Work Madness!

Sorry for the short hiatus! You are living through my craziest work week all year, so I may be sporadic through Sunday. But to get you through, here's a quick photo dump!

This is my eldest in his "running clothes." He claims they make him faster, but I KNOW they make him cuter!

Fastest 5K in years. On a treadmill, but still proud!

Love this sentiment. As the most competitive person in the world though, I'm not sure what I would do if I ever actually accomplished that goal...get new rivals?!

 

My fav cross training app. This thing is like having a personal trainer who lives in my phone. Love it!

And lastly, some VERY clear motivation for the downhill slide of the week:

7 miles and time management

I'm one of those people who is on time, most of the time. Once I had kids, that changed a little, really, I'm a pretty good manager of time.

So today I needed to run 7 miles and get to a wedding shower at 10:30. I thought, cool, I'll run once the little dude is up. Well, the little dude slept til 7:40, then I didn't get out the door till 8:40. I'm like! Sure!!! I can warm up, run, cool down all with enough time to get ready for the shower! 

Um. Nope. Cause I don't run a 7 min mile. Safe to say, my level of gross at the shower was un-paralleled.

But I'm done and I went to the shower! So I really did do all the things...

Breaking through!

I did something super exciting today! I broke the 10 minute mile average! I feel AWESOME! And my BFF joined me, she managed to squeeze in a full 3 between work and picking up the kiddos! Now THAT's dedication!

Shake it off

Feeling weirdly sluggish this week. Can't quite shake the heavy legs if you know what I mean. Do you ever have runs like that? I'm still so grateful to be able to get out and run at all though, so no complaints here!

An out and back 4 with some core at the end was the order if the day. There's so much happening at work though that after I put the boys down, I'll need to go back in. Oh well, Tis life!

Treadmill time!

Hung in there for an "easy" three. Every time my training log says "easy" three, they are TERRIBLE! Lol!

But, it's done and I kicked it's  ass!!

You're done!

I mean, this is LITERALLY how I used to feel. 

I have realized, of course that you are never done. There's always something you can do!

#megsmiles

Meg Menzies was a mother of 3 and a runner who was killed Monday on her morning run by a drink driver. This past Saturday, runners from all over America dedicated their mileage to the memory of Meg. 

We need to stay safe out there, runners. Take a look at the link below from Runners World about safety:

http://m.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line/11-tips-staying-safe-roads?page=single

Clean eats with a side of...

I teach high school as a public service to America (just kidding, I do it for the money) and one of my students asked me what is the one food I couldn't live without. 
My gut reaction was to say chocolate, but I thought for a second and realized too much sugar makes me feel gross. And then I realized the one food I could never live without is pizza. I could eat pizza for every single meal all day. 

But I digress. I ran 3 miles today, and now I'm eating pizza :-)

#fail

So... I didn't run today. 

A series of events kept me from my usual time and my plan to go after work is being thwarted by a VERY empty stomach and a worn out body. 

Normally I'd push through. 

But not tonight.

And I'm struggling not to feel like a failure! One day. One missed run and I've branded myself a failure. How sad is that?!

I'm going to stop that fail-talk, pick myself up, dust off the shoes in the morning and resolve to move on.

After all, what's the guilt gonna do anyway?!

Tomorrow's a fresh start!

The Hunger Games

Runner's World just published this great article about marathon training and weight gain. While I was arguably in the best shape of my life while training in 2010-11, I wasn't my thinnest, not by a long shot! This article really hits the bail in the head!

http://m.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/miles-and-meals?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-Training-_-MarathonWeightGain

Clean Travel

We've been eating relatively clean for about a year now, but vacations are another story. Travel, and therefore eating out while traveling is a death trap of poor food choices. 

I'm traveling for work right now and I have managed to stay on point with my choices! We left at 2:30 on Friday, so I had 4 meals to tackle:

Day 1: (restaurant) whole wheat pizza crust, Mozz and feta, spinach, chicken

Day 2: breakfast - (hotel) oatmeal, peanut butter, banana, water, Spark

Lunch - (supplied by event) baked potatoes, butter, salt, pepper 

Dinner - (DQ) grilled chicken, side salad, mini blizzard, water

I am currently doing the Advocare 10 Day Cleanse, in which you are to limit or avoid sugar (my nemesis), so I am particularly proud of my DQ choices.

Want to know more about Advo- stuff? Click below! You can try their famous 24 Day Challenge or I'd love to send you a free sample of Spark. It's the best y'all.

https://www.advocare.com/130913913

Favorite Color

Yes, it is possible to have too much purple at the gym:

Did 2 miles and arms yesterday. 3 miles with lower body today!

Rest

The first time I trained for a half, the concept of a rest day seemed counter-productive. Like, I really think I was afraid of losing momentum. Conversely, I never did cross training on the specified days. So really, I took TWICE the amount of rest days. 

This time, I am resting. Monday and Fridays are my sanctuary. And as I am traveling today, it's really helpful not running today. 

Now, when I have to log a 5 miler on the hotel treadmill in the am... Different story.

I'll just bump me some "hova" and push on through.

Be the change

It took me a while to figure out that "healthy" will never be easy for me. Or frankly anyone! I think it's easi-ER for some, and those are people who have been doing it for a while. For the rest of us, it will always take a little effort. 

Plan ahead! Seriously. Make your food for tomorrow, today! Write out your workout in advance. Tell people that you are planning to be healthier so they can help you be accountable!

You have to CHOOSE to CHANGE.

Water is BROKEN

I really should call this post "#firstworldproblems" because, really, how sad is it to be ruined by a water filtration system. 

But, I guess that I'm that weirdo.

We've only had a fridge with water in the door for a year, but, oh dang! I am married to that thing!

So for whatever reason, it's not working and I didn't realize how much water I was drinking until this happened! 😉

Rest day today. Back tomorrow with 3 miles and an arm workout!

Below is a what was all over my counter while packing my lunch for tomorrow. Yes, that is 3 blender bottles. Don't judge.

Photo Dump!

Since it's the end of the week / start of the week, I figured I would share the random shots if the week!

Post-run recovery: chocolate milk! The best part of a long run is knowing this is waiting for me!

2 different meal, same main ingredients: pita sandwich with egg, spinach, and goat cheese & Spinach and Feta Omelet. I love me some EGGS!!

This is my new shirt from a race that didn't exist! They had to cancel the Dallas 

Marathon due to an epic ice storm. But, I still got the T-Shirt!

Got this "Go Stak" from Spouts and it's awesome!

 

I'm using it for the gym and school to take my Spark and Catalyst as well as snacks.

Have a great week!

 

Stroller Rollin'

I needed to take the little dude with me on my long run today (which was a short long at only 4 miles), so I stowed the BOB in the CRV and headed off to Bear Creek (Pretty sure all of that rhymed)!

Pushing a stroller while running is no joke. If you're ever bored and think "gee, how could I spice up my runs?" Try adding a 40 lb weight in front of you, and pushing it, one handed, while wearing a wrist strap, and staying on your 1/2 of the path. No. Not simple.

A few things to remember about stroller rollin:

🚼 The stroller will slow you down, it's inevitable. Just enjoy your run and try to break a land speed record another time.

🚼 The stroller will screw up your stride. It is very difficult to run with good form and push the one handed stroller. So, don't do it a majority of the time.

🚼 Babies under 6 months minimum need to be in their rear facing car seat with approved accessory attaching the car seat. This is MUCH safer. Honestly, I left my oldest that way until he was too big for the seat.

🚼 ENJOY the bonding with your kiddo! You're showing them something very important; love of exercise. Priceless!

Bottles after our run!

Half Marathon Training

This March, I'm running the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in Dallas. This is my 2nd Half, my first was the Walt Disney World Half Marathon in January 2011. At the time, I thought, ok, if I'm going to run 13.1 miles, it's going to be in the "Happiest Place on Earth!" 

And thank goodness I did!

Cause here's the thing: your first 13.1 is hard. And training is hard. Not impossible, but the kind of hard when you regularly question your sanity.

My first 9 miler that time was in 37 degree weather. Oh, and it was raining. But I had to do it because that was my training run for the day. There is no room for deviation on your first one if you're going to be successful. I find that people who are like "I'm supposed to do 7 today but I'll just do it tomorrow," or "it's just an easy 3, I'll skip this one," find themselves on a slippery slope.

Knowing my favorite destination was at the end of my training is what kept me going on that 9 miler and all the other early mornings and log distances. 

And when I finished, I knew I'd do another. Hence, where we are today. 

Today is a rest day in my training, so I'll either do some weights or an easy cardio.

Resolution Runners

I saw a few people out running with me yesterday on New Years, but today they were out in full force! The Gym Newbies or the Resolution Runners. You know, the people that decided this was a new year and it's time to become a perfect specimen of fitness.

Well, I for one say 👏👏👏!

I mean, of course I don't love having to fight for machines every January, but I was a newbie once, too!! In fact I am always having to hold back from running up to people on a gym tour and telling them how proud I am of their decision. Pretty sure I'd get slapped a lot. 

So if some crazy woman gives you congratulatory hug, know she is sincere, not mocking you. Congrats to you, Resolution Runners!

New Year, new gear

This Under Armour turtleneck is life changing. Love the subtle pattern and extra long sleeves. But, my favorite is that the collar comes over your mouth to keep you warm!

Ran 3 miles today, 3 yesterday as well. 1/2 Marathon in March, here we come!