Sunday, January 30, 2011

Warrior Dash Training

I am doing a race called the Warrior Dash in July.  It's 3.24 miles with 12 obstacles.  I have turned my running this race into a fundraiser for a wonderful place that helped both Mike and I through some dark times.  I am training for it and have a plan in place, but who said you can't have fun with training.  We went to the playground and had some fun with "training" and took some pictures to help drive up the donations.










Body Image

Body image is something I've struggled with.  It seems to be hitting me again full force.  I know logically I'm not  obese or grossly overweight.  Could I stand to loose a few pounds.  Probably, but it's not more than maybe 5 to 10 pounds.  What I see when I look in the mirror is not what's really there. 

I'm in no danger of becoming anorexic or bulemic, but I don't like what I see.  It really depresses me and that leads to a spiral that takes me a day or two to get out of.  Thank goodness I've gone through IC to help deal with issues and I have the tools necessary to cope with that.  It still something I am struggling with.

What I have problems with is when I eat anything that isn't healthy, I feel guilty.  If I don't do some sort of exercise everyday I feel guilty again.  It's something I work through everyday.  Now, I have to balance my love of chocolate, pizza, wings, and beer with my guilt.  I am doing a good job of that and I have to stay on top of it.  It's a battle that I will probably be dealing with the rest of my life, but as long as I'm aware of it and keep on top of it I know I will be okay.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes...today is my birthday.  My birthday lately has been bittersweet.  I don't mind getting older, but there are a few thing that I haven't yet been blessed with, but I'm sitll holding onto hope.

My day started out with the words, "Oh SHIT!!!!!!"  My alarm didn't go off and I had a 5:30 swim practice.  I normally get up at 4:00 am and leave the house around 4:20am so I can get a cup of coffee and a bagel.  This morning I set my alarm for 3:30am in case the road got icy overnight.  I got up at 4:50 and the roads were a bit icy.  I didn't get my coffee and I was about 10 minutes late for practice.  Because I was rushing I didn't get my running bag so I didn't get a chance to run today.

I was not happy, but I adjusted.  I did about a 30 minute core workout on the Wii.  It wasn't what I wanted, but it will do.  I also have my bellydancing class tonight so that will help.  And tomorrow I will make up for it when I run and bike.

Monday morning I start doing yoga once a week.  I'm trying to increase my flexibilty and my core strength.  I have done some yoga on my own, but really could use some instruction.  I'm excited for that.  There is a gym that is opening just up the road from us in a few months.  I'm hoping to join and then start doing weights and taking a few classes there.  I figure that I could run to the gym.  Work out and then run home.

My meal planning is back in semi full swing.  I used to be really anal about planning meals and shopping and then cooking them. I am a huge crockpot fan and with our schedules it works out really well.  Over the holidays I kind of got away from that.  So I'm trying to get back on track with that.  Tonight I'm making my own birthday dinner of tuna casserole.  I'll make a boccocini salad to go with it and some broccoli as well.  All my favorites!  Yummy!!!!!!!

Tomorrow I'm burning more than the 129 calories that I did today and be back on track for the week!

Keep on movin'!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Introducing the Running Manatee

I'm Amanda and I am rediscovering my love of running and all things active.  I was a three sport athelete in high school and ran track in college.  I taught special education for 12 years and am currently in my 13th year of coaching swimming.  It is now my full time job.  Manatees are my favorite animal of all times!

In July I lost my grandfather to cancer and while trying to find a way to deal with it I started running again.  It was just what I needed.  Having the running background I knew that I had to start with interval training to get back up to speed.  I found a wonderful program called Running Mate 5k. (http://runningmatemedia.com/) that helped me get back into 5k shape.  I ran my first 5k in a really long time in October.  It felt amazing!!!!!!  I ran two more 5ks in October and then another one in January.  My goal is to run at least one race per month.  I have a 3k coming up in February and I'm excited for that.

I have to be cautious with what I do as I had to have ankle reconstruction about 11 years ago.  5K is about the max I can do.  Since moving to Canada over a year ago I've had to learn to run on a treadmill.  I'm not a fan of that at all!  So I decided to split my running with the use of recumbent stationary bike.  That has been a life-saver to me.  It breaks my workout up and with all the New Year's resolution people right now taking the treadmills I am still able to get my cardio in.

I have also taken up belly dancing and will be starting yoga in another week or two.  When I can't get to the gym I will just use the Wii Fit to get some quick exercise into my day.

While I do have a weight loss goal, it is not my primary reason for exercising.  I found that I feel better and am better able to handle stress.  My husband, Mike, is super supportive and my biggest fan.  He is always at the finish line to take my picture and to give me a big hug.  My step-son James has made the comment that he wants to run a race with me sometime soon. I'm looking for one that falls on the weeks we have him.  He loves that we can make shirts and wear them for the races.

I just want to share my journey with others and hopefully get a few other people out there to join me in getting healthy and setting postive examples for the kids in our lives.