Like a Fish

Did I happen to mention I started swimming? Well I did. About 2 months ago. I decided I needed to start doing some sort of workout seeing as how the running thing sort of took a nose-dive. Not that I didn't like running. I do. It's just that I found that I made way too many excuses as to why I couldn't do it: too dark outside, too hot/cold, too dangerous, etc. I knew I needed to find something else that I could stick with. Something I could do all year round.

So one day my sister, Annie mentioned something about doing a triathlon next year. That got me thinking... maybe I should try swimming! Like running, I was never very good at swimming. I had to take swimming lessons twice as a kid because I forgot how. But, I figured hey, I got to be pretty good at running, maybe I could get good at swimming too! And thus began my swimming adventures.

Now, had I just been venturing into the swimming realm with no direction, I'm sure I never would have started. Luckily a co-worker friend of mine is a swimmer and he was able to give me some good tips and show me some helpful videos and such to point me in the right direction. And I'm not going to lie. Those first couple weeks I felt like I was drowning. Getting the breathing down was tough. And anytime I swam without my fins it seemed like I wasn't moving. Swimming even one lap (50m) took a ton of energy.

But here I am, a couple months into it, and I'm doing pretty well. I was surprised at how fast I improved. I can now swim 800m no problem... that's 16 laps. And the only reason I have to stop there is so I can leave in time to get ready for work. I'm not fast yet by any means, but I'm getting better everyday. I've even considered taking some actual swim lessons. I know. CRAZY. I've really been surprised at how many different activities I enjoy when I give it a fair chance. Who knew?

Me in all my swim gear glory. That's HOT.

Because There's Nothing Better to do in Ogden

Before all you Ogdenites get all huffy, that title was sarcastic. There are tons of great things to do in Ogden including: beer bottle fights, drive-by shootings, and my favorite... drug deals down on the parkway. HA! Just kidding. I hear they have blue fish. Not just any town can say that.

Anyway, looks like we're going to do another 5k here shortly. I got talked into it by my sister, Annie. You'd think I'd know better by now. This one is on May 1st and is going to be up by Weber State. I'm assuming the proceeds go to help Shadow Valley Elementary as that's where this whole thing is going down. I could be wrong though. Head on over to RunWalkJog to sign up. (Be warned... the webpage listed on the form kind of sucks.)

Here is a map of the course:

My Plan to Take Over the World

My goal this year isn't to lose weight. If that's an added bonus to everything else I do this year, fine, but I'm pretty happy where I'm at. I did all my weight loss last year (about 20 pounds! wahoo!) so this year is the year to get really fit. I want to be strong. I want to be INVINCIBLE!! {insert evil laugh here}

In order to keep up and improve my level of fitness, I've decided on a handful of fitness goals I can work towards. Here they are in no certain order:

1. Continuously be able to run at least 3 miles.

2. Be able to run at least 6 miles without stopping by the end of the running season.

3. Do 15 full pushups at a time by the end of the year, with a constant progression of 1 per month (I can currently do 4).

4. Be able to do 4 chin-ups by the end of the year (1 every 3 months).

5. Hike up to the waterfall in Adam's Canyon without having to stop and rest.

which naturally leads me to...

6. Take over the world by Christmas. How hard could it be?

I Can Vouch For That: Part 3

It's time for another installation of my favorite things! I really like doing these posts for some reason. Almost makes me want to go out and buy more stuff just so I can write about it... Ha ha Seth, just kidding. (no I'm not) 

Baking Soda: Ok I know this is going to sound a little weird, but I like to use baking soda as a beauty product. After years of trying everything from expensive facial scrubs to sugar, I have finally found the perfect exfoliant. My pores always seem to get clogged so fast so I have to exfoliate everyday in order to keep my skin looking good and my makeup application smooth. I add probably 1/2-1 tsp. of this to my facial cleanser (see below) every morning and scrub away. The baking soda is rough enough to be a great exfoliant, but not so rough it hurts. Plus it's what, $1 for a box? And it lasts forever.

Cetaphil Facial Cleansers: There are actually two different Cetaphil cleansers I use. The first one is called "Gentle Skin Cleanser: For All Skin Types" and I use it in the morning mixed with the above mentioned baking soda. It's very mild and is best for light dirt/oil (i.e. from sleeping). This isn't very good for removing makeup. The other Cetaphil cleanser I use is the one labeled "Daily Facial Cleanser: For Normal to Oily Skin." I use this one at night when my face is more grimey from dirt and makeup. I don't like mixing this one with the baking soda... I think the combination is too strong for my skin.

I do wish the bottles looked a little more different because it would be easy to accidentally grab the wrong one at the store (which I have done).

Oxo Mug: This is my second Oxo mug of this design. The first one was very similar, but it was blue plastic instead of stainless steel. The stainless steel mug was probably $10 more than the plastic one, but it is much better at retaining heat. These mugs are spill-proof because of an inner seal that opens and closes when you push the button on top. I also like that the lid screws on and there is no handle to get in the way. The lid isn't the easiest thing to clean thoroughly, but I just rinse mine through with hot water and soap and it seems just fine.

CoverGirl LashBlast Length: I was hesitant to try a CoverGirl brand mascara (my inner snob I think), but figured it couldn't hurt as I hadn't liked any others I'd tried. Plus the bright packaging and plastic wand bristles sucked me in. I can now say I have finally found my perfect mascara. The wand is AMAZING. It separates each last beautifully and picks up just the right amount of mascara. I can easily apply more layers of mascara without getting spider lashes or clumps. And it doesn't flake off during the day! That has always been my one problem with every other brand of mascara besides Loreal. This stuff really is great. And because it's CoverGirl, it's also pretty cheap! (p.s. I've heard the CoverGirl LashBlast Volume mascara is great as well. I may try that one next just to see if it's as good as this. I couldn't decide when I bought this if I'd rather have length or volume. That's what she said. HA!)

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion: Let me get one thing straight... I HATE lotion. But it's pretty much a necessity, so I have to have it. There are so many problems with lotions and I hate spending money on lotion anyway, let alone on stuff I don't like. Up until now the lotion I bought had either too strong of a fragrance or was 'fragrance free' which always smells like glue. Or, the lotion was way too thick (think body butter)... never completely soaking into my skin making it impossible to pull my jeans on or leaving grease marks everywhere. Or the lotion wasn't thick enough and my skin would need several applications in order to get the right amount of moisturization. Then a few weeks ago I bought this stuff. It has a very light 'milk chocolate' smell (but not too sweet or off-putting) and it's the perfect consistency. Most of it gets absorbed into my skin before I get dressed so it's not too greasy. It makes my skin feel so smooth and it doesn't irritate the sensitive skin on my chest and neck. Plus it was cheap... around $7 for 13.5oz.

Revlon Colorsilk (Dark Mahogany Brown #32): After getting my hair professionally colored a couple times, I realized I was going to go broke if I had to keep doing it every month or so. In comes the store-bought color-in-a-box. Let me tell you I was scared to color my own hair. What if the color was all wrong? Or I missed a spot? Or it looked completely unnatural? So I did some research and found a couple brands that were rated highest, especially in the brunette color family. After spending probably 2 hours in the isle at Target trying to decide what color to get, I settled on Revlon Colorsilk Dark Mahogany Brown (#32). I just about did a dance at the checkout stand when the total came to about $3.50. Let's see... $3.50 vs. lots of money... I choose $3.50! Anyway, long story short, I really really like this color. It is just what I was looking for and it also fades really well... maybe even better than the professional color I had done. Plus, get this...the last time I went in to get my haircut, one of the girls complimented me on my hair color. And, my stylist couldn't tell I'd dyed it again! Sweet! p.s. This stuff also makes my hair look really shiny :)

Quaker Lower Sugar Instant Oatmeal: I'm all about eating healthier stuff, but that's not the initial reason I bought this. I think regular instant oatmeal is way too sweet... especially because I usually eat 2 packets. In the past I'd mix one packet of regular sugary stuff with one packet of plain flavor, but then it was a little too bland. With the lower sugar oatmeal I can just use 2 packets of the flavor I like and it turns out perfect! I keep a stash at work for quick easy breakfasts (just dump it into a cup and add hot water from the tap on the coffee machine) and there you have it! I have tried the fruit & cream type flavors which are good too, but I'm a bigger fan of the cinnamon and brown sugar flavors.

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Vanilla Almond Milk: I'd heard about almond milk before and people were always raving about how good it was. I thought it was probably the same people who though soy milk was good (yuck), but decided to give it a shot anyway. This stuff is so good! It tastes great straight up or on cereal. I've never tried the plain unflavored stuff and not sure if I ever will, but vanilla has my stamp of approval. (You can find this by all the other regular milk & soy milk in the grocery store.)

Biggest Loser Bootcamp & Cardio Max: I added these 2 DVDs to my workout video collection recently to keep me from getting bored with my indoor workouts. They are both pretty tough, but not too hard. The cool thing about these is you can customize your workout. Each DVD has a menu with a warm-up, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Cool-down. It tells you how long each segment is and then you can select the sections you want to do that day and it plays them automatically. It suggests you start at level 1 and gradually add each segment as you get in better shape. If you do the entire DVD it is about 50-55 minutes (10 minutes of which is the warm-up and cool-down). As the name states, the Cardio Max is a bit more cardio centered where the bootcamp is more circuit training, switching between cardio and strength training... although both videos involve strength & cardio segments. I like that they have the Biggest Loser contestants in the videos because they look more like regular people and because they are obviously fitness video rookies... they have constant goofy smiles, don't do the moves exactly right all the time, and are completely out of sync with each other. For some reason it's not annoying, more funny than anything. One last note, if you don't want to do pushups, don't buy these.

Scientific Angler Fly Boxes: I finally forked over the cash for some decent fly boxes after the cheap one I had completely fell apart after only a couple uses. These boxes rock. They are quick and easy to open and stay securely shut. There is a rubber seal around the edge that keeps the box watertight and it fits perfectly in a vest pocket. The foam holds the flies really well and the gaps keep the hackle from getting smashed. There are a large variety of inserts available so you can choose the one that suits your needs (i.e. smaller dry flies, large streamers, nymphs, etc.). I even have one with extra compartments that I use for sinkers and strike indicators. The inserts remove completely from the clear cases so you can swap them out depending on the situation and there is enough clearance between the insert and case for bigger flies so they don't get smashed. I also like that they are color coded and clear so I can tell at a quick glance whether it's my 'dry fly box' or my 'wet fly box.'

Bed Head Hard Head Hairspray- I read somewhere that hairspray that doesn't contain water as an ingredient is much better, so I decided to see if this was really true. This hairspray is one of the brands I found that doesn't contain water. It was pricey... about $13 at Target (but the cheapest of the water-free hairsprays I found), so I had really high standards for it. I have to say it does have much better hold than the hairsprays I've used in the past. It dries almost instantly and for a flexible hold, you don't need much. Use a little more and your hair won't budge an inch. It smells a little booze-ish to me when it first comes out of the bottle, but this smell dissipates quickly and there is no accompanying lingering perfumey smell. If I used a lot of hairspray on a daily basis this could be an expensive new habit, but luckily the bottle is pretty big and one bottle of hairspray lasts a long time for me.

Streamlined Woman on the Go

I've tried about a billion times to consistently workout early in the morning. Usually I don't even do it for 1 day. I get really pumped up the night before and then when I wake up I'm way too sleepy and end up getting up late like usual.

The thing is, I feel much better working out at night. It's my peak time. But, it's just so hard to come home after working all day long, hungry and tired, and squeeze in a workout. Especially when there's a hungry husband waiting for some grub. The last few weeks have been especially tough for some reason and I knew I had to stop slacking off or I'd lose my motivation completely.

Seth has been working the extreme early shift at work (as in, he has to be to work by 6:00am). For a few weeks I'd been waking up with his alarm and drifting in and out of consciousness for the next hour & a half or so until my alarm went off. I finally decided I might as well get up when he does seeing as how I'm usually more awake then, than I am when I wake up again on my own later. Plus if I actually got up that early, not only would I have time to work out, but I'd also have plenty of time to get ready so I wouldn't be rushing around all morning.

So far I've gotten up early to work out every single day since last Wednesday (well, not counting the weekends... I have to take a break sometime). Somehow the workouts seem harder. Probably because I'm not completely awake yet and my body isn't as warmed up as usual. But I'm slowly getting used to it. Sadly, the apartment gym doesn't open that early so I'm stuck doing DVDs. Which isn't so bad, but I really liked doing the spinning bike and working in a run on the treadmill on occasion (ok I only ran on the treadmill like 3 times).

The good news is, my mornings go a lot smoother now. I get my exercising out of the way so I don't have to worry about doing it later, I'm more consistent, and I actually leave for work on time. The last 2 days I even had time to make myself a smoothie! And I don't feel any more tired or worn out during the day. I guess my point is, if you've got the motivation, working out in the morning is a pretty good way to go. We'll see how long I can keep this up!

Progress

I know I've already done a post on my fitness progress, but I wanted to do another one... this time with pictures. I took some 'before' pictures on May 11th of this year and took some pictures today so I could compare them. To date I've lost 11.5 pounds, 5" on my waist, 4" on my stomach and at least an inch everywhere else. I don't know that anybody can really tell but me. Also, after posting these pictures of myself on here, I've gained a new respect for others whom I've seen do the same. It doesn't ever seem like that big of a deal until it's YOU. By the way, I hate the 'before' pictures. A lot.

Before

After

Before

After

One last thing I wanted to share that has helped my progress is actually tracking what I eat. I always thought this was a huge waste of time. Just eat healthy stuff and you'll be fine, right? Well, I started tracking what I eat (I use SparkPeople) and I was astonished at how many calories I was eating. I swear I eat healthy stuff and try to be really good and I still have a hard time staying within my daily calorie allotment. No wonder I'd gained so much! I figured out that my body normally burns about 1700 calories a day. So I'd have to stick to that number just to stay where I'm at! I've been trying to stay a little below that and throw in some exercise to burn extra, but it's tough! Do you realize it takes a deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound?! No wonder it takes so damn long to lose all this flab!

Anyway, I hope you all aren't getting annoyed with all my blah blah blah about fitness crap and running and other such things. I write this stuff because it's important to me and it's a way to keep myself motivated. That, and I think Seth is going to lose it if I talk about my awesome new muscles one more time...

The Results Are In!

This is the moment you've all been waiting for... race results! Wahoo! First I just want to thank everybody for the encouragement you gave me the last few months. It definitely helps make each run a little bit better. Also, I can't believe all of you who came and participated with me! It was so much fun! There were four people that ran this 5k with me: Seth, my sister Annie, Seth's sister Rachel, and Seth's brother-in-law Marty. There were also several more people that came to show support: Rachel's husband Abraham with their two boys Soren and Liam, Hillary (Abe's sister), Marty's wife (Seth's sister) Collette and two of their kids Tessa and Marty Jr, Marty's mom (sorry I can't remember her name!), and Annie's husband Eric with their little girl Belen. Eric was the mastermind behind all the wonderful race pictures.

(Left to Right) Annie, Me, Seth, Rachel, Marty

I was really anxious the morning of the race and I think it sapped some of my energy, but I still ended up doing pretty good on my run. My official time was 29:30 but I timed myself and was more like 28:30, which is about a minute faster than I was the last time I tried running the course, so I was happy about that. I didn't quite make it all the way without stopping and walked for just under a minute on the big hill.

The race has just begun!

This is me at the half-way point. This is my out-of-breath smile.

I ended up coming in 4th in my age group for the women, 5th for women overall, and 20th place out of everyone. I was really surprised! There were about 100 racers total so I feel really good about my effort. I ended up finishing before the others in our group so I got to see everyone else cross the fnish line. Seth and Annie were neck and neck the whole way and were racing against each other on the home stretch. It was pretty funny.

Seth & Annie racing to the finish!

Everyone in our group did really good and I'm really proud of all of them for the hard work they put into their training. We're going to have a re-match in a couple weeks up in Idaho Falls at the Spud Day 5k. So, if you missed out on this race, you still have time to join us at the next one!

You Mean This Actually Works?

I've been consistently working out since May 26th of this year. I've been doing at least 30 minutes of cardio (mainly running... earlier on it was more walking) followed by 30 minutes of strength training (mainly a stability ball workout), at least 3 times a week. I've cut back a lot on soda and try to drink a lot of water. It was a bit painful at first, but now I actually kind of like water. Weird huh? I've also tried to eat a bit less and eat more healthy, but nothing too drastic. I was aiming for something sustainable. More of a lifestyle change.

I'll admit in the beginning it was slow going. I didn't lose any weight for the first month or so. I haven't lost the typical "one pound a week" until recently. I've averaged out to about a pound every two weeks. But I have seen consistent progress, which is more of what I wanted anyway.

I'm 5'6" and at my heaviest I was 150 pounds. I know this doesn't sound like a lot to most of you, and it's really pretty good on average. But, I was starting to morph into a body I didn't feel comfortable in. My clothes were getting too tight, a few extra rolls were popping up here and there, and I couldn't do the things I used to be able to do without a lot of effort. I'd gained about 25 pounds in the last 5 years. Not healthy.

My initial goal was to be physically fit and not worry too much about losing weight. And that's still my main goal. If I end up being 160 pounds of pure muscle, that's just fine with me. But so far I've lost at least 8 pounds. That's almost a whole Gracie! Tonight I took my measurements again for the first time since I started running. I couldn't believe the difference! I've lost 3.5" on my waist, 2.5" from my stomach, 1" on my hips, 1" on my arm and 1.5" on my chest (not necessarily a good thing... but I can live with it :D ).

As soon as I saw my body start changing it just gave me more and more motivation to keep doing it. I feel like I'm actually accomplishing something. Something hard. Something I've never been able to do before. Most people probably wouldn't be able to see the difference in how I look, it's not that drastic yet. But I feel so much better about myself. And with every single little improvement in my fitness, whether it's running a little farther, noticing that extra muscle definition, or my clothes fitting better, I get more and more motivated. I want to eat healthy, I want to go out and run, I want to drink that extra glass of water because I know what will happen if I do.

I know this whole story sounds really cliche. I guess I'm just really excited about all this. And also, I wanted to offer encouragement to any of you out there that are in the same boat I am. A lot of the stories I hear tell about people losing 100 pounds in the same amount of time I lost my 8 pounds. It's always going to be difficult and more often than not it's going to be slow. Much slower than you ever anticipated. But keep it up. The rewards will come.

Ew! So Sweaty!

I was wandering around on the Runner's World magazine site the other day and happened upon an article that talked about how much water you need to drink while you're running. I've always heard these studies about how you need to drink about 10 gallons of water for every hour you exercise (or something like that). It always seemed excessive to me... there's no way I sweat that much! If I really lost as much water as they say I do, my shirt would be drenched, right?

So this article says that you should weigh yourself before and after you exercise and then drink 2 cups of water for every pound you lose. I immediately thought "there's no way I sweat enough during my run to lose any weight, let alone enough to be measured in POUNDS." So I decided to prove that article wrong and weighed myself before and after my run.

One whole pound. That's how much I lost after a half-hour run. Isn't that crazy?! And I lost at least another 1/2 pound after adding in 30 minutes of Pilates. I couldn't believe it! Who would've thought that dainty little old me could sweat that much! Apparently that evaporation thing they talk about actually exists. And I guess all those self-righteous scientists and doctors with their data and tests were right this time.

I Finally Did It!

Today I finally ran 3.2 miles without stopping. Yes my friends, that's 5k. I did it. In 31 minutes 17 seconds no less. I'd say that's pretty damn good. Although, I would suggest not running on garbage day. It was a little smelly out there. And the goats were back in the field on the corner of Church St. and Antelope Dr. I'm pretty sure I heard them cheering me on.

As a somewhat related side-note... have you ever tried smiling while you're working out? There's this girl named Tawyna on my stability ball workout. She wears her hair in braids and has a toothy smile the whole time. I decided to try it once. I felt ridiculous. It's just not natural.

Last Words

This week I'm supposed to run for 20-30 minutes straight. Don't know how I'm gonna manage that. I'm probably gonna die. It was nice knowing you all. I'd like to be buried holding my fly rod and please sprinkle some Grape Nuts around the casket to keep the insects away as long as possible. Throw in a can of Dr. Pepper too just in case I get lost on my way to the afterlife and get thirsty. I'll try to write.

Punishment or Test... You Decide

Today when I got home from work I briefly thought about not going running. It'd been raining on and off all day and I'd just gotten my new yoga DVDs in the mail. "Stop making excuses," I told myself, "just go out and run before it really does rain. If you get in the habit of putting it off, you'll never do it." So I put on my running gear, put my freshly made house key into the secret Velcro pouch in my skirt and went out.

Today seemed like an easy running day. It was one of those days where for some reason my legs felt lighter and running was a little more enjoyable. I admired the dark clouds and the soaring jets from the air force base. It was really nice out.

But it seems I spoke too soon. Exactly half way through my run, it started to sprinkle. Then it began to rain. Then it rained harder. Then it poured. Then it hailed. I was at least a mile away from home out in a torrential downpour. I set my routine aside and tried to run as fast as I could to get home. But, alas, my weak legs and unconditioned lungs were no match for the rain. Despite the desires of my heart to quickly get out of the sheets of cold rain and hail, my body told me 'no.'

I was soaked to the bone running through rivers of water. I stopped trying to jump over the muddy puddles and streams because at least an inch or more of water covered everything. As I made it back to my apartment complex, I was at first relieved to find shelter under the carports, but again dismayed as the rivers that flowed beneath them were even larger.

Finally I made it back to the apartment door. As I reached for the house key in the Velcro pocket I thought, "that key better still be there or ELSE." It was.

Throughout this whole ordeal I thought to myself, is God punishing me? Is this a sign I'm not supposed to run? Or is this one of those trials that's supposed to make me stronger? All I can say is, it better be the latter. And if it happens again, I quit.

No, my shirt is not supposed to be see-through. Yes, there is a reason I'm folding my arms.

Muscle Motion

For a brief time when I was a kid, we did morning workouts as a family. Of course we complained and dragged our feet getting out of bed to do it, but I think we all secretly liked it. There may be a good reason why.

I didn't realize at the time that the workout video we used was not your average run-of-the-mill workout. It was a somewhat funny video, but it was actually pretty hard to do. My dad would usually turn the volume down low because there was a woman's voice that would say really cheesy stuff. The video had only men working out. Men that were usually in some sort of costume, you know, like a doctor or a construction worker or an acrobat. This was normal, right? Didn't you have loads of workout videos like this?

I remember going to my great grandma's funeral during this family fitness period. One of my aunts found out we were working out so of course we had to show off our muscles. All us girls tightened our stomachs so she could feel our rock hard abs. It was great.

I've started and stopped many exercise regimens over the years, usually incorporating some kind of fitness video into my routine. However, I could never get that one workout video out of my mind. It was such a great workout and entertaining to boot. That's not very common.

Once during a family gathering my sisters and I asked my dad about that workout video. He claimed to no longer own it, but said that it was a Chippendale's workout video. WHA?! We all thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. It hadn't shown any naked men or been unsuitable for children so don't be too alarmed. Maybe it was for men who wanted to look like Chippendale's dancers? I don't know.

So here's the funny part. I want to get back in shape again and I really wanted that video. I'd made a couple half-hearted attempts at finding it online, but without a name to go on and not knowing any details, I kept hitting a dead-end. Then the other night, I somehow hit the jackpot. I finally found out the name of the video! It was called Muscle Motion and was made in 1983. Then I found it on Amazon! I am not kidding you, a new copy of the video was $50! What?! Who knew this video was a collectible? Don't worry, I didn't buy a $50 Chippendales workout video. I bought a used one for $9! Hee hee hee! I can't wait till it gets here. Yeah, you can feel my abs, just give me a month to work on them with my new Chippendales buddies.

See, doesn't it look fun?!

Call Us Crazy...

The other day one of my co-workers was talking about how fun running is and got me to thinking that maybe I should try it... again. I've tried running a few times in the past, but never stuck with it very long. I figured that somehow running is harder for me than everyone else and that my body just isn't designed for it. I always forget about this though and whenever I hear someone talk about running, my brain tricks me into trying it again.

When I got home that night I talked to Seth about maybe starting to run again. We've been wanting to get into better shape lately, but somehow have lacked the motivation (wierd, I know). He said that he would like to try running too and suggested that we sign up for a 5k race so that we'd be forced to train for it or die. For those of you who don't know, a 5k is about 3.1 miles. I'd be lucky at this point to be able to run 1/4 mile.

The race we signed up for is the Brigham City "Snowman Shuffle" on Saturday, December 6th. It is exactly 8 weeks from the time we decided to try running. Oddly enough, 8 weeks is the amount of time they say it takes to train for a 5k, so hopefully that's true. I'm a little skeptical.