BLFE: Day 3 and 4

Day 3: January 9, 2013

Day 3 was a little rough. I haven't been packing my lunch the night before so, I did the morning scramble. Throwing things into the lunch box. Hoping I have what I need to keep me full and satisfied all day.

Day 3 was also rough because I had a cheerleading competition. I am a Varsity cheerleading coach so eating dinner is a challenge for me, especially on Wednesday competition days. I always get really high anxiety during competitions. Especially if they're close. My team was second going into Round 3 and they totally choked. Which made me both angry and disappointed. We ended up getting fifth. Not happy.





This is one of those times where you eat bad because you feel bad moments. My coaching staff and I went to Chili's and I ordered their new guacamole burger. I only ate half and I ordered broccoli instead of fries. Although, I had about 20-30 tortilla chips and salsa.

I also didn't work out. I should have but, I was too pissed off to even think about working out. Thinking back on it, it probably would have helped my anger and probably calm me down.

Overall, Day 3 was not my day.



Day 4: January 10, 2013

I got back on the grind Day 4. But, yet again didn't pack my lunch so I was scrambling in the morning. For lunch, I ended up making a turkey sandwich with light mayo on sandwich thin bread. I threw apples, oranges, almonds, yogurt, anything I could find into my lunch bag.

I didn't eat dinner, AGAIN! Although, I didn't even pack it. But, whatever. I really need to work on this. After cheer I went home and did a 40-minute Insanity workout. It was tough. I'm glad I did it!

After Insanity, I toasted a sandwich thin, threw some peanut butter on it and had that as "dinner."

Dinner is my weakness.

Thoughts so far:

• Dinner is for sure my weakness
• I have a problem with emotional eating - that burger was really good though!
• I have a lot more energy. I'm not dragging like I usually am.
• I need to make my meals the night before

BLFE: Day 2

Day 2 - January 8th

I think I was more in "The Zone" but, I don't think I'm quite there yet. I've been finding that my hardest thing to do is make a 1 block snack. I've been having a yogurt with almonds in it or half an orange or half an apple. But, That's not considered a Zone meal because it doesn't have equal parts fat and protein. I need to sit down this weekend and actually go through what makes a meal. 

Bacon Egg Muffin/Cupcake

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast: Bacon Egg Muffin/Cupcake with a handful of almonds

Snack #1: Yogurt with Almonds

Lunch: Turkey Chili with half an orange

Snack #2: Half an orange

Dinner: Grilled Chicken Sandwich on Sandwich thins with an apple

Workout:

I had cheer practice right after work and like always, I planned on working out after practice. But, we didn't get done until like 9:15 p.m. and I stayed a little longer talking to parents and cheerleaders. By the time everyone left it was 9:30 p.m. and I was not about to stay at the school that late by myself. Usually I would just be getting done with my workout at that time, not starting it. 

So, I got home around 10 p.m. and I was NOT motivated. I was like heck no, I'm so tired and sore from the previous day's workout. But, my friends and I have a "30 Days of Fitness" goal we are trying to achieve. So, I sucked it up and did a PiYo DVD. 

It was a hard workout! I was sweating, sore, etc. etc. This is not your normal pilates yoga class. Chalene Johnson does a great job with the choreography. She makes it hard enough you want to scream but so enjoyable that you're having a fun time doing it. 

Overall, I did 45 minutes of the 1 hour routine. I could have stuck out the extra 15 minutes but, it was already 11:30 p.m. 45 minutes into the workout. 

Piyo! Lola decided she also wanted to do PiYo.

BLFE: Day 1

BLFE = Biggest Loser Family Edition

Depending on the day, I may post my workout, my food, or both! I'm open to suggestions!

Sunday night I made my food for the week:
- Turkey Chili (Lunch/Dinner)
- Bacon Egg Muffins (Breakfast)
- Tuna Salad Sandwich (Lunch/Dinner)

The Zone Diet says to eat within one hour after waking up. I don't eat breakfast so that was a major change for me. But, I loved the Bacon Egg Muffins! So yummy. I found the recipe off a CrossFit Website. I'll link it to it once I find it again. But here goes:

Bacon Egg Muffins

12 Turkey Bacon Strips
12 Eggs
1 tsp. of shredded cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take a cupcake/muffin pan and grease it down. I used coconut oil. Then, line each cupcake hole (lol) with turkey bacon. After you line the pan, put one egg inside of the bacon. Sprinkle cheese if necessary. Bake for 20 min.

To make it a zone meal eat 1 banana and 3 almonds.

SNACK/LUNCH/SNACK:
I missed my first snack. I was really amped up for it but, I was in a meeting. Tomorrow will be better.

Lunch wad great. I had a tuna salad sandwich on a whole grain sandwich thin with half an apple. Yum!

I did not miss my second snack! It was a 1/2 cup of yogurt sprinkled with almonds.

DINNER/SNACK:
I missed dinner. I can't believe I missed dinner. I even packed it!!! It was supposed to be my turkey chili. I got caught up in cheer practice and didn't have time to eat - Oh well.

I ate my 1/2 of an apple after I worked out.

WORKOUT:
Since I missed my dinner and my first snack I couldn't not workout. I had a plan of what I wanted to do but it changed when I saw a "Spartan" workout. Looked pretty cool and difficult so, I modified it for my level.

Warm-Up:
5 min bike
10 min intervals (1 min run, 1 min sprint)
2 minute walk
3 minute walk on incline

WOD: Modified Spartan
10 Inverted Pull Ups
25 Deadlifts (60#)
25 Box Jumps
25 Sit Ups
25 Cleans (40#)
10 Inverted Pull Ups

5-10 min Cool Down

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I was not in the Zone. I didn't plan as well I thought but, I did eat pretty clean. Everything I consumed was portioned and mostly followed the Zone. I'm still learning about the blocks. But overall, I'm proud of myself. I ate 4 out of 6 meals and worked out! I'm used to eating maybe once or twice a day so this is a big deal. My goal for the next week is to consistently eat six meals per day and workout everyday.

Love this challenge. In it to win it!

The Biggest Loser - My Family Edition

It's been awhile since I've posted. Mainly because I haven't been running. Well, I haven't been doing much fitness activity to post about. To be completely honest, I actually fell off the wagon...real bad.

I started a new job in May 2012 and in the past eight months I gained 20 pounds. I started to notice my pants got a little tighter, my face looked a little fuller and my craving for sugar and bad food increased a ton. Because of this, I have been exhausted and not at all motivated to work out. I tried but it has always resulted in a failed effort.

Since it's January - and a new year, my family and I decided to do a "Biggest Loser" weight loss challenge. Yes, it's a little cliché - I know. But, we are all at our highest weight that we've ever been. So, something has to happen!

Here are the rules:

1. Entry fee $10
2. Every pound gained $1
3. Stay the same? .50
4. Complete 3-6 fitness hours
5. Don't complete fitness hours? .50
6. Didn't do any fitness hours? $1
7. Winner is based on percentage of weight lost NOT pounds lost.
8. The challenge goes on for 12 weeks - up until Easter
9. Weigh-in is every Sunday

My game plan is to change it up from anything I've ever done. I'm going to CrossFit three times per week, yoga and running twice per week. I am also going to follow The Zone Diet. I think with this plan I will definitely be on the path to a healthier me.

Keep following my blog, I will be posting my workout as well as the meals I've been eating.

Wish me luck!

Flying Pig Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, May 6
Cincinnati, Ohio
State #2
Weather - Hot and Humid

I originally found this race because of the medal, duh! I thought the pig medal was super cute and it was definitely worth running a spring race. I also enjoyed the whole "when pigs fly" motto. I love it! Once I found this race and decided to do it, I asked a couple of my CMU cheerleading friends if they want to run it too. They agreed and all is history!


Saturday, May 5

I drove down to Cincinnati with my Mom and it took us a good 4.5/5 hours to get there. Our plan was to meet Pat and Bri at the expo so, we went straight there. We ended up getting there before them so we checked out the expo. It was AWESOME! I thought Detroit's was a big expo but no, this was huge! I had a few things I wanted to buy and they had everything. My favorite buys: Flying Pig SportyBands and a Spibelt.



After we saw Pat and Bri, we had to eat! So we left them and went to Rockbottom. We ordered a pretzel appetizer and we each had a burger. I had mine with a side of Mac n' Cheese. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this restaurant was to my hungry stomach! I'm sad there's not a Rockbottom in Michigan.


*Stressed Out Moment #1: Finding the Start Line
After we lunched, we went hunting for the start line. There's nothing I hate more than stressing out about finding the start line or being late to a race. So, me being my paranoid self made sure I knew exactly where I was going for race day. We obviously weren't familiar with downtown Cinci so it took us a long time to find the start line. We ended up just stalking some people who looked like runners and they led us right to the start!



*Stressed Out Moment #2: Street Closures
Since we did everything we needed to get done in Cinci, we crossed the bridge into Kentucky and made our way to our hotel. It was there that I experienced my second SOM. I was going through the packet of information I received and started to freak out over street closures. How were we going to get over the bridge? How are we going to park? Thank God my Mom was there and figured out we need to leave our hotel no later than 4:45 a.m.


*Stressed Out Moment #3: Parking
I forgot to mention that after we got lunch and found the start line we went back to the expo to ask about parking. The  info guy told me parking was going to be a nightmare and that most lots are filled up by 4:30 a.m. UGH! Where are we going to park?! Should we just walk? I hate bridges. I'm not walking over a bridge. I refuse. Fine. Maybe I'll walk over the bridge. We drove.


Sunday, May 6: Race Day

I woke up at 4 a.m. and was ready to go. I set out all my running gear the night before, I was ready. Plus, I didn't want to have another SOM.


Rant of the day: If you know the majority of your hotel guests are running the Flying Pig don't you think you should offer breakfast at an earlier time? Nope, not the Marriott. If you ordered room service it would be there at 6 a.m. Great time since the race starts at 6:30 a.m. It would have been a nice gesture to the hotel guests to offer a race morning breakfast. Oh well.


4:45 a.m. Mom is doing her hair. I feel a SOM coming on. I diffuse it.


5 a.m. We are ready to leave so we call down to valet and valet is nowhere to be found. WTF?! I call the front desk and they call him on his cell. We ride the elevator down to the valet with the valet guy. OMG.


5:10 a.m. Finally leaving! We get to our first choice parking lot and it's practically empty. PRACTICALLY EMPTY! Remember when the guy told me it was going to be full by 4:30 a.m. It was 5:10 a.m.! What the heck! Positive note: We were parked in a really good spot. Right in the middle of the start and finish line. Not too close, not too far. Perfect. Plus, it was only $5 and that's cheap for event parking.


Mom took a little snooze in the car while I ate a granola bar and a muffin. Glorious.


6 a.m. Off to find a bathroom. There were real bathrooms in the stadium so headed up there to use them. Took me no joke, 15-20 minutes just to get into the bathroom. The line was horrendous. I always get jealous of the men's line when I have to stand in a ginormous line like this one.


6:20 a.m. Time to find my corral or as they call it my "pig pen." Mom went to find a spot by the start line and I started my hike to corral "F." I was supposed to meet Bri and Pat at Corral F but they were in Corral E. So, I wished them good luck and we went our separate ways.


6:30 a.m. Race starts!


6:50 a.m. It took me 20 minutes to get to the start line. It was very cool though. So many spectators, I loved it!


Race Day: Course
It was a nice course. Definitely a lot to see! There were a ton of spectators throughout the entire race! The only places they weren't at were the bridges. But they were there before and after. I have never seen so many people come out for a race. It was truly a community event. Although I was listening to my iPod, I could hardly ever hear my music since there was so much encouragement from the sidelines. Kudos to Flying Pig on making this event such a great experience for spectators and runners.


Another thing I would like to point out is that there were hydration stations at every mile marker. Since it was 65 degrees at 6:30 a.m. it got a whole lot hotter by 9 a.m. Therefore, it was greatly appreciated. I don't believe the organizers of the Flying Pig were ready for how hot it was going to be. By the time I got to mile 6, which was about an hour and a half clock time, they ran out of cups so the volunteers were pouring water into the runners hands. Other than that, every hydration station was stacked and ready to go. 


Race Day: Lesson Learned
Like the flying pig organizers, I wasn't prepared for it being so hot either. I packed every piece of running gear I had. I ended up wearing a tank top, shorts and compression shorts. What I did NOT pack or invest in was Body Glide. I was chafing so bad I was bleeding from mile 3-9. The medics were passing out Vaseline at mile 9. Thank GOD! I have never had so much pain in my entire life. My pace went from 9:30/10 from mile 1-3 to 10/11 for miles 3-6 and then all the way down to 11/12 for miles 6-9. After I lathered up the Vaseline on my legs, I was running better but by then the damage was done. 

Finish Swine!

Official Time - 2:35.01
Official 6.8 - 1:20.54
Official Pace - 11:50
Garmin Time - 
Garmin Distance - 
Garmin Pace - 


Enjoy these pictures from the Expo and Course! 

Getting ready to cross the Start!

Crossing over into Kentucky

View along the course

view along the course

Bri, Pat and I in the recovery area

*SOM = Stressed Out Moment

Martian Marathon Run!

Hello Earthlings!

Since I am running a half-marathon in a couple weeks, I wanted to do a training race to take place of a long run. I heard great things about the Martian Marathon Run so, I decided to sign up and run the 10k.

The Martian consists of five events: Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10k, 5k and the Martian Mile. You would think the event would be insane and a huge cluster eff with five events. But no, The race was well organized and on time. I never felt claustrophobic like how I did at the Detroit Turkey Trot.

By the time my event started, it was rainy, cold and windy. I was not loving the weather and lost all interest of running. Remember my excuses post? This was definitely one of those moments. Thank God my Mom was there telling me to suck it up or I probably would have left. ha.

The course was smooth and somewhat hilly. We ran all around Dearborn and saw some cool sites. Like the campus pf U of M Dearborn, The Henry Ford Estate and through Hines Park. The only boring part of the course was mile 3-4. It was a down and back on a free way. Not real exciting but, it was flat and fast so I didn't mind.

Please note my amazing form. *sarcasm*

My goal time was 60 minutes or under. My last 10k was at Shamrock n' Roll and  I ran it in 1.07. Terrible! My calves tightened up from my new shoes and it was just the worst race. This time I ran it in 1.04. Still not my best but at least I knocked three minutes off my previous time. My PR is 59.58. I'm hoping to get there sooner rather than later.

Final Time: 1.07

My training for the next couple weeks include:
4/17: 5 miles
4/18: 6 miles speed work
4/19: 5 miles
4/21: 10 miles
4/23: 5 miles
4/25: 6 miles hills
4/26: 3 miles
4/28: 12 miles
4/30: 3 miles
5/2: 4 miles speed
5/4: 2 miles
5/6: FLYING PIG!!!!!!! RACE DAY!!!!

Suck it up! Excuses don't get results.

Wow! I have a lot to update since I last wrote my "Bucket List with a Twist" blog post. I have been doing a new exercise regimen which I will go in depth later.  I have the Flying Pig Half-Marathon coming up in about 4 weeks and if I can kick it into gear these next few weeks, I will be ready. If not, well, I guess I got sucked into the "Winter Blues." 


What are the "Winter Blues" you ask? Well, it's a term I made up to describe all of the BS excuses I used to NOT train this winter. Below I have some excuses that I used to justify to myself that it was okay NOT to train. 


"It's really cold outside"
I'm sure we all have used some sort of climate based excuse. Whether it's raining, snowing, too hot, too cold or maybe too windy. I will confess, I used this one a lot this winter. If you live in Michigan and are currently reading this, feel free to call me a wuss or something else. We all know that Michigan was NOT cold this winter. Yes, there were a few cold days. But, overall it was a mild winter. Some would even say it was perfect running weather. To me, it was an excuse to stay in bed and relax. To this I say to myself and to you, "SUCK IT UP!"


"I've been really busy..."
How many people have used this excuse? I will say, my winters were pretty busy. I am a cheerleading coach and winter is our competitive season. I had 3 hour practices every night and  had a competition almost every weekend. By Sunday, I was content with laying in my bed and doing absolutely nothing. I ran on the treadmill a few times. Hated it. Gave up after 15 minutes. I would like to think I tried to work out. But, we all know that wasn't true. Here is a quote that directly relates to my life, "Someone busier than you is running right now." To this I say to myself and to you, "SUCK IT UP!"


"I'm so tired"
I just read a blog post about this excuse. The main point was that everyone is tired. But, you can't let "tired" define you. Yes, I am exhausted at the end of the day. But, during cheerleading season I let my "tiredness" consume me. I was too tired to go out. Too tired to work out. I was just "too tired." Everyone is tired. I recently posted on my Facebook that I was too tired to workout and I needed motivation. My friend Jess said to go to the gym and stay there for 10 minutes. Most of the time you end up doing the whole workout. Genius! So the next time I am tired I say to myself and you, "SUCK IT UP!"


Training for the Flying Pig
Training for this race has been rough. This is the first race I've trained for by myself. No guidance or group leaders. Yes, I am running it with a group of friends from college. But, we are training for it in different places. It is very difficult to go out and run when you have to go out by yourself. I reconnected with a local running group and they have been helping me train. I am SO grateful for Jessica and John. They have been so supportive throughout this whole training process. 


If you have to go running by yourself, I would recommend breaking my cardinal rule. Which is, always run without music. Break it and break it many times. Thank God for Britney Spears, rap/hip-hop and all other sorts of music. If it wasn't for my brother's iPod shuffle and Lola (my dog) it would be a very hard training process. 


So, I have to ask...


What are some things that motivated you to get out and moving? 


and


What do you do if you have to train alone?