Happy :

I have registered for a few races! Here they are:

Feb 24 - Frozen Shamrock, 3 miles

March 2 - Claddagh Pub 4 Miler

March 9 - Hynes Tavern 5 Mile March

Thanks!

~Michelle

Hello, I have been following your group for some time and would like to join in, you all seem very nice and welcoming. I finished the C25K a couple of weeks ago and am now trying to do Hal Higdon's Spring Training. So far so good. I am not a member of weight watchers, but am very interested in healthy eating
and overall fitness. I really need to lose about 20 pounds.

A little bit about myself: I am 44, recently sold my business and am a SAHM for at least a little while. Being home with no kids around is much more difficult
than I anticipated! I have two boys, 15 and 10. They are very active and have their doubts about Mom's athletic ability. lol But, they are supportive.
I think what has gotten me started on the whole healthy eating kick is my youngest son. In the last two years he had put on some weight. Not too much,
but he was definitely getting bigger than he needed to be. I realized that the healthy eating habits have to come from me. So far there has been a little grumbling, but overall it's going well.

It looks like many of you have races coming up. I love reading those race reports, I find them so inspiring!

Thanks for letting me jump in, I hope everyone has a great day.

RJ

YAY - Michelle - you are doing the "Irish Rover Series" - me too!! I will not be "racing" them though. I am strictly there for the cool medal. I will be doing long runs the day before each of these races at 20 one week, 20 the next and 15 on the 3rd one. I guess we will def. be able to meet up and perhaps have a cold one at the pub afterwards! Colleen

another day & feeling better! although my leg muscles are sore from that 2 mile run yesterday. I did a nice rub down with The Stick tonight & it felt great. I'm amazed at how quickly my muscles along my shins became sore, hoping I won't get shin splints again. Had a busy day with steam cleaning carpets, taking the kids to play at Chick-fil-a & to the library and then we spent 2 hours at the park. They should sleep hard tonight. I am planning another 2 miles tomorrow morning... taking it nice & slow this week. Only 25 days till the Sarasota HM and I need to get my mileage up, so it's killing me to go so slow but I know it's better than getting shin splints or worse, getting sick again.

Dan - your exercise schedule looks great, makes me realize that I really need to incorporate more strength training & core work. any particular book by John Bingham that you enjoyed or found useful?

lifentheparks - you sound like a manager that I'd like to have, nothing worse than getting to an evaluation and the boss doesn't have much to say. so, been to the gym yet?

Bodacious - you can enjoy some warmer temps when you come to FL soon. almost hate to tell you that it was nearly 80 here today - my friend & I were just complaining that we're not ready for spring yet, we want some more cold weather so we can wear our winter clothes some more this year. lol Can't wait to hear how your trip to FL goes, what day is your bday? as for race pics... I must have forgotten, you (and everyone else) can check them out at http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=25143&BIB=708 for the 5K run & the HM is here http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=25145&BIB=25950&S=230&PWD= they took a ton of photos at the HM but some of them you can barely even see me. LOL

Happy - great job on getting your run in last night. I am a fan of the 100 cal popcorn bags too, especially the kettle corn.

stillpluggin - have you tried Tylenol for your hip pain? Tylenol usually doesn't upset the stomach as much & you might be able to tolerate it. The run series you are going to do sounds like so much fun, can't wait to see your pic with your medals all put together

Dan - sounds like you are enjoying your runs more than worrying about HR zones & such, so glad to hear you are just getting out there & enjoying the moment. ok, now I am salivating over a new Garmin

QOD: my husband doesn't get my online friends, I'll go to tell him something & say "my friend so & so on CR" and he'll laugh and jokingly say that it sounds so funny to talk about my friends that I have never met. he understands that I love the support that I get here & that I connect with other runners but it's not something that he would ever do himself.

nosirham - how did the WI go?

nhmommy - 60 people for Tessa's party... that is one spoiled & loved little girl how old will she be this week? my youngest will turn 3 on Saturday & he is so excited to take cupcakes to preschool to celebrate his bday.

myturn - welcome to the board! it's great that you want to be a good role model for your kids & you are so right about them eating more healthy when you eat that way too.

beachbum - congrats on doing the 20 minute run! it's great that you've decided to do WW too. I love my WW Dining Out book & the WW Complete Food Companion, those along with my points finder slide ruler are all I need. I keep my restaurant book in the car so that I have it handy if I need to get food on the way home. I know WW online works for a lot of people, but I agree with Michelle in that I need the meetings for support as well.

off to ice the shins, watch some American Idol & start reading Duma Key

Hey gals and Dan- Yesterday I got up at 4:15 to try and workout Sundays run...I ended up in bed by 6:00pm. Bummer. The back of my neck and shoulders hurt and I cant tell if its stress from work or the crazy pace from Sunday? Seriously so weird I had a headache that lasted all day. DOR today trying to get ready to leave for Las Vegas for work. That should conclude my traveling for a whileI am hoping to get on a better schedule.

The races you all have signed up for look like fun!

BOD- I am with under zero I would meet up with the TM!

Beach- I have the resturant guide and it makes life so much easier.

I have missed my meeting last week and this week and it looks like next week too...but the scale at home says I dropped 2 since I switched to core.

Well I am off and wont be back until Sat. Run safe!!

Evening all

Seriously it is like living in a freezer up here at the moment! I actually found myself wondering today if it would be warmer in my freezer I have to me brave tho, a colleague based in Fairbanks said it was minus 50 there...yikes! We have actually warmed to a balmy minus 9

Lifen you have to concentrate on you, nobody else will, can or could take care of you as well as you can so your priority in life has to be you. Make sure you take the time to feed your soul and treat your body well and don't let anything or anyone make you feel guilty over it. One thing I learnt over the years is men and jobs are 10 a penny and it is not worth sacrificing ourselves over either of them. I think you can have it all, I think you deserve to have it all, just make sure they are all deserving of you

Mel you have some really good pics! Their pics are a 100 times better than marathon photo took at MCM, I just remember I forgot to complain about the quality of my 10k pics. My Bday is next Tuesday OMG I will be 41, darn it how did that happen! Serious tho I don't stress over age, growing old is a privilege, I just have to look back to friends I lost over the years that never made it this far, every Bday is a gift Now you all better remember to sing me happy bday next week

Nhmommy and Pluggin LOL you guys better hook up next time or Pluggin will start getting a bad rep for being a crazy stalker runner in the local scene! Pluggin you have to do the ice bath for medical reasons and yes I would love to see those pics! If you do one I promise I will when I get to FL, this frozen tundra water is too extreme for me atm! I am concentrating on warmth for now!

Beachbum I lost my first 70lbs doing online only, if you are near a pc during the day etc you really don't need to buy any books as all the info you need is online. If you are out and about and away from the computer then the books others mentioned would be helpful. The only thing I brought when I was doing online was the points calculator which came in handy in grocery stores. Oh and don't be scared of looking at core LOL I wouldn't be me if I didn't get that in

Welcome My turn, we have a lot of awesome, interesting, inspirational people checking in out thread, it is pretty cool as we all started at different times, at different weights and different fitness levels so everyone brings something new to thread .

Dan don't feel bad I cannot peel myself out of bed in the morning either! I just have to tell myself that I either work out before work or after but I cannot go home until it is done. I really wish I could develop a morning habit as on the rare occasions I have gotten up and got it over with it has been sweet!

That Garmin looks sweet! A lot more compact that the 305 which felt huge on my wrist at first but I have gotten used to it. I wonder if it can be used as a regular watch, I wonder if they increased the battery charge life. The only downside I found to the 305 is that the battery does not last very long, maybe 16-18 hours, it took me forever to get in the habit of keeping it on its charging base when not in use. The 405 would be cool if they changed the need for doing that.

Happy I usually drink Soy Slender chocolate milk which is 1pt a cup. I was just reading in Her Fitness mag about the different alternative milks and the almond ones got a good review overall for health benefits etc so I am going to look for some, what brand did you try?

Today I ran 5k on the track in the gym, did it in 30.02. My son was doing a run/walk kind of combo at the same time and I think it shocked him how his mamma kicked his butt! I am proud of him, he is going to the gym and eating a lot better, has lost 18lbs so far. I am hoping he will build up to running the Heart run with me in April.

K all catch you tomorrow

I would say that are all good. Running for Mortals, Marathoning for Mortals, No Need for Speed, and Courage to Start are the 4 I have... I really recommend them all.