Happy Birthday R.I.S

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday Dear Running Into Shape, Happy Birthday to me!  Okay, so I spent all week coming up with this fancy title and song, just to realize that technically, I think it’s my 1 Year blog Anniversary, not birthday. LOL! Nonetheless, One year ago today, I wrote my very 1st post.  Way back then, I was just a fat girl who wanted to run, and send emails to my family and friends to keep my self accountable.  I guess I’m still overweight, and still wanna run, but my website has grown so much more.  I created my own Couch to 5K podcast, and created a Wall of Fame  for my successful 5K runners.  In January, I had nearly 800 visitors in one day, and have had almost 47,000 visitors total.  I’m even a certified group fitness instructor, in the process of making a fitness DVD.   This time last year I would’ve laughed it someone would have told me that this is where I would be today.  There are a lot of other cool things that happened in the past year, most of which I talked about in my New Year’s Review Post.  But just wanted to say, “Happy Birthday Running Into Shape!”

Sunny Skies

I woke up this morning to the most wonderful thing ever…..Sunshine! I was so excited.   I feel like I live in Seattle with all the rain we’ve had here.  I think it rained more than 20 days of last month.  I’m sure you’ve heard me rant and rave about how much I hate rain; it’s so gloomy and depressing to me.  To wake up and see sunshine after having weeks on end of dreary days was truly refreshing.  When I let Nyah out, I saw that we had a few inches of snow, fortunately nothing like “Snow-mageddon” in D.C.  I was a little worried that the snow would scare people away from my fitness class.  The good part about being the teacher is that I can’t really make up too many excuses not to work out.  But one thing I still battle with the question, “Do I really need to take a shower?”  I think most people who work out in the morning just go, they don’t take a shower, and then come home and take another shower after the workout.  That just seems really redundant.  But, I feel like as the teacher, you can’t really teach the class wearing yesterday’s funk.  So, I went ahead and showered before class.  Mom and I rode together, but about 15 minutes later, no one showed up for class.  My Big little sister was working at her salon and my little sister was taking her ACT test, and other participants had already called and canceled.  Just when I was about to go back home, 2 people showed up.  I told them I passed my Group Fitness Instructor test, and to expect a better class because I’ve learned so much.  After the warm up, I told the 3 lucky ladies it was time to hit the stairs!  After a few runs up the stairs, I threw in a little kick boxing; it was fun.  Class is much better now that I actually have a better understanding of how our body works, instead of just throwing together random exercises.  I felt so good after class; I wanted to work out more!  Last week was just “ugh” I didn’t have any motivation to work out, so I figured I should milk this “want to work out feeling” for all it was worth.  When I got home I put on “The Firm- 500 Calorie workout“ DVD.  I thought, I’m pretty much in shape, I can do this.  This DVD was Extremely advanced and very fast paced.  I almost tripped over my feet on more than one occasion.  One move was like step, hop, cross, skip, kick, jump, turn and repeat it.   I guess if you’re a tri-athlete and need something more advanced, this is the workout for you.  I stopped after 15 minutes, so I probably burned 125 calories.  That was enough.  After starting off the morning so wonderfully, the rest of the day had no choice but to follow the lead. 

YEAH BABY! I’m Certified to Teach You

OMG! It’s Official!  I am an ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor.  I wonder if I get to add credential letters at the end of my signature?  LOL.  My wildest dreams are slowing coming into fruition.    My crazy ambition is gradually becoming a part of who I really am every day.  This morning I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm went off, which never happens to me; but I guess it was because I was so scared that I would over sleep.   Since I’ve been studying all of this nutrition stuff, I selected a breakfast of whole grain toast (complex carbs) and scrambled eggs (protein), and a cup of 100% fruit juice to get me started on the right foot, and prevent hunger later.  Then I was on my way.  While I was getting in the car, I started to feel so sick to my stomach, why today, of all days would my stomach want to turn flips.  Then I remembered back to the day I had to do the TV Evening News interview, and the day of my All-Star 5K race, and I realized it was just nerves.  I coached myself, “failure is not an option, calm down, pray, You only need a 71% to pass,  quit trippin’”  My stomach began to settle.   When I got to the school testing site, there was a huge locked gate with no access to the testing building.   “Dang it!’ They said in all the study materials that you should scope out the place before test day to help with test anxiety.  I figured, “well it’s 10 minutes away, I can find it.” I started to panic again.  I had to start up the positive self talk again, “calm down, you’re 30 mins early, failure is not an option.” I had to go around a few streets and finally made it to the security desk.  All week I prepared myself to deal with skinny overly excited fitness gurus to look at me ”ask why are you here”? When I pulled up, the security guard said, “what are you here for?” I replied to take the Group Fitness Instructor test, he said “okay”….then he paused said “Ma’am what did you say?, as he sized up all of my extra curves.  I repeated I’m here to take the group fitness instructor test, I’d like to help overweight people reach their goals and become more healthy.  “Oh! Thats great” he said and gave me a visitor pass.  The school building was so beautiful! It was marble everywhere.  I snapped a quick pic for you guys.  I logged in to the computer based test and I got really antsy after an hour.  I was so tired of sitting there.   I decided to take a bathroom break and did some stretches and jumps and kicks to get moving again.  Two more hours later, when I finished my test the results popped up and the 1^st number I saw was 68%, my heart sank, I read down 71%…..still not good enough, down some more 76%, down some more, in the last section I scored 100%.  Averaging about 78%, and finally at the bottom in tiny little writing: “PASS”   I can’t believe it, I am a real group fitness instructor!  No more audio study CD in the car, no more studying until 2AM, no more flashcards in my purse, no more textbook under my pillow for osmosis, (yes I did this, lol).  It’s turning out to be a fantastic year for me….My cousins pastor put it best, “God wouldn’t put the desire to go south in a bird, if he didn’t think it would make it there, just like he didn’t put those dreams in you, if he didn’t think you would make it!”

Helping Haiti

Today was a great day, this morning, I got up taught my “Your Body is His Temple” fitness class at church.  I had this crazy feeling that nobody was going to show up.  But, I was very wrong, there were about 8 or 9 class participants.  The even crazier part is that I did not even have a routine planned out, because I figured it was too cold and that nobody would come out on a Saturday morning.  I did however, prepare a work sheet the night before, just in case.  The worksheet talked about goals, and how to set realistic achievable goals.  I tried to hide my panic on the inside about my lack of preparation, and told the class, instead of  setting a goal to lose 50 pounds, set a goal to lose 1 or 2 pounds this week.  Then I used myself as an example.  I told the class, that I’m trying to get to my goal of only drinking water.  To achieve my goal, I didn’t set some outrageous goal, and try to cut out everything except water.  I started with the little things, like removing soda from my diet.  After our discussion on proper goal setting techniques, it was time for the fitness portion of the class.  Luckily I had some printouts from the last time I taught the class.   I think it went over pretty smoothly, nobody told me I looked lost, and like I was making it up as I went along, although, that was certainly what I was doing!  It turned out to be a really good workout, I was sweating, the other ladies were sweating.  It was a lot of fun to have my celebrity Aunt from L.A. in my class.  She said she really enjoyed it, and gave me some Hollywood tips to make class more fun.  After class, I had a hair appointment with my Big Little Sister at her salon.  I didn’t have time to go home and make something healthy, and I didn’t really want semi-healthy food from McDonald’s.  I kept trying to figure out what to eat. 

The Race That Never Was…

I was signed up to run my 4th 5K on Saturday in O’Fallon, Mo.  Friday, I had an interview out there, so I went ahead and picked up my race packet.  I had my t-shirt, and my number laid out on the bed.  I had everything except the desire to do it.  I just didn’t feel like it.  Later on, I still didn’t feel like it.  So…I made a decision Friday night not to run.  I wasn’t upset or scared that I couldn’t do it, I just didn’t want to. My heart just wasn’t in it.  So I asked myself, if you don’t go to this race in morning, are you going to beat yourself up about it? I decided that I would not, sooo…I didn’t go.  I know that’s not good news for “runningintoshape.com” But it’s not like I haven’t been working out at all, I did another trial fitness class with my Big Little Sister since I used the Little Sister last time.  She thought I did a really good job, and believe me, if I didn’t she would’ve told me.  I forgot to explain to her that everything was just pretend in the practice classes.  I cracked up laughing when she was excited about the make-believe handout I had for the class with tips on how to drink more water. 

I did however attach it below for you guys….My fitness class called “Your Body is His Temple” class started tonight at church.  It was so FUN!  I really enjoyed teaching it.  I think I had about 10 or 12 students.  I started the class with the real handout and a group discussion about water.  Then I had all of my stretches and exercises printed on my little cheat sheet that I kept beside me on the floor.  After class everyone told me I did a great job.  It’s still funny to me that I’m 200+ pounds teaching a fitness class and nobody questions it! My first official class with real people and real handouts was a success even with me as an unofficial instructor.  I think sometimes we underestimate our own abilities and strengths. Several of them said once a week is not enough and they want more…. Even though it’s something that you seemingly would not be good at, you can be.

The Real Water Handout….

Reasons to Drink Water

1.       Jesus said that He is “living water”. Everyone who drinks physical water will thirst again, but the one who believes in Jesus will never thirst spiritually. He is the water from heaven to quench the thirsty soul. [see John 4:10-14]  Without PHYSICAL water, we will die physically

2.      Water is absolutely essential to the human body’s survival. A person can live for about a month without food, but only about a week without water.

3.      Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.

4.      Water leads to increased energy levels. The most common cause of daytime fatigue is actually mild dehydration.

5.      Drinking adequate amounts of water can decrease the risk of certain types of cancers, including colon cancer, bladder cancer, and breast cancer.

6.      For a majority of sufferers, drinking water can significantly reduce joint and/or back pain.

7.      Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease.

8.      Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.

9.      Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance.

10.   Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.

11.    Water is the primary mode of transportation for all nutrients in the body and is essential for proper circulation.

How to Drink More Water

1.      Determine how much water you need. You’ve probably heard the “8 by 8″ rule – drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day (2 quarts, 1.8 liters) – but the amount of water a person needs varies depending on his or her weight, activity level and climate.

2.      Measure your daily intake of water. Do this for a few days. If you find that you’re drinking less than the recommended quantity, try some of the following tips.

3.      Carry water with you everywhere put it in a bottle or other container. ( I ALWAYS do)

4.      Keep a glass or cup of water next to you whenever you’ll be sitting down for a long time, such as when you’re at your desk at work. Drink from it regularly as you’re working.

5.      Try wearing a digital watch that beeps at the beginning of each hour. Use that as a reminder to pour yourself a glass of water. Vow to drink that water before the next beep. If you drink only one small (6 ounce or 180 ml) cup per hour, you’ll have consumed 48 ounces (1.4 liters) by the end of an 8-hour workday. (A little extreme, but it’ll work!)

6.      Get a water purification system. Purified water tastes very good and may help make drinking water more appealing to you. Be aware, though, that as you grow accustomed to purified water, you may find that tap water leaves a bad taste in your mouth, even though it may be better for your teeth.^[1] Keep in mind that fluoride, found in small quantities in tap water, is necessary for strong, healthy teeth. ^[2] Fortunately, all toothpaste contains fluoride, so if you brush twice daily you won’t need fluoridated water.

7.      Add lemons or limes to your water. This makes it taste better and makes you want to drink more of it. Be careful not to make it too sour; just a splash of sourness should do the trick. Cucumber slices can also be added to a glass of water. Some mint leaves can be added to a pitcher of water which should be allowed to sit overnight. These are cheap alternatives to the bottled flavored water. If you do choose bottled flavored water, check the ingredients, as these are likely closer in form to lemon- or limeade than they are to water.  “Beyonce Water” – Cucumber & Lemon

8.      Eat water rich foods, such as fruits like watermelon, which is 92% water by weight. Blend up some seedless fresh watermelon flesh with some ice and place a few sprigs of mint (optional) – one of the most refreshing drinks, especially for the summertime. Cranberry juice is also another option, and has a bitter taste. Patients suffering from urinary infection caused by insufficient intake of water should drink cranberry juice and eat watermelon if not plain water everyday. A tomato is 95% water. An egg is about 74% water.

9.      Keep water cold if it tastes better for you. Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator at home. Add ice or freeze water in a sports bottle before taking it with you, it will eventually melt and stay cold. Bear in mind that cold water takes energy for your body to regulate the temperature, and does burn some calories. Room temperature water is better if you’re dehydrated. Your body can absorb the room temperature water immediately, instead of the body having to raise the temperature of the water first in order to process it.

10.  Climate can drastically change how much water you need. On hot days that require you to be outside, you should drink more water to counteract the fluids you lose when you sweat. This not only keeps your body hydrated, it can prevent heat-related illness. Just as important (but often overlooked) is consuming enough fluids in cold & wet conditions. The human body works much more efficiently (including heating and cooling) when properly hydrated. Inadequate water intake affects the brain’s function first, which can become very dangerous (especially in extreme conditions).