My First 10k

A while back I decided I wanted to start doing everything I've always wanted to but never tried - sort of like working on my bucket list while I'm still young enough to do it. 

So this year when emails started coming in about registering for the Bolder Boulder I knew I wanted to do it. Luckily, my friend Erin and her mom compete in it every year so I already had someone else willing to run it.

I kept telling myself I would start running to get myself prepared for my first 10k. But between school, work and DJ's crazy schedule I was never able to find time to go run by myself. Taylor and I would go on a 2 mile walk but the poor thing can't ride her bike fast enough for me to run.

Anyways, race day came and I was not prepared in the least. The night before we'd had a bunch of friends over for s'mores in the back yard. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. On the way to the race Erin and I were talking about how much we'd trained for it. Her mom is a seasoned runner and we already knew that at 52 she'd be leaving us in the dust. Erin laughed when she said she hadn't really ran since St. Patricks Day. I laughed when I said I'd ran maybe 1/2 a mile to prepare for a 10k. I felt so out of my league among these well trained runners all around me.

As we started off I kept telling myself as long as Erin and I kept the same pace I couldn't stop to walk until she did. I was struggling but kept giving Erin the good ol' thumbs up that I was ok. Finally around the 3 mile mark she pulled out her head phones and said she was sorry but she had to walk. My exact response was "Thank God!". Apparently she was trying not to stop until I did.

The race itself was beautiful. I love Boulder. And the people cheering us on from in front of their houses were awesome. One house had a slip-n-slide along with a keg stand (we didn't partake in that), others were handing out chips, water, throwing water balloons or spraying us with their garden hose to help cool us down. My favorite was the house of guys holding out trays of bacon as we ran by. Yes, bacon.

I used my phone as my ipod so I was able to capture a couple pictures as well.

I was so happy to see this sign and know I was almost done. My legs felt like jello and running up all those hills had been killer. WAY TO GO! Almost there. . . but let me tell you, taking a picture while running is not very easy.

I loved that at the end of the race you ran into the CU stadium and there were hundreds of people in the stands waiting for their friends/family to cross the finish line. But what I also loved that on your way out of the stadium they handed you an orange, a snack pack and a beer.

For not training or being a runner I think we did pretty good. Final finish time was 1:11:55. I have a lot of work laid out ahead of me to improve my time. . . and on the way home Erin talked me into do a half marathon with her next May in Lincoln NE. Anyone else up for a challenge?

Titan Bodybuilding

Joel competed in his second show on Saturday night and WOW! It was so much fun! It's amazing how anxious and nervous you can get for someone else.

In 2009 we cheered him on when he competed in the Rocky - you can read about it Here.  This years show was much bigger. It was the 2011 NPC Colorado State Bodybuilding Championships. Joel has been working so hard for this and all of his hard work really paid off!

(You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them)

Joel and 3 of the 4 guys he competed against. . .

 Joel claiming his 2nd place trophy . . .

 The guy to the left of Joel is Chris, who took first place. . .

  Taylor was so excited to see his pictures and DJ was disappointed he had to work the night of the show. It's hard to put into words how proud I am of my big brother. He might not have taken first place in the championships but he will always be first in our book!

Random Thoughts

Life has been hectic lately. First I was sick, now Taylor is sick and the poor thing can't get rid of it. I don't have much news, just a few random thoughts:

- I hate my job. Know I shouldn't use the word hate and I should appreciate that I have a job and everything it offers me. But in this situation it is the only acceptable word. Maybe if I came to work knowing everyday I would be given more than 1-2 hours of work for an 8 hour shift I would be happier here. But no, I should be home squeezing my baby instead of doing nothing in an office. I think I need to find my calling. Does anyone know how I can find my calling?

- I am so happy to be working out regularly again. Of course, I can see small differences everywhere but my stomach. . . these crunches need to work from the outside in. Not the inside out!

- I dream of warmer weather 24/7. I hate snow. Why do I live in Colorado? Maybe I should move to Arizona?

- I think when a company makes Trail Mix, they should use half the m&m's

 - My car is filthy. And not just the outside. If I don't clean the inside this weekend it might start growing things.

- I never realized how many songs are on my iPod that I don't listen to until I started using it all the time at the gym and have to skip through more than half the songs. I need to get my computer fixed so I can fix my iPod problem.

Rocky Mountain Championships

Saturday was the 2009 Rocky Mountain Chapionships - Joel's first body building competition. He did great. He took two 1st places and one 2nd. It was amazing to watch him. I'm so proud of him, as is the rest of our family. 

Because the lights are so bright on stage, the competetors have to spray tan A TON to look 'normal' tan under the lights. Joel was crazy dark compared to all of us. It was so funny.

Congrats Joel!!! We are so happy for you and can't wait until April for the next show!

Risky Business

Where has the time gone? The last time I added a post was February 23rd and it seems just like yesterday. This year is going by too quick.
Taylor is 5 months and 2 weeks. She's eating baby food and loves it! The first time she had baby food it was sweet potatoes and she thought she had to feed herself. We couldn't get the food into her mouth fast enough. Today we're having peaches when she wakes up from her nap but yesterday we had bananas for breakfast! She's getting too big. She weighs 17 pounds and is wearing 8-9 month clothes. She's getting over a cold and it's been so sad. Her little cough breaks my heart and we have to suck the boogers out of her nose every 15 minutes. She is a little fighter though! DJ and I decided it's impossible to give her a bath in her baby bath tub and it's too much work for me to give her a bath with me. So she got her first bath in the sink the other day with DJ and he said she loved it! So last night I have her a bath - talk about risky business. I got water splashed all over me, worried she was going to bump her head and had a hard time getting soap into all of her little rolls. DJ says she has more rolls on her legs than a bakery!
DJ and I have been very good at working out lately! With Taylor having a cold we have missed a few days. DJ, his family and Taylor have all gotten colds - everyone except me. I have been going some mornings before I go to work and I love it. I have more energy, don't take as long getting ready at the gym and feel great about getting in a work out. So today we went and I had my fit point test with my personal trainer Kelly. She was awesome and I am looking forward to working out with her. However, I was very disappointed in my results and have a lot of work ahead of me. Here are my results so far:

- 5'10", 162lbs
- I am only taking in 41.6 mL of oxygen/minute; I need to get in a minimum of 47 mL and my current intake falls into the moderate range

- I only have a bicep strength of 40 lbs (talk about weak!!) which falls into the very low good category

- My sit and reach is only 13.7in and that falls into the fair category

- My body composition was moderate but says I have 27.9 % body fat! This blew me away; I hold 17% of my body fat in my stomach, 23% in my arms and 32% in my thighs. I thought my thighs had the least fat though!!!

- And my overall fitness was 64 % better than normal females my age.

The fit test revealed that the goal for me to reach would be anywhere around 147lbs (I was 142 when I got pregnant), change 15lbs from fat to muscle changing my total percentage of body fat to 18.09% from 27.9%. It also says that by trying to reach these goals it is possible for me to reach a Body Age of 18 (my Body age right now is 23); I will improve my flexibility by 2 years, my by body fat/body composition by 5 years, improve my strength ranking from average to excellent improving my body age by 2 years, and improve my oxygen intake by 3 years.

I meet with Kelly again next Sunday to begin our workouts. I'll let you know how it goes!

Changing Life Styles

DJ and I joined a new gym this weekend; Lifetime Fitness. This gym is amazing; more like a spa than a gym if you ask me though but that is not any complaining from me. This gym has over 6,000 sq ft of equipment, an indoor lap pool, family pool, 2 over sized hot tubs with 5 ft water falls, a sauna, 2 full size basketball courts, indoor rock climbing wall, salon with the works, a healthy cafe, a kids area; I could keep going but I think I'll stop. I can't wait for my first work out in this new gym. I am looking forward to the pilates and yoga studios (they even offer heat yoga!), cycling classes and classes that are offered all day every day. One of my goals for 2009 was to get back into shape and be able to run the entire 39.3 miles breast cancer walk! DJ's goal has been to get back into shape for a while and he has been very good at going to the gym when he can. The new gym offers basketball, soccer, volleyball, and flag football leagues. I want to join the volleyball and DJ is looking forward to the flag football. I'll let you know how the classes are when I take them.

As a new member you are also given 2 complimentary sessions with a personal trainer.In the first session they will go over your goals and work out schedules, also tell you you BMI( Body Mass Index) and everything else you want to know but don't really want to know. I am excited about this. No, I am not looking forward to hearing how much body fat I have but I do think these are critical things to know when trying to reach certain work out goals. I am also looking forward to learning about new weight lifting machines - this gym has machines I have never seen in a gym before. I can just picture me now - like a mickey mouse cartoon where Goofy gets tangled up in the gym equipment (I'm sure many of you have seen this cartoon!)

Now, to get back on track. DJ and I agreed with each other that this will have to be a joint effort. We also think this will make our bond stronger. We are going to go to the gym together on Wednesday and Thursday nights when I get off work and Saturday and Sunday mornings before he goes to work; and if it's possible maybe sneak in a night or two by ourselves but that might be pushing it for my energy level. So we also decided if we were really going to go through with this we would need to start eating healthy- realistically healthy. So I told him I would gather new healthy recipes, make a menu plan and grocery list. So I got online today and started looking for new recipes. However, I ran into a road block. Because our precious, beautiful little girl grows so much we are constantly buying new clothes and formula so I am not looking to spend a bunch of extra money on groceries; at leas not much more than we are spending now. I understand it's going to take some diligence on both of us to clip our coupons more often (I love coupons), seeking out deals more and possibly shopping at more than one store (we already buy in bulk at Sam's club). But every recipe I found called for most ingredients that are rare or spices that I don't have in my spice rack or cupboard yet - I hate the price of spices! So here's my problem, how am I going to quickly find easy to make healthy recipes that are not almost impossible to make on my current grocery budget? If anyone has any I would love to get them!

Taylor has been so precious lately. She got a very special treat on Wednesday night though! Grandma Carrie fed her rice cereal with a spoon for the first time. DJ sent me a text message picture of it and it was so cute! So now she is one step closer to being able to eat baby food - I am so happy about this because I look forward to the day I won't have to buy bulk in formula just to get us through one week! :) Currently Taylor is getting a 6 ounce bottle every 2 hours. The largest container of formula, which runs about $23 after using a $5 rebate check from Similac (I appreciate those) only makes about 36 bottles. So yay for baby food!

She is starting to giggle. Yesterday she laughed when I played peek-a-boo with her. She loves when her daddy blows kisses onto her neck. She is too cute. She doesn't cry too much except for when she is hungry. She still sleeps through the night which has been a true blessing. She's starting to show signs of getting coordinated enough to crawl too. And her new trick . . . blowing bubbles! It's adorable but I always end up with spit in my face! At least it's not intentional. :)

I'll keep everyone posted on my workout progress. I think if I blog about it I might be more inclined to work harder because I'll be sharing my success with everyone who reads my blog. . . whoever that might be.