This entry is to record my weigh-in for SingleMa’s challenge.

Saturday morning I weighed in at 168.5.  Sunday I flew to NYC, had very little water all day and ate two slices of pizza.  Too much sodium, too little water, a flight…  Throw in a nighttime weigh-in after a full day’s worth of meals and there you go…I’ve gained 4 pounds!  I doubt it but what can you do until things settle down?  I swear I’m not playing with the numbers of purpose SingleMa!

Yes my scale is cracked. It still works!

I set a goal to lose 6 pounds every month for the next 6 months and Month 1 is over.  I started the month at 175lbs and ended at 168.5lb for a total loss of 6.5lbs!  My measurements are down slightly 42-41.5 in the hips, 32.9-32.8 in the waist with bust holding steady at 37.  Yes!

This month has been really refreshing.  I am re-doing Precision Nutrition and everything is really sticking this time around.  I’m trying to follow the program wholeheartedly and not slack off on the ideas that I don’t like (like keeping starchy carbs to the post-workout period only).

I’m also not counting calories or tracking my food at this point.  I couldn’t tell you how many calories I eat per day and I still lost my target weight for the month.  That is a welcome change from my obsessive tracking days.  I tracked calories burned using a heart rate monitor.  I input every morsel I ate into my SparkPeople food journal.  It was what I needed to do at the time and it helped me a lot.  My time is just so limited now that I can’t do it.

I don’t see anything wrong with tracking, but I’m starting to come to the conclusion that tracking isn’t really necessary for me when:

1. I’m eating mostly good wholesome foods that I prepared for myself.  I’m not talking about homemade fried chicken or apple pie, but health-conscious foods made up mostly of fruits green leafy veggies and lean proteins with much smaller infrequent amounts of starchy carby stuff like rice, bread and pasta.  This is really automatic portion control because I can only eat so much broiled tilapia with green beans and summer squash.  On the other hand, I can scarf down a whole pile of rice like its nothing!
2. I’m losing some amount of weight or inches over time.  If after 4-6 weeks nothing has changed, I might start tracking because something might be out whack.  Either I’m not eating being honest with myself and need a wake up call.

Maybe I will feel differently next month, but so far this is really working for me.  We’ll see if it carries me through Month 2.  I might be dusting off my heart rate monitor and downloading the SparkPeople app.

I’m joining SingleMa for her September “Punk My Plateau” challenge for Month 2.  I’m not (fingers crossed) in a plateau, but I like to support and stay on track!  Plus, she keeps her financial game tight so she’s giving away prizes! LOL!

• I run early in the mornings in my neighborhood and a neighborhood across the street.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen other runners running on the same side of the street as me in a different direction.  Do people not know that you are supposed to run facing traffic?  I mean, there’s not a lot of traffic in the suburbs at 6AM but still.  You run facing traffic because then you are not dependent on a driver seeing you to avoid an accident.  You can see the driver coming towards you and react accordingly.  This just makes good sense to me.  Bikers are supposed to ride with the flow of traffic but runners are not.
• I must admit I should technically be running on the sidewalk, but concrete is a harder surface than asphalt so I run in the street.  I still run on the correct side of the street though!
• This is the 4th week of half-marathon training and so far so good.  My tempo runs are hard but they are getting a little easier now that I’ve taken to the streets instead of the treadmill.  I’m up to a 9 mile long run this weekend and I have no fears about making the distance.  It’s been a few years since I ran super long distances in my marathon training, but my body feels like it still has a little endurance muscle memory or something.  After running 26 miles, a 10-12 mile long run doesn’t scare me at all.
• I took a day trip to NYC with DiscoDiva to see “In The Heights” on Broadway.  It was a total whirlwhind!  We flew out that morning, attended the 2PM matinee, grabbed slices of authentic NYC pizza (delicious) and cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery (thumbs down), and caught at 6:30PM flight back to ATL.  I had a great time and the play was excellent even though Jordin Sparks was a no-show for her role.  I spent Monday in a fog of exhaustion though.
• I missed my baby boy so much when I was gone!  I saw him Sunday morning before I left, but when I came home he was sleeping.  I thought about his little face and kissing his fat cheeks all day at work.  He must have missed me too because he toddled over to me as soon as I walked into the door.
• I made some squash casserole last night that was so freaking good.  I looked at a few recipes and took ideas from all of them.  I freestyled a whole lot so if I make it again it won’t taste as good.  That is unfortunate.  I’m so proud of myself for producing something that tasted really good without a recipe and precise measurements!  I almost never do that.
• I’m officially in love with brussels sprouts.  A bag of frozen sprouts, bacon bits, olive oil, salt and pepper roasted for 45 minutes in the oven at 375 = delicious!
• 11 days until Lewis’ birthday party.  I will be so glad when I’m done with this because you know all the planning has fallen on me!  The Mister says I’m “doing too much” but he would be the first one to say something if this turned out to be super cheesy and poorly planned.  He has no idea what goes into this sort of thing so I just ignore him.   Babs and DiscoDiva have offered to help, but I don’t know what to tell them to do to help me!

He took his first real non-tentative steps on Sunday.  We took this video last Tuesday.  Yesterday, he walked over to greet me at the door when I came home from work.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him crawling now.  So trippy how fast this all happens!

I am thisclose to being able to do a full pullup again.  I tried 3 times this morning at bootcamp and got closer each time.  The last time my forehead was an inch away from clearing the bar.  Wonder how close I would have come had I not done a whole bunch of bench presses and wall balls beforehand?

Chin above the bar is the standard and my goal.  I can’t wait until I feel that final transfer of power into the upper shoulder muscles (rear delts?) that signifies that I made it again…that was such a cool feeling the first time around!

I am soclose!  And how cool would it be to get it at a much higher weight than I was before?  That means that when I drop this last bit of weight I will be able to do a whole bunch of them!  Slinging an extra 30 pounds around makes a huge difference when you are trying to lift your body weight.

Hmm…maybe when I hit my weight goal, I will stop playing around and try to compete in local CrossFit competitions.  Those girls don’t play.  I can’t come without serious “A” game.  I think I have it in me to do well if I train.

When I went back to work in late October after maternity leave, I had a goal of hitting my pre-baby weight by Lewis’ first birthday.  Yeah, that one’s not going to happen.  I started the month at about 175 and the last time I did a scale check I was 171 (after a 7 mile run so that doesn’t really count LOL).   I don’t foresee hitting 155 in the next few weeks, so time to set a new goal.

“Six by six” is my new goal.  I am shooting for a six pound loss each month for the next 6 months.  This would put me at 139lbs and give me a nearly 100 pound weight loss since having the baby!  The 140-145lb range is a good look for me physically (or at least it used to be) and one that is maintainable without a lot of effort and extra strict dieting.

I signed up for the Lean Eating Program again to keep me on track and I’m claiming a finalist spot in advance this time around.  It isn’t about the chance to win money for me (although that would be awesome).  It is about me finishing what I started.  It is about me being focused for the next 6 months.  I feel like I’m at a point in my weight loss journey* where I will be able to see a dramatic difference if I do what I say I’m going to do.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I’ve come so far from where I’ve been and I only have a little more weight left to lose.  This is the home stretch.

So I’m doing the Lean Eating Program again and exercising my butt off.  I still attend CrossFit bootcamp 3x a week and I still love it.  I’m now in training for the first of 3 half-marathons I have planned for the fall/winter running season.  If I watch my nutrition, I can surely lose a measly 6 pounds of month with all of that exercise going on!

I’m off to a nice start this month with a loss of 2-3 pounds already.  I’m excited about kicking the butt of this last 35 lbs!

*I hate that word from watching 15 seasons of The Bachelor (#dontjudgeme) but it applies to this situation.

• Between party planning and selling all kinds of stuff on Ebay to make extra money to hold said party, my brain feels like it is about to explode.  Thus the lack of coherent blog posts lately.
• Rest assured, I’m still kicking it hard on the exercise front and cleaning up the diet quite nicely again.  Half-marathon training is in full swing now and for the next 6(!) months.
• I found my way back to my favorite step class and I had a blast.  I was a little rusty but didn’t embarrass myself too much.  The girl beside me got all confused, tripped and busted her tail.  Does it mean that I’m a real grown-up now if I didn’t even crack a hint of a smile?
• The instructor for the step class has like a crazy cult following (self included).  She taught at Bally’s and they closed down.  The new class is at LA Fitness.  Almost a year later and the same people were in the class. The guy who gets all the steps but is missing some rhythm so he just looks a little off…  The older woman with the too long, too blond hair (cut that stuff short once you hit 50)…  The chicks who think it is club step (just do the steps and stop adding in the cha-cha slide please!  It confuses the rest of us.)…  The only one missing was the lady who didn’t have a membership and used to sneak in the side door (I pay so you need to pay!).
• I had a pair of Size 10 Long and Leans from Gap in the closet that I purchased a long time ago.  I decided to try them on and see how far I had to go to squeeze into them.  Imagine my surprise when they fit perfectly!
• My Nike Free Run+ sneakers finally arrived!  I mainly bought them because I need some new gym shoes and all the other CrossFitters have them. I don’t see how I can run in these but I’m going to try it out.  I’m very curious to see how (faux) barefoot running feels.
• Love the new Maroon 5 and Sara Bareilles singles.  New poppy music coming soon for me.  Yeah!
• Lewis has taken to expressing himself through dance.  It is so funny!  He will bust out what looks like that old school dance “The Snake” at the most random times.  He keeps a cold serious look on his face too.
• We are seriously considering dropping satellite TV when our 24 month contract ends this month.  Maybe I will be more productive in the evenings without the distraction of TV.  Or maybe I will go nuts when I wash dishes and there is nothing to watch to pass the time.

DJ Lance Rock?

I am waist deep in planning and crafting for Lewis’ first birthday party.  Can you guess the theme?  I bought a DJ Lance Rock costume to use for a photo invitation.  I know my son has a big head so I bought a 3T-4T costume size.  Do you know that hat still didn’t fit properly?!?  Aww well, his body will catch up with his head eventually…right?

In other news, I can’t get this song out of my head now.  Good grief!  That show and party planning will be the death of me!

My 10K is behind me and it is time to start half-training!  I’ll be doing the Silver Comet Half for the first time ever.  I’ve done the Silver Comet 10K before and I’ve done tons of training runs out on the trail.  I love the place, so I figure this might be a good way to earn back my lost 13.1 car sticker.

I am adapting the Runner’s World training plan found here.  I’ve used this plan with great success in the past.  This plan is normally for 10 weeks and I have 14 weeks until the race.  I lose 2 weeks to travel, so I decided to use the other extra 2 weeks to build up more slowly to the first 10 mile long run in the early weeks of the plan.  I’ve also swapped around a few weeks in order to run some free races with the Atlanta Track Club.  I like using their low-key races as a part of my training.  It feels good to get out into the running community and the races are free to members!

Week 1: 07/26-08/01

KR #1: 4 x 400m
KR #2: 3 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 6 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 10

Week 2: 08/09-08/15

KR #1: 4 x 400m
KR #2: 3.5 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 7 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 11.5

Week 3: 08/16-08/22

KR #1: 4 x 800
KR #2: 4 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 8 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 14

Week 4: 08/30-09/05

KR #1: 4 x 800
KR #2: 4.5 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 9 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 15.5

Week 5: 09/06-09/12

KR #1: 3 x 1600
KR #2: 5 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 10 Mile Long Run (*ATC Singleton 10M)

Total Miles: 18

Week 6: 09/13-09/19

KR #1: 6 x 400
KR #2: 6 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 10 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 17.5

Week 7: 09/20-09/26

KR #1: 4 x 800
KR #2: 8 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 8 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 18

Week 8: 09/27-10/03

KR #1: 6 x 400
KR #2: 6 Mile Tempo (*ATC Cartersville 10K)
KR #3: 6 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 13.5

Week 9: 10/04-10/10

KR #1: 3 x 1600
KR #2: 4 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 10 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 17

Week 10: 10/11-10/17

KR #1: 4 x 1600
KR #2: 8 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 12 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 24

Week 11: 10/18-10/24

KR #1: 3 x 800
KR #2: 3 Mile Tempo (*ATC Haunted Hustle Cross Country 5K)
KR #3: 6 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 10.5

Week 12: 10/25-10/31

KR #1: 4 x 400
KR #2: 2 Mile Tempo
KR #3: Half Marathon!

Total Miles: 16

Training Paces

Half-Marathon Pace = 9:42 = 2:07:04
400m = 2:06 = 8:24 min/mile
800m = 4:18 = 8:36 min/mile
1600m = 8:53 min/mile
Tempo = 9:27 min/mile
Long = 10:18 min/mile

I need to vacuum...I know!

I purchased this classic ring stacking toy for Lewis months ago.   He ignored it for a long time.  Then he started chewing on the rings.  Then he delighted in pulling the rings off the base and flinging them around the room.  I haven’t seen the green ring in a month!

Recently, he figured out how to put a ring on the base all by himself.  It is so funny how babies slip those little things in on you!  It is so amazing to watch them finally make a connection on their own.

My boy is finally getting some fine motor skills!  I remember when he didn’t even realize those thing flailing in front of his face were his own hands!