It's a measuring day ...

... but I'm not measuring today. So instead of looking at some names of body parts and their corresponding numbers, look at these cute kids.

Why no measuring today? Well, because for the last few weeks I have been such a slacker. I can tell ZERO difference in my body and I'd rather not take the chance of getting down because the numbers went up.

I've spent drastically less time on the weight bench and the elliptical. But on the up side we've been outside A LOT.

We've gone hiking twice. Walking (a 5k) three times and running (the couch to 5k program) three times. The weather has been too nice to stay in on the elliptical. But My knees and hips have been begging me to just sit and crochet instead of getting on the elliptical on non-running days.

I ordered some new running shoes. So that's nice. Nothing fancy or special. Just a pair of New Balances that are in the "performance running" category. And they were on sale and I had a coupon. So that makes it better too. I'm excited for them to arrive and hopefully I'll get a little relief on my knees and hips.

I have scheduled (but not signed up for) my first 5k of the season. March19th, It's the Clay House 5k in the Bham area if anyone is interested in joining. I will definitely not be ready in the sense that I will be able to run the entire thing (I'll only be on week 6 of C25K by then) but it'll be the last 5k I can enter before my 30th birthday. I'd like to give it a go.

Sunday RUN Day (or how I almost killed myself 2 days ago)

Sunday after the park and a trip to Wal-mart for soil to start my seeds for the garden. I had the brilliant idea to run outside.

I've been on the elliptical for 30 minutes a day, 5 or 6 times a week for a month and a half. Surely, I could handle week 4 of couch to 5k. surely.

surely. NOT.

I forgot how much of running is mental. And skipping to week 4 is like skipping an entire month of preparing mentally. I also forgot how HIGH impact running is. burning 400 calories in 30 minutes on the elliptical is like taking a bubble bath in clouds when compared to running on pavement. seriously.

My lungs were like, "It's 65 degrees out here. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO US?!?"

My calves and quads were like, "This hurts. This hurts a lot. We're going to make you pay for this for days."

My feet were like, "Those insoles are crap. You need to buy new shoes."

My stomach was like, "Stop or you'll be sorry." I threw up five minutes later and they mocked a little more, "See, I told you."

The stomach evacuation meant I missed one of the 4 runs. But Husband ... Husband was a rock star. He had the double stroller with two sleeping kids in it and still completed it. He did amazing. He pushes me for sure.

The kids after we finished. Son just starting to wake up.

Husband resting.

Me pretending that I'm mostly ok.

time to replace. insoles or no insoles.

I asked Daughter is she wanted to get out and run and she said, "maybe later." I reclined her seat so she could get a little more comfortable.

loving on Son. waiting on Daughter to wake up.

Finally awake and ready to go. I love how Son runs a little like Phoebe Buffay. He's all out.

Unfortunately, he's also a little clumsy. And Daughter got a little too close. Son tripped. Daughter was right behind him and landed on him. There were tears. But no broken skin.

After a short break to listen to music by the big tree they were ready to run again.

After his fall, Son only wanted to run while holding Husband's hand.

I was happy that even after they fell neither kid wanted to go back to the car.

Daughter got to decide our path because she was the first runner.

Husband wanted me to take this picture and he made sure to ask if I lined up the sun between the trees. (yes, I did.)

We ended up doing the 30 minutes of intervals of week 4 and then we kept walking (5 laps is 3.3 miles. a 5k is 3.1) to finish 5 laps plus let the kids sleep a little longer. Then they wanted to run an almost entire lap.

It was fun, but wow, I my quads are still so sore. Even after stretching and time on the elliptical yesterday. Husband is coming home a little early today so we can run again. I think I'm going back to WEEK ONE!!!

another measure in

inspiration.

my favorite jeans. they sit in my closet. missing me.

It's been three weeks. Out came the measuring tape.

TOTAL inches lost:

Hips: -2 1/2

Waist: -2 1/4

Thigh: -1

Arm: same or actually 1/8 inch bigger. depending on if you're looking at my measurement or Husband's. maybe my arms are a little bigger. I can tell a slight difference in muscle tone. (wow, I love the weight bench)

Clothes differences:

I've gone down a cup size in my bras. So instead of having ridiculously extremely large breasts, they are currently just extremely large. (I also miss my pregnancy bras)

I tried on the size smaller jeans and they zip and button but because of a slight muffin top, I'm still declaring them "too small to wear in public"

My current "problem" area seems to be the area under my belly button. (Thanks, two c-sections). But, as Husband points out, I am seeing results. For instance when I first started working out, I could do TWO decline sit ups on the weight bench. Now I am doing 75 (and adding more every week) So those muscles are improving and for that I'm excited.

I've been really consistent with the elliptical. For every workout the last 3 weeks I've burned an average for 422 calories for every 30 minute workout. That's definitely enough to feel the much missed "runner's high" It's also enough to make my knees ache like I have been running on concrete for 30 minutes a day 5-6 times a week.

To try to get a little more life out of my running shoes, I got some "Sport" insoles. Maybe they can buy me a few more weeks while I search for coupons for a good deal on new running shoes.

It's going pretty well. I can tell the most difference around my rib cage. And it's definitely exciting to see results.

My diet hasn't changed too dramatically. I'm still drinking coffee (with sugar) on the weekends. And I had a binge on crusty bread last week. I ate almost a half a loaf in an entire good. I definitely gorged myself and satisfied that urge for awhile!

My favorite snack right now is a half a serving of wheat thins and a laughing cow cheese wedge. (sometimes I double it and add a fruit and it becomes an entire meal)

3 week "measure in"

Yesterday was my scheduled day to take my measurements again.

thigh: -1/2 inch

hips: -1/2 inch

waist(not where my pants sit, but my actual waist, where my torso curves in): -3/4 inch

chest: didn't measure.

arm: no change. (boo)

to tell you the honest truth, I was disappointed. I just expected more out of 3 weeks of working out and lifting weights. Not that I was on the elliptical 3 hours a day and maxing out on weights every other day. I did take a less aggressive route.

30 minutes on the elliptical 5 days a week and weights every other day.

I just expected the numbers to change a little more. BUT, again, I know I'm going to see less movement taking measurements than I would on a scale. My jeans are looser. So there's that.

It definitely pushed me yesterday to have my most intense workout thus far. So I made yesterday's workout the minimum goal of what I want to make my workouts feel like.

Plus, I know my metabolism has kicked up a notch because I am hungry ALL THE TIME. So, I've picked up some healthy snack options

AND I'm not afraid to have a glass of coke if I really feel like I need it. little things like that add up ... on the negative side.

I'll tell you right now, that I've been avoiding that fabulous bread I love to make. between garlic bread, nutella, butter, roasted tomato basil, and olive oil dip I could eat an entire loaf in a day. SO, it's just easier to not bake any.

I'll have to give myself a break and have some in the next month or so.

SOMETHING I LEARNED THIS WEEK BY READY LABELS: 1 tablespoon of white sugar has MUCH few calories than 1 tablespoon of clover honey. (I guess I'll slow down my search for raw local honey as a sugar substitute in my hot tea)

In Shape, Here I Come

I'm going to be 30 this year (in late March) I'm not afraid of 30. I don't think I'm suddenly old and whatever else the people who freak out about 30 think. But I do think it's past time for me to get in shape and actually train for those 5k races I want to run. Plus I have lots of great clothes from back when I was a single woman with a great income who loved to spend money on clothes, clothes and more clothes. (plus my favorite pair of jeans Seven for All Mankind that I can't even bare to look at because I am too big for them)

BTW, I didn't run a single race last summer. I claimed it was too hot to train, so I slacked off to the point that I quit. I walked a little, but that's about it.

Husband and I have talked a lot about how we don't like taking the kids out for walks in the winter when it's 40 degrees outside, but WE still have to do something active. Gym memberships are out. We just don't have the money for it, plus if I go during the day while he's at work I would have to pay for childcare. And if we went together in the evenings, we'd still have to pay for childcare. Suddenly the cost of our monthly gym membership would almost double.

For our anniversary, I gave Husband this weight bench. Well, it was my idea to give it to him, but because of the cost we decided it would be our gift to each other. I started pricing weight benches and found this one at Academy. And three days before I anniversary it went on sale! $15 dollar off. SCORE. We got the 160lb weight set to go with it. It's definitely what we need for now and then some. Plus we can always add more weights on to it later (when/if Husband starts using more weights)

You can't really see the leg press because if I zoomed out any more, you'd be able to see how messy our room was!

For Christmas we asked for this elliptical trainer. It's the Gold's Gym one at Wal-Mart. I love it. (Because of the pneumonia Husband hasn't been on it much) It even has an iPod dock but so far I have been watching television while using it.

Again, I'm not trying to be vague with the pictures ... just trying to hide the clutter!

I've started my own program

day 1: elliptical 30 minutes, weights

day 2: elliptical 30 minutes

day 3: elliptical 30 minutes, weights

day 4: off day

repeat.

It's going well. I've stuck to it everyday since I started except Monday when I took Husband to the doctor. And I felt like my sinuses might explode.

results? already.

We don't have a scale and to tell you the truth, I don't want one. The last time I was weighed was at my 6 weeks postpartum appointment after Son was born. Instead, Husband and I measured each others body parts we wanted to shrink/sculpt/whatever.

For me it was thigh, hips, waist, chest and arm.

For Husband it was waist and chest.

I am only measuring every 3 weeks. (that's the hard part. sometimes I want to do it everyday) So I only have my original calculations. BUT I do have jeans that used to be tight that I can now take off without unzipping and unbuttoning. SO excited.

I am 2/3 sizes away from the fabulous clothes in my closet I haven't been able to wear in years.

and because of my 30 minutes on the elliptical I think that 5k aren't horribly far away either. I'll be excited for a warm day (60+) so I can get outside and see how close I actually am!

I'd love to run a 5k on my birthday, but it's the week between the 19th and the 26th. So, those are the days I'm looking for races on. I'm going to search Active.com soon for possible races.

guys, I'm so excited about this. It's hard to even express. I really love running and now I have a great off season way to get in shape and stay in shape! I'm excited to feel like I'm in charge of my own body again. And to have my body feel "like me" again.