fitness

Monday Miles : Week 1

Week after week while doing my long runs I have had one recurring thought. I really should blog about that. Many times the blog ideas disappear by the time I get home but this one hasn’t. It just keeps floating around. Now that i’m going from being half crazy to full crazy I am going for it. Once a week I will be posting an update about my training and any tips I learn along the way. This week it is late, the holiday threw me off but this is week one of Monday Miles.

Monday Miles: Week 1 | Country Girl Gourmet

My first Full Marathon will be January 10th at the Happiest place on earth, Walt Disney World. I have read repeatedly how the Walt Disney World Marathon is one of the best marathons out there and knowing how well run the Princess races are I took it as a sign to enter when registration was on my anniversary. Happy 16th anniversary, your going to run a full marathon! To be fair my husband signed up for his first marathon too, just not WDW.

We are at 17 weeks and a few days before the marathon now and with my foot being cleared to go, it is go time. During my time off from running I was still active. During the week I was out in my garage working out with my husband, 15 year old and sometimes lil miss joined us. I would also go with my husband on his long runs during the weekend. The only difference is that I would ride my bike (ok and walk some of the steep hills but each week that was less and less). Once my foot was cleared I started walking instead of running. I wanted to test out my foot plus I was going to be sweeping a half marathon in a few weeks. 10 miles is a slow start right? I was able to do the 10 miles within the half marathon’s time limits easily with no foot problems. The following week I did 13 with my husband. I was set to go.

Sunday morning came all to early and before I knew it myself and the 3:30 pacer for Fayettevilles Race 13.1 were walking down the All American Highway. Moving right along, chit chatting and all that fun stuff.

 

We stayed together until around mile 7 when I picked up someone from the 10k. I helped him until around mile 8, well a bit before. I have to give this guy mad props. He was out there after having both of his hips replaced! He just wanted to see if he could do it and he did! I stayed with him until his wife came up to finish with him and her urging me to go ahead, she had him. I went ahead and saw my husband who was working as a course monitor and sped up trying to catch back up. Right about mile 9, I did my first scope on Periscope and sent a video out on Instagram.

It took about a mile but I caught back up to the back of the pack. Where I stayed for the rest of the race. I carried the American Flag and kept making sure everyone was doing ok. Outside of aches and pains and being a bit tired the ladies were doing good. One of the complaints was an achy hip from a mom of a 6 month old. She didn’t want to stop to stretch so I had her do some lunges which helped some. I also suggested she invest in a pair of good compression shorts. I explained to her the compression will help with her core which often becomes weak when having kids as well as additional stability in the hip. There are many claims that compression does this, that and the other thing but the stability is the stand out for me.

We kept on going and I kept doing what I could to encourage the back of the pack ladies. When another said they didn’t think they could do it at mile 12 I told them to stop and that they could. I explained running is in your head first. If you say you can you will. We made it up the on ramp and down to the mall and with encouragement I slowed down so she could run it in and own her half marathon finish. She worked hard for it and finished running. I came in last, like I was suppose to. It was the first time i’ve come in dead last it was very weird. I was given water and handed my medal and then I wandered my way to the Team RWB tent as most of the vendors had broken down or were in the process of doing so.   My feet were killing me, I wore the wrong shoes and I am back on the quest to find a pair of shoes for the WDW Marathon. My feet are full of hot spots,blisters and i’m pretty sure I have new black toe nails.

I took Monday and Tuesday off. Well I tried to run Tuesday but my feet were not having it. My feet have not been this bad since 2012 when I did my first half marathon. I am going to try again today but we’ll see how it goes. It may be a cross training type of day.

Are you a runner? What has your training schedule looked like for the past week?

Tips to Help Get Back on Track with your Health and Fitness Goals

It happens from time to time, you are doing well with your health and fitness goals and then something happens and you get off track. Maybe it is that New Years resolution that you make every year or maybe you were injured and need to get back on track now that you have recovered. Whatever the reason just know it happens to the best of us and you aren’t alone.  Wanting to get back on track is a huge step but it is typically not without figuring out how to get your health and fitness mojo back. Going through this myself, I have some tips to help get back on track with your health and fitness goals.

Getting Back on Track with your Health and Fitness Goals| Country Girl Gourmet

1.Make a plan

The first step  in getting back on track is to make a plan. To do this start by setting a goal and going from there. With your goal in mind find exercise that you actually like to to do and using a calendar and develop a work out plan. Decide what days you are going to exercise, what you are going to do and when.
Look at your diet and develop a meal plan. Figure out your daily calorie needs, the ratio of carbs.fats and proteins that you need. Eat healthy foods that you like, do not set yourself up for failure by forcing yourself to eat a diet of foods you hate just because they are healthy. Remember everything in moderation, treats here and there are ok and will help keep you from gorging on treats later.

 

2. Chart your progress

After you develop your plan, weigh yourself, take your measurements and take pictures of yourself to help keep track of your progress. Sometimes we don’t lose weight but will lose inches and seeing that change is a great motivator.
It is also helpful to log your meals to keep track of your calories and nutritional intake along with your water intake and your exercise. I use MyFitnessPal for my food intake but it tracks everything from food to exercise. I keep track of my running mileage with Garmin.  Waterlogged is another great app for tracking how much water you drink. There is an app for almost everything now and a big thing with apps is finding the one that YOU like best. Apps aren’t for everyone there is just something about writing everything out. Keep a hand written food and exercise journal, use a simple composition book or print blank month at a glance calendars and fill them out. Find a method that works for you.

3. Find your motivation

What is your motivation to be healthy? Is it for yourself? Is it for your family? Once you decide this you can look for some healthy living motivators. I like to look at Pinterest for different healthy living quotes, a good quote can help get you going. One kept me going through the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Another great motivator is paying for a race. Races are not cheap. Nothing like the thought of wasting money to get you moving. Lastly, give yourself rewards for meeting goals. The reward being something that you want (clothes, new hair, jewelry etc.). There is nothing better than working toward a goal and being rewarded.

4.Find support

Having support is a huge help when you have health and fitness goals. This support can be from your family, friends or a support group that you find online. Facebook has ton’s of groups to find the support of others. Having the support of others has been proven to aid in weight loss!
Another idea is to post “sweat checks” to your Facebook or Instagram. Sweat checks are great to help keep accountability. You never know you may find new friends to support your healthy living goals that way too!

5.Take it one day at a time

You have your goals and you are ready but here is an important thing to remember. Stuff happens! Things come up when you least expect it, bad weather, sick kiddos, and other emergencies. This doesn’t mean your goals will not happen. It just means that you need to readjust and tweak your plan. Refocus and motivate yourself to reach your daily goals, and learn from any mistakes you’ve made along the way.

6.Be Positive

Your attitude toward healthy living and fitness is key to your fitness goals. Focus on the good and stay optimistic! Positive thinking can increase your motivation and energy level. In the words of Elle Woods, ” Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.”

When you start thinking negative it is easy to slip into the land of being unmotivated and depressed that can lead to skipping workouts and overeating.. so do your best to stay positive!

 

Don’t let falling off track get you down. Follow these steps and get back on track and in no time at all you will be making of you health and fitness goals!

You can do it!