I'm engaged!

Arrrggghhh! All frustrations aside with someone not a part of my relationship being the only reason we're changing everything, I'm so happy. We have been together for over 6 years and have had several ups and downs. Next to losing my father, I've never felt so happy and so sad. We are very different people, but he compliments me well, he loves me more than I could ever imagine, and is always making me laugh.

Enough of the mushy stuff... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't stressing with everything that has now been added. It provides some real motivation to work out consistently though. I've been perfect on my diet and decent on my workouts since then. My goal is 2 lbs a week, and 25-30lbs before the wedding. Check out some of the photos below.

 From my first real day back lifting several days ago and my back and traps are still rocks.

















These were leftovers from my work's gala, but it's all healthy stuff that is perfect for snacking.

From my 5-mile run yesterday. It was beautiful and I loved it, but I felt like I wanted to die. Have to pick it up though because I'm still planning on pacing my friend for a 9-11 mile stretch in December.

From tonights workout. Started by being powered by motivation and ended in pure frustration and being emotionally drained because of the wedding planning nonsense. If I lived in a better, safer neighborhood I would have gone for a run.

What's the rope? I don't have a gym membership anymore so I have to work with a few plates and an Olympic bar. I wanted to do some bbell rows that would work the center of my back so I used the rope to wrap under the bar and pull the bar up towards my groin, enabling me to squeeze my rhomboids and my lats. Very effective, and I didn't have to spend any money on some fancy accessory.


Tomorrow is my long work day so I'm going to go for a run and do some abs, toning work in the morning before heading in.

Everybody Starts Somewhere

First day back on the weights today... ugh. We did all compound movements, and the workout was only 35 minutes. I'm so tired and I can feel the soreness already. Here's what we did:

3x10 Front Squats (65lbs)
3x10 Shoulder front raises (10lbs each hand)
     Superset 3x10 Bicep curls (10lbs each hand)
3x10 Bbell bentover row (45, 65, 65)
     Superset 3x5 Chin-ups (assisted cause I still can't do a pull-up or chin-up)
2x20 Side bends
3x12 Bent Knee Raises

I'm so weak now! I'm trying not to get too disappointed with myself by comparing where I'm at now with where I've been in the past. That's a very thin line, and somewhat dangerous thing to do, because it's very easy to go too far and just get discouraged. It's important to remember that life happens and everyone has to start somewhere. Wherever you may have been in the past with your physical fitness and strength has a lot to do with everything else that was going on in your life at the time, and that may not be as important to you now as it was then. If during college you just wanted to be big and strong then great. If now you want to focus on functionality of your joints and muscles, and being cardio fit, then your training will be completely different. If you want to get back to where you were when you were younger then do the training and put in the time needed to get back to that point. And remember, EVERYBODY STARTS SOMEWHERE.

Anywho, also did a 3 mile run today. A few more hills in todays run. 5 mile trail run yesterday with the pup and little hills.

From a weekend run.

Also a weekend run. Not as enjoyable as running in a park, but it's nice to finally see some change in the leaves.

Our new squat rack!

I forgot to mention that we bought a squat rack for the garage! Now none of us really have an excuse to not lift. All the weight exercises we'll be doing incorporates exactly what you see in the his picture:
Open Squat Rack
1 Olympic Bar
1 set 45s, 35s, 25s, 10s, 2.5s
2 sets 5s

The holidays are quickly approaching. I know how good the holiday treats can be, trust me! Stay focused and keep your goals in mind! It's tough, but keep it up!

Life is Beautiful

Things have been crazy lately- a good crazy, and I'm heading in a positive direction to finish 2014 off strong. I've had several lows that have probably been some of the lowest points I've ever had, but overall this year has been my year. I started the year off in a job position I was ultimately unhappy with and feeling like I was nowhere near reaching my potential, and now I'm the Advertising Coordinator for Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay (which I absolutely love), teaching a writing class at the Academy of Art, volunteering as the publicity chair of Relay for Life- San Ramon, taking strides forward with Synergia now that we have our tax # from the IRS, and a few personal events that should happen very soon. I'm soooo excited and grateful for everything, and I absolutely, positively cannot wait to see where everything leads.

On another note, here are some pics from todays run. Relatively short, but have to build up my mileage at a minimum of a 10 min/mile pace for 9-11 miles. A friend asked me to pace him for an ultra he is doing in December. It makes me nervous but I'm confident that I can get it done. Haley managed to last the entire run today... I'm pretty sure it's because it was significantly cooler than usual, but I'll take it.

And a few from the weekend on my run in Emeryville. I absolutely adore Emeryville. It's suburban, but it's got a really cool combination of homes, warehouses, and art-minded people. It's such a beautiful combination.

I passed this sign and made me feel like I had run SO far. In reality it was only a couple blocks away. 

Get in my Belly

What would photo updates be without food?

We signed up for a Costco membership... DANGER Will Robinson! DANGER! We left that first night spending $200. These two trail mixes are sooooo good. The Fruit and Nut Medley is one of my favorites. This one in particular is a little high on sugar content so you would want to be careful with the quantity and the time of day you consume it.

We've had several meetings at work lately that have lasted half the day or longer. I managed to squeeze in a run the morning I took this before heading in, and it was such a relief to find this available. I had been craving orange juice, and the fruit with half a bagel tasted so refreshing.

Bring on the freshness! I've been a fruit binge lately and I love it. This is pineapple, strawberries, cantelope and honey dew on plain greek yogurt with cinnamon and honey. 

Getting Back in the Swing of Things

Here are a few pics from my first run since the Ragnar Race.

Thank you Dillon for stepping on my white shoes after running into the water and mud.

Shadows.

Doggy Playtime

We watched one of our friends dog last weekend and decided to take them to dog park. Our dog, Haley (Pitbull mix), loves swimming and will jump right in, but Dillon (Visla) doesn't get into the water much. He hovered just a couple feet into the water, but eventually took the plunge. We've never seen Haley swim so fast. Trying to impress her boyfriend I suppose.