What's up Wednesday 5/8

Thank goodness it's Wednesday...only a few more days till the weekend! 

This weekend is going to be so much fun!

[shenanagins with Hollie]

What's up with Marathon training?

Crappy Good old taper time.

Did you see my Acronym for TAPER yesterday? 

Well you should because Emily Blunt made a guest appearance.

Physically I feel...OK right now.

Calves are sore, but I'm stretching them a lot, 

and basically living in compression socks.

That is actually one of my goals right now, stretch more.

I'm horrible about it... I was super proud last night though...

I stretched on the stairs after my run last night forever for 10-15 minutes, AND stretched for 20 minutes later on. My muscles are thanking me for it today.

What else is going on with marathon training? WEATHER CHECKING.

I'm still outside the 10 day weather report but doesn't mean I can't stalk Cleveland.

Still 2 days out from marathon day (May 19th) showing up.
Personally, if it is going to be anything over 65-70 I want a little mist or rain.
I'm not acclimating to the heat well this year, so I really don't want a hot race day.

What's up with Triathlon training?

Short story: I've been slacking on it, but I AM getting in the pool today.

Mentally I just need the marathon to be done,

so I can put 100% focus on tri-stuff.

What's up with my nutrition?

I've been obsessed with salads lately.

And nachos with fresh salsa.

Hell, I have even been adding fresh salsa to my salads.

What's up with Work?

Still doing both jobs but have been doing much less at the restaurant.

2 days of doubles this week. BOO.

As for my Series 7 studying, its going well.

I'm really getting the hang of it and that makes me happy.

There is a TON of material but I've been working hard at it. 

I'll be registering for my exam and hopefully be taking it by the end of the summer.

Good news is I passed my background check 

No drug background, no DUI's, no felony charges and no misdemeanor convictions.

Biggest thing they look for is fraud background

(Lie about it, and you'll get barred by the N.Y.S.E. funny how that works?ha.)

What's up with my ACE education?

This has had to take a back seat to my studying for Series 7 stuff, BUT I have been reading the material and working through it just not as much as I would like right now.

What's up with Wedding plans?

We are pretty sure we found the reception venue we want.

I love love love it :) 

Just waiting to see finalized pricing.

Small world, also found out someone I know well works there, and has major pull.

He has a TON of connections which can help us get more of what we want, 

without breaking the bank!

This is what the place will look like in the fall (our wedding is Fall of next year)
It's on Keuka Lake. The Ceremony will also be on the lake, but at Garrett Chapel.

What's up with my adorable nephew?

His head is what's up.
This little man is already amazingly strong.
Pretty sure he has been doing Pee-wee-90x 

What's up with your life right now?

Anything new and exciting?

What's up Wednesday 4/10

Life is busy right now: understatement of the century.

In order to wrap my own head around everything going on, I'm going to go back to a"What's up Wednesday" Post...Maybe it will help me make sense of it all (probably not.)

What's up with Marathon Training
Marathon #5 (Cleveland) is 38 days away, and at this point I am right on track for my goal: to finish.

In all seriousness, I did go into training for this marathon with the goal of just a solid time and another 26.2 in the books. But throughout the course of training I wavered between wanting to train for a faster time, and taking a conservative approach knowing my first half-iron man is a mere 56 days after the marathon.

I've done it before, I know I can do it again.

Training hasn't been great, it hasn't been horrible, but definitely not great.

My biggest problem right now is my motivation, or lack there of. Hopefully it shows up sometime soon, it did however make an appearance for this past Sunday's 20 miler, so maybe it's not 6 feet under, just 2 or 3 feet. Give me a shovel and some shit-kickers and Ill find that damn motivation if it's the last thing I do.

Realistically my goal for Cleveland has stayed in the "finish within my previous marathon ranges" which is good for me, seeing as my marathon times are in a wide range. Slowest being 3:46 and fastest being 3:21.....That gives me a 25 minute range to finish within, I think I can make that happen. (fingers crossed, oh hell everything is crossed at this point)


Whats up with Triathlon training?
Now that I have a new love of my life bike, I am feeling better heading into the Duathlon in a few weeks and tri's this summer. It's going to be a learning experience no matter what, so my expectations are less than stellar. No I am not selling myself short, or saying I can't do it, I'm just saying this is most likely going to suck time wise, and I am okay with that. John is going to take some time with me soon to help me with transition things, and other triathlon related issues which I know will help make me feel more comfortable.

Here's where things get a little....hectic....
A few weeks ago I announced I was enrolled in a Certified Personal Trainer course through ACE Fitness. At that time, I enrolled because I wanted to be working on something to better myself, and it was something my fiance and I could do together (we are both going through the program). I knew that at some point I was going to be taking some steps to further my career in the financial industry, but I assumed that was going to be down the road.

You know that saying... when you ASSume....(yeah we all know how that one ends)

Well shortly after I had decided to enroll in the CPT course, my boss decided to take me out to lunch. Little did I know I was in for much more than a meal. I knew that he has been wanting to retire but has had a hard time letting the business go. He came up with a solution which he proposed to me. Starting this summer, he is going to be only working 2-3 days a week so he can spend more time with his family (and golfing), which leaves me with a lot to manage. He also told me that he spoke with our affiliate company about sponsoring me to start working towards my Series 7 license. BOOM. For those of you who aren't familiar, a Series 7 license is required to be a registered representative of a broker-dealer, it's also known as the stockbroker exam.

I'll be honest, I took the job in the fall as a way to pay bills, never expecting it to be more than that.  This little old job just turned into a career. ("we're adults when did that happen and how do we make it stop?"-Grey's Anatomy)

I am over the moon about this, it's nothing close to what I EVER thought I would be doing, but I love it and it just so happens I'm good at it and pick up on it easily. It means a lot of changes though. This is a grueling 6 hour exam, which will take me to hell and back. Let's call it another job, because the studying I need to put into this is about as much time as I spend on work or training right now. I know that it will be worth it in the end, it just means the little time I have now is getting even smaller.

This also means that on top of 2 jobs, wedding planning and training...I am studying for my CPT (since I am enrolled in a program I have a certain amount of time in which I need to take the exam), AND studying for my Series 7 exam at the same time. [I'm exhausted just thinking about it all]

I know, I know, there are people with more going on. People with kids, people with more responsibilities. But the fact is, I don't have kids, but I still have a hell of a lot of responsibility right now. My training really is going to be my only "me time" for a while, and let's not even talk about the impact this is going to have on my time with the hubby-to-be.

The good thing is, he has been nothing but supportive and knows this is a really good thing for me, and down the road it will be worth it. Our dinner dates are now study dates, our reading in bed before bed is at an all time high, and both of our stress levels are well... lets just say, not low. The fact is, we don't always have a lot of time together as it is (and we live together), and this presents new challenges, but that's life. We are still going to going to be there for each other and make sure that we get time together, make sure we are "us", we are still looking at our future. The wedding will still happen next year, planning just has to take a back seat for the time being until we knock some things off the to-do list. Good news is, I already have my fabulous dress...so put me on a plane to Vegas and let's do this thing (well, not really....but if it happens, don't say I didn't warn you).

Now, more than ever training is going to be so important for me. Exercise is my stress reliever, exercise is my me time, and Lord knows I am going to need that to get through the next few months.

Am I going to have to be creative with my workouts in my schedule? Yes

Are there times I am going to be tired, and stressed and worn out? Yes

Can I get through that? absofuckinglutley

Running is my release, always has been and always will be. So my motivation might have taken some vacations a few times already this year, but when it comes down to it, I know that exercise and fitness is a priority and I need to make it happen. No way I can handle getting slow and gaining weight on top of everything so it's time to focus.

What are some ways you get workouts in when you simply don't have the time?

What are some tips about managing a schedule that you have?

What's up Wednesday

What's up Wednesday 

(this is what you get when I have 2 awesome posts I am working on, 

that just aren't quite ready yet!)

What's up with my running?

2 year Maraversary 3/26

I can't believe my next marathon is so close, a little over 50 days to go! Yesterday was my 2 year maraversary, 2 whole freakin' years since I ran my first marathon. Here I am training for numbers 5 & 6, my how time flies! Crazy to think how things have changed since then!
Yesterday: 5.2 mile shake-out/recovery run. Legs were still sore from Sunday's Around the Bay 30k, but I was very happy to be outside. 45 and sunny, therefore I didn't care how sore I was, I just wanted to run!
Today: I have an easy 6 miler on the schedule and am excited to hopefully get back outside! Legs are feeling better today (I did get a massage last night so that might have helped :) )

What's up with my Cross-training/Triathlon Training?
Last 2 weeks my XT/TT was kind of on the back burner in prep for at ATB30k this past weekend. I still did some but I wasn't focusing on it nearly as much. This week it's back to basics with running/XT/TT, gotta keep in a steady groove of training right now, too many races to worry about!
Today: I have a 70 minute endurance ride planned, as well as 30 minutes of laps in the pool.

What's up with my Nutrition?

My Fitness Pal

I have been pretty good lately, but I do think I am going to log my food for a little bit. I do not log my food every day, I don't think it helps me to do it ALL the time. I am conscious what I eat every day, and make mental notes, and adjust my intake/exercise based on that. I do however, use a wonderful app called My Fitness Pal. I do this for a few reasons, it helps me monitor intake/caloric burn, helps me stay accountable for what I am doing and it helps me to gauge where I am at. You can log your food/drinks you consume (their database has anything you can think of, and if it's not in there you can add it!), and you can log your workouts and it estimates your burn based on your weight, and the intensity/length/type of workout. I found that doing this each and every day got to be too much for me, I was worrying too much about my weight and getting too focused on the numbers. This is why I only do it about one week a month, it really helps me see where I am at, and base my intake on where I am at in my training. Some people do it every day and that works for them. If you are trying to lose weight, every day logging is a good idea to hold you accountable.

I have been making some nutritional changes the last few months and I have noticed some changes in my health because of it. I have been making SMALL changes, I am not a person who can just up and change everything at once, I do better with small goals and baby steps.

1. First thing I have changed is I changed my pasta to gluten free. I don't eat a lot of it (I used to eat pasta all the time), but when I do I noticed the gluten free pasta doesn't give me that overfull feeling. I did eat regular pasta this past weekend at a friends house before the race and I was fine, but that was the first time in months I have had it, and I noticed a huge difference.

2. I have been forcing myself to eat right after I run/workout. I know that the first 30 minutes after a workout are the most critical for recovery, the things you do (stretching, etc.) and eat during that time are crucial. I never really liked eating right after a run, my stomach never liked it either. I have been really good lately about making sure I have at least something right after, whether it be a protein bar, yogurt, or some snack to re-fuel. I have noticed that I am recovering quicker and that I have been able to do more the following day after hard workouts.

3. My other nutritional change, is a sugar-detox that I will be doing next week. Laura from Mommyrunfast started this and I am excited to do it. The Sugar-Detox-Challenge starts April 1 and runs through April 7th. I am doing level 1, which is cutting out added sugars, but I will also cut out as much processed foods as possible. I will post over the course of the week on the progress of this challenge! Try it out, right after Easter really is the best time to do it!

What's up with work?
Life has been, BUSY to say the least. I can say though, it has been a good busy. Work has been good, we have a lot going on right now but my boss has been in helping a lot so it makes it easier. He has also taken time lately to appreciate the hard work I have been putting in. This job is still new to me, but I am learning more and more every day and I couldn't ask for anything else. As for my part-time night job at the restaurant, I haven't been there much because I have so many things going on. I worked Monday night but wont work there again until my sister has her baby. I am so worried she is going to go into labor and it's not as easy to just walk out of work from the restaurant as it is from the office.

Speaking of the baby...where is my nephew?
Well, he is still cooking! This is actually a good thing though, my mom is out of town until Thursday for work, so my sister needs to hold that little man in for at least another day or so. We are all on edge waiting for the call that she is going into labor, luckily my parents and myself get the first call as we are the furthest away (about 1.5-2 hours). My sister is under direct orders not to call/text me right now unless it's the baby, because every time she does I jump out of my chair and almost have a heart attack thinking I need to get my butt down to the hospital. I can't wait to meet this little man, we have been waiting for so long and I have never been happier for my sister.

What's up with wedding planning?
Planning has been slow lately....I looked at my Google Drive last night, and noticed the wedding spreadsheet (yes, I am THAT person), hasn't been updated since February. The good news is we have a lead on a potential place for the reception and are waiting for them to update menu's so we can set up a time to meet. It's nice knowing I have my dress already, and that there are some other things already taken care of. Once we nail down the reception venue I will feel a ton better and can focus on some of the smaller(but still important) things.

What's up with my Education?
I announced on my blog last week that I was enrolled in a program to become a Certified Personal Trainer (YAY!!!). I am still waiting for my books to arrive (I am not being very patient!), I actually emailed the company today because I don't have a FedEx tracking number (why didn't they send this to me when I signed up....UGH!). I am very excited to start the work and excited to be a nerd and spend my nights reading and learning about fitness and exercise (something I clearly have a passion for). I have also been on the lookout for a Running Coach certification course, I am on the RRCA email list, just waiting for a course to come semi-close to here and you bet I will be signing up. I think between my ACE certification and getting my running coach certification it will really help me be more well rounded and help myself as well as others.

If you have time, I'd love some input on a few things (that are for some future posts that I am working on) you can leave a comment or email me at Lea.9487@gmail.com with your input! I really appreciate you opinions, I am looking forward to creating some interactive posts:)

1.What makes someone a runner?

2.How do you define running vs. jogging?

3.What makes someone an athlete vs. recreation runner/cyclist?

4.Do you think there is anything that makes one person more of a runner than another?

5.How do you feel about All-Womens events?

6.Do you think men have a right to complain about said events?