Wedding in Durango

What a wonderful weekend we had celebrating with our friends who got married in Durango!

This was the view from our cabin! Simply breathtaking. 

On our way to Silverton

We flew into Albuquerque on Friday night and spent the night at my Grandma and Uncle's house.  Saturday morning we drove up to Durango and met up with some friends for lunch before heading to the wedding.  It was such a great ceremony and reception - absolutely beautiful setting.  The next day we drove up to Silverton (and nearly hit a bear with our car!) before heading back down to ABQ.  Nathan had his first taste of authentic New Mexican food (yum!) and we hung out with some friends at the airport while waiting for our delayed flight.  All in all, a wonderful weekend... and definitely a great escape from the humidity!

My WEDDING has been BLOGGED!

Check it out at Style Me Pretty and leave some love!

It's fun to stay at the...

Y - M - C - A!

I signed up for a membership at the downtown YMCA at the end of May and I couldn't be happier with my gym membership!  It is a brand new (Fall 2010) facility spread out over five (yes, five!) stories.  I spend most of my time there on floors 2, 3 and 5 which have the women's only workout room, the studios for all the classes, and the one tenth of a mile indoor track, respectively.

So far I have taken:

• a step class (good, but not the best I've taken)
• a spin class (holy moly that kicked my butt!)
• a zumba class (fun, but I'm going to try a different instructor next time... this particular one seemed to gear her class toward beginners and seniors... I needed a bit more to keep my heart rate up)
• a "stretch and strengthening" class... which ended up being pretty darn yoga-y, which is okay, had I been expecting that.  I really would like to try some yoga classes there, but I will probably avoid this particular teacher.  She kept telling us to "put a nose" on various body parts.  As in "put a nose on your ribs and breathe from it."  I still don't quite understand.
• and finally, I have now taken 5 body pump classes.  I am hooked!

From the Les Mills website: "BODYPUMP™ is the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls. Great music, awesome instructors and your choice of weight inspire you to get the results you came for – and fast! Like all the LES MILLS™ programs, a new BODYPUMP™ class is released every three months with new music and choreography."


I've had three different instructors so far with body pump and I like all of them, but the lady I had this evening (Kandi) was awesome!  She kept reminding us to engage our abs, which is something I totally forget about and need to hear constantly.  Also, her tricep track was the only one that hasn't bothered my elbow so far (possible tendonitis? I hope not!)  I'm going to try to do two body pump classes a week and run 2-3 times a week.

Weekend recap

My sister Jillian flew into HOT HUMID Houston this past weekend for my husband Nathan's 30th birthday party.  We rented out the upstairs lounge of Benjy's in Rice Village and had some delicious sangria, wine and beer, along with some fantastic appetizers (including a mushroom/truffle oil pizza that was to die for).  I wish Jillie could be around more often, as she is one of my favorite people to hang out with.  The two of us get very silly sometimes and we're always making each other laugh.

<3 Sisters

That was all on Saturday night, but backtracking to Friday night was Nathan's actual birthday.  We had dinner at TQLA and then went straight downtown for his birthday surprise - a play at the Alley Theater!  We saw Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" and it was quite enjoyable.  That was the third play Nathan and I have seen at the Alley.  Someday I hope to have season tickets :)

Before Jillian flew back to LA on Sunday Nathan took us to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2... I pretty much cried the entire second half of the movie.  Jill and Nathan made fun of me, but I don't care... the books are so meaningful to me, and I think this was the best movie made of all of them.  I think it may be time for another reread in a few months though.  Last year I read the books out loud to Nathan in the evenings before bed.  I can't wait to do that with our kids someday :)

All in all, a pretty fantastic weekend.  And we've got another fun one coming up... tomorrow evening we fly to Albuquerque and will spend the night at my grandma's house before we drive up to Durango for a friend's wedding on Saturday.

Also, I'm SUPER excited for tomorrow.  My wedding is being blogged on Style Me Pretty!  This was my favorite blog when I was planning my wedding, and I still look at it pretty often for all the gorgeous details.  My wedding will be up on the Little Black Book page of their site at 1:15 EST.  Yay!

beginning photography

I took a digital SLR camera basics class yesterday at Houston Center for Photography. This is my first real try using anything other than "auto" on my new Nikon D3100.  The class was short - only two hours - and it was basically a quick overview of ISO, shutter speed and aperture.  The teacher was quite knowledgeable, but it would have been nice to get some actual shooting practice in.  I learn better when I'm doing and not just listening or reading.  Anyway, I figured I'd practice a little bit with some photos of my lunch today.

Delicious sushi? Don't mind if I do!

Check out my gorgeous wedding china and my brand new chopsticks :)

This was only half of the sushi... I didn't want to crowd the plate too much.

I bought the Dummies book for my camera, and I also bought one called "Better Photo Basics: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Taking Photos Like the Pros" by Jim Miotke.  I definitely have a lot to learn, but I'm excited about it.

The skinny on "skinny"

Well, I didn't make it up in time to hop on the elliptical this morning.  I figured a bit more sleep would be more beneficial to me today since I've got a  13 hour work day.  I'm on sit time in Houston right now before my San Diego turn... just got myself a tall nonfat latte at Starbucks.  I used to always order "skinny" lattes, that is, a nonfat latte with a sugar-free syrup.  Lately I've been trying to ween myself off of artificial sweeteners.  I'm not going cold turkey, but I'm definitely trying to decrease my use.  There are so many studies that tie them to cancer, weight gain and other bad side effects, not to mention the fact that splenda (my artificial sweetener of choice for the past several years) is 600 times sweeter than sugar, so my taste buds aren't able to appreciate natural sugars as much.  This is just one of many small changes I'm trying to make to improve my overall health.

Busy Day!

I've been flying all over the country but I thought I'd post my food and fitness for today!
I had an Orange County layover so I got to go home and spend the night at my parent's house... It is always so nice to go home!  My Dad and I went for a 6 mile run today.  I was supposed to run it at Half Marathon Pace + 20 seconds per mile, but I knew since I was running it with my Dad that it would be a much faster run.  He pushed me to run the very hilly 6.02 (according to Garmin) mile run in 1:08:51 which translates to a 11:26 minute mile (or nearly 1 minute per mile faster than I was supposed to be running it!)  Although I was struggling at times I felt really great afterward.  We took a couple of small walk breaks due to the hilliness and my lack of exposure to hills in Houston.  It was such a gorgeous day for a run!  I sure do wish I had trails like this in my neighborhood to run.
Afterward we went to Silky Sullivan's (a restaurant owned by my Dad's close friend) for a delicious brunch.  I had an egg white omelet with tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, cheese and avocado, as well as a bowl of mixed fruit, several cups of black coffee and my splurge - a delicious biscuit with butter and strawberry jam.  This, of course, was in addition to my pre-run breakfast of 2c puffed kamut cereal and 1/2c Kashi Go Lean cereal topped with skim milk.
Unfortunately my layover was on the short side and my Mom took me to the airport very soon after brunch.  Our plane was delayed so I got a tall nonfat latte at Starbucks.  I had a grilled chicken spinach salad with balsamic dressing, loaded up with tomatoes, cucumbers, raw almonds and walnuts and a few shrimp.  I also had some grapes and snuck a few bites of cheese.
We had a little bit of sit time in Houston before our Austin flight so I just read my book (The Perfect Mile... book review to come soon!).  We had Governor Rick Perry on our flight (along with his wife and entourage) and I just got to the hotel a bit ago.  Had a 20 minute phone call with the very tipsy husband ... always entertaining... while snacking on some Mary's Gone Crackers Organic Herb crackers and a few pieces of my Theo organic fair trade Orange dark chocolate... yum!
I've got a long day tomorrow... first a quick flight to Houston, some sit time and then a San Diego turn.  I'm planning on waking up early to hop on the treadmill for 30 minutes, but I might need to reassess in the morning because I have a feeling I might be quite sore.  My legs are doing alright, but I took a step class back to back with a yoga class and for some reason my back is feeling like it got quite a work out... I guess that means I need to step it up on the upper body work!
Goodnight!

Half Marathon Training Schedule

I recently read Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster: Become a Faster, Stronger Runner with the Revolutionary FIRST Training Program by Bill Pierce, Scott Murr and Ray Moss.  They suggest a training program that has three key runs per week (speedwork, tempo, and long run) and two to three days of specific cross training.  The theory that fewer days of running not only doesn't hurt your running capabilities, but can make you a better and faster runner, is supported by quite a bit of data from several studies they did with people training for marathons.  Most were able to shave a lot of time off, and some even qualified for Boston.  They have plans for marathons as well as half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks.  I have modified their 1/2 training schedule and taken a little bit from Hal Higdon (whose beginner's training plan I followed for Long Beach 2009) and also added a little of my own flair to it.  Since I've got such a weird work schedule (or lack thereof) I plan on keeping it flexible and being able to move runs around when I need to.  


This coming week (6/20) I have my days planned out as such:


Monday - I have the day off from work so I plan on taking a class at the YMCA and doing abs and arms strength training


Tuesday - Spin Class at the Y if I'm not working in the morning.  If I have to go to work early I'll do 45 minutes on the elliptical whenever I get to my layover.


Wednesday - I'll be working, so I can do this speed workout on the treadmill at my hotel.  I just hope it doesn't coincide with a long workday!  .7 mi warmup, 6 x 800 (.1mi RI), .7 mi cooldown (5mi total) 


Thursday - 1 hour on the elliptical plus abs and arms ... again, most likely at a hotel gym


Friday - 5 mile tempo workout, broken down like this: 1 miles easy, 3 miles @ short tempo pace, 1 mile easy


Saturday - rest day! woohoo! :)


Sunday - long run... 8 miles easy and relaxed effort


Total milage = 18 miles plus 2.5 hours cardio and 2 days of abs and arms

Weight Loss and Fitness Past

I've created this space as a spot to track my fitness and nutrition.  This is something I've been struggling with for years.  My weight loss journey and my love/hate relationship with working out and eating well have been through a lot of ups and downs.  However, this is something I'm becoming more and more interested in, and the more I learn about nutrition and fitness, the more I want to fuel my body the right way and be kind to it.

A bit about my weight, nutrition and fitness past:  Back in high school (1997-2001) I weighed 130-135lbs, which at 5'6" is a great weight for me.  I was on cross country and track, as well as the soccer and basketball teams, but I wasn't an all star on any of the teams.  Like most teenagers, I was pretty active all around, but my eating habits were atrocious.  I remember going through massive bags of peanut butter cups or Doritos all by myself and not even thinking about it.  Of course, I continued the poor eating habits when I went away for college, but other than walking around campus I wasn't getting much exercise.  This quickly added on the pounds and by the end of my sophomore year I was up to 152 lbs.  The summer of 2003 was my first experience with Weight Watchers, which my mom suggested to me.  I sort of flirted with it, but never really gave it a good try.  I also left my college that summer and decided to take classes at a community college back home.  This left me feeling bummed out and lonely and led to eating more.  The following spring I decided to give Weight Watchers a real try, and lost 15 pounds, bringing me down to 137.  I felt attractive and thin, but since I was still leading a pretty sedentary lifestyle I didn't feel fit.  Over the next few years my weight crept up to the 140-145 range, but I still felt pretty good about myself.  However, in 2007 I moved to Texas and became a flight attendant.  Very quickly, my weight sprang up to 155 + and though I tried to follow WW several times over the next few years, even getting down to 147 at one point,  I eventually ate my way up to 173lbs by the beginning of 2011.
I turn 28 on July 3, in just over 2 weeks.  The closer I get to my 30s the harder it gets to shake this excess weight.  I know WW works, but I don't know if it's right for me at this time in my life.  I've recently run my second Half Marathon (13.1 miles, for all you non runners) and the more I run the more I realize I need to be fueling my body and not just counting points or calories.  I want to be aware of what I'm putting in my body and learn more about what I should be putting in my body.  I'm hoping that being more aware of how I fuel myself will cause me to lose weight naturally and healthily.  I also really want to focus on making my body fit and strong, not to mention faster!

Daily/Weekly Goals:

• Track my food here in words, points and pictures
• Track my workouts and my running journey
• Focus on eating more whole foods and fewer processed ones

Long Term Goals:

• Run the Long Beach Half Marathon (10/9/11) in < 2:23:52 (just under an 11 min mile)
• Participate in a triathlon
• Get back into the "normal" BMI range
• Become ACE certified (personal trainer or group instructor)