On Thursday morning December 9th, 2010 after too many weeks of over indulging and giving myself too much freedom I reached a point where I knew I needed an intervention. I weighed in at home 10 pounds over my goal weight. It was a wake up call to get back on track and stop the nonsense.
I sat down at the computer and read this blog post by Prior Fat Girl - Accountability
I knew what I needed to do. I needed an accountability partner, but knowing me as well as I do - I knew I couldn't leave it up to chance - I needed a very specific person who knows what it is like to be at goal and to try and maintain (because this is hard!) - I had just the person in mind..
I sent her this desperate message... -"I'm in desperate need of an accountability partner - someone I can preferably text to since I'm not allowed facebook at work - I would prefer a person who is also maintaining (although as of this morning I'm 10 pounds above goal and that is just not acceptable!) So my first thought was you - would you be willing to accept texts from me good and bad as I battle through the holiday season and try to get this stupid weight back off? I'm so disgusted that I have allowed my self this gain in one short month! And I have done very little exercise wise. - Your mission if you choose to accept it is to text me at xxx-xxx-xxxx and let me know. If you can't do it, no problem and no pressure."
Then I went to work... A couple of hours later my phone buzzed and I saw this text - "Let the texting begin! What is your plan for exercise today?"
I was so happy - but a the same time I was thinking darn - I don't have any plans for exercise...
I had a wonderful on program day and even went out at lunch time and took a walk because I knew she wouldn't accept that I didn't do anything active. She even kept me out of the break room cookies (they make your A** fat... - her words..) which is a major feat!
So I now have a secret weapon in the battle against weight gain and I am going to get back in control!
My Weight Loss Ticker!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
One Year Ago...
One year ago today I was sitting in a meeting with surrounded with family and friends celebrating hitting goal at Weight Watchers! Yesterday at the Meeting I was awarded with my second lifetime key - for weighing in within goal for at least 10 months of the year. I have 11 months in the books, but have not yet weighed in within goal for December but the month is still young!
On an active note - Yesterday I also ran Leg 4 of the California International Marathon - it was a 5.7 mile run and I decided after walking much of the season, I wanted to run part of it and see how well the ankles would hold up. I started out with intervals of 2 minutes running and 1 minute walking and I maintained them the whole 5.7 miles! This is such a fun race to be a part of (especially if the rest of your team is pretty fast and you are still out there with a TON of people!) Our team came in at 5:11 somethingish and it was so cool to see the crowds still heavy and cheering everyone in!
Edited to add a pic! Here is the running fairy! This was taken by a friend that was about 1 1/2 miles from the finish line.
On an active note - Yesterday I also ran Leg 4 of the California International Marathon - it was a 5.7 mile run and I decided after walking much of the season, I wanted to run part of it and see how well the ankles would hold up. I started out with intervals of 2 minutes running and 1 minute walking and I maintained them the whole 5.7 miles! This is such a fun race to be a part of (especially if the rest of your team is pretty fast and you are still out there with a TON of people!) Our team came in at 5:11 somethingish and it was so cool to see the crowds still heavy and cheering everyone in!
Edited to add a pic! Here is the running fairy! This was taken by a friend that was about 1 1/2 miles from the finish line.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Happy Birthday To Me! :)
Today is my Birthday! What better time to reflect on what I did this past year! Life was full of ups and downs this year and it just goes to show you that you never know what to expect.
On my birthday last year I was preparing to run leg 4 of the California International Marathon here in Sacramento and just days away from hitting my goal weight (100 pounds gone!) at Weight Watchers and reflecting back on running several half marathons my first full marathon.
This year I sit here preparing to run leg 4 of the California International Marathon, I'm just days away from celebrating a year of maintaining my weight loss and I'm reflecting back on several half marathons and my second full marathon which I walked with my Hubster (it was his first). I also completed my first Sprint Triathlon, took to the trails for some trail running (Night trail running too!), rode my bike more (and survived my first crash!).
I have some amazing people in my life who keep me striving to maintain my healthy lifestyle and always push my boundaries and try new things!
On a more personal family note - We have went through two major health crisis this year where I needed to step up and be strong and help out others in my family. In June we got to celebrate the wedding of my older son where I got an awesome daughter in law and they both have an active lifestyle. Watching them makes want me to keep doing what I'm doing so I can keep up! My youngest son just turned 11 and I'm enjoying doing things with him that I didn't do with my oldest because I wasn't physically able too. Trips used to be planed out with the details of where will we eat and now trips are planned out with what hiking trails are near and where else can we can walk or run?
A year ago I wasn't much different - but I am constantly evolving. Tweaking things here and there to try new things. Who knows what the next year will bring but I'm ready to take on whatever life throws at me! Stay Tuned!
On my birthday last year I was preparing to run leg 4 of the California International Marathon here in Sacramento and just days away from hitting my goal weight (100 pounds gone!) at Weight Watchers and reflecting back on running several half marathons my first full marathon.
This year I sit here preparing to run leg 4 of the California International Marathon, I'm just days away from celebrating a year of maintaining my weight loss and I'm reflecting back on several half marathons and my second full marathon which I walked with my Hubster (it was his first). I also completed my first Sprint Triathlon, took to the trails for some trail running (Night trail running too!), rode my bike more (and survived my first crash!).
I have some amazing people in my life who keep me striving to maintain my healthy lifestyle and always push my boundaries and try new things!
On a more personal family note - We have went through two major health crisis this year where I needed to step up and be strong and help out others in my family. In June we got to celebrate the wedding of my older son where I got an awesome daughter in law and they both have an active lifestyle. Watching them makes want me to keep doing what I'm doing so I can keep up! My youngest son just turned 11 and I'm enjoying doing things with him that I didn't do with my oldest because I wasn't physically able too. Trips used to be planed out with the details of where will we eat and now trips are planned out with what hiking trails are near and where else can we can walk or run?
A year ago I wasn't much different - but I am constantly evolving. Tweaking things here and there to try new things. Who knows what the next year will bring but I'm ready to take on whatever life throws at me! Stay Tuned!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Morgan Hill Marathon!
First off I have to say - We Did It!!!
I put off reporting about the marathon because I wanted some of the "suckiness" to go away so that didn't taint my blog post. It was a very long walk and parts of it made me doubt if I (or we for that matter) would finish - but finish we did!
We had been watching the weather forecast and we knew it was going to end up raining - OK - we can deal with that. The only bad thing about the course I would say was the camber of the road - we felt like we were walking tilted to the right up until mile 17. The scenery was beautiful!
This pic was taken the day after - Before we left Morgan Hill we drove the course and took some pics because it was too rainy the day off for me to carry my camera. The weather on Monday was perfect!
We knew very early on that we were going to not only be by ourselves for a while but also very last - the half split off from the full course around 1 1/2 miles in and there was no one that made the turn behind us. Amazingly we got tired before we even got to the halfway point and our grand plan was to start out slow and do the second half at a faster pace, but that didn't happen.
At mile 21.38 I got the text message that I had been waiting for - my parents had came down (2 1/2 hour drive one way) and they had brought our younger son. I asked my dad if he would think about coming and being there for the Hubster when he crosses the line at his first full marathon and he told me he would! How I kept that a secret from him for so long I have no idea! I was so excited at that point to see his face when he saw them! We also had two people from our walking group that made the same drive to be there when we finished! It was so nice knowing we would have people at the finish line cheering us in!
We finally got closer to around the 25 1/2 mile mark and our two walking buddies were there! They were so excited to see us and we were so excited to see familiar faces!!
We continue on knowing we are almost there and as we get closer to the finish line I can see my parents and Logan - I point up to the line and tell Jeff to look - and he at first says - what? Then he sees Logan in his bright orange rain jacket and he gets a little choked up! I almost cried too! I was so happy to have surprised Jeff - I was so happy to have help Jeff complete his first full marathon and I was so happy that we could stop walking!
Nothing says true love like walking 26.2 miles in 7 hours and 35 minutes and crossing the finish line hand in hand!
Logan got to put our medals around our necks and my parents followed us back to our hotel room and got us settled before they left to drive home.
At the finish line we both said "never again" but under the right circumstances I think we could be talked into another one now...
A big thanks goes out to everyone who supported us along the way - from anyone who ever did a training walk with us (sometimes you get the group through the mileage and sometimes the group gets you through the mileage) - to my parents who keep my younger son every Saturday while we go out and do the silly and sometimes ridiculously long walks - The volunteers on race day and the family and friends who drive ridiculously long distances and stood in the rain waiting FOREVER for us to come in - special friends who encourage and support all along the way and even the morning of the marathon - and another friend who drove the course keeping us safe and even walked 5 miles with us even though she had a perfectly good car and didn't have to walk that 5 miles with us and supported me when I wanted to give up the most!
Sometimes it is easy to forget the amount of training and support a person needs to complete an event like this and crossing the finish line was a very humbling and emotional experience for me.
I put off reporting about the marathon because I wanted some of the "suckiness" to go away so that didn't taint my blog post. It was a very long walk and parts of it made me doubt if I (or we for that matter) would finish - but finish we did!
We had been watching the weather forecast and we knew it was going to end up raining - OK - we can deal with that. The only bad thing about the course I would say was the camber of the road - we felt like we were walking tilted to the right up until mile 17. The scenery was beautiful!
This pic was taken the day after - Before we left Morgan Hill we drove the course and took some pics because it was too rainy the day off for me to carry my camera. The weather on Monday was perfect!We knew very early on that we were going to not only be by ourselves for a while but also very last - the half split off from the full course around 1 1/2 miles in and there was no one that made the turn behind us. Amazingly we got tired before we even got to the halfway point and our grand plan was to start out slow and do the second half at a faster pace, but that didn't happen.
At mile 21.38 I got the text message that I had been waiting for - my parents had came down (2 1/2 hour drive one way) and they had brought our younger son. I asked my dad if he would think about coming and being there for the Hubster when he crosses the line at his first full marathon and he told me he would! How I kept that a secret from him for so long I have no idea! I was so excited at that point to see his face when he saw them! We also had two people from our walking group that made the same drive to be there when we finished! It was so nice knowing we would have people at the finish line cheering us in!
We finally got closer to around the 25 1/2 mile mark and our two walking buddies were there! They were so excited to see us and we were so excited to see familiar faces!!
We continue on knowing we are almost there and as we get closer to the finish line I can see my parents and Logan - I point up to the line and tell Jeff to look - and he at first says - what? Then he sees Logan in his bright orange rain jacket and he gets a little choked up! I almost cried too! I was so happy to have surprised Jeff - I was so happy to have help Jeff complete his first full marathon and I was so happy that we could stop walking!
Nothing says true love like walking 26.2 miles in 7 hours and 35 minutes and crossing the finish line hand in hand!
Logan got to put our medals around our necks and my parents followed us back to our hotel room and got us settled before they left to drive home.At the finish line we both said "never again" but under the right circumstances I think we could be talked into another one now...
A big thanks goes out to everyone who supported us along the way - from anyone who ever did a training walk with us (sometimes you get the group through the mileage and sometimes the group gets you through the mileage) - to my parents who keep my younger son every Saturday while we go out and do the silly and sometimes ridiculously long walks - The volunteers on race day and the family and friends who drive ridiculously long distances and stood in the rain waiting FOREVER for us to come in - special friends who encourage and support all along the way and even the morning of the marathon - and another friend who drove the course keeping us safe and even walked 5 miles with us even though she had a perfectly good car and didn't have to walk that 5 miles with us and supported me when I wanted to give up the most!
Sometimes it is easy to forget the amount of training and support a person needs to complete an event like this and crossing the finish line was a very humbling and emotional experience for me.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! (aka Sacfit Saturday!)
SacFit Saturday was a BLAST this weekend - the purple group had a great time! We decorated our tent and my hubby carved a pumpkin with our our running groups name in it - pretty cool and it was a huge hit with everyone!
Some people even came in costume and I have to show you what one of my pace group members did!
This is MJ - and she came dressed as me! Isn't that just the coolest thing ever!?! She just cracks me up! I loved it MJ!!
After our mileage we had our annual family breakfast and we were treated to pancakes, sausage, fruit and hot chocolate! It was a very nice treat after all the hard work we had put in and it was neat to meet other team members families!
On a side note - Saturday was all about getting our last workout in before Four of the team members go to Morgan Hill on the 7th and complete our full marathon! We did 5 easy miles (well 2 of us did) my hubby is nursing a shin splint and will do a couple of short workouts this week per doctors orders and one other did her mileage on Sunday morning. We are so ready for this now! We have trained and got in the mileage and know what to do - it is just the matter of putting everything into play on race day and keeping our fingers crossed everything goes well!
Some people even came in costume and I have to show you what one of my pace group members did!
This is MJ - and she came dressed as me! Isn't that just the coolest thing ever!?! She just cracks me up! I loved it MJ!!After our mileage we had our annual family breakfast and we were treated to pancakes, sausage, fruit and hot chocolate! It was a very nice treat after all the hard work we had put in and it was neat to meet other team members families!
On a side note - Saturday was all about getting our last workout in before Four of the team members go to Morgan Hill on the 7th and complete our full marathon! We did 5 easy miles (well 2 of us did) my hubby is nursing a shin splint and will do a couple of short workouts this week per doctors orders and one other did her mileage on Sunday morning. We are so ready for this now! We have trained and got in the mileage and know what to do - it is just the matter of putting everything into play on race day and keeping our fingers crossed everything goes well!
Monday, October 18, 2010
The last long one - before the longest one!
On Saturday Jeff, Ginny and I did 19 miles! It is our longest walk before our full marathon in a mere 3 weeks! I was concerned because the 16 miler didn't go well due to foot pain and I didn't get in the full 16 miles. However in the time between that mileage and Saturday I have become smarter.... I pay attention to how the tight calf and foot is feeling and I STOP and take the time to stretch along the way to work out the problems before they become too bad to continue - because failing on race day is not an option!!
We started out our walk at 6AM - yes it was still dark and was for at least 1/2 hour. It was also amazing out there - the wildlife you see just before dawn is amazing! 100's of bunnies, several deer and a really cute trail kitty that talked to us when we went by! In the dark you just have to look over with your light and they are right there next to you - they are not really that spooked by you and they just sit and stare back!
After 4.5 miles we met up with our group that started at 7:30 and two of the ladies in our group had brought food and water for us to refuel and we started out again with our group for their 8 mile walk. When we came back and filled water bottles and ate again we set back out for the remainder of our miles. I really like chopping it up like that, made them go by a little faster (if 5 1/2 hours of walking can seem fast....)
This has been the longest walk that the hubster has ever done and I'm so proud of him!! After a reward of a cupcake we went home and made lunch and spent the rest of the day relaxing! on Sunday I woke up expecting to still be sore, stiff or at least something... nothing - I felt great!!
The next two weeks is our taper - we do 10 miles next week as our long one and then the week after just 5! On November 7th we will be in Morgan Hill and I will be there every step of the way as my husband completes his first full marathon!!
We started out our walk at 6AM - yes it was still dark and was for at least 1/2 hour. It was also amazing out there - the wildlife you see just before dawn is amazing! 100's of bunnies, several deer and a really cute trail kitty that talked to us when we went by! In the dark you just have to look over with your light and they are right there next to you - they are not really that spooked by you and they just sit and stare back!
After 4.5 miles we met up with our group that started at 7:30 and two of the ladies in our group had brought food and water for us to refuel and we started out again with our group for their 8 mile walk. When we came back and filled water bottles and ate again we set back out for the remainder of our miles. I really like chopping it up like that, made them go by a little faster (if 5 1/2 hours of walking can seem fast....)
This has been the longest walk that the hubster has ever done and I'm so proud of him!! After a reward of a cupcake we went home and made lunch and spent the rest of the day relaxing! on Sunday I woke up expecting to still be sore, stiff or at least something... nothing - I felt great!!
The next two weeks is our taper - we do 10 miles next week as our long one and then the week after just 5! On November 7th we will be in Morgan Hill and I will be there every step of the way as my husband completes his first full marathon!!
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Running Fairy Races!
I walked the Urban Cow Half Marathon on Sunday (My 7th Half Marathon - can you believe it??). I will in all honesty say that I got up the morning of the race and was half excited and half kinda feeling weird about it. I knew I was walking the race - there were no times to beat and it felt strange. One thing I did look forward to was coaching and pacing MJ to complete her first ever Half-Marathon! She did have a time goal in mind so it was our job to keep her on track and get her to the finish line. Her parents came from Oregon to see her and was at several places along the route with signs cheering her on. One thing they liked was they could always spot her coming - she was with The Running Fairy! Every time I got tired or sore or whatever all I had to do was think about MJ crossing the line with her parents there and how much crossing that line for the first time meant to me and I would get goosebumps and keep on moving!As we made the turn into the park I was thinking very much about the first time I crossed that finish line. This race was my very first Half Marathon three years ago. I ran 3:1 intervals (meaning 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking) and I still remember crying like a baby before I even got to the finish line! As I looked at my time I realized that I had a good chance of beating that first time at this race - but this time I walked the 13 miles and ran only the last .1 over the finish line. Sure enough I did. My first Half marathon time was 3:23:12 and this years time is 3:23:06!
I was super excited about my time and then MJ was right behind me! I watched her cross the line and she cried - her parents were so proud of her - she was exhausted and emotional - I grabbed her medal and put it around her neck and we took pictures!
Here is our group! Ginny, MJ, The Hubster (Who beat his previous time by 7 minutes!) and The Running Fairy!
What an amazing race and an amazing day!!And the great thing is - In a month I get to do it all again - this time walking my second full marathon with my husband and seeing him cross the finish line of a full marathon for the first time!!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Question - What suffers when life gets a little crazy?
Answer - my blog!
An update of sorts of stuff going on in my life...
My Dad had surgery to remove the upper lobe of his right lung on the 20th - he is recovering well and the great news that we had out of this was they did a biopsy from the lymph nodes and they are cancer free! He is such a strong person and seeing him in pain was very humbling. If he can get through this - I can walk a marathon!
I did manage to weigh in within goal for the month of September (9/24) - it was a struggle as I did let myself get higher than I planned on yet again this month. Something else that suffers when life gets crazy is going to Weight Watchers meetings. I need those to stay on track!
Marathon training has had it's ups and downs as well. I have had some foot pain and after trying to do 16 miles and only getting to 12 I have tried re-lacing my shoes differently so that they don't hit the sore spot on the top of my foot. It has seemed to help for now, but the real test will be on Sunday (Oct 3rd) when I will complete my 7th Half-Marathon. I still plan on trying to pace my friend, but I also have a back up just in case I can't maintain the pace I need to help her meet her time goal. This race will be different for me since it will be the first half marathon that I will pretty much 100% walk and I won't be out there to better my personal best. I plan on going out and having fun and enjoy the ride! I even have fairy wings to go with my purple tutu for this one!!
An update of sorts of stuff going on in my life...
My Dad had surgery to remove the upper lobe of his right lung on the 20th - he is recovering well and the great news that we had out of this was they did a biopsy from the lymph nodes and they are cancer free! He is such a strong person and seeing him in pain was very humbling. If he can get through this - I can walk a marathon!
I did manage to weigh in within goal for the month of September (9/24) - it was a struggle as I did let myself get higher than I planned on yet again this month. Something else that suffers when life gets crazy is going to Weight Watchers meetings. I need those to stay on track!
Marathon training has had it's ups and downs as well. I have had some foot pain and after trying to do 16 miles and only getting to 12 I have tried re-lacing my shoes differently so that they don't hit the sore spot on the top of my foot. It has seemed to help for now, but the real test will be on Sunday (Oct 3rd) when I will complete my 7th Half-Marathon. I still plan on trying to pace my friend, but I also have a back up just in case I can't maintain the pace I need to help her meet her time goal. This race will be different for me since it will be the first half marathon that I will pretty much 100% walk and I won't be out there to better my personal best. I plan on going out and having fun and enjoy the ride! I even have fairy wings to go with my purple tutu for this one!!
Monday, September 13, 2010
My poor neglected blog!
I have a million excuses for not updating my blog in a while and none of them are very good...
I have been very busy soaking up the last of summer, we had a day trip on a weekend that turned into an over night trip at the last minute because we were having to much fun (hoping to write a post about that one..), our weekend walks are getting longer in preparation for our full marathon coming up and of course there is the working full time, still maintaining a household and child and such... blah blah blah....
Good news? I made the Elk Grove Citizen Newspaper! - it is an article about the Elk Grove Food bank and they put me in there because Weight Watchers made a food donation for me being a Role Model of the year 2010 contest winner! It is a very small mention, but still pretty cool! You can see the article here (Elk Grove Citizen) and click on the arrow under the picture to see the pic of me and the 100 pounds of food donated!
I will try and get my blog updated soon -There has been high points (a race this weekend and the Spontaneous Labor day weekend trip where we ended up staying overnight and didn't even have a bag packed.) And low points (stress eating, higher weight than I'm comfortable with right now, a loss of mojo resulting in not getting as many workouts in as I should be and my Dad having surgery in a week in remove the upper lobe of his lung to get rid of the cancer.)
Here is a pic taken in South Lake Tahoe of me and my little guy! We had so much fun on this trip and it is these types of memories that he will have for a long time!
I have been very busy soaking up the last of summer, we had a day trip on a weekend that turned into an over night trip at the last minute because we were having to much fun (hoping to write a post about that one..), our weekend walks are getting longer in preparation for our full marathon coming up and of course there is the working full time, still maintaining a household and child and such... blah blah blah....
Good news? I made the Elk Grove Citizen Newspaper! - it is an article about the Elk Grove Food bank and they put me in there because Weight Watchers made a food donation for me being a Role Model of the year 2010 contest winner! It is a very small mention, but still pretty cool! You can see the article here (Elk Grove Citizen) and click on the arrow under the picture to see the pic of me and the 100 pounds of food donated!
I will try and get my blog updated soon -There has been high points (a race this weekend and the Spontaneous Labor day weekend trip where we ended up staying overnight and didn't even have a bag packed.) And low points (stress eating, higher weight than I'm comfortable with right now, a loss of mojo resulting in not getting as many workouts in as I should be and my Dad having surgery in a week in remove the upper lobe of his lung to get rid of the cancer.)
Here is a pic taken in South Lake Tahoe of me and my little guy! We had so much fun on this trip and it is these types of memories that he will have for a long time!
Monday, August 30, 2010
SacFit Saturday!
On Saturday we did the Lake Natoma Loop - 11-12 miles around the lake in Folsom. It is a run/walk that I dread every year because the first time I did it, things went bad and the other two times I did it it was so hot and coming back there is not much shade and almost everyone has heat issues due to the length of the run and the lack of shade coming back. Well that was not the case this time! The weather was forecasted to only hit a high in the 70's and it started out kinda cold and windy (espcially once we got right on the lake) - We ended up merging several groups since all the groups were small so I got to walk with my hubby!! We decided to let MJ lead which allows me to not worry so much about pace and I can wander within the group and chit chat with the members. MJ did an awesome job leading (I could get used to this!) and I had such a great time wandering, walking and talking to everyone! I even wandered with a couple of the running groups that are around the same speed as we are for a bit - it was so nice to talk with everyone! The weather was perfect and I finished 12 miles feeling strong and kinda pumped up! I took this pic on the return side of Lake natoma - at this point we are more than halfway around - my guess is we had about 4 miles to go. Lake to the left, Hubby is in the white shirt with the camelbak (right by the garbage can..) and MJ is to his left with the gray shirt and white cap. The group ahead of us is a running group - we had met up and the third aid station and all stopped to use the facilities.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
A busy and full of activity weekend!
So I started the weekend with Sacfit - 6 miles at race rehearsal pace (which is a minute per mile faster than we normally go) It went really well and our group was a lot smaller than it has been, but everyone was still together when we came back! That is a big achievement since on the longer walks the group get really spread out! After Sacfit we ran some errands and and tried out a new restaurant - Sunflower Cafe - it is a vegetarian place and very good! The hubster and I both had burgers (they are famous for the "nut burger") and Logan had a quesadilla. After that we stopped by the local fire station and borrowed some life vests for Sunday's trip to the lake. Local fire stations here have a life vest loan out program that is really great since we don't go around the water all that much and really haven't found the need to invest in some, but it is nice to have a place you can pick them up and then not have to worry about being around the water. More errands, a trip to REI where I was so tired I took a seat in one of the chairs inside a tent and let my boys wander around and shop. Jeff got a Camelbak - I got mine about a week ago and have now used it twice and I love it!!
Sunday was a day for stepping out of our comfort zones and doing new things! We met up with The Folsom Trail Runners and they were doing pretty much whatever you wanted to do! We started the day with a trail run (my first!) and the trails were so pretty and shady - I can see how people love to run the trails! We then went out as two different groups - a group that wanted to road bike and a group that wanted to mountain bike the trails. I went out with the road bikers. We only did a short ride (I did 5 - the others took a long-cut and did 7 total) so we could get back to the great opportunity that one guy had set up for us.
A guy drove from Santa Cruz and brought out his stand up paddle boards! I had never tried them but had discussed with another Weight Watchers member that that was on her list of stuff to do now that she had lost her weight - I thought it sounded great and tucked it away for future reference - so when I found about this opportunity I couldn't pass it up! There were only two moments when I thought I was crazy - the first was going from me knees to standing up on the board, but once I was there I was fine and the second moment was after a boat passed and created a wake and kinda threw me off balance but I never fell off and loved it so much!! This is a picture of stand up paddle boarding from Shape magazine - they had an article on what a great workout it is. Just keeping yourself on the board works your abs, rear and legs and the paddling of course works yours arms and shoulders. It all felt very natural to me and I can't wait to do it again!! (Of course I was wearing more clothes than these very fit ladies are wearing...)
There are pictures of me on the paddle board taken by a friend, but she had to leave before I got back to shore and I'm sure I will get pics from her sometime this week. I will post some when I get them!
After we were done we hung out a little more at the lake and played in the water and just had a really good time - it was a wonderfully active and relaxing weekend if it is possible to have both at the same time!
Sunday was a day for stepping out of our comfort zones and doing new things! We met up with The Folsom Trail Runners and they were doing pretty much whatever you wanted to do! We started the day with a trail run (my first!) and the trails were so pretty and shady - I can see how people love to run the trails! We then went out as two different groups - a group that wanted to road bike and a group that wanted to mountain bike the trails. I went out with the road bikers. We only did a short ride (I did 5 - the others took a long-cut and did 7 total) so we could get back to the great opportunity that one guy had set up for us.
A guy drove from Santa Cruz and brought out his stand up paddle boards! I had never tried them but had discussed with another Weight Watchers member that that was on her list of stuff to do now that she had lost her weight - I thought it sounded great and tucked it away for future reference - so when I found about this opportunity I couldn't pass it up! There were only two moments when I thought I was crazy - the first was going from me knees to standing up on the board, but once I was there I was fine and the second moment was after a boat passed and created a wake and kinda threw me off balance but I never fell off and loved it so much!! This is a picture of stand up paddle boarding from Shape magazine - they had an article on what a great workout it is. Just keeping yourself on the board works your abs, rear and legs and the paddling of course works yours arms and shoulders. It all felt very natural to me and I can't wait to do it again!! (Of course I was wearing more clothes than these very fit ladies are wearing...)
There are pictures of me on the paddle board taken by a friend, but she had to leave before I got back to shore and I'm sure I will get pics from her sometime this week. I will post some when I get them!
After we were done we hung out a little more at the lake and played in the water and just had a really good time - it was a wonderfully active and relaxing weekend if it is possible to have both at the same time!
Monday, August 16, 2010
A Belated Sacfit Saturday Post
We had a pretty busy weekend full of errands and such so I couldn't get to this post until this morning.
As you probably already know - due to various injuries I'm walking this season and not running. So I'm coaching within the Purple group and I'm having a BLAST! First to embrace my "inner purpleness" I bought a Tutu and wear it on the trail (and I will also wear it for all my races as well) - I bought it at the California State Fair but they have a local business (as well as online) - here is the link - The Zootique - what I have is a child's Tutu that she helped me alter so it would fit, but I know she would also do a custom order - just tell them Sabrina from Sacfit sent you!
This is me right before taking my group on a 10 mile walk! I get so many compliments on it and even the cyclists that go by will comment as well. It is just a ton of fun!!
Secondly - I have met this amazing person - her name is MJ and this is her first season with Sacfit. In talking with her over the course of three weeks and lots of miles I have learned a lot about her including that she is a WW member and has lost 60 pounds as of last Thursday, every time we do a new mileage it is a new longest distance walked for her and Urban Cow Half marathon will be her first half marathon (just like it was mine almost three years ago). She reminds me of me my first season. She has the same questions and struggles as I had my first season. It is an honor to be walking with her and helping her meet her goals. I came to a decision that I shared with her on Saturday and I will share it with you all today. In Sacfit our races are our own, we pay our fees so we are not obligated to walk or run with our pace groups - usually race time is the time where we try and better our last time for that distance. I know that I can not better my half-marathon time so I'm going to give back to the group and specifically MJ. I'm going to walk her first half marathon with her. She has a time goal in mind, but truly does just want to finish - she has invited her parents to come and watch (they are coming from Oregon!) and I can't wait to see her cross the finish line and get her cowbell medal!
My first race I had someone do that for me and I really slowed down about halfway through and this person would run ahead and run back and run ahead and run back and got me to the finish line (she must have ran double the mileage that day!!) and I'm still so grateful for her - now it is my time to give back.
Oh and the big news - I have paid for and committed to my races this season! (committed as in I should be committed....) My race schedule looks like this...
September 12 - Buffalo Stampede - 10 miler
October 3 - Urban Cow Half Marathon
November 7 - Morgan Hill Full Marathon
As you probably already know - due to various injuries I'm walking this season and not running. So I'm coaching within the Purple group and I'm having a BLAST! First to embrace my "inner purpleness" I bought a Tutu and wear it on the trail (and I will also wear it for all my races as well) - I bought it at the California State Fair but they have a local business (as well as online) - here is the link - The Zootique - what I have is a child's Tutu that she helped me alter so it would fit, but I know she would also do a custom order - just tell them Sabrina from Sacfit sent you!
This is me right before taking my group on a 10 mile walk! I get so many compliments on it and even the cyclists that go by will comment as well. It is just a ton of fun!!
Secondly - I have met this amazing person - her name is MJ and this is her first season with Sacfit. In talking with her over the course of three weeks and lots of miles I have learned a lot about her including that she is a WW member and has lost 60 pounds as of last Thursday, every time we do a new mileage it is a new longest distance walked for her and Urban Cow Half marathon will be her first half marathon (just like it was mine almost three years ago). She reminds me of me my first season. She has the same questions and struggles as I had my first season. It is an honor to be walking with her and helping her meet her goals. I came to a decision that I shared with her on Saturday and I will share it with you all today. In Sacfit our races are our own, we pay our fees so we are not obligated to walk or run with our pace groups - usually race time is the time where we try and better our last time for that distance. I know that I can not better my half-marathon time so I'm going to give back to the group and specifically MJ. I'm going to walk her first half marathon with her. She has a time goal in mind, but truly does just want to finish - she has invited her parents to come and watch (they are coming from Oregon!) and I can't wait to see her cross the finish line and get her cowbell medal!
My first race I had someone do that for me and I really slowed down about halfway through and this person would run ahead and run back and run ahead and run back and got me to the finish line (she must have ran double the mileage that day!!) and I'm still so grateful for her - now it is my time to give back.
Oh and the big news - I have paid for and committed to my races this season! (committed as in I should be committed....) My race schedule looks like this...
September 12 - Buffalo Stampede - 10 miler
October 3 - Urban Cow Half Marathon
November 7 - Morgan Hill Full Marathon
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Review - Penny's Low Fat Desserts!
I do get random emails now and then asking me to review various products and I haven't found anything I would really like well enough to do a review - until now!
I'm a subscriber to Penny's Low Fat Desserts newsletter and in the last one she was asking people with blogs if they would like to receive samples to try and review on their blogs. I couldn't send off an email fast enough! Just a couple of days later they arrived!!
In February I was in Whole Foods and they were having a chocolate fair and giving out samples - one of the product samples was the most wonderful chocolate peanut butter cookie and I bought a couple after trying them, but since them each time I go into Whole Foods they are out (shows you how good they are!!)
Penny sent me 5 samples - Almond Poppy seed Muffin Top, Carrot Raisin Muffin Top, Toffee Cinnamon Cookie (no sugar added), Chocolate peanut butter cookie and a White chocolate Cranberry cookie. (the nutrition info is at the bottom of my post)
I had the Toffee Cinnamon cookie first and it was so good! I heeded Penny's advice and warmed it in the microwave just a tad and it was warm and very tasty! - I would not have guessed it was no sugar added!
Next up was the Chocolate Peanut butter cookie - I knew I would love this one since it was the one I had already tried, but again warmed it in the microwave for a few seconds and it was sinful!! The cookies are all very good size and this is a very indulgent treat for only two points! I was thinking it would be a great recovery treat after a long run or walk with a cup of milk! Yum!!!
Now the next three I went into having my reservations - each of them had flavors that I'm not crazy about but I figured I would eat them and honestly give my opinion about them....
The White Chocolate Cranberry cookie was next on my list to try and I'm not a fan of cranberries, but this was delish! The balance of white chocolate to cranberry was perfect and just enough - where I wouldn't have even tried it, now if I saw it on the shelf I would definitely buy it!
The Almond Poppy seed muffin top was moist and I didn't add anything to it, just ate it plain - it really didn't need anything - again here - not a fan of poppy seeds but I got over that when I tasted the muffin - hard to describe the flavor - but it was wonderful!! Warmed up in the microwave and served with my coffee, it held me over until the time I normally eat my snack which was another unexpected perk since the muffin top is only 1 point!
And last but not least - Carrot-Raisin Muffin top - I'm not a fan of carrot muffins, cake etc... and I'm not a fan of raisins and I was all prepared to not like this muffin at all - boy was I surprised! I was perfectly spiced, moist with just the right amount of everything! I heated it up and again ate it with my morning coffee and it too got me to snack time. I would have to say that after sampling it - it is my favorite (unless I could get away with eating the chocolate peanut butter cookie for breakfast!)
I also especially like that they are a local company - In Grass Valley only about an hour from where I'm at. I can picture Penny in her kitchen whipping up a batch of cookies and mailing them out to people everywhere! Penny's Website is http://www.pennyslowfatdesserts.com - it is worth the trip to check out their muffin tops and cookies!
As promised here is the nutrition information for the 5 products I sampled - along with the points value as well!
I'm a subscriber to Penny's Low Fat Desserts newsletter and in the last one she was asking people with blogs if they would like to receive samples to try and review on their blogs. I couldn't send off an email fast enough! Just a couple of days later they arrived!!
In February I was in Whole Foods and they were having a chocolate fair and giving out samples - one of the product samples was the most wonderful chocolate peanut butter cookie and I bought a couple after trying them, but since them each time I go into Whole Foods they are out (shows you how good they are!!)
Penny sent me 5 samples - Almond Poppy seed Muffin Top, Carrot Raisin Muffin Top, Toffee Cinnamon Cookie (no sugar added), Chocolate peanut butter cookie and a White chocolate Cranberry cookie. (the nutrition info is at the bottom of my post)
I had the Toffee Cinnamon cookie first and it was so good! I heeded Penny's advice and warmed it in the microwave just a tad and it was warm and very tasty! - I would not have guessed it was no sugar added!
Next up was the Chocolate Peanut butter cookie - I knew I would love this one since it was the one I had already tried, but again warmed it in the microwave for a few seconds and it was sinful!! The cookies are all very good size and this is a very indulgent treat for only two points! I was thinking it would be a great recovery treat after a long run or walk with a cup of milk! Yum!!!
Now the next three I went into having my reservations - each of them had flavors that I'm not crazy about but I figured I would eat them and honestly give my opinion about them....
The White Chocolate Cranberry cookie was next on my list to try and I'm not a fan of cranberries, but this was delish! The balance of white chocolate to cranberry was perfect and just enough - where I wouldn't have even tried it, now if I saw it on the shelf I would definitely buy it!
The Almond Poppy seed muffin top was moist and I didn't add anything to it, just ate it plain - it really didn't need anything - again here - not a fan of poppy seeds but I got over that when I tasted the muffin - hard to describe the flavor - but it was wonderful!! Warmed up in the microwave and served with my coffee, it held me over until the time I normally eat my snack which was another unexpected perk since the muffin top is only 1 point!
And last but not least - Carrot-Raisin Muffin top - I'm not a fan of carrot muffins, cake etc... and I'm not a fan of raisins and I was all prepared to not like this muffin at all - boy was I surprised! I was perfectly spiced, moist with just the right amount of everything! I heated it up and again ate it with my morning coffee and it too got me to snack time. I would have to say that after sampling it - it is my favorite (unless I could get away with eating the chocolate peanut butter cookie for breakfast!)
I also especially like that they are a local company - In Grass Valley only about an hour from where I'm at. I can picture Penny in her kitchen whipping up a batch of cookies and mailing them out to people everywhere! Penny's Website is http://www.pennyslowfatdesserts.com - it is worth the trip to check out their muffin tops and cookies!
As promised here is the nutrition information for the 5 products I sampled - along with the points value as well!
Almond Poppyseed Muffin Top - NUTRITION FACTS: Serv Size: 2 oz (56g), Amount/Serv: Calories 110, Fat Cal 5, Total Fat 1g , Saturated Fat .5g, Transfat 0g Cholest. 0g, Sodium 200mg, Total Carb 25g, Fiber 4g, Protein 2g, = 1 point
Carrot-Raisin Muffin Top - NUTRITION FACTS: Serv Size: 2 oz (56g), Amount/Serv: Calories 110, Fat Cal 0, Total Fat 0g, Saturated Fat 0g, Transfat 0g Cholest. 0g, Sodium 240mg, Total Carb 27g, Fiber 4g, Protein 2g, = 1 point
Toffee Cinnamon Cookie (No Sugar Added) - NUTRITION FACTS: Serv Size: 2 oz (56g), Amount/Serv: Calories 100, Fat Cal 20, Total Fat 2.5g, Saturated Fat 0g, Transfat 0g Cholest. 15mg, Sodium 200mg, Total Carb 33g, Fiber 6g, Protein 3g = 1 point
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie - NUTRITION FACTS: Serv Size: 1.8 oz (52g), Amount/Serv: Calories 150, Fat Cal 25, Total Fat 3g, Saturated Fat 1.5g, Transfat 0g Cholest. 0g, Sodium 160mg, Total Carb 38g, Fiber 7g, Sugars 18g, Protein 3g, = 2 Points
White Chocoalte Cranberry Cookie - NUTRITION FACTS: Serv Size: 1.8 oz (52g), Amount/Serv: Calories 150, Fat Cal 20, Total Fat 2.5g, Saturated Fat 1g, Transfat 0g Cholest. 0g, Sodium 140mg, Total Carb 39g, Fiber 7g, Protein 2g, = 2 Points
Disclaimer: Author of this blog received samples of the products for a review.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
.jpg)