Month: October 2014

Couch to 5K Series: 2

So glad y’all are back! I hope you are excited to get week one of training kicked off. We are going to keep the training really simple the entire 5 weeks. You will have 5 days of exercise and two days of rest each week. This week your total time commitment to the program is between 70 and 80minutes. I know even the busiest of people can spare less than 2hrs from their week. So lets get started….

Step 1: Sit up
Step 2: Put on running shoes
Step 3: Get off the couch
Step 4: Walk out the door

….You’ve done the hardest part!!! Sounds silly but I promise you, this is always the hardest part for even the most veteran of runners.

So who is going to jump on board for the next 5 weeks with me?? Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions you may have along the way! 
Advertisement

Couch to 5K Series: 1

Hello Friends! Are you enjoying these beautiful Fall days?! I sure hope so! I know I am enjoying being able to get some fresh air after work. With these beautiful Fall days, I have been getting a lot of questions from friends and clients about Winter 5Ks. You know the Reindeer Romp, Jiggle Bell Jog, Etc. Etc. that you see advertised all over town? So that being said, I am putting together a series on running your first ever 5K and what better time than right before the holidays?! We can all afford a little extra exercise before the season of pies, cookies, egg nog, and hearty family meals. I hope you will join in on this fun and VERY DO-ABLE 5 week series.


Warm – Up Couple Days:

Find those running shoes! If yours are super old or you don’t have any at all, check out your local running store. They will fit you for the correct shoe thus helping you avoid injury. A couple of my favorite places for running shoes are: Fleet Feet Sports, Try Sports, Inside Out Sports, and Omega Sports.

Pick your race and mark your calendar. If you’re following along exactly with me and just so happen to live in the Charlotte area, I will be gearing this training plan towards the Run Run Rudolph and the Jingle Bell Run they are both held on December 6th, 2014. A great site for finding races is Running in the USA. Click on your state then select the 5K distance.

Start walking, over the next couple days just do what you can. Real training will start on Monday, November 3rd.

Check back Friday for your first week of training! 

** Consult your physician before starting any exercise program. **

Trick or Treat!

With Halloween just around the corner, candy is starting to float around the office, through the classroom, and soon to make its way to your home. Here are 10 of the “healthiest” choices when you give way to that little splurge during this spooky and oh so sugary season.


Bazooka Bubble gum — 20 calories per piece, no trans fat, and 5grams of sugar.
 Smarties — 25 calories per fun size roll, no trans fat, and 6grams of sugar.
 Chocolate Kiss — 26 calories per kiss, no trans fat, and 2.3grams of sugar.
Twizzler — 28 calories per twizzler, no trans fat, and 5.3grams of sugar.
Jelly Belly — 40 calories per 10 beans, no trans fat, and 7.7grams of sugar.
Gold Nugget — 45 calories per nugget, no trans fat, and 4grams of sugar.
Life Savers Hard Candy — 45 calories per 4 pieces, no trans fat, and 9grams of sugar.
Gummy Bears — 50 calories per fun size pack, no trans fat, and 7.3 grams of sugar.
Mike and Ike — 50 calories per fun size pack, no trans fat, and 9 grams of sugar.
Crunch — 60 calories per fun size bar, no trans fat, and 7 grams of sugar.


Happy early Halloween Y’all!! 

Rainy Day Workout

Rain rain go away I wanted to run today…
Well it doesn’t look like Mother Nature is going to cooperate this evening so its on to plan B for me which is a 30min (ish) workout using only a mat, medicine ball, and a chair. It is a circuit style workout that is only 6 rounds. Give it a try if you too are stuck inside on this rainy day! 
I’m off to get sweaty! Let me know if you decide to give it a try!! 
Happy Friday Y’all!!

Marathon Training Plan

For those of you that know me pretty well, you know I am a planner. My calendar goes everywhere with me and I have everything that day will hold, including all of my training, written in on every day. Well, this time around as I train for my next marathon, things have been a little different. As I mentioned in my life update post yesterday, I am really just settling into this whole being a working woman thing and needless to say, my training has reflected that. Although my calendar is still plenty full it comes with a bit more flexibility this time around. To avoid getting discouraged as I know I am not going to get a run in everyday (like I would like to plan for), I have created a schedule that has a few less miles but still plenty of activity. A typical week looks something like this….

  • Monday — nothing, maybe walk the dog and foam roll a bit. I typically work an 10-12hr day on Monday so getting in anything of quality, forget about it!! 
  • Tuesday — short 3-5mi run. Topping out at about 45min. This allows me to get moving a bit after work but doesn’t take a crazy amount of time. 
  • Wednesday — strength and cycle. Usually by Wednesday I’m pretty tired so doing an hour worth of activity where I am constantly mixing things up helps get me through it. 
  • Thursday — another short 3-5mi run. Typically I have to push myself pretty hard to get through this one as Friday is one of my off days so I really just want to chill and take things easy once I get off work. Who else likes to workout on their “Friday” evening?!
  • Friday — 4-6mi run. I add intervals or something into this run to act as my speed work for the week. 
  • Saturday — ya never know haha ….I told you I was being a bit more flexible this time around. I work a half day on Saturday so it totally depends on my plans for after work. I like to try and get in a good long run after work but the reality is that doesn’t always happen. This year I haven’t decided what my longest run will be yet. I’d imagine it will be somewhere in the range of 18-22mi. but….we will just have to wait and see what happens. 
  • Sunday — if I didn’t end up doing my long run Saturday it gets put in here…. again, here I go with that whole flexibility in my training thing. If I did get it in Saturday then today is a day of rest. 

So in a typical week, Monday – Friday I am doing somewhere in the range of 10 to 16miles and on the weekend an additional 13 to 22miles. This is a dramatic cut back from the 6-7days a week I would like to plan on running but it will have to do for this time time around. I’ll be sure to keep you updated as I continue forward with this training plan and into race day.

Happy Thursday! 🙂

Lets Play Catch-Up!!

Hello Friends!

How are you?! Have you missed me?! I know I have been gone for quite a little while and I know I have certainly miss you all! To get things kicked off after my long hiatus from the blogger world lets do a quick re-cap of the last couple months….

Dad’s retirement party and the day I accepted
my big girl job 🙂

June started out with Raleigh Half Ironman. You can read more about it here. Then later that month I celebrated my 23rd birthday and quit my job….yep thats right, I quit my job in Raleigh and start packing up my life.

July started out with a move to the Queen City where I knew no one and had no job but fortunately for me I have a great family who happily opened their doors to me. And almost as fortunate I found a job only 3 short weeks after moving home. I accepted my first “big girl” job working as a Jenny Craig Consultant. The hours and pay aren’t great but the relationships with coworkers and clients have been more than worth it. I have also learned a ton already and I know I will only continue to grow and learn.

All smiles after passing
the ACE Health Coaching exam

August I really got in the swing of things with the new job and unfortunately that took quite the toll on my training…no one ever mentioned how tired you’d you be at the end of a full work day!!  I decided to defer my registration for Beach to Battleship 70.3 to the 2015 season when I hopefully have a little bit more structure to my schedule.

September was full of studying and I am happy to announce it all paid off…. I am now an ACE Certified Health Coach!! In addition to the studying, I have jumped back on the training wagon and started picking up my milage as I continue to train for Thunder Road Marathon in November…I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot more about that over the next 6weeks as I get ready for the grueling 26.2miles.

So now you’re all caught up with me and I look forward to sharing more with you in the weeks to come! 
Happy Hump Day Y’all!!