Lost 100

Music that keeps me going...

Love, love, love this song...it has gotten me through more long runs than I can tell you (and truth be told, short runs too).  I feel so raw when I'm listening to this song, especially the part about walking on the bridge, being over the water and being scared as hell...and yes, I do know there's something better, I just do. 

Paula Cole, Me

I am not the person who is singing
I am the silent one inside
I am not the one who laughs at people's jokes
I just pacify their egos
I am not my house, my car, my songs
They are only just stops along my way
I am like the winter
I'm a dark cold female
With a golden ring of wisdom in my cave

CHORUS:

And it is me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence

I am carrying my voice
I am carrying my heart
I am carrying my rhythm
I am carrying my prayers
But you can't kill my spirit
It's soaring and it's strong
Like a mountain
I'll go on and on
But when my wings are folded
The brightly colored moth
Blends into the dirt into the ground

Chorus

And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing i love
And it's me who's too weak
And it's me who's too shy
To ask for the thing i love
That I love (6 times)

I am walking on the bridge
I am over the water
And I'm scared as hell
But I know there's something better
Yes I know there's something
Yes I know, i know, yes i know

That I love (5 times overlapping chorus)

But it's me
And it's me
But it's me (4 times)

Crazy Week...but Good Saturday Morning!

Hello Lost 100 peeps!  I had a super crazy week this week.  Two canceled babysitters, one all-day project that fell in my lap & I had to complete in 14 hours (on the day the babysitter canceled no less)!  Missed a couple of workouts & didn't get the 3-4 posts up that I was hoping to during the week.  My apologies.  I will try to catch up with a couple of them (priority on the biggest loser re-cap) today and tomorrow.

But I have good new to report from the land of running.  I, yes, me, your friendly neighborhood blogger/jogger, ran a 5K this morning.  Without. Headphones.  Not a big deal, you say?  Au Contraire.  You are talking to the chick that has a hard time running a 100 yard dash without music!  But it was kind of nice, I actually had to have a little conversation with myself (in my head of course, I couldn't have all the folks at the South Mountain Reserve thinking I'm a dingbat!).  It was a nice way to clear my head and enjoy the scenery & do a little planning/dreaming/thinking.  I must admit I missed Kanye West reminding me that, 'that don't kill me will only make me stronger'...but in a sense I learned more--I can & did run without headphones.

By the way, the reason this is so important is that I'm self-absorbed and love talking about myself  that triathlons & other official races do not allow headphones/ipods, etc. of any kind during the race.  I'm realizing it's a mental game & I put up a BIG WIN today!

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ACTIVITY LEVEL AND STAY MOTIVATED

Recently a fellow blogger on Elastic Waist (featured on Yahoo's SHINE) posed a question as to how to increase her activity level...this got me thinking, what would I recommend? So here are some ideas:

There are a number of things I do or recommend to try to increase activity:

1st--I MUST get a break from my kids everyday--so it's perfect that there is free daycare at the YMCA. If I go to the Y, I'm going to exercise--treadmill, the new AMT machine, bike, eliptical.

2nd--If I worry I'm not going to work hard enough I do a couple of things:
a. I set a goal (ie. I am going to get my heartrate to 160 and keep it there for a minimum of 5 minutes...or I want to keep my heartrate at 140 for 25 minutes).
b. I put on my ipod and go with a "go to" song--you know one of those songs that you can't go wrong with (Kanye West's "Stronger"--Melissa Etheridge "I Run for Life"--Beyonce "Crazy in Love"--Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get it Started in Here").

3rd--Get a buddy. Meet for a long walk. Go for a hike. Partner up at the gym. Tell your partner you want them to push you and challenge you. Try to find someone in slightly better shape than you.

4th--Hire a trainer. If they can't motivate you to work hard, they certainly can yell at you! Hey--we're all motivated somehow and it's their job to figure it out!

5th--If you are too embarrassed to be seen at a gym or outside (and even if you are 500 lbs you should NOT be) try a video or better yet, the free workouts the cable channel offers.

6th--If you have kids--put them in a stroller (and get a GOOD stroller, it may cost a few hundred but is totally worth it...our current stroller is the Phil & Ted's E3 Sport) and walk a few miles or go to the zoo or the park or anywhere where you can get some mileage in.

7th--Get a GOOD pair of workout shoes (do not pay attention to style--but rather fit)...I blogged about this a few weeks ago.

8th--Take a class at the gym--the "peer pressure" of having the other people in the class will help to keep you from quitting.

9th--Take up a fun activity with a group: join a softball, volleyball, soccer, basketball, hockey, or other team.

10th--If you have a little bit of extra money try hiring a personal trainer, sometimes they're cheaper than you think, even if you only meet 2 times and get some ideas of workouts that will work for you I think it's worth it!

Good luck!

What are some other ideas on how you and I can get and stay motivated about being active???

To see some links to my favorite workout products continue reading....

I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE--AH, NO SAYS DIABETES....

Remember the Sir Mix-a-Lot song from 1992, "Baby Got Back"

and the Nike Women Ad Campaign in 2007 "My Butt is Big"?

BE YOUR OWN DAMN HERO

I was running on the treadmill yesterday, listening to my ipod and the song "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler (you remember,Footloose ) came on.  It's got a great beat and always helps me to get over a hump.  As I listened to the words I started thinking about all the times I wanted someone to "rescue" me...rescue me from loneliness, rescue me from a not-so-nice guy, rescue me from discontent, rescue me from being fat.  WHAT?!  Really, who is going to rescue me from being fat, who?  The Weight Watcher's leader?  The trainers on the Biggest Loser?  The weight-loss fairy?  Magic beans?   Seriously, the only person who can help me is ME.  And when I look in the mirror, I know I found my hero now!  So, you can quote me, "Be Your Own Damn Hero!"