Rumbling Monday and App-y Wednesday

I was able to go for my ride on Monday, but I was unable to blog because I had to get ready for my second class of the summer. After a very lazy weekend, it was nice to get on the bike. I was worried that predicted storms would prevent me from going, but I awoke to lightning far off in the distance. It was sprinkling lightly and a check of the radar showed there wasn't much more headed my way in the near future. I enjoyed the cooler temperatures compared to my last ride on Friday. I was also able to get some pretty amazing photographs of the storm front that moved through before my ride.

After a lazy weekend, the top of that bridge was a tough one! I didn't want to do it but I knew that I could if I just pushed myself a little harder.
I didn't end up riding my bike on Tuesday, and I realized that it contributed to me feeling more stressed and overwhelmed by the day ahead. My early morning rides really do relax me (which sounds strange because I am working out LOL), and they give me a chance to have some quiet time for myself. This is even more important on days when I am lucky if I spend more than a couple of my awake hours at home. Monday and Tuesday were both very similar in terms of how much time I got to spend at home and how much running around I had to do, but Monday was much less stressful for me because I got to go for my morning ride. If I run into a morning where my bed feels just too comfortable to leave, I am going to try to remember that!
All this time I have simply been estimating the total distance of my ride. My husband has a little computer on his bike that tells him his speed and distance. I did not get this same computer for my bike so I just figured-it's six blocks from my house to the trail-take that times two and that is about one mile. I know the total distance across the top and bottom of the bridge is one mile and everything in between I figured to be about three miles total. On Monday I had a wonderful thought...I bet there is an app for that! I always take my phone with me on my ride for snapping pictures, so why not use it to record my distance? After my ride on Monday, I sat down and browsed the Google Play store. I found an app called MapMyRide. I installed it and tried it out this morning (a few blocks into my ride because I forgot about it!). It uses GPS to track my distance and it records the total time of my ride and uses these two pieces of information to calculate an average speed. The speed calculations don't take my stops to take pictures into consideration, but it could if I just paused it while I took photos (I just don't care enough to take the time to do it). I will run the app again tomorrow morning so I can get a completely accurate distance BUT I am happy to say that I am pretty good at estimating because my ride this morning was about 5 1/4 miles long.

I am really happy with the app-it audibly updates me every mile-telling me the distance I am at and what my average speed is. When I am done, it gives me this little screen with a summary of my ride. This did make me laugh a bit...anyone want to guess what mile I hit my challenging ride to the top of the bridge? All in all, it was a nice morning ride with another beautiful sunrise :o)

Pedal Power

I have really missed my summer morning bike rides so yesterday (darn clock radio's quiet static) today was the day to start. As I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and got the bike out of the garage, I felt a little bit sluggish like-was I really ready for this? As I edged closer to my favorite trail, I remembered why I love my morning rides but I am getting a bit ahead of myself...let me back up a bit...

My beautiful new bike!

On May 14th my husband and I got new bikes. Because we moved into a new house with much more space inside and out, we now have a secure place to keep our bikes out of the elements. We made the trip to Ace and test rode several bikes. This was the first bike I took out for a spin (they put it together just for me after we visited the day before just to ask some questions and peek at the different models). I tried several different ones and, while they were all better than my old bike, I could not get over how incredibly comfortable this one is! It is an Electra Townie, and it even has front and back lights powered by the turning of the wheels. It has a nice big seat for maximum comfort, and I can ride in a nice upright position which I like a lot more than the traditional leaning forward position. Plus, the color is AWESOME and totally me! I got a nice big basket for the front which has made it easy for us to bike downtown for date nights or for me to ride it to parties and other events. This is an investment that I won't regret.
Back to my ride this morning...
The air was perfectly crisp and cool. Everything was calm and quiet-I love 5:30 am! I am a morning person. so this is my time. No kids, no distractions animal distractions, and the trail beneath my tires. It really is pure bliss. I rode down to Riverside Park and across the Meridian Bridge (bottom and top). I didn't feel exhausted; I felt energized. It is fun to see all the differences in the trail and the bridge as they make improvements  I no longer dread the hills on the trail; I push myself through the challenge. This bike has helped make exercising easier and more enjoyable which makes it worth every penny. I can't wait to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.
Here are some snapshots from my morning ride:

Not sure what this cute little dude is (muskrat maybe?) but I stopped to watch him for a bit.

He took his branch into this little hidey-hole

Sunrise from the bottom of the bridge

Sunrise from the top of the bridge

Couch to 5k Day 3

I can't believe I am going to say this but...the jogging is already getting easier! I was able to get about 30% farther during each jogging period than I did the last time which means I am getting closer to actual running :o) This one little thing has me pretty thrilled! I also feel like I am getting better at controlling my breathing so that I am not huffing and puffing after completing each period of jogging. After a single lap of cool down I had my breathing back to normal. This is feeling great! Cam had fun at Tot Time while I was running so everyone had a good morning.
Wednesday starts week 2 of Couch to 5k-I also have to work that day. I have an hour and fifteen minute lunch so I am thinking that I will go over lunch and run then have a bit to eat before getting back to learning about Common Core standards. I figure if I have a plan in place I will for sure get my run in and I will probably avoid eating out (which would probably be an unhealthy lunch!).

Catching Up Day 2 of Couch to 5k

Saturday morning was my second day of Couch to 5k training. It went pretty much as well as the first day. I have a few observations after a couple days of this:

1. I do not hate this-I actually feel pretty good when I am doing a cycle of jog/walking. If you see me at the Summit Center you may even see a smile on my face! I find all this pretty unbelievable! I know I am not all out running yet but really it is an amazing feeling to me to just enjoy this.
2. I can do this-Today is day 3 of my Couch to 5k training which means that I complete week one today and shift to week 2 on Wednesday. I already feel like I am on my way to really doing this!
3. This feels great-I am not the kind of person who enjoys being sweaty and gross but this makes me feel good about getting sweaty. I know I am doing this whole things for good-to get fit and honor some really great people. I am thinking I may even say I like getting sweaty now :o).

I went for an evening ride on Saturday because of an early morning thunderstorm (with thunder that shook our bed) and I enjoyed it for the most. The weather was really nice and I ventured across the bridge. The only real issue were the bugs! YUCK! Thankfully, I do not encounter an over abundance of them in the morning. I did have a very cool sighting-I saw a young doe near the creek. Once it spotted me it hopped off but it was quite the sight to see! I could still see the faint white spots on its back so I knew it had to be pretty young.
I didn't ride on Sunday. I didn't want to worry about it when I was focused on getting ready for church because we became members of First United Methodist Church yesterday. I went swimming with the boys in the evening and I swam laps during the pool break. We had a really fun time. By the time I got home and got the boys in bed it was 9:00. I could have gone on my ride but I figured some time with my hubby was more important.
My ride this morning was pretty uneventful. It was cloudy but warm. I usually see quite a few stray cats on my morning ride and today was no different. While I usually only see a couple per day, I know that there are several just because of the number of DIFFERENT cats that I see in any given week. As I was finishing my ride this morning I had another cool animal sighting-I saw a badger. It is actually the first time I have ever seen a badger in person. I was pretty close to it because I spotted it as I was rounding a bend on the trail. It quickly hurried off into the grass. I am so happy to be back to riding! :o)

From Nebraska

From the Bridge

Morning Greeting

Day 1 of Couch to 5K

Today was my very first day of Couch to 5k training-I was excited about this day and nervous about it all at the same time. Last night I finished preparing for it by downloading the C25K app, buying a bit more fitness wear, buying some good quality ear bud headphones (which I LOVE), and buying an armband for my phone. I was ready to go!
Today I was happily (yes I said happily when referring to running) awaiting 8:50 so I could load up the boys and head to the gym. I must say that I LOVE Tot Time! I paid $4 for both boys to go to Tot Time and play for an hour and a half (I had from 9-11am but didn't need that long). I will say that I worried that my oldest (7) wouldn't like it because it says it is for ages 2-7 but he has a blast. After they were all signed in I headed up to the track, hung up my bag, started up my music and started the app. It was very simple to use-I just hit start and began walking for 5 minutes to warm up. I do not normally listen to music when I workout. In the mornings I enjoy the calm and peaceful silence-I tried listening to my iPod once and didn't really care for it. But for running...for running I needed SOMETHING to distract my body from the thought that I was trying to kill it. I really like the music-it is upbeat and fits well with motivating me to keep going. I really like that it only cost me $4.99 after I used some Amazon mp3 credit. I previews hundreds of albums looking for something that I liked and I am happy with my choice.
Now on to the actual running/walking or should I say jogging/walking. When it was time to jog I really had no idea how much longer I had before I got to walk again but I do have to say, knowing that that motivating voice was going to come on EVENTUALLY and tell me I could walk kept me going. After a while I was able to estimate when it was going to cut in and tell me to jog or walk based on how far around the track I had traveled. That little bit of intel really helped me keep going especially toward the end. It is easy to keep going when you know that you will be getting a break shortly! All in all I have to say that today was not near as bad as I thought it was going to be. I did get towards the end and think..."Oh no, it is going to tell me I have to jog again...can I really jog again?" When I got to that point the lovely little voice came on and said, "Cool down." COOL DOWN?! Wait a minute...I did it? I completed it? NO WAY! All I have to do is finish walking and I am DONE! AMAZING! I have to say that I was pretty impressed with myself. The whole thing was smooth and simple-all I had to do was listen to the voice and do what it told me. Couch to 5k ROCKS!
As a reward for my rockin' performance I went for a swim afterward. Note to self...putting a suit on while sweaty should be an Olympic event! Once that was taken care of I headed to the pool and dove in. Never has that water felt so amazingly good! I really swam as a reward but I also figure it can't hurt my fitness goals. I swam for about 35 minutes until the calm peaceful atmosphere of the pool was broken down by several boys and their swimming lessons.
All in all I think it went really well :o) Only one little Just Dance 3 workout left for the day and I am all done until tomorrow. No running tomorrow as the C25K is a 3 day a week program but I hope to still do my morning ride...here's to hoping that I am not TOO sore in the morning!

Feeling the Burn

Today was a pretty standard morning ride-it was a bit chilly compared to the past couple days. I did a full ride plus the bridge today which was nice-the last two times I have ventured across the bridge I took a short cut through town. This added about 15 minutes to my ride which left my husband wondering where I was for a bit! I tried a different route to get to the bottom of the bridge this morning and I don't think I liked it at all! There is a really tight turn that goes directly into a steep hill which led to me walking my bike up the hill. I hate having to walk my bike! Anyway I went across the bottom of the bridge and then decided that I should take the top back to make it easier for me to get back on my normal route. Climbing that first hill to get to the upper level really made me feel the burn! I shifted down two gears but wasn't making as much progress as I would like so I stopped shifting and just powered through. I was huffing and puffing a bit by the time I reached the top but then it was smooth sailing! I am really glad that I choose to challenge myself this morning. It really made me feel energized!

A few other things on the agenda for the day-I would like to get back to counting points for weight watchers so that I can get a better handle on what I am eating again. This is and always will be my biggest challenge! I love food too darn much but I want to get fit and be healthy even more so I am determined to get back on track.
Today I will also be starting my Couch to 5k program which I am actually quite excited about! They have tot time at the gym from 9-11 so I plan to do my Couch to 5k and then take a swim to cool down without having to worry about what to do with my boys. I am hoping to have the time to write a second post later solely focused on running and why I want to be able to do it so badly! A friend may be joining me at the gym today which would be a nice change of pace. I often see people biking or walking together on my morning ride and I think about how nice it would be to have a buddy :o)

Taking the Low Road

Another day, another ride! The mornings have simply been wonderful the past few days-it is nice and warm and you can feel summer in the air. This morning I had to run an errand on my morning ride so I rode through town rather than taking the trail. The street that I had to ride to just happened to also be the street that led to the bridge, so I decided it was a good morning to ride the few extra blocks around to try out the bottom of the bridge. I have to say I like the bottom better for the lack of giant hills, and I like the top better for the magnificent views and the openness. I am pretty sure I will be tackling the top tomorrow because it is so beautiful. The bottom feels a bit too closed-in making it difficult to get a great picture. Either way I think I will continue my bridge rides as I have really enjoyed these past couple days.

In other fitness news, I have been reading a lot about this whole "Couch to 5k" program. My interest is quite peaked because as you all know (if you read my very first couple blog posts) enjoying running happens to be one of my goals...one that I have tried and still loathe. I planned on participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure again this year which is a 5k run/walk. Last year I walked it for the most part-there were short bursts of running but they were SHORT as they made me want to lay down on the sidewalk and die. My friend Lindsay and I said that we would run it (or run half of it?) the next year which is this year! IN SEPTEMBER! While I could totally blow off this pact that we made, I am thinking that this whole Couch to 5K thing just might be exactly what I need. Not only will it accomplish one of my fitness goals (hopefully) but I would feel awesome being able to RUN a 5k-and I would be doing it in memory of my grandmother Sandra. She never ran a 5k but she was a wonderful woman who always showed us her love in her own little ways. She died at age 56 of breast cancer-all the more reason to stay fit and take care of myself. In summary-this whole Couch to 5k thing sounds like it may just be worth $1.99/$2.99 but before I do that I think I need to work on getting some music on my phone...that is a whole new problem! Anyone use a C25K app for their phone? I have a couple in mind that I am trying to decide between.

No Rain On My Parade

After being woken up by rain this morning I thought for sure my ride was going to have to be put off, but when my alarm sounded at 5:30 I couldn't hear any rain. I had to drag myself out of bed this morning because I was tired from such a wonderful night with my husband celebrating our anniversary. We usually put off doing anything until the weekend after our anniversary but this year we decided there was nothing wrong with going out on a Tuesday night. I am really happy with our decision because it felt even more special than it has in the past. I will admit I ate too much but it is hard not to indulge when celebrating. We both had steak with salad and a baked potato and then we went to the Dairy Dock to share an ice cream sundae. We ended our time out with a walk across the Meridian Bridge which is slightly over half a mile one way. It was nice to get some exercise as well as go on a little romantic walk with my husband. It also helped lessen any guilt I may have had from the ice cream (or the movie popcorn and fountain pop we picked up on the way home).
This morning's ride was very peaceful. I could see the rain clouds and lightning off in the east which meant I wouldn't get to see a pretty sunrise, but the lightning was a pretty cool sight. My ride seemed pretty smooth and the only part of me that was sore from yesterday was my bum-it needs to get used to the lovely bike seat again. I am still completely amazed by the changes in the landscape in comparison to last year with all the flooding. The changes are quite astounding-I need to take some pictures so that I can post comparisons.
Now for some good news/bad news:

• Good News-I weighed less at the doctor than I did at home on Monday-I think that is the first time that has EVER happened! LOL
• Good News-I do not have a double ear infection like I suspected.
• Bad News-I am having some massive TMJ pain on the left side-the joint was incredibly tender and sore when she was checking it yesterday-not much I can do other than take an anti-inflammatory
• More Bad News-She has no idea why my hearing is muffled on the right side (I thought for sure I had an ear infection because of it). I am hoping this goes away soon as it is extremely irritating and I would rather stay away from doctors for a while-I have seen enough of them in the past few months!

Well, it looks as if nearly 7 months have passed since my last post...I really hadn't realized it has been that long! After reading my last post I noticed that some updates are in order.
YankTON update: Our team placed second in the competition and we were extremely proud!  We donated the $750 in Chamber Bucks to two different local organizations. I was one of the top 5 as far as total weight loss is concerned-I lost a total of 18.8 pounds-10% of my starting weight. I was extremely proud of myself.  I don't remember my exact ending weight (because it was 7 months ago) and I have the number on my work computer but not my home computer.  I do think I just barely broke into the 160s though!
Winter/Debate Season update: This has always been my pitfall. We eat out of gas stations and it is extremely hard to eat healthy (and stick to any sort of budget) this way.  I tried to do my best by bringing my own fruit and healthy snacks but I was usually exhausted and craving comfort food. Exercising also took a back seat when I started having some foot pain-it seemed to be the worst when using the elliptical so I stopped and the pain seemed to wane. Then I discovered Just Dance 3 for the Wii and thought I was going to finally get back into a regular workout routine. Shortly after starting, the foot pain was back with a vengeance to the point where it could no longer be ignored. I also noticed a bump on the top of my foot where the pain was. I really wanted to be able to work out so it seemed a trip to the doctor was in order. I visited Dr. Pederson the local foot doctor fearing a stress fracture and was relieved when he told me that the x-ray was normal. It turns out I had a cyst that had formed at one of the joints in my foot.  After a shot of cortisone in my foot I was immediately feeling better. After a week the cyst had completely dissolved and my foot pain was gone! I was back to dancing in no time.
I would love to say that I hit my stride and got right back into a workout routine but another setback was right around to corner. In the beginning of May I had to have some surgery that left me out of commission for a few weeks while I healed-it also prevented me from working out for about 4 weeks prior to the surgery. So after all that I bet you wonder where I am at...
I am currently at 180.8 pounds as of this morning. I could say that I am disappointed that I gained back around 12 pounds but that just isn't the case. I am proud of myself for not looking at that number as defeat. I am still in a better place than where I started (192.6 pounds starting last summer in July). Even if I yoyo a bit I still know what I want and I am still going to go for it-I want to be HEALTHY! I plan to hop back on my bike tomorrow morning for a nice little morning ride and as soon as I finish this post I plan to go start a new 7 day challenge in Just Dance 3. I am looking forward to getting back into writing and back into working out-I hope you enjoy following along!

Attitude Shift

Today, while fixing mac and cheese for the boys I was hit with a realization...my attitude about fitness has changed.  When I started this blog three weeks ago I had a "best effort" attitude...as in, I will give this my best effort but I really don't enjoy it.  I now have more of a "what took me so long" attitude. 
How do I know?  I find myself looking forward to my morning ride. I go to bed and I think about riding in the morning.  When my alarm goes off I no longer hesitate to leave my cozy sleeping quarters.  I don't lay in bed for "five more minutes."  When my husband brought up how we can shift things with his change in work schedule I didn't hesitate at the thought of getting up a half hour earlier-I was happy about it.  I am looking ahead and trying to plan out what to do when it gets colder.  I am feeling better than ever and wondering what the heck I ever had against fitness in the first place.
I think the biggest shift is in the fact that I no longer look for excuses.  Yes, it is still really me talking.  I used to be so happy when it was raining in the morning...giving me an excuse to stay home and go nowhere and do nothing.  Now, if it rains I try to plan out how I can go for a ride later or what I can do instead.  I no longer tell myself that I "don't have time."  What the h*ll?  If I have time to sit on my butt and watch TV or play around on the computer I think there is time in my day to fit in a workout.  I really can't pinpoint when the attitude shift happened but it sure feels good :o)

It's not just about weight loss

For so many people, everything is about the pounds (plus or minus).  We all seem to be entranced by that number in the scale.  You know, that one we are often times not fond of or *gasp* lie about. While that number does factor into fitness, I am more concerned with being healthy, feeling better, and being more active.  I won't freak out if the numbers go down slow or if they jump up a couple notches now and then, as long as I am making good choices and doing things that are good for me.  Below I go over some of my goals and the obstacles I face-realistically :o) But first I need to look into how that magic number does factor into my fitness...

This is about being truthful in order to get past failure so here it is-by the numbers: I weigh 192.6 pounds (as of yesterday afternoon) and I am five foot six inches tall.  According to the handy BMI calculator I found, that gives me a BMI of 31.1 AKA obese.  While this is something that totally saddens me, it is also something that pisses me off enough to do something about it! I don't want to be obese or even over weight. Obese does not equal fit and healthy. I want to be healthy!

Goals:
1. Be active every day!
2. Enjoy running (yeah here is where you can start laughing)
3. Eat healthier and shop healthier
4. Eat less when I am out with friends (smaller portions not less friend time)
5. Learn more about general fitness

Obstacles:
1. I am lazy, I love TV, and I like to read (usually sitting in a cozy seat somewhere not doing any sort of exercise)
2. I HATE running
3. I love foods that are inherently UNhealthy and healthy food is more expensive
4. I tend to indulge more when I am around friends.  Talking seems to bring out my appetite.
5. I would much rather read fiction books
There are more obstacles, but I will cover those later. These are just the ones that immediately pertain to my goals.

With all that being said, I have a bumpy road ahead but I also have some motivation, some inspiration, and some help.
Motivation: Not wanting to be obese or over weight
Inspiration: Friends, family and one particular student we will call BT (as I didn't ask her permission to put her in my blog) as she always made me think about the food choices I made and made me feel better when I made good choices.  I don't really think she knows just how much she made me think and rethink my choices.
Help: Weight Watchers Points Plus really helps me think before I eat and make better choices throughout the day and week. I don't attend meetings or track things online, I really just follow the points system.  I initially lost 35 pounds using Weight Watchers but gained about 10 pounds back after I found it difficult to keep up with-more on that later.

Now, after all of that, I just want to say that I love myself, even my obese self.  I think more people need to love themselves just a little bit more.  This is not about loving myself more but rather finding something new to love about myself. Too many times women hate what they see in the mirror or get down on themselves over their weight. The mirror and photographs becomes a things that we try to avoid but we really need to face ourselves head on.  Don't look in the mirror and say, "I'm so fat."  Look in the mirror or look at photographs and say, "I can do better."