It happened...

I finally made it into the 170's!!  I stepped on the scale yesterday morning to do my mid-week check, closed my eyes really tight and said a silent prayer hoping that it would say 179.something and when I opened them, it said 179.0!  If only I'd known that all you had to do was scrunch your eyes tight and say a little prayer, this would have been done a loooooooooong time ago!

I've been trying to take the running easy this week because my legs have been a tiny bit stiff from the run on Saturday night.   Now that I'm extra motivated to keep the pounds coming off, I don't want to sit on my butt either!  Last night however, I sat.  I spent the entire day cleaning my house yesterday.  I vacuumed, I scrubbed, I wiped, I tidied - I think, based on the 5 hours I spent cleaning that it's safe to say I burned about 500 calories cleaning.  So, that's why my couch won last night.  Today, however, I've got 4 miles on the treadmill because it's gotten super hot outside again.

I'm trying to decide what I should work towards next in terms of running goals.  Another 10 k?  Something more?  I'm not convinced that I have the dedication to do more yet.  I don't know that I want to do another 1/2 especially since crossing that 15 k finish line was extremely satisfying, don't get me wrong, but it was tough.  The question is what, where and when?

Suggestions?  Anyone...ANYONE??

Found this on Pinterest today and thought I'd share.  Well, let's be honest.  I put it here to remind myself that I should be doing these things on a weekly basis!

Make that $56!

Whaaaaaaaat?  How did I go from $4 to $56?  Woooooot!
I know it's not a lot of money and in reality it will probably only buy me a shirt from LuluLemon, BUT I earned every single one of those sweaty little dollars and I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment!  I have one more little run before the big 15k which will bring my Lulu jar total to $58.  Which means, I'm getting this!

I've also decided that to reward myself for not missing A SINGLE run over the last 5 weeks that I'm going to gift myself with another $58 because, well, I'm pretty sure that I deserve it!  Now I just have to decide what I'm going to get with the extra money!

Today was a fairly easy 2 miles outside.  The first run I've done outside at home in a really long time and not my worst time ever so I'll take it.  Hopefully doing these little runs outside this week will help me not want to die on the side of the trail on Saturday.  Hopefully...!

So, what should my next workout incentive be?  A spa day?  New shoes?  New non-workout clothes?  What to do, what to do???

The weight is over...

Ha!  See that funny little play on words I used there?  Yup, that's right, I am *that* girl!  Besides, a little play on words is what a girl needs when the scale didn't say what she wanted it to say!  I contemplated not posting today, but since I started this thing to keep me honest and on track, I really couldn't do that, now could I?  The scale this morning said 189.5 - up only a few points from last week, but not down like it said on Friday when I timidly stepped on to check in!

It's 100% my fault - well, duh! of course it's my fault!  What I mean is, I was supposed to go for my big run yesterday afternoon (7 miles) and I procrastinated the afternoon away until I didn't have enough time to do it until after supper.  Of course, after supper I sat down on the couch while the boys were playing and well, it was game over.  So, today, while the boys are at camp again, I WILL be doing my 7 miles before I get to do anything else!

This week, I've decided to add food journaling to my routine.  I'm not sure if I'll do the traditional, write everything down in a little book, sign up for an app on my phone OR photo journal.  Each has their pros and cons.  Maybe I should do all 3 for a few days and see which works best for me.  I've done the book before - but it's just me writing stuff down and doesn't necessarily have the impact of a visual tracking device like an app on my phone.  If I take pictures, I'm probably going to spend more time making it look pretty AND making sure that it's healthy enough that I can actually have photographic proof of it!

I think also, that I am going to give myself a mini incentive for next week.  I really and I mean REALLY need a pedicure.  Need it like if I took a picture of my dry, flakey feet right now, you'd probably cover your eyes and run screaming from your computer screen.  They are that bad.  Soooooo, If I lose at least 2 lbs this week (like I said, I really need it!) I'm going to book a mani pedi appointment for next week and pamper myself a little bit!

I really need to dig deep and start working harder this week.  If my SIL and I are going to win our little competition, I have to be into the 160's by the beginning of Sept.  That's 6 weeks away and means I have to have a couple of weeks of at least 5 lbs in order to make this work.  I can do it, but I've got to work my ass off - literally, in order to get there.

So, here's what's on tap for this week:
Monday - 7 mile run, some core and arm work
Tuesday - 4 mile run, legs/butt and core work
Wednesday - 2 mile run, core, arm and leg work on the machines
Thursday - 4 mile run
Friday - 3.5 mile run and camping fun!
Saturday - mooooooore camping fun!
Sunday - 7.5 miles

If I can get all of these runs in AND really take control of my eating, this should be a really good week!

Bring it week, BRING IT!

Number one thing NOT to do is...

watch the food network!  It's like dangling a cupcake carrot in front of me a horse but never actually letting me the horse get it!  And why, might you ask, don't I just change the channel so I'm not watching delicious food dance across the screen in front of me?  Because clearly, I'm a masochist of sorts who likes to spend my free time torturing myself!
Ok, so time to distract myself from the food orgy that is currently happening on my tv right now.  I did NOT get on my treadmill last night - family on the phone kept me from getting my run in.  However, I did get down to my fitness dungeon today and did do my 3.5 miles as per the schedule.  Tomorrow I have to get in 3 miles and then 5.5 on Sunday.  Hopefully my legs don't give me the middle toe and tell me where to shove it!
I've been toying with a few incentive plans for my runs.  I'm a person who likes pretty things.  I like new things and since I don't feel comfortable buying new clothes when I'd have to buy them in a size that I'd never like to see ever again hanging in my closet, I've had to come up with a new plan of attack.  In the past I've rewarded myself with lots of different things.  I tried bribing myself with the lure of new shoes.  That failed.  I tried food rewards (I know SO counterproductive!) Obviously none of these plans worked so, of course I started creeping Pinterest to see what I could find there!
Some people were paying themselves money, some people were using complicated colour coded charts and some people were just talking about what everybody else was doing!  Sooooo, the question is, which incentive route do I pick?  I'm leaning towards the financial incentive plan where I pay myself a toonie every time I run and watch the jar fills up.  The ultimate goal is to go into LuluLemon and buy this:

And this:

And finally, this:

That's almost $300 worth of Lulu, so I'd better get my ass moving since I've only earned $6.00 so far!  Hopefully by the time I hit the $300 mark, said ass will look as amazing in those pants as the size -4 model up there!  

Sunday is meal planning day.  I foresee a lot of salad in our future for the upcoming week.  It's too hot to cook a whole lot so if it can't go on the bbq, it's probably not going to get cooked in my house right now!  Let's see what kind of excitement I can come up with for my picky eaters next week.  I'll keep you posted!  AND I'll leave you with this (and by you, I mean me!)...