Six Pack

For Christmas my mom bought me the Jillian Michael's Six Week to Six Pack DVD. I tried it out last night and boy did it kick my butt! I'm usually really good at ab work outs. My favorite part of any work out video is when they get to the abs. But boy oh boy I struggled!

I woke up this morning and my abs ache...so do my arms...and legs! I'm really looking forward to continuing this program. My mom did say I can't get a six pack before her (she's already in much better shape than me) but I told her in six weeks I'll either have a 6-pack or be dead!

Anyhow I really enjoyed the work out and had a lot more fun with it than I have with the 30 Day Shred (which is also a great work out I just enjoyed this one more). Can't wait to see what level 2 holds for me but I'm giving level 1 the full 3 weeks!

Hopefully I can shed the 40lbs covering my abs so my 6-pack will actually be visible!

Almost a new year

Well the new year is quickly approaching which makes us all look back and reflect on the previous year. I started out gung ho and did really well. I lost 16 lbs within in the first few months. I was sticking to my WW point count and exercising/running regularly.

And then...like happens to many of us. The year progresses and our resolve falters. I'm ending 2011 10 lbs lighter than I started it. Not where I had hoped to be but 10 lbs is 10 lbs and I'm happy about it. But this feeling of disappointment, of looking back and thinking where I COULD be right now if I'd just stuck with it stinks. So here we go again. A new year. A new start.

Today I've started back in my WW tracking. First time in months. My husband will be joining too and I think if we're both working towards the same goal then we'll be more successful as a unit.

I've made us up a big motivational poster for our bathroom hanging right above the scale. It has our goals written on it plus some motivational sayings. I'll add more as I find them through out the year. The bottom I made up one of those charts where you fill it in as you go to see the progress. We both want to lose 40 lbs so I broke it into 4 10 blocks for each of us and we can color it in as we lose. I think it will help to see the progress in a graph. Next to each 10 block I wrote out our rewards.

Mine are...
Pedicure
Inexpensive Item off my Amazon Wish List
Massage (if we can afford it, otherwise I'll pick something else)
NEW CLOTHES!!! At 40 lbs lost I'll need an entire new wardrobe.

His are...
Uninterrupted sports game. He wants to watch one sporting event from beginning to end without having to take a kid to the potty or build a Lego skyscraper.
Day of golf. He hasn't played in a year probably.
Date Night. A rarity for us!
New Clothes!

Here's to hoping it will help keep us on track!

I have the Disney Princess 5K coming up in February. I need to up my training for that. My foot injury has derailed a lot of my progress. I'll me seeing an orthopedic doctor sometime next year in hopes of solving that problem once and for all.

Hello....Hello...Hello.

I can hear my own echo in here. Far too long gone I've been! I have fallen HARD of the weight loss wagon. After having to quit running to heal my ever aching shins I just quit it all altogether. But I'm back! I turned 29 today and it hit me how close I am to 30. My 20's are quickly becoming the past instead of the present! I want to enter my 30s healthier and happier than I spent the latter part of my 20s. So back on the wagon I climb! You'll be hearing more from me in the coming weeks! I'm fired up and ready to get going. Of course I got fired up just days before we leave for vacation so....

M.I.A.

Well not really missing in ACTION. Haven't had much activity going on lately. My mom and I competed in our second 5K last weekend. It was a very hilly run and after 2 weeks of virtually no running with what few runs I did complete being pure misery it was a hard race for me. Not so bad for my mom! She placed 3rd in her age group and won a medal!! I was 7th out of 10 in my age group. As my dad says "major improvement since high school!" At least I beat 3 people! Just before the half way mark I told her to just go, just run. I had to walk and I didn't want to hold her back. She fought me on it but eventually took off. In the end I finished only a minute behind her. She shaved a good 5 min off our last time, I shaved off 4. I doubt we'll ever be able to say that again!

Since then I haven't done any running. I tried but these shins just keep giving me grief. I think they're better, try again and find out they are worse than I thought. I'm getting very frustrated and discouraged. My heart and mind want to run! My body does not. My littlest boy goes for a follow up appointment with the audiologist in a few weeks. Said audiologist just happens to be located near my running store so I'll be making a for sure stop there to see what I can do about making my shoes a better fit for me. Hoping I can get some comfy inserts to keep these flat feet a movin'! I've heard this can be a daunting task though, maybe for once, just once I'll get lucky first try.

I'm hoping to sign up for a 5 race 5K series happening here this summer. I really want to do it and look forward to the accountability and having a set date goal to train for. But I'm scared I'm not ever going to heal properly! I've been doing the elliptical on the regular now to hopefully heal while still building cardiovascular endurance and leg strength. I don't want to lose ground just because I can't really run right now.

That's my whine for today.

And here's my funny for the day. It is how I feel lately!

My friend Jen over at Runner...Maybe shared this with me today. Love it!! I'll always be slow but I'll always think of this!

Back in Saddle

After a week of no running I've gone out to run twice now. The first was a miserable 1 miler. Every inch of me ached. I wanted to go home and sit on the couch and veg. Liked I'd been doing all week.

More ice.

More rest.

Try again today. 2 miles was the goal. I completed 1.6 miles before my body was done. The first mile felt WONDERFUL. I was chugging along, enjoying the morning, the hint of chill in the air. I was running on air. Birds were singing!

After that first mile though it went downhill. I started to feel aches here and pains there. Weird things that have never bothered me before. My right knee. My right hamstring. Not pain really but I could feel every.single.step. The beautiful morning suddenly became hot and humid. The road became hard. Birds were fighting.

But I did it, I got up and ran so I'm back!!!!!!!! I can never quit running. For the first time in my life I actually have defined calf muscles forming!!!

To run or not to run

that is the question! I have been icing and wrapping my shin splints since Sunday. No running. I've walked a few times but at a stroll pace and not an intense one. I'm really itching to get back out and run. I'm ready for that runner's high again! I think I'm going to give it a go tonight. Maybe just a 1-miler to ease back into things and see how my shins feel.

I wish I knew WHY I got these. The main reasons I've read about for them include:
Over training: I don't feel like I've over trained at all. I hadn't even made it past 2 miles! But I am a new runner so maybe I did push too fast.

Sidewalk running: I do a lot of that but I'm rearranging my typical run course so I'll eliminate or at least minimize those. I so wish we had a great jogging trail here but that is one thing the area lacks.

Flat feet: Definitely have those! I overpronate for sure. Thought I had good shoes for that. Debating if I should hit the running store again and see what they say since they are the ones that fitted me for the shoes. I'm also pondering whether I should invest in a Zensah Calf/Shin Sleeve. I've read great reviews on these and they aren't too outrageously pricey. I already feel like I've loaded up on gear and yet I'm not even a good runner yet! But if it helps solve the problem and can keep me running it would be worth it.

What to do? What to do? What would YOU do?