Merry Christmas & my winners!

I hope you all had a wonderful christmas!

Sorry for the lack of posting, but I've been super busy.

Saturday afternoon we hosted christmas eve dinner for Kevin's family, then headed to his Aunt's house to be with the whole group. His 3 cousins all have 2 kids a piece that range in age from almost 3 to 11. The kids love me because I hang out and play with them. The 5 year old is adorable. He loves the disney princesses, and after talking about our favorite princesses, he asked me if I was going to get married. I told him yes, and he asked to who. When I told him Kevin, he said "Well how come you're not married yet? When are you getting married?" haha smart kid. I told him he had to ask Kevin. He then proceeded to "marry us" while bopping us on the head with a plastic plate, then made it official by making us kiss. How cute can kids be!?

Sunday we did presents (more on mine another day), then headed to my mom's house after church, followed by a trip for dinner to my dads house. It felt so good to finally get home & relax. We had a great time spending time with our families. Problem was I ate too many sweets and now I can't stop.

Today I embarked on a Christmas sugar detox. I'm working really hard to avoid cookies & candies & so far I haven't failed.

I know I forgot to post the Inperspire winners....

ImtheMarigold @ Knickers in a Twist gets rewarded for buying her secret santa a towel!

&

Suzy @ Running on My Time!

email me at sgrigely at hotmail dot com to claim your prize!

My Weekly recap will come tomorrow!

>>>READ MORE

Christmas wrap up

It's snowing! Even though I really can't stand snow, from inside my house it looks nice and I really can't complain since this is the first big snow of the year. Not typical for us New Englanders! They say we're getting between 8-12 inches, which means I cleaned my house, avoiding going anywhere.

The past 2 days have been wicked busy. I made it to the gym Friday morning, which was my first workout since the horrible 12 miler last weekend. I got out of work early, and even had time for a much needed nap. I went to Kevin's house & we made pizza with his family before heading over to his aunt & uncles party. After there, we went to my house to exchange presents. Good news? He got me the running skirt & triathlon bag I wanted. Bad news? When I told him I wanted a size 5 running skirt, he didn't buy me the running skirts size 5, he got me the womens 4-6 which is a running skirts size 2. Never in my life have I been that small!

Kevin laughed at me, because I bought him the same pair of pants I had bought him a few months ago. But he did love the snowboarding gear & red sox cycling jersey I got him. We went to midnight mass, so I didn't get to sleep until almost 1:30am, which means....

No morning ride on the trainer like I was hoping. I had to be at Kevin's at 9am for breakfast & presents. Somehow I ended up making the breakfast for everyone, when I was invited as a guest. Not sure how that happens, but oh well. After that we headed to my mom's house for breakfast round 2 (or lunch) and more presents, then to my dad's house for dinner & presents. We were exhausted, and relieved to finally make it home at the end of the night. It was great to see all of our families, and spend time with some we don't get to see too often.

I even did all my errands & shopping in my
running skirts ensemble!

Today, I was scheduled for a 10 mile long run. I'm not gonna lie, I was nervous. I hadn't run all week. When my long run partner called to confirm for today, I told her I was nervous about my knee. I wasn't sure if I'd make it, and didn't want to hold her back. We decided to do our own thing. The next part for me was to decide treadmill or outside? The snow had started, but I was really itching to run in it for some reason. But I was nervous that my knee would start acting up & I would be stranded, or worse yet, I could slip & fall and hurt my knee even more. I decided on the treadmill, and headed to the gym. I decided to wear a christmasy outfit, since it's only the day after. My plan was to run 3 miles to start. If the knee started acting up, I would get off, do a little lifting, then do 3 more miles. I really wanted to make the 10, but I told myself I'd wait & see how I felt. I hit 3 miles, and had no knee pain. I really tried to pay attention to my form. I hit mile 4, got off to get more water, then back on, and I just kept cruising until I made it all the way to 10. My knee never hurt. A couple times I felt a little pulling in my calf, but I slowed to a walk, and it never made its way to my knee. That run was the best christmas present ever!

Today I've been going crazy cleaning, throwing crap away, and putting stuff in bags for goodwill. I think so far I've managed 3 full bags of trash & 2 bags for goodwill, and there's still more work to be done! I have the day off tomorrow, so my plan is to keep up with the cleaning, make some muffins, and get a fabulous workout in. I hope this snow stops soon!

Don't forget my giveaways!

The Bondi Band & sports beans one ends tonight! Enter HERE

My Ryders giveaway ends tomorrow! Enter HERE

>>>READ MORE

Unscheduled disaster

When I don't plan things out or adhere to a schedule, all hell usually breaks loose. 5 day weekends are wicked fabulous, but this one was mostly unstructured. Sure, I knew I would go to the gym, hit the mall, wrap some presents, decorate, and get my hair done. But the schedule and structure to my eating was non existent.

Almost done with decorations!

I slept in, I didn't eat at normal times, I ate out, I ate to eat. My focus of getting on the new weight watchers plan was somewhat derailed. I did well getting all my fruits & veggies in, but I did not track a thing, starting with saturday. Major fail, especially since with this new plan, I'm not sure how many points this or that is. The party on saturday overwhelmed me with tracking fear & I nervously skirted away from what I'm sure was a disaster being recorded. Wine is ridiculously high in points, had a few of those, oh & that Harry & david cream cheese dip? Full fat cheese? I didn't even want to consider the POINTS! Then Sunday, Kevin & I went out for dinner.... cheesy garlic bread, lobster ravioli, scallops with a delicious rissotto, finished off with some sort of fried banana goodness with ice cream. FAIL. I didn't dwell on it though, or make myself feel bad & eat more (I've done it in the past), I just pretended like it didn't happen. I'm sure that's not a great option either.

Today was my last day off before heading back to work. A little better food wise, I'm getting ready to make chicken burgers with guacamole & sweet potato fries. I haven't tracked today, but I promise I will tomorrow, straight from the start. And my running has never felt better. After the 2 PR weekend, I decided to pump up my speedwork a little today. Not a ton, but I sprinted a little faster because I knew I could do it. Only 68 days until Rock N Roll New Orleans, I'm so excited for it!

I also gave the blog a little makeover on my extended weekend. Any thoughts? Not sure about the background. Its weird that it starts part way down like that, maybe I need something a little more plain? I'll test it out for now.

Have you entered my giveaway for Inperspire towels yet HERE? I just got in the ones I ordered for christmas presents! I can't wait to see what my family & friends have to say about them. I know they will think they are fabulous. DEADLINE FOR ENTRY IS TOMORROW 12/8!

>>>READ MORE

Today is my friday!

and.... 

I have a 5 day weekend! Love it!

What are my plans? Nothing specific. Pretty much gym time. Working out, and getting used to this new weight watchers plan. So far I think I like it. Definitely puts an emphasis on healthy, whole foods, which I had been trying to do anyways. I had a 1 pound loss this week, which was fabulous I thought after thanksgiving. Now, my plan is to really buckle down, learn the new program & kick into gear. The more weight I can lose, the less I have to carry through 13.1 in new orleans & disney.

My other plans include finishing my christmas shopping, wrapping & decorating. Still not sure of what to get everyone, so I'll need to do some browsing and figure it out. My mom had me order this beauty to arrive under the tree on christmas at her house...

Thats right, Kurt Kinetic Road Machine Indoor Trainer! So excited, and I know this will help me get some bike miles in over the winter. I really want to improve for tri season next year, and this will help me avoid biking at the gym and in the snow. Now... to get to the pool more often.

Today is mine & Kevin's 6 year anniversary. We're celebrating on sunday, since he has class tonight. I have a busy weekend ahead. Dinner with friends tomorrow, and a beer & wine tasting party on saturday night. Plus 2 road races! The Springfield Jolly Jaunt 10K is to benefit Massachusetts Special Olympics on saturday & the Hot Chocolate Run 5K is to benefit Safepass on sunday. I feel good that they are both to benefit charities, and it helps me get my miles in with my long run parter away. I'm secretly hoping to PR on at least the 5K.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for Inperspire towels HERE!

>>>READ MORE

Laying low...

It's been a busy couple of days, so I'm glad to be home relaxing tonight, and preparing for my long run tomorrow. 11 miles on the schedule, which will be my longest post surgery run so far. S is meeting me at 8am, with starbucks to follow the run. I have been charging my Garmin, and hoping that I can figure out how to make it work in time for tomorrow's run.

Last night, Kevin took me out for my birthday. Dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, followed by a hot tub & massage, which was sooooo relaxing. So well needed, I almost fell asleep during the session! I worked this morning, then hit the gym because today is the first day of.....

I logged 6 points for the contest today. 6 mile ride (at the gym) = 2, 30 min elliptical = 2, 20 min strength = 1, and 7 servings fruits/veggies = 1.

I also signed up for.....

A Journey to Thin is hosting a sort of online Turkey Trot! I'm doing the Manchester, CT road race, which I think is about 4.5 miles on thanksgiving morning, so I will count that. That is the last scheduled race I have until New Orleans in february, and I'm a little disappointed. Maybe I need to start searching for more?

My mom asked me for a christmas list. So far I know I want giftcards to Road Runner Sports, either a bike attachment for my Garmin or a bike computer (any input on that?), a triathlon bag (in pink of course! looking for recommendations), a new running skirt from RunningSkirts.com, maybe a USAT membership, running clothes, some floating shelves for my living room (or other decorations), not sure what else. She likes a big list to have plenty to choose from. Any other suggestions?

I also just sent a couple emails to learn more about a couple of master's swim groups in my area. I really want to work on improving my swimming over the winter, but I know the snow and cold weather will keep me avoiding the pool. I figure if I have somewhere I'm expected, I'll me more likely to go, not to mention, I'd really like someone to give me some feedback past my swim lessons over 23 years ago.

Back to the DVR lineup & Garmin play!

>>>READ MORE

Shutterfly cards

I love holiday cards. Love addressing the envelopes and sending well wishes to family and friends.

When I was younger, my mom would always drag my brother, sister and I down to JC Penny's to wait for a photographer to snap a shot of us well before thanksgiving, in our stuffy christmas outfits, and wait ages for the photo cards to be delivered to us. My mom would also write out a long, detailed letter, bragging to everyone we knew about all of our accomplishments for the year.

I like to let people know how or what I'm up to, but in a more subtle way. I wanted to design a christmas card that had multiple pictures to show off what Kevin & I have been up to all year. After visiting Shutterfly HERE to check out what they had, I found the perfect card!

Red Sox, Disney & Halloween!

Originally, I liked the idea of a 7 photo spread with individual pictures of us too, but decided I wanted something a little more clean. There were plenty of options to choose from, 1 picture to 7+ pictures, all wicked cute!

Having a holiday party? Shutterfly can even help make invitations easier, by having a ton of fabulous designs to choose from HERE. Its always easier to have one less thing to stress over during the holidays. Making gifts is easy too, by checking out their photo gift page HERE. I made snapbooks for my girlfriends last year of all the fun times we had over the previous year. What a perfect way to capture all the race shots for your favorite runner/ triathlete!

 Bloggers! Get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly at: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

>>>READ MORE

The 7 medical myths that my mom still believes.

This is so 2007, but I still often tell this to my friends and families. These myths are often hard to remove from their beliefs so I guess I have to re post it again for the benefits of many who may have forgotten it... again.

This research was conducted a year and a half ago by Aaron Carrol, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Regenstrief Institue, Indianapolis and Rachel Vreeman, fellow in children's health services reserach at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Despite frequent mentions in the popular press of the need to drink eight glass of water, they found no scientific basis for the claim. The complete lack of evidence has been in a study published the American Journal of Psychology, they said. The other six myths are:

Reading in dim lights ruins your eyesight- The majority of eye experts believe it is unlikely to do any permanent damage, but it make you squint, blink more and have trouble focusing, the researchers said.

Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser- It has no effect on the thickness or rate of hair regrowth, studies say. But stubble lacks the finer taper of unshaven hair, giving the impression.

Eating turkey makes you drowsy. It does contain Amino acid called tryptophan that is involved in sleep and mood control. But turkey has no more of the acid than chicken and minced beef. Eating lots of food and drink at Christmas are probably the real cause of sleepiness.

We use only 10 percent of our brains. This myth arose as early 1907 but imaging shows no area of the brain is silent or completely inactive.

Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death(mom, read this)- This idea may stem from ghoulish novels. The researchers said the skin dries out and retracts after death, giving the appearance of longer hair and nails.

Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals- despite widespread concerns, studies have found minimal interference with medical equipment.

>>>READ MORE

How to lose the holiday weight gain.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New year. So many holidays and of course........ feast! who doesn't love to eat right? especially when everybody is enjoying eating and having fun. But of course sometimes we tend to forget our diet, counting calories, food portions. etc. I'm sometimes guilty of this too.

Here are some tips that hope to help you lose some holiday weight gain.

1. Eat fruits and vegetables. They'll give you more food and less calories. You just came out of holiday feast so better start eating healthy foods and gain power not fat.

2. Spice things up. A little salsa can add a lot of flavor to a baked potato-and for few calories. I know, many people may not like to eat boring or bland healthy foods. So spice up your food a little.

3. For sweets. just grab low-fat yogurt instead of ice cream. There are many low fat yogurts around nowadays. You might thought of grabbing a low fat ice cream, but better not.

4. Besides cutting calories, a high fiber diet help prevent cancer, heart disease and digestive illness. So wake up with an oatmeal breakfast or just get a high fiber lunch and your off to lose weight.

5. Exercise everyday. Oh yes! You ate a lot last holiday, so lose that fat!

Everything may seem to be very hard, but i still think that if you put your heart to it. I mean discipline is one major key to lose weight! We still have few more holiday feasts to come so if you think you are having a hard time to lose weight. Then control yourself.

>>>READ MORE