Trying something new...Spinning

I'm spending my last day off in a while running errands, catching up on laundry and grocery shopping. I've planned my workouts, my meals and updated my to-do list. I'm glad I have a workout to look forward to later today. A friend and I are going to give spinning a try tonight at Murfreesboro Athletic Club .

Murfreesboro Athletic Club

I'm a little nervous but at the same time excited about trying something new. I used to be the one that was too shy to do anything new. But now its refreshing to do things that make me a little nervous. Life is too boring if you don't try new things.

spinning via google images

I also came across an event that I'd like to share. Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold Feb 11, 2012 Please click the link for details. You may remember Sherry Arnold was a school teacher and runner from Montana that went missing early in January and a man eventually confessed to killing her. Her story touched me and I plan on participating in this event in memory of her. Please share this link with your followers.

Running for Sherry - 2-11-12

I feel good....

Last night, after working I decided to try out my hotel's fitness center. I'm glad I did. I was a little nervous about the glass windows, but I guess everyone else was watching the College football championship game. It was cool having the whole place to myself.

I've also been eating healthy for the most part....I stocked up on healthy foods for my mini fridge in my hotel. I'm glad I did.

The room didn't have any fans, so it was incredibly hot in there. I started off with a stationary bike workout and did 5.8 miles in 20 minutes. Then I did a treadmill workout for a mile. I wanted to run longer, but the heat was killing me!

The best thing about working out at night, is that I sleep so much better AND I felt great this morning! I felt so refreshed and had more energy than usual. I'm going to try and remember this is why I do this!

My business trip will be over soon and I'll get to go back home to my family. I miss them and I need to get back to MY gym. I have 2 5k's in March and want to be prepared.

St Pat's Day Kegs & Eggs 5k









Special Kids 5k



Christmas Eve- Eve 2011

It's the day before Christmas Eve, so I guess I'll call it Christmas Eve Eve. My shopping is done and all I have left to do is cook for our family party tomorrow. I'm making pumpkin muffins, fudge, sausage balls, pigs in a blanket, mango salsa with pita chips and turkey roll up sandwiches. I'm currently home alone, listening to Christmas music and baking. I'm not sure why but I got a little excited about having the house to myself for a few hours. But I did!

I made it back to the gym this week and its a good thing. All the office treats and the sweets I'll be surrounded with for the next few days, will be tempting. It amazes me how GREAT I feel after working out. That alone should be enough motivation for me to stay on track. I'm looking for a way to remind myself about that! I did install an app for my phone that reminds me about my scheduled workouts. So far, its working.

The first workout was a little tough, since I've taken several weeks off. It was tough but I did it. I'm glad I'm back in the swing of things. I'm looking to make 2012 a great year!

When life gets in the way....

When life gets in the way, I find it hard to stay on track regarding my fitness and training. If I didn't work full time...if I wasn't a full time mom....if I had more energy...IF.

How do you manage when life gets so busy that you begin slacking on healthy eating and you allow yourself to skip workouts? I find it frustrating sometimes, especially when work becomes more demanding. The last few weeks I have been traveling with work and working weekends. Every time I go out of town, I pack my exercise clothes, running shoes and other gear. But after working 12-14 hours, I find it very difficult to get those workouts in. Being in a different time zone doesn't make it easier.

I tried to eat healthy while on the road, but that's hard too. I work for a nursing home for Veterans and the food they serve there is enriched, to help the residents gain weight. So, packing healthy snacks and a case of water is usually what I do. But when things get busy and I'm going into starvation mode, its easy to settle for vending machine snacks.

I'm glad to be home and spend time with my family. I also need to get busy tackling these Christmas lists. I believe its only 10 days away.

I'm also determined to get back on schedule with my workouts. My gym bag is packed and ready to go. I have a date tomorrow with the gym and since I only have to work for a short time....there is no excuse!

What is your secret to staying on track with your fitness goals?

Running goals to finish 2011 strong

I try not to compare my running to others that are more experienced than me. But sometimes its hard to do. A friend ran her first 5k in 30 minutes today and it made me feel....rather discouraged. I have been very happy over the past few months, watching my 5k pace become faster with each race. I went from walking/running a 5k in 50 minutes to my current pace of 46 minutes. But, I still have a long way to go. I know each person is different and we all have different activity levels. As long as I continue to improve, I WILL NOT get discouraged! I try to remember that "I may be slow, but at least I'm lapping everyone still on the couch!"

BoroDash - Thanksgiving 2010

I have a 5k next weekend, then a 4 mile run on Thanksgiving Day. I'm going to use this as an opportunity to push myself! I noticed during the Komen for the Cure race, I was able to run for the majority of the first mile but didn't run again until after mile 2. I need to work on sticking to the running intervals to get more running time in. That should surely help my pace.Goal: next 5k - 44 minutes.

I am also going to try to only compare my running to other races I have done - not other people. I'm in much better shape than I was this time last year. That is a success for me. I will concentrate on my small victories rather than getting frustrated.

Komen Race for the cure!

It's race day! I got up early and got ready for the race. Yes, that includes spraying my hair PINK!

We had to get on the road by 7:00 a.m. to get there in time to pick up my chip and the pre-race festivities. I was so proud that my husband went with me to take pictures and to be my personal cheerleader! Thanks babe!

It was a chilly morning at under 40 degrees and heavy fog. By race time it had warmed up some and it wasn't too bad. Of course, I'm dressed in layers so I actually got hot during the race.

There were over 20,000 people at the event - WOW! Most of them were walkers but I decided to run this time. I've walked this race 2 years in a row and felt ready to run. I was hoping to improve my 5k pace with this one. As long as I'm improving, I'm happy.

I finished mile one under 12 minutes - which is a huge improvement for me. I am usually around the 15 min mark.

Mile one!

I haven't gotten my official time yet, but I think it was close to 45 minutes. This is a new PR! The last race I did, I was around 49 minutes. I know to all the experienced runners out there, this must seem very slow. But for me this is good. I'm improving with each race I do and that is what keeps me going! I hope you enjoy my pictures from the race. This is one of my favorite events every year.

The people I run for!

I love this sign - not the REMAX one!

Ready to run!

It's great seeing the parade of pink march through the crowd during the pre-race festivities but my heart goes out to those who have lost members of their family due to breast cancer. I hope and pray a cure is found one day. Until then, I'll keep on supporting this charity and walking/running in honor/memory of those battling this disease and those who have lost their battle. Fight like a girl!

Where have I been?

I'm still here but have been working out of town for the last few weeks. Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but my life has been pretty boring consisting only of work activities. An accountant's life isn't interesting blog material!

I have enjoyed working in Knoxville, but I missed my family very much. And I have been praying that my 21 year old daughter does not have her baby while I am away. Good news! No baby yet. I'm getting anxious to meet my grand-daughter!

This weekend my plans are as follows:

1. Quality time with husband and daughters! 
2. Get my house back in order - housecleaning, laundry and such
3. Workout! I'm in desperate need of a workout since my time has been very limited lately.
4. Make a desperate effort to NOT do any accountant work over the weekend.

I am going back to Knoxville next Friday, so I plan on getting prepared for that. I am a little bummed out that my next business trip coincides with the Komen for the Cure race on Oct 29.

I am very sad to say that I will not be able to participate this year. Luckily, one of my runner friends has volunteered to run in my place. She has promised to take pictures of the event for me. I love my friends! It won't be the same since I can't be there in person, but at least I may get a few pictures to enjoy. I will also miss the American Heart Association Heart walk on Oct 30. My mom is walking and I asked my sister to join her so she won't have to walk alone.

I'm thankful for my job, but sometimes it gets in the way of my life. Hopefully traveling with work will not last more than a few months so I can get back to the things I enjoy. The challenge: sticking to healthy eating and exercise while living in a hotel!

October is here!

It's hard to believe another month has passed. October will be a busy month for me. I am doing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Oct 29. This is one of my favorite events of the year. I am walking in memory of my mother-in-law, Nancy Sue Done. This makes year number 3 for me. This year I am running instead of walking. Hopefully I can beat my last 5k time of :49:24.

Komen for the Cure 2010

I am also preparing to travel this month with my job. I may have to go to Knoxville to work for several weeks. That should be interesting. At least my kids are almost grown so I don't have to worry about them. And I have several people available to check in on my teenager.

Goals for the month of October:

• Keep training for 5k runs - go to the gym 3 times per week. No slacking off!
• Eat healthy
• Keep stress down and activity up
• Spend quality time with my family

 Those are pretty simple goals and  I'm sure I can be successful with them!

Where Have I Been?

It  has been a while since I have posted, so I thought I should explain. I have found myself in a busy mess! My boss has been on vacation since Aug 1st, so I have been left to handle things while she is out of town. I'm glad she was able to take a vacation. She deserves it! But I have become overwhelmed with the extra work and have not had the time or energy to get my workouts in for a few days. I'm feeling kind of guilty about that. I'll be glad when things get back to normal and hopefully I can take a day off and get back into my workouts. I love my job but sometimes I envy those stay at home mom's who have time to get everything done.

I think I will try to get a brisk walk done in the morning before work. I usually don't have much luck with that, but since I am so tired after work I'm hoping this will be the answer. And hopefully the weather will be cooler in the morning hours. July and August are terribly hot and humid here in the south. It makes it difficult to exercise outside. I'll have to trick myself somehow in order to get up and actually do it.

I have managed to keep my healthy eating on track even though I haven't been working out like I should. I'm glad to have my smart phone app, My Fitness Pal to help me out. I have been able to stay under 1200 calories each day. Now I just need to get the fitness part back into the program.

What are ways you fit in fitness into your busy schedule? This one has always been a struggle for me. I'd love to hear your comments!

I Welcome the Weekend

It's been a long week for me. So I welcome the weekend with open arms. Do you have some exciting plans? I need to rest up for a busy upcoming week. And believe it or not, school starts back this week. Where did the summer go? I suppose back to school shopping should begin soon. I don't have little ones, but a teenager in high school. So I don't have to get the markers, fiskars scissors, and crayons. For my kid, buying new clothes will be on her agenda. Thank goodness Tennessee has a Tax Free Weekend beginning August 5th.

First things first....it's time for some cardio. Zumba, Body Pump or Tae Bo? Let me decide.

Here is my weekly report. I was successful in sticking to my exercise schedule and healthy eating plan for the week. I was able to get some good workouts in and I kept my food log every day. I've been able to stay under my daily calories goal, even if that means adding a cardio workout in the evening. Seriously, I haven't had any problems staying within my limits. In fact, some days I have had trouble eating enough calories. My Fitness Pal has helped me stay on track and I love it.

Last night, I had my monthly massage at Massage Envy. What a wonderful way to end a stressful week!  There's not much better than a massage followed by a glass of Merlot on a Friday night. I slept like a baby.

Now, it's time for me to get started with my cardio. I hope your weekend rocks!

Zumbathon

What a fun morning! I enjoyed working out and supporting Cystic Fibrosis at the same time. Now my workout is done and I have the rest of the day to enjoy with my family. After having a migraine for 2 days, I was worried about being able to participate in this. Thank goodness I feel so much better today! :)

Body Pump

I was looking forward to a good workout on Monday after work. I went to the gym soon as I got off work. After running for 35 minutes on the treadmill, I decided I needed a change. My ankle began giving me problems, AGAIN....so since I was at the gym I thought I would try a class. I decided to try the Body Pump class. I wanted to so something to give my ankle a break.

I was afraid at first to go in. I've never done this before and didn't want to look like an idiot. The class was almost ready to start when I went in and I noticed the others already had their equipment ready.  As quickly as possible, I went to the equipment closet and grabbed what I thought I needed. I tried to look like I belonged there.

I also tried to not go overboard on using heavy weights since this is my first time. I don't want to be terribly sore afterwards. For the first few sets, I used hand weights instead of the barbell. As I got more comfortable with the class, I switched to a barbell with light weights.

I surprised myself and was able to finish the class (without passing out) and enjoyed it. Now I'm glad that I have experienced Body Pump and hope to do this class once a week at least. I'm not letting my ankle problems take over. If I can't run as much as I want, I'll switch to some other cardio exercise. I'm not giving up!

What changes do you make when injuries get in your way for fitness?

Hotter Than Hades Virtual Half - Ready, Set, GO!

July 15 begins the Hotter than Hades Virtual Half Marathon. I was anxious to get to the gym to get some miles in. I printed off my race bib from their website, but I didn't wear it at the gym.

My race bib!

I had the best running interval workout in weeks! I was so proud of myself. For the last few weeks, I have had terrible foot/ankle pain when running. I started off wearing an ankle brace, but removed it after the first interval. It's very uncomfortable on the bottom of my foot. Usually when doing the intervals, I am fine for the first few but then I get tired or the pain starts. This didn't happen today. I guess this is why runners run. Everyone has bad days but you keep running for the good days. I ran 2.5 miles in 40 minutes and cooled down on the stationary bike for about 20 minutes. It was a great workout! Now, I'm able to log 2.5 miles for the virtual half.

After cooling down, I came home to spend time with my family. I had a glass or two of Merlot and we played Rock Band, one of our favorite family activities. Here is my rocker daughter....

Rocking out!

We are fortunate that we don't really have any plans for the weekend. I welcome that after two weekends of constant activities. Of course, we will do more than be lazy....workouts, family time, back to school shopping, and church will be included. But it's so nice to know we are not on a schedule.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Challenge - Virtual Half Marathon

While browsing on Twitter last night I came across this cool challenge for the summer. It's the Hotter-than-Hades-virtual-halfmarathon. What a cool way to connect with others in my goal of staying fit and training for the 5k's I will do later this year. I almost signed up for a half marathon myself, but I feel I need to successfully complete several 5k's first. This way I don't have to do all 13.1 miles at once, but have a month to complete it. Awesome!! Click the link above for the details and join me! Be looking for posts on my progress for the next 30 days.

Wednesday's Workout

I planned on going to the gym today after work. I packed my bag and took it to work as usual. I tend to have more success when I change clothes before leaving the office. Workout clothes - check. MP3 player - check. Running shoes - Oh no! I left them at home. So, since I had to go home for my shoes, I decided to do a Taebo workout there. My legs were very sore today from doing squats and weights a few days ago. I'm sure I groaned every time I got out of my office chair. I was hoping the kicking and punching would help my legs.

First, I did a cycling workout on my bike for 20 minutes to loosen up. Then I popped in a DVD. This time I chose an abs workout.

Taebo DVD

It was a very intense and exhilarating workout. Great choice!

I didn't really have dinner, so for my after workout snack, I had a multi grain waffle with peanut butter instead of syrup and a glass of Silk light. Yummy!

After workout snack

I'm glad I'm back on track with my workouts. It feels good to update my Active.com calendar and post on Daily Mile on my progress. I'm starting to see muscle toning that I hadn't noticed before. Even though it is almost impossible for me to get the scale to move, these little details are what keep me going! I'm not giving up.

Now it is time for a detox bath and a little relaxation. Ahhh!

Fitness First

It's Monday and I'm back on the fitness kick! I signed me and my hubby up for a 5k together. Its the Fenton Payne & Fred 5k Run in my town on August 20th. I'm thrilled that he wants us to do this together. I better get back to my running training. After a busy week in the office last week and a class reunion weekend, its time to get back to the gym.

For some reason, I've been stressed out at work today. I even had to shut my office door for several hours. I look forward to getting to the gym tonight. A good sweat session always makes me feel better!

I went home for lunch and had a BIG salad with romaine, carrots, a cucumber and sunflower seeds. I also had an applesauce cup with it. Very tasty! After a weekend of eating too much, a fresh salad was just what I needed. I'm also on track with drinking water today.

How is your Monday so far?

Goals for 2011 - Let's evaluate my progress

Its June 30, which means 2011 is halfway over. Today seems like a good day to look back at my goals for the year to see how I'm doing. I posted my Goals for 2011 on December 29, 2010. If you missed that post, I'll summarize and comment on my progress. Let's see where I stand...

Finish a 5k by running more than walking - I have 3 races planned in the fall so far and I am training for those now. I began with the Couch 2 5k training and now I'm using an Active.com trainer. I just joined a gym so I can train easier and hopefully get some help & advice. So even though I haven't completed this goal, I am taking the steps to do this.

 
Control my sugar addiction- This is a constant battle for me. I'm still addicted to sweets but I try to limit these to special occasions and smaller portions. I find that PMS causes me more trouble than any other time. When a craving for chocolate overwhelms me, I am able to control myself by eating a small cookie or brownie, instead of an entire box.

Attend church regularly - I have been attending church regularly since January. It's amazing what you can accomplish when God is in your life. "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Healthy eating plan - I am able to keep this goal during the workweek more than on the weekends. Our family likes to go out to eat as a family activity and we all know how hard it can be to eat healthy when restaurants offer portions that are too large and with too many calories, sodium, fat, etc. But, I do make an effort to make healthier choices when we are out. If I know we will be eating a higher calorie meal, I try to balance that out with more exercise.

Spend less/Save more - This one is tough. I try to keep spending in control but unexpected things seem to come up. I guess that's why we have an emergency fund. Thanks, Dave Ramsey. I have established an automatic transfer to our savings account on payday, but I know I could do more.  I'll continue working on this one.

So after reviewing my goals, I feel good about my life in 2011 so far. Everyone can use improvement, so I'll keep that in mind in the months to come. I'm happy that I've managed to sty focused on my goals so far. So many times before, my goals for the year rarely fizzle out sometime mid-February. I'll revisit these goals again in December and hopefully be able to give another positive report.

How are you doing with your goals for 2011? Even if you have slacked on your goals, remember every day can be a new beginning. Live life one day at a time and celebrate the small victories.