Accountability Tuesday: 6/19/18

Good morning, my beloved long-lost blog readers!

My apologies for the hiatus from blogging but I have an awesome reason...


WE 

BOUGHT 

A 

HOUSE!!!!

Matthew and I have been knee-deep in the house-searching and then home-buying process for the last two-ish months and it's been an absolute whirlwind of a summer so far!

Not only was finding a home stressful (homes sell in a matter of hours in our area), but once we found "our" home, the process of making an offer, getting approved by the bank, getting the home inspection, etc. was time-consuming and worrisome! There are a ton of moving parts to the process and it's probably the most expensive purchase we'll ever make so, yeah, kinda stressful! 😅

We absolutely love our new home and are excited to be homeowners! And I'm very excited to explore the area and find new running routes as my training picks up for fall races (so far, Harrisburg Half and probably WDW Marathon).

But, running/training has absolutely taken a back seat to the house stuff. All our time has been taken up with packing and cleaning and moving leaving little time or energy to run. I know I'll get back to my regular routine soon, but in the meantime, my weight has been creeping back up with the lack of regular physical activity.

Can you tell where I went on vacation?! ;-)

After a few weeks of travel in May, I gained about six pounds which was to be expected. Before vacation, I'd actually been doing quite well and my weight was on a downward trend, getting back to a number where I felt comfortable and fit.

But if you've been reading for a while you know that for me, "vacation + stress (from home buying) = weight gain." At this point in my weight loss/weight maintenance journey, I know this is normal. Life happens. My weight fluctuates from month to month, year to year, and it probably always will.

Still, I'm not super happy about my weight or my lack of training lately. But here's what I know for sure: I'll never stop trying. So, it's back to regular weekly weigh-ins, a training plan, and more consistent blogging here. Writing about running and weight loss is one of the ways I hold myself accountable and I'm usually much more consistent with both when I'm writing and posting regularly. Plus the blog turns FIVE YEARS OLD next month so I've got to plan something awesome to celebrate!

Ok, that's about it for this week's very unconventional Accountability Tuesday post! See y'all next week and as always, THANK YOU for reading!

2016: Goals, Resolutions, and BALANCE

Hello and Happy 2016!

As you might have guessed from the title of this post, this is my annual "new year's resolution" post. Actually, now that I think about it, I've never put my resolutions out into the universe before (in writing!) so I guess you could say this is the FIRST annual resolution post!

Anyway, I want to start by making a key distinction: I have resolutions and I have goals. While they are similar and connected, they are not the same. From the dictionary:

Resolution: A firm decision to do or not to do something.

Goal: Something you are trying to do or achieve.

So while my resolution might be: Become a stronger runner; my goal might be: Lift weights at least 5 times a month. See the difference?

I've thought a long time about what I want to get out of this year. I'm not a huge goal-setter. When it comes down to it, I think I fear that if I make goals and don't achieve them then somehow I've failed and I'm worthless. This happened for years and years and was one of the biggest obstacles I faced in losing weight.

But I don't want to come into this new year with no resolutions or goals. There are things I'd like to accomplish- both personally and professionally, both with running and overall fitness. When I have set a goal in the past (i.e. Dopey Challenge 2014), I know how incredibly rewarding it can be to actually achieve it. So with that, here's what I'd like to do, find, complete, experience and HOW I'm going to do, find, complete, and experience it in 2016!

Be a stronger runner.
- Lift weights at least once a week.
- Incorporate at least one "sprinting" interval run into my training each week.
- Sign up for a yoga class and attend.

Be a faster runner. 
- Find a training plan that will help me achieve a sub-30 minute 5k.
- Target a few races in the spring and/or fall to try and PR (currently 31:28).
- Schedule training runs with people that are faster than me.

Blog more frequently and consistently.
- Carve out time each week to blog.
- Start race recaps the week or the week after the race.
- Spend time writing about things that make me excited to write about them.

Maintain my weight between 140- 145.
- Continue attending WW meetings each week as a member.
- Track each and every day each and every thing I eat.
- Reach out for help from my support system when I need it.

Find work-life balance.
- Develop "no work email" boundaries (when home, with friends, etc.)
- Invest in hobbies outside of work and working out.
- Focus on efficiency at work so there aren't loose ends to work through at home or on the weekends.

Be less connected AND more connected.
- Establish social media "no zones"- both times and places.
- Be present with people when I am with them- no mindless phone scrolling.
- Turn off push notifications on my phone from social media.

Start "forever" with the most handsome dude in the world.
- Get married in May! :-)


In addition to these resolutions and goals, I want to center my 2016 around one word: BALANCE. In all things that I am spending energy on, I want to make sure that I keep balance in mind. I tend to get a little obsessive over things I'm excited about- and that slight obsession can keep me from getting other things finished or keep me from experiencing all parts of my life equally. If I let one part of my life (running, WW, work, blogging) become my entire life, then the other parts can suffer. For example, when all I do for my running is well, running, then I tend to suffer injuries. When I am balanced and incorporate other activities into my training, the results are so much better. This is true for all of my resolutions and goals listed above- 2016 is the year I will seek balance in all areas of my life.

What are you seeking in 2016? How will your goals help you get there?

Mid-Week Check-In and Countdown to Philly!

Hi friends!

Happy hump day!

In just two days, Matthew and I are headed east to run the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Back in 2012, this was the second half marathon I'd ever ran and my first non-Disney distance race. I love this flat and fast course- the first few miles are in historic downtown Philadelphia and then the course follows the Schuylkill River along Kelly Drive and back to finish in front of the art museum- and the Rocky Steps! I can't wait to run this one again this weekend :-)

Running Philly RnR in 2012. Thanks to Matthew for the action shot!

Also, last week, Matthew and I got our engagement photos back and I am in love with this one of our whole little family-

Matthew, Me, and our very spoiled pup.

Ok, because I wasn't able to publish an "Accountability Monday" post earlier this week, here's an abridged version of my last week.

Training:
Wednesday- Stability Ball Workout
Saturday- 3.28 miles on the trail, 11:08 pace + Runner's World Core Workout
Tuesday- 3.1 miles, 10:51 pace.

Ummmm, yup. The slacker bus has arrived in the station and I'm driving! I really don't have any excuse- work has been insanely busy and I haven't made working out a priority. But, I'm looking forward to following along with the official run Disney training plan, put together by Jeff Galloway. Look for a post specifically detailing my training plan for this race.

Food Find:
Instead of a food find, here's a recipe I created for an awesome no-bean chili. I cook a pot of this probably once a week and then portion it out for lunches. The beautiful thing about chili is that you can really do tons of different stuff with it (add a can of pumpkin, or jalapenos, or beans) and each time it's still pretty delicious!

What you'll need:

A crock pot
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey (cook on the stove top and drain off the grease)
2 green peppers, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion, diced
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 bag of shredded carrots
2 squash, chopped (I prefer yellow)
1-2 packs of chili seasoning (I prefer McCormick Mild Reduced Sodium)

After cooking the turkey, put it in the crock pot with all the chopped veggies, canned tomatoes, and chili seasoning and cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. That's it!

I like to add a dollop of fat-free greek yogurt and some shredded cheese on top for an extra little bit of flavor.

Weight:
147.0 as of 10/27/2015
+.4 from last week

Non-Scale Victory:
Ok, so this is actually a scale-related victory but it's a really good one: for the last year (52 whole weeks), my weight has remained under 150 pounds!

Never in my life have I maintained my weight for an entire year! I've always done the roller coaster thing- lose a bunch of weight, gain it back, lose it again, etc. The fact that I've kept my weight within a 5-7 pound range over the last year is simply unbelievable to me. I am so proud of my progress and how far I've come on this journey of being healthier. Now, if I could just get my training back on track... :-)

That's it for last week! Hope you have a fantastic week and weekend!


Who will be in Philadelphia this weekend? Anyone running RnR?