Virtual Run Date!

First, before I talk about my run date with my friend Misty from Life off The D List, make sure you check out her blog!


I want to talk about a LOCAL friend of mine, she's an inspiration to me, a source of motivation and a wonderful chica to have in my life.


All those things are awesome, but so is the fact that she has lost over 180 lbs so far! This is a big milestone for her, she is now under 250 and she's having a giveaway on her blog!


Please visit my home-chica Kris @ Kris Gets Healthy and you could win some awesome swag!

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming:


My virtual run date with Misty!


Misty and I were both up early and chatting on Gtalk. She told me she was finishing up breakfast and about to get up her kiddo and head out for trail running and a gym workout.  I was not even out of bed yet, I was chatting from my phone..(it was 6:30am here, gimme a break!)


Well, I told her I was going running, too..in about 90 mins or so.  She said, "lets make it a virtual run date!"  I said, yes lets and then lets blog about it! Woohoo!


We agreed. Let me tell you though, I was definitely planning to run on Saturday, but I wasn't sure when. I am *so* glad that Misty invited me on a run date and got me thinking about going right away, because my run was perfect, the weather was perfect, I was excited to take some pics and talk about it with you guys and share it with Misty...it was perfect.


Thank you Misty for getting my butt in gear first thing in the morning on a Saturday..it made the rest of my day awesome!

Here I go! Feet to the pavement!

No stopping me now!

Gorgeous Vistas, hahaha

This house has such pretty landscaping

There are lots of little birdies
on the run :)

HAPPY RUNNER!

Friday Funny

I loved this so much I had to post it, can those of you who track your workouts down to the "type" relate?  Hahaha, I have to admit, I've been curious about counting this kind of workout myself *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*.


I love XKCD because I'm a geek, technophile, what have you, but I think this particular strip any cardio fan can relate to!


Enjoy!

<3 Merbear

Progress!

I'm so pumped guys!

Since 6/15 I've made the following progress on my fitness assessment:

4 1/2 inches lost....1/2 an inch was around my chest, the rest in hips/thighs/waist (the most important parts to shrink for me!)

I also lost just shy of 1% bodyfat! I still have a lot to go, but I'm so happy!

My arms are getting less flabby, but they are firming vs. creating loose skin or growing (biceps sometimes get bigger), so I guess my arms had room to grow, yay for not having bigger arms! (do not want)

I also improved my VO2....in 3 minutes of stairclimber my heart rate only went up to 150 vs. 160 and after 3 minutes of rest I got back down to 110. I need to remember to get my resting heart rate when I wake up in the morning, I keep forgetting, I'm gonna put a post it on my alarm clock :)

I also did MUCH heavier weights for the leg strength and the arm strength, unfortunately the other tests weren't a good basis, apparently they were on easier machines, so my PT says that I'm stronger, but its not the same comparison...pretty happy though!

For some reason my flexibility sucked, it went down, but I really think its cause my last test was in the evening and this was first thing in the morning, we weren't worried.

My number of crunches went down, too..my thoughts, I was kinda sleepy this morning so I didnt' put the pedal to the medal on doing them super fast...hehe.

So I'm here to say folks, 2x a week weight lifting (to get the whole body done every week, total of 1 hour a week), 3x a week minimum cardio, mostly running, sometimes elliptical, I incoroprate HIIT as well. Then finally, this is a big deal, tracking my food...I use MyFitnessPal.

Oh, I've also lost 8 lbs since June 15th.I know my counter says different because I started it in July..that's okay though, I've gained muscle and lost fat!

So pumped!

<3 Merbear

What I love (mostly) Wordless Wednesday

Ryan

summer ripe strawberries

Finishing a challenging run

Sunny Lunch Breaks

Light Caribou Coolers, heaven sent!

<3 Merbear

Food is Fuel...not an event

I'm teaching myself that Food is Fuel and not an event.  I didn't realize I was doing this once I started counting calories and eating healthier...I was still holding on to some of my "oh my gosh food is so awesome" mentalities.

For example, and let me know if you ever think these things, or am I weird?

I like to "set my stage" for eating my meals so everything is perfect before I start eating. Like, if I'm going to eat and watch TV...I make sure I have my TV show all picked out and lined up on the TV, I make sure that my beverage is already out, I use the potty and then I bring out my food, turn on the tv, then I finally settle in.  If I'm channel surfing, I don't actually start eating until I've picked the show!

I don't like eating "courses as they come out" I want to set everything out on my plate, see it and pick the order that I eat it then. (unless its a fancy restaurant or something, that's okay, but not at home!)

I won't multitask when I eat, TV is different, but I don't read email, answer my phone, read Twitter (unless I'm at a restaurant waiting for food or something). I just eat the food.

I still look forward to food at a restaurant most of the time..I get all excited to go have mexican, or go have noodles, or the dessert at a restaurant...I obviously enjoy the people I'm going to see but I want to focus on that part, and let the food just be something that is fueling me..its a bonus that its not typical stuff from home, so I have variety, but I shouldnt' get so worked up about it.

Is this making sense? I'm going to read a book about emotional attachment to food, Ann is going to lend it to me, I can't remember the title, but when I'm reading it I'll talk about it here.

I also wanted to tell you guys about what I had for breakfast, I've never mixed stuff into my oatmeal before, well milk and syrup maybe but that's about it. 

This was GOOOD:

I brought my packet of Better Oat's OatFit Maple and Brown Sugar to prepare at work (the packet is a measuring cup for your water!).  Then after preparing it I put on some banana slices and a single serving packet of  Barney Butter Almond Butter.    I mixed it all up, so good!

Have a wonderful day!
<3 Merbear

Great weekend- salon, friends, sushi, motivation and running!

Happy Monday folks!

While I could spend the next week down in the dumps because my boyfriend is working in Shanghai til next Tuesday, I've been focusing on the positive and how great my weekend was!

Salon
First off, after being bummed dropping off Ryan at the airport on Saturday morning, I quickly got a smile on my face for the rest of the day after visiting my favorite stylist Crystal at the Ulta in Woodbury (MN).  Even though I live 35 minutes away now, I still go back to her every 6 weeks!

I got red foils on top of my red and blonde foils from six weeks ago, I love it!!!

Friends and Sushi
I got together with one of my best friends on Saturday night so we could catch up, enjoy some sushi and have fun!  We went to Sushi Tango in Uptown, sat on the patio and enjoyed funky drinks, I loved my pomegranate tangojito, and yummy sushi rolls!  My friend tried this cool roll called "flame" and it was seared on the outside, just a little bit, I recommend it!

After dinner we headed over to the Pizza Luce block party.  The party was super crowded and it was kinda difficult to get our food/drink tickets and obtaining a beer/slice of pizza took a bit over a half hour, I wish that was better organized. But, we had a good time listening to the last band and being outside on a nice summer night!

Motivation
Whoo boy, did I get a big kick in the butt of motivation from my friend Mariah this weekend!  Mariah races in triathalons! A few friends and I went to Lake Nokomis to cheer her on in the YWCA Women's Triathalon on Sunday. 

A few things I did not realize about triathalons:
1. People of all ages, shapes, sizes and athletic ability participate
2. Pretty much every participant I saw, while exhausted, was elated to be participating
3. People are there pretty much every leg of the way cheering on EVERYONE
4. I can ride a bike, I can run, I can practice my swimming...I can do one with some training!

Hmm, something to think about :)

Running
I did my first ever run all the way around a lake this weekend for my Couch to 5K, Week 8, day 1 run!!! Thank you to Corryn for commiting with me to a run on a hot (over 80!) Sunday afternoon run with me!  I wasn't prepared for all the people and the heat, I got through all my water and my pace was a bit slower than usual, had to walk for a minute a couple times.  I did it though! I went around a lake like a big girl! Lake Harriet to be exact, yay! I plan to do it again in cooler weather and see if that improves my time, I'm sure it will.

Oh! I also got a new running accessory this weekend a Nathan's Quickdraw Thermal Water Bottle. The bottle had a spot where I could attach my car key inside a zip in pouch, which I could definitely fit an ID or some money, etc in along with it.  My water stayed cold, it had a nice handle to slip my hand through, easy to use, loved it! Yay, now I think I can go on longer runs!

I hope everyone had a fun, fulfilling and active weekend!
<3 Merbear

Runner? Me?

Alright so run just under 4.3 mph, but that's averaged out with 5 minutes warm up and cool down, I bet at my fastest I'm 4.5 mph or so, maybe? I need to get that Polar or Garmin soon so I can figure out the speeds on the different legs of my run....okay, yeah that does make me sound like a runner.

I'm done with 7 weeks  of Couch to 5K, I have 2 full weeks left.  This week with the 25 minute runs was a bit of a struggle, but I kinda tested myself today, it was hard to finish the 25 minutes, but after 4 minutes of a cool down brisk walk, I was able to run again! I think I can make it the 30 next week and the 35 in two weeks, I want to run 5Ks, the whole thing, so badly!  Yeah, that makes me sound like a runner, too.

Also, ALSO....I got up this morning, before WORK, gave up SLEEPING IN, and went running! ME! Miss loves bed, miss loves to lounge with my kitties, read my phone, snuggle in....I got up and RAN! Oh my gosh, I feel so good today that I did that! I just feel energized and happy that I'm done with my cardio, wow, love it!

So pretty in the morning!

Pounding the pavement

What is this tree?  It has bean things!
Sorry,I got my phone sweaty.

Anyone wanna tell me a running story? Are you just EXHAUSTED when you finish running? When is your favorite time of day to run or exercise outside? Do you pick a path ahead of time or do you just go with the flow and turn around halfway?

I'm excited for C25K to be done, so that I don't have to time myself and just run when I want, walk break when I want, run some more, etc..I think I'd get a lot further and faster!