Fitness Friday

Update:  I've created a google doc where I am tracking my Fitness Friday weight.  Each week I'll post the link in my Friday post.  You are welcome to join me in tracking your weight week-to-week.  You can even put initials for your name if you'd like to keep it private.  (Or even put an alias.)  I left the "start date" un-dated, hoping that people will want to join in and start tracking even if they didn't start back when I did.  Join my Fitness Friday HERE

It's Friday.  

That means it is weigh in day.  

Last week I was at 205.5.

This week, the scale showed this:

That gives me a total loss for the week of 2.2 pounds.

Would I love for that number to be higher?

Um, yeah.  Of course.

But I really need to wrap my head around the fact that a 2 pound loss is a great week!

Sometimes I just have unrealistic expectations and need to tell myself to simmer down.

So, if you are following along since I started my accountability 'Fitness Friday's' (2 weeks ago) I have now lost 3.3 pounds.  I would have loved for that number to be higher...

but Alisha, SIMMER DOWN.  

The positive is that I am lower than I've been since Valentines Day.  

This last week, I tried real hard to not indulge on sweets.  

Was I successful 100% of the time?

No.

I would say about 87.8%.

(Yes, the 0.8% TOTALLY counts!)

How did your week shape up?

Are you were you hoped you'd be?  

Are you playing along with 'Springing for Steps' this month?  And have you tracked?

What are your plans to get through the weekend and make it to the 1/2 point of this month?

Roll Call!

How is this months challenge shaping up for you??

Springing for Steps is in full gear and I'm excited to watch all of you track your miles.
I just updated mine for the month so far...have you?

UPDATE THEM HERE


It's not too late to join us if you haven't already, sign up and commit to making April great!

Monday Marathon Training

How did your last week go?

Mine went according to schedule.

Monday, March 31st I was scheduled for a 30 min run.  I was worried about this run because of Saturday's crummy run.  But I actually felt really good come Monday.  I went 2.98 miles, and averaged a 10:30 mile which I haven't done in a REALLY long time.  

I bumped my second run of the week to Friday.  We were super busy trying to paint our living room and I just didn't make time for it.  Come friday, I hit the pavement for another 2.90 miles.

Saturday, according to my Jeff Galloway schedule, was a low mileage run.  I only had to go 4.5 miles.  It felt quick.  I ended up finishing with 4.65 miles by the time I looped around home.  I got out a little later than I hoped to on Saturday, but was able to finish before the rain kicked in.  This was the first run I've ever done on my own without my music.  It was strange, but nice to change it up.

For the week, with my scheduled walk day and my runs, I ended up with just shy of 13 miles.

This week I have my longest run to date scheduled.  Yikes.

Oh.  And did I mention...I decided to do something completely crazy.  I'm scheduled to do my training run on the 26th of April as a half marathon, NOW I'm also doing a half the next week too!  Groupon was having a killer deal, and Jason told me I should just jump in and do it.  So, I am.  And I hope I don't die.  Or get injured.  

I love that this 14 in 2014 is keeping me going!

Here's to another week of staying focused.....

Fitness Friday Fail?

Let me start by saying I was doing SO GOOD all week long.  I hadn't eaten out.  I avoided treats.  I made sure to get my veggies in!  By Monday I was down to 203.3.  That was the lowest I have seen Since Valentines Day.  I was proud.  And excited.

And then.  I got busy.

We are finishing up a room remodel and I've been focused almost completely on it.  My house is torn apart.  I'm just trying to get it finished so I can restore some order.  However, I had done good all week.  I cooked dinner every single night.  And then yesterday happened.  It was bad.  How bad?  Well, I'm all about honesty...so here it goes.  Kneaders French Toast for breakfast, 2 deep dish slices of pizza for lunch, a cookie from Slurp, a jacked diet coke from Slurp, 1/2 Key Lime shake from JCW's.  Oh, and then there was a donut.  And if that wasn't enough....after the kids went to bed, I had to run to Walmart and pick up cereal and milk and saw this:

When I say I am addicted to this flavor of ice cream, I'm not even exaggerating.  My local Smith's used to carry it, then they stopped.  I hated them.  (But also, I secretly loved them because the temptation was gone.)  Now, all of the sudden, Walmart is carrying it.  I was weak and I didn't say no.

I got home late.  I finished my steps for the day.  And yes, then I pulled out the spoon and dove in head first and never looked back.

Let's just say I'm embarrassed.  And sick.  After a week of almost perfect eating....my tummy HATES me today!  But I tracked every last bite of every disgustingly delicious thing I ate.  

Today, I didn't want to run.  AT ALL.  I was afraid to step on the scale.  (I mean, wouldn't you be after all that!?)  I knew if I didn't run BEFORE stepping on the scale, today would spiral out of control like yesterday.  So, I ran.  And actually felt pretty strong.  Then, I came home to face the ugly music.

Not as bad as it could have been.  Frustrating...because that number should be lower today.  But I am still down from a week ago, so my fail from yesterday was still a win.  But I'm not patting myself on the back too much.  

I need to stay focused.  No running will ever compensate for a bad diet.  

How did this week go for you?  Did you fall down like I did?  If so, stand back up TODAY...RIGHT NOW.  Turn the other direction and lets see where we can be by next Friday!  It's hard, it can be ugly, it's frustrating.  But what worthwhile goal isn't?  If it was easy, everyone would do it...

St. Paddys Race

Back on St. Patricks Day, I ran my very first virtual race.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  But I knew I needed to add some virtual races to get all my 14 races in this year.  This race was done by Fib, Fab, and Lean.  Basically, I signed up then printed my bib for race day.  

With the virtual races, typically you have a range of dates that you can complete your race in.  I had a 3 mile run scheduled for the 17th, so I opted to make that my race day and do a little more to hit the 5k.  

The route I ran was one I had run before.  It started with a long incline of a hill.  But the second half was mostly all downhill.  I wasn't pushing myself, just wanted a comfortable run.  The weather was a bit overcast (as you can see from the picture above).  But I loved the route I ran, because as I turn and come down the hill toward the end of the run I get to see a view that is incredible!  There, in the distance is Mt. Timp and Utah Lake.  Each time I run and see this view, it makes me so grateful for where I live...for what my body can do!

I finished the race in 36:57 (11:48 min/mile pace).  Definitely not my fastest 5k, but I was pleased.  You see, I'm doing this to better myself.  And by getting out there and getting it done, I'm making the progress.

After the race I was mailed this awesome bling.  Normally, they send the bling out to arrive the week you are racing.  However, they had some quality issues with the original race medals and had to have them remade.  I just received my bling last week.

All in all, I was very impressed with Fit, Fab, and Lean's race.  I will be doing another race with them the end of May (only this time it will be a 1/2 marathon).  If you are looking for a virtual race, I suggest giving them a try!  They have a virtual race every single month.  The medals are GREAT quality, the race fees all go toward a charity.  It's a great cause if you're like me and like to run for bling!

(I was in no way sponsored by Fit, Fab, and Lean for this post.  Actually, they have no idea I'm even writing it.  I paid for my race entry, and all opinions are my own.)

Springing for Steps!

So all throughout March, I've been tracking my miles.  I wanted to focus on putting in the activity.  Yesterday was the last day of March, and I tracked my last #MarchingForMiles.

Can I just say, I was kind of impressed with myself, 57 miles in March.  If you look at the picture above, you'll notice my activity has double each and every month since January.  Not too shabby!

I have decided to continue tracking, and have made a little spreadsheet on Google Docs in case anyone wants to push themselves this month.  I will be referencing the sheet weekly, reminding people to track their activity.

You might be asking, what activity is acceptable to track?  ANY.  I did this last month, and some people tracked every step they took all month long and logged that.  Others tracked swimming and biking miles.  Some tracked only running or walking.

It is 100% up to you.  The key:  decide how many miles you'll go....then get to work!

While I think it would be awesome to double my mileage again this month...alas, my training does not have me doing that.  So based on what I'm scheduled to stick with for my training, I'm committing to 75 miles.

I would love for you to join with me!  Click HERE and it will take you to the spreadsheet.  You can put your initials...or your real name...or just your first name.

I promise, it will put a spring in your step.  Don't forget to use the hashtag #SpringingForSteps so I can cheer you all along!!!

Monday Marathon Training

I'm not going to lie.  This last week was difficult.  I was dealing with some plantar faciitis on Monday.  So I opted to make my shorter runs this week walks.  I felt confident that I was still getting in distance without pounding on my feet to aggravate the PF even more.

By Wednesday, I had a nasty head cold and all I wanted to do is lay in bed, doped up on Sudafed or Tylenol Cold.

So my training over the last week went like this:

• Monday I had a 2.56 mile walk.  No pain, just a simple and easy walk.
• Tuesday I also got in a quick walk, 2.09 miles.  
• Thursday, I opted to do another walk (1.67 miles) so that I didn't over do it with my PF and sickness for Saturday.
• Saturday was my long run day.  7 miles.

Total weekly mileage:  13.32 miles.

Now for the good, bad, and ugly.

By Saturday, I was excited for my run.  I was excited to feel my legs moving.  Only, I let my head get in the way.  The day was BEAUTIFUL!  I couldn't have asked for better weather.  The course was equally pretty...although the end had some up and down hills that I wasn't very fond of.  But the scenery was great.  But I just couldn't get into it.  At all!




You see, I made a huge mistake.  I started feeling sorry for myself.  This journey is hard.  Like extremely hard.  And if I'm being completely honest (which I always am on here...) Saturday, it SUCKED.  I spent the last 2.5 miles of my run crying.  At one point I even stopped running and called Jason in tears.  I wanted him to come pick me up and bring me to the car so I could just be done.  (He didn't.)  I cried to him about how hard this all is.  It's stupid.  I am frustrated.  I already lost all this weight once, and I was feeling very bitter about having to start basically at square one again.  He gave me a mini-pep talk and told me to finish strong.  I did not finish strong.  But I finished, and there is strength in that!

On my run, I started comparing myself and my current place to others.  I started wishing I was faster.  Wishing I could finish races in my "goal" times.  Wishing I hadn't spent the last ump-teen months eating cookies and ice cream.

Then I remembered a thought I read.
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.  The second next best time is now."
 --Chinese Proverb

How powerful.  How insightful.  Sure, it's always easy to say...'oh I wish I would have just started before....how much easier it would be now!'

But I can't dwell on that.  And neither can you!  This journey is constantly in progress.  There is no finish line.  But the best time to start working on yourself is now.  Because what you do today, determines what your tomorrow will look like.

Do not fall into the trap of comparison.  When I got home from my run Saturday, I had to have a few friends and my husband shake some sense in to me.  What I accomplished this week was fantastic, and what I accomplished this month has been double what I did last month.  (And February was double what I did in January.)  It is only myself that I should compare me to.

That is the only FAIR comparison.  That is the only comparison that matters.  So while I am not going to be joining the olympics anytime soon, or breaking any records with my pace...just know this.  I'm out there doing it.  And I hope you are too!  Because together, each day we do right puts us closer to the person we want to be!

Fitness Friday!

The weekend is upon us.  I have a lot I want to accomplish.  The hard part is actually DOING it.  

So yesterday, I called and seriously considered starting Weight Watchers again.

Jason's work has a killer deal they offer, so I was ready to jump on it ($17 for a monthly pass).

The only problem?  

I live in a franchise area, and we can't make it work.

I was frustrated.

But if I'm being honest, I was frustrated at myself.

You see, I know what I have to do.

I know what it takes.

I KNOW that I can't out-work at bad diet.

But there was something about the accountability of weighing in on THEIR scale.

It made me focus.

So.

Rather than forking out the 42/month it would cost me to sign up...

I'm going to use you as my WW scale.

I'm going to push through and make myself accountable to each of you.

I'm going to remember that each week, I've committed to weighing in here...so hopefully that will make me more mindful of what I put in my mouth.

So here I will track again, each and every week.

I've got to push through this.

I'm not loving where I'm at currently, and I need the accountability.

(The embarrassingly real accountability...)

No matter where you are on your journey...let's travel this together.

It makes it so much easier when you can be lifted up by others in the hard times.

You can do this, WE can do this!

(If I was techy enough to know how to do a blog link up, I would...sorry!)

A week from today, I don't want to see this number again.

(have I mentioned how badly I hate that the scale fluctuates!?)

Truthfully...I don't EVER plan to see this number again...

Document.

So here I am.
Ready to document the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between.

When I said I wanted 2014 to be MY YEAR, I was serious.  And since then, I've eaten a lot of cookies.  (Dang Girl Scouts)  And I've eaten a lot of ice cream (Dang Ben & Jerry's).

But, I've also been doing a lot of consistent movement.

So here I am to lay this all out for you.

I've been hesitant, because in the past when I've said I had a plan....I then have fallen off the wagon.  So I spent the last month (since I've been home from Disney) being consistent to make sure I was committed.

I am.

Now, that's not to say I don't have work to do in areas.  I do.  Especially my eating!  But I can only focus on so much at a time.

I've made it known that I want to do 14 races in 2014.  I've gotten a few of them done.  I have others I'm registered for.  But it's not enough for me to just want to finish them.  I want to TRAIN for them.  I want to cross the finish line knowing I was consistent in my runs, and my cross training.

So I made a goal sheet.  And I have it hanging in my kitchen.  And each week, I'm prepared to report my progress.  I think I'll make it my Monday posts.  I'll call them Marathon Monday Training.  I'll give you a full re-cap on the prior weeks training and food consumption.  I'll be honest and real.  I'll let you know what worked, and what didn't.

Why am I doing this?

Because I want a step by step documentation of my journey.  Some weeks are going to be stinky.  Others are going to rock.  But the key is to keep plugging along, and that is what I'm committed to do.  What races am I running?  You can follow those HERE.  (I've already got 3 completed.)

What schedule am I following?  One from Jeff Galloway...

I love it because he has me running a full 26 miles just a few weeks before my actual marathon.  That means that I was able to sign up for a marathon for a "training run."  I couldn't decide between 3 marathons, all within a few weeks of each other.  His training schedule allows me to complete 2 of them!

So quickly, I'm going to give you a re-cap of the last month.  Normally, my Monday re-caps will be more detailed.  But I didn't want to bore you with that many details all at once.

February 25th weight:  210.2  (it was ugly when I came home from Disney World.  Very ugly!)
That first week after coming home, I began logging miles.



These images are from Dailymile.com.  I am kind of anal and have a few places I'm tracking...for different reasons.  I always wear my Garmin watch on my runs.  I also track the course and pace on Nike+.  I like to earn the badges on there and see my pace improve.  But, I don't track my walks or my cross training on either of those.  I wanted those 2 to be for running only training.

I use RunMeter to track my walks, and sometimes my runs if I'm needing a little extra boost.  You see, RunMeter links to Twitter and Facebook and when a friend leaves a comment or a "like" for you, it reads it to you.  It's fun...but I don't use it publicly all the time because I don't want to be THAT person.

DailyMile is a place I can sync all the miles I log in the same place.  It allows me to run reports on just runs, or all activities.  It gives me my mile totals (days, weeks, or months).  It is also where I track the miles I'm putting on my new shoes.

So, long story is...you can find me logging in any of the above mentioned places. :)

Back to training...

Week 2, March 3 -- March 9th:



Week 3, March 10 -- March 16


Week 4, March 17 -- 23rd:

And that brings me to the current week.

The only training run I've missed was March 8th.  I opted to spend the day at the running store, buying new shoes.  

My weight, one month later is 205.1.  Not as good as I'd like...but I can't complain because my eating has not been in check AT ALL.

So over the next month, that is my focus.  To watch what I eat.  Because I don't want to be doing all this moving for nothing!  You can't out-exercise a bad diet...food is ALWAYS the way to lose weight. So more veggies, water, and lean protein.  (And less eating out, cookies, and sweets!)

Check back on Monday for this last weeks detailed report on my Marathon Training...

Princess Weekend Day 4, Half Marathon

Day 1 of my Princess Weekend is re-capped HERE.
Day 2 of my Princess Weekend is re-capped HERE.
Day 3 of my Princess Weekend is re-capped HERE.

Sunday morning meant it was time for the big race!  After running (okay, walking) the 10k the day before, I felt I knew a little about what to expect.

Nope.

As we got dropped off by the bus, I figured the walk to the start line would be about the same distance.

Nope again.

It felt we were walking and walking and walking.  I didn't track how far, but it was a decent distance! We wound down by the potties, through some trees.  Then they split off the corrals AA-?? went one way, we went another.

Finally we reached our corral, but we didn't have the extra time we had the day before.  We got into the corral basically as the AA corral was about to start.  Disney set up large TVs so we could see the start line and they had speakers announcing, trying to get us all excited.  In the 10k, I could see every corral...and even the start line.  For the half, it wasn't possible.  

The corral start times varied, but I would say it was an average of about 3 minutes.  Each time a corral would start, we would walk up into the next corral staging area.  Slowly, but surely we were getting close.  With each corral start, the Fairy God Mother would do her magical bibbity-boppity-boo and let off fireworks.  It was a fun way to start the race.

This is the shot I got right as our corral started, we were pretty much in the middle of the pack.

As we started, we stuck to a run/walk ration that was comfortable for all of us.  But soon, we just ditched that completely.  The first several miles were done on the highway.  At one point, we were running down a split highway.  As we ran down our side, across in the other direction we could see the first person running back...ready to finish.  

I wondered if anyone would notice me running like a mad woman across the grass to run behind her...she had to feel excited though, because everyone was cheering her on!  

As the course continued, we came up to the Magic Kingdom entrance.  Nothing looked familiar to me.  At all.

Even inside the Magic Kingdom, I couldn't tell where we were in the back areas.  That is, until we came on to Main Street.

I loved running this portion!  It felt so mystical and magical with the fog surrounding the castle!  There were lots of spectators lining the streets.  This was by far one of my favorite parts of the course.  I wish the whole course could have been ran in the parks.

We opted to take a quick potty break inside the park. 

I didn't go in, but I heard the bathroom was a yucky mess.

Thank you to the Disney park crew who has to go clean up that crap after we are done!

Gross!

We wound through Tomorrow Land and ended up behind the castle, ready to run through it.

This was the half way point.

Up until now, the course was crowded, but never bottlenecked.

Through the castle it got tight!

They had photographers snapping pictures, but you had to be on the left side of the castle as you were exiting to be in a picture.  Keep that in mind if that is important to you...

After we left Magic Kingdom, there was more running along the highway.  All of the roads are technically on Disney Property...they just take you from one park to another.  This is pretty much what most of the course looked like:

I had to snap a picture each time I saw one of the busses.

These busses were what shuttled those who were slower than the balloon ladies off the course.

Supposedly, they would pull up blocking off the road, and make everyone pile on.

Each bus we passed, we cheered.  We knew it meant we passed another pick-up.

Disney was cute and they had little "pick-me-up" signs all along the course.  

They made it a fun, sweaty, hard, humid party.

There were characters all along the course.

There was music playing!

The atmosphere was fantastic.

Mile 10 was a pretty big deal.

You see, after mile 10, the chances of being swept are very low.

(At least that is what we had in our minds.)

10 meant there was only 3.1 left...and who can't run a 5k?!

Little did we know that after 10 there was a nasty on ramp we had to run up and it had a strange tilt to it.  My knees were feeling it!  It was awkward and slanted and my least favorite point in the race.  It was also at this point we were able to look backwards on the course to see where we were in regards to those behind us.  It looked like the runners never ended.  

(Little did I know, a lot of them would be swept...)

The weather had been very cooperative until this point.  But it was starting to warm up, and get muggy.  I hate humidity.  It felt sticky when I breathed.  Ugh.

As we were trudging along, we came upon this girl:

It's hard to tell from the picture, but she is being led.

She's blind.

Did you read that last sentence?  

She is blind!

It was at that point that we all talked about how ANYONE can achieve what they desire if they put their heart into it.  I was in awe, inspired by her determination.

Also, in the back ground you see Epcot....that meant the finish line.  But clearly, it was still too far to get overly excited.

As we got into Epcot, the park had opened.  They had people holding off the crowds to let us run by.  Disney sure knows how to run a race!  As we ran through the buildings in Epcot, it got more and more muggy.  There was less breeze and honestly, I was just ready to be done!

But never, at any point along the race did it cross my mind that we wouldn't finish.

When we talked about doing this race together all those months earlier, the plan was always start the race together, and finish the race together.

No questions!

Had it come down to being swept, we were all perfectly fine being swept together.

But I knew it wouldn't come down to that!

This race wasn't about the race.

It wasn't about times.

This race was about friendship.

You see, friends are more important that PR's or medals.

And these girls that I spent the weekend with were my girls!  

I had spent the last year+ of my life, talking with them.  Sometimes crying to them.  We've gotten to know each others families, and pasts.  We have shared the triumphs of life, and the low parts that we'd rather forget.  These girls have been by my side as I struggled to finish nursing school...alone, in raising my kids...while Jason worked out of town.  They have literally lifted me up when I was at my low points.  They cheered me on when I was at my healthiest weight, but haven't blinked an eye after I gained a lot of it back.  They were there for me when I told them what a surprise Madison's pregnancy was.  They were there when I cried because I didn't want to be pregnant.  I have shared with them my honest feelings, some that I was too embarrassed to say out loud.  I've watched them send their own babies off to military, I've seen them get promotions they have worked so hard for and deserved.  I've seen them chauffeur around teenagers to football, rowing, shopping, and so much more.  I've heard about the incredible places they've visited, the difficult times they have over come, and I've become stronger after seeing their strength.

This race was NOT about a medal.

It was NOT about a PR.

This race was the moment we could all come and be together at the same time and celebrate our friendship.  We started as strangers, all those months ago, and crossed that finish line (with tears in our eyes) as friends.

Friends to the Finish!

See that is the amazing thing about races.  You grow and become someone you didn't know existed.  You laugh, you get annoyed, you cry.

But you finish.

Together.

Thank you Jenn, Windee, and Marcee.

Thank you for standing by me through the hard times we've each faced.

The finish line tasted beautiful because each of you were by my side!