I'm baaaaccckkkk *almost*

It's been a minute, hasn't it?!

40wks, 4days pregnant

While I haven't posted in quite awhile, I kept working out throughout my pregnancy. I think I went to my cardio class for the last time around 38 weeks. I felt amazing. I gained around 30lbs total (far cry from the 45-50 I gained with the other two!)

On July 20 (5 days late!!), Miss M was born. Perfection in a tiny bundle <3 Even though my OB had me convinced she was going to be a GIANT at 10+ lbs (based on A's weight and being my third baby, then the fact that she was so overdue!), she turned out to be a tiny peanut at only 7lb, 9oz.


Now here we are, six weeks later! I'm about to get my go ahead to start working out again (WOOHOO) and I'm in the midst of researching how to work out safely without jeopardizing my milk supply, which is obviously my first priority.

I am going to start easy - a few "runs" (not sure how this will go!) and some at home workouts. I want to start using the awesome resistance band set we have to build my strength. I am hoping to do these while M sleeps and A goes to school.

I plan to renew my gym membership this week, but will have to find some alternate times to go since I am hesitant to put Miss M in childcare at such a young age - especially with big kids just going back to school and alllllll the germs floating around in childcare environments right now!

I'm going to take my measurements tomorrow (sometime after I can find my tape measure!! Moving messed me ALL up!) but my starting weight is 186lbs.  Goal? No idea. To feel comfortable in my own skin. To fit into the majority of my clothing. To be a happy woman and the best mom I can be.

And for goodness sake, to PR my next half marathon ;-)   That race, however, is still TBD. :-) 

Whole30 Running

First long run since I started Whole30. I set out this morning with Sara (you remember Sara, right? From this race and this race?) to accomplish our 8 mile training run.  I haven't gone that far in about a year and Sara had never gone that far, so we had high hopes! My knee has still been bothering me so I foam rolled before I left this morning. We had a pretty awesome morning - high humidity but the temp wasn't as high as it's been in the last few weeks. We decided to do an out-and-back so that we had no choice but to finish our complete 8 miles (once you're four miles from the car, there's not much to do but run back!)


The first few miles felt pretty easy.  When we hit mile 4, we turned around on the track and headed back and my knee completely went out. A few hobbles, some tight strides and I was back in business. Except then I got all in my head. I started thinking about the pain in my knee, trying to compensate in other ways. My feet started to go numb and I actually was a little panicked. Around mile 5.8, I really focused on my quads - I really pushed myself to LIFT my leg and move. At that time, I felt my whole body change. My knee relaxed, my feet felt better and instead of just pounding the pavement, I was PUSHING OFF of it.  We decided right in the beginning we weren't going for time on this run, just completing our 8 miles, so my average min/mile isn't my race pace. And I am OK with that. Because at the end of hte run, I FELT GOOD.

How does Whole30 tie into this? Well, my run was 1:29 long. I usually require some kind of fuel (Honey Stingers have always been my fuel of choice) after about an hour of running.  Today, I fueled with water and coconut water. I felt energized, I never "hit a wall" and I actually felt STRONGER in the second half of my run than the first!

Food the last two days - delicious. Friday I made pizza from scratch (top 5, if not the best I've ever made, according to my hubby). I had chicken sausage sauteed with onions, peppers and portobello mushroom caps. I didn't even miss the cheese I would have put on it!


Saturday we hit up our favorite BBQ place and when I asked, all of their smoked meat has sugar in the spice rubs - of course. Boo!!  But I was able to get a double grass fed burger, double tomatoes & lettuce and balsamic onions, with a side of green beans.

Today after my run I had a chicken breast and a sweet potato. Then I had breakfast for lunch - sweet potato hash, 3 eggs, yellow pepper and a ton of blueberries. Dinner was a PHENOMENAL grass fed sirloin steak, roasted potatoes and roasted broccoli.

Better this time!!

 I am not feeling the lightheadedness or dizziness that I felt during my last Whole30!  I expected that by today (day 4) I would have started to hit my carb wall like I did last time. Nothing doing! I ran 3 miles in 30 minutes today then I jumped on the elliptical for 30 more minutes. I've been eating well, of course.  

Not feeling too terribly bad, except I did have to make a cake for my daughter's school - My FAVORITE cake - a blueberry coffee cake. It's SO many different Whole30 no-no's and it was EVERYTHING I had not to lick the batter off the spatula while I cleaned up!

Breakfast: 3 eggs, bacon, power greens

Lunch: Chicken breast, sugar snap peas, olives and watermelon.

Snack: handful of blueberries. 1 small spoonful of coconut butter

Dinner: Grassfed burger, sauteed zucchini, avocado and baked fries.

My La Croix grapefruit is my "reward" for not killing anyone. .. . Day 3 in the history books!

Day 4: 

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, power greens and watermelon

Lunch: Half a grass fed burger, Applegate hot dog (been worried about getting in enough protein!), pickles, romaine with Tessamae's balsamic dressing, blueberries. 

Mid afternoon: (acting as a post workout meal even though I worked out this am) 1/2 small sweet potato, small spoonful of coconut butter

Dinner: giant massive stir fry with cauli-rice. I have found the BEST way to make it!!!

Workout: ran 3 miles in 30:27, Elliptical for another 30 minutes.

Day 4: Success!!! I'm not having the lightheadedness that I had last time. I am going to chalk that up to going off an antidepressant along with starting Whole30.

Molly

I THOUGHT I could beat the humidity yesterday. I was out of the house by 6:45, drove to the lake and started my run by 7:11.  The humidity? It BEAT me there!  I had planned to run 6-7 miles, but after a few short moments, I knew I couldn't go that far without water (and I hadn't planned to bring my water belt because I didn't think I would need it on a 6 mile run!) 

I struggled through my first two miles, adding in walking and there wasn't a MOMENT of delightful running feeling. Between the humidity and the cotton I was chewing (seriously, it was ridiculous of me to think I could run without carrying water!! I know that now!) I decided to JUST make it around the lake - if I could JUST make it around the lake that would be approximately 3 miles.  

While I was struggling, I started thinking about my races in October (MO Cowbell and the Halloween 10K!) How I am absolutely determined to PR these races. How much I want to feel that "runner's high" feeling when I cross the finish line, instead of the utter despair I was feeling currently.   I thought back to a time when I felt great working out - when it seemed to come "easily" (although let's be honest, it doesn't come easily, we work harder and it gets easier). 

And I landed on a time I remember DISTINCTLY during my Whole30.  April 23, day 25 of our Whole30. I was on day 58 of the Jamie Eason LiveFit Training.  

I remember doing the preacher curl then getting down for my (dreaded) pushups. And then, I remember being SHOCKED that 12 REAL pushups - you know, on my toes and coming down to 90 degrees - were actually manageable. Forget manageable, it was - dare I say - easy?!

 That moment is the ONE that I look to with fondness during my Whole30.  The fuel I was putting in my body was actually helping me - making me stronger!  I was able to lift heavier, feel less pain afterwards and my whole performance was increased. 

Fast forward to this past week:

• Emotional highs and lows. 
• Exhausted by afternoon (requiring either more coffee or a nap!). 
• CRABBY. 
• Body aches and pains. 
• Binging. 

The dreaded "daily life" symptoms of a poor diet.  

So as much as I DESPISE (and boy do I despise it!) doing Whole30, I think I need to find a way to get there. ASAP.  

I have these races that I have paid for coming up. I paid good money, I am beginning my running training.... but why on this good green Earth would I waste time training if I don't bother to put the fuel in my body that I KNOW will help me perform my best?   

I don't suspect it will help, I don't wonder. 

I KNOW. 

Because I've done it. 

I wish I could be one of those people who understands and thrives on moderation, but it's just not a concept that I understand.  I'm rules, I'm a black and white guideline person.  

I haven't decided if I am going to do a strict Whole30 or just "clean eating."  If you've been following along, I was at my lowest weight back when we did clean eating (lowest body fat % too!) but lately it's just SO HARD for me to put that much effort in. In that respect, Whole30 is easier. Here are the foods you can eat, eat them.   So I'm going to spend the next few days talking with my husband, figuring out what I want to get out of this (increased athletic performance!! emotional stability!) and go from there. 

So to get to where I want to be - what do I want to do? What am I willing to do?  I've given up sugar and wine and pasta for a month before, what's stopping me now?? It's all me, all in my head. And now it's time to get OUT of my head!

Until then, drink up the wine! 

Powering Through!

I had my pity party last Thursday.  I spent Friday with my kiddos. 

And just as I promised, I went to the gym and KILLED my shoulder workout on Saturday. 

Obviously the 75 calorie burn kind of dismays me, but I know I'm building muscle and burning more over the course of a day than if I wasn't focusing so much. 

Monday was chest/triceps and boy did it hurt my arm. But I powered through. I may look like a moron lifting 3lb dumbbells with my left arm and 25lb dumbbells with my right......  but I am DOING it!

 Biceps hurt a lot to lift with my arm still injured, but again, I lighten up more than I would normally and I make it through.  This one took me a long time yesterday. I was taking my full 45-60 second breaks between my sets to make sure I was giving my arm time to rest. I feel good today, though!

Leg day. Eternally my favorite. There is something that changed when I started running - I grew muscles in places in my legs that I didn't know muscles were supposed to exist! I remember finding one bulge in a place I'd never seen and asking my husband if it looked swollen. "No, honey, those are muscles!"   Huh. Interesting!    So basically, leg/calf day - ALWAYS my favorite. Starting next week, I will be adding a day of workout. You are supposed to add to what you lack, however I just want to do more leg work! 

So that brings me up through day 11.  Excited to power through the next few weeks and get to a place where I can legitimately add cardio (I snuck in a 5 min warmup - 1/2 mile - today!)  Proud of myself to keep it up, but definitely need to focus more on cleaning up my eating habits!

Let's Try Again - Jamie Eason Day 1 - Tri/Chest

I did Jamie Eason's LiveFit trainer, day 1, AGAIN today. 

My weights were drastically different. 

Doing flyes last week with 10lbs, 5 this week.  

Dumbbell bench presses with 15 last week, 7.5 this week.  

I feel like I could have pushed myself MORE but I also don't want to blow out my arm my first day back. 

And surprisingly, this afternoon, my arm feels BETTER.  

What kind of crazy business is this?! I haven't had the throbbing, dull, constant pain today that I've had for a week now. Who would have thought I NEEDED to lift to make it better?! 

So back to the grind. Day 2 tomorrow, Day 3 on Wednesday then I will have to sneak Day 4 in sometime either in the evening or this weekend, since my daughter is off school on Friday. 

So hurray for good news, finally! I'm working on getting my eating back in check after a desperately horrible food weekend.  

Tonight's dinner is my very favorite -  Tamari Honey Chicken with Broccoli & Almond Butter Sauce. 

Have you ever found that working out actually helped an injury for you?   Still so surprised at how today went!

Jamie Eason's LiveFit Training Program

After my colossal fitness failure two weeks ago, I sat down to do some serious thinking about what I want out of my workouts.   I love love my circuit classes, kickboxing and spinning, but I don't know that they are what I NEED right now.  My ultimate goal is to drop my body fat to about 20% and to get my weight back to around 153.

Some research led me to www.bodybuilding.com to find a workout plan.  I stumbled on Jamie Eason's LiveFit training program and figured I might as well give it a shot, it certainly seemed to work for her. :-)

I completed 3 of the 4 Week 1 Workouts already (day 4 will be tomorrow!) and so far? I feel awesome!  The hard part is that in phase 1 there is NO cardio!  SO brutal for me. So brutal that the first day, it took me 19 min to do the whole workout.....   and it was unthinkable to just LEAVE the gym, so I did my treadmill interval workout from the previous week, 4.17 miles. Oops.  Tuesday I was able to do the lifting and leave (23 min) and Thursday I did Day 3 (and spinning).  I think for where I am and what I want to accomplish, a little cardio during the plan won't hurt me.

Clean eating is a big part of this plan too.  I've been trying to stay as clean as I can. I'm working on bulking up my veggies and paring down my carbs.   Which reminds me ....


I had a discussion with one of the trainers (who runs) at the gym and told her about the high protein macros I was following. She told me that the way I work out, there is NO WAY 15% carbs would fuel my body the way I need to be fueled. She explained that is probably why I couldn't even hold a side plank by Friday a few weeks ago.  So I researched macros for runners and found a better balance at 45% carbs, 30% protein, 25% fat.  Those numbers have been a lot more realistic for me and my workouts have felt MUCH better!

I have a bunch of food porn pictures, but I'll save that for my next post! 

Do you have any phenomenal ways (that aren't smoothies) to get more green in your day? 

Protein Crazy!

So I've tried to focus on my macros more this week. I'm still at 166 with no movement, so I'm hoping if I start to actually focus on the the specific nutrients, maybe I can get the scale moving!

Here are my macro calculations according to my weight and loss goals: 
As you can see, my protein is astronomical. At least, for someone who barely ever breaks 100g of protein a day - see evidence A below, my protein intake for the last 90 days!

Evidence A

I have no earthly clue how to git fit this much protein into my day.  Today was the closest I've come, obviously according to the chart above - and I really feel like I CANNOT eat like this daily

Today, I had:

• 1 cup greek yogurt with flax and honey
• Tuna salad with 2 egg whites in it
• Smoothie with 2 scoops of protein powder
• 10oz of Salsa chicken
• 6 oz greek yogurt, 1 scoop protein powder, flax 

I hit 190 g of protein. Of course, when I work out MyFitnessPal adjusts my totals so my goal is 246 for today - how is this POSSIBLE without eating an entire cow?!? Seriously, I feel like I ate a ton at dinner - 10oz of chicken!! - and it didn't get me close! 

I won't lie - where is says "REPEAT" at the bottom?
I actually told the screen to eff off. 

Anyhow, I am feeling more and more fit again, which is making my heart happy. I love being back at the gym but I'm also finding ways to work out from home and incorporate my kiddos.  I found an awesome HIIT workout on Pinterest that I did yesterday at home. 



My little guy is home with me during hte day and so he did this workout "with" me.  Although during the squats (about 30 in) he said "Mama, this hurts my bones!!"    He lasted until about the first pushup, then he went about playing around the room while I finished up :-) 

Tonight, I did this awesome treadmill workout. I had to adjust the speeds down by about .5 after awhile, but I was able to keep with it until 44 minutes!

So here's to a good final weigh in. I won't be able to join my FitNuts next month but I'm hoping to keep the momentum going on my own, while staying in touch with the main page!

Spinning tomorrow!! Excited to see the results from the HRM when I take the class!

Adios, 2013! Bring on 2014!

So thankful for this past year. It's been wonderful!

After my "no cares" December, I weighed in on Jan 1 at 170 (ouch). I haven't been this heavy since November 2011.  I decided it was time to get serious. I resigned from my job 12/19, I have had a wonderful break with my kiddos, but now ? It's time to get serious.

I joined a FitNut challenge again.  Very excited to be back amongst people who are like-minded and ready to change their lives. Even after just 3 days of watching my calories, keeping tabs on my macros and drinking enough water, I sneaked a look at the scale and I'm down 2 lbs already. Now if I can just keep my momentum!

I got a Garmin Forerunner 110 for Christmas. I am ITCHING to get out and run or at least head to the gym and see it in use!   Looking forward to my 500+ calorie burning workouts.

Here's my goal shirt - Next Christmas, I'll be wearing this Believe shirt all over town - and rocking it.  Because you know what? I KNOW I can do it, I DO believe in myself.  Healthy me, here I come. 

So back to clean eating, about 80% of the time. I am going to be working out a responsible number of times - I'm going to try not to let myself get to the obsessive point I reached last January.  I am definitely trying to get back to the 150s and to near 20% body fat.

And I'm ready to be a better me!  Here I go. Back to 150 for me!

Half Marathon #4!

Today was half marathon #4, the MO'Cowbell. It's advertised as the "fastest, flattest half marathon in the midwest" and it didn't disappoint! 

I woke up at 5am and started my pre-race routines - eating a banana, trying to decide if I need KT taped, etc.  We woke the kiddos up at 5:30 and headed out. 

We drove to the park and  I can't remember being this nervous before a race! I was starting to freak out when my little guy said "Mommy! I see stars!" "Twinkle twinkle little star, up above the world so high." He sang it through once, in his cute little way, and it really calmed me! So I asked him to keep singing. <3 And he did!

By the time we got to the park, I had pretty well talked myself out of the nerves. We lined up and rocked out to "Don't Fear the Reaper" (it IS the MO'Cowbell half, afterall!), ringing our cowbells and off we went. 

I made a pact with myself not to kill myself for a PR. I know, I know. Seriously, me not try to PR? But it put so much pressure on me, I just couldn't do it this time.  So as I was running, if Runkeeper was telling me I was going faster than 10:30 min/mile, I consciously tried to make myself slow down.

I had a discussion with someone at the expo on Friday about my last half and how AWFUL mile 8 was and she said I was definitely hitting a wall. Talking to her I realized that despite thinking I was getting the race nutrition I needed, I haven't been having ANY carbs!! So this time, I ran without my hydration belt and grabbed Gatorade. I took the GU pack instead of the honey stinger I usually use.  And amazingly - There was NO wall. I ran the WHOLE race - only walking so that I didn't wear my water/Gatorade instead of ingest it.

The wonderful part is that once I hit 10 miles, it was just another Wednesday morning run!  I am thankful that I'm in a place where 3 miles is something that I can do a few times a week instead of a huge distance. It made the last few miles really fly when I could say "Just 30 more minutes" or "2 miles, I do that before work everyday!" It was just such a nice place to be not to be MENTALLY drained during the race!

Of course, my phone died. FIVE MINUTES before I finished - my phone died!! THAT was my huge disappointment. I guess all in all, that's not a bad disappointment :-)

I finished in 2:21:40, 39 seconds behind my PR from April. BUT - the huge victory here is that I felt GOOD. No, I felt GREAT! Mentally, I wasn't defeated. I had a great time on the race, I didn't stop moving, I KNEW I could finish and I did it.  I'm excited that I have a solution to my mile-8-hatred and I almost can't wait to do another half to try to PR - I came SO CLOSE this time!

MORE BLING!

Next weekend is the GO St. Louis Halloween 10K. Last year, I did the 10K then the half the following weekend. I almost think the half first is a better plan (ask me about that assessment again next Sunday night!) because now the 10K will seem like a cake walk!

8/13

Day 5. Slipping but not drowning.

• Bedtime will be 9pm on Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday.  n/a, yay weekends!
• Alcohol will be two nights a week (it's been getting a little out of hand! Definitely part of the lbs being packed on!) Wine tonight. This is night two and I guarantee I will be having something tomorrow night because we are having a bbq with friends, so fail. But see two bullets down....
• If I miss a day of working out, I WILL NOT throw in the towel 
• Same as above, if I don't keep a PERFECTLY clean day, I will NOT take comfort in the candy dish. I'm not giving up just because I slipped on one front!! I forgot to take lunch to work today, thinking I could make it through (hoping for a short day, silly me ;-)  I started shaking around 2:30 and headed out. I was as good as I could be at a grocery store deli - a grilled Asian chicken breast and 1/4 lb of poppyseed cole slaw. And a great new snack, these yummies! 
• Goal: 15,000 steps/day. If it means I march around my house for an hour before bed, so be it. Bwahahaha. Amendment: 10,000. Even still, I'm at 6692 right now. Probably not hitting 10K today either! But here's to a weekend of family fun!

Friday: Off

I DEFINITELY took my rest day seriously today. My back is so sore and achy... I just can't stand the thought of this taking weeks to heal, so I am really hopeful that I can kick the pain sooner rather than later. Aleve, muscle cream and hot water have helped so far. 

Just hoping to be able to get back to Insanity tomorrow, but let's be honest - if my back hurts, I'm not going for it. But it is the weekend and we can probably find the time to take a nice long walk as a family, which could get me to my 10K steps for sure!

The good news? I weighed in at 161.5 on Monday. This morning I weighed in at 157.5! So the changes I've made are obviously working.  I just need to stick with them long enough that they become routine! 

Insanity Day 2

I know, I know, day 2, Nic? It's been over 2 weeks! Really!?

But I injured my neck last time and even I know when to stop and not continue.  My neck still isn't 100% but it's in a place that I'm not concerned about injuring myself permanently.  We had a catered lunch at work today and I fell victim to just going with the flow and not checking my calories BEFORE I ate. Instead, I ate around a 900 calorie lunch. Gulp. Oops.

I left work around 2 today and headed home. I knew I couldn't get the kids since naptime is usually 1-3 at daycare, so instead I posted how disappointed I am in myself on a fitness group I participate in.  I said I am a "fatty mcfatterson with nothing to contribute." And in good fitness friend fashion, at least two awesome people called me out, told me to get off my butt and get moving. I said "I'll try it" and they said "NO trying- Just DO it."

From Pinterest, of course.

So I did. I did Insanity Day 2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit.

Killer.

I felt like I was someone who was in decent shape. Not today, sir! Today I felt like a 600 lb woman working out for the first time in my LIFE!  It was hard, it was draining, I won't lie, I thought I was going to vomit several times.

And in the end - I feel great. I mean, I am going to HUUURRRRTTT tomorrow, but it's going to be that good hurt, that "I did something GOOD" feeling.



I am over the moon with a new food.  We just recently switched from Sam's Club to Costco. I went to Costco for work one day and was really in love with the fact that they have so many more organic/healthy options to choose from! Most importantly  at least to my kid, they have Annie's Mac'n'Cheese. I refuse to buy "the blue box" anymore and my daughter really looves her some mac'n'cheese (although my son would rather have broccoli, go figure :-)

The one thing they DO NOT have is a bag of chopped romaine. For the first few months of our "clean" transition, we were going through at LEAST a bag of it a week, sometimes every few days. At first I was hopeful, maybe another location would have it. But no such luck. On one particular day, I sent my husband with the challenge to find me some romaine.  He called and said "Well, I bought some kale salad..."  What?! Kale?! Uhhhh nope, no thanks.

Then when he came home, I read the bag. Even worse:

Can you read that? Here, let me help: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, chicory, dried cranberries, roasted pumpkin seeds, poppyseed dressing.

Raw Brussels sprouts? You want me to EAT those?

So we had it for dinner htat night. I had two servings. I wanted to eat more, but it was just wrong. The next day for lunch, I added 2.5 oz of cooked chicken and it was heaven. I have been talking NONSTOP about this salad. I even asked my husband to pick up FIVE bags last time he went to Costco. One bag made three generous (3+ cup) lunch portions plus a smaller (1.5 cup) serving. I have a bottle of fat free poppyseed dressing that I plan on using on my next salad, too, to cut down on the fat/calories.

It's delicious. If you try ONE new thing this year, it should be this. It has an almost cole slaw or broccoli slaw texture (obv, since there are both broccoli and cabbage in it) but it definitely works as a 'side salad' to a heftier dinner.



So, my goal is to actually get my butt in gear. I feel gross, I look gross, none of my clothes fit right. It's TIME!

I am hosting a bridal shower on Sunday. I know for a fact I will not be "clean" that day, I plan on trying one of everything. But other than that, I am making a sincere effort to get back to clean, whole food eating. I feel better when I'm doing that for sure.  If you see me with food I shouldn't be eating (aside from the shower, please) YELL at me! :-) Ask me if I'm SURE I want to eat that. Chances are I will agree, it's not something I want to be doing!

Training Check In

Well, I am still training, although I have yet to make it on a weekend long run. The weather is supposed to be PERFECT this weekend. I'm going to set an alarm (because my two small ones usually sleep in on the days I intend to use THEM as my alarms).  I am going to go on a long run this weekend!!

I am supposed to be running 5-6 miles during the week, I've failed on this too. At MOST I'm running between 3-3.5. I have broken my "no class" rule by picking up a really tough circuit class. I am having a great time pushing myself REALLY hard in the class. I bump my speed up to 7.5-8.0 on the treadmill for the circuit interval, I use the heaviest free weights she offers, I always try to do 1-2 more reps.  I am NOT a coordinated person, though, so sometimes I spend a whole interval just laughing at what she's asking me to do :-) Today I even asked her for special "ab cardio" so I spent my time on a stair step with a yoga ball over my head, jumping, sliding and stepping!

I am PRAYING for a break in the weather so that I can start running outside during my son's naptime/daughter's school time. This will be an awesome time for me. In fact, she's at school for three hours, so I am HOPING that I can start using this time for my long runs, instead of taking up family time on the weekends.

We had a surprise trip out of town last weekend, so my training got all pushed around (and even though I had the BEST INTENTIONS and brought everything with e, I still didn't run at the hotel!). So today I managed 4 miles in 40 min on the dreadmill, then my 45 min circuit class.

I OFFICIALLY registered for the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon in STL. Happy 31st Birthday to me!!  The race is actually on my birthday!! What's even more exciting is that my mom is usually here for my birthday and she will get to see me race! I am really psyched for that! I am still hoping to shave a good 20-30 minutes off of my Princess Half time for this race. I think it's do-able. I ran that race at a 13:14 pace. I comfortably run a 10 min pace now, which would alone take almost 40 minutes off of my time. So I feel pretty good about saying that my goal finish time will be between 2hrs, 15 min and 2hrs, 20 min.

So until then, training, training, training!!! I am trying SO hard to quit sugar again, I just feel yukky, but things keep coming up. I know, I know, EXCUSES! All excuses!

I have been researching some other "diets" (I hate using that word, they are more lifestyle changes) that I am hoping to explore/flesh out here in the coming weeks.  On my mind: Paleo, clean eating, veganism...  If you or someone you know currently follows these plans, please let me know! I am always looking for more opinions/outlooks!

The Color Run

Seriously? How did I NOT write a post about this most awesome event?! 

The Color Run was in St. Louis on August 18th.  I was SO determined to run this race that, before they announced a STL date, I was planning a road trip to either Cleveland or Chicago, JUST to run this race! 

I was on a team with two other couples (I was the fifth wheel!). We met early that AM for a pre-race photo. And LOTS of waiting. I didn't realize there were 15,000 registered! So the official start time was 8:00am, but we were pretty far back and didn't cross the start line until at least 8:45. It was all good, though. The run wasn't timed, so we weren't concerned.

It was NOT a runner's race for sure. People who aren't familiar with "running etiquette" were walking, sometimes 6-10 across, making it impossible to keep a "run" pace. But it's all good.  

We headed to the first color point, after 1K. It was blue and I have to say, I didn't mind the dye! It's just colored corn starch, so it was nice and soft to run through. I didn't find that it was annoying to breathe as I ran through the wonderful colorful cloud, either, which I know a lot of people questioned. 

As we left the first color, we were all just a little disappointed - we weren't NEARLY as "dirty"/colorful as we expected! But, you live and learn and we noticed that there were better routes to take through the color. So we were DETERMINED to get more color the next time!

The race was a lot of fun, people were having a great time, rolling through the dye piles. We slowed to a walk to go through the color stations, turning and bobbing to get as much color was we could. :-) 

 

We finished the race in 37 minutes, which wasn't bad, considering the amount of walking we did to negotiate the crowds. 

At the end, we caught up with the rest of our group and went to the finish line for the after-race "color party."  A few girls next to us asked what colors we had (blue and green) and asked if we wanted to share theirs (pink and purple), so we all threw our colors together. THIS is where the awesome color came from :-) 

Things I learned:

Take your time through the color sites!!! Spin around, engage the volunteers because they WANT to make you as colorful as you want to be :-)  

Don't run this race for a PR. It's not worth it.

Kids under 5 can run without being registered. How fun, my little runner is already excited for next year's race!


Wet your shirt down (not drenched, but just spritz with water) just before you start. I followed all the directions on how to keep my color in my shirt (I even made a special shirt for the race so that I could keep the colors!) and it ALL washed out - except where I was sweaty (yes, my shirt has blue spots down my back and orange armpits, yum).  So I think the dyes stick a little better on a damp surface.

What makes you want to run a half marathon?

One of the trainers at the gym asks me this just about every time I take her circuit classes. (Actually, she usually asks what makes me want to run a MARATHON and it freaks me out every time!)

So today we were talking after class and she asked again, "What makes you want to run a (half) marathon?"

I've been thinking about this a lot.  I don't think running is terribly fun, especially in my current position of running outside with a jogging stroller (geesh is that thing heavy!). I am not seeing the weight loss results that I used to, so it's not the benefits that are keeping me going.  So, what did I tell her?

I told her the real reason I keep running.  I was never very good at team sports. I'm am a people-pleaser and team sports brought out my worst fears - letting people down. I am clumsy by nature and when there are 10+ pairs of eyes watching me, waiting for me to do good things for their team...  and I would almost ALWAYS mess up.

But running - running is a completely different game. My only opponent is ME. It's all about me beating MYSELF. It's about a PERSONAL record, not about breaking a world record.

I shaved 16 minutes off my 5K time from last July to this May. I am hoping to shave almost a half HOUR off of my half marathon time. I have seen that I can improve. Now I am trying to get to be the BEST me I can. I've never aspired to be the best at anything, and if we're being honest, I still don't. I will never run a half marathon in under 2 hours. I will never WIN a race but I am OK with that. Because I am ALWAYS improving me.

But this is all based on MY times. Not my friends, not my family. I set my pace. I set my own records.

So - what makes YOU want to run - around the block, a 5K, 10K, half marathon, full marathon??

Busy busy

Well, I did REALLY WELL at the water thing - for about 4 days.  Then I got a stomach flu two weekends ago and my entire regime - pfft. out the window.  I was sick Saturday-Monday, then just got busy with the end of summer (yes, my daughter started PreK today!) and our kitchen renovation (nope, still not done).

So the excuses stopped on Monday.  I've been pretty good about quitting sugar this week, except this time I'm keeping fruit in my diet. There are just too many delicious summer fruits to quit them! I don't think it's working the way it did when I DID quit fruit, but it's still helping me FEEL better, emotionally and pain-wise.

I have been doing much better this week with training. Last week, I flaked on almost everything. My whole week was just a 1 mile run on Tuesday. So sad! This week I ran 3 miles on Monday and went to the circuit class.

Oh boy, that circuit class!!  1.5 min circuits, alternating cardio and strength, for anywhere from 10-18 cycles! Plus the instructor knows I'm training for a half marathon, so she gives me "special" cardio, different from the normal treadmill/elliptical.

Here's my training calendar for the last few weeks. You can see I've dropped the ball - but with the kiddo going back to school, my goal is to start running OUTSIDE while she's there. The dreadmill is doable for 3, 3.5 miles, but anything more is depressing! With her in school four days a week, I should be able to get in two outside runs (weather permitting - and baby permitting, he did NOT like the jogging stroller last time!)

I tweaked my knee funny on Monday at the circuit class - I had the elliptical jacked up on a pretty high crossramp. Today in spin class, I didn't exert my TOTAL effort because when I stood up, my knee was still hurting :(  Hoping it's better ASAP!

I am doing the COLOR RUN on Saturday and I CANNOT FREAKING WAIT!! :-)  It is going to be awe-some!

Don't forget to follow #helpmetrain on Twitter!

Stay tuned. I am making two recipes in the next few days. Flax and chia and honey, Oh MY!

Training Again

So I have officially begun half marathon training again. Actually, I started Monday, but close enough, right?

I am using the Amazing Alison (Because It Worked For Her) training program ;-)  I just needed a PROGRAM or a PLAN. I needed to get back to running, for sure. I've become overscheduled in my quest to find new and different training classes, and I've forgotten why - Because I want to run RACES. And as much as I enjoy spinning, it's not helping me improve my distance running.  As much as I love body sculpt, that just hurts my back and doesn't get me closer to another medal (which is the real reason I run - the bling.)

So I finally realized that I need to put the classes (except the occasional yoga class) on the back burner and really focus on running.  I am understanding why people call it "the dreadmill" now. It's booorrring. More boring that just any old running. But I am DOING it.

So here comes my ridiculous calendar again :-)   Ready to see it? Well, whether you are or not, here it comes:

Two days down, two days of accomplishment. I am looking at MANY more ! :-)

Detoxing AGAIN. I feel like I keep saying that, but I really want to keep it up this time. This detox has been HORRIBLE. I just sit here and stare at the wall thinking about how much I want a gummy bear. The kitchen renovation hit a serious wall this week (as in running out of work and missing cabinetry!) and I think I'm just overstressed.


Here are my goals for the next few races.

August -
18th Color Run !! Woop woop! This is just for fun. I'm not doing it for time. :)

October -
14th: 10K - I want to be under 1 hour (10 min miles)
21st (My 31st birthday!): Rock'n'Roll Half - I would like to be under 2hr, 15 min (shaving 38 min off my Princess finish time)

So that's it for now from me. Trying to stay on top of it. Definitely desire some accountability, so if you see me trolling Pinterest for dessert recipes, call me out! :-)