Monday, September 24, 2012

Feeling good!

I want to get a quick update out there. I really want to make more time for blogging but I'm so busy with work, an almost 3 year old, and working out that it gets put on a back burner. I'd much rather be out living life than home writing about it! :-)

I've had an awesome month. I've been trying to run 3 times a week after work and so far I've gone 48.6 miles this month! That does include some walking but the majority is running. My goal for the month is 50 miles and I'm definitely going to get there! 

I'm still doing the 30 day Shred and this morning I did level 3 for the first time. Holy cow!! It makes level 1 seem like a walk in the park! I love it though. Today was day 24 and I'm going to do 33 days so that I can get 10 days with level 3. I sometimes skip a day here and there and I did level 1 for 12 days, so it's taken me a bit longer to do it. I ordered Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 DVD that came out this year and I'm going to start that when I'm done with the Shred. And I plan on doing the shred again at some point with heavier weights. Right now I'm using 10 pound weights but a few of the exercises seem too easy (chest fly's and bicep curls) and I want to use 15 pound weights for those. 

I think running regularly and the shred have definitely made me stronger. I hadn't run more than 4.5 miles all month or gone out for any solo runs since August 26. On that run, I had a route planned and wanted to run 5 miles. I got to a traffic light (before my turn around spot) and had run 2.2 miles. I was really tired and did not want to keep going. I knew if I turned around then I would still make 5 so that's what I did. This past Saturday I went out with a goal of doing 5, but really wanting to do 6. I went on the same route and figured I'd see how I felt. When I got to that same traffic light, I was feeling great! So I kept going and ended up running 6.4 miles! I haven't run that far since July 8. And my pace was 1 minute/mile faster than it was then (11:36 vs. 12:28). Awesome! 

Something else I'm doing is the Plank A Day challenge over at Running for Dummies. My first plank was 1:08.3 but I think that's because I did it immediately after finishing a shred workout and my arms were already tired. I increased my time quickly and made it to 3 minutes after just 7 or 8 tries! My current best is 3:07.8. It's motivating to see my name on the leader board and I hope to keep moving up! I'm very competitive and this is a fun challenge.

Now I need to work on eating even better and I know that eventually my skinny jeans will get more comfortable! I really wish I had taken measurements before I started the shred but I lost my tape measure. I'm going to get a new one and take a whole new set of measurements before I start Ripped in 30. But I am fastening my bra on the next set of clasps which is awesome! 

I'm signing up to be a foodie penpal over at The Lean Green Bean.  Look for more on that next month! And stay tuned for my 30 day shred review!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Prevention

Well, I got off track this weekend. I think I ate really well last week and I did the shred every morning. That 5:30am alarm comes very early but I woke up and did it. I also ran 2 days and walked some. My weekly report from MapMyRun blew me away. From August 26 - Sept. 1 I did 6 workouts (running and walking) for a total of 14.2 miles and burned 1,097 calories. Wow! And that doesn't include the shred. I definitely didn't feel like I had been doing that much and it motivates me to keep going. Every little bit helps.

On Saturday we went to a morning donut playdate. That's right. Donuts. I had a sugar one but limited myself to just one because we were going straight to a birthday party after the play date. At the party I indulged in some doritos, a little snack mix that included m&m's, and a cupcake. I skipped the shred on Sunday in an attempt to sleep in a little and went to my favorite bagel place to pick up breakfast. And more donuts. Later in the day while Jack napped, Sidney and I enjoyed bowls of ice cream. In my defense, I've had the carton of Breyer's in my freezer for weeks now and hadn't opened it yet. I'm hoping Sidney finishes it so I don't have to!

Because I skip the shred on Sundays that's when I leave Jack at home and do my long run. Last week I ran 5 miles and was hoping to repeat that this week. We ended up having a wonderfully lazy day on Sunday and I never got out for a run. I did take Jack out on Monday and got in 4 miles. I wish that had been in addition to my long run instead of becoming my long run, but it's better than nothing!

I had a physical this morning and needed to fast so I skipped the shred. I'm definitely planning on running tonight. My dad had a quintuple bypass back in 2004 when he was only 45 so I've been trying to keep tabs on my cholesterol levels and do what I can through diet and exercise. My levels have always been borderline and I changed that over the winter. I'm hoping to see even better results now! I told the doctor that I run and he said as long as I continue eating healthy and exercising I should be fine. He doesn't see the need for additional testing, even as I get older. Running is like a stress test and the fact that I can run for a few miles at a time without problems means I pass. He told me if there's ever a day I don't feel like running that I should go anyway because it's the best prevention. If that's not motivating, I don't know what is!

I've been checking my weight on the Wii and I know it might not be the most accurate so it was nice to get an official number on the doctor's scale. Right now it's 139 (the Wii puts me at 136.5)! I'm happy to be under 140 and my goal is to get under 130. The last time I went was March 2010 and at that time I had a 3 month old baby. But I'm 10 pounds less than I was at that visit. That was nice to see! I just hope it doesn't take me another 2 1/2 years to lose the next 10 pounds!

Tomorrow will be day 12 of the shred and my first day on level 2. Wish me luck! I think I'm going to need it!