Fitness: January 12- 18

Sunday have always been one of my favorite days of the week. It's the last chance to rest and get ready for the work week ahead. This Sunday is extra great with the Panthers playing today and the Golden Globes tonight! I absolutely adore Amy Polehler and Tina Fey. I can't wait to see their antics this year!

So, this week marks the second week of my marathon training! As I mentioned last week, this is not my first go at marathon training so I am very familiar with  long mid-week runs followed by extra-long weekend runs. The main difference is that I am determined to make it to race day this training!

About 6 weeks out from my marathon, I began getting severe cramps in my left knee when I went on long runs. It started around mile 8 and would not subside.  I remember limping to my car after my run was over thinking it was just overuse and my legs being tired. Unfortunately, the pain never went away and come Monday morning I was still noticeably limping to work. By mid-week the pain would subside but would come back with a vengeance the next long run.  After going to the doctor and getting a MRI on my knee they declared nothing was wrong with me.  I backed off my mileage and tried to continue running. After a few painful runs later I went to a sports physical therapist.  He told me that it was not my knee that was injured but my IT band was so tight it was pulling at my knee cap causing the pain.  I went weekly for almost a month but missed several important training runs and was still in a severe amount of pain come race day. Eventually, I was able to heal with strengthening exercises and a lot of foam rolling.

I am being extra cautious this time around to help prevent unnecessary injury. I have already built my mileage up quite before going into marathon training. I also stretch daily and am trying to foam roll at least twice a week. I have also been continuing to do strengthening exercises for my ankles and legs. Bring it on Rock in Raleigh!

Weekly Workouts

Sunday: Rest

Monday: 4 miles & Lower Body

Tuesday:  3 miles & Upper Body

Wednesday:  Body Attack

Thursday: 5 miles

Friday: HIIT & Total Body

Saturday: 8 miles

Any tips for go round?

Five on Friday

It's Friday y'all and thankfully we made it to the end of the work week! Friday also means my favorite post of the week. Five on Friday! So here we go.

One. I finally broke down and purchased a new pair of  workout leggings. I am so glad I did just in time for the "polar vortex". I picked up a pair of Wonder Under pants at Southpoint last weekend and have been wearing them almost daily since then (I promise, not to work!). My previous pair of Luluemon pants were destroyed by my cute puppy when he decided to make them into his new chew toy. 

Two. There were some amazing deals at the Lilly Pulitzer sale was this week. I am beyond thrilled to have gotten a dress and a top in one of my favorite prints. 

Three. I stumbled across this article on the myths of how the brain works and how they have no place in a classroom. Unfortunately, so many teachers  have fallen for these myths. Students are not solely aright-brained or left-brained learner or just a visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner. Each student has the ability to learn through numerous ways.  Ultimately, education practices should be "based on policies, initiatives and interventions that have been tried, tested and shown to work has the prospect of offering our children the best possible start to their lives."  Yay, research! 

Four. Today I start Advocare's 24 Day challenge. I have learned the hard way that you can't out train a bad diet. In my journey to get my diet on track I am going to challenge myself to 24 days of clean eating and no cheats. Do I think these pills are a quick fix to my weight loss? No way. What I do hope is that they will supplement the work I am putting in through diet and exercise. I also found an awesome meal plan to go with it here. 

Five. This Bible verse sums up my desires for 2014. It is going to be a great year and I can't wait to see where His path takes us! 

Hope y'all have a great Friday!!

Workout Wednesday: Tone It Up

A big part of my plan to drop a few pounds as part of  my New Year’s Resolution is my diet. I get many of my workouts from Tone It Up and will be following their nutrition plan. Honestly, this past year I did not follow the nutrition plan at all and I know it is part of the reason for my weight gain.

Today I want to share with you a peek into what my daily diet looks like right now. This is not something I will eat long-term, I love sweets too much! But I am hoping it will help jump-start my weight loss. I am following this starting today and then for 7 days.

First thing in the morning when I get up I have a glass of warm water with lemon. This has been shown to help cleanse the stomach of all the leftover residue that may be hanging in there. I try and space my meals 2-3 hours apart. That being said if I am not hungry then I will not eat. If I get hungry after 1.5 hours then I will eat. I am just trying to learn to listen to my body. Also, I try and eat my last snack at least 2 hours before I go to bed.

Breakfast- Protein Waffle or Egg White Muffins
Snack- Piece of Fruit, Grapefruit has been shown to have fat burning powers!
Lunch- Salad w/ grilled chicken drizzled with balsamic vinegar or Lettuce wrap with chicken, tomatoes and mustard
Snack- Green juice or Smoothie 
Dinner- Grilled chicken or tilapia paired with veggies (Roasted broccoli is my favorite)
After Dinner Treat- Frozen berries or an apple

As always, I'm sharing a summary of my weekly workouts.  I am going to start posting these on Sundays since that makes the most sense so I am not posting workouts I have already finished! This week marks the first week of training for a marathon! Having previously trained for a marathon last spring I know exactly what I am getting into and am scared and excited at the same time. More marathon thoughts and what happened on my training last year on Sunday! 

Weekly Workouts

Monday- Legs & 4 mile run

Tuesday- HIIT Cardio & 3 mile run

Wednesday- Spin Class

Thursday- Arms & 5 mile run

Friday- HIIT Cardio & Abs

Saturday- Total body workout & 6 mile run

Sunday- Rest

What do y'all do when you trying to lose a few pounds?