No Regrets

Happy Sunday friends! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I sure had a fun time with family and friends, and of course lots of food! 

Thursday Kyle and I ran a 10K, it was our second race together but our first race where we actually prepped. I learned that we are very different in the race department:

First, sleep. We do not often disagree on things, but we did over sleep! I told him we should probably go to bed around 8:30 and he laughed at me. He told me he would go to bed at 11 at the earliest. Rude.

Second, trying new things on race day. Any racer knows that this is a no-no, but Kyle insisted on drinking C4 that I got for free at the Tough Mudder this summer. He hated the taste but he was filled with energy.

Third,  bathroom breaks. Kyle did not understand that you need to get it all out. He laughed at me because I went to the bathroom so many times before the race.

Fourth, race jitters. Yeah they don't even exist for him.  Pretty sure he thought I was crazy for having nerves in my tummy.

Fifth, carb loading. Kyle has two beers and pasta while I have spaghetti squash.

If Kyle was not such a nice guy he could have easily left me in the dust. Damn kid does not even run as much as I do and carb loads off of beer.

The rest of the weekend was low key…. We had a great Thanksgiving with family. I ended up getting sick from sugar overload. No regrets though. Ha ha!

Ashley, Katie and I had wine night Friday. Getting together and talking about girly things is seriously my favorite. Saturday we all got together with Courtney too, of course more girly talk! Sunday I had a great stair workout with Katie. 

Lots of time spent with my cousins this weekend too. We made Christmas cookies and had a Wild Hockey party.

I cannot wait to get back on track and eat food that does not make me feel like a can of biscuits.

#8 Christmas Gifts To Keep You Healthy

Christmas is right around the corner and then before we know it the New Year will be here. Oh my! Time goes by so fast when life is fun.

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite equipment for at home workouts. I know some people cannot make it to the gym and have to workout at home. Here are some of my favorites:  

#1 Resistance Band  - this is my #1 pick because it is light, small and can make ALL your muscles burn. I take this bad boy on vacation with me a lot so I can get in a few workouts. You can find them at many stores, but for convenience here they are on Amazon in a multi pack with difference resistances. Different exercises may require different resistance so it may be smart to buy a multi-pack. 

#2 Jump Rope – another light and small piece of equipment that can be very beneficial to your exercise routine.  Try a fun tabata where you are doing 4 minutes of jump roping, 20 seconds on – 10 seconds off. Find it on Amazon here. 

#3 dumbbells – dumbbells are tricky because they are more expensive, harder to store and are too heavy for travel. BUT – if you can find a small spot to store a few different weights they can be used for a lot of different moves. MY FAV! I have collected my weights from Target, Sports Authority, Garage Sales, Dicks and more. Be sure to check our craigslist.org too for good deals! 

#4 kettlebell – Similar to the dumbbells but you can use these for different moves. Often you only need one KB so you do not need a set. Start with a weight that will challenge you! You can find these at Target, Sports Authority, Garage Sales, Dicks and more. Also check craigslist.org

#5 medicine ball – I have used this for a lot of different things and the kids I train LOVE to use it. My personal favorites are using it while wall sitting or incorporating it into core training. You can find these at Target, Sports Authority, Garage Sales, Dicks and more. Also check craigslist.org

#6 yoga mat – If you want to workout outside, on hard floor or even on the carpet I suggest getting a yoga mat. I have seen these at Marshalls and T.J. Maxx for $10!

#7 Bosu  ball – these are expensive but they are fun to have. I love doing push-ups, dips or incorporating core movements into my workout while using a bosu ball. You can get one on Amazon, at Target or at sport stores.

#8 Stability Ball – these are cheap and are awesome! For less than $20 you can use  these as a chair, for core movements or they can be used on leg day. They are light weight but a bit bulky – you can order on Amazon. 

I post a lot of workouts on instagram, be sure to follow me @baileymckenziesff OR use the hashtag #sffworkouts to see all my gym and at home workouts.

Happy sweating!!

My Weekend Home

This weekend was perfect. It was the first weekend in a long time that I was home and didn't have back-to-back plans all weekend.

 

Amazingness. 

Friday I babysat all day and in between babysitting I went to class. Friday night I did so much homework, which was a huge weight lifted off my shoulder. 

Saturday we had Christmas pictures with Santa. It was a big process because the dogs just weren't having it. Norm was excited though because he got a new toy from Santa. He's very treat and toy motivated!

Saturday daytime Bria and I did some Christmas shopping. Man, guys are hard to shop for. I am torn what to get Kyle but I am thinking some clothes and maybe Vikings tickets. We are both at the age were we don't need much but I still want to get him something small. I really love giving gifts to people! I love to see their reaction, I love to make them happy and I of course love to spend my money (hahah that last one isn't true). 

Saturday evening I babysat again and dealt not one but TWO sick kids who were vomiting. Parenting is fun stuff. 

I did try a new flavor of La Croix! Lime, it's actually pretty good. 

Sunday I got up and tackled this beast. 

You know life has been hectic when you have not done laundry in about three weeks! I actually have enough workout clothes to last probably two months without a wash but I started running out of socks and underwear. I am pretty OCD about my bedding being washed every 5-7 days but I went nearly three weeks, yikes!! 

The rest of Sunday was spent prepping food for the week and relaxing while watching football. 

I'm ready to wake up tomorrow and make it another great week! Have a good week friends!! 

Training For Life

Do you ever get into a routine or a“funk” and just cannot seem to move past it?

This has been me recently. To be honest since my marathon it has been tricky not having something to train for. I have also been in a funk with logging my food. And my final funk has been balancing life.

Right now if you asked me if I would want to train for another marathon I would laugh in your face. I have ZERO interest right now; this may change in a week or five years. But I also feel like I need to sign up for a race so I can keep training. Lately I have been going to Trumi and I love the support I receive from this group. Literally amazing how close these people are even though most of them are fifteen years older than me.

Last week I went on a run with my aunt. The last quarter of a mile I looked at her and managed to huff and puff out the words, “I am DYING!” She laughed because she said I looked good and she asked if I wanted to stop. Oh hell no, you do not stop right before the finish line. And yes each run, whether it is a mile or twenty-six miles has a finish line. 

The rest of the day my body felt sick. I do not want to go run once every few weeks and feel sick the whole day so I am going to try to commit to running twice a week. Currently I am not training for anything; instead I am TRAINING FOR LIFE!

I have been religiously tracking my food since August 2014 and I finally needed a break. My “ok take a week off” turned into three weeks of on/off tracking, I ate a lot of yummy food, I learned I know what serving sizes are without actually having to weigh a lot of my food, and I learned that eating crap will totally make me feel like crap.  I have recommitted to tracking my food this week but loosely because I can trust myself, which is a good feeling.

Finally, balancing life. Oh you know they never teach you in college how to balance your health, friends, school, job hunting, etc. There needs to be a class titled: Balancing Life 101 For Dummies. I would be the first to sign up ;) Ha!!! But actually I have had some great interviews and I am starting to feel more confident in my job search. I have goals set for my future job and I am not going to settle for less. I have time and there is no reason to get grey hairs at the age of twenty-one. This semester is almost done; I can smell the finish line. The Holidays are right around the corner and I cannot wait to be surrounded with the best family and friends around.

I know even when times are stressful I will totally make it. I am pushing through this funk with the support of a recent vitamin-D supplement that has been added to my day, I am hoping this can help kick my funk. That darn sun is never out anymore in Minnesota!

 

How do you want people to remember you?