Run Your A$$ Off Weight Loss Challenge

Run with Jess is hosting a series of  Dietbet challenges, the first one starting on December 31st..  I decided to give it a go and signed up today.

The dates of her challenges are:
Round One: Dec 31 - Jan 28
Round Two: Jan 28 - Feb 25
Round Three: Feb 25 - Mar 25

How it works:
- You have 4 weeks to lose 4% of your starting weight
- Everyone puts $10 into the pot and after the 4 weeks who ever hits their 4% goal splits the pot.  As of a few moments ago that pot was up to $3660
- You will need a digital scale and a digital camera/Smartphone to submit your weigh in pictures.

I am hoping participating in this challenge will keep me on track with my healthy eating and exercise.

Starting Weight: 184.6

Goal Weight: 177.2 (-7.4)

For this challenge I will need to lose 7.4 pounds which I think is very doable in 4 weeks as long as I stay eating healthy and keep up with my running.

Have you ever joined a Dietbet type challenge?  Are you motivated by competition to lose weight?

Weigh In Wednesday a Day Late

I did weigh myself yesterday but I didn't get a chance to actually write a post about it until now.

Last Week: 183.8
This Week: 183.4

0.4 pound loss!

I wasn't expecting any sort of loss this week with all the junk I ate over Christmas so I was happy to see even a little bit of a loss.  I also didn't get in the runs I wanted to, actually only managed to get one workout all week.  To be honest I could have did all 3 runs this week but when I got the chance I decided to just hang out with the kids and family instead.

My eating and workout schedule should get back on track this week.

My workout plan for this week is as follows:

Wednesday - 3 miles (did this on the treadmill yesterday)
Thursday - 30 min cross training
Friday - 2 miles
Saturday - 50 min cross training
Sunday - 4 miles
Monday - Stretch & Strength
Tuesday - 28th Annual Brita Resolution Run (5k)

I am thinking about signing up for Run with Jess's Run Your A$$ Off Weight Loss Challenge on dietbet.com.  I think it will be a great to keep me motivated to eat healthier and to stick with my workout schedule.  If I win some extra money in the process that couldn't hurt either. =)

How was your holiday week?  Do you have a resolution run planned?

Weigh In Wednesday

I have decided to do a weekly weigh in post on Wednesday's starting today.  I usually weigh myself daily and update my stats on the side when I see a loss.  I am going to try to cut it down to only weighing in each week on Wednesday instead and report it even if there is a gain.  We'll see how it goes. =)

Last Week: 186.8
This Week: 183.8

3 pound loss!

I was happy to see the loss and to see I am down 9 pounds since I started back with my running and eatting healthier.  I have had a few treats here and there this week but I haven't over indulged which I am pretty pround of myself for.  We have tons of treats going through the office at the moment with the holidays and they are very tempting.

I think the big test this coming week will be on Christmas Eve.  We will be going to my brother's and there is sure to be tons of treats and not many healthy choices if any I am sure.  I will be strong and not over indulge!

How was your week?  How have you been holding up with all the treats circulating with the holidays?

OMG So Busy This Week!

I am so busy this week and trying to figure out when I can get at least my 3 runs in some how.

Yesterday (Monday) - The team my husband coaches had a practice last night so I dropped him off, went how, had a quick bite to eat, relaxed for about an hour, and ran back out to pick him up.  Usually I go to Zumba with my Mom on Monday's but with the early practice that didn't work out.  When I got home I sat and watched TV with my younger son while my husband had his supper and looked after our daughter.  Than I layed down with my son to help him get him to sleep.  He is 12 but with his ADHD he gets a bit hyper at night when his meds wear off and I find it helps when I lay down with him.  I ended up falling asleep in his bed, my husband woke me up around 10:30pm, and I went off to our bed.

Tonight (Tuesday) - My daughter has her Christmas concert tonight and has to be there by 6:45pm.  By the time I get home and have supper it will be time to get ready to go.  Then by the time we get home it will be time to get the kids ready for bed so again no gym.

Wednesday - My husband's team has another practice.  If my Dad can look after the kids I might be able to get to the gym for a run this night.

Thursday - My older son has an event at his school.  It is talent show type thing that they use as a fundraiser.  He will be in the show and has been working very hard with is guitar.  He even composed his own song.  Can't miss that.  This also means no time for gym this night.

Friday - Again my husband's team has a practice and we are going to see if my parents or my older son can look after the kids so we can finish our Christmas shopping and possibly get away to watch The Hobbit.  To time for the gym this night unless I can sneak away while my husband is at practice.

Saturday - Don't think anything is planned during the day so I should be able to get to the gym if I can't get away on Friday.  Husband's hockey team has a game this night.

Sunday - I am doing an activity with the kids at my parent's church and my husband's team has an early morning practice.  I should be able to get in my long run in the afternoon.

I can't wait until the holiday's are over so things can calm down a bit.  I love hanging out with the family during the holidays but it gets soooo busy and somewhat stressful.

So the workout plan this week is to just find a bit of time to get my 3 runs in somehow.

How is your week looking?  Are you having problems fitting in your workouts around the holiday events?

I'm Going to Vegas Baby!

Well I took the plunge and registered for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas half marathon.  I can't believe I am going to train for and run a half marathon in 2013.  The race is a week after my 36th birthday, what better way to celebrate than go to Vegas and run a half marathon right?

I have never been to Vegas but have always wanted to go.  We are looking at staying at either the Luxor or the Excalibur as they look close to where the race will start and finish.  Now to decide do we want to stay in a pyramid or a castle.

I spent part of my day making training plans for January to November.  Yes I am a bit crazy and need to plan everything.  I am not going for a certain time I just plan to finish.  I am hoping to get down to 140 pounds or so before the race but I am just going to do my best and see what happens.

OMG I can't believe I really registered for this race!  I have a lot of work to do over the next 10-11 months. =)

What is your goal race for 2013?  Have you ever run the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas race?

My 2013 Goals

With 2012 coming to an end, I have been thinking what I want to accomplish with my health and running in 2013.

1.  Run consistantly - I would like to run at least 3 days a week.

2.  Run a half marathon - My dream race this year would be the Disneyland Half Marathon but I don't think I can make that work without leaving the kids behind and that doesn't really seem fair.  My other goal race is a local one, the Canadian Derby Edmonton Marathon in August, I would do the half marathon.

3.  Cut down on junk food, eat healthier, and drink 2-3L of water a day - I have been doing well with cutting down on junk food and eating healthier I just need to keep it up.  The water part I am working on and am getting better at it. :)

4.  Run faster - I am a pretty slow runner (15 minute miles on the treadmill, is that even running rofl) at the moment and I would like to speed up even just a bit.  I will be working on getting faster throughout the year.  I would be ecstatic if I could be around 12 minute miles by the end of the year.

5.  Lose 1 pound a week on average - I will excercise 5-6 days a week and track my daily calories on myfitnesspal.com  If I can make this happen, I would be at or close to goal by the end of the year.  Woohoo!

6.  Start some strength training/weight training - I have wanted to do this for a while, my arms are as strong as a newborn baby's. LOL  I have also heard muscle burns fat faster, which is exactly what I am looking for.  I just need to stop being so self conscience at the gym and get er done!

Thanks for reading. :)

Better Late than Never Weekly Recap

Sorry for the lateness of this weekly recap.  Don't really have an excuse other than didn't get around to it unfortunately.

Let's see since last I posted I ran the Santa Shuffle on December 1, did Zumba, and ran.

I will start with the Santa Shuffle.  This was a somewhat last minute decision race.  I signed up about a week before the race.  They were raising money for the Salvation Army and I managed to raise $60 in that little amount of time.  This will help feed an individual or couple this Christmas which I am happy to help at least someone.  It also earned me the race shirt. =)

When I signed up for the race I looked at the long range forecast and it didn't look like it would be that bad, approx. -6C (21F).  I kept an eye on the weather and it I was getting nervous it was saying it was going to be -23C (-9F) with the windchill (it didn't get this cold during the race, I think it was closer to -18C (0F)).  Yikes not what I was hoping for.  The night before the race I picked up my race package along with some new mittens, headband to cover my ears, and neck warmer that can come up and cover your nose and mouth.  I was pretty nervous about running in the cold, it would be my first time.

On race day I woke up and got ready.  I wore a tech shirt, my race shirt, and a zip up hoodie on top and long john and my running tights on the bottom.  Was still a bit concerned it might not be enough.  I didn't have to worry other than when we were waiting outside for the race to start and a couple of spots in the race where it wasn't tree lined on both sides I was pretty toasty.  I had the neck warmer up over my nose to start but with my breathing I found it a bit warm and would only put it up to warm my nose once in a while.  I had only started running again after a 6 month break about a week before this race so I was just expecting to finish.  The race was a 5k that was 2 loops around the park and it was a fun run so it wasn't chip timed.  I found it challenging to run in the snow, not that it was really deep but it added a bit of an extra difficulty.  My time wasn't great but it was nice to be back into running again.

I signed up for the Resolution Run on January 1st the night before the Santa Shuffle despite my concerns of running in the cold.  Yes I am a bit nuts but the nice jacket you get was to much to pass up. LOL  Here's hoping I don't freeze my butt off during that race.

So here is what my week looked like, exercisewise:
Saturday - 5k Santa Shuffle
Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Zumba with my Mom
Tuesday - 2m on treadmill
Wednesday - Rest Day
Thursday - Rest Day
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - 2.5m
Sunday - 3m

I am somewhat happy because I got my running days in but I had planned to get more non-running exercise in this past week.  I plan to do better this week.

My plans for this week are:
Monday - Zumba with my Mom (did this last night)
Tuesday - 2m
Wednesday - 30 min Elliptical or Bike
Thursday - 40 min Elliptical or Bike
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - 2.5m
Sunday - 3.5m

On my 2m and 2.5m days I am going to try speeding up the treadmill a bit.

Thanks for reading. :)

Weekly Recap

This week I started running again.  I went to the YMCA with my Mom on Sunday, jumped on the treadmill, and listened to the music on my iPod Nano.  The plan was to do 2 miles on the treadmill.  Since I haven't run since June I had expected to feel some discomfort and have to walk some of the 2 miles.  Well I was in for a surprise.  I felt great, had no discomfort in my legs at all, and I jogged the whole 2 miles.  The time seemed to fly by while I jogged and watched people swimming in the pool.  Where the treadmills are set up was facing a window that overlooked the pool.

On Monday my Mom and I headed back to the YMCA and I decided to try out their Zumba class that evening.  These types of classes always remind me how uncoordinated I am but I had a lot of fun.  It was a big class, about 30 people.  It is definitely a work out, I was sweating, but you have so much fun doing it you don't realize you are actually working out.

After the run on Sunday and the Zumba on Monday my legs were stiff and a bit sore while walking around at work.  By the time I woke up on Tuesday my legs seemed to be back to normal.

Tuesday I didn't make it to the YMCA as my daughter had a Sparks meeting.  She officially became a Spark and it was the cutest thing ever!

Wednesday my Mom said her foot was bothering her so she wouldn't be able to make it to the YMCA with me that night so I waited until my hubby got home from work and headed off by myself.  I did another 2 miles on the treadmill while watching do Aqua Zumba and listened to my iPod Nano.  Aqua Zumba might be something I look at trying out once I get the courage to get a bathing suit.  I haven't worn a bathing suit since 2005 when we went to Disneyland and not feeling comforable while wearing the bathing suit.  The run on the treadmill felt great and this time no stiffness the day after.

Thursday was another day I didn't make it to the YMCA.  My daughter had a Demonstration of Learning at school.  A Demostration of Learning is where your child shows you what they have been doing and learning at school.  They show you around their classroom and such.  She was so excited about showing us around. =)

I decided last week to sign up for the Santa Shuffle that is happening this Saturday.  When I looked at the weather forcast the weather didn't seem like it would be that bad.  It is for a good cause, the Salvation Army, and it will help feed families over the holidays.  It didn't hurt that they are also giving out a medal to everyone that finishes.  It will be the first medal I will receive for a race.  Unfortunately the weather has taken a turn for the worse and it looks like I will be freezing my bootie off on Saturday.  As it stands right now with the wind chill they are projecting -23C (-5.8F).  Yikes it is going to be cold!  Going to have to bundle up.

Tonight I am thinking of going to the YMCA to do another 2 miles.  I will be going by myself as my Mom has plans but I want to stay somewhat consistant with my running.

Plans for the upcoming week are:
Saturday - 5k Santa Shuffle race
Sunday - 2 miles and possibly a Yoga class
Monday - Zumba
Tuesday - Rest Day
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 2 miles
Friday - 3 miles

I am considering doing the Resolution Run (5k) on January 1st and the Hypothermic Half Marathon on February 24th.  The problem is after Saturday, Dec 1st the price goes up and as it is the 2 races will cost me $115.  How to convince the hubby this is a good idea. =)

Planning for 2013

It is looking like I will get a membership for the Y with my Mom.

I have been doing pretty good with eating healthier.  I have been using the My Fitness Pal app on my phone. It has a great feature that lets you scan the barcode on an item and it will input the nutritional information for you.  I love it!  I was playing with it all weekend long.

I have been looking at races to aim for in 2013 and here is what I have come up with so far:

Jan 1 - 28th Annual Resolution Run (5k)
Feb 24 - Hypothermic Half Marathon
Mar 17 - St Patrick's Day Trail Run (10k)
Apr 28 - 3rd Annual Spring Thaw Run (10k)
Aug 18 - Canadian Derby Edmonton Marathon (Half)
Oct 20 - 30th Annual Fall Classic (10 miles)

I spent a couple hours tonight putting together training plans for each of these runs and now my exercise schedule is planned from Dec 3, 2012 to Oct 20, 2013.  Now to just stick to these plans, that is the hard part. =)

Crawling Back Onto the Wagon!

I fell off the weight loss/running wagon big time.  I haven't run since I ran the 10k race with my Dad back in June.  I haven't watched what I eat since before that.  I just ate whatever I wanted not thinking about the consenquences.

My birthday was this past weekend.  My family got together and we had chinese food and cake to celebrate.  My Mom took a picture of me with my cake and posted it on Facebook. I love my Mom but she knows I hate getting my picture taken and I was not happy she posted it on Facebook.  I have purposely avoided pictures and especially avoided putting them up on Facebook.  People can see what I look like than and I am far from proud of how much weight I have gained.  A lot of the people I have on Facebook don't know what I look like and know that I am fat.  I was hoping to keep it that way.  Guess I can't hide from it forever though.

This weekend I watched an Ironman Triathlon documentry type show.  I can't remember what it was called but it didn't just follow the elite athletes but also the ones that just finished.  It was amazing to see the age and size ranges of the participants.  It made me think that if they could do it so could I.  I don't think I will ever do a Triathlon never mind an Ironman Triathlon because I am far from a strong swimmer but it got me thinking about running a half marathon again.

So between the horrid birthday picture and the inspirational Ironman Triathon show I have decided it is time to get my big butt in gear.  I need to lose this weight and I want to start training for a half marathon.  I would like to get my weight down to 130 pounds.  My dream half marathon run would be a Disney one but I don't see that in the cards at this time so I will look into a local half marathon for this summer.

My husband and kids got me a gift card for my Kobo so while I was still inspired by the show I got a couple of books about running.

My Mom has been talking about getting a membership at the local Y for a few weeks so I think at least for the winter months I will be getting a membership there with her.  I plan to run or do cross-training 5 days a week with 2 rest days.  I found a 20 week training schedule for a half-marathon in one of the books I got this weekend that will most like do my best to follow.  Athough I might hold off on starting it until I get back into the swing of running again.

I haven't weighed myself in about 3-4 months because I knew I would not like what I saw.  I decided to dig the scale out from under its hiding spot under the bed, brought it to its new home in the bathroom, took the plunge and weighed myself this morning. It was not a pretty sight and I have a lot of work to do.  The scaled showed me I weigh 192.8 pounds at the moment.  So if I want to reach my 130 goal I need to lose 62.8 pounds.  Yikes!

Usually I start my work day off by going to Tim Horton's and getting a Cafe Mocha and some sort of baked goodie or breakfast sandwich for breakfast.  This morning I decided that I am going to stick with water today and got myself a strawberry yogurt with berries at Tim Horton's instead.

So I am starting to crawl my way back onto the weight loss/running wagon again!

Week 3 on WeightWatchers Recap

Meant to post this on Friday


May 4th WI: 183

My weigh in this morning showed that my weight didn't change again this week which I am somewhat disappointed in and also have an idea why.  I am somewhat disappointed because I felt even though I didn't have a perfect week I did better than last week so I should show a loss.  I think what my problem is is the damn candy in my office.  I always seem to take some candy from the dish each day saying to myself "I still have weekly points left I should be good" but I never track the points for the candies.  I have a feeling even though I have points left over for the week showing on my tracker since I don't track this candy I am quite possibly going over my points for the week.

My goal for this week is to track every food and drink that goes into my mouth.  I know I am suppose to be doing this anyway but I haven't been.

I took my measurements on Wednesday to see how or if they changed is last time I took them and here are the results:

Chest - 40"
Waist - 40"
Hip - 42"

I was pretty surprised as it appears I have lost 2" on both my chest and my waist and 1" on my hips.  So even though I am not liking the numbers on the scale I appear to be making some progress.

April 27 - May 3 Exercise
29 - 5km run in 39:07 (7:50/km) - Spring Thaw Run Off
30 - Biggest Loser DVD
1 - 4.8km run in 37min (7:43/km)
3 - 3.4km run in 28min (8:15/km)

Planned Exercise for May 4 - 10
4 - Biggest Loser DVD
5 - Biggest Loser DVD
6 - 6.4km run
7 - Biggest Loser DVD
8 - 4.8km run
9 - Biggest Loser DVD
10 - 3.2km run

I decided that doing the challenges at this point is just to much for me.  I am going to stick with my running and Biggest Loser DVD for now.

Recap of Week 2 on WeightWatchers and the Spring Thaw Run

Friday's Weigh In - 183

Monday 23rd - 4.8k in 40 min (8:20/km)
Sunday 29th - Spring Thaw Run 5k in 39:04 min (7:50/km)

I didn't have a great week on WeightWatchers, kept on eating junk.  Need to really work on that and also need to plan ahead for the evening snacks.  I was somewhat happy to see that I didn't gain any weight with all the junk I ate but was not happy to see I didn't loose any weight either.  I totally understand why I didn't loose any weight with the lack of exercise and bad eating habits though.

I had my first ever 5k race this weekend, the Spring Thaw Run.  I woke up around 6am and got ready.  Didn't have to be there until 8:30 when the 5k started but I couldn't sleep and wanted to make sure I ate something (ate a banana) and had everything ready.  I got my D-tag put on my shoe and my racing bib put on my shirt.  I had gone out on Saturday and picked up a pair of running shorts and a jacket.  I had planned to wear the shorts but when I woke up noticed it wasn't very pleasant outside so wore running pants instead.  Was also glad I picked up the jacket since it helped keep me warm before and during the first part of the race.

My parents, husband and daughter came to the race with me which was nice.  Mom took a picture of me before going off with my Dad and daughter to McDonald's (my daughter was hungry).  I hate getting my picture taken but I humored her. LOL  My husband stayed with me until the start of the race and saw me off.  I started off a bit fast, got carried away with the excitement of the crowd.  Shortly after starting the path went across a bridge and halfway across I felt like I was going to pass out and than realized it was just the bridge moving as we ran across. LOL  The race was in the river valley so just before the 1km mark the path started an pretty steep incline.  Was not prepared for this and ended up walking up the incline.  It was an out and back route and through most of the first half I was beating myself up about starting to fast and trying to settle myself into a comfortable pace.  I was not happy with a lot of people passing me but I told myself this race it about doing the best I could and not comparing myself to others running.  I tried to concentrate on the music planning on my iPod and not on the other runners.  The second half of the race was a lot better although running back down the incline was a challenge, not as bad as going up though.

My Mom and husband were waiting with their cameras at the finish line and got pictures of me finishing.  Arghhh I look horrible.  Maybe one of these days I won't hate looking at pictures of myself.  My Mom and Dad gave me a hug, congratulated me. and told me how proud they were of me.

After the race I spent most of the day just relaxing and eating way to much again.  Sigh really need to get this eating thing under control.

I have signed up for my next race, the Loops for the Troops race, and I will be running the 10km this time.  The race is on June 3rd so that gives me just over a month to train to run a 10km.

I follow Running with Spatulas on twitter and noticed she posted a few fitness challenges for May.  I have decided to follow these challenges to get my body back in shape and stronger.  The challenges are posted below.

My Exercise Plan for the Week:
Monday - Biggest Loser DVD
Tuesday - 4.8km run, May Challenges
Wednesday - Biggest Loser DVD, May Challenges
Thursday - 3.2km, May Challenges
Friday - May Challenges

My plan is to at least post each Friday with my weekly weigh in, check in for the week and plans for the coming week.  This will start this coming Friday.

Weigh In and Update

Thursday - 3.4k in 26:40 mins (7:51/km)
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - 55 mins of walking with my husband and daughter
Sunday - 40 mins of walking with husband and daughter

Hello everyone.  I had my first weigh in on Friday since starting WeightWatchers.  I am happy to report that the scale showed a 4 pound loss for the week! I am pretty happy with that.  I had been a bit worried at the beginning of the week since we had Chinese food but I did pretty good the rest of the week.

Friday at work and Saturday weren't very good food days unfortunately.  At work we put out various candies for people who come by the shipping department and on Friday a co-worker decided to put out a couple of different chocolates.  Than in the afternoon she was offering up Pot of Gold chocolates and I ended up giving in and having a few.   Saturday's bad food choices were my own fault.  I had found a recipe for Slutty Brownies during the week and I decided I had to make them.  OMG they were delicious but soooo high in WW points and I ended up eating 4 of them.  Most of my extra weekly points are gone so I will need to behave the rest of the week in hopes of having a good weigh in on Friday.

I got out for a couple of walks this weekend with my husband and daughter though.  I did plan on a 4.8k run yesterday but unfortunately didn't get motivated got get out so I plan to do the run today instead.  I am posting this from work so will post a couple of pictures from the walks when I get home.

Exercise Plan for the Week
Monday - 4.8k run
Tuesday - 4k run
Wednesday - Biggest Loser DVD
Thursday - 3.2k run
Friday - Biggest Loser DVD
Saturday - Walk
Sunday - 2nd Annual Spring Thaw Run Off (5k)

Day 6 on WW

Monday - 4km in 34 min (8:30/km)
Tuesday - 55 min of Biggest Loser Workout Video

So I don't know what it is about being on WeightWatchers that helps me but I seem to be doing better with it than just counting calories.  Maybe I just like the structure of the program.  I haven't had my first official weigh in on the program yet but I sneak peeks at the scale each morning and it seems to be going in the right direction.  We'll see what it says on my actual weigh in day on Friday.  Was a bit worried about the scale because we ended up ordering out Chinese food on Sunday and than had leftover Chinese food on Monday.  Not a great idea for losing weight but it doesn't seem to be hurting the scale.

On the exercise front I did a 4km run on Monday after supper and it felt great.  For the first time in a while I felt like maybe I can actually do this running thing and not to do bad in my first race on the 29th.  Last night my training schedule called for strength and stretching so I decided to do my Biggest Loser workout video, there are stretches and toning exercises in it.  I had to drag myself off the couch to do it, for some reason I have been a bit tired the last few days.

Today my training plan calls for some cross training so I had planned to either go for a walk or take a ride on the bike but I wasn't feeling great after work.  I ended up eating supper and falling asleep on the couch for a couple of hours.

On the way home from work I stopped at the store and was finally able to find Larabars.  I have been looking for them for a couple of weeks since reading a couple of bloggers rave about them.  I also picked up a Luna bar to try them out as well.

WeightWatchers and Bleh Weather

Hello everyone!  How have you all been doing?

I have been struggling with my weight loss and have been losing and gaining the same 3 pounds or so since January.  I decided I needed a bit more structure than just paying attention to what I eat and counting calories so I joined WeightWatchers Online last night.  I did WeightWatchers 5-6 years ago and did pretty well with it while I stayed on plan so I am hoping it will help again this time.

I haven't run since Wednesday night.  I was going to run on Thursday night because I knew the weather was going to turn bad (rain and chance of snow) but I couldn't get motivated to get out and my boys had been home sick the last couple of days.  I totally regret not going for that run because according to my training plan I need 1 more run in this week and the weather isn't looking good.  It rained all day yesterday and I woke up this morning to snow.  Not a lot of snow just a dusting but I really hate the cold.

Taking a peek at the weather forecast for tomorrow shows that it is suppose to be cloudy with sunny breaks, no rain or snow, and a high of -1C.  Maybe I can get my run in tomorrow so I can stick to my training plan.  *Fingers crossed*  Looking at the weather they have forecasted for next week I might switch my running days around, we'll see as the days get closer.

It is funny before I started running I never really paid attention to the weather forecasts I just looked outside to see what it was like.  Now I look at the weekly forecast to figure out which days will be better for running outside and rearrange the schedule as the week goes by and the forecast changes.

Questions:
How has the weather been for you?
Do you change your running schedule according to what the weekly weather forecast is predicting?
If you have tried losing weight, what has worked for you?

The Week in Review

Arghhh! I did it again, I haven't posted since last Wednesday. I am going to try to make posting a before bed routine.

Running Breakdown:
Good Friday - 2.4km in 21 min. (8:45/km) - Didn't feel great during this run. I had just gotten back from eating at Joey's Only.
Saturday - 3.4km in 30 min (8:50/km) - Felt pretty good during this run and saw a couple of geese at the lake I run by/around on my running routes.
Easter Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - 3.6km in 30 min (8:20/km) - Felt great during this run and felt I could have run further but wanted to stick to my program and not push it.
Wednesday - 2.4km in 19 min (7:55/km) - Woot! First time I got under 8/km =)

Went to Joey's Only on Good Friday after church and learned a good lesson. Don't go to Joey's Only right after church on Good Friday, wait about an hour or so. We ended up waiting almost an hour and a half for our food. It was a mad house in there. The waitress was very apologetic and brought an activity pack, a cookie, and a fruit up for my daughter to help keep her entertained while we waited. What really annoyed me was that people who came in and ordered take out got their food before us.

Saturday morning the whole family, all 12 of us went to Ricki's restaurant for breakfast. Was starting to wonder about our waiter because he kept on messed up my drink order and it was like my husband was invisible when he took the drink orders. Twice the waiter tried to give me the wrong drink, first water, than pop, I ordered an orange juice. The food order came in a timely manner without any mistakes that I heard about. It was great fun.

Sunday the easter bunny came and it was pretty much just a relaxing day. We had turkey dinner with my parents and my boys. Picked up my boys from their Dad's today and they are back with me for 2 weeks.
As of today, Thursday, I am 17 days away from running my first race. I am enjoying running so much that I have a list of races I would like to run this year, I have planned out running schedules for the next few months, and I am hoping to be able to do the Disneyland Half Marathon Next Year.

Questions:
How was your holiday weekend?
Did you run a race this past weekend?
Any upcoming races your are excited about?
Ever run or want to run a Disney race?

Playing Catch Up

Well I definitely mean to post more often than I have. Will try to get caught up with this post so I am sure it will be a long post.

Thursday
We had an executive breakfast at work and even though my department wasn't a part of it we were able to taste what was offered. My plate consisted of 2 mini quiches, a ham and cheese sandwich on a mini croissant, and another pastry of some sort. Along with the breakfast there was a cupcake fundraiser for MS in the lobby of the building. ARGHHH! Today was not the day to be counting calories. I managed to resist the cupcakes until lunch and bought 6 to bring home for the family. They were very tempting sitting on my desk all afternoon but I managed to get them all home. Unfortunately I ended up eating 3 of them that evening. Needless to say I went over my calories for the day.

After eating supper I changed into my running gear and went out for a 2.4k run. I ran it in 20 min for a pace of 8:20/km, which is average for me on this route.

Friday
Friday was the last day for a lady in the office and she brought in donuts for everyone. When they were offered to me I politely declined but they kept pressuring me to take one. "Come on one donut won't hurt you" I was able to fend them off and they asked me to bring one back to my co-worker. I wasn't sure which she would want so I went back to ask her. She wanted anything chocolate so I went back to get her a donut. Big mistake! They insisted I take one for myself. "Take this one it doesn't look so bad"

Once I got back to my desk I looked up the donuts on my Timmy's app on my phone to see the nutritional information on the donuts. My co-worker got a double chocolate and I got a honey cruller. Which do you think had more calories and fat? Yup! The damn honey cruller!

Double Chocolate Donut
Calories: 250
Total Fat: 10g
Saturate Fat: 4.5g
Trans Fat: 0.1g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Sodium: 290mg
Carbohydrate: 36g
Dietary Fibre: 2g
Sugar: 16g
Protein: 4g

Honey Cruller Donut
Calories: 320
Total Fat: 19g
Saturate Fat: 9g
Trans Fat: 0.4g
Cholesterol: 50mg
Sodium: 220mg
Carbohydrate: 37g
Dietary Fibre: 0g
Sugar: 23g
Protein: 1g

I decided to eat the cruller but I spread it out over two breaks during the day. Not ideal but better than what I would have done in the past.

Saturday
Saturday was a beautiful day. My husband went out first thing in the morning and returned bottles. He goes once a month or so and this month got $50. Woohoo!

After he got back I went out for a 3k run. It took me 29 minutes for a 9:40/km pace, which again is average for me on this route. I really want to get a Garmin so I can get a more accurate idea on how I am doing.

Once I got back and had a shower we went out to do a bit of shopping. I needed new headphones for my iPod Nano. Ones that I didn't have to adjust constantly while running. I also wanted to look at a new printer. We have been without a printer since we moved because we somehow lost the power cord. It wasn't that great a printer anyway.

Off to Best Buy we went. I found a printer that I liked but we wanted to see what Future Shop had. Before leaving Best Buy I picked up some pink Skull Candy headphones and a yellow Angry Bird plush for my daughter.

We went over to Future Shop to see their selection of printers but there wasn't anything that caught our eye. We went back to Best Buy to pick up the one we liked there, a Brother 7065DN.

My daughter was so excited about the new printer. She couldn't wait to get to the Treehouse TV website and print off some stuff. LOL.

Sunday
I woke up on Sunday morning, looked outside, and WTF is this? Snow? Arghhh! Not a funny April Fools joke Mother Nature!

I didn't do much of anything today, just relaxed and watched some movies on TV. My husband and parents went to a couple of my nephews hockey games while I stayed home with my daughter. Had been planning on going for a walk but with the snow I decided to pass.

Sunday night my daughter didn't sleep well. For some reason she has been coughing at night the last little bit. She is fine during the day but at night she has coughing fits. She came into our bed in the middle of the night and started her coughing. We gave her some cough syrup and I decided to take her back to her room and lay down with her so at least my husband could get some sleep. We finally fell asleep and than she woke up again. "My cough is gone we can go back to your room" Sigh, fine off we went back to my room. She was pretty chatty when we got there but eventually calmed down. Of course she was up bright and early Monday morning in a great mood.

Monday to Wednesday (today)
This work week started off crazy. We had a bunch of new hires and we had a rush of people come get temporary badges and pictures taken for their permanent badges through out the day. Tuesday and today wasn't so bad we set out certain times the new hires could come to get badges and pictures and it seems to be working a lot better.

I haven't been doing great with my eating habits. I do pretty good during the day while I am at work but I break down in the evenings. This is definitely something I need to work on, snacking at night. I seem to eat when I am bored, while watching TV, or playing around on the computer. I am not actually hungry in the evenings just feel like I need to eat for some reason. I am also an emotional eater so when I am stressed or upset I eat. This came into play today when my husband found out on Monday that the office he works in is closing down so he will be out of a job at the end of the month. He has been talking with some contacts and he does have the month to find something so I guess it isn't so bad but I worry.

I had planned to go for a run yesterday but I just couldn't motivate myself to get out. I did drag my butt out the door for a run tonight after supper though and did 3.4k in 30 minutes for a 8:50/km pace. I am happy with that. I got to test out my new pink Skull Candy headphones and I love them! It is so nice to not have to adjust my headphones while I run, they stay in place.

We are suppose to get snow overnight and through tomorrow so no run tomorrow but I am hoping that we don't get much and it clears up by Friday. At the moment I am planning on a 2.4k run on Friday and a 3.2k run on Saturday.

Okay I think I am all caught up now, sorry for the extra long post.

Ready... Set... Go!

Welcome to my journey to lose weight and become a runner. I have been trying off and on to lose weight for about a decade or so. I don't ever remember a time I was happy with my weight even when I was around 130 pounds (my current goal) when I was a teenager.

At the beginning of the year I decided I wanted to train to do a half marathon this year and have been attempting to run since. I have now realized that running is a bit harder than I thought so I will start with smaller goals and I will eventually get to my ultimate goal of a half marathon. I have signed up for my first race which will be a 5K run on April 29th. I am pretty excited about it and have been working on a training plan for a couple of weeks now.

I am by no means a fast runner, my best pace so far has been 8:20 min/k (over 13 min/mile). Yikes that sounds really slow, but I will get faster!

Today was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 13C (55F) and when I went out for my run after work and supper it was still 11C (51F). It was the best weather we have had in a long time and I ran for the first time without a jacket on. I felt more relaxed and did 2.4K (1.5 miles) in about 20 minutes. Unfortunately I don't know exact times as I don't have a Garmin as of yet (soooo want to get one!).

As for how I did with my eating today, ARGHHHH! My work is sooo not conducive to weight loss. I work in the shipping/receiving department and we have candy everywhere, bowl on the counter for clients, jar on a co-workers desk, etc. Today there was also an executive breakfast that we were able to partake in that was mostly pastries. Than there was also a fundraiser for MS in the lobby of the building where they were selling cupcakes. Temptation everywhere!

Since I knew about the executive breakfast ahead of time, I was somewhat prepared and didn't have any breakfast before coming to work. I did eat more than I probably should have but I could have done a lot worse. I did pick up some cupcakes but didn't have one until after supper tonight. As for the candy in the shipping/receiving department, I had about a handful of gummy bears. Again not great, but there was a time not that long ago when I would have had a lot more.

I will be working on not munching on the candies at work and avoiding the temptations of the catered food at work, which they have been having at least once a week lately it seems. I will be using Sparkpeople to track my calories eaten and burned.

Current daily calories goal: 1200-1550
Calories eaten: unknown with catered food
Calories burned: approx. 232
Run: 2.4K (1.5 miles) in 20 minutes