Monday and Tuesday

Yesterday was a good easy day; stretch and strength. I know I haven't been doing enough strength training, but oh well. I was busy with work, and learning some new forms; but at least I was really good on my eating. Yea! The stretching felt great. I needed that, to losen up my sore muscles.

Today was a 5 mile run. I did it this afternoon, and boy it felt great! (and felt especially easy, since I ran it on the treadmill -after I ran 8 miles on Sunday, outside). But it was great, and I felt wonderful after having accomplished it.

Gotta get the boys some dinner, then go to T-ball practice. Later Y'all! :)

Last week:

This past week was pretty good, yet super busy. I did get my workouts in. I did Sunday's run on Monday, then I worked out on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, I missed Thursday and Saturday's workouts. (Saturday I was doing a Pampered Chef Open House and standing for hours, that plus lugging my products in/out, I figured that was a workout in itself! LOL! Ok, maybe not, but I was exhausted and needed the down time).
Yesterday we went to church, then came home and ate lunch. It was a gorgeous day outside! (Upper 70's, sunny, and wind of 5-10mph.) So I got on my running clothes and my new running shoes, and went to the track. I ran 8.20 miles yesterday, which was equivalent to about 32 laps around the track (I did run on the outside lane of the track..so it may have been a few less laps...I wore my garmin to track my distance, so I wouldn't have to try to keep count). It was a GREAT run! I felt amazing afterwards. Yea!!! :)

Hopefully this will be another good week, and I'll be able to find the time to squeeze in my workouts.

I've also changed my eating style this past week. I'm eating every few hours, but only healthy natural foods (oatmeal, fruits, veggies, lean meats). I feel great, and have already lost 4.4 pounds! Yea!!! 123.2 on the scale this morning. Woo-Hoo!!!! The best part is that my husband is actually noticing a difference. I was getting ready for church yesterday and he asked me how much I had lost, because he could tell that my legs had really slimmed down a lot. Then Levi made a comment later and said "Mom, your arms are so tiny". Then last night I was loading the dishwasher and Stephen said "wow, you arms are getting really slim to! Hard to believe that you could get even smaller, because you seemed so slim before. But I can really tell a difference." Yea!!! That is so encouraging!
Don't worry though, I'm working out and eating healthy. I don't want to be "anorexic skinny". What fun would it be if you couldn't ever eat, and felt so unhealthy and sick. No thanks! I'm going for healthy, slim, toned, and muscular. :) (The only reason I even say this, is the last time I got really slim, my Papa saw me and said "honey, you look anorexic" "you need to eat" "you need to gain some weight"...when I clearly remember hear him telling me that I was chubby when I was kid and teenager. So I finally decided to just be healthy and happy, for me, and not worry about what other people thought.)

I'm Back!

We were camping last week, for Spring Break, so that's why I've been away for awhile. (Thanks for checking in on me Kate! You're a sweetie!!!)
Our Spring Break Camping trip was so much fun! It's always nice to get away from everything (tv, computers, work, home, etc). We spent almost all of our time outside. In the evenings we had campfires, and during the days we went hiking everyday; hiked the hiking trails, hiked down to the fishing pond, hiked to the playground, chased after the boys while letting them ride their bicycles, etc. It was a blast!
I actually did my running schedule while we were gone, but instead of running on a treadmill, I was running in the most beautiful scenery, and up/down hills. Wow! Running outside is so much harder; yet, so much more enjoyable. LOVED IT! I think I logged about 8-10 mile a day, between running and hiking. Some of the hiking even had me carrying a 40 lb weight on my back (aka: seth, piggy back riding because he was tired! lol!).
We had a wonderful week, and I could barely move by the time it was over. I was so sore. But it was so worth it. :) I was sad to see it come to an end...

Yesterday we went to church and got home late. I then had to go grocery shopping, and then we started working on our taxes. I never did get my long run in, so I did it today instead. :) It was hard to run on that treadmill (after having ran outside all week, in the beautiful spring weather and the amazing scenery), but I suffered through it anyway.

***On a side note: Kate, are you still getting e-mails from me? I sent you one over the weekend, and then another one today. Just wanted to make sure you are getting them. :)

busy week....

Because we had company over on Sunday afternoon, and I was getting my hair done, I didn't do my long run on Sunday (shame on me, I know).
Monday and Tuesday I was swamped with work, so I didn't get workouts in on those days either.
Wednesday was cross training day, and I did 1 1/2 hours on the elliptical, doing interval training, while watching Biggest Loser.
Thursday I needed the stress relief, so I jumped on the treadmill and ran 8.52 miles! Yes, you read that right. (I was trying to make up for some of the miles I missed). This was as far as I could go though, because my legs were aching and could barely move by the time I stopped. But it felt GREAT! I took a relaxing hot bath last night too. It was wonderful to take the time out and relax for a little bit. Today I'm actually sore! Woo-Hoo! But today is Rest Day, so that is a good thing. :)

Forgot....

Here I was so proud of myself for doing my workout yesterday (4 mile run), and I totally forgot that yesterday was 4 miles PLUS Strength training. Figures...
So today, instead of "rest day" (and cleaning house day), I guess I'll be doing strength training. I may go ahead and do Saturdays 40 minutes of cross training, since we will be having a birthday party, and family in town visiting. I imagine after it's all over, I wont feel like doing anything but crashing on the couch. :)

Thursday, Week 5, day 4

Today was a 4 mile run. I DID IT!!! Yea!!! :) Even though I was busy, I took the time out to just get in there and do it. Today's run was a little harder than yesterday. Probably because I just ran 6 miles yesterday and then less than a full 24 hrs later, I ran another 4. But I did it. I ran 4.02 miles in 42 minutes. I ran the first mile at 6.5, the second mile at 5.5, the third at 6.5, and then the last mile I started at 5.5, but then I bumped it up to 7.0 for the last 1/2 mile. (I was just so ready to be done! LOL!).
So I did it. I'm proud of myself for not putting it off until tomorrow. Tomorrow is supposed to be rest day. But I will be cleaning the whole house, from top to bottom; since Saturday is Seth's birthday party and we are going to have a house full of family members here. :) Yea!!! He is so excited and can't wait!

Of course on their birthday's they get to decide what they want for lunch, and he chose pizza (he loves pizza, and that is ALWAYS his #1 choice). So we are having Pizza, Cake, and Ice Cream. Hummmm, maybe I should run a few extra miles on Sunday to burn off whatever I eat on Saturday. I just hope I don't over-do-it on my calories to bad. It's his special day, so we will eat whatever he wants...I know it's not the best for me. But I guess this is part of why we workout so hard. So we can actually "enjoy" these special occassions without stressing out about the horrible calories....moderation is the Key! I'm just oging to try to limit myself to only 1 or 2 pieces of pizza (depending on how big they are) and one small piece of cake with a small scoop of ice cream (so I don't feel deprived...otherwise I might give in and eat to much of it later...). So that's the plan. Yall wish me luck, and say a prayer that I don't blow my diet to badly on Saturday. :)

glasses....

click here

maybe this got me thinking, because I'm stuck in glasses for the next week or so...but still....

I've always thought "the right frames" could really make people look distinguished and intelligent. Yes, I've always hated wearing my glasses for sports and fun, but I never minded if I was wearing them while working at the computer or reading.

After seeing this video, on the part where they interview the men and what they think of women wearing glasses, I was just shocked. My husband actually loves it when I wear my glasses....but these guys said it was the "librarian" look, and made the girl less attractive. What?! So I guess now instead of carrying my "pepper spray" with me, I can just wear my glasses and men will automatically leave me alone! HaHaHa!!!!

Jillian....

click here

she is on a news program promoting her new book. but they are talking about metabolism and nutrition. Jen, Kate, and I are always talking about the importance & struggles with nutrition, I thought yall might enjoy this too. :)

Tuesday and Wednesday, week 5, day 2 & 3

As you know, I missed Tuesday's 4 mile run because of my pink eye problems. I still had it yesterday, but it wasn't throbbing and leaking gunk all day like it was on Tuesday (Yea!!!), it was feeling much better. So after I finished all of my reports yesterday, I got on my treadmill. I was telling myself I would at least do my 2 mile run that I was scheduled to do for Wednesday...however, I still needed to make up my 4 mile run from the day before. So I was giving myself a pep talk "do at least 2, then you will feel great and be in a groove and you can at least do 4 or 5...then you could always make up the remaining mile tomorrow...you can do it, just get on there and get started". So I jumped on, and before I knew it I was at 4.5 miles, and thought 'whats another 1.5'. So I ran a total of 6.03 miles in 61 minutes! Yea!!!! I was running faster than usual, because i was trying to 'hurry up and get it over with'! LOL!
After my run, Stephen was home from work, and I had to take some movies and wii games back to the video store. So on my way home I stopped and tanned. Daddy and the boys ate dinner while I was gone, so once i got home I just had a protein shake (I'm never really hungry after run like that).
So, all in all, it was a GREAT day!!!!

Today's schedule = 4 mile run and strength.....

Tuesday, week 5, day 2

Seth and I had to go measure some houses. By the time we got home, the area around my right eye was swollen and throbbing. I could barely see out of it, for all of the gunk it was draining. I was miserable. (my left eye is much better today, and the right eye is still red and a little swollen but no longer leaking gunk. Yea!!!)

Needless to say, I was supposed to run 4 miles yesterday, but I just didn't feel up to it....

Today I am supposed to do a 2 mile run or cross train. So I guess I will run my 4 miles today, and then either add on an extra 2, or do the elliptical for 2. Don't want to start falling behind again, or else it's hard to find the motivation to start back.
I did eat really clean and healthy though, so that helped.

Gotta get to work. Later!


Oh wait! Did yall watch Biggest Loser last night? Were you as shocked as I was????? I was sitting there in the floor, waiting for them to show if he had lost over 9 lbs or not, and I was shocked! "to be continued"????? they have never done that to us before! now we have to wait a whole week to see if he did it, or if two people are going home.

Monday, Week 5, Day 1

Today's workout was strength and stretch:
I wanted to watch the rest of Biggest Loser from last week, so I went and jumped on my elliptical for 30 minutes of interval training, and then I did 20 minutes of free weights, 100 crunches, and stretched; all while watching my favorite show.
I've notice there is a lot more camaraderie between the contestants and the teams this season. I really enjoy seeing them all encouraging one another for a change. That is how it should be!
I was so shocked and disappointed that they sent Dane home. I can see that he would have been a huge threat...but he also was a huge asset to their team. To keep them above the yellow line, and to help them win challenges. I was just shocked. But right after I finished watching the show, I saw this on my computer screen. To read the story, click here
I was wondering how in the world he finished a full marathon in only 3 hours and something. I was like "wow, he was flying! how did he do that?!" Well, the above link tells the "real story" and makes much more sense. But I still think it was great that he ran a marathon with his wife. He could have never done that before Biggest Loser.

Sunday, Last day of Week 4

Sunday was long run day. Since I hadn't ran all week, I was kind of worried about it. Especially since it's "that time of the month" and since my eye was bothering me so bad, and constantly leaking gunk, and I was going to have to run with my glasses on again. But I decided I had to at least try....
So I got on my workout clothes, and jumped on the treadmill. The first 2 miles were a struggle. My legs were aching and hurting, and I just really wanted to stop, but I kept giving myself a pep-talk...I was saying "just do at least 3 miles, just an easy 3, then you can stop...you may not feel 100%, but you can at least make it to 3".
Well, by the time I got to 3 miles, I was feeling sooooo much better. My legs were feeling good, and I had a good sweat worked up. I actually didn't want to stop, knowing I was over half-way to 5 miles! :) So I just kept on running. I did a total of 5.30 miles (the .3 was the warm up and cool down total). Yea!!! It felt so good to run again. (Ok, it didn't for the first two miles, but after that, it felt GREAT!)