Day 27: Dedication

Day 27: Week 4 of the Couch to 5K

Weather: Sunny, 25 degrees........too damn cold.

Duration: 28:29 (my longest run time yet)
Distance: 2.45 miles (longest distance yet)
Pace: 11:36 mins/mile

I thought I'd add a little something to my blog - here is my morning run! 



I always told myself, I'd never be that idiot running in the dead of winter. Those people are crazy. I turned into 'one of those people' this morning.

I had plans to run with my good friend, Kim, this morning, but when Kevin told me how bloody cold it was outside, I said NO WAY! I called Kim up and asked if she'd want to run this afternoon. She said "I was just getting dressed to go..."..............ah..........OK, I'll go.

When Kevin heard I was actually going to run, he was a bit shocked. I dug out my winter hat, gloves, and a fleece. And I ran. And. It. Was. Tough.

It was great running alongside of a friend. Talk about great motivation. I look forward to running with her again! The run hurt though. It was so cold. The most difficult part of the run was trying to talk and breathe at the same time! How do people do that without dying??? :)

By the end, I was actually feeling pretty good, and I decided to throw an extra few tenths of a mile in!

I am very close to 2.5 miles.....now, I need to surpass that mark, and start working on getting up to 2.75 miles!

Day 26: Double trouble

Day 26: Jillian Michaels Shred, Level 1 & Jillian Michaels Trouble Zones (quick version on OnDemand)

Today Kevin came home with girl scout cookies. My favorites - peanut butter & chocolate. I ate 5. Two cookies equal 130 calories!?!? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! Not to mention, we had plans for a date night, so restaurant eating....

I need to do an hour of exercise to help offset the FIVE cookies I ate after lunch and the big dinner I was about to embark on later that evening!

I did The Shred, level 1 - I finally got around to buying weights, so I did it the right way. I am pretty sure the next time I will do the Shred, I will try out level 2. My mom says it will kick my ass. I'm sure it will...

After finishing that workout, I still felt motivated, so I tried out Jillian Michaels: Trouble Zones or something like that...it was pretty good! I really, really like the ab workout. Unfortunately, OnDemand cuts it short without warning. How stupid.

Day 25: Not in the mood

Day 25: Week 4: Couch to 5K

Weather: 50 and cloudy with light winds

Duration: 26:33
Distance: 2.36 miles
Pace: 11:13 min/mile

I thought I was in the mood today. Then, I started running, and it hurt. I wasn't feelin' it today. I brought Emmie along with me today, and I think she enjoyed it! I started running after my warm up, and I kept going. I thought "I can run longer than 3 minutes".....so I just ran, until I felt like I needed a break. That was 7 minutes. Not too shabby considering 2 weeks ago, it killed me to run 3 minutes!

Overall, it was a decent run. I guess it always sucks to start, but once you get moving, it feels pretty decent!

Day 24: Things have changed.

Day 24: Jillian Michaels, Boost: Metabolism

This morning, I stepped on the scale. I was a bit surprised. The scale read: 125.5lbs - if you have been reading my blog, you may have read I started this journey off at 128.5lbs. I hope the scale isn't wrong! Three pounds lost in just under 4 weeks!

This really got me thinking about how much has changed for me in the last few weeks. Before March 1st, I used to cherish my 1-2 hours to myself in the afternoon. It was quiet time for me, too. I would make my lunch, sit on the couch, read some email, surf the net, call friends and just relax. I didn't have the motivation to exercise at this time. I just wanted some quiet time, too. Honestly, I didn't even think about it (exercising). Now, on the days I don't run, I actually use this "quiet" time for bettering myself. I don't just make lunch and hang on the couch. I now try to eat lunch with my girls, so I have time to exercise during naps. It's amazing that if all goes according to plan, I can exercise and have quiet time!

Some people have commented on they don't know how I do all of this. How do I make time? Yes. I am busy. Yes. I have three small children who demand A LOT of my attention. but...I am important, too. The latter one has definitely hit me in the face the last few weeks. This 90 day challenge is more about losing weight. It's about bettering myself...feeling better about myself as a whole.

I have learned over the last few weeks to make time to exercise.

I have learned you don't need a whole lot of time to excercise.

I have learned you can exercise a little bit everyday for it to be effective.

I have learned that it actually feels good to exercise. I am happier. More energetic. 

Anyone can make an effort to exercise for 20-30 minutes each day. Of course, I never actually realized I could do it until I made the commitment to exercise/run for 90 days.

If Kevin isn't around to watch our girls, I will get the girls to exercise alongside of me. They think it's fun! Our girls are learning that exercising is good for our bodies.

I have never been so motivated to exercise and get myself in shape. I am ass deep in my challenge, and I am actually enjoying it.

Day 23: Shredded Yoga

Day 23: Yoga: Meltdown & 30 day Shred

I was feeling a little lazy today and needed some motivation! It was a rainy, miserable day today, and there was no way in hell I was going outside to run! It was a monsoon! This morning I motivated and did Yoga: Meltdown with Jillian Michaels. It felt good! It's amazing how much easier the poses are getting! I can actually start to hold the poses for 15 seconds, or close to it for the hard ones. It feels good to see the progress, it actually drives me to want to exercise more. 

Then... 

Me and the girls made homemade cookies. I can't stay away from eating the batter. Then, of course, I can't stay away from having a few warm, gooey cookies! OK, so I just cancelled out my yoga workout!

This afternoon, we were just hanging and I had some energy and guilt from eating all that batter and all those cookies. I put on Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred, and got to it. I still haven't gotten around to buying hand weights, so I did it without. It was okay though, I did my workout this morning, too. I just felt like I needed to get that heartrate up a bit, and work on those flabby abbys (abs).

Ah, I am finally feeling like I am getting into the swing of things a bit.

Day 22 - Week 4!!!

Day 22: Week FOUR of the couch to 5K

Jog: 3min, Walk: 90sec, Jog: 5min, Walk: 2.5, Jog, 3min, Walk: 90sec, Jog 5min

Weather: 42 degrees with light showers

Duration: 25:07
Distance: 2.28 miles
Pace: 11:00 mins/mile

Have I mentioned I hate running in the rain? At first, I wasn't going to run. Then I got to thinking...what if it rains on the day of the race? I can't just not run, right? So, I texted my sitter, and she came over to babysit before the rain really got going.

Today was the first day of my 4th week of the couch to 5K. This week my runs increase to 5 minutes at a time. I have to say, the first day of this training did not hurt as bad as it hurt for my first 3 minute run. I thought for sure I would be dying after running 5 minutes, but I wasn't...Things are starting to feel like they are really coming together. I am not dying quite so bad. I know I am going to have highs and lows, and I guess lately, I have been in more of a "high" mood than anything.

I have completed 3 full weeks of my 90 day challenge. I am really starting to enjoy this new part of my life. I am hoping this challenge will start to be evident on my body soon :)