Susie_Derkins

Hi everyone! It's hard to believe that we're closing in our last week of the challenge. It's been really fun reading everyone's updates. New Mexico was awesome. The southwest is so beautiful and strange to a Midwest girl. I did lots of swimming (both laps and fun-splashing), walking and hiking. Unfortunately, I also drank lots of soda and ate lots of Mexican pastries (we don’t have a Mexican bakery in Pittsburgh!) Regardless, I relaxed and enjoyed myself quite a bit. Goals, revisited: Strength train 3x per week – I’ve been maintaining a solid mix of yoga and weights and this has been going really well. I love the emotional boost in self-esteem that comes from training. Run a 7:00 mile – Likely not going to happen. I’ll run my final trial on the 30th. Eliminate soda – This was going great until I went on vacation. The combination of an “I’m on vacay!†mentality mixed with the unfamiliar surroundings, desert heat, and easy access was tough to handle. I think I drank 4-5 last week. Read two books – Done and fun! Easier than anticipated. I finished Pastoralia and Mindless Eating. ETA: Meet with an investment adviser, do some internet research, and develop a solid savings plan for retirement and house down payment – I’ve done a substantial amount of my own research, developed monthly and annual budgets, designated an emergency fund, and figured out how much $$$ we have to play with. Still haven’t developed a concrete plan, though. Obstacles, revisited: Resisting soda – I mentioned that I’m craving soda after seeing more folks drinking it lately. I didn’t really develop a plan for dealing with this while traveling, so I kinda burned it. Now that I’m back home, though, there are no excuses! Schedule fluctuations and sleepiness – Travelling definitely threw this one for a loop. I think I’m back to speed, though. New obstacle: Little interest in cardio – I’ve been really enjoying yoga and lifting weights…so much so that doing cardio feels really meh. I think I need to break out of my running/elliptical routine. Maybe swimming? Happy Week Six! Almost there!

Awesome update; you're doing so well!! You're taking numbers on this challenge, looking forward to the next challenge, and that dinner looks SO GOOD (and that's coming from a vegetarian!) This, x100. I'm great at sticking to a plan, but when something pops up or schedules go awry, I'm lost at sea. I'm trying to work on being more malleable (my husband is great at this), but I'm such a planner that I get thrown into funks easily. Do you have any tips?

Hello! Haven't heard from you in awhile, hope all is well in Rochester

Made me laugh! My mom likes to tell the story of forcing me onto a roller coaster as a child and getting stares from people as I stood there panicking. I also loved it It sounds like you had a really great trip. You've worked hard over the past few weeks and definitely deserved to relax a little and enjoy yourself. ETA: Good luck on your upcoming 5k!!

Hello, frenz! I'm currently on vacation in gorgeous New Mexico. We've spent a lot of time hiking and swimming. I've been eating (mostly) healthfully. Will check in myself and check up on you all when I return on Saturday. Have a great week! SD

I haven't cooked tuna in years (vegetarian now), but I remember having to get the pan WICKED hot and pretty much flash-searing it until it's white on the edges with a little pink strip through the middle... Great work with your exercise goals!

We want photos of you dressed as a "chaser zombie" !!

I like to do this: [ATTACH=CONFIG]4540[/ATTACH] and downward dogs to stretch. Feels sooo good.

Ugh. Have done this many times. Good luck on your half!

That Zombies app sounds like so much fun! +1 for the adorable dog photo.

I'm sorry about your rough run. *hugs* Some days are just off days. Maybe a signal for a little bit of extra rest? I recently had a sh*t day lifting weights and skipped the next practice. I felt much better -and stronger- returning after the extra rest. I'm happy to see how realistic you're being about your goals. It's all about the journey and the steps it takes to achieve them. You're doing a really great job so far!

Ugh. Stuff like this drives me nuts. There's one rack in my gym for squats and dudes insist on doing pullups on it, though there are several other pullup bars elsewhere. I think they like how close they can get to the mirror. Bleh. Sounds like you're well on your way to that YMCA t-shirt!!

WHAT?! I'm so jealous of your trip! What an awesome thing to win We went to Mexico City last year and it was incredible. I'm guessing you'll be in a resort-y area on the coasts, not the city, but I know you'll have an amazing time.

Wow. I always prided myself on always warming up and cooling down...but it's much less than what many of you all do. When I'm lazy: I warm up for cardio with a brisk 5 minute walk/jog. For strength, I warm up with a brisk 5 minute walk/jog plus some sets with weights that are easy for me. I don't do many long cardio sessions (most are under 45 minutes), so this usually suffices for me. When I'm being good: About 10 minutes of dynamic stretching (I like kicking and arm circles) and cool down with static stretching (lots of toe touches). Did any of you ever do Team Beachbody's "Insanity" program? His warmup was crazy.

I'm trying to re-evaluate my obstacles to help me stay on track. Obstacles, revisted: Pushing too hard - I've been trying to be really good about this one. I skipped one strength workout after feeling weird tingles in my leg. I skipped another strength workout after a really crappy performance. The extra rest helped - I'm doing much better now. Eating enough - I'm making progress with this one. I started counting my calories via MyFitnessPal and learned the difference between Basal Metabolic Rate and Total Daily Energy Expenditure. I've increased my daily intake and track my cardio with a heart rate monitor. Hooray for number crunching! Unanticipated obstacles: Strangely, the soda bug has started rearing its head again. I had been doing well, but I feel like I see folks drinking soda more and more often (maybe the heat?) and it makes me want one. Sticking with seltzer. Treated myself to a Vitamin Water Zero today. Schedule fluctuations and sleepiness. There are lots of fun things happening this time of year and it's thrown my sleep schedule into a total funk. It's hader to motivate myself when I'm tired. I'll have to try and better about this. You guys are doing really great so far. It's been lots of fun to read your threads. Thanks for sharing!

Definitely worth considering. For now, I've just been researching online and asking friends / Facebook. I'm kind of dreading meeting the financial advisor because I'm expecting to be pressured into a bunch of nonsense that I don't want.

Just wanted to say that your latest blog post is ADORABLE! I loved it. eta: "Alex" is me. We're both Alex!

Any update?

Hello friends, Friday - 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Saturday and Sunday - Long, but leisurely, hiking in the parks. Still no soda, but totally hooked on Trader Joe's lime seltzer. Today - two outdoor yoga classes!

Hey, Roo! I promised that I'd keep an eye on ya after Week 3 Hope everything is going well for you and that you're staying cool. We northeastern folks aren't accustomed to this crazy heat!

Adorable! Also, froyo and mozy-ing home is a great way to wrap up a run. What a nice time!

Yeah...cutting calories while training intensely is generally disastrous for me. I get mega-stressed and cranky. It sounds like your job is really stressful. Maybe you'd benefit from subbing a yoga practice for one of your kettleball days?

Ice that knee and don't be afraid to rest if needed! Your 5k looks like a lot of fun

CONGRATULATIONS on that job! We're excited for you! Also, awesome job on your 25k training. You're doing great on your goals

Wow! You've been really busy. Tortilla chips: I like flour tortillas in the toaster oven, on low, for about 7-10 minutes, then sitting on the counter to cool for another 5ish minutes. Makes them nice and crispy. Gotta use the flour ones though - corn tortillas won't cut it.