Momma on the run

Mamavation Monday

2010-10-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yay!! I finally had a good week!! The weather was amazing this week so that was to my advantage. I would like to congratulate all the wonderful ladies who are finalist for Mamavation mom. I wish everyone the best of luck. You all are so deserving. I support you. For the ladies who didn't make it to the finals, this is not the end. For anyone who wasn't in Mamavation last campaign I applied and was not chosen to be a finalist. However, it was just the beginning of my journey. I signed up for the move it and lose it campaign and kicked booty. It was by far the best thing that has happened to me along this journey. I lost 30 lbs! So keep it up and kick booty!

I managed to do 6 days of cardio this week with 3 days of strength training. I know I have mentioned this before but, I really think I need to mention it again. Kettlebells are amazing!! Not only did I strength training while using them I am also getting cardio. How many exercises do you know where you can get the benefits of both! Love it!! Part of my #commit2fit goal is to run a half marathon in about 3-4 months. I will need to start uping my mileage to be able to reach this goal. So for this week I would like to start doing that.

I used to post my workouts to help keep me accountable. I am going to try this again.

Monday: Kettlebell workout /2 mile run

Tuesday: 3 mile run/strength training

Wednesday:4 mile run

Thursday:Kettlebell workout/2 mile run

Friday: 3 mile run/strength training

Saturday: International Fitness Day w/Special EA SPORTS Active Workout‏

Sunday: Rest Day!

14 miles for the week!

I am going back to basics with food last week and this week. I have decided to add more fresh produce to our meals. It seems as if our meals had been missing all the veggies I had grown to love. I am not sure if it is due to the expense it adds or, the pure laziness of adding them. For me, adding veggies to our meals is far more important. I can cut cost on other things we are buying that we shouldn't be. So I headed off to the market in search of fresh delish veggies. You know what it really wasn't all that hard to add more to our meals you just have to be a little creative.

SISTA OF THE WEEK: A big congratulations to Amanda of @beeacutie2 for being the Sista of the Week!!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by SUBWAY. SUBWAY is giving away a green iPod Shuffle and a $10 iTunes gift card to one lucky winner.

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over twitter.

What does Commit to Fit mean to me?

2010-10-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned I have joined in on Subway's wonderful Commit to Fit Campaign. I am excited to start this week. I need this challenge and accountability!

The Commit to Fit Campaign means I need to step up my game and commit to fitness. I need to set mini goals to keep myself motivated to reach my long time goal of being a fit, healthy person/mom. I have tried to lose weight and get healthy in the past by trying to do everything at one time. This has failed every time. For me, what has worked is the small term goals. Ex. quit drinking soda, drink more water, run a 5k, lose 10% of my weight etc.

I am going to do reach my long term goal this time by reaching every small goal set! For this campaign my big goal is going to be to run a half marathon. I will reach this by working my way up in small goals 5k, 10k then half. I am hoping to do this in 3-4 months! Of course like I mentioned above my ultimate goal is to be fit and, healthy!

Committing to Fitness!

2010-10-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

For everyone who follows my blog, you know I'm doing a little struggling with my commitment to fitness. It seems September flew right by me and, I wasn't staying fit and healthy. Part of this was due to adjusting to changes in my schedule the other part was just pure laziness. Yep, I'm admitting it. I have fallen and, I am challenging myself once again to get back up and recommitting to be fit!

Some new challenges have come up over at #Mamavation and, they could not have come at a better time for me. The one I'm most excited about is the #Commit2fit challenge.

Subway and, Subway's main spokesperson Jared have launched a new campaign geared to recommitting yourself to fitness. Jared has put on a little weight over the past couple months and, wants to now lose this added weight. All of us know this happens, you lose sight sometimes as to why you committed to fitness in the first place. As a way to recommit himself he has started up this new challenge. As a way to recommit myself to being active and, fit I have joined in on his #Commit2fit challenge. If you are someone who is struggling with staying fit, please join us. You can follow the #Commit2fit hashtag on twitter. You can also check out Lisa, Leah and, Rachel's blogs who, all of which got the amazing opportunity to visit New York and, run with Jared on one of his training runs with him. They will also be sharing their experiences with the #Commit2fit campaign on their blogs.

I will be posting on my blog weekly answers to questions Lisa presents on her blog about the #Commit2fit challenge so make sure you come back to check my answers out weekly.

My #5k Day!!

2010-10-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 2nd I took a part in #5k day. #5k day is a challenge started by Stephanie over at Fit Mom in Training. She challenged everyone to share one day where we would participate in some type of activity for 3.1 miles. You could walk, run, bike, swim, crawl whatever you chose to do. The catch was she wanted everyone to share their experience with the blogging world.

I chose to participate in a 5k run/jog. I ran my 5k mid day on the treadmill. Here is how it went!

Yep, that's right I even made a racing bib and, timing chip ;)

My water stations are set up!

A self shot while I was running!

My post running glow!

I even got some great eats after my race with yes, (Gasp) a beer!

OK, all my joking aside. It went pretty good! I was very glad I participated! I hope that Stephanie has more Virtual days like this in the future!

Thanks Stephanie!!

Mamavation Monday

2010-10-04T10:11:00.001-07:00

This week went insanely fast. As I mentioned last week, I sort of fell of the wagon for a bit and told myself I needed to jump back on. As a result of this I have decided to go back to the basics of what was working for me. I have gained some weight back from what I lost from the MILI challenge. I want to lose it again and for good. After reading Rachel Steffen's Motivation and accountability post last week on Running Rachel I realized I needed the accountability back. I have decided to post my scale pics again along with the Move it and Lose it Challenge participants. I will not be joining in the challenge but would like to post along with them. I NEED to be held accountable again. I need to challenge myself.

This week, I didn't do so bad. I got out there and participated in #5k day on Saturday. I worked out my #mamaguns and, I ate pretty healthy. I did have some beer's with some friends this weekend. Not so bad though, isn't good enough for me. Before, I was running 3-4x a week, working out everyday, sometimes 2x a day! I need to get back to that. I have joined in with the #commit2fit challenges Lisa, Rachel and, Leah are doing and, hope this also will help. Like I said before I really need challenges to push me.

On a happier note, this weekend we celebrated my father's 50th birthday and, my sister's birthday. We had alot to celebrate and, I am happy to announce I turned down the cake!! It's a step in the right direction!!

Successes

* Ran on #5k day.

* Turned down the sweets.

Challenges

*Need to commit more time to fitness.

*Need to unplug earlier at night.

Goals

*Drink more water!

*Add more veggies to my meals.

*Add more fiber to my meals.

*Add more movement/fitness to my day.

SISTA OF THE WEEK: A big congratulations to Shelley of @Momma_Oz for being the Sista of the Week!!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by SUBWAY. Subway is one of Mamavation's newest official sponsors. I absolutely love Subway and, so do my children. Subway will be giving away a $25 gift certificate. Check out Jared's new campaign on Twitter under the hashtag #commit2fit where Jared and, others discuss way's they are committing to fitness.

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over twitter.

Motivation Monday

2010-09-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

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!

Motivation Monday

2010-09-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

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!

Life Lessons From My Son

2010-09-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

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!!

Mamavation Monday

2010-09-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

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.

From the New Balance Website:

"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?

#5k Day!

2010-09-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

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!

Wordless Wednesday: "Look! Momma, I'm ready for my race!"

2010-09-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Mamavation Monday

2010-08-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

It's that time again...Mamavation Monday!!

First off, I wanted to thank once again Leah Segedie, the founder of Mamavation for making it possible to be a part of this wonderful social media "Sistahood". I want to also thank Earth Footwear for the amazing prizes they offered us in the "Move it and Lose it Challenge. If you didn't already know, I won the challenge. Wahoo! I worked my butt of but, I owe alot of it to my readers and fellow sista's for all the support they offered. There is no way I would have gotten up and got moving if it weren't for all of you. Thank you so much!

So, I know alot of people have been asking what I'll be using the prize money for. I am not 100% positive just yet what I will be using it for but, as soon as I decide I'll let you know! I did however, promise myself that as I hit mini goals I would be "rewarding" myself. I have hit two goals since applying for Mamavation mom. I hit my 10% weight loss goal and, my halfway mark at 25lbs loss. What's my reward? I will be taking a visit to my local shoe store where I will be receiving a gait analysis and purchasing a pair of Fantastic running shoes!! I have not decided what my other reward will be. What do you guys think it should be??

On to my weekly check in:

Strengths: I finished week 2 of C25k. I still feel like I am not running enough on this program but, I know it will help me in the long run so I am sticking with it. I signed myself and, my oldest son up for our next race on September 12, 2010. I will be running the 5k and Big C will be running the 1 mile fun run. I am super proud of him that he is sticking with this! I drank all of my 100 oz. of water this week.

Weaknesses: Last week was my birthday weekend and, I was a good girl cause it was my last week to weigh in for the challenge and I was afraid a crazy weekend out would make me gain so I skipped out. Not to mention I had no sitter available. So this weekend I went out and celebrated with lots of food and, good beer. I had a great time but, I totally know it wasn't the best for me. Sometimes we have to give in a bit...right? lol.

Goals: Monday: 30 min Kettlebell workout

Tuesday: Kick Boxing Class, Week 3 Day 1 of C25k

Wednesday: EAS Active

Thursday: Kick Boxing Class, Week 3 Day 2 of C25k

Friday: 30 min Kettlebell Workout, EAS Active

Saturday: Week 3 Day 3 of C25k

Sunday: Rest Day

One last thing: I have decided to take a small break from weighing in. I felt with the challenge I started to obsess a bit with what my numbers were and, if I gained or loss. I will be putting away the scale for a while and just put my focus back on eating healthy and getting in my workouts.

On to some housekeeping:

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

This Monday we will be welcoming Mamavation's newest Nutritional Coach, Cynthia Pasquella. I am really looking forward to meeting her and listening to what she has to say. I have so many questions to ask. Her website has lots of awesome info too, you should definitely check that out if you have time.

SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Janice @fitcheerldr for being the Sista of the Week! Janice has been so supportive and, so helpful to me! She's one of my inspirations. Running 5k's fully preggo! Thank you Janice...You rock!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL:This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by SoCal Cleanser, a protein and detox product. SoCal Cleanse organic protein +detox is ideal for detoxifying and cleansing.

Earth Footwear Review

2010-08-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sure everyone has been hearing and, reading about the "toning" type shoes. Reebok, New Balance and Sketchers to name a few. They are pretty popular at the moment. They are designed to help develop muscle tone in your legs and backside area's.

I recently had the opportunity to try out a pair of Earth Footwear Exer-Walks. At first glance these shoes don't look like your normal "toning" shoe. They aren't big or bulky. They were cute, all leather and, pink!! (one of my fave colors) When I picked them up to try on I felt they were noticeably heavier than my normal everyday sneakers. I'm sure this has to do with the fact they are leather with a little bit of mesh for some air. My normal sneakers are mostly made of mesh.

I put them on and, noticed the incline (3.7) immediately on my heel. I thought they felt very comfy on. The BioFoam™ Cushioning was very soft on my feet and, gave a lot of support to my arch. I normally wear a 7 and, got a 7.5 because I had read other buyers say they are a little snug. The 7.5 felt great it wasn't to big on the heel yet left room for my toes to move around. I think these would be great for a person with a wide foot.

I wore mine faithfully all week to see how they held up and, to see if I noticed the "toning" part of the shoe. After the week long trial period. I did feel tightness in my calves a lot more. Not so much in my upper legs and back side. My over all likeness of this shoe though wasn't in fact that they were helping me with "toning" it was actually the comfort of the shoe. Over the week I wore them I loved wearing them. They are one of the most comfortable shoes Ive worn.

Earth Footwear shoes come in a variety of other styles and prices. The pair I tried come in a couple other colors as well. I'm loving at the moment their hot momma Swank boots! I even heard they're coming out with some "healthy heels" Overall they are very nice walking shoes!

*Please note these shoes were given to me by Earth Footwear as a winning prize for entering in The Mamavation Mom Twitter Party. They did not ask me to make this review as part of the contest prize. These thoughts and opinions are my own and, only mine. *

Wordless Wednesday: How to eat a plum!

2010-08-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

My last week and I hit a goal!!

2010-08-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's the last week of Mamavation mom and, the Move it and Lose it Campaign. Jenny and, Lisa have done so well. I can't wait to see their journey to running a 5k!

Well, as everyone who follows my blog knows I entered the Move it and Lose it Campaign 7 weeks ago. It seems to have went by rather quickly. I am very proud of what I have accomplished in the last 7 weeks. I've joined a gym, quit drinking soda, ran a 5k, loss some weight, but overall I have seemed to accomplish what I thought I'd never be able to accomplish. I have gotten my family on board with wanting to live a healthy lifestyle. My children are eating healthier options and, being a lot more physically active. Next week my oldest son, Big C is going off to Kindergarten. We have already discussed the options he has for food at school. We have opted to pack a healthy lunch and, if he wants he will be allowed to purchase a school lunch every now and again. I now feel that I am ready for the choices ahead on what to pack him because, of what I've learned the past 7 weeks from all the Mamavation Sista's!

So, I know why most of you are here...How much has Shannon lost? This week Ive lost a total of 4.5lbs. I wasn't expecting to lose any this after last week's big loss but, hey I'm not complaining. This past week I completed week 1 of C25k. It went great. I want to also start incorporating a little more weightlifting into my workouts too. I feel I'm losing alot of the weight but I think I might be losing a little to fast. I don't want to lose muscle mass.

My goals for this week:

Finish week 2 of C25k

Work in lifting weights to my schedule

Drink 100oz of water

Help support my fellow Sista's on Twitter

Comment on all the Sista's blogs this week

Take my mind off losing weight (the numbers are starting to get to me) and, put more focus on being more active.

Here are my numbers and, pics this week as Move it and Lose it Challenge comes to an end! Thank you Leah at Mamavation for everything you have done and, continue to do for Mamavation. Since my application for Mamavation Mom I have lost a total of 30.5lbs Wowza!! I'm so happy! Here's to the next 20! :)

164.5

Before 07/9/2010 After 08/20/2010

I have also learned from the above pictures those shorts were probably the worst thing to wear for these pictures. They dont lay flat and, bunch alot. Oh well.

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

SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Shawnee Halligan @ShawneeH for being the Sista of the Week! Thank you Shawnee for showing my blog some love and helping support me on Twitter. You Rock!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Earth Footwear. The Move it and Lose it Campaign would not be possible if it weren't for Earth Footwear. Thank you so much for being such a great sponsor to Mamavation. Their shoes are incredible and, cute too! Come back later this week to check out a review I did on the pair of Earth Footwear I received at the Twitter Party at the beginning of this campaign.

See everyone at Mamavation Tv!!

I Finished.... With Burning Feet!!

2010-08-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 14, 2010 I ran my first 5k since taking a long break from running almost 10 yrs ago.

I decided to run a local 5k with only women participants as my first race. The race I choose was the Women's Distance Festival. The WDF celebrates "the history of women's rights to participate in running events at any distance and at any age." [RRCA]

All the proceeds of this race went to a local fund called The Women's Giving Circle.

Their Website says, "The Circle’s purpose is to provide opportunities for donors to promote and support programs that enable and empower women in challenging situations to improve the quality of their lives and the lives of those for whom they are responsible."

The early entry is $20 and, later in the week went to $25. We received a cute black and pink technical tee! The course was a 2 loop scenic route and, walker friendly. I arrived early to pick up my race day packet and, bib. I'm not going to lie I was pretty nervous. The weather was nice out. I had thought it was going to rain but, it held out for us. The race was scheduled to start at 8am. We lined up around 7:50 and waited till a couple minutes past 8:00. I decided before the race started that I was going to go into this with no expectations except finishing. I headed near the back of the crowd. I wanted to start out slow and, not get trampled on. It was a great feeling seeing all ages and, sizes of women participating. I saw as young as 8 and, as old as a women in her late 60's. I was very glad I had chosen an all women's race for my first. Something about women coming together to better ourselves in health was an awesome feeling.

The race started and, I started out pretty slow. I was relaxed the 1st mile through. I made a last minute decision when I left the house to skip my Ipod and, to bring my cell phone so I could keep track on my Run Keeper app. Sometime around my 1st mile I lost service and, my music stopped working. I didn't run much up to this point with out music. It was nice to others cheering everyone along. I had a chance to hear how my body was handling my run. Around the 2nd mile my feet were the only thing that was truly in pain. They were on fire.

The last mile did me in. I truly think it was more mental then my body giving up. I keep telling myself I couldn't do anymore my feet were hurting. I took the 2 hills in the course very slowly. I knew I could have taken them better. I wasn't proud of myself at that point. When I got to the last turn I ran fast to the finish. I heard someone shout out you can make it before 41 minutes!! I tried my hardest to get there before then but fell a bit short. I finished the race at 41:15. A 13 min mile. I'm not 100% ok with my race but, I'm by no means disappointed. I did what I had set to accomplish, I finished. This is just the beginning.

After the race we received lots of race goodies, water, bagels, bananas, and, watermelon. They had a raffle to win lots of cool prizes. The racing community there was so kind and, supportive.

Big C and, I after the race! Yes, I stole it of the photographer website ;)

Also, to those who were wondering about my feet being "on fire" I have come to find out my shoes are horrible for my feet and, for running at all really. I learned that I have what's called a Morton's toe. It's when your 2nd toe is longer than your big toe. Usually when running most of your weight goes on to your big toe. In my case since my 2nd toe is longer my weight is carried on my 2nd toe. This causes trouble for me when wearing a shoe that doesn't accommodate the longer 2nd toe resulting in nail pain. So, I will be making a visit to my local shoe specialty store to receive a video gait analysis ASAP!

I want to thank everyone who cheered for me online and off! The support has been awesome. I don't think I would have gone through this with each and everyone of you.

Here's to training for the next one!!

*Update: Wanted to answer another question I keep receiving. Was I sore afterwards? I'd say yes my body was tired and, my muscles were sore. I did ice afterwards and, took a nice warm shower this might have helped. Like I mentioned above the most pain I had was in my feet. Oh...and, the dreaded "chub rub" is what I call it. My legs did chafe a bit. I did not Body Glide them :( This reminds me to get some for my continued training. Maybe I'll hit them up for a giveaway!! Body Glide if your reading this, lol. Email me ;)

Semi Wordless Wednesday: A little Teaser!

2010-08-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

So how did I do at my first 5k since close to 10 yrs ago?

Ooops..You will have to come back later this week to find out!!

It's paying off!

2010-08-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

This past week has been pretty awesome! I totally felt back in the swing of things.

My successes: I worked out for a total of 30 min everyday! I felt so much better this past week. I drank around 90-100oz everyday. I also managed to eat pretty good as well. I finished a 5k! (More to come about this later on another post!) I actually feel pretty high on life at the moment.

My failures: I can't really call this a failure for the week, it's really a failure from the past couple weeks. I'm not running. I kind of stopped running at some point during this journey to try to lose weight. I am still getting in my workouts but, I really need to get back into running. Another failure for me this week was there are a couple personal things in my life right now that have been bringing me a little down. I haven't been getting alot of sleep and, Ive been pretty stressed about this. I have a really bad ulcer that acts up when I am stressed or eat the wrong types of foods.

My goals for this week: Run!!! I am back to the drawing board. My weapon of choice, Couch 2 5k program. I have another 5k I have signed up to run in September so, I for sure want to beat my time. Another goal for me this week is to get to bed at a decent time. I have been dragging in the morning. Lastly, I still need to get my butt in gear on Twitter. I can't seem to make time to visit. My oldest is starting school next week so I think I'll have alot more time after that happens. Please know I support all my sistah's!!

A quick question I'd also like some input on. My oldest son (5 yrs.) went to the 5k with me this past weekend and now wants to run one with me. There were a bunch of children running and, I think this is why he got kinda bummed about not running and now wants to run one. Do you personally think 5 is too young to run 3.1 miles?

Now for the really great news!! My scale pic...I lost a whopping total of 8lbs this week. Holy Moly! I'm shocked!! I knew I did a pretty good job but had no clue this well! That is a total of 26lbs since my application for Mamavation mom a little less than 2 months ago!! I am super stoked!!

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

SISTA OF THE WEEK: A big congratulations to Kimberly @christlikemommy! Congrats girl you definitely deserve this, you are always there supporting everyone!

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesday's over Twitter.

See everyone on Mamavation Tv!!

Get my butt in Gear Monday!!

2010-08-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone!! This past week was a pretty good week for me. I reached a couple goals I wanted to reach. There were a couple I didn't quiet reach just yet but, will continue this week to make that happen.

So, this weekend is "The Weekend" I will be participating in my first 5k since last running one 10 yrs ago. I'm extremely nervous. I don't think I'm ready for what I want to accomplish. I think I set to high of standards for myself. I did not train as hard as I wanted to. After I get this race under my belt it will be full speed ahead to train for the next ones coming up in Sept and, Oct. I would love any and all advice to help me reach my goals on these next to races. I'm going to kind of use this race to give me a reminder of what I need to do to finish a 5k. I've ran some 5k's on the treadmill and a couple on the road but, they weren't outstanding. My goal is to finish this 5k with out stopping. Wish me luck!!

Last week I did pretty well with getting in my workouts at the gym and at home. As of this week I will be adding more running to my workouts!

My goals for this week:

Commit time to be more active on Twitter.

Commit time to comment on the sista's post's.

Drink more water. (I have skimped on this and have been feeling super dehydrated)

Add more running to my workout.

My Scale Pics:

I lost .5lb this week resulting in a total of 18lbs since my application to Mamavation Mom!! I'm so happy with my results so far!!

My Measurements:

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

SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Julie Mansfield @jamnsfld76 for being the Sista of the Week!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Lori @gutimom as an Avon Representative. Here is all the swag she is giving away:

Cherry Blossom Naturals Set - $32 full retail value

Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Body Spray, Cosmetic Bag

Haiku Fragrance and Body Set - $49 full retail value

Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Shimmering Body Powder, Roll On Antiperspirant, Perfume

Foot Works Hodge Podge - $33 full retail value

Watermelon Foot Scrub, Spray Gel, Cooling Lotion; Original Conditioning Foot Soak, Exfoliating Bar Soap; Green Tea & Mint Exfoliating Scrub

Advance Techniques Professional Hair Care 2-IN-1 Healthy Shine Shampoo and Conditioner (Daily Results) - $4.00 full retail value

Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus - Expedition Insect Repellent with SPF 30 Sunscreen Spray Pump with Vitamin E (Gentle Breeze) - $14 full retail value

Magix Face Perfecter with SPF 20 (Clear) - $10 full retail value

Spafinder Callous Remover - $10 full retail value

Spafinder Gel Eye Mask - $10 full retail value

These items will be divided up for the Blogging carnival winner AND a winner at Mamavation TV.

Wow!!! Thank you so much Lori! I love Avon item's. I actually used to be an Avon rep myself back in the day. I had to stop because I was buying more products than I was selling. Lol.

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over twitter.

Getting back on track!

2010-08-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

This week went somewhat better. My overall fitness and eating was alot better. However, I felt extremely lazy this week. Even today as I write this I didn't really want to sit down and write it. I didn't make time for alot of things this week and, totally regret it. I HAVE to make these things priority this week.

Get in more exercise

Eat more clean

Make time to post at least 2 times on my blog.

Make time to visit other Mamavation posts.

Make time to show my support to the other sisters on Twitter!!

The scale pic doesn't look to horrible but, considering I'm loosing the pounds I just gained the past week, I'm not completely happy with it. Total this week I lost 6lbs. These 6lbs make up the overall 17.5lbs lost since joining Mamavation. Not to shabby I'd say!

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV.
SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Rachel Steffen @RachelSteffen for being the Sista of the Week! Rachel has always been there for me!! She is such a kind person. She def deserved this title!! Congrats girl!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Gruve Solution. The Gruve is a handy little gadget that learns your body mechanics and then helps you burn more caloris throughout the day. Basically, it monitors how many calories you are burning and encourages you to burn more throughout the day by taking more steps, etc. And then it starts to vibrate on you when you are sitting too long. If you would like to be entered to win one please visit Mamavation's site and sign up to participate in this weeks Mamavation TV!

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over twitter. (Or later if I get swamped) I can't thank the Sistahood enough for the kind support they have given me the past 3 months now!!

See everyone on Mamavation TV!

What a week..

2010-07-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

This past week has been ~~the worst~~ pretty horrible. Yep, I'm admitting it. I am in fact human. Last week I didn't exercise like I had been, I didn't eat the best and, I definitely didn't feel the best. My niece and nephew came to visit me and, this turned our world a little upside down. Going to the pool almost all day every day and, to the zoo made it hard for me to concentrate on eating as good as I was. Don't get me wrong I didn't veg out on a bunch of bad food it just wasn't nearly as good as it has been. I now know some weaknesses of mine and know I need to pack healthy snacks. I was beating myself up all weekend. I know what it is I have to do so, I'm over the pouting and downing myself. It's a new week.

Let me tell you though, I so know now that not exercising make me feel like crap. I felt slow and sluggish all week. I can't wait to get back to the gym and sweat!! It also didn't help I had almost no time to get on twitter. I missed my #mamavation ladies. I can't wait to catch up with everyone.

So here's to a better week this week!!

My Scale pic:

Yep, that's right as a result to my not so good eating and, not being as active I gained 5.5lbs. I knew I was either going to maintain this week or gain a bit but, wasn't expecting that much. Bye Bye 5.5 lbs I'm going to lose you this week!

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

Tonight we chat with special guest Carla Binberg, a.k.a. @Mizfitonline you can find her blog on my right sidebar! I am super excited to hear if she has any special tips on training to run a race. As you all know I will be running my first 5k in August!

We are also going to be chatting with Katy Bowman. Katy is a bio mechanical scientist and, the creator of the Aligned and Well DVD series providing simple, mechanical solutions to diseases commonly associated with aging. I hope to hear from her about ways to prevent injury while training to run 3 races by my goal date of Dec. 5th.

SISTA OF THE WEEK: And a BIG congratulations to Rita @lovelyritaann for being the Sista of the Week! Yay!! I LOVE Rita!! She always takes the time to visit my blog and, give me some big words of motivation. Way to go Rita!!

See everyone tonight!!

Semi Wordless Wednesday...My Refrigerator

2010-07-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

Top shelf: Milk, Juice, Corn, my leftover from dinner (fish and, veggies) and, one of the worst drinks in the world...Pepsi (Don't worry Mamavation ladies I def don't drink it)

Middle shelf: Eggs, blueberries, honeydew, cantaloupe, apples, a single lonely plum

Bottom shelf: Greek yogurt, clementines, green grapes, ground turkey

The left crisper: organic yogurt, carrots

The right crisper: Spinach, green peppers, broccoli

Sweating buckets and, Date night!

2010-07-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's that time again... Mamavation Monday!!

This week, I felt went really good for me. I started off the week with a kickboxing class and, ended the week off with the Mamavation EA active lower body workout. Holy hell that workout is rough. I was sweating buckets.

As far as my food intake this week, I felt it was pretty on point as well. I did indulge in a piece of lemon blueberry cake at my in laws on Sunday but, nothing worth getting upset over. I had a date night Saturday at Bone Fish which is one of my fav restaurants and, I actually did really well at choosing healthy options. I opted for the long fin tilapia plain with a side of veggies. The waiter asked me what kinds of sauce I wanted on the fish and, I asked if I could get it plain. He looked at me like I was the worst person ever but, I did not regret my decision. The fish was still fantastic.

I always weigh-in on Friday morning but, this week I was eager to see the scale earlier. See, I had been working out alot this week and last and, I was super excited to see if the pounds were melting off. I decided to jump on the scale Thursday morning and was SHOCKED at what I saw. I weighed in at 179!!! That is a 9 lb weightloss!! I have never lost that much weight in one week. I immediately got on twitter and DMed Leah. She told me to give her a call and, we chatted about weather or not I was eating enough. She assured me that I was eating enough that it was probably just due to all the extra sweat sessions I was putting in. She did warn me though that since it was such a drastic weight drop I might gain some weight next week or even gain some muscle weight. I am ok with that I need some muscle on this body! LOL. She did point out to me that I should probably start keeping track of my calorie intake. I am going to shoot to eat around 1600 calories. I will let everyone know how that goes. I ended up losing 1 more lb by the time I took my picture on Friday! 10 lb weightloss overall this week Wahoo!

I am super excited that something is actually working for a change. I feel in the groove and ready to get fit!!

Here's my scale pic and, a cute little "Biggest Loser" style scale I doodled up!

I hope all my Sista's have a fantastic week!

Now on to some Housekeeping!

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

SISTA OF THE WEEK: Congrats go to Lori @gutimom for being the Sista of the Week! Yay! She so deserves this!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Chiquita Banana. They are giving away a VIB (Very Important Blogger) Basket, stuffed with all sorts of goodies.

I usually eat a banana every morning on my drive to the gym. I don't like to workout on a lot of food so a banana is just great! Keeps me fueled for the workout but doesn't make me get an upset stomach. Both my boys LOVE banana's.We also love all the little snack packs of fruit they make. My fav is the pineapple bites! Yumm! So, if we win this basket it will be in good hands!

SISTAHOOD: If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over twitter.

Semi Wordless Wednesday!!

2010-07-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

My phone wallpaper inspires me!

What will you not give up while your trying to shed pounds?

2010-07-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

There is one thing I absolutly love and, will never gid rid of forever no matter what the eating plan says. I will always find a way to get this food in my eating plan at least once a month.

Oh my beloved Mac and Cheese!

What's your's?

Move it and Lose it

2010-07-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have been living the "Move it and Lose it " motto for almost 2 months now. I am literally getting up and, moving every way I can to try and lose these stubborn 50lbs I have gained over the last 5 years. This week has been no different. It was however more challenging than the past couple weeks. My boys caught some type of flu bug. We are thinking it came from the new gym we just joined. So since they had this nasty flu I wasn't able to take them to the gym with me. If they can't go to the gym neither can I. I've had to resort to fitness at home.

I did some runs at the local park.

Tried my 1st Walk at home video and loved it. Continued to do it 3 times this week.

I did two Kettlebell workouts on Live Fit Revolution.

I felt pretty good about what I accomplished on my own at home but, wasn't sure if I had done enough. My food intake was pretty on point. I managed to get in 95 oz of water in 6 out of the 7 days. I added tons of veggies/fruits to every meal. I would say this week has been a super week for me!

My scale pic for the week!

That's a weightloss of -2 lbs

What's the next step for me? More Move it and Lose it!! This week is the kick off to Mamavation's "Move it and Lose it" Challenge. The Move it and Lose it Challenge is a 7 week challenge to see who loses the most percentage of body weight. (Think Biggest Loser) The winner of the challenge receives a pair of Earth Footwear Shoes and, $500.00!!!! Thank you Earth Footwear you guys ROCK!!

...So here is the dreaded "before and after" pics. Please don't stare at them long as they will start playing tricks on you and, make me look more fat than I really am!!

Sorry I had to scare you like that I promise you this will be the last time you will see pictures like this from me again!

My Measurements

As of June 28, 2010 As of July 9, 2010

Right Leg: 25in Right Leg: 24.5

Left Leg: 26 in. Left Leg: 24

Right Arm: 12.5 in. Right Arm: 11.5

Left Arm: 12 in. Left Arm: 11.5

Waist: 36 in. Waist: 36in.

Hips: 44 in. Hips: 43 in.

Bust: 40 in. Bust: 39 in.

Alright so now that's out of the way, I have some housekeeping to attend to.

MAMAVATION TV: There will be no Mamavation TV this Monday. Instead we will be holding a Twitter Party with lots of goodies to giveaway. The Twitter Party will be on 7/12 from 8-10EST Make sure you join us and, find out who the next two Mamavation moms will be! Good luck ladies!

The Giveaways include

1. Earth Footwear (3 pairs, 3 winners)

2. EA SPORTS Active OR “More Workouts” (value $60, 3 sets, 3 winners)

3. Gruve (value $300, 3 sets, 3 winners)

4. Tracey Mallett Fitness DVDs (value $20, 2 DVDS, 2 winners)

5. Mary Ellen Renna, M.D. Book “Growing Up Healthy the Next Generation Way” (5 books, 5 winners)

6. EatSmart Precision Pro Scale* (value $28, 3 scales, 3 winners)(*Disclosure, any sales from proceeds of this post go to the Mamavation Open Sky shop, but is then donated to charity or a social media mom in need.)

7. Chefs Requested 100 Calorie Steak Packs (4 packages per winner, 3 winners)

Wahoo!! Really?? Me??

2010-07-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Mamavation.com

This Week I was honored with the award of Sista of the Week through the Mamavation program. As most of my readers know I have been with Mamavation since May of this year and, am loving the group of ladies that are apart of it. I am so happy to have gotten this award this week it has made me feel alot better with losing out of the running for Mamavation mom. Don't worry I'm not discouraged you'll be seeing my face next campaign. If you have time, please head on over to Mamavation's website and read the little snippet on me being chosen as Sista of the Week. While your there make sure you vote for your favorite applicant for Mamavation mom. I know I did!!!

Momma On The Run as Sista of the Week

What's so special about that date??

2010-07-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Bookieboo and Mizfit have decided to team up to run The Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in Vegas on December 5th. Not only is this a big goal for them, they have welcomed their communities to join in with them. As much I would LOVE to join them in running the half I just don't see this happening for me at this time. They have extended the challenge to everyone in their community who can't attend to set December 5th as a special goal for yourself as well.

What will be my goal for December 5th? I have set so many goals for myself lately it was hard to choose one that would be as awesome as participating in the half. My goal is to participate in at least three 5k races by Dec. 5th. However, I am secretly hoping I will crush that goal much earlier and re-set my Dec. 5th goal to run a 10k!! How awesome would that be!

I encourage all my readers to set a goal for themselves! What will your goal for December 5th be?

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-07-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

4th of July Fun!

Nervously..excited

2010-07-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

Today is the day @bookieboo makes the final 5 choices for the Mamavation mom campaign 5. I am so nervous to read her decision yet, so excited to continue on in the Mamavation mom journey if chosen or to compete in the move it and loose it campaign.

This week I faced a couple challenges. First of all I ended up hurting my bicep muscle in my good ole Body Pump class and ended up having to take an extra rest day. Lesson learned though, make sure you take a rest day in between Body Pump classes or you will regret it. Secondly as you all know it's the 4th of July weekend. I didn't binge eat but, I didn't eat exceptionally healthy like I should have. Saturday and Sunday I had deserts after my meal and, I'm not even a big dessert eater. I did drink lots of water due to the extremely hot temps here in Maryland. Then to top of my week Sunday after lunch I started feeling sick to my stomach and getting a sharp pain around my chest. This lasted all night I'm pretty sure that it is my ulcer back in action. So I didn't eat any of my healthy snacks or even dinner last night. I did wake up at 4 am still feeling pains but, also hunger pains so I did eat a slice of wheat bread.

So even though my food consumption wasn't on par. My fitness was pretty good with the exception of an extra off day. I made sure to hit the gym 5 days out of the 6 planned.

My goals for next week are to get in 6 days of exercise and to continue to eat healthy.

As far as the campaign goes, I just wanted to wish all the ladies good luck. This group of ladies are the best and I give all the credit in the world to @bookieboo for having to make this decision. No matter who gets chosen I will continue in my goals as well as helping to support the ladies chosen!!

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

SISTA OF THE WEEK: Congrats to @MMScarlett for being the Sista of the Week!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by @BSkinz. BSkinz is a fitness line for women full of patterned and colorful compression wear. The winner of this week's blogging carnival will get a bottom and sports bra of their choosing. The value will be about $50. @BSkinz look extremely cute, I would love to win these to wear to my 1st 5k in August!

Now for my Weigh in!!

I LOST 3lbs!! Wahoo!

I'm hooked...

2010-06-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

On Body Pump that is!! Today was my first time trying a class out at my new gym. The class of choice was Body Pump. Holy crap!! This was such an awesome workout. I was in lots of pain but, not bad pain it was that I can feel it working pain. I'm instantly hooked.

So what is a Body Pump class? Here's what their website has to say.

"BODYPUMP™ is the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls. Great music, awesome instructors and your choice of weight inspire you to get the results you came for – and fast! Like all the LES MILLS™ programs, a new BODYPUMP™ class is released every three months with new music and choreography."

We did Body Pump 60 today. We did squats, cleans & presses, dips, triceps, biceps, lounges, shoulders, abs and, ending with a cool down of stretches. It was fantastic. The one thing I would suggest is if this is something you would like to do a couple times a week I would invest in some weight lifting gloves. The bar did hurt my hands a little. If anyone has any recommendations on weight lifting gloves let me know!

Here are a couple videos of what it was like. If you have the chance to try one of the Body Pump classes I would highly recommend it.

2010-06-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Today I went to my NEW gym to get a fitness evaluation. I sat down with the trainer and, went over what my goals were and struggles. First of all I want everyone to know on the questioner there was a question that asked me how motivated on a scale of 1-10 I was. Thanks to all my new friends I’ve made through the Sistahood I am happy to say I wrote down a 10. Better yet, after the trainer read my answers he asked me why I was so motivated. I told him I joined an online support and motivation group where moms get together through social media and motivate and inspire each other. I was so happy and excited to tell him my secret. He said WOW! I wish all moms had that to fall on. I told him I too felt the same way. I wish that I had found Mamavation sooner.

So we finished up the evaluation with a little cardio work on the treadmill, some kettle bell, balance testing, squats, lunges, pushup test and a couple flexibility test. I am happy to announce I did pretty good. My balance and strength were all in the average level. Something he felt I would benefit working on was my core strength and, my flexibility. I assured him I have always been horrible with flexibility. I remember in elementary and middle school doing the toe touch test and doing poorly. Lol. He than assured me this would change and, I had to have faith. I was overall very happy with my performance. I thought I was going to be intimidated and shy but, I overcame that and kept reminding myself why I was doing this.

I got a lot of support while I was at the gym. People I didn’t know stopped me asked if I was joining the training program and spoke very highly of the work the trainers did there. It seemed very friendly and homey feeling. I loved it!!

And, can you believe I’m saying this…I can’t wait to go back!!

Some notes from the Fitness Evaluation

Need to work on core strengthening.

Need to spend more time stretching after workout especially hamstrings & calves.

1 min assessment push ups: 22

Plank assessment 30 secs

I highly recommend everyone to get one of these assessments done if you are able to. It definitely showed me what I need to work on. I showed me that the goals I set are very reachable and not set out of reach to where I will be disappointed. So here is to reaching my goal of 145lbs!!

Sticky Notes and Scale Pics

2010-06-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

Congrats to all the ladies who are applying to The Mamavation campaign #5. All the ladies got up on Camera tonight to tell everyone a little about themselves and to, tell everyone why they want to be the next Mamavation mom. Everyone did so well! I think all of us moms are here competing for the same reasons. We are all un-healthy and want to be role models for our children. We all want to show our families what its like to live a healthy lifestyle.

Leah said a couple fantastic things tonight. “Your weight is only temporary. It does NOT define who you are.” This is so very true!! I love this quote so much that tonight I wrote it up on a sticky and taped it to my bathroom mirror just to keep reminding myself. She also made it quiet clear she wants to see that you are already making a difference.

So today I finally signed up to a gym! I am very excited about this. I am especially excited to take the Body Pump class!! I meet with the trainer tomorrow so he can do their introductory speech with me and show me around. I’ll let everyone know how that goes.

Lastly but most importantly, I need to show everyone out there. How important winning Mamavation mom means to be. (As if my shy self getting on cam isn’t enough) lol. Also how much it means to me to be one of the top 2.

Here it is with out further Adieu!! The infamous toe pic and measurements!!

Oh, and this pic was so last moment so I promise next week the toe pic will be 100% better!!

This will be my official Mamavation starting weight: 193lbs.

My Measurements:
Right Leg: 25in
Left Leg: 26 in.
Right Arm: 12.5 in.
Left Arm: 12 in.
Waist: 36 in.
Hips: 44 in.
Bust: 40 in.

I'm going through Changes!!

2010-06-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not going through changes like Ozzy!! These are good changes!! Although, it is a GREAT song :)

This Mamavation Monday post is a big one for me. I am in the process of trying to win a contest to become the next Mamavation Mom. This is so important to me to win. I want so badly to get my family living a healthy lifestyle. I have for about 5 years now longed to get back to being healthy. I have been busting my butt off sending emails and tweets to friends and family asking for help in supporting me.

Well today while I was talking to my mom on the phone about the contest and, what I’ve accomplished so far something clicked. I AM in the process of getting my family back to living a healthy lifestyle. I AM in the process of getting my healthy self back. I have come so far already since joining Mamavation about a month ago. My family used to hardly ever eat fresh food. We used to eat microwaved food every night. If it was cooked fast we ate it. Now we eat fresh meals everyday. We eat lots of fruits and veggies. We always eat a healthy protein and, even have one day a week we don’t eat meat and get our protein from beans. We take a daily walk or go to the park to play. Even my oldest boy is asking for healthy snacks when he’s hungry!!

Then there is me. When I wake up in the morning I get my phone out and, check my calendar to see what is on my workout plan for the day. I crave that workout. I haven’t craved a run or a workout in 5 yrs. It is such a great feeling. I even have found a love for those horrible Kettlebells I hated at the beginning. They are making me hurt in places I’ve never hurt before. This past week I went out for lunch for the first time since joining Mamavation and, I think I did pretty darn good. I had a salad with half of a dry turkey burger. It was delicious and, I didn't feel bad asking for it to be cooked dry.

Trust me I still really want to be the next Mamavation mom. However, I am looking at this a whole lot differently. I want to be the next Mamavation mom so I can step up my game a little more. I need that extra kick in the butt to remind me why I am doing this. I need a whole different level of accountability. Right now it is so easy for me to just slip back into my old self. If I don’t feel like planning my menu for the week what’s to say I wont slip and pop in that pizza cause it’s easy. If I am doing this much on my own just think of what I can do with the help of the Mamavation gurus out there.

What changes have I made and, need to make a habit:

1. No soda: I started this the day I joined Mamavation almost a month ago and, have had one soda!! I’m not missing it much. I am however a little bored of only water. I don’t drink coffee. So if you have any suggestions of something I can have occasionally that wont hurt my weightloss I’m all ears.

2. No alcohol: This one was almost easier than the no soda. I don’t go out often as much anymore so no need to really drink on my own.

3. Workout at least 30 minutes a day: This one is still a work in progress. I had a bout with shin splints and, now tight hamstrings so I’ve had an extra rest day now 2 weeks since I started.

4. Run 6 days a week: Even if I only run 1 mile. This will help me get to my 5k goal.

5. Don’t eat after 7pm.

6. Get to bed by 12pm.: I am such a night owl. This has been the hardest for me.

7. Eat 7 fruit and veggie servings a day.

I am going to continue to make these a priority and soon they all will become second nature.

Don’t forget to Tweet or Facebook vote for me please!!

Hey @bookieboo! I want @trulove821 to be the next #Mamavation Mom. She has my support! http://bit.ly/zqUxa

Application are being accepted until June 30, 2010. 5 finalist then will appear July 5, 2010. Voting for top 2 Mamavation Moms will go until July 12, 2010. Winner’s will be announced July 12, 2010 5-7pm PST/ 8-10pm EST. Mamavation Campaign #5 runs July 12th-Aug 27th 2010.

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

SISTA OF THE WEEK: Congrats go to Jessica Bolin @all_about_savin for being the Sista of the Week! Yay Jess!! I’m so glad she got this. She is so deserving!! Keep on pushing girl your doing GREAT!!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by @LingerieDOTcom. LingerieDOTcom has so many things to choose from. They have bra’s, panties, robes and even some costumes. They do carry plus sizes as well. What will I be getting if I get this prize? Hmm…Some things should be left to the imagination right?

I do think this one is pretty classy! ; )

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Vote for Shannon as the next Mamavation Mom!!

2010-06-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the day that will hopefully change my life forever!!

If you follow me on Twitter you know what Mamavation is because I have been all about it for the last 3 weeks! Ive been eating, sleeping and, breathing Mamavation!! lol.

If not go and read my last post it is such a great outlet for mom's in need of a healthy lifestyle.

So, the meaning of this to me is, I am entering to become the next Mamavation mom!! Yep, you read that right little shy me got up on camera and ~~Rambled~~ chatted about why I want to be the next Mamavation mom and, why you should vote for me!

So here's the Video. Please scroll down and, follow the next steps to helping me become the next Mamavation mom!

Yay! You're still here!!

So the next step is to get on Twitter and, if you don't have one please sign up!!

Tweet the following message as many times as you possibly can..Yep, that simple!

Hey, @bookieboo! I want @Trulove821 to be the next #Mamavation Mom. She has my support! http://bit.ly/zqUxa

Tell everyone you know!! The Mamavation team will then pick 5 finalist. From there it will be narrowed down to two final mom's who will participate in the best but, hardest 7 weeks of their lives!

Thanks everyone!

Failure and Goals

2010-06-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

After writing out my last post I realized it was the first time I had ever told someone a goal I wanted to accomplish. I have always felt uncomfortable speaking of goals I had set for myself for fear of not meeting my goals and failing. Since I have joined Mamavation a lot has changed. I’m not afraid to tell my fellow sista’s my goals. I know I wont fail. I know that they will not let me fail. I know there are a lot of other moms out there who do not have a support system at home like myself. If you are reading this and you are not a part of the sistahood, please consider joining. The support you receive is phenomenal.

I want everyone to see my goals I have set for myself so that you can help me reach them!!

Overall Goals

10%: 19.5lbs loss

Halfway: 25lbs loss

Pre-pregnancy weight: 150lbs

Ultimate Goal: 145lbs

2010 Fitness Goals

Run 5k under 35min

Run 5k under 30 min

Run 3 Races

So there you go, I can’t run away from it now. I can’t wait to come back here and cross these bad boys off the list!!

If you would like to check out Mamavation, Monday's are a great time for you to do so!

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

SISTA OF THE WEEK: Yay! Congratulations go out to Rachel Lacy @Rachel_L for being the Sista of the Week!! Rachel was one of the biggest reason's I joined Mamavation. Seeing Rachel and Kim's videos and hearing them speak about the support they had was so inspirational!

This week Mamavation Tv is being sponsored yet again by @subwayfreshbuzz You can never go wrong with Subway! My fav at the momment is their new Orchard Chicken salad sub!! Yummy! Also, this week Shay Sorrells a contestant from Biggest Loser will be on Mamavation TV!! Shay will let all us moms in on how she handles working out, eating right and, living a healthy life all while being a mom!!(Oh did I mention she's also participating in the NYC Marathon, Wow! )I can't wait!! Come join me!

What, you didn't know THAT?

2010-06-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd take a little break from all the fitness & health post and bring you a little something fun!! Here you have it...Ten things you didn't know about ME!!

1. I eat things in 3's and by colors like 3 red gummi bears.

2. I don't like coconut, raw carrots or, coleslaw.

3. I used to be a Kindergarten Readiness Teacher before deciding to stay home after my second child. It was a lot of fun but, also very stressful.

4. I have never really taken up a hobby. Unless you count eating gummi bears or reading trashy gossip mags as one.

However, I do feel as though running is becoming one.

5. I am not a morning person but, am a night owl. I will stay up till 2am but, hate waking up before 9. My youngest son however, wakes me up daily at 7.

6. If you want to bore me to death you should talk about basketball. I do love me some hockey though!! Go Caps!!

7. I'd love to take cooking classes one day. I'm constantly visiting food blogs.

8. I want to participate in at least 3 races by the end of the year. Then next year attempt to do a 10k, 1/2 marathon and a marathon!

9. I don't like to wear socks if I don't have to, or shoes for that matter!

10. This post took me all day to write because the oldest has been complaining of his chicken pox itching and, the youngest is in a cranky mood!

Help A Sista Out!!

2010-06-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sitting down to write this blog I wanted so badly to be like a lot of the ladies and, shout out a weight loss. However, I realized today I never weighed myself at the start of Mamavation. So I really don’t know how much weight I have lost or if any. I will weigh myself, take my measurements and get those up for everyone.

I don’t know if this happens to you ladies or not but sometimes I get on the scale it says one number I get off the scale thinking "Really, do I really weigh that?" I will move the scale back down to the floor, get back on and, it says another number. I don’t know, maybe its time for a new scale!! Maybe I will use my Wii scale it’s pretty accurate right?

I think that my diet was pretty consistent this week. Stayed away from the sugars and, junk food. Late night snacking is pretty much gone from my life as of lately. If I do decide I need one I’ve been reaching for a handful of almonds..Yumm! I’ve been following my menu I made for the week and it went very well. Being prepared really helps. This time around though I think I’m going to do them 2 weeks at a time and make the grocery list a head of time. I think it will help me with seeing what we have extra of and, what were missing. The hot temps around here have made it very simple for me to drink all my water. I am downing it bottle after bottle. Lol. Even my oldest has been asking for it more and more.

If you notice on the left hand side I have added my google calendar to my blog. This is to help hold myself to a planned workout. It also emails me a reminder. So, If your not busy during the day after of course you've gotten in your workout visit my blog, look at my training calendar and please HELP A SISTA OUT send me a nice little message on twitter saying “Shannon have you ran your 3 miles today?” Or, “Shannon get your butt in gear get on that Wii fit and tackle those 30 minutes.” This would help out lots!!
Oh and, follow my blog...do it..right now...you know you want to!!

Wish I looked this good using the jogging Stroller!

We visited the park twice this week and took a walk as a family it was nice to chat and get some exercise in. I have a new found respect for all those jogging stroller mommas out there. Pushing 60lbs of children and, another 20 or so lbs of the stroller is a lot of work. I was hurting afterwards. If you read my previous post, you know my shins have been killing me. I’ve iced them like crazy and now am taking it slow cross training and walking. I’m going to attempt to run again this week starting a little slower to see how it goes.

Goals for this week:

Follow my training schedule

Continue to make better food choices

Attempt to run again

Buy a pedometer to track my steps

Buy a measuring tape to measure my inches

Find a fun run for Big C to enter

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

SISTA OF THE WEEK: Congrats to CJ @CJinKY for being the Sista of the Week! Thanks for all the support CJ your such a sweet person!!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Flatout Bread. You NEED to check out their website if you haven’t already. It has so many great recipes and, their blog has some of the best fitness and safety tips out there!! At my house we LOVE the 5 Grain Flax Fold It’s for our Turkey Burgers!! Their only 100 cals and whopping 9g of PROTEIN!! I love my protein :) My favorite snack is to cut the Flatbread’s up and toast them a little in the oven to make them warm and crispy. I then dip them in my favorite hummus. Yumm!!
Flatout Bread is giving away 4 baskets with lots of goodies on Mamavation TV tonight! I hope I get a chance to win this basket and, try some of the products I haven’t tried yet!!

The Injured Runner

2010-06-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was a scheduled 5k. It started out great, a little fast probably due to how great I felt. Then, sometime a little after mile one I started to feel some pain in my right shin area up to my knee. I continued to run it off. Half way through mile one the pain increased so I started to slow down. I really wanted to finish this 5k so I kept moving along. After all was said and done I was in a lot of pain. I got some water, an ice pack and, sat down. I started immediately icing my shin and knee.

Today I'm limping around complaining and, whining worse than Kate Gosselin.

Photo credit

I did a slow mile walk today at the park pushing the kids in the stroller and man did the hills hurt. I was really sore when I got home. I guess I'll be doing some cross-training next week.

Here's some charts for you. I'm going to try and post more of these weekly so you can see what I'm doing for my training. The 1st one is from last night you can definitely see where I was hurting. I used my Nike+ for that and, the second is from my slow walk today using the Run keeper app on my android phone. Which one do you prefer?

Anyone have any suggestions what I should do for my shin and knee?

Wordless Wednesday: Can you spot the runner?

2010-06-09T10:43:00.001-07:00

Beginner Running Tips

2010-06-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

During my trials of running towards a 5k I have received a lot of great advice from avid runner's. I have also experienced a lot of mistakes and, Ah Ha! moments during this journey. So for all you beginning runners or those who want to start running I gave you my master list.

*Run early in the morning or later in evening to avoid afternoon heat.

*Mix up your training. Make sure your training plan is not too heavily focused on one thing. You should always include: endurance, cross training, speed, and, rest.

*Don't feel embarrassed if you need to walk. If you get tired slow down.

*Try shoes on in the afternoon when your feet are bigger.

*Buy yourself some running shoes. Most running stores will fit you for the right type of shoe for your feet.

*Soreness one to two days after a run is normal.

*If you go slow the first half of a race, you can finish stronger.

*Ice sore muscles immediately after a run. If you can stand a colder bath I recommend that.

*Cut your toenails so they don’t jam into your shoes.

*Invest in good running socks. Cotton socks will give you blisters.

*Wear spandex shorts under your running shorts so you don’t chafe.

*Purchase a good sports bra. You'll thank me later!

*Volunteer at a local race. This is where you can learn what goes on during a race as well as meet other runners for advice.

*Try running with out music so that you can listen to your feet to hear your pace and your gait.

*The less you weigh the easier running is!

*Use Vaseline or BodyGlide wherever things rub. This will help prevent blisters and chafing.

I hope this helps you out with your running as it did me!!

*Please note I myself am in the beginning stages of running again after taking a 10 yr hiatus!

"It takes 21 days to form a habit."

2010-06-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

According to Pete Cohen it takes 21 days to form a habit. Pete Cohen "The Weightloss Guru" is one of the worlds leading life coaches.

I had the chance to try Pete Cohen's weightloss program out recently. I am only on day 4 and, am loving it already! It's helping me get to the dirty of why I choose some of my bad habits and, it helps me choose what tools to use to fight it.

As of right now I am in the process of using the following tools;

*Eating slowly: This is a huge one for me. I am always the first one done their meal.

*Getting at least 30 min of fitness a day

*Eating only when I'm hungry: Again this is another one for me that was a big gaining weight factor. I will constantly graze on food if I am at a party or, out to a bar with friends even when I'm not hungry. Another time I eat is when I am bored. I am turning that bored eating into running!

*Drinking Water: I quit drinking Diet Coke and guess what....I don't miss it at all anymore!! It was a struggle but, now I don't miss it at all. I drink only water and, have an occasional drink of crystal light.

*Listen to Pete's Relaxation MP3 daily: This MP3 is awesome so relaxing!!

Pete's program consist of 4 steps and 9 tools all in 21 days. To top that off he also provides meal plans, recipes, and a place for you to journal your thoughts and goals with the option to post them online to get live feedback!

To anyone who needs that extra push to kick some bad eating and, fitness habits I strongly recommend Pete Cohen's weightloss program. I will be back at the end of my 21 days to let you know if it's true that it infact takes 21 days to form a habit!!

Here's a look into what Pete does overseas in Great Britain!!

Motivation Monday

2010-06-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

This past week I felt great with what I accomplished. I joined the Choose You Healthy Challenge and, made sure to get in at least 30 min daily. It was alot of fun I took the boys running a couple of days, did a shred video and, of course did some of my favorite Kettle bell workouts!

The thing I am most proud of was I sat down on Thursday and, planned ahead my menu for the weekend and following week. What usually happens for me at meal times is, I am wondering around the kitchen trying to decide what to make. I usually can't decide and, just make something fast and unhealthy. The menu I had planned and, the fun shopping trip I took on Friday morning to the local Farmer's market has made eating clean super easy. If you don't buy the bad food then they aren't around for you to eat!

Before the start of Mamavation I had my eating fruit down to a T but, struggled on getting in my veggies. I recently found a great blog Green Lite Bites that has helped out tremendously. I just love the videos she post of her and her son cooking. It reminds me so much of the fun I have when I allow Big C to cook with me. So Friday night Big C and I whipped out the laptop and, her 15 minute Red Beans and Rice video and had a blast cooking. The best thing about it was he ate so many good foods he never would of eaten before.

I also got the chance to participate in Pete Cohen's weight loss program. I have finished day 3 of 21. I am going to do an update on his program tomorrow so look forward to that.

Overall I'd say it was a great week last week for staying active and, eating healthy. I think this week though I want to also throw in some more concentration on what brought me to blogging. Training to run a 5k again. So I look forward to running alot more than what I ran this week. (Which by the way was still great!!)Look for my #momsrunning on Twitter. I also, want to track my running a little better than I have been doing previously. Maybe breakout the Nike + again and, show a little more accountability.

To all my Sista's at Mamavation hang in there and, push yourself to get at least 30 min in daily and drink that water!!!

Congrats go to Morgan on being Sista of the Week! She definitely inspires me with all the running she puts in!! I hope to see my face on the Sista of the week wall one day soon ;)

More exciting news that's going on around Mamavation is EA Sports Active is sponsoring this week’s Mamavation blogging carnival and giving away a copy of "More Workouts"! You can enter here! I really want to win this because I have heard such GREAT things about it. I have the Wii fit and love that but, have heard this one is so much more fun and, such a great workout. I'd love to try out the 6 week challenge it has. So wish me luck!

A Run a day will keep the Doctor away!

2010-06-04T19:13:00.000-07:00

When you go to the doctor for stresses in your life they should totally prescribe running or walking!!

There have been some things that have been stressing me out lately. I get stressed pretty easy and, in the past have used food to calm me down. This week however I've been putting in a couple miles every other day and, it's been melting the stress right off me. (Hopefully pounds too!) I feel so great when I'm running almost like nothing can stop me. After my run I feel like I have accomplished so much and, am so proud of myself.

I signed myself up for a local 5k for August. This will be my first 5k I've ran since the last time sometime in 99' . I am currently following a cross between Hal Higdon's 5k plan and, Jeff Galloway's. I highly recommend both. I'm running every other day with cross training in between with my Saturday's as a rest day. I'm already planning on signing up for at least one more 5k before bravely signing up for a 10k!

If any of my readers have any tips for me on running a 5k and, or 10k please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear them!

Wordless Wednesday/ Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-06-02T20:53:00.001-07:00

Holiday Motivation

2010-05-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial weekend!!

First of all I want to Thank all of the veterans who have served and those who are continuing to serve for us today.

I have been thinking about how I wanted to write this post all weekend long. It is my first post of many and, want it to be really great. (Here’s my perfectionist side showing)

A little fact about me is I love Biggest Loser. I have been watching it since Season 3. There are 2 contestants that really inspired me to live a healthier lifestyle. I was not obese but, I wanted to be healthier and fit. I followed Hollie Self’s journey first through Season 4 and, she was truly an inspiration to me. She had the desire of a healthy lifestyle I wanted. She got me hooked on eating healthier and, exercising. Then when Season 7 came along it changed my life about fitness. Tara Costa was so competitive and, tough I wanted to challenge myself as she was. I started running obsessively every morning. I even started losing some weight. This however faded and, I seemed to burn out.

Now this leads me to where I am now. I have lost my motivation to get going in the morning. I had been wanting to somehow rediscover that want and desire I had previously. I follow Hollie Self on twitter religiously hoping some of her energy would blow over my way. One night while doing my rounds on twitter Hollie retweeted a twitter party invite a group was having for the Biggest Loser 9 finale . So what did I do? I checked it out.

What I found was something I had been looking for months now. An online motivation group for living healthier lifestyles ran by mothers. During the party I read such kindness and, motivation from all these moms. Wow, sign me up right away!! I want to be apart of something that rewarding and, encouraging.

“Mamavation is a weight loss campaign and social media experiment brought to you by Earth Footwear, The EA SPORTS Active & Smooth Fitness. The Mamavation campaign is a unique movement in social media. Not only does it support two moms (Mamavation Moms), it also supports a group of moms called The Sistahood."

I am hoping this group will help motivate and inspire me to keep going in my journey of a healthier and fit lifestyle. I am hoping that this time I can do it slower and, more life changing than before. I was changing my fitness and, eating before way to fast and, kind of unhealthy as well.

Wish me luck on joining the “The Sistahood.” I’ll let you know how it goes!!
　
　

....Introducing Momma on the Run

2010-05-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

What is Momma on the Run about? After spending sleepless nights reading all the mommy, fitness, weight loss and, eating blogs out there (I know I really am lame huh?) I decided to become one of the cool people and, start one of my own. This is basically my way of holding myself accountable for my fitness endeavors. What are these endeavors you ask?? You will just have to sit back and, follow me along to find out.

What is Momma on the Run not about? You won’t find me posting recipes or about my tips on how to make the best low fat version of lasagna because, basically I’m a chicken and veggies kind of girl and, that’s not very interesting. Not to mention I like to get my meals cooked and ready in less than 20 min.

Who are the stars of Momma on the Run? ME ME ME and did I mention Me! (Very self absorbed I know)

Occasionally you will also read about;

My son Big C: a 5 yr old blonde haired, blue eyed, too intelligent for his own good, ball of energy.

My son Little C: a 1 yr old blonde haired, blue eyed ,(how did I get such beautiful babies) funny, little adventurer.

My husband T : a hard working, kind hearted, best friend of 7 years.