Need to listen to myself

Last week I wrote a blog entry about how it's been a while for a lot of things in my life that I use to be good with - "It's been a while..". These would be blogging, working out and tracking my food. Well apparently that didn't motivate me enough to get going and start going what I needed to be doing.

Well today is Monday and the start to a new week (well work week that is). I brought my workout bag with me and have already logged my breakfast and obviously am blogging. It's only going to be a 3 day week for me as Thursday I head to Pensacola for a wedding between 2 of my friends and to be with my fiancé. I know Thursday I won't get anything in but I am hoping that maybe I will on Friday and/or Saturday. Both of those days he has groomsmen activities so I might go for a run on the beach in the morning or something since our hotel is literally on the beach on the gulf and it will be pretty. At the very least I am going to bring stuff with me. I figure hopefully if I bring it with me that will motivate me to get something in. As for Monday-Wednesday I plan of doing something each day. Today I am going to work out during my lunch. Tomorrow I might swim we'll see and Wednesday again lunch time. I have a 5K on April 12th that I can't let myself slip on. The goal for that 5K is to set a personal best and I think I have run a low 27 minutes in training so the goal is at least a 26 something!

Well back to baby steps to get myself moving again and making the right choices. I've got a dress to fit into in a year which should be huge motivation! hahahaha!

Have a great week! Enjoy the little quote :)

Been a While...

It's been a while for a a lot of things lately.

1.) It's been a while since I have blogged. In fact it's been over a week and half. The last time I did an entry I had just finished my race, became engaged and was happier than I thought possible. Since then I have been to Miami, seen a lot of family, put on a huge $45K cocktail party for my work, switched from Outlook to Google Aps for work, introduced mine and my fiance's parents at a lunch and started my wedding planning. Needless to say I have been a busy girl lately! In addition work has never been busier and the stack on work on my desk is becoming overwhelming a bit. I'll get through it, I always do! :)

2.) It's been a while since I have worked out. In fact my race was the last time I did something physical. OOPS! It has almost been 2 weeks since I have worked out, 12 days to be exact. I wanted last week to be a break since I was in Miami the majority of the week and didn't want to have to worry about it, but I have kinda carried it over into this week for no reason at all. This morning I thought about going swimming after work, but my stuff is in the back of the car my sister is driving right now (my whole family has been playing musical cars lately with my dad doing some work on mine and now my sister's car). I could have very well gotten it out of the the trunk this morning and switched it over but I didn't. I did tell myself when I had the thought in the shower to go swimming today, when I realized how long that it had been, that naw I will just start back up next week. Umm hello dumbo you are going to Pensacola on Thursday morning and won't be back till Monday for a wedding and mini-vaca time with your fiance. I know I won't do diddly squat. I have told myself that I will bring my work out stuff because on Friday especially when the groomsmen (which my fiance is part of) are at the golf course and the bridesmaids (not me) are at the spa I would go work out and then plop my butt down on the beach. Question is will I do the 1st part because we all know I will do the 2nd part! haha!

3.) It's been a while since I really tracked my food. I haven't really been making bad choices. In Miami I definitely ate more than I should have at meals, but I was eating Cuban food, and being that I am Cuban and don't get to eat the yumminess of that food all the time, I ate and ate and ate until I couldn't eat anymore because it was that good. Oh well! I was pleasantly surprised on Monday I got on the scale and it said 161.2lbs so I really didn't gain anything over the week - so yay! Really though I need to be better about tracking. I ALWAYS do better when I do and make better progress. Today I am going to do this, today my goal is to track everything. Just 1 day at a time right?

Well there have definitely been quite a few "It's been a whiles" lately. Good thing is that it's not a huge set back, just a small one. Time to get my butt back into gear. Maybe I will go run on the beach this week... the water is finally starting to be warm enough to get into and that would be a nice refreshing feeling after a run. We'll see.

BEST WEEKEND EVER

This weekend was officially the best weekend of my life! I was all excited about my big race on Saturday morning and my boyfriend was coming for it which meant the world to me. Then of course there was him coming and getting to spend time with him which ALWAYS puts me in a good mood. :)

On weekends we get to see each other typically on the Friday we get in very late as we can't leave until 5pm after work and then a 5 1/2-6 hour drive puts you in quite late. I told him if there was any way to leave an hour or 2 early that would be great since I needed to go to bed early to get a good nights rest with my race in the morning. He said it would be difficult since apparently 2 people were already out on his team and that is the max that can be out for scheduling. Well I talked to him around 5:30 and he told me he was a bit over 2 hours out! The little sneaker tricked me! Well he also tricked me and that he got in even earlier than he said surprising me even further! I couldn't be happier he was there by 7:10-15! I could stop hugging and kissing him and then he told me he had another surprise for me. I told him that him being here for my race, surprising me early was more than enough for me, what else could top that?! Well he topped it - a little box appeared between us as we were still hugging. He had these big cute eyes and just said I love you. I am sure my face was shocked but all I could do was hug him more and I couldn't stop kissing him. The smile across my face had to be huge because I could feel it ear to ear! haha! I finally stopped kissing him and said yes. He then put it on my finger and it is absolutely gorgeous!! He did amazing - it is soo me and an oval cut which I love oval and emerald cuts. I will never forget his face when looked at me with this little box in his hands. I love him soo much and couldn't be happier!

Okay that just made the weekend amazing! We immediately called my parents and his and then I had to tell those I love too. Texts when out and then it made it onto facebook and that exploded. I have never felt soo loved! We then went to dinner and met up with my fiance's brother and 2 friends. His brother was soo happy and was excited to have me be part of the family. That just made me feel great and happy that his family likes me too. Always a plus! :) haha!

Next was Saturday morning and I was up at 6am. I got ready, ate some oatmeal, and we were out the door by 6:30 headed downtown to the race. It was a cold windy morning but I tried my best not to let it phase me. I stretched and waited around for the 8:30 gun shot. It went off and away we went, all 20,000 people!! The 1st 4 miles are a blur for me - it just went smoothly and the atmosphere was just carrying me. By mile 5 I finally realized I was already past half way and couldn't believe it - probably because I realized I had to pee and started looking for a port-a-potty. I found one but decided that I would just wait it out and make it to the end - ya that lasted about a quarter of a mile when I decided nope I have to find one NOW! Haha! The next one wasn't until mile 6 and I mowed over some spectators to get to it. It was God Sent and made the world of difference. After that around 6.5 miles I started to feel my legs. I think I stopped thinking about how bad I had to pee and was able to focus on other things, such as my legs. I took a Cliff Blok I was carrying with me and some water at mile 7 and got my second wind. I turned the corner and hit mile 8 right as we started to go up the "Green Monster" (the large green bridge the runners have nicknamed the Green Monster), I ran the whole way up and didn't stop! I was soo proud of myself. Coming down it was soo windy that you actually had to run down it, there was no just go and let gravity take you, it was wind pushing you back. Oh well it was fun because you could see the end and it made it all that much better. I came in just under 1:35 with my official time being 1:33.19. I was soo happy with my time considering I had a bathroom break and walked through the water stations that I took water at - that was my breather. I would definitely do it again next year! :)

That evening we went over to his parents' house to celebrate for dinner with his younger brother and a family friend. They were so cute having a champagne toast any everything! They were so happy and that just made me feel so welcomed and loved. It's great to know that they approve of me for their son since he is the love of my life.

Well here's a great year I know it!!!!

It's Official

2 Things because official today - the 1st I am the most excited about :)

#1:
Well it is official I am DONE training! Monday was 8 miles, yesterday was a 30 minute aerobic swim, and this morning was a long, comfortable 2 mile run. Tomorrow and Friday besides walking Wrigley there will be no exercise, just resting and stretching of the legs and keeping heat on my hip. I am so proud of myself for sticking to this 10 week plan and getting myself ready for my race. This is something I honestly didn't think I would be able to do - run more than like 3 miles. I remember last year while grabbing a beer and playing trivia with some friends around 8-8:30 a friend saying he ran 8 miles between work and the beer - I thought to myself he was crazy and how the hell did he just run 8 miles?! On Monday I DID 8 MILES! I know there are people out there that do marathons and even 1/2 marathons and 8 miles is nothing, but for me this is a milestone. This is something I seriously thought was something I couldn't do and I did it. I absolutely can not wait for Saturday!

Good News too that I found out yesterday afternoon - I got a seated position for the race Saturday! This is what I was trying to do with the 5 mile race that I did where I was trying to go under 49 minutes. You see there are like 20,000 people participating in this race this weekend - it's the largest 15K in the country. They seat the first 5000 people and this was my goal. (1-300 are the Olympic qualifiers, 301-100 is a heat, then 1000-2000, 2000-3000, 3000-4000, and finally 4000-5000 - all are based upon a qualifying time achieved) This means you are ahead of 15,000+ people if you get into one of these heats! Well I just missed it by 25 seconds when I did my 5 mile race in January. I was slightly bummed but at the same time that was my first ever 5 mile run ever so I couldn't complain with the time.  Yesterday I received an email that said that I AM IN!!!! I am officially a seated runner! :) My bib# is 4932!!! YIPPIE! I am soo excited I just can't hold it in. :)


#2:
Well it is official I am the smallest I have been in probably 4 years! I got on the scale this morning and it said 161.2lbs! I haven't been under 162lbs at least in 4 years. I FINALLY broke through that 162 mark. My goal was to be 155lbs by March 1st which I am still a ways from but you know what who cares that I didn't make it. I am losing inches and have been for a bit with no movement on the scale. I finally was okay with that but this new # I haven't seen in soo long is the cherry on the cake this week. For me this number means I am on the right track in making my life a healthy one. I have been working so hard at it and for 5 months I have been basically at the same weight, gained a little bit around the holidays but since October I haven't been under 162lbs - today I did it! Things are working and I couldn't be happier! :)

More than running through the finish line

Talk about a busy busy life lately! Work has just consumed me lately and then training for my race THIS WEEKEND (yay it's finally here), and then just other things in life - I just have been non-stop. I was hoping that the beginning of the year would be a catch up; and get back on track time, unfortunately I was wrong as it really has taken on it's own life and just exploded, but in a good way.

The biggest thing in my life right now is my race this weekend. I was talking with my boyfriend last night and I realized that this race is soo much more than just running through the finish line. Don't get me wrong finishing this is going to be amazing, but it's for so many reasons. The fall of 2010 I realized I has come to a point that I couldn't be happy with  myself any longer. I had already started to lose some weight for my best friend's wedding (unfortunately it wasn't enough, but I was thankful for it looking back because it got the ball rolling) but was still a big girl for me. (here's me then - "Changing Looks") My other best friend at work got me to commit to participating in my 1st ever 5K in March 2011 at the Gate River Run (that is actually a 15K which is what I am doing this weekend, but there is a 5K too). I knew I had to start working so we tried to start something but with the holidays it just fell off. Finally in January we started the Couch-to-5K program. If you aren't a runner this is a GREAT program to get you off the couch and running, seriously it baby steps you up. I remember thinking when we were training and it was nearing the end and we had to run for 20 minutes straight or 3 miles and I would dread it and think how can I do this?! March came and the race came and I finished - struggled but I finished in 33:18. I told myself when I finished watching the 15K people run through the finish line and being personally inspired that I would run that in 2012, I made a promise to myself!

Well it is a year later and I am about to fulfill that promise to myself! I have struggled at completing really hard things in my life, finding the easy way at times or just avoiding it at all costs. Not only am I about to complete this promise to myself I did everything correct and proved to myself that I can do something that I didn't think was possible! I have always thought that I could never run for an hour or longer, that just seemed impossible that my body could endure that. (Yes I know I would swim for 2.5 hours but that is different, I was good at swimming, I am not good at running.) I proved that wrong a couple of times already, especially with my longest run yesterday at 8 miles which took me 1:17.24! I knew this would be a challenge, to not only complete the 15K but train for it. At the end of 2011 I realized my training partner & best friend at work would not be doing it with me. If I wanted to do this it would be on my own completely (I would have her support, but the actual training would be by myself.) In the past this would have been motivation enough to not complete it, just drop it. I found a great program online - Hal Higdon's Novice 15K Training Program, printed it out and tacked it to my cubical with "Gate River Run" in big letters at top. I couldn't back down now this time. Come Jan 1st I put my plan into action and started my 10 week program. I remember looking at it at the beginning and seeing the 5, 6, 7, and 8 mile runs and not sure if I would be able to do it. Yesterday I completed the 8 miles and not only completed it, ROCKED IT! (My sister ran it with me and honestly it was one of best times I have had with her, something that I will always remember! - In fact we did this loop that she told me she has always been wanting to do, a goal of hers and we DID IT!)

This Saturday I am going to run through the finish and complete so much - I will finished the longest run of my entire life, I will prove to myself that I CAN challenge myself and do something that I didn't think was possible, I will complete the 1st real physical challenge I have had in probably 5 years (the last one was NCAAs basically exactly 5 years ago) and finally I will finish a promise to myself, a goal that I have had for a year! I really am excited about this run this weekend for these reasons. The best part is that when I finish my boyfriend will be at the finish line waiting for me and I can just run into his arms and get a hug! What better motivation than that?!

This week is about staying calm, relaxing, eating right, and getting sleep all the way through running through and finishing my 1st ever 15K and longest run of my life!

Feeling Better

I have been swamped this week - OMG! I have been missing my blog and I decided to take a few minutes very quickly to type one up. This week has been good, I feel MUCH better. Monday I still felt a tad tired still but by Tuesday all good.

I ran 5 miles Tuesday at 4pm and felt good the whole way. My legs didn't hurt, my body kept going, and I held a nice pace the whole way. I ran the 5 miles in 47 minutes and 58 seconds! Not my fastest 5 miles but under that 49 minute goal that I was trying to do a month ago. YAY! The only bad thing is on Wednesday my hip was killing me! I should have iced it down after my run and didn't and I paid for it Wednesday. I took 4 anti-inflammatory and it didn't do squat. Today however it is feeling better Thank God!

So my goal this week was to stay under my calorie count - ya I forgot about the dinner I was supposed to have Wednesday night with some people from work. It was fabulous last night! We have a Dutch intern that has been with us for 7 months and is heading back on Saturday. (he's part of this program that our mother company has and they work with their opt-cos) There was a group of 8 of us that took him out to dinner for a good-bye we will miss you dinner at this great local restaurant. We had great wine, oysters, soup, main course and desert. I just didn't care, I ate my oysters, had this fabulous tomato & leek soup, this fantastic pork chop with these german style fingerling potatoes and cabbage mixture and for desert enjoy some crème boule (my favorite!), not to mention the delicious wine.

I don't feel bad about yesterday, I didn't get on the scale this morning so I couldn't get "mad" at myself, and that was yesterday and I enjoyed myself and today I had a great breakfast, have a yummy sandwich for lunch and then my sister is making dinner so it should be a great day. I am working on looking forward and not backwards. There is nothing wrong with a little splurge here and there and yesterday was just that.

So small change up in the weekly work out plan this week. I knew that I had lunch plans and dinner plans yesterday and I didn't want to get up early so I took Wednesday as my day off. Today I am swimming for 45 minutes instead of running, running 3 miles with strength tomorrow, swimming an hour on Saturday and then running the 8 miles on Sunday. That means the following week it is stretching on Monday, 3 miles on Tuesday, 30 minutes cross on Wednesday, 2 miles on Thursday and rest of Friday and RACE on Saturday!!!!! I can't wait!