3 day weekends ROCK

Man, I love weekends. Especially when Monday is included!

Oh and I looked and looked and could NOT find any popsicle molds this weekend. BUMMER! If you spot any, let me know. I was trying to get one locally, but I may have to go online (what did we do before the internet?)

Working on some new exercise goals, I'll let you know when I've got it all figured out! (I know, you're waiting with bated breath!)

Getting fit, what works for me ...

Now that the cycle is broken, I need to declare my new goals. Consistency is important to me, losing weight is up there too. Here's what works for me:

• A structured program, so I don't have to decide each day what I am doing. Although I do like a little flexibility since life happens!
• Weights - I need to use weights, I feel stronger and get better results (both visual and weight loss)

I love running and doing races, but it seems when I am training for a half marathon, that I don't make the time for weights, since the running takes up so much time. My best results were from doing a 3 month rotation of Chalean Extreme. I think it's time for another one!

So, today is the first day of new Chalean Extreme rotation. Here's what the next month will look like

• Monday - Burn Circuit 1 (BC1)
• Tuesday - Burn It Off
• Wednesday - Burn Circuit 2 (BC2)
• Thursday - Burn Intervals & Ab Burner
• Friday - Burn Circuit 3 (BC3)
• Saturday - Recharge

I'd also love to add in some yoga as time permits. (And my body allows!)

As far as eating goes, I am going to maintain at least a 750 calorie deficit per day using my BodyBugg to track my calories in/calories out.

Breaking the Cycle

I'm noticing a trend. Over the past several years I've had a big goal I work towards (half marathons, getting cruise ready, bike race) and I do really well working towards that goal. Then afterwards I flounder for a bit. I fall back into old habits, I let the exercise lax and I don't watch my eating as closely. That's when I start feeling pretty crappy. Pretty soon, I make new goals and I on the cycle again!

Okay, so I'm a dork ... I made a graph! This is kind of how it works. Sometimes the "break" is short while other times it drags on (and on and on.) Sometimes I feel like I am starting all over again. Honestly I'm tired of it ...

I'm ready to BREAK THE CYCLE! I am ready to create a new cycle, one that is all empowering and will help me to meet all of my goals. And then some.

I know that I need goals, and goals WORK for me. However I need to start utilizing short and long term goals.

Part of my committment to breaking the cycle is to post here more often. I do know that there are times that life comes up and really there ARE more important things in life (GASP!), but I know that in order for me to be strong in all the areas of my life, I need to take care of me first. Here are some things I would like to add:

• Healthy recipes with pictures! (I'm a visual person). When I'm tempted to eat too many sweets, I will be able to come here to see there ARE healthy alternatives
• Outside success stories, tips and tricks, etc. Anything that can be motivating.
• Consistency - I've learned how to schedule posts, so that I can have them come out even when I'm going to be gone. I'd love to be a place where other people like me can come to find some resources to take into their own lives. You'll keep me accountable and I'll do the same for you!

Have you heard the saying, "If you can BELIEVE it, you can ACHIEVE it?" Well, I officially declare this cycle BROKEN!!!

Happy 4th of July

Man, I can't believe it's July already! And it is HOT, HOT, HOT. I came across a cute blog with an easy (and healthy!) recipe for making homemade popsicles. Don't they look yummy?




We're going to try these out here, I just need to go get some molds. I'll post pictures if they turn out!

My Latest Obsession

Sometimes I wonder why I can’t stay focused on just one thing. Maybe it’s a girl thing or perhaps it’s in the genes. Whatever the case, I am addicted to CHANGING MY MIND!

What’s a girl to do but embrace the ugly, right? On that note, let me share with you my latest obsession …

My bodybugg!

What’s a bodybugg? Basically it keeps track of your calories in vs. calories out. Yay me, a healthy obsession!

Wanna see it in action?

Okay, so I’m not really in action per se, but I was cooking something yummy.

While I was training for my half marathon, it was very motivating to see how many calories I burned (like over 2200 calories burned running 13.1 miles!!!)

The best part is when I plug the Bugg into the computer; all of the info is put into graphs so I can see my progress and set goals.

I heart numbers! (and graphs. wierd? maybe.) Now if only all of my obsessions were so worthy!

13.1 miles ... again!

For some crazy reason (crazy being the key word!) I decided to run the Ogden Half Marathon AGAIN! You see, I first did the race back in 2008. Last November, Robin (my running partner the first time around) said we should do the half again this year. Gullable me thought, "Sure! That would be fun!" I went and signed up only to have her change her mind ... ACK! I then spent a couple of months trying to decide if I could do it on my own.

In January, my uncle Steve (a runner) told me that if I was going to do it, I had to pick a reason or a goal. I thought about that for a few days and decided that I wanted to do this race for ME! I wanted to prove it to myself. Overall I am pretty happy with my training. I did hit a few road bumps a few weeks before the race when I tried new shoes (note to self, DO get running shoes from the running store next time instead of just trying on shoes yourself!)

Week of race, I was full of butterflies and had to squash lots of doubts (silly me! I had run 11 miles during training, so what's another 2?) I went up to Ogden the night before with two great girls from my neighborhood, Chari and Kandi. We spent the night checking in, having a great dinner, getting flashed (by Kandi!), getting our stuff ready and just having fun.

The morning of the race came early (like 5am), but when the adrenaline kicked in, it was all good. Chari's mother-in-law drove us to the start which allowed us to sleep in later. Besides getting lost once or twice, we made it just in time to use the bathrooms and warm up a bit. In hind sight, we would have probably left a little earlier!

We were just a leeeetle amped up! (Me, Chari, Kandi)

It was pretty cold as the race started, but by the second mile I was ready to shed my pants and jacket. I was amazed at how good I felt. The Ogden Canyon is just so beautiful! Most of the race goes down through the canyon. At about mile ten, you leave the canyon and cross a bridge which leads to a park trail.

Taylor and the kids met me at the mouth of the canyon, seeing them across the bridge was just the boost I needed to keep going!

I finished the race feeling strong and energized (quite a difference from two years ago!) Taylor even commented, "Wow, you were smiling and waving!" You see last time it took every ounce of energy in me just to make it across that finish line. I think my training schedule this time around was much stronger making a big difference.

Here I am on the final stretch!

We each had different goals for the race and we each BLEW them away!

Facelift

I decided that my blog needed a facelift, what do you think?

I've got some BIG plans in mind and this is just the beginning! I can't believe I haven't shared my half marathon results. YES ... I did it! It is getting late now so I will have to save that for later, but I do have some pix to prove it! Stay tuned.