A New Hobby....

On a separate note, I got off on a tangent today that has led me to find a new hobby. Most people know my surname is Scottish and it has always been my dream to go to Scotland. I would love to see the country and learn more about my ancestors. I spoke with a cousin of mine over Thanksgiving who recently returned from Scotland and he says that most people in Scotland know their family history & can tell you most of your's too! I have heard there is a McLachlan Castle and I would love to see it and do some research.

Anyway, this afternoon I was flipping through channels and saw a news story about Donald Trump's plans to build a multibillion dollar resort & golf coarse on the shores of Northeastern Scotland, and I naturally got upset. Apparently it is a done deal, because most of the locals are excited about the revenue it will bring to their town, regardless of how it changes the picturesque landscape. That got me wondering how far away this resort will be from where my ancestors are from. I haven't completely found the answer to that question yet, but it has renewed a desire to work on the McLachlan family history line. I will also start making plans to go to Scotland. I have always said I will go before I die, why not now?? This way, when I finally get to Scotland, I will have all the information ready to understand exactly where my ancestors came from. I have decided to dedicate a new section of blog posts, updating everybody on how my research and travel plans are coming. So far, I have decided to apply for a passport in Feb (when I have money for the fee), and start looking into how much it will cost & what my travel plans will be. Family: I'm hoping you will be able to come with me, cause I don't think I will go alone. Honestly, I don't know when I'll go; maybe a year, maybe two. I think the soonest I will have the money will be summer of 2010. Anyway, I started to make a binder that I will put all of the family information in. I created a cover page with the McLachlan coat of arms on it. I have posted the coat of arms I found on the Internet. I wanted to post it below this writing, but I can't figure out how to do that. I guess I'll have to ask Megan or Tory.

Repentance

I'm sorry! Now I feel really guilty. Tory asked about my blog over Christmas & I guess I was surprised that anybody cared. Thanks Tory for keeping me honest. I promise I will update this blog much more regularly. Thanks to the rest of my family for the comments you have given me, even though I have only posted three times. :) Thanks for your support.

Well, needless to say, my 5k Training was nonexistent the past two weeks. With Tyler & Tory in town, I was a little distracted, but I can't use them as an excuse for every day I missed. Basically, I ate whatever I wanted and didn't work out once. Well, unless you want to count the day we went sledding. I climbed up the hill about four times before I decided it was more fun to take pictures. If we can get the pictures recovered off the memory card, I can say it was worth it.

So, this week is suppose to be a fresh start, and I'm starting a week BEFORE the new year! Since I didn't get a good start last time, I think I will start over. Today is Day 1. I went to the gym and worked out on the treadmill. Usually I like to use the treadmills in the Cardio Cinema room, where I can watch movies. But today it was "out of order". I was a little disappointed, but I discovered that Gold's Gym has added personal 15"? HDTVs to some of its equipment on the main floor. That was pretty cool. It definately helped the time fly by faster than before. I worked on a repeat of Day one on my 30/30 5K training plan. I walked for the first 10 min.; jogged for 30 sec on 4.0 speed and walked at 3.5 speed until I recovered. I found it was easier to recover if I didn't jog as fast (go figure). Anyway, I think I will keep steady on those speeds until I can recover my walk in 30 sec. intervals. After my cardio training, I did a few arm weights and some crunches. I felt weak from previous workouts & struggled getting started, but at least I was there. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I also weigh 234.3, gaining about 1 lbs. over Christmas. That was better than I expected, actually. However, I usually weigh myself in the evening and today I weighed myself in the morning. Anyway, I think I will plan on getting to the gym by 9 AM this week so I can watch The Price is Right on my personal HDTV. :)

Day 2, sort of....

There is a term that I heard on my mission frequently. It's called "backsliding". For those of you who haven't heard of it, it is a term that is used by Christians who sin or fall backwards on their journey towards Christ. I guess you could say that I backslid in my training this weekend. Last week, I only worked out on Wednesday. I was a little disappointed in myself because I know that I won't reach my goals if I don't work out every day. So on Sunday, I set a goal to work out every day this week, but I didn't consider that I have my Christmas concerts this week & my schedules are going to be crazy. I worked out on Monday, but I got to the gym late & all of the treadmills were busy. So I worked out on the elliptical machine. I felt I got a good work out: I pushed the level up so my leg muscles got a good workout, and my heart rate stayed up for a good 20 min. However, I know I need to be on the treadmill and following my 30/30 training plan.

Today I had a rehearsal after school that went until 7:00 PM. By the time it was over, I just wanted to go home and go to bed. I also know that I won't go to the gym tomorrow because I will be at the school all day long for our concert. Thursday is our staff Christmas party, which is also at the school. Usually I don't have time to go home & come back so I might have to stay all day for that too. Friday is an early out, but I also have a ward Christmas party that night. If I get all of my school work done before Friday afternoon, I look forward to working out then. Then Saturday will be a good workout day. So I guess my new goal is to reach Day 4 by the end of the week. Day 2 was Monday, Day 3 will be Friday, and Day 4 will be Saturday.

As far as eating out, I also backslid last Thursday and went to Einstein's. But that was the only day. Monday I didn't eat out for breakfast or lunch, but I got a Little Caesar's Pizza for dinner. Today, I also didn't eat out for breakfast or lunch, but I got Carl's Jr. for dinner. I woke up with a huge headache this morning, but I wasn't sure if it was from lack of sleep or caffeine depravation. I took two ibuprofen & it went away. When I weighed myself at the gym on Monday I weighed 233 lbs. I will have to post again this weekend and let ya'll know how things are going.

Day 1

So my whole purpose in creating this blog is to keep a journal of my training for the 5K. I've never run a race before and I am currently in the worst shape of my life. Last week I made the big gesture. I seriously cut back on my eating out, including my consumption of Diet Coke. This move was largely motivated by the desire to save money, but it has turned out to be a big help physically, too. Previously, my diet consisted of: A whole wheat bagel with butter and a 32 oz Diet Coke from Einstein's every week day morning; usually a homestyle or grilled chicken sandwhich combo with a 32 oz Diet Coke from Wendy's for lunch; and sometimes a big, fast food dinner. Some of my favorite dinner choices include Cafe Rio, Crown Burger, Arby's, Subway, Little Caeser's Pizza, Carl's Jr., or whatever was around at the time. I rarely ate at home.

Last week, starting on Monday, I eat a bowl of Life cereal for breakfast, a homemade deli turkey sandwhich with cheese, chips, a 12 oz can of diet coke & sometimes a Jello pudding snack for lunch, and dinner at home. I cheated on dinner four times from Monday - Saturday, but I could feel a huge difference from the lack of Diet Coke consumption in the mornings. I had a pretty good headache for a couple of days, but 10 days later I am falling asleep faster & waking up easier. I figured I also saved about $35 last week.

My diet this week has been about the same. I am averaging one "fast-food" meal a day. Monday I had Cafe Rio for dinner, Tuesday I had Carl's Jr. for dinner, and today I had Wendy's for lunch. But I haven't been to Einsteins at all, even though I was seriously tempted this morning. I also managed to go to the gym today for the first time this week. At the gym, I discovered that I lost 1 lb. this week. I'll take what I can get. Obviously I can do better, but I have been doing great compared to before.

My workout was great. I am following a training program on halhigdon.com that my cousin recommended called the 30/30 Plan. I exercise 30 min. a day for 30 days, but I'm going to take Sundays off, so it will really be 34 days or so. According to the plan, I walk for the first 10 min. Then I jog for 30 seconds, walk until I'm recovered, jog 30 seconds again, etc. for 15 min. The last 5 min. I walk. I could feel I got a good workout, not too much, but not too little. Hopefully I'm not sore tomorrow. I started the middle section taking 30 sec to recover from my 30 sec jog(that is the goal). After about 5 min. it was taking me 45 min. to recover. After 10 min. it was taking me 1 min. to recover. My average walk speed was 3.5 mph, while my average jog speed was 4.5 mph. I also weighed myself and I weigh 232 lbs. I figure I can lose at least 50 lbs. I weighed 165 lbs when I graduated from high school & I would love to be 170 lbs., but right now I would just love to be below 200 lbs. and finish the race with a decent time (of coarse!).

In a nutshell, my training plan consists of three elements: diet, exercise, and accountability. So far, my diet goal is to not eat out & watch my portions. My exercise goal is to follow the 30/30 plan, aiming for a 30 sec jog, 30 sec walk pattern consistently for 30 min. And my accountability goal is to post my progress every day on my blog. I understand this topic is not the most entertaining, but I hope it will help me focus & stay honest with myself. I also hope my family and friends will check up on me & support me through the whole process.

My first post!

Well, this blogging thing is turning out harder than I thought. I have spent the last hour trying to create this stupid thing & now I don't have time to post anything! I guess I'll have to ask my sister for help and end this post with "this website is under construction."