The boat launch

Saturday's run with BCR was at the boat launch by my house. I have run this path several times, but never the distance that I knew in my head I wanted to cover. I couldn't run early because my hubby worked last night, but I knew that if he got home on time (which he didn't) I would be able to get there by 7:30 to run with the group. I got there at 7:50 so I knew they would be out running already. But, I KNEW I had to get a run in. With my last run being only 7 miles AND a week ago, I knew I was in for a challenge. I have been having trouble lately mentally getting through long runs. For some reason, mile 6 has been my breaking point. It is usually at this distance that I tell myself, no I listen to the doubt in me head, telling me I cannot go any farther, and fall apart. It is usually a struggle then to finish the run, no matter what the plan was for distance.  So today, I ran by myself. Nothing new, I am used to it, but I completely shut off my brain. I knew I could do the mechanics of the run without thinking about it, I knew I had the endurance to do the run, I just couldn't think about it. But, as the run began I started to think about how far I wanted to go. How far I needed to go with the half marathon coming up. I thought about how I shouldn't be able to finish it because I haven't run in a week. And this was at mile 2! It was then, that I told myself to stop thinking of the total mileage and take it one mile at a time. I also listened to my body. It was sore and stiff and everything in between. But I listened to it. I slowed my pace and tried to keep it constant.At mile 3.5 I wanted to give up and turn around, but I knew that if I didn't try to get my 10 miles I would be very disappointed in myself and would be bummed the rest of the weekend. So, I just kept going. I enjoyed the scenery around me, and the looked at the leaves who in my opinion are turning fall colors way too early. I enjoyed the occasional runner/walker/fisher I encountered. I took it mile at a time. I didn't let myself get overwhelmed with the need to run 10 miles. Hell, at mile 5 at the turnaround I contemplated going a little further, to push myself just a little more.It felt good to run, and I wanted to run more. But I decided not too. I decided I needed to start back home so that I would make the run. Mile 6 still seemed to be a long mile. It seemed like it was the longest mile to be exact. I don't know what I ever did to the 6 mile mark to make it haunt me so bad, but it did. I just kept telling myself take it one more mile. Miles 7-8 flew by and then mile 9 seemed to take it's time. 9.5 to 10 seemed like it was really 2 miles long, but I just kept pushing.  I am so glad I talked myself into running the 10 miles, I really know I would have been disappointed with myself, and well quite frankly, I needed the miles so that I know I will be ok for the half coming up.


On Friday, I started waking up early and doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. It's just 20 minutes, but man, does it kick your behind. I don't remember it being so challenging, but maybe then I wasn't doing it right. I have done it 3 days so far (today included) and I plan on continuing it for the 30 days. According to Jillian, she says you can lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days. I will let you know. Maybe this video will reignite my metabolism and help me continue on my path to a healthier weight. I am also contemplating Insanity, which I believe is 60 days. I know that utilizing that program will help me continue my weight loss, but also improve my core which will help with running. Sounds like a win-win situation for me.

I don't do well with changes...

Right now, the hardest thing that I am having to deal with is not running. Yes, I love having the 1 day off a week, but it doesn't leave me time to run. I really wish that it was still light out longer. I have  no control over that. My husband works 11p-7a, so I can't really run in the morning. When I get home from work, he lays down to sleep and I put M to bed. Some nights are harder than others. Tonight, for example, it took almost 2 hours to get her to bed. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. On Monday, she starts day care again. While, I don't necessarily want to see her go to daycare, she keeps asking about going to school.  I am hoping that my husband will use the time that she is in daycare and sleep. Before, he watched her while I worked and then my parents watched her in the afternoon so he could rest. Hopefully, now he will be able to sleep for the 8 hours she is in daycare and then be able to watch her once I put her down to bed so I can hit the treadmill. I know, I know, this is my fitness blog. I am getting to that. Starting tomorrow I am going to do what I can at home while the wee one sleeps. Starting tomorrow I am going to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I know it isn't much, but it is something. It is more than what I am doing during the week currently (which is nothing). I have noticed how my mood, my energy, my eating has been affected by the fact that I am not active. I didn't realize how much everything revolved around my physical activity. I mean I did, but at first I thought it was just because I was adjusting to 10 hour shifts. Now, I realize that it is because my weekly mileage went from 16 a week to 10, and now I also don't have my gym time. What a huge shock to my body!

I am really hoping that will all change starting Monday. M will still go to school even on my off days, which will open up some needed me time, and it won't compromise the us time. I need to get up earlier to get my fitness in, so starting tomorrow I am going to try do me. I am going to do the 20 minutes of Jillian Michael and follow it with my 20 minutes of Abs. It's the baby steps, but hopefully they will get me on the right track to feeling better, eating healthier and getting back on the right track to how I felt before I went to 10 hour shifts. Before I let my fitness go, without even trying.

The above all sound like excuses. Excuses are like assholes, everyone has one. But, the buck stops here. I am taking back my fitness. Hopefully!

Run-Yoga-Walk

Saturday was supposed to be a 10 mile run. Supposed to be is the key word. I have to stop planning my mornings down to the last second. Take Saturday for example. I had signed up to do free yoga at a local running store. I really enjoy yoga and wish it was more affordable, so when ever there is an opportunity for me to try it for free or reduced price I sign up for it. Anyway, yoga was at 9 so I knew I had to be finished with my run by 830 so that I could leave to get there on time. Of course, my run started late which then meant that my narrow window of opportunity was even narrower. My run felt great, and it was beautiful. It was around mile 2 that I got so stressed over the time constraint that I stopped running to look at my Garmin because I didn't think that it was possible that I was only running 20 minutes! I started to freak myself out that my Garmin stopped working and on and on and on I went. Then, at mile 3.6 the path that I was on ended and I had no idea what or how that happened. I was certain that my running club wouldn't have chosen a path that wasn't long so I got really nervous. I hadn't seen anyone on my run and since I had never been that far on this particular path, I wasn't sure I knew what the heck was going on. So, I just turned around. Then, I started even more to worry about my time limit. And the pain in my foot. And the time, and the pain, and on and on it went for 3.6 more miles. Finally, I got back to my car. Met up with 2 of the guys from the running club who were there, chatted briefly and then headed to yoga.

This yoga was yoga for runners and we did a great deal of time stretching. I LOVE the yoga classes that I have taken at this studio and since that is one of my few experiences of yoga I didn't really know what to expect. Except for the fact that the yogi was doing a lot of plugs for her business, it was an alright class. I did a lot of stretching, but since the yoga classes I have taken before were hands on, I was disappointed with the lack of touching where the yogi assists you in the correct position. That being said, I will be doing the next free yoga session.

Did you notice how I talked about the foot pain with running. I was/am concerned that it is something wrong with my foot, so since the local running store where I purchased all of my running shoes was hosting the yoga I thought I would talk to them about my pain. I wanted to rule out/ rule in a shoe problem before I went to the doctor. Turns out my generation of my running shoe is cut smaller than the previous generation. Which means I have to get a wider shoe. Luckily for me they are doing an even exchange for the new shoe so I get a brand new pair of shoes for free, but with only 3 weeks until my half marathon, that doesn't give me enough time to break in my new shoes. Guess I will be wearing my older generation shoes for the half. Oh well. Hopefully with the new shoes my pain will go away. If not, I guess I will be off to see the doctor.

I woke up Sunday and my IT band was a little sore. Perfect I thought. (Sarcastically of course). But I knew that I would have the opportunity to walk since I was doing the American Heart/Stroke Walk. It was a beautiful day, and I couldn't have asked for a better one. I got to walk 2.2 miles pushing my daughter. It was a lot of fun, and something my IT band needed. A nice slow stretch.

I spent all day today at work walking. I really should use my Garmin at work one day to see how far i really walk in a day. Maybe I will.  Anyway, I am trying to get shorter workouts in this week with my taper starting next week. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to stretch it out really well, and come Wednesday, i will be running steps again. In the meantime, I guess I should work on getting to bed sooner. A lack of sleep really wears you out for the day.

I hope you had a great Monday!

Happy-Healthy-You!

Friday!

Happy Friday!
I have a long 10 Mile run tomorrow, so I saw this on Pinterest and thought I would share it with you. It is appropriately and accurately portrays what I want to do tomorrow...

Have a great Friday! It's the weekend! What are your plans for fitness this weekend?!?
Happy-Healthy-You

This is hard

Not blogging, no I don't find that hard, this making the time for life to happen, yeah, that is hard. See, I work 10 hours a day/4 days a week. When I trained for my last half marathon, I worked 8 hours and worked 3-11. It wasn't ideal, but M had to be in daycare by 9am so it gave me all day to get my runs and cross training in. Now, I work 9-730. Even if I take her to daycare at 7, it leaves me little time to get my runs in nor does it really give me time to get to the gym. Maybe an hour tops. Maybe I could make it work. Maybe, if all the stars and planets aligned.  Before it got so dark so quickly, I started taking M on jogs with me after work. We got in 2 maybe 2.5 miles twice a week. A huge accomplishment for me, since I had never pushed a jogging stroller before. Now, it is too dark to take her out with me, and quite frankly, I don't know how safe I feel running that late by myself. So, last week, I did nothing during the week, but still managed to run 10 miles on Saturday. I honestly cannot expect myself to run well at my half if I don't do stuff during the week. But, it's hard. I am a nurse so I am on my feet all day long. I mean ALL day. Working in the Operating room doesn't really give you many opportunities to sit. And then I worry about what I am missing out with M. What can I do to cross train while she is sleeping? Will she go to bed on time so I can get my workout done before the hubs leave for work? If not, what then? I have a gym membership that isn't getting used right now. Why, because the hours that they have for daycare are no longer useful. If I don't have a place to watch her while I work out, I cannot work out. It's that simple. Right? Right?
Well, this week, I have tried to change this cycle. So far I am 3/3. Every morning I do my ab circuit. Monday I was able to do an arm workout that an awesome girl named Kacie over at Savvy Sassy Me told me I could use. Yesterday, thanks to my parents tiring her out, I was able to get M to bed early and was able to head to the Fitness Center where I live. I got to ride 8.6 miles in 30 minutes. And today, I got to run steps. Well, kinda. Yes, I did run my infamous stadium steps...

Thanks Bob for continually getting me through these things!

 Only this time, this sweet thing joined me...

What do you do with a 21 month old at a stadium while running, well, you carry her of course. Yep, 7 out of 10 times I carried her up and down those steps. I knew that if I didn't complete the task at hand I would be disappointed with myself and then well, why bother right? After all, I did just restart my allergy medicine since I have felt like crap for almost a week now? It was hard to breathe out of my nose, and I couldn't taste anything? (Whine much?) Yes, sometimes I do make mountains out of molehills...

But, I have a half marathon to get ready for.

There is no time for self pity. No time for doubt. No time for excuses.

 

 



Happy Wednesday

 

Happy-Healthy-You

Holy Moly!

Where did the week go?!? Here it is almost a week since I last posted a blog. You would think I didn't do anything, and well you are kinda correct. I have been very diligent with my ab challenge, and I will continue to go strong. I did run 10 miles yesterday, and although right now it feels like a long time ago, my legs on occasion still remind me of the fact.  I  could come up with a lot of reasons why I didn't blog, but to me the only sound like excuses. But, on reflection, I have decided I need to get my me time back! I really enjoyed the runs M and I did after work, but now, it gets dark too early for me to do that with her. Well, I used that as an excuse not to do anything. Not anymore. I am going to get M back on a sleep schedule, and hopefully that means I will have an hour from when she goes to bed to when the hubs leaves for work to use the fitness center where I live. Either to do cardio on the bike, or treadmill or elliptical, or to use some of the weight machines, I need to do something. I have been very moody, and whiny and not caring for myself in ways that I used to, but I relate that all to the lack of endorphins this past week.  So, I am going to take it one day at a time, and do everything in my power to take my me time back. I cannot allow myself to fall off the wagon when I was having fun and loving what I was doing every day.
So, while Wednesday is my day off this week and I will most likely be running steps again, I need to plan ahead as to what I am going to do the other days. I know that taking back my me time will also help me sleep better at night, something we all need anyway.

With that, I bid you farewell.  Here are some motivational phrases that really pertain to my situation. I haven't quit, and I won't I just met a speed bump along my journey.

The last one, I KNOW is true. I need to get my good mood back!

Happy-Healthy-You

It's just another manic Monday

Today was my scheduled day off. What did I plan to do, nothing. What did I do...well...first, I took my car to the Mazda dealer because there was a recall. They told me it was only going to take 45 minutes, lies all lies. Anyway, I digress. I got to spend time with my dad while they worked on my car.

I was enjoying this fall like weather, and what does that mean...Pumpkin. So, I wanted to make these bad boys. But, mine didn't turn out to be cookies, they turned out to just be cookie crumbles :( I am sad, but I will try again. I have no idea what went wrong, and if anyone has any pointers on baking gluten free, please feel free to tell me. After my baking mishap, I had no idea what to expect for the rest of the day. At 4:00 I had a meeting with my friend and coach Bob at our usual meet up. When we got there, I took this picture...

 

How picture perfect is that sky?!? It was a beautiful fall day, and perfect to tackle those bad boys. Look, you cannot even see the top of the stadium, but we ran to that 5 times! I cannot believe how it felt to run them today. I don't want to say that they were easy, but I definitely enjoyed running the half way ups. (I will only say that they are easy when running to the top is easy)

 

 

Bob and I chit chatted as usual, but usually it was right before the all the way ups. We talked about running, about how much he hates prepping for his full, how I have aspirations to run a full and an ultra, thanks Jamie for being an inspiration. I hope you will do my first ultra with me, please say yes?!? Running these steps made me actually feel like I was getting stronger. I entrusted Bob with my goal for my half next year. I choose next year because my upcoming half is super hilly and I don't know if it is doable by then. But, I also know that Bob will hold me to my word, just like I hold him to his. See, I may not be the fastest person, I never claim to be, but there is a chance Saturday that Bob is slowing down his pace. Why? He needs help with pacing, and I need him to help me get through my next long run...10 miles. Together we will get through it, well, that is if he does it. See, Bob has a half marathon on Sunday, and may choose to just focus on that. I am cool with that, he has a full marathon coming up. I just know that whenever he needs to slow things down, I will help him and his legs slow down and he will help me mentally get through the long runs.

 

See, that is the best thing about running. You meet people of all different ages and abilities and everyone brings something different for you to learn from.  Bob always has his words of wisdom which means a lot since I have been only running for a year. He also always makes me laugh (You are not THAT old?!?) But, he believes in me, and sometimes we just need to know that in order to keep pushing through. Thanks Bob for another steps session, see you next Wednesday?

 

So, to round off my day, I did my ab circuit this am, and will do it again tonight, but I also did 200 crunches while running the steps. Maybe just maybe I will get that stronger core. I was going to do an arm circuit tonight, and I still might, if not...it WILL be done tomorrow morning. And yes, I will blog about that and my run with M in her stroller. Have a great manic Monday!

 

Make Fitness Fun!

Happy-Healthy-You

 

Fitness Blog

So, my sister told me that I should create a blog to keep my fitness and my personal life separate. So, here it is, my attempt to do it. Hopefully those that followed me at my other blog will continue to this one, and will check in on that one to check in on my sweetness. Hope you like the name of the blog. In 2 weeks I am going to an open house to get information on becoming a certified personal trainer. I will definitely use this blog as a transition to that, and all other journeys between.

Today, I ran 9 miles pain free. For those of you that know me, this is the longest I have ran since 3 weeks before my first half marathon back in April. So, since March. I am excited, looking forward to seeing how the continued training will go.  One of the biggest things that I have noticed this time is that need to supplement my runs.  Last week, for the first time, I tried these things.  Let me just tell you, these things are wonderful. They taste just like candy. Anyway, last week I tried them and while I didn't notice a huge difference with my run, I didn't notice any tiredness either; well compared to this run anyway.  For my run today, I didn't have them. I felt sluggish after it, and really really tired. Not like last week. So while I didn't notice a huge spike in energy last week, I definitely noticed how depleted I was this week. So, looks like those bad boys will be added to my running arsenal.

Since I am speaking freely about fitness and healthy eating, I also have noticed how the harder I work the hungrier I get. I believe it is called rungry. I don't want my appetite to offset all of the hard work I have been doing, so I try to eat healthier while making sure I am eating because I am hungry, not just because I am bored. So, instead of snacking on junk, I had some of this...

Ehh, I am surely not going to buy this brand again. I may either have to learn how to make my own, or buy a huge vat from Saladworks. It wasn't a pretty color nor did it taste as creamy as I think it should have.

Well, I better go. I have to keep up with my Sept Ab challenge that I am doing. Feel free to join in. Oh, and don't forget to check in to my other blog to see how the lovely M is doing!

Happy-Healthy-You