My Kinda Relaxing

I’m glad you all liked the guest post from earlier!  I was so excited to connect you all  with a friend from the blogging community!  I am endlessly impressed, inspired, and excited by all of you bloggers out there.

Just FYI, if anyone else is interested in doing some guest blogging for each other, you just let me know Chocolatemedals@gmail.com 🙂

As is the case with every Thursday, I got home late this evening ready to get into sweats,  eat dinner, watch hockey/football (GO BLUES), and relax.

Apparently Gus had the same ideas.

 

We did have to take a little time away from relaxing to prepare for our 3 day weekend. . . .but I’m pretty much an expert packer so before I knew it my stuff was packed and I was in pure relax mode for the evening.

Chicken and roasted veggies on the menu for dinner tonight

With an amazing sweet ending.

 

I’ve got a VERY early wake up call in the morning.  So I am going to leave you all with that.

See you in the AM 🙂

Question of the Night:  Do you pack early or right before you leave?

Guest Post: Nicole and Crossfit

Now that I’m not training, I’ve explained to you all that I am all about trying new workouts and switching things up.   One of the things I have been really enjoying have been traveling Work Out Of the Days, or WODs.  This term comes from Crossfit, which is a very popular work out and strength training program right now.  I’m sure you’ve heard of it 🙂

Well, when my friend Nicole at Not the Fat Kid In Gym Class Anymore offered to write a guest post about HER experiences with Crossfit, I JUMPED at the opportunity.  You all know my first love is running, but it’s always good to learn and try new things!

 

Interested in trying Crossfit?  Consider this…

In my experience, the word Crossfit has three reactions.

One, someone does it, knows all about it, and when you mention it they explode in your face about AMRAP’s, burpees, their Fran time and Paleo.

Two, someone has heard about it but doesn’t know much except that only really TRULY crazy people do it.

Or three, you’ve never heard of it and google search it, and end up terrified of rhabdo and Pukey the Clown, and just generally believe everyone in group 1 is a nut job.

Sound about right?  Well, I have some super excellent news that I’m certain might just change your life.  If you’re not in group 1 you should know, Crossfit is probably not what you think, not at all what you would expect, and everything you should give a chance.

Believe it or not, I’m firmly a group 1-er.

No need to back away slowly and not make eye contact, I get that not everyone is ready to start guzzling the kool-aid with me on day one.  But whether you’re simply curious in learning more about Crossfit, or are actually considering giving it a shot, I want to help scoot you in the right direction.

You can do your own research on Crossfit, the sport of fitness, but here’s my two cents about this fitness craze that’s really catching on.

I started CF just over a year ago.  I was nearly 200 lbs, a size 14/16 and hadn’t done a single physically active thing in well over a year.  I didn’t have a particularly athletic background, and frankly was the “fat kid in gym class” for most of my life.

I walked into the box (that’s what Crossfit calls their fitness facilities) that day without any real expectations, except that I might cry or die, and left with a life changing experience.

I was met by a team of friendly coaches, even friendlier participants, and a workout that even in my obese and inactive state, was able to be scaled so that I could complete it with everyone else.

That is the beauty that is Crossfit.

If you pop by my blog now you will find a lot of the lingo, weights that might look intimidating, and workouts that might seem out of your reach.  A year later I’ve come a long way, and every step of the way my coaches have worked with me to get there.  If I can do it, learn this much, grow this much, and heck shrink this much, so can you!

Give it a try, and be sure to report back to us how you did, what you thought, and how we can help you!

 

Question of the Afternoon:  Anyone ever tried Crossfit or been tempted to?  What do you like about it?

Switching Up Runs and the Scale

Good Morning and Happy Thursday everyone 🙂

Zach and I enjoyed our favorite evening last night, pizza night with a good vanilla lager.

We may do pizza a little too much in our house…but I guess I am OK about that.

This Morning

Have I mentioned how much I love sleeping in?  Maybe once or twice?

Yesterday morning I slept in and postponed my work out because my body needed it.  On Thursdays, we start work late so I was able to just sleep in an extra hour and a half and still fit in a quick and sweaty work out before the morning even started.

Workout of the Day: 4 miles on the treadmill: Easy pace

Because I am wanting to save my legs for 5 or 6 days in a row of running (3 days down), I am trying to switch up my runs.  Outdoor, speed, easy, etc so I am working different muscles.

Let’s just say I was thankful for an easy run and the decision to take an ice bath last night.  Yup!

That leads me to 53.5 miles towards my goal of Pile on the Miles 2013!  I know I’ve gotta keep a good pace up to meet my goal of 100 by the end of November, but I am confident and I WILL keep pushing hard 🙂

Scale Problem

Zach and I don’t own a scale.  99 days out of 100, this is a good thing.  But this morning I woke up feeling like I had honestly gained 10 lbs…yes this happens.  In stead of beating myself up, I ran, figuring I would feel better after.  Welp, I didn’t.  When I was showering and getting ready, my stomach still felt super weighed down and heavy.

While I try to NOT rely on the scale…I DID decide to hop on the scale we have here to work to see if my weight had actually fluctuated at all.  I have no idea if the scale is accurate, but it’s the only one I use and I can at least judge consistency.

Welp, shockingly enough (sarcasm) I hadn’t gained 10 lbs, and actually was right where I always am.   Just seeing that helped me to feel better.  In stead of saying “oh I’m fine…moving on” I decided that my body was still telling me something, and reached for a big glass of water and am making an effort to drink more water today.

While the scale may have helped me to feel better, I am still choosing to NOT let it dictate what my body is telling me overall and trying to still be forward thinking in feeling better.  H20 will be my friend today.

And that my friends, is my long story of the morning :).   I have a guest post planned for this afternoon, so stay tuned! 🙂

Question of the Morning:  Do you have a reliance on the scale?  Does your weight fluctuate a lot?

 

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