How I will stay on track this holiday season

 

Thanksgiving break has come, and as I plan our Thanksgiving Day menu I face the nutritional battle of the holiday season. Luckily, I've planned clean recipes for our dinner! With that being said, I know it is accountability that helps keep me on track. Like most people, I can't simply hold myself accountable. Self-accountability can only take you so far, unless you have super hero will power and strength. If that's you - consider yourself blessed and you can stop reading now. :) If that's NOT you, then you know just how important having some sort of accountability is. My son, my coaching, and my fellow Beach Body coaches help keep me accountable whether they know it or not! I love Challenge Groups, because you get that support form others who are working along with you. Also, it does exactly what it says - it CHALLENGES you. You have to WORK to get what you have and we all face challenges. When we go through challenges with others supporting us, then we are SO much stronger.

I invite you to join my newest challenge group that starts on December 2nd. Be healthy this holiday season, and join my 30-day Clean Eating and Shakeology challenge group. I'll help you stay on track and help you learn balance through out this season.

Busy times... Fitness updates

Whew - I've been INSANELY busy lately, but yes I'm still here. :) Between grad school and my own homework at the end of the semester, and teaching with rounding out the end of the semester there - I am one crazy lady. I have several new recipes (new to me, at least) that I will post soon! Homemade granola, anyone? Yes - that happened.

I'm ROCKING out my P90X/Turbo Fire program. It is crazy how strong your body gets! P90X Plyo is probably my favorite workout. It kicks my butt, but I get so excited when I see it on my schedule! It is the "mother" of all P90X workouts, because it works you so hard and is a major calorie burner! I LOVE IT! There is one exercise called "hot foot" that was always a killer for me. Partially because it was hard on the leg that I injured ( see my post on Injury and Set Backs), and because it just took so much strength and balance that I didn't have - plain and simple. There I was in my workout and I saw it was "hot foot" time. UGHHH - then the next thing I knew, I was doing it! And doing it right without problems, mind you. Just that small feat showed me just how far I have come in my fitness.

What feats (big or small) have showed you how far you have come in your own journey?

Race Prep

I spent a lot of time prepping for my race. Did I run? Yes. But, I was heavily focused on race apparel, today. :) This is my first Komen competitive race and I will be doing it for my mom, so I really want to go all out. I won't be in costume or anything, but I want to look pretty snazzy! I searched high and low for a race skirt.  I ended up ordering a a Pink Sparkle Running Skirt from Team Sparkle.

It's adorable! Surely the sparkles will make me faster. That's my theory, at least. I have been looking for tops, but I have something special in the works. I gave the idea to my sister, who will hopefully get my design in actions. She's far more creative than I, so I don't doubt she can pull off something spectacular. Besides, I mentioned "sparkles," which I am pretty sure is her magic word. :) I'm pretty darn excited!

I got a pretty good run in, tonight. I was pretty busy all day, so I didn't eat much. I was starving by the time I got home! I downed my supper and then headed to the gym. 1. I ate too much. 2. I didn't wait long enough after eating, before I ran. 3. I need to remember this - silly girl. This made for a pretty rough first mile and a half, or so. I ended up gliding through 3 miles, so I was pleased in the end. It is really hard for me to get a long run in at night, especially if I have worked all day. I am planning on about 6 miles this weekend! I had a pretty good weight session, but I didn't log what I did.

Back to Training

I've had a bit of a hiatus lately from the blogging world. I've been having problems with Blogger allowing others to view the blog and an illness in the family. As of lately I've REALLY got in to reading food blogs, more specifically, healthy and clean eating blogs. I've found the most WONDERFUL inspirations. My favorite thus far is for oatmeal. OK, well 2 favorites. I only have a picture of this morning's breakfast, though! It is SUPER simple.

Almond, Cherry, Banana Oatmeal

1 cup of quick cook oats cooked in water or almond milk
1 tsp of dried cherries
1 TB of almond butter (I used crunchy, this time)
1/3 of a banana, sliced

It was AWESOME! I've discovered almond butter in the past few months and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Oatmeal is my "thing," now. Since I've learned that I don't have to do the "prepackaged flavors," it has opened up a new world! I've even had oatmeal for my snacks or dinner. :) I can't stress enough how much I love it.

I've started training again for a half-marathon. I'm bound and determined to complete this, injury-free! :) I couldn't wait to start training so I ran a couple of times this weekend. I've been doing some Beach Body programs the past few months. I really enjoy them, but it's nothing like running trails! :) Fueling my body and runs right now is the foremost thing on my mind. Expect to see lots of food posts!!

Injury and set-backs

Ok, I’ve took some time off. I lost my momentum, really. I was injured on a run on January 21^st. Nearly 4 weeks later, I was finally diagnosed with a stress fracture. That explained a sheer inability to walk, function and sleep. In my mind, it is sort of like a being injured in the line of duty. If I were a soldier, I’d get a purple heart. In training, you get rehab. You only get medals if you finish a race. I’ve been doing some yoga to keep up my strength and doing the stationary bike. I LOATHE the bike. I’ve been itching to get back out and run, but it all got worse this weekend. Yesterday was the Little Rock Marathon. It was AMAZING! All of the runners (young and old) all of the energy from the runners AND those cheering them on. It was just incredible. I was SO happy to be there! The guy I’m dating was running in the marathon. It was so amazing to see all of those people working for their 26.2. My heart broke when I saw an older man (maybe in his 60s or 70s) that was taken off on a 4-wheeler. It looked like he had injured his ankle. I know how upset I have been to have been injured on week 14 of training. I can’t imagine the devastation of an injury during the race. Needless to say, my guy did a great job on his first marathon! He finished in 4:48 (that’s our guesstimate). Guesstimate because, he was slow getting to the start line and he forgot his CHIP. How? How? How? Also, his iPod wasn’t working. That shows how tough and determined he is, though. All of those factors working against him and he still finished with a decent time. That’s a much-deserved 8lb medal! I was on the fence before about a 13.1 tattoo, but after the trials and pain of injury (physically and emotionally) I think that will be one, hard-earned and well-deserved tattoo. I think a REALLY pretty 13.1 would be perfect. I think any 13.1 would be pretty at this point! I’ve already signed up for another half later on this year. My 2^nd to train for, and God-willing, the first one of me to run in AND finish.

Trails

Saturday I went out for my long run, an 8 mile trek. I made sure to hydrate the night before and had consulted with a friend about my possible route. Gu in hand, arm band w/ iPod on, I started out. I love a chilly morning for my runs! I started out on the roads. It was really cool to see my town up-close. The first 5 miles went by so quickly. After the 5th mile, though, I could feel my legs ache with each step. My town is full of trails for bikers, runners, etc. They are so awesome! I jumped on one of the trails and started my way through a neighborhood. This was full of those unassuming hills. You know those, the kinda that make you yell "EFF" when your trying to make it up. Admittedly, I walked up these hills. It was a great little run. I did right under 7 miles. I had to come home though, I was so achy and I had to pee really bad. I'm usually hard on myself if I don't do my planned mileage, but I am quite proud of my 7 miles.

Here is one hill. I was half way up and took a picture looking down.

And I still had this ahead of me. They look relatively unassuming from the pictures. I promise, they were hell.

When I got home, I iced my ankle for about an hour. I have an old injury, so anything past 4 miles, I need to ice it post-run. I usually run on the treadmill, so getting outside was so awesome. The treadmill, especially on the long runs, becomes so dull. I had another 3 mile run yesterday. Again, I took the trails. I went a different way though. Lucky for me, these run right behind my house. Its nice to just get outside and explore.

The running affair

While I was researching running and race tips, I came across so many blogs for runners. Many of these are experienced runners with multiple marathons, half marathons, 10k's, etc under their belts. Me, not so much! I decided I would start writing about my journey, the ups and downs and the lessons I've learned. Here's a bit of a history...
I started "walking" on the treadmill in junior high, just for sheer fitness. I remember I could get lost in the TV show or music I had on. Before I knew it, my time was up! I fell off the wagon in high school, and picked it back up in college. It was actually my "post-pregnancy" workout. The day the doctor cleared me to exercise, I stepped back on the treadmill. My walk became more of a powerwalk, but it helped me drop the pounds! 7 years later, I still used the powerwalk for exercise several times a week. I realised that obviously I was not challenging myself. I had toyed with the idea of running a half marathon, but I had never really got in to running.
In March of 2011, my husband left me and I had been (and continue to) deal with my mom's 3rd bout with cancer. I wanted to do something for me. Something to focus on. A hobby even. I joined a local gym (with childcare of course!) and decided to challenge myself. I started training to run a 5k in May of 2011. I used a plan that was provided by Weight Watchers. I remember looking at the suggest times for running, then jogging, then walking, then running again. I thought, "My God, I cannot do this! But, I will try!" I tried, and I did. Within a month I was able to run a 5k almost effortlessly. I then had the bright idea, I would train for a half-marathon. I don't want to do a marathon, I always said marathons were for crazy people. Don't get me wrong, I have several loved ones who are marathoners, but the intensity prior to and during race day is overwhelming. Yes, a marathon scares me. A coworker and I started talking about training. Its nice having some extra moral support on a virtually daily basis.
I'm now in week 10 of my training, and I've only had a few bumps in the road. I've discovered since I've become a runner, my asthma doesn't seem to like this cold weather + the new intensity. I have to use my medicine before my runs. This has hampered some of my long runs, I haven't got to my 8 miler yet. The farthest I have gone is 6.5. To me this is good, considering my impromptu training decision! I have an 8 miler this weekend and I'm hoping it goes well. Just a short run tonight, 3 miles. The short ones are nice, though. Like a quick burst of energy and fresh air (figuratively and literally). And so began my love affair with running.