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Jason is running 13.1 miles for St Jude!

6 Apr

Some of you may have heard, I am running my very first half-marathon this year on June 21st! That’s right, 13.1 miles… Go me!

I have completed my first week of training and things are going well so far. I was supposed to run about 14 miles this week but felt good enough to actually run about 16 miles. Things are looking great so far!

One thing that is special about this half marathon, other than it being my first, is that I am also raising funds for my favorite charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as a St. Jude Hero.

What is a St. Jude Hero? They help fundraise to support St. Jude’s lifesaving mission of finding cures for childhood cancer and saving children. So, I need your support to help me reach my fundraising goal for the kids of St. Jude.

My goal is to raise $1,500 by June 21st and with the help of a few people, I’m already more than 30% of the way there! Just to give you an idea of what your donation does:

$50 – A “No Mo’ Chemo” party for one of the young patients to celebrate the end of their chemo treatments.
$100 – A special little red wagon so that the young patients don’t need to ride in a wheel chair at the hospital. Instead they get to ride in style, the way kids should.

Also, thanks to donors like you, no family ever pays St. Jude for anything, including lodging, food and travel.

If you are able, I ask that you consider making a donation to St. Jude in my name at the link below. If you aren’t able to make a donation, don’t worry. Just knowing I have you in my corner and you are spreading the word about what I’m doing is more than enough for me!

Thank you for taking the time to consider making a donation and sharing my information with your friends and family. I really appreciate your support.

heroes.stjude.org/moffett

– Jason

Turkey Roll Deliciousness – A Must Have!

6 Jan

It’s no secret that I love food so two of my favorite holidays throughout the year are Thanksgiving and Christmas due to the large amounts of really delicious food that we get to make and eat! But not only do I look forward to the meals that day, one of the best parts is all of the leftovers. I am a huge leftover fan!

Every time we have any turkey leftover, I have made it a house rule that we make one of these Turkey Rolls because they are pure deliciousness! I’ve even gone as far as recreating this meal with rotisserie chicken from the super market but nothing beats having it with leftover turkey!

Finished Turkey Roll deliciousness!

Finished Turkey Roll deliciousness!

Turkey Roll
10 oz turkey/chicken
1c cheddar cheese
2 packages crescent rolls

Dipping sauce (optional)
1c Mayo
2tbsp dijon mustard
1tbsp finely chopped onion

• Preheat oven to 375
OPTIONAL: mix mayo, mustard and onion
• Separate rolls into 16 triangles and arrange in a circle with wide ends overlapping in the center and points the outside.

Fold each triangle over the roll and tuck up underneath

Fold each triangle over the roll and tuck up underneath

• Add turkey and 3/4 cup of cheese mixed together
• Fold outside points of crescent rolls over the filling and tuck under the dough
• Bake 20-25 minutes
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese
• Serve with mayo/mustard mixture as dipping sauce

Do you have anything special you like to do with leftover turkey? I’m always looking for great ideas!

– JM

FOCUS T25 Success Story – How I lost 23 pounds in 10 weeks

3 Oct

When I started FOCUS T25, I weighed in right at 250 pounds. I’ve easily weighed that much since my first year in college sometimes ballooning up a few pounds and sometimes a little less. The lowest weight I remember seeing was roughly 245 pounds even though I was “actively” running. I give actively the quotes because I would run about a mile or so once or twice a week and then give up before really getting any distance going.

Here is what I looked like prior to T25:

This is what I looked like before starting T25.

This is what I looked like before starting T25.

During T25:
FOCUS T25 is a high intensity full body workout that leaves you sweating like crazy. Here is what the T25 website says about the program, “It’s a 25-minute, full-out attack on your body, without any rest.” It’s not easy, but it is well worth it!

The one huge benefit for me was that the workouts were just 25 minutes! I found it was easy to fit the workout in during the day, after all it was only 25 minutes, I had no excuse not to workout. There are two phases to T25, Alpha and Beta. Each phase lasts 5 weeks, you workout 6 days a week, and there are different videos that you rotate through out each week. The videos all have a specific focus too, cardio, lower body or speed for example. There is even a stretching/yoga video for the off day.

Worried you can’t handle the high intensity nature of the workout? That’s ok, in the beginning I had to do the modified moves that are provided to you in the video until I had the strength to do the full moves. You will still get an amazing workout even doing the modified moves, just keep the goal for you to progress to the full moves before long.

After T25:
Through T25 I lost 23 pounds, so about 2 pounds a week for the 10 weeks I did the program. Upon finishing, I weighed less than I have in the 12 years since I left high school. Not only that, but I built muscle in my chest and my arms where I’ve previously been lacking. I feel like I have more energy, and going out for runs is much easier now. If you’re curious about how my stats changed, I’d be happy to let you know, but I won’t post them here. I’ll just leave you with the end result of T25. Here is what I look like 23 pounds later:

This is what I look like after T25.

This is what I look like after T25.

I have plans to do T25 again in the beginning of next year, after the Holidays and hope to get in even better shape. That’s right, I liked it so much that I want to do the 10 weeks AGAIN!

If you’re interested in trying FOCUS T25 yourself, I recommend my Beachbody Coach Chris. He can help you with any questions you might have and even help you get the program. Contact him here: Summers.CW@gmail.com

The 2013 Milk Run at the Minnesota State Fair

27 Aug

This past May, Laura and I set a challenge for ourselves, one 5k a month for 12 months to help keep us in “running shape.” This weekend was run #4, the Milk Run. The Milk Run is a 5k that is put on at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds during the Fair. We had the privilege of joining 18 other people as part of Team Dairy, a group of runners who work to promote dairy to help fuel active lifestyles. They hooked us up with team shirts and the entry into the race! It was going to be an extremely hot and humid day, so Laura and I tried to hydrate as much as we could in preparation for the race. It didn’t really help that we were at a wedding reception until late the night before the run.

We got to the fairgrounds around 6:45am after only a few hours of sleep, and it was already 84 degrees and super humid. Luckily there was a pretty steady breeze that helped a little bit. At 7am we met our team for a couple of team pictures and to get ready for the race to start.

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At 7:45, standing amid a large group of excited and anxious runners, we heard the gun sound and we were off.

Now, my pace is about a minute per mile slower than Laura’s, but we decided to stay together for this run and actually forgo the norm of wearing our headphones. Plus, since Laura is in full on training mode for her half marathon in October, she wanted to take it easy. However, while running the race, I apparently started to get a little overzealous, sped up and tried to go for a Personal Record(PR). Sorry honey!

Here is what the course looked like:
2013-08-26 20_35_42-www.mnstatefair.org_pdf_13_MilkRunMap.pdf

The tough part about this course was that the first 2 miles or so was predominantly uphill. However, that means the last mile was almost all downhill and you could coast to the finish line. Some very nice homeowners had also aimed their sprinklers over the road to help keep all of us runners cool. As we neared the finish line, Laura challenged me to sprint it out to the end. I was doing fine until then, but I’m still glad I did it. All in all, it was a really fun run that we would enjoy doing again. The atmosphere was very relaxed, care-free, and fun! Funny thing is, we also both won door prizes which we totally didn’t expect!

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After the run, we hopped into the fair for a few hours to eat the calories we just worked off. It wasn’t long before the massive crowds and the temps chased us back home to rest. Here are a few of the foods we tried:

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If you’re interested in more information about the Milk Run, please click here.