It's Time...

This article from Yahoo! Health is just disturbing: 

 3 Reasons to Give Up Soda

When I think about the amount of soda I consume in a day, it makes me a little nauseated. Sad truth: According to the data in this article, I am well above "average" when it comes to the number of calories I drink in a day - all from Dr. Pepper.

On the other hand, when I think about giving up caffeine, it makes my head hurt and I immediately become tongue-tied and sluggish (Ok. Some of this is obviously mental; I get that).

Hmmm...so which is worse?

It's time. I can do this. It's going to be a gradual process, but I can do this. I need a plan - some parameters for myself and then, when the craving strikes, this is the image that will be in my head...

This pool and "fatty organs." That's just grosses me out writing it so I'll spare you the image on that one. And you're welcome.

Check back for the plan. I'm on it.

One week...but so far away

It's one week until my birthday and I'm not even close to reaching my goal. Well, kind of.

I'm basically where I started...kind of. If the goal was to lose 7 pounds before my birthday, and I've gained 5 pounds and then lost them, then I'm still in pretty good shape, right? Unfortunately, the goal was to lose 7 pounds AND be a certain weight (Sidebar: This is a good lesson for my PR students in making goals singular - an individual/organization can achieve one part of a goal and not the other!). When setting the original goal, I also failed to account for Riley being away at Disney World for EIGHT DAYS last week and the fact that I would "need" cookies to get through the week as well as the introduction of Valentine's Day candy EVERYWHERE (Sidebar: This also provides great material regarding setting realistic goals for my PR students!).

To end on a positive, last week was a good running week. I was able to get in three runs for 12.5 miles. I'll take that after the previous week...which I'm just embarrassed about.

So, how are you doing with YOUR goals in 2012?

L.O.V.E. this stuff!

Readers who've been following my blog or really anyone who's been around me for a significant amount of time are well aware my addiction to Dr. Pepper is a (HUGE) stumbling block for my journey to a healthier lifestyle. I can't stand the taste of Diet Dr. Pepper and although I had a brief love affair with Dr. Pepper 10 a few months ago, I have long-since returned to the "real thing" and all its carbonated, surgery goodness. If it were just one a day, it probably wouldn't be a big deal, but I shudder to think about the number of calories I drink each day.

Alas! I believe I may have found something to help! On the recommendation from a friend, I (begrudgingly) bought some of these on-the-go packets and much to my surprise...I love it!!

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. (and no, they are not paying for this post...although I wouldn't mind a retro-active endorsement deal...). You simply dump the packet into your water (another area I'm working on!) and shake.

I made it until almost 1 p.m. today without a Dr. Pepper and never felt like I was dragging. I think there are other flavors (maybe I'll "L.O.V.E." those in another post), but the Wild Strawberry gets two thumbs up from me.

Maybe I WILL make that February 6 goal after all...

Trying New Things

I have a birthday next month. I am not what you might call "excited" about it, but it does provide an easy deadline for reaching a goal. I've put on about 4 pounds over the holidays that I need to shed. And another 3 would get me into a weight range I haven't seen in about 6 months. Goal created...

To lose 7 pounds by February 6.

There it is...in writing. That comes to about 1.5 pounds a week. Very do-able. Yesterday, I cut my Dr. Pepper consumption in half from the previous couple of days, which should help a lot. I ran 3.5 miles, did 100 crunches and a 2-minute plank (feeling the effects of the caffeine reduction and the ab work, by the way!). Good start.

Today is Sunday - a somewhat hectic day at our house because of Jeff's position with our church. That hecticness - coupled with my disdain for cooking - has resulted in the routine visit to our local Mexican restaurant every Sunday after church. Today, Jeff and I split an entree. It saved us $10 (that's $40 a month and $480 over a year, BTW). More significant to the current goal, it saved us BOTH a lot of calories and from the temptation of overeating. Baby steps, people. Baby steps toward getting back on track.

I'll keep you posted as we try new things and I work on reaching my birthday goal...

If you have "little things" that help, please share! I'd love to have more ideas for reaching my goal!

Marathon Training = FAIL

As you might have guessed (because I did not do a big screaming post about it with a million pictures!), I did not complete the St. Jude's marathon last month. My running goals fell victim to the craziness that I call 'life' and I just couldn't squeeze in all the training miles. I had hoped to still complete the 1/2 marathon but the intensity of the semester picked up as race day approached, and those long training runs got pushed further and further down on the "to do" list.

I am such a freak about goals (and actually attaining them!) that I felt like a big, huge failure for weeks. I am still pretty sad about this failure (ok, I'm pretty sure I suffered from temporary depression...is that possible?).

But, just as He always does, God showed me the bigger picture of my failure. And that is this: There are some things in my life that I simply cannot put ahead of training and I was racing toward that line pretty quickly (running pun not intended). My relationship with Him and service to Him, loving my husband, raising my sweet boys, and keeping my job MUST be the priorities on a seemingly never-ending "to do" list. The 26.2 medal is an "earthly treasure" (see Matthew 6:19-21) and my heart was longing for that more than other things. Ok. I get it now.

So, I have my priorities in check now (well, most days anyway!). I will run when I can and do my best to make time for it, but I will not stress about it... it kind of defeats one of my main purposes for running if I stress about it.

Will I ever have time to train for a marathon? I hope so, but my boys will be older and my job situation a little more secure before I try again. Until then, when I get discouraged about my running failure(s), I will cling to 1 Corinthians 9:24-25...

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 

Remember Me?

Hi. Remember me? The crazy girl who thought she had time to run AND blog about running regularly? Yeah. I didn't think so.

I came to the point a few months ago where I had to make a decision - run or blog about running. Since my last post was in August, I guess you know which one I chose.

I am still running. Trying to get in 12-15 miles a week. I have a few goals for 2012 but I am trying to be realistic about those as well. This is the year that I will submit my packet for promotion and tenure (a.k.a. KEEP MY JOB) and my husband is starting seminary in the fall. So, yeah. Realistically, running is about to take a backseat to some things...ok, a lot of things. And I'm ok with that.

I do hope to run regularly, even through the chaos (as a means to survive it!). As for regularly blogging, well, we'll see.

Happy New Year and happy running in 2012!