Tag Archives: Stroller Strength

health and fitness, mommyhood, random thoughts, Run Away., women

When you’re about to get REAL serious about running. 

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Well, I’ve done it. I’ve signed up for a fitness challenge and I can’t decide whether I’m so excited I could jump out of my skin, or I’m so nervous I could… um… have to run to the bathroom. Like I’ll be doing in the middle of every workout because CHILDBIRTH KILLS BLADDERS.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you about where I am right now in my fitness journey.

I’ve decided to train for a half marathon. That’s 13.1 miles, in case you’ve somehow never driven behind that annoying person who’s got a sticker on their rear windshield. (And yes, if I am able to complete a half marathon, I will forever be that annoying SUV in front of you with the very same sticker. Because DANG THAT IS FAR.)

When I decided to train, I had been running 3-4 miles 3-4 times a week, plus at least one other weight-based workout per week, and probably some yoga. That was a little less than a month ago. During this month that I’ve thought about really getting my game on and running until my legs fall off, I started back up talking to a running friend of mine, who coincidentally leads a mom’s fitness group here in town called Stroller Strength (here’s the link if you’re local!). Melissa is amazing, encouraging and inspiring, and when I realized it was challenge time (I’ve done three of these babies before) I jumped out of my skin with excitement and anticipation.

There are definitely chemicals released when you work out (Endorphins, I love you.) and I think I released them immediately when I got on board with this challenge. Here are a few things that are involved with the challenge:
1. Friends. I realized that some friends I’d made during my stints with SS in the past were still going, and I’ve already met some new gals I’m excited to get to know. It’s always more fun when you’re not alone, and accountability makes a HUGE difference when you’ve set a fitness goal you’re trying to actually achieve. Melissa also puts us on goal-based teams, so naturally I’m on a running team, and I’m psyched.
2. Food/Exercise/Water/Rest Log. This baby is DETAILED, and we check up on each other’s logs throughout the 9-week challenge. We also have clean eating weeks (cutting out all processed foods) where we cut even more crap out of our diets for a week at a time. It’s magical (and so hard).
3. Extra workouts. This is everything from regular SS class (boot-camp style weights workout), “fun run” together, yoga, Sculpt class (for toning) and running my booty off on my own time until I achieve my goals. When I’m mid-challenge, I shoot for a workout of some sort every day, even if it’s short, even if it’s not strenuous. Get moving, burn calories and build muscle. Every. Single. Day.
4. Meticulous scheduling. I don’t usually work out at the same time every day. I don’t even work out on the same days a week. But this time, I’ve got a few more things going on if I want to make it to lots of classes and get my miles in. Obviously, the farther I run, the longer it takes, so I have to plan longer and longer into my schedule the farther I am able to go. Also, one of the classes is on a morning that I work, so I have committed to making it to the other two classes a week EVERY WEEK to make the most of them. Perk: I can bring the kids to class if I need to. Best thing about SS, ever. I’m gonna have to start sleeping in my workout clothes to save time.

I already feel like I’m in a pretty good place, fitness-wise, because I eat fairly healthy most of the time, I’m already working out regularly, and I’m enjoying this healthy lifestyle instead of being miserable in it like some folks are (shout out to you guys, because it’s tough to do it when you don’t like it). But my goals are steep. They’re things I’ve never done before, and that’s scary. Here goes…

Goal (9 weeks from now): Register for and run (read: survive) a half marathon. I will be adding a little bit about upper body strength to this, because that’s a separate goal that won’t necessarily just come alongside my runner’s training.

Halfway goal (so 4.5 weeks from now): Survive ten miles. In a row. I know right. That’s WAY more than half a half marathon. (Say THAT five times fast!)

For the past couple of months, my “goals” when I go out to run are to make sure every single mile is under 10 minutes, and to make sure my first two miles are under 9:30 or so. Those are loose goals, and I don’t always keep to them. But today at our baseline weigh-ins/stat recording, my timed mile was 8:31 and my 400m “sprint” was 1:39. I already started faster than I thought I would, but I think that has to do with being on an actual track. I typically run in my neighborhood, which is hilly, so my miles aren’t as accurate. I’m going to have to adjust my perspective on timing when I’m running on a track, apparently.

In other semi-related news, today while grocery shopping at Costco, I happened upon ONE LAST FITBIT Charge 2 in my size. It was destiny. I’ve been looking at those, Garmin running watches, and the Apple Watch, and just hadn’t decided what to get until today. So now that I’ve got a tool to use, I’m going to get used to it (and get it used to me) and be obsessed with it for the next nine weeks at LEAST. You’re welcome.

SO! Now that you’ve gotten a complete update on how I’m working on my fitness (cue the song that will be in your head all day) you can say you’re keeping me accountable. Is anyone else working on their fitness? Tell me your goals! Tell me your process! I’m open to suggestions and can’t wait to hear if you’re committed to a health goal, also!

health and fitness, Run Away.

My First 10k Is COMPLETE!

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Y’all. On Saturday (yesterday), I RAN A 10K! I deserve some props, yeah?!

My sweet friend Aida (this race was her idea!) and me before the run!
My sweet friend Aida (this race was her idea!) and me before the run!

After I started training and learned what a “normal” pace was for me, I decided that my goad would be to finish the race in an hour or less. That meant I needed to keep a pace of a little less than 10 minutes per mile. I’m totally happy to say that I punched that pace and that goal in the face. I kept my pace between 8:42 (that was mile five, lots of downhills) and 9:40 (that was the first mile, aka my warm-up). My finish time (unofficial – the time that I saw on the giant clock as I crossed the finish line) was 57:11. I am SO beyond okay with that!

I had lots of friends that all killed it at the 10k, and had several more friends that killed the 5k. Let me just say, running a race with all those hills is not for the faint-hearted, no matter which race you were running. It seemed like every time I turned a corner I looked straight up another ridiculous hill. Blegh. But that made me glad that I did most of my training in my also-hilly neighborhood. Love me some Sherwood Forest!

So here’s some encouragement – I have a 10 month old baby. Because he was born in December, I didn’t even consider running until the weather warmed up a lot, so almost all of my “training” was since May, and I wouldn’t really call it actual training until August. I ran 2-4 times a week, depending on how busy I was, and when I ran (even towards the month of the race) I ran anywhere from 2.5-5.5 miles (usually with my double jogger and the kids – I didn’t run with the stroller during the race). I only ran a 10k distance once before the race. I did other workouts, like some strength training and a fair amount of yoga, but I wasn’t running nearly every day, or even working out every day. I just made up my mind that I wanted to do it, and worked in that direction till I did it. And now I love running and I’m so pumped that I was able to take part in and complete such a great, local race!

Have you run a race before? Was your experience good or bad? Has anyone else run the Ardmore RAH?!

food, health and fitness, home

Clean Eating – How I Do It

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The first time I tried clean eating, I wasn’t very creative. I also didn’t do much looking around for different options or substitutes. I just ate mostly salads, veggies, grilled chicken or steaks with no sauces, and snacked on fresh fruit and nuts. That’s fine for a while, but when you have a craving, or want something a little different, or with more depth of flavor (we are self-proclaimed foodies at our house) you need to dig a little deeper and be a little more creative to get the flavor you want without the processed ingredients.

Clean eating is, in a simple definition from Melissa (my Stroller Strength guru), a lifestyle where anything you put into your body either came from the earth, or had a mother. There are a few exceptions, and a few specific dos and don’ts, but for the most part, that’s the easy way to look at it. The biggest way (I think) that I ran into problems was with sugar (obviously) and grains… there are a lot of processed grains that you typically buy instead of buying them in their natural forms (brown rice vs processed white rice, for example, or white flour vs whole wheat flour). Therefore, pasta and bread are pretty much out, too, unless you make your own. One accidental perk of eating clean is that it can easily become gluten free, so if you’re on the gluten free diet, it’s helpful for that also.

Anyway, since I’ve cleaned up my eating in general, and done several week or two-week bouts of completely clean eating, I’ve become a little more creative and done a lot more looking for yummy recipes or snack ideas. This weekend, during my “nearly perfect day” I did some digging (read: Googling) to find a new recipe, and made a recent favorite, and now we have breakfast (or snacks? or both?) made for the week.

That’s the other key to clean eating; it takes a little more planning. I find myself needing to visit the grocery store a little more, but because I’m buying produce and meat instead of pre-made items, I don’t spend quite as much. EK loves helping bake or cook, so I get her in on the fun too, and she’s learning how to be healthy without me even forcing it on her!

I want to share a few websites that I have used for recipes or meal ideas. BUT also know that I love southern-style, more savory cooking too! For example, The Pioneer Woman is my absolute favorite website for recipes, but obviously those are for flavor and not health, necessarily!

The Gracious Pantry – All clean eating recipes, tricks and tips for keeping it up. Home of the No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies of my clean eating dreams.

Hungry Healthy Girl – Healthy recipes, lots of them clean! (This is where I got the Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins from, and both my kids LOVED them! FYI don’t try to eat them hot… the stuck and fell apart. Patience is everything!)

Mama Natural – Where I found the clean Pumpkin Spice Latte. This website is in general a little crunchier than I am, but I like it all the same!

Against All Grain – This is more Paleo (and gluten-free) but it’s still awesome!

Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body – Home of the delicious Banana Bread that EK and Hubby love so dearly. Not all recipes are clean or even healthy, but there are some great dairy-free, vegan, and healthy recipes here.

Hope that these are good resources for you if you’re on a healthy journey! Do you have any websites that I should add to my list? Leave them in the comments!

health and fitness, mommyhood

Run. Go on, do it!

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(This post is a continuation of Run Away.)

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Two and a half years ago, I couldn’t run a mile. I had had EK four months prior, and wasn’t in shape at all. At the beginning of that Stroller Strength Challenge, I could do almost no push ups, only a few sit ups, and walked most of my mile. At the end, I ran the mile (yay!) and almost tripled my number of sit ups and push ups. Yes, I worked my butt off. I worked out in some way almost every single day, I cleaned up my eating BIG time (including two bursts of completely clean eating) and got Hubby on board with my eating/working out habits. (Side note: He has always been healthier than me, an athlete, and a guy who likes working out. When I say I got him on board, it mostly meant we did it together.) What made it even easier and more fun was my tribe of Stroller Strength gals. To know you’re encouraged by women in the same boat as you makes it so much better!

Obviously, there is a season for everything. That was a time for me to find my “ground zero” where I felt like I was super healthy. I wasn’t looking to achieve a certain number (size, weight or otherwise). I was looking to feel great, and to start being able to set a healthy example for my family. I feel like I reached that goal.

That being said, I’ve got a new goal. I’ve discovered that I love running. I know… late in the game, you might say. However, it’s a stress release, it’s a fun time with other people if you find good running partners, it’s a great way to get outside, and it’s fun for me to run to the nearest playground, let my kids play for a while, and run home! Everybody gets what they want, right? My goal for this challenge is to complete a 10k that I’m running in October (The Ardmore RAH – check it out!) and I am struggling in this hot weather to get there. I’ve been running between two and three miles at a time for the past month. I feel like I’m stuck in a rut… maybe it’s a “three mile hump” thing and once you get over three miles, the rest comes easier? Probably not, but I’m trying. With my kids schedules, it’s difficult for me to get them up, fed, and in the stroller before it’s hot as hell outside. Therefore, I’m so hot by the time I’ve done mile two that I can’t think about anything but AC and a bathroom break. Mile three is simply getting home from wherever I am at mile two.

I’m at least thankful that my kids love it. They love our stroller (BOB Revolution Duallie), they love being outside, and I always pack snacks and sippies to get us through the trip. Often, we can run to someone’s house to say hi, or to the playground, or even run to a farther location- like the grocery store – and let Hubby come pick us up (yes, it’s happened more than once). And every once in a while, when I go on a run without the stroller full of heavy kids, I feel such immense freedom and lightheartedness (light-everything-ness) that I think I could run that 10k right then.

Let’s just say I’ll be excited for a weather change – and not only because of my running… but because it’s my favorite time of year. Scarves and boots and running without crying, here I come!

health and fitness, mommyhood, Run Away.

Run Away.

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Friends, this might be a long one. I’m going to tell you all about my fitness journey for the past couple of years. I’ll give you cliff notes today, and details in several posts coming up.

I haven’t really ever been someone who works out. I ran cross country in middle school, I played volleyball in high school, and I played beer pong and flip cup in college. (Can I get witness? Roommates? Hubby?) My journey to living a little more healthily started when I got pregnant with EK. It became a priority to me mostly because someone else relied on my healthy choices. If I ate healthy, so did the little peanut in my belly. I ate pretty healthily, did prenatal yoga (and LOVED it – Judi at the Yoga Gallery is my favorite) and took lots of walks – especially the last 11 days… past my due date. After she was born, I still tried to eat fairly healthy, but then I started thinking about getting my body back.

A friend of mine found this awesome group of ladies that worked out together, called Stroller Strength(find them on MeetUp.com in Winston-Salem and Jacksonville). You bring your kids and some toys and snacks, and the leader/trainer works your butt off for an hour. I loved this option because I had gone back to work, and I didn’t want to leave my daughter for another hour to go to the gym. I wanted to maximize my time with her. So naturally, I took to this group quickly and easily.

Twice a year, the group does a “challenge”, where we set goals, take measurements and starter statistics, and keep logs for an 8 week period. Right after I started attending was when the first challenge happened. I busted my butt for 8 weeks – ran, worked out even outside of class, did clean eating, and won the challenge! It was madness, and I have not been so proud of myself many times in my life. I have now had another kid, and done another challenge, and signed up for my third one, which started this past Monday. This challenge is all running-based. I’m running a 10k in late October, and I am terrified. But that’s what pushes you, right?

So anyway, I’m on an 8-week mission of running a lot, eating REALLY CLEAN (a la The Gracious Pantry) and doing some lifting to compliment my running. You will be updated!

Anyone else on a mission?