Quick re-cap of the week

Wow! It's been an incredible week- lots of ups and downs.

Most importantly, Brandy's surgery went well, very uneventful according to the doc. She was feeling pretty good until the long-term novacaine wore off and then she was pretty miserable. It was awesome to be able to take care of her for a few days, although I really wish I could have stayed longer. We watched movies and talked about all kinds of stuff (well.... I had to do the talking - LOL).

I was able to get a couple of great workouts in - biked 11+ miles each day on the stationary bike going as fast as possible and then running 3 miles after. I proved I can do it on a treadmill, I just need to figure out how to transfer that ability outside. I'm thinking it's psychological... not sure what the issue is.

On the way home, I stopped at Santa Ana and checked out our hotel that we'll be using for that location - it was INCREDIBLE! Loves the sales director, Kristi, and I'm so excited to have our class there. The remainder of the drive was pretty uneventful and I was able to just enjoy the time and the music and think about life. I once again just realized how incredibly blessed I am to have this amazing life. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Back at home, I started yesterday with the best ride yet - 13 miles. It was great and I'm thankful that I can see improvement in my strength and endurance because unfortunately that's the only thing that's changing. After three weeks of training hard and eating right - no slipping up at all, I have lost no inches (oh, 1/4 of an inch on my forearm...good to know), lost 1/2 pound, and still can't fit into my clothes. Am I frustrated? You bet! Everyone says "don't look at the scale" or "sometimes it takes time". Well, I get that.... but 3 weeks? With NO change?

So I need to really figure something out and make some changes because bottom line, I need to get this weight off. I can't afford to go buy a new summer wardrobe and I can't fit into any of my summer clothes. :-( Here's the thing - I have at least 11 pounds to lose. Six of those pounds are what I consider "easy" pounds - usually I eat right or exercise they come off easily. The remaining five pounds are my "hard" pounds - it's really tough to get me under 120. There's no reason in the world I shouldn't be down at least the 6 pounds. I'm not going to change my exercising level, as I have to prepare for the tri, so I have to adjust the nutrition. We'll see what happens.

Now D and I are working under what I consider almost an impossible deadline. We have an emergency rush job for 20 of our books by Monday - so we're working feverishly to get them done. All-nighter tonight, probably. Then it's out to Cali next Thursday to deliver 7 Habits... busy, busy, busy - just the way I like it!

Cali

The trip to Cali was a bit longer than anticipated - closer to nine hours due to an accident on the I-10. For three and a half hours I only managed to go 30 miles... it was tough. Thankfully, I had just stopped for gas, used the restroom, and made my lunch shake, so I was in pretty good condition to sit and wait that long.

Brandy met me at the hotel and the treated me to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack - YUM!!!! After dinner, she took me on a tour of the base and I got to see her room in the barracks - very cozy. (quite interesting - she's on the third floor and I realized as I went up the 3 flights of stairs, that it seemed like nothing at all. A few weeks ago in Santa Ana, I was winded after 2 flights!). After the base we went to her Denny's for dessert (oops) and coffee and just got to visit for awhile. Finally back to the hotel around 10:45. It was such a great evening!

So yesterday's bike ride was a great accomplishment- I finally did more than 11 miles and it was awesome. I finished really strong and had great time. I still have lots of room for improvement, but that makes me just want to try that much harder. Today... not as good. My plan had been to get up at 4 and work out for an hour and a half, but ended up sleeping in a bit too late to do that. So I'll see how Brandy's doing when I get her home from the hospital, and if she's sleeping, I may sneak down to the gym for a workout. I really want to focus on my running this week.

I brought my blender with me and all of my reliv shakes - I made little baggies and marked them all - pretty funny. I think I went a little overboard with the fruit this morning, though. Sue suggested adding frozen fruit to my shake (AWESOME idea!) but I ended up with 3/4 of a picture. Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely delicious - but may be a bit more than I needed! But I'm going to drink it all because I'll be at the hospital for awhile and I'm a little light on calories for the rest of the day. I need to make sure I stay above 1200 so I don't store.

I'll post more later after her surgery - please keep her in your prayers!

YAY! It stopped raining!

Quick post, because I'm running a bit behind...

Very productive day yesterday - finished up the 7 Habits material and sent a test file off to be printed - hopefully can get that today. Picked up working on the PM curriculum and I'm loving the example stories - our company is "Monkey-in-a-Can". Don't ask me what that means! We stopped over to the rental and picked up all the laundry and did it here last night while we were working - much easier with our washer and dryer - so five loads done!

I was slightly tempted to sleep in this morning, but realized I had only a small window to get my ride in. It was a pretty good ride, although for awhile I thought I was lost in Trilogy... I just kept turning onto road after road after road... but I finally made my way out of the maze. Not great time on my ride, but I did just shy of 10 miles.

Now off to church, clean the rental property and then back at work on the materials. At some point definitely need to squeeze in 30-day Shred and Yoga.

Peace!

Need to back track just a bit...

I forgot to write about our wonderful evening the other night. We had a special dinner for Devin's 30th birthday (about time he joins my decade, huh??) on Wednesday night. Sue and Tom, his parents, came over along with Telle and Kristin. I made a pretty simple dinner of lasagna, homemade garlic bread and my favorite yummy salad (red and green lettuce, spinach, dried cranberries, walnuts, feta cheese). I planned my attack out earlier in the day so I wouldn't get sabotaged by the food - decided to have mostly salad and a tiny piece of lasagna, no bread and no dessert. And I even bought some club soda to cut in with the wine to save myself some calories.

It ended up just being a glorious night - I couldn't ask for anything better! We sat out on the patio enjoying the silence of the desert and beauty of the city lights, drinking wine, fellowshipping and just realizing how blessed we all were. At one point in the evening the girls ended up on the lower patio talking girl talk and the boys on the upper patio doing whatever it is that boys do.

I, once again, was reminded how incredible my mother-in-law is. She is such a strong, honest, smart, vibrant, sweet woman. I seriously could not think of one thing to make her any better - and I realize just how blessed I am to have her in my life! (and I'm not even kissing up to her because she doesn't read my blog... that I know of!). It's easy to see why her boys are so wonderful!

Kristin and I had a blast with Sue talking about the guys, our lives, exercising, the perkiness, or lack thereof, of certain body parts! :-) At one point I looked at Kristin, as she was leaning against the outside of the house and realized there was a scorpion right near her head. But she didn't panic - just took my shoe and killed it!

It was a wonderful night and one I hope to repeat many times over!

(Oh - and day 2 of my Shred - did it this morning! Weight is dropping very, very slightly. Another day with no biking - such a bummer. And I have another few days to rest my feet before I start running again.)

10 Weeks and Counting....

I got an email the other day from the sponsors of the Tri - 10 weeks and counting was the subject line. Definitely made my heart jump a bit. Will I be ready??

My training got a little derailed over the past few days... decided on Wednesday that I needed to take at least four days off from running/walking, even with the new shoes, as I suspect some tiny stress fractures in the balls of my feet from running on the old shoes. Instead, I decided that I would focus on my biking and swimming.

But.... that didn't turn out so well because now we are getting rain. Which normally I LOVE, but for biking, not the best. Yesterday was a complete blow-off day, anyway. We had Brooke's graduation and so we were busy all day and part of the busy-ness, unfortunately, was lots of really good "bad" food. The cake was calling my name... I couldn't resist! Although when I decided to have another piece last night as my nightly snack, Devin persuaded me to eat some raw veggies instead. Yum. Not.

Back on the wagon this morning and I decided to commit to actually doing the full 30 Day Shred. It's only 20 minutes and it's only 30 days. I can handle that. No excuses, no skipped days. My goal is to actually do the 20 minute shred and then follow it up with 45 minutes of yoga. Yoga quiets my mind and really helps my back. So that's my new commitment.

Today has been a good productive day of work. I'm still trying to finish up the 7 Habits one-day course material for my June client. Honestly, I'll be really glad to have it done so I can be focusing on the PM classes and designing some new programs.

LinkedIn has turned into a great marketing source for the business. We're getting a lot of hits!

Ok, back to the 7 Habits.... I'm on Habit 3... only four more to go....

Manic Monday

Awesome day, just very, very busy!

I started off the day with a 4+ mile run/walk - doing the 5 minute intervals - the last couple of miles were very uncomfortable because of my darn toes. I really need to get over to the Runner's Den and get a pair of running shoes. (mental note: do that tomorrow while I'm downtown).

I learned a good lesson this morning - normally I get up at 5:30 am and am out the door for run or bike by 5:45. This morning I slept in a bit and didn't leave until almost seven. Given that the highs hit 111 today, by 7:30, it was already cooking out. Thus the value of leaving at 5:30! Don't think I'll make that mistake again!

Came home and did some work on the upcoming class schedule and I have to say I'm thrilled with the way our site is coming out: www.passionatepm.com. Devin has really done a great job (as always!).

We had a meeting over at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas to tour the facility and discuss holding our Phoenix camps there. It was AMAZING! They were very much aligned with our thinking that clients come first. I expressed that I wanted my students cared for and treated well so they would only need to focus on the class. I'm very confident, after meeting the staff, that they will make sure that it happens. Our first class there will be on 8/31. I can't wait!

They also treated us to lunch at their restaurant - excellent! I even chose well, having an ahi salad.

Back at home to do more work - I was hoping that I'd squeeze in a 30-day Shred, but just ran out of time and energy. D did get my bike computer on, though, so I'm totally stoked to go for a LONG ride tomorrow morning. Still didn't get to the pool for my laps, so hopefully squeeze that in tomorrow, especially since the rest of the week is going to be crazy.

Crossed over to the dark side

I've officially crossed over to the dark side... I'm a cyclist.

Let me start off by saying in the past I've been relatively anti-biker - not necessarily against the people that bike, but the actual act of riding their bike in the road thus creating a traffic hazard gets under my skin.

But now I'm getting it! A couple of things I've realized that I never thought of before....

1. If you are in your car coming up on a biker in the bike lane, if possible, go into the other lane if it's a two or more lane road. Pretty simple thing to do, yet I never did it. First off, what does it hurt? Secondly, why make a situation any more risky than it needs to me. Now I have a feeling that some drivers out there (believe it or not) might want to flex their "muscles" and prove something to the cyclists and show it's THEIR road and not move over a lane. Two words: grow up. At least these people are out there working out versus sitting around and succumbing to our epidemic of laziness and obesity.

2. If you are taking a walk or a jog, please do it on the sidewalk, not in the bike lane. I came upon two people strolling the other day and had to go out around them, in traffic, to get by.

3. If you are cycling, follow the flow of traffic when using the bike lane. This morning, I'm on my way home and caught a little downhill so I was moving pretty fast. And I see this guy cross over on his bike into my bike lane and he kept his head down. Didn't look up once to see me approaching. It was rather like playing a game of chicken except he was blindfolded! I ended up having to go out into the road to avoid being hit by him. It wasn't until I was within a few feet of him that he realized I was there.

4. So I guess that's thought number 4: keep your head up! :-)

Anyway, all seems to be going good on the training. Got my first donation this morning (thank you Heather!!). But the weight thing is another issue. I officially gained two pounds this week and I'm really upset. And I know, muscle weighs more than fat, but I don't think that's what's going on... I think I'm storing. So I'm going to add more fruits, veggies, and lean proteins into the diet to see what happens.

Off to shower and church!

Feel the effects...

New bike route this morning. I went down Vistancia Blvd out to Jomax. Turned around there headed back through Vistancia, turned on Ridgeline, and then went down Sunrise Pt. Ended up being 9.1 miles! The way out to Jomax seemed to go really well - I was trying to stay focused on speed, however, the wind left my sails on the last 5 miles and a few of the hills were tough, but I pedaled on! My legs are definitely more sore than they've been in awhile - and it's an awesome soreness! Still plugging along on the eating plan, although wondering if perhaps I need to adjust my calories. My suspicion is that my body's storing the calories. It's probably in shock from so much activity!

Website is just about done: www.passionatepm.com. Hopefully we can begin enrolling people soon!

Need some new shoes!

Today I decided to focus on running, which is by far my weakest area. I rolled out of bed bright and early at 5:30 am, trying to beat the AZ heat. Stepped on the scale, as I always do, and couldn't help but be very disappointed that I had actually gained weight. I've never worked out this hard AND stuck to an eating plan - so one of two things, either I'm exceeding my calories (which is doubtful) or I'm not eating enough and my body's storing. Now I have to do the dance to find out the magical number of calories. I'm tracking everything on beginnertriathlete.com, so that should help.

But I wasn't going to let the extra pound get me down - LOL - I put on my sneakers and laid out a challenge to myself. I was going to do the entire Discovery Trail here in Vistancia. It's 7 miles round-trip from my house and the best part is that it's almost like being completely surrounded by the desert - they really did a nice job with it. I decided to go with the recommendations from the "Couch 2 5K" and alternated - 5 minutes brisk walking, 5 minutes running. It worked for the first 50 minutes. I felt pretty darn good. But then my feet and my toes got the better of me...again. I definitely think a trip to the Runner's Den is in order for some new running shoes. I didn't let it stop me from finishing the entire trail, although on the way home there was a lot more walking than running.

Just have to say, there's nothing cuter in the world than a rabbit. And thankfully, I saw a ton today, including one little baby bunny that was so tiny - I just wanted to scoop him up and bring him home. At least I was smiling the whole time I was walking! Oh - and learned a great "brisk walking" song - Boot Scootin Boogey! It's perfect.

We got the offices rearranged and merged today so now D and I will both be working out of the downstairs office. I'm hoping this will help our concentration, allow us to be focused on the TON of work we need to get done, and it will definitely make the dogs happy. As I type, Miss Sierra is curled up under my desk at my feet. There's something so awesome about a dog sleeping at your feet! :-)

Letting my lunch digest then off to the pool for my laps!

Not cool...

So given that this is a blog and one of my goals is to be painfully honest.... here is some painful honesty.

I am 39, 5'2" and as of this morning, I weigh 126 pounds. Our scale also tracks body fat percentage and I was absolutely disgusted to learn that my BF% is 33%. 1/3 of my bod is fat!!!!! How does that happen???? Now, interestingly enough, 33% is the lower level of "obese". I guess if that's not a wake-up call, I don't know what is. Lights a little fire under my butt!

I'd like to say my goal weight is 118, but really, it's all about how I look, how I feel, and how my clothes fit me. Hopefully I drop a lot of fat and gain a lot of muscle, so the pounds might not be that important.

Feeling Good!

So after taking a rest day yesterday (and being a little disappointed in myself that I did), I decided to hit it hard today... despite the fact that I stayed up until at least midnight watching the finale of the Biggest Loser (OMG - HELEN????!!!!) I am a little bit in mourning over the fact that my girl, Tara, didn't win. She is truly my hero.

This morning I started with a 7.1 mile bike ride. I did pretty well, although by the end I thought I might do Jillian proud by puking. But I managed to make it home, stomach contents in place. Once home, I drank one of my Innergize drinks from Reliv - a replacement for Gatorade - and I have to say, it really made a big difference. Loved it! And it was enough to get my energy back up, so I decided to go for a speed walk/run. Sierra has been an extremely aggressive and energetic lately - yes, even going so far as to hump her brothers. Yuck. What's up with that?? So Miss Sierra got to go with me.

At first I planned on just walking the route, but instead decided to run on all of the dirt paths and then also set incremental goals along the way - for example, run to the next set of mailboxes, etc. I found myself exceeding my goals and it was amazing! And the beauty of Vistancia in early morning, the abundance of wildlife, hot air balloons taking off, made it amazing. We saw bunnies (which Sierra wanted to track and capture), quail, a roadrunner, and a big, fat rattlesnake sunning himself off the trail. He was much less impressed with us than we were with him.

On the way back to the house, we went through one of the adjoining upscale neighborhoods and it was kinda creepy - a product of the rapid housing market demise here in AZ. Only about 15% of the houses had been built prior to the crash, and just about all of those sit empty with for sale signs. The vacant lots are overgrown with weeds and it eerily resembles a ghost town. To make the image more poignant, a lone, skinny coyote trotted down the road and like the rattle snake, was rather nonplussed to see us. He glanced over his shoulder at us, looking at us as though we were the trespassers - and I guess we were.

Once home, did a little work, had my morning shake, and then did a great upper body weight training. I feel good!! And to really top off the day, shortly after lunch, I'm going to swim my laps again.

I'm very pleased to say that I've "crossed over". You know, the first few days or week that you're working out you can't imagine what could have possibly possessed you to torture your body... but then all of a sudden you cross over. You like the pain, the fatigue, the sweat. You get your high! And that's where I'm at... I can't wait until August!!

Reliv day four

Based on glowing recommendations from Lloyda (and her amazing results) I decided to start using Reliv. Reliv is a series of powdered nutrients, all-natural, that are designed to get you into premium health. My combination shake in the morning includes the base nutrient powder, fiber, a muscle-building/performance powder, and soysentials (for the female symptoms - hopefully will eliminate my hot flashes). At lunch I use the Reliv weight loss shake and some supplements.

The routine is supposed to be a nutrient shake for breakfast, two supplements at 11, weight loss shake at 12, two supplements an hour before dinner and then a sensible dinner. Well, let's see...

I started on Saturday. Got up and had my nutrient shake. CHECK. Took two pills around 10:30. CHECK. Weight loss shake at 11:30. CHECK. And then we did my graduation and everyone wanted to go out to eat after, so ended up eating a turkey burger (with no fries) at 3:00. OOPS. And then had a few munchies at home - steamed carrots, cashews, nothing too sinful.

Day two. Nutrient shake in morning. CHECK. Two pills at 11:00. CHECK. Mother's day dinner at Texas Lone Star. OOPS. (did it sensibly, though. Had a salad.). Then I jumped off a cliff - pizza and beer for dinner. (did it count that I took my two pills an hour before?)

Day three. Perfect all day!!! Shake in morning, two pills, lunch shake, two pills, salad and chicken wrap for dinner!

So far, day four is good - I've had my morning shake. But I didn't get up and cycle because I'm totally cramped up. Assuming it's the Reliv starting to detox my system.

Still having hot flashes although I think maybe they've decreased a little. Nighttime is still unbearable. Happens around 2am - I wake up soaked in sweat, dying of thirst, and turn the air conditioning down to 70. :-(

Oh well, I'm sticking to it. I have lost a couple of pounds, but not sure if it's the Reliv or the working out... or probably both!

82 Days and Counting

82 days until the big event and I've finally started training. I got my bike (thanks to the sweetest mother's day/graduation gift from Brandy) on Saturday and today I was able to get up early, go for a good 5-6 mile ride, do a small run, and then after lunch did my 16 laps up at the lap pool. The tri consists of a 1/2 mile open water swim (equivalent to 16 laps) followed by an 11-mile bike ride, and finished off with a 5k (3 mile) run. It feels so good to be working out consistently again and I'm hoping that my metabolism and body reacts favorably and I can say buh-bye to all of these pesky extra pounds.

It's been a busy week - I had my graduation on Saturday and it was actually pretty cool! Devin and I were selected to be interviewed by a news/camera crew - pretty funny! Brandy came in for the weekend, so it was nice to have her there along with the other two girls and my mom and sister. After the graduation, we went out to a quick lunch and then over to REI for my bike. So exciting!!

Mother's day was somewhat uneventful and I tried not to take it too personally. Brandy and J went to church with us and as always, Pastor Ray was awesome. After church, we met up with Brandy and Brooke for an early lunch. Devin and I had a great talk about expectations on special occasions. I explained that for my entire life, I always made sure to go out of my way on Mother's day and my mom's birthday. Now, we might not be very close, but I do love her and I do respect her. From an early age, I recognized that mother's day was an opportunity to show her my love, gratitude, and respect. I realized that although we didn't get along, she did so much and I know she sacrificed for me. The least I could do was give her one day to show how much I appreciated her. It wasn't done out of a sense of obligation or to prove anything. It was just how it was supposed to be.

On the business side, things are starting to heat up. We've got our classes planned for the rest of the year, the website is almost done, and now we just need to market the heck out of our classes and get people in the seats. This is so exciting!

91 Days and Counting...

Although I've had good intentions, I haven't quite been able to follow through with a solid work-out regimen or healthy diet. So I decided that it was time to put my money where my mouth is and force myself a bit. I have signed up for a sprint triathlon in 91 days! Now I have no choice but to get into shape. Tomorrow I officially start training, although it will be a bit before I get a bike (silly little issue of money!).

I'm excited about all of the "firsts" I will be pursuing this year: graduating next Saturday with my MBA, triathlon in August, Paris in October. And we just completed our first backpacking trip - about 20 miles on the Arizona Trail.