5K...Tomorrow!

My brother, Mark, and I are running a 5K tomorrow.

Directions to 5K location...check.
Winter running gear - located and clean...check.
Safety pins to secure registration number...check.
Essentials in wrist wallet...check.
A whole bunch of other stuff...check.

We'll be warming up for the race in about 12 hours. Wahoo!

Netflix and some other things

Some days I wonder what I ever did without Netflix. How did I spend so much time watching current programming on TV when I could have been watching the full series of shows that I just missed when they were on TV, or shows that I haven't seen since I was a youngster?

Shows such as this old favorite from when I was about 4.



Now I've got a song in your head...You're welcome.

In weigh in news, I gained .2 over the week of Christmas. I think that's pretty awesome. The fact that I've been gaining and losing the same 1-2 pounds since November...not so awesome.

And in restaurant news, I went to a place in DC with some of my co-workers called "Freshii." I'm not sure I would order what I ordered again, but it was good. Just a little too much onion. It's a place that's as healthy/vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free as you decide to make it.

It's getting to that time of year where the clementines aren't quite as sweet as they were a few weeks ago. Just thought I would mention that in case you were thinking of buying some next time at the grocery store.

Countdown: 5K is 2 days away!

April 2011 - MS Walk

I was outside running a few minutes ago and thinking about the 5K on Saturday, and thinking about the 5K that I walked in April this year to benefit the National MS Society. My team walked a 5K in less than an hour in the pouring rain which was better than we did other years.

Running a 5K will be really different from anything I've tried before. Exciting times.

Personal Best

This morning I've been thinking about why I workout at the gym, besides the fact that it's something that I truly enjoy. Why do I try to row more meters than the day before? Why do I continue to hold plank when I think my core muscles are going to stop working? Why do I try for one more chin-up?

I think it's because I love achieving a personal best. I love knowing where I started and seeing how far I've come. I love seeing improvement.

Today I held plank for a minute and 30 seconds. First time ever. Personal best. I also had a personal best at the chin-ups and dips weight machine.

I used to track all my personal bests in my food journal. I think it's time that I started doing that again.

Just a few days until Christmas and I'm thinking about my workouts for the rest of the week. Probably running outside a few days, and working out at the gym a few days.

525,600 minutes

My journey to develop a healthier lifestyle began a year ago today. You'd never guess that with all the food I just ate at a Christmas party, but it is very true.

I’ve spent a good part of the last 525,600 minutes cooking more than I ever have, eating healthier foods that I never would have tried, clocking uncounted miles on the treadmill, and rowing thousands of meters on the rowing machine. And I've spent hours and hours researching ways to improve my heart health. I’ve gone from not being able to hold plank for 15 seconds, to being able to hold plank for a minute and 15 seconds. I’ve learned that I love sweet potatoes and my go-to snack is now hummus and crackers or carrots. Good health is worth every minute of the effort.

A year ago, I started out on the Mayo Clinic diet, then switched to counting calories. I've lost over 60 pounds, and I'm well on my way to reaching my weight loss goal.

I got a gym membership in January, and started working out 2-3 days a week with Gary, my personal trainer. I committed to keeping my training appointments and to keeping my personal workout schedule, so I have been at the gym 5-6 days a week this year. I only missed 3 days, and each of those days, I would have rather been at the gym. I missed a day for snow, a day for spring-time allergies, and a day for a meeting at work. Not too bad.

Here are just a few things that I’ve gained from training with Gary, my personal workouts, counting calories, and living a healthier lifestyle this year:
1. I sleep better.
2. I haven't needed to take allergy medicine in a long time.
3. I’ve gone from a size 22 to a size 14, from size 2X to Large.
4. General health is better. I’ve been able to drop one blood pressure medication, and I’m likely to be able to drop the next one in the next few months. My blood pressure didn’t change when I dropped 50 pounds on WeightWatchers without working out at the gym. Working out makes the difference.
5. General mood is better.
6. Water intake way up, caffeine intake slim to none.

Looking ahead to the next 525,600 minutes, I'll be running my first 5K, reaching my weight loss goal, and staying with my healthier lifestyle. I'm sure there will be many other exciting things coming up next year on this journey, those are just the things that I know right now.

Running in the Cold

Santa decided to get me a running jacket for cold weather this year. I got to be the elf that chose the jacket, so I tried it out today. (Don't worry. I'll wash it, and wrap it, and put it under the tree.) I had no idea what a difference good cold weather running gear makes. Now I know.

I walked outside and it was still cold, but as soon as I started running, I was perfectly comfortable.

Today was my best outdoor run yet. I ran much further than the first time, and really didn't walk much at all.

5K is 2 weeks away. Getting better all the time.

Oatmeal...It's not just for baking cookies any more

Breakfast is a good meal, but I rarely have time in the morning to sit down and eat breakfast. I usually pack it with my lunch and run to the metro and eat my breakfast at work. (Typical breakfast: Chobani Yogurt and a banana.) Today I took the time to sit down and eat breakfast because there is a recipe for Oatmeal that I found in Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease that I love.

Slice a banana into a bowl, cover with 3/4 cup of old-fashioned oatmeal, sprinkle with raisins. Add apple juice to nearly cover oatmeal (like adding milk to cereal). Then microwave for 1:30 minutes.

Simple enough and very good.

Getting back to normal

Running at the gym tonight was better than it has been for the last several days. Starting to think that I might be able to run the 5K again.

I was down 5 pounds when I weighed in last week. Normally I would say that's really awesome, but I think a very stressful meeting is a high price to pay for a good number on the scale. My eating habits were horrible, my real exercise was worse. I'm getting back to normal with my eating habits this week, too.

This week is going to be busy. Goals this week: Stay hydrated, gym in the morning.

1 Down, 1 To Go

Since 2006, I have been on 2 blood pressure medications: Topol XL (I took the generic version) and Benicar. The dosages on both have been reduced throughout 2011. Today I had a doctor appointment to check on my blood pressure, and my doctor dropped the Toprol XL from my medications. So now I am down to one medication. Wahoo!

Benicar, your days are numbered.

Meetings are over...

...they went well, and now it's time to get back to the gym (as in I am leaving for the gym as soon as I publish this post). I would have gone to the gym Monday and Tuesday night, but I wasn't confident that I could walk on the treadmill without falling off and hurting myself. I was that tired.

If you are also on your way to the gym, have a good workout.

Cooking...Gone Awry

Cooking a meal in a crock pot really shouldn't be difficult. I was making a straightforward recipe: meat goes in first, then a can of corn, can of black beans, jar of salsa, a few other things without high fat/calorie content...easy right? I had made this recipe in the past and it had been a recent favorite. (Maybe this is what I get for cooking with chicken again?) So I was ladling the "Fiesta Chicken" onto my plate, and thought, "This looks a little off." It wasn't supposed to be so soupy. So then I got thinking through the recipe (without looking at the recipe), and I realized I forgot to add the rice. I was glad I hadn't started to put the leftovers in the fridge yet. I added the rice, and now it will be right for all the leftovers.

"Fiesta Chicken" is good comfort food - perfect for dinner after getting home from council meetings at work this week.

I figure my brain drain from the meeting is why I missed a key factor in this recipe. As always, I'll be glad when the meeting is over.

Registered

I registered today to run a 5K on December 31. It's in Ashburn, not too crazy early in the morning, and it's timed.

30 days away.

About a month ago, I was buying some new running shoes and the guy started asking me questions to help figure out the best shoe, so I told him that I was doing the Couch to 5K running program, and that I was close to finishing it. He asked when I was going to run a 5K, and I said, "Well, my goal was really just to be able to run for 30 minutes." Then he replied, "You should run a 5K just as a celebration." The guy gave me the store copy of Washington Running Report and told me that all the races for November and December were listed in the back. It's a good thing I ran into that guy, because I would have had no clue how to find a 5K, and I wouldn't have known there were so many each weekend.

So now I'm off to the gym. Gotta get a run in since I haven't been home in time to run a single day this week. I've only been able to get to my morning training sessions.

This week has been amazingly busy at work prepping for a meeting next week. Registering for the 5K has been a bright spot. I was just getting ready to publish this post, and thought, "Oh my gosh...it's for real."