February 30 Day Challenge: Plank

A new month means a new challenge! Pretty excited about this one. Lord knows I need some abs before spring!

 This is why we plank! Look at all the muscles you are working! There really should be no reason not to complete this. You can plank pretty much anywhere and I am sure there re some YouTube videos to prove it! And remember when you strengthen your core your helping your back too! They work together...most people don't realize that. 

And for S & G's here are some funny pictures I found.....

You can plank while you travel

You can plank with your favorite four legged friend

You can even plank while you are grocery shopping

Monday Madness

I have been told to never miss a Monday and my Mondays are doozies! I needed to clear my head so a run was definitely in the cards for me! 

I didn't run far because I knew I had HIIT and spin but I was running pretty quickly for running solo! I was pretty impressed with myself on that one. I think it was just because I had such an awkward-turtle Monday I needed to get it out of my head!

HIIT last night was all upper body which I needed. Push ups and shoulder exercises....I am feeling them this morning! I like going to Evy's HIIT classes. They are different every time and I am able to get in more of a weight training workout than when I workout out by myself. 

Oh spin class....how Sara and I missed you! We hadn't been to class in a week! Sara had trigger finger surgery on both of her hands (which is why they are still wrapped) and I was feeling like poo last week after Monday's class. Last night....the struggle was real getting back into the groove of class. Evy added weights to our routine which was a little tough trying to get the hang of.

DINNER! I seriously could not cook this fast enough. The last 20 minutes of spin I was going over in my head how I could cook and shower at the same time so I didn't waste time! 

So lemon pepper baked cod, sauteed shrimp in EVOO and crushed red pepper, roasted yellow bell peppers, sauteed fresh spinach, 1/2 an avocado with cherry toms and quinoa was the finished product. It was delish. 

Sunday Funday

I love Sundays! When we are not out of town, Sundays start with Church at Cross Trails Cowboy Church. Yesterday's service was about grief/mourning and how God blesses the brokenhearted. If you have never been to a Cowboy Church, you should check one out! When my parents recently moved to Georgetown I made sure to find one within ten minutes of them. 

Our Pastor David Cole and his wife Tina

After church was a short stop by HEB to grab some veggies then home. My favorite bootcamp instructor was holding an Ambush workout at the park so I decided that would be a great change to my normal workouts...plus it was free! The park isn't very far and it was around 65 degrees yesterday so I ran up to the park.....why waste the gas? 

After I finished my 3+ miles with my workout I decided it would be even MORE fun to run to the reservoir to hang out with my friend Robyn and her family at the baseball fields. 

All in all I got in just over 4.5 miles. I was pretty stoked with the since all week was a bust for me. That usually happens when Dave comes in town. He is gone for 2, sometimes 2.5 weeks at a time so when he comes in we usually have lots of stuff to try to get done before he head back out on hitch. 

Snacks for the week. I haven't tried to Pro Bar yet. A guy at the hunting
camp last weekend gave it to me to try.

Dinner: lightly coated with coconut flour and Old Bay cod fish and shrimp,
quinoa, half of an avocado, and yellow bell peppers/cabbage sauteed together.......
So delish! 

I have a confession....

My Whole30 only made it Whole15.....

I know...I didn't stick to it. I get it. While I was doing it was great! I didn't have the side effects this time around like I did last year and I think that is because we truly changed the way we eat on a normal basis. 

However Dave and I went on a paid hunting trip this past weekend where we had to camp out and we didn't have the resources to be able to stick to it properly. Kudos to you if you are sticking to your commitment of 30 days! I think anyone you can do it is awesome! Even if you only make it halfway... like me! It is a hard thing to do...changing your eating habits but it is for the better. I am still eating clean just like I did before this past weekend because many of the meals I now enjoy I learned to make since the last challenge. 

So from Dave and I....good luck! We are still trying to fill our freezer with deer and pig so we can make our own sausage for the next year. 

Hump day and how my week has been so far....

So if you haven't figured out, I usually don't blog everyday. I really don't have time. I work full time, work out, and I have activities with my church my family. When I do have free time, I catch up on my DVR and try to spend as much time with our three fur babies as I can. This week I have done fairly well with keeping up with meals and such....

I love coming home at lunch when I know I have goodies on the way! Another new Fabletics outfit
and my first box of RxBars. They are good but a little too much chocolate for me.
These would be great if you are a chocolate person on a Whole30 or paleo.

Lunch Sunday was chicken tenders wrapped in bacon dipped in Tessamae's Honey Mustard sauce
with sauteed greens!

Dinner Sunday night was baked salmon, sauteed brussel sprouts, potato hash, and avocado slices.
After church I was on a seafood kick so I picked up quite a bit of it. 

Monday I ate leftover slow cooked pork. I was finally able to finish it. That one small shoulder made so many meals. 

Monday night Sara and I made HIIT class and spin. I didn't run because it gets to be too much some nights but class was awesome. I feel like I am getting the hang of spin and I hope to start seeing the effects of taking the class in my running.

The last of the salmon for lunch on Tuesday.
I have been using blackening season lately which has been a change to just salt and pepper for me.

 Tough it up Tuesday you could say! I ran 3.5 miles increasing speed every half mile, took the CoreFit class, and did spin. My run felt great! Core class was a little weird....the instructor didn't do the usual core workouts I was used to doing. And it was Calvin Harris night last night at spin and the routine can be brutal. Once I am able to keep up with her 100% I know that set will really kick my butt!

3.5 Miles increasing speed every half mile.
Made my run go by fairly fast it seems. 

Core class. Surprisingly I am feeling it this morning. 

Last but not least - SPIN!
Love Sara's face in this picture :P

After class I started feeling like I was catching whatever crud is going around. I still don't feel that great. I am downing Emergen-C, added Vapor Steam to my humidifier, and using some essential oils which will hopefully help. I don't do sick well at all. 

I have a week and half until my next 10K and it is mostly bean running. Not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for this one because I am pretty sure it is going to TRY to kill me but it will be an awesome challenge. I am not expecting to PR, I am really just looking forward to the challenge. 

Weekend Wrap Up

The weather here in South Texas was crappy so I took advantage of it and stayed in most of the weekend. I caught up, mostly, on laundry and my DVR! 

Saturday morning I tried to PR my 5K. I was roughly 30 seconds off from my current PR. But it was a good run! I stayed inside on the treadmill because it was 30'something outside and rainy. I do not want to get sick right about now!

Breakfast was potato hash with kale, three eggs, and bacon. I ate every bit of it!

I didn't snap any pictures of my dinner Saturday night. To be honest I cannot even tel you what I ate.

After church I was really wanting some seafood so I made baked salmon and green beans, mashed potatoes (compliant), and then I still wanted some of my slow cooked pork that i am still eating on! I had no idea that the small shoulder would make that much meat. 

Dessert was baked apples with cinnamon sprinkled on top!

Dinner was a friend of mine's favorite dish to make while on the Whole30. I added crushed red pepepr, cherry toms, and green beans but it includes chicken, shrimp, and onion. 

And in our Facebook group, Molly told us to post a picture of our fridge so here is mine in all of its glory. I didn't stage anything to make it look better.

I didn't run yesterday. I had to be at church around 8:30 since it was my Sunday to volunteer for Children's Church therefore the better part of my day was spent in fellowship and I am A OK with that. 

Super Lab!

Random side note:: So the dogs have been outside a lot this week since there are no holidays the break up my work schedule and Dave is out working. I came home the other night to see that Woodrow had pulled the towel off one of the furniture pieces on the patio where they stay and chewed a few holes in it. I scolded him and put it back. I got home last night from teaching FPU  and noticed he had pulled the towel down again. I am guessing Woodrow thought he needed a super hero cape! 

(Before anyone freaks out, I actually put it around his neck so I could take his shaming picture)

Today is day 9 for me. I didn't take a picture of dinner last night, totally forgot but breakfast this morning was leftover dinner (my slow cooked wild pork shoulder mixed with potato and cabbage) topped with two eggs and a glass of unsweet tea. It was very good! 

After two days of not being able to run because of church commitments (which will be like that for the next 9 weeks) I am looking to get in at least 4 miles today after work. I woke up this morning to 40 something degree weather and rain so I think I am going to stick to the treadmill to avoid getting sick or falling while I am running. This ends my first week of training for the Cowtown 10K. I didn't meet my mileage but I know I am still on a good path. I have been using my running journal for almost two weeks now and I love it. I really feel like it will help me reach the goals I have set out for myself this year. 

Selfie?

Took a break from the gym and running last night. I would have only been able to get in 2 miles since I have to get to my church small group by 6:30 but I needed to just rest a bit before I left the house again. 

This would be the result of my slow cooker wild pork shoulder! It was ahhhhh-mazing! I had that for lunch and then I made a smaller portion for dinner to take with me to small group. 

A Facebook group that I am in (You can do anything for 30 days) is filled with all sorts of people from all over the country that are all doing Whole30's. Every now and then she sends out some "homework" emails and this was one....to send a selfie. Last night was our church small group at a friend's house as always and family dinner was goulash. It looked amazing but I stuck to my homemade leftovers. 

Lunch today was a ground beef burger, bacon, french green beans, and a sweet potato. I have officially run out of thawed meat, because I forgot to take out some chicken and the ground beef, so I haven't quite figured out what I will do for dinner on the go tonight since I am teaching a Dave Ramsey class at church tonight!

Whole30 Day 6...and an update on spin!

The beauty of living less that three miles from where I work is I can come home and cook my own meals whenever I want. It truly is one of the best things about living in a small town. Staying on track in much easier because I have all my resources so close. 

Lunch yesterday was sauteed spinach mix from HEB, pan grilled chicken, a microwaved "baked" sweet potato, avocado, and cherry toms. I am not a tomato fan in the sense of the big ones. Other than cherry toms I will only buy roma tomatoes when I am going to make my own pico de gallo. It always cracks me up when you saute fresh spinach greens because you literally have to overflow the pan or add handfuls as it cooks down because what you start with never seems like what you end up with!

So looking at the schedule at the gym and with my church commitments after work throughout the week I will only be able to make spin on Monday and Tuesday nights. That's not bad. Before class I got in a short "speed" run.

.75 @ 6.0 then .25 @ 4

.75 @6.2 then .25 @ 4

.75 @ 6.4 then .25 @ 4

Cool down

total 3.25 miles all while on the random hill circuit setting on the treadmill

Still had on my calf sleeves from running

Since it is after the new year and everyone seems to want to start their resolutions the gym has been beyond packed! Our small gym only has 13 spin bikes so it has been interesting watching the girls nicely fight over the reservations list. 

Once I got home I was starving! So in between making my dinner of a pan grilled hamburger patty with bed of bacon, sauteed Brussels sprouts, and cherry toms, I braised a wild pork shoulder roast that Dave got recently from a hunt and threw it in my slow cooker. I set it slow cook over night and when I checked it this morning it looked amazing! I still have it in there on low for the next five hours so it should be super tender when I go home for lunch.

Tonight calls for a short 2 mile hill circuit before I go to my church small group to start our new devotional. 

Running Journal

For Christmas I received (actually I got two!) the 

Believe Running Journal written by Lauren and Ro. 

This is my second week to use it and I really enjoy it. I enjoy the through process and being able to lay everything out. It is really making me focus on making time to run and which runs I have to do that do to achieve my goal. I just mapped out my training plans until February 28 which includes 2 10K's. Between using the journal and my Nike App Coach I have been able to plan out my mileage for each week based upon my schedule. I am trying to make sure I balance my life. I would like to keep up spin and HITT with my friend Sara, Wednesday nights has always been small group church, and starting this Thursday for the next 9 weeks I have committed to teach the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class at our church. All of my after work activities play into the time I have available to run. So far based on what I have put onto paper I can meet my goals. 

What I did to plan is I took a pencil and wrote in my goal mileage/workout for that day. If the journal gets updated I think that would be an awesome line to add to each day to see if you are really working at meeting your goals or not. 

Monday Funday...Back to the grind

After two weeks of holidays and vacations Monday marked the started of a normal week and getting back in the groove of things. 

My Yawp bars finally came in! And they came in super handy for this morning since I didn't have time to actually cook myself breakfast!

I am only able to do spin class Monday and Tuesday because of church obligations on Wednesday and Thursday....I was finally able to get Sara to HIIT with me and then we stayed for 45 min of spin. I am starting to get addicted to those workouts. I think they will be a good addition to my running and will hopefully help me improve this year. 

Dinner (at like 9 PM at night) was a grilled hamburger patty, potato hash, avocado and cherry tomatoes with steamed broccoli and carrots. My glass from church turns blue when there is something cold in it...isn't that cool? It had water in it BTW!

So far this Whole30 has been much easier for me. I didn't have the tiredness and my cravings aren't near as bad as they were last year. I attribute that to the fact that Dave and I cleaned up our diet as a whole since our first one. I am super proud of us for really wanting to change our lives and try to keep it as healthy as possible!

Whole30 Day 4'ish

Sunday was day 4 of my second Whole30. I got up and ran a slow 3.4 miles and then had to mow the yard since we were becoming "those neighbors". Normally Dave does it but he is out working so I get to pick up the slack!

Before house chores commences I had potato hash, kale, and scrambled eggs. I didn't make it to church (I know...not good) but I mowed the yard, completely cleaned out the fish tank, and went to the range with my father in law to get some rounds in with one of his rifles I am using on my hunt in two weeks. 

I didn't take pictures of my dinner because, honestly, I started eating it before I remembered....I was that hungry. I took ground Beef/Brisket and browned it, threw in onion, potatoes, bell pepper, and cabbage. It was amazing. I ate about two thirds of it last night! Planning on finishing it off today for lunch round 2. Round 1 lunch was some soup but I realized there were a lot of bones it from the Cornish game hen so it ended up going down the sink. Breakfast was apple sauce and nuts because I had a doctor appointment.

In November they had a stroke scan bus at work so I got checked out. The results were that I had an abnormal test results for atrial fibrillation. Well after an EKG this morning at a new general practitioner, I can safely say that it was a false positive! My resting heart rate is right around 46 which he says is good and he didn't see any signs of fibrillation. YAY!!

American Bank Half Marathon Relay

Team Two of a Kind

I was so nervous for this race and I am not sure why. I think I get nervous for the 10k's because they are the challenging races for me right now. The rain finally stopped but it was in the mid 40's the whole race. We started on Shoreline and went down to Palmetto Park on Ocean and then headed back. I ran the second the leg. 

Results:

My leg time - 1:08:11.9

Total team time - 2:19:16.2

Average team pace - 10:53 (however I was more on track at 10:30 for the most part of the race)

My partner Becky coming in for the hand off

Finish strong!!

Team Two of a Kind!
I met Becky a year or so ago now I guess at an IronMan competition a local fitness guy put on.
I switched over to her CrossFit box until it closed last May.
Now she is one of my fave running buddies!

I didn't PR like I was hoping but overall I am very pleased with how I ran. I didn't walk near as much as my Carrera Race last fall.....Maybe .15 of a mile up a hill this time around. The new New Balances held up well and I think the sleeves helped too. I have been battling shin splints so I think both were needed by now. 

Breakfast because I was HANGRY! Whole30 compliant - potato hash, two eggs, cherry tomatoes, sauteed greens, and leftover fruit from my drive to Corpus for the run. I ate everything on my plate!