SUAR & Chuckball

Happy Happy Day!

I got THREE treats delivered today:

Mr. Mailman left this for me-a new issue of Runner's World and my SUAR sticker.

I love my mailman!

and Mr.BrownTruck delivered this:



The shirt says: Chuck Norris Never Did an IRONMAN



I just had to try on my new Punk Rock Racing Chuckball shirt as soon as it came! I don't know what is better-the awesome gear that Punk Rock Racing has or the level of service.

Ron totally hooked me up! He went out of his way to make sure that I got this on time and I got the right size!  (Ron-thank you. They do run small! as you can see the Large fits just right!! muah!)

Can't wait for the Joel Friel seminar this weekend!!

So -- decked out in my new Chuckball, I put up my SUAR sticker on my wall of motivation in the home gym This is a temporary home...not sure where she will reside permanently.

I'm thinking on my behind at my next race!! Thoughts?

Can you find the SUAR?

Questions, High Heels, Laundry & Chuck Norris

First, I want to thank everyone for their very nice comments on Friday's post (Fat A$$ Friday...From There to Here). It has been an amazing journey!

If I inspired just one person then I feel like the post did it's job. Please, don't ever give up on your dreams!

To answer a couple questions I got about that post and my weight loss-

No. I did not get gastric bypass surgery. While this may be a viable option for some, it was not for me. I think that GBS is not always successful at addressing the reasons you got fat in the first place. If you do not learn new behaviours and/or change the destructive ones, then you will not be successful with long term success. I feel that getting healthy requires a lifestyle overhaul. My experience in medicine has shown me first hand that some medical practices are all too willing to push this procedure through the insurance companies and the therapy, counseling, nutritional education procedures that used to be in place prior to surgery are no longer a priority. Money is. This is my opinion and yours may differ-and that is OK. I am just very passionate about doing it in the healthiest way possible.

No. I did not take diet pills or any other kind of dietary "supplements" such as fat burners. I lost the weight by changing what I was eating and by getting my fat ass off the couch. I slowly switched over to a lifestyle of eating clean foods (meaning unprocessed), I started eating every couple of hours and drinking water. I also cut out all alcohol.

How did I start with exercise? Exercise was a slow start for me-I stared with walking on the TM at the gym and then slowly progressed from there. Lola was a c-section baby so that also contributed to a slow start. Once I started weight training, my body really started changing shape.
I am a huge advocate of circuit training! Love her or hate her, Jillian Michael's was a life saver for me at the start. My first intro to circuit style training and weights were with her DVD's and her book, Making the Cut. I learned SO much from her about how to workout to maximize fat loss and how to eat. She used to have a really great radio show on KFI but it is no longer on.
Still to this day I utilize her basic set ups for my circuits/weight training (resistance exercises x 2 with 2 cardio/plyo bursts then one ab/core exercise). I write up 5 circuits and do each one twice. It usually takes an hour or so.

How long did it take me to lose the weight? It took me about 14 months. I have been at my current weight since April of 2010. Yes, I did this with a newborn baby as a new Mommy. Yes, my husband was incredibly supportive.

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I got out Sunday for a quick 4 mile run in my new pink Kinvara's and I love 'em.

However, running in the new grey suede 6" platform heels, not so comfy!

NOTE TO EMZ: They are Paris Hilton shoes believe it or not-you can find them here. Didn't even know SHE did shoes but...Orig retail $100, TJMaxx clearance price? $15.00. The style is called Sashay-

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Sunday I had a really hard time finding my motivation to get out and run. After two weeks of great workouts, I think my body was just asking for a bit of a break. I spent the majority of the day playing with Lola-coloring, playing hide-n-go seek, watching Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer on DVR over and over....

Lola and her Bungle Bee!

Somewhere along the way I managed to get 4 loads of laundry washed and folded. And she managed to find a great place to cuddle up with her blanket and take a nap.

Right in the laundry basket. 

I am so excited for the coming weekend! I am attending a Joel Freil seminar and I am looking forward to learning a lot! I am also pretty excited to meet some amazing triathletes-including fellow Maine Triathlete and blogger Caratunk Girl-

I will be wearing the super cool Punk Rock Racing shirt called Chuckball (as long as it makes it here in time!!) Be sure to check out PRR's site for some really great stuff.

FROM PRR: Sure, Chuck Norris is a badass BUT even he hasn’t completed an Ironman (pansy).

My Secret Weapons

Love.Hate.Sex.Pain.
This is a song by Godsmack. I love it. It's angry. It's raw. It gets me moving.
It's one of those songs I strategically put on my play list for speed work, racing or the end of a long run so I can kick it up a bit. I find that there are just certain songs that tap into my primal side and bring out the fire in my soul. This is one of those songs.
Love. I love running and I love a good run that just leaves me feeling sooooo good when I am done.
Hate. I hate running on the TM but it is a necessary evil.
Sex. A good run is right up there on the list-some runs, well see Love.
Pain. I am learning to deal with the pain. Some days, I welcome it with open arms.

Last weeks speed work run was on the treadmill-the plan was a tempo run, 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles in the 7's and then a 1 mile cool down. I like doing speed work on the TM because it really allows me to control the pace. I can forget about staring at my Garmin and just focus on my breathing, my form and my thoughts (training the mind!). I am sure as I become a better athlete and runner, I will be able to do this more effectively on a track but for now, the TM is my tool of choice.

Even though I was really tough on my legs last week, I felt really really good for that run-I felt strong physically and mentally. I know now that it was because of the awesomely awesome PUNK ROCK RACING tech tee I was wearing-

Happy Me post tempo run with Lola



Swining Lola-her tee says "if you think IM cute, you should see my Daddy"

 Yup. The tee shirt gave me superpowers. I felt so badass in that tee shirt I felt that my run should reflect that! I mean, I am no EMZ by any stretch of the imagination (on the TM or otherwise) but I'm working on it *wink*wink*
So my tempo run went better than planned and I ended the last mile in the 6's-which for ME, is a good day. It was one of those Love.Hate.Sex.Pain. runs and it was awesome.
So combine a little good music with a hot Punk Rock Racing tee and you got a great run folks! That is the secret combo to get my legs moving on the TM. Shhhhh. Let's keep it our little secret.

What is motivating me this week?
Sonja Weick's performance at IMAZ. Seriously, this gal is just a rockstar!! You can read all about it here-The Prequel, The Swim, The Bike, The Run.  Congrats Sonja-you are such an inspiration!

Michelle Ford's amazing legs! I don't wanna "lift" a pic of her without her permission but oh-my-oh-my, she has got some awesome legs (you can check 'em out yourself here). Oh, did I mention that she just qualified for KONA at her first 140.6? Yeah, another rockstar!

Random side note: So yeah-now I have two new people to stalk goals to achieve! With Emz abs of steel, Michelle's chiseled legs, Sonja's guts...I am building myself a little FrankenJen triathlete/runner monster! he he he

I had really great quality workouts last week since hubby was on home on vacation. I was able to sweat out all that pie and gravy. I am hoping to keep the quality up there this week now that he is back to work.

The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge! I got in 30 miles of running, 32 miles of biking and 3.5 hours of iron time. This makes me happy--I want to be even happier this week. I am happy to get my nutrition on track and eating good quality clean foods always makes me feel amazing.

I'm putting together a fun giveaway to celebrate 100+ followers! Will have many more details to come...

What is motivating YOU this week??