Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #13

Wrap-Up:

I don't even really remember what I did last week but it wasn't that much. Luckily last week was a recovery week so I used it as such. I wasn't feeling too hot so I just took it easy and did a few runs and swims. I was planning on going on a bike ride on Sunday but the weather didn't cooperate and I had a lot of things I needed to do around the house.

Goal Setting:

I haven't even looked at what the workouts are supposed to be this week (bad I know) so I'm not sure what my goals are going to be other than to try my best to complete as many workouts as I can. I have been lacking energy lately but I hope I can turn that around.

The biggest goal of mine for the next two weeks is to not eat ANY dairy at all. I hope that I can stick with it but I already know that it is going to be hard. I had my first test today when I went to a Mexican restaurant and of course everything that I wanted had cheese in it but I stayed strong and avoided the dairy. We'll see how this goes...

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #12

I wasn't even going to do an update today because I feel like crap. I probably should be asleep right now but I'm not for a variety of reasons, one being my addiction to TV. Since I'm up I might as well do my weekly post.

Wrap-Up:
All in all last week was pretty great. I felt good until this weekend when the Demon came into town. I completed all of the scheduled workouts for Monday-Friday. I feel off on the weekend, skipping out on Sat and Sun workouts. I made up for the workout on Sunday by helping my mom build a fence around her garden.

Sidenote: She planted EIGHTY tomato plants so if anyone likes tomatoes I'll have plenty to share.

Goals:
Umm well that depends on how I feel this week. It is hard for me to judge right now because all I want to do is lay on the couch and eat cookies. I'm going to try to get in at least one of every exercise this week and hopefully more. Friday evening is the Relay for Life event (I'm still taking donations if you're interested in giving) so I'll do a lot of walking/running that day/night. Hopefully I can get a long bike ride in this weekend.

On another issue....I think I mentioned I was going to purchase a body composition device. Well it came today and that is probably what has added to my foul mood. I'm really hoping that thing is incorrect otherwise I have some serious work to do. I mean what in the world, I don't even want to type the number that thing gave me for my body fat percentage. I knew I hadn't lost any weight but I thought it was because I had gained muscle but now I don't know what to think. This is very frustrating because even though I know I don't have the BEST eating habits I know that they aren't terrible and I work out consistently so I really don't understand. It's not like I'm going to stop working out but I would like to see more results. *sigh* I have some changes I'm thinking of making that might help; I'll keep you posted.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #11

I'm really trying to get back on top of posting consistently so we'll see how that goes.

Wrap Up:
Last week was so-so. I felt good but I skipped out on a few workouts. Hmmm...that seems like a pattern. I don't know what it is that prevents me from actually completing all of my workouts.
I did complete both bike rides with one of them being my longest yet at 51 miles. I also did get a few swims in. I guess the biggest part I missed was the running. I planned on doing the High Point Half-Marathon but that so didn't happen. I knew after I attempted to run six miles and felt like I was going to fall out after 4 miles that I wouldn't be able to successfully complete a half-marathon.

Goal Setting:
My plan this week is to actually follow the plan that Marisa gives us. I have done well so far since today I was supposed to do a swim and strength training. I did my swim at lunch and then came home and did a full body strength workout that I found on Exercise on Demand (that thing was crucial!).
Tuesday: Hill run and Yoga - I will have to do the hill workout right before yoga but that shouldn't be a problem since the yoga will be focusing on flexibility and not strength training.

Wednesday: Swim and Bike - This is supposed to be a long swim so maybe if I come in a little early it won't matter if I take a long lunch to get my swim in. I'll do the bike at the park after work. Although the schedule says to do a flat course but I have no idea where to find a flat place to ride around here.

Thursday: Bike and Run - Since I have a lunch meeting I'm going to try to do my run in the morning (if I can drag myself out of bed) and then do the bike after work.

Friday: Off (Thank Goodness!)

Saturday: Brick Workout - Perhaps if I get up early enough I can do this from my house before there is alot of traffic, I don't really like riding alone but it is just for an hour so I'll be fine.

Sunday: Swim - This one is going to be hard since it is Mother's Day and I'll be at my parents I don't think I'll be able to make it to the pool. I will probably replace this with a short run unless my dad takes me to his gym.

OK so I'm going to try to really focus on nutrition (I know I say this every week). Maybe I need to just figure out the perfect mix and try to stick with that at least for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Dinner will vary of course but if I can keep all the other meals pretty much the same then maybe that will help?

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #10

I accidentally skipped last week's Wrap-Up and Goal Setting. Really the main wrap-up was captured in my review of the Belews Lake Triathlon. My goals for last week were just to recover and attempt to focus on nutrition.

Wrap-Up:
Last week was a pretty good week. I got in a nice swim workout, a couple of runs and a great bike ride. One of the runs was a little difficult because apparently we have skipped right over Spring and headed straight into Summer. I was completely unprepared for how the heat would affect me when I went for a run on Thursday. It is back to carrying water with me while I run. Sunday I went on a bike ride with my friend Susan, we did about 20 miles and then did a 3 mile run afterwards. It was really helpful riding with her because she discussed gear shifting and gave me some pointers on when to shift from my big ring to my small ring.

Goal Setting:
I have not really been doing a good job at accomplishing my goals but at least I'm getting out there and doing something.... I am having the hardest time following the plan that Marisa gives us for the week but I at least try to do the stuff even if I have to switch around the days.

I am supposed to be doing the High Point half marathon this weekend but I'm not feeling too confident about that since I haven't been running as much as I'd like to leading up to the race.
Swimming: I usually do this at lunch time so that's why it is sometimes difficult to fit in. I'm going to try to go twice this week (Tuesday and Friday)
Running: 3 Times(Tuesday and Thursday and Sat)
Biking: Twice (Monday and Sunday)
Weight Training: Once (Wednesday)

Next week I'm going to see if I can actually follow the plan that Marisa give us even if that means getting up and going to swim before work.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #9

Wrap Up:
I actually did okay this past week. Haven't lost any weight and I swear my thighs seem to be getting bigger...I'm going to assume it is muscle which is a little better but still frustrating when I try to fit into my pants.
Strength training: had me sore for the next few days! I really need to work on my upper body strength.
Biking: I made it twice, once was a spin class and the other was a 21 mile ride outside. I pushed myself in both cases so I'm feeling pretty good about my 12 mile bike ride for the race.
Swimming: I don't think I actually swam this past week except for my swim in the ice cold lake which was probably ended up being a couple hundred meters.
Running: Once, I skipped out on Saturday because my stomach was killing me.
Hmm...maybe I didn't do a well as I thought, LOL. But at least I felt better than last week.

Goal Setting:
My first triathlon is this Saturday! Whoo hoo. So this week I'm going to take it pretty easy and just do a few short workouts. I'm excited, nervous, and a little scared. Today we had transition training which made me feel even more comfortable although I don't think I'll be racing through my transition site, I'm just going to take it easy and focus on the different segments of the race.

What do you have planned for the week?

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #8

You would think that taking some time off would make me less tired but I swear I'm just as tired as I was before my break.

Wrap Up:
Yea.....so last week was pretty much a bust. I was feeling very worn out and so I decided to listen to my body and get some rest instead of pushing it and making myself feel worse.

Goal Setting:
This week I'm really trying to get back on track. Today we did a strength/cross-training workout that has my thighs on fire! I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to fit everything in this week because I have a lot going on but I'm going to try my best.
Strength Training: Once plus at least a 1 minute plank each night
Biking: 2 or 3 times
Swimming: 2 or 3 times
Running: 2 or 3 times

We'll see how it goes....

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #7

Dang I've been slacking on the posting....I'll do better this week I promise!

Wrap Up:
I feel like I start off the week on track and then I just start to fall off towards the end of the week. This is especially true when it there is bad weather on the weekend. I find it soo much harder to work out when it was raining because I'd much rather be curled up on the couch. So here is how last week went:
Weight-loss/nutrition: Not so great...gained back the 2 lbs I lost last week. Oh well.
Swimming: Once - 650 meters
Running: 4 times (21 miles)
Biking: none :(
I need to figure out who to maintain my motivation throughout the entire week. Oh and I didn't do any strength training either.

Goal Setting:
I still need to figure out exactly what I'm going to do this week because I already know that I'm going to be going out of town this weekend. That means I'm pretty much going to blow my diet this weekend so I'm not going to even worry about it, LOL.
Swimming: 2 times
Running: 4 times
Biking: I'm going to try to do some biking at least once but I'm not making any promises.
Strength Training: once (for real, I'm going to do it this week!)

If I didn't have to go to work it would be a lot easier to fit in all of these workouts but I'm glad I have my job so I'll figure out a way to make it work.

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #6

OOPPS! I forgot to do my weekly wrap-up and goal setting yesterday. I was tired and it completely slipped my mine. Anyway, better late than never.

Wrap Up:
I didn't accomplish ALL of the goals I set out for the week but I still did pretty good. I lost 2 more pounds which is great. I didn't even feel hungry the entire week like I was afraid I might. The good thing about this week was that it was sunny and not too cold. So here's what I did.
Swimming: Once (750 meters)
Biking: 16 miles - I decided not to run on Wednesday because I just didn't feel like it.
Running: 21 miles - my 6 mile run by myself was an excellent run.

Goal Setting:
This week I started my official triathlon training with Marisa. I am really going to try hard to stick to the plan that she gives us. Here's what I'm doing this week.
Swimming: 3 times
Running: 4 times
Biking: 2 times (these may have to be on the stationary or in spin class...UGH)
Strength Training: 1 time

This is a definite step up in my working out but you know what that means? It means I can eat more!!! Whoo hoo. I definitely run (and other stuff) to eat.

What are you doing this week?

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #5

Last week was a pretty good week, I didn't meet all of my goals for the week but I still had a good week.

Wrap Up:
I think I was a bit too ambitious with my workout planning. That schedule I made last week is my ideal workout schedule but clearly not my realistic one. I felt great during the beginning of the week but towards the end I started feeling bad. One of the reasons is that my monthly demon friend came for a visit and this was a particularly bad visit. Anywhoo...I'm feeling better now so here is how I did last week.
Swimming: Once (1000 meters)
Biking: none - it was raining this past weekend and I'm not up for riding in the rain
Running - 9 miles, I was going to run Sat but it was cold and rainy
Dang...when I type it out, it seems worse that I thought. I didn't do much at all this past week :(
On a good note, I lost 2 lbs! Things are going well for me using this calorieking thing. I have been extra hungry though so I'm still not so sure about this.

Goal Setting:
While I would like to say that I will do what I planned for last week I will be more realistic with myself. I think I am pretty much ready for the triathlon and Marisa's triathlon training starts soon so that will help me out too.
Swimming: 2 times (Monday and Friday)
Biking: 2 times (Wednesday and Sunday)
Running: 3 times (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday)
Doing one event a day is a lot more realistic than saying that I'm going to do two workouts a day.

What do you have planned for the week??

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #4

Last week was CRAZY! It snowed on Sunday and by the end of the week it was warm enough to wear shorts.

Wrap-Up:
The beginning of the week was too cold for me to exercise outside, not to mention I was feeling a bit lazy. I did better towards the end of the week. I ran 5 miles on Thursday although it wasn't a great run, I made it! The weekend was wonderful. On Saturday I biked/ran and on Sunday I biked. Here are my totals for the week:
Swimming - 0
Running - 8.5 miles
Biking - 64 miles

Goal Setting:
This week I'm getting serious! I started off today with a 1000 meter swim. I was very happy with the swim because I was able to do it in 25 minutes. I'm feeling comfortable in the water but I am still nervous about the lake.
The plan from now until the triathlon is to do three of each event a week.
Swimming: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
Biking: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday (I'm hoping this rain will hold off otherwise I will probably skip the biking or see if I can get in a spin class at the gym)
Running: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

Nutrition-wise I'm working on things. I have started using calorieking which is helping me be more aware of what I eat. I did very good today. This weekend I burned so many calories with all of the biking I did, I had a hard time eating enough calories to make up for all that I burned. I am trying to strike that balance between eating enough to provide my body with enough energy to do my workouts and not eating too much which will lead me to gain weight. This is hard.....

SNOW DAY!!! - Weekly Wrap-Up & Goal Setting #3

We had a SNOW DAY today!!! Whoooo Hooooo!!!! I woke up at 7:15am and called the hotline at work, I was expecting to hear that we had a 1 or 2 hour delay but instead the message said that the office was closed. I didn't remember how much I enjoyed Snow Days until today, it was great!

Wrap-Up:
I did pretty well last week. I ran 3 times and I went to my Pilates class. The two short runs felt great, the long run turned into more of a walk/run but since my goal was to run twice I count that as a bonus anyway. Pilates was great as usual, I might need to find a way to fit in another session per week.

Nutrition-wise I did okay. I honestly can't really say since I don't really keep track of what I eat. I know that I wasn't completely out of line in my eating habits so that's a good thing. I'm thinking about signing back up for calorieking since that was the only thing that really kept me in check with keeping track of my calories. I also thought about posting what I eat on here as well but I don't know if I want to be held THAT accountable for my eating habits...

Goal Setting:
This snow has thrown a wrench in my plans for the week so I really don't know what type of exercising I will get done. It is supposed to warm up later this week so I plan to run on Thursday and Saturday. If the weather holds up then maybe I can go on a bike ride on Sunday - that would be great. I spoke with Marisa and she recommended that I do three of each sport a week (running, swimming, biking) I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to fit those all in, I will definitely have to do some twoadays. I'm hoping this is the last week of bad weather because I really want to get into my training!

On a housekeeping note - I did spend a few hours cleaning out my closet. I didn't get it finished like I would have liked to but at least I made some progress and I filled a whole box with clothes to give away. I'm really trying to refine my wardrobe and "graduate' to a more professional style. I really wish I had some extra money (but when is money ever extra?) then I would buy one of these.

What are your goals for the week?

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting #2

Wrap-Up
Last week was about as bad as it gets when it comes to nutrition and exercise. I was on a business trip to Switzerland which isn't a valid excuse for my behavior but it is my excuse nevertheless. I ate too much chocolate, too much rich cheese, too much food in general. I did absolutely no exercising unless you count dragging my suitcase down a flight of stairs during which I broke off one of the wheels which led to me having to drag the suitcase along the ground for the rest of the trip because I don't know how to pack light so it was much too heavy for me to pickup! I didn't drink nearly enough water and entirely too many Espressos. And let me tell you...the ones they drink over there are MUCH stronger than what we drink here!

OH and I gained 3 pounds last week. WTF!!! How is that even possible??? I would have to starve myself to LOSE 3 pounds in a week. This is some bullish.

Goals for the Week
I feel like I am trying to get sick so I'm not going to do TOO much this week. I may wait until next week to start back swimming depending on how I feel.

-Run at least twice. I MIGHT be out of town this weekend so I'm not sure if I will make my Saturday run.
-Attend Pilates class
-For REAL develop an eating plan. I don't know what my problem is and why I'm procrastinating with this.

That's it, I'd rather under promise and over deliver than the other way around, LOL.


What are YOUR goals for the week? How did you do last week? Better than me I hope.....

Weekly Wrap-Up and Goal Setting

I have decided to start doing a "weekly wrap-up". I debated on which day to do it and finally decided on Mondays because I generally don't do that much exercise-wise on Mondays.

I would LOVE it if you would share your weekly exercise/eating accomplishments and what your goals are for the coming week.

Here are my accomplishments from last week:
- Ran little over 9 miles (6 one day and 3.5 another)
- Biked 42 miles! (my longest ride ever....yeah!)
- Prepared 2 new recipes that were both great.
- Swam once (although it was such a short distance it doesn't even really count)

Goals for this week:
- Run 3 times
- Swim at least twice
- Go to Pilates class
- Actually eat breakfast, I was really bad about that last week
- Keep a check on my eating in general (this is always a struggle!)

Now it is YOUR turn!