Space Coast Half Marathon - November 29, 2015

"Quickest race report ever"

Pre-race:

Flew down, went to WDW

Race:

This was by far my slowest year so far. We didn't train & that's on me. It wasn't a horrible race, by any means. We kept up with the 3 hr group until about mile 12 and then slowed down a bit that last mile. Our goal was to finish before the first marathoner - we *just barely* did. Whew! Year 3 down.

Post-race:
We showered, checked out of the hotel, and headed to WDW for a night.

A big change

We've spent all year making changes. None of them had to do with positive changes to our diet and workouts. I've tried a couple of times to go back to Whole 30, but it hasn't happened.

Recently, there was an article in Simply Gluten Free magazine about Hashimotos and gluten. The quick and dirty is that the gluten protein and thyroid cells are very similar and when the body attacks the gluten protein to get rid of it, the thyroid cells get attacked too. This makes for a really bad cycle, and a really serious one. No more gluten for me. I've been horrible about it this year and it's time to make my change again.

Change #1: No more gluten. 

We took measurements on July 13. They're bad. I mean, technically measurements can't be good or bad, but I didn't love the results. We did "before" pictures last night. Yes, I realize that they were almost a month apart. July was ridiculous. While I did manage to lose 2 lbs and 1/2" here or there, it wasn't a focused effort.

Change #2: Focused effort on managing our weight.

We've been running the Space Coast Half Marathon the weekend after Thanksgiving the past couple of years as part of their Big Bang Series. Last year, we didn't train at all. It showed. So, we're training this year. Guess what started yesterday?! That's right - training. Our first 30 minute walk/run in the books!

Change #3: Train for what you signed up for.

Now that we've sold the house & moved, the kitchen is fully available. One of my "daily chores" is to cook. Jon's taking a knife skills class this month, so hopefully he'll be able to help in the kitchen with prep work every once in a while. Last night's dinner was this. So easy & delicious.

Change #4: Use the kitchen more often.

We'll see what happens!

Greatest 4th in the North 5k, Michigan

We recently took a trip to Michigan to visit with my grandma. We were there over July 4th and it seems that many towns across the USA have races on the 4th. There was one in a nearby town, so a bunch of the family decided to do either the fun run, 5k, or 10k. We had several people in our group that placed in the age groups - or even won the races the entered. Grandma was so happy to be able to see so many of her grandkids race.

I started out wearing my Fellow Flowers long sleeve shirt. Just after half way, I decided I was hot, so I took off the jacket & rocked out my Team Tough Chik jersey. I also decided I would wait for Jon since he wasn't too far behind me. I underestimated how far behind me he was. Ah well. It was nice to run in to the finish with him. Considering it was our first run since December, I was pleased with how it went.

Pre-race

Pre-race

Pre-race

A small group of those of us who raced 

A few of the "fun run" finishers (my nephew did NOT think it was "fun")

My 2nd cousin, who won the 10k

YAY! Finished!

Jon & I after the race

My lil brother got 1st in his age group - 4th overall - for the 10k

Whole 30 update

I figured it was time to come in and give an update about how things are going on Whole 30. The first week went pretty well. I had a couple of "off plan" but gluten free meals. I lost 3 lbs.

And then our pre-scheduled trip happened. I tried to prepare as much as I could. It wasn't meant to be. I knew that it probably wouldn't be though. 

And then last week happened. We'll just leave it at "it wasn't the best week". It definitely wasn't the worst week, but it wasn't good either. 

This weekend had promise, but it wasn't perfect either. So, with Jon on board, we restart (again) this week. I'm not beating myself up about the past couple of weeks, just moving on.

I have a couple of more difficult eating situations coming up, but I'll figure them out as we go. One trip I'll have a kitchen at my disposal. The other trip I'll at least have a mini fridge & probably microwave. *hopefully*

Whole 30, take 15

Now that it's June and we've closed on the house, I have a kitchen I'm allowed to cook in again! Thank goodness!

So, today, along with at least 2 other ladies, I restart Whole 30. Jon will join me in the meals I make him (at least). Being up front, I have 40 lbs and at least 20 inches to lose! I also need to get my thyroid back in optimum health.

I'll also be working on Fitness Blender's 4 week Low Impact plan. I figured low impact was a good way to get back into it.

Here's what week 1 will look like, with a couple of holes still:

Monday:
b - sweet potatoes & chicken sausage
l - salad with chicken
d - roasted chicken & summer squash & bok choy
(lots of chicken today!)
Fitness Blender plan 3 & 4

Tuesday:
b - sweet potatoes & chicken sausage
l -
d - beef skewers & salad
Fitness Blender plan 5

Wednesday:
b - sweet potatoes & chicken sausage
l -
d - pulled pork, coleslaw, broccoli salad
Fitness Blender plan 6

Thursday:
b - sweet potatoes & chicken sausage
l -
d - lettuce wrap pork "tacos" with veggies, guacamole, and salsa
Fitness Blender plan 7

Friday:
b - sweet potatoes & chicken sausage
l -
d - chicken & zucchini poppers with broccoli salad
Fitness Blender plan 8

Saturday:
b - sweet potatoes & chicken sausage
l -
d - bbq at a friend's house
Fitness Blender plan 9

Sunday:
b - sweet potatoes & chicken sausage
l -
d-
Fitness Blender plan 10 & 11

Eventually, I'll need to change my breakfast up. But, I'm trying to keep it as easy as possible this week to get back into it. Lunches are my weakness. Pretty much the plan is either salad or leftovers. I need to get better about planning those though.

The Paleo Journey

Since we've been trying to sell our townhouse, our eating has been horrible. I'm not even going to say it's been ok; it's been flat out horrible. I take responsibility for that. I've been having a rough time knowing if it's "ok" to cook in the house because you're not supposed to have lingering food smells when you show the house. Hard to cook dinner when some showings are between 6-7pm.

That being said, something HAS to change. We've been talking about getting back on the Paleo wagon, even with showings. People are going to have to realize other people live in houses... even ones that are for sale.

This weekend, we were in a Barnes & Noble. It's amazing how being in a college town changes whether or not there's a book store around. I picked up three new Paleo cookbooks (like I needed them!).

Real Life Paleo

Whole 30 Cookbook

21 Day Sugar Detox Cookbook

(I'm not Amazon affiliated, just sharing the links)

The Real Like Paleo book really caught my eye. It's about making changes and adapting to the lifestyle one step at a time. I like that style of making changes, so we'll see if it helps!

The W30 cookbook just recently came out. I've been curious about it & with the chance to flip through it before I bought it, it seems like it'll be a good reference for when we decide to do another strict W30.

I have a friend who has the 21 Day Sugar Detox books and she loves them, so I figured it'd be a good addition to my library.

There are days I wish we didn't live in an area that was so easy to say "screw it" and go out. I feel like we may have stuck with the Paleo lifestyle a little more if that was the case. I've been on/off Paleo for a couple of years now. I KNOW it works. I don't know why I resist it so much.

We have a big anniversary coming up in November of this year. I'd like to be closer to my goal weight & health by then. I've got all of the resources. Just need to DO IT!

How is it April?!

March flew by! We were busy getting our house ready to sell and all hopes of anything related to anything other than selling the house were crushed. We even skipped the Shamrock races. I was beyond bummed out about that!

Now it's April. We're up on the market and I can breathe again. Which really means, I need to start eating better (as in: not eating out!) and start working out again.

My goal for food is Whole 30 style Paleo - with some room to "play". I'm thinking 90% Whole 30, 10% Paleo/other. There are some Paleo recipes I really like that have some honey in them. Since it's not allowed on Whole 30, it'd be all of the spring recipes without it. Plus, if I'm being super honest, a Tbsp of honey over an entire recipe every once in a while just doesn't bother me.

We're headed back to our travel trailer today, but once we get home tonight, I'm meal planning. Which means I'm grocery shopping tomorrow. I've GOT to do this.

I don't even know what my weight is right now. Our scale decided to stop working (I think it's the batteries) and then it got packed away in the great "move 3/4 of your stuff out of your house" effort of March. I don't fit into my "fat jeans" any more and had to go get new ones. Blech. I may go to the storage unit and try to find the scale. I have no idea if it's worth it, because I'm kind of cringing at the idea of knowing what my weight is right now, but I feel like I almost need that kick in the butt.

Also, my thyroid is messed up horribly right now. I'm all over the place. I've GOT to get it back under control or my destiny is thyroid medication in November. No thank you.

In other news, I passed my ACE Health Coach certification on Monday! Given the amount of studying I didn't do, I'm a bit shocked, but it's all good. Now, to get myself straight so that I feel like I can actually talk with my clients about nutrition and all that!

Declare it Day - Feb 7 2015

Declare it Day kind of came & went for me. I did my declaration, but I didn't attend the local event. Too many things were going on and I just wasn't feeling it. I've had some "goals" on my mind, so I figured it'd be good to put them on paper and not just here.

1) Run a sub-27 minute 5k.
Why? Because my fastest 5k was 27:07 in 2011. I consider that to be the year I was at my best athletic performance to date. I want to see if I can get back there.
What it'll take? Lots of dedication, speed work, easy runs, and a plan!
When? I'm shooting for end of year, literally, 12-31-15. Ringing in Hope 5k

2) Get out of the Athena weight category.
Why? Because I feel unhealthy.
What it'll take? More dedication to fixing my nutrition and following my workout plan.
When? 5-31-15. The date of my first tri this year.

3) Fit into my Rev3 Maine red t-shirt.
Why? Because I love that shirt.
What it'll take? More dedication to fixing my nutrition and following my workout plan.
When? 2-6-15. I may need the entire year to do this one! Then again, who knows. If I get things under control, maybe it'll go faster than I think.

4) Enjoy quiet time with my husband.
Why? We need it.
What it'll take? We're putting the travel trailer in Luray this year, so it'll just be getting ourselves out to it.
When? No end date.

TRX workout

Today, we did TRX Force Workout 2. I'm really looking forward to working through this program. I'm still working on the 30 day yoga challenge. It's more yoga than I normally do, so it's been good.

I'm also getting back to Whole30, which is GREAT! My thyroid's been all over the place the past few months, so it's time to get back.

It's time to get running again. It's on my training plan for next week. Yes, next week instead of tomorrow. I may do a couple of bike rides between now and then to get my legs acclimated to moving with a quick turn over again.

Last week, This week

I owe a couple of race reports still. Oops! I'll get those up this week some time.


Last week, these were my goals:

Mon: TRX workout - DONE
Tues: Bike ride
Wed: 5k end of year race - DONE
Thurs: Bike ride
Fri: TRX workout
Sat: Run

Well, 2 out of 5 isn't horrible for a holiday week, right?

This week's goals are:

Mon - TRX workout & yoga - DONE
Tues - Run & yoga
Wed - TRX workout & yoga
Thurs - Run & yoga
Fri - Bike & yoga
Sat - Run & yoga

I started a 30 day yoga challenge & so far it's been good. I'm a few days behind, so my goal is to catch up this week.

Starting Wednesday, I'll be doing a Whole 30 again. I've got to break it for a trip we're going on later this month, but then will be right back on it for what will become a "Whole X". Not sure how long it'll go. I need it just to feel more human again!

Getting back in the swing

I feel like I do more "getting back in the swing of things" posts than anything else these days. So, here's the plan for this week.

Mon: TRX workout
Tues: Bike ride
Wed: 5k end of year race
Thurs: Bike ride
Fri: TRX workout
Sat: Run

Along with this comes us getting back into Paleo eating and a Whole 30 looming. This W30 will actually be a Whole X. There's a week or so that will be non-W30 because of some travel coming up, but it is what it is. The reason I say it'll be Whole X is because 1) I have some weight that needs to come off and 2) I feel like crap. So, it's time to get back into this and make it a true lifestyle and be done with the SAD.

Other interesting things this week:
1) I've started using some essential oils (from a non-MLM company). I'll be looking forward to seeing if they actually help.
2) I'm now a Training Peaks Ambassador: http://sot.ag/3yjy3 to join us!
3) I'm now a Fellow Flowers Ambassador. I'm really looking forward to what 2015 has in store with Fellow Flowers.
4) I'll also be on Team Tough Chik for 2015. Love those ladies!

TRX

Last week marked the beginning of our TRX workouts. I'm LOVING it! It's so completely different than anything I've done in the past 8 years.

Today I did a core workout followed by an arms & shoulders workout. Things like biceps curls & triceps presses that were easier with normal weights are so much more challenging. It's absolutely amazing how much a suspension trainer can really push you to your limits.

My ultimate goal is to be able to do an awesome pike on the TRX. They're super hard (for me). Can't wait to see how long it takes me to be able to do at least one solidly!

New Beginnings & New Goals

After 8 yrs with my TNT training group (not Team in Training, but TNT Fitness), I've decided to branch out and do my "own thing". Jon will also be leaving TNT, after 3 years with them. We're going to start training with the TRX. We're both really looking forward to it!

At first, we'll be following a couple of their programs to get us started & really learning how to use the TRX properly. If I can find a class to become certified on them, I may do that at some point. It'll be a great change from what we've been doing.

Part of my 2015 goals is to get back to my 2011 weight & health. Another goal is to get faster. I've got 2 half marathons scheduled for next year, but that's the only "long distance" racing I'll be doing. Everything else will be 5/10k. I *might* throw in a 10 miler, but maybe not. We'll see how I'm feeling about it. I REALLY want to break 27 minutes on my 5k. I have a lot of work to do on that, so for now, it'll just be a good bit of speed work & shorter focused running.

In addition to the running, I'll still be biking. I'll probably do a couple of sprint tris, so I'll throw in some swimming from time to time as well.

Soon, I'll be writing a list of my goals (instead of just a spewing of the mind).

In other news, we went to the Marine Corps Marathon today to watch my lil bro run. He's done an amazing job over the last 5 years of improving his time. Today, he ran a 2:51 marathon. Speedy lil dude!

Team Tough Chik Registration is Open!

While I'm slacking on my Tower of Terror race reports, I thought I'd pop in and mention that Team Tough Chik registration for the 2015 team is open! I've really come to love this group of women. So many different background, sports, and amazing women who really do support each other. Looking forward to next year!