Happy Freakin' Valentines Day!!!!

Today was a super busy, super successful day for me. No...I did not have a date but I sure had a lot to do. I woke up today with a plan to run this morning and spend a leisurely day in the house hanging out with Honey, our dog. When I saw on Facebook that one of my favorite chicas (Coco) was having a bad day, I decided that my plans could and should change.She and I have been friends since freshman year in college. So about 20 years!!! *It just hit me...those people who were freshmen in 1993 are getting old* Anywho, I went down to her job and hung out for a couple of hours. She is a Food and Beverage Supervisor at a local hotel so she treated me to lunch and cookies. I so wish I could resist the cookies. *salivates thinking about them* We ate lunch and talked and laughed and had a great time. After I left her I ran a couple of errands and then headed to the gym. I knew that I had to be at work in the ER at 7pm so I decided that I would do a 30 minute leg workout with no warmup run. I hit the leg press and started out with 400lbs. I did 10 sets of 10. I did my usual circuit, all the while watching the assisted bar rack for availability. I have been squatting 70 pounds on the assisted bar rack for a couple of months now and feel quite comfortable with it. The rack never became available. I walked back and sat down to wait. There was a gentleman squatting what I thought was 75 pounds on the non-assisted squat rack.He asked was I waiting and I replied yes. He informed me he would do one more set and it was all mine. I asked the guy on the assisted rack was he going to be done soon and he said no. I was a little intimidated to use the non-assisted rack. I was tempted to call my son, J1 and ask what weight he suggested I try but decided I would just figure it out. When the guy finished, he asked me did I need him to take the weights off for me. I was so offended!!! Why would I need him to take off a 25 pound plate for me? Do I look like I can't handle that? Right then, I decided I would squat what he was squatting. I did 4 sets of 10 and walked out feeling quite accomplished. I usually do 70 on the assisted rack and I managed what I thought was 75 on the non-assisted rack. When I got home, I was eager to brag to my son about what I had done. I told him the story and how offended I was that the dude wanted to remove the 25 pound plates for me. J1 then informed me that this bar weighs 45 pounds, not 25!!! So I was really squatting 95 pounds! I am so pumped!!!! 95 pounds!!!! Happy Freakin' Valentine's Day to me!

Numbers don't lie!!

It is a particularly bad idea to measure our successes by comparing ourselves to others. A great way to measure success is to compare who we are today to who we were yesterday. The goal is to be ever-changing and growing. Without growth, we experience stagnation. Sometimes, it is difficult to see the changes we are making because they are subtle. I have recently been frustrated looking at the running times of other runners and comparing them to my own. That has not been working to my advantage. The other day, after my run, I was inspired to look at my times from last year. I was beyond excited! Last April, I was running 12 minute miles! I ran 3 miles on Sunday at a pace of 10'05"! Check out my before and after from NikePlus. Since I have incorporated weights and have been more committed, I have seen my times decrease. My goal is to be able to sustain these new paces for longer distances. I will be running the RiteAid Cleveland Marathon 10K in May. I am hopeful that I will be able to maintain this pace for the entire race. I have about 3 more months to accomplish this. I am positive that this can be done!!!  Last week I logged 16 miles and tried a couple of new healthy recipes. A portion of the 16 miles was done outside. The weather has been almost balmy. Well...balmy for Cleveland. The snow has melted and I have taken to the streets. Yay!! I went to Foodie Fridays at Whole Foods last Friday night and tasted some very yummy vegetarian greens (among other things). I tried the recipe. It was super easy and delicious. They were a great side with baked Tilapia. The Joes were not huge fans. They both thought they were too spicy. Next time I will have to cut the red pepper flakes in half!!! I would definately call this week a success!!!

How I lost weight on a cruise...

On the running deck

The Joes and I took a 7 day cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines in December to Mexico, Honduras and Belize. I was afraid that this trip would be a fitness setback for me. I love food and I have no restraint. I will eat and eat. I eat when I am not hungry. I eat because food looks appealing. I love to eat. A cruise is all you can eat goodness all day and night long. The first step in fighting the bulge on my cruise was to plan ahead. I packed a running skort or shorts for each day, my Brooks, running socks, workout shirts and my trusty CamelBak. I forgot the armband for my phone in the car. That was a downer. I hate running with something in my hand! I talked with the Joes beforehand about what excursions we wanted to go on. Every excursion we chose required movement! I also made a decision prior to getting on the ship to only drink water and green tea. Once on the ship, the strict water regimen was easy because I am a big water drinker in my everyday life. I had water at every single meal with hot green tea at breakfast and occasionally with snack. There was so much fresh fruit available on the cruise that we probably could have morphed into fruit salads. I ate fresh pineapple, watermelon, apples, bananas, grapes and citrus fruits ALL DAY LONG. While the Joes frequented the ice cream machine, I chose to eat fruit. There were so many healthy choices at dinner in the restaurants and the buffets. I ate lots of broiled fish and vegetarian options. I may have eaten dessert at 5 meals and this includes lunches and snacks. When we were off the ship, soda was super cheap. We found that we could get a glass bottle of soda for 1 dollar. The Joes, of course wanted soda. I brought my CamelBak filled with ice cold water and drank water all day.

Getting moving on the cruise was easy! The first night out, there was a storm so I could not run on the deck. I hit the treadmill for my first vacation run. I ran outdoors on the outdoor track a couple of other times. J2 and I had planned to do yoga together on the cruise but found once we went to sign up, that she was too young. Since she could not do it, I chose not to either. We were active together during our excursions. Our first excursion was in Costa Maya. We went snorkeling at the Meso-American Barrier Reef. The second largest corral reef system in the world. I am a swimmer, but jumping down into the middle of the ocean was a bit frightening. The idea that I was in the middle of the ocean made me very anxious. The Joes had no such anxiety. They jumped off the boat and immediately began swimming around. Eventually I got used to being in the water and enjoyed myself. We spent about an hour and a half swimming in the ocean. What great exercise! My buns felt very sore afterwards. The Joes took a few underwater pictures.

J2 and I/J1 was the photographer

Our next excursion was the Mayan Ruins in Belize City, Belize.  We rode a van to the ruins with a few other tourists. We had the opportunity to see the city and the countryside and learn a lot about the history of the country. A friend of  mine had visited the ruins in another country previously and had warned me that we could not climb them. I was prepared for this, but was pleasantly surprised to find that we could climb these ruins. Climbing the ruins was like doing the Stairmaster for a prolonged period of time! We were worn out after our day at the ruins!

Me, J1 and J2 after climbing the ruin below. Human sacrifices occurred in this very spot!!

J1, J2 and I after climbing the ruin below (see the ruin above in the background?)

In Roatan, Honduras, the Joes went ziplining. I am afraid of heights and decided to just cheer them on. I thought I would try it...I had been trying to get my mind ready for it since we booked our cruise. I just could not bring myself to do it. J1 is mad that I do not have great pictures of him. He went first and I did not catch him doing tricks and then he lost his shoe and became a bit nervous. The Joes had a blast and I just petted some monkeys...The monkeys made me happy...

J1 and J2 about to zipline. They look like they are on a mission.

 J2

J2

J1/Notice he is shoeless

J1

Me and a cutie monkey

We did not do an excursion in Cancun. We walked around the city, shopped and ate. When we got back to the ship, I hit the running deck and the kids parted ways to hang with kids their own age. We had an excellent time on our cruise. When we got back, so many people were asking had I lost weight that I decided to weigh myself. I have not seen the 120s in many years, but I was down to about 129 when I got back from the cruise. I didn't starve myself. I tried new foods. I had an awesome time. And I lost weight!!!