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Summer is Finally Here….Maybe

We’re a week into June and it looks like the weather maybe taking a turn towards summer-like here in New England. Let’s hope so!!

Anyway, I haven’t done a wrap-up in awhile so I thought I’d take a break from re-cap after recap of races long gone to do a little update and look forward 🙂

And what better time than the early days of June to get a ‘fresh start’ 🙂

With the year nearly half gone, a check in on my ‘resolutions’ would probably be a good idea, right? It’ll be short for sure:

Not so great with the resolutions so far. Yeah. It’s been lazy-time for yours truly!

May has been full of the things though – some good, some not so good and then some not so good that worked out okay!

The not so good:

I found out early in the month (or maybe in late April…) that my current contract wasn’t going to be extended past the end of June. This meant it was time to start looking for a job again! Definitely not one of my favorite activities – but I was getting a lot of help from people I work with – or have worked with in the past (thanks Betty!!). I had one informal ‘interview’ for what my mom would’ve called “a real job”. She wasn’t thrilled with my consulting I think! Still no word on that one but it’s at the top of my I want to do this list. Late breaking UPDATE though – my current manager has found a way to keep me through the end of the year! Keeping up with my same role but adding some more fun!

Also not so good? My running/working out/nutrition/#allofit – I’ve really fallen off of the get healthy and lose weight bandwagon this year! I’m getting back up to my heaviest weight ever – EEK! I have run a couple of times on my own, and one half marathon (Marine Corps Historic Half) but my training for Marine Corps Marathon and #Dopey18 starts on June 16 and I swear this year I’m sticking to the plan!! I’m accepting suggestions for ways to motivate/reward myself – preferably NOT with a cupcake – to follow plan!!

Now the good? Well, probably the best thing that’s happened is my nephew graduated from high school! I can’t even believe he’s gotten so old!! And…he also turned 18 which just can’t even be possible!! More on him later – I have to gather the appropriate pictures 😀

The graduate….

A week before the big day!!

Conor on his last night as a 17 year old – with Pop and Colin

Also good? My friends. Not that anything dramatic has happened, it’s just nice to be reminded that I have some awesome friends because sometimes we forget, right?

So. Coming up for the rest of the summer?

As mentioned, training starts in a week or so. I know right now the first week will be tough since it is also the week of the Traveler’s Championship golf tournament that I volunteer at every year. That means really long days at the golf course and just enough spare time to wash my clothes and sleep! So….I may give myself a pass for week 1 but I know it isn’t the ideal way to start!

I have a few 5Ks in my calendar through the summer and those are always pretty fun!

I’m also considering another Whole 30 — it’s been about 4 years since I last made an attempt and I need *something* to reset my eating habits so we’ll see about this one! But…I will miss you pizza and cheese. And wine. I will miss you most of all 🙂 This is also something that I would wait until after the tournament to start because it might be hard to find compliant food at the concession stands! At a bare minimum I *will* be cleaning up my eating habits!

So let’s all think good thoughts that I can get back on track!

And now…back to my recap catch-up!! This next one is a doozy!! 😀

Tags: Motivation, Plan, resolutions, Training

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Categories Exercise, Health, Running

Checking In On Those Resolutions….

3 Feb

Well…we’re a week into February and I should probably wrap up January right?

I started the year with high hopes and big goals and I was going to do it all at once!!

Well, that didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped.

I have still not gone back to Bikram. My training plan for the runDisney Star Wars Dark Side Challenge has started as of last week and I’ve done 6 miles of it. I got 39 miles into my 1000 miles for 2016.

But I’ve made my bed every day so there IS that!!

Get over to Fellow Flowers and make your own Declaration!!!!

Which means I’m heading into February (well, I’m already in February…) with sort of the same goals but maybe I’ll go with baby steps while I work out my schedule. And what a great coincidence – coming up this Saturday, February 6, the ladies over at Fellow Flowers are holding their annual Declare It Day which gives every one a chance to put your goals on paper and make them that much more real! My declaration may not specifically be one of the below but they all play a part!!!

I like to think I’ll make it to Bikram 5 times a week. I’ve decided to not kick myself if I only make it 3 times a week. In fact at this point, I’ll likely celebrate!

I don’t love running in the dark in the mornings so the plan is to get into the gym (I’ve been paying for all year) as early as I can on my weekday run days. That’s Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I’m also talking myself into the idea that I don’t necessarily have to be at work by 7:30 every morning which gives me more time too.

And I’ll keep making my bed!

Another big to-do on my list is figure out my final running schedule for the year – so far I have a lot I would love to do but need to plan and save and plan!!

I hope your year has gotten off to an amazing start!

Tags: Declare It Day, Fellow Flowers, New Day, resolutions

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Categories #gettinginthegroove, Bikram, Running

Monday Motivation – and a Wrap Up!

9 Mar

Another weekend is over and it’s time for another recap of my week!

On Wednesday I finished up my 10-Day Cleanse and am already making plans to go through it once more! I’ve managed to MOSTLY keep eating clean but some of my old faves are slipping back in (Hello glass of wine with Scandal!). It’s not the end of the world, of course, but I definitely liked the way I felt on the cleanse so I just need to be more vigilant about what I’m putting in my mouth!

And also need to watch for the “why” I choose to eat something – I learned during the cleanse that I do a lot of eating from boredom. Or – just because. This will hopefully get easier when I’m out of the house all day working!

Now, working out and running was not as successful as the eating. It wasn’t a complete bust, but it wasn’t what I’d hoped for for myself! But that’s what Monday’s are for, right? A new chance to get it right this week!

I’m hoping to be a little more motivated since I’d like to get the basis for a ‘routine’ down before I start work – the plan this week is to mimic, as much as I can, a work-week. This means taking the 6:30 pm Bikram class Tues-Thursday and the 5:30 pm class on Friday. AND..getting up super early to get to the gym and get at least an hour of treadmill in (at least until it’s light enough, and warm enough, to run outside in the mornings) and some work with weights. Mondays will be kind of a free-for-all since I *know* that I tend to be wiped out on Mondays so while I hope to get to Bikram, there’s a chance I won’t – and I won’t beat myself up about it!!

I’ve also decided to reward myself after my first week of work/new workout schedule – with the Alex & Ani March Bangle of the Month. So let’s see how that motivation works out now!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!! Get out there and have an AWESOME week!!!

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Categories Exercise, Monday, Motivation, Running

10-Day Be Vibrant Cleanse — The Wrap Up

5 Mar

A few weeks ago, a fellow Sweat Pink Ambassador sent out the request for people to try the Be Vibrant Cleanse – and I responded since I am ALWAYS looking for way to amp up my healthy eating.

The cleanse includes a detailed meal plan, with recipes as well as a private Facebook group. Every morning you will wake up to an email from Mary Jane in your inbox – a bright bit of motivation to start you day, with hints to get through the day, and do some advance prep! And, for this Spring, she’s running a 50% off deal for my readers!

Overall, this was really quite easy. Lots more food prep than I usually do. But probably a normal amount for someone who hasn’t slacked off on actually making meals!! And tasty food. Basically you follow a vegan / gluten free meal plan for the 10 days and as much as I love my cow milk I did get through with very minimal milk craving! I can manage with no bread products for a couple of weeks so that wasn’t a stretch!

Breakfast was generally oatmeal, quinoa, berries or a smoothie — which aside from the quinoa, I tend to do anyway. The difference here was cooking my oatmeal in Almond milk instead of water as usual. Loved getting some new variety in my smoothie repertoire – especially with my new NutriBullet to lend a hand!!

Each day included 2 optional snacks – and after the 3rd day or so, I wasn’t hungry between meals so I tended to skip those.

The meal plan had a lot of variety for lunch and dinner. Though, since I only cook for one, and many of the recipes make at least 2 servings, I ate leftovers probably more than I should have. But I stayed with the spirit of the cleanse.

These are tricky to work with…but kind of tasty!

I think the only thing I ate that I hadn’t had before were the brown rice tortillas and the roasted beets – but I have been wanting to try roasting beets for some time and this was my push! I don’t think I ate anything that I couldn’t tolerate, and I ate quite a few things that I’ll definitely be making again!

Some of my favorites were the Stuffed Peppers

Spicy, with Quinoa and Black Beans

And the Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili

Serious Noms!! And even this Texas girl didn’t miss the meat!!

And this White Bean and Artichoke spread that, really, I can eat with a spoon!!

Great tasty spread to use on wraps or as a dip with veggies!!

So, given my complete lack of motivation since finishing up with The Dopey Challenge back in January, I’m pretty impressed with myself for getting through this. I will confess to a coffee cheat a couple of times though – Couldn’t stand the withdrawal headache. Next time, and there WILL be a next time for sure!, I will prepare myself with some buffered Vit C powder!

If you need a jumpstart – or just want to reset things – definitely go to Mary Jane’s website – Live Love Fitness – and check this out!!! I’m so happy that I did this – way easier than a #Whole30 for me and I am much more sustainable, for me, going forward!

And, don’t forget, let Mary Jane know I sent you and get 50% off!!

Tags: Cleanse, Gluten-Free, Healthy, Vegan, Vibrant

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Categories 10-Day Be Vibrant Cleanse, Food, SweatPink

Weekly Wrap Up

28 Feb

First of all — Happy Weekend!!! Those of you who are hating on the winter right now, cheer up, it’s almost Spring!!

And now…on to the business at hand – my week of working out…or was it?

This kitty shows how I feel about my exercise this week. I got a whole lot of nothing done…and I’m pretty disappointed with me.

Though, on the good side of the scale, I am still sticking with the 10-Day Cleanse. With a cheat cup of coffee the other day. I’m loving the recipes and trying foods I wouldn’t otherwise eat. Or at least in combinations I wouldn’t normally try!! Haven’t been on the scale since last Sunday, but the point of this isn’t to lose weight (though that would be an awesome bonus, right?!) but I do feel better. I’m not necessarily sleeping any better but that could be attributed to the not working out thing. Surprisingly, I do actually have more energy – I just haven’t been putting it to good use!!

But, tomorrow starts a new month. And a new week. And a chance to do better — Mileage goals set. Workouts scheduled in my calendar. And some internal motivation to just get it done!!!