Decide

When you think you can't. You need to atleast try. The results are suprising.

One of my goals that I've been vocal about on my blog is my goal to be able to run a 13 minute mile.  In my head at the beginning of the year that was going to be a very hard goal to achieve.  I've never really been a runner, and the running has been my mental and sometimes physical road block to overcoming my heart surgeries.    A very dear friend has been reminding me a lot this week that a 13 minute mile is going to be very achievable.  In fact that friend called me out on the carpet.  Flat out asked me, have I actually been running to get my 15 and 17 minute times.  Well he was right, I was doing short thirty second sprints and then a minute or two of walking to calm down before I tried again.  Well after a few joking threats from him last night telling me he was going to stop by and he would be having me run a 13 minute mile before I knew it.   I came home tonight right after work, changed into my workout clothes and stepped onto the treadmill with determination.  I'm going to do this.  I can achieve a 13 minute mile, maybe not today but very soon.  Well I did a few sprints at a faster speed then I was doing, did some speed walking and when I hit 11 minutes I was in shock I was getting really close this might be possible.  So I stepped it up a notch and did a few more sprints.  No I didn't hit my goal today but I can honestly say I'm happy with what I did achieve.   Every day I'm one day closer to my goal.

"I need to live, I can't afford to die"

I sit here post workout tonight watching the Biggest Loser and in the first ten minutes of a show one of the female contestants who has fought and won a battle with breast cancer makes that statement in regards to her battle with weight.

I don't think there is much more of a true statement that I've ever heard. I need to live, I can't afford to die. It has so many meanings and rings so true. That statement might just be one of those key ones for you that you should put on your fridge, or put on your treadmill. Use it as a daily reminder of what you are doing this for.... for your future.

Why 15 minutes 41 seconds changed my life today

To many people 15:41 is probably a very slow mile. To me its a new lease on life. There was a point in my life when being on the treadmill was equivalent to dieing in my eyes. Not anymore!

In Eighth grade I was diagnosed with some heart problems. Pretty severe heart problems. So severe where I ended up having two surgeries. 1 unsuccessful and 1 successful where a small portion of my heart was burnt to stop my heart from going into V-tac.

Now what does the treadmill have to do with this? Through the process of what felt like hundreds of tests to figure out exactly what was wrong with me. I was ordered to have a stress test. To the average person I imagine the stress test isn't that big of a deal. But not to me. In my head I could remember the Dr telling me that I needed to be thankful that my "disease" was caught because things could of ended very badly otherwise. I was told that my condition seemed to be brought on by my heart rate being elevated and since I was at that time a three sport athelete in eighth grade, who knows when it could of acted up. On the volleyball court, on the sidelines of the basketball game, or on the track? So you see where my issue with the treadmill came into play. You want me to get on that thing as I'm attached to all these machines and get my heart beating at a fast pace? Are you nuts!! I clearly remember the first time being at a stress test. I lasted about three seconds and freaked out crying that I couldn't breathe and I couldn't do this. Now after the second surgery was performed and I was told that I was cured I was told to take another stress test just to see. Nope not me. I wasn't having it. I was taken from being an athlete to a person that was deathly afraid of raising my heart rate. That time I think I lasted about twenty seconds, with the same results crying and freaking out.

I went through high school afraid to participate in any sports, still afraid to get my heart rate elevated. This even after the doctor told me I was cured. I would of loved to have played sports in high school but in my head I was convinced I was going to collapse and die.

Now advance to me turning 21. I went back for a check up with my cardiologist, wore a 48 hour monitor and there were no signs of any irregular heart beats on any of the feed. You would of thought that would be enough for me to finally realize that I was cured and was safe to work out.

Didn't work. I still wasn't able to emotionally accept that I could get back into the swing of things. I've worked out off and on since then but never lasted and never was serious enough about it.

That brings me to today. I jumped on the treadmill with a totally clear mind. And with a combination of walking and jogging/running I did a mile in 15:41! Yes I was breathing heavy at times, but did that stop me? No. I was convinced to complete it and when I did I cried tears of joy. I proved to myself not only that yes I am cured but for not being in the best of shape a 15:41 mile isn't too horribly bad. Its the starting point for me to now aim to achieve a 13:00 mile by 2011.

Never would I think that I would be so proud of the numbers 15:41, but I think that mile today broke down a lot of walls that have holding me back over the years.

2010. Twelve months to makea healthy lifestyle stick

Happy 2010 everyone.

I am approaching 2010 as it is 12 months in which I will continue to incorporate these changes into my life so I can continue in my healthy journey.

This journey officially started last year, although I will admit I lost my focus for over half of the year. I let other things get in my way, my desire to be with my friends, my want to just disappear amongst the crowd. 2010 is a whole new year and a whole new me. I did indulge a little last night at my friends house. I had some Miller 64's, much better choice then what I used to drink. And yes I did snack a little, but I also snacked on dips that I had made with greek yogurt and low fat yogurt. So while they weren't the best of choices they were the best of my options. And I kept drinking my water.

That brings me to today. I'm am just under seven weeks away from my trip to Daytona Beach Bike Week. I have goals of being able to be in cute tops on this trip and be proud to be showing off the muscles that will be showing in my arms by then. Now I know this is possible, and why do I know this? Because over a year ago I was in size 18 jeans and larger. Now what size was I in last night? Size 8!!!! Size 8! I never ever imagined I would be in jeans those small. Will I be in 6's in seven weeks? Probably not, but maybe I will be in ten weeks. I am going to keep pushing and pushing to achieve these goals.

What will I be doing over these next seven weeks to ensure that I see changes for my trip?
- Working out six days a week, with Friday's being my rest day.
- Working out to Chalene Extreme those six days and incorporating Turbo Jam, Rev Abs, and Slim in 6.
- Drinking water and only water with my meals. No soda, no tea, no beer.
- Taking my supplements daily.
- Having Shakeology every day.
- Continue to wear my GoWear Fit (similar to Body Bugg) every day. Only taking it off for showers.
-Track my calories every day. Everything I put in my mouth I will account for
- Allowing myself 1 cheat meal a week, not a cheat day a cheat meal. And I will not over indulge in that.
- I will not commit to completely eliminating alcohol from my diet at this time, but I will commit to only drinking 64's. I will eliminate shots, and hard alcohol from my diet. And I will limit myself to only Friday's and Saturday for the drinking at all. And if I chose to drink I am adding half an hour to my cardio workout.

I am sure I will be adding to these goals, but here is a start of what I will be doing over the next seven weeks to get closer to achieving my goals.

Jenny