New Shoes

Today was a non workout or running day, but I did buy new running shoes. There's a story there that I'll get into later...

Thanks for all of the kind words . Those words really help to keep the inside fires burning to keep on going.

Katiefeldmom - It's a lot of work, but it is worth it when it's all said and done. I could always say I wished I did this sooner, but I guess we all have to figure things out for ourselves.

Leslie - Yep. That was me. I looked like the frumpy mom in those mom jeans shorts. GAH! What was I thinking with those overall shorts??? The cool thing about changing so much is that people I know who haven't seen me in a long time don't even recognize me.

Barbie2be - Winner once again! I didn't know if anybody remembered Jethro Tull. As for that time in my life, I actually thought I looked okay. I thought I was more fit than I actually was. I was so wrong... I think people want to be nice and tell when we're not that big when in fact we are. Besides, even if they did tell us we wouldn't believe them anyway. We need to see it for ourselves before we can do something about it.

Cathy - At my 25th High School reunion, no one recognized me because I lost all of that weight. It was kind of cool when they found out it was me. They saw the fat me at the 20 year reunion. This year is my 30th. It will be interesting. Thanks for your on-going support, Cathy. You've had an awesome transformation, too.

Chantal - Thank you! It was reading your blog (about your fitness anniversary) that made me realize it had been 7 years for me. You're also proof that you can keep things going and stay fit!

Dori - I followed the book Body For Life by Bill Phillips for 3 back to back 12 week challenges. I followed the book to the t for the first round, then I changed things around for the next two, and that's when I saw the bigger changes. The workout schedule looked something like this:
Monday - Upper body Workout (UBW)
Tuesday - Cardio - High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Wednesday - Lower Body Workout (LBW)
Thursday - Cardio -HIIT
Friday - UBW
Saturday - Cardio HIIT
Sunday - No workout/cardio
Then the next week is the same except you have two LBW's (Monday and Friday) and one UBW (On Wednesday)... All exercises are done on weight machines or with free weights and a bench -- but I've improvised with resistance bands and stability balls. The type of exercises you do should change every 4 weeks so you're less likely to plateau. There's also a list of "authorized foods." The food list is on their website but I would suggest following the list in the book first, just to get a better grasp of clean eating. A lot of people get amazing results right away, but it took me 9 months mostly because of age and a sluggish metabolism. BFL is pretty simple to follow, and you really don't need supplements (as the book suggests - I don't use Myoplex), provided you follow the nutrition guidelines. It's a good place to get started, and once you get going with it you can "tweak" the nutrition and the workouts so that it works to your advantage. I've done other workouts since then, such as circuit training. BFL set the foundation for what I do now. One down side, though, is that a lot of personal trainers do not like the BFL approach. Personally, I'm all for what ever gets a person going, whether if it's BFL or something else. I must say that it's rather hard to marathon train and do BFL. It's overkill. So, for marathon training I'm using a combination of marathon training plans I found on Runnersworld.com. When the marathon is over I'll go back to full on weight training, but probably keep it at circuit training. As for the size, well, that was a surprise. I had never fathomed being a 2. I just never thought that number would be in my wardrobe. It wasn't a goal. A healthy 4/6 would have been peachy.

Evelyne - I guess we all have to have those before pictures... That one with my brother was the defining moment for me, that I had to do something.

Donna - I got rid of all of my fat clothes so there is no going back! Those pictures are a gentle reminder of where not to go back to...

Anne - It will always be a battle, darn it, but at least I can now have some fun with it, especially with the running.

Pamela - LOL... Thanks! I don't even recognize me in those pictures...

Now, about the shoes...
I went to Road Runner Sports to take a look at the current Asics Gel Nimbus, the most current model, only to find out that they've already been put on the endangered list. I tried on a pair and I could feel the difference right away. The weren't as comfy as last year's model, the toe box is not as wide, and the eyelets on top are loops, not holes. Bummer. My biggest gripe is that they always have to mess up a good thing and change the shoe I like best. I tried on the Asics Gel Cumulus and the Asics Gel Kinsei. The Gel Cumulus was about $85.00. It fit okay but was a little wobbly in the heel. The Gel Kinsei fit perfectly. I just about had a coronary over the price of around $165.00. It figures. The shoe that fits best is the one that cost more than I want to spend. After some deliberation (in my head) I decided to just close my eyes and buy the Gel Kinsei's. I go to the checkout and the guy rings up my sale and it comes up to $82.42, tax included. I also had my 10% VIP discount, but it shoudn't be THAT big of a discount. I asked the sales guy to make sure I had the right shoes, and I did. Hmmm. Oh well. Perhaps it was a fluke , a never worn return or something? I dunno. Hubbie bought a pair of running shoes like that before -- a new style, a never worn return, but marked way down. So, that's my story. I got the expensive shoes for cheap. The running shoe gods were kind today.

PEACE