I Need Motivation

Seriously... I need to get going on my running but I just can't get my rear in gear. I don't know if it is the weather, the holiday rush or just laziness. I hate running on the treadmill but I know that is how I am going to have to train. We have too much snow and ice on the sidewalks and streets - not to mention the sub zero temperatures outside.

We are working on getting our workout room set up over our vacation so that will help. It will be nice, we will have the TV set up and DVD player so that I can pass the time away without looking at the screen on the treadmill. It just pains me to run on a treadmill... I get so bored. I am going to have to find a specific workout to do to make it go faster instead of running 5.5 mph for 3 miles. I know it is not a long time but it feels like FOREVER.

I also think I need to drag my butt out of the house in the cold and snow and go to the Y to workout. There is too much to do at home and I can come up with a number of things to do besides run or workout.... so I need to go where the only thing to do is workout and that is the Y.

A new year is around the corner and hopefully that means a lot of motivation for me...

Merry Christmas to all....

6 Truths of Life

6 Truths of Life
1. You cannot touch all your top teeth with your tongue.

2. All idiots, after reading the first truth, will try it.

3. And discover that The first truth is a lie.

4. You're smiling now because you're an idiot.

5. You soon will forward this to another idiot.

6. There's still a stupid smile on your face.

I apologize about this .

I'm an idiot too and I needed company .....

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE

Never Give In

"This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never- in nothing, great or small, large or petty- never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

Winston Churchill Harrow School, 29 October 1941

10 minute trainer workout

Whew... I just finished 3 workouts from my Beach Body 10 minute trainer DVD for a total of 30 minutes and a mile on the treadmill. I have never been a big fan of the DVD's at home but I really like this one. My heart rate was up there and I was sweating like a pig in the middle of August. It felt good. I probably won't be able to move tomorrow after doing a a gazillion lunges, situps, squats and push ups ...but it is all for the greater good. Right? Plus I don't think I looked like a retard jumping around and none of my neighbors called me asking if that was just an epiletic siezure they just witnessed. In fact no witnesses at all.... that is a good thing.

My plan is to run 3X a week and do upper body, cardio, legs and abs the other 2 - 3 days. I don't lose any weight with just running because running makes me hungry. I like food, so when I am hungry, I eat. Simple. But I don't eat good most of the time. I eat the first thing that looks good to me with very little thought about what it will do to my body. I have to change this way of thinking.

The work week is hard for me and food. I travel for my job almost everyday and sometimes I don't have a lot of time for lunch so I either skip lunch or go thru a drive thru... neither are good options. I don't like to bring something with me from home because I need to get out of my car... and yes, it is now winter in Wisconsin, so forget about that. I think I will be visiting Subway a lot more than I normally do. I like Subway, but sandwiches get old and I am a creature of habit and so I always order the same thing. I guess I will have to step out of my box and try some new things at Subway.... where is Jared when you need him?

Virgin Blogger

OMG... I am actually doing this. I said I would never do Facebook and I would never be a blogger. Well, guess what, I am new to Facebook and now new to the blogging world. I want to blog because I think it will motivate me and make me accountable while I am training to run my first 1/2 Marathon in LaCrosse, May 2009. Yes, I am going to do it.

It all started a little over a year ago. At the age of 41 I had a reality check. I was not taking care of myself and was running in a million directions... trying to be a wife, a mom, a career woman, and a friend. We have all been there, some us handle it better than others. I thought I was super woman and could do it all. Well, it all piled up inside of me and I exploded one day. Well not really, that would have been a mess. But my body could not take it anymore and I had an anxiety attack or what I call MY WAKE UP CALL. I thought it was a heart attack.

I had lost my sister a few months prior to brain cancer and she left behind 2 great teenagers and a wonderful husband. I saw my life flash in front of me and did not want to leave my kids at the age of 41.

What had happened to me? I grew up an athlete... a girl jock... I was better than most boys... and I. Loved. It. Well 24 years later and 2 kids later I was not that athlete anymore - not even close. So I decided in June 2007 that I would start to take care of myself a little better. I joined the YMCA and started to work out and I also started to run. Running had not been a part of my life for years - I had blown both of my ACL's in my knees and had reconstructive surgery on both. I thought it would hurt to run and that it was not worth the pain. I should say I dabbled in running... nothing big but I had worked my way up from not being able to run around the block to being able to run 3 miles. It felt great and my stress level was way down... running was a perfect way to end a stressful day.

I ran my first 5K in 2007 and also my only one. So it went okay and in January 2008 my husband and I committed to running a Ragnar Relay in Augusut 2008 - what the hell was I thinking? I was going to have to figure out how I was going to train to run 15 - 17 miles in a 24+ hour period of time. I ran a couple of races - Crazy Legs in April 2008 which was brutal because it was cold and 5 miles... I did not think I would be able to run 5 miles, but I did it. My husband ran with me the entire way and sacrificed his time to help me through it. Without him, I would have quit and never finished. Then there was another 5K race in July and the rest is history... a lot of miles around the neighborhood. I was going to a body pump class at the Y that I loved.
Life was good, and then the girl that taught the class at the Y got a raw deal and was not teaching the class anymore. She was the one... we all loved her... sadly, they replaced her but the class was not the same. I hated it so I quit going. All that was left for me was running... so that is what I did.

2 weeks prior to the Ragnar Relay, my first leg in the relay was changed from 6 miles to 9.5. What the hell?? How could they do this to me? I had never run more than 6 miles at one time. It was August... hot, humid, gross... 2 weeks... 9.5 miles my first leg. I could not believe it and wanted to throw up. This was the longes leg of the entire relay... and I was the one that had to run it. Crap...

I did run a 9.5 mile route in my neighborhood the week before Ragnar. I needed the self confidence but what I really needed was to know that I was not going to die. I was afraid. Very. Afraid.

So the relay was here... I did not sleep the night before... our team consisted of 12 people... 11 were real runners and then there was me. I did it... my first leg was 9.5 miles ... I finished it and did not die. I was not fast... It took me 2 hours... but I did it.

This is when I decided that if I could do this with only 2 weeks notice, then I could run a 1/2 marathon and train for it. That was August 2008. It is now December 9, 2008 and since then I have only run about 10 miles. Ragnar absolutely killed me, but it was a blast and yes, I would do it again. I don't know why, but I have pretty much taken the last 3 months off. I have done N O T H I N G!!! My body shows it.. I was starting to get into pretty good shape... well 3 months off with very little exercise and I need to mention that I love to eat.... so I have gained some weight and I feel pretty crappy about my body... I need to work on this and be serious about it. I would love to lose about 20 pounds and the running would be a lot easier.

I have a training plan and it started tonight - I did 2 miles on the treadmill. I need to stick with this. I will be running the LaCrosse 1/2 marathon on May 3, 2009 which also happens to be my 43rd birthday. This is going to be my birthday present to myself.

So I will be blogging to keep me honest and motivated. I need to find an exercise plan that will help me lose some weight. I don't lose weight with just running. So I have a few DVD's that I am going to be using and I am also going to get my butt back to the YMCA and do my own workouts.
Wish me luck. I can do it and I will do it.