8 Week Countdown- day 3

Did good the last two days on my ww points. =)
1 Hour Slim in 6 workout- it was intense, bet I'll be sore tomorrow!
2 more days until weigh in.... yikes!

Personal Responsibility and Accountability.... Uhhgggg!

Part of the WW journey is logging everything that goes into your mouth... Yuck! Nothing like a good, hard look at reality. I was traveling today and went WAY over in my points. Dumb fast food, it is evil. Subway is my friend. However, I did find out that you can ask for nutritional info and every place is really good about giving you a chart of info. Sadly, I now have Panda Express' (or Panda Oppress as Emma refers to it) menu memorized in WW points.

I had way too much time to think as I was making my way down the road and was just struck by how similar something like logging ww points and food intake is to so many choices in our lives. It is hard to realize the impact of a single choice that we make has. We make multiple choices throughout the day, each and every day and yet how aware are we of the direction that each choice we make will have? So many times we may think "Well, this isn't really the best choice but I will do better next time" or how many times do we get caught in the trap of just not caring. When in fact most times we really do care but it can just be overwhelming. There is something to be said about having goals and then being accountable. It really is near impossible to reach a goal if we do hold ourselves accountable and measure where we are and where we want to be on a regular basis.

So today, I am starting off the day knowing the bad choices that I made yesterday and will try to remember that not only did I not feel good physically but they did not take me in the direction to meet my long term goal. It reminds me of the same message that I have heard two different ways recently. First by Manda from her college health/fitness class said, "I learned an important lesson from physical education, everyone who wants a healthy life must give up bad habits. More then often we go back to the bad habit before we give it up completely, but don't get discouraged just keep pushing forward. Something is better then nothing". Second, from our Stake President saying that change is a very difficult thing and conversion is a long, growing process. He said that the statistics are extremely high that someone will turn back to old habits before they can completely abandon them and become more converted. It is all a growing process. What a great message. Thank goodness for each new day and brand new starts!

8 Week Countdown

DAY 1
Turbo Kick Class- not pretty
2 miles on treadmill- running was hard today but did my miles
Signed up for online WW to keep me accountable in the food dept

Turbo Kick My Rear

I decided to up the training and include a few classes each week along with the running in hopes of increasing my strength and my chances of hitting 40 by 40. So I go to this class called "Turbo Kick" in which the cute old lady in the pink shirt who had to be much older than my mother in law kicked my rear (Okay... so the picture isn't really her but she could probably do that and she just happens to be wearing pink. Maybe I should wear pink?). Apparently it helps if you know your left from your right and can move front and back while moving your arms and feet at the same time. Way too advanced for me!! Not only do I have no coordination but I am SUCH a people watcher, it's pathetic. I sat there amazed at the girl across the room who could not only do every move flawlessly as if she were actually calling out the moves but she could chew gum at the same time! Where can I get some of that kind of coordination, really? The rest of the time I kept my eye on the cute older lady in front of me trying to make sure to hide so that no one else could see me. It was useless though since I was the only one going the opposite direction of the rest of the class. So, I humiliated myself through it and ran out as fast as I could (which we all know isn't very fast!) and thought about how much I love that treadmill and am grateful for left, right, left, right, left, right....

40 by 40!!!!!!

In addition to running my marathon, I am losing 40 lbs by my 40th birthday! That is 20 weeks away, which is only 2lbs a week average. The training should help, along with healthier food choices and sleep. On that note... Goodnight, I have a 5:45 am class.

9 Week Countdown- Wenatchee

Day One
1 1/2 mile- didn't have much time but had to squeeze in a run.

Day Two
3 miles- It was hard to get my breathing under control at first but was okay after about 10 minutes. Felt really strong the last 1 1/2 miles, very happy to get my running partner back, even if it is temporary. She even asked me to slow down a couple of times! WOOT!! I led a good portion of the way, but as always the little stinker kicked my tail at the end. We are kicking into high gear for training this week! The countdown begins for the half. Two months later we are heading to the full marathon!

Day Three
Manda was sick so took all the boys along to run instead. It was fun running with the boys, even Sammy went and enjoyed it. I am going to have to take him along with us more often. It was freezing cold because I waited too long and it got dark and cold. But no excuses... went anyway. Breathing was a little more painful due to the cold but I HAD to get my run in. Next week will be really hard to get my runs in since I will be traveling so much but again... no excuses!

Training Without My Regular Partner =(

It has been a long month without my running partner. She has been doing her runs in Texas, enjoying the mild warmth and humidity (which she loves) that January offers. I have been running in the cold, dark basement on my treadmill. But I will still take that over the humidity! =)
Last week we had a couple of BEAUTIFUL days which were really odd for January but who am I to question such a gift? So Emma and I hit the trail with her scooter in hand. It was so nice after doing nothing but runs on the treadmill. Em's asked if we could go all the way to the bridge. I was a little concerned since that was about a 3 mile run round trip, so I asked if she was sure she wanted to go that far? She insisted that is what she really wanted to do, so we headed out. It was the best run that I have had for months. My breathing pattern was good, my legs were strong and the weather was perfect! It felt so good. We got 1 1/2 miles out and got to the bridge and I started to turn around. Emma asked if we could sit on the bench for a few minutes and have a little picnic (eating her granola bar she stashed in her pocket). I really didn't want to because I was in a great pattern but told myself that I needed to make this moment about her and enjoy some time and the weather with my baby. So, I cuddled up next to her on the bench and took in some of the scenery.
After a chunk of time passed I told her we needed to start heading back to the car. She informed me that her legs were just too tired and she didn't think she could do it. Frustration... I knew this would happen! We didn't have much choice since the car was 1 1/2 miles away! So, I talked her into giving it a try (explained that she had no choice except for being left on the trail- motivation!)and asked her to ride her scooter to the next bench and we could sit and rest there. With just a small amount of whining (only all the way to the next bench) she made it. Once again, just when I was feeling like I was in a good pattern it was time to stop. LOL. But I had promised so I sat down on the bench with her. She quickly noticed that someone had used chalk on the trail and made a hop-scotch. Em's instantly jumped up and bounced all over that hop-scotch! It was so amazing to me that her legs were strong enough to enjoy such a thing. =) After watching her for several minutes, I suggested we start heading down the trail again. The poor little dear, all of sudden she lost all of her strength and had to sit down again! Shocking, huh?

After several more rounds of hopscotch and the sun getting ready to go down I convinced her to make the last stretch to the car. We eventually made it back to the car. It was not the best run but it was time well spent with my littlest angel who needs time on the trail with her mom too. It did make me miss Manda that much more and look forward to running with her later in the Spring. It's days like that when I just have to get on my knees and thank our Father for the blessings and the beauty in my life.