Inspiration of the Week

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45585751/ns/today-today_people/t/pioneer-spirit-keeps-town-giving-ghost/

I wish I could just have the video on here but alas I can't get it figured out. Please go to the site it is worth it. I am so proud that my children spend a lot of time in this great town.
It's one of those things that just makes you proud to be human.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Katie!Maybe some of you have gone through the roller coaster of weight loss that I have. If you have reached your goal, or gotten close you look at the mirror and you see her/him. The you, you have been waiting for.
I am happy to say that I have reached a goal of 137 pounds. I did it! That's why I do this so I can be accountable, and I can feel proud of my achievements. Too many times through out the day I say to myself I need to do more, I need to be more, I need to try harder... for this moment I am going to cheer from the tops of the mountains that I am the reason this goal was reached. No one else ran for me, no one else did thousands of squats, no one else changed my eating habits... I did that and I did it without trainers, gimmicks, weird diets, I did it with three kiddos, a few moves, a loss, and lots of responsibilities. I made myself a priority and it transcended to all parts of my life, and I hope in to others lives!! So now I can move on to marathon training, and I think I am confident enough to say I will reach my 132 final weight goal by the end of January. As for now yippee!!!!

Starting weight: 192lbs.

Current weight: 137lbs.

Total loss: -55 lbs. 

So Merry Christmas!! Cheers to 2012!!

Goals: Get it ready for the joys of Christmas!

Inspiration of the Week

Cha, Cha, Changes

Bonjour and Happy December! I love this month, it's a time to dig and get some good things done. It's a time where I feel closer to my family and just want to throw love out in the world. I have no intentions to make huge goals for myself or to ride myself too hard. I have no desire to binge eat, or beat myself up if I do make "bad" food choices. I read an article not long ago about how you need to think differently about food... there is no such thing as good food choices or bad food choices. Everyone is going to have celebrations in life and with those usually comes food. The way to change your thinking per the article is, "Decide that rather than saying I shouldn't have this or I should, say I choose to have this piece of cake, or I choose not to." That way you have the power rather than the negativity of shame. Loved it. I have been able to make great choices from that statement. Also I love Christmas cookies, lefse, mix, etc... It's going to be a part of my life and I will let it be a part of my life. It will however be in moderation. I don't know how but I have finally figured that out in my life.
Another reason to celebrate!! Last week I decided alright I haven't been on that dang ol' scale in a while, and I found that I have only 5 pounds left to my goal! Yay!! It felt delicious. I also ordered a pair of jeans a size too small. Josh told me to hang on to them for 90 days well, after 2 weeks they fit. I attibute my success to the 30D5K.
Now I have to admit I did not accomplish that goal. My life is too full and the days are too short and I have no treadmill to giddy up on. So here were my stats for November... and I gave it my all... it certainly wasn't for lack of trying...

1. I ran 66 miles

2. I missed 14 days of running/working out

3. I couldn't get through Jane Eyre, ugh depressing

4. I COULD not do the NoPu method, it drove me crazy my hair was too sweaty too curly too yucky.

5. I do love apple cidar vinegar as my conditioner!! It's great and my hair is sooo bouncy.

6. As I said in the previous blog, love chia, it's a staple!

7. Last but not least, I LOVE THE OIL FACE WASH METHOD!

It has been the greatest thing on earth for my face, hardly any breakouts during that great week of a girls's month. It's well hydrated it doesn't itch or get red, and it just feels soooo good to wash it every night and steam it. It is lovely.

To read more go to...

http://simplemom.net/oil-cleansing-method/

I read a blog called moneysavingmom.com it is a great website with great ideas on how to get out debt, manage time, money and family. She has a new thing on there called 10 goals for the week. I think it's a great idea and she crosses them off through the week I think I will start it! She breaks them down into personal, mom, money, and faith. This might be my January goal :)
As for this week...

1. Meet my newest friend, the kettlebell. Holy workout Batman. I love what it is doing for my core and hips, let's just say I have never been very "cut" in that area and it is starting to show.

I have Jillian's kettlebell workout and love it. I have done it twice, and the first time I thought pfff, 30 minutes of this is nothing... I could barely move the next day. That's when you know it's good stuff.

2. Organize Olivia and Riley's home parties, and Olivia's class party.

3. Finish reading Kringle to the kids.

4. Run atleast 2 times.

5. Find something inspiring everyday! I am going to put an inspiration of the week, I am total sucker for yummy feelings and they get me going!

Cheers and smooches and Happy First Day of Christmas!!

Chi-Chi-Chia

Oh hi, yes it is I your loveable runner... Sorry for my absence the last couple of weeks. I had been posting my mileage on FB and kind of give my energy to one or the other and did not give it to my blog.
I woke up to about 7 inches of snow it is beautiful and intimidating. The challenge of this 30 Day 5K is gearing up and finding safe places to run. The ice and snow are like little land mines. However, I am well geared with yak trax so I am going to give those a go today. I am in full battle mode with a head cold, my theory is a day rest then back to running, I have maintained my health with this so far.
So, here are the stats from the last two weeks...

October 31st-November 6th

Total Mileage 19.8

November 7th-November 13th

Total Mileage 20.8

Days missed 3, I did make up the difference with good ol' long runs, however after doing my total I was .7 short and made that up this week.

I talked about taking a scoop of chia seeds everyday this month, I have missed 2 of those days. Chia is a seed that ancienct Aztec civilizations used and South American/Mexican cultures still cultivate and use today. I first read about it in Born to Run and got curious. I ordered my first bottle from vitacost.com and LOVE the results. I have more energy, my body is recovering from workouts faster and I just add it to my lunch smoothie. It is a SUPER food full of Omega 3s!! It is excellent for you digestive system and most of your immune system lays within your intestinal tract so the cleaner it is the cleaner you are. (I am not qualified to give anyone advice on their diet, this is just what works for me.)

Goal this week

1. Turkey Trot 5k with Riley

2. Run 21 miles

3. Finish Jayne Eyre by December1st!!

3. Fiber fiber fiber, with the holidays coming I want to cleanse as much as possible

While we are on the subject, my mom started getting her colonoscopies early. It was a good thing to, as she would not be with us today had she not. At each one they have found pre-cancerous polyps. What does this mean to me? Look if you're reading this chances are you are atleast 29 going on 30 maybe a few younger and a few older, my point is we should all be mature enough to talk intestinal tracts. I started taking a fiber supplement about a year ago, I take 2 TBSP a day that equates to 12 tsps which equals 84 grams of fiber/day. That's a lot of fiber. Basically I use it as my mid day snack. My cholesterol is down, my weight is down, my skin is better, and it satiates me until dinner. I will start my colonoscopies around age 40 and hopefully this will help. Not to mention it wards off other nasties like diverticulitis, hemmroids, etc... You get the idea  It's all about balance and finding what works for you, and fiber works for me :D

Cheers until next week! Happy running, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

30 Day 5k

Drum roll please...
The 300 mark has been annihilated!
Last Thursday my friend took Ethan for the day to play with her little one which left the day open for me. I have been in the kitchen non stop for about 2 or 3 weeks and had put cleaning on the back burner. A rarity in my world. So I deep cleaned all 3 bathrooms and hit the road. I was only planning on 6 miles, but the weather was so beautiful and "Miles from Nowhere" came on and I figured that with my road mileage and a trail thrown in I would have exactly 7.7 miles in, for the 7 years we have missed Nate and Bryan. It was a glorious run. Everything fell into place. However, I will give in to buying a can of mace, too many loose dogs and it is just a good idea.
So in one run I broke 300 miles!
Another big milestone Miss O and I ran the Pumpkin Fun Run 5k and raised food for the local food bank. I loved doing it with her. She wasn't 100% she has been fighting the bug that has gotten the rest of us, but she did it! I told her Sunday that I was sorry we ran it, I should have made her rest, and she looked at me with her big sick blue eyes and said "but it was fun, I wouldn't have wanted to miss it." Happy faces!

Total mileage for the week: 12.6

Total mileage for the year: 303.55

I also upped my circuit training with a Boot Camp DVD, holy cow! I was screaming in that one! I watched the Biggest Loser while I ironed Wednesday and followed it with the workout. The theme was a quote from Bob "Your fat is your fuel." So whilst I tortured myself with ridiculous amount of triceps things for lack of the term, I was yelling "My fat is my fuel." There isn't much left but trust me it could get me through a weekend in the woods :)

So on to this week, first of all, Happy 11/1/11! I have decided to take my friend Danny's idea from last month and do it this month, so for 30 days I plan on running a 5k. 30day5k! We'll see, I am going to be in Philipsburg this month, and you should see the calender I just filled out for the kids, crazy! I hope I can manage it... wouldn't it be cool to get to 400 miles by December? That's not all, I am in really experimental mood today, so I decided since I ordered all my stuff for it, here is my plan...

1. Run the 5k a Day

2. Do the NOPOO method, no shampoo for 30 days just baking soda and apple cider vinegar

3. The oil face wash, Castor oil/olive oil/tea tree oil

4. I am not going to color my hair until December, it could get ugly!

5. Have a scoop of Chia everyday, more on this subject next week...

6. Read Jane Eyre, I completely spaced my BBC reading challenge for the last 2 months!

I almost forgot my favorite goal accomplished this week! Eat some apple pie... Cheers until next week!!

Life"s Full of Ups and Downs

Ugh, I got the crud, not full bore like the rest of the fam, just a little tickle, a little tease. So I opted not to get after it. Thanks to my sweet husband I was able to get 11 hours of sleep Saturday and felt a lot better. This week looked like this...

Monday:  Rest

Tuesday: 30 minute circuit

Wednesday: 30 minute circuit

Thursday: 6 miles 57:58

Friday: 30 minute circuit

Do you ever wonder what you look like when you are working out? Come on we all do. That's why I workout in my living room for the crazy stuff. Part of the Level 3 circuit training is these things called Rock Star jumps. I told Josh I feel like I go far but I am probably only 5 inches off the ground. So Friday I was doing them and yelled "Riley come take a picture of me doing these things." He laughed the whole time, but was saying "this is a good one Mom." The ones that cracked me up are the in between jump shots... So here is the results of Riley's photo shoot.

My face has some serious intent there.

Hahaha, my face looks like "Really, again?"

However, after seeing the photos,I think I can jump pretty high!

It was a fun week, Ethan went with me to take pictures of the hill I have dominated. I have a 4.25 mile loop that is my "go to" run. It is fun, it is clean, and it is hilly.

From my new runner's bible "Born to Run" I read a quote that applied to me, ie: the reason I shaved off 10 minutes in a year from the Missoula Half.

"Hills are speed work in disguise."

The thing with where we live we are surrounded by roads with hills, so if I want to run I have to run hills. Occasionally I think wouldn't it be nice to just have flat ground? I don't know maybe I wouldn't feel nearly as accomplished.

So here is the hill I have been trying to beat for 4 months, that means get up it without really thinking about it.

Not so bad, just .25 gradual hill...Now onward and upward to the next challenge. This bad boy may take me a while, Olivia was mapping it out with me, and she squealed "Wow we are still going up this and we are in the car!!!"

Ah, so this weeks goals are, reach 300 miles, up my circuit training and have one long run. Oh yeah and eat home made apple pie :) What are yours? How do you do it? How do you fit in health?
xoK

The Sick and The Dread

Oye! What a long week it has been. Let me tell you something about mothering, there is nothing harder than going 24/7 sick with worry for your child. Riley came down with a cough last Sunday, not a big deal we thought. Tuesday night he had a low grade fever and by Wednesday Josh was down too. The difference Josh seemed to bounce back twice as fast, where as Riley was getting worse. By Saturday he had consistently carried a 104.6 fever and spiked at 105.5 Saturday night. I know what some of you are thinking, "hello at what point do you go to the doctor?" Well, I know for a fact that they would not have treated him the same had we taken him 2 days into it. I could always get it down a bit, he was eating, talking sense, and drinking. Monday was the day we decided to take him. I drive 40 miles to get him to a doctor that is so good, and knows our kids so well. He ordered chest xrays and 4 nasal swabs, and 2 strep cultures. The results, no Whooping Cough, just a bad case of Pneumonia. 36 hours later we are doing great, he got hit heavy with anti-biotics.
What does this all mean for my training...

(courtesy of I <3 to run)

I took off most nights and ran away from germs so to speak, so far I am staying strong. I slept nearly everyday until 8am as I was up most nights with Riley. My total mileage last week was 18 miles. My longest run was 7 miles, and I was tired, but I think that was a given this week. Olivia came with for 3 of those miles, and if you get that girl talking I think she could go all day! Also, a note to myself, new trail on Sundays, too many darn horses to run in to.

This week I am excited and a little eek! On Monday I was all excited to reach 300 miles this week. That meant I only needed to run 15 miles this week, it's Thursday and I haven't run one. I have been doing circuit training, and all I am going to say is it is working. While my kids play up stairs I workout in a sports bra, advice if you want motivation to keep going on the ab part of training rip your shirt off, you won't stop, unless your already blessed with a six pack as my husband would be go ahead and keep your silly shirt.

In case you have been paying attention to my facebook posts, I have been the freezer cooking mama this week. And in case you think I am just this fabulous diva who gets it all done whilst looking good, eh ugh. Most days this week I cooked, and cooked in the mornings and couldn't get to circuit training until 2 or 3 pm. The good thing about Riley being sick is I don't go anywhere and can focus on this stuff, and LAUNDRY galore. This itchy neat freak can't stand the thought of germs on towels, bedding, clothes, etc... Plus blogging, so do I look super fabulous when my man walks through the door?

Nope, but I do clean up well, and that's what he knows. I just don't want any woman or man to be fair, think that you can accomplish ALL of it ALL of the time. Sometime stuff slides, and most days are better with mascara, but some days I am just a sweat ball, and we're all good with that around here :) See I told you there would be a few laughs!

Anywhoo! Back to 300 miles. If I make it this week, great, if not next week would be alright to. So cheers to next week, I know your pulling for those numbers for me! I am going photo shooting because next weeks blog is going to focus on hills!!

xoK

262 Days to 26.2

What a beautiful morning it's going to shape up to be! 262 days until the marathon, what a fitting number to start training on!! So here's the deal, rather than start this off like I haven't been doing this for a few years I am just going to carry on.

This is the first week of my training! I took last weekend off to just be with the fam, and it was delightful. So here is how I am going to do this. My first goal is strength, I have endurance and will maintain and lengthen it over time, but I really want to strengthen myself. I have never been able to do a pull up in my life! That's right I was that kid in gym class. This year will be different! I will reach my pull up goal! It's fun training for a marathon, my mind set switched completely. Before it was about losing weight, now it's about being able to run 26.2 miles. Now, about that pic, Josh bought me that outfit and I don't have a full length mirror, so he took a pic, and I was elated! Finally I am starting to see the body I want!

This is how my last month has gone

A.M Jillian Michael's Shred

P.M Weight Loss Yoga Monday and Wednesday

and a beautiful run, I was delighted in the fact that I ran my fastest 4.25 mile loop ever 37:40!

It has been great! My goodness I may reach my goal jean size by Turkey Day!

I can't always get my runs in with less and less day light, but I am giving it my best shot.

This weeks goal:

Start Marathon Training

One long run

Welcome to Kats Kradle! I hope it is a place where we can all chat and were you can laugh and enjoy yourself as I train for 2012 Missoula Marathon. This is my own little place where I can check in on myself and you! I hope we enjoy it! Cheers! XO