Back to School??

I always swore that once I finished my B.S. I'd never be a student again.

Now 6+ years later, my husband is pursuing his undergraduate work, and I'm going to go back for more.

We're going to be living the "poor, suffering college student" lifestyle, and oddly, I'm really looking forward to it.

There is a lot to figure out financial aid-wise, but we're both very excited about this next adventure in our lives.

Now, we just need to apply...

Oh, I'm intending on getting a 2nd bachelor's degree. This time in French or Romance languages. I know it will be tough, but hopefully the 6 years of French I took in high school and early college will come back to me easily.

My new toy...

It's raining today. I know, I know...I live in Oregon!

Anyway...instead of taking a walk in the rain, I thought I'd blog a bit about my new toy.

To assist me in my running goals, I found a great deal on a Garmin Forerunner 101 on www.ebay.com. These normally run at least $100, and I got mine for $67 (including shipping). I was so excited. It was the first time I'd ever bid for something on eBay, so I was nervous, but I really LOVE my new toy.

The Forerunner 101 is a bit outdated as there are at least 4 newer versions, but it is more than sufficient for my needs.

Basically, what it does is link up with 3 (of the 24) satellites, and tells you how far you've run/walked and how fast you did it! You can set up training intervals. It even comes with a Virtual training partner. I haven't explored this option yet, but I'm pretty excited about it.

There are a lot more functions that I haven't explored yet, but all in due time...

A New Reputation...

I've got a new reputation at work!

At AFP, I was always known to never turn down food--chocolate, donuts, pizza...you name it. If it was offered, I ate it. I would even make special trips to HR, where I knew there was a jar of candy--usually chocolate--just waiting for consumption.

At H&F, I'm now known as the girl trying to be good. It's been kind of good for me. It makes the temptation for snagging a free donut so much easier to resist. :-)

I'm currently in Week 3 of the ChangeOne (R) diet--snacks. Snacking has always been my downfall, but I've been very good this week. Each day so far, I've only had my 2 (100-calorie) snacks.

If you don't know what ChangeOne is, check out this website: www.changeone.com. Basically it's a 12-week program that focuses not only on weight loss, but on making healthier choices. You start off tackling Breakfast, then lunch, then snacks, then dinner. I've never made it past Week 4, so I don't know exactly what the focus is of each of the following weeks. I know there is one on eating out, one on exercise, one on keeping off the weight (I think). I know that so far, I've really learned a lot about how much I should be eating.

I haven't lost any weight yet, but I think it will come in time. Hopefully by the end of the 12-week program...

The 2007 Running Season Is Quickly Approaching

I am getting excited to start a regular schedule of running. I've only been getting in 1-2 runs (if that) each week since February. Last week, I finally got in 3 runs. Yippee!! Soon I'll be able to very comfortably run 3 miles. I've been doing 2.26 miles--with a combination of both running and walking.

I'm still experiencing pain in my shins during my runs, but I'm hoping that as I get more consistent (and lose some weight), the hurt will subside.

I was hoping to run my first race of the season on Saturday, but there are too many conflicts. The biggest, of course, is that Tax Day is quickly approaching, and we still need to get ours done.

My first 5K of the season will hopefully be on April 21st...that is, if I can convince Jeff to come cheer me on in Salem--the armpit of Oregon.

I track all of my training runs (and even my walking) on CoolRunning.com. You can view my running log. Just click the link below.

http://www.coolrunning.com/cgi-bin/log/display.cgi?u=bbberry95;s=tcm2002

To all the runners out there reading my blog...HAPPY RUNNING! Be safe and have fun. :-)