TODAY IS THE DAY!!! Here's to my 1st 5k.

Did awesome for not realizing what a "Trail 5K was" or what that entailed.

1 min before the race Mark, my husband, yells at me while I'm standing at the starting line "Ummm, be prepared for this,  I don't think you realized these were trails." and I yell back, "What??!!" and then I hear the horn go off.... And off I went lol

My heart was beating so fast. I wasn't nervous up until he said that, and all kinds of thoughts were running through my head. Will, I even be able to finish this? What happens if I can't? Wait, a trail? 

We first ran on pavement, then got on our trail which was grass. As I first hit that 1/4 mile, I see the hill up ahead, I thought "Oh MY GOSH, what did I get myself into??!!" I didn't realize, there were hills we had to climb and go down, grass, pavement, and dirt.

Below are screenshots of the trail and my stats

I was making good time for awhile and kept a really good pace. I had 2miles in 20mins. Then that last mile and the few hills I had to climb killed me. Did everything in 35:10

RESULTS

I think I did pretty well and somewhat kept a decent pace for my first race. Had I known it was a "trail" and hills, I would have trained for it!! Ugh... Oh well. Lol I'm proud of myself and Katie. When's the next race??? ; )

2 days until....

So today is the last day to prep for my race Saturday. The weather was incredible at 79degrees and the breeze felt wonderful as it ran through my hair during my run. I couldn't have asked for better weather. I decided to take photos of the park. It's 1 whole mile around. It has mile markers for when you hit 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and your mile. It makes for an easy run. It's just me, my ipod and this beautiful track.

YIPPEE!! I DID IT! I was shooting for 30mins or under. I knew if I went slower my first lap and hit 10 mins each mile, that I would meet my goal. Stats are above. Also shown, are how many minutes I ran each mile. 3.02miles in 30:47.

Midweek

As I've mentioned in previous posts, the app I use to train with is called Runtastic. I have been using this for over a year now, but recently used it more frequently during my training for this upcoming race. I have the app downloaded on my iphone. Initially, I downloaded the lite version, but it only allows you to do so much up to a certain point and then some of the features are taken away and aren't available for use until you purchase the "pro" version. I loved how my results had improved with just the lite version and knew that I had to upgrade. After my upgrade, I was seeing impressive results quickly as more features such as voice feedback during my workout, live tracking, ipod intergration, and interval training etc was enabled with the pro version.

"Runtastic focus' on gathering and managing sports data in order to motivate people to do sports and to link like-minded people. No matter if you run, cycle, walk, ski or do any other sport – runtastic makes these activities more exciting for you – because after all, sports are supposed to be fun" http://www.runtastic.com/en

On my early blogs, I have shown you my results that were screenshot from the app itself. The picture below is a screenshot my stats from the ipad on the Runtastic's website of my run today.

3.02 miles in 32:43. Not too bad today. Making progress.

I am just 2mins shy from reaching my goal of 3 miles at 30 mins. In order to do that, I bought this watch to help me. 

Snacktime

I have completely changed my entire diet this past month. I eat more sensible meals now, but the meals aren't the problem, it's the snacks that always get me! I have a weakness for chips and dip, sneaking in some cookies here and there and basically anything sweet, I have a hard time turning down. With the nice warm weather we've been having here in Texas, I crave fresh fruit and vegetables. Around this time I tend to eat more seafood, sandwiches, grilled veggies, and fruit salad etc. During my main meals, I always have a healthy snack. Here is a list of goodies that get me through my day:

1) ALMOND BUTTER- I just discovered almond butter! Where have you been all my life?!!!! I had always wanted to try it, but didn't want to buy a whole entire jar until I knew what it tasted like. Walmart had these sample packets and I instantly threw one in my cart. We bought a jar the next week and my dear husband says, "$8.00?? This better have some gold in it or something??!" FYI: It's not your average $4.00 peanut butter. LOL

2) CINNAMON APPLE CHIPS- As these say on the package they are bake-dried. It has the crispness of a chip, but just as fresh as an apple. I'm not a big apple fan, so if I'm going to eat them, this is an easy and tasty alternative.

3) MANGOS-I eat several fruits throughout the week. I eat grapes, strawberries, oranges, pineapples and one of my absolute favorites: mangos. Being from the Philippines, I have ate these my whole life. There are several types of mangos, but pictured below are Ataulfo Mangos. They are in my opinion the best. They have a very sweet, delicious and fragrantly citrus taste. Packed with lots of vitamin C and other nutrients.

4) TRAIL MIX- Of course there are several trail mixes out there and occassionally I like to make my own, but I picked this particular one up at our local natural grocery store. Gourmet Nut makes a variety to your liking: http://www.gourmetnut.com/. They have fiber, boosting antioxidant, high energy, but I prefer the Health Mix.

This trail mix is packed with a combination of soybeans (my fave), raisins, cranberries, shelled pumpkin seeds, and almonds. It provides protein, iron, fiber and essential vitamins. ALL NATURAL, no preservatives and cholesterol/trans fat free.

It's time to get down to business !!!!!

Here we are are.... Just a few days until my VERY FIRST race and I've gotta get crackin'!

Today I ran 2.03miles today in 21m 22s.

Avg. Speed 5.69mph

Max Speed 9.60 mph

Happy Easter Sunday!

"Having a place to go - is a home. Having someone to love - is a family. Having both - is a blessing"-Donna Hedges

Family is the most precious gift. Living a an Army life, you don't always get to choose where you live. Home is wherever the Army sends you. In the past 5 years of being married my husband and I have lived in Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. While we my husband was at his advancement/leadership course in Virginia, he was able to create a "wishlist" on places he wanted his next duty station to be. Our top 3 choices were 1) Hawaii 2) Texas and 3) Germany. We are now currently living in Texas. Over the past few years of being away from family, it was definitely a blessing that we got stationed close to home. We had been home sick for several years and now we are able to spend holidays together more than ever. The last time we had went home was back in January and we couldn't wait for this Easter weekend. We had a blast with the family. We colored eggs with the kids, went Easter Sunday service and then after came home and did our annual family easter egg hunt.

I decided to sacrifice my run and spend time with the family. My family means everything to me and they always come first.

Good Friday

We arrive in Oklahoma at 1-2am (can't remember I was exhausted from driving so long) and hit the sack. We wake up 11:30am. Mark and I had planned to run on Lake Thunderbird's dam as soon as we got up . It was perfect weather for a run. About 70degrees and cloud.  The sun decided to come 10 mins into our run. I forgot to stop the session on my Runtastic app and this is the only proof I have of my run :

LOL = P

I would also like to add on this night, I was able to experience my first passover dinner. It was neat to be able to be educated on such a historical and biblical time.

After passover dinner, I had a REAL dinner with my bestest friends in the world. Things I love about being home. Spending time with family and friends

GOOD FRIDAY EVERYONE! 

1 month DOWN!!!

Today marks one month of this new healthy lifestyle I'm currently trying to live.

I have come so far. I have changed and added so many new things to my life:
- If anyone knows me, knows that food is my weakness. Especially "BAD" food. It's been several months since I have wanted or have ate from a fast food restaurant on my own. In fact, I don't even really like them anymore.
- I eat 5 meals a day - I've been attending bootcamp at least 3-4 times a week
- Instead of snacking on chips, cookies, I eat more fruit, vegetables in between my meals.
- I've done the impossible and registered to run my first race = )
- I run at least 4-5 times a week
- I've learned to cook much healthier at home
- I drink waaay more than my daily amount of H20
- I've lost about 5lbs and have also put on muscle

So today I'm celebrating by letting my muscles relax : ). Heading back to Oklahoma tonight. Catch y'all tommorrow!!

Smile you have made it halfway through the week = )

Aian't life grand!?! It's midweek! Almost there.

so yesterday....
Tuesday-Headed for work and it was pretty gloomy. Then around 1-2pm it started to clear up and the sun was starting to come out. An hour later it got gloomy again. Being from Oklahoma I was familiar with these kinds of signs. It was then I heard that tornadoes touched down in Dallas. Prayers go out to those that we're effected from it. = / I was hoping that it wouldn't head this way. My boss called me 30 mins before I was suppose to get off and said that "bad weather was heading this way". I left early and it was starting to hail. Already dressed for my run, I thought, "Well, there goes my workout!" Then I told myself, "A lil' rain never hurt anyone, I'm gonna run and if it pours then I'll head straight to my car." So I took my chance and went to the park. It was about 85degrees. I couldn't of asked for better weather, it was beautiful outside. I struggled towards the end of my run, but definitely completed it.

       

As you can see above, I have INSANELY improved from the last time I ran. My goal is to get under 30 mins before the race and after. We'll see if I can reach that. = P The picture on the right of my activity is the track I run. It's one whole full mile all around the park (which is extremely nice).

Wednesday(today)-I've decided to go to bootcamp every OTHER day, up until my race next Saturday. So today's workout will be my last class for this week before I head home for the Easter holiday.

100 jumping jacks

100 jump ropes

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10 burpees

20 pushups

30 box jumps

40 sand bag rows

4 ROUNDS

If you aren't familiar with box jumps, these are what they are:

I hadn't done them before and they were pretty challenging. You jump on the tire with your feet both together and then stand up right when finished. Then repeat 40x. I did them in a set of 10's or 20's to hit 40 every round. Killer on the calves.

Why is Monday so far from Friday, but Friday so close to Monday?

hahaha! It's definitely a Monday here at work. Blah. 

lastweek-
Wednesday-
warm up: 800m

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"Dirty-30"

Air squats

SB squats

SB overhead squats

Squat thrusts

do 5X

time to beat (fastest in the am class) : 27mins

I did it in 27:50! I was the first to finish in the class and was so proud of myself because this is the hardest I've EVER went.

Thursday-with all the squats we did Wed. my quads were on fire. I decided to not go to class and run. I ran 2 miles in 22mins. I wanted to do 3miles, but my legs would not allow me to do it.

I took a break for the rest of the weekend and didn't do any physical activity. I finally recovered by Sunday. So I'm ready for my workout tonight.
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BRING IT MONDAY WORKOUT!!!

about to go into a squat in this photo:

I've used tires in our excercises before, but this was the VERY first time we used it the WHOLE ENTIRE workout. I loved it! We had a blast. I've learned that it isn't easy running with a tire. That's for sure! = )

 DINNER TONIGHT:Spanish Style Paprika Shrimp
For dinner I wanted something light and fresh and decided to go with a shrimp recipe I found on the show "Cooking Yourself Thin". It tasted just like shrimp scampi, just on a healthier scale. Their website has endless recipes and tonight's dish was a keeper.

Serves 4 as a first course
Calories per serving: 159

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika (or smoked Spanish paprika if available)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 bay leaves
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Pinch of cayenne
Juice of half a lemon

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

2. Add paprika, garlic and bay leaves, and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly so the garlic and spices do not burn.

3. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the shrimp and saute for about 3 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink and are opaque.

4. Transfer the shrimp to a warm serving dish, and toss with salt, parsley, pinch of cayenne and a squeeze of lemon