Run Run Rudolph

With the holidays quickly approaching, it's good to not be lazy. I was glad I had my pal Liz to help hold me accountable with a run. It gets dark so early that it's easy to go home and get into my pajamas, especially since I've been fighting a runny nose! So here's the breakdown of my run today, which I am pretty happy about. I fought a mean hill and felt like giving up, but at one point, Liz said, "If you try to stop, I'll drag you!" It's always good to have someone pump you up after you gasp for breath while saying, "oh shit...."

Here is a picture after we finished. I blew my nose in that dri fit about 10 times. It's disgusting.

\It's always nice to come home to a hot dinner after a long run. This one had been cooking in the crockpot all day long.

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/07/taco-chicken-bowls/

It wasn't T.J.'s favorite meal, but I really enjoyed it. T.J. added avocado and hot sauce. 

So my message today is, it may be cold, you may have a boogery nose, you may still have Christmas presents to buy, or maybe you ate Christmas cookies for lunch, but don't give up on yourself. At the end of the day, making excuses only hurts yourself, and nobody knows that better than me. 

I love myself

Whoa, it's a balmy 68 degrees on December 12th. Naturally I decided to run this morning because of the great weather. Last night, I ate Applebee's and was still feeling guilty about that so I thought the run would help.
My first mile was in 9 minutes and 36 seconds, which is a pace that I'm not used to running at. So basically I jogged the second mile a bit slower and then just felt like I couldn't keep going. I did a mix of run/walking on the way back home. T.J. was at a coffee shop on Fairfield waiting for me with a water-SWOON, and we walked the rest of the way home together. In total it was 5.24 miles.

So why the title? As I was having a terrible run, struggling to breathe, I began fighting with myself in my mind as most people do when they are working out. 

"Why did I eat those wings last night?"

"Why am I not running right now?"

"I suck."

"I should be going faster."

"I can't believe I'm not running. I've ran farther than this before."

"I'm out of breath right now. That's pathetic."

"I'll never run 13 miles."

"If I weighed less this would be easier."

It goes on beyond just when people are running, especially with women. We've decided to hate ourselves daily. As I was running, walking, or giving up, whatever you want to call it, Kendrick Lamar's song "I" came on, in which in the chorus says, "I love Myself" among many other explicit things that I won't post here, but it's a good message. At one point he also says "Everybody lack confidence." How true those words are. I pass several people running and I think in my head "I'm the fattest person out here." Why should I let that embarrass me? Instead, it should empower me. I would also bet that every single person I pass is fighting their own mind, trying to push away negative thoughts just like I am. 

I'm a work in progress, but I love myself. 

How appropriate is my shirt for this post? 

Dreams of realities peace
Blow steam in the face of the beast
The sky can fall down, the wind can cry now
The strong in me, I still smile

NOT Paleo, Adkin's, Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, or Cleansing.

Today I thought I would talk a little bit about what I eat on the regular. I love pizza. I can't eat things that don't taste good to me. I love red wine. I hate cooking. I like to go out to dinner to avoid dishes. I have a major sweet tooth. That being said, I gained 15 pounds over summer break by eating all the pizza, drinking all the red wine, and going out to eat all the time. So did I give up all of these things that I love? No. I've tried that before and I become a miserable human being and end up binge eating everything I can find by nightfall. I still eat things that I love, but I try to stay pretty healthy throughout the work week. I have also been more successful with moderation. I use take out boxes at restaurants more frequently and try to cut back on fried side dishes. One unhealthy meal does not mean the whole day is ruined for healthy eating, so if I know I'm going out to eat for dinner, I try to make healthy, lower calorie choices for breakfast and lunch.

Here's what I ate today. This is a typical Wednesday for me. I'm not a nutritionist by any means, so judge as you will!

Breakfast: UMP chocolate protein powder, half a banana, and a pinch of PB2. Add water and ice and viola, a breakfast shake! UMP is a great protein powder because it has no sugar and very low calories. It's affordable and definitely keeps me full until lunch. It's sold by Beverly. PB2 is a powdered form of peanut butter that has a lot less fat calories than regular peanut butter. I just use a pinch because I think it has a strong flavor, but you can always use more or less based on your tastes.

It's the texture of a Wendy's Frostee

Lunch: Boar's Head low sodium turkey breast with avocado and red onions on a Flat-Out sandwich thin with natural applesauce. If Molly Kramer reads this she's going to think I copied off of her recent IG post, but I really fashioned this sandwich off of one my favorites at Jason's Deli in Rookwood. T.J. and I love that place and they do offer several healthier options. The natural applesauce has no added sugar, so it is a little more tart. The Flat Out sandwiches and wraps are in the bakery section at my Kroger. We only eat Boar's Head lunch meat at home because it has less preservatives, even though it is more expensive. It tastes a lot better too in my opinion. 

I'm obsessed with red onions so mine is loaded up. Dessert was a breath mint that still didn't take away the smell!

Dinner: Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad 

Recipe Here: http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/buffalo-chicken-quinoa-salad/

This is one of T.J's favorite dinners. I am spoiled by him doing mostly all of the cooking in our home every night. He's a much better cook than I am and complains that my cooking has no taste, so I consider it a win for both of us. For modifications, I do not put any blue cheese in mine. T.J. puts goat cheese in his instead. I also reduced the salt in the sauce by half because buffalo sauce has a lot of sodium already. Unfortunately when I tried to take it all out, the sauce had way less taste. I have a hard time eating veggies and I love that this recipe sneaks in carrots, cabbage, and broccoli. We always double the batch so we have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. That's how much we both love it this meal. 

The chef! 

Thanks for reading, I'd love for you to share your favorite recipes with me. I hope to post food posts once a week to give you new ideas for meals. 

A Workout Snapshot

Today I thought it would be nice to share with you how and when I workout. I'm not really a "gym" person. I found myself wandering around aimlessly wondering what I should do next and being too afraid to use the weights because so many people were bro-ing down on them. So I've come up with some solutions.

I joined Cosmic Studios in Erlanger. They have a variety of classes to take and classes work out better for me because someone is telling me exactly what to do. So here's the last 4 days in re-cap.

Saturday-Craze Dance Class: This class is a dance/zumba style class that incorporates pop music songs that make you want to dance. This class is great for people of all ages and ability levels and is good if you are trying to get a lot of steps in.

Sunday-R.I.P.P.E.D: This is my favorite class because it kicks my rear end into gear. All the letters stand for something different. R is resistance where we do weight training. I stands for interval, which gets your heart rate up and down. P stands for power where we focus on large muscle groups, like shoulders and thighs. The other P is plyometrics, which is what athletes use. It focuses on explosiveness and agility, oh and a hell of a lot of jumping. E is for endurance. This 10 minutes and 30 seconds of punches and kicks is my sheer bliss. D stands for diet. Of course, we add in C to encompass our core also. This is truly a nonstop full body workout and I am dripping sweat on the floor by the end of it. 

Throwing 'bows at R.I.P.P.E.D. I'm in the front with the grey pants. Yes, I like to stand in the front so I can stare at myself in the mirror. My friend Liz is next to me. This was her first R.I.P.P.E.D. class and it also kicked her butt (which makes me happy!) 

Monday-Bootcamp:  We've done this class in multiple ways, but this week was a pyramid type training where we did exercises for 60 seconds, 45 seconds, 30 seconds and 15 seconds. So you worked your way down, then back up for each part of the body. Legs, arms, core and cardio were all included. Burpees, squat holds, football runs, oh my!  I was very sore when I woke up this morning, especially since I just upped my weights this week.

Tuesday-Running: Today I had a training all day. Sitting still is so hard for me and I actually had to stand up for awhile because I was so tired of sitting. Obviously when I left it was such a beautiful day that I had to go out and get a run in (and some steps!) Sharing my pacing is hard for me because I have so many friends who are runners and would blow my pace and distance out of the water (my friends Liz, Lindsey, and Luke especially) but you may be reading this and thinking that I'm a beast so what do I really have to lose? Here goes: 

Mile 1: 10.01

Mile 2: 11.33

Mile 3: 11.55 (Felt like I was dying....seriously....I can't figure out breathing or pacing....yet...) 

Mile 4: 16.11 ( I walked this whole mile and also got stuck at 2 stop lights)

Mile 5: 11.26 (Woohoo I came back to life for a brief moment!)

Walked last .41 miles to my home. 

Sat outside catching my breath for 15 minutes

This is just a snapshot into some of the things I do, but I will share more as time goes on. I encourage you to find what you like, rather than feel out of place somewhere. You are more likely to stick with something that you actually like and feel motivated to do. There are walking clubs, recreational sports, bicycling groups, and even wii games that can help you get in shape. I do fully recommend doing a variety of things. As you can see, the last 4 days I've focused on both cardio and weight training. When you do the same thing over and over, you will not see as good of results. 

Listened to Katy Perry's "Roar" on miles 1 and 5 today. Go forth, listen, and be encouraged to take on the world! 

No Time Like the Present!

I started this blog in order to document a journey. This journey is mainly focused on the Flying Pig Half Marathon in May of 2016. However, I started focusing on my overall health and fitness in August with the start of a new school year. I've lost weight, but more importantly I've had more daily energy and I've had a better disposition when it comes to things like stress. This blog is not only for myself, but for other people too. This blog will definitely help me to stay motivated though, I hope. I'd like to share workouts, recipes, and help other people to stay focused on their goals. I love the picture above because there is no better time to make changes in your life then right now.

A little about me if you don't know me, I have never been a "runner" before. I was a theater kid in highschool and didn't play sports beyond volleyball my sophomore year. I did however love to dance and do gymnastics.  Since focusing on my health in August, I can currently run 3.5 miles at an 11 minute pace, which is FAR away from 13, but I will get there. I joined a running group that starts in January and I am hoping it will keep me accountable. I constantly like to have fun and I'm usually smiling and cracking jokes. Although I have my own insecurities, I try to stay confident and positive. I see importance in enjoying every day!

Here's me in San Fran-traveling is my true passion!