Sunday at the park and some thing new!

Not speedy miles like my Saturday run around the neighborhood. I can't compare running miles because  one is on pavement and the other is on a trail. Completely different routes and surfaces. 

I ran around Lebanon Park's lakes 3x's. On my 2nd loop I brought my new phone and stopped mid run to take a few photos of the flowers. That must have been on mile #3.. I don't stop my Garmin.. Average moving pace 10:45 minute mile. 

I purchased a new Galaxy Note 4 cell phone yesterday. It was made for me! It came with a built in heart rate monitor! How fun is that!! Unfortunately, with a new phone comes the task of setting it all up. I haven't figured out the link to upload my photos to this blog, so no park pix right at the moment. I do love my new phone even with my technical difficulties. It not only has a HR monitor, but a pen to draw or take notes, and a larger screen. Bigger is better for the seeing small font challenged people, like myself. 


I'll talk about how my dieting is going later on.. I'm off to work on the new phone picture issue then a nap. 

Miles.. yep! Starting with Day 1

I like the quicker miles. Average pace for 6 miles 9:19 minutes. I run up one really big hill four times during my 6 mile run. I can't complain about my pace with the hills. 

I thought it would be a good idea to do a before weight loss photo. Since I am starting Day 1 today. Might as well get honest and let it all hang out. 

I'm concentrating on just watching my foods and staying around 1500 calories for the day. If I can just get through day 1, I'll call that a success! 

If I'm looking at your grass.. I need to work harder to like my own green grass.. It's not always greener over there.. I was doing a comparison, me VS a neighbor. It always feel like a competition to be more fit, thinner and more busy.. I just want to like where I'm at.. no competition. The thinner part got me  motivated to start doing some thing about my own situation. I need to stop wishing I was thinner and start making progress. Wishing will only take you to the start.. now it's time to do the work to get results. No more wishing my grass is greener.. 

Breakfast - 2 whole grain bread with Chunky PB = 400 calories

Lunch - 

Snack - 

Dinner - 

I felt like a fitness fraud.

Someone said to me last night, that I do so much.. as in working out/fitness. I didn't know how to respond because I've been running less, not lifting weights every day and not going out to do biking or more running. I use to run six to eight miles a day no matter what. I use to lift weights for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week, I use to get in more exercise in the afternoons and force myself out the door. I've changed.. and not for the better. I don't like that I've put on 15 extra pounds and for that my fitness has suffered. I don't feel like I'm doing all I can and for that reason I feel like a fraud. 

Its more about me having gained weight then anything else. I feel like I've let myself down and can't break out of the downward spiral of weight gain or staying where I'm at. I won't lose weight by doing more running, biking or lifting weights. It has to come from my diet. I won't and don't feel fit unless I lose those pounds. I'm not doing all I can until I can get my weight back under control. 

"Start making changes to not feel like a fraud" Take back my fitness, my life and steer it in the right direction. 

Day 1.. 

Eat 1500 calories

Eat Veggies/fruit to fill me up

Run 6 miles

Bike

Keep busy with less sitting

How not to fall off track?  

Stop making excuses and giving up. 

I'm tired of not changing, not making progress, not feeling fit, and not being 15 pounds lighter. 

I'll be honest.. losing weight is a lot harder then going out the door to run 6 miles. Running only takes one hour, where diet takes 24 hours . and it's many days that add up to many hours of dieting. 

I can do this for me! Positive thoughts and start liking where I'm at today to get me to reach my goals tomorrow. 

Off to run my buns off... 

Just a little soggy..

What's a little rain while you run? I am not going to melt but I will be a little soggy. 

I sat in our front chairs cooling off till the rain started to pick up to a down pour. I'm okay with a little rain. 

Three quick easy, but faster miles. I'm not sure why I picked up the pace. I wasn't even looking at it or thinking about my speed. I just ran our loop two times around the neighborhood. It usually takes me 14 to 15 minutes to run one time around. It's not exactly 3 miles but close enough. 

We had this for dinner last night. Home made guac, rice, spicy salsa, grilled chicken and a touch of cheese. I'm looking forward to lunch leftovers! I could eat this every day and use to have salsa and rice daily but then my stomach started to burn all the time from all that spicy salsa. I love a little burn, but not stomach burn.. 

On my cool down.. resting up to go work and it's going to be long Friday of working! 

I have all these plans and then...

In the mornings when I'm full of energy, I make all kinds of plans to do fun things in the afternoon like bike, run more miles or swim. I get home from work and I crash. I usually end up taking an hour nap instead of doing my fun activity. I'm just that exhausted from working. All I really need is that nap far more then a 10 mile bike ride.  

Its hard to break out of my laziness after my nap. This is my down time.. and that pretty much lasts until I am forced to move from the couch. It's usually, driving to soccer or going to the store that peels me off the couch for the rest of the evening. I'd like to feel all energized and want to do something but for some reason I have zero motivation later on in the day. 

I didn't even run this morning. Logan woke up sick again. He had a temp of 101. We thought he had strep but that turned out negative so they did some blood work which turned out good and they found nothing. Must just be a virus. He has a soccer tournament this weekend and I'm not sure he's going to be up for it Friday night but maybe by Saturday?? I'm kind of bummed out because my whole running/biking weekend was scheduled around his games. Plus, I like going to watch or play soccer. Suppose that means we will be able to get more home projects done this weekend. hum.... Paint the deck? 

What is with some people?

All time rudeness has reached a high

in the last week. I've encountered more people being A-holes and just plain rude. Its the little things.. movie people chomping popcorn, people at the gym bitching and then looking at you like how dare you take a machine that's open because I might want to use it attitude, being lied to... I run to get away from all of this negativity. But...I didn't run fast enough to get away.. 

I try to forget fast (short memory).. I don't have time in my life to hold on to grudges and go over wrong doing. I've moved on and refuse to let others wreck whatever I'm doing. Trying to focus on the positives and not let those rude people bring me down.  

My run was quick this morning.. 3 miles, just enough to get a good sweat and run to clear my mind. 

I managed to run 5.6 miles in the rain yesterday morning. I've been slowing way down and just enjoying the scenery. It's been feeling a lot better on my run to not care about my pace. I should do this more often. 

I don't know about you, but I need a daily nap. I took an hour plus nap in the afternoon/early evening and then woke up and felt great. So good Celina and I went to the gym and I lifted weights while she ran. 

Off to work.. then to enjoy our first 80+ degree day! I see me going for a bike ride later on this afternoon.. and maybe a dip in the pool..

Memorial Day Dulathalon..

I didn't pre-plan to do a dualthaon on Memorial day, it just kind of happened. 

I was feeling pretty good during my trail run around the lakes even with the muddy paths. After 5.05  miles of running, I thought it was a good idea to bike 8 miles. I would have gone the longer 14 mile route but the sky looked dark and I didn't want to get caught in a down pour. 

It never did rain.. I got in 1 hour and 25 minutes of a workout. 

Then we got all dressed up with no where to go. Steve's mother received some clothes from a neighbor in AZ. We had fun with all the 70's style outfits. Who knew we could be so styling! 

Family Memorial Day BBQ, Ribs, Corn bread and veggies. 

If what you do challenges and changes you..

Sometimes I think this too... I don't see any changes, why should I continue? If I stop doing these simple planks, running, biking every darn day.. and then try to start up again, I won't be able to start where I left off. I will have lost that fitness that I can't see today! 

I hardly ever see any positive changes. In fact, I need to lose at least 10 to 20 pounds to see my efforts of my daily planks. I'm getting a little mushy. It's not for lack of exercise, but my lack of diet. It's a daily challenge to work on weight and my progress. I feel like a weightloss failure. Yes, I've lost 50 pounds and it was hard but I did it. I don't have that much to lose but I feel like I'm losing the battle. I'm not giving up.. What challenges me will change me... This is true! 

I'm going to try positive thoughts.. think yummy veggies and fruit. Think positive that I can and will start to lose weight. Make small goals (thinking positive today) that I can acheive daily towards my weight loss goals. 

In the mean time.. I've done my planks and daily exercises/Yoga and now I'm going to do that run. Keeping up the exericse till the weight comes off. 

Happy Running Trails.. to think positive, challenge me to change me!

This is how we do coffee and a water stop.

We got our biking in with a half way point break for coffee and water at Starbucks this morning. We had a little rain during the entire ride. 

We rode a shorter route, cutting through a neighborhood to make it 13.34 miles. I forgot to stop my watch so the pace was determined by our 24 minute Starbucks break. 

After all Steve's coffee and the caffiene, I figure he is ready to race. I just can't help myself with the need to race. I just love to speed up and pedal as hard as I can till I reach the driveway. Usually, Steve is passing me up.. but not today.. 

Its going to be rain all day.. We have plans to take in a movie with the kids and get some organizing done inside. 

Some Saturday catch up photos... 
Happy Famers Market Breakfast... 

Flowers, lettuce and radishes all ready to buy at the St. Paul Farmer Market

A stop at the new St. Paul Saints Baseball Stadium.

We've never watched a Saints baseball game but might consider it and take the light rail train into the city??? 

Dinner at Moe's in St. Paul on the patio.. 

Small Spaces.. in an alley

Bike, bike, BIke.... B I K E, b i k e.. BI KE... bi ke....

A lone bonfire.. Anniversary

Suppose I was the only one who got the message? I had a very nice anniversary bonfire by myself last night. I even mowed the lawn to get the yard all ready for it. 

There I sat.. two hours waiting and then decided, might as well cook up my hot dogs and enjoy the fire. 

I don't eat beans, but I thought I'd cook some up for others. Logan wanted potatoes and all we had was a can. We seasoned them up and attempted to cook the potatoes over the fire. Logan joined me by the fire long enough to cook a hot dog and eat.

This was our anniversary plan, to have a bonfire and cook-out since it was going to be the nicest night of the long weekend. Steve decided to have a drink with the neighbors and forgot all about the bonfire and me tending the fire. Oh well.. that happens. I was too into my fire to care. 

We spent our anniversary morning going for a nice 10 mile bike ride. A good way to start the anniversary day!

16 years and still happily married...even if you do forget that I'm waiting for you at a bonfire I made hours ago.. We will just say our Anniversary plan was to celebrate tonight by going out to dinner and seeing a movie some rainy afternoon. Like we always say.. every day is a day to celebrate being married to my best friend.