Five on Friday

Happy Friday, Loves! It's time for another...

{ONE}
Call me old-fashioned, or a dork...or both...but I saw these for sale on a mommy exchange group on Facebook and couldn't resist:

Yup...paid $35 for nearly new K2 roller blades that retail for $150. Hadn't planned on getting back in the {circa 20 years ago} hobby, but super-excited to roll around the neighborhood, and maybe even the beach streets, for a good workout. Nice change of pace {pun so very intended} from a walk or run!

{TWO}
Took this big guy to his first day of 2nd grade on Wednesday...

 Hoping he has the most wonderful year!

{THREE}
Thanks to #2, my gym schedule is actually a "schedule" again. I get to drop the kids off by 7:30 then head straight across the street {gotta love that convenience!} to my gym for an hour workout before having to be at work by 9am. Here's to Monday thru Friday workouts, and then of course Saturday AMs too! Back to 6 days a week - yesssss!

{FOUR}
As of this week, this little man is officially potty-trained!

This pic from this post in January

He's making it through the days dry in his underwear or pullup and asking to use the potty on his own when he has to go. He will still wear a diaper at night for a while, but we're so glad we can stop buying pullups! We still a pack to go through, so we'll save them for times we'll be out of the house for long periods of time {restaurants, beach, etc.} to prevent accidents. He just had his 3rd birthday, so for a boy this is quite good! {Our oldest was 4 before he was officially trained - #2s are what took the longest...ugh...don't miss those days!}

{FIVE}
Originally I was going to do the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon {a half marathon} in October as my first half marathon, but who am I kidding? I've been lazy about training this summer, all the rain has been no help either, and when it's not raining, it's scorching hot...call me high-maintenance...so I've officially actually REGISTERED for the Charleston Half Marathon on January 18, 2014. It's paid for, so there's no way out now. If there's anything that motivates me, it's not wasting money. September, October, November & December will provide more ideal temps and weather for training.

Oh and can't forget I'm Backin Dat Azz Up with Whitney again...and here's my jam...I am dedicating it to the strenuous half marathon training I'm about to endure. Have a great weekend!

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Thursday Thoughts

I've been thinking lately {look out!} about how I've just turned 30 and how I've heard from some people that they literally had to start working out harder the minute they turned because their body instantly became stubborn it seemed. I feel like lately I've been pretty darn good about working out...lots of barre classes, started doing Spin again, and then my strength training sessions. But for some reason...I feel like I'm staying the same. Maybe that's just me? I hope so. But regardless, I'm not seeing the number on the scale budge much - though I know muscle weighs more than fat. But I don't like that to ever be my excuse! I also feel like my postpartum belly seems to not be as hard as it once was...so not OK with that...maybe I'm just crazy, or bloated this week. But it has been bothering me a lot the last couple of days.

Anyway, the belly thing got me thinking that I need to pump up the cardio {apparently Spin and elliptical are not enough?} and I realized I have done almost zero running this year. Sporadically at best. I'm not a "runner" per se, but usually by this time of year, I've got at least three 5Ks completed, and one 10K - the Cooper River Bridge Run. {But we all know I skipped out on that due to late night painting of the living room last month.} So how many have I done? Zero. Zilch. Nada. {Womp-Womp}

{source}

I also had a goal last year of running my first half marathon and I still need to do that. Obviously I need to train for that. I have my heart set on the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon in October, so that gives me just under 6 months - plenty of time if I use it right. Normally most training schedules are 12-16 weeks for a half marathon, but I think I want to get a head start. And I need to start getting some 5Ks done to help keep my motivation going. I did a search on www.active.com and my first 5K this year might be a Mother's Day run.

I also need to eat clean. I have been lax on that lately...I either eat too little or too much some days...I eat the wrong things even though I know better. As far as family dinners, I have tried hard to keep a menu going, getting most of my recipes from Skinny Taste, so at least there's that. But often times, our day gets hectic and my meal plans change last minute. I also need to get up earlier so I can make a good high-protein breakfast...and I need to pack a lunch and healthy snacks for days I go to the office. It's easier said than done, I know, but I've been good before - I can be good again.

{source}

And then there's Andee from The Honeybee blog...who is just so disciplined with her eating {and stunningly gorgeous as well} and she just recently posted her one year post-partum body on her blog...she looks AMAZING. Puts all those postpartum ladies with nothin' but excuses to shame. Hell, I work hard and she put ME to shame. Though, after I had Tanner, I will admit, I snapped back quickly {WARNING: Blast from the past below}:

Post-Beach in May 2006 - 6 Months Postpartum

But after Baby #2, it got hard...and things were somewhat displaced. These are more recent pics of me, the first from the Target dressing room in March and the other from my Roxy photoshoot in February.

I know I don't look bad, but I look at it and think I could be better. I guess that's the way I am.
I don't want to make excuses because I could always be working harder than I have. So I'm not going to make any...I'm just going to set my goals...set my mind to them...and get it done.

To Be Continued!

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Back on Track

I have spent the last three days getting myself back on the fitness track. My mom was in town for Christmas from the 22nd to the 26th, but after I bid goodbye to her at the airport at 5am on Thursday, I knew that it was time to finally be done with the holidays and done with my little workout hiatus.

I'm finally feeling a little better and back to normal after the surgery I had on Dec. 17th. I hate that it took me out of training for my half marathon. After much thought, I've decided that I'm going to forgo the half marathon in Charleston on January 19th. It pains me to do so because I wanted this so badly, but I am just not ready. Before my hiatus, I was at eight straight miles...which is a great personal accomplishment for me. However, it's not near where I need to be to take on 13.1. And now that I've been out for a couple of weeks, as well as it's pretty darn chilly outside {I know I'm a wuss when it comes to that}, I just decided it best to find a different half marathon that would allow for more time. I am now going to participate in the Columbia Half Marathon on March 9th. I will have to travel an hour and a half, but my family and I are going to make a weekend of it...they will cheer me on and then we will celebrate with a trip to the Riverbanks Zoo. The weather should be much more tolerable for running - especially that distance.

So anyway...as far as being back on track...I have been hitting the gym hard the last three days. Thursday was legs, glutes, abs and the elliptical; Friday was chest, triceps, abs and the elliptical and today I hit the legs and glutes again. I strongly encourage lifting weights when you are looking to tone up - don't just hit the cardio. I am pretty sore right now, but it's a good soreness...the kind that leaves me feeling accomplished and encouraged to go back for more. This past year has been a pretty challenging one for me in terms of fitness...work was crazy and I was putting in a lot of hours - even on weekends and my motivation for fitness was a bit lacking in comparison to my normal level. I almost feel as though this last three days I've just flipped the switch back on and it makes me wonder how I ever got lost in the first place. I turn the big 3-0 this April...so it is becoming even more important to me that I accomplish my fitness goals as well as keep challenging myself. Fitness is a part of who I am...and I don't want to let anything get in the way of that again. No excuses.

If you are looking to get back into fitness...I encourage you to start today...don't wait until January 1.

Oh, and be on the lookout for me to post my 2013 starting stats sometime next week...I'm a little nervous due to the above-mentioned hiatus I've been in, but I've got to do it...seeing those numbers will only fire me up to get them lower. I encourage you to take measurements any time you want to track your progress...photos are a great way to do that too.

Enjoy the rest of 2012. xoxo.

Side note: Do you like the new blog design? Not sure if it's forever, I'll probably keep revamping... but what do you think?

 

What A Slacker!

Wow. Has it really been 18 days since my last post?

Ugh, I knew I had been slack, but geez!

I do apologize...I think I have just been out of it the last few weeks. I find it hard to write about fitness when I'm not being that great about it myself...like I'm a fraud or something. So I suppose that's where the motivation has been lost in keeping up this blog. There of course has been the all time-consuming holiday season hustle and bustle, hectic work schedule and I also had a minor surgery this past Monday that actually put me out a little more than I thought it would as far as working out goes. {You can read about the surgery here.} So needless to say, I've fallen a bit out of the gym routine and my half marathon training. I've got to pick it back up because I now have just under one month until race day. There is another half marathon in March in Columbia, SC that I'm considering instead (it's a much more popular one), but I'd so love to do the January one...I guess I will see how my running goes this next couple weeks to determine if I'm going to be ready for it.

So as I'm feeling sluggish today in writing this post, I've decided I need a kick-start. I'm 5 days post-surgery and I'm ready to start running again {plan on getting in at least 6 miles this afternoon right after I get off work}, but because I have been so bad all-around, I also want to initiate a little challenge for myself. I love perusing Pinterest for great home exercise routines and challenges, so this is the one I'm going to take on this evening {mind you after making Christmas sugar cookies with my boys this afternoon}. If you want to join in with me, I definitely encourage you!

Hope y'all have a wonderful holiday. I hope to be around here during it, but if not, I'll definitely be back at it come 2013! xoxo