Last run of the year

It was cold but the sun was out and the sky was blue so I headed to the trail for one last run before the year ended.
I am very happy with my running, with my other fitness routines, and pretty much with my eating.  I only want to keep it up this year - to get even stronger, to increase my endurance, and to challenge myself a bit. 
Happy New Year to everyone who has given me encouragement and support and to my two running buddies - my daughter and Lori.  Can't wait to see what 2012 brings to our lives.

@home workouts

Yesterday I watched a show I don't usually see when school is in session.  A "fitness guru" talked about how you can get in shape with just 10 minutes a day if you use his workout method.  I know his method and I have seen some great results on a few of the moms at school (most of them under age 35 and not overweight to begin with).  I also know that it is not inexpensive.  I love being able to work out @home, that is I love it now.  I didn't love it as much when I was out of shape.  It was too easy for me to "adapt" and not push myself.  At least when I would go to the trail to walk and eventually run, I had my husband or my daughter along so it was harder to quit early.  I have a few workout videos (each costing less than $10) that I have started doing again.  This time around, I find that I am pushing myself.  And they are just what I am going to need over the next few months when the days are shorter and wetter.  I don't have that Bob Harper DVD yet but I do have my own kettle ball.  I love the Kathy Smith tummy trimmers - they are only 10 minutes per work out so I can do 2 workouts before I go to work in the morning.  Same with the Jillian Michaels shred program.  I saw that the ladies over at the Get Moving Fitness Challenge (formerly the 100 Mile Challenge blog) are starting up again in January.  If you are ready to make a commitment, that is a fun place to find some folks to share the ride.

So, what will it be?  I am planning to average 20 minutes a day for the next 3 months.  And you?

a year of miles

One year ago I received my Nike sensor for Christmas.  I used it for the first time on December 27, 2010 so today wraps up that first year of tracking my runs and I think 766 miles is pretty good!  December has been pretty dry here and no snow.  I am hoping January will hold more of the same so I can keep logging those miles.

staying with the plan

This Fall, I found this menu planning pad at a craft store.  It has 36 pages and a magnet on the back.  One side has these little boxes for the days of the week.  The other side has lined paper for a grocery list.  I keep it on my fridge and each week, I write down my dinner plans for the week and then make a list of what we need at the store.  There have been a few weeks when I didn't do this and our dinners were very haphazard and not very healthy on those weeks.  Yesterday morning I saw that chicken was on the plan so I pulled a package out of the freezer to defrost.  Later that afternoon I briefly thought about suggesting we go out for dinner but I knew I had what I needed to make chicken and sweet potatoes so I hauled myself into the kitchen and made dinner.  As we finished the leftovers tonight, I was happy that I stayed with the plan. 

Looking toward January

Time for the Whole Living Action Plan

I used to subscribe to a magazine called Body and Soul.  At some point, they change their name to Whole Living.  Last year I gave myself a gift subscription to start the new year and jumped right into the Whole Living Action Plan.  Today I received my final magazine (taking a year off from subscriptions) and was happy to see that it is the 2012 Action Plan issue.  I am looking forward to reading through the 3 week plan and making my shopping lists.  A great way to jump start the new year.
You can also find the information on their website.

just keep moving

On my fitness pal, it tells me I can burn calories practicing my drums.  I don't see that option on the Daily Mile site but

that is okay.  I was using Daily Mile last spring and forgot about it until today when I was playing around on the Internet (a vacation bonus).  I have added my Cross Fit workout for today.  It is just too drizzly and cold outside to go to the trail for a run but I knew I needed to do some moving.  Our Cross Fit trainer gave us 3 workouts that we could do at home.  I used my jump rope for the cardio portion - that IS  a workout!
I have done pretty well avoiding the holiday sugar but we do have a gluten-free cookie baking session planned for Friday so it is good to get those fitness minutes in while I can.
I also bit the bullet and signed up for a fitness related scrapbooking class at Big Picture.  Now that I am finally on the road to staying fit, I am looking for all the motivation I can find.

why tag your runs?

I don't tag my runs very often.  Tagging is a function on the Nike+ system that lets you record information about the run - weather, location, how you felt. 
After our race last month, I decided I need to run more hills - they really got me on the race route.  So I am trying to run a hillier route at least once a week and I want to keep track of my progress.  So, at least for the hill run days, I am going to try and take that extra time and tag my runs.