Sunday, March 31, 2013

April Goals

Tomorrow is the first day of a new month and is also a Monday. What better time to start fresh and set some goals?

Here are my goals for the month of April...

1. Meal prep and eat the meals that I prep
2. Commit to eating clean(ER)
3. Only eat out once a week
4. One cheat/free/not so strict meal a week
5. No soda (not even sips from the Hubby's weekly soda) or sweets
6. Be more present w/ my family. Less Facebook, Instagram, etc.
7. No shopping for myself this month (I went a tad crazy after the Jan. /Feb. shopping fast)
8. Roll out my legs more consistently
9. Water! Water! Water!
10. Start the Insanity program as soon as it arrives in the mail and stick to it!!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Shamrock'n Half Marathon Recap



Pumped and ready to run

Well, I did it! I ran my second half and set a new personal record of 2 hours and 32 minutes. That's eight minutes faster than my previous time and three minutes faster than my goal I set for myself. I couldn't be happier.
My Morning started off with a new pre race breakfast. Which is a big no-no. I've read it's best to stick to meals that your body is used to on longer runs to avoid an upset stomach. But I went with my gut and had a bowl of overnight oats and a banana that morning anyway. Luckily I had no problems. I just felt that I needed something a little extra that morning and a my usual peanut butter toast with sliced banana wasn't going to cut it.
We arrived downtown about an hour before my Hubby's start time (His start time was 30 minutes before mine- Speedster) and parked about a mile away from the start line to avoid traffic. It was nice though. We got to walk along the river as well as our wedding reception location and see the sun rise which was really cool.
Nice early Morning view of the Tower Bridge
Finally, it was race time and I was SO pumped, like kinda annoyingly pumped. I'm sure I was annoying my friends before the race with my enthusiasm and eagerness to start to the race, but I couldn't help it. I was ready!
The race started and I ran and ran and ran. At mile two one of my water bottles fell off of my water belt and I was going to leave it, until this nice guy came up to me a  few steps after and handed it to me. How nice was that?
At mile three I was surprised to see two of my girlfriends cheering me on. I wanted to stop and hug them both and tell them how grateful I was for their support. They had noise makers, a sign and their loud words of encouragement. I waved like crazy as I past them by and yelled "Thank you! I love you!" A few steps after I started to tear up a bit. I don't know why, but I become SUPER emotional when running.  It happened again later on. At about mile eight or so I had a moment of clarity. I decided that it didn't matter what time I finished because I was blessed enough to be healthy and able to be running that day, I thought about my son a lot and how blessed my husband and I are to have him and how lucky we are to be his parents. How blessed my Husband and I are to have jobs, a roof over our heads, our health...and then the tears come on. Again. That's one great thing about running alone, you get to just lose yourself in your thoughts.
At mile ten I began to get tired and that's when I saw my Dad and Brother. They were there right when I needed a pick me up. Their cheers and fist bumps were just what I needed to get me through the last few miles. That was also around the time I realized that if I continued the pace I was at, I was going to beat my goal time.
Finally I was approaching mile thirteen and crossing the bridge when I saw my Hubby. He was there cheering me on and began running with me. Ahh! I love that man! I knew he was tired so I told him I'd see him at the finish line. I began to run as fast as my tired, little, chubby legs could go. I started shouting at people as I ran past them, "We're almost done! Push it! We can do this!" (This is the running group in me. We're all SUPER supportive and encouraging) They must have thought I was nuts, but I didn't care. I was going to set a PR.
Finally, I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I looked up and saw my Dad, Brother and Husband cheering for me. I was so happy. I was finally done!

Before

After




 















Thursday, March 14, 2013

Crunch Time

So I have three days left before my race.  I'm not nervous, but I am eager for the day to be here and see what I can do. My goals for my last half marathon were to finish, not walk, and to do it under two hours and forty five minutes. I met all three of my goals and came in at two hours, forty minutes. Now that I know that I CAN do a half I want to try and shed five minutes off of my time.
To prep for the big day I have been trying to hydrate as much as possible through out the day, eating clean(er) foods, and rolling my legs out each night before bed with a foam roller (you can find the one I use here) Oh, and praying A LOT! 
Come back Monday to see how I did.

This is me. pre four mile run this evening

Monday, March 11, 2013

Three ways to wear a Chambray Shirt

One of my favorite versatile pieces in my closet is a Chambray shirt. I'm SO obsessed with this thin, light weight, denim like material that I own three shirts and one skirt. Redic, I know! Today I have put together three separate looks using the same Old Navy shirt.

1. Work

 Shirt: Old Navy
Sweater: Gap
Skirt: Banana Republic
Heels: Steve Madden
Necklace: Forever 21
Bag: Calvin Klein
Glasses: Tommy Bahama

2. Date Night w/ the Hubby
 Shirt: Old Navy
Skinnies: Old Navy
Heel: Marc Fisher
Bag: Coach Outlet
Necklace: Forever 21

 3. Sunday Funday with my little family
Shirt: Old Navy
Skinnies: Old Navy
Shoes: Converse All Stars
Bag: Cole Haan
Watch: Kate Spade

**This post is being used as a sweepstakes entry on Little Miss Momma's Blog

Monday, March 4, 2013

What I Wore

As part of my New Year Resolution I didn't shop during January and February. {gasp!} Instead I shopped my closet and did a little digging and remixing with pieces I already owned. Below are some of the outfits that made it onto Instagram. Thank you, AP for the inspiration

Military Jacket- TJMaxx
Stripped Tee- Lucky Brand
Jeans- Old Navy
Shoes- Converse All Stars
Scarf- Nordstrom

Ruffled Shell- Banana Republic
Cardigan- Target
Trouser Jeans- Levi's
Belt- Forever 21
Shoes- Aldo

Polka Dot Chambray- Old Navy
Sweater- Gap
Necklace- Forever 21

White Tee- Target
Blazer- Gap Outlet
Necklace- Groopdealz
Jeans- Gap Outlet
Shoes- Target

Scarf & Tee- Forever 21
Jeans- Gap Outlet
Shoes- Tom's

Ruffled Shell- Forever 21
Cardigan- Target
Belt- Old Navy
Jeans- Gap
Shoes- Aldo

Dress- Target
Cardigan-The Limited
Scarf- Ann Taylor LOFT
Boots- Nordstrom

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Things You Should Know About Me if We're Gonna Be Besties

One of my new favorite Bloggers, Little Miss Momma shared her post "Things You Should Know if We're Gonna Be BFF" just a few days ago and encouraged other bloggers to join in as well. So here goes my first link up. YAY!!

So if we're gonna be besties you should know...


  1. I can't spell 
  2. I played softball for 7 years and refuse to as an adult because I am scared of the ball hitting me
  3. My favorite candy is Peanut M&M's
  4. I hate chewy candy i.e. Hot Tamales
  5. I met my husband online 10 years ago and I wasn't even trying 
  6. I have the mouth of a Sailor
  7. I have never broken a bone and always wanted a cast as a kid
  8. I am the messiest Virgo ever
  9. My pet peeves are when people leave cabinet doors open and when they don't place a new bag after emptying out the trash
  10. I always wanted to be a teacher, but was too lazy to go to school for it
  11. My first concert ever was Janet Jackson (Velvet Rope Tour) circa 2001
  12. I don't like anyone's dog, but my own
  13. I forgive too easily
  14. I am SUPER competitive, but only with strangers and people I don't like
  15. I would choose a trip to Disneyland over Vegas in a heart beat
  16. I could eat Chipotle morning, noon, and night
  17. I'd rather eat a huge back of tortilla chips and guac than a dessert
  18. I pride myself in completing my Christmas shopping weeks sometimes months in advance
  19. I'm a HUGE Baseball fan. Go Giant's!
  20. I love the color coral