2012: The laziest year of my life

Let me start off by saying that I have always been a pretty active girl. As a kid, I was in a million and one activities, sometimes even all at once. This obviously slowed down once I graduated from high school in 2005, but I still kept up some sort of effort to visit the gym more than once a year. I hate to admit this, but looking back, 2012 seems to be the year "I let myself go." Now I didn't go and gain 50 lbs or start wearing mom jeans or anything crazy like that, but I can honestly say, I didn't really give two shits about the junk I shoveled in my mouth. I also didn't think twice about the lame excuses I always seemed to have for not exercising. There was a reason for this, though (here I go again with the excuses...)

At some point in 2011, I decided that after 24 years of being a non-runner, I was suddenly going to become a runner. Not just a run-for-fun kinda girl, I was going to be a marathon running girl. Who the eff does that?!? I have no idea where the hell that idea came from or why it stuck, but it did. That's one thing about me, I am ridiculously competitive with myself and if I say I am going to do something, it gets done. So I started down the path of becoming a runner. I got fancy running shoes and other gear, started eating disgusting GU to get through my runs, and quickly learned (the hard way) just how important Body Glide was. To keep my sanity, I read the hilarious book below.

The problem with hardcore races, is not the race itself, but the training. I began to absolutely DREAD the weekends because come Sunday, instead of drinking beer and watching football, I was pounding the pavement on my long run. That got real old after 5 months. I would have rather scratched my eyeballs out than complete that last 23 mile training run, but I said I was going to do it, so it got done. During this training period, I truly began to resent exercise. The marathon itself was a roller coaster of emotions and was by far my biggest physical accomplishment to date. Unfortunately once it was over, I suddenly didn't have a commitment to exercise. So I didn't.


And here I am, a year later, a good ten pounds heavier, totally sick and tired of being a lazy Here's to getting in shape again and cutting HOURS off my marathon PR in 2013!

winning

I started running again 6 days a week....no exceptions...no excuses on April 4th.  Today is May 4th, so I thought I would calculate the miles i've put in in the last month.

I've worked my butt off getting up at 4:15 on the weekdays and running on the weekends.  The one and only time I slept through my alarm was yesterday.  I felt so terrible so I came home and ran 4 miles.  After crunching the numbers I found that I put in 78.25 miles  this month!

Another added benefit is i've lost 13 pounds :)

What is the quality of your intent?

"Certain people have a way of saying things that shake us at the core.  Even when the words do not seem harsh or offensive, the impact is shattering.  What we could be experiencing is the intent behind the words.  When we intend to do good, we do.  When we intend to do harm, it happens.  What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through.  We cannot sugarcoat the feelings in our heart of hearts. The emotion is the energy that motivates.  We cannot ignore what we really want to create. What we owe to ourselves and everyone around is to examine THE REASONS of our true intent."

-Thurgood marshall

Also this:

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me....All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."

-Jackie Robinson

Sometimes I can't fathom others' actions.  I often think...seriously?! Who acts that way?!?! But yet I see it almost every day.  I am lucky to have a lovely life where I do not need to pick apart other peoples' every move in order to validate myself.  I have love and a team of supporters who are truly on my team and that is enough.  I do not need to gossip about every tom dick and harry that aren't around at the time in order to make myself feel better.  And I'm okay with that.  I just feel bad for those who need to do this to make themselves feel better.  I wish they had the support and love that I have so they didn't need to get validation in such a negative way. 


Here's to wishing these people get some love so they can stop hurting others.

Sunday Funday

Today we went and bought annual passes to the water park.  

We did this a couple of years ago and definitely got good use out of it.  Today we had a blast!  I had a hard time climbing all the stairs after running a 5K this morning, but it was still really fun and a nice change of pace.  

Here are some pics of our adventure:

 (waiting in line for the ride below)

 (FUN!)

(I busted my camera out in mid ride to catch this priceless face)

(Relaxing in the lazy river)

(Warren going through the water fall :))

(More relaxing in the spa. No unsupervised children running around here.)

(No one I would rather spend my day with <3)

Freezer cooking

This year has been a crazy experience for me.  It is a rare day that I don't come home and take a nap.  My job and all the "extra work" that comes along with it is exhausting and I rarely have the energy to even think about cooking let alone do it.  For most of the year, my amazing husband has stepped up and cooked pretty much ALL the meals we ate. 

Since Warren will be starting Law school in the fall, it is my turn to step up.  Teaching is getting more manageable as the weeks go by, but I am still exhausted on a daily basis (likely due to my early morning runs).  My amazingly domesticated sister gave me the brilliant idea to start freezer cooking.  This way, I cook up a storm on the weekends and freeze about two weeks worth of meals to simply pull out and heat up during the week when exhaustion has hit.  Also, since I am only cooking for two, I normally make large amounts of each recipe so they last for more than one meal.  Right now I currently have the following meals in my freezer:

• Chicken Rice broccoli casserole (4-6 meals)
• Ground turkey chili (6 meals)
• Chicken enchiladas (2 meals)
• Chicken Fajitas (1 meal)
• Mini Turkey meat loaves (3-4 meals)
• Baked Spaghetti (2 meals)
• Tacos (2 meals)

 It takes a couple hours of my weekend to do this, but it makes life so much easier during the week! Warren really appreciates it too :)

What a loser!

I am happy to report that since last Saturday morning (one week) I have lost 4.4 L Bs!!!  I did this in the following ways:

• Cutting out regular soda: This was never a problem for me until I met Warren.  Before him, I always went for the diet option if I was drinking soda.  Since him, I love Mountain Dew and Coke.  Not a terribly hard life change, but still important.  I still drink one diet A&W during lunch daily, but diet > regular when you are worried about empty calories and sugar.
• Skipping on candy: I have a permanent sweet tooth.  My favorite candy ever is only available during Easter.  I couldn't get enough of those Cadburry mini eggs recently, but for now, I am saying no thanks to candy.
• Saying Good bye to fast food/fried food: This was not something we ate regularly, but it was very easy to go that route when Warren and I were both tired and not in the mood to get in the kitchen.  This was especially a problem on the weekends when we didn't have a schedule to follow.
• Portion control: Yes, I still eat all my favorites: chili/rice, baked spaghetti, tacos, bread, etc.  I just measure portions.  
• Exercise!: I exercise six days a week.  Monday-Thursday, I wake up at 4:15 am to run 2-3 miles.  I also do stability ball workouts, light weights, and use an ab wheel. 

It's amazing what these changes can do for your figure.  DUH...it seems like common sense, but when you are busy, stressed, and tired it is way too easy to fall into the trap.  I never gained the "freshman 15" during my first year of college.  I did however, gain the "first year of teaching 15."  Maybe not quite 15...but more than I would ever want in the first place.  

I am not a crazy "dieter."  I personally feel that it is not realistic to follow a diet if it is not something you can do forever.  So if you feel like eating a candy bar? Fine. Just don't make a habit of it.  I feel exercise is the most important ingredient to success in being healthy. 

Stay tuned for more loser-like behavior :)

progress

Miles ran in the last 7 days: 13.0

Miles ran in the entire month of March: 2

We're getting somewhere.  One more 4:15 wake up, then deciding to make Friday an off day.   Still have that momentum going.  Stay tuned!