That Lightbulb moment

Closing out 2012 was an interesting adventure.  I knew I was going non-stop, I had just finished running my first full marathon, I dreamed of doing another one in January, but those plans fell apart.  Oh, most pressing, I felt like I was losing control over what I ate and how much weight I was gaining.  This was not a pretty moment in my mind.

You run, you run, you run, therefore, you eat, you eat, you eat.  But what does that balance look like?  As someone who has struggled with maintaining a healthy weight for so long, after losing 30 lbs I was determined not to gain that back.  I was running, wait...I'm a runner now (insert head slap), I'm getting more exercise consistently than ever before in my life.....and yet at the beginning of a new year I came to the realization that I gained 20 of the 30 lbs back.  I won't lie, it's come back differently, but it came back and I allowed that to happen  (ugh).

Frustrated, angry with myself, and totally dumbfounded I thought, but I burn a lot of calories, I should not have to stick to some stupid unrealistic style of eating every single day of my life.  After an amazing year of new endeavors, more athletic involvement than ever before in my life, and I gained 20 lbs back (probably over 18 months, not just 12, but still.)  I jokingly told my dad about a great gift idea we should all get and try and burn more calories than my brother (young, spry, super active General Contractor) each day.  Make it into a game.

Well, my hubby (the super skinny, supportive, athletic, loving one) was listening.  We had agreed on only exchanging ornaments for Christmas, as our kiddo has now reached teen years and we know what that does to a Christmas budget.  Christmas morning there was an extra gift under the tree, for me...at first I was not so happy, as I hate being out done!  But when I opened it and found my new favorite gadget (yes, I have to say I rank it higher than my Garmin) the anger dissipated and led to an all new level of enlightenment.

Meet the Fitbit One


This little gadget is SOOOOOO much more than a pedometer (everyone's initial reaction.)  It tracks so many important aspects to my overall health and has brought me to a new level of awareness.

I work in an office, with a desk and computer, meet with people, etc otherwise, I sit A LOT.  There is this lovely barometer of sedentary motion (my name for it) that looks like this:







This was a day I ran 4 miles and had a busy schedule.  Typically an exhausting day, but look how long I was sedentary---13 hours and 15 minutes!  I only burned 2,087 calories that day.  The joy of this device and the supporting software/app is that you can track what you eat and your workouts.  It takes a lot of movement to burn just 2,000 calories in a day.  Thinking back on what I was putting in my mouth, living in la la land thinking that "oh well, I ran, it doesn't matter".  WRONG!!!!!

All this to say, I love my new accountability partner!  It syncs to my phone and website, I can look at it throughout the day and decide if I want to sit on the couch or walk the dogs or ride my bike or just clean my house to get more movement in.

What running goals for 2013....that's a hard one!  I have one big race that I want to do, Tower of Terror 10 miles at Disney.  I haven't found my fall half or full marathon yet.  I'm going to run the 2014 Disney Full Marathon and we are working on putting together a Ragnar Key West team for 2014.  The one absolute goal for my running is to hit 1,000 miles.  I hit 704 miles in 2012, so it's not that far off to hit 1,000 miles!

I've decided 2013 will be the year I stop dieting.  I'm focusing on fueling my body with what it actually needs to be efficient and healthy and not focusing on a particular weight.  How about you?  What are your goals?

New Year and What next.....again

I feel like I've said that before....what next.  In 2012 I accomplished two major goals, I ran my first half marathon......then another one two weeks later.  I then went on to train for a full marathon and completed that in November.  I've continued to run.  But once you have set a goal and then achieve it, being the goal oriented nerd that I am, I have to start looking towards that next mark.

I can honestly say I love running.  Yes, you heard me right....LOVE RUNNING!!!  I was considering running the local marathon in January, but it conflicted with my hubby's first really long (no seriously, 113 miles) cycling event.  I really don't need to stress our family or myself by having two of us doing mega endurance at the same time.  Because of that, I was keeping my weekend mileage up, several members of my running group are still running marathons or The Goofy, so I had people to run with.  Then, Christmas day I got the crud everyone else in town had been battling.  I was out for a week. 

That first week back to running (last week) was wretched (my new favorite word of the month).  My splits were horrible, my endurance was gone, and my body (aka stomach) was not cooperating. 

So.....again I ask....what's next?  I've decided for the first quarter of the year I'm going to focus on speeding up my 5k times.  I'm sticking with my Tues, Thurs, Saturday running strategy while adding in shorter runs on Wednesday and Friday to work on some speed training.  There are two 5k's that I want to do over the next couple of months, this will give me a little time to work on my speed, get some weight off (let's just say my sweet tooth was very happy in December), and have a few weeks in between the two 5k's to compare my times.

I got back on the bike this past weekend and that's another area I plan on working on, as I felt like a total slacker as I was trying to pedal, but felt like I was going nowhere, but my breathing sounded like I was making tracks (lol).  Poor hubby, I'm sure felt like he was dragging me. 

I do have a new favorite thing...toe socks!!!!!  My podiatrist recommended them to help my toenails and blister issues, and I have to say I love them! 

Now that I have a gameplan...what's your?