Monday, September 27, 2010

Motivation Monday


Oh my goodness...It's already almost October, where did September go?

First off, I want to sincerely thank all of my favorite sista's from Mamavation for continuing to send me twitter dm's and tweets asking me how I was doing this past week. I am so amazed at how supportive this group really is.

Last week, I was extremely busy with stuff around the house and, a couple personal issues I needed to take care of and deal with. I was absent from Twitter and, I failed to post anything to my blog. To be honest with everyone I wasn't as active as I wanted to be. I was moving alot around the house cleaning and running errands but, I didn't sweat it out like I truly wanted.

Good news is, this week is a new week. I am officially starting fresh! I have promised myself to get on a schedule. A lifestyle schedule is what I would call this. I need to make time for Exercise, Mommy duties, Housewife duties, My blog, My extra activities. I really don't know how some of you mom's do it. Do you clean on certain days?  Do you write all your post on one day and, schedule it to post another day?Do you work out in the am or pm's? If you have any advice at all let me know, I will take all the advice I can get.

I am so excited this week is the start of the Mamavation mom auditions! I can't wait to see everyone videos and, to follow a new set of mom's through their bootcamp.

BIG congratulations to Joanna of @way2gomom for being the Sista of the Week!

This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Pete Cohen and his new nutritional program. Wow!! What a great prize to win. If you don't already know about Pete Cohen you seriously need to check him out. He is so inspirational! I am crossing my fingers for this prize as I need all the help I can get when it comes to what my body needs nutritionally.

I will leave you guys with a couple pics from yesterday. My son and, I participated in another running event. He ran the 1 mile fun run and, I ran the 5k! I was extremely proud of myself after this race. I managed to shave a minute off my last 5k time. Especially since this course was alot more harder with its many hills compared to the last event I ran which was mostly a flat course. I can't wait to continue getting faster and stronger!







Monday, September 13, 2010

Motivation Monday

Mamavation

Well once again my weight hasn't budged. Don't get me wrong I'm happy I haven't gained but, it's pretty frustrating to see all that I'm doing and nothing is happening.

As I sit here and go over my week, I can think of some things I do need to change and, hopefully once I change these the pounds will start to drop again.

*This week I haven't drank enough water. I have felt pretty tired and run down lately. I'm thinking a lot of it has to do with the fact I have not been pushing the water. I've been getting dehydrated which has left me sluggish.

*I have not been sticking to my meal plan. This has been I think my biggest downfall not only for healthy living but, financially as well. We are wasting a lot of money by not sticking to the meal plan. I also need to eat out less.

*Though I have been working out, I have to admit I haven't given it my all. I haven't been setting aside enough time to actually dedicate a good ole sweat session. It has been pretty half-assed. Since Big C started school my gym schedule has been non existent. I need to get back to going every morning I miss it and, I crave it. I need to get moving during the day as well. I feel like I haven't been as active as I had been when I was losing the weight.

So, this week I need to be back in the game. I need to challenge myself again. Step it up and get moving. As well as getting back in the groove, I will still be adding more running. My next 5k is coming up in 2 weeks. Yesterday, I ran a fun run with my son you can read about it here. Afterwards we watched the 5k run and, I was getting excited for my run. I want to do better than my last run. I WILL do better than my last run!

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV.


SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Stephanie Hamm of @fitmomtraining for being the Sista of the Week! AKA "Mama Guns" She is an amazing sister and, a new member of our leadership team. Steph is hosting the first of many new challenges Mamavation Sistahood has in store. It is a strength/weight training challenge. Find out more about the #MamaGuns challenge here. I hope you decide to join us. I am very excited to get my "Mama Guns" sexy for next summer's sun dresses and, spaghetti straps!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Chefs Requested. Yes, again. Chefs Requested is an official sponsor of the Mamavation campaign and sends their perfectly portioned steaks to the Mamavation Moms. They are sending product coupons for their 100 Calorie Portion Sized Steaks and plenty of discount coupons for any further enjoyment. There will be two winners of this blogging carnival.



As part of the #mamaguns challenge we need to post a pic of our "Mama Guns!" Here are mine!


Oh..What's that? You think I look a lot like Jamie Eason!! Gee..thanks! I would die to have those arms! How gorgeous is she!

Ok, for real here are mine!


Yes, I really am flexing!! Stop laughing! After this challenge, I'll be the one laughing! *Winks*
I will be becoming one with my Kettleworx program in the upcoming 8 weeks!



Sunday, September 12, 2010

Life Lessons From My Son

Today was my son's first official race. He participated in a 1 mile run. I was extremely proud of my big 5 yr old boy!!

If you have been following my blog and, I hope you have been. You will remember, not to long ago I ran my first race since before I had my children. The whole experience made my son giddy. He loved cheering everyone on and, watching the runner's finish. He told me at the end of my race that he too wanted to run. I was extremely excited I got to share my love of running with him so of course I said to him, "Sure, that would be awesome!" Since that day he has been practicing running for his first race. During these practices, I  have taught him a couple basic tips about running. He learned the correct form, proper clothes to wear, proper shoes, how to pace himself. However after today and, the couple weeks of training, my son taught me some pretty priceless lessons of his own.

The saying "I can do it" can push you further in running and life.
During our practices when Big C was running he would stop and catch his breath I would always ask him do you want to stop and get some water or stop and rest. He would continue to tell me "No, I can do it!" and, sure enough he just got right back in there and did it. Today as well, we start the race and hes pacing himself a little to fast and, I'm thinking hes surely going to burn himself out. I call to him pace yourself...slow down. He yells to me, "I can do it mom!" Wow! If we could all have this "I can do it" attitude wouldn't we all proceed to do what we have been wanting to do in life. We are always so worried about reasons why we can't do something. Making up excuses for reasons not to do things. Big C was definitely not going to let my reasons slow him down any.

Be your own person!
Everyone is different. We are different shapes and, sizes. Not everyone is good at running. Some will run fast with ease, others will need to work hard to get there. Today, Big C did not come in first and, that was ok. We were very proud of him for what he did. He got out there and ran the best race HE could run. Through his practice runs and, this race I have seen him work very hard and, show commitment to his racing. When he finished and, saw other had finished before him he told us, "That boy is older..when I'm his age I will win too!" Hearing him say that brought a huge smile to my face. For him to realize that he knew he couldn't run it perfect the first time and, needed to practice to get there is awesome. He was very proud of himself.

Don't be afraid to make friends!
This one isn't just for running. My son is a social butterfly. He talks to everyone and anyone. I love it about him. He goes right up to people and tells them hi and introduces himself to them. Today, at the race after we finished the mile run, we sat in the stands at the finish line to watch the 5k race. Big C cheered every runner that crossed the line. To our amazement somewhere around the middle cluster of runners a young boy around my sons age crossed the finish line. I was talking to my family and was telling them I couldn't believe a child that age could run a 5k and, finish that well. Big C looked at me and said, "I'm going to go tell him good job!" I just laughed and, said ok. Sure enough he got up and walked down to the finish line and told the little boy good job and, sparked up a conversation with him. What I wouldn't do to have his bravery to just walk up to someone and, tell them that what they just accomplished was amazing. Big C definitely has opened my eyes up to being more comfortable with talking to others especially in a circumstance where there are people who have the same passions as I do.
So what's next for Big C? He is running another fun run in two weeks. He asked if he could do a longer race next. I looked at him with a big smile on my face and said, "Sure, that would be awesome!" We go right back to lesson number 1!!


Sunday, September 5, 2010

Mamavation Monday


Hope Everyone is having a super Labor Day weekend!

Things are going pretty good here in my world. We are finally getting used to our new schedule due to my oldest going off to Kindergarten.

I finished my week of Couch 2 5k. As I stated in my last blog, I feel I'm not challenging myself during my runs. So I've decided to move a couple weeks up on the couch 2 5k. Hopefully this will help some. I got a video gait analysis done and, got a new pair of running shoes. I can't wait till later today when I get to go try them out for a run. I haven't lost anymore weight this week but, that's ok. As long as I'm maintaining I'm ok with that. I figured I'd be plateauing here soon. I've lost alot in the past 9 weeks. I also think I need to switch up a bit of my training too maybe help with the plateau Ive hit for the past 2 weeks.
I am still doing good on getting in my water. I don't even think about caffeine anymore.
I've been toying the idea of opening an Open Sky shop on my blog so, for all of you that currently do it I'd love to hear how its going for you. I am also in the process of getting a couple reviews/giveaways ready for my readers to participate in. If you aren't a follower already you should definitely sign up to be one so you can get the 1st update on my giveaways. Not to mention you should do it because my site is awesome! ;)

This week I will be participating in another 5k race for our local YMCA. My son will be running his first race. (1 mile fun run) I am so proud of him. He has been running with me the past couple weeks to get ready. I think he's going to do awesome. Also, this week I am going to be trying to eat a little more cleaner to see if this will help my plateau a bit.

My goals for the week:
Get in some more running!!

Monday: Kickboxing, Kettlebell workout (Kettleworx)
Tuesday: Week 6 day 1 of C25k
Wednesday: Kickboxing, upper body strength training
Thursday: Week 6 day 2 of C25k
Friday: lower body strength training
Saturday: Week 6 day 3 of C25k
Sunday: 5k race My son's first 1 mile fun run!

Mamavation deets:

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV. This week on Mamavation Media TV we will be welcoming Allana Pratt @allanapratt she will be discussing unhealthy relationship with our body and if it helps or hinders weight loss. She will also be giving us some tips on how to build a stronger relationship with our body. As we all strive for health. Come join us!


SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Greta @Gretablau for being the Sista of the Week! Greta is such a funny, inspirational woman. Go over to her blog Middle Aged Jock and see what she's up to. She's always busy being active!

NEW LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: Congrats to all the Mamavation sista's who received new leadership positions this week. The Hydrator is @Rachel_L , The Regulator @Notdiyheather, Movement Motivator @Rachelsteffen, Mama Guns @Fitmomtraining, Comment Warrior @Gretablau Veggie Contessa @Ljenator, Food Truth Diva @waytogomom and Lori @gutimom Coven Coordinator. Look for them on Twitter to help remind you of some important things to do during the week!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Chefs Requsted. Chefs Requested is an official sponsor of the Mamavation campaign and sends their perfectly portioned steaks to the Mamavation Moms. They are sending product coupons for their 100 Calorie Portion Sized Steaks and plenty of discount coupons for any further enjoyment. There will be two winners of this blogging carnival.

My running gait analysis experience

I was told the most important thing to do when you start running is to have your gait analyzed. The reason for this is so that you know what type of pronator you are as well as, what type of shoe is best for your foot. I learned that a local running specialty store in my area performed video gait analysis's and, did so for free. So, yesterday morning I headed up there to receive this very important test. 

Before we get started about my visit lets learn some basics about the test from The New Balance website:
  
What is the running gait?
"The running gait is a unique set of actions and reactions that your foot performs while in motion to support, cushion, and balance your body."

What is pronation?
"Pronation is simply a normal foot in motion, from foot-strike on the outside of the heel through the inward roll of the foot. Pronation occurs as the foot rolls from the outer edge to the inner edge. Everyone pronates, and the initial pronation is considered an important and healthy response to the intense amount of shock imposed upon the foot and is integral to propelling you forward. If the foot pronates too much or too little and does so frequently, several biomechanical problems may result that will cause a decrease in performance and increase the possibility of injury."

At the store they used a treadmill with a camera attached and, a TV to play the video back. I stepped on the treadmill and did a slow walk and, gradually started to jog. The employee watched my feet as I ran. She then slowed the video down and, looked at the results. She pointed out to me that my left overpronates more than my right but, they both showed some overpronating.


"Overpronators generally land in a pronated position and continue to roll significantly inward as they go from heel strike to toe off."

Unfortunately, I didn't have someone to take video or pics of my visit so, this quick cell phone pic will have to do. You can see the Overpronation on the TV here.

She suggested I look for a shoe that had some type of stability. She then measured both of my feet twice for size. Both measuring about a size 7. She then asked me what type of distances I would be running. I learned that if running more than 6 miles I should go up a size in shoe to make room for my feet to swell. I however, am only running up to about 4 miles at this time so we opted for a half size up. she brought me out several different types of shoes to try on. I first tried all pairs on stopping to take a walk and, short sprint through the room to see how they felt.  I narrowed down the shoes to 3 that felt the best on my feet. I then started to put one of each shoe on each of my feet to cross compare them. After a couple minutes in each shoe, I had finally made a decision. For once in my life, I had picked a pair of shoes that felt great on my feet not because of the color, style or, price.

If you have not already had a gait analysis I highly suggest getting one performed.  Having your running gait analyzed is very important to reduce the possibility of injuries.


And, the winning pair is:  The Mizuno Wave Inspire 6 I can't wait to go running in these!


Have you had a gait analysis performed? What type of pronator are you?

Friday, September 3, 2010

#5k Day!

Stephanie over at Fit Mom in Training has put together a day (October 2, 2010) where us fitness crazy bloggers can all get together virtually for a 5k session of your favorite workout. You can bike, walk or run, like I will be doing. This isn't a contest or a race. You won't be judged or scored. It's merly for fun and, to dedicate a day to fitness. Maybe this will be the first time your setting a goal to finish a 5k, maybe this will be a training for a 5k coming up. Either way, please go on over to Fit Mom in Training say hi to the other crowd who will be joining and, blogging along the way. Make sure you tell us your blog name so we can follow you on your journey as well. Also, don't forget when your done to upload some pictures of your 5k!


I'm super pumped about it and, can't wait to read everyone's experiences with their 5k!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

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