Insoles = Happy Feet

Hey y'all!

I know my last few posts have been kind of a downer b/c they have been focused on the death of my grandma but I said my good byes and she is in a better place so it is time for me to get back to rocking the blog. :) Thanks so much for all your thoughts and prayers.

So, after pretty much two weeks of no running from my foot, I called a recommended foot doc who couldn't see me for another week so I hung up the phone with him and picked up the phone and called my good friends Susan and Jason Zehner who have told me about their luck with supportive insoles. Jason worked for along time at an outdoor outfitter and worked in their shoe dept so I knew he would know the 411. After a long email/phone call chain involving a lot of me describing my foot pain much like you would describe a car to your mechanic - "it makes this weird clicking noise when I am in 5th gear" but instead I am saying "if I twist it to the right, it hurts really bad but in the stationary position it doesn't hurt at all" - he told me I should give inserts a shot and see if that helps.

I went to our local running store - Fleet Feet - and got a pair of Sole insoles (cute name huh) - they felt really weird when I just had them on in the store but she said I would get used to them - I just needed to give it some time to break them in. Breaking in requires you put them in the oven (yes, the oven) at 200 degrees for two minutes, place them immediately in your shoe and stand still, feet forward for 2 minutes and then wear them for 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours over the next three days before you run.

If you are still awake....:) here is the cool thing:

I NO LONGER HAVE ANY ANKLE OR HEEL PAIN!!

It is 100% gone. In fact, the circulation in my feet is amazing! I was barefoot today for a few minutes and normally (over the last couple weeks) I would have pain when I was barefoot but today my feet felt normal.

The key test will be when I take them out for a jog which I will try to do tomorrow. Will keep you posted. If any of you are having any foot/ankle issues, you might want to check them out. They are only $35 which is less than my copay to the doc. :)

And in other news, we joined the country club directly across the street from my office which means I will be reviving my lunch workouts again. I will literally walk across the street to workout. I am so excited! Watch out - who knows what will happen! :) The fire that has been burnt out it starting to light up again...I can feel it.

1 hour bike ride tonight - felt great! My cardio is crappy but I got out there and did it. :)
Keep on kicking ass everyone!
Jess

Envy and Sadness

I am envious of my hubby. We went to the track tonight and there he was - running happily around the track...he did 400's, 800's and more 400's and I worked out my thumb by hitting start and stop on the stop watch - GRRRRRR. I tried to do some light running up and down the football field while he sprinted and about 3 minutes later I started to have pain again. I DID run backwards with success though since it is just like being in heels which actually makes the ankle/foot feel better. I also did some lunges and felt it twinge too...argh.

He did awesome of course. Kicked ass! His fastest 400 was 76 seconds - which is great! Next time it will be 75! :)

I was very envious as I looked at his muscley quads and tight glutes and saw the sweat drip down his face. Oh well, I know I must be patient but I was GREEN with envy. Soon enough my friends, soon enough.

Ah ha ha! How funny is that picture?? Found it and couldn't resist. It isn't me of course (unless I had some serious facial reconstruction, developed some Asian ancestry and lost about 20lbs!! :)). Speaking of green, we saw The Incredible Hulk on Sunday - AWESOME! Really a surprise but lots of fun and super entertaining!

Eating today was ON. Yippee.

On a sad note, my grandma is getting ready to move on to her next chapter. She has been very sick as of late and told the family on Friday last week that she doesn't want to fight any more. She is ready to move on and asked us to call hospice so I know we don't have much time with her. Mom called me this morning and told me that my aunt was with grandma all weekend and she is giving up and ready to go. Jody and I are going to leave on Wednesday night and make the 6 hour trek to see her and spend some time with her before she passes. I will miss her so much but yet I know she is ready to go and she will be in a much better place.

It makes Terrible Tuesday's seem silly....makes all the little stresses in life seem so minuscule and non important. I can't wait to see her and tell her face to face how much I love her and how much she has meant to me. Such a strong woman - six children and lots and lots of grandchildren. She taught me to LOVE potted meat, molasses cookies dipped in chocolate, grits, and BACON! She also helped me understand my challenges with my mom and has always supported me 100% in everything I have ever done. She gave and gave and gave....and her biscuits are LEGENDARY! Oh and her gumbo - amazing. And she would rub olive oil on dry skin patches. Man I will miss her...

Next VLOG I will do my impression of her - it makes my mom almost pee her pants every time I do it - it is pretty funny.....but in a really good-love-you-so-much-and-will-miss-you way. :) I don't have a picture of her on this computer but will post one soon for you guys. She has gorgeous white hair and eyes that twinkle.

Have a great week everyone and be grateful...tell those who mean something to you that you love them and why. You never know when you won't have a chance to say it to them again.

Love you guys!
Jess

Paying the Price and Motivation

As I stated on my Monday night blog, running 9 miles was not smart. I didn't and don't recommend it to friends or family. Or enemies for that matter.

I did 1/2 mile repeats last night and am now paying the price - majorly (which isn't a word btw).

Here is the math: 3 weeks not running + 9 mile run + 1/2 mile sprints (7) = tendinitis & a cranky me.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I should have worked up to the 9 miles. I have had his happen before so I know I need to just let it rest a little bit and it will heal - just stinks cause I had a mileage goal for the week and now it is going to be near impossible to get it in. :( Scratch that, it is impossible otherwise I will injure myself even more and be able to run even less. Bummer but I have no one to blame but myself.

But, did want to share with you what my nipples looked like after my run the other day:

For those ladies out there, running can cause chafing. If you run long distances you have to be careful of the more sensitive areas like the nipples and I didn't put on band aides. Rats. So when I did sprints last night my nipples were on FIRE!

Was also talking to the hubby about how I wouldn't be able to compete right now with my work load the way it is and he said "You were just on a different level then" and he is right. I had a goal, I had set my mind to it and I was going to do it. And I did. And what is weird it that my motivation for my workouts is now weak - weaker than it has ever been. I don't get it....but I need to figure it out because I think when I do it will be the key to me getting back into it. Don't get me wrong, I have little bursts of motivation and excitement about working out but then it seems to stall out - I am tired and working out just isn't what I want to do.

Again, I gotta figure it out. Once I get to the bottom of it you guys will be the first to know. :) Or maybe the second to my hubby.

Until then, I will keep on posting. Keep on sharing.
Jess

P.S. Food was ON today. Yeah!

P.P.S. Did you SEE Craig Ballantyne posted on my blog yesterday??? BRAG, BRAG, BRAG.

Tuesday.....Better

Hey y'all - I will make this quick (gonna try to shoot for every day this week) but had a couple things:

• Tuesday was NOT terrible. YIPPEE!! Got a lot done and didn't feel super crazy.
  
• I am SOOOOO incredibly sore. Let me just say that running 9 miles when I haven't been running in weeks - NOT SMART. So sore last night that I didn't sleep very well and am in pretty bad pain all day. Taking tonight off and will hit it again tomorrow. :)
  
• Eating: ON - two days in a row. Baby steps.
  

If you haven't checked out my blog and VLOG below, check it - its pretty funny.
Jess

Beginning of Week and NEW VLOG!

Hey y'all! Hope you are all doing awesome!

Yes, long, long LONG weekend and we recorded a VLOG but for some reason none of my computers are recognizing the USB device. So instead of posting vlogs or blogs, I was jacking around with my computer trying to show you the VLOG we did. UPDATE: Got it to work!! Check it!



Hope that was slightly entertaining - had no idea he was going to record it so totally had to wing it! And check out his walking while filming technique! ;)

As I said in my post on Friday, last week was a complete and absolute BUST. I didn't workout once. And this weekend I participated in the 48 Hour Film Festival project which is where you have 48 hours to produce a film. You can check it out at this link:48 Hour Film Link You are given the genre, a prop and a line you must use. Ours was a suspense/thriller, a pencil and the line: "What did he say? Tell me." I am not an actress, have never been an actress, but the lead creative guy thinks I look like a tough bit## so he cast me as the lead of a bank robber ring in the movie. So I got called in at 7am on Saturday and was there until MIDNIGHT! Holy crap. It was a LONG day. And I missed Jody's race which I felt TERRIBLE about. Terrible. But I had a blast on the shoot and the film ended up being pretty funny and campy.

Here is a couple of pics from the shoot of me in my "costume" and with the gun :) and check out the tattoo on my boob. Keep it classy bloggers. :)

Times Up! Charlie's Angels Pose

Check out the TATT!!!

Below is the log of my workouts from two weeks ago and since last week was a big goose egg I am just going to skip that recap. :)

Jody and I had a long talk this weekend and I am going to start running again. It is something I enjoy doing, I can do it anywhere and it is something we love to do together. That being said, I ran 9 miles tonight. NINE miles. WHOA! And I am wiped out. Legs pretty tight too - I am not sure if running 9 miles was the smartest thing in the whole world but I am shooting for 30 miles this week and I wanted to get a good chunk underneath me starting with Monday. So, Jody and I strapped on the running shoes.

Also, since I ate so crappy on Tuesday of last week (off site) and Saturday/Sunday weren't great either, I spent about 3 hours last night cooking food for both Jody and me. I cooked all my egg white waffles, measured my cereal, cut green peppers, measured broccoli. It actually worked AWESOME b/c when I got up this AM, I just threw everything in my lunch bag and was out of there. It was AWESOME!!! :)

I am not sure how to work the UFP into my running program. My guess is Scott would scoff at me doing any type of running AND UFP but oh, well. I am going to see how this week goes with running and some upper body UFP workouts and see what happens. My eating will be ON and sleep should be good.

Oh, and I am taking a day off this week - it has been so crazy lately, I have to put myself first. :) So, I will take Thursday off - and I am re-committing to blogging more frequently. I have a loyal following out there (I think :)) and I don't want you guys to give up.

Have a great Tuesday - I am gonna ROCK it. ;)

Jess

Week of May 26th through June 1st:

Monday:
Track Workout - 1 mile warm up, 5 quarter mile sprints
Day 1 of UFP - Lower Body Focus - 90 minutes
Tuesday:
Day of 2 UFP - Upper Body Focus - 85 minutes
Wednesday:
Day 3 UFP - Upper Body - Back Focus 90 minutes
Thursday:
OFF
Friday:
AM HIIT Intervals - 30 minutes - 400 calories
Saturday:
Day 4 UFP
Sunday:
Off

MIA and Canoeing

So I have been MIA - sorry y'all. I ended up having a super crazier than normal Monday and then Tuesday and Wednesday I had to go to a client off site meeting. I knew I was going to have to do the Tuesday thing but had planned on getting out of the Wednesday trip (canoing/float trip down the river). The client and the clients boss pulled me aside and asked me to be there Wednesday (today) so I went.

Needless to say, I am exhausted and have more work to do than I could imagine. But wanted to drop by and say hi.

My eating Tuesday and Wednesday was not good - not terrible - but not good. And I haven't worked out since Saturday. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Anyway, I will be back with another post tomorrow - just wanted you to know I am still around. :)

Jess

P.S. I was assigned a canoe partner who SUCKED. We flipped our canoe 7 times because he had no idea what he was doing and I will take a pic of my legs that are completely beat up from falling out of the canoe. Pretty scary.

TWO Weeks Weekly Recap & Catching Up (Plus 5K Today)

Hello my little friends....:) I am feeling pretty punchy today after a VERY long week. Brutal in fact. So, for those of you who don't know, I work for an advertising agency and work with P&G and Wal-Mart. I am currently an Acct Supervisor and am shooting for a Director position. So....I normally just manage one business (one retainer) and got asked a couple weeks ago to manage another business (that has two retainers) on top of that one. So, I am managing three retainers and my account service person is helping someone else.

So WTF does this mean for all of you??? It means I was completely MIA last week and pretty much got in two workouts last week (not counting today). My gal Cynthia made a pretty kick ass point and that is that directorship is something I might not have an opportunity for - fitness can always come back to me. And she is right. So I am being patient and not freaking out. My eating was ON all week except for this morning when I had 2 slices of bacon, 2 eggs over medium, a 1/2 cup of grits all mixed together and slapped on two pieces of toast. HEAVEN. That is my favorite breakfast in the whole world and I ran a 5k this morning (24 minutes and some change - 6th place overall female - not better than my last time BUT it had FOUR huge hills) so I said screw it, I am having a good breakfast. So now I will just make good choices the rest of the day and tomorrow.

Anyhoo, I am doing what I can with the time I have....next week is also going to be rough - I have Account Management College which means I will be in training from 8-5 for three full days of a four day week. Yes, I know I am whining but this means the rest of my work will have to get done at night or in the morning. So....how will I get in my workouts? And I am talking through all this crap because I know all of you go through this....trying to find the time to workout. So here are my options:

1. HIIT sessions (30 minutes or less).
2. Get up earlier (risk getting sicky).
3. Put me first and get the workouts in no matter what.

I think I will probably do a combo of 1 and 3. :) No more getting sick for me!

My workouts last week (week of May 12th):
Monday:
Legs - UFP 90 Minutes
Tuesday:
Upper Body - UFP - 90 minutes
Wednesday:
Upper Body - UFP - 90 minutes
Thursday:
Off
Friday:
Upper Body - UFP - 60 minutes
Saturday:
AM 5K - 23:40 :)
Yard Work - 3 hours
Sunday:
2.5 hour bike ride
Shoulders/abs - 45 mins

This week (so far):
Monday:
Off
Tuesday:
HIIT Running - 30 minutes (400 calories)
Wednesday:
Lower Body UFP - 80 minutes
Thursday:
Off
Friday:
Off
Saturday:
AM 5K - 24:00 ?
Yard Work - 2 hours
Sunday:
2 hour bike ride (33 miles - 1200 calories)
Light legs (pathetic since I was so smoked) and abs - 45 mins

Hopefully tomorrow I will get in a bike ride and a lower body lift.

Hope you are all having a wonderful memorial day holiday! Remember to always be grateful in your life and remember what you have to be thankful for! Thanks for not giving up on me....just couldn't squeeze you guys in. But I still love ya!

Jess

Long Weekend

Hey y'all,

Had a long weekend - very productive but long. Got in a couple good workouts and a bunch of yard work done. Went to see Stomp with the hubby and went to a fun party...good times.

But I am super happy with how I ate this weekend - had a few opportunities to eat bad (restaurant meals) and I made good choices. Dinner tonight was salad and boiled shrimp. Yum. :)
I am noticing that the UFP program is great for me during the week but on the weekend, I really struggle to get these workouts in....with all of the activities we have going on, it is tough. I gotta figure out how to make it happen. And it also means that if I do Day 5 on Sunday, I certainly can't bike for 2.5 hours. :) But I am enjoying biking. And running. Especially with the hubby - I am getting bit by the bug.

Tomorrow I will have a new VLOG and also the weekly recap along with a stat update. :) You know you can't wait...YOU KNOW IT!

To all the girls out there who participated in the JR USA's - congrats! You all looked WONDERFUL!

Jess

The Humpty Dance....Let's Do the Hump

Happy Hump Day y'all! :) Had another wonderful day today at work - kinda crazy, little busy but overall wonderful. It is amazing what a positive attitude can do for ya!

Still struggling with negative self talk about my body....however I had a very long and very helpful talk with my cherub tonight and this also ties to a more positive attitude. Workouts should be fun. Eating should be functional. I should feel good about myself and not constantly compare myself to the images in Oxygen (which by the way are taken days before or after a show in most cases).

Ironically, this attitude and philosophy ties directly to Scott Abel's - being someone who looks good year round versus going through hell for 12 weeks and then blowing up. If you can't have fun and be functional with your workouts and your eating, you won't be able to stick to it.

These workouts (UFP) are so amazing - I really have fun with them. Feel totally spent when I am done and my whole body feels activated. I don't feel worn down and exhausted. This can be a vicious cycle.

I am not having a change of heart, no epiphany or paradigm shift - just living life, not over thinking things - having fun. Look how easy that is.

Jess

P.S. A note on shorts ladies - WEAR them! We bust our asses in the gym and most of us have better legs than 95% of women. As long as you aren't flashing anyone - show those bad dads off! :)

Doc and Gym - HAPPY BIRTHDAY Cynthia!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Couple updates for you...

Went to the doc yesterday (man, these last two days have been so long at work I can't believe it was just yesterday that I went) and they drew about 7 or 8 vials of blood (literally - no joke) and they are testing me for everything: mono, hepatitis, hypothyroidism, anemia (although my blood was gushing out of there so she didn't think it was that) and whatever else they can try. I feel a little paranoid getting tested for all this stuff but at the same time I KNOW MYSELF and I know this isn't normal for me to be sick this much. I would much rather eliminate things that could be wrong. Otherwise I would just spend a lot of time wondering.

My energy has been low the last few days - I think the prednisone he has me on makes me very sleepy. It has been hard to get up and I get really tired in the afternoon which I normally never get tired. But overall I feel 10x better - voice is back and my sore throat is gone. YAYY!

The doc is also running my blood work through for a complete nutritional analysis which will tell me if I have any nutrient deficiencies. Plus it will give me the scoop on my metabolism and glucose sensitivity. Why everyone wouldn't want to do this, I don't know, again, we take better care of our cars than we do of our own bodies. Here is the chart of what they test for:

Vitamins	Minerals	Amino Acids	Antioxidants	Carbohydrate Metabolism, Fatty Acids & Metabolites
Vitamin A	Calcium	Asparagine	Coenzyme Q10	Lipoic Acid
Vitamin B1	Magnesium	Carnitine	Glutathione	Oleic Acid
Vitamin B2	Selenium	Glutamine	Cysteine	Choline
Vitamin B3	Zinc	Serine	Spectrox™ (Total Antioxidant Function)	Inositol
Vitamin B6				Fructose Sensitivity
Vitamin B12				Glucose/Insulin Metabolism
Biotin
Folate
Pantothenate
Vitamin D
Vitamin E

Cool huh? That will take 3 weeks to get those results but how awesome will it be to know how much of each of those vitamins and minerals my body needs?

Has anyone else done this type of testing?

And I totally April Fooled my DH today and told him the doc called with results from the test and that I was preggers. Kept him going for about 5 minutes. Good times. Funny stuff.

I also went to the gym over lunch today for the first time in a looooong time and I was so happy to go back. I love working out over lunch. It is such a great break in the day and you feel so good! I even decided that although I can't get all sweaty and red faced cause I have to go back to work, I can do that at home at night and still focus on upper body at the gym. So, leave my night time workouts for legs/plyos and cardio and the day for lifting. Love it. Smart.

And finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Cynthia who also made a HUGE announcement that she will be competing this year! Congrats! We are all behind you!

Check it out at: www.visionquester2.blogspot.com

Hope everyone is having a good week so far!
Jess

Doc Update, Vlogging and Shout Out to Debbie

Happy Saturday my friends!

First and foremost thanks to all of your for your input and kind words on my last two posts. I have been so aggravated with this whole sickness thing - I even cried on the way in to work on Friday....and I rarely cry. Like never. My DH asked me after we dated for six months: "Do you have to have your legs chopped off before you will cry or what??" Little did he know (he found out later of course) that I turn into Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer when I cry so I try to avoid public crying because I am pretty much a splotchy red goon for four hours.

Secondly, I love the blog. It allows me to easily search back over all my posts to track how many times I have been sick. Check it out:

Since October.....I have been sick 8 times. Not just a little cough, cough cold but like bronchitis, strep, flu, CRAZY sickness.

Friggin 8.

EIGHT times in FIVE months. WwwwwwwwwwwwwOAH!

Holy crap. I don't even know what to say to that other than holy crap. Good news is, I am not losing my mind. Bad news is, something is seriously up.

Went to the doc on Friday and since I wasn't told to fast for all the tests, I am going in on Monday morning (fasted) so they can run a bunch of tests. I am not really sure what I am looking for from these tests but am open to all possibilities. Maybe I have Epstein, maybe I have mono, maybe I have an Iron deficiency, maybe nothing is wrong with me other than I have been exposed and succumbed to a massive number of viruses in the last five months. Maybe anything. He put me on prednisone to help with the laryngitis - luckily it is only a 7 day dose. I am taking lots of potassium to supplement since is leaches it from your body.

What I do know it that it is affecting my overall state of well being. It is definitely one of the reasons I haven't been training at the level I need to or want to and one of the reasons my body fat is now at the level it is which affects how I feel in my clothes, out of my clothes, etc. So getting this checked out and digging deep to see if I can learn more about myself is important. I didn't work out yesterday but am going to try to workout today and tomorrow both - lift and some slow, laid back cardio.

I ordered my video camera today (thanks Krissa for hooking me up with the name of your camera) so I will start vlogging as soon as I receive. Hopefully my voice will be back by then! :)

And finally, I want to give a shout out to my girl Debbie. I saw her last night for the first time in a long time and she told me how worried she has been about me. I'm sorry I didn't communicate better with you Debbie to let you know I am ok...I AM ok and your thoughts and blog messages to me mean the world. Keep sending the positive energy my way chica! :) I will be back with you before you know it!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. It is crappy here - rainy and cold. Yuck...yuck.
Keep on keeping on!
Jess

Mangitis

P.S. I lost my voice today around 10am. I sounded like Kathleen Turner going through a sex change for about two hours and then lost my voice completely. I call it my Mangina voice...like Gina from the 40 year old virgin. :) My DH is happy for a break in silence. :)) Hee hee.

If only I could RECORD my sexy voice for you guys..... :) Krissa, I posted on your blog asking for the exact model number of your video camera. No more excuses! :))

Jess

P.P.S: I removed my countdown to Figure Nationals. And I felt good about it. I'm not ready to put a date out there yet....if at all. :)

What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks?????

Ok guys, I am going to see my doc on Friday to find out if I have some kind of immune system disorder and have them run some tests because...wait for it, wait for it....I am sick again - strep throat. I got sick on Sunday afternoon around the same time that I started getting pink eye. It was like my body started attacking me. I had a fever and MASSIVE chills. With all of my sickness as of late, I was totally trying to play it down but the ONLY other time I have felt that way was when I had strep throat.

When I went to the doc on Monday (with cyclops eye) he asked me how I was feeling in other areas and I said oh, head hurts, throat hurts and general crappy but I don't think it is anything big. Mostly I said this because my eye looked like I had stolen it from a zombie person from 28 Days Later and I didn't really care about the rest of me. When he looked at my throat he said "it is pretty red" and I said "it's fine - i am all good - just hook me up with the eye." Then on Monday night my throat was KILLING me, so I broke out the flash light and had the DH take al look. What did he find? WHITE puss pockets. A clear indicator of the streptococcus virus.

Luckily, my doc gave me an oral antibiotic for my pink eye because it had gotten into my under eye and cheek area. The antibiotic is also addressing the pink eye. AWESOME!

My DH was sick last week - Thursday through...well, yesterday but hasn't been as sick and didn't get strep. So I am thoroughly perplexed. I have never in my life been this sick. In fact, if you added up the total number of times I've been sick in my life and THEN added up how many times I have been sick in the last year, they would equal each other OR the last year could possibly be HIGHER than my whole life. No joke. I just don't get sick. It is NUTS.

So, I have a couple of rational theories:
1. I have been exposed to more airborne viruses than I ever have been in my entire life.
2. Our two year old house has black mold.
3. I have an auto-immune disorder.

I also have a continued list of less rational theories:
4. I am waking up in the middle of the night and eating all kinds of terrible foods for me that is tearing down my immune system.
5. My DH is feeding me Draino in hopes of killing me an cashing in on my measly life insurance policy.
6. I am allergic to Northwest Arkansas.
7. I have suddenly become possessed by some sickness demon.
8. There is an old voodoo woman in Louisiana with a Jessica doll poking needles in my throat and lungs.

Would love any and all thoughts/opinions/feedback from all of my bloggers. Especially those of you who are in the medical field. What in the heck is going on with me? To rule out other things, keep in mind that:

• I have worked more/longer hours before in a different job.
• I have gotten less sleep in a previous life.
• I have been WAY more stressed at work in a previous life.
• I eat good and take vitamins.
  

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Anyone experienced anything similar?

Workouts this week are spotty at best. Food is ok. Attitude is cranky. :)
Jess

Cyclops, Vlogging and Weekly Recap

Happy Monday all! I hope you are all having a great start to your week!

First and foremost, congrats and PROPS to my girl Em for finally vlogging! YOU ROCK!! :) I think I am the last one to vlog. BUT the good news is I just figured out how to record video and transfer to my computer from my Treo so watch out. Vlogging to come! :) I cannot however vlog until I get rid of the pink eye I have. Yes, you heard me right - pink eye. Not fun and not cool. I literally looked like cyclops today because when I woke up I could only open one eye. HOT, I tell you - HOT. My hubby yesterday was like: "Babe, I don't think you have pink eye" and then this morning he was like: "WHOA! Holy Crap!! You TOTALLY have pink eye!" Ya think?????

So, this is a picture of me this morning after I hot compressed to get the goo off:

Took a picture - even tried to find a good one online but it is just too gross to post. Really. Nasty. And in case one of you was eating while reading my blog, I wouldn't want you to toss your hard earned food!

Ok guys, I am posting my link to my daily food journal on Fit Day that I will start tomorrow. Today was pretty terrible for me b/c of being sick - I just didn't eat enough. I struggle with eating when I am sick. You can find the link to my Fit Day log in two places - in the "This Week's Workout" section as well as in my Favorite Links section. Check it out and let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Overall, I achieved 100% of my cardio goals but didn't lift enough. I should have lifted a minimum of 5 and only did 3 lifts. My diet was also spot on - I had two cheats - one at my friend Maya's party and the other at a meal out with some friends. As for my lifting, its ok - I am cutting myself some slack b/c I am getting back into it. I am thrilled that I kept to most of my goals and had fun doing it! And Visionquester - isn't that what it is all about??? :) For this week, I would like to achieve the same goals I set for myself last week - but REALLY hit the lifting goals.

Weekly Recap for week of March 17th through 23rd:
Monday:
AM Empty Stomach Intervals - 2:1 Incline walking at 10% grade, 11 min/mile and running for 1 minute at 2% grade, 7.5 min/mile. Burned 400 calories in 35 mins.
Tuesday:
AM Empty Stomach Intervals - 2:1 on bike w/140 bpm for 2 mins and 165-170bpm for 1 minute for 40 minutes. 400 calories.
PM Upper Body Workout -
Pull ups supersetted w/push ups
Flat bench supersetted with underhand rows
Shoulder press supersetted with hammer curls
Kettlebell French press supersetted with tight bicep curls
Wednesday:
Day Off (unplanned)
Thursday:
AM Empty Stomach Intervals - 2:1 Incline walking at 10% grade, 11 min/mile and 20lb kettlebell squat toss (switching hands) for 1 minute - approx. 30 reps. Burned 400 calories in 35 mins. LOVE THIS!
PM - Leg Workout -
Triset smith machine squats w/25lbs each side, 15 reps without stopping in three foot positions - regular stance, close leg, sumo - 4 sets (total of 180 squats!)
Pull ups - 5 reps each - 4 reps
Bulgarian split squat - 15 reps each leg (same weight as above) - 4 sets
Straight legged dead lift - 70lbs - 15 reps, 4 sets
PLUS 30 minutes biking at 150 bpm
Friday:
6 mile lake run - 650 calories in an hour
Saturday:
AM Empty Stomach Intervals - 2:1 on bike w/140 bpm for 2 mins and 165-170bpm for 1 minute for 38 minutes. 417 calories.
PM - Shoulders
Overhead press, lateral raises, front raises, W presses, rear flye and rows. 12-15 reps.
Sunday:
Off (sick and beginning of the pink eye)

Have a great week everyone! Can't wait to see what happens in vlog land this week! :)
Jess

Epiphany and Announcement! It's a Long One!

First of all, you guys are all awesome! Thanks for checking up on me! I have had a crazy week with work and worked about 43 hours Mon - Wed. Which is awesome since I have two more days left in the week! Regardless, you guys have been in my thoughts and when I have a spare moment or second in my day, I hop on Cynthia, Krissa or Cathy's blog sites to see what's happening but haven't had time to blog (much less sleep!).

I remember when I read Krissa's post from the MWA forum where she "came clean" about how she was feeling about her body, her eating habits and her decision to not compete. What she shared was the deepest part of her and was completely honest. I hope the following will be viewed the same. Krissa and Cynthia - you guys are such a great example of being true to yourself and listening to your psyche and your body.

As most of you know, I just got married in August and am just about to hit my one year anniversary with my job. When I started my job, I was still ramping up and didn't really feel the full level of work that would be required of me until around October or November. My hours picked up dramatically and then I got sick...got better...got sick a couple more times....had an injury and was still working crazy hours. While all of this was happening, I was continuing to work toward my goal of competing in a national show in September knowing full well that I would need to add some serious mass (hence the continued mention of the bulking plan). Over the last few months by body fat has gone up, my tone has gone on vacation :) and my attitude about myself has gone way down. My negative self talk and frustration is something I deal with multiple times throughout the day and it has probably bordered on depression. I had essentially taken off 3 months from training!!! My eating is at about 80-90% - I pack clean food every day but I wouldn't make as healthy choices while eating out.

Well.....I was walking my dog the other morning thinking about competing in November (the last pro qualifier of the year) instead of September to give myself those three months back. And then I started thinking through bulking plan and then I started to beat myself up over not getting to the gym and how yucky I felt trying on clothes, etc.

And then it hit me.

Why am I doing this to myself? I don't HAVE to compete this year. WHOA. Big thought there. What I do HAVE to do is feel better about myself. And to do that I need to cut myself some slack and let go of the last three months. I need to focus on getting to the gym and not letting work get in the way of my training or my health (mental and physical!). I need to focus on feeling better about my body image.

So then I started thinking about the obstacles and barriers I have had recently:

1. Work: My busiest days are Monday and Tuesdays - why not take one of those as my day off and the other workout early am or at night and not try to go over lunch. Wed - Friday my schedule frees up tremendously as I don't have hardly any pre-scheduled meetings.
2. Training w/Debbie: I was training with Debbie at 5am which means I have to get up at 4am and means I usually get very little sleep the night before and feel exhausted for the next two days - sometimes even getting sick after a few days of training like that. Why not find another time of the day to train with Debbie?
3. Self Image/Attitude: Eliminate negative self talk. Period.
4. Adding Mass: I was struggling SO much with this - feeling like if I added mass I would become thicker and bigger than I already was and therefore be even MORE frustrated with how I felt about myself. I think this was actually the biggest reason I was struggling to get into the gym - I didn't want to add mass at 21-22% body fat. When I had the epiphany that I didn't HAVE to do anything but feel better about myself, it was like 1,000 pounds lifted off me.
5. Marriage: It is definitely important for me to spend quality time with my hubby and make our marriage as solid as possible. I am not sure I want to make those sacrifices so soon in our marriage.
   

I contacted the NPC and also asked Jenny Lynn and found out that I have two years to compete in a national show - actually until the end of 2009. This will give me an entire year to focus on getting my body fat to a level I feel good about myself.

Goals:

• Feel better about myself and my body.
• Get body fat to 16% by end of April. Will do the math later and share what that means for weight in fat lbs and lean mass.
• Determine by end of May what show to do.
• Be open to the possibility of not competing but STILL having fitness be an integral part of my life.
• Continue to blog to share my journey and lean on my blogger support system.
  

So my friends, there it is. I have talked through this with a couple of my friends and they all feel 100% on board with my thought process. Would love all of your thoughts.

Missed you guys.
Jess

P.S. And who knows - maybe I will still want to compete in November!! The point is - why paint myself in a corner??? The world should be my Oyster!!

YOUR HELP NEEDED PLEASE

Happy Monday all!

I need everyone's help on answering some questions for me. To the right of this post is a poll asking you what you would like to see more of on my blog. If you are a new comer to my blog, PLEASE answer this if you aren't thinking of coming back. If you are a long time visitor, let me know what you would like to see more of! ;) I really value each of your opinions and promise to listen and respond to your requests. Thank you!

Anyhoozle, I didn't workout on Sunday...still feeling pretty yucky and I figured one more day of rest would be smart. But I did do something REALLY important and something I recommend everyone do whenever you come to a place where you are struggling with motivation or accomplishing something. As most of you know, I have been struggling with consistent workouts. I knew that was primarily a result of how many hours I have been working. And I also knew that work was getting more and more challenging and that was a result of a new team structure we are testing. Regardless, my days were looking like this:

• Wake up at 5am and work for 2 hours, get food ready (at least I was still doing that) go to work
• Work at office from 8am to 6 (skipping lunch lately when I would normally lift)
• Go home, eat dinner and then work for another 2-3 hours
• Repeat

As you can see, I was putting myself and my workouts in second place to work. Over the weekend I wrote down all of the obstacles me preventing me from working out on a consistent basis. And then, and this is the most important step in this process, I wrote down what I needed to do to overcome those specific obstacles. My reasons and how to overcome them were the following (I am giving you the Reader's Digest version - short and sweet) but you will get the idea:

• #1: Working too many hours - need to delegate and take them time to off load projects to other team members.
• #2: Sickness - make sure I am getting gallon + of water daily, eating whole foods and keeping a gratitude journal.
• #3: Lack of motivation - review my goals and what I am training for DAILY - keep note cards that outline my goals and read DAILY.

I believe that we can all accomplish our goals in life but we must understand the obstacles and make adjustments based on those obstacles. For me, I was allowing my work to interfere with my life and therefore put me out of balance with those things important to me. Which is probably the REASON I kept getting sick. My body/mind/soul was telling me to honor myself, my body and my soul. Everyone should know what method of goal setting works for them....Jody and I write down our goals every year and review them often. We achieve 90% of the goals we right down! How cool is that??? So, my little poor man's Photoshop job (below) will be a reality in September! :)
Jessica


P.S. I ran for a half hour this morning (350 calories - slow pace) and we started our Isagenix cleanse again today. Feels goooooooooood. Flushing the bod. Flush, flush, flush. :)

Back from KC - Part 1 - Pre Workout

I ended up having to go to Kansas City for work (WM year beginning meeting) on Monday afternoon. Thank goodness I had such an awesome workout with Debbie on Monday morning. She rocks! Anyhoozle, I ended up working almost 100 hours between Saturday and yesterday (Friday). So, you can imagine how my workouts turned out - much less my sleep (averaged about 4 hours a night). And to add to all of that, after walking the show floor (about 2 miles from one side to the other) and standing on concrete for a total of 24 hours in the WRONG unsupportive shoes because I didn't think I would have to work the floor itself, I have done something to my left foot. It kills every time I step on the ball of my left foot. Not so much fun but it is starting to feel better.

Overall, I am very frustrated I haven't been able to get back to it but it also means I am MORE motivated than ever to get back at it. And even though being gone to the show the whole time put me way behind with my regular work stuff, I feel like if I work a few hours this weekend I can get way ahead of the game and will finally have the time I need next week to get back to my workouts.

So....part one of today's blog is telling you why I have been MIA and share a little behind the scenes. :) Part two will be my workout from today. I will tell you that it won't be as intense as normal because of my gimpy foot but it will be good! :)
I'll be back.
Jess

Re-Motivational Techniques

At this point I am not even sure what the point of posting is....all I am going to say is...I don't feel well, again. Do you sense my sarcasm?? Have been on the mend from bronchitis...feeling lots better and then Jody started to get stuffy head, sore throat, headache thing on Tuesday...and it got worse. Tonight I started to feel the same symptoms. Now, I will tell you I am fighting this with everything I have...even more so than before. Took lots of vitamin c, my wellness caps, probiotics...etc...and took a bath....As you can see, boxing gloves are on. I will wake up tomorrow and will feel 100% back to normal - I am healthy and strong! :)

On the training front, I have to get back to the level of intensity I was at before I got sick (again). I am enlisting Amber's help....it has been almost two weeks since one of our kick ass A&J workouts....just for me, Amber has been continuing to rock the house (of course).

I have lifted three days so far (feels good!) and have done three days of mild cardio...will hit cardio again tomorrow and will do two super intense workouts on Sat and Sunday. Because I am officially about 9 months from my next show, I need to start mapping out the plan of attack both training and nutritionally.

Today I was feeling completely unmotivated and it occurred to me that a huge reason for my lack of motivation was that I haven't revisited my goals lately. I haven't sat down and gone through my goals, visualized where I will be and reviewed why I am here and why this is important to me. Anytime I lose sight of those things I feel my motivation fading. I have to re-motivate by reconnecting with myself.

Will post workouts soon!
Jess

I Got Two Words for Ya: BRON CHITIS!

It's true. First time in my life I have ever had bronchitis and soooooooo not fun for someone with asthma. Here is the quick rundown (for those of you that stop by to actually see fitness posts and not sick posts :)):
Sick on Monday in the head/nose region. Woke up Tuesday and it have moved to my chest. Wednesday was really in my chest and Wednesday night I had to use my inhaler about once an hour throughout the night and slept about 2 hours. :( Went to the doc on Thursday morning and he was super freaked out at how bad my breathing sounded - immediately put me on a nebulizer (I have never had to do one in the past). Apparently, having asthma and bronchitis is not good and can be very dangerous. I had gone to work on Thursday morning but knew I was in trouble when I got out of breath just walking between conference rooms. Couldn't catch my breath. :(
He put me on an antibiotic and prednisone (a non-muscle building steroid AHHHHH) and gave me a nebulizer to use at home and although I am sick to my stomach being on so many meds, I gotta tell ya, I feel so much better! The breathing treatments are amazing and last night I finally slept. I can feel a good sleep and possible sleep in for tomorrow too!
On the frustrating side: I had just gotten my workouts in gear and had taken the intensity to a whole different level. Amber and I were working out consistently together and coming up with some awesome workouts. When I get sick after making so much progress I get so mad and upset and really sad to have to take two steps back. But, I know everything happens for a reason...keep reading...

What have I learned from this:
1. Take my Vitamin C religiously - daily.
2. Incorporate Green Super Foods every day.
3. Get my sleep!

I know me getting sick is my body screaming: "TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! STOP WORKING SO MUCH! GET SLEEP!". I didn't listen so it made me listen.I am also going to add in greens and veggies with every meal. This will not happen again - a sinus infection and bronchitis all within the two months that happened to be the craziest two months of work for me in a long, long time....partner that with not enough sleep and not the bets eating and here I am.

The plan:
1. Get better!!
2. Figure out a schedule that allows me to workout, work and still get 7+ hours of sleep a night!
3. Get into the best shape of my life through a balanced program of weights, cardio, conditioning and a great nutrition program.

I am giving myself 2 weeks to kick it! But I bet I can do it sooner! :)

When you read this post, think about how you are taking care of YOU. If you aren't healthy you can't take care of others. True dat!

Jessica

Grrrrrrr....Too Mad to Come Up With a Title :)

Well....I clearly need to find a better work/life/workout balance because....(wait for it, wait for it) I am FRIGGIN SICK AGAIN!!!! Not happy. At all.

Started on Sunday night and has just gotten progressively worse...the worst part about it? It is the same exact thing I had at the end of November - sinus infection. Today (last night actually) it moved from my head/nose to my chest which is GOOD because it means it is moving out of my body but bad b/c my asthma is terrible....inhaler doesn't even work and I get out of breath walking the dog around our neighborhood.

So, you know the drill...I am pissed that I can't workout...pissed that I can't lift (really, I tried and got immediately out of breath).

Reasons I am continuing to get sick:

• Sensitivity/decrease in immune system as a result of cats. An update on that in case I haven't said it yet - I was able to give the kitties to one of my BF's from North Carolina. They are doing great. Need to get carpet deep cleaned and furniture too.
• Not getting enough sleep over New Year's (about 3 days worth of 6 hour nights).
  
• Eating terribly over New Year's (same 3 days).
  
• Drinking over New Year's (yes, you got it - same 3 days).
• Going back to work and it being complete and utter madness!

After this round is over I vow to:

• Get 7 hours a night - no matter what!
• Take my vitamin c daily.
  
• Use my nettie pot for the sinuses.
  
• Start supplementing with a super food.
• Make sure my health comes above everything else.
  

I can't wait to get back to my workouts...I am going to attempt a workout tomorrow night...attempt being the key word - I don't want to push my body so hard that it can't continue to recover.

I will update you guys tomorrow and hopefully have a successful workout to report!

Remember...the body comes 1st!

Does anyone have a good super food they recommend?

Jess