Runner's World Debut

Well, as most of you know, I am now signed up for a half marathon, thanks to my go-getter Momma! Me. The girl who can barely do all of the Jazzercise routines at high intensity (on a good day!), is going to run a half marathon in a matter of 4 months. Yikes. My palms are sweating and the mere thought of it!





So, I decided that I should probably start running a little bit. My mom said that "all you need is a 3 mile base to start the training that she does for a half." Yeah, "all you need," huh? All I need is a new set of knees and an extra pair of lungs. Luckily I don't have to take a huge brunt of embarassment at the gym by trying to get into running shape. My mother-in-law has a treadmill in her basement, so I slapped on my exercise gear, and down to the dungeon I went. Thank goodness they have a big screen tv! I tuned into the most exciting show I could find in order to get my mind off of what I was about to do to my body, which was Wheel of Fortune. Now, some of you might think I'm being sarcastic about this, but I assure you I'm not! One of my lifelong dreams, aside from becoming a weather girl and, of course, surviving the half, is to go on Wheel of Fortune. Tyler even took me to a tryout in Cripple Creek, CO a few years ago, but I was never randomly selected from the large pool of peeps. But! My love for the Wheel is a whole other blog. Back to the meat!



I started out walking a good pace: 3.5mph. I did that for a full lap. Then, I got my nerve up and hit the "increase speed" button. Uuuuuuup the little numbers went to 5.5mph. Then, the belt started slipping. It would kind of stutter every once in a while, and I would almost lose my balance. That's it! I thought. I'm too heavy even for this dang treadmill! Woe is me! I better just quit. So I did. I turned it off and marched back upstairs and told Tyler what was going on. Well, he marched me right back downstairs and assured me that I was NOT too heavy for the thing, and that I should try again. So, reluctantly, I did. Of course, it didn't do it with him standing there. In fact, it didn't do it at all anymore, and I ended up going to 2 whole miles! Not congruently, of course. I stopped after the first mile and walked a bit again, and then ran until the Bonus round was over. Like I said last post, Baby Steps!


The lesson I took away from this is that I canNOT give up so easily! At the first sign of something going wrong, I was willing to throw in the proverbial sweat towel and call it quits. Thank goodness for my biggest cheerleader in the world, my husband! By the way, what do you guys think of my super sexy new body??



You guys are just what I need to make this thing a success. Your helpful tips and tricks, and friendly words of encouragement, are so motivating!! Thank you, mom, for signing me up for this thing! I'm gonna do it!! Thank you, Susan, for writing me about some of your favorite, healthy snacks! Thank you, Leah, for reminding me that I cannot have coke or fried foods! (Even if I did want to smack ya! :) JK!) Thank you, Dad, for your encouraging words and tricks. Thank you, Tyler, for always telling me that I can do anything I put my mind to, but always making me feel like I'm perfect, just the way I am! And, thank you to the rest of you who are just so encouraging, who "like" my posts, who read this and offer up little prayers or helpful words. You all mean the world to me!! I know this is getting mushy gushy, but you have no idea how hard it truly is, and how much you are building my endurance. Thank you.

Baby Steps

Have you guys ever seen the movie What About Bob with Bill Murray? Well, he has this severe OCD and anxiety, paranoia, you name it! He goes and sees Dr. Leo Marvin about his....issues....and the doc tells him to take baby steps, which was conveniently the name of his book. So, Bob starts taking the baby steps, which included going on the elevator, which he was extremely afraid of. On he goes, "baby steps to the elevator, baby steps to the elevator, baby steps to the elevator." He steps into a completely full elevator, the doors close, and you just hear his scream at the top of his lungs.

Well, that's me this week. Taking baby steps to what I am most fearful of...giving up eating this dang food that I love so much! Baby steps to the veggies, baby steps to the veggies. I'll do really great and just eat a spinach wrap with turkey and an apple for lunch, then I eat pizza for supper! Yes, it was my mother-in-law's Birthday, but I have about zero self-control still!

Another obstacle I faced this week was going to Branson with some of my wonderful friends and our kids this past weekend. Our pets' heads fell off SEVERAL times (another movie reference) in the chaos of having 4 children ranging in ages from 9 months to 5 years old all smooshed together in a minivan, then a lodge, then a minivan again. Nevermind the trip to the butterfly museum that we took where butterflies were dive-bombing my head at ever turn. I probably sweat out 5 pounds in the rain forest we walked through and my super tense muscles contracting at every flutter of a wing. But, besides that, I didn't do well on my diet. I pretty much set myself up for failure on that one. However, my good friend Leah really tried to keep me on track. Whenever I ordered, she would remind me, "No soda!" "No fried stuff!" Yes, I wanted to slap her with each comment she made. She weighs about 90 pounds soaking wet and eats double bacon cheeseburgers. :) But, I was so glad she was there! I did well on the "no soda" rule. Not so much on the "no fried stuff." Baby steps, right??

Anyway, onto how I'm achieving my goals! I have lost 6 pounds so far this week! Can I get a WAHOO?!?! I thought it was only 3 pounds, but I was WRONG! I have gone to Jazzercise at least 4 times each week. I have not drank any coke. I am gonna DO it! And, you guys are the reason I will! Seriously. I know that when you see me, you're gonna be looking me up and down, checking to see if my face is thinner, scoping out my thighs, staring at my spare tire I carry around my waist. And, all of my girlfriends from Jazzercise are expecting to see me each day! I'm not gonna let you all down! I'm not gonna let myself down!

Thank you all so much for all of your support. It truly is the reason why I am continuing to do this! I just hope you know how much each of your comments meant to me. It's great to know that other people are invested in my success and care enough to get involved. You all are pushing me along to take these baby steps, which will hopefully turn into normal steps, and then giant leaps! Yep, that was cheesy, but oh, so true!

Getting Started

Hello, Everyone.

There is a reason why I started this blog. A really good one. I need to get into shape, and more importantly STAY in shape! I can get into shape really easily, but for some reason that I cannot explain to anyone, I stop working out! I do all of the work. I sweat, I diet, I sweat, I diet. I somewhat start reaching my goal, and then I just STOP! Like I said, I have no clue why I do all of the hard, ground-laying work, and then just kick it to the curb and go indulge in some Burger King. Sure, sure. The food is delicious. But that's not the reason. Like I said, I have no clue why I do not just continue with it!

I WANT to look good, I WANT to be healthy, but for some reason, I just don't want it badly enough to stick with it. But, I DO want it badly enough to start it back up about every 4 months.

Ok, so this is where you all will come in. I need support. I need people to help me because I just can't do it on my own, and I bit Tyler's head off any time he suggests I eat an apple instead of a bowl of ice cream. First thing's first, though, you have to know my goals!

1. I am going to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year (30 by June).

I would tell you all how much I weigh, but I think this blog is just about all the embarrassment I can handle at the moment. Maybe that will come later. :)

2. I am going to go to Jazzercise at least 4 times per week.

3. I am not going to eat any fried foods.

4. I am.....gulp......not going to drink....arhhgggg....any more soda!! (This will be super hard!)

5. I am going to run a 5k this spring, 10k this summer, and half marathon this fall.

I need to go ahead and register so there's no backing out. Any suggestions?

So there you have it. The "list." Like I said, I need your help. I need you to ask about it on my facebook wall. Bug me about it all the time. Encourage me like crazy! (Or tell me I can't do it, that seems to motivate me even more, sometimes!) Give me helpful hints on how to balance family and exercise. Tell me how to diet when your husband tells you he wants to GAIN weight! (Yep, he told me that.) Let me know about some delicious recipes that are low-fat. I'll take anything I can get!

Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to update the blog every week and let you know how it's going, how many times I worked out, what recipes I've been eating, and I'll weigh myself and report how much I've lost (hopefully!) I'll share my struggles so you all can help me! I'm tellin ya, if you decide to do this, it's not going to be an easy task! I'm a really stubborn person! (Lucky Tyler!) But I'm begging you, please help me.