ActiveLink – Page 9 – This Crazy Life of Mine

Tag: ActiveLink

23
Mar
2013

WW Weigh-In #12

categories: #irongirl, ActiveLink, bridge repeats, meeting, non-scale victory, run, scale, walking, water, weigh-in, Weight Watchers 360

Happy Saturday! This week has been a very busy one so my blogging has been off. My Aunt Darlene is in town from California and we’ve been enjoying her time here. This has also meant a lot of eating out. Thankfully I ran Sarasota Half Marathon the day before she arrived and then her second day here, we went to Universal Studios for the day. I earned A LOT of activity points for the week to help make up for all the food. Am I skipping out on the food? No way! I’m enjoying every bite, every taste, and will get back to my regularly scheduled tracking after she leaves.

I knew I’d be up at weigh-in this morning, but I was pleasantly surprised at how little I was up. One pound is all I gained. ONE POUND!! Works for me!

Things I did right this week are:

Knowing we are eating out just about once a day while my aunt is in town, the meals I have at home are on point.
Water whenever possible.
I did not make it to hot yoga this week, so as far as my WW week, the only miles logged were the half marathon last Sunday and walking around Universal. Every mile counts!
Breakfast every morning to start the day off right.

What I will focus on this week:

Enjoying time with family while my aunt is here until Wednesday. We’re going out to dinner tonight and having a big family dinner at my mom’s tomorrow.
Hoping to get back to hot yoga. I only half one week left of unlimited classes left so I want to go 2 or 3 times if possible.
Stock up on fruits and veggies at the store. Our fridge is running low this week….
I started this week off on a good note and ran the Memorial Bridge this morning for some #irongirl bridge repeats and finished 2 minutes faster than last time. That bridge is NOT going to get the best of me.

I had a stellar week on my ActiveLink thanks to the half marathon and our day at Universal… 45 activity points earned for the whole week. Normally I would never eat all those, in addition to my 49 weekly points, but this week I am positive I did.

I am feeling very strong this week. My clothes are fitting looser and I just feel better all over. It’s those non-scale victories that keep me going.

If the weather cooperates tomorrow morning, I would love to get a run in before our big family dinner. I am so glad it’s the weekend and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it!

How often do you let yourself splurge and not worry about it?

16
Mar
2013

WW Weigh-In #11

categories: #expectamazing, ActiveLink, hot yoga, meeting, non-scale victory, run, scale, water, weigh-in, weight loss, Weight Watchers 360

Happy Saturday! Another stressful week behind me and my favorite day of the week is here. You know it’s been a long week when you didn’t get to yoga mid-week like you wanted so you did everything in your power to make it to the 3pm class on Friday. Boy, did I need it. Although, I may have nodded off momentarily as I was laying there waiting for class to start. I was exhausted. It was an other great class and I enjoyed sweating my butt off and the warmth in my muscles. I have been going to hot yoga now just about as long as I have been back at WW and I can absolutely see changes in my body. I even took this picture after class because I was feeling really good about my progress and shared it on Facebook and Twitter…

I am guilty of focusing too much on the scale and we all know that it’s not always that number that is important. It’s how we feel or how our clothes fit and celebrate non-scale victories. I needed that moment as a gentle reminder to myself.

So… Great WW meeting (er, party, as Beverly likes to call them. Love her!). I love going first thing in the morning and starting my day with a nice pep talk. And, I had a loss!

Things I did right this week are:

I was pretty active! Went to hot yoga twice and ran the Memorial Bridge twice. The hot yoga was a nice compliment to the hard work of running the bridge. And not let’s forget about the 5,386,159 leaves we raked up at my mom’s last Saturday.
I missed breakfast one day this week and it was a HUGE reminder of how important breakfast is to my day. I made sure I had breakfast the next day and didn’t let that happen again.
Planned ahead on Thursday and had snacks with me, knowing I’d be on the road most of the day.
Water.

What I will focus on this week:

Since I am running the Sarasota Half Marathon tomorrow, I will earn major activity points for the week, which will be perfect timing for all the eating out that is sure to happen with my Aunt Darlene in town.
I will do my best to make good choices when we eat out and make up for it by eating healthy on the meals I make or have at home. This week will be all about finding balance.
Drink plenty of water!
Try to get to hot yoga twice amidst the fun of the week.

I had a great week on my ActiveLink… 31 points earned! I can’t wait to see how many points I earn tomorrow after 13.1 miles.

Other than some cleaning, today will be a rest day for me. I need a day at home to just relax. I hope to read, nap, and enjoy the day. And then tomorrow morning I’ll be up at 3am to get ready and head to Sarasota!

Have a great weekend!

Do you remember to celebrate non-scale victories? What makes you feel your best?

13
Mar
2013

Bridge repeats are fun!

categories: #11in2013, #sweatpink, ActiveLink, bridge repeats, Clearwater, half-marathon, Iron Girl, Memorial Bridge, run, training, walk

Ever since we ran the bridge on Sunday morning, I’ve been thinking about doing it again. Yesterday evening, hubby and I went back. I know I said we would probably do Sand Key Bridge next, but I really wanted to tackle the Memorial Bridge again and see how our second time compared to our first time. I decided yesterday morning that would be the plan for the evening and I was pretty proud of myself for actually sticking to it. It was a gorgeous afternoon and evening and I couldn’t wait to get back out there.

I was tired when we got there, after another long day of work, and it was windy so I thought for sure that would affect our time. All I knew was I wanted to go over the bridge 3 complete times and try to run a little more than last time.

So how did we do? We shaved almost seven minutes off our last time. What?! How did that happen? We ran downhill every time and we did intervals running up every time. Even more amazing? Our second mile was faster than our first.

Pretty awesome,if you ask me. I’m not sure who I am that running back and forth over a bridge has become fun. And maybe fun isn’t the right word. It’s HARD and as I’m huffing and puffing up to the top, I’m wondering what the heck I’m doing and why I’m doing it. But to finish and then think about what I just accomplished is an AMAZING feeling and it makes me feel strong. I love feeling strong. And… 10 activity points earned for the day on my ActiveLink. Bonus.

One thing I need to work on is my breathing. Running uphill, my breathing is very shallow and by the time I get to the top, I sound like I’m going to keel over. Running downhill, my breathing is much more even. When I am running on a flat surface, it’s somewhere in the middle. I believe that I would be able to run easier if I could work on my breathing because I tend to get winded before my legs feel like giving up. This is where I need conditioning.

So, another great evening and more bridge repeats under my belt. I won’t be running the bridge again until after the Sarasota Half Marathon this weekend, but I’ll get some bridge work in then. I can’t wait to see what that bridge is like…

For now, it’s Nanci –2 Bridge – 0.

Do you prefer training in the morning or evening? Before or after work?

10
Mar
2013

A little bridge work…

categories: #11in2013, #sweatpink, ActiveLink, bridge repeats, Clearwater, half-marathon, Iron Girl, Memorial Bridge, run, Sarasota Half Marathon, training, walk

This morning we went out to the Memorial Bridge in Clearwater for a little bridge work. Most – okay all – of the races I have done have been a flat course. I have two coming up with bridges and decided it was time to get out there and see how I will do running the bridge. It sounds so easy, doesn’t it?

The Memorial Causeway is where the Iron Girl will be in April, my third half marathon on my list for the year…. Being totally honest, those bridges are intimidating. Not the first time over, but coming BACK over them. And it’s not just Memorial Bridge, but also Sand Key Bridge. This will be the route for the Iron Girl.

(Source: Iron Girl)

There is also a bridge (or two?) on the Sarasota Half Marathon next weekend. That will also be good preparation for the Iron Girl Half.

(Source: Sarasota Half Marathon)

Today we focused on Memorial Bridge. We parked below the bridge and decided we would go over and back however many times we could in an hour. We would run some, walk some. I wanted to see what I could do. It was a beautiful 61 degrees when we arrived and the sun was just rising over downtown Clearwater. Look how smooth the water is…

We stuck to the bridge only. Up and over, turn around at the end, and back again. Hubby pushed me when I needed it. We would set little mini goals for running up. He’d tell me not to stop, just run a little farther. Running up the bridge is HARD. Running down the bridge is easier, but still a challenge not to let your feet get out from under you. We went over and back 3 full times in just under an hour. Amazingly, I don’t look like I’m going to die or anything…

I never thought much about mileage when we started, but we ended up at 3.77 miles. And after looking at my Garmin details, I am pretty damn proud of myself. Average pace of 15:26 on a bridge? I’ll take it. And how cool is the satellite picture of our route? Florida is so pretty.

You don’t seem quite so intimidating now, Memorial Bridge. I’ll be back to run over you quite a few more times before April…

Our next time out, we plan to run over the Sand Key Bridge. See it there in the distance? You are next on my list…

After our bridge fun, we made the mandatory stop at Starbucks. Clearly I earned my hazelnut macchiato this morning. It really hit the spot! Hubby enjoyed a raspberry mocha frappuccino – he went all out!

I feel fantastic now. My legs feel strong and I am so glad I went out there and got it done. And I was at 150% on my ActiveLink by 8:30 this morning, with 5 activity points earned. And the best of all… Great start to my Sunday!

Do you have bridges or hills in your area that intimidate you? How do you prepare yourself?

09
Mar
2013

WW Weigh-In #10

categories: #expectamazing, ActiveLink, eating out, hot yoga, meeting, scale, stress, water, weigh-in, Weight Watchers 360

It’s always a little disappointing when you have a great week with a stellar loss and then the following week you have a gain. And while I did not make the best food choices this week 100% of the time, and I do own that, I feel like I made up for it on other meals. It was clear that my body had other ideas when I stepped on the scale at this morning’s meeting.

I never like seeing the scale go up. Maintaining would have been so much better than gaining….

Things I did right this week are:

Went to hot yoga twice. I wanted to go a third time but my arms were SORE. Still loving hot yoga!
Hubby and I walked 3 miles on Thursday evening since I did not go to yoga. We had not walked in a bit, so that was nice.
Still drinking water like it’s going out of style.
One the two days that we ate out, I ate better on other meals. I am not opposed to saving my daily points for going out if I can make up for it on another meal. I certainly didn’t go around hungry.
My stress level was SKY HIGH this week. I caved a time or two but bounced back on the next meal. Not throwing in the towel completely is a win for me.

What I will focus on this week:

Planning meals (also our meeting topic so a good reminder!). I have a freezer full of chicken and vegetables that will be well-used this week.
Make a new recipe I saw on Skinnytaste earlier this week – Cheeseburger Casserole.
I will go to hot yoga twice, and I hope to make one of the classes the 90 minute one.
I would love to get out and walk or run a couple time this week. I keep falling short on this goal, so I will keep adding it back in. I have the Sarasota Half Marathon next week, so it would be nice to get a little something in before that.
Try my best to not let my stress get to me and if so, focus that stress elsewhere not on food. I will go back and read the post I wrote just the other day on what is your stress relief as a reminder.

One thing I want to make clear… I am not saying it’s wrong to go out to lunch or dinner and enjoy something high in points. It’s not wrong at all. I enjoyed everything I ate and I would not change it if I could go back. It’s all about choices. We had dinner out on Wednesday and I enjoyed a beer, chips and salsa, and had grilled tilapia and shrimp over rice with veggies for dinner. On Thursday, we had lunch out on Thursday and I had a burger, minus the bun, with pico de gallo, and a side of sweet potato fries, and a coke. Eating out is about making choices. I feel like I made good choices AND enjoyed the meals. The frustrating part is when those were just 2 meals out of the entire week and the other days were mostly filled with healthy snacks, water, veggies, fruits, and lean proteins. Sometimes our bodies just don’t want to cooperate and this was one of those weeks.

Here is my week on ActiveLink… 12 points for the week. 7 of these points alone was Thursday when we went for our walk. If I could just get out there more, I could really earn those activity points! I love looking back over my week and seeing how each day was based on how I did.

So now we are on to a new week! A whole new set of weekly points and the opportunity to earn activity points. Today hubby and I are going to do some yard work at my mom’s, I’ll be curious to see how many points that earns me! This evening we’re going out to eat – more choices! – and tomorrow will be dinner at my brother and sister-in-law’s house where there will be fantastic Italian food. I will enjoy all of it and move more to make up for it!

What do you do on a week when you feel like you should have lost or at least maintained? What do you do to bounce back from that week?