I DID IT!

On January 20, 2013, I completed my first half marathon...at Disneyland (of course)!   A little slower than I would have liked but still a huge accomplishment of which I am extremely proud!

 

our group

hubby1 and me

 

mine and girl1's finish times

in search of a healthier me....part 8

It's fun to look at old blog posts.   This morning I realized that I started the quest for a  healthier me in June, 2009.   It really doesn't seem like it's been that long.   I'm happy to report that I have lost almost 40 pounds in a very slow, but life changing way.   I have made small changes and when they have become routine, I have added another healthy change.   

In 2009, I was obese.....hurt all the time...and made excuses for not exercising.
In 2012, I am 4 pounds away from a normal BMI (although my doctor says that I am healthy and that BMI is just a number to be used as a guideline not a rule).

In 2009, I could walk a 24 minute mile.
In 2012, I run an 11:35 minute mile.

In 2009, the thought of completing a 5K was terrifying.
In 2012, I am 65 days away from running my first 1/2 marathon and am VERY excited about it.  (My second 1/2 will be about 30 days after the first..woohoo!)

In 2009, my family thought it was cute that I was working out..."good for you"
In 2012, my family and many of my friends are engaged in regular exercise programs.   Several are running the 1/2 marathon with me.    All of this without nagging....they saw what being healthier did in my life and decided to make some changes for themselves.

Gotta say...it's been an incredible 3 1/2 yrs!

in search of a healthier me.....continuing

Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?

At the beginning of the year, I got the crazy idea that a 5K wasn't really THAT long of distance...which  led to the thought that I could probably jog a 5K...which led to me actually looking for local 5Ks....which led to me stating that I was planning on registering for a 5K at Disneyland (where else?) in September.....

I hoped that maybe a friend or two would join me in my crazy adventure.    I did not expect more than 20 friends to express interest.   


As of today, there are 4 of us already signed up and training.  

Right now, I'm managing a 14 min/mile pace which is 6 minutes faster than it was in January.   This week I'm increasing the distance to 2 miles with the hopes of maintaining my current pace at the new distance.   

Hubby1 is running with me and his training plan is to run 3 miles at random times....not be able to walk for a week and when he can walk again, run another 3 miles.     I'm not confident in that type of training being efficient but whatever....

Girl1 is being a showoff and running a 35 minute 5K already.    We pretty much hate her.


So here we are at 48/49 years old.....preparing to run our first race....pray for our sanity.....
and our old, protesting muscles....

in search of a healthier me...pt 6

It's been awhile since I've posted about my search for a healthier me and I'm happy to report that I have continued to exercise regularly and try to eat better.   I've lost a total of 28 pounds since starting this adventure 16 months ago.   I feel great and I think that's more important to me than any number.

I have continued using the EA Sports More Workouts (and would recommend it to everyone) and this weekend, I added the 'couch to 5K (C25K)' plan to my workout.   I am utilizing the "get running" app to help me reach my goal of being able to run a 5K.   I haven't signed up for any race ....I just want to see if I can do it.  

I've completed two of the workouts and was pleasantly surprised at how easy they seemed.   Basically, for the first week, you start out running for 1 minute and walking for 1.5 minutes.   You repeat this 8 times during the workout.    Each week, you increase the amount of time you spend running and decrease the walking time.  By the end of 9 weeks, you should be able to run for 30 minutes.

I'll keep you posted...

in search of a healthier me -- part 5

Actually, we've now decided to search for healthier mii's.    My friends and I are tired of turning on the wii fit and having our little mii look all cute and thin and then BAM!! a front butt appears while the wii board says "that's overweight!"   So we've formed a facebook group and we're holding each other accountable to fitness goals.  Everyone has set their own workout routine and checks in once a day.

Some of the gals decided to post before pics.  I'm always up for a good laugh, so here's what I posted.

January 2009....excited that there's a celebration just for me.

June...about 4 days before I got serious about exercising.

January 2010....after losing 24 pounds and 2 pants sizes.

Excited to find my "normal mii." 

in search of a healthier me -- part 4

i am officially declaring this summer a success in the terms of getting healthier.   i completed three 30-day challenges and, although i missed a few workout days, i really feel great!   i'm currently on my fourth 30 day challenge.  this month i'm doing monday - friday workouts and taking the weekend off.  

i'm also doing a 10,000 steps a day program with a friend.   i've done the 10,000 steps thing before and been completely discouraged by days when i only manage 3000 steps.   then i decided to be in charge of the program and tweaked it to be a more positive experience.   i no longer keep track of daily counts; i keep track weekly.   i always manage to get between 60,000 and 80,000 steps a week.  i just can't do 10,000 a day.  go figure!

so far, since june 16th when all this began, i've lost 19 pounds and dropped 2 pant sizes.   more importantly, i feel better, find it easier to choose healthier foods, and friends are starting to comment on the change in my appearance.

there are now about a dozen of us using the EA Sports Active program as part of our workout routine.   we're finding that having accountability and encouragement is a HUGE part of staying on track.  

go us!!!

in search of a healthier me -- part 3

Just finished my second 30-day challenge on the EA Active program. Not gonna lie, it was hard to stay motivated this month. There was just so many things going on and finding time to workout was hard. I missed 3 workouts of the 20, so I still did okay.

I'm trying to get out of the habit of using weight as the main measurement of success. I did lose 2 more pounds but, more importantly, I lost a few more inches. My clothes are starting to get really loose and that's so encouraging.

The next 30 days starts on Saturday. There are some intense workouts in the next group...I'm looking forward to pushing myself a little bit this month.

in search of a healthier me -- part 2

way back on june 16th, a girlfriend and i started a 30 day fitness challenge. we chose to do the EA Active. She's more daring than me and did the medium intensity. I, well aware of my pathetic physical condition, chose the easiest level.

I am proud to announce that we both stuck with it and finished our 30 days today.

Here's a brief recap of this adventure.

the program is 2 days of exercise, followed by 1 day of rest. for whatever reason, this made it sooo much easier for me.

day 1 and 2 pretty much killed both of us. neither of us felt like we were working hard during the workout, but our thighs were beyond sore the first two days. we were so thankful when day 3 arrived and we didn't have to do another lunge or squat.

by day 4, we could walk again and were willing to see what kind of torture was in store for us. it was an upper body workout that actually felt fantastic.

by the end of 2 weeks, we were both seeing weight and inches disappear.

when the reps increased, we tackled them with no problem and celebrated that we were noticeably stronger.

final results for me are 3 inches from my waist.....4 inches gone from my hips....2 from each thigh...and a weight loss of 12 pounds.

I seriously feel wonderful about sticking with it. I have more energy and just feel better about myself overall. happy days!!!

in search of healthier me

like so many other people, i struggle to meet my goals of being healthy. i get bored with exercise routines and tend to stop them after a couple of months. but i'm happy to say that since january,
i've managed to lose about 14 pounds; but, more importantly, i've managed to tone up some of those flabby areas.

here's what's working for me. i use the personal coach for the DS....i like the pedometer and keeping track of all my activities. i've cut sodas pretty much out of my diet. refuse to eat a meal that consists of just "white" foods. limit my desserts to one night a week. and choose to walk to the bank and post office which are only a mile away.

Been using the wii fit since January. averaging about 3 times a week. i do free weights on the off days. will admit that the cardio activities are pretty boring, but i like the yoga and balance stuff.

this silly little game kicks my butt. i'll never be able to finish the challenges because many of them require jumping. i can jump, but my knee collapses on the landings (this does take the fun out of the jumping games). but i've managed to adapt some of the activities and am guaranteed a full cardio workout whenever i play.

we just bought this. i did the first day of the 30 day challenge this morning.....on the easiest level based on the advice of friends who pushed themselves and regretted it. it was seriously a perfect workout. not too hard, but hard enough that i worked up a good sweat and felt FANTASTIC when finished.

anyone else seeking to improve your health? what's working for you?