Weekend Wrap Up

I hope you all had a good weekend! I sure did. Friday evening after work, I drove to Fort Worth to see a friend and her 3 month old baby. I got some good squishy time.

Saturday I got up ready for my run. My goal was to simply run further than I did last week. For perspective:

• Last week (my longest practice run in a few years) - 2.53 miles
• Normal week - 2.1 miles
• Longest practice run ever - 2.65 miles
• Longest run ever - 3.1 miles (all 5K have been for races/public runs)

On Saturday, I ran 3.23 miles. Woohoo! My longest run ever. Not bad. The only issue is that because I started the run right outside my apartment, I had a few long traffic light delays that seriously messed with my time. So I think from now on, I will walk to the trail, then start the run so I can compare each run to the next.

I'm taking advice from Blogger Badass Amy and increasing my practice run distance to work on increasing stamina. I think I have actually made a goal to run a 10K. No commitments yet, but it is rolling around in my head. Right now, I'm focusing on adding about 5-10 minutes per week. Hopefully it won't get too hot too quickly.

After my run, I walked for another mile or so then went home. After freshening up, I went to the Dallas Convention Center to watch the CrossFit Games Regionals. My old box had a team competing. Talk about badass!

 One of my former coaches who was also a competitor.

Our team in action.

After the team competitions, I watched a couple of heats of the women's competition then headed home. After church, BFF came over and I made sushi rolls. Can you imagine? I was nervous to try it, but it was one of the options with my Home Chef box this week so I decided to try it. They weren't bad at all! I wish I would have taken a picture. The first one I didn't roll tight enough, but I did get better. I also need a sharper knife...

On Sunday, I went back to the CrossFit Games to see the conclusion of the team events. Our team finished 13th which was pretty awesome in my opinion. I spent the rest of the day doing chores and catching up on TV.

This morning I got up and went to CrossFit. My squat form really deteriorated over my hiatus. Even with little to no weight, I'm leaning too far forward and not keeping my chest up. My coach thinks it is my hips. I have a massage booked tomorrow night to help. I'm also working on some stretches. Anyway, the first part of the WOD was 5 rounds: 3 Front Squats & 7 Strict Ring Row. Since I was only doing 55#, it wasn't too strenuous, just trying hard to hyper focus on form.

The second part of the WOD was 28-21-14-7 Thrusters (I did just the bar at 35#) and Tuck Jumps (I was happy if my feet left the floor...not really, I jumped as high as I could, I just can't jump very high.) That was absolutely exhausting.

Truth.


I'm trying not to focus on the fact that scale jumped up again this week. I absolutely don't want things to get out of control, but I also know that I'm having some dehydration issues right now and don't want to freak out. We shall see how it goes. I did order some Arbonne nutritional pre-workout stuff. I tried it on Saturday and it seemed to help. We shall see. 

 I will leave you with this...

Hugs!

Well, It's Something

Yesterday was tons of fun! We went to the Nelly, TLC and NKOTB concert last night and had a blast!

I felt a little old, but who cares?! The TLC and NKOTB songs really took me back.

When I woke up this morning, I hopped on the scale and that little bloat that I had at the beginning of the week is still there. I had to accept that it might not be bloat, but actual weigh gain. Damn it. So, I packed my workout clothes and some lunch. I "always" go out with my friends for Friday lunch, but I told myself that obviously I have to make a few tough choices for a while.

My lunch was one of my Home Chef meals. It was an Asian BBQ pork chop with a soba noodle cold salad. At least it tasted good. My friends went to Mattito's and had Bob's dip. As much as I wanted it, I knew I would eat way too much and be sad. I went downstairs to the gym and I power walked while I listened to episode 2 of Undisclosed. Side note: if you listened to Serial, you need to listen to Undisclosed! So boring lunch, but I'm not mad at myself.

After work I'm driving to Ft. Worth to see a friend and her new baby. It will be great to see them, but man, that will be a long drive home!

My goal for tomorrow is to run farther/longer than I did last weekend. I bought an arm band for my phone, so I'm going to test out using it instead of my shuffle. I like the idea of using a running app, but I don't know if I will like it or not. Stay tuned.

The regional competitions of the CrossFit games have started and one of them is within walking distance of my apartment. I'm hoping to hook up with some old friends and stop in, but we will see.

Have a great weekend! Hugs!

Checking In

Things are crazy right now and they are about to get crazier (mostly at work). But I woke up this morning with some anxiety and I realized that I needed to blog to give myself a reality check.

After I checked in last week I got sick. It was terrible and I was whiny. I did make it to Newsies on Tuesday night with BFF which was fun. But in addition to being under the weather Wednesday-Saturday, the literal weather was also rainy and gloomy, plus I had bad news from friends all around me and my empathy meter was off the charts. It was ugly, people.

So on Saturday, I drug myself out of bed and decided to run to the Katy Trail. It is a pedestrian/bike trail that runs through Dallas. I have driven past it, but I have never actually used it. It is about 3/4 of a mile from my apartment. During that first 3/4 of a mile, I almost talked myself out of it 137 times. But I was glad I didn't. Here is a picture of the trail...

I will say that I was slightly annoyed that the darn thing was all uphill for me. But I just went until I felt like I couldn't go anymore, then turned around. I ran about 2.5 miles total that day which is the longest practice run I have had in years then walked another mile and half or so. Now I have something to measure against. Weather permitting, I will do it again this Saturday.

My favorite thing on the Trail was a unicyclist. Awesome. As I was walking home, I ran into a traditional Indian wedding procession. I should have taken a picture, but they were at the hotel entrance looking beautiful and I had just finished my run. I didn't linger.

Saturday during the day, BFF & I hung out with her uncle, aunt and little cousin around Dallas. Then the rest of the weekend was for rest. I made it to CrossFit on Monday and Tuesday and really felt like I was getting back to feeling 100%. I gained a little "comfort food" weight last week and I'm working to get rid of it.

Tuesday night was my monthly Girls Dinner and we had a blast as always.

Check out Debster's blue hair! It is super awesome.

I suppose the biggest news of the week is that we bought tickets to the Olympics. BFF and I, along with a couple of other ladies, are headed to Rio next summer. I think now that we have actually purchased tickets, it feels more real. Although I think it will feel more official when we have our plane tickets. If by any chance any of you have any connections in Rio, I'm looking for a reputable handler or tour guide. There are several on-line, but I would like to have one that is more personally recommended.

Now for the grumble, grumble. When I signed up for CrossFit, I knew that for a while I could only go on Monday & Tuesday. I didn't want to wait until late July when I would be able to start going 3x per week regularly. But that doesn't mean that I couldn't go 3x a week now if my schedule permitted. This morning there is no reason I couldn't go to CrossFit. In fact, it made the most sense because I'm going to a concert tonight and I have a work lunch. It was my only shot today at working out and I chose not to get out of bed. Boooooo!

That is the kind of behavior that I let slip in when I don't make time to blog and put my actions in writing to hold myself accountable. I knew that if I didn't check in, that today could have been one justified bad action after another. Now that I have reset, I know that I will have a great day.

Plus I get to go see NKOTB tonight! That is New Kids on the Block for the 80s kids, like me. It should be a fun night out.

Talk to you soon!

Hugs!

Fun with the 'Rents

Another amazing weekend in the books! I think it has been almost a week since I checked in. Crazy!!

Mom and dad drove in on Tuesday evening. I went ahead and went to work on Wednesday to let them chill out a bit and "move in" to my place. They had been at my brother's house for 3 1/2 weeks so I was worried they would be travel fatigued, but they are troopers and were ready for a few days in Dallas!

Wednesday night we cooked an awesome Home Chef meal when I got home for work. I don't really remember, but I'm guessing we watched a baseball game. My poor mom. She is not a baseball fan, but I'm pretty sure we watched the Rangers almost every day. Too bad we aren't good. That would help.

Thursday we ran some errands then spent the afternoon at the outlets. I tried not to buy a ton of stuff I didn't need. I did buy 4 pairs of cute but comfortable shoes from Clark's. I wish I would have taken pictures, they are all adorable. I also got a shirt to wear with a new necklace I bought in Vegas. I'm planning to wear tomorrow so I will try and remember to take a picture!

After shopping we went home and cooked another Home Chef meal. BFF joined us and it was delightful. I think there might have been drinking involved as well. :)

Friday we got up early and went to Canton Trade Days. It is this big kind of flea market/craft show/booth boutique dealio that happens once a month for four days. It is amazing. My favorite purchase was a Mexican pottery vase but I also got some fun shirts. The best says "I would rather be someone's shot of whiskey than everyone's cup of tea." After driving back to Dallas and resting a bit, we went to my favorite restaurant HG Sply Co. Love that place.

Saturday I got up early and drove to Coppell to meet Godmother and Godson4 for a 5K. They did great! I was able to run the whole thing. I realized this morning that I hadn't run a full 5K (I had done run/walks but didn't run the whole thing) for two years. It wasn't my best time by any stretch, but I kept a 13:25 mile pace which is better than I have been doing in my two mile runs. My goal would be to finish a 5K with 12 minute miles. It is doable but it will be work. I never got better that 12:30 miles at my best and that was with a walk/run.

After the race, I met up with the parents and went to the Farmers Market. We bought lots of yummy stuff for Sunday dinner. Then we had some grilled cheese and hung out in Bishop Arts.

We rested a bit in the afternoon then met up with BFF for church. My parents aren't Catholic, but I did like that they got to see my beautiful church and meet our deacon who I swear could be my dad's brother. After we went to Meso Maya for some dinner and drinks.

Unfortunately for my mom, I'm pretty sure we watched a baseball game after. :-) Go Rangers.

Sunday was a day of cooking, packing, cleaning and all that stuff. This morning came bright (actually very dark) and early with me off to CrossFit and Mom & Dad off for Florida.

At CrossFit, we did a 400m time trial. Breaking News: I'm still slow. Then we did 3 rounds of 1:00 each: ring rows, wall balls, push presses, kettlebell swings, and rest.

The best news (way to bury the lead, Beth Ann) is that I lost a couple of tenths of a pound during all this. That is amazing! Plus, I have a bunch of great leftovers for the week, so I'm good to go.

Hugs!

Life is Good

I think I'm coming to terms with the fact my life won't ever be completely routine. I just like doing stuff. So I'm going to have to figure out how to make it all work.And by work, I mean having all this fun and enjoying life while not regaining tons of weight or allowing myself to live in an overall unhealthy way.

When last I left you I was working for the weekend. I did end up going to Jazzercise Thursday night and I have to say that after that, my soreness melted away.

Friday afternoon, BFF & I headed off to WinStar Casino in Oklahoma for the Pitbull concert. Cori was having good luck at the slots, but it was zapping me big time. Anyway, there was a lot of day drinking, flashing lights and jingle jangles until it was time for the show. As always, the dude put on a performance...

Mr. Worldwide

BFF & I ready for the show...

We danced and danced. It was awesome! After the show we stayed at the casino hotel. The next morning we ate breakfast and did a little more gambling. I'm happy to say that I hit the mid-sized jackpot on the last game I was playing and ended the weekend pretty close to net zero. That is a WIN in my book!!

Saturday afternoon we drove home and stopped for pedicures. Rough life. We went straight to church after. I have to say that I'm absolutely loving my new church. The message this weekend was that we are all God's children and all good people of the world can get to heaven. I love that inclusiveness.

Anyway, after church, I cooked for us from my Home Chef delivery. It was French-cut chicken breasts with a Caprese type salad and spinach. It was delicious!! We also watched the Frank Sinatra documentary on HBO. Dude was totally hot.

I got up yesterday morning for CrossFit. It was rough. I don't usually have an issue with muscle cramping, but my upper quads/hips were cramping so badly that I was having trouble with the WOD. But I got most of it in. Lots more burpees.

I went again today.

Today, we did 5 sets of 5 lunges on each leg. I started to add weight to the barbell but realized that I was breaking form. So I ended up dropping the weight for the last two rounds. I'm determined to ramp up the weights properly.

The WOD: 16:00 AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)

• 400m Run
• 20 Kettlebell Swings (25#)
• 20 Push Ups

I know I have talked to death about what a slow runner I am. It is just how it is. But the more I work at it, the less slow I get. Today was a little tough. The guys run literally twice as fast as I do, so they were lapping me like crazy. But I just kept focusing on moving. I ran the whole way...no walking. I did my KB swings, I did the push ups...no knees, I pushed my body up off the ground every single time. I know that I'm working as hard as I can. ME. That is what matters and when I'm done, I feel amazing. I don't care that they got in 4 rounds or whatever...I did two full rounds and another run. And I worked hard the whole damn time. Next time, I will do a little better. One workout at at time.

Today my parents are driving to Texas from Kentucky. They will be in sometime this evening and will be visiting through Monday. We always have a great time and I look forward to it! But things will be hectic. Again...no routine. That's okay. I'm running a 5K on Saturday and I will be back to CrossFit on Monday.

Saw this on somebody's wall today and loved it...

Hugs!