CROSSFIT

In the beginning of February, my best friend's husband received his wings and my dad and I went to his winging ceremony. While I was there, I was talking to my best friend's dad who said he recently started CrossFit and that I was his inspiration for starting a fitness program. That both bothered and motivated me. It bothered me because this 60-year old man started CrossFit before me and motivated me because I wanted to start it! 

I kept with Barre consistently up until about Feb 21 then began the Foundations course at SeaCity CrossFit on the 24th. 5 straight mornings of about 1 hour, learning the basic moves and general way that the workouts go. I completed my first official WOD (yup, I'm gonna start throwing around CrossFit terms now!) on March 3 and I'm looking forward to seeing how my body changes. I've bought a speed rope and kettlebell so far so that I can complete WODs at home when I can't make it in. Since I'm still training for the DC Half Marathon, I'm only CFing 2x a week, barre 1x a week, and running 3x a week. Planning to take measurements at the end of this month and comparing them to the ones I took on 2/1/14 to see how I'm doin'! I can already see a difference in my tummy, mainly because I'm eating very close to (but NOT strict) Paleo and my dad sees a difference in my arms/shoulders =)

I love this picture because it involves 2 of my favorite things: working out and Sleeping Beauty

Barre Fitness

I'm 100% back to my healthy ways and loving my newest fitness regime. With the exception of NYE, I have not had a drop of alcohol this year. This is mainly because I'm saving money for the DC trip and haven't gone on the weekends. Since I'm still hesitant on returning to the gym (still can't wrap my head around why) I still occasionally do the "Jenna Marbles Workout" just to wake myself up in the morning if I don't run & will be doing Barre in the evening. I was doing this everyday (even when I ran) and also the 30-day squat challenge, yet another workout I saw on Pinterest, but have stopped the squat challenge as Barre is really workin' my booty!

Now, about this Barre Fitness... I went to pester my mom at her office (one building over) & was talking to the receptionist, who is my age. She said she was going with another coworker to Barre class that evening & I should try it. My former boss' daughter is an instructor and had told her about it. What the hell, I gave it a try.

& I absolutely loved it. It's great for runners as it focuses on small muscles not frequently used while running but support the big ones that you do use. This class is quite pricey but I fell so in love with it that I am making it work into my budget. 

I am back to tracking my calories on MyFitnessPal (set to lose 0.5 lbs/ week) and took my measurements & weight on 1/18/14. I intend to weigh myself weekly although I am not focused on weight loss and will take measurements every month. Off the top of my head, my measurements were as follows:

Bust: 36 in
Waist: 33 in
Hips: 38 in

Excited to see what they are on 2/18/14! I also took pictures of me in my bikini, as motivation, but they are at home so I can't post them now. I plan on taking pics in the same bikini when I measure myself each month to see the changes between now & summertime. I am already confident in my bikini & it fits me very well, but I am looking for some muscle definition ;)

RAHH

I've been growling at people lately (in a joking way), which is why I named this post "RAHH." Has it seriously been since July since I last posted!? Time has flown by and guess what... my weight is up! Granted, I'm healthy, happy, and content with my weight and looks, but I'll get to that in a second. 

2013 was an absolutely fantastic year to me. I ran my first full 26.2 mile marathon, I got an amazing new job, I bought a house, and officially ran over 1,000 miles! I don't know how, but I can only hope that 2014 can top it!

Back to my weight... I went out drinking several nights during my Christmas/New Year break and also indulged.. and got a cold. "Feed a cold, starve a fever" am I right?? My weight is actually lower than it was probably 2 months ago but that was only due to a stomach virus in early December that caused me to lose 4 lbs. 

I still weigh myself almost every morning just to watch for big fluctuations but it's not my main concern. I'm motivated to increase muscle mass this year and slim down by toning and strengthening. I already put my bikini on my dresser in full view to serve as motivation to make healthy choices! Since the year started with me coming down with a cold (& the whole December virus thing), I have not been strength training like I used to. I start each day with warm lemon water and the "Jenna Marbles" pre-shower workout; 50 jumping jacks, 5 push-ups, 20 crunches, 20 mountain climbers, and a 30 second plank. I'm also doing the 30-day squat challenge (I'm on day 3!) 

I have severely cut back on my running (distance). The December half that I ran (WITH A FUCKING VIRUS!) really burned me out. I took almost 8 days off from ANY physical activity and still lost weight. May I suggest that if you vomit like the Exorcist the night before a half to maybe NOT RUN IT? Worst time (over 3 hrs!) and was physically ill for 6 days after. Since that run, the longest distance I have ran is 4 miles and I'm completely OK with that. I am running the Austin Paramount 5K 2/16/14 and hope to make it my fastest 5K yet!

OH!!! I entered the random lotto drawing for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. 4/27/14 and my entry was selected!!! I'M GOING TO D.C., BITCHES!!!

Self Motivation

Once again, I've lost it. The stress of buying a house and a lot of new wells being drilled at work led to me being busy and making excuses for my poor eating habits. Weekend before last, I was up till 430AM drinking with my friends... it's funny how you invite one friend over to "break in the new house" and it ends up being a drunk beer-pong-palooza! Then this past weekend was a family reunion out of town which = 7 hrs in a pool drinking beer then heading out to a bar for 2 more hours of drinking.... WHOOOO WHEE I did not make any good food decisions in that time haha. 

Lemme be clear: I DO NOT REGRET ANYTHING. But now it's time to get back on track! My lowest weight ever was 164 I believe and I am now 180 :( But hey, my fault & no one else's!! I officially have a muffin top again so getting rid of that is my main priority!

I begin marathon training August 5th, so I've collected a couple of motivational posters to keep me going. 

I'm currently training to maintain a long distance of around 8 miles, because according to the marathon training plan I chose (think I posted it a few blogs back), my first long run is 8 miles. That's also the week of my 25th birthday so I may actually skip that long run all together but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

My diet is the main thing I am working on right now. I'm not doing a whole30 again but I am being pretty strict. I am eating grains (steel-cut oats, quinoa, gluten-free English muffins..) and dairy (mainly Greek yogurt) but the majority is natural & not processed. 

My only concern is the HEAT! I feel like I'm running in a convection oven, for real. May 29 I ran 6 miles at a 10:15/ mile pace. Last week I was 11:14/ mile. It's like running with a garbage bag over your face & body; the wind barely even feels good. But the actual marathon is in December so I doubt I have much to worry about!

Wounded Warrior Half Marathon

What a WEEKEND!!! 

I took half a day off on Friday and drove up to New Braunfels to stay the night with my grandma. We went to eat at the Gristmill and I finally got to see Gruene! What a beautiful little area, I can't wait to go back & really explore it. After dinner, we put our swimsuits on & sat in the hot tub then the pool for awhile & got to have some girl talk & catch up. She woke me up about 6 on Saturday morning because I had to continue on to Irving :(

I-35 is NUTS! I took the toll road just outside of Austin but when it was time to get back on 35 I was miserable! I got to my friend's apartment in Euless (right outside of Irving) right about noon so we went to get our carb-load lunch on! Then we found a Lululemon store and bought some new running gear. I was so excited, I've never been to their store, only ordered online since there isn't one near me! Then we kept walking around window shopping for awhile, laid by the pool, hit up Super Target (that's dangerous!!) & picked up some sandwiches for dinner.

We both woke up at 4:30AM to make sure we had enough time to eat & digest & of course when we checked the radar there was a crazy storm that had appeared out of NOWHERE. Race start was 6:45 & it started raining right at 6:30.. they don't let you run if there's lightning so the start time was delayed to 7:45. We just hung out in the closest parking garage with basically every other runner that was present...

It rained pretty consistently the first 4 miles then slowly lightened up & eventually stopped by about mile 6. The course was out & back so when we got back around to about mile 10, the trail had completely flooded over for about 1/4 mile so had to trudge through that and finish strong w/ sopping wet shoes adding to the challenge ;)

The rain, fear of slipping, and heavy wet shoes slowed me up so I didn't reach my goal time but I am still happy with my performance overall! Me & Whit had packed bags with clean clothes with intentions of hanging around post-race but we were both so miserable wet & dirty that we just headed home to clean up!

We went to IHOP to grub then I wanted to see Ari since I'm never in Dallas so we met up at a cafe for my 2nd breakfast.. haha. I didn't leave downtown Dallas until 3:30pm!! Then I stopped in West for kolaches of course & stopped once more to pee along the way & with all the construction & pit stops, I was home by 10:45. Talk about exhausted! But it was so worth it; supporting Wounded Warrior Project and seeing 2 amazing friends.

Happy Memorial Day!

First off, thanks to every man and woman that has, is, or will serve our nation's military. I pray for those who lost their lives and for the families that have lost loved ones. My family has a large military presence but I thank God that I didn't lose anyone while they were serving. 

I spent the holiday weekend with my parents at the farm & I'm so glad I did! The farm had about 2.5 - 2.75 inches of rain so it was GREEN. There is even water in our pond.

All the calves hung around each other, it was too cute!

I laid under my favorite tree and read for hours =) Love that the corn is growing and offered privacy from the highway!

And of course this man never fails to entertain me... 

I'm finally getting back on track with my diet. Binged a tad this weekend (Crofutt's cookies were involved so I couldn't resist...) but otherwise all is well! 

It's finally the moment that I need to crack the whip on my spending habits... Closing on the house June 14 & my student loan repayments begin June 4 or something... SHIT.

Wounded Warrior Half Marathon & the Stress of Buying a House!

These last 2 months have been such a wild ride! Who knew buying a house was so damn stressful!? Haha I should've known... 

Every time I pull up my email, the loan officer needs something else from me. Shit,  I don't know where my 2010 W-2 & 1040 are... I have a copy of every other year but that one apparently ha. Stress leads to me chewing on my nails & cuticles so I had to woman-up & get fake nails so I wouldn't look like I have a hand disease. Now I look like a diva announcing the sex of her baby w/ baby blue tips (my mom didn't find that joke funny when I told her). 

Speaking of babies, I LOOK pregnant because I seriously fell off the healthy eating bandwagon and fell HARD. Graduating, moving, training for the marathon, changing jobs, and now buying a house has led me to way too many nights out with friends & lots of beer drinking. Oh & I go to lunch way too much now, too. 

THAT ENDS NOW.

I do not regret any of times I've been out lately. Concerts are my favorite form of entertainment but I know I need to ease up on the beer since I'm not burning as many calories. & Whataburger needs to be illegal because it's even better after 4+ Michelob Ultras. 

I did just sign up for another half marathon though & I'm always healthier when I'm training!  I'm running the Wounded Warrior Half Marathon, June 9th in Irving, TX! A good friend of mine from high school lives in Dallas & she's letting me stay w/ her & she's also running it. It'll be nice to spend that time with her because she just told me she's moving to NC in September =( 

I'm trying to think of a reward to get myself when I get back to the body I LOVED! I am currently up almost 20 pounds... I weigh more today than I did before my tummy tuck which is unacceptable! I don't look bad (advantage of being tall!) but my clothes aren't anywhere near loose anymore & I look bloated. I was thinking about getting the tattoo I've been wanting but I need to save money for the house so I'm thinking a new running top, James Avery ring, or a spa service =) I'd say a concert but I go almost one a week so that's nothing new... Off the top of my head, so far this year I have seen:

1. Reckless Kelly
2. Wade Bowen
3. Stoney Larue
4. Turnpike Troubadours
5. Max Stalling
6. Cory Morrow
7. Spazmatics
8. Vallejo
9. Ryan Bingham this coming Saturday
10. Wade Bowen again next Thursday =)

I have an addiction!!