Becoming a Krav Maga and Weight Loss Ninja

First off, tell me this isn't the cutest thing ever...

We had Christmas a little late with Muscle Man's family because some of them went on a cruise for actual Christmas (so jealous btw), and this is Muscle Man with his nephew. I told him to look at me and smile, and I got the cutest little grin EVER. His entire face scrunched up and he smiled ear to ear. Just felt like I had to share. :-)

Moving on...

So, my mom bought a Groupon for me for a month of Krav Maga classes. For those of you that don't know, Krav Maga (pronounced like "Krah-v Muh-gah") is a type of martial art that is used largely for self-defense. You can learn about it here and here if you're interested. You learn a lot of interesting fighting techniques to apply to self-defense in real-life situations. Not to mention I came home with a few abrasions and bruises.

I went to my first Krav Maga class on Saturday, and LOVED it. I learned how to NOT punch like a girl (wasn't sure if I should take offense to this or not), and we did a lot of groundwork, i.e. what to do if an assailant gets you to the ground. A few things I learned:

• Don't wear your hair in a ponytail for class- When we switched from instruction into "real-life scenarios", the first thing the instructor did was grab my neck and ponytail and put me to the ground. Given, it was a mat and he wouldn't intentionally hurt me, but yes, it's a shock to the system. Ha.
• You get friendly with a stranger very quickly, so get used to it- I met a girl, learned her name, and then the instructor told everyone to get in the "mount" position- i.e. on top of her like I'm the assailant. Well hello there...??!? Personal space issues anyone?!?
• It doesn't matter if you're only in practice/instruction mode, BLOCK THE PUNCHES- I think my little 5 foot nothing, 110 lb partner had some pent-up aggression issues or something, because that girl CAN THROW A PUNCH. While I was the assailant, she flipped me and did the punches we learned, and that girl throws some crazy fast punches! I put my hands up to block, and thought she fractured my wrist bone. Note to self: DO NOT MAKE HER MAD.
• Most important: I know how to flip people now. :-)

And due to the last important fact, the conversation with Muscle Man when I got home went like this:

Jonas: "So how was class?"

Me: "It was great!! I learned so much, and I know how to flip people now! Come here, I wanna show you what I learned!"

Jonas: *crazy look* "Uh, no."

Me: "Oh, come on! I'll go easy on you! We'll do it in slow motion so I can show you!"

Jonas: "Do I look stupid? No, I'm not attacking you. I don't want to get carpet burns."

Me: *walk over and get blanket, lay down on floor, lay out blanket beside me* "There, now come on!"

Jonas: "Why is the blanket over here?!?"

Me: "Because that's where I'm going to flip you!"

Jonas: *eyes go wide* "Flip me?!? No, hell no! I think it's great you're doing this, I support you, but I think you telling me about it will be enough. I love you, you're not flipping me."

So after realizing he would not budge on being the test dummy for my newly acquired ninja skills, I told him all about the class and how I'm looking forward to the rest of it. And that was all. :-)

I did some figuring over the weekend (yes, I know, "over the weekend" and yet I'm posting on a Wednesday... Shoot me.) and I figured out some more specific, concrete goals that I'm shooting for for 2012. I did NOT make these resolutions simply because last year I learned what happens when you set to stringent of goals too soon: Injury occurs, disappointment follows. So this year, as previously mentioned, my only true goal is to reach my goal weight by the end of the year. BUT, me being the OCD uber-planner I am, I took it a step further and made more of an action plan.

1. Run a 10K at the Little Rock Marathon on March 4th. I have just the right amount of time until this event, and I have two other friends (at least) that are doing this race. I did the 5K last year, and I think it would be cool to have a tradition. 5K last year, 10K this year, half marathon next year, and mayyyybe full marathon in 2014? We shall see. :-)
2. Reach goal weight by my birthday! I figured it out... 60 lbs to lose/ 30 weeks until my birthday= 2 lbs to lose a week. It is both tough yet doable. It will take a lot of focus and dedication, but I always work better under pressure. I am doing Krav Maga right now (hence the aforementioned amazing ninja skills), and also doing a long term bootcamp (utilizes a lot of TABATA, HIIT, Crossfit type, etc etc... very effective already! Details to come I'm sure!), plus the work I've been doing on my nutrition, I think this is definitely doable. And of course, let's not forget, getting in the occasional run still... :-) (As mentioned here, my love of running had to be put on a backburner until I lose a little more weight in order to avoid injury)
3. My birthday is the starting point for a 12 week training plan for the Soaring Wings Half Marathon that I had planned to run last year, so why not aim for it this year? Regardless of whether I have reached my goal weight by my birthday, I will hopefully have lost a substantial enough amount of weight to begin a 12 week training plan for the Soaring Wings Half Marathon.

So those are more solid goals. Yes, I'm being a little harder on myself this year fitness-wise and setting some stricter goals, but the beauty of this is that it is over a year's time, which I am so happy to say is actually doable this year!

There are steps that I'm taking to help me stay focused through this. One was the action plan above. And the other two main pieces are my fitness journal (which I will describe at a later date) and my mini vision board I will be creating this weekend to stick in my cubicle (yes, cubicle... Ugh...) at work as a constant reminder. After all, we spend the majority of our time working (at least most of us do... the independently wealthy can bear with me on this one), so why not have a little piece of motivation right there? Because your board at home isn't doing you any good when someone brings donuts to the office! I will post pictures of that one later as well.

So this is me- Krav Maga and Weight Loss Ninja! I hope you'll stick around for the journey! Weight loss updates, fitness and nutrition tips, random happenings, recipes, and something I have in the works as we speak- GIVEAWAYS!! That's right ladies and gentlemen, yours truly is already getting the opportunity for giveaways, and I'm so excited! So stay tuned! :-)

At a Difficult Crossroads... Also, brighter note- Christmas Cards!!

First things first... One of my favorite things about Christmas- Christmas Cards!!! I would LOVE to send out a Christmas card to you lovely bloggers out there, so if you are cool with emailing me your mailing address, I'll send you one! I know, a little random, especially with me being fairly new to the blogging world, but I am a Hallmark fanatic (I blame it on the fact I worked there for two years... I will not touch a card that isn't Hallmark unfortunately) and love to send out Christmas cards to friends and family. A lot of you have been a big inspiration to me through your blogs, and I think snail mail is a more personal way to say thanks and send warm greetings. My email is on here, and if you can't find it, leave a comment with your email or something and I'll send it to you. I look forward to sending out some of my cute cards! :-)

Moving on...

I had an awesome post planned today about the benefits of organic eating and other diet goodies, but that will have to wait... I had a doctor's appointment today for a basic physical- You know that whole "Check with your doctor before taking on any fitness routine" shpill? Well, I actually listened. Shocker, yes.

I digress...

I talked to the doctor about the fact that am on a weight loss journey to lose a total of 100 pounds (I've lost 50, and have 50 to go- Woo Hoo!!), but I also have a half marathon in March that I'm dying to run. Basically he told me:

1) I can't lose weight and run a half marathon at the same time and expect to be successful at both. For losing weight, you are restricting your calories while doing exercises focused on overall fat loss and muscle toning. For running high mileage, you up your caloric intake in order to sustain yourself for the rigors of running the higher mileage.

2) If I start upping my mileage (I'm at 3 miles 3x a week, with a 6 mile long run on Saturdays) any more than 10% a week while I am still carrying this extra 50 pounds I want to lose, I'm at a very high risk for a stress fracture. He put it like this in the end: "I'm going to give you two options. You can take it slow, lose the weight, and then slowly build your running and forget about the medals and short time frames (see post about me loving bling) and do it safely. OR you can take the risk and go ahead and train and run, and if you end up with a stress fracture or hurt ankle, I'm putting you in a boot for 6-8 weeks. Your choice."

........ Wow doc, alright.... When you put it like that, I guess it makes a little more sense. No one likes being in a boot. And I have read posts on here from runners that have dealt with this exact scenario and end up frustrated and disappointed.

The doctor is officially recommending that I focus on losing the weight first, and THEN look at running higher mileage and racing. He said, "Why don't you do this: from here until your 25th birthday (which is August 5th, 2012 by the way), focus on losing the rest of the weight. Then make your 25th birthday the starting point for all your specific fitness goals. You want to do a marathon? Train for it. Ultra? Train for it. But until then, put your energy into losing the weight. That way it is off by 25, and you won't have to worry about it for the rest of your life."

So why then, if he made it so dadgum (yes, I said dadgum... from the South, remember?) clear to me, am I still struggling with this? My boyfriend, friends, and DOCTOR are telling me to take it much slower and lose the weight first, and yet I don't want to let go of the half marathon in March. Anyone have any insight on this? Thoughts? Have you dealt with anything like this before?

I would love to hear from voices of experience on this. I love running and can still do the 10K (which two of my best friends are actually doing the 10K) and other 5Ks and small races throughout the year, but he thinks anything more as far as mileage would be detrimental in such a short period of time. Would love some input. Thanks guys!

Random side note: I have been freezing at work for the past two weeks because the heater has not been working right in the office. This morning, I decided to be prepared today and was proud of myself for thinking ahead, and I wore a long sleeve shirt as well as a big thick sweater on top. I get to work.... They fixed the heater.

Have a great rest of the week!!

Another sidenote: Stop by RuntotheFinish and check out her Glam Headbands giveaway!

Fun Friday!

My uncle is an ultramarathoner, and I have a lot of respect for him. He lives in Washington so most of our communication is via email, and he sent me this lovely snippet once when we were talking about racing (and training hard) versus running slow and smart. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Running or Racing—a comparative analysis

Runners…	Racers…
stop to look at the trees as they pass by.	ricochet off trees as they zoom across the landscape.
worry about their flashlight batteries lasting.	get to the finish line before dark.
enjoy the aid stations	sometimes pass through before the aid stations are set up.
take naps in tents at aid stations.	take naps as they wait at the finish line.
watch flowers opening in the morning sun.	pass through in the predawn darkness.
worry about cut-off times.	worry about course or age-group records.
write next-of-kin information on their wrist bands	write split times on their wrist bands
wonder if there will be any beer at the aid stations.	wonder what kind of electrolyte replacement drinks will be at the aid stations
get a hamburger as they pass through towns	slap down one more bit of tofu enriched yoghurt, whey, and scampi granola
talk to local farmers as they pass by	scare chickens, cows, and small children
are relieved to hear someone approaching from behind	feel the pressure of someone approaching from behind
seldom get lost as they follow those hundreds of sets of footprints	worry about course markings (color, context, intent, malcontent, bent…)
admire the view as they amble on across the landscape	are vaguely aware of something off to the right—or was it left?
know the names of the “sweep” at 17 different events in 8 counties and 3 states.	drop if more than 17 minutes behind predicted time for the day.
say “Thank you.  Yes, I do believe I’ll have another brownie” just before being pushed out of the aid station.	smile and say “Thank you” over her shoulder as she heads for home.
have been seen grabbing trees, cactus, and other runners to keep from careening off the course on a switchback.	make it look so easy, seldom stirring up dust or even disturbing the llamas.
have out-of-body experiences as the day goes by and the finish line recedes in the afternoon sun.	have been heard to wonder admiringly about how the rest of us cope with being out there so long.
sometimes curse day of race registration.	follow a plan conceived months ago.
have long involved conversations with others as they pass or get passed.	surface long enough for a smile and an often monosyllabic response.
have teddy bears, dragons, and other karma caretakers of the foray jangling from their fannypacks, Camel Baks,…	have a hand-bottle.
have been seen in cotton t-shirts.	have all that super-neato logo stuff.
slay inner dragons on good days.	slay inner dragons on good days.
compete in their time, in their style, on their terms…	compete in their time, in their style, on their terms…
Sweet?	Sweet?
Sweet!	Sweet!