*singing* Don't stop...Don't give up

Yes I am singing in that title.  Keelan is quite fascinated with Yo Gabba Gabba lately.  One of the songs on there is called Don't Give Up.  It's a quite catchy song....as they all are....and I find myself singing it.  Guess it could be a theme for me with my getting healthy journey.  I'm trying my hardest to get out of the slump but it's just getting harder and harder...and the days til Warrior Dash are getting closer and closer.  It doesn't help that I've been dealing with back and neck pain pretty bad for over a month or two now.  I, however, will not allow that excuse to validate an end to my journey!  It's NOT over!  So until I breath my last breath I will continue to sing "Keep trying.  Keep trying. Don't give up. Never give up."

Insanity

5k update: I finished the 5k on Memorial Day in 48:32. That's a little bit slower than my last 5k....but I was having some foot pain and it was extremely hot out. Still not a bad time for walking the majority of it.  I just didn't push myself like I wanted to do.  I didn't get good sleep the night before for some reason.  It was still nice to get out for a run and have my husband there with me.  He didn't run with me this time...but he did take some pictures.  Here's one.  :)

24 Day Challenge is almost over.  I haven't been eating good at all.  I was so strict with it for a bit.  Then Mother's Day and my birthday happened making it hard.  I have 2 more days left.  This weekend I will do measurements again to see how they have changed.  I'm focusing more on them than the scale.  

I've changed up my training a little bit.  I have downloaded the 10k app for my phone.  It's a couch to 10k type thing so I will just pick up where I was in C25K.  However I haven't done any running other than my 5k this week.  We started Insanity by Beachbody on Tuesday....doing it Tuesday and last night.  Tonight I did the 30 Day Shred level 1 workout.  Might try to get a run in tomorrow.  I don't think I can do extra workouts and continue to run 3 days a week.  I want to work on strength most of all to prepare me for the Warrior Dash that I am doing in Sept.  That is something that is going to push me to my limits for sure!  So I'm doing everything I can to build up my strength and endurance.

Debating about which race to sign up for next.  Maybe one for the end of June or early July.  I've found a 4th of July one that I would like Marshall to do with me.  We'll see about that.  I'd love to get in runs with him.  He used to run lots of miles every day....so I want to help him get back to it as it is something he loves. :)

Is this thing on?

I feel like no one reads my blog anymore. I know I haven't exactly been a great blogger but I'm trying to get better. :) Still working on the 24 Day Challenge. I'm on Day 14 I believe. Time to get it on full force. I made it through my birthday celebrations. I'm buckling back down to finish strong. I can do this!! Signed up today for another 5K. It's on Memorial Day through Downtown. Should be a nice run. Need to try a run without headphones since they are not allowed in this race.

24 Day Challenge

I am on Day 4 of my 24 Day Challenge. So far so good! I'm really enjoying eating even healthier...eating cleaner. The clean eating is so that the cleanse phase works better. I've already lost 5 lbs. I had a little cheat this morning at our ladies' brunch at church but I made sure the majority of my plate was healthy fruit. I skipped the cookies and the cute cake pops. I did have a small sweet treat, a few baby quiche, a sausage ball, mini cinnamon roll, a breakfast casserole and 1 glass of fruit tea. The rest was fruit. Didn't go back for 2nds either. I've gotten a lot better at that. Before I would have such a full plate and go back for even more....overeating. Overeating was my major weakness when it comes to potluck style or buffets. I always want to try some of everything. I have found that my choices have gotten much better but also that I don't neglect myself of sweet treats either. I just don't overindulge in them anymore. I'm trying to cut them out completely right now so that the cleanse can work better. I'm not feeling like I'm missing out on anything. Course I will have a Mother's Day and birthday in the middle of this 24 Day Challenge. Oh well. :) I've challenged myself to 30 miles in 30 days. I have 12 days left in that 30 days and 17.44 miles left to run. Hope to be able to get it done! Only a week left on my 30x30 list....gotta get a move on! :)

100th post

I can't believe I only have 100 posts. I'm not a very good blogger..haha. This post is my 100th post though so it needs to be a good one! We are advisors with Advocare. I've used the products off and on the last couple years. I'm at a plateau with my weight loss where I'm losing motivation. So I had Marshall order me the stuff for the 24 Day Challenge...and he has decided to do the challenge with me!! I can't wait to see how this sparks weight loss for both of us. I also believe it will help motivate us since we're doing it together. The first 10 days we will do an Herbal Cleanse and use Spark (energy drink). Days 11-24 we'll use MNS Max 3 (vitamins and amino acids - for maximum energy and appetite control) and Meal Replacement Shakes (1 meal/snack). We will also add Catalyst to help with maximum results for workouts. I will do a full measurements and starting weight post before I start. I am still running 3 times a week. I will start Couch 2 5K week 3 this week. I restarted the program to get all the way through it. I've done pretty good so far. Need to make a plan on how to manage the hot temps and running. Might have to start doing it before the sun gets up. That'll be a hard one for me. I like my sleep a little too much. :) I am debating about adding Slim In 6 again or going with Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. We'll see. Right now I have a bad pain in my right shoulder/upper back I need to get better before I do anything other than running. I eventually will be adding bike riding with the family. Gotta find a bike first. Slowly making more progress on my 30x30 list. I only have 2 weeks from tomorrow til my birthday so I need to get to work! :)

5K update!

I did my first 5K this past Saturday! It was so much fun! I started it out jogging...and it felt GREAT! So great that I pushed to see how far I could go running before walking. I wore my MOTOACTV and listened to a local radio station during the race. I wish it had been the Christian station but it wouldn't pick up even though I was really close to the studio. :( I was able to run the first 7 mins....a half mile. I think I only stopped because I got to that half mile mark. I didn't need to stop...so I need to work on pushing it a little more. After that 7 mins I walked approx. 1 min-2 mins and then jogged again for a few mins. I tried to keep that interval going...walking a few and jogging a few. I think only once did I walk for more than a few mins. I would say that I ran about 70% of it - maybe more. Not bad for my first 5K or considering I had bronchitis the week before and was only able to run 1 time in the 2 weeks before. I finished in a time of 46:58. I had a first goal for 50 mins. I kept an eye on my MOTOACTV and saw that it could be possible to beat 45 mins so I pushed a little harder. However right at the very end I started getting a side a cramp....so I walked it out as best I could. I did run across the finish line! :)

I started C25K over this week. I will finish it this time and be able to run even longer distances without stopping. I'm hoping to be able to share running with my husband and kids as well. Running is something that Marshall used to do and that he misses. I also plan to get bikes for the both of us so we can have other ways to exercise as a family. It's very important to us to instill good exercise habits in our kids so they don't end up overweight. Exercise will help us all to have better attitudes with each other as well.

I need to look over my 30x30 list cause we're almost down to the last month before I turn 30! I haven't done good on my Bible reading at all. That should've been the number 1 thing to complete on that list so I'm going to have to get back on it big time.

Scale Back Alabama

So I had my weigh out today for Scale Back Alabama which is an 11 week weight loss program the state does to encourage weight loss. I lost 20.6 lbs in that time! I'm down a total of 23.8 lbs for the year! Only 1.2 away from 25 lbs which is 10% of my body weight I started with! I can't get over how much I've lost so far. It feels so good and boy it shows in my clothes and the way I feel.

I actually bought my first dress that wasn't in the plus size dept for Easter this weekend. I'm not in those sizes completely yet but that dress was and it felt GREAT! I got lots of comments which made me so happy. :)

My first 5K is only in 2 DAYS!!! I'm so excited and a little nervous all at the same time. I need to find what I'm going to wear. My shirt that I bought at the beginning of the year for it is TOO big....as are my shorts. I have another pair of shorts that may work. Will figure that all out tomorrow. Gotta plan a good dinner for tomorrow night as well. :) I will update again after the 5K with how I did.

I have now used my MOTOACTV twice....once for a walk with the family and then today for a run. I LOVE it!! It's so easy to motivate me cause I can look at my wrist (I'm using the wrist band) and see my pace. I can adjust my speed to better my pace. I love the FM radio feature. I haven't used the MP3 portion just yet. Need to play around with it and see how it works.
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated in any way with Motorola. They sent me a free MOTOACTV to try and share how I like it. I am not being compensated for my time or words in any way.

MOTOACTV

I was recently chosen by Motorola to receive a free MOTOACTV to try and share my opinion about it. I'm hoping it will be delivered sometime this week. I can't wait to try it out. I will use it mainly for running but I plan to buy a bike and start riding soon as well. I'm excited to be able to share riding bikes with my family soon. Marshall will be getting a bike too so it will be good to share something together to get healthy.

Size change!

I did some shopping today and was pleasantly surprised to find that my size had changed! I am now down 2 pants sizes and 1 shirt size! Woohoo! I only bought a shirt today but I can't wait to buy new pants. I am selling some of my bigger stuff to help the budget so I can get new (to me) clothes. There is a yard sale group for plus size clothes on Facebook. I'm hoping to not need the group for too long as my big goal is to wear misses sizes instead of plus size! :) It can be done.

Not sure what my weight loss is this week just yet. I will weigh in at church in the morning. I'm hoping for at least close to 2 lbs or over 2 lbs. I'm 2 lbs away from 15 lbs gone!! So ready to get to that 15 lbs.

Still running. Got in 2 runs this week along with a Slim in 6 workout and 1 night of Zumba. Will run tomorrow afternoon to get back in the groove. My body is sore from my last run. I had done the Slim in 6 workout earlier that day. Trying to keep my workouts different so my body doesn't get too used to anything. So far so good. 6 weeks til my first 5K race!

Countdowns

Seems to be countdowns lately for me. Corgan will register for Kindergarten is just 2 weeks. I can't believe I will have a Kindergartener this year. I won't have to be a referee all day when the boys fight. I know Keelan will miss his big brother but it'll be so good for the both of them. Corgan still has a lot of work to be ready for school...but we're working on it. His main thing he needs to learn is writing. He's just not interested in it so I need to find a way to make it fun.

Another countdown is to my 5K race. It is just less than 8 weeks away! I am trying to figure out the best ways to get prepared for it. I need to add cross-training to my week between runs.

Can't forget the countdown to my birthday either! Just 3 months from yesterday I will be turning 30. I need to get a move on my 30x30 list! :)