Motivation and Flexibility--Two Very Important Things!

Week three of my half marathon training is winding down. How does the time go so fast?!  Yesterday I was supposed to run 5 miles but the weather was so cold and winds were gusting up to 30 miles per hour so I adjusted my plan and took yesterday off and will run on Sunday instead.  I’ve learned that it’s important to be flexible, which is sometimes difficult for me and my Type A personality.

I still fight the urge every morning to stay in bed and skip my workout but I know I’ll be mad at myself if I do that.  The long term goals I have are more important than getting a little bit more sleep.  In order to keep my long term goals in the forefront of my mind at 4:45 a.m. , I decided to put one of my Rock n’ Roll Las Vegas race medals on top of my phone so when my clock goes off I have to move the medal to turn it off.  There’s no better motivation than that! 

I’ve been getting emails lately about this year’s Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon in Vegas and they literally give me goosebumps thinking about how much fun I’ve had the past 2 times I’ve done it and how much I’m looking forward to going back this year. 

I’ve been working on my flexibility this past week with Piyo workouts.  They are the perfect blend of strength and flexibility training.  I know that being more flexible and elongating my muscles will help with my running and recovery time between runs as well as prevent the chance of injury.  That is definitely something I’ve overlooked in the past. 

Tomorrow morning I’m doing some speed work, which is not my favorite but at least it’s a shorter workout.  My goal is to finish my half marathons this year in under 2 hours.  I’ve got some work to do if I’m going to make that a reality but I’m up for the challenge!

What workouts have you been doing?  Are you training for any upcoming races?  Tell me, I’d love to know!

Dedication

It’s week 2 of my half marathon training and I’ve done a great job this week making sure to follow my training plan and getting all the miles in before the sun rises.  That is, until this morning.  Something about knowing the spring-like weather that we’ve been spoiled with the last few days was over and it was back to cold and windy conditions at 5am made me decide to trade in my running shoes for my dumbbells.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love weight training, (it’s actually my all-time favorite type of exercise) but I promised myself I’d follow the training plan exactly as written and already in week 2 I’ve let myself down.  I didn’t let myself spend much time being hard on myself, though.  I decided that as soon as supper was over and I had a chance to catch up on how my girls’ and my husband’s day was, I was going to lace up my running shoes, bundle up with a couple of warm layers and get a few miles in.

Sometimes it’s hard to be disciplined but at the end of the day, that’s the only way to reach your goals.  When I ran tonight in the cold rain, I thought about how fortunate I was to be able to run instead of thinking about how nice it would be to be at home by the fire watching HGTV (my weakness!)

So the next time you’re tempted to let yourself off the hook, just remember that you have a choice and the choice you make will either bring you closer to your goals are further away from them.

A favorite quote of mine is:  “The pain of discipline is nothing compared to the pain of regret”. 

Workout & Meal Plan for 12/19-12/25, 2016

Christmas is only 7 days away and the excitement around here is building.  We spent this weekend making Christmas goodies to give to our neighbors and have been listening to Christmas music in the car whenever we go anywhere.  Tonight we plan on watching a Christmas movie (or 2) before going to bed.  Our favorites are Home Alone and Christmas Vacation. 

No matter how busy my weeks get during this time of year, I do my best to stay on my routine as much as possible or to at least plan ahead for when my schedule goes off plan.  This allows me to know when I need to pack a healthy snack with me or if I need to make a crock pot meal that is ready and waiting for us to eat before rushing out the door again.  I also never skip my workout.  This time of year is bound to throw a lot of temptations at us and I like knowing that I can indulge in a few of those treats because I at least got a great workout in that morning.  (Although, I have to remind myself that you can’t out-train a bad diet). 

I included my weekly workout and meal plan below.   You’ll notice that I eat the same thing several days in a row.  I like doing this because I make a double or triple bath of a recipe and I can eat several meals before having to cook again (can you tell I HATE to cook!?)  There are a couple meals on Christmas that I can’t plan ahead for because I am not sure exactly what our schedule will be that day but I do know that I will make the best choices possible given the situation.  It’s Christmas and I plan to enjoy the day without feeling guilty. 

I’m starting a New Year, New You accountability group on January 2nd and Beachbody will give all people who participate and meet the requirements, a cut of $2 million dollars!!  If you’re interested in joining fill out the application here: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Lh7oruXXc5HlcQDsu1FS_xBySb2u2log1SOEGiDutEg/edit

My Fitness Journey in a Nutshell

I've always enjoyed exercise.  In fact, I remember being in 5th grade and doing Jane Fonda and Kathy Smith step aerobics tapes with my mom and sister in our living room.  My uncle even made my sister and I our own steps out of plywood! 

Fast forward a several years to college and my twin sister and I joined a gym that we would go to several times a week which we enjoyed doing.  But once I got married and had my first daughter, going to the gym just wasn't something I was interested in doing anymore.  I worked full-time and didn't want to be away from my daughter any more than I already had to.  And let's face it, driving to and from the gym and being there at the busiest time of day just wasn't my ideal way to spend an evening.  

That's where Beachbody came in.  My sister ordered a workout program called Insanity and was raving about how great of a workout it was.  I immediately ordered it and the rest is history!  Shaun T quickly became my most beloved "celebrity" (who I have gotten to meet twice now!)  and Insanity was my soul-mate workout.  

I got up at 5am every morning and pushed play while my husband and daughter slept.  It was the perfect solution to getting my body back in shape without the guilt of missing out on time with my family and it saved us the extra expense of a gym membership. 

Almost a decade later, I'm still LOVING Beachbody and everything they stand for.  That's why I was so sure I wanted to become a Beachbody coach.  I want to share with everyone how living a healthy lifestyle is possible and it's easier than most people think.  You pick a workout program that you enjoy doing in the comfort of your home, you drink a delicious shake that tastes like a decadent dessert and the results follow!

If you are interested in starting (or continuing) your own fitness journey, you should join my next challenge group.  Fill out this application and I'll get back to you ASAP.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1wUWp6ub5nf_6wgBzPAJSQazVLq3pTCI8HZ1scfXJn32bWA/viewform

Protein Cookie Dough Balls

This recipe is my new favorite!  I can honestly say these cookie dough balls are so delicious that if someone had handed me one and said they were healthy I would not have believed them until I made them myself.  Try them and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:
3 scoops vanilla Shakeology or protein powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup honey

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together
Form into balls
Place on wax paper and put in freezer to set, then move to refrigerator
Enjoy!

It's been 3 weeks since my last post!  Yikes. I am guilty of letting my busy schedule control me and I didn't make this blog a priority.  I will work to be better about being consistent.  I also am brainstorming topics for other blog posts.  If you have a specific topic you'd like me to address please comment below and let me know what you'd like me to post about.  My goal is to provide value to as many people as possible. Here is my week at a glance.  

It's a three day weekend and I couldn't be happier about that!  I have so many projects that I want to accomplish and now I have the time to devote to getting them done. I normally work on my meal and workout plan on Sundays but I decided to get that done today so I could cross it off the list and move on to other things. This is what my upcoming week looks like. Of course it's not written in stone.  Most weeks unexpected things come up that cause me to make adjustments to either my workouts or the meals but at least I have a game plan to guide me.  If you need help creating a meal or workout plan I'd love to chat with you!