Thursday, August 28, 2014

Next half marathon!! (SQUEEEEEL)

AHHH I cannot believe that I have done this to myself, but I am consistent if nothing else ;) haha I have always done better under pressure, and it looks like this race will be NO different!  Just over SIX WEEKS separates me from my next half marathon!  Better get to work!

The race is the United Health Care Marathon/Half Marathon in Newport, RI.  It is a BEAUTIFUL course that hugs the shoreline and goes right by several of the amazing mansions.  If you have never been to Newport, make time to go! (Specifically during the second weekend in October, I can use all the support I can get ;)  )

As always, I took to Pinterest and found some great material to get to training!

This one is my favorite:


Monday, August 18, 2014

Be Consistent


I am sure that you have heard this before, but I will go ahead and say it again:  Consistency is the key to results!  Whether it be at work, in school or in your fitness!

You MUST be willing to put in the work. The results WILL come! Not overnight, maybe not even in a week... but you WILL see them!

If you are anything like me, you may tend to come up with reasons "why not"

Will YOU have the courage to put aside your excuses and insecurities to achieve your goals?
BE STRONGER than your excuses.  There will always be someone with less time, more to do, and bigger obstacles.  And they will get it done. So can you!! I can have the tendency to be my own worst enemy, especially when it comes to working out!  I am loaded with every excuse in the book. But once I have just laced up and started my workout, I am SO much happier.



Monday, August 4, 2014

My day with Shaun T

I am still in awe over a week later that this experience was real. I met Shaun T.
Nope. Scratch that. I didn't just meet him. I experienced him. The energy, the enthusiasm and the encouragement that he provided to a group that was there for one common goal... to learn from the man! It was incredible.

I began my fitness journey long before I was ever introduced to Shaun T.  A yo-yo dieter and sporadic (at best) exerciser, I was the queen of excuses.

"I'm in grad school, it's perfectly acceptable to eat pizza at 3am"
"I'm starving during my shift at the restaurant and the only thing I can eat it french fries"
"Im exhausted, there is no way I can work out"

In less than 2 years I quickly reached the highest weight I had ever been.  Unfortunately, so did my boyfriend. We had both adopted this casual sit-around lifestyle that was not doing either of us any favors. I was MISERABLE but I had convinced myself that there was basically nothing I could do because, well... I don't even remember my excuse except for the fact that it was bull shit. 

Then last summer, my boyfriend decided that enough was enough and began working out with P90X. He had great success, and quickly! He encouraged me to try, but I just couldn't get into it.

One day in the fall after a typical Sunday morning spent on my couch, aimlessly flipping through the endless infomercials on tv, I saw an add for T25. Something made me stop.
I had just began a new job in Boston, with a LOOONG commute and tiring days. But hey, 25 minutes?!

Who didn't have 25 minutes?

That Christmas,  T25 arrived under my tree and I've never looked back.

Fast forward through some VERY ugly workouts: burpees, squats, high knee jogs, half-tuck jumps, and don't even get me started on ab intervals, but I made it!!  I completed T25, all 60 workouts.

Then one day there is a posting on Facebook from Shaun T (obviously I am a loyal follower of ANYTHING he does) and he is coming to MY STATE.  Here, Massachusetts.  I was psyched!  I mentioned it to my boyfriend and we talked about it, but then a few weeks went by.  I saw another post, and I asked again.  We decided that it was a bit expensive and that it was probably best not to.  Obviously I was crushed, but hey, I've got bills!

Then one Saturday afternoon, there they were: my tickets to go meet Shaun T!  Randy had bought them as a surprise for me, and I was THRILLED!!

For three straight weeks I told pretty much anyone who would listen that I was going to meet Shaun T!

The day came and I was like a little kid at Christmas!  I was awake well before my alarm, pretty much skipping around the apartment getting ready to leave.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day, almost too nice because there was not a cloud in the sky and despite my best efforts to stay protected, I am still dealing with some pretty intense tan lines!

Everything about the day was awesome.  The workout was the most intense hour of my life.  I very nearly died (OK maybe not, but at the time I was certain of it.)  The Q&A session was great, and the photo-op was SO cool :)  Although he didn't have time for individual photos with each participant, he did take the time to give each and every person a big hug, which I was giddy about for days! haha

I was so happy and thankful to have that experience.  It makes what I do as a Beachbody coach, but more so as a participant of the program so much more meaningful.  I am so happy to be able to spread this enthusiasm with others!

Car ride - SO excited!

Registration, before they let us on the field!

Typical - Randy doing his best ShaunT impression

So happy to be there!

Sun's out guns out

I was so excited to be on the field at Gillette Stadium!

Relaxing before everything starts up!

Met some AWESOME Shred Nation ladies :)

Our view of the stage

Stretch!


Hurt so good!  This photo doesn't even do it justice the shade of red that my face was at this point!

Work

High knees!

Post workout talk

It's Shaun T!

Met a new friend :)

So so so so happy

Bros

Bye bye!!

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Today begins a 5 day clean eating challenge for my boyfriend and I.

Which means that yesterday was food prep day!!  I am a snacker, so I NEED to have options readily available at all times or I won't stick to the plan.  I found a recipe for these on Pinterest and decided to give them a shot!

What you will need:
1 large zucchini
1 tbs EVOO
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (fresh shaved or grated)

What to do:
Pre-heat oven to 350F
Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and set it aside
Chop zucchini into sticks, or wedges (be sure to size them as evenly as you can, for even cooking)
Place sticks on cooling rack on baking sheet and coat with EVOO using a basting brush
Evenly sprinkle black pepper and seasoning mix across the batch
Place in oven for 15-18 minutes
Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese and place in broiler for 2-3 minutes until cheese is golden brown

*For mine, I had an eggplant that wasn't going to be fresh for much longer, so I decided to try it out with that as well!  Although the eggplant became quite crispy, the flavor was awesome!


Chopping away!  PS How cute is this apron?

Lay the sticks out on the baking sheet

Add a little EVOO
DONE!  This is after we devoured about half of the batch!
Mine may not look as pretty as the ones from Pinterest, but I tell ya they were darn yummy! :)
Pinterest photo:  A bit more artistic than mine! haha