Vacation Time!!

  Sitting here listening to my country music and playing catch up on a few small work things before my vacation starts... tomorrow at 11am!!  My co-worker is driving me to the airport and my flight leaves at 12:45pm.  I, as usual, will spend the entire day either in the air or at an airport, but it's worth it!

  The one thing that drives me nuts when I fly is the fact that I fly out of OK only to fly into Texas.  Seriously?!  I don't understand why they can't just fly me straight to Charlotte, NC and save me some time (and money!!) but it never fails that's where I go first and have the longest layover.  I will finally arrive in Pennsylvania around 9.30pm much to the happiness of my best friend.  I'll be spending the week with her, her husband and my 4 godchildren.

  Poor Colton (my second oldest boy) has been driving his mom nuts asking if it's Tuesday yet and when I'll be coming.  I think it's partly the excitement of seeing Aunt Stephanie (or Aunt Tetanie) and also the excitement of knowing that when I get there we're going to the beach for a little bit. : )  I'm just excited to spend time with them and celebrate early and late birthdays that I had to miss due to work/being so far away.

  As I write this my best friend and I are talking via text about her workout routine and what she's doing.  Being a mom of 3 under the age of 6 and an almost 18 year old is keeping her busy already but she wants to see results and she's not.  She is doing P90X which I'm excited to try with her.  I've heard people talking about it but never tried.  I'm going to introduce her to the Nike Training app (she has an iPad).  I'm just looking forward to switching up my routine since i won't have a gym to go to.

  I'm nervous about my 4 mile run I have to do while I'm away.  I'm missing the 4 mile trail run and our group is highly encouraging us to not miss any runs - even if we are away.  I may end up taking the kids out and figuring out what would be the best way to get 4 miles in and not get horribly lost this time. : )

  Training went well on Saturday.  I wanted to die when the alarm went off at 6am but I got up, dressed and was out the door by 6.30am to be there at 6.45am like we were asked.  I waited with our group and managed to stay with the front of the group for the first mile.  I broke away a little bit after the first mile and followed one of the girls I met in the group as she ran ahead of me.  Before I knew it, I had passed her and was up to where most of my 5k's on that part of the trail end.  Once I passed the bathrooms and the groups of runner's there either going in or getting water I decided to start a brisk walk.  I was getting tired and it was extremely hot (close to 90 and it was just after 7am!!) and I was dying in my t-shirt.

  I knew we were running to a bridge to cross but when I made it to the first bridge I did not see any way to get onto it.  At this point I was exhausted and wanted to curl up in a ball and rest.  I had my heart set on the fact that was the bridge and could make it that far.    I pushed a little further because I saw a water fountain and figured I could at least run to that, get a drink and then walk until I figured out where I needed to be.

  Of course the water fountain didn't work... adding to my misery.  I knew I could run 3 miles but couldn't figure out why I was so exhausted when I should only have a little more to go.  I started walking the trail as people began to pass me.  I ended up running into a girl who asked if we'd missed the 3 mile cross over.  I wasn't sure so we started walking together and when her team leader passed we asked her.  She said we had indeed missed the 3 mile trail and had actually ended up on the 5 mile trail.  Eeek!  No wonder I was so tired!

  We decided to just get in the extra miles and walked the rest of the way.  As we walked we discovered we both worked for the same school.  She's a graduate student and I am professional staff.  She explained a friend of hers is looking for a job in student affairs so after we finished we traded cards and I told her to have her friend get in touch with me and I'd help her with her job search as best I could.  Funny the people you meet when you get lost!!

  As I mentioned earlier, I have to take this weekend off because I will be out of town so Eryn will have to train with the group alone this weekend and then I think we'll be back on the following Sat together.  I am nervous about training still, but I think training earlier in the morning is going to help.  They have moved this weekend up to 6.15am which should be much better than when we started out.  Who knew it would be almost 90 at 7am.  That's crazy!!

  Not sure if I'll be able to update a lot while I'm away but if I can, I will.  Good luck to those training on Saturday!! And if you are interested, our facebook group is - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Half-and-Half-RunnersWorld-Tulsa-Training-Group/129588493788270.

  Have a great week everyone!!

Pain is just weakness leaving the body

   ... isn't that what they tell us?  I hope so because I'm in pain today and still have Zumba tonight.

   While Eryn was working on her bike yesterday I decided to work on abs and butt.  I guess I did a good job because I can feel both areas with every movement I make today.  When I arrived at the gym I went straight to the "little room" which is set up more like a mini weight room - more for girls I feel sometimes - the soft covered weights, crunch machines, etc.

  I jumped on the incline bench to do some weight ball crunches.  I do 5 sets of 10 and in between I do straight arm lifts or face cruncher lifts with the weight ball.

  I like the weight ball with this workout because it makes me focus more than just doing crunches like this image shows.  I also put my bench at a slightly higher incline to get more from my workout.  Lately I've upgraded to an 8lb weight ball.  When I worked out with a partner back in grad school she would stand at the end of the bench and toss me the ball - the added resistance helped but I do it alone now.

  After 50 crunches I grabbed 2 5lb weights and the 8lb medicine ball and left the room to find a mat.  All the mats and spaces upstairs were taken so I went into the classroom to work out.  I hate the classroom because one entire wall is windows so anyone upstairs can watch you.  The other two walls are huge mirrors - again, not a favorite.  I pulled my mat out and laid down to face the windows outside and wall.  This way I could focus and not worry what others were thinking (not that they even care).

  I figured since I was alone I would use my iShuffle for my music and use my iPhone (work phone) for the workout.  I'm on duty this week so I have to carry the phone everywhere anyway so might as well use it!  I looked over my Nike Training Workouts and decided on the abs and butt workouts.  Combined total of 30 minutes. 

  I like the get focused workouts because it's 3 sets of the same 4 -5 positions.  They break them down between 30 seconds and 1 minute.  She talks you through it a little bit (but not too much) and although it makes you sweat, it's not horrible.

  It was my first time doing the butt/back one and it literally kicked my butt!  I had never tried a lot of the positions they used but what's nice about the app is you can pause it and watch a video to make sure you are doing it correctly.

  The side plank/twist (I forget what they call it) was also a little hard to get - I fell a few times but managed to get the hang of it by the third set.

  After that I went to my basic abs workout - I've used it at least once a week since I found the app.  It's a lot of twists, planks and crunches but spaces them out so you aren't too exhausted between each set.

  This is an example of the non-video guide to how to do the position.  Once I did the abs for the second time I wasn't in as much pain but instead felt good and invigorated.

  The other nice thing with this app is once you hit certain time goals you get rewards like new workouts and smoothie recipes.  I have one more workout to hit my goal so I'm looking forward to what my "reward" will be.  Silly, I know, but it's working for me!!

  If you are interested, the app is totally free and can be found in your iPhone app store - just search Nike Training Club and it should come right up!

  Good luck and let me know if you like it as much as I do!!

Half Training and out with the old...

  This weekend was very refreshing overall which is always a nice surprise.

  I had the urge to purge - get rid of old things in my apartment and life that I really have no need for or no longer want around.  It was a great feeling to finally get rid of some of it!

  What I got rid of ranged from old emails from an ex to shoes to old photos I don't need to keep anymore because the people aren't a part of my life.  Here's a taste of what I removed that actually made me sad:

  This belt has been with me through so many weight losses and gains.  I bought it when I was in undergrad so it's close to around 10 years old by now!

  As you can see - there are many cracks in it now and it's in shambles.  This belt has, in many ways, trailed my weight gains and losses.  I've had times it wouldn't fit me at all and times when I lost weight and wished it had more holes.  Each crack shows where my weight tended to stay - between a size 10-12.

 
This shows why it's finally time to throw it away... it was holding on by strings.  Now i have to go find new belts which is never fun for me.  I hate belt shopping - when I find one (if you couldn't tell...) I tend to stick with it for a long time!
 
Next up was a shoe purge!!

  
These shoes have been with me since the early 2000's (again - undergrad purchase).  They have survived many moves and many years bring abused by all the miles I walk each day.

   My students got to to the point of ripping the sole off my shoe in hopes I'd finally throw them away.  Nope - kept them another 3 months after that.  But it's been raining more and more here and with no soles the water travels right into the bottom of the shoe and soaks my socks.

 
These are my first pair of running shoes.  I honestly thought I'd thrown them away a while ago but somehow they found their way under my bed.  I found them hiding there when I was cleaning this weekend.

 
These shoes were purchased my first summer in grad school (2007).  They were the first shoes I ran in and survived two years (yes, I know - very bad) of learning how to run on my feet.  I loved them so much I bought my second pair in the same color and style.

 This is why they need to be tossed - the huge holes where my little toes are.  Not able to use them anymore - pebbles get into them and besides that, way too many miles have been put on them over the years.

  So crazy how little things like shoes and belts can show so much of your life and remind you of the hard and good times.  Very hard getting rid of them - due to the sentimental pieces they brought - but I put them into the trash and took it out last night.

  As for training - I'm super excited.  Eryn and I went to the info session on Sunday afternoon and it was fun.  There were about 30 or so people there ranging from first timers (like us) to seasoned runners.  We learned what to expect (like 6.45am Sat morning runs!!) and learn more about what they have planned.  Our first run is on Saturday so I'm nervous/excited/unsure.  They said to expect a 3 mile run which is fine - I can do that.  We managed to squeak out 4.01 miles last night so I should be good.  Nervous because Eryn will be out of town so it's just me for the first run.  She'll be in the same position next week - I'll be out of town and she'll have to go alone.

  The most exciting part was the opportunity to meet people in the community who enjoy running as much as I do.  I have work friends but it would be nice to have friends outside of the office - so I can truly get away from work when I go out.  We'll see.

  Eryn and I have also talked about the training.  Our goal is to do our best to run the entire thing but neither of us wants to injure ourselves so if we have to walk, we'll walk but focus on more running than anything else.

  What I need to learn at this point is how to hydrate on the long runs.  I get migraines if I don't hydrate enough and do a long run and the last thing I need is a migraine on that day!! I want to be able to enjoy the race, not dread it.  Stephen (my best friend) mentioned last night that he places bottles of water in certain places on his route the night before he runs - I may start trying that.  Right now we're working on our routes - adding little turns here and there to add extra miles when we can.  Seems to be working - we've gone from 2 miles up to 4 in just a few short weeks.

   I also learned Zumba will continue next semester so that's exciting.  I was actually told the reason the class is happening is because I signed up.  I loved that!!  I like having that cardio in my workout routine.   It also helps that our instructor adds about 5 minutes of abs at the end.

  Since we pushed so hard last night and Eryn's knee brace has been pinching her we're going to take the night off from running.  Since she's a fan of the bike I'll probably end up doing extra abs while she bikes.  I found a few exercises online I want to start trying to add into my workout.  We'll see how they go.

  I will post the training schedule we're going to follow as soon as I receive it.  I've only got 2 weekends I'll have to make up but I don't think that's going to be a problem.  I'm sure my godson will torture me when I'm home and help me get lost in his neighborhood again so I end up running major miles (love you Corey!) and the other weekend I'll just figure out way to add extra miles when I find the time.  I figure I have until November so I'm not going to stress yet! : )

Times... they are a changing!

  Life has been crazy lately so I apologize for not updating.  I've honestly been sitting on this update for a week just because it's so personal.   It's caused me to really look at how much I've changed... which is always good!
  Anyway, here goes...
  I've been working hard on the end of the year stuff so I can focus on my summer duties.  I'm working on not letting my job take over my life as I have in the past - depends on the day on how that's working for me. : )
  It's been weird not racing on the weekends after doing three in a row but the down time has been nice as well.  I cut back a little bit on running to give my body some time to heal from the constant strain.  Seems to be working - I feel like when I do run I'm running faster and stronger.  I think this is also because of the weights I've added into my work out.
  I also started using a free app I found from iTunes - it's called Nike Training Club.  It allows you to do all sorts of different programs ranging from cardio to weights.  It has simple 15 minute work outs that you do 3 sets of the 4 or 5 exercises.  They are hard the first few times but get a little easier as your muscles get used to them.  Once you get to certain time periods you get "rewards" which range from badges to opening up new exercises.
  I'm also trying to be a little better with my Wii weigh-ins.  I weighed in this weekend and found I'd lost 2 lbs - putting me just over 143lbs.  I have 1.5 lbs more to lose to hit the tail end of being at a "healthy" BMI.  This really made me think about what is considered too thin vs. healthy.
  Over the extended weekend I started going through my apartment - looking at things I need to put away and things I need to get rid of.  I came across an old photo of me at my thinnest - when I thought I looked great and everyone else thought I looked "sickly" (among other choice words).

   I apologize for the picture of a picture but I don't have the original anymore - lost over the years.  I was around 130lbs in this photo - what most would consider "healthy" for my height.  Amazing how much 15 lbs can change you.
  Along with this photo I've decided to put the heavier photos of me away too.  In this one I'm with a friend and weighing in at almost 190 lbs.

  I was unhappy with my job, personal life and life in general and I sadly spent most days trying to eat my pain away rather than dealing with it.  Thankfully with the support of great friends and my family I was able to leave the relationship and figure out what made me happy for once rather than living my life for others!
  This is where I stand today with my weight - 143.2lbs at 5'3.  I am between a size 8-10 jeans/pants depending on the style.

  Gotta love the "conference services" outfit - it was a check in day. : )
  I'm finally happy with where I am.  I'd like to lose the 1.5lbs to be in the "healthy" range but I'm not going to sweat it.  I also know that when I go on vacation in 2 weeks to see my godchildren I'll be running after a 1, 3 and 5 year old as well as running occasionally at night with my (almost) 18 year old godson (when he can make the time in his schedule) to stay in some shape since I won't have a gym to hit.  I also have to realize that I'll be eating home-cooked food and eating out a lot more than I do now.  It's odd if I eat out more than once a month (if that) now so my body will definitely be in shock for the week but it will be nice to be "home" with my family for a little bit.
  I'm also looking forward to a few days at the beach.  Nothing beats a morning run in the sand - the added resistance and watching the sunrise - perfection on Earth!  What I love about the beach with my godchildren and best friend the most is our annual renting of bikes - we always get the big buggies and ride them around the boardwalk, ever since Corey (the oldest) was a little one.  I look forward to that the most - especially since I haven't been able to celebrate a birthday at the beach with them since Corey turned 13.
  Overall, I'm happy with where I am.  I think I look good, I feel great and I am being healthy and not resorting to dangerous tricks like I used to. I've come a long way since my days of skipping meals and exercising 2-3 hours a day.  I've learned where my weight tends to go without work and where I can get it with work.  And most of all, I've learned how to eat healthy and stay healthy and how it makes me happy overall which is the most important part.