Whistler with the Litzler's

Ski weekend was a success! We headed up to Canada, to Whistler Blackcolm mountain. Great weather, great friends and lots of fun on the slopes. I never thought I'd consider myself a 'skier'. 3 years ago when I moved to Seattle my husband encouraged the idea of having my own set of ski equipment. He thought if I was ever going to learn, the process might be easier if I had the consistency of my own pair of skis. He was right!

The first year out it took me at least 5-6 trips to the mountain to actually feel like I enjoyed the sport. Over the past 2 years I've gradually advanced from green runs and this year to the blues...

I took a lesson the first day and was so proud of my ski success, blue runs all day!

Day #2 wasn't so fantastic - not for me at least. Legs were sore, boots too tight, fell twice (while standing straight mind you! ) and I had lost my confidence in myself.

(View from Gondola on Peak to Peak)

Day #2 on top of Blackcolm at 'Seventh Heaven", most gorgeous sites!

More from Seventh Heaven...

Sometimes pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone can be helpful to advance to new levels of skill and to really prove to yourself that 'you can do it'. This was all true on Day #1, and it felt great! Day #2, my body just wouldn't do what the mind wanted and in the end wasn't so fun.

Day #3 I listened to my body and stayed in the lodge! Hubby and friends went for some great runs themselves and got the most out of our last day on the slopes.

What I learned was to continue to build my skills and become a master of them on the easy slopes- greens. Then I can gradually advance to the harder runs. Maybe next time I'll have 3 great days instead of just one. :)

Nonetheless it was a great time!

On the running update, I completed Week 2 on the 'couch to 5K'. Would have been nice to keep it up onto Week 3, but thanks to a good old fashioned head cold I've been work and couch bound. Next week I'll hit the road once I recharge my batteries.

A 'losing' battle

So I had a little event with the weight watcher lady this week.

After 22 months of paying for an 'unlimited' membership ($39.99/month)the lady at the weigh in said to me :

"You are a lifetime member (don't have to pay anymore) and have been for along time"

Me: "I don't think I am" (thinking to self, 'yeah, you definitely are NOT at goal and haven't been..)"

Lady: "well you are" click, click... "Here is your new card"

Me: "Wow, thanks, whatever you say, when did I become a lifetime member"

Lady: "months ago when you held your weight at 1#4 for a long time...."

(Since I'm over goal, I still have to pay weekly now, till I loose 1 more lbs, then it's free!)

Me: "Ok... Thanks!"

I didn't care whether she was wrong or right, someone was going to help me not have to pay the full amount every month...sweet. Now this is certainly not a proud moment. I realize I have not made it to 'goal' and had adjusted my goal months back and think the computer didn't recognize the new change, only saw that I had held and maintained this new goal (artificial really, would like to weigh less but will settle for this computer 'goal' so that I can be a lifetime and stop paying.)I'm then advised to call the WW office and ask for a refund....

Well that was an interesting phone call. Embarrassing really, and I was probably misinformed initially by staff overall when told I was a lifetime (not surprised), but I did get a few months refunded. Since I'm above my 'goal' computer weight I still have to pay weekly when I weigh in. It's a total trick, I mean if you didn't loose and you're not working the plan, to 'quit' WW just sounds so lame, so I never did even during those times when I wasn't truly dedicated. In November I had my "Aha" moment and here we are. I'm still pretty sure I've paid my dues to the program and am a total advocate for the lifestyle changes they promote, especially with the points plus system.

All in all, I am technically, by the computer, a registered lifetime member (no cheers please) and someday I will emotionally be one too when I actually loose down to my real goal. Till then, I'm sticking to the plan, and its working. Down 1.2 this week and feeling great. I actually recruited my wonderful husband to the challenge and he is making major lifetime changes too. It's a marathon, not a sprint and we hope there to be less of us in the coming months...stay tuned!

As for the running. Week 1 of the couch to 5K was a success! 2 days outside in temps in the high 30s, 1 day at the gym sweating with all the UW co-eds. I also hit the pool for some water cross training and went skiing on my other day. Not too bad I might say so myself!

Week 2 Day 1 was yesterday, felt great. Oh and the best news of all....drum roll please....

My very dear friend Liz and running partner in the 1/2 marathon last year has signed up officially as well!!! Best news ever!

Day 1, week 1

I promise, I won't do this everyday, that is post on my blog about my daily run. However, today is a special day, it's the first day.

Ok, ok, so not really, I've done this before, but today I'm starting over. 6 months seems like a long time away but June 25th will be here before you know it and seeing as I've been rather lazy lately, I feel like I'm starting from the beginning all over again. I stopped running after my 1/2 marathon in June and though I've run occasionally, not on a regular basis. Yesterday was a great day of beginnings. 1/1/11 who doesn't love that?! I love New Years day, an opportunity to start fresh. To get my resolution off to a nice start, I treated myself to homemade eggs Benedict with great friends (30 weight watcher points that I did count, OUCH) followed by a brisk walk on a gorgeous winter Seattle day. I realize weight loss goals will NOT be achieved

with eggs Benedict; it's a sometimes food(Now the whole point of being good to the body does not mean treating oneself like an inmate....there have to be some splurges :)

Now onto the running...

Today was the first day of the training. Last year I used "the couch to 5K" to get started. It starts off slow and then builds up to a 5k. After the 5k distance was achieved I used Hal Higdon's novice 1/2 marathon training schedule. This year, I wasn't really sure were to start. I've been hot and cold with my activity lately and really want to train effectively (cross train, hill train, weight lift etc. ) but I am afraid of injury. I consulted Runners World and an article of coming back after a break suggested to really start slow. The article discussed an ultra marathoner who took an 8 month hiatus and on his first day back did an 'easy' run as a run/walk because he just couldn't do it. The risk of going out strong is that the body will fizzle fast and muscles are just not ready for it, must start slow.

So this is how I got back to 'the couch to 5K'. Day 1, week 1.

It was 36 degrees, (to seattle-ites this is FREEZING!) I took a familiar route, 2 miles, hat, gloves, neck warmer, 3 layers, good socks and my favorite sneakers. I ran solo and brought the ipod which I realized I could use some better running tunes (suggestions welcome). Run/walk every minute after a short warm up and lots of stretching. 30 minutes later I'm home, sweating and I feel great.

In 6 months I can't wait to look back at this blog and look how far I've hopefully come.

I pray for no injuries and for strength to keep up with this commitment.

I'm blogging about it so that I'm accountable to someone other than myself!

Now off to the showers :)

On Resolutions

So who actually makes a resolution and commits to it the whole year? The media will say that gym memberships, diets and exercise attempts increase during the first 6 weeks of the year and then slowly decline when motivation weakens. I certainly can appreciate some truth in that statement.

As some of you know, I've been on a 'diet' for months (ok going on 20 months now...). Healthy eating and changes to lifestyle are a lifelong process. So to say that "in the new year I'm going to commit and stick to a diet" is really a joke. Starting these attempts after the new year is however quite reasonable. The only reason I was thankful to be leaving MA during my recent visit was to get away from the food! Mom definitely knows how to cook! That being said, returning to our 'normal diet' does sound like a good idea, at least my body will think so. Which gets me back to my thoughts on health and dieting. Do you consider your body a 'temple' to be worshiped, or a 'machine' to abuse? Ask yourself this question the next time you are exhausted, sleepless, working to much, pigging out and quite obviously not being too good to yourself.

I'd like to think of it as a temple, but all too frequently I think it ends up being abused. So this year, as a resolution, I'm going to try to take better care of myself. Not to diet, not to become superhuman, not like I'm going to stop working, eating out, enjoying a cocktail from time to time, just to think of myself more as a 'temple' that needs to be cared for.

Sharing this with friends and family will only make me accountable to myself and those that I love. With that said, I also signed up today for the Seattle Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon!!!!!!!!!

Some of you might think that is 'torture' to the body. I disagree. Last year during the months of training leading up to the event were the healthiest and best I have felt in YEARS. Though weight loss surprisingly ceased (in fact I gained weight! ), my eating habits improved, I slept better at night, and despite a consistently busy schedule, I made time for myself.

I am very excited and looking forward to training and taking better care of myself. Now I have a goal and a commitment. June 25th 2011

Thought I'd share it all with you, helps me stay accountable to myself. To you and yours a healthy and happy New Year. I hope whatever you resolve to do today is something you can continue well into the new year.