Fitness Friday: Challange Accepted!

Most people start some kind of New Year's workout challenge and this year I was no different.  I actually completed 3 challenges, none of which required running because injuries suck donkey balls but that's a different post entirely.  The first challenge was BethBob's #raceshirtaday Instagram challenge.  I gotta say, NAILED IT! I went 31/31 - a perfect score :) I really loved this - wear a different race shirt every day this month.  I only wore a couple to work (like today's Jax Bank Half shirt) because casual dress isn't really supported.  What was really fun was writing a blurb on Instagram when I posted the shirts.  It gave me a chance to relive some of those races and dig out some really old shirts.  I have race reports on most of these races here if you care to read them.

The second challenge was put on by the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  Squats and Push-ups - what's not to love besides everything?  Nailed this one, too.  I ignored most of the rest days and working out for 15-20 minutes in the morning has become a pretty cool routine.  I made it to the 3 rounds of 50 squats and 30 push-ups (modified).  Another success!  (Shrinking Jeans does a monthly workout calendar every month so if you want to get in on the fun, check back later today or tomorrow when Lissa posts the next calendar.)

Lastly, one of my girlfriends found this plank challenge from Athleta and we've been checking in each day on Facebook with how we've been doing on our planks.  This has also become part of my morning routine and I'm proud to say that while I didn't make it to 5 minutes (honestly, I think this was unrealistic), I can do a solid 3 minute plank now and can stretch it to 4 minutes with a 30 second arm position change.  This has also become part of my morning routine.

Did you participate in any fun workout challenges this month?  How did they go?

June Tune-Up: check in week 3

no clue where I found this picture - sorry

I'm going to come right out and say it.  I hate my scale.  It makes me crazy (or crazier depending on your perspective) and obsessive.  Would you believe I weighed myself 3 times this morning?  Each one was slightly different and because I'm a spaz, I'm reporting the middle number. Or rather, I'm not reporting the actual number at all, just the fact that it was 2.6 pounds HIGHER than last week's number.

2.6 pounds is a stupid amount of weight to gain in a single week. It makes me sad that I don't have the self-control and discipline right now to stop putting shit food into my face or track what I have been eating. Oh, and let's not forget that it's summer and I really like beer.  Did you know a bottle of GOOD beer has anywhere from 120 to over 200 calories?  Drink 2-3 or those a night and you might as well have gone out for a Big Mac. I won't waist my time on crap "diet" beer - I'd rather go thirsty.

I worked out like freaking CRAZY last week.  Zero days off.  But it obviously wasn't enough to combat whatever has been going into my pie hole.  I have 3 weeks until my beach vacation and I'm no where close to the place I want to be on the scale.  My clothes are still tight. I don't like the way I look.  I've rocked my 2 piece at the beach once this summer already and in some ways I really don't care that my stomach is squishy and my thighs are fat, but in many ways I do.  (Any idea how hard it is to go to the beach in a relatively modest 44bikini with your (almost) 15 year old athletic daughter and her equally thin friend rocking THEIR string bikinis?!?)

This is week 3 of the Shrinking Jeans June Tune-Up challenge and I'm so sorry to my awesome partner, Lisa, because my numbers for Bitches & Hos are just awful this week.

I'm afraid this coming week is going to be so hard. Traveling for a funeral and spending 2 days out of town beginning tomorrow, then K and I are going to a music festival all weekend where you are NOT allowed to bring in your own food or water.  Any guesses what my choices for eating are going to be?  Think fair food. Fried crap. Hot dogs.  And $5 waters.  It'll be awesome. NOT.

What do you do when you know the choices are going to be horrible but you have no other options?  Do I just not eat all day? I know that really isn't an option, but still.  I feel like I have no chance this week.  The idea that I might see the 130's again by the fall are also drifting away.

June Tune-Up check in 1

Just a quick blog post to say we are at the end of the first "week" of the Shrinking Jeans June Tune-Up challenge.  I say "week" but it's really only been since Friday.  Now we are onto our usual Wednesday check-in schedule.

I was a bit surprised by the scale this morning since I went to a street festival on Sunday and ate REALLY bad festival food and then out last night for the Grand Rapids Marathon Beer Run and had a bunch of salty food plus a beer (or two, but who's counting).

Last Friday: 152.4
Today: 151.6
Change for Week: down 0.8
Change for Challenge: down 0.8

I'll take it considering I did not make the most ideal of food choices this week.  At least the workouts must've helped, right?

Time to "Tune-Up" & get serious: a new challenge!

Today marks the start of a new fitness and weight loss challenge over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans - the Tune-Up June Challenge!  I haven't done a challenge in eons with these ladies but I'm giving it my all this time.  This is a partner challenge and we will be weighing in on Wednesdays (except for today's starting scale hop) and hopefully seeing some nice shrinking numbers.

I've partnered up with Lisa and we are calling ourselves Bitches and Hos (you can decide who's who!). Both of us had been maintaining for quite a while and then life got in the way and BAM! weight came back on.  We are here to kick some of those pounds good-bye over the next month (and then the next, and the next).

There's also another mini-challenge going on over there if you are interested.  It's called the June Tone-Up and it's a progressive daily workout of squat knees, wacky jacks and high knees.  I'll be skipping this since I'm really not supposed to be putting that much impact on my dumb shin, but if any of you want to give it a try, grab the calendar on the link there.

So who's in? 

Weigh-In Wednesday: Pre-Challenge

Super quick check in since I have zero time for blogging today.  Y'all should see my office - it's like progress reports and report cards threw up everywhere.  Anyhoo, I'm down 0.6 today, which is good considering it was a holiday weekend and I drank lots of beer.  I totally forgot to post a Tri Tuesday post yesterday so I'll have to do that tomorrow - Tri Thursday works, too, right?

Starting Friday is a new challenge over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans called the June Tune-Up Challenge.  I haven't joined in any challenges over there for awhile (all that crazy running I was doing) but I'm pairing up with my girl, Lisa, and we will be a force to reckon with.  Better watch out!  Wanna join on the fun? Grab yourself a partner and check out the details here - then head back over to Shrinkinjeans on Friday to get started :)

Are ya in?

Shrink Yo'Self in 2012 week 7

I wasn't going to blog today because I'm getting tired of bitching about the same shit over and over again, but here I am.

I'm back up 2 pounds.  Even after being sick for 2 days and barely eating anything I managed to gain back the 2 pounds I lost last week.  It's totally unfair and I'm pissed.  Maybe to lose you have to actually be throwing up, not just feel like you're going to barf.

I'm beginning to think I'm never going to see goal weight again and that makes me want to cry.  I maintained for so long and I've managed to completely blow it.  I cannot accept that this is the weight my body wants to be at because I know I can be better/thinner.

Sorry for the rant.

Shrink Yo'Self in 2012: Week 5

Since it's Wednesday, I need to take a break from the Tinker Bell Half celebrating and see what damage the weekend did to me on the scale.  It's week 5 in the Shrink Yo'Self challenge over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  Ready for it?  I wasn't, but I knew it was coming.  I'm up another 2.2 (and now 2.4# higher than when the challenge started) and in a very ugly place weight-wise.  Like, so ugly, I'm giving serious thought to joining Weight Watchers again or something, because I'm obviously failing miserably at losing the weight on my own.  I know some of it is still water weight from the race and flying because I can barely get my rings on right now, but that doesn't explain the (now) 12 pounds I have to lose to get back to a healthy weight.  It fucking sucks. No doubt about it.

I have all these memory boards right about my computer.  Pictures that show a happy, thinner girl.  I want to get back to being the girl I see in this picture, confident enough to run in just a long bra and tutu:

Fitbloggin May 2011

But right now, I'm not loving pictures I see of myself. Here is one of the only pictures from this weekend's race that I thought was half-way decent. I want to be that happy all the time, not just when cheesing for pictures at Disneyland.

Tinker Bell Half Marathon 1-29-12

Now, back to happier programming!  You can read part 1 (the expo and Disneyland) of my Tinker Bell Half Marathon race report here.  Part 2 (race day) should be up tomorrow!

Also, my wonderful friends over at Shrinking Jeans launched a new site this morning: Shrinking Kitchen!  You really must go and check it out.  Christy and Melissa (as well as many of the other writers) have some amazing recipes over there, plus kitchen terms, weights/measures, you name it!  Go give the girls some love, m'kay?

Shrink Yo'Self in 2012 - Week 2

 This week was supposed to go so much better for me scale-wise, but sadly the old habits of a glass or 3 of wine and eating out took over.  I'm back up 1.8 pounds this week (which actually puts me .2 HIGHER than the start of this thing, which totally pisses me off).  However, I'm trying very hard to not let the number I see on the scale right now define who I am.  Even at this weight, I'm running faster than I ever have before and I've started some serious strength training 2-3 times a week.  I have to believe that those two things, coupled with trying to get my eating and drinking back under control, will result in my damn pants fitting again.

As for this week's assignments:

1. I have not yet completed my Letter to Me.  I participated in this exercise the past two years and it was great.  I have huge goals and expectations for this year, but I'm on the fence about writing the letter.  Don't know why.
2. Vigorous exercise for 20 min 3x/wk or moderate for 30 min 5x/wk - holy hell, done and done! I'm still running at least 3 times per week (speed/tempo/long) and I've added in the Tough Mudder strength workout (that takes about 20 min) 2x per week (goal will be to get up to 3x per week and get thru the circuit twice).  I've also been doing the Hundred Push-Up app again.  (As a mildly worrisome aside, I've developed a weird pain in my foot, near the ball of my foot, center, just before the arch - I'm hoping it's nothing bad. Cross your fingers for me, m'kay?)
3. 52 small changes The first week was about getting enough water and this past week enough sleep.  The water is usually pretty easy for me.  Sleep?  I go to bed at a time that will get me 7-8 hrs, but I rarely sleep all the way thru the night.

Hopefully this week's workouts and wiring my jaw shut after 8 pm will reflect nicely on the scale next week.  I'd really like to be a bit closer to goal weight when I run Tinker Bell in 2 1/2 weeks!

A side note: I have a most excellent giveaway starting tomorrow!!!! I can't wait for you all to hear about it, so make sure you come back a visit my blog and get entered :)

Shrink Yo'Self in 2012 - Goals

During the majority of 2011, I stepped away from the challenges over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  I love those girls with all my heart, but felt like I needed to focus on my running and I was at goal weight (and maintaining), so participating in "shrinking" challenges didn't really make sense.

Well, the last 2 months of 2011 kicked my butt, and I find myself up about 10 pounds from where I'd like to be.  I'm never going to be a size 2 skinny mini, but I'd really like my size 6s & 8s to fit again.  I can still zip them, but I sure don't like the way they look.  I've become a person I don't like to see in the mirror anymore, and that's bullshit because I'm way hawter than that! LOL

The first assignment in the Shrink Yo'Self in 2012 challenge is to set some goals for the next 8 weeks.  I'm going to keep mine pretty simple.

1. Lose at least 5 pounds in the next 8 weeks. My plan is to cut out the late night snacking, fill my plate with fruits and veggies first, drink mostly water, and cut back on the booze (as I type this, I'm planning on drinking a beer while I watch U of M hopefully get spanked in their bowl game).
2. Add strength training at least 2 days a week.  I've started the Tough Mudder workouts with Kirsten, Erin, Ali and Ashley along for the ride.  We're planning 3x a week, but a more realistic goal for me might be 2x.  I've also added the 100 Push-Up program back into my workouts.  GUNS, baby!
3. Be able to complete 5 negative chin-ups without my toes on the chair.  This is part of the TM workout - to be able to do a real chin-up, but I'm nowhere close to that yet.

There you have it.  3 relatively simple but hopefully achievable goals for this challenge.

As a note: I will be posting changes to me weight but will not be posting my actual weight here.  I'm also making a concerted effort to only weigh-in on the assigned day.  We'll see how that goes.

*edited* I didn't realize we were also supposed to weigh-in today, but I did (thanks to my obsessive scale use).  I'm down 1.6 from Sunday. It's a start. :)

Burst into Summer Check in 5

I'm dealing with crap right now, which makes the commitment to eat healthy and workout hard, but even more essential.  I'm getting in all my marathon training runs - even set a PR for the 1/2 marathon distance on Saturday - but the "other" workouts are harder.  I did bike on Monday and I made myself do some strength training today with some exercise bands I got at FitBloggin (maybe a review and giveaway will happen at some point).

As for the Shrinking Jeans challenges, I'm continuing to eat breakfast and drinking tons of water.  I'm afraid veggies are not being consumed as much as they should be and sleep is definitely not happening.  It's too hot and my brain will not turn off at night.  Last night, I moved to the spare bedroom in the basement (it's easily 10-15 degrees cooler down there) but it freaked out the cat and she meowed half the night.  I can't win.

I think I'm still around 136-137 (at least I was yesterday).  I didn't weigh-in this morning because I didn't want to see a higher number and have my already crappy day turn worse.

I hope you are all doing better than I am at the moment.

I really don't like strength training.  I'm doing it, because I feel like I need to and I know it will improve my running, but I think I'm a cardio, sweatpouringdownmyface, sorta girl.

What is your favorite workout?

Burst Into Summer: Check In 4

It's Wednesday, and that means it's check-in day over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  I'm continuing to eat breakfast, drink lots of water and am working on getting in fruits and vegetables.  This past week's mini-challenge was to kick fast food to the curb.  I think I succeeded on this one, mostly.  I was craving a burger and fried pickles after my long run last Saturday (Hello, I burned like 1600 calories!), but instead of fast food, we went to a sit-down-bar-type place.  Sunday we picked up the boy from camp and got Subway for lunch.  Seeing as I make really good choices at Subway 99% of the time, I don't consider it "fast food" in the McWendyKing sort of way.  On the way out to camp, the hubby and K got McD's for breakfast, but I had a bowl of cereal before we left and drank a Click on the way.  I consider that a major #win, especially since I puffy heart love their cinnamon melts and hash browns.

My marathon training is coming along nicely.  In the past 4 1/2 weeks, I've logged almost 75 miles running!  This doesn't count biking and walking for cross-training.  I ran 12 last weekend and this weekend I'm up to 13 already.  Blows my mind more than just a little bit.  If I can be honest, I'm freaking out at the thought of how far 26.2 miles actually IS and how slow my long runs have been, but I'm trying to get over that.  I've also been having some hip and knee pain, but I have an appointment this afternoon with my amazing chiropractor.  He uses ART rather than the adjustments you normally think of  when you think "chiropractor".  I'm hoping he can fix things so I can run my 7 tomorrow and 13 this weekend relatively pain-free.  If you are a runner and have knee, hip, back pain, I strongly recommend finding an ART provider and giving it a try.  I'm also going to check and see when I last bought shoes.  My running store is having their semi-annual sale starting today and I might go pick up a new pair, even if I'm not quite needing them yet.

Also-on a running-realted note-I finally added a "race results" page here!  (I use the athlinks website to keep track of all of my races, but I decided to post them here too.)  This page is also where I'll post any upcoming races I might be thinking about.  Check it out :)

As for this week's challenge, it is to get at least 7+ hours of sleep a night.  I'm usually pretty good with this, so easy-peasy. 

Even though I'm technically a "non-loser" for this challenge, I believe in full disclosure.  I've been in maintenance mode for quite some time now.  (I actually don't remember when I last posted a weight here.)  However, I'm really struggling with eating and marathon training.  Somehow I'm up about 5 pounds from my all-time low of 132pointSomething.  I've been hovering right around 134-135 and today I was 137.2.  UGH.  It isn't horrible, but I'd much rather be back under 135.  I even feel a lot fatter, which is completely ridiculous, but there you go.  However, severely restricting calories when you are running 20+ miles a week is a really bad idea.  I know losing weight while training for an endurance event is extremely difficult, but I definitely don't want to go any higher than I am today.  If any of you endurance athletes (I can't believe I'm actually lumping myself into the same category as you) have any ideas, I would love to hear them.  (Tracking my food only makes me crazy and bitchy, so that option if off the table for the time being.)

So, how was your week?  Any successes?  Any learning experiences (they aren't failures!)?  Talk to me, friends, I'd love to hear how you are doing.

Burst Into Summer: Check-In 3

Hey there everyone!  I woke up today believing that today would be a great day.  I'm not going to let anything spoil it.  Not a couple pounds on the scale (really, I'm still way within my goal range and considering the drinking and food in the past week, I can be thankful it isn't more), not a few rough runs, nothing.

Last week's Burst into Summer mini-challenge had to do with fruits and veggies.  I did ok.  Fruit on my cereal in the morning, salads at lunch or dinner most days, and I'm totally counting salsa as a vegetable.  Ignore the chips used to eat said salsa.

I also tried to reign it in a bit on the 4th.  Thankfully (or not, depending on your perspective) we didn't have plans for the first year in forever.  This made it a little easier to make healthier choices, but I will admit to eating a couple of hot dogs.

I've already failed at this week's mini-challenge of no fast food.  In my defense, I didn't read about the challenge until AFTER lunch.  K and I had Culver's after her diving practice today.  She's feeling very discouraged about how hard it has been to be expected to just literally dive back in after over 6 months off.  The high school coach is tough and she's feeling bad.  She requested Culver's, so I said ok.  As a bonus, we both did just get kid's meals and tiny cups of frozen custard.

I've managed to do bootcamp a couple of times, only I'm skipping the sprints so I don't have to cut out my speedwork run each week.  Today I did the week 3 strength circuit after my bike ride.  It kicked my ass.

So, there you go.  Not a bad week, but it could have been a little better.  At least I didn't eat 50 or 60-someodd hotdogs like those crazy hot dog eating contest fools.

How was your week?  What was one victory this 4th of July weekend?

Burst Into Summer Check in 1

Here we are a week into the Burst Into Summer challenge over at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  Some folks are working through this challenge as members of a team, whereas others are going it solo.  I'm in the latter group :)  although I'm never really alone because I have the support of all of you out on the interwebs!

Since I'm not working to lose weight, I don't need to discuss that, right?  Well, maybe a little?  I'm continuing to maintain within my goal range (at the low end, too) but the scale wasn't very nice to me this morning.  My food choices since this weekend have not been ideal, so I'm back on track.  I had a ginormous salad for lunch today and I'm making stir-fry for dinner tonight.

The past week's mini-challenge was to work on hydration, which typically for me is not a problem.  Again, this week has not been ideal, so I'm filling up again now.  You should do the same.  I'll wait....

Ok, got that water bottle next to you?  Good.  Now we can talk about how I did the Shrinking Jeans Bootcamp Monday and then couldn't run on Tuesday.  Yep.  It was that tough.  I will not be doing bootcamp 3x a week with the rest of you.  It just won't fit into my training schedule without causing potential injury.  However, I will incorporate many of the exercises into my strength days. (Hello side plank dips!)

Next week's mini challenge simply ROCKS.  Are you ready for this? It's BREAKFAST!  I eat breakfast everyday, we all should, and tomorrow I'm having my first blog give-away where breakfast plays a role!  How freaking cool is that totally random happenstance? So, make sure tomorrow morning to hop back over to this blog and check out the give-away, while you are eating a nice, healthy breakfast for the Shrinking Jeans challenge :)

So, did you try bootcamp this week?  Which of the exercises was your favorite, or the one you loved to hate the most?

Burst Into Summer Kickoff

Whoo-hoo!!! It's time for the newest challenge from the Sisterhood of the Shrinkingjeans :)  Most of the participants are on teams, but for this challenge I'm choosing to go solo.  Between my running schedule, kids' schedules, and the general craziness of summer, I was concerned about not getting all the challenges in.  Plus, since I'm not on a team, I get to cheer everyone else on!

Speaking of challenges, one of the greatest aspects of this go-round is going to be Bootcamp!  I've always wanted to try bootcamp, but the sessions held at my gym are never at a time I can participate.  Hopefully with the Shrinkingjeans bootcamp, I'll at least get a few of them in :)  I really need to work on strength training (as evidenced by my total arm fail at the gym today), so this comes at a great time.

As part of this challenge, minichallenges will also be issued.  This week is hydration.  Not usually a problem for me, so I'm good.  (ps-go fill up your water bottle, I'll wait.)

So, if you haven't signed up for the challenge yet, click on that link above and get shrinking!

Have you ever tried a bootcamp class?  What was the most challenging aspect?

Wednesday Check In

Wednesdays are traditionally my day to report to you all how I've been doing on the fitness (and to a lesser degree lately) weight loss fronts.  I'm happy to report that I am healthy, happy and at my lowest weight EVER.  So close to a new decade that it has me wondering whether I should try and get there, or just stick with the status quo and see what happens.  I don't really care if I get any smaller from a number on the scale standpoint, but also know that a couple more pounds gone would probably look pretty good on me.  IDK.  I'm conflicted.

Fitness-wise I'm also conflicted.  For the first time in over a year, I am not training for a race.  I have a couple on the distant horizon, but nothing I've actually registered for.  I'm thinking about a local 10k for 2 weekends from now, but made the mistake of looking at last year's results and my competitive nature got the best of me.  I didn't sign up.  I know my pace shouldn't matter and everyone tells me it's a great race, but to me, with as hard as I've been training, knowing that I'm really not getting much faster is very frustrating.  Granted, I also know I can't compare a 10k with a 10 miler or 15 miler.  Still.  Frustrated and conflicted.

I did just sign up for The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans' newest challenge.  Go here to check it out.  Because my school schedule (I'm taking 2 grad classes this month) this summer is going to be insane, I won't be participating from a team standpoint but will definitely be getting in as many boot camp workouts as I can and will cheer you all on from here.

There you have it - a Wednesday check-in in a nutshell.  Do you have any fun races coming up?  What is your favorite race distance?

May Your Way: Final Check-In & National Running Day!

It is so hard to believe that we are at the end of our 31 day May Your Way challenge over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.  This was an amazing challenge because it allowed us to set our own goals.  My goals for this challenge were simple.  In fact, I really had only one goal: "Get through "Marathon May" without any injuries."  I am happy to report that I did just that!  I had three races in three weeks this month.  Something I've never attempted before.  Two of those races were long ones too!  You can read the recaps here, here and here.  My last race (this past Saturday) was also awesome because I crossed the finish line before my husband :)  Even if he beats me in every other race we run together, I've still managed to beat him at least once and for that I get bragging rights.  There might even be a t-shirt purchased to rub it in a little bit.

I wasn't in this challenge for weight loss, but I did end up 2 pounds less than when I started.  I'm down into the 132's, which freaking blows my mind.  The last weight loss challenge I did had me finishing around 138, so I'm thrilled to see 132 on the scale.  I honestly don't remember ever being this small and didn't see myself ever going below 135.  I'm not sure if this means I'll try to break into the 120's or just leave well enough alone, but I'm certainly not going to complain about this little nudge in the downward direction.

Now, as the title of this post says, today is also National Running Day.  Since I am taking a hiatus from running (my doc recommended at least 2 weeks and I'm already going crazy at 4 days, so we'll see how long I last), I won't be running with you today, but I can encourage you to run.  Even if you run just a couple of blocks, I want you to try it.  Read my "about me" page and you'll see how far I've come.  I'm the girl who said I would NEVER run more than 3 miles and this month I raced a total of 28.6 miles, including a races of 15+ and 10 miles.  Never say never. 

May Your Way Check-In Wednesday: The Post Fitbloggin Addition

If you've followed me for any length of time, you know I love The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans and all their fun, crazy challenges.  We are into week 4? of the May Your Way challenge, where we got to set our own goals and whatnot.  I'm totally suffering from an extreme case of Fitbloggin Withdrawal.  Seriously, I'm ready to submit my symptoms to the DSM-IV people and see if we can get it as an official diagnosis when the DSM-V comes out in 2013.  I think this is why I haven't been able to write a recap yet.  Recapping the weekend would mean it is really over.  So sad.

In any case, I need to report how I am doing on my goals.  Make that goal - singular.  My goal for the challenge was to get through my 3 races uninjured.  Well, I'm 2 for 3 with my final race coming up on Saturday.  I felt really good after the 5k and I have no doubt I'll finish my 3rd race.  I was hoping for a 10 mile PR, but now I just want to have fun and finish it.  Enjoy running in Chicago along the lakeshore.  KWIM?  You can read about my 25k here and see how cute I looked in my tutu (if I do say so myself) for the Fitbloggin 5k here (I'm the one in green).  Next week I'll be reporting on how the Soldier Field 10 Mile goes.  I haven't run much this week - only 2 miles actually, because I'm really tired and my heart hasn't been in it.  I was talking with one of my IRL girlfriends and she says this is what overtraining feels like.  I think I'm going to take a bit of a break after this weekend and let my body and mind heal.

As for the mantras and all that other stuff - like I said, I'm feeling a bit of burnout and withdrawal.  I WILL get my mojo back.  No question about that.  Maybe this week I'll even get a Fitbloggin post written. Maybe.

How about you?  Did you attend Fitbloggin and if you did, did I get to meet you?  Please remind me because I met so many amazing women and men last weekend.

PS-I just added Intense Debate for comments, so let me know what you think.  M'Kay?  I love that I can now comment back to you all.

Wednesday Check-In: May Your Way Week 3

Holy cats we are into week 3 of Shrinking Jeans latest endeavor.  You know, the one where we make our own goals?  Sweet!  Even more importantly, we are 1 day away from Fitbloggin!  Can you tell I'm a teensy bit excited?  

My goals for this challenge have been simple.  Stay injury free and complete my 3 races this month.  I'm happy to say that race #1, My 1st 25k is in the bank!  You can read my race report here :)  I'm feeling pretty much recovered and plan to test the legs with a short 1-2 mile run this afternoon.  Also, the back problems that have been plaguing me for a couple weeks, while not completely gone, are improved somewhat. Race #2 is on Friday at Fitbloggin and the Soldier Field 10 miler is in 10 days! Say a prayer that hubby makes it. He's battling injuries for the first time in his running career.  The dude even mentioned wanting to make an appointment with my chiro before the race.

To be honest, I really haven't done many pushups but I've kept up with the Sister Says challenges (64 oz of water and 5 servings of fruits and veggies) at least 80% of the time.  This week's Sister Says is to look in the mirror every day and find one positive thing to say about yourself.  I vow to try really hard on that one.

I'm also channeling the May Mantras: I am Strong, I am Worthy, Just Breathe (heck, BREATHE is in my blog title!) and I had a great time hanging out with the Sisters for SisterChat on Monday :)  Sadly, I missed Tworkout because I was doing blog maintenance and answering questions last night.  Did you notice my new "About Me" and "20 Questions" pages?!?

Last but not least, I was the lucky sister last week to win the Fitbit and I can't wait to get it and try it out!  Make sure you get your digits entered so you can win one too.

When I get home tonight, I will finish packing for Fitbloggin!!!! Say a prayer that I make it to the airport by 4:30 am tomorrow and my flight to Baltimore is excitedly UNeventful.  I can't wait to see everyone Tomorrow!!!

Smootches!

Wednesday Check-in: May Your Way week 2

It is check in day over at Shrinking Jeans.  We are into the 2nd week of our design-your-own, May Your Way challenge.  Let's see how I did this week.

My goal is to stay injury free and complete my 3 races this month.  I'm doing not-so-hot today because I've been having some major back issues since last Friday.  I did complete my last long run before my 25k on Saturday, with a little pain during the run and a lot afterwards.  My 3 miler today wasn't great either, but come hell or high water, I will finish my 25k on Saturday.  Lots of stretching will be happening in the next 3 days.

I restarted the 100 push-up challenge the day before my back went out.  Coincidence?  In any case, I've only complete a few days of it. 

Our Sister Says goal for the week was 64 oz of water a day. This wasn't too hard.
Sorry this is so brief, but it's all I've got this week.  Hopefully I'll have good things to report next Wednesday while I'm packing for Fitbloggin!!!!

Wednesday Check-in: May Your Way

So, we are only 3 days into the newest challenge over at Shrinking Jeans, but since it's Wednesday, we need to check in.  My only tangible goal is to complete my 3 races this month injury free.  My first race is in *gasp* 10 days!  OMG is that right?  Actually, I think it's more like 11.  I ran one of the best 4.25 miles of my life last night (totally electronics-free) and I ran 14 miles last weekend.  So far so good!  My last long run will be 8 miles this weekend, and the hubby is planning to run with me (since he needs to be training for race #3). 

I haven't re-started the 100 push-up challenge, but I plan to get on that.  Kick me in the butt if I don't.  M'Kay?  Our Sister Says goal for the week is 64 oz of water a day.  This will be easy since I get more than that most days.

Also, I am a "non-loser" for this challenge since I have been at goal weight for a while now, but to keep myself honest, I will report my weight today.  I am at 134.8.  This is actually up from my weight Easter morning when I was shocked to see 132.6 on the scale (I think I was dehydrated from the 10 mile race the day before).  The last time I posted my weight here was Feb 23rd and I was at 137.8.  I'd definitely call this a maintenance win.  In all honesty, I never thought I would see a number below 135, so I'm thrilled with where I am right now.  OK-that's enough about the numbers and you won't hear about them again for probably another 3 months or so :)

I hope everyone else is having a great Wednesday.  Have you joined the challenge yet?