Working out

At the beginning of the year I made a goal to run a 5k. I accomplished that in April and thought about running a 10k by the end of the year. Well I got shin splints and haven't wanted to run since but I have kept with my main focus of becoming healthier. I'm and now working out 5-6 days a week for an hour each day. I am doing 3 days of weights and three days of cardio. I've noticed a big difference in how I feel energy wise and my eating habits have naturally changed a bit. I was getting a bit discouraged the other week about doing all this work and not seeing any physical results until someone that we go to church mentioned to Jacob that I was looking a lot better. And then one of my friends the other week told me she could see a difference. I have lost 7 pounds in 2 months which is the rate I want to keep loosing it. It's a slow battle but I am making it. I LOVE working out and miss it a lot when I can't go to the gym. I don't care how much I weigh, I'm more focused and concerned with what size pants I wear. My goal is a size 8 but I would be happy with a size 10. I can't wait to see what I look like this time next year. I should post a picture... only I hate how I look right now. My goal for next year continues to be running a sprint Triathlon though. Wish me luck!

"Letting circumstances or others determine your worth gives them inappropriate control and power."

A couple of my friends had this as their status. I feel like this has been my life for the past couple years. I've let others put me down and have kind of had this poor me thing going on. So this year I decided that I was going to run a 5k. I have been training for almost 2 weeks and I feel fantastic! I love the way I feel after my 20 minutes of jogging. I feel so much better about myself now that I am jogging 3 days a week, running on my elliptical twice a week and then going to the gym and lifting weights once a week. I'm going to try and start running on my elliptical 3 times a week as well and going to the gym at night after the girls go to bed and lifting weights on those days that I run on the elliptical.

This couch to 5k program is just awesome! I've said before that I'm not a runner and I'll say it again. I'm not a runner. But this program that I'm doing is turning me into one. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has wanted to get into shape. It's really gradual and really easy to do. 20 minutes three days per week. I have found that I am happiest and feel the most self worth when I am doing something active.

And since I haven't posted a recipe in who knows how long I will add one below. It's a new recipe that we tried last week and loved. And I got it from my Taste of Home Magazine.

Chicken Tortilla Chowder

• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (11 ounces) Mexicorn, drained
• 1 package (10 ounces) ready-to-serve roasted chicken breast strips, chopped
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 3 flour tortillas (8 inches), cut into 2-inch x 1/2-inch strips
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• Additional shredded cheddar cheese, optional

Directions

• In a large saucepan, combine the soups, milk and broth. Heat through, stirring frequently. Add the corn, chicken and chilies; bring to a boil. Stir in tortilla strips. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup (calculated without additional cheese) equals 280 calories, 11 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 42 mg cholesterol, 1,569 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 15 g protein.

I didn't have any green chillies but it still tasted great to me. Emma and Jacob loved it! This will be another one of my fall back recipes if I'm ever in a pinch. And if you want a copy of my favorite recipes send me your email address and I will email a copy of it to you.

Couch to 5k Running Program

This year I have decided that I will run a 5k. I am NOT a runner. The way I run has been described to me as looking like a duck running. I have more upward motion than I do forward motion. I have a friend Lisa who did this program last year who is also not a runner and ran a 5k last year. There is a local 5k here in June and I will be running it. Here is the workout schedule below for those of you who are interested. I like it because it's so easy and only 3 days a week. On the off days I am planning on going to the gym and doing some resistance training. Here is the link to the website I got the program off of. You read it going across. It's a 9 week program so I will be ready to go in less than 3 months. I'm so excited.

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minut