Napa Pictures, My weekend and Goals for next week.

To start, here are few photos from my trip to Napa that I promised last week. 🙂

Bounty Hunter BBQ, Platter was way too big for 2 of us!

Ad Hoc Rainbow Salad

Thomas Keller’s Ad hoc! Braised Short Ribs, so good!

Bouchon Bakery. Fresh Blueberry Muffin.

Bouchon!! Really delicious Chicken.

 

Right on the side of the road at 6am on my way to the race. So pretty!

Race time!

Finisher’s Medal 1:50:00.. New PR!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course like always I was hoping to post a little sooner, but my job is just so crazy right now I hardly have time for anything else. It was pretty nice here last week so I took advantage of the evenings and hung out with friends and ran.

On Wednesday I decided to start the 30 day squat challenge. I wanted to post so you guys could do it with me, but you should still start. You’ll just either need to add in some extra squats to be done on May 23rd or finish a little after me. I decided to take photos so I can hopefully see if all of these squats make a difference. I know at the very least they will help my running, because squats are the one thing I never do enough of in my training. Today, I did my 70 squats while catching up on last week’s American Idol, but tomorrow I’ll do the 75 in the gym with weights. Mondays are my leg days anyways so I’ll just incorporate it into my workout some how. The rest of the days I’ve been doing the squats as my warm-up instead of doing cardio. Feel free to join in, lets shape those booty’s just in time for summer!

This weekend I decided to finally try out running with a running group. I get nervous trying something new, but I hate always running by myself and its time I start hanging out with other runner’s if I want to continue to run. I am so happy I went. The run was a pretty easy 7 miles with a couple of big hills. I found a couple of ladies that had similar pace as me and we were able to talk most of the run which made it go by super fast and I learned a lot while I was running. I am now not as scared and want to go to the track workouts that are on Wednesday nights so I can work on improving my speed. I think it’s exactly what I need to improve my running and work on my PR.

With my boyfriend out of town, the weekends can go by really slow so this weekend I decided to do a little house re-organizing. I’m so happy I did. My house feels more like a home now and it helped made the time go by fast.

This week is another busy one for so I’m sure it’ll go by pretty fast. I can’t believe it’s almost May. I really want to do another whole30 or cleanse for May to get ready for the summer, just haven’t decided what to do and what I’ll be able to do with all food tastings I’ll have for the new restaurant we are opening.

My goals for the week are:
1. To not miss a workout (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
2. To not miss a run (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
3. Eat Clean: No gluten, sugar, dairy
4. Do my daily squats for the 30 day challenge
5. Take my dog on at least 2 walks
6. Go to bed before 11
7. 3 Blog Post! 🙂
8. Smile and Enjoy every day!

Fitness Friday

I have been one busy girl this week. Picking up serving shifts 2 nights in a row on top of my day job and work outs has exhausted me. Yesterday’s rest day was very much needed or I don’t think I would have lasted the 2nd 20 hour day. I woke up early for my work out this morning, but realized I forgot to do something for work so had to skip it and go to work early. As badly as I wanted to skip my Friday work out I knew I had to do it to stay on track with my one rest day a week.

So bring on Friday night work out..

3 mile treadmill run
– 1st mile at speed 6, incline 1
– 2nd mile at speed 7, incline 2
– 3rd mile at speed 8, no incline

Shoulders/trics/bics
– reps: 20, 15, 10, 5 increasing weight each set
– bar bicep curls
– bar pull ups
– dumbbell shoulder press
– tricep extensions

Abs
– 50 reps each
– incline sit ups
– vertical knee crunches
– vertical v-ups
– bicycle, reverse crunch, reg crunch
– 2 min plank

Enjoy your evening!

Day 15…. It’s that Tiger Blood

“Goodbye cravings, hello Tiger Blood! This must be what everyone is talking about! You’ve hit the downhill slope of your Whole30 and life is beautiful. Your energy is through the roof, you’ve kicked the cravings, you’re experimenting with new, delicious food, and you’ve finally got the time to notice that your clothes fit better, your workouts are stronger, and you are generally more awesome”

Above is a quote from the whole30 timeline of how you might be feeling Day 16-28 and I absolutely feel all of that. All day long I was focused at work, my mind didn’t wander about food or cravings. I couldn’t get the smile off my face if I tried and I had so much energy that just kept going. By 6 o’ clock I was ready to leave work and hit the gym. I had the best workout, maybe ever! I felt so strong and so powerful. I had a really great routine focusing on each muscle group and could really feel the energy in my muscles as I pushed the weights. I must have been glowing because I had a few people ask what I was working out for and why I was in such good shape. I don’t want this feeling to ever go away. I craved Steak and Broccoli for dinner, not pizza, sushi, tofu, pho, or anything else ‘less healthy’ that I usually crave. I’m a strong believer in the whole30 and I hope the next 15 days go as perfectly as today did.

A few days ago I talked about wanting to make the Best Chicken Ever from Melissa and if anyone doesn’t believe her, I’m telling you that was the BEST CHICKEN EVER. I made it that night with a Mediterranean side consisting of sauteed broccoli, sundried tomatoes, garlic and artichokes. I couldn’t believe how moist the chicken was, I will forever brine my chicken now. And as much as I loved her seasoning blend, I’m excited to mix my own seasonings and preparing it the same way. By the way the moroccan dipping sauce she list was amazing on my mixed green salad that had tomatoes, avocado, blueberries and walnuts. I’ve had the chicken for lunch the last two days in a salad with the dressing and have been loving it. Sad it’s gone and I’m going to have to have something different for lunch tomorrow.

I ran 6 miles last night and struggled to get through it, after the energy and power I had today at the gym I’m really curious how my 6 mile run will go tomorrow morning. I only hope I worked my legs enough to give them the strength and I wake up with the same energy I’ve had today.

Cheers to day 15 and making it half way through the program!

Day 2 and I’m back in action

Woke up this morning at 6:30 and had a good half hour to digest a banana and some water before my run. I ran 6 miles and though their were moments that were hard, I think I got my groove back. During my run I was focused the whole time on how I only have 1 month left to rain $1500 and 2 months left until I’m in NYC running 26.2 miles. What was I thinking?! I’m starting to get anxious and nervous and excited all at the same time. Today at work I booked my flights, another thing to make it more official and check off the list.

Today was day 2 of the whole30 and though it wasn’t the hardest day, as i’m sure there will be harder it wasn’t a piece of cake either.

Breakfast was delicious: 2 fried eggs with zucchini, onions and spinach along side strawberries and blackberries
Lunch was left overs from last nights Pineapple Chicken
Dinner was Pot Roast that was in the slow cooker for 10 hours with onions, carrots and celery. I ate it with a sweet potato topped with a little coconut oil, salt, pepper and dash on cinnamon and a handful of raw spinach. I also made a side mixed greens with blueberries, walnuts and tomatoes, though it wasn’t necessary cause i was so full from the roast.

Between breakfast and lunch was the hardest. I was fine from 9-12:30, but then took too long because I was busy at work too eat lunch so 12:30 to 1:30 before I ate lunch was awful. I had no patience and I was craving everything I couldn’t have. Luckily my lunch was so satisfying and filling that the feelings went away. I started getting a little sleepy around 3 so I had some mint tea and that held me over for the rest of the day.

I hit the gym after work for chest, triceps, biceps, shoulders and squats. It felt so good to be back in the gym. Taking time away is a bad idea, hopefully I remember that next time. The workout felt good, but was hard. Not sure if I’ll be sore tomorrow or not.

It’s currently 9:30pm and I’m already exhausted and in bed. I’m praying for a good night sleep and be able to wake up feeling rested and ready for day 3. I don’t have any meals planned for tomorrow, but I think I’ll keep it similar to what I did today to take the thinking out of it. Too much thinking is definitely what makes this challenge harder than it needs to be.

Anyone out there doing the whole30 that wants to share there experience so far? I’m following a couple others on there journey of clean eating and it’s so helpful to see what others are doing.

my weekend and weight training

I can’t believe it’s tuesday already! Where did the weekend go.. I feel like this is how the rest of my summer is going to go, super fast!

On Saturday I mapped out a 14 mile run from factoria to seattle, but did my calculations wrong because it ended up being 16 miles. It was the prettiest run i’ve done so far and exhilarating to run over the bridge. I stopped running at 14.5 though and walked the rest of the way back to my car. My knee was really starting to bother me and it was about 85 out and I was tired. After my run I had to hussel to the paddle board yoga class I signed up for. I don’t recommend doing it right after a long run. My legs were like jello and I had a hard time standing on my board so I had to sit and paddle myself most of the way. The yoga part of it was awesome! challenging, relaxing, fun.. There is no better feeling than being out on the water with the seals and boats and train traffic in the background. I absolutely loved it and wish it was something I could do every morning. And boy does it challenge your balance. I don’t think i was a fair example since I couldn’t get my legs to stop shaking. Next time I’ll do it without running and will hopefully get better results.

I started researching weight training more because I’ve really wanted to kick up my work outs and lift more weights, but I get so uncomfortable on that side of the gym which is why i also stick to bodypump. Starting last thursday though I took the plunge and it’s been so rewarding and fun! Here’s a little bit of what my workouts have looked like the past week.

Friday – Chest,Triceps & Abs
3 sets of 12 each
wide pushups
dumbbell bench presses
flat bench cable flys
narrow pushups
overhead tricep extensions
tricep pushdowns
washboard abs from this fancy lady 🙂
2 mile run on the treadmill to cool down

Saturday –
16 mile run (14.5 run, 1.5 walk)
SUP Yoga

Sunday – Back, Biceps, & Abs
3 sets of 12 each
wide grip lateral pulldowns
one arm dumbell row
seated cable row
underhand cable pull down
alternating dumbbell curl
one arm dumbbell preacher curl
standing bicep bar curl
washboard abs
4 mile run

Monday –
Bodypump – Okay, need to talk about this for a minute. I’ve been doing bodypump for a few months now and know my usual weights and don’t usually struggle with any sets until I get to biceps and shoulders, but for some reason last night I couldn’t get it together. I was a shaky mess through all 10 sets. I wanted to quit so bad and did a few times in the middle of sets. I left the gym feeling pretty bummed and let down. What do I need to do differently? I wasn’t sore at all from the previous workouts so I didn’t think that was it.. maybe just exhaustion? If anyone has any advice, I’d really appreciate it.

Today –
6 mile run this morning
it’s supposed to be leg & calves day according to the program i’m following, but I haven’t decided if I’m going to go or not. It’s already 6 and I still need to make dinner and do laundry so I skip tonight and do it tomorrow after work.

If anyone out there has a good workout program they follow I’d love to hear about it. I’m just now getting the hang out the different muscles to work and exercises to do and would welcome any feedback. I’ll keep posting my workouts and food to see if you guys can gain anything from me or offer any advice. I’ll try not to get so far behind either so it’s not so much catching up to do on this blog 🙂