower
Brussels Sprouts
Celery
Cherries
Corn
Scotcharoo Bars
Cantelope
Home Grown Green Beans
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with 2 Slices American Cheese 1tbsp Butter
Blt on 7grain Bread 4 Strips Bacon 1tbsp Mayo Lettuce Tomato
Honeydew Melon
Nordica 1% Cottage Cheese
Peaches
Raspberries
Blue Cheese Dressing
Tomatoes
Watermelon

i think that sums me up very well!


*duplicates taken out

overeating

i love the taste, texture, smell of food. i love eating.

i don't eat for nutrients or fuel. i eat because i love eating.

this week i:
had 2 calories to spare on friday
ate 459 calories too many on saturday
ate 870 calories too many on sunday
ate 273 calories too many on monday
ate 185 calories too many on tuesday
had 19 calories to spare on wednesday
ate 466 calories too many thursday

if it takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose a pound, eating 2232 extra calories is counterproductive to my fitness goals. :(

breakfast

made the boys strawberry and chocolate crepes for breakfast, but wasn't in the mood for a crepe myself.



i made myself shredded porkloin and lentil noodle soup with carrots, celery and dill. i'm not saying that everyone should go out and copy me, but you might want to. :) it's the new breakfast of champions.

this is the picture...

i started couch to 5k in may 2009 with my friend amy. i joined myfitnesspal (a calorie counting website) in november of 2009. i knew i was only two pounds from obese and 'something' needed to change, but i wasn't serious about either one.

this is the picture that changed my life. it was taken in march 2010. it convinced me that what needed changing was *me*.

i cringe at this picture; i hate how i look. before this picture, i could rationalize that i still looked as good as i did in high school ...college ...my wedding day ...after i had kids. i would tell myself people couldn't tell i was overweight. in fact, some of the people in my life were telling me how 'small' and 'petite-looking' i was. really? this picture smacked me right in the face with the reality that i had let myself get fat.

i.was.fat.

so i lost 30 pounds in 2010 and it felt really good. i maintained that throughout 2011 (i wanted to lose more but seemed to sabotage myself). i need to lose 15 more pounds to be in a healthy weight range. 2012 is my year.

that picture made me sad but it also motivated me. without that picture, i would still be in denial.

do you hide from the camera or have a picture that you hate? does it motivate you to change your life?