The "perfect week" has come to an end.

The "perfect week" has come to an end.  Let me tell you when my week lost it's perfectness.  When I snuck my weigh in on Sat. morning and saw a 2.2lbs loss.  After that I lost focus.  You would think it would have pumped me  up, but it almost did the opposite.  This morning my offcial loss for the week was 1 pound.  So, the good news? I lost one pound.  The bad news? It could have been more had I not lost my focus.

My weight graph from MyFitnessPal for this week, thankful for an overall decrease!

Part of my problem this past week MAY have been *sorry guys* that it was that time of the month for me and it came for an extended visit.  My iron got low etc.  My doctor put me on an iron supplement so that is all getting better. TMI for you maybe, but I bet 90% of you ladies are thinking "I've been there!"

So, there is no "perfect" week.  I knew this when I started, I knew that I could try, but no one is perfect.  So this week I will be calling my "focused" week.  I can focus all week but I can't be perfect all week so I'm revamping.  Want to have a "focused week" with me.  DO IT! and comment and tell me you are doing it!  Did you do a "perfect week" with me last week? If so, what were your results?

I'm starting my focused week with a training session with my trainer tonight.  I'm feeling good and excited to go learn some new stuff! We are supposed to measure tonight!

ps.  I officially registered for the Country Music Half Marathon today!

Screen Shot from my confirmation email!

9 miles!!!

So I woke up this morning not feeling like a long run. I ate my lunch and then got ready to head out. I also posted on Facebook and twitter that I was going so I couldn't back out. The first half mile was no good. I felt sluggish. I just kept on. I had a 6 mile route planned out. I started to feel really good about 2 miles in. I was thinking about how sad I was to only log six miles today and not have a new distance record. Haven't had a distance record in 3 weeks (8 miles). So I decided that when I got to 3.5 miles, my turn around point today to be at the house in 6 miles, I would make a distance decision. I still
felt great. I got there and kept going. I couldn't run as far out as I wanted (5 miles) because the shoulder went down to basically nothing. So I had to turn around at 4.25 miles which meant I needed to fit in another .75 miles
On the way to the house. So I did a few double backs on the way home and took the loop around my subdivision. I ended about 100 yards from my driveway. Perfect! I was frustrated that I had to do double backs which meant waiting for traffic and heading away from home
Around my 7 mile mark which mentally was no good. Kinda like walking a dog and they get tired and they instinctively want to turn toward home. Lol.

I packed pineapple chucks in my belt today. They worked great. I had like 4 sport beans left over. So at the end of each mile I ate either two beans or two pineapple chunks. I finished my water after mile 8. So my supply was perfect today.

I was so excited to make another distance PR! My knees are sore again. Maybe not as bad as Thursdays 3.5 mi run though. Weird I know, but at the advice of my brother I focused on steadying my center of gravity this time to soften the blow on my legs. I think it helped and helped my pace too. At 5 miles my average pace was 16'25" miles. At the end of 9 miles my pace was 16'48". So I felt like my pace today was really rather steady. At mile 7 I started slowing a bit. Up to that point I was still 16'27". Before mile
5 I took my war bud out song could hear pace so I wouldnt freak out over it.

I have 10 weeks to get that pace under 16' consistently. 16' is the cut off pace for my half on April 28th.

I had a few thoughts today about my energy level and how good I felt
Along the way. Warning! Guys you may or may not want to read this paragraph. I've been in search of a good sports bra and haven't found one just yet. So today I wore two sports bras and found that my bounce issue wasn't an issue. I have to wonder how much the bounce issue weighs on my overall energy level. Plus no bounce will benefit me in years to come. Lol

Ok guys your safe. Next thought is how clean I've been eating this week. I had a fail with an ice cream
Sandwich last night but other than that I've been particular about my eating this week and I think it really paid off today. Good fuel in = efficient gas mileage. Right?

So yay! Some more house work with my hubby tonight, (he was wonderful and dis lots of housework while
I was running and even had a chicken wrap waiting when i came
In the door) then church in the morning and a rest day!

exercise!!!

Exercise schedule for my "perfect week".
Here it is for everyone to see and hold me accountable for.

Funny story... my cousin was on the phone with me last night while I was driving and I was being rude and eating in her ear (she didn't care).  She had read my "perfect week" blog.  She said "what are you eating"... my response... "cheerios!", she heard "Oreos"... after we cleared that up she laughed and said, "I was going to tell you to throw them out the window!"  That is accountability folks! LOL.  I love my cousin Whitney! Thanks girl!

Ok, exercise schedule

Thursday - 3.5 mile run
Friday - Crossfit Circuit and Sprints (intervals)
Saturday - 6 mile run
Sunday - Rest and be thankful!
Monday -Strength Circuit and 1 mile run (400 meter repeats)
Tuesday - 4 mile run

Good Day!

I felt good about my first day of my "perfect" week. A few of my eating times were a bit off. Not by much. 30 min or so. I had a late super do I had a snack during my normal dinner time. So evening snack an dinner times
Just swapped. Little things.

Avoiding sweets was tough. What did this tell me? I've been eating too many. Today the only sweets I had was a dumdum sucker at the bank.

One thing was missing from my day. Exercise. I got home from work at 5:30, headed back out to the grocery, came home and cooked dinner. Then worked at home more. I decided since I hadn't planned all my days (exercise) yet that I would hold my calories down today more toward 1400 and get 8 hours of sleep...

So I'm laying in bed ready to catch some z's. Here is a list I've been wanting to post all day...

Things I resisted today:
Hashbrowns in the cafeteria
Chocolate milk
Diet coke as I passed Subway
Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner
Mini Ice cream sandwich in the freezer
And last but NOT least.. Cadbury eggs in the grocery check out line.

I'm proud of today. It's not that my eating has been really bad it just hasn't been as focused as needed.

Tomorrow is a run and I will post the remainder of my exercise schedule.

Good night!

Missing Puzzle Piece / Climbing out of the valley

I keep feeling like there is a missing puzzle piece for me in this weightloss journey of mine. I think I may have figured it out. Belief in myself and faith it can happen. I can eat right and exercise and train for a half marathon but until I can see a vision of myself thinner and healthier I'm not sure it will happen. It's like my brain is holding the pounds on for me. But then I begin to examine everything I'm doing. I'm not sure I've had that perfect week yet that goes just as scheduled and I don't miss any workouts. I also find that I cheat in nutrition in little ways here and there. Not big cheats just little ones like a roll at dinner or that mini cupcake a student brings me for Valentines day. I've also started drinking diet coke and diet dr. Pepper. I've seen articles recently that suggest that diet beverages actually cause weight gain. Not sure the reason but I'm thinking I might should stick to water and milk only.

I think I need a boost. So tomorrow I plan to weigh in at home in the morning and have the cleanest most perfect week I can. I'm not going to touch the scales until the next Wednesday and then I will see what happens. I'm going to log everything to a tee and post my workout schedule here so that I can report back that I stuck to my schedule with no excuses.

If you are my friend on MyFitnessPal keep me accountable. I'm going to see if one really good clean week will
Show results. I think that a really good week may be what I need to renew my belief in myself. Don't worry. My training runs aren't suffering. That is one thing that has been great still.

One last thing that is certainly not least. I often fail to let go of things an let God do his work. So I'm going to focus more on praying about my weightloss and God giving me the strength both mentally and physically to make good choices. So here goes!!

I have been a motivated person for a long time. I think we all get in the valleys from time to time. Of you are on a journey yourself and you are in a valley examine what you do, pray about it, and pull yourself back up into that mountain.

Anyone out there with encouragement or tips for climbing back to the mountain top? Please share!

Big News! Run2Walk

So, Wednesday a news article kinda leaked info that I was looking forward to sharing with you, but hadn't done yet.  I was sooo excited for y'all to find out! Why had I not shared with you that I'm the first sponsor runner for Run2Walk?  Because my story isn't yet available for viewing on their website.  It will be available toward the end of Feb.  So initially we were planning for me to wait and announce my involvement with R2W until you could go right to run2walk.org and see it.  When we asked permission for filming in my classroom the PR director for my school system was excited and contacted Daily News (local paper).  Jason (R2W founder and my brother) and I were so excited for Run2Walk to get some PR!  When the article came out on Wednesday Jason and I were so excited and pleased at how well the article was written.  We decided to go on and get the article out there and get excited... so now you will just be more informed when my story hits Run2Walk.  The Daily News came during my after lunch class (general music), when my story hits run2walk.org you will see more of what I do as a choir director.

Talking to the class about Run2Walk - picture from Daily News

Shot from the R2W camera of Jason and I talking to my general music class
picture from Daily News

Another picture from Daily News

http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/local/east-teacher-running-with-a-purpose/article_78694f9c-527a-11e1-bcee-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=image

So here is a bit of info about my involvement:

How did I get in this position as first sponsored runner?
My brother is the founder and I had already committed to running the half in April before Run2Walk took form.  When the board of directors was determining how to launch the idea and a "first sponsored runner" came up Jason told them that I was already training (back in Sept).  So at Thanksgiving Jason told me all about Run2Walk and asked me to be the first sponsored runner.  I was so honored to take on this responsibility.

How I felt?
Jason and I grew up with an Aunt and Uncle who were unable to walk due to multiple sclerosis.  I always new they would do anything to walk again.  It always upset me that there are people like them who wanted to but couldn't and then there were those who could but wouldn't.  Then there is the whole other side of the idea which is running while knowing someone else can't walk.  Have you ever run past someone in a wheelchair?  It makes me feel terrible when I do.  I can't imagine the feeling they have.  Some might think they get used to it, or become numb to it, but can you imagine if they don't?!  So, I cried a bit when I mentioned our aunt and uncle (who we miss very much) to my brother and how I finally feel like I can do something to help people like them.

What I do?
I immediately started doing a video diary of my journey to be used on the R2W site and I got on Twitter to make better connections with runners to encourage me and to also hopefully inspire others and share my story to help spread the word about R2W.  I have come to LOVE twitter and I enjoy so much the twitter people I have "met" that are on journeys similar to mine.  Thanks to all my twitter followers! I have continued to blog as well.

What's next?
I can now share about Run2Walk in my blog!!! so Yay!  I continue to train and video diary.  I have another filming weekend coming up with R2W.

What can you do?
Follow me! @findtheskinny on twitter, here at my blog, and on www.run2walk.org very soon.  Until my story is on the R2W site, please go on to the site and read all about it, watch the promo video, and bookmark it!

Thank you so much to all of my blog readers! You mean a lot to me and are instrumental in my training! I just never know when a reader is watching me.  I learned that this weekend.  I went to my Music Teacher conference where I saw many many friends that I don't see often.  I was so shocked at how many people mentioned following my blog/running story.  I mentioned that to my hubby, also at the conference, and he said "you have NO idea!".  I asked what he meant?  He had spent some time talking to a colleague from another county that he didn't know well, and when he was introduced to that colleague's girlfriend she said "oh, I read your wife's blog!"  WOAH! I was stunned.  So many people read this blog that I don't even realize.  Thanks to the girlfriend of the KMEA member that met my husband this week.  You have encouraged me!

Thanks everyone! keep reading! Lots more about Run2Walk to come!

Traveling!!!

Sorry I haven't posted this week. I've been at a conference for work in Louisville and the Internet wouldn't work for me at all. Boo! Anyhow. I was busy busy busy and unfortunately never made it to the club 360 in the hotel to work out. I made a deal with myself and my husband to avoid elevators, take the stairs, an walk up and down the escalators instead of riding them. I'm proud to say that I stuck with these rules. I did allow elevator usage after midnight. It only took a half a day to decide to keep my dress shoes in the suitcase and wear my tennis shoes with my dress clothes so I could speed walk and run stairs.

I also tried to make healthy choices in my restaurant trips and I packet healthy snacks/breakfasts. I did not log all of my food, buy I felt like I did well overall.

Wonder what my weigh in will say in the morning?!

East teacher running with a purpose - Bowling Green Daily News: Local News

East teacher running with a purpose - Bowling Green Daily News: Local News

Hey blog readers. I'm excited to share this article with you that explains my connection with Run2Walk. More info coming soon. Please pass this info on. We need to get as many people as possible following Run2Walk and participating when the time comes! Woohoo. I'm overwhelmed with excitement. Our newspaper did a fantastic job covering the story!