Rain rain go away!!

This week's workouts have been a washout! Yesterday, I wasn't able to ride, since I had to work. Today Shelley  I had an 8 miler scheduled but due to pouring rain we cancelled. We didn't feel like getting poured on 2 weekends in a row.

My bootcamp, the major motivator to my recent weight loss success is winding down this coming week. So sad! Good news is, I have decided to commit to another 8 weeks of fabulous bootcamp workouts with Bia Fitness.

Another great way to stay in shape?

The Everyday Health

A great challenge that isn't measuring you up against others, but instead rewards you with prizes for achieving goals such as tracking calories, working out, eating veggies, and cutting out soda. You can win prizes like free Jillian Michaels & Joy Bauer books & a session with a nutritionist.

Enter the Challenge HERE!

Tonight we're heading to the Blink 182 concert, but praying the rain isn't too bad! We have lawn seats, and its been raining all day, and is supposed to storm tonight. I'm crossing my fingers that its not too bad outside. I also thankfully have the day off tomorrow, so  my plan is to swim, clean the entire house, and start packing for vacay!

Congrats to everyone who finished Chicago RnR today!

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Its freakin HOT here!!

This week has been crazy with the heat & humidity.

Wednesday night it was 90 out, but a coworker and I decided to go for a ride on a bike trail she heard of in Southwick. Lucky for us, it was shaded and flat and felt much cooler than it really was. We did 14 miles, then called it a night.

Thursday morning I had bootcamp and sweated more than I ever have. TRX, Battle Ropes, Rip trainers, slam balls, it was an intense circuit. 

Friday morning, I figured the heat wouldn't be too bad to run outside at 5:30am. WOW was I wrong. 83 degrees with an insane humidity. 5 miles was the plan, and I went through 3 waterbottles on my belt, and ran through every single sprinkler I saw. My plan was for a 10:45 pace, but that went out the window with the heat. Stepping into my air conditioned house was like heaven after that run.

Saturday morning, Kevin and I got up for a long ride. Lucky for us, the clouds were out. So even though it was almost 90, the sun wasn't beating down on us as hard as it could have. We went 24 miles, got a little lost since I didn't know the route as well as I was hoping I did, but we managed to make it home, then out for a delicious (organic!) breakfast. The rest of the afternoon was spent baking in the sun and cooling off in the pool at my friend's little girl's birthday party.

This morning, Shelley and I had our last long run before tapering for RnR Providence. We started a little before 8, hoping to beat the later in the day heat. It was 82 at the start, and wicked humid. My goal for this run, was to push the pace a little. We've been fading the pace part way into the run, so I tried to keep an eye on the Garmin and push it a little. Mission accomplished.

Goal pace was 11:15, PHMP + 20 seconds. We have NEVER come close to that pace with our training runs, but this time, we came pretty close. Some miles were not as pretty, with big hills,  or stops at traffic lights. Around 9.5, we stopped at Shelley's mom's for more water, then worked on picking it up to finish. On our last killer hill, there was a girl out ahead of us and we made it our goal to pass her. We did on the hill. She passed us back after the top, then we passed her again later. We sprinted like mad to the finish with a crazy fast pace. Even our average pace was awesome, pretty close to our goal. It sprinkled a little through the run and more at the finish, which was fabulous.

My post run Panera tasted especially delicious today.

What have you done in this killer heat??

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Consistency is key

To make any progress toward a goal, consistency is the most important thing. Performing healthy behaviors on a daily basis, will help you reach you reach your weight loss and fitness goals. Skimp, a little here, skimp a little there, and you're sidelining your goal. Sometimes things come up, but striving to avoid temptations to skip a workout, or eat an entire carton of ice cream will help us get where we want to be.

This week, I have been more than consistent. The start of bootcamp has been so motivating, I have not only gotten in 99% of my scheduled workouts, but I added in a couple too.  My leg muscles have never been more sore, and I feel like I am really starting to see changes. The scale is moving in the right direction, and I really want to stay focused through the holiday weekend.

How do you stay consistent?

Wednesday morning I had a great speedwork run, then that night I went on a group ride with the bike shop club. Remember that Cyclonauts ride I went on (post HERE)? The one I almost died on? This one was much better! An all women's ride with the Competitive Edge ladies, with manageable hills and a mostly easy pace. It was a beautiful ride with a lot of great scenery, and despite my incredibly sore legs, I had a fabulous time.  Thursday morning was another round of bootcamp. We used the huge battle ropes biggest loser style, ran laps, and did squats and side squats with elastic bands around our ankles. I glutes were literally screaming at me & ready to fall off, it was wicked intense. I am LOVING this bootcamp thing! Needless to say, I did miss my run this morning because my legs were so sore I couldn't lift my toes with walking.

Tonight I have a girls night planned, and tomorrow a beach day! I'm ready for some sunshine, relaxation, magazine catching up and a tan!

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Bootcamp and weigh in...

Bootcamp yesterday morning was a fabulous workout. 

We started with a basic assessment of how many pushups, squat jumps, burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers we could do of each in a minute. Then we did circuits with the TRX, jump rope & running. There was a good size group (about 11 of us), and the next group had 20! I'm glad fewer people like waking up early for a 5am workout.

The Burpee: I'm certainly feeling it today!

It was also weigh in day yesterday. I had done really well this past week at eating healthy, working out, but was feeling bloated & puffy. I think from Monday's dinner of Sloppy Joe's. I was praying I wouldn't have a gain, because I worked really hard this week! I knew it would probably come off when I'm better hydrated and have the sodium flushed out, but sometimes a gain really screws with my head. Luckily it was a bust, no gain, no loss. I turned it into motivation to stay on track and drink 3 gallons of water.

Had an easy day at work (what?), then came home to make a yummy dinner of grilled shrimp, asparagus, and quinoa. My energy level was so great (and I was so motivated to have a loss next week), so I decided to work on some hills after dinner. So at 8pm, I drove over to Forest Park and did what I think a hill repeat is. I've heard people talk about hill repeats, and I figured it just must mean repeating a hill over & over. So I would run up the hill, then walk back down. I did it for 20 min before heading home. Is that how it works?

I have a pitcher with lemon water in the fridge, a new workout schedule made to accommodate bootcamps, and was super pumped to see a 2 pound loss on the scale this morning. I guess I successfully flushed all the bad stuff out!

Now I need to keep things consistent!
How do you keep your motivation consistent?

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What I'm excited about...

I'm off to bed in a few since I have an early morning at 5am of bootcamp. I'll have to be up super early, but I am so excited to start it! I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

There's a few other things I'm excited about too...

1. The Josh Billings Runaground race. One of my friends told me about it. Its a race done typically in teams (which will be us), but you can do it by yourself. The race is a 27 mile bike, 5 mile kayak & 10K run. I'll be doing the bike portion. SUPER excited!

2. There are some GREAT fundraising raffles going on right now, and I wish I had time to mention them all (I will try to another day), but definitely check out Baby Weight My Fat Ass HERE to win an awesome Trigger Point Therapy set to help benefit Autism!

3. This weekend is 4th of July which means a 3-day weekend for me, fireworks, parties & fun! Hopefully a day at the beach if its nice out. Oh ya, and a 10 mile run.

4. The winner of my Kushyfoot giveaway is Kari @ Running Ricig! email me Kari with your address, and I'll send them you're way. P.S. She has an amazing Banana bread recipe that was a HUGE hit with my coworkers!

Happy Monday!

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Three Things Thursday!

1. I got in an awesome run today. I skipped my run in the morning, but after a great day at work (so unusual to say), and getting home a little early, I decided to give it a whirl before dinner. I was scheduled for a 5 mile tempo run, so I mapped out a loop that was almost 5, and headed out for a nice rainy run. Normally, I hate running in less than ideal running conditions, but for some reason I couldn't wait to get out in the rain to run. My planned mid-tempo pace is 10:45 on my training schedule, and I kept it pretty close...

I started a little fast, then settled in. I remembered that this route was the one I did for my first post surgery outdoor run, and thought of how far I've come since then.

2. I did it! I joined the Half Fanatics!

I am now Fanatic #1184 at a Neptune (1 moon) level. I am hoping to upgrade to Saturn (3 moon) status in the fall with 4 half marathons in 4 states in 51 days.

3. With my vacation now booked, I have continued to stay focused on my eating and exercising. I had an intense bootcamp session last night with a heavy focus on TRX, which I loove. My 2x/week bootcamp starts on tuesday morning, which means I need to adapt my training schedule since tues/thurs are typically running days. Krystal also gave us some great nutritional advice (separate post about it later), which I think is a great focus to help me with my weightloss. Overall I am feeling so much healthier and starting to notice little changes in how my clothes fit, hooray!

Don't forget to enter my Kushy Foot giveaway HERE, it ends 6/25!

Soooo Happy its friday tomorrow, even if I am working saturday. 

Next triathlon is Sunday at the Wilbraham YMCA!

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Motivation is coming!

My head is in the game.

Today was weigh in day, and I knew it wouldn't be pretty since I had an indulgent weekend with dinners out, cocktails, and a lack of exercise last week. I was pleasantly surprised to come away with only a .2 gain, and be ready to start my new week with a positive outlook. Stepping on my home scale this morning, I was wicked pumped to see a 2% loss in body fat from a couple weeks ago, SCORE!

California culinary schools may be an option for those of you who are craving warmth and sunshine and learning about cooking and nutritious eating. When healthy food tastes great, it is easy to find the motivation to want to eat healthfully. Anyone looking for a career change?

My favorite trainer! Bia Owner Krystal

Keeping motivation high is difficult for me. I think many of us have a few good days, or weeks, then start to fall apart. I am trying different things to help keep me positive about losing weight, working out, and being healthier. Since I've enjoyed the outdoor bootcamp class so much with Bia Fitness, I was thinking I should keep with another class. I've found that I looove the TRX, and was wanting to start their 5am TRX class. However, there is a bootcamp challenge starting at the end of june with Bia Fitness, and TRX is on hold until fall, so I've decided to join the bootcamp class. Paying the money will force me to show up, and I know it blasts a TON of calories. As long as I can keep solid with my nutrition I should be on the right track for a good weightloss. Krystal was my original trainer, and has been with me since my first half marathon, so I'm really excited to be working out with her again!

What is the extra motivation needed for?

VACATION

of course!

I would LOVE to look at vacation pictures and think "look at that sexy chick!", or maybe even pull off a more daring swimsuit for the beach.

Plus, a fitter body will be easier to drag across a finish line, or through 26.2 miles in January. And, on the fly chance that my wedding actually takes place at some point, it would be awesome to be already in shape for it, and not have to stress over it.

So heres to a solid week of eating healthy, exercising consistently, and managing the many curveballs life throws my way!

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Encouragement always welcome!

Today's quote:

"Flatter me, and I may not believe you.  Criticize me, and I may not like you.  Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.  Encourage me, and I will not forget you."
                                            -- William Arthur Ward

Sometimes all we need is a little encouragement when we're down to pick us up. Isn't is true, that when you may be down on your luck, feeling hopeless, that a kind word or boost up turn us around in the other direction. You remember that person who gave you that kick to power to the end of a race, or finish a tough workout. On the flip side, how great is it to be that person to support and help someone through a tough time?

When has someone been there to support and encourage you through a tough time?

Just finished my 2nd outdoor bootcamp class!

I rode to/from class, then suffered through an hour of TRX, dynamic exercises, partner work, and other cardio & strength training for a total calorie burn on 866. Awesome. I am totally loving this class, I wish it were every week! I love working out with my old trainer again, and meeting the girls in class.

I managed to lose .6 at weigh in tuesday, which is amazing amongst the drinking and eating I did at the wedding and shower this past weekend. Nutrition has been ok, I still need to work on avoiding snacking immediately following work when I get home. With all the nice weather, I think I may try going to my moms house to lay by the pool for an hour instead!

I've decided to skip this weekend's triathlon, and instead aim for the one at the end of the month. This way I can save a little money, race with my friend Debbie, and let my bike get a tune up. My gears are not clicking in right, and the bike shop doesn't have an opening until 2 weeks from now. 

I feel so behind on everyone's blogs!! I've won some sweet prizes, including an awesome new Allied Steel Medal Hangar I can't wait to share when it comes in!

A round of storms with thunder, lightening & hail are on the way. As long as there are no more tornados!!

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