My Journey Part One

We all tend to judge things by successes and failures. But true success is measured by our failures. Let me explain. If someone never fails then that means they never tried. Don't be afraid to fail. A successful person isn't someone who has never failed. They are someone who NEVER GIVES UP!

You might be wondering WHAT "success" I want to talk to you about today. After all, I do run a successful kid care and preschool and have for MANY years. I've been married to the same wonderful man for over thirty-three years. I have given birth to four children and raised two of them to adulthood and the other two are about to embark on that journey, one in a year and the other in three. Those are all things a lot of people would count as successes. I know I do. But those aren't the ones I am here to talk about today.

Today is for a different type of success. One that is just as challenging and rewarding as the ones mentioned above. But this one is a personal journey that is just about ME. This is about my fitness success. Those who know me understand that when I say FITNESS I am talking about more than exercise. Fitness is exercise, diet, our mental fitness and our spiritual fitness. Sometimes those get off balanced and we have one on track but the others fall to the way side. Balance is important when it comes to fitness.

In order to tell you about where I am today on my fitness journey, I need to give you some background on where I started. I was born in the mid 60's. I was not a chubby child, in fact in some of my pictures I look kind of like a stick before hitting puberty. I was an extremely active little girl. I was always outside running around, riding my bike, climbing trees or playing on the swing set. In the summer I was ALWAYS at the public pool. My grandparents spent a lot of time on the golf course so I was doing that, too. I've looked back to try to figure out when that changed and why. It may have been because school got more involved and harder. It could be because I spent more time watching TV. It may have been because puberty changed my attitude and I just got lazy. We were required to do sports and PE in school instead of recess and that may have made it seem less "fun". I'm not sure what the commercials were back then but they COULD have been the beginning on the body image issues that plague us still today.

I grew up in a time that the new aerobic fade came around. Fitness Centers for women were popping up in the late 70's in our small city.. I don't know if women always worried about their weight or if it didn't matter as much because they worked hard around their homes to take care of their families and didn't have time to think about it. But I remember that my grandmother was unhappy with her size 14 clothes and struggled to lose any weight until she got in her mid 70's and 80's and the weight just wouldn't stay on her body. I was not a thin girl after I reached puberty but I wasn't really big, either. But I FELT like I was. It bothered me that I wasn't as small as I "thought" I should be. I can tell you right now that those thoughts were very harmful to my self worth and it has caused me many challenges over my lifetime. I don't remember if I had other people say things to me about weight or if I saw things in movies, TV shows or read it in books. But somewhere, somehow, I got the idea that I was FAT. But when I look back at pictures of myself during those years...I was NOT fat. I was NOT overweight. I was NOT unattractive. I have read my old diaries from my teen years and I was dieting and trying to lose weight ALL.THE.TIME. The more weight I put on the more diets I tried. I lived a yo-yo life with my weight.

My journey just got harder and more complicated as I got out of high school and got married followed by children. Check back for Part Two of the story.

Helping Transform Lives One Day At A Time

10 Tips for Living Fit in a Busy Life

My friend, Nicole O'Dell has written a wonderful blog post about 10 tips for Living Fit in a Busy Life. I don't know about you but my life IS SUPER BUSY! Most people I know would say their lives are busy. And that tends to get in the way of them doing the things for themselves. They don't realize that we could better serve in the areas we are called to, be it a wife, mom, friend, employee, etc. if we make that time for ourselves. I read her article and just couldn't help asking her if I could share it with you. So here you go....

By Nicole O'Dell @ Fit and Busy Life

10 Tips for Living Fit in a Busy Life.....

I’ll be the first to admit that living fit is difficult when you’re smack dab in the middle of a busy life. You already know how busy I am. I have five kids still at home, a full-time job, church activities, grad school, book writing, blah, blah, blah. All the day’s minutes? They are used up. Your story may be different than mine, but I’m sure you feel no less busy than I do. So how do we find time to make things like working out and eating healthy food possible?

I’ve learned by trial and error how to prioritize fitness in a way that doesn’t make me feel guilty or selfish, and so it doesn’t get pushed aside in the hustle. By making it work, I feel healthy and invigorated, which translates into more productivity and better moods throughout the day. Everybody wins!​..........

Follow this link to see the entire article. 

Helping transform lives one day at a time.

My First 15K

Hot Chocolate 15K

I picked up my runner's goodie bag yesterday. I was getting ready for my first 15K. My very first race was the HC5K so it's only fitting my first 15K would be this one. It was challenging but I pushed myself and did my very best and nothing less. It has been a couple of years since I was in even a 5K so the 15K seemed a bit much to me but I was excited to do it anyway. How do you challenge yourself? Do you? You have to push yourself past your comfort zone in order to grow and get better. 

I got up super early and didn't stop going for most of the day. It was a very busy morning! 

Here are just a few things you might like to know.

*This was my first 15K

*It was also my first race of any kind in almost 2 years...yikes!

*My very first race was the HC5K 

*It was in the 30s this morning and the sun never came out to warm things up.

*My feet didn't hurt until mile 9.

*I took sips of my Hydrate during the race to keep me going but at the end I drank most of it. I didn't want to have to potty during the race.

*I would pick a light or a tree and run until I got to it. Often times I was able to keep running past that once I got going. Giving myself goals to shoot for helped.

*I took it one mile at a time. Once I got to 6 miles I knew I was only a 5k away from finishing. 

*When I did a 10K 2 years ago my feet hurt between mile 4 and 5 so they were hurting badly by the time I finished. Today I passed mile 6 feeling great!

*Having family or friends waiting for you at the finish line makes all the difference in the world. 

*Hearing them call my name as I came towards the finish line and them saying what a great job I did brought tears to my eyes. It was pretty cool. 

*Getting the finisher's metal was awesome!

*Getting a cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of fondue hit the spot. I ate it all but the marshmallows and rice crispy treat.

*Going to eat breakfast after I make them stand out in the cold is a tradition. Old West is a new venue. It was delicious. 

*Normally I can't fall asleep after a race, any size race. Today I fell asleep shortly afterwards and slept for a couple of hours.

*Stretching and "rolling" my feet and legs is a must in my recovery. Plus a hot bath and a cup of Recharge at bedtime. 

*Will I do it again? Yep, next year and every year after as long as I can. I am sad I missed last year. 

**I forgot to turn off my Nike app at the finish line and turned it off after I walked all the way to get my finisher's mug of fondue.

**I forgot to turn off my Polar watch until I was almost to the car! 

There you have it. My day. What did yours look like?

~Helping transform lives one day at a time

New Game Plan

The past couple of months have been crazy busy in almost every area of my life. It usually is but I'm talking really crazy busy. I've been working on my kid care business, doing my best to fill the open spots and the ones that will be opening this summer. I have 6 wonderful kids graduation from our school. That will leave a huge hole in our hearts as well as our income, unless I get them filled. I do special things for the kids that are graduating and I have been getting those things together. I was also working really hard with those 6 kids to make sure they finished up the reading lessons before the end of the year. I am proud to say that they can all read, plus one 4 year old that isn't graduating until next year. If you know of anyone looking for kid care or a good preschool, send them to my website. 

Last week, I started a challenge to drink 1 to 2 ounces of NingXia Red every day. That stuff is wonderful. It has helped me keep down the cravings for foods I shouldn't have an abundance of. I have more energy. I don't feel like I am ready to call it a day after lunch. I feel like I could just keep going and accomplish so much. It is so worth investing in it for all the benefits you get. If you are interested in that, just let me know. I love my YL and my NingXia Red!!! We have been using our oils and our household products like crazy and loving the lifestyle with less chemicals and a healthier us. If you want to read more about it, you can check out my fb page here. You will find lots of great articles plus links to find out more about the products and company. 

I have let some personal areas of my life go during the past several months and it is time to get back on track. I know from experience that when I am eating right, sleeping enough and working out my whole day goes smoother. Sunday afternoon my youngest daughter and I cleaned out the cabinets and fridge before heading to the store for groceries and supplies. We got a few items to help organize our kitchen better and lots of good foods to make. I really had no rhyme or reason to what I bought, other than I wanted only good foods in my home. My oldest daughter came over on Monday and helped me in an enormous way. She knows how to prep and precook foods and plan meals for the week. She does it all the time for her and her man. She is also MY Beach Body coach. 

Together with my younger daughter, we managed to prep, store and plan for every meal this week, including the meals we serve the kids. We portioned out salads for me for lunch and made a HUGE bowl of salad for my husband and teens to eat. We made a huge bowl of mixed fruit and portioned it out for me but left a huge amount for the family and preschoolers to eat during the week. Extra fruit was washed and bagged to be eaten by itself when we need a little something or don't want the mixed fruit. My hubby grilled chicken and burgers on Monday. I made a huge bowl of rice and mixed in green onions, carrots, green, red, yellow and orange peppers. Each day at lunch I take three cups (1 for my hubby and each teen) and reheat it with some olive oil in a skillet. Today I added some boneless pork chops that I sauteed with olive oil and spices to make a main dish with veggies included. Other options this week for the rice will be seasoned hamburger meat or grilled chicken. We made the salad dressing from scratch. It is a bit tangy so we might work on that or just use less. My lunch is the salad with two hard boiled eggs for the protein. I am staying away from a lot of grains right now. I am making our bread to keep us away from all the added ingredients and I may or may not have a small slice with dinner from time to time. But I am limiting myself to that amount IF I feel the need to have a slice. At least I know it is healthier than the things we used to purchase all the time.  

For snacks we have fruit or nuts, or a healthy granola. I started dinner around 5 before heading into the den for my Turbo Fire workout. Some options for dinner this week are baked salmon and asparagus, steak and new potatoes, skillet pizza, and spaghetti. Any leftovers are put in a container or a baggie and available to add to one of the other meals. At the end of the week we may decide to have a combo meal with everything we have left over so it doesn't go to waste. 

I will be doing my shopping on Saturdays and my food prep on Sundays late in the afternoon each week, when time allows for that. I am going to be flexible when needed. Depending on the time I make it to the store on Saturdays, we COULD grill the meat and some veggies on a Saturday afternoon and then I would prep it to put into meal plans on Sunday afternoon. 

 I set timers to go off on my phone all day long. I had a timer for each meal and snack, for the workout (I need to change the time because I really like working out earlier rather than later) and for cooking. It was GREAT! I stayed ON TRACK, I ate well and I got my workout in. I know for me, planning and prep is KEY. I HAVE to have that, always. Today, the first day of this plan, went off like clock-work. My family ate the food I put on their plates and seemed to enjoy it very much. 

If you are interested in learning more about meal planning or Shakeology or great workout videos, let me know! I would be happy to help you any way I can. If I don't have the answer to something, hang on, I will ask someone higher up and let you know. I am super excited about this journey to better health and I would love for you to join me. If you want to check out my fb page on fitness it is here. 

Now for a really cool surprise.....drum roll please...... 

I decided to become a Beach Body coach. I did it for several reasons. I know a great deal when I see it. I get 25% off my BB products by being a coach. Who wants to purchase full price on something they purchase every month? I sure don't. I don't have all the details yet, but when I do, I will fill you in. While you are waiting, why don't you check out my pages and let me know if you have any questions about anything. We have monthly online and in person YL parties to share more about different oils. There are monthly challenge groups for BB that keep you inspired and excited. 

My goals for the rest of this year are pretty simple. I will get into a size 8 jean/dress again. I will get back to running in fun races all year long, maybe one a month, maybe more in the cooler months and less in the really HOT months. I will become an expert at every Turbo Fire workout PLUS PiYo. I am looking forward to the NEW Cize workout that is coming in July!!! I can't wait to get my hands on that one. I know my younger daughter and I will have super fun with that because she is my dancer. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my update. I hope to share with you more often, as my life allows. I love the fact that it is full. When my teens are all grown, I don't think I will enjoy the quiet and I will miss them deeply. 

Changing my life one day at a time.

I've Been Super Juiced

I can't believe the 28 days has gone by already. What an amazing journey it has been. I have learned so much about myself and my body. I have to say I did not LOVE every single juice I had but none of them were so terrible I couldn't drink it. I knew I was giving my body something it needed and I was full afterwards. There were quite a few that I LOVED and some I liked a lot. If you are interested in more information about what I did, check out the Super Juice Me website. I watched the documentary online and then I purchased the app for my phone. I love how it has all the videos, grocery list and recipes plus videos of him making the juices all on the app.

Today was day 1 after my 28 days. I am able to eat whatever I choose to eat now. I juiced three times today and ate a very small amount of food at one in the afternoon. I had some mixed veggies and a turkey patty that I made for my family for lunch. Compared to my juices it tasted bland. It did not sit well in my stomach and made me feel less than my best. I think it was the frozen veggies that did it. I should have had my other choice, a fresh green salad with some fruit on the side. 

  

Some of the changes besides my weight were my skin. I didn't have any large issues with breakouts. My feet, which are terribly dry and rough have become a lot smoother without me doing anything to them. Usually they are only slightly smooth if I have a pedicure. I am really pleased with this. I must be much better hydrated now. Also, my nails are growing and look pretty nice. They feel a bit stronger than they used to. I am hoping that will continue to increase as I juice more. My thyroid seems to be working better, too. My period was a lot lighter this month and really wasn't bad other than I felt like going to bed a little early to rest. My allergies have been doing great since I started doing the ginger shot each morning, which is an apple and a piece of ginger juiced. It has quite a kick to it but I just drink it fast and follow it with some water.  

I got up this morning and measured, weighed in and took pictures. Those are all on my before and after page. But I wanted to share some of it here so you can SEE them side by side. If you look closely you can see my neck is different. I should have measured there. My waist is a big difference because I went from wearing size 12's that fit very tight to wearing size 10's loose. My actual weight loss was 15.7 lbs and 16.75 inches in only 28 days. I am super happy about it. I had to change the shorts I wore in my pictures because the ones I wore on day one were just too big to show what I had lost. I am wearing the same shirt and I plan on doing that each time. Notice how much farther down the shirt goes because my waist is smaller.

My goal from here on out is to keep juicing at least 3 times a day with most days being 4 times like on my 28 day plan. I have broken it down into 28 day increments. Every 28 days I will weigh, measure and take a picture to see my progress. I am doing that all the way up to November because I turn 49 at the end of that month. I am super excited to see what my body is going to look like then. Hang out with me on my journey and see where it takes me.

Changing my life one day at a time.  

Super Juice Me Day Thirteen

Day Thirteen

It has been a week since I have blogged. I went out of town for a couple of days but I juiced before I left to make it easier to stay on track. I had some struggles for many reason but my youngest daughter went with me and she kept me strong. I drank my juices the entire day on Wednesday, although it was later in the evening than I was supposed to due to the family gathering at the funeral home. They went to Whataburger afterwards and I so wanted a burger. But Jenni said, "No, mom. You will be so upset if you do that." So I bought her one and drank my juice. On Thursday, I got up and drank my juice on the way to the cemetery for the service at 10 a.m. We went to the tennis club for a buffet lunch after the funeral. That was so hard. I didn't have my juice for the 1 p.m. juice time with me and I had no idea when I would get to drink it. I talked to my older daughter and she told me to find fruits and veggies that are in my juices and eat those. So that is what I did. I had a great salad with salsa on it instead of dressing and I had lots of fruit. I drank my 1 p.m. juice when we headed home around 4:30 since I hadn't made the 4 p.m. juice. After I got out of Houston traffic I was getting so tired and I knew I had another four hours to drive. I stopped to get Jenni some dinner and I got me a cob salad. Yes, I did have some chicken but I made sure I chewed it well. I also got a sweet tea with lemons for caffeine so I would stay awake. I made the best choices I could with the situations I was in. I could have chosen much worse. I felt fine afterwards and was able to stay awake on the drive home.

I am not perfect but I didn't go too far off the plan as I could have. Extenuating circumstances change things sometimes. Make good choices. Don't eat garbage foods. Eat as healthy as possible. Choose fruits and veggies over other foods. And eat things that don't have a lot of chemicals in them, preferably zero chemicals. That would be your best choice. I am back on track since I am back home. I am still craving meats. I will enjoy eating some healthy meats in a couple of weeks at least once a day. I plan on juicing twice a day AFTER the 28 day program. With this I know I can stop taking a lot of vitamins because I will be getting them from the foods I eat instead. That is the ideal way of getting them anyway. That excites me since it will cost me a lot less money. I really would love to be able to grow all of my own fruits and veggies for my juices someday. What an amazing thing that would be. 

My feet have been bothering me for so many months now. I thought it was because of my new shoes. But I bought some new shoes today, for half the price of my other ones. I got size 8 instead of size 9, like the other ones. I am thinking the shoes were too big. When I ran my two miles this evening they felt fine. As I slowed down to walk a mile afterwards my toes starting hurting pretty badly as if I had run many miles. I haven't run in several weeks because I hurt my toe and couldn't get the shoe on. That is possibly the reason that my feet hurt after only a short time of running. I traded the hot pink shoe laces with Jenni. I am giving her my size 9 shoes since she is going to be taller than me and her feet are bigger. She needed new running shoes anyway. I actually like the look of the other shoes better but I like the price better on these. 

I started a 12 week training program, on week two, for the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon in August 2. I am going to try very hard to stay on track with that program and run what it says to each day until the big race. If I do that, it is my hope my feet won't kill me anymore because it will be used to it. I will be doing feet exercises to help them not hurt, anything will be an improvement over what they feel now.

I have also been letting myself get away with not doing my workout videos. I have a ton of videos with great strength training and cardio. I've just been lazy and giving up. I have tried getting up earlier than 7 and I just can't seem to do it. I need my sleep. So today I did the DVD workout after naptime while the kids were having snack and then watching a video. Then I ran later in the evening. I have to really work hard to get my workouts in. I feel so good when I do them and feel lazy when I don't. I feel so much better when I have gone for a run. It may be a challenging run, but I always feel great afterwards because of the effort I put forth. It's time to build some muscle while I am training for this half marathon. 

My "grand design" for my body is one that I have had before but even better. I don't just want to loose the fat on my body, I want to build lots of muscle, too. I want to be strong as I grow older so that my life will be fuller and more meaningful. I have no clue what weight I will reach or what clothes size. I would like to reach size 6 in jeans but I know that will take a lot of work. I am willing to do the work. I just can't let my thoughts stop me from accomplishing them. My workout goal is DVD workout at least 4 days a week and running at least 4 days a week, if not more. I am not sure what my training schedule is for the later weeks, but it may be running 5 days or more. 

I have been struggling with my weight for so long and I finally understand why. It is the foods I am eating and my inability to stop eating them. The book I am reading talks about how the BIG FOOD and BIG DRINK companies put additives in the foods that MAKE you want to eat them and make it hard to stop. I was not able to loose the weight no matter how much I ran and worked out because I was still eating badly. I thought I was doing OK food wise but now I realize I wasn't anywhere near it. I have dropped 10 pounds in two weeks because I am juicing. I am eating healthier than I ever have with these juices. I am eating fresh veggies that I wouldn't eat normally or at least very often. I know without a doubt I will be able to loose the weight and inches now. And I will be able to build muscle to help that along as the fat goes away over the next several months. 

 I WILL reach my goal before my 49th birthday in November. Oh, what an amazing day that will be, when I can look at pictures of myself stronger and more healthy than I have ever been in my life. 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

Super Juice Me Day Two

Day Two

It is the end of day two and I feel pretty good. The drinks today were pretty good. The "shot" for today was called Natural Electrolyte Sodium Shot. It had cucumber and celery. I don't mind either of them but they aren't my favorites, either. I drank it as quickly as I could. Again, forgot to take a picture.

For 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. I made a Pure Raw Energy Smoothie. It was really good. It had a lot of my favorites like pineapple and avocado. Everything was juiced that could be, then put in the blender. I added the half avocado, half a banana and the hemp protein. Really thick and delicious. 

For 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. I made the Chlorophyll Cleanser. It had a lot of greens and it smelled and tasted very strongly of cucumber. It was better chilled. I found I like the drinks on ice. It makes them more of a treat.

I did experience some times of struggle today. I LOVE food. I LOVE to eat. The smell of food make it challenging. But something I am changing is loving food so much that it consumes me instead of me living my life. I want to pick foods that will help me be strong and healthy. I don't want to pick something just because it appeals to my taste buds that are all warped anyway. They don't know what is good anymore. But I am smart enough to read a label and figure it out. I am smart enough to choose to change what I eat for a better and longer life.  

I have already started thinking about how I am going to eat AFTER the 28 days is over. I am NOT going to put a bunch of processed foods into my body. We are going to cook a lot of meats, chicken, fish and the like on our own, baked and grilled. We are going to eat as much organic and chemical free foods as we can. I want these changes to be long term. I am going to find healthy ways to make foods we love. I am hoping we will all learn to love more foods in healthy forms, too. It is a life style change that I want for my whole family. That is what keeps me going each day.

Changing my life one day at a time.

Super Juice Me Day One

Day One:

My routine is not exactly what I want it to be yet, but I will be working on getting it on track each day. Today when I got up I drank about 8 ounces of water. I have the 16 oz. Flylady stainless water bottle that keeps water very cold. I fill it up before I go to bed and put it on my night stand. During the day I put a hair tie around it each time I fill it up. That helps me keep track of how much water I am drinking every day. My goal is between 1 and 2 liters a day, which would be 3 or 4 times. 

I made some herbal tea in a large mug around 8:30. Sometimes that will be earlier, when I get up earlier. I used my k-cup Lemon Zinger. I'm glad I can still use my Keurig even though I am not drinking my cafe mocha anymore. I then drank the other half of my water.

Around 9:45 I headed into the kitchen to start my morning juices. I forgot to take a picture of the first one. Every morning I will have a "shot" which is a small amount of power juice to kick start the day followed by a regular glass of juice. The one for today was called a Ginger Shot. It contains an apple and ginger. The ginger is like a kick in the pants, spicy. But good. You just drink that down pretty fast. 

Then I made my Protein Rich Powerhouse "thicky", as they call it. It is thick like a smoothie but it's not full of any thing but fruits and veggies. I actually made and drank this one twice today, once at 10 a.m. and once at 7 p.m. I decided I would use my special Disney glasses that I purchased long ago just to make it more fun. They are very sturdy glasses but we never use them because we didn't want them to get broken when the kids were little. The GLASS works great because plastic cups retain the smell of the juice from smoothies and things like that. Glass cleans up very well. This one tasted great both times. I added ice to them to chill it a bit more. You can also put it in the blender and crush it like a smoothie but I think this works fine. This one had things you needed to blend in the blender AFTER you finish juicing. So you pour your juice in the blender and then add the ingredients like avocado and banana plus hemp protein and seeds. 

I have to tell you that the pulp from it is a LOT. And I didn't have my bucket exactly right so it flew out all over the place. I corrected it by pulling the plastic bag OVER the spout so it couldn't fly out between the two. Worked GREAT. I juiced four times today. I am counting the shot and the first full glass of juice as one because I did not clean it between the two since there was really no need to. It was very easy to clean. I think it would be extremely difficult to clean if you did not do it right away. It would give the food a chance to stick and it wouldn't rinse off like it does fresh. So my advice is to make sure you take a couple of minutes to clean your juicer and blender after you finish using them, before you drink your juice. It really is quick so you don't have to worry your juice will get old before you're done. 

I made the Breath of Fresh Air juice at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. That one has a strong aftertaste because it has ginger in it. It also has beets. Make sure if you have large beets you cut them down to size and don't use a whole beet or it will be overwhelming. I had large ones so I cut them into four pieces and used one each time. The juice is a pretty deep red color and tastes good with the exception of the kick at the end of a drink. I drank lots of water during and afterwards. It helps get the taste out of your mouth pretty easily. The drink wasn't horrible so I won't dread it when it is time to have it again. 

At 9 p.m. it is time for an evening hot herbal tea to help with sleep. I am going to bed early tonight, as soon as I finish drinking my tea and going through my evening routine of washing my face, brushing my teeth and putting lotion on my dry skin. I also take the time to put some Thieves essential oils on the bottom of my feet to help me ward off illness. For me, fitness is a whole body experience, inside and out. It is time for me to start taking care of my body the best I can. It is the only body I will ever have. If I don't take care of it then I won't be able to walk around much longer.  

Speaking of walking, I got up late this morning because of being up late last night. I didn't get my morning workout in but fully intended to workout this evening. I didn't expect to break my little toe this morning and render myself unable to even walk without serious pain. I have it wrapped and that seems to help some. I am applying ice, too. It is my hope that it will be much better even tomorrow. 

I hope this encourages you to follow whatever plan you have decided is best for you. But do something that will help you get/stay healthy and live a more productive life. It isn't really about being super skinny or being on a diet. It is about only putting GOOD things in and on your body so that it can be the way God intended it to be when He created us.

Changing my life one day at a time.

Super Juice Me 28 Day Super-Juice Detox

My oldest daughter and I have started a 28 day super juice detox in order to flood our bodies with all the good stuff to heal it from the damage we have done to it with all the chemicals and bad things we have put into it over the years. We are really excited about the results we are going to see when we are done and how it is going to change the way we live and eat. 

I purchased a juicer and it arrived yesterday! It is pretty quiet compared to the one my daughter got but they both work. Mine is stainless steel. I just felt it would be better quality than plastic. I have heard the one I got gives you more juice than most others. We will see how it holds up.

Juicing gets pretty messy but it was very easy to clean up. I am doing the juicing and drinking it right away instead of making it ahead of time and storing it. Since I am at home I feel that is a good option for me. If there are times when I won't be at home, like on Sunday mornings, I will juice my 10 a.m. juice ahead of time and take it with me. My daughter does her juicing for the whole day the night before. She is at work all day so this helps her be ready to go in the morning. Do what works for you and your schedule. 

We watched the whole documentary on Super Juice Me's website. They no longer have the entire thing to watch for free. It was a real eye opener. It is an hour and a half long. We decided to give it a go. After all, nothing about the plan was chemicals or things unhealthy. It has ALL the vitamins and nutrients we NEED to live and thrive, despite people thinking otherwise. We looked at the different options for purchase of the program and felt the app for our phone was the best and most cost effective. It is a GREAT app. It has everything; videos, menus with times, shopping lists for a week at a time or the whole 28 days, and a lot more. The videos help SO much. I use the video while I was making my juices. I am sure I will get to where I won't have to use it while I am making it but for now, it is a great thing to have. I watch the videos the day before, too. There are so many great tips that you need to spend some time watching them. And if you are like me, take notes. 

If this is something you are interested in, check out the documentary on their website. You can even download the app, it is just over $15 with tax. You can follow my progress on here or on my fb page where I will post links to my blog posts and other tips. Make sure you clean out your fridge before you go to the store so you have room for all your produce when you return. It takes up a LOT of room. But just think how wonderful you will feel after eating all of those healthy foods. 

I am super excited to be super juiced. I am picturing myself well on my way to a GREAT summer, feeling and looking better. I have so many great summer clothes that I "out grew" that are practically brand new. I will be spending the next 85 days working on not only my eating habits but training for my next half marathon. It is my goal to be in super shape and much stronger than I am now in time for my race. It is my goal to post each days foods and my struggles on here daily along with pictures. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me here or on fb. But please, no negative comments. This is a blog about positive change. Thanks!

What are your goals for summer? 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

My First Half Marathon: Lone Star 13.1

My FIRST ever Half Marathon.

I learned a lot of things from doing this race. More than I learned from reading runner magazines. I suppose it is true that you learn more from doing instead of just hearing about someone else doing it.

If you DON'T train for a Half you will not be able to run it. You may not be able to finish it unless you are as stubborn as me. More on how stubborn I am later. Training is something you have to do. Even if it is running small distances every day. It gets your body used to running instead of used to sitting all day. 

Something different about me than other people is my feet. I have no clue why I have trouble with my feet, but I do. And it isn't just when running. When I am on my feet for long periods of time it makes my feet hurt, badly. The pain starts in my middle toes where they touch the balls of my feet, if that makes sense. The pain can become so extreme that it brings tears to my eyes or even makes me break down and actually cry. More on how my feet reacted later.

I was really excited but nervous about the race. I KNEW I hadn't prepared for it like I should have. I let all sorts of things get in my way, mostly just silly excuses that I could have found a way around if I really wanted to, most of them anyway. But I was determined to do it and finish. Seven in the morning is early when you are racing but I was thrilled it was a local race, in my own city, and I only had to drive about 3 miles to get there. I arrived right before they started the race, maybe 5 minutes. No time to worry or wonder. I got my tracker on and my worship music on and I set off. I had planned to take it slower because of the things I had read, run slower than normal for a half or full marathon. I thought I was running slower but the first mile went by and it actually said I was running about on track with the usual. My feet started bothering me after I completed mile 3, so somewhere along mile 4. I started doing stretches for my feet and toes to help get me through. It worked for several miles. The pain is less when I am running than when I am having to walk to whatever reason. Plus, I prayed that I would be able to make it through despite the pain and that it would be less than I feared.

Mile seven had a big incline. That was challenging. I tried to run up the entire thing but only made it half way and had to walk the rest. The next big hill came right after that one. I walked backwards up it part of the way because another running suggested it so that I couldn't see the hill as I was going up. It worked OK. I can't really remember but I believe there was only one really big incline let on the course, during mile 9 or 10. I did NOT think I was going to make it up that one. It was as long as the other two put together. I was already extremely tired at that point. I had been running/walking for well over 2 hours. But I knew there was no other option. I tried the walking backwards thing but it didn't really help me this time. I just prayed that God would help me push through and get to the top of that hill.

As I got to the top of that hill I felt a sense of relief. I looked ahead at where I must go next and I knew I would just do it. My attitude changed a bit as I got over that hill. I only have 3 miles left, a simple 5K. I had done those plenty of times walking and running. I could do it. I decided to start thinking about what a nice day it was and how I was just out for a nice long walk. At that point I told myself I was just going to walk unless I felt like a short sprint. It made it easier knowing I wasn't going to push myself to run the entire rest of the way. I can honestly say I ran some in every mile. I ran LESS in the later miles and MORE in the beginning ones. I reached a point where I could no longer stretch my toes to make it feel better. Sometimes I could curl my toes under as I was walking and it would relieve some of the pain, but not always. Once the pain shooting through my toes got so bad with a simple movement of my toes I no longer tried to move them. I just tried to ignore them.

There were plenty of water stations. They were giving out water, Gatorade, pickle juice and jelly beans at the water stops. I did try the pickle juice. It was terrible. I only drank a sip during mile 10. I did eat some jelly beans here and there for energy. I did drink some Gatorade. But mostly water. Someone was giving away bottles of water along the route as a community service and I was thankful for it. I took my sweatband off and poured water on it to wipe my face with throughout the later part of the race. It was one of the things that really helped. The weather was great but started getting hotter as I reached mile 10. Before that it actually sprinkled and looked like the crazy storm they were worried about was going to hit. Then it cleared up. Must have been because I prayed for the storm to hold off for just awhile longer because it just totally passed us by.

Along the route there were so many people saying "good job" and "way to go, keep going, don't stop" and things like that. EVEN people driving by in their cars. The police that worked the race were super nice and encouraging, too. The other runners were super supportive. I met and ran with one lady for a bit towards the end that said she had done 48 Halfs. Wow! That was just amazing to me. She is a single mom of four and her oldest is 19. She encouraged me to keep going. She is the one who suggested walking backwards. We came through the finish line together, running.

It took me 3 hours and 36 minutes to complete 13.1 miles. I was dead last in my age group, 45-49. There were only 4 other runners that came across the finish line AFTER me in all age groups. But that is OK. I finished. I did it. I got my finisher's medal and that is proof to myself I did cross that finish line.

As I got towards my car and sat down the pain in my feet increased ten fold. Plus, I was sore from going that long of a distance. I sat in the car and texted two people that I had finished. I knew they would be waiting to hear and I didn't want them to worry about me. I then took off my shoes and socks to see if my feet were really swollen as big as they felt. No, they weren't but they sure felt like it. The pain we extreme and I was unable to move my toes on my owe except with my hands. I wasn't sure I could drive home since putting my feet on the peddles was painful, too. But I had to get home so I could soak my hurting feet. That runner told me how it would be best to use cold instead of hot for the swelling. All the way home my feet would go from feeling OK to hurting worse than ever. I had no one in the car to be brave for so I just let it out and cried all the way home. When I arrived home I very slowly got out of the van and walked to the front door. The concrete driveway felt like pieces of glass on the bottoms of my feet. It was a slow walk to the door and beyond.

I hadn't eaten anything but a cup of mocha and a banana for breakfast around 5:30. It was now almost 11. I poured a glass of chocolate milk and it tasted so good. After a cold shower I got a tub to fill with ice water to soak my feet in. That felt wonderful and painful at the same time. Strange how that works. I was hungry, too so I got an apple. I knew I would eat lunch in a little while so I waited. I was able to rest for a bit and felt somewhat better. I found I had a blister where my underwear rubbed and I felt like one was starting on my back at my bra line. I did have a huge one on the ball of one foot and on a couple of toes. Those feel much better already after just a couple of days.

As I was talking to my husband about the whole thing he asked me a very important questions. "Why didn't you just quit? You were injuring yourself, you were in pain." I said, "I couldn't just quit." As I thought about it afterwards I know he had a very valid point. I was hurting very badly. I could have quit. I could have asked the fireman that they had stationed all over to give me a ride back. But then what would that have said about me? What would my kids think about it? Would they see that when the going gets touch, quit? or will they see to just keep going, keep putting one foot in front of the other and you can make it? That is what I want them to see. My husband and kids are proud of me for not giving up. I am proud of me for not giving up.

My race has just begun and I am doing what I can NOT to give up. I don't want to be known as someone who quit at the most important race of her life, a healthy life. I want to continue to make healthy choices and meet healthy challenges all through the rest of my life. I can't wait to see what more await in the years to come.

Training is key. If you want to succeed at something you can't just pick it up one day and say I am going to do it. You have to take it slow and steady, with running anyway. That is my mission, to not let any more full weeks go by without any type of running or workouts. It is just too hard on this body of mine.

Changing my life one day at a time.       

Hot Chocolate 5K 2014

Saturday I ran my eighth 5K. Last year this race was my very first one. I think I will call it my "anniversary" 5K. I plan to run it every year. My son and I went to pick up my packet on Friday. The hoodie was wonderful and warm. It even has thumb holes in the sleeves, a real plus since the weather has been so cold lately. The colors are GREAT, too. I like it a lot better than the one from last year. This one has a zipper and that helps the hood to stay on your head instead of fall off. Last years was just a pull over and the hood would never stay on my head.

The Hot Chocolate 5K was held in Dallas at Fair Park, again. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't as bad as it was last year. Sadly, the exits were closed off again this year so we had to find a different way into the designated parking area. We didn't arrive at 6 a.m. like they suggested. That is just too early to get everyone up and stand out there, plus I think the traffic may be worse the earlier you are since they tell you to be there at that time? We arrived a little after 7. The walk from the parking lot to the starting line was a good 15 minutes. I had to make a stop at the port-a-potty before getting in line to run. Thankfully they had a lot of them and the lines weren't too bad. But I managed to get in the line where my group was despite the fact that they had already let a few of the groups go by then.

It was 32 degrees and foggy. It was misting a little the whole race. I managed to keep my pace even the entire time and actually ran the whole time. I did not have to slow down or walk. I am super excited about that. This is my first 5K that I have been able to do it. That is progress. As I ran across the finish line I raised my arms and just shouted. I couldn't help it. It was such a victory for me.

After the race I got my finisher's mug filled with yummy goodies. It had hot chocolate, a spot with chocolate fondue for dipping, a banana, a marshmallow, small bag of pretzels, a wafer cookie and a rice crispy treat, all to dip in the chocolate. Yummy. I ate the banana dipped in chocolate but gave the other goodies to my daughter since she had been sitting in the cold with no food in her tummy while I ran. I did not sit around like many to eat. My family had been out in the cold long enough. They were there for me before the sun was up and it was very cold, like I said. We went to IHOP and had some pancakes and get out of the cold. I tried to wait awhile to lay down, hoping that I could get a nap in but was not able to fall asleep at 2 even though I laid there for almost an hour and a half. Around 5, I was able to lay down and get a couple of hours sleep. I ate something and then went back to bed. I slept all night. I can never nap after a race. I am too wound up from the excitement, I suppose. 

My next race is in two weeks. It is my Cowtown 10K. I am super excited about it. I have one 5K in March and one 5K in April. I am planning on signing up for a Half the end of April. I can't even tell you how exciting and scary that is to me. I begin training for the Half next week.

Changing my life one day at a time.

Recovery Is Important

Exercise is important but if you forget the recovery then you will injure yourself and become unable to exercise at all. I want to talk about recovery because it is going to take a lot of work for me to keep training harder to run longer distances. But with more work comes more effort I need to put in on the recovery process. The fact that my foot is having problems showed me I needed to take some time and effort to fix it quickly so that I could get out there and run again sooner. I purchased two products this week to aid me in this, a n 18" foam roller and a hot/cold foot roller. The foam roller came with a 15 minute muscle massage routine DVD. I am going to try out that video tomorrow on my rest day. 

I ran three days this week. Sadly, I didn't run last week except on the treadmill and elliptical, which in my mind really don't count as running but do count as exercise. I did some strength training but not as much as I need to. I ran two days at our park for five miles each. Today, I was supposed to have a 7.5 mile run. I was doing pretty well until I got to four miles. We went to a new park to run because it was a longer track and it has inclines. It also has a lot of downhill slopes that were very hard on my toes. It pushed my feet down into the tops of my shoes and caused shooting pain through my toes and the tops of my feet. I managed to get them to stop hurting for a short time and run another mile but in the end I only ran a little more than 5 miles. My teenage son hurt himself riding his new penny board and was in a lot of pain, too, so I used that as an excuse to stop and come home instead of running for another 45 minutes it would take to finish the 7.5 miles. 

The incline is going to be a great help in training for our half marathon in August, there will be three miles of incline. But the slopes...ouch. It is my hope that over time I can build up my strength so that the slopes won't bother my toes anymore. If not, I will have to turn around when I get to those parts of the path instead of going all the way around the park. I am going to do my long runs each week out there on Saturdays. During the week I will keep running close to home. 

When I got home from my run I had a fabulous bath in my jet tub. I spent two hours in the tub and it was so relaxing. I used the jets to massage every part of my feet including my ankles. I think that is going to be a weekly routine to help aid my recovery process since my long runs will be on the weekend. I am glad I figured out that it would be so beneficial. I will still use the foot roller. I am putting my feet up on pillows for a while in bed each night, too. After my bath I scrubbed the dead skin off my heals and put some extra emollient night cream on them and covered them with socks for the night. I massaged it into my feet to give them even more attention. 

I love my new shoes. They felt great until the slopes started taking their toll. We will see how my feet do on Monday when there is just a normal trail to run on. It has been a very good week. I am hoping for many more weeks like this one. 

Changing my life one day at a time.

New Running Shoes

Today was a first for me. I went to The Runner store and got fitted for running shoes. If you have never done this and you are a runner, I would suggest you put aside some money each week and then go buy you a really good pair of running shoes. I have read a lot of articles and talked to a lot of runners and they tell me the same thing; the type of shoe you run in matters. 

When I went in he had me roll up my pant leg half way to my knee and take off my shoes. I stood in front of him while he looked at my stance. Then I turned around and he looked at my stance from the back. He determined that I have a very low arch and I tend to over compensate by landing the wrong way on my foot. That is why my foot hurts on the side. He brought out four different shoes that help correct my problem. They have a support on the inside of my foot so that I will land more on the center of my foot. He also told me I needed a bigger shoe than what I measure for because your foot swells when you run. I have never purchased a size 9 before but it feels pretty good on. He also showed me how to tie the shoe in a runners bow. It helps the shoe to feel tighter around the back instead of slipping. 

I can't wait to run in them this afternoon. I have a long run planned, it is a training run, so I am looking forward to seeing how the shoe feels during that run. The weather is supposed to be wonderful this afternoon. It will be great to get out and get some sunshine and exercise. I am going to save up and buy another pair of shoes in a couple of months so I can trade them out instead of only having one shoe to run in. I have read that it is good to do that. It helps your shoes last longer and then you aren't having to rush and buy new shoes when they wear out. A friend has a brand of shoe she really loves but this store didn't carry, Newtons. I am going to try those shoes next. Then I can see which shoe I like the best. 

Going to spend the early afternoon with my family and then get ready for an awesome run later today. Hope you are going to spend your Saturday doing something fun, too. Yes, running to me is fun. There is nothing quite like the rush I get when I am getting close to finishing my goal and after I finish it. 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

Running Takes Work

It's true. I won't lie. Running takes work. A lot of work. It is hard. Don't let anyone try to tell you running is easy. It isn't. But think about it. The things that are the most worth while and rewarding take the most work. I have managed to LET myself NOT run off and on the past year and a half out of laziness and negative self talk. Despite the fact that I saw awesome results from running, I quit over and over. No more! My husband says he can't figure out why people quit doing what is working, why they give up. It is the metal talk that goes on inside their heads. It is bumps in the road that get us off track and it takes metal strength to get back on track. I feel that I have gained my metal strength back these last few weeks because of my time with the Lord each morning, I have been doing that since October. I am openly seeking HIS strength to do the things in my life that I need to do. It has made such a difference in my days and in my attitude. And my success. The picture isn't very glamorous, but I had just come in from running five miles and the sun went down so the air got colder. I'm OK with not looking glamorous. I am a runner. There are times to be a runner and look like a runner and then there are times to dress up. I am proud to be a runner and look like I just came in from a run in the cold winter air. Becoming a runner was one of the best things I ever did for myself. 

I feel like I am back on track because I can actually RUN the majority of my run instead of having to walk to slow my heart rate. When I am not running regularly I can't run the whole way like I can when I run on a regular basis. I build up my heart and my lungs by running more than once a week. This week I ran two 5 mile runs, so far. The first one I had to walk for short periods of time during the first three miles and then ran the last two miles. Today when I ran I didn't have to walk at all. I did walk down a slope each of the five times I went that way, which was only about 6 seconds of my time. I say "so far" because I have a scheduled training run tomorrow for 7.5 miles. 

I have mentioned it before, but during my runs I listen to contemporary Christian music and spend the time talking to the Lord or just singing to him in my heart to the music. I also spend the time encouraging myself along the way. I tell myself how great I'm doing, how far I have run, how far I have left, etc. I use the Nike+ app and it tells me how much farther I have to go. Sometimes it is easier to think about how far you have to go as it gets lower than to think of the big number. 

For me the mental battle to run and exercise is such a big one. I have fed myself lies since I was a teenager that I could not run. I sure blew that out of the water, didn't I? But each day that I get up I have to have a plan. I have to know ahead of time what type of exercise I am going to do. That sets it in my head and keeps me dedicated and accountable to myself. I have a goal to get healthier. Not just to lose weight, but yes, losing weight is something I really want to do. I know it will make me a better runner and my health will be better when I have less fat on my body. 

One thing I need to make sure I am doing is my strength training. I do that at home, on my own. So that takes planning and metal preparation, too. I see many great tips online for workouts. I just have to put them into practice. I do a full body workout two or three times a week. It is easier for me to get in two or three weight training workouts than to try to do two upper body and two lower body weekly. On the weekends I write down what my workouts will be for the week. Doing that has really helped me. 

Something new has been bothering me this week, the side of my foot starts hurting after a run. I purchased a hot/cold foot roller the other day and it really helps. I also purchased a foam roller to help roll out the muscles that get tight from my running and other types of exercise. Both good investments for a runner, I believe. My shoes are over a year and a half old so they aren't working like they should. I paid under $50 for them because I wasn't sure at the time just how much of a runner I would be. I know now that I am dedicated to running and can't wait to run more and more the rest of my life. I want to run half marathons and full marathons and who knows what other crazy running adventures I will attempt. But I am looking forward to the challenge of beating my best with each new race. I am looking forward to seeing the changes in my body that will show the strength I am gaining through the training I will be doing on a daily basis. It is my goal to continue to keep my body and mind strong as long as I am alive. My first step in that direction will be tomorrow when I go to the runners store and buy a REAL pair of running shoes that will make my feet feel great when I run. I am super excited. 

If you haven't set your fitness goals for the new week, do it now. Make a plan and then stick to it. You will feel so accomplished at the end of the week when you can look in the mirror and tell yourself "You did it. Way to go." You can do it. I believe in you. Take it one day at a time and do something. Get moving. Make a healthy food choice. Just take the steps forward to a healthier you. 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

Jiggle Butt Run 5K

Today I ran my first race of the new year, the Jiggle Butt Run 5K. It benefits Safe Haven of Tarrant County. It is a race that I will be doing every year with my daughters. They didn't run with me this year but I am going to get them to do it next year. This race was in my city. I love that I have found some races that are so close to me because it makes it so much easier to get to and from the races without tons of time driving. 

I ran 4 miles on Tuesday and 4 miles on Thursday this week. So the run today seemed much easier to accomplish with less walking and a faster completion time. I did it in 42.56. That is a few minutes off my time of late. I had done it in a shorter distance a year ago but things have slowed me down. That is what I am working on improving, getting my time back to what it was and even shorter. I was very proud of my performance in the run. I pushed myself throughout the run but at the same time I did my best to run at a consistent pace so I could keep running more than walking. I thought I was running very slowly at times but the time show that not to be true. I tried to only walk short periods of time and force myself to run. The whole point of doing it is to actually run, for me anyway. There isn't anything wrong with walking. But if you intend to you, like me, you should run as much as you are able. I do believe you are a runner if you run any amount. I don't think you are less of a runner if you walk during a run. Don't let anyone tell you differently. If you want to be a better runner, just keep running. Run more each time you run. Never give up.

I am working on strength training, too. I want to start running stairs. I saw in the runners magazine that if you spend 20-30 minutes running up stairs and walking down them, over and over, it will help you with running inclines. I just need to find some stairs to run. There was some incline on the run today and I was able to run most of it. For some reason I have no desire to do the DVD workouts that I have done in the past. I have been doing free weight workouts and using the workout machine in the garage. Plus, I want to do that stairs workout twice a week. 

I honestly wish I had another 5K lined up for January. I wanted to do the Polar Dash and didn't sign up for it. I am contemplating signing up with it now simply because I can't stand waiting so long to race again. My next race that I am signed up for is the Hot Chocolate 5K on February 8. That will always be my favorite race. I will do that one every year. So unless I find another race for January my next race is in February. 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

HELLO 2014

Seems like only weeks ago that I was looking towards 2013 with anticipation. I had yet to run my first 5K even though I had started running during the summer of 2012. Looking back over the year I see that I tried many things to get on the right track but didn't keep doing all of them consistently. That is the reason I didn't reach the weight loss goals I had set. 

I am proud of the fact that I ran in six 5K races in 2013. I am already signed up for nine in 2014; seven 5K's, one 10K and one half marathon. That is HUGE! I don't think the 10K is that major since I have run 5 miles before and a 10K is only 6.2 miles. But the half marathon is 13.1 miles. That seems huge to me. I am super excited about it but at the same time I KNOW if I do not keep running regularly and do not train I will not be happy with the results of that race. I will feel that I wasted money, since it was the most expensive race I have even thought about signing up for. I know I want to cross that finish line with confidence that I did my very best. I am not really worried about the time, other than actually finishing within the time frame they allow. It would be great if I could increase my run time and finish strong. 

My run time goal for 2014 is to get it down to a 10 minute mile. That is quite a challenge since right now I have slowed down to about 14 minutes instead of the 13 that I was doing earlier last year. I am not sure why I have slowed down so much. But it probably has to the with the fact that I have put on 10 pounds and don't run regularly. I WILL change that in 2014. 

I joined a fb group that has a goal to run 1 mile a day or 365 miles in 2014. If I am doing my training for the 10K and the Half, that should be no problem at all. I am also doing what I can to eat healthier. I know I need to start a food journal and track everything I eat. It is easy to misjudge how much we are eating if we don't track it. I am trying to make sure I take my vitamins and other things that will help my thyroid get back on track. I will share more about those changes if food and activity as the year goes by. 

I hope everyone has great goals set for the new year. Make them count. Take it one day at a time and do something towards those goals. Doesn't have to be a big step, take baby steps. Change one choice you make at a meal. Go for a walk instead of eat a snack that is unhealthy for you. Decide to eat a smaller portion of something. Go to bed earlier so you can get a good night's rest. Drink water instead of soda or some other sugary drink. You have a blank "notebook" with 365 pages. It is up to you what you write on each page. 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

Reindeer Dash 5K

My sixth race this year was the Reindeer Dash 5K on Christmas Eve. I signed up for it right after Thanksgiving. I thought it would be something fun to do that was different. I really like the idea of keeping it fun but also having a good cause to benefit. It keeps me motivated. 

I had no clue when I signed up for any of these winter races that we would actually have a winter this year. But that is exactly what we are having...winter! That morning at the beginning of the race it was 27* and at the finish of the race it had gone up to 30*. During the first quarter mile it felt like my face was going to freeze off. I have never run in temps that low. I suppose I need to find some sort of cover for my face at the beginning of a race in cold weather. After a certain point you just aren't bothered by the temps any longer. In fact, you get so warm that the layers you have on you wish you didn't. I was wearing a short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve running shirt and then my long sleeve race shirt plus a windbreaker over that, and gloves. I unzipped the windbreaker and took off the gloves during the third mile.

I enjoyed the race because I got to wish the officers located on all the street corners directing traffic a Merry Christmas. I had Christmas music playing on my phone. There were reindeer located at the start and my daughter got a big kick out of taking pictures of them. 

I ran more of this race than I did the last one. I still had to walk a bit because the cold really bothered me this time. It took awhile for me to get over it and be able to breath regularly without feeling like a coughing fit would ensue if I took too deep a breath.  A hot shower helped a great deal with the steam opening up my lungs. I changed out of the two under shirts and sports bra before we left the race location. I read that if you run in cold temps you should do that because otherwise you can get sick. I am trying to be a better runner and read things to help me. I am also trying to put them into practice. Otherwise, what good is reading them?

I started training for a 10K this week. I have the Nike+ app and it has these new "coach" training programs on it. I am going to do the 10K coach and after that I will do the Half Marathon coach to help me train for the Rocky Mountain Half we are doing in August. That is very exciting to me but I don't want to just keep running races and not run in between and never get in shape. I want to train and eat right so that I will be in top shape by August for the race. I want to run as much of it as I can. I want to improve my race time per mile, too.

I think I have figured out the weight gain. I don't think it is only the coffee that I was drinking. I have stopped drinking my smoothies every day. Those contained all of my vitamins and the other things to help keep my thyroid is good working order. So now I have put on weight, my sleep isn't as good, I am sluggish and my skin is having issues with dryness. I also think I am not drinking enough water. So I am going to start keeping better track of that and go back to drinking my smoothie each day, even if it is for lunch or in place of dinner, I will have one smoothie a day so that I get the benefits. 

My next 5K is January 4. I am praying it isn't in the 20's for that one.

Changing my life one day at a time.