Day 6: Action!

Honestly, sometimes I just don't know what to write. I wish I was a great writer, but the way I write is usually just what's going on in my head. I jump back and forth from different thoughts and I feel like half the time they don't make sense when I write them down. Hopefully they make sense to some of those of you who are reading....

 

Today I took action and I succeeded! My workout today was to run 55 minutes and walk 10 and my goal was reach 5 miles by the end of it. 

I just dropped my oldest off at a birthday party and I had exactly an hour and 15 minutes before I needed to pick her back up. It was the perfect time to get my run in. The crunch for time made me run faster. I'm kinda funny that way... The closer I am to a deadline the faster and sometimes better I do it. The down side of running right then was the weather. It was snowing. You know, that really wet snow, huge flakes, it might as well have been raining. It wasn't sticking to anything so you know it wasn't that cold out, probably around 38 out. The wind was blowing, but not too bad. I started out going against the wind cause I figured it would be better to end with the wind against my back. 

I felt pretty good to start. My legs felt good, but I didn't have the energy I needed. I felt a little drained. My lungs were still getting used to breathing while running so they were a little achy. I wanted to quit around mile 1.5 and start walking, but I kept trudging along. My mind would start to wander a little and a few quarter miles would pass by without notice and then I'd start to think about running again which would make me want to start walking. But, I kept on keeping on and I kept my eyes on the ground right in front of me. (I know, bad running form, but it helped.) Mile 4 came around and I started thinking about how proud I was to still be running. I was going to reach 5 miles in 65 minutes! I was going to reach my goal!! 

I did it!! I reached 5 miles in 1.04.36!! I still had a little ways to go before I reached the house so I ended up going 5.28 miles in 1.08.44 minutes. :) Towards the end I was so hot I took of my jacket and ran the rest of the way in my short sleeved shirt. I'm sure people driving by thought I was crazy. Haha! I had more than enough time to go and pick up my kiddo from her party. I love when things work out like that. The timing was perfect.

Even though my run was tough, I'm glad I did it. I pushed through and I did more than 5 miles. I ran the 55 minutes without stopping, which is awesome! I even ran at a faster pace then I had been running and I kept my pace consistent.

Awesome run, red faced and all! :)

Day 5: Energy

Today's workout was a good one. I was scheduled for 25 minute run 5 minute walk. I went out and there was a slight snow coming down. I felt good starting out. I wanted to feel faster today so I threw in a couple fartleks. I was loving the moment! I was running as fast as I could. The energy was flowing, I felt great! :)

After the run my muscles were a little sore, but it's that good sore you get from working out muscles you haven't worked out in a long time. I can't wait to be faster..... It'll come in time, I'm sure.

I hope I lose some weight tomorrow. I've been trying hard to track my food and stick to my workouts. We'll see. If I don't say anything just assume I lost nothing. lol!

Day 4: Imagination

I think when it comes to the hard things in life you have to have some sort of imagination to get through them. The tough things in life vary for each person. Someone's tough thing may be easy to another and that's ok. Every one's different. You have to use your imagination to figure out how to work through them. During marathon training all sorts of obstacles get in your path. You can get injured. You can lose motivation. You can feel it's too hard and give up. But, to get past all of that you have to think of the different ways to get through. It's like a wall in your path. Are you going to climb over? Dig under? Go around? Break through? 

Right now everyday brings another challenge for this mother of 4. Last night I got out of bed at least 7 times. Each kid needed something. So, when I got up this morning the last thing on my mind was exercise. I was exhausted. I barely got any sleep. So, this afternoon during nap time I took a nap, well, as much of a nap as you can take with a baby in your arms. Now it's 10:30 at night and I still haven't done my exercise for the day. Good thing it's a short one. I'll have to do it now so I can stick to my plan. Good thing it's a 20 minute walk cause right now I have a fussy baby that is so tired she doesn't want to sleep. I'll just have to walk her to sleep. (See imagination. Fussy baby+walk=workout done and baby asleep....lol)  

So, tell me... How are you going to use your imagination to get past something hard and have wings to over come it?

Day3: Begin with the end in mind.

The end....what's my end goal? My end goal is to be back where I was a year ago. I want to feel like I did when I ran the Riverton Half. I remember running the half and just feeling awesome. Everything fell into place and I felt amazing. I want to be back to my weight of 160. I felt right at that weight.

Today while I ran I kept in mind the end goal. I kept thinking how much easier this will be in a couple of months if I just keep it up. If I just stick with it. It may be hard right now, but it WILL be easier and it will be worth it.

So far my waking up at 6 has fallen, that's ok though, I've been sticking to my workouts and I haven't been sleeping in. It's not easy getting up at 6 when I wake up 3 times in the middle of the night. I've been tempted a couple times to run at 3AM when Rosalie wakes me up, but I'm sure that wouldn't be the best.

Well, it'll all work out in the end. Things are moving along. I'm just going with it day by day. One day at a time.

Day 2: Begin

It all begins with a single step. My journey to another marathon and losing all this weight is going to be a tough one, but I'm up for the challenge. The first step for me is to take my before pictures.....wow... If you ever want to get motivated to lose weight, that's the way to do it. lol! I am more motivated than ever to lose this weight after seeing those pictures. I want to be an after!

Today we went out as a family and walked around the lake. It started out as a stroll and turned into a QUICK walk because the wind started up halfway through it and then the clouds were threatening to rain. (Crazy Utah weather. It was a high of 32 yesterday and 65 today.) We went a 1.25 miles and after we got home I did all my strength exercises. I'm feeling good and I'm tracking my food. I'm excited to see how well this weight drops.

Oh, the other thing I'm doing is NO COOKIES FOR A MONTH. Eek! It'll be tough cause that's what I've really been craving, but I can do this!

Day 1: Power

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. You are a great power for good. You will make the world a better place. Lift up your chin; walk tall. God loves you."D.F. Uchtdorf

I just love this quote. It's so uplifting. I love how it makes me want to be the best me I can be. It helps me not be afraid of who I want to be and the things I will have to do to make that happen.

For this 21 day challenge my goals are:
-Wake up at 6 every morning. Even if I stayed up late or woke up a lot in the middle of the night. I need a routine and it all starts with getting up in the morning.
-Stick to my exercise plan. I've made the goal to run a half marathon in June and to be able to do that I'm going to need to stick to my plan.

So far so good... My alarm went off this morning at 6 while I was feeding Rosalie. I set out all my running clothes last night so they'd be ready when I got up. After I fed her I got dressed and headed out the door.

3.16 miles and 46.16 minutes later I felt good. I felt like I got things done and I was on track for the day. I felt so good that I took my before and after pictures (that you guys will probably NEVER see... lol!) and am aiming to lose 10.4 lbs this month. My goal is to be under 200 by the end of April.

LET'S DO THIS THING!!!

Feel free to join in on the 21 day challenge. I'd love to read what you guys do with it. :)

What motivates you?

This weekend I went back 2 years in my journal (aka my other blog) to try and find what made me decide to run my first marathon. I came upon a post made on August 31st, 2009...

At the dinner table today out of no where Brianna says:

-"Hey, mom. I'm trying really, really, really, really hard to be just like you."

-"Why do you want to be like me, Brianna?"

-"Cause I love you so much!"

If that doesn't make you want to be the best mom you can be, I don't know what does. I makes me realize how much she's watching my every move and learning from everything I do. I need to try a lot harder.

(Brianna was 5 at the time.)

After that post things changed. My mind changed. What kind of mom was I? Was I being the best I could be? Was I acting in a way that I would want my daughters to act? The answer was no. 

I wanted to exercise, I wanted to lose weight, and I wanted to be a better person. The thing about it though...I wasn't doing it. As much as I wanted it, the work was too hard. It wasn't impossible and it wasn't even really THAT hard, I guess it was taking more effort than I was willing to give at the time. The moment my daughter said that to me something clicked. Do I want my daughters to be like this? Eating cause she's bored without any self control, sitting more than she's moving, being unhappy? No. I don't want that. I want to be the best example. I want them to know what happy is. I want them to SEE what happy is. I want them to see that I love myself. I love myself enough to take care of myself. 

 

Sure, it's going to take effort, but you know what. I'm no quitter and I'm NOT going to quit on myself. I've done this before and I can do it again.

 

Around that time I also started this 21 day challenge. They say it takes 21 days to start a new habit and my habit was to exercise everyday and run a marathon a year later.  The daily quotes REALLY helped me stay motivated.

So, today I am making a change! I am going back to where I was on August 31st, 2009. I'm going to bed before 11:00 and getting up before 6:00 to run. If that doesn't happen due to baby girl waking up in the middle of the night then I'll make sure to get it done before bed. I'm sticking to my plan. I'm also going to post the quotes from the 21 day challenge on here everyday to keep myself motivated. 

What motivates you??