Closer to my Goal!

Last night I ran two miles in 24:54!

This is my best 2 mile time. I am moving closer and closer to my 2 miles in 24 minutes goal! WooHoo! 
Today I am going to try to beat my one mile PR! A quick run this morning on my early lunch break...then I will be on the road all afternoon. Hopefully this evening I can get in a little walk...or maybe take Humphrey for his weekly adventure :)


Happy Hump Day :)

Spring Fever Challenge

It is here! It is here! We are moving past Winter and heading into SPRING! :) I am very excited about the Spring Fever Challenge!

My motivational picture of the week....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite pictures...It symbolizes Spring Time and Fun!

This Week's Questions:

one. What are your goals for the Spring Fever Challenge? 

two. Why did you choose them?  

three. What is your plan of action to make them happen?

Goal One:

"Face and Floss" - I am a soap and water kind or girl, but I am at the age (or passed the age) when I really need to start taking better care of my skin. My goal is to use a good cleanser to wash my face and put on sunscreen EVERYDAY! Also, I need to get into daily flossing again...I have gotten too lazy with this and need to make it a DAILY thing, not a couple of times a week.  I am going to make a calendar for my bathroom vanity and check off each day when I do these to tasks! 

 

Goal Two: 

"150 Feet miles :)"

This is a goal carried over from the WWW Challenge. I didn't complete this goal last time, but I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN this time! I am splitting this into smaller goals of 50 miles per month. I will do it! 

 

Goal Three:

" A Fitness Class a Week"

I don't want my mileage goal to be my only focus...fitness classes are a good way to mix it up. I will achieve this my scheduling Monday for my fitness class...and then do it! :)

Goal Four:

"Fitness Adventures with Humphrey"

I wanted this to be a Family walk each week, but I couldn't get Tommy completely on board.  I will keep working on him. Until then, Humprhey (my pup) and I will head out for fitness adventures (to different parks) each week. I think this is going to be so much fun! 

 

Goal Five:

"Vitamins and supplements"

When I started taking my thyroid medicine a couple of months ago, I got out of the habit of taking all of my vitamins and supplements. I have always taken them with breakfast, but with the thyroid meds I have to wait four hours...and I sometimes forget to pack them with my lunch. Making this a goal will give me the incentive to do this daily. And hopefully it will be a solid habit by the end of the challenge.  This will be listed on my face and floss calendar so that it is marked off each day.

 

Goal Six:

"Strength Training 3 Days a Week"

Simply put, I don't like strength training, but having it as a goal will keep me doing it. My plan is two days of upper body, one day of lower body. UGH! :)

 

four. What does this challenge mean to you?

A new challenge always excited me and keeps pushing me forward in the journey.

five. Fun Question of the Week: 

Let's  get to know each other! What is something most people (er... fellow bloggers) don't know about you?

Spring is my favorite season :)

 

 

 

Winter Wonderland Warriors-- Week 1

I am so excited about the WWW Challenge and ready to kick it off!

First off...Positive picture of the week!

My positive picture of the week is my new workout schedule. I am keeping this schedule in my car so that I can see what my workout is first thing in the morning...I also have a copy of the schedule at home. This schedule makes me excited...it is the Hal Higdon 10k training schedule...I am not sure that I will actually participate in a 10k, but loved the schedule because it incorporated several of my WWW goals...Running/walking, cross training, and strength training!

Now for the Questions!
1 &2. What are your ten goals for the WWW challenge and why did you choose them?


1. 150 miles on foot (A combo of walking, jogging, and running). I usually try to do 10 miles per week...in order to complete this goal I will be upping my weekly goal to 13 miles.

2. 150 miles on Bike (This will be at the gym). When I get in running mode, I tend to neglect other areas of cardio...this will encourage me to change things up.

3. 2 miles in 24 minutes. I have been working on this for awhile, and really want to mark this goal off my list!

4. Participate in an official 5k. I haven't done one in a while and they are fun!

5. Do 100 minutes of Wii Fitness a week. I read about others using there Wii all the time, but usually only use it when I can't get to the gym...I want this to be an extra component. I plan to use Wii fit, and have borrowed Dance Dance Revolution...I may also reward myself after the first month with a new game to keep my motivation high!

6. Save $100 per month. This will be tough, but I think I can do it...things are often tight financially but I want to try to make saving money a priority.

7. Strength Train 2 days per week. Strength training is very difficult for me, but I know how important it is...maybe if I add this as a challenge goal I will be more consistent.

8. Eat 7 fruit/Veggies per day. In general I think I do this...but it will be more planned now, and I hope to incorporate more fruits and veggies as snacks!

9. Drink at least 64oz of water per day. By making this a challenge component I will be more consistent, I am bad about "forgetting to drink" anything. I would really like to do 64 oz before lunch! but Baby steps :)

10. Do something FUN once a week. (This could be a movie at home with Tommy, a Girl's Night, or taking Humphrey for a hike...just something fun) Sometimes I get in a funk during the blah winter months so this will cause me to plan fun things!

3.Are you making a New Year’s Resolution beyond the WWW challenge? I just want to live life the best I can!

4. What does this challenge mean to you? This challenge is a way to keep myself motivated during the winter. I honestly feel challenges are key to keeping my motivation high in regards to diet and fitness.

5. Fun Question of the Week: What did you do when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve?
I kissed my sweet hubby! It was a quiet night at home that included movies and watching the ball drop.  We actually watched the ball drop eastern time together and kissed...then he went to bed and I waited for midnight Central time, gave him a quick kiss while he was sleeping, and then crawled into bed myself.

Time to THROWDOWN! :)

I am very excited about participating in a November Throw Down with J from For Real, This Time! We have emailed a few times and got our goals set.

My goals for November are:

*Weigh 187 or lower by Dec. 1 
Those of you that read my blog on a regular basis know that I lose Very Very slow. This will only be a 3lb loss for the month, but for me that would be huge...I am usually excited with a 1lb loss. I will be trying to accomplish this by tweeking my diet. I will be upping my calorie intake from 1250-1400 to 1400-1650 and will be spreading my calories out between 6 meals/snacks. This is my third day of doing this and so far so good. This is my schedule
6:30  Breakfast
9:30 First Snack
12:30 Lunch
4:30 Second Snack (Pre-workout)
6:30-7:30 Dinner *Dinner may be later on some night due to work.
8:00 Final snack
Because I am eating so many times through the day, I have been able to control dinner portion sizes much better! I will continue this schedule through November and then reevaluate.

Exercise 5 days per week w/ 3 days of strength training 
I usually get in 5 days of workouts already, so the strength training with be the true challenge. I bought a Stregth training DVD and so far I really like it!
Run 2 miles in 24 minutes :)
I made this a goal earlier, but I had given myself through the New Year to achieve it. I think if I really work hard I can get there by Dec 1.
 
If you aren't already a follower of J you should check out her blog and show her your support!
*I want to say a very special Thank You! to Rae for starting this challenge and pairing me with J :)

Pink Dress Run & New 5k PR

I have been really excited about Fran's Pink Dress Run all week. I knew this would be my first attempt to break my 5k PR which is one of my Drop Dead Gorgeous Goals.
I decided last night that I would treat this run just like an official run and set a starting time of 8AM. Last night, I decided that it would be fun to make an official Pink Dress Run Bib!

I got up at 6 and ate a small breakfast, 1 cup of dark chocolate almost milk and 1/2 an ounce of raw almonds. I then got dressed kissed my sweet sleeping husband goodbye and headed to the gym to jump on the treadmill.

I was just as excited and nervous driving to this "run" as I have been for all of my Road Races. I wondered if I would be able to beat my previous 5k time of 40:28. 

When I got the gym, it was FULL! There was one treadmill open, so I hopped on and set off. There is a 5k setting on the gym treadmills, but I have only used it once. I thought it would be fun to count down the kilometers rather than miles,so I typed it in and I was off. I kept a 5mph pace the first 3 km, then dropped down to a fast walk for 2 minutes to bring my HR down and take a sip of water. Then I brought the speed back up. As I started the 4k I started to get a bit of a side stitch and had to slow back down. I was able to finish the last 4 minutes at my quickest pace of 5.5 mph and finished at 38:39!  Woohoo! I had broken my previous time!!! It took me a few minutes to cool down, then I called Tommy to let him know. And texted my friend Crystal. She was excited for me! I stopped at the grocery to pick up some items to make Egg White and veggie scrambles for my post run breakfast, and then headed home.

I want to THANK Fran for hosting this run and Syl for introducing me to Fran's blog. I had a great time today knowing that I was running "with" all of you wonderful bloggers!

Have a great weekend everybody!!

Running Towards New Goals!

I broke another record yesterday!!! I finished my 2 miles in 25:08!  I would really like to get to 2 miles in 24 minutes before the new year! So I will be working toward that goal!!

I am still very slow and I know I won't be winning any races, but I just love working hard and beating my own times. I can really see my  improvement!

Three Things Thursday: Zucchini Ribbons, Pedometer, and Time Goals

1. Last night I made Zucchini Ribbons for dinner. Have any of you tried these? Basically, you just cut off the ends of your Zucchini, and use a mandolin to cut long ribbons. (You could do this with a sharp knife, too.) Then I sauteed them with a bit of olive oil and Italian Seasoning. Super Yummy and Quick! This will definitely be added to the rotation :)

2. Some of you made have read on my sidebar that I lost my pedometer last week. We had Family Night at the library, and with such a wild night, it fell off at some point without me noticing.We wore costumes, and when I changed into my costume, I noticed that I had already hit 10,000 steps with all the prep work for the event. I probably should have just taken it off then, but I didn't.  I am sure a child thought it was a toy (we were giving out many small prizes during the event) and took it home. I was using my husband's pokewalker, and it really did look like a toy. I put up signs around the library, but so far nothing. I plan to order a replacement this afternoon, and when it comes in I will continue my Power of 10.

3. Last night, I beat a PR for my one mile and finished in 11:43. I was really excited. I had not paid much attention to my 1mile times in a while, but after finishing Saturday with a better time than I had expected, I decided to do an official time. New goal will be to finish in 11:30 or better :)

Drop Dead Gorgeous By December Challenge

I knew when I finished my Labor Day Challenge Sunday that I wanted to get involved with another challenge quickly. I was so excited yesterday when I read about Half of Jess's Drop Dead Gorgeous by December Challenge! This is just what I was looking for in a challenge. It is about setting goals and being good to yourself and will run through December! It starts Sunday, but she says you can join at any time.  If you are looking for a good challenge for yourself, check out her site! This could be what you are looking for, too!

Labor Day Challenge Complete!

WooHoo! I completed my Labor Day Challenge of 100 miles on the treadmill! This has been a wonderful challenge for me. There were so many days when I just wanted to go home instead of hitting the gym but this challenge truly kept me accountable.
I still haven't decided how to reward myself, and honestly I think the biggest reward was stepping off the treadmill yesterday knowing I had met a goal I had set for myself.

What goals have you all made this summer? Have you completed your goal? Anyone interested in joining a fall challenge if I host it?