July Challenge

Every last week of the month I feel like James Bond aka 007. I eagerly await the arrival of my new Fatty Must Run mission.  I have to say, I was kind of relieved that no clean eating was involved in the making of this mission.  But I will try to eat clean anyway.  So what are the missions?

1. Plank a Day Do a plank each day and see how long you can hold it.  Yesterday I did my first plank. Mental note to self, put the dogs up before attempting this feat.  They were trying to get under me and walk over me.  So my plank only lasted 43 seconds.  I am not saying I can hold it much longer but I felt I could do a second or two more.  My sister said that Kim, our running coach, says we can do anything for a minute.  We shall see.
2. Sign up for a race in July or August Believe it or not, this is going to be the tricky one.  The season is coming to a close due to the hot weather.  The Lunar Rendezvous is coming up July 20th but I am hosting a 14 hour crop at my house that day.  I want to do it because the first 5K I ever ran was the Lunar Rendezvous.  You can read about it here:  My first 5K and how I lost to a 3 Year old. So I am off to Active.com to look for more races and to my running groups calendar. I am sure there are more out there.
3. Run a timed 5K I am really excited about these timed 5Ks. Each time they feel like a surprise and I feel like I am making progress.  I started Heart Rate training this month. I will tell you more about it this month.

Well those are the challenges, if you so choose the mission.  I hope you join us and remember if you want to see how all of us are doing, I have links to the other girls' blogs on the right.  Each of us have own  story to tell.  You may find you see yourself in one or more of them.  

It's me not you

Dear John,

Let me start by saying that I have always loved you.  You have been there since the beginning.  You are known as comforter and used as an reward.   Have a birthday to celebrate?  You'll be there.  Getting married?  You are one of the most important things at the wedding celebration.  Gathering with fellow Christians for a prayer session, committee meeting, retreat, seminar...heck anytime we gather as a congregation, you are there.  End of school year party for the elementary kids?   Teachers are sure to send a note home with little Tommy or Sally reminding us to bring you to school that day. We would die without you....literally we would die with out you.  But your importance for living has become an obsession and people are dying a slow death because of you.  What was meant for good, has somehow turned to bad.  And that is becoming more apparent now than ever in my life.  

Please don't cry.  It's me not you.  I took advantage of you.  I used you and abused you in my times of need.    I was too clingy.  I wanted you to be my everything.  If I was stressed out during the day, I ran to you to comfort me.  If I was celebrating any occasion, I wanted to do it with you.  I wanted you so much that I found reasons to celebrate.  I smothered you and put you on a pedestal.  It is for that reason that I have to distance myself from you.  We will still see eachother and be good friends but I can't let you consume me.  I want us to have a healthy relationship.  

I can't let you be my joy and my sorrow. I hope you understand. I will always care for you and need you but in a different way.  I hope you understand.

Love,

Rozette

When I read this months challenge for the Fatty Must Run Marathon Challenge, my heart just sank.  I knew  I would have to have the most difficult conversation with my food.  I had to admit that my emotional attachment to food can be unhealthy.  It's not that I don't like healthy food, that's not the issue.  I love vegetables, fruits, chicken etc but I obsess over chocolate, whip cream, flour tortillas.   Remember that song from the 70's Torn Between Two Lovers?  There is a line in there, "torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool.  Loving both of you is breaking every rule"  Well that is me. I don't mind eating healthy food but I want my bad also. And it isn't a hunger thing, its a "I want ______" thing.  No amount of filling health foods is going to satisfy my desire for chocolate.

So this weekend I went to Penzeys's Spice and picked up Fox Point, an amazing blend of herbs and spices that make everything yummy.

Last night we had chicken with a baby spring salad that consisted of Baby Spring mix of lettuce, celery mandarin oranges, cranberries, strawberries, pecans and a raspberry vinaigrette. 

Next time I will probably leave out the strawberries but may put apples. For lunch, I had more chicken on organic corn tortillas, with beans and lettuce.  I really enjoyed that and can't wait to eat more of that.  

I had cherries and grapes for a snack.  They were meh.  I didn't really satisfy my desire for something sweet but they satisfied my need to chew.  I have to come up with something clean to eat that will help with my sweet tooth.  Any suggestion?

I keep telling myself it is only for 30 days but in reality, I am hoping that this 30 day challenge will give me a new perspective on food.  It's fuel...nothing more, nothing less.  I need to grasp that concept. 

Polar F6

My Polar A5 has been acting up. In the middle of a workout recently, I looked down to view my HR and it only read 60. I knew that was wrong because I was huffing and puffing and sweating like a pig. (Isn't that an odd saying, since technically, pigs can't sweat. They don't have sweat glands. But I digress, I have drifted off topic.) So after my workout, I tried everything I could think of doing to revive my HRM. But finally at 9:30, according to the clock on my cable box, I had to call it. "Time of death, 9:30." I closed my eyes for a moment of silence and reflected on all the good times. I bought it back in 2002 and it has been good to me.

I waited a few days before venturing online to look for a new one. I almost felt as if I was cheating but I knew she would want me to go on with my life. So I went online to Heart Rate Monitors USA and bought me an F6. It is very similar to my A5 but it is pink. I usually don't buy pink things but my choices were black (masculine shape) or this funny green. I would have preferred it a brighter pink but it will do. There is a brighter pink one for the F11 but it has more bells and whistles than what I needed.


I have used it three times and I am in love with it. It has a diary that stores up to twelve weeks worth of work outs. It will tell me information, by day, by week or a summary of all. But that isn't even the best thing. I can upload, for free, all my workouts to the Polar Training Site. Now, I do this on my laptop and it has a sound card and a microphone, both are necessary to use this feature.

First you create a user at the training site and download the free software. You enter your login information for the training site into the software. Ok, here is where it gets cool. You open up the software, pick up your F6 and travel to your files and there is a "send" button. Click "listen" on your software then place the F6 next to the mic and press "send". You will hear a screeching noise and that is normal. But when it is all said and done, your work out information will auto populate to your online training site.

You can add other information such as distance (the F6 does not calculate distance), free text field for personal notes and you can name the exercise. I name it the day of C25K. For example, the one for May 28th is labeled "W3D2". It also can set up training for you. Just tell it your goals and it will do the rest. I will probably use that once I finish C25K.

It is a great little tool. It also gives me a better idea of how many calories I have burned and I am able to determine my AP points more accurately. If you are a Weight Watcher user, you will understand.