Setting new goals for this next week...

Well after my VERY short strength training session a few days ago, my legs are still so very sore from my sumo squats. It is sad really. It just goes to show how OUT OF SHAPE I have become. It sounds bizarre but I have not been strength training and I am sorry, going out running is different then a sumo squat. You are using different muscles with a squat....I need to be doing these more obviously.  Well the point of saying all of this is that I am going to slightly change my plan for the next few days, not by much but I am just trying to listen to my body. I do find it strange I am not recovering as fast as I used to but then again I have a host of weird things going on with my body right now. Still trying to figure out what is going on. I did find an online training site called ME....Metabolic Effect that has various programs and I am thinking about starting one of them that deals with weight loss and female or hormonal issues. My endocrinologist visit is not for a few weeks so as of now I just have to be patient and do what I can.

The past few days have been good in terms of my caloric intake. I am aiming around 1300 - 1350 daily and so far it is going well although my weight loss is not what I hoped for. I just need to be PATIENT!

Back to the change of plan. Here is my new schedule for the next few days. Like anything in life, this too can change :)

Wednesday - ST upper body and core along with a 5 mile easy run/walk
Thursday - Yoga Max
Friday - ST upper body and core along with a 5 mile easy run/walk
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Rest - My husband is FINALLY coming home today!!!!!!
Monday - 16 mile run.....wish me luck on this one! My first long run in 2 weeks.
Tuesday - ST upper body and core
Wednesday - Run/walk 4 miles
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 20 miler!!!
Sunday - Rest, Rest, Rest, Rest, Rest and Rest!!! :)

Daily Results. 9/23

Crazy short blog tonight, I am super tired! I have not been sleeping the past few nights and it is catching up with me.

No workout for today although we went to Melshei and walked and hiked the trails for about 45 mins to an hour which burned calories but I am not counting it towards miles or my caloric burn. It was just a good day of fun with my girl exploring and trying to collect more pine cones!

Tomorrow is ST with a 4 to 6 mile run/walk. My knee is hurting a bit from today but I am sure with ice and rest it will be fine for tomorrow. Icing as we speak...

Total calories consumed today - 1,343
Calories burned - did not log but I was active

Have a blessed night!

Daily Results. 9/22. Priceless memories with my girl....

I cannot tell you just how much I loved my time with my baby girl today. I normally blog about things like this on our family blog but I just had to share what a beautiful day it was for me.

This morning we were outside playing at the playground area which is next to our house. After we had played for awhile, I asked her if she wanted to go see the trees behind us and if she wanted to go exploring!! We headed up the hill behind our house to go to the lookout area just above our house. It is a steep, but short climb. She charged up the hill and after some time I asked if she wanted to take a break. She did not stop. Instead she began running up the hill. She was NOT stopping! I have to admit, I was very proud. We made it to the top and as we were exploring the rocks and pine cones, she proceeded to lay down and it was then I realized just how tired the hike made her. After a short break she was ready to go again! We went into the trees and found a fort! She called it the Daddy fort!! We also found some amazing red mushrooms that looked like something out of Alice and Wonderland! I have never seen mushrooms like this, it was really special getting to see all of this with her.

We walked and talked about all that we were seeing and it was in this moment I realized that most Saturday mornings I am out on a long run and I do not get to have this time with my girl. Yes, I am with her every day but today was special. It was our Mommy and Kayla exploring day!! My husband is in the US for this week so it was special to have made these memories together and it helps me feel less lonely when he is gone. I cannot wait to take my husband to the Daddy fort when he gets home. I know Kayla will be ready to go exploring again. At one point we came up to a dead end if you will and there was a large rock. I said, "what are we going to do?" "How are we going to get over the rock?" Without prompting, she began to try and climb over the rock!!!! That is MY girl. She is one determined little girl and I was so proud to see a fighting spirit in her today.

After we collected as many pine cones as we could carry, we headed home and it was not until the end she wanted to be carried.  We made it home...our pine cones and sticks in hand (she had a small little stick to match the one I was carrying ) and my heart was filled with such joy. Sometimes I can be in such a hurry to teach her everything. ABC's, 123's, colors, shapes etc....but for today, it was about being together and making memories. On the way home we were singing and laughing and my world felt complete.....almost.  The man who usually holds my other hand was missing. I felt it to my core. Things are just not the same when we are not together as a family. I think this is the biggest blessing of all.

So my day was just about as perfect as can be. I wish she could stay little forever. My buddy.....my little buddy and me.

Here are some memories from our day together.....

                                                     My girl in the Daddy Tent!

                                                              Exploring the forest.

                                                         Resting on a rock at the top

Overlooking Kayla's play area and harbor of Sandnes down below. I love living up here. The views are amazing!! I wish I could have played here when I was a child. She is blessed.

These are some of the crazy, awesome mushrooms we found. I did not let her touch them though....was not sure what they were, but they look great.

                                           On our way up to the top from the playground


And now my workout results. Far less important than the above!


Total calories burned - 640
Total calories consumed - 1,585

Morning workout - 5km on the tread - 29 mins with a short set of ST in between.
Bosu ball push ups - 50 reps
Bicep curl to shoulder press using a 33 lb weighted plate with squats - 50 reps

Afternoon workout - 2 km walk/run on the tread as a warmup - 16 mins
Bicep curls to shoulder press with squats - 50 reps with 10 lb Db's
Wood chops holding a 22 lb weighted plate
Standard military push ups - 50 reps
Assisted pull ups - 3 sets of 5 reps

                                              Post workout...sweaty and happy as can be!!

Goals for today and beyond.

I HAVE to get back strength training as soon as possible...that means TODAY!! After the cruise my shoulder injury caused me to become so sedentary when it came to lifting weights. I hate it. I miss it. I need it. I feel soft and squishy :) Marathon training is good, do not get me wrong but I am not as lean as I was just 2 months ago. So, in the spirit of moving forward, I am adding in a great deal of strength training to the rest of my training and if it slows me down on my long runs....fine.  I am ok with this.  I would rather be sore from strength training and have to run slower than to just sit around and do nothing from now until the marathon. I need to start back strength training slowly so that I do not get injured so if my workouts do not look like much, I assure you they will in due time!

I am also stepping back on the scale. Yes, I said it. The dreaded "S" word that so many do not want to recognize. I tried to stay away but I am sorry, it just does not work for me. When I am not tracking my weight, it is simple.....it goes UP! When I am weighing in often, I eat better, I workout stronger and I see results. The scale goes up and down GREATLY every day but when you track it and see progress, it motivates me. I never thought that marathon training would lead to weight gain for me but it has!!! Now, yes, I have some other hormonal...or thyroid or adrenal issues going on which adds to the problem but it is simple. I am eating more now to fuel my runs and the scale has gone up a few lbs in the past few months. No more. I am getting back on track. That is my mission. So before the end of the year, I want to be where I was the same time last year. It will mean a year of no weight loss but I can say I have gained a great deal of strength and endurance since moving here. My measurements are close to what they were last year.  My hips, arms and waist are slightly higher.

So I can sit here and talk about how I want to change or I can start today and do my best to get back, I choose starting NOW and doing all I can to make a change. My long term goal is to be back to where I was by my 13th wedding anniversary which is December 21st!!!!! It starts now......

So today's goals are as follows....

1. Complete ST planned
2. Walk/Run 4 miles
3. Log foods and stay on track with my water intake

Strength Training for today. Simple, fast but it is a start. Now, this is my plan....I will post results today in my daily results blog.

1. Wood chops with sumo squat using a weighted plate - 50 reps
2. Push ups - Standard military 50 reps
3. TRX back rows - 50 reps
4. KB swings - 50 reps
5. Standing side crunch with pull down using a MB or weighted plate - 50 reps for each side
6. Functional rotations with sumo squats - 100 reps
7. Plank row - 50 reps
8. Push ups - Diamond - 50 reps
9. Triple with sumo squat - Front raise to bicep curl with shoulder press - 50 reps
10. Assisted pull ups - 5 sets of 5 reps

Daily Results. 9/21

My results from yesterday....

4.5 mile walk today on the trails. Nothing fast but the hills along with pushing the stroller gave me a fantastic challenge!

Meals for today....

Water - 158 oz
M1 - Oats, strawberries, almonds and flax along with scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms and ground chicken
M2 - 1 peach, 1/2 piece of bread with turkey
M3 - rice cake with natural PB
M4 - 2 more peaches....sorry but they are SO good, they are small though :)
M5 - Mixed greens with cottage cheese and ground antelope, with more of the egg mix from this morning.
M6 - rice cake with natural PB

Today is my ST circuit along with a run...or walk depending on how my knee feels.

Here are some photos from our walk.

Daily results...

My run went well today. I walked for the first few minutes then started running slowly, building my speed throughout the run. I ended up with a total of 6.5 km at a 10:33 AP. I will take it for now. 39 days until the marathon!!!

Here are my foods for the day.

Water - 160 oz
M1 - 1/4 cup oats, one piece of spelt bread with 2 eggs and a latte.
M2 - rice cake with natural PB
M3 - 1/2 apple and recovery drink....Energy Lab Nutrition Armor.
M4 - a few bites of Spelt pasta....about 1/4 cup penne with marinara sauce. Grilled chicken over mixed greens with avocado, slivered almonds and blue cheese with balsamic dressing. One piece of bread with a couple of pieces of turkey, mustard and more avocado.
M5 - Greek yogurt with apple and flaxseeds.

Getting back on track.

I have not worked out since my 20 miler on Saturday. So much has been going on. My little girl and my husband have not been feeling well and I am afraid I am starting to feel sick myself. I am also battling this knee and foot issue which has been a huge struggle for me the past few days. It is a hard time for me right now. I feel very worn down......still, and while I have days where my energy is higher, for the most part, I am not back to my normal energetic self. I need to set a plan and some goals for the next few days. It is key for me....

My fitness plan for the next 14 days. 

Thursday - Yoga along with an easy 4 mile walk/run just to see how my knee and foot are doing. I have to make sure I take this week SLOW as I do not want a stress fracture or to injure my knee further. It is screaming at me to STOP so I really NEED to be smart....

Friday - 4 mile walk/run 

Saturday - ST circuit 

Sunday - 6 mile run...super slow or walk in needed 

Monday - Yoga and ST circuit 

Tuesday - 4 mile run/walk 

Wednesday - ST circuit 

Thursday - 4 mile run/walk 

Friday - 6 mile run 

Saturday - Rest 

Sunday - Rest 

Monday - 16 mile run 

Tuesday - Rest 

Wednesday - Rest  

 I will be back to logging my foods tomorrow. I will try and take a few food pics as well, that always helps me to stay on track. I just need to do all the things I know work right now as I am in this never ending slump.....it will pass, when I do not know, hopefully SOON!!! I just miss my energy. I seem to have misplaced it somewhere :) 

It will pass. It will pass. It will pass.......

9/11 Results...

Today is a hard day for me. I am not feeling well and I am definitely not my energetic, happy self. The stormy and dark weather is not helping either.

My leg, more specifically my knee is really hurting and I am trying to decide what I should do this week in terms of my workouts. I have a feeling that I should play it safe and REST!! I will wait until tomorrow to see....

I will say that even though I am having a hard time today, I have a little ray of sunshine here with me who is just the sweetest little best friend ever!! She and I are having fun watching the Andy Williams Christmas Specials on DVD. I figured with the stormy weather I might as well break out the Christmas movies and a cup of tea :)

Anyways, here is my nutrition for the day. Most of it pre-logged on Spark as I will not be online as much today.

Wishing everyone a blessed day!!

M1 - Chia seeds, apple, flaxseeds, kefir and almonds and an AMAZING skim latte!!
M2 - Rice cake and PB
M3 - 4 egg whites
M4 - Protein shake with strawberries
M5 - Grapefruit
M6 - Another protein shake with water
M7 - Chicken breast and kale sautéed with eggplant and peppers with a side of cucumber and tomatoes

9/10 Results...

Nutrition for today - Pre-logged evening meals...

M1 - Tuna and egg salad over greens. Espresso with Skim milk
M2 - Rice cake with Natural PB
M3 - Apple, greek yogurt and almonds.
M4 - Ground turkey with kale, peppers and mushrooms. Another latte with skim milk
M5 - Protein shake with strawberries and almond milk.  1 large grapefruit
M6 - Another protein shake.....IF needed or rice cake with PB and you can be sure there will be a small but amazing piece of dark chocolate consumed as well

Workout for today - Yoga and rest. My leg is still sore from my treadmill fall and the 18 miler on Saturday so I am taking a few days to just relax and let my body heal. 

I am blogging about my marathon training today and I will have the blog up sometime tomorrow with photos from my various runs. I am running behind on my postings as I seem to be so busy these days. I like it, more activities for Kayla and I....more amazing memories to be made!

9/5 Results.

An interesting day to say the least. Lets start with the humiliating run at the gym. To make a long story short, I was switching treadmills and I jumped on a treadmill that was running, and running rather fast...I was too tired to even notice, then I was thrown off. I picked myself back up and began to run only to drop my phone and I came so close to falling off of the treadmill AGAIN. It was a crazy morning.

I am ok, not seriously injured. My knee is scraped, bruised, and banged up a bit but it is my shin that is worrying me. It was fine, I just thought it was bruised but as more time passes, it is swollen and hurting. The ice and meds seem to be helping so I am hoping for the best. Overall,  I am fine....it could have been worse.

My nutrition was good today though I did treat myself to that some more dark chocolate!! After the fall.....I needed it!! :)

Anyways, here is a review of my crazy but wonderful day.......

Fitness - 6 mile run on tread. Time - aprox 58 mins....but off a bit due to the fall.

Nutrition -

M1 - About 1/4 cup of oats with 1/4 cup of yogurt.
M2 - A few cashews
M3 - Natural peanut butter with a rice cake
M4 - Protein shake with almond milk, strawberries, banana, chia seeds and kale
M5 - Dark chocolate!!! Just a couple of small pieces with a latte I made with skim milk
M6 - A small amount of salmon with kale and avocado
M7 - Grilled chicken and another rice cake with PB along with 1/2 piece of muesli bread....I know, not what I normally eat on a non-long run day but it was a treat!! It was a small amount though.

9/4 Results.

I am posting a bit early today as I have a great deal of things to get done later on and my little girl is sleeping now so I am trying to get all my online stuff done before she gets up and we head out to the store.  I have pre-logged my foods for tonight and if I sneak an extra piece of dark chocolate in after dinner, I will be sure to let you know tomorrow! :)

Workout - Core work and an easy walk

Walk on tread - 25 mins, just an easy pace to stretch my legs and clear my head.
Core - about 45 mins of core work with pilates. I am feeling it in my lower back which tells me I need to do more....

Nutrition -

M1 - Natural PB on a rice cake, Greek yogurt with flaxseeds, coffee with skim milk
M2 - A small cup of scrambled eggs, quorn and kale with hot sauce
M3- Red kale, grilled salmon, avocado and balsamic dressing
M4- Natural PB on a rice cake
M5 - Greek yogurt with almonds and homemade applesauce

Pre-logged....

M6 - Protein shake with strawberries, spinach and kale with a side of grilled salmon and veggies
M7 - 88% dark chocolate :) A piece....or two!


Tomorrow morning I am heading to the gym for a 6 mile run along with ST.  Hope everyone has a fantastic day and you reach all your goals.

Back on track...at least I hope so.

There are about a million things I want to share in this post but I really and truly do not know where to start. This is both a time of great achievements for myself and a time of struggle. I am running better than ever before despite my knee issues and yet at the same time I am constantly battling something that is going on with my body....what it is, we still do not know. I have days where my energy is high and my mood is normal and then there are days where I feel as if I am walking through mud and I have no motivation to continue on. This is the harsh reality I am facing right now. I feel as if there is no balance. I feel as if I am letting so many people down and I am not allowed to struggle or somehow I am not allowed to be going through this. It is hard....

I have changed a few things in my diet that seem to be helping with my overall energy and so I am hoping that things will start looking up. Saturday I had one of the best runs ever. It was my 16 miler....which I am going to write a another blog about it all...with details, but needless to say, I did very well and I felt amazing ( finished 2:44 with a big smile).....and ALL DAY, my energy was on fire, far more than the days before. It was as if I was a changed person.

I am taking a few blends for my Thyroid and my Adrenals along with trying to eat certain foods that will help boost my Serotonin levels. I hope this helps....something seems to be working though today has been quite hard. Very hard in fact. I guess it is just barrier that I am going to have to bust through, but I am not giving up!

For today, I wanted to list my training for this week along with my meals for today. I HAVE to get back tracking as it is key for me and now that I am dealing with this energy issue, we need to see what is working and what I need to change. Below are my main nutrient goals.....

1. Make sure I have a good source of protein with each meal.
2. For my marathon training - make sure I am fueling properly 2 days prior to my long runs.....this last week I had great success with adding in fruits as my main carb source ( bananas, blueberries, apple and pineapple) along with a good amount of nuts.
3. Make sure I am drinking at least 3 to 4 L of water
4. Log foods on DailyBurn site along with here to increase accountability

Workouts for this week -

Monday - Yoga and PT work
Tuesday - Incline walk on the tread with cross training either on bike or elliptical along with core work
Wednesday - 6 miles steady and light ST
Thursday - Yoga and PT work
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 18 miler - goal time is less than 3:15...I would be so happy with this! We will see what happens :)

Meals for today 9/3 - I pre-logged my evening meals...

M1 - Turkey and kale meatloaf......crazy I know but I was craving it ;) Espresso with skim milk and dark chocolate :) It was one of those days......
M2 - Scrambled eggs with Quorn and spinach
M3 - protein shake with 1/2 apple
M4 - Bell peppers and cucumber
M5 - Grilled salmon with a protein shake
M6 - Yogurt with flaxseeds and almonds