My New Ride

Dig my new wheels, sista'.

I am so excited about my new bike! Could you tell? :) It's a Specialized Dolce Elite '09 model. A real road bike. Yup. I'm serious.

I'm so excited to go for a ride. If I could just shake the last dregs of Strep that are still hanging on from the weekend, (Yuck!) I'd go for a ride. I just can't stand living this close to the trail and not using it. DH rides his bike nearly every day in good weather, and now that our oldest is old enough to be in charge for short periods of time, I want to get out there, too!

Plus, if I want to be a triathlete, I have to have a good bike. :) (Not that I /really/ want to be a serious triathlete or anything. But I did want the bike.) :D

Challenge 1 - Done!

I just finished my first BFL Challenge! I took bikini pics, but I don't think the world's ready for that yet. :D Good thing I also took some fully dressed pics. I thought I'd put them up because I'm so excited about how well I did! Honestly, I still have a long way I want to go, but I am really proud of how well I did.

I hope these pics can help inspire anyone out there who is struggling with finishing a challenge or feeling like you're not getting results. I wasn't feeling like I was seeing any results either! Even just 3 weeks ago, I was telling DH that it was discouraging to see myself the same in the mirror after trying so hard and feeling so much better and stronger. And he insisted that I did actually look different. I'm so glad I took these pictures so I could look back and see just how far I really have come!



So, now it's on to Challenge 2. I'm training for a triathlon on March 21, and I'm planning to also do the Rex Lee 5K at BYU on the 14th. It's for Cancer research, so I'll probably go whether I feel ready or not. :) But I did run 4 miles the other day and didn't die, so I think I can handle it. I just haven't been doing any training outside and I'm afraid of the hills!

Anyone want to come with me to BYU on the 14th? Let me know and we can carpool.

I'm gonna do it! Anyone else in?

I've decided to do the Triathlon. Just to prove to myself that I can do it. I don't know how fast I'll go. I don't know whether I'll come in last, or just third from last. LOL! But I want to finish. That's my goal.

Part of the reason I want to do it is to get some variation in my workouts, and to have some extra push and motivation to work out more and take my training to a new level. I'll be adding some extra cardio beyond the BFL HIIT, and let me tell you, swimming is absolutely a kick-butt workout! I can't believe how much harder it is than running. At least it is now. Maybe once I get into it, it'll get better.

I also have plans to do a 5K in March, and a 10K in June or July. The 5K is mostly just to get back in competition mode, and to see how much faster I can go than I have in the last couple of years. It's also a charity race for cancer research. There are some hills, as it's at BYU campus. I hope I can hold up. The 10K is because I've never run more than 3.1 miles at a stretch, and I want to prove to myself that I can do that, too.

The 10K I really want to do is called The Crack of Dawn 10K. It starts up the mouth of Emigration Canyon and it starts at 6 a.m. And there is no parking at the starting line. You have to have someone drive you up there /really/ early to drop you off. We'd have to leave at least by 5 o'clock. Anyone want to carpool? Anyone have someone who could drop us off? :D

Even though it's so early and that will be a challenge, I bet the scenery is gorgeous as the sun is coming up, and the race is pretty much all downhill from what I gathered from the webpage. If I don't do that one, there are 3 different 10K's on Pioneer Day - one in Salt Lake, one in Provo, and one in Spanish Fork. The benefit to doing one of those is that I'll have an extra month-plus to train. But I'm going to do one of the 4 for sure.

Our neighborhood will surely do a fun, free 5K or two this year, and I'll participate in all of them that I can as well.

Wish me luck with my races this year!

P.S. I'm losing weight and I'm down from a 16/tight 14 to a comfortable 12, and a 10 in one brand. WooHoo!!! I'm going to finish a BFL 12-week challenge in one more week!! :D It's a good feeling.

Indoor Triathlon, Anyone?

I've done a few 5Ks in the last couple years, but this year I decided I need to up it a notch. I'm thinking about going for a 10K.

So I searched around and found this site: Running in the USA - Utah Races It lists all the running races in Utah this year. As I was looking through, I noticed something that looked intriguing. There's an indoor triathlon that's based on time rather than distance. You swim for 10 minutes, transition for 10 minutes, bike for 30 minutes, transition for 5 minutes, and run for 20 minutes. Someone tracks your distance, and scores are based on distance rather than time.

I've been afraid to try a Triathlon because I can just see myself staggering along along for an hour after everyone else has toweled off and gone home. :D But this way, everyone ends at the same time. Hallelujah! LOL.

It's at a Lifetime Fitness location in South Valley and costs $40 for non-members. I'm seriously thinking about going for it. The info. on the race is at this site: Life Time Fitness

The one drawback - it's in 4 1/2 short weeks. Eek!

Since it's only a 20-minute run, I feel like I'm already ready for the running portion of the race. Right now, I'm at 2.1 miles in 20 minutes, and I'm sure I'll be doing even better by Mar. 21. I'd have to do some serious work on the swimming and biking part of the race, though. But it's all indoor. There's no hills, no weather to worry about, no nothin'. It's a little bit of a cheater's Triathlon, it's true. But it'd be a great way for me to get a little confidence in myself in the "running a Triathlon" arena.

Anyone wanna go for it with me????

Either way, I'm definitely going to go for a 5K or two, and I'm pretty sure I'll go for a 10K as well. I just haven't decided which ones to go for.

By the way, I've broken my records for both the 20-minute run and the 5K.
Today, 2.102 miles in 20 minutes. And on Saturday, I did a 5K in 30:08!! Next time, I'm determined to break 30! I'll keep you updated as I continue to break those records.

The Paper Towel Theory

Paper Towel Theory by Bob White

Let’s assume you go out and buy two rolls of paper towels, each with only 84 paper towels on it (one for each day of the challenge). You put one aside, and keep it for future reference (your before/ picture).

The other one represents you (I’ll call your paper towel you “Ed”). The core represents the lean Ed. The towels represent the fat that is covering the lean Ed. For sake of argument, let’s say that Ed wants to lose 21 pounds of fat, so (84/21) each sheet represents a quarter-pound of fat lost. Let’s also assume that Ed loses his fat equally during each day of the challenge.

Each day during the first week, you tear a sheet off of Ed, representing the fat he has lost for the day. Next, you put Ed next to the full roll (”Big Al”) for comparison. No noticeable difference!!! Even at the end of the week! This can’t be working for me!

But, being a good Ed, you continue to follow Body-for-LIFE. At the end of weeks two and three, you continue to compare Ed to Big Al, and still notice very little difference. That stinkin’ Bill Phillips MUST be a liar!

But Ed is determined! He works hard! Three more weeks go by, the sheets peeling off day after day, before Ed gets up the courage to stand next to Big Al again. Holy Myoplex! Ed is skinny! OK, not skinny, but less huge!!!

By the end of the 12-week Body-for-LIFE program, Ed is down to his lean dream, or somewhere near it. Ed is happy. We are happy. Big Al - well he’s not so happy.

The lesson to be learned is that fat, like paper towels, comes off in sheets. When you are heavy, you are big around. And when you are big around,that fat is spread over a MUCH larger area - just like that outside towel sheet. The closer you get to the lean you, the more each lost pound of fat shows, because it is spread over a smaller area.

While the outside sheet may only cover 1 layer of the roll, the inside sheet may go around 4 times. That last sheet looks like it gives you 4 times the results of the first sheet, but in reality, the results are the same - your perception is just different! And you’ll never see the inside, if you aren’t patient while the outside is coming off! - Bob White

(This post is copied directly from the following website):
The Paper Towel Theory

Starting Over Without Starting Over

I'm not going to say that this is my 54th Day 1. So don't worry about that. :) What I am going to say is that you can renew your dedication on Day 57. So, I'm not starting over. I'm just starting anew. :) Semantics? No way. If I'd gained the 15 lbs I've lost back, then I could say I'm starting over. But I'm just moving forward.

I have to admit that in the last few weeks, I've lost some of my steam. I'm cheating here and there most days. And then still eating liberally on my real free days. Yikes. I've even missed some workouts here and there, which I'm usually very faithful about.

Every once in a while, I'll get really dedicated and I'll lose a few pounds, and then I'll start cheating here and there again, and I'll maintain, or gain a pound or two. But so far, it's been a 2-steps-forward, 1-step-back kind of a process.

Part of my justification for being lax is that this is a lifestyle change, and if I feel like if I push too hard during this 12-week challenge, I'll burn out. When I'm at Enrichment Night, I'll think, "Well, this is supposed to be for LIFE, and in real life, I'll be eating dessert at Enrichment Night." And, although that's true on a certain level, I still have a lot to lose, and that's more of a "maintaining" attitude.

If I don't push myself hard enough, I'll never get to my goal. Even if I can't maintain it, I want to get in amazing shape, at least for a little while, just to prove to myself that I can do it, and to see how good I can look, and to see how awesome it feels to be there.

So, today, I'm once again renewing my dedication to my challenge. Right now, I'm on day 57 of an 84-day challenge. So, I officially have just over 3 weeks left to see what I can do in the 12 weeks. After that, I'll just start over with a new Day 1, and move on to a new challenge. Not because I failed this one, but because I want to continue on with my progress.

I'm not going to let myself go into "maintain" mode until I look and feel better than I ever have in my life. Until then, I'm just going to do one challenge after another. Once I get there, I'll let myself say it's okay to maintain, even if I gain a little bit of that weight back. But for now, I need to drive myself to do better.

So, everyone out there, give me some tips on what drives you. What keeps you motivated? What are your keys to success?

It Feels Good!

I hit a goal yesterday that I've been working to achieve for a very long time. I ran 2 miles in 20 minutes. It felt so amazing! When I first got my treadmill almost two years ago, I would have to alternate between walking, jogging, jogging a little faster, and walking a little slower. LOL. After getting pneumonia, I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma in High School and had to give up the track team because I would just get too out of breath. My vision would start going black around the edges and I'd have to stop and walk.

So when I started doing BFL, I couldn't run very fast. I'd feel dead tired and ready to pass out running 1.4 miles in 20 minutes. Yesterday, when I ran 2 miles in the same amount of time, I had none of the problems I used to have with running. I just felt strong and powerful as I ran.

My next goal to achieve is to run a 5K in 30 minutes or less.I think I did about 32 on a run last year, but I haven't been close to that in a while. Now that I'm doing BFL seriously again, I'm getting stronger a lot faster.

I'm not quite as strong on the eating side of things, but I'm trying to get back on track with that. I lost 8 lbs in the month of December, which is pretty amazing considering the fact that I took a 10-day Christmas free day. :D I haven't really lost much since then, though. I need to get serious again.