Give Up the Excuses...

We all make excuses. We have millions of them. There are excuses for why we cannot do the things that we need to do and reasons why we don't achieve the goals we set out.

I am not going to lie to you, I still have excuses. They pop up and I try to see them for what they are...roadblocks! Seriously, you work hard and so do I. After a long nine hour day, who wants to head to the gym and punish their body further? That is where the excuses come in, like....I am tired. I am sore. I am frustrated. The list goes on and on. But the truth is, we all fall victim to them from time to time. So, how do you avoid them?

Well, honestly, I have had a million reasons not to make my workouts the past couple of weeks. I have been exhausted and frustrated and just didn't feel like doing anything. At the end of the day, I chose not to listen to those voices that were telling me to just go home and get some rest. I chose to do what I knew I needed to do. I missed one workout this week because my body gave up on me not because I didn't try to get it in. I was sleep deprived from being at the ER all night with my husband and exhausted from trying to make everyone happy. So, I missed one workout this week but it was not because of any excuses. I chose to listen to my body and allow myself some recovery and sleep to recharge the body.

And there are a million and one reasons for me not to eat the foods I should be eating. This week was particularly stressful with the hubby ending up in the ER and me having to stress over all of that. I had a lot to do but I also was craving comfort foods. I was desperate to eat something that I knew I shouldn't. Instead of giving into that craving, I resisted it. I ate the foods I knew I needed to and avoided the temptation. It was not easy at all. But the truth is, I am committed to doing what I need to do in order to reach my goals. I refuse to allow excuses to be the roadblocks to my success. I am committed to the work that it takes to get where I want to be. And that is why I will be successful . I will not give in to those excuses that threaten to keep me from my goals.

So, what excuses are you allowing to keep you from your goals? Do you really want to be successful? How will you combat those negative thoughts and push through to get to your goals?

Remember no one said this was going to be easy...but it is definitely worth it.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

Okay...I won't lie. I LOVE the A-Team. And I love the quote in my title from Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith :)

Things are going really well with my new plan. I have been focusing this past week on getting everything right. I know it's not going to be perfect but I am trying to stick as closely as I can to the new plan. Each day brings new challenges since I am not 100% familiar with everything yet.

I was out of town this weekend visiting with a friend's family. The mom is a dear friend and she is in the hospital and I wanted to make sure Dad had some home-cooked meals. So, I took some of my recipes from Marc Lobliner up there to cook. They were a hit. The chicken parmesan recipe was hands down the absolute best chicken parm I have EVER had. It was extremely healthy and delicious!!! And my friends loved it too!!

And the exciting part is that I am seeing progress. Only one week in and I am down 5 pounds. I didn't even get all my workout sessions in this week. Since I was out of town, I did not make my exercise plans but my diet was spot on with the exception of my free meal (and that was spot on too!) So, this was a successful week!!

Anyways, I had an amazing leg workout yesterday and a fantastic chest and triceps workout tonight!! I am looking forward to some abs and cardio tomorrow!!

Things are moving along and I am really enjoying being back on plan and getting back to business!

What A Difference A Week Makes...

Last week, I was attempting a low-carb food plan for awhile. I was tired and not really feeling great about the idea of eating low carb for a very long time. My workouts were going well but I was still unsure about the direction of my food.

Enter the Machine, Marc Lobliner, and I have a brand new food plan and a new workout plan. I have a whole new supplement plan as well. It's crazy how things changed so quickly. I just filled out all the information he needed on Friday and very early Saturday morning I had a complete plan customized just for me and my goals. This is so amazing! I was so excited I ordered all my new supplements right away. I decided that even though I did not have everything I needed, I was going to do my best to start following the plan on Sunday.

So, I did. I got up that morning and started following my new food plan. It was not easy and Sunday was not perfect because it was new to me but I made my best effort. Monday was better and today was pretty darn close to perfection. So, each day it gets easier and more fluid.

And I am eating things I have never eaten before...brussel sprouts. Who would've thought that I would love these things because I have always hated them in the past!!! But I made Marc & Katie Lobliner's roasted brussel sprouts and they were delicious!!! I am also eating a ton of eggs and egg whites. It is unusual for me because I am not overly fond of eggs. I still don't love them but at least I am getting used to eating them. It's not so bad when I mix in some other stuff to make it better. And I eat a ton of spinach, tons of it. I kinda love that too. Crazy, huh? And it is pretty amazing that some of the foods I am eating eliminated some of the supplements that I was taking....it's so cool!!

Other weird changes for me is meal prep. I am prepping food for my entire day the night before. It used to be I would come home and go to bed after a little while or I would wake up early enough to head in to work on time. Now, I am staying up late and preparing my food for the next day which means no eating out or missing meals. It is insane. The last two nights on my way home from the gym I had to stop at the grocery store and pick up food to make my meals for the next day. It is not quite like me but I kinda love it. I love knowing that my food is available and ready for me when I get up and that my entire day is planned out foodwise. It means no thinking and no worrying about what I will eat. It also means I try very hard to stick to a schedule for eating on time.

Today, I got to meet the man behind my new meal and workout plan. Marc Lobliner is completely and totally amazing! He is smart, funny and outspoken. I enjoyed visiting with him today and getting the opportunity to know him a bit better. And I look forward to achieving results with him because I know this plan is going to get me to my goals and I simply cannot wait!!! I feel so blessed that he has given me such a gift and I will be working my butt off (literally) to get those results!!

Yesterday I did my high intensity cardio and I am not sure I have ever sweated so much. It was insanely crazy but awesome! Tonight, Tripp helped me go through my first leg workout written by Marc. It was so intense and I am not 100% certain I will be able to get out of bed tomorrow. And I LOVE it :) Tomorrow morning I will be heading to the gym early to get my workout in before work.

Here's a pic of me with Marc in my store today:

Anyways, I will keep you all posted!

Time to Go to WORK!!

Lately I have been struggling with my schedule and with my diet and well, to be quite honest with some complacency. Having become fed up with the struggles, I decided to get rid of them and get back to work. I have taken too long off from working towards my goals and I am ready to get back in the game and get to my goals. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions and I am not planning on listing out all my goals here either. What I will say is that I am back and better than ever. I am committed and in the game and doing the work.

This week I have had two freakin' AMAZING workouts. I am talking workouts that had me so sore that it was like I had just started strength training. And the great thing about these workouts is that I pushed myself and lifted heavier than I thought I would. I admit I am still testing out the strength in this wrist and though I am working into it slowly, I am no longer allowing FEAR to guide me. Instead, I make the attempt and if it bothers the wrist then I adjust. I got really tired of being afraid with my hip and I let that fear guide me and keep me down awhile after surgery. So, this time around, I decided to kick fear in the butt and keep moving. My wrist needs to get stronger and it will not do that if I do not put the challenge out there. I am no idiot so I clearly won't be doing anything to cause reinjury and will work within the doctor's guidelines, but I am going to test the waters.

So, maybe this year is going to be about testing the waters. Maybe it's going to be about working my butt off some more. Regardless, it is my year and I refuse to waste another moment of my life feeling complacent. Marc Lobliner is an amazing guy in the supplement industry. He is a trainer, a husband, a father, a business owner and a pretty awesome guy. He used to be the CEO of the company that made one of my favorite supplements, Xtend. Well, he says that "Complacency is mediocrity." I don't want to be mediocre. I want to be extraordinary. So, why am I settling?? No more.

So, I am back on plan and it is exciting. It is insanely crazy how much I love the aches and pains I am feeling from my workouts. But I missed it...the insanity, the intensity, the fun. I love being back in the game. I am not going to let anything get in between me and my time. I crave it and need the workouts. And I am not going to let my diet go by the wayside for something easier or more convenient or anything else.

And what's really exciting for me is that I get to meet Marc Lobliner next week. You should follow him on Facebook and check out his videos. The man is literally a machine. I love his commitment to what he believes in and I love that he is just downright honest. He has some awesome videos with recipes and reviews of supplement products too. Here is a link to his Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/MarcLobliner Check it out....follow him. He knows his stuff.

Well, time for me to try and get this adrenaline rush from tonight's workout to chill out because I need some sleep so I can hit the gym for some cardio tomorrow morning before work :) Night all!!

Update on the Wrist

As some of you know, I had a triangular fibrocartilage tear in my left wrist which was caused by my ulna in that same wrist being too long and it degeneratively moved over tearing cartilage and causing me quite a bit of pain!!! So, Dr. Ekman, who I think is pretty AMAZING!, decided to do a scope of my wrist to repair the tear and clean up and debride the area. I had the procedure done on November 18th.

The surgery was perhaps the easy part. I decided to go with the nerve block in my arm to help with the pain after surgery and they gave me general anesthesia because I absolutely refuse to be awake or have the possibility of waking up during a procedure! The interesting thing about the surgery is that they had given me the impression that the nerve block would wear off within 10-12 hours. This did not happen to be the case. They put me in a sling because they were afraid I might damage my wrist or arm because it had no feeling from the shoulder down. This was indeed a strange sensation. It took closer to 24 hours for the feeling to return and during that time I often forgot that I was unable to use it and at some point I actually recovered partial use and ended up forgetting in the midst of it and slapping myself in the face with my own hand...it was quite laughable and happened twice!! The weekend passed pretty quickly with not a lot of sleep but not much pain since I was pretty good about taking the meds when I needed them and keeping ice on it regularly.

This recovery has not been as easy as I would have expected. I admit, I might have jumped the gun just a bit by returning to work a little earlier than I should have. I only took two days off and when I returned to work the first day, I had the great pleasure of throwing up everything I had eaten and my pain meds. Of course, then I was terrified to even try to put anything back on my stomach including food and pain meds! So, that started a pretty difficult week. I chose to wear the sling while I was at work because I wanted to make sure that customers knew I had had surgery and was unable to lift with that arm. It was a good plan and for the most part kept me from using the wrist too much. I had the stitches removed on the Wednesday after surgery. Then I was down to using steri-strips to keep the incisions closed and healing and wrapping it in an ace bandage to keep from using it too much.

That went pretty well for only a short while. However, that same day, I ended up getting headbutted by an overzealous and friendly old English bulldog directly on my left wrist. Talk about painful! Ouch!!! I ended up having to go back to being on pain meds during the day as well and back to icing because it had begun to swell again. This definitely slowed the healing process a little. And work did not help the wrist too much because I still had to try to do what I could at work and with the extra pain, I have had a difficult couple of weeks.

All of this also kept me out of the gym for the past few weeks. And that has been horribly difficult. The first week I knew I could not hit the gym. Week 2, I had intended to head back to the gym but I was exhausted and still taking pain meds. And work was intense, so I did not make it in at all. I knew I would not be lifting upper body and would likely do either cardio or just lower body, but between not feeling well and a stressful week, I just did not make it to the gym.

Today, however, I made it back to the gym and had a pretty great workout. I got a good leg workout in and it was exhausting but necessary! I am certain I will be feeling it for a few days too! I am not sure when I can include upper body in again, but I will definitely be waiting to hear back from the surgeon with more information about my restrictions and activities and even expectations. I had no idea how much strength I had lost in my lower body since I had not been doing legs lately. Tripp had injured his knee and we had not been doing legs together and I had not had an opportunity to get in by myself and do a leg workout, so it has been awhile. The good thing is that my legs recover quickly and I will be back to my regular weights soon!

So, the wrist is doing well. I still have a couple weeks before I see the surgeon again for another post op check. Hopefully, he will be happy with my progress. I am still trying to take it slowly and carefully, so we'll see.

And my hiatus from running is coming to an end. This week I will be hitting the elliptical a lot and getting some short runs in. It is time to get back to my love/hate relationship with running :)

Rock & Roll Savannah Half Marathon

I must admit that I went in to this race with a lot of trepidation and exhaustion and just holding on to the motivation to be done with racing and running for a little while. Not exactly where I wanted my head to be at this point. But having been promoted to manager at Nutrition Warehouse and working 50+ hours, my training was lacking, as was my motivation. What I felt most motivated to do was sleep. And well, let's just say I experienced enough personal drama in the midst of all of this to be completely just emotionally and physically worn out.

Originally, we had planned for this race to be a finisher for the season. Cathy and I were going to walk this one just for fun. Since we would be running Myrtle Beach a couple weeks before this, this would be for recovery and fun. Cathy was unable to make the trip but I was still expecting another friend, Deanna, whom I had met in Philly to make this race. Unfortunately, Deanna, was not able to make it either and I left Friday afternoon for Savannah with my dear friend, Ann, knowing I would be completely alone on race day.

It was crazy trying to get in to the expo to get my race packet. In fact, it was so insane, that all I did when I got in was get my race packet and t-shirt and get out of there as soon as possible. We grabbed dinner and checked in to the hotel. I knew I would have to get up early so I tried to get to sleep. I didn't manage much because I was afraid I wouldn't get up when the alarm went off at 3:40 a.m. It was the earliest I have ever had to be up for a race and I SO could have used a cup of coffee but my hotel did not have a coffee maker in the room and the one in the lobby looked questionable at best! So, I ate my breakfast, got dressed and headed out to the Savannah Mall where I could park for free and take the shuttle to the start line. I was on the first shuttle and we arrived a little bit after 5 to the starting line.

Of course, as is always the plan, I hit the port-a-potty. It was so early that there were no lines!! And then I just attempted to stay warm and keep from freezing my butt off...oddly enough that meant standing behind a line of port-a-potties that was blocking the wind! A few others huddled with me as we tried to stay warm and wait to get in our corrals.

I also had the opportunity to meet a friend that I have known online for about two years. Laura and I met on a weight loss site a couple years back and have been reading each others blogs and encouraging each other as we journeyed to lose weight and started running. She had completed her first marathon the weekend before and I was shocked that she was going to run the half in Savannah. We finally got to meet in person and got a great photo taken!

I hung out with Laura and her friends for a little while until it was time to head to the corrals and then made my way over to my corral. I was in the 23rd corral and I edged over into the group to try and stay warm and wait for the race to begin.

It was while I was waiting for the race to begin that I observed and overheard some of the conversation of the group of ladies in front of me. It was clear that they were encouraging one of their group to be amazing. There were lots of encouraging words and hugs and it was such a great pep talk that I mentioned that it was an amazing pep talk.

It was to be Maria's first half marathon and her friends were concerned because she was going to be by herself after the race started. They wanted her to stay focused and encouraged her to just keep going no matter what. I started talking with Maria and the girls and when I found it was her first half marathon and she was going to be by herself, I told the girls that she would not be alone. She was going to be my race buddy for the day. I knew that I wanted to be with Maria for her first half marathon and help her achieve her goal. And your first half marathon is certainly not one to be alone.

So, for my 10th half marathon, I set out with Maria and got to know her. We chatted as the corral slowly inched up to the start line. We did not actually cross the starting line until after 8 a.m. (the race started at 7:30!) It was the first starting line that I did not take off running with the group. Surprisingly, though my body wanted to run, I enjoyed the walking. As Maria and I got to know each other and shared a bit of each other's lives, I learned that she had been recently diagnosed with MS and had been suffering through some back pain as well as some numbness and her legs. She had intended to run this half and her dreams of running this had been dashed.

I knew that I had to distract her from thinking about her diagnosis and that she really wanted to run this and the other million things that could start her to wondering if she would finish this race and all the other million questions and frustrations that start to lead you down a bad path. So, I remembered what Tripp Worthy does when I get down on myself or start to doubt myself or just get sad, frustrated or depressed...I started talking nonsense and blonde stories and told her about me and frankly, I think I just talked and kept talking to try and keep her mind off of pain and walking and everything else. It was crazy but it worked.

I shared with her the wisdom of Ricky Rikard and how you never get on a bus unless there is bone or blood!! (I do so love Taz!!!) And I told her that she could do this every step of the way and that we were doing this for fun. (Yes, Taz, I finally learned how to just have fun during a half marathon! It was a blast!) We people watched and wondered how and why certain people got out of the house dressed like they were. I mean some of these people had some horrible friends...when your friends let you put on shorts that triple the size of your butt and don't inform you, it's time for new friends! Not to mention, there were some crazy people on the course...Beetlejuice was there for the half marathon, there were couples holding hands like it was a Sunday stroll, people who clearly didn't color coordinate their bags with their outfits and so much more!! Was it wrong to pick fun at these people?? Not a bit....they got us through the half marathon because there was no way they could cross the finish line before us. Maria and I both about lost it when I guy in front of us turned and around and yelled to his significant other behind us, "Are you coming, Seabiscuit?" Now, honestly, maybe she had a horsey look to her, I can't recall. Regardless, when your nickname is Seabiscuit, you need to rethink your relationship! But thanks for the laugh Seabiscuit and mate!!

Maria did amazing. I could tell she was in pain for some of it. So, I tried to distract her. We both got teary eyed as we passed a gentleman with two prosthetic legs completing the half marathon. I had to stop and tell him how amazing he was and inspiring. And seeing the full marathoners coming in around 4 hours was awesome...some looked like they had taken a stroll while others looked like their legs were about to give out and that they hardly had anything left.

We kept moving. As I noticed the bus coming in from behind, I determined we had to pick up the pace. And Maria was a champ, she gave it her all and matched me as I set goals of people for us to pass. And do not let anyone tell you that Savannah is flat. There may not be many hills but we did do hills for this race. Though they may not be the hills of Nashville, they were hills nonetheless!

When we got to mile 13, we saw Maria's cheerleaders. They were so amazing. As I saw the finish line, I knew that, even though Maria had not been able to run this race, if she had anything at all left, I wanted her to know the victory of running the finish line. So, I asked her "Do you think you can run?" She didn't think she could, but I knew she had a little left in her. So, I grabbed her by the hand and said, "Come on, we can run this one in." And we ran to the finish line and her friends were moving quickly through the crowds to get there as well. It was really emotional! And when we crossed the line, they went to hand Maria her medal and I knew, she had to have that medal placed around her neck. So, I grabbed it and put it around her neck. She earned this medal. She was to be awarded the dignity of every athlete...just like in the Olympics, you get the medal placed around your neck!

We got pictures made and caught up with her friends. I was hugged and thanked a million times. The truth is that as much as Maria needed me for this race. I needed Maria. My heart was not quite in it from the start and my body was just plain exhausted. She distracted me from all of that. As much as God had me there for Maria, He placed her there for me too. It was by far the best half marathon finish ever. I may not have set a PR but I made an awesome friend!

Here's a pic of Maria and I after the race:

Maria is amazing. We have some very similar situations. We have both lost 100 pounds and have crazy, but lovable trainers. We are both motivated to live a healthier lifestyle and have great friends for encouragement and support. I look forward to getting to know Maria better and hopefully getting to hang out with her again, whether it be just hanging out or doing another race. She is awesome! And I was so thrilled and honored to be a part of her special day!! And I loved her friends, they were so awesome and encouraging for me as well.

This is my first race that I will honestly say that I would not have changed a thing about it. They ran out of Cytomax at the very first water station, but it was fine. The water and Cytomax tasted terrible the entire race but we drank it anyway and kept going. I threw my first piece of clothing on the course at this race! They had great cheering sections and people in the neighborhoods came out to cheer us on. I honestly could not tell you a thing about the course except that there were some hills and some questionable neighborhoods, but perfect coverage and street closures. The volunteers were awesome and great cheerleaders. Although, the wind could have died down, it was a great race and one that I would consider doing again.

For now, I am looking forward to some rest. I will be having surgery on my wrist in a couple weeks (perhaps I will blog about it when I am doped on pain meds...that could be fun!!). I have a triangular fibrocartilage tear in my left wrist which was caused by the fact that my ulna is too long in that wrist and it is degeneratively moving and causing me pain and apparently tearing cartilage. So, Dr. Ekman will be going in and repairing the tear and cleaning it up. He has said that he will not put a cast on it, but I think I may ask for one because I am a hardheaded and very insane person and will likely pick up something I shouldn't if there isn't a cast there to remind me. So, I will be asking him about this at my pre-op appointment. Other than that, I will be taking some time off for running...at least a month. I will still be doing cardio and strength training legs when Ekman approves of it. But I want to give running a rest so that I can return to it and enjoy it more. My love/hate relationship with running has gone more towards hate and dread lately, so it's time to give it a small break and restart when I have better rested.

I have signed up for two races for next year. The NC Half Marathon in Charlotte is in March and the Divas Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach is in May.

Number Six & Done :) Oh yeah!! Goal Achieved!!!

Some said it couldn't be done last year after having surgery to repair the labrum in my hip. There is no way I could complete 6 half marathons in one year and furthermore, I would be insane to even attempt it. Insane, yes. Goal achieved...100%!!!

Last year when I came up with this crazy idea, I had no idea how I would feel towards the end of this. I had no idea where this path would lead me. What I did know was that this was a goal that I could achieve. I had some naysayers along the way. I had some people tell me that I had some screws loose. And I had some amazing cheerleaders who supported and encouraged me along the way.

The funny thing is that none of these half marathons turned out like I expected they would. I thought I would beat my best time. That didn't happen. I thought I would improve my running form...maybe I did a little. I even thought I would learn to love running even more but towards the end, I just wanted to be done.

No half marathon is the same. Even if you are doing the same course that you have done a million times, the run is never exactly the same. Circumstances and conditions are never 100% alike.

Charleston was an interesting run. I went along with my good friend, Chuck, who was completing his first half marathon. He did amazing and I was so proud to be there with him. It was perhaps my fastest run this year but it was not without its quirks and frustrations along the way. I never look behind me, but it was the first time I have ever had a bus (one that picks up those who do not complete or are injured) pass me and make me feel like I was failing in my race and I was way ahead of my schedule! Talk about a mental game!

Then came, Columbia, the half marathon that almost defeated me. I started it with a stomach virus and made it half way through before I allowed the virus and seeing the finish line and knowing I had 7 more miles to go defeat me. My body gave out and my heart just could not continue on. It was a tough decision but I gave it everything I could before walking off.

Next was a fun race, the Palmetto Half Marathon...completely drenched in the rain storm that just didn't want to go away. Completing it with a broken pinky toe on one foot and a twisted ankle on the other...that was insane! Having my best running buddy, Cathy, come along with me was the best thing ever because with her I knew I could finish it. It took the sting of walking off the other half marathon out of the picture.

Then came, the Historic Half Marathon. No one can do a half marathon with Marines and not feel pleased and honored to be a part of it. And to have gotten to meet Drew Carey at the same time was just awesome!! It was a good race but there was a lot of pain in this race in my legs that made me wonder if I would finish it. But I ran that finish line. And my dear friend, Ann, was at the end with a bottle of water and snacks for me. It was a great finish. She also got me tons of pics of Drew Carey too :)

I took the summer off to regroup and mostly lifted weights all summer. I got in a few long distance runs and a few days of shorter runs but not much. I hate running when it is so hot! Mostly, I got in some walks and just hit the gym regularly with Tripp for strength training.

September brought Philadelphia. It was here I would meet my friend, Deanna. She was so amazing finishing this race with me with a broken foot and in a boot! That was so awesome!! I loved doing this race with her and hearing about her awesome work with training dogs. She is an amazing woman and she pushed me through that race!!

Back to Myrtle Beach for my surf board medal in October. By this point, I was tired and not very well trained. Having started my new job, time for running was lacking and so was my dedication to training. But I could not let that stop me. Cathy and Tripp were doing this one with me, so I had plans that I could do it with them and it would be a great finish. I thought Cathy was wanting to run it and try and beat her time so I did not want to hold her back, so we got separated early on. Tripp was unable to run due to an injury to his knee that even kept him from attempting to walk the entire thing. So, I was on my own. And I tried to stay to myself the entire race but by mile 10, my hip hurt and my head was failing me. So, I met Cindy who also was hurting and we helped each other make it to the finish!

But Savannah, race #6, stands out as the absolute best race this year and perhaps my best race out of all 10 half marathons I have completed. For the full story, read my next blog. But let's just say having met Maria in the corral, I knew that she and I were going to be together all the way to the finish line. I had no idea at the time how much I was going to need her to get to the finish. By trying to distract her, I was able to focus on the race for her and about helping her finish. It was not about me. It was about helping her to achieve her goal. And that by far made it the absolute best race ever! (Again for all the details read my race report!)

Will I ever do 6 half marathons in one year again?? I have no idea. What I do know is that I did it. I accomplished my goal. I stuck to my guns and made it work, no matter what. I didn't let lack of training or frustration or anything else keep me from finishing what I started. So, I proved once again that I am stubborn and hard headed and crazy, but I also proved to myself that I am worth it and that I have a lot more in me than I have ever imagined!!

What's next for me?? I don't know. Will I complete a FULL marathon? Perhaps someday. Will I ever let anyone else's doubts keep me from dreaming big and achieving my goals? Absolutely not!! I will keep on dreaming! I will keep on hoping. I will keep on moving! I will keep on running!