"working out sucks"

So there's this book out that I've been reading after reading about it on jack sh*ts blog called "working out sucks" by Brian zehetner. It has been ok for the first few chapters, typical reasons why you should exercise more, yada yada yada. Then I got to a really good part where the author made 3 suggestions to help people make and meet their goals: 1. Imagination- the author suggests we make a list of things we imagine for ourselves, what we want to do with our lives, where and how we want to live, what we want to do in our jobs and with our family, and what makes us happiest. 2. Create your vision statement based on what you imagine for yourself. And 3. Set your goals to get you there.

So that's what I'm going to do. Make a list of all the things I want out of life and figure out how to get there. The author suggests you work on step 1 for 2 weeks by journaling every night. This will give me an excuse to use the many half-empty journals lying around my bed. Can't wait!

Ps. If you use escarole in your ww soup instead of cabbage and Swiss chard like the recipe says,your fridge will stink. That is all.

My first half marathon story!

Me, afterwards.

It was a great race! :) Overall very friendly cheerleaders and volunteers, police officers cheering us on, funny signs and lots of nice scenery. The trees were gorgeous and the race course was lovely.

I met my friend A at the library steps at 7:20 to get down to the starting line. We were standing in our corral wondering how on earth we would ever find our friend K when we turned around and there she was! Yay! The three of us ran together for the whole race and I couldn't be happier that we ran together. We were a great team. :)

The first few miles were chilly but when the sun hit us it was nice and warm. I "donated" a shirt, hat, and gloves to the street (the race was picking up all the discarded clothing and donating it to a homeless shelter). The first hill was a doozie, but we did it just fine. People were already looking exhausted at mile 2 but we just passed 'em on by.

The middle of the race was fine - we went through a nice park. There weren't any cheerleaders through the park, which made it more just like a regular jog (with a lot of people), and that was pretty cool. I imagine if I had been running by myself it would have been a nice respite and time to think and reflect on LIFE and training that got me there. Lucky for my therapist, I had 2 lovely ladies to chat with the whole time and we took full advantage of this time by gossiping about co-workers, lamenting our public education system, and chatting about relationships. It was awesome.

When we got to mile 10 we were super excited because we knew we only had a 5K left. We told each other that we had done a 5K before and it was no big deal. :) The last 3.1 were great - lots of support on the roads, and we just booked it in with no problems. (Well, one minor problem....I thought my toe was falling off....) (It didn't fall off). There were beer stations along the way, some junk food stations, a station that was giving away shots of some liquor, and some great signs near the finish. My favorites were "Worst Parade Ever" and "You will feel so great after you get drunk on one beer tonight!"

The finish was a steep downhill and I felt like my legs were going on their own! We crossed the finish line with our hands held high! Here is my official time, which I am excited about - I wanted to beat 2:30! Yay, us! We should be getting a few pictures from friends soon and I will post them. :)

15176 JANE WALDROP 32 F  2:25:07

Before and after with Dawn

I have a friend, Dawn, who is awesome and wonderful! She is a twin mom, too, and we see each other maybe once a year because we don't live close to each other. So I thought it was cool when we saw each other last night and took our usual pic to do a little before/after!

This first picture is in Colorado in October 2008. I was pregnant with charlotte but didn't know it yet....Nice cheekbones!

This one is from New York last August - when I was at my highest weight. Cheekbones MIA.

And this one is from last night - look how skinny BOTH of us look (not that dawn ever looks not-skinny, but she is super skinny here!) Cheekbones coming back!

Excuses

Last night's weight watchers meeting was all about exercise. It was a good topic, and the meeting was pretty good, but the participants were very lack-luster in their feelings for exercise. I did earn *2* of the 5K charms pictured above, since I ran a 10K on Sunday. :) That was cool.

The meeting got me thinking about exercise and the excuses I give myself to NOT exercise. Some of the excuses our group listed were: too tired, too lazy, too busy, too embarassed, too rainy/hot/humid/cold, too yucky, and too painful. This morning I set my alarm to start Jillian's 30 Day Shred and definitely hit the snooze button two times and had to really motivate myself to get out of bed. I didn't want to, I was making excuses in my mind, I was trying to justify doing the video later, I was trying to say "but it's Charlotte's birthday" and "I need sleep" and even "What if I can't do the moves?"

There were two monumental thoughts that got my fat ass out of bed:

1. I want to be at my goal weight MORE than I want a few extra minutes of sleep. I want to be at my goal weight MORE than I want that extra cookie. I want to be at my goal weight MORE than sitting on my butt not exercising.

2. I am worth it.

It's time to stop making excuses and really buckle down. It's almost summer and it's only 5 months until my birthday. 5 months to lose 24 pounds. Time to get it done. There is a time to eat that special cookie, there is a time to eat that extra cupcake, drink that extra beer (or 2 or 4). But that time is not EVERY time. Balance, exercise, and confidence. I can do this!

I ran 5 miles!

With no stopping!
It took freaking forever, but I did it.

Too bad slow and steady doesn't really win the race.

I think I'm a runner! Maybe.

How do you know if you are a runner? Is there a distance or speed requirement? Is there a weekly requirement?

Yesterday I ran 5K with the Sisterhood. Well, not really with them, I was totally alone, but with them in spirit. I ran the 5K in 33 minutes. AND in the snow. Like, a good amount of snow, too! It was covering everything!

I am starting a NikePlus training program on Tuesday to run a 10K in April or May. Then, I'll start working on my training for the Army 10-Miler in October.

I found a podcast on itunes from Motion Traxx called "Tribal 5K" that helps you run at an 11 minute mile pace. It plays some good "tribal" music (ha ha, with a few shout outs to Miami!) with a strong beat to keep you running. I enjoyed it a lot and will definitely use it again. I felt like I could have gone further.

I am going to get some new running shoes today because my ankles start hurting when I get to 4 miles. And my Nike training says to go 5 miles next Saturday. AHHHH! 5 miles!? What happened to 4?!

So, I guess I'm a runner now. Maybe?

2011.

Last year, I wrote this for my new years "resolution":

This year my goal is to be happier by making others happy.

In retrospect, I feel as though I was successful about 50% of the time with this goal. I think I met this goal in my professional life, with students, and with most colleagues. But I don't think I met it with my family. In 2011, I hope to revisit this goal with a focus on family.

Here are my goals for 2011:

1. Be happier by making others happy, especially my family.

2. Do my best to teach my children how to love others and treat others with kindness all the time.

3. Run the Army 10-miler in October (yikes!)

4. Run 500 miles this year.

5. Reach my goal weight of 150 pounds.

Here we go. Happy New Year, everyone.