Du Training Day 3: Complete!

So hot!  Wish I would have worked out sooner, but I had a lovely breakfast date this morning, so a later training session, it was.


Ran 2.25 miles on the treadmill in 21:24 (9:28 pace)
Biked 13.66 miles in 1:00:01 (13.66 mph pace)
Ran 2 miles on the treadmill in 19:13 (9:33 pace)
Walked .5 mile on the treadmill in 8:30

A little ab work to round it out and lunch!  It was a great workout and I did better than I thought I would (especially since I REALLY didn't want to do it).  Finishing a workout is even sweeter when you had to FORCE yourself to do it in the first place, isn't it?

XOXO

Figure Friday 7.20.12

Proof that one meal...one salty, delicious meal...can toss an entire week of eating great under the bus.

Damn you Gabe's $2.99 burger for lunch yesterday!!!  CURSES!!!

It is what it is.  I know I shouldn't have eaten it, but it was good and I fully accept that the scale is showing it this morning.  I'm a little bloaty from the sodium, so I know that is probably part of it.

Last night, I made chicken breast rolls and stuffed chicken breast with spinach and curry feta.  They were delicious.  Lee grilled them and we ate them with rice and beans.  Super good!

That is all for now.

XOXO

Color Run

Sunday, Lee and I ventured to the Minnesota State Fair grounds for the Color Run.  Lee was injured (recovering from surgery), so we took it easy and had some fun!  I was going to do my usual post-race blog write up, but this was a little different than the usual race, so I give you...PICTURES!!!

Pre-Race Self-Taken Shot

 

Look How Clean We Are!

What Race Are We Doing, Again?

Action Shot!

First Color Zone Ahead

Orange Zone: Complete!

Post-Orange, -Yellow, and -Pink  Color Zone Action Shot

Blue Zone: Straight Ahead!

Looking Back At The Blue Zone...BEST ZONE!!!

Post-Blue Zone!!!

Almost To The Finish

Tons Of Color On The Ground

Happy (and Colorful) Together!

Post-Color Explosion!

Color Explosion Crowd

Thumbs Up!

So Cool!

He Looks Like He Is Holding My Arm Captive

So THAT Is Why I Had Blue Stains On My Face For Days...

The End!

XOXO

The End of an Era...

*sniffle*

(even though it should say withdrawal...)

XOXO

Du Training Day 2: Complete!

I have made Monday my Du Training Day, since it is my day off.  I am really happy with my workout today:

Ran 2 miles on the treadmill in 19:15 (9:34 pace)
Biked 12.5 miles in 56:15 (13.4 mph pace)
Ran 1.25 miles on the treadmill in 11:59 (9:30 pace)
Walked 1 mile on the treadmill in 18:04

It is hot out and sunny.  Yikes!  According to dailymile, I lost 991 calories (without the walk...which put me over 1,000).  That makes me feel a little better about this past weekend, but that is a different post...

The first run felt pretty good.  I was a little tired, but it went well.  I figure if I can keep up some speed right now during training, when I tone things back a bit and slow down, it should be a little easier (I hope!).

The bike was decent.  I took a route with lots of rolling hills...and I suck at hills.  However, for being the second time on the bike...it went well enough.

The second run I was just wishing were over because I was so hot and sweaty and had jelly legs from biking.  I pushed myself, though, and I'm glad I did.  Once I build things up again...my endurance, my stamina, my muscle memory...I WILL be able to do this thing.

I feel great now that it is done!  Time for some ab work, a shower, more water/Gatorade and LUNCH!!!

XOXO

Figure Friday 7.13.12

Thank goodness!  I was really hoping at least some of that gain was some sort of water weight.

4.6 pounds to lose in four weeks is a lot more managable than 8.8 pounds.

I've eaten really well this week, done ab work every morning (trust me...it hurts to move...) and I biked/ran on Monday and had a really good 3.25 mile run last night on the treadmill.

I can do this.

Holy, thunder!  Shake the building!!!

Sorry, for that random outburst.  This storm is freaking me out a little bit.  It is REALLY dark outside and the lightening is going a bit crazy.  Like I said, thunder just rumbled my office building.  Yikes!

I'm glad I had a big loss this week.  It really helps to boost motivation...keep me going...  I will say, however, that this weekend, I would be surprised if I gained most of it back.  Lee and I are taking my dad to Fogo de Chão for an early birthday present.  Super excited!  And then tomorrow is Kali's Bachelorette Party!!!  SUPER, DUPER EXCITED!!!

Also, things have settled down a bit with...life...so I will try to update a bit more.  I've got a couple things sitting in my draft box.  It is just hard to find time to write.  Fifty Shades of Grey has kind of taken over my free time (yes...I just admitted that...).  And, let's be honest, I'm almost done with Fifty Shades Darker.  So maybe once I finish Fifty Shades Freed, we can all be friends again, eh?

XOXO

By The Way...

Just wanted to let you know...in non-health realated news...

Katie V., CNA!!! Once again!

Cue happy dance!



XOXO

Du Training Day 1: Complete!

I would say I am satisfied with what I did!

Biked 4.54 miles to the beach in 21:00

Ran 1.67 miles on the path in 17:12

Biked 4.66 miles from the beach in 23:00

I haven't biked in I don't know how long...so that went alright.  I think my butt and legs will be sore tomorrow...  I got to the beach, locked up my bike, and took off jogging.  I went out on the trail through town, which was nice, but hot! The plan was to have a 2.5 mile run in the middle, but once I got about .5 mile in, I knew that my body was low on fuel and I still had to bike home (apparently, half of a PowerBar and some coffee three hours earlier won’t sustain you…what???).  I was still happy with the milage I did put under my feet.  Then, I chilled in the park for a bit.  After I cooled off just a bit, I hopped back on the bike and headed home.

Here I am, eating a turkey burger and getting ready to go for a swim.  I know I will be sore tomorrow, but I'm glad I got Day 1 out of the way.

Beautiful Day at the Park at the Beach

Happy Monday!  Have a great one!

XOXO

First Day of Du Training

Let's see how this goes...

XOXO

A Paul Simon Kind-of-Day

I heard both of these songs on the way to work this morning.

They made me smile.

I think that a Paul Simon kind-of-day is a good day.

This song makes me smile every time I hear it and the video makes me giggle.

I don't know why I like it...I just do...

Figure Friday 7.6.12

Remember yesterday when I said I only had 6-7 pounds to lose in 5 weeks?

Make that 8.8 pounds...*wah*wah*

XOXO



I've Got Something To Say

I'm about to make a BOLD statement that may make me VERY unpopular.

Losing weight is NOT difficult.

Yes, you read that correctly.  And, yes, I am serious.  And, no, I am not bat crap crazy.

But give me a chance to explain...

Now, my husband completely disagrees with me.  I've told him my thoughts and he thinks that it isn't as easy as that for everyone.  He thinks most people have contributing factors.  Am I saying there isn't an exception?  No way.  I am well aware that there are people that have thyroid or hormonal issues or some disease that doesn't allow them to lose weight as easily as others.  I will say, however, that I believe that these people are rare cases and that most people just choose not to do it.

Losing weight is NOT difficult.

HOWEVER!

Being lazy is easy.

Motivating oneself is hard.

Eating delicious treats and nummies is easy.

Controlling cravings is hard.

The mathematical concept of losing weight is easy.

The factors of losing weight can be hard.

People say, "I want to lose weight.  I'm trying, but it isn't working.  I'm working out, but the weight isn't moving.  I'm counting calories, but I'm not losing any weight."

To be honest, if you wanting to lose weight doesn't just make it happen.  You have to actually be proactive with the entire process.  If you say you are counting calories, doing the math, creating a reasonable deficit and aren't losing weight, either your math is off or you are not counting accurately.  TRUST ME...I know that not including the little bite size chocolate bar here or the cup of juice there does matter...it does add up!  I've had days where I thought I did great, but then added up those little nibbles and extras here and there and it has been well over 500 calories!  And, let me just say, a 5k run does not equal a whole pizza.  Just because you have a good workout does not mean you have to replace ALL of those calories you've burned...and then some...  This is one of my worst habits.  I've gained weight in the days after races by "trying to give my body some extra calories that it lost in that race."

I know these excuses because I use them.  It has been a rough couple of weeks and I have been in a bit of a rut, so I've used that as my excuse...

...to eat what I want...

...to not really care about running or exercising...

...to use every excuse I can think of about the weather/being tired/etc. for not running...

...to just not care...

And my weight has just kind of hovered around 146...which is fine by me...but I want to get rid of my little squishy tummy thing.  Time for a mini goal.

140 by Kali and Sean's wedding.

That is about 6-7 pounds in 5 weeks

Possible?  Totally doable.  Can I meet it?  Maybe.  I'm going to try.  It will be hard to motivate, but actually losing the weight???  It is just math.

I need to jump start my running again.  I have a plan set up that starts next week for half marathon/marathon training.  I need to incorporate strength training and work on my core.

I hate counting calories and logging everything I eat, but it is effective in helping me lose the chub.  I will see if I can get back into the habit of doing it again...make LoseIt! my bestie once more.

Hitting 130 by the end of the year isn't going to happen if I don't just try a little, ya know???

Monday starts this thang once again.  Let's do this!!!

XOXO

2012 Warrior Dash

On Saturday, Jason and I got up nice and early and headed out to Afton Alps.  We were going to run the Warrior Dash.  We ate some bagels, I had some coffee, we parked, took the shuttle and were at Afton getting our bibs, chips and swag.  We put on our bibs and chips, took some pictures, checked our bags and used the potty.  Then, since we were the first wave, we lined up at the start.  Soon, we were counting down and then we were off!  We ran up ski hills and down ski hills and through obstacles and up ski hills and climbed obstacles and down ski hills and up ski hills and slid on a giant tarp down a ski hill and jumped over fire and climbed through mud.  It was crazy.  It was hot!  It was humid!  It was exhausting.  It was FUN!  Now, the day in pictures...



A Sunny Shuttle Bus Ride

The Pinning of the Bib

Timing Me AND I Get a Free Beer!?!?

 

Get Your Grrrr Face On...Pre-Race

We Are Tough

Me Cheesin

Jason and his Self-Portrait

Done.  And Dirty.

We Used Our Free Beer to Rinse the Dirt From Our Teeth

We. Are. Warriors.

BLING!!!

Monthly Recap: June

June was a very stressfull month, but I got a little closer goal...6 months down with 6 to go!

1. Run 500 Miles in 2012
• During June, I ran a total of 9.75 miles (super lame! and I'm not counting my Minneapolis Half...because that really wasn't running...), therefore bringing my 2012 mileage total to 265.75/500.  Only 234.25 miles to go!  Better pick up the pace.
2. Run a 10k
3. Run a Half Marathon
4. Complete a Duathlon
• I'm registered for one in August!
5. Complete (at least) 12 Races
• I did 2 races this month (Minneapolis Half and Warrior Dash)...so my 2012 race total moves to 7/12!
6. Hit my Goal Weight of 130
• Not much progress here...
7. Be a Better Mom
• Working on patience and not being so selfish with my time
8. Be a Better Wife
• Working on patience
9. Be a Better Friend
• Working on it
10. Be a Great Bridesmaid
• Working on it...bachelorette party planning, say what!?!
11. Get Into Nursing School (Failed...)
12.  Get a House
• We are getting ready to start looking again
13. Pay Off a Student Loan
• Working on it...slowly, but surely
14. Dress Better to Feel Better
• Still doing well with dressing better...didn't really make me feel better this month...
15. Floss More
• Only missed on day (yesterday) in June!

XOXO