brenstar05 Member

Touche!!! :smiley:

I am a member at PF and I haven't had any problems. I signed up with the initial fee was waived... there is usually a promotion of some kind, so I would see if there is one now. If not, I guarantee one will come back around. I pay $20/month for the black membership which includes access to all facilities in the country,…

This is what I do as well.... I throw my sweaty clothes in the hamper, wash on the weekend in the Tide Sport with Febreeze and then tumble dry on low heat. I haven't had any issues with smelliness... I also have a front load washer, which can sometimes smell if you don't leave the door open to allow the washer to dry out…

I wish there was a way to add friends right from this thread. I'm also a runner... I have completed countless 5ks, 10ks and about 6 half marathons. Last year I completed the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World and can proudly attest that the challenge is aptly named. I am training for my first "real" marathon this April.…

I agree with many previous posters... my food scale is a must. When I first started to try and eat healthier, I started with just portion control. I didn't want to change too many things all at once at get discouraged. So, I ate all the same things I had been eating, but I used my scale and measuring cups to actually…

If you ran 9 miles on Sunday, you can definitely train for a marathon. Most training programs are between 16-24 weeks long and your long run starts around 8 miles and works it's way up to about 20. I recently read a quote that says "a 12 minute mile is the same distance as a 6 minute mile." So, don't worry about pace. I…

I am in a tiny office building now, so it's harder, but when I worked in a bigger office I would do a lap every couple hours. I worked on the 4th floor south wing. I would get up and walk to the end of the north wing, take the stairs down to the third floor, walk to the south wing, take the stairs down to the second floor,…

I never even thought of this... this is a great idea. One of the things that is making me feel so down since the move is that I feel like I'm completely disconnected. I have no new friends and all my old friends are still living their lives back home. I feel like I have no one to talk to, and when I do, I feel like all I…

I absolutely know how you feel. A few years ago I decided to really get serious about my health. I lost about 40 lbs over the course of 6 months and was feeling and looking great. Halloween was right around the corner and my friends and I had the best group costume... I was a knockout as Miss Scarlet (if I do say so…

Stress eating is absolutely a thing... I do it all the time. I am working late or trying to finish a project and start munching on something and before I know it I've eaten an entire day's worth of calories in a few hours. Then I feel ashamed that I did it and the cycle starts over... I'm glad you realize though that…

Yes, I work. And if I could do that starting at noon, I would. I get out of bed at the last possible second and live 2 minutes from work. I know myself and my non-morning ways, so I do things to make getting to work on time possible. But there is a bigger incentive, at least in my head, for making it to work by 8am and…

Thanks everyone!! These are good tips and I appreciate the encouragement. I have never been a morning person. When I was in college, if a class was only offered at 8am, I took a different class. I just have never been an up-with-the-sun kind of person. But I've noticed that as my life gets more and more hectic with my…

Thanks everyone!! These are all great tips and words of encouragement. I definitely want to become a morning "worker outer" because, like many of you have said it is so hard to make yourself work out after a long day of work... and I really just want to go home and relax at the end of the day. So, I appreciate all the…

I have done dietbet in the past, but similar to CA_Underdog's experience, I found lots of gaming happening. Even with myself. I didn't like the things I was doing to hit my numbers. So, I actually switched to GymPact, which is similar but focuses more on healthy activities rather than loss. You make a pact each week to do…

I only work out at the gym from about November to March... I much prefer to run outside. So, I'm probably one of the people that the regular gym-goers think is giving up. I just hate being inside a gym when I can be outside getting the same burn!! :)

Remember that there is a big difference between natural sugar and refined sugar... I generally subtract the natural sugars from my total at the end of the day. Yes, the red number is annoying, but if you give up fruits because of the sugar content, you will be missing out on other great nutrients. I generally try to keep…

I agree... go to a running store and they can answer questions. Most running stores will also do a gait assessment where they put you on a treadmill and take video of your stride and then recommend the best shoe for your particular running style. I did this when I started running and then I took their shoe advice and found…

I have Yak-Trax and I swear by them. I agree with previous posts that they are not an absolute, but they definitely give you more traction than regular running shoes on the snow and ice. I can't remember exactly how their sizing works because I bought mine awhile ago, but I think you buy the size that fits your shoe range…

People always think that the need to "start over" signifies a failure of some previous goal or status. But I like to look at starting over as a positive. Sometimes life gets away from us, but the fact that you can step back and say, "it's time to try something new" is not a failure but a success! Congrats on coming back!!…

^^^^^^^ Wow... these are some great goals!!! I'm feeling a little intimidated. But here goes: 1. Complete my first Full Marathon (bonus goal, finish around 4:30:00) 2. PR in both of my half marathons -- this will be my third year running the M2 challenge with a half in June and a follow up in August. So far, my PR is…

I generally run alone as well. However, about a year ago I joined a Saturday morning running group. There are people of all levels... really. We have people who have run the Boston Marathon and done a 24 hour ultra race and we have people who mostly walk with just a few running spurts sprinkled in. Sometimes we go 3 miles,…

First, I'm going to admit that I didn't read all of the posts before me, so if someone else already posted this... I apologize. When I first started running I thought all the same things. Running has definitely added a great benefit to my weight loss but also, when added with cross-training and lifting has done great…

Baby steps..... So, I signed up for a meetup (thanks raine) for Single Professionals. I haven't RSVPed to any of the events yet and I may not for a little while. But hopefully it's a step in the right direction. It's not a whole "I like long walks on the beach" dating profile, but hopefully it will be a way to meet some…

Thanks guys. Those are both good stories... I'm just not sure what to do. I'm not a shy person by nature, but the thought of going to a bar to try and meet guys seems so ridiculous to me. But aside from working two jobs and training for races, I don't have as much time as I'd like. The meetup idea is a good idea, I may…

Congratulations!!! Such a great feeling to cross that finish line and know you worked hard and accomplished a goal. You will definitely shave off those pesky 4 minutes in your next one. :wink: Great job!! Congrats again!!:happy:

Thanks for this thread... I am definitely a classic "start out too fast" runner. I have a half in 3 weeks and I just ordered my pace band to hopefully help me finish with my goal time somewhere in sight!!

I recommend it as well... It's lots of fun and it keeps working out from getting boring. I generally work it into the rotation from time to time and it's lots of fun trying to remember the moves and actually feel somewhat coordinated. lol

Thank you, everyone!! It looks like coffee by a landslide [she said while sipping her second cup of the day]... I appreciate all the input. I do eat lots of naturally energizing foods like fruits and such, and I also keep my water intake for the day fairly steady. I just know that as the next 12 weeks goes by, I'm going to…

Thanks!! I took Indiana last year and it was horrible... and then of course, I couldn't find a job so I moved home to Wisconsin and have to do it all over again. Last year I was able to devote my entire day to just studying. But this year I don't have that luxury so I'm just trying to figure out how to fit everything in.…

I'm the same as some of the other posts... I really only "keep track" of my race PRs, but I run the same training routes a lot (I live in a small town where there aren't many running options), so I keep an eye on my pace and my finishing times for training runs just to make sure that I'm still progressing.