1..2..3....UPDATE.

Ah, I'm doing a bad job at balancing these days. So many crazy, fun, hectic days have filled my October to the brim.

My 2x a week Body Pump class has been missing from my routine for the past couple of weeks....cycling has been MIA too....and I just feel off.

I miss my routine: Body Pump...RPM (cycling)...running...intervals.

It's my fault that it's been lackluster these past couple of weeks. I've been pretty blah.

Just writing this makes me excited to change this ASAP.

However, I have been running!

Justin and I are contemplating training for a marathon in February, so we're going along with the training plan and if in a month we still want to do it...then it's for real!

Kind of exciting!

I'm only hesitant because I love variety. I felt a little burnt out after training for my last half marathon, so I can only imagine I'll feel like that again. I know I love running, and I love the challenge of it even more. I'm thinking the excitement to run 26.2 miles will make up for any boredom in training.

Also, some crazy, BIG, sad, but still happy news for the week is that my baby sister moved to St. John!!



I'm so excited for her, and proud of her courage to move outside of her comfort zone. I would like to think I could do the same, but I don't handle change well and would probably be too scared to go by myself.

Julia and I were originally born in St. John, VI, so it comforts me to know that she still has old friends whom she can get in touch with now that she's down there.

Justin and I recently vacationed there and had the time of our lives! This is what initially sparked Julia's decision to move back.


Best of luck, Lil Jules! I miss you already!!!!! Can't wait to hear about all your exciting adventures!!

In cooking news...

I've been trying lots of new recipes lately!

For Julia's going-away dinner, I made veganized baked mac and cheese by Clean Eating Chelsey.


(I'm borrowing Chelsey's picture since I didn't take any.)

Who would think mac & cheese would be good without real cheese? Surprisingly, it was soooooo yummy! I knew it had to be since it looked so good ;) Plus it gave me an excuse to go to Whole Foods!

Last week, I was randomly CRAVING chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. I've been eying a low fat recipe by Gina's Skinny Recipes for a while now and finally decided to give into my temptations.


These were perfectly chewy. I brought them to the office, and they were a hit!

And the final new concoction I made was a tuna salad with a healthy twist!

Anne from fANNEtastic foods was talking about how to make recipes healthier by substituting yogurt for ingredients like mayo or ingredients commonly found in baked goods.

I decided a tuna salad would be perfect especially since I'm not a fan of mayo at all. I found a recipe on AllRecipes that caught my eye. The two ingredients that really stood out to me were the curry and Parmesan cheese.


Um...this turned out to be quite the flavorful tuna salad. I doubled the recipe so I had enough for three lunches this week...woohoo!

I altered the recipe a little bit based on the reviews. I substituted plain Greek yogurt for mayo and used less parsley and sweet pickle relish than the recipe called for originally.

Question

What have you been up to? Ever tried using Greek yogurt as a substitute in recipes? Anybody else love variety in their workout routine or prefer one thing like running??

Run.

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The above explains me perfectly.

The fat day was yesterday, the dysfunctional family is always, and frustrations are gone once the run is over.

I run to be the best version of myself.

However, I don't wake up every morning excited to hit the gym, nor do I come home from work all energized and ready to pound out some miles.

Nope, this week I've been in much need of some workout motivation, and turned to Pinterest to help me out. Enjoy!

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Alrighty, now it's time to get off your butt and get moving!

Happy Fall!

I almost want to cry at how fast time is flying by.

My eyes may or may not water when I think about this because I'm 23 years old, and I feel like I have so much I want to do and not enough time! I'm loving every second of the moment and want to hold onto it as much as possible yet I'm highly anticipating all the great things to come.

Maybe this month I will focus more on being present in the moment as opposed to going with the flow.

I guess this would be a good way to segway into my...

October goals!

1) Write, think or say what I'm thankful for at the end of every day.
Hopefully this will help me reflect on the day and try to be more "present" instead of letting the days slip by into one blur.

2) Eat more veggies.
I eat lots of fruit, too much peanut butter, and not enough greens. For some reason this seems hard to me. I love veggies! But I really I'm just lazy when it comes to them. Next week I'm planning on making a big pot of ratatouille to eat for lunch throughout the week so that should help!

3) Up the weight.
I've been consistently going to BodyPump twice a week for about a month now and plan to start adding more weight in order to continuously challenge my muscles. Change creates change, right? ;) I started this today by adding more weight to the back muscles segment. It felt great! I don't know how I'm going to go up in biceps or chest...maybe I'll wait until November :)

4) Just run.
Fall is the perfect time of year to take advantage of running! It's this weather that makes me fall in love with running. Since my half marathon, I've been running about 3 days a week (in addition to cycling), which includes one long run on the weekends. This is perfect for now. I want to maintain this if not add a fourth run into the mix.

5) Find a place to volunteer.
I've been meaning to do this for a while, and was reminded of it since my friend Elisabeth is making moves to volunteer in her area. I think I want to find an organization that works with young girls or women. I have some ideas and will keep you posted on where I end up!

Workout Update

I'm really, really loving my routine. For someone whose only gone to the gym occasionally, not consistently, I'm beginning to feel like I live there.

I'm especially drawn to it because of the Les Mills classes. These classes are located at gyms all over the country and have become very popular. The classes are structured by music tracks and energetic instructors. I guess this is why I love them so much. Whether it's cycle or BodyPump, you're moving your body to the beat of the music and pushing yourself to your limit.

My weekly routine looks a little like this:

Monday: BodyPump
Tuesday: 30 minute intervals on elliptical (or 4 mile run)
Wednesday: RPM (cycling)
Thursday: AM: BodyPump PM: Abs Sculpt + 30 minute cardio intervals
Friday: RPM
Saturday: long run
Sunday: rest

My muscles are so sore by the end of the week. I'm trying to stretch as much as possible because it really does help!

Question

What are your October goals?? Do you like the gym or do you prefer to do at-home workouts/outside exercise?

I much prefer exercising outdoors, but I love to have a variety of both!

Weekend Inspiration

Feeling like you could use some motivation?

Or maybe just have some downtime this weekend?

You MUST watch the 2008 Ironman World Championship.

I cried. I cheered. I loved it.




2.4 mile swim. 112 mile bike. Plus a marathon (26.2 miles).

I'm beyond inspired by these athletes. I would want to be them, but I think I'll settle with my shorter endurance events for now :)

I lied, I still want to be them.

This film truly inspires me to be the best I can be. I love how far you can push the human bodies' limits.

I do think back on this film from time to time during a tough workout just to remind myself that others are doing the same thing for a variety of their own goals and reasons.

Simply put - I'm highly infatuated with the idea of being my best even if it's not the best out of everyone.

Also, I must say thank you to The Hungry Runner Girl for sharing this video first!

Once I finished this movie, Hulu already had another movie lined up - Spirit of the Marathon.


(Source)

I've heard a few other runners mention this documentary with mixed reviews. I definitely loved it and it does make me want to run a marathon, but it wasn't as moving as the Ironman film.

I still recommend watching it if you're a runner or want to know why people want to run a distance that the first person died doing after he finished it :)

Good thing I watched those last weekend because this weekend's relaxing motivation is coming from a new book that I can't wait to crack open...


I've heard such great things about The Long Run and finally made the purchase!

Now me and my sweet boy...


Bandit are going to cuddle up on the couch, read a book, and get inspired!

Question

Any recommendations on some more documentaries or books that have inspired you??? What's your source of motivation?