On the Rebound

Mongello! Even though nothing much has happened around here late, I just thought I'd post since it's been a while since I last updated you guys.

I did the 6 miles on Tuesday. It damn near killed me, but I did it. If 6 miles is going to hurt that much, I don't even want to think about 13.1! Maybe I just pushed too hard or something, I don't know. None the less, I took Wednesday off, but since Thursday I've walked 3 to 5 miles everyday, starting from a slow stroll working up to speedwalking. After todays walk, I feel like I've adjusted enough to start jogging again, so in the morning I'm attempting another 6 mile walk/run. I'm hoping that the walking has helped, if not just to get me in the race mindset.

I know I'll be fine. I've done this 3 times before, and I've gotten faster each time. As a matter of fact... Before Disneyland, I hadn't trained at all and I cut 15 minutes off my time. So I'm just freaking out, I know.

That being said, I am PUMPED for this trip! I NEED this trip! I cannot wait to see you guys again! Only 20 days left!!! I'm still trying to nail down all of my ADRs and other family commitments (they've already been made, but during family vacations, I'm the last to know anything) during the trip. As soon as I know this info, I'll let you guys know which meets I'll be able to attend. So far, I know that I will not be able to make it to any meets after Saturday night, since I'll be leaving Sunday morning. That means that I won't make it to the Lapu Lapu meet, which was the one I really wanted to go to. Oh well, there are other chances. Be sure to get my number off of the "master list" and shoot me a text. Maybe we can have some unofficial meets some... Let me know!

I's be Tard!

Things have been SO hectic around here for the past week. That's what happens during finals week. You lock yourself in a room and study and study and study and study......

And that's pretty much all that I've done the past week. I just realized that I didn't even leave my room all day yesterday!

Although I'm running on about two hours of sleep, I managed to crank out a 3 mile run this morning. Nothing spectacular, but I did manage to run most of a mile (minus any major hills). Assuming that I can work in some sleep between now and tomorrow morning, I'm going to attempt 6 miles then. Stay tuned for that.

On the weight training front, I'm planning on doing a heavy chest workout today. For me, a "heavy" lifting workout involves me working each part of that days target 3 times. (Normal is 2 times and "Light" is 1 time, FYI). Also, today is the first day of my sit/pushup program. I haven't had time to do them just yet today, but I will probably when I get in from the gym tonight. I'll talk about that workout in more detail in tomorrow's post.

There be Squalls Ahead!

Ye come seekin' adventure and salty ol' pirates, aye? Sure ye come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight, with both hands if you please... there be squalls ahead, and Davey Jones waiting for them what don't obey..."

And where the hell was this guy earlier?!

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Ok, I finally get the motivation to get up and out and get a morning run in this morning. I wake up at 5:30 am, refreshed and somewhat rejuvenated. I put on my warm running clothes, grease up my feet, put my shoes on, tune my iPod to my running playlist and walk out the door.

I notice that it's unusually breezy out for a fall morning, but I dismiss it and count it as a blessing as I will need a good cold breeze around mile 4 or so...

Well as you may have already guessed, I didn't make it anywhere near mile 4. As I reached the half mile mark, it started to rain. And I don't mean a drizzle either, I mean like the bottom fell out. Literally, it was a squall line. But, I pressed on and got a mile in, but only because I had to keep going that way to get back to my dorm! I was drenched by the time I got back here!

According to my stopwatch, this morning's walk was done in 13:34:35. I am almost positive this is the fastest mile I have ever walked in my life! So maybe today wasn't a total loss.

Well that's it for today. I will just get up in the morning and try again I guess. Hope everyone is well!

215?!

Hey guys... Again, long time no see. Unfortuneatly, I come back to you with some disappointing news. I got on the scale this morning (which was probably a mistake seeing that it's the week after Thanksgiving) and it said 215! Oh well, I knew I had let my eating get out of control, and I've continued to slack off on cardio. It's just time to get back on the horse.

I jump started my race training last Wednesday (and with just 40 days to go, not a moment too soon!) with a 5 mile wog. I finished it in 1:08:05 with an average pace of 11:20. I also did a few other short distance wogs over the weekend, but nothing spectacular.

This morning, I had every intention on running. I put on my running clothes and headed out the door, only to be greeted with a monsoon. Yes, Winter has finally hit the South! So, with my morning wog canceled, I'm going to work in some cardio at the gym and hopefully some sprints as well. Today was going to be a light day anyway so I should be fine, but I sure hope that the weather is cleared up by tomorrow morning. I'm hoping to get 6 miles in!

As far as my dieting goes, I'm attempting to start doing better today. I'm on Prision Rations, ha ha! I'm cutting out all extra snacking, all natural and artificial sweetners, all extra sodium, all of my supplements (for muscle building), and all soft drinks. Hopefully by cutting out the supplements I'll save some calories and everything else will cut any water weight I may have put on. I haven't figured out what my meals will be yet, but I'll figure something out.

How is everyone? Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

My Ripped Off Report Card for Last Week

Diet - Needs Improvement C

Weight Lifting - Excellent A+

Cardio - FAILED F-

Ok... I know that I totally just ripped off Amanda's post from the other day. But it was a good post, so I thought I'd flater her the best way I know how and steal her work, haha!

I don't know what my deal is. I just cannot get back into running, or any cardio for that matter. But with weight lifting, I'm doing pretty damned good I would say. If only I could find a way to find a happy medium between the two...

Also, diet last week was just ok. I let late night snacking get in my way alot.

With that said... this is a new week. I won't be able to get a run or a swim in today, but I'm hoping to get to the gym early enough to get at least some elliptical work in. Also, I've started doing the low carb diet again. That diet seems to work for me when I want to lose weight and I have about 20 lbs I want to lose by Christmas. It's really not an easy diet to stick to, but it's only about a month so I think I can bear with it for that long.

Terrible Two's...

Hey guys. I'm slightly irritated with myself right now. I went to the gym yesterday and stepped on the scale and it said that I had gained ANOTHER 2 lbs! I was SO mad at myself! That means that I am now at 212lbs. I can only blame myself. Last week was a very stressful week and I gave into my old habits of stress eating and I was doing absolutely no exercise to help matters.

I will do better this week. Mostly because I've put myself in Time-Out right now (I think I deserve a good, old fashioned, country ass whoopin', but that's kinda hard to do to yourself) and I WILL fix this by next week.

At any rate, that's all in the past... now I have to fix it. I did pretty well yesterday, though I did not do any cardio. I was afraid that I would over do it and my cough would start acting up. I also think I did pretty well in the food department, though you guys may disagree. Today, I'm not planning on doing any lifting (I definitley over did weights yesterday!) but I am planning on running on the indoor track at the gym and doing some other cardio.

I hope everyone is doing well... I'm trying to get caught up on blogs today, so I guess I'll find out!

Fall is FINALLY Here!

Mongello! It is an absolutely GORGEOUS day here in Central Mississippi! Of course, I was not able to enjoy it this morning because of this dumb cold (the seasonal crap I always go through during a season change - on meds to fix it now). Doc told me to stay away from cardio for a few days so my body will heal. No worries though, I'm just glad fall is here!

Despite the doctors orders, I do intend on lifting and going swimming today, just so I can do something. It seems that all I do lately is sit in my dorm room reading about Law and Early American History. Don't get me wrong... I find it interesting and LOVE my new major, but even I can have enough of the history stuff! So, in order to save my sanity a little and to jump start the week, I'm going to go to the gym. I may not do much and don't want to over do it, but I want to go.

Chris- I thought a lot about your comment. I really couldn't think of a new plan other than what I already do. I think that as long as I DO what I'm supposed to do, I will be fine for January. I just want to increase my speed for that race, so maybe I'll just concentrate on jogging a lot more during my wogs. Maybe by January, I'll actually be jogging rather than wogging.

Disneyland reports should be up later this week. I'm supposed to be getting my Aunt's pictures (I broke my camera while at the World earlier this year) so I'll be working on that for you guys when I get them.

Also, I'm going to start back with posting semi "Daily Reports" (you know, that technical stuff that no one cares about) of my training. I'm mostly doing this for my benefit, just so I can have a "record". It's mostly for me, so y'all don't have to read it.

Well, that's it for me today. Hope everyone is doing well!

Vacation Over... Back to Work

Hi guys. Things have been a little chaotic down here (as usual it would seem) with school. That's not a bad thing. I actually enjoy what I'm doing and it keeps me busy, so I'm not complaining. However, since I haven't had my health goals at the top of my priority list, I've begun to slip. I have had no training since I've come back from Disneyland and my diet as been as bad, if not worse, as if I were on vacation. I stepped on the scale today it said that I now weigh 210 pounds. That means that I've gained over 10 pounds.

I'm not upset over that. I actually knew that this would happen. It happens every time I finish a race. I get this "I just busted my ass for 6 months so I can take a break" mentality.

Well... the vacation is over.

I am back in the gym today!

Today I did my first chest workout in nearly 3 weeks. I KNOW I'll be sore in the morning! After my morning lifting, I went and swam 5 laps in the lap pool. That was one heck of a workout! I'm hoping to get another 5 in after my cardio workout tonight. I won't get any running in today though. I still don't have my iPod (I left it at my aunt's house the night before we left for DL... so no iPod for the race. That was fun!) but it should be here early this week.

I hope everybody is doing well. I'll check in with everyones blogs at some point today and see for myself. Until then, seeeeeee ya!

It Burns!

This is what it feels like when I walk...

During today's walk, my feet started to burn almost immediately. I tried slowing down, I tried readjusting my shoes... I tried everything that I could think of, but nothing worked. I managed to get past the fire and get in a 3 mile walk (no jogging) in 44:04 today. Still not what I want or need to be doing this close to a race, but what can I do? I have two HUGE blisters on my heels now and they still burn.

I'm going to buy some Dr. Scholl's pads for my shoes tomorrow and give that a try. I bought some for my Shox and they seemed to help with blistering some. Maybe they will help again.

I'm also going to try my old socks again. The ones I bought with the shoes are different than the old ones and seem to be thicker and made of a different material. But for $10 at Fleet Feet, you would think that they would work. I don't know...

But this could be exactly what Chris said... my feet could just be rebelling after not running steadily for a few months. If that's what it is, then it's solely my fault and hopefully my feet will get their act together soon.

With all of my whining in today's post (any one have any Brie?!), I am proud of my walk today. I was able to remain under the 15 minute mark with just walking. And other than the blisters and friction, my shoes are working great. I have zero pain in my feet, legs and back. I haven't experienced that in some time. Now... Only if I can stop them from burining my feet, they'll be perfect!
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Jeff- Maybe if I soak my feet in Orange Juice and listen to Katrina stories, my feet will cool down... what do you think?

Justin- The new shoes are (and I'm reading from the box, so it may not mean anything) Saucony Progrid Hurricane 11's. As I said earlier, I love them so far... just wish my feet did.

Justin and Chris- I like your idea Justin and yes, if I had a permit, I could "pack some heat". The incident I discribed yesterday was not an isolated incident. I have seen the same kids (different groups that sometimes "play" together) do this to other people and have had it done to me a few time. They apparently get a thrill out of scaring people the way they do and I guess they know no one is going to say anything. I guess I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, but it really does get annoying after a while. Besides, I get a little happiness whenever I can utter the phrase "Little Bike Bastards". It makes me feel good!

Just Another Restart

Hey Guys... I'm not going to say a word about these constant "restarts". I'm just moving on, haha.

Today went pretty well. I was able to put in a 3 miler with 14:54 as my slowest mile and 11:48 as my fastest. I think I'm beginning to increase my stanima as it doesn't take me nearly as much to push myself to running. I'm actually starting to enjoy it again.

Even though my running is going well, my gym visits are not. It seems that when I excell at one thing, I totally fail at another. I haven't been to the gym in over a week and a half. There aren't any excuses for that, I just haven't been motivated to workout. Hopefully that will change in the coming days and I'll get back to doing both running and working out.

It's time for a new pair of shoes. My Shox have had it. Actually they have had it for quite some time now. So, my Aunt and I are headed up to the Fleet Feet in Jackson to see what we can find. We're going to let "the experts" find me the right shoe since I never thought my old pair were right for me. We also want to get them now so I can break them in before Disneyland. Hopefully with a new pair, they'll help me increase my time.

Well that's it for me. How's everyone else?

Ok... New Game Plan

Hi guys. By now, I'm sure all of you have heard about the tragic accident at Disney this week, so I won't get into that other than to say that my thoughts and prayers are with Austin's family and friends.


Ok, now on to my "see see what happen was..." moment....

As you probably remember, I said that I was going to start publishing trip reports today. Well as usual, I've decided to put it off for a little while. I don't have any pictures right now to add to the reports because my camera is on the fritz. My aunt has a lot of good pictures that I can use, but I have to get them. I should have them in a few days. So, when I get them, I'll start posting a day by day report along with my training updates. That way it will give you guys something to read other than my pointless babel on what I did at the gym and the park that day.

So be patient. The trip reports are coming! Tomorrow will be the race report, I hope....

For the most part, everything is well on the weight training front. I hit the gym pretty hard everyday last week and today, but I'm doing hardly any cardio and absolutely no running. That all changes tomorrow.

I've set up a new "Get Your Rear in Gear" marathon training plan. On this plan I go to the gym twice a day (once for cardio and once for weights... makes it easier on me) and to the park once in the morning. Here's a Sample of my plan:

Monday- Run 5 miles, 30 min on the Elliptical, 10 min on Stairmaster and Arms
Tuesday- Run 3 miles, 30 min on the Bike, 10 on Arm Bike and Chest
Wednesday- Run 6 miles, 30 on Elliptical, 10 on Stairmaster and Back and Shoulders
Thursday- Run 5 miles, 30 on Bike, 10 on Arm Bike and Arms
Friday- Run 2 miles, 30 on Elliptical, 10 on Stairmaster and Chest
Saturday- "Long Run" (depends on weekly goal) and Back and Shoulders

I take a break on Sunday, and do a different ab/oblique exercise everyday. Of course this plan will very from week to week. Like this week, I didn't do it other than the weights, but I'll pick it up tomorrow.

I have GOT to get my ass out there and running. I've only got 62 days before the Disneyland Half and I REFUSE to go on my first trip to Southern California as a fatassed Mississippian (again, WE'RE NUMBER ONE! WOOHOO!!! Oh wait....). I hate to fit into stereotypes. I really do.

Happy Juneathon!

Hey guys! Happy June! Again, I'm sorry I haven't been around. No excuses, just being my usual, lazy self. I promise that I'll try to do better.

Although I've been on hiatus, I do have good news. The other day while at the mall shopping for clothes, I was able to fit into a 36 pair of pants! That is the first time in nearly 5 years I've been able to squeeze my butt into a 36! It was an awesome feeling and I think that I can get even lower than that. I may actually make it to a 34! I can't wait.


But wait there's more... I stepped on the scale today. Yeah, I know I said that I wasn't going to, but the suspense was killing me. So what did it say? 200 lbs. That's right, TWO HUNDRED POUNDS!!!! HOLY S***!!!!! I am SO excited! I wanted to be below the 200 lbs mark by my Disney trip, but it looks like I'll be way below it!

Well anyway, Today was the first day of the Juneathon. I got a pretty good start, though I admit, I could have done better. Me and training have been iffy lately, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. Today I did a 4 mile wog. I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be, so I guess I still have it.

How's everyone else?

Just Catching Up!

Mongello! Things have been a little hectic around here, with Disney planning, training, and lots and lots of yard work (my garden is really starting to look nice!), that I've neglected updating you all.

First of all, the only thing that is set in stone for Disney is the dates, which are June 22-27 (sorry Justin... looks like we're going to miss each other this trip. We've still got Disneyland!). Everything else is up in the air. We're not even sure on who all is going. As soon as I get more of the details laid out, I'll do a pre-trip report.

Now to the training front: This weekend I put in 8 miles, which is the longest distance I've put in since the half. Here's a break down:

Mile 1- 15:08 Mile 5- 14:08

Mile 2- 12:26 Mile 6- 09:12

Mile 3- 12:17 Mile 7- 14:22

Mile 4- 12:00 Mile 8- 15:28

But there's more! I was also able to slowly run (more than jog) an entire mile! That's the first time that I've ever been able to do that! I've tried on many occasions, but never made it all the way! Yay me! However, that mile took alot out of me, so the remaining miles were slower, but I still managed to stay above sweeping speed. I have a while to work out the kinks, so I'm happy none the less.

Today, I got in 6 mile wog, albeit mostly walking. Legs were still a little tight from the weekend, but again, I've got a few weeks to work on it. Here's Today's Breakdown:

Mile 1- 15:24 Mile 4- 13:02

Mile 2- 12:18 Mile 5- 13:10

Mile 3- 12:44 Mile 6- 15:30

Fortuneatly, the Renissance Half next month has no pace requirement, so if I have to slow down I can. Not that I'm expecting to, it's just nice to have that luxury if I need it.

I finally got back to the gym today, though I didn't get to do what I wanted to do. I had originally wanted to do my arm workout today, but the gym was SO crowded today! It must have been "Redneck Day" or something. The gym is crowded enough with all of the machines in that tiny space. Add to that 20 something loud, obnoxious rednecks. I quickly decided to opt out of my original plan and just did my "Super Cardio" workout instead. Although I was kind of upset that I had to vary from my plan, I was pleased that this was the first time in a long while that I have been able to complete an entire Cardio workout. So, I was pleased!

Well, I think that's it from me today. How's everyone else?
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Exercises:
Cardio
Wog 6 miles
30 minutes on Bike
30 minutes on Elliptical
10 minutes on Stairmaster
5 minutes on Arm Bike

Calisthenics
Crunches (4 sets of 20, Both Sides)
Reverse Crunches (4 sets of 20)
Pushups

Food Journal:
Breakfast- Protien Shake and OJ
Snack #1- Cup of Raisins
Lunch- Banana and Apple Sauce
Dinner- Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Snack #2-

Writer's Block

I really don't have anything to say today, ha ha. I slept in this morning, so I wasn't able to go for my wog or go swimming when I would have liked to. I'm planning on going for the wog later this evening and skipping the swim all together.
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Exercises:
Weight Training
Various Arm Exercises using Free Weights and Cables

Cardio
Wog 4 miles
20 minutes on Bike
20 minutes on Elliptical

Calisthenics
Crunches (4 sets of 20)
Pushups

Food Journal:
Breakfast- Nothing
Snack #1- Banana and OJ
Snack #2- Protien Shake
Lunch- Soup
Dinner- Salad
Snack #3- Apple Sauce

A Good Long Wog

Hey guys! Yeah, I know it's been over a week since I've last posted. No excuses (other than the tornado that struck earlier in the week that knocked out power for a few days, ha ha!), just been being lazy.

But I have not been lazy in the training department. I've been working my butt off all week! I've been wogging everyday and started using the free weights at the gym. I am SO sore! I'm hoping that I've lost some inches this week.

Well anyway, Today I put in 6 miles for my long wog. It's not really long, but it's progress I think. I also started my "race training plan" today. This is where I speedwalk the first mile or lap, then jog/run for 5 minutes then speedwalk the next 5. This is what I did in January (at least until I caught up with Rae and Eric). It seemed to have worked today. I wasn't overly exausted after my run and I have had virually no pain since.

Well that's it for me tonight... I'll get back to my regular posts on Monday. Until then, See ya!!!

One Last Look at the Scale

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Things have just been very busy and chaotic here, with finals and all. I haven't been slacking in my diet or exercise, believe me. Just too busy to actually sit down and blog.

You may be wondering what I mean by today's title. Well, I got to thinking the other day that once school is out, I will no longer have access to the "medical scale" and only my inaccurate bathroom scale. I don't want to go back to that thing, only to be disappointed when I come back, So instead of weighing in every week, I've decided that I'm only going to weigh twice during the entire summer, once on the last day of this semester and once on the first day of next semester. I think this will be kinda fun to see just how much weight I can lose in a summer and let it be a total surprise. I will continue to track my progress through measurements, but it's going to be awesome to see just how low that number can go in 16 weeks. I'm pretty excited about it!

OK, so on to today's update: I got up this morning and did 2 miles. No swimming and just a little jogging, but it was better than nothing like I had planned on doing, ha ha. Later on in the day I went to the gym and did another 2 mile wog on the track then 30 minutes on the bike 6 on the arm bike and 15 on the elliptical (that sucker kills me!). No weights or calisthenics like I wanted to do, but my show was coming on and I didn't want to miss it. I'll just make it up tomorrow.

Food went ok today. The good news is that I didn't over eat or anything, but the bad is that in my busy schedule today, I actually forgot to eat for most of the day. I just wasn't hungry and I just wasn't thinking about it. I did eat dinner and a protein shake, so I think I'll be ok.

I think that's it for me today. How's everyone else doing?
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Exercises:
Weight Training
Upper Body Weight Machines

Cardio
Wog 2 Miles in the am
Wog 2 Miles on Track
30 Minutes on Bike
15 minutes on Elliptical
6 minutes on Arm Bike

The End is Near!

I'm SO glad the summer is here! I have finals this week, but my last exam is at 8 am on Saturday (which is just pure evil if you ask me...). After that, I'm loading up my car and headed home for the summer! Yippee!!!

That's all I have for today. I've been blogging so much lately that I have writer's block. Oh well, I'm sure something will come up for me to talk about tomorrow. Until then, see ya!

Update: I kind of had a lapse in judgement today after my first class. I was very thirsty so I went to the drink machine to buy a bottle of water. I got there and there was no water! The only alternative was Coke or Diet Coke. I chose the Coke.... No excuse, but I wanted to be honest. I just despise Diet Coke and will typically chose to go thirsty over drinking it and in my weakend state, I gave into the call of the coke.
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Exercises:
Weight Training
Lower Body Weight Machines

Cardio
Wog 2 Miles
30 Minutes on Bike
30 minutes on Elliptical (only did 10 minutes)
5 minutes on Arm Bike
5 Laps in Pool
30 Minute swim

Calisthenics
Crunches (4 sets of 20)
Reverse Crunches (4 set of 20)
Pushups (3 sets of 10)
"Back Raises" (4 sets of 20)
Ab Machine (4 sets of 20; increasing weight)

Food Journal:
Breakfast- OJ
Snack #1- Coke (I fell off the wagon)
Lunch- Cliff Bar, Banana, Plum Juice
Snack #2- Protien Shake
Dinner- Salad
Snack #3-

Weekend Update

Hey guys. I've decided to begin consolidating Saturday and Sunday's updates into a single Weekend Update" for now on. For the most part, the weekend is my rest and recovery time. Usually, the only workouts I do on weekends are my long runs on Saturday and maybe some ab work (unless you count yard work). In these updates, I won't stick to my "Daily Update" format, where I list everything I eat and all of the workouts I do. I just don't think that that is functional for what I'm trying to do, but rest assured that I am keeping up with what I'm taking in. OK, with the explanation out of the way, here's this week's Weekend Update:

First of all, let me talk a little about Friday night. I didn't do too too bad, but I didn't do exceptionally well either. I ended up ordering a steak and shrimp chimichanga. I figured that that wouldn't be too terrible, since it has lots of veggies in it. I asked for them to put the queso dip on the side and, as usual, they put it on anyway. I stayed away from all of the sides that were included with the dish, though I did go a little over board on the chips and salsa. Also, since the friends that I went with forgot about my birthday the week before, they had ordered me a margarita. I tried to refuse it, but they had already ordered it so I drank it anyway. I got right back on the diet the next day, so I think I'll be fine.

Saturday- Today went pretty good. I kept snacking to a bare minimum and ate small meals through the day. I was hungry at the end of the day, but I was trying do some damage control. I also went on a 3 mile wog. With all of the cardio I did this week, my legs were exhausted.

Sunday- Sunday has gone well too! I felt guilty about not going for a long run yesterday like I had planned, so this morning I went for a 4 mile wog. I'm very pleased because I'm now actually able to jog a little over 1/2 mile without slowing down. And today I was able to slow jog over half of my wog. I'm taking it slow, but it looks like that if I keep this up, I may be able to jog most of the Renaissance half in June. Then if I can do that, hopefully I'll be able to jog all and maybe run a good portion of the Disneyland half! Maybe I'll reach my WDW half goal after all!

Well that's it for me. Hope you guys have a great week! Happy Training!

A Few Changes

First of all, I just wanted to thank all of you for posting yesterday. I'm attempting to make a few small changes in my intake plan. I've eliminated the "before bed" protien shake. As I start to put on more muscle I may reinstate them, but as of now, I don't think I need it.

Also, I'm eliminating having Cliff Bars as snacks. Now if I have one, I'm only going to eat them for a meal. 240 calories is alot for a snack. I may eventually get some mini Cliff bars, but those things are expensive.

The last thing I'm changing is the size of my salads. I think I'm making them WAY too big. Last night's salad was so big that I didn't even take it out of the mixing bowl! That was mostly because I was too lazy to get another bowl and wash both of them, but still, that was a big salad.

I think I've been doing fine regardless, but maybe if I cut a few corners here and there, I'll do even better. I still feel like I've been losing weight though, so that's good.

I'm so proud of you guys! Your all breathing new life into Team Voice and it's really keeping me motivated!
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Exercises:
Cardio
2 Mile Wog
30 Minutes on Bike
30 minutes on Elliptical
10 minutes on Stairmaster
5 minutes on Arm Bike
30 minutes of swimming

Calisthenics
Crunches (4 sets of 20)
Pushups (3 sets of 10)
Ab Machine (4 sets of 25; increasing weight)

Food Journal:
Breakfast- Cliff Bar, Milk, Coffee
Snack #1- Nothing
Lunch- Banana and Plum Juice
Snack #2- Protien Shake
Dinner- Salad
Snack #3- Banana

Too much of a Good Thing?

Hey guys! First of all, I did my first real swimming "adventure" last night and boy did it kick my butt! I was only able to go about 3 laps before my heart felt like it was going to explode! It is definitely not as easy as it looks! But I do want to keep doing it because I felt great after the swim. I'm considering doing it after my am runs and then after my pm workouts.

OK, now on to the question posed in the title. Do you guys think I'm eating too much? I haven't done a caloric intake calculation, but seeing the list of things that I eat seems like I eat WAY too much. My mom says that I am (as if she's the dietary know-it-all!) but I'm not sure. Am I eating to much? If I am, what should I eliminate? Also, Am I eating the right kinds of things? If not, how can I fix that?

As I've said before, my workouts and diet are all on my own and are played by ear. I hear different things and try them and see what works. So far what I've been doing is working, I'm just worried about the diet right now. Tell me what you think!

I'm glad to see that there is some life coming back into the Team Voice Blogs! Keep it up guys! You are all awesome!
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Exercises:
Weight Training
Lower Body Weight Machines

Cardio
3 miles in the Morning (Fastest Mile: 12:37)
5 laps in the Pool in the AM
30 Minutes on Bike
30 minutes on Elliptical
5 minutes on Arm Bike
5 laps in the Pool in the PM

Calisthenics
Crunches (4 sets of 20)
Reverse Crunches (4 set of 20)
Pushups (3 sets of 10)
"Back Raises" (4 sets of 20)
Ab Machine (4 sets of 20; increasing weight)

Food Journal:
Breakfast- Shreaded Wheat, Milk, OJ, Coffee
Snack #1- Banana, Plum Juice
Lunch- Grilled Chicken, Turkey, Apple, Green Tea
Snack #2- Protien Shake
Dinner- Even Bigger Salad
Snack #3- Grape Juice