Nanci

BattleFrog is coming to Florida!

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Nanci

So you want to step outside of your comfort zone this year and do something a little different. You want to see how tough you are. You want to do an obstacle course designed by Navy Seals. Well, now is your chance.

You have choices. The BattleFrog 15K with 25+ obstacles. Or The BullFrog 5K with 15 obstacles. There’s also the TadPole, designed for younger racers, a 1K with 10 obstacles. Earn a cool medal and t-shirt. Run it solo or form a team. Whatever way you do it, you will test your limits!

You will climb, crawl, and jump. There’s even a paintball gallery. And of course, there is mud.

If you’re in Florida, they are coming to Orlando March 14 and 15th. Stay tuned for a discount code and a giveaway!

To find out where and where BattleFrog will be near you, visit BattleFrog today!

Celebrate Small Victories

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Nanci

Time to be honest. Time to ‘fess up. You’ve not seen any Weight Watchers posts from me in while and maybe you’re wondering what is happening? Well, nothing is happening. In the midst of marathon training, which took over my life for training and the race, and then the holidays, I stopped going. I missed a couple meetings because it became more important to not get up early on Saturday’s since I was up so early on Sunday mornings to run. Maybe I could have gone to a different meeting, but in my mind, if I couldn’t go to my beloved meeting, I wasn’t going to go.

My eating became all about fueling my body for marathon training. I ate to keep up the energy I needed to run all the miles. I grew tired of certain foods that were a staple for me, such a bananas and peanut butter. And amongst all of this, I quit tracking.

Back in September, I stopped going to meetings and cancelled my membership. If I wasn’t following the plan, I didn’t want to pay for it. I was focused on marathon training. When I got past the marathon, it really took several weeks for my body to get over the fact that I was no longer seriously training and did not need all the food.

Then the holidays came. Always a busy time of year, we had a lot going on between work, parties, family get-togethers, and taking time off.

Are these all excuses? Maybe. But, I did what I had to do at that time. But now, I am working towards getting back on track. To finding my way back to healthier eating and less indulging. I know I gained weight during marathon training – it is an evil twist in a plan to run 26.2 miles. It seems like you would lose weight, but you don’t. I gave myself a pass because I could only focus on one HUGE goal at once.

I have not been on a scale since my last Weight Watchers meeting. I have no idea what my weight is. This scares me a little bit because I can feel that I’ve put on weight, but I also feel incredibly strong.

In an effort to get back on track, I’ve been making small changes the last couple of weeks. Getting back to habits that have always been important – and successful – in my weight loss. As part of this, I am taking time on Saturdays or Sundays to celebrate small victories from my week. These are from the last two weeks:

I start off my week with several small goals in mind. I really had to nix the Starbucks habit that took over the holidays (although it was a delicious habit) and I’m really trying to get back to taking snacks and lunch, even when I feel too busy to do so. Meal planning is very helpful in this. All of these will become a habit over time again.

Will I go back to Weight Watchers? For now, the answer is no. I love Weight Watchers and I will always credit it for teaching me how to live healthy and make lifestyle changes for weight loss success without depriving myself of foods that I love. I might one day. There are so many things I love about it. But, right now it’s not an expense I cannot justify. I know the plan inside and out, I need to make it work on my own.

I will continue to work on making small changes that will eventually add up to big results. In addition to focusing on balance this year, I am also working on all things in moderation. Eat healthy, workout, enjoy indulgences from time to time, and take care of myself. I can also help hubby with this as he starts a weight loss challenge of his own. Taking care of myself will carry over to taking care of us.

At some point, I will get on a scale. But for now, I am focusing on how I feel rather than what the scale says.

Would you like to join me? Share your small victories on Instagram and use the hashtag #celebratesmallvictories – comment on this post and leave me your Instagram name so I can follow you if I’m not already.

I can run!

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Nanci

After a painful run back on January 4th, I took two weeks off from running. Taking a forced break from running is hard. It’s one thing to not run one day because you don’t feel like it, but to not run because you know you need to give your body a chance to heal is so frustrating. And the whole time I’m not running, I’m thinking crazy thoughts such as these….

What if I forget how to run? (stupid… who “forgets” how to run?)

What if I don’t like running when I can do it again? (again, stupid…. I’ve liked it for 3 years, is it really going to change in 2 weeks time?)

What if I run really slow again, slower than I ever did before? (this one is more likely, but still kind of silly)

So yesterday, after 2 long weeks, I laced up my running shoes and decided to run for a mile just to see how it felt. My knee has been feeling really good so I was very optimistic. I also went back to my marathon shoes, not the new ones I think were causing the knee pain. And guess what?! NO KNEE PAIN!!!! And look at that pace!

I was so happy, as you can tell by the smile on my face. I wanted to run farther than a mile, but I also didn’t want to push it. But, I know now that I can get back out there. My goal is to keep to shorter runs for a bit and build the mileage back up so I don’t do too much too soon and hurt my knee again. I have several races coming up, so I need to be in good shape to enjoy them!

What crazy thoughts do you have when you’re down with an injury?

Get your ‘ish together!

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Nanci

2015 is in full swing now, before we know it January will be over and we will be welcoming in February. If you started the year with goals, hopefully you are staying focused on them and working towards them. They say that most people give up on New Year’s resolutions on January 10. I don’t like the word “resolutions” for this very reason – to me it’s just something you say you’re going to do and then you don’t. I like the word “goals” much better. It’s something to work towards.

goals: the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.

If you need a little help keeping focused on your goals, whether it’s fitness or nutrition related, I’d love for you to take part in a 5-day challenge group we are putting together.

We will focus on:

Water intake
Healthy food options
Fitness – including a couple of workout videos!

There will also be point system and a prize at the end!

Join us for accountability and for support over 5 days. You never know, you might learn something new to help you reach your goals. The group will start on Monday, January 26th.

If you are interested in joining us, leave a comment on this post.

Running with knee pain is not fun and other obvious statements.

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Nanci

For the first time in my three plus years running, I think I have an actual running injury. I know this makes me very lucky, that this is my first one. I’ve had the normal aches and pains, taken a few days off here and there, but I am considering this one an actual injury. And it sucks.

All joking aside, I made it through marathon training without any injuries only to find myself with an injury this side of it. After the marathon, I took 2 weeks off from running. It was a well-deserved and heavenly break for my sore and exhausted body. Then I signed up for two races in one weekend, feeling super optimistic about getting back out there.

I ran a 5K one night and then the next morning, I ran a virtual half marathon. That’s when my knee pain started, in my right knee, near the end of those 13.1 miles. I rested it for a few days, took some ibuprofen, and hoped it would go away. It did and I was able to finish out the last of my miles for 2014 to reach my 700 mile goal.

Last weekend, I ran another virtual half marathon and this time it was my left knee. By about mile 8, it HURT. Like on fire, hurt. I ran easy, I wasn’t trying to break any records. My wonderful friends Corinna and Angelina who were running it with me kept me going and suggested walk breaks as I needed them. I admit, I was stubborn (as ALL runners are!) and ran more of it than I should. I was determined to finish those 13.1 miles off running. And I did. But, I then limped my way to Starbucks.

I rested it the rest of the day – ibuprofen, ice, elevation, and an epsom sat bath. The pain has definitely decreased, but it is still painful. Especially in the morning when I first wake up. Who knows how I’m sleeping – either it’s stretched out for too long, or I’m bending my knee for too long during the night.

So, here I am with this amazingly cool weather in my part of the world, dying to get out there and run, and my knee hurts. But I don’t want to hurt it more. So, I’m admitting for all the world to know that I have a running injury. Did I mention that it sucks?

I am going to give it a few more days of rest. The pain this morning and yesterday is definitely less than it has been all week, so that’s good. But I feel like it should be gone now.

The culprit? I’m almost positive it’s my shoes. It’s too coincidental that it started just as I went into a new pair of shoes. When I do hit the pavement again, I’m going to switch back to my trusty marathon shoes and see if I can get a few more miles out of them before I bite the bullet and buy a new pair. Why do running shoes have to be SO expensive?

All I know is, I want to be out there running and I have upcoming races to enjoy. I am not out to break any records this year (except for the goal of a sub-30 5K which is my year long goal) but I want to run and not be in pain.