Really? Really? Am I really doing this!?!?!?

*DEEP BREATHS* Ok, I'm really going to do this. I am going to sign up for the Seattle Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon. I am terrified! Yep, I know that thousands of people run the race every year. When I was in high school my PE teacher had to walk to track with me just so that I could finish WALKING the mile that was required. Walking! I am now talking about running 13 miles. Is this me? Can I really do this?

I may be crazy. I have 8 months to train. I can do this! I have an amazing support system in place. I can do this! I am capable of anything that I set my mind to do. I can do this! It might be fun. I can do this. 

(Someone please tell me that I can do this.... )

~Kari

Dem Bones

I feel amazing and a lot of it has to do with my amazing new chiropractor. Here's a song for your listening enjoyment....

I have been amazing at the difference in how good I feel after just a few adjustments. This past week I had my atlas adjusted. Don't know what that is? I didn't until this week. It the bone that your skull sits on and it controls the alignment of your spine (including your brain stem). Mine was way out of whack, so much so that my left leg was 1/2 and inch shorter than my right! After a neck adjustment, my legs were now the same length. I don't know how it works, but it does.  The adjustment was uncomfortable, but I had instant relief. I have been tight between my shoulders and shoulder blades for years and I woke up this morning (my adjustment was yesterday) and my muscles were actually pain free. I also need to add that I have had 0 sciatica pain since starting to see a chiropractor. Like I said, I don't know how it works, but it seems to be working. Here's a good Youtube video about how the atlas works:

Have a safe and healthy weekend!
~Kari

Random Wednesday

A few things....

I hate pantyhose. Pantyhose are a fat girls nightmare. I wore a super cute skirt the other day and froze to death because I own no hose. The up side was that my calves are HOT and looked amazing. :) I don't even understand pantyhose. I get them out of the package and there seems to be no front and no back. Then they run. You spend way to much money on a thin piece of fabric to cover your legs. Is there a brand of pantyhose that you love????

Credit for food not eaten... I think that we should get some sort of credit for the foods that we don't eat this time of year. Tonight at Bible study I only had one rice crispy treat instead of the dozen that I *could* have eaten. No one gave me a sticker for not eating a dozen treats. I suppose that my reward will come when the scale doesn't jump up a pound tomorrow morning for my over indulgences, but it seems like there should be some sort of tangible reward.

The world needs to sllloowww down. This year is going so quick. Many people mentioned today that they are feeling overwhelmed with the holidays approaching so quickly. I had a mini break down last night. I am feeling nervous about gaining weight, fitting in exercise, and still enjoying time with family and friends. What do you do to help organize your life during this super hectic season?

~Kari

The scale won't scare me!

Happy Halloween! My daughter woke me up super early this morning to let me know that it was Halloween and that meant that it was almost Christmas. Eeek! She's right. :)

I haven't weighed myself in a few weeks. I woke up this morning feeling uncomfortable in my skin. It's strange, but since my surgery, my skin is very sensitive to the slightest weight gain. I decided that I had to be completely honest with myself and weigh in. The sad news is that I have gained a few pounds. I was up to 196.5. The good news is that I know how to quickly change course and get back to my comfortable 192-195 range. To be perfectly honest with you, I can't remember drinking water since my workout on Friday morning. I know that I have a pound or two of fluid swishing around in my body. Water is so vital to weight loss.

Halloween is probably not the best day to get back to making healthy choices, but why wait until tomorrow? I refuse to put my weight on hold (or allow it to get out of control) just because it's a holiday. I can enjoy Halloween without gorging on candy. We have two months of holidays coming up. If I continued this trend, I'd be up the typical 8-10 pounds of holiday weight gain by the new year. My friend Kelly did a great post about holiday weight gain last week. Check her out!

I'm off to drink some water, make a healthy breakfast, and head off to work. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

~Kari

But I don't wanna....

When I was sick I took 3 days off from exercise. Then I worked out one day. Then I took another day off. Today is going to be busy for me and I knew that if I was going to work out that it had to be before work. I have a ton of options when it comes to exercise in the morning: classes at the gym, swimming, treadmill, and Kinect Your Shape. Last night I was trying to figure out what to do and I just couldn't choose. I've found myself, after missing a few workouts this week, not wanting to exercise. Exercise has become such a part of my routine that even the smallest interruption causes me to lose my motivation and momentum. I was complaining to hubby last night about how I didn't *want* to workout in the morning. He reminded me of what I already knew- that I *WOULD* feel better once it was over. So, I dragged my butt out of bed at 6 AM, threw on my workout clothes and did 40 minutes of step, kickboxing, and cardio intervals on my Kinect Your Shape. I had planned to do 30 minutes and then a mile run, but it was still too dark to run and I needed to get into the shower. Guess what? I did feel better when I was done.

I had some extra motivation last night. My friend Georgia gave my daughter and I these beautiful dresses. The one that I am wearing was a "sample size". That may not seem like a big deal to you, but to this girl that once wore a size 30, it was amazing to slip into a "sample size" dress. I'm a sample size! If that doesn't get you off the couch, I don't know what will! :)

Here's my daughter and I in our "fancy" dresses:

Have a great weekend!
~Kari

Post Sickies Workout

Here's how the conversation went last night....

Sissy: "Mommy, can we go to the gym tomorrow"
Me: "No, I'm still sick."
Sissy: "But I miss the gym."

I am on my fourth day of a pretty intense head/chest cold. I've run the gamut of running nose, stuffy nose, sneezy, confused, dazed, achy, tired, and just plain uncomfortable. I missed my run on Sunday. My long run. I was sad. I missed KickBoxing on Monday. I was bummed, but so tired after work that I couldn't even change into my workout clothes. I missed my run on Tuesday. We had an open house at school and I had to be there. I missed Super Circuit this morning. Still too tired to get up at 5 AM and workout before work.

My daughter's words resonated with me today, "But I miss the gym". I missed the gym. I missed working out. I've struggled with the delicate balance between taking care of my body through rest when I am sick and taking care of my body through exercise.

I made my way to the gym tonight. :) I took one of my favorite classes- Shred! I did Facebook Kelly prior to class to tell her that I was coming and that she had to be nice because I was still sick. My secret plan was to only do half the class and then leave. I am happy to report that I actually finished the whole class. I had to modify quite a bit, but was able to finish the whole hour. It was SO hard. My heart rate monitor had me in the high 160's most of the time. In 58 minutes I burned a total of 698 calories! Shred is a darn good workout, but I am usually in the 500-600 calorie range after a normal class.

How do I feel now? TIRED, but good. I am glad I got in there, broke a sweat, and gave it my all. I wasn't the fastest tonight and certainly not the prettiest, but I got it done. I worked hard. Sometimes giving it our all is all that we need to do.

~Kari

Sickies

Yep, I'm sick. :(

I tried to deny it for several days, but after getting home from Step class on Saturday there was no denying the fact- I am sick. I spent most of Sunday in bed. I asked my hubby on Saturday night how I was suppose to do my long run on Sunday. He, as kindly as possible, told me that I wouldn't be running on Sunday. I mustered the energy to get in to work today, but don't think that I will be able to make it to Kick Boxing tonight.

For the average Joe it is not a big deal to miss two workouts in a row. This is killing me! I keep thinking- How am I going to make-up a 1200 calories increase that I am not burning off by working out for 2 days? I've reread my friend Kelly's post about a dozen times. I was already going to have to miss one (or two!) workouts this week since I have several late night events at work that will take me away from my regular schedule. Boo! I hate missing my workouts because I worry about gaining weight, but I also hate missing them because I hate missing out on how I feel after working out.

I'm tired. Ok, I just decided I can't go to Kick Boxing tonight.
What do you do when your sick? I've been eating a lot of soups and staying in my sweats....

~Kari