Motivation Monday

This weekend flew by in a hurry. It started on Saturday with my taking the police test for Charleston. They do all of their testing in one day so it starts with the written test which i passed without a problem (90something percent) which let me move on to the physical test. I completed the sit and reach as well as he bench press and sit ups which left the run as the last part of the physical test. As someone that has been training for a marathon, you would think that I would be able to run a mile and a half in under 16:40. It was hot and humid but I did it in 14 minutes. Wahoo!! So the last part of the test was the interview and it was done in a group. I think that I did ok but you never know in those kinds of things.

After this test, I still had to do my mileage for my marathon training so I waited until later in the evening and did my 8 miles. Not bad! It would have been so easy to say that I didn't need to run because of what I had done earlier but I did not want to shortchange myself so like the picture above says, "give it everything you got" and I did.

The rest of the weekend flew by with staff softball games as well as church where I spoke about a 5K training program that we are doing at the church. So excited about this!

Motivation Monday

Today's Motivational Image comes is inspired by my run yesterday. To date it was my longest run, 7 miles! If you had asked me a few months ago if I ever thought that I would be able to run 7 miles, I would have told you that you were crazy!! But sure enough I did it. The first 2 miles were the worst because I chose to run at the end of the day when the weather was cooler and so this let the voice inside of me argue with me about how tired I was, etc. After the first 2 miles, I was in the zone and on a roll. It was simply a matter of reaching the end.

So no matter whether you work out in the morning or evening the key is to simply do it and see it through. The hardest part is the beginning but it feels so good to finish. Keep it up!

Motivation Monday

This week I am in Tucson, AZ for my sorority's convention and there is nothing easier to do that fall into that "I'll take a week off" excuse and see this as a FREE week. Nope! Not my story. While I will be reconnecting with fellow alumna as well as making new friendships, I will still make time to run and do my TurboFire routines. I am going to be one of those annoying morning people that is up and moving at 5am (like I am here). The food at this thing is always tasty and packed with calories so moving around the resort will keep me out of trouble.

I have rarely had a problem traveling and working out. While visiting my best friend Melissa in California this spring, we would place her infant daughter in her Bumbo seat and she would watch me jump and kick and punch while laughing and thinking that it was a game. It's all about priorities and my priority is to stay the course and not slip back into old ways. This truly is a lifestyle change for the better.

Happy Monday!

Mommy and Me Exercises

In honor of my friend Natasha at Schue Love who welcomed her first child on Tuesday, I thought that I would post these simple exercises that can be done while not having the relinquish your child to a blanket or bumbo.







1. Leg Lift
Start by laying on your back on a yoga mat or soft carpet. With your knees bent, stabilize your infant on your legs. The mom that wrote this recommends that you do not feed the child right before doing this. With your hands on your baby's shoulders, slowly raise your legs up so that baby is facing down. Then slowly return legs to a 90 degree angle. Do this 10 times.

2. Arm Curls
Cradle your baby in your arms with your handles facing upwards. Make sure that he/she is secure in the crook of your arms. Slowly curl your arms towards your body, bringing your baby to your body as well. He/she will probably giggle as you do this. Slowly return to the starting position. Do this 10 times.

3. Push-ups
You can do this on your knees or toes. Lay your baby underneath you on a soft surface. Start in plank with baby placed underneath your chest. Slowly lower down into a push-up, making sure to give your baby a smile and a kiss. Do as many as you are comfortable doing.

4. Single Leg Squats

For this stretch make sure that you use the correct form. Stand and hold your baby in front of you with your feet together. Starting with the left foot, step out and bend your right knee until your left thigh is parallel to the ground. Both legs should form a 90 degree angle. Return to standing position and alternate to the right foot. Repeat 10 times on each leg.

5.Side Swing

Standing up, hold your baby in front of you with outstretch arms. You can choose if you want him/her facing you or not. Hold your baby directly in front of you and twist your torso 90 degrees to the left. Return to the middle position and twist to the right 90 degrees. 

Motivation Monday

Happy Monday! This was my motivation for this morning. The weekend went by too fast and so today was harder than normal. I spent Saturday and Sunday painting the outside of a house as a part of a community service weekend with my church. I sweat off the equivalent of my weight in water over the course of the day. I was exhausted. When the alarm went off this morning at 4:50 am I was really tempted to roll over and go back to sleep but instead I nudged the dog cage so that they would want to move and would then make me get up. I laced up my shoes and moved. Ran 3 miles and did TurboFire's Fire 55 EZ Class. Once 7 am hit, I was done with my workouts for the day and knew that there would be no guilty feeling later when I found that the day had passed by and that I had no time to workout. Feeling good! How about you?

Half Marathon Training

In recent weeks, several people have asked me about my training schedule for my marathon and how I might modify that for a half-marathon. Considering that I was training for a half-marathon before i decided to run a marathon, it was not that hard.

Below you will find a 10 week program for anyone that has completed a 5K or can run/walk 3 miles without needing to be carted off to the ER. Do not be afraid to walk a 1/4 mile while training, listen to your body! That is the only way to make sure that you remain healthy while doing this program.

Hope that this helps! Happy running! This is one of my favorite things to do since it allows me time to think about me, life, problems, successes. What do you do while running? Listen to music/books on tape? Make your shopping list?

Motivation Monday

Mondays seem to be the worst day of the week for most people. They are a sign that the weekend went by too fast and that now we have to wait a full 5 days until we can relax again. One thing that I find is that many of us are great at starting projects or goals but once some roadblock happens, we easily slip back into the old ways and never pick back up. Today's motivational quote focuses on the simple things... feet, brains, and  our ability to do whatever we chose. So while this quote fits well in a runner's life, you can also apply this to any other life choice i.e. avoiding that donut in the break room or taking a walk at lunch instead of sitting in your office.

Dr. Seuss always provides us with great thoughts of wisdom, how will you use this today?