Monday Motivation

I woke up this morning determined...determined to start and end my day right...determined to fit in the workouts planned...determined to get my head on straight and lose this weight!  I've taken an idea from Dani at Weight Off My Shoulders and have written the pounds I want to lose this week on my hand.

That is there to remind me each time I reach for food..."Is this going to get you where you want to be?"

Did you wake up determined to take this week (which is often crazy and busy) by storm? 

Fitness Friday...Treadmill Burn

I am certainly not a personal trainer...nor do I claim to be as good as one...but I'm pretty good at replicating classes and such that I have done in the past.  One class that I used to LOVE was called Burn.  You could take it either on the treadmill or the spin bike with a personal trainer in a group...basically it was an ass whooping in an hour!  You would alternate between the bike/mill and weights/resistance bands.  I have been trying to recreate the class in my basement while Aubrey is napping.  Now while it is not at it's not quite at ass whooping level right now, I am looking forward to ramping it up soon!

First I rigged up my treadmill so that I could easily move from mill to weights quickly.

Oh yeah...I hit 1000 miles on Wednesday!!! 

Then it was on!

5 min warm-up

5 min run

squats w/ bicep curl, step-ups w/ lateral raise, tricep kickbacks

10 min walk at 15 incline

chest press with band, squat row with band, push up on mill

10 min run (increase speed each minute)

squat jumps, plank push ups, tricep dips

10 min walk at 15 incline with hand weights (usually 3lbs)

lunges with front raise, hammer curls, dead lifts with reverse fly

5 min run (all out)

5 min cool down

Now note that I do not have a lot of exercises that involve my core/ab muscles in this.  This is due to the fact that I have not been cleared to really exercise and do not want to risk injury or complications from my c-section. 

I love that I get in 40 minutes of cardio in and am still doing weight training as well!  This always keeps my heart rate soaring!  Bonus is that I can earn lots of points for the HBBC which starts on Monday....DO NOT forget to sign up!!!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

When Emma was just 2 months old she got a cold and we had to spend the night at Boston Children's Hospital.  In an effort not to have to do that again, the hubby came home this morning with this special gift for me...

Now I can scare the pants off feed and play with Aubrey without getting her sick!!  Happy Wednesday!!

1 month...We Made It!!

I can not believe that 1 month ago....they let us take her home...

Time is traveling at such a rapid speed that I feel myself wanting to slam the breaks on but they aren't there!  I want to soak in every moment...sight...sound...smell(ok maybe not every smell...just the Dreft smell)...everything!  Through the sleepless nights and spit stained clothes I have learned so much in just 1 short month...

• Breastfeeding is wonderful...just not wonderful for me and I am finally ok with that
• My girls love their car seat...to keep their acid reflux at bay
• Even the heaviest sleeper (me) can be woken by the slightest coo
• Family and friends are priceless...so let them help
• Sleep is overrated!
• Burp early and often or you will wear it!
• Get out of the house...breathe in the fresh air...and love life
• It is ok to ask for help...those who love you will do anything!
• Take every day as a gift

I can not believe that on Saturday we celebrated Aubrey's 1 month birthday!

Aubrey obviously didn't get the memo that Emma did about smiling!

 

I am so thankful for this time....

for these amazing, beautiful, healthy girls....

 and for my family of four!

Monday Motivation

Waking up today, I feel like a truck ran me over...backed up...and then ran me over again!  A cold colliding with a sleep deprived body has hit me hard but....NO EXCUSES!  I started the day off with a protein packed breakfast and am prepping myself for the week ahead!  I'm still keeping my eyes on the prize and this week is no different!  There are many excuses I could easily use to remain the shape I am in, but I'm not using them...no sir!!  Kick those excuses aside!!!  Don't let them stand in the way of reaching your goals!!!

Thankfulness....I know I said it before already but I am SUPER thankful for my husband!!  Today is our 7th anniversary and I am SO thankful for him!!!  He even let me sleep in the other room last night so I didn't have to wake up feeling like trash!!  It has been a crazy 7 years but I wouldn't want to be on this ride with anyone else but him!

Why I Run...

I have run most of my life...to train for an upcoming soccer season....to shed a few pounds...because my friends were...to keep those pounds from coming back...to prove to myself and others that I COULD complete a marathon...but it wasn't until the past 3 years that I became a RUNNER.

At my daughter's first birthday party, I looked around at all those there supporting our family...at the perfectly decorated table....the perfectly dressed birthday girl...the perfectly matching outfits that our family had on...the perfectly fitting skinny jeans I had busted my butt to get into by her first birthday...the perfectly created scene.  It was the kind of perfection that this type A girl craves...yet I was hiding under a veil...life was not perfect and the following year would prove that.  It was a road I had never expected to travel down, however through God's faithfulness I can write about it now with a new vision.  That year I also discovered something I will treasure...running as a healer....a comforter...a way to feel like me which was something I had lost!

I am a runner....I am a runner who will head out in sleet, snow, rain, sun, heat, and cold to chase that friend that meets me out there...my friend the run!  I feel like me...I can be me...no matter what the scale says or how crazy life gets, out on the run I AM ME!  There is just something about the rhythm of my feet pounding away that just lets the world fade away and I can just be!  I am able to think...to talk with God...to cry...to laugh...and to leave it all out there.  Just like this Asics ad...

Some days the run is hard...some days it flies by...some days I'm alone...some days I have friends with me...but what always remains is how I feel when I run!  As hookey as it sounds I LOVE to run!!

I run for the love of it...for the feeling after a speed workout...for all those who can't but wish they could...to show my girls what a strong woman looks like...to be proud of me...

Why do YOU run???

ZOOMA and Sarah and Dimity at Another Mother Runner want to know why you run!  Watch the video below from the ZOOMA Great Lakes be sure to enter to win a shirt from Another Mother Runner!!

Three Things Thursday

What in the heck??  It's Thursday again!!  I'm thinking that when your day begins around 2 am as your two children tag team you until you throw in the towel and just make an enormous pot of coffee, the days fly by!  Whatever it may be, I'm back for another 3 random things this week!!!  Enjoy!

1.  Hormones SUCK!...I would say sorry to the male readers thinking I was excluding them with this one but from watching my husband these past few weeks, it is painful for the men too!  There are days when I'm motivated and ready to face the world and days when I struggle to motivate myself out of my pjs!  I know this will all settle but until in the meantime I am steering clear of all sappy anything...or at least until my tear ducts dry up!!  Like what is up with the new Carter's commercial??  Are they trying to make me have an ugly cry??!
2.  Ouchie ouch!...This week I have been walking on the treadmill each day since the weather has me thinking I live in Seattle...which my sister reminded me that at least I have the sleepless part down!  Two days ago I decided to add in intervals and do some squats and such (I'm going easy I promise!).  Well ouchie ouch!!  My legs are a-hurtin!  How does this happen?  The day before I went in to have Aubrey I was doing squats and lunges like a champ!!  I do have to say though....it's a good ouch!
3.  Cold weather gear...As the temps begin to drop, out comes the cold weather gear for runners! (PS my heart goes out to those who opened their door this morning and saw lots of white stuff!...that would just make me grouchy!).  Runner's World has 8 bottoms that keep you warm as you head out on the roads while everyone else is snuggled up in their jammies!

Last year I lucked out, as did most cold weather runners, in that it was very mild.  I used my Gap tights and made it through the winter.  This year I am looking into these options...since the weather has proved to be wacky lately!!  What tights do you use in the winter??

Thankfulness...I'm thankful today for my warm home and power.  I know so many are still struggling and with this latest storm are looking at snow outside their window.  My prayers are still with them and it is not lost on me that I have the ability to turn up my heat when the air is cold!