I'm not very good at this blogging thing ... I never think I have anything interesting enough to say. But I'm not sure anyone is really reading this, so I'm just going to write about what's been going on lately. ;)
Mid-August I started working out with a "personal trainer". I put it in quotations, because while he is a personal trainer by trade and it does work us out, it's not what you would typically picture as a personal training relationship. That being said, he did give us some basic eating habits to change/abide by ... and basically he believes in the Paleo way of eating. For anyone who doesn't know, Paleo is also called the caveman diet, or hunter/gatherers diet. Basically they think you should eat the same way the cavemen did and that the reason why we get fat is because of processed foods/grains. Now I know this isn't really the whole concept, but I'm still learning myself. That being said, since I started this I have lost 7 lbs. Now, I know that's not a lot, but in the last week I've had at least a dozen people comment on my weight loss ... so apparently 7 lbs is enough that people are noticing. Also, because I'm not supposed to eat processed foods, including pasta, I've had to play with new recipes which I've really been enjoying. My husband doesn't really care about doing the Paleo thing, but he supports my decision. So basically, he'll eat what I'm eating, but only with me. Hahaha, so he's just maintaining, but he's been enjoying the recipes I've made. :)
So, I have 5 weeks until my half marathon ... my first one ever. Eek! I have not been training well either, but I love that the weather is turning more fall-like so I can run outside comfortably. Hopefully the weather change will entice me to run more and follow a schedule. I'm so nervous, but super excited as well. It's an international half marathon, where we cross into Canada and back ... so cool!
Okay ... I guess I am boring, because I have nothing else to write right now. But maybe I'll write sooner next time.
Cheers!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
The Crim
Okay, it's been quite. some. time. since I posted. Opps! I've been super busy with everything in life ... except for running. Shameful. BUT ... back in May I signed up to run the 10 mile race of the Crim! If you don't know, the Crim is a super popular race in Flint, Michigan (about an hour from where I live) and it's supposed to be one of the best races in the area. I'm not sure who qualifies it as one of the best races, but that's what I've heard. The Crim was on Saturday and while I did not finish in the time I hoped ... I finished.
One of my friends from college (who I haven't seen for 3 years!) facebooked me, when she realized that I have 'gotten into running', and suggested we run the Crim together. I'd heard about the race from a couple people and had been debating doing it. So when my long lost friend suggested it, I jumped at the opportunity. And let me say ... it was such a fun race! My friend and I both admitted to each other last week that we haven't really been training. So we agreed to embrace the fun aspect of it ... and it was the BEST idea!
The Crim is a route along a college area so we run by a lot of fraternities. Many of them were passing out beer, we saw Krisy Kremes, jello shots, donuts, toast and BACON ... it was hilarious. And soo much fun. Have I said that yet? ;) There were people singing ... a ton of other spectators, a bunch of homeowners had their sprinklers along the route for people to run through and cool off ... it was soo nice. I will definitely do it again ... and train so I can finish in a more reasonable time. Definitely suggest it to anyone and everyone!
Oh and side note ... the person who won the race was a Kenyan who ran in it in 46 minutes! I can't even fathom that ... the course has a decent amount of hills. 46 minutes! Outrageous.
I've started to embrace the Paleo diet. It's also called the hunter/gatherers diet. On basic terms you eat a of meat and veggies and limit your carbs and processed foods. I'm still learning it ... so definitely not an expert, but I'm enjoying and for the most part I think that I have more energy.
I'll keep you updated on my progress, but it stopped my 1 month plateau ... so that's exciting!
One of my friends from college (who I haven't seen for 3 years!) facebooked me, when she realized that I have 'gotten into running', and suggested we run the Crim together. I'd heard about the race from a couple people and had been debating doing it. So when my long lost friend suggested it, I jumped at the opportunity. And let me say ... it was such a fun race! My friend and I both admitted to each other last week that we haven't really been training. So we agreed to embrace the fun aspect of it ... and it was the BEST idea!
The Crim is a route along a college area so we run by a lot of fraternities. Many of them were passing out beer, we saw Krisy Kremes, jello shots, donuts, toast and BACON ... it was hilarious. And soo much fun. Have I said that yet? ;) There were people singing ... a ton of other spectators, a bunch of homeowners had their sprinklers along the route for people to run through and cool off ... it was soo nice. I will definitely do it again ... and train so I can finish in a more reasonable time. Definitely suggest it to anyone and everyone!
Oh and side note ... the person who won the race was a Kenyan who ran in it in 46 minutes! I can't even fathom that ... the course has a decent amount of hills. 46 minutes! Outrageous.
I've started to embrace the Paleo diet. It's also called the hunter/gatherers diet. On basic terms you eat a of meat and veggies and limit your carbs and processed foods. I'm still learning it ... so definitely not an expert, but I'm enjoying and for the most part I think that I have more energy.
I'll keep you updated on my progress, but it stopped my 1 month plateau ... so that's exciting!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Unofficial PR
The Color Run was in our area this weekend, so on Sunday I went with some friends and we had a blast! My best friend and I ran the entire thing ... well it was hard to run because there were 15,000 people, but we did run it. Oh and that's not a typo. FIFTEEN THOUSAND! Soooo many people! It was fun though. I did the one in Chicago and ended up not even running it because it was more fun to walk. But yesterday we decided we wanted to run. My best friend, Jaci, is running the Disney Princess Half with me in February and because she lives in Florida we've actually NEVER ran together, but we thought this could be a good training run with each other. We are perfect together! We pushed each other enough and motivated each other. We're at similar paces ... and we both felt we ran better together yesterday than we normally do. Always a bonus! Running with her made me want to join that running club even more now. We'll see ... I still need to talk myself into it. :)
Anyway, back to the Color Run, in case you don't know it's a 5k, but it's considered the "happiest 5k on earth". Because it's just for fun, there's no time chip, but I checked our time when we were getting started and then when we finished. I don't know why, but I didn't actually time us. BUT, we started around 8:31 and ended around 9:05. That is the fastest 5k I've ever done and I'm sooo bummed that I don't even have an unofficial actual time, but I'm still so happy! I need to run with Jaci all the time!
Anyway, back to the Color Run, in case you don't know it's a 5k, but it's considered the "happiest 5k on earth". Because it's just for fun, there's no time chip, but I checked our time when we were getting started and then when we finished. I don't know why, but I didn't actually time us. BUT, we started around 8:31 and ended around 9:05. That is the fastest 5k I've ever done and I'm sooo bummed that I don't even have an unofficial actual time, but I'm still so happy! I need to run with Jaci all the time!
After the race. They throw colored cornstarch while you run. Fun!
Well, I'm starting my week 3 of Hal Higdon again... but I'm excited about it again. Hopefully, I can keep increasing my confidence (and speed!).
I really don't have much else to say right now. Until next time ...
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Slow ...
I am a slow runner. And when I say I'm a slow runner ... I mean you could probably walk at the pace I'm running. I could probably walk at the pace I'm running. It's super frustrating, because I just don't get it. I have never been a runner ... I never wanted to run, hence the title of the blog ... but now that I want to run I have no idea how to. I feel like I need a running coach. Does that even exist?
There's a running club that meets near my house that I've entertained the thought of joining ... but every time I really think about it, I get super nervous! I actually have talked to a member and she said they have people who walk in their running club, so I feel like I could join them and maybe it would help getting tips from 'crazy' runners. I don't know. Why can't I just run?!
Today I was scheduled for 3.5 miles. And today was my first day back after being sick all last week, so it was rough. It would've been rough anyway, because I haven't been running outside in like 2 months! It's just too hot, or I run too late and it's too dark. So it's always harder for me to run outside, but it was actually beautiful. There was a nice breeze and the sun was being blocked by the bleachers (I ran at the local HS track) ... I need to run there more often.
I'm really at a loss of what else to say right now. If I write anymore I feel like it will just end up being a rant about how I'm fat and slow ... and if you're reading this ... you probably already know that so I don't need to remind you for 3 more paragraphs. So instead ... I'll say Adieux
Cheers!
There's a running club that meets near my house that I've entertained the thought of joining ... but every time I really think about it, I get super nervous! I actually have talked to a member and she said they have people who walk in their running club, so I feel like I could join them and maybe it would help getting tips from 'crazy' runners. I don't know. Why can't I just run?!
Today I was scheduled for 3.5 miles. And today was my first day back after being sick all last week, so it was rough. It would've been rough anyway, because I haven't been running outside in like 2 months! It's just too hot, or I run too late and it's too dark. So it's always harder for me to run outside, but it was actually beautiful. There was a nice breeze and the sun was being blocked by the bleachers (I ran at the local HS track) ... I need to run there more often.
I'm really at a loss of what else to say right now. If I write anymore I feel like it will just end up being a rant about how I'm fat and slow ... and if you're reading this ... you probably already know that so I don't need to remind you for 3 more paragraphs. So instead ... I'll say Adieux
Cheers!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
A week off ...
Welp, I took an unscheduled week off. My very cute nephew got me sick. I haven't been able to even go up the stairs easily without gasping for air (okay maybe that's a little exaggeration) and I can't imagine running. But that being said I've been trying to stay as active as I can with cleaning and whatnot around our house. My best friend is coming into town on Saturday, and she's staying at our house one night, so I want to make sure everything is perfect!
So, since I've been sick, I'm obviously going to start week 3 over gain ... and I've even debated going back to week 2 and redoing that, since week 3 is a little bit of an increase. I have until Tuesday to decide though ... so maybe we'll just see how I feel.
As I said before, since I've been sick I haven't done muck this week. Slept a lot, sat around a lot, read, finished a pinterest craft!
I found the board on Pinterest, but it's from Girl Loves Glam. It's great! She even gives you the printables ... so much fun! There was a chore chart that she included, which would be nice in concept, but lets be honest, I'm not going to do some chores daily - and the list on there was extensive- so I decided to just cut some fun scrapbook paper and do a Notes section instead. My husband actually likes it too and we've already started planning our dinners for the week (a super annoying task, because we always forget each others schedules), but with this neat little board we can easily keep track. Love it!
Next weekend is the Color Run for our area. I'm so excited that my best friend (who lives in Florida) will be here to run it with me! OH! I forgot, we signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Tuesday ... so now we're getting ready for that. The Color Run is a 5k ... and it's the only race we'll get to run together before the Half (February 2013). Haha ... that may be bad, but we're excited about it and we promise each other we'll run the half together.
So, since I've been sick, I'm obviously going to start week 3 over gain ... and I've even debated going back to week 2 and redoing that, since week 3 is a little bit of an increase. I have until Tuesday to decide though ... so maybe we'll just see how I feel.
As I said before, since I've been sick I haven't done muck this week. Slept a lot, sat around a lot, read, finished a pinterest craft!
I found the board on Pinterest, but it's from Girl Loves Glam. It's great! She even gives you the printables ... so much fun! There was a chore chart that she included, which would be nice in concept, but lets be honest, I'm not going to do some chores daily - and the list on there was extensive- so I decided to just cut some fun scrapbook paper and do a Notes section instead. My husband actually likes it too and we've already started planning our dinners for the week (a super annoying task, because we always forget each others schedules), but with this neat little board we can easily keep track. Love it!
Next weekend is the Color Run for our area. I'm so excited that my best friend (who lives in Florida) will be here to run it with me! OH! I forgot, we signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Tuesday ... so now we're getting ready for that. The Color Run is a 5k ... and it's the only race we'll get to run together before the Half (February 2013). Haha ... that may be bad, but we're excited about it and we promise each other we'll run the half together.
Color Run in Chicago this year - I'm on the left :)
I also had my weigh-in yesterday and I'm down another .2 lbs. It's not much, but I'm actually okay with it. When I'm sick I usually have a hard time eating and just eat whatever sounds good ... and usually that's junk. So down a little is good!
Okay, that's all for now.
Cheers!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Banana Boats
Weigh in today. I lost 1.2 lbs! Okay ... not super exciting, but it was the fourth of July and I haven't really tracked my food this week - still tried to make good decisions - but we all know how that goes. Anyway, I'm happy that I did well. I know that doesn't mean I always will when I don't track, but it gives me hope.
My sister, brother-in-law and nephew came over for dinner today. It was so much fun. We made some pork steak, veggies, salad and then for dessert we had banana boats. It's where you split a banana in half and then top it with marshmallows and chocolate chips. Delish! We were going to make a fire and cook them on the edge of that, but it started to sprinkle so we decided to make them on the grill. We cooked them for about 15/20 minutes on low/med heat. Soo good! Here's a before picture.
My sister, brother-in-law and nephew came over for dinner today. It was so much fun. We made some pork steak, veggies, salad and then for dessert we had banana boats. It's where you split a banana in half and then top it with marshmallows and chocolate chips. Delish! We were going to make a fire and cook them on the edge of that, but it started to sprinkle so we decided to make them on the grill. We cooked them for about 15/20 minutes on low/med heat. Soo good! Here's a before picture.
My sister is a little OCD ... can you tell which one is hers? Hahaha. I think mine tasted better though, because the marshmallows on the sides got nice and toasty! My sister even admitted later that she wished she would've had some more that got toasty too.
My nephew recently started walking and they live on the other side of the state so I have only seen a video of him walking. It was so much fun to watch him walk around. Our dog didn't know what to make of this little human. Such a fun evening though! Spending time with them always makes me wish they lived closer. My husband and brother-in-law get along really well too (my brother-in-law stood up in our wedding) so it would be nice to have someone else to hang out with, especially since we're self proclaimed hermits. ;) Not really ... but we're pretty boring.
After everyone went home (well back to my parents house) my husband and I were just sitting talking when we heard fireworks. My husband went to check if we could see anything and we had a GREAT view of some fireworks from our deck. I tried to get some pics with my phone, but nothing turned out great. But it was a great way to end our evening.
Until next time ...
Cheers!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Mental Toughness
How do you get mental toughness? Today I had my scheduled 3 miles and to be honest I'm not a heat person and with this heatwave I just am not looking forward to my runs. I'm running on a treadmill, but the air in our house just seems blah; I feel blah all day because of the heat; I'm not excited about my runs ... and then when the time comes - I just go through the motions. When it gets tough, I give up and walk. WHY?! I try to talk myself out of walking, but the devil always prevails when I'm running.
Tomorrow is my weigh in day. I'm nervous, because while I made decent food decisions this week, it was a holiday week. And I tend to eat things and not even realize it. Oops! However, my husband and I did play tennis for an hour on the 4th of July. The heat index was 110*!!! We were dripping sweat, but it was sooo much fun! I love doing cross training things like that instead of the elliptical or circuits. Nothing wrong with those things, but its so much fun to do things that I don't do everyday. I feel blessed to have a husband who would play tennis with me on such a hot day just because I suggested it.
I have 30 minutes of circuit training tomorrow, but my husband will be working so it will probably be the elliptical again ... could be worse!
Cheers!
Tomorrow is my weigh in day. I'm nervous, because while I made decent food decisions this week, it was a holiday week. And I tend to eat things and not even realize it. Oops! However, my husband and I did play tennis for an hour on the 4th of July. The heat index was 110*!!! We were dripping sweat, but it was sooo much fun! I love doing cross training things like that instead of the elliptical or circuits. Nothing wrong with those things, but its so much fun to do things that I don't do everyday. I feel blessed to have a husband who would play tennis with me on such a hot day just because I suggested it.
I have 30 minutes of circuit training tomorrow, but my husband will be working so it will probably be the elliptical again ... could be worse!
Cheers!
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