Running and August goals

@grammylicious_ww tagged me for #stopdropandchug which I definitely needed today during and after @redcoyoterunning #packpintrun! My #injuredankle was not cooperating tonight but at two miles I found a good stride. I walked the last mile as a cool down. I'm on my second bottle of #water. I'm #happy with today's #halfmarathontraining #run. #runner #runnergirl #womenrunning #runnerproblems #injuredrunner #okc #ok #okwb #myoklahoma #runokc #runok #nike #nikerunner #run

I made it my goal to not drink any form of alcohol Monday through Thursday. And then on August first, I forgot when I was at The Root working details out for an impromptu show for my hubby. I was beer pressured or peer pressured into a glass. Afterwards, I remembered. D'oh!

I managed to lose 2 pounds on Wednesday. Here's hoping more will follow with this new reduction in alcohol.

August is the start of half marathon training, which means running 4 days a week instead of 3. I'm looking forward to a good season but my ankle is still healing. I'm not sure how well that's going to go. Fingers crossed!

 

Ankle update

I ran 3 miles and then went in for the MRI. The tech said the photos came out great. The machine was giant and made all kinds of loud sounds. 

Wednesday, I tried to run but wasn't feeling it and walked. 

Thursday, I slept in. It was glorious! Then I went to see the doctor for my MRI results. There's nothing wrong with my ankle! Well, besides the sprain. That's still there. He said he could see that clearly. There was nothing floating around causing problems. He determined that I will heal eventually but the running has slowed that significantly. His recommendation was to stop running for two weeks. Then slowly ramp back up, depending on how my ankle feels. 

So Thursday night, I went for a walk. I'll walk tomorrow too. The doctor said that the elliptical is good too. No pounding pavement for me until my ankle is healed. So, this is good news. I'm going to do my best to heal. Send positive thoughts my way please. Happy Friday!

Things I do to relax

I run or walk. I love being outside. Sometimes, I love to complain about the weather. At the end of a walk or run, all is well with me and the world. 

I love going for a bike ride! I could bike for hours and leisurely pace. 

I love watching fire! We fired cable tv and hired Apple TV. These days we buy our shows on iTunes and watch exactly what we want with zero commercials lastly, I enjoy browsing and pinteresting. I could happily wander the mall or Pinterest and feel relaxed at the end. So, how do you relax? 

Walk MS in Oklahoma City

I had the opportunity to support my friend, who has been diagnosed with MS by completing the Walk MS in Oklahoma City May 3rd, 2014. There was an online registration, which was easy to fill out and begin fundraising efforts. I registered a few days before the event and didn't have time to fundraise. 

The event was well organized and there were approximately 1000 people that participated. The weather was good and we all had our team shirts on. There were two routes to select: 0.6 or 1.3 miles. We chose to walk 1.3 miles. The walk had refresh stations with fruit, water, and candy. We were at the community center in Mustang and this park has a nice pond with ducks and geese hanging out.

There was a nice breakfast before the walk and a yummy smelling lunch for afterwards. We had plans to BBQ at Aimee's house and didn't stay for lunch. There was also a live band playing after the walk.

Everyone that participated in the walk received a medal.

There was a firetruck and I had to get a photo of myself with it.

Overall, it was a fun and inspiring event to be a part of and I will participate next year. I will start my fundraising efforts now. Please donate here. 

Training schedule

I have officially signed up for the Oklahoma City Memorial half marathon on April 28th. I have a deadline to meet and a long distance to go. I've done 5ks and 10ks before and this will be my first half marathon. 

Oklahoma City, downtown with the Devon tower

I've baked up my own training schedule and I'd appreciate any feedback from my friends who have already done a half. I am doing one long walk a week and I've been adding half a mile each week until I reach my training goal of 16 miles. I know the half is 13.1 and my training distance will eventually be longer than that in hopes that the actual race will "feel" easier. I picked 16 because I felt is was a nice round number and just 10.2 miles short of a marathon. If all goes well, I expect to train for a marathon next. During my long walks, I am keeping my speed to a 15 minute mile. I know this is a pace I can keep for a long time. I hope to work on speed later (after 16 miles have been reached) but for now I am focusing on distance. Saturday, I went 10.21 miles and next Sunday, I'll walk 10.5 at least.

Will I be successful? Is this a decent training schedule? I'd love to hear your opinions, especially if you've done a half marathon already. Tomorrow, I'll have another tip for weight loss.

Tip Tuesday

You are a priority!

I find that I gain weight when I'm not taking care of myself. I don't sleep enough, I don't eat right, and I don't exercise. It's easy to take care of everyone else and everything else (especially when you're a first born because nobody does anything right!)

Put yourself first. Set aside time to walk everyday. If need be, put gym time on your calendar. Taking time for yourself is good for your mind and body. Being consistent with daily exercise will show results. 

Bonus tip: make sure you get enough sleep. Without adequate sleep, you will not function well and losing weight will not happen. This is also related to priority YOU! If you need a little push in the right direction, let me know. I'd love to be your cheerleader! Remember weight loss is a lifetime journey and the destination is a healthy you.

Tip Tuesday

Welcome back! I'm so excited to start sharing tips for losing weight! If you already know what I'm about to share with you, then consider this a reminder, especially if you are not doing it everyday.

WALK EVERYDAY 

I suggest walking because everyone can do it, no matter your fitness level. It's good for your heart and mind. In fact, walking is an excellent stress reliever. Do you have or feel stressed daily? The answer to that question is you should be walking. I would suggest that 30 minutes a day is ideal but any amount that fits your schedule is fine. If you need to break it up into several walks a day, that is also fine. The most important thing to remember is to walk everyday. 

I will continue to share tips for weight loss and if you have any questions please let me know. I will partner with you and you will be successful! 

Make A Difference Monday: list edition

There was a time when I was stressed to the max. This was a difficult time of life and I learned how strong I can be under pressure. Even though I was battling stress induced depression, I did not turn to medicine. I'm sharing my top holistic stress reducers, which helped ease my pain.

1) Keep greenery nearby. Since I can't keep plants alive, I bought fresh cut flowers. The color green is stress reducing.
2) Walk. A simple walk around the building at lunch helps to reduce any stress you're feeling.
3) Pet a furry friend. After a really bad day, give your pet some love and you'll feel so much better. Pets can sense your stress and they will want to help you feel better.
4) Talk. Have a vent session with a friend or family member helps you. Talking things out can get it off your chest and you'll feel better.
5) Do something fun. I love to go shopping and I'd cruise around the mall to have fun. I'd go for a bike ride or I'd go out for a craft beer. These are all activities that are fun for me. I'd plan this in advance so I had something good to look forward to. The forward thinking helped me get through the week.

Do you have any tips to share? Please stay tuned for Travel Tuesday.

Running

Tonight, I decided to run a 5k. It was not planned out very well. Certainly, I arrived on time but I couldn't actually run. I started out at a decent pace but very quickly I noticed pain in my sides. Perhaps it was the dinner I ate an hour before running. Perhaps it was the scorching heat and dehydration slowing me down. It was absolutely the slowest race ever. I have learned some lessons such as stay hydrated and don't eat a full dinner before the race. My next race time will be much better but I can't do anything about the weather.

The scorching humid heat is here to stay for a long time.
P.s. the picture is not from today's race but from an equally hot day walking to the ballpark.

Fuzzy Tacos

Tonight, we ate at Fuzzy Tacos. I had the best salad ever, because it was loaded with shredded beef. I customized it by removing onions (yuck), and the two kinds of cheeses.  I had my salad dressing on the side but I didn't need much.  The meat was so tender and juicy.  The only thing I would change is probably taking off the chips too.  This was a healthy dinner that was incredibly flavorful. We also enjoyed a lovely walk there and back in the warm humidity of Oklahoma City. We passed by the Chesapeake Arena where the news crews are already abuzz for tomorrows game. Its going to be exciting! Thunder up!

Kirby's blog post

Kitties don't blog but if they did it would be like this post.

"Yawn" and stretch. According to my calendar, its time to get up at 5am because that's when my human companions get up. There's no sleeping in on a Saturday. I better walk around and yell loudly to get them going. Nobody's going to get a late start. Finally, they got up and I'm going to take a cat nap for many hours.

Now that was quite a good nap. I don't know what those humans are up to but I want to play. I better walk around and yell loudly to get their attention. Hmm, they misunderstood me and gave me an early dinner. That's ok. I can play later. I love eating a delicious dinner of crunchies and wet food.  I hear something interesting in the living room, I better go and investigate. There's a curious red dot on the floor and I can't quite figure out what it is. On top of that, I can't seem to ever catch it. I'll keep trying because there's a chance I could get lucky.

Whew, I'm getting pretty tired and its late. I better take another cat nap. Uh-ho, I slept too much. I know its completely dark in the house but I better walk around and yell as loudly as I can to make sure there's no strangers in the house. What's that I hear? I better go to the bedroom to investigate and then I can go back to sleep. zzzzzz

How to stay positive

1: Find things to smile at. If you need inspiration, look at a flower or look at the comics.
2: Think about something good. It can be anything good like good food or a good experience.
3: Breathe. Deep breathing gives you extra oxygen to stay positive.
4: Move. Get up for a walk. Take a yoga class. Any kind of movement will help you stay positive.
5: Pray. God gives generously to those who ask and asking to stay positive is a request that won't be ignored.

Top 10 for Wednesday

Here’s my top ten ideas for Wednesday.

10: Start the day with a special drink from your favorite place.

9: Take a minute to focus on breathing and relaxing.

8: Compliment someone on something. I always have nice hair on Wednesday.

7: Have a laugh with a friend.

6: Go for a walk outside and enjoy the fresh air and outside noise.

5: Make plans for the weekend.

4: Consider happy hour ideas.

3: Rejoice over any successes that come your way.

2: Celebrate when the work day is over.

1: Relax at night doing your favorite activity.