Shopping and February Goals Update

Losing 40 pounds = replacing your wardrobe. Not just a few items but your ENTIRE wardrobe. Sounds like a great thing to have a bunch of new clothes, but it can get pricey and I don't LOVE shopping. Over the past few weeks I have purchased several items, but they all happen to be running or fitness gear! Not the real items I need to replace like work clothes/everyday clothes/underwear (TMI) etc. I take that back. I did buy two black pants for work (different styles) and a pair of jeans recently. I have managed to replace pants (for this season) and a few tops, but I am still wearing tops/sweaters that are too big and I just making them work for now. Hey, the season's getting ready to change and then I will have to buy new capris, skirts, shorts, tops, bathing suits... anyways back to the fitness gear!

Here is a running skirt and compression socks that I ordered from RunningSkirts.com.

There was a Schwaggle deal which similar to the daily deals like Groupon but for fitness products. You can sign up to receive the deals through Active.com (a great website too). The compression socks only came in purple for the deal, but aren't they so cute with the heart? I really wanted the preppy argyle skirt but they didn't have my size. I got the purple fitness skirt instead. I haven't ran in it yet, but did try it on and it seems really comfortable. I also haven't used the compression socks yet but I will!

More shopping: Camelbak water bottle, Adidas running shorts, Nathan handheld water bottle, New Balance sunglasses, Feetures! socks (lightweight for spin class), NordicTrack 3-n-1 foam roller. Also not pictured: two plain workout shirts (just needed a smaller size).

OK. I may have gone a little overboard. In my defense most items were on sale and I couldn't pass up a good deal, right? I'm not sure how great the sunglasses will be but they were only $10 at Marshall's. They look more like for sports so I think they will work better than my regular fashionable sunglasses. The Feetures! socks were technically free with a coupon. We had to make an emergency trip to Omega for a pair of compression sleeves for Michael. Poor thing is starting to have some leg pain and the BeerRun is quickly approaching!

I had seen the 3-n-1 foam roller in my Self magazine a while back. It has a large foam roller, a smaller ridge foam roller and a muscle stick all for $30! It's sold at Sears. Since Michael was having some leg pain, I thought it would be a good time to make the purchase. It comes with an instructional DVD which I will have to watch again because now I don't remember how to properly do all the stretching exercises!
Other recent activity besides shopping has included: a 6.35 mile run with the girls on Sunday, actually registering for the Beer Run, and continuing with the training plan (well almost) ;-)

February Goals Update

I'm not going to list the goals that have not happened yet because of timing (8K, half-marathon, 500 miles for the year). So here goes!

1. Keep a log of all runs using Garmin website. RESULT: DONE. I LOVE MY GARMIN!

2. Start training for a 10k race in January. RESULT: DONE. CURRENTLY ON WEEK 9.

3. Post to my blog ONCE A WEEK. RESULT: DONE. I WISH I COULD GET BACK TO POSTING ON SUNDAYS.

4. Finish a 5k race in 27 minutes (9 minute pace). RESULT: HAVEN'T DONE AN ACTUAL 5K DISTANCE YET - THE RACE IN FEBRUARY DOESN'T COUNT SINCE THE DISTANCE WASN'T A TRUE 5K. I AM GETTING A LITTLE FASTER. MY RUN YESTERDAY AVERAGED 3 MILES AT EXACTLY 30 MINUTES.

5. Do additional core exercises twice a week. RESULT: DID NOT DO THIS. I WILL SAY I DO CORE EXERCISES IN BODY PUMP AND PILATES. ALSO, I TRY TO ENGAGE MY CORE DURING SPIN CLASS.

6. Increase my weights for body pump classes. RESULT: DID NOT DO THIS. I'M STILL AT THE SAME WEIGHTS FOR UPPER BODY AND I ACTUALLY DON'T WANT TO INCREASE MY LOWER BODY WEIGHTS. I'VE READ THAT DISTANCE RUNNERS NEED TO STRENGTH TRAIN WITH LESS WEIGHT AND MORE REPS FOR LOWER BODY. SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD EXCUSE FOR ME!

7. Make LIFETIME for Weight Watchers. RESULT: I DID IT!!!!!!

8. Take daily multi-vitamin. RESULT: DID PRETTY GOOD AT LEAST DURING THE WORK WEEK. I ALWAYS FORGET ON THE WEEKENDS!

9. Eat more vegetables. RESULT: I DON'T THINK I DID MUCH BETTER THAN LAST MONTH. NEED TO IMPROVE.

10. Read a book once a month. RESULT: NOPE. STILL WORKING ON THE VAMPIRE BOOK FROM JANUARY.

So not too bad. I can see where I need to improve or re-evaluate: core exercises, increase upper body weights, veggies, reading. The biggest goal for February was making Lifetime for WW. I'm not sure my last post reflected how proud I was to accomplish this goal because I don't think it had really set in. When I first started WW in March 2011, I was only focused on losing that first 5%. The program starts you off with small goals so you will see success sooner than later if you only focused on your big or end goal. Then after 5% the next goal was 10%. Lifetime membership wasn't even on my radar until much later in the program when I realzied that I would be able to reach my end goal if I just stayed with the program.

The group run this weekend is Saturday morning and I'm not sure I will be able to meet them. I am thinking about running the Beer Run course that afternoon instead with Michael (if his leg feels better). This may not be the best idea since it's a difficult course but I think I would rather know what to expect. And who knows, I may even do so more shopping this weekend!

Oh yeah, total miles for February: 49.72 miles. Still on track for 500 for the year!