Monday and Tues

Monday- I did really well with my eating through the day. Ate a bit too much at dinner, but that happens. Mikayla and I did take Jared in the jogging stroller. Wow! What a process this was. We had to get all our cold weather running stuff on and then get the stroller figured out (we've only used it one other time) and THEN get Jared dressed and ready to go. I was SWEATING up a storm and we were still in the front hall of our house! (note to self: don't put on your coat until you are really sure you are walking out the front door!)

Pushing the jogging stroller brought running to a whole new level of difficulty! We couldn't run on the sidewalks because a lot of people haven't cleared the snow off yet, so we ran in the road. There is still a lot of ice and snow there too! So, we ran around the ice, snow, parked cars, and tried to stay out of traffic. But, the thing that killed me were the little wimpy hills! I cannot run up hills easily even when I'm not pushing a 33 pound kid in a stroller!!! We went about 10 minutes and had to turn back because I had to go to work (and I was DYING!). We will try it again, because it was a really good workout. When we got back to the house, Mikayla took Jared up the street of our neighborhood for five extra minutes. Obviously, she is in much better shape than I am!

Tuesday- Today started out very promising. I had two jobs and instead of counting of fast food I, (are you sitting down?) ACTUALLY packed my lunch! I know, you are in shock! I packed a nice salad with turkey and cheese, an apple, and a bottle of water. I ate this while getting Jared from preschool and dropping him off at Karlin's while I headed to my next house to clean.

After work, I fell off the wagon. I had a lot of driving to do to get Mikayla where she needed to go and the little kids TALKED MY EARS OFF! I swear I must hear the word "mom" 300 times a day. I love my kids so much, but sometimes I can't listen any more. Did I take a time out? No, I took food instead! Ate too much and got discouraged. But, after I ate at 3:30 I decided I was done eating for the day. My late after-lunch-snack could also be my dinner. And so I have not eaten anything else and I'm drinking lots of water. For my exercise today I attended a free Zumba class at a friend's dance studio. Heather went with me and although the music and dance moves were not to our taste, we definitely got a good aerobic workout. It reminded me how much I love a good exercise class and I'm determined to go a couple times a month to the Zumba class I like at another location. It is so fun to see other women dancing and feeling foolish (or some who really CAN dance). It's also nice to get away for a while and sweat away some stress!

Day 2

It is Sunday.....a day of rest. :) I stayed up too late to watch the Dallas Cowboys football game and so arrived at church a bit bleary-eyed. I stuck to my breakfast plan of Special K, milk, and half a banana. Had 3 pieces of chocolate on my way home! oops! Ate a reasonable lunch and dinner. However, I did "stress-eat" a large cookie when I woke up from a too-short nap and had only 30 minutes to get dinner ready for the missionaries. My best accomplishment for today was that I DID NOT EAT any dessert or snacks after dinner and I didn't have 2nds at dinner either.

Mikayla and I are going to try running together right after school tomorrow with Jared in a jogging stroller.

16 Weeks to a Half-Marathon

In 16 Weeks and 1 day I will be running a half-marathon. It will be 4 days before my 40th birthday. This week I have been gearing up and setting my goals and making plans on how I can reach the incredible goal of finishing a half marathon. I work part-time. I am a mom with 5 kids at home and one in college. I have 2 church callings and my husband is a counselor in the bishopric. Sounds like the perfect time to run a half-marathon.


Every couple of days I'm going to write my progress (or lack thereof) on my blog. I plan to lose 13 pounds by May 2nd. (That is the big half-marathon day.)

This week I started exercising again. I was just aiming for 20 minutes a day for 4 days, because I needed a goal that I felt I could reach. This gearing up worked. I know because last night I dreamed of running again!

Wed-Jan 6th- 10 minutes of upper body weights
Thurs-Jan 7th- 3 Fast Miles walking DVD & 45 min. shoveling snow
Fri-Jan 8th- 4 Fast Miles walking DVD & 45 min. shoveling snow

Saturday-Jan 9th. Today Shane took the kids to the Primary activity. I started the dishwasher, ate my Special K cereal breakfast (that is important because I really hate breakfast cereal, but this one tastes good and is part of my diet goals), straightened up the kitchen, started the laundry, popped in my walking DVD, and then got ready to exercise.


I was lacing up my shoes and watching the DVD intro when suddenly I realized I was ALONE! I could actually leave the house for a run if I wanted. I couldn't believe my luck! That NEVER happens. I quickly switched to cold weather running clothes, grabbed my cell phone, and RAN OUT THE DOOR!

I am so proud of myself. I haven't run outside since early December. I ran 2.8 miles in 32 minutes. I had to walk about a fourth of the time, but that is not too bad since I've not been exercising and I've been eating junk food!


I handled the cold pretty well. I need to remember to put on Chapstick, wear heavier gloves, and switch to a hat that covers my ears. Other than that, it was PERFECT!


So, wish me luck. I am heading to one of the biggest acheivements I have ever set my heart on.