My Chapter Here Has Ended

Coach Jim and I

       Absolute Self Defense and Fitness has whipped my butt back into shape (along with the other coaches) in bootcamp these last 3months. The coaches have pushed me to my limit and have NEVER let me give up. Today is my last day. I want thank the all the coaches at Absolute for helping me maintain my form and keeping me motivated! I look forward to what the future holds ahead for me in my fitness journey.  

5years of Marital Bliss

HAPPY 5YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO MY DEAR HUSBAND

     I know this is a fitness blog, but I had to share my happiness. This past weekend was lovely. Mark planned all by himself a small getaway to Austin. We stayed at the W, ate on the patio at a tapas bar called Fino, watched our hometown basketball team OKC Thunder play the Lakers at a bar and win, and then went to the club and danced the night away. We even room serviced a late night snack to our room when we got back= )

We did get an enjoyable workout outdoors. Mark also surprised me with kayaking in Barton Springs. I have always talked about doing that and he couldn't have picked a better time. The weather was beautiful and the scenery was delightful. Below is the view from the river while we were kayaking.

The most memorable wedding anniversary we've had. Everything went absolutely perfect. I married an incredible husband and couldn't have asked for a better one. He completes me and he's my world. I'm so lucky to have been blessed with an angel in my life. I am who I am today because of his love and support. Here's to more future anniversaries together.

An unexpected surprise.

To my surprise, I placed! WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER (well close enough).

Mark and I didn't wait around after my race ( being my first race, we assumed that I would have never placed) haha I did see on the screen my name and the "category" under it saying 3, but Mark said it was probably the category I'm in. Next time we know when we see a number under it, we know that is where I stand.

This just totally made me day, week YEAR! Haha This is going down in the books.

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.