5 days off...

So the last day that I worked out was Easter Sunday, April 5th.  After the woman in church predicted that I would have a red headed baby.  I don't know what happened to me this week.  I was tired so in the morning I hit the snooze button a few too many times and in the evening I stayed at work way too long or had plans after work.  On Friday I travelled for work and had an event to attend.  Mostly I was just tired.  Funny thing is that I did notice I was sore during the week that I didn't workout compared to the weeks that I do.  My hips were bothering me and I didn't feel very good about myself.  The moral of this story, don't take a week off.

Today I was in NYC for work.  I actually had the day to myself.  I came down yesterday for an event and I have a meeting tomorrow but today I didn't have anything planned.  I should have spent the day doing school work but it was way too nice out.

After staying up to watch the Red Sox beat the Yankees or at least I tried...I fell asleep around 1 a.m. not knowing who won.  It was nice to wake up at 8:00 a.m. to see Boston won and that it was a gorgeous day outside.  I went for breakfast and had plans to meet an alumna from Ithaca College for lunch. I am staying on West 57th Street and our plan was to meet on 31st  so I decided to walk the 26 blocks.  After lunch I treated myself to a mani/pedi.  I had done some research and found a really nice nail salon on Madison Avenue.  After that special treat I continued my walk back to my hotel stopping in Barnes and Noble and a few other places.

I finished the afternoon by heading to Central Park for a run/walk and really enjoyed myself.  The workout felt great except that my plantar fasciitis started to bother me during my workout.  At one point I stepped off a curb and I felt the pain shooting through my foot.  I prayed to God and said please no!! If you have ever had plantar fasciitis you know that it can be very painful and can last way too long. So I am hoping it doesn't plan on sticking around for too long.

However, I will not let this slow me down.  I will stretch, ice, roll it out ... I will do whatever it takes.  (Yes I started stretching it this evening and iced it.)  I haven't rolled it out yet because I don't have anything with me hard enough to use.

I will not use this as an excuse, the workouts will continue.  I have a lot of work to do to lose a total of 45 pounds by June 8th which is my goal. That deadline is 8 weeks away! Working out is what helps me the most. I can not do this alone ... I depend upon those workouts so I can't afford another week like last week.

Keep moving forward.

Happy Easter

So this Easter, similar to years past, I have traveled to Virginia with my Dad to celebrate the holiday with my sister.  This morning like so many others I got up, put on my Easter best and headed to Mass.   My sister lives in Ashburn, VA which is considered the metro DC area and very close to Dulles airport and belongs to St. Therese Catholic Church.  It is a very large church and with a very large membership.

So off to Church I went; entered the pew with my family and sat next to an older southern woman.  As I sat down the older woman looked at me and said ... your baby is going to have red hair.  I looked at her wondering who she was talking to and realized she was talking to me.  First I thought to myself, only if there was an immaculate conception! Instead, I looked at her and said, I am not pregnant.  I wanted to die ... way to kill my self esteem lady.  I wanted out of that church so badly.  Easter is supposed to be a joyous occasion and instead my confidence was crumbling and I was hurt.

I was wearing a new dress, which I bought last month and it was a size smaller.  I had just gone shopping the day before and bought three new pairs of pants and several tops all of which were smaller sizes.  And finally I had completed a week of workouts and didn't miss one; I had swam, biked and ran and felt great.  Then you hear this comment and everything disappears.

I realize the woman didn't mean anything by it.  She continued to apologize throughout mass and all I wanted to say was let it go lady but I smiled politely and said it was ok.  She wasn't trying to be mean but words can hurt. How can a total stranger who knows nothing about me, make me question all of my hard work?

So guess what? A workout has been added to my calendar today.  In fact I think I will head out soon before dinner is served.

Jesus give me strength to keep moving forward!!!  Happy Easter everyone!!

And if  you are wondering I probably would have kids with red hair.  My dad and aunt were red heads and my natural highlights are red!!

March 22

It's been a month since my last post. The scale has moved down this month, not quickly but it has moved in the right direction. Also last week I went shopping and everything I brought into the dressing room was too big. I had to go back to the racks for smaller sizes. I ended up buying a dress one size smaller.

I will be on this journey for one year on June 7. As of this weekend that date is 11 weeks away. I would love to be down 52 pounds by then but that would mean I would have to lose 1.6 pound per week. Doable but I don't want to set myself up for failure. So I decided to shoot for 11 pounds instead. If I end up losing more bonus if not I will be happy with 11.

Finally it is 19 weeks until the Cayuga triathlon and 23 weeks until the open water swim. Let the games begin...

Ready set go....

February 22nd.

Sunday, February 22nd.  I am sitting in a cafe in NYC.  I just attended some alumni meetings and I am now waiting for the Cornell Bus to take me home.  Today was the Lake Effect Half Marathon in Syracuse.  I was registered to complete this half marathon but I had to cancel for these meetings.  I also found out that I have to drop out of the Syracuse half marathon on the 22nd of March because the meetings that were held today will continue in one month.  So much for registering early in order to save money.  I am almost too afraid now to register for anything.  Between work and school I don't have the time to compete in races.  The other half I was thinking about was the Skunk Cabbage which is held in April in Ithaca.  During the meeting held today we scheduled our meetings for March and April.  The April meeting is April 12...so I just went on line as I was typing this blog to checkout the date of the Skunk Cabbage race and ... it is scheduled for April 12th!!  So right now I don't have any races scheduled...what is a girl to do.  I guess I just keep running and something will work out. Maybe I should turn my attention to the pool and bike and get ready for my triathlons.

I am a frustrated competitive runner ... I had such hopes and dreams for this year.  I am not giving up...just whining!!

40+ days

Ash Wednesday was yesterday and so begins Lent.  So I thought about what I wanted to give up, what would challenge me and what would be good for me.  I chose two things to give up Facebook and sugar.  With Facebook I can't post, comment or stalk for 40+ days.  So far so good!!  In regards to the sugar ... I am reading all ingredients and if sugar lands in the first five ingredients then I can't eat it.  This will be a challenge but in the end will be very good for me. Walking away from Facebook will be good for me too.  I need to work on my Time Management skills when it comes to school work and I don't need to be waisting my time on Facebook.  The funny thing about not being able to post anything is throughout the day I think about things that I would post on the book...comments or things that happened but I can't.  Now I have to communicate with friends the old fashion way!!

Just trying to stay the course

Lazy Slug...

...that's what I feel like lately.  A lazy slug!  I have not worked out since Tuesday.  Crazy is I ventured out in Chicago as soon as the blizzard ended but I get back to New York and I haven't stepped into the gym yet. I don't know what is wrong ... just haven't felt like doing much.  What is also bad is my school work has suffered this week as well.

It has become my routine to go to the gym after work and then stay on campus to do school work. I find if I go home to do school work I have adult onset ADD. I end up watching TV; doing laundry or find anything else to do besides school work.  Of course I miss one day of school work I get behind and if I miss one day of a workout, lately, I end up feeling like a lazy slug.  So can you imagine how I feel if I have missed four days...

Tomorrow is a new day ... my running shoes are longing for the pavement and there is school work to be done...plus I need to get out of this funk before it goes on for too long.

The Coat...

When trying to lose weight you will find yourself reading articles, books or posts that will give you suggestions to help you succeed.  I know I do and I can almost guarantee that I am not alone.

When it comes to measuring your success everyone usually uses the almighty scale.  This thin box can make or break you.  It can make you feel like you are on top of the world or it can make you feel lower than dirt.  I once saw a cartoon with two kids standing near a scale.  One child said to the other, "don't stand on that, it can make you cry".  I laughed at the cartoon but I also thought to myself that is so true.  So are there other ways to measure?

When reading the articles, books and posts an individual trying to lose weight is encouraged to find other ways to measure weight loss.  You can use how your clothes are fitting, measure inches on your body or maybe it is just how you feel physically and mentally.

So you are probably wondering  why I am talking about this? Well here is goes.  Earlier this week I was walking on campus.  I was actually walking from the gym while it was snowing during the day.  I started to cross an intersection, slipped on the snow and down I went.  I know you are not surprised that I fell, being the klutz that I am.  So after I fell I jumped up as fast as I could but I was covered in snow, slush and dirt.  The winter coat I was wearing was now wet and dirty.  I brought the coat home, hung it up but knew I didn't have time to take it to the dry cleaners.  So then I had to ask myself what will I wear now?  It was too cold for my winter vests and the fleece jackets weren't going to do it either.  So I reached into the back of the closet and pulled out a long black winter coat that is probably 8+ years old.  The coat is still in great shape because I barely wear it.  The reason why I don't wear this coat is because for many years I wasn't able to button it closed.

So the moment of truth came on Wednesday morning.  I was ready to leave for work and I put the coat on.  I was in shocked, not only did it button close but it closed easily with extra room.  I didn't need the scale this week, I had a way to measure my hard work and I was a success.

However the measurements are not over.  I thought the black coat said it all but I was wrong.  On Friday I was curious so I stepped on the scale and it was down an additional half pound.  Not a huge loss but a loss just the same.

But wait there is more ... I feel like I am doing an infomercial ... if you call now you can get more for a low price.  After a few weeks of no work travel I was back on the road this morning.  I was taking a flight to Chicago, heading right into a blizzard, but that is a story for another day.  I got on the plane took my seat, got settled and then buckled my seat belt. Not only was I able to buckle my seat belt I was able to pull it tight.  That hasn't happened in a long time.  Over a year ago there was one flight that I had to actually ask for an extension and today I pulled the seat belt "tight across your lap".

Woo Hoo

Using other measurements helps to build you up!

GO Patriots!!