Day 1 of Carb Cycling: SUCCESS!

I would say day one of carb cycling was a success! Even though I ate more than 1200 calories- it was the first day and I wasn't super prepared so I am happy with the outcome!

 

 

 

 

I even went grocery shopping after work and cooked supper- those that know me know I don't cook!!! Or at least its rare and I don't like doing it! I went to Salata for lunch- LOVE the salads they have there!!!!! For dinner I made ground turkey tacos, the hubs had regular tacos with SC and tortillas and I had ground turkey, a little, cheese, and FF refried beans and mixed it all together and was FULL! It was really good- so good in fact I brought it for lunch today even though today is a carb day! I am a sucker for leftovers!

 

Today I am back to eating carbs and I get 1500 cals for  goal- MUCH more achievable for someone like me. 1200 is just plain ROUGH, I will try to hit it this Thursday- but I have groceries (lots of veggies) to help me hit that!

 

 

This weekend we went to the hill country and the weather was PERFECT half marathon weather- if only my half had been this week I honestly believe it would have been sub 2:45!! Instead I sat in a deer stand FREEZING (it was 38- that's freezing for Texas) hoping the pig would come out- no luck!

 

 

On a positive note, our caliche pit held water!!!!! WE HAVE A POND! We paid a dozer company to dig us two and neither of those held water, but the pit that was dug to build the road to the property years ago- that held water! We were super excited- a little bummed about the other two, but excited about this!!!! Its close enough to the water well that we can run a few garden hoses and fill it ourselves also- this will come in handy since it doesn't ever rain 4" in one week like it did last week here!

 

We had an amazing weekend- which was well needed- we have a re-org going on at work and I am pretty unhappy with the results of it. I am working on my attitude, but its not been good lately.



Carb Cycling and Begining Marathon Training!

I am starting Chris Powell's carb cycling plan today, I also start marathon training today, so I am using his FIT cycle. It is the one that you can do to keep up your endurance and not hurt training. I will start here and if its going okay I may move to a more aggressive plan like the classic plan, but I am starting here and we will see where it goes.

This plan consists of only two no carb days a week.

Here is my plan for my week this week:

Monday- no carbs, weight training
Tuesday- carbs, run 3 miles
Wednesday- carbs, sports conditioning class
Thursday- no carbs, run 4 miles
Friday- carbs, weight training
Saturday- guilt free day, run 10 miles
Sunday- carbs, REST day


The way this plan works is you have no carb days (1200 cal/day) and carb days (1500 cal/day) with one guilt free day a week (2500 cal/day). EVERY day starts with a protein and a carb- even no carb days, but after breakfast on those days you don't eat carbs.

Here is what my no carb days will look like:
Breakfast: carb/ protein/ veggies(optional)
Snack: protein/ fat/ veggies(optional)
Lunch: protein/ fat/ veggies(optional)
Snack: protein/ fat/ veggies(optional)
Dinner: protein/ fat/ veggies(optional)


Here is what my carb days will look like:
Breakfast: carb/ protein/ veggies(optional)
Snack: protein/ carb/ veggies(optional)
Lunch: protein/ carb/ veggies(optional)
Snack: protein/ carb/ veggies(optional)
Dinner: protein/ carb/ veggies(optional)


The carbs that are allowed are whole grain healthy carbs- no white/sugar carbs except on guilt free day. I am really excited about this plan and hope to see really good results, I know my body is sensitive to carbs, but I was worried about cutting them out with training for a marathon, so I am hoping this is my answer!

You do this plan 3 weeks, then have a "reset" week, where you eat carbs every day that week (1500 cal/day and have one guilt free day (2500 cal/day) which is supposed to help prevent plateaus and keep your body guessing. I weighed in this morning and will be taking my measurements this afternoon. Here's to hitting my goal of dropping about 25lbs by my 30th birthday and heck if I can do it for Feb 2 (first marathon) that would be even better! I don't need extra weight on that 26.2!

Nola Jazz Half Marathon Update Part 2

My amazing husband got my finish on video!!!! I LOVE this because it shows the whole range of emotions one goes through when conquering something that was hard...

 

"I cant believe I am going to do this... YES I did this... ok I can die now"

 

Keep in mind I couldn't hear the crowd or the music, because in my headphones Katy Perry's "Roar" was playing... I was jamming out... and this is what I look like when I ROAR:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finished my first half marathon, and I did better than I was expecting!!!! I finished in less than 3 hours- after going back and forth on what I wanted to do, I ended up deciding to just have the goal of crossing the finish line... because its my first and I HAD been thinking of a goal of under 3 hours, but I didn't want to have any cringe of disappointment if I didn't make that time, especially with my long training runs coming in at a 13+ min/mile... so my goal was to finish, but I enjoy pushing myself, so secretly I did want that sub 3 hour half- and I GOT IT! I was BEYOND proud of myself. There are very few times in my life I have been that proud of myself... its an amazing feeling, if you haven't challenged yourself physically- DO IT! You will love the results when you achieve what you set out to do, especially if you never thought that possible.

 

 

This is my favorite picture from the day... love him!!

 

SOOO HAPPY!!!

 

 

I even ran into the lady I was running with for a while and got to congratulate her for finishing as well... I am trying to talk her into running the Rock and Roll Marathon with me.... this was her third half.

 

And as we were about to leave, I glance through the oaks... and see a familiar face, Leigh Ann! I am so glad I ran into this lady I cant even tell you, this is the second race we have both been at, but I missed her at the 10k earlier this year, so I was glad to finally get to meet her! I had seen Mr Noel three times along the route... it was hard to miss him with the GREAT shirt he had: "I don't do marathons, I only do marathoners" - I definitely ordered that for Mr Folz so he could wear it in February for my full! I can honestly say this girl is just as energetic and optimistic in person as she seems on her blog!! Despite the 80 degree temps and the 70something% humidity, she ROCKED this race and did amazing! And was super upbeat and encouraging about my success as well!

 

She claims I need a redemption half (with better weather)- so I MAY try to find one between now and my full in February, but we will see....

 

 

 My pace breakdown... its pretty obvious the middle was rough for me, but in the end those last 3 miles I kept thinking of my dad and how he cant run anymore and how this race was part of my training for my full in February to raise money for the American Heart Association... and I know I can do this for him and it really helped me through... that and Katy Perry for the last half a mile!

The calories I burned in my first half (I then spent the rest of the day trying to eat them back- Louisiana food will do that to you!!!)

Quite a few ladies ran half's this weekend and Karri posted this on her IG- someone had this sign up at her run and I had to share too... that makes you feel just a little bit more bad ass!!!

 

 

After the run, we went to watch LSU beat Florida! We were running late because the game was at 2:30 so we had to park about 2 miles away from the stadium, so I got in another 4 or so miles of walking that afternoon/night, but I think that helped me stretch out and not stiffen up!

 

 

All in all it was an amazing weekend I will never forget!

 

My First Half Marathon Recap - Part 1

  

This week has been crazy at work, sorry for the delay in getting my half marathon recap up… it’s just been one of those weeks!

 

Last Thursday at work someone brought cupcakes... and I am considering that part of my carbo loading... it was delicious!

 

 

Friday morning was my flight and it left Houston at 7am – I had the hubs drop me off at 5:45 just in case there was a long security line for people going home for the weekend, it was quick, but the good thing about that was I was able to grab a cup of coffee!

My wonderful sister picked me up at the airport and I got to spend the day with her at nursing school… learning about catheters and NG tubes (feeding tubes) – Friday she had a clinical’s test on how to do both – so I reviewed it with her before going in to take her test.

 

 

Then we went by the Marriot and got my packet for Saturday and something amazing happened. Two men I don’t know and will most likely never see again made my day. I walk into the lobby of the Marriot and one of the employees walked up to me and goes “Ma’am are you looking for the run registration? You look like a marathon runner and I figured I would see if that’s what you were here for.” MADE MY DAY! Then he directed me where to go- I walk up to the registration and it’s a U shaped group of tables and a guy coordinating people looks at me and says “You look like you are here for the marathon, not the 5k, am I right?” I must have been smiling from ear to ear at this point and he pointed me in the right direction – I had no wait grabbed my packet and met my sister who was making the block, totally elated at this point. I know I am a runner, I knew I was a runner the first time I ran, but I never thought OTHERS saw me as a runner. Especially a long distance runner- I am NOT your typical runner’s physique, but evidentially I still look like a marathon runner and that made my day!

I also got to spend a good bit of time with my mawmaw that afternoon, she seems weaker every time I get to see her, and I hate to see her suffer, but I love having her around! She turns 88 this Christmas and I probably won’t be able to see her again until Thanksgiving, so I am glad I got some time in with her! Then my sister and I went and got pedicures... she wanted to de-stress and I wanted to wait til after my half, but figured why not?

 

 

We also went to Ross, and I got a great new purse and two cute new dresses... and she found a dress for her nursing school ball!

 

Friday night carbo loading consisted of Juicy Lucy I had the Drew Bree’s burger (Burger of the Day) – it’s a burger stuffed with mac and cheese!!!! AMAZING!!! I also had sweet potato fries and at this point was thinking running long distances is amazing, due to what you get to eat guilt free the night before – as a woman – being able to eat guilt free does NOT happen often! Then afterwards, I put the nail in the coffin with some tirimasu gelato from Bracato’s across the street if you haven’t ever been here and you are in New Orleans – GO! Everything there is amazing and it’s a fun atmosphere as well!

Jake made it to New Orleans just as we were finishing our feast – he didn’t get to take off work Friday so he drove down after (hubs of the year award) to come support me at my half and I flew in early to a) spend time with my sis and my mawmaw and b)pick up my packet at the hotel. We settled in, and I had trouble falling asleep because I felt like a kid the night before Christmas – but I was a mixed bag of emotions, both excited and completely nervous with anticipation of what the morning would bring. We were sleeping in the living room and I felt like I had finally fallen asleep and I was woken up to mawmaw coming in the kitchen at 11:45 to get ice water – she doesn’t sleep much at night, but she didn’t know we were sleeping in the living room, so I helped her with her water and she went back to her room. I got back to sleep pretty easy this time because I was worn out!

 

My alarm went off at 5am and I got up, got dressed in all my running gear, ate my Luna bar (a race morning tradition), went to the bathroom, and then woke up the hubs so we could head out to the start, we left around 6 because we were worried about parking – the race started at 7. We got down there easily and were able to find parking just a couple blocks away so we were pretty happy about that, but the line for paying for the parking was crazy long – so the hubs told me to go line up and he would wait and pay and meet me if he had time. I used this time to line up at the porta potty and get in one more break and drink an entire bottle of water before the start. Luckily he was able to find me before the start and then he went passed the start to get pictures of me starting out. (I found out later he was out of memory and got nothing, but it’s the effort that counts!)

 

 

I am standing in a massive group of strangers and I am freaking out. Everyone is upset about the weather, we got an email advisory about the weather recommending we do the 5k instead, and they had us all grouped together with the 5k’ers so it was a cluster at the start, however, I trained all summer, I have run in the humidity – never so late in the day (I would start earlier to be done before it got to hot, and never so far, but I could do this). My 10 miler I did the weather wasn’t bad at all, so I was a bit worried, especially with the official warning we received and all. I am starting to worry if I can do this – self doubt is pretty high at this point, but I decide that I have gone through all this training and even though I was sick and missed out on some of my longer runs I had to at least try to do this, because I would let everyone down that was cheering me on! Finally after what seems like hours (only minutes) they let us go, I start my heart rate monitor and my Runkeeper app and we start moving like a heard of cattle to the start line.

The first four miles I am cruising at a sub 12 min mile pace (my training runs were all around 13 min mile paces or more on my long runs- anything over 6 miles), but my HR is below 170 and I feel AMAZING- so I go with it, normally mile 2/3 is my worst mile, but mile 2 was my best mile 11:10 min/mile. I was rocking it. I was surprised and nervous because I know people say hold back at first, but I WAS holding back, I was running what seemed to be an easy pace and watching my HR.

 

Mile 1 I passed these guys... they do this every year and were walking shortly after, but kudos for them! Oxygen pack and all!

 

Mile 5-8 my pace slowed a bit, but I was running near another runner and she and I started talking and decided to run together- we were about the same pace – I did slow down a bit to run with her, but I figured that I needed to slow myself down to make sure I could finish anyways, these were run at about a 13 min/mile (my training run pace), at this point it was starting to get hot, we saw the fast runners coming back down St Charles and they were in the sun, we were at least covered by the shade of the beautiful oak trees! It was nice to have a running buddy, it made the time pass very quickly on these miles, her hubs and two kids were waiting for her at the Audubon Park section of the run and we decided to take a walk break- my legs were starting to hurt and I figured it would help keep things stretched out.

At this point I had seen quite a few people on the side of the road passed out from the heat, others on the side stretching and looking horribly worn out and I was just glad to still be moving forward. Mile 9 was my longest mile- I walked a good bit that mile and it came in at a 14 min/mile. I started to run again, but my running buddy wasn’t ready to run yet so she stayed back as I went on. Mile 10 I walked a bit, but miles 11-the end I decided that my legs were in pain and whether I walked or ran they would hurt, so I needed to run it out to finish sooner  and stop hurting. Around 12 ½ miles in there were people handing out whisky shots, I was struggling to keep running and ignored them and then Katy Perry’s song ROAR came on my ipod… and people were saying you are almost there – and I just took off- the lyrics got to me, and I started tearing up and then I turned a corner and saw I only had a few blocks and I could see the finish line… I got to run in to probably the BEST song that could have come up randomly on my playlist for the half… yes I like when Britney’s “Work B” song comes on, but its still not as good as ROAR…. 

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)
Get ready cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now

[Chorus]
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You’re gonna hear me roar

Now I’m floating like a butterfly
Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes
I went from zero, to my own hero

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)
Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now

[Chorus]
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You'll hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You're gonna hear me roar...

Ro-oar, ro-oar, ro-oar, ro-oar, ro-oar

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You'll hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You're gonna hear me roar...

I just finished a HALF MARATHON… and I am in shock!!! ... and need to hold onto the rail to stand!

 

 

 

Sorry this post is so long, will finish the update tomorrow.... :)

Two Days!!!

The countdown is on, only two days til my first HALF MARATHON!!!!!  I may or may not be TOTALLY FREAKING OUT!!

 

 

I know I have trained for this, but did I train enough?? The furthest I have run is 10 miles at once and that was a few weeks ago.... being sick near the end really messed me up. I log my mileage and workouts on Daily Mile and they have an app that links with them called electric miles. It helped me track my mileage when training for the 150 mile bike ride I did in April and the two tri's I have done (this past July and last September). If you don't have a tracking tool I recommend it!

 

 

My running over the past year, by month. The past two months my mileage has been high due to training for the half and I expect it to keep growing due to the fact that my crazy self signed up for a marathon the same day I signed up for my half. I will be running the Rock N Roll New Orleans with my cousin and two friends as of right now.



Once I complete the full - and raise money for the American Heart Association in memory of my dad- I will be back to just 5ks and 10ks as my long distances. I am not a distance runner. My long runs are TOUGH and I just enjoy running 3 - 4 miles, but my long runs on the weekend are a chore and not fun at all. I am not a runner's build, I have a lot of weight I am putting on my joints when I run and its tough. AND I want to get back to my happy weight and long distance running has made me GAIN weight - I am hungry ALL the time!

Workout Wednesday- Full Body Circuit with a Step

If you haven't noticed by now, my favorite workout is the full body circuit - it torches calories and works every muscle,  when you are training for running events, its nice to be able to get all the muscles at one workout so you can maximize your running time!


For warmup, we jogged for about 3 minutes, then side shuffled on each side for a minute each (5 minute warm up).

Do each item for 45 seconds unless reps are given- go through each circuit 3 times before moving to the next circuit:


Circuit 1:

• push-ups with your toes on a step (you can modify by not putting your toes on the step- I had to do this after a couple on the step- its no joke doing pushups on a decline)
• sumo squats with one armed cleans using 8-10lbs (12 with each arm)
• bicycles for ab work
• 90 seconds of cardio: 45 seconds of high knees and 45 seconds of jumping jacks

Circuit 2:

• plank rows 8-10lbs with toes on a step - get in plank position with weights under hands and row with each arm, one at a time
• lunges with 8-10lbs in each arm and your back leg on the step (12 each side)
• sit ups touching the floor behind you and then your toes which are perched on the step with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle with the floor
• 90 seconds of cardio: 45 seconds of butt kickers and 45 seconds of jumping over the bench back and forth

Circuit 3:

• plank on elbows to plank on hands up and down with toes on the step
• squat down to sit on step and stand up again without using your hands - DEEP squats, it will burn!
• Russian twists
• 90 seconds of cardio: 45 seconds of running in place and 45 seconds of jumping on and off the step

You will torch calories and you will get in great cardio, but you will also be building great muscles!

Two Years Ago Today

Two years ago, the most amazing man I have ever met asked me to marry him... and it seems like it was just yesterday!

We were at the LSU Florida game and I had NO CLUE. That day tailgating I was telling my friends that we were never getting married and we were just going to date forever. He threw me off really well because a lot of my friends were getting married/engaged and all talking about it and asking him when he was going to propose the week before and I told him that it wasn't coming from me and that I was happy with us where we were and I didn't want him to think I was trying to pressure him. The night before this game we were staying at my friend Tara's and she was looking at engagement rings and I told him the same thing I had the week before... and he said "Well, just don't drink the Kool-Aid" which made me mad because anytime we had talked about marriage he had been the one to bring it up- and he had been talking about it for about a year at that point. So he did a great job throwing me off.

A guy 3 people down from me on our row proposed to his girlfriend at half time, no lie. I chose that as my time to clarify how NOT to propose to a girl. You do NOT propose at half time, there are many reasons why this is a bad idea, but mainly what if we end up losing the game? Then the proposal and start of a future together is tainted by a loss!! Secondly, she will be distracted from the game looking at her ring- not what you want during an LSU game. (I said all this with NO IDEA what was about to happen that night.)

After the game was over I asked my sister to take our picture because we hadn't gotten one that night. He took that as his opening to propose..

 

 

As soon as the picture was over he started talking and turned me to face him, at first I thought he was joking because of all the comments I made about proposing and we did end up winning the game, so I thought he was picking on me- hence the slightly pissed off face in the first picture.

 

Then when he started fumbling for his pocked and I realized he was serious, I was surprised, totally caught off guard...

 

 

 

I was so happy

 

 

 

 I don't even think I said yes before I kissed him!!!

 

 

then I said yes... and put the ring on myself, haha, I liked it ALOT and couldn't wait to get it on my finger!!

 

 

He then let me know that all my friends and family knew and that's why they were giving him a hard time about it. He planned a celebratory engagement lunch for the next day and invited my whole family!

 

 

I love that he knows how important family is to me and included them in the event! It made it that much more special!

 

My favorite- she really loves him a lot, after this picture was taken she started crying and saying how happy she was for us. I am so glad she was there to share this with us!