monday monday monday.

first, sorry for not posting for a while..things started to get busy and i forgot! so here's the scoop:

As I said earlier i hurt my knee blah blah blah. Well guess what? It's better!! (knock on wood). Last week I went to the gym bright and early and mostly stayed with the elliptical to strengthen my legs and have not such a hard surface pounding on my knee again. I think that was a good decision because I had no problems when it came to the elliptical but when I tried to run mid week I wasn't able to. But the elliptical kicked my butt for 30min a day and I did arm and ab strengthening exercises along with it.

I do have to admit that my healthy eating spree tanked this weekend with my visit back to cincinnati. Drinks, burgers, panera (which is NOT as healthy as you think btw..look it up next time you decide "oh a turkey sandwich sounds good..") did me in. But the good thing was even though I was tired from driving home and not getting much sleep (thanks pike boy's. your're on my black list...) I still wanted to get up and work out to make my bad eating right. A month or so ago I would have just said "Oh well I'll eat better this week" and not have gotten up off my butt.

So this morning I got up again and went to the gym and was able to run! I ran for about 15 min at a moderate pace with incline and then switched over to the elliptical to not overdo it. Whoohoo.

Now on to more fun stuff. We are all signed up for the RAT RACE on April 16th right?? 10K look out. AND AND AND spring break is only two months away (eek!! bathing suits!!) so I plan on keeping up my butt kicking workouts and will hopefully see some results soon!!

Anna

Humpty Dumpty Wednesdays

So today should have been a good day. I ran four miles like it was my job. I have completed my third, yeah count it third, day of strength training. I have eaten to perfection. I have had about a gallon and a half of water - I exaggerate. With all of these successes, you would think I would be feeling pretty damn good right now wouldn't ya? Well you would be wrong.

First, I wanted to go swimming after I ran today, but they were electrifying the pool or some such nonsense and in an effort to not get electrocuted I went home.

Second, the mother of all evils is upon me - yep you guessed it - the most unwelcome of monthly bills.

Third, our internet is down so for the past three hours Dayna and I have been on a wild goose chase to find some working internet.

Finally, Our driveway/ alley is covered in ice so I can't go anywhere without a fear of falling on my face.

All in all, a pretty rough day I'd say. But soon I am going to walk home, take a hot shower jump into my bed and relish the thought that I just made it through hump day somewhat in tact.

Night!

Turns out I like the scale :)

So, my heels are still swollen but yesterday Margie and I woke up extra early and did a fantastic but intense swim workout. It felt really good to actually workout. I truly missed it. Today we also woke up early and hiked to the rec. I decided to do the stair master while Margie ran her 3 miles. I got bored of the stair master after 20 min and headed to the treadmill to attempt to run. I lasted about 10 sec then realized I was only going to do more harm to my poor heels. So, I set an incline and walked for another twenty minutes. I am glad that I got to workout today but I was also very envious of Margie. I was just walking on a treadmill while she was workin her butt off. I could see the determination in her eyes and I am so proud of her workout today. On the way home from the rec, I already started to feel my heels get sore. So for the rest of the week, I'm going to swim and do toning workouts. Hopefully, I'll be running next week. I do have some good news! Some great news actually, not to boast. I stepped on the scale this morning, after our workout, and saw that I have lost 8lbs since Jan. 1st!!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I called my parents right away! I am mostly shocked because I did not workout for the past two weeks. I have been watching my calories and have been pretty strict on portion control and I guess it is working for me. So, please let this be a major encouragement to you! If you put your heart into it and give it your best, you will start to see results. Looking at the scale this morning has really motivated me! I'm so excited to see where this week takes me. I am taking it day by day though. I don't want to get ahead of myself. Off to bed, tomorrow is another early morning of an intense swim workout and arm toning workout.

-Dayna

You Can Sleep When Your Dead

It has been a long time since my last post and I apologize. Quite frankly, I have not had much time to devote to blogging and/ or I have not had many lightning strikes about good post topics. Well I was struck today.

My work and school schedules are pretty busy. I have two jobs where I work about 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. And I am a fulltime college student, taking five English classes that require me to read lots and lots each day. So, fitting in running time has been a bit of a challenge.

I have come up with a rather effective plan of attack - effective, that is to say, only when I can actually talk myself into waking up when it is still quite dark and running in the cold predawn. When I do wake up in time, I run around outside or I plod along on the treadmill. Then, usually without showering, I go to class, go to work, go to the other work, come home, eat dinner, do some homework, and go to bed by about 10:30. If, on occasion, I do not talk myself in to running in the early morning, I sleep in, go to class, go to work, go to other work, come home, eat dinner, drag myself to the gym, run (sluggishly), no homework, and then bed.

The difference in my day may not be clear to you other than the obvious lack of homework-doing on the days I prolong my runs. But I can tell you, without a whisper of a doubt, that there is a ginormous difference in my energy levels and my attitude. On the days that I get my workouts done early, I feel like the energizer bunny - I never lag and I am happy. On the days when I postpone my runs, I am usually sore for some reason and I have no motivation or energy to keep me going throughout my whole day.

So what have I learned? I MUST workout in the morning, no matter the cost. So that is my challenge for myself for this coming week. Everyday I am going to workout in the morning before class. Additionally I am going to incorporate my strength training routine. My goal for this week is to at least do it 4 times this week, eventually working up to 6 times.

As I jog through the coming weeks,I will work on my time management skills, until I have it all hammered out I will just have to reserve sleeping for when I am dead (just kidding I am a firm believer in the whole sleep for 8 hours rule).

I've been a bum too :(

So last Tuesday we had a good amount of snow come through Cincinnati. All of my professors cancelled class so I decided it was a great opportunity to go sledding. (after I ran of course) Turns out, I'm not a kid anymore. :( I had a sledding accident. I was on a tube with one of my friends and I hit a tree dead on, stopping with my feet. So basically, I have bruised heels. I wasn't walking at all the first two days. Since then, I have been walking around on my toes, which is definitely a workout in itself. I am finally starting to get around quicker but my ankles and feet are still pretty swollen. Needless to say, I've been a bum and I haven't been able to run since last Tuesday. Good news is that I am craving to run! I have been watching my portion control and calories. Hopefully, I will start running next week. :) Until then, I'll be working my calf muscles prancing around on my toes.

-Dayna

(Almost) back on the road

well, I haven't posted in a while but here's the scoop.

as my last post said I ran a whopping 5 miles to start my training and then was planning on going in early to work from now on to run the miles needed and such. Turns out running 5 miles to start off = NOT SO SMART! My mom should have done the forehead thing to me. I had a slight pain in my knee after that but ignored it and went on with my training. By wednesday, figured that was a big mistake because I could hardly put pressure on my knee let alone run on it. So I've been taking it easy and it seems to be getting better..for the most part.

I went to Montreal on Sunday and walked a LOT so I'm going to count that as part of a work out due to not being able to do much on my bum knee. But even that hurt a bit.

So kiddos, here's what we've learned: don't bite off more than you can chew, stay off bum knees, and don't let momma van ev have an excuse to bop you on the forehead.

We'll see what next week brings (again..) and hope this whole not being able to run doesn't become a habit!

-Anna

I am not usually a competitive person, but...

lately I have been wanting to win the competition between me, myself, and I. And I have been winning, for the most part anyway. Last week I lost a grand total of 2.6 pounds! woo hoo! This week I hope to lose at least 2 pounds again. Last week I ran everyday I was supposed to, but not necessarily the right mileage, this week I am going to hit and have been hitting the proper mileage.

This week has not been so easy, though. I had a bit of a rough start, so to speak. Monday, after a long day of swimming, class, six hours of work, and a mound of reading hanging over my head for Tuesday I came home prepared to make dinner when my friend called. It was her last night in town before studying abroad and she wanted to have dinner at chipotle. Well, I was famished and I got a burrito bol :(.

As a result of that bol I was not feeling so good on Tuesday and really had no desire to run. Add on top of that, the fact that it was basically a snow day and all I wanted to do was sleep. Somehow Dayna and I talked each other into going to the rec to run our required miles. I was still feeling pretty lathargic as I was plodding along for the first mile or so, until I sidled a glance toward Dayna's treadmill and saw that she was going faster than me! A competitve spark was kindled in my feet and I picked up the pace and was able to finish the three miles in the same time as Dayna.

This morning, a similar thing happened. I woke early and got dressed to run at the rec. I pandered around for about 15 minutes trying to think of a way to put off my run until later. Well, as I work until 6:30, I knew that was definitely not going to happen. I eventually made it to the rec and dragged myself onto the treadmill and started running. After about 2.75 miles I needed a break and took it. I walked for .25, then ran the last mile fast. I came into the rec dreading the treadmills and I came out with a sloppy grin on my beet red face.

I guess my point is that no matter how much I don't want to workout in the beginning I almost always feel awesome at the end. I take my new mantra from Nike when I say "Just Do It."

Feelin Good!

I am feelin' good! I can say that I have worked out everyday for 8 days now. That's pretty impressive compared to my past lifestyle of not even thinking about the gym. Yesterday I ran 2 miles on the treadmill and felt great. I only ran 2 miles because my roommate, Amanda, wanted to go to a rock solid strength class taught at the rec. So we went, and it kicked my butt. It was a total body workout with weights. I am sore today but I loved the workout. I am going to try to commit to going every Sunday. Today, Margie and I got up early to swim some laps. It was a good workout for myself because I have my knees and feet a rest. I got to workout my whole body. When I got on the scale this morning, I found that I have lost a pound and a half. Which is not very much but I was super excited! It is great motivation for the rest of the week. I have decided to still cook from the South Beach diet cookbook but not necessarily be on the diet. As a poor college student with little time to cook it was becoming very costly and time consuming. I went to the store yesterday and bought stuff that was either low cal, low fat, or low sugar. I think I will enjoy this more and I will save money too. Last night I made a veggie lasagna for dinner for the week and a mexican egg bake for breakfast for the week. I am being very strict on portion control which I thought was going to be hard but turns out it's not too bad. I feel satisfied rather than full and it's a good feeling. So again, today I AM FEELIN' GOOD!

Dayna

Heck Yeah!

I ran today! Whoohoo!

And I didn't just run, I kicked butt! I braved the snow and ice and left my warm and cozy house and hit the roads. The plan was to run 5 miles today according to our little pre-training routine and I think I got to around 4 or 4.5 miles and actually ran almost all of it! This is a big deal for me because I am not a runner. I generally enjoy the idea of running, but while doing it but my endurance is really low and I usually talk myself out of running any farther than I need to. But not today! I slowed my pace to one that I felt I could keep up for the duration of my run and only walked a very small amount. Not to toot my own horn but I say that's some progress from sitting on my couch and eating ice cream like I did last sunday.

Tomorrow I am planning on getting up early and starting my workouts in the gym at work. Tomorrow I am going to cross train by doing either the bicycle or the elliptical with arm strengthening so we will see how that turns out!

Anna

Day 5 Another One Bites the Dust

So have a little listen ...


Bum bum bum another one bites the dust.

When I ran yesterday (on the treadmill) I turned on my "workout" playlist on my dear little ipod. The first to pop up on shuffle was this classic. It's a perfect song to run to - no matter how fast I go, my legs always seem to catch the beat and it makes running inside a little more bearable.

Well, another day has bitten the dust and I have come out on top. Today was a rest day. Rather than running I did an "Abs and Ass" workout with Dayna and our other rommie, Amanda. I do not normally enjoy workout videos, but there is something about working out with friends and laughing at each other and egging each other on that makes it actually fun to get your ass whipped by a scary, pink-haired, fishnet-shirt clad workout dudette.

Tomorrow we run three miles.

Have a good weekend!

Margaret

It's been a long week...

I can't believe tomorrow is Friday. It has been a long, stressful week but I can honestly say that since I have exercised everyday, my body feels good. My body feels very tired and worn out but it feels good. This week was hard to stick to my diet. I have to admit that I did eat some chicken tenders earlier this week that had breading on them so that wasn't a good choice. It was more of a convenience to me so I think that's why I gave in so easily. I have not weighed myself this week so I'm not sure if I have lost anything yet but even if I haven't I feel better about myself already. I am actually sleeping better at night, which is always a plus as a college student!

Yesterday, I did not get a chance to run early so I didn't end up running until 9:00 last night. I ran well but my body was so exhausted all day today that it was very difficult to run today. I think I have learned that even though I hate getting up early, it is the best time for me to run. I just need to get it over with before the stress of school and work get in the way.

I think this weekend is going to be the biggest challenge of both sticking to my diet and running. My friends and I tend to go out and it's going to be hard to say no. I have goals for myself and I really want to reach them this year.

In one of my PR classes today, a woman from a local gym came in to talk to us about her gym and how she wants us to work on a campaign for her. She showed us a picture of her 13 years ago when she was 60 lbs heavier and a smoker. She decided that she wanted to quit smoking and by doing that she had to start working out. When I saw the picture of her I was shocked. She is so lean and toned and full of energy today. She has an amazing story and it was so encouraging to see her results and how she has kept the weight off for 13 years! Hopefully, that will be the case for myself.

Next week is another week of phase one of the South Beach Diet. I can't wait until it's over! Haha. Phase two will be the following week and it introduces fruit and very few low carb options. Tomorrow, I am going to give my body a different type of workout and head to the pool. My legs are tired and I think swimming will put more focus on my whole body rather than just my legs.

Overall, it has been a successful week. I can't believe I have ran everyday this week. I want running to become a habit in my life. I can't wait to start seeing results!!!

-Dayna

Two out of Three

Well, at least two out of the three of us are running..and yes, the third one who is not is me. I admit fully that I have not started running (or even thinking about it!) this week. Whoops..

But I do have plans starting next week! The reason I have not started is this week I started my job at Abercrombie& Fitch at their corporate headquarters!! I've been getting my feet wet there and had the idea that "hey i'll just work out after work" which is going to be tougher than expected due to my work schedule. BUT there is good news, I don't have to work until 9a.m and the on-campus gym opens at 5:30a.m so I plan to get there and start running in the morning before work (next week of course, let's not get ahead of ourselves..) This way I can't get out of a run after work by claiming I am too tired because I will have already ran in the morning!

I have been getting a power walk in however, because Abercrombie has a LARGE parking lot and my parking spot seems to get further and further away each day I go, so I get about a 10-15 minute fast paced freezing walk to my building. It also takes about 5 min. to get anywhere on campus so it's better than nothing! I have also been eating healthy and have only had ice cream a few times! (hey I said that I was starting next week..right??)

Anyways. I did find a workout video that KICKS YOUR BUTT brought to you by Crunch gym. It is called the Crunch Action Sports Ass and Abs workout and it's a killer! It was free on Time Warner cable (channel 426 I believe and you get free workouts) but I'll add the link and you can buy it if you want.

http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/crunch-action-sports-ass-abs-0923

I promise I will do better starting this weekend and into next week!

Anna

Day 2 The Honeymoon Phase

I like to call this time period the honeymoon phase of weight loss. You know that - you are drinking more water than your bladder can handle, you are taking two stairs at a time, you knock your workouts out of the park - phase when success seems totally achievable. I know, because I am a seasoned weight loss wannabe warrior. I have been here before, when weight seemed to just evaporate off of my body. I know that this phase will probably end sooner than I am ready for it to, but I am just going to enjoy it while it lasts.

So yes, that means I have been successful.

Today we ran. 3 miles to be exact. And to be honest we didn't run the whole way. But we did it! And somehow we did it at 7:30 in the morning! I had my doubts. I am a snooze button addict, so I purposefully started waking myself up at 6:45 so that the odds of me actually getting out of bed before 7:30 increased by approximately 68%. I have to admit I felt like a super hero, all got up in my spandex gear, trotting alongside my fat busting partner. I say trot because our pace can hardly be called anything faster. There is definitely room for improvement there!

Near the end of the run Dayna and I were jogging along when this track suit clad running monster streaked by us. As I stared at him and wondered at his audacity to pass two of the coolest running gals on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, I noticed his running form. It was effortless. I looked like he was running slowly, but he was covering loads of cement in a solitary stride. Inspired, I challenged Dayna to run as fast as she could until the end of the run. And guess what? We almost caught that running dude!

Anyway, i think it is safe to say that today has been a rather successful day. I have eaten well and with tightly controlled portions. I ran. I am about to do my lower body toning routine (I will explain at a later time), after which I am going to attempt to get ahead with some homework (unlikely) and go to bed by 10ish so that I can wake-up at o'dark thirty and run 4 miles before my first class. Wish me will power!

Margaret

Day 1 of Diet and Training

Wow, I can't believe we are actually starting today. I am really pumped about these next few months. First of all, I would just like to say thanks to all of our friends and family who are encouraging, supporting and praying for us. We really appreciate it.

School started for Margie and I today and Anna started her new Co-op job today. We all have a lot going on but it is nice to have Margie and Anna as accountability partners. Today I weighed myself and was OBVIOUSLY not happy with what I saw but I didn't let it get me down. I know that I can do this. I know that I can lose the weight. I have two best friends who are going to do it with me and I am so blessed to share this experience with them. :)

Today, I started my diet. I am doing the South Beach Diet. The first two weeks basically allow greens and lean meats. This morning I ate scrambled eggs, salsa and lean bacon. For lunch I made a phase 1 recipe from the South Beach Diet Cookbook called Mexican Chicken soup. It turned out really well! I made four servings of it so I could reheat it throughout the week to save me some time. Tonight I will be eating balsamic salmon and a salad. So even though it is only Day 1, I can say that my diet has been great so far. I love cooking, it's just hard to find time.

Along with the plan Margie previously mentioned, I am also doing a 12 week weight loss training program from about.com. Today is interval training. I am heading to the rec now to do my workout. Tonight I will be getting to bed early because Margie and I are getting up at 7:30 tomorrow to run outside. Wish us luck!

-Dayna

Come In and Know Us Better!

It's that time year again. that time when everyone takes a peek into their lives, and frequently dissatisfied, we decide to make resolutions for change. This certainly applies to us - Anna, Dayna, and Margaret. We are three college-aged ladies who have resolved to change those things that we are dissatisfied with - namely our health. We definitely are neither the fittest nor the thinnest creatures on earth, but that is certainly going to change!

The first thing on our docket is to train for and complete the Flying Pig Half Marathon on May 1, 2011. We are all registered, so there is really no turning back for any of us. We have a plan; we are going to follow the Beginner Half Marathon Training schedule provided by coolrunning.com. It is a 12-week plan, so it doesn't start until February 7. That leaves us five weeks to train for the training program. Ironic, no? From now until February we will be running the following schedule:
- Monday: Off
- Tuesday: Run 3 miles
- Wednesday: Run 4 miles
- Thursday: Run 4 miles
- Friday: Off
- Saturday: Run 3 miles
- Sunday: Run 5 miles

You will get to know each of us in turn - we are alternating our posting schedule, beginning with Dayna tomorrow. So come in and know us better!

Margaret. Anna, and Dayna