Neon Dash 5k

I've been wanting to do some type of color run for quite a while now and thanks to Groupon, I finally got my color on! Originally I had bought a Groupon for a color run back in December, but stuff got in the way of that one so sadly I missed it. But wouldn't you know another deal became available and #bonus it was at night! Sign. Me. Up. The one thing I hate about most races is that they start so freakin' early. A girl needs her beauty sleep!

Anyways...I bought two vouchers for this night time run called the Neon Dash...one for me and one for my brother as a Christmas gift. Neither of us had done a color run so we were both super excited. I always like to train for a run (I'm not a long distance person), but this time training did not go so well because of my knee. Do I sound like a broken record yet about my knee?!?!

Race day comes and we were ready to get colored. When I was reading about the race, everything said that what we would be colored with with non-toxic water. Turns out during the race it was still the regular colored powdered stuff not water :( But at the "after party" is when we were sprayed with the colored water. Also at the after party, they had black light photo booths set up so you could capture your glow in the dark awesomness.

Ok...enough of my rambling...on to the pictures...

Of course we had to take a #selfie before the race. And yes I know we look nothing a like, but I promise we are related...ha ha. 

Luckily were were toward the front of the race group so we got to leave with the first wave of runners

Just running on an overpass...it was pretty cool being able to see down town all lit up during our run. Ignore the fuzzy pic...I put my phone in a protective pouch ha ha. 

aftermath...

my knee brace still has a few pink spots on it...ha ha

Just dancing to the techno music with a big pink spot on my nose...

We had a great time! 

Weekend Update: 2/14 - 2/16

This picture is actually from 2 weekends ago when I went to the Hill Country to visit my Aunt. This is my new friend, Stormy, the only horse out of 6 horses that came to say hello. I love how we are both actually looking at the camera...ha ha.

Now to this past week/weekend...

I finally found almond milk yogurt!!!! I used it in my red velvet pancake recipe. Let's just say I was a little surprised when I opened it and it didn't look like regular yogurt...ha ha. I haven't tried it by itself yet, but I know there will be a night I forget to prep my breakfast for the morning, so I'm saving it for such an occasion.

As we were all reminded every day since Christmas, Valentines day was this past Friday. I didn't have much planned, other than trying not to eat the entire bag of m&m's sitting on my counter, and was completely surprised when I got this special delivery from a very special guy who is currently half way around the world!! I even rationed the 24 chocolate covered strawberries to last me through Sunday night...trust me that is a lot of self control for me!

Saturday, I did my one and only work out for the week, (shame shame) an hour and 5 mins on the treadmill! Two weeks ago, I instagrammed that I actually ran a mile for the first time since injuring my knee and since I was able to walk after that I decided to up it a little this time. I ran for a total of 1.5 miles and could still walk Sunday...woo hoo! After my workout, I let my heart rate monitor run a little longer and was surprised to see over 1000 calories when I finally stopped it! I've never seen the calories burned number that high, but then again most of my workouts are 20-45 mins. After my workout, I went back home to a pretty sad looking lunch...tuna and apple. I literally had nothing else...ha ha...I needed to go to the store bad!

To avoid eating tuna and apple for lunch and dinner, I went to the store and picked up some quick and easy meal items. Since starting the yeast free diet (which is more like 80/20 yeast free now) I crave Chipotle all. the. time. But my wallet just can't handle their expensive bowls :( So I decided to create my own! I heated up some black beans and pinto beans with a little seasoning, put those over a bed of torn spinach, put shredded chicken over that and finally some avocado...Delicious! Was it as good as Chipotle?!?! Of course not, but it didn't cost me quite as much ha ha. I had it for lunch Sunday as well and will probably eat the rest of it for lunch Tuesday.

After a very lazy Sunday morning of watching movies (I watched American beauty...one of two Oscar best picture movies I watched this weekend...the other one was In the Heat of the Night), I started working on a winter mesh wreath for Barrett's mom. His mom gave me a mesh wreath idea book for Christmas and picked out two that she "wanted" ha ha. Since all the Christmas/winter stuff went on sale right after I received the book, I decided to go scoop some stuff up and make one of the wreaths she liked. I think it turned out pretty decent. I'm going to surprise her with it this weekend when they are in town. Hopefully, I'll have two surprises for her, but the other one may not happen/get spoiled...ha ha The rest of Sunday was spent doing laundry and other chores while my dinner was cooking in the crock pot (more on that later).

How was y'alls weekend?

Where Have All the Workouts Gone?

Remember this??

So back in May I said I was going to give myself a much needed break from the gym because I started to get that burnt out feeling. Well I did and I didn't. As you know I took a little European vacation and was going to consider that my break, but wouldn't you know my Mom talked me into (ok she only had to ask once) going to the gym on the ship with her. We only went the one day we were at sea, but man did I go full out! I did a full body weight workout since they had a kettle ball at the gym followed by 30 minutes of 30 second sprints.

Then I came home and was ready to go back to the gym. Well even with that one workout in there during the two weeks I was already out of shape. But did I listen to my body when it was fatiguing earlier than normal? Nope I pushed on through and then regretted it the following days because I could barely move. So then I told myself I had to ease myself back into my routine. So it was two or three times a week the first two weeks. These last two weeks I've made it four times and hoping for four or more again this week.

You may also remember I was doing a squat challenge...Yeah...didn't finish that. I had every intention of doing squats on my trip, but once I was officially on vacation I said screw that! Ha ha. I got half way through and had minor results. Since my body was already used to doing the squats, I think my very minor results came through doing the stability ball catches with my feet. I have every intention of working those into my normal workouts. I might even give the squat challenge another try...who knows.

June 1st I started a core challenge. While I haven't followed the schedule to a T, I have done every set on the list...I may or may not have had to do 4 days in one day because I got sidetracked an entire weekend. So far I haven't seen any results from this one either. But then again most of the sets on the list I do on a regular basis and I haven't changed the way I eat...Mexican food is just too hard to give up. My friend has seen results, so I guess it does work.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
The Challenge: Do the listed crunches every day. Do any type of crunch you want, mix it up, do it throughout the day, focus where you want.						1-Jun
						30 crunches
The Twist: is located below the line. This is an optional challenge to  the challenge. It will focus on a specific area of your core.						30s plank 10 pushups (or chose 1 below)
2-Jun	3-Jun	4-Jun	5-Jun	6-Jun	7-Jun	8-Jun
35 crunches	40 crunches	45 crunches	REST	50 crunches	55 crunches	60 crunches
35 Hip Extensions 35 Quadrupeds (or chose 1 below)	1 set of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*		50s plank 15 pushups (or chose 1 below)	55 Hip Extensions 55 Superman (or chose 1 below)	2 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)
9-Jun	10-Jun	11-Jun	12-Jun	13-Jun	14-Jun	15-Jun
65 crunches	REST	70 crunches	75 crunches	80 crunches	85 crunches	REST
*Chose your own extra*		70s plank 20 pushups (or chose 1 below)	75 Hip Extensions 75 Quadrupeds (or chose 1 below)	3 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*
16-Jun	17-Jun	18-Jun	19-Jun	20-Jun	21-Jun	22-Jun
90 crunches	95 crunches	100 crunches	105 crunches	REST	110 crunches	115 crunches
90s plank 25 pushups (or chose 1 below)	95 Hip Extensions 95 Superman (or chose 1 below)	4 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*		110s plank 30 pushups (or chose 1 below)	115 Hip Extensions 115 Quadrupeds (or chose 1 below)
23-Jun	24-Jun	25-Jun	26-Jun	27-Jun	28-Jun	29-Jun
120 crunches	125 crunches	REST	130 crunches	135 crunches	140 crunches	145 crunches
5 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*		130s plank 35 pushups (or chose 1 below)	135 Hip Extensions 135 Superman (or chose 1 below)	6 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*
30-Jun
Day 30
150 crunches
150s plank 40 pushups (or chose 1 below)

Time to get Real

Currently I've been struggling with the fact that I may be burnt out at the gym. I was doing really good for a while. Especially when people stopped going to the gym during the winter and it was nice and quiet and empty!

If you've been following along with my weekly workout updates (wwu) you've probably noticed that I'm doing a lot more steady cardio instead of circuit training or HIITs. I think my body, while not sore, is physically tired. Lately, at least once a week, I've decided to take naps in my workout clothes instead of actually going to the gym .

I also think the weather may be an issue too. It's starting to get hot and when that happens my gym becomes a sauna. I mean you walk in and start sweating. It's even sadder when you walk out of there and it's actually cooler outside even though it's in the 80s. It's mentally draining preparing yourself for the heat.

Either way I know I need a break mentally and physically. Which is going to be hard because I'm afraid if I stop I won't start again...well until I have to put my bathing suit on. Here's to hoping y'all keep me honest and make sure I get my butt back to the gym starting in June!!

WWU: 15

Monday, 4/29 - No workout...80 stb. ball catches with feet to make up for not doing them sunday

Tuesday, 4/30 - 30 min elliptical, 100 squats (I forgot I only had to do 90), 90 stb. ball catches with feet, biceps and triceps, 1 min plank (487)

Wednesday, 5/1 -10 min elliptical warm up, chest work, 100 squats with 50 lbs, 100 stb. ball catches and 20 more mins on the the elliptical (487 + whatever I burned the first 10 mins since my watch wasn't recording)

Thursday, 5/2 - No workout...110 squats and stb. ball catches

Friday, 5/3 - Leg circuit including my 120 squats and stb. ball catches for the day plus 20 mins on the elliptical (609)

Saturday, 5/4 - 30 min stride machine plus back work (453)

Sunday, 5/5 - 5k run plus 1k walk...I've definitely slowed down since february or maybe it was the wind...either way my shoulders got burned...ha ha. 135 squats and stb ball catches (753)

The People I've Encountered at the Gym

The overly friendly Russian
This guy, bless his heart, is a talker. He comes in and wants to talk for at least 10 minutes even if you are in the middle of a workout. He will tell you about his daughter that he goes clubbing with and then invite you to try out hot yoga with him...which you will politely decline.

The lady who thinks she owns the place
This lady will come in and change the radio station you were listening to and turn it to one she wants. She will also turn off the radio and turn on the TV when it's time for her show to start. Don't you dare try and change anything because she will stare you down.

The two guys who listen to death metal on the loudest possible setting
These guys are always by the weights grunting and sweating trying to see how much they can lift that day...all while listening to the scariest music possible. This music is also so loud you can't hear your own music coming through your headphones.

The lady who sings
This lady will put the radio on an old school country or spanish station and while walking on the treadmill she will start to sing (loudly) along with the song. One day she will also ask you for workout tips on how to get rid of back fat which will make you feel in shape/important :)

The girl who is just there to make her pony tail swing
You will only see this girl maybe 2 or 3 times, but each time she will be moving just enough to make her pony tail swing. You never see her lift a weight or break a sweat, but she looks in shape. Maybe pony tail swinging burns more calories than it looks.

The older gentlemen who laughs and makes random sounds
This older man will randomly laugh or make weird sounds. It will start to make you curious as to what he is listening to...is it comedy or is there something funny happening over by the elliptical machines. You will never know...

The people who take up machines while doing nothing productive
These people will sit down on a machine and either take a phone call (go outside buddy), start watching the tv (you can watch and move your arms at the same time) or sit there and text (I'm pretty sure you can do something productive while waiting for a text back)

Kids
Oh the kids are the worst. The gym rules state if you are not 16 you are not allowed in there without an adult. However, these kids (probably jr. high age) will some how make their way in and play tag, take their shoes off, jump on the equipment and just flat out annoy you!! You will want to punch them in the face, but you won't because you don't want to go to jail...ha ha.

***side note...I'm not a member of any particular gym. I just go to the small gym at my apartment complex***

WWU: 14

Saturday, 4/20 - 30 min elliptical followed by shoulder work (424)

Sunday, 4/21 - Leg workout followed by 10 mins on lazy man bike (389)

Monday, 4/22 - No workout

Tuesday, 4/23 - 30 min elliptical

Wednesday, 4/24 - 30 min elliptical (all 3 treadmills were broken) followed by planks, biceps and reverse crunches (458)

Thursday, 4/25 - No workout...but I did start the 300 Squat Challenge with some co-workers...so Day 1 was 50 squats...I followed that up with 50 stability ball catches with my feet...schedule at the bottom of this post.

Friday, 4/26 - 20 min elliptical, 60 squats, 60 stb.ball catches with feet, 1.5 min plank and shoulder work (359)

Saturday, 4/27 - 20 mins of sprints, 10 mins walking and 70 squats with 70 stb. ball catches with feet (474)...learned a very important lesson this day to never workout on a completely empty stomach...you will feel light headed and queasy...no bueno

Sunday, 4/28 - No workout...80 squats

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				25-Apr	26-Apr	27-Apr
				Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
				50	60	70
28-Apr	29-Apr	30-Apr	1-May	2-May	3-May	4-May
Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Day 8	Day 9	Day 10
80	REST	90	100	110	120	REST
5-May	6-May	7-May	8-May	9-May	10-May	11-May
Day 11	Day 12	Day 13	Day 14	Day 15	Day 16	Day 17
135	145	155	165	REST	180	190
12-May	13-May	14-May	15-May	16-May	17-May	18-May
Day 18	Day 19	Day 20	Day 21	Day 22	Day 23	Day 24
200	210	REST	220	230	240	250
19-May	20-May	21-May	22-May	23-May	24-May	Congrats!
Day 25	Day 26	Day 27	Day 28	Day 29	Day 30	you just did
REST	260	270	280	290	300	4400 Squats!