Trust the process...

So Last night I was completely stressing about my relay coming up.  I had such great plans when I went into training for this…and as usually happens… life got in the way of all my plans and thus they ended up being just good intentions (and we all know where those lead).  BUT tonight I took my sister out for a run (we have another race I am training her for)… and while running tonight I felt great!  When will I start believing that when I put in the effort to take care of my body…fuel it correctly and give it rest….that it will be able to do what I ask of it when the time comes?  When I do what I know I need to do it’s amazing what I am capable of!  I need to believe in the process…and trust in my own ability!

Feel the fear and do it anyway!

  I have to be honest... I'm starting to freak out about the fact that in less that two weeks I am suppse to run in a marathon relay team!  Granted it's not a marathon...and not a half....but still...I don't feel ready to even run a 10k right now!  I'll do it and I know it will work out fine....I'm just nervous!
  But I am proud of myself for the fact that this week I have been on top of my nutrition.  The other morning I went running in the rain and still felt good...and I knew it was because I haven't been eating crap!  I find myself looking into the fridge lately and seeking to pull out not just what might taste good but also is going to fuel me for the next couple of hours.  Finally a step in the right direction!

"This is the start of something new....don't you agree?!?!"

   I have been a HORRIBLE blogger this month...but there's just too much to catch up to try and fill it all in now...so I'm not.  Instead what I am about to do has become something very dangerous for me to do this year….but I feel like I can’t just let this moment pass…so here it goes…  This week I lost 11lbs!!!  I am proud of myself!   I literally worked my ass off all week (after having a major ah-ha weekend at my family reunion) and I deserve to celebrate my success!  But…it scares me too.  My track record this year of getting back on track one week and then falling off the wagon the next is not good…I don’t want to celebrate so much that I think I’ve earned the right to slack off!  I can’t ….I’ve got too much more left to do!  So I’m happy and excited…and take joy in my accomplishment….BUT  tomorrow morning the slate wipes clean and it’s a new week….time to work hard all over again….Time to prove to myself once and for all that I can do anything!  Time to stay on track!

Jess

It's All coming back, it's all coming back to me now...

So Today I went for a 4.5 mile run. I do this route about twice a month and although I never quite look forward to it (mostly because I remember the days when it was easy for me and since that is no longer the case it kind of frustrates me), but tonight I was actually impressed with myself for how well I did. Last time I ran this route I was dying about half way through and ended up walking a large portion of the last two miles. Tonight I did the whole run in intervals and wasn’t tired until the last five minutes (but by then I was already close enough to home that I could see my house)! I am not a fast runner by any means, so it’s moments like this that totally encourage me… I can see myself progressing in endurance when it comes to my long runs and I know it’s only a matter of time until I will feel comfortable running a ½ marathon again! That excites me! Plus I am finding more and more that I am starting to really enjoy running again…..my mojo for it is coming back =) Whoo hoo!!!

Old Wethersfield 5k...

So today my sister and I did another race together and it was honestly really nice that it got to be just the two of us! After our last race all my sister could do was talk about how she wanted to beat 40 minutes for her 5k time. She had only beat her previous 5k time by 3 seconds during the last race and so over the past six weeks or so we have been meeting at least twice a week at the track to run together (my way of training her for the race today). I could have told you a week ago that she was more than ready for this race (although I am not sure that she was truly convinced until last night), but I hadn’t realized how all this training work I was doing with her had really helped me get back in running form. Today I felt great during the race…and it was the first time in almost six months where I felt ready to take on longer races again (which I must say is perfect timing with the Hartford Marathon Relay Coming up fast)! Isn’t it funny though that in helping someone else gain their confidence I also gained back some of my own!


We ended up running today’s race in intervals of 3 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking (which is about the time it takes us to run around the track once followed by walking half the track…..the way I trained her). Turns out even with the run/walk intervals, we smashed her old PR (personal record) for a 5k by over 2:30 minutes!!!

To my big sis…I’ve said it once and I’ll probably continue to say it again and again….You did AWESOME today and I am so PROUD of you!

Done and Re-Begun...

Yesterday I officially completed my first week of training for the upcoming Hartford Marathon Relay (check out the picture to the left to see my new motivation wall where I mark off my workouts). I was actually kind of proud of myself too because most times I tend to start these training programs and then after a day or two kinds of give in cause life gets in the way. This week I was all about making myself a priority…and doing what I need to do to get where I need to be…and for once I didn’t feel bad about it. My goal at the beginning of the week was four days of running and four days of weight training, with one day of cardio cross training. I ended the week having worked out five out of seven days. I ran a total of 9.5 miles for the week. And got in my one day of cross training in on the elliptical. Funny thing is, in the process I also lost two pounds…although weight loss wasn’t my goal, just a perk!


Tonight I continued training by going for a 2 mile run around my parent’s neighborhood and then following it up with a 40 minute video (the Biggest Loser’s Last Chance Workout)! Tonight was a perfect fall night….granted it’s only August…which made my run quite enjoyable and I finished feeling like I’m actually ready for Sunday’s 5k, even though I still have a week more to train! I wish I could say I felt so perfectly fit doing the video…but I didn’t. I find that I become lazy towards the end of my workouts and if it hadn’t been for the fact that my nephew and his friend were also down stairs working out when I was, I probably would have slack off a bit more than I did (I guess it’s a good thing they were there huh?!).

Tomorrow I am going to plan a morning workout since I have plans in the evening. We’ll see how that goes….

Jess

That loving feeling...

Tonite was my first official “Long Run” for the Training program I am following to get ready for the Hartford Marathon Relay in October. It seems almost silly to consider 3 miles “long”, especially when it’s a pretty normal distance for me, but none-the-less I did it. Actually my sister Denise and I ran together tonite (as we are both preparing to run a 5k a week from tomorrow) and so she did it too… and I have to give the girl some major props for beating the 40 minute mark for the first time on a 5k run after not running in over a week (since she was o vacation)…YOU GO BIG SIS!!!

One thing I noticed tonite after our run though…when I was actually stretching for a change (GO ME…hee hee)…. is that my legs are starting to get back some of their muscle tone!!! Honestly I doubt it’s from the running, I’ve been running forever…but this week on top of running I started doing work out videos with weights again and I can already feel the difference! It’s not easy for me to add new things to my work out time…I like structure and order, but what I’m finding is the more I do, the more I want to push myself to try more…and boy have I missed that feeling!!!

A Funtastic way to work out!

  So today I continued my quest of trying to find new and fun workouts by trying out Active Sculpting with Steve Maresca.  This was a 20 minute video that certainly got the blood pumping and me sweating but I have to admit it was the first time in a long time that I felt like a workout was too short!  Granted maybe my workout went by so fast because tonite I had an amazing workout partner....the wonderful and talented Marissa (that would be my three year old niece)!  I wish I had a video camera so I could have taped her pumping iron with her high heel weights (the instructor said "Pick up your weights" and she said, "Okay I have to get weights" and picked those high heels right up and seriously worked out with them)...but the picture will just have to suffice (see picture to left)!  I guess it was also a good thing that before the video I went for a 2.5 mile jog around our neighborhood ....which sounds nice except I ran up to the heights which like it sounds has a lot of hills!  So to break it down (cause I'm a numbers girl) in about one hour (actually 55 minutes) I burned 626 calories... pretty good for a night I almost talked myself out of working out!
Jess

Turn that Frown Upside down....

  So the plan today was to get off of work...come home...make dinner...and then get in my workout.  Instead, after a not so great day I came home feeling kinda depressed and figured staying home would probably result in my just sitting on the couch eating crap and not working out...so I got in my car and headed to the track for a nice, easy two mile jog (I'm following a 10k training program and I'm feeling pretty lucky that the first week or so, short runs are less than what I normally run). 

 Minus the fact that the track was pretty busy tonite (a night when I just wanted to be alone) and the pop warren football teams were practicing in the field right next to the track so the breeze carried the distinct smell of sweat (who knew it could smell like a gym outside), I actually was feeling a little better by the time I was done (thank God for endorphins!).  Infact I felt so good that I decided to come home and try out another new work out on exercise TV.  Tonite it was 10lb slim down upper body with Chris Freytag...and in the words of those cheesy 80's work out videos, I could seriously "feel the burn"!

  After that it was getting pretty late so I decided to make some dinner and pretty much got into all out cooking mode.  I ended up making baked cod fish with tomato and basil on top, with a side of blanched broccoli and another side of steamed spinach with mushrooms and feta cheese on top.  It was so YUMMY (see the picture to the right...although it certainly doesn't give the dish enough justice)! 

And that my friends is how you turn a craptastic day into fantastic one!

A little of this... a little of that...

Over the past several months my workouts have consisted of running, running and more running. And although I’ve wanted to get back into doing more types of strength training and different types of cardio…I haven’t really found anything that has really grabbed my attention and made me want to work out. So I decided that this would be the week that I tried out a bit of everything…. Starting tonight.


So for a workout tonight I tried two different types of workouts off of exercise TV. The first was 20 minute sweat with Holly Perkins and I have to say….it definitely lived up to the name. Basically set up in such a way that you do the same exercise for 30sec to 1 minute and then move on to the next exercise…this workout definitely had me sweating. The only drawback was that it was so short I barely burned any calories.

Next I tried out Calorie cardio burn with Kendall Hogan and I have to say this workout was really fun! It’s 30 minutes but between the instructor’s energy and moves that even a klutz like me can pick up, the time just flies by. Plus you burn a crazy amount of calories while basically dancing…it doesn’t get much better than that! I would highly recommend this to others and will definitely be doing it again myself!

A Different Kind of Frame of Mind....

So for most of my life I have been quite anti-relationships. I’ve always sort of felt like people are always going to disappointment me and hurt me… and I am going to do the same to them …and ultimately in the end the pain isn’t worth the momentary pleasure of our time together. In the past few years or so my heart has slowly begun changing and now I am at a point in life where in these past few weeks I literally feel my heart breaking and aching for others in a way I can’t even begin to explain. It seems I can’t quite get a handle on all the love I feel in my heart for people… and the desire I have to truly know others and be known by them.


The other day I received in the mail some information and a video from Show Hope an organization that helps with international adoption as well as providing surgery and other special care for some of their special needs orphans. As I read thru the pamphlets and watched their video I literally sat on my floor weeping for these kids….orphans just longing for someone, anyone to love them… and these families who have stepped up to the miracle of adoption. I thought about how beautiful of a picture it is of a child being so lonely…so desperate…and then finding all their wildest dream and more met with a family. I thought of how that picture translates into my relationship with God and those around me….and I wept some more.

I read another story in a magazine today about an army vet who had always dreamed of running a marathon but was injured in the line of duty so much so that that it caused severe mental retardation. His friends…brothers in this war with him… took a stand together and trained to push this man, wheel chair and all, 26.2 miles so that he could fulfill his dream. I thought about how he gave his life to fight for his country and how it could have gone completely unnoticed…as so often it does…but his friends chose make it matter. I thought about how his friends must have loved him so much to do this for him knowing full well that he would never be able to thank them and quite possibly would never recognize what they had done! I thought of him in his mind screaming out a thank you that would never be heard but only see through his eyes….and I wept.

Then I sat in a fellowship meeting at my church tonight and I looked around the room and thought about how much of a miracle it is that all of us were able to meet and come together like we did. I thought about how individually unique everyone is in their thoughts, gifts and outlooks on life. I thought about how much we all have to share and to offer our group….and how so often we cover up our true selves for fear of being rejected and hurt. And secretly in my heart I ached as I thought about how much I truly want to know these people and to have us walk out this life in communion with each other. God says he places the lonely in a family and as I looked around the room tonight I was filled with the love that I can only really explain as the love one would have for their family. Then I got in my car…and I wept.

Now I’ve always been a emotional person….I’ve always take things personally and took on other peoples pain….but this is something so much more than that and I know that because for once I don’t find myself looking for comfort in food or longing for the escape of working out. Instead I find myself content…on my knees….in prayer….and I think for now that is where I need to stay.

There's a lesson in Everything....

I have the type of personality where I always have to be doing something. I can’t just sit back and let life happen. So when a friend is feeling down I want to encourage them …when they need help I am ready to give… when they are celebrating I am ready for a party... and so on and so forth. The bad thing about being this type of person is that often times I run myself dry and spread myself too thin. I try to be everything to everyone at all times and often times end up sacrificing myself in the process. I like to be there for others but there are definitely times, like this week, when I realize that disregarding my own needs isn’t always the best for my health. In fact lots of times what I do in this type of situation, when I am exhausted from going and going and going, is  to turn to quick fixes like sugar and caffeine for burst of energy...all of which leads to an eventual crash and me looking to even larger amounts of caffeine and sugar to sustain me….which is basically the road to addiction. This week I have basically lived by that addiction and it’s reeked havoc on my nutrition. Add to that the fact that I seem to think if I blow one morning, I’ve blown the day…and well we end up feeling like nothings ever going to change. But things can and will change….its just a matter of continually getting back on the horse. So that’s the plan…instead of focusing on the bad I’m choosing to look at the good from this week and realise that every lesson brings me closer to eventually reaching my goals!

Week Two.. A pleasant suprise!

Well it’s the start of a new week, so it’s time to recap week two. This morning I weighed in and miraculously lost two pounds! I’m kind of amazed because last week was not my best week ever. It was one of those weeks where I had so much going on and basically I let my health fall by the wayside a bit. It’s hard sometime to find the time, let alone energy, to work out when you’re already getting up early, working a full shift and then have plans every night. I think I got in a grand total of three workouts last week…and none of them were very impressive. To top it off I didn’t go grocery shopping until the end of the week so for the first three days I was snacking on cookies and chips (yeah seriously not the best choices out there). So you see when the scale was nice to me I had reason to be pleasantly surprised!


This week I find that my schedule is just as busy. I have a lot to do and only a little bit of time to do it in. However my goal for this week is to make my health…myself in general…a priority. I work so hard to help everyone else out, I need to learn to put just as much effort into myself... I think...hee hee.

The Buddy System... Don't go it alone!

  I don't know where I picked it up...maybe it' something I learned in Girl Scouts, or as part of fire safety, or maybe it's just one of the societal lessons we all know cause it's ingrained in our culture, but where ever it came from the truth remains... in life it's always safest to implement the buddy system!  I find this fact to also be true when it comes to healthy weight loss and exercise!  There is nothing like having someone in your corner...keeping you accountable and encouraging you in your journey!  It's beyond helpful and at times it pushes you to do the very things wouldn't do otherwise!

  A good example of this comes from my own life.  Over the past week or so my sister and I have been meeting to run together on the high school track.  Most nights I feel like the cheerleader... I'm there to encourage her and keep her going and moving forward.  Yeah I'm getting a workout in but I'm more there for her more so than allowing it to  truly to be about my own journey alone.  Well Thursday afternoon that whole concept got flipped on it's head for me!  First of all I was not in the mood to run at all...in fact had I been planing to run alone I probably just would have cancelled or quit two minutes in.  On top of that it was hot out and I forgot my music...all perfectly good reasons in my mind to throw in the towel.  But there was my sister...stepping up and being my cheerleader and encouraging me to do it and to keep going and not allowing me to sell myself short!  As much as in that moment I hated the fact that she was out running me and forcing me to do it...looking back I love knowing that I have that kinda support.   See that's the thing about the buddy system....when you work together your never alone...that means the chances of you drowning (metaphorically that is) are a lot slimmer.
  Life teaches us that no man is an island...so I encourage you, if you haven't done so yet, Find yourself a buddy, a support group, or some sort of community with whom you can share your journey.  Cause the old saying is true....Together Everyone Achieves More!

Now that's what I'm talking about...

  So over the past several months I've talked and talked and talked endlessly about how much a dislike the excess pounds I've gained in the past year and about how I really need to get back in shape.  Well last Monday I had one of those "ah-ha" moments that turn words into action and I've quite literally spent the week working my ass off.  Today was my official week one weigh in and in the last 7 days I've lost 5.5lbs!!!  I made a goal when I decided to get back on track that I wanted to lose 15lbs before my next race (which is August 29th in case you were wondering) and here is it week one and I'm already 1/3rd of the way to that goal!  How exciting!

  Plus this past week has taught me a very valuable lesson and that is to have grace with myself.  You see I have a very real tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water (so to speak) and so when I make a bad choice it usually turns into a bad day of choices which turns into a bad week of choices and so on and so forth.  This week I've tried really hard...and I've been vigilant....but I've also realised that I'm not perfect and making one bad decision doesn't need to derail the rest of my day.  In the words of Jillian Michaels "If you pop a tire on your car you wouldn't get out and slash the remaining three tires would you?".  That would be silly....and the same concept goes for weight loss. One bad choice doesn't need to lead to more and grander bad choices....each moment is a new opportunity to reach your goals...and that's how I'm choosing to view things as I head into week two.
Jess

History makers, World changers..and becoming a servant of all...

When I was a little girl I had grand dreams of changing the world. I wanted to end world hunger and poverty and in my naivety I truly believed that someday, some way I would. In fact I wrote a letter to myself while I was in elementary school (which my teacher set to me in the mail when I graduated high school) that talked about how I was going to go to Princeton or Yale and get an education so that I could give away what I learned to others in need. Even in high school I held onto dreams about openning a center where the homeless and the broken could come and get food, clothing, and shelter while also getting their very real emotional, spiritual and mental needs met.


Now don’t get me wrong…I still have big dreams and hope to one day truly make an impact with the life I’ve been given. But I guess one thing I’ve realized over the past several years is how true it is that “if you want to change the world, start by changing one person’s world”. When I started on this weight loss journey I was making a decision to change my life...my world. Now I have the opportunity to use that decision to help others change their world too. Yeah maybe the way isn’t as grandiose as building orphanages or adopting communities…but by sharing my journey, by getting those around me off the couch and into a more active lifestyle, and by using races and/or other events to raise money for important causes… I am hopefully making a difference one small step at a time.

Jesus said in Mark 9:35 “Whoever desires to be first, he shall be last and servant of all”…. My prayer is that as I share my journey with others, more and more oppurtunitys would arise to serve others as they change their life/world too!.

The Start of a New Era...again..

   At one point in my life I was actually a morning person.  I once had no problem pulling back the covers and jumping out of bed at ungodly hours of the morning and would do it with such an alert perkiness it would make those around me stand in awe.  But I haven't been that person in a long time. In fact most mornings I hit snooze more times than should be humanly possible, only to force myself out of bed and into the grogginess of morning.  HOWEVER... today that all changed.  Today... for once... I set my alarm for 5:30am and when it went off I got up!  It's a miracle!  And what's even more of a miracle is that I actually worked out when I got up instead of just sitting on the couch or eventually crawling back into bed.  You see, for a while now I have been realizing that my workouts seem to get crowded out in the evenings (uness I wat to do them at 10 at night...which I don't).  So I've been talking and talking and taking about wanting to get up early to ensure I get my workouts in.  The one problem with that being that even though I've talked about it doing it I've never actually done it!  Like I said most mornings I'm a snooze girl and the idea of getting out of bed to workout before an 8 hour work shift just does not excite me.  So what's changed?!  Well I guess I realised that nothing is gonna change unless I'm willing to put in the work to change it and that nothing worth having in life comes easy.  So here's to starting a new trend!  Heer Heer....hee hee ;)
Jess
Jess

Special Memories of Sisterly bonding...

  So today I did the Women's Red Dress 5k at Elizabeth Park/Rose Garden in West Hartford Connecticut!  Not only was the course beautiful, but I felt extremely blessed to have so many great people running the race with me!  This was a race for the memory books in that my big Sister Denise ran it with me!  I remember two years ago when we embarked on our weight loss journeys, the idea of running a 5k together never even crossed our mind.  Yet today there we were at the starting gate standing side by side!  I was so proud of her for pushing herself to do this (especially considering she didn't really train) and I learned that sometimes running for fun instead of time can truly make an event special...and extremely fun!!!  Thanks to everyone who sponsored this event and congrats to all the runners who participated!  Now off to plan the next event.....maybe a spirnt triathlon?!?!
Jess

Four on the Fifth...

So today I ventured down to Chester Connecticut and participated in the 32nd annual “Four on the Fifth” road race. This was advertised to me as a nice scenic jog by the ocean. What it turned out to be was 4 miles of running up and down hills in the heat of 90 degree weather! This was definitely not my most favorite run of the season or my best! In fact I actually ended up walking a lot during it…which always annoys me because once I start walking it’s always hard to convince myself to start running again (But it was hot and I was feeling light headed and well it’s better to walk then pass out right…at least that’s what I told myself)! Anyway the entire run took me about 52 minutes… which is about a 13 minute mile pace and way off the pace I am use to keeping (and of course I’m such a numbers girl I kept looking at my watch and calculating my time throughout the run which only made me more discouraged). But the one thing that saved this race was the locals!!! I have to hand it to the residents of Chester….seriously a BIG round of applause goes out to you… for it seemed like the whole town was out cheering us runners on (only a runner can truly understand what that means to a person)! Then as if to go above and beyond the call of duty, every few houses there was some neighbor out in their driveway or on the edge of their lawn with the hose spraying all of us down (And let me tell you… on a hot day like today when people were fainting during the run….that water was GREATLY APPRECIATED)! So Thank You Chester residents and all those involved in the race! Now off to prepare for Saturday’s 5k in the park!


Jess

The Best Find of the Summer....

More than once this week I have had the conversation with someone about how when I read a book I try not to look at the picture of what the author looks like on the back cover, because more times than not that picture ruins the book for me (you just have a certain expectations when you read what a story is about …and when the picture of the author just doesn’t match those expectations, it changes your whole approach to the book…at least it does for me for some reason). Anyway I realized yesterday that my randomness when it comes to looking at the back of a book to decided if it’s worth purchasing, also extends to magazines.

For the last year (at least) I have been a HUGE advocate for the magazine “Runner’s World”…I love it and probably always will because there is just so much useful information in it. However yesterday my co-worker introduced me to a new runner’s magazine…”Women’s Running” and I gotta say it’s the best find of the summer! Honestly at first I wasn’t too sure about it…I mean I am a woman and I love to run but the cover was just too plain for me…it didn’t grab my attention. But I decided to flip through the pages just to check it out (which in a lot of ways it reminds me of “Runner’s World” with the types of articles it has and it’s set up). But I was still debating on whether or not to get it when I noticed the quote on the back cover…

“You Can’t Run from your problems, but you’ll both feel a little lighter when you get back”

…That sealed the deal for me (even if it turned out to just be an add or New Balance..hee hee). You see, for me, running has always been kind of a therapy. I throw on my shoes…hit the open road….and then just work through all the issues of my day with each stride I take. It’s that one time during each day when I can get alone with myself and deal with all the stuff that gets blocked out by life…..and then of course there’s the reality that I may not metaphorically be able to run from my problems…but I can run in some sense…and for some reason that always seems to help.

So I bought the magazine and since then have actually started reading it and am quite impressed… so check I’m passing it along and I recommend you check it out too!

Jess