Weekday morning rituals.

As a SweatPink Ambassador, I was sent Vegabars for the purpose of reviewing. I was not paid for this review, and all opinions are my own.

When I started my current job almost two years ago, I was thrilled to have hours that allowed for a morning workout routine.  While I flip flop between hardcore 4-5 day/week or easy 1-2 day/week a.m. workouts, there's something that keeps me coming back.  That's my morning routine.   

The gym is the best in the morning.  It's not crowded.  I can easily get a spot in a class even if I arrive only five minute prior to the class starting.  There is a method to the a.m. workout.  I always prep my gym bag the night before, which is an art in and of itself.  I have to make sure I have everything necessary for getting ready for work (god forbid I forget a regular bra and have to wear my sweaty one to work).  Aside from my bag, one of the hardest parts of morning workouts is breakfast.  Since I can't fry up eggs in the gym locker room, I make smoothies the night before.  I used to eat a couple boiled eggs on the side for extra protein to keep me full (especially after a hard workout).  

I'm lucky enough to have a Whole Foods a mile from my job, so I make sure I plan extra time to stop in and pick up a hot tea or coffee to pair with my eggs.  I've been attempting to cut back on my egg intake, so I thought I would try pairing Vegabars with my a.m. beverage instead.

 

My favorite Vegabars are the Vega Sport bars.  There's a Sport Protein bar and a Sport Energy bar.  The Sport Energy chocolate coconut flavor was delicious (it would be a great pair with coffee), but I think the apple cherry would have paired better with my hot tea.  I appreciate that the Sport Energy bars are plant-based and gluten free.  My bar of choice is Larabars which have no additives I've never heard of. All of the Vegabar ingredients were plant-based but some seemed unnecessary.  The rice crisps got a bit soggy in the apple cherry bar and did not add to the flavor of the bar.  I wish there was no added sugar (organic coconut palm sugar).  Paired with my hot tea and smoothie, I did stay full for three hours (which I'm guessing I can contribute to the 27g of plant-based carbs)!

On mornings when I don't head to the gym, I relish my "me" time.  I used to get up with barely 45 minutes to spare before running out the door to get to work.  No more.  I like to get up with plenty of time to enjoy my breakfast, drink coffee, and read a few of my favorite blogs.

I believe that eating natural fruits and vegetables should be our main priority in our diets, but sometimes it's time consuming to prep smoothies or other fresh ingredients.  Fridays are usually my "freebie" days were I can take it easy and not worry about prepping a smoothie the night before.  This week I opted for a leftover half of a smoothie with chia seeds (still need those fruits+veggies!) and a Vega One bar.  I wouldn't promote eating this "meal bar" solo since fresh foods are always best, but on a lazy or rushed morning it was perfect.  The chocolate peanut butter was delicious (I mean I can't turn down that combo), but the ingredient list is quite extensive.  The bar is packed with 12g of protein and other plant-based ingredients.  I think it would be a perfect bar for D who is constantly on the road with few healthy meal options.  The bar+half smoothie kept me full for 3-4 hours which is nice because sometimes even my full smoothies don't do that!

What are your favorite weekday morning rituals?

post-injury half marathon prep.

I was injured for almost a year.  You could probably say over a year if you included the time it took me to really become comfortable with running again.  I missed two half marathons and other shorter distance races. It has been an extremely depressing, long, and difficult process to overcome.  Back in October, I worked up enough courage and felt good enough to sign up for a turkey trot (which I've wanted to race in since we moved here almost four years ago), and then I was sidelined with another injury and couldn't race.  As a runner, I think it's pretty safe to say that being injured is the worst feeling ever.  After the failed turkey trot, I headed to a specialist and was referred to a new physical therapist.  The PT has given me more confidence and worked wonders on my leg.  After some pain-free runs, I felt ready to tackle the half marathon again.

I couldn't find a local or destination race that worked with my schedule, so I went for the inaugural Rock 'N' Roll Raleigh half marathon on April 13.  I think the atmosphere of the race will be great, and I'm really looking forward to running an entire 13 miles through the city that I now call home.

After so much time spent injured, I'm extra anal about doing everything possible I can to not be injured again.  This is what the first couple months of my training looks like:


I don't like to be a stickler with my training because life happens and shit.  Sometimes it's better to see D who has been traveling for a week than get in cross training.  That said, I thrive by following some sort of schedule.  I loosely base my week on this schedule, but amend things as needed.  I switch things around a good bit too.  For instance, if I know my long run will be Sunday instead of Saturday then I will run 3 miles Friday and go to a yoga class on Thursday.

I've come to terms with the fact that the previously injured leg is always going to bother me more than my "healthy" leg will.  After some dull aches and twinges from my bad leg, I'm also incorporating PT exercises consistently into my training on Mondays and Wednesdays.  I have pretty strict guidelines that I follow in hopes of resisting future injury.  In case you missed it, I contributed to The Eighty Twenty and discussed my five tips for being balanced with running and avoiding injury.  In addition to those five things, I'm also maintaining physical therapy sessions every three weeks (since that's all I can afford).  I'm still scared to death of re-injury and missing another half marathon.  I'm going to continue to maintain balance and stay positive.
Are you training for any races? Have you been injured?  How did you recover?

Move Nourish Believe :: The Challenge

I mentioned that one of my mini-goals for February was to complete the Move Nourish Believe Challenge.  Fit Approach (creators of Sweat Pink) and Lorna Jane collaborated to start this challenge around these three principles.  Personally, I love this idea.  If you utilize these three pillars in your life, you can be healthy and happy!  Head over to Fit Approach to learn more about the challenge for yourself.

This is the calendar and "rules" for the challenge.  I'm not necessarily posting pictures every day, but I'm attempting to use this to break out of my comfort zone and try new things.

Week 1//MOVE

Over the past two years, I've learned not only the important of moving but that it truly makes me feel strong and beautiful.

On Monday, I tweeted this picture for my favorite way to get sweaty.  I fell in love with running when I moved to North Carolina, and I've never looked back.  It's amazing to look back and see how moving has changed me.  It's changed not just my body but my entire outlook on life.  My favorite day is started with a run or some type of activity (no matter how hard it might be to actually get out of bed).  Moving makes me a better and happier person, and I'm never looking back.

I didn't try a new workout from the website, but I did take Saturday to try out a new yoga studio that I've been itching to see.  And bonus, the class was asking for donations to donate to a local charity (last I checked they raised over $6500!) and I won a raffle for some free training sessions!

While I wasn't smiling the entire time, I completed five minutes of planks!  It made me feel stronger than ever.  I broke up the minutes between an ab work session and almost forgot the last minute after going out to dinner with a friend.  I did it though.  It was hard, and I pretty much hated it.  It's the challenges like this that push me to my limits and remind me why I love to move.

My buddy up time was delayed until Sunday when my running friend and I completed six miles.  It's nice to have a friend to do long runs with throughout half marathon training.  I'm so grateful to have friends who love running as much as I do.  Even though some of my moving friends are far away, I can still text pictures of ice baths/my misery and know that I'm understood.

While I forgot to post for fave Friday, my favorite alternate exercise these days is yoga.  I've fallen in love with it and I can't wait to spend more time working towards my mini-goal of creating a consistent yoga routine.

Why do you move?  
What is your favorite way to move?

On beauty and loving our bodies.

I don't typically watch any videos that come across my twitter or Facebook feeds, but I was intrigued when Huffington Post mentioned something about women's unexpected moments of feeling beautiful.  Even on my lunch break at work and at eight minutes long, I had to watch the video.


[via Huffington Post Women] I promise this video is worth your eight minutes.  I was struck by the poem at the end; it brought me to tears.  According to the video, "85% of girls 8-10 believe they are overweight. 45% have already started dieting."  At first glance, these numbers are saddening and shocking, but then when I really think about it they aren't.   Females are socialized to be competitive with one another: the richest, skinniest, most popular, etc.  As times and the media have changed, I believe this is a problem that is only growing (blogs, social media, and reality tv amongst others are partially to blame).  The lack of conversation, real and deep talk, about body image contributes to our skewed views of ourselves.  This article has always stuck with me; even the words we don't say make an impact.    I grew up in a family where communication was (and still is) basically nonexistent.  Body image and loving myself was never discussed.  My mother was always yo-yoing between weights and diets.  No one in my family is active.  As I've learned being an adult, eating healthy is difficult on a small income.  When it comes to positive body image, these components can be insignificant.  Seeing beauty and loving your own body is all about perspective. "I was on this pursuit of changing myself," says Corry in the video.  For as long as I can remember, I've been on this same journey.  It has only been within the past two years or so that I have come to appreciate this body I have.  We can't change the images we see on social media or in magazines, but we can appreciate, love, and own that we are who we are.  We can teach our sons and daughters that people are beautiful in so many ways. "Speak truth into our own lives." My truth comes from acknowledging who I am and what I love about me.  These are my truths:

• I am beautiful.
• I feel best about me when I'm sweating {and healthy}.
• I have an hourglass shape to be proud of.
• My legs are strong and carry me for many miles.
• I'm graced with a chest that makes shirts look good on me.
• I am an introvert and observer.
• I'm happy with my bad eyes because I get to wear glasses which I love.
• My hips give me curves and might help me birth a child someday.
• My eyes are green or hazel or just mysterious.
• I love what my body is capable of.
• I feel most beautiful when my body accomplishes something I never thought it could.

What are your truths?  What journey have you been on when it comes to body image?  When do you feel most beautiful?

2014 :: Commitment progress + new mini goals.

I know I was a little late in presenting my commitments for 2014, but I have been mindful of my goals.  I want to spend this year focused on being a better version of me.  That means holding myself accountable and regularly sharing my progress.  February is already here!  Is it just me or does time truly go by quicker as we get older?  My mini-goals focus on small steps to being successful towards my overall 2014 commitments.  Overall, I was successful in January!

HEALTH//
I scheduled an eye exam, but eating pizza was a different beast.  I swear pizza was never this much of a kryptonite until I went mostly Paleo.  There is something about that combination of bread and cheese that just attracts me.  I'll try again next time on that one.

FITNESS//
All completed!  I actually signed up for a hometown half marathon and created a new running training plan.  I'll go into more depth about those later this month.  I also restarted my GymPact and have been following through with physical activity four days a week.

HAPPINESS//
Done, done, and done!  I've been following my budget this month and carefully tracking input and output.  I'm trying to pay hefty amounts on debt bills in order to be successful at my goal to "stop spending, start saving."  The photography course I completed was through Photography Concentrate, and it was honestly the best course!  I learned more from that online class than through any face-to-face course I've attended.  I've been practicing using manual mode often since then.

FOR OTHERS//
I've done ok with meal planning.  Sometimes getting to the grocery is hard if D and I have a packed weekend.  I'm still working on this one though.  My one act of kindness was contributing to a friend's race for charity.  She is running the same race series I am but in a different city and the money is for a charity that works toward preventing teenage suicide.  Suicide, and mental illness, is a cause that is especially close to my heart.  Not to mention, this is the first half for the runner.  Running a half is an emotional process, and running it for a personal cause is nothing short of amazing.  I immediately knew this was how I wanted to give back this month.  If you're interested in donating, visit the site here.

As for February, here's my focus.


All of it is pretty self-explanatory, but if you'd like to know more about the Move, Nourish, Believe Challenge, check it out!

Also, I'm contributing today over on my new favorite online magazine, The Eighty Twenty!  I'm sharing about balance and running (which is fitting since I'll be talking next week about my half marathon plans and sharing my training plan).  Head over and check out this awesome resource!

How are you staying focused on your 2014 resolutions?