Well, folks, it’s official.

I’m running the ING New York City Marathon. I booked my hotel and flight last night and I think that may have been just the kick in the pants that I needed. It’s real now. My usual habit of starting without finishing and an added dash of procrastination has to go on a short-term seven-week hiatus. I leave in SEVEN WEEKS. I HAVE to do well. I HAVE to start running. I HAVE to get a few longs in there. The longest trail run that I’ve done is about 10 miles and it really was a piece of cake, so I’m sure it will all work out okay.

Weekend plans:
Laundry (wash all workout clothes and get them put away)
Long run Sunday morning
Upper body workout on Saturday night

My plan for the weekend is getting a little bit readjusted. I’m staying at a friend’s house tonight so I won’t get a chance to do my long first thing in the morning tomorrow, but, I’m keeping in mind that FLEXIBILITY is key for this to work. I tend to get all bent out of shape when a structured plan falls through and then I throw the baby out with the bath water (that figure of speech just creeps me out). Not this time. Not during these precious seven weeks. Because of that, I am making a promise here and now to remain flexible with my schedule and to not freak out when I have to shuffle my workout schedule.

I find that my life is ever-changing and it’s much more enjoyable to go with the flow than to dig my heels into the ground and stand still as a symbol of rebellion (even though it's really fear). In the end, I'm just standing still.

Got into a tussle...

....with a steak knife last night. My left index finger is pretty ugly on the knuckle. I was hacking at a piece of corn on the cob with a knife---why I didn't just break it with my hands is beyond me...--- and I must have shifted funny because instead of laying a good slice against the cob, I hit my finger instead. Needless to say, I stopped, dropped and rolled all the way to the kitchen sink with my other hand covering it. It was starting to pulsate and throb and John come flying into the kitchen asking if everything was okay. I asked him to look at it for me which is really odd... normally I totally dig this kind of stuff, cuts and scrapes amaze me and I LOVE watching surgical shows on TV. I think I just had a pretty good freak-out 'cause I knew I sliced it so hard and it would be awful. I took my other hand away and it hadn't even started bleeding yet because I applied pressure so quickly initially. A flap of skin shifted and the fountain started to flow. John (the sweetie was such a great nurse) bandaged me up pretty good. I needed two good, sturdy bandages and it was still bleeding this morning. It still aches a bit, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Otherwise, the only difference in my daily life is that my typing speed is now about 14 wpm with 7 errors.

In other news, I've created a workout plan that should last the rest of this challenge. I have the challenge timed with the NYC marathon in November and I’m trying to keep the mileage up. Here’s what I’ve got starting tomorrow morning:

Monday a.m: Weights (Lower)
Tuesday a.m: Cardio (Run about 5 miles)
Wednesday a.m: Cardio (HIIT 3-5 miles)
Thursday a.m: Cardio (Run about 5 miles)
Thursday p.m: Weights (Upper)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long run (10-20 miles) and FREE day!
Sunday: Weights (Upper)

There are a couple reasons for the schedule to look this way. One, it closely mimics the NYRRC ‘thon training schedule-which I’ve been trying to follow. Secondly, it it gives me a chance to workout with hubby because at this point, he’s only doing UBWOs with me and following the BFL eating plan (and the little shit has still managed to lose 8 pounds! Grrrr....) So, I wanted there to be at least two days a week that we get a chance to workout together and since my legs are getting a decent beating as is, I figured one LBWO per week is okay. I’ll probably add in some abs on my other weights days, just for good measure anyway.

Yummy, yummy in my tummy...

I've yet to write about my recent trip to Korea, but in the meantime, here are some pictures to whet your appetite...

Yum! Gotta love some good, old-fashioned kimchi and bap (rice) first thing in the morning!

Actually, all of that kimchi makes me crave some........you guessed it! Dried squid! The package came complete with a butter dipping sauce. Awesome stuff...

Hmmm, what to choose? This is a typical restaurant front with fake samples of all of their dishes shown behind glass....hint: if you look in the glass, you can see John's reflection walking away from the tempting delights!

What's that you say? Have more bap and kimchi for breakfast? Well, don't mind if I do!

And here is our bed while we were resort-ing it up in Gangwan-do... on the floor on some cushy blanket-y mat things...

This is the song that never ends...

...yes, it goes on and on, my friend. Story of my life, really.

Welcome to my new blog! I've been playing around with blogs for quite some time now and I never had a real purpose behind them. I've also been playing around with health and fitness for a very long time and, like the above, never had real purpose---or accountability for that matter. Well, I decided to marry the two and see what fruits could be born. So, I present to you my Phit Life Blog. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and watch the magic unfold. Oh... sorry, got caught up.....

For starters, let's get to know PhitLee (me). I'm 28, I live in Canada although I was raised in Detroit---the real Detroit, thankyouverymuch. The ghetto. The hood. The 'D'. I'm not one of those people who are really from some quaint subdivision 35 minutes away and told people they were from Detroit. No, sirree. I actually had to hide in my bathtub on New Year's Eve so that I would be safe from stray gunfire.

I got married in 2003 and immigrated to Canada to live with my husband in the country. It was and still is quite the culture shock for me, but I'm slowly getting used to this type of life and all of the bugs (literally, mosquitoes, grasshoppers and the biggest, meanest, nastiest crickets you ever saw---they're like country roaches) that come along with it.

I was overweight for most of my life. I have pictures from kindergarten where I was the big one to the left in the handmade dress (we didn't have much money). I think I hit 5'4.5" in the second grade and stopped growing. I wasn't athletic at all and consistently 'forgot' my bathing suit in swimming class or my gym clothes in PE so that I wouldn't have to show my body or my self-perceived inability to use it.

Fast-forward to the year 2000-I was ending a poor, long-term relationship and was depressed beyond belief. I was taking the injectable contraceptive Depo-Provera at the time and had gained 60 pounds putting me at an all-time max of about 215 pounds. I broke off the relationship, quit the drugs, moved out and tried to start a new life. I was teaching aerobics a couple times a week when I was at my high weight, which leads me to believe the drugs played a huge part in my gain (mood swings which seemed to bring me to 7-Eleven more than I care to admit). I took on a new aerobics class that had me teaching an additional 4 classes a week on top of my 3 current ones. I was busy, I'm sure I wasn't eating enough, either, however, the weight started to come off. Some of the students in my classes started to notice and make encouraging comments. It was at that time I met my now husband. He was training for the NYC Marathon and I was just tickled to finally meet someone who was interested in fitness! He was an angel and when I think back to how I looked (and I know it's awful to think this way) back then, I can't believe he was attracted to me. I still shake my head and wonder how I could have found someone like him who was able to see past the exterior and right into the interior. [sidenote: I secretly wondered if he had a thing for fat girls, but read on...]

As our relationship blossomed, we started to do active things together, running, biking, walking, hiking, you name it. In 2001, we noticed an advertisement for a 12 week program called Body for Life and decided to commit to the 12 weeks. We did really well and felt awesome after. I lost about 20 pounds and 3 dress sizes (from a 16/18 to a 12) and he did great, too. I finished at around 162 pounds and the support that he offered was amazing. We worked out together, talked about our '10's and shared the joys that BFL really brings.

We were married in 2003 and I was commuting from Canada to the States every day for work. The 90-minute commute one-way was really starting to show on my ass after the first couple years. Fast-forward to today and I'm still sitting here at about 164 lbs. Sure, I maintained most of my loss, but the change in body definition is staggering. After BFL, my body composition shifted into a well-proportioned shape. When I let that go for two years and doing only on-again/off-again workouts, everything kinda headed south...literally. I tried BFL halfheartedly a couple times in the interim but never finished. I always managed to somehow talk myself out of doing it.

Well, I'm happy to say that I'm now in my 4th week of my BFL Challenge 2. John and I decided to do this one together and although he's only completed maybe 6 workouts (I think he's doing this as a way to support me and not really because he wants to do it----shhhhh....don't tell him I know....) we're both doing fairly well. My motivation as of late has been waning a bit and I figured I could use this blog as a way to spark myself into it again. I'm a pretty motivated person by nature and sometimes I just need a kick in the pants to stir things up.