Wednesday, December 28, 2016

I know, I know!

So I know I had November #Goals. I actually worked on them and did pretty well with most. I stopped tracking near the end of the month.

I didn't do well on stretching. I did 1 or 2 major (10 min long) stretching days. I did do a few shorter stretching days after runs, etc. but I wasn't including those in my tally. But I did do better than previous months. (Let's not talk about December).

I got in my 80 oz of water most days. I always seemed to miss about 2 days out of the week. Weekends are hard for me and so are my weight watchers days (since I weigh in in the afternoon and I don't drink a ton those mornings). But I still consider this a win. (Trying to keep up my water intake in December).

Strength training was a bust in November. I think I did maybe 2 or 3 actual workouts that I found on my own. An improvement, yet. But not up to my goal. I did just get classes again at The Dailey Method for barre classes and went to my first one in a long time this week. My abs and triceps are still sore 2 days later. I'm hoping to make this a 2 day thing but right now, I can only go once a week.

I was in a minor car accident the Thursday before Christmas. Thankfully no injuries (that I know of) and it was the other persons fault, but it's still a pain in the rear and I am still working on getting a rental. The holidays really screwed me up on this one.

Right now, I'm just training for the F^3 Half Marathon in Chicago at the end of January. I'm hoping the weather that day will be unseasonably warm! I can always hope, right?

Big things are in the works for 2017! I'll let you know what that might be very soon!

Hope you all had a nice Christmas and have a great New Year!


Running with Friends


Santa Baby
Running after a bad day
 

My poor car

 

#CatGoals

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

November Goals

Happy Fall! It's November! I always say I love the warm weather of summer and hate the cold, but I do love the fall colors and leaves changing. So beautiful!

Anyway, back to things. My healthy eating got away from me on my honeymoon (obviously!) and hasn't quite recovered. So I need to get that back on track. But running is going well.

I ran the hot chocolate 15k last Sunday (recap to come, hopefully), and even though I'm not as fast as I was when I ran this in 2010, so I wasn't planning on a PR, it's amazing to me how much just losing a bit of weight helps with running. I felt pretty good and actually ran the whole thing, not even a stop for water (someone handed me a bottle of water which I kept with me a until mile 6).

First, 9.3 miles is my longest distance since my last half in May. It's a good hike for me these days. So to be able to run it non stop is pretty amazing for me right now. I haven't done that in a long time. A LONG TIME! Like at least a couple years I would imagine. I did run 8 miles a month ago with only 1 stop in the middle, which was why (by mile 3), I thought maybe that could be my goal for the race. 

So I've lost between 35-40 lbs since the beginning of the year. And since then, my pace has improved and clearly so has my cardio endurance.  You know, I know this already. Since I lost weight in 2010. But you kind of forget. You don't think maybe that's why my knees are hurting more while running and my breathing is more labored. You kind of know, but don't realize what a difference it really does make.

Since losing weight isn't everything when it comes to improving your running... I have been thinking of things I want to get better at and decided to slow start that by making some November goals.

NOVEMBER GOALS

1. Incorporate strength training/core work. I'm combining this one right now since I'm doing neither right now. I don't want to say I want to do both and then do neither. So for the month of November, I want to incorporate 1 strength training workout or core workout per week. I know that's not a lot. But it's more than I'm doing now and I have to start somewhere. If I do more, bonus. Hopefully I can up this by December.  I'm also going to say that I will do this on Tues or Wednesday during the week. If I don't pick a day, before I know it, it's Friday and I'm just saying "I'll start next week."

Any advice on a good video or website that I can use that has a good routine?

2.  Stretch more. This could be general stretching, foam rolling, etc. or yoga. My hamstrings and calves are super tight as well as my IT band and hips. Basically everything. Foam roll. Stretch. It's needed!  I'm going to try to incorporate that right now on Monday. And I'm going to put a minimum time of 10 mins! None of this 3 mins foam roll and I'm done. lol.

3. Continue on my healthy eating plan. I still have 10-15 lbs that I want to lose but I know those last 10 lbs can be stubborn. Since I was eating crap for October, I think I can make my November weight loss goal of 5 lbs. Normally I wouldn't put a number on it but for this month (after my October), I think it's necessary. It's not a huge number but it's big enough to matter! I need to be working on it!

4. Drink my water. I'm typically good at getting 40-50 ounces of water in a day but have been slacking on that in October too. And I typically like that number to be closer to 80 ounces of water. So my November goal is to hit 60-80 ounces of water daily. I just realized I've only had about 14 ounces today so I better get moving!

I think these are very doable goals for November. I don't want to make too many or make them too hard because then they probably won't get done.

Hope you all have a great start to the month!

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Three Things Thursday

1. Cubs! - I'm a life long south side Cubs fan! It's a struggle. Every. Single. Year. It's fun to see them doing well. It's not over yet... but on the same token... it's not over yet!! Go Cubs Go!!  I'm trying to not stress myself out and have a heart attack over here! Well, because I'm a Cubs fan. So I'm always thinking the bottom will fall out. But inside, I'm super excited and hoping they can do it this year!

2.  Working Out - I feel like I've gotten lazy with my workouts. I'm bare minimum running. I'm running enough to train for the Hot Chocolate 15k so I've gotten a few "long" runs in. But that's been a good majority of my working out. I need to get back to the spin classes. I also need to get myself together with some sort of strength/weights plan. THIS is a MUST! I'm super weak. I have no core strength. I have no arm strength. Granted some of my arm strength is due to my shoulder surgery but it's been almost a year since surgery so I can't use that as an excuse! It's ready to be worked out (slowly to start...).

3. Hawaii vs. Real Life - I went to Hawaii and it was AH-mazing! We had tons of fun on our honeymoon. I didn't want to sweat the small stuff and constantly had a huge smile on my face! But all good things must come to an end. So much sadness. We got back Monday afternoon but we both took Tuesday off of work. We got some sleep and did some grocery shopping/housework. But hormones and tiredness made me grumpy and emotional and lets say...the smiling from vacation also came to an end. So today is a tired day for me as I didn't sleep well last night (the time change is a struggle), and the aftermath of me being grumpy has got me down. But I plaster that smile on my face anyway because...nothing else to do. And I know the sadness/issues will be temporary. Always bumps in the road, right?  Not to get down in the dumps and really drag this post down! So sorry!

BUT... I will post some Hawaii pics/Ironman Spectating blog posts soon!  I promise!

Monday, October 3, 2016

Goals and Fun!

Happy October!! This year is flying by! It seems to go faster and faster every year!

The wedding and my busy work has thrown me off the blogging world lately but I promise to get back to it!

I do have a goal that I have very much looking forward to next year. That is if a happy (and wanted) curve ball doesn't get thrown my way before then.

I would LOVE to do a half ironman! I think I have ability in all 3 sports to be able to accomplish this goal! Now that my shoulder is fixed, I can build up the strength and won't have to worry about dislocating it anymore on the swim!

I love biking! Now, biking for 56 miles and then doing a half marathon right after would be a challenge but definitely doable. For the run, you just put one foot in front of the other and repeat.

Thinking of doing a half ironman makes me feel so excited! I never was an athlete. In fact, calling myself an athlete now still feels weird and made up. But doing marathons and ultras, distance biking and a century, a few smaller triathlons, I guess not everyone doing that.  So to think that I could possibly do a half ironman and finish! Amazing! And I know if I start it, I will finish.

So my next thing is to think about which half ironman to do. I would preferably like one later in the summer so I have more time to train (and bike outside). But I know I run the risk of it being incredibly warm (although in Chicago, you run that risk any time). So I will start considering my options and see which might be best, and which might be "newbie" friendly.

In other news, I'm going on my honeymoon very soon!!  Yippee! Where, you ask? Hawaii!!  I will definitely share more about this with you all soon. I'm just looking forward to fun in the sun!

In "technical difficulties" news: I'm lost my blog roll. Where are all of you at??  I haven't had much time to figure this out but how did it drop off my blog? Sigh... to be determined.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Upcoming Racing Schedule

Now that things are starting to return to normal, let's see what my current racing schedule is like...



I'm running but have no scheduled races. Ok, that's not necessarily true. I signed up for the Jingle Bell 5k in Kankakee in December. It's actually my current PR. As much as I don't expect to PR this race, it's a fun one that several of my friends are also doing so why not!

I might do a 5k in September and put some of the speedwork I've been doing to the test. As much as I don't expect to PR that one either, I should be able to do better than the 30 min 5k's I've been doing as of late! For the record, my PR 5k is 26:22. I'd love to be able to run my 5k in 28 minutes right now.  TBD...

I'm just generally enjoying my time "not racing" and not running any half marathons or full marathons.  I don't have to run on the weekends. I can bike or walk instead. I do run at least 2 times a week though because I don't want to completely lose it! I'm just running free and happy.

I do get a little envious over my friends that are training for marathons right now. I see their posts, their triumphs and their struggles. I do kind of miss that sometimes. But I know a break is necessary for me right now.

I am also toying with doing the Hot Chocolate 15k in October again. I only did it once in 2010. I'm just not sure yet. I know that the distance wouldn't be a problem. It's the logistics of ... getting up early and heading downtown. I'm tired of doing that! lol.

Anyone else doing the Hot Chocolate?

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Married!

I tried to think of a clever title for this blog post but this was as clever as I could manage!!

Guess who got married! This girl! Everything went wonderful. I'm so very happy. I can't wait to get the photographs from the photographer but here is one of my favorites from her so far!


I just LOVE this! I will post more about my wedding (or what I actually noticed since I was so overwhelmed by the day) another time. Just wanted to say thank you for all the good wishes!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

The biggest race of my life...

Where have I been? Oh yeah...I've been losing my mind. No big deal.

Actually things are well.  I did ride that century in July in Princeton Illinois. It's called the Z-Tour and the hills are NO JOKE! OMG! I thought I would die trying to get up them and I thought I would die riding down them! And they just wouldn't stop. For 100 miles. It was exhausting! It took us 7.5 hours of riding, which was definitely longer than the "under 7" I anticipated it would take us! Weather was good but it did get warm by the second half. 

Actually, many times someone would say to me "This is the last hill" or "This is the last major hill" or "This should be the last of the hills, the rest is relatively flat"... It was all a lie. There were still plenty more hills. Plenty. It was like some sick joke they play on the newbies. Hahaha...it's the last hill...hahahaha! Sucker! lol

I'm proud of us though. We toughed it out and made it through. Granted the last 10 miles were just about all single digit pace. lol.  We didn't fight (meaning, I didn't get angry and mile 50 like usual and yell at him). In fact, we said we would kiss at mile 50 just to make sure we wouldn't fight. And we did. That was fun. lol.  Anywho, the scenery was beautiful since you are riding all those hills. You get some great views.  

After the ride. I think I was leaning on my bike because I didn't want to stand. Probably.

This about sums up my ride

And the big day is finally almost here! We have had showers a-plenty. I should write more about them because my friends are amazing!  We had the main one from my family. My run group threw me a surprise one after my Thursday night run (they are awesome people!), and my coworkers threw me a surprise one too (they are also awesome people!). 


With the wedding hashtag #TaylorMade2016 (lol)

Run group wedding shower - I love them!
Work shower

Derek was in on it and showed up to surprise me *love*

Sunday is the big day! Eeeekkkk!!  Thank goodness. Because I'm tired. Work is busy and my mind is packed with wedding info. I just can't think anymore. lol. But as long as we show up, we will be getting married!!  Wish me luck. As one of my run friends said to me..."This is the biggest race of my life, but I CAN DO IT!"  (Awesome!)

Thursday, July 14, 2016

But who's counting!

I apologize for my lack of posting. I've been busy. Busy with work, wedding, cycling. I've been reading all your posts though!

So it's only 30 days now until my wedding!  But who's counting anyway, right?  (Me!)  I'm in pretty relaxed, yet excited, but a little nervous state. I guess that's pretty normal, right? Well, normal except the "relaxed" part. I'll admit, I might get stressed over one random thing...(like where the hell I'm going to be on my wedding morning to get ready! lol), but then I talk about it, figure it out, and move on. I haven't been a bundle of nerves too much.

I had my shower...


And bachelorette party...



 
 
 So ... all in all, thing are going well!  I had my makeup trial, my hair trial, and my first dressing fitting. Yikes! It's getting real!

And now there are only 30 days left... but who's counting anyway!

 
 
And guess what else??  I did a 75 mile bike ride on the 4th of the July too!  The ride was 68 miles but my friend Karen and I decided to add on a few extra to get to the nice even number. 75 miles.... but who's counting anyway!




I'm counting, that's who!! 

Next up?  A 100 mile (century) ride this weekend with the love of my life!  Our first one. But who's counting anyway!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

And the Wedding Planning Continues!

There won't be much photos on this post... well... because you don't show all your wedding stuff to the world before the big day! But I thought I would fill you in on how it's all shaping up. If you have no desire to read about my wedding stuff, feel free to close your browser now.

I have been engaged for over a year (since 2/14/15). At first I thought, "There's TONS of time! I have well over a year!"

Then it became, "I have a WHOLE year to plan."

And I started working on some small things. I shopped for a dress and found the one last October. We started shopping for Save the Dates, but those technically don't go out until about 6-8 months before. I chose 8 months because my whole family was getting anxious at this point!



We sent the STD's (as they are referred to, lol) out in mid-January. It's really hard because I want to invite everyone, all my run friends, all my work friends, but we are trying to limit the guest list so it's mostly family and just a few friends. 

By the way, my friend Jill took the engagement photos, which is where the picture on the back came from. Love so much. Thank you Jill! Also, our wedding color inspiration ended up coming from my sweater in the picture. Up until that point, we hadn't officially decided on colors. 

I also have to say that I am an indecisive person. Truly 100% indecisive. So when one of our wedding decisions officially gets made and/or done, I am definitely excited about it! I keep saying...one more thing checked off the list!

And also, as much as I am an indecisive person, I am a VERY OCD person when it comes to lists for important things. I have a guest list, a wedding shower list, a spreadsheet for finances, a budget spreadsheet for things that we still need to do and spend money on (with estimates on how much things might cost, even though I really had NO CLUE!). And I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself on our budget. We are a little over budget but that's because of one major thing, which is more of a gift than for our own wedding planning. But otherwise, we have done very well with staying in our budget!

Then our wedding was 6 months away, and 4 months away, and now...HOLY SH%T! It's LESS THAN 3 MONTHS AWAY! It's 81 days away! EIGHTY-ONE DAYS!

Yes, that's how I feel right now when I say it. I say it in ALL CAPS!  It's so close now! How is it that close!?  Wow wow wow wow wow!

Ok, sorry, freaked out for a minute. But as you can see, things go by fast. Before I know it, the day will be here. I'm definitely excited to just get to the big day, you know? I'm only a bit anxious about things right now. I haven't been a bridezilla yet and I'm trying not to be...but I can tell I definitely am starting to get anxious about things.

Most of our planning is going well. We have the DJ, venue, food, hair person, makeup person, dress, tux and florist all done. We just got the invitations in the mail and those will go out next month. My dress fitting will be next month, my shower is next month. I have hair and makeup trials in July along with the bachelorette party. I just bought my shoes for the wedding last night! I LOVE THEM! I'm not normally a shoe person but they made me happy! lol. There are still a few small(ish) things I need to take care of but all in all, I'm very happy with how things are going so far. Before you know it, I'll have a new last name! Eeeekkkk!!

One thing I have no idea about, first dance song. We better start figuring that stuff out or we might just be dancing to Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back"....!!!!!

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Happenings

A little not so brief update on what's been happening with me lately!  Maybe if I post this and catch up, I will post more regularly! Maybe!

SOUTHWEST HALF MARATHON

I completed the Southwest Half Marathon (aka Palos Half Marathon) on May 1st. I hadn't planned to run this half but I was training for a different half and was going to run 10 miles this weekend. Needless to say, I ended up running it last minute. I mean, 10 miles, 13 miles, it's all the same, right?  I did take it easy. I did stop at every water stop for a quick drink. I ran with a few friends for most of it. I wasn't going to PR and it was a training run for my upcoming half so that's what happened.  It was cold and a bit drizzly at the beginning but I warmed up for the middle and was very comfortable but started freezing again the last two miles. I couldn't wait to get home and take a hot shower!

FNRC - pre race

Waiting in the corral - (L-R: Me, Julie & Jill in the back, Tiffany & Sarah up front)
Kathy, Tiffany, Myself (L-R)
SWIMMING

I've been swimming! Yay me! I swam about 3 times. The first time I did 6 lengths, then I did 12 lengths, then I did 20 lengths! Shoulder is feeling pretty good each time. Trying not to push it but trying to keep increasing it. Working on "pulling" as well, not just "doing the motion". I have a triathlon in June so I want to try to swim 2x a week.  Sorry, no goggle pics of me in the pool!

UPCOMING MAY RACES

I have the Starved Rock Half Marathon this Saturday. I'm no where near PR material right now so I'm just going to do my best and see what that is.

I was talked into a duathlon on May 22nd by "the Mr."  It's the Silver Lake Duathlon in Prairie Path, Indiana.  It consists of a 3 mile run, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run. The run is "cross country" meaning it's on grass with lots of hills. Ugh! I mean...fun!! No really, it should be fun. It's actually a really small race so if I were a smig faster and the 35-39 age group wasn't so competitive, I could place! lol

I have the Ridge Run 10k in Beverly on Memorial Day. I love this race so I'm looking forward to it. Plus a 10k sounds so much better right now than a half marathon! lol

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Workout Improv

Have you ever been in the position where, in order to get your workout in, you have to find a way to squeeze it in? 

I have that issue today. I had a chiropractor appointment this morning and was already getting up earlier than usual (so no morning workout, which I typically hate anyway). This evening I have a wine tasting event planned, so no evening workout. I typically work out on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday through Thursday. Monday and Friday are my usual "rest" days.

Normally if I can't workout one of my "normal" days, I will switch it to Monday. This week, I also had plans on Monday (wedding stuff).

I was thinking of skipping working out on both days due to a nagging toe issue (another blog, another day), but I tend to feel "off" if I don't get a workout in when I'm supposed to. It nags at me. I can tell myself that it's fine if I skip, but it will still bother me all day.

So to make up (at least a little) for the fact that I can't workout today, I decided to go for a walk on my lunch hour. I work downtown and this is one of the easiest ways to "slip" in a small workout. Even though walking is good for you, it's not as "hard" of a workout as I would have typically done today and was still feeling a little "eh" because of that.  What to do, what to do!

Hello Chicago Riverwalk! (Disclaimer: I am definitely no photographer! Also, if you hate pictures of stairs, stop reading this blog post!)




I decided to take a 25 minute walk on the Chicago Riverwalk and utilize the many staircases along the way for some stair workouts!  So for the first half of my walk, I walked up and down every staircase I passed.  I started taking pictures of them and while doing so, realized how different most of them are! For some reason, this was intriguing to me...but I don't get out much.

I walked up and down 6 sets of stairs during my 25 minute walk. It was better than just walking (as far as workouts go) and I even sweated a little... sorry co-workers.



This was my favorite staircase.
I thought it was cool looking.

 
 


So I walked up and down 6 sets of stairs. Might not be a TON...but considering it was on my lunch break during a short 25 minute walk, I don't think it was too bad.  This is my "improve workout" for today.

There was also an abundance of runners, walkers, speed walkers, puppies, boats, and people eating lunch on the Riverwalk. Lots to see!

What type of workouts do you do when you need to squeeze something in?  Or do you just tend to skip it?

Friday, March 4, 2016

Racing Schedule

Happy Friday!

First, let me apologize that my racing schedule to the right of this blog is completely out of date! I mean...it's 2016! Get it together Amanda! In my defense, I can't access that part on my work computer and I never think about it when I'm home. Anyway...let's get on to 2016!

In 2014, I did 11 half marathons, 1 full marathon (my current PR!) and 1 tough ultra marathon. Not to mention a few smaller races and a sprint triathlon. I also had a goal to hit 1,000 miles for the year and need to keep pulling out the numbers straight through the end of December. I felt like I didn't get a break!

Turn to 2015 and I was burned out! I didn't want to run at all that year. I stopped tracking my numbers and workouts. I still ran and did workouts but I didn't care to track anything. My running was slow, my weight increased, and I just got by. I managed to do 1 slow marathon at the last minute and of course a few half marathons. The only thing I was really excited about was my first Olympic Distance triathlon.

I knew 2016 would be a slightly less "race heavy" year due to my wedding in August. I didn't want to be tied up doing things while trying to plan a wedding. I also don't know exactly when my honeymoon will be so I don't want to plan things afterwards. Plus my main goal this year (besides getting married!) is to lose weight, become healthier, and hope my cardio endurance will improve and so will my running.

So far in 2016, I have signed up for a few shorter races. I have been just running long distance mostly the last few years and I'm just not into it right now. So 8k's and 10k's are where it's at! I also signed up for the Esprit De She Triathlon again this year even though I wasn't sure if I'd actually be able to do it due to my shoulder surgery. The swag was expensive enough I figured just that covered the cost of the race.  Here's my schedule for 2016 so far...
_________________________________________________________________________

2016 Race Calendar

3/6/16 - Running O' The Green 8k (Tinley Park, IL) - I ran this a couple years ago. Super local for me and very inexpensive. It's my first race of the year. I'm using "race" lightly as I'm just trying to complete the 5 mile distance! THIS WEEKEND! I'm kinda excited!

4/24/16 - The Champion of the Trees 10k (Lisle, IL) - This is at the Morton Arboretum and I'm kinda excited about this race too. Although because of the location, I'm excited some rolling terrain.

5/30/16 - Ridge Run 10k (Beverly, IL) - This race is on Memorial Day every year. I used to do this one every year (they have a 5k and 10k, or you can run both for "the challenge"). I love it. Local and very neighborhood friendly. I'm excited to do this one again.

6/12/16 - Esprit De She Triathlon (Naperville, IL) - I originally wasn't going to sign up for this but was talked into it. I just wasn't sure about my shoulder. The doctor told me to wait another month and then I can start trying to swim. The good thing about the swim here is that you can walk half of every lap. As long as I can swim a little, this will be a good way to stay in the triathlon game.

After I typed this...I realized that the first 3 races, I typed "I'm excited!" THIS is what I'm going for this year. I want to run because I enjoy running. I want to do the races that make me happy. Speed will come later when all other things are taken care of.
________________________________________________________________________

Possible Half Marathon

I've been looking at half marathons that won't break the bank and are in driving distance. We have some issues with whether it's at the end of the month or if it's on a Saturday (I didn't want to take Friday off of work). We were looking at Wisconsin races, St. Louis area races... etc.

Madison Half Marathon - (5/29/16) I looking at this race and was considering it until right now. It's the day before my 10k on Memorial Day. Ugh. Plus the end of the month races are hard for the Mr. and his work. Back to the drawing board. Maybe...

Thursday, February 25, 2016

February Check-In

Welp...nothing much has been going on with me, which is probably why I haven't felt the need to blog! But I'm sure I can find SOMETHING to talk about, right?? ....

MILESTONE
My birthday was on February 11th. I'm another year older (yay me!). And I found my first gray hair that day too? Coincidence? I'm "only" 37 so I'm not going to let it get me down.

RUNNING
My running is slightly improving. After gaining a bit of weight in November and more post-surgery, I probably packed on 10-15 lbs late last year. Not that my running was going perfectly before that... I mean, last year I was just slow as molasses. But after the extra weight plus the shoulder surgery recovery time, I just could barely run without wanting to walk. I decided to slow my pace and just hope that getting back into running and losing some weight will help me. And it has been I think. Is it just one? Both? I think probably a combination. Don't get me wrong, I'm not were I used to be at all. But I'm running for the enjoyment of it and hanging with my "semi-back-of-the-packers" and we are a fun happy bunch so it's all good.



WEIGHT WATCHERS
Going really well actually! As of today, I'm down 17.2 lbs total (3.6 lbs lost this past week). 17 pounds makes a huge difference. I have no doubt that's one of the reasons I'm starting to feel a little better and starting to speed up my runs a bit sometimes. All-in-all I'm only slightly down from where I started before I gained all this weight last year. And I'm still about 30 lbs from my goal weight but baby steps. I'll take it. Another 15 pounds and I'll be a happy camper!

They changed the program at the end of last year and decided to incorporate sugar and saturated fat into the way the points are calculated. And wow! What an eye opener! Some of it does feel a bit restricting but I'm fine with the changes. I shouldn't be eating all that sugar and saturated fat anyway! But when you do want an indulgence every once in a while, it can be tough. And I'm from the mind frame of "everything in moderation." So it can be challenging but I fit it in when and where I can to satisfy my needs. I'm still working on fitting in pizza and ice cream though. This has been my challenge. But all in all, I like it. And my fiancé is on board with helping me find and make healthier meals. That is an extreme help!

ACTIVITY
I'm only running about 2 days per week (up from 1 day). But I need to workout ... for my health physically and mentally. I've been loving the bike trainer lately. We have the Wahoo Kickr and I connect it to Zwift on the computer. I love that I don't have to leave the house and I think the program itself is pretty fun. It's a great workout and the kickr adjusts to the hills and definitely can be challenging. So I've been doing this a couple times a week since it's winter and I don't feel like doing outdoor activities.


I've also been doing some spin classes every once in a while (but frankly, I'm been deciding to do the trainer instead lately).  I am trying to incorporate some strength lower body workouts. And I've been walking.

SHOULDER
I think it's getting better. Sometimes I'm a bit frustrated. I'm trying to keep up with my shoulder exercises but I've gotten off track a few times here and there. I know I need to keep up with them. I went to the chiropractor today and she noticed I'm not rotating my shoulder when lifting my arm straight up to the side. I need to work on this and need Derek's help doing it. It's important that I try to keep this going otherwise I won't have full range of motion. So this is a bit frustrating. I want to be normal and fine. Maybe one day. At least I'm not dislocating my shoulder all the time.

WINTER
I'm so over it! :)

Monday, February 1, 2016

Progress

Happy February! It's my birthday month (because you celebrate for a whole month, right)? February 11th is the exact date and...oh... I found a gray hair this morning! Eeekkk! I don't have gray hair so it's kinda a big deal right? Actually, no, I don't care. But fitting that it's in time for my 37th birthday.

Good news on all fronts!  When I went to my shoulder doctor appointment on Jan 4th, I was determined to weigh less for today's doctor's appointment. AND... I weighed in 10 lbs less! Go me! Yes, I'm doing Weight Watchers (again). And yes, it works for me.  (Side note, I'm down officially 8.6 lbs as of last week there but do expect a few more pounds down this week).

My doctor said my shoulder is doing very well. Since I was just shy of 3 months post-surgery (about 1.5 weeks shy), he was still hesitant of letting me do a couple things. Firstly, I still am not allowed to do external rotation since he wants me to be 3 months out of surgery. Since I'm close, he is allowing me to do a slight stretch on that right now.

External Rotation                 
I did ask when he thinks it will be ok to start trying to swim and he said to give it another month. (YAY!!)  He also said to refrain from weights but then did say I could do light weights for bicep curls or bench presses. Although I'm not trying to push anything as I do what things to heal up properly and not get re-injured.

He said something about close to having full range of motion, so I asked when he thought I would have full range back (I figured 6 months). He says generally 4-6 months but since I'm doing so well, he's figuring closer to the 4 month range! Woohoo!! What!? What!? Seriously...my dream. This may sound weird but if you've dealt with all my shoulder issues since July 2012, you would understand!  To one day be as close to "normal" as I can be... it's... I just can't imagine.

ANYWAY... that's all the news from here. As I stated, I'm doing well on the weight watchers/weight loss front. My birthday is in just over a week and I already know I will be having some splurges and I'm ok with that. I will just make the other days "good eating" days.  I may lose slowly sometimes but I think that it's the same ideas as with running...

It's a marathon, not a sprint!

Disclaimer: If you talk to me for the next several months, you will probably only hear about:
       
        1. My shoulder
        2. My wedding
        3. Weight Watchers

You've been warned! :)

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Getting Back

Hey guys! Just a quick check-in so let you know how things are going so far. 

I appreciate all the motivating comments from the past couple posts. Things are going a bit better for me. You just have to make yourself be better sometimes. And it helps me get out of my funk. 

As far as my shoulder goes, I'm still working on my exercises to gain range of motion. Sometimes I can relax and feel as though my range is getting better but sometimes my shoulder is tighter and I feel like it's not improving. The doctor said I was doing great so I'll just go with that. It's been 2 months but I expect it to take at least 6 months.  Here's a bad picture of me doing my exercises. Sorry, it's all I got...
Trying to get the arm over my head.
It's not easy and sometimes I have a hard time relaxing my shoulder.
But I've been working out more, maybe not running more (1-2x a week) but at least getting more movement in.

Stretching at end of spin class
 
Meeting my run group on Thursday Night

My shoulder still gets sore while working out depending on the day and exercise but I figure it's going to be sore until it gets used to it and gets healed more. So I rest it when I need to but continue to get my workouts in.

Other than that...well, it's the Midwest and winter in Chicago. So I'm just cold. So very cold all the time. Work, home, outside, you name it. I walk about 15-20 minutes to work form the train every day. And it's just not fun. Such is life! Is it summer yet?


I weigh in at weight watchers tomorrow for my first official week. I've been doing really well and my pants already fit better. More on my progress with this later. Have a great week all!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Back to Square One

Thank you all for your comments on my last post regarding lacking motivation. I'm happy to report I'm forcing myself getting back my motivation! I've walked on the treadmill, run outside in the cold, and went to the gym. I'm trying to find my groove but it's there. And I'll find it.

I'm going to be honest here. What's the point of having a blog if you aren't honest, right? I joined Weight Watchers (WW)... again.

Now, I know you are supposed to be happy with your body the way it is now. I get it. I really do. But I've gained weight. A lot of weight. And it's getting in the way of the things I want to do, the way I want to be. I need to do something about it.

For a few of my long time blog friends, you know I actually started this blog while on WW and my initial posts were about my daily food (don't worry, I'm not going to do that to you).  I lost a total of 91 pounds and made lifetime. Lifetime is when you get to your goal weight and maintain it and you can go to WW for free. That was in 2010.   My "goal" weight wasn't too strict or low of a weight. It was at the top end of my BMI weight on the chart. So it's completely doable. Of course that was before running full marathons! We all know about that weight gain, right??

The "before" pic in 2007 (although I was down 25 lbs here)
Goal weight made in July 2010
(I suppose I should do a new "before" picture for this current attempt)

But if I'm being honest with you, I feel like a failure. I'm not back to my original heaviest weight, not even close really. But I've gained a good 40+ pounds back. Yes, 40+ pounds. 5 pounds turns into 10 pounds turns into 15 pounds. Well, you know the drill.  And frankly, it's depressing.  It's depressing to think I failed at this.

So, here I am again. Back to square one. Square one with food habits. Square one with running.

But it's ok. It takes time to change habits. It takes courage to recognize you need to do something and make a change. So instead of thinking I'm a failure, I'm going to say that I have the courage to make a change.