First Weigh-In of 2011

Tomorrow is the day. My weight loss ticker has my 2011 starting weight which was 175.6lbs. Yuck. Let's hope tomorrow morning's number is lower...

Looking forward to 2011

2010 for me was a year of some really great moments and some of the most awful moments of my life. On January 1st my fiancé almost died of pneumonia. He fought for his life in the ICU for 3 days and had to be resuscitated at one point. Scary. I will tell you that it was the most horrible start to any year. Ever. Luckily he made it through and the happiest day of 2010 was able to happen on June 19th; my wedding! See what I mean by the most awful and really great? It has been quite the year. Being able to celebrate the New Year this year in our new house with our new dog as a newly married couple is such an amazing thing. I am grateful everyday for the life that we have together. Plus I got another amazing family! :D

2010 was also the year of my 1st and 2nd half marathons and my first super sprint triathlon. Being able to say I am a half marathoner and a triathlete now is just an amazing thing. My old self never would have believed I could do it, but I did! And I rocked them all! I am healthier now than I have ever been in my life and even if 2011 doesn't see me get to my goal weight, I know that I am active and healthy and doing great things. My 3rd half marathon is in late April and Matt is actually going to join SacFit and train to run it with me! I am so excited! Of course he is going to kick my butt because he is way faster, but that's ok :D I am so grateful to have him here with me and be able to spend time together doing something that is good for us!

I had a slight career change in 2010 as well. I was involuntarily transferred from Woodcreek High to Roseville High. I am still teaching Spanish, but they miscalculated the numbers and I had to make the move because I was the newest. There are positives and negatives to this move, but I am really just happy to be employed and to have the chance to do something that I love to do. The new term starts on Monday and I have all Spanish 1's. I am excited because I really love Spanish 1's and I cannot wait to start fresh with a new group of students. I hit a bit of a rough patch last term and was just having a hard time so it will be great to have a new start and be able to try new things and make myself a better teacher. After this year if all goes well I will have tenure! Woo!

Lots of new things in 2010. A few horrible moments. Many more great moments. Am I happy it's over? Yea. I am ready for a new year with many more memorable moments to look forward to.

Instead of making resolutions this year I made a list of goals. I like the word goal better than resolution. No clue why, but I do. I made my 2011 goals attainable and accessible so that there are no excuses. Here they are...

1.Eat less
2.Snack on fruit and veggies, not junk
3.Exercise AT LEAST 3 days a week
4.PR on my ½ marathon time (3:07)
5.Get to my goal weight (165lbs)
6.Pay off 2 credit cards (Golden 1 and Discover)
7.Put AT LEAST $50/month in savings
8.Not leave school until I have the next day planned, copies ran and papers graded
9.Be more outgoing/social/extroverted
10.Have AT LEAST 1 date night/month

My plan is to track how I am doing on each goal every month and report it here. To help me obtain goal #3 I have joined a challenge to move for at least 30 minutes a day for 100 days starting January 1st. If you are on facebook check it out. It is put on by John Bingham.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy time celebrating the New Year! See you in 2011!

Back on track!

Hello reader... :D Just a quick note to say that I believe I am finally back on track. I exercised 3 days this week at the gym, 3 days in a row! For me that is a huge accomplishment. My eating was pretty good. I never gorged myself and I only ate out once, which was last night. I have been bringing healthy, balanced meals to work and have been carrying around my camelback religiously and drinking at least 2 full ones a day. This morning my scale said 173.8lbs which is a 1.2lb drop from last week. Yay! :D I am happy to be back on track and hope to be seeing the 160's again soon! Happy Friday!

It's December?!

Crazy how time flies. This year has been a whirlwind. The beginning of the year was scary, June was the best time of my life and now it's almost time for a new year to begin! I just can't believe it!

Life at my new school has been going well. It is almost time to say goodbye to the students I have now and hello to a new group. That is the blessing of the block schedule! I really miss Woodcreek and the awesome people there, but I am finding a comfortable niche at Roseville day by day. Honestly, I am really just happy to have a job! These days it is definitely a blessing.

On the exercise and weight loss front I am in a rut. I spent most of the year working really hard and seeing the pounds drop off, but after my wedding and my first ever sprint triathlon I sorta hit a wall. I was still training for the Urban Cow Half marathon, but not to the level I should have been. My food intake has been bad for a while now. I stopped counting points and calories and writing down my food and it all fell apart. I am not saying I have been pigging out on twinkies and eaten nothing but junk, but my portions have been outta control. Thanksgiving did not help at all. I weighed in this morning and I am at 175lbs. That is the same as I was last year at this time, which means all of my hard work to get into the 160's has been undone. I have created a gym schedule that I have been following, but that has been just this week, so no results yet. I hope that at this time next year I can say I have met my goal of 160 pounds. I know I can do it, I just need to do it!

That is my update. A little disappointed, but I know what I need to do and I know that I can do it.

My adventures in LAME

I am not even going to post my October activity calendar...wanna know why? I only exercised 3 times! I have been super lame in the exercise department, as well as in the eating department. Luckily, a new month is here and there are new goals that need to be set (and met)! I am working on an exercise calendar to plan the month of November. If the calendar says exercise, then I exercise. I know I need to make a schedule if I am going to stick with it. I don't pay for a gym membership for nothing! November can only be better than October...I mean, come on, only 3 times! Argh!

Luckily my weight has not sky-rocketed as I had expected it to. I am not even going to question this phenomenon, or try to come up with reasons why. I am just going to thank my lucky stars and get to working out! So, next month expect to see my November activity calendar full of exercise!

September Activity Calendar (A little late!)

I am finally getting around to posting this! Sort of a blah month as far as exercise. The first Sunday of October was my 2nd half-marathon! I PR'd by 8 minutes! This amazes me after looking at this lame excuse for an activity calendar! I will update more soon about the race and about Matt and I's adventures in house buying!

Friday WI and August Activity Calendar and Triathlon Recap

My weigh-in today went way better than expected! I am only up 0.4lbs to 168.8lbs. I was thinking it would be more like a 1 or 2lb gain, so I was happy when I saw I was still in the 168's! I think what is really helping me is that I am eating 3 meals a day and not binging on just 2 main meals a day. I try to keep myself satisfied food wise all day so I don't get home and want to eat everything in sight.

August activity went ok. I should have had more swimming days as my tri was on the 28th and I really only got in 3 swims in August, all of which were in a pool. My runs went pretty well. I got up to almost 10 miles and will be doing 12 tomorrow! Crazy! I cannot believe we are so close to half-marathon mileage already, but I suppose it is "marathon training" season. Here is my calendar;


More about my tri...this might be a little long...but it's worth a read, I think :D

The triathlon was in Rancho Seco on August 28th at 9am. It was a super-sprint which meant a 400 yard swim, 8 mile bike and 2 mile run. I was feeling really confident about the bike and run, but not the swim. I found out as I got in the water and began my journey that my fears were well founded. About 25 meters or so into the swim I was struggling. Swimming in open water is worlds away from swimming in a pool! Now I know what I need to do if I ever try this again! Anyway, luckily the course was staffed with a rescue kayaker every 50 meters or so! I stopped at every single kayak to hold on and take a rest. I just kept telling myself that if I could make it to the next kayaker and the next and the next then I would be closer and closer to being done! The swim was the single hardest thing I have ever done in my life! Not even my first half-marathon was even close in difficulty level; mentally and physically. As I got out of the water (finally! after being lapped by people from waves after me) I searched for Matt in the crowd so I could get my glasses from him. The pictures of me after the swim are scary. I looked so dazed and confused and generally unhappy and uncomfortable; but I made it!

I was so happy to be out of the water, but it took me a minute to get my land legs and start jogging my way to my bike in the transition area. I quickly put on my bike shorts and jersey over my swimsuit and put on socks and shoes. The last thing I put on was my helmet; no gloves, I wanted to save a few seconds of time. In retrospect, I wish I had spent the time. The ride was great for the 1st half. I was feeling confident and was even passing a few riders! But then there was the turnaround...the whole way back to the transition area there was a headwind and the last 1 1/2 miles was uphill. Uphill and against the wind for 1 1/2 miles. It was torture. There was a time I had to switch to 1st gear! But again, I made it! But not before I crashed! Remember what I said about saving time on gloves and in retrospect I wish I had put them on? Here's where that comes in. I was getting close to the transition area and saw the signs that said to slow down, which I did. I started to dismount my bike in a way I had never done before, but I was feeling awesome and invincible and I was so close to the end! I was almost off my bike ready to run it in to the transition when I pressed the front brake on my bike. Bad idea. Bike stopped fast, I kept going, bike flipped up in the air and landed on me as I hit pavement, hard. I got up quick, my family was watching the whole thing and I can hear them gasping and OMGing. I stood up and my bike handlebars wouldn't turn the right way. I was so scared my bike was broken that I didn't even pause to assess my wounds! I gave my bike to my husband Matt and ran toward the transition to get ready for the run. I was bleeding and bruised but I was too far in to stop now. Multiple race volunteers asked me if I was ok and I said I was. I only started freaking out once I wondered if not putting my bike back on the rack in the transition area would disqualify me, which Matt reassured me wouldn't. That was enough for me, so blood and all I took off on my 2 mile run.

The run was pretty uneventful, other than the throbbing pain of my open wounds! The course was hilly and dusty and I spent the 1st half mile or so catching my breath and trying to get into a rhythm. I kept leap frogging with an older gentleman and a couple older ladies. I kept talking myself into running just to the next hill, or to the cone, or to the bottom of the hill. It was such a mental game! The clincher was when I saw a woman in front of me with a 29 written on her leg, which was her age. If I could pass her I would not be last in my age group! That was enough motivation for me! I ran the rest of the way in. I paced with the older gentleman I mentioned before and even chatted with him to keep my mind off of my pain and the fact that I really wanted to walk, or die. Either way. I kept pace with him for about 1/2 mile and as we got back to the grassy area where we were just seconds from the finish line I saw Matt. He told me that I was 1 minute from finishing in my goal time of 1:30! Once I heard him say that I took off! The last 100 yards or so of the run I was probably doing a 7 minute mile! I saw the finish line and the clock and I knew I could do it! I was so happy to be done! I was a triathlete! My mom and Aunt Jayna and Matt came over and insisted I go to first aid. I said no at first, but then I assessed my wounds and decided it was a good idea.

The first aid lady was really nice and cleaned out my eewy wounds. It stung bad, but I was happy to be sitting in a comfy chair being taken care of. I was smiling the whole time!

I was thankful to have so many supporters there to cheer me on! Matt, my mom and dad, my aunt and uncle, aunt jayna and matt's grandparents all came out in the freezing cold weather to support me! I felt super special and loved! I even found out my mom cried during the swim because she was afraid for me. :C But she also cried at the finish because she was so proud of me! :D

I can now say that I am a triathlete! Yes it was a super-sprint, but it was still a triathlon and an extreme challenge for me! Will I ever do it again? Maybe. I definitely need to work on my swimming if I expect to do better on that part. And of course, not falling off my bike would be great! My hands and knee are still healing (the worst wounds), the bruise on my thigh is huge and purple and yellow, and my elbow is almost all healed. Bodies are amazing! Oh, and to top it all off, I found out the next day that the wind moved a buoy for the swim about 100 yards, which made my 400 yard swim a 500 yard swim. Not that 100 yards made a huge difference to me as I was struggling after 25 meters, but it is even more of a reason for me to feel accomplished!

Tomorrow is SacFit Saturday and 12 miles on the bike trail! 12 miles! Ahhh! Of course, after a triathlon I can do anything! ;D