Words To Live By

Today I was checking out my favorite blogs and I love what Heather at  Through Heather's Looking Glass said today about finding time as a new mom to exercise, and glad to know that I am not the only one out there that would rather do something else!

4.) Sacrifice: There are a lot of days I would rather take a nap then go for a run, or skip the gym in favor of watching my favorite TV series. However, I know if I don’t make an effort and make some sacrifices, I won’t get my workouts in, and I won’t be a happy person which equals not being a happy mommy. I NEED my sweat sessions, so it really is for everyone’s benefit for me to sacrifice something else so I can workout.

This is so true, especially for me right now. When Collin and Mason are down for "mommy quiet time" I want to rest, relax and just not do anything but turn off my brain and sit down with my favorite TV show. Well, the great thing about Hulu, Netflix or TV in general. It will always be there later. All I have to do is just 30 minutes a day here at the house. That is my goal. Go to the gym and do my run and the elliptical for an hour and then sometime later in the day, most likely when the kids are down for a nap, do another 30 min of PiYo for strength training. So time for me to sacrifice and watch later and continue to FOCUS ON ME! Because I am worth fighting for!

Thank you Heather for your words that made a profound impact on my day! 

January Week 2 Recap

This past week I was hit with miserable exhaustion! Hence why this is out 2 days late! I have been in such a bad habit of going to bed super late and then sleeping in, in the mornings. That it has just thrown off my whole schedule. I am eating later in the day and my whole eating pattern is off too. I am going to be trying better this week to be in bed and asleep by 10pm. (as long as the kiddos let me!)

My workouts suffered a little because of it but as long as I get my weekly mileage in I am ok with that. I will say that this last Saturday my legs felt like they didn't have enough strength. I felt like I really had to dig deep and push my legs while running around Charlottesville. There are a TON of hills here in Charlottesville and I just feel like I need a little extra boost in my leg strength to get me comfortably over these hills. So I am going to add PiYo back into my training mix to help with my flexibility, and overall strength. The more I read about PiYo and how amazing it is for running the more excited I am to add it back in again.

Mason: Mason loves being a big brother. He loves to pick on Collin, like a typical big brother does, but he also shows him the most heart warming love I have ever seen. Often when Collin cries Mason alerts us to it and will rush over and give him a hug, kiss and a pat on the head. He also loves to help Collin out by fetching his toy for him when Collin throws is down on the ground. Mason is learning new dinosaur names everyday! He now knows pentaceratops.

Collin: Is growing up way too quickly. We found out this week that he is still not gaining enough weight. Thanks in part to him crawling so much and being such an active baby. So Now I am pumping him full of healthy fats and he really does love it. Since I started feeding him solids, I have noticed that my milk supply has suffered so we are trying to boost that back up too by making sure he nurses first before solid food feedings. And I was advised by his doc to add in 1-2 more feedings during the day. So already in the last half of this week he is starting to fill out more, and even spit up at the end of feedings because we are actually topping off the tank! He is cruising for sure now. He will pull himself up on anything and walk along the couch or whatever he is standing next too. His face is just plastered with a HUGE "I DID IT!" grin and he is such a happy and loving and happy baby!

Workouts: 
As I said earlier, my workouts took a decline this past week due to me just not taking care of me and going to bed so late. (even my dad made a comment the other night about how I was going to bed so late!) My runs this week weren't the best. My legs were still recovering from the Saturday long run so my 3 mile run ended up being a 2 mile walk. I have decided that I need to do my running days on Tuesday and Thursday again. Because Monday is just too soon after my long runs for my legs to function properly!

Sunday: rest
Monday: 2 mile walk
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 1 mile walk
Thursday: rest
Friday: 1 mile walk
Saturday: 5 mile run 15:59 min/mile. It was 18 degrees and it hurt to breath. I just wanted to finish. And I ran to the downtown mall. That is just so "far" away and unbelievable that I ran to there from the university. (all my c-ville peeps will know what I am talking about!)

Fitbit:
Total Steps: 55,570 Equals 24.75 miles
Total Floors: 94

New Year Giveaway By For Two Fitness

I am thrilled to partner with For Two Fitness for an amazing New Year giveaway. If you recall, I wore For Two Fitness apparel through my pregnancy with Collin and they quickly became my absolutely favorite maternity fitness apparel brand. For Two Fitness is running a phenomenal giveaway for the New Year. Read the details below.

Happy New Year! We are so thankful to YOU — our community, customers, and friends. To express our thanks, we are hosting a huge giveaway this week in partnership with some amazing brands and our ambassadors. The Grand Prize is valued at $1000.  We have phenomenal prizes, including the newest offering from BOB - a Revolution FLEX  jogging stroller - plus prizes from ASICS, Ergo and Maison Drake baby boutique, and For Two Fitness – all facets of your healthy mom lifestyle are in this prize pack!

The grand prize winner will win everything you see listed here.  Prizes have been furnished by our wonderful brand partners in connection with a sponsoring ambassador (Katie from Mom’s Little Running Buddy and Melody from Will Run For Margaritas). Here are more details about the amazing products that have been generously donated for you to win and enjoy:

Grand Prize Giveaway items:

●      The New BOB Revolution FLEX single stroller

●      For Two Fitness maternity athletic outfit (top and bottom of winner’s choice)

●      Ergo 360 Baby Carrier furnished by Maison Drake baby boutique

●      Asics Running Shoes (1 pair of the winner’s choice)

Wow!  We are thrilled to give away these amazing prizes.  This contest runs from Monday, January 12th through midnight on Friday, January 16th.  Visit the For Two Fitness site to enter.  Be sure to follow @ForTwoFitness and our co-hosts @run4margaritas and @momslrb on Instagram in order for your entries to be valid.

Thanks for celebrating the New Year with us!  Good Luck!!!

Running In The Cold

Oh man, today was a brutal run! I just checked the weather indicator that my Garmin has and it clocked todays run at 18 degrees. Not including the cross wind we had the whole time. I had no idea it was that cold, and boy was it COLD!  So what can we do to make sure that we are prepared for for that kind of cold.

1. Layers and more layers. Layers are good cause if you do get cold you can tie your jacket around your waist. But honestly I didn't see anyone take off their jacket today.

2. Head Coverage- Wear a headband that can cover your ears or ear muffs or even a beanie. I don't have this but I do have a hoodie on my jacket which helped out today, a little.

3. Wear a scarf to help cover your face and exposed skin. I didn't have this and I can tell you right now that my face is covered in wind burn. My face hurts. Around my lips the most.

4. Gloves. My fingers were very cold. I have a jacket that has the thumb holes that cover most of my hands but my fingers were exposed.

5. Just know that when it is that cold your pace could slow down because it is a little hard to breath when it is that cold. I had a hard time with my legs too because they were FROZEN! And at about 2.5 miles they were so frozen that they were numb. Which helped in me needing to take less walk breaks but my legs were so cold they were numb. CRAZY huh! Or it could be completely opposite that you might run faster to get out of the cold. But most people I talked to today ran just a little slower than usual.

6. DRINK WATER! The winter months are so deceiving but it is a lot easier to get dehydrated during the winter than the summer. We know in the summer to drink. We feel it, we see it with our sweat. Water out means water in. But when it is so cold, you don't sweat as much so we don't compensate with enough water. So make sure you drink WATER!

Hope this helps the next time you have to battle the cold.

~All my Arizona friends are basking in the sunny warmth right now as the are reading this! They live in AZ for a reason. Perfect winter days of 70 degrees!

Survival Guide For The Gym In January: Regulars

Hey all you regular gym attendees! This one's for you! If you missed part 1: Newbies check it out!

We all know what January is like. The gym is usually packed for the first 3 weeks. We all know it is coming and when it happens we all feel a little frustrated. We are so proud of the new people attending but what happens is our routine gets thrown off a little because we either have to wait for equipment to be available and our circuit gets changed up, or we have to hurry off the machines because someone is waiting. And the classes get filled FAST! All week it seems like every spin class has been packed! No bikes available where last month there were at least 2-3 open.

Here you your tips to survive the Gym:

~We know it happens. The gym is more busy in January and that is ok! Great for the gym. It helps keep your prices lower, right because they are meeting their membership requirements and they won't raise the price on anyone because of that.

~Plan accordingly knowing that you might be at the gym for 2 hours instead of 1.5 hours. Last year I did 30 minutes on my favorite treadmill. Someone was waiting behind for me to get off. I got off and went to another treadmill for the last 30 minutes. It happens. (I had to do that 3 times last year on a Saturday when I had a super long run.) But there is a limit on cardio of 30 minutes. Yes I have a favorite treadmill type, I call it the tank! I feel more secure on it and not like I am on a belt. But I am not the only one that prefers that type of machine. (and those machines are on the second floor right under the fans, where a bunch of the other treadmills are like 20 feet under the fans. Without fans, this ginger is even more RED faced!)

~Support and encourage the newbies. If you see someone kind of deer in headlights, help them out. Say hi to more people than usual. It is scary going to the gym and not feeling like you fit in, so help them fit in. You never know, one smile today could make them come back tomorrow.

~Go during off peak hours. Yes this will throw off your schedule because you always go to the gym at 10am to strength train. But guess what, 10 am is when everyone else wants to be there too. I have been going around 11:45 and haven't been kicked off my machines yet. The kids zone is less crowded too. I am so thankful to have the flexibility to go at different times during the day, but if you go when it is super crowded try to see if you can change it up, at least for the first month.

~If you plan to do a group class. Plan on being at the gym 15 minutes early to get a good spot or to sign up if it is limited size. Or pre-sign up if that is available. But just know to be early, or you might not get in the class you wanted or will be squished in Zumba!

~We are all going for the same reason. Let's be happy that we have a place to go to when it is only 11 degrees outside and feels like -2! SERIOUSLY!?! Do not want to run in that!

Final thoughts! It is sad but true fact gyms are super packed in January but this is only temporary. I wish that it weren't true because that means that more people are sticking to their new lifestyles and getting fit. I know many people that have these expensive gym memberships and don't go. Just wasted money. If you are a newbie reading this...PROVE ME WRONG! Stick it out. Don't do too much at once. Keep coming back no matter what. Make this your lifestyle and next year, in January, you will be a REGULAR TOO!