lifestyle

Inspiration.

I have this embedded in my head.
It's my screen saver, on my iPhone, and on my mind.. all the time.

I've been in training mode for the past 3 weeks.. training for what?
I'm not quite sure yet.
I have a half-marathon on my mind.. BUT, big BUT.. it happens to fall on the one day I'll be photographing a wedding.

This very situation has got me all wired up... feeling sick to my stomach.
Why?
Because I want this "half" so bad...
You know how you want something so bad, you can almost taste the blood, sweat, and tears ?
But the uncertainity of the day... is what's putting a big STOP sign on the whole thing.

I'm constantly thinking...
Okay, the race starts at 9am.. I already run 6 miles in one hour.. so 13.1 miles should be a good 2 hours.. 2 1/2 at the most.. That leaves 11:30am.. An hour to get ready to be at the wedding by 1pm.

But, I've never done it before.. What if I am in so much pain after I can barely walk yet alone keep up with a wedding's demands.

I sit here and act like this is the last half.. ever.
But it's not.. there's another one in October.

Whose keeping tabs? I say in my mind..
I am.

I really want to do this. But I just know... I shouldn't. But yet, I'm still training..

Well no one says I can't train for the October Half.. :)

If you only knew.. how bad I want it.. How much this would mean to me..

28 Minutes 55 Seconds.

Every now and then.. I'll stop by this blog and give it some love.
At one time or another, I thought it would be a great idea to keep these two blogs separate. I mean, who wants to hear me ramble on about my runs, bike rides, or races... So at that time, I thought it would be neat to keep it separate from my creative and family lifestyle. But somehow they just merge... and keeping the two has become harder than I thought. Some days I only have the energy to write in one blog. But I'm gonna try.

Look at that.. 7-0-4
My man.. got his shining moment!
I'm so envious. If you only knew how long I've been combing through these photos to find a piece of me in there.. and I did find one. Only thing you'd need a magnify glass to see me! (aarrgh)

But the proof is in the.. time chip :)

My goal for today was to try my damnest to make it under 3o minutes.
And finally after my 4th (?) 5K.. I did it!
And much like anything you are passionate about... I was indeed proud of myself.. BUT it left me wanting more. I kept thinking how I could've done so much better if I only did this or did that.

For one thing, when the gun went off, I booked it! Not  good. So when I saw that hill ahead... I felt like I was dying. And like all my runs.. that first mile and half, always kills me. Then my body starts to warm up and I feel freaking fantastic. I should've jumped around a bit jogged a little prior to the race. This time, I did dress less. I actually wore shorts in 35 degree weather. But I ended up doubling up on my top... and I wish I just wore a T-Shirt! I notice, I do so much better when I don't feel like a portable heater.  The other day I did a 7.7 mile run and I felt great because I dressed very lightly. I ended up taking my second layer off.  But that feeling you get on your last leg of the run, when you know just around the bend, is the finish line.. all of a sudden, that adrenaline kicks in and it's like someone just a lit your behind on fire. It felt amazing!

But I'm craving more.
I want to do better.
I want to challenge myself even more.
I want to do the things I never thought I could do.
I want to be like that girl who was already finishing up when I was only halfway through.

That's the thing with something you are truly passionate about... you're always wanting more.

 

Runkeeper + Map My Ride.

Using the Runkeeper to record my runs.. because my Nike Thingy Majingy is not working!! (again). So instead of buying another one (sigh) I'm gonna use a different running device.. cause obviously I'm a very technology dependent fool to boost my ego and to push me.  I'd love to use the Nike system on my iPhone, but I don't have the iPhone 4!  (wahh)

This was my first run back with my hubby.
As you can see, I went at a very slow pace to stay put with Rudy. I knew he hurt his ankle prior and this is his first outdoor run since then. So as much as I wanted to speed up and leave him behind..I really wanted him to get better and train him to get stronger so I did not want to leave him behind. I want to train with him for our first half marathon (hopefully) in June 18.

We biked later that afternoon.. A nice relaxing ride.

 

I know.. I know..

.. this poor neglected blog. Much like my once poor neglected body.
Tell me why is it.. that we are the last person to think of at the end of the day? We don't give ourselves enough credit, nor our bodies for that matter.  We all used that same excuse, "I wish I had time to exercise.."  If I'd get a nickel for everytime I heard that one, well I'd be a millionaire by now. I seriously, ROLL my eyes when I see that or hear that. Even, I, the queen of excuses, don't use that excuse. I'd rather flat out say.. "I just don't want to..." or even better yet "I don't care enough about my body to exercise it.."

I'm no freakin fitness teacher.. Hell, I've fallen off that bandwagon more times than I can count.. and chances are, I will again. But it really is what you do after you've fallen that matters. Some people, haven't even tried to jump on the "fitness wagon" (choo, choo).

It's only been a few weeks of trying to get back into my game.. and you know what.. I am a less grumpy person. I complain less. I am less lazier. I eat less junk. And I started feeling more like myself.

The one thing I've learned, and it's proven to be true, every single time I jump-ship from this "Fitness Wagon" is that you gotta take it one day at a time. And if you're feeling ambitious, a week at a time. Set realistic goals, be honest to yourself, and once in a while just know that it's okay to induldge.

 

 

 

We did it.. anyway.

I still can't believe I went through with it.
I haven't run in over 2 weeks and I literally stepped off the plane.
But.. we signed up as a group and I can't say No now, because that would affect the other team members.

It was a brisk, 15 degrees.

The results:

Ugh.. not bad. But I set out to do this under 30 minutes.. but with being sick, the extended sick version and then hopping on a plane to Vegas (yes more excuses) I could not reach my goal.

Disappointed?
Yes.. but just glad that I went through with it at all.

Next up... Heart Run in April.

 

Deeper.

This song is hitting replay for me, on my runs, on my ipod, on my phone, on my computer..

My journey towards a better lifestyle began several years ago, but it started out with a more deeper, a more emotional approach. Sure the outcome of having 3 kids and never being physically active in my entire life, was a kicker.. but it was, and has  always deeper than that.

It started out as a kid.. I've talked about how I grew up "fat" and how food was always a part of every gathering, every outing, and every corner of my hometown, in Hawaii. Growing up, never feeling "beautiful", never satisfied, and surrounded by skinny a$$ girls with the perfect B&B's (boobs and booty) well, it's a tough crowd.  The pressure of trying to fit in, having friends, and of course boyfriends.. who the heck can one love themselves?

For me, I've never really embraced the person I was.  There was always something "wrong" with me.

I went about this healthy lifestyle, the wrong way. It took a good friend, Anna to tell me otherwise... I began to eat less in hopes to fit into the perfect size 2's. I exercised.. hard. Then the weight came off, but I realized .. that I was just never happy. I was down to 110 and there was always something else I wanted... It wasn't...  I wasn't good enough.. in my eyes.

It took me a while to "see" and to really feel, happy with myself. To realize that I am "perfect" the way I am.  And that this whole lifestyle journey is bigger than being thin as toothpicks..  The journey soon became about evolving.. growing.. as a woman. Finding strength in areas of my life, I never thought I could. It was about being active. It was about teaching my children the importance of a healthy lifestyle. I began to see the changes in my attitude and my outlook on life.

I no longer strive to be "thin as a toothpick" but I strive to challenge myself physically.. because if it's one thing I've learned.. it's that.. you can do anything you set your mind to. 

This song immediately brought tears to my eyes the very first time I heard it.. I didn't visualize a boy+girl theme.. I knew it was something deeper.. a little girl growing up in such a cruel world, surrounded by what is said to be the norm, a girl trying to find her place in this world, trying to fit in.. And finally realizing, that she was perfect all along...

I've been...

Turbo-kicking!

It's been 3 straight classes in a row? Call it love or commitment. But I absolutely LOVE it! I guess it's also that "over achiever/obsessed driven" persona in me that wants to get this new routine down pact and sweat like that every single time. And the pain, oh the pain .. I love it! I love not being able to walk up the stairs to get home. I love how it hurts when I laugh.

I love changing it up from the usual run. In fact, I noticed on today's run, I felt a bit stronger in the legs. But that damn moose took over the pathway in the woods.. and there was literally no way around it.. It was also my fault for running in the later part of the afternoon, it was almost 5pm.

I didn't make it to Booty Boot Camp with the hubby today because of an tax appointment. But I wish I did, he said it was hard. And you know me, I'm up for a challenge.

But I enjoyed today's slow & steady run with some speed in between.

I want to set a good schedule, but I do want to try more classes at the gym and do a little bit of both.

Round 43

When Rudy rolled out of bed on a Saturday Morning, geting ready for Turbo kick... I stayed in bed. I pulled the sheets over my head, thinking, I've got a filled day already planned, the last thing I really want to do is to go to the gym. He didn't say anything, he was simply gonna go without me.

But I did. And I'm so glad I did.

Today (Sunday) I'm still in SO MUCH PAIN.
These kind of workouts work the different parts of my body that running does not do.

 

A little sneak peek of what we did on Saturday..
Just found a random video doing the same routine we did..

*** SEE that guy wearing the purple shorts? Yeah, that was SO ME!! with my caffeinated behind! Those energy chews.. really work!!***

I'm geared up and ready for Monday's class too.
Downside, it's in the later part of the afternoon, the time where I would like to be done with exercising and more relaxing.. but I'm kinda digging all this pain.

Maybe she'll throw in those Football Planks again, and the one she calls The Situation's Plank, yes the guy from Jersey Shore :) Both killed my hidden abs :)

 

Frozen...

Frozen  Eyelashes, Eyebrows, and Nose Hairs..

It was freezing today.. but it was WARMER than the past 5 days, above 0.
I enjoyed this short run with hubby and the dog.
A light snowfall was coming down, with a bit of a breeze that stung my face, but overall, it felt really good. There's something about the snowfall, just like a bit of rain on a cool autumn afternoon, that just felt good.

Looking forward to tomorrow's run.

It's snowing as I speak.

Back To The Basics.

My body is back to craving the healthy stuff.. it sure took a week or two of consistent excercising and tanking down tons of water to go back to the basics and crave the veggies and fruits.

I don't miss the fried stuff as much nor crave it like I used to...

I guess if I'm gonna spend an hour or two working out, the last thing I want to do is fill my body back with unhealthy choices. But the weekend is coming up, payday around the corner, and I'll have to resist getting the kids fast food or ordering out pizza.