Exercise Challenge! Go for the Gold!

[JulieNYC 4]

Officially back to my ticker weight this morning. Pshew!

[DeltaDawn 0]

Great julie!!!

My ticker has dropped another 2 lbs... so I am 7 lbs from my next goal???

I had a great weight work out this morning and will have my big run tomorrow!!! Anyone else running tomorrow morning? We can think about each other.

Have a great day!!

Dawn

Banded April 4th, 2006

Montreal

358/165/158

[JulieNYC 4]

Anyone else running tomorrow morning? We can think about each other.

I'm running 9 miles at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning (EST). I bet we'll be running at the same time!

[Boo 3]

It is so fun to read your posts!

Julie, a year ago I was hoping to be a bit further along in my weight loss, but also felt gratitude for the initial 25 pounds lost. I, too, am just SO grateful to be looking at aproximately 20 more pounds.

Dawn, I am 5'6", so maybe our BMI's are the same?? I'm with you! My body has been through a big change and it is taking a breather on weight loss while adjusting to the new weight and exercise schedule. Without the band I would have jumped to 215 or more by now.

The biggest change for me is the love I now have for running. When Dawn mentions an 11.5 K, or you mention "just 9 miles," I get so excited for you both. That enthusiasm helps me to fly out the door.

I'm in the mountains right now at a beautiful resort. The past two days I have been running on the treadmill (which I have never done before.) It is so BORING!! The view of the mountain is right before me through a giant picture window, but all I can think about is how much I want to run the mountain. It is a record heat day with lightning, so I'm a bit too timid to go exploring on my own. (Maybe today!)

The good news is that even with the altitude change I've been able to perform. I've spent two hours in the gym each day, with thirty minutes devoted to crunches and weights!

Betty, you would be proud of me, because there is a lovely spa here with "fondue" pedicures and all kinds of stone massages. Normally, I would spend my time in the spa being pampered. That was my first inclination, but instead have spent extra time in the gym followed by steam saunas and stretching. I feel great!! (And I did have a maicure/pedicure AND massage before I left home. I'm still spoiled rotten!)

The other good news is that I have had no chocolate in at least a week. Eva, we can do it!! I couldn't find it for a day, and then purposely didn't eat any for another and then just quit. Those five little missing Hershey kisses per day might help me drop a few more...we'll see.

Have a lovely weekend! I will try to update my ticker as I don't have internet access very often and am busy vacationing.

[DeltaDawn 0]

Hi All!

Yep Boo... we are almost the same height. I am 5'5"... so we are close. I am glad you are having a good time at the spa.

I had such a good run this morning... I was finishing up at 9:00 so I thought about you Julie!! I ran 12.67 km this morning. I am never fast and don't really care- I was 1hr 29 minutes... but I had such a good run. I was really steady - my split times were dead on. My pace is 7 minutes a km (sorry so Canadian of me to only think in km).

So how is everyone else doing? I hope well!!

Have a good weekend.

Dawn

Banded April 4th, 2006

Montreal, QC

358/165/158

[JulieNYC 4]

I did my 9 miles yesterday in 1:39, which is a good time for me. I usually aim for 12 minute miles when I'm on a long run, so an 11 min set is faster than norm. I'm hoping to do my marathon in 13 minute miles -- we'll see. Really I just care about finishing. Dawn, I was a sloth and didn't get started until 9:30, so we missed each other, though I did think of you!

I got in 4 miles today. I wasn't supposed to run, per my training schedule, but I just couldn't help myself. It was unseasonably cool out (in the 60s) and just such perfect running weather. I was going to k-mart and just decided to run there instead of taking a cab or the subway. It's so cool to run for transportation!

This is a big training week for me. I've got an 8 miler in the middle of the week, then 16 on Saturday. Next week is slow, then the next week is my half marathon in Chicago!

Other than that, I've been sewing all weekend -- one of my favorite things to do. I did have a dinner party last night and though the company was good, I was miserable with the food. I ate too much and far too late and was up part of the night with that "I've over eaten" feeling. Not sick, just sore and unhappy.

I'm wearing my body bugg today and I'm going to bust a move and ride it hard to the 40s. If I get my act together, this is one of my two good losing weeks, by my body's preferences. It's not the biggest week, but it's one where, at least, the scale is prone to moving a little (knock wood). We'll see. I'm going to give it my all for the next 2 weeks and see if I can't make some more progress.

Nite all!

[JulieNYC 4]

Got in my 8 this morning. I think a long run on Monday morning might be my new routine. The endorphin rush is making Monday more palatable and since my week hasn't officially started yet, if I'm a little later to work than normal, it's not the end of the world. Yea!

How's everyone this week?

(evening update -- I edited the post because I'd posted so many in a row!)

Took a boxing class tonight. It kicked my tail! I'm going to start going to more classes at my gym. I need an alternate to running on some days. It was so good to go into a class feeling fit and like I could keep up and not dread it....

[JulieNYC 4]

Skittles binge this morning. Trying to get back on track so I don't screw up the whole day....

[DeltaDawn 0]

You can do it Julie!!!

I ran a 5.03 km this moring. My fastest to date (31:12) which puts me at a pace of 6:12 a km or taa daa.. 9:58 a mile!!! Finally made it under a 10 minute mile.

Well... things are crazy at work... so I had better go.

Dawn

358/165/158

[Boo 3]

I'm b - a - a - a - ck! It is good to be home!

But I am ITCHING to run right now over to K-mart or anywhere! Tomorrow I will update my countdown, I'm exhausted.

Betty, you are such the modern woman!

[JulieNYC 4]

I got in 4 miles this morning (but only at a 10:11 pace, so Dawn wins) then met with a new running trainer that my friend told me about. It was very good.

I've been having bad food cravings though. These are the 4 days before my period, where I am always hungrier than normal and always think I need a fill, then things get back to normal once it passes. However, I think I might be aiming too low with my calories now that I'm in full blown training mode and getting so much exercise. I've been thinking about aiming no lower than 1200, which is about a 300 calorie bump. I've been wondering if that might not help me lose faster, not because of the so called "starvation mode" but because maybe if I have a little more in me, I won't be craving sugar so much. I guess I can give it a try.

[JulieNYC 4]

I tried a spinning class this morning, followed by a yoga class, neither of which had I done before. The spinning was GREAT and I'll definitely go back. It was really good cardio (not as good as running, but still quite good), good music, felt like a workout. The yoga on the other hand, I just don't know. I did feel like it benefitted my body in a way that I don't get from other exercise. The stretching involved is definitely good. I don't even mind that it's not hard-core cardio. What turns me off is the music, the imposed "calmness" and the whole allegedly spiritual experience of it. I see how that can be relaxing and motivational for some, but it's just not my thing. I may try a few different instructors before I give up on it completely, but it's not looking good. We did do a pretty cool headstand thing that was fun and challenging....

Tomorrow -- 16 miles. And I have a cold, so I hope it's a go. If not, I CAN do it Sunday if I need to push it back a day....

[Boo 3]

I totally get what you are saying about yoga. So many friends swear by it and have fantastic bodies from doing it, but everytime I have tried it, the instructors seem a bit snobbish to me. It has been a total turn-off for me. "Spirituality" comes to me when I am either alone, or when I am immersed in loving others. Yoga does not serve the purpose of bringing spirituality into my life, nor would I want it to. Maybe that is why I have not succeeded at it. I just want to stretch! Exercise should be FUN in my mind!

Hey, ladies, what time do you have to get up to workout in the mornings? I leave my house before 7:00 a.m. for work and am wondering if I need to start doing the Rocky Balboa thing in the morning like y'all are doing.

I didn't run yesterday and am not sure I can get out today. The laser work on my legs is very painful. Even if I stand too long my legs throb. Silly me for being so vain!

[Boo 3]

Dawn, congrats on the quick time. Under 10:00 for a mile!!!

[JulieNYC 4]

Well, I pushed the 16 miler back to today and I'm glad I did. It was tough adn I'm definitely more over my cold today than yesterday. I'm going to bed as soon as the sun goes down.

Boo, the earliest I leave my house is 6:00 a.m. I have a rule about that. I simply will NOT go to a 6:15 class. 6:30 is plenty early enough.