I sign up for marathons so I can have desserts!

"Thank you for submitting your entry for the October 21, 2012 Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon and Half Marathon: Marathon. Registrations and fees are subject to the Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon refund and exchange policies.

This is your registration confirmation. Please print this page and save it for your records.
A charge of $80.90 to MarathonGuide.com will appear on your MasterCard statement."

I've gone and done it!  I registered this week for my first full marathon!!!  I am so excited and nervous all at once.  I know I am ready - I've been training for this and it is time.  8 half marathons since 2009 and I am scheduled for 2 more this spring & will probably do 1 or 2 in the fall as training workouts!  I have to tackle the marathon distance to see if I can do it.   I am planning to do it as wisely as I can and I want will have a VO2 Max test this year to learn how my body uses and transports oxygen during a workout.  This will help me learn more about how my body burns calories so I can add in the right amount of food to make sure I burn the right amount of calories during a marathon training season.  I am really excited and secretly hoping my friend Mandy does NOT get into the NYC Marathon lottery she signed up for so we can train together this summer.  Shhh, don't tell her.  Its not as if she reads this blog or anything.  I posted about the registration on FB and I was so excited about the support I received!  I am so lucky to be a part of an amazing running/walking community!!


I am hoping to talk some of my family into coming to Columbus race weekend to help support me on the back side of the course!  I've never gone beyond the turn point for the Columbus Half and I think that's where I'll want to see friendly faces!  It's tough for spectators but I am thinking good thoughts!  Columbus is awesome and there's lots to do!


I feel like I neglected my blog readers this week!  Work certainly has gotten in the way of blogging (and keeping up on yours) but I am going to post at least 2 before I head to Atlanta for work tomorrow!  The key lime pie came out good - even if Sarah promptly dropped it on the floor when it arrived at her apartment.  My hubby was pretty sad when I didn't return home with some but I didn't have the heart to tell him it fell.  By the way, my super awesome friends scraped it up off the floor anyway, peeled the top layer back so we could try to rescue it.  We all tried some anyway and covered up the ugliness with the homemade whipped cream.

This was right after fall. Not dirt - just graham cracker. Promise!

I let Mandy take it home because I didn't have the heart to tell the hubby what had happened to it.  Finally fessed up after he kept saying how sad he was to not get a chance to try it.  Tried to make him happy with some SugarDaddy's brownies and while he said they were good "they were not the same as trying his homemade Key Lime Pie so he could tweak the recipe for the next time."  Touche my personal chef.


While I was out at book club, he finally finished making the Buckeyes he had started at Christmas. Yum!

These are the best ever!

I haven't shared any of them and they are definitely too tempting. I will be glad to be out of the house a few days this week!


I was also surprised to be asked by Amanda @ RunToTheFinish who hosted the HBBC challenge for my mailing address as I hadn't won any prizes!  Much to my surprise, I had a package Thursday from Earth Fare (which is building a store here in Columbus) with some goodies!!

Yum!

I am planning to bring the bag of cashews with me for my business trip to Atlanta!  Only drawback were the coupons on the right side - they were for some Indian sauces & had expired January 15th!  The other 2 coupons though are for a free fruit squeeze up type thing from their store.  Thank you so much for the surprise package, Amanda!  I really appreciated it!


This week includes work travel to Atlanta where the weather is supposed to be in the 60s on Tuesday.  Think I can manage outdoor miles before work meetings??


Anything exciting happen for you this week? 


Have you done a full marathon before?  If you have, what's your advice for this first timer?

Virtual 3.5 Miler & a storm

We finally got a "storm" this season. Of course it had to come in late Friday making the trail a bit treacherous to cross.  Thankfully MIT cancelled right before midnight Friday:

Marathoner in Training

‎*** SATURDAY WORKOUT CANCELED DUE TO ICE ***

 ·  · Share · Friday at 11:27pm · 

I saw the notice & immediately turned my alarm off and rolled back over to sleep in!  Woohoo!  The dogs still got me up at 6:45 but Annie insisted after going out we do a bit of this:

I will make you go back to sleep.

She is the smartest dog. Ever. Maybe in the whole country.  Her snuggles made me go back to sleep not 1 but 2 times. Realized around 1:30 it might actually be time to get dressed.  Nah, I decided it was a better time to suit up with our favorite chocolate lab and head out for the 3.5 virtual race I signed up for through Running, Living & Loving's blog.  Slapped on some YakTrax and off I went for a combination of running & walking.  Riley was very entertaining and made me regret not bring my cell phone for pictures.  At a half mile in he dove face first into the snow and rolled around on it not too far from his own pee.  Smart.  Then there was the occasional stop to eat the snow and of course the poop stops.   Let's just say the neighbor's may not have appreciated him dragging me all the way near their front door to poop. Just a guess.  Of course I cleaned it up but I live in one of those 'hoods where people actually care about their yards.  Go figure.  The roads were not bad at all - in fact, our street was probably the worse.  Perry Township does a good job plowing them out.  We got about a tenth of the mile from our house & Annie was out with the hubby.  They both decided to run along side of me as I added on the extra four tenths of a mile I needed for the virtual race.  I love running with them.  Annie can't go nearly as far as Riley can but she is 8 years older!

I'd rather be eating snow.

Our race results were decent - 3.5 miles in 38:38 for a 11:02 minute mile.  Good for being in the snow.  Someone wouldn't behave for a proper picture so we took one after I removed my Yaks.  It was tough to run full out in the snow but I did the best I could.  Riley was definitely enjoying himself with some full out sprints too.  I think I wiped him out.  He took a nap immediately when we returned home.

We headed out to a movie yesterday afternoon using a free movie pass to see Tin Tin.  I must admit - when we got to the theater, there was no one in our row and then suddenly minutes before it started all of the kids who were coming to the movie sat in our row.  We promptly got up and went to Haywire.  Strange movie but definitely more our speed.  I'll have to go see Tin Tin at the cheap theater though - I've heard it is supposed to be good.

We're making our first key lime pie using the key lime juice from Key West today. I am excited about it!  Hope it turns out as good as my memory!

Still struggling without my MacBook!  Yesterday I got a message that one of the parts is coming in next Wednesday! When we first dropped it off, they said we would hear by mid-week with the estimate & it should be done quickly after that.  They should never have said that or I wouldn't be this disappointed.  I assume when I get it back finally it'll be a full 3 weeks.  UGH!

Did you have bad weather yesterday?  Did you venture out for a run or walk anyway?

Are there really any perfect conditions?

I found this picture on RunWithJess's blog and I had to just steal it.  Hope she doesn't mind!  It definitely fits some of the weather we've been having here this week - from feels like 10 degrees outside to 50 degrees two days later!  It's been an interesting weather week, let's just say that.  I prefer to be outside for my walks - even during the winter - and mother nature is being awesome to me!  I even tweeted someone into going outside for one of their first winter workouts Sunday!

Why do I like being outside in the winter even when I profess to hate the cold?  Many reasons.  I feel closer to nature when everything is so white & fresh.  There is just a stillness outside after a snowstorm that you can't recreate inside.  Yes, that stillness sometimes comes with difficult walking but that's why God created Yak Trax.  Or someone relatively God-like.  Either way, strap those babies on after a snow and you are good!  I don't usually wear them for ice but maybe I should try them!  I've always thought they don't work as well on ice.  Has anyone tried them for ice?  They work for you?

Through one of the many blogs I follow, I found a virtual 3.5 mile run to do on behalf of another blogger's "blogiversary" and 34th birthday!  She is giving us 15 days to do it - thru the 27th of January.  There are some great prizes being offered from some pretty cool sponsors - RoadID, Sparkleskirts, GU Energy, Jamba Juice & some others!  Always cool to get your workout in & possibly win some free stuff!  Trying to decide if I will cheat & run this one with Riley or if I will use it as one of my training days.  Hmmmm.  As long as it is above 20, I feel comfortable bringing Riley man out for a run.  I always worry that it is too cold for him - but then again, he is wearing a furry coat!

I've been without my MacBook for the last 2 weeks. Last week was not so bad because I was on my cruise but this week it is starting to kill me!  I have all the Garmin software loaded on that machine & I don't want to bother loading it on my work PC which I am shamelessly using for personal this week if I don't have to.  I broke the screen of the MacBook in a tumble for the machine off the couch over the summer.  We've been dragging our feet to get it repaired and finally brought it in last week since I had a discount.  I really need it back.  Hopefully this weekend - who knows?  I had dropped it off before the cruise thinking they'd evaluate it, order the parts & get it done by mid-week this week but they must have been busy since they didn't call to give me the estimate until last Friday.  Patience is not my virtue.  I would rather have them fixing it though because it is half the cost of the Apple store.

Have you ever had to live without your computer for 2 weeks?  Do you use your work computer for personal stuff even if you have a personal computer?

Will you plan to do the virtual run for some free prizes??

Confessions

I think I am due for a few confessions.  While I am a pace coach, I don't always set a great example for the walkers.

I returned home from my cruise Friday night at midnight.  Got home and after talking to the hubby, scratching dogs, and unpacking, I went to bed at 1:15 AM.  MIT meets at 7:45AM so I was up again at 6:30ish. Even if I slept on the plane home Friday night, what was I thinking?  Even if the pace wasn't my normal pace (which I am glad it wasn't), I was pretty sick.  I felt like the world was still cruising and the trail was getting longer & longer.  I offered to walk 9 with one of my walkers who is training for a March 17th race.  I don't know if she figured out how sick I was feeling or what but she decided to cut off at 8.  I forgot to mention it was cold and the trail was snow covered.  Horrible combination.  I had to leave her at one point & run to a port-a-potty.  I've never had to go that bad!  Next time, I am going to just have to let my co-coaches know I won't be making it.  Lesson learned.  I don't always train smart and I need to start realizing that my examples could get followed by others.  In other words, folks, don't do what I do.  Stay in bed & get yourself the full 8 hours of sleep your body deserves and go out for your mileage later.  You'll thank me later.  I am going to add a goal to my 2012 list:  start training smarter!

I made it through the holiday season without gaining weight at all but fell apart on the cruise last week.  Something about being allowed to pick as many fantastic desserts as I want has thrown me off course.  Oh yeah and Key Lime Pie on a Stick.  Crack.  I tell you it is crack.  I am giving myself the rest of this week and then back to making sure I eat the right things.  I brought key lime melt away candies when I was in the store and I brought them home for the hubby.  Yeah, right.  Why am I eating them all and I can't get them out of my head?? My sweet tooth is big.  I think I am just going to have to go cold turkey.

I have had a few people tell me my blog inspires them.  I am still trying to get used to this concept so if I act all awkward and funny when you tell me that - forgive me.  I am working on learning how to take a compliment.  In the meantime, thank you so much!  I am still a tad bit socially awkward but I'll get there.

I really wanted to get some of this out there because I feel like I have been painting a rosy picture of how this weight loss has been for me.  It has not always been easy or perfect but it has been an awesome experience for me.  All of you inspire me to keep moving, get off the couch and have fun!  And the people I have met have similar lifestyles and goals to mine.  And they all inspire me.  I am grateful for what I've learned this last year and as I said in my 40 things about me post: this journey has helped me learn how to work to live instead of live to work.  And I thank all of you for that!  

Any confessions you want to share?

How is your training going?  Are you behaving and following all the rules?

Love me lime time

I have completely lost it. I am having unhealthy thoughts about KEY LIME PIE ON A STICK.  Ever since we were in Key West and I indulged in this wonderful treat, I can't get the taste out of my head.  It was amazing.  Sure, I've probably had key lime pie before but I've never had key lime pie with this much flavor before.  I ate it too fast to take pictures so thanks to Google Images, I was able to find one to share.  We went there as we were riding out to Rainbow Pier and I had to go again when we got back.  Seriously. Scrumptious.  I can't even explain it. The best part?  It was frozen and given to me just the way this picture was taken.  

 Thanks Google.

When we went back, I went ahead and bought a bottle of the lime juice per their recommendation.  The recipe is on the back and I am having unhealthy cravings.  We'll just make the pie but my poor book club may be the guinea pigs for our first attempt.  I sure hope it comes out as good as my memory!  My favorite things have always included sweet & sour candies like Lemonheads & Friends, limes, lemons, etc. so the fact that I am in love with Key West & Key Lime Pie is no surprise to me!  

Yum!

I knew Key West was famous for lime but boy oh boy!  The cruiseship also gave me a coupon for a BOGO Key Lime Cocktail at Hogs Breath.  It was worth every sip!  It went down smooth.  In a way, I was glad my roomy pulled me out of there - it would have been dangerous had I stayed!

Back on the cruise ship, my roomy & I went to a seminar on detox and followed it up with the Body Comp Analysis they were offering.  Instead of using calipers to measure your body fat, they used electrodes stuck to our hands and feet.  Definitely a more accurate measurement from what I understand.  Hendrik (yum!) was impressed with our results and told us we had the best ones he had seen all day!  He was talking about how the body naturally detoxifies itself and that you need a certain amount of fluid retention to help you increase your metabolism & reduce weight.  There was a lot of science to his calculations that I am not quite sure I can explain, but he said that you want your hydration level to be 69-74% of your lean weight.  Mine was 72%.  He also said that to get rid of fat, you do need a certain amount of fluid retention to make everything work right.  A detox would help make that better but he said if I did do a detox, I'd only lose about 2.2 lbs which is really low.  He was ultimately trying to sell us a detox package and I was impressed he didn't push it.  I actually got to ask him a lot more questions about training & how to figure out the right amount of calories to eat during marathon training or even just during my regular exercise.  He told me more than my doctor ever has.  He recommended a VO2 max test to help me with that.  The BCA told me I should eat 1551 calories per day to maintain current weight.  I have been on a 1600ish plan for a while so I am right on target!  With my activity level, I am sure that will need to increase but I am going to ask my new doctor about that.  My body fat percentage was 19.7 according to this test.

What did I learn?  It was great to hear more about how my body works and processes the water I intact & the food I eat.  I learned I am on the right calorie plan to maintain but I need to consider increasing once I have the VO2 max test so I can keep up my energy based on levels of training.  Maybe this will help me with increasing my athletic performance and get me to lose the last 10 I want to lose.  It is not needed but I'd feel better.

I am off to eat more key lime candies that I actually brought home for Steve. I've eaten the majority of them.  I suck as a wife.

Have you ever had Key Lime Pie?  A dessert you can't get out of your head?

Can you help me understand the science behind my BCA?  And actually retain what I learned? I suck at science!

Girls Getaway Cruise Recap

What a week!  I joined some friends I've met through MIT on a Girl's Getaway cruise.  Well, plus one token male.  We had a great time - albeit some issues for me with my roomy!

I am still trying to remember inviting this friend to go with me on the cruise.  I simply remember mentioning that I was invited to go on one.  She decided to be my roommate.  Either way, we booked to go.  I should have known how things would go when she insisted we didn't need to be near my friends on the M Deck and we went with the R deck.  We were on the other side of the ship, one floor down.  I think we saved $10 each.  For a $199.99 cruise, I think we could have added $10 each to it.  At least I could have and I would have paid for the upgrade for her too!  The days leading up to the cruise, she kept saying "I don't plan on hanging out with everyone every minute of the cruise.  This is my vacation."  Okay, I get that but does that mean you can't hang out with me?  Ugh!  Thankfully I still had a fantastic time going out with everyone after she went back to our dinky room at 9PM every night.  Yes, 9PM.  I don't care if you are normally on a certain schedule for work.  Vacation means you throw that schedule out, right??  I should have also had a clue when she said "I don't really care for cruising."  Uh, why did you decide you wanted to go with me on one?  This was my first cruise and I always wanted to know if I would like it or not.  A 4 day cruise with 2 stops and 1 day at sea was perfect.  I did enjoy it - even though next time I would NOT do an excursion and just go with the flow to see the island we stopped at.  I felt very nickle & dimed on this trip - everything I purchased or thought about purchasing was looked down upon by her.  The cruisemates? Definitely not!  They were a lot like me and wanted to make the best of the time we had on the cruise & together! I am so glad I got to go and spent each night with them having fun during a sing-a-long, karaoke, the shows and dance lessons!  Definitely a great time!  I also took advantage of the gym and did 2 spin classes & 1 yoga class.  There was a jogging track & I did a few miles on it but I don't remember how many.  We also rode about 10 miles on our bikes in Key West looking at the whole island.

Total fake background

One of the nights of the cruise was an elegant night.  I had made a personal goal that I would fit back into my beautiful little black dress that we bought during our first trip to St. Maarten in 2004 which was right after I had lost the 40 lbs the first time.  The goal was met and our elegant night was Tuesday!  I didn't realize that cruises take pictures of your every move and then sell them back to you!  We could pose with many different backgrounds.  I haven't done this many pictures since high school!  I tried two different backgrounds for my picture - one of grand steps like the Titanic and this one.  I think I chose the right one.  I told the hubby that we totally have to find somewhere for me to wear this again!  This dress was made for me!  I told my roomy I was excited for elegant night & she said "I wouldn't say I am excited."  

I got total genius points from my cruisemates for packing vodka & rum in travel size bottles in my luggage.  Definitely do it if you cruise - head to the Dollar Store and pick up cheap bottles and load them up!  Drinks were expensive and it was a great way to save a little money!  I bought 6 small bottles of Cranberry juice and was able to carry them on as the mixer.  All in all it was a great time!  I'll definitely go if another one is planned.  A girl's getaway is definitely a good time!

Have you ever gone on a trip with someone and regretted it?  I am really disappointed as we have traveled together for races & never had issues but I will never travel with her again.

Any cruise tips you have for my next trip??  I felt like a genius with packing the alcohol but I can't take credit - a co-worker who cruises once a year with other couples shared the tip with me!

My first winners & a tolerant husband!

What do you think??  Good look?

I have a very tolerant husband.  I went to get fitted for bras at Victoria's Secret today and found out they don't carry my size in the stores or online.  Headed to Saks Fifth Avenue - whom they recommended since they do carry my size.  Who knew that Vicky's didn't keep sizes for women who are smaller around but a full cup?  He sat through me trying on 3 or 4 different ones there too and approved how they looked!  I now have 2 very nice, better fitting bras!  Who knew you had to make your cup size bigger to get a better fit?  I was totally okay with that as the band went down 1 size!  Go me!  He then went with me to get my mani/pedi before I head out for my cruise.  It was just easier for us to do it all when we were out so I didn't have to go back out.  He tried to go to Dave & Buster's to play but wasn't feeling it.  Any suggestions for something I could bring back for him would be appreciated.  I feel like a very lucky girl today.

Onto the giveaway winners!!!  I want to first say thank you to everyone for the compliments and entering!  PAI has really made a big difference in my weight loss and I hope they help two of my lucky readers as well.  A combination of working out there, following the diet plan I got & MIT has helped me not only lose weight but gain athletic endurance.  I am proud of what I have achieved and look forward to hearing what the winners think of PAI as well!

Winner number 1 was comment #7 which is Mandy from Running For Two.  She is in need of a new blog name so head on over there to make some suggestions!!!

Winner number 2 was comment #10 which is Sarah from Running on Words.  Sarah is a runner temporarily sidelined by a pregnancy but is really looking forward to holding a bambino in her arms while she gets back in shape!!

Ladies, email me at laurieb27@gmail.com and we'll workout details on getting the certificate & water bottles to you!

The good news is everyone who went to Facebook and "liked" PAI's page can check out their class schedule online, head to the studio & let them know you liked the page to get one free class!!  If you haven't already done so, you should!!  You won't regret it!

And it's a wrap! HBBC 2011 is over!

It's over!  Today was the last official day of the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge put on by Amanda over at  Run To the Finish.  I had a decent week of training - even though I wasn't able to hit all of my new goals.

I took a rest day for New Year's Eve but headed out for two 5Ks on New Year's Day!  I ran a virtual 5K then headed to a real 5K and paced a 14:23 finish!  It was an epic day and I was proud!  Total week results:

• 23 miles walked or ran (Sunday's 6 became 12 thanks to a rule from Amanda) Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
• Spin / TRX combo (1) 30 minutes of high impact spin followed by 30 minutes of strength training?  Yes, please.
• Full hour of TRX Wednesday night
• Created my own in-home spin class Thursday night (go me!)
• Hour long hot yoga class 
• 5 days with 7 fruits/veggies per day (this week I went through 1.5 big Costco size packages of blackberries & 16 oz of raspberries by myself - yum!)

          Total week points: 45.5 (down from 49 last week)

          Overall HBBC points:  254.2

Would I do a challenge like this again?  Yes, I think I would.  It kept me thinking about being on track for the holiday season & remembering to eat important things like fruit & veggies during the holidays.  It does take a bit of work to track & I got behind on the blogging but it was worthwhile.  If I win something, even cooler but I definitely got a lot out of it.  My fitness assessment with PAI on Monday showed that my persistence has paid off.  I'd like to see something like this right before "bikini" season too!  That sure would help me keep on track!

I definitely think that running a challenge like this would be very difficult and my hat is off to Amanda!  She did a great job keeping track & working to keep everyone honest!  Thanks for your hard work!!  I look forward to trying it again next year!

Did you participate in any challenges this holiday season?  Were you able to keep up with your fitness levels during the holiday season without a competition??

Did I really think I could play doctor?

I decided to play doctor this week without much research.  I am thoroughly convinced I should not need to take blood pressure medication so much so I decided to stop taking it cold turkey.  Monday when I went for my fitness test at PAI, my systolic pressure was 140.  I was trying to blame it on the traffic but let's be real - the fact that I stopped my BP medicine cold turkey had a lot to do with it.  Jason looked at me with caution on his face but I chose to ignore him.  Late that evening I started getting a bit dizzy and I just didn't feel right.  I did some googling and figured out that if you are going off HBP medicine, your doctor steps you off gradually.  You don't do it cold turkey because you could cause a heart attack or something else really stupid.  Since my doctor has me on Norvasc which is one of the highest, I decided I better take it.  I went back on it Monday night and have taken it every day since then.  Since I have always been pre-hypertensive, I have been told that Norvasc is the top medicine for people with worse problems then pre-hypertension.  Since I have a family history of HBP, I am going to keep taking it until I see my new PCP in February for an annual physical.  In the meantime, I am going to make an effort to hit the same blood pressure cuffs at the stores to get a good reading so I can give the doctor good information.

What did I learn?  If you are not medically educated, don't try to treat yourself.  Listen to your doctor and if you are going to change something, make an appointment with your doctor before you do.

This week we have been watching my friend Mandy's awesome dog Cassie.  It was a no brainer for me to take her for Mandy when she called.  She doesn't know this story yet, but when my father first had his stroke, my aunt did a lot of searching to find someone who could take care of his dog Pepper.  We found a complete stranger to do this for us and I have always wanted to pay it back in some way.  Taking care of Cassie while Mandy was out of town was my way of doing that.  And Cassie is so easy - she fits right in with our dogs!  Now we have one of each color of lab!

Murderers row?

The one thing I love about labs is how easy going they are.  When Mandy first brought Cassie on Tuesday, there was some snarling & occasionally she gets mad at Riley for trying to take her toys but otherwise, it has not been hard!  I took all 3 for a walk tonight and everyone was well behaved.  I'd do this again in a heartbeat!

I tried to do the training video that came with my Cycleops trainer tonight and it was tough!  I don't know why it was easier to do it when I was at the Trek Store last week.  I need to go find some videos on how to use it - the manual it comes with just tells you how to set it up - not how to fix the tension, etc.  There has to be some YouTube videos that will help.

Don't forget to checkout & enter my giveaway for PAI Yoga & Fitness!

Have you ever played doctor with your medication?  If you have a trainer, have you figured out how to work it??

HBBC Week 6 Recap

Last week was a stellar week for my training and the HBBC challenge!  I took advantage of a quiet holiday work week and squeezed in a few extra workouts - even heading out to the gym for 2 classes last Tuesday!

A recap:

• 23.2 Miles Run & Walked 
• 3 total yoga classes - 2 hot & 1 regular
• 2 TRX classes
• 1 Group spin class at the Trek store - on my own bike!
• 7 Servings of fruit/veggies - only 3 times last week that I remember!

Grand total for the week:  49.2!  That's the highest week I've had since the challenge began in November!

I've already gotten this week off to a good start with 2 5Ks on Sunday (which counted double!), some mileage Monday & a Spin/TRX combo yesterday.  I've got good plans to get more in this week too - although I am busier prepping for a Girls Getaway cruise I am going on next week!  We're watching a friend's dog for a couple of nights this week so I might have limited outside of the house workouts but that's what the trainer & block are for!  I can't wait to try the DVD here at home so I don't feel so intimated by the other people in a class!

Super boy!

Today is the 3rd birthday of our favorite boy dog!  Disclaimer: We can say he is the favorite because of the 4 dogs we have had, he is the only boy. We've been enjoying short runs together and he has become quite the awesome dog.  If you're ever looking for a chocolate lab, I highly recommend Captain Nick's Labs in Strongsville, OH.  They make some pretty dogs!

With Annie when he was 3 months old! So cute!

If you are near to Central Ohio, don't forget to enter my giveaway for PAI Yoga & Fitness!  I love that place and it is a great offer!!

How is your HBBC tracking going?  Are you off to a good fitness start for 2012?

PAI Yoga & Fitness Giveaway!!!!

One year ago, PAI Yoga & Fitness ran a Living Social deal.  The details escape me - I think it was 10 classes, a fitness assessment & a nutrition plan.  I had been struggling with my weight - at that point I had been walking for 2 years with no real weight loss or improvement in my speed.  I've tried Weightwatchers but the points confused me and I knew as an athlete, South Beach, which had worked for me before, was not a good idea.  I knew I needed to make a change.  I bought the Living Social deal because not only was I looking to increase my activity levels & cross train, I also needed a nutrition plan to help me learn how to eat properly.

PAI uses MICROFIT FAS-2 System for their fitness assessments.  From the PAI website:  PAI Fitness Assessment teams with MICROFIT FAS-2 System to provide clients a comprehensive Fitness Profile using FDA-registered medical devices used for the measurement of weight, body fat, blood pressure, heart rate, flexibility and strength. Based on your results, we will recommend a customized exercise and nutrition plan to improve your fitness!

On January 10,  2011, I went to PAI and had my fitness assessment.  The results were not surprising.  My cardio was in the excellent range but the rest of me was in the "needs work range."

Body Weight:  174.5 (I was 181 at the doctor a week or 2 before)

Body Fat %:     33.5%

Body Fat Weight: 58.5

I knew these results were likely, especially when I looked like this:

Sexy and I knew it!

It was evident that just walking was not helping me and I knew I needed help to start feeling better!  The fitness assessment measured a few other areas too:

Push-ups:  11

Back Flexibility:  26 (on a scale of 62)

Systolic Blood Pressure:  128

Diastolic Blood Pressure:  80

Resting Heart Rate:  55 (EXCELLENT)

Aerobic Fitness: 82.6  (EXCELLENT)

Total fitness score:  43 (fair)

After spending the last year attending PAI religiously (I love this place!) and stepping up my workouts, I was retested:

Body Weight: 141.7

Body Fat %: 23.4%

Push-ups:  55

Back Flexibility: 39 (better but not great)

Systolic Blood Pressure:  140 (I blame the traffic!)

Diastolic Blood Pressure: 77

Resting Heart Rate: 50 

Aerobic Fitness: 168.5

Total Fitness score: 69 (FIT!)

The first page of my report.

Nov. 2011

And now I look like this!  The report said that I don't need to lose any more weight unless I want to change my appearance or improve athletic performance.  I'd ideally like to weigh about 5 pounds less and be more toned through my mid-section but I am THRILLED to be told this!  For the first time in my life, the assessment says I am FIT!  I have to work on a few areas - back flexibility being one of them - and the report gives me some ideas of what I can do to improve it.  I always do have issues with my back during workouts so it is not a surprise.  PAI was a great fit for me because the large gyms with lots of treadmills overwhelm me.  I walk in and immediately feel lost - too much going on and I never felt like I had any kind of focus from the trainers.  What I really like about PAI is the size of the classes, the friendliness of not only the owners (who teach there) but also the teachers themselves. They are awesome and push you to your limits!  Each one has made a difference for me and I look forward to heading there.  PAI is completely class oriented and recently announced an expansion of their studio!  By January 20th, they will have a separate studio just for yoga with the TRX & Spinning classes staying in the original location!  I've also benefited from taking their Yoga 101 & 102 workshops with Kara Lough.  They have another coming up on January 14th.  You can find out more information about the workshops here.

I am thrilled to have stumbled upon PAI last January and the results I've seen from being a client of theirs.  I've asked them if they'd be willing to sponsor my first blog giveaway and they said yes!

2, yes 2 of my lucky (local to Central Ohio area) readers will be selected to receive:

Fitness Assessment

Nutrition Plan

5 Class Pass

1 water bottle

How do you win??  Easy!

• Head to PAI's Facebook Page & "Like" it!  - 1 entry & tell me you did this in the comments.  Even better is PAI will give EVERYONE who likes their page 1 free class of your choice at the studio!
• Become a follower of this blog by joining Google Friend Connect on the right hand side of this page.  Leave me a comment to tell me you did this.
• Follow PAI on Twitter (@DUBLINPAI).  Leave me a comment to tell me you did this.
• Follow me on Twitter (@lauriewalksfast).  Leave me a comment to tell me you did this.
• Tweet Tweet!  Tweet about the giveaway - make sure you tag me & PAI and link back to the blog!  Leave me a comment you did this.  You can do every day for more entries!

The winners will be selected by 2PM on Saturday January 7th, 2012 by random.org.  UPDATE:  PAI has generously agreed to have the certificate expire one year from when it is issued so you'll have a full year to redeem!

Off on the right foot in 2012!

My dog is really an alien

I am feeling rather bad ass today.  I promised myself that I would get up earlier than I needed to and drag out Riley for the New Years Virtual 5K being sponsored by Daily Vitamin F.  I woke up about 7:30, relaxed for about an hour and headed out!  We were experiencing crazy 46 degree weather already at that hour so I went out with no coat and brought my furry BFF along for the run.  I feel like I am cheating whenever I run with him but he hates my racewalking.  He was fast & furious and we finished the first mile in 10 minutes!  I could not believe it!  That had to be my fastest mile EVER.  Shortly after, we ran across a cat which he scared up a tree and I tried to racewalk him but he just gives me this look of "really?" whenever I do that!  So we finished up our route & he was getting tired.  On the final road heading to our house, we saw a squirrel.  He noticed & picked up the pace a bit.  We finished the full 5K about 2 tenths of a mile before our house so I stopped the watch and we strolled home.  I failed at remembering hydration so we both got home and drank our weight in water.  Riley thinks ice cubes = fancy treat so he had a few when we got home.  Our other dog, Annie, was miffed at me for not taking her & barely spoke to me.  She's 11 and she will get over it!  Essentially this was a 5K PR for me since I was running and I normally racewalk everything I do.  Here are our splits:

Mile 1:  10:00
Mile 2: 10:22
Mile 3: 10:20
Mile .1: 9:50
Overall Time:  31:39 for a 10:13 minute mile

I need to get to this pace race walking too!!

Shortly after I returned, I headed out to pace the First on the First 5K being put on today.  I am wearing my lovely pacer singlet in the picture above.  The weather had changed a bit when we got there so I layered on a coat.  We had all kinds of winter weather at the race - sun, rain, wind.  It was a good example of what winter could bring.  Dina & I were pacing for a 45 minute finish which they had broken down to a 14:29 minute mile.  We came in just under that at 44:01 for a 14:25 minute mile.  I love the First on the First race every year.  It usually is a culmination for the No Boundaries (couch to 5K) program put on by Fleet Feet and it is awesome seeing runners & walkers accomplish a goal.  The leader of MIT came in 3rd then ran back to pace his dad back in to finish.  Inspiring!  It was different pacing the race this year and I am glad I had a chance to do it.  3rd year being there!  I was excited to meet different people while I was pacing who said they had signed up for the walker group for MIT.  We start up again next Saturday & I can't wait to see how many walkers we have!  We need to get the word out that there is a walker group in MIT.

Rocking the leopard print PJs.

The pre-5K 5K was also in participation of Run To The Finish's Resolution Run!  I had trouble printing out the bib so Riley & I posed tonight with my laptop after were a bit more comfy!  My resolution?  Honestly I am not big on them but I do have a goal: maintain my weight loss & love of exercise.

I am thrilled with my start to 2012 and I am looking forward to accomplishing many goals!  Tomorrow morning I am heading to PAI to do my follow-up fitness assessment & plan out my giveaway from them.  Hard to believe just 1 year ago I was starting there.  Now is the time to maintain it!

How was your first day of 2012?  Did you do any races?