Are we Finished?

Here is a picture of all of us (as many of us as we could find) at the finish line.  Great job everyone!  I know I feel happy about finishing the 5K.  When I woke up this morning to go the gym--my husband said " I thought you were finished with that."  I laughed and said--just the 100 day heart challenge--I don't think I'm finished until I die.  Which I hope is in like 50 years.  I hope we can all stay committed to these healthy habits we've learned.  I know I want to.  It's been great--I hope we can all stay in touch--I know that would keep me committed.  Tina will let you know about lunch.  We are thinking June 2--we'll let you know what time and where.  See you all at the banquet.  Here are a few more pictures.

Some of us before the race

Here is a picture of a few of us walking with Peggy at the end of the race--great job Peggy!

 This is a picture of my family who walked/ran with me:  Devan(23), Ray-my husband, Me, Nathan(26) and Cameran(16).  Thanks guys for all you support!

 
This is one after the race.  I really didn't think I got a medal.  When they announced my age group--50 to 59--they only announced 1st and 2nd place.  I thought--there were at least 3 people--I'm that age!  So after all the announcements--I went and talked to Tracey--she said the 1st and 2nd names were all that were given to her.  So she looked at the results and I was third.  Yay!  It was fun.  My boys asked me if there were only 3 people my age running.  There were 21 I'll have you know!  I was at least faster than 18 old ladies.  Anyway, my sons, Nate and Devan each took 4th in their age group.  They were sad that they were so close to winning a medal--they are ready to run again and go faster!

We are not finished!

..is this really me?

I ran a 5k on the treadmill yesterday without stopping.  Is this really me?  It amazed me and when I told my boys--they were amazed too.  Don't tell Chad, but I had tears in my eyes when I was done.  I know I've said this before--I am not a runner.  The first time I went running with my Sister--which was over 30 years ago--I promptly came home and threw up and vowed never to run again.  But I'm running and I can honestly say the feeling was wonderful when I was done.  I just felt like yes!--I've done something I never thought I could do.  I was even inspired to go buy running shoes with Tina at the Runners Corner--another thing I never thought I would do.  But they feel really good and I'm going to try them out tomorrow--I hope.  I'm leaving in a few minutes to drive to Boise, Idaho to go to my nephew's wedding.  I'm still hoping to get some kind of run in before the wedding.  It will be a new adventure--running in Boise!  I'll let you know how that went.
I'm also leaving on Monday to go see my Grandkids again in Kansas City.  I love my grandkids and I'm not worried about not eating right or working out--I know I'll do it.  I feel too good to blow it all in these last few days of the challenge. 
I'm really sad the challenge is almost over.  I have so enjoyed getting to know new friends.  I will miss you all.
I have a favorite quote from LDS General Conference in April.  It had nothing to do with being healthy--but it applies to anything we really want to do.  It is from Dallen H. Oaks:

"Desires dictate our priorites, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.  The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming."

We can become anything we really desire...even a runner! 

"Are we there yet?"

One month from today we are suppose to be running the "Run for the Red 5K".  I'm not sure if I can do it.  I have been running on the treadmill for a while--but just at short intervals.  Yesterday, when I went for my walk I decided to see if I could run some of it--it was hard.  I'm not sure how far I ran but it seemed long--but not a 5K that's for sure.  In my mind I was thinking "Are we there yet?"  I don't think I'm there yet--as far as running goes, but maybe in a month. 
I worked out by myself today with Chad--it is so much more fun with Tina.  But thanks for waking up just for me Chad.  Monday I get to work out with Melanie and Kim with Chad--that will be fun.. . .Well as much fun as working out can be.  I don't think I'm there yet in thinking that working out is fun--but it does feel good when it's done!
Hope you are having a wonderful time in Hawaii Tina.  Be sure to bring us some chocolate covered macadamia nuts--they're nuts--they're healthy right?

Here's the family!

I wanted to introduce my family.  This picture was taken almost a year ago, but it was the last time we were all together.  My oldest son Ryan (sitting next to his cute wife-Rebkah and baby Olivia- at the end of the slide) are in Kansas City going to the University of  Kansas Medical School.  They have two other kids, Kaitlynn and Jack--sitting with me at the top of the slide.  My second son Nate (top of the slide) is married to Kayla.  They are expecting their first baby in July--a girl!  Our third son is Devan (standing on the ladder) is a Junior at BYU majoring in music composition--he hopes to be John Williams when he grows up.  Our fourth son, Jordan (standing with his arms outstretched) is serving a mission in Anaheim,California.  Our fifth and youngest son, Cameran, sitting on the slide between his two sister-in-laws, is almost 16 and is a sophomore at Springville High.  My cute husband. Ray, standing in front of us all,  we have been married 30 years in August.  My family members are my greatest cheerleaders.  I hope to get as many of them as possible to run/walk in the 5K with me.  My husband will definetly be walking-maybe with Tina's husband.  I'm sure they can laugh together about their funny wives.  Anyway, life is good.  I know all of us want to be healthy for our families.  Mine is the best!  (and I know all of you think yours are too)

I wanted to add this second picture too--this happened at the end of the photo shoot--my funny family!

Feel the difference

I think I haven't written on my blog for a couple of weeks.  For some reason I felt like I had nothing new to say--just plodding along.  But Mindy has shared a book with us for the last couple of weeks in our nutrition class called Intuitve Eating.  I bought this book and am really enjoying reading it.  I like Principle 9:  Exercise:  Feel the Difference.    Exercise and eating right is not just about how much weight I can loose and how many calories I can burn--it's about feeling a difference.  I can feel my body enjoying eating better and exercising--my body  works better for me when I take care of it.  This isn't a new concept--but doing something different makes a difference--I feel the difference.
  Tina and I met a woman in the women's locker room/bathroom this week after we had all worked out and were getting ready for the day.  She asked about our 100 day heart challenge and how it was going.  (She's an employee at the hospital)  I mentioned how I could really feel a difference--especailly with eating right and how it made a difference in how I exercised.  She compaired it to a car--our cars don't run well if we don't take care of them--change the oil and put gas in them--our bodies don't do so well either if we don't "fuel" them right.  It was such a great comparison.  Anway, I feel a difference even when it's hard.   Saturday I had a really busy day, started at 4:00 am.  I was running from one thing to the next.  At about 8:30 pm I was finally done with everything I had to do--but still hadn't gotten any kind of exercise in and was really tired and thought I don't think I'm going to get it done.  But then I remembered it does make a difference.  So I drove to the gym and got on the treadmill and turned on the TV.  I had forgotten that it was the Young Women's broadcast that night, so I turned that on and just kept going until it was over.  I "fed" my body and my spirit.  It was great.  I felt the differnce.
Thanks everyone!  You have also made a difference in my life.  I love our group--doing this together also makes a difference--thanks for your support and stories and laughter along the way.  It helps alot!
  I'm off to St. George for a couple of days with my husband--he's teaching a class there.  I'll miss you Tina.  Have "fun" working out with Chad all alone--I'll be thinking of you as I hike some trails in St. George. 

Home again, Home again jiggity jig!

I'm back home from my visit with kids and grandkids.  It was great!  It was a nice break from the routine and it was just fun to spend time with my kids.  I did pretty well on my "challenge journey"  I woke up bright and early on Friday morning and made cookies to take to my grandkids then I did a quick 40 minute walk before I had to be to the airport to catch my plane to Kansas.  I took some healthy snacks on the plane and saved the cookies they gave me on my flight for my grandkids.  We did eat at McDonalds twice while I was there--but I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and said "no mayo please."  We had papa murphy's pizza one night--my son ordered me the Veggie Delite.  We did have a great dinner at an Italian Restaurant one night--that was a little tricky to order healthy--but I felt good about the Balsamic glazed chicken I ordered with a side of asparagus.  It was delicious!  The best thing I did on my trip was work out with my son and daughter in law at their gym--in Parkville, Missouri.  It is an awesome YMCA--so nice and so family friendly.  My daughter in law took me one day and we took the kids to the day care that the gym offers for free.  The gym is very open--built on two levels so you can always look down while you are working out and check on the kids.  They take great care of them--they know you are watching.  Anyway, it was great and I had fun working out.  I even jogged a few laps with my son--which I never do--I am not a runner. 
Anyway, vacation over.  Today Tina and I  worked out bright and early with Chad.  He worked us hard--but honestly it felt good.  Tomorrow marks  4 weeks since we started the challenge--I am feeling so much stronger. Although I am not good at "Bear walking or crab walking"  Chad makes us do funny things--I think he likes laughing at us.
   Thanks everyone--you all inspire me!

Off to Kansas!

I'm off to Kansas City today to see my Grandkids--yes!  I'm not sure how many workouts I'll get in and I'm not sure how healthy I will eat.  When "nanny" comes--we tend to eat alot of McDonalds.  Oh well.  I'm going to celebrate my Grandson and Granddaughters birthdays--Jack will be 3 on Saturday and Olivia will be 1 on Sunday.  Birthday cake--lions and tigers and bears--oh my!  I'll be back for my workout and class on Thursday morning.

Colds--Ugh!

I got a cold over the weekend and it sure has affected my energy.  My mind says "work out" but my body and my lungs are having a hard time wanting to.  I went for a very short 30 minute walk on Monday and today we worked out with Chad.  He was nice and said "let me know if you are dieing"  I was--but I kept going.  I think it helped to sweat it out a little.  But it was hard.  I know colds happen and sometimes it's out of your control when you get a cold--but this challenge is helping me appreciate when my body is healthy.  I can control some things--like eating healthy food and getting exercise everyday--so Go heart!  (and go away colds and coughing!)

I'm trying

Yesterday at our nutrition class we talked alot about reading labels and figuring out recipes.  I decided I needed to give it a try with a recipe since I like to cook.  First I decided I needed to invest in a food scale.  I went to Costco and found a digital one for $18.99--not too much of an investment.  But it works well and it's thin and fits in my cupboard.  My son wanted me to make BBQ chicken pizza.  First I made the dough--my recipe is really just flour a little sugar a little salt and yeast--no fats.  Then I grated the cheese and weighed it--only 6 oz. for the whole pizza--I weighed the chicken--6 oz.  for the pizza then I chopped up a bunch of red onion, red, orange and yellow peppers and cilantro.  I measured out 4 tablespoons of BBQ sauce.  I put the dough on the stone when it was ready and had it all perfect and then remembered I didn't weigh it--but I didn't want to take it off--so I kept going and added all my weighed and measured items.  While it was baking I got the calculator out and tryed to figure out the carbs and protein and fat and divide it by 12 because that was how many slices I was going to cut it into.   I think I figured it out about right--but I sure thought it was alot of effort.  By the time I was done I thought maybe I should stick with a grilled chicken breast and a salad--that's easy to figure out.  Really, it was a good effort--but I think I'll try to find something on line to figure it out for me--I never did like math.
Oh by the way, the pizza was delicious.  I ate two pieces and had a big salad and felt good about it!

Food Rules

I picked up a little book the other day called Food Rules by Michael Pollan.  It has 64 simple rules for eating healthily and happily.  Some of my favorites are:

#2  Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
#20  It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
#36  Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.
#57  Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.
#60  Treat treats as treats.

All of the rules have made me think more about what I eat and how I eat.  Anyway, knowledge is good on this journey. 

Tina and I worked out with Chad today at the gym.  He makes working out much more enjoyable--keep telling us stories Chad--it keeps us going.  Tina also inspires me--she works so hard!  We talked to a man at the gym today who was in the employee 100 day challenge--he lost 30 pounds and doesn't have to take his blood pressure medication any longer.  Awesome example.  He told us to keep going and that it works.  He also told us to wear headphones when we don't want to listen to Chad--but really like I said--I like Chad's stories and his words of confidence that kept me going today.  Thanks Chad and Tina--it's great to be on this journey with you both to help me.

One week into challenge

Well it's been one week since I started the 100 day challenge.  I'm a little tired today.  It's been a really busy week--lots of extra responsibilites in my schedule this week.  But I feel pretty good.
We went to our first meeting with our nutritionist on Thursay.  I'm not sure I understand all that we went over--there is alot!  It seems a little confusing to figure out all the carbs in everything--but I'm sure I'll get better at it. I know that tracking what I eat really helps.  It keeps me accountable and helps me see where I need to improve.  It also helps me have balance--I need to eat more vegetables!  I've exercised everyday except Sunday--so I think that is good.  My legs felt a little fatigued by the time I finished my walk today--but I know I'm going to get stronger if I just stay consistent.  I used to be a really consistent walker--but I've slacked off in the last few months--so I know I can do it again.  I know I feel better when I exercise.  Tina and I will work out with Chad on Tuesday--that will be fun?

We met our trainer!

We met with our trainer today for the first time.  His name is Chad--he seems really nice--but I think he's going to work us hard--that is good!  Tina and I laughed alot--mostly at ourselves.  I'm really good at doing planks--Chad asked if I could get my knees off the ground!  We made an appointment to meet with him every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 am!  Thanks Chad for agreeing to meet with us that early--our schedules are kinda crazy some days.  Also, Traci went over our numbers with us--cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.  Some numbers were better than others--but it was good to see where I need to improve.  Traci is awesome--she said we could eat chocolate.  I probably shouldn't have said that-but it's true--although she did say only a little. 
I wrote a letter to my son who is serving a mission in California to tell him about the 100 day heart challenge he wrote back and said, "so what's this 100 day DEATH MARCH you are doing?"
I'm sure I might feel that way some days.  But really I'm excited to improve my health and get stronger!   Also Chad said we are going to have fun.   I'm not sure what his definition of fun is?  We'll find out soon!

Getting Started!

Hi everyone!  I started the 100 day heart challenge yesterday.  I am very excited.  Everyone seems  nice and I think it will be fun getting to know everyone.  My challenge partener--Tina is awesome!!
I went home from the first meeting and remembered I needed to make 100 heart shaped cookies for a dinner--  I don't think that's what the hospital had in mind for a "100 day heart challenge" especially since there are 5 sticks of butter involved! I did pretty well.  I only ate one cookie--usually when I make sugar cookies I eat about 10.  I really didn't want to write that down in my food journal so I stuck to one.  Anyway--feeling good.
On Saturday--I woke my husband up bright and early--6:00 am and we went for a walk--he's my hero.  We came home and had a big bowl of heart healthy oatmeal.  I cut up apples and sprinkled cinnamon in it while it cooked--yummy!