Monday, January 21, 2013

Hanging on for dear life!


So this past week has been quite a challenge. Last Saturday my 4 year old, Johnny, got sick. Puking every hour for the entire day. And then for days afterward. He was literally sick for days and days on end. Anytime a stomach bug enters the house, it seldom leaves without first striking the majority of us down. So of course each day someone else became ill. By Tuesday night it had found me, but I didn't even realize it yet. I just felt incredibly tired and fell asleep at 8 pm! Wednesday was terrible. I pretty much lay curled in a ball all day while my lovely husband took care of the kids. By Friday of this week we were finally all feeling better. Out of the seven of us, only two (my husband and 6 year old) never got sick. So fingers crossed they don't get sick now that I said that! So my running every day in January goal? Ruined.

However, I have not fallen off the bandwagon. If anything I am hanging on for dear life. I refuse to let this derail my plans. I started working out again as soon as I felt able and I have slowly gotten back to getting good, sweat inducing workouts in each day. Yesterday I ran again for the first time in days and it was a GREAT run. My pace was lower than  it has been in a while. I only wish I could have run further, but I had the dog with me, and I don't want to kill her! So today I am not weighing in and measuring because the last week I struggled so much, I don't want to be discourage by a lack of results. Instead I will weigh in and take measurements on Wednesday and see where I am.

I'm not sure what do do about my running goal, because clearly, I didn't run everyday. But I did run everyday I was physically able. What would you do? I'm still going to continue running the rest of the month, and maybe I'll continue into February as well.

This week, my goals will be to lose 2 lbs. Continue drinking all my water each day, which by the way has gotten even easier lately! To run daily. To workout some form of strength training at least 6 days. Gotta have a day of rest in there somewhere!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Mamavation Monday- Do It, To It






So this week has been quite interesting! Each day has brought new Mamavation hazing challenges. And I have met each challenge and succeeded, albeit covered in sweat and ready to keel over! But in that time I have lost 4 lbs! I have been drinking between 96-128 oz of water each day. At first it was hard, but I found using a sports bottle with a straw made me drink water more often. sometimes I put a little lemon juice in it and I find I drink it even more quickly.

In the next week I am planning to continue maintaining my water intake, running daily, and doing as much strength training as I can handle. My whole body aches right now, but in a good way. I am enjoying being sore. Tonight, we went to a family gathering and got home later than we had planned. We got the kids to bed and I wanted nothing more than to collapse into my bed, laptop out, TV on. But I did not. I groaned that I was tired and my husband, Bobby, looked at me and asked, "Aren't you going running?" I could have kissed him right then. Having someone encourage you is better than chocolate. Seriously. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to working out. I can talk myself out of a run if there are clouds in the sky. Sore muscles, well surely I need a rest day, or a rest week right?? But having someone else encourage me to keep pushing through it. HUGE.

And I just interrupted the writing of this blog so that I could do 25 burpees. Yeah, so take that internet. I did 25 burpees, what are you doing?

This week my running goal is 20 miles. I am hoping to lose 2 more lbs. And I am going to start tracking my measurements tomorrow. I'd like to see if all this strength training and running is helping to reduce my waistline. 



This post is sponsored by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway” at the bottom of your post.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

What keeps you moving?

Staying motivated to continue working out can be very difficult. Oftentimes, if I have something to look forward to, a vacation for example, it's easier to stay focused. Keeping focused when there's no time crunch or travel date is much harder. In fact, if I do not make mini-goals for myself, I find myself really easily unmotivated. Any excuse at all is suddenly acceptable.

When I joined the Mamavation sisterhood, I promised myself I would give up this time. I wish I could be one of those people who only workout sometimes, and yet they look great. I am NOT one of those people. I'm more of the must workout constantly to maintain variety. It is frustrating. Results come slowly, but they do come. And when I slack off, I am instantly punished with weight gain. I just have to work harder than some people, but being healthier is worth my time and toils. What are some ways you keep yourself motivated to work out?


Thursday, January 10, 2013

Random Picture Thursday

These pictures were taken as I ran on Wednesday morning. Gotta love living so near the beach!



Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Exhausted

Today was tiresome. I spent about 4.5 hours in the car with my 3 year old and 6 year old. They were mostly fine in the car, but by the time we were pulling off the highway here in town, I was having to remind them to keep their body parts to themselves. We then had to go pick up the other three kids, head home for dinner, baths, and bedtime. By the time I had gotten all five kids into bed I was ready to join them, but I did not! Instead I proceeded to take the dog outside and run in the yard for 5 minutes, then came back inside and did this workout for toning arms.

The workout was rather intense, as it was one of the assigned #Mamavation hazing workouts I am participating in while applying to become the next Mamavation Mom. It included the following series of excercises:
10 pushups
24 Bicep Burners
15 Shoulder Presses
10 Pushups
15 Tricep Dips
 15 Lateral Raises
10 Pushups
15 Tricep Kickbacks, 20 Bicep Pullbacks

First of all, I had to look up everything except Pushups! How sad is that?? I consider myself a pretty active person but I will admit I've never been one to do strength training. I am of course, the firs to admit I have no strength in my arms, so I was excited to try this workout. And when it ended, I felt as though my arms had turned into a couple of limp noodles. I am absolutely LOVING this feeling!

On the agenda for tomorrow I have a nice 3 mile run planned in the morning. Hoping to maintain a decent pace and run in intervals of 6 minutes running and 30 seconds walking.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Mamavation Monday: New Year, New Me!

This week, on Tuesday, the kids will return to school and life will resume it's normalcy once again. I never rush these breaks, because, as much as I miss my fitness routine (And the cleaning routine as well!) when the kids are at school, I know these times are fleeting. This winter's break was mostly uneventful, we stayed home a lot more than normal, but we read books, watched movies, and cuddled a lot more than we had in past breaks. With the return to routine I am going to be sure to include my resolutions in our new routine for the new year.Unfortunately the routine this week will still be a bit off kilter, as Monday there is no school, and the boys have an audiology appointment on the other side of the state on Tuesday. So Starting Wednesday, it will be back to the new routine. Until then, I will continue doing short runs each day, and fitting in some core strengthening as well. Thus far, I have maintained my daily runs; though most have been brief with the kids being home.

So now that we are 6 days into the new year, what changes have you already begun? Do you feel a difference? Do you have a reward planned for when you reach you goals?  I am still trying to decide what I want to work towards. So far, I honestly just feel tired and week. I'm hoping to move past that next week. Wish me luck! 

I am also going to make this blog more exciting to look at in the coming week. I apologize for the lack of pictures thus far! I think I might also research how to include my workouts on here. If anyone has some blogger experience or tips they can share with me, please feel free to share them. I am still very new!


I know I mentioned it previously, but last week I was accepted into the Mamavation Sistahood. I am so very excited about this! The Mamavation Sistahood is all about helping moms lose weight in a healthy way. This is exactly what I need! I need the motivation, and I need the support to keep going with my running and exercise. I highly recommend you check out www.mamavation.com. There is so much information on the site, whether you decide to pledge to the Sistahood or not. It's great!

This post is sponsored by Schick Intuition and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.




Thursday, January 3, 2013

Running in the Rain

Tonight I met up with three other moms to run the causeway. Here in Florida we do not really have any hills, so running the causeway is a great way to add a little oomph to a run. We did 4.44 miles in just under an hour. Not too bad. Two of the girls who came out were new to our local free running group, Moms Run This Town. We had recently been featured in the local newspaper as part of a fitness article; and one of the moms actually found us because of the article! It was really neat.

As we were running I really pushed myself tonight to try and keep up with the intervals my friend usually does. Six minutes running, 30 seconds walking. I like 2 minutes running, 1 minute walking. Um yeah....and this is why I am still struggling! So I decided if I am going to get serious I need to be serious now. So I did pretty well and was able to keep up her intervals about 2/3 of the time. Not bad considering. Hopefully when we meet up again next week I'll be able to stay with it 100% of the time! As we came into the home stretch the light mist I had noticed began to turn into sprinkles and before I knew it I was being pelted with a light rain. It felt so good! I love running in rain like that! It was just cool enough to get you moving a little bit quicker right when I needed it!

Omron Strapless Heart Rate Monitor Fitness Challenge

I have just entered the Omron Strapless Heart Rate Monitor Fitness Challenge being hosted by www.mamavation.com. I am very excited and hoping my entry will be chosen so I can be a Challenge Ambassador! 

Today for a workout I did some leg and core exercises that should help toning my muscles. Or should I say the places on my body muscles typically belong. I am meeting a friend later to run the causeway. Wish me luck as I have been really struggling with my pace lately on my longer runs. I did run just 1 mile yesterday in keeping with my goal to run daily, and the pace wasn't bad. Actually it was better than most of my runs lately! I had Jack ride his new bike and I ran along beside him, so he kept me moving much faster than if I had just gone out on my own. I'd really like to see some lower numbers tonight! 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Resolution Number Nine

Wow, so much has happened since my last post. I feel as though I haven't been here since last year...oh wait. Yes, I know that was a pretty pathetic attempt at humor, but I had to do it!

So the new year is upon us and I have decided to share with you my New Year's Resolutions. Yes, you read that correctly, there is an "s" at the end of resolution. I have never been one to make resolutions, for fear I would not live up to them, and be left disappointed come December 31st when I realize I have only 4 hours left to meet said resolutions before the ball drops. However, I have come to realize that by never making a commitment to change, I do not change. So I have come up with the following list:

1.  I will run every day in January. I might run a mile, 5 minutes, 5 miles. As long as at some point each day I make an effort to run.
2. I will run 500 miles or more total for the year. I would like this goal to be surpassed, but I know I really struggle to get meaningful runs in during the summer months, so I am trying to be realistic. If I hit 500 miles early in the year I might re-evaluate this goal.
3. I will drink more water every day. I struggle with this. Not because I am drinking bad things ( I drink soda very rarely), I really do love drinking water. I just struggle with drinking enough. Help!
4. I will encourage my children to be more active with me. We will go on more walks, and maybe even short runs.
5. I will spend more time reading to my children.
6. I will listen to more music.
7. I will be more positive. I will find at least  one positive thing in EVERY day.
8. I will learn more sign language.
9. I will be more.

There, now it is here published for all to see and now I am going to have to be accountable for it all! I think my goals are attainable. What are your resolutions for the new year?