Update!

It's been two years since I've blogged! Oh my! Well, the past year and some months, I've been in graduate school. I haven't quit running, I've just obviously had to redirect my attention to other things so blogging took a back seat. Waaaay in the back.

I've somehow been able to run a few 5k's and the annual 10k (Peachtree Road Race) that I do. But other than that, I've been running to either lose weight, maintain my weight, or as a stress reliever. My highest mileage was last fall. I went out on a solo run around Stone Mountain Park and talked myself into running 10 miles. It was my first double digit run since having my son (who's 3 now). I was extremely proud of myself.

Fast forward to today, March 2017. Today I completed Week 5, Day 2 of couch 10k. I completed exactly 4 miles. I'm not necessarily training to run a 10k right now. I found it helpful to use the couch to 10k program as a motivator to workout in the evenings. I don't have to stress about running the entire time. The intervals help me lose fat and burn calories faster. Lastly, I always like a structured program. I've been trying to lose the 15 lbs I gained since starting graduate school (which I have), and I needed something that would help me stay on track.

As far as my weight, I'm back to pre-graduate school weight, which is the same as pre-baby weight. Which is the same weight I was at when I first lost 50lbs. So I'm good. :-) I'm pretty much doing the same things...tracking macros, eating clean, exercising.  A post with pictures will be next.

Thanks for reading :-)

Road Trip Snacking

I was determined to stay on track on my 5.5 hour road trip. Of course, I went straight to Pinterest and found a related blog that I was able to copy some of the snacks she suggested, but I also have some of my own suggestions.

Now my goal is not only to not eat junk food, but also not to spend hella money to and fro our destination. I hate wasting money. 

So here's a few cheap and fast road trips snack suggestions that'll keep money IN your wallet so you can enjoy your trip.

-mixed vegetables

-fruit

-granola

-Greek yogurt

-air popped popcorn

-rice cakes

-water

-raisins

Can you think of any more?

Meanwhile, it's leg and shoulder day. I cheated the other day and did a couple glute exercises and forgot to stretch right afterwards, now my hamstrings are so sore. I'm still looking forward to working out tonight. It will be interesting and I'm hoping that I can stick to the plan as much as possible in the space I'll have available. I brought my resistance band and will modify all moves accordingly. I'll miss the cardio portion tonight and tomorrow my cardio will have to just be walking since we have a few places we plan to visit with the fam while away.

How do you stay on track while on vacation?

Daily Happenings

Today I woke up and weighed myself as I normally would. To my surprise I'm back at my pre-preggo weight!!! Woot! I'll spare you with the picture I took of my un-pedicured feet standing on the scale that I sent the hubs.

So naturally that set the tone for an awesome eating day. I finished the 30-day smoothie challenge. I think this challenge has a lot to so with me meeting my goal. At the beginning of the month I was 5 lbs heavier.

This was my lunch since the hubs took all the leftover baked chicken for his lunch.

Later on I did a 5-minute strength training workout using the app Sworkit, ran 3 miles on the treadmill, and spent 20-minutes on the stair climber. Still waiting to get a new watch. I would loooove to know how many calories I REALLY incinerated.

I'm praying the weather will be good enough so I can take my baby with me to run outdoors. We shall see.

Tiffany

Daily Happenings 4-27-14

For someone that doesn't like to cook I sure was in the kitchen a good 80% of the day. Cooking and cleaning and cooking again...and cleaning. That includes making my sons baby food. Of course, my baby eats clean as much as his mommy does as well. :) 

In this pic the kale is drying in preparation to be roasted for kale chips. This was my first time attempting kale chips after seeing them for years. I've used kale in my smoothies and in my juices and I actually DONT like it. It taste too spicy. Now as chips they get a thumbs up. I did add too much kosher salt (I am out of sea salt) and probably a little to much olive oil, but they were still good. I liked the crunchiness of it. It's true what they say, you won't miss potato chips with this substitute. 

Oh I also drank a green juice with my lunch.

I had plans to run at least 2-3 miles today. That didn't happen for reasons that shall remain unnamed. But I did take it to the garage and do a high intensity interval workout using the gym boss timer app.

I did 24 rounds of speed jump roping, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, planks, push-ups, and bicycle crunches. I definitely need a new heart rate monitor watch (old one broke) because I would love to see how many calories I burned.

Well, tomorrow I'm trying to make it to the gym after my family's gathering which of course we will be eating. I'm on mission so I hope to report no weak moments. :)

Tiffany

Peachtree Road Race Training Begins!

I haven't posted in a while, but I have ran one race since giving birth to my son in October 2013. That was the Hot Chocolate 5k in January. My time was great considering majority of my running had to be on the treadmill. I think I ran an 11:30 pace? And every runner who's ever run in downtown Atlanta knows about those hills, so that pace was pretty good for me post-baby.

Well, the opportunity has finally come to run my first Peachtree Road Race. I remember back in the day, I used to volunteer for this race and I didn't even know what a 10k was. I've only run one 10k in my running life and actually don't prefer the distance for a race, but I want to participate in this one, just because it is an Atlanta tradition. I haven't decided whether or not I will set a time goal, but I do want to finish strong, for me meaning run the whole time.

Although my running has been slighted since that January race, I have worked out every week since. I honestly thought I could go back to working out as normal even with my son, but that just isn't possible without a babysitter readily available, not to mention I'm still breastfeeding (6 months strong, woot!). So my workouts have been mixed. I do T25, Jillian Michael's Hard Body, the elliptical, tabata workouts with my my jump rope and Nike Training Club app. As you may be able to tell, I need programs that will keep my attention.

I'm about 3lbs away from my pre-preggo weight, but I really want my endurance (jump roping helps) and I want to lose another 10lbs after I reach pre-preggo weight. Sometimes I log my workouts, runs, and foods I eat on Instagram (@seetiffrun).

As far as diet, I'm still eating as little processed foods as possible, but this go round, I've amped up my protein intake. I can't take artificial protein supplements while I am breastfeeding, but I am focusing more on foods naturally higher in protein.

So, so far so good with me. Mentally I am there, but schedule conflicts regarding the baby don't always allow me to physically do what I want. I am still learning that sometimes I just can't do it all and that's okay. That realization came when I had to forfeit doing the Chic-fil-A half marathon last month. I just couldn't get out to train consistently. Thank God I hadn't registered for the race yet. I'm counting on the fact that 6.2 miles isn't as bad and if anything it will turn into a fun run, since I will have to fight the heat, hills, and humidity in the largest 10k in the nation on the fourth of July.

How is your fitness journey, especially if you have kids?