Because it was a looooong day

I decided last night that, rather than run in the morning, I would run after work before circuit training. Every once in awhile I just need a change of pace (pun intended), and running up and down Lake Austin Blvd. provides that.

I spent most of the day in meetings, and my last one ran late, and before I knew it it was 5 p.m. Too late to run before circuit. Hmmm...maybe too late for circuit? Uh....no. Plenty of time to get to the gym (across the street), change clothes and just do it. So glad I did! Great work out, as usual. And FUN. It's a fun group. Need proof? Check out our Harlem Shake video:



See? Fun!

I figured I would just rush home after and go for a short run then. Of course I did NOT figure on the temperature dropping about 15 or so degrees in the 40 minutes it took me to get home. The run ended up being about 1/2 a mile. I did do my 75 squats today, too. Mission (mostly) accomplished!

Because it's Monday

...and Monday's are dumb. I'm not a fan. Especially when a weekend flies by like this one did.

But, I got up at 4:30 a.m., got dressed and went to Milestone Crossfit for my 5 a.m. class. And I'm sooo glad I did! We did a CrossFit Total benchmark WOD. Here it is:

I did a 105 lb back squat, a 55 lb STRICT (as in, no bounce, just lift it straight up) press and then set up for the deadlift. My max is 115 lb. I told my partner that I would love to just be able to deadlift my body weight. Well, I did, and about 25 lbs more! 155 lbs, baby! I tried 175, but it wouldn't budge. Tried 165, too, it budged a little.

Talk about making Monday a little less dumb! That's the way to start a week!

Tack on 65 squats for Day 2 of the challenge and that's how it's done!

Because I have a cold

I do. I have a cold. I'm a sniffling, sneezing, scratchy throat mess. :(

It's hard to run when you can't breathe, so that didn't happen, but I decided to start a 30-day squat challenge today, so today's workout was 55 squats.

Jake also tried to take a pic, but couldn't quite coordinate the 'click' with the squat.

Have I mentioned that my dog loves stealing Jake's blankets? Jake had a sleepover at a friend's last night and left his sleeping bag on the couch when he got home. Sparks decided to make it his bed, as you can see above. 

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!