4 days.....

4 days until my 1/2 marathon! I'm super nervous; super excited and wonder will I actually run it!!! Are you laughing with me? With all my ailments and pains here and there - I will make my final decision on Saturday morning. I am planning on running it, but if things are hurting the morning of I'll be a spectator. Either way I'm going because my little sister is also running it.

Stick with me and we'll see what happens!

Today I'm going to do a 3 mile run and swim.  Thurs. I hope to get out in the warmth and do 2-3 miles (it's been raining here for 3 days and it suppose to be in the 70s the rest of the week).  Friday will be no exercise and Saturday is the race!!

Goals

Goals! I love goals because it causes you to aim/train for something.

Goals in the fitness part of life can be to stay healthy, lose weight, faster times, etc. My goal for the 1/2 was to finish in 2hrs. My goals have changed! Because of my injury 3 wks ago I don't feel like I can set my goal so high. My first 8wks of training was great and now the last 4 wks hasn't been so great. Instead of doing longer runs, I've been able to do 4mile runs! Instead of speed training, I've been sprinting in the pool. My new goal for the 1/2 is to FINISH! This is my first 1/2 and if I'm able to finish I'll have reached my goal and it will feel good (and hopefully injury free!).

You need to have realistic goals. For the MOPS moms I challenged in February, did you set your goals and reach them? I told you to only set something that you could reach within 2-3wks or so. Realistic/short goals are good (long term goals are good too!). What is your goal for the next 2-3wks:
Start walking/running 1-2 times a week
Stop eating sweets every night (maybe 1x/wk)
Lose 3lbs over the next 2wks
Focus on speed training for some upcoming races
Enter a 5K

I'll be anxious to hear some of your ATTAINABLE goals!

Workout Wednesday

Is it Wednesday or Thursday today?!! Youtube was having issues, but it finally let me upload today. I hope you enjoy this one. I think it will make you laugh, but remember stairs is an excellent way to burn calories and it's great because there are so many opportunities to "do stairs" in your every day routine. You can do them outside, in your house or take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.

9 more days until my 1/2 marathon. In some ways I don't feel ready - in others I am. I'll write more about that tomorrow!

For now - enjoy the video and then get out & get a good workout in!

How many calories am I burning?

How many calories do you burn during a 5K?

Here's the formula, courtesy of Laurie Conrod, Certified Lifestyle Management Coach and expert calorie counter. Visit www.laurieconrod.com.

Here is the formula to calculate the calories for a 5K:

Your weight X .66 X 3.1 miles

For example, A 150 lb. person X .66 = 99 X 3.1 miles = 307 calories

Bike

I got my bike back from a tune up today and did a quick 7 miles before Andrew came home from school. Loved it. You can go a lot faster than running :)

Gorgeous out tomorrow. Hoping for a run. It's fun to sweat in the heat again! I don't think this weather is here to stay though.

Hot!

I was actually HOT running today. My leg is feeling much better and I did 4 miles today. That's all I had time for.....I was hoping for 5-6, but taking it slow on my injured leg is what I am doing right now. I'm hoping for a longer run Sat and maybe a bike ride tomorrow! It's gorgeous here.......high 60s. I don't think it's suppose to stay though. I'm taking it while we have it!!

Workout Wednesday!

Happy Planks!

I did it!

I ran 4 miles pretty much pain free.  I opted for inside because it's been rainy here and if I started to feel any pain I could stop.  My legs got tired at the end which is unusual for me, but maybe because it's been a week since I ran.  I don't know.  Hoping for a good recovery day and no extra pains in the a.m.!  I did some free weights and then I rowed (on the rowing machine) for just 5 mins.  So glad to be doing something after a week of nothing.

Hoping to be able to do a longer run during the week as the weather is suppose to be nice - Tues, Wed and Thurs.

On a family note, my baby is turning 3 on Wednesday!  YAY.  Our little miracle.  It's just amazing!!

Serving Sizes!

So I always pay attention to serving sizes.....except the other night!!  I made this Tikka Masala sauce from Archer Farms (Target).  Simple recipe of cooking the chicken, adding the sauce and pouring it all over rice.  I did steam some broccoli to make it a little healthier.  After dinner, I was getting ready to throw the bottle out.  When I was in the store I had looked at the fat per servings 5g - not too bad, but I hadn't looked at the serving size!  Oh myyyyyyyy.  The jar contained 10 servings!!  This jar wasn't that big - like smaller than pasta sauce!!  The serving size was 2T.  Jon assured me that he ate at least 6 servings and I only ate 4 servings = 20g fat plus all the other calories, carbs, etc!  Ughhhhh.  Oh well.  You can only try so hard sometimes.

All that to say pay attention to serving sizes.  Cereals can be 1/2c to 1 1/2c per servings.  Crackers can be 7 crackers to 15 crackers.  Ice cream is usually only 1/2c.  You really have to read the labels on everything (even sauce jars!!).

I'm BACK!

Well at least I think I am.  My lower leg has been feeling better since Wed afternoon.  I wanted to give it a few days to fully recover - yes it killed me to do that!  So Sat or Sun I will start up again on a few short runs.  Looks like rain over here for the weekend, so I'll be at the gym.  While I prefer to be outside it will actually be better for my leg anyways - less impact!

So what did you do to workout this week while I couldn't?  Do tell!!!

Workout Wednesday

Are you enjoying this beautiful weather?  I am, but wishing my leg wasn't hurting, so I could be WORKING OUT!  Ughhhh.  It's not shin splints.  It's a muscle/tendon/connecting ligament issue.  I'm massaging, icing, resting and taking advil.  I'm going for a swim tonight and that will feel so good!!

In the meantime, while I can't workout YOU CAN!  Get out there and do something - here's a simple workout that is so good for you:

Blogless

I know I've been "blogless" this week!  I seem to be suffering from slight shin splints from Sunday's run and I haven't done much this week in terms of exercise - ugghhh!  You can imagine how I feel about that.  I did get a good swim on Wednesday in.  I ran on Thurs, but it was just a light, short 2 miles to see what I was up against.  It felt ok.  Today I went outside for a light, short 2 mile run and I was in pain almost the whole time.  ANNOYING!  I went to a great shoe store Fleet Feet tonight and got some new shoes.  I don't want to talk about the fact that this is my 3rd pair in a month!!  So I'll rest and ice for a few more days and maybe go for a longer run on Monday or Tuesday.

Thought you'd enjoy a picture (make sure you pay attention to the pretty swirls in the inside of the shoe!!)

Mileage Recap

For February:
Ran 62 miles
5 Step Classes
Swam 1 mile

I'm focusing on training for the 1/2 marathon, so I'm mostly running.  My cross training has been Step Class and weights.  I am looking forward to getting back on the bike and doing a bit more swimming.

For January (never posted!):
Ran 36 miles
Biked 49 miles
5 Step Classes
Swam 5 miles

A exercise journal is just as important as a food journal!  Get started on both today!!