5:45 1:49:26 13.1

Wondering what those random numbers are? Well I’ll clear up the confusion, they are the numbers that represent my Sunday morning. So lets start from the beginning with 5:45, this is the time that my alarm went off and 1:49:26 is the time it took for me to run 13.1miles. Continue reading for a recap of the entire City of Oaks Half Marathon.

5:45AM — the alarm goes off and boy am I thankful for day light savings time. That extra hour of sleep was clutch after all my other weekend madness.

6:15 — leave Bre’s apartment. Thanks for being such an amazing race morning host…I hope I wasn’t too loud as I moved about your apartment doing my typical race morning circles.

6:30 — Meet Kathryn at the start line for one last potty stop and to line up.

6:58 — Find the 1:45 pace group.

7:00 — The gun goes off and I am already thinking damn this is a quick pace so I quickly let the pacers go ahead of me but still keeping them close.

Mile 1 — Yep! I was right, the pace group went out really quick! Time to back off a bit.

Mile 2-3 — Settle in. Feeling good.

Mile  4 — Choke down some water. Running and drinking water is just something I will never master.

Mile 6 — Hello wind tunnel!

Mile 8 — Dear Peace Street hill, we will never be friends. You won the battle but I won the war. I walked about 30seconds of you but conquered the rest feeling strong.

Mile 9-10 — Uhh hello! forgot about you hilly Raleigh neighborhoods. You are so pretty and cute but must you be so hilly!?

Mile 11 — Whhhhyyyyy?! Really this extra little out and back is such a tease.

Mile 12 — HOME STRETCH!!!! Just have to make it past the NC State library and it is all downhill from there.

Mile 13 — maybe I should start smiling….there is a camera right in front of me….I’ll give it a try!

Mile 13.1 — DONE. 1hour, 49minutes, and 26seconds. I made it under 1:50 so I was a happy camper.

What I learned from the day:

1. If you want to run with a pace group, you need to ask the pacers if they are planning on banking time.
2. Not having spectators on the course specifically for you is super strange. Definitely have an even greater appreciation for my great race day parents now. Love you mom and dad!
3. Half marathon is a super awesome distance. It is tiring but you still can be a productive member of society after it is done with.
4. Take your fuel as you planned….I didn’t take anything along this race like I had planned too and definitely regretted it at about mile 12.
5. I should really sign up for more half marathons. This distance is really great.

So there you have it, my crazy numbers are explained and you now have the entire recap of my weekend. Hope you’re having a great week so far and getting in those couch to 5k training session. I’ll be back Friday (or Saturday if I’m slacking) with week two’s training.

Have a goodnight y’all!

72 Hours of Crazy

Hello Friends! I hope your week is off to a great start and you are well into your first week of couch to 5k training.

This past weekend was exactly as the title of this post says “72 Hours of Crazy,” I was in 3 different cities, got some exciting news, saw snow, spent time with great friends, and ran a half marathon. I’d say it was a pretty great weekend even though it has left me completely exhausted and still recovering.  So lets back it up to Friday where I got the exciting news….

After waiting around all last weekend to see if I would be a finalist…I finally got an email, and you guessed it, I was a finalist! Woohoo! Now that was all fine and dandy but that still meant I had to go through the final practical portion and guess what?! I got the job… on the spot! So excited to announce that I am now a personal trainer at the Harris YMCA. I have missed being in the gym so much over the last 10-11months and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be back at it again. I am so excited because now I get to spend part of my day talking about food and weight loss at Jenny Craig and the other part of my day teaching people how to exercise at the Y. Food and exercise, two of my favorite things are now apart of my everyday life and I get paid for each of them…pretty pumped!!

After receiving the exciting news in Charlotte, I headed up the mountain to Boone. My first stop was to see my baby brother who was now off crutches for the first time in what seems like forever. So great to see him up and walking again. He seems to be doing much better and is well on his way to making a great recovery from his hip surgery this past September.

Also while I was in the mountains, I was able to see one of my fellow marathon runners, Mrs. Jean. She is quite the inspiration to me as she is always happy and smiling no matter the situation. It was great visiting with her and hearing just how positive she is as she kicks cancers booty! I cannot wait to be back out on the asphalt with her running stride for stride in the months to come.

Following my visit with Mrs. Jean, it was time for family dinner. Yep, thats right, all four of us, no extras, around one table, sharing a meal. This doesn’t happen often but it was such a treat to catch up with everyone for a couple hours. Also at this table, I convinced myself that going out with my brother for Halloween was a good idea even though I had no costume and had to be at work in Charlotte at 8AM the next morning. Yikes!

So after dinner, I was off to scramble to put together a costume. I ended up being a minion and Alex was a frat star. The night started off quiet but once we made it to the Halloween party…I realized I was quite a bit to old for a college party! haha I have passed the days of thinking binge drinking and dressing in super skimpy clothes was cool and was way over the party pretty quickly. Nonetheless, it was still nice to get to go out with my brother and meet some of his friends. While we were there though, it started to snow!! Nothing crazy at first but by morning when I was leaving for work the trees were all covered. It was so pretty even if it was super super early in the morning!!

Saturday morning started like all my Saturday mornings as of recently, at work. We had a full morning of clients before I got in my car for my second weekend adventure. This time I was headed to Raleigh. Up till this weekend, I hadn’t been back since I left at the end of June so I made every minute count.

First stop was the City of Oaks Expo. Here I picked up my race packet and met with my friend Kathryn. I coached her for this marathon so we went over all the last minute pre-marathon stuff before heading our separate ways for the evening.

From Expo I headed to one of my closest friend, Bre’s,  new “grown-up” apartment for the night. It was so great catching up with her and learning all about the ins and outs of her new, grown up, life. We talked for hours and hours until I had to get some sleep since I had to run 13.1miles in the morning.

Sunday morning started bright and early with the City of Oaks half marathon. It was a great race and I highly recommend it. Its big enough to have a great atmosphere but small enough to not be overwhelming. I will tell you all about the race in tomorrows post. After the race, I got to see my Raleigh running partner, Kimberly. I hadn’t seen her but maybe once since I was in her wedding this summer. I can certainly attest to the fact that I am missing having her as I train for my upcoming marathon. Long runs just aren’t the same without her.

After a coffee with Kimberly it was time to cheer Kathryn on to the finish of her marathon, and y’all I cannot even tell you how proud of her I am. I ran the majority of the last mile with her and I have to say she is simply amazing. She finished so strong and set a personal best by about 6minutes!!

Once all the race day festivities were over, I was able to spend a little time with a fellow fitness friend, Will. He used to come to the bootcamp class I taught every week when I was at NC State. Hard to believe that the goofball that used to sing and dance to Miley Cyrus during my class will be finished with his PhD come May.

And to finish off the weekend, Bre and I headed to Moes for a quick, reminiscent dinner. While we were both in school it seemed like that was our weekly spot so it was oh so fitting to finish my crazy weekend there with her.

And now, back to reality. My bags are finally unpacked and I am gearing up for my next adventure! Any ideas of where I should go next?

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! 

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!! 

30min at Home Workout

Happy Monday! Lets get sweaty!! Here is a 30min workout that you can complete indoors or out that requires virtually no equipment. 

Warm-up: 5min 
  • For 5min, walk/jog to get your blood flowing and heart rate slightly elevated. By the end of this you should be sweating. Be sure to gather your equipment during this time, a towel or mat and a chair or ledge. 
Main-set: 25min
Complete the following sequence of exercises continuously, rest 1min after completing all 5 exercises. Complete exercises 5x. 
  • 1min bodyweight squats
  • 1min push-ups
  • 1min plank
  • 1min lunges
  • 1min modified triceps dip
Cool Down: 5min
  • 2-3min of walking to allow your heart rate to drop slowly back to normal
  • Stretching. Hold each stretch for 10-15sec. Some muscles to focus on are: hamstrings, quads, calves, glutes, hips, shoulders, triceps, back, and abs.

Hopefully this helped get your week off to a great start! Have a great rest of your day! 
Also, be sure to check out Health On The Go if you are looking to get started with a fitness plan of your own! All plans are catered 100% to you, sent directly to your email, and are at an affordable price!