Weekly Wrap - May 13

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

Week 1 of the Tone It Up Bikini Series is now in the rear-view mirror! It was a big success. I stuck to my meal plan. I got in all my workouts including 3 runs. I dropped 3 lbs on the scale. Definitely a good week and a great start! I can't wait to see what the next 7 weeks bring.

I'm switching up my Weekly Wrap format a bit throughout the #TIUBikiniSeries challenge. I want to break down my week day-by-day, probably more for my records than anything else. I'm including what I did for my workouts each day plus what I ate. I'm also waiting to post until after dinner, so I can more completely record my Sunday. :)

Monday

I didn't sleep well Sunday night. I was too excited for the Bikini Series to start! I woke up several times throughout the night thinking It must be time to wake up! only to find out it had only been 1.5 hours or so.

Despite the sleepless night, I had a great Day 1!

Workout
2 rounds of 15: Biceps Curls | Shoulder Pulses | Reverse Flys | Pushups | Plank Up Downs
Cardio Arms with Tori - Yeah, I got no dance skills. 🙊
TIU Flex Friday - Arms were really burning after this!! 💪

I also went for a midday walk during lunch.

Eats
M1: Morning Mocha Smoothie | M2: Apple with cinnamon | M3: Kale Salad | M4: Strawberry Shortcake Mini Muffins | M5: Thai Veggie Stir Fry

Tuesday

I slept so much better after a successful Day 1!

Workouts
2-mile run | 10:33 min/mi pace | Perfect weather, but I still took it slow and easy.
2 rounds of: 15 squat+press | 15 curl+reverse lunge | 15 bikini walkouts+tummy toner | 20 squat jacks | 15 bicycles

It was such a beautiful morning that I took my daily moves out to the patio after my run. I really want to/should do that more often!

Eats
M1: Morning Mocha Smoothie | M2: Clif bar | M3: Kale Salad | M4: Strawberry Shortcake Mini Muffins | M5: Thai Veggie Stir Fry leftovers

The 5 W's of Foam Rolling: Everything You Need to Know

I'm linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales & Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0.

Happy National Foam Rolling Day!! Every year May 11th is dedicated to the wonderful world of foam rolling, so I thought I'd answer the 5 W's - who, what, when, where, and why - of foam rolling.

7 Goals to make this year's #TIUBikiniSeries the BEST EVER

I just finished Day 2 of the Tone It Up Bikini Series! This is gonna be MY YEAR!!

Last weekend was spent really preparing for it, because I really want to see some amazing results at the end of the 8 weeks. Since I want this to be the best Bikini Series, I went to bed Sunday night with #allthefeels. So much excitement and nerves. Like when you know something super fun is happening the next day. Tell me you know what I'm talking about!

As a result, I didn't sleep very well Sunday night.

It didn't matter because Day 1 was a smashing success! And I slept much better Monday night. I rocked Day 2 as well. I'm pretty confident I'm gonna rock all 8 weeks. 😆

Weekly Wrap - May 6

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

Whew! I just spent about 4 hours meal prepping for the week. I sure hope it pays off because that's a LOT of time on my feet in the kitchen. I'm very excited to get started on the TIU Bikini Series tomorrow and am very hopeful that I'll see some really positive results over the next 8 weeks.

Workouts

I took it a little easy this week since the Bikini Series is starting next week. I focused mostly on getting in my 3 runs and doing yoga to prepare my body and mind for the upcoming challenge.

5 Things I'm Super Excited about this May

Oh. My. Goodness. May is already off to the craziest start! I mean cah-ray-zy! I hope things calm down because I've got goals for May!

It's the first weekend of the month, which means it's time for COFFEE! Well, every day is a good day for coffee, but let's take a few minutes to catch up during the Ultimate Coffee Date! Ok, coffee isn't required. Perhaps you enjoy tea, milk, soda, water. Or maybe something a little stronger. 😜

Other than crushing my goals, here are a few things I'm looking forward to this month.

Will May be the best month of 2018 (so far)?

I'm afraid I blinked and April was OVER. How do some months seem to go by so quickly?! Wasn't I just writing down my April goals? Work was busy. Life was busy. Blogging was busy. I guess that all makes time speed up a bit. Here's hoping that May moves at a normal pace, so I can savor the springtime.

Goal-wise, I'd say my month overall was so-so. I had some great wins - including my longest run of the year (3 miles), consistent yoga, and 10 new blog posts. But some of my goals were barely checked off and others were barely missed. I'm not disappointed. I'd definitely say it was better than March.

Weekly Wrap - Apr 29

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

Hello from sunny 🌞 Las Vegas! It's been gorgeous this past week. Well, maybe too hot for some with near record highs! Workout-wise, this was a pretty slow week, but work was crazy busy! And there was a little fun thrown in as well.

Workouts

I was still experiencing quite a bit of pain in my ankle most of the week, so working out wasn't a high priority. I still managed to make it out of the office for a few walk breaks, which was nice, but I pretty much dropped out of my challenges this month. But I'm OK with that. It's better to be healthy and uninjured than to stick it out with a fitness challenge. 😏

5 Easy Ways to Say No to Plastic

This post contains affiliate links. I'm linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup.

Earth Day was this past Sunday and the theme this year was End Plastic Pollution.

Plastic pollution is a huge deal! Did you know there are now multiple plastic islands floating around out there? It's sad and gross all at once. :(

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of Texas. That is HUGE, my friends.

I try to be conscientious about the amount of plastic I consume, but I can definitely do better. There are lots of ways to reduce the amount of plastic you consume and one of those ways is to purchase reusable products instead of throw-away products.

9 Running Drills to Make you a Better, Stronger Runner

Transitioning to forefoot running takes time because you often have to reteach your muscles how to function while out on a run. Running drills focused on forefoot running can aid in the transition because they force your muscles to repeat these functions in various ways to build strength and muscle memory.

I've found a few running drills to begin incorporating into warm-ups before starting my runs. They focus a lot on getting used to how it should feel to have a forefoot strike as well as focusing on balance.

Good balance is key to successful forefoot running because all the action takes place in front of your body. Good balance will keep you upright, stable, and less likely to face plant. 😜

Some of the videos below demonstrating these drills are duplicates, but I've embedded each video to begin playing at the time of the particular drill I've just described.

Weekly Wrap - Apr 22

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

Happy Earth Day! I hope the weather was nice for you and that you were able to get outside today. It was a gorgeous day here, so I made a point to take my Sallie girl for a walk. She's pretty tuckered out now, but I'm glad I made the time. I even raised a little money using Charity Miles for The Nature Conservatory, since it's Earth Day.

Workouts

My workouts were sub-par this week. As you will see, I took 2 complete rest days and did 0 runs. I try to run Tue/Thu/Sat (or Sun) but Tue got away from me. I was going to run on Wed instead but my ankle has been bothering me. It probably would have been fine on the run because the pain is mostly only when I step on my heel in certain ways. It's worse when walking in place. Anyway, I talked myself out of running this week and decided to give my ankle a little rest instead.

Throwback to the 90s with Over 100 Songs

Today, I'm linking up with Kim, Janelle, and Steph for Tunes Tuesday. The theme this month is Throwback Jams (70s, 80s, 90s). Perfect for a trip down memory lane to my high school and college days.

Remember making mixed tapes for your friends? Finding the perfect songs and combining them into a fun mix? I had a few friends that were so good at making them! Me? Not so much. I always had so much trouble choosing the songs. And getting them to flow and fit onto a cassette? Not so much. LOL

Weekly Wrap - Apr 15

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

I'm so happy to report that I finally filed our taxes. Yesterday. Finished that up with a few days to spare and it feels so good. LOL I never got around to them last weekend, so I'm glad I made the time this weekend, cuz time was no longer on my side. 😂

Workouts

I didn't feel super on Wed and especially not on Thurs. 😒 I ended up needing a rest day on Thursday, and I don't feel too bad about it. Sometimes, that's just life and you gotta be OK with it and move on.

Best Hair Hacks for Your Active Lifestyle

Working out is important to you, but sometimes it's hard to squeeze it all in, am I right?!

I tend to try to get my workouts done in the morning before the day gets too crazy, but this limits my time as I need to leave enough time to get ready for work.

Maybe you squeeze in a workout during lunch and need to get back to the office.

Maybe you workout after work but still need to be presentable for dinner, errands, or meeting friends.

Whenever you choose to workout, does your hair get in the way?

Weekly Wrap - Apr 8

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

I'm happy to report that April is off to a great start! I'm on track with all of my goals, the weather has been perfection. Life is good!

Workouts

I'm pretty proud of my workouts last week. I got in 3 runs. I haven't missed a day of Rachels' challenge. I only missed one day of my Quick Hit challenge. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and attended Silent Savasana.

Let's Catch Up at the Ultimate Coffee Date!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend. I don't really have too much to say today, so this should be a quick coffee date!

If we were having coffee today, I would tell you how excited I am for April. I've got some solid goals that I really feel will go well this month. At least they've gone pretty good this first week. 😎

March, You Are Finished! April, Come She Will

We're a full quarter into 2018! March didn't actually seem to fly by - even though it was filled with a couple of weekends of visitors and some fun fitness challenges. I wouldn't say it dragged on, but I also wouldn't say that it flew by.

March didn't exactly go as planned. Lots of my goals went un-achieved, or under-achieved. I'm not going to let it get me down, at least not too far down. 😜 Instead, I'm going to reflect on my March goals and where/why I came up short and use that come up with some new goals for April.

Weekly Wrap - Apr 1

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

It was nice to have NOTHING to do this weekend! I spent it the doing some neglected chores around the apartment and *gasp* got some meal prep done today! Standing in the kitchen for so long today, I'm definitely going to sleep well tonight. :-)

Workouts

I had a couple days during the week that were pretty minimal but overall I'd say it was a pretty decent week workout-wise.

Do you know what time it is?

Time for some Runfessions!

Happy to be linking up with Marcia once again for a little runfessing.

I runfess that...  while my forefoot running transition is going well it is still a bit scary for me. Last week, I shared my full 2018 transition plan and seeing it all laid out is both calming and terrifying. It's definitely feeling more natural but I'll really start ramping things up in April and the doubts are starting to set in. Am I ready? Can I maintain form for longer than 1-2 miles?

Weekly Wrap - Mar 25

Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by their blogs to see what everyone else was up to last week.

Two fun-filled weekends in a row and I'm super late to the Weekly Wrap party again! Totally worth it to spend a few days with my sister and niece, though. As I was going to bed last Wednesday night, I saw a FB Story pop up from my sister that she was on her way to Las Vegas for Spring Break. What?! Despite having no warning and not being prepared for a weekend of shenanigans, it was a blast!

Workouts

Before I tell you about all that, let's talk about my workouts last week. Consistency definitely wasn't the name of the game, but I kind of made up for it over the weekend!

Announcing my Plan to Make me a Better Runner

If you've stopped by at all this year, you probably know that my BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) for 2018 is to transition to forefoot running.

In order to accomplish any BHAG, it's important to have a plan. I know we're pretty much at the end of March {how did that happen?} already but I'm finally ready to share my 2018 Forefoot Running Transition Plan.

2018 Forefoot Running Transition Plan

I started the year very slowly but will start increasing mileage over the next couple of months. It's important to me to also include specific drills and exercises for forefoot running, so I'm excited to start incorporating those as well.