Fit with Ruthie

Its about 10 day until our 20th wedding ann. and yesterday I found the perfect black dress to wear to celebrate :) See my DD holding up for me so I can take a photo of it for you to see :) Happy and surprised to report its a size 4..... of course all of you know when you go dress shopping we never know what size we will end up in. Some dresses i wore a 6 and one an 8 was too small ... (go figure)..... BUT... THIS DRESS is a 4. .... so ... i say I will embrace it as my size .... ha . Now to find some great shoes to go with it. I want some HIGH HEELS! ... I have a thing for those you know... and now that I run all the time.. my legs and feet are happy in them too :) I am thinking a color... Like red or hot pink.... OR MAYBE I should go with black... what do YOU think?? :) . on the workout front... 100 pushups followed by abwork after a bit of a swim workout (but without getting my hair wet).. ha... i did tricept work and some abs in the pool :) arms.... JELLO abs too. only 10 days left

Had a great run this morning with the kidos. We did thirty min jog with sprint work afterward :) we had a great time! Best part .... the kids just jogging and talking and laughing and visiting :) the other best part? My oldest sons saying: "mom, I know what running is like......... its like Coffee." .. Oh really.. i said.... "why".... He said "because it wakes you up AND its addicting" .... woowhoooo! (this coming from my son, who a year ago couldnt run a lap around the track" :) woooowhoooo... a blessing! swimming and pushups and situps tonight :)

Had a great morning run this morning :) my foot was still a bit tender.. I tried to use the pad in my shoe (see below) and I just couldnt get it in the right spot.... so I finally just stopped and took it out :( but good thing is my foot is just slightly sore... so I will rest it some by not doing high mileage for a while and also wear the pad in my shoe when I am just doing my daily stuff. I started out with my jacket on... and came home like this.... got to see the sunrise, NO WIND, 63 degrees, PERFECT why wouldn't I want to start my day of like this everyday! Its much better than sleeping :) next time I post will be on vacation. Kids have already informed me "Mom we are going to do a long run on Friday at the campground" ... LOVE IT! OH.. and I am HOT! seriously... my dd took this photo and right after said "MOM! YOU HAVE STEAM COMING OFF YOU!!! WOW!" we tried to get a photo of it.. but it wouldnt show up ... steamy hot is a great way to start the day!

Yeah.. I had planned a nice little parade.. Just me and the road.... Figured 4 miles would be entertaining enough... but Storms have decided to end my parade before it even started. shoot. Good news is I feel the NEEEEEED to run. I am tight in the shoulders, restless feeling.... durn storms.... So.... 4mp wind and 65 tomorrow morning sounds perfect for a 4 miler. I will finish my packin and cleaning and cooking and plan on getting up and out early :) I am looking forward to it? THAT would be an understatement. I decided on a new goal xs 2 1. Run Marathon in October of this year. (who wants to join me?????) 2. Qualify for the Boston Marathon on or BEFORE my 44th birthday (I am 41 today) My Goal? 3hr 44 min or better I prob wouldn't GO to Boston.. but knowing I COULD if I wanted too would be amazing :)

had a great lifting workout this morning.... with the exception of just a few but necessary interruptions. Neighbors dog got out... so about 10 mins of chasing Turbo to get him back to his back yard. Hubby called to say AC man was coming to give estimate. And that of course started a quick clean up of the house :) good news is... workout is done, house is clean :) Here is what I did. SQUATS... on the smith machine... its been prob 8 months since i have done squats with weights. 10-8-6-6 (no burnout).. I was burning enough already. (ha) in between sets of squats I did incline situps .... straight up and with a twist Shoulder flies Bi curls chest flies and in between those sets more abwork. needless to say i am jello allll over :) My goal was to be SORE tomorrow. I think I achieved it ! On the foot front.. woke up this morning with no pain! :) .... I will be transitioning my foot the the ball pad (see post below).. which means I will wear it for a few hours each day until i work up to a...

well... I noticed last friday my right foot was bothering me. I would try to explain but a photo is just easier :) It hurts between my fingers and that same spot on the underside of my foot. It did this about 6 weeks ago... and i just took a few days off and it was great.. no pain until friday. What I think did it was more speed-work than i am use too and more hill work done at the same time. .... I was up on my toes a bit more than usual.... so i will take a few days off .. with the exception of a bit of a jog here and there on the grass.... which is of course a bit of a bummer cause I am already feeling the need for a de-stressing run .... With running and fitness.. its always going to be something... something telling you to quit or stop.... but knowing that this wont last forever and i will be back at it before too long is great. Cross training and finding other ways to be fit in the mean time is key. Running is my passion, my stress reliever, my cake instead of cake..... but I can...

What do YOU see when you look at this photo? Do you see two women who are FAT and out of shape? Do you instantly think "how could someone let themselves get that way?" Do you think "I hope I dont have to sit by them in an airplane" What do you see? Whats your first reaction? Be honest. Yesterday I saw a woman walking her dog. She was walking fast for her.. i could tell . .. Her dog was cute. She was large. Very large. She was so large her shirt didnt cover her belly. I dont think she even knew. I instantly thought "oh. Look at her go!" .....I instantly thought "good for her" I thought........."wow.. she is so inspiring!" you might think.. how could people that are 100 to 200 plus lbs overweight be inspiring when they are out walking? How could someone so unfit be an inspiration? For me.... It takes me back to when I was just 50lbs overweight. I remember the pain I had with each step and how hard it was to ...

I love getting up early .. no matter how tired and I am... and meeting up with the girls in our training group! today was 4 miles... EASY for everyone.... woowhooo! so neat to see them improve and gain confidence! I will be mowing the yard as cool down (ha) and then do my 100 push for the day (which i havent done in forEVER) :)

You know every winter it seems I clean and organize the house and all the stuff ends up in the garage. So... every spring we have a massive clean up of the garage... and its seems an unofficial unvailing of the once forgotten weight lifting equipment. This morning was a 2 mile jog around campus with the kids at track... .. .then breakfast and then some weight lifting :) woowhoo! I did bench press immediately followed by incline sit-ups.... dont know how many situps i did but it was a workout... I was too busy singing to count HA Then i did bi curls and a few squats and more abwork then photo time :) Bis are tired ... like jello :) My legs are being transformed! nothing but running for the last 6 months.... muscles i didn't know i had are starting to show up :) now... I must find a summer dress and some cute high heals for my anniversary. I am dreaming about the perfect outfit but havent found it yet.

baked cookies until 1230am ate only one it didnt taste good to me and should a known better--got a tummy ache ... why did i eat it? well.. habit i guess.. can anyone bake cookies and not eat just one? party and co-op today. had cookies there.... i ate fruit and nuts and water instead of cookies and punch. wasnt even tempted. tummy aches do that to you. track practice tonight ran hills with the kids felt great to be out running.... i was tired when I started and energized when I finished... but wanted to keep running--it wasnt enough for me.... that is what tomorrow morning is for ATE AT ROSAS CAFE tonight chicken chips and beans like that i can go eat out and still have energy :)--not over eat, drink only water, and not have the desire for something sweet afterward. now... for our last disk of battlestar galactica and just chillin...... and looking forward to getting some much needed sleep so i can hopefully get up and run before the 7am practice :)

When I started this blog in 2006 I sure didnt plan to be writing 4 years later. 1339 (well this is #1340) posts later... I am still here... still writing and still trying to become fit and healthy. I have said it before and I will say it again... this blog is what has kept me focused and kept me going.... knowing that I had friends reading and that kept me from not posting. If i missed too many days... there they were asking what was up... and you know what... its still that way! Over the years I have struggled... just like anyone. I have lost weight, gained it back and lost it again (which has always seemed the pattern of my life) .... But today I can sit here and honestly say I will NEVER EVER be overweight, weak, and unfit again. I am determined to be as strong and fit as I can be until the day I die. The difference today is that its has become a LOT more than just about being skinny. It has become a LOT more about than fitting into a size 6 for me. The more I adjusted my diet, the...

Since getting off sugar I have noticed some amazing changes. I have decided to do a few posts related to these changes. Some are see, some are unseen :)... Todays topic.. Hair! Below you will see three photos and explanations under each one :) The above photo was taken in Aug of 08. I was just starting to grow my hair out and made the commitment to do so until Dec of that year. In this photo it took a LOT of work to get my hair to look as full as it does in this shot. Two different hair products and a blow dry, plus spray. (on sugar) this shot above was taken in Aug of 09. Still had a lot of product on it. I contemplated cutting it off again because it looked so thin and stringy. I am also wearing a LOT of makeup (still on sugar) Since giving up sugar I have noticed my hair isnt falling out near as much as it use too AND it seems to becoming thicker! its also growing faster! Above was taken today. This is with just a bit of oil on it and a blow dry. I put no product on it to make it fu...

up and out this morning for a nice quick 2.5 miles.... first mile or so was faster pace.. last mile was sprint work... It was AMAZING outside! everything is soooo green from all the rain, the breeze was cool and crisp and just perfect for running! LOVED IT! did abwork when I got home (after i stretched) ... butt and legs are sore from lunges I did yesterday! :) woowhoo! gotta love lunges. I think i have made the decision to go with ACE personal trainer certification ... I have been saving up my $ so hopefully i can order in just a few weeks or a month. I know I will have my certification some day and I am trying to be patient until it all works out like it is spose too :) I have been wanting to change up my blog a bit and go for a new look... so please bare with me as I change things and rearrange to find something that I will like for a while :) until then... you never know what it might look like each time you visit :) ha gotta go.. my oldests sons birthday today! 11 years ago today...

today consisted of a 7 am run with my favorite 6 to 10 year olds, followed by walking lunges and lots of smiles. Later just after lunch my hubby told me of some storms headed our way. I wanted to get out lawn mowed before it rained AGAIN.. (yes again, which is unusual for this part of the country). So I headed out and started to mow... I mowed as fast as I could as the storm was only about 20 mins away... Needless to say I got a GREAT workout! cover dripping with sweat and of course JUST finished in time for the storm to blow through. As I worked hard to mow and get things taken care of so they wouldnt blow away or get hail damaged.... I thought how thankful I was to be strong and fit enough to do what I was doing. I thought I am happy I am not a wimpy housewife. I am not a woman who leaves the hard work for my husband. I strive to be fit and strong for various reasons. To be able to mow, lift, move heavy items without having to bother my husband is a huge blessing! Tonight was track ...

had a great meetup with two of the half marathon gals that are in our training group. We walked and talked and walked and talked. They did GREAT! and it was the fartherest distance for both of them. I have been so inspired this week by some of the gals in the group. I got an text thursday night from a girl who did her 7 that night before leaving town on friday! Then over the next two days I got emails or texts from girls saying they had completed their mileage and couldnt make our meet up so they did thiers in various ways. 1 did hers on the treadmill 1 did hers at the mall (because it was raining) 2 did it early on Sat morning before the rain hit 1 did it while she was camping 1 did it in the mountains (josha :) 1 did "only 6" because she ran out of day light but was excited because she is now fully commited to doing the half instead of a 10k :) 1 is doing it tonight with her hubby and 2 did it today (with me) after the rain but in the hot and steamy leftovers :) I am so ins...

2.5 mile run 30 incline situps 10 mins of other ab work 40 pushups my arms are TIRED from cleaning out our attic today... I handed a LOT of heavy stuff down to my hubby so my back and arms were tired BEFORE i worked out :) Happy its done Running helps me find my happy place :)

YOU KNOW ITS SUMMER (ALMOST) WHEN ALLLLL YOUR PIGGIES ARE PAINTED! AND YOUR FEET ARE STARK WHITE WHILE YOUR ARMS AND LEGS ARE TAN! RUNNERS TAN ROCKS! I am still here :) Still getting exercise.. still running... still watching what I eat :) I am all good but Life is a tad busy right now.... so many things going on.... I am still struggling a bit getting my own workouts in but hope to get in a 4 miler tonight, .. if it rains I will make myself get on the dreadmill. I plan on pushups later this afternoon in between cleaning, working on a video for our Homeschool Banquet and planning my lessons for tomorrow. Today I was inspired by two ladies... One has been in training with me since December.. she started out a walker and is now mostly running :) (so happy!) the other is a Grandma who is a runner! She jogs around campus where I do and I was blessed to get to visit with her this morning after track practice :) she is amazing! As far as my workouts... I ran hills yesterday (a few) with the...

Su and I enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL morning run ! did 2.5 miles.... a quick one since I have to teach today......we both loved it! :) (I think she is smiling) busy morning so i gotta go.. more later! r

so i did a sllooooow jog with a sweet little 6 year old at track practice today :) We talked about our favorite books, about her summer camps, and how she loves to run :) I came home, ate supper... did a few things around the house and headed up to campus to get MY run in :) I did 4 miles total... on lap in one direction and one lap the other :) it was BEAUTIFUL out! in the 70s with NO wind! LOTS of people out there too :) gotta get.. early practice tomorrow :) "running makes me happy :)"

You know I AM an addict. I told my husband this past week if Soda's were Alcohol I would be an Alcoholic! SERIOUSLY! I have been sugar free (for the most part) since the week before Christmas, and I have never felt better! I have been sleeping better, waking up with more energy, not having "down" times during the day as I use to feel the need to nap.... no.. when I am "off" sugar I feel GREAT! throughout this process I have always allowed a bit of a freeday every now and then. 3 years ago, when i started to rededicate myself to getting healthy, my Freeday was once a week. Since then I have gradually cut back on my freedays... lately .. well pretty much since the week before christmas my freeday has only been once every 4 to 6 weeks. A few weeks ago I had a soda when my hubby and I went on a date ... It tasted good (as most sodas taste bad to me now)... I had a glass and a half... What is interesting is the next day. The following day I found myself CRAVING a co...