Let's Do This!

Tonight was my last run before Saturday. I ran 3 miles in 35:51. I'm not as happy with my time as I'd like to be, but I couldn't be happier about the distance considering only 5 and a half weeks ago, I couldn't even run a quarter mile. I'm convinced that running with people will motivate me and increase my speed. Right? Please tell me I'm right. Two of the people running with me run 10 minute miles or better, and another girl has 6-foot long legs, so her strides are twice as long as mine (yes, I'm talking about you, Megan) so I'm really going to have to pick it up if I don't want to be left in their dust. I have plans to go to the gym two more times this week, but I'll be taking it easy other than that. Wish me luck!

Well, hello sore muscles...

...nice to see you again! I went back to the gym last night for the first time in a week. I had a lot going on at home that needed my attention more than my training schedule did. I did run twice, though, so I didn't completely fall off the wagon. I have to say, I didn't realize how much I enjoyed waking up sore every morning! I truly missed it. I worked my butt off (and both of my sisters' :)) in hopes of having a difficult time walking today. :)

I had mentioned a couple of posts ago that I'm going to be running this Saturday and would like some people to join me. I'm happy to say that quite a few people have accepted the challenge. Yeah, right! Haha! I'm sure this will be more of a challenge for me than anyone else, but I'm going to take it head on. Anyway, we would like to begin the run at 7:30, so we're going to be meeting a little before that at the Starbucks across the street from Woodward at Friant and Fort Washington. Hope to see you all there!

My Very Own Jillian Michaels!!

This is Nikki, Ashley's sister. Today I came to Merced to visit with Ash and the boys. Little did I know, my "relaxing" visit ended with a trip to the gym! Thanks, Jillian!!....I mean, Ashley! While she wasn't as mean as Jillian, she did push both me and Stephanie to do the workout the way the trainer taught her. Which meant lots of squats, sit ups, push ups, weird knee bend things and so much sweating!! But she was a great movitator and didn't let me give up! My body may feel totally sore tomorrow, but I know that if I continue this with her I'll kiss her feet for the end results! :)

Wanna Run (or Walk) With Me?

Next Saturday, the 4th, is my 25th birthday. I'm having a hard time saying that, seriously. I'm almost 25? When the heck did that happen? Anyway. My schedule calls for a 5k race that day. Well, there's no way I'm going to waste my money on a race right now when my finishing time would be a humiliatingly high number. So, to celebrate the fact that at 25 I have the endurance and stamina of a 90-year-old woman with osteoporosis, I want to get together with some friends and run a leisurely 3.1 miles. I have one person committed to joining me so far (Thank you, Cindy!) and would like to add to our little twosome. So if you, or anyone you know, is interested, let me know. Even if I don't know you, I'd like to meet you! I'm thinking Woodward Park, but if anyone has any better ideas, feel free to share. Happy running!

I'm Gonna Pay For This Tomorrow...

Tonight I met my friend, Cindy, at her gym for a half-hour run. I was a little apprehensive because I have only run with her once before and she.kicked.my.butt! No, seriously. It was the first time I had run since high school and we ran almost three miles. Not to mention the fact that she's the friend I mentioned in my first post that runs halfs. But, I was excited to show her the progress I made and figured it would be good to have someone else there to motivate me since it was going to be another treadmill run. Blah! Wait, I told another runner friend I wouldn't complain about treadmill running anymore considering the alternative is running in 100 degree weather. So I take that "blah" back. Anyway, after all is said and run (you like that little pun, huh? :)) I'm happy with it. I did stop and walk for about 60 seconds, but despite the serious case of chub rub I have going on I'm feeling great! I am however meeting with the trainer at 9 in the morning, so I'm sure I'll be nice and sore half way through the leg curls, lunges, and calf workouts he'll undoubtedly have me doing. So, with that, goodnight and please pray that I'll still be able to walk after tomorrow morning!

A Trainer for Training?

My training schedule today called for strength training. And I'll be honest, when it comes to machines I'm pretty clueless. I pretty much just use any machine that looks easy enough and that I can easily mimic the drawing of the skinless muscle man on the side. I try to stick with specific areas each day, i.e. arms, legs, etc., but figured that since today I was doing only strength training I would just work them all. No problem with that, right? Well, apparently I'm totally wrong.

After about twenty minutes of wandering around the equipment and doing what I thought would work, a trainer walked up to me and said, "You seem to be kinda all over the place. Do you need some help?" Am I really that obvious?! Surprisingly enough, I wasn't at all embarrassed and being aimlessly rambling about my goals and how I've never been athletic and pretty much admitting that I didn't have a clue about what I was doing. He (how did I not get his name?) was amazing and patient and knew exactly what I need to do to get to where I want to be. Needless to say, he worked my butt off and I felt amazing! I'm meeting with him again on Friday, at which time I'm sure he'll hand me a list of his out-of-this-world prices that I'll never be able to afford and I'll have to admit that my cheapskate frugal husband won't go for it. (I love you babe, and your tight wallet!) But, I figure I'll just take everything that I can learn from him and go with it.

On my way towards the day care area he told me that if I was planning on doing any cardio before I left, the stair stepper would be best for me. I wasn't planning on it, but I just took that as, "I know your BMI and body fat percentage. Your fat butt needs to get on that stair stepper." So, I got to stepping.

Who Was it That Said She Couldn't Do This?

I know it's been a while since I updated. I already mentioned why on my other blog so I'll just give you all a quick breakdown. Super busy...hubby's been home...spending time with kiddos...and working my butt off! My training is going great. I'm enjoying working out and still haven't missed a single day. Yay me!

I was scheduled to run two miles on Saturday and had a goal of completing it in 25 minutes. And I did it...

...with .32 seconds to spare! Haha!

My hubby left for Pennsylvania this morning for a week-and-a-half so we wanted to take the kiddos out for dinner last night. I had planned on pushing my training back one day and taking my rest day yesterday instead of Friday. But, God had other plans for me. He knew I needed motivation, so what did he throw my way? Stress! Funny how he works sometimes. But, I'm more than proud of myself because when I got some kinda disappointing news, instead of sitting down with a carton of Phish Food I actually wanted to run. I'm so happy about that! After running my first mile, I decided to just keep going because my mind was still running to much to just go home and try to relax. After I completed my second mile, here's what my stopwatch said...

What?! I just shaved 56 seconds off of my two-mile run!

Even more than that, I had checked my time after my first mile, just under 12-and-a-half minutes. Which means my second mile was just over 11-and-a-half minutes. Are you kidding me?! What the heck am I doing running slower than that? No more 12-and-a-half minute miles for this runner (Can I call myself that yet?)! So, if you happen to see me running down the street at a slower pace than you deem necessary feel free to yell out any form of motivation you think will help. Seriously. 

During my cool down, I realized that there's no reason for me to stress. God is in complete control and will meet all of our needs. I wait quietly before God for my victory comes from Him.He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62: 1-2 NLT) I was thanking God for always remaining faithful and got the sudden urge to sing some old worship songs. I'm sure my neighbors thought I looked like an idiot walking the streets at 10:00 at night, singing at the top of my lungs. But, it felt good so I don't care what they think. :)

Let's Up the Ante

Lately I feel like I need more. Remember when I mentioned my ADD when it comes to exercising? I get bored doing the same things over and over. So, we got a 30-day pass to a local gym. They have an amazing child care center that will only cost $15 per month so that I don't have to rely on family to watch the boys for me. FYI: I have a very difficult time asking people to watch my boys for me. I don't know why, I just feel like I'm being a burden. Anyway, today was my first day and so far, so good. The boys did amazing and could care less that I left them in the child care area, all they cared about was the fact that there were about a hundred toys that they had never seen before, and only about five kiddos, including them, to go around! Heaven! Today was my half-hour run (yeah, it's now 30 minutes, instead of 25!) but I didn't want to just run, so I did some strength-training. Which I loved! So much better than standing in front of my TV and screaming at Jillian in my head (and not out loud) so that people won't think I'm crazy. Then, I moved onto my run. This was my first time ever running on a treadmill. It was not easy hard! It's going to take some getting used to, but I know that if I hang in there, I'll get used to it. :)

Oh, and this is my third week of training! Yeah for committing to, and sticking to (that's the big part!), getting healthy!

Yardwork = Major Calorie Burn!

I am not going to lie. I do not have a green thumb. What's the opposite of a green thumb? Because that's what I have. I killed a cactus one time. Yes, a cactus. For this reason, I have never done any type of yardwork beyond pulling weeds. Because those are supposed to die anyway, right? Well, today I decided to take my boredom out on our seriously overgrown backyard which probably wasn't a great idea since the hubby was bite by this disgusting creature in the backyard last night.

Surprisingly enough, I actually kinda enjoyed myself. And, according to this calories-burned calculator, I burned around 313 calories. Not bad for only 45 minutes of trimming bushes! Another plus: In the process of my over-zealous bush-killing (let's be honest here!) I found a baseball, a bowling ball, a batman, a screwdriver, and a drumstick. I am so not joking, I couldn't make that stuff up if I wanted to.

I even got a nice little blister to commemorate all of my hard work.

Here's what my backyard looks like now. Please ignore the embarrassing number of toys. I had to keep the boys occupied somehow! I know that I am not a professional by any means. And that that bush in the middle looks a little ridiculous. But, see all of those clippings on the ground? Now imagine those sticking out everywhere. Yeah, that's right, my version is better. And if we're being completely honest here, I'm going to admit that I did all of that work with my kitchen shears. In my pajamas. At 2:00 in the afternoon.

Now, if only I could convince my neighbors behind us to prune theirs a little.

Why Didn't I Do This Earlier?!

This is my amazingly supportive hubby. He's pretty much amazing because just five weeks ago he had knee surgery and he's been keeping up with me when we run together. I decided not to edit this picture at all because we just came back from a twenty-five minute run. Yes, run. Notice there's no /walk after the word run? That's because there was no walking! We ran two miles in twenty-five minutes. Which means that in a very short eleven day period I have decreased my mile time by two-and-a-half minutes! (I feel like there's a lot of hyphens in this post. Yeah?) Anyway, I'm super excited and proud of those rosy cheeks and shiny forehead up there...I worked stinkin' hard for them!

Hold it Right There!

Yesterday was my long run for the week, another three miles. And my body had finally had it and completely quit on me. I did two miles and had to stop. I know exactly why, too. Ready to take a peak into my analytical mind?

a) I'm tired. Beyond tired. CJ has had croup since Friday and I've been up with him since Sunday night. I took him to the doctor, but even the steroids they gave him aren't helping.

b) I also have whatever virus caused CJ's croup. I've been trying to push through it and have been taking Vitamin C twice a day, but my body is screaming at me to rest.

c) It was my very first running day without a partner. And I don't have an iPod, either. Can anyone tell me why the heck I'm sitting in front of $2,400 worth of Apple equipment and I still don't own a stinkin' $200 iPod? Note to self: Competition is a great motivator!

d) I haven't taken a single rest day. Yesterday was my ninth day in a row on this training schedule. It calls for two rest days a week, but I haven't taken them. This may not be a difficult task for some people, but for someone who has spent the last 4 years in the same way I have, it just isn't possible! I now know that I need my rest days.

e) And finally, I consumed maybe 500 calories yesterday, if I'm lucky. There's that nasty habit rearing it's ugly head again.

Fridays and Sundays are my rest days, but I'm going to relax today and just move my training up one day in hopes of undoing all of the damage I've done. And, I'm going to eat three healthy meals today. I knew something like this would happen, but my stubborn will told me otherwise.

Week 1

Sorry for the lack of pictures lately, I'll fix that soon. I promise. Yesterday completed my first week of training and I couldn't be happier with myself. I ate healthy, ran 8.65 miles, used my elliptical, and faced off against Jillian Michaels (the DVD version). Even better, I started running (if you can even call it that!) a mile in about 15 minutes. I'm telling you, it was pathetic! And yesterday I ran a mile-and-a-half in 19 minutes, which is a 12 minute, 45 second mile. Not bad in just a few days. I'm going into the second week with just as much motivation, if not more, as I started with and am actually looking forward to running! Go figure. :)