Back from the Crypt

I have not posted since New Year's but I certainly have not slacked on training!

Still working on my goals!

Goal 1) Run a Half Marathon. I am registered for the Zooma Austin Half March 27!

Goal 2) Cut spending a bit. I am now on a cash system for groceries only. I am focusing on one category at a time. For now, it is grocery. We spend most of our money on food (grocery and eating out), so this seemed like the worst/best place to start.

Goal 3) Be more available to dote on the husband. I've been trying to get better sleep so that I can be strong with each new day, instead of dragging all week and HOPING to recoop over the weekend. On date night, I actually leave work early, so that I have time to run, shower, and relax before the husband gets home. It's been fun focusing more energy on being selfless with regards to energy.

Hope everyone has kept up their New Year's Resos so far!! Keep at it!!

New Year's Resolutions!

The infamous New Year's resolutions are back with a vengeance! Some people roll their eyes at the resolution makers, but not me! I think it is so important to set goals and reassess goals constantly in order to reach your full potential.

Goal 1) Run a Half Marathon. Tactical (How to) Plan: Be able to run 5 miles without distress by February 20th 2010, begin 10 week Half Training on 02/21.

Goal 2) Cut spending a bit. Tactical (How to) Plan: Think twice when I'm shopping at the grocery store; cut coffee shop trips to 2 a week.

Goal 3) Be more available to dote on the husband. Tactical (How to) Plan:
--> get 8 hours of sleep to improve energy so that I won't be tired at the end of the day
-->Keep cooking breakfast every morning
-->Be more creative with lunches (unlike my November rut where I only fed him turkey sandwiches every day. haha!)
-->Listen more intently and look at his face while he talks
-->Take time to beautify and smell nice

Happy New Year everyone!!

I realized that none of my HIT Week articles were posted. I will get on that and publish them here for any of you interested in tracking what I did and my progress! FYI - the hubbo cant stop grapping my rock hard abs - Hoorah clean eating!!!! My arms and legs made mondo improvements - def leaner. Looking forward to more progress in 2010!!

H.I.T. 30 day - a magazine transformation experiment

I LOVE fitness magazines. Not those sissy ones like Oxygen or Fitness or even Women's Health (I don't mind Women's Health but I lost faith in their quality). I'm talking about Muscle and Fitness Hers and Fitness Rx for women. I frequently come across those transformation articles and typically glean pointers or exercises to tweak or revamp my routine. While I was on my flight to NY I was reading one such article, Fitness Rx for women December 2009 "H.I.T - High Intensity Training This Holiday Season". In pages following there was also a 30 day Nutrition Plan. I am already eating pretty closely to the Nutrition Plan and pushing the cardio very similarly to the HIT recommendations, but I wondered what if I followed this to the letter?! What would happen?... So I made the decision that upon my return home I would immediately implement this experiment. I arrived home too late on Monday to go grocery shopping, so after work last night, I made a bee line for the grocer and picked up my week 1 items along with my husband's meal plan list (which is obviously very different...I am not a bodybuilder).

I have my foods and I have been totally enjoying the 3 hour eating. This is a change to my usual, which is eating every 2-3 hours in small portions...now I am eating larger portions (still small) but only every 3 hours. I need to tweak this because today I have felt way too full each meal and I am only on meal 3 so far.

I will post the grocery list for each week. I will be logging (and documenting progress) my workout plan and meal plan here which is following the articles in Fitness Rx for women December 2009. See pages 60 & 82.

This will be a challenge to start right in the middle of holidays, but I am pumped! This should be super fun.

Ninja Power

I know this is a fitness blog, but I can't help it. This is too awesome.

Please check this out and spread the word! These guys are the real deal when it comes to the Ninja Turtles Live Action vision:
www.turtlesthemovie.com
Ninja Turtles interview is now online!!! Check it out at http://j.mp/2SXL0I

My first 10k

6.2 miles on a brisk Texas November morning.

The funny story: I went to the wrong park, so when I finally arrived it was 15 minutes after gun time. I made it just in time before they shut down the start line and clock entries. Since I was so far behind everyone I was alone for the last third of the race (for most of the race everyone was passing me on their turn-around). The staff unknowingly picked up the cones a little prematurely, so I GOT LOST!! I ended up finding my way back and completed a little over 7 miles when all was said and done. I made better time that I thought and never stopped running. This was an awesome experience for me - my first race over a 5k and my first race that I was able to maintain a running speed the entire time. This is progress and is so exciting.

My next race is an 8 miler...and I cannot wait!

Still Coughing, Still Training

Ack! Silly cough won't leave me alone!

Yesterday, was speed training. I just ran 2 miles but shaved 6 minutes off my time. *awesome*

My legs were feeling pretty tight/knotty...I think I need to learn how to massage my muscles. Or get a membership to Massage Envy...

Friday night is my final run day before the race and is also the night before the early morning race. I am debating whether to opt out or to do an easy jog. I would prefer to at least jog, but I want to be as strong and rested as possible. *debating*

I've been eating a lot of fruits lately, which has probably increased my sugar intake, but oh well.

I have tweaked our menu to replace turkey for beef. I still will work in maybe 1 meal a week to have ground sirloin or grass-fed 98% or a super lean steak. Our meats have been mostly chicken and turkey - ground, sliced, whole, baked, sauteed, grilled, broiled, stir-fried...you name it! Going on 3 weeks of the meat transformation and haven't had a boring meal yet!

I'm still secretly waiting for some *physical* signs of fitness improvement. ^_^ Would be nice, but interestingly, I'm staying motivated by the seeming lack of progress.

Being Sick SUCKS!

I lost a whole week of valuable training because I got sick. I do not even know what I had. Probably just a cold. It wasn't too bad, but it knocked me off my game. I started feeling sick on Tuesday night, woke up Wednesday feeling it coming on strong, but went for a run that evening anyway (only made it 3 miles because I was feeling pretty weak and didnt want to risk injury). Thursday and Friday I pushed through work, but crashed on Saturday. Sunday felt MUCH better, but played it safe and just rested.

Last night (Monday) was my first day back on the treadmill and I pushed through 4 miles with ease.

The weather is gorgeous...if I can get off RIGHT at 5, maybe I will have time to run OUTDOORS before it gets dark!! FUN!!!

Weight Report: 119
I think I might have hit a plateau at 119, which would be awesome. I'll give it till next week to see. If it is a plateau that would be awesome, that means just a little tweak here and a little tweak there and progress will be in sight!!