SPRING in 2 ACTION - Motivation Board

Hello everyone!


Been ages since I posted. I am hoping this current challenge will not only keep me focused and motivated to continue the success I have been having on my journey but that the challenge will get me posting here more often! Let's all keep our fingers crossed on that! 


First, I have BIG news to share -- I hit my 30lb loss mark at WW this morning. Woot!! I am so excited about that and it just fuels me to keep me going! 


There's a new challenge going on over at my beloved Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans site. It's called Spring 2 Action. And I am ready to do just that!

 

Our first assignment was to make a Motivation Board. Now, I thought about using the Inspiration Board I've already created on Pinterest (a site which I had to give up for Lent, I am that addicted!). But then speaking of addictions, I have a ton of magazines laying around here about health and fitness and my new-found-love, running... so I broke out the glue stick and scissors. I already had a piece of poster board ready to go (I think from a challenge last year that I never got around to!). And before you know it, I whipped this up:

I am participating in my very first 10k on April 21st and so I decided to put the logo for that race right smack dab in the middle of my board. All the words around it will help me keep my focus on the finish line and help motivate to keep me going. I have so many magazines, I could go into business making these boards for people lol. Someone could tell me their goals and then I'd have all sorts of magazines cut to shreds and motivational words on a board for you!

Just looking at this board gets me excited. Tomorrow when I meet with my running club, we will be doing a 65 min. run which is my longest yet. Looking at my board makes me psyched for that, rather than fear it.

Let's all keep moving people!

Operation 12 Races -RECAP - The Year I Became a Runner

Hello, 2012, nice to see you! Here is it Jan. 14 and I am already way behind in things I want to post about. But first things first and first I must recap 2011. This was the year I set out to do one 5k per month in what I dubbed my Operation 12 Races. I am proud to say that I completed my goal! Here are some highlights. Many thanks to my husband for always being willing to take the 'post race w/ new shirt' photos!

How will YOU be moving in 2012?

January Staycation 5k

February: Penguin Pace 5k 47:18



 

March: Kelly St. Patrick's Shamrock 5k 43:58

April: 5k for YMCA 43:54

May: Rotary Club Remembrance Run 48:51

June: Baltimore Women's Classic 46:16

July: Women's Distance Festival (Columbia, MD) 45:04

Same race but in the spiffy race shirt after the race

Post-race flowers I bought myself!

August: Women's Distance Festival -Frederick MD 45:10



I saw this sign taped to a coach's door in a high school before the August race. It says "Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can." I have tried to follow that approach ever since.





September: Run to Remember (to honor Sept. 11)



45:43

 

October: Run the 'Hood 5k 43:01



November: Catonsville Turkey Trot 5k - 28:55*
*this is the stellar time one achieves when one skips over an entire mile of the course by accident



December: DIY 5k around Chincoteauge Wildlife Refuge 45:00
(I even made us all hold our own race 'bibs' lol)
This was my FIRST 5k with ZERO walk breaks!



O'Fitness Tree - Mission Accomplished!

Hi everyone!

Last year, I came up with an idea to keep me moving through the crazybusyhecticmajordangerzone month of December leading up to Christmas. The idea was called my O'Fitness Tree and I wrote about it here.

I was thrilled when the fabulous women behind The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans felt that this was an idea worth sharing and this year, encouraged women of all shapes and sizes to participate. Including me. I did it again and I am proud to say that I reached my goal of getting in some form of activity for all 25 days, meaning 25 "ornaments'' on my tree.

Instead of using Christmas stickers this year, I went with Reward Stickers I found at Target.. they're the kinda teacher would put on a test paper, or a parent would stick on a child's brown paper lunch bag. Hey, these things work for me, even at my advanced age, so why not? If you look closely at the pictures, you'll see my ornaments say things like "You Rock!" and "Great Job!" and "Excellent!" . Of course I had to save the "Super Star" for the very top of the tree. : )

There were a few very dark days in this month. There are still things about the holidays and about some life circumstances that make for a pretty sad mix in my head and heart. Knowing I wanted to have a sticker for each day on that tree got me to get outside on those days, even if it was only for a 15 or 20 minute walk. I felt better afterward. I always do.

How did you do this year? Have you been moving through December? Are you ready to tackle the year ahead? Let's do it!!

Race Report - Run the 'Hood 5k!

Well hello there! Remember me? It has been ages since I have blogged. I know I need to get back in the swing of things here. I feel like it really did help to keep me motivated and accountable back in the days when I say wrote a few back-to-back posts in a week! Yes, believe it or not, I think that did happen. Or heck, even at least ONCE a week would be better than the crickets you've heard chirping away here!

Ok, enough of all that. I will seek to improve in that area. But on to the business at hand - my race report for the Run The Hood Virtual 5k at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. 

 

 

 Yes, I ran the 'Hood! Here I am in my spiffy new shirt. I was very excited for this race because it was a way to support The Sisterhood! I even got a friend from high school back home in N.Y. to do it "with" me. She did! We ran it together several states apart.

Another reason I was excited was because I joined a running club (yes, me!)  in mid September for beginner runners and I was eager to see how this race would go as it was my first race since joining the club.

In January, I set a goal  that I would do one 5k per month for 2011. I am very proud to report that I have met my goal thus far. This Run for the Hood will count as my October race! (Ok, I am doing another one this coming Sunday and that will count for October also, but who is counting?!) I signed up to the Run the Hood like I said, mostly because it supports the great work these ladies do on that site!

Race day arrived on Sat. Oct. 22. I get up early each Sat. to go do the Scale Dance at OLPWW... also known as Our Lady of the Perpetual Weight Watcher, aka the WW center where I attend meetings at 7 friggin a.m. After that, I go w/ a WW friend to get a bagel and coffee each week. I  also had to go w/ DH to take one of our cats to the vet. When we got home, well,  I just had to watch one of my favorite cooking shows that happened to be on. Then apparently there were a lot more things I just "had" to do such as:  create a new playlist on my iPod, call the Apple Tech support guy (who was super nice and helpful) due to an issue w/ my iTunes account, log into MapMyRun.com, to see about mapping out an accurate route, map out a few more routes online while I was out it to see which I might like best, and to save some for future reference,  look up directions to my GymBoss so I could use the stop watch on it and hunt down my SpiBelt which had been MIA for a while... in other words, for some reason I was just lollygagging it all afternoon long! Finally around 3, I headed out for my run. Mission accomplished! It is a simple and direct route that I chose, an out and back course, but I did not realize how hilly it really was even though I drive on this particular street every single day.

I really did not want to have to walk any of it but I ended up walking some and I am ok with that. I am still much further along than where I used to be! I finished in 43:01, which was ahead of my goal of 45. Very happy with that! Oh and I saw another runner on the other side of the street and he gave me a thumbs up. That just made me smile and gave me a shot of adrenaline.

My one regret happened at the very end. Every race I do, I always always always sprint like a maniac once I have the finish line in my sight. I mean, I get this crazy distorted look on my face and pour it on big time. (the picture below, from my July race is just one example).

 I kept running till the end in the Run for the Hood but I did not sprint like a maniac and the ONLY reason is because the sprint would have been down my street to the finish line -- my front door-- and I was self conscious about any of my neighbors seeing me go all crazy like that. As soon as I finished I thought "who the heck cares?!" and I will know for next time not to have such a silly silly thought for this girl who has come such a long way!

Tonight w/ my running club I ran 2.5 miles without stopping! 35 minutes! I am excited to see how I do in this next 5k coming up. I WILL be completing my goal of one 5k a month by the time the year is out. Then I will have a whole bunch of race reports to catch up on!

BURST into SUMMER - Week 3 Check in! (and a race report)

Hello hello!

So, notice how the title of this blog post says Week 3?  You may be wondering - what happened to Week 2?! Well, it turns out, I am wondering the 'zact same thing!

I meant to post last week and the day got ahead of me and all sorts of things have been getting ahead of me lately which makes me feel way behind, and does nothing to assist in the shaping of said behind for that matter!

Here is me catching up:

SW 189.4

Week 1: 186.4 (-3)
Week 2: 186.0 (-.4)
Week 3 186.0 (no friggin change)

I had what seemed like an endless string of July 4th cookouts to attend and which leads me to where I am right now - in damage control central my friends. I would love to know what it is like to go to a social function and not overdo it. Seriously, I would love to see myself succeed at that just once, which of course would show me I could succeed at it a second time and a third....

The good news is that I completed a 5k last week as part of my Operation 12 Races goal for 2011 which is to do one 5k per month this year. So far I am 6 for 6. This was the Baltimore Women's Classic in downtown Baltimore. A beautiful course and a great race, open only to women. There were 3,100 participants! All ages! I love seeing the sense of sisterhood and supportive atmosphere there as all these people (and me!) turn out to do something healthy for themselves.

My July race is this Sunday! I'm all signed up and ready to go.

I look at this picture, taken with a friend of mine who could have left me in the dust but instead ran at my pace and helped me to push myself and I know I have come a long way from where I've been. I want to keep remembering to celebrate that on the inside, NOT with a hamburger AND a hotdog on one flimsy white paper plate.

June race w/ Chri - Baltimore Women's Classic 5k

2010 BWC: 51:43 (it was over 100 degrees and I walked most of it)

2011 BWC: 46:16 (ran/walked but ran a lot more than usual!)

Rotary Club Rememberance Run May 2011: 48:51

Bring on Week 4 - Here's to bursting with progress!!