TTT

Holy cow how in the heck did we get to Thursday already???  Some weeks have a tendency to crawl along but this week is certainly flying by!!  Here's your weekly dose of randomness!

Fit-Fat-Fit....So everyone is talking about this show and I've seen so many different opinions that I thought I would share my own and see what you all think.

A&E has started a show, thought up by the original trainer who decided to gain weight and try to lose it again so that he could know what it was like to be overweight.  Trainers are paired up with people that (from what I've seen so far) are at least 100lbs overweight.  The trainers spend the first 4 months gaining weight...seriously they eat upwards of 7000 calories...and then the trainer and client work to lose the weight together.  Like with all weight loss shows I find the story lines compelling.  I find it so interesting to see how the trainers transform not physically but mentally throughout the 4 months. So far they have been falling into patterns of depression and feeling like failures.  It has been very emotional for them....just a snapshot of what their clients feel like for years.  The part that is clear to me from watching the two episodes though is that the trainers bodies are built to burn.  Both men struggled to put on the weight even though they were eating everything they could.  Losing for them brought them back into their zone.  However, I do think they were very invested in their client's journey.  I've liked them so far.  What about you?  What have been your thoughts on this?

Macros Smackros...I've been trying hard while doing this Runner's Reset to really work my way through hitting my macros each day...particularly my protein.  For whatever reason, I have an abnormally hard time wrapping my head around what to eat to make it fit into these numbers...like even my husband has given up trying to explain it to me!  This week (granted it's only Thursday) I have hit my macros each day...BOOM!  I have been trying to bump up my snack to make it more protein rich (I have a snack mid-day because I eat breakfast at 6:30 and lunch at 1:30).  Last week I found these in my grocery store...

I use Kodiak Cakes for pancakes and love that they are protein packed...especially for the girls so I decided to try it out.  I've been mixing these and plain Greek yogurt....YUMMM and 25 grams of protein which is good for me for a quick snack!  What's a go-to protein packed snack for you?

Tech vs cotton...I am running the Hyannis Half Marathon next month and my only complaint about this race in the past is that they gave out the WORST shirts...you know other than the fact that some years it's pouring rain...snowing...or mild take your pick!!!

I'm not being petty either...these shirts were awful!!  Cotton t-shirts with a massive silk screen that wouldn't soften no matter how many times you washed it!  Well this year I was psyched when I got an email saying they were going to be doing long-sleeved tech shirts!!!!!  Glory!!!  I'm excited to see how they are!  What about you...tech or cotton?  Me I like a good long-sleeved cotton but I really do like the tech!

Work It out Wednesday

Today I went back to an oldie but goodie workout to get my heart rate soaring and still fit in weights. With Runner's Reset I am trying to stick to committing 3 days to weights understanding that I need to retrain my body and my metabolism.  Here is what today looked like...The supersets are exercises done one after another 3 times. For example: 12 lunges, 12 shoulder raises, 12 bicep curls then repeat 3 times.
10 min run @ 8 min mile pace
Superset #1
walking lunges (out and back), lateral raises, hammer curls, abs
Superset #2
chest press, reverse fly, tricep kickbacks one armed
abs
10 sprints....8.5 speed with a 3.0 incline (20sec on and 20 sec off)
Superset#3
one-legged squat, front raises, bicep curls, abs
Superset#4flies, tricep extensions, upright row
abs
10 min bike
stretch

Normally I would go and do another 2 supersets and 10 more minutes but it was getting close to 6am and I knew I had to get home to start the day.  The basic premise is to keep your heart rate elevated the whole time.

I was able to get a good sweat on and still be done within an hour!  Score!!  
How do you fit in weights and cardio....or do you?

Monday Motivation

All too often people choose to stay in a situation....at a weight...with health issues...because the work it will take to change it is hard or scary.  However once they make the choice and leave their comfort zone they realize that it wasn't that great anyway!  Yes it will take work...yes it may be hard...but getting out of your comfort zone will be nothing but worth it!  Throw off those comfy and embrace what is waiting for you on the other side!!

TTT

It's been a while since I have dished some randomness your way so I'm excited to see that Thursday is here...which means the weekend is in sight!!

Winter Warrior...I am on day 21 of the Winter Warrior Challenge that I am participating in with Marathon Sports.

The challenge is to run/walk at least one mile each day in the month of January and log it on an app.  You can see how many miles everyone in the challenge is logging and try to compete against others. Two thoughts on some runners in this challenge....WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY???  Seriously the leader of the challenge has run 388 miles....and we still have 10 more days!!!  I was happy with my 80 but seriously rubbing elbows with 400 miles OUTSIDE...Yikes!!  My second thought is there are some kick ass runners in this group....Like I said I'm at 80+ and I'm in 450th place!  Way to go runners!!  So far January has been pretty mild and I almost felt weird saying I was a winter warrior...until this week.  Friggin freezing!!!  Wind chills have us dancing around zero and yesterday was a total battle to get me out the door!  The beginning of the month I was thinking that this was something I would continue even after the challenge was over...now I'm not so sure!!

RUNCH update...Because of the challenge I've been spending most of my lunches out pounding the frozen pavement!  This always make for pretty funky hair days following but it also wakes me up when I'm usually dragging through the second half of my day.  I did see on Runner's World today a video that I should probably do.  They had exercises that you should do when you are heading out for a cold run to warm up your body...Check it out for yourself here!

Hair...I realized the other day that it has almost been a full year since I have had my hair cut or colored...yes I highlight the heck out of my dark Portuguese tresses...40 is looming far too close and the silver in my hair is showing it!  My first reaction was....I can't believe I have gone a full year without doing anything to my hair!...and then I looked in the mirror and thought....Oh boy I need to call my stylist stat (That is if she's still working there...or knows even who I am!)  I have a lot of hair and a hair appointment is a major investment in time which I don't have.  However considering this morning I wanted to wear a headwrap to school...I'm thinking I need to make that investment!

WIAW...Runner's Reset Style

So I am almost 2 weeks into the Runner's Reset with Laura and I can honestly say I am learning so much about food as fuel and how my body reacts to it.

The biggest difference this time around for me is that Laura has not told us to restrict any foods...however I have decided to limit my carbs (meaning white flour fun) and sugar.  Now mind you I did have a birthday last week and I did have cake....twice!  The big thing after that was recognizing how I felt after.  No not the guilty I need to go run this off (although admittedly that was the first thought) but the sluggish and bloated feeling.  It was important for me to look for those signs as ones that are telling my body that this type of food while being delish is probably not something I should be putting in my body and expecting it to perform well.

So enters the question...what do you eat?  I have been trying to hit my macros for so long now but with this reset I have really been focusing on whole foods that help me get in enough protein and veggies along with healthy fats and healthy carbs.  Some examples of my favorite meals have been...
Breakfast: Ezekial toast with mashed avocado, Franks, and two eggs....seriously could eat this EVERY meal!

Lunch: I've been making a huge pot of chicken noodle soup minus the noodles and double the chicken...I added in kidney beans and garbanzo beans too...yum!  This helps too because when it is time to grab something to pack for lunch, I've already portioned it out and it's fast and easy!

Snacks this week has been roasted chicken and clementines.  Dinners have been a variety of things depending on what we have on hand.  I definitely think that dinner is the meal I need to pay more attention to going forward....and having a plan for when I get home from work and I want to eat my way through our cabinets!

I am again so happy I'm doing this reset!  I will talk later this week about how this reset is challenging my running and training.  It really is making me rethink things and challenging some pretty deep-seeded thoughts!

What's your go to protein packed healthy dinner?

Monday Motivation

I heard this lyric in a song during my long run on Sunday.  How often do we hold on to what is good instead of laying that down and really striving for what's best?  Whether it be with running or other parts of our lives, you never know what is waiting for you if you are brave enough to strive for the best!  Put fear...or whatever...aside this week and go for the BEST!!!

Gaining Control....and Letting Go

I have started to think more about the goals that I have for this year.  One that I have that is particularly close to me and I know will take the year and then some is gaining control of my eating and learning to let go when I veer off course.

I'm not going to lie and say I've always had a healthy relationship with food.  I've honestly been at points where food was the enemy....and then it was a comfort....and then back to being the bad guy again!  I remember my father saying to our family one day that he ate to live and we lived to eat. Food certainly has had a far larger place in my life than I would care to say.  Over this past year I have had times where my eating was out of control...I would do great for breakfast and lunch and then get home and eat all the food in sight in the matter of 10 minutes.  I went on radical diets where food was labeled good and bad....and honestly when I ate the "bad" foods I thought of myself as bad. It certainly has not been a year where food and I have been friends.  My weight fluctuated just 10 pounds throughout the year but when you're 5'3" 10 lbs makes a big difference.

I need to get control of this up and down and honestly when I look forward to this time next year I want to see a person who eats to fuel her body...who isn't a prisoner to cravings...who doesn't feel the immense weight of guilt each time she has a "treat".  One way I am doing this is by starting off with Laura's January Reset.  We are 5 days in and I feel so much better than I have in a while!  For me this reset hasn't been about weight loss (which has been my focus in the past) but about learning what foods work for me and how to really fuel my body with foods that are going to make it work better.  I'm learning about my training as a runner and how I've pushed my body in a way that it is holding on to fat.  I'm learning how to let go of the emotions tied to food.  I'm excited to see just how much more I can learn in the next few weeks!

I know that this journey will not be a straight line....there will be bumps in the road...I have spent a large portion of my life accruing all this baggage around food and I'm sure there will be a few bags that are going to be hard to put down since I have grown so used to them...but I know like I said Wednesday....it's Worth the Challenge!!!

May I Have a Word?

For the past few years, I have established a phrase/mantra for the year.  It started with "Finish what you've started"...then progressed to "Believe in Greatness"....to finally last year's "Better your Best". I really just wanted to set a phrase for when my back is against the wall and I'm ready to phone it in or stop pushing in that final mile, I can say it to myself and remember why I am even out there at all! This year I have decided to make it a saying that can go with many of my goals...not just working out and running.  It has taken me a while to come up with this but I think that it really is fitting....

Choosing the hilly route...doing the speed work...logging the miles even when I'm tired is worth the challenge to get me to a better runner.

Choosing healthy foods when I really want candy...doing the prep work to set my week up for success...I am worth the challenge to be healthy!

Leaving my phone in the other room...choosing activities that challenge us as a family...choosing to connect as a family...My family is worth the challenge!

My family is the worth the challenge of connecting and I am worth the challenge of putting in the work to get to the level I am looking for!  This will take a lot of choosing the challenge over the easy road but at the end of the year it will all be worth it!!

Do you have a mantra or saying for the year?  

Monday Motivation

Today starts the January Reset for Runners with Laura and I am honestly really excited.  I'm excited to get this year underway.  Over this past week I have started to hone in on some goals that I am starting to see shape up for the year and they are getting me excited!  The biggest piece in this is changing how I see myself.  If I expect reach these big goals then I need to expect them in myself first.  I have spent this past year doubting...doubting that I can do great things....and it left me with goals unattained.  I'm done with that...it will be a challenge but I am ready to expect great things in me...and you too!!

Goals for 2016

If I'm being honest, I have been staring at a blank screen for quite some time now trying to grasp at what my goals are for 2016.  Normally I am all over the goals each January 1 and I'm geared up to conquer them.  This year I don't feel like my heart is in it in quite the same way.  It's bugging me actually.  This type A girl is craving lists....and calendars filled with goals...and a plan to tackle the year....but all I have is a blinking cursor.

I looked back over last year's post and found that it was a mixed bag of goals achieved and ones that I had honestly forgotten about.  I crushed my 10 miler goal but fell short in the half marathon one, however I was very happy with my racing year.  I lost some of the weight I wanted to but not entirely (this is a post all it's own).  Looking back over the year, there are places where I honestly let myself down and places where amazing and unexpected things happened!  It is leaving me ready to leave a little more up to chance this year....which for anyone who knows me is NOT in my character...like hive inducing not in my character!  So for that I will be back....yes I will make goals for running and for all things health...but I do need a little more time to ponder that out!  Stay tuned!

One thing that I do have a goal for is family.  This past year challenged the way that I see my role as a wife and mother in the big picture of things.  I studied some pretty amazing women and saw pieces of myself in them and pieces I wanted to have...moms who handled life and defeat with grace for those around them.  I would say a big goal for myself is to be more connected as a family...in our goals...in our deeds...in our desires. It is more than just getting by...

So until I can get my head around what I really want this year to look like for me in fitness and running, I'll leave you with one goal...a connected, grace filled family.

Monday Motivation

I saw this all over social media on January 1st and I have to say that I really do love it!  The thought of starting with a blank slate...a chance to make this year anything you want it to be...to challenge yourself to become whoever you want.  It makes me excited!  As a teacher I get that same feeling when school starts.  The ability to make the school year be whatever I choose.  Even more with the new year!  365 (or 366 this year) days to take steps to living this life!  What do you want your book to say?

Happy 2016!!

Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year!!!