We are back!!

We had the most wonderful, romantic anniversary!! I have many photos to share and I will try and post them in the next few days. As for now, we are busy trying to get ready for the movers to come and pack up everything as we are FINALLY moving back home to Texas! We are hoping to have our stuff shipped around the 12th of January and then we are leaving for the US the same week for a house hunting trip and for my husband to have some meetings in regards to his new position. We are also shipping our dog back with us on the same flight so we are trying to finalize all the necessary documents for him to leave Russia and to re-enter the US.

In terms of my program, I am doing well. I went to see a doctor on our visit and he confirmed what I had excepted, I have runners knee and in addition to that, behind my knee I have a baker's cyst. This was wonderful news because both are common not serious. I also have a strained ligament, in my right knee but again, it is nothing that ice and a few days of rest will not fix. I am taking some anti-inflammatories that he gave me and resting for a few more days before starting back slowly on the treadmill.

I will not be posting as much over the next few weeks because of all that we have going on, but I will try and post at least once a week my workouts and updates as to how I am doing.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Blessings this new year to each of you!

Work hard, reach high!

Off to celebrate 9 amazing years!!

We are getting ready to leave for Europe to celebrate 9 wonderful years of marriage!! I will back posting my workouts soon, but know that while we are gone I plan on getting in 5 or 6 good runs and I will watch my eating. I promise!

21 days left in 2008! Keep reaching and working hard!!

Go Little Grandma Go!!

I am so proud and excited in the fact that my dear grandmother was featured in the Dallas Morning News!!! My family will be running the Dallas White Rock Marathon relay together this Sunday and apart of the team is my 81 year old grandmother!! I wish more than anything that I could be there to run with my family. I will have to wait until next year!

She is my inspiration for sure! What a great lesson in life we can learn from someone who gets out there are lives, really and truly LIVES up to her potential each and every day.....even at 81!! I am so glad I have her genes, she is my grandmother after all! I can only hope and pray that I have this much spunk and spirit when I am her age. Thank you, grandma for being such a wonderful example to me in so many ways.

Rooting for you all the way from Siberia! Go get em' grandma!

Click here to read the article and see a video of my grandmother.

Feeling better with an awesome run!

I feel much better today, however my husband is home sick. I am really hoping that he improves before Friday. Both of us are drinking tons of water and taking wellness and immune formulas to keep us well. I was going to take another day off from working out but I just could not do it! I miss my workouts! My body felt so tight yesterday and I was in need of a good run today. My knee did well today and I am icing it as we speak. I did an Itrain interval set which I always love to do. If you are not familiar with Itrain, click here to check it out!

Daily goals -
Complete scheduled workout - done.
Drink 20 oz of water before breakfast - did not meet goal.
Stay within my daily caloric range - done
Knee exercises/stretches - done
Drink at least 128 oz of water - done
Ice knee 3 times a day for 20 mins- done
Take all supplements and vitamins - done

Workout 12/9 -
10 min walk high speed - 4.4 mph
5 min warm up run high speed - 5.2 mph
5 min walk high speed - 4.7 mph
20 min run - Itrain interval set - high interval speed - 7.5 mph with recovery for each interval at 5.0 mph
5 min cool down walk.

Total time - 45 mins
Calories burned - 473
AHR-154/80% MHR -189/98%

Daily Intake -
Calories consumed - 1,598
Protein - 37%
Fat - 15%
Carbs - 49%

Meal 1 - 1.5 servings of homemade whole wheat chicken and veggie pasta ( whole wheat pasta, ground chicken, mixed vegetables, garlic, onions, and marinara sauce) 20 oz of water and 2 cups of black tea with milk.

Meal 2 - 3.5 oz of chicken breast grilled with red bell pepper over raw bok choy with sour cream and picante sauce. 20 oz of water.

Meal 3 - 1/2 cup of millet cooked with water and 1/2 apple. 4 egg whites scrambled.

Meal 4 - 7 oz of grilled tilapia, 1 sweet potato, 1/2 cup of steamed veggies. 40 oz of water. 1 grapefruit. 2 cups of ginger read tea with lemon.

Meal 5 - 1/2 cup of buckwheat cooked with water and 1/2 apple. 20 oz of water

Meal 6 - 1 scoop of protein powder with 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries. 20 oz of water.

Great article on injury prevention.

Click here to read the article from Runner's World on how to prevent ligament sprains.

A bit under the weather...

This weekend my throat and ear started to hurt and this morning it has not improved. Just to be on the safe side I am taking today off. We are leaving on Friday for our anniversary trip so this is not the time to push it. The good news is that I have made an appointment in Moscow with a sports medicine doctor to take a look at my knee! It is improving every day but because of my races coming up need I need to find out what the problem has been. Hopefully, I will be able to start training soon for my half marathon coming up in April, if not, I know there are other races in the year and it is not the end of the world. I feel good about the upcoming year, mostly because we will be living back in the US, but I am excited about the goals I plan to reach!!

Daily goals -
Stay within my daily caloric range -done
Knee exercises/stretches - done
Drink at least 128 oz of water - done
Ice knee 3 times a day for 20 mins -done
Take all supplements and vitamins - done
Apple cider vinegar in water 2 times a day - done

Daily Intake -
Calories consumed - 1,331
Protein - 43%
Fat - 12%
Carbs - 45%

Meal 1 - 1/2 serving of breakfast mixture - (1/2 cup of millet, 1/2 cup of buckwheat cooked with 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds, 1/2 scoop of protein powder and 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 apple.) along with 1/2 serving of egg whites mixture - ( 6 egg whites scrambled with 1 red bell pepper and 3.5 oz of chicken breast). 20 oz of water. 2 cups of ginger red with lemon.

Meal 2 - 1/2 serving of breakfast mixture and 1/2 serving of egg whites mixture - ingredients listed above. 20 oz of water with apple cider vinegar. 2 cups of white tea.

Meal 3 - 1 can of tuna in water, 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, 1/2 of apple, onion over 1.5 cups of raw bok choy. 20 oz of water with apple cider vinegar.

Meal 4 - 4 oz of grilled tilapia, 1 sweet potato and 1 cup of steamed vegetables. 40 oz of water.

Meal 5 - 1 grapefruit and 2 cups of ginger red tea with lemon. 20 oz of water.

Another great run...

I did well today. I ran strong and my knee felt great. Hopefully I am on the home stretch to total recovery! Off to ice my knee....

Daily goals -
Complete scheduled workout - done.
Drink 20 oz of water before breakfast - done
Stay within my daily caloric range - done
Knee exercises/stretches - done
Drink at least 128 oz of water - done
Ice knee 3 times a day for 20 mins- done
Take all supplements and vitamins - done
Drink 4 bags of green/white tea a day - did not meet goal.

Workout 12/5 -
20 min slow run with intervals - highest - 7.5 mph
20 mins of intervals, walking and bike with hills.

Total time - 40.20 mins
Calories burned - 343
AHR- 136/71% MHR - 182/95%

Daily Intake -
Calories consumed - 1,636
Protein - 35%
Fat - 19%
Carbs - 47%

Meal 1 - 20 oz of water. 1/2 cup of millet and 1/2 cup of oatmeal/oatbran mixture cooked with 10 almonds, 1/2 cup of skim milk, a few raisins,1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds and 1/2 scoop of protein powder.

Meal 2 -5 oz of grilled chicken breast with 1 serving of brown rice veggie mixture ( brown rice grilled with mushrooms, garlic, onions, red bell pepper, zucchini, olive oil). 20 oz of water. 2 cups of black tea with skim milk.

Meal 3 - 8 oz of water with 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries with 1 scoop of protein powder. 40 oz of water

Meal 4 - 5 oz of grilled chicken breast with 1.5 servings of brown rice veggie mixture ( brown rice grilled with mushrooms, garlic, onions, red bell pepper, zucchini, olive oil). 40 oz of water.

Meal 5 - 1/2 cup of yogurt with 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries, 1/4 cup of oatmeal/oatbran mixture, . 2 cups of red ginger tea with lemon. 1 cup of popcorn. 20 oz of water.

Great day of cardio...

Totals for the day -
Time - 97:27 mins
Calories burned - 970
Calories consumed - 1,863

Daily goals -
Complete scheduled workout - done.
Drink 20 oz of water before breakfast - did not meet goal.
Stay within my daily caloric range - done
Knee exercises/stretches - done
Drink at least 128 oz of water - done
Ice knee 3 times a day - done
Take all supplements and vitamins - done
Drink 4 - 5 bags of green/white tea a day - did not meet goal.

Workout 1 - Ellipitcal - 15 mins followed by 15:03 mins on bike - 8.5 kms with 5 hill intervals.
Total time - 32.22 mins
Calories burned - 230
AHR -124/65% MHR - 169/88%

Workout 2 - Warm up - 16 mins of aerobics with a combination of -
Cross body moutain climbers
Jumping jacks
Pushups
Low pulse lunges
Squats
Planks
Boxing
Standing Fire hydrants
Wood choppers holding one 17.6 lb DB.

Treadmill - 30 mins total -
5 min walk high speed 4.6 mph
20 min run high speed of 7.0 mph
5 min walk 3.5 mph at 15% incline and 4.0 mph at 5% incline.

Bike - 13:19 mins- 8.5 kms flat ride - no intervals.
Cool down 5 min walk and stretch.

Total time - 65:05 mins
Calories burned - 740
AHR - 160/83% MHR - 186/97%

Daily Intake -
Calories consumed - 1,863
Protein - 35%
Fat - 24%
Carbs - 42%

Meal 1 - 1/2 cup of millet and 1/2 cup of buckwheat cooked with 1/2 cup of skim milk, 1/4 cup of blackberries, 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds and 1/2 scoop of protein powder. I cup of black tea with skim milk. 20 oz of water.

Meal 3 - 1 sweet potato with 7 oz of grilled chicken breast. 1/2 apple with 5 almonds. 20 oz of water.

Meal 4 - 1 egg and 3 egg whites scrambled with 1/2 cup of mushrooms. 2 tbsp of ketchup. 40 oz of water.

Meal 5 - 7 oz of tilapia grilled with 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1/2 cup of zucchini and 1 red bell pepper. 40 oz of water.

Meal 6 - 1/2 cup of yogurt with 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries and blueberries,1/2 cup of oatmeal/oatbran mixture, 10 almonds, 1/2 scoop of protein powder. 2 cups of red ginger tea with lemon.

Latest clip from Cathe's STS...

Here is the latest clip from Cathe's STS program soon to be released.

Rest day but all goals met.

Daily goals -
Complete scheduled workout - Rest day.
Drink 20 oz of water before breakfast - done
Stay within my daily caloric range - done
Knee exercises/stretches - done
Drink at least 128 oz of water - done
Take all supplements and vitamins - done
Drink 4 - 5 bags of green/white tea a day - did not meet goal.

Daily Intake -
Calories consumed - 1,616
Protein - 32%
Fat - 18%
Carbs - 50%

Meal 1 - 20 oz of water before breakfast. 1 cup of muesli, 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 scoop of protein powder, 2 tbsp of ground flaxseeds and 1/2 apple.

Meal 2 - 1 egg scrambled with 3 egg whites and 1/2 cup of mushrooms. 20 oz of water.

Meal 3 - 1 sweet potato with 3.5 oz of grilled chicken breast. 20 oz of water. 1/2 cup of yogurt with 1/4 cup of muesli.

Meal 4 - 4 oz of tilapia grilled with 10 spears of asparagus. 40 oz of water. 1 grapefruit.

Meal 5 - 1/2 cup of yogurt with 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries and blueberries and 1/2 scoop of protein powder. 2 cups of red ginger tea with lemon.