The time is now...

What time is that, you say?  It's time to ....

They don't have to big BIG GOALS.  They don't have to be long-term goals.  But it's always important to have goals, to have something to work toward.  It could be as little as drinking an extra glass of water a day or as huge as working and training toward an activity, an event, or losing 5 pounds before a wedding or party.  Whatever the case, I need to have something in front of me to reach for.

Now that the half-marathon is behind me, it's time to focus on other things that I have gotten a little lazy about and time for new goals.

So honestly, here we go.  The number on the scale (and the way my jeans fit) these days is not quite what it was and I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.  So what do I do about it?  Do I sit around and complain about it or do I do something about it?  Answer is obvious, right?   Well, seems to be, but I've still let it go way too long, using the half-marathon as my excuse.  No more!  Don't get me wrong. It's not a huge gain, but it is a number that puts the brakes on for me every time I see it.

It's back on program, back to meetings, back to the scale, and I'm going to start hitting the bottle (water bottle, that is) again.  I know where I want to be.  I know where I'm happy.  This is not it.

Another goal I've been contemplating is going back to the gym and working on body strengthening,  core, and especially trying to tone up these arms a little.  One of the pictures from the half-marathon of me with my arm up in the air convinced me of this after I saw all that "extra skin" hanging down.  Yuck!

The body strengthening and core is also key for my next goal, which is more of a long-term goal.  I've pretty much decided that I want to take my running to the next level.... a full marathon.  I don't know when that will happen.  I'd like to say it will happen within the next year, but I also want to take care of myself and my body and be prepared.  So that's where the strength building comes in.  I will definitely need to be stronger to get through a whole marathon.  Since I'm still  paying for my membership to the gym, I might as well start using it over the winter when I might not be able to get as much outside running in.

So there you have it.  I've gone public, made it official.  I have new goals.  Do you set goals for yourself?  Do you have current goals you're working towards?

New Goals?

Goals - Something I've learned are super important in my life.  Without them, I end up wandering around, wandering away, ending up in places where I shouldn't be (I'm there).  It's a way to bring me back where I want to be. 

So this week my focus is on setting new goals for myself.  More to come on that later.

I haven't gotten back to running since the half-marathon.   That should happen today, but yesterday, I participated in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk.  What a sensational event for such a good cause.  It was my first time participating in an event like this and I have to say that when they brought all the Survivors together and started the Survivors lap, I got chills.   Then the walk began, 5K, around the lake.  Beautiful!  And the crowd?  13,000 walkers, and they raised over $560,000!!!!  Awesome!

For now, I have set a few goals for today.  Today's goals are, 1) if I'm going to eat, I'm going to drink a glass of water first; 2) get out for my first run since half-mary; 3) my Google Reader is out of control, over 900 unread posts.  I'd like to catch up on all posts from the last week, and then unfortunately, I'm going to have to "mark all as read" and start fresh.  I feel overwelmed when the number gets that high.  But I just can't spend that much time reading; 4) Work, work, work.

Wow, that's a hefty list of daily goals.   Do you have daily goals?  Weekly goals?  Short-term goals?  Do they help you?

TheTime of My Life!

Let me begin this post by sharing with you what my fortune cookie said yesterday.

    

How appropriate.  My take on that, if there is something you have thought you might want to do but haven't tried it because you've convinced yourself you could not, just go for it!  The worse that can happen is that you can't complete it, which might just give you more motivation to keep trying!   And determination is a wonderful thing.

So anyway, my first half-marathon....AWESOME!  From the moment I arrived in Atlantic City on Saturday to attend the Expo until I left to go home, it was just an incredible time.

After checking into our hotel, we met up with my running buddy, Aimee and her husband, and headed to the Expo to pick up our race packets.

We then wandered around the Expo, checked out all the booths, got some freebies, bought a few things, and went to the "chip checker" to make sure all was working properly.  From there, we headed out to the boardwalk for a little walking, sightseeing, and people watching, of course, showing off my new race bag.

After a very nice dinner at the Irish Pub, I was off to the room to get my gear ready for race day and try to settle in for the night.   As only my luck would have it, we had a bachelorette party in the room next to us.  Needless to say, I only got about 2.5 hours of sleep. 
I got up a few hours early on race day, time enough to have a cup of coffee, a lite bite, and before I knew it, I was dressed and ready to go.

It was about a 15-minute walk from our hotel down to the start, just enough time for a warm-up walk and a quick potty stop.  Met up with Aimee at the start with only a few minutes to spare.

And we were off.  It was a great course!  They blocked major roads in Atlantic City for this race.  We ran down the boardwalk, through Atlantic City, up ramps and around curves and loops, across big intersections where all traffic was completely stopped, and through the tunnel.  Was so much fun.  There was people cheering along the way, and lots of water stops where there was more cheering.  I loved every moment of it!

I did my intervals, 10 minute run, 1 minute recovery walk, and I did have to stop a few times to stretch out the toes, but not so bad actually.

Before we knew it, we were back up on the boardwalk and headed toward the turnaround.  And yes, I started to get a little emotional.  As we got close to the finish, Aimee grabbed my hand and we ran the rest of the way together!  I was about to cross the finish line of my first half-marathon!  

 Our medals....

In the village for a little snack and beverage....

And what better way for a post-run ice bath than in the Atlantic Ocean in October...

And yes, I am very proud of myself.  I am a totally different person than I was before I lost the weight, and I don't ever want to go back, only forward. 

I am so thankful to have met Aimee.   She keeps me motivated and positive, gives me tips and little hints along the way, and there is always something to talk about to keep from getting bored on those long runs.    I can't wait to run the next event with her, and who knows what the future has in store for me with running, although I kind of already have my mind made up....

Still waiting for the pics to come back from the professional photographer who took pics along the route of the marathon. Hoping they got a better one of us crossing the finish line.

Beat Up, Up Beat, and Moving On

I woke up this morning feeling like I got ran down by a truck.  So so so tired, physically.  Got a busy week ahead so I decided to stay in bed an extra hour.  Now I've spent the last hour and a half trying to wake up, fixing breakfast, cleaning up the kitchen a bit, and still a  mess.  I'll give myself another half hour to finish this post, finish up the kitchen and then it's off to work I go.

Time to get motivated, get this day going, forget about being tired, just get up, move, and GET IT DONE!
Half-Marathon is now less than a week away.  I'm excited, and yes, a little nervous.   I hope I don't forget to pack anything important.   Praying that we have good weather (looks like that prayer might get answered). 

Ran a good 6-mile run yesterday. 

I have one last little run to do on my schedule, 2 miles tomorrow.  My body is tired.  I don't know if that's from all the running or from that combined with working and all the other stuff I've been doing.   Started taking ecchinacea yesterday just in case.

I had a good result on the scale this week.  That felt great!  Planning on possibly making some changes after this marathon.   I'm still battling with maintaining.  I'm still battling with keeping my weekends in control.  I have been battling hunger and cravings.  That's a whole different post though.

The question will be "What changes am I willing to make to get to where I want to be?"

Missing my Daily Blogging!

So it's been a little while since I posted.   Been so busy with things that I just haven't provided myself with the time to sit and read blogs and post.   But I'll keep trying.  
I miss this thing I call "Blog World".  I used to spend time in the morning before work reading and writing on my blog, then more in the afternoon and evening.  It kept me going, kept me focused.  There is so much going on right now, it seems the only time for me to work on reading blogs and posting is in the evening.  I try to check in during the day, but then I get lost in "Blog World" and distracted from working.  I'm also working on a "secret sewing project" which takes up my time every evening and will be an ongoing project until.... I really have no idea when it will be done.  But I'll keep trying.  I really do miss it, and blogging has been  such a tremendous part of my weight loss journey. 

I am struggling with my eating habits.  I just can't seem to get a hold on the weekends and nighttime snacking.  I am still at goal weight, but just feeling a little "out of control" at times.  The past few days have been much better though.  I've tried to stick to yogurt with a little crunchy high fiber cereal for my evening snack.  I really do LOVE yogurt for a snack, but when there are other things in the house,  I have a hard time staying away.

I am now TEN DAYS away from the big day, my first half-marathon, and I am ready. I am anxious, a little nervous, and very excited!  The extra running lately has been throwing my "hungry senses" into high gear.   Last week was rough.  I was either sick to my stomach (I think I had a bug) or hungry.   I keep saying I'm going to get some protein powder to add to my smoothies, but they're all kind of pricey for my budget right now.  Maybe this week. 

Any other suggestions on fueling the body when you're in high activity mode?