Journey with no end In sight

So, I have been training for a 10k & will bump it up really soon to half marathon training.  I plan to run a half in 2017.  Yes, it seems far away, but I also have been incorporating more lifting.  I am trying to still figure out how to get enough workouts in during the week.  

Anyway, today was supposed to be a longer run.  But I only made it 2.8 very painful miles.  Why am I telling you all of this?  Because this is a journey. Every run or workout may not be great, but I am out there improving myself.  

I also slacked off this week, big time.  I didn't do any Hammer and Chisel workouts.  So what am I going to do?  Past me would have scraped the whole program.  Because I wasn't perfect.  Didn't do all the workouts.  Current me is going to pick up where I left off.  Keep trying, keep improving.  

This is a journey, with no real end.  I will always continue to work on myself. What about you?

I have been MIA

Or on vacation, take your pick.  After the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend, I just lost my motivation to run.  I can't tell you why, I just did.

I was doing Les Mills Pump for a while, but had to put that on the back burner, because I wasn't going to drive up to Michigan with my weights in my trunk.  We already had too much else to bring with us this year.  But I will be back to it when I get back.  And I may even try a class at my gym!

I decided before I drove up here that my exercises of choice this summer were going to be running and PiYo.  Neither need a lot, if any equipment, and are extremely portable.  

I got up here, and allergies set in.  I expected them to happen, as they always do when I get to a new place, but usually they even out within a day or two.  But not this year and not up here.  Oh boy, the cottonwood is horrible this year.  I cannot figure out the correct allergy medicine that help, and essential oils I bought for my allergies just isn't helping yet.  But I will be trying to diffuse them, once I get a diffuser.

Anyway, I hadn't started either programs yet... Until this morning!  I did it.  I made myself get out of bed and out the door for my first run of the summer... And really first run since the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend.  

I only did 2 miles, and they were super slow, but we all have to start, or restart, somewhere, right?  It felt good, short, but good.  

I can remember when running a mile felt like it would take forever.  And a 5k was even longer!  There was a time when I couldn't imagine going for more than 2-3 miles.  But wow, has that changed.  And it feel good. 

Maybe I will become a distance runner after all.  My goal is to get my mile time to around 10 minutes.  I told a friend of mine that I would run a 10k with her in October.  And she runs about a 10 minute mile.

But of course, I am also wanting to thin out and lose weight, gain muscle, and be healthy.  I haven't changed much in my eating.  I am still eating in three's, for the most part, and eating several meals a day.  I feel great, in part to eating right, but also because of Thrive by Le-Vel.  I can't even tell you how much it has impacted my life. 

I have more energy, feel better, don't get the 2 o'clock slump, and have the energy to play with my kids, do the laundry, run, exercise and just live a happier, healthier life.  

What plan are you following?  Do you use supplements or vitamins to help you feel better?

Did you push play?

So in Team Beachbody, we talk about pushing play a lot.

Anyway, lately I've not been pushing play, because I've been running... and running a LOT!  But that goes without saying.

Anyway, I decided to get off my buns and do a hybrid of running and weights.  My chosen program, Les Mills Pump.  I had bought it on Black Friday, during the big sale and just never opened it.

Anyway, so Monday, I ran...  I only got in about 2.25 miles, but I got out there.  My pace wasn't great, but I will get better.  I hadn't run, really, since the GSC.  I did do one day, randomly the week after the races.  Tuesday ended up being a rest day, completely, because my day is just super busy.

Funny thing, today I was feeling muscles in my butt that I hadn't felt before.  And this was before I worked out.  So weird.  It's not like I totally changed it up yet.  But I did go out a little faster at the beginning than I wanted to on Monday.  And I am paying for it now.  I may have fired up muscles that I hadn't used in a long time... since my sprinting days in high school and college.

Anyway, my goal with my running is to get my mile split down to 10 min mile.  I have a LONG way to go.  currently my mile split is around 13 mins 30-ish seconds to 14 mins.  It isn't horrible, but I want to be faster.

I have also decided to truly transform my physique, I need to start strength training.  Plus, strength training will help with my speed.

So today, I pushed play.  Day one of Les Mills Pump, complete!  Holy cow!  I am feeling it.  I am ALREADY feeling it!

I did figure out that certain exercises, I will have to up my weight.  I started with just using the bar with no extra weight on in.  I wanted to make sure my form is good, before adding weights.

I have a feeling this program will be a good one for me to get comfortable with weight lifting.  Eventually I will move it into the gym.  And who knows, I may feel confident enough to try out the Les Mills Pump class at the gym.  But for now, I will continue to push play.

Where to next?

So I took off way more time than I wanted.  But without a race looming over me, I haven't had the internal motivation to get out there and log the miles.

My races have sparked my love for running, but I want to totally transform my body, not just get fit.  Trust me, I want to be fit, and eat right, etc.

But everyone I have followed, and everything I have read online says that weight lifting is where it is at, as far as total transformation.  Don't get me wrong. I sill want to run and I still want to run races.

In fact, I just saw a medal (yes, it is all about that bling) for a half marathon in Cocoa Beach, FL.  I am seriously considering it.  I just don't want to travel too far for races, but man...  The bling!

4" tall!  Granted it isn't set in stone, and I don't even know if I can get to Cocoa Beach in October, let a lone find childcare for my two rugrats.

I have decided that I am going to start the Les Mills Pump program.  The nice thing about his program is that I can still run 3 days a week!  

I am excited about this new program and hope it will lead me to learning more about lifting.  I eventually do want to move it to my gym.  I want to workout in a gym, but I don't know where to start, other than cardio.

So what about you?  Do you lift?  How did you get started?

Glass Slipper Challenge

Well, the big weekend has come and gone.  It seemed to fly by, like any other busy weekend would.  

So we arrived at the All Star Music resort on Friday, about midday.  We had done online check-in, but our room wasn't ready.  So no big deal.  I ran off to the expo and my parents took the kids to get something to eat.  It was super chilly (for Florida) that day.  And all we heard about was how the name of the 5k, the Frozen 5k, was very fitting for this year's race!  

I met up with my bestie, Brenda, at the Wide a world of Sports complex to pick up our packets.  We had to get our pictures taken with our bib numbers, for verification for our finishers medals and to get our Glass Slipper medal at the end.  

We of course wanted to get as many pictures as we could, so we took all of the banners for each race, well each race we were in.  

Brenda and I in front of the 10K banner

And of course, the big race!

I had never run more than a 5K when I had signed up for these races.  I honestly, for a long time, didn't know what I was thinking signing up for a half marathon, especially with everything that derailed my training this year.  But here we were about to embark on a "magical" weekend.

Run Disney has a motto that "Every mile is magical".  If you had asked me during the race, I probably would have disagreed.  But I'm jumping ahead here.  Back to the expo...

We picked up our packets & bibs & got our pictures taken with our bibs.  Then we picked up our shirts!

I love them this year.  Not that I have any idea what the shirts looked like in years past.

Then we went shopping!  Oaky, so I really wasn't planning on purchasing too much.  I did want to get a few commemorative items, but the ones I wanted were sold out.  So I ended up with two "I did it" shirts (one for the 10k & one for the half) & a pin.  We had talked about getting the commerative ears, but neither of us liked them.  Someone, she was either a volunteer or a cast member, was wearing a blue set of ears with a glass slipper on it.  I did find them on Saturday at the Magic Kingdom.  

Anyway, we checked out all the vendors.  Some were pretty cool, and some just didn't interest me.

I will say I was upset that certain items were sold out.  The expo isn't open to only runners, which frustrated me.  Not that I want to keep others from experiencing the expo, but I do think certain things need tobe better regulated, as far as who gets first dibs on it.  But that is another story for another time, and apparently it happens every year & runDisney doesn't do anything about it.

We did have a little fun at the expo, and I was happy it wasn't super packed.  I don't really like huge crowds, which is kind of ironic considering the number of registered runners for the races this year.

Yes, I did this simply to get a banana!  It was fun!  And I got my banana!

Anyway, after the expo was over, Brenda and I hopped on the bus and headed back to the hotel.  I had gotten a text from my mom that our room was ready.  It had been ready within 15 minutes of us arriving.  

We rented a family suite, since the times I needed to wake up for the races was super early.  And I couldn't leave my kids in a room by themselves.  

So Brenda headed back to the Magic Kingdom with her family, and I got into my room.

I rested for a bit and then we headed to dinner.  We decided to go to Olive Garden.  Carbo load!

We got back to our room & relaxed a bit.  Then I went to bed super early.  3 am comes way too early!

Saturday morning came around.  Well, 3 am came around.  I got up, got dressed in my costume, which I have no pictures of because it was cold and my fleece didn't come off during the whole race.  But I dressed as Ariel.  And met Brenda at the bus.

We rode the bus, which wasn't at all crowded, unlike what I had read on other blogs, and arrived at the Enchanted 10K.  

I wasn't at all nervous about this race, because I knew my pace was good for 6.2 miles. We checked my gEAR bag,a dn headed to our corral.  

It was COLD for Florida at this time.  I am so happy I grabbed my hat at the last minute.  

We got to enjoy the emcees for a while and cheer on all the other corrals. And then we were off.  We kept a pretty good pace, but our first 4-6 minutes were a bit fast. We did let the excitement take over and started a bit fast.  

This was the best I could get of the starting line.  And then we were off!

At the first over pass were Elsa & Anna.  And I thought, "great, we are going to see a lot of characters"!  But honestly, I was a little disappointed in the lack of characters.

I honestly didn't stop for many pictures, because I wasn't excited about the characters.  But these guys were kind of cool, and reminded me of New Orleans!  And the line was short.

Anyway, so the 10k was a good race.  It did get crowded in places, but nothing like the half.  We were able to keep our pace and had time to stop for a few pictures.

This was about half way around the lake in the World Showcase.

Almost at the finish.

This was the finish line.  I honestly didn't want to try to get a better one closer, because I wanted to finish.  Okay, that sounded bad... The 10K wasn't a horrible distance at all.

The oictrue of me getting my medal wasn't so wonderful.  So I'll spare you.

Us afterwards.  Not my favorite picture, but we did it!  

The medal.  So pretty.  And yes, I did wear that to the MK!

We sat down for a few minutes, and then jumped on the bus to get back to our hotels.

I spent the afternoon at the Magic Kingdom with my kiddos.  We had a lot of fun.  Rode a few rides and then headed back to our hotel room to relax and take naps.  Then dinner and to bed early.  We had another 3 am wake up call!

So Sunday morning rolled around.  And again, I got up at 3am, got ready and met Brenda at the bus.  This time, the bus was more crowded, but there were also about double the runners.  

We arrived at the starting line, and did the same gEAR check (it's what Disney calls their gear check) & headed to our corrals.  It was a bit more of a walk this morning.  

And this morning, I remember to bring the Mylar wrap that they handed out at the 10k, so we could sit on the ground.  It was 10 degrees warmer this morning, so it was in the mid 50's.  I left my jacket in my bag, because I really didn't need it. We did sit in our corral for a while, and we found Waldo, FINALLY that chapter of our lives can end.

 

The race started at 5:30, I think.  I can't even remember, but we were in a later corral, so we didn't end up starting until 6:30-ish.  

This was Brenda's picture.  None of mine came out.

This was the race I wasn't sure about.  I knew I had trained, and I was trying to listen to everyone's advice of trusting my training.  

Brenda and I decided we weren't really going to stop for many pictures, and I do wish I had at least done the selfie stop, but I was too concerned with finishing before the balloon ladies.

Again Brenda's picture, because her's was so much clearer than mine.

The first mile came and went, and we felt pretty good.

I borrowed this picture from someone else, because I didn't stop to take any pictures of the mile markers.  (And no that wasn't my clock time, because I started a good hour after the first corrals).  

Anyway, we saw some of the characters, and the lines were way too long.  So we didn't stop.  I did do a few run by's though.  

Captain Jack Sparrow, you can see a portion of the line waiting for their picture with him.  

The princes.  

The gates at the Magic Kingdom.  I do wish we had done a selfie here, but I honestly wasn't ready to stop for pictures yet.  I was trying to keep my pace, and give ourselves a bit of a lead, just in case.

Right around here, we did get to see the first place runner heading back to the starting line.  It was pretty cool to see the top finishers lapping us.  Most of us cheered them on!

As we continued to head into the Magic Kingdom, we saw and experienced all sorts of other things.  But the worst, at this point, was the hill right in front of the Contemporary.  Oh my!  But thank goodness it happened at the beginning-ish of the race.

Going down Main Street USA.  This is where it got a bit congested.

Just before going through the castle.  This is where it got really congested!  Well, more than on Main Street USA.

Elsa & Anna were up on the Castle.  

Going through the castle was a nightmare.  We were literally at almost a standstill.  This is where our race really slowed down.  It got so bottle necked here that you couldn't run through the castle.  You shuffled, small steps at a time.  

From here on out, I didn't get any pictures, because of the time it took us to get through.

So we got through the Magic Kingdom and were on our way back to Epcot.

All along the route there were several creative spectators with awesome signs, but I didn't take any pictures.  

Around this time, it started to really get real!  I have been nursing a sore foot for a while now, and of course it started to hurt.  We ended up walking more of this part of it.  I just couldn't run...  I hit that wall.

Around mile 9-10, the course takes you up an entrance ramp from one highway to the other.  That was just cruel.  And again, it bottle necked BIG time.  From this point on, we had no choice but to walk a majority of it.  There just wasn't room to run.  

I hear it was also the last hard sweep of the race.  But we still were nervous about being picked up.  The balloon ladies had caught up to us, and of course we were nervous about that.  I didn't get through 10 miles to not finish!

All of us tried our best to pick up he pace, but the crowds just didn allow for it too much.  And at this point there were several sharp turns, and such, and we saw several people cheat.  I know I shouldn't get mad about it, because they only cheated he selves, but it was frustrating to me to see.

We headed back into Epcot to finish the race, and a lovely, and I mean lovely, volunteer said those magical words, "you are safe, but finish strong."  Everyone was cheering everyone else on.  We got this! 

In Epcot, we ran into the park, up to the lake and back around the ball to exit to the finish line.  Again lots of people cheated, but I wasn't going to.

We saw the gospel choir and knew we were almost there!  

And then we saw it.  But of course, because of the amount of people around us, we couldn't run across the finish line.  But we finished!  We got our medals!  I didn't take pictures because it was way too crowded. 

We got our water, Powerade, bags & then headed to get our Glass Slipper Challenge medals!  They verified that we were who we were and that we finished, and got big congratulations and our medals!

My first stop after that was the self medical area for ice and the. To the gEAR check for my bag, so I could put my flip flops on and ice my foot.

If you had asked me in the middle of the race, or even at that moment if I was going to do it again, I would have told you no way!  I was cool with the 10k, but not both races!

And even later that day, I still wasn't convinced that I wanted to run again. 

We did it!  You can't really see both medals, but they are there!

We hopped back on a bus, and of course, we got a bus that had no AC.  No joke! It was a miserable ride for a bunch of us.

I showered, packed up and went back to Epcot with my family for a bit.  

Anyway, things I wish I had remembered or done, I wish I had worn my sun glasses.  It was bright towards the middle to end.  I also wish I had put on sunscreen, although I'm not sure if it would have stayed.  It was VERY humid.  I also wish I would have used my beans better.  I did better with them in training, but not during the race.  I did stop for every water station, which I high suggest.

Would I do it again?  Maybe.  It is an expensive race, but the experience was amazing!  I don't know if I will do the Princess Half Marathon weekend again.  I may try for another tunDisney event, maybe the Wine & Dine.  They did tell us that they are going to offer a Disney Pairs Half Marathon weekend in 2016.  But I don't know that I will sign up for that.  It would be cool, but not with the way airfare is to get anywhere these days!

This was one of the many signs along the road for us.

Here are my three medals!

And my shirts.

All in all, it was an experience.  I am still deciding if I want to do another one or not.  I do know I will be continuing running.  I also will be adding in weight lifting, because I want to change my physique.  So stayed tuned...  Results will come!

Would you ever run do a race weekend like this?

So much life has happened

I know I keep saying that I will be better with my blog.  I have no excuses.  I know for a while, I had no inspiration.  I didn't feel like I could talk about health or nutrition, because I felt stuck.  And then Thanksgiving came, my birthday arrived, Christmas arrived... The New Year.  And this finds me at the middle to end of January.

So what have I been doing that life hit me so hard?  Like I said, Thanksgiving, my birthday.  Then my hubby came for a visit (he is stationed in DC right now).  On Dec 23, my mother-in-law was supposed to arrive at our house for Christmas.  Well...  She never did arrive.  

Unfortunately, she unexpectedly passed.  We were obviously in shock, but we tried to keep it together for the kids to have a "normal" Christmas.

Then the New Year came, and I decided I really needed to focus on running.  I had signed up to run the Disney Glass Slipper Challenge in February.  If you don't know what that is, we run a 10K on Sat & then turn around and run a half marathon on Sunday.  Back-to-back.

Yup... I'm nuts!  I haven't run further than a 5k before.  I had only wanted to sign up for the 10K, but got caught up in the excitement with my friend!

So, as of today, my furtherest run has been 6 miles.  I am due to run 8 this weekend!  Yikes! I'm a little nervous about it, but I know it is all mental.

It is funny to me, because I now say, "I'm only running 4-5 miles today."  Ha!  I never thought that would be the norm for me.

Since the New Year, I also had to put my beloved dog to sleep.  She had been wih me since the first Christmas after I got married... Back in Jan of 2002, we rescued her from the SPCA.  I've known she wasn't doing well, health wise, but it still doesn't make it any easier.  I just feel empty right now. I miss having her curled up at my feet or greeting me at the door, or sleeping on my floor at night.

The only time I feel better is when I run.  So running I will continue to do, at least until my 10K/half weekend.  

I haven't fully decided which program I am going to do, once I'm done with the races.  I have PiYo, 21 Day Fix, Les Mills Pump, and I think that's all I have.  I believe my hubby has the other programs (P90x series).  I think I want to focus on lifting because I keep reading these blogs of people who transformed their bodies with lifting.  

What are you focusing on in 2015?

Black Friday Specials

Team Beachbody has some AWESOME specials going on right now (while supplies last) at my website, www.teambeachbody.com/fitforlifeliz.

We got word that they were opening up our Black Friday specials yesterday early afternoon.

Some of the programs are already sold out.  But there are still many available.  These will be available, while supplies last, until Dec 1.

Click here to learn more about the programs for sale, https://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/holidayspecials?referringrepid=372462

I just purchased Les Mills Pump.  I can't wait to start it, after my half marathon training is complete, and after I am cleared to exercise again.  I am currently on a break because I am having my gallbladder removed out on Tuesday of next week.  Anyway, once I am cleared to exercise again, I will be back to running and doing PiYo.

I also have a 12 Day Shakeology Challenge starting on Dec 1.  Don't wait until after the New Year to start on your fitness goals.  Start now! 

Remember:

This year, well really 2014-2015, I will not be scrambling to get "bikini" ready in March!  I am starting now.  Want to join me?  I have several accountability groups starting soon.  Come get support, motivation, meal plans, recipe ideas and tons of help!  Email me at fitforlifeliz (at) gmail (dot) com

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Don't eat too much!  

I'm BAACCKK!

Okay, so I know I've been MIA lately.  My little cutie started 2nd grade last week.  That's no excuse, but I let it be.

So anyway, I am back... I drank my Shakeology this morning...  I am trying the Vegan Chocolate flavor.  Not bad... different, but not in a bad way.  I also am doing another round of the 3 Day Refresh.  I started this morning.  I forgot to take a pic of my morning meal, but it was vegan chocolate Shakeology with a half a banana.  I am doing things a bit differently this time.  Last time, I had a headache that was HORRIBLE, and started on the night of Day 2 and lasted until I woke up on Day 4.  So, although it isn't recommended, I did make my Shakeology with coffee this morning.  I am hoping to combat that headache this time.  I also, this time, as just doing the same meals for each day.  I know, I know... it sounds boring, but I honestly didn't feel like varying too much.

With that, I am happy to say that I am within 2 lbs of my ending weight of my first round of the 3 Day Refresh, last month!  Why is this amazing news?  Because I really haven't been watching what I eat or drink.  Not that I'm going to fast food restaurants every day, but I have indulged in some wine, some chocolate, and some white pasta.  I know, I know!  The horror!  What what I thinking?  Anyway, the other awesome reason that I am so close to my ending weight on that last 3 Day Refresh is because... warning, TMI here...  Aunt Flo is visiting me right now.  We all know what that means!



Okay, so I will post my results again... maybe this time, I will be brave enough to share my pictures, maybe not.  I am trying to not be mad at myself for letting me get the way I did... and I am in no way really out there, but for me I am big.  I am fixing that... one small step at a time.  Which, in case you didn't know, is the way I am making better choices and a healthier lifestyle for myself.

I did join my local YMCA, which was two fold... one, for the gym with childcare, and two, because they have a lot of classes, not only for me, but for the kiddos.  In fact, Cutie is SO excited to be starting gymnastics next week.  And when Little Man turns 3, I am thinking about getting him into t-ball, or soccer, or even basketball.  The gym facilities at my Y are very nice and I can't wait to try out some of their classes.  I will still be doing my PiYo, and running.  I still have the Glass Slipper Challenge in February.



I will start my running program next week... Tuesday, because Monday is a holiday and Cutie is home from school.  I do not have a double jogging stroller, and wouldn't want to push her PLUS Little Man!  That would be like pushing another small adult!

So, how are you staying active?  How has your August been?