Flash Back To Halloween Fun Over The Years

Happy Halloween! (I'm posting from my phone so I apologize for any errors). 

I thought it would be fun to do a little #flashbackfriday (yes I just hash tagged on my blog) of some halloweens I have experienced over the years... 

Halloween 1997... 3 years old (I was a bunny)

Halloween 2009... 15 years old (Katie and I dressed as chickens :))

Halloween 2010... 16 years old (kitty cat!)

Halloween 2011... 17 years old (nerd with Katie)

Halloween 2013... 19 years old (toddlers and tiaras) 

Halloween 2014... 20 years old. For training the kids got to dress up... I was a tourist/beach babe. I don't know what I'll be if I go out tonight. 

Quick Effective Workout

I had to do this workout for a challenge I am in and it was a quick workout that needed ZERO equipment but still got my heart rate up!

10 of each of these (one time or MORE if you are feeling good!)

burpees

squats

jumping jacks

mountain climbers

leg lifts

push ups

crunches

leg lifts

plank knees

squat jumps

 

Transformation Tuesday

I usually shy away from transformation Tuesday pictures because lets be honest, I dislike looking back and being unhappy.

 

Left: senior picture - August 2011 --> post marathon picture - October 2014

Upper: my 16th birthday - June 2010 --> 10K race with Catherine -
October 2014

Looking back at a photo can bring back some depressing memories. I do not think I was ever depressed, but I look back and often think, “wow if I only I knew then how good it feels to be healthy”.

 

Upper: senior year fall 2011 --> pre-marathon picture with
Katie, Catherine and myself October 2014

Left: California February 2012 with my sister Bria--> September
2014.

It is funny because some of these photos were taken and I thought I looked so pretty and happy. Now I look back and giggle at them when I compare them to photos now.

Left: my 17th birthday (I think?) June 2011 --> post marathon
October 2014

Left: Courtney and I celebrating homecoming our senior
year, September 2011 --> October 2014

I constantly ask myself “what ifs?”

Upper: Catherine, Myself and Katie at the Hunter Hayes concert
Spring 2012 --> post marathon October 2014

Left: Bria Lynn and myself, taking Christmas photos fall
 of  2009 --> August 2014

What if I was healthy in high school – during hockey season. Would I have been better? Faster? Stronger?

Left: high school hockey photo, fall 2008 --> running my first
marathon, October 2014.

What if I cared about myself more during high school? Would I have been happier? Would I have had more confidence? Would I have not cared about what people think about me?

 

Upper left: Catherine and I senior year, fall 2011, right Catherine and
I out with friends summer 2011 (I think?), bottom left Catherine and I
last weekend, fall 2014. The picture in the bottom left you can see healthy
written all over our faces. Our skin looks very clean.

Unfortunately I cannot go back and change anything. I can only be grateful that I found exercise and healthy eating when I did.  The past is the past and I do not want to dwell on it. I do not regret it. It shaped me into the person I am. And it has made me a stronger person today.

A Little Ramble

This weekend I went to the St. Cloud area to see a few friends and my sister. Catherine goes to College St. Ben's and I got to meet up with her FOUR times to exercise in FOUR days. God bless this girl.

She motivates me not to quit when that last 45-second sprint at 10 speed is killing me. She encourages me to hold that weighted plank until the timer is up. She has the crazy idea of running a 5K trail run 6 days after our marathon + running 5 miles back to her apartment. WHAT. But I love it.

We also got to get dressed up and go out… It is so fun to not wear my hair up, sports bra on with tennis shoes for one day.

My cousin also had a soccer game so some family members met up at the game. Baby + me = squats! These burn!

Have you tried Core Power protein shakes?? YUMMY. I buy mine at Festival.

I have some fun posts this week: a transformation Tuesday, a post about letting go, and some more.

What's Next?

The other day I was asking myself what is next? I was 110% confident that after the marathon I would stop distance training/running  for multiple reasons: it is hard on your body (heck I lay in bed with frozen meat on my legs @ 5:00 am because I am so sore), it is time consuming, it is a lot of money to do races – the fueling part, the new active wear, the hotel if you stay far, the entry few, etc. Those are just a few that I personally thought of.

 

This week I had TWO massages. Both felt great
and were just what my body needed. I hate to complain
and sound like a baby, but I was in so much pain. So I
hit up Groupon and got two massage for $60!

But then yesterday I decided I wanted to always be able to run 10 miles confidently without dying. This way if I want to start training again I will not have to start from square one. I remember this summer when Catherine and I started training for our half in August. I showed up at her house in May and I was so nervous to run 5 miles. Because after my first half in March I kind of gave up running. Those first few weeks building mileage was hard. Especially with Catherine, she runs A LOT; however, she is very patient with my running.

 

A few months ago I bought new running shoes for
after the marathon!  I wore them to spin yesterday and
love them. New shoes are always motivating for me.

So this time around I do not just want to stop.. I want to work on sprints during the week and long run on the weekend (max 10 miles). Then I want to focus on weight lifting. Lots of research has shown weights are what get those last 10 lbs off, tone you up, make your muscles visible.

 

I have been spinning (very lightly) this week to
losen my legs up a little. I missed spinning during training.

I want to try to exercises that make me uncomfortable, I am tired of being comfortable with everything I do. Why do you think I run so much? Because it is comfortable and easy for me. I am going to try to find some different group fitness classes on Groupon and see what I do and do not like.

 

My delicious dinner from yesterday. Chicken caesar
salad, brocoli and asparagus. 

And I cannot give up running yet because I have at least four more races left in 2014!