Catch Up

So, a lot has happened since my last post, the biggest being that I accomplished my first 5K!! :)

May 18 was the big day!

Running with my hubby and son....

Also, running a 5K for the first time, was my friend Ruth Drawbond!

My fear going into this, was that I would be the last one in and everyone would be waiting for me to finish! :) My goal was to finish in under 45 minutes.

The finish line in view!! :)

Almost done!!

DONE!! My official chip time was 42:00!! :) So, so happy and no, I wasn't the last one....there were quite a few people behind me! :)

It felt so good to know that was behind me and that I did well! Dan set a PR but Danny didn't do as well, since he was having pain in his ankle. :( BUT, he still won 2nd place in his age category!!) :)

2nd Place!!

I have lost 2.5 lbs. since the race, so I am happy about that! It seemed like I was at a plateau for the longest time, now I am seeing some loss again! :)

I'll keep on truckin~

Next 3 Months

So this morning starts another 3 months of weight loss competition. My goal is to lose 20 lbs. I am currently in week 3 of the C25K program that I had started earlier. 

Only 6 weeks till the 5K I signed up for, so I need to stay motivated and git 'er done! :)

Looks like there may be 1 week of "vacation" in there, too....an unexpected trip to PA!! :) Woohoo!!!

My starting weight this morning was 232....I regressed! :( Gotta kick it in high gear!!!

A Change??

Well, as I posted last week, I started doing the C25K program all over again. I started on Tuesday and was surprised how hard it was to run even for short 1 minute bursts, when I HAD been able to run for 25 min. about a year ago. I guess that's what happens when you don't keep on running!

 Tuesday night I started having stomach cramps....it turned into what I think was probably some kind of stomach bug. I had severe cramping in short bursts all day Wed and Thurs. It was not unbearable, but by Thurs. I started with "a case of the runs"...serious runs! :P Had off and on bouts with that till Sunday night. Yesterday I seemed to be feeling better.

 All that to say, I did not do another day of C25K since Tuesday.

 I tend to be a worrier.....I thought, what if that stomach pain was food poisoning? What if it was from running? What if I am having gall bladder issues? What if there is something seriously wrong with me....ie, cancer? Trust me, this isn't the first time I worried about that when things didn't feel "right". I hate being a worrier....but because I am, I decided not to run for now (afraid that somehow running triggered something in my body). If that makes any sense?? :P I know, I'm pathetic!!

 So, yesterday afternoon, Dan called me before he left work, as he does every day <3 and asked if I would like to go on a walk with him when he gets home. As I mentioned before, he is training for a half marathon. But a few weeks ago, he overdid it when he ran 6 miles  and his leg is not wanting to heal, so he put those plans on the back burner for now and is focusing on getting that leg better! More walking and lunges, to keep up the exercise and not so much running.

 When he got home, we walked....we walked 3 miles....FAST! Whew!! I had a hard time keeping up with him, so I would do short runs to catch up to him from time to time. But I really enjoyed that! I think I am going to try doing that at least twice a week, maybe 3 times. It's much more fun to walk with Dan than by myself!! :) Hopefully we can keep this up, since it stays light so much longer and with the time change coming up this weekend!! :)

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 A HUGE highlight for me.....I hit my all time low this morning (weight wise) :) since 1997!! I haven't weighed this since before I got pregnant with Daniel! Granted, my body is not the same SHAPE, but it still feels awesome! So many of my skirts and even my workout clothes are getting too loose. Many of my shirts hang! I am so excited!! :) I have got another 50 lbs. to my goal of 175, but I can do this....a little at a time! :)

I have lost 45 lbs. total, from my heaviest! :)

**all pics are from our little getaway to Destin in October. :)

Been A While

I have been neglecting this blog and my family blog recently and am determined to do better. They are like my "journal" and I love being able to look back and see what happened! :) 

 Life has been busy and my priorities have been more on my house and family and not so much computer time, but I need to take a little time for this! :)

 On Tuesday I decided to start back on the C25K program. Our family had all done it November 2011 and finished early spring 2012. There is a 5K coming up in our small town in May, that I would like to participate in. :)

 So, I did my first day on Tuesday and even though I sometimes do short runs when I walk, this kicked my butt! I couldn't believe how hard it was and how tired I was!!

 That night I started having some pains in my stomach area, directly in the middle between my belly button and the bottom of my rib cage. :P It got worse on Wed. and Thurs. so I still havne't gotten in day 2! :( Hopefully whatever is causing this pain will go away and I can get back into the routine! :) (Hoping it's something as minor as a stomach virus!!)

 I am happy to say that in the last 2 months, I have lost 6 lbs. :) I only have 4 more to go to be at my lowest weight since 15-16 years ago!! :) Cannot wait to get there again!!

 The weight is coming off slow, but I'm hoping that by not changing my diet drastically it will stay off for good, as I change my eating habits! 

Monday~ A New Week

Monday's are always easier for me to want to get out and exercise. Not sure if it's because it's a new week or what? 

We have two dogs...

Rex

and Max.

Max has started a bad habit of digging out from under the fence in the backyard. I don't know what made him do it the first time, but right now he knows that there are some animal carcasses in the woods that he would love to get his mouth on. :P I don't know if that's what he's after or not. The funny thing about this, is that Max is the calmer of the two and seems so laid back. Rex is the one that would chase anything on 4 legs and he seems the naughtier of the two, but he will NOT follow Max out that hole! Maybe he is claustrophobic? :)

Anyway, I decided to tire Max out yesterday so I put him on the leash and took him on a walk with me. We walked the road 1 time {1 mile}. Then I took him back and got Rex (he seemed a little jealous). And him and I walked the road 1 time too. {mile 2}

It was a good change up to my usual routine and it tired the dogs out!! :)

After they were both put back in the backyard, I got out my bike and road one mile as fast as I could.

Here is a little idea of the road I travel for my walks/bike rides.....

Looking east from the end of our driveway....

 Looking west from our driveway. You can pretty much see the end of the road, since this is the short end.

Walking east toward the main road...There's a dairy farm on the left and the cows are often out grazing.

Walking while enjoying the music on my MP3 player. :)

Almost to the end of the road, the long way....that building is a bar that just recently was shut down and we are happy!! No more Thurs-Sat. noise at midnight!! :)

The end of the road....

Headed back west~

Almost back to our house (on the right)....but I continue on to the west end of the road for one lap.

And this is a picture from the West end of the road looking east. That green building way in the distance is the shop beside our house.

As I mentioned before, Dan is training for a half marathon in March. Well, on Saturday he ran his first 6 miles and by that evening his hip flexor muscle was so tight, he could hardly walk. In fact, he used a cane some!! It seemed to keep improving throughout Sunday, but he wasn't sure he was ready to get out and run his 3 miles last night, so instead he decided to ride bike.

I went with him, since he rides on a back road that is really in the boonies. I don't like him being there by himself. Not as much worried about people as wild hogs and dogs!!

So, I biked another 4.5 miles before supper!! And I biked FAST!! Dan was riding a bike with gears....I was not! So I had to pedal that much faster to stay caught up with him. :P 

This morning I am SORE!! But I feel good! Hoping for a good loss this week!!

Today is usually my second workout day for the week, but it's raining, so I need to find something else to do! :)

Happy Tuesday!!

Another Week

Yesterday I decided to change up my workout routine just a tiny bit and did my 2 miles of bike riding first! After I was done with that, I got off the bike to walk my mile and my legs felt like jello! It was really hard to give that mile much umph! Wow!!
 Till I got done walking I was beat! I decided to skip my 100 step ups...I did about 20 of them and didn't feel like I could go on! :P

 So today, I went back to walking my mile FIRST. I jogged a bit, just to get my heart rate up. Then I rode bike 3 miles, instead of 2. Got in my 100 step-ups at the end.

 Tomorrow I'd like to try this workout and see how it goes (tomorrow is my off day for exercise). Check it out. I'm afraid those first two moves are going to be harder than they look! :) But I'm willing to give it a shot.

I have not been doing well at drinking enough water and in turn I want to snack more. I am going to try harder the rest of this week!! :)

Friday was weigh-in....I only lost .5 lb., but at least it was a loss!! :)

I put on my walking shoes only twice the past week :( ...

and I also discovered something else. After I would weigh-in Friday mornings, then I would tend to cheat more during the day Friday...and weekends are always a little harder. So that only left Mon-Thurs. for me to work at my exercise and good eating. 

I realized I need to change my mindset! Hopefully I'll see bigger numbers next Friday! :)

While I might not be losing big numbers on the scale I am seeing other changes! Quite a few of my shirts are getting loose and I can tell my arms and legs are toning up a little bit! :) Also, my neck/double chin is improving! YAY! That is one of the things that bother me the most about myself...my saggy "baby pouch belly" and my fat neck/chin. Happy to be seeing improvement! And I may soon see collar bones!! Woooo!! ;)

~Now and Then~

   

Today, while my hubby was running his 5 miles (he is training for a half marathon), and my son was playing soccer with friends, my daughter and I went for a good brisk walk on the paved trail in town. It was in the 70's, cloudy with a light breeze! So lovely!!

My walking partner, my lovely daughter Tamara! :)

And I just had to share the beautiful sky tonight!!

Y'all have a great week!!