January Check In

As you all know, I set New Years Resolutions or goals that I want to follow through with this year. In order to keep myself in check, I want to try to check in at the end of each month.

Here’s how January went.

Do the New Rules of Lifting Program I have been doing this program at least two days a week. I have done workouts 1A,1B,2A,2B,3A,3B,4A,4B,5A,5B, and 6A. That means I’m getting really close to being finished with Stage One (there are 8 total workouts for A and B). It is going really well. I feel more comfortable in the free weight area of the gym and I have definitely noticed strength changes. I also think I can tell a difference in how my legs look (thanks to all of the squats and lunges).

Try a fitness class at least once a month I was so reluctant to try this one, but two weeks ago I went to a Spin class. It was really hard, but I loved it. I even went back last week!

Try a new recipe twice a month Accomplished. Not necessarily super proud of my efforts because I went really simple this month, but I will take it. I made Low-Yolk Egg Salad from skinnytaste.com which was really good and I attempted doing Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. They didn’t really taste like Mashed Potatoes, but I like Cauliflower, so it wasn’t bad.

Run at least 4 days a week Done. I didn’t skip any of my training plans this month!

Get back into my Size 8 pants comfortably This is still a struggle. I have been consistently tracking my meals and working out like a mad woman, but my weight is going up instead of down on the scale (Up overall…it has been up and down all month). Trying not to focus on the weight and more on how I feel.

Swim laps at the gym Haven’t done this yet.

Apply for promotion if the opportunity presents itself No opportunity has come up yet, but  I try every day to work my hardest and prove myself. I have been taking advantage of training opportunities and volunteering for more responsibilities.

 

Things are going well so far!

January Reads

I have been trying to get back into reading more this year. It wasn’t one of my Resolutions, but I am trying to read as much as possible.

I ended up reading four books in January and thought I’d leave a quick review of them.

I found Brooklyn through a recommendation on Goodreads. Here is the description from Goodreads.

Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, Colm Tóibín’s sixth novel, Brooklyn, is set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, when one young woman crosses the ocean to make a new life for herself.

It took me a while to get into it, but then I did and I couldn’t put it down. Towards the end, though, I started not liking the way it was going. Not sure I would really recommend it to anyone.

 

This was my second book in January. I also found it through a recommendation on Goodreads. It is about a girl, Lennie, whose sister dies and the aftermath of it in her life. It was an easy read, but not necessarily what you would consider quality. I wasn’t a huge fan of this book.

Sophie’s Choice is one of the books on Modern Library’s top 100 Novels list. A few years ago I set out to read all 100 books. I got to this one (which I think was my 5th one) and stopped. I just couldn’t get into it. I decided I wanted to give the list a go again. I’m not going to lie, this book took me a couple of weeks to read. It is not easy to read in any way. That being said, it was a really good book. Here is the goodreads description of the book:

Three stories are told: a young Southerner wants to become a writer; a turbulent love-hate affair between a brilliant Jew and a beautiful Polish woman; and of an awful wound in that woman’s past–one that impels both Sophie and Nathan toward destruction.

This was probably my favorite book of this month. I read it in about a day. It is one of the popular dystopian teen novels that is out right now (think Hunger Games, but focused less on action and more on a love story). It just pulled me in and made me wonder what was going to happen next. I can’t wait to read the next book in this trilogy!

 

Confessions

How about a few confessions?

• My new guilty pleasure show is Buckwild on MTV. It is so bad/trashy/scandalous/ridiculous, but I can’t help it. I have been watching it every Friday night.

 

• I gave up drinking pop several months ago because I was seriously addicted to it. I have been craving it a lot lately, so I caved and bought one. It wasn’t as good as I remembered and I think it will take care of the craving for a while.

 

• I always wondered how people decided what their “song” was when they were dating someone. And then I started dating Tim and what I think of as our “song” isn’t what I ever thought it would be. But we heard it together not long after we started dating and he texted me the lyrics to it a few weeks later, and then we started taking pictures of our radios when it came on and somehow it just stuck. Smile by Uncle Kracker.

 

 

Just a few that popped into my head.

Any confessions you want to share?

 

7 Miles and Plans Changed

Last night I kept thinking over and over again about how nervous I was about doing my long run outside. I have been running pretty much treadmill only for the past several weeks. Primarily this was because it has been cold, but also I have struggled on my past few runs outside. I can finish a long run on the treadmill with no breaks, but get me outside and I struggle so much. I knew it was important that I get outside though. I have a race coming up in a few weeks and I knew it was necessary for me to do some outside running.

And then I decided to just change my mind about it all. I decided to just go out there this morning and run for fun. I vowed not to worry about my time and to not stress if I had to take some walking breaks. And you know what? I did it. I ran 7 miles. I walked some. I struggled with hills and even slight inclines. But I did it. And I enjoyed it.

 

As I mentioned, I’m training for a race right now. In a few weeks, I will be in Dallas doing the Hot Chocolate 15k.

I had originally planned on jumping straight from it into a short Half Marathon plan to do a local, small Half Marathon. Yesterday while I was sitting at work, I decided that I wanted to change my plans. I’m not super happy with how hard running has been for me lately. I really want to focus on getting my speed back and getting better at running again. Instead of doing the Half, I’m going to do the 10k at that race and then spend the spring and summer doing some 5k’s and working on the fundamentals. Then I will hopefully be ready to tackle a Half in the Fall and really be ready for it.

I have some other fun running plans, too, but I’m keeping them to myself for now until I know they are for sure happening.

Have a great Saturday!

 

In Pictures

Here are a few things you might not know about me…bedroom edition.

I rarely make my bed. I kind of feel like a should, since I’m a grown up and all, but I don’t. Maybe I should make that a goal for this week?

My life is a little in disarray right now. Partly because my apartment is just too small. And partly because I’ve started packing for my move (which is over a month away, but who said you can’t start early?).

Gone With the Wind is one of my favorite books and movies. This has result in a collection of Gone with the Wind things. And while I may not put them up as decorations in the new place, I still appreciate everyone that helped me build my collection. (Note the half empty bookshelf…I packed up a bunch of books the other day).

Every night before I go to bed, I pick out my clothes for the next day and lay out my workout clothes. Makes getting ready in the morning easier.

I found these initial letters really cheap at Michaels a couple of years ago. I’m not going to hang them up when I move, but maybe I’ll put them in my office at work?

When I was teaching, I started a collection of Kohl’s stuffed animals and books. Now that I’m not a teacher, I feel like it’s a little weird to own stuffed animals, but at least my (future) kids will have some nice stuffed animals.

 

What’s one thing about you that you would like to share?

A Flair for the Dramatic

Pardon me for a minute while I step away from my usual posts about running, eating, and happier things. I feel the need to just put something out there.

I hate drama.

 

This pretty much defines my life. I don’t like to argue with people. I don’t like controversy. I don’t like that feeling that builds up inside you when things start getting a little crazy.

I stay Drama Free.

Unless we’re talking TV shows, then I say the more drama, the better.

I mean, who can resist crying Dawson, right?

 

But in all seriousness, I just try to stay drama free.

That’s why today my world is feeling a little off kilter and I don’t like it. This inauguration has brought about drama amongst everyone in the way that politics always does. People forget the importance of being respectful to others. People don’t know when it is best to keep some opinions to yourself. Family and friends start arguing with one another.

That’s what I don’t like.

And I know a lot of it is just my personality. I love that I am low drama. I don’t feel like everyone should be. I love how opinionated and outspoken some of my friends and family are, even when I don’t agree with them. Sometimes I wish I could be too, but for the most part, I just enjoy staying out of it.

Especially when it comes to politics. Some of that probably has to do with the fact that I fall so middle of the road. I am registered as a part of one party (those who know me know which one), but that doesn’t mean it rules my life. I have voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates in elections, both presidential and otherwise. I have some conservative values and some liberal values. I kind of like that a single party doesn’t define me. But I get defensive when people start attacking each other. And I hate how separated this country is because of politics recently. I know it is just a part of life, but it is not one I have to enjoy.

My one wish is just that people would remember the importance of respecting others.

 

And now I’ll get off of my soapbox.

Small Accomplishments

I made it a goal to set several small goals for myself recently. Often they are simply thoughts I have in my head or tweets that I randomly send out, but it is nice to see myself reaching some of those goals.

 

Like:

• Foam rolling every night because I started feeling that old familiar ITB pain.
• Planning my meals ahead of time by looking at menus online when I am eating out-Two nights in a row I was able to do this!
• Eating something other than cereal two week days this week-Not entirely complete. I ate overnight oats on Tuesday and plan on eating eggs tomorrow.
• Getting up when my alarm goes off to work out-3 days and counting!
• Hanging up my laundry as soon as it comes out of the dryer and not letting it sit in the basket for days on end.

They aren’t huge accomplishments. Some of them may even seem trivial. But the fact is that I am following through on things I say I am going to do.

Sometimes when we set HUGE goals for ourselves, it can seem like we will never get there. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big picture kind of girl, so I like to see the end result in my mind. But if I only had that big picture, that thing that may not happen for months or years, imagine how hard it would be to keep going. When I was on Weight Watchers, they taught us to celebrate small victories, both on and off the scale. That’s why you get to celebrate your 5%, 10%, each 5 lbs lost, etc. And why they give everyone an opportunity at every meeting to tell a non scale victory. If I would have only focused on the 147 pounds I had to lose, I might have given up.

So I urge you to celebrate the small victories that happen in your life. Whether it is remembering to wash your face each night or resisting the ice cream and eating some almonds instead. Take time to celebrate.