Welcome to day two  of 2019!

How did day one go for you?  I had to work at 6:30am, so I didn't stay up until midnight with my kids.  I was in bed by 10pm on Dec. 31!  I was not prepared to start my Whole 30 off 100% yesterday.  We left town on Dec. 30 for a funeral on the 31, so I didn't get to the grocery like I had planned on either day.  I did have eggs and some W30 approved snacks.  When I got to work, I was put on a different floor than I am usually on, and was running around like crazy to even have time to get bored or want to snack!  So, my day was a success over all.

I did have pork chops in the freezer, so I could try a new Instant Pot recipe from the Whole 30 Slow Cooker cookbook! YUM!!!!  Sorry, I didn't take any photos, but the family loved it!

I also planned ahead and packed a gym bag to stop at the club to use a treadmill!  I ran/walked 1.65 miles in 22 minutes.  Came home to do the "Celebration Circuit" and man do I feel it this morning.  This old body is out of shape!

My kids don't have school today.  I think I want to work on our 19 in 2019 lists, graduation party plans and see where we want to travel on our vacation this summer.  (Last summer, we went out to South Dakota.  Hubby wanted us to plan the trip together, one month before we were to leave, no plans had been made.  We didn't travel as far as we would have liked, stayed at a terrible campground on the fly, and decided we would do better next time.)  I want to see what AAA can do to help us this time around, too.

Wishing you well this new year,
AnnMarie

Happy New Year, welcome 2018

Today we hang the new calendar.  Set our “resolutions “ and look forward to the newness of what a year can bring us.  We might also make time to look back on the past year or years and remember the good, the bad and the ugly.

I wish you all a successful year ahead no matter what you do today or plan to do in this new year.  Make it be fun and adventurous.

Off n Running,
AnnMarie

Just signed up for a challenge

Happy Week Two of 2017!

How did week one go for everyone?  Remember I said I was going to blog more?  Sorry, time was not on my side, and the basement is cold, and ...  I was lazy and thought about posting several times.  I just didn't do it.

I also said I was going to start my better eating plan too.  Well, I found some candy and cookies and fell flat on my face off that wagon.

This morning, before taking my gymnast to her first meet of the season, I was trying to catch up on emails.  I subscribe to too many blogs and things, so I get behind in my reading/looking at them.  Today, for the first time in a VERY LONG TIME, I stopped and read a few that I have just opened then deleted.  Today, I read the post/email from Another Runner Mother.  I think reading it before made me feel bad because running was causing me pain, so I stopped back in August.  So, I didn't want to read all about other mother runners doing what I couldn't without pain.  Today I sucked it up and read the post.  Today was the last day to sign up for some of the fun training stuff they offer.  Last year, I was very tempted to sign up for their heart rate training program.  I was tempted because many of the mothers were saying they were able to run pain free.

Today, I took the plunge and signed up for the STRIDE INTO THE NEW YEAR Challenge.  It is a 35 day run, walk or run/walk plan.  I just printed it off and am putting it on the fridge when I get done posting this.

Today, my husband and I also got signed up for his companies insurance incentive program.  They have a new fun app to track your workouts and join challenges and stuff.  So, my "rally age" is 47, same as my real age.  With my Running program in hand, and my calendar a bit empty this month, I hope to lower that age before lets say April!

Some of the challenges I signed up for were to do Yoga twice a week.  Something I want to do for real, so hopefully this will help.  Declutter for 10 minutes.  This I want to do for real every day, the app says once a week.  Again, something I need/want to do anyway.  Eat more fruit and veggies.  Get enough sleep.  Do something creative.  This is a fun app.  Rally is part of our insurance incentive, does your company do this?

PeeWee is in bed and waiting for me to tuck her in.  Best get to that...

Off N Running,
AnnMarie

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2017!

Remember me, Mama Kolb?  I feel as though I have been away for far too long.  Lots of changes in my life since 2014. Remember back then????  Life was simple and I was running and ... then I fell and broke my wrist!

God sure has a crazy way of changing the direction of your life.  After I ran the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, my neighbor/friend called me up looking for help at her office job.  I have known Mrs. P for at least 8 years now.  We met either on the massage table or at church.  She lives maybe 3 blocks from me.  She and Mr. J introduced us to dog fostering!  Well, anyway, when she called me way back in 2014, all I knew was she worked in an office.  I did not know where or what she did. She called me because she needed help for a week during Insurance Open Enrollment and maybe for a few other odd jobs. I took the job, thinking it might lead to something more, but oh well if it didn't.  

It did lead to more.  And thank goodness because maybe two weeks after I started I fell and broke my wrist.  I had to have surgery and couldn't do my massage job so this was great.  

Fast forward to October/November of 2016.  Something in me had had enough.  I heard blips of stories saying sitting at your desk was as bad as smoking!  What?!?!  Over the past two years, I put on at least 30 pounds.  A year ago, I signed up for a running challenge: to run 2016 miles in 2016. One of my massage clients and I made a team: Running Yogis.  (I was running and doing yoga a year ago.  That has since stopped, too.)  We were excited.  (Side note:  I ran the Lakefront Marathon in October 2015. It was painful.  Training was hard both mentally and physically.  I didn't lose any weight!  It was frustrating.  I needed a goal.)

I slowly got into a running grove again, but everything hurt.  I developed a leg issue.  I believe it is an IT band thing and saw a doctor about it. Starting Physical Therapy next week!  So by August of 2016, I stopped running.  Not sure how many miles the Running Yogi team really completed of the 2016, I only contributed about 500.  ☹️

Sometime in September or October, my Ironwoman neighbor found out about a new gym opening in our area.  Has anyone heard of Burn Bootcamp?  She won a free month trial and I signed up for their 30 days for $30! Man has that been tough. But amazing!!!!  I didn't lose weight but did lose inches.

This class/gym got me to thinking about my family, my lifestyle and my real dreams and goals. I decided that I need to focus on my health and my family again.  So, I gave my notice at my office job.  Starting next week, I will be working more at the Wisconsin Athletic Club. 

Today, January 1, 2017, I am working on my plan to become a better me. I am going to start with my diet.  I had success years ago with Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover. So, I dusted off the books I have and started reading them this last week.  The 30 Day Makeover started on Wednesday.  Now to get my menus together and get some groceries to be successful.

Off n Running,

AnnMarie

PS.  I wrote this early today.  It is now 5pm, and the kids and I wrote up our 2017 Goals.  I will post about them tomorrow!  One of my goals is to get back to blogging.  Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!!!

I know, I know that the New Year was 19 days ago. But if you read my last post, you will know that I could not type on New Year's day, due to my giant splint! You would have also read that I was going to spend the next few days catching you all up on our crazy lives! :)

I can't remember how long ago, Deanna told me of a "project" she and her family do on the last day of school: They sit down and each member writes out 10 things they want to do for the summer. How awesome is that!?!?! We tried it for a couple of summers and never did complete our lists, because we ran out of money or summer! So, I changed it to the first of the year and for the whole year. Some items on the kids lists last year were going to Great America, going camping, going to visit another state, spend a week at each grandparents... Some items were simple like going to swim at the beach.

2014 was a great year of travel for me. It was one year ago today that I was in California for my Tinkerbell Half marathon with Deanna! (Her first half, WOO HOO!!!!) I got to go to Denver, CO for the National Massage Convention, and OH to visit my brother (whose family is now in California) and I took the kids with me to Florida in November to see Deanna and I complete our Coast to Coast challenge at Disney World!

Here is my 2015 list:

Mama’s 2015 List of Goals

*2015 in 2015 with Marie

*Do a full marathon (Lakefront or the Inaugural Milwaukee Marathon)

*Start my running streak over!

*Run 15 or more races in 2015

*RAGNAR?

*Badgerland Strider Challenge again

*Take the Personal Trainer test

*Start training at the WAC

*Look into Girls on the Run certification

*Help Swimchick earn her Silver Award

*Take PeeWee's troop camping/overnight camp in our backyard

*Read 1  book a month for fun/ 1 book a month on self-help

*Blog more

*Cut sugar out of my diet

*Better at menu planning

*Try to add more real food to our menus and less eating out.

*Pay my dental bill
*Pay off my surgery


SO, there it is everyone. My list of goals. I have not signed up yet for the Badgerland Strider Super Strider Challenge. (Money is a bit tight at the moment. I do need to see when the challenge closes, to be sure I don't miss it!!!!) My friend, Marie, asked if I would join her in the 2015 in 2015. As a team, we have to complete 5.5 miles of walking or running every day in 2015. Check it out here. I signed myself up on the website, and to date have only logged 2.75 miles of walking.  It was torture! Physically and mentally. I was sore the next day, not used to walking, and the pace was killing me. If I had not been in that splint, I would have laced up my shoes and hit the pavement. I had to go to the gym and use a treadmill. The next day, the kids and I went to visit my parents, and I didn't bring any exercise clothes. (excuse, excuse, excuse!) Anyway, I signed up and am part of team: Hot Tamales! Go Team GO!!!!

Today is my New Year, and I am planning to go for a run of at least 3 miles. {The weather has been super nice for January in WI. I am planning to do the "park loop" when my husband leaves for work. SHHH!!!} I need to figure out how far behind I am and get caught up. LOL!

Last year, I found a blog boasting a 14 in 2014 race challenge. I did that, and could have done more runs over the summer, but didn't. SO, I am going to challenge myself to do 15 this year. :) And before I fell and got put into a lovely hard cast, I was feeling like I could take on a full marathon again. {I am not sure how you go about doing the 50 states challenge but I have never run a full marathon in WI! HI, IL, MN and FL yes.} Some runners in WI have decided to do a Milwaukee Marathon weekend in Oct/Nov. Oh, my bad, I just looked it up and it will be named MILWAUKEE RUNNING FESTIVAL WEEKEND. I have not decided if I would like to do this full or if I would like to do the LAKEFRONT MARATHON. Again, I need to see what the fees are and when they go up or close the entries. Then decide and talk with my running partners to see who is up for what. I would like to use Another Mother Runners Own It program for my halves and this whole marathon this year. 

I know several folks who have done a RAGNAR race. I think it would be a fun time. I put a question mark on that one, because I have been asked to join a team, and then they filled up. So, I might be able to join if someone else can't make it. We will see!

Oh, for the book reading: I am slowly reading THE FRED FACTOR as my personal growth book. And I started reading FIFTY SHADES OF GREY last night. (I finally got the library e-book reader to work on my phone, and am into chapter 3 already!) I am on Goodreads.com if anyone wants to follow me and see what I have read!

And today is the first day of our 14 week Challenge with 100 Days of Real Food. (The challenge is closed for this year, sorry.) Every Thursday I will get an email with the next weeks challenge on it. We are to start on Monday. This week we are to add more fruits and veggies to every meal. And we are not to buy anything with more than 5 ingredients in it. It is surprising to read the ingredient labels to see how often sugar is listed.

Well, that is the summary. What do your 2015 goals look like? I'd love to read them here in my comments! ;)

Off -n- Running,

AnnMarie