Newspaper Article

Here is the article about me that ran in the Honolulu Star Advertiser right before the Ragnar.

'Biggest Loser' TV show inspired big weight loss

2 more weeks!

Yep - only 14 more days until the Ragnar SoCal Relay race. Training has been quite the experience! While I certainly wish I had more time to prepare, I am also pretty pleased with what I've been able to do in only 2 months. I spent so many years believing that I wasn't able to run. Sure, I had a lot of valid excuses. But when I just decided to do it, no matter how slow, I suddenly found that excuses mean nothing. Like everything else, it is just a choice. Do I use my excuses to justify not doing it or do I do it regardless of the challenges involved? Come on - there was a guy with ONE LEG who ran the marathon! The truth is, people do what they choose to do.

Ragnar Relay Biggest Loser contest

I have to admit, I hadn't taken running very seriously. Sure, I did jogging/walking intervals sometimes but I had never had any aspiration to be a 'real' runner. Until I saw the Ragnar Relay Series and Biggest Loser alumni were teaming up and offering 4 fans the chance of a lifetime. The prize: running the Ragnar Relay SoCal with a team of Biggest Loser alumni. But in order to be eligible, I had to be able to run a 10k with a 14 minute pace. For some people, that is a brisk walk. For my short little legs, that is definitely a sustained jog. So I waited until the last day to apply, just to make sure I could do it. The next thing I knew, I had won a spot on Sione's Blue Team! Now I have 2 months to become a runner!

Here is my application video:

Bondi Bands

Another great 'tool' that I use is Bondi Bands. They are sweat wicking headbands that have fun sayings on them (or you can get plain colors, if you prefer.) I absolutely can't stand sweat dripping into my eyes during a workout!! Here are some of my favorites:

GMap Pedometer

One of the things I want to do with this blog is share some of the best tools that have helped me along on my journey. There are several different sites to help you figure out how many miles you are walking but after trying a few, this is my favorite: www.gmap-pedometer.com/

There are many reasons it is helpful to know how far you walked. For example, I now know that a little miscommunication caused me to walk an extra 1.1855 miles tonight. It "turns" out that I had to make an actual right turn to finish off my circle. Without an accurate map, I may have assumed I only walked an extra mile, which obviously would not have been correct! Okay, so maybe that much accuracy isn't important. But it is good to be able to plan out a route and know how far it is. That way you can work on improving your distance and times, without having to walk the exact same route all the time.