Three Things Thursday: It's Haaaard

1. Marathon Training

I knew training for my first marathon wasn't going to be easy, but this shit is no joke. per multiple recommendations I am following a plan from www.halhiggdon.com. I decided to go with is Novice 1 plan for beginners because it should be the easiest, right? WRONG. I started the 18wk training plan with some base, but not where I would've liked to. What can I say other than 3wks in Thailand will do that to you. My runs vary from awful to amazing, and everything in between. The speed is coming back (on the short runs) and the distance is building, but it's so haaaaaaard. Especially the Wednesday runs. Mid-distance runs sandwiched between two short runs should be a piece of cake. But it's not. I know it's building endurance and whatever, but every Wednesday I toy with the idea of taking a rest day.

2. #30DayShred

I knew from Biggest Loser that Jillian Michaels is one bad ass chick. I also knew from Twitter that the #30DayShred DVD was no joke. Jillian is determined to make you sweat, grunt, and suffer for every lest minute of the workout. Rumor has it the ladies of Twitter are liking the results, even those Shreddin' for only a week. THAT was enough to coax my butt out of bed at 5:30am and jump on the bandwagon. It's just another workout DVD how bad can it be. HA! The difference is that this one is haaaaard. After 20 minutes I am a hot sweaty mess, with quivery arms and achey legs. After 3 successful days of AM Shreddin' I have decided that I am NOT ready to commit to the full 30 day challenge. Call me a sally, but that's just too hard. Especially when combined with marathon training. Pffft, no friggin way.

So instead I have devised the following training to maximize the Shreddin', survive the runnin', and even do a little restin'.

With only 3 days of Level 1 under my belt I can't say I've seen any results. But I feel like I am getting a solid all around workout, it's all hard and shit, so there's that. But I swear to blog, if this shit doesn't work, I will personally be hunting down Jillian Michaels and force-feeding her doughnuts. Or writing her a strongly worded letter. One or the other.

3. Losing weight is haaaard!

I have been trying to shed the same annoying 12-15lbs for oh, over a year now. True, the ultimate goal is more like 25-30lbs, but let's not get crazy here. I just really want to be back to where I was back in 2010, pre-surgeries. Let's be honest, I am obviously not trying all that hard, because if I was, those pesky lbs would be gone. But since being home from Thailand I've been trying to make better food decisions, watch my portions, and exercise. So far? Nada.

source

I share an office with three very weight focused coworkers. One is your typical type-A triathlete who believes that foods only purpose is to deliver the needed nutrients, and nothing more. He may consume little more than coffee, a bag of (undressed) lettuce, and a sweet potato during the day, but he is the picture of health. Maybe a tad too skinny for my liking, and the ultimate lightweight, but he is slim and trim and FAST. He has been advising another coworker on how to slim down as she was struggling to shed the wanted lb's with exercise alone. He has her following a strict 30-day raw diet. The the first 2wks she was down 7lbs, by week 3 she had lost 10lbs. Obviously there is something to it...but is it sustainable? My third office mate is a calorie counter. She is more liberal in what she eats, but counts every single calorie.

These three, clearly dedicated, coworkers of mine make me feel bad about myself daily. I am embarrassed to eat at work. I am always hungry. And while you might think this would help my cause, it actually just results in binge-eating when I get home. It also means that my post-work, pre-binge runs, are done with very little in the tank which is likely why they have felt so awful lately.

I have another friend who went strict paleo recently. In one week she dropped 7lbs. AMAZING! She also works her tail off at Crossfit, running, yoga, and who knows what else. But the paleo diet seemed to be what kicked her weight loss into hi-gear. I know that she see's it as a looong way to go yet, but I think she looks amazing!

The problem I have with all of these restrictive diets, paleo, raw, etc., is that they just don't seem sustainable. It seems like the sort of thing I could do for a few weeks to jump start my weight loss, but what then? As soon as you incorporate foods back into your diet I can only assume the lb's come back. And quickly at that! I've been told that the first few weeks are the hardest and the cravings subside, but it just doesn't seem like the right fit.

Ughhhh, it's just so hard!! I'm hoping that the #30DayShred, combined with my marathon training, combined with moderation and better food choices, will lead to maintainable weight loss.

But in the meantime I am going to whine about how everything it really REALLY really hard today.

Three Things Thursday

1. I've been a little MIA since getting home from Thailand. In case you were worried, we made it home safe and sound, just as planned. Truth be told, I didn't want to come back. Ever. And just as soon as I devise a plan to live and work in Thailand I'll be on the next boat. With the dogs. Obviously.

2. So yeah, Christmas. It's this weekend or something. I've never been a big holiday person. I think it goes back to one too many mediocre (at best) holidays as a child. The holidays always seem to bring little more than drama, which is in fact the EXACT OPPOSITE of what they should do. We were given 2 little fake trees by my MIL the week we got home from Thailand, because it wouldn't be the holidays if our house went undecorated. Her heart was in the right place, so I promptly tricked them out with all things miniature pink things I could find at Target.

I even wrapped some presents for under the little trees, because I LOVE wrapping presents. For real.

3. The real inspiration for today's post is this little gem of a video I just came across today. I realize that it's been circultaing the interwebs since the end of Novemeber, so posting it here today is my admission of being late to the party. Whatever. It made me laugh. And it's awesome. And pretty much embodies everything I despise about the trends and fads.

Three Things Thursday

1. So about that training plan of mine. You know, the pre-training-plan training plan? Still haven't gotten around to starting that. Huh. Being out of the country for 3wks and coming back to start marathon training (for my first marathon, mind you) with virtually no base is going to kill me. Worst. Idea. Ever.

1 1/2. Since when did finding motivation to run and work out become so difficult? It used to just be what I did. Sort of like brushing my teeth before bed. It was just part of the daily routine. Lately it's a good week if I manage to run or workout once. WTF?!


2. Speaking of things I say I'm going to do but never really get around to doing...minimizing my muffin top. I have been desperately wanting to lose all the weight I've gained in the past year and a half and get back in shape. Admittedly 2009 and 2010 were ROUGH. Multiple surgeries, multiple stints on crutches, lots of self pity and what not. Wah, wah, wah. But I don't have those excuses for 2011. Last spring the motivator was to be tank top and swimsuit ready by summer...which then became a need to trim doing by the wedding...and when THAT didn't happen I shifted gears to being swimsuit ready before our honeymoon. The post-wedding, pre-honeymoon goal was 10lbs in 2mos. Plenty of time to do it the healthy, responsible way. Riiiiiight. Pretty sure that hasn't happened.

2 1/2. In my defense, I have lost and kept off 7lbs since last spring. But 7lbs in 6+ months is hardly something to write home about. I have become much more aware of what I'm eating and portion control. That's not to say I don't routinely make poor food decisions, but I would like to think that those 2 little things have helped stave off any weight gain and helped me get those 7 measly pounds off. Now if only I could get my lazy ass to exercise...

2 3/4. I have a friend who has been working on getting into shape for sometime. I can't say for certain when she revamped her lifestyle and went all hardcore because she's always been active, but DAMN has she made some progress in the last few months. She's always been pretty, and stylish with a wardrobe to die for, but she is transforming herself into like a goddess. Arms to die for, sculpted legs, and I'm just sure she is well on her way to rock- hard abs. She still eats and goes for cocktails (frequently), but she works out with dedication and it shows. She is like the definition of healthy, active, and HOT. I wish I had even an ounce of her motivation...

And yes, I have a TOTAL girl crush on her.


3. I started packing for our trip earlier this week. Trying to sort through my backpacking, tech-y travel clothes and see what still fits. I am happy to say that everything more or less fits, which is so not what I thought would happen. Some things definitely fit better than others, but there weren't any tragic outfit failures, camel toes, mom butts, or other such fashion faux pas. So that's a win.

3 1/2. I had challenged myself to lose 5lbs before we leave. I know, I know. I don't have a very good track record with the whole set a goal and work towards it thing, but if by some stroke of dumb luck I do lose a few lb's before our trip my clothes will fit a smidge better. And that would be pretty a-okay by me. I have exactly 2 weeks left from today to attain this goal...and so far I'm only .5lb down from where I started. Unless I go all fad-diet-juice- cleanse or some crazy shit, I don't think this is going to happen. #FAIL

Three Things Thursday

Thailand Edition

1. For better or worse, come hell or high water (too soon...?), our airfare has bee purchased. We waited too long to nab the best of deals, but came in under our max, which is promising. On Thanksgiving day we start the 23hr trip to Bangkok....and don't head back to the good ol' US of A until December 13 (19 whole days!!!).

1 1/2. If you all note in your calendars to make sure we make it back on December 14th that would be excellent. Check the blog, stalk me on Twitter, peruse my facepage, shoot me a text, or perhaps stop by (if you're in the area), just please make sure we're alive and on US soil. If not, please contact the US Embassy.

2. Now that the tickets are purchased, I'm actually getting, um, nervous. All this time I've been cavalier and bold. I've talked the game of a season traveler, of an adventure seeker. But now that the proverbial ball is in motion I'm wondering what I've gotten us into.

I've wanted this to be a low-budget, backpacking adventure, with maybe a touch of luxury along the way. I wanted to arrive in Bangkok with little more than our backpacks, a fistful of Bahts, and nothing but time. Sure we'd have a checklist of things to see and our dog-eared LonelyPlanet guidebooks to help us get there, but other that it was a game of wait and see.

But now I'm wondering if this fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants plan is really such a good idea....

3. Then there's all the unknowns. Like, can I find vegetarian food? Will anyone understand us? Will the flood waters be down? Or, will we be able to find potable water? What if one of us get sick? What if, what if, what if.... But isn't all these what if's and unknowns that make it an adventure?