21 Day Fix: Day 2

This morning I woke up with sore legs, a sore butt, and just a general overall soreness. It is the feeling you get after you know you have busted your butt doing a good workout. Needless to say, I knew that today's workout was going to be harder than I figured simply because of the soreness.

I woke up late and before I realized it, I had not eaten all day. I got up and moving around 4 and took myself to the local Japanese restaurant where I ordered myself a dynamite roll. It met part of my meal for the day, but I know it was a no-no to simply not eat all day. I wasn't sure what the measurement was, but I knew that I had not met my daily quota, so I'm calling it a draw.

I completed the Day 2 workout which was called The Upper Fix. It worked on the upper body and much to my dismay still caused me to use my legs, which are still super sore. After the workout I finally had more mobility. I'm thinking the more I workout the better I'll feel. I've got to get these legs out of the sore phase and ASAP.

After the workout, I helped myself to another chocolate and peanut butter protein shake and am finally getting to relax. Hoping tomorrow's workout goes as smooth.

Until later,
Jana

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21 Day Fix: Day 1

Well, it has been a while since I last logged in and made a post. As usual, life happened and a lot of things got in the way. My relationship of 9 years ended and it has been an endless journey of trying to cope and move my life forward. I mention all this because it was (and still is) an important part of me. As I am moving forward, I am excited about some of the more positive changes coming. Some of which include a new job and a new town. I have accepted a new job teaching 6th grade Social Studies and I am very excited! I'll be moving closer to my family as well. But anyway, all of this will be reserved for another post. Onto the 21 Day Fix.

Monday on June 8, 2015 I began my 21 day journey to a healthier me. As I haven't really worked out much since returning from Disney in February, it is high time I get my butt into gear. I have signed up for the Disney Half Marathon in January of 2016 and its time to get prepared to start training. I'm excited because B is running the full marathon, but I'll leave that to her to tell you all about! :)

The premise of the program is you eat food that fit into these color coded boxes for 21 days and follow the workout plan and it is supposed to help you lose weight, tone up, etc. Each box represents a certain food and based on your weight determines how many times you get to fill each box.  If you know me, I am always up for trying something different, and given that I have had several friends recommend this program, I figured why not. You can read more about the actual program here.

Prior to starting, I read through the nutrition book and got to really know each of the containers. I took sharpie to mine and labeled them, but some people prefer to make real labels. I simply wrote the number of times I am allowed to fill each box a day and wrote the type of food that could go inside of it. So for example, I wrote the number 6 on the green box and labeled it Veggies. That means I can fill that box up to 6 times a day with veggies. I then checked out the shakeology cup that came with my set and looked through the videos that came with the kit. I actually sat down and watched the first DVD so I would know what to expect. Upon watching the videos I noticed that they did advertise for shakeology a lot. Shakeology is the nutritional meal supplement that is supposed to help with recovery after a workout, however it is a little more pricey than I could afford. I simply found a protein powder that was similar and more in my price range by looking online and reading a few nutritionists blogs. 

I also know that taking your measurements and pictures for starting was important. I typically would go ahead and post my before pictures and measurements, but I think I want to wait until I'm done with my first 21 days. I really want to see what kind of difference there is. And I'm a little embarrassed if I'm completely honest with myself. 

For my first day, I started out the best way I knew how. I made a pre-workout shake (chocolate protein powder, 8oz water, half a banana, and ice) and waited for it to kick in before launching into my very first workout which was the full body fix. Needless to say, it lived up to it's name. Less than an hour after finishing, my glutes and quads were KILLING me! I know it is because those muscles haven't been pushed that hard since February. I know now that I really need to get my butt in gear so that's not an issue. After the workout finished, I once again fueled up with a recovery shake (chocolate protein powder, 8oz water, 2 tsp peanut butter, and ice) and took a hot shower to help soothe the soreness. 

According to the plan, each of the shakes constituted a red container, the peanut butter constituted 2 teaspoons, and the half a banana was considered a purple container. For lunch I enjoyed a salad with chicken tenders on top with some avocado lime ranch (4 green containers, an orange, and a red) Dinner was a red container of pan seared chicken, 2 green containers of broccoli, and a blue container of cheese. Believe it or not, I still had plenty of options left to eat. It felt good to know that I'm making good choices for myself and I can still have other things to eat should I feel hungry. I really think this program is going to be a good one. I can't wait to hit Day 21. 

I'll be making daily posts or posting every other day in hopes that anyone else interested can do this as well. If you have any suggestions, please drop them in the comments and I look forward to updating soon!

Always,

Jana

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Princess Half Marathon

I find it almost overwhelming to blog about such an important accomplishment of mine, so I guess there is no better place to start than at the beginning. So here it goes.

We boarded the buses from our resort about 3:30 a.m., but I promise you I had been wide awake since about midnight, I was just so pumped up and ready to go. I was so excited when we got to Epcot, as that was my first real life glimpse of Spaceship Earth. I've been curious about what that thing was since I was a child, I always thought it was some big golf ball!

We all three posed for pictures. Jana and I in our costumes, and Adam dressed as none other than my husband! Oh well, he may not be one for dressing up, but he makes a pretty cute husband.  We also got to hang out a little bit with Ivonna Dream, who basically is a poor man's Fairy Godmother, meaning she was HILARIOUS.

Soon it was time for me to part from the group. We were all in 3 different corrals. I was in Corral K. In a way, I was glad to be headed to the start line by myself as it gave me time to get centered. The walk to the corrals was about 20 minutes, which was a nice little warm up. When I got to the corral, I talked to one or two people around me, got my iphone ready to go, and sat down to listen/watch the announcers of the race. I could not even see the start line until several of the corrals had started ahead of me, and we moved up.

I surprisingly did not have the nerves I have had at the start of other races. I felt prepared and ready. 

My corral went off about 30 minutes after the first corral. There were a lot of people, and it slowed me down quite a bit. I also did a lot of weaving around people, but that didn't really bother me. I just had to be really aware of my surroundings. The first mile came up really quick! But my pace was like 2 minutes slower than I usually go. But I decided not to worry about it. This race was never about personal records for me. In the first couple of miles, I also saw the first characters on the course. I made a choice I wouldn't really stop for characters unless the line was short and it was worth it. But I did love seeing Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa, and the big old pirate ship.

 

After about mile 3, we ran past the entrance sign to the Magic Kingdom, which was so exciting! But it would be two more miles before we actually got into the Magic Kingdom. We also passed by one of my favorite character groups, the villains group! How awesome is the Queen of Hearts?  

Around mile 4, the cheering crowds were electric, and I loved reading their signs. They had funny ones that said, "Have Fun Storming the Castle," and "Worst Parade Ever." But also motivational ones like, "Remember when you thought you couldn't do this?" That one almost made me cry.

Mile 5, I glimpsed Space Mountain and I knew we were almost there.  

Running through Magic Kingdom was exhilarating. Seeing the castle for the first time was mind blowing.  And I loved, loved, loved seeing Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff sending us well wishes from the castle balcony. When I was showing Adam the picture I took of them from the race, he said, "Oh, I saw them too!" But he had no clue who they were. I guess Frozen fever hasn't reached Adam. 

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay in the Magic Kingdom forever. And it was a bit of a long slog back down the highway to return to Epcot. Just outside the Magic Kingdom, I saw Mary Poppins, Bert, and the penguin! I almost stopped, but I just wanted to keep going. So I did.

The next three miles went by step by step. I never stopped running the entire race, except to take pictures. Around mile ten, we had to go up an on ramp for an overpass. On top of the hill, the toy soldier from Toy Story was barking orders. I decided to take a picture with him. After I took the picture, he said I had to run fast because I had to make up the 30 seconds I had stopped to snap the photo.

After posing with the green soldier, there was nothing left to do but keep going. The race definitely got harder at this point, but it never felt impossible. I never felt like I had to stop. I was so very happy to finally enter Epcot though, knowing I only had one mile left to go. 

I stopped and posed with royal Minnie, right before crossing the finish line.  I wanted to soak up that finish line moment. It felt so very good. I was so happy I made it. One year of planning and training and I made it! I finished in 3 hours 36 minutes. Not a stellar time, but I stopped for a lot for photos, and I had to go slower than normal due to crowds. But I was still so proud.  

My first goal was just to finish. My second goal was to run the whole thing. I accomplished both.

Adam was already at the finish line. Yeap, he passed me during the last mile, because he didn't stop at all. What a show off. But I was so incredibly proud of the both of us. I think we both felt like rock stars.

My run tracker app clocked me as having run 14 miles. Yes, all the bobbing and weaving added an extra mile to my race. Which is kind of awful, but now I know I can run 14 miles.

After the race, we hit up the hotel food court, swam a little, and then took long naps. That was a much deserved nap. It felt so good.

I'm already eying a marathon in 2017.  Probably in Walt Disney World, because why would I do one elsewhere? Yes, it seems impossible and scary to me now, but so did a half marathon once upon a time.

I got the kindest comments and responses to my announcement that I had completed the half. These are my two favorites, my husband's and my niece, Kayla's facebook statuesus.

This will most likely be my last post on this blog. But you can follow me on my personal blog, One if By B.

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The Last Long Run

Tonight I completed my last long run before my half-marathon, which is exactly two weeks away (eck)! I went ten miles. I had hoped to be going the full distance by now. But I got a little behind due to my wisdom teeth surgery, but I'm pretty sure I can get to 13.1 miles on race day, even if I have to walk the last couple of miles.

Plus, I feel like there will be something special about the first time I ever go 13.1 miles being on race day. 

I was pretty pleased with my time. I completed the ten miles in 2 hours and 12 minutes. That is an average of 13:15 a mile, although several of those early miles were in the 12 minute range. So that leaves a whole hour for me to get in three more miles on race day, since the race has to be completed in 3 hours and 30 minutes. 

I felt pretty good throughout the whole run. The last time I did an 8 mile plus run, I ended up feeling pretty dizzy and sick afterwards. This was most likely due to my mistake of choosing not to hydrate during the run. So lesson learned. 

This time I popped two bottles of coconut water into my mailbox, along with some Gatorade energy chews. Every two miles I would stop and drink some water and have a few chews, before getting going again. This HELPED a lot.

Besides some soreness (which is to be expected), I feel pretty good now that the run is done. I'm feeling pretty confident about the Princess Half tonight, although I'm sure I will be pretty freaked out race day (because I know myself). 

So now 5 short runs is all that stands between me and my journey of becoming a half-marathoner. I just can't believe it.

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One Month Plus One Day

 

The pieces of my Belle inspired running costume for the Princess Half Marathon have started coming in, and I'm starting to love it. I am still waiting on a few portions of the costume to come in the mail, I'm really thinking the costume is going to be great! Tomorrow the race will be exactly one month away, and I'm starting to get nervous.

Part of the reason I'm nervous is I had wisdom teeth surgery and that has really slowed me down. I haven't run in a week, and I haven't gotten in a run over 6 miles in two weeks Well, actually that is not true. I ran a mile on Sunday night, before my mouth started to hurt, and I had to quit.  Then, my mother came over and caught me running, and then she got mad at me. She said I could have wiggled loose my blood clots and aggravated my gums. I think she is paranoid, but she called me DUMB. Who knows, maybe she is right.

My goal is to get back on track tomorrow with my weekday half hour runs. I am paranoid that I've lost all my stamina, and I will never get it back, and I won't complete the race (probably a stupid worry). I need to at least be running ten miles again by half marathon time. I think the adrenaline can get me through the last 3 miles. Plus, I'm not worried about running the whole half marathon. This is my first half, and I just want to finish (hopefully in an up-right position).

Finishing the half-marathon is my number one goal right now, and I'm so overwhelmed with the want to achieve this goal that I am totally freaking myself out. But I'm always freaking myself out over one thing or another. But the other part of this nervous equation of knowing that I only have a month until I have to run a half-marathon is the pure excitement of knowing I only have one MONTH until I'm in Disney world!!

One month till Disney people, this is going to be epic. 

 

Brittany

 

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runDisney Peter Pan Costume Idea

I was just thinking about costumes I would like to do if I ever did another run Disney event, and I was thinking even though Peter Pan is a boy, he could make a really fun costume for a girl. And what is better than the song, "You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!" as inspiration for a race? So here is a simplistic take on a Peter Pan costume. 

1. I love this Think of the Happiest Thoughts Tee for the race. Find it here. 

2. Isn't this Peter Pan bow precious? Find it here.

3. I think this cute earrings would be a nice addition for the costume. Find it here.

4. These are just some running shoes, that would match the Peter Pan outfit. Find it here.

5. This running skirt is so perfect! I can't get over it. Find it here.

Never Grow up,

Brittany

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Preparing for Documenting our Disney Trip

I am a big memory keeper, and this year I'm doing project life. (You can read about that here if you don't know what that is). But I'm planning to do a whole separate album to document our trip, and I have big plans for it. I decided to make a page about the decision of why we are going to Disney (The half marathon). You should be able to click the images to enlarge them a bit.

For this page, I mainly used the Princess themed cards from Becky Higgins Official Project Life products. I really liked using the once upon a time prompt to share a small bit of Jana and I's running journey (I wrote about it as you would tell a fairytale story). I also included our picture from out first ever completed race (Can't wait for our next after race shot after the half)! I snagged the Princess Half Marathon Medal Pictures and Logo from doing a google search. Lastly, I took a screen shot of my confirmation e-mail I received after signing up for the race!

Before I even share anything about my planning page that I made for the album (which is my favorite by the way), I will point out that I am aware I spelled "recieve" wrong, I know it is receive. And as soon as I popped the card in the album, I became acutely aware of this mistake! But photoshop does not have spell check, and spelling was never my strongest subject. But since I'm am embracing imperfection this year, I am just leaving it for now. Unless it really starts to bug me, and I have to reprint it, but I'd rather not pay for the print 2x, even if it crazy cheap.

I wanted to document the planning process because I really believe what the quote says on this scrapbook page, "A huge part of the fun is anticipating the trip!"  And Jana and I should know because we text about the trip and what we want to do nearly everyday!

For this page, I used the super cute Project Mouse Planning Kit. I plan on using so many of her kits for scrapbooking my whole Disney album. I included a list of our dining reservations, to-do list, and our general schedule. I also liked the "step 1 booked" card, as it allowed me to document when we actually booked our trip! Can't believe that was back in August!

And this is the album I am using for all my Disney scrap booking. Adam (my husband) got me this gift for Christmas, it is an album that is just like the one Carl and Ellie had in the movie Up! How perfect is that?

Adventure is Out there,
Brittany

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9.5 Miler. Check.

I woke up on New Year's Day, and I did an epic New Year's run. I went 9.5 miles for the first time in forever (yes, I just referenced Frozen, deal with it). I was so nervous before the run, I decided to go after my afternoon nap. Of course,when I laid down for the nap, I couldn't sleep, knowing that run was hanging over my head. 

So I pulled myself out of bed, had a small snack, pulled on my running gear, and I started my run around the neighborhood. I also prayed a lot before the run. I would say the first 5 miles went by pretty easily, and I was making good time, averaging sub 13 minute miles. About mile 6, I started to feel fatigued, and I slowed down a lot, but I just kept pushing myself to go another half mile and another half mile.  

When I got to mile 8, I was really gassed, and I really had to push myself. But I did, I just kept concentrating on making it one more .1 at a time (because that was all I could force myself to do).  When I hit 9.5 miles, I was sooo DONE. I was about a half mile from home, the distance I usually walk for a cool down, but I called my husband, and I had him come pick me up.

I really wasn't feeling the best after my run. Not like I usually feel. I'm usually so hopped up on adrenaline, and I am very energetic & talkative. But instead I felt somewhat queasy and somewhat dizzy, and I just wanted to sleep.

 I don't like to carry water much when I run, and I don't own a water belt at this point. So I think I was dehydrated, despite trying to drink a lot of water all day. I've decided for future long runs, I am going to stash some water around my route, so I stay hydrated. I also think the dehydration led to the slow down for me and affected my time. But I'm still pleased with my time! So no complaints here.

After a bottle of water and a hot bath/shower, I was feeling much better. And I was finally able to let the pride of going so far sink in. I can't believe how far I've come!

Now it is time to focus on that 11 miler next weekend (ecck)!

Until my next run,

Brittany

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