Friday Funday

I really like the noon hour long water fitness class I've been taking on Fridays. The instructor is fun and it's a pretty nice group of regulars. I think I may be about half the average age of those folks but...who really cares, you know? 

One of my coworkers made a comment about how when she goes to swim her laps she sees all the "old people" there and it doesn't look like they are doing anything at all.To me, comments like those are just "exercising shaming" even though in my case, I know she was just trying to be funny. Here's the thing. At least people are out there doing it. It doesn't matter your age or your athletic ability. Water is very forgiving and it's a great work out if you put the effort into it. 

I happen to love being in the water whenever possible. I love swimming and splashing around in the pool but I'm not a lap swimmer. I blame it on the fact that I have terrible eye sight (like blind as a bat) and always wore glasses until high school. So I never was able to see well enough to do actual competitive swimming. But I still love to be in the water. This gives me a chance to. And I make it a great workout. 

I think it's very important for anyone trying to stay fit and active to find a combination of exercises that they enjoy and have fun while doing them. It reminds me of the episode of Friends when Phoebe wants to run with Rachel but when they go running Rachel is embarrassed by the way Pheebs runs. In the end, Phoebe convinces Rachel to just have fun and let loose and to not let what others think about her matter. Same thought applies here. Don't let others hold you back from doing what makes you happy. 

 

Weigh In Wednesday

Woo hoo - the bitch is on her way out so I'm seeing some movement on the scale! Yee haw!!!

Today I weighed in at 227.2! That's 27 pounds lost so far!

I'm really hoping that I will be at 220 lbs in two weeks. That is my super short term goal.I can do this!

Second Run Booked

This past weekend I was busy surfing through the bookmarked links of runs I want to do and I happened to see that one of the fun run 5ks, the Glo Run in Chicago, was open for registration and 40% off! I text my SIL and asked her if she wanted in because I was going to sign up regardless. She said sure why not...even if it's only two weeks prior to her wedding. Oh dear Lord please let her not sprain an ankle or something. I would never hear the end of it! ;-)

The run is on May 3rd and is a night race. The video promo looks fun and I figured, "hey, why not?!" It will keep me on track with my running schedule since I didn't have another race lined up right after the Shamrock Shuffle. Plus, it will just be a fun time with my sister and some friends that plan on running it too. I even found out one of my old coworkers up here in WI is going down with one of her friends to run it so now I'll have even more running buddies. Works for me. 

Just in case you feel like signing up in a city near you, here is the info:

Locations/Registration

Motivation Monday

Wow. After having a bit of a holiday lull after my 5k in November, I finally put in my first full week of exercising and training again. Damn it feels good to be a gangster. 

For my dose of motivation this week, I need to remember that this isn't a quick fix. K and I are revamping our entire lives. My heart is slightly broken over the fact that this year will be year 7 of trying to have a baby and we will most likely not accomplish that task. But in the end it will be ok because no matter what happens, I will have made myself into the best I possibly could. I'm doing this for me and for the rest of my life. I want to be happy about who I am and how I look. 

Having a raging bitch of a period also dampened my spirits a bit this week because I wasn't seeing the results of my hard work of diet and exercise on the scale. Which is completely stupid because I full well know the reasons for this. I may be fat but I'm still a former athlete. I know how this shit works. But it's funny that even with that knowledge, the gratification and exuberance that I feel when I see a lower number pop up is remarkable. So I will keep on keeping on. It will budge again soon, I know it.

Weather Vents

You know, I enjoy all things weather related from the science stand point. I had a major highlight about two weeks ago when the Weather Channel rolled up into my small WI town. I normally chat with a lot of the on air meteorologists via twitter or email. So when I heard that they were in town, I contacted the reporter and he told me to come on down and say hi. So I did. Which is awesome - even if it was a bunch of snow that we were experiencing right on the heels of the nasty polar vortex that saw us hitting -25 without windchills (-50 with). 

Since then we haven't warmed up at all. There is no letting up in the forecast either. In a couple of days we will be back to struggling to hit -5 as our high. 

It's times like this that I can't stop daydreaming about moving south so that my life doesn't feel like it's on hold during these bitter cold months. I hate dealing with the cold and ice and snow. I want to be able to come home and head out for a run. I know that there are some runners out there that are quite fine going for runs in 20-30*F. Yeah, I'm not there. I don't know if I ever will be either. Not to mention that I live a couple miles off of one of the state highways and our little country road doesn't get plowed much. It's hilly, there are open fields and a lake so the drifts get bad and ice forms all the time. I'm basically screwed for a nice running surface until maybe March. Wah wah wah.

So until then I'm stuck running on the track above the basketball courts at the Y. Better than nothing I know. 

Yeah, there was no real need or point for this post except to bitch about the weather. Unless you care to share how you are able to run outside in the winter...even if you are in Florida and you think cold is 50.

Almost to the weekend

I seriously hate AF. She is such a bitch. Today was day 1 of her raging bullshit. So all this week I have not seen any gratification on the scale. I better see a big old drop next week once she has hit the road. If not, I might start chucking Yankee candles.

We put our time in at the Y again tonight and tomorrow I think I shall do another water class. Saturday will be spent helping a friend move and doing some more work renovating. Sunday will be long run day I think. Long as in only a couple miles of me huffing and puffing and wanting to throw myself over the edge.

I really need to stay on track this weekend in the food department. All I want to do right now is stuff my face. I think AF is partly to blame for this surge in my desire to throw this diet into the trash and eat anything I can get my hands on.

I better go chug some water right now. 

Jumped into the Deep End

I totally jumped right in. It was actually pretty fun. I'm glad I did it. I do plan on going again this week. It was a nice change of pace to be in the water again. 

In honor of my fun time in the pool, I think I'll share a pin I just found. We did some of these same exercises tonight and they are relatively easy and low impact. It was an enjoyable new workout for me. Are you trying anything new for fitness so far this year?

The link to the full article can be found here in Alive's article from August 2013.

Tomorrow is Hump Day. Lord help me get through it, lol.

Motivation Monday

Mondays can be such a drag. I usually have no motivation for anything. And you know that Mondays are when all hell breaks loose and then you want to come home and just stuff your face and crash on the couch, binge watching dramas you saved on your dvr.

While my desk seems to continue to get buried under tasks that I can't seem to make any headway on, it was a fun day because we had our monthly all building meeting and they always recognize some employees and do some giveaways. I walked away with both being recognized and winning the meeting attendance giveaway! I got a couple gift cards to our favorite grocery store and that made my day.

Since I was riding the happy train, I made sure to get us over to the Y for a workout. I busted out a nice 30 minute run and felt good about it. I am aiming to try out the deep water water fitness class tomorrow. I can be very extroverted in life but yet I am always shy when trying out classes of any kind. I just have to jump into the deep end. Bad pun intended. 

Anyway, I know this particular day of the week can be a drag but if you're having a case of the Mondays, keep trudging on!

For this week's dose of motivation I will leave you with these pins.

 

And my favorite one from my workout shirt tonight:

Run Hard

Run Fast

Run Happy

Just Run 

Sunday Can't Be Slackday

I have no idea what happened but I woke up feeling like I was hungover as all hell. Except I didn't drink. In fact, I've only had one drink this whole entire week. Shocker. But I didn't let that stop me. I made sure I got my workout in. By 11:45 am I had already finished and had a load of laundry done. Sweet! 

I am really hoping that I am going to wake up and have a good weigh in for my online challenge. I am one of the best when it comes to being a weekend wrecker when it comes to diets. 

I've found an 8k training program that I plan on starting this week. It comes from Hal Higdom's website and looks to be easily achievable for me by March 30th. 

Which means that the BoA Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago is 10 weeks from today.

Which also means that 10 weeks from right now, I'll probably be wanting to die of exhaustion. ;-) 

10 weeks from now I will have graduated to 8k runs. I can do this! I have to do this!

Here is the training program in case you are looking for something similar:

Hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep on trucking!

Weigh in Wednesday

Man, I was so damn close to seeing the second digit of my scale say something new today. Something I haven't seen in probably a good two to three years. 

I was at 230.0. 

On the friggin dot.

Bastard. 

But - it is still progress! I will take it. I did in fact get 30 minutes of shoveling heavy, blowing snow in last night for my exercise. Some of our drifts were up over two feet...even if our actual snowfall was only 7 inches. Gotta love blowing and drifting in WI, huh? At least it got my workout in for the day. 

I need a good kick in the ass to get my true workout in. I have to promise myself that tomorrow I will do it. An hour's workout won't kill me. Especially since after work on Friday I am meeting up with some girlfriends from my last job and we're going to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Giant margaritas and chips and salsa will be had. I need to earn those calories ahead of time! ;-) 

 

Motivation Monday

Hello! Hope you are all doing well!

It's scheduled to snow a significant amount here tomorrow so I have a feeling my exercise is going to be snow related. 

I am doing a group weight loss challenge with one of the message boards I frequent and I've lost 2.4 pounds this week. I was up a couple from the week before so I'm still at net zero, even if according to the challenge I'm down overall. I am diligently tracking my calories with My Fitness Pal and I think that is helping me a lot. I'm even making sure to track it on the weekends - which is something I haven't done in the past. My weekends are my downfall usually. 

I wish you all a wonderful week! Here are some motivational "pins" I've come across lately. It may be cliche but these types of sayings have always helped me to stay positive. 

 

Shamrock Shuffle On

I hit submit! I am officially signed up for my first 8k! As soon as I completed the registration the ball of anxiety came back. That stupid anxiety that I had before my first 5k last year. I can do this! I know I can. 

I just hope I am not dead last. That would suck.

When I posted on FB that I was signed up, my SIL chimed in with her well wishes...and then 20 minutes later she was posting that she signed up and was going to run it with me. Ok, on one hand, I'm so happy to have another race experience to do with her. I know she is in a little bit of a slump workout wise and so I am grateful to have a buddy in this. On the other hand, I'm slightly bummed that I am not going to run this one on my own. I think she also feels slightly guilty about ditching me in the Ugly Sweater Run in November but I was honestly ok running on my own. 

I'm not a fast runner. I am not a good runner either. She can run laps around me. And she can talk while running. That's something that I haven't mastered other than, "gaaah, want run slow(gasp)er in min? hhhuu?" And she's great about taking it at my pace. I just get self-conscious. I don't like feeling like I hold anyone back. I will be fighting to keep on pace with the allotted time for the race - which is far from an elite pace. She's a great motivator though and I love her to death so in the end I know it will be fine. I think I fear disappointing or frustrating her and that is stupid because we're very close. So I need to just shut the hell up and realize that I'm only causing myself needless stress ;-)

See, I just needed to talk it out. 

Excuse me while I go hyperventilate.

Tomorrow = 1st 2014 Sign up Day!

Eeek! Tomorrow is the Big Day - it's sign up day for the BoA Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 8k!It's  first race of 2014 that I will run and it's also the longest race I will have run to date!! At just a teensy-tiny shade under 5 miles, I have some serious training to do!

This bitter cold isn't helping the motivation much either. Today our high was somewhere around -13 with wind chills at -50. It was horrible. I've never experienced such cold (that I can remember). I don't even want to go into the basement to use the elliptical right now either because it's cold down there. Can't it be warm already?? I want to actually run outside. I swear when we finally get some random 35 degree day I might be crazy enough to head out for one. I know there are people that run in this all the time but I'm still a newbie. I have my training wheels still on ;-) If anything, I think I will start on Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred tomorrow. I didn't complete it last time around but I did see results, no doubt about it.

I know that the Shamrock sells out so I hope that I don't run into any issues tomorrow when signing up...wish me luck!

Happy New Year!

Hello 2014!!!

I am happy to report that even though I indulged a bit (ok, I was plowed) last night, I am not hungover and looking forward to a fabulous year ahead. 

Naturally this is my weight related resolutions post. You wouldn't expect anything less today now would you? Please help keep me accountable! I want to be looking back at this post in 364 days and thinking, "Damn, you did good."

I am setting the bar high this year for all my resolutions - not just the health related ones. I am dubbing 2014 "The Year of Personal Health, Happiness, and Commitment."

1) Be 50 lbs lighter. That is a tad over double my loss for 2013. It's less than a pound a week. It is a big number to shoot for. I'm nervous but I know it needs to happen.

2) Run at least 3 races: at least one 5k, one 8k, and one 10k.

3) Fit into a size 14 in time for wedding season. My SIL's wedding is in mid-May and my step-sister's in mid-June. I am in both weddings: co-Matron of Honor for SIL and reader for stepsis. I want to look half decent in pictures.

4) Continue to eat and drink sensibly. Keep up on the great job I've been doing of staying hydrated with plenty of water. I need to continue working on portion control. Consumption of carbs and sweets needs to be lessened.

5) Lower my BMI. It has to be under a specific number in order to do IVF at my clinic instead of a hospital. Each clinic is different and some don't have restrictions but I would like to be at a BMI of 34 by the time we do IVF. That still leaves me in the obese category but it would be a major improvement from where I sit at 40.1.

6) Lower my WHR (Waist-to-Hip Ratio). This is important to me because of the strongly linked fertility implications. The optimal ratio is 0.7 for females. Right now I am at .99. Not good at all. Any improvement is good. I don't think I want to set a goal number for this year but just say that getting to .7 is the end goal. For more about this see: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist%E2%80%93hip_ratio" target="_blank">Wikipedia's WHR page.</a>

7) Be good to this blog. I don't want this to become a neglected blog. I want to continue to be honest about where I am  - good or bad progress. I hope that there is someone out there that can find themselves relating to where I am, or have been, or where I am going and wants to continue reading my shenanigans. I will continue to strive for total transparency. It's hard. Very, very, very hard to show all the "bad" in an open forum like this. Nobody wants to share their embarrassing facts and "ugly" pictures. But if I can do this, maybe I can help not only myself but someone else.

Well, that's of them. Can you believe those are only my health related ones??? Well, here we go 2014!