I'm back! + Updates

Hi everyone! (If anyone is still here, haha) I totally fell off the face of the Earth with blogging, but I'm back :) I started writing out a summary of the past few months, until I realized that not much has changed! Last semester was mentally exhausting, but I came out with a 3.0 GPA. I took the summer off and worked a lot, and I'm going back for my last full year this fall. I'm also in the process of moving! Commuting was really hard on me last semester, so I found a great apartment close to my school :) I'm leaving for Nebraska tomorrow to go to my best friend's wedding, so when I come back I'll be all moved in a ready to go! I also took the past few months off of running while I was dealing with IT band problems. I used that time to really focus on weight lifting, and I think it really helped me. I started half marathon training 2 weeks ago, and while my pace isn't what I want it to be, my body's feeling a lot stronger. I'm taking this training cycle really slowly (the race isn't until December) and taking the time to stretch/foam roll more and make sure that I make it to the half injury free. I don't want to crash and burn like last time haha.

Back to Basics

I've made it a goal to get back into running, but it's been a little defeating to see that my endurance is 12% of what it used to be. I found myself jumping back into 3 milers expecting them to be easy, but after 2 miles I'm beat. After thinking about it, I remembered that when I was seriously into running back in 2013, all I did were 1 mile runs 3-4 times a week, and after a couple of months it turned into running 5 miles without stopping.

Keeping that in mind, I set out after work on Friday with just a short run in mind. I just did a short 1.2 mile jog, and even though I was only out for about 15 minutes, it still felt SO good to be back outside and running. I think taking it easy and building my base back up will help me to actually enjoy running again instead of feeling like it's a chore :)

Saturday was my first day off of work/school in awhile, so I had a great workout planned, but my body/mind were totally exhausted so it was a much needed rest day. Instead of working out, I spent time with my family, watched Twilight, and went out for a froyo date with the boy :)

Toasted marshmallow, chocolate, strawberries, candy bits, and hot fudge is what dreams are made of ;)

How do you come back to running after taking awhile off? 
I could use some more tips ;)

What's your favorite froyo combination?!

Back from MIA!

Hi everyone!! I've been totally MIA due to school, but I wanted to let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth ;)

I haven't been running very much lately, but I have been staying active! Now that I'm back at university, I've been walking 2-3 miles per day (I go Monday-Thursday) on campus and lifting a lot of weights/hitting spin classes.

As you can see, my biceps are enormous ;) I might not have visible muscle mass yet, but I've noticed a huge difference in how strong I feel doing daily activities and when I do go for a run.

My course load is pretty high this semester, and since I'm commuting I'm spending around 3 hours in the car per day. I'm going to try to blog at least 3 times a week, and run at least as much :) As much as I love running, weight lifting has been more my thing lately, so I'll just ride it out until I get sick of it ;)

I hope you guys have been doing well!

Resolution Run Take 2!

Today I woke up feeling much better, so I decided to try my 5k again!

I fueled up with a soy green tea latte and a bagel, then headed out the door a couple of hours later.

It definitely wasn't a PR run by any means, but I was happy to complete it :)

My goal for 2015 is to get my 5k down to sub-35! If not more, because my ultimate goal is sub-30 :)

I thought about hitting the gym to lift weights after, but instead I spent the afternoon watching Divergent with my mom, reading Harry Potter, and cuddling on the couch with this guy.

I'm still sore from lifting weights yesterday, so the rest was probably a good thing, and it was nice to just relax and hang out with my family :) Tomorrow I've got a double workout on the schedule though!

What was your first workout of 2015?

Saying goodbye to 2014

It's official, I now have my first DNS.

This definitely isn't the way that I wanted to round out 2014, but with my intense monthly gift and GI problems, a 5k just wasn't in the books for today (sorry for the tmi haha).

Instead of being hard on myself, I'm going to crush a 5k tomorrow and reflect back on this past year :)

2014 definitely wasn't my best year for fitness, but it was the year that I finally found a balance :)

Throughout the first half of the year, I was running quite a bit, even though I didn't sign up for any races except for a zombie run with my mom.

Over the summer, I ran/worked out with my friend multiple times a week, except we did it for fun and did whatever workout we felt like doing that day, without the pressure of sticking to a schedule :)

When fall came around, I was suddenly so busy with school 5 days a week and 30+ hours of work! Fitness was soon on the back burner for me, but honestly I think that was one of the best things that happened to me. Instead of pressuring myself to maintain a perfect workout schedule, I really listened to my body and dialed it back, working out when I wanted to instead of feeling like I had to. I did lose a bit of fitness during this time, but it was such a great mental break, and I was able to hop back into strength training this past month feeling refreshed :)

In 2015, I definitely want to focus on getting stronger and running more. I may not be running 4 days a week like I was at one point, but my goal is to find a balance to keep my body AND mind happy :) 

What are some highlights for your 2014?

Do you set New Years Resolutions? If you do then what are yours? :)

Christmas things

Merry belated Christmas to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing day :)

Christmas at my house this year was pretty lowkey since most of us were sick, so I'll just give you the highlights ;)

Our family friends from NC (pictured above with my mom on the left) always come to stay with us on Christmas Eve since they used to live up here and all of their family lives nearby. Once all the kiddos were upstairs we played Cards Against Humanity, which is super fun :) It's pretty awkward to play with parents though, so be forewarned haha.

French toast and hashbrown casseroles. AKA my favorite meal ever. My mom makes this every year on Christmas morning (and only then), so family comes over and we all do a huge breakfast after opening gifts :)

As the afternoon went on, I started feeling sick too, so Bryan came over and spent the evening in bed with me while watching Friends. Good thing I got seasons 4-6 to keep us entertained ;) (He thinks my obsession with the show is ridiculous haha).

I'm feeling a little better today, so if the crowds aren't too bad I might venture out and do some shopping with my mom later :)

What's your favorite Christmas tradition?

What's your favorite thing you got this year?
I got this really cute running shell! It's just a bit too tight to wear on top of winter clothes so I'm going to see if I can swap it out for a bigger size :)

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

(Even though it'll officially be Christmas Eve here by the time this is published...shhh)

Yesterday was filled with work, but I did day 1 of Jamie Eason's Livefit program! I've been looking for a good lifting split for awhile, and I really like the way hers is laid out. I'm planning on following the schedule for the most part, but I prefer free weights to machines, so I think I'm going to just loosely follow the actual exercises and sub them for ones I prefer. I'm also planning on adding running to it at least a few days a week :)

It was a chest/triceps day, and I just used a set of 5lb and 8lb dumbbells and my body weight, and holy wow. By the time I finished I didn't think I'd be able to move my arms! It was intense and worked every ounce of those muscles. Even today they were super sore.

I always forget that we have a Salsaritas 2 doors down from my work, so of course I had to stop there for dinner ;) I had a bowl with brown rice, black beans, veggies, and salsa verde that really hit the spot!

Today I did day 2 of Livefit, which was back/biceps! After that I hopped on the treadmill to do a quick 15 minute run, but I was completely drained after 10 minutes. We've had my nephews/niece in the house all weekend (and we're keeping 2 until Christmas) and they're all sick, so I feel like I'm fighting it off. Thankfully I don't feel actually sick, just tired and it took forever for my heart rate to come back down after that short run, so in the mean time I'll be popping Airborne like candy :)

After the gym I hit Wegmans, and I was super happy to see that they sell Quest bars now! I tried the Double Chocolate Chunk one and it was so good :)

I had the rest of the day off work, so after spending some time with my grandparents I met up with my friend to finish up Christmas shopping!

To fuel up I had a "blendicano" from Starbucks! It's just shots of espresso, flavoring and I added cream to mine, blended with ice. I like Frappuccinos, but sometimes they're just too sweet, so this really satisfied my craving and gave me the perfect boost of energy! I also kept the #treatyoself train going and got myself Panera. No regrets.

Now that I finally finished my Christmas shopping, tomorrow will be filled with lots of last minute baking/wrapping!

Are you baking anything for Christmas?

Does anyone have fun plans for the holidays?!