Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

I can't believe I was the winner this week on the DietBet token weigh in drawing!  I'm not one of those naturally lucky people so winning anything at all is a huge excitement.  I won a $75 gift card to UnderArmour and I should have my selected items before Christmas.

I've been sort of lax about getting on the treadmill and getting my 10,000 steps in.  Maybe the new workout clothes I ordered will spur me on.  I replaced my Fitbit with a Garmin Vivofit that I earned through my health insurance plan.  I like that it has a digital readout that tells me how many steps I've taken and how many I have to get to my goal for the day.  However, I let it set my goal for me so the goal has been around 7,000 steps a day.  Most days I've met that goal but since I had been doing 10,000 previously I sort of feel like I'm cheating. *blush*

I've been doing pretty good with weigh ins and have hit a number this morning that I haven't hit since I got back from my honeymoon in 2013.  This is completely due to juicing!  Thank you Joe Cross for finding a solution and then sharing it with others!  My husband and I have been juicing in between other events we have going on so we haven't been doing it exactly like Joe did but this is what works for our lives.  We are going to do mainly juice until Christmas and then ease up a little bit when my son comes over for Christmas with us.  Then we will go back on the program until we leave next year for our fabulous DisneyWorld/Universal Studios trip!!  I'm turning 50 in 2016 so that is the trip I picked out to celebrate.  I know, I know, I'm such a kid!  I wanted to get to One-derland before the trip but I don't think I'll make it.  But...as soon as I do I will definitely be posting about it here!!

In the meantime - here's the recipe to my favorite juice - this makes four servings:

1 Pineapple
8 Oranges (I prefer juicing oranges but can't always find them)
6 Apples (Fuji's are my favorite)
14 Carrots

Juice all these ingredients together - it takes 3 rounds in the pitcher on my Breville.  Sometimes I also use my inversion blender to add in 4 bananas.  Other times the hubby and I eat a whole banana each while we are drinking our juice.  My hubby prefers a green juice I make so I'll share that recipe in a future post.

C25K Week 2 Day 1

Well...we are back from our two week visit with our in-laws and they sent us home with their treadmill.  It was an experience pulling a little trailer behind our car but we finally made it back!!  My son came over and helped us get the beast downstairs and I took a run on it the other day.  I can sure feel the difference in altitude being back home but I do have to say it was much cooler running here than in my in-laws garage!  I'm really happy to have the treadmill and I think it will help me be more consistent with my running.  I'm also really happy to have the little trailer they gave us.  That will make it much easier when we need to bring landscaping stuff home.  No more borrowing my son's truck!  

I'm still working on a schedule that works with running but at least I don't have to worry with outside issues.  I did this run at about 7:30pm and while that time worked with my schedule I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to exercise that late.  I had a very hard time getting to sleep because it hyped me up!  Maybe I need to get up earlier but I can't imagine getting up earlier than the 4:30am I already get up.  Oh, well, I'll do some more fanagling and see what will work the best.  This is important and I WILL make it work!!

Our trip was very relaxing but I came back with a 7# gain even though I think I ate pretty well while we were there.  I just hope it doesn't take me two weeks to get it back off again.  And...I'm off on another business trip next week.  My husband is staying home for this one so I think I will take this opportunity to eat lots of salads and spend extra time at the hotel gym.

C25K Week 1 Day 2

I'm on track!  I just finished day 2 of week 1 in my restart of the program. It was just as hot in the garage but my FIL set up a fan for me and that helped loads. I used a new app this time and I think it will work great once I get a good playlist of music set up. It allows you to run your own playlist and then prompts you when it's time to run or walk. I've started a list of songs I think would be good to put on my playlist so the next step is easy.  I was using some great music from an independent band we discovered in New Orleans but their music isn't really running type music.  They are a great folksy bluegrass type of band that we absolutely love but I think I need some Lady Gaga and Katy Perry next time!

I looked back at the last time I did w1d2 and it was February. I'm so bummed that I didn't keep up with the program back then!!  I'd be so much closer to my goals right now - ugh!  But I am back at it and determined to do it this time. I've even found a 5K at the end of August that I'm going to sign up for. I know myself and if I don't have something to work towards that is fairly short term, it is so easy to procrastinate my workouts and then I'm right back here starting over yet again. I really don't want to repeat that history!!

Let's start at the very beginning....

Well...it has been so long since I've run that I figured it would be a good idea to begin on C25K week 1, day 1 and see how I do. I went in thinking I'd just pick it back up and it'd be a piece of cake. Wrong-o-rama!!!

It was a tough run but there were several differences between this time and the last time I ran. I was running on a treadmill in a hot & stuffy garage. I sort of liked running on the treadmill but the lack of moving air was harsh. I'm taking tomorrow off but will run again the following day with a fan.  We shall see if that makes it a little more enjoyable. I did like the fact that the treadmill kept me at a constant rate and I couldn't slack off like I have a tendency to do when I'm running outside.  I also liked not having to deal with the unknowns you get outside. I didn't have to outrun any dogs, bugs, or crazy school kids. I can also run anytime of the day. I'm really stoked about that. I'm also really glad I'm active again. I was dripping wet when I finished but it felt great to get moving!!