5 Months...150 Days, 12 Hours, 11 Minutes, 52 Seconds

I have high hopes for the next five months. Getting so close to my goal weight, I am excited to get there already! In the next five months I have delusions of grandeur that include nutritional greatness, perfect training schedule, extra hours in each day, lots of stretching, a flattering race photo and inevitably running the perfect race...I know better. I will be happy to just finish that damn thing with all limbs in tact and the strength to lift a water bottle.

Nutrition...

The more people I tell about my goals, the more accountable I am for my eating habits. I have learned over the course of the last year and a half that I can keep myself motivated and on track by simply sharing all the information I can about upcoming races. Sometimes I wonder if my family is sick of hearing about it...if so, I'm sorry to say that they can deal! :) I have to keep talking to keep myself moving and pushing towards my goals. If your ears start to bleed I apologize.

Training...

I am starting to think about how exactly I will balance everything once I get closer to the race...personal training, a decent running schedule, work, teaching and still having enough energy to enjoy my husband, my friends and my family. I should probably try to factor some rest and relaxation into that mix as well.

The Perfect Race...

I recently received an email from the photography company from the Pittsburgh Great Race...

Celebrate your special day this season by capturing the moment in a holiday card ready to send to your family and friends.

Attached to this email was a little slice of photographic heaven...Um, Not Really! It was the worst photo quite possibly ever taken of me. About 3/4 of the way through my first 10k, I look like I am about to pass out! Who wants this coming to them in the mail during the holidays and am I supposed to photoshop Jason on a treadmill beside me??

Ever since this email I have been hoping for the perfect race photo in the half marathon. I know this does not exist and the closest thing to it is probably a hundred races away. But still...did they really have to send that photo...they took plenty of others where I was not quite as close to passing out. The first mile photo would be just fine with me!

I might as well share this horrible photo...




Going Beyond the Photo...

Not quite as worried about the race photo as I may seem, I really am more concerned with surpassing all my goals. I have not been able to master the art of being happy with just reaching the goals I set, I have to go above and beyond. If I continue on this path, I wonder if I will ever be satisfied with my performance...

I know one thing, I won't get there eating donuts.

Some shots I took this fall...

Post-Fall Update...

A quick recap of all the blog posts I started and never finished this Fall...typical...

Another year gone by...

October of last year I marched my ass up to the Fitness Trail at Seven Springs just happy to be trying something new. I went through the motions, walked from station to station doing the modified exercises and the minimal reps recommended. I felt good about it after simply because I had branched out and tried something new. There were stations I could not complete and well quite frankly I could have done much better.

Saturday, October 10, 2009, after a year full of sweat, races, successes and failures, I'm back at the base of the Fitness Trail once again. Determined to do better I start off slowly worried about not finishing. Half way through I realize I am kicking this trails ass! So excited I get back to the chalet to tell Jason. It really was one of the most rewarding things I had done all year...next to the Triathlon of course!

Who knows what next year will bring?!

Just Five Minutes More

Every week I vow to stretch a little more. I have to keep reminding myself because I seem to keep forgetting. With all the hours I put into working out and planning meals in a week why can't I take an extra 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after each workout to stretch?

I am learning more and more that stretching is an integral part of my health and general well-being. Keeping your muscles flexible gives your body the ability to perform much better when working out. I am convinced that gentle stretching each day and a regular yoga class would curb me of my mid workout fatigue and keep me going longer and stronger.

Has the art of stretching been lost on me? I think there's still hope for me yet.

A Night out with my Niece...The photos speak for themselves!


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Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire...and I'd rather be running?

I love nothing more than a cozy evening at home by the fire...but maybe I should have to earn it first...

Just 5 minutes away from a great park with spectacular views, I am starting to think about winter runs. Last year I made it into late January before I neglected the brisk winter days in the beautiful outdoors and spent my time on a treadmill staring at a wall.

Just 5 months away from my first half marathon I wonder if I will be spending most of those days inside or training in the cold?

In my perfect world I would have heated running gear, a thermos of hot chocolate in one hand, a bottle of water in the other and still have an extra two hands free. I don't think these things exist, so for now, I can only wait and see how long I last in the cold this winter.

Max-Tracker

It's Tuesday morning, I'm dressed and ready to walk out the door to training. I run outside to grab Max off his lead and to my shock and dismay the damn dog is gone! Snapping through 1/8" steel cable all 60 pounds of him is gone leaving nothing but a broken cable and an upset Krystyn. After about 45 minutes of searching he is nowhere to be found. While Jason is out riding around the neighborhood I decided that I would 'mantracker' his ass and look for a path he might have followed through the woods behind our house. Thinking maybe he got what's left of his lead stuck on a tree I head out into the woods. Twenty minutes into the brush and I see a white fluffy thing streak through the woods. Either that is Max or a mutant bunny rabbit that just ran through the thick. I call his name and trudge a little deeper into the brush. Who comes bouncing up to me as happy as a clam? The damn dog! I'm elated to find him but he's still an asshole. :)

A rainy Friday afternoon I whip into the drive-thru line at McDonalds on my way back to the office. For a slight second I thought to myself, mmmm, Burger & fries shortly followed by the thought of the misery and intestinal pain I would feel later feel. Followed by this, almost instantly, was the thought of putting myself yet one more burger away from my goal. By this time, which is probably about only 3 seconds, I have remembered I have a healthy lunch back at work waiting for me. The lady before me starts to order, "Can I have a two cheeseburger meal biggie sized, fries and a Vanilla shake?" I can't but help think to myself "How the hell is this 5'4" soccer mom putting away all this food!?" Now it's my turn...I try to be nice to the drive-thru people knowing there are assholes out there who sit there for a million years deciding, change their order and then complain about the price when they get to the window. "Can I have a side salad with no dressing please?" I think I confused the guy "No dressing" he responds, "Yeah that's perfect" I say. Moving up yet another spot in line I can hear the woman behind me order her meal, "I would like a Number 11, biggie-sized with a Sweet Tea". A Sweet Tea! Doesn't she know how many calories are in a sweet tea!!! Faintly in the background of her high-calorie lunch order I can hear her and her friends chatting about how they never seem to be able to lose weight no matter what they do.

Now trust me, I have no room to judge, I let myself get to 300 pounds via snacking, snacking and well, more snacking. However, to all of the women out there that have 30, 40, 50 pounds to lose, STOP EATING CRAP NOW! I know life is hard sometimes and people eat for crazy reasons but stop the madness now while you still can! If someone had told me at 200 pounds that in a year I would weigh 300 pounds I would have never believed them, but it happened. Years of self-neglect, self sabotage and pain did their damage.

A year and a half of hard work, determination and ass-kicking by my trainer has whipped me into shape physically and mentally. Through all the pounds I have lost and all the self-respect I have gained I still can't help but think sometimes about where I would be now if I started this journey a hundred pounds ago.

The Message for the Day...Start treating yourself with a little more respect and dignity each day. Who knows, you may even lose a pound or two.

"A persons worst enemy can't wish on him what he can think up himself"

Bliggity Blog!

I've decided to blog about all of the things I am learning through my healthy lifestyle change and, well, all my adventures in life! Stay tuned!