I've moved! To another blog...

For those of you who read on Google Reader, you probably didn't notice, but my blog has gotten jacked up. I tried to fix it, had my super smart friend take a look at it, no luck. Apparently it became corrupt and was not fixable on my end.

So, please join me over at Not So Newly Wed. Please update your Google Readers with http://lifeafternewlywed.blogspot.com/

See you over there with some news!!!!!

Broad Street Run - Ten Miler

Hubs and I ran the Broad Street 10 Miler on Sunday with 34,000 of our closest friends.

We had started training at the end of February and were pretty good about it for a month. Then we got distracted and training for a run became last priority. When we got back from vacation, April 1, we went for a 6 mile run and both felt pretty confident. After that life got in the way and training fell by the wayside. Since that one 6 mile run I ran only one other time for 6 miles and it was HARD.

Since we were completely under prepared, I wasn't so crazy about getting a good time and just didn't want to finish last. 

Hubs and I woke up at 5:15, got ready and headed towards downtown where we'd be parking. Once we got parked, we had to hop on the subway to get to the start line. Here I am still cheerful waiting for the train.

The energy and excitement of the crowd was infectious. We were so excited to get this show on the road. Once we got to our stop everyone flooded up the stairs and we were exactly at my corral, this is where we parted ways so he could run with the faster folks.

There was about a 20 minute wait until the race kicked off. I just chilled waiting for everything to start moving and ready to get started. Once the crowd started moving forward, I got Runkeeper queued up to keep me on track with my intervals and to keep me on top of my pace.

I ran the first two miles pretty quickly and was sticking with my run 4 minutes, walk 1 intervals with no issues. After the first water stop, my run pace slowed a little bit, but I still stuck with the intervals. We were running through neighborhoods at this point with folks standing on their porches and cheering for everyone. Around the 3 mile mark, these three girls were doing Zumba on the side.

We ran through Temple University where students were out cheering for all the runners. It was so nice to see people sticking around and still cheering for us slow pokes in the back.

At this point I could see City Hall in the distance. It looked so small and was only the halfway point!!! I was still feeling pretty good at 4 miles, just trucking along. I knew my mom was around the 6 mile mark to cheer us on, so I just kept thinking, make it to City Hall, then make sure you're still looking good at 6 miles.

Just around 5 miles, City Hall finally seemed reachable. I was going to make it at least half way and still feeling good! At about 5 1/2 miles is when I started losing my intervals. This was also approaching my max run previous to this race. I was at least running when I got to my mom. It was great to see someone cheering for ME and not just waving to everyone else's friends and family.

After 6 miles there were a lot more bands along the route and more spectators cheering. Since I wasn't so concerned with getting the best time, I enjoyed every second of the race. I had a giant smile plastered on the whole time. I was high fiving little kids, singing with the bands as I ran by, and waving to all of the spectators. There were some great posters along the way, here were a couple of my favorites: 

I had set up updates to be emailed to me for both mine and hubs' splits. At about 7 miles I switched to 3 minutes run, 2 minutes walk. I took the walk breaks to check in on hubs. I saw that he crossed the 3, 5, and 7 mile marks all at about a 10 min/mile pace. I couldn't have been more proud of him. Since I knew he was cruising along, I just had to get myself across the finish line. I had friends waiting at the 9 mile mark, so I was just ticking away the miles and minutes until I had to look good running for them. Once I saw them yelling and screaming I knew I was almost done. A few minutes later I saw the 1/2 mile to go sign.

I wanted to badly to run for the last half mile, but my body just wouldn't do it. I knew that when I saw the Navy Yard gates it would be another 1/4 mile. I was so close, and it just seemed so far away. Finally I got through the gates, ran under the photographers (smiling of course) and saw the finish line.  

From there it was just give it all I've got and don't let anyone pass me. I knew hubs was waiting for me to get across the line.

Once I collected my medal, water, and snacks, hubs and I just basked in the glory of being DONE. This was my first race getting a medal and I would by lying to you if I said I didn't wear it to work on Monday. :) I was proud of that sucker.

We found our friends who were tailgating, had some food and a beer then headed back to our car to make the 2 1/2 hour drive home. 

Thankfully we had brought wipes and clean clothes so we wouldn't have to sit in our post race stink for the drive. 

It was so fun to compare stories with hubs and share our different experiences.

This was seriously such a great run and I had such a blast doing it. I would do it again in a heartbeat, maybe just put a little more effort into training before it next time.

I have a 10k in Annapolis in a couple weeks, I'm going to be hitting the trails before that so I can attempt at getting a decent(ish) time. 

Catching up

I bet you would think I meant catching up on what's been going on since I disappeared, nope, but I do have tons to share (don't you love a teaser?). This is about catching up with old friends.

This weekend I went out with my best friend from middle school. We were inseparable for a couple years and remained close through high school. We kept in touch for the first couple years of college, but the distance caught up. It had been close to ten years since we had talked. When I saw Titanic was being released, I reached out to her to go see it for old times sake. This weekend was my 5th time seeing it in the theater and her 18th!!!!

We went to lunch first and almost chatted our way right through our show time. We caught up on families, mutual friends, jobs, how we met our husbands, our weddings and her first baby. It had been almost a decade, but we picked right back up. I don't have tons of friends from my childhood that I still keep up with, but it was so refreshing to have the history we shared. We both went away for school, but ended back close to where we started. I am looking forward to more marathon chat sessions and introducing our husbands.

Have you ever reconnected with someone from your past? What was your friendship like after so many years?

The List: Crossed of #20

I added No Drinking for 30 Consecutive Days under my Be Healthy section of my 101 in 1001 list. I put it on there with good intentions, but didn't think I would actually accomplish this one.

2012 started with me saying I was going to get to my goal weight this year for once and all. Part of my effort to getting there was setting small (hopefully attainable) monthly goals so I wouldn't get discouraged and give up. I decided I wouldn't drink each month until I met each of those goals in an effort to get there sooner. Drinking is just murder to any diet or healthy choices I aim for. When I'm out drinking, I'm likely to be in a bar or at someone's house. There is likely to be abundant food and it is unlikely that it is healthy. So I end up drinking and then also snacking on things I wouldn't normally choose. Weekday drinking is usually at happy hour, happy hour is right after work. Since I'm not a morning person, right after work, I have not been to the gym yet. This means weekday drinking results in no workout. Another double whammy. Extra food, no burn.

So in January I started with no drinking thinking I would partake once I hit my monthly poundage goal. Once I hit that goal I was so close to the end of the month (and making my 30 days to cross it off), that I just decided to keep going. This resulted in coming in a SOLID two pounds past my goal and starting off February ahead. #WINNING

As posted before, February is presenting itself with several events where I will be consuming alcohol, but I do plan to tone down. When I used to try and keep up with the boys beer for beer, I think I'll make the cut off after a couple, I don't need to be drinking that much and my lower tolerance shouldn't allow for very much anyways. I'm sticking to the same weight goal for February as before even though I'm starting out ahead, so that means two fewer pounds to worry about, hopefully I can still achieve a loss and be able to have a couple cocktails. If not, back to sobriety until we learn how to lose and drink at the same time. It's a delicate balance.

Do you cut out alcohol when you're trying to lose weight? Is that the first to go or do you try to lose while you're still drinking?

1 Down, 11 to go

The first month of the year has passed us by. I stuck to my plan the whole month and started of the year on a great note.

I ended January with a 4 mile run on a gorgeous afternoon. Seriously, 65 degrees in January? Last year we had a foot of snow on the ground at this time in the year. I made it the first two miles without a walk break and minimal walking on the way back, so much progress from where I was a year or even just 6 months ago.

So onto the next month, just taking it one at a time. February brings challenges that I was able to avoid in January. We have a wedding this weekend, birthday parties, and a weekend away to visit friends. There will be unavoidable meals out and cocktails galore. However, we are also stepping up our workouts. Hubs and I added 30 minutes a week in with our trainer. I was literally curled up in a ball 45 minutes into our first hour long workout with him. I am actually looking forward to our 30 minutes with him on Thursdays, it'll be a break from what he did to us on Monday. 

Towards the end of February I will be beginning my training schedule for the Broad Street 10 miler. I'm using the same schedule I used for my 15k and have just added a week to the end so that my longest run will be 9 miles instead of capping it at 8. I will have another post this month with my goals for this race. 

My first weigh in of the month has me about 2 pounds ahead of schedule. I'll take it. I'm going to need all the help I can get to make this month's goals.

If January was my kick off month, February will be my first really challenging month. The first of many challenges, learning to stick to goals and plans even when life gets in the way.

How do you handle the challenges and hurdles life throws at you to derail your diet or healthy choices you've been so good about?

Resolution Plateau?

So just over three weeks in, is everyone else tired of trying to keep up with resolutions yet?

I'm holding strong, still counting points, still abstaining from alcohol, still working out.

And guess what? It's working. WHAAAAAAAAT?!?!

I know. Who'd have thunk it? I took a couple days off from the gym last week due to the inability to breathe. Thanks to Hubs, I was out of commission for about 4 days with a cold. BUT I showed up yesterday ready to get back on track. And jump on the track I did. Our trainer has been building us up with our running and surprisingly (not so surprising, this guy is GOOD) it's working. Yes, I ran 15k 6 weeks ago, but I didn't run for more than 2 minutes straight and I plodded along at about 14 minute miles. Yesterday, 16 quick laps around the mini track and I had hit one mile in 10:01. Even in high school my quickest mile was about 12:30. I don't know how long I could maintain that, but it felt good to knock it out at least once.

So on top of running a 10 minute mile, the scale keeps creeping lower and lower. Also great news. So although I'm tired of being good, seeing results is definitely motivating. In the past I would have thought that I deserved a week off from the gym or a weekend off from dieting, I would then hit a downward spiral and undo all of the hard work I had put in. Not this time, I think I'll stick with for a while longer and keep going on this positive trend.

How are your resolutions going? Holding strong? Do the positive results motivate you to keep chugging along?

25 Days of Christmas

One of the projects I did over the holidays was 25 Days of Christmas for hubs. I got the idea from my December issue of Martha Stewart Living and her advent calendar of gifts. On Black Friday when I had the day off but hubs had to work, I hopped out of bed to get this project completed from start to finish.

I headed out to Target to do the shopping. I was worried that I would have to deal with the Black Friday shoppers, but since Target opened at midnight, they were all long gone by 8 am. I picked up a cartful of small gifts that he would open each day. I got him gift cards for breakfasts and lunches when he's at work. I picked up some snacks and treats to open throughout the month and a couple odds and ends gifts that he'd love. To fill in the gaps of days I also included "coupons" for things like date nights at his favorite restaurants and chores like a week of his favorite meals and a weekend without any dog walking responsibilities. 

I headed home to start wrapping the gifts. I pulled out my brown craft paper, ribbons, and my Cricut to make the numbers for each day. Most importantly this was my inaugural day of marathon Christmas carols. I couldn't have imagined it turning out any better. I was literally squealing and clapping as it all came together. 

Hubs had no idea that I was even planning this surprise and I couldn't wait for the first day of December for him to start unwrapping the gifts. I think I was just as excited as he was each day for him to wake up and see what was in store for him. I kept a list of each day's gifts so I'd know what was coming up.

I think he was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed each day of prizes. I look forward to making this a tradition in our house and getting to enjoy the gift giving and Christmas spirit all month long.

Did you start any new traditions this year?? 

Happy Holidays!!!!

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I have a couple of projects I can't wait to share with you, but I just wanted to check in to see how your first week of 2012 is going. 

I'm trying to figure out how to blog on our new iPad (yay!). I downloaded The Blogsy app, but I have no idea how to use it. We'll start with trial and error.

So I set a couple goals for this year, probably the same goals I set every year. Lose weight, save money, buy a house. 

The weight loss is always the hardest. Last year I ended up with a grand total loss of 4 pounds. I felt like I had dieted the entire year and only had four measly pounds to show for it. 

I do feel better about this year, I feel like I'm going into it this time with a brand new set of tools. The diet part is always the easiest in theory, hardest to maintain. I'm starting out with tried and true Weight Watchers. I've had success in the past with counting points, as long as I count my points. I've even gone as far as pledging no drinks until I meet my monthly mini goals. No wasted points or calories for me.

My new secret weapon this year is.....the gym. Hahahaha big secret. But for reals, I started running last year and loved training for a race. I've already signed up for a 10k with my mom in June and have a half marathon in mind for next December (who else wants to go to Vegas???). Hubs and I have the personal trainer that tortures us twice a week and gives us homework for the other days. I would have seen more progress with him already if we hadn't started in the fall before I decided to eat my way through football season and the holidays.

So let's recap the weight loss plan of action: stick to diet, workout, motivate with races. 

Onto saving money, this year is looking a lot better comp wise at work, so that extra cash should be easy to sock away into out downpayment fund and our 5th Anniversary Europe Fund. Plus the diet means less eating out = money saved. Fingers crossed for a good tax return as well....

Then buy a house. Dumb iPad has an amazing RedFin app. We are constantly browsing houses and marking ones we like. This is gonna be realz if we can get goal number two in line. 

Did you make resolutions this year? Are they the same ones you make every year, but this will actually be your year??? Can I make it past the one week mark on any of mine??? Only one more day to find out the answer to that one......

I'll be back once I figure out how to upload pics on this thing. 

Happy New Year!