Supplements- are they worth it?

There is a lot of scrutiny surrounding supplements; are they effective, safe, etc.

Though I do not have the answers for you I can give you my opinion.

I started taking VitaMax a little over a week ago.  I haven't had any adverse side effects as a matter of fact it has given me energy.  Along with that energy is also a decreased appetite ( I am still eating!)  Just LESS.  

I've only been taking these for a few days.  I have not recognized any odd behaviors, no sleeplessness, and I wake in the morning refreshed.  I'm going to wait until Sunday to weigh myself and I will report to you, my blog buddies, the results.  I have been maintaining a weight around 159 for several weeks! Can't wait to see if that goes down.

I am not expecting miracles, but I hope combined with my workouts I will see some results.  

Today, was a 6-mile day, I took my lunch and went for a run around Jamaica Plain and Brookline!  It's really muggy but I'm at my desk re-hydrating as I type :)

What is your opinion on Supplements? Would you take them?

I'm happy to be your lab rat :)  

Weekend Rewind

What a weekend!  Everything flew by soo fast, and we bounced all over Mass, but now it's time to get down to another work week.

Friday- First thing in the am (after taking the doggies for their walk)  I got in my 6 miles.

A little slower than usual, but still DONE :)

Then it was off to CountryFest with Mike-  I've wanted to go for years and we had a blast!

Would've been a great picture without the crazy eyes!  We had awesome seats except for they were on the side of the stage and you couldn't see the screens behind them-

So we walked around a bit to watch from different angles!

Saturday- Brynne's 2nd Bday

 It was all about Elmo- and I need to get better at taking pictures because I have none from the evening with the fam!

Sunday- Devens

We headed out to our wedding venue to meet with our event coordinator.  We got a few things figured out and my Dad and Maid of Honor got to see the space.

Though it was an ultimately exhausting weekend and all I wanted to do was go home and lay on the couch with Mike- I stayed on track and got my training run done

I'm struggling with getting all of my goals accomplished every week, but i'm finding that setting them helps so here's this weeks goal recap:

1. I did 3/4 runs for the week, only missing the Thursday 4 miler.

2. I didn't make Bodypump classes, but I'm planning to attend tonight

3. I've been eating greener in general, I'm getting excited about my weight loss again which helps to keep on track!

Goals for this week:

1. Do all of my training runs!

2. Go to at least 2 bodypump classes

3. Incorporate 2 HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) classes into my weekly rountine

4.  DO MORE CORE!  A strong core = better, faster, stronger running

This week is NO EXCUSES for me.  My body hurts and I'm tired, but I just need to push through this week and it WILL get easier!

What are your plans for the Holiday weekend?

Mike and I are headed to the Cape for a friends wedding and some relaxation, can't wait!

Hump Day

By far the greatest commercial

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

Just have a few quick words for everyone this morning.  Checking in with my goals for the week.

I missed my 6-miler yesterday, work got in the way!  I made up for it this morning though!

I have to attend BodyPump on both Thursday and Saturday to get both of those in this week.  So I'll keep you updated!

As for eating more veggies, I'm working on it, I put Lettuce, tomato and pickles on my sandwich every day :)  Does that count?

Not quite 6 miles, but I squeezed in what I could.

This week has been super busy so far and I don't see it slowing anytime soon so I'll take what I can get

Also this week I am starting a new Dietary Supplement called VitaMax.  I am looking to lose a few pounds so this was touted by Women's health as a miracle.  Let me be your lab rat and see how miraculous it actually is!

Stayed Tuned, my approximate starting weight (Sunday) Was 159 lbs.  I'll update you on Sunday :)

I'm waiting for the Second Supplement to come that I'm supposed to take in conjunction with it, awaiting its arrival!

What are you up to on Hump Day? 

Staying on Track

Today was a nice day, relaxing and productive just like a Sunday should be

Had a ham, egg and cheese on an english muffin and a big bowl of fruit, delicious!  

Then it was off to visit Dad for his birthday!  Happy Birthday Dad! (he doesn't like his picture taken)  The dogs had a blast playing in the pond in front of Grampa's house

* Not at Grampas house, but I love this pic of the fam and I don't think I posted it.  This is from NH a couple weeks ago

Mike worked all day yesterday so when I got home I decided I would go for a run

My 6 mile run accidently became 9 (which is what I think I was supposed to do anyway) so oh well.  It was a great run with an awesome hill!

I received this message in my email this morning which was a great way to start the day on Monday morning

Now I want to run that hill even faster next time.  I have a massage appointment tonight with my main man Mike (yes the same name as my fiance)  I love Mike's in my life apparently!

Goals for this week:

1.  Eat more veggies!
2. Make it to Bodypump at least 2x this week
3. Do all of my listed training runs
Tuesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: 6 miles
This way you can all hold me accountable when you don't see a MapMyRun for my training runs :)

What are your goals for the week?

I'm going to run...a MARATHON!!

So I've finally decided to take the big leap and share with everyone (to hold myself accountable) that I will be running a marathon in 2014.  

I am already starting my training and plan to carry it through the winter (on a treadmill when I have to) 

Night One of my official training went well!  Although I left my headphones at home so it was just myself and my thoughts for 6 miles last night-dangerous!

This was a very enjoyable run around town.  I need to find a good 6 mile loop!  Anyway, it's a busy day week here at the lab so I need to get rolling!

What are you doing for fitness fun this evening?

I'll be spending mine at the gym for a core and back workout!  Can't wait :)  Have a great day everyone!

Falmouth Road Race 2013 and more

Mike and I spent Saturday Morning handing out race numbers to all those that could make it to the expo and those who sent others because they were stuck in a 6 mile back up at the bridge!!!  Ewww...  so glad we trekked down late on Friday night :)

Saturday flew by I caught up with friends that I haven't seen in a while, Love ya Julia, and then got a good nights rest before race day!

 I'm always a little bit of a spaz on race day, also no matter what I do i'm nervous!  So I woke up late (yup that's right) and arrived at the bus area with everyone else (and their mother)

Everything went really smoothly though and I had plenty of time to prepare myself prior to the race...  This is just an example of how packed the corrals were!

I managed to set a Personal Record for myself yesterday!  My average 7 mile time was 1:10 approximately.

Not too shabby considering the heat and terrain of this race ( a lot of hills and one BIG hill at the end)

SO I believe I earned my self a little recovery time... we all went to the beach for the afternoon and spent time relaxing and hanging out with the dogs! (shiloh's not pictured because she won't sit still long enough for me to take a picture!)

All and All it was a wonderful Falmouth Road Race weekend!  I saw a few old friends, enjoyed a couple good nights with some close friends.  I appreciate all the love and support from everyone, and I'm going to keep running down all of my dreams and hopefully you'll stay tuned to see what's next.

Goal Recap:

1. I ran at least 3x last week (including the road race)  My goal is 3-4 this week as well.

2.  I made it to 1 bodypump class last week (fail!) but I'm going to do two this week.  I have 1 scheduled for tonight and Thursdays are becoming my other bodypump night.

3.  I didn't make it to a spinning class.  My schedule got out of control last week but i'm going to put it on this weeks goal list.

4.  Eat leaner and healthier and not snack late night!

Tip Tuesdays- Hold yourself Accountable

If I have learned nothing during my long journey to health and fitness it's this:

Find a way to hold yourself accountable!

1. Set a goal

 This was one of the first places I slipped up.  I had set a goal to run a half marathon, and I did! BUT, then I had reached my goal, and didn't set another one.  Hence, the falling off the bandwagon.  

So everyone, set a goal, attain a goal, and then REPEAT!

This is one of the first lessons I learned while doing Weight Watchers years ago.  Don't set a goal to drop 50 lbs.  Do it in 5-10lb increments.

My current goal is to PR my next half-marathon in October which I am very excited about! I'm running the B.A.A. half marathon in Jamaica Plain

 I would like to run a sub-2hr half, guess I better get down to training!

 This was this morning's 3.o mile run- not to shabby!  Not sure I could keep that pace for another 10 miles, but I'm looking for an average around 9 min/mile. #NBFalmouth2013

2. Get an accountability buddy

This can be a tangible person that you can rely on to go for a run with or hit the gym with. By having this person take the journey with you, it will make it more likely that you will succeed in achieving your goals.

This can also be a virtual buddy.  There a ton of websites these days designed to help you meet people who are interested in doing the same activities and achieving the same goals as yourself.  Examples are Sparkpeople, Team Beachbody, Fitocracy, and myfitnesspal.  Just to name a few.  Get on and get chatting and working out of course.

Also, since I've already mentioned my experience with Weight Watchers I will put it here as well.  Weight Watchers is designed to hold you accountable.  Weekly meetings are there to keep you on track and help you to move forward in reaching your weight loss and fitness goals.  Everyone is there for the same reason and it can be a really great support system if your just starting out.

3. Start a blog

This is the new path that I have decided to take to help hold myself accountable to the goals that I set.  I will put it out there for all to see.

By making your goals public and talking about them in a forum such as a blog you are making yourself accountable.  

Goal: Falmouth Road Race 2013

We are less than a week away from the 2013 Falmouth Road Race.  This race is super special to me, it's my hometown race and I will be running it for the very first time!  

Can anyone say super-anxious!!!!

This is just one example of the beautiful vistas I will encounter on my 7-mile trek from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights and I can't wait to take it all in :)

On another note:  Some of you may have wondered where I ran off to... I stopped, I stopped running, I stopped lifting (Beer doesn't count) and I stopped caring!  Guess what, I gained a few pounds back, fell out of the best shape of my life and spiraled out of control and I'm not happy with myself.  

So today, I declare a restart.  I'm going to start fresh with the motivation to get it done, everyday until it becomes HABIT again!

Goals for the week:

1.  Get in a run at least 3 days this week leading up to the race, 3-4 miles a day

2.  Get to Bodypump at least 2x this week

3. Attend my first spinning class in over 2 years

What are your goals for this week?

Words I am going to live by~ 

1/2 Marathon Recap: Lessons Learned

Starting line photo!  Let the games  race begin...

I totally exceeded any expectations I had for my first half, I finished in a respectable 2 hours and 1 minute FLAT!  That's my celebratory dance

So for those of you who might not know my mother passed away last year from complications of breast cancer, so naturally this run was for her!

I also ran in support of #weareboston, #bostonstrong, because they messed with the wrong city!

 

We inacted a little finish line rewind with Kate, I came across the finish line and everyone missed it!  So naturally what did I do, ran back out and finished the race again with Kate :)

Cinco de Mayo celebration at Jalepeno's in Gloucester, MA.  DElicous mexican delites for this fun, festive and celebratory day!

I wanted to end with a brief recap of the things that I learned from doing my first half marathon that will better prepare me for the future

1. Instate a better pre-race warm up.  Simply bending over and touching my toes and a couple quad stretches was relatively insufficient
2. Incorporate more foam rolling and yoga into my everyday routine
3. Fuel, Fuel, FUEL! (and not with Margaritas and quesadillas) hehe