Can I give more?

I saw this quote two times within 12 hours so I thought it was worth sharing. 
"Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?' The answer is usually: 'Yes.'" - Paul Tergat

Workout therapy

How true is this for me?!?!?!  Over the weekend I was at a point where I hadn't worked out in a few days and everything was getting on my nerves.  My husband me to just go running or do some kind of workout to get me in a good mood again. The gym/running outside is really what keeps me sane most days. 

Happy Thanksgiving

What a busy week this has been!  I hope everyone out there in blogland has a fabulous Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for and will be spending my time with family and then getting ready for my favorite time of the year - Christmas! 

Case of the Mondays

Today I had a case of the Mondays.  I did not want to get up for the gym and my husband had to leave a little earlier for work than usual so my gym time would have been cut short so I stayed in bed.  I do regret it a bit, but today is a pretty uneventful day for me and the boys, so I'm sure I'll get to do some kind of workout during the day. 

This weekend was not as successful as last weekend.  I didn't do too bad  with eating considering my friends and I had our dinner club on Saturday and the theme was Mexican.  I ended up not getting my run in.  My husband and I have a little furniture building gig on the side and right now everyone is wanting tables for Thanksgiving so I wasn't able to squeeze in the time for a run.  BUT my friend who hosted the dinner club won a Wii Zumba Houseparty so we played that for a bit after we ate.  Now that was fun and I'm actually considering finding a place around here to do Zumba every now and then.  I also added the Kinect version onto my Christmas list. 

I'm not even going to attempt scheduling my workouts for this week.  My husbands work schedule is messed up due to the holiday and we'll be away for a few days, so I'll just be happy with what I can get done. 

Pep Talk Thursday

My motivation

We had our family pictures taken a few weeks ago with Master Studio Photography and I just have to brag about my family.  Don't have the most adorable men in my life?  These 3 are the reason I get myself out of bed in the morning to head to the gym or on a run.  I need to be able to keep up with those little ones and be around as long as possible to see them grow, and also grow old with my husband.

 

Try it Tuesday

I've really been on a "new recipe trying kick" thanks in great part to all the fabulous looking recipes I find on Pinterest.  Yesterday I whipped up a jar of this Homemade Ranch dressing.

I used lite Mayo and fat free sour cream, which helped reduce the calorie count to 45 calories for 2 tbsp.  I forgot to pick up garlic when I was at the store and added a little too many chives, but all in all it turned out good.  I don't think I'll ever buy another store bottle again! 

Weekly Weigh-In (and other rambles)

This morning's weigh-in: 161.2.  Down exactly 4lbs from last weeks high of 165.2, of course a majority of that was probably bloat.

For once I actually had a good weekend of both eating and working out.  I feel like I got my groove back.  Best of all - I'm feeling AMAZING right now. 

Here is how I'm expecting my week to play out:

Monday - short run + upper body (done!)
Tuesday - P90x cardio
Wednesday - short run + lower body
Thursday - P90x yoga
Friday - Arc trainer + lower body
Saturday - long run + upper body

Now that I'm done with races until the spring, I'm going to focus more on endurance in running rather than speed or distance.  I just want to be able to run longer without having to stop for a quick breather/walk.  That in itself will increase my time on my runs.

Creeping in the room

This morning my alarm went off and I got up to get ready for the gym.  I forgot to grab a long sleeve shirt for my drive there and I knew it was too chilly to just wear a tshirt since my dog was up at 3am wanting to go outside.  So after I was all ready I tried to creep in the bedroom to grab a shirt.  This was the conversation between me and my husband.

H - "Hey do you have a second?"
M- "For what?"
H- "To chat."
M - "Um ... is it really that important?"
H -  "I took today off so I don't have to go to work?"
M- "Seriously?  You couldn't have told me that last night before I went to bed and set my alarm?"

So thankfully I did forget that shirt, otherwise I never would have known I could have actually slept in.  Men sometimes I tell ya! :) Luckily I was able to fall back asleep for a little while longer before the boys woke up.

I enjoyed a nice morning at the gym.  I hopped right on the treadmill and did a 5 min warm up walk.  My goal was to run 3 miles.  I ended up doing 5.  I think I finally figured out my key to treadmill running.  Normally I just listen to whatever is on tv.  Today I covered up all the info for the treadmill (time/distance) so I wasn't obsessing over that.  And instead of listening to the tv, I just watched what was going on and listened to my favorite morning radio show.  It really made the time go by quick.  I only stopped to walk briefly while I was fooling around with my phone trying to get the station set since I figured this out about 20 minutes in.  So I'm really excited about this revelation.

I actually felt great during the run and not like I was going to die.  I contribute that to 2 reasons.
1) Hydration - For the past week I've been drinking at least 1 gallon of water every day.
2) Good foods - I started to count calories again this week using My Fitness Pal.  Along with counting calories, I've been focused on what I've been eating by eating more protein and less carbs/gluten (kind of following the Eat Right for your Blood type theory).  Chocolate Gluten Free Chex cereal has been my savior for my sweet tooth this week!

If you're looking for more great fitness/health blogs - check out the Fitness Friday Blog hop in the sidebar!

Funny Friday

I have it

Water check!

Make sure you're drinking enough water!  The past few days I've been filling up a gallon jug of water and keeping it on the counter along with a glass as a reminder to keep drinking.  I've been finding that it is helping me to feel full longer so I haven't been having the urge to snack.

I was planning on going for a run outside this morning, but I've been feeling flabby so I wanted to hit the gym and start getting back into lifting weights.  I ended up doing the elliptical and then upper body. Today is going to be a beautiful day again so I'm planning on spending it outside raking up the gazillion leaves that are in the backyard.

Try it Tuesday

This weeks try it Tuesday comes from one of my go to sites for recipes - Skinny Taste.  Last Friday I hosted a Twister Mania House Party and wanted something somewhat healthy to have for snacks.  Usually I throw together a bunch of dips, with a favorite being spinach dip.  I could probably eat a whole bowl of that just myself.  I was excited when I found this skinny version.  The bowl was pretty much licked clean by the end of the night.

Creamy Parmesan Spinach Dip
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1/4 cup • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 2 pts
Calories: 79.4 • Fat: 6.2 g • Carb: 3.3 g • Fiber: 0.9 g • Protein: 3.2 g

• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess liquid squeezed out
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 5 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/4 cup scallion, chopped
• fresh pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Can be made one day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Makes about 2 cups.

10k Results

Well I survived, which is always a good thing.  I had to do some run/walk intervals towards the end, but I'm pretty darn proud of myself.  Official chip time - 1:12:46.  So now I have a goal to beat and do better next year.  

Here I am waiting for the opening ceremonies.  Carl Lewis was a speaker for the ceremony.                                                                 

It was a chilly 43 degrees when we got in the van at our house to leave.   By mile 1 the gloves came off and bondi band came off the ears.  At about mile 2.5 the long sleeve shirt came off.  I get so hot when I run.

I ran with a friend of mine for half the run, but we got separated at a water station.  Here we are at the 3 mile marker.  This was pretty much at the end of the bridge portion of the run.

And here I am coming in at the finish line.  Definitely not a flattering picture with the shirt around the waist, gloves shoved down the waist band of my pants.  At this points I was excited to see the clock time because I was thinking it was later than it actually was.

And here I am with my finishers medal.  
My first medal woohoo!

So I can now say been there, done that.  Right now I have my eyes on doing the Philadelphia Rock 'n Roll Half.  It's in September right after my birthday.

It's here!

 My first 10k!

On Sunday, I along with approximately 3,999 others, will be running the Ben Franklin Bridge and through parts of one of the most dangerous cities in the country.  I have to LOL about the past part.  I'm very excited about actually completing this run.  The first 2 miles will be somewhat rough because of the incline of the bridge, but at least there are downhill sections!  I'm running with a friend, so we'll at least be able to keep each other going.

Hibernation

I think I figured out what my issue is this week.  My body is preparing itself for hibernation.  All I want to do is sleep and eat and this is our first week of cold weather.  Man I wish I was a bear right now and I could actually hibernate!  How blissful would it be to sleep like that.

Funny Friday

Thursday!

Today I'm cleaning my house - I've had a bad week and haven't done my normal upkeep every day and have people coming over tomorrow for my Twister Mania House Party.  Does that count as exercise?  Last night my husband thought he had to go to work early so I didn't get my gym gear around.  This morning my alarm went off (apparently I have it set to repeat) and he told me he remembered he didn't have to be at the early meeting.  Yes, I could have gotten up and left, but that would have meant running around the house looking for clothes to wear.  Maybe I'll try to squeeze in something today.  Tomorrow is an early am outdoor run.  


All this Halloween goodies around the house - I need to remember this.

Ctr Alt Del

That's exactly what I wanted to do with my day yesterday.

It was not a good day around here.  The 4 year old was making me lose my mind and I did some stress eating (darn those little Halloween candies!).  I did get to end my day by watching The Biggest Loser without disruption because both kids went to bed early.  Does anyone else think Jessica resembles Tara from Season 7? 

But the good news is that today is a new day.  A day to reset my attitude.  A day to start afresh with eating right.

This morning my alarm went off at 4:15.  I wasn't ready to get up yet and my plan today was to do the Tread20 workout along with a warm up and weights so I reset my alarm to 4:45.  I still managed to get the majority of the workout in, I just had to cut short the weight segment so all is good. 

Confession:  I never got around to doing laundry and last night at 10pm when I was gathering my gym gear I realized that all of my workout pants were dirty.  I dug through the laundry and found some to wear this morning.  So yes I wore smelly pants to the gym.  Thankfully at that time of the morning it's not crowded so I doubt anyone noticed. 

Try it Tuesday