Sunday was a sunny day!

Wow - 70 degrees here today - in St. Louis, MO - amazing! My husband spent the morning trimming our bradford pear tree with our friend Vader. My husband was then too tired to bike with me, but our friend Vader was game! I warned him that he should take a water bottle... but he is only 20 and now his lesson is learned!

We biked out of the neighborhood down to our flat land... heading down to the flatland is a 1 mile downhill - that we probably hit 20+mph heading down. We have hit higher than that in the past, but it was a tad bit windy today. At the bottom, Vader asked if we have to go back up that hill... I smiled an evil smile and said YEP! (Of course, the picture is what Vader thought the hill looked like, it wasn't quite that big!)

Of course, he probably doesn't remember the rest of the ride because he was filled with dread about returning to that hill. We biked a great flat area, hit our local park and did two laps on the wooded trail. I wanted to cross our bridge into a little town- but they have started demolition on the bridge to replace it - so I lost one of my FAVORITE routes!! So we stayed in the park (called Mini Ha Ha) and built up our miles.

Then we headed back to the house. We talked along the flats and I warned him to pick up speed upon approaching the hill. He almost fell off his bike when the seat turned on him, but he handled the scare well, adjusted the seat and kept on! He picked up speed and he mastered that hill! It is a KILLER 1 mile uphill ride... and we made it to the top. Of course, half way up, Vader was begging for water ;) ... lesson learned!!

Upon arriving home, we covered 9 miles, burning 500 calories!!

What I learned today: Need to find a few new routes to replace my bridge route.

Tomorrow: Weights and running!

LUV the weekends!

Today was our 7 mile day. By "our" I mean my daughter and sister-in-law who are doing the 1/2 marathon with me. We met up at 7:30am and headed to the trail. I knew as soon as they got together, I would be eating their dust!!

They were very good at setting the pace and keeping me moving!! We started off walking the first mile and stayed together. We then jogged mile 2. Of course, the girls were faster than I was...but I wasn't too far behind them. They were kind enough to walk back to meet me after their run... and we walked mile 3 together. We then jogged mile 4 with a repeat performance of me eating dust! They once again came back and met me. We walked mile 5 and jogged mile 6, you guessed it- more dust... and I did have to walk some of this mile but jogged most of it. Once we started the last mile, my daughter wanted to jog...ugh...more... so off they went again...so I jogged some of that mile too!

I easily jogged over 3 miles! I burned over 1200 calories (I love wearing a heart rate monitor!) I then successfully went out and had a huge breakfast. YUMMM.... I also arrived home and took a nap! I was pooped!!

Our time wasn't stellar - but for completing 7 miles we were right around 2 hours (including time to stretch and drink water - so probably about 110 minutes), making me realize that if we can easily do our 13.1 in under 4 hours...but I still want it to be around 3.5 hours or less!!! Next weekend we do 8 miles. It will be just Amanda and I, so it will be interesting to see how fast we go!

What I learned today: When jogging, my heart rate was awesome! On my third mile, I didn't walk because I was out of breath (my HR was only at 157), I walked because my thighs were tired. WOW - that is a HUGE difference. That means my heart and breathing are finally getting controlled, and now I can focus on toning the body! Huge accomplishment!!

Tomorrow: Hoping to get a nice bike ride in!

Friday - finallllly!

I love Friday's. They are a great day at the office, usually relatively quiet and I can get in that mid-day workout!!

So I went on down to the gym and focused on running more than 1 mile (since I ran a mile on Wednesday I figured I could beat it today). I actually made it 1.25 miles jogging at 4.7 for 1/2 a mile and 4.5 the other 3/4 mile!!! So exciting! I then walked another 1.25 for a 2.5 mile total. I burned over 450 calories!!

I do have a blister on my right ankle, so I put some moleskin on it. If you have never used moleskin, it is awesome on blisters. We found out about it when we took our kids to Disney World 10 years ago and someone told us to try it. I have used it ever since!

What I learned today: I was able to enjoy Dr. Oz today. Once again I learned something new... Dr. Oz was all about sleep apnea and neck size. Men's neck size should be 17" or under. Women's should be around 15" or under. Anyting bigger is a risk for sleep apnea. Need to go measure my neck, but I know since I have lost much of my weight, I no longer snore and would guess my neck is within the normal range!

Tomorrow: 7 mile day on Grant's trail!! Hoping to jog quite a bit of the 7 miles...stay tuned.

I am moving!!!

Well, on the treadmill at least! Today, for the first day in MY LIFE, I jogged for 1 mile straight!!! Very exciting...kept my heart rate pretty constant at around 170 and felt like I could have kept on jogging at the end ~ yet I didn't ~ but I did walk for a total of 3.75 miles! My jog pace was 4.6 for the first 1/2 mile then 4.5 for the second half. Slow but consistent!!!

I realized once again that this is a head game! While I felt pretty good the whole time, I get impatient trying to get to that mile, and want to run faster... then I just get bored...and want to stop. I need to remember that I can keep going and push for the 2 mile marker and really feel I could make it just need to work on what my head is thinking!!!

My feet feel great in my new shoes which is a huge plus - my old shoes were starting to hurt. Hoping tomorrow I feel this good :)

What I learned today: First of all I love working out mid day. LOVE IT. According to Dr Oz (I only caught a part of his show today as I was panting on the treadmill) aspargus can help your mood specifically sadness, lemons can help stress and brazil nuts can help anxiety! Love to learn how to feed the body for healthy benefits!!

Tomorrow: Looking for a workout time....gonna be another crazy day!