Weekly Workouts

Monday:  rest day

Tuesday:  squats and lunges throughout the day at work

Wednesday: 5 treadmill miles after work, plus box jump work

Thursday: 1.5 mile walk plus YMCA WOD:
     AMRAP
     10 pull ups
     1 legged burpees with BOSU 5 each side
     15 KB squats
     10 spiderman push ups each side
     15 deadlift 65#

Friday: 5 mile trail run after work

Saturday:  Crossfit Cupcake WOD (with brother!):
EMOM x 10:  1 clean and split jerk (I did a more simple movement after failing to grasp this one)
10 RFT:  3 pull ups (with a band)
4 RFT:
    800m run
     10/5/5/5 rope climbs from ground
     40 ft DB walking lunge (40#)

Sunday:  rest day

Weekly totals:
11.5 miles plus WOD running
2 WODs

Less than last week, but I still felt good about this week. I worked an extra day and also we drove to KY to celebrate E's birthday so it was a busier week in general. I was happy fitting in the workouts I did.

Celebrating Men's Health Month

When I was approached by Lucy at Nuts.com to do a post for Men's Health Month, I'm not going to lie... I thought it was spam. Dirty spam. However, after doing a little bit of research (on my phone. Does anyone else feel like your phone can't get viruses like your computer? Or is that just me?) I realized that they are a legit company with a super resourceful website!

Anyways, back to the issue at hand. I do give advice to men on a daily basis while working at the pharmacy. And while some of it is well received, some men just want to speak to another man. And I get it. So I decided to check in with my resident men's health (and health in general) expert, my brother, Matthew.

So I asked him for his number one piece of advice to stay healthy...

I would say consistency. It takes a long time to get results from training and eating, and an even longer time to figure out what's going to work for you. You just have to be consistent. 

 And he's exactly right. Start with your diet. Consistently put good food in your body. Think of it as fuel. Your body needs fuel to function. And if you want it to function at an optimal level you've got to give it the best fuel. Have you ever tried to workout after eating like crap all day? It's HORRIBLE. Almost as horrible as trying to workout without fueling your body at all. You have to find a balance and be consistent. Experiment with different pre and post workout snacks and find out what works best for your body! Check out this article for ideas! There are healthy snacks for over ten different situations.

And here's my two cents, for what it's worth:  I see people day in and day out at my job who are paying the price for poor health decisions they've made consistently. Type 2 Diabetes, breathing problems, chronic obesity, heart problems, arthritis, etc. You've got one body, do everything you can do to take care of it!

Side note: You'll notice chia seeds mentioned in the graphic. Here is a great resource page explaining all the benefits of this superfood. I sprinkle it on my shakes or acai bowls.   

Weekly Workouts

This week was SO MUCH better than last. I made exercise a priority and I stopped with the excuses.

Sunday:  3 mile run AM, 3 mile run PM

Monday: 5 mile walk (-ish, I just had fitbit on)

Tuesday:  3 treadmill miles then
Crossfit Invictus WOD:
     Every 6 minutes, for 30 minutes (5 sets):
     Run 500m
     10 DB Thrusters (20# DBs)
     15 Push ups (girls)
     20 Walking lunges with DBs (20# DBs)

Wednesday:  1 treadmill mile then
WOD at YMCA
    25 minutes of deck of cards workout. Lots of running, squats, KB swings, pushups, pull-ups,  
    russian twists

Thursday:
Spartan WOD at home:
     Warm up:  75 jumping jacks

     For 3 minutes, complete as many rounds as possible:
     3 burpees
     6 pushups
     9 bodyweight squats

     Rest 3 minutes, repeat 5 times.
   
Friday:  Rest

Saturday:  5 mile trail run

Sunday:  5 mile walk


Weekly totals:
27 miles (plus some unaccounted for WOD running)
3 WODs

On Motherhood... Mommy Guilt

I was unprepared for so many things in regards to motherhood. I think what caught me off guard the most was the mommy guilt. It came crashing down like waves all day long.

I felt guilty for going back to work.
I felt guilty for wanting to scroll through my Instagram feed.
I felt guilty for getting angry that we could not directly breastfeed.
I felt guilty for selling our house the week she was born.
I felt guilty for wanting to sleep.
I felt guilty for resenting everyone in the house because I knew she and I would be the only ones up at 2am.
I felt guilty for wanting to take a shower.
I felt guilty for getting angry that I couldn't have a conversation with anyone about anything without it becoming a conversation about her, or her crying.
I felt guilty for not being able to breastfeed.
I felt guilty for not having the energy to run her all over God's creation to see family.
I felt guilty for not working out.
I felt guilty for the house being a mess.
I felt guilty because I was not a hostess to anyone in my house.
I felt guilty for wanting to do anything besides hold her and stare at her.

Seriously, you name it, I felt guilty over it. I'm the type of person who will set myself on fire to keep everyone else warm. And it doesn't have to be like that.

What I've learned:

It's okay to ask for help.
You aren't a crappy mom if you do ask for help.
It's okay to be a complete mess.
It's okay to wear whatever you're comfortable in, even if you've worn it for 3 days straight (Although, let's be honest. If you've worn it more than 6 hours it's probably covered in vomit, milk, or poop. So on second thought, you might want to change.)
It's not okay to bottle it all up and assume that people know how you're feeling.
One person shouldn't be the only person doing all the night feedings.
Don't think you have to carry everything on your shoulders alone.
You don't have to prove anything to anyone.
If you (like me) feel guilty having to ask to do anything for yourself, make that known to your spouse. Tell them to encourage you to do things on your own every once in a while.
Try to keep up something that's important to you. Maybe not ALL THE THINGS (for instance, this blog had to go on the back burner), but some of the things. Or at least ONE THING. For me it was the gym. My friend encouraged me to join the YMCA. They have excellent childcare and they will watch her for up to 2 hours a day. Take that time as mental health time.
Don't feel guilty about wanting time away from your baby. It doesn't mean you don't love and cherish them. If you need it, take it. The time you're actually with them will be that much sweeter and they'll get a better version of you.
Don't put unrealistic expectations on yourself.
It's okay to enjoy your job and want to continue working.
It's okay to say you need someone to hold your child so you can go sleep.

Motherhood is different for every mother. Infancy was hard for me. But just because it didn't come easy to me, doesn't make me a bad mom.

Weekly Workouts

So like I said in this post , I didn't workout for FIVE days in a row. And I was on the struggle bus because of it. So Friday I finally got my ass back in gear. Here's my weekly workout recap:

Sunday: nothing
Monday: nothing
Tuesday: nothing
Wednesday: nothing
Thursday: nothing
Friday:  WOD (YMCA):
      1 lap around building warm up
      AMRAP:  15 Pull Ups, 16 Burpee Jumps, 20 Obliques, 30 Ball Slams, Row 500m
Saturday:  Ran a mile, walked two miles,
WOD (CF Invictus):
      Four sets for max reps of:  60 sec rowing, 60 second rest
                                                 60 sec jumping squats, 60 second rest
                                                 60 sec strict pull-ups, 60 second rest
                                                 60 sec push ups, 60 second rest

Holy jumping squats. They were awesome yet painful. Painfully awesome.

So recap:
Ran 1 mile
Walked 2 miles
2 WODs

Next week will be better...

Five Things Friday

1.  As I mentioned in my last post, last week I caught Everly straddling the rail to her crib, so Friday we changed the crib rail to a toddler rail. Positive being she can't climb up on in and hurt herself. Negative being she can get right up when I put her down for bed at night or for naps. I put her in bed, she's right back up hollering and beating on the door.

Don't let the smile here fool you. See those puffy eyes? She needs to sleep! It's only been a week and I'm trying to keep that in mind. And once she's down she's stayed down for the most part, she's just up earlier than usual. Praying these kinks get worked out soon. She's not a great napper (although she is napping at the moment) so she needs a solid 12 hours at night.

2.  Another new development, she keeps pulling off her diapers. **You may want to skip this one if you're easily grossed out.** Today she went into the laundry room, pulled the diaper off, and pooped in the floor! I almost died. I had no clue what to do. I tried (through tears of laughter) to explain we poop in the potty not the floor, but OMG. Total parenting fail because I could not keep it together. I went to get toilet paper to retrieve said turd, but when I came back it was gone. ONE OF THE DOGS ATE IT. So I went from choking back laughter to choking down vomit. And I'm 99% sure which one did it. Riley, I'm looking at you.

3.  I have not worked out one single day this week. My first day off was yesterday, E and I loaded up to go to the gym. I was SO EXCITED to work out and get back on track. WHOMP WHOMP childcare was full. And there was a 10 kid wait list. She was almost as sad as I was.

4.  When I drove back after our house meeting, E fell asleep. She hadn't napped all day so she proceeded to take a 1.5 hour nap in the car. So no gym for the 5th day in a row. Gross.

5.  Today we played at the playground then came home and played in the yard with my friend Lauren and her daughter Madison. Lauren is expecting a little boy at the end of this month so we're trying to cram all the fun in we can before his arrival!

Side note: I got this little splash pad at Marshall's for $5.99. Best buy of the summer so far!

I hope you all have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend! Tell me what your plans are!

Bringing it Back!

Hey guys! If there's anyone out there! I'm ready to get this blog back up and running! I've debating rebranding/renaming blah blah blah, but ain't nobody got time for that right now! So for now, even though running isn't my primary thing right now, I'm going to leave the name for the time being.

So let's see... What's going on in my life currently?

Everly is almost TWO. I can't even. She's currently transitioning from a crib (in which is she slept long and wonderfully) to a toddler bed. It's not been the most fun thing. But apparently when they can crawl out of the crib you have to change them over because they're a danger to themselves... Apparently.

Said transition is royally messing with my workout schedule. When I work I'd gotten back into my 5am workouts. Which to be honest, I love. They keep me motivated and on track nutritionally. But when E is up and down and up super early, these just don't happen. Hopefully in the next couple weeks that'll iron itself out.

I did an amazing workout on Memorial Day at the YMCA which I cannot wait to share with y'all. I'm working with a new to me organization that I think is so super inspiring and awesome. More on this later!

Professionally I'm studying for the CGP exam (certified geriatric pharmacist). This thing is creeping up on me way faster than I hoped, but hopefully I can crank out a passing score.

So yeah, just wanted to write and break the ice. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I've gotta just get back in the habit of getting my posts up, even if they aren't perfect. They're me.


If you're still out there, hello again! Let's be friends on instagram and or snapchat: courtlauren05