Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Pre workout motivation!!

I have posted this on my blog before but I needed to see this today. With tears in my eyes I could feel my heart racing watching this.  I have this song on my iPod and trust me when I hear it, I see these images in my head except it is ME racing! So motivating to me and perhaps someone else as well.

Strive for more today! Ok, I am off to get some hard ST in along with sprint and spinning intervals.

I CAN DO THIS. Something I am going to be repeating over and over again the next hour or so.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Food, Food and more Food!

It has been quite a while since I have blogged about my meals. I have been taking pics most of the time but have failed to blog -- just too busy :) Things are going well though. Training is progressing nicely and the inches are melting off!! I really hope to be at my goal weight by December!

Anyways, here is a look at a few of my meals as of late.....


Veggie wrap with spinach salad and Tilapia on top


I have been eating watermelon like crazy these days! LOVE IT!


Blueberry shake with Sun Warrior Protein powder


Black bean scramble with egg whites and Ezekiel bread with almond butter and honey


Greek yogurt with berries and oatmeal with Chia seeds....yes, it is true, I am eating Greek yogurt again.


Black beans with avocado and greek yogurt and Ezekiel tortillas baked in to chips to top the beans...SO GOOD!



Pinto beans and avocado in lettuce cups with greek yogurt and salsa to top


More Greek Yogurt, chia seeds and berries with oatmeal


 Oolong tea and my usual lemon and apple cider vinegar drink


 Egg white and veggie scramble with guacamole....YUMMY!

 More tea with oats and berries

 Another protein shake!


Well imagine that....another shake, this time berry!


As I live and breath.....another shake! Cacao with maca this time. Yes that is my early morning before a hard workout. ;)

 Egg white and spinach wrap



Oolong tea, oats, berries and chia seeds with Greek Yogurt. As you can see I BIG favorite of mine


Greek yogurt, berries, chia seeds and wheat germ after my LONG 276 min workout day. Yes I am laying in bed eating this. No regrets,  I was tired :)


Greek yogurt, chia seeds over Ezekiel bread and another protein shake



My Motor Oil juice from Whole Foods


Cacao, Maca and Almond milk shake - so good! Can you tell I love my shakes!



Cranberry beans with mushrooms and chipotle peppers with brown rice


 Red pepper with roasted eggplant dip from Whole Foods


Beet, carrot. ginger, celery and other veggies juiced up by yours truly! Love it!

Training Results 8/20 - 8/28



Totals - 8/20 - 8/28
Miles - 146.95
Time - 986 mins...16.4 hrs!! I worked HARD!

Saturday - 8/20 -  Fitness Notes - first ride on the road since 2009 when I found out I was pregnant!
Total Miles - 24 / Total Time - 105 mins
4 mile easy walk with 10.5 mile ride AMPH 17

Sunday - 8/21 - Fitness Notes - Good ride. Knee was ok but I felt my ITB pulling a bit. Post ride run was hard, got to get used to this again, it has been a LONG time!
Total Miles - 25 / Total Time - 136 mins
21 mile ride - 1:17 AMPH 16.3
AHR - 149
MHR - 178
4 mile RW - 59:31 min  AP 14:53
AHR - 132
MHR - 184

Monday - 8/22 - Fitness Notes - VERY hard ST today. Lots of pushups, walking with weights, spraining intervals and good lifting. Pressed hard today.
Total Miles - 7.5 / Total Time - 155 mins
5 mile RW -
2 mile warm up walk - 31:42 AP 15:53
AHR - 104
3 mile Run - 34:38 AP 11:33
AHR - 158
MHR - 184
90 mins Cross Fit ST with 2.5 miles running intervals between weight sets
AHR - 145
MHR - 181

Tuesday - 8/23 -  Fitness Notes - Good morning walk along the lake with M. Felt good and walked strong.
Total Miles - 5 / Total Time - 71:51 mins
5 mile walk with stroller - AP 14:23
AHR - 118
MHR - 158

Wednesday - 8/24 - Fitness Notes - Crazy hard workout day but it felt amazing!! Hard ride on the Lemond with lots of climbs.
Total Miles - 26.8  Total Time - 276 mins
Spinervals DVD -
Time - 60 mins
Miles - 16.3
AHR - 129
MHR -  167
ARPM - 72
Cathe ST along with Core and TRX work -
Time - 70 mins
No AHR as my HRM battery was low and died
RW with stroller -
Miles - 10.5
Time - 146 mins
2 mile warm up walk - 34 mins AHR - 94
4 mile run - 41:43
AP 10:26
AHR - 171
MHR - 186
4.5 mile walk post run -  71 mins AP 15:54
AHR - 130
MHR - 183

Thursday and Friday - 8/25 - 8/26 - Fitness Notes - Knee not doing well. Rest. Went to a Chiro and he performed Graston on my ITB and it helped I also got a deep tissue massage that helped as well.  No workouts, just rest.

Saturday - 8/27 -  Fitness Notes - Longest brick to date and I truly feel I did really well. My AMPH was the same as last week but I biked longer today. Flintridge/Creekside and Terramount Route. Run was strong at first then bonked at mile 4. Needed fluids. Micah met my with G2 and it helped me finish strong mile 5. Good job for my first long brick - proud I pressed on but I need to improve my times!

Total Miles - 36.65 Total Time - 163 mins
Brick - Bike 30.4 / Run 5 followed by 1.25 mile cool down walk
Bike - 30.4 miles
Time - 1:52
AMPH - 16.3
AHR - 132
MHR - 159
Run - 5 miles
Time - 51:51 mins
AP - 10:23
M1- 11:01...walked for about .25 then ran
M2 - 10:08
M3 - 10:10
M4 - 10:39....bonked needed fuel bad.
M5 - 9:51

Sunday - 8/28 - Fitness Notes - Good ride. My AHR is getting lower from last week so that shows I am progressing. Good to see. Strong wind today but felt great. Knee a little sore but no big deal. Terramount Route
Total Miles - 22  Total Time - 80 mins
22 mile ride - AMPH - 16.5
AHR - 140
MHR -  170






Sunday, August 21, 2011

And so it begins....



Here is my workout schedule for this week. Short blog tonight.....will blog more tomorrow on this weekends workout, it was wonderful.

Sunday 8/21 - Brick 21/4
21 mile bike road - AMPH 16.3
4 mile walk/run - 14:53 AP....super slow but at least I did it

Monday 8/22 - Easy Run - 45 mins along with Strength Training  - CrossFit with TRX

Tuesday 8/23 -  60 min ride inside - intervals.
Short swim - 1/2 mile with pull
Easy walk

Wednesday 8/24 - Tempo Run 30 mins
Strength Training - Upper body along with Butts and Guts with Drill Max

Thursday 8/25 -  60 min ride inside - intervals
Long easy walk

Friday  8/26 -  Short swim 1/2 mile with pull and a water run
Strength Training - TRX bootcamp

Saturday 8/27 -  Brick 30/5 - 30 miles bike - road followed by a 5 mile run

Sunday  8/28 - 20 mile bike - road along with a long walk

Thursday, August 18, 2011

All roads lead to Rome!


I am sitting here writing this shaking with emotion.  I remember the first day I started my blog back in 2006 feeling nervous then as well. What if I did not succeed? Here I am posting my goals, dreams and weight loss for all the world to see. I knew though that if I really wanted to make a change, being accountable through my blog would take me to the next level and now I can see years later that it did!  

So now here we are in 2011 and I am going out of a limb posting yet another big goal which is ahead of me. I am scared, motivated, excited and nervous.....I would not have it any other way. 8 months from today, March 18th, 2012, I will be running the Rome Marathon!! I wanted to wait until I had final confirmation from the marathon committee to write this blog. I had to submit a doctors letter stating I was fit enough to do the race and other documents which needed to be received before they would send me my final confirmation email. So now, it is official....I AM IN :) They say the third time is a charm, well my third time going back to this city is going to be a dream come true and I will for the first time cross that finish line and will forever be, a Marathoner!!



This all started several months back, well, actually several years back. Let's start at the very beginning......a very good place to start :)

When my husband and I were living in Siberia we were fortunate enough to have the chance to travel quiet a bit. We had always longed to visit Italy and so in September of 2006 we decided to go. It was everything I had dreamed of.  I was just beginning my weight loss journey at this time, but I was not fully onboard, just watching what I was eating more so than before. I was still very heavy but it was not going to stop me from going to Italy!! We traveled all throughout Italy and our final destination was Rome. I remember standing in front of the Colosseum and allowing the vast history to soak in. It is something incredible to experience.  My husband wanted to take a picture but I felt too bad about how I looked so we took a head shot and therefore kept my body out of the picture. This made me so sad as I was taking memories away from my husband and I because I was so ashamed of what I had become.


One year later after losing some weight in 2007 we traveled back to Italy once again. This time I felt more confident and proud walking the narrow cobblestone streets of this amazing city but I was far from where I wanted to be. I remember seeing the stores and knowing that I was not quiet able to shop as the European sizes where always a challenge for me. We had a glorious time but I always knew that someday, I would be back.....that someday is NOW!!

Fast forward now to where I am currently in my journey. I am only a few pounds away from my personal goal weight. No more obese BMI rankings, overweight hip to waist ratios, overweight body fat %, by all definitions, I have made it, however for me, I still have a long road ahead. I have a detailed plan of where I want to be, races I want to run and goals to accomplish in the next few years.

I remember watching David Rocco's Dolce Vita when he was racing the Rome Marathon and I was standing in the living room with tears thinking about the last time I was in Rome and how it would be a dream for me to stand once again in front of the Colosseum, but this time, with a Marathon Medal around my neck, at my goal weight and healthier than ever! My husband turned to me and said, "You WILL do this someday!" Several months later, we sat down, talked and decided that 2012 was going to be my year!! This is the first of many races I have dreamed of finishing. After Rome, my dreams will start in a new direction for 2012, those who know me well can probably guess :) I will began my 70.3 and Ironman training post Rome along with another International Marathon I MUST do! I am going to discuss my plan for the next year in another blog but lets just say I am NOT holding back, and I truly am reaching HIGHER and HIGER!!

I feel blessed to have two incredible people helping me train for this race. The first is my aunt who is a physician and elite runner who has competed in the World Master's Track and Field Championships in Italy and competed in the Ironman World Championships in Kona. My aunt, along with her coach will be giving me my training schedule to prepare me for this race and to help with my current knee issues I am having. There is a strong focus on cycling and I feel I could not be in better hands for my training. I really do feel  honored. They are both in such a higher class than I am, I feel so blessed they are taking the time to help little old me :) I am going to work like never before and I cannot wait!


In 2006, I was the girl who stood on the streets of Rome not knowing if she would ever get back to where she once was years ago. She was scared, afraid and did not want to live another day hating what she had become. So one day in an apartment in Tyumen, Siberia she decided to start LIVING in the moment, NOT wasting another second of this life she was blessed with and she turned her life around. Now, she is going back to Rome and this time, she will finish her first Marathon, crossing the finish line in front of that same Colosseum, hands in the air thanking God for bringing her so far! I cannot wait see how it feels to truly have a dream of a lifetime come true!

The flights are booked! The hotels are booked! In 8 months, my road, my journey will lead me back to ROME!!! 








Here a few videos of the Marathon in previous years....










Monday, August 15, 2011

Fantastic Workout Weekend with my husband!!



My husband and I are on a quest to better ourselves through fitness and eating healthy. Micah has always supported me in my training and all throughout my weight loss journey, I could not have asked for more, but now he has taken his support to the next level. He has developed a passion for fitness and wellness, more than I have seen him have in the 13 years we have been together. I am so proud of him. He has been going to the gym in the mornings and working out with me here at the house as well.

This weekend we started off our Saturday with a 6 mile trail walk including part of the George Mitchell Nature Preserve...it was lovely! After this when Michaela was ready for her nap, we started our CrossFit/Cathe/Athletica workout. This was SO hard. I love each and every second. After this, I continued on and Micah finished with 140 mins of hard work!! Seriously, the mix of the CrossFit stations along with Cathe's band workout and the amazing ST dvd Athletica.........WOW, very intense aerobic ST. I thought it was harder than P90X. Cannot wait to do this circuit again, we were drenched with sweat! Love working out like this.

I did a bit more ST along with a hard 15 mile ride on the Lemond. He was right there with me, handing me my lemon water and my DBs when I needed to do my punching intervals while on the bike. I will NEVER forget one of the funniest moments. He started playing Mario on the Wii while I was on the bike and during a HARD climb, he stopped to cheer me on. As I was about to be in tears as I was pushing myself so hard and I was tired after working out so long he gently said, " As hard as it gets, just think how hard it is for Mario"........I about died laughing.

On my final climb, he stood in front of me cheering me on, reminding me of my goals and helping me push harder.  My legs were burning, shaking so hard but his support got me through. I finished the day with a total of 221 mins of the best workout memories.

This morning sore as can be, I ventured out and did a strong 9 mile walk. My last mile was a 13:05 and I was super happy.......and super sore as well :) We have another ST session tonight when he gets home from work, and I need to complete 100 pushups by the days end as part of a FB challenge from one of my fitness teams. I have done 46 military pushups so far....got to get to 100 :)

Micah is taking tomorrow off for a very special day with us. It was 2 years ago, August 16th that I found out I was pregnant, and tomorrow we are going to celebrate this special day and the blessing God has given us with our precious Michaela. I am hoping to get in another 6 - 8 mile walk tomorrow morning back at the Nature Preserve followed by a fun day up at the gym swimming with Michaela and enjoying our time with Daddy!

We now have 4 weeks until we leave, I need to step it up! My weight loss is so slow these days. Hoping for another  1/2 pound loss this week. These last few pounds are going to be tough, but I can do it!

Michaela and I are off to get some very special things for tomorrows big day with Daddy!

Hope everyone has a blessed day! Work hard, reach high!!!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

ITB..pain, stretching, icing and now back to PT.

Another injury blog. Fun. My ITB is feeling yesterdays 120 min workout big time.  I am set to start PT on my ITB once again tomorrow. They are going to try some electro stimulation and ultrasound to see if it helps. If not, I may need another steroid injection. Not happy about this but we will wait and see what happens. I am using the Grid foam roller but today my ITB is worse than it has been in a long time. Not sure why.

I am hoping a good massage will help and so I have a deep tissue scheduled for later today. I am going to try and get some stretching in the steam room while at the gym, the heat always helps so much before or after a massage. I have been icing today and just took a super hot bath before stretching and it seems to be doing a bit better but not where it needs to be.

How I long for the day where I can go a full month and NOT post a single blog about my knee or ITB. I am staying motivated and positive knowing that in time it will get better. I really hope the new PT does a good job. I was in PT back before I was pregnant but my Ortho wants me to try a new place. He says it is great as they work with athletes. Will be sure and report back tomorrow how it goes. My apt is at 9 am so I will either be screaming in pain by 10 or happy as a bird! We will see!!!

So today, no working out, just yoga, stretching and foam rolling. Here's hoping there is a light at the end of the tunnel.........


Food, food and more food!

I have been taking pics of my daily meals but have not posted them due to time.

Here's a quick look at a few of my meals the past few days. I have been staying and track and doing great! Hope to reach my new goals soon! 34 days before we leave and 5 lbs to go!




Grilled Salmon crusted with almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds mixed with Ezekiel granola with a maple, brown mustard and wasabi glaze!!!! Grilled eggplant and butternut squash.




Egg salad with Vegan mayo and fruit. Tomatoes with fig balsamic vinegar.




A fantastic new find!!!! Fig balsamic vinegar.





Tilapia over spinach. Sweet potato and tomato.





Chai and coffee Vegan protein shake using almond milk, chai tea, coffee and SunWarrior protein powder. The book is one that I am going through for more recipes to try. Fantastic cook book for those who enjoy Indian or Asian dishes but want to stay Vegan/Vegetarian.




Black beans and mushrooms over Brussels sprouts and pico.





Curried brussel sprouts and cabbage with almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and dried apricots.

This morning I had my chia oatmeal with apple! Looking forward to juicing tonight and grilling some salmon!

Thanks for your support on my last blog! Your comments had me in tears. So very sweet of you all for taking the time to bless me in a very special way.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Going back to where my journey began! 36 days from now....



Another goal. Another dream is before me! I am going back to the city where my journey began. For those who do not know my husband and I moved to Siberia in January of 2006. While there my weight began to spiral out of control far more than in the states. It was May of 2006 when we took a trip to London and Paris. For me this was a dream come true! How I longed to see the sites. After returning home from what was an incredible 2 weeks, we were reviewing the photos and I came across two pictures that left me speechless. How on earth did I let myself go to this degree? Where was the girl I once knew? It broke my heart to see just how big I had become. I chose in that moment to do something about it, and so I did. Fast forward a few years to 2008. We decided to go back to London and Paris once again, this time during the Christmas season and I was overjoyed as I had lost so much weight by that time. My before and after photos were a dream come true. 

Now, several years later, I have lost even more weight and I will be going back to London to take yet another before and after, but this time,  I am far ahead of where I ever thought I could be. I will be standing in front of Buckingham Palace yet again but this time, I will be standing there as a mother, wife and around 100 lbs less than I was in 2006. 

It is very sad that we do not have my highest weight shown in this photo. I was in denial and did not want to weigh in. It might be 115 lbs I have lost since that day, maybe more or less, we will never fully know as I was so ashamed. I wanted to tell myself I was smaller than I was. But May 2006 was definitely my highest weight and I hated who I had become, I could not even look in a mirror without crying. Who was I? I did not even see the Jen I once knew, but now, I am going back to this same location feeling as if I truly have a new spirit and outlook on life as right now, this moment in my life, I am by far the happiest I have ever been! 


Here is the photo that changed my life forever. I could not believe this was me. May 2006.


Here I am now, June 2011. Thinner, happier and ready to reach for more!  



Here is a recent photo of me after running in Paris. May 2011 


Now, I will be adding a running photo in London. The last time it was hard for me just to walk around. How things have changed! 


This is one of the before and afters - 2006 vs 2008. Now it is time for another one!!! Same location, but a very different me!

Just recently in May we went back to Paris and I was able to take some before and afters there as well, what a dream it was for me.....shopping there in the stores buying smaller sizes, walking along the streets of Paris and feeling proud of who I was, not ashamed as I was before. I felt as if I blended in rather than the fat American visiting as I felt back in 2006. I have big goals ahead of me which include both cites along with a few others soon to be discussed, but for now, I am ready to make new amazing memories in one of my all time favorite cities! I cannot wait!

I now have 36 days before we are leave for Scotland and England. We are traveling due to my husband's work and some meetings he is attending, but I will enjoy getting to see the sites while he is at work, then we will have our evenings together which is always nice. There is a gym and indoor pool where we are staying in Scotland so I will enjoy getting to workout during the day to stay on track when gone. This is a good thing because in London there are some AMAZING Indian food restaurants that I cannot wait to go back and visit. One is La Port de Indes....oh my word! I digress....eating in London will be a big treat for me as I have been watching my diet so closely but I can still get vegetarian dishes there which will be nice. I am also excited about running around London. I am going to scout out some good routes to run and take pics!

I am sad that this is the first trip we are taking without our baby girl. I am going to miss her like crazy but I am happy that she will get to spend some time with her grandparents and trust me, they are on top of the world right now!! I think the flight over will be the hardest when I cannot call or check in on her for 9 plus hours when flying. We are flying first to London and a few places in England and then to Scotland to finish out the trip. So it will be just over a week without seeing my girl. The thought of this makes me so sad. I hope we do ok. We have our big anniversary trip in December in which my parents where going to keep her again but if we cannot stay away she may end up going with us! :) I just cannot imagine a morning where I cannot see her face smiling at me or the feeling of a day without a her sweet kisses, hugs and love her for Mommy. I cannot even talk about this.....starting to get emotional. It is important for couples to have time together so we are excited about the getaway, but she is our life. Hope I can do this! :)

So I have 36 days to go and I want more than anything to try and lose 5 or 6 lbs before then. Sounds like an easy task but these days the weight is VERY hard for me to get off.  I am going to give this my all.









Monday, August 08, 2011

Ice, rest, yoga and loads of FUN!

Today I am resting my knee. I thought I was a hero this weekend and while swinging a 25lb kettle bell I strained my knee. I did manage to get in 12.7 good miles prior to this happening. I am hoping that after a good rest today,  I can come back stronger and far wiser next time I decide to rock the KB's :)

We spent this weekend getting more stuff together for our gym. We moved the couch down to the study which opened the room up a great deal. We also got more weights and a bosu ball for added variety.  It will really be nice to have all of this on days I cannot make it to the gym. I love working out while Kayla naps and now, I can have far more to chose from when getting a good ST workout in.

We finally watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and LOVED IT!! By the end of the film we both were crying so hard....especially the last image of the movie. SO MOTIVATING!

Take a look! Watching it will change your life!



Have a blessed day!! Off to get some lunch in.....black beans, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, tomatoes.....loads of goodness! I am also hoping to get in a good yoga session in and if my knee allows, some foam rolling and stretching before another icing session.

Blessings to all. Keep pressing on. Whatever your journey, wherever you are.....YOU CAN DO THIS!

Friday, August 05, 2011

Day 4 and 5...fantastic!

All is well. Busy as can be getting ready for a fun weekend with my little family....just us three spending time making memories.

Here is a quick look at my food. Will post dinner later but it is a Wild Salmon Filet and butternut Squash along with more juicing.

Workouts this weekend will be a strong 20 miles in the bike, 10 miles of walking/running intervals, a good ST session....probably either bootcamp TRX or Athletica followed by a swim, at most 1,000 yds.

Will post more on Monday. Have a blessed weekend!



Here is my baby girl in the store today eating raw organic Dino kale. I looked down and was shocked to see her eating this! It has happened before, looks like she is taking after her Mommy!

Foods from yesterday and today......




Ezekiel, oats, chia seeds and fruit with almond milk.




Vegan Mexican chowder I made over lettuce with avocado and peppers. Topped with organic tortillas.

Love lunch so much, made it again for dinner!








SunWarrior and cacao shake.





Egg white scramble with mushroom vegan burger - yummy!




Carrot, apple, ginger, celery.....juice




Raw brussel sprouts with apple and fennel along with homemade date basalmic vinegar.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone