Weigh-In Wednesday

 Happy Weigh-In Wednesday!

Another disappointing weigh-in, but at least I lost a little!  Last week was 172.4 so I'm looking at a .2 loss. 

Even though the scale may not be moving too much, I am just feeling healthier.  Some clothes are fitting a bit better and I am seeing more definition and less rolls :)  I still hope to get out of the 170's by the end of June!  

Last night, I took my new running kicks out for 3 mile run.  The shoes felt amazing, but the heat and humidity, not so much...   81 with 70% humidity, ick.  I was an extremely sweaty betty and breathing heavy the entire time.

I felt like I was going at a snail's pace so I was pleasantly surprised by my time.  I thought for sure I was going to have 11:XX mile times.  

Tonight, 3 of my gals pals and I are having a girl's night and are going to a Mallard's baseball game.  The Mallard's are Madison's minor league team.  My friend, Heidi, whose wedding I will in in October, has lost 20 pounds since the last time (April) I saw her!  I CANNOT wait to see how fabulous she looks!  

Our area has been having some crazy storms the past two days...we actually just came out of tornado warning.  Hopefully the weather doesn't ruin our plans tonight!

I am also linking up with Fitness Blondie for the Hump Day Blog Hop so I can find some new awesome blogs to read!

"Let's Get Some Shoes" & Goals

Goals - Week of 6/9

Log 50 miles.

Nope. Only 20.49.  Not even close.

3 2x Days.

Close!  I did 2.

Run 4+ times.

Eeeh...only ran twice.

No cheating my meal plans!

Fail.  Huge fail.

This weekend got me, good.  I barely got any activity in, and ate everything and anything in sight, and drank a lot of beer. I definitely felt my bad choices on Monday!  I was super bloated, and just felt like a cow.

This is how last week went down for activity:

M - 3.10 mile walk, 2.07 mile run, 1.13 mile walk, Total Body Fix

T - Yoga Fix, Pilates Fix

W - 4.04 mile walk, Upper Fix, Cardio Fix

T - 1.03 mile walk

F - 2.07 mile run, .71 mile walk, 1.5 mile walk, 2.23 mile walk

S - 1.53 mile walk

S - 1.8 mile walk

I started the week strong, but then lost my momentum.  On a positive note, at least I did get some activity in everyday!

Goals - Week of 6/16
Log 50 miles.
This is my 4th straight week of having this as a goal.  I WILL accomplish it this week!

Run 4 times.

Start Round 2 of 21 Day Fix
Yesterday marked the end of round 1. I try to get a post about my results out this week.

Clean and organize foyer closet.
I need to put this one out there because it's driving me crazy! Hopefully by writing it down, I will actually get it done!

On an entirely different note, I finally when to a running store to get fitted for shoes!  After getting my feet measured, walking around a lot and having the sales person watch my every move, she brought out 3 pairs for me to try on.  I do not have any issues with heel striking, my arches are normal, and I don't need any added support so all pairs were neutrals.

The first pair I tried were Brooks which I have never even tried on before.  While they were extremely comfortable, they just did not feel right.  The toe box felt much too wide.

The second pair I tried on were actually the pair I went with.  They are Asics Gel Cumulus 16s.  The fit is amazing and they are super comfy!  I like loud colors so the bright blue is perfect!  My last two pairs of running shoes were also Asics so I think I have officially become an Asics girls.

I just got them on Friday so I have yet to run in them, but I have gone on a couple walks to break them in.  I think it's going to be a match made in heaven!

The final pair the lady had brought out were Mizuno Wave Riders...not sure which number they're on now...and I knew right away I was not going to like them.  Wave Riders rub a lot on my little toes because they have a more narrow fit.  Since she brought them out though, and they were a new model, I figured I might as well try them out.  Sure enough, they rubbed me the wrong way...hahaha, I'm hilarious.

Link up with My No-Guilt Life and Run The Great Wide Somewhere if you wanna get in on the shoe talk action with the Tuesdays on the Run link-up!

Now that I got myself some solid new running shoes, I decided to get more serious about running to train for a race.  I am still not going to sign up for any races until I am able to run 5 miles comfortably, but I decided to set a lofty goal and start a marathon training schedule.  This means that yesterday was technically day 1 of marathon training...

Week 1 looks like this:
M: Cross Train
T: 3 miles
W: 3 miles
T: 3 miles
F: Rest
S: 6 miles
S: Cross Train

I am following Hal Higdon's Novice 1 Training plan.  Hitting 6 miles on Saturday already is a little terrifying.  I am going to do my best though and try to get through it.  If it ends up being too awful, I will reform my schedule to follow the Supreme Novice plan instead.

Switching plans will greatly affect my timeline, but it might be worth it.  If I stick to the Novice 1 plan which is 18 weeks long, I will be looking to run the Hunted Hustle Marathon on October 26, 2014.  If I end up swapping to Supreme Novice it is 30 weeks, and I will not be ready until the second week of January.  I live in Wisconsin...running a marathon in January does NOT sound appealing, late October is already pushing it....Perhaps I will look at out of state marathons if that is the route I need to take?

This is just a ridiculous little diddy in case you are unaware of my title reference...

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, my friends!

This morning, I did something I NEVER do.  I went for a run before work!

This what sitting in bed at 5:40 am, trying to think of a good excuse to NOT run looks like.  

My headband gave me some motivation though.  If I don't power through and push myself, I'm never going to get back to 13.1, and I might as well throw this headband away. But, that's not going to happen.  So after some pumping up, I got myself out the door, and I'm glad I did.  

It felt great to get nice and sweaty before starting the day.  

I also killed my run and finished the entire 2.07 in less than 20:00.

9:29 pace?! I think I am more than ready to start adding mileage. To finish out the weekend though, I am going to stick with my original plan and do the 2 mile loop two more times.  I really need to work on running quicker during my first mile...

After work today, I am finally going to a running store to properly be fitted for running shoes.  I am super excited for a new pair of kicks!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! 

WIW & WIAW

My weigh-in this week was very disappointing.  

Last week, I had lost 4.6lbs, and this week, I gained 1.1.  I am going to chalk it up to muscle gain...it makes me feel better thinking that way.

I am not going to let a little gain get me down though.  I am going to use this frustration to power through more workouts, and make sure I stay on track with my nutrition.  

For the What I Ate Wednesday link-up, I just want to share what I have actually been eating while on the 21 Day Fix.  
If you don't know much about this program, based on its name, you may think it is some kind of "quick fix".  But that is not at all what it is.  It is said that is takes 21 days to form a habit.  Based on that idea, the 21 Day Fix is a program to help reset your nutrition and get you back to eating healthy, wholesome foods.  It also resets your exercise schedule to getting in at least 30 minutes of activity daily. 
This is my typical daily meal plan.
Breakfast Green smooth with: 1 scoop strawberry Shakeology 1 C spinach  1 C of berries such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries 1/2 large banana 2 C coffee 1 T organic creamer
Snack 1 C celery sticks 1T almond butter (current open jar: Wild Friends Chocolate w/Sunflower Seeds) 1 light string cheese stick
Lunch Leftovers from the night before
Snack 3/4 C Fage Total Greek Yogrut 1 C berries 1 t honey
Dinner Protein, veggies, healthy carbs/stretches for example:
Grilled lean steak with baked sweet potato wedges and Brussels sprouts
Black bean and turkey soft tacos with whole wheat tortillas and various vegetables
Turkey meatloaf with sweet potatoes and corn (for a great recipe, check out my post from yesterday)
I do most of my workouts in the evening, so if I really get my sweat on and torch a ton of calories, I will whip up a late night smooth that contains unsweetened vanilla almond milk, Greek yogurt, berries, spinach, and banana.
All day long, I also guzzle water like it's my job.  Hydration is extremely important!!
Now, this is not what I eat every single day, but this is a typical day for me.  I am not 100% perfect and sometimes indulge in treats or a nice cold beer.  Those items are definitely NOT on the 21 Day Fix meal plan, but a girl has gotta live a little!
If anyone has any questions about the 21 Day Fix, please do not hesitate to comment, or send me an email.  My email address can be found under the Contact page at the top of my blog.
Happy Wednesday!

Transformation Tuesday: Meatloaf Edition

Guess who already ran her 2 mile loop in under 20:00 last night?  

That's right, this girl!

If you add just the two miles together, I ran them in 19:38.  A negative split of 30 seconds is pretty awesome.  It's funny though because I felt that I was faster during the first mile, not the second.  I am going to finish out the week running this same loop because I want to make sure last night wasn't a fluke.  For comparison, this was my run on Saturday.

Two miles in 20:33.  I have shaved off almost a minute from one run to another!

Besides talking about running today, I want to share an awesome meatloaf recipe that I whipped up last night.  Meatloaf is a quintessential comfort food, but depending on how, and with what, it is made, it can be a high calorie and fat food.  I made a healthier version last night that turned out phenomenally! 

Stuffed Italian Turkey Loaf

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1/3 C bread crumbs

1/4 C + 1 T fat free Italian dressing

1 egg

3 T ketchup

1 t Italian seasoning

1/2 C low moisture, part skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

Chop onion to desired fineness (Nick and I like onion a lot, so I cut them in dime sized chunks, but you can chop finer, or leave the onion out if desired.)

Mix chopped onion, turkey, bread crumbs, 1/4 C Italian dressing, egg, 2 T ketchup and Italian seasoning in large bowl.  Make sure you mix very well, and all ingredients are well incorporated.  If needed, you may need to get dirty and mix with your hands.

Once that is all mixed really well, dish 3/4 of the mixture into a non-stick, or spray coated, loaf pan.

Make an inch wide/inch deep indentation from one end of the pan to the other.  Fill with the mozzarella cheese, and cover well with the rest of the meat mixture.

Mix remaining 1 T of ketchup and 1 T of Italian dressing.  Spread over top of meatloaf.

Bake for 45 minutes.

The cheese melts down and seeps into the meat a bit, the onion gives it a great crunch, and the Italian dressing gives it a nice zesty flavor.  Nick could not stop raving about it.  I served it with a side of mashed sweet potatoes, and shucked sweet corn.  DELICIOUS!

Not the most appealing picture, but it WAS delicious!

I cut the loaf into 6 slices, each slice an inch to inch and a half thick, and added the ingredients into the MyFitnessPal recipe calculator with each slice as a serving.  According the MFP calculations, each serving has the nutritional value of :

198 calories

11g carbs

9g fats

18g protiens

3g sat fat

412g sodium

Try out my recipe for yourself, and let me know how you like it!

I'm an Auntie, again!

Happy Monday, lovelies! I hope everyone had a stupendous weekend.

The best part of my weekend was welcoming my new nephew, Eivin (German spelling of Ivan), into the world!  He was born at 1:01pm on Saturday, June 7th, 2014, weighing only 5lbs 7oz, but a whopping 20inches long.

Eivin gave his mom and dad quite a scare, and had to be delivered via "crash" c-section, but baby and momma are both doing very well.  Daddy has a few more gray hairs, but he is also doing well :)

We also had some furry company from Wednesday through Sunday.

Quadruple trouble! Quadruple cuteness!

Health wise, this has not been my greatest week.  I deviated from my meal plan a couple times, and did not workout, at all, two days.  This is how my workout schedule turned out.

Monday: 1.50 mile walk, 2.07 mile run, 1.11 mile walk, Yoga Fix

Tuesday: 1.44 mile walk, 2.07 mile run, 1.09 mile walk, Cardio Fix

Wednesday: 2.18 mile walk, Upper Fix

Thursday: NADA

Friday: 1.56 mile walk

Saturday: 1.38 mile walk, 2.06 mile run, 1.22 mile walk, 11.07 mile bike, Lower Fix

Sunday: NADA

Saturday, I really pushed it in an attempt to make up for my slack-a-lacking on Thursday and Friday.  I actually got ALL of that activity on Saturday in before noon.  It really burned me out on Sunday though.  Sunday, I woke up like usual around 6:30, but laid it bed until almost 8.  Nick made breakfast and we ate around 8:30, and then I slept on the couch until 10:30ish.  I was utterly exhausted.  I would have kept on sleeping if we had not already planned to go visit baby Eivin again around noon. 

My lack of activity on two separate days really affected one of my goals, but otherwise, I did really well in the goal department last week.

Week of 6/2

Take my measurements.

Chest: 37.5"

R Arm: 12.125"

L Arm: 12.25"

Waist: 31.5"

Hips: 42.75"

R Thigh: 25.25"

L Thigh 25"

Two 20 minute stretch sessions.

30 minutes of Yoga on Monday

25 minutes of stretching Saturday

Log 50 miles.

Only got to 28.75

Develop a training schedule for running. 

I haven't officially made a schedule, but I did make the plan to continuing running the same 2 mile loop until I get my time to 20:00 or less.  I think it will take me another week.  I haven't uploaded my run yet, but if I remember correctly my pace was around 10:30.  Once I complete that goal, I will actually make a training schedule. 

Since it is Monday, it's a new week, and I have new goals.  There are only 8 days left in my first round of 21 Day Fix so I'm really going to put the pedal to the metal (I just had to Google whether is metal or medal...).

Week of 6/9

Log 50 miles.

3 2x Days.

Run 4+ times.

No cheating my meal plans!

Link up with Carolyn to share your weekly goals!

Non-Scale Victories

Two blog posts in one day!

What can I say, I love my linkups!

This has truly been a great week, on and off the scale.  My earlier WIW post discusses the scale so check that one out if you want to read about some awesome numbers. 

As for Non-Scale Victories, I have a few to share.

I have started running again!  Taking it slowly and one day at a time, I will gradually build my mileage back up.  I will NOT sign up for any future half marathons until I can run at least 5 miles comfortably.  That being said, I am hoping to run a half in August or September :)

It is advising and registration time for incoming Freshmen.  AR days are four times a month from the end of May until the end of July.  The Bookstore always gives a little presentation about how to get the best deal on textbooks.  While my boss and I wait for our talk time, we wait by a table covered in donut holes, mini muffins, and coffee.  Previously, I would help myself to 2, or 3, or 6 donut holes.  On Tuesday, and this morning, I resisted and didn't have any!  I LOVE donuts.  I stared longingly at them all nestled in their little basket.  I could taste their soft sweet goodness in my mouth.  I was tempted.  But, I thought about how important my health goals are to me, and how eating a few donut holes is NOT important.   

Monday night, when Nick and I were eating dinner out on the patio, he looked at me for a second, and said, "You look really skinny."  This made me beyond happy because I have been working my ass off lately.  I'm not very good at taking compliments and usually brush them aside with a silly remark.  Usually, I would have answered back with something like, "Hmm, must be the lighting because I'm actually a fat ass."  Instead, I truly took it as a compliment, gave him a big ol' smile, and said thank you.  I'm glad my hard work is paying off!

Being at a work retreat all day yesterday, I wasn't able to prepare all of my food myself.  I ended up indulging a bit much.  Trying to add everything to MFP felt exasperating, and I was just going to call the day a wash and not track.  To make myself feel better about some of poor choices throughout the day, I just wasn't going to pay attention to my calories. I was going into denial mode and was just going to pretend it didn't happen.  This also led me to not wanting to workout once I finally got home around 7.  I thought about how hard I've worked the past weeks, and basically told myself it was ok to skip a day and not workout or track.  

I was all settled on the couch ready to just waste the night away watching tv.  But then I started thinking about all my hard work again.  I started thinking about how much progress I could potentially lose, and how one day of slacking could lead to two days, three days, a week, a month.  These thoughts ended up being the motivation I needed.  I got off the couch, took the dogs for a 2.18 mile walk, and completed my Upper Fix video when I got back.  I never regretted a minute of my activity, but I would have regretted every minute I sat on that couch, doing nothing.

What are YOUR non-scale victories? Link up with KTJ to share!

WIW

Yesterday, I had a work retreat and was not at a computer all day, so I was not able to do my WIW post, but here it is a day late.

As I mentioned in my post from Tuesday, the close of Monday closed out my first week on the 21 Day Fix program.  I gave a little teaser, but did not share my actual results :)  

After just 7 days of working out consistently and drastically cleaning up my diet, I lost 3.4lbs!  I went from 175.9 to 172.5.    

That's the number I saw on the scale Tuesday mornings.  I always weigh myself on Wednesdays though so of course I had to step on the scale again the next morning.  I was hoping to have lost a few more tenths of a pound for my actual weigh-in, but instead, this is what I saw...

  

Instead of just tenths, I ended up dropping another 1.2lbs!

I was so surprised that I got on and off the scale a few times just to make sure it wasn't a fluke.  In 8 days, I lost 4.6lbs.  Seeing these awesome numbers are giving me the motivation to work even harder!  I'll be out of the 70's sooner than I expected.

Not only was yesterday WIW, it was also National Running Day.  Unfortunately, I didn't go for a run, but I did do the 2 mile loop again on Tuesday night.  I have already shaved a minute off of my time.  

I don't want to burn myself out on running too frequently too quickly.  Two days of running, one day of rest, repeat, seems like a sensible plan to me.  Despite not running, I did still walk the dogs and do my Upper Fix video.

  I am still a runner though so I made my badge like everyone else:

Plain and simple.  

Sometimes it takes a lot to get my booty out the door, but once I'm on the pavement, I never regret it.  I may bitch and moan about having to go for a run, or complain about aches and soreness from a run, but I am always happy and content inside after a good ol' sweaty run.

Running Plan

According to the title of my little ol' blog, it is supposed to be about running, but running has been lacking from my life this year.  

Since the snow FINALLY melted in my area just a few weeks ago, I was using that as my excuse to skip runs.  Even though the snow has been gone for a bit over a month now, I have still been avoiding my runs.  I was supposed to run a half marathon on May 25th, but from my lack of post about it, I'm sure you have guessed by now that I skipped it...and I still feel awful about it, but I was absolutely not prepared for it.  I could barely run two miles consistently.  It also didn't help that I burnt myself to a crisp the day before at a family cookout...really smart.

Slowly, I am getting my fitness & nutrition back on track.  As of bedtime last night, I had completed my first full week of 21 Day Fix.  After only 7 days, I have had great results, which I will share more on tomorrow, and my nutrition has been fully transformed.

Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, I am going to get back into running also.  Last night, I went on my first run in almost a month.

Just over 2 miles, and I was a huffing and a puffing the entire time.  In that long 23 minutes, I wanted to stop and walk multiple times, but I didn't.  I was full of determination, and persevered.  My legs were tired and my chest burned, but I kept on going.  I fought through the pain and fatigue.  

There are many running goals I want to accomplish, one of them quite obvious if you just read my blog title.  I'm never going to get there if I give into silly weaknesses.  It is going to be a long road before I reach 26.2, but I am ready for it.  I am going to tough it out.

Currently, I am not signed up for any other races this year.  My plan at the moment is to continue running this same 2ish mile loop around my neighborhood until I can complete it in a more desirable time, 20:00 or less.  Once I accomplish that goal, I will add mileage.  When I able to comfortably run 5 miles, I will look into signing up for races.

That's my plan, and I am sticking to it! 

Linking up for the first time with the hilarious Kay!

Goals

Happy Monday, my friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Janae and Matt's wedding on Saturday was awesome.  Janae was that most beautiful bride I have ever seen!  Her dress was gorgeous, her make-up and hair were perfect...she was just fricking stunning.  Even Nick raved about how great she looked.  Matt was also a very handsome groom :)

Property of Sarah Schultz Photography
I didn't take any pictures, but here's a sample of how great they looked!

Now, what Mondays are all about, GOALS.

Last week, I had Monday off so I started my goals a day late, and wasn't quite able to follow though with all of them.  I think I still did a great job though.

Stay on track with my meal plans.

This means no candy or booze this week!
I did fairly well with this.  Friday night, Nick and I did go out for dinner, and I indulged a bit (who thought nachos as an app was a good idea?), but I worked out a lot early in the day so that made up for it.  I may have had a few drink over the week too...oops.  Two Bud Light Limes, a Wisco Wheat, a glass of Riesling, and a Bud Light may have sneaked in.  As for candy, there were Skittles on the tables at Janae's wedding, and I ate exactly 10 of them.  I am very proud of myself for not eating any other candy ALL week!

Log 50 miles.
Between running, walking, and biking.
I fell short and only got 32.15 miles in total.  Despite not reaching this goal, I did get a lot of other activity in.  Here is my workout schedule from this past week, which started on Tuesday.

T: Cardio Fix
W: Upper Fix, 3.5 mile walk
R: 2.58 mile walk, Lower Fix, 1.83 mile walk
F: 1.16 mile walk, 10.25 mile bike, Pilates Fix
S: 10.45 mile bike, Total Body Cardio Fix
S: Mowing 1.67 miles, 1.01 mile walk, Dirty 30

Whew!  That was a lot of activity over 6 days.

I kind of cheated, but not really, with throwing in the mowing.  We have a decent sized yard and a push-mower, and I always get SUPER sweaty when I mow so I decided it's a workout in itself.  Being curious, I wore my heart-rate monitor and my Garmin to see how many calories I burn/the distance I cover when I mow the law.  45 minutes later, I burned 362 calories and walked 1.67.  Not too shabby.

Take before photos and measurements.
I took photos, but not measurements.

Track. Track. Track.
I was 100% with this!  I tracked every little thing that I ate.

As for new goals, I have macro (June) and micro (weekly) goals.

June
Get into the motherf**king 160's!

Log a total of 250 miles.

Solidly complete round 1 of 21 Day Fix.

Buy a new bathing suit.


Weekly
Take my measurements.

Two 20 minute stretch sessions.

Log 50 miles.

Develop a training schedule for running. 

What are YOUR goals this week?  Link up with Carolyn to share!