One Week Check Point

As I stated previously in my Goals - Short Term/Long Term post, I'm going to maintain accountability by posting my goals and then following up on my progress on the ol' blog.

1 week = 8 lbs lost; work-out 6 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes/day; track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise


Let's evaluate the week, shall we?

Diet
By "diet", I mean counting my calories.  For the most part, I'm still following South Beach principles as far as food choices go, but I'm upping the ante by paying attention to specifically how much I'm putting in my body.  The biggest struggle I encountered was recognizing I needed to establish a "NET" calorie goal because the more I work out, the more I'm going to need to fuel.  I set a 1200 NET calories per day target and with the exception of eating too few calories the first two days, I did well.  I also became VERY lax over the weekend which is something I don't want to make a habit.

Exercise
I set a target of working out 6 days of the week for a minimum of 30 minutes per day.  That didn't quite happen, BUT considering I went from VERY minimal exercise to a 4-day workout, I feel pretty good about the week.  I spent 2 days walking (with incorporating a bit of running at the end of each walk) and I spent 2 days riding my exercise bike.  I managed to burn a total of 1366 calories with an average of over 40 minutes per workout.

Hydration
This is an on-going struggle.  I hit over 100 oz of water each day, BUT my target is 144 oz, so I have a lot to work out in this category.

Sleep
My goal is to hit 7 hours of sleep per night.  Out of 7 days, I hit this goal 5 nights.  Still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.

Weight loss goal = 8 pounds
Actual weight loss = 7 pounds


Thoughts:  I am pleased with the results, but I do see where improvement can be made.  As I mentioned above, I became a bit too lax over the weekend.  Even though I went to restaurants with a plan, it was easy to stick to the ordering plan, but difficult to pass up table freebies - bread, etc.

Next check point (1 month) will be on September 26th!


Off to a great start!

It's all starting to come together!

I know I've had the RunGirl 13.1 half mary on my sidebar for quite some time now, but I officially registered for it this morning.

I remember being super excited last year when I found out about this race.  It would have been my 3rd half and it was especially exciting because it was a female-only run AND in December.  This practicially guaranteed decent (read:  coolish) weather.

I was so bummed when my pelvic stress fracture kept me from racing.  I vowed to register for the race again this year...AND...to actually participate in it.

I let life conquer me for a bit...hence the weight gain and the lack of training as evident in my Hottest Half race, BUT it's not going to conquer me any longer.

As discussed in my GOALS - SHORT TERM/LONG TERM post, I'm back on the wagon and feeling fierce!

I can already see the fruits of my labor.  I have decided to ease back into running by incorporating small (increasing) runs at the end of my walks.  I tested this out on Monday night...walked 2 miles and then ran 0.23.  My average pace was 16:27.  This was not great, BUT I was out there doing it and that is what matters.  Tuesday was a cross-training day, so I hit up my stationary bike for 50 minutes.  Wednesday was another walk/run.  I managed 3 miles in total and I ran the last 0.4 mile.  I lowered my average pace to 15:43.  What does that tell me?  With dedication and determination...I'm gonna hit my goals!

I would love to run my last three half marathons for the year, but realistically I'm just not going to be able to accomplish that.  What I can do, however, is establish goals for each one based on my current (at the time of the race) fitness level.

For now, I will focus on See Jane Run (another all female half).  This half is in Austin on October 9th.  I have no way of knowing what to expect temperature wise (please God let it be cooler outside).  The elevation chart hasn't been posted yet either, so I don't know what to expect regarding hills.  We all know Austin has them.  =/  So, I'm just going to focus on hitting all my training walks/runs and lowering my average pace to allow me to finish my race with a 15:45 pace.  This means 3:26:19 will be my goal. 

On a side note...I just booked my hotel for See Jane Run using Hotwire.com.  My dad swears by this website as he uses it for all of his business travel (and even some personal trips).  I went "pot luck" instead of choosing the specific hotel and I got the La Quinta Inn hotel downtown for $78.00 per night (which includes breakfast each morning).  I looked up the published price per night and it's $99.00.  Yay for saving $42.00 in total!  =)

Ahhhh....it's all starting to come together and that makes me happy!

GOALS - SHORT TERM/LONG TERM

A wise person I know suggested that I not overwhelm myself with how "lost" I've become in my weight loss journey.  She thought it best to break my ultimate GOAL into smaller, more attainable check points.

With that in mind, I've come up with my 1 week, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 12 month check points.  Seems a lot less daunting that way.

I figured to keep myself accountable, I would go ahead and publish these check points to my blog and then follow up on my progress when appropriate.


1 week = 8 lbs lost; work-out 6 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes/day; track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise

my fitness pal

1 month = 20 lbs lost, run/walk 4 days/week for a minimum of 45 minute; cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 45 minutes; be able to run 2 miles non-stop (@ 14 min/mile pace); track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target




Daily Mile



3 months = 40 lbs lost, run/walk 4 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; be able to run 6 miles non-stop (@ 13:30 min/mile pace); track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target

sleep bot

6 months = 70 lbs lost; run 4 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes;, cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; be able to run 10 miles non-stop (@ 13 min/mile pace); track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target

24 Hour Fitness

9 months = 100 lbs lost (GOAL); run 4 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; be able to run a half marathon non-stop (@ 12:30 min/mile pace); track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target

The Woodlands Marathon (half for me)

12 months = maintain weight loss; begin full marathon training; run 4 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; cross train 2 days/week for a minimum of 60 minutes; track all calories, water, sleep, and exercise; reevaluate daily calorie target


Since I offiically got back on my wagon (for real this time) on Monday, 8/29, I will check back in on my first check point on Monday, 9/6. 

Vacation Planning

Have I ever mentioned how much I love vacations?  Oh I do, it's quite true!  It can even be said that I live for them.  To me, vacations are the reward for...life.

I know I've spoken of my love for Playa del Carmen, but alas...Mexico can't be in the cards for me.  You see, I have to plan my vacation with the thought process that I will be "all by myself" (sing it Celine).  I don't know for a fact that I will have anyone to go with me and so I have to choose a vacation spot that would be safe for me to travel to alone. 

One of the huge appeals of Playa for me...or any beach, for that matter...is that it's AWAY and it's peaceful.  I can choose to do everything or nothing.  This got me wondering what it is that I could do here in the states that would give me that same sense of utopia.  Then it dawned on me.  I can choose a hot springs resort and spa escape. 

I then began my research.  My requirements were - hot natural springs, adventurous activities nearby, and of course...a spa.

No matter how many different search options I Googled, I kept coming back to this place - Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa in N. Bonneville, WA.  The only downside I can think of is that the high temp will be around 56 and the low 31 (ye gads!) while I'm there (early May 2012).  Oh...and brother-in-law Jay wanted to point it out to me that I might not be safe in the Pacific Northwest because there are a lot of serial killers from around those parts.  WHAT?!  Well you know that lead me to serial killer research!  I'm morbid like that.

source here

Within 30 minutes of the resort, I will have the opportunity to do a zipline course, white water rapids, hike waterfalls, see Mount St. Helens, and tour wineries (with wine tastings).

The resort also has a lovely restaurant with wonderful meal offerings, but if I wanted to eat off-campus, so to speak, Portland Oregon is only 35 minutes away with some great offerings like Veritable Quandary and Salvador Molly's.

The spa menu is superb.  I've already picked out several services I want such as:

Ultimate Relaxation Bath, Wrap & Massage


Our Chamomile bath and wrap or our Lavender bath and wrap followed by a relaxing 80-minute massage is perfect for those days when you just want to relax. This ultimate treatment also includes a foot massage followed by a warm towel foot wrap and a warm towel face wrap.


140 minutes

Just for Women Bath, Wrap & Facial


Enjoy a bath in YonKa Phyto Bain bath oil followed by a warm wrap and an

80 minute European Facial.

140 minutes

Rock N’ Rain Signature Massage


Try our Bonneville Hot Springs Spa Signature Massage. Six therapeutic essential oils are delivered down the spine in the Raindrop Technique, and then massaged in with warm basalt rocks followed by a full body massage.

80 minutes

Having something relatively planned for the future gives me the motivation to commit (fully) to getting to my goals.  Now, unfortunatley I have a bit more ground to cover than initially because I went wayward, but the point is I'm back on track.

Speaking of track...I decided this is going to be key in transforming me into the girl I want to be.  Starting today, I am tracking EVERYTHING.  I have Daily Mile to track my exercise.  I have Myfitnesspal.com to track my calories and water consumption.  I have Sleep Bot (an app on my phone) to track my sleep.

If only I could mentally get beyond this ridiculous weather.  I'm sure you are sick and tired of hearing me (and every other Texan) complain about the heat this summer, but I can honestly say that in all my 24 years of living here, this is by far the hottest summer.  Yesterday around 3:30pm, I took this picture (and no, my car had not been sitting in direct sunlight...this was after I had been driving for over 20 minutes).

So, what kind of vacation are you planning OR do you prefer?

Kim versus the Half Marathon - The Hottest Half

Well...it was a personal worst, but I did it.

13.1 is far, y'all.  For reals.  13.54 is even further!  I don't know about you, but there is nothing that agitates me more than seeing the distance I truly traveled in a race you only get credited for 13.1.  Usually I can look back and see where I did some weaving (or...um...getting lost), but since I put myself at the very back and walked The Hottest Half, well...there wasn't much weaving at all.  =/

So, it would be VERY easy for me to tear myself apart with regard to this race.  I mean I hadn't trained for it except for a few longish walks and a couple of weekday jaunts - none of which ever attained my goal pace and none of which lasted more than 8 miles.  As I've mentioned before, I've gained some weight back and I just haven't been eating as well as I should and I haven't been moving as much as I should.  To bottom-line it, I'm out of shape.  I thought about opting out of the race altogether and/or knocking my registration down to the 10K (which also would have granted me a medal upon completion), BUT I decided I was to be punished for my wayward lifestyle as of late and that come hell or highwater (in Houston?  in Dallas?  in this drought?) I needed to complete this race and use the blood, sweat, tears, and pain to catapult me into getting back on the right track.

I will say that this was one of my most humbling experiences of all time.

After splitting a peanut butter and honey sandwich with That Pink Girl, we headed out to White Rock for our race.  On a side note, I think I liked the PB&H over oatmeal as a pre-race breakfast.  This was a smallish race in that there were 1375 finishers.  My goal was to not be last.  haha!  Well I had more goals - although I wanted to finish in legal time, I knew my lack of training would probably not allow it.  I was right.  So my other goals were to not dehydrate and just to finish.  Pretty simple, right?!

I had a hydration plan.  I was going to take water from all 6 hydration stations on the way out (it was an out and back course) and then drink from my Camelbak (filled with G2) on the way back.  It became clear pretty early on that this plan wasn't going to work for me.  It was hot y'all AND I'm one sweaty girl AND seeing as I was walking the course (not in the best shape), I knew early on to avoid cramping calves and other symptoms of dehydration, I needed a new plan.  I ended up grabbing a water from all 6 hydration stations on the way out while sipping on my Camelbak in the interim.  On the way back, I alternated between water and Powerade at the stations.  This all paid off - by 10.5 miles, I had drained my Camelbak.  By mile 11.5, the twinges started in my left calf.  Some volunteer had offered to let me re-fill my Camelbak around 9 miles, but silly me thought I still had plenty left.  =/

Mile 1 was pretty smooth sailing save for the bridge located around 0.5.  Now, I'm not one of those chickies afraid of a bridge, but I am a chickie with some equilibrium issues and many runners/walkers and bike riders trampling over a bridge makes for quite a bouncy experience.  Can you believe there was another bridge around 1.5 miles?  In my head there were two more, though I might be mistaken.  The one that was located right before mile 5 (and mile 8 on the way back) was by far the worst.  Coming off that cRaZy bridge was a hill.  We all know how much I love to hate hills.  My legs felt disoriented from the bridge and it was just a bad feeling all the way around.

I still felt strong Miles 2-5 as there was quite a bit of shade along the course.  During Miles 4-5 I practically had my own cheer squad.  As the runners on their way back passed me, many of them would high 5 me or clap or shout out encouragement.  It truly brought both a smile to my face and some tears to my eyes.  It was extremely heartwarming that people were so awesome to take the energy out of their own race to help motivate mine.

Miles 6-8 were okay.  At some point, I made a friend.  He was walking the race, as well, and we just chatted along for a couple of miles. 

Miles 9-11 were rough.  I wanted to quit half a dozen times, but I reminded myself that punishment isn't supposed to feel good.  I wasn't hurt, mind you, so there was really no reason to stop...I was just tired (well except for that stupid left calf that started acting up right past mile 11).

Miles 12-13 felt like they took an eternity.  The aid vehicles kept passing me and the girl in front of me.  She was struggling with a hurt leg, so they asked her a time or two if she needed help, but she declined.  We both just wanted to be done.

Around 12.9 miles, TPG came from around the corner and I swear to you that she was the best thing I'd seen all day.  She instantly put a huge smile on my face before she put her coach face on told me to start running to the finish line.  I tried for a few hundredths of a mile, but that lame calf was threatening me.  I started walking again and I was telling TPG about a dude who almost knocked me over around mile 4.  He was coming in the opposite direction of me and stopped to tie his shoe - without pulling to the side.  Some girl told him to get off the course and without looking, he scooted over onto my side of the course.  I girl-screamed in fear of falling over and somehow managed to avoid him and the ground.  TPG pointed out that if I had enough energy to tell a story, I had enough energy to run the rest of the course (I love when she goes all coach on me), so I started running and as I neared the finish line, the MC shouted my name and where I was from.  A fairly large group of spectators cheered for me as I crossed the finish line. 

The Hottest Half peeps handed me a medal and I thanked them for allowing me to finish and giving me the medal even though I didn't finish in legal time.  She laughed, congratulated me, and told me she was proud of me.

Nice people rock my world!

After some much needed water, TPG and I headed towards the car.  A nice aid guy stopped us and offered us a ride.  I didn't want to take him up on it because of pride issues, but then he said if we didn't let him take us, he was going to have to go back and become part of the clean-up crew.  We laughed and thanked him for the ride.

I will say that this was one of my favorite races as far as organization, staffing, and hydration stations go.  It was the absolute best race as far as my fellow racers go. AND if I could ever get my act together...despite the heat...I would consider doing it again (the right way).

I will leave you with a couple of pics and my stats.

This is a pic of my fingers after the race (no, they were not painful, but definitely uncomfortable)...

These were my fingers 24 hours later...

This was my post race AWFUL pic, but hey...it's me with my medal and TPG was kind enough to take it...

Time - 3:57:57
Calories Burned - 1989
Finishing Song - Lady Gaga's Paparazzi
Next Stop - Beach Palooza (5K obstacle course) in Galveston on September 24th.

Weekend Goals

I have some goals this weekend!

#1 - there will be house cleaning
...well, to be fair, I'm not gonna clean the whole house.  It could all use a good scrubbing, mind you, but there are only so many hours I'm willing to commit to this undertaking in one weekend.  I've gotten really lazy on my household chores since I started working so many hours unfortunately.  =/  BUT...no sense dwelling.  The rooms that will be cleaned/scrubbed are:  the kitchen, the dining room, the family room, the guest bathroom, my bedroom, and my bathroom.  My grand plan is to get this all done before family lunch on Saturday.  Fingers crossed, y'all!

#2 - there will be half marathon training (hopefully in my new shoes).
...I will do 4 miles on Friday night and 8 miles on Sunday morning.  Goal pace = 15:30 (walking)

#3 - there will be biking
...no, no...still not ready or able to mentally get out on a road bike (scared), but I will ride my new recumbent bike which is strategically placed in my family room for 1 hour Saturday morning and 1 hour Saturday evening.

#4 - there will be calorie counting
...love the myfitnesspal application on my phone and will be using it to track my food, water, and exercise beginning tomorrow.  My goal net calories is 1400 per day.  We will see how I do!  On a side note, did you know that the application has a UPC code scanner you can use which will upload the nutritional info to your profile?!  how awesome is that?!?!

#5 - there will be "pamper me" time
...European facial scheduled for 2:30pm on Saturday (thank you, Groupon).  Deep Tissue massage scheduled for 11:00am on Sunday (thank you, Tamu - my new massage therapist).  I may even try to work in a MUCH needed pedi.

#6 - there will be sleep!
...7-8 hours per night - NO EXCUSES!  yep...been a bit bad about going to bed at a decent hour this whole week.  Bad Kim!

#7 - there will be TV watching.
...I have Sesson 4 of Dexter and Season 3 of Big Love just waiting to be watched.  They were Christmas presents, y'all, and I still haven't watched them yet!  What gives?! 

So...there you have my goals.  What are yours?

sleep, hydrate, eat, and MOVE: the plan

So you promised you wouldn't judge me and that's the only reason I'm showing this to you guys...

This year hasn't quite turned out how I had hoped so far with regards to my weight loss and fitness goals. Desperate times call for desperate measures.  No worries...I feel like I'm getting back on the right path, but let's just say some damage has been done and I've had a few set-backs, so I'm working my way back to where I once was so that progress can be made.  In the mean time...survival mode has been put into place.

Step 1 is to get sleep.  I'm getting that.  The goal is 7 to 8 hours a night.

Step 2 is to hydrate.  I'm doing that.  The goal is to drink 1 gallon of fluids a day (combo of water and Crystal Lite iced tea).

Step 3 is to eat right.  Remember the same game I discussed in an earlier post?  I like that concept and that's how I'm working my week days.  Following the South Beach diet, monitoring my calorie intake, taking cravings into consideration (I have a mad need for oatmeal and chicken salad lately) and sticking to my plan.

Step 4 is to MOVE.  I am not in the same shape I once was.  Sad, true story.  My body and my lungs are just not cooperating.  Three bouts of bronchitis in the past 3 months do not a happy, healthy Kim make.  I created a mileage plan and the goal is just to accomplish the mileage whether it be through walking, crawling running, or skipping (haha) my way to completion.
and here it is:

So, there you have it.  For the first time in a long time, I feel motivated and encouraged.  This is a good sign.  I will keep you posted on my progress!  =)

if at first I don't succeed, GET BACK ON THE WAGON!

How many times have I gotten off track on my diet plan in the past 6 months?  How many times have I had to regroup, recommit, refocus, and all that jazz?  Does it matter?  Point is, I've gotten back on the wagon.

I, like so many other peeps I know (specifically of the female gender) emotionally eat.  When I'm upset, I eat to soothe my soul.  When I'm happy, I eat in celebration.  When I'm mad, I eat to calm my inner beast.  When I'm sick or hurt, I eat to ease my pain.  There is always an excuse, it seems.

I was stressed out over the whole car purchasing thing.

Finally getting into a relationship after a year of not even dating caused me some anxiety as you can't be a 34 year old woman without some emotional baggage from past relationships that creeps in the back of your mind when getting involved in new relationships.

Work pretty much always has me in one tizzy or another.

The pain in my side held me back for almost a week.

Being sick for the past week and a half has put a dent in my training plan for my upcoming two back-to-back half marathons.  My lungs are still not where they need to be, so I haven't been able to run.  I can walk, though, so I have had to reconfigure my plan.  More on this in another post.

My point - if at first I don't succeed - I just need to GET BACK ON THE WAGON until I get it right once and for all!

I'm so sick and tired of trying again.  I know I can be successful - I've proven that.  Remember this girl:

She was me not so long ago.

I know I'm not where I want to be, though, and the only way to get there is to commit to the process - mind, body, and spirit.  I need to stay focused.  I need to remain loyal to my food plan AND combine that with an exercise (cross training) program along with my running schedule to get me to my goal.

I can do it!  I will do it!

feelin' hot, hot, hot

...not what you think
like at all...

At the end of last year, I listed my goal of running 4 half marathons.  Yes, 4.

I've since upped it to 6.  Yes, 6.

My parents think me nuts.  I prolly am, but not for this.

Many of you agree, but there are those out there who do these things like once a month.  So, when you compare my measley 6 to...say 12, well I'm not so hands-in-the-air-like-I-just-don't-care cRaZy, now am I?!

What if I were to add one more? 

What if that one more were...um...say in August...in the Texas hellish heat?

Then would it be safe to say I've gone completely loony-toony?

Here's my thought process on the matter.  I have 3 half marys within 5 weeks -  all of which will be completed by 9:30am (PST) May 1st.  My next one isn't until October 9th (which I totally officially registered for on Tuesday - yay!).  That means I will go 6 months without one.  6 WHOLE MONTHS.  I'm pretty sure medals keep me motivated.  6 months of Texas hellish heat...and let's not forget HUMIDITY...without a medal dangling in the distance will make it really hard to stay motivated to keep that mileage rollin', don't ya think?  Yes, I do.

So, I did a wee bit of research and found The Hottest Half  in Dallas on 8/14.  They only promise that "it will be hot" and that I "will survive".  Hmmmph...well...it will be hot in Houston and I will survive it as I'm putting in my long run that weekend, so why not visit some friends in the Dallas area and get a medal while doing so?

I mentioned this race to my buddy Melissa a couple of months ago when I first found it during my research.  We chuckled at the very notion of it.  BUT...it remained lurking in the back of our minds.  Could we?  Should we?  Melissa (clearly the crazier of the two of us) brought it back up to me when we did our 10K this past weekend.  Now it's all I think about (slight exaggeration).

I mean they do promise I will survive it...they wouldn't lie, right?!


That Pink Girl is considering this race, too, for what it's worth and we all know she is perfectly sane. 

What are YOUR thoughts on the matter?

Do I make like NIKE and "Just do it"?

What would you do?

Day 02 - In 10 Years...

In case you are not in the know, I've decided to do a 30 Day Challenge, only it won't be completed in 30 days cuz I roll down a path less traveled, yo.

I am currently on Day 02 - Where you'd like to be in 10 years.

Do you think this question would be easier answered if you were already married and/or if you had all the children you planned on having?  yes? no? maybe so?

I remember back about 9 years ago or so one of my employees asked me where I saw myself in 10 years.  I told him it was impossible to answer as I had no way of knowing if I would be single or married, if I would be childless or a mother.  He said it shouldn't matter and I begged to differ.  Hindsight being 20/20, he was right.  It shouldn't have mattered.  One can come up with a 10 year dream-self regardless of one's circumstances.  I was just a kid then and didn't know better.

The only fair way to answer this is to break up the idea of 10 years into different categories.

Love Life - Please God let me be happily married in 10 years time.

source here

Children - Assuming I am married, please let me be a mother to at least one child (but preferably three)

source here

Home - In 7 years, my first and only house will be paid off.  I kinda hope to be in a new home in 10 years time.  It doesn't have to be new-new, just new to me (the custom built one I've been designing in my head for years would be AMAZING, though...).  Of course, if I'm not married, it wouldn't make sense and I would be perfectly content staying in my then paid-off home.

source here

Work - Let's face it, if you know me at all and my work situation, you know that I'm not going anywhere.  I would just hope to have even more responsibility and to continue to grow in my skills/confidence/leadership and to better tame the beast that sometimes rears her ugly head.

source here

Health - I will still be on the right path of living a healthy life in mind, body, and spirit.  My diet will still follow the guidelines of The South Beach diet.  I will still maintain an active lifestyle - focusing on cross training and running.  Hopefully I will have multiple marathons under my belt.  I better be maintaining my goal weight!!!!

source here

Friendship - I will have maintained my supremely fantastical friendships while hopefully making some new lasting ones.

source here

The outlook is good for a happy, healthy 10 years into the future, y'all.

How's yours?

Kim Versus the 10K: Bayou City Classic

This is my first repeat race EVER and it will be only one of two repeat races that I have scheduled for the year (though, of course, I reserve the right to add to that list as the year progresses).  

I had two goals for The Bayou City Classic.

1)  PR  (last year's time was 1:26:38)

2)  Run the entire distance, walking only through the water stations

I did have one friend to run this race with me - Melissa - who, consequently, ran this race with me last year, as well.  I love knowing at least one other person running a race.  It doesn't matter to me how much faster they are - it's just nice knowing someone else is experiencing the same conditions and that there is a natural built-in support, you know?!

I wish I could say I prepped all week long for this race like a true champion, but sadly...I'd be lying.  My diet plan was practically non-existent.  I have a bit of insight into my psyche as to why that occurred, though, and I'm working on it so that I can get back on the right track and stay there.  My running plan didn't happen.  A little birdie barely managed to convince me to hit some minor mileage on Thursday night, but other than that I hadn't done anything since last Saturday's 9-miler.  My hydration plan was lacking. I finally got the water thing down on Friday, but that's not saying much when I had caused such a deficit in my system.  =/

Enough about my downfalls...onto the recap:

Saturday morning, Melissa and I agreed to meet at my work so we could drive together to the race.  We got there VERY early so that we wouldn't have to deal with road closures and all that jazz.  It was quite windy, though not really cold.  We met up with a couple of her friends and started the race just after 8.  My legs felt kind of heavy right from the start.  I had some defeatist thoughts come through my head.  I fought them.  For the first mile, we navigated down town and then we hit Memorial Parkway.  I really don't know how they get away with calling the course "flat and fast" because Memorial Parkway is anything but flat.  I had forgotten this from last year.  =/  I thought about walking up the hills, but then I reminded myself that wasn't what I had set out to do (see goal #2), so I just pumped my arms and carried onward.  

There were water stations set-up every 1.5 miles.  Initially I had considered skipping the first and third, but since the sun was beating down on us pretty brutally and I could feel the salt caked on my face, I knew I needed to hydrate, so I did walk through all of the water stations.  I was happy when I finished drinking my water just past mile 3 and I heard Melissa and her friend shout my name from across the median as they were approaching mile 4 on the opposite side of Memorial Parkway.

I started getting a bit discouraged as I hit the 5th mile marker and realized I was going to be cutting it SUPER close to last year's time.  I knew there was one last big hill to conquer and I thought about giving up and just walking the rest of the race - see...total defeatist.  I didn't register for this race to give-up on it, though.  I pumped my arms hard up that hill.  I rounded the corner and saw the 6th mile marker.  I looked at my watch and knew I had to high-tail it to have a hope of PRing.  I sprinted my heart out.  It worked.

I look like a VERY serious runner here.

Official Time:  1:25:50 (48 seconds faster than last year)

Finishing Song:  Dead and Gone - TI featuring Justin Timberlake

Melissa and her buddies were there to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line - awesome!  I then consumed massive amounts of water and we got our finisher's t-shirts.  Then came the swag.  Wowsers - check out the loot I got!

Yeah, buddy - I got 3 packs of Shot Bloks, a 5-hour Energy, and many Clif's bars.  Sweet!

All in all, a good race, a positive experience, and I was quite proud to say I accomplished both of my goals - a PR and I ran the whole thing, only walking through the water stations.

Lessons learned:  eat right, stick to running/training schedule, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate as my actions for the week will affect my performance!

Happy March to you!

source here

It's March, y'all!  Spring is in the air...well I suppose it's been in the air since we've been dealing with some HUMID conditions and some upper 70 to mid 80 weather for a couple of weeks now.  Today is a beautiful day, though, so I choose to focus on that!

March brings 2 races:

Bayou City Classic 10K on 3/12
Rock 'n' Roll Dallas 1/2 on 3/27

Now the really cool thing is that I did the Bayou City Classic race last year, so how fun to have an opportunity to PR on the exact same race!  This will be the first of only two races I will be repeating this year.  I make no guarantees on the PR, though, as my running has been questionable at best coming off this injury.  I've had only a handful of decent runs, but...I'm not giving up!

I signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Half on October 10th (while in Scottsdale, AZ for my cousin's wedding) since I had a coupon code for saving $20.  Note - this was before The Houston Half hurt me, so I don't have any great expectations for this race either - JUST TO FINISH.  It would be really great to finish with a better time than my Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half, though....just sayin'.  It's doable, but I'm trying not to set myself up for disappointment if it doesn't happen because...well...it's been a rough road getting back in the game.  It's especially awesome knowing I will be running the course with two of my friends - Melissa and Rachel!  I'm also excited to drive up to Dallas - I'm staying with a friend of mine I haven't seen in over 2 years, Julie.  I will get to meet her 1 year old, too!  I have some other friends in Dallas I would love to see while I'm out there (if you want to meet up - let me know)!  And of course, there is That Pink Girl (recent Ultra marathon finisher ---- so proud of her!) - don't you just love how you can make real life friends out of blog buddies?!  Can't wait to see her! 

March = March Madness!  The last few years I've been INCREDIBLY lucky at work and made some money having no background on any of the teams at all!  So fun!  All of my employees and fellow co-workers get so jealous of my mad skillz.  awesome.

March means St. Patrick's Day!  The funny thing is I never really do anything to celebrate, but I like to claim my 1/8 Irish Heritege, so there you go!

March also brings my birthday!  I'm trying to piece together my wish list.  I know I definitely want a good (read: expensive) set of earphones for my iPod.  I've had this big struggle lately.  When I put the cord behind me, my sweat makes it stick to the back of my neck which pulls on the cord driving me nuts.  When I put the cord in front of me, sometimes I don't pin it right with my shuffle and there are issues.  I don't need these kind of distractions.  This is the set I'm currently eyeing - Sennheiser Adidas PMX 680i Sports Headset.  Does anyone have them?  Thoughts?  I also know I want a renewal of my Runner's World subscription - love that magazine! 

I've yet to hit my monthly mileage goals, so hopefully March will be the month!  The plan is 50 and it starts TODAY! 

I wish you all a happy and healthy March!  =)

revamp

Yesterday morning I Tweeted the following:

today is a new day and I'm going to be doing things a little bit differently

What did I mean by that?

Well, a wise woman I know (someone near and dear to me who I call mom) has this saying that goes something like this, "if you always do what you've always done, then you are always going to get what you've always gotten." 

I'm not happy with several aspects of my life right now.  I know that if I get some of it right, then most of the rest will fall into place.

4 MAJOR areas of my life need revamping - sleep, food, exercise, and attitude

They are all interconnected.

I am requiring 7 hours of sleep a night.  I know I have required this before and not followed through.  Believe it or not, I am capable of following a plan.  I will prove it to you (and me)!  =)

I am requiring a food journal of sorts.  Being a South Beacher does not mean calorie counting, BUT we all know calories do count.  I want to be aware of what I'm putting in my mouth as I have been quite guilty of emotional eating lately.  I downloaded an application for my phone (My Fitness Pal) and I have started documenting my food.  This way I can eat within my plan, monitor the calories I'm consuming, AND be accountable for everything I'm putting in my system.  I've also come to realize that it's okay to feel hungry.  What a concept!  Let's just accept that and move on.

I am requiring cross training.  I have found myself relying solely on running.  Isn't that what got me into trouble to begin with (think pelvic stress fracture)?  I was supposed to be incorporating cross training as soon as I was released back to running.  Yeah, that lasted 3 weeks.  Bad Kim!  I need to do a minimum of 3 runs per week, but I also need to be cross-training twice a week with weights and/or cardio.  Consider it done!

Last, but not least...attitude.  I'm a quitter.  I know this.  I'm my own worst enemy.  I know this.  I'm a self-saboteur.  I know this.  WAIT A MINUTE.  I have been all these things.  Just because I have been doesn't mean I still need to be, if that makes any sense.  I am the one who makes the choice of which path I follow.  I can choose a path of positive thinking.  I can follow the mantra of "if at first I don't succeed, try try again".  I can stop being a defeatist and start being a realist.  Getting to my goal weight is going to take time, patience, and a whole lot of hard work.  Getting to my fitness goals is going to take time, patience, and a whole lot of hard work.  Since when have I shied away from hard work?  The patience issue...well that's the ticker for me, now isn't it?

I just signed up for another half marathon - The Chicago Monster Dash - October 29th.  This is the 4th official one for the year.  I've yet to sign up for the See Jane Run October 9th Austin half and the TriGirl 13.1 which should be returning to Humble (Houston area) in December.  Assuming I hit these 2, that will be 6 for the year.  Who is this girl?!  She is me.

I want to be eating 13.1 for breakfast.  That's something I won't have to journal - ha!

BUT for right now...let's just get me to my first half for the year, my first post-injury half for the year.  It will be here in less than 5 weeks and I'm not even close to being ready.  It's crunch time.

So, it's the dawn of a new day with a new plan to get me where I need to be.

Bring it.

Second day SUCCESS!

I promise you that my intention was never really to go day by day to report to you my successes and/or failures. not really anyway.  I prolly won't.  maybe.

We know Monday was a fail.  kinda.  I mean I ended up getting a really yummy quiche and great asparagus soup out of the night, so that's something.  I just didn't nail my list.

Tuesday, on the other hand...well that was a success!  Redemption is mine (um...at least for the moment).

Tuesday's goals were as follows:  up at 5:45am, play my games for 1 hour, clean the floors and guest bathroom, watch two TV shows from my DVR, do kettlebell DVD, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 9:30

Since I went to bed at 10:15 last night and woke up at 5:45 this morning, I actually got 7 1/2 hours of sleep.  This is a rarity!  After work, I came home and dealt with my beasts dogs.  I then reheated some quiche.  I didn't end up eating my soup because I ate half a bag of steamed brussell sprouts for a late lunch so I was kind of all green-veggied out.  I then played my games for an hour and watched one more episode of Modern Family from my DVR.  Oh then guess what?  It was time for Glee - yay!  So I watched that and then changed into my running gear and headed out the door after taking some glamour pics.  There was to be no kettle bell workout for me since I had a make-up run to take care of.  The plan was 3, but secretly I knew my route would give me about 3.5 miles.  I was not feeling intervals for whatever reason, so I decided to just run my mileage outright and see what happened.  Up until this run, the most I had run outright since my injury was 2 miles.  I did 3.5 last night - no intervals - no walk breaks!  Can I get a "whoa"?  I consider that to be a win!  The best part was that I maintained the same pace I had been running at the 2 mile mark without intervals and the 5 mile mark with intervals.  weird.  So...I don't know what I'm going to do with regard to my 5K coming up in a week and a half.  I guess I will wing it for the time being.  Either way it doesn't look like a PR is possible, but then again...my game face hasn't been on either.  A race + spectators + competitive Kim = all kinds of crazy!

I came home from my run and cooled off.  I then cleaned my floors.  Didn't get to the guest bathroom, but I'm not gonna beat myself up over that one.  Next up was my Epsom salt bath.  It was awfully nice to soak in that puppy while catching up on my book - I managed 3 whole chapters in my book - "Such a Pretty Fat" by Jen Lancaster.  I may or may not have gone to bed a bit on the late side, but hey...I ain't perfect....I'm me.

This morning I registered for The Woodlands Half Marathon which isn't until NEXT March 3rd (you know...2012).  I'm sure you must be thinking I'm a little premature (which is better than immature,  so I'll take it).  I'm just sure they will fill up their 7500 slots fast, so I'm not taking any chances.  Part of me soooo badly wanted to sign up for the full, BUT without running my first full until January 2012 (Houston Chevron), I just can't commit to another one. 

In other news, I've been working on coming up with my outfit for my brother-in-law's 80s-themed birthday party at the end of this month.  I finalized my masterpiece, y'all.  Wait until you see.  It's gonna be RAD!  That will be such a fun blog post!!!

That's all I have for you for now.  Have a good day, party peeps!

First day FAIL and some recipes

First day FAIL!

You know that path I walk on - the one paved with fantastic intentions?  Yeah...that's what happened yesterday.  I bit off more than I could chew.  See, Monday is my cooking day.  I go to the grocery store during my lunch break and buy all the ingredients to make my "big meal for the week".  This means I have to go home and make said meal and then clean up the kitchen after the making of said meal.  Some meals are messier than others.  This meal was one of those (South Beach friendly, of course).

What did I make?  Asparagus soup and Greek yogurt chicken quiche was on the menu.  I got my basic recipe ideas from ol' faithful known as allrecipes.com.  The links to the originals are below.

Asparagus soup
Sour cream chicken quiche

Kim's Asparagus Soup (Phase 1, 2, 3)
1 lb asparagus spears, chopped
1 small white onion, diced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP pesto
1 TSP minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup skim milk
white pepper to taste
salt to taste
cholula to taste

In a microwaveable bowl, heat the onion, garlic, olive oil, and pesto for 2 minutes.  Add in the broth and asparagus and resume heating in the microwave for 10 minutes, covered.

Puree in the blender.  Put the soup back into the microwaveable dish and add in the milk and your seasonings.  You may need to heat it up some more in the microwave.

Kim's Crustless Greek Yogurt  Quiche (Phase *1, 2, 3)
1 cup shredded chicken
1 TBSP  olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 TSP minced garlic
10 oz. package sliced mushrooms
*1 TBSP whole wheat flour
3 eggs
3/4 cup Greek yogurt (plain)
3/4 cup skim milk
1 3/4 cup 2% cheese (I used cheddar-jack)
nutmeg
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Saute garlic, onion, and mushrooms, then add in 1 TBSP of whole wheat flour (this knocks out Phase 1, so to maintain Phase 1, don't do this step).

Boil and shred your chicken.  Combine the two components adding your seasonings - nutmeg, salt, and pepper.  In a separate dish, beat the eggs.  Add in the yogurt, beating thoroughly.  Add in the milk, beating thoroughly.  Using a deep dish pie dish (or a casserole dish), put the chicken/onion/mushroom component in the dish.  Add the cheese.  Pour the egg component over the top.  Cook on 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 350 degrees for another 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool before eating.

Of course the cool thing about quiche is you can add whatever ingredients you like to it.  Next go around, I will add broccoli or spinach.  I just forgot to buy some while at the store.  I saved calories/carbs by not using crust, but I don't judge if you choose the crust route because quiche is even tastier that way!  =)

Okay, but back to business...

The plan was:

Monday - make/prep my meal for the week, clean the kitchen, play my games for 1 hour, watch one TV show from my DVR, run 3 miles, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 10:45pm


With all that cooking and all that mess (cuz two dishes made a whole lot of mess TRUST ME), I got finished way late in the evening.  What did this mean for my plan?  It meant that I got in my 1 hour game time (God forbid I were to give that up).  I got in my one DVD tv show (Modern Family from 1/5 - hilarious, by the way).  I went to bed around 10:15pm.
 Since I didn't get my run in, though, I should have gone to bed at 9:30 to wake up this morning at 4:30 to do it this morning, but I didn't.  I figured I needed the sleep since I've been at such a deficit lately. I WILL RUN TONIGHT!!! Do you see the domino effect, though?  Oye!


No run.
No bath.
No book.
Only positive thing is that I actually got 7 1/2 hours of sleep.


Day 2 and I'm already on a modified schedule!  Welcome to Kim's world.  =/

bye bye bag ladies

I know I've mentioned before how undisciplined and unruly I am.  It's true.  I'm not proud of this, mind you.  I think it has something to do with my hair.  What chance did I have?  There must be a direct correlation!  If you too suffer from frizzy, crazy mop-top syndrome AND you lead a well-balanced/managed life then please keep it to yourself.  I'd rather live in my la-la land of denial than face the facts that I'm just lazy and disturbed!  ;)

Now that we got that out of the way...

I don't sleep anymore.  It's not that I can't sleep, it's just that I don't.  I stay up to ridiculous hours and then I wake up at the crack of dawn.  I only get around 5 hours of sleep per night.  This is not healthy.  This is not conducive to being productive.

What am I doing up so late?  I'm hesitant to even tell you.  It's so ridiculous.  I'm not watching TV or movies. Oh no.  My DVR is getting ridiculously full!  I have Season 3 of Big Love and Season 4 of Dexter all brand new in their packages fresh from Christmas just waiting to be watched. I'm not cleaning or working out.  I'm not reading or taking a nice leisurely bath.  Nope.  I'm playing games.  Mostly Zuma Blitz and Rummikub.  See...pathetic.  I play Zuma because I'm really good at it.  I typically walk away from the week with the #2 score.  The #1 score always goes to a girl who went to high school with me.  I have threatened to drop her as a FB friend so that I can be #1.  She thinks I'm kidding.  I'm kinda kidding.  =D  I play Rummikub because it's mostly a game of strategy (there is a bit o' luck involved).  The really stupid thing is that I find myself getting really really intense playing Zuma and getting really really angry playing Rummikub.  Aren't games supposed to be fun?  I think the work-up of my emotions so late at night prevents me from feeling tired which leads me to staying up so late which leads me to playing later and...I think you get the idea.  It's only after one of the dogs puts herself to bed and the other one whines incessantly for hours that I finally give in and go to bed. 

My eyes have bag ladies under them.  Yes, that's right.  Bag ladies. 

So, what to do?  I could, of course, just not play the games.  This isn't likely considering my total lack of discipline.  I could, say, limit the amount of time I spend playing the games.  I could incorporate other activities in my life - a, dare I say, balanced life of sorts - tv, reading, cleaning, SLEEPING, etc like I used to have.  I could give myself a bed time.

Anyway, I've decided the best thing to do is to give myself weekly goals established on Sunday or Monday (depending on when I get the post out) and then to follow up on them the next week.   These goals will not be just about exercise, but all walks of life since apparently I need lots and lots of help.

This week's goals:

Monday - make/prep my meal for the week, clean the kitchen, play my games for 1 hour, watch one TV show from my DVR, run 3 miles, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 10:45pm

Tuesday - up at 5:45am, play my games for 1 hour, clean the floors and guest bathroom, watch two TV shows from my DVR, do kettlebell DVD, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 9:30

Wednesday - up at 4:30am, run 3 miles, clean master bath, play my games for 2 hours, watch one TV shows from my DVR, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 10:45pm

Thursday - up at 5:45am, play my games for 1 hour, watch one TV show from my DVR, run 3 miles, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 10:30pm

Friday - up at 5:30am, play my games for 2 hours, watch two TV shows from my DVR, x-train for 30 min to an hour, in bed between 11pm and 12am.

Saturday - up between 6am and 7am, run 6 miles, do as I please so long as I'm in bed between 11pm and 12am.

Okay, fingers crossed I can stick with the plan to sing "Bye, Bye, Bye" to these bag ladies beneath my eyes.  Ready, set, GO!