Life Throws Their Things - Eve's new update

Hey!
Life throws things our way for reasons, and sometimes it seems like its the worst thing EVER, but really these things.... these times...... they are here to help us see what we could be - what we should be. When Allysin told me about this run I really thought she was gonna give it up. I didnt really want to do this, but ever since then I started to see the things that I know I could do better at. I know that I havent made like a huge difference in my life or anything, but I know what I can change in myself and my lifestyle.
         I dont really think that I have a huge impact in this world, but running this can help so many people, and its like, I can try to help save a life by running this thing, even though I didnt want to do this very much. I hope I will be ready for this.
Sincerely
~Eve~

Pachrick

 I want to run so I can be first with my family. So I'm going to run back and forth to practice.
-Pachrick
(Pachrick is the youngest of our family at six years old, and he wants to RUN FOR THE CURE)

Things are looking up - Christine's new entry

 For the last few years I've been trying to figure out how to bring a family back together after the stuff in life have pulled them apart and bit by bit it seems God is showing us that He can bring healing and wholeness where the enemy has torn people apart. In Septemper He taught me to give every fear into His strong hands and trust Him to work in every circumstance to bring good. At Christmas Allysin's idea to run this race began to bring out a united idea to work together and is helping to bring hope and courage to all of us. I can hardly wait to see where our family will be by September.
Blessings
- Christine

A Smile As Big As the Moon + Week 4 Update

This evening I watched this movie.
It's entitled A Smile As Big As The Moon.
And I want to encourage everyone to rent it, Itunes it, buy it. Whatever. But it's one of those movies worth watching.
It's inspirational.
Right after watching it, I tweeted this: "If I`m not going to be the one who saves a life or changes the world then I want to inspire someone else to do it."
And that's where I find myself. This is the kind of person I want to be. . . I either want to do something amazing and transformational with my life - or I want to help other people to.
I want my life to count.
I want my sister Beth to realize that she can do more than people say she can.
I want my sister Eve to find the bravery within herself.
I want Hannah to prove that quirky-ness and love can make the best kind of person.
I want my brother Pachrick to conquer set backs and be the hero he dreams of being.
I want my mom and dad to be happy and purposeful.
I want Allysin to keep pushing because she's so driven that she can acomplish anything.

But I'm kind of scared.
I'm scared I'm the kind of person that gives up on work because I'm used to life being easy.
I'm scared that I'm the kind of person who quits instead of pushing harder when things get tough.

I don't want to be that kind of person - because those kinds of people don't change things. Those kinds of people don't inspire other people to change and reach for their best.
I don't want to be that kind of person.
And that's why I want to do this. This run, this life style change - this weight loss.
I want to prove to myself that I'm not a quitter. That maybe I can acomplish more than I think.
That perhaps my life can be an inspiration. That I can do something that counts.
I want to prove to myself that I'm stronger than I believe I am . . . .

Update:
Longest Run: 2 min 5 seconds
Time run during a work out: 8 minutes 20 seconds
Distance walked/run this week: 7.11 miles approx
Total Weight Loss: 12 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 227.0
Weight Lost: 4 lbs
Current Weight: 222.8
Goal: 198 lbs by May 20th, 2012
Reminding myself to look beyond myself. . . .
-Roxanne  (@RoxyWiedemann or #2012fresh)

When "Failure" Happens . . .

Hey Everyone,
So some of you may have noticed that I didn't post my weekly update this week. The reason I didn't post was due to my disappointment in myself. Last week started good, but I stopped doing my morning work outs at all and my evening workouts were sporadic or non existant. So, by Monday of this week came around I had gained about 2lbs.
In that moment of 'failure' I was faced with a choice. . .
See, here's the thing - if I want to lose weight; if I want to run - than I can't eat whatever I want, whenever I want the way other people can.
I can't take days off working out.
But that's my choice.
I need to decide what it is that I value.
So I picked myself up, and started back into my workout routine, and hopefully my Monday update will reflect that.
Sometime failure happens, and you need to choose whether you're going to learn from it or not.
You need to choose what you're going to do with it.
With new determination,
-Roxanne

Victories - Allysin's new entry

Hey Everyone!
               So I just wanted to share some exciting stuff. Yesterday I was talking with a friend of mine, and she was just encouraging me with my running. This is what she told me, 'our bodies can do it just our minds think we can't.'  So I have been running every other day and yesterday would be a day that I wasn't running. So  I went to gym and was going to walk, I walked on the treadmill with a high incline for half an hour. But as I was nearing the end of my walk and I decided why not push myself a little harder and do a bit of a run. So after I finished the incline walking I began to run and I ran for a full ten minutes and then did a five minute cool down.
          Feeling a lot more motivated today I went to go for my run and decided to see how hard I could push myself today. And guess what! I did a five minute warm up, ran ten minutes, walked another five minutes, ran another ten and then did a five minute cool down. So in total I ran twenty minutes. And the distance I traveled then was 2.4 miles which is 3.8 kilometers so I've almost run my five km.
          Still have a lot of work to do BUT I've made so much progress and I know I can push myself. I know my body can go further than I did today and I can't wait to see just how far I can push myself.

Thanks for all your support!

Infinite x's and o's
- Allysin

Allysin - Week #3 Update

Well Well Well....

         Its week number three. I heard somewhere that it takes three weeks, twenty-one days, to make a habit. So running everyday should be a habit, except oh wait... I haven't been going every day. I go often enough, at the very least three times a week. But I want to go more, sometimes I feel like I'm getting worse instead of better. But I'm going to push to get better. I want this, I really really want this. I want to have pushed myself, and I want to have set a goal, and I want to have achieved it!

        My cold was definitely a major set back, I mean who feels like working out when you can't even breathe? But after a few days of being sick I was starting to be able to breathe again and I managed to get myself back to the gym. I haven't gone as often as I wish I had of, and I haven't been eating as healthy as I should've been, but I don't look at my failure and give up because of it. I look at my failure and say 'okay, this time I've got to do better than last time'. 

        I switched up my running times to a five minute warm up, 3 minutes of jogging to 2 minutes of walking for half an hour and then a five minutes cool down. I think it's a little more easy to break into than the five minutes of walking five minutes of jogging I was doing before. 

        Sometimes I don't feel like running but it's in those moments that I have to remind myself why I am doing this. I'm not doing this just for me, I'm doing this for something that is WAY bigger than myself I am doing this to raise awareness, and to help fund finding a cure. A cure to a disease that thousands of people are terrified that that either they will be diagnosed with or their loved ones will be diagnosed with. A disease that thousands are afraid to lose someone to. I want to be someone who helps bring hope to a situation that seems hopeless.

Infinite x's and o's

Allysin

Roxanne - Week 2 Update -

Hi Everyone!
So, this week has definitely been an adventure. See, changing how I am - changing how my body is used to living isn't easy. Some days it's a real fight.
And some days I gave up.
This past week on Thursday and Friday I kinda gave up on my life changes. I stopped caring what I ate and only did my one work out each day - and just so that I could check it off and say that I did.
But
I didn't let myself continue to give up.
In the past I've always looked at my mistakes and seen them as insurmountable. I would think that since I had already made a mistake that I should just give up trying. But, I was wrong.
This is worth trying for - and of course somedays I'm going to mess up. I mean, this is a pretty big change for me, but at the end of the day it is going to be well worth it.
And with every good decision it gets easier to make good decisions . . . right?
That's what I'm hoping.
But even if I have to fight for every minute, for every rep, for every run. for every pound lost - I'm going to.
I'm going to do this.

Update:
Longest time run: 3 minutes (up a minute from last week, and PS - running is getting SO much easier!)
Time run during a work out: 8 1/2 minutes in 40 minutes
Distance walked/run this week: 12.83 miles approx.
Total Weight Lost: 9 lbs
Last week's weight: 228 lbs
Weight Lost: 3 lbs
Current weight: 225.8 lbs
Goal: 198 lbs by May 20th, 2012

If I can make progress - so can you!
Fight for it.
-Roxanne

Set Backs - Allysin's new entry

OH NOOOO....

                Well the joys of living in Canada is that there is this lovely time called winter where we get a beautiful thing called snow. Snow can be so beautiful, and can be fun to play in. However, it is also very cold. Which is exactly what I have, a cold. Yesterday night I knew I needed to go for a run, it had been two days. I was feeling very unmotivated and very tired but I need to show some dedication and push myself on those days that I don't feel like going. So I got ready and went to the gym and got on the treadmill to start running and it seemed like everything had gone wrong. First of all I realized I had forgotten my keys to get back into the dorms in my room, and I didn't bring my phone so I had no way back into the dorm but I figured I was already out so I'd figure all that out after I finished my run. Then as I began to do a warm up walk I my muscles felt super weak and just not right but I was thinking that it was probably I just didn't want to go for a run and I would make myself anyways. Then after my warm up I began my first five minute set of running and my socks began to fall off in my shoes which was extremely uncomfortable but I would wait till I was done my five minutes and fix them. Then after about two minutes of running my chest, throat and right down to my lungs were hurting so much, almost burning. The only way i can think to describe this is like when you run outside and its winter and it feels like everything freezes inside your throat and it hurts a lot. Thats what it felt like only I was inside. Well I pushed myself to finish those five minutes, then walked five minutes and really had to force myself to do another five minutes run but after that I was feeling so weak and my throat hurt so much I had to call it quits. So I did twenty minutes out of my thirty minutes but it was hard. 

                This morning I woke up again with a really sore throat, a stuffy nose, a bit of a cough, and barely any voice. I guess I really am sick. So until my cold goes away I'm going to be taking it pretty easy on the running and stuff. I might do some biking or just walking so I stay in the routine of going to the gym but I'm not going to make myself more sick by running. 

                Truth is we all have set backs, we all have things in our lives that try to stop us from reaching our goals. No matter what you are trying to do you will have things that will tell you that you will not succeed, and there are going to be days where you believe it and you feel like you can't succeed. But when those days come we need to make a decision are we going to allow those moments to stop us from living the rest of our lives successfully? 

                My answer is no, I am not going to allow persons, thoughts, or just plain bad days ruin the rest of my life for me. I know what I want and I am going to push past everything to get there. 

                I hope that when the time comes and you feel like you can't do something and you won't reach your goals that you will continue to pursue them, Don't give up!

infinite x's and o's

- Allysin

New Beginnings - Chris's new entry

It seems that my life is all about new beginnings these days, new year, new job, new directions. So its as good a time as any to start a new life style. Better eating, drink more water {if only I could have a portible ice cube maker so my water could be cold all the time ahhhh}more exersize. I was so impressed with the change I saw in Roxanne after only a couple of days of following her new goals. It has inspired me. I will make healthier lifestyle choices! Lets start with sleep. I tend to go to bed 1-2 am especially when John is on afternoons then up at 6:20am. I tell myself I can sleep when I'm dead but I think it would be easier to make healthy choices if I had more sleep = more will power. So my first goal is to go to bed by mid-night every night. OOPS its 12:30 now guess I better go - good night
Blessings,
- Chris

Allysin - Week One Update

Well...

                It's been quite awhile since I have actually written I guess I should get on this. After all this was my idea, and as I mentioned before I'm not the greatest at following through on my ideas. So I NEED to keep up with the blogging. The truth is I have been running, I just haven't written about it. But I need to stay dedicated and follow through on the things I said I was going to do, and writing at least once a week is part of that. 

                Like I said I have been running, I started to do a little bit of running in the fall. So I started this week doing five minutes of walking, five minutes of running for half an hour. At the end of the half hour I have traveled  two miles, which is 3.2 kilometers. Look I'm over halfway of the 5k! Next week I plan to move it up just a bit and run for six minutes and walk for four. I've been really motivated this week and definitely living at school with my sister and watching herself push herself is super encouraging. I'm so proud of her!

               A friend of mine was talking to me about running one time and said the hardest part is learning to breathe, once you figure out the breathing you can run for miles. So my goal for the next couple of weeks is to really focus on my breathing while I'm running. My friend also said that it takes about five minutes for the endorphins to be released into your body so if you ever feel like quiting within the first five minutes, DON'T DO IT! Just wait and push yourself for five minutes and you'll find yourself starting to enjoy it! 

              So everyone be encouraged, when I started running in the fall I could barely run for two minutes,  (And let me tell you, I did not work very hard at my running in the fall) and here I am running five minutes at a time. And look at me, I'm committing to blogging! I HATE COMMITMENTS! But I'm doing it! If there is something that you want to do in your life, then DO IT! Because when you are lying on your death bed do you really want to look back at your life and say I wish... or if only... You fill in the blank with whatever dreams or goals you have for your life. Stop pushing it off, make 2012 YOUR YEAR! Do something with your life that you have always dreamed but never thought possible. Do something scary, do something crazy, and do something that seems impossible. Just don't waste your life, it only happens once.

infinite x's and o's 

- Allysin

This video always encourages me, I hope it motivates you to be GREAT!

     

Roxanne - Update 1 - First Run

So, yesterday was my first day of running. I found an interval training program to help me start, so it mixes a pattern of running and walking. I can't quite do the whole thing yet, but during yesterday's run I managed 3 sets of 2 minutes. So 6 minutes of my half hour workout was running - small steps of progress.
I also do a DVD workout in the mornings - PowerFit by Stephanie Huckabee, and today I was actually able to do 5 push ups in a row! I completely surprised myself. I've always been a little bit wimpy, and have never been able to do pushups one right after the other. Even last week when I attempted the same workout I maybe did two pushups.(I've only been doing these workouts for about a week and a half.) So even though I can't complete all the reps yet, and they're only girly pushups for now. Small progress counts! :) I was pretty proud of myself. Not to mention now that I work out in the morning and the evening I am always hungry! I've even started eating breakfast, which is a big step for me. Right now it's only a piece of fruit and a cup of tea, but progress is progress :)
Not to mention how stinking happy I feel. I feel more energetic already, and I just can't seem to shake this new found excitment for life, and that's what I'm loving. I'm not sure whether it's the endorphins rushing through my body, or the fact that by getting up and working out in the mornings I am forcing myself to accomplish something I set out to do. Either way - I'm loving it! In the words of a man I respect very much - Pastor Mark Goring - tgfl! Thank God for Life. And trust me, I am :)
Also, another big accomplishment is - I did not gain any weight over the Christmas holidays. I left weighing 228lbs and returned weighing 228lbs, but my goal is to not weigh 228lbs by the next time I go home again. I'll keep you posted at the beginning of every week to let you know how I'm doing on that.
So tonight I'm walking hills, as I have been told you're not supposed to run everyday. Which is probably good because at this moment my body's not so convinced that it likes the whole running bussiness, but trust me - it will.
All the best with your goals,
-Roxanne <3

Watch this and I hope it encourages you to pursue your goals and dreams. This year I am. #thisismyleapyear #iLeap

Roxanne - Today's Inspiration

"

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe that’s when you’ll achieve your goals." - Livestrong.com

Roxanne

Hi Everybody,
Here is the long awaited post. . .
There are several reasons that I agreed with my sister that the Run for the Cure was a good thing for us to participate in.
1. I do truly believe it's a good cause. Cancer is a horrendous disease. It kills people slowly and painfully, and although there are always more articles being written on how to avoid cancer it is still a very unpredictable disease. We don't understand what causes it, or how to cure it, but I choose to believe that there is a cure, and hopefully soon it will be found.
2. I think every person needs to find a cause (charity, organization, etc.) that is bigger than themselves. Everyone needs to find something to fight for that supports more people than just their own selfish selves.
3. I've never been very athletic (I've kinda got the whole frumpy librarian look down though :P ) but I think I could be. I think my body, and almost everyone's bodies, were made to move. So, I just want to see what I can do. I kinda want to see if I can become a runner.
Due to this I have set some goals and made some resolutions and I'll keep you posted on how they go. The first set of goals are: -Be able to run a mile by the end of this semester (I can run like 2 minutes right now) and lose 30 pounds by mid May by living a healthier life, both eating and excercise. Eventually within the next two years I would like to lose the full 100 pounds that it would take to put me in a healthy BMI for my height. So - wish me luck, and look for my posts, I'll probably be on here the most.
- Roxanne