Au Revoir

Have you noticed how I haven't blogged in weeks? Yes, weeks!

Well, that's because I'm quitting my blog. There I said it. I admit it.

But before you judge, I have some reasons for quitting:

1. I don't really have anything to say.
While I continue to push myself in workouts and watch what I eat, my healthiness journey has become more of an unconscious effort than anything. What this means is that when I sit down to blog, I don't really have much to say. Yes, I went to the gym. Yes, I may have had dessert but I avoided second helpings. It's kind of been the same tune for months now. I figure this is boring for you guys to read!

2. I've run out of tips.
Many health blogs are run by people who are constantly trying new things and handing out more tips than Shape Magazine. Not me. I find something that works and I stick with it. I'm not constantly trying new recipes and I'm not constantly doing exotic workouts. I've kept my weight off here for more than a year and I've done it the boring way: working out and watching my food. Not too exciting to blog about, if you ask me!

3. I frankly don't have time.
For the past month, my life has been uber busy. I've been slammed at work, I continue to work most nights at home, and my second job has started up. So free time is something I'm lacking. And when I have free time, I don't want to spend it at a computer.

What I promise you (and myself!):
1. I will continue to work out. Working out has become such a MAJOR part of my life, I can't imagine going back to my previous workout schedule (aka never). I hit the gym 5-6 days/week and I don't want to change this. I have fallen in love with running and am training for the Twin Cities 10 Mile in two weeks. I will continue to sign up for races. I will continue to push myself. I will continue to sweat!

2. I will admit my mistakes.
The blog has been a great place for me to say "Drat! I messed up. OK let's move on." I think that's a very important step in being healthy. If you can't admit that you've messed up, you can't learn from it! Yes, I mess up. More than I should. And facing those mess ups has been important to me.

3. I will watch what I eat.
Just because I'm done blogging does not mean I now have permission to now eat pizza and take out for every meal. While I do indulge in these from time to time, I can't go back to making it an everyday occurrence.

So I took a break from blogging these past few weeks to see if I could do it. Could I really follow through on these three things without the accountability of a blog? Could I rid myself of all responsibility? Well, for the past few weeks I haven't skipped workouts. I haven't eaten much differently. And I haven't gained weight. So that tells me it's time to move on.

I still love reading weight loss/health blogs and will continue to frequent them. But for now I'm ready to move onto the next step of my journey: it's time to go it on my own.

I so appreciate all of your comments, tips, and love over the course of my blogging time. I owe where I am to all of you!

No turning back now

It's official: I'm all signed up to run the Twin Cities 10 Mile on Oct. 3rd. WooHoo?

It's not that I'm dreading the race, it's that I haven't even started training and it's a little more than a month away. How did I let myself slack? I've been running pretty frequently and can do about 6 miles now but I'm on no kind of a training program. So I'm a bit nervous.

To add to the nerves: the race is a competition. Yeah yeah...all races are competitions. But this one seriously is! I've signed up to be on a Media Team through my magazine and we're running vs. the Star Tribune and a few other media outlets. So my time will actually count. EEK! We've won the race the past few years, so the pressure is on!

Other than that, it's almost the weekend! I have another busy one.

Tonight one of my BFFs Nick is hosting an art gallery opening at Aloft. Should be fun! And then tomorrow I am playing an early-morning make-up tennis game and working in the afternoon. Tomorrow evening I'm headed home to hit the town for my friend Emily's birthday party. Then Sunday morning I'm playing MORE tennis with my mom and am going to a work party. All in all, packed weekend! I'll update y'all on Monday!

Have a good one!

Fail Blog

Wow, has it really been a week since I've blogged? EEHH sorry readership. Life is so busy right now and work has me going going. But I'll give you a little update.

Let's see, where did I leave off. Oh yes, last weekend. My weekend was great (aren't they always?). I dogsat (hmm apparently that's not a word?) on Friday night which means I spent the night in Chanhassen. I got home from a dentist appointment (ouch, cavity. EEK) and had about 20 minutes to get a workout in before my plans for the night. So I hopped on my mom's treadmill real quick. It's in the basement and nice and hidden so I really heart this treadmill. Mostly because I semi-dance the whole time I run on it. Not OK GO style dancing, but dancing nonetheless. And my fave jam of the moment, "Club Can't Even Handle Me" kept me groovin. By the end of that 20 minutes of dancing and running, I was a ball of sweat. Which was muy good because after running I showered quick and met Emily, one of my high school besties. I had free tickets to Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's All Shook Up so we had a little date night. We had a few drinks before, apps, entrees, and desserts. All was included so we took advantage! Let's just say I was full...for a while! But it was a fun night and the show was soooo good. Loved it. And I'm not even a huge musical fan.

Saturday I had to get up early to work my first shift of the season at the Gopher stadium. I'm taking on this second job for another season. I really liked it last year, plus the people are great. This was just some kind of a preview day and I was outta there by 12:30, which was nice. And I was TIRED. So I napped and lounged until that night when my friend Scott was having a rooftop party in St. Paul. So. Much. Fun. Crossing the river is worth it every now and then apparently. Plus, a ton of my favorite people were there so it was fun to catch up with what felt like everyone.

Sunday we woke up super early to watch my roommate Dan tackle his first triathalon! It was at Lake Phalen but we had to park about 2 miles away due to the bike route. So by the time we got to the finish line, we had missed him. Boo. But I'll post a picture of him post-race anyway since he deserves some shout outs! Here he his post-race with his BFF Kelli who also did the tri. We did see Kelli cross the finish line! At least our journey to St. Paul (the second in one weekend, what?) wasn't for nothing!

Then I was exhausted after two late nights/early mornings and the day was gorgeous so I hit the beach with some friends. All in all, a great weekend.

But did you notice? Oh yes, after my run my weekend was a little lax (well, really lax) on the working out. Oh well, life goes on.

So far this week has been crazy with work (hence my no posting) but I've been getting my activity in and eating well despite the crazy so that's been good. Especially because I've been in and out of the office interviewing people for a story I'm working on, which is taking me away from my routine. And we all know, no routine = scary!

But Monday I had a minor accomplishment. I had an interview at 3:30 so I was home by 4:30 (which is a little earlier than normal). All day I had planned to go right to the gym after my interview but come 4:30 I found myself parked infront of my house dreaming of sitting in the sun and reading my book. I was having a mini-fight with myself while sitting in my car until finally I said (outloud, mind you) "No! You're going to the gym." So I started the car back up and went to the gym. Did low-impact bike and elliptical, but it's still better than nothing! I was proud of myself for going despite every intention to sabotage myself!

Especially because Monday night I had a pizza dinner date with Kate and Sarah. We made 4 different kinds of pizza on homemade crust Sarah made. It was delish! And always fun to catch up with these ladies.

And last night I met my mom after work for some tennis. She is getting good! She was a little down after losing the first set 6-0, but then she totally came back and ended up almost beating me in the second set. The set was 7-5. Go mom!

OK, there's a little update for you. Sorry about my sporadic blogging. Sometimes it feels like I don't really having anything to say, but then I come on here and write a novel like today. :-)

Walking the dog

Wow! Have I really not updated my blog since Monday? Sorry everybody! I've been super swamped at work and I have been working all day and then going home to work some more. So really, no new exciting updates in my world.

But I have gotten some great workouts in despite my work schedule. All week, after I work from home for a few hours, I've been taking Jack on nice, long walks. Monday, Eric and I took him on a 2-hour walk around Lake of the Isles. Perfect weather. Then Tuesday I took him on a long walk to Lake Calhoun and back while zoning out to my iPod. We took a bit of a detour home so it was about an hour and a half walk.

And last night I took him to the dog park. Now I know that walking isn't rigorous exercise, but taking Jack on these walks is better than sitting on the couch. I love that he gives me a reason to lace up my shoes and clear my head.

So last night we went to Minnehaha Dog Park. If you have a dog and you have not been, go now! Like, run. It's the best dog park in the city, hands down. You turn into the park at 54th & Hiawatha/Hwy 55 and you're there! Park at the meters, not in the lot (you need a permit). Here are some pictures of one of my favorite places in the city. You know I can't resist taking pictures of Jack when the camera is out!

Jack's ready to go!

Entrance to the park. After this point, dogs can be off leash. (Technically, the off leash part doesn't start for another half mile or so, but everyone takes them off leashes here. Plus, it's all fenced in, so why not?)

Got Jack to pose for a picture for me. This was a small miracle.

You walk completely downhill to get to the river. You know what this means: leaving is a nice uphill hike.

Jack usually gets to the river a few minutes before me since he bolts ahead. He doesn't swim, but he loves to "wade" in the water.

Long stretch of beach, just for dogs! It's really so much fun. And the only dog-friendly beach in the cities. (Trust me, I've looked)

Up from the beach there is tons of room for dogs to run and play. As you can tell by this picture, the park was a bit empty. But Jack was still running around like a crazy.

Then as you leave, you have to hike back up the hills. And the terrain is a bit rocky, so you've got to stay on your toes. Here we are, starting the uphill journey.


So after you've walked uphill for a while, you hit these stairs. They're not huge stairs, but I'm almost always panting by the top. Feel like my thighs and booty get a good workout here!

So while taking Jack on long walks and to the dog park is no substitute for a workout in my book, it beats sitting on the couch! And I always feel like such a good dog mom when he's tuckered from a walk or playing.

Plus, after these walks, I usually fall asleep nice and quick too!

Weekend Recap

How was the weekend?

Mine was great! Perfect weather here in MN. Sun with little humidity. Thank you Mother Nature! We needed it after how hard and hot last week was!

I had a great weekend at home, which I haven't had in a while. With so much travel and whatnot it was nice to have a somewhat "normal" weekend.

Friday I got my strength training in after work and then worked my second job. I came home, made dinner, and spent the night hunkered down with my computer doing some freelance work. Uneventful Friday night, but it felt great to get some stuff done and just chill.

Woke up semi-early on Saturday to get a run around Lake Calhoun in. I haven't run the lakes in weeks and I must start training for the Twin Cities 10 Mile. So it was nice to get a nice 5 miles in.

Of course, I took a post-workout sweaty pic for you.

I've become addicted to running in hats. Not only do they keep my hair in and the sun out of my eyes, but they also hide the sweaty a little bit. I thought I'd model for you.

With hat.

Sans hat.

Yeah...I am in love with hats.

The weather was perfect Saturday so I went to the New Hope Farmer's Market with Eric (he works for New Hope and started the Farmer's Market. It's a great one!) and then went to the beach to catch some rays. Perfect Saturday if you ask me.

Then I hit the town to celebrate two birthdays.

First was Erin's Here we all are celebrating. Birthday girl is in the back.

Then was my friend Josh's birthday. Can you tell which one is the birthday boy? (Hint, he has a drink in hand and a sloppy look on his face).

Then Sunday was a family day.

My family has an annual croquet party at my great aunt's house. I went early to meet my mom for a few games of tennis first. We've got great courts right by our house that are always deserted. Perfect. It was a bit windy though...

Here we are. Post match. I kicked her booty. 6-1, 6-0. But it's fun that she's playing again. Plus, she's the whole reason I play! She loves the sport too and signed me up for lessons as a kid.

Croquet party on Lake Minnetonka. What a fabulous backyard, huh?

Ready to play! Of course my aunt had to walk into the background as this was being shot. Outta the way Mary! ha.

Great, great weekend. And now onto Monday!

Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! What is it about Fridays that makes everyone so happy? Oh I know, it's the weekend!

Last night Sarah and I had our tennis league, and it was a doozie! (doozy? Not sure here). Not only were the temps into the 90s, but we played a great team! One set even went to 9-7! (You have to win by 2, the winner usually ends having won 6 games). The game was eventually rained out, but we did play 30 games of tennis! 30! And we played pretty intense. It was fun!

I was happy to get a good sweat session in though because I ended up having to skip my lunch workout yesterday thanks to a slight work emergency (since been taken care of!). But I knew we had tennis so I was happy about that.

And now comes the weekend: the hard part.

Getting workouts in and eating healthy is a HUGE challenge on the weekends. But I'm feeling good about this weekend. I haven't had a "normal" weekend in a LONG time. Normal as in being in town. So I'm taking it upon myself to workout BOTH days. Today our office closes at noon so I'm going right to the gym afterward. All summer on our half day Fridays I have headed right home at noon thinking I will run or do something. And guess what? I don't! I nap, I watch TV, I have lunch, etc. So instead of going home, I have to hit the gym first. It'll be the first Friday I've worked out on in a looong time. And it'll be a great kickstart to the weekend.

Tomorrow I have all day free and it's supposed to be gorgeous, so I'd like to get a run in. I haven't run around the lakes in a few weeks and I miss it, so it's time to get back out there! And Sunday I have a tennis date with my mom before a party at my aunt's house. So lots of activity in there!

And now for the best news of the day (and possibly the reason I have a slight spring in my step): I've lost 5 pounds this week! 5 pounds?!?!? I know it's because I'm back into healthy mode after being out of it for a while and I know I won't get results like this probably ever again, but it's nice to see some instant gratification for my healthy week. More motivation to keep going! Given this 5 pounds isn't water weight, I just have 10 more to go before I'm back to my "old" self! :-)

Have a good weekend everybody! See you Monday!

Wet Treadmill

Yesterday was a cardio day for me and I decided to conquer another thing I used to do as part of my trainer routine: cardio intervals!

Since becoming addicted to running last summer, I've mostly completed long runs. (3 miles plus) and I wouldn't stop during my run. Stopping to me during a run is somewhat of a failure (and I know this is crazy and I have to talk myself out of bad thoughts everytime I have to stop). So I haven't done cardio intervals in a while, but when I first started working out, these intervals got me into good enough shape to do long runs!

So yesterday I hit the gym with my cardio schedule in hand.

Here she is! I just created this on excel. I set it up on the treadmill and follow it religiously.

My run is 40 minutes and it's a mix of going fast, conquering inclines, and walking to cool down. And a program like this (mixing fast/slow) burns more calories than a regular run. Hard to believe since I'm such an advocate of NOT stopping.

I can't figure out a way to get my program on this blog (formatting, ugh) but it's basically a mix of running, walking, sprinting, and mixing in inclines whenever you want. Make sure there are at least 5 times you are at an incline and try to make one of those times while you're running.

Obviously you can modify this routine however you want to fit your fitness levels. I was sweating like a mofo after my routine. I even got drops of sweat on the treadmill, ewww. And my shirt was soaked.

I brought my camera to the gym so I could take a sweaty pic for Jen's Sweaty Pic Blog Post today. Yay! That's me on there! I don't look neeearly as sweaty in that picture as I was.


Here was my one attempt at getting all of my sweaty glory. Ignore my stupid face, notice the wet shirt! Stomach, neck, and shoulders were soaked. So was my back! (I only had one try at this as someone came into the locker room right after I took it! Cameras in the locker room = a no-no).