Good-bye, so long 2013

How in the world is 2013 coming to a close?!?! WHERE did the year go?!?!? Well, it's the last day of 2013, so I wanted to take some time to reflect on the year. These were the goals I set for myself this year:

1. Run my first full marathon (probably in the fall)
2. Continue workout group at church
3. Continue running outside with running group
4. Take a yoga class
5. Make more of our dinners/eat healthier
6. Make a recipe off of Pinterest at least once a week.
7. My DREAM, which who knows if it will happen....to go on a yoga retreat

It looks like I really only accomplished 3 of those goals & the last one is debatable :/ I will say that I am OK with that though :) I feel SO proud of myself when I look back at the year.

• I ran my longest races this year, I did not accomplish a full marathon, but I ran two 25Ks, which is 15 miles. I am happy with that!! 
• I ran my first half marathon out of state. I will NEVER forget the Kentcuky Derby Half Marathon LOL I have wonderful memories of spending time with my BIL & taking the wrong turn & ending up on the FULL marathon course. 
• I started lifting, which has become my PASSION & LOVE!!
• I am a Train Dirty Fitness Ambassador AND certified to teach a TDF bootcamp. I NEVER would have dreamed that up for myself, so I feel incredibly blessed to have done those things :)
• I am working on getting certified to be a personal trainer & hopefully will accomplish that goal in 2014. 
• I attended the Inspiration & Perspiration conference in November & I met some AMAZING ladies and will probably never be the same b/c of them :)
• I have done a lot of things I NEVER thought I would do & have done things that I was scared of. I have a newfound confidence in myself and the things I can do. I am ready to conquer more fears in 2014!!!
• I had my first modelling job in 2013, and am now all over the website LOL
• I started the year off doing the Whole30 & since then ate clean MAYBE about 60% of the year. Another thing I didn't think I could do & yet accomplished in 2013!! :)

As you can tell, I am EXCITED about 2014!!! I feel like there will be a lot of new opportunities for me in the new year :) I am meeting with a guy from my gym on Friday who is opening up his own gym in Feb to see if there is something for me there. I am a little nervous, I don't want to work a whole lot more than I am now, I really want to be there for my kids. So that is something to take into account. Anyways, onto my list!!

My goals for 2014:

• get my Personal Trainer certification
• Lift heavy ALL year!!
• Eat clean 70/80% of the year & get my kids to each more vegetables & hopefully not cry when they see something green on their plates! HAHA
• Run a race or two
• Work in the fitness industry
• Go to the Train Dirty Fitness get together in the fall
• Use my TDF bootcamp certification, hold classes

That's about it!! I can't wait to look back in a year's time to see where life has taken me :)

Exciting things ahead

You guys, I LOVE lifting!!! It is seriously my passion :) I am in Stage 3 of the New Rules of Lifting for Women & it has been amazing!! My body is continuing to change as I gain strength. I am also in a group for accountability with eating clean (MotherPumper14by2014 on FB-- join if you want to be part of this great group of ladies!). We started last week & I am down 2 pounds since we started!! I have been maintaining since the summer, not really losing but not gaining either. I haven't been focusing on my diet like I should be & I think it's showed. I am fine with my weight actually, but I definitely want to eat clean through the end of the year & hopefully burn fat. I can't wait to start the new year feeling my best! :) We are also going on a cruise at the beginning of December, so I want to be looking good for that too LOL

I have loved being a Train Dirty Fitness Ambassador. Crystal, the founder of Train Dirty Fitness, has given us a lot of opportunities to partner with companies as well as try new products or get discounts on products. I am SO excited to be meeting her on FRIDAY!!! I am driving to Wisconsin to be certified to teach a Train Dirty Fitness bootcamp :) I can't wait to bring TDF to Chicago!!! I am hoping to get classes started in a school or church. I am still praying for opportunities to hold classes in the area.

I am ALSO going to the Sweaty Betties' conference, Inspiration & Perspiration, this weekend. It is a fitness & motivational conference. I am hoping to come back with a focus on my goals for 2014. I am SO excited to meet some awesome ladies that I only know through FB as well as network & meet some of my awesome fitness idols!! Life is getting exciting for me & I can't wait to see what the next year holds!! I am hoping to go back to school & get certified as a personal trainer or wellness coach within the next year & maybe start working at a gym. Things are a little up in the air in that area though.

As far as life, I am loving the Y! I have made some friends in the weight room, I love lifting with the old guys in the morning! They certainly make me feel good about myself. One old guy stopped me on my way to the treadmill the other day & told me that I had the best figure there!! I am still feeling good about that one, even though that's not what it's all about. I have to say that it's OK to let a compliment make you feel good, even days after it's paid! :) I am also loving the Yoga class at the Y. Our yoga teacher is just so gentle & relaxing, even though she pushes us to try new things. I think my favorite poses she's had us do are handstands & birds of paradise. They are crazy hard poses, and I am still working on them, but it is fun to try new things :)

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack

Whoa, it looks like I took a 3 month hiatus from the old blog!! Sorry about that. I honestly was struggling for awhile there though. After we moved I couldn't hit the weights & I wasn't motivated to run, so I took some time off :( We FINALLY got a membership to the Y in August & it's been awesome ever since!! I started a new lifting program in September & I'm just starting Phase 2 today :) I love seeing myself get stronger, I am writing down the weights I lift & it's been so cool to see where I started & where I am now. I've still been having trouble cleaning up my eating, but I am working on it. We're going on a cruise at the beginning of December & I want to look good for that!! :)

I also have some awesome news. I have been picked to be a Train Dirty Fitness Ambassador!!! What that means is that I get to promote the Train Dirty Fitness mentality; here it is in Crystal's own words:
TDF Ambassador: someone with a kick a$$ attitude who believes in the vision of TDF: #safeplace, free of judgement, everyone fits in, and health/fitness are consistent not quick fixes. 

It's been awesome to work with Crystal & be a part of her TDFA team :) The ladies there are amazing & totally supportive!! I love it. I am also planning on getting certified to train groups in Train Dirty Fitness bootcamps! That's coming up in November & I am putting together birthday money & Christmas money to do it LOL

Other than that, life has been interesting!! The girls started Kindergarten, which has given us all a new routine. Charlie is still at home with me all day, which is so fun. I even asked him this morning if he wishes he went to school, but he said he's happy being at home with me :)

Have a great week friends!!! I'm hoping to be blogging more, especially as I get more involved with TDF & look ahead to new fitness ventures!! 

July & a Giveaway!!

Hey fitness friends :) I hope everyone is doing well!! So we are finally at the mid-way point to 2013. How are everyone's new year's resolutions coming?? I have started training for my marathon!! I should be on Week 3, but only just started running again, regularly, last week. I joined a July challenge to run at least a mile every day & I figure that will help me get my training in check. I am excited!!

I am also excited b/c I have my very FIRST, EVER Giveaway!!! It is a new fuel company called Frog  Fuel. I am really looking forward to trying their products, especially with all of the running I'll be doing this month!!

From their website: Why use FrogFuel?

1. It's hydrolyzed. Faster absorption means better performance and quicker recovery!
2. It's a Pure Collagen Protein - Improved skin, muscle mass and tone, increased joint flexibility, healthier bones, arteries, hair, nails and eyes.
3. Contains Taurine - Help rebuild muscles faster!
4. Used in the health care industry and qualified as a medical food!
5. You can toss it in your go bag.

Pretty cool, huh?? I can definitely get behind this company & their product!! If you win the Giveaway, you will get 3 protein shots & a Frog fuel sticker. To be able to win, just take the quiz below & comment on the blog with the result you get!

Frog Fuel Quiz

I am will be choosing a winner TONIGHT at 9 PM!! So take the quiz ASAP & get back to me, let me know what your Fuel level is!!

Chicago Women's Half Marathon

I signed up for the Chicago Women's Half Marathon in December or January...as soon as it was possible. Last year was the first year for the race & they gave away yoga mats!! I am a sucker for cool giveaways & I love yoga mats...but this year we didn't get something as big. We got Sweaty Bands, which I never use, but I used the morning of the race & it truly didn't slip!! I was impressed, so I might need to get some more of those :)

Anyways, my goal was once again, to come in under 2 hours. I really do think I broke 2 hours in Kentucky, but since it wasn't my official time, I feel like it doesn't really count. I started off pretty well, I was running about 8:30 min/miles for the first few miles. I kept trying to slow down to conserve energy, but I could only slow down to 8:45 min/mile!! However, it was getting hotter as we ran (race started at 6:30 AM) & I haven't trained in the heat this year. In fact, I wasn't trained well for this race very well. The last run I had over 10 miles, heck, over 5 miles, was the Kentucky Derby Half Marathon, in April!! I had been lifting weights 6x a week in April/May, but not really running. I've run a few times since we moved & got in a 5 mile run last week, but that was it. I knew I would be pushing my body & most importantly, my mind to finish this race.

Quite a few times I wanted to give up, eventually, at about mile 8.5 I just wanted to finish!! I was done trying to come in under 2 hours. The sun was hot & the course went from shady/to open trail along the lakefront. I met a friend along the course at about mile 9, we had originally wanted to start together, but we didn't have each other's correct phone #s. We ran together for about a mile & a half, when she kept going & I started walking LOL I just really couldn't do it anymore. So the last few miles I ran/walked b/c I was just so hot & not in shape for the race.

I finished the race in 2:02:58. I am PROUD of that time!!! It is my fastest "official" time at a race, plus with being over heated & not really trained for the race, I am ecstatic!! Now I need to sign up for a fall race to really prove to myself that I can achieve a sub 2 hr half-marathon. I KNOW I can do it...I just want better weather to do it in. There are some halfs coming up this summer...but I feel like it would be even hotter in July/August. Plus, I would almost rather do trail runs than road races at this point. I just enjoy them more :)

SO-this whole race was awkward for me. My eye started watering in the car on the way to the race. It calmed down a little bit before the race, but once I started running, it was watering beyond my control. I literally had a tear coming down my face for almost the whole race!! Needless to say, my eye make up on that one eye was GONE, while the other eye had all of my make up on! LOL I looked horrible. Not to mention being hot & sweaty and stinky...OH MY..I was a hot mess! Literally!!! LOL I was embarrassed of how I looked, especially as I walked around after the race & picked up some goodies & talked with my friends. Ay yay yay, every race comes with a story, does it not?! Thankfully I had previously read a blog about a woman who started her period while running a marathon, which I kept reminding myself of when I felt embarrassed. At least that didn't happen to me...yet! BAHA!

20 mile run & new products!

Hey there!!! How is everyone doing?? I feel so bad for not being a better blogger. I keep meaning to do a new post, but there are only so many hours in the day & my life is full of kids to take care of and a husband who wants to spend time with me! It's good to be needed, but it makes it difficult to fit in everything that I want to do :)

SO- I have some news. I am one step closer to crossing off one of the things on my 2013 resolutions, I signed up for a 20 mile training run in September!! I am on my way to running a full marathon this year!!! I even found one that I want to do, it is in Indianapolis in October. The Chicago marathon is crazy expensive & was crazy to get into this year, there was a lottery this year due to their website being messed up when registration opened...anyways, I am getting excited!! I've taken a few weeks of from running, I've been concentrating on lifting more, but my training starts in June, which is quickly approaching. I can't believe we're over half way done with May! I am excited & nervous to train, to run further than I have ever run before. I KNOW I CAN do it, but it's still intimidating to think about. These legs are willing, but my mind is weak right now.

OK, SO, my new products :) There is a company called "NLA for Her" NLA for Her website & I had ordered some whey protein for them. Unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of the taste; I ordered it thinking that it would taste chocolate-y, but it tastes VERY cinnamon-y & I can't get over it. I contacted their customer support & asked if I could try their other products b/c I wasn't happy with their whey. I was thinking I would send their whey back to them, but they never asked for it back, so I've used it a few times more & I still don't like it LOL If I add a banana, some almond milk & peanut butter, I can make it taste OK, but it's still not my favorite.

The other products that they sent me were their aminos (to take when I work out) and their thermogenic fat burner. Let me tell you, I LOVE them!!! I really enjoy the Pink Lemonade flavored aminos, which are gluten free & sugar free. I end up filling up my water bottle A LOT, just so I can keep drinking them! LOL They increase endurance, build lean muscle & enhances recovery.

On to their fat burner, called Shred Her. I was curious to see how this works, since I am in the May challenge for the bathing suit & I really want to win!! So far, I haven't noticed any side effects, other than feeling amazing. I take one before I work out & then another one a few hours later. The ingredients include: Green tea extract, Raspberry ketones, caffeine, citrus aurantium extract & ursolic acid. I am hoping to see a big difference in my progress pics from May 1- May30, although I've only been taking these supplements for about a week.

the struggle

I went for a run yesterday, just me, my shoes & my Garmin. A perfect trio! :) Without my Ipod, I was able to enjoy the sound of the birds, I could focus on my breathing, I took in more of my surroundings than I normally do when I run with music in my ears. I loved it!! I did a quick 3.75 run, if I had to run longer, I might have wished for some music, but sometimes, it's better to enjoy the run, rather than try to tune it out. Anyways, it got me thinking about my "get fit" journey.

As I was running I saw a woman in front of me, she was walking quickly, obviously working out & had weights in her hands. I loved it!! I got excited to see her moving & taking her health into her own hands! When I caught up to her, she turned to look at me as I passed & I said "good job" and gave her a thumbs up :) Hopefully it was encouraging to her, but I don't know. It made me think of where I began.

I started getting interested in health & fitness a few years ago, after I had my son. I really wanted to lose the "last 10 pounds" and get back into pre-baby shape. I ate better & started doing workout DVDs & running again. I started to get serious about fitness when I came across cross fit in the fall of last year & really wanted to look like the cross fit girls. They were strong & healthy and looked amazing, no matter what age they were. Soon, I  felt called to begin a fitness ministry at church in the winter/spring of last year. Unfortunately, I took the summer off of working out/running & ran a few races in the fall, but that was about it. By the end of last year, I had gained back some of the weight I had lost & I was just feeling upset with myself. I felt like I always had to hide my tummy or mask my muffin top. I didn't like my thighs & I was self concious of how I looked.

I finally decided that what I was doing wasn't working, I didn't love myself, I was ashamed of myself & I decided that I HAD to do something different than what I was doing. That's when I decided to do the Whole30 in January. I lost 8 pounds that month & kept up with clean eating after the month was over. March was a little dodgy as I kind of ate a lot of crap, along with eating clean. In April I signed up for a detox/meal plan with Cathy Savage and have been following it since then. I am down to my lowest weight since even BEFORE getting pregnant with the twins in 2007.

I am finally proud of my body b/c it is a result of all of the hard work I've been doing this year. I am not totally to where I want to be, I don't necessarily want to LOSE weight, I actually want to gain weight b/c I want to gain muscle. I am working hard at lifting & fueling my body properly. It is a sacrifice b/c I have to give up junk like pizza, cookies, and sweets, but it is SO worth it!! My husband asked me if I felt deprived last weekend after we went out to pizza & I got spinach and a chicken breast and I could honestly tell him No. I remember how I felt about myself when I was eating junk & I don't want to feel like that anymore. I love how I feel about myself now!! It is definitely a motivator to keep going & keep working hard. I look back at pictures from Jan-Now & I love seeing the progress I've made! It makes me want to keep it up & be able to see even MORE change in the future months. :)

Protein Pancakes & bathing suits

So this morning I embarked on a culinary adventure!! I made protein pancakes for the very first time. I heard about them awhile ago, but never had the motivation to make them, although I've been intrigued by them for awhile. I found a recipe online that called for oats, eggs, greek yogurt, a few scoops of protein powder, some cinnamon, etc. It was pretty easy to threw together & it smelled delicious when I was cooking them in the griddle. The kids even came out of their room to see if I was making cookies LOL I had really high hopes for the pancakes b/c they smelled so good, but then when I took a bite, they were pretty dense & didn't really have a taste. I promise I put even more cinnamon than the recipe called for AND added a dash of vanilla, but those things didn't help with the taste. I am wondering if it would have tasted better to use vanilla flavored yogurt, instead of plain...I also want to try making them with a different flavor of protein. I used vanilla flavor, but I wonder if something bolder would have stood out more. Here's the pics of my pancakes this morning:

The pictures that motivated me to undertake protein pancakes had ooey gooey, creamy goodness all over them. http://well-girl.com/vanilla-chai-zucchini-pancakes/  At first I wasn't going to try any of that, however, when the pancakes turned out to be tasteless, I had to do something!! My sister had made me some sweet potato pancakes when I visited her in KY this weekend & she had made some YUMMY peanut butter creamy topping to go on them. I threw together what I thought she mentioned she had used to make the topping. I had to add water a few times to make it more gooey, and the topping tasted pretty good, although I used almond butter....so all in all, it was kind of a fail! It makes me sad b/c I was really hoping to find a new & yummy & high protein for breakfast. Now I want to try to make the sweet potato pancakes that my sister made me this weekend. They were sooo good!! Here's the recipe: http://www.sprint2thetable.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6038451

SO bathing suits....I already have a few, but the cleanse/detox group I am a part of started up a challenge for May. We are done with our cleanse & are working on our maintenance  and the leader of the group said that whoever has the best transformation pictures for the month of May, will win a FREE bathing suit!! I am SUPER excited, it finally gives me a goal to work towards LOL A lot of the people in the group are doing figure competitions, which is not something I'm currently doing, so they have a show date, which gives them more focus. I'm kind of just doing the maintenence to help me eat clean, but the challenge is definitely motivating me to clean up my diet even better than I have in April. So I told Nick, that for me, May would be a pizza-free month!! I did it in January, I know I can do it again. (we eat a lot of pizza in this house!) I am also trying to stick closer to the meal plan. Our meal plan has a cheat meal built in, but now I'm debating if I should even do those or not. I am trying to lift heavier so that my muscles will change even more than they have in the past few months. I really want to WIN!!

Kentucky Derby Half-Marathon

Hellloooooo!!! I feel like it's been awhile since I've been on here, but I was out almost all last week trying to recover from the Earth Day Race LOL I was.in.pain!! I don't think it was necessarily the 15 miles that did me in, I think it was those darn hills!! My leg muscles were sore for quite a few days after the race. I ran a mile for recovery last Monday & then I don't think I ran for the rest of the week. I did continue with my weight lifting plan though.

ANYWAYS, that's old news, the really exciting stuff I want to talk about happened this weekend!! I drove down to KY this weekend for a race. It was the first time I traveled for a race. Originally, my plan was for my younger sister to come with me & to stay with my older sister, but those plans changed due to flooding in the area & my younger sister's sewer backing up into her basement...yada yada yada, I ended up driving down alone! It was a 5 hour drive & it was lonely. I drove straight to the expo in Louisville, which was pretty  fun, but again, lonely doing it alone!! Everyone else had someone to talk to & by that time, I had driven 4 hours & just wanted to go to my older sister's house, which was still an hour away. I did pick up a cute running t-shirt along with my race packet, so that made me feel better LOL I got lost trying to leave Louisville & then I got lost driving to my sister's house (Google maps does NOT know the quickest way to get there!!), so my BIL offered to drive me to the race on Saturday morning. I GLADLY took him up on his offer, so that I wouldn't have to spend the morning alone, AND he knows his way around the Louisville area, so at least I wouldn't be late to the race or driving around trying to leave Louisville after the race.

We woke up at 5 AM (but it felt like 4 AM Chicago time!) and I got all of my race stuff together, but my packet didn't have any pins in it for my bib. My BIL couldn't find any around the house...so I just hoped that there would be some at the race. We drove and talked for the hour it took to get to Louisville & then as we got closer to the race, he let me jump out while he parked. My plan was to go to gear check  & then use the bathroom before it was time to race. I couldn't find the freaking gear check & I wandered around the Start along with many other people looking for the gear check. Finally, someone knew where it was, so I dropped by stuff off & picked up some pins for my bib! YAY!! However, there was a sea of people between me & the potties, so there was no way to go to the bathroom before the race! NOT COOL!

The race started & I was feeling good! I LOVED racing in a new city, looking at all of the sites & taking it all in. The people of Louisville were out, we never went long without coming across someone or a group of people cheering us on. It was really awesome. I held myself back through mile 5, I didn't want to go out too quickly & burn out towards the end. I felt good the whole time & was enjoying the race so much that I forgot we got to run into Churchill Downs!! When I saw that we were coming up to Churchill Downs at mile 8, I was SO excited. We didn't run on the track that the horses race on, we ran in the middle of the track, but we DID get to see some horses running, it looked like they were training, but it was SO exciting to be near the track of the Kentucky Derby AND to see the horses there too! :) I loved it.

This is where my race goes downhill. At mile 9, the marathoners & half-marathoners split up. Up to that point, we were all running together. The Half-marathoners were going to loop back up near the Start to go to the Finish line. The marathoners, however, were going to run another 3-4 miles AWAY from the Finish line, before heading back up to complete their 26.2 miles. Unfortunately, I ended up following the people in front of me, not really paying attention to where I was supposed to go & I ended up on the marathon course. I was still feeling awesome, I was even starting to ramp up my speed at mile 10, thinking that the finish was only 3.1 miles away! Looking back, I did wonder why there wasn't that many people along the route, cheering us on at mile 10, since we were getting close to the Finish line (or so I thought). Finally, we came upon Iroquois Park, which I KNEW was part of the marathon course & where there was a BIG HILL!! This was where I realize that I was NOT going the right way :( I continued through mile 11 and then I asked a runner next to me what race he was doing. He told me that we were doing the marathon!!! LOL

I stopped running to tell one of the police officers along the route that I was not supposed to be running the marathon, I had signed up for the half!! He told me that there was no way to get to the Finish line, but to keep going b/c I was half-way done! UMMM...he is obviously NOT a runner, training for a half-marathon is NOT at all like training for a full marathon!! I wasn't ready to make the 13 mile run back to the Finish line :( I kept going though, thinking that since I knew I wasn't close to the finish line, I could at least go to the bathroom & started looking for porta-potties along the route. No such luck :( I reached mile 13 & didn't know what to do!! I went a little further & there was another police man, along with a few cheering people & an ambulance! I figured they might take me away in the ambulance if I told them my situation. AGAIN, the police officer said that there was nothing he could do and that I should just finish the full marathon. UGH!!

One of the ladies who was there cheering for her husband over heard me talking to the police officer & told me she was heading to the finish line, once her husband ran by. FINALLY!! I only had to wait about a minute or two, he stopped by, she gave him a bar of some sort, he hugged his kids & then he was on his way. So we went back to her car, along with her 3 kids & we start to head to the finish line. Unfortunately, it was hard to find it since most of the streets were shut down due to the race. It was nice to talk to her, she had twin boys who were 10 & a little 5 yr old girl. So we chatted about twins & the difference between boys & girls. She was really sweet!! Our drive to the finish line took about an hour! My poor BIL was waiting for me to meet him at the runners' reunite meeting area. I told him that I would be done in an hour, but now it had been 3 hours!! I didn't have a phone on me, so there as no way I could let him know what had happened! :( I felt SO BAD for him!! When we got close to the finish line, I thanked the nice lady & ran off to try to get back into the race.

The first police officer I talked to told me that once I was off the course, I couldn't get back on :( I REALLY wanted to run through the finish line and get my metal at that point. I was SO upset about the way the race went. There was another man who I talked to, who went & talked to a few other people & they waved me into the race. I was FINALLY able to run through the finish line, with my official time being 2:49!! GAH!! A whole hour longer than my 13.1 run :( BUT I did get my metal & my BIL was right where we agreed to meet, so we could finally head back to my sister's house.

Thankfully I had my Garmin on & I was able to see that I definitely made my goal of finishing 13.1 miles in less than 2 hours, but it wasn't official :( I went from enjoying the race & loving every second of it, to my world crashing down as I realized I wouldn't finish at 13.1 miles & might possibly have to run a FULL Marathon!! CRAZY!!! I am finally at peace with how things went, but I really had to process my emotions about it. I was mostly disappointed with myself for not realizing sooner that I was on the marathon course. I hated the way I felt at the finish & wished I could have run triumphantly through the finish line under 2 hours. I am SO upset that it didn't happen that way, but I am also proud of myself for reaching my goal. It's a bittersweet feeling though. I am now on the lookout for another half-marathon to crush!!

Me with my medal after the race!

Earth Day 15 mile run

Today I ran a 15 mile race. I hadn't really thought about it or trained for it this month b/c of the flu & then the cleanse. It definitely showed!! I had a hard time making it through the last 5 miles, thankfully I was running with a buddy and with his encouragement, I was able to finish strong!!

The good things about the race were; it was a 5 mile loop that we ran 3 times. It was REALLY well marked, it was mostly dry, there was only 1 muddy spot. We stopped at the aid station 3 times & the people there were REALLY sweet & encouraging! It was great :)

The bad things were; the hills!! I was SO unprepared to run hills today. I tripped over a brand/tree root & I fell in the dirt. My legs were cramping SO BAD after the race, I couldn't sit, I couldn't walk, I couldn't stretch! NO matter what I did, I was in pain. It showed on my face & a kind soul had mercy on me & offered me some tylenol. I GLADLY took it & have been feeling awesome the rest of the day. Mental note for my next race: Pack Tylenol! LOL

So my next race is Saturday! HAHA! I am really excited about it though. I'm driving down to KY with my younger sister & we're going to stay with my older sister. I am so excited at the prospect of a sister weekend!! I am running a half-marathon down there & part of it is on the Kentucky Derby race course! I am super excited about it. It's a road race, so it will definitely be a smoother course than the trail run I did today. I am learning to love trail runs though, they are more intimate & you get CANDY at the aid stations :) My meal plan was lifted for today & I definitely ate candy at the race. If you can't eat it when you're running 15 miles, when CAN you eat candy?!?!

The Cleanse is OVER!!!

So Tuesday was Day 7 of my cleanse and it.was.HARD!! It was a deep cleanse day, which means, NO MEALS :( I did get to have 2 shakes & 2 chocolate/green tea treats (which were HEAVEN!) but that was it for "food". I started the Maintenance program yesterday, which is 30 days & it consists of 6 small meals a day, so I'm eating about every 2-3 hours. I am still getting shakes a few times a day, but I finally get to have a breakfast that I can CHEW! It's awesome LOL Plus, I get 2 dinners, it's pretty awesome LOL I am loving it!!!

So the results from the detox/cleanse are in. I lost 3 pounds total, I lost an inch from my waist & an inch from my hips!! AMAZING!!! I am seriously happy with the results :) It makes me determined to stick close to the maintenance program so that I don't go crazy & gain a whole bunch of weight back. I want to keep up the results & hopefully gain muscle. I saw something earlier this week that said for my body type, an ecotmorph (naturally thin, with long limbs), to gain muscle, I need to be eating a lot of small meals. I haven't tried that before, so I am looking forward to seeing the results at the end of the month!

So I might be slightly obsessed with buying workout shirts with cute sayings on them LOL When Nick sees that I bought another one, he always asks "what does this one say?" HAHA. So here's the pic of all of my cute work out tees. I didn't realize it, but I was missing one from the pic:

Here is me in my newest one:

 I love it! And I plan to get a workout in wearing it today! I can't wait :) 

Grieving for Boston

I am still in shock & grieving over what happened at the Boston Marathon yesterday. As a runner, the bombs hit a little too close to home. This could have been any race....

As I posted on my health & fitness page on Facebook, a race is not a one time event for runners. It is the culmination of hours of training, eating right, focusing on form, and sometimes even blood, sweat & tears. What should have been a joyful ending to a prestigious event was marred yesterday. Runners consider it an honor to run the Boston Marathon. You have to qualify to run the race & you hear rumors of Heartbreak Hill & just flying out to run a race has a certain glamorous air to it. So it is sickening to think that what should have been a joy filled event for every runner of that race was reduced to a terrifying event. To think that some runners, so close to crossing the finish line with their arms raised high & a smile on their faces, were instead thrown to the ground, hit with schrapnel and sent into a panic. It just kills me. I've heard that the bomb even seems to have been made to go OUT into the race, it didn't even go through 2 pains of glass of a nearby building, it was loaded with extra bbs just to create more damage. These were runners, their friends, their families, people who gathered to celebrate an athletic accomplishment, there was no ill will towards ANYONE running yesterday & instead those people were hurt & some even killed. It was a completely senseless crime. I don't understand why it happened.

To this end, I am fired up, even more than ever to run in Boston some day. I would LOVE to be there next year, but that would mean running a marathon this year with a qualifying time. I am not sure I can do that yet :( I am resolved to volunteer at the Chicago Marathon this year, I didn't even try to sign up, and after all of the craziness surrounding the lottery and all of that, I was glad I didn't. However, I want to support our community of runners, I want to be a voice & take a stand against these kinds of senseless acts of violence. I know it is a small act, but I am wearing a race shirt today to support the runners of the Boston Marathon. It is not much, but it is what I can do right now. I love runners, they are accepting & kind people. The crowd that gathers at races are always encouraging & uplifting, runners that finish their race, generally stick around to cheer on those that are still running. It is a good group of people & I am proud to count myself among them.

Cleanse Day 6!!

I'm on day 6 of the cleanse!! YAY!! I have to say, it was a lot easier when I had the flu & didn't want to eat any real food LOL I definitely noticed that it was harder to not eat food that you chew a few days ago. Now I am fantasizing about donuts, oranges, cereal, ANYTHING!! It makes it hard that my kids are eating all of the time. Even if it's fruit, I want it! The cleanse is going fine though, I tried beets for the first time and quinoa. Hard to believe, but I've never had quinoa before. It was delicious. I will probably add it in small amounts to my diet after this.

So the cleanse is a lot of drinks, I'm not sure what I expected when I signed up for the cleanse. It surprised me how little we get to eat & how much we drink! My favorite is a green tea drink that you can add cold or hot water to. The tea with hot water is my favorite evening snack! There are these delicious little chocolate treats, but you only get 1 a day :/ On the deep cleanse days, you get a few more, but that's the only food you chew on those days. I can't believe I made it through this week! Nick took the kids out for pizza & ice cream Friday night. Guess what I had? I brought a shake with me & sipped on that while everyone ate their food. Thankfully their meal kind of grossed me out b/c I knew there was no nutritional value to it. I wasn't too tempted thinking of how I would feel afterwards, if I ate the meal with them.

SO- tomorrow is our last cleanse day & it's a deep cleanse, meaning no food :( I will be hiding out in the house all day. I can imagine that I will be a little cranky LOL BUT on Wednesday I get to go back to eating. YAY!! I start the maintenance schedule of 6 small meals a day. I can't wait, I'm really looking forward to it. This has been an interesting experience. I am glad I tried the cleanse, I know it has helped me get closer to my goal of burning fat & adding muscle. I have lost 2 pounds doing the cleanse & before I even started I lost 2 pounds from the flu, so I am down a total of 13 pounds since January!! So I am where I want to be in fat loss & now I need to focus on building muscle. I read an article today that outlines different body types & what kind of exercises & nutrition you need to build muscle for those body types. Turns out I am an ectomorph, which has a hard time gaining muscle, which means I am supposed to eat a lot of small meals. Perfect!! That's already been my plan :) So I hope to see a difference in my muscles when I am done with the plan, in May.

Cleanse Day 2

Today is Day 2 of my Isagenix cleanse with Cathy Savage. I have never done a cleanse before, so I didn't really know what to expect. Basically I have regimented meals & supplements and then I also got a workout schedule to go with it. I am supposed to eat my meals at specific times & take supplements at specific times & then do specific workouts each day. The spacing between the meals is important, I guess, I think it has something to do with blood sugar levels or something, I am actually not really sure. Anyways, I got my big box on Tuesday & was excited to see all of the stuff in it :) it's been interesting using all of it b/c I feel like a professor mixing things & measuring them LOL However, I've been sick with the flu, so it hasn't been all that fun :/

The meals for the cleanse have specific timing, but I napped a couple times yesterday, which spaced out my meals weird. THEN the biggest thing I did was not take my pre/post workout supplements correctly b/c it was placed in the schedule in the afternoon & I workout first thing in the morning, so I was looking at the morning part of the schedule rather than the afternoon part of the schedule. Sheesh! All of this stuff is complicated. Thankfully I've been home yesterday & today and that's made it quite easy to get all of my meals/shakes/supplements in, I can't imagine having to bring all of this stuff with me when I'm out, to keep with the timing, so we'll see how tomorrow goes when I have Bible study!

Honestly, I can't tell if I have more energy/feel great on the cleanse b/c so far I haven't felt that great, but that's b/c I've been sick. I DID workout today & yesterday though. Yesterday was supposed to be a cardio day, but my stomach was upset, so I just did weights. Today was a lower body work out, which I did & then I tried to get a run in. BAD IDEA! I ran for 15 minutes before feeling awful, so I stopped & started to walk upstairs when I got light-headed and dizzy & I ended up throwing up :/ NOT COOL!!

I am hoping tomorrow is a better day & that I feel better. I am looking forward to the workout schedule that has been put together, the cardio looks different & fun from what I normally do (running on the treadmill), I think my normal workout room companions will think I am crazy, but I want to do everything the schedule says! The strength portion of the workouts seems cool too, I think there are some new & different moves than I've been doing from the plan on bodybuilding.com. I love learning new things, so I'm really looking forward to these new moves in my repotiore!

Here is the schedule I've been following for the last two days, the meals & the workouts:

And here are my trusty supplements/shakes/etc:

Happy Monday!!

Oh Monday, the day everyone loves to hate! Well, the sun is actually shining right now, after a big rain storm, so that makes me happy :) I am also excited about a few things happening this week!! But first let me tell you a little bit about the 5K I ran on Saturday.

I signed up to run the 5K b/c a friend of mine from church was putting it on. It is for a small Christian school & I wanted to do it to support my friend and the school :) Well, I am SO happy that I did!! I got a PR for the 5K! I started out in front & a girl ended up catching up with me, so instead of let her pass me, I ran with her at her pace. It turned out that we finished the first mile in 8 minutes! That is WAY faster than I normally run, so I held back a little back & went down to a 8:20/8:30 minute mile for the next few miles, but when we got to about 2.5 miles, I started picking up the pace, knowing that the finish would be coming up quickly. I ended up finishing the 5K in 25:59!! WHAT?! That is insane!! A few years ago, my goal was to finish in 30 minutes & I blew that out of the water! I was telling my sister last week that I could probably finish in 27 minutes, so that was my goal this time around, even that goal was demolished! I am SO happy :) I never thought I could run that fast!!

SO- about this week....I am starting another challenge, this time it is with a respected fitness competition coach, Cathy Savage. I bought some Isagenix products from her, there is a pre-workout & post-workout supplement, some protein & a bunch of other stuff. I am excited to have this opportunity to learn more about how to use supplements b/c I have only just started using them and am only using protein right now. I definitely want to learn more!! Anyways, she is also providing a grocery list, a nutrition guide & a workout guide as well. I am really hoping to see some great results b/c I know her girls kill it on the fitness competition stage :) I would LOVE to compete someday, but Nick isn't 100% behind that, so for now I am just training & hoping to change the composition of my body to be more muscle mass & less fat.

The OTHER thing I mentioned in my last post that I was excited about was becoming a Body FX rep. I signed up for FREE!! Body FX is a new fitness company that launches TODAY!! I was really excited about it b/c the products are all gluten free, they use natural sweeteners such as Stevia for their products & the main DVD they are selling now is JNL Fusion by Jennifer Nicole Lee who was a contributor to Bodybuilding.com AND was a fitness competitor!! How amazing is that?!?! I am seriously behind this company ALL THE WAY, but Nick didn't want me to be a rep anymore due to the fact that he was worried I would be pressuring friends & family to buy the product. My approach would not be to pressure people but to be so enthusiastic that they would want to try it out themselves! Anyways, I had to step down from that b/c I respect my husband & what he wants for me & our family....BUT I believe I can still sign people up to purchase if they want to?? I'll have to check in on that. Here are the DVDs that will be available & I'll see if I can find a link to the supplements. BodyFX DVDs Here is an amazing video about the supplements!! It gets me excited :) BodyFX Supplements

Those are the things that are getting me excited this morning!! I hope you are excited to begin a new week, a new DAY to work hard & meet your goals :)

Happy April!!

Can you even believe it's April?! Where did March go?? I feel like it was a crazy, whirlwind month! I had a baby shower & birthdays galore! Speaking of birthdays, yesterday, along with being Easter, was my husband's 31st (golden) birthday!! As you can imagine we celebrated him all day long! I made him a special breakfast that he requested (creme brulee french toast), which is basically sugar crusted bread LOL We went to my parent's house to celebrate Easter after church & we had snacks, I may have eaten a few M&Ms too. Then we had a super yummy healthy meal, I had a chicken breast, a salad, sweet potato fries & asparagus. It was SO yummy, but then the cake came out...it WAS a gluten-free cake...but STILL. After we left my parent's house, we went to my IL's house for cake to celebrate my husband's birthday. By the time dinner rolled around, I was SO full of cake that I couldn't even eat anything. It was insane I tell you!!

Thankfully my kids had their regularly scheduled day at preschool today, so I got to run outside!! They had spring break last week and I wasn't able to get outside at all other than that to run. Anyways, it has been awhile since I've been able to run around outside, I did a quick 5K & finished in 27 minutes!! Awesome!! My pace was sub 9 minute mile!! SWEET!! I think that's the fastest I've ever run a 5K :) Now to get there on my longer runs.

I was thinking of doing the Whole30 challenge again this month, but I found another challenge that I am going to do, that I am super excited about! I also have an opportunity that I am exploring now & am getting excited about :) I'll be able to talk more when I learn more!! All in all, today was a good start to a new month, with lots of things to look forward to.

Update

I am sitting here & all is quiet. That is RARE in this house. We live in a small space with 3 kids, so it's not often that SOMEthing isn't going down. I am waiting for more people to wake up so I can make my protein shake. I love it & always look forward to it on days when I lift weights!

I got up to workout this morning feeling really tired. I didn't get to bed at a decent time last night, but we HAD to catch up on Celebrity Apprentice AND watch just one more episode of Prison Break. Not to mention a certain SON of mine came into bed with us last night...AGAIN, which always interrupts my sleep. SO, my 5:25 wake up call this morning was feeling super early today. I didn't get to workout yesterday though & I was feeling off all day, so I KNEW I had to get up & get at em this morning to start off the day on the right foot. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill & did my Monday plan from Bodybuilding.com. Gotta love the plan! I am on week 2 & I am excited to see how things look by the end of week 4. THEN, I started a new plan for weeks 5-8. I'm so excited about this lol I bought  a new swimsuit last night, so I am feeling really motivated to keep up the plan & rock the pools this summer :)

I have NOT been clean eating lately. Yesterday was really off. The kids are on spring break, so they didn't have preschoool in the morning. It was a relief not to have to be anywhere in the morning, BUT we didn't have anything to do either, so I took the kids out to Chik Fil A. They like the play place there & the staff is so helpful with kids. I ended up ordering my old stand by, the chicken nugget meal with Coke. It was the first time I had Chik Fil A in 2013 & the first time I drank pop in 2013. I was hoping to go longer, but I WILL say, that I didn't love the pop or the fast food & it was only one meal yesterday. I had a clean breakfast & dinner, although we did make Smores in the microwave for dessert LOL See? Yesterday was not the best day for eating for me. However, today is a new day, with new choices to make & I can do better today :) I am actually looking forward to re-doing the Whole30 in April to give me more structure.

Random

I am TIRED! I've been getting up earlier to get a run AND weights in. I love it, but I do end up feeling sleepy by mid-day. I've been weightlifting more to build muscle & burn fat. I printed off a plan from bodybuilding.com and am finding it fun & nostalgic. We did weight lifting in HS gym class & it reminds me of that! This is just my first week of lifting using the bodybuilding plan, I am curious to see what muscles develop in the next few weeks!

I am excited & thrilled with all of the people I know who are doing the Whole30 Challenge!! I love that more & more people are taking charge of their health & eating habits and trying something new & different. I am thinking of doing it again in April, so please let me know if you want to do it with me. One of the biggest things to help you get through the challenge is support! I am here to support anyone who needs it in March & will gladly ask for some support as I take on the challenge again in April :)

I have been meaning to share about THIS!

Pink Himalayan salt. OH.MY.WORD! It is heavenly. I know that salt is a simple thing & you normally don't even notice it until you use it incorrectly. WELL, my friends, pink Himalayan salt will totally change your mind! It's not that is has an overwhelming taste or anything, it DOES taste like normal salt, it is just so far & above normal salt in a way I can't even describe. It truly adds magic to anything you make with it. Think I'm being dramatic?! I dare you to buy some for yourself and see!! I bought this glorious bag at a local international store for about $2.50 but I saw crystals the other day at Trader Joe's for more than I paid & you got a LOT less :/ So it might not be feasible for everyone to buy some, but if you can, I highly recommend it! 

Eggs

On the Whole30 or paleo diet, eggs are pretty much a staple for breakfast, however they can get boring. In January, I started off making an old standby, the "Paleo pancake" which I found floating around the web. It's basically eggs & bananas mashed up together. I would fry that up in my coconut oil, since it left a sweet after taste & then top it with fruit, blueberries & strawberries were my favorite. After a few weeks of that, I got bored of it though & started making my sweet potato hash & topped it with a few scrambled eggs. That was good too and would keep me fuller, longer, so I continued that for breakfast through January & February.

Then I started seeing things on Pinterest &  people posted it to my wall a few times, of eggs cooked in a muffin tin with bacon wrapped around it. I am not doing bacon in March, just to try to cut out some fat from my diet, but I've also seen prosciutto used in place of bacon. I got the nerve up to try to make my own egg "muffins" on Sunday. I had found some prosciutto where the ingredients were only ham & salt. Those ingredients are even Whole30 compliant! I was excited to try something new in the way of eggs. Anyways, I covered the bottom of a few muffin tins with the meat & then mixed together some red pepper, onions & a few eggs in a bowl. I then poured the egg mixture into each "meat cup" & then baked it for about 15 minutes. I made some this morning too & I have to say, that it is a yummy, protein packed way to eat eggs in the morning. Plus, you can switch it up by using different veggies or even making it sweet by adding a banana & fruit in there (I wouldn't recommend wrapping that in bacon or prosciutto though!) Here are a few of my beauties from this morning.

Paleozoic 25K & future races

Things have been crazy around these parts lately! I wasn't home at all last week, so I apologize for the lack of updates. Anyways, yesterday was a fun but exhausting day. I ran my first trail run!! I have been training on the trail for over a year, but have never done a trail run. It was an intense experience.FOR.SURE! It was rainy/snowy a lot this week, so I knew the conditions of the trail would be rough, actually the official website for the race said that it would be "challening" after going over the route Friday night. It was EXTREMELY muddy, I even heard my friend running at one point b/c the mud was so thick!! It was also snowy/icy at some parts & there was even standing water here & there too. Our feet were definitely wet & muddy! These are my feet, they were muddy THROUGH my socks & shoes. GROSS!

The best part of trail runs are the aid stations. We went through 3 and folks, there is CANDY at the aid stations!! At some longer runs they even have pop along with the standard gatoraid & water. I definitely took the M&Ms & gummy hearts at each aid station LOL If you can't eat candy when you're running, when CAN you eat candy?! 

This was the inaugural race, so there were some kinks to iron out. One of the most glaring is that the trail was not properly marked all along the way. At one point my friend & I came to a fork in the trail, we were about to turn left, when a whole group of people came from that way saying they were 60% sure we needed to be going the other way! lol So we followed the group, not even knowing if they were right or not, but the chance seemed to be in our favor ;) My friend & I ended up cutting of 2 miles from our run though. There was a "back" 5 miles that we were supposed to run, and at another fork in the trail we started going left when we saw flags to the right. We had been told the trail would be marked with orange flags, which we saw to the right, so we ended up going right instead of left & cut off a couple miles from the run!! But we are proud of our awesome run & good finish :)

I have to say, now that it's over, I'm sad we lost those miles, but at the time, I was totally fine not doing them LOL It was a hard race, the trail was yucky & muddy, it was cold & there were a lot more hills than I was used to. When we ended up shorter than we were supposed to, I was OK with being done lol I definitely had a good experience though & I could see a trail run being really nice in the fall, when the weather is a little better. I was delighted by the aid stations & I LOVED the small atmosphere of the race along with the friendly people. I made a few friends standing in line for the porta potty LOL It was really cool & I'm glad that I did it!! I'll have to do a few more trail runs this year for sure.

Next up, I am going down to Kentucky for a half-marathon. I am planning on going down with my sister & staying our older sister. I am excited for the race b/c part of it on the Kentucky Derby race track! SO fun, right?! Then I found a marathon in May that I still need to register for & I have another half-marathon coming up in June. I'm excited to be busy & keep up running and working out. I always need a reason to keep doing it, so I like to register for as many races as possible :)

Updates!

There have been a few changes around these parts. I have to admit, I am not doing the Whole30 Challenge anymore. I had an epic fail Saturday night & ate some pizza when we were out as a family. I tried to get back in the saddle on Sunday, but we had a birthday party and I quickly realized how many birthday parties/baby showers/celebrations I had in March and how difficult it would be to stay on the Whole30 for the whole month. I KNOW I could do it, but is it worth it?? I believe in the challenge & I LOVED the results I got from doing it in January. The thing is, I was super stressed about it this time around & was having a hard time with cravings, I didn't want to spend the whole month feeling that way. I am more interested in keeping my eating clean when NOT on the challenge, when I am left to my own devices and have the liberty to eat whatever I want. I want to CHOOSE to eat clean & prove to myself that I can do it even when I'm not following the Whole30 program. SO- there you have it folks. I am spreading my wings & trying to do it on my own.

Other than that, I have a race on Saturday. It's my first 25K (15.3 miles!) & it's a trail race. My running buddies & I generally train on the Des Plaines River Trail, but I think the one we are racing on has more hills. EEP! I'm nervous about the terrain. I am excited to try something new though. All of my previous races have been road races, so this one will be a whole new experience. I do have to say, the closer it gets, the more nervous I get. I am nervous about the weather holding out, we seem to have a lot of flurries & rain in our future and I am worried that the trail will be miserable. I am sure it will be dirty, hopefully not crazy muddy though. This will be the longest race I have ever run, I'm just glad that I'm doing it with my running buddies, I will have support & good conversation. Plus, I know that when I do something new & prove to myself that I can do it, I feel awesome. I really hope to have a successful race on Saturday!!

I need something to boost my morale. I've been feeling low lately. I am just really hoping to find my niche in the fitness world soon. It's too soon for me to be looking for a job, since none of my kids are really in school yet & I don't even WANT to work until they're all in school. However, I feel stuck. I feel like I'm not really moving ahead in any area. I would love to somehow learn more & become a part of something bigger. If you think of it, please keep me in your prayers, I am waiting for God's timing & leading in my life, but it is hard to wait & I am losing heart while I wait.

I cheated

I cheated, I fell off the wagon, I am back on Day 1 of the Whole30 :( I ate some pizza last night. We went out to Piece Pizza yesterday and before we left, I looked at their menu, I saw a salad that looked decent & so we were out the door. Well, things didn't go as planned from there.

There is this huge wait when we got there & we ended up waiting for well over an hour, with 3 little kids. Yikes! Plus, there's really no "waiting" area, so we were amid all of the tables that were being delivered their delicious pizzas. The smell of pizza was everywhere & did I mention that I felt like I was going to faint b/c I was so hungry?! I told Nick a few times that we should just leave, I knew I wouldn't be able to withstand the pizza that we were going to order once we sat down.

FINALLY, we were seated. I DID order my salad, I asked for no cheese, but forgot to ask them to hold the candied walnuts (sugar everywhere I tell ya!), which I DIDN'T eat, Nick snacked on those. But the whole salad was covered in dressing. I could tell it was a sugary dressing too b/c the Whole30 has given me super sugar tasting abilities LOL So I was eating the salad, but I knew I had already eaten all this sugary dressing, so I figured I may as well eat the pizza too since I would have to start over today anyway.

Let me tell you, it was GLORIOUS!! The last time we ate at Piece Pizza, I remember not being too impressed, but this time it was delicious. I tasted everything, the cheese, the crust, the sauce, the pepperoni, it was all soooooo yummy. I have to say, I am happy that I ate it LOL The 2 times I ate pizza in February, when I was off the Whole30 challenge, I wasn't too impressed. It was good, but not like this pizza, which was what dreams are made of ;) To be fair, I do have to say that it sat like a lump in my stomach all night & I did gain 2 pounds in water weight from the carbs or whatever.

This time around, my experience with the Whole30 Challenge has been a lot different than it was in January. It.is.a.STRUGGLE! It has been so mentally hard this time around. I didn't go crazy in February when I was not doing the challenge, I basically ate the same as in January, but I did add in daily chocolate. I had pizza a few times & a couple sandwiches for lunch, but I didn't binge on anything. I was shocked that it has been so hard, BUT I think my body IS craving the sugary/carbs more because it HAS been so long since I've had them. I have been craving pastries like mad, I keep wanting donuts, but I can't even tell you the last time I even ate a donut! I don't eat those things regularly. It is insane.

I am back to Day 1 & I am so sad. This is a timeline that someone wrote up about the different phases while on the Whole30: Whole30 Timeline. I was in that Day 8-15 range where your food cravings rival that of pregnancy. I NEVER had that phase last time, at least that I remember, so if I did, it wasn't that bad. This time was cray cray BUT I was ALMOST to the freaking Tiger Blood stage. Oh, how I want to get to that Tiger Blood stage again LOL It is amazing, I KNOW how good it can feel to eat clean & have all of that energy, SO I will work hard, to get past all the yuckiness...AGAIN....to hopefully have a successful 30 days this time around. My only question is, am I on round 2 still or does this make me on Round 3??

Macadamia Nut Oil

As I've mentioned before, I am doing my 2nd round of the Whole30 Challenge. On the challenge, you are limited to what cooking oils you can use, no seed oils or butter. Extra virgin olive oil is approved, so I used that in cooking a lot in January. Now, I KNOW you're not supposed to use EVOO when cooking with high heat, it has a low burn point & can create toxins in your food. :/ Skurry, right?! I don't want to ingest toxins when the whole point is to EAT CLEAN! I would eat blueberries & hope that their antioxidants would fight off those toxins from the EVOO.

Anyhow, when I decided to do the Whole30 Challenge again, I didn't want to worry about that. I wanted to be smarter when I cooked with oil, so I researched & bought some macadamia nut oil. It's has a HIGH burn point, so it's fine to use on the stove top. I just made my first meal using macadamia nut oil, I crusted my chicken in almond meal & also made some balsamic kale. So YUM! I gotta say, macadamia nut oil is GOOD! I figured it would have a nutty smell, which is the first thing I did when I opened it BAHA. I had looked into avacado oil as well & some of the reviews said that it had a rancid smell or left a bad aftertaste, so I steered clear of that. I don't know if it was a certain brand that was bad, but I didn't want to chance it. I was buying the oil off Amazon & I didn't want to have to ship it back & buy something else. I don't notice much of a flavor, even on the Kale. It is super delicious & it's healthier to use while cooking! I love it.

On a funny note, both macadamia nut oil & avacado oil came up under health & beauty too! I guess they use those oils in a lot of hair care & facial creams. I guess what's good enough to go IN your body & is good enough to go ON your body too ;)

treadmill talk

We're experiencing a BAD snowstorm in Chicago today. I headed down to the treadmill this morning & I have to say, although it is convenient for a mom of 3 to get a workout in while the kids sleep, it is not my favorite way to run. I love being outside, the changing scenery, the elements, just the freedom of it all. I ran cross country in Highschool for 3 years  and could only take track for 1 season. I just couldn't handle the monotonous running around the track, I ran the mile, so it was 4 times around. UGH, the.worst! Anyways, the treadmill reminds me a lot of the track. It's just the same thing over & over. We've lived in our loft for over 5 years and just a few months ago we FINALLY got TVs in the workout room.That HAS made it better, but I still can't go more than 5 miles on the treadmill. Who are these people that can go over 9?! Insane, I tell you! Tomorrow will be another treadmill day, which sometimes I don't mind, I do appreciate the controlled climate of our workout room, as opposed to the very cold weather outside.

Do you talk to people around you while you work out? I am curious, b/c there are a few regulars who are down in the workout room in the mornings when I go down, but we've never talked to each other! I look at them & smile if they catch my eye, but no one has ever introduced themselves to me & I would feel weird being the one to do that. I would love some pointers on gym etiquette! :)

In other news, I am getting faster & I am SO happy!! I always jack up the mph on the treadmill so that I am not going to same speed for a whole workout, I always try to go faster at the end. Anyways, I am beginning to notice that my old "fast" pace is now my normal pace. I am at a 9 minute mile now, when just last year I was at a 10 minute mile. I ran the Turkey Trot 10K at a 9:15 mile pace & I was ecstatic, now when I run outside, I can go ever faster than that!! I can't even imagine running under a 9 minute mile pace, but I am hoping it will happen this year, if I keep my training up. I have run every day so far in March ;) I ran ALMOST every day in February, I think I missed either 5 or 6 days, but out of 28 days in the month, that's not SO bad. I can definitely tell that it's helping me get my pace up there.

Goals & being an example

I've been unmotivated lately. That's not to say that I haven't been continuing the Whole30 Challenge or working out...I have been, but the desire hasn't been there :( Today should be day 4 for me on the Whole30 Challenge, but I messed up on the 2nd day, so it's really day 3 for me. Anyways, I don't know if that's why it's been so difficult for me, I hope so because that means that this will pass & I'll get fired up again. I am struggling like mad with sugar cravings. That makes sense since that's what I added back into my diet once January was over. I have been able to resist temptation so far & I'm thankful for that! I can't wait to get over these first few days & start to feel amazing.

Today I needed to run 8 miles. I have to admit that I KNEW I should & I KNOW it is part of my training, but did I want to?! NO! It was cold out & I would rather have sat in a coffee shop & done my Bible study. However, mind over matter & I start to run. I have to say, that's the hardest part, the starting....but once I started I just kept going. I am also thrilled to say that my pace is picking up. I'm getting faster!! I now run about a 9 minute mile!! SWEET!!! I am so excited to run my half-marathon in April & get a sub 2 hour time. That was my goal last year & I never achieved it, so I would love to accomplish that this year.

So I have to say, I love living a healthy lifestyle. I love eating clean & I love working out. I love the way I feel when I am living this way, but like I said above, it's not easy. The thing that keeps me going are goals. I love to have have something to train for & look forward to. I also love that I know I am being a good example for my kids. I've said before that I don't tell them I'm on a diet, I tell them I am eating healthy. They know I run & workout & I am excited that my girls have said that they want to run with me someday. I try to keep healthy food around the house & we talk about what is good for them to eat & what isn't good for them. I really want them to grow up to love a healthy lifestyle, to move & be involved in sports. I want them to eat right for their bodies. This is not something I obsess over or emphasize to them, but the conversation is started & I am being the best example I can be for them. So hopefully for them it will eventually be a way of life.

Whole30 Round 2!

Today is Day 2 of my second round on the Whole30 Challenge & I have failed!! I ran out of my wonderful & lovely coconut aminos & used soy sauce for our dinner tonight. Sadsies!! So I am starting again tomorrow & going through the 31st. Anyways, I am feeling pretty good, I am eating pretty much what I was eating before, so it's not a huge change for me. The only thing I am really missing is my evening dark chocolate :( However, I know it's ONLY 30 days & I can make it through!!

So I am feeling pretty discouraged lately. The fitness convention I mentioned in a previous post is next weekend & it doesn't look like I'll be going. We missed the early bird cut off of Feb 28th for cheaper admission & now just one day is almost what the cost of 3 days would have been. It's hard to want to do something that will feed your passion & goals for yourself & yet not be able to do it. I am feeling like I have no direction & will never be able to meet my goals. I don't know if I am pushing to go too far, too quickly & I just need to slow down to meet my goals, or if I will just not be able to do it. Right now I am terrified that I will never be able to meet my goals & I'll just have to let go of them. I have had to do that before & it stinks. I want to be able to set goals & meet them, but mine take time and money that we don't have right now. I know that sometimes we have to wait, and maybe I'm just in that waiting period right now. I will continue praying & waiting for God to guide my steps as I figure out my future.

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!

Wordless Wednesday

Fitness wrap up

The last few days have been amazing!! The sun is shining, it's been warm, the perfect days to get outside & RUN!! I got in 9 miles on Sunday & it was awesome. After spending all of last week in the basement, on a treadmill, it was glorious to feel the sun on my face! I had to play around with my route a little bit & try to make my run longer. I did my usual loop, but it's only 5 miles normally, so I kept adding on here & there to get to 9. Monday morning I got together with my loco running buddies. Seriously, we are a crazy bunch!! You don't see many runners out there on the trail when it's snowy, icy & wet. We need to get a long run of about 12 or 13 miles in SOON, but time only allowed us to get in 8 on Monday. Today I dropped the ball on the mile-a-day challenge today, I only got in weights this morning. However, I think I have running fever! When the weather started to change & the snow started to fall, I actually thought to myself "I bet it would be awesome to run in this". LOL I might be going a little crazy...

The mile-a-day challenge is extended into March & I am not sure I can keep it up. I guess I might as well try though, right?! I haven't been perfect about it in Feb, but my goal is run as much as possible & I think I should keep doing that through May, especially if I want to get my marathon in that month.

Speaking of March, I am re-doing the Whole30 Challenge. YAY!! I am excited to get started with that again. I have been mostly paleo this month, with slip ups here & there and a few blatantly, NOT paleo days. I know where I want to be though & clean eating will get me there. I am excited to start on Friday! Just a reminder for those of you wondering what the Whole30 Challenge is: Intro to Whole30. This challenge I am looking forward to burning FAT, to getting leaner & building muscle. I am really going to focus on being sugar free & eat more lean proteins. Y'all, I am saying Good-Bye to BACON this month!!! What the what?!  No lie, THAT will be the challenge for me, for sure! HAHA

I'm skurred!

I'm SO excited!! I signed up for a half-marathon in April. It's in KY, so my plan is to stay with my sister & her family for the weekend. I can't wait :) I am also planning on signing up for a marathon in May. I will have already been trained up to 15 miles for my race in March, so I figure, I might as well continue training rather than stop & then start again for a fall marathon. I would LOVE to reach all of my running goals for 2013 by May :)

I am scared of something though. I want to start something new-to-me fitness wise. Something I've never done & am totally excited about, but also scared of it too. I have only told 2 people that I want to do it, I'm scared to really talk about it until I feel more confident about it, but I am really the most nervous that people will laugh at me b/c it's not something you would think of when you think of me. Sorry to be so cryptic!! I am excited to talk about it when I feel ready, but for now, I'm still kind of preparing for it, so I can only talk about it vaguely.

Do you do things that scare you? I think it's a good practice to have. We'd never do anything new, or grow as a person if we didn't try things that scared us, right? Sometimes you just have to go out on that limb & take a chance, right? Honestly, I love the feeling I get when I accomplish something I thought I could never do. I love proving myself (and others) wrong. I am hoping that the new thing I want to pursue would give me that feeling too. It would certainly push me out of my comfort zone & would give me a bunch of new experiences & hopefully make some new friends & meet new people.

Tropical Salad

Feeling down in the dumps due to the gray skies & cold weather?? Longing for the bright sun & scents of the  tropics? I got a yummy salad for that! :) I had a few chicken breasts left over after making dinner the other night & I've been wanting to make coconut crusted chicken breasts for awhile, so I decided to give it a go! I melted some coconut oil in my pan & crusted the chicken breasts in some shredded coconut & almond meal. I cooked them up & threw in my salad along with some tangerine. I am usually not one for sweet salads, I like them to be savory, but my husband ordered a salad over Valentine's Weekend that had spinach, grapefruit & orange in it. It was YUMMY!! I really wish I had pineapple to add to my salad, but I could only come up with tangerine to fulfill my tropical whims today. I always add some nuts to my salads to give them some healthy fats so that I'll stay full longer. I topped off my salad of mixed greens, coconut chicken & tangerine with some chopped up cashew pieces & oh my YUM!!! All I need is a daiquiri to go with it...maybe some sun & a nice sandy beach....

Temptation

Today was a normal day at work. Until we celebrated my boss' birthday. One of my coworkers had brought some cupcakes in from Dinkles Bakery. I knew she brought them in, even before the celebration, and that's when the struggle began. I knew I could eat one, I mean, I'm not doing the Whole30 challenge again until March. I can eat whatever I want, BUT will it benefit me? The struggle was already in my head, but then they cracked open the boxes with the cupcake in them & everyone took one. They asked me if I wanted one. I tried to say no, but then I thought that I *might* eat it, or even just half. So now the cupcake was on my desk! It was chocolate with chocolate frosting & everyone else was raving about their cupcakes. They all commented how good the frosting was & how the cake was so delicious. It sat on my desk for the whole party. I wasn't sure if I should eat it or not. Then everyone left & I was alone with the cupcake. BUT then I felt like an idiot eating this cupcake all by myself....so it sat on my desk a little longer as I struggled with what to do. I knew if I ate it, I would have the momentary sugar rush, I knew it WOULD be delicious, but I had already had some nuts & chocolate with my lunch. I didn't really NEED any more sugar or chocolate. I knew that it wouldn't help me reach my health or fitness goals. I ended up moving the cupcake from my desk & gave it to my coworker to take home to her daughter.

As soon as the cupcake was off my desk, I felt relief. The struggle was over, I had chosen not to eat it & I was happy. I knew that's what I wanted to do, but I knew it would be hard to give up that momentary pleasure. I had been reminding myself of what I really want, more than I wanted that cupcake. I was to be healthy & strong, I want to gain muscle, not fat. I want to get vitamins & minerals from my food, not sugar & empty calories. I want to eat with a purpose, to nourish myself & give my body the fuel it needs to get through my day. I don't want to eat mindlessly b/c that is what everyone else is doing. I don't need to have "fun" by eating junk, I get my fun in other ways. I have goals for myself, my health & my fitness that do not include being like everyone else. I want to see results from the work I'm doing and I won't get that by eating whatever is in front of me. Obviously I know that ONE cupcake won't ruin everything for me. It is FINE to eat a cupcake, there are no laws against it. However, one small slip can lead to another & then another and before you know it, you are right back to where you started. 

This applies to our spiritual life as well. Sure, we can do whatever we want, even things that are fun or pleasurable, but are they good for us? Will they nourish our souls? Will it please God & draw us closer to Him? I don't think so! Take a look at what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:12&13

^"12 Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.

¹³ You know the old saying, “First you eat to live, and then you live to eat”? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!"

WHOA, I added verse 13 in there too b/c I love that the Bible DOES talk about our bodies. That we are to take care of them & to use them to Honor our Creator. So, what do we do when temptation hits? Whether it be from food, alcohol, sex, or even just being pure lazy. I think we need to look at our greater goals & whether it would honor God or not. What I do with my body, what I think about, the use of my time; all of those things matter to God. He could use those things to further His kingdom or those things can be used to honor yourself & draw you further away from Him. As a Christian, I want to use my time, my talents & yes, even my body/health/fitness to honor Him & to be used by God to further His kingdom. 

Things are Changing

I have Bible study on Friday mornings & I am so thankful for the ladies in my Bible Study group :) Today I was talking to one of the girls in my group about change. Often times I am overwhelmed when I think of all the things I would like to change in my life. I want to be more patient with the kids, clean the house more regularly, continue to eat healthy & exercise, learn more about exercise and nutrition but most of all, I want to be more Christ-like. Overwhelming, huh?! 

I almost feel like I don't even know where to start & some times I just feel stuck, when facing the possibility of change in my life. When I realize that I failed at something on a particular day, I feel down & disappointed in myself. I feel like I will never get past the habits & situations that bring out the worst in me. How thankful I am that those feelings are not true!! We are always able to change. We can always choose to do something or not do something, we can choose to react differently in a situation. It is called self-control and it is a fruit of the Spirit. I am amazed that God would equip us with just what we need to be able to make changes in our lives. He truly doesn't leave us where He found us. We are able to break free from our struggles, especially when we lean on Him for our strength. 

I also feel like it is best to take one thing that you want to change about yourself or about your life & work on it for 30 days. I am loving 30 day challenges this year!! I truly do think that you can really make a difference in your life when you break your goals into smaller more obtainable action plans. I feel like 30 days is a good amount of time, it's enough time to form a habit or break a habit & yet you don't feel like it is an endless task. The days are easily counted down & ticked off on  your calendar & you will feel a sense of accomplishment when it's all said and done.

I don't think all challenges or changes that we attempt to make in life need to be that of deprivation. I think a lot of goals or changes made in our lives, can be things that we add to our lives. Perhaps you can choose to read your Bible every day for 30 days, have quiet time every day, pray every day, or exercise 30 minutes every day for 30 days. These are just some thoughts as I contemplate ways I can become a better wife, mom, daughter, friend, ME. Obviously the best change is the one that God can do in us, but we have to participate. We need to take the first steps to make those changes in our lives. God will give us the strength, but we need to make the moves, take the time & use our God-given self control to make changes in our lives for the better.