March Goals- Update

New Years Goals that will be included monthly:

1. Write in a journal every day-as was mentioned in my mid-month review, I skipped a few too many days and started over. I am back on track with journaling and am rather enjoying the nightly ritual. Hopefully I continue to keep it up because it really has been good for me.
2. Take at least one picture a day- going strong with this one. I have been enjoying seeing the pictures at the end of the month. It's been difficult some days to pick just one and other days I only take one picture in order to continue the streak.
3. Run and/or walk 105 miles- I passed the 105 mile mark. As of today I am at 109.81 for the month but I still have my run to complete tonight. It was a low mileage month, but still over my goal, so I am happy.
4. Run at least one mile every day to continue running streak- There is not much that will stop me from continuing my running streak. I do wish that I had made my goals a little smaller so that I could celebrate the small successes. Going from 100 days to 250 days in a row as a goal is a lot. Obviously it doesn't prevent me from reaching a milestone and celebrating that on my own. Today is day 162 in a row.
5. Track on MFP- I am on day 11 of my streak. And out of those 11 days I have tracked every single thing all 11 days. Woot Woot! If that's not the right way to start a streak then I don't know what is. I mean, yeah I could have stayed within my calories, but I'm not being picky right now. Getting in the habit of tracking is priority numero uno.
6. Read two books- I am still halfway through my second book for the month. It took me entirely too long to get into this book. Now that I'm about halfway through it is finally starting to hold my attention. I'm not really one to stop reading a book once I've started (except once, but that was just awful). I'm trying to get through it and can only hope that the next book I choose for my first book of April is an easy one (like Nicholas Sparks).

March Goals:

1. Have at least one child free date night with Patrick- We ended up going out last week on a "date". Isabel had Spring Break and since both Patrick and I were working early my parents agreed to let her spend the night. We had dinner with them at their house and then did a quick workout at the gym before it closed and then headed to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. It was fun, spontaneous and all around a learning experience that 1. Tracy does not do well with golf and 2. Patrick should not bring Tracy to the driving range if he is looking for time to concentrate on his form.
2. Take Isabel to Paint-A-Dream (as a family)- We did not all end up going to Paint a Dream together as a family, however I did take Isabel and my niece to the Princess Party yesterday and they got to see Anna and Elsa again. They painted a crown, sang songs, ate a cupcake and listened to the sisters read a story. I think they had a good time.
3. Have a great 5K race with Isabel- We definitely had a great time (as explained at the halfway point update). She went for a quick run with me on Saturday since Patrick was out of town for the day and wouldn't be home until later. She didn't complain and we had fun going together. Maybe she'll be asking to run another race again sooner than I thought.

4. Throw Isabel the best birthday party EVER- Still what I would consider a success. My boss even told me that I could be a party planner in my next life. Although I loved planning our wedding and Isabel's birthday parties and think that they turned out well, I highly doubt I could ever do it for anyone else that I am not extremely close with and already know their style.  

5. Update budget and track- I will be updating our budget sheet tonight for the month of March. As of yesterday our net worth had fallen slightly (nothing significant) and I was highly impressed with how everything else fell. I knew that March was going to be a tough month to budget for and feel like we managed well. Could have been better, could have been a lot worse. I think April is going to be a very telling month for us and our budget as to how things will be for the majority of the year and I am actually looking forward to focusing on it.
6. Complete NMTZ Challenge- Failed.
7. Make progress on blanket- I briefly worked on the blanket for about 10 minutes a few days ago and it has since been sitting on the coffee table staring at me, feeling neglected. I am still on the purple color that I was on a month ago. I have a tendency to get in these craft moods and start these projects that I late regret and never finish. I can't begin to tell you how many cross stitch kits I have started and ended up getting rid of because they just sat there collecting dust. Hence why one of my goals on my bucket list is to actually finish one.
8. Do not go overboard (food wise) celebrating birthdays- I believe overall I did well. I really can't think of anything that I ordered that was too awful. I did soup and salad for my dinner, ordered what I wanted for my lunch at work and ate half and I tracked everything for my sisters birthday and ended up only going over by like 25 calories. I felt generally satisfied overall and can't recall a celebration this past month where I felt I overindulged (except maybe the day of Isabel's birthday party.

March Goals

New Years Goals that will be included monthly:

1. Write in a journal every day
2. Take at least one picture a day
3. Run and/or walk 105 miles
4. Run at least one mile every day to continue running streak
5. Track on MFP
6. Read two books

March Goals:

1. Have at least one child free date night with Patrick
2. Take Isabel to Paint-A-Dream (as a family)
3. Have a great 5K race with Isabel
4. Throw Isabel the best birthday party EVER
5. Update budget and track
6. Complete NMTZ Challenge- 3 on/1 off
7. Make progress on blanket
8. Do not go overboard (food wise) celebrating birthdays

Daily Menu 3/1/14

Goal: 1500 calories
Exercise: 453 calories
Food: 3013 calories
Net: 2560 calories

Breakfast: (480 calories)
2 whole wheat waffles (170)
1 tbsp nutella (100)
banana (105)
mimosa (105)

Snack: (270 calories)
Charleston chews (270)

Lunch: (930 calories)
McDonald's big mac meal (930)

Dinner: (1333 calories)
chili's onion string & jalapeno stack (353)
chili's fresh mex chipotle shrimp bowl (980)

Activity: (453 calories)
2.04 mile interval run (204)
NMTZ Challenge (249)

Water: 6 glasses
Fruits & Veggies: 1 serving
Milk: 0 servings
Vitamin: no

So, I weighed in and had full intentions of eating well today. For whatever reason I could not fill up. So I kept eating, and eating, and eating.. And it was not healthy choices either. I'm not dwelling on it because I tracked it. The good, the bad and the high calorie. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every bite, lick and taste. Now that's some progress!

I went for my run after dinner and ended up having to go to the gym because it was getting too dark to go outside. I decided to go for 2 miles and it felt great. I wish it had been a little earlier and maybe not right after dinner because I would have kept going. Then I went home, put on my heart rate monitor and did day one of my challenge for March.

I know that I tend to go overboard on the weekends and I need to work on that, however I'm going to look at the small victory of the day and be proud of myself for tracking. I want to accomplish that goal and I will this week. One day down, six more to go!

Endorphins!!!

Funny faces part 1

Funny faces part 2

Pre workout

Post workout

Calorie burn- strength training

Appetizer

Weigh In #12

Starting Weight: 189.2
Last Weeks Weight: 179.8
This Weeks Weight: 180.6

+/-: +0.8
Total +/-:  -8.6

Not as bad as I was expecting, yet not in the right direction. It's what happens when you get on track for the beginning of the week and fall off the wagon halfway through. 

I found some self confidence this week and rolled with it. It was an amazing feeling to walk around with my head held high and my mind focused on so many other things rather than my body and the areas that cause concern. I have spent so many years worried about the way my skin looks on my stomach and my thighs and stretch marks. A week off from that was much needed and pretty dang relieving.  

I just wish I had found a way to bottle that feeling up so that I could bring it out and use it in moments of weakness..

Hopefully those moments start to show up less often. It's a struggle sometimes and I wish I had that confidence, but until I do I'm going to continue to fake it until I make it!

Last Weeks Goals:
1. Track. Every. Single. Day. Fail. Did much better about tracking all day except for last night and Thursday night. Kind of fell off track and self sabotaged again for multiple reasons. Can't/won't get into it now but I need to get back to it. I just feel better when I do.
2. Drink 8 glasses of water. Every. Single. Day. Better, but not perfect.. Yet.
3. Attempt to PR at Seaside Half Marathon. Success!!! I still can't believe it. It was so exciting to cross that finish line knowing that I was able to accomplish something I set out to do. I don't run for speed. I run because I enjoy it and I have found that speed doesn't matter. I'm not going out to win these races, so why not enjoy it and appreciate the fact that I can do it. I spent a lot of time justifying myself being a "runner" because of my speed or my use of intervals. I'm done with that. I am a runner because I run.

Workout schedule:
February 23rd- March 1st
Sunday: Seaside Half Marathon completed
Monday: streak completed
Tuesday: streak completed
Wednesday: streak completed
Thursday: streak completed
Friday: streak completed
Saturday: long distance training run- 5 miles moved to Sunday, streak completed, NMTZ challenge completed

 

Measurements taken on December 28th: (first set of pictures)
Chest: 39
Waist: 35
Hips: 44
L thigh: 25
L arm: 12.75

Current measurements taken January 25th: (second set of pictures)

Chest: 39

Waist: 34

Hips: 43.5

L thigh: 24.25
L arm: 12.5

Current measurements taken February 22nd

Chest: 39.25

Waist: 33.25
Hips: 43.25

L thigh: 24
L arm: 12.25

Difference in 2 months:
Chest: +.25
Waist: -1.75
Hips: -.75
L thigh: -1
L arm: -.5

This weeks goals:
1. Track. Everything. Everyday. (hey, it will happen one of these weeks)
2. Find a better way to track water. Start small, 6 glasses a day.
3. Stick to workout schedule.
4. Be self confident and own it.

Workout Schedule:
March 2nd - March 8th
Sunday: long distance run- 5 miles, NMTZ challenge
Monday: streak, NMTZ challenge
Tuesday: streak
Wednesday: streak, NMTZ challenge
Thursday: streak, NMTZ challenge, gym
Friday: streak, NMTZ challenge
Saturday: streak

I am excited to start the NMTZ challenge again. I think this time around it is much more realistic compared to my last attempt. It will be nice to have "rest" days where I only run, and the shorter work out will be effective, yet I feel like it won't cause me to burn out quickly.

I'm thinking of getting Jillian Michael's new workout DVD which is called One Week Shred. It is a twice a day workout combination of strength for one workout and cardio for another. I think it's meant for doing right before a vacation or other big event. But, I like Jillian and her workouts are hardcore and her DVD's are reasonably priced, so I may buy it to incorporate into my workout routine.

I really want to find a good workout schedule that I can stick to long term that includes running, strength and cross training. I know it means that I should probably start working on getting up earlier for some morning cross training at the gym so that I am not cutting into my family time any more than I already am.

For March I am focusing on running and strength training with a minimum of one cross training at the gym a week. If I am able to do more (depending on Patrick's work schedule) then I will try to make it more often. Now that I know that I prefer the bike over the elliptical and have stopped forcing myself to do the elliptical when I really don't feel like it I tend to want to stay longer and get in a good workout instead of calling it short because I'm not enjoying it. I do like the elliptical, however scheduling a certain amount of time on it was not a good idea for me. I'm trying to be much more flexible in that sense.

And even though I am focusing on the NMTZ challenge I set for myself I am also going to be trying to run more. I have been running for my streak but have been relying on my walking miles and long distance training runs to get me to my mileage goal for the month. I would much rather run more during the week as well and am going to start trying to run two miles a day instead of the minimum of one. There will be days that I only do the short one mile, but I am going to make more of an effort to get out there and give it my all more often than doing the bare minimum.


Womp Womp

Well, my 30 day challenge lasted a total of 10 days.. And ended a while ago. I just haven't had the courage to write about my failing of this challenge. Whoops!

I knew by the end of the first week that this challenge was not something I could maintain. I know that 30 days is nothing in the grand scheme of things, however it became something that was not enjoyable and not just because it was a workout.

I'm the type of person that believes a workout should be hard work, make you push yourself past limits and be something you enjoy. Running does that for me.

But I can't lose fat and gain muscle by cardio alone. That's where strength training comes in. Strength training is where I'm going to lose inches and gain muscle. Strength training is where I'm going to become stronger, leaner, healthier and happier. And, for the most part, strength training is something I enjoy.

So, once I realized that the strength training routine I had planned out was over the top I knew I needed to stop being stubborn and just call it what it was. A failed challenge. To be honest, I'm not that sad about it. I wasn't enjoying it and I know that pushing myself would have made things worse. I wouldn't have put my all into it and my form would have suffered. Bad form = bad news.

I could sit here and give excuses as to why I stopped. Good excuses too. Knee pain type of excuses. Knee pain is not a good thing when you enjoy running and are signed up for a ton of races for the coming year.

So... What now?

Well, I actually really enjoyed the majority of the exercises in this workout, but felt burnt out by the second set of each. The 40+ minutes a day was a lot to commit to, however going through the workout once seemed to work well. It was quick enough to add in at any point of the day, but intense enough to be a good workout.

So the change is simple. Instead of repeating each circuit I will only go through each one once. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself, however the idea of a 30 day challenge is enticing and I know deep down that I can accomplish it. It just isn't the right time to do 30 days in a row.

The plan is to make it through the month of March doing the workout as follows- three days on one day off. Meaning I will be strength training three days in a row, taking a rest day and repeating throughout the rest of the month. I will be strength training a total of 24 days out of the month. I think that's a good trade off and should be easy to maintain for the whole month. It may not seem like much, especially with the number of repetitions for each workout, but it is something I can maintain and right now I need that "win".

Of course we now probably all know how well I maintain a training schedule, however here is my hopes for the month of March:

March 2014

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
						1
						Training Run- 5 miles NMTZ Challenge
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge Cross Training	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
San Diego Half Marathon NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak	Streak NMTZ Challenge Cross Training	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Hope4Kids 5K NMTZ Challenge
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Streak	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak Cross Training	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Training Run- 8 miles
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge Cross Training	Streak	Training Run- 5 miles NMTZ Challenge
30	31
Streak NMTZ Challenge	Streak NMTZ Challenge

The challenge will be the following exercises:
Squat with shoulder press- 10
Backward lunge with shoulder raise- 10 each side
Chair squat with anterior raise- 10
Press outs- 10
Chest press with crunch- 15
Chest fly/reverse crunch- 10
Bicycle crunch- 15
Squirms- 10
Push ups- 10
Dead lifts with hammer curl- 10
Static squat with concentration curl- 10 each side
Alternating lunges with wide grip curl- 10 each side
Side lunge with bicep curl- 5 each side
Chair pose tricep kickbacks- 15
Sumo squat- 10
Crescent tricep kickbacks- 15 each side
Double crunch- 15
Twisting plank- 10
Toe taps- 10 each side
Windshield wipers- 10
Plank rows- 10
Superman- 10
Hollow man scissor kicks- 10
Pelvic thrust- 15 each side
Side plank left- 10
Foot raises left- 15
Inner thigh raises left- 15
Side plank right- 10
Foot raises right- 15
Inner thigh raises right- 15
Donkey kick- 15 each side
Fire hydrant with side kick- 15 each side

I added cross training once a week for now. I need to get back to the gym that I am paying for and not using. Thursday is a great day for me to get to the gym for a quick session after work and I can easily get in a solid 30-40 minutes on the bike. What's nice is that I am able to read while on the stationary bike while still keeping the RPMs up in the 90s and sometimes over 100. Meaning, I'm still working hard even though I am doing two things at once.

After March is over and I finish this challenge of 24/31 days strength training I plan on continuing the 3 on/1 off idea doing strength training, cross training, strength training, rest and repeat. While, of course running every day.

March is going to be my month. I can feel it. I'm getting a solid start now in regards to eating and continuing my streak so that when March comes I will be prepared. I need to be prepared for March because we have seven birthdays to celebrate. Pretty close together as well. 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 25th, 27th and 28th. That's a lot of yummy food and delicious cake. But I will be ready!