I think I hit that point... I actually ENJOY running!

Stepping on the scale this morning felt great.  It read 175.4…. 10.4lbs down from Christmas Day!  It felt great to finally break that 10lb barrier!  Only 15-20lbs to go!  I’d be very happy at 160 but would really like to get to 155lbs.

I also took my measurements today, my stomach measured at 29” and my hips at 43.25”.  I am hoping in a week and a half when my trainer gets back from vacation… that my stats are even a bit lower!  I also am getting my body fat checked on 2/25.

I had a great weekend which kicked off with working at the Y on Friday night… Saturday I cleaned my house, met my cousin Katy for lunch at Grapevine Café and and a great time catching up with her!  Then I headed down to Neenah and had plans for the evening to do hibachi for dinner & see a Skyline Comedy café show.  It was a great time!

Today I had a surprise birthday party to go to around lunch time, and was able to hang out with some of my friends J  My dad came over and attempted to fix my broken garage door opener, unfortunately, we think the motor might be shot L  After dad and Jeremy left, I headed out for my 6 mile run that I avoided yesterday.  It was sunny but chilly and the sidewalks were still super icy!  PEOPLE… learn to shovel and salt!  I ran mostly on roads, against traffic… and some drivers are so RUDE!

Here’s my route and stats for the day:

I chose a super tough route today which basically takes me consistently uphill for the first 2 ½ mile with a bit of downhill, but then right back up.  Mile two was particularly tough and I ended up having to walk a bit up the hill because it was icy and there was quite a bit of traffic.  Mile 4-5-6 was flatter and I pushed myself a bit more even though my legs were frozen.  All in all a good run after a week of being sick J  Looking forward to the next few weeks… taper to 4 next week then back up to 6 before mileage starts climbing in March & April!!

I also realized that if I continue to run at the pace I ran today (6 miles in 66 minutes)… I could finish the Bellin come June with my fastest time in my 6 years of running the race!

Have a great week!

 

40 days

As many of you saw on Facebook, I chose what to do for Lent this year.

I put a lot of thought into different things I could do or give up for 40 days.  And I think my choice satisfies both "doing" and "giving up".  This year, I have chosen to give up all non-essential spending.  I really started looking hard at my budget and my checkbook (becuase I use my debit card for basically everything), and realized how quickly I spend a few dollars here and there... places where it's really not needed.

Some of the ways to quit non-essential spending:

• No shopping for clothing, books, movies, etc.
• No downloading any new itunes music.
• No stopping for "fast food" when I have plenty of food I can eat and make at home.  
• This will also help with my goal for 2013 to make a new recipe each week.
•  It will also reduce the amount of food I throw away each week.
•  If I have plans with friends to meet for dinner, I will continue with those plans as I feel that time with friends is important and special!
•  No buying sodas or snacks out of the vending machine at work.
• Etc.

At the end of Lent, I plan to make a donation to the charity of my choice.  I am still thinking of which one I would like to do.  Likely, it will be something to do with animals - so either Happily Ever After or the Bay Area Humane Society.  

In keeping with what most people do, I did a bit of shopping online tonight.  I purchased a movie I have been wanting for a few weeks, because it went on sale (Pitch Perfect) and I bought my new running shoes.  While I could have justified this as an essential purchase in a few weeks, I bought them now and I won't be tempted to cheat with those (and possibly other things) at a later date.

Here are my new kicks...

Aren't they purddy!??!  I am a huge fan of the Asics Gel Kayano line.  I have 3 pairs of the 17's... two of which have met their expiration date and one pair that I have been wearing to run outdoors (so I feel bad wearing them at the gym).  These newbies will be worn strictly indoors until road conditions clear in spring!  These are the new Gel Kayano 19's.  I skipped buying the 18's line after I had heard many poor reviews about them.  I am hoping the 19's fit like a glove!  I will let you know how I like them in a few weeks.

Even though I have been fighting a nasty head cold since Sunday... and taking a rest day yesterday... I managed to get to the gym and run 3.1 miles on the treadmill tonight in 32:02!  I really pushed myself and now I'm off to bed!

Needing a weekend after my weekend!

I had an incredibly busy weekend... dinner plans Friday night, yummy Friday Fish @ Brett Favre's steakhouse!

Saturday I kicked off my day with a 5 mile run outside (skipped the Prevea training run because it was 3 degrees) and went around 10 when it warmed up to about 10 degrees!  I had to run slower and walk a few times because of snow and ice patches... but I finished in about 58 minutes.  Clearly it was cold out... this is what my legs looked like, post run:

It literally HURT to shower.

After I ran, I went up to the campground with my parents and let the dogs run around in the snow... they had a great time :)  Colby found something he liked and stuck his whole head in the snowbank!

Once I was back from Door County, I headed down to Fond du Lac for dinner & snow tubing with my college friends... we had a BLAST snow tubing at Sunburst Hill in Kewaskum.  I wish I could hang out with these people all the time, and not just a few times a year!

On Sunday I did a Spinathon at the Y... you can see me in the blue tank top here (front row):

It was the hardest spin class I have ever done in my life... seriously, I was dripping sweat!  After class it was off to celebrate the 6th and 4th birthday's of these cutie-patooties:

I also started getting sick on Sunday, which as carried over today and I feel it getting worse :(  However, that isn't stopping me from making a new meal tonight... this chicken recipe and steamed yukon gold potatoes.  YUM!  I'm now off to freeze my bootie off walking Colby... and if I somehow muster up the energy, I will make my way to the gym to run 3 miles.  I doubt that's happening, but we will see!

Here's to a quick week as I have lots of fun and exciting plans again next weekend!

So the scale actually DOES move!!

I was beginning to think that the scale would be stuck on 178 forever... but low and behold, it moved to 177 today!  It's only a pound, but after the last 3 weeks... I'll take it!  I am just hoping this downward trend continues and I'm not stuck at 177 for the next 3 weeks.

Life... it gets busy!  Here's a little of what's been going on...

Last Friday I did a 3 mile run at the gym.

Saturday my dad and I went snowshoeing, we brought Colby along.  It was so much fun... and so rare that I get to hang out with just my dad!  We did 2 miles through my great uncle's woods... Colby was pretty tired & had a frozen body by the end :)

Saturday night I went out to Luxemburg and had dinner with a few of my cousins... after a yummy dinner it was game time :)  We got a little creative with our game pieces!

Sunday I did 5 1/2 miles on the treadmill at the gym.  I am sick of it being cold and snowing... I am ready for spring and nice outdoor running weather!

Monday I did Spin with Lisa :)

Tuesday I ran 3 1/2 miles on the treadmill at the gym.

Today... I baked :)  It's rest day!

I've been waiting to make this recipe from Emily Bites... Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Singles.  I tried a 1/2 of one, super yummy and planning for this to be my breakfast the next few mornings.  If you're following weight watchers they are only 3 points plus each! :)

 Since I'm terrible at having an open bag of chocolate chips in my house... I also made a batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies.  I made a few, and then froze the rest of the dough for another day :)  I used good 'ole Betty Crocker for that recipe! :)

I've got a busy few days coming up... hopefully I can get a few more workouts in this week... I have lots of fun things happening this weekend :)

A lil update

The story of my life right now is FRUSTRATION STATION.  I weighed in yet another week and didn't lose ANYTHING.  Imagine how frustrating it is to be super strict with what you eat... no junk food at ALL, and working out, minimum 30 minutes a day... 6 days a week for 5 straight weeks, and NOTHING.  The scale doesn't budge an ounce.

So another week and I'm sitting at 178.  My trainer took my waist & hip measurements again on Tuesday... I stayed the same in my waist & lost 1/4inch in my hips... since 12/31.  I really thought I'd see better results as pants that I haven't worn in a few months are fitting & able to be worn again.  She did say that measuring me at the end of the day after I've eaten a few meals/snacks, would be different than morning results.  I guess I can't expect miracles in 5 weeks.

I posted on Facebook for recommendations about seeing a nutritionist.  I got a few recommendations from friends who offered me their materials before seeking one out on my own.  I read through some of the stuff I got today... and I am going to try some of the meal suggestions/and try and make them fit with Weight Watchers.  There are a few things I'd like to try before giving up on WW all together...

1) cutting out *most* carbs 
2) no processed foods
3) adding a bit more dairy back into my diet (I was having digestive issues, so I cut it out and it's been such a huge help to my system).  If I add more back in, it will be yogurt, cottage cheese & a glass of milk on occasion. 
4) going back to having protein shakes for breakfast instead of oatmeal
5) completely cutting out diet soda (I drink maybe 4-5 per week... diet coke or diet root beer)

If those options don't work, I am definitely going to see a dietician/nutritionist. 

Some of the things my trainer has recommended are:
1) Workout in the morning before I eat anything
2) Cut back my spinning and switch to all running
3) Try running outside as much as possible... you get better calorie burn outside than on the treadmill.  With days like today, it's kind of hard to run outside!

Ok, this picture was from Sunday's snowstorm... but you get the idea ;)

Here was my car after being at work for 9 hours today!

I really enjoy my two spin classes a week... if I gave one up, it'd probably be the weekday class.  I am really loving going to class on Sundays.  My running is going great, and I finally feel confident in my ability to just pick up and go for a run... here's a few pictures post-run from Monday...

That's sweat glistening on my face :)

$150 Running Shoes practically destroyed... will no longer be worn inside, I guess it's time to invest in a new "indoor" pair!

Monday's run was interesting & fun.  I knew I wanted to run outside on Monday so I rescheduled my personal training from Monday to Tuesday.  I got home from work & changed... and Colby knew I was headed out, so I decided to take him with me.  Well the fun with Colby lasted 1.6 miles, he had to be taken home because it was just too hard to jump puddles and run around sidewalks that didn't get cleared.  He had fun and was tired though.  Once I dropped him off, then I headed back out for the last 1.5 miles by myself.  It was a slower run (because Colby stops a million times & there were some slippery spots), but I still averaged about 11:40 per mile.

And finally... an update on my 2013 goals.

1) My savings plan is working great... I have put the allotted amount of money away each Sunday... and as of this weekend coming up, I will have put away $21.  It's fun to start watching the money grow quickly!  I also did my taxes last weekend and plan to use that money to continue to pay things off... the thought of one day not having any types of loans would be great!  Only a few years and a few thousand left on those darn student loans!

2) Making a new recipe each week.  I guess you could say that I have stuck to this.  Some of them have been much more simplistic (like making individual pizzas with flat out bread or soup), but I am sticking with it.  I plan to create some new, more intensive recipes in the coming weeks!

I was NOT a fan of this soup mix...  my favorite gourmet cheddar broccoli.  I found it in the organic section at Festival.  It had almost NO flavor.  I added frozen broccoli florets as well and that just did not help.

 Have a great snowy night :)