Sprints Challenge!

Because my workouts have been so sporadic this summer, I feel all
nasty and bloated more often then not. This is all in my head, I know,
because despite the fact that I'm not in the gym anywhere near what I
am when the kids are in school, I still make a big effort to eat
clean. Yesterday morning I was feeling particularly blah but had zero time
to try and squeeze in a treadmill run because I had to take my son to
the doctor.

Morning cocktails

I started the day with the usual 24oz glass of water, my
Tone It Up Meta-D drink and 2 cups of green tea. I pulled out a packet
of Perfect Fit Protein with the intention of making a protein pancake
but then I remembered a link Workout Mommy posted on Facebook
the day before....it involved sprints.

I found the link she posted and was
excited to see that it was a super quick sprint challenge on The Sweaty
Betties site. The August challenge (in addition to giving up
artificial sweeteners) is to do five 30-second sprints (with a short
recovery in between) five days a week. For the entire month. Wowzers!
I'm so in!!  I probably shouldn't say this until the end of the month
but this workout really seems like a zero excuses workout. Check out
the time on my treadmill:

Done before I had time to think!

Twelve minutes and thirty seconds. Who doesn't have 12:30 they can
spare to get this done?  I warmed up and cooled down for 3 minutes
each. My warm up pace was 6.5; sprints were 9.0 and my recovery was for
60 seconds at 7.0. Done!  I'm certainly not saying this should be your
only form of exercise but for a quick wake-me-up first thing in the
morning, the 'I'm a badass' feeling cant be beat!  And yes, I know if
I really were a bad-ass I would have set my alarm, gotten up super
early and gotten this challenge in plus full body strength training.
Stop judging me.

After the sprints, I had just enough time for a quick shower and a
smoothie before heading to the doctor. This morning's concoction
featured 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/2 cup water,
Tone it Up Perfect Fit Protein Powder, 1 tsp chocolate PB 2 (I'm so obsessed with
PB2!), 3 big handfuls of spinach, 1 carrot, 1/2 apple and 1/2 of a
frozen banana. Yummmmm!

Later in the day, right after my lunch my mother in law was nice enough to let me drop off my boys so I could get to the gym.  The plan was to run then take Body Step.  About midway through my run, I knew I wasn't staying for the class.  I'm a total moron and ate lunch about a half hour before getting to the gym and was experiencing quite the heartburn.  It was all I could do to get 5 miles in before I decided to stop.  So frustrated with myself because I very rarely get to the gym in the summer and I totally screwed up my opportunity.  Today is another day though!  Going to get my sprint challenge done then head to the outlets to take advantage of tax free shopping!

Closet Re-Do

Project time.  My husband tends to get a bit antsy when he doesn't have a project.  I bitch and moan about our master bedroom closet on a regular basis so I shouldn't have been surprised when he announced last week that he was going to completely redo the sucka.  Our closet, while a decent size (although would be better if all his shit manly garments weren't in it), only has the standard builder one shelf deal all the way around.  A long time ago I bought one of those double closet rods which I thought was the best invention ever for about two weeks.  It's cool and all but I am still totally unorganized and need more help than this little rod is giving.  I also put a dresser in there which is overflowing with workout clothes so much that finding a sports bra is like going on an architectural dig.

My husband sketched out "The Plan" and off he went to Home Depot.  My garage is now full of shelves and bars and racks and hardware.  Then he immediately went out of town.  Huh.  The good news is that has given me until tomorrow night to go through all my stuff in preparation for the big demolition.

Mid-way through the clean out.

Some survivors!

I am convinced that I never have anything to wear.  Because of that, I spend way to much time in places like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Target and the nearby outlets.  If I had to guess, I'd say I don't wear 80% of what is in my closet but I bet I'm way off and it's closer to 98%.  I decided that this closet re-do was a big smack in the face/ wake your ass up and donate at least half of my clothes mission.  In an odd coincidence, the same day that I was going to start purging, I read about the Stylebook app on a blog.  Woah.  This app is seriously some Jettsonion shit!  Basically you take a photo of everything in your closet, organize in the app then make outfits or 'looks' as the app calls them.  I'm in!  I downloaded that sucker and went to work!  Have I mentioned that my gym and run schedule has been non-existent with the kids being home for summer?  This clearly isn't a good thing.

So far, things have been going really well.  At first I was taking pictures of stuff I knew I wanted to keep but that got a wee bit tedious and when putting outfits together in the app, I just didn't get the full effect.  So instead, I have been putting together outfits as I discover new clothes (Haven't seen this shirt in ages! and Wow! This still has the price tag on it!) and then taking a picture of myself in said outfit and saving it under the 'inspiration' tab. The picture I've posted is actually a really bad example because I wouldn't wear those shoes with that outfit because the tank and sweater are charcoal grey and the sandals are brown.  I was just trying to get an idea of those pants with a wedge heel, blah, blah, blah.  I have posted it because of my little helper in the background.  Thank you for taking the time to sniff and lick at this particular moment.  I think I have a future as a fashion blogger.

Better Murphy although still totally in the way.

Things are still a total disaster in there but I have made major progress.  I have filled 3 1/2 large lawn bags full of clothes.  Totally streamlining baby!  I put together a bunch of outfits I never would have thought of before because stuff has been so buried in the closet.

I have extremely high hopes that this is going to turn me into one of those women that always look put together when at school volunteering.  A girl can dream.

August? Really??

Wow.  What happened to June and July?  I know I've said it before...I'm a horrible blogger.  Confession: since my father's passing, I've been all over the place emotionally and mentally.  I've started so many things that I just can't seem to finish.  In an effort to stay busy all the time, (which as I know is really an effort to not deal with the feelings I should be dealing with) I've become completely scatterbrained and totally unproductive in all aspects of life.  Fortunately I'm a stay-at-home mom and don't have a 9-5 job because if I did, my guess is that I would have been fired by now.  One thing that I do realize is that I need to get back to some kind of routine.  To be able to do one consistent thing on a daily, or at least every other day, basis.  I'd love for that thing to be blogging because I really enjoy it but who knows.  Of course coming to that realization during the summer while my kids are still home from school is probably a bit much to hope for.  My summer's with them have always been a bit crazy because we don't like schedules around here while they are on vacation.  Anyway, it's August 1st.  Time for me to try and gather myself.

Tone It Up Nutrition Plan

Have you heard of Tone It Up?  It's this great fitness/nutrition community founded by two trainers, Karena and Katrina.  They have a blog, tons of YouTube exercise videos, a DVD, a nutrition plan and they even recently came out with their own (vegan - yay!) protein powder.  I have been thinking about purchasing the nutrition plan for quite some time.  I really like the trainers from Tone It Up, I watch the videos, read their blog, even bought their workout DVD.  The nutrition plan is expensive though so I had a hard time making a decision.  When my mother-in-law gave me money for my birthday, I knew just what I was going to do with it.

Best Birthday Present Ever!

The cool thing about the plan is that you can purchase the regular plan, gluten free plan, vegetarian or vegan plan.  Once I knew I was going to buy, I spent another week trying to decided between the vegetarian and vegan plan.  I ended up going with the vegetarian plan and I now kind of wish I had picked up the vegan plan.  Regardless, I really like it!  Some great recipes and a lot of really helpful hints about what to eat and when and an exercise plan.

There is also a section called the 7-Day Slim Down in the full plan and the 5-Day Slim Down in the summer edition (when you purchase their plan, you get all the updates as free downloads - bonus!).  Karena and Katrina challenged the community to join them on the 5-Day Slim Down starting this past Monday.  I don't feel the need to drop any weight (I'm more of a maintenance kind of girl) so I wasn't going to do it but then on Tuesday, decided to try it and see how doable it is.  The result?  In five days, I lost 2.5lbs (and to be totally honest, that is without giving up my wine!).  But more importantly, I feel incredible.  It was a wake up call to how much random snacking I was doing.  A handful of gluten free crackers here, a couple pieces of chocolate there.....etc, etc.  While on the 5-Day Slim Down, I stopped the mindless 3:00pm eating and followed the plan pretty much to a T.  The only variation was in the recipes.

My new favorite lunch - tofu and veggie romaine wrap!

I took their recipes and tweaked them just a bit to my liking without adding any additional calories.  My new favorite lunch - veggies and tofu wrapped in romaine lettuce - is now an addiction! I was never hungry on the plan, always felt full and satisfied.  I can't believe how good I feel.  I feel way more toned which I know sounds crazy, but I guess without the excess bloat of snacks/sugar/salt, that's what happens!

If you are interested, I highly recommend Tone It Up.  Check out their website - there are a ton of good recipes on there along with printable workouts.  And then head over to YouTube for some good quick workouts.

North Face Endurance Challenge

What a total mud fest!  We got hammered with rain in the days leading up to the North Face Endurance Challenge so I knew that my first trail race was going to be a bit messy.  Little did I know it was going to be muddier than the Run Amuck race I ran a few years ago.  It was crazy!  People were falling all over the place because it was so slippery.  I loved, loved, loved it though!  SO much fun!  It is just so different from anything I've ever done.  It is so challenging in a completely different way than a road half marathon.  The first thing I need to get better at is keeping my eye off my watch.  Mile splits in trail running are quite a bit slower then what I'm used to.  The course is so much more challenging for one and the majority of the race was single track, meaning passing was difficult.  We averaged 11:30s most of the time.  I finished in 2:33 compared to my road PR of 1:46 just to give you an idea.  I think if we hadn't gotten so much rain, we may have been able to go a bit faster but I'm sure it still would have been quite the challenge to pick up the pace much more.  There were several parts where all runners didn't have much of a choice other than to walk.  Regardless, I just loved it.  I felt so exhilarated after the race.  I was telling my husband all the details at about 100 miles per hour....he just stood there and laughed at me.  When we were close to the finish, my running partner said, "My trail running career is officially over!" but all I could think about was, "When can I register for the next one??"

After the race, we were waiting around for the kids race to start.  I registered my boys for Dean Karnazes' Karno Kids 1k.  There were races on Saturday too and on that day, he was actually there doing a meet and greet which would have been pretty cool (I'm a big dorky fan of his and have both of his books).  Anyway, as we were standing there waiting, he actually walks right by me.  As in, brushes my shoulder, walks by!  I was already all jacked up from the race but this just put me over the edge.  I started jumping up and down like a 3-year-old, grabbing my husband's arm saying, "He's here!  He's here!  He's heeerrrrreeee!!"  My kids were laughing at me and my husband just shook his head. 

Karno got up there and gave a really funny speech which all the kids loved then started them off.  After the race, my oldest said that he ran by Karno who called out, "Way to go! You are doing great!" to which my son responds, "Thanks! My mom is a big fan!"  Oh boy, that's a little embarrassing.  We hung out a bit longer, my husband and kids talking about their run, me stalking watching Dean.  My oldest says, "Why don't you go get a picture?"  Of course I said no, not many people were approaching him and besides, I do my best stalking watching from afar.  Well, finally Carter convinced me to do it and I'm really glad he did.  He could not have been a nicer person.  Chatted with us for several minutes.  In fact, at one point he said, "So Carter tells me you are a big fan." (not in an arrogant way, more of a teasing way....it was pretty funny actually).  I really don't remember what I said to that; my words were coming out like the teacher in the Peanuts.  But I got a fantastic photo and that's the part I'll remember!!

All in all, a really great day.  I'm so glad I did the run.  I was pretty nervous in the weeks leading up to it because with my father's illness, I hadn't done a run longer than 8 miles in I have no idea when.  Then I forced myself to take the week off of classes and running (did do one trial run) leading up to the race because of this hip/glute/hammy issue.  I'm glad I didn't back out.  Really glad.  Yes the pain is still an issue but I feel like it was worth it for such a fun, totally different and crazy challenging day!

Vegan Cookbook!

New Books I'm Loving!

Do you watch Ellen?  I'm such a big fan of hers, it's kind of ridiculous.  Love her show, love her, love her attitude, etc, etc, etc.  And I love that I can watch her show with my 9-year-old son who also is a crazy fan of hers.  We never miss it.  I get him from the bus at 2:55 and we get home just in time for Ellen.  Anyway, because I'm such a fan/believer/cult member, I'd pretty much buy anything she told me to.  Which is why, last week, I picked up Vegan Cooking for Carnivores.  The author, Roberto Martin, is Ellen and Portia's personal chef and has made appearances on Ellen's show several times (hit up YouTube if you haven't seen him).  I love this book because it's very beginner-vegan friendly.  It is also great for someone like me who is the only veg in the house.  I can easily pass a lot of this stuff off to my family and friends and not have them turn their noses at me. 

Hellllooooo Beautiful!

My favorite recipe so far is the Asian Chopped Salad.  How beautiful is that salad??  And this is probably the first time in my life where I've made something that ended up looking as beautiful as the photo.  It was so good.  I ate it for lunch and with dinner for 3 days straight.  Yum!  Next up, I'm going to try the mac and cheese.  Should be interesting because I am not a fan of any of the vegan cheeses.  I've tried a bunch and decided that it's easier to just omit cheese all together. 

Another book I picked up last week is The Athlete's Book of Home Remedies.  It is written by Dr. Jordan D. Metzl who is a marathoner and Ironman so he clearly understands both athlete's pain and their urgent desire to get back to their sport.  The book is broken up into different sections of the body, ie: Feet, Ankles & Lower Legs; Knees; Hamstrings, Hips, Glutes & Groin, etc.  Then within each section, different symptoms are given a two page summery of 'what's going on in there?', how to fix it and how to prevent it.  It is written in very easy to understand language, quick and to the point.  I personally have dug deep into the hamstrings, hips, glutes and groin section because of hip/glut pain that I just can't seem to get rid of.  Unfortunately my pain is not gone yet and I have a trail half marathon on Sunday...panic time!  My husband used it to better understand what is going on with his shoulder/chest problems from baseball and this weekend, when he sprained his ankle playing baseball with the kids, I tossed it at him as he iced it on the couch!  I highly recommend this one!

Hiatus

It's been so long since I've blogged.  So long that I can't even remember how long it's been!  I mentioned a few times, a while back, that my father was having some health issues.  Things got worse and everything in my life got put on hold.  It has been a very, very difficult time for my family going back as far as two years but more intensely since Thanksgiving.

It's time for me to try and pick up and get back on track.  Start to try and live my life again which is really, really hard.  I take great comfort in working out with my friends, talking/reading/learning all things nutrition and just generally learning how to live a healthier life.  My father's illness and my desire to learn from it and try and help him is what led me to choose to ditch animal proteins and go forward living a plant based diet.  I hate to say vegetarian or vegan because I don't care to be judged by others, but that's what has happened.  And, since my last posting, it's how things have remained.  It's not easy.  Well, that's not exactly true.  For the most part, it is easy.  It's only hard when I go out.  Seriously.  Why offer sauteed veggies only to saute them in butter AND chicken broth??  But I digress.  And I ramble.  It's what I do.  I feel great and don't miss meat or fish or dairy in the least.

My point is, I'm trying to get back to the things I love and that make me feel a little better, a little more in control of life: fitness, nutrition, blogging.   It's good to be back!