Three Things Thursday

1. Next Saturday, October 9, I will be walking  the North Central Alabama Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure with my Mom, Aunts, and Cousins in honor of my Aunt Rosie. She is currently battling breast cancer, and when I found out about this 5k, I knew it was something I wanted to participate in with my family. This 5k won't be about anything but enjoying family and supporting a good cause. I partnered with a local cafe to sell cupcakes to raise money for our team. The sell started this week!

2. My 30 Day Shred Challenge ends today. I only finished 21 days of shred, but that's okay. I am proud of what I accomplished!

3. Tomorrow is the beggining of a new month, and the beginning of new challenges. This month, I will be participating in Mary's "Power of 10" Challenge...moving 10,000 steps each day and Syl's modified 30 Day Challenge (this time I will be aiming for at least 20 minutes of exercise each day). And, of course, I will be continuing the Drop Dead Gorgeous by December Challenge. I love a good challenge :)

Cooler Temps and Spaghetti Squash

The temps are finally falling in North Alabama, and I couldn't be more excited. After two days of 98+ degree weather, yesterday's cool down was wonderful. I decided instead of heading back to the gym I would take advantage of the cool morning and do an outdoor run. It was AMAZING to be running outside again. The time passed my so quickly (much quicker than when I am on the treadmill). My speed isn't where I want it to be, but I could tell I was running faster than I did in the spring. I had to take a couple of walk breaks, but by the end of my 5k run, I felt invigorated! I ran my trusty "Roadkill Run" path from last spring, and loved every minute of it.

Yesterday afternoon, while doing a bit of grocery shopping, I spotted a spaghetti squash.

A couple of years ago, I had my first run in with a spaghetti squash after reading several people's blogs about them. People raved and I was so excited to try a new veggie. I love fruits and veggies, and there are very few that I don't enjoy. I picked out a HUGE spaghetti squash, to it home, *thought I followed the directions*, and thought it was HORRIBLE! I was so upset. Tommy just laughed at me as I tried to finish one serving. I could not imagine how people could like these things. A while back, Rae posted about having spaghetti squash and a former coworker had put a facebook status about how much she and her kids LOVED spaghetti squash. Now, I will be the first person to say I am not a good cook, but I do alot of cooking. I am easily  intimidated by new recipes and tend to make the same things over and over. Several people have told me I am a good cook, but I think they just want me to cook for them so they don't have to do it...because in my eyes I just don't have great cooking skills :) I am always in awe of Brittany when she posts amazing creations from her kitchen, and Tish has been known to make my mouth water from her dishes. Mary has been posting new recipes each week with her DDGbD posts, but as for me I seldom venture out in the kitchen. Yesterday, when I got home, Tommy helped me unload the groceries. His first response was, "Is that a spaghetti squash? Did you really buy another one of those?" Honestly, I am a little surprised that he remembered the first experience. I guess me not like a veggie was memorable :) Anyway, I did a bit of research online and roasted the squash in the oven. (The first time, I used the microwave...and I think I may have undercooked it.) I halved the squash, coated with a tiny bit of olive oil and Italian seasonings and baked it for 45 minutes at 400.

IT WAS GREAT! Tommy even had a few bites! I am soo excited to had a new *easy* side dish. And maybe I will even try a recipe for Spaghetti Squash as the main dish :)

**I think the problem with my first experience with Spaghetti Squash is that I cooked it in the microwave for the time it was suggested to do the first cutting, instead of the amount of time it needed to cook after cutting! Oops :)

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 6

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

I honestly didn't want to write a DDGbD update today,but my husband encouraged me to do it this morning. He reminded me that I had worked to hard to give up on the challenge. This is a horrible picture that he took first thing this morning. He brought the paper, marker, and camera,and said"Come on, we are going to do this." I am so lucky to have him!

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

Challenge Start Weight : 193.5
Current Weight: 193.5
Next Weigh In : October 2

* Working so hard and not seeing a scale change is really tough for me. Prior to this challenge, I only weighed once or twice a month. Since the weigh-in is optional,I think I will only post my weight once a month through the rest of the challenge.



3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) I am currently at 100/200.
Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins  I successfully completed 3 sessions of Week 4.I will do one more week of week 4 before moving on.
Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week  I only journaled 2 days. The rest of the week was just too busy...the last 2 days have consisted of Way too much emotional eating.

Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. My MIL gave me a ten dollar gift card to kohls. It was going to expire yesterday, so after the gym I went and bought a dressy blouse for the fall. I will post pictures later.

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.
I am proud that I am a friend,that my friends can count on.

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.   
I am so behind on doing the Shred. My "want to" has disappeared and I need to find it again. This challenge ends in 6 days...I have some catching up to do.

Updates: My friend's son,Will, had another surgery  on Friday. The staph is in the elbow joint and bone. They cleaned out as much infection as the could. He will stay in the hospital a while longer, and was told he won't be able to go back to school for 8 weeks. Please continue prayers for them. Another friend's Dad is not responding to chemo the way they had hoped. The cancer is growing rapidly and  surgery is being scheduled. Yesterday, my 1 year old nephew took a fall down some stairs when he was visiting his grandparents. He fractured a bone in his head, and has a concussion. He was sent to children's in Bham. And the cherry on top was my husband breaking a tooth Friday night, compared to everything else, this is minor, but still an expense we didn't need. Thank you all for the care and concern you have shown to me in regards to my friends and family that are going through difficult times. I truly appreciate it.

Three Things Thursday

1. I am behind on blog reading this week. Things have been WILD (at home and at work)  and I just haven't had much time for reading and commenting on blogs. Hopefully, I can catch up some this weekend. I miss knowing what is going on with you guys :)

2.  Because of my Wild Week, I am behind on the Shred. I have been able to workout each day (until tonight), but the Shred has been put off way to much. I do okay with heading straight to the gym after work, but once I get home all bets have been off.  I am going to TRY to double up some in the next few days and maybe get caught back up. I am disappointed that I have let it slip by, but I worked late a few nights this week, celebrated my MIL's birthday Tuesday night, and welcomed a new baby into our family ( my cousin had a child.) It has been a great week, just very full.

3. A couple of week's ago, I asked for prayers for my best friend's little boy. He was in a riding accident and had been sent to a children's hospital for surgeries. Things had been going well with his recovery until this week. He has developed staph and they are very worried. He is back in the hospital as of tonight, and in quite a bit of pain. They may be doing another surgery tomorrow. Please keep him in your thoughts.

A Good Run...or two :)

I think my mental cheerleader must have gone on vacation for a bit, but she is back. The past two days, I have had great runs and she was cheering me on the entire way.

Yesterday, I was determined to add some miles to my DDGbD challenge. I knew when I got to the gym I wanted to run at least 3 good miles, and decided to break up the mileage using the bike. I would run for a mile, then bike for 2 miles, etc. During my last run, I felt so good that I decided to throw another mile into the mix. I ended up with 10 miles for the day. Ran 4, Biked 6 and I felt great when I walked out of the gym. I ran slow and easy, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Today I tackled Week 4 of the Couch to 5k again. I was able to complete all my intervals. YAY! My heart rate is still above the 85% maximum when I finish the 5 minute intervals. I am going to do at least two more days of Week 4 and then evaluate if I should move on or not. My goal is to be able to run a full 5k at 5.3mph , but it may take me longer than 9, 10....20 weeks. But I know I will get there eventually!

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 5

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional

Challenge Start Weight : 193.5
Current Weight: 193.5
* Working so hard and not seeing a scale change is really tough for me. Prior to this challenge, I only weighed once or twice a month. Since the weigh-in is optional,I think I will only post my weight once a month through the rest of the challenge.

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc) I am currently at 75/200.

Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins  W4 of the couch to 5k has been challenging. I am not ready to move on. I will spend at least one more week doing the W4 intervals.

Goal 3: Journal food 5days a week  Journaling went well this week. I stayed within my calorie range on spark.

Goal 4: Do something for myself to make me feel gorgeous. T and I had a night on the town last night with friends. It was fun to get ready and go out.

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.

Determination

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week. 
I need to revamp my motivation.When I am focusing on my fitness I do much better staying motivated than when I think about my weight.

Heart Rate Question

Since I have increased my speed while running I have been diligent in checking my heart rate after each speed interval. After most intervals,I am usually at or close to the 80% maximum heart rate. During my 5 minute intervals this week, I have been above 80% after each run. I can quickly recover once I start my walking interval.

Is it safe to be above the 80% maximum HR? If so, for how long?
Is this a sign that I am trying to push up my speed too soon? Should I back off the speed for an interval if I am over 80%?

I never checked my heart rate when I ran my other 5ks. Maybe it was above 80% then too. I am just not sure. I really want to make my goal of running a 5k in under 40mins but that isn't something I want to do too soon if it can cause problems. I hope to be running the rest of my life and if it takes to reach my under 40mins goal, so be it. If being over the 80% is okay, I want to keep pushing myself.


I hope my questions make sense to you all and someone can help me out.  Thanks- Jess

Three Things Thursday

1. Tommy has been out of town the past couple days watching our team in the finals. It was my first week of classes at the library, so I couldn't take off to go. The team only needs two more wins to be back to back Champions. Go SUNS! Tommy has had a blast, but I sure do miss him.

2. Even though I had to work this week, instead of going to the finals, I had a baseball moment of my own! Washington National's player Josh Willingham brought his son to my Story Time on Wednesday. I was super excited, but wanted to respect his time with his son so I didn't act like like a super fan :)

3. I have skipped the last two night running, because of the blister, and only did the shred. I HATE level 2 of the shred, but just keep pushing. Tonight is my night to tackle Week 4 Day 1 of the Couch to 5k again!

Ouch! a Blister!

Sunday, Humphrey begged me to take him for a nice, long walk! I can't say no to those sweet puppy dog eyes, so I loaded us up, and we went. I decided on going  to a state park trail about 20 minutes from the house.T and I had been to the trail before, but this was Humphrey's first time.  When we started out, he was super excited and ready to go, but by the end of our 3+ miles he was worn out. He was so tired, he ended up taking a nap on the drive back home. It was a fun day and a great way to get in some non-gym weekend exercise. Unfortunately, I wore the wrong type of shoes for our outing (some sneakers I had gotten for Christmas, but hadn't worn much.) When we got home, I had a horrible blister on the back of my heel. It hurt, but I didn't think that much about it. When I did my shred workout for the night, I noticed a bit of discomfort, but nothing I couldn't work through.
Yesterday, I was ready to kick butt on Week 4 of the couch to 5k. I had even brought a band aid to cover the blister, and thought I would be fine. The blister killed me the entire time. Mentally, I couldn't stop thinking about the pain. I kept telling myself to push through, but as the run intervals continued, the physical pain from the blister was causing a mental block, too. Then I started having trouble keeping my breathing in check. And by the time I was about to start the last 5 minute interval, I was about to DIE to go to the restroom. I got one minute into the final run and had to stop (well I did run to the restroom). I felt horrible stopping before finishing the last 5 minute interval, but I just couldn't keep pushing. When I got to the restroom, my poor blister had turned into a horrible blister and had bled through my sock (and I'm not sure what happened to the band aid).
I wanted to just leave. To forget the rest of my workout for the day. But I didn't want to get behind on the mileage for DDGbD. I decided I would try at least one mile of the three I had planned on the bike, and if I couldn't finish that would be fine. I would leave. But, I was able to finish all three miles...and did half-mile on the beast (summit trainer). When I got home, I did my shred first thing to knock it out of the way. I was proud of what I had accomplished after almost giving up.
I am going to do a redo of Week4Day 1.  I want to say that I fully completed it before checking it off. I am hoping some of the physical struggles I was having with my breathing and heart rate were caused from thinking about the blister and wanting to quit, but this may be a week that I have to work on for awhile before progressing forward.

The blister looks oh so gross today and hurts, too!  I think I will be switching today for Thursdays gym rest day and only do my shred tonight. Wednesday I will try again to push through W4D1.

Hopefully, Humphrey and I can have another adventure soon, but I won't be wearing those awful sneakers again!

Do any of you have any sure fire blister treatments?

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 4

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.
My sign says "Go Jess Go...Roll Tide Roll"

Humphrey tackled me! LOL

Set, Hike...Ready for Football!

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional
Challenge Start Weight : 193.5
Last Week's Weight: 191.5
Current Weight: 193.5
*The gain is very frustrating to me, because I continue the cycle...The week after my period I gain, then drop down to 191 or 190 in the following ,only to move back up again!!! Grrr...But I will just keep on keeping on...eventually I will break this cycle...I MUST!

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc)
  22 Miles tracked this week: 6 treadmill,  15 cycling, 1 summit trainer. This puts me at 60 miles so far in the challenge!

Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins - Starting Couch to 5k again working on speed during run interval :Week 3 finished.

Goal 3:Journal food 5days a week- I did mostly paper and pencil journaling this week. The week was busy, and I would spend my free time at night doing the shred rather than logging on to Spark to journal in my food for the day. Next week, I need to get back to the Spark...I think my calories were on target, but taking the time to spark ensures I don't go over, or at least makes me aware if I do and I can make corrections.

Goal 4: Do something each week to make myself feel gorgeous. I did the shred each day...the Shred makes me feel strong and when I feel strong I feel gorgeous!
4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.
I am really, really proud of my workouts this week. They were tough and I hung in! Keeping my speed up is getting tougher, but I am so proud that I am hanging in there. I know when I complete a 5k in the fall with a new PR these tough workouts will be worth every ache! I was stoked that on the last 2 days of Level 1 Shred I used 5lb weights. I felt tough! HAHA :)

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.
    Honestly, seeing the gain on the scale this morning put my head in a really bad place. I was grumpy all morning to the point that my husband made a comment about my mood. This week I need to remember why I am doing this...I don't workout hard each day to see a certain number on the scale...that's not what this is about for me. I need to focus on how I physically feel. I need to focus on the rush I get after a great workout. The number on the scale does not determine my week, my workouts do :)

Three Things Thursday

1. I have done great this week in regards to both of my challenges. My 30 Day Shred Challenge is going great, and I will be moving on to level two in a couple of days. When I started the challenge, I was sick and taking antibiotics, but I am so glad I was able to power through those first few days because now I have no excuse not to "just do it." Last night, it was 10pm before I was able to get the DVD in, but I was so happy to finish it for the day. My DDGbD challenge is also going well, I have one more day of week 3 in the couch to 5k and so far so good. I am still able to keep up the speed, and this makes me excited! My food journaling has been a bit too sporadic, and I think I may have to return to pen and paper because some days its just too hard to fit in time to get online for  food journaling, but I love sparkpeople when I have the time to devote to finding my food  in the database. Even though I haven't journaled the way I should I know that I haven't had any big splurges, and with my internal calorie count I am hitting my range just right.

2. Today I tried a new piece of equipment at the gym. The Summit Trainer. Have any of you guys tried this beast?! I made it through a half mile today, but I will face him again soon! My legs were like jello when I got off...so much harder for me than the elliptical. This will be a great challenge for me to conquer!

3. The little yellow butterflies fluttering around lately make me so happy. I just can't see one without smiling :) I've always heard when you start seeing these guys, fall is just around the corner :)

A Sweet Award

A very special thank you to Tish for this "sweet" award :)

List Ten Things I LIKE:

1. The change of seasons. I particularly love the change from Summer to Fall.I love the firt crisp, cool morning. The changing of the leaves. Front porches decorated with mums, pumpkins, and scarecrows. Ooh, I can't wait.

2. Weekend getaways with my husband. I love to pack up the car and go. I don't care where we go, as long as we are together in search of an adventure. And it is ALWAYS an adventure with us :)

3. Working at the library. I am so blessed that I LOVE my job. Everyday I am able to make a difference in a child's life!
4. Craft fairs!  I love a good craft fair. This fall is full of them and I can't wait :)
5.  A day off with nothing scheduled. I love to be able to wake up and decide what I want to do rather than look at a list of things I have to do.

6. Feeling accomplished at the end of the day. This can be cause of work, a clean house, a good run...it doesn't matter the reason I feel accomplished, I just love that feeling.
7. A good book. I have recently fallen in love with audio books on playaway. Driving 45 mins to and from work each day, I can get through a good book in no time...and it definitely beats  listening to the radio :)

8. Blog challenges.  There is something about being innvolved with these challenges that really keeps my motivation up.

9. Scented candles. My favorite is pumpkin or sugar cookies.
10. A clean house.I just feel so much better when my house is in order. I am far from a domestic goddess, and my mother did not teach me wonderful housekeeping skills, but when my house is "clean" I just feel better all over!


Ten bloggers with whom I'd like to share this award (It's a very pretty one for your sidebar with non-caloric cupcakes!)


Deliciously Healthy

A Small Loss

All About the Bottom Line

A Little More Passion

For Real, This Time

Is It Really Just a Number

Life's Journey with a Smile

Live, Smile, Run

Losing Ethel

From Fat to Fab

Enjoy your cupcake :) Can't wait to learn more about you! -Jess

Drop Dead Gorgeous by December -Weekly Report 3

1. A picture of you holding up a positive sign for yourself.
My sign says "Never Give Up!"

2. Your current week’s weight as well as your challenge start weight. *optional
Challenge Start Weight : 193.5
Current Weight: 191.5
*I will be so excited if I make it into the 180's next week. I have yoyoed  between 194-190 for months!

3. Your goal(s) from now, or whenever you decide to join, until December.

Goal 1: 200 tracked workout miles...(treadmill, street runs,biking,elliptical,swimming,etc)
18 Miles tracked this week: 6 treadmill,  12 cycling. I am a little short on my weekly mileage goal of 20miles, but I had to take some days off while I was sick.

Goal 2: 5k in under 40 mins - Starting Couch to 5k again working on speed during run interval :Week 2 finished.

Goal 3:Journal food 5days a week- Journaled using Sparkpeople 4 days. There were a couple days I felt so bad I didn't eat much. On those days I didn't journal.

Goal 4: Do something each week to make myself feel gorgeous. Mud Mask :)

4. ONE thing that you are proud of for the week.
I am proud of making my Doctor's appointment at the first sign of feeling sick. I am bad to wait around thinking I will feel better in a day or so,only to end up feeling worse for much longer. This week I nipped those ear and throat infections in the bud before that got too bad.

5. ONE thing that you can improve upon for the following week.
    After being sick, my house is a WRECK! I MUST get things back in order, including cleaning out my fridge!!

Three Things Thursday with a cherry on top!

1. I was so excited to receive a sweet blog award from one of my favorite bloggers, Rae.

The Rules:
1. Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?

I would like to be one of those people that can say I live my life without regrets, but that is not my truth. I live with many regrets...though I am so happy with what my life has become in the last few years.  If I could change just one thing though, I think it would be that for too long in my life, I gave certain people a priority that didn't deserve it. Now, I try to live my life fully thankful for the people who mean the most to me...the ones who love me as much as I love them. I have an amazing husband and a handful of friends that mean the world to me...and the other people just really don't matter as much. Why worry what the world thinks of you, only strive to be the best person for yourself and the ones you love.

2. The second thing you have to do is, pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have gotten this award.

I know this is a slack way of doing this, but I feel like I have seen this award on almost all of the blogs I read. If you haven't received this award, please accept it from me...and let me know! :)

3. The third and final thing is, thank the person who gave you the award.
Thank you, Rae! I am not sure if I found your blog, or if you found mine, but I am glad we found each other. I am so glad to be on this journey with you!

(Now back to our regularly schedules Three Things Thursday.)

2.  I am feeling better today, but definitely not back to 100%  I decided to workout  before taking my first dose of antibiotics for the day and I think that was a good decision. The meds wipe me out. This morning I was able to get in Week 2 Day 2 of the Couch to 5k and a few miles on the bike. I also did day 2 of the 30 day shred. By the end I was worn out!  The rest of the day I ran a few errands and relaxed.

3. This is a bit gross, but a question for the other runners. Do any of you have toenail issues? I generally keep my toenails trimmed down pretty short. A few months after I started running on a regular basis I noticed one toenail growing kind of funky! It was normal at the base of the toenail but super thick into the nail bed. ( I don't think I am describing this well...) I have clipped on that poor toenail all summer trying to make it look better, to no avail. Last night, Tommy ended up clipping off the top part of the nail. It was like the whole nail came off, but there is a nail underneath that is a bit rough, but it's a full toenail. Then we discovered the other foot's same toe is starting to do it. The only thing I can think of is that it has something to do with running. If you can understand at all what I am trying to explain here (lol) have any of you had issues with this?

30 Day Shred Challenge Day 1

Today is the first day of Syl's 30 Day Shred Challenge. She encouraged all of us to take pictures and measurements. Tommy helped with the measurements, but I am not sure we did them the right way...
Waist: 42 in
Hips: 47 in
Thigh: 27.5 in
Arm: 14 in
Chest: 37 in

The first day was tough! I actually had to stop a few times and modify almost everything. Tommy reminded me not to push myself too hard being on antibiotics. I know as the 30 days continue I will become stronger everyday! I am going to skip my run today. I just don't think I am up to it. Hopefully, I will be feeling better tomorrow and can head to the gym and then make up today during the weekend, but I am not going to push myself if I don't feel up to it. Just going to take it one day at a time. One of the antibiotics I am on says a side effect is weak muscles and I have felt that all day. I may have to wait the full 10 days until I am  off antibiotics before I can really push myself hard at the gym again, but I want to try to at least get in the 30DS.

Day 1 Pictures!