July is almost over!

It is unbelievable how fast this year is going. I want it to slow down! I am running out of time to lose the last of the 100 pounds I was going to lose by mid-September…. I am not sure if I will make it, but I am going to keep trying! If I do not quite make it I will certainly not be disappointed. I am thrilled with my progress and I know that eventually all the weight will be off.

P90X is 2/3 of the way done – I really can’t believe that either. When I started 13 weeks sounded like such a long time, but here I am getting ready to start week 10! Amazing.

Also, on the garden front – this is for you mom! – I do not have a whole lot to show for all of my hard work. I was even too lazy to go over there tonight and take pictures – even though there is not much to take pictures of…. Most of the stuff is either dead or dying and withering. The tomatoes always look like they are doing well until I pick them to find a rotten spot on one side. I do have to say that I have gotten a couple of the “Yellow Boy” tomatoes and, even though I had to cut around a rotten spot, they were DELICIOUS. These are the tastiest little tomatoes ever. The zucchini are long dead – I might have harvested 6… the cucumbers are still producing at a slow rate – I get a couple each week. The sweet potatoes are nonexistent… needless to say, I thought that by the end of July I would have so much produce that I would be sharing it all over the place. That didn’t happen. There are a lot of green tomatoes will on the vine so I am hoping that this next round turns out ok.

Tomorrow is rest day and I am so happy!!!!!

Week 9 – going well

I had a good legs and back workout tonight. I am learning how to hurry Tony along… he tends to chat too much during the workout so I skip forward and start the next exercise without him. I can usually get done with a whole set before he stops yapping.  I really like the workout, but I can do without the talking all the time. I try turning the sound off and putting my own music on, but that seems weird.

I had good progress with the Abs tonight. I was able to do all 25 roll-up/v-ups tonight at the same pace they were doing them! That is really huge. I know they are not perfect yet, but they are getting pretty close. It took me 9 weeks to get there!!

I had a good lunch time run again. I think I burned 400 calories but not sure. My heart rate monitor and the treadmill HR monitor interfere with each other. At the peak of my run my Polar said my HR was 77 and the treadmill said 56… maybe if I was sitting still! Since the Polar calculates calories on heart rate I do not think the calories are accurate. It doesn’t matter- I ran hard for 30 minutes and it felt good.

The addition of vitamins

I really do not have anything to report. I had a good day – ate well and burned about 800 calories. I ran on the treadmill at lunch and burned 400 calories and probably another 400 or so doing Yoga tonight.

I started taking vitamins this week. I normally do good for a couple of days on them and then get tired of remembering to take them and then swallowing them. I have a really hard time swallowing vitamins for some reason… which is odd, because I do not have any problem swallowing FOOD. So, we will see – I am taking a multi vitamin and fish oil. So far so good on the fish oil… no fishy burps!

I am also going to try to get my daily dose of vitamin D – apparently vitamin D deficieny is on the rise in the U.S as we are all afraid to be in the sun. All you need for vitamin D is about 15 minutes of direct sunlight a day. Sounds easy enough, but I am sure I do not get that. I go from the car to the office, to the house… Even though I am in the garden almost every night, it is night – not prime sunlight hours. Ironically the best times for vitamin D absorption are 10-3.. the same hours that are supposed to be worse for ultra violet rays. I guess the 15 minutes is an important piece of the equation.

The next 4 weeks of P90X are going to be tough so hopefully these extra nutrients in my diet will help keep my energy up. I normally get tired in weeks 2 and 3 of each phase and I want to avoid that this time!

It’s official

I forgot to post this weekend that I am officially signed up for the half marathon December 12th! Charlotte’s Thunder Road Amica Insurance Half Marathon

The half marathon is part of the main Thunder Road Marathon – it should be fun.

I have been investigating half marathon training programs and I think I am going to have a combination of two. I really liked the plan I trained with for the 10K so I am pretty much going to follow that and use the McMillian pace calculator for the paces I need to run.

I need to stay focused and finished up with P90X by the end of August and finish strong! Then, in September I am going to take a couple of weeks to really work on speed work so I can set a new 5K PR in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. I really want to finish in 29 minutes (or less).  My official half marathon training will not start until October.

My training will only have me running three days a week so I am going to be able to do a lot of cross training. I am going to keep my 6 day a week workout schedule so three days a week I am going to continue with P90X workouts. I have gained a lot of strength with these workouts and I do not want to lose that!

I have a busy rest of the year ahead!

What a Weekend!

I had a great weekend, despite having to work from 10-3 on Saturday. I decided Saturday morning that I wanted to go see my parents so I got up early to get some chores done and do my P90X workout – Chest/Back/Abs. This is the start of week 9! Amazing – time sure flies! I had a great workout and was actually able to do 5-6 real push-ups at the beginning of each push-up round before finishing up on my knees. It was a pretty good feeling to do REAL push-ups. I am going to work for more each time.

On the way over to their house after work I HAD to swing by Starbucks and get a non-fat iced latte – it was so delicious and I enjoyed every sip!

I got their and my brother and nephew were there – it was great to see them. We had a nice time talking, eating a great meal and playing some Texas Hold’em!  Before my brother left he invited me to run with him at Crowder’s Mountain. We ran up and back on part of the Crowders Trail. It was a hilly, rocky trail that proved to be an excellent workout. It has been awhile since I ran on trails, but luckily I had my adidas Supernova cushion trail running shoes. They were awesome.

We started out at a good pace, it is too rocky to go too fast. There are a lot of small little uphills on a gradual downhill trail. We ran about 2+ miles in and turned around. That “gradual downhill” trail turned in to a very not-as-gradual UPHILL on the way back… it is so funny how I hardly felt the downhill AT ALL in the way in, but it was a while other story on the way out. I definitely felt the hills. It was a great run. I had to walk a bit becuase my heart rate was at 90% of max so I needed to catch my breathe. Also, towards the end I started tripping on all the rocks and roots a bit more. My legs were fatigued and they couldn’t quite pick my feet up as high as they needed to clear the obstacles.

The run was not quite 4.5 miles and I think took us less than an hour. I ended up burning 1000 calories!!!

Here are some great pictures of us!

We stopped by his house before the run to check out his new Charger (with a Hemi) - he can really catch the criminals now!

Me by the map of the park - who knew there were so many trails!

Me and my brother before hitting the trail

After the run my brother cooked us a delicious lunch. For an “appetizer” we each got a juice glass size “green monster”. I really should have taken a picture of the ingredients he uses. It was really excellent. He uses frozen bananas and that is the key – I really need to freeze some up.

His recipe:
2 T greens powder
2 T coconut oil
1 T flax oil
1 T aloe vera concentrate
apple juice
frozen banana

YUMMY! It really hit the spot after that tough workout!

For main course we had whole wheat pasta with organic marinara, sliced tomatoes, from my garden and a piece of dark chocolate for dessert. He also made me a delicious cup of coffee before I had to hit the home for the 1.5 hour long drive home.

The combination of the drink, the lunch and a terrific cup of coffee gave me energy to get home and get cleaning! I knocked on the bathroom, vacuuming, clean up the kitchen and fold a MASSIVE pile of clean clothes that we have been picking through for a week.

Then FINALLY I had to take myself to do Plyo! The toughest workout of the weekend after the toughest run I have had in awhile! I was beat – but I was determined to BRING IT. I had an awesome workout and burned 500 calories. Giving me a total of 1500 for the day.

I have to note – I usually burn 700 in plyo so the 500 seemed disappointing, but today I adjusted my Polar Heart Rate monitor for my new weight. I realized today that I still had my HRM programmed for 35 pounds ago!!! The HRM calculates calories burned on weight, age, and heart rate… my weight was 35 off and therefore I think it has been calculating high. Now that I lowered my weight I will have to work even harder to burn calories. GREAT!

Now I am ready for a shower and ready to relax!

P90X Phase 2 Results

Once again I am thrilled with my P90X results. This program works. My phase 2 results were not as dramatic as phase 1, but they were still good and I am happy. The most telling part was in comparing the initial start pictures against the phase 2 pictures… I sure wish I could share them, but I am not that open with things! They are pretty impressive.

So, here are the stats as of this morning:

This week – 3 pounds lost!!!!  My goal of 2 pounds was exceeded
Weight loss on P90X in 8 weeks: 12 pounds
Total weight loss: 76

I will share my body fat percent: 26%. I never posted my beginning % – let’s just say it was A LOT of fat. TOO MUCH Fat! So, the ultimate goal is 18% – I think that is attainable and manageable. (17-22% is considered lean for a woman).

Inches lost in Phase 2:
Chest: -.5
Waist: -1
Lower Belly: -.5
Hips: -2
Thighs: -1 (they are the same size now – my left one was bigger)
Biceps: -.5
Total inches lost phase 2: 5.5

Inches lost on P90X in 8 weeks: 18
Total inches lost for the big three measurements:
Chest:7.5
Hips: 10
Waist: 12
Total: 29.5

So, now I am fired up for phase three. I have to finish strong this last phase. I am really excited! I always feel so great after recovery week. It really does let your body recover and recharge!

Yogini Laura

So I thought I would call myself “yogini” because of my super-fantastic workout tonight.  I have to admit that I had a great workout and did a lot of the postures really well!One that I did that I haven’t been able to do before is the “plow”

My legs were not quite as straight, but I got my toes to touch the ground and my arms flat!

I looked up the definition of “yogini” and it says:

A yogini has a steadfast mind cultivated by the disciplined pursuit of transcendence through Yoga.

So, maybe that’s not me… I really just want to lose weight and get fit! If yoga can help me in that goal then so be it. I am running better than ever – I think it is the combination of everything in P90X. I am really impressed with the improvements that I am making with every session. After this round is up I will most likely incorporate it into my half marathon training. I do not want to lose the strength and flexibility that I have gained.

So, tomorrow is the big day – weigh-in and the measurements and pictures for phase 2. I am really excited to see how I do. I am going to do all that first thing in the morning since I do not have to go in to work until 10:00 am.

Here is the calorie count for today:

Food:
B: Green shake: 240
S: Kashi bar: 140
L: salad with chicken: 100
1/2 sw potato 75
S: Yogurt/berries: 240
D: meatballs, couscous, tomatoes: 400
S: 1/4 c cottage cheese: 45

Total: 1280

Exercise:
Elliptical: 400
Yoga: 450
Total: 850

Drippying, sweating core workout

I had a great workout tonight with Core Synergetics. I did all the moves better than ever… except one… yes, the stupid Dreya Roll. I tried and tried. I used some of the advice given to me – I kept my feet close to my butt, I went as fast and I could but nothing works. I cannot even hoist myself up with my hands. I came up stairs and did them some more with John hoping to get some pointers. He gave my his advice, but still nothing. So, I will have to keep tyring.

The workout itself was good. I really have one move down pat that I NEVER thought I would be good at – the “Reach High & Under Push-ups”. I could not find any pictures of this move, and I am not quite ready to photograph myself doing it, so here is the description from the P90X book:

Combine a standard push-up with a one-arm balance. I did find a picture of a one-arm balance….

While in the one-arm balance, reach the top arm under the body, near waist as far as possible, extending hip and buttocks into air, and then return arm back top. Return to push-up position and repeat on other side. Do this for maximum reps. (I have to concentrate too hard to count, but I did several).

Calorie Count today:

Exercise:
Elliptical – short on time again, only 300 calories
Core: 450
Total: 750

Food:
B: green shake: 240
S: Kashi bar: 140
L: Salad w/tuna and dressing: 260
S: ?? two bites of pimento cheese – 200
D: Roast chicken, 1/2 sweet potato, veggies: 250
S: 1/2 cup cottage cheese: 90
Total: 1180

Harvest!

This week I finally started to get some tomatoes. They look good, but we have eaten two and they are not as delicious as I had hoped. Maybe I have built up such a high expectation for them that they cannot possible live up to it! So, I picked this last round and I am going to let them sit on the counter upside down for a few days. My neighbor lady said to do that and they will finish ripening nicely. So I will and I will wait.

Here are some pictures of what I have picked over the last couple of days:

The bounty

These are from Katheryn's plant

These are Brandywine Heirlooms

My first eggplant

okra

I placed!!!!!

I just checked the official results of the Gaffney Peach Festival 5K and I placed 3rd in my age group!!! They listed the top 4 out of every age group. My group was females 40-44. I checked and there were other women in that age range so it wasn’t that there were only 4 of us completing! Unfortunately they have my official time as 31:08. I am not sure how that is possible as the clock SAID 30:22 when I crossed. They have the second place girl as 30:22 so I think something go mixed up. My Garmin had 30 something…I didn’t turn it off right away, but it did not have 31 minutes at all. So, that’s fine. I am still VERY excited that I actually placed. I wonder if I would have received a prize? I didn’t stick around because it never occurred to me that I would have placed. This is really exciting. I can’t wait to start training for my half marathon!

Tonight I actually cheated with P90X and instead of doing Stretch X like I was supposed to, I ran. I wanted to run all day so I went to Harmon Field. I got all my gear on and my initial goal was just to run 4.5 miles. Then somewhere mid way I thought at least 4.5, but also I have to burn 700 calories. Well, 4.5 came and I burned 700 calories, but I decide that I could walk another half mile to round it up to 5 miles. At five miles I was a couple of minutes away from one hour so I rounded up to an hour. By the time is was all over I burned 815 calories. I was feeling great and could have played that little game with myself for another hour!

Today was very successful calorie wise:

Exercise:
Elliptical: 300
Run/with some walking: 815
Total: 1115

Food:
B: green shake: 240
S; Kashi bar: 140
L: salad w/chicken and feta: 290
S: greek yogurt/blueberries: 240
D: veggie burger, English muffin, salad: 290
S: banana w/PB: 180
total: 1330