Knowledge is Power

Today is officially my last day being 32 years old.  I really enjoyed being 32- it has been an amazing year overall.  But I am ready for 33- bring it on!  Age is just a number really.  I keep telling everyone that you don't get OLDER, you just get BETTER!  I really am blessed to be surrounded by great friends and family.  My children are smart, healthy and amazing.  I have everything I need.  I am lucky. 

Since I am not currently following a training plan for an upcoming race, I decided to shake up my workout world a bit.  My plan is to exercise 6 days a week -it should look something like this:

Monday- run 5-7 miles
Tuesday- boxing class at the gym
Wednesday-  run 5-7 miles with 20 minutes of strength after
Thursday-  boxing class OR stair climber with weight training afterwards
Friday- soccer (or long run if soccer is Saturday)
Saturday-  long run- 8-12 miles (or soccer)
Sunday- rest

I met with my personal trainer at the gym on Wednesday for my fitness assessment.  She took my height, weight, age and gender and plugged it into this nifty handheld machine that then presented me with my total fat percentage while I held onto the sensors.  Fun!  At first I was horrified by the number.  I am pretty good at math- the first words out of my mouth were "What?  50 pounds of me is made of fat?!?" but then she made me feel a little better by explaining that I should only be about 3-5% lower than where I am at.  So, I am going to do what no "normal" female would do and post my weight and fat percentage for the world to see.  Mostly because I want to hold myself accountable for losing these last few pounds and finally be at my goal weight.  So here goes nothing- my lovely statistics: 

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 156
Percent of body fat:  30.3%  (equivalent to about 47 pounds-awesome)

And here are my goals:
Weight:  145
Percent of body fat:  25%

I am going to try to achieve this in 11 weeks.  That is a pound a week and should take me right up until the end of December.  My plan is to weigh in once a week on Friday mornings on my scale here at home and then once a month at the gym where I can also check my fat percentage.  I have started restricting my calories a bit more this week as well.  Knowledge is power- I encourage all of you to find out this information.  Don't be scared of the numbers- use them to your benefit!

So, for the last 4 days I have been sore and hungry.  But I feel good overall and I am excited for this new challenge I have presented to myself.  Once I have completed this goal I will begin a 6 month training for a FULL marathon towards the end of spring/beginning of summer.  It seems like the only conclusion to this crazy "race running" life I have become addicted to.  After that- who knows what I will come up with!!! 

My BRF (best running friend) Cynthia is running the Portland marathon on 10-10-10 and we are heading down to support her and cheer her on.  I plan on jumping in and running a few miles with her to give her some encouragement and a little extra boost hopefully at a time she will need it.  She is going to do great- I am really excited for her.  I am also a little sad -this will be the first race we have not done together, but I am glad we can be there when she crosses that finish line! 

Tomorrow is my birthday.  I am going to have a nice, mellow morning followed by lunch with the kids before handing them off to my mom for the night.  Then happy hour with the hubby, 2 soccer games and then some well earned beverages at The Blazing Onion with about 15 of my favorite people.  It is going to be a good day!