Kuhl Runnings

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-05T20:16:00.001-08:00

MEGAN:

Let me guess...we all have "lose weight" and "get in shape" on there?? I didn't lose my 5 pounds for Christmas...I did lose 2, which I was happy about, but I found them again with all the eating. My new goals aren't very complex, but none-the-less:

Fitness:

-5 pounds lost by January 28th, our cruise!! (going on a cruise with my parents)

-Train for 10k on March 17th: goal time- better than 1:12 (my time 2 years ago)

Diet:

-Drink more water

-Stay off soda (only had 1 [on Christmas] since October 16!)

-Wiser food choices all the time, not just while "dieting" (no processed foods, home-cooking over eating out, smaller portions, etc.)

Christmas goals

2011-12-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

MEGAN-So...after my last post where I was feeling motivated, between then and now I've probably run three times and done the 30 day shred 3 or 4 times. And needless to say, Ben won the competition...which, by the way, he apparently didn't want me to tell people because he wants people to just notice if he loses weight instead of being forewarned. So I'll say no more on that topic! :)

Christmas is three weeks away (crazy!!), so I figured I could go ahead and set some goals that I could stick to for three weeks.

1. Lose 5 pounds by Christmas

Ok, so that's really just one goal. I'm hoping to do some mixture of running, 30 day shred, and dieting to get me there, but I foresee the next few weeks being pretty busy, so not sure the exact combination of those things I will do to get me to that 5 pound weight loss goal. We shall see!

LINDS- So my goals aren't going to be for Christmas, but for January 9th...one month from today. Why you might ask? We leave for Miami on Jan. 9 for the lead pastors and spouses retreat. We went to it last year and it was a blast...I'm hoping for the same this year, but might be a little different because we are taking London with us since I'm nursing. Needless to say, I will be getting into a bathing suit, and needless to say (if you've seen recent pictures), I still have a lot of baby weight hanging around. I put my suit on for our "stay-cation" Sunday and was really grossed out. I weigh 171 right now (ugh!) and weighed 152 when I got pregnant, and 143 when I ran the marathon last October. I would love to get to 160 by Jan. 9, but I don't know if that's very realistic with all the Christmas parties we have, plus traveling back the week after Christmas is another challenge. Maybe 165 is a more realistic goal? I'm back at the gym, but have only been 3 days per week the last 2 weeks and I've been doing the elliptical for 35 mins and some upper body weights. I know I need to get back on the treadmill...that helps me lose the weight the fastest, but I'm just dreading it. It takes me so long to get back into running shape. We've been eating out a lot less since London was born...it's so hard going out with 3 kids, so I think that will help my diet. However, I still need to pay more attention to my portion sizes at home. Also, I'm going to start posting on here more so that will hopefully keep me accountable to working out. My long term goal is to be 145 by June.

Hellooooooooooo!

2011-10-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

Is anyone out there?

I'm sure the you all have been working out, but perhaps given up on the blog (or, you know, having babies and stuff). My reason for absence, however, is that I have not been working out with any sort of consistency at all to even keep a log! But as of today, I'm getting back into it. In fact, Ben and I are having a "biggest loser" competition between the two of us and the stakes are high. We weighed in today and will weigh in every Saturday. Whoever has the highest percentage of weight loss by Thanksgiving gets $100 to spend as they want!! Then we will (hopefully) do another competition from then til Christmas. So, down to business!!

Saturday - Megan: ran 1 mile, 12:45. Going to have to ease my way back into running...so out of shape!

Sunday - Megan: ladder on treadmill, 20 minutes, speeds between 3.5-6.5, 1.6 miles

Thursday - Megan: ran 1 mile on treadmill, 11:45.

OK, so the week didn't go quite as well as I would have wanted...but, at least I did a little bit. Gotta start somewhere. Ben and I weighed in on Saturday...he lost 6 pounds, I lost 0. But, I didn't really diet or expect to lose any...guess I should take it more seriously next week!

Week of July 25th

2011-07-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

6 Weeks until the beach!!

Monday:
Ellie - stairs 4 sets, 40 pushups & double crunches (whatever they're called)
Megan - 6 Week 6 Pack (video by none other than Jillian Michaels)...figured since we are 6 weeks out, best time to start :)

Tuesday:
Ellie - stairs 5 sets, side planks and under the fence pushups.

Megan - ran 1 mile on treadmill (that's right baby, 1 whole mile) and 20 (girl) pushups

Wednesday:

Megan - Homearama. Oh my goodness, 21 houses, all of them with basements and upstairs and some were 3 stories...one of the workers there told me there are 70 staircases throughout the 21 houses. So that's 70 flights up and 70 flights back down. I am so beat! Was going to do 6 week 6 pack again tonight, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow!!

Week of July 18th

2011-07-19T09:23:00.003-07:00

Monday
Ellie - Walk 30 min.

Megan - none

Tuesday:
Ellie - walk 45
push ups 20
crunches 30
(megan, i have not lost ANY weight!! so frustrated - have you?)
Megan - none...nope, haven't lost anything, but am starting to feel the pressure of that beach looming around the corner! I bet you have lost inches though- remember, inches first, then weight.

Wednesday:
Ellie - Stairs 6 sets, pushups 3 sets of 10, planks 3 sets

Megan - none

Week of July 10th

2011-07-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

8 Weeks til the Beach!!

Monday:
Ellie - 5 stairs, 40 pushups, 80 crunches

Megan - swimming laps

Tuesday:
Ellie - 4 stairs, 2 "under the fence"s, 2 side planks
Megan - none; was going to run, but got a massage (a-mazing), then who can really run after that? Ellie, what are "under the fences"?

Wednesday:
Ellie - Stairs 5 sets (my friend came with us and i had to really step up my game!)
Megan - here's the underthefence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRomnKJ9Vb0
4 sets of pushups, side planks and regular planks
Megan - nothing

Thursday:
Ellie - Nothing
Megan - Nothing

Friday:
Ellie - Nothing
Megan - Nothing

Saturday:
Ellie - Walk 45 min.
Megan - swam laps; ladder on treadmill, speed from 4.5 to 6.0...I am soooo out of shape!

Sunday:
Ellie - Nothing

Megan - swam laps

Week of June 27th

2011-06-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

10 Weeks til Fort Walton!!!

mon.
Ellie - Fat day :( haha
4 sets of stairs
3 sets of planks (30 sec) & push-ups (8 reps)

Tues:
Ellie - Stairs 5 sets

Wed:
Ellie - Stairs 3 sets, 2 sets of planks & pushups (you know you're in LA when someone brings their pet parrot to get some fresh air while they work out.)

Thurs:

Megan - none. good job Ellie! Linds: Ellie and I decided when she was here that we were both losing 10 pounds by the beach. I desperately need to. None of my clothes fit. I feel disgusting. I grabbed my gut to show Ben how much was there, and for maybe the first time ever, he had a look of surprise. This is not good. But, Nationals is next week and I'll be eating fast food at least once every day, so I'm not really motivated until that's over. Friday morning the 8th, when we are back, it is ON...I mean, full blown- running, dieting, and weights in some fashion. This is it.

Week of June 13th

2011-06-13T10:16:00.001-07:00

Monday:
Ellie - 4 sets of stairs, 30 pushups, 3 30sec. planks
Linds- 35 mins on elliptical, 10 mins of lower body weights (just inner and outer thighs and glutes)

Tuesday:
Ellie - None

Wednesday:
Ellie - 5 sets of stairs, 30 pushups, 3 30 sec. planks, tricep dips, running (maybe .85 miles - not far)

Thursday:
Ellie - 4.06 miles (my time was 70 min. = 17 min/mi, but i stopped to look at the ocean for awhile , just a LITTLE bit of walking - i was pretty proud).

Nice job, Ellie! I'm just a lazy pile of goo. - Megan

Week of June 6th

2011-06-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - Santa Monica stairs - 4 reps, 8 push ups and 20 sec plank at the top of each rep. That is not me in the pic - just wanted to give you an idea of what it is.
Linds-none (drs appt.)

Tuesday
Linds-35 mins elliptical, 20 mins upper body weights

Wednesday
Linds-30 mins treadmill 3.0 incline, 3.3 speed, 15 mins lower body weights

Thursday
Linds-none (at the beach all day with the fam and Mosaic staff!)

Friday
Linds-35 mins elliptical, 20 mins upper body weights
Ellie - 4 sets of stairs

Week of May 30th

2011-05-31T13:51:00.001-07:00

Monday:
Ellie - 2 hours of playing on an inflatable waterslide! so sore this morning

Tuesday:
Ellie - 1.5 mile jog (signed up for weight lifting and diving this fall at the local community college. There wasn't an intermediate swimming class offered and it already filled up for the summer - wish they offered surfing!)

Week of May 23rd

2011-05-29T18:22:00.001-07:00

Well, I did 30 day shred one day this week, but otherwise nothing, for another week! I have been trying to eat better though. I didn't eat out all week, drank lots of water, and stopped eating when I was full instead of just finishing my meal since it was in front of me. I was feeling better, think I dropped almost 2 pounds in a couple weeks and was happy. But then today, after being at my parents' pool all day, I come home and I weighed so much! Ugh! I didn't even go crazy today eating or anything. What's that about?? I'm going to not worry about it tomorrow (going back to my parents' pool) and just enjoy the day. But Tuesday onward, I'm committed. No more fat winter Megan. It's time to lose this 10 pounds I'm holding onto!!!

Week of May 16

2011-05-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 16
Linds-elliptical 35 mins, 10 mins cool-down on treadmill

Tuesday, May 17
Linds-45 mins on treadmill at 3.0 incline, 3.3 speed

Wednesday, May 18
Linds-30 mins elliptical, 15 mins treadmill cool-down

Thursday, May 19
Linds-65 mins on treadmill at 3.0 and 3.3 (Mrs. Doubtfire was playing in the theater room, so time went by fast)

Friday, May 20
Linds-40 mins on elliptical, 25 mins on treadmill

Saturday, May 21
Linds- 2nd 5K of the 5-5K Pregnancy challenge! I'm not shooting for a time...just want to make it without dying...it's supposed to be 80 degrees. I do want to run a little bit though, but I won't be able to run much.

Sunday, May 22
Linds-REST!

Megan - big fat nothing all week. I have been so bad, ugh. Lindsay, good job!!!!!!! Your week looked awesome! How did the 5k go??

13.1

2011-05-15T13:50:00.001-07:00

Toward the end of the mini-marathon last year, I was complaining to Jenn that she BETTER not EVER let me do another one of these things EVER again no matter HOW much I say I want to. Of course, when work offered to sponsor employees to run it again, I signed up again. So Jenn agreed to sign up again too. "This year I'll actually train really hard for it," I thought.

Well, of course, I'm still in school, and life is actually busier with the additional responsibilities I've taken on leading Bible Bowl with Ben. I still didn't train well enough to be prepared to run the whole thing without walking, but maybe next year. Last year I hardly ran during the week but would try to get in a long run on the weekends. This year I did more short runs and was a little more consistent with frequency throughout the week, but never did more than 7 miles in a long run training. Not quite enough!! Oh well.

My time last year was about 2:59. My goal this year was 2:45, which I thought was pretty realistic. The whole week leading up to the mini had been rainy and terrible, but the day of was beautiful and sunny, but not hot- absolutely perfect weather! I felt pretty good, too. Had some scrambled eggs with toast and jelly for breakfast and was feeling energized.

Jenn and I ran the first 7 miles straight through. I finally had to stop for a walk, so Jenn decided she would run on ahead since she was still feeling good. I was pretty happy with our time through 7 miles though. From there on a ran and walked, back and forth. As I neared the ending, I pulled out my phone to see how much time was left...less than a minute until 2:45! I had to sprint once I could see the finish line to make it across under 2:45, but I managed- 2:44:55!

Jenn met me at the finish- she had already been there 20 minutes! Ben met me there as well- he fought the crowds to come watch. This was before we had met up on the other side of the fence :)

I ate half a blueberry bagel afterward, and kept saying it tasted funny...only for Ben to point out that it was moldy, so needless to say I didn't eat the other half! Gross. We got a to-go order from Waffle House on the way home, like we did last year, so that made up for it :)

I felt much better this year than I did at the end of last year, so I guess that's a good sign that I was somewhat better prepared. I did have some chafing between my legs...should have used vaseline but forgot!

According to my runkeeper app, here were my times for each mile (funny how they keep getting slower and slower!!!!). Not great at the end, but I was still proud of the outcome.

1) 10:00

2) 10:40

3) 10:52

4) 11:02

5) 11:17

6) 12:18

7) 12:19

8) 13:42

9) 14:08

10) 13:53

11) 13:42

12) 14:02

13) 13:45

14) 11:07

Maybe next time I will shave another 15 minutes off and try for 2:30. That should definitely be possible if I could get a handle on my training!!

Week of May 9th

2011-05-14T11:35:00.001-07:00

Mon

Tues

Wed

Megan - lunges, squats, girl push-ups, and tricep dips...felt like I desperately needed to do something since I've been doing nothing for 2 weeks.

Thurs

Fri

Sat

Megan - 2 mile run...first run since the mini 2 weeks ago!!! I'm such a slacker.

Sun

{So I forgot to post this week, but I did work out 4 days...shooting for 5 next week! Linds}

Week of May 2nd

2011-05-02T09:02:00.001-07:00

Sunday

Monday
Ellie - Run/Walk 3 miles
Linds-45 mins on treadmill walking at a 3.0 incline, 3.3 pace, 20 mins lower body weights

Tuesday
Ellie - Dvd 45 min
Linds- 25 mins upper body weights, 35 mins elliptical, 20 min cool down on treadmill

Wednesday
Ellie - Jog 2.5 miles
Linds-none

Thursday
Linds-45 mins treadmill at 3.0 incline, 3.3 speed, 20 mins lower body weights

Friday
Linds-25 mins upper body weights, 35 mins elliptical, 25 mins cool down walk on treadmill

Saturday
Linds-spring cleaning out the garage...lots of rearranging bins and going up and down stairs

Sunday

Week of April 25th-May 1st.

2011-04-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - 3.16 mile walk/hike. (lots of hills)
Linds-played 18 holes of golf with Carl...we did have a golf cart, but I still felt like I walked a lot during that 4.5 hour time period and my upper body def. got a work out.

Tuesday
Linds-35 mins on elliptical, 15 mins of lower body weights

Wednesday
Linds-45 mins on treadmill. 3.3 speed, 2.5 incline

Megan- 3 miles running/walking

Thursday
Linds-25 mins upper body weights, 35 mins on elliptical, 20 min cool-down on treadmill

Friday
Linds-60 mins on treadmill-3.3 speed, 2.5 incline

Saturday
Megan's RACE!!
Linds-none. WAY TO GO MEGAN!!!!
Megan- 2:44:55...thanks! Felt good to come in just under my goal :) I'll make a post about it later.

Sunday

Week of April 18th

2011-04-18T10:21:00.001-07:00

Monday
Ellie - 2 mile run, need to up the mileage! (The community college summer schedule came out and there is a swimming class I'm going to sign up for 5:45-7:50am 4 days a week from June 20th to Aug 20th. Sounds like the perfect summer shape up!)

Tuesday
Ellie - Aerobics dvd with weights 45 min.

Wednesday

Thursday
Ellie & megan - 10 mile run to get ready for the derby half marathon. 8 min/miles, followed by 6 rounds of making the cut. take that lindsay!!

Friday
Ellie & Megan - ok, today we actually did do something 2.45 miles 30:06 min.

Saturday

Sunday - Happy Easter

5, 5Ks during pregnancy?

2011-04-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

So, the other day I decided I wanted to run(or run/walk?) 5, 5Ks during this pregnancy. I actually ran my first one Feb. 12, 5 days after I had found out I was pregnant. I was pretty hesitant to run it because especially in the first trimester you aren't supposed to elevate your heart rate very high, but I had already signed up, so I went ahead with it. The only problem was that I was running with my friend Andrea and she wanted to break 30 mins. I told her before hand that I didn't think I could, but I didn't really want to tell her why. I kind of just blamed it on the cold weather (it was sooooo cold). She was really understanding, but I felt bad holding her back. We ended up running it in 32 mins, which was pushing it for me because I had been SOOOO tired.

I have other 5Ks on the calendar...there is a run series that the army base, Ft. Meade, puts on here and the races are only $5 a piece (and you get a t-shirt). There is one on May 21, June 18 and Sept. 24 (that one might be pushing it). Then there is one put on by our friends from church that run a non-profit(Adventures for the Cure) to raise money for diabetes that is on July 30th. So that's 5. I would love to run with Dean Karnazes as he runs across America, but the closest 5K to run with him is in Philly and it's $50, so I can't really justify that.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Lindsay - all I can say is "whoa..." ;) Ellie

Week of April 11th

2011-04-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - 2 mile run
Linds-walked an hour on the treadmill(2.5 incline, 3.3 speed)

Megan - none; Lindsay, how do you walk on the treadmill that long? I get so bored!

Tuesday
Linds-35 mins on the elliptical, 15 mins on the treadmill, 15 mins lower body weights

Megan- 3.9 miles with Jenn through Tom Sawyer Park...ran 3.5, walked the last .4 to cool down. 45:42
Ellie - Ballet dvd 50 min with my friend Michelle

Wednesday

Thursday Tax Day!

Friday
Ellie - Turbo Jam dvd 40 min.
Saturday

Sunday

Megan - 5.79 miles, 1:15...did a lot of walking.

Week of April 4th

2011-04-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

Monday

Ellie - Run, about 2 miles
Linds- it was 80 degrees here, so I took the kids out on a long walk...a little over 2 miles through our neighborhood pushing them in the double jogger...it was killer...hills and pushing 60 plus pounds. I was so exhausted when I got back.

Tuesday

Ellie - Weights (turbo jam) 40 min.
Linds-elliptical for 35 mins, walked on the treadmill at 2.5 incline, 3.3 speed for 35 mins...burned total of 500 cals (my goal is to burn at least 300 cals a day, 5 days a week during the pregnancy) (impressive lindsay!!)

Wednesday
Ellie - ran 2miles
Linds-sick!

Thursday
Linds-sick

Megan - ran 5 miles with Jason randomly through neighborhoods, 56 minutes- my fastest 5 miles ever, I think! nothing else all week...ugh.

Friday
Linds-better, but lazy...none.

Saturday

Linds-none

Sunday
Linds-none

Week of March 28

2011-04-04T09:18:00.001-07:00

Monday Megan - none

Tuesday Megan - none

Ellie - dvd 40 min

Wednesday Megan - none

Thursday Megan - lifted weights at church, upper and lower body; haven't lifted heavy weights like that in a while since I only have 8 pounders at home; also did what I could remember of the 6 week 6 pack on the mats in the gym

Friday Megan - none

Saturday Megan - none

Ellie - 20 min elliptical

Sunday Megan - 7 miles at Tom Sawyer Park...running and walking. it was so dang windy I was worn out by the end!

Week of March 21

2011-03-21T09:50:00.001-07:00

Monday
Ellie - Kickboxing 43 min (have to start my 30 days no dessert challenge over today b/c i totally fell off the wagon last thursday - darn girlscouts!!)

Megan - ran 2 miles on track, walked half a mile (warm up/cool down). Ellie, I like the idea of this 30 days no dessert challenge...maybe I should try it...although there is a brownie at my desk at work with my name on it... :/

Tuesday
Ellie - Hike/Walk 45 min.
Megan - bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep dips during Biggest Loser :)

Wednesday
Ellie - NOTHING
Megan - nothing either

Thursday

Megan - 6 week 6-pack video. guess I need to do this more than a couple times a week to actually see results in 6 weeks...

Friday

Megan - none

Week of March 14th

2011-03-14T19:20:00.001-07:00

Monday

Megan - ran 2 miles around track, 21 minutes. getting faster on the short runs...woohoo! walked another mile.
Ellie - big fat nothing
Linds-walked on the treadmill for an hour at 3.5 incline, 3.5 speed, upper body weights for 20 mins

Tuesday
Ellie - workout dvd 40 min.

Megan - randomly did curls, tricep dips, and girl push-ups between commercials of Biggest Loser
Linds- 30 mins on elliptical, 30 mins on treadmill, 15 mins lower body weights

Wednesday
Linds- 50 mins of walking on the treadmill at 3.5/3.5

Megan - none

Ellie - none

Thursday

Megan - none

Ellie - cleaning, moving furniture 4 hours! (got in WAY over my head)

Friday

Megan- none

Ellie - none

Saturday

Megan - 6.74 miles with Jenn, ran 4 walked 3 (except apparently the 1 mile loop isn't quite a mile because my app always shows it a little short...). 1:29:46. Probably need to do more running and not walk as much, but at least we're getting the distance in. Came home and did Jillian's ab video. making up for slacking off the last 3 days!

Sunday

Megan - tennis and basketball with my dad and Ben, about an hour

Week of March 7th

2011-03-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

Monday

Megan - ran 5 miles around track at church...but I walked 1 lap in between every mile (9 laps=1 mile). The little walk between each mile kept me going because otherwise I don't think I'd be up to 5 miles without stopping right now. I also need to lose between 5-7 pounds, and running has just felt so difficult lately that my new motivation during this week is going to be to think about how hard it is to run and therefore NOT eat that cookie :)
Ellie - Yoga 20 min

Tuesday
Ellie - megan - wow 5 miles! 40 min dvd workout today - really sore already and it was only a couple of hours ago - haha. Also, I've gone 15 days without any sweets (ahem...except alcohol.), including not eating any of the 4 kinds of cupcakes people brought to book club on sunday!

Megan - none...I was supposed to do the shred tonight, but slacked off instead.

Wednesday
Ellie - 45 min walk/hike

Megan- none

Thursday

Megan - 2 miles around track at church. good job on no sweets, Ellie! I keep starting a day off thinking I will diet then ending up the day eating chocolate or doing something to ruin it. I really need to lose a few pounds...need to get serious.

Friday

Megan - none

Saturday

Megan - Jenn and I ran 3 miles, walked 1 mile, ran 1 mile, walked 1 mile...total of 6 miles. We ran at Tom Sawyer park, which was a nice because there is a 1 mile loop...although at the end, my runkeeper app only said 5.7 miles, so apparently it's slightly less than a mile. Oh well, close enough! I feel like my speed has gotten a lot better...total time for 5.7 miles was 1 hour 13 minutes, which I think is pretty good given that we walked 2 of those miles!

Sunday

Megan - played tennis at my parents' house (yes, I said at their house--there is a tennis court in the backyard of their new house!! yes!!!) for about 30 minutes with Ben, then later another 30 minutes with my dad...we're all going to need to brush up a little on our tennis skills :) did a new workout video tonight- 6 week six-pack by, you guessed it- Jillian Michaels. it was really similar to the 30 day shred even though it was more ab-focused. very difficult...30 minutes long, went through about 15 different moves, then at the end go through ALL the moves again, but quicker! ugh!

Week of Feb 28

2011-02-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

Monday:
Ellie - Walk 45 min. Yoga 17 min.

Megan - Ran 2 miles around track at church, walked 1 mile.

Tuesday:
Ellie - Yoga 20 min.

Megan - 30 Day Shred level 1. I really loathe this workout.

Wednesday:

Megan - none. sore from the shred

Thursday:

Megan - ran 1 mile around the track at church. really sore from the shred!

Ellie - Yoga 30 min.

Friday:

Megan - none

Saturday:

Megan - Shred level 1...family in town all weekend so really hoping I'm diligent enough to run early in the morning tomorrow...

Ellie - Basketball! haha

Sunday:

Megan - nope, nothing.

No baby...No belly

2011-02-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

So, I feel like I've posted the same thing for the last six months, but as you know, I've been wanting to get pregnant. Every couple of weeks I'd completely quit doing any exercise b/c I was either kind of worried I would do harm to a potential pregnancy (even though that doesn't make sense), didn't care how I looked b/c I was hoping to gain 30 pounds of baby, or depressed b/c I wasn't pregnant and didn't want to exercise. Whew!

Despite the disappointing news that I probably won't get pregnant, it has been very liberating to my "mental health" in a way. I finally feel ready to quit waiting around for a pregnancy and get on with my life.

With that said, Noah and I returned from our all-you-can-eat vacation with a list of goals/rewards for getting in shape. I feel like amongst my peers, I should win the best body award since I can't blame the way I look on putting out babies. haha!!

So, I don't see myself running a marathon or anything, but just adopting a more healthy lifestyle over all and being more active. I started shopping at Costco again so I could get organic meat at a better price. We're going to be upping our protein and eating fewer breads :(

One of my first goals is 30 days without dessert, cookies, cakes, sweets. If I do that, I get to buy fabric to make this beach blanket:
http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/pocket-palkeep

When I reach my goal weight, I'm going to get this tacky, but oh-so-cute swimsuit:

I plan to surf this summer, and take walks in the morning. Not sure what else I'll do yet to meet my fitness goals, but I'll get there. There's no point waiting around!

On Running

2011-02-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

So, I've been a big slacker for a long time now. I've only been running 1 day a week the last month, and that is the only exercise at all I've been doing! But, I have officially signed up for the mini-marathon on April 30th, so I need to start training more often. It's such a struggle to find the time and energy to train, but if I can at least do 3 days a week I think I'll be in decent shape...not like I'm trying to win the race or anything :) Jenn signed up again as well, so we'll be doing it together...even though last year I very adamantly told her to never let me do it again...ha!

So about running...how do I do it?? I know, that sounds dumb. But I feel like I am so stinkin' slow and just don't feel like I could endure any sort of long distance if I go faster. I know speed work would help push me and make me faster even on long runs, but I feel like my problem may be in technique. I feel like my feet are going CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP while I run, not landing lightly like they should be. Should I be running more on my toes and propelling myself with every step...but then how do I endure? Now, I feel more like I'm just picking up my feet and letting the ground just pass very slowly beneath me in an attempt to reserve energy and make it farther...but again, should I be pushing and using my calf muscles more to propel myself? I just feel like I need advice. Running is so difficult, ugh.

Week of Jan. 17

2011-01-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

Monday

Megan: apparently I like to work out on Mondays and then not do a single other thing the rest of the week. Hmm...hopefully this week will be better. Did the ladder system on the treadmill for 20 minutes. It only came out to about 1.7 miles by the end but it was certainly an intense workout! Walked about another 1/2 mile on treadmill. Then ran 1 mile around the track (didn't time myself). Then walked a few minutes to cool down.

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Week of Jan. 10

2011-01-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

Monday, Jan. 10

Linds: none...actually, I did walk a lot...we had to walk since we didn't have a rental car and our dinner was about a mile a way, so 2+ miles of walking

Megan: went to gym at Southeast after practice...tried to do the ladder system on the treadmill, increasing speed every minute for 4 minutes then going back to the starting point and doing it again...I went 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5...supposed to do that 4 times, but I only did it three. It's amazing how quickly I can get out of shape for running! Walked the rest of the time until I got to 2 miles.

Tuesday, Jan. 11

Linds: some more walking, but nothing substantial

Megan: none...sore from running...pretty pathetic

Wednesday, Jan. 12

Linds: none

Megan: none

Thursday, Jan. 13

Linds: first day back at the gym in a LONG time! 35 mins of elliptical and 15 mins of upper body weights...gonna try to run on the treadmill tomorrow...should be interesting!

Megan: none

Friday, Jan. 14

Megan: none

Saturday, Jan. 15

Megan: none

Sunday, Jan. 16

Megan: none

Week 1 of 52

2011-01-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

Monday
Ellie - P90x Upper body and ab ripper. 85 min. I held back more than I should have. This one was KILLER last time, so I took it a bit easier and I think I eased up too much. I kept track of my reps though, so I'll be better able to pace myself next time.

Tuesday
Ellie - p90x Plyometrics 60 min. I switched it off when i reached the halfway point b/c I was so over it. then i turned it back on and finished it up, even though I didn't have a lot of energy to give to it. that was a pretty successful moment for me! even though i couldn't work that hard, at least i was working another 30 min.

Wednesday
Ellie - p90x 75 min, arms and shoulders, ab ripper. pretty easy day (thank goodness), on another note, my new food tracking site reveals that 42% of my calories are fat!!! whoa!! so i'm going to be really working on lowering that on a consistent basis. that explains alot - haha

Thursday
Ellie - p90x yoga. it was 90 minutes but i only did 30 b/c i got behind schedule. i might try to make it up throughout the day, we'll see...

Fat Pics...cont'd.

2011-01-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

Here's my fat pic:

It's from Christmas morning. My shirt is a size large (I should be a small), my arms out-sausage megan's and I'll spare you details about my legs. Albeit to say, it just gets chunkier the further south you go, and I have lots of fat folds on my stomach. Yuck... Linds, you totally have to post a current pic - cause no matter what you think you look like right now, you don't look like a woman who just gave birth!

I started up p90x today. Here's what I have to say about it so far, since you all might be interested in doing it yourselves - the guy is SUPER annoying. He dyes his hair and has definitely had a face lift, which just sours the whole experience, because you want to believe the workout alone will be enough to satisfy you. The direction isn't great and he talks ALL the time, so if you're going to do it, I'd borrow from someone. Personally, I'd really like to get a wii, but that won't be happening any time soon.

Anyhow, we're going on a cruise in the middle of February, so I want to do something hardcore to really feel good about how I look before I get on board a ship to pig out.

So, here's my gameplan for 2011:
Jan-Feb P90x
Feb-May: Swimming Class at community college + DVDs (Still debating whether or not to do this. It meets 2x a week and I'd have to shuffle around my schedule a bit, so it may not happen). If not, I might aim for a 1/2 marathon
June-August: Surfing Lessons
September-December: 1/2 marathon, or dance class at community college

Here's some other fitness/health goals I have for the year:

Shop at the farmer's market more often - Usually I go for two or three weeks and then stop for a couple of months. I'm going to try to make it my regular spot. I bought a bag of mushrooms this Sunday and made the BEST omelets ever and the fresh produce made all the difference.

Weigh 125 by December - obviously, I'd rather be pregnant and fat, but if that doesn't happen - then hot tub ready it is! I might have to adjust this goal. I used to weigh that much, but I was also 19ish, so I don't know if it's even possible/healthy.

Reduce body fat percentage to 28% Again, I don't really know what that would look like, but I've hovered between 31-32 for the last year and would really like it to go down.

Cookbook Game Plan: I really think that the better I cook, the better I eat, and I don't just mean healthier cooking. Good food is just more satisfying, and I want to eat less of it.
Jan-Feb: America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook (got it for xmas!)
March-April: Vegetarian Cookbook - Jack Bishop (GREAT COOKBOOK if you all are looking for some meatless meals to incorporate. My favorite thing about this book is that recipes are listed according to seasons)
May-July: Farmer's Market Cookbook and Vegetarian Cookbook
August-September: Jamie Oliver and Healthy Family
October-November: Ina Garten (have to be careful, NOT lowfat) and Anthropologie Cookbook
December: Bittman, how to cook everything.

I also want to start making vegetables the main portion of my snacking.
And I've switched calorie counters, because I wasn't sure my old one was all that accurate. I'm going to try Spark People and see how I like it.

Whew!

Fat Picture

2010-12-20T18:50:00.001-08:00

So here's my fat picture from...oh wait, that was last week!!!!!!!!!!

Ugh. My hips look 2 feet wide and my arms look like sausages stuffed into their casings. My clothes are all tight on me. And here I am from the back...how big is my butt?!

Ughhhh...at least Lindsay's picture is right after she had a baby!!! Nothing like a picture to snap you back into reality. I really need to lose weight. After Christmas. :) Until then, just call me chubs!

In a Rut

2010-12-17T12:26:00.001-08:00

So I was afraid this would happen...as soon as I was done training for the marathon and as soon as winter arrived, I would lose all exercising motivation. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, right after Tgiving, I started MTC again, hoping to make it to Christmas...I made it 3 days. After the first day, I was soooooo sore. Sooooo sore! I guess it was because I hadn't really lifted weights in so long. Even though I'd been doing some light cardio, when I did one full MTC workout, I was so dead at the end. I was so frustrated, because before when I did it, it wasn't easy for me at all, but I felt really good at the end and didn't really get very sore. Complete opposite this time. Plus, it must have been from one of the squat exercises or lunges, but by the third day, my right hip was killing me. (Am I like 80 years old or something?) It was the same hip that gave me issues during the marathon, but that was 2 months ago! Ugh, so I decided I would just do random workouts and try to take it easy. I've done mostly the elliptical, bike, some short runs since then. My hip hasn't bothered me for a couple of weeks, so we'll see.

Nevertheless, I'm in a rut. I hate it. I've tossed around p90x, or doing the National Half Marathon in DC in April, but I really need something to motivate me and get me off my butt or else I'll end up like this in no time...
{photo courtesy of Megan!}

Week of December 13th

2010-12-12T14:39:00.001-08:00

Hey...so, the reason I haven't been posting the last few weeks is because for one, I've been too busy and haven't been thinking about it, and for two, I haven't worked out! I have literally done nothing in terms of working out in at least 3 weeks. Ugh. I've been feeling like I was getting sick the last few days, and today have a pretty sore throat and am stopped up and stuff...but, I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things this week. I need to...I've been feeling pretty fat lately and need to tone up!

In other news, Ben agreed to run a 5k with me on Feb. 26th!!!! I am so excited!!! It's the first leg of the Triple Crown races. Last year my time was 31:54, so this year I would really like to do it in under 30 minutes. Hopefully Ben will be able to do that as well. If I get REALLY lucky, maybe Ben will enjoy running when he sees the pounds start coming off, and maybe I can talk him into the 10k and 10 miler as well! I'm not holding my breath for that though :)

Megan - love the blog redo. Looks like someone is enjoying her school break ;)

Monday

Ellie - Nothing.
Megan- Nothing
Linds-Nothing.

Tuesday

Ellie - First day of p90x. I borrowed it from a student who wasn't that enthusiastic about it. First day 60 min chest and back. 15 min abs couldn't do all the reps, but got through the dvd with energy to spare. thought, "Well, that wasn't too bad." SO SORE by evening - hahaha.
Megan- 30 Day Shred Level 1. Ellie, I'm impressed! I've heard that is so hard!
Linds-45 mins on elliptical. (Yeah, Ellie! Way to go! I've been going back and forth on whether or not I want to try that the first of the year...it's either that or train for a half marathon in April)

Wednesday

Ellie - Plyometrics. 30 min. it's a 60 min dvd, but noah pulled a muscle on the first exercise, so i felt like quitting too, since he couldn't do anything past that. it was REALLY hard, much harder than the first day. he did mention that if you can't get through the dvd to do the cardio one instead, but I could have stuck with it. our plan is to keep doing it through tues when noah's folks get here and then pick it up again after they leave and push on until the cruise (feb 13th).

Megan- none. still sick...
Linds-30 mins on elliptical (feeling so unmotivated lately)

Thursday

Jenn- 30 min on the treadmill at 4.0 incline, speed 4.2. Walked 2.12 miles, 222 calories burned. Drank 2 cups of coffee with cream and honey, and had a breakfast bar. Put those 222 calories right back on.

Linds- Jenn you're hilarious! 35 mins on the bike for me.

Friday
Linds- none! slacker!

Saturday

Sunday

Week of November 29th

2010-11-29T09:03:00.000-08:00

Monday:
Ellie - 2.28 mile jog
Linds- Started MTC today...Day 1. I'd forgotten how hard it was. I was dying on the mountain climbers and the squats. After I did 35 mins of MTC, I did 20 more mins on the elliptical. We'll see if I make it to Xmas Eve.

Tues
Ellie - 40 min. swining

Wed -
Ellie - Nothing

Thurs -
Ellie - Nothing

Fri-

Sat -

Sun -

November 22

2010-11-22T12:17:00.001-08:00

Nov. 22
Ellie - 2.3 miles (run)

Week of Nov. 15

2010-11-14T18:59:00.001-08:00

Monday

Ellie - i wish i was better at fitting in exercise even when my schedule is interrupted. had company in and out the last two weeks and it's hard to get back in the swing of everything.
20 min. kickboxing (turbo jam)
Linds-none
Megan- none

Tuesday
Linds-25 mins of upper body weights, 35 mins of elliptical

Megan- none

Wednesday

Megan- 2 mile run (first time in 1.5 weeks, ugh), 11 min. miles

Thursday

Megan- none

Friday

Megan- none

Saturday

Sunday

Week of Nov. 8

2010-11-10T12:54:00.000-08:00

Monday, 11/8
Linds: none

Megan: 30 Day Shred level 1- Ben did it with me and said afterward that he had a whole new respect for me doing MTC and he didn't know it would be that hard!

Tuesday, 11/9
Linds: 30 mins on elliptical
Megan: none

Wednesday, 11/10
Linds: none
Megan: none

Thursday, 11/11
Megan: none

Friday, 11/12
Megan: none

Saturday, 11/13

Megan: none

Sunday, 11/14

Megan: none- another bad week!

Week of November 1st

2010-11-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Monday
Linds: none

Megan: none

Tuesday

Megan: none
Linds: 30 mins elliptical

Wednesday

Megan: 2 miles, 21:57
Linds: ran 1 mile on the treadmill 10:20 pace, and walked 45 more minutes at 3.5 pace, 2.0 incline, then lifted for 30 mins upper body--first time I've run since the race...felt pretty good, but I still need to ease into it.

Thursday
Linds: none

Megan: none

Friday
Linds: 30 mins on the bike

Megan: none

Saturday

Megan: none

Sunday

Megan: more none. not doing too well on my goals here.

Week of October 25th

2010-10-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

Monday

Megan- none
Linds-45 mins on elliptical

Tuesday

Megan- none. yes, I'm pathetic.
Linds-none

Wednesday

Megan- 2 miles, 21:24
Linds-30 minutes upper body weights, 25 mins on elliptical

Thursday
Linds-35 mins on elliptical

Friday
Megan- none

Saturday

Megan- 2 miles, 21:27

Sunday

Megan- none.

Week of October 18th

2010-10-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

Lindsay - Give us a run down on marathons now that you're finished. What did you learn along the way? Will you do another one? How did your training change your exercise perspective, etc. Us, occasional joggers want to know!

Monday
Ellie - Running 2.14 miles plus warmup/cool down

Jenn- Walked for 25 minutes in a.m.; 30 minutes in p.m. Some bicep curls also.

Megan- none

Tuesday

Jenn- 30 Day Shred video and walked 10 minutes in a.m.
Ellie - yoga 28 min. i was DYING - my thighs specifically

Megan- 2 mile run

Wednesday

Megan- none

Thursday

Megan- 3 miles even, 32:54. I was actually really happy with that time...went up a big hill that I've never done before (in addition to the smaller hill that I always do) and so I felt like my time was actually decent given that. My goal is still 10-minute miles, but I'm wondering if I ran on a really flat course if I would actually already be able to do that.

Friday

Megan- none

Saturday

Megan- none

Sunday

Megan- none

Week of October 11th

2010-10-11T17:36:00.001-07:00

monday
ellie - jogging/walking 30 min. 1.8 miles
megan- none
linds-none

tuesday
megan- 1.5 mile run, still not fast even though every time I run I think, "okay, run really hard, keep going, keep going..." and I really feel like I'm going faster...but then my time at the end is never any better. ellie, lol!
ellie - dancing dvd, but it was stupid, so i don't think it really counts as exercise... :(
linds-none

wednesday
linds-none
ellie - 2.32 miles total (2 mile run + warm up/cool down) 12min/mile for running portion.
Noah and I set a goal to run 3x week - regardless of mileage or time for 6 weeks and then we'll go eat at the getty to celebrate. i've done 2 runs this week, noah's done 1 so, we'll see if we can both do it!

thursday
linds-40 mins on bike

friday
linds-none...went down to the expo to pick up my race packet...bib #2175. another dumb thing was that I weighed myself this morning (haven't done that all week) and I was lower than I've been in a LONG time, which is pretty annoying since I've only exercised one week. It seems when I bust my butt, nothing happens with my weight, but when I sit around and rest, somehow I lose weight. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers right?
megan- 1.7 mile run. it's embarrassing to even post things like this when linds is running 26.2 miles tomorrow!!

ellie 1.86 miles. i was disappointed to find out how little mileage this was - it felt like a lot more. lots of hills.

linds - i've read that your body doesn't "change" from a workout until a week or two after. that while you're exercising it's just trying to keep up, but a few weeks later it will adapt itself to what you've been doing. i've read that in relation to changing your workout. i.e. if i have a lot of results this week, it's most likely my body responding to what I did the couple weeks before. etc. i'm not sure how that works, but maybe it's an explanation?!

saturday
linds-MARATHON (Lord willing)!
YOU WERE AMAZING!!!!!
sunday

Week of October 4th

2010-10-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - dvd 45 min weights and aerobics
Linds-elliptical 45 mins, bike 15 mins, foot was feeling fine...I went to dinner with a friend in Annapolis and we walked around a lot and that was not good...I didn't think about it until the next morning and my foot was super sore. Ugh.
Megan- none
Jenn- ran on treadmill at 5.5 for 30 min. bi's and tri's for 10 min.
Tuesday
Jenn: I actually got up this morning and walked for 30 minutes! Yes, I still hit snooze twice. But I finally got up at 6:30 and got on the treadmill. I ran last night on the treadmill for 30 minutes, and am still a little sore today from running, so I thought walking would be better for me today. I also did some weights last night but plan to do a more intense weight lifting session tonight.
ellie - none (jury duty) :(
Linds-upper body weights 40 mins (intense workout...since I knew I was going to be taking it easy on cardio, I really pushed myself...really sore the next day)
Megan- none

Wednesday
Ellie - dance party 40 min.
Linds-none
Megan- ran 1.8 miles with Jason, tried doing some sprints (did it 4 times) throughout the run to increase my speed a little

Jenn- walked for 45 min on treadmill: walked at 8.0 incline for 25 min, then 5.0 for 10 min, then 3.0 for 10 remaining min. 10 min of bi's, and 20 girl push-ups.

Thursday
Linds-bike for 45 mins
Megan- none

Jenn- walked on treadmill for 30 min.

Friday

Jenn- none. sore throat today :-(

Megan- none

Saturday

Megan- ran 1.5 miles...still trying to work on speed, but still super slow. ugh.

Jenn- walked 2 1/2 hours while campaigning door to door for a friend who is up for re-election.

End of Year Resolutions!

2010-10-04T09:37:00.001-07:00

Well, my life has been so hectic the last couple months and my exercise routine has been pretty lousy. Now that I don't have any beach trips in the near future, and now that it's time to pull out the sweaters, I need something to motivate me. So instead of waiting to do New Year's resolutions for next year, I want to make some resolutions now that will last from now until New Year's Eve, just to have another milestone to work toward. That gives me 13 weeks from now. Would you ladies like to post your goals as well? Ellie, can you still hike and play tennis once it gets cooler or will you do workouts inside? Lindsay, what's in store for you once the marathon is over?

Megan- run 3 days a week, including a longer run (I need to get past my boring 2 mile runs!); get down to and maintain a weight of 133 (I usually say I want to be 130, but I just don't think that's attainable for me right now, so I'll stick with 133. Currently I'm at 137.); lift weights or do 30 Day Shred 2 days a week; run a race, maybe a 5k or 5 miler (there are some around Thanksgiving that I am considering). I want to feel skinny at Christmas!!

Linds-I'm not sure what's in store for me after the marathon...I went to the gym today and saw a sign for Retro Fitness Challenge. I don't know a ton about it yet, but it starts Oct. 18 (2 days after the marathon) and ends Dec. 18th. The male who wins and the female who wins gets 6 months worth of free membership, and 3 free personal training sessions. I signed up for more info, but I talked to a guy there today and he said they were basing it on body fat. If it was weight loss percentage (like on Biggest Loser), I think I could compete, but if it's based on body fat percentage, I don't know...I'm at 21% body fat right now, and I don't think I could get lower than 19% even if I worked my butt off (literally) :). So, I'll keep you posted when I hear more. I've also thought about doing MTC again after the marathon because it was SO challenging for me and I saw great results in terms of toning. I've said over and over that I'd love to get to the 130s, but I just don't know if that's realistic for me. I'm hovering around 145 and have been for the past 6 months I think. So...though I haven't set any goals and have been rambling a lot...these are my thoughts...I'll try to be more specific after the marathon when I know better how my body is doing.

Ellie- i have a great goalpost in my future - we're going on a cruise in february (courtesy of mom and dad)!! so, with that in mind, here's my goals:
1. to wear this bikini in the hot tub
2. to do the splits (this has been on my goal list for a long time, and i never really work on it)
3. to food journal 5 days a week (the goal behind this is to lower my fat calories and increase my protein - i have such a hard time with that!)
4. to only eat dessert/sweet 3 days a week (except for thanksgiving/christmas)
5. salty snack 1x per week (instead of finishing a bag of chips the week i open them :)
I don't want to focus on losing weight (although i'd love to) because I'd rather get pregnant, so I'm going to focus on being consistent in my regular workout routine and food journaling rather than weight loss, hopefully a better looking body will result from that.

For October I'm shuffling between a workout dvd i have and running (tennis is SO BORING and i want to quite, but haven't mustered up the courage to quit yet).

Jenn- I want to jump on this motivation band wagon with ya'll! But first of all I must comment to Ellie... Tennis is awesome, I highly disagree with your assessment of it as boring!! But since you brought that up, that makes me want to commit again to playing on Tuesdays. That would be a good way to mix up my exercise routine. I am also going to commit to running 3 times a week IN THE MORNING! It is just too easy to have plans after work and not get a chance to work out, so if I can get it over with in the morning then I can make sure to fit it in. I am sick and tired of hitting snooze multiple times every morning. There is no reason for me not to be able to get up 30 min earlier and go downstairs to my treadmill in the basement. I mean seriously, that is the height of laziness! I am disgusted with myself and vow to get up and do it! Will you all help keep me accountable? I need saving from myself! Here are a list of my weekly goals:

1. Run 3 times a week for 30 min in the morning

2. Walk 2-3 times a week for 30 min in the evening

3. Do weights 3 times a week

4. Play tennis every or every other Tuesday

5. Get rid of my muffin top that is slowly rolling over all the pants I own. It is not pretty!

Week of September 27th

2010-09-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Monday
Linds-none
Megan- none

Tuesday
Ellie - 45 min dvd. So hot here!
Linds - how's the training going?...not great...I'm taking this week off because of my foot...going to try to run a long run Sat, but going to have to play it by ear...I'm 90% sure it's a stress fracture and will probably get it x-rayed after the race. I don't want to bother with that now because I'm sure the doc will tell me to stay off of it and not run the race. We'll see. Another day of nothing.

Megan- none

Wednesday
Ellie - Tennis 45 min.
Linds-none (still in Cincy)
Megan- 2 mile run- I forgot you were in Cincy, Linds!

Thursday
Linds-none
Megan- none

Friday
Linds-none

Megan- none

Saturday
Linds- ran 4 miles in 39 mins. 12 was on the schedule, but I had to stop at 4 because of pain. Pretty discouraging. I'm planning on doing the elliptical and weights only for the next 2 weeks to try to give my foot a break and hopefully that will be enough to heal before the big day. 14 days to go.
Megan- none. oh no, I hope your foot heals!!!!

Sunday

Megan- none...exciting week for me, huh.

Week of September 20th

2010-09-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

I guess the week is almost over now, but figured we'd get this on here for the record :) I hope you all have done more than me!!

Monday
Megan- none
Ellie - Tennis 30 min.
Linds-35 mins upper body weights, 30 mins on the elliptical

Tuesday
Megan- none
Linds-5 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline and 5.8 speed (10:20 speed). So at about mile 3.5, I felt something weird in my right foot....I kept going and finished my 5 miles, but as I walked to the locker room, I knew something was wrong. The more I walked on it, the more it hurt, and it was the same hurt that I felt when I got the stress fracture (in my right foot) during my 05 half marathon. I was so discouraged...but I guess it took my mind off my left knee issue. When I hurt my foot in 05 and got it x-rayed, all they said I could do for it was rest, so I'm resting the rest of the week until my biggest run of training on Saturday...21 miles!

Wednesday
Megan- none
Linds-none, right foot still hurting

Thursday
Megan- none
Linds-none, right foot still hurting, but a little less than yesterday

Friday
Megan- 2 mile run
Ellie - 3 mile walk
I've had a horrible 2 weeks of exercise - and it shows :( sick over the weekend and it just seems like i've had a million things to do every morning. i'll be back in full force on Monday. I feel HORRIBle when i don't work out - so grumpy!
Linds-NONE AGAIN! Ugh, it's killing me not working out, but hopefully the 3 full days of rest will get me ready for tomorrow's big run!

Saturday

Sunday

Week of September 13th

2010-09-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - Tennis 45 min.
Linds-upper body weights for 30 mins, 30 mins on elliptical

Megan- none

Tuesday
Linds-3 miles 31 mins on the treadmill at 2.0 incline, stretched for 15 mins
Megan- 2 mile run

Wednesday
Megan- none
Linds-lifted lower body weights for 30 mins and did 30 mins on the elliptical

Thursday
Megan- 2 mile run

Linds-ran a 10K (6.2) on the treadmill at 2.0 incline 5.8 speed (10:20 pace), stretched for 10 mins

Friday
Linds-none

Saturday
Linds-Ran 14 miles at the BWI trail. It took me 2:32. Carl ran ahead of me pushing the kids in the double jogger and distributing my Gatorades, but the one he dropped at mile 7 either got stolen or I just didn't see it...nevertheless, I went 6.5 miles without a drink (or GU!) and was hurting. His response when i told him was..."that's good training for you because sometimes that happens in races." My left knee is pretty sore tonight, but I press on...big Saturday run next week...21 miles! 4 weeks from today is the big day!

Sunday (just out of curiosity - why do we always start with mon instead of Sun.?)
Linds-none! rest! (I like starting on Mondays because that's when I start my week and I feel like I start over on Monday.

Week of September 6th

2010-09-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

Monday
HAPPY B DAY LINDSAY
Ellie - hike/walk 45 min.
Linds- ran 4 miles-41 mins

Tuesday
Ellie - hike 45min.
Linds-lifted with fitness bands for 20 minutes (arms/back)

Wednesday
Ellie - Aerobics Weights 50 min
Linds-ran 3 miles-30 mins

Thursday
Ellie - hike/walk 45 min
Linds-none

Friday
Linds- RAN 18 MILES! Took me 3 hours 33 minutes. I was shooting for 3:30, which would have been 11 minute miles, but couldn't make it. I also had to stop for 5 minutes for a potty break at a port-o-potty! (Yuck). I don't know how I'm going to do a full marathon...I don't think I could have ran 1 more mile for this run. I was so exhausted. My joints felt fine during the run, but my left knee has been hurting ever since, and it's been really swollen today, so not sure what to do for my upcoming week.

Saturday
Linds-NONE....rest!

Sunday

Week of Aug. 30

2010-08-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Monday, Aug. 30
Linds-upper body weights for 30 mins, 10 mins of stretching (mostly my IT band because it's still really tender)

Megan- none
Ellie - none

Tuesday, Aug. 31- HAPPY BDAY ELLIE!.
Linds-ran 3 miles on the treadmill at 10 min pace, 2.0 incline, stretched for 10 mins. My left hip and knee are not right. I don't know what is going on, but as I was running, my hip was killing and then when I was done running, my knee killed. Ugh.
Megan- none. this is where I have the debate where I wonder if running is really good for you or not...your knee and hip are messed up now and that can't be good...but Carl said he read that it is actually good on the joints??? So confusing. Anyway, hope you recover soon and that it doesn't slow down your training!
Ellie - none - linds - sounds like one leg is shorter than the other - and therefore putting stress on the hip and knee. you can test to see if this is true by sitting on the floor, legs straight in front of you and pulling yourself back a few inches (don't scoot). if you're uneven, someone should be able to look at your feet and see that one leg is longer than the other. there are lots of approaches to fix it. might be worth getting a chiro adjustment so you can get back to your mileage.

Wednesday, Sept. 1
ellie - none
Linds-none

Thursday, Sept. 2
ellie - tennis 45 min.
Linds-ran 8 miles in FL (forget the time)

Friday, Sept. 3
Linds-none

Saturday, Sept. 4
Linds-ran 13 miles in 2:30ish (can't remember exact time)

Sunday, Sept. 5
Linds-none

Week of August 23rd

2010-08-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - Walk/Hike 45 min.
Linds-ran a half marathon (technically 13.2) in 2:23:20. I felt great about it. I think I negative split it (did the second half faster than the first) because it was really dark and rainy the last 40 minutes and I saw 2 homeless men that freaked me out, so I was booking it about the last 4 miles or so. I was hurting pretty badly when I finished. My knees and calves are really sore, but I felt really good about it!

Megan- none. But I did fly home quicker than it took Lindsay to run! ha. Great job!!!!

Tuesday
Ellie - Linds - GREAT JOB!! maybe take some mace next time ;) Your time is AMAZING.
40 min. Kickboxing and leg work.
Linds- none...really sore...mostly my knees and hips

Megan- none

Wednesday
Linds-none again...still pretty sore, and since I have to run 15 on Saturday, I'm just running one other day this week...tomorrow.
Megan- none again...no excuse :)

Ellie - Beach swim 20-30 min

Thursday
Linds-ran 3 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline/6.0 speed (10 min pace), then walked 30 mins to cool down. stretched for 10 mins
Megan- ran 2 miles, 22 minutes.

Ellie - Tennis 45 min

Friday
Ellie - Beach walk and swim 40 min.

Megan- none
Linds-upper body weights 30 mins

Saturday
Ellie - Aerobics & upper body 45 min.

Megan- 30 Day Shred, Level 1- first time doing that, pretty hard although not quite as terrible as my first time doing MTC! I looked at the Level 3 workout though, and that seemed pretty tough! I like the video though because it keeps you moving...doing MTC, I'm always stopping to think, okay, what is that move again?
Linds-ran 15.3 miles! It took me 2:45:24, so a little less than 11 minute miles. I'm really sore...especially my left knee....hope it's going to be ok in a couple of days.

Sunday
Linds-none

Megan- none

Week of August 16th

2010-08-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - none
Linds-since I was traveling all this weekend, I didn't get a long run in, so I headed out to do one at the bwi trail (10.8 mile loop around the airport). I started at about 4, and it was 90 degrees out...killer. I had planned on running 13, but only made it 11 and it took me 2 hours and 4 minutes...the same amount of time it took me to run 12 miles two weeks ago. So, I was pretty discouraged, but Carl reminded me that before I ran in 70 degree weather and I was caught up on sleep, whereas, this run, I was still fatigued from traveling and getting 2 hours of sleep Saturday night, plus the heat was nuts....so I felt better about it.
Megan- none. It took you 2:04 to run 11 miles in 90 degree weather after no sleep? Pshh...pathetic. Kidding, of course :)

Tuesday
Ellie - Tennis 30 min./Walk 20 min.
Linds-40 minute upper body weights
Megan- 2 mile run, 22 min.

Wednesday
Ellie - Walk/Jog 30 min
Linds- ran 3 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline, 6.0 speed (10 min pace), walked 20 min to cool down.
Megan- none

Thursday
Megan- none
Ellie - 45 min/ Aerobics/light upper body. (linds - how come you don't do lower body weights? do you need to balance out your running muscles? just a thought - i don't know the answer). HAVE SO MUCH FUN LADIES!!
HELP - just took new swimsuit pics to see if there's any difference yet - none whatsoever. None!! i have been working out about 30-60 minutes 5 days a week for the whole summer and eating 1500-1600 calories a day and have gained 4 pounds. recommendations??! i'm so frustrated. i did not lose a single pound on 30 day shred.
***I did find out that I'm supposed to be eating more calories. 2100 to maintain - 1800 to loose. So, I'm sure that's most of my problem.
Hey Ellie-if you were eating 1500 and you are supposed to have 1800, maybe your body was in starvation mode and was storing your fat? Just a thought. Not sure though.

Friday
Megan- walk around NYC!!
Linds- walk around NYC!!
Ellie - Hike 45 min

Saturday
Megan- walking in NYC!
Linds-none....walking around NYC some
Ellie - Aerobics and upper body 40 min.
Sunday
Megan- more walking in NYC
Linds-none

Week of August 9th

2010-08-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - Linds - great job on your runs right before your trip and during. Running past ostriches should keep it interesting! you'll have to post some pics of your running terrain when you get back - would love to see. and i'm cracking up that everyone was "not in shape so it was 11 min miles" that'd be awesome time for me! you've got those gazelle legs that are 4 feet long, so i can see how that feels really slow.
Kickboxing 40 min.
Megan- none. I'm with you, Ellie! My runs have still been between 11-12 minute miles. I'm slow. That's awesome about the route you ran Lindsay! Crazy!

Tuesday
Ellie - 3 miles (40 min. horrible time) tennis 30 min.
Megan- 2 mile run

Wednesday
Ellie - sprints (only a few), swinging, plyometrics (saw a school of dolphins today!) 1 hr.
Megan- none

Thursday
Megan- 2 mile run

Friday
Megan- none

Saturday
Megan- none, although I did help friends move all their stuff out of our basement/garage and then into their new house, so all that heavy lifting in this heat counts for something.

Sunday

Megan- 3 miles- ran 2, walked 1

Week of August 2

2010-08-04T10:32:00.001-07:00

Monday
Ellie - tennis, 30 min.
Linds-none

Megan- ran 2 miles with Jason, 22 minutes.

Tuesday
Ellie - Walk/Hike (i.e. Lots of steep hills) 40 min.
Linds- ran 4 miles in our neighborhood...38:50...I think this is my fastest pace at 4 miles. My first mile was 9:17 and I was hurting, but I slowed it down and finished at 38:50.
Megan- none. Nice job to both of you!

Wednesday
Ellie - run on the beach 30 min/ half on sidewalk/half on sand. swinging, balance work, ropes and pull-ups 30 min.
Linds- upper body weights at the gym for 30 mins

Megan- ran 3 miles with Jason and Dominic, Ashley's husband (ok, so we walked a little the last mile because I was drained and it was so humid, but we ran most of it) and let me just say that running with 2 boys when I am really slow is a really bad idea. But they were nice and slowed down for me. :) Ellie, please explain your day (swinging? ropes?).

Thursday
Ellie - 30 min tennis, 50 min hike (Megan - my new workout is at muscle beach here's the ropes and some of the rings. I got 2/3 of the way up this rope had to use my legs though. can't do anything like that on the rings, but i can do these rings most of the way across. i don't spin or anything - just try to survive. my arms are KILLING me today.)

Linds-woke up EARLY...6...and ran 9 miles. It was super hard because I ran a short route in our neighborhood over and over. It took me 1:35.
Megan- none

Friday
Linds-leave for Bolivia at 7am...so none.
Ellie - 15 min beach run, plyometrics, swinging, rings etc (45 hr). it hurts to lift my arms!!
Megan - none...Ellie, love your new workout! Looks fun.

Saturday
Linds- none

Megan- ran 3 miles

Sunday

Linds-got up before church in Bolivia and ran 6 miles! It was nuts. 5 of us went (only 4 of us did 6, Amanda only made it 3). We were running on gravely, rocky, dusty, dirty roads/sidewalks with stray, mean dogs around, chickens crossing the streets, ostriches in random places and cat calls from all the sicko Bolivian men who love gringas. We went pretty slow because not everyone was in shape, but it was probably less than 11 minute miles. Hoping to get a 3 mile and 4 mile run in later in the week.

Megan-none

Week of July 26

2010-07-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 26-Happy Birthday to Ben!
Linds: elliptical for 30 minutes, lower body weights for 30 mins
Ellie: Nothing

Megan: none

Tuesday, July 27
Linds: ran 3 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline and 6.2 speed which is a 9:40 pace. It was tough for me. I noticed a HUGE difference in running that compared to 9:49 pace and 10:00 pace, but according to my plan (Hal Higdon's Novice 1), I'm supposed to push myself a little more on the Tuesday runs, so I did today and could really tell. I was dripping by the end. Then, I walked a mile to cool down and lifted upper body for 30 mins. Good day.

Megan: none

Ellie: MTC 21 (only 1st half) - wow lindsay - you're speed is AMAZING

Wednesday, July 28
Ellie: MTC day 21 (full workout)
Megan: none. ashamed of how bad I've been. I've done stuff every night this week straight after work and then don't get home until late, then just too tired to do anything. I decided I need accountability, like when I was working out with Jenn. so, I asked Jason if he wants to run in the morning, and he agreed. 6:30am, I'm running...for the first time in months!!
Linds: none

Thursday, July 29
Jenn: Started Day 1 of Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred". It was surprisingly easy, I guess because comparably MTC was so freaking hard! So much easier in fact, that I'm afraid I'm going to have to move beyond Level 1 and push myself a little harder. I don't really want to, but I do need to try a little harder since I'm practically eating my way through NYC.

Megan: I actually got up and ran this morning with Jason--2 miles!! After not running in forever, I was SHOCKED at how well I did...I didn't really have any trouble, and we think our pace was really close to 10 minute miles (my phone died so my Runkeeper app didn't record it). It really made me feel like the MTC stuff actually has done something for me! Very exciting.

Ellie - Tennis 30 min.
Linds: ran 4 miles at 2.0 incline 6.1 speed which is 9:49 pace, walked a mile to cool off

Friday, July 30
Ellie - Nothing. i think i'm done with MTC. i didn't finish teh 30 days (though i did do 1 week 2x), but the book is due back and i'm ready for a change. would love to take up parquor (sp??). hmmm. not sure what i'll start with on monday - running and something else.

Megan - none
Linds- lifted upper body, abs and stretched...took an hour for all of that.

Saturday, July 31
Megan - cleaned the whole house for a couple hours, then helped Ashley move all their stuff...to our house! (they are using our basement temporarily since they closed on their condo but don't close on their new house for 2 weeks)
Linds- ran 12 miles! I ran around the bwi loop (there's a running/biking trail that goes around the airport). It's 10.8 miles, so after I finished that, I ran another 1.2 miles to even it out to my 12 mile run. It was nice having a change of scenery and a lot of it was in the shade. I had to drive around it before hand to distribute my gatorade and water, but I stayed hydrated and felt pretty good about the run. It took me 2 hours and 4 minutes, so just over a 10 minute pace. I'm having to modify my schedule this week and the next two weeks because of Bolivia, but since Lauren runs a ton, she said I would be able to run with her while down there! I'll post this coming week, but not sure what our computer situation will be like in Bolivia, so I might be absent for a while.

Sunday, August 1

Megan - none...wow, Lindsay, you ran 12 miles in 2:04?!! you rock, for real. amazing!
Linds- none

It's official...

2010-07-25T18:01:00.001-07:00

I know this is hard to read, but it's a screen shot of my confirmation for signing up for the marathon...it's just less than 12 weeks away, on October 16, so we'll see if I make it....

Pasta with Lamb and Cherry Tomato Ragu

2010-07-25T16:36:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

Salt and pepper

12 oz. fettuccine pasta

2 Tbl. EVOO

1 lb. ground lamb

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

1/3 lb. feta, cheese crumbled

Boil noodles until al dente in a large pot of salted water. Drain, reserving 1 ladleful of pasta cooking water.

In a large skillet, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add lamb and cook, crumbling it, until browned. Add tomatoes and cook, tossing, until burst. Add garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened, 3-4 minutes.

Stir reserved pasta cooking water into the lamb ragu. Add the pasta, mint, and parsley and toss. Top with feta cheese.

I'm not even a big fan of lamb, but this dish was pretty awesome! I'd cook it again with beef for myself. I made it as a special birthday dinner for Ben and he loved it. My alterations: I used whole wheat fettuccine. I didn't have quite 1/4 cup of the mint or parsley, and it was still great. Didn't measure the feta either, just threw a bunch on top and mixed it in. This was super easy to make and the finished product looked so gourmet. I would also recommend throwing in the tomatoes before the lamb is finished browning because my lamb starting to get really well done by the time the tomatoes starting getting soft.

Give it a try for something different!

Week of July 19th

2010-07-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie - Day 15 MTC 1/2 way through. I took some pics to show my progress, and was REALLY discouraged that there is no visible difference whatsoever in the pics. none. nada. so disappointing.

Jenn- I've officially thrown in the towel :-( I don't really want to, but last night my other, non-injured shoulder was hurting, and had to sleep with a heating pad on it. I think I need to try to start MTC again after my body is fully healed. Poo.
Linds- day off
Megan- none...sad that I'll be working out alone for the rest of the time! Ellie, I don't see any difference in myself either, but I know it's because I haven't been dieting, haven't been doing extra cardio, and haven't done anything at all in like a week...so, clearly I'm not doing enough! My legs feel stronger though...that's the only thing I can tell.

Tuesday
Ellie - Day 16 MTC, 30 min jog/walk; Tennis serves 30 min.
Linds- ran 3 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline, 6.1 speed (9:49 pace) and walked 2o mins to cool down, lifted upper body for 30 mins
Megan- none

Wednesday
Ellie - MTC day off, 45 min. stretching dvd.
Linds- ran 4 miles outside at 4:30 pushing Quint in the single jogger. 43 mins. It was really hot, but not as bad as Sunday! (my upper body was REALLY sore today...must have pushed it too hard with the weights)
Megan- MTC day 15- decided to do that day over since that's where we left off last and didn't want to just start on day 16 then rest on day 17 the very next day.

Thursday
Ellie - MTC 18, Tennis 30 minutes
Linds- ran 3.33 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline and 6.0 speed (10 min pace)...was planning on running 4, but the childcare people came to get me because they said Reagan "had an accident" but it turned out she didn't...her undies were dry, she just sat in spilled milk or something. ugh. THEN, I did the assisted dip and pull-up machine (never done these before) and started doing abs and the fire alarm went off and we all got evacuated. So, a day of interruptions, but oh well....rest day tomorrow before a long run Saturday!

Megan- MTC 16...don't have a treadmill now to do the hill run, but was sort of happy about that because incline of 15 sounds impossible, ha. Jenn said I could go over to use her treadmill, but feel dumb going over there working out if she's not working out with me. Maybe I'll do that once she's in NY next month. I definitely want to do the 30 days over again once it ends, hopefully be a little better at it the 2nd time through.

Friday
Linds- rest
Megan- rest

Saturday
Linds- ran 10 miles! I left at 7 am so it was nice and cool, and it took me 1:51, so a little over 11 minute pace. I ran 2.5 miles and back, twice, so mile 5 was my hardest because I was right by our house and just wanted so bad to go in, but I plugged on and ran away from the house to finish the second half. Surprisingly, mile 5 was really the only hard mile and I may have been able to do 1 or 2 more miles when I was finished. That feels good! I'm pretty sore...mostly my lower back, my hips, and my IT bands on my knees, but I'm not miserable, so I'm happy with the day.
Megan- none, but did some weeding and walking. Linds, I am thoroughly impressed!
Ellie - 30 min run

Sunday

Megan- I'm slacking at the moment...undecided as to whether to work out tonight...I just drank a glass of wine and am about to eat homemade chocolate ice cream. While sitting in my baby pool today I was sickened by my gut. I've turned into fatty fat fatto. I really need to get serious.
Ellie - nothing. megan - you are not a fatty fat fatto - but, ahem, i am pretty darn close.

Week of July 12th

2010-07-12T09:05:00.001-07:00

Monday
Ellie - So, I was sick again Friday and Saturday. Missed my last day of last week's workout, so i thought i'd repeat the week (didn't give last week my best effort). Day 8 again - minus the sprints at the end (got distracted) + 30 min of walk/run with Noah. (he's training for a triathlon - sprint distance!! go figure). also, i'm thinking about training for another race. i never did the marathon i was training for a few years ago - couldn't get past 17 miles with enough time to finish the race. to be honest, I keep hoping i'll get pregnant and don't want to launch into major fitness plans, but i guess i might as well. i can always wait a bit to register for the race. keep you posted.
Linds: 45 minutes on the elliptical
Jenn: Day off for me and Meg! Would like to walk with Scott tonight, but pulled something in my right shoulder/neck from our workout last night. Jillian had us doing Terry Pulls and other various lateral pull downs, so I must have pulled something too hard :-(

Megan: rest

Tuesday
Linds: ran 3 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline 6.1 speed (9:49 pace), walked 10 minutes to cool down and did 30 minutes of upper body weights.
Megan: rest
Ellie - Day 9

Wednesday
Linds: according to my marathon schedule, I was supposed to run 4 miles today, but I just took a break...I'm supposed to run 3 tomorrow, but I'm planning on running 4-5 since I didn't run today. Running 3 days in a row is really hard. (Carl thinks the plan I'm using is hard, but it's the most popular one online...it's Hal Higdon's novice plan). The day off was nice, but I don't want to get in the habit of skipping days on my schedule.

Megan: we were supposed to start day 15 today, but we decided to take an extra day off because of Jenn's strained muscle. Although, I did walk around Homearama tonight for 3 hours...not strenuous, but at least some movement :)
Ellie - Day Off

Thursday
Megan: ok, so timing didn't work out and we ended up skipping this day too!
Ellie - Tennis 45 min, didn't do MTC
Linds-another skipped day...struggling finding time to go this week with my niece in town

Friday
Jenn: Day 15 of MTC. Skipped some of the dips and only did half of the required reps of push ups. Still ended up re-injuring my shoulder and neck. Went to Dan Hall today (Hannah was out) for an adjustment. He told me to not do any upper body for the rest of the weekend :-(

Megan: yep, Day 15...disappointed that Jenn hurt herself. also, realized that Jenn is leaving for NY in 13 days and will be there a whole month, so she'll miss the last couple days of the workout (I'm sure she's so disappointed, lol). I did all the dips, but I never do the different types of push-ups...I always just do the basic girl push-ups since that's all I can do.
Ellie - Day 10
Linds-no "real" exercise, but I did walk around DC with the fam, pushing strollers for several hours....not the same as marathon training though!

Saturday
Megan: ok, we stink this week. we didn't work out today, Jenn ended up going out of town, and I ended up doing nothing.
Ellie - Day 11
Linds: NOTHING! Ahhhh! I'm slacking this week!

Sunday
Megan: nothing. yep, nothing. this week has been bad. but not this coming week...I'm gonna kick it in gear!
Ellie - swimming - just a little bit, though.
Linds: I finally got my butt up and went running today. I really wanted to go 9 (that is what was on the schedule for today) but I didn't make it. For one thing, I left at 2:00 pm and it was 94 degrees outside. For another thing, I hadn't run since Tuesday, so I only made it 4.6 miles and I was done. I was sooooooo hot and just couldn't push myself to go farther. I did it in 49 minutes. This next week, I HAVE to do better.

Oh yeah, I'm kuhl! I mean cool!

2010-07-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks girls for letting me hop on the Kuhl bandwagon! I could say I'm Brown Runnings, but that sounds gross, and is an even grosser mental picture. E! How about I'll just be Jenn :-)

I guess as long as we are all doing this insane MTC workout, I might as well add my groaning/griping/complaining to your blog as well. I have never worked out like this in my life- even when Meg and I were training for the mini it was never this hard! I guess I never really push myself this hard, if I'm being totally honest with myself. I think I can already see results though; 2 of my coworkers today both told me that I look smaller in general, and especially my arms! Yippee! That's motivating for me! I'll think about that to push me along as we begin day 13 tomorrow. Until then, I'm enjoying my day off today!

Week of July 5th

2010-07-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie: MTC day 8
Linds: another rest day for me...hung out at the pool all day!

Megan: MTC day 6- rest!

Tuesday
Ellie: MTC day 9
Linds: ran 3 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline, 6.1 speed (9:49 pace), then I walked to round out the hour at 3.0 speed.
Megan: MTC day 7- rest!

Wednesday
Linds: ran 4 miles on the treadmill at 2.0 incline, 6.1 speed (9:49 pace) and walked to round off the hour at 3.0 speed.
Ellie: Day off of MTC, 55 min of stretching/yoga dvd - felt great!!
Megan: MTC day 8- we borrowed our mom's resistant bands, which are made to go over a door and you shut the door on them...so we were able to use those for the wood choppers and the V cable flies. our legs were so tired after all today's workout and all those jumping exercises! sprints were hard too- we traded on and off the treadmill every 30 seconds, worked out great. we took a 15 minute walk afterward too...not very strenuous, but it's a start!

Thursday

Ellie: MTC Day 11 - didn't get to do the last circuit (sprints) b/c I had to get to my tennis lesson. Tennis 30 min.
Megan: MTC Day 9...ugh, apparently this never gets any easier! I about died doing the uphill runs which Jillian decided to make steeper and faster! I had to hold onto the front of the treadmill the last few seconds each time. Glad we borrowed the resistance bands from my mom because we used those a ton today with all the lat pull downs and stuff! Also, I need to get serious about the diet part...not seeing results and I think that's the main hindrance right now.
Linds: ran 3 miles outside 29:35

Friday
Megan: MTC Day 10: rest!
Linds: rest for me too!

Saturday
Megan: MTC Day 11: I hate jumping exercises.
Linds: ran 5.2 miles outside in VA Beach...it was nice and flat. It took me 56 minutes...got rained on a bit too which was nice.

Sunday

Megan: MTC Day 12: I'm still sore from yesterday...today's workout didn't see quite as bad though (except the hill runs...ugh!!). I like the days without any push-ups involved the best :)
Linds: rest

Pizza Sauce

2010-07-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

Ellie suggested awhile back that we start posting some healthy recipes on here. I made a homemade pizza last weekend that Ellie wanted the pizza sauce recipe for, so here it is (sorry I can't give credit where it is due--I just have a magazine page torn out!).

Ingredients:

1 (14-15 oz) can whole tomatoes in juice

2 large garlic cloves minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 basil leaves chopped plus more for sprinkling

1/4 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

Cook garlic in oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat until fragrant and pale golden, about 2 minutes. Pulse tomatoes with juice in a blender or food processor to make a chunky puree. To the garlic, add tomato puree, basil (although I would recommend not adding the basil until the last 2 minutes--better to do it that way with fresh herbs), sugar, and salt (this is where I added about 1/2 cup of red wine even though the recipe doesn't call for it) and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and cool.

Here's a picture of mine once reduced--took about 30 minutes for me.

This smells so good while simmering! Put it on some dough with some mozzarella (the good fresh kind if you can get it, although I just shredded up an 8 oz. block of the Kroger's stuff) and sprinkle with basil...I would recommend a lot of basil because that's what makes it so good! I didn't use enough on mine.

Week of June 28th

2010-06-28T11:03:00.001-07:00

Monday
Ellie - First day of Making the Cut. QUESTIONS!! it was SO hard. I couldn't make it through all the reps. especially of the push ups/upper body stuff. I don't know if i should take a week or two and work the first 2 weeks doing each circuit only 1x? or go ahead and go for it, even if i can't do everything. felt like my form was REALLY suffering by the end. i didn't do the last circuit, only because I'm sick and didn't want to push myself too hard. also, i'm going to have to find a few substitute exercises since i only have free weights/no machines. suggestions?

Megan - oh my gosh. OH MY GOSH. Lindsay, how did you ever do this book?!! I bought it and read through some of it...it seriously is so intimidating I feel like I couldn't even begin to do it. But I'm going to try. Ellie, I'm so impressed that you're going for it...just knowing that you did gives me a little courage to try it too...although I will need to take tomorrow I think to really read through the book and do the measurements, fitness test, etc...so I won't really start until Wednesday. You gals are crazy...what are you dragging me into?? lol.

Linds-I'm so glad you are both doing this! It is REALLY hard, but I think you will like it (once it's over)! I lifted upper body for 30 mins today and 45 mins on the elliptical.

Tuesday
Ellie - Day 2, Making the Cut. Much better than the first day, now that I know what i'm getting in to. still didn't add any extra cardio, which i know will be the clencher for me - waiting til i feel better. Substitutions - ran the apt stairs for the incline minutes, used bands over a door top for lat pull downs and bands around my foot for hamstring curls. worked great! still killer...

and now for total embarrassment...

gross - hated to see these pics, but i can definitely tell i train the front of my body a lot more than the back...not that the front looks that great, but this is bad.
here's to progress!

Linds- since I found out you guys were doing MTC, I decided to start it today, but I did Day 2 so I'd be on the same day as Ellie. However, I didn't round out the hour with any cardio, because I knew I needed to run my marathon training schedge. So, I did 40 mins of circuits, and stretched for 10 mins, then when Carl got home from work, we ran 4 miles together. He was keeping the time on his ipod and for some reason it stopped working before we got to the 1 mile mark, so we have no idea how long it took us, but I'm guessing it was right about 10 minute pace.

Megan- took the MTC fitness test with my sister- she's going to do it with us! my results: aerobic endurance: pulse 120=below average; push-ups: 0=very poor; sit-ups: 35=above average; wall sit: 49 seconds=above average. According to Jillian, scoring below average in any of those categories means this book is too hard...well, I'm sorry if my pulse isn't good and I can't do any real push-ups, but I'm doing MTC anyway!! :) Before pictures (took the first 2 on Sunday afternoon and the last one tonight because forgot about a behind shot the first time around!):

Why am I smiling about this?

Letting it all hang out...and the dimples...ugh!

Glad the light was worse here so you can't see all the dimples in the back too!

Why do I wear a bikini again? I really hope no one reads this blog!

Wednesday
Linds-off day for MTC! Ran 2 miles on the treadmill at a 2.0 incline, 6.1 speed....9:49 pace. Then I walked 2 more miles at 3.0 speed. (pretty sore today from working out twice pretty hard yesterday)

Megan- went to Jenn's house (will mostly work out at her house since she has a treadmill, weights, body ball, etc...might go to the gym at Southeast on days that requires more equipment) at 6AM to start MTC Day 1: Results: I suck. This kicked my butt. I substituted girly push-ups for all the real ones, I couldn't figure out the side planks with inner thigh raises even with instructions and pictures, and completely skipped rope tricep press (obviously didn't have a machine, but should have substituted something), mountain climbers, and the boat pose, mainly because a shortage of time, but also because I couldn't do any more. Didn't have time to do the cardio at the end...might talk a walk/jog tonight, but pretty sore already and not sure I want to!

Ellie - nothing

Thursday

Ellie - Megan - jenn should post on here too! Day 4 MTC (plan to walk/jog later, will post if i do). megan - i used my stretchy bands for the tricep rope press, around a closet rod - pulled down to my sides while keeping elbows glued to my hips. for the plank - remember the top leg is the one that stays on the floor - when i do them it feels like my inside leg is only raising about 2-3". i do girly push ups too! finished today in 30 minutes which means i went WAY too fast on my lifting/reps, which helps explain why it was so DANG HARD! did a lot of stretching too. still working towards those splits!!

Megan- Day 2 MTC- we liked this day better than the day 1 stuff since no push-ups were involved anywhere :) Still killer though. We didn't do lateral pull-downs or hamstring curls since no machines- Ellie, we don't have resistance bands to even do that, but I might go buy some. After my up-hill run at the end of circuit 4, I got nauseated and ran to the bathroom and started heaving...but felt okay after a few minutes and finished out circuit 5. Guess it's all those toxins coming out of my system! Still didn't do the cardio at the end because of time. Need to start making time!
Linds-day 4 of making the cut...it took me about 40 minutes to do the circuits, but I didn't finish out with cardio because I had planned to run 3 miles in the evening...that however, didn't happen. I had a meeting for church 30 minutes away and by the time Carl got home from work, it was either run and don't eat, or eat...I choose to eat. :) I had to move my 3 mile run to Friday.

Friday
Megan- Day 3 of MTC: off! thank God! I am really sore from having not worked out in a long time, so I really needed this day off!
Ellie - Megan - sounds like you could take it a bit easier on the cardio and still get a great workout. i don't know if heaving is a good thing - ask lindsay - she's more hardcore.
took a day off from MTC b/c of my schedule
30 min. of tennis
Linds-I decided today that I couldn't handle both MTC and marathon training...as much as I thought I could do it, I was just too fatigued and felt like my runs were lacking, so today, I just ran 3 miles on the treadmill...2.0 incline and 6.0 speed (10 min pace). Then I walked for 30 more mins at 3.0 speed.

Saturday
Ellie - MTC 5 workout today. ran the stairs for my uphill sprints. felt great. sweating like crazy. not as much of an urge to curse this time.
Megan- Day 4 MTC: still really tough...the third time you do push-ups, and you're supposed to do 20, I'm so weak at that point- on Day 1, I only did 3...today I did 10...hopefully I'll be up to doing all 20 soon! skipped the tricep row since no machine (although I am borrowing some resistance bands from my mom tomorrow so I'll do something with those next time). couldn't finish full minute of mountain climbers...Jillian is crazy! :) No heaving today, felt good...sweating like crazy! still no 15 min. cardio at the end either...poo.
Linds-Ran 7 miles!!! It took me an hour and 14 minutes, so around a 10:40ish pace. It was a lot harder than my 6 mile run last week. I think it was because I left at 8am instead of 7. It was so much cooler leaving an hour earlier last week. Plus, last week, I think I paced myself better. Each miles this week were random. The first mile was 9:35, then 9:53, and they got slower and slower. I was still happy with the result. I only walked to take drinks at miles 4 and 6, so not bad.

Sunday

Megan - Day 5 MTC- still so hard! Getting better though, at least somewhat...I absolutely HATE mountain climbers...I cannot do those for 1 minute straight no matter how hard I try. I'm trying to get better at only giving myself 5 seconds break though and going right back at it instead of just giving up completely or waiting 10 or 15 seconds. Major downfall for me with week 1- no extra cardio, and haven't been dieting. Need to start doing both of those. (megan - i haven't been adding extra either. need to make time)
Linds- REST! (Way to go on MTC girls! I'm really impressed you are sticking with it. Don't get discouraged about not being able to do cardio at the end. I know it's super exhausting. Just add in a little bit a day if you can and work your way up to rounding out the full hour of training...you are a sixth of the way finished!!!)

Look Like Lindsay

2010-06-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

Summer Challenge

Look Like Lindsay

Megan and I will be competing to see who can have the most dramatic transformation this summer (like Lindsay's hot bod).

We will be posting swim suit pictures (seriously...don't check the site if you don't want to see).

Labor Day weekend Lindsay will decide who won the challenge.
The winner will receive ???

25/52

2010-06-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Monday

Megan- none, but I was hoping that starting this blog post might motivate me to do something...

Ellie - Soccer, Walk
Linds-upper body weights 30 mins, 45 mins on the elliptical

Tuesday

Ellie - Run 30 min.

Megan- none, although now that we're officially doing the "look like Lindsay" challenge, I'm feeling the motivation again...
Linds-ran 3 miles outside in 97 degree weather pushing the double stroller through our hilly neighborhood...not the smartest idea...I was dying. 35 mins. {Since I only ran 2 times last week and it was supposed to be my first week of marathon training, I decided to push back the training a week and make this week my first week...so, today was my first official day of "marathon" training...we'll see if I end up signing up for a full or a mini...time will tell...}

Wednesday
Linds-upper body weights for 30 mins at the gym, 25 mins on the bike...then, when Carl got home from work, we ran 3 miles outside, but he pushed the double jogger this time. We finished the first mile in 9:24, but ended right at 30 minutes...it was HOTTTT, but we finished our run with a nice swim! {day 2 of "marathon training" in the books!}

Ellie - can't believe you're going to do a marathon lindsay! whoa.and it sounds like you're training to push a double stroller the whole way - even more impressive! haha all i did was walk today.

Thursday
Linds- lower body weights and core training at the gym for 30 mins, 15 mins on the elliptical

Ellie - Tennis lesson, 30 minutes; checked out "Making the Cut"

Friday

Ellie - nothing
Linds-ran 3 miles outside, 30 mins

Saturday
Linds-ran 6 miles outside-took me 1:05, so just under an 11 minute pace-week 1 in the books!

Sunday
Linds-none

22/52

2010-06-01T15:24:00.001-07:00

Monday
Ellie: 30 Day Shred Level 1
Linds: LAST DAY of MAKING THE CUT! 40 mins of circuits...that's all I had time for because I had to get home to leave for the big race!

Megan: none

Tuesday
Linds: At my gym, everyone gets a complimentary fitness assessment/session with a trainer, so I did this today. It was encouraging because the trainer was impressed with my strength. I could do 15 push-ups in a row pretty fast and a ton of crunches. She worked me out pretty hard in the 1 hour session. I was soaked at the end. She also took my body fat % and I was 22%, which is above average for my age. Women my age aren't supposed to be under 17%. 17-19% is considered elite, and 20-21% is considered good, then 22-23% is above average, then average, and on down from there...so I was happy with 22%. The ab workout we closed with was really hard, but good.

Megan: none- did I mention that I gained back 3 of the 5 pounds that I had lost?? Let's just say I couldn't resist that food in Vegas!! Linds, I am just blown away that you did that 30 day workout and at how strong you are! That is SO awesome- so inspiring! Congrats!!!!!

Wednesday
Linds: lifted upper body 30 mins (upped my weight on all the exercises from 20 lbs to 30 lbs), ran 3 miles on the treadmill at a 2.0 incline, 10 minute pace. Walked for 10 mins to cool down. Someone over the weekend was talking about the difference between running outside and running on the treadmill and he said that running on the treadmill is so much easier because all you have to do is pick your feet up as opposed to propelling yourself forward. He said in order to make your treadmill runs more effective, you have to have some sort of incline, even a 1 or a 2. It made sense to me because I've noticed that it's a ton harder for me to run outside than inside. So I tried it today and could tell a huge difference.
Megan: none. I agree with you Lindsay, running outside is way harder- good idea about the incline on the treadmill!

Thursday
Megan: none. did I mention that I have apparently given up all forms of dieting and exercising? got 2 sushi rolls for lunch today (half-priced- total bill was only $5.95!!) and ate THEM ALL BY MYSELF! ugh. then I ate junk for dinner because class was cancelled so I went to study camp for Bible Bowl, and all they have is junk food. nice.

Friday
Megan: let me just go ahead and commit to this on Thursday- none.

Saturday
Dancing at the wedding!!

Sunday

21/52

2010-05-25T15:27:00.001-07:00

Monday
Ellie: 30 Day shred - level 1
Megan: none
Linds: circuits for 35 mins, 35 mins on the elliptical

Tuesday
Ellie: Turbo Jam 25 min (didn't finish the whole workout)
Megan: none
Linds: circuits for 40 mins, 15 minute walk on the treadmill at 4.0 incline, 3.5 speed

Wednesday
Ellie: Turbo Jam Ab workout 23 min
Megan: walked 35 minutes
Linds: none (at chick-fil-a grand opening...I did play some frisbee and walk around the building several times to get some activity in, but not much)

Thursday
Ellie - 30 Day Shred Level 1, 1x (no sugar after 5pm)
Megan: none...I've turned into a bum this week! Ellie, you're doing great- keep it up!
Linds: ran 2 miles outside with Carl and the kids...finished in 18:37...I knew it was faster than my normal pace, but I was trying to keep up with Carl. He had to slow down for me!

Friday
Ellie - Turbo Jam Cardio/Ab 43min. (hopefully no sugar today- oops. too late)
Linds: (way to go Ellie!) circuits for 45 mins (2nd to last day of Jillian's 30 day Making the Cut!) and 25 mins on the elliptical
Megan: none

Saturday
Ellie: 30 day shred, level 1 (finally feel like i'm back in the groove of working out, but i leave town next friday )
Megan: lots of walking in Vegas!
Linds: ran outside pushing the kids in the double jogger...rough. I ran 2 miles in 21:11.

Sunday
Ellie: Jumping on the trampoline with friends - 1 hour - SORE

Megan: lots of walking in Vegas!
Linds: none

20/52

2010-05-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie: 30 day shred, level 1 1.33 times. (tracking food this week too)
Linds: 40 mins of circuits, 50 mins on elliptical (Linds - you are killing it!! ellie)
Megan: 30 minutes of weights/calisthenics (arms, legs, and abs); I've lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks...3 more to go to reach my goal! Ellie, what does yours mean? 30 day shred? level 1?

Tuesday
Ellie: Turbo Jam Cardio Party 43 min, stretching (working on the splits)

Linds: (way to go Ellie, it's nice to have some pictures on here!) 40 mins of circuits, 30 mins of elliptical, and 10 mins of stretching.
Megan: none- Ellie, looks like you're doing great with the stretching!

Wednesday
Linds: break from circuit training...ran the ladder! ugh! i did 2 minute intervals this time for 30 mins...5.0-8.0 speed. then, after that, i walked 35 mins at a 4.0 incline, 3.5 speed. stretched for 10 mins

Megan: walked 20 minutes to warm up, then weights and calisthenics (arms, legs, abs)- I only have 8 pound weights for everything, but I also have one 3 pound weigh that I'm thinking about using with my 8 pounders since it's small and easy enough to hold both weights at same time...
Ellie: 30 day shred, level 1, 1x

Thursday
Linds: 35 mins of circuits, 35 mins elliptical, 10 mins of stretching

Megan: none
Ellie: Turbo Jam 43 min

Friday
Linds: 40 mins of circuits (hardest day yet), 15 mins walking at a 4.0 incline, 3.5 speed, 10 mins stretching
Megan: none

Ellie - Nothing

Saturday
Linds: NOTHING! I needed the rest, my body is really sore today...going to try a light run tomorrow.

Megan: none

Sunday

Megan: did some weeding, and it was SO hot and I was sweating the whole time...but that's it.
Ellie: 5 mile walk with Noah

19/52

2010-05-10T18:32:00.001-07:00

Monday, May 10
Linds: circuit training for 45 mins, 30 mins on the elliptical
Ellie: Nothing

Megan: worked out legs (calf raises, lunges, scissors); arms (bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder shrugs); crunches (3 sets of 40 reps)

Tuesday, May 11

Ellie: Walking 60 min.

Megan: none
Linds: ran 2 miles (20 mins) and got through 1 circuit out of 5 when they paged me to the childcare room because Quint had pooped. So by the time I changed him, I didn't have time to finish the circuits because I had to get him to his 15 month check-up. So after dinner, I went back and did all 5 circuits, and came home and watched Biggest Loser! :)

Wednesday, May 12

Linds: ran 4 miles in 39:56, walked 25 mins at 3.0 speed/incline

Thursday, May 13

Megan: none
Lindsay: 40 mins of circuits, 30 mins on elliptical

Friday, May 14

Megan: none

Ellie: 30 day shred
Linds: 35 mins of circuits, 30 mins on elliptical, walked 3 miles pushing Quint in the single jogger

Saturday, May 15

Megan: walked 35 minutes around neighborhood with Ben, worked out arms, abs, and legs

Ellie: Nothing
Linds: walked 3 miles pushing Quint in the double stroller...however, we went out with some friends and I gave in and split this Colossal cookies and cream shake at this place in Annapolis that was featured on the food network. It was 6 lbs of shake, split 4 ways...yikes!

Sunday, May 16
Megan: none- as of this morning, I have lost 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks. I splurged this weekend a little (ate Chick-fil-a for lunch Saturday, coke and all, and had some homemade ice cream at my parents' house tonight), but didn't gain any, which was good.
Ellie: Nothing
Linds: ran 2.5 miles pushing the single jogger through our neighborhood (27 mins)...it's so much harder running through our neighborhood than it is on the treadmill. Walked pushing the single stroller about 2 more miles.

Ellie: On a side note, I have been SO inconsistent with my workouts. Posting on here really helps me stay motivated, but my workouts are pretty boring right now. Going to work on that - feel free to offer suggestions - pretty bored with running, plus it's getting really hot, so the walking is good for now - any other cardio suggestions?

Ellie, do you have access to a treadmill? You could do the ladder system from Body for Life, if so...only takes 20 minutes. If not...can you swim anywhere? -Megan

Megan - I don't belong to a gym or anything, so no treadmill. I though about joining the Y to swim laps - but there's not one that convenient to us. Noah has a friend who goes surfing every morning and is going to take Noah with him - I'm REALLY hopping that Noah loves it and we can get into that sport this summer. It'd be so much fun and not really even feel like exercising.

Needless to say - I did get some workout motivation. I went to Target and tried on a swimsuit...hmmm. Then instead, I bought some new workout clothes, which I've needed really badly - including a new sports bra. It's really hard to find a sports bra that actually does anything for me, and this one isn't the best, but it's better than my ratty ones. I also got a dress for Rachel's wedding, so I have motivation to exercise pretty regularly from now until I come home so that I can still fit into it!

The food combining plan I'm on has helped me tremendously. I actually reached my goal weight in the last couple months just from following those rules. So, now I really need to tone.

Ellie- awesome! I've been doing the food combining thing since last Monday the 3rd. I've lost 4.2 pounds...still want to lose a few more though. I've been so good at sticking with it, so hopefully I'll stay motivated through the wedding as well! -Megan

18/52

2010-05-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 3
Linds: circuit training for 35 mins, 30 mins on elliptical

Megan: 30 minute walk; bicep curls and tricep extensions (maybe? not sure what it's called- held weight over my head and bent elbows to lower behind my head then back up)- 2 sets of 12 reps, each arm, 8 lb. and 4 lb. weights; 30 crunches - yes, I am starting slow because I don't want to over-do it when I haven't worked out in a while :)

Tuesday, May 4
Linds: circuit training for 35 mins, ran a 10 minute mile (my legs were jello) and walked 30 mins at a 3.5 incline, took an hour long walk with the kids in the double jogger

Megan: none, but totally impressed by Lindsay's day!

Wednesday, May 5
Linds: circuit training break, so I did 60 mins on the elliptical

Megan: none

Thursday, May 6
Megan: jogged 1 mile; 2 set of 20 reps, each leg: scissors (I'm getting old school now...don't even know if you call them that but that's what I call them), lunges, and calf raises; 3 sets of 15 reps each arm, 8 lb. weights: bicep curls (8 lb. weights), tricep extensions (4 lb. weights), and shoulder shrugs (8 lb. weights) (again, am I making up exercise names here or what?? I feel like I've forgotten everything); 3 sets of 30 crunches
Linds: circuit training for 40 mins, ran a 10 minute mile and walked for 35 mins at 3.5 incline/speed.

Friday, May 7
Megan: walked 35 minutes

Linds: circuit training for 35 mins, 30 mins on the elliptical

Saturday, May 8
Megan: pulled weeds for almost 2 hours (that counts, right?); bicep curls, 3 sets of 15 each arm, 8 lb. weights; tricep extensions, 1 set of 8 each arm, 8 lb. weights, 1 set of 15, 4 lb. weights; 3 sets of 30 crunches

Linds: none

Sunday, May 9

Megan: none
Linds: none

Making the Cut

2010-05-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

So I decided to start Jillian Micheal's "Making the Cut" workout last Thursday. Basically, it is a hardcore workout of circuits for 30 days. There are 5 circuits each day with approx. 5 exercises per circuit. There are about 5 different types of push-ups, lots of different versions of planks and sit-ups, lots of lunges, squats of different variations, and lots of weight stuff. At the end of each circuit, there is a cardio exercise like "run at a 7.0 speed for 1 minute" or "jump rope for a minute" or, "hill run at 10.0 incline, 5.5 speed". So, needless to say, it's killer. I've been working out for several months-5 days a week and after Thursday and Friday, I was hurting pretty badly.

I've had this book for a while and realized I needed something to change in my workout since I have pretty much plateaued. Even though I have only lost a couple of pounds in the last few months, I have noticed a difference in my body. Maybe I should measure my inches and see how much that has changed. Nevertheless, I am excited to work out "with Jillian". My 30 days will be up on May 28, so hopefully you all will notice a difference in me at Rachel's wedding!

Week 17/52

2010-04-28T11:11:00.001-07:00

Monday 4/26
Linds: elliptical for 30 mins, upper body for 30 mins

Tuesday 4/27
Linds: ran the ladder, walked 4o minutes at a 5.0 incline

Wednesday 4/28
Linds: elliptical for 30 mins, lifted with lower body 20 mins

Thursday 4/29
Linds: ran 3 miles, lifted with my upper body for 25 mins

Friday 4/30
Megan: wow, productive week for everyone, huh... :)
Linds: day 1 of circuit training (35 mins), 30 mins on the elliptical

Saturday 5/1
Linds: day 2 of circuit training (40 mins) plus 30 mins on elliptical

Sunday 5/2
Linds: day of rest!

Week of April 18th-24th

2010-04-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday

Ellie: 5 milk walk with Noah in the hills - beautiful!
Megan: ran 2 miles...got chased by a dog (didn't look full grown, more like a teenager...one of those wolf-looking dogs with the blue eyes) for a while, really freaked me out...I started walking in hopes that the dog wouldn't have the urge to chase me if I wasn't running, but it just walked behind me for a while...never did bark or anything though, just stayed a few feet behind me...finally lost interest, thankfully!!

Monday
Ellie: 3.2 mile loop in the hills.(am) Ballet DVD 30 min (pm)

Tuesday
Ellie: Walk 3 mile loop

Wednesday
Ellie - Walk 1.5 miles

Thursday
Ellie - None

Friday
Ellie - Housework - pretty much all day :/

Saturday

Megan - finished the mini-marathon!! 2:58:10. time wasn't very good, but I had to walk a lot at the end. I didn't train nearly enough, so I wasn't able to run the whole way. But, could be worse I guess...my absolute worst-case scenario goal was 3 hours, so at least I barely beat that.

Just a message...

2010-04-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've been out of the loop on here for a few weeks now. My laptop frame has been broken for months and I couldn't close the lid, so Ben decided to order a new part for it and fix it. Well, turns out once he took it apart he couldn't fix it until he got some advice from some people. So basically for a week I didn't have a laptop and was only keeping up facebook on my iphone, but not really any blogs. But, the computer is now fixed. I am also so stinkin' busy these days it's crazy. Between working full time, school 2 nights a week, Bible Bowl 1 night a week, homework/papers, visiting grandparents, doing housework, getting to the grocery from time to time, church, trying to actually see friends or family or just relax on the weekend at some point since there is no time during the week...my workouts have not been as steady as they should be. I'm supposed to be running or cross-training 6 days a week for the mini marathon, and instead I run about 2 days a week, 3 if I'm lucky. It's pathetic. I've even gained weight instead of getting in shape, which was my whole reason for wanting to do the mini-marathon. Oh well. But, I can't complain...life is good, school is paid for, the house is looking great, I love having my grandma living in town now, my husband is as sweet as ever...God is awesome!

Ellie, how are the belly-dancing workouts going? Are you doing your walks in the morning? Lindsay, how are the family runnings going? Just getting on here and seeing that you two are still making plans and goals is inspiring...I need to keep at it. In answer to Ellie's question on her prior post, I plan on keeping up the running through the mini-marathon on April 24th. After that, I'd still like to run 2-3 miles a few times a week to keep in shape. But, I've learned through this process that I hate long runs!! I also desperately need to start doing weights again as I've gotten so flabby lately!

I hope to lose 7 pounds by Rachel's wedding, which would put me at 130. Just thought I'd throw that goal out there. Feel free to create your own posts or add to mine about what's going on with you all. I feel so out of touch! Love you all and even though we don't talk often, I think about you all often and hope everything is going well!!

-Megan

14/52 April 4th

2010-04-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Sun
Ellie: NOTHING, ate 2 slices of italian creme cake
Linds: NOTHING (mmmm, italian creme cake sounds soooo good)

Mon
Ellie: danced and stretched for about 30 min. total
Linds: walked around DC for the cherry blossom festival...maybe 4 miles? I'll map it on mapmyrun and figure out how far it was.

Tues
Ellie: Walked in the hills 50 min.
Linds: 45 mins on the elliptical, 20 mins of upper body weights (increased weight from last week)

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat

April Workouts

2010-03-31T11:47:00.001-07:00

So - what are everyone's workout plans for April? Megan, are you going to keep running after the 10k?

Ellie:
I only stuck with my workout plan for a couple weeks this month (as evidenced by my lack of posting). Every month, though, I change my workout for some inspiration and to keep my interest. For April I plan to walk in the morning instead of running. I'm getting bored with jogging since I'm not really working toward mileage etc., plus it's starting to get hot here (sorry to brag guys!) so it's going to be the last thing I want to do before long. And, as usual, I'm going to switch my workout DVDs. I'm going to try to do a video in the evenings instead of the morning. I'm going to alternate a bellydancing video with a yoga video - haha! should be fun.

13/52

2010-03-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 28

Megan: I DID NOTHING LAST WEEK! that's right...this weekend is the 10 miler and I haven't done a single bit of exercising since the 10k! last week was even my spring break from school and I thought I'd work out even more with nights free. instead, I thoroughly enjoyed my week, spent a lot of time with Ben since he finally has nights off, visited my grandmother one night, hung out with my sister, etc. oh well...sometimes you just need a break. back at it this week though. as of yet, nothing today because it's been raining all day, but if it lets up I will try to get a short run in.
Linds: nothing

Ellie: Napped

Monday, March 29

Linds: 45 mins on the elliptical, 30 mins of upper body weights
Ellie: Nothing

Tuesday, March 30
Linds: 20 mins of the ladder...ugh! (5.0-7.6) then I walked 35 more minutes at a 3.5 incline, 3.5 speed. Then I did 15 mins of abs.

Ellie: Weights 15 min.

Wednesday, March 31

Ellie: Walk 40 min.
Linds: ran outside with Carl pushing the kids...we ran 2 miles in 18:50. Ugh! So much harder running through our hilly neighborhood than on the flat treadmill!

Thursday, April 1
Linds: 45 mins on the elliptical

Friday, April 2
Linds: 30 mins on the Summit and 30 mins of upper body weights

Saturday, April 3
Linds: ran 2 miles with the fam...killer through the neighborhood.

12/52

2010-03-22T11:52:00.001-07:00

Sunday, March 21
Linds: walked with the kids in the double jogger for maybe 1.5-2 miles

Monday, March 22
Linds: elliptical for 45 mins, 30 mins of upper body weights

Tues, Mar. 23
Linds: ran 3 miles in 29:38, then walked for 30 more minutes at a 4.0 incline, 3.5 speed....then I did some ab work and stretching for about 15 mins and finished with 15 mins on the bike (3.5 miles)

Wed, Mar. 24
Ellie: Ran on the beach 30 min. Swings and Rings 10 min. (at muscle beach!)
Linds: made it to the gym before mom's group, but not until 8:15...wanted to be there by 8...nonetheless, I did the elliptical for 25 mins and had to shower and head out to group

Thurs, Mar. 25
Linds: ewwww...the LADDER! Ugh, it killed me...even though I was technically only running for 20 mins, I was sprinting pretty hard for the high peaks...5.0-7.6 was my range. I walked 10 mins to cool down after the ladder at a 3.0 incline. Then, I lifted lower body for 30 mins and cooled down again with 5 mins on the bike. Rough!

Fri, Mar. 26
Linds: 30 mins on the summit...30 mins upper body weights and abs...first time in a LONG time that I've worked out 5 days in a week (actually 6 if you count walking Sunday)!

Sat, Mar. 27

11/52

2010-03-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 14
Linds: none
Ellie: None
Megan: none

Monday, March 15
Linds: 45 mins on the elliptical and 30 mins of upper body weights
Ellie: Run/Walk 30 min.

Megan: none- still sore from my Saturday run!

Tuesday, March 16
Ellie: weights, whole body 60 min.

Megan: none
Linds: ran 3 miles in 29:46...fastest I've run in a while. Then walked a half mile and did 15 minutes of ab work and stretching.

Wed, March 17 -Happy St. Patty's Day!
Ellie: Run/Walk 30 min. it was HARD in the 80s today, i'm blaming that for why it was hard, but probably b/c i'm not consistent enough.
Linds: Had planned on getting to the gym early at 8 (when childcare opens) to work out since I have my mom's group at 9:15, but that didn't happen...for some reason Quint woke up 2 times last night out of nowhere. (He's finally sleeping good through the night), so I was really tired. So, I didn't make it to the gym, but we did walk to Chipotle and back pushing the double stroller...a total of 4 miles. You got free guac for wearing green today! One of my new goals is to make it to the gym early on Wednesdays so I can work out 5 days/week...we'll see when I reach that goal!

Megan: ran 2 miles, 22:40

Thurs, March 18
Linds: 30 mins on the Summit, 15 mins on the bike

Megan: none

Friday, March 19
Linds: ran 1 mile in 10 mins, walked half a mile...then lifted upper body for 30 mins
Megan: none (it's sad that the day's not over and I'm already posting "none"...ha)

Sat, March 20

Megan: Rodes City Run 10k- 1:12:31
Linds: Hiked through Deep Creek, MD...hard to tell how long I hiked because we stopped at certain points throughout the park

10/52

2010-03-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

Sunday, March 7
Linds: none
Megan: none

Monday, March 8
Linds: summit for 35 mins
Megan: ran 1, walked 30 min. (don't know distance)

Tuesday, March 9
Linds: ran 3 miles on the treadmill in 32:45, walked one more mile at 3.5 incline and speed, rode 15 mins on the bike...then, after the kids woke up from their nap, I took them on a walk in the double jogger for 2 miles. I'm a lot more out of shape than the last time I used that double jogger (plus they've gotten bigger...they weigh around 50lbs combined)...I was huffing and puffing. So, I ran 3 and walked 3 today....good day.
Megan: none...awesome Linds!!

Wednesday, March 10
Megan: none
Linds: none

Thursday, March 11
Megan: none...this has not been a good week in the workout field...
Linds: 50 mins on the summit, 30 mins of upper body weights and a cool down of 10 mins on the bike.

Friday, March 12
Megan: none
Linds: none (Kuhls here...that's my excuse...blame it on them!)

Saturday, March 13

Megan: ran 6.2 miles in 1:16:47. The most I'd ever done in my life before this was 5! Woohoo!! Feeling pretty sore. Hope I can do it next Saturday!
Linds: none (Kuhls still here :)) ...way to go Megan!

9/52

2010-03-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

Mon 3/1

Megan: ran 1 mile, walked 3 miles
Linds: summit for 30 mins

Tues 3/2

Megan: ran 3.1 miles (didn't time it)
Linds: none

Wed 3/3

Megan: ran 3.1 miles, 34 minutes
Linds: none

Thurs 3/4

Megan: none
Linds: elliptical for 35 mins

Fri 3/5

Megan: none

Linds: none

Sat 3/6

Megan: Anthem 5k race- 31:54

Linds: none

Sun 3/7

8/52

2010-02-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

Monday, Feb. 22
Linds: 25 mins on the elliptical...I got to the gym later than I wanted and only had 25 mins left to work out before childcare closed for the morning (they're open from 8-12 and 4-8)...gotta get there earlier tomorrow.

Megan: elliptical for 15 minutes, walked around track for 30 minutes
Ellie: Jog/Walk 40 min

Tues, Feb. 23
Linds: ran 4 miles in 41:43...it was the best run I've had in a while...I didn't get side stitches and was feeling pretty good throughout. I walked 8 mins to cool down and then did the bike 10 more mins.

Megan: none, although I was really planning on it- was going to try out the gym at IUS after class, but we gave presentations during class and the class ran over 30 minutes...so didn't get out until 9:45 and the gym closes at 10!
Ellie: weights 20 min

Wed, Feb. 24
Linds: none

Megan: ran 4 miles in 43 minutes (don't have the time to the second since I was just looking at the clock on the wall at church to keep my time) around the track at church...oh how I wish the mini-marathon would be that flat!!
Ellie: Jog/Walk 30 min

Thurs, Feb.25
Ellie: workout video 20 min Tracy Anderson - arms and abs

Megan: none...ugh...Tues and Thurs with school just isn't happening...

Friday, Feb. 26
Ellie: Jog/Walk 30 min. next week we have family in town, so although i've been able to exercise everyday this week i won't get to next week. I'm going to try to take walks in the morning, and we have a hike planned, so i'll at least get something. it drives me nuts not to keep a schedule!! but that's life.

Megan: ran around neighborhood, according to my app I ran 1.9 miles in 21:40. Should have run 4 but it got dark on me...and I'm running 5 tomorrow with Jenn (hopefully!)...we'll see what happens!

Sat., Feb, 27

Megan: nope, Jenn's foot is still hurt (she hurt it a couple weeks ago) so she couldn't go...so I didn't go either

Sun., Feb 28

Megan: none

7/52

2010-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

Monday, Feb. 15
Linds: ran 2 miles on the treadmill...took me 22 mins...ugh! I was dying for some reason...my sides were both hurting and I felt soooo out of shape...I walked for 38 more minutes on a 4.0 incline at 3.5 speed. So, I did get an hour of cardio in.
Ellie: walked/jogged 30 min. i hear ya linds - i felt like i'd never been running before in my life!

Megan: none

Tuesday, Feb. 16
Linds: 50 mins on elliptical (4 miles) and 10 mins on the bike
Ellie: 15 min yoga - not much, but at least it was something :/

Megan: none

Wednesday, Feb. 17
Ellie: 30 min run/walk
Megan: ran 2 miles, 20 minutes...hadn't run in 2 weeks...NOT good for the training!! going to try to run a few more times this week though.
Linds: none

Thursday, Feb. 18
Linds: ran 3 miles in 31:28...still feel so out of shape, but at least I got three in today!

Megan: went to run after class, but only had 20 minutes til the gym at church closed...so I walked a few laps on the track, ran a mile in 11 minutes, and walked a couple more laps. I feel out of shape too, Lindsay!

Friday, Feb. 19

Megan: none
Linds: 30 mins on the Summit and 10 mins on the bike

Saturday, Feb. 20

Megan: walked 30 minutes...this is so pathetic for my training!! next week I am back to business, no matter how early in the morning I have to get up to make time!
Linds: None

Sunday, Feb. 21
Linds: none

Megan: ran 3.75 miles with Jason around the neighborhood...got to wear shorts it was so nice out!!!

6/52

2010-02-13T12:17:00.001-08:00

Sunday, Feb. 7
Linds: None

Monday, Feb. 8
Linds: None

Tues, Feb. 9
Linds: None

Wed, Feb. 10
Linds: None

Thurs, Feb. 11
Linds: None

Fri, Feb.12
Linds: 30 mins on elliptical, 10 mins on bike

Sat, Feb. 13
Linds: None

Sun, Feb. 14

Snow made it hard for me to get to the gym this week...although I know I could have done some workout dvd's here or lifted weights...just lazy. Hope to get better next week!

Same goes for me (Megan)! Didn't work out at all this week, but I was sick most of the week and the weather kept me in over the weekend. Hopefully I can get some running in this week!

Ellie MIA

2010-02-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

I've been MIA for over a month now with the move and holidays, etc. So it's hard to pick it up again, but I'm ready! Still want to reach my goal of exercising through a pregnancy, so I better get used to running again quick b/c we're almost ready to start trying again. My plan for the rest of Feb is to walk/run 5 m-f and build up my running again. Lift arms and legs on t/th, Abs and back on m, w, f, Yoga on tues/th nights and something fun on saturdays - my neighbors are trying to get us to play tennis with them. hmm...

Also, I am happy to report that I've lost one pant size by following the greattastenopain.com eating plan. I don't know if you've heard mom and dad talking about this, but it's an eating plan that Mr. Lowry has been following and had a lot of success with. It's supposed to help reduce/get rid of IBS, Acid Reflux, Heartburn (all of which I have) and a host of other things. I'm feeling so much better, have more energy and can tell I've lost a lot of bloating. The great thing is I can fit into my size 6 jeans!!!

The premise of the eating plan is that your stomach has to produce different chemicals to break down different kinds of foods. Proteins need a lot of acid to digest, but this happens to counteract the chemicals needed to digest starches, so if you're eating them together, something is not going to get digested and your body is going to produce more of each chemical to try to counteract the other one. So, you're supposed to eat heavy starches separate from proteins, and fruit should only be eaten on an empty stomach since it's so acidic, but still interferes with protein digestion.

Anyways, I can tell a huge improvement and will probably eat this way the rest of my life. Let me know if you want any more details.

5/52

2010-02-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

Week of Jan 31- Feb 6

Jan31

Megan: none

Ellie: none
Linds: none

Feb1

Megan: ran 3 miles (2 on the treadmill then the last mile around the track)- hard to say my time exactly, but I did the first 2 in 22 min, and I think about a 10-11 min. mile for the last mile as well

Ellie: None
Linds: none

Feb2

Megan: none

Ellie: Yoga
Linds: 30 mins on the elliptical

Feb3

Megan: none...was supposed to run today, but was busy with packing...figure I'll get enough exercise the next few days skiing!!!
Ellie: Walk 40 min and weights 8min
Linds: ran 2 miles on the treadmill 21:20, walked the last 9 on 3.0 incline, 30 mins of upper body weights

Feb 4
Ellie: Walk/Run 40 min. Abs Stretch
Linds: 30 mins on the summit, 30 minutes of upper body weights

Megan: none

Feb5
Linds: ran 2 miles in 21:11, walked the last 9 mins on a 3.0 incline, and rode 10 mins on the bike
Megan: skiing

Feb6

Megan: skiing

(First week in a LONG time I've worked out 4 days)...shooting for another 4 workout week and then next week we'll try 5 days.

4/52

2010-01-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

Week of Jan 24-30

Jan24

Megan: nothing

Jan25

Megan: mini-marathon schedule begins today! 30 minutes on elliptical, push-ups (following the schedule for the 100 push-up challenge http://hundredpushups.com/index.html), 5 sets- 6, 6, 4, 4, 5

Jan26

Megan: ran 2 miles on treadmill, 22 min.

Jan27

Megan: today's schedule said "cross-train or rest" so of course I rested :) stuck to the push-ups though (did I mention I'm doing girl push-ups and not real ones?): 6, 8, 6, 6, 10

Jan28

Megan: ran 2 miles on treadmill, 22 min.

Jan29

Megan: rested (I like saying that better than "none" :))

Jan30

Megan: ran 3 miles on treadmill, 33 min.; push-ups: 8, 10, 7, 7, 11

3/52

2010-01-18T18:44:00.000-08:00

Week of Jan 17-23

Jan17

Megan: nothing
Linds: nothing

Jan18

Megan: nothing
Linds: 30 mins on elliptical, 20 mins upper body weights (1 month is waaay too long without going to the gym...I was dying and was sooo sore the next day)

Jan19
Linds: nothing

Megan: nothing

Jan20
Linds: nothing

Megan: nothing

Jan21
Linds: 30 mins on the treadmill...ran a mile at 10:20 pace and walked the rest at 3.5 incline, 3.5 speed, also did 10 mins on the bike (2.25 miles)

Megan: nothing

Jan22

Megan: nothing

Jan23

Megan: ran 2 miles (23 min) in my neighborhood with Jenn and Jason- we're all 3 doing the mini! Jenn and I are doing it together!

2/52

2010-01-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

Week of Jan 10-16

Jan10

Megan: Wii Fit Plus...I forget how long, 20 minutes maybe? crunches on my new exercise ball (Christmas present from Ben), along with about 1 set each of several different leg exercises with the ball, just trying stuff out

Jan11

Megan: Wii Fit Plus, 20 minutes

Jan12

Megan: nothing

Jan13

Megan: nothing

Jan14

Megan: nothing

Jan15

Megan: ran 1.5 miles, walked .5 mile, push-ups and crunches

Jan16

Megan: ran 2 miles and walked for a total of 48 minutes

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 1/52

2010-01-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

First week of the year!

Jan 3rd-9th

Jan3

Ellie: NOTHING

Megan: nothing

Jan4

Ellie: Gaiam Full-Body workout dvd with plyotechnics (is that the right word) and mostly standing ab work. Linds - we're almost ready to start trying again for a baby (haven't gotten my period again yet), any recommendations for my exercise program to prep my body?? It's been a month since my last official "workout" and I can definitely tell!

Megan: nothing

Jan5

Megan: ran 2 miles (around 22 minutes) and walked .5 mile...and then played around on Wii Fit Plus for about 10 minutes. Hard to get back into running after not having run in a few months, but I was pretty happy with how I felt after 2 miles.

Jan6

Megan: nothing- so sore from my run!! man I'm out of shape...

Jan7

Megan: nothing

Jan8

Megan: again, nothing...

Jan9

Megan: ran 2 miles, walked 1/2 mile, 30 minutes on Wii Fit Plus

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-30T08:37:00.000-08:00

After personally ending the year (and by "ending" I mean the last 4 months!) very pathetically, I am looking forward to the approaching New Year and the motivation it brings. I know New Year’s resolutions don’t usually last, but why not take advantage of the opportunity to resolve to do something to better myself? Why not evaluate my life and decide on some things I’d like to see change this year? What better time than at the beginning of a new year? That being said, please post (if you so dare) your New Year’s Resolutions- heck, you can even post your non-fitness related resolutions on here if you’d like a place to keep track. I know it's a couple days early, but I couldn't wait. Good luck in 2010!

Megan
1: To run the mini-marathon in Louisville on April 24th- yes, I said it…I am going to train for the mini!! I hardly believe I am committing myself to those words, so I’ll need all the motivation and accountability from you all I can get! Anyone want to train with me?? Lindsay, maybe you could make a trip down here for it?? Aside from just wanting to get in shape, I have been inspired to run the mini by a couple things. First, watching the Biggest Loser final four run a full marathon- so impressive!! Second, a woman I work with who has run a marathon in all 50 states! I talked with her at a work Christmas party (she is on another floor and I don’t usually talk to her) and asked her a million questions about her running. She started off running with her sister, who passed away (of cancer, I believe), and so she was determined to finish the goal on her own. She ran the 50 marathons in the span of only 8 years!! That is basically a marathon every other month!! She has also completed 3 triathlons and is currently training for the Ironman triathlon in Louisville in August. After mentioning to her that I might consider doing the mini, the next day at work she gave me a training schedule, told me I could definitely do it, and that she would like me to keep her updated on my training! Definitely motivating- so, I’m in!
The others (in no particular order):
2: To eat breakfast (I tend to skip it)
3: To cook more often
4: To read a daily devotional and my Bible more often
5: To take and pass at least 2 out of 4 parts of the CPA exam

Ellie

After the miscarriage, I basically quite doing everything I normally do, fitness included. I'd been exercising 5-6 days for a while and had developed a great habit. Even those short weeks of pregnancy I kept running and doing my dvds. Even though the miscarriage wasn't caused by exercise, it freaked me out and I didn't want to do anything. I kept thinking, "maybe I should have taken things easier."

So, needless to say, here I am almost a month later, and I haven't done a single exercise since.

My goals for the New Year are:

1. Get back into my monthly routine: each month I pick a cardio goal and 1-2 workout dvds. When the month is up, I pick new ones.

2. Do the splits by 2011. (just tried to do it and pulled a muscle - i only got down to a lunge haha)

3. Exercise throughout a pregnancy.

Pics

2009-12-01T13:07:00.001-08:00

Here's some pics from my favorite run. It's long

and has a lot of elevation increase to it, but I love it because it doesn't feel as much like running in a city.

To the right is a view of the ocean with lots of fog over it. You can see a huge part of the LA bay on a clear day. Below is a view of the Getty Museum from my route:

To the right here is another view from my run. I tried to capture some of the elevation, but it didn't really work. Sometimes I see dear on this route, but I didn't see any the day I had my camera of course. Also thought I'd post a pic of my stretching progress. I'm getting better, but still can't straighten my legs all of the way. Compare to this old one from September: http://kuhlrunnings.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

Week of November 30th

2009-11-30T19:50:00.000-08:00

Monday

Megan: walked around the track at church for 45 minutes, lifted weights for upper body, and crunches on the exercise ball
Linds: 30 mins on the Summit (bumped it up to level 7...previously at 6)

Ellie: 3 mile run

Tuesday
Linds: 30 mins of upper body weights and abs, 4 miles on the elliptical (40 mins at level 7...previously at 6)

Ellie: 45 min of yoga.

Megan: none (although I did lug a ton of boxes and the Christmas tree up from the basement by myself, doesn't that count for something? :))

Wednesday

Megan: none

Thursday

Megan: lifted weights upper body, crunches

Friday

Megan: didn't workout with weights or on a treadmill, but: went bowling for a fundraiser for charity at work (2 games) then went shopping for about 3 hours, which is lots of walking!

Saturday

Megan: none (sick today :( but my butt is sore from bowling yesterday! way to go lunges! :))

Sunday

Christmas Goals

2009-11-29T12:01:00.000-08:00

How did everyone do on their Thanksgiving goals? What I wrote on the last post ("Almost Goal Time") is the same as how I ended up by Thanksgiving. I did some major slacking and definitely did not reach my goals. Working out has not been the priority for me that it should have been. I've had some adjusting to do, living in the states again and getting back to real life and real responsibilities. So now that I am getting diligent about getting stuff done again, it's time to start making my workouts a priority again too!

We have 25 days until Christmas Eve - a little over 3 weeks to accomplish something. Personally, I sometimes find that short-term goals are difficult to set because that's not really a lot of time to start seeing results. So I am going to make my goals this time more about my workout, instead of the goals about my body like I had before, like toning up and losing x pounds. You all might not feel the same, but I encourage everyone to post their workout and/or body goals, no matter how concrete or vague, as well. We can do another evaluation at Christmas.

Christmas Goals

Megan: 30-45 minutes of cardio 3 days a week; weights and calisthenics 5 days a week

Linds: 30+ minutes of cardio 5 days a week and weights 3 days a week (I guess it's the reverse of Megan's)...I've found that the only way I lose any weight is to be really intense and consistent with cardio. Like Megan, I don't want to have an actual weight goal for Christmas...I may set one of those for the first of the year, but with traveling and eating so much during the holidays, it'll be hard, so I'll just stick to the consistency with exercise!

Ellie: I just started my december workout plan: running 3 days a week and a different yoga/weight dvd. my goal is to incorporate more yoga into my workouts and emphasize stretching. i want to touch my toes with straight legs by xmas. i'm using karen voigt's yogascuplt dvd. i plan to do the yoga in the evenings and weights and running in the mornings. maybe i can get noah to join me?!

Almost Goal Time

2009-11-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

So - if you had a Thanksgiving Goal - post your updates here:

Ellie - I wanted to run 6 miles by Thanksgiving. I actually did that 1 1/2 weeks ago. I'll do another 6 miles next week and time it. Based on my 3-4 mile times, I'm already much fast than when I started out (over 15 min/mile). The huge thing is that I don't stop to walk at all like I did last time I was running long distances - except for a couple times on my longer routes when the incline is too steep to run. I'm going to take pics of my long run next week to post b/c it's the route that really got me psyched about running a year or 2 ago when I started. Last time I did the 6 mile route I saw 2 deer!

My other goal was to be able to touch my toes doing a full leg stretch...that one is still pretty out of reach. I've been much better about stretching, but not quite that flexible yet. I'll post a pic next week to show my progress.

Megan - Wow, I had forgotten all about our Thanksgiving goal-setting! I couldn't even remember what my goals were. Turns out, I wanted to be running 3 miles every other day...ha. Clearly, that hasn't happened. I wanted to get tone...well, I haven't really toned much, but I have lost some weight which makes my arms look slightly better. And that brings me into the weight-loss goal of 8 pounds- I have lost 3 pounds, but I am actually pretty happy with that. I will keep working toward those extra 5 though. Maybe after Thanksgiving we should make some Christmas goals. I must admit that just reading my Thanksgiving goals and realizing that I haven't reached them makes me motivated to set some new goals and go for them!

Week of November 16th

2009-11-18T09:28:00.001-08:00

Monday
Megan- Hey, look! I finally did something I can actually post about! Walked around the track at church about 45 minutes with my friend Rachel, then lifted weights for upper body and abs.
Linds-none
Ellie - nothing - went to the doc about anxiety and spent the rest of the day on the couch relaxing from all the anxiety about going to the doc - funny how that works!

Tuesday
Linds-30 mins on the Summit and 10 minute cool-down on the bike

Megan-none
Ellie - cardio/weight video

Wednesday
Linds-none

Megan-none, and abs extremely sore from Monday!
Ellie - Ran 3 miles

Thursday
Linds-none
Megan-walked 2 miles, lifted weights for upper body

Ellie - Stretching/Yoga dvd

Friday
Ellie - 3.6 miles 12.7min/mi.
Linds-30 mins on the elliptical, 3.5 miles on the bike (15 mins)

Saturday
Linds-2 hours of 2-hand touch football with a bunch of Mosaic people...it was fun and not too bad of a workout
Ellie - Weights and Cardio DVD

Sunday

Slack City

2009-11-12T15:58:00.000-08:00

So I've been slacking majorly! I went to the gym today for the first time in 9 days (I did work out once at home on my own) and it felt great. Not to blame him at all, but since Carl's marathon, he's not been running much and it's totally gotten me in a rut as well. I was telling him last night that I really need to sign up for a race or do something to get my motivation back. I haven't gained any weight thankfully, but I haven't lost any either. The half marathon I wanted to run in Richmond is this Saturday, and I'm really kicking myself for not doing that....I looked for a Turkey Day 5 or 10K around here, but couldn't find one. Maybe I'll just pretend to sign up for one and run a 10K Thanksgiving morning by myself. Any other suggestions?

November is Here!

2009-11-05T10:34:00.001-08:00

Monday

Ellie - nothing
Linds-30 mins on the treadmill (20 minute ladder, 10 minute walk on an incline for cool down) and 15 mins on the elliptical

Tuesday

Ellie - dvd - cardio and weights 45 min
Linds- 30 mins of upper body weights and 30 mins on the Summit

Wednesday

Ellie - 3 miles, 42 min.
Linds- none

Thursday

Ellie - stretching/yoga dvd ~50 min.
Linds- both kids are sick and I can't take them to the gym and I'm not feeling the best either...so none

Friday
Linds- took a 2 mile walk pushing the kids in the double jogger...it was pretty cold out (45), but taking them out in the cold is supposed to open up their airways and be good for their coughs.

Saturday

Sunday

October 26-31

2009-10-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Monday
Ellie: 5 miles in 72 min.
Linds: none

Tuesday

Ellie: New dvd! I've had this one around, but just haven't used it yet. It's a cardio/weight dvd that arranges them in interval training cardio-weights-cardio-weights, etc. It was a challenge, so I'm looking forward to using it the next 4 weeks.
Linds: 35 minutes on the elliptical

Wednesday
Linds: none

Thursday

Ellie: 3 miles, 37 min. I weighed in today and have lost 1.5 pounds and 3.11" since my last measurements (of course my thighs and hips are larger now - hopefully from muscle, haha, but my waist shrunk enough to balance it out, although that doesn't really help me fit into the goal jeans.)
Linds: 5K in 29:47....5 minute cool-down walk. I hadn't run in a while and could tell a big difference. My knees were sore and I felt like I was sprinting the entire time. Ugh. I also lifted upper body and abs for about 40 minutes.

Friday
Linds: 15 minutes on the Summit (killed me today) and 3.5 miles on the bike (15 minutes)

Week of October 19th

2009-10-19T10:20:00.001-07:00

lindsay - you're mile time is amazing! (Thanks Ellie...I'm trying to improve on that.)

Monday

Ellie: 4 mile run, 55 min.
Linds: 30 mins on the Summit (cross b/w elliptical and stair-stepper), 20 minutes of upper body weights including abs

Tuesday
Linds: 3 mile run (29:13)

Ellie: 40 min. weight training, full body

Wednesday

Ellie: 3 miles 45 min.
Linds: None

Thursday

Ellie: weights 1 hr., 20 min. tennis
Linds: 45 min on the Summit

Friday

Ellie: 2 mile run (was supposed to be 3, but i ran the wrong route.) I'm excited that i finished 4 weeks of my current workout sched. i'm going to continue with my running plan for the next for weeks, but change my weight workout.
Linds: walked around DC for several hours...I think it was 6-8 miles or so...and I was pushing the double stroller the whole time...it was a good workout!

Saturday

Linds: none

Sunday
Linds: none

Week of October 12th

2009-10-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

So, fall is here! Looking over my last few weeks of posts I've noticed I have the pattern of being interrupted. Working out is certainly not the most important thing in life, but my health is important enough that I want it to be a small priority among bigger things. My workouts get derailed alot, and this week is no exception. Ready to dive into another week of my 10k training, it's been raining all day for the last 3 days. Monday I was annoyed. Tuesday I was really frustrated. Today when I got up and it was still raining, I spent an hour lifting weights. So, it's not the same as running - but at least I did something. As the holidays come up and weather gets colder and wetter, make a backup plan so you don't waste a few days being frustrated like I did, and make a commitment to log on everyday and post what you did - even if it's nothing. Carl's marathon was really impressive and inspiring. When he described the race, it was a series of not only physical challenges, but mental ones as well. Every day we train for life, rather with a run, stretch or lifting some weights, we battle our own mental walls, however small.

Monday

Ellie - nothing

Megan - nothing
Linds-2 mile run (20 minutes), 40 minutes of upper body weights including abs

Tuesday

Ellie - nothing

Megan - nothing
Linds-30 minutes on the Summit

Wednesday

Ellie - Weights, 1 hour. full body, stretching.

Megan - nothing
Linds-nothing

Thursday

Ellie - 3.1 miles, run
Linds-3 mile run (28 minutes), 30 minutes of upper body weights including abs

Friday
Linds- 30 minutes on the Summit (killed me for some reason), 15 minutes on the bike.

Saturday

ellie: run 2.5 miles

Sunday

ellie: walk