Experia Socks Giveaway Winner

Since the original winner did not claim their prize, I headed back to random.org and got a new one.

Congratulations, Stephanie. Please email me your contact information so I can pass it along to the marketing director and you can get your socks ASAP!

I hope to host another giveaway soon! I really enjoy it :)

Thorlos/Experia Socks Giveaway

Hey, remember when I gave away a gift card for Thorlos? I'm happy to say that I have been given a chance by the wonderful folks at Thorlos to host another giveaway, this time of their Experia socks. I am still totally and completely in love with mine; I won't run without them!


Want to enter? Here are the rules and ways to get your name in the drawing:

GIVEAWAY: One person will win a pair of Thorlos Experia socks. The winner will be selected by using random.org. The giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Central time on 05/11/12. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Only one is needed for entry, but doing more will give you additional entries. There are six ways to enter:

1. Become (or currently be) a follower of my blog

2. Become (or currently be) a follower on Twitter

3. Become (or currently be) a fan of my Facebook page

4. Link to this giveaway on your blog

5. Share on Twitter: I just entered @oppositeofthin 's Thorlos Experia sock giveaway! You can, too! http://bit.ly/Jzb9M6

6. Go to thorlo.com and window shop, then come back here and tell me which color Experia sock you would love to have.

Disclaimer: Thorlos provided me with the socks from my original review free of charge, but my review is my own honest opinion. Must be 18 or older to enter my giveaway. Must be a U.S. resident. Winner will be announced 5/12/12 before or at 2 p.m. Central time.

The Dreaded Swimsuit Shopping Trip

Next Friday and the entire week following, my husband and I will be hosting our mutual best friend Ben here at our home. On the agenda, we have a trip to the river and a trip to Schlitterbahn. This, of course, forced me to get myself a new swimsuit. I've been dreading this for quite a while now. It's really hard to shop for them as an obese woman. I wiggled myself in and out of a few different suits, sweating buckets in that dressing room. I refused to look in the plus size section and hoped that the extra large suits that I had picked up would fit okay. To my great surprise, they DID! The beautiful purple one piece suit that I ended up with is slightly too small, but is something that I will fit into well in just a few weeks. 

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The only issue I have with my swimsuit is the bottom. It's high cut and that's just a no no for me and my body. Luckily, I have my old skirt style bikini bottoms from last year and it looks kinda cute on top. My goal is to fit into a pair of cute little board shorts that I bought three years ago. They fit, but are a bit too snug for comfort. I'm hoping that they will fit really, really soon so I can wear them instead of the skirt.

I was very lucky this year to find a nice suit that I loved. But I'll tell you this here and now, this purple beauty is the very last plus sized swimsuit that I will EVER buy. I promise that to myself and you here and now. Besides, next summer, I hope I will be buying a maternity suit! Fingers crossed, crossed, CROSSED for that to be the case :)

I'm in the process of planning our meals for the week that Ben is here. When we get together, it seems as though all care about healthy eating goes out the window. I refuse to let that happen yet again because all of us, my husband, myself, and Ben are trying to get fit. Unhealthy eating just doesn't have to happen if we plan well and then STICK to the plan. Do you have ideas for healthy, quick meals?

Practice

Last night was the second time that my husband and I went for a late night run and bike ride. There is something so wonderful about riding and running down the nearly empty streets. I can be alone with my thoughts.

1.69 miles in 30 mins (hot and humid night!)

I've decided that I'm practicing running right now. When I get out there, I'm not trying to beat a time or distance, I'm just practicing my form. It makes those thirty minutes so much more enjoyable. Besides, I hit a stride last night that I found to be perfect for me! I can honestly say that I've been loving these 30 minute running sessions. SO MUCH!

The Plan

As the Disney Half Marathon keeps getting closer and closer, I'm really starting to feel the heat and pressure of losing weight and not missing a training day. I've been thinking about what I want my diet to look like. I'm training to be an athlete, an athlete in training. I'm Ashley the Amateur Athlete! I wanted to share with you all what my diet will look like in the coming weeks, months, YEARS!

I love this formula (which I found in the Biggest Loser diet book) because it makes eating really easy! I can just plug in the foods in that formula and know that I'm getting all of the nutrients I need. My goal is to eat whole, fresh foods as much as possible, a variety of raw vegetables and fruits, healthy, whole grains, and very little meat (which is just a personal preference because quality meat is too darn expensive!). I'm allowing myself one cheat meal per week. One. And that includes dessert! A girl has got to have dessert every once in a while :) I calculated my water needs based on my weight. I've read countless times that you should be drinking a half ounce of water per pound of body weight.

As far as calorie counting... I'm not doing it. I'm going to eat my preplanned meals as scheduled, nothing more, nothing less. I know how much food my body needs and after years of counting calories, I'm more than aware of approximately how many calories most foods contain. I will be writing down everything that goes into my mouth, however. I really do think it is important for me to stay accountable and aware of how much I'm eating. Most importantly, I'm trying to remember that to be an athlete, you need to fuel your body like one. No more junky foods, no more dessert every night, no more mindless snacking. My goal is to eat with a purpose, and that purpose is to live. Food was not made purely for enjoyment. I'll be finding joy from other healthier sources from now on. That's not to say that I'll be cooking gross food, quite the opposite, actually! I'll be cooking with quality, fresh ingredients to make healthy meals, not butter or flour laden comfort foods. No more big bowls of ice cream (sugar free or otherwise).

In addition to eating a really healthy diet, I wanted to ensure that I had an exercise schedule to follow.

As far as my long run goes, as a beginner, I'm setting those at two miles for now. My hardcore half marathon training won't start until the second weekend in September. When that does begin, I'll be following Jeff Galloway's training plan he provides all RunDisney racers with. My running plan now is modeled after that, so in September, the only thing that will change is the mileage of the long runs.

I'm fully ready to change my habits and my life. I have three goals to reach by January:

To lose weight (for life!)

To run (and finish) the half marathon

To be fit enough for pregnancy!

I know I'm in for a lot of hard work, but I've never been more determined to sprint forward and never, ever return to this place.