Happy Birthday to Me!

The day has come, August 31st.. My birthday! We started the day off early getting up at 4am.. to wind and lightening. Nothing like packing up and heading for home in the dark. At least we were up, didn't have to fight traffic coming home from the lake and packing up wasn't that bad since we got it all done before a drop of rain fell. 

I figured we were done going to the lake for the year but we still have one more trip to take the dock out of the water. Maybe even Kayak on the Sauk River? Something we've never done but have been talking about. 

Logan caught the only fish, a perch off the dock. The only thing I did all weekend, read my book, take 3 jet ski rides (too cold) and do some yoga stretching on the dock. 

Friday, morning before we left to the lake, Logan wanted to come with me on a bike ride. I didn't go fast, I didn't go far, but we got out and biked together. I would have liked biking farther then 5 miles and going fast.. sometimes its better to slow down and just enjoy the day..

I'm hoping Logan will ride more with me this fall. I'll just have to do a little more on my own. 

 I got the much needed rest at the lake. Zero running or biking. Just a lot of walking up and down the hill collecting firewood. 

I'm enjoying a few of my favorite foods.. for lunch the salad that I love.. with blue cheese and honey roasted pecans with tomatoes and lettuce fresh from the Farmers Market.

Target is have a sale on my favorite Greek Yogurt so I stocked up. I could not let a day go by with out having my favorite treat with strawberries. 

Steve bought me a beautiful flower bouquet. 

Celina and Logan gave me a huge bag of peanut M&M's that I haven't decided if I'll share? 

At some point I will get off the couch.

I've been trying to ease into my new wait till later to go workout schedule, by doing some mock trials. Its making me lazy.. I don't run as far.. and I don't want to get out the door because the couch is pretty nice. 

I stopped yesterday to talk with two gym friends I haven't seen for ages outside of the gym. They were done working out and I just had finished running 3.5 miles to the gym. My plan was to lift weights but I ended up talking for 30 minutes instead. I didn't feel like doing much of anything after I walked into the gym. I just found Steve on the weight machine and said.. "I'm ready to go home when you are". Is that me saying it's time to leave? Its usually the other way around. Oh well, cutting myself more slack this week. 

Time to hit the road.. will I bike, run or will it be a walk day? It just can't be a sit on the couch day! 

My first.. I just am going to walk- run.

My mind was not in it.. my legs were not ready and I just gave in. My 7 running miles and lifting weights didn't go so great on Wednesday. I kept telling myself just go any pace, enjoy the outdoor running because soon we will be stuck inside. It still didn't help. Thoughts of walking kept coming into my mind. I finally caved.. on the 6th mile, I walked.. just up a hill. I've never done that. 

Usually I tell myself, I'll get home faster running then walking. I've had thoughts of walking before, but have never actually stopped and walked. Not even when I started running did I do the walk run. I just started running a mile then kept adding on time until I was able to run 60 minutes.. which didn't take long because I had been at the gym using the cross ramp all winter.. 60 minutes every day or 6 miles. Running outside is a lot harder. Pavement is not as forgiving.. hills are more frequent.. and you have to keep going. 

I know lots of people do the walk run. There is nothing wrong with that. It's just not me. I want to run if I set out to run. Not give in to me feeling too tired, too slow and just not in the mindset to run.. and run for 7 miles. Either way.. run or walk I still finished 7 miles. I think that's more important then getting down on me walking up a little hill. I just didn't like that feeling of having a difficult run where I just wanted to lay down and not move. 

I felt so off all day, tired working, and so tired I laid down for a quick 30 minute nap. I'm back at it today.. hoping my run feels better but if it doesn't, I'm going to walk just to finish 7 miles because 7 miles is still 7 miles. 

I'm really loving my raspberries. We picked them fresh from the bushes. I eat more raspberries then Greek Yogurt. It's my favorite combo and I really don't reach for Ice cream any more. I tested myself and purchased ice cream, vanilla and peppermint bon bon for the kids and wasn't even tempted to have any. Goes to show you.. small changes add up over time and now I've got a new healthy choice habit! 

I got to enjoy the night. Soccer fields (some) have the best grass. Soft and green. Logan had his first soccer practice with a new team and coach. 

I'm not ready...Its scary!

I'm exactly one week away from a BIG schedule change! The kids go back to school and that means a later workout time. Its a bit scary not getting out the door to run ASAP. I'll have a few hours to stretch, get the kids ready and out the door before I can even start running. I won't even have my hour or two of down time before working. I just don't want to get in the habit of cutting my workouts short just to have a little down time. 

It's a bit scary with this big change in working out. It will probably be okay.. Here's what I'm thinking...

1. It will be day- light out.. no need to wait till the sun comes up to run by the time I get out the door. 

2. I will just start my working-work day later and I will get use to the new time after a week or so..

3. Change is good..it happens all the time and I must roll with it.. like everything else.

4. Mentally prepare myself for the change and only think of the positives.

5. Working right after will make me stronger. Maybe help train, working on tired legs/body. 

6. Weekends I can still workout early.. its just 5 days out of the week.. 

7. I have the option to sleep in a bit, if I need the extra rest. 

8. I'll get to use my home weights, during my waiting time to go run. 

The only negative really is the gap between me waking and getting out the door will be really extended. 

It's all worth the change to be able to send my kids off to school.  

Just keep going.. don't look back & I want to...

I try to remind myself that I'm still better off where I am today, then where I was. I still am not where I want to be.. but I won't look back.. only forward as I work on me!

I want to be thinner

I want to be toner

I want to make healthy food choices all the time

I want to be a faster runner

I want to make more money

I want to travel more

I want to be a better person all around. 

Are these too much to ask of myself? It's all baby steps to the goals I have..just keep plugging away at it every day. I tend to spend more time worrying and thinking about these "I wants" then doing. 

What am I going to do about obtaining what I want? 

I'm going to eat less

I'm going to keep working out with weights

I'm going to eat more veggies and fruit cutting out more sugar treats

I'm going to work on speed running on days where my legs want to run. 

I'm going to spend more time on getting work to earn more. 

I'm going to work more to have the funds to travel

To be a better person.. a work in progress.. 

This is what I want for the coming year. 

Towel Off..

I was so sweaty after running this very humid morning. I had to towel off the dripping sweat and throw cold water on my face to cool down. 

It's been 9 whole days since I last went out for a run. It felt kind of weird at first since my legs wanted to bike instead of run. I thought my GPS was screwed up again but no.. that was just me being pokey-slow running. 

I didn't even try to pick up the pace. The miles didn't feel great, but it did feel good to be out running. 

I have to get back to dieting. I have 10 pounds to lose and a week now before my birthday. I'd like at least a pound or two gone by the 31st! Just eating healthy and a lot less. 

I used some of these little tomatoes from the Farmer's Market in my favorite salad for last night's Sunday Family dinner. Fresh veggies just taste so much better.. most of the meal last night was veggies from the market. 

I tried to fit on as much as possible, grilled Zucchini, two types of beans, grilled chicken with pasta and tomatoes/peppers/squash with my favorite, pecan-honey/garlic dressing side salad. 

Dessert, I made cream puffs with real whip cream, vanilla pudding and strawberries. Next time I'll just stick to vanilla ice cream, topped with the strawberries and cream/pudding. It was missing the coldness from ice cream, but still really good. 

Family dinner.. Everyone was too busy eating.. we had dinner kind of late around 7:30pm.. 

And of course today is my Evan day.. He's so busy trying to figure out how all these toys work. Its fun to watch him. 

My legs ache!

My 19 mile bike ride yesterday was affecting my ride this morning. My legs ache! At least Steve was out riding with me and that forced me to go fast. We play this tag game.. I speed up, he passes me, I slow down.. he slows down.. then I pass him up and it goes on and on.... till we hit the neighborhood and its an all out race to the house. 

Our favorite bike route's road was still closed but they are making progress and I'm sure it will be open to traffic soon or at least before we have snow.  We just hope it's not all paved.. ??? 

It was a super nice, warm night to sit outside last night. Logan was out playing night games with his friends so I sat on the front chairs listening to the kids. This toad was pretending to be a rock and kind of freaked me out because I almost stepped on him. He was the size of a softball. No small frog! 

We are off to the Farmers Market for some fresh veggies. It's Sunday Family diner night, which means we have to figure out something to make for dinner. Grilled veggies and I want to make some strawberry cupcakes with some fluffy frosting dipped in chocolate and topped with a fresh strawberry for dessert. Then again.. Strawberry Cream puffs sounds good too? hum...??? 

Monday I'll go back to dieting.. I've had a few days off and really need to get back at it. One week till my birthday! I've got to enjoy the last week of being 45! 

Waiting is not always best

I almost didn't get out the door this morning. Waiting around for Steve was not the best idea. While it's great to workout with someone else, you have to do what's best for you. It doesn't always work out to were they want to go for run or bike ride. Not everyone feels like doing a workout. I didn't let that stop me, but waiting around and feeling the disappointment of having to go it on my own.. took a little out of me wanting to get out the door. 

Moral of my story this morning. Don't be dependent on someone else to get you out the door. Just go it alone and figure if someone goes with, it's an added bonus. You are in charge of your own fitness. 

I set out to do our big loop, but cut the little extra loop off. I went out and back 11 miles and then rode up to the store to pick up breakfast and biked home for a total of 18 miles in 1 hour and 13 minutes. I even gave Steve two option to come with and he declined both then wished he had just gone and biked with me. I certainly do not regret my bike ride, but he sure regrets not going with. 

We spent 10.5 hours at the Minnesota State Fair yesterday. This by far was my favorite moment of the entire fair. We had no idea the line to personalize a coke can was wrapped all around the back side. I came in from the side and just jumped the entire line.. and in one short minute we all had our names on a Coke can. A big Oops.. but sometimes that oops turns out to be a good thing! 

We all ate a lot but shared most of the foods. We started out with these pretzel covered cheese curds at 9:00am

If I had unlimited funds...

If I only had unlimited funds for everything Running... The new Outlet mall opened on the 14th. The kids and I finally decided to venture out to the new mall and check it out. 

Over all, we were not impressed. It's an open mall to the elements. Although parts are covered but I have a feeling come winter.. this place will be a ghost town. It wasn't even crowded considering it opened only a week ago. No lines, hardly many shoppers and not many people holding bags of items they purchased. Sales were not all that great either. Its still way over priced but I do love the selection of workout clothes stores, If I only had unlimited funds.. I'd have one of everything. 

The inside view of the mall, it goes in a circle with the parking on the outside. Not many food court choices, but they did have our favorite Aunt Annie's Pretzels, which we could not pass up. I was a bargain shopper.. We down loaded Annie's App on our phone and did the buy one, get one free pretzel, stopped in at the chocolate store and we each got a chocolate candy free. Famous Foot wear we found out from the woman in front of us that on the phone app you get 20% off so we did that too. The only purchase we didn't get much off was Celina's tank top for $19.99. She is picky and doesn't like much so we got the top and all was good. I'm not sure if I'll go often if the prices are not a lot cheaper. Do down load the store apps before you go to get the best deals. Never pay full price! 

I dusted off my home weights this morning. I'll be doing a lot more home weights in two weeks when the kids are back in school. I'll have to wait till they are gone in the morning to go workout at the gym. To make the most of my morning, I'll have to do some of my workout at home. 

I have plenty of weights and plenty of workouts to try and incorporate into my morning routine. This too will soon become a daily habit.. I'm actually looking forward to the change up. I've never been a lift weights before doing cardio person and I'm hoping it doesn't zap my energy, but I'm thinking it will be the opposite.. give me more energy and wake me up. 

I threw out my healthy diet for last nights dinner. Steve made some amazing burgers with bacon and cheese. We had left over mac & cheese from camping that we never cooked up so I didn't want it to go to waste. It was as creamy and good as it looks. I also caved and ate the two small slices of Lemon Meringue pie that were left over from dinner at Steve's parents house. I just love everything lemon. I gave myself permission to not beat myself up over a day off from my diet. Today might be day 2 off as we are going to the Minnesota State Fair.

I won't be running or biking today since I'll be spending hours and hours walking around the fair. I'm going to try not to eat too much junk but I will sample it. Our plan is to share one of each of our favorites. I will eat an entire ear of corn on the cob. It's my favorite food at the fair along with mini donuts.

Celina's last night of soccer EVER. Soccer only goes up to 9th grade and that's it for her. Too old to play anymore. I told her make it count and go out with a BANG, Score! What do you know.. she scored the only goal and tied the game 1 to 1. Plus had a few other good shots at the goal, but hit the post. It was a great way to end 7+ years of soccer. 

Shaky..

I felt a little off this morning and knew it when I had trouble holding my first bent arm plank and didn't make it the full 3 minutes. I had to break it up 2:30, and another 30 seconds after a quick rest. The straight arm planks didn't go well either.. 2 minutes and then 1 minute. 

I'm blaming my shaky off day on the weather. Rain and lightening = no outdoor cardio. I'm never a happy camper when I know its going to be a 100% indoor workout. I truly am feeling shaky and I don't like it. It's not from lack of calories either. 

I concentrated on weights (Resistance training) 30 minutes this morning and zero cardio. I just wasn't feeling like running on the treadmill or hopping on the elliptical or doing my cross ramp. 

I have just been super sore in my ribs for days now. I'd rather have my arms sore to know my workout is toning up my arms. I want my muscles back and to see my nice arms/shoulders. Is that too much to ask? 

I know my diet will help bring out tone-ness. It's day 4.. does Granola cereal count as a sugar snack? I had this crunchy treat for my afternoon/evening snack instead of my Greek Yogurt. I figured out that my calories for Wednesday were around 2000, ugh 500 calories more then I needed or because I decided to eat this snack. 

I'm trying to write messages to myself every day on my hand as a reminder of my goals. "I want to see my abs". I'm hoping the reminder right on my hand that I use to reach for food, will help me make good food choices and get rid of some body weight, to help bring out those covered up abs. I'm trying just about anything to see if it works! 

I have to work this morning.. but I have biking on my brain for later on this afternoon. It's suppose to be SUPER HOT today.. feels like 100*F but in the 90's. It's perfect to ride in the heat. If nothing else I'll bike up to the bank and home.. 7 miles round trip which takes me 30 minutes. I need some cardio today.. and it will keep me from eating and making poor food choices. Plus, I can pick up more Raspberries!