I did WHAT???!!!!

Yesterday, Thursday, was a run day for me. I did not want to go run at the track this time, so I chose to go to a park near my house. This park has a cement trail around the perimeter that is 2/3 mile long. My goal: 2 miles. The thing I was concerned about was running on cement and the small hills (a track doesn't have hills). So, I walked 1/4 mile to warm up and then started to jog. While I was jogging, I decided to just jog until I needed to stop and see how far I went. Well, I need to say that I have never run farther than 1/4 mile at a time. I figured it out and I went 11/12 of a mile without stopping!!!!! WHAT? REALLY? I had to do the math a few times. Math and running don't mix, just so you know! Hehe! I ended the two miles with having run 1.25 miles total and walked .75 total. I am SO happy! A little sore, but so amazed! Since it is on concrete, I will only do that run once a week though. It is too hard on my shins and knees. When the weather dries out, I can run on the grass next to the trail though, that will be great!

I guess the coolest part is that I know where I was about 8 weeks ago. I could not jog 1/4 mile without feeling like my legs were going to fall off, my lungs were going to come out, and having major charlie horses at night! Slow and steady really pays off! Being consistent makes a huge difference. Never give up. Even walking to the mail is all you can do, do it often and soon you will go to the corner of the street! I promise! I never thought I was going to be able to run a consistent mile until much later. Amazing!

Hurts So Good

I went running last Saturday (the 19th) and had to overcome a huge inner battle. When I went to the track, there was a high school soccer game taking place and all of the players' families were in the stands! YIKES! What was I to do? I wasn't going to waste the gas and go home, so I thought, I could just wait till the game is over. But, how much longer does it have and what if there is another one afterwards? I could just go on the cross-country trail, but I don't want to do that alone and I would not know how far I had gone. I wanted to go 1.5 miles on Saturday. Hmmmmm. Well, I decided to bite the bullet of embarrassment and took the long bleacher steps down to the track. I ran in the outside lane to stay away from the fast, in shape soccer players and only ran from goal post to goal post on the visitors side so I was not in front of the crowd running! Silly, I know. But, it was really weird and uncomfortable. At least I ran!

Yesterday, I added another element to my highway 2 healthy. I did strength training (weights)! It was a total body workout and today, I can feel it! Whew! I am not SO sore that I can't move, but when I do move...it hurts so good! Hehe! I am going running today so I am glad I did not do more than I should have. Still, running is going to be interesting. I plan on doing strength training twice a week for now and continue my running schedule.

Already?! hehe

I went running yesterday morning! I do have to say that I still hate running. It's so boring. But I do like the way I feel afterward. I just need to make sure that I can motivate myself enough to go on my own since Tony is about to be leaving on patrol again on Monday. I'm so excited that it will be his last one before we move back to CA for his trainning school.

Also, I'm so glad to have inspired my younger sisters into running with us. So far Angel and I have 2 more races lined up for this year and hope to find a 3rd sometime near Thanksgiving. Our younger sisters are joining us for the race in August! I can't wait!

A Quick Thank You ~

Just a quick note to say thank you to all who have left comments; it's great to feel the support from so many friends and family! For those who are trainning for their own races or working on other health goals, keep up the good work and we truly wish you good luck as well.

The Golden Name Tag Goes To:

After a few suggestions, Crystal has decided on the one she liked most. The Golden Name Tag goes to......Drum roll please.......
Mel, we love you! Congratulations! This is a highly esteemed award! Treasure and guard it well!

Official Race Pictures

The Race had a company doing the official pictures. Each bib number was then sent an email with their pictures in it. You can order them for a crazy amount or get around it and save the image. They are NOT print quality but are great to view online. So, we thought we would share. Here is a picture of the start, firework smoke and all!

A great picture of Tony, Sherry's husband. Love it!Here is Sherry finishing the race. Is that a smile?! LOL! It was great to finish! And I love that our bibs had our names on them. Other racers and the water people were able to cheer you on by name, that was cool!

Cameron and Sean caught in a picture together.

Cameron nearing the finish line!

Cameron finishing the race.

My mom and I were always in the pictures together, since she decided to stay with me the whole time. Here we are during one of my walking intervals.

Here is our big finish when I sprinted through the end, although you can't really tell.

In my humble opinion, I think Tony got the best official photo! We had a great time. I look forward to the next one with all of us.

What an Accomplishment!

Wow! The weekend went by so fast, even though my run wasn't. Ok, really I feel great about the accomplishment. 5 weeks ago I struggled to jog 2 minutes. Now, I can jog 4-5 minutes at a time with 5 minute walks in between. I could go longer on minutes, but I was going for distance so I needed to have the pace. I DID IT! After the second mile, I knew I only had about a mile to go. I also knew that I was not making the required race pace. We had been told that if we did not keep the pace, they would come around and pick people up and take them to the end! At this point in the race, runners did a hairpin turn to continue on the route. As I was looking at all of the people behind me, I also saw a tram go by at the end. I had to really concentrate not to cry! I felt I had come so far and I just wanted to finish! My emotions were really getting to me, but I decided to just keep going and if they came to pick me up I would desperately plead my case! Well, I passed the 3 mile marker and rounded a corner to see the finish line! I also saw all of my family yelling for me to finish! They also had a sign that was encouraging me to keep going! This meant so much to me to have their support. I am so grateful that I even have tears of joy as I write this. I decided to sprint to the finish line. This was the farthest I have sprinted, but I did it! to top it all off, I beat my own personal best by about 5 minutes! What an amazing feeling! I was exhausted and sore afterward, but so happy to have been there and made my body and mind healthier. After we ate and drank some food/water/power aide we went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the day. Here is a picture of me at the hotel after the race. I am holding the medallion that all of the 5K finishers got. I am proud of that!

This is the race shirt that all runners got. We all wore it during the day! All day long the workers were congratulating us for doing the race! We had a great time and I cannot wait to continue training!!!! What!!! Did I just say that? Yes, I did! And I actually mean it! My next 5K is in May and I hope to be able to run the entire distance!

The Finish Line

We did it!! Race day finally came and Angel and I both completed it and beat our personal best times! I finished in 44 mins and 47 seconds, and I will let Angel tell you about her time. We started together but then I broke away and was able to cheer her on later when the track doubled back and I passed her. Also, when I got to the 3 mile marker, I ran through the finish line slowly speeding up as I approached so that I sprinted through the end. I heard Tony yell for me and then saw him holding a sign and it was just what I needed to finish strong. I wanted to get to him and be able to cheer on Angel as she came through the finish so I ran right past all the food and the "medals" they were handing out, haha. But one of the workers grabbed me and made sure that I got my medal. I actually really enjoyed it! (accept for the little old ladies shuffling past me hehe) When I saw the finish and heard my husband cheering me on, I knew I had made a huge step in my progress. It was so cool. That finish line was a great start line for me!

Naming Contest

Hey all you readers, we hope there are lots of you! Anyways, you may have noticed that we each have a picture and title on the side. Crystal isn't too excited about being "Cool Crystal" and wants a better name. That being said, we throw it to you the readers! This is a contest (if you win, you will earn the prestigious Golden Nametag)! Wow, I know! Anyways, the rules are: find an adjective that starts with C to go in front of her name. We would prefer adjectives that have to do with being healthy, strong, active, etc. but any suggestions are allowed. While your at it, if you have a better one for the rest of us, throw those in also. Good luck. We will judge in about a week! Leave your suggestions as a comment.

bathing suite

do I have to wear one of those too!!? Oh Dear! I think I should wait.

me too!?

I have been trying to keep off the weight and not gain any more. As was my new years resultion for 2007 was to reach my body % fat of 18%, and that is my goal again. that means that I have about 70 lb to loss and I think I can. after the horse accident I gained 40 lb back ;(. so start again.

it is body fat % that you should be after and that transilates into pounds off and looking good and feeling great!

lets' go.

Daddy

I hope that this is on the blog with 2 health

I did it!

I successfully completed three 5k distances this past week. The first was difficult because it was the first time going that far. The second one was great and I felt amazing! The third (yesterday) was SO hard. Mentally, I did not think I was going to make it and felt like crying during the run/walk. Physically, I was tired, my body did not want to keep going. But, I would not quit because I did not want to be mad at myself for giving up. I did it! I am still not at race pace, but I am happy to have made the progress that I have. The race is this Friday and I cannot wait to see Sherry and run with her in person. We have gone together on the phone before, so this will be fun. See you on Thursday night, hun!

Workin Out

Wow, so it's been a while since I worked out other then my job and winter guard and it was hard! I didn't really expect myself to do as much as I did... Mom told me about this exercise that works all parts of the stomach as that is my main problem and i decided to try it out... well silly little me, I decided to do everything else first. So by the time I actually got around to doing the exercise I could barely accomplish it. And I can already feel the side effects and i know i am going to be sore. But I actually really like being sore because... although it is painful... sometimes more painful then i can bare, it lets me know that I actually did something! Anyway... I'm going to be sore... but whatever. I love you both. Keep it up Sherry, I know it's hard... I love you.

I want a healthy soul

One of my biggest struggles is that I hold myself back. I'm so scared of failure that I just don't even try. My mental health is a huge part of why am am still stuck at the same place I was back in May '07. I WANT A HEALTHY SOUL. I want to wake up every day and believe in myself. I want to accept myself for who and what I am currently because if I can do that, then I will be able to move forward. I must know and understand the truth of me now so that I will know where to start in order to succeed. Knowing where to start will help me make realistic goals and not just get frustrated that I cant currently do the things I could in peak condition.
I read a really good article in Fitness magazine about having a healthy mind. It really helped me put things into perspective and realize that I need to focus on my mind and soul in order to help my body. I am naturally a pessimist and a perfectionist without much patience. It makes for a wicked combination. I want to be able to do things perfectly right away or else I just stop trying. SO...my focus for the first three months of this year is going to my healing my soul. There are some things I am still hanging on to that are continuing to hold me back and I can't wait to break free! I'm ready to be healthy.

It's not easy

Hello, I am Crystal. Sister to Angel and Sherry who are also on this page. They are both inspirations in many different aspects and I look forward to living a full life with both of them!
A few years ago I was at the weight of 180 and when I finally realized how over weight and out of shape I was, I wanted to change. Thanks to sports, marching band, running with my mom I was down to 160. When I moved to Utah I was able to back down my weight to 145, but I recently put some of it back on and I was back to 160. Now from recent activities and watching my food intake so I'm not over eating, I am down to 152, 17 pounds away from my goal weight and I'm very excited!!!
One of my role models is my Mom. She is truly an inspiration with how much weight she lost and how long she has kept it off and it has kept her body young. We play tennis, swim, run, bike, basketball, catch with the football... and pretty much everything else! Thanks to her fitness she can still be there and keep up with every thing that happens during the day.
Another is my oldest sister Angel. She has had many injuries and yet she is still determined to pull this off and get to the weight that she has set her goal to. She has lost quite a bit of weight and continues to do so as she is now running! She is even running a 5k in a week. I'm so proud of her and I want her to know that I'm right behind her the whole way.

I heard someone once say, "This isn't easy, if it was everyone would be out here doing it." But that is the point. We are the ones that ARE out here doing this and we are making something of ourselves. Those people who are sitting at home on their couch while we are working out? They are the ones missing out of something, because thirty years from now they will be the ones wondering what happened while we are out having the time of our lives. WE are making a difference and WE can do this.

This is me

Hi there! I'm Sherry. I'm very excited to be on the road back to good health. I am Angel's sister and I'm so grateful to have such a supportive woman in my life. I can't wait 'til the 11th of this month when we are running the 5k at Disney World together! This will be the first time we have seen each other in almost a year and not only do we get to see each other, we get to support each other in this fitness trainning.
I have been battling with my health for a few years now and one of the effects I have had to deal with is close to a 70 lb weight gain. But I am happy to share with you that I have learned enough about my disorders that I can finally focus on getting my life back and really feeling like me again. Last March, when my husband went to Boot Camp, I decided it was time to take action. I lost 12 lbs while he was gone and have kept it off. The picture of me, to the right, is one of the first that I have taken in years that I actually liked!

Background Info: Angel

I am Angel Call. I am a fun, happy, teacher in training! I will not say how much I weigh, yet. I have a long ways to go. Five weeks ago, I started slowly working my way up to a two mile walk/jog workout. On the 11th of this month, I am participating in a 5K fun run! Yikes! Last year, I succeeded in losing 15 pounds. This year, I want to loose the rest of what I need to loose. Why? Because I want to be healthy! I want to have less pain, I want to be able to do active things with my husband, I want to give myself a better chance at finaly getting pregnant, I WANT TO LIVE LIFE!

Here is a fun little thing to get me motivated. On the left is my "before" virtual model; on the right is my HOT "after" virtual model. You can do it too, if you want. Click HERE and make your own virtual model; then, select weight loss simulator.
Over the past 5 weeks, I have struggled but seen some small benefits. I know that it will continue to get easier and I will get healthier. Join me on my journey!