My Bucket List includes participating in a Triathlon

A year ago I said I wanted to participate in the Playmakers Classic Triathlon this year. Well guess what, I didn't train for it. I have participated in other types of races like the Filthy 5K and Warrior Dash but still have a triathlon on my bucket list.

Two weekends ago my friend Rachel and I participated in our first Warrior Dash at Mt. Morris, MI. We had so much fun that we are already registered for next year. We are encouraging others to sign up as well. I've posted pictures to my Facebook account. I had read on another blog to buy a disposable camera and put it inside a Ziploc bag so that it didn't get wet. I carried it in a fanny pack throughout the race so we could get pictures. I'm so glad that I did because now we have the pictures to remind us of the fun we experienced that day.

Rachel and I participated in the Grand Rapids Urban Adventure Race last fall. It's a Run, Bike and Search race hosted in downtown Grand Rapids. It involved figuring out clues so that you could go to your next check-in station. Each check-in station was different. One of my favorites was near a lake and we had to work as a team to fill a tube with water from the lake, but the tube had small holes in it. We took turns plugging the holes while the other retrieved water from the lake. Challenging but fun!

I'm always looking for something new to try, so if you hear of any races in the Mid Michigan area please let me know. I'm always up for a challenge and always looking for people to join me.

Setting New Fitness Goals

I've been doing a lot of thinking the past few days and I finally decided to get serious and set some new fitness goals. Several years ago I taught a first term class to students, and one of the topics we covered was goal setting. We talked about S.M.A.R.T goals.

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-Targeted

Those that know me, know that I have been working out using various Beachbody workout programs for over two years now. I lost 30 pounds and have been successful at keeping it off. However, I am not where I ultimately would like to be. I have decided that it is time to get serious and commit to taking my fitness to a new level. To do this I am committing to working out 5 days a week. I plan to start the Chalene Extreme workout program to help with strength training in addition to running for an additional cardio workout. I will track my weight, measurements and activity in my free WOWY online account. I will know that I am achieving my goal as the weight continues to drop and inches fall off, especially in my waist area. My ultimate goal is to have a flat stomach. I would love to be able to wear a cute sports bra and workout shorts. I will set the timeline for the cute outfit for next spring. One of my first short term goals will be to lose an additional 10 pounds by Christmas 2013. That gives me 4 1/2 months to reach my first goal. In addition to working out I plan to post regular blogs, to share my ups and downs. I hope that others will join me on my journey for better overall health and fitness.

Setting Goals

One thing that has always motivated me in life is setting personal goals. A year ago I decided that I was getting married on January 1, 2011 and I was not going to have wedding pictures of me being fat. I mentioned in my previous post that my daughter, Alicia made me feel guilty about not working out with her. I had a whole barrel of excuses, she wasn't buying any of them. I finally decided to get serious and set goals.

One thing I really love about the Beachbody workout programs is that they help you establish the goals. Slim in 6 is a 6 week program, Insanity is a 60 day program, P90X is a 90 day program and ChaLEAN Extreme is a 120 day program. You decide what your goal is and when you would like to accomplish it by and then select a program that fits your goals. You can automatically schedule your complete Beachbody® workout program in WOWY SuperGym. Each day when you log in to WOWY it will tell you which workout to complete within your selected program.It doesn't get much easier than that.

When I finally decided to get serious about losing weight, one of the first things I did was to take pictures and measurements. After months of dabbling with the many different workout programs I finally decided to do P90X with my daughter. We took our before pictures and committed to working out daily. After the first 30 days I have to admit I was ready to give up. I was not losing any weight, I was gaining. Everyone kept saying I was building muscle and muscle weighed more than fat. I wanted to believe that, but it wasn't until I took my next set of pictures and measurements that I believed it. My measurements were changing and I was seeing visible results. This encouraged me to stick with it and to keep "pushing play". Tony Horton became my next best friend. I found myself picking up on his catchy phrases like "do you best and forget the rest". When I say I completed the P90X program, I have to clarify that I did my best and forgot the rest. It is an extremely hard workout regiment, but I did the best I could each day and just kept pushing forward. I am so glad that I stuck with it and reached one of my goals.

I got married on January 1, 2011 and lost the 20 pounds that I had set out to lose. I had gone from a size 14 to a size 8. When I purchased my wedding dress and tried it on for the first time they told me it could be let out in size if necessary. There was no way that was happening, I was going to lose the 20 pounds so I could fit in the dress and I did it.

What goals have you set in your personal life? What motivates you to reach your goals?