Lovely day for a stroll thru the park

I completed another 5K on Saturday. The weather was perfect. I felt better for this one that I did for the one a few weeks ago. My time wasn't great - still consistent with my sub-45 minute time. LOL.

I've got 2 more 5K this month so maybe I increase my time. 

Plan to Plan

I know one of the keys to healthy eating is to plan out your menu and get things ready the night (or the weekend) before. This article has some really good tips for planning for a week of clean eating. Now if I could just have someone make my plan for me...

To time or not to time...

When I enter a race they are generally timed. That is to say there is some kind of timing device to tell me my start and end time. I like to keep track and challenge myself to do better the next race; even if it's only by a minute (or sometimes even half a minute). While I enjoy the non-timed events (i.e., The Color Run) I know I don't push myself, I just go along at a leisurely pace until it's over.

When I read this blog post from BKB Limited it made me think about the difference between merely participating and actually competing. One the one hand I think any event that gets people off the couch and moving is good. It shouldn't matter if it's timed or not. On the other hand I see his point about the lack of investment in training to see a payoff in the finishing time. Do we need competition to make us push ourselves? What about if it's just competition with ourselves?

Don't get upset, get it done!

Lately I've been upset about a number of things - not losing weight (and actually gaining: up about 15lbs since my lowest in September), not being able to get faster times in my 5K events (I think I've done 9 so far this year with varying results), not finishing my dissertation by May 16 (only about 75% of the way done) and then I read the above quote. So simple yet so true. I'm upset but I'm not doing the work so it holds true that I'm not getting the results I want. Let's face facts, I haven't been eating the way I need to in order to lose weight, I haven't been putting in the workouts outdoors that will lead me to faster times in my 5K events, and I haven't been spending the amount of time required to be done with this dissertation on time. What's a girl to do? Quit being such a lazy a$$ and get with it!

My plan? First I'm writing up the results that I was upset I didn't get followed up by the work I didn't do and THEN my plan for making those results happen. Let's begin, shall we?

1. I'm upset I can't get faster times on my 5Ks.
Result I didn't get: better time (i.e., < 40 minutes)
Work I didn't do: train for runs OUTSIDE, eat clean

What I can do about it:

• Set outside running schedule for next 2 weeks
• sign up for this 5K on May 31st
• Pledge to eat clean
• make a food plan and stick to it

2. I'm upset I haven't lost any weight and have actually gained about 15-16lbs since my lowest weight in September 2012. 
Result I didn't get: weight loss (or even maintenance at this point)
Work I didn't do: didn't track my food, make good food choices, consistently exercise

What I can do about it:

• Make a food plan and stick to it
• Track all my food 
• Make workout schedule and stick to it

3. I'm upset I have not finished my dissertation by now
Result I didn't get: Finished dissertation - oral defense completed
Work I didn't do: spend the amount of time needed to get it done, stop endless distractions

What I can do about it:

• Schedule time (Saturday 5/18, Sunday 5/19, Monday 5/20, Tuesday 5/21)
• Talk with adviser about reschedule date
• Stop screwing around on the internet (this blog today doesn't count since I'm posting my goals)
• Get draft to editor by end of day Tuesday 5/21

I also need to realize I can do anything, but I can't do everything and that's what I keep trying to do. I want to be able to work, workout, sleep, finish dissertation, watch TV, go to movies, spend time knitting, hang out with friends, etc and I can't do all of that all the time. Some sacrifices are going to need to be made if I want to get the results I say I want.

So there it is internet world. I wrote down my goals for right now, made a plan and now I'm going to get on it. I'll check in later in the week to report my progress. 

Venting

Ugh, even though I keep saying I'm recommitting to my health liifestyle choices I really just want to say ... F*** it.

I think I've been on this train for awhile. And what's really frustrating is I'm only 3 lbs less than I was this time last year. I suppose that's better than being 3 lbs over but still, a year's worth of work for what? Eating clean is so tough when there are so many bad choices all around. Exercise can be fun but it's also time consuming. Trying to work on my dissertation, keep up with knitting, getting in my sleep, working 8 hours a day, etc gets to be so much that I'm frustrated I can't do it all.

Maybe my trip here in a few weeks will make me feel better.

Going the distance

My first event for March Madness was the Runnin' of the Green in downtown Denver on Sunday March 10th. And guess what, it was a 7K (not my typical 5K) so I was going for distance (but not speed, so much). That Saturday we had a big snowstorm with blowing snow and very chilly temps. Lucky for me (and the other 4000+ runners) Colorado can get kind of crazy with the weather - dumping snow one day, sunny and warm the next. That's what we got. But when my sister and I got there we just weren't feeling it. We decided even though we had signed up for the 7K we would just do the 2 mile Leprechaun Leap. In my typical "fool myself" fashion I started out saying "I'm just going to do the 2 mile, I'm just going to do the 2 mile" but when the turn around came up I was feeling really good so I thought, what the heck, I'll do the full 7K (4.35 miles). And I did! I allowed myself to walk most of it (and not at my usual race/walk pace but just a brisk walk). I jogged a little bit.

It was great and I felt awesome. My time was slow (15:11 min mile pace) with an overall finish time of 1:06:01 but I was okay with that because you know what? I went the distance.

March Madness

I've decided to really amp up my work outs during the month of March and that includes adding more 5k events to the line up. Here's my plan:

1. Goal: to walk 15,000 steps each day
2. Complete three 5K events and one 7K event
     a. Running of the Green 2013 7K on Sunday, March 10th
     b. Lucky Laces 5K on Saturday, March 16th
     c. 2013 Spring Fever 5K, on Saturday March 23rd
     d. Hippity Hop Easter Trot 5K on Saturday March 30th
3. Spin class at 24 hour fitness on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (5:30am-6:30am)
4. Orange Theory Fitness on Monday nights and Thursday nights (and maybe throw in a few Sundays)

In addition to these workouts I'm going to walk for 30 minutes each day at work (and if the weather is bad I'll try to head to the mall on my lunch hour to get in 30 minutes)

Bad habits be gone!

If only it were that easy, right? Oh sure I can identify the bad habits that have lead to my regaining of some of the hard lost weight 2012 (about 9lbs). But it seems more difficult to actually DO something about them. And now it's almost the end of February. This blog post on LiveWell Colorado's website today was a helpful reminder that although those bad habits may creep back, it's up to me to do something about getting rid of them and getting back on track. Here's another good post about getting back on track.

So the first thing I have to do is resume the good habit of faithfully tracking ALL my food each day. I resubscribed to WW online in January but have been very lax about consistent tracking. Oh I'll track breakfast and lunch but then forget about dinner or know that I've gone way over my points allowance so I will just "forget" to track a meal. I know that when I do track and keep my points in the target range I do lose weight. So why don't I do it? It's not difficult (goodness knows I've got internet access most all of the time and I have the app on my iPad) but I just get lazy about it. Thursdays are my weight tracking day and first day of the new week so I've gotten back on track and tracked my breakfast, lunch and snack along with my workout from this morning. Tonight is my OTF night so I'll probably just do some soup for dinner.

The second thing I need to do is come up with a more consistent workout plan. I have been better about getting to the gym but I think I really need to focus on what I want to accomplish and what exercises/activities will get me there. It would be great if I could work with a fitness coach or something - maybe I should check into 24 hour's trainer program.

The third thing I must do is get rid of the Girl Scout cookies and other such food in the pantry and refrigerator.. I just can not have that stuff in the house. At all. If it's there it calls to me and before I know it I've eaten a whole box of cookies, or chocolate covered peanuts, or potato chips (which I don't track because that would just put me way over in my points). The bad thing is I do like to have a treat once in a while so perhaps I will put them in the garage in the cooler which will require major effort to get so I'll only do that when I really want the treat.

And I really need to keep this song in my head:


Okay, I'll keep you posted on how I do getting Back on Track!

Lunch 1/18/13

Friday usually means leftovers. Here I have some salmon, asparagus, quinoa, spinach, and feta cheese. I really needed something sweet but nothing was to be found.

Breakfast 1/18/13

My favorite pumpkin oatmeal with turkey bacon and coffee.

Commitment Day 2013 5K

The Commitment Day 5K was held in over 30 cities on January 1, 2013. I thought this was a great idea for a New Year' Day fun run. While it was fun it was also freaking freezing! I think it was maybe 10 degrees. As with the Christmas Carol run my quads were totally frozen even though I had two layers on (3 layers for the top and that was fine, maybe I need another pair of pants).

It wasn't an officially timed event and I have yet to find any photos online but they did have a video so I did a screen capture. Let me just say that seeing myself running was pretty well summed up in this photo:

I think my time was my typical 41 minutes or so. Next race I'm gonna shoot for a flat 40 minutes! (that's on January 27th so wish me luck)

Christmas Carol 5K

Another fun Sunday run, this time in City Park. It was pretty darn cold though. I don't think my quads warmed up until I was almost done.

Results:

Chip Time:00:41:34

Overall Place/Total: 563/799

Pace: 13:42

Sexplace/Sextotal: 349 /523

Divplace/Divtotal: 77 /107

Stocking 5K

It was a lovely Saturday morning, a little chilly at first but the sun was quite cooperative and allowed me to have a nice little jog at the Superior Stocking Run 5K event. The goodie bag was awesome: tons of Cliff bars, a little jingle bell bracelet, and other miscellaneous samples. The after run snacks were yummy: homemade chocolate chip banana bread, hot cocoa, and other tasty treats.

My run time, not so awesome but pretty average (40:59).

 

Much of the run was through neighborhoods and they were kind of hilly. (and I know it wasn't just me who thought that because several other folks were talking about it during the after party).

Overall a nice day and a nice run. I'll have to keep this one in mind for next year.

Running in T-Town

Since I knew I would be in Topeka for Thanksgiving I looked to see if there were any 5K events I could participate in to help offset the Thanksgiving feast (not to mention my sister's cupcake creations). On Active.com I found The Rescue Run, a 5K event to benefit the Topeka Rescue Mission. Although it was a night event and I prefer morning runs, I signed up.

Here's me crossing the finish line (photo compliments of www.SeeKCrun.com). My only complaint is they started everyone at the same time even though there was a crowd of people so my chip time would have been a little better (maybe by a minute) than what you see on the clock. My official time was 42:17.9 with a pace of 13:38/M. Not spectacular but pretty average for my 5K times.

And this song was playing on Pandora as I finished up and crossed the line - loved that!


The really cool part was that after the 5K was over they had a Christmas Parade.

 And here's me with my sweet little niece Jenna.

*Thanks to hubby for taking the two pictures above.

Early Turkey Trot

This Saturday I participated in the Brighton Turkey Trot. It was a lovely sunny Saturday morning (also my husband's birthday but he didn't mind that I spent the morning trotting along instead of eating birthday cake).

Here's my results from their email:

Thanks for participating in the Brighton Turkey Trot 5K Run.

You placed 566th out of 678 finishers in a time of 41:46 for a pace of 13:27 per 
mile.

Your chip time was 41:20.

Out of 389 women you finished 305th. The winning time for women was 17:58.

For 40 to 44 year old women you were 43rd out of 55 finishers. The winning time 
for your age and sex was 22:39.

Not too exciting - pretty typical for me for a 5K. Someday I hope to actually run one! 

Run the Rocks 2012

Since I've been working out at Red Rocks all summer I thought a good way to end it would be to participate in the Run the Rocks 5K event to benefit the American Lung Association.It was a beautiful day and the first two miles were awesome (they were pretty much all down hill). The last 1.1 mile was UPHILL and then up the stairs to the amphitheater. I thought I was going to die. And, as you can see by my time, I didn't do as well as I usually do in 5K events. But, I finished it! And I'm hoping I can do better next year.

And here's my bling! I love racing bling!

Sunday 5K

After spending Saturday watching an Indiana Jones movie marathon at my local AMC (all four movies: 10:30am-7:30pm) I thought it would be a good idea to do a 5K race on Sunday morning. It probably would have been better if my meals on Saturday had consisted of more than:
PreBonza bodies workout snack: pear and almond butter
PostBonza bodies workout snack: larabar (banana nut)
Breakfast: 1 egg, 1 egg white omelet with green chili
Lunch: almonds and small movie popcorn
Snack: waffle fries at the movies
Dinner: Skinny cow vanilla ice cream sandwich

I arrived at the Panerathon at 7:15am to get my packet, attach my bib and timing chip and stretch out. At 8am we were off! I started the first mile with a nice 12 minute pace and was feeling pretty good. However, after that the energy drained quickly and I finally made it across the finish line with a net time of 42:05 (pace of 13:35). Not great. But I looked up my time for the same race in 2010 and it was a nettime of 46:56 (pace of 15:09). So an improvement! I'll take it. And next time I'll fuel up for it correctly.

Best thing about the Panerathon has got to be the post race grub:

Sunday (Sundae)

Another goal this month is to be very strict with the "no sugar, no wheat, no dairy" rules. I was rather wishy washy about it last month but even so I think it was helpful.

Food:
Smoothie (1 c Silk unsweetened almond milk, 1 TBSP ground peanuts, 1 TBSP chia seeds, 1TBSP rice protein powder)
1 egg + 1 egg white omelet with chopped chicken breast and salsa
Larabar = cherry pie
Salad (1/2 c black beans, romaine lettuce, chopped chicken breast, salsa, tomato)
Watermelon
1 packet of guacamole
1 bag of rice chips (eaten over the course of the afternoon - I just can't open these dang things up because I'll keep snacking until it's empty) 
2 turkey burgers
Exercise:
Since Sunday is usually a pretty mellow day I just did a 20 minute soak in the hot tub with 10 minutes walking in the pool, then I got my 90 minute massage. Ahhhhhhhh

We finally had the birthday celebration for my sister (her birthday was last month) and instead of going out to a restaurant (as originally planned) they decided to come to my house and bring BBQ and a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake.  I was pretty proud of myself for not eating ANY of it. While I like the DQ ice cream cake I didn't feel strongly compelled to eat it and was happy to see it go. Now if it would have been a DQ peanut buster parfait I might have caved.

September, already?

Where does the time go?
My goal this month is to do a daily blog post (which sometimes will only consist of what I ate and how much I exercised that day).
Today (Saturday) I got up at 4:45am, went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. Then back home for a quick bite (pear and almonds), sliced up an apple to eat on the way and headed up to Red Rocks for my Bonza workout.

Got back home around 8:45am, ate a 3 egg white/1 whole egg omelet with salsa and 1/2 avocado, checked email and other such internet stuff, iced my knees then changed clothes to get ready to ride our bikes downtown (I had to do a "half way done" weigh in and nutrition discussion at Bonza Bodies).
Headed to 9 Mile station in the car with bikes on the back and hit the trail around 10:20am. What an awesome ride downtown. Took about 1hr and 10 minutes to make it.
After the 2 hour meeting where we learned more about proper nutrition, stress relief and some good stretching techniques Josh and I had lunch at a Kabob food truck (I had the lamb and beef plate (including 3 tasty dolmas). I gave my pita to a homeless guy (I felt kind of like I was saying "hey homeless person, here's some nutritionally devoid food that I won't put in my body but I'll give you to put in yours" but he appeared appreciative).
Decided that since the way home was mostly uphill and there were some dark clouds forming we would just take the light rail back (and use my free 1 way 3 zone passes I got from the coupon book from the Step Up for Cancer event last month). On the way back I ate my larabar (banana nut bread, yum). Got home, took a shower, iced my knees again (they are not very happy with all the activity) then headed out to Sports Authority so I could use my $9.90 rebate coupon before it expired on Monday. I wanted to get a pair of bike gloves but they didn't have any that I liked so I got a 3 pack of crazy neon socks and some sharkies for my dad. We checked out Target for the bike gloves but no luck there either. Perhaps biking is considered seasonal and it's going out of season? I did see some super cute Alice in Wonderland little girls clothes. I had to restrain myself from buying a bunch for the nieces (the prices were not that great considering the quality).
Next stop, King Soopers for some roasted chicken and salad fixings for dinner. I also had a couple pieces of the dolma samples (must be a dolma kind of day). I talked Josh into getting a pineapple and cutting that up for dessert (love my pineapple). Dinner was a bed of romaine lettuce, 1/2 chicken breast (shredded), the other 1/2 of the avocado, tomato, and a mix of balsamic vinegar with olive oil and cracked pepper. Settled in to watch the season premier of Dr. Who - love that we get BBC America now!

Food:
pear
apple
almonds
3 egg whites
1 whole egg
salsa
1/2 avocado
coffee w/silk almond milk
Lamb/beef at kabob stand
lettuce w/tomato
dolmas (3)
Larabar - Banana nut bread
dolma pieces (2)
chicken breast
tomato
romaine lettuce
balsamic vinegar and olive oil
almonds
1/2 avocado
pineapple

Exercise:
Elliptical at gym = 30 minutes
Bonza Bodies workout at Red Rocks = 60 minutes
Biking downtown (11 miles) = 1 hour 10 minutes

I'm so ready for my massage tomorrow morning.

p.s. I gained 3 lbs but was down in body fat (I didn't catch how much) - I blame it on Vegas.

What condition my condition was in

Great movie, great song. But what condition is your condition in? It appears most of America's condition is not so good

In fact some people are recommending that physical inactivity becomes a medical diagnosis. They say if we can regulate smoking and seat belt wearing we can regulate activity. What do you think?