In the Spirit of Spring and Manning!

I have been waiting patiently all spring for May to get here, so it's no surprise that I ran out to Home Depot at the first available opportunity to purchase flowers!
The last few days I have worked hard to till the soil and get it ready.  When we first moved into our house, the soil couldn't have bee dryer and there was not one sign of anything growing in it.  About a month ago, John went out and tilled it first.  It took him a lot of work due to how dry it was, but he did well.  We let it be for a month and through that time a few weeds started to grow- a sign of life!

After tilling but before planting

John and I had discussed what kind of flowers to plant, but we never did decide.  John did make one request last night and that was to have blue and orange flowers in honor of the Broncos.  John is such a huge Broncos fan so how could I refuse?

You can definitely see the orange and blue!
I was able to find some bluish purple pansies and some other type of small bluish purple flowers.  The orange flowers consisted of marigolds and I added some soft orange lilies that are gorgeous!  
It was great to get out into the sun and dig through dirt.  The last time I planted flowers I had to have been 10, helping my mom with our backyard flowers.  And considering, I think it turned out really good!

My favorite is the Lily on the side!

Our house isn't perfect, and we still have some work to do, but I think its coming along really nicely.  Now if only I could get rid of the weeds.

Pride doesn't even begin to describe it!

Today I did something really cool for myself.  I ran the 5 mile Cherry Creek Sneak!  This year was their 30th year doing it with huge success!  About 10,000 runners come out every year to run the, 1.5 mile, 5k, and the 5 mile.   This year, they even added a 10 miles, that's right, I said 10 miles, not 10k!  A friend of mine actually ran the 10 mile!  I was so impressed!  That's double what I did today!
One of my goals this summer is to participate in more races.  Not only does it benefit my health, but the money raised goes to some really great causes!  About a month ago I actually ran a 5k trail run.  It was my first one ever!  I hated every second of it!  It didn't help that I didn't know it was a trail run, it didn't help that the first mile was a steady uphill up a mountain, and it didn't help that the trail was so thin that I had to stop and pull over every time someone tried to pass me.  When I got done with my 3 miles my time was 55 minutes... that averages out to more than 18 minute miles... pretty slow...  So I took the last few week to practice some more and today, I'm proud to report that I brought it down to an average of 14 minute miles!  It's still fairly slow, but considering where I was 3 weeks ago, I'm proud!

When we arrived to Cherry Creek we quickly got registered up and then warmed up for the run (and took pictures)!

I started the race off pretty strong, in fact I was almost able to run the whole first mile.  Once I took a break and walked my calves were screaming!  But by a mile and a half I was all warmed up and was able to keep pushing strong.

One of the things I loved about this race were some of the costumes!  During my run, I saw a turtle, 2 men in gorilla costumes wearing a bra and thong, and of course Forrest Gump!  Well, 2 Forrest Gumps to be exact.  I was actually able to keep up with them for a little while and I even talked to them about how great they looked!

A little fuzzy, but you can barely make out the wig, beard, and running shorts!

Once I finally passed the finish line, I met up with my much faster girlfriends and we went in search for beer.  After all, beer is one of the main attractions of these races, I kid, I kid!  There I was able to meet up with the friend that ran the 10 mile.  We talked about how great the race was, which costumes were our favorite, and of course the "Run for Free Beer Sign" halfway through the race to keep us going!  And then of course we talked about how great this new hobby of ours is!

Me in my new shirt!  Because, you have to show off that you did it!

Yes, this is now on my fridge with the last one :-)

I can't wait until the next run!  This is definitely going to be my summer!

Running for Beer?

This weekend I have committed myself to running 5 miles in the Cherry Creek Sneak.  This will be my second run this year.  Preferably, I would have liked to have signed up for the 5k instead of 5 miles, but my girlfriends were very persuasive so now I'm in for it!  One of the things I love about doing these are the t-shirts and beer.  Wrong reasons I know, but there's something really cool about having a free beer afterwards and then bragging about it with the t-shirt.  Ok, so that is not the only reason I love doing these.  Honestly, these are hard and I'm not exactly in tip top shape yet, but the overwhelming pride I have after one is indescribable and irreplaceable!

So now that I have confessed that I'm not exactly in shape for a 5 mile run, I might as well share how I have been preparing to run at least some of it.  I really love my Iphone!  It provides so many great Apps and tools to help me get ready.  I'm so addicted to C5K.  Its a great tool to help me gradually increase my distance.  Some days, it's horrible and I just want to start from the beginning and only run 1 minute intervals, but in the name of progress I must keep going.

As you can see, I'm only on week 2, but still making progress!

Well, wish me luck on my run!  I can't wait to report how I do!

Food for Thought

One of the things I love about making better choices and following Weight Watchers are the food choices I have.  Really, I can eat whatever I want as long as it's in moderation.  But along with that, they teach me how to make smarter choices without feeling deprived.  Believe it or not, I feel as if I'm eating better now on Weight Watchers, than before.

To help put things in perspective:

From the Weight Watchers Web Site

Both of these are the same amount of calories, but on Weight Watchers, the egg, toast and ham are less points?  Why?  Because your body uses more energy to process proteins, which is why protein is such a critical choice when trying to lose weight.

So, taking this picture to heart, I now eat 1 egg, 2 slice of toast with a little butter, and 2 pieces of canadian bacon every morning for breakfast.  I feel so spoiled and I stay full much longer.  This just shows how easy this is going to be for me! 

Because 2 is Better Than 1

I just recently rejoined Weight Watchers and so far I'm having tremendous success.  I'm not only 4lbs down, but I'm more motivated to get active, eat all of my fruits a veggies and drink my full recommended amount of water.  I'm so motivated and so excited!

I love having a huge community on the Weight Watchers website.  I love reading about peoples success and all of their ideas.  Through it it has made me realize how much I would like a buddy through all of this.  So yesterday I went to a friend of mine who also struggles with her weight and asked her to join with me.  She and I always talk about the latest weight loss trend and what were doing to get active, but neither of us have really had success, and when we do we get sidetracked and then gain it all back.  So I was a little surprised at her hesitation and her ultimate no.  When I presented it to her she said that she didn't believe in it.  What?  Not believe in Weight Watchers?  She then backtracked and said that wasn't true, because her sister had lost 60lbs on Weight Watchers.  She just didn't think Weight Watchers was for her because she wanted faster results and didn't think Weight Watchers could get her there in time for her vacation.  I understand her "desire" for faster results, but in the 2 years that we have been friends I have seen her do these drastic diets that brings her 30lbs down in 2 months, only to have her gain it all back and then some.

So, now my question would be, why are we so fixated on fast weight loss when we know it's not a permanent fix?  Yo-Yo dieting is such an ugly trend!

First Step to Victory

I recently rejoined weight watchers after I battled a steady incline of my weight.  I had done weight watchers before, with good success, but this time it feels better, easier, more achievable.  One, I'm older.  The first time I joined I was 18 years old and had just moved to college.  I did fall victim to the freshman fifteen.  Weight Watchers gave me the tools to manage that and bring myself back down.  Another reason this time feels easier is because now I don't have to choose between that 2 point banana and a full meal.  Now I can eat as many fruits and vegetables as I want.  This is great because I have never been great with getting my full dose, but recently I have been inspired by one of my closest friends to ingest more vegetables and so far I am!

I'm really proud of myself for making this step.  I started trying to lose weight back in October, and to my credit I did lose almost 20lbs by myself.  But recently I have gained a little of it back (not much, just about 7lbs) and I realize now that I need to get myself a more sturdy plan with more structure.  I think I have made the right choice by choosing Weight Watchers.

Ok, now wish me luck! ;-)