Tough mudder planning...

First and most important ... I conquered my fear of going over 6 miles. Rocked out 7 miles on the treadmill today and was a sweaty mess! I even rocked it having a head cold from hell.

Now for tough mudder. Im a bit bummed. Today they announced the location of TM Virginia Beach. Its 80 miles away from the beach! But way worse... they changed the weekend! While this isnt a big deal for me - for my running mate Laura it possibly is a deal breaker.

The vision I had of my tough mudder weekend is slipping away - I envisioned completing the TM then laying on the beach enjoying a beach beverage and relaxing the rest of the weekend. No stress. No kids. Ocean views. Had the making of an awesome girls weekend away.

TM allows us to move to another TM location/date or a refund if we cant do the new weekend. So we have started looking around. The Philadelphia TM and Boston TM are on our original weekend. The phili one is in a boring horrible location that would be NO fun. Boston has some promise... never been to Boston before. But definately loses the relaxing beach vibe for post TM.

What to do, what to do???

Race signups...

Signing up for a race makes it real and makes me start focusing on goals.

Today I signed up for two local 5ks - one in March, one in April. My 5k PR is 27:30ish (dont remember the exact number off the top of my head). Beating that is going to be tricky. If I do then yaaaa but Im not super stressed about it. My goal is to do both under 30 minutes :)

I also signed up for an all womens half marathon in April. This one I really went back and forth on. First, Im having a hard time mentally on increasing my mileage. Second, the timing is bad bad bad. It is the day before we leave for a trip. The next morning we have to be at the airport at like 4am. Insane. But I wanted to do it so I finally made up my mind to just do it. I think I might even get a hotel the night before - treat myself to a relaxing dinner and cuddle up with a book :) Its about an hour away and I hate waking up to drive the morning of the race.

So this week  I HAVE to get in a 7 mile run. Looks like it will be tomorrow and seeing that its supposed to rain - might be on the treadmill. BLAH. But it will get done!

wow 6 days...

Wow I havent posted in 6 days.

I have had a bad few days.

I have had a good few days.

Thursday was ROUGH for me - had a lot of family issues and mama drama. A LOT. And of course I turned  to food. And binged. BIG TIME... crazy big binge. Then I tried to get back on track for my three days at work but I didnt track and I slipped here and there. Not horrible, but not good either. And I skipped my workouts all three days. So that was 4 days with no workout - thats a huge stretch of being lazy.

Monday I took it back - I went to the gym with the plan to run a few miles while the baby was in the daycare. Instead I noticed that there was a tabata class and jumped at the chance. HOLY MOLY. Hard hard hard. And today Im crazy sore. But that didnt stop me for getting out for a 4 mile run this morning :)

Today Im tracking again. Im prepping some food - there is chicken - fajita style in the oven and made some garlicy tomatoes that rock. (And make me have crazy stinky breath)

I had lots of other things planned for my few days off including getting the house straightened up but who knows if that is going to happen - came home from my run to a sick baby girl :( Her first fever. My poor baby.

I was listening to Jillian Micheals podcast today - its about keeping yourself motivated. You need measureable goals - with a plan on how. Mine are coming...

GREAT RUN!

So I stepped out of my comfort zone today and met up with someone new to run today. I "know" her via the computer and reading her blog but don't really "know" her.

Meeting up with a new running buddy is stressful... making new friends as an adult is scary!  The little fat girl in me worries "will they think Im fat?". The self conscious me worries "will they think Im fake, boring, stupid, not worth being friends with". The runner in me worries "will I be good enough, fast enough, run long enough", "will I hold them back and ruin their run". Will we have things to talk about? Will we like each other?

No wonder its so freaking hard to make new friends as an adult!

I reminded myself that you wont make new running buddies if you don't put yourself out there to begin with.

So I went and so glad I did! It didn't feel awkward like I worried it would. We knocked out 5.5 miles in 55 minutes. It was cold and windy and hilly. But the time flies when you are chatting with someone.

Proud of me for stepping out of my comfort zone :)

feel like a giant dork

I feel like a giant huge ginormous dork. 

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with someone that has been a huge inspiration for me - Ive read her blog for what seems like forever and she is local and somehow it worked to meet up for a run. So the dork portion - its stupid, really is... obviously I don't "know" this person. But Ive read her blog for years and it feels like I know her. It always freaks me out when someone who isn't a close friend but is a fb friend mentions something casually that I posted on FB when I run into them and I always think did I tell them about that - oh yea fb. Well it will be a giant amount of those moments... I hope she doesn't think I'm a weirdo stalker :) And I hope I don't suck... lets hope for a good running day! 

On a bummer side - we were hoping for a trail run but its been raining all day and its muddy and gross. I was looking forward to my second official trail run. 

And speaking of trail runs - some how I talked my husband into signing up for a 10k trail race in August. Huge deal! He has turned down every single race Ive suggested. Super excited! He even promised to hit some trails with me for some practice runs from now until then :) I'm even thinking date weekend surrounding it with a stay at a bed in breakfast and dinner with my love :) Very happy! 

My race calendar is getting longer and longer by the minute. Here is my current scheduled races...

March 30th bunny 5k

April 14th 5k by the bay

April 28th Columbia half marathon

May 18th Warrior Dash

June 1st Tough Mudder - VA beach!

June 23rd Baltimore womens classic 5k  (maybe)

Aug17th River Valley 10k trail run

Sept 15th Philadelphia Rock and roll 1/2

Oct - cant decide between WV tough mudder and the Baltimore marathon

a note to self and plan for the week

Yesterday I updated my weigh in's and got a reality check. I was so happy to be in the 160s... I forgot Ive been there quite a few times. I have been within 5 lbs of where I am right now since March 2012! I need to stay focused. I need to keep doing what Im doing. I know what to do... so do it!

So plans for this week

Workouts
Sunday - push 1 video, abs video, swim 30 min
Monday (work) - early morning spin class, 10 pushups x3
Tuesday - push 2 video, trail run, 15 pushups x 3
Wednesday - spin class or swim, abs video, 10 pushups x3
Thursday - push 3 video, 5 mile run, 15 pushups x3
Friday (work) - REST
Saturday (work) - early run, abs video, 10 pushups x3

Meals
Sunday - baked chicken fajitas over cauliflower "rice"
Monday - left overs
Tues - some sort of seafood dish
Wed - whole chicken, roasted veggies
Thur - breakfast for dinner
Fri- left overs
Sat - left overs

tons to say Saturday

So many things to say today  - hmmmm where to start???

Ive had a really great day so far!

Started with waking up super early to get to my group workout by 7am. Started the morning with stepping on the scale. Only down 1 lb BUT that put me into the 160s!!!! woohoo! 169.4... I will take it!

Had a rocking workout with Laura. Im so thankful that we met up and have become friends. She is an awesome person and she totally pushes me to get out of my comfort zone! Todays workout started with a 2 mile run then circuits that included jump rope, pushups, weighted walking lunges, thrusters, high knees (hate them), box jumps, weight ball throw, hopping up stairs (hilarious) and a little bit more running. My arms were jello driving from the meeting spot. And between this workout and insanity last night - my calves feel like they are going to explode! OUCH!

After breakfast we went to Walmart since their website said they had the adjustable plyometric jumping box I wanted... they had 2-3 in stock. So excited! Laura and I both got one! And I got a massaging stick too... OMG that hurts, but in such a good way :)

After showering I laid on the couch for a quick minute... woke up 45 min later drooling. Nice. Hubby took the kids downstairs and let me nap.

And tonight is Caseys bull roast for Histiocytosis. An AMAZING kid raising money for something that he dealt with personally. Im looking forward to going... fingers crossed I win something, the auction and raffle prizes are AWESOME. Funny that Im bummed that they arent picking the winners til 10 pm since Im old and thats too late for me. ... damn Im old!

kicking it up a notch

While I am working out consistantly - my workouts are missing the ummpphh that I want them to have. They are not very intense lately. Im not quite sure what I want to do to change that though. 

Ive officially decided to run the Columbia womens 1/2 marathon in April but Im having a very hard time getting into training. Its just so damn cold outside and treadmill longer distance running and me do not get along! 

I also want to really make sure that I focus on getting cardio in 6 days a week even if its just 20-30 minutes on those hard to get cardio days in days. Im debating adding some insanity videos to the fun. Im not a fan of the chalean cardio videos. I plan to stick to her weight workouts though. 

And starting next week I plan to add a trail run in weekly. They scare me. Guess being scared is a good thing.

Tomorrow is 

1. weigh in... I really really really want to see something that starts with a 1 and a 6! My scale has said 170.4 ALL week. And Ive made some good food choices and a few not so good food choices. So Im a bit nervous but I really hope that the scale is in my favor. 

2. tough mudder workout. Its supposed to be 28 degrees and possibly snowing. Great. Havent planned it yet though. 

posting

Normally when I dont post for a while its because Im off track. That I dont want to discuss my failures so I stay away.

I havent posted in a while but Im happy to say it isnt because of that because Ive been doing AWESOME.

But I have been BUSY and have had other priorities taking over. I keep getting a post stuck in my head but by the time I am able to sit and type it up Ive lost my mojo and the excitement I felt before so it doesnt get written.

A bit of updates -

1. Im down 3 lbs this week! And shocker I didnt do any fancy diet - no paleo, no freaking out about carbs... just made smarter choices and stayed between 1300-1600 calories depending on my workout that day. Goal to be in the 160s next weigh in and STAY OUT OF THE 170s!

2. Yesterday was my birthday and it was AWESOME. We kept it very low key. I ate way too much but hell, my birthday only comes once a year. My hubby surprised me with gorgeous diamond earrings to replace the ones I lost a few years ago. I was shocked. And Gavin made me a paper purse that was adorable. And bre took a long nap :)

3. I see the doc on Thursday about my leg pain. Ive decided until we figure it out I will keep doing my workouts but shy away with the weighted stuff on that leg... its no reason to slack off everything else.

4. Started rewatching other chicks tough mudder experiences and getting super excited!!!

I work the next three days so yesterday I sat down and planned out my workouts and meals.

WORKOUTS
Sunday- yoga, chalean video, 15 pushups x 3
Monday - 40 min treadmill workout, 7 pushups x 3
Tuesday - chalean video, 16 pushups x 3
Wednesday - 30 min treadmill workout, abs video, 7 pushups x 3
Thursday - Long run 80 min on treadmill or 7 miles outside, chalean video, 15 pushups x3
Friday - lap swimming, 7 pushups x 3
Saturday - TM group workout

PLANNED MEALS
Today I will make a veggie/lentil soup, indian chicken dish, slow cooker italian chicken dish, roasted speghetti squash and a large batch of cauliflower rice.  This will be my base for lunch and dinner for the next three days. Yummy!

no time for injuries!

Not sure if anyone remembers but back in November I started to get this annoying pain in my left upper thigh. I assumed I had pulled something but the pain never went away and lately has been worse. Doesnt hurt to the touch but hurts like a bitch if I move my leg a certain way. I have been bugging my physical therapist at work about it and trying to figure out some stretches for my "pulled muscle" ... but now Im starting to think its not just a pulled muscle. Hello its been almost 4 months! So I finally made the decision to see a doc about it. Next thursday I will get it checked out. Im a bit freaked out it might be an inguinal hernia... I dont have time for an injury. Definately dont have time for a surgery! So hopefully its something simple and a bit of physical therapy will help.

In the mean time Im backing off on the leg exercises and dead lift type exercises until then - Im not allowing this to be an excuse to back off everything else though. There is NOTHING wrong with my upper body and it doesnt hurt to run. So moving forward!

I havent posted since last Sunday mainly since I worked mon, tues, wed and they were INSANELY busy. Trying to get my 1-2 workouts in plus 12 hours of work plus have a student at work plus be responsible for the morning care of both little ones = one tired working mom! Today its 1015 and Im still in my PJ's :) But I have gotten most of my workouts in and eaten pretty well!

This weeks weigh in will be on Saturday - its my bday :) Oh wouldnt it be awesome to see something that starts with a 1 and a 6 :)

Sundays weigh in

My scale is confused -
1st step up on it = 171.6... super happy
2nd step up right after = 172.4 ummm ok
3rd step up right after = 173.4

I stopped at that point ... hell a few more step ups it might tell me I gained 10 freaking pounds.

So I claimed the higher number for this week and Im moving on.

We are three days into February. I am focusing on better eating choices this month and proud of my choices so far. Hopefully the scale will reflect that soon.

upcoming workouts...

I was going to write this down for me to have but as Im sitting here on the computer I figured I would just post it instead...

So time for some workout planning :)

2/2 REST DAY :)
2/3 Video and yoga class
2/4 three mile run with hill repeats, 16 pushups x3
2/5 Video, 8 pushups x3
2/6 Video, 17 pushups x3
2/7 Long run 7 miles if outside, 75 min if on treadmill, video, 8 pushups x 3
2/8 TOUGH MUDDER week 4 workout
2/9 MY BIRTHDAY !!!   pool workout

February is going to be a GREAT month!

First regardless I LOVE LOVE LOVE the month of February. Its my birthday month and I love my birthday. It is my own personal holiday. Love it.

Second, January was a good month. No I did not lose a single pound or a single inch on my measurements. BUT I DID stick to my workout program.
I DID get my training miles in.
I DID complete 3 tough mudder workouts!
I DID get up crazy early to get in early morning workouts before work.
I DID restart trying to learn to swim - even if I feel like a failure doing it. Im DOING IT!

So yes I didnt lose weight but I GAINED so much more! And Im proud of myself! And my reward for hitting my goal focusing on my workouts is a massage... time to get that scheduled!

And I know why I didnt lose weight - you cant out-run a bad diet.

The month of February I am dedicating my attention to my food....
Focusing on choosing better quality foods.
Focusing on clean eating.
Focusing on my hunger signals.
Focusing on drinking water.
Focusing on NOT BINGING.

I so got this!