fitness

30 Day Running Challenge: Day 26 and 27

Sorry, I missed yesterday!

Day 26: The only day in the challenge where I’m going to ask you to run: go run a mile as fast as you can and tell us about it!

7:57!  I am ok with that.  I think it is because it is cool and rainy out, not to mention I have been resting my legs all week to recover from my half marathon last weekend.

I love running in the rain, and tonight, it actually made me excited for fall (even though I generally consider myself a summer girl). It has been such a hot summer here in Michigan, so the rain is a welcome change.


Day 27: While running do you use any watches or apps? What technology do you utilize?

I use my Garmin Forerunner 305 and I love it!  I feel bad because I don’t use it to its fullest potential, I just want to know how far I’ve gone and how long it has taken me 🙂  I originally chose this one because of the heart rate monitor feature, but I have gotten away from using that too.  Maybe that will be a goal of mine.

theviewfrommyroom:

before-and-after-pictures:

5’11. starting at around 185, now 150 and continuing to lose. lost weight thanks to tumblr first off for their motivation, but also by healthy eating and exercising! continuing to lose weight the healthy weight and finally becoming more confident, and not some girl hiding behind the towel 🙂

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Follow here for weight loss before and after pictures, here for weight loss stories, & here for workout songs every day!!

Oh my God, I need to get my ass in gear.  Go her!

A weigh-in was not the way to start my day…

BUT, I know what I’m up against, and I just have to bust my butt.

Today, I have a 4 mile run and strength training today, so lots to get my frustrations out on.

I guess that is the part that makes me so mad.  On paper, I should theoretically be losing weight, not struggling to maintain.

Oh well… everyone is different, and at least I know I am healthy (that is me striving to be positive). 

And the chances of me surviving a zombie apocalypse are pretty good.

Reasons to be fit!

Raw Food Potluck

I had a speaking engagement at a local raw food potluck tonight, and it went so well!  This organization is basically a group of people who get together and spread the word about Raw food/veganism, and I was asked to be the speaker at their monthly potluck.

I took along one of my closest friends, Jess, who I have referenced before.  She was my roomie, and is also a trainer at my gym, so we went to share our knowledge with these raw foodies about not only eating well, but exercising, and how we train at State of Fitness.

It went so well!  There were 40+ people there, and they were great!  Such great energy, great questions, very engaging people.  They made speaking about what we are passionate about very easy.

After our presentation was over, we had a number of people come up and personally thank us, but also ask us more in depth questions.  One woman came up to me and just started sputtering off the issues she has been having, in search of help, and was so genuinely thankful that we had come that night and might be able to help her with her ailments.  It is amazing what the human body can accomplish when it is being fueled and worked properly 🙂

Just all in all a very rewarding experience.  I had one gentleman in the audience who told me that I was “exceptional”.  It was such a sweet compliment, and all around just a great experience.

Good food too 🙂

Pug > tea time

Weigh-in tomorrow morning!!!

My last few weigh-ins have been awful!  I don’t know what I have been doing wrong, but this month I am just going to focus on what I am doing right.

#1- Intermitten fasting 5-7 days a week.  There is tons of new research out there about how this is very beneficial to hormones, metabolism, and overall caloric intake…. more on that later.

#2- no drinking until tailgate (and then very limited).

#3- consistent strength training, 2-3 times a week.

#4-consistent training runs and cross training.

#5- a clean diet!  I need to get better with my semi-vegan ways.  it is just a lifestyle that I believe in and that works for me, so I need to stick with it.

Hope you all are having a healthy August as well!

Reasons to be Fit

Let’s talk about trail running…

And the nightmare of a half marathon that I just endured this morning.

OH.MY.GOSH…  It was hell.  This race was 85% up hill, and I don’t even know how that works seeing as we finished right where we started, but these weren’t just normal hills, these were all but walls of dirt where you had to start using your hands to climb.  Just insane inclines.

And HOT!  There were long stretches through fields with no shade what-so-ever.  It wasn’t supposed to be over 80 before noon, but it was 93 when I crossed the finish line at 11.  With the humidity, it was like running through water (really fun with asthma).

I am pretty much a walking disaster on any given day, so this trail run with roots sticking out all over the place had me thinking “hello shattered ankle, I can’t wait to meet you later”.  I even started the day by forgetting a glass of water on top of the car and watching it roll of the side of my car and shatter on the street at the first stop sign.  I am hazardous when left to my own devices, much less trying to run over roots and stumps.  BUT, I made it with only getting slightly tripped up about a dozen times and not actually falling (winner me!). 

I met some really cool people along the way, though.  This was unlike any race I had ever run in the effect.  I paced a man for the first half who told me he had open heart surgery a year ago, and this was his ultimate goal.  For the second half, I paced 2 girls from Kalamazoo that were just nothing but fun!  It was such a pleasure just joking and chatting with these strangers that you are basically going through hell with.

I have never been so happy to have a race over with, and even though it was a nightmare, and I feel like I got insanely drunk and then threw myself down a hill, it is over, and I have that experience to learn and grow from. 

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Last night, I went to a concert with some friends of Paul that were in town at a local dive bar.  I had never heard of this band before, but our friends promised good music and a good time.  They were not wrong.

The headlining band we were there to see what Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, sort of a mix of goth-country, gospel, and alternative, but one hell of a show, just fun music, and a crazy atmosphere.  I was surrounded by ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE.  It was a small show, maybe 100 people, but I was overdressed in my khaki shorts, v-neck tee and flip flops.  

I mean, there were people covered in tattoos, dread-locks, mohawks, long beards, no hair, hippie sun dresses, people wearing holy shirts (I mean literally with holes), large people, tall people, short people, just all sizes.  And no one cared!  Everyone was there dancing however they wanted to dance, jumping around, doing there thing.  

It was so refreshing to be in a crowd of people that were all so different from one another not judging and not caring.  I don’t surround myself with judgy people, but being so conscious of my weight all the time, I can’t help but notice people around me.

I tried hard to stay out of my self-conscious head, and just focus on all of these people, out there, dressing how they want to dress, dancing how they want to dance, and making no apologies for any of it.  I loved it.

Tomorrow, I have my next half-marathon.  I am not planning on a PR, but it will be my first all trail race, so it should be fun!

Happy Friday!