fit focused

August 25, 2014

Monday Motivation – Keeping the Momentum

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Remember when last week I made the statement that I was taking back my life and creating an equal work/life balance?

Well, I did it.

The gym and I have made amends.   It kicked my ass – I was sore – and it was great.

That gym and I?  We are becoming BFF’s again.

If you remember, Monday morning I got my butt up before 5am and ran to the gym, lifted and ran back home.

The rest of my week in fitness looked a little like this:

Tuesday

4:23am – Alarm

5:00am – Upper weights before class

5:30am – Taught the new Round 60 TurboKick

4:45pm – Taught again!  TurboKick Round 60

Wednesday

4:35am – Alarm

4:55am – 1.25 mile run to the Gym – Lower Weights – 1.25 Mile run back home

Thursday

4:23am – Alarm

5am – Lunges, Situps

5:30am – Taught Insanity

4:45pm – Taught a second Insanity

Friday

4:45am – Alarm

5am – Slow run 1.25 mile run to the gym – That hill kicked my bootay.   Upper weights – 1.25 mile run home.

Saturday

8am – Subbed for a gal at the Y.  Offered Insanity to a class of 14!

 

My nutrition was slightly better last week.  Sugar is still a huge deal for me.  And Diet Soda.  They are a real life struggle.  It’s a deep love the three of us have.

The weekend didn’t go so well in the nutrition area.  A lot of booze, pizza, burgers, cookies… you get the picture.   It’s summer.  I have a lot of fun.  One step at a time.

 

Goals This Week:

Fitness –

  • Make the gym every morning M-F
  • Add an early Saturday morning distance run of at least 5 miles. (which is a LOFTY goal considering Friday is my B-day and we have plans that involve liquor that evening)

Nutrition –

  • Add in a few more glasses of water each day
  • Cut back on the sugar Monday – Thursday.   What about Friday, you ask?

It’s my birthday!

I eat frosting on my birthday.

It is straight up ILLEGAL not to.

 

Cheers to staying on track, keeping the momentum going and accomplishing new goals.

 

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May 4, 2014

Lincoln Half Marathon- 2014

You guys…

SERIOUSLY on a high right now.

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Completed my second ever Half Marathon today.

 

And you know what else?

I hit my PR!

2:05 

 

That is 5 whole minutes FASTER then last year.

And you remember how I trained this go around, don’t ya?  Weekends.  I ran on the weekends and cross-trained by teaching during the week.

To say I am elated is the understatement of the YEAR.

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To anyone in the Lincoln, Nebraska area….  Thank You!  You guys know how to organize a race.

I have never seen so much support for runners IN. MY. LIFE!

There were people cheering, bands playing, kids giving high-fives, water, gatorade and kleenex every step you took.  I am not kidding when I say every last stretch of that 13.1 miles was filled with someone or something.

 

Lincoln- you made that 13.1 miles seem like 6.   It was fantastic.

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This morning started off in a little bit of a cluster.   My 4:30AM alarm didn’t happen.

Nope!

What happened was my 5:21AM internal alarm clock that was FREAKING OUT!

Race-7am.  Drive time- One Hour.  Parking time and walk to starting line PLUS last minute bathroom break – OMG I am gonna be late!

Ninja like moves happened and somehow my race clothes made it on, my teeth got brushed, my lucky hat made it to my head and my race bib made its way into the car.

And off we went.

No water.  No fuel.

Usually I eat a Clif bar before a long run.  Sometimes I even have a little caffeine.   Clearly THAT wasn’t happening this morning.

Thankfully, I calmed down once we were on our way.

It was going to be ok.

We made it to Lincoln just prior to 6:30am.   Found a spot to park relatively quickly (miracle in itself), hit up the porta-pottys (a must, if you know what I’m saying…) and made my way to a spot in the middle of the pack.

In the middle of 10,500 other runners, that is.

 

And then the wait.

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The race started at 7.  It was 7:32am by the time I made it up to the starting line.  And off I went for the most enjoyable, exhilarating, hyped up 13 miles I have EVER run.

I paced myself at around 9:30 the entire way.  Sometimes I was little faster, sometimes a little slower, but I never broke that average pace of 9:30ish.  Thanks to MapMyRun, my trusty GPS sidekick.

The final results?

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Finishing inside the Nebraska stadium was pretty fantastic as well.

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And my sis-in-law Jamie ran her FIRST ever Half-Marathon.  She did SO great!  Very proud of her for committing and conquering.  Way to go, Jamie!

 

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And of course, a shout-out to my #1 supporter for getting up at the crack of dawn to drive me down to Lincoln to just ‘hang-out’ for two hours while I ran.  He’s pretty awesome.

 

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And THAT my friends, is the end of my Lincoln Half-Marathon recap.   Will there be another?  Not sure.  Time will tell. 🙂

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February 10, 2014

MNB February Challenge Week 1 Recap

Hey, Hey!  We made it through another Monday!  For me, this was a Gigantic accomplishment considering I spent the weekend in Vegas for a 40th Birthday Party.  Loads of fun!  I deserve a high-five for making it through today after that kind of weekend!

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If you recall from a previous post, I am taking part in the Sweat Pink and Lorna Jane February Move Nourish Believe Challenge.  I had a lot of fun checking out Instagram and looking up the rest of the #mnbchallenge participants and what they had been up to on a daily basis.  I look forward to Week 2!

Recap Time!

Day One: February 3, 2014

Challenge Topic: Sweat it Out! Show us your Favorite way(s) to workout!

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My fave ways to workout is Kickboxing, Teaching Group Fitness, Running and Working Out With Friends!

Day Two: February 4, 2014

 Challenge Topic: Change it Up!  Sweat a New Way!  Select a workout from Move Nourish Believe and show us your post-workout selfie.

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I chose the Summer Series Travel Workout and had a hard time taking a post-workout selfie.  But I did it.  I usually make fun of selfies.  Not the selfie with your friend kind.  The kind where people take pics of themselves all the time and post them kind.  #truth

Day Three: February 5, 2014

 Challenge Topic: Let’s Get Planking! Plank for at least five minutes today!  You can split the planks up.

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After I taught TurboKick, I invited a few to stick around afterwards and plank it out with me.  It made the 5 minutes FLY by as we laughed and supported each other by saying things like: “Don’t sink your butt.”  or the opposite “Don’t stick your butt up.”

Oh, the things you can say and get away with during workouts.

Day Four: February 6, 2014

 Challenge Topic: Buddy Up!  Workout with a friend today!

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My girl, Tyree, stopped over on Thursday night to help me run an errand.  I love that she is a trooper and threw in a few workout moves with me.  We chose oblique twists with a medicine ball and plank taps.  Go Team!

Day Five: February 7, 2014

 Challenge Topic: Show us your five fitness favorites!  Exercises, people, whatever gets you moving and motivated!

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My Five Faves with affiliate links:

  1. Pink Polar Ft4
  2. Champion C9 Capris
  3. Quiet time for focus, stretching and relaxation before teaching a group x class
  4. Nike Air Max
  5. Funny Workout Tanks.  Suck It Up Buttercup

And that my friends, wraps up Week One of the Move Nourish Believe February Challenge.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and are off to a great start to the week!  

I have a few recipes for you this week as well as a fun Valentine’s Day post coming up Friday.  Stay tuned!

Cheers!

January 31, 2014

Fit Approach Challenge!

As a new Sweat Pink Ambassador (more to come on that) I am inviting you to join our #sweatpink community and Lorna Jane for three-weeks of moving, nourishing, and believing in yourself! Once January comes to an end, your New Year goals should not go out the window! Join us for the Move Nourish Believe February Blogger Challenge to stay on track and motivate each other! Here’s to a healthier and happier 2014!

PS. Did you know the winner of the entire challenge will receive a $1000 shopping spree to Lorna Jane?

Yep. That’s right. Let’s make February count!

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Here’s how it works:…
1. Each day throughout the month there is a new challenge. Conquer the daily challenges and post a picture of yourself doing so on Twitter or Instagram. Tag @LornaJaneActive & @FitApproach along with #mnbchallenge #sweatpink #lornajane

2. At the end of each week, recap your successes on your blog and/or Facebook page. Each blog post equals five bonus entries! Share the blog post on Twitter and tag @LornaJaneActive & @FitApproach.
**In order to win the $1000 shopping spree, you MUST participate in all 21 of the daily photo challenges.

Here are the details:

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Move Nourish Believe Challenge starts February 3rd through the 21st! Challenge yourself with daily & weekly challenges and see why the Move Nourish Believe philosophy is one to live by.

Lorna’s Philosophy:
MOVE her body every day
NOURISH from the inside out
BELIEVE in herself and that anything is possible
if you work hard enough

Check out movenourishbelieve.com and lornajane.com for
daily inspiration to motivate you to achieve your best life through active living.

Follow Lorna!
Twitter: @LornaJaneActive
Instagram:@LornaJaneActive
Pinterest: Lorna Jane Active
Google+ +Lorna Jane
www.lornajane.com
www.movenourishbelieve.com

I will check in at the end of each week with a snapshot view of my daily challenges and proof of commitment.  Who else is joining?  Let me know, link up with me on Insta or message me a comment!  I just might share your accomplishments on my blog as well!

CHEERS!