2012 Races

Earlier this year, I was talking with Tim about how I was missing doing races.  Last year, I think I only did a few events and I realized that I really miss racing and training.  So, because he's such an awesome hubby, he's been encouraging me to sign up for races and making sure that we have the $$$ in the budget so I can race like I like to.

I haven't really come up with my race schedule for the year, but I am registered for 3 big events.  Here they are!

May 19 - Ogden 1/2 Marathon

June 2 - Little Red Riding Hood Century Ride

September 8 - Bear Lake Brawl 1/2 Ironman

Like I said, I haven't decided what else I would like to do, but I'm kind of toying with doing the Top of Utah 1/2 Marathon, but I think it's just a week or two before the 1/2 IM, so that probably won't happen.  However, there are lots of other options.  I'm just excited to get back into racing.

The Biggest Loser: Hansen Edition

Before Christmas, Tim and I were over at my Mom and Dad's house with my brother Eric and my sister-in-law Karen.  We were sitting around talking and my Mom asked us if we would be interested in doing a Biggest Loser challenge.  My Dad said he even had a prize.

Tim and I talked about it and decided we were in.  We would both like to lose some poundage and thought this might be a fun way to do it.  Then, we found out the prize.

My Dad is giving the winning couple 2 free airline ticket vouchers.  I don't remember how much they're worth, but 2 free airline tickets.  We're definitely in!

Yesterday was the initial weigh in.  We all (except for Tim because he's been sick) met at Eric and Karen's house and weighed in. Tim and I were the "smallest" couple...not my much.  We will weigh in again in 2 weeks on January 14.  Then, we will continue to weigh in every 2 weeks.  The couple who loses the highest percentage of weight wins the airline tickets. 

Here's hoping it's us because we could really use a vacation.  I will say this though...I would rather just lose the weight, regardless of whether we win or not.  I'm ready to get moving on this challenge!

Happy New Year: Goals for 2012

For about a week now, I've been thinking about what goals I want to set for myself this year.  I looked back over my goals from 2011 and even evaluated them to see how well I did and I didn't do so hot.  I've been thinking that maybe I should work on some 3 month goals and then move forward so that I don't lose steam and so that I feel a sense of accomplishment sooner.  I've debated on what exactly I want to work on this year.  Tim and I have discussed some things we want to work on.  In spite of all of this thinking, I still don't have a final list, but I'm hoping that maybe if I list a few things here now, that I'll have some more concrete ideas come into my head.  So, here goes...

1.  Lose 40+ lbs.

My family is doing a Biggest Loser contest and we started today.  I'll post more about that tomorrow.  I'm hoping that will kick the weight loss off to a good start and get me motivated.  Tim and I are starting P90X next week to go along with that, so I think we have a good plan in place to see some results.  So, I think I'll see how the next 3 months go with P90X and the Biggest Loser and then I'll go from there and re-evaluate how this goal is going.

2.  Temple Attendance

Last night, Tim and I were talking about goals and he mentioned that maybe we ought to set a goal to attend as many temples in Utah as we can this year.  We have several temples pretty close to us so I think this is doable.  We just need to make the effort to plan instead of just saying, "hey, we should try to go to the temple this week."

3.  PR at the 1/2 IM distance.

Yes, this has been a goal of mine for the past few years and I haven't done much about it.  I've already looked at races this year and I'm planning on registering for the Bear Lake Brawl 1/2 Ironman in September.  I feel like that race will give me time to get a headstart on the weight loss and start my training when I can actually train outside.  Tim is on board for this goal and I'm hoping that my summer will allow me to really train the way I would like to in order to achieve this goal.

4. Learn to mountain bike.

Tim loves to mountain bike and he's pretty good at it.  I on the other hand can climb like a champ and will climb all day long on my mountain bike.  The problem for me is going downhill.  It scares me and I don't like it at all.  So, I told Tim the other night that I would like to learn to mountain bike.  I won't be able to start on this goal until the spring and summer, so I'm going to keep it off the radar until then, but I did want to write it down so that I can remember.

Those are the goals I have for myself so far.  I really do think that if I focus on shorter goals, like 3 month goals that I might actually feel better about my accomplishments and feel like I'm making progress instead of having them sit out there, sort of forgotten.

Happy New Year!

May 2012 be even better than 2011!

A Review of my 2011 Goals

Since it's the last day of 2011, it's time to do a self-check on how my goals went this year.  I'm a little apprehensive about doing this, because to be totally honest, I think that I really didn't do that great on my goals.  I guess that's just life and new year's resolutions and the good news is that I have next year so...  here goes. 

To see my post about my goals for 2011, see HERE.

1.  Read the scriptures daily.

This is the goal that I completed this year.  Maybe I should just pick one for next year.  :)  I read my scriptures every day this year.  I read the Book of Mormon 3 times.  I read all of the General Conference talks several times.  I read the New Testament, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. 

Reading my scriptures daily brought so many blessings into my life.  I feel like I had the spirit with me more regularly and more noticeably.  I was able to learn more and strengthen my testimony.  I was also able to connect the words of our modern-day prophets with the writings of past prophets.  I was also able to set an example for the young women in our ward, as well as my family.  This has definitely become a habit and I plan on keeping it up.

2.  Attend the temple twice a month.

I started the year off doing great with my temple attendance.  I think, if I remember correctly, that I was able to get to the temple twice a month up until June.  Then, summer happened, trips happened, the temple closed for cleaning, and I didn't make it a high enough priority.  This is definitely something I need to do a better job at and will definitely be one of my goals for next year.

3.  Lose 20+ pounds by eating healthy and working out and/or training regularly.

This SO didn't happen.  I worked out pretty diligently in January, then got sick and it was a battle throughout the year to get into a routine.  I ran pretty regularly in August.  I worked out sporadically throughout the fall.  I absolutely have got to GET IT TOGETHER and get my workouts in.  I'm hoping a new family challenge will help me to kick it in gear here in January, as well as some other goals I'm working on for 2012.

4.  Write daily.

I thought I would do a better job at this goal than I actually did.  I think I just need to do a better job of prioritizing my day and being a little bit more productive so that I feel ok about taking the time to write and work on my own goals.  I have done better with this lately, but only because I've been making it a priority and adding it to my "to do" list.

5.  Develop a new skill or talent.

Honestly, I had forgotten about this goal.  Ooops...I guess that's sort of the point of re-evaluating progress.  However, I think this is another goal that I've been working on and successful at.  I learned to crochet this summer.  I haven't done it much since then and I absolutely need to keep working on it, but I did learn.  I also joined the ward choir and was able to work on my singing...not that I have a nice voice at all, but I did work on it.  The working on singing led to getting my keyboard out and playing the piano, so I will have to check this goal off as one that I definitely completed.

6.  PR at the 1/2 Ironman distance. I'm leaning towards the Bear Lake Brawl in August.

I don't even know what to say about this goal.  It's on my list of goals for 2012.  Last year just got super insane over the summer and I didn't take the time to train.  In fact, my races last year pretty much sucked.  I didn't finish Little Red Riding Hood.  I'm not even sure what I signed up for and am not coming up with any races that I did at all last year.

That has to change.  I LOVE racing and I really need to make sure that I'm doing races because it's part of who I am.  I will say that I have been working on my race schedule for 2012.  Tim is on board with my doing a 1/2IM, so we'll see how that goes.

So, there's my self-evaluation.  I'm thinking that maybe I should just pick 3 goals for next year, so maybe I should pace myself and not have so many things to be working on at once.  I'll write more tomorrow about my goals for 2012, but I'm thinking it will definitely be better. 

December Goals and Workouts

In an effort to be more accountable to myself, I've decided to post my fitness goals for the month of December.  I'm also planning on posting all of my workouts.  Now, this will be oh so NOT exciting to read, but it's just a way for me to keep track of myself and my goals.  Feel free to check back in and see how I'm doing.

Goals

1.  Journal ALL food, EVERY day!

2.  Workout EVERY day...I should qualify that by saying I've planned Sundays as my rest day, but I'm also planning to stretch and go for a walk on those days...just to stay on my streak.

3.  Focus on the positive.  Lately, it's been SO discouraging to get on the scale and see nothing happening.  I weighed and measured this morning and the scale will disappear until January 1, 2012.  In the meantime, I'm hoping to enjoy my workouts and pay attention to my eating and also to just enjoy the Holiday Season.  I'm also secretly hoping to see the scale go down, but I'm not going to worry about that until January 1.

So, those are my goals.  I'll be adding to this post throughout the month with all of my workouts, as well as a yes, I journaled my food today.  Here's hoping this works!

Workouts

December 1 ~

Complete Aerobics and Weight Training - burned 489 calories...used 5,8, 10, 15, 20 lb dumbbells

Endurance Core Beginner Core Circuit - burned 30 calories

I was planning on running today, but with everything we've got going on today and this weekend, I decided to take advantage of some time at home and get a workout done.  Hopefully, I'll have time to run tomorrow. I did journal my food today...even the peanut butter bar from Great Harvest.


December 2 ~
Jari Love Get Ripped Slim and Lean - burned 416 calories...used 5, 8, 10 lb dumbbells.
Ab Sculpt - burned 90 calories
Because Tim took the kids to school this morning, I had the house to myself, so I decided to do a lifting workout instead of running because I can run tomorrow morning while everyone is sleeping.  If you've ever done a Jari Love workout, you know that she does about a million reps for every exercise, so I can't lift as heavy was I would otherwise.  Since I'm trying to burn 500 calories per day, i added the ab workout on, just to make up the difference.  I journaled all of my food today, but did not drink enough water.


December 3 ~
Treadmill run - I ran 5 miles in 52:14 this morning on the treadmill.  I burned 652 calories.  My max HR was 182 and my average HR was 165.  This is what the workout looked like.
5 min warmup @ 11:30 min/mile
5 min @ 10:30 min/mile
5 min @ 11:30 min/mile
4 min @ 10 min/mile
4 min @ 11:30 min/mile
3 min @ 9:30 min/mile
3 min @ 11:30 min/mile
2 min @ 9 min/mile
2 min @ 11:30 min/mile
1 min @ 8 min/mile
1 min @ dry heaving off the side of the treadmill
2 min @ 11:30 min/mile
1 min @ 11:20 min/mile
1 min @ 11:07 min/mile
1 min @ 10:55 min/mile
1 min @ 10:43 min/mile
1 min @ 10:32 min/mile
1 min @ 10:21 min/mile
1 min @ 10:11 min/mile
1 min @ 10:00 min/mile
1 min @ 9:50 min/mile
1 min @ 9:41 min/mile
1 min @ 9:31 min/mile
2 min @ 10 min/mile
1 min @ 9:31 min/mile

This workout was killer, but I loved it!  I used lots of positive self-talk for the last 10 minutes.  In my head, I was saying, "Be tough," "You can do this," "Never ever give up," "You an do anything for 1 minute."  That definitely helped me get through and while I was dripping with sweat at the end of the workout, I felt phenomenal!  I love HARD workouts! Journaled all of my food today...but definitely didn't drink enough water.


December 4 ~ Performance Stretch - Recovery.  I didn't wear my HR monitor for this workout and Tim stretched with me.  It was a good 15 minute full body stretch.  I wrote down everything I ate and I avoided my favorite cinnamon santas at my parents house.

December 5 ~ Bootcamp Maximum Calorie Burn.  I used 8 lb dumbbells and burned 501 calories.  I always forget that this is a challenging workout.  I also did 15 minutes of Upper Body Sculpt.  I used 8 and 15 lb dumbbells and a 9 lb sculpting stick. I recorded all of my food.


December 6 ~ Get Ripped 100. I used an 8 lb dumbbell and burned 80 calories for the 12 min I worked out.  I was feeling like I was going to hurl, so I changed dvds and switched to Fat Blasting Cardio.  I made it through that one for 17 min and I burned 174 calories.  I'm never eating at Golden Corral before a workout again.  I ate way too much and its just sitting there waiting to come up.  I've definitely learned my lesson. I wrote down everything I ate (I think).


December 7 ~ Get Extremely Ripped Body Rock.  I have a POUNDING sinus headache, so I wasn't feeling much like working out.  I decided to do this workout because it's not too hard, but I did burn 537 calories, so I'll take it.  I used 10, 8, and 3lb dumbbells. Food wasn't pretty, but it was written down.

December 8 ~ Apparently, I'm getting a cold or sinus infection because my nose was running all day.  I did get my workout done though.  I did Hi Def Sculpt and used 10 lb dumbbells.  I only burned 328 calories so I added another workout to the plan.   I was hoping to do a 30 minute workout on Jari Love Get Extremely Ripped 1000 but after several interruptions, I only made it through 20 minutes.  I did burn 184 calories so at least I hit my 500 calories per day goal.  The food is journaled. 

December 9 ~ Hard Core Fusion. I burned 454 calories and used 5, 10, and 15 lb dumbbells.  I'm super sore from this workout.  I did write down all of my food.

December 10 ~ Today was tricky.  I woke up this morning a little later than I wanted to, so I ended up doing Cardio Dance Slimdown.  I only burned 271 calories and it definitely wasn't the workout I wanted to do today.  I also wrote down all of my food.


December 11 ~ Today was my rest day so I did 15 minutes of stretching.  I also journaled my food.


December 12 ~ Jari Love Get Extremely Ripped 1000 Interval 2.  I wasn't sure if a workout was going to happen today, but it did.  I burned 514 calories.  This is one of my favorite workouts.  I did write down my food today, but I'm guessing I will miss something since I did eat some of the neighbor treats.

December 13 ~ Jari Love Get Ripped to the Core.  I burned 558 calories and had a great workout.  I used heavier weights (5,8,10,15 lb dumbbells) and I'm sure I will pay for it tomorrow, but I feel good.  The food I ate was written down and I even skipped the cookies at the YW Christmas party. 


December 14 ~ Jari Love Body Rock.  I burned 513 calories and used 3,5,8,10 lb dumbbells.  I probably should use 15s next time I do this workout.  I also journaled my food.

December 15 ~ I'm not even sure I get to count a workout today.  I got dressed and had the dvd on and was working out, but Kona wouldn't stay off the step.  It's totally difficult to do step aerobics around a 120lb great dane.  Plus, Tim called and needed Christmas gift ideas for Kyra and then I needed to be done and showered to pick up Kyra from track practice.  So, I made it through the workout a whopping 8 minutes.  Yep...not sure if it counts.  Today has also been a crappy food choice day.  :(  Maybe I can fit in a short workout tonight before bed. 

December 19 ~ Complete Body Sculpting 46:42.  I burned 499 calories.  My max HR was 175 and my avg HR was 152.  I used 15 and 10 lb dumbbells.  Core Solutions Standing Abs 10:04.  I burned 107 calories.  My max HR was 165 and my avg HR was 152.  I used 8 lb weights.

December 28 ~ Jari Love Get Ripped 1000 1:02:38.  I burned 626 calories.  My max HR was 181 and my avg HR was 146.  I used 20, 15, 10, 8 lb dumbbells.  Oh and I got Rylan to do this workout with me.


Looking back on my goals for December...I did great until the middle of the month and then things got crazy busy and I didn't make my goals a personal priority.  I didn't lose any weight, but I also didn't gain any weight either.  I did lose inches in my hips, waist and thighs so I will take it.  Oh and I did try to stay positive and not beat myself up too much about missing workouts.  Now we'll have to see how January goes...

Choose to Become

In September, I had the opportunity to attend Time Out for Women here in Logan. For those of you who aren't familiar with this amazing awesome weekend, check out this website. It's basically an evening and a day of inspirational music and speakers for women only. I've gone 4 times and plan on continuing to go whenever I have the opportunity.

This year, the theme was "CHOOSE TO BECOME" which I LOVE! This is something I've spent alot of time thinking about and I think I'm finally ready to write about my goals. During the opening remarks, we were encouraged to DISCOVER ALL OF OUR POSSIBILITIES. We were encouraged to make a list of things that come to mind and we were reminded of the scripture in Mark, that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Here is the list of things that I wrote down.

Writing a book
Becoming a strong cyclist
Setting a PR at the 70.3 triathlon distance
Taking voice lessons
Completing an iron-distance triathlon

As I sat down and pondered (yes, I've actually been giving this quite a bit of thought), I noticed that, of course, 3 of my goals involve triathlon and training. Since I got engaged, I've let my training and racing goals slide quite a bit. No excuses for that...except getting married, getting a puppy, having 2 part time teenagers, moving to a new state, etc etc etc. I also feel like I've had to sort of figure out who this "new" AJ is and what she looks like. That probably sounds funny, but it's sort of hard to explain.

So, in an effort to establish my goals and start moving forward, I'm posting my CHOOSE TO BECOME goal.

I'm CHOOSING TO BECOME A TRIATHLETE...AGAIN...specifically an long distance triathlete.

In order for this to happen, there are several things that need to take place. Things like losing weight, getting back into the "training" habit, finding a place to swim that's not 20 minutes away and only open from 5-6:30am, etc.

I've sort of put together a rough draft of a timeline for this happening...hopefully, it will play out this way, but I also know that life is tricky sometimes, so... we'll see what happens.

October 2011-January 2012 - Work on losing weight and regaining strength and fitness. Work on cleaner eating.

February 2012 - Start training for Boise Ironman 70.3

May 2012 - Run the Ogden 1/2 Marathon (one of my favorites) with my hubby, Kyra (my step-daughter) and my friend, Andrea.

June 2012 - Boise Ironman 70.3

September 2012 - Bear Lake Brawl 1/2 Ironman and hopefully (it's a lottery) LOTOJA with my Dad.

At some point, I would like to sign up for an Iron-distance triathlon. I'm sort of thinking Ironman St George, Ironman Arizona, or maybe Ironman Coeur D'Alene, but we'll see. I know that in order to train for an IM I absolutely need my whole team (ie. hubby, kids, dog, etc) on board.

So, that's it...that's my CHOOSE TO BECOME goal. I've already cut out the candy from my diet, started focusing on eating lots more fruits and veggies, journaling my food, and most importantly, working out 6 days a week. Now, I just need the scale to start dropping, and my fitness level going back up. I'm hoping that the blog will be a good way to keep myself honest and up front about how this whole journey is going.

Oh, and I need to remember that

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM (or her) WHO BELIEVETH!

Weekly Workouts

1/10/2011 ~ This afternoon after cleaning the house, I did Jiggle Free Buns and Jiggle Free Arms. I burned 663 calories, which felt good. I'm considering doing some serious stretching during the football game tonight.

1/11/2011 ~ I just finished Ultimate Calorie Blaster. I burned 444 calories in 45 minutes. I had planned to add on another 30 minutes of cardio, but I'm dragging today so I'll settle for some stretching and abs while we watch The Biggest Loser tonight.

1/12/2011 ~ All done with Get Ripped to the Core. I only burned 486 calories, so I decided to do a few songs from Just Dance 2 and I burned 142 calories...and I scored over 10000 points on my last song. Oh yeah...who knew I was such a great dancer!


1/13/2011 ~ I had a change of workout plans this morning. We have the kids for the next few days so we were up at 6am to get them ready and out the door. I was planning on working out after they went to school, but I guess we're going to Idaho to buy a couple of Hudsons...seriously. So, I did a quick workout...Cardio Dance SlimDown and burned 334 calories. Now, it's off to Idaho.

1/14/2011~I haven't been feeling sore, so I decided to lift "heavy" today. I did Get Ripped and I'm kinda feeling like maybe I should have lifted heavier. I burned 316 calories in 55 minutes. I wanted to stretch out my muscles a little bit so I did 3 songs on Just Dance 2 and burned 96 calories. Not sure what workout I'll do tomorrow or when I'll fit it in.


1/15/2011 ~ Today we had family workout time playing Just Dance. I didn't wear my HR monitor but we did play for about 45 minutes and I worked hard. I found a really good ab workout. I do have a yoga mat in my bedroom so I may try to do a 30 min workout tonight after we get everything done today. Off to dog school with Kona.

Happy New Year ~ 2011

I live a super exciting life. I spent the evening watching Tim play James Bond on the xbox 360. I was having some stomach issues and wasn't feeling good at all. It was super duper exciting... However, I did have some time to work on my goals for 2011. Here they are!

1. Read the scriptures daily.

2. Attend the temple at least two times per month.

3. Lose 20+ pounds by eating healthy and working out and/or training regularly.

4. Write daily.

5. Develop a new skill or talent.
Oh and here's my big one.

6. PR at the 1/2 Ironman distance. I'm leaning towards the Bear Lake Brawl in August.

The goals are out there...now I just have to start doing them!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010 Goals

Yes...I do realize that it's almost the middle of January, but I finally (on a plane) nailed down the goals I want to work on this year. Here they are in no particular order...

1. Marry Tim in the Logan Temple on June 5.
2. Reach my goal weight for Weight Watchers.
3. Complete a century ride with my dad.
4. Run the Top of Utah Marathon.
5. Complete the Goblin Valley Ultra Marathon.
6. Read the Old Testament with Tim.
7. Say morning and evening prayers.

Goals for 2009

Because I've talked so much about goal setting in the last week or so, I want to post my goals in order to be transparent. It's certainly not fair for me to talk about goal setting and excellence if I'm not willing to participate in the process. So, here's my kind of big goal for 2009.

~I will place in the top 50% of my age group at the Boise Ironman 70.3.~

There it is...out there for the world to see. I checked out the results from last year and in order for me to do this, I will need to 6:23. That will mean taking off 42 minutes from my 1/2 IM last year, but I know that it's totally doable. In fact, I feel like it's actually quite realistic. This goal will definitely require several smaller goals to be achieved before this one happens. I won't get into all of the gritty details, but since I did talk about putting together a playbook, here's a short list of things that need to happen in order to be successful at the 1/2IM distance.

~Follow my training plan. I'm going to be working with Chris Sweet and his new coaching company Revolution Multisport to develop a personalized training plan that will work for me.

~Get back down to my racing weight. I'm working on developing a nutrition plan that will fuel my body for my training, but will also put me in a caloric deficit so that I'm losing fat and building muscle.

~Focus on building mental toughness. This plan is still a bit sketchy, but I want to improve my inner monologues and visualization, which I know will help me be successful. This will probably require talking to one of my colleagues in sports psych, as well as revisiting my masters degree.

There you have it...my big goal for 2009. I feel like it is definitely specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. I know that I can do it and I'm really looking forward to seeing it all happen. You'll get to read about it happening too.

~Happy New Year~

It's the first day of 2009. For the past few weeks, I've been spending alot of time pondering my goals for this year. Usually, I take some time to re-evaluate my goals from last year and see how I did. That didn't take very long because in 2008, I only achieved 1 of my goals...out of about 8. That never happens with me...in fact, when I mentioned it to my mom, she didn't believe me. However, it's true. So, after that very fine moment of realizing that I did really poorly on my goal setting last year, I decided that I needed some new goals for 2009 and I needed to be tremendously more successful on those new goals.

I started thinking and wondering and pondering and thinking and wondering and pondering...do you get the picture? I couldn't come up with any goals, not because I think I'm perfect, because I'm so far from that, but because all of the goals that I was coming up with myself seemed particularly challenging. In fact, they seemed almost impossible, like I was setting myself up for failure. I kept thinking and thinking and started getting incredibly frustrated...there were even tears. How could I not come up with any goals that were achievable, doable, challenging, etc?

In fact, yesterday, I decided I wasn't going to set any new year's resolutions because I did so poorly last year and because I couldn't seem to come up with any for this year. Furthermore, I read a few articles on why it's dumb to set new year's resolutions because only 1 in 10 people actually keep them. There's a pleasant thought... I tried to be with that whole reality for a day and that didn't work so well for me. I've been setting goals for myself since I was 5 years old. How could I not have some new goals? That would be like completely violating one of my core values.

So, after more thought, during a really great basketball game (Go Aggies!) I came up with a goal. I'll write more about this goal in another post, but I do have a goal. I'm much more at peace with being me because now I have something to work on. Maybe today, while I'm hanging out with my cute nephew and niece and playing games with my family and eating the best dessert ever, I'll come up with some more goals, but we'll see. For now, I'll just be happy that it's the start of a new year and that is always a good thing.