Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Happy Trails to You!

This was an good a week.  I managed not to gain any weight,  I ran over 12 miles, I had a nice visit with Lindsay and Stefanie and especially with Abby and Luke.   Leta's been making fantastic meals, like split-pea and ham soup, quiche, chicken pot pie, etc. Not the least, our housekeeping has improved significantly! I feel reinvigorated about my goals and plans for the month and year! Now if only I could beat Leta at Zuma, life would be fantastic!

Plans for this week include exercising (calastics 2 times, running 3 times, bike ride 1 time), working on finances, taxes, working on back bedroom, planning some for the Disney Trip, completing 1 sewing project (pillowcases for Abby).   We'll see how I do!


This past week I renewed my love for one of my childhood hero's.  Roy Rodgers.  I remember watching him and Dale Evans on Saturday mornings.  I picked up his and Dale Evans autobiography this week at the library and have just started it and am enjoying it immensely!  There is still a huge love of him and Dale, and from all that I have read they were genuinely as "nice" in their off camera life as they were on the screen  And how refreshing is that!  I hope to "do something" with this renewed interest, but not sure what (maybe get an outlandish cowboy shirt, like Roy used to wear...).

In contrast to Roy and Dale,  I was on break at work, and they had a Adam Saddler movie playing on tv, I don't know the name of the movie but Adam was playing a stand up comic and of course is routine was vulgar, filled with graphic sexual descriptions and of course the had him jump in bed with a young female fan.  Although you couldn't "see" thing it was still very graphic as it could be without showing the errrr  body parts.  This was on a regular cable show in the late afternoon (4ish).  I was embarrassed  because there were several young checkers and baggers watching it too.  I was also sad because they never really got to experience they kind of entertainment Roy and Dale used to present, and how far our society has 'progressed'.

It got me thinking how hard (impossible?) it is to raise kids and teach them things like modesty,  and chastity.  Gosh I'm getting old!  Even words like modest and chastity sound so old fashioned and quaint!

Finally, on a more positive note,  the movie "Courageous" comes out on DVD today.  I guess there is some hope for the entertainment industry after all!


So as they used to say "Tune in again next week"....because I have Got to Run!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

2012 Ok, Now I'm ready for you to start!

Well we are one week into 2012 and I have already blown some of my 'resolutions'.  I gained another 1.4 lbs.  I didn't 'cross-train' 2 times and my eating, especially 'portion size' was 'terrible' and I only 'ran' 2 times for a total of 5.43 miles, Leta and I haven't developed a budget, and I don't believe we have started tracking how we spend our money.

Well that is the bad news.  The good news is that I'm not really that upset that I haven't made progress on my goals for 2012, for several reasons:
  1. First of all, I'm just a tiny bit upset that I haven''t made progress on my goals for 2012, and I think that is a good thing.   I hope to draw motivation from this first week.
  2. It is early in the year and I realize I'm not going to make progress every week on every goal I have for 2012
  3. We are still dealing with the holidays, Christmas isn't really over yet for us.  We had mom over on the first and ate too much!  We went to Austin to visit/celebrate with Mark, Stefanie, Abby and Little Man Luke. Erica, Tom and Mom are coming later today.  So we are not on a regular schedule yet.  Although I suspect we will never have a 'normal' week!
  4. Although I am a little upset (I hope I'm upset enough),  I am also aware of what caused my 'backsliding' this past week and believe I can do better this coming week and month and year!  I believe its all about balance and moderation and consistency
  5.  Finally, I did make some progress on some of the goals.  I did run 5 miles, I 'cross-trained' 1 time, Leta signed up for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and I signed up for a race (in Florida no less!).  Oh yeah Leta and I went for our first bike ride of 2012, and I signed up for a 30 day / 30 mile running challenge.



How did you do this first week in 2012?  How do you cope with set-backs?

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012 Goals (NOT resolutions!)

Ok so everyone I talk to seems to be adamant about not making New Year's Resolutions, I've decided to yield to peer pressure and not make any resolutions this year.  However I assume everyone is in favor of setting goals.  So here are my goals for 2012.

  1. Loss 24 Lbs (Weigh in at end of year 180lbs).  This equates to 2 lbs per month and should be a reasonable goal, considering my 2011 weight loss journey.  I got down to about 190 in October 2011, but added 15 lbs since then..
  2. Run in 6 Races and complete 6 Sewing projects.  This is my version of 12 in 2012.  I couldn't decide whether to compete in 12 races or complete 12 sewing projects, so I decided to combine them together, but not be too aggressive in my goal setting.
  3. Improve our financial situation.  Create a complete financial plan, including such things as creating emergency and retirement savings and work on past financial debts.
  4. Go to church at least 12 times.  It is hard to believe, we have been here a year and we haven't been to church once!  We have lots of excuses (e.g. I sometimes work Sunday's, we won't find another church like Living Water, etc.)  Like the Nike ad, advises, "Just do it".
  5. Speaking of Nike ads, my final goals are a couple more fitness goals.  Walk/run 500 miles (up from 300 this year) and to cross-train a minimum of 2 times a week.
I'm planning on tracking my goals on the website 43things.com

Do you make New Year's Resolutions or formally set Goals?  Do you formally record and track your progress or otherwise hold yourself accountable?

Gotta Run!

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2011 By the Numbers

2011 was a pretty good year.  I started the year at 220 lbs and ended at 202.6 for a loss of 17.4 lbs.  My lowest weight 189.4 lbs on October 1st.  So I have put on 13.2 lbs since then.
 
I participated in 8 running or walking events, my longest being an 8K run in October and my favorite events of the year were the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis and the "Light the Night for Sight" run held at Sea World.  My best time was the "Light the Night" 5K at 34:14 or 11:01 per mile.  I exclude the Fredericksburg Wildflower 5k, because I believe the route was a little short.

I ran/walked for 330 miles over 80 hours in 2011.  That includes training and "competitive" events.  My longest month was 41 miles in January and worst was October (and December) at 8 miles.  I averaged 27 miles a month or just less than 1 mile per day. 

In summary, I think I have lots to be proud of, but also lots of room for improvement and being more consistent!  For Christmas, Leta got me a Garmin Forerunner, GPS watch and heart monitor to help encourage the running!

How was your year?  Any major goals or setbacks overcome or encountered?

Well, gotta run!