Goals and the 5K

I realized I still needed something more to push me to get back into shape.  I couldn’t figure out what it was until a read a fellow Blogger’s post.

Rosa, over at Stuffing My Feelings wrote a wonderful post about her goal to run one 5K race per month in 2010 here.

I thought to myself, wow, she’s crazy, that’s an amazing goal.  Then I shook my head and thought to myself, I’ve never even done one, and think it would kill me to do one.

Then it hit me.  That’s what I wanted.  I wanted to run a 5K, finish it, and not die doing it.  This was a new goal to add to my 2010 Goal List.

I immediately Googled 5K runs in my area and found a women’s only race at the end of May.  Perfect!  This should be enough time to get myself ready!  I whipped out my wallet and registered before I could talk myself out of it (or let anyone else talk me out of it).  So if all goes well, I will be running the Toronto Women’s Half Marathon and 5k – Sunday May 30, 2010.

I spent some time looking into what I needed to know for running the 5K and the first things I learned was that a very good pair of shoes, fitted by a professional when possible, was pretty much a necessity.

I convinced begged the boyfriend to take me to The Running Room this morning so I could talk to someone about shoes.  A very lovely woman spent quite a bit of time with me, analyzing my feet, how I walk, how I run, etc.  We discover I needed some light stability for my arch and she showed me the shoes I could choose from.  She urged me to try on multiple pairs to ensure I found one with a good fit.  After four pairs I found my babies.

I also invested in two pair of double layer running socks for moisture and blister control (because I am uber prone to blisters).

I also learned about some good clinics they offer I might be interested in taking, as well as free practice running twice a week.  She even threw in some free running magazines.

My last stop in the 5K start-up journey was a trip to Chapters to get some books on running in general and training for the 5K.  Can you tell I’m excited?

When I got home I was so eager to get moving that I ran right to my workout room to complete my normal workout (workout #6 of the EA Active More Workouts 6 week challenge).  I followed that up with a custom workout created for the original EA Active on their 5K Challenge site.  Holy squats and lunges Batman!  My legs were on fire!

All this and I still managed to make this week’s batch of homemade honey peanut granola.  But you’ll have to wait for this week’s Weekend Warrior post for more on that!

Weekend Warrior

I have such a busy work week schedule that I am usually only able to do the things I really enjoy on weekends. I am going to try to share these things in weekly posts that will be marked as "Weekend Warrior".

One of the things I really enjoy doing is cooking and baking. I work in downtown Toronto from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and am therefore usually not home until around 7:00 p.m. (if the transit system behaves normally). Due to that fact, I rarely get to cook, or even help out with dinner during the week. This means that one weekends I usually go out of my way to make at least one special meal that my other half would never bother with.

This weekend I made a family favourite, healthy sloppy joes.

The basis of this recipe came from the following book:



I love this book! I love Dr. Joey. I did the five day cleanse listed in this book and lost over 5 pounds in the five days. It was really tough though.

But anyhow, the sloppy joes...

Health Sloppy Joes

*We always make a double so we have left overs for lunches and quick snacks, so feel free to half the recipe if you only want to make enough for one meal.

2 500 gram packages of lean ground turkey (can substitute chicken, beef or veggie ground)
1 28 ounce tin of crushed tomatoes
1 5.5 ounce tin of tomato paste (we use the one with garlic)
1 onion (we use a red onion for the antioxidant)
2tsp chili powder
1tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
4tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1tsp butter (or oil of choice for frying)

1) Peel and dice the onion and cook in a non-stick pan until lightly browned (using the butter or oil).

2) Add lean ground product of choice and fry together until cooked well.



3) Combine all other ingredients and simmer until heated throughout. (Can use whole grain flour to thicken if necessary but I never add it.)



4) Serve the mixture as you see fit. Common choices are on bread, buns, or I really like it on pitas with some shredded marble goat cheese and wrapped up like a burrito. It's also good enough to eat on it's own!



Enjoy!

***

Books Read for 2010 Updated here.

Books Read in 2010

As mentioned in my previous entry, one of my goals was to read at least 50 books in 2010. I will be keeping this entry updated and re-link to it every time I finish a new book (versus making a new post).

1) Men of the Otherworld ~ Kelley Armstrong
384 pages ~ AWESOME 4/5

2) A Touch Of Dead ~ Charlaine Harris
208 pages ~ GOOD 3/5

3) Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, Book 4) ~ Richelle Mead
480 pages ~ AWESOME 4/5

4) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Book 1) [Adult Edition] ~ J.K. Rowling ~ 332 pages ~ AMAZING 5/5

5) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) [Adult Edition] ~ J.K. Rowling ~ 368 pages ~ AMAZING 5/5

6) Running: Getting Started, 2E ~ Jeff Galloway ~ 231 pages ~ GOOD 3/5

7) Ash ~ Malinda Lo ~ 272 pages ~ AWESOME 4/5

*
Goal #1 ~ Read 50 books or more in 2010.

7 / 50 books read. 14% done!

**
Goal #2 ~ Read 15,000 pages or more in 2010.

2,275 / 15,000 pages read. 15% done!

***
Ranking:
1 ~ POOR
2 ~ OK
3 ~ GOOD
4 ~ AWESOME
5 ~ AMAZING

Resolutions for 2010

I, like most people, made some New Year's resolutions for 2010. We actually made it a family event as the three of us sat around waiting for the clock to strike twelve. The goal was to come up with at least five good, solid, achievable goals.

I was the most impressed by my son, Darien, who made almost ten really good goals. He usually hates this exercise and writes down the silliest things he can come up with. This year he made clear goals such as not getting lines for the year (one of his most hated punishments for wrong doings such as lying), raising his grades in math and French, and being more responsible and spending time with his new pet guinea pig.

(Not the actual guinea pig.)
I made some goals I was really proud of as well. I made more than fifteen. I think one of the goals I was most proud of was to monitor my book spending and not to exceed a certain annual budget. For those who know me well, this will be VERY hard for me!


Of course I also resolved to lose at least 10 pounds this year and eat healthier. I didn't mention any specific diets or exercise programs because I change my mind often and I didn't want to set myself up for failure.

The plan was to start January 1st, but alas I had a shoulder injury the would not allow me to workout and the I suffered a case of nasty food poisoning. Now that everything seems back on track (for now) I am hoping to start tonight with my Biggest Loser profile creation. Let's hope for more Blogs soon! (That was another resolution by the way, to Blog AT LEAST twice a month...let's see how that goes!)

Some other goals I set were:
- read at least 50 books over the year
- complete at least three courses through university this year
- fit at least one "family" or "mommy and boy" night in each week
- have some specific renovations made to the house
- continue at ROTC, at least for one complete season
- one coffee per day

I have currently put myself on a partial fruit cleanse to help my digestive system and weight loss. Due to my already low protein levels, I was advised it was best to still continue to eat small portions of protein to keep myself a little more balanced. I started yesterday and I am enjoying all the fruit I get to eat. I am sure I will get sick of it eventually though. And of course I couldn't give up the coffee...but at least I cut back to only one coffee a day (first thing in the morning) and it is now only a large instead of an extra large.

How about you? Did you make resolutions this year? Which ones are you really eager to achieve?

Well, that's it for now! Let's hope I get back on here more often! Maybe I'll have some Biggest Loser for the Wii updates soon!