*JillD*

Usually when you do a group block you can hold the rooms for a certain amount of time, as long as you release any unbooked rooms prior to the deadline, you won't be penalized. Any deposit you pay to hold the rooms, should go towards your room balance. hope that helps!

Good Luck! I have one more workout to finish week 6 and it's a long one, 25 minutes, yikes! And from there I think it's all long runs, double yikes!! Is anyone thinking about signing up for a 5k race after they finish the program?

If you do a group booking, TA's can usually get the same promo's that the resort is offering included in your group booking, even though it's not directly through the resort. And the nice part about doing it with a TA versus, directly through the resort, is that you have one person to help you and your guests with your travel arrangements and to advocate on your behalf with the resort.

Quote: Originally Posted by *Rachel* Great job Jill. What's great about using exercise to lose the weight and not just WW, your scale isn't the only thing improving. You are overall in better shape- heart, lungs, muscles, everything. Way to go... you sound so motivated to kick ass. Keep it up! I try to keep myself motivated, believe me some days are SO hard! Especially when I'm having a bad day and all I want to do is sit on the couch with a pint of ben & jerry's and curl up in front of the TV. seeing the scale move helps too and I try to let myself have treats on the weekends, so that I don't get sick of not being able to have things I like. I finished week 5 today, I was so happy and proud of myself for getting through the 20 minutes without stopping. The magazine I had covering the clock definitely helped!

Quote: Originally Posted by *Rachel* I LOVE this thread. It's really inspiring and I want to be Ana when I'm done... which would probably take 5 years or so. I used to like running back when I was in really good shape because it was easy, but I've let myself go so far that I'm afraid I'll kill myself. However, I love the idea of this program (thanks for posting about it on FB awhile ago Abbie. It made me totally intrigued!) I love having goals so I'm ready... Now I need to go find some better running shoes, buy some better quality sports bras, throw in a few capris and I will have spent enough $ to make myself feel guilty if I don't follow through. Now I just need to get out of this semester of school to start it! I'm excited... Oh and I downloaded these podcasts: Couch to 5K - Tracking Progress | A Question of Perspective I sat and listened to week one just to see how it goes and wow, 60 secs seems a lot longer than you think. However, I have no fear... the longer running sessions are what scare me! Rachel, you can do it! I used to be scared of the 3 minute blocks, but now I'm scared of the 20 minute block I have to do today, yikes! Just push yourself, I always feel like I want to stop, but I just keep telling myself, just 30 more seconds and then when I get to that point I tell myself again, just 30 more seconds, and before you know it your done. Some days I feel great, like I could run forever, other days are a struggle, so just do as much as you can. There have been a couple of times when I just had to stop mid run and walk for a minute, but then I started back up again as soon as I could. I've been losing weight much easier since I've been running and following weight watchers. I'm not sure if it's the WW or the running, maybe both, but I'm just glad the scale is finally moving!

Quote: Originally Posted by cathyandchin Oh man! I miss this thread... I've been so busy tutoring and FI's son's baseball practices that I can't get to the gym enough. I've been on week 3 for sooo long! But luckily next week I can start going back since school is almost out!! Anyone using the c25k app and nicole blum's podcast together? I'm so frustrated because I like seeing the time go for each run/walk and the music is awesome too but when I have them both going the app pauses the music for a few seconds and then all my timing is off!! Suggestions? I have been alternating between nicole's podcasts and Suz's podcasts. I really don't like the hardcore rap/hip hop type music, so I try to choose the one with better song selection. Lately I've been using Suz's more, I'm on week 5 and hopefully will have time to finish week 5 tomorrow! yay Abbie for starting! Hope it's going well, the program works well if you stick with it!

Quote: Originally Posted by Andi I started week 7 today! 25 min running stretches...YIKES! so I am doing ok...my goal is obviously to run 25 mins without walking at all but I did have to walk once today for like a minute...not too bad I know but STILL I really want to go the full 25! oh well maybe tomorrow! Andi, great job! Yikes 25 minutes, I'm scared for the 20 minute run at the end of this week! That's not bad at all, just keep doing that one until you can run the whole thing, you can do it! Quote: Originally Posted by ~Andrea~ OMG I haven't looked that far ahead! 25 minutes?!?!? I just started week 3 and could barely handle 3 minutes...YIKES! That's what I thought about the 5 minute blocks but it really is doable. When I'm on the treadmill I just have to avoid looking at the clock and concentrate on the music or the TV. Quote: Originally Posted by carly Andi, that's awesome!! I totally gave up on this. Perhaps I'll start it up again after we get back from vacation next week. I really want to be healthier, but I hate actually doing anything physical. You can do it Carly, when you get back from Vaca start it up!

Quote: Originally Posted by Gwen It totally sucked the way they treated us, but in the end we had a great memorable wedding with phenomenal pictures!! Tony and Alex were great. Our 650+ pics all look like they came from a magazine. We got pics not only at the lighthouse and boat but also at the NOW resort. Some of our guests booked directly through the hotel and a good portion booked through travel companies such as Orbitz. Orbitz had better deals than Dreams would give us as a group package. It is all over and we are happily married, so that is the important thing. But it certainly could have been easier and handled much better. To all the brides with upcoming weddings at Dreams, a new Gazebo will be up soon and i'm sure things will be fine. To future brides who havent yet selected a site, I would recommend a different locale due to the unprofessionalism alone. Their sister site Now Resort had very good wedding management we felt. Only problem is that its much more remote. Sorry to have been the bearer of bad news. Again, we are still happily married! Better luck to everyone else. I'm sorry for all of the troubles you had. The TA's on this site, myself included, try very hard to stress to brides that booking through sites such as orbitz, does not guarantee you a room at this resort. And there is a VERY good possibility of being bumped. I would think you would have preferred that the guests pay a little bit more and not be bumped, right? I hope you don't take what I'm saying as being rude or unsympathetic, but this is something that we can't stress enough to brides.

How's everyone doing??!! I hope you haven't all given up, lol! I just started week 5 today, 3-5 minute running block, it was tough, but doable, and I felt great afterwards. I hope everyone's sticking with the plan!

Quote: Originally Posted by Andi So I did week 5 day 3 this morning....It was hard! run for 20 mins straight! which for a runner is nothing but for me...wow I think I am going to be sore after that, it was so not easy! Holy crap Andi, 20 minutes! You're doing awesome! You know what's funny, I have the program hanging on my bulletin board and just now realized that there are 3 columns, lol! I think up until week 5 basically all 3 workouts are the same, I'm glad you mentioned that! Quote: Originally Posted by carly So does anyone notice any major weight losses? I've been bad about committing to this once I found out how hard it was, but think I might be more motivated if it gave good results. I haven't noticed major weight losses but I have been losing every week, which is good for me. So as long as I keep losing I'll be happy. I really love running and I can't wait until I have built myself up to being able to run the whole time. It makes me feel so much better and gets rid of a lot of my built up stress! I finally started week 4 today, I did it after an hour long strength training class, my legs were like jelly! I think I'm going to continue with week 4 all through next week because I couldn't finish the second 5 minute block, I made it through about 2 1/2 minutes of it and had to power walk until the end. I

Wow, I'm such a slacker! I haven't worked out all week, it's been a crazy busy week! However, I need to get myself back on track, so tonight while hailey is at practice I will either be running outside or driving to the gym, either way I have to work out!!

Quote: Originally Posted by KristinaM OMG Jill that fall would send me home too!! LOL Glad you're ok at least! Your plan sounds perfect and there's nothing wrong with doing week 4 twice.. vacation is about rest and relaxation! Never did get to start week 4 last week, lol! I swear sometimes going on vacation is just more work! I'm starting week 4 tomorrow, I don't care if I have to go to the gym at midnight, I have to work off whatever bad food I ate during my trip! How's everyone else doing?

Quote: Originally Posted by Andi I started week 4 on saturday and did week 4 day 2 today...it was a killer!!!!!!!!!!!! I tell you what...those 5 mins were just about the end of me! I did much better with it for some reason on saturday than i did today...it is good though, feeling good about it! Great job! Quote: Originally Posted by KristinaM You girls are doing so great!!! I did 2.1 Friday night and it was rough. But i screwed up too and I forgot that after my last workout I was scrolling through the later weeks to see the outlines.... so I did my warm up, and started running, and i felt like it was forever so i looked down and there were 27 minutes remaining.. yup i started week 9 ooops. So I kinda tired myself out from the get-go. Then I had a busy weekend and it's been a monsoon here so I havent dont anything since. I think I'm going to repeat 2.1 tomorrow night and go from there. I hope the 4 days off didn't derail me! You're doing great too! So today I went to the gym to start week 4 and fell down the hill in the mud on the way to the gym, lol! Needless to stay I didn't stick around after that! I'm going to go tomorrow and really start week 4 but I leave for Florida on Thursday, so I have a feeling I might have to do week for this week and next week. We'll see if I can get a workout in Thursday before I leave and sunday when I get back.

Quote: Originally Posted by toriOary Thanks PhillyBride, I believe you need a certain category of room, we just booked a standard room so even though we are staying 9 nights I dont think we get it - bummer But probably TA Jill can confirm this for us. We are having our reception at the Garden, Jason my other half does not like sand in his feet and we have a little 7 year old that also has the same dislike to sand in their shoes / toes so the garden should still give us a good view without the headache of these moaning Good luck all - Tori There are two honeymoon options, one is the basic honeymoon package, that you can request when you book, and then there is the eternity honeymoon package which includes a lot more and is supposed to be available if you book a honeymoon suite or higher for 7 nights OR if you have 5 or more rooms booked for 3 nights or more. However, I noticed on their website it is listed differently, so they may have changed that and my suppliers site may not be updated. Quote: Originally Posted by Michelle613 Hey girls, Feels like I haven't been on here forever, however I do look at the emails I get to my phone although they don't always include every new post I've realized many brides are doing the reception at the Himitsu Beach -- I told Claudia "beach" for reception and never specified which one b/c from pics it always seemed like the one by the Tower. Can anyone tell me the difference and why everyone prefers the Himitsu Beach? Himitsu beach is the beach over on the side of the resort near the lighthouse and where the sunsets. It's a smaller beach which I think is nice if you have a small amount of guests. I think the tower beach is so large that if you only have a few tables, they might get lost out there Hope that helps!

Did anyone start week 4 yet? I finished week 3 on Sunday and should have started week 4 today, but I was completely swamped with work. I'm planning to start it tomorrow but it looks really hard!

Hi Courtney! So glad you posted a review and pictures, I love to see pictures of the weddings that I work with Everything looked beautiful!

It's definitely not the blue water of cancun, but it's still nice. It is a great resort, lots of ceremony locations and lots to do. I don't think your guests will be disappointed by the beach. Yes, they do have the sand bags in the water, but you can still go in the water, you can still lay on the sand, and there are still lots of water activities that people can participate in. I'm sure if you do a beach ceremony that your photographer can angle the pictures to avoid getting the sand bags in your shots.

I did day two of week 3 yesterday, it was much better than day 1!! I went to hailey's practice and walked the track while she practiced, I'm thinking I probably did about 3 miles walking and then when I got home I did C25K outside before it got dark. I was always so nervous about running outside, I don't know if it's being self conscious or just worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up and have to stop, but it really it so nice being outside and the program seemed so much easier, even when I was jogging up a hill, lol! Carly, I totally think you can do it outside, once you do it once and you see how good it feels, I think you'll be good!

Quote: Originally Posted by Andi oh yay for going 45 mins today jill! I did week 3 day 2 this morning and today was just not a good day. I did week 3 day 1 on saturday and felt great! but today not so much....I was just in a monday funk i guess oh well, will try again tomorrow! some days are just like that, at least you did it right? Quote: Originally Posted by xtinamckee I've been meaning to start this program since last spring!! I was just thinking before I came across this thread that I'd start it this week (for real this time)... Now, I think it's just the motivation I need to actually start it I'm going to do Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Wish me luck tomorrow ladies!! Good Luck! Quote: Originally Posted by carly Oh. My. God. I just finished day 1 week 1 of c25k and I was literally dying. It was SO freaking hard. I had to take like a 1 minute break halfway thru, and I found that by the end there wasn't much of a difference between my running and walking. When I would notice that, I tried to push myself, but dayum I am OUT of shape. I'd have thought it would be a bit easier since I've been working out for 2 months! So I'm also wondering how accurate my elliptical is. It said I did just under 6 miles in 30 minutes and my walking speed averaged about 12/mph and my running averaged about 18/mph. The slowest walk number that I noticed was 10 and the highest running one was 20. I'm thinking my machine isn't working right or something b/c I don't know enough to say anything about the speeds, but almost 6 miles seems like alot for 30 minutes. What do you guys think? It's an old machine I bought off craigslist, so I'd just like to know if those numbers seem about right or not, b/c if not, I'll just ignore them. I'm not really sure about the speeds and everything, but I can definitely do a mile quicker on the elliptical than the treadmill, probably just has to do with the way it's measured. Good job for finishing! I think it might be a little harder on the elliptical Don't worry it will get easier, just keep up with it! I didn't work out today at all, I had planned to, but had to go out and get hailey new sneakers and cleats before tomorrow. So tomorrow night I'll be doing week 3, day 2, and hoping it's a little easier

I started week 3 today, it was rough! I was doing okay until I got to that second 3 minute jogging segment and I started to feel like throwing up after 1 minute, so it was a LONG 3 minutes! But I did it and I ended up staying on the treadmill until I got up to 45 minutes, so I was very proud of myself!

I finished week 2 today. I didn't have time to get to the gym so I went to the track at my old high school instead, because it was close to where I was headed afterwards. I LOVED running outside. It's not like it's the first time I've ever run outside, it's just been awhile and every other time I've done it, I didn't have my ipod, so it went by really slow. Today went by super fast and it was the perfect temperature so I wasn't overheating, it was great! I know I can't make it to the track everyday and I don't know how I feel about running in my neighborhood, but I think I'm going to try to make one of my runs everyweek outside.

I don't have any pictures, but I had a guest that didn't eat beef, so they did some type of vegetarian dish. they will work with you if you need something special.

I always wear capris or pants too, for exactly the reason you said, I don't like how they ride up, lol! I'm going to do my last day of week 2 today and will start week 3 tomorrow.

Quote: Originally Posted by Andi oh no! sorry today sucked! I had a bad day the other day too and I feel like my reasons for it were similar to yours, not eating, etc.. oh well, there are good days and bad days, at least you went and did it right?! Thanks for the sympathy! Yes, at least I did it. I have to go tomorrow to do day 3 for week 2, I feel like I missed a lot of workout days this week. Quote: Originally Posted by Erika J Boo, I am supposed to start week 2 today but it is snowing, I think I might have to delay till Sunday. I am so sad, I dont want to get derailed. SNOW! yuck, I'm hoping we're done with snow, but I think that might be too much to ask! Don't get derailed, you can still get 3 days in this week. I know we're supposed to do them every other day, but I don't always get to, depending on my schedule.

Quote: Originally Posted by carolina24 question ladies: for all of you who had the 30 min video included with the package....does it have actual parts of the ceremony on it? i mean do you hear the vows and such? all of the clips i've seen are with music and they show the bride getting ready and taking pics with guests afterwards. they look awesome, i just want it to cut the music during the vows, ring ceremony, and when they pronounce us b/c we want to show it to the people who cant be there. is this something they can do? I'm almost positive that you hear the whole ceremony because I watched mine with my friends that couldn't come. I'll have to pop it in later to check, but I'm pretty positive that you do hear the ceremony.