I didn't give anything up for lent...

I actually decided to add something to my life. Blogging, but in a richer sense. I am going to journal 40 entries. I'm a wee bit behind on posting them so please forgive me as they get posted in waves. I'm using a book I found on amazon with journal prompts to make it slightly more interesting and random. And of course to make it a tad bit easier to stick to. There's only so many times people want to read about my fairy tale life, weird job with college students, and crossfit.

Journal Entry 1:

Declare your independence. Write a declaration of independence from...

Bad vegetables.yup my journal, my entry. I don't like very many vegetables, and I like even fewer cooked. Mushy. And smelly. They smell when you boil them. Recently I started drinking my vegetables. But that hasn't really been that much better. Although the people who are around when I'm drinking them probably enjoy the funny faces more than my husband does when my nose is crinkled up trying to eat a vegetable at night. So here's a declaration

I solomly swear I'm up to no good: 

I shall eat no more iceberg lettuce

I will open all the windows when Brandon boils broccoli and refuse to eat it

I shall douse my edamame in soy sauce for the win 

I will consider adding vegetables like mushrooms to my omelets 

We will buy and eat corn even though Brandon claims it does nothing for the body.

This is a hella weird post. But it's late and I'm not sure I had anything else noteworthy to delicate my independence from. I'm sure my parents will be less than impressed as I'm sure they spent my entire childhood convincing me to eat my vegetables. 

Home for the Holidays

Happy 2014! I apologize for the hiatus, I had this great idea that I was going to get so much blogging done over the break. I was wrong. I have many things to share so I've been jotting them down, but none of them are quite blog worthy yet.

(The cat photos are however, always blog worthy) 

 Between traveling, eating, running, and spending lots of time with family, it's bittersweet that it's coming to an end. One night as I was driving back from the mall I started to think about how many roles we play, especially when we are (sorta) a grown up, and come back home for the holidays. It's kind neat how things come full circle. But kinda weird how even when your an "adult", that it's so easy to fall back into your roles that you played when you still lived at home.

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. 

Gobbler for Cobbler

Before I do a race recap I wanted to share that I just found out yesterday that my application to be a Sweat Ambassador was accepted! WooHoo. I'm not entirely sure what that exactly means but I am working to figure it out, and I have learned that there isn't really anything established here in Chapel Hill or at UNC so that could bode some opportunity (in all my free time) to get something started. Stay tuned for updates, I know that Fit Approach recommends I friend people, haven't quite figured that one out but if you see me, friend me.

Yesterday, while attending a conference in Boone, NC I had the opportunity to participate in a 5k. The motto, "Run the Gobbler, Eat the Cobbler"

In terms of weather, I was pleasantly surprised that my two layers kept me warm and I didn't even end up running with my gloves on. This was quite a shock to me as App State and Boone are one of the highest elevations in North Carolina (aka cold weather/snow is frequent). 

I had to take a shuttle from the hotel for the conference to the race start so I was there far earlier than would be my preference. There was probably about 200 people by the time the race actually started so I definitely didn't need to be there about an hour before the race. Since I had pre-registered the coveted shirt in a small was waiting for me and they had a "bag" check happening where they let you write your name on a plastic bag with sharpie and lay it on a tarp. This is Boone we are talking about so I really wasn't too worried. 

Once 8am rolled around they rounded up everyone with no sense of urgency, and we were off by 8:10. I think my "gun time" says 8:09. The race rolls through campus and was definitely rolling hills with a fairly decent size hill to the finish line. I found a few girls who were moving about the pace that felt comfortable and I tried to stick with them. I wish more people had been wearing neons, as this is what I look for to motivate me to keep going. Cue, my outfit:

Terrible selfie I know, but hopefully you can tell that I'm wearing a neon top with crazy neon pink and black pants from Target. At one point a student told me I looked "fierce". I took it as a compliment.

I was very surprised by my time at the end. I made the rookie mistake of forgetting to turn on my .25 updates on my Nike app, so I didn't get any updates throughout the race. While that is enjoyable on some of the longer runs, I was kicking myself the first mile because it felt eternal and I had no idea what pace I was at. If I would have heard it, I would have possibly been able to beat a PR which I missed by about 5 seconds. Oh well, this was suppose to be a fun run and the fact that I finished in 28:20 had me thrilled! With an average 9:09, I was tickled particularly because the elevation and hills. 

Hopefully this means all good things for the upcoming Turkey Trot in Charlotte on Thanksgiving. My tutu is already created and now I just have to figure out what bottoms I will be wearing under said tutu. The brown shirt I just got for running the cobbler may be a nice accent for the top (although it's not nearly as bright as I prefer to be when running). 

And now I'm recovering back at home from the strange 3.5 days I just spend with some people who I barley knew. And my husband is out of town to see the Patriots play beat the Panthers.  The next post is likely to be about how scared I am in this townhouse alone.