Great Strides Walk - for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

I thought I was doing a 5k today, but it turns out to only be a mile walk. It;s for a good cause, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A group of ladies from my church walked in honor of one of friends, Christine. The name of our group is S.A.L.T. sisters. This stands for Sisters Actively Learning and Teaching. I am very proud to me associated with these wonderful ladies!

It was a nice cool morning for the walk and no rain. I took my poncho just in case! I think I need to find some events that are at least a 5k in the future. I enjoy the walks but I need to increase my distance.

Before the walk, I got up, had my coffee and breakfast. I ate a banana and a piece of whole wheat toast with organic peanut butter and a cup of Silk light chocolate milk.

Here are some pictures from the event.

breakfast - banana and whole wheat toast with organic peanut butter

my t-shirt from the walk

Me and my mom

And we're off!

live music at the walk

After the walk, since I was already at The Avenue, I decided to get my hair cut. I think it turned out nice.

It was a good morning but since the walk was only 1 mile, I think I'll try to do a running workout later today.

Have a great weekend!!

Preparing for my 5k

It's Friday and I'm mentally getting ready for the 5k I am doing in the morning. I am about to go to Massage Envy for my pre-race sports massage. I've never had one before a race before but I'm anxious to see if it helps my performance! It's been one of those weeks. The extra exercise I am doing with the Couch to 5k training challenge has helped me get through the week without being too stressed, but my muscles are very tight.I look forward to my monthly massage sessions.

I will spend the evening relaxing with my family and carb-loading. I have some past leftovers from dinner last night that I plan on having.

Week 2 Workout 2 - Complete

It's been a wonderful Wednesday! I found a way to enjoy my morning oatmeal even more...I added a banana and some organic peanut butter. It was very tasty! What are your favorite healthy breakfast foods? I feel like I'm eating the same things over and over. I need a change!

I completed Week 2 Workout 2 on the Couch to 5k training plan. I'm glad I was able to finish it. It seems harder this week to me. I'm not sure what my problem is. I know living in the south makes it hard to do outdoor runs, especially when the humidity starts. It's 80 but feels like 95 degrees. Even in my exercise room with fans and the a/c, I can't seem to get comfortable. Hmmm...hot flashes?

I am glad that I have been able to do these workouts during the work week after a long day of number crunching. A few weeks ago I was struggling to find time to workout and now I'm actually doing it. That feels great! And I have a 5k I'm participating in this weekend. I will try to run as much as I can and hopefully increase my pace.

my exercise room

How do you deal with the heat if you are a runner?

Week 2 of the C25k Challenge

It's Monday and you know what that means....Its time to begin week 2 of the couch to 5k training!

I was ready to workout after I got home from work. I got some new running shoes for Mother's Day from my husband and kids. They know what's important to me... :) I was anxious to try them out. I used them yesterday while doing a Taebo workout, but that's not the same as running. I posted this picture on Facebook, only to get lots of comments about when I'm going to run a half marathon. I love the idea of that, but I need more courage and confidence before I can get serious about it. I need to RUN some 5k's first, then maybe a 10k, and work up to a half. That's the plan.

Mother's Day gifts - running shoes & coffee shop gift card!

 

 

Taebo - one of my favorite workouts

I have done Taebo for many years. It is one of the most powerful and inspiring workouts I know. I was very thrilled last week when Billy Blanks daughter tagged me in a Twitter post. She actually lives in a town near me and I had the honor of meeting her and Billy last year in a benefit to raise money for flood victims in Nashville. I participated in a portion of a 2 hour Taebo workout with Billy in person. That was thrilling! Here's a few pictures I took at the event.

working out with Billy Blanks in Nashville

I made it through workout 1 of week 2. It was a little hard for me today. It could be that I was wearing new shoes that I'm not used to yet, or that it was so hot in my exercise room! At least I wasn't running outside in the 90 degree weather. I tried to increase my speed some in the beginning, but ended up slowing down after a few intervals. It's going to take some time for me to get comfortable with this. Here's a picture of me after the workout.

After the workout

I suppose I'll sleep good tonight! For all of those awesome people doing the #emwc25k challenge, Keep up the good work!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers in the world. I personally don't believe we should have only one day to honor our mothers. Every day is a gift and life is too short to take any of our family and friends for granted. Being a mother myself, I know what a precious gift this is. I am honored to be mother to two beautiful daughters and my oldest daughter is now pregnant with my first grandchild. I'd like to share a few pictures of my mother and my grandmothers with you. They are all wonderful women and even though my grandmothers are now residing in Heaven, they remain special in my heart. My heart also goes out to all men and women who no longer have their mothers. I watched my mother when she lost my grandmother and cannot even begin to understand how hard that must be. I'm very close with both of my parents and try to spend time with them whenever I can, since I know how short life can be.




My Mom



My mom and grandmother - two beautiful ladies

My parent's wedding photo

My mom,her brothers and my grandmother at a family reunion

My grandparents - father's side of the family

Now I'll share some pictures of me with my daughters. They are so special to me and being a mom to them has been the most wonderful experience in my life.

Jan'a and me

Whitney and me - at a football game

Whitney and Jan'a - at Komen for the Cure 2010

Me and my girls!

"She is clothed with strength and dignity. She can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed." - The book of Proverbs, from Your Best Life Now for Mom's by Joel Osteen.

Date Night

My husband surprised me by having an unplanned date night! I love it when that happens! After work on Friday, we ordered takeout for dinner - Mexican food since I didn't get to have that for Cinco de mayo.

After eating, we decided to go to Jazz Fest, on the public square of my town. The celebration lasts all weekend, but I wanted to go on Friday night. I have an undying love for live music and jazz music has to be one of my favorites. It was a lovely night to be out on the town.

After spending a few hours enjoying the music and atmosphere, we decided to go to the mall for Mother's Day shopping. Since I am having lunch with my mom and sister on Saturday, I was in a rush to get my mother's present. Bath and Body works never disappoints me. I was able to get a nice gift and get it wrapped in the store. Excellent!

It was a nice evening with my favorite guy!

Fun Friday

I had a doctor's appointment this morning to re-check my cholesterol levels again. At the last visit, my doctor started me on Crestor, a medicine for high cholesterol, after trying to lower it through diet and exercise. It looks like things are going in the right direction, but the triglycerides were still high. On a happy note, I lost 4 lbs. Things are looking up!

After my appointment, I stopped at Starbucks for my morning java! I also decided to try one of their breakfast sandwiches since I was famished! That probably wasn't the healthiest option, but I countered that with a piece of fresh fruit when I got to work.

After working for several hours, I decided it was time for lunch. I didn't pack too much today since I was rushed with my doctors' appointment. But luckily I still had some salad fixins in the work fridge. I made a salad with romaine lettuce, cucumbers and some slices of ham. I also had a cup of brown rice to go with my salad.

I was able to find some time this afternoon to take a walk around our facility with one of my co-workers. We walked longer than we usually do - a total of 2 miles. It was a nice day to walk outside today and a pleasant break from the office.

After that workout, it was time for a snack. I love greek yogurt, especially when fruit is added.

Now, the weekend it about to begin! I am very happy about that. I'm looking forward to a special day tomorrow with my mom and my sister. Stay tuned for my special Mother's Day post in honor of my mother, Joann.

Cinco de Mayo!

It's Cinco de Mayo! Are you celebrating today by drinking a margarita or having mexican food? I love margarita's but now that I'm embracing this lifestyle of healthy eating, I'm not sure if I'll have one. But maybe a glass of Sangria would be nice. :) If you're celebrating, have a safe, but fun evening!




Couch to 5k- Week 1 Workout 2

I never thought I would be EXCITED about working out. But today, I was actually looking forward to getting on the treadmill. For months, I have complained about working out and have used every excuse I could come up with. What's different this time? First of all, the challenge I accepted with other twitter friends makes me feel accountable. That motivates me! I'm so glad I accepted the challenge!

Workout 2 is in the books! I felt better after this second workout because I tried to increase the speed a little when running. After the first workout, I felt like I was going too slow. I know now is not the time to be competing with my time and trying to make personal records, but it's hard not to compare each run to the last one. I think at this point, its better to COMPLETE the workout, not COMPETE with my speed and distance. I feel so powerful after completing these workouts! 

My treadmill - my new bff!

 I feel like eating healthy is an important part in training, so I tried my best to stay on track with unprocessed, fresh, real food today. I began the day with some oatmeal with blueberries and java.

For lunch I had a salad made with organic romaine lettuce, cucumbers and tuna.

Of course, I stayed hydrated while drinking several bottles of water throughout the day.

I feel good about my progress so far in this challenge! I'm starting to believe I CAN DO IT!

Couch to 5k - Week 1 Workout 1

 I began the Couch 2 5k training today. I feel exhilarated! I am so glad I didn't use one of my usual excuses to not begin the challenge today. I've started this plan before but never got past week 5, so I decided to start at week 1 again. This time I am going to stick to the plan. Goal:  I want to run the Susan G. Komen for the Cure 5k in October. I have walked this 5k for two years in a row and want to step it up a notch!

Me and my girls at Komen for the Cure 2010

I am very happy that I was able to get the workout in on a work day. I didn't let that little voice in my head take over and coax me to sit on the couch and watch t.v. instead.



Ready to workout!




Couch to 5k running plan - posted on my wall in my exercise room.



First workout - done!

my exercise room. it's getting smaller with all the equipment.

I found some good runner tips in Runner's World. I'll be sharing these over the next few weeks in order to stay motivated for the challenge.

"The biggest mistake that new runners make is that they tend to think in mile increments. Beginning runners need to think in minutes not miles. " - Bud Coates, U.S. Olympic marathon trials qualifier/coach.