Tag Archives: Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List

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Just like last year, I’ve put together a list of items I want to cross off my bucket list this summer. After a rather stagnant few months, during which I learned a lot mentally but didn’t do a hell of a lot physically, I’m feeling motivated to push harder than ever to get things back in gear and get that scale moving downward once again.

So, here are my goals for the summer, designed to get me out there…finding balance, shaking things up, making my life.

2013 Summer Bucket List

1. Run 2 miles

2. Attempt to water ski…again

3. Put myself out there physically

4. Complete a bike race

5. Go hiking in a state park

6. Lose 20 pounds

7. Purchase a pair of pants from a “normal” size store

8. Move everyday & spend as much time outside as possible

9. Go to a beach in a swimsuit. Swim, soak up the sun,  be confident

10. Save enough money for a personal trainer this fall

Tell me: what are you going to do over the next three months to make yourself proud and kick some booty?

Halfway Point: September Goals

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Goals for September

1. Complete a 5K race
2. Lose 10 pounds
3. Fit comfortably into a “regular” sized pants
4. Break through this dang plateau
5. Build a consistent workout schedule
6. Begin a strength training program
7. Finish 30 Day Shred
8. Run a complete mile
9. Avoid the downfall of TOM
10. Begin twice per week spin classes

I just realized that it’s more than halfway through September and I’ve yet to share my progress on my goals for this month! Oops! I feel like I’ve been neglecting this bloggy blog a whole bunch lately, but there are big (fun) things on the horizon, and plenty of posts lined up for the near future. I’ve been dealing with real life issues lately–weird right? So I haven’t been attentive to you all as I should have been. My apologies. Never again, promise. :)

I think (knock on wood, rub a rabbit’s foot, fingers crossed) that I’ve finally bid adieu to this 6-month plateau (#4). Preplanning my meals, sticking to my metrics, consistent workouts (#5) and a new accountability partner in my best friend from high school, Suzy (what up, love!) have really helped–I need to remember how amazing I feel after a workout, no matter what the scale does that day! This new laser-like focus even helped me avoid TOM this month(my time of the month–sorry to any guys reading!) (#9) and move past the same 10+ lbs I keep losing and gaining (#2).

I did get new pants that are two (TWO) sizes smaller than what I used to wear, and they’re just bordering on what I’m calling “normal” sized. So I feel like that one (#3) is half crossed off. Guess I have another goal for next month!

The last few goals are going to implemented in the last few days of this month, as I was nervous about over training for the 5K: the weight training (#6), spin classes (#10), and 30DS (#7) should be a piece of cake (mmm…cake) now that I’ve got my consistency going.

I’m still running my first ever 5K on Sunday (#1). As I’ve mentioned before, my mom, aunt, and cousin will be there with me. And my good friend and her pup will be cheering me on from the sidelines. I’m terrified beyond belief, I secretly think I run slower than I walk, and I may finish in dead last behind all the kick ass old ladies, but hey. I’m out there, I’m doing it, there’s only up to go from here.

Finally, I RAN AN ENTIRE MILE WITHOUT DYING AND IT WAS AWESOME AND I’M SO PROUD OF MYSELF (#8). If you follow me on Twitter, you no doubt already saw my berry red, sweaty, ecstatic face and read my saga of tweets about it (you’re welcome).

Well, that’s how I’m doing on my goals this month! Where are you guys at? Share your progress in the comments below! I have to get back to planning m’birthday celebraaations–it’s tomorrow, by the way. Please send cupcakes, flowers, and Josh Jackson.

Success!

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The pictures above? Yeah. Today I finally ran one complete mile.
A windy, hilly, sweaty, challenging, incredible mile.

When I started this journey way back in January, almost nine months to the day, one of the very first workouts I did was workout one of the Couch-to-5K. I huffed and puffed and struggled to make it through one minute of a very slow jog. Everything hurt, everything jiggled, I was incredibly uncomfortable, and I couldn’t breathe.

Frustrated, I moved on to other, less intimidating workouts, coming back to running sporadically to see if it had somehow magically become easier. Slowly progressing from those first sixty seconds, I was finally able to do ninety. Got stuck there, waited, came back and got to three minutes.

And there I stayed. For months.

Then I remembered the quote that kicked this all off:

“Nothing changes when you’re comfortable.”

Amen to that. Amidst the crap-fest that was this summer, I signed up for a 5K and half-heartedly began training. I’ve had a few great runs lately, but that nagging summer bucket list item of running an entire mile was still hanging out there.

I haven’t run a full mile since 7th grade. Today, I did. In 13 minutes! Enjoy the proud sweat and tear stained face above–I know I am!

The best is truly yet to come, my friends! Here’s to the first of many, many more miles!

Utterly Fearless

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This summer has been a lot things: wasteful, fleeting, challenging, typical, punishing, lazy, emotional, unsuccessful. But for all of that, or despite all of that, it’s also been amazing, revolutionary, challenging, emotional, successful, life-changing, and fun. It has been lived by my newly adopted mantra, which I plan to use to carry me through the rest of this journey:

Utterly fearless

This was the summer I started wearing tank tops again. I wore a dress cut above the knee out in public. The summer I started running for real, and tried yoga. And Zumba. I lost weight and gained muscle, lost fear and gained confidence.
I overcame a few limitations and realized that others still exist–for now. This summer I made a bucket list of five goals I wanted to complete in three months. And I made significant stride in completing them all (that mile is going down this week!). I explored my town, and discovered beauty that, after living here for almost ten years, I didn’t know existed.This was the summer I made new friends and rekindled relationships with others.
The summer I went tubing and learned to (successfully) paddle board.

I learned to appreciate my body. I pushed myself, I grew, I shrunk, I cried happy tears, I cried sad tears. I smiled, I laughed. And laughed. I fell in love: with my surroundings, my circumstances, myself. This summer, as a 27-year old, I finally came into myself. I was, am, will be–happy.

September Goals

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Better late than never, right? As I’ll share with you over the next few days, and as you’ve probably suspected from my recent absence around these parts, I’ve been struggling lately. My plateau is still lazing around like the little bastard he is, and I’ve started to emulate his ways: poor food choices, a crap attitude, no diligence in tracking, and minimal movement.

But! It’s a new month (my birthday month, no less!) and it’s my favorite. Thanks to a new school year, a new season, and another year of glorious aging for me, September has always provided the idea of a fresh start, the chance to try and reinvent yourself one more time. To wit, here are my ambitious and somewhat repetitious goals for this month:

As always, I’d love for you to join me! Pick a few goals from my list, or come up with your own, then share your list in the comments below. 

Goals for September

1. Complete a 5K–scheduled for September 23!
2. Lose 10 pounds
3. Fit comfortably into a “regular” sized pair of pants–so! close!
4. Break through this dang plateau 
5. Build a consistent workout schedule–no more six days on, three weeks off.
6. Begin a strength training program
7. Finish 30 Day Shred
8. Run a complete mile
9. Avoid the downfall of the hormonal, emotional disaster that is TOM
10. Begin twice per week spin classes

Run It

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So, on this blog, I try not to focus so much on the day-to-day, but more on the big picture. I have an unwritten rule with myself that I don’t post about that Tuesday when I gained a pound and ate half a bag of chocolate chips (what? That’s totally never happened), and I tend not to post about what I ate for lunch or the amazing workout I had after that. And I certainly never post about my adorably mischievous dog/baby/lemur–mostly because I don’t have any of those things, but even if I did, I wouldn’t post about it. Because it’s obnoxious. And no one cares.

“What an adorable puppy! I wish you’d post more pictures and write more about her crazy adventures,” said no one ever.

But I’m breaking that rule today because, my friends, I think I’ve officially became a runner. Get that skeptical look off your face so we can proceed. Thank you.

If you’ve been reading the blog for any length of time, you know that I’ve been half-heartedly trying to start running. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people just chugging along down the street like it ain’t no thang. Running seems to be both the very most basic fitness activity, and the greatest sign of health, endurance, and the ability to push yourself to new heights of awesomeness. Plus, the runners in my neighborhood are usually totally ripped and hot. Marry me?

I started the Couch-to-5K program day one of my Manda Kay Makes It journey, and I’ve done it sporadically since. It’s been a struggle–everything bounces and jiggles, I’m slow, uncomfortable, and have no endurance, my fear of the treadmill is still very real, and I really haven’t seen progress. I’ve always prided myself on being pretty athletically gifted–sports was all I did growing up–but running has provided a pretty shocking look at how truly out of shape I am. I thought by now that I would have a few 5K’s under my belt, and I could start looking at longer distance races, obstacle races, and, eventually, I’d be doing the triathlon I so badly want to do. In reality, I’ve been lucky to make it three minutes without wheezing and slowing down to walk.

Well, that has all changed now, because I am officially training for my first 5K! It’s the Women Run the Cities race (yeah we do) and it’s going down September 23 (two days after my birthday–what what!). So if any of my fellow Twin Citians happen to be out and about that day and see a rather large lady with an inadvertent bitch face on (see below), huffing and puffing along the mighty Mississippi–well, that’s probably me. You should say hi and cheer for me. Then go get me a water and a lawn chair.

The point of this horribly long-winded post is that this past week, I started training for said 5K. I loaded week 3 of C25K on the iPod, mapped out a little less than 3.1 miles on my favorite, slightly hilly, secluded river trail, and got to work. Let me just say, for the record (and to make myself sound more badass), it was sunny, horribly humid and 86°. And I was so not feeling it.

I moved slowly through the thirty minute program, concentrating on my breathing, my legs only slightly feeling like I was dragging the carcass of Bigfoot. When I finished, I had a ways to go to get back to my car, so I thought, “ok, I’m not completely dead, let’s run a bit more. Make it that tree and we’ll be done.” Guys, I don’t know what happened, but after awhile, I realized that I had long passed that tree. My mind had kind of spaced out and I was lost in the music (thank you, Ke$ha). Then, four minutes in, I decided, “well, why don’t you just keep going all the way to the car?“


Every other time I’ve run, I’ve only been able to focus on how out of breath I am, how slow I’m moving, how embarrassing it will be to run an actual race and come in dead last. I’ll be the girl crossing the finish line as night falls and the clean-up crew is sweeping the street.  That’s the image on a constant loop in my mind while running.

But for whatever reason, I was able to completely zone out. My breathing was even, I wasn’t struggling. Both Ke$ha and I were feelin’ like P. Diddy. But of course, as soon as I realized how out of breath I wasn’t and how well I was doing, I immediately snapped back to my usual nagging running thoughts: “holy shit, I might literally die. What if I pass out? How embarrassing! Can a heart explode? What if mine does? I wonder if that guy would give me a piggy back ride the rest of the way?“

My aunt, who reads the blog, doesn’t like when I post pics of myself after working out–I believe the word she used was, “Ew!” So this is for you, Auntie Jan!

Just as I was about to slow my roll to walk, My new and improved inner voice cut through the bullshit and said, “keep going. Shut up and show a little character.” I sprinted the last few feet to my car.

I had just run for over eight minutes–the longest I’ve purposely run since high school. I ran at what I thought was a decent clip for 8 whole minutes after doing my usual training program. I know I have a ways to go, and say what you will, but I am crazy proud and it’s given me a little bit of confidence that running a 5K in six very short weeks might not be the craziest idea. Maybe I can do it. Scratch that–I know I can do it.

Have you run a 5K (or longer) race? What goals did you set for yourself during that race?

Summer Bucket List Update: Run It

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After a emotional Thursday night spin class with my BFF instructor, Holly, where I reflected on my journey and literally sobbed through Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter”, I decided I wanted to tackle number one with a bullet on my Summer Bucket List: run an entire mile.

I’ve been half-heartedly doing Couch-2-5K over the past few months, but I haven’t run in almost month. And I’ve only ever run outdoors, whereas this attempt was going to be done at the gym on a treadmill–one of my bigger fears throughout this journey.

Why? Well, I know it’s stupid, but: I don’t want to run on a treadmill because I am afraid that, being a rather–ahem–large girl, things would be jiggling like crazy and I’d be so loud stomping away with my fat legs on the treadmill and maybe even break the machine but definitely get looks from everyone around me and distract everyone with my insanely heavy breathing/wheezing.

Whew! Exhausting thinking, right?

I spent all day yesterday getting pumped up for my mile run. I kept telling myself, “You can totally do this, no problem.” I kept thinking about how awesome I would feel afterwards, remembering how amazing I felt after my emotional spin class the previous night. The self-talk was all positive and I was loving it. I even shared the update with all my lovelies on Twitter and a few friends and family, to hold myself even more accountable.

When I got to the gym, I was pumped. Super tired and very sore, feeling heavy and surprisingly very nervous, but pumped. Instead of hiding out on the treadmill in the back corner of the gym, I hopped on a machine smack in the middle of the pack–staring creepy men and skinny bitch assholes watching my jiggly bits be damned!

After a quick five minute warm-up, I bumped up the incline to 2, the speed to 5.0 and started pumping my arms. Quickly realizing this was not a pace at which I could sustain myself, I knocked it down a bit.

And then I ran.

I felt my butt and thighs jiggling, but I felt my feet authoritatively smacking the treadmill belt. I felt my breath catching in my chest, but I willed myself to get it under control–in through the nose, out through the mouth. After three minutes, I felt myself wanting to give up, but I reminded myself that this challenge is more mental than physical.

And I ran.

With five minutes of straight running under my belt, I started to get dizzy. So I slowed my pace a bit more. The dizzy feeling remained, so I took a short walk break and then knocked out another two minutes. I was now over half a mile, but ready to give up. I felt lousy, I was uncomfortable, and frankly, I had a giant wedgie :)

So I stopped.

I briskly walked the rest of the mile, then headed over to my buddy the elliptical to knock out a grueling half hour of intervals.

Was I disappointed? Sure. Defeated? Absolutely not. Old Manda Kay would have been devastated not hitting this goal the first time out, embarrassed that she’d made it all so public and hadn’t accomplished it. New Manda Kay? I’m inspired to keep moving. I know where I’m at, and I know what I need to do to get to where I want to be. I have the rest of the summer to get there.

Mostly I’m just extremely proud that I:
1. Ran on a treadmill for the first time.
2. Ran my longest distance yet.
3. Ran for my longest time yet.

It’s the little things that eventually make the big things. I’m making progress, I am making my life here. Slowly, but surely. It’s all happening right now.