.: 2013 goals :.

.: running :.

• finish a 30k to celebrate turning the dirty thirty
• run a sub 2 hour half marathon
• run a sub hour 10k
• finish a full marathon
• maintain my mileage around 15-20 miles per week after the full. 

.: weight training :.

• after the marathon, get back to a full out finess poynters plan [i've been doing a modified plan while my mileage has been increasing].
• i don't really care about lifting PRs, i mostly want to get back to the consistent schedule that i was in before i started bumping up my mileage. 

.: reading :.

• read at least 12 books from  the Modern Library's Top 100 Novels list.
• finish reading the Bible (i'm in Song of Songs right now). 
• read at least 10 non fiction books. 

.: spiritual :.

• join a connect group at chuch [sunday school class]
• finish beth moore's 'john:  90 days with the beloved disciple' 
• pay more attention to where God's leading me. 

.: everything else :.

• limit computer time to 30 minutes a day on work days, an hour on any other days.
• lose the last 5 pounds... then MAINTAIN. 

that's a LOT of goals! but you know what?

Week In Review

As I mentioned to y'all, the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge has officially begun and part of my participation involves sharing my workouts publicly and that means y'all get to read all the boring details [please feel free to skip right over it, i won't be mad atcha!].

but i will also smush in my marathon training weekly recaps to kill two proverbial birds...

monday::::  lifted shoulders and did a RUSH yoga class
tuesday::::  3 mile training run, 20 minutes stretch/yoga
wednesday::::  4 mile training run, lifted bis/tris/abs
thursday::::  5k turkey trot (with b-rad), yoga (plus cooking/cleaning points!)
friday::::  lifted shoulders/chest
saturday::::  9 mile training run, 20 minutes stretch/yoga
sunday::: 1 mile walk, yoga, WOW*

*the WOW stands for workout of the week that amanda posts to her YouTube channel. such a great way to learn new exercises to incorporate into your routine.

week 4 of marathon training::::  
i completed all my runs as planned. i was supposed to run 3 miles on thanksgiving and i ran raced a 5K. not the smartest (and keep in mind, me "racing" is still slow) but i selfishly wanted a new PR. i definitely paid for it and had to ice and foam roll like crazy.

i've been doing most of my training runs on the treadmill [with my eyes glued to gossip girl on the iPad] but i've kept the incline at 1. what do you all think about that?

here are some pics from the week (minus my turkey trot pics which i'll share in a separate post)::::

this was on the doorstep on monday, and i didn't order it. either i've gotten b-rad addicted to lulu  or he's been doing some Christmas shopping!

gossip girl on the treadmill, mismatched yurbuds, blox BCAAs, mizuno wave riders on the treadmill

after shoulder day

thanksgiving at our house!

me and my little brother

the fam at wild wing cafe on sunday after church

me and my beautiful momma

have you signed up for the Sock Swap??? 

Fitness Poynters Extreme Fat Destruction::::Recap & Review

In January of this year I started a weight loss journey [for what seems like the millionth time]. I checked in with you all and also competed in a challenge at the gym. I did extremely well until May, having lost 18 pounds total. At this point the dreaded plateau crept up on me and I did what any completely irrational person would do... I gave up.

When the going got tough, I crumbled. I often found myself saying, "There just must be something wrong with me, because I'm doing all the work and it's not coming off." So after about a week or two of the same number on the scale, I started to back slide. 

I gained back 7 of the pounds I'd worked so hard to lose. And I'm talking QUICK. 

Then came vacation. Honestly vacation had been a huge motivator for me. I didn't want to feel self conscious all week, I wanted to enjoy it. But I was already in the negative mind set so not only was I self conscious all week, I sabotaged myself even more. Eating and drinking what I wanted. 

The one good thing [health-wise] I did was I did something active almost every day: running while my mom biked, biking with her, WOD with my brother, or stand up paddle boarding. But that was apparently beside the point. I really just used it to fuel the thoughts that I worked hard so I deserved to play hard also. 

When all was said and done, I gained back the complete 18 pounds, plus two more. It only took two months to completely undo what had taken me 5 months to do. Needless to say I was in a horrible place. I talked to my brother and he encouraged me to get in touch with Steve Poynter of Fitness Poynters. Matthew had worked with Steve a year or so ago when he decided to transition out of power lifting into a more lean muscle build. He spoke positively of his experience and I thought, well what do I have to lose. I knew I had to do something. 

I got in touch with Steve and he sent me a questionnaire asking my fitness goals. I was completely honest with him about my struggles and what I wanted. I want to lose weight, but I also want lean muscle mass. I don't want to be a twig, I want muscle! 

Steve had my plan to me within the week [He is extremely timely.... Any email I sent him was answered within a day, but very often it was much sooner]. I chose the Extreme Fat Destruction Plan ($64.99*), which comes with a workout plan and a meal plan. 

My first impressions::::

• I would need to plan ahead. I ended up grocery shopping on Sundays then making everything I'd need for the week. I made a lot of turkey burgers, Brad grilled chicken for me, I steamed huge amounts of green veggies. 
• Wow, I can actually eat carbs.
• I loved how everything was spelled out exactly for me. Yes there were places that I had options as to what to eat, but it wasn't overwhelming. 
• I'm going to be living in the gym. 

How it actually went::::

• I do really well with strict directions. I'm a people pleaser and I didn't want to check in with Steve and have to tell him I cheated [which in case you're wondering, I did cheat some, but I was honest with Steve about it. and he didn't sugar coat it for me]. 
• The meals filled me up. During the first few weeks I was stuffed, which was VERY different from any other meal plan I'd used previously. 
• The workouts didn't actually take as long as I thought. I got into a good routine of getting up before work to get my workouts in. 

The Results::::

• I've lost 20 pounds in 12 weeks. 
• I really wish I'd done measurements before, but I didn't. But I can tell a HUGE difference in how my clothes fit. When I lost the 18 pounds earlier this year, a lot of my smaller clothes were starting to fit. Now they're big on me. So I know I've gained lean muscle in the process, which makes me so happy. 
• Because I did so well, Steve is doing my next plan for free. He told me to take this week off [from lifting, I'm still eating clean] and we'll start it again next week. I'm so excited to continue this journey with him! 

And I'm beyond mortified to put this picture out there, but I feel like I need to. Please be nice! 

If you have any questions about Fitness Poynters, please let me know! Check out their site and testimonies, they're amazing!

*I received a discounted rate in exchange for blogging about my experience. All opinions are my own. 

getting back to running

for the past 10 weeks my health/fitness priorities have been completely dominated by the plan that Steve [at FitnessPoynters.com] made for me. the breakdown looks something like this:

weight training x 5 days
abs x 4 days
HIIT cardio x 3 days
regular cardio x 3 days

my original plan was to run on the 'regular' cardio days, but when i dove into the plan, that quickly changed. during the first week my mind/body was  mess. the meal plan was such a radical change for me [not that the meal plan is radical, just more that it was the polar opposite of what i'd been doing] that i was worn out for the first little bit. and heaven knows i'm not running the day after leg day... or the next two days!

i've slowly added more running back in, but my longest run in months have been several 5 milers. i wasn't too concerned because my next race was in november and i figured i had plenty of time to get ready. but then i ended up getting off on a saturday that i thought i'd be working... and you know i just had to sign up for a local race... a half.

did i mention it's in two weeks?

my plan is to slowly continue to build on my base, and i WILL walk/run the half. pretty soon i'll begin marathon training and the last thing i want is to be injured because i rushed into a distance i wasn't ready for.

i am very happy to be running more again, and i'm really excited for some fall races!

tell me about your fall races!!

Rearview Mirror::: July 2012

running::::
july was not a good running month for me. first i had the firecracker 10k (aka the chaffing experiment) and second i had the xterra harbison half marathon (aka the longest 13.1 miles of my life). these were my first two races following my decision to register for the Asheville Marathon in March. needless to say, i was crushed. i also changed up my meal plan and i felt it made it so hard for me to run (might have been all i my head). i finished the month with 23 miles. holy crap.

weight training::::
during the second week of july i decided to make a radical change. i joined up with steve poynter of fitness poynters and he created a training and meal plan for me. steve worked with my brother a year or so ago and matthew has always raved about how great his plan worked for him. he personalizes the plan based on what you want to achieve (my goals are to lose fat and gain lean muscle). the training plan is pretty intensive, so i've been putting a huge amount of time in at the gym. i just finished week three and i'm very happy with the results so far.

reading::::
this month i read these books:

a book that was a lot about baseball but even more about life.  i  can't decide how i feel about it. it made me really sad. 

i've had this book on my to read list forever. i  ended up listening to it in the car and while i  found it to be a little frustrating, i ended up liking it a lot. 

really liked this one. chris kyle is a bad ass. it jumped around a lot, but was a good one. 

while i don't necessarily love some of his personal views, i still have a lot of respect for lance armstrong and find a lot of inspiration in his books. this one was no different. 

i finished the first two books of the maze runner trilogy and i'm  in the middle of the third now.  they're pretty good. a little out there, but good nonetheless and i love the characters. 

this book inspired me to start volunteering again. the salwen family decided to sell their home to move into one that was half the size and they donated the profit to the hunger project. slow in parts, but an inspiring story. 

life::::
i took some time off from the blog, i feel like my blogging is intertwined with my running and i already explained that one! for whatever reason, july was a hard month for me and while i'm pretty transparent on here, i just don't like putting all that negativity out there. but it's a new month and i'm already working to make it a better one!

if you don't already know, Suz and Allan are hosting a virtual race for a great cause, the Wounded Warrior Project. i can't describe the amount of respect and love i have for our military and i think the WWP does a great service. check out the details for the race here and there you can find a list of the amazing prizes here.

New Rules of Lifting For Women::: Week One

So last week was my first week using the New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROLFW) workouts. I am doing three workouts a week, which is the most the author recommends. I did workout A on Monday and Friday, and workout B on Wednesday.This stage starts with high repetitions, which will move to less repetitions (while increasing weight).

My initial thoughts:

• Each workout is only 2 sets of 5 moves. That seems WAY simple. It only takes me about 30-40 minutes to get all the way through them. I'm not saying the moves are easy, it's just a lot less lifting than I've been doing. But if it works, hey, awesome. 
• I have been sore the day after each workout. I could be totally wrong, but I think that's a good thing. 
• I've been doing step ups incorrectly. 
• I am a wimp when it comes to non-girl push ups. 
• I have a love/hate relationship with lunges. 

Also, remember this guy? OH MY GOODNESS. He bothered me again today (luckily I learned from my previous incident with him and had headphones in)... I see someone out of the corner of my eye waving a towel around so I look over. It's him trying to get my attention. EFF. 

I smile and nod and move on, all the while trying to avoid him. Then a little later I was doing overhead dumbbell presses and he seriously hollers, "WAY TO GO GIRL!!!"  I died a little. 

Am I being ridiculous? I just want him to leave me alone!

The New Rules of Lifting for Women

Tomorrow I'm starting stage one of this bad boy:

To say that I've become addicted to training would be an understatement. I feel like it's made a huge difference in my running and my body. In January I started lifting three times a week. My brother made me two plans and I just alternated them. Around March he switched them up a little for me. Then last month I did three new plans that a trainer made me (I won some free training sessions). I mostly took last week off, minus one training session with my little brother while I was in KY.

Now I'm going to give this plan a try. It has three stages and I really enjoyed reading the book. It seems like the author understands that there are women out there that want to lift and push themselves.

I'll keep you all updated with how it goes.

Along with my new found love of lifting I've developed another love:

Taking awkward self portraits. Syntha-6 protein powder. It's not chunky. It tastes like a chocolate milk shake. LOVE.

And just because it made me so proud, I have to share this with you all. Look what my awesome brother said on FB last week:

Having him say that meant the world to me, cause he's a BOSS in the gym.


Hope you all have a great Monday!

Happy Friday::: My Week in Pictures, Mostly.

Thanks for all of your all's comments on my last post. Crazy kids. As many of you all said, I'm just glad I got to learn this lesson the easy way and I hope you all take it to heart too!  

riley and i got to go to the park on tuesday

i swear, there is nothing better than spending the day outside with this guy. LOVE him.  

taking a quick water break!

we got three miles in.

the weather has been amazing here and all the trees are blooming, so beautiful!

Matthew changed up my lifting routine while I was home this weekend and it is of course kicking my butt. This is me after doing my new leg/back routine. 

No I did not run suicides in between sets, the workout just really kicked my butt!!! And it is about 129378 degrees in my gym... And I sweat like a man. Oh well. 

are you all loving march madness? who are you pulling for?