Tuesday, December 30, 2008

2009 Here I Come

I hope everyone had an excellent holiday season, ate a lot, slept a lot, enjoyed their families, and got some good exercise time in.  I had a great break, ate waaay too much and my body is ready for some serious butt-whooping.  

2009 Goals
*Keep carbs at 195grams a day for my lovely diabetic diet
*Workout 5-6 times a week, with a double workout twice a week
*Stick to my training schedule no matter how gnarly it is.. 
no matter how much I want to kick it in the shins
*Stay positive, don't allow negative talk
*Blog at least twice a week...be accountable for my workouts and my weigh-ins
*Complete at least 3 half marathons, the Wasatch Back, and a sprint triathlon.

Tenative 2009 Race Calendar
February 7th - WRC 5k
February 21st - WRC 10k
March 14th - WRC 10 miler
April 4th -WRC Half Marathon
April 18th - Telos Triathlon
April 25th - WRC 30k (pending... umm not sure if i want to run 18 miles
 if I'm not training for a marathon)
May 16th - Ogden Half Marathon
June 20-21st - Wasatch Back Relay
The rest of the season: TBA 
(depending on when/where we move. *sniff sniff*)           

Saturday, December 27, 2008

It's a GIRL

We were able to find out last Thursday what we were having and decided to keep it a secret until Christmas to tell our families. Doctor says everything is great with her and me, so I guess I will keep doing what I am doing.... Doesn't this look like a runner's leg to you?

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

New Year, New Goals, New Motivation

Look Pretty Run Nasty is going to take a couple week hiatus.  When we return we'll be back with full gusto.  It's a new year with new goals and new motivation to hit those goals.  

 The first week of January you'll get a nice post from each of us telling you our goals and our new awesome layout for 2009.   While on our short hiatus we have a few challenges.  We're doing these and we dare you to do the same:
  • Weigh yourself today.  Keep your weight the same for the next three weeks (that is, unless you're pregnant...).  The holiday is a KILLER in the weight department.  
  • Don't mindlessly graze at Christmas parties.  Think before you eat. 
  • Workout at least 4 times a week.  The week of Christmas find at least one day to do a double workout.  
  • Look back at 2008 and write 5 things that make you proud of your healthy and active lifestyle. Did you do anything you thought was impossible? Achieve a goal that was difficult?  Got out of bed when you didn't want to?  You worked hard, give yourself credit for it! 
  • The last week of December sit down and open up your planner, set up your potential racing schedule/workout schedule for 2009.  Make goals accordingly.  
Enjoy the rest of 2008!!
We wish you the best and hope you have a fantastic holiday season!!

Love,
Amanda, Lori, & Erin. 

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

ENJOY

And yet another week has come and gone. Sadly my ability to exercise pretty much becomes disappears the week before and of finals. No matter how well I think I prepare or how ready I feel, it seems there is just not a minute to spare. So the only exercising I have done is packing my book bag around campus (probably over two miles a day) and walking the dog...so I feel a little guilty posting about exercise this week. Therefore let me leave this meaningful message....
My favorite T.V series is Gilmore Girls, I watch the re-runs over and over again and still enjoy each and every minute. In case you are unfamiliar with the fabulous story line. Its about a Mother and daughter. In one episode Rory (the daughter) is leaving for her first "grown up" job as a reporter. As she is getting ready her mom, Lorelai. Is giving her a little lecture and says,

"Make sure when you are on the bus, you pick a good seat. People tend to be creatures of habit and which every seat you pick will probably be yours permanently. Get get a window seat, 1)because its better to be by the window, 2)because there is just so much to see, and if you don't get a window seat there is a good chance you will miss something. Oh and make sure to sit towards the back of the bus, the people that sit in the back of the bus are always so much more fun- I don't know why that is just the way it works."


And well I just think that is great advice- no matter who you are or what '"bus in life you are riding. Choose your seat well, it tends to be a habit. Always sit by the window, and towards the back of the bus.So this week throw exercising out the window and just focus on enjoying the ride....

Monday, December 8, 2008

So uhhhh...

Just as I'm starting to swing out of my blogging funk, I go and get sick. Bleh. At least I was sick while Lor was out of town so then I didn't have to feel guilty about skipping workouts. It all started Thursday morning. I woke up with tummy troubles and wondered if I was sick or just stressed out. I had a soccer game Thursday night and was determined to play, but at the last second the game got canceled...thank heavens. By that point I was sick and achey all over. I had managed to eat a bowl of cereal and some crackers because I knew my body would need something to get through soccer on. The next day was more of the same but the aches had left and I was able to eat a bit more. By Friday night I was thinking I was on the up and up and planned on running Saturday, even sans Lori. (I KNOW) Well Saturday morning came and I woke up feeling like I had knives stabbed into every cavity of my face. Awesome. I couldn't move my head without wanting to cry. So running...yah no. I didn't even clean my house. Yes it was that bad. I drowned myself in fluids, and slept and took meds, and slept some more yesterday. Jared even made me stay home from church (which I planned on blogging then, but just slept some more...) Today I still don't feel great, but I feel a lot better than I have for the past few days, so yipee. Watch out. I may just find enthusiasm again too. Hmmmm....

Saturday, December 6, 2008

How My Vacation Didn't Ruin My Weight Loss Plan

Yes, you read that right... I haven't gained any weight on my vacation. I've done my best to eat healthy and naughty at the same time. Ha. I'm still here in wonderful sunny California, but my little babe was needing a serious nap, so I volunteered to sit at the hotel while she slept. I figured I'd blog about my vacay diet during her nap time. Sound good? Here we go.

Some things that helped me stay on track this week.
This
(my hotel gym)

and this
(attitude)

Now, this may look like I'm not happy... I wasn't. My attitude was not uber happy. I was grumpy about waking up on my vacation. BUT the minute I got to the hotel gym I felt better and after I was done working out I was SO GLAD I did. I was definitely a sour puss about working out, which ironically worked to my favor. When I was in the gym I pushed it harder because I was so ornery. haha. I tricked myself into hard workouts. Sa-weeet! My first workout morning I forced myself out of bed at 5:15am to meet my brother at the gym. When it was 5:50 and he still hadn't shown up I got really upset. I looked at the clock closer and realized that it was 4:50....oh man... he was late I was an HOUR early. Blast. I hadn't reset my cell phone clock. Grrrrr. Let the orneriness sweep over me. I already had 20 minutes of cardio in, so I figured "well, just do 40 more until he gets here." I alternated between running a mile, biking 3 and doing the stairstepper. I was a sweatpile when my brother showed up. A massive SWEAT. PILE. It was lovely. We did a hard 60 minute strength training session. My brother corrected my form on my overhead tricep curls. Ummm they hurt SO MUCH worse. Manda, you'll get to learn that this week. Just start crying now. The things we put ourselves through to be healthy! (and I'll admit I am slightly addicted to working out... endorphins people, endorphins!!!)
  • Walking and walking and walking and walking and walking also helped me out a lot. It's so gorgeous here. You walk everywhere. Dinner each night we picked a different place that was at least .5 mile away. It made for a lot of nights carrying my 5 year old and 7 year niece on our backs walking back to the hotel, but worth not ordering room service! Plus, it was extra calories burned!
Food choices on vacation stink. They are sooo nummy and soo fattening; they are also soooo pricey and sooo EVERYWHERE. Our first day here we went to the store and got healthy alternatives: pb & j, granola bars, cereal, fruit, popcorn, bottled water, etc. Each morning and afternoon we ate our own breakfast and lunch, that helped alot. Being on a tight budget also helped because we REALLY chose when we splurged on a 4$ lemonade or a $3 churro. The kids got a treat everyday so they were really careful with what they chose. Having snacks in the backpack that were healthy alternatives helped us snack throughout the day without resorting to hot dogs, pizza, cotton candy, etc. This trip was also a budget-imposed soda sobriety test for me. Yup. I was NOT willing to pay $2.75 for a 20 oz caffeine free diet coke. So... yup. Sad, sad, sad. I've tried to eat a lot of protein and avoid snacking late a night. I won't sit here and say I haven't had naughty food. Cause ummmm have YOU ever gone on vacation and not? That's what I thought. However, I've only had dessert twice this week and tried to eat more veggies when we order out.

I'm really psyched that my 6 day trip has left me the same size/weight as I was when I left. My goal was only to gain 2-4 lbs... so I definitely hit my goal! YAY!!!!!!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Just Call Me Slacker

Yah....that's my new name. I have been in a total blogging funk. No desire to blog whatsoever, so I haven't. Not a very good excuse, but it's the truth. So here is my effort to get back into it. Speed has been far from my mind really these last 2 weeks. The weather has been soooo nice, all I want to do is run the trails until the snow drives me from them. So it has really been 2 weeks of trail running for me. I love the trails. They are good for my soul. One of the things that I really love about running the trails is that it clears my head and lets me focus on the beauty around me. With Thanksgiving this past week, it has allowed me to really reflect on all that I'm grateful for...at which at the top of that list are good friends, living in a gorgeous place, a strong body, and the freedom to do things when I want to without fear.
The one street run we did do this past week was the annual ORMC 5 mile run on Thanksgiving morning. Although this run was a little different than in years past. Usually the run starts with Sister Stephanie (a local catholic nun) giving a prayer of thanks. I missed that this year. I don't know if I just didn't hear it, or if it didn't happen, but one way or the other I didn't hear it and I was sad. Secondly, the run seemed really easy and short...oh wait it was. Someone was confused when plotting the course, because last time I checked 3.92 miles was not exactly the same as 5 miles....hmmmm....and thirdly we just ran and chatted sans any emotional trauma. Weird.

Plus this little guy joined us for the first time. Welcome Max to the joys of running.

Hi again, weekly wrap-up

Well friends, it's weigh in time again. Haha. Seeing as though I gained 4 lbs last week I'm going to take this weeks 2 lbs loss as an eehhhhhh. I'm grateful I didn't gain any more weight, but I'm sure my over indulgence this weekend didn't help.

My Thanksgiving workout was really great. The ORMC run in the morning is always fabulous. I can't believe it was our 4th year. Each year it seemed one of us was struggling with getting pregnant/not getting pregnant/miscarrying/recovering from a traumatic birth... so this year? It was heaven. We ran and were happy with no major emotional trauma. Yay for that!

After Thanksgiving dinner, which rocked, I went for a power walk with my sisters-in-law. It was freezing and I was in my Father-in-laws huge coat, but I loved it. Made my stomach settle and made that pumpkin pie I ate taste even more delicious. My sister-in-law made a RAW pumpkin pie... I know what you're thinking cause I thought the same thing... but it was GOOOD. The crust was made out of crushed almonds. MUCH better for you than the traditional pumpkin pie. I'll get the recipe and post it. I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend also.

So, some bad news bears. Van and I are having to scale back a little bit financially and Basics is unfortunately the first thing to go. I won't be going to Basics at least until January, but maybe February and maybe not ever again... sad I know. Since we already have a gym membership it seemed silly to have both of us going to Basics. Don't you worry, they post their workouts online and you better believe I'll still be doing them every Monday and Wednesday... except today... haha. I had this awful horrid nightmare that woke me up and has had be running around my house like a maniac ever since... oh my.

This weeks workout schedule is a titch different. Get excited. I'll be posting from the vacay with pictures, oh yes.

Monday: Pilates/3 miler
Tuesday: Lifting and cardio with Manda/ Swimming in the pool with my kids
Wednesday: Destination 3 miler and arms
Thursday: Destination 30 minute bike ride
Friday: Destination 3 miler and legs
Saturday: Off playing with the kids on the beach (that counts as cardio, right?)

Goals for this week:
  • Drink lots and lots and lots of water! Stay away from the diet coke!
  • Only one treat a day
  • Enjoy my vacation.

P.S. I scored some FREE workout clothes this weekend. You better believe that I grabbed some extra to give away on our blog here. Be looking for that coming up soon!