My First Pair Of Running Shoes

Today was monumental. Oh, and why you ask? Well because I got my very first pair of running shoes, that's right running shoes.

I also found out that I've been buying tennis shoes that are half a size too big for me (because I have wide feet).

If you're in Salt Lake and in need of running shoes go to the Salt Lake Running Company, they are so nice and will make sure you get the right shoes. Thank you Jerry at the SLRC, you were wonderful!

Until next time!

-Liz

My Very First 5K!

Photo from my Instagram (@thelizdiaries)

On Saturday I completed my very first 5k race. 

This guy right here (Jason, my boss) stuck with me the entire time. My heart sank when I came upon the first hill in the race. I had not been training for any hills and I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me that I should, so when I stopped to walk up that hill I told Jason he should keep running without me. He is, after all, a seasoned runner who does marathons and Iron Man races, but he said no because he got me into this mess. He stayed just a little ahead of me and stopped when I needed to stop and kept motivating me and telling me stories about running during the whole race. :) 

I didn't run the whole thing, but I did my best and ran as much as I could and I completed it. I believe I finished at about 48 minutes, but hey for a person that has never done running in her life I'd say that's pretty good especially considering there were hills. 

I'm starting to believe I can do ANYTHING.

Until next time!

-Liz

Preparing For My Very First 5K

I'm supposed to be training for a 5K race so that afterwards I can train for a half marathon (yikes) and on Saturday I ran for a minute then walked for a minute and so on for a whole 50 minutes! I know that that may be no big deal to some people, but just try being the fatty doing it at the gym with a Barbie doll running on the treadmill next to you and a Skipper doll running on the treadmill on the other side of you. Mmmmhmm! Still, I feel like I'm making progress and that's all that counts right?

Until next time!

-Liz

I won, I won, I won!

I won, I won, I won! Me, the fat girl with insomnia, sleep apnea, plantar fasciitis and a bad knee won the step challenge at work! (whew)

It's amazing how much free time I have now that the challenge is over. I actually have time to work on my blog more often and clean my apartment and shave my legs and.....oh the possibilities are endless.

All in all I am happy and so proud of myself and still a bit sore (even 4 days after it ended). I was able to see that with a little motivation like, ahem, some prize money, I could really push myself to the limit and it's definitely a good feeling.

Now I just have to share this "motivational" video my boyfriend sent me when I told him I won:

:)

Until next time!

-Liz

May Step Challange

I posted this photo on Instagram on April 27th, four days before our step challenge began. 

Our boss at work bought us all fitness bands so that we could compete in a step challenge this month (nice boss right?) and whoever has the most steps by the end of the month will win a $250.00 cash prize. As of today I have 352,982 steps! With less than two weeks left in the challenge I am fairly confident that I will reach my own personal goal of half a million steps for the month.

Wish me luck!

-Liz

Yoga or Zumba? The Choices We Must Make

Oh the agony of having to pick one because they both start at 7:00 p.m. Life is full of tough choices kids....

-Liz

Zumba Sweat

This was me a few nights ago. No, I didn't get caught in the rain, that wet stuff on my shirt is just a little souvenir I had left over from Zumba class.

Almost every time I get home from Zumba I take a few moments to admire the sweat on my shirt. I used to be embarrassed of my sweatyness so much that I would avoid wearing light colored shirts to Zumba as much as possible. Now I don't care. In fact I love it and I'm damn proud of it. In August it will be four years that I started taking Zumba classes pretty regularly, yet the sweating has not lessened very much. Some Zumba days I sweat buckets others not as much, that depends on that day's playlist, but despite having lost 30 lbs in the last year I continue to sweat a ton. I've come to the conclusion that I will probably never be one of those graceful women that barely breaks into a sweat at the gym. Instead, I'm gonna sweat like a beast and embrace it. I worked hard for it, after all, so hurray for sweating and all its glory! 

Until next time!

-Liz

The Gear: Craving Routine (and Workouts!)

I found my new awesome Nike gym bag at Ross for $24.99 and it took everything I had not to jump for joy in the store. It's true what they say, at Ross you dress for less (and workout for less).

The other thing I hate about the holidays is that they screw up my schedule. While I appreciate having some extra days off, I love having a routine, my I-go-to-work-on-weekdays-then-to-Zumba-and/or-yoga routine. Today is exactly two weeks since I have set foot at the gym (yikes!) and I am so ready to go back. Last night I got so excited just packing my brand new gym bag for today's Zumba and Yoga classes and I can't wait to shake it then stretch it.

Until next time!

-Liz