Cowtown 5K and Half Marathon

Two races in one weekend?  No run training since December?  Hey...why not?

These were my exact thoughts going into my 5K and Half Marathon race weekend in Fort Worth, TX....

Okay, so I had this AMAZING post written out and apparently my computer didn't save it.  I really don't have the energy to write it all over again, so I'll just explain it through my pictures!!



Our flight had gotten cancelled because of the snow storm from hell

They got us on the PLANE!!

Roger from Southwest got us rerouted from Omaha-Orlando-New Mexico-Dallas

We were alright with the stop in FL..we went from negative temps to 81!

We thought my sis-in-law needed some bling before we got to TX

Who doesn't want a shirt with wolves?!

During the weekend we ate at a food truck park!  Have you heard of these places?!  Well, they're pretty much the coolest thing EVER!!  My sis-in-law and I ate at the Gluten-Free truck..we both have sensitive tummies!

We didn't eat here, but had to take a pic..my dad belongs to the German American Society!

Picnic with my aunt, sis-in-law, and brother

RACE DAYS!!

Before my half..had my EnergyBits with me and took them at mile 8.  

The half and full racers!  My uncle, me, and sis-in-law did the half.  My brother rocked the full!

If you do one of the races (half, full, ultra) for 5 years in a row your medals form the Texas Star.  My uncle just did his 5th this year...here's his star!!

This may be my motivation to come back to this race!!  Other than having to deal with two snowstorms from hell while we were trying to travel back and forth from Texas, it was an AMAZING weekend.  The course was awesome, the crowd was fantastic, and not to mention hanging out with my family was great!  

Have you run any races recently?  What's your favorite?? 

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do...

I've been dealing with some issues in my own head this past few weeks I've been training for my half marathon.  I've been afraid to admit them because I'm supposed to be the girl that lives and breathes marathons...I think I'm no longer having fun running.

Thank god my sister-in-law (fellow marathoner and best friend) texted me this morning.  She made me feel less guilty which took a huge weight off my shoulders.  She texted me, "I don't think I like running anymore."  I smiled when I read it, not because she was disappointed because maybe I wasn't crazy or alone in thinking running may no longer be my "thing."

In case you don't know already in the past year I've completed multi-sport endurance races, like a Tri.  Also, in July I started crossfit and in December I hit my one year mark for teaching spin and now teach 4x a week.  I just can't find the same joy I used to find in running that I now find in these other ventures.

I'm a little sad/mad/disappointed to see this passion of mine be put on the back burner, but for my sanity I think it will have to sit there..at least for the time being.

This is me post-Chicago Marathon.  I was crazy happy and flying in cloud 9!

Have you tried anything new? How do you feel about running?

The "F" Word

WARNING: If you get easily offended from being called out..read no further.

SO, this past Saturday while I was at CrossFit a girl brought up our nutrition challenge.  She was asking a fellow member about how her's was going or if she was even doing it.  This same girl said the reason she was doing it was because she felt fat (okay, this girl is literally the identical size of me.  She's probably a little bit skinnier than I am).  One of my friend's said, "Alright, NO ONE is allowed to use the "F" word in front of me..fat that is."  Oh by the way, this girl is HILARIOUS, so go check out her blog: burpeesboxjumpsandbeer

I think my friend brought up a FANTASTIC subject.  I have noticed women in my classes talking about how their fat or need to lose a little here and there.  IT DRIVES ME INSANE when people do this.  WHY?  Other than the annoyance factor?  Well here are my reasons:

• Bad for your self-confidence

Do you honestly think it will help you if you keep calling yourself fat..even if you say it jokingly? 

• Bad for others' self-confidence/how they see themselves and their body

Don't forget that when you say something out loud, someone will hear it.  What if a young child heard you calling yourself fat over and over?  How do you think that will distort their view of body image and their own self-confidence?  Are you being the kind of role model you'd want a child you love looking up to??  I sure as hell know that I wouldn't want my baby cousin around ANYONE like that!

• Bad for others' view of you

How will people start to view you if you constantly call yourself fat?  Sometimes when people constantly say that, I wonder if they are just fishing for compliments or sympathies like, "OH NO you're not!  You're so skinny and so pretty."  BARF!  Sorry, no free compliments from this girl!  I eventually stop bringing up any subjects that might lead to those statements or if it's bad enough; I stop talking to that person all together. 

Realistically, I just get annoyed, pissed off, and want to punch people in the cooter when they say that.  Instead, I take a deep breath in, deep breath out, and change the subject. 

Okay, END OF RANT!  Is there anything that grinds your gears?? 

Are you making sure you're being a role model worth looking up to?

PS- If you really do think you need to lose some weight, then eat right, workout, and BE PATIENT, but STOP putting yourself down!

Progress

I've been doing CrossFit for close to two months now and I'm finally getting my eating down.  I've always known that your "diet" is 80% of your results, but just because you know something doesn't mean you follow it.  Am I right or what?  I wanted to share some pictures because I haven't really been seeing a difference in myself.  I also decided to take my measurements recently and I am:

1. Up 2lbs
2. Down 3% in Body Fat
3. My muscles (biceps, legs, and butt) have all grown at least .5 an inch
4. My chest has gone down an inch (not sure how that was possible)
5. I PR'd in a recent 5K!!

I feel stronger and more confident than ever!!  To prove that sometimes all that matters is a mental change; here are some before and currents.  Why don't I say after?  I always consider myself and under construction and still working to be better than before!  Stole this idea as well from Rachelle, of Bare-To-Bake.  Also, I'm using these pictures to show why nutrition is SO important when it comes to seeing results!  I have no idea where I would be today if I would have nailed nutrition down much sooner, but oh well you can't dwell on the past.  I only learn and move forward :)

This was me two years ago when I first started really getting into fitness after quitting college soccer and started training for my first half marathon.

These were both taken about two weeks ago.  About a month into finally nailing down my nutrition!

Also, what has helped me change my physique and muscle tone has been CrossFit!  My muscles are growing, I notice my biceps and legs are harder, and I'm so much stronger already!!

A picture during a Sunday WOD...WARM-UP= technique practice!!

Do you see those shoulders!!  I've never had that definition before.  Plus, I've never felt confident rocking my 80s inspired PINK top, but now I LOVE it and how it makes my muscles look. :)

Flashdance anyone??

I will leave you with a picture of my "dream board."  It has sayings and pictures to motivate me.  It also has a list/pictures of my long and short term goals, along with steps I have to get to every day in order to complete my goals!

Do you use a dream board??  Have you reached any of your goals??

Primal Blueprint

In my previous post I talked about my trip.  Well, it was a LONG plane ride and I decided to read my free ebook, Primal Blueprint.  It is Mark Wolff’s take on Paleo as a lifestyle, rather than a quick fix diet.  If you want to know the basics of Paleo and the Primal lifestyle, I highly recommend it.  He breaks down the acceptable foods, improvements you’ll see, and what you won’t see.  

I read his take on physical activity first.  I REALLY REALLY liked it.  It wasn’t “spend hours and hours lifting and running each day.”  It was completely opposite actually.  He says to revert back to childhood and play.  Do what you love to do and make it your regular activity.  Mark states his is Ultimate Frisbee, for me it is running and CrossFit.  He doesn’t want you to dread working out, but rather wants you to wake up every day thinking about what game you are going to play before or after work.  I started thinking like that this week and let me tell you it helped!  

On Sunday and Monday, I really had to itch to run, so I did.  Instead of my usual, “well how far should I go?  how fast?” I JUST RAN.  On Sunday, I was feeling a casual run with rolling hills, so before my flight I ran 4.5 miles, not too fast, not too slow.  Then Monday, I was dying to sprint (I know, weird).  I decided I would do sprints 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off; increasing my incline as well.  After I went from 8.0 speed and 2.0 incline to 9.5 and 4.5 (my planned end).  Turned out I wanted more.  I decided to “cool down,”  where I then went back down my speed and incline, until I was back to my starting point.  

Mark also wrote about how people don’t need to lift for hours on end to get the results they want, so I took that into account.  Technically, I have already been doing this with CrossFit, but I still did it while on vacation.  I did lots of Tabata circuits.  I would pick a movement, like the squat, and perform it for 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off.  Trust me, it burns by the 3rd round.

Next, is his view on the Paleo Diet.  Mark does not mess around with this one!  He does not let anything slide by, like you know how most diets and even a lot of Paleo follower will make their old favorite meals to fit inside the diet rule dimensions?  Well, Mark says that that is a no-no.  He doesn’t want people to think of this as a “diet” that is going to hinder you from enjoying life.  He wants his readers to make their mind think of food differently.  Now he’s not against every once in a while having a paleo cookie or pizza, but for the most part he wants people to follow the basic plate: half meat, half veggies, some fats, and a little fruit (every once in a while and mostly berries).  I like this approach, especially for me.  I’ve always tried to make pizza, cookies, etc. “healthy.”  What did that end up doing to me?  I just kept craving that food and eventually all I wanted was the real deal, not some low-carb or low-fat version.  

After Whole30 and not allowing myself to make any “Paleo *Insert Cheat Food*”  I no longer crave those foods.  I actually see myself craving meats and veggies A LOT more!  Maybe it’s not that I’m craving them more over sweets, but my body is recognizing that I don’t crave the sweet or salty treat.  I’m just HUNGRY.  Whatever it is I like it!

Overall, he pretty much wants to get across that the majority of the population are not professional athletes or models sporting a front cover or a fashion show.  That because of this we should stop worrying about our physique so much and worry more about our health and figuring out what will really make you happy.  Will having that six pack or a football game every Saturday morning with your friends happier?

What am I trying to get across with this post?  That if you’re really serious about Paleo as a lifestyle, not just something that you think will make you look like a bikini model (which Mark states will NOT happen.  You’ll get a better body, but you’ll get the body your biology wants).  CHECK THIS BOOK OUT!  

PS:  Ladies, if you look at ACTUAL pictures of our primal female ancestors they are NOT extremely cut with six packs.  Were they fat?  NO!  They did however have some meat on their bones because back then what was more important than showing off their six packs?  Making sure their species SURVIVED!  Guess what?  Most women can't conceive at 9% body fat!

If you’re wondering, do I have a six pack?  Nope! I’m about 19% body fat at 5’0”, but I can still lift any day I want, run however far I want, and just be a plain bad ass when I please.  Guess what?  I don’t hear any complaints from my boyfriend and I like filling out my jeans!