Check Out Those Legs!!

So I've been going to Bootcamp as consistently as I can for the past 3 months I've gained about 5 pounds since I started going...probably fat because I haven't really perfected the eating part...BUT I have been seeing progress in some giggly areas. It would appear that ALL of my fat has gone to the area around my belly button but I can deal with that as long as the other 90% of my body appears better than before...

There is a wall of mirrors in the Bootcamp gym. Every day when I walk in I stare at myself for the 5 or so minutes before class starts...I also stare at myself as I work out. Sometimes I review areas of my body with a friend before class starts.

Yesterday I was all by myself in class so I had a lot of time focus on my body. That's when I realized how awesome my legs look. From the knee down my calves are tighter and defined. I EVEN HAVE ANKLES!! That's right, no cankles here ladies!

Sexy Leggies (not my own but mine look this hot now!)

I've also noticed lately that my quads are looking better. I have hated my quads for as long as I can remember. I can even remember sitting in my dad's old truck (with sticky vinyl seats) and asking him why my legs were so fat (specifically referencing my quads right above my knees)...for the record he got rid of this truck when I was maybe 10 so I've been well aware of my quads since before then! You know that quad stretch where you pull one back and balance on the other leg?

yeah...that one

Well I used to turn away from the group during PE in school to hide the bulge of what I can only assume was fat or maybe untoned muscle above my knee. Well I can happily report that bulge is shrinking! IT'S ALMOST GONE!!!

So despite the fact that I'm slowly gaining weight, I'm starting to see progress in my body and that makes me happy :)

Honey Stinger

So despite the fact that I've ignored the marathon training plan for the past 6 weeks I decided to pick it back up again today...with 3 weeks left until the marathon. I asked to be moved to the half marathon for the big day but I haven't heard back yet so I figure I'll be running the full. Today's run was a 20 mile long run, blargh. Quite a challenge considering that the longest distance I'd run until today was 13.1 miles...

When I was at EMS a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon Honey Stinger organic waffles and organic energy chews. I'm not a super organic person or anything...in fact I think the first time I realized they were organic was when I went to find the products online. I do, however, LOVE HONEY so I figured anything sweetened with honey couldn't be a bad thing!

First up, the energy chews

I love pink lemonade so I was super excited to see these babies! I also bought the Orange Blossom ones but I haven't tried them yet. And I think I'd like to try the Cherry Blossom ones too but I didn't see those in the store...just online. I tried them during my run today. I like them a lot more than other chews I've tried in the past. I normally just suck on the chews and let them dissolve in my mouth over the course of a few miles. Other chews I've tried have also been sticky which I don't like when I'm running because I hate sticky fingers and it's hard to wash your hands on a run! These ones dissolved quickly and only lasted a few minutes before I had to chew them up, but nothing stuck to my teeth, a big plus for me because I hate most gummy foods for that exact reason! 

I've been having a lot of tummy troubles the past few weeks that get worse when I run so I was worried I'd have issues today, especially since I'd need to eat something while I was out. I'm happy to report that I had no tummy pain the entire time I was running! These will be my go to chew from now on! Now I just need to try new flavors!

Next up, Honey Stinger waffle

This one had sooo much promise. How could you go wrong with waffle and honey!? I mean, seriously! Unfortunately, it was wrong. All kinds of wrong. The overall taste was ok but I couldn't get over the consistency. I opened it up and it was kind of soft and grainy. I took one bite and almost hurled. It felt like I had just put a wad of dirt and sand in my mouth. It wasn't just grainy and gross, the graininess was hard like sand! You know, when you get beach sand in your sandwich and you just can't get the gritty feeling out of your mouth once you've bitten down on the sand? That's what this was like, eating a sandy sandwich. I'm sorry to say but I just don't approve. Some of this goes back to my childhood where I was forced to eat sandy peanut butter sandwiches at the beach, you just couldn't avoid getting sand in those things...

So yeah, that's my Honey Stinger review. Chews good, waffle not good. And I'd like to mention that I stumbled on these things on my own and paid for my own samples. I was reimbursed in no way or even asked to provide a review of these products. It was all my idea :)

2012 Leap List

Since I don't really have any big milestones within sight I'm going to make a list of things that I want to do soon...and place a time limit on it to push me to accomplish items on the list...

It started off as a summer 2012 thing but there might be a few things that will take a little longer to accomplish or are just scheduled for later in the year and there isn't anything I can do about that...

1. Run an entire race series...I'm currently paid up for a 10 week long series of 5k's. I tried to do something similar last summer and ended up injuring myself in week 7 :( This year I WILL WIN THE GOLD PLATED MEDAL!

2. Run a marathon...duh...I kind of have to make good on my promise...even if it is a year late.

3. Compete in a triathlon. I'd like to say I want to finish an Olympic Triathlon but I really don't like cycling enough to commit to that just yet. But maybe I just need a little kick in the butt like I did for running.

4. Hike Bondcliff. The pictures I've seen from the top just look amazing!

5. Run in a mountain road race. I won't be running Mt. Washington anytime soon but there are less steep mountains to race up...

6. COLOR RUN! Everything I own is colorful so how could I avoid the chance to get doused in color and run at the same time?!

7. Hike Mt. Katahdin. Should be doable as we are white water rafting in the area later in the summer.

8. Run in a night time race. There are a few I can sign up for. My dream would be the Wine and Dine half marathon at Disney. Hopefully it doesn't fill up early!

9. Learn how to cook more healthy food options.

10. Attempt new baking recipes (you really didn't think that eating better meant avoiding baking did you?)

A mud run or other adventure race would be fun too but those things are just so darn expensive and only fun if you do then with friends...ohh and I want to do one of those 200 mile 48 hour relay race thingies too!

As an added bonus, I need to find 3 people to compete in this race with me...anyone interested???

What's on your leap list for the year?