Blog Swap: MCM Mama Runs (Beer Expert)

As part of the Elf for Health challenge, I am participating in a Blog Swap. I am excited to welcome Erika and her expertise at enjoying beer while living a fit and healthy lifestyle. Make sure you check out the link up and Erika's blog.

Hi! I'm Erika and I blog over at MCM Mama Runs. Thanks to Becki for letting me take over her blog for a day. I'm not sure I'm an expert at anything, but I'm really good at a lot of things. Need to run a lot of miles without getting injured? I can tell you what not to do. (Mostly because I've done it.) Need to survive for years on very little sleep? BTDT. Want to convince your non-running spouse that traveling the US to go to races is a good idea? OK, maybe I am an expert at that one. But the one thing I'm REALLY good at is meshing my need to run with my love of a good beer. I know when you think "healthy eating", you immediately think beer can't be a part. And if you are strict Paleo, you are right. But I'm a big believer in everything in moderation. (Pounding yellow beer at a party is NOT moderation.) So how do I make beer a part of my healthy lifestyle?

• I'm picky. If I don't like it, I don't drink it. If there's no beer available that I like, I'm perfectly happy choosing water.
• I make it the end of exercise. I run races that offer beer at the end. I do runs that end at a bar with friends.

• I sample. Most brewpubs offer "samplers". You can split the whole thing amongst two or more or you can ask for fewer numbers of samples. (A lot of places will sell you a single sample, even if it isn't listed on the menu.)

• I make it social. We go to a lot of events that focus on beer, but for me, it's also about the people. You think the running community is awesome? The craft beer community is amazing. And the cross section of the two is actually quite large.

• I make it a treat. I don't drink every night and I very seldom have more than a beer when I do drink. If I want a beer, I don't have dessert and vice versa. (I'll be the first to admit that sometimes a chocolate dessert and a dark beer are just.the.thing.)

Life is too short to live by strict eating and exercising rules. I firmly believe in allowing room in your diet for "fun". Beer makes me happy. Running makes me happy. Getting to have both in my life? Perfection. I'm a mom of two boys, living, running, and drinking in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. I'm currently on a quest to run a race in every state. I just completed my goal of running 13 half marathons in 2013 and will shortly be moving on to 14 half marathons in 2014. Come join me on social media where I talk about beer, running too much, and the antics of my crazy children. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mcmmama Twitter: http://twitter.com/mcmmama Instagram: http://instagram.com/mcmmama Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mcmmamaruns G+: http://plus.google.com/+MCMMama

Elf4Health Overdue Recap

     For anyone who follows me on Twitter and Instagram you know that I've been participating in an Elf for Health Challenge. There is a daily challenge and you are paired with another random elf for encouragement and kind messages throughout the month. Tomorrow I am participating in a blog hop and will be featuring a blog from another elf. For those who are curious what all the challenges have been I thought I would give a quick run down. You should definitely go check out Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean and Elle at Nutrionella who are hosting the challenge. They have great work outs and recipes. (And I'm hoping for challenges even after the holidays!)

I've really enjoyed getting to chat with fellow elves about running and blogging, and I'm learning a whole lot!

   

Week 1

•    Go Meatless- This might have been the hardest challenge! In our house we eat bacon by the pound, and by dinner I was craving red meat. I was able to stay strong, but this was a tough day! It was a great way to kick off the challenge though, because I knew I could do anything if I could do this.

•     Unsubscribe- This was probably one of the greatest challenges as I kept doing it throughout the month!

•    Try a new work out-  I picked this one from The Lean Green Bean!

•    Call someone and tell them your gratefu
•    Track your water intake- This was WAY harder than you would think. We were aalso traveling home from Thanksgiving, which made for MANY stops. I ended up ddrinking 80liter. My goal was 100 but I think I might have burst.
•     Treat yourself to something you've been wanting- We got our very first Christmas tree!!
•    100 burpees!- This was rough, especially because Sundays are typicalyl my day off. But in keeping with the challenge, I did it. I did 10 on the minute every minute and used a rack of dumbells to keep track of my count. 

                                                                                                                       Week 2

•    Send a hand written note- My students and I wrote a bunch of notes for people as we were working towards finals!
•    Eat the rainbow
•    Go make up free- I didn't realize how much of a crutch my foundation was, but I made sure to wear a nice dress so all was well.
  
•    Workout with a buddy- My good elf friend Katie has been also doing the challenges, so I corralled her to come over at 6am and we did another Lean Green workout. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/68961438018153031/
  
•    Leave an operation beautiful note- This was a great time and I left notes all around the Union. 

• Clean out pantry and fridge- Our fridge is typically pretty empty by Saturdays, but I was able to clean out the baking cabinets which was a great time.
  
•    Make a list of 20 things you're grateful for

Week 3

•   Do a circuit workout- http://www.pinterest.com/pin/68961438018152975/
•   Pay it forward
•   Pack a healthy snack-  I brought some bags of my favorite popcorn from Trader Joes, for the office
•   Take some time for yourself- I slept in til 6:30am! I haven't done that on a work day since before I started training for my half.
•   Run a mile as fast as you can- I'm not convinced I couldn't run faster, but me and the dread mill met at 545am and I ran a mile in, 7:42. 
•  Clean out closet- I live in a perpetual state of going through my closet because I dislike so many of my clothes, but the hubby and I were still able to come up with some things to donate.
•   Meal Plan for the week

                                                                                                            Week 4

•     Get up early to meditate 
•     Hold a wall sit as long as possible
•     Share your expertise-  Stay tuned for a guest post later this week! Eliza over at MCM Mama (http://mcmmamaruns.com/)  will be bringing us a fabulous post about drinking beer and living a fit lifestyle.
  
•     Eat at least 3 food groups at every meal today
•     Share 6 things you love about yourself
•     Set a new fitness goal
•     Make a donation 

(This photo has nothing to do with the challenge but yesterday was a GREAT day. I got this amazing shirt that says "Run Long and Eat more Cupcakes".)

I run for the _______

I run for the accessories (if you don't believe me, see the above photo). But seriously, I do. It all started with my Nathan’s running water bottle. I now own two of these. I then purchased one of the kneebraces that goes under you knee cap, I’m blanking on the name currently but it definitely helps with knee pain. There’s tall socks, thermal tops, gloves, hats, and of course shoes. In the last year I’ve also acquired shoe inserts, pink laces, and an awesome reflective headlamp. 

(That's me after my first run with the head lamp. It really changed me light, I never realized how dark it was until I had something lighting the path.) 



















When I started training for my very first half in July of 2013, I also really got into the food part of this running thing. Gu, protein shakes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Between the headbands, skirts, and spandex I realized that all those mottos I see about sweating pink, and being sparkly are right. I have more fun when I look cute and feel good.




                                                                         (If I can wear a tutu, sign me up! Post Turkey Trot 2013) 

As my husband likes to remind me, "Look good, feel good. Feel good, play good!" I’m sure that needing my accessory fix is all in my mind, but really whatever gets me out of the bed at 5am and pushes me to sign up for the next race works for me. My bank account may not always agree, but it’s what works for me. What do you run for? 

Sunday Social

Linking up with A Complete Waste of Makeup for a mellow blog post. I've been wicked into social media since I've found a few different running communities so feel free to check me out there. I swear I'm more active on Twitter and Instagram! Stay tuned for a post re-capping the 8k Turkey Trot that we did on Thanksgiving.

1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

• Mint Chocolate chip for sure, but honestly I could rather have any flavor of froyo! 

2. What is your favorite smell?

• The smell right before it starts raining, particualry in a parking lot. Something about the asphalt and water  

3. What is your favorite TV commercial?

• I really like the commercial for Chevy Silverado "Strong" I know totally sappy! 

4. What is your favorite day of the week? Thursdays. I'm not sure why, but when I was in school it was always my favorite day of the week and good things tend to happen for me on Thursdays. 

5. What is your favorite way to waste time? Lately it's been searching for my next run, tweeting about running, finding new blogs to read about running, I think you see the pattern here. 

6. What is your favorite article of clothing? Probably one of my few non-hooded hoodies, or as my husband wants me to call them, sweatshirts. I often call them sweaters, jackets, or hoodies. But as I pointed out they don't have hoods.