Kicking *kitten* In Our Twenties - December Challenge!! Take 2!

Good morning all my 20-something friends! :bigsmile:

I've been awful at posting here recently but life is just way too busy and when I do get on here I'm typically just trying to do my best to keep up with my friends list and all their amazing achievements. Many of you have me as a "Pal" on here and I do try to keep in touch that way, so hopefully over the last few weeks I've been able to applaud all your successes on that front, but if not consider this a huge "WAY TO GO!" from me :drinker:

Just have a few minutes before I have to head to work. Update from me - Been taking some unintended but unavoidable rest days lately because I cannot justify fitting it in. I know - I'm NOT a fan of excuses. There are no excuses in real life. But for this week it's just not in the cards. I've got a major race on Monday and the last thing I want is to be totally exhausted from trying to spread myself way too thin. I managed a great spin on Monday, rest Tuesday, intervals Wednesday, forced rest today because of a massage appointment and errands/chores/shopping/Tyler commitments tonight, and hopefully some spin tomorrow unless my schedule gets totally derailed.

Tyler's been going through a lot of life changes lately and that's been taking up some of my time, for better or worse. I'm happy to be there for him and to celebrate in all his exciting new opportunities but yet again this week it's becoming an every day sort of thing and I am definitely struggling with feeling overwhelmed and resentful about it. I need to focus on me and I just can't devote every night to being happy and excited for him :ohwell: Bad girlfriend? Maybe. I'm not sure how I feel about it TBH. It's tough. It's also tough because I'm in such a *kitten* spot in my life that sometimes it's hard to see him succeed with such little effort...

Alright!~ Enough of that. Heading to work, avoiding all the holiday junk, going to try and eat well today since I'm resting, and just try to focus on finding balance and not being overwhelmed. I'm going to take a lunch and enjoy my massage tonight :happy: Hope you guys have a great Thursday!

Morning ladies! Quick 5 mins to post...

Had a few rocky days, personal life is getting a little sticky, but I rocked my race, did some shopping yesterday and got in a few quality miles on the TM this morning. Not too shabby. I know my weight's up and I really need to get in some varied workouts to increase my strength and improve my body composition, but all in due time. Right now it's still the holidays and I have tons to catch up with. A 2-day work week, thankfully, so I am hoping to make some progress.

My race report is as follows (super quick - I'll post pics later) - Ran my 10miles in 1:33:10, which is 10:59 faster than I ran it exactly one year ago. Average pace was 9:25 and I absolutely rocked my hills. The two miles with up-hill gradients I ran around a 9:30 pace and 3 of my last 4 miles were under 9:00. Really pleased with those splits. I also didn't walk at all on the hills, which is always a personal goal. I just love the satisfaction of pushing when the run gets tough :bigsmile:

You can see my activity here, although the GPS and splits etc are not entirely accurate (due to the start of the race etc). My 5 mile time according to the stats was 47:28.

http://runkeeper.com/user/MeagAlayne/activity/63855409

Shopping was a mild success. I got a new bathing suit top and cover-up for a potential beach vacation. I also picked up some goodies at target and a new pair of really inexpensive, nice quality black flats for work. Nothing too exciting though. Just the basics. I didn't need much but it was nice to get out and spend some time with my mom.

Guam - Sucks that you having so much troubling finding time to workout. I hope you manage to fit it in once the new year is upon us. But this time of year is tough! Sounds like you're doing everything else right, though, so keep at it :drinker: You may not meet all your 2011 goals this year but you're in a better place than when you started, and that's all that really counts. Life's tough! Just have to keep pushing forward

Cynth - Thanks girl! It was such a great race! And glad that you too are on board for another year of Kicking *kitten*... I guess we'll keep it up! Great job at keeping up with your yoga btw - I always found that it was such a nice workout. I'd love to fit it in a little more in the new year. Just have to fit a class that I like and where the instructor is reliable and ACTUALLY shows up. As for your weight gain - don't fret! We've all put on some weight over the holidays but it's temporary. Just keep up with your routine and goals and it'll be gone in no time. No drastic measures! Slow and steady wins the race :happy:

Eeep! 5 mins is WAY up! Have a great Wednesday, ladies! :drinker:

Good morning ladies! :bigsmile: Happy Friday!

Today is a busy one for me because there's a lot of stuff I want to get done before the weekend hits and I actually have the day off, so I'm going to try and be productive!

Can you believe it's already the end of 2011? :noway: Where the heck did the year go! Jeez. It's been one hell of an emotional year for me and I'm very happy to move on to a new one - Bring on 2012 and all that goodness that will come with! I still fondly remember the "2011 is going to be MY year" comments so many months ago. I guess I should make that my mantra for '12, as well? :laugh: Maybe not... I'm not quite sure how effective it is! I have some big plans for 2012, though, and am hoping that if I can realize at least half of them I'll end the year in a better place than when it started. Ultimately, I guess that's the best I can hope for

As for the last month - It's been probably my most stressful and least "on track" month of the year. I just weighed in at 125.2lbs - which is within maintenance but quite high since I've been maintaining between 122 and 123 for the last several months. I've definitely been over-indulging the last few weeks and that is going to be reigned in sooner rather than later. I can feel myself gaining fat and losing muscle mass and it doesn't feel great, to say the least :ohwell: For the muscle mass, I am planning to increase my strength workouts. I know it's not practical to say I'm going to fit in 3 strength training days a week because I just won't make it happen. If I can do some kind of strength 2x week I'll be more than happy. Anything is better than nothing! Starting today if I can help it. There's a total body tone class at the gym that I am hoping to attend but I have to switch up a meeting with friends to make it happen... We shall see! If not, maybe I'll just hit the gym afterward and do some lifting and rowing. My own little crossfit workout :bigsmile:

I managed to get a quick run in yesterday - 3.2mile + WU/CD but it felt awful. I know my sleeping and eating habits are catching up to me and it's causing me to feel sluggish. Planning a longer run tomorrow with Tyler along my old 1/2 Marathon training grounds. He's never run along there so it should be nice to show him. It's a gorgeous run - which is why I picked it for all my long, treacherous and snowy runs last Jan/Feb. Looking forward to it!

Enough about me!

Cynthia - 9 miles Friday and then another 10 miles on Sunday?!? :noway: You're a mad woman! I don't know how you do it... I can only manage one long run a week without my body screaming bloody murder at me. Are you following a training plan or do you just run and workout whenever possible and doing whatever you feel like or can fit in? Just be careful with those long runs and limited rest time - you can really do yourself some serious harm if you aren't cautious. Just looking out for you bella :flowerforyou:

Abby - Did I just hear someone say they LOVE bathing suit shopping :noway: ?!!??! You may be crazier than Cynthia! haha Honestly, I freaking hate it, but it's a necessity if I want to be going anywhere warm this winter (which I do, although my plans are on hold right now)... Shopping was good otherwise though. Just still struggling to find boots that I like and want to wear. What's the 1/2 Marathon you signed up for again? I know I've probably seen it posted to your status but I cannot remember for the life of me... Either way, if you're running 8.25miles already and you have until April, you're going to smash it! I hadn't run more than 11 miles before my 1/2 and I ran it in 2:08 on a majorly injured foot. I have no doubt you're going to absolutely kill that run! There's a Full on April 28th somewhere that I was looking at... I wonder if it's a similar race... Hmmmm Let me know! I'm always looking for new and exciting race destinations :bigsmile:

Beth - Thanks lady! My mom-time was really nice, as usual. We've got a great relationship and I wouldn't change it for anything. It's so nice to be able to just hang out without an agenda, like you said. Gotta make time for it. I know exactly what you mean about this journey and your mental state. Once you fall out of it, it's so hard to get it back... You just really have to "want" it. And you have to be feeling positive about your own ability to stick it out. It's tough stuff but without that state of mind, everything is sooo much harder and it's an uphill battle to reach your goals. I really hope you (and I!) wake up in 2012 feeling ready to attack this journey and kick some *kitten*... We'll get there :drinker:

Anyway ladies I need to get my tush in gear! It's getting late already! Hope you all have an amazing Friday and a great NY if I don't speak to you before then. I'll start up a new January challenge on the first, although it may not be right at midnight

Speaking of which - what do you all have planned for NYE? Anything exciting? For me, nothing yet! Maybe heading downtown to see what's happening but nothing major planned. Just want to ring in the new year with renewed confidence in myself and a happy and positive attitude about my opportunities in 2012 :bigsmile: Fake it to make it ladies! :laugh: Maybe that should be my 2012 Mantra?

Hey ladies! Just waiting for Tyler to get his act together so we can go running finally. I hate waiting this late into the day for my run... What an aggravation! :grumble: Either way!

It's the last day of the year so I am going to TRY and not be so irritable. Definitely a work in progress today. We have no plans for tonight really although I think we'll probably be heading out to our favourite little pub for a beer at some point. I wish my life was a bit more exciting and that I could regale you with all kinds of fabulous plans, but that's just not the case I'll have to live vicariously through all your fabulous NYE plans instead!

Hoping to post the new challenge tomorrow. I usually try to post around midnight but it's NYE and I really don't see that happening. So look out for the link tomorrow AM. Hope you all have a great day. Make it count, chicas!

See you in 2012! :drinker: