Hi, everyone! I have to smile--I just checked last week's thread, and the first post was by Marie (yogaswimgirl) commenting on how wonderful the weather was! I have to say--I was NOT thrilled a few days ago when I saw the forecast for this weekend was rain. Sara (our 3-year-old) has been using "I'm thankful for the good weather" as her gratitude statement before meals for the past week. DH corrected her a few times the past couple of days saying that rain is not good weather. HOWEVER, after having an awesome run with Kath on Saturday--in the rain(!), I have to say that I, too, am thankful for the good weather--for the rain. The earth needs rain. And it was the rain that gave Kath and me the opportunity to show ourselves that we could go 8 miles in imperfect conditions! I am thankful for the rain!

MarieP - Way to go on the 5K walk. I hope you enjoy the turkey trot on Thursday morning! And did you already sign up for the Rock and Roll half in SD on 6/5?

Here's my weekly plan and updates against last week's plan - http://www.transformation.com/sherik...-27-Nov/120963

I signed up to run the Jingle Bell 5K in Balboa Park on December 11th. I'm excited, but a little nervous. It will be weird to run outdoors without Kath--I guess I better do a few runs outside on my own, huh!?! Growth opportunity....

--Sheri

I know this week is busy for everyone, so if you don't have time to put together a weekly plan and look back, then please at least check in with a line or two about how you're feeling and how you're doing this week. Hopefully this week will be one of joy and love instead of stress and frustration!

--Sheri

Hi Sheri,

Thanks for taking the pressure off with your second note. It is hard to find time to write at this time. I had a good week. I went for a number of hard bike rides. It's time to switch my name to yogabike girl! I too love the rain. The dry sunny days were great for cycling, but our garden needed the rain. I was watching our plants wilt and reassuring them that rain was on the way! My daughter and I walked Fiesta Island on Saturday. It was raining and muddy and fun to be out there. We both like the rain. Today I walked the dog at the beach and saw a whale spout!
I also joined 24 hour fitness. I prefer to workout outdoors, but with the unpredicatable weather, my new cycling buddies out of town and my bootcamp instructor out of town I knew I was going to need a group exercise class to get myself going this week. So, I have a place to workout with weights outside of the house and they have cycling classes and more. I'm looking forward to going tomorrow. The kids are all off school this week, but they are older so I can leave the house and do what I like for the most part, but I'll need to shut off the TV and video games periodically and get them out of the house or reading or something!

I went to the farmer's market this week so meals are chicken, fresh veggies, brown rice and fresh fruit. Fat free yogurt, berries for snacking and for this week I added rightlight shakes between meals. I'm down 7 lbs. from when I started and I was looking at my BMI. It's 27 and I'd like it to be less than 25 for good health which is very attainable by spring! I'm working on step 8. I've got a few issues to deal with and plan to talk to a professional, rather than burden friends or family. That's on my list right now. I would call it the big hump to get over.

Take care all and HAVE A FABULOUS THANKSGIVING! Stay well, JOYFUL and THANKFUL!

Hi San Diego Transformers,
Sheri-Thaks for getting us started and taking the pressure off! (Which actually compelled me to contribute! Ha-ha)
Marie-Great job on making some serious progress. Wow....seeing a whale spout must have been incredible! My 5-yr old would have gone crazy!

Well, here is the link to my latest blog. I've been blogging twice a week through the past 3-week of HHC. It is helping!
http://www.transformation.com/Kathry...-Week-3/121054

Hope you all have a safe, happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Hello San Diego transforer pals!

I had an interesting day. I started out with a plan to walk 3 miles this morning, but it morphed into a total of 3.6 miles! I"m pretty tired, but it feels good to be able to go that far. My pace was about 2.7 miles per hour. I'm hoping to do the 5K on Thanksgiving in 1 hour, but we'll have to see about that.

I also went to the doctor today because I hurt my hand while in Denver for the T.com event. As it turns out I have a hairline fracture! I knew my hand was healing very slowly, but I really didn't think I had a fracture of any kind. They said I didn't have to splint it (which I'm thankful for) and recommended me for occupational therapy. I'm not a payroll Mom, so not sure why it's called "occupational", but I'll call and see what they want me to do.

This week, I'm going to rest until Thursday, eat really clean (including trying some green smoothies), drink lots of water, and get plenty of sleep. I should be getting my shipment of Right Light shakes and bars tomorrow, so I can start drinking those again. I love having a shake for "dessert".

I'll let you all know how the 5K goes.

Great job Marie P! It is amazing as we exercise how we increase our distances and speed without even planning on it. You get stronger without even realizing it. So sorry about your hand. Us moms use our hands everyday all day! I hope it heals up well for you and some OT ought to help.

Quick post of gratitude from this morning--it's nowhere near what I'd normally post--at least it didn't feel like my normal gratitude lists. Being distracted and wanting to focus 100% on two different things (kids and t.com) is so hard! - http://www.transformation.com/sherik...23-2010/121179

I will read the messages posted to this thread more closely later tonight. I'm so happy that you "regulars" are being so consistent in posting to this group. I love it! And I just want to add--please don't ever feel like you HAVE to post a certain way to participate in this group. Even just a couple lines in the weekly thread to let us know you're still there and how you're feeling is enough--it's great! I never want this group to feel cumbersome. I've always looked at t.com this way--if it helps you in some way, then do it. If there is something you feel like you have to do and are not reaping any personal benefits, then don't do it--there are so many other things you can be doing with your time! That being said--I SO appreciate everyone posting here - each and every time you take the time to do it. It makes me feel like you're getting something out of it. I know I get something out of it when you do! Thank you!

--Sheri

Thanks for sharing your gratitude with us Sheri! It is hard to have the kids all home this week and focus on ourselves and our T.com community. Hang in, life will return to 'normal' next week!

Marie (yogaswim/bike ) - That is so awesome you saw a whale spout at the beach! That reminded me of the time DH and I went to La Jolla shores during an el nino year a long time ago--the cove where the seals usually lay out on the beach was completely flooded and we saw a whale breeching off in the distance. It was simply awesome! It's amazing how such a thing can be such a spiritual experience.

Congrats on joining 24 hour fitness. My neighbor caught me walking outside while she was on her way home from the 24 hour fitness (I think in PQ?). I think she said it was only $30 a month? I didn't realize it was so reasonable!

Your meal plan sounds great, and the progress you've made with your weight is great!!! I love that you're looking a few months into the future and seeing your progress from now until then. This is definitely not a short-term committment. You're making these changes for life! I love it!

Quick note - when you want to respond to a comment someone has made on your blog, you should either post it to their profile or to one of their blog entries or send them a message to their inbox, so they'll get notified. Posting a comment to your own blog will only send an email notification to you. I'm not sure about other people, but I know I don't typically go back and re-read other people's blogs, so it's only by chance if I see a comment you've left on your own blog. (Does that make sense?)

Also, I left a comment on your blog about assignment #8.


Marie P - Great job on the 3.6 mile walk! Do you have a heart rate monitor? That is another way to gauge your progress. You'll see over time that the same exercise will result in lower heart rate readings. You're heart will thank you! I hope your hand heals quickly.

I'm sorry this is coming so late, but good luck on the 5K tomorrow, too! I'll be thinking about you in the morning.


Kath - I'm sorry I haven't responded to your blog yet--that next on my list of things to do. I love that you're posting so consistently to your blog and to this group! I saw your note about trying to get through assignment #18 by December 1st, so by all means, make that your top priority. We're not going anywhere--I'll be waiting on December 1st to congratulate you on your awesome accomplishment! *HUG*


Thanksgiving is less than 15 minutes away now.... I hope everyone's ready! I've done about as much night-before prep as I can for the big meal tomorrow, so I feel ready and excited! Have a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, everyone! Be happy, and treat yourselves well. You deserve that!

--Sheri

I'm back home now after spending much of Thanksgiving and this morning with my parents. I was completely exhausted yesterday after the 5K, but I did it. I really walked closer to 4 or 4.5 miles yesterday too. There was a little bit of a walk (0.5 - 0.75 miles) just to get to the start line, then of course, afterward we had to get back to the car.

I'm feeling pretty good today, although I'm still tired. My muscles are starting to bounce back more quickly now too, which is awesome! I'll be starting my training for a half marathon soon.

I hope to hear about your Thanksgivings also.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarieP I was completely exhausted yesterday after the 5K, but I did it. I really walked closer to 4 or 4.5 miles yesterday too. There was a little bit of a walk (0.5 - 0.75 miles) just to get to the start line, then of course, afterward we had to get back to the car. I'm feeling pretty good today, although I'm still tired. My muscles are starting to bounce back more quickly now too, which is awesome! I'll be starting my training for a half marathon soon.

Congrats on the 5K (7K!), Marie! It's great that you're feeling good even though your body is still a little tired. The next time you're deciding whether or not to do a workout, block out the anticipation of soreness and focus on that wonderful feeling you feel after finishing something challenging. Then afterward, associate that feeling of soreness or muscle fatigue with the sense of accomplishment of doing something great!

And just think--4.5 miles--that is SO close to 5! You should be able to walk Lake Miramar soon! How exciting. I hope you continue to relish your accomplishment and use it to motivate you to keep going!

--Sheri

Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone! This week has been hectic, but wonderful! I just wanted to leave a quick note to say hi and I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My Thanksgiving was awesome--the "work" part of it (preparing the food) was fun, and Kath did all the dirty dishes after our big meal (which we had at lunchtime)! (How awesome is that?!?--Thanks, Kath!) The kids all had fun together, and it was nice to be able to spend time chatting with the adults. We even did gratitude before Thanksgiving lunch, which I LOVED! I'd actually thought about doing something like that years ago before my kids were born, when my grandmothers were still around, but I never felt comfortable doing it. I'm so happy that we were able to do it this year. I'm hoping it's a start of a wonderful new tradition.

Today was an awesome day, too.... I wrote a gratitude list, which has a lot of my reflections on the past couple of days.... I love that I can so easily tell the story of what I've been doing through the eyes of gratitude. I love seeing the world this way! http://www.transformation.com/sherik...26-2010/121445

Here are a couple of old blogs--entries from my journal from last weekend which I decided to post, even though they were incomplete--I must have run out of time to write everything that was on my mind about them, but there were some good points in there.

Looking on the bright side of things (things always work out), originally written on the 20th - http://www.transformation.com/sherik...ht-Side/121326

Post-8-mile-long-run report from last week, also originally written on the 20th - http://www.transformation.com/sherik...Run-Day/121325

OK! Time to go to bed! Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!

--Sheri

I think we had mentioned sharing cooking/nutrition tips here before. Rather than adding a separate thread for it, I thought I'd just add what I find here and there in the weekly thread (since it isn't frequent).

Sheridan posted a great blog with a bunch of tips on eating healthy on a budget - http://www.transformation.com/Sherid...-budget/121590 I thought it was worth passing on!

How's everyone's day going? As planned? Better?!? I hope it's fantastic!

--Sheri