A Change of Pace

Today is the last day of the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge! I took advantage of the new year to try a few different ways of keeping in shape! Actually I went to visit some friends and then did a little mini road trip around California! It's been bad for blogging, but great for hanging out and believe it or not, good on the exercise front (but BAD on the food intake!) Here are my days and points, with pictures to prove it! Total for this week: 50 points.

Saturday, Dec 31: 10 points
6 mile run
7 servings freggies
1 hour (3 mile) walk

Sunday, Jan 1: 3 points
1 mile walk (Resolution Run - x2 points)
7 servings freggies

Monday, Jan 2: 4 points
1 hour Pilates (3 points)
7 servings freggies

Tuesday, Jan 3: 14 points
9 hour (13 mile) hike
7 servings freggies

Yosemite, CA: 13 mile hike

Wednesday, Jan 4: 7 points
2 hour (6 mile) walk
7 servings freggies

Monterey, CA: 6 mile walk

Thursday, Jan 5: 6 points
5 mile run
7 servings freggies

Thursday and Friday's Running Route: Monterey

Friday, Jan 6: 6 points
5 mile run
7 servings freggies

All in all, not a bad week. It was fun to do some other activities besides running and to realize how sore they can make me! I see that I need to incorporate at least a day of weights, Pilates or other cross training into my routine!

Don't forget to check out Jill's blog, where she hosts Fitness Friday! Also Amanda at Run to the Finish is doing a Food Journal Challenge!

Did you do the HBBC? How did you do? Have you ever tried Pilates? Do you have as much trouble as I do keeping your hips straight?

Run Like The Wind

When I first started running, it was difficult. The miles went by slowly; it was hot outside; the work days were long and the last thing I wanted to do afterwards was suit up and go for a run. If you have ever run a mile, you know that in every run, the first couple of miles are hard. Your breathing is strained; your face is burning; your legs are screaming; your mind is wondering why you would do this to yourself. Then the endorphins kick in and it becomes, not necessarily easy, but tolerable. Easier. After that, you get through the run and when you are done, you feel good.

Snowy run on Christmas Day

Lately, I have not had that dreaded feeling of the first couple of miles. The runs have started out, dare I say it, fun. Even though my heart and lungs still need to get used to the activity, it’s not as bad as it could be. It doesn’t feel horrible. It doesn’t even feel okay. It feels good! This is a little strange to me, since I have been running trails lately, which are hilly, and also I am running at about 2500 feet elevation, which although is not high, is higher than the 400 in Missouri or the 49 in San Francisco!

It’s still hard to get out the door sometimes. I am comfy in my pajamas or I’ve had a long day or it’s too cold outside. But once the run starts, all those feelings go away. Today my Dad and I ran 6 miles, with a total elevation gain of about 2500 ft. It was hard. The hills were tiring. It felt great though. As I was running back down the trail with the wind flowing (literally) through my hair, I almost giggled with glee because it felt so good! Who knew, running CAN be fun!? 

Trail running with Dad

I know it’s great when I feel stressed and need something to calm me down; it’s a nice way to get out of the house; it’s good for an energy kick, for fitness and for health. But I never really did it for fun. I always heard other people say how much they liked running and I never really got it. I tried to think back over my time running to figure out when it switched from being a chore to being something that I like doing. I am not sure when it was, but it’s happened. After all this time running, I think I like it. I really like it.  

** I am still participating in the HBBC, hosted by Run to The Finish! There is only one more week! Here are the totals for the week of December 24 – 30: 25 miles / 7 days freggies (I took this from Elle of Eat, Run, Sail) = 31 total points** Don't forget to pop over to Jill's to see other participants of Fitness Friday! **

A Year in Races

This year has been a good year, running wise. After not running very much last year (1 race and probably a few miles a week on average), I am glad that I made the time this year to run more and to be healthier. I feel better overall and I like having goals to strive for. Here is a quick recap of the races from 2011.

September:

City of Roses Half Marathon, Cape Girardeau, MO: Thanks to my friend G-man, who backed out of this race but was the one to suggest it, I had a reason to train through the hot summer in Missouri. I started running 2 miles and worked my way up to half marathon shape. This race was a big PR for me. I finally broke the 2 hour mark!

Women Run the Cities 10 Mile, Minneapolis, MN: Thanks to Lisa, this was a fun weekend! We toured around Minneapolis before doing the run on Sunday. I had never run a 10 mile run before, so it was an automatic PR! Gotta love that!

October:

Green Stride Half Marathon, Newburyport, MA: I met up with my friend M, who lives in Boston, and we drove up to Newburyport (with Mr. L, who was our complimentary cameraman) for a beautifulrace through the New England fall colors.

November:

Almond Bowl Half Marathon, Chico, CA: My mom accompanied me to this race and took photos of my struggles. It was a chilly morning run, and part of it was on a dirt (rocky) road, but it was not too hilly and therefore netted me another PR.

Turkey Trot (5k), Fairhaven, MA: I roped Mr. L into doing this with me and we both had a great time! I think no matter what distance races you normally do, you should throw a 5k in from time to time in order to remind yourself how fun it is to run shorter distances!

December:

California International Marathon, Sacramento, CA: This is the big one, Elizabeth. I am so glad I finally buckled down and signed up for a marathon. It has been on my life list for a long time and I admit to putting it off, year after year, because I was afraid that afterwards I would be done with running. Quite the contrary, I am ready for the 2012 season! With gusto!

So, all in all, it was a good running season. I can’t wait to see what next year brings!

Also, here is a quick recap of the HBBC activities for the last week.

Week of Dec 10 – 16: 30.6 Points total (23.6 miles run / 7 days of veggies)

Week of Dec 17 – 23: 30 points total (23 miles run / 7 days of veggies)

Did you run any races this year? Which one was your favorite? Are you having any success in keeping your cookie weight off?  

More Running = More Baking

Remember this? The bootie buster? I am still working on it! If you have not signed up yet, you still have time. You can go to THIS website and the information is on the sidebar! It is a great way to keep track of your activities during the holidays, when we sometimes tend to slip up!

Luckily I ran a marathon in this week's set of points! December 3-9. I ate 7 servings of veggies and fruits each day. This is accomplished quite easily actually, since I have been eating 4-10 mandarins a day, as well as the fact that I always have a banana with my breakfast and a salad or veggies for dinner (and others as well)! Besides, apple pie counts as a fruit serving!

Dec 3: 2 points
One mile walk (Sacramento -- we walked to the expo and back)
7+ servings of fruit and veggie

Dec 4: 28.2 points
Marathon (26.2 miles)
One mile walk from race finish to brunch
7+ servings of fruit and veggies

Dec 5: 1 point
Rest Day! No activity.
7+ servings of fruit and veggies

Dec 6: 1 point
Rest Day. No activity.
7+ servings of fruit and veggies

Dec 7: 1 point
Rest Day. No activity.
7+ servings of fruit and veggies

Dec 8: 5 points
4 mile run
7+ servings of fruit and veggies

Dec 9: 7 points
6 mile run
7+ servings of fruit and veggies

Now, I am off to make cookies. If you put Craisins in them and eat enough of them, it will count as another serving of fruit.

Are you staying active during the holidays? What is your trick to getting exercise when it's cold outside? What is your favorite holiday treat?

Busted!

Did you know the average person gains 5 lbs between now and January 1st? If you are anything like me, you probably ate a lot of turkey yesterday. And mashed potatoes, pies, cookies and stuffing. From now until after the new year, it will be hard to stop. Yesterday marked the first day of a long downhill stretch and a rolling snowball of food, eating, making merry, drinking and hanging out with friends (in order to eat, drink and be merry!)

Those 5 lbs which took only a mere month to put on will take at least 3x that long to take off. So, instead of falling into that trap, I chose to join up with Amanda to take charge of that extra weight. I am saying, "back, vile extra pounds, back, I say!" Enter the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge.

What exactly is this HBBC, you ask? Well, you get points for any activities you do as well as extra points if you eat at least 7 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Here are the point breakdowns.

1 Point per mile (run/walk)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 20 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of low impact cardio (i.e. low impact aerobics, easy biking, skiing, skating, water aerobics, snow shoeing)
1 Point per 10 minutes of high impact cardio (i.e.spinning, kickboxing, lap swimming)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies (here are details on what is a serving)

It started November 20, but you can join up at any time. It ends January 7th. You can go to Amanda's page for more info, but there are prizes and everything! Or you can just do it to help keep those vile pounds where they belong! I think that keeping track of what you eat and what activities you do really helps to keep you accountable.

I keep track of my miles using Dailymile and RunningAHEAD, because each one gives me a little something different. Both are not only great for keeping track, but they also give you routes to try, race info and information about where your friends are running! And my favorite thing about dailymile is that it tells you how many donuts you have burned (earned) so far!

In order to keep track of my food, I use LoseIt. I know a lot of people have also had success with MyFitnessPal. You can use this app on your phone or the computer, so it's easy to do it every day. It really makes you realize how much better a correct portion size is as well as what you would rather put in your body, for instance a) a glass of wine b) a handful of cheeze-its or c) a cup of baby carrots, 2 tbsp hummus and an apple. I realized that the cream I was putting into my coffee was adding up to 200 calories a day (yes I drink a lot of coffee! Or maybe I should say a lot of cream with a little coffee!)

So, this week (Nov 19 - Nov 25) I ate 7 servings of veggies every day and I ran 25 miles, so I have 32 points so far. My goal for next week, since I am in the taper and will not have high running mileage, is to incorporate something else, whether it's yoga, or some crunches or a few push ups.

Don't forget to go to Jill's blog to check out the other Fitness Friday blogs! Also, it's only 9 DAYS until the marathon! Yikes! Eeek! Egad!

What are you doing to combat the vile pounds this holiday season? Do you have a plan? Are you going to do the HBBC?