When the going gets tough.....

I was sick last week. It seems like lately (more like the past 6 months), I get into an awesome groove and then get derailed. It is knee pain, ankle pain or I get an awful cold/ear infection. Through all this, I just refuse to give up on me and my goals.

I am doing 2 things right now.
1. I started "New Rules of Lifting for Women". Great great great!
2. It is once again half marathon training time. This time, I am kicking my best time(2:16:00) in the ass and doing it in less time.

Every day I wake up and think 'Ouch! I am so sore. I love it!'. I am loving my workouts lately.

Starting the New Rules of Lifting for Women and half marathon training will be tough, but I know I can do it. My workout routing for the next few months will look a little something like this:

Monday-New Rules of Lifting and 30-60 minutes elliptical
Tuesday-3(progressing to a 5 mile run) Mile Run and 20-30 minutes of elliptical, stairs, or bike
Wednesday-New Rules of Lifting and 30-60 minutes elliptical
Thursday-3 Mile(Speedwork) Run, 20-30 minutes of additional cardio if I feel up to it
Friday-New Rules of Lifting and 30 minutes easy elliptical
Saturday-Long Run
Sunday-Rest day

I may buddy up run days and lifting days occasionally. I am sure I will take an extra rest day from time to time. I am excited to have a focused strength training plan during half marathon training. I have not done that before. However, after only 2 weeks I am starting to tell a significant difference in my running and my legs.

I leave you today with a picture that totally cracks me up.

Who needs 2 lenses anyways? 

I hope y'all have a great week!

Are you training for anything?

Have you ever done the New Rules of Lifting for Women program?

Photo Lovin'

This is what 2 months looks like in my iPhone!

Morning Workouts

 Silly Photos

 Self Explanatory

 Snuggles

 Finding Old Photos

 Reminiscing Old Times

 Best Friends

 Girls Night Silliness

 Happy Birthday, KrystalAn!

 Most Amazing Santa Present

 Netflix Disney Watching

 2013 Started In The 120s

 Funny

 Cops At Bank

 Cop Car Crash

 Happy 30th, Stevie!

 Happy 30th, Steph!

 Happy 6th Birthday To My Number One Girl, Abigail!!

 Healthy Eating

 Blendtec Smoothie Love

 Garmin Love

Baby Wine Bottles

Talking About Workouts

I was so excited to throw a post up last Monday all about my workouts. However, someone *cough* me *cough* got injured AGAIN!

Let's back up a little. Last I left off, I was training for the Halloween Half Marathon. Training was going well, I was certain I would beat my previous time, and WHAM! Knee and ankle pain hit me hard! I took some time off, R.I.C.E.'d, and focused on lifting with light cardio. After a week, I gave it another chance and it was a no go. I was extremely bummed about missing the half, but I didn't want to get injured further. So, I took off 3 weeks from running.

In the 3 weeks I took off, I decided that I wanted to focus on gaining speed and endurance. So, I downloaded a couch to 5k app. I was all set and ready to run.

The first workout was great. I did the walking parts in a light jog at a 5.0 on the treadmill and the running parts were at a 6.5. I felt terrific. Like I could run on that damn treadmill forever. The second workout was much the same.

The third workout I decided to pick it up a little. I did the jogging parts at varying speeds 5.2-5.8. The running I kept at 6.5. After the workout, I felt fantastic. This was last Monday. I came home and started getting ready for work. In the shower my back was a little sore, but I didn't think much of it. Throughout the day, I had nagging pain, but tolerable. By 5 o'clock, it was excruciating! I took a hot bath at 1AM, that didn't help. I iced and it felt a little better. Enough for me to get some sleep at least.

Tuesday and Wednesday I took ibuprofen every few hours, iced, and applied a heating pad to my back. Today is Sunday and it still isn't better! I mean, it's better, but not back to normal.

I don't know at what point I got the injury, and I am not sure it is from working out. I do know that I have taken the week off from working out, just in case. I just hope it isn't from running. I was just starting to love it again.

Tomorrow, I am going to go to the gym in the AM for some elliptical action. Depending on how I feel after that, will be what next weeks workouts look like.

Here's to hoping my back quits being a jerk!

Simple Paleo Eating

I don't have any pictures, but fully intend to take some this week. I have been eating fantastic and simple paleo meals for the past few weeks now.

Breakfasts

• Egg and Veggie scramble. Mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and spinach are my favorite mixes right now. Top it all with guacamole and add a side of turkey bacon. It makes the perfect filling breakfast! 
• Almond flour pancakes. I make my own almond flour, which I will blog about someday. Top it with fresh bananas and a touch of maple syrup. Again, add turkey bacon and you have another fun, filling breakfast.
• Turkey Bacon and hard boiled eggs. If I am in a pinch, I just take already hard boiled eggs and a side of turkey bacon. I top the hard boiled eggs with sriracha and it is heaven!!

Lunches

• Spinach, strawberries, chicken, tomatoes, and homemade paleo honey mustard dressing is soo good! I will blog about the honey mustard dressing. This mix is a current favorite right now.  I have it for dinner quite often too. 
• Chicken and Normandy vegetable stir fry. This is simple and so tasty. 

Snacks

• Grapes and almonds! I have been having this everyday this week and OMG...so freaking tasty. 
• Paleo approved bars, I have been loving the banana bread lara bars lately. 
• Bananas and almond butter are my favorite! I usually eat this as a dessert if I am craving something sweet. 

Dinners

•  Steak and veggies.  I love this because it is so easy and takes about 10 minutes. The last thing I want to do when I get home from a long, busy day at the office is make dinner. So, this is a typical go to.
• Chicken salad of some kind.  Most nights, this is what I do. The Boyfriend likes to eat breaded chicken tenders...daily! He basically lives off of them. So, I just throw in some defrosted chicken breasts and make up a salad and dressing while it is cooking.
• Salmon Salad. I put strawberries, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and (occasionally) avocado in for the salad portion, then top it off with some salmon and homemade honey mustard dressing.

They are all so simple, I love it. Especially because it is the holiday season, which means the furniture industry is crazy busy right now. I love coming home and just getting simple meals ready.

I feel better, my skin is better and I am feeling healthier than ever! Tomorrow, I will be back talking exercise! Woohoo!

What are some simple meals you make? 

Big Motivators

When deciding to clean up my diet, I had some pretty big motivation to do so.

First, I realized that I was consuming so much more food than I needed for my body. I would finish dinner and be so full and uncomfortable. I felt sluggish all the time. Even though I was still working out at least 3 times a week, I didn't feel more fit or healthier. My clothes kept getting tighter. I realized I was eating serving sizes as large as my boyfriend. No wonder why I was gaining so much weight. 

Second, I started having some really bad gut issues. I would bloat. I had horrible gas(TMI, but it's true). I would wake up with a "sour stomach" almost every morning and after most meals. Never in my life, have I experienced the "sour stomach" to that extent. I remember thinking, 'What the hell is wrong with me? I have never had stomach issues like this.' It. Was. Awful.

Third, my skin. Oh, my skiiiiiiiinnnnnnnn! I have always had great skin. A breakout for me was 2 zits, seriously. My breakouts turned into zits all over my face nonstop.

And last, I realized everything I was eating was packed with sugar! I couldn't remember the last savory meal I had. Or the last meal where I actually tasted the true flavor of the food.

I finally reached a breaking point one day. I knew my weight gain was because of the food choices I was making(duh!). I came to the conclusion that my gut issues were due to the types of foods I was eating(*hint* I was right!). My bad skin was due to a new makeup I was using, but I knew my diet wasn't helping the situation. The sugar, well the sugar is because I am addicted to sugar and I didn't want to be anymore.

It is amazing that it took so much to get me serious about Paleo. I lost all of my weight while training for my 1st half marathong(<---Ha! I always type marathong.), I lost all my weight by eating really clean. So, it's not like it is totally foreign eating to me. It's just getting out of the habit and eating foods that are convenient.

Paleo

It is no secret that I have been wanting and trying to get to my goal weight for quite some time.

I found when I was training for my first half marathon, calorie counting worked for me, but this time around not so much.

My bestie did a whole life challenge and had amazing results.

I have wanted to try eating more paleo, but always thought it looked like too much work and I thought I would get bored with the food choices.

Let me tell you though, it is not boring at all! It is actually really fun.
Check out tonight's dinner

Excuse the iPhone photo. Ha! That is macadamia nut/shredded coconut encrusted tilapia with roasted veggies and honey mustard dipping sauce. The honey mustard was made out of homemade paleo mayo, mustard, and honey. It was simple, but delicious!

I have so many fun things I have been eating!
Paleo spaghetti
Chicken salad in butter lettuce leaves
Eggs sunny side up on salads
Nut butter and banana most nights for dessert
The list goes on and on.

I am about 75% paleo now. I would like to be more like 90-95%. It does take work, but it is worth it.

Since going paleo, I have lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks and I couldn't be happier with that.

I feel better about myself, my skin is clearing up, running has been easier, and I sleep better at night.

I look forward to sharing more meals with you soon.

On the running front, this week was good. It was a step back week. I love step back weeks. Sometimes my body just needs a rest. It was definitely ready for the rest this week. I do look forward to the 11 miles next Saturday.

I have been slacking on the lifting, but I look forward to getting back to it this week.

have you ever eaten paleo style?

what is your favorite strength training move? And what muscle group is your favorite to workout?

Once A Month Blogger

Has it already been a month since I ran 7 miles! Wow, time flies. Let me catch you up on the latest happenings!

• I am still training for the half marathon. My running in the past 2 weeks has slowed down a bit, but I am still feeling really confident. 
• I have started eating more "Paleo Friendly". I will have a whole post on that tomorrow. I am not 100% paleo, but come back and you will find out more ;)
• I went to the local farmer's market 2 weeks ago. 
• My Boyfriend had his 30th birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Sweet Cheeks! I love you!
• We went camping to celebrate!
• I had 10 miles scheduled on my training plan for when we were camping. I ran 7 of those and I am happy with that! 
• It is the busy season at work! I love the holidays, most stressful time ever at work. However, I love seeing my friends and family! 
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