Trying to stay positive.

I checked my weight this morning and it wasn't showing a loss. I felt really disappointed because while this week isn't perfect, it's going pretty well.

Monday I had a great workout, I ran two miles, did upper body strength training and incorporated time on the stair climber to keep my heart rate up.

Yesterday I was off from the gym because I had a lot of chores to do.

Today I am working out over lunch. If I have time, I'll go a Body Sculpt class at noon, if not just hitting the regular machines and weights.

Thursday is a 5k run and Friday I am doing some cross training and weights over lunch.

I need to stay focused with my workouts, stay in my daily points and watch my sodium. I really hope I see at least a two pound loss on Saturday.

In other news, John and I have been thinking a lot about our wedding and are coming up with fun ideas for things. I'm so excited to see it come together over the next year. :)

We got our engagement photos back, they are great! If we're friends on Facebook please check them out.

2010: A short post.

Overall, 2010 had it's ups and downs but I'd say it was a good year.

We had a super fun New Years and brought in 2010 with friends in St. Augustine, FL.

In May, John and I got to go on a super fun trip to the Bahamas and enjoy Atlantis, swim with sea lions, etc. Here is a photo of us at Mesa Grill in the Bahamas. Yes, we love us some Mesa Grill!

We got to do a lot of other fun things like go to Disney, water parks etc.

In March, I started Couch to 5K and completed it this time around! Jen and I did our first 5k on June 12th which was part of the Cool Summer Morning series in Clermont, FL.

I continued to run throughout the year and completed three more 5ks as well as trained for and completed two 10ks.

I am so proud of myself.

As for 2011 running/fitness goals, I am going to stick to maintaining shorter distance races. I want to start riding my bike and really focus on strength training so I don't want to take on a big task of training for a longer race. For now I am going to work on my speed for a 5k distance and look for a 10k in mid-2011 to later train for.

Finally, as you know if you read my last post I got engaged to the love of my life on December 9th in NYC. I am so happy!

As for 2011 goals/resolutions, you saw my goals for running, but what about the rest?

In 2011 I want to:

• Read more. First up is Eat, Pray, Love!
• Focus on toning my body more.
• Take a few minutes each day to meditate.
• Work on eliminating my anxiety in natural ways.
• Get to my goal weight once and for all!
• Get our finances together so we can have our two week honeymoon in Europe!

I hope everyone has a great New Year! <3

Hello, hello...

Thought I'd post a mid-week update.

Over the second half of the weekend my stomach was still acting up. I felt really sick Sunday after meeting up with Daniella. I came home and took a 2 hour nap and had some ginger ale and felt better.

On Monday UPS came and delivered my dress I bought from Urban Outfitters. I can get it on but it doesn't fit well. It's too tight in my hips (which is odd because I don't have big hips) and it won't zip well over my busy area.

The dilemma came up on whether or not I should keep the dress and hope that I achieve my 13.4 loss before the trip or return it. It's a $65 gamble!

I decided to keep it and see where I am in a month (30 day return policy). The dress is really, really nice and I want to keep it and wear it so GAME ON!

This week has been okay so far. Okay isn't going to be enough to get to that goal. I did a short workout Monday night and did a little cross training (30 min.) and yesterday I did a kickboxing class which was pretty good.

Tonight we are going to see The Flaming Lips but since the show starts late I am going to fit in a quick 30 Day Shred workout when I get home.

Tomorrow is an off day since I have acupuncture but Friday I am going for a 4-5 mile run outside afterwork. The high is only 81 so it should be beautiful outside! :)

I checked my weight today and I was about the same. I really want to lose at least 1lb this week so I need to be perfect with my points over the next three days! I can do it!

In other news John will be out of town Thursday through Monday for his 10-year HS reunion. :( Luckily my mom and sister are coming to visit on Saturday and Sunday. :)

I also have another long run planned for Sunday.

Last but not least, I finished Order of the Phoenix! Two books left!
Okay, I better go!

Race for the Cure 10k!

So the day has come and gone! I complete the 10k I've been training for over the past 12 weeks!

The 10k started at 7:30 a.m. We set the alarm for 5:30 a.m. and I was tired! We left the house around 6 and it's good we did because it turned out we were in a rush for me to get to the start line.

For breakfast before the race I had a bagel thin with some almond butter and half a banana with some water.

We got to downtown St. Petersburg and parked. There was already some traffic but not too bad since the 5k started later. We ran into a Starbucks to use the bathroom. We had to walk a bit to get to the race start and I wanted to pee one more time and the lines for the port-o-potties were crazy. Luckily we made it and I got in line for the race. The 10k wasn't that packed so the pace markers were sort of irrelevant and I hung in the middle.

I made sure to use Body Glide to avoid chaffing from my ipod band, watch, knee sleeves and shorts! (Works like a charm! I was fine!)

The race started a little late (around 7:40 a.m.) so my nerves started to get to me as I waited in the crowd alone. I kept thinking how I might now be able to do it, how far it was, etc. Then I told my negative thoughts to STOP and I agreed to enjoy the view and enjoy the run for myself as much as I could.

Let's re-cap mile by mile!

Start to Mile 1: I was feeling good and wanted to keep a good pace but nothing too fast because I didn't want to burn out. The first mile went down a street and up and around the St. Pete pier. It was a nice part of the course right on the water. As I was coming up the stretch to the pier I saw my friend Mary coming down the other side on the way back (she is a long-time runner and speedy! She finished in 45 min.) We waved and I kept going. I got to mile one pretty quickly (around 11:45 min) and was feeling good. I took a cup of water and kept going!

Mile 1 to Mile 2: As I came off the pier loop I looked up and I saw John! He was doing the 5k and 8:15 a.m. and happened to see the 10k group and waited to see me!

Mile 1 to 2 seemed a lot longer. I tried not think much about it and seemed to be maintaining a 12 min/mile. I got some more water and went going on!


Mile 2 to 3: This mile went pretty fast for me. Nothing stands out about it really. Other than the fact I turned onto the second extra round abount for the 10k. Based on the map I knew it was going to be long. I reached mile 3 shortly after I turned onto that road and thought, "5k!" half-way there! At this point it started getting pretty warm. Earlier it was cool but this is when I started to notice the heat. Yuck!

Mile 3 to 4: I never thought I'd get to mile 4. I was going up a side street for what seemed forever waiting to get to the turn around point. I was hot and really wanted some more water. At this point I was hanging around the same women. Some were faster but would stop to walk and fall back to where I was. I decided to keep up with one lady who was consistently ahead of me even with her walking breaks.

Mile 4 to 5: This mile seemed a lot shorter and I got two cups of water at mile 4. I needed it! At one point I debated walking for a minute the second I slowed down my knees felt like hell. They felt okay running but the walking made them feel tight as anything! So I kept running. Shortly after the mile 4 mark the 10k course merged in with the 5k. It kind of sucked because the crowd got big and that meant some weaving around people. Luckily that point of the 5k group were still runners so I didn't have to weave in and out that much. When I hit mile 5 I felt really emotional. I realized I had one mile to go (and change)! My accomplishment was hitting me at this point and I felt like crying but I didn't. Right around that time my Glee version of I'm A Slave 4 U came on and I said to myself "Let's do this!" and I picked my pace! I wish I had my split times because I know mile 5 was a fast one for me. It had to be though because mile 4 was my slowest (I think).

Mile 5 to 6: A little past the mile 5 marker I checked my watch and I had 15 minutes to meet my goal time of 1:20. I thought I CAN DO THIS but I knew I couldn't slow down. I started getting some pretty annoying side stitches (I'm assuming because of my picked up pace) but I kept telling myself that I was almost done and to push through it! I kept checking my watch and thinking "Where is the finish line?!" I started to worry I'd just miss my goal time and It'd annoy me but I tried to tell myself no matter what happened it was okay and I was doing my best. I finally rounded a corner and saw the mile 6 sign! I picked it up and despite my side stich kept trucking!

Mile 6 to 6.2: I kept running and finally saw the finish line in view! The clock read just over 1:19 and I booked it! It was tough because the area was more crowded with all the 5k finishers so I had to do a bit of weaving but I crossed the mat at the clock time of 1:19:48!!!! That means my chip time was even less! *JUST IN* My official chip time is 1:19:20.

I AM SO HAPPY! When I crossed I felt like I was in a daze. I finished my first 10k and beat my goal time! I maintained around a 12:30 min/mile overall.

I stretched and roamed around a little before I met John at our meeting place.

At first I thought my knees were okay but they became super tight and achy fast. I do think the knee sleeves helped though.

John and I came home, showered and felt beat! We rested for a bit and then had a nice lunch at Seasons 52. We were so sleepy and had time to kill so we napped in the car for 20 min. after lunch. Heh.

At 2 John got his hair cut and I got a pedicure! It was a nice treat after a long run. I got a pretty bronze-orange color for October/Halloween!

After that we came home and napped until 6! Then we ordered Domino's Pizza to be delivered. I got a thin crust with light cheese (and I've learned this means a tiny sprinkle) which is fine with me! I ate half of my medium pizza. I was famished!

I ate all of my 7 activity points I earned today but the race made me hungry!

Tonight we are just relaxing! My legs are so tired!

Okay, time to go relax more! Thanks to everyone who wished me luck and for the support.

Pre-10k post!

The 10k is tomorrow morning! I can't believe it's here. I started my training plan three months ago! Time sure does fly and once again teaches me that if I want to do something I might as well do it now because time won't wait on me!

On that notion, it's time to kick it into gear with my weight-loss and getting to my goal. Speaking of getting into the fit groove, John has his 10 year H.S. reunion in two weeks and we wants to try and lose a little weight. So for the next two weeks we are going to work hard and continue it on! I told him he can lose 5lbs in a week if he tries really hard, damn you men! He only has maybe 10-15 to lose max.

Back to the 10k...

Here is the little print out of my training plan at my desk at work. I highlight all my completed days. You'll notice there aren't too many skipped days (white). I'm really proud of how well I did!

My furthest distance to date is 5.75 miles. I know I have it in me to hit that 6.2 mile mark. :)

My gear for tomorrow is the following: new tank top, shorts (wearing body glide!), my standard socks and shoes, knee sleeves, my iPod nano on my armband and visor!

There are five water stops on the 10k course which is awesome. I think I will walk though the water stops to drink the water if I start to feel tired.

The temperature tomorrow is going to be between 71 and 75 degrees. YAY! Florida just got a little cool front and the timing is perfect!

The 10k starts at 7:30 a.m. My goal is to finish in 1:20. I don't know if that's realistic but it's what I'm going for!

John is running the 5k and it starts at 8:15 a.m. I figure if it takes him an hour to finish we'll finish around the same time.

John, Jen and I have to get to Vinoy Park early (I'm thinking 6:45 a.m.) to park, figure out a meeting place since we'll all lose each other during the race, and use the restrooms.

I am excited but also nervous I won't do good or I'll burn out!

My thoughts are that I'll try my best to cruise and enjoy the first 3 miles. I know I can handle that. Then I'll focus on getting to the mile 4 sign. I know I can get to mile 4. From there I know I'll be starting to feel it but I will do my best to truck though to mile 5. If I can get to mile 5 I know I'll be able to get to mile 6 and then the finish line will be minutes away!

I have to make a new play list tonight!

I leave you with the cookies I made for a bake sale at work today to raise money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer! Pumpkin Oatmeal Cranberry cookies! I decided to participate since the race tomorrow is Race for the Cure and it's a great cause.

Wish me luck!

Lots to talk about...

So this last week went well as far as my 10k training was concerned. At this point I'm deviating from the plan to accommodate my knees but I'm still getting the proper amount of activity in.

I had my long run on Thursday and wanted to go 5.75 miles but I stopped at 5.25 because my knees were feeling really tight. I know I had it in me to go the full distance but I didn't want to risk injury so I cut it short.

Friday I went to the doctor. He thinks what I have is patella femoral syndrome and suggested that I get knee sleeves to wear while running, do ice massage after running and go to about three physical therapy sessions to learn some stretches/strengthening moves. Tomorrow I'm going to Sports Authority and see if I can find some knee sleeves.

Today we got up early and head to Orlando to go to Universal with our friends Sean and Claire. I missed my WW meeting but weighed myself at home. It appears I was only down .4.

I felt really sad because last week I was determined to have a good loss. I did okay this week but yesterday we had a team building and I ate some bad things, albeit not a lot, but honestly they probably added up to a lot of points.

Today I ended up using 10 of my 35 WAP from being out which isn't that bad.

My challenge for this week is to myself is to stay in my daily points the rest of the week. I have no long runs this week. I'm doing 3 miles max to rest my knees. I'd like to not use any activity but we'll see how it goes.

I can't weigh-in Saturday next weekend because of the 10k but I am going to go to the 1 p.m. meeting on Sunday. I am hoping to be down 3lbs this week.

Another thing is that for almost three months I've been on a new birth control which I think may be a small part of the problem. I have felt hungrier but I don't think I'm retaining water so who knows? I think I'll finish out this third month and stop it since the reason I started was to help with an issue and I don't think it's working.

So in about 2 months and 1 week we go to NYC and I can't wait. I wanted to be as close to goal as I can.

Right now my goal is to get back to 165 for the trip. That means losing 15lbs in a little over 2 months. I can do it.

John and I's 3-year-anniversary is October 29th and we are going to keep it low-key and get dinner at Seasons 52. Since that is about one month away I am hoping to be down about 7-10lbs.

My plan for reaching actual goal weight is going to be before my 26th birthday in April 2011. I don't want to rush myself too much and make unrealistic expectations.

I've also decided my goal weight is going to be 145.

When I first started WW my goal weight was 135. Once I got to my lowest of 150 and struggled a lot at that point I decided 135 was too low and would be too hard to maintain and I wouldn't be happy. So I upped it to 140.

I am going to make it 145 for now and after maintaining to achieve lifetime at WW I'll address if I'd like to get closer to 140.

OMG this is long and hardly anyone reads. Oh well.

Workout plan for my FINAL week before the 10k!

Saturday(today): got some activity walking at theme park :)
Sunday: 30 Day Shred Level 2
Monday: 3-4 mile run
Tuesday: kickboxing
Wednesday: 3 mile run
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: 10k!!!!!! I can't wait! :)

Finally, here is a picture of Claire and I today. :)

Are you really hungry?

So after my mini-breakdown last night I talked to John when he got home and we made two signs for the fridge and pantry.

I need to truly question if I'm really hungry.

I did indeed wake up last night in the middle of the night and go for a snack (it's almost involuntary and that is scary) and I was able to stop and say "no!" Horray!

The second part of my post is about the awful idea I had to do an outdoor run at 3 p.m. aka the hottest part of the day. It was around 90-something and the heat index was higher. Not a cloud in the sky and the sun was beating on me.

I ended up doing just under 3 miles before I had to call it quits or else I was going to get sunburn (forgot spf!) and possibly heat stroke!

I'm not disappointed in my effort. Another thing going on is my sore throat that came back this morning so the heavy breathing wasn't helping the matter.

Week 6 of 10k training/weigh-in/outdoor run/pizza

So week 6 of training went well. I'm up to 4.5 miles. My knees have started bothering me a little again so I need to watch that closely. It's also taking me upwards of an hour to complete the run so it's getting long. Overall things are going well.

We had a busy Saturday so I didn't have time to get to my Weight Watchers meeting. I weighed in at home and it appeared I was down .8 lbs. Not too bad since I didn't have a perfect week.

Starting Sunday my meeting location changed and they are doing a test market thing in Tampa where the WW location is open all day and you can stop in pretty much any time to weigh-in or buy products. Pretty cool if you ask me!

Saturday we had a dinner at John's parents and my parents came over too. It was nice. My mom brought these mini-cupcakes for dessert which set me back some WAP but overall I was 15 over. Not too tragic.

Today we woke up early (7:30 a.m.) and headed out to the causeway for a run. We took a while to get going and get out there so by the time we were out it was 82 degrees (feels like 92) and the humdity was 90 percent, ouch.

Here are some photos:

Me showing my "it's hot and I'm dying!" face at mile two when we stopped to look around the boat docks.

John riding his bike down the path, the sun was brutally hot!

















We went 4.04 miles in just under an hour. I probably took between .25 and .50 (probably closer to .50) to walk because it just got SO hot. It's good for me to get used to this since October will still be steamy for the 10k.

After we got home and showered we went out for brunch and I had an egg white omelet (hold the cheese) and then we went to DSW (shoe store) and found nice water shoes on sale! Score! You'll see why this is good later...

Did our grocery shopping and took a nap for an hour and a half. We were beat!

Tonight we made homemade pizza with organic whole wheat dough. It came out good! We wish it was a little crispier but overall it was yummy!

It had zucchini, eggplant, red pepper, onion, garlic, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts and some chicken. Yum!











Now we are just relaxing and waiting for True Blood and Mad Men!

So I am off this Friday and we are heading to Orlando to see the Deftones! I have a special ticket so I am going to a meet and greet with the band. I've loved them since I was 15 so I'm super excited! :) We are staying in Orlando Friday and Saturday night  and on Saturday we are going to Aquatica because my friend got us free passes. :) We've been to some water parks this summer and it's so hot the ground burns your feet BADLY. Hence the water shoes!

Since we're gone Saturday I'm going to weigh-in on Friday morning.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Outdoor run aka reality check!

So John got a bike today and we were really excited so I could start some outdoor runs while he bikes!

We got a bike rack that holds two bikes (for when I eventually get one!) and headed home.

John got a Schwinn Tourist hybrid bike that was decently priced in the mid-range and had good reviews!

We had dinner around 6:30 and I had some salmon and baked parsnip fries. They turned out meh so I won't mention recipes.  I got wild caught (no more farm raised!) salmon from Whole Foods and it wasn't completely de-boned. :(

Anyway around 7:30 p.m. we decided to head out before it got too late which turned out to be a bad idea. We didn't leave enough time between dinner and the run so my stomach was not happy and I felt quite nauseated burping up fish. Ugh.

I got a GPS app for my phone so we could track our run/ride. In order to carry the damn iPhone I had to wear a fanny pack! It wasn't that bad but I felt silly.

When we left the temperature was 91 feels like 102. AHHHH!!! Even that late!

I ran about 3.75 miles in an hour at a pretty slow pace. It was HARD in that heat.

I wore my heart rate monitor and by the time we got home at burned 512 calories. Fhew!

Next weekend we are going to wake up early on Sunday and go for another run/ride when it's earlier and a bit cooler.

Man oh man...