P90X, Round 2

My friend Tabitha and I started P90X (Round 2) on May 13th. Above is my before photo. My stats:
Weight: 157
Chest: 36"
Waist: 32.5"
Hips: 38.5"
Thighs: 26"
Arms: 12"
My husband was given a PT Tower so we're able to do the workouts in my home vs the gym like the first round. The PT Tower is nice, but I prefer the pull-up assist machine. We can't quite get our heads above the bar, so I'm not sure how effective the pull-ups we're doing are going to be. You can't see it in the photo but my foot is on a chair.

Yesterday we started week 7 with what I lovingly call death by pushup day! Slow, plange, pike, speed, side-to-side, one arm, one arm balance, and of course my favorite clap pushups are just a taste of what that workout contains! This morning the sides of my rib cage are sore to touch. Guess something is working!

 

My 30 day results are as follows:
weight: no change
chest: down 1"
waist: down .5"
hips: down 2.5"
thighs: same
arms: down .5"
I wasn't too surprised by the numbers. My body seems to be very happy in the upper 150's. I've been fluctuating between 155-159 since the beginning of the year. I do a weekly weigh-in on Wednesday with some friends. It's not about dropping weight for me anymore, it's more about consistency and making sure I'm not going overboard. I still log my food and use my scale to measure out portions.
A positive non-scale victory for me recently - I fit into a size 8 pant!!! I've NEVER worn size 8 pants! I thought I was happy to fit into 10's, but man, oh man, you should've seen my face when I put on 8's and they fit. They weren't tight, they fit perfectly; exactly how pants should fit. Every time I put them on I smile. What an amazing feeling!!

Catching up!

 It's been so long since I've actually taken the time to write a blog. I've honestly missed it. I've thought about sitting down and doing a quick blog many times but then I think of how long it's been and all the catch up I'd have to do, so anyway, today I'm catching up! Many, MANY things have happened since my last post. Not sure where to begin so I'll just start with today.

I'm still running! In fact I've got sprints on the calendar for today. I haven't done speed work in ages, so today is as good as any to get started with it again. I have two running friends joining me which is awesome because it's much easier to keep sprinting and pushing yourself when others are chasing you or your chasing them!
I'm a little upset with my Garmin right now. It's been my training buddy for a year now, but I haven't been able to get it to turn on this week - it's missed three runs with me. Today, I try it one more time and it turns on and says low battery. Last week, I took it off after a run and charged it then I wasn't able to get it to turn back on. What's up with that Garmin?!? Happy it turned on now though...maybe it'll work tonight!! I think this is a good sign to start looking into other training buddies. Maybe a Polar or a free app for my phone like RunKeeper. The free app would definitely be the more affordable option and a great back up when needed. I just need to invest in an arm band and ear buds...maybe I could try running to music again. If you have any suggestions on arm bands/ear buds/running apps let me know!!

Earth Day 5k

I signed up to do the base Earth Day 5k race this past Saturday. I ended up having to push the double jogger, so it was more of a brisk walk then a run. My new running friend Julie did the race with me (she was pushing a single jogger). It was nice to have the company.
It was a cold morning (I could hardly get the timing chip off my shoe). I had the kids bundled up but I should've brought my gloves. My hands were frozen when the race was over. The route was the same as last year only in reverse. My only complaint was that we finished the race in around 45 minutes (which really isn't bad for walking the entire thing) and when we finished ALL of the food was gone and so were the freebies. Really?! There were still a lot of people behind us, how could they not have had enough food for everyone? They had bananas and granola bars sitting out when the race started. They were also giving away water bottles afterwards (which we didn't get). It was nice that the t-shirts were a normal color this year! Even if I won't wear it - I've become such a running clothes snob. I hate running in plain old t-shirts.

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

My dearest friend joined me on an adventure into DC to pick up my race packet for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. The expo was in an amazingly beautiful building!

The kids did great and we were in and out in no time. To make our trip worthwhile we spent the day downtown walking around and checking out the cherry blossoms (not quite open yet).

 The bestest friend a girl could ask for and her little angel

 Cherry blossoms not quite open, but still pretty

 Eating pb&j while watching paddle boats on the water.

 

The actual Cherry Blossom 10 miler race was good. I was very fortunate to meet up with the same girl I ran the Rock 'n Roll half with along with two other girls from her running group. The four or us ran the whole thing together. It was a slower pace then I normally do, but it was great to have people to talk to the whole time.
Here I am at the start of the race

 and 3 of the 4 of us taking a photo op during the run (the one in the middle is the same girl I ran the Rock 'n Roll half with, the other girl is her sister-in-law). There was actually someone standing there taking photos so we asked her to take one of the four of us and she said she'd rather be running and took off. Um, okay! We all got a huge chuckle out of that...silly woman. It's not like we stopped someone who was already running. People can be so funny.

 The course was absolutely beautiful. I would love to do this one again if I could. I spent a little extra money and got the medal and tech shirt - mostly because it's a once in a lifetime run. It's done by lottery and we are moving later this year; that and I love me some swag!! I'm so very happy I was able to do this run and that I met these amazing ladies to run the race beside.
My only complaint was the lack of port-a-potties along the course. I, of course, had to pee about a mile into the race. The first 3 sets of potties we came on had only one or two and a line at each one. At mile 5 we saw a ton of them off the course (about .1 distance or so, not far at all), so we veered off (I wasn't the only one who had to pee!) and used those. They were clean and they had lots of them. I'm not sure if they were part of the course or not, but we were happy to have found them. The water stations were nice. I would've liked some GU at this one too, but they just had water and Gatorade. I did have a GU packet that I got in the mail from the Zooma race I'm doing in June, so I used that one. I like GU for long distances. It works out great for me. I tried those shot blocks and gagged on those things; however GU and I are a perfect combo! lol
Here are some photos from the end of the race. Jump shot!

 One more group shot. Far left in purple is Jennifer who I do my long runs with, then Kerri (the 4th girl that I ran with), Jenni, me, Ivana, and Heather.

Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon

I picked up my running friend Ivana and we headed into the expo for the Rock 'n Roll marathon that was at the DC Armory (which was surprisingly easy to get in and out of). It was a ton of fun!!
Note: my hair looks seriously bad from behind. ICK!

I spent too much money I'm sure, but it certainly didn't go to waste. Three headbands, one waist belt, a pair of arm warmers, and a new pair of sunglasses for running (not pictured since I have them out in the car). Katelynn picked out the pink headband (I think it'll work great for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler coming up on April 7th!)...she didn't want to take it off either.

I changed my mind about what I was going to wear at least a dozen times. The shirts we got were blue (I was hoping for green since it was St. Patty's day weekend) and short sleeved. It wasn't supposed to be very warm, but I figured the arm warmers would help IF I decided to wear the blue shirt (I really wanted to wear green!!). They were calling for rain too. Every where I looked said something different. I debated on taking a change of clothes incase I got soaked, but I figured it'd be quicker to just catch the metro home and change later. After running for almost 3 hours in the rain what's another hour to get home before changing?!? This is what I ended up wearing...

I tied my jacket around my waist incase it ended up raining then I could just throw it on (it didn't bother me until about mile 11 or 12 then it started flapping and it drove me nuts - LOL). I did wear my shamrock headband, but I wore my hat too incase it rained. I was so annoyed! I had no idea the hat looked so funny. I couldn't find my race hat anywhere so I just grabbed one of Chris's - it did bring me good luck though! My arm warmers were awesome!! I loved wearing them. I also decided not to wear my skirt since I've never worn it for long runs. I was very comfortable except for my feet. I need new running shoes. My Brooks just rub my foot the wrong way below the toe. They are great for low mileage but once I get pass mile 8 or so it starts to throb.
Race morning: I got up super early since we were taking the metro into the race. I met Jennifer at her house and Ivana followed us (we had our own little caravan going on). We picked up Jennifer's friend Heather along the way too. The trip in went very smoothly and we found the start line easily enough.
I found the setup a little odd. They had different start corrals for the different waves (which was fine), but in each of the corrals they had port-a-potties facing into the corrals, so you ended up having these weird snake-like lines in the corrals of people trying to use the port-a-potties before the race began. There was no one separating the corrals either so once the race started everyone just moved forward and kept mixing together...which actually meant there were no port-a-potty lines closer to the front since they had already left to start the race. I ended up starting 30 minutes after the gun.
Also, the baggage check lines were quite ridiculous!! Drop off seemed easy enough (some of them had longer lines then others though); however AFTER the race those lines were insanely long and I was so glad I didn't have to wait in them. I was expecting it to run a lot smoother since it was a big race. I was quite surprised with how poorly the set-up at the start and finish were laid out.
The race: I ended up running the entire 13.1 miles with Jennifer's friend Heather!

We hit it off and chatted the entire time. Her pace was perfect for me. We walked up one or two hills (there were several and two of them were seriously huge!) and through some of the water stops, but that was it. She was an excellent partner! She liked to count things while we ran - men in kilts (I think there was one), person using the bathroom in the woods (that was hilarious! They just pulled down their pants and did their business - and they were wearing bright orange! It was too funny), number of men in tutu's - 1, number of barefoot shoes - 3, etc. It did help the miles go by.
Here is the recap on how we did...

Not bad at all!! I'm super happy with my time - 2:26:29!! I told Heather at the start that I wanted to finish under 3 hours, but I'd be really happy with 2:30-2:45. We definitely beat it!! She told me to leave her if she started to fall behind or hold me back, but I stressed that I'd rather have someone to run with then try and do it alone. Besides, I hadn't run more then 10 miles in training I was going to really, REALLY need help with those last few  miles. And help me she did! She was great. I hope to run another race with her again sometime.

I might also look into fuel belts. I didn't grab any water at the first few stations, but around mile 7 I believe (right after the massive hill) I started using the water stops and I tried the GU. I had a pb GU at one stop and an orange one (I believe) a while later. I actually really liked the taste and followed by a few sips of water it really did work well for giving me energy. Some of the water stations were crazy (I learned later that a lot of the volunteers didn't show because of the rain)...some didn't have any cups, some had cups, but no water in them, it was just craziness. A water belt would've helped me with those stations.
An unexpected surprise: my friend Patti came to cheer me on! Well, that, and she volunteered. And believe it or not she found me! In a crowd of 30,000 racers she managed to find me before I started running! And that was without using a phone. She found my corral and just started moving forward - she found me in a line for the port-a-potty - ha, ha!! After the race she gave me an awesome gift and even drove me to my car at the metro stop (it was on her way home) so I didn't have to ride the metro back. Only one small problem with the ride - we had to walk 3 miles to her car!! HA! What's 3 more miles after running 13.1?!
Here is a pic of Jennifer, Ivana, and Heather. They all had bags checked, so I headed home while they stood in those crazy lines. Katelynn had a birthday party at noon that I was trying to make it home for (my sister ended up taking the kids to the party since I was running so far behind). Next time I promised I'd stay for the after party - then maybe I'll make it into a photo. LOL

Catch-Up

I'm still here. I've just been avoiding talking and/or thinking about exercise/weight/fitness/health/etc. I have been completely unmotivated lately...really it feels like ages since I've been excited about working out and getting fit. I didn't feel like blogging because then I'd have to admit how horrible I've been feeling and doing with all of it. I signed up for challenges hoping that would motivate me, but all it does is make me angry that I'm not doing any of them like I wanted. My back has been bothering me a lot lately too, so every time I did the burpees or jumping type motions (similar to burpees where your in push-up position and jump your legs in out, sideways, which ever) it would hurt and then the next day I was hobbling. I missed the plank challenge, and wished that one wouldn't have gotten so crazy with times at the end. I was actually thinking of creating my own little challenge just to keep me going. Something I know I CAN do and that I'll WANT to do and that will keep me motivated and not feel deflated at the end of the month when the numbers are so overwhelming. I'm going to work on it while I'm away for Easter. The break will be nice - it'll be good to see my folks and to get away from this big, empty quiet house. HA! My house is super tiny, but it feels HUGE when Chris is gone. So, anyway, just wanted to say that I'm still here, just haven't felt the urge to blog about anything, and the few times I did feel like it I was embarrassed that it'd be so long. I'm going to disappear again for a bit while I'm at my folks place, but when I get back I plan to be focused and ready to get with the program.
Since Chris has been gone I've been seeing a trainer. We've met a few times now. Her name is Shannon. I like her a lot! I'm always sore after our workouts. I also like anyone who says I'm a beast and that I'm one of her only clients who could hang with her. She also told me she could have me ready for a fitness competition by the fall. Really?! I don't think she was looking at the same body. It didn't help with the blues any either - all I could do was look at fitness competitors and then look at me and I felt so discouraged. There is no way I could get these thighs that small, um, pass the pizza please. LOL
I also had my computer crash on me which caused some panic for a few days. My sister came over and got me all squared away with a wireless router and my laptop and phone all connected and running off of it! She's so awesome!!! I found someone to fix my desktop, but that's taking forever, so I'm so thankful my sister had an extra wireless router and could hook me up.
I'm still running too. I'll do another blog on that so I can recap my first half marathon. It was awesome!!

March Madness

We have our own type of madness going on around here. The end of February was crazy with getting Chris ready to head out. I finished up the challenge with 19 out of 28 days, so not bad; however all the days I missed were the last 9 - oops!
Tomorrow I'll be tackling my final long run before the big race on the treadmill. I attempted it on Friday and it was a complete nightmare. My friend Tabitha watched my kiddos and I met Jennifer to run, and I was miserable. I couldn't keep up with her, I couldn't breath, it felt like I'd never ever ran one mile, yet alone the 12 I was shooting for. I ended up giving in at mile 4. Today there will be no running. I will have fresh legs when I hit that treadmill tomorrow. The kids room only keeps your kids for two hours, so I'll see what I can get done. Hopefully it won't get too crowded otherwise I'll be hopping from machine to machine to get it all in.

I'm taking over Chris's personal training sessions while he's away. It didn't take me long to figure out which trainer I wanted either! I was running on the treadmill on Thursday and one of them hopped on the treadmill next to me and started doing sprint training at 9-point-something. She looked so happy when she was done, I waved her down and started talking to her. Before long I blurted out, "will you train me?" She got super excited and told me she'd love to help me get in shape for when my husband gets home. Her husband is military too, so she understands a lot of the stuff I go through. Anyway, we hit it off pretty well and I scheduled my first session with her for the following day - yesterday!
Knowing it was my first one and that we'd probably spend the majority of time working out a schedule, I figured it wouldn't hurt to run the 12 miles afterwards. It really wasn't a bad/hard session. Did some pushups, burpees, lunges, dips, clean and jerks, some ab stuff. She really just wanted to see what I was made of, and the more we did the more excited she got. She said, "oh this is going to be awesome!" Well, sweet! She wants to meet 3 times this week with one of them being an hour (they only meet with you for 30 minutes at Gold's) AND she said she'll e-mail me a meal plan. Cool!
I was feeling really good afterwards and really "excited" to do my last long run. I have no idea why it was so hard. I seriously couldn't catch my breath, and honestly, I felt like a huge failure. It could've been because I was tired from the trainer (doubt that one though), or maybe I was too hungry (didn't feel hungry, had a good breakfast and a protein shake 30 minutes before I ran), or maybe the cold (it wasn't really that bad). I just don't know what it was, and I guess it was bound to happen sometime. I won't let it get me down. I'll try again tomorrow on the treadmill. Next week it's all short runs for me, and then it's the race!! I'm really super excited!!! I can not wait for the energy of a road race.
I found some challenges again for March. I'm doing 3 of them. Two are leg challenges and one is an arm one. Combining the two leg ones makes for a nice, quick at home workout.

 

 Then I found this arm one to add to it (Curvy, Confident, and Fit is an awesome and very motivating facebook page).

I saw an ab one too, but I couldn't complete his plank one and I'm pretty sure doing 300 ab exercises every other day for a month will drive me insane, so I'm skipping that one. I might try and do it once a week just for fun - ha, ha!
I'm hoping to stay positive through out March; with Spring right around the corner it shouldn't be too hard!