My Journey Toward 1-3-5

Since we got back from our honeymoon and wedding, my healthy living plan has been going down the drain!  I haven’t been eating healthy at all (hello....Chicken on the Way?) and it didn’t help that Hallowe’en was squeezed in there and I ate massive amounts of chocolate, since we had only a few trick-or-treaters!

Although I have been doing some strength videos and running, if I don’t monitor my food, it’s game over!  I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with food!  I love it so much that sometimes I can’t stop myself from having that second plate, or the extra bite...even though I’m already full.

Anyways, all excuses aside, my goal is to reach a weight of 135lbs by February 2014!  What does this mean?  I need to do all I can to lose 6.6lbs in about 12.5 weeks!

Current weight: 141.6lbs on November 6, 2013

Goal Weight: 135lbs by February 2014

It may not sound like a lot, but these last 6.6lbs are the most difficult to shed because I’ve already had a lot of weight loss in the past year.  I was religiously doing Jillian Michaels DVDs 5 days a week (Body Revolution...It works!!), running or walking at least 3 times a week, and closely monitoring my food on My Fitness Pal.  I’m allowed to have a net of 1380 calories per day.  When I started, I was 160.9lbs at the beginning of last year.  I lost 19.3 lbs in one year!  It’s definitely something I worked hard on and am proud of, but it would be AMAZING to reach this one last step!  I know I can do it :)

What’s the Plan?

I will be doing Kettleworx/Jillian Michaels 4 times a week for strength training.

I will be running at least two times a week.

I will follow my Fitness pal at a daily net intake of 1380 calories in order to lose 0.5lbs per week.

Healthy changes starts NOW!  Let’s get it started :)

Mother's Day Run 2012

This year, D and I completed the 2012 Sport Chek Mother's Day race!  I ran a personal best for a 5K race (I think), which was 41:01.3 minutes.  This was pretty good for me, since I have not trained for a race at all!  I was hoping to finish in under an hour, so I wouldn't embarrass myself too badly! ;)

This was the FIRST race where I felt like I got bitten by the racing bug and want to do another 5K and try to beat my time!!! :)  I did 5 and 1's instead of my normal 10 and 1's.  With the 5 minutes, I was able to pace myself better and keep my form in check during my minute walk breaks.

At the end of the race, I found some extra go-juice and pushed myself to the finish!  I felt amazing afterwards!!!  It was a fantastic race!

Once life gets settled, I'll be looking to get back into it and do another 5K!  Gotta find one with a nice, flat course :)

San Francisco Calls

UPDATE: Change of plans - sometimes, that happens in life and you gotta roll with the punches!!  I know I will do this one day, even though I've decided not to do it next year!  It's still an important matter to me, and it's a goal, for sure :)

One month from today, I'll be at the Tech Shop for a Team in Training information session.  I decided that I WILL sign up and run the half marathon at the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco on October 14, 2012.  As a part of team in training, I will have to raise $4250 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I'll be raising money to find a cure for blood cancers...supporting those going through it and their families.

Although blood cancers is not something that has directly affected me, I have known many close to me that have battled cancer.  In my efforts to raise money and find a cure, I hope that the research to cure blood cancers will also help in the effort to cure cancer in general.  That's the optimist in me speaking.  People who fight this battle go through so much, this charity run is the least I can do to help.

I'm nervous for both the distance and raising the full amount.  Back in 2010, I ran 2 half marathons and was in running shape.  Fast forward 2 years and my body is not the same as it once was. I'm hoping this training will help me get my energy back and shed some weight along the way.  Also, fundraising is something I've never done before.  It's hard for me to ask others for money when I know it's so tight, but it's for a good cause.  I will try my best to conquer this and use as many techniques as I can.  With my fundraising, we can be that much closer to finding a cure.  I CAN do this.  :)

I've felt this "calling" for a while...you know, the one where you feel like something within you is urging you to do this.  Quotes have been appearing (or I've just been noticing them) reinforcing that I have to get out of my comfort zone and do this! 

Life has no limitations, except the ones you make. -- Les Brown

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. -- Mark Twain

Don't let the barriers you see define what you do. -- Sonal Shah

Moral of the story is...life is short and you only live once!  I'm excited beyond belief and scared outta my wits, all at the same time.  Strangely enough, it's a GREAT feeling :)

First Solo Run

I did my first outdoor solo run last night around the resevoir!  It was super scenic and a perfect night to get outside to test these legs!  They have been out of commission with outdoor running for quite some time (aside from the few I've squeaked in with D).  I have been trying for 3X a week at the gym (or being active).  So far, I've been pretty good!  But I've always said that running outside was a whole different ballgame.  It's tough!!  After last night, my half marathon training seemed like another lifetime...I used to run long distances and 5K was a breeze!  What happened to that!??!

With the Mother's Day run about a month away (May 13), I have to really get serious about training to run the full distance!

Since I just started reading Chi Marathon, I hoped to employ some of their running techniques.  I tried to run keeping my body straight with only a slight lean, and to strike the pavement midfoot.  I also tried to keep my body relaxed and keep my strides under me. 

The first 5 minutes was a nice jog.  However, at the one minute walk break, I was already winded!  I alternated jog/walk in a random fashion for about 2.5K.  At the turn around point, I decided to use my couch to 5K app!  I needed some tunes and motivation!

I had some trouble with it at first, missing my cues because the app turned off.  I wondered why my 5 minute brisk walk was so long!  Once I discovered that I could lock the app, it was smooth sailing.  I really liked the quick 1 min jog/walk intervals - that seemed totally manageable.  Toward the end, I felt comfortable with the pace, even though my calf and leg muscles were flaring up and really sore.  (I'm sure I'm still running incorrectly as it should NOT be this painful!)

All in all, I was happy to complete the 5K jog/walk with the aid of my "trainer".  I really dig this app.  It showed me that I CAN run on my own!  I'm not sure why I was so nervous about it in the first place.  I'm excited to continue this journey and learn to run with better form.

I've enrolled in two sessions and am so excited to learn how to improve my running.  They come to me with RAVE reviews from my very kick-ass and inspirational running coworker! :)

- Smart Runner by Dale McDonald
- Fitness Fix - run analysis

April Goals

In April 2012

I choose...

to ride my bike on weekends.

to do the April Ass-kicking workout.

to be active 3X a week.

to write on my blog at least once a week.

to run outside on my own at least once.

to organize my clothes closet.

to finish reading one book on my to-read list.

to maintain my Sunday night cooking and not eat McDonalds (my guilty pleasure).

Mom's Handmade Wontons

My Mom is the most AMAZING cook that I know!  She spends weekend afternoons simmering her broths until they are flavoured to perfection and puts only the freshest ingredients in all of her cooking. 

As I'm trying to become a better cook and eating more healthy, I am aspiring to learn as much as I can from her tricks of the trade.  Unfortunately, my Mom never uses recipes or measurements.  Of course she doesn't need to - she knows it all by sight and smell!  So here is my attempt at trying to pen up her authentic recipes!

A few weekends ago, I made some of her hand-wrapped wontons.  They were incredibly delicious and surprisingly easy to do!  I have them frozen so whenever it gets cold, I can just make a broth, throw in some veggies and a few of these wontons.  A quick, easy and delicious dinner for a snowy day (like today!)

Mom's Wontons (makes about 50 pcs)

1 lb lean ground pork
5-6 pieces of raw shrimp, cut into small pieces
1 egg
Double Happiness wonton wraps

1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
pepper

In a large bowl, mix the pork, shrimp, egg, and all spices together with the water.  Ensure the mixture is moist and a bit sticky.  At this point, you can wrap up the bowl with saran and leave it to marinade overnight.  (I have made this recipe and wrapped right away and it was still tasty).

Take about a tsp of the meat mixture and put it in the middle of your wonton wrapper.  Fold it over into a triangle, taking the pointy ends and bringing them together.  If you let the wrapper touch the meat, it will bind better.  Then do one more fold on each end to completely seal.  It takes me about 1/2 an hour to complete all the wrapping - call on a friend to help!  Makes it go that much faster (and more FUN!!) :)

When you are ready to eat, boil the wontons in water first to remove the flour coating from the wonton wrappers.  Once the wontons float to the top of the water, they are done!

Then cook up your broth, add whatever veggies you like (I enjoy shanghai bokchoy and green onions) and throw your wontons in too!  You've got a healthy and delicious soup for any meal of the day :)

Morning of Motivation/Inspiration/Goals

I've been reading about motivation and goals this morning and feeling SO pumped up.  I always do this though, get really jazzed initially and then lose it somehow.  But this time, I've gotta keep it up.

I've been looking at ways to motivate myself to run again and came across an amazing blog called Enjoy It! by Elisa.  She writes about how she tracks her goals.  Instead of yearly ones, she does monthly goals - takes a photo of herself, writes down her monthly goals, posts them on her blog and then tracks next month to see how she did.  I'm going to try this method of goal setting.  This is so much better because your progress is tracked in shorter spurts rather than dragging on and on.

Some secrets to motivation I found in my smorgasbord of info:

1.  Chart your progress - blog, write about your goals
2.  Set a future goal (ie. for running, a PR or sign up for an exciting race)
3.  Get a workout buddy - or cheerleaders:) - a great support system
4.  Just get started!
5.  Make a big public commitment
6.  Think Positive - squash your negative thoughts :)

I wrote down a bunch of words that inspire/interest me to gain a better understanding of who I aspire to be.  My two main things are: I want to be more creative and healthier. 

Food & Cooking
Travel
Photography
Run
Love
Family
Friends
Kids
Design
Knit
Goals
Read
Write
Adventurous
Honest
Compassionate
Healthy
Courageous
Cheerful
Calm
Patient
Loving
Kind

I have plans and I feel very excited for life!  House shopping, getting back into fitness, eating healthier, being more creative and blogging!  Also going to pick up the "Born to Run" book Elisa highly recommends after work today!