Because it's Saturday AND it's cold!

So, yeah. I really had planned to get up and run before logging in to work for a few hours at 6 a.m. However...it was 36 degrees when my alarm went off at 4. Umm...little fact about me: not a fan of cold. Not even a little.

Instead I slept until 5:45, worked until a little after 10, took Jake to his game. Warmed up with him (workout!!), and then went for a short run after (more workout!!). I learned a long time ago that sometimes you just have to get a little creative and you can find ways to workout. Sometimes accidentally!!

Here's the photo proof:

I am stronger than my excuses

I know. Sounds cheesy. But, seriously. There has been entirely too much excuse-making lately. And it's time for it to stop. So, starting today, I am going to start something new. My goal is to work out every day. Every. Day. I need to be held accountable, so, not only will I post my workout, but I'm going to post whatever excuse it is that I tried to use to talk myself out of said workout. Should be fun. Right?

To start things off, I had the idea for this a few days ago. I'm in the middle of a Whole 30 and I thought "wouldn't it be cool to do a 'Super' Whole 30 and workout every one of those 30 days?". But, I don't want to start in the middle, I need to wait until it's over. Yeah. Wait until it's over... Sounds kind of excuse-y to me. So, it starts today.

Today is a CrossFit day. I don't usually have much trouble getting myself up for those. Or maybe I just don't argue with myself as much? Who knows. But I got up and did this.

Deadlifts: 105 lbs, and I used a 15 lb kettlebell. Should have done 25. I always second guess myself. I need to just start going with my instincts and push myself more.

Let the fun begin! :)

Got my mojo back!

So...yes. I think I lost my mojo for a bit. Just wasn't feeling the same excitement around working out, running, etc. It happens. I guess we just all need a break every once in awhile and our bodies let us know. Mine seems to right around this time every year.

Well....

I'm back, bitches!

Oops - got a little carried away. Feels good to be back at it, though.

Goals for 2013

I don't do New Year resolutions anymore. Inevitably it turns into more of a "wish list" that just repeats year after year. So, last year, I just decided to start setting goals. I dubbed 2012 "The Year of Tracy", and decided it was time to get to work. I really had one goal in mind and that was to constantly step outside my comfort zone. I have this habit of quitting things when they get too hard. Not always, I mean, being a single mom, it's not always plausible to just walk away when the going gets tough. That got me thinking - when I didn't walk away, those "hard" situations ended up not only making me who I am today, but they ended up resulting in some of the best things that have happened to me. So, why not apply that to everything?

I still have work to do to accomplish some of the goals I set out to accomplish, but along the way I found new goals that kind of superceded those. I also had some major bumps in the road last year that forced me to change focus. But, I continued to push the limits of my comfort zone. I interviewed for a supervisory position - and got it. I decided to try CrossFit - and LOVE it. The main thing is I didn't quit when things got tough. I sometimes felt a bit like I was losing my mind, and I may have a time or two privately, but I kept plowing through.

So. Goals for 2013:

1. OWN IT!
2. Run every day. That's right - every day. And I'll log it. Here.
3. Run a half-marathon. I may not make the Livestrong Half in February (I hope to, but the foot injury set me back a bit), but I will complete one this year.
4. Train for a full-marathon. I want to run the Disney marathon, usually toward the end of January. I have one year. I can do this.
5. Eat clean. I'm starting my second Whole30 tomorrow. Jake will be doing a version of it as well.
6. Find other opportunities that allow me to push my limits. In my workouts, work, and life in general. Kick the badassery up a notch!

I think that'll get me started. I'm excited to see what this new year brings. I have some work to do, but I can do this. It's going to be great!

Stir Crazy!!

No CrossFit this week. You heard me. No. CrossFit. This. Week! The box is closed for the week. No big, I figured. I'll just run every day, and work on sit ups and push ups, and maybe some burpees (you know, because I love burpees SO much...)

Started out well enough. Did the community WOD on Saturday, and then ran 6.3 miles on Sunday. Then, a couple of hours after my run I was walking around the house, took a step and OUCH! Radiating pain in my left foot. What is up with that? Tried to walk it off - made it worse. Monday came around and it was painful to walk on (as long as I was sitting it was fine). So, being that it was Christmas Eve and everyone is closed, I went to the local Urgent Care center and wasted $50 to be told it doesn't seem to be broken and rest it. Oh, and if it's no "significantly" better by Wednesday, come back or go see my primary doctor.

Today is Wednesday. Not better. Went to the doctor. Saw Dr. Nguyen - super nice guy who, it turns out, is a runner as well! Had a nice chat about running half and full marathons, and other such runner talk. Bottom line is I need new running shoes. Which, I knew, just was hoping to get a few more miles out of the ones I have. And, no running until the pain goes away. Hmph.

Doesn't help that I ate myself into a carb-loaded, full of gluten frenzy yesterday and I'm feeling all kinds of yucky today. I have come to the conclusion that I'm not one of those people who can have "cheat" days - I don't even think I can have "cheat" meals. I feel like a total slug today. Back to Paleo - STAT!!

Tomorrow - I WILL get up early and work on sit ups and push ups AND burpees. Here's hoping my foot feels well enough to do the community WOD on Saturday. I am suffering some serious withdrawals and need a fix!!

The scale is only half the story

So, just wrapped up the Eat. Live. Be. challenge at Milestone Crossfit. It was a 2 month challenge (Oct. 6-Dec. 3)  in which I completed my first Whole30 program (which actually ended up being more like a Whole40 due to a gift box full of Tiff's Treats that were totally worth it!), and added an additional CrossFit session a week (so, 3 times a week now).

It started out with a benchmark workout - the Spartan 300.

25-minute cutoff. The first go - I got through about 26 of the KB clean & jerks. 2 months later? Finished ALL 300 reps in 23:26.

We also had a body composition analysis done with hydrostatic testing by Body Fat Test. Beginning measurement had my weight at 124.7 pounds, and 22.6% body fat, which is average. From where I started, "average" is pretty darn awesome. But - the final analysis - weight was (drumroll please!) 124.9 pounds. That's right. .2 lbs. MORE. Here's the awesome part - my body fat percentage dropped to 20.6% - which is HEALTHY. I actually lost 3 pounds of fat, but I replaced it with 3 pounds of MUSCLE! That's right. I have muscle!

It doesn't end here. I'm on a roll - I feel better than I ever have. For the first time ever, I also feel like I know what to eat to fuel my body. I have more confidence because I know what I'm capable of, and that I'm capable of even more than that!

So - the moral to the story is don't listen to the scale. Use it as a gauge, sure, but it's not the whole story. My clothes fit better (actually, some are too big!), and I can see muscle definition in my abs and arms, and maybe some in my legs. And, again, I feel better. Lighter, even. So, maybe the scale is only a quarter of the story. Not even half. Hmmm...

Benchmarks

I think I love benchmark workouts. Maybe not while I'm doing said workouts, but, when I'm done, and I look back at how I did the last time I did said workout. Love.

Take the 300 challenge workout. Here it is:

There is a 25-minute cutoff on this one. 2 months ago I got to number 26 of the KB clean and jerks. Today...I finished the. whole. thing. in 23:26.

That's kind of bad ass.

Speaking of bad ass...I'm a little proud of this:

And - did both scheduled runs on my half marathon plan this week. The 3-miler will be accomplished tomorrow with the Reindeer Run 5K.

I'm on a roll!!