Tag Archives: running

Morning Bootcamp Recap

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Good Evening, or if you’re reading this in the morning, Good Morning! Well, I survived my early morning bootcamp and I’m here to tell the tale. It wasn’t easy getting out of bed, and I snoozed 10 minutes past what I should have, but I made it to the park and was so excited to see my dear friend Merrie. Greeting a smiling face always make a workout that much better. We started out with some simple warm up drills – knee kicks, butt kickers, squats and jogging around the tennis court. I handled the warm-up ok, but by the time we started SPRINTS, I was questioning my physical aptitude.

The hardest part of the class for me was all of the running. I’m not a runner, not sure I ever will be, and that’s ok. Sprinting across the tennis court was hard for me, but miraculously, I found myself not caring that I was among the slowest in the group. It’s taken me two years of blogging to get to a point where I’m not ashamed of my slowness when it comes to physical activity – that’s the reason I’m there. My weight loss or fitness is not a competition, and if I’m moving too slow for someone, they can kiss my booty. The only race I’m in is with myself! On that note, the teacher marked our scores for sit ups, push ups, squats, planks and “6 inches”, where you hold your legs six inches off of the floor with your upper body off the floor, as well. I am hoping to improve my scores in almost all of these categories, but specifically, push ups and planks. I don’t have a ton of upper body strength, and to get to a point where I can confidently hold a plank for 30 seconds rather than wobbling like Jello would be awesome! By the time we got to ab work and could lay on our towels, I was in heaven to take a “break”. One nice thing about doing bootcamp at a park is you get to be in nature, surrounded by the blue sky and chirping birds. It was a nice retreat from my usual gym time view.

So here’s the best part about bootcamp – it was hard and tiring, but afterwards, I felt SO AWAKE. I rushed home, showered and headed to work, but I didn’t have the same midday slump I usually get. I felt accomplished too, knowing I started my day with something good for me. It was also nice to come home from work and be “free” for the night, to do homework without having the “I have to go to the gym” looming over me. I am super sore right now, but I know come Friday morning when I rise at 6:45 again, my body will be ready for more. This bootcamp is three times a week for five weeks, so the bootcamp coupled with my T/TH zumba classes should have me ready to strut in my swimsuit in no time.

So tell me about your workout today! Did you get one in? What was it? How do you feel?

Geek chic after bootcamp with my glasses and stripey sweatband!

Geek chic after bootcamp with my glasses and stripey sweatband!

Running in Rainbows: The Color Run

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color run packets

Running in rainbows leaves a beautiful mess after the Color Run LA!

One of my goals in life that I hope comes across on the blog is to always have fun. Exercise is something that I usually don’t view as fun – because it’s WORK. The huffing, the puffing, the sweating, the panting, the “Am I done yet?”, the cramps in your leg if you don’t sweat, the expensive shoes, the mid-workout wedgie… I could go, but I won’t.  It was kind of a big deal when I found exercise I actually enjoyed, like zumba, boxing and hiking, and realized that burning calories didn’t have to mean torture. Last year, I saw The Color Run on Skinny Emmie‘s blog and I knew I had to go. I’m a big fan of color in general, and getting pelted with it in all white sounded awesome!

White and bright before the run.

White and bright before the run.

I set up a team and was joined by 9 lovely people – some I have known for a very long time and some I had just met. We were named the ChromatiKids, and began our adventure pristine and clean in fresh white.

start

blue

While I had originally hoped to run this 5K, I knew I wasn’t prepared enough to run, so I opted for a steady walk with most members of my group. (There’s another event coming up in March I think I might try to run! Woohoo!) We had a great time gabbing as we ascended the hills around Dodger Stadium and approached our first color- BLUE! The course was set up so that you would go a distance uncolored, and then as you came upon a landmark, say, 1 mile, you entered the color “zone”.

orange

Next, we came upon orange, where I was pelted with a rather large color bomb on the top of my head. For the first time, I lived a day in the life of a ginger. It was kind of fun, but I don’t think you’ll see me cheating on my beloved Ms. Clairol.

color run la

Next, I hit up yellow, where I took on a mustard-like hue thanks to my personal color-chef, pictured here. Don’t I look sunny?

pink

Pink was our very last color zone, and that called for a jumping celebration! I was feeling really good at this point because I felt strong and somewhat in shape through out the whole 5k. I even ran a couple parts of it and then doubled back to join my team. It’s awesome to actually feel your efforts adding up!

MATTANDI

Color Run Team ChromatiKids After the Run!

Color Run Team ChromatiKids After the Run!

My only advice to those of you participating in a color run is to CLOSE YOUR MOUTH during the color zones. Because I’m sometimes not the brightest, I giggled my way through the first zone and ended up sputtering on a big old ball of colorful cornstarch. I learned my lesson and kept my lips zipped, but that was the only little “oops” I had during this awesome event.

color run finish line

Color Runners Rock!

I had so much fun at the Color Run and it was an awesome way to spend time with friends, get some fresh air, burn a ton of calories, and enjoy something totally unusual. I’ll have memories of being pelted with color for a long, long time! So bloggies, what do you think – would you do the color run or do you prefer to stay un-pelted with color?

 

 

 

KJPugs Breaks Down her Amazing Weight Loss!

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Hi Kiddos! Today I figured we’d ring in a New Year’s Eve Party with the blogger life of the party – KJPUGS! KJ and I met many moons ago when we both were planning our weddings, and she has become one of my bestest bloggy buddies ever and she never fails to crack me up. Today she’s talking about her AMAZING weight loss! Read her inspiring story below and show her some comment love and don’t forget to “like” her at http://www.facebook.com/kjpugsblog !

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Hi everyone! I’m Kelly aka kjpugs, and I’m THRILLED to be a guest poster on the Double Chin Diary! Alyssa has become one of my very best blog friends (dare I say… life friends!?) this year and I am so glad. It’s wonderful to have someone to chat with who shares some of your challenges and goals. We’ve had similar journeys and struggles and I am so glad I have her in my life to chat with.

BF4L! (Alyssa's note: I pretty much cackled like a hyena when I saw this. AMAZING!)

BF4L! (Alyssa’s note: I pretty much cackled like a hyena when I saw this. AMAZING!)

If you haven’t visited kjpugs.com before, the things I seem to blog about the most are 1) pugs, if you couldn’t guess 2) nail polish and 3) my weight loss journey. Pugs are the joy of my life – I have three! – and nail polish is basically my favorite hobby and replacement for real life friendships. But my weight loss journey has been going on for a while, and I have lost more than 40 pounds towards my 60 pound loss goal! I was nearing 50 pounds lost, but the holidays have hurt me a bit… along with most normal people, I’ll be putting my butt back in gear in January.

I’ve been on this journey (this time) since September 1, 2011. I signed up for a work weight loss challenge and had to be weighed on the shipping scale at work because I was a last-minute joiner. I had to beg the shipping guys to avert their eyes! I started with Weight Watchers because it had meetings at my office, but after moving from Indiana to Florida this year, I switched to My Fitness Pal. 

Kelly's amazing weight loss!

Kelly’s amazing weight loss!

I have always had a problem with weight, mostly due to not making great food choices. I knew I had (have) two triggers, and they definitely were (are) carbs and sugar. I would binge on them all the time, and wasn’t getting enough nutrients from my diet. And to make matters worse- I could just keep eating, like a bottomless pit. I love quantity! I vividly remembering making Eggo waffles for breakfast at a sleepover in grade school… I made myself one, then two, then all of a sudden I had eaten five. And I could have had more! Sometimes my love for sugary and carby items feels like an addiction.

One of the best things I’ve found to replace my carb love is spaghetti squash. I blogged one recipe here, but I love trying new ways to prepare it. I’ll make it with my homemade carrot marinara sauceand frozen turkey meatballs, or my current favorite- General Tso sauce, green onions, and cashews. It’s very low calorie, but more importantly, it’s SQUASH, not carbs, that’s filling you up.

People who know me also know my obsession – BRUSSELS SPROUTS. I blogged recipes for both sautéed sprouts  and shredded sprouts. There are so many options- lots of people like to roast them also, which is very easy and hands off. It’s not a taste for everyone, but it’s an easy recipe that I can eat lots of volume for not a lot of calories. Another green option might be broccoli, if you’re into that stuff. Find new ways to spice and flavor familiar foods to mix it up. I find myself liking foods I hated as a kid because I’m trying them in a new way.

Eating right hasn’t worked alone though. Quantity is also important. My Fitness Pal allows me to set a daily calorie goal (based on how fast I want to lose, and how often I plan to work out) and track the food I eat. I can see how many calories are in the food I eat, and can track it, aiming to stay at or below my calorie goal. I also connect with friends on MFP – you can see if they’ve hit a milestone, lost weight, or tracked that day (and what they tracked, if they allow you to. I keep mine private.)

Early this fall, I decided to step up my game by attempting to work out. I struggle with being motivated, but lacking the funds. I don’t have the money right now to join a gym. So, I started running! At first, I tried Couch to 5k. And I liked it… for a few weeks. I had to do week 3 twice, and then accidentally did week 4 once. Bad idea. When I got to the point where I had to run 90 seconds straight or longer, I went from feeling confident and enjoying running, to feeling miserable, exhausted, and discouraged. One of my new Orlando friends, Lisa from Buffet Laps,  suggested I try the Jeff Galloway method with her instead. It’s interval running, where you run and walk in a set interval. I started training with a 1:1 interval and recently ran my first 5k, as well as a 3 mile fun run at SeaWorld.

KJ Pugs is On The Run!

KJ Pugs is On The Run!

I can’t tell you how amazing running makes me feel now. I feel strong, and proud of myself and my body. It’s something I couldn’t do before, and I now wish I had attempted to do it back when I was even more fit! I am planning a few more 5k’s, including the Critz Tybee Run Fest  with my sister in Georgia this February.

The most helpful part of all of this has been my husband B joining my efforts. I lost more than 40 pounds over 15 months. He has lost more than 65 pounds in seven months! His goal is to lose 120 pounds, and he’s more than halfway there. It makes it easier to be careful about what I eat when the person I eat most often with also cares! I got him doing the Jeff Galloway method running too, and hope he’ll join me for a 5k in 2013 too.

Feel free to friend me on MFP (and start hassling me if I am still slacking come 1/1/13!) and check out some of the recipes I shared in this post. If you are trying to lose weight or get fit, find a community for yourself! It’s fun to share tips and “little wins” with one another, and it makes the experience more enjoyable and often, more successful! Also, if you’re not succeeding as a runner, don’t be discouraged. Try a different method like the interval method, and that might work for you, too. My 13-14 minute mile runs are better than not running. And I’m always looking for more interval running buddies in Florida! Anyone want to do some races with me?

Or let’s just take up a collection so I can afford a flight to Cali to finally get to do Zumba and a 5k with Alyssa!

Thanks again for letting me guest post, Alyssa! Hope you are having a wonderful ‘Thaime!’ (har har)

Running is something you do when a bear is chasing you.

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In my adult life, I’ve watched several close friends of mine become runners. My own husband invested in fancy shoes and fancy stay-dry shirts, and giddily skipped out the door on balmy evenings to run around the neighborhood. My bestie Jason was the same way – he started with short sprints around his neighborhood and is now an avid 10k and 5k runner. My bloggie pal Alycia is getting ready for a half marathon (did you guys know she’s lost over 60 pounds?! AMAZING!) My other bloggie pal KJPugs is running another 5k this weekend, with a fabulous tutu to boot. (She’s also lost a crap ton of weight! You guys rock!). Two of my gal pals Shelley and Amy are also avid runners, waking up at the crack of dawn to run marathons and clock in major mileage. I admire them all.

I, however, could never fathom myself as a RUNNER. Running is something you do when a bear is chasing you. It’s something you do when there’s a fire, or a snake slithering in your backyard. It’s something you do if you’re delightfully in shape, a spring in your step and a blistered foot in your Asics. Running? Not for me.

I much prefer my torture exercise in “stay mostly in one place” cardio form, like Zumba or boxing. However, something strange has happened in the past year. Maybe it was our Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. Maybe it was the fact that despite what the scale says, I feel stronger and leaner. Maybe it’s because this looks like way too much fun to pass up!

On February 2, I’ll be participating in my first ever “official” 5k, The Color Run! I’ve done 5ks before without knowing they were 5ks, like the World Walk for Water. But this is the first 5k I’m doing consciously, as in like, wow, maybe I can even RUN part of this thing. If I can’t run it all, fine, no problem, no pressure. But once I’m back from Thailand I’m going to pick up my Couch to 5K app again, and get movin’. Wouldn’t that be an amazing thing – to actually RUN a 5k? I think I can. You guys inspire me to try.

What do you think about events like the Color Run – does it look crazy fun to you too or like too much of a mess?

Israeli Fighting Kicks My Arse

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Have I mentioned my friend Merrie on here? Merrie is an amazing designer I work with who I work out with. She’s been a great inspiration to me as she works on her own fitness and health, and we (try to) work out a few times a week. As I get to know Merrie better I realize she’s what I call an “Adventurine”. How so, you ask? Well, Merrie likes to try new things. And when a Groupon popped up for four “Krav Maga“, or “Israeli Fighting Classes”, she was all over it. You could tell my other two co-workers and I were on the fence about it, but Merrie’s enthusiasm is contagious… and how bad could it be, right?

Hanging Punching Bags for Swift Agression Relief

I’m happy to say it was an arse-kicking and challenging workout, albeit one that totally took me out of my comfort zone in the best possible way. We arrived to the Thai style boxing studio and met our nice instructor, Brian. We filled out some forms (The line for weight? Yeah, mine said “2-much ;) “) and then got ready to warm-up, with one other bad-ass looking girl and three dudes. First… we had to run in circles around the gym to warm up. RUN?! I haven’t run since 12th grade. (That’s a lie but for comedic effort just pretend it’s true). Fat girls don’t run. They bounce, and hope that a unicorn falls out of the sky to get them out of it. Thankfully, I was with my co-worker/friends (Merrie, Shelley and Susan), so I was a little less self-concious about being a slowpoke, since we’re all buddies.

"Million Dollar Baby" before she got her ass kicked.

After the running, we had to do sit ups… and push ups. The worst part was we had to be partnered with people… And we had to intertwine our legs and arms during the sit ups. So here I am, arms linked with a nice, 6’11 fellow, praying I don’t crack one off as I STRAAAAAAIN to hoist my upper body into some semblance of a “sit up”.  The warm-up was actually the worst part physically for me, just because I’m still a butterball and am not quite in “shape” yet. (AND, I know this is no excuse, but after my vacation and terrible chest cold, I hadn’t been to the gym in two weeks. So much for easing myself back into the routine…)

Sweat-drenched Alyssa and Ass-Kicking Instructor Brian

The actual fighting part was a lot of fun, and very informative. Our teacher Brian was endlessly patient with my obnoxious questions and groans of pain, and I can solidly say that dude can kick some major ass. The biggest challenge I had was to pay attention to my footwork and stance as it was a little bit different than what I’m used to in my kickboxing class. We have three more classes left, and I’m excited to see how it goes. It was really nice to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. When you have a weight problem, it can be intimidating to try something new that’s athletically or physically challenging. This was a great work-out with the added benefit of learning the art of self-defense.

When was the last time you got out of your comfort zone?