New Beginnings

"Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be." - author unknown

Many of you have reflected on the past year or past decade. I'm not going to do that. Instead, I am only looking forward. I'm also not going to set annual goals. But I am focussed on three short term goals at the moment.

Goal #1: Race to Train, not train to race. I'm using events to keep me motivated, but the main goal is to establish a lifestyle of consistent exercise.

Progress -ON TRACK. Have my eyes on a 5K in mid-Jan and it motivated me to run 9.4 miles in the past 3 days.

Goal #2: Weigh in just under 120 lbs (118 is the goal, because it gives a little wiggle room).

Progress - BEHIND. I got down to 122, but am now back up to 127. However, I've tossed out most of the holiday junk food, and am re-establishing healthy eating habits, so I'm hopeful to be back on track soon.

Goal #3: Get Organized. House has turned to clutter. Find and implement solutions to get the clutter under control

Progress - ON TRACK. I'm breaking this down into small managable pieces. This week, worked on three problem areas and am happy with the results. Just need to keep it up and take care of a small problem area every week or so.

Fresh Start

Yes, I know I've been a bad blogger. Also a bad eater and an inconsistent exerciser. Not unsurprisingly, these things are all related. However, tomorrow is a new day, a new month, a new year, and a new decade. I'm ready for a fresh start, how about you?



Whatever your plans entail, be safe tonight! Happy New Year!! Catch you on the flip side!

Merry Christmas

mid-week ramblings

1) Woke up to this sight - a slighly white Christmas Eve Eve! It's supposed to snow a bit more today...exciting stuff.
2) Is it wrong, when shopping for an upcoming bride/groom, to find something on the registry that you want for yourself? 'Cuz that's what I did. Fear not, got the bride and groom some nice stuff from their registry. But one of the items - anchor hocking mixing bowls that are also oven safe - caught my attention. Could not get it off my mind. We could really use those. Especially for Christmas. So I went back later and bought it for myself!

3) I really need to make a trip to the recycling center. Should have gone on Saturday, but my back was acting up. Thought about going today, but the news is reporting closed icy roads. Cautioning to drive only if necessary. Maybe tomorrow.

4) Ditto for running.

5) I've been looking for a local January race to kick-start 2010. May have found one that will work for me on Jan 17th.

Turning point?

The shortest day of the year is behind us *and* I'm off work starting today until January 4th. Double Yay! I'm counting on this being a turning point...

Today I need to finish my Christmas shopping. But first, an appt with the electrician with regard to getting out backyard onto a timed drip system. The plants haven't been installed yet, but the hardscaping is coming along nicely. I was hoping this would be done by the end of the year, but it looks like it will take a bit longer.

My back has been problematic again. Which means I'm stalled on the push-up challenge and haven't been running. Blah. I'm not stressing over it though. With the days getting longer, my motivation and energy is sure to return, and my back should get better with a few more days rest.

Hope you all are well.!

solar powered

I've come to the conclusion that I'm basically solar powered. As the days have become progressively shorter, my motivation and energy has all but disappeared.

Not to fear, the shortest day of the year is coming soon, and it's uphill from that point on, right? Right?!?

The running program that I participate in runs from late Jan to early November. Got an email from Coach asking if he should save me a spot for next year.

Quickly responded YES! I don't always run with the group, but having a training schedule and someone to hold me accountable to it really helps me out.

We start up again on Jan 23th. Until then, let's hope I don't put on another 10 lbs...

P.S. I'm still stalled at Week 4 Day 1 on the pushup challenge. Drat!

Coming up for air

I'm still alive and kicking. Just really busy right now.

* Stuck on Week 4 Day 1 pushups. Just can't seem to break through past that point of the program. Although, I figure being stuck at doing 63 pushups over 5 sets is nothing to be too upset about.
* Had to travel on business this past week and it really threw my schedule off in many ways. Did manage to eek out 1.5 miles on the treadmill and some strength work in the fitness center at the hotel on Thursday.
* Slow progress on Christmas shopping this year. Ditto on Christmas cards. Perhaps this will finally be the year that we truly scale back on the madness. That would be just fine with me.
* Did absolutely NOTHING resembling exercise over the weekend. I think I've mastered laziness at its finest.
* Slow progress on the backyard renovations this week - the weather just wasn't cooperating. Hopefully things will speed up this week.

Enough with Winter already!

At the moment is is 35 deg. Much warmer than a few days ago, but the wind is howling at 25mph with gusts up to 40mph. Kids are on a 2 hr delay due to icy roads. It is supposed to show/rain/sleet later this afternoon. Bleck!

I stayed inside this morning (no way I'm going out running in that mess) and repeated W4D1 pushups. I just didn't think I could move to D2 quite yet. 63 push-ups later, I'm sure that was a wise decision. I'll try D2 on Thursday...

They are making progress on the backyard, but yesterday they attempted to cover some of the aresa they worked on with tarps. Ha! Their efforts were no match for the gusty wind. The tarps are now in a heap over by the fenceline. They are going to have to try harder if they really want that stuff to stay covered.

I'm not a winter person. I'm ready for it to be over. And the sad part is...it hasn't even officially started yet. Sigh...

Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis

It has been freaking cold here in the high desert of New Mexico. This morning was no exception. It had only warmed up to 24 degrees at the start of the Jingle Bell Run. Brrrrrrr. Freezin' our assets, we were...

I decided to run in a hat, gloves, tights, short sleeves, long sleeves, and a fleece. This turned out to be just right. I was chilly at the start line, but comfy after we got moving. Of course, I was freezing again at the end when we stopped running.

The course consisted of two unequal "loops"; the first loop was long and the second loop was short. They started the runners ahead of the walkers, but I encountered quite a bit of walker traffic on the second loop. I will never understand why walkers always seem to feel the need to walk 6 abreast, leaving little room for the runners on the trail. *shakes head*

Husband told me he was going to run his own pace, so I was on my own this time. No worries, that's what I expected. But WOW, he really kicked some ice out there. His finish time was ~25:30 which was good enough to earn him a 3rd place AG award. Yay!!

I was quite pleased with my finish time of ~29:10 until I realized that the course was short; it measured 3 miles instead of 3.1. Still not a bad time for me, just not as good as I thought, and right on my typical 5K pace.

This was my 4th year running in this event, and it's one I hope to be able to do again next year!

Friday Fodder

While doing my pushups, I spotted my missing exercise log book. Under the speaker! YAY!!!!!!! Clearly this is a sign of good things to come. :-)

Speaking of push ups, not sure how "good" my good form push ups are, but I'm still doing them straight legged. This morning I completed W4 D1 column one. 12+14+11+10+16 = 63 push ups! It was tough, but I did it. Yay me!!

I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go. Running clothes are on, but I'm not heading out until it is above freezing. It was 13 deg when I woke up, with a high expected at 34 deg. Brrrrrr.

I canceled my appt with the trainer for two weeks. Today because of laziness, and next week because of business travel. And guess what? I found out that she's leaving at the end of the month anyway.

I'm *thinking* of putting up the Christmas tree today. Not decorating it quite yet, just putting it up. Guess I should start by taking down the autumn stuff, ya think?

[edited to add: tree is up! and I ran 2.1 miles once it warmed up to 22 deg. brrrrr]

Fail

Today I evaluated my options for running.

Option A - Early Morning.

I got up, got dressed assuming the early run was a GO, checked out the weather forcast, and stepped outside. Wow. Colder than I imagined. And what is that noise? Like something is hitting the ground. And that feeling on my cheeks. Why...it's snow! Dunno if it's safe to run in that. After all, I am a weather wimp. Back in the house for more coffee instead.

Option B - Lunch Time.

Nice break in my calendar. Surely enough time for a run. But man. Still cloudy and cold out there. Still see occasionaly flakes falling. I decide to go to the post office instead.

Non-Option - Early Afternoon

Wouldn't you know it. The clouds have given way to sunshine. It's warmed up. Quite nice out there at the moment actually. Of course this would happen. Because I have a work meeting and can't go running now. Grrrrrr.

Running today - FAIL!

Guess I'll try again tomorrow...

checking in again

Life is still going at me in all directions, but I have hope that things will settle down in a few weeks. Really. Until then, commenting and blogging will be spotty.

* Completed w3 d3 pushups - 10+13+9+9+13=54. Bring on week 4!! Note - I only seem to be able to do them 2x per week, so this is going to take a loooonog time to complete, but I figure forward progress is forward progress.
* Wanted to run this morning, but it's not happening. Booooo.
* Reviewed my splits from Sunday run. 12min miles up a hill, 10 min mile down the hill, 10:30 on the flats. Not bad.
* Jingle Bell 5K on Saturday. I really need to run tomorrow.
* Dogs are at day care while work is going on in the back yard. Took them to a new one yesterday which worked out great. And they gave me the first day free. Woot! Dogs are heading back today.
* I lost/misplaced my exercise tracker notebook, so no totals for November. :-(

Disconnected

I still have a lot going on and not much time for blogging. I hope things settle down in a few weeks. In short, here's what's up -

* Ran on Thanksgiving and again today. Yay for running!
* Went to the gym a few times. Owie.
* Finished W3 D2 pushups. Should have finished D3, but got behind with the holiday.
* Work is crazy busy. Have to travel next week. Bleh!
* Some of you have Christmas decorations up. I still have autumn decorations up.
* Inlaws have been here since Wed. Stayed longer than expected trying to dodge a storm.
* Backyard demolition in progress as phase 1 of renovation project. What a mess.
* S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D out.

Catching Up

Wow. Suddenly life got really...busy. It seems to be coming at me from all directions. Worked kicked up a notch, we're starting the backyard renovations, the holidays are coming, Son is rushing to meet college application deadlines, things are changing in other aspects of my personal life, in laws are coming for Thanksgiving, etc. All I have time for is a quick update...

Push ups: I had to repeat the exhaustion test three times because each time the dogs started rough housing and pushed me over. They can be laying there all still, and as soon as they see me on the floor it becomes PLAYTIME!! Anyway, don't know how many I can do, but I got to 16 on my third attempt and that is good enough to move on to week three in column 1. So Week 3, here I come!

New Trainer: She asked me what I had been doing all week. I told her about the push up challenge. I assumed she would work my lower body and give the upper body a rest. But NOOOOO. She thought upper body was a good idea. And she likes to do things in reps of 15. And increase the weights along the way. Holy moly! I dunno if this is going to work out or not, but I'll stick with her until end of the year at least.

Running: Haven't done much of that. Ran two miles last Sunday. Nothing during the week. Then some of my running buddies decided on Friday that a trail run would be fun on Saturday. Sounded good to me. I dragged my lazy self out the door on a chilly morning and 'ran' 5 miles. It was tough. I had to stop three times; fitness loss happens so quickly! But it was also amazing; I realized that I have missed being out there soooooo much. I hope we can do it again this coming Saturday. :-)

Back. Sort of.

I think I'm mostly over my funk. The short story is that I've had issues with my back and then a pulled calf muscle and have been hobbling around for a few weeks unable to do much of anything. This on top of some other life stress and my attitude wasn't pretty. :-(

However, I was able to run yesterday for the first time in several weeks. Sure, it was only a measly 2 miles, but Everything Must Begin at the Beginning. It was sure nice to be outside moving my body again.

Got a bit behind on the Push Up challenge, but no worries, I'm back at it now. Today I completed W2 D3 column 1 (5+7+5+5+8=30). I'm due for an exhaustion test in the next day or so. Hopefullly I can do enough to progress to week 3 (min 16), otherwise, I'll be repeating a few days of W2, but in a different column. How are you all doing with it?!?!

Husband & I are signed up for the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis on December 5th which is about 2.5 weeks out. God willing, I'll be feeling well enough to run the 5K.

I'm not expecting to be able to catch up on your blogs for at least another week. Sorry about that!

Time Out

For a variety of reasons, I've become a grump recently. I think it is best if I take a short bloggy break until I get back to my happy place again. I'm putting myself in a Time Out until my attitude turns around.

(Keep doing those push ups - the challenge is still on!)



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Strength in Numbers

Wow. I've been super busy this week, hence the lack of blog post or time to link properly to participants list. But I will get that done.

Speaking of which, the push up challenge participants list is growing! YAY!! So far, I have Regina, Staci, Tall-Mom, JBMommy, Eliza, Shannon, Lily on the Road, Laura, Renee, Rookie on the Run, JoLynn, Red Bike, Celmore, Karen, & The Happy Runner all in. I hope that a few that are still tentative will decide to join as well.

I completed W1 D3 this morning. Knowing that so many others are joining really motivated me to get through it today. Together we can do this!!

Also had the first session with the new Trainer as well. Not sure what to think. Her approach is really different. I'll try to keep and open mind and give it a few more weeks, but I really miss my old Trainer already. BoooooHoooo.

Best wishes to all the B2B bloggers participants. Go get 'em!!

More on Push up Challenge

I'm excited that several ladies are in with me for the push up challenge: Regina, Staci, Tall-Mom, JBMommy, Eliza, Shannon. Several others are tentative.

Some details/thoughts:

* The plan can be found at hundredpushups.com/challenge.html

* Don't worry about which column you are in or if you need to repeat days or weeks. This is about getting stronger, not about how fast you get to the end.

* Do whatever style push ups you are most comfortable with. I've done it both ways - 'real' pushups and alternate 'knee' push ups. Personally, I want to challenge myself to do 'real' ones this time because it requires more core strength and I am motivated to improve my core.

* For the record, despite having done this in the past, my initial pushup test was pathetic. Guess that's what happens when you neglect pushups for several months. All the more room for improvement, right?

* Don't be intimidated by the challenge name. If you remain in column 1 for the duration, you probably won't get to 100 consecutive pushups by the end. Who cares?! I'll be thrilled if I can do as well as my girl Michelle who did 51 at the end of the challenge recently. (Yay Michelle!)

* I'm particularly excited about the ladies joining, but any male readers are welcome to join us too.

* Let's motivate each other by posting about our progress and leaving encouraging comments to others. We can do this!!!

(Hopefully I'll have time to edit this post later with appropriate links to the fabulous women mentioned.)

p.s. Today I completed week 1, day 2 (column 1): 3, 4, 2, 3, 4 = 16 pushups. Great way to start a Wednesday. :-)

She Runs!

Finally trusted my back enough to go for a run this morning. I decided to do a two mile tempo run just for the heck of it.

The weather was 45 deg, sunny, no wind. Normally, for a run like this, I would likely start with a jacket or long sleeves over a sleeveless or short sleeve shirt. I warm up fairly quickly, shedding the outer layer. This leaves my poor arms to the mercy of the brutal high desert sun.

Not today!

Instead, it was a perfect opportunity to test out the new sleeves courtesy one of Amanda's give-aways. These sleeves are light weight and soft, made from bamboo fibers - perfect for using as sun protection. I declined the top layer and just went with a short sleeve shirt and the sleeves. They provided a little warmth, but still let the cool air through.

A bonus - I got to be all matchy-matchy with the hat I wore today.

The only downside is that the size Small is not quite right for me. It's a tight squeeze on my biceps. I probably would do better with Medium. Having said that, I think Small would work well for many/most runner women; I just don't have a very typical runner's physique. Anyway, I'm hoping after wearing them a few times, the elastic will give a little bit and they will be more comfortable.

Oh, and the run was surprisingly good. I'm sure my splits are not consistent, but I completed 2 miles in 20:34 - right in my tempo window.

Thanks again, Amanda. Moeben sleeves are a great product!! My skin & I thank you. :-)

October Tally & Push Ups

OCTOBER TALLY

Stats
* 59.3 miles by foot
* 10 strength/stretching sessions
* 1 race, Duke City half Marathon, PB for that course

Thoughts
* Lost well over a week due to back spasms/pain. Blah.
* I'm convinced that I need to train on pavement or switch to trail races.

Plans
* Renewed focus on full body strength, including another round of the 100 push ups plan.
* Develop a 'maintenance' plan to get me through the next few months. I'm lost without a plan.

PUSH-UPS

Round Three
* The first time I did this plan, I did 'real' pushups, but only made it to week 3.
* The second time I followed the plan, I did 'alternative' pushups and made it into week 5. This set me up nicely for the Dash-Spash-Push event (which permitted alternative pushups for women).
* This is my third attempt and I'm going with 'real' pushups again even if I don't make it as far in the program. It's just a much better exercise overall. Day 1 complete...
* Who's in with me?!? Any takers?