Week 2 Recap & Thoughts on Tinkerbell

I just finished week 2 on my quest for weigh-loss and increased fitness (not to mention, training for my three 1/2 marathons!!).

Love my Zensah sleeves for recovery

Week 2 was much more tame than week 1. I cut back from running and biking everyday to doing each activity on alternate days. This was much more manageable, and it made it easier for me to hit each workout and bring my best. I was even feeling good enough this week to add in an extra ab session on Friday.

My workouts were great, and I started feeling much more confident in the free-weights room! I actually looked forward to my strength training and felt pretty strong.

Relaxing after a HOT run!

I got all of my runs in, including a 8.5 mile run on Saturday! It was so humid out, I had trouble breathing, but I finished, and felt good enough to go for a 3.5 mile walk that evening! I was pretty proud of myself! Even completed that run in 1.5 hours!! Go me!!

Loving my Fitbit Flex!

My eating was a whole other issue. While I was finding success in the gym, my eating was out of control!! On Monday, my department held a party for a teacher who is retiring, and I just HAD to try all of the yummy treats! I went out to eat way too many times this week. The BF and I helped his parents celebrate their anniversary this week with a huge meal (and dessert!) and then we went away this weekend, and indulged in all of our favorite restaurants.

One of the many restaurants I visited this week!

I was afraid to step on the scale this morning! That is how awful my eating has been! The scale was nice to me, and I am thinking that all of my workouts helped, but I did not gain anything.... but I did not lose anything either!!! While I am not happy about this, I completely know what I did wrong this week, and how I need to change it for this upcoming week! I think that now that my workouts are feeling good, and I am in a routine, that I can really focus on my eating!

I did treat myself to some new clothes this weekend.... a size smaller!! Woot! So, something good is happening in my body!!

What is really motivating me to get out there each day are my three 1/2 marathon registrations! The first of which is coming up in October, followed by the Tinkerbell 1/2 in Disneyland in January.

This week could be a BIG week for us RunDisney fans....!!


With registration opening for the Tinkerbell 1/2 the first week of July, everyone is waiting to for an announcement from Disney about the fabled 10k and/or challenge associated with this race!

Whether you are hoping for the announcement, and the challenge, or if you are hoping that Disney stops introducing new races, you cannot deny that this will be an exciting week! I love the anticipation!

While I am already registered for the 1/2, I am very much looking forward to Disney announcing a 10k and a challenge! MORE BLING!!! While my bank account is not looking forward to paying for more Disney races, I really want more medals (don't judge!!).

Are you hoping for a Tinkerbell Challenge?? Will you be running it if they have one?

An Awesome Day!! And my first Giveaway!!

This week has been going really well, as far as my workout schedule is concerned! I logged over 8 miles yesterday -- 4 of which were my run. I rode my bike to yoga, lifted biceps and back and went on a long walk with Ryan and his dog. The weather was perfect and I was feeling great!

Clearly not watermelon!

Have you tried Nuun?! Yum!

The day however didn't start so great. I got my much anticipated shipment Nuun and was disappointed to find it was not the flavor I ordered. Bummer. But through the power of Twitter, and the awesome Nuun company, they had my problem fixed! They are letting me keep the Cherry Limeade Nuun, and sending out the watermelon AND a pint glass! This company rocks!! That was the first of many happy social media surprises of the day!!



So.... That leads me to my very first Blog giveaway!! Woot!! I have 3 tubes of Cherry Limeade Nuun that I will be giving away on July 1st! All I ask you to do is:

1. Become a follower of my blog
2. Like and share this post on Facebook or Tweet about my giveaway @kristyrunskato #nuungiveaway

A winner will be drawn on July 1st!! Good Luck!


What could possibly make my day better?!

Well aside from some free Nuun and an excellent workout day..... I was named a new Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador!! I feel so honored! I was placed on Team Fantastic and am so excited to get to know all of the strong women on my team!

And.... to top the day off!!! I was also named a Sweat Pink Ambassador!! By the time I got this email, I was on cloud nine!! I was beyond excited to be named part of this group of powerful women!!

Wow! It was an amazing day! I was up until late in the night, following new people on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram! It was a social media frenzy yesterday!! It was great!! :)

Today I am going to really work my legs! I have a 20 mile bike ride to get in, power yoga and today is a legs day in the gym!!

Please remember to enter my giveaway!! I would love for you to try Nuun if you haven't or just get some free Nuun if you love it!!

Week 1 Overview

Proud of hitting my workouts!

Well, I have found it very hard to keep up with my blog and my workouts on a daily basis. I am thinking that every other day may be what I am going to shoot for. I have to admit that my goals last week were quite lofty, and I did not reach all of them. But here is an overview of the week, the good, the bad and the ugly!!

Monday started out great! I felt awesome and hit every workout that I had scheduled. I felt awesome!! I ate all the meals I had planned to, and was very proud of myself! At the end of the day, I was exhausted and slept really well!

Resting after a swim

Tuesday was again an awesome day! I got in a 3 mile run, a 20 mile bike, lifted biceps and back, swam and got an hour of yoga in! I could tell that I was tired, and when I went to swim, I just felt like every muscle in my body was screaming. I have never felt like I was going to drown before, but Tuesday I really did! It was crazy how tired my body was. I took a good nap in the afternoon, and again hit all of my workouts and my meals.

On Wednesday the weather was crazy! We had quite the thunderstorm! So, I took my hour long run to the treadmill at the YMCA (yuck!). I put in a good leg session, and after that I was beat. I went home, ate and went back to bed for awhile. I was able to get my 10 mile bike ride in, once the storms passed, but it was a struggle. My legs were shot! I did not bike, nor did I go to yoga. I felt a little bad not getting in all of my workouts, but I was tired, and needed the rest. I had to remind myself today that what I have planned is actually really crazy, and I have to give myself some slack, and some rest. 

It's hot and humid!

Thursday was another day that I woke up feeling tired! My legs were screaming at me, and I just couldn't pull myself out of bed to run. I got a short bike ride in, and later in the afternoon I went on a walk. I put off lifting, just to give myself a good day of rest. Today, I really started re-thinking my workout schedule!

Me and my true love!! Vanilla latte!

Friday was a pretty good day, I allowed myself to have a latte as a treat! It was what I had been missing all week long! This entire school year, I had been drinking grande lattes from Starbucks, everyday! I decided that this summer was a perfect time to give this addiction up. It is expensive and fattening (I do not like skinny lattes!!). I don't drink any other form of caffeine, so I didn't really think about going through withdrawal.... but oh man!! I had headaches all week and just felt "off". Today, I allowed myself that coffee, and I felt like a whole different person! So, I think I need to start ingesting some form of caffeine, it really helped!!

I got in a short bike ride, yoga and a long walk on Friday. It was another relaxing day, and I was grateful that I was being so gentle with myself. But I worried that I was being too gentle!! I am my own worst enemy sometimes and just don't push myself hard enough.

Yesterday, Saturday, my sister was in town and we started out the day with a 7.5 mile run. I felt great after taking some time off of running!! It was a great run, and I was very thankful to have her to share it with me. It was so humid out and we were both dripping wet when we returned home. After taking a shopping break (where I got some awesome new yoga pants!!), I went to the Y to finish my lifting program this week. I did 45 minutes of shoulders and abs. Finished up the day with dinner with Ryan, and a nice walk.

Recovery w/ KT Tape and Pro Compression

Today, was my planned rest day. It feels weird to not have anything planned, but also good in a way. I have spent the morning re-vamping my workout plans. I am hoping to continue to push hard, but not run and bike everyday. That was really killing my legs!! I want to continue to swim, because I feel like this is the strangest workout for my body, as I have not swam in years and years! My lifting program feels awesome! I am happy to be back in the gym in this way!

Feeling kinda crabby!!

The good: I lost 4lbs  and regain my confidence in the gym
The bad: I went out to eat, and did not hit all of my cardio workouts
The ugly: I was pretty crabby this week, lack of caffeine??


Here is my plan for next week:

Monday: yoga, swim, bike, lift, walk
Tuesday: yoga, run, swim, lift
Wednesday: bike, swim, lift, yoga
Thursday: run, swim, lift
Friday: bike, swim, yoga, walk
Saturday: long run, yoga
Sunday: rest

Goals for next week: Blog more frequently & no meals out!!

Day One!

Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, all I could think about was my post from yesterday, and how nervous I was to start this journey. It was just like trying to fall asleep the night before a big race, all sorts of fears racing through my mind: what if I fail, what if it hurts, what if I am biting off more than I can chew, what if I just give up?!

After about an hour of restlessness, a calm washed over me, because I allowed myself to remember that I am human, I will make mistakes, I will hurt, I will want to quit, but it is the way that I come back from those set backs that make the entire journey so worth it. I was able to finally fall asleep and I slept so well! It was like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders, this is going to be tough, but I am going to be gentle with myself.

Waking up this morning, I was very excited to get going!

My dogs have always been early risers, there is nothing I can do about this. They are up and ready to go between 5am and 5:30am everyday, without fail! Today was the same, and while I usually just let them outside, feed them and then return to bed, today I got my first meal of the day in. This early meal is fuel for my morning run, and because of my very sensitive stomach, I need to eat at the very latest an hour before running. This morning I had a whole wheat English muffin, 2 teaspoons of peanut butter, and a banana along with a generous glass of water. With a full tummy, I laid back down in bed for the hour and was ready to run at 6:30am.

The path was lined with these today!

Today was a longer running day: 1 hour. I am switching back and forth from 1 hour runs to 30 minute runs during the week and then running the long run of my 1/2 marathon training program on Saturday, resting on Sunday. The weather was cool and foggy, and humid! I was happy to be running early before it warmed up too much. I took my favorite hilly route, and completed just over 5 miles in the hour. It was a great run, and I felt energized at the end, wishing I had more time! But, I had to get meal #2 in and off to yoga.


I was super sweaty when I got home and so I took a quick shower, which ate up the time I had planned on using to cook some eggs. Instead, I drank a protein shake and biked to yoga, the eggs would have to wait.

The bike ride to Yoga only took about 10 minutes and it was lovely to stretch my legs after my run. On today's Yoga schedule was Power Yoga! It was killer!! I was again a sweaty mess by the end of the class, and was very happy for the few minutes of relaxation our shavasana allowed! After class it was back on the bike and back home for my eggs!! Yum!

At noon, I headed to the pool. This was the part of the day I was most worried about, having not been in the pool for many years. It was better than I hoped it to be. I swam a quick 500, with the only issue being my breathing pattern. I probably could have swam much more, but I don't want to start too quickly...

After the pool, I came home and had an apple and some carrot sticks. Then I took off on my bike again and went to the YMCA. This was the second part of my day that I was worried about. I have not lifted for many years.

This part was pretty hard. The lifting program I am using is tailored by Jami Eason and can be found on Boudybuilding.com. It is all laid out for you and even includes videos of the lifts for those of us who have no clue what we are doing!!! I got to the Y thinking that I would workout in the free weights room, as my programs tells you to, but I was too intimidated by all the guys in there (I was the only girl), so I ended up using the the machines instead. It was tough, and I could really tell that I am lacking muscle, but I got the workout done and I was proud of myself for not giving up!!

Rode my bike back home, cooked some dinner and then headed out for my 10 mile bike ride. The first mile is straight up hill... it was tough! I was sweating and my legs were giving out, but I made it, and being able to climb that hill after all I have done, was such a confidence booster!! I managed 10 miles in 45 minutes and was home to shower and head to bed!

Over all I am very happy with how the first day went! I felt good all day long, aside from a headache at around 3pm, which I cured by eating a few more carbs.

I think the exercise portion of my program is going to go really well, I need to figure out my eating though, and work on eating enough calories to sustain this type of activity, while still losing some weight!

Looking forward to tomorrow's work-out!

30 minute Run
1 1/2 hours of Yoga
500m Swim
Lift back and bi
20 mile bike

Wish me luck!! :)

Starting over...

Today is the day that I start my 12-week body transformation! I have 12 weeks of vacation and I am going to use them to get back in shape and marathon ready!

I have fallen off the wagon, and fallen hard. In the last year, I have gained over 50 pounds. This weight gain is partly due to being injured and unable to run (which was my main source of exercise) and partly due to my very poor eating habits and extremely high stress!  I am very embarrassed to post the pictures you are about to see. It takes everything in me not to just hide them away and never show them to anyone. But I am posting them to the world, because I am hoping that will give me the motivation to make some major changes.

My plan is very simple:

1. Don't eat out -- I got into a very bad habit of eating most of my meals out, and drinking Grande Lattes just about everyday. This has to stop! I need to cut out the sugar and eat clean! Watch my portions and stop snacking!!

2. Run more! I have been running 3-4 times a week for the last 6 months. I have felt like this is enough, because I do not want to re-injure myself. But now is the time to start bumping it up! I have three 1/2 marathons coming up in the next 9 months, and I have to be ready! I am starting now!!!

3. Yoga everyday! I have been going to yoga 3-4 times a week for the last 12 weeks, now that I have the time, I am going to go everyday, this will hopefully help me stretch and take care of my muscles. Yoga has been my way to prevent injury, and I love the time to just focus on myself.

4. Get back into biking! I used to bike 20 miles a day or more, but haven't really been consistent for the past 3 years. I need to get back to this routine. I think it is a good balance for the running I will be doing, and I would like to do the Iron Girl Duathalon this fall. So, I better get moving!

5. Get into the pool! During college I was a swimming instructor and lifeguard, I was in the pool everyday. I really want to get back into the pool and get into swimming shape! This is going to be the most difficult past for me, as I haven't swam laps in a lot of years. I am hoping that I can get fast enough by the end of the summer to do a sprint triathlon! Cross your fingers for me.

6. Start a weight training program. I found a great lifting program on Bodybuilding.com. It is geared towards women and gives you a daily schedule, including videos to help you know what to do! I am excited to get into the gym and start lifting. I lifted in college, and getting back at it gets me pretty excited!!

So! How am I going get this all done? I am going to go about it as if it were my job. I have a schedule of the times I need to accomplish each activity, and when I need to rest. I am hoping to drop 20 or 30 pounds in the next three months. Which I know for some of you that sounds crazy, but guys.... I have a lot to lose!!! Here is June 10th:

5:30am Peanut Butter and English Muffin

6:30am 1 hour run 

7:30am Quick Shower

7:40am 3 egg whites/2 whole eggs w/veggies and yogurt

8:00am Ride bike to yoga

8:30am Power Yoga

10:00am Ride bike home

10:15am Protein shake

10:30am Rest 

11:30am lunch and ride bike to pool 

12:00 Swim 500 (free style and breast)

12:45 Ride bike  to YMCA

1:15pm Lift: chest and tris

2:00 Protein shake and apple

2:30pm 10 mile bike ride

3:30pm rest & ab work

5:30pm  Dinner: broccoli, Chicken and green beans

I would love your support during these next months, I will be updating my blog frequently to let you know my training schedules, and my progress. Please feel free to cheer me on and follow my blog as I make my fitness dreams come true!!

And now...... here are the dreaded "before" pictures..... I really didn't think I looked this bad.....!!!

It's Official!! I am completely NUTS!!!

I'm in!! I made it!! I'm exhausted!!

These are the thoughts that were going through my head at around 11:02am last Thursday! My heart was pounding in my chest, I was starting to sweat and was even shaking a little bit! Anyone reading this right now, and thinking that I completed a race, would be terribly wrong!! I had just registered for the coveted Glass Slipper Challenge (GSC) and the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon, and will be receiving my first ever Coast -2- Coast (C2C) medal!!

For any of you reading this who do not already know what the GSC, the Tinkerbell 1/2  or Coast -2 -Coast is, let me explain. The GSC is the newest challenge to be presented by RunDisney. It is taking place during the 2014 Princess 1/2 Marathon weekend in Disney World taking place Feb. 20-23. This challenge includes running the Enchanted 10k on Saturday and then the Princess 1/2 (PHM) on Sunday. The draw for many people is the BLING!! For completing this challenge, runners will receive not only the 10k medal and the 1/2 medal but a special Glass Slipper medal!!! Everyone who knows me knows I run for the bling!! It is sad how much a medal can motivate me!! :) The Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon in Disneyland takes place January 17-19. Receiving a C2C medal means that you have run one Disney race on each coast during the same year. This year running the Tinkerbell and the Princess 1/2's allow you to receive the new PINK C2C medal!! (WANT!!!)

Okay, now that you are in the loop, let me explain the issue I was having on Thursday!

Before any talk of the GSC or the new C2C, I had already decided to run both the Tinkerbell and the PHM in 2014. I was lucky to run the PHM in 2012, and it was such a motivating factor for my health and fitness that I just needed some more of that special Disney motivation. At this point, I was not the least bit nervous about registration, I really didn't even think about it, I was just going to log on and register when the time was right.... and then it happened....

Disney announced the GSC and the new C2C and things on all the social media networks started going crazy!! People worrying about the race selling out in record time, getting into PHM and then not getting registered for Tink. The information coming out of Facebook groups and Twitter was mind numbing and got me nervous about not being able to make my dream come true!!

Once it was announced that Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club members and Disney Visa card holders would be able to register early on June 6th, things got even crazier! I was constantly watching Facebook to make sure I had the information right, and I was planning my day to make sure I was available at noon EST to register!!

On Saturday, June 1 the registration link accidentally went live and from what I understand around 50 people used that link to register. Luckily, Disney did not honor those registrations and things calmed down.

On Thursday morning, things on Facebook were blowing up! People were panicking and just generally very excited! I followed a post that had over 300 comments in just a few minutes! I have to admit, that is was a lot of fun to be part of the madness, it just added to my excitement about these races! At about 10 minutes to 12:00 EST, the link went live!!!

I entered my information on the registration site so fast, my heart was racing!! I was so excited to get the option to register for both the GSC and Tink at the same time (Tink registration doesn't open until July!!).

So, in the end I registered for GSC, the Royal Family 5k, the GSC Race Retreat and the Tinkerbell 1/2!! Disney got a HUGE chunk of my paycheck that day!!

It did not take long for the advance registration of GSC to sell out... I hope all of you who wanted to register and could register early got in. If not, remember registration opens on July 11th to the public!!

I am hoping that Disney announces a 10k at the Tinkerbell 1/2 weekend too! I will, of course, register for that too!!! I still have to register for the Neverland 5k in July, but, that doesn't fill up as fast!!

I am so, so excited about running these races!! And of course, getting the medals!!! I am hopping to meet up with all the amazing RunDisney people I have met online in the last year!! :)

Now, I just have to decide on costumes....

Did you register? Which races are you running?

Battle of the Bands

Have you heard about the Nike Fuel Band, the FitBit Flex or the Jawbone Up? These are probably the most popular of the fitness band out on the market right now. And while many of you may have never heard about them, I know there are some of you out there that are interested in getting one of these bands to track your daily milage, sleep pattern, calorie intake, etc.

These bands are designed to get you to move more, and to track track that movement. Think of a pedometer on steroids! While these two bands have similar  function, they are very different. The Fitbit Flex was released in May and sells for around $100 while the Up is in it's second generation and sells for $129.

I was very interested in getting one of these bands, but had no clue which one to get....so I got the two that appealed to me the most (Nike does not track sleep patterns) and wore them side-by-side for 2 weeks. Here are my thoughts on the bands.

The Fitbit Flex vs. The Jawbone Up

Fit & Design:

The Flex come in two colors: black or slate. Each box contains 2 wristbands: a small and large size. Once you know your band size, you can purchase a set of 3 extra bands for $39 which include a blue, orange and teal band. The small fits me just fine, but I choose to wear the large, it allows for more movement on my wrist. The Flex is very simple in its design, it is not much to look at. It does have indicator lights, which allow you to see how close to your daily goal you are. 

Jawbone's Up come in 3 sizes, which you must determine before you purchase the bracelet. It comes in many colors including: black, grey, mint, red, blue, etc. The color you purchase is the color you are stuck with. You cannot change the color as you can with the Fitbit Flex. I purchased the large size (thinking I would give it to my boyfriend after the trial) which I find way too big for me.

While many people have complained that the Flex is difficult to put on (the clasp is a little tricky), I find that while being able to easily slide the Up onto my wrist is nice, the split in the bracelet gets caught on everything: my hair, clothing, computer, and headphone cords! 

The Up has just one light, which allows you to see what mode you are in: sleep or active; you can toggle from mode to mode by pushing on the end of the bracelet. 

After wearing both bracelets, I do find the Up to look better, but is is annoying to wear (remember mine is too big!) getting caught all of the time. I also like the ability to change the colors of the Flex if I want to. 

Performance:

Both the Flex and the Up track your daily milage, calories burned, sleep patterns, and the number of steps you have taken. This information can be tracked on both Apple and Android phones, or on your computer. 

The Flex uploads the information to your phone through Bluetooth, while you have to take the Up off and plug it into your phone to see your data. 

The ability to just open the Flex app and see my progress is really nice! I check it multiple times a day, and then set mini-goals to see if I can walk even more before the next time I check it. 

I find it slightly annoying to have to take the Up off and physically plug it into my phone in order to see  my progress. 

Both the Flex and the Up give you multiple views of your progress and the goals you have set for yourself. I like the Up's app much better than I like the Flex app. The Up app is more user friendly, and it just looks better. There is definitely more information given to you with the Up app, which makes the Flex app feel more streamline and simple. I have a feeling that Fitbit will be making changes to their app very soon! 

Tracking:

I haven't played around too much with the food and water tracking on these two bands. They both allow you to keep a food journal, and allow you to see your calorie intake vs. the calories you have burned. 

I have found that the Flex track my steps and milage much more accurately than the Up. In fact the Flex  track just about the same milage as my Garmin watch. The Up is always about a 1/2 mile behind the Flex and my Garmin. When running, the Up is about a mile behind!! 

I chose these two bands to review, because they both track your sleep patterns (which the Nike Fuel Band does not). Both bands track when you are in deep sleep vs. restless sleep, and the number of hours you are in bed vs. the number of hours you are actually sleeping. The both have silent alarms that you can set to wake you by vibrating in the morning. The Up has a nap mode, that uses your sleep information and wakes you when you have taken an appropriate nap (mine never woke me up!!). 

And the winner is......

The Up is a stylish band, that has a very nice looking and well functioning app but....

For me the Flex has everything I am looking for! It is easy to use, and I really like the way that it syncs with my phone. I like that is accurately tracks my milage, it does not get caught on my hair or clothing and it is comfortable and I can change the color of the band when my mood changes!

For these reasons I choose the Flex as the winning fitness band!! 

DO YOU HAVE A BAND? IF NOT, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CHOOSE??

**These opinions are my own. I was not paid to write this review, and I was not given the bands to review.