Another Half Marathon and A Planking Challenge

I had planned on doing a weigh in Wednesday today, but I have been puking and shitting my brains out sick for the past two days and I don't think it's even countable to say how much I've lost. I want to promote healthy weight loss and not get excited that I lost a few pounds because I couldn't keep anything down or in. GROSS! So today, I'm going to catch my blog readers up on what my Instagram followers already know.

I always forget that not everyone who reads this blog, follows me on Instagram. So my everyday on Instagram sometimes gets overlooked when I go to write a post, here on the blog. If you want to know what's going on in my everyday, follow me on Instagram here.

First of all, I got so excited about running the Nike Half Marathon in DC, that I immediately signed up for another half marathon!!! I'm more than stoked about this one!! It is called the Diva Half Marathon and it's in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

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It is more than perfect for me. If you know me in real life, or you've read this blog long enough, you already know my favorite color is pink. This half marathon SCREAMS girly, pink, fun! Pink boas, tiaras, roses, champagne, and an adorable medal, I'm in! Maybe I'll even rock a tutu - HA! Just kidding!

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The only thing is I'm waiting .... again. This one is on April 27, 2014, so I have a while to train and get ready for it. I think it's worth the wait though, it looks like so much fun, who wants to run it with me?! I'll totally meet you there!

 

Another Instagram "announcement" that I haven't talked about here is as of May 9th, I gave myself a "Planking Challenge." My goal was to see how long I could hold a plank. Then every day do it longer than the day before.

 

 

 

This was from Christmas, but you get the idea. So far, it's working out really well! I didn't do it on Monday though, because I wasn't feeling like doing anything but sleeping. But here are my results so far from day 1 to day 4....

 

 

I shocked myself. I wanted to be able to hold the plank for 2 minutes (or longer) by the end of the month. I actually think I might exceed that. It's amazing to be able to set a goal and reach it or even exceed it and it's actually a lot of fun trying to meet it. Yesterday, I wasn't feeling it, but I couldn't go two days in a row without doing it, so this was yesterday's time....

 

 

Yikes! I blame this on being sick and the fact that my abdomen couldn't take much more abuse. I can mark this down as A for effort I guess, but I was shaking after 17 seconds. Just being real. If you want to play along at home on Instagram, just post a picture of your time and hashtag it #bloomplankchallenge

So far, you girls that have been doing it already, have been rockin' it! Keep it up!!

 

Now, today I'm trying to get over this hangover feeling and praying that my headache goes away.

 

Have a happy Wednesday!

Tips to Stay Healthy While Running in the Summer Heat

You never really realize how much different running in the heat can be, until you do it. At least for me, it is so much more difficult. Summer is already here in Florida and it's been reaching almost 90 degrees as of the past few days. It might not be Summer where you are right now, but it will be, so here are a few things that might help you run in hotter than normal weather.

1. Keep Hydrated

This seems to be an obvious one, but sometimes thinking to bring water is the last thing on my mind. Headphones, check ... phone, check... Garmin, check ... and I almost always forget to bring water. I do have a running belt and I love it. I would recommend getting one, if you don't already have one. That way, it can hold your keys, ID, or anything you need, and you don't have to hold a water bottle in your hand while you're running.

 

 

2. Wear Lighter Clothes

 

Dri-fit shirts are perfect and if not tanks are always my favorite. It's a lot easier to run in clothes that are helping you stay cool, instead of heavier t-shirts that just absorb your sweat.

 

3. Run Early or Later

 

I normally run as soon as I get home from work. It's around 6pm by the time I get to the trail. Even then though, it is still so humid and the sun just beats down, making it tougher for me. I personally think that running in the morning is the best time to lace up. The sun is just rising and hasn't had time to get extremely hot and humid, as it is later in the day. Though if you don't have time in the morning, or you're not a morning person, like me, maybe run a little later. 7PM or later, depending on how long you want to run.

 

4. Map A New Route

 

I thought this was a great idea and something I never really thought of until recently. I used to run around my neighborhood. On the sidewalks and sometimes the street, with basically no shade at all. I have found a new running/bike trail that I love that is completely covered. It is surrounded by trees almost the whole trail and it's a lot cooler than running through my neighborhood. Look into some trails or shady areas by you, to get out of the direct sun light and stay cooler.

 

 

 

5. Build Up Your Miles

 

For me, trying to breathe in humid weather is a killer. I focus less on my pace and more on my breathing. It's almost like I have to start over and retrain myself again. Start out going maybe 2 miles one day, then the next day, run 3 miles and keep building yourself up and letting your body get used to the heat and humidity.

 

 

6. Don't Forget About Electrolytes

When you run and you sweat, your first drink of choice is always water. It cools you down, quenches your thirst, and you just need it. But, don't forget about electrolytes. You obviously sweat a lot more on hotter days, while running and in turn, you're losing a lot more electrolytes. It is important to drink a lot of water (running or not) but also, drink Gatorade or Powerade to replenish what you're losing while running. You can even mix half water and half Gatorade, if just drinking Gatorade is too much.

Duck faces are never cute ... on anyone

I am not an expert on running, but these are just a few things that have helped me and I thought might help you.

Happy Running!

Presents Aren't Everything

Every year since Cameron was born, my Hubs and I have taken him to the beach on Mother's Day. It's always been a tradition and we even went last year with Aiden too, even though we didn't stay out too long. Aiden was only 3 months old. This year though, Mother Nature was predicting 70% chance of rain and it wasn't fair to the boys to get them excited about going to the beach, only to turn around and come home because of rain.

Mother's Day 2012

So this year, we did things a little different. First off, breakfast in bed. My Hubs isn't one to cook, but he did the next best thing. A bagel, Starbucks, the Sunday paper, and mindless TV in bed for this Momma, I'll take it. As of lately, my mornings have been starting at 5:30am, thanks to Aiden and when the TV is on, it's always cartoons or my Hubs is watching soccer. It was a nice change.

If you don't take a picture, it really didn't happen

I did have to change a poopy diaper, but a mom's job is never done. I also did the laundry just because I wasn't feeling too lazy and wanted to get it all done. Then I showered and we packed up the boys and headed out for a day of shopping.

We needed to get Cam a new pair of shoes since his feet just won't stop growing. I'm convinced he is going to be wearing my Hub's shoes soon, no joke. We shopped around and found some, had lunch and ice cream together and I thought we were heading home, but my Hubs had a better idea.

Honestly, I was not expecting ANY presents for Mother's Day and I was completely OK with that. I mean, I got my trip to DC, my Hubs bought me a Micheal Kors purse, I bought about six new outfits, I got a new Canon camera before we left for DC and I was pretty sure I was maxed out at least til Mother's Day 2014. But we made one last stop before heading home.

We went to Neiman Marcus and the words I love to hear, "Pick out anything you want," came out of my Hub's mouth. Yep, I was a happy girl and I knew exactly what I wanted.

Tory Burch Sandals

I cannot thank my Hubs and my boys enough!

From the time I was younger, I knew I wanted to be a Mom. I have always wanted two children and though I thought one of the two would be a girl, God has a plan for all of us. I have been blessed in so many ways. My husband and my boys are the. best. thing. that could have ever happened to me. Yes, it can be frustrating, exhausting, and sometimes stressful, but I would not trade it for all the money in the world.

I think sometimes people forget the true meaning behind certain holidays. Mother's Day is not about who is getting the best gift, who spent the most money, or even how they spent their day. It is all about the love we have for our Mother's and the love we share with our children. Material things are nothing compared to anything my boys will ever make me. I am a very PROUD mom to two amazing boys and I am so beyond grateful at the way my Hubs spoils and loves me.

 

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing mothers who always put themselves last before their children. Who have an enormous amount of love to give and who keep patient with their children, even on their worst day. You are all more than amazing women and I hope you had an absolutely fabulous day yesterday!

 

For the special woman who are trying to have a baby, who have lost their mothers, who have lost their child, or the ones who have adopted or are trying to adopt, don't think you are excluded. This holiday is also a day for you. To remember all the memories, or to think about the future, and to live in the present. Mother's Day is such a special day for so many people to enjoy. Happy Mother's Day to you as well! Xoxo

Owning Up To My Faults

The reason I started this blog o' mine was for two reasons. One, was to keep my family and friends back home in Illinois up to date with my boys and our family and the second was to start and keep track of my weight loss journey.

While I did lose weight (60 pounds to be exact) it seems like after I went on the Advocare Cleanse and got down to 145lbs, I got cocky with myself. I first said I was going to get down to my goal of 130lbs before January 1, 2013 and that didn't happen. Then I said I was going to get down to 130lbs before my half marathon and that just came and went.

I put it out there to make myself accountable for my actions, but yet, I never followed through. I got down to 145lbs, felt absolutely amazing, and little by little, starting eating and drinking things I knew I shouldn't have.

I hate that, it makes me look like a liar and a flake and I am far from both. It is me against myself and for some reason, I just subconsciously eat junk I know I shouldn't. If I made a list of it all, I would disgust myself.

Some of you are the ones who say "you are not just a number on a scale." Others of you are the ones who say "it's all how you feel in your clothes." I personally agree with both. No, I'm not just a number on a scale, but who doesn't love to get on the scale and see the number drop, even if it is only one pound? Who doesn't love to try on a pair of jeans they haven't worn in years and have them fit again?

Every one wants to feel beautiful and/or sexy and losing weight and getting healthy is a hard job. I love reading blogs I can relate to. People who are real, who go through the same things I do. Women who lose weight, but like everyone have a couple days or a month where they fall off the horse. It happens. What I can't stand is "little Miss Sunshine," who paints a picture of rainbows and unicorns. Yes, it is one thing to be encouraging and positive, but every one has a bad day now and then. Own up to it.

Real life - I am not a clean eater and I never will be. I am not a fan of planning my every meal. I am not all about going to the grocery store, with a list of things that only I am going to eat because my family would never touch it. See some of those recipes here.

Starting today, I am owning up to my fall off the horse. I am owning up to the fact that I said I was going to get to my goal weight and instead ordered room service on more than one occasion while I was in DC. I obviously know what is good for me and what I should stay away from. I think every person knows it, the hard part is not eating it.

I'm starting over for me. I'm starting over for my health. I'm starting over because I now look like the "before" picture I took a month ago. I'm owning up to my own faults and it's never too late to get back on the horse.

Weigh In ---

Yikes!!

I am obviously going to continue to run, but I am hoping that I can add more to my routine. I want to start strengthening my arms, my legs, and my core. I've already started researching the best exercises for that and I'm going to start putting work outs together for me to follow, so I don't get lazy. You can follow me on Pinterest for some workouts I've found that I'm looking forward to start.

Today is the day, and it starts right now.

 

Nike Expo and Half Marathon Recap

I have thought a lot about how I wanted to start this post. What I wanted to really stand out without sounding like a cliche "you can do it too ..." kind of post. Almost one week later and I still can feel that complete adrenaline rush every time I think about the race. It is beyond anything I could ever describe in words. Lord knows I tend to be wordy, but I'm just going to go with it and we'll see where this post takes us.

Nike Half Marathon Expo

We flew into DC on Thursday and the first thing I wanted to do was hit up the Nike expo and pick up my packet. I didn't want to get stuck in crazy crowds of people and it was the one thing we actually had to do before anything else.

Honestly, I was disappointed with the Expo. I was expecting so much more than what it was. There were places for makeovers, spectators could print their own signs to hold up during the race, and there were shoes on display, but nothing that really grabbed my attention.

I did sign the wall "13.1 Run for Boston - Ashleigh" and there was a television like wall of everyone's #werundc pictures scrolling from Instagram, which was pretty cool. But talking to another runner who ran the San Francisco half marathon, DC's expo didn't even compare. (womp womp)

 

 

You couldn't buy anything inside the expo, but they sure did get your attention to walk a block away to Nike in Georgetown and damn, did I get caught up in the marketing of it all! Well played Nike, well played!

 



I followed Nike on Facebook prior to arriving in DC and saw that they had limited edition Tiffany blue "We Run DC" shoes coming out. They would be on sale at 6pm Thursday night, at Nike in Georgetown. I couldn't justify spending the money to buy the shoes, if I wasn't actually going to run in them. But I'll be damned if I didn't get there, get caught up in it all again, and they just happened to jump in my arms and walk out the door with me.

I die. I love those shoes! The crazy part was though, when we got there, there we three pairs of shoes in glass cases and the shoes were behind the counter. We were not allowed to try them on, or even literally hold them. We were told we had to buy them first, if they did not fit, we could exchange them. The sales person was not allowed to give them to me until they were paid for ... what the hell?! "OK, twist my arm Nike!" I'm not even kidding, they should have just kept my card on file, we ended up going back to Nike five different times and each time, I didn't leave empty handed.

 

We ended up going back to Nike right before we had to be at the airport, to fly back to Orlando, just to see if they were selling anything new they hadn't sold before the race. They were and I ended up buying another dri fit 13.1 shirt and finisher jacket (not pictured here) Again, well played with the marketing Nike. You knew what you were doing and I played into every bit of it.

 

Packet Pick Up

 

Luckily the expo and Nike in Georgetown were all separate from the Packet Pick Up tent and it was in and out. Hardly a line and there were so many volunteers, they had it all down in less than 5 minutes. After I picked up the packet, and we were on our way to Nike, I had to stop and find my name on the wall of the other 14,999 runners.

 

 

 



 

Nike Half Marathon - My FIRST half marathon

The night before the race, I had everything out that I was going to take with me and wear. I wanted to make sure I had everything and 4am was going to come faster than I expected. I didn't want to forget anything in the excitement and nervousness of getting ready and running out the door. The Metro left at 5:22am and we had to walk a few blocks to get there. Luckily there were other runners in the lobby of the hotel, when we left and they knew where they were going, cause we didn't. We got on the Metro with about 25 other runners and I was on my way.

 

 

My Hubs and I got there faster than I expected and honestly, I had no nerves. I was just excited to run. This is the moment I had been waiting for and I still had an hour before we could even get started. So, I did what I always do, I started taking pictures.

 

 

 

We were able to start getting into our corrals at 6am and I had told myself, I had goals for this run. Run hard, finish strong, take in the whole course, don't take it for granted, and above all, don't shit myself! I hadn't gone all morning and the race started at 7am. Guess who's stomach started doing flip flops at 6:30am?! Oh yeah, mine and the line to the porta potties was 30 minutes long.

 

By the time I did what I had to do and got back to my corral, there were so many people, we couldn't even get into our corral. Totally overcrowding and though it was my first half marathon, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't have to jump a fence to get in your corral after the gun has gone off! Yeah, that really happened.

 

 

 

 

 

My Hubs had my camera set to continuous so it was just taking continuos shots of everyone running through the start line, after the gun went off. Guess who stopped taking them too soon and missed me?! He did however get the back of my head, after I yelled his name. He's fired!

 



 

 

The excitement, the energy, the women running, the spectators cheering, it was just an indescribable experience! I was not proud of my finish time, but I am not going to lie, I slowed down and even stopped to take pictures along the whole course. This was my first half marathon and I wanted to document it all!

 

The first mile was very crowded, we ran through a tunnel that had a band and strobe lights going off and the energy coming from it all got me so pumped. As soon as we exited the tunnel, we came to a bend in the road and we all came to a walk. Again, over crowding, it sucked and it didn't really get better till mile 2 or 3.

 



 

Nike had set up entertainment along the course and it only set the tone for the race. Bands, drummers, dancers, you couldn't help but just feel energized.

 

 

 

The course was pretty flat and the weather was perfect. There is only one hill I really remember at it was around mile 10 right after the boring long road. Nike did have inspiration signs up, but I was getting pretty bored and it was from around mile 7 to mile 10.

 

 

 

Then I got a text from my Hubs that just made me smile and tear up just a little bit.

 



 



I love that man with my whole heart. Then it got me thinking, if it wasn't for him, I might not even be running that half. He is the one who signed me up, he is the one who had faith in me from the beginning, even when I didn't have faith in myself. He is the one has pushed me to keep going, when all I wanted to do was be lazy, so with my legs burning more than they have ever burned before, I kept going.

 

 

I overestimated the finish line. It looked a hell of a lot closer than what it really was. I pushed myself too soon and ran out of steam, but I did not walk, I kept going. My Hubs was tracking me on the app "find my iPhone," so I was thinking he was going to get a picture of me running through the finish line. Nope, he couldn't find me in all the people, so he got me walking after I already ran through it.

 

 

I had FINISHED my first half marathon! I held back my tears, I couldn't cry. It was so overwhelming, all I could do was smile! I couldn't wait to get my prize at the end of the line!!! They had men from the ROTC dressed up in tuxes handing out a little Tiffany's box and I earned it! 13 point freaking one!

 

 

My legs have never burned so good in my life! Mile for mile, I kept going! Yes, I stopped to take pictures, get water, pick up Luna bars, but my ass finished. My time was 3 hours and 10 minutes, I was not happy with it at all, but I have NO regrets about anything I did. I will remember that day for the rest of my life. That race will always be mine. I want to race it again next year and the year after that and so on. I have the bug and now and I have already been looking for new half marathons to run.

 

After the race, we walked around the Finishers Section. They even had a stretch tent that I took full advantage off, along with the free smoothies.

 

 

 

 

 

And because my Hubs completely missed me running through the finish line, I went back to reenact it. Of course!



 

I will be running many MANY more half marathons to come, but the Nike Half Marathon in DC will always have a special place in my heart. Not only because of the Tiffany necklace you get for finishing, but because it was my first half marathon.