Run.Chew.Sparkle

My energy level today was a negative zero! Thank goodness today was a rest day because if I had to run, I probably wouldn't even had made it down the street. I mean I didn't even want to make breakfast or anything, I just kind of shuffled myself around the apartment before work. I was completely and utterly drained. I managed to get myself ready for work and I had a burst of energy, I think I just needed a lazy morning, curled up on the couch. My favorite friend, Flo, did just decide to come by so I am sure that is why I feel like complete crap too. My left heel is bothering me also. Not a lot where I am doubled over in pain, but just a pain here and there. It is in the back of my heel, to the side, facing inward. I should probably take a picture haha. I am using  ball to rub it under my foot and it is helping. I know when I increase my mileage a lot this tends to happen and I have been wearing nothing but flats and flip flops lately and just my running shoes when I am ru...

So today was one of those days where I had a feeling writing a post would just be boring. I knew that not all days would be exciting and worth writing about, like today. Today was a walk or XT day. I woke up with a headache and tried to sleep it off as best as I could, but having a headache in the morning makes me super groggy. I shook it off and went to the gym anyway, thankfully it calmed down a bit. Fridays are the days when I really start to feel a bit tired and fatigued, later on I might use this days as an extra run day or an extra run day, especially when I am getting up in mileage. While XT isn't going to help me complete my Marathon, it does help my overall fitness and my endurance, which I am liking a lot. My gym experience was just kind of boring today. I rode the bike for 30 minutes, doing a hill workout and high watts. I can feel it in my thighs, which I love, cause those bad boys need to get smaller! And then I did my Sarah Fit arm work out and called it a day. He...

Disclaimer I am writing this at the gym while I am riding the stationary bike! Yes I like to multi task and it's quite in here so it works for me. I was going through my phone and noticed I had some items and pictures in here I never posted and shared! I know I'm shocked too, I share everything! So here are some fun food items, I have tried lately... Okay this was a little high in points from the box, 8pp but it was quick, easy and on sale, which I love! I know you can make this all on it's own, but I was in a pinch for work and this hit the spot! I added in my own kiwi pieces, which made it extra good! It came with chicken, cranberries, pineapple pieces and sesame twigs for crunch! I love these Lean cuisine additions but I know I can make it less points on my own!  I got this at Publix! If you don't have a Publix, your missing out! But check your stores brand of yogurt, LOTS of them are carrying greek now and putting their own twist on it! This was delicious and remind...

I saw this quote the other day when I was looking up a quote for a Challenge on Twitter I am participating in, called #sharesomethinginspiring and this just rang so clear to me. I know there are days where I just want it to all fall into place. I want to run fast, run long and strong, I want to drop the weight, I want to see my arms and legs tone up and everything just be there. I follow a lot of fitness, running and Weight Watcher people and I want to be so close like most of them are... And then I read this and it just seemed to make sense. I was thinking and striving for perfection, something perfect. The perfect mile, the perfect weight, the perfect experience. You know what, I am not going to have that because it is not attainable. But progress is. Hitting my marks, running when I am dead tired, like today, or when I just don't feel like it. Hitting that snooze button over and over, sweating like crazy, filling up on protein and having to have a salad when I would rath...

I am back with my Overnight Oats kick!!! If you have been reading or following me on Facebook and Instagram, I went on an Overnight Oats obsession a while back. I made those bad boys multiple times a week. But due to over exposure, they died out for me. Plus if I eat the same thing over and over, I tend to get tired with it. But I was looking the other day for something to make for breakfast that was quick and easy. Yesterday, since I ran in the morning and then had to go right to work right after, I knew I wasn't going to have time to make my egg whites. And I didn't want waffles or cereal, so I grabbed my old friends, Old Fashioned Oats. And then this baby was created, one of the best ones yet, if I do say so myself. I couldn't find the tops to my mason jars, random I know, so I mixed everything into a tupperwear container with a lid. It worked just as great, if not even better! 1/4 cup of Old Fashioned Oats (not cooked)-2pp 2 Tablespoons of PB2-1pp 1 c...

I think every week should be 4 days. I am loving the fact I was off on Sunday, Monday and then today, but like all things, it doesn't last for long because come June 8th, I will have to work for 11 days straight cause of Father's Day and vacation time. So I am enjoying this week very much so. Today, I wanted to sleep in but I had to go get my car, FINALLY it is fixed. Jesus, lets pray it stays this way for quite sometime now. James had an early tee time, so I had to go to the car place right when they opened, I really don't mind because I can get stuff done and over with and I wanted to go to Target and pick up some stuff. Oh shall I say, I have a list and buy everything else besides what I went for. After I got my car, I had some time before the Heaven of all shopping centers opened, so I went and had breakfast at First Watch Cafe. I have only been there once before with James and I loved it. It is very sweet looking, calm and clean. The booths are comfortable, t...

First off today was weigh in day and because I had to work today, I had to weigh in after work. I am beginning to think about switching up my weigh in days. I have weighed in for the past 3 years on Tuesdays, but with my running, I have noticed that on Tuesday's is when I am starting to see a gain. NO MATTER WHAT. With my training plan, I run every Tuesday and then weigh in, while you think that would be a great thing, no so much.  I retain a lot of water and my muscles get super heavy, so when I weigh in later in the day, it is all sitting there, not flushing out. Plus, I think I need to change it up a bit. Mix up my routine a bit, maybe weighing in on a Wednesday might be the trick for me. They have a morning and evening weigh in time, so it would work when I normally have a day off. I am going to weigh in next Tuesday and then give it a try on Wednesdays for awhile. I am trying to do everything and anything right. I drink more water now than I ever have, I am switching up my r...

It's amazing what this journey is doing to me. If you had seen me years ago, a night after a night of bad food and drinks, I would have slept in way late, ate a sugary breakfast, lay around all day and continue to eat bad. I would not have drank water, or make good choices. I would refueled with a burger and fries and a big soda pop pop. Today, though I made the choice to start new again. I need to and had too. So I made myself an awesome egg white with peppers and a laughing cow light cheese wedge scramble, paired with one turkey sausage patty and two pieces of Reduced calorie bread with sugar free Strawberry jam and water and a cup of coffee. I did lots of stuff at my desk and cleaned up a bit and then before heading to the gym, I had a Greek yogurt with Chia seeds on top. I went to the gym and worked out on the elliptical for 30 minutes, which was roughly 3 miles. I was drenched and sparkling in sweat after. I then looked up a video on YouTube for arm sculpting with weig...

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!! While some say it is the unofficial start of summer today, lets make sure we all take a moment to remember what today really means. It is not a day off, or a "banking" holiday or a day where sales are crazy and you can find great deals off at the mall. Or a day to BBQ, while yes all those things go on, the true meaning is to honor those who were brave enough to fight for our country and for those who continue to fight. Both my grandfathers were and are war veterans, so I take a moment to honor them both. I am blessed to have my Poppy with me to this day, while my Grandpa passed away years ago. Honor those who had the courage to fight when no one else would. Then enjoy the rest of what the day has to offer! I am going to enjoy the day, cleaning, working out, laying out by the pool and drinking lots and lots of water and recharging myself back to life from yesterday festivities. Yesterday, James and I went to the Rays vs. Red Sox game...

Yesterday was a ton of fun. Jen and I did that same race last year and boy what a difference a year makes. The set up was different, the energy was different, and we felt different. It was so stinking hot last year and this year it wasn't too bad. By that I mean it was probably 5 degrees cooler and for Florida standards, that is a big deal. Jen and I laughed and chatted the whole time. Right before the end, I was shocked it was coming to in an end, I wanted more miles with my BFF. She hasn't ran really in over a year and I was impressed with how she did. I kept pace with her and walked when she wanted too and we finished probably about 45 minutes. I was very happy with her because she tends to put herself down and not follow through. She gets caught up in negative thoughts and then it takes over her run. So I tried to push and motivate her and let her call the shots. We had a blast. We took lots of pictures as you can see from yesterday's post and we just ...

This post will be short and sweet because I did the 5k this morning and have to go close at work now but it was a RAD morning!!!  Here are my photos, I'll dive more into later tonight or tomorrow!!

I am ready for two days off in a row!!! I have to wait until Sunday, but hey at least it is two days off back to back! I am beat. This whole week has been kind of bananas, with the change of training, my car, change of schedule and so on and so forth. I just want two days to not think about much of anything. I am due for a vacation too. Anyway, I had full thoughts of today being a good day. I slept in a bit because I had to call and have my car towed. I was having a great hair day and was loving the outfit I had on. I never NEVER wear dresses so this is a big deal for me, to love it and feel comfortable in it. Excuse our messy apartment in the background. I really, REALLY have to clean those kitchen floors, but I haven't had much time or I am just to darn lazy when it comes to it lol. Probably the second one. Anyway, work was so busy today. It was me by myself and I was just slammed. I was working on a small amount of coffee too. And I still managed with a smil...

Today was a day!!! I am sitting here stress eating almonds and my mind is going a mile a minute. I mean there could be worse things I could binge eat, but these almonds are being killed. I thought I could just have a couple of pistachios, but that opened the Flood gates for me. I can have self control, I know it, but I wont enjoy something sweet for dinner because of it. So I say.. Okay well today started off just how I wanted. I got up with my alarm at 6:30, got dressed quickly, had a couple energy chews and then went out for my 4 mile run. It was a really good run, even a couple of times, I felt like I was just gliding along. I pictured myself as a Gazelle, but I mean lets me real.. not gonna happen. After my run I enjoyed my recovery EAS lean and toned drink, worked on some bills and emails, set up my flight for my family vaca in June and then got ready quickly for work. Packed my lunch quickly and grabbed a Smart Ones Breakfast and with coffee in hand, started to work. ...

I know that with this training plan, I will have to make adjustments each week based on life. Work will make it a little harder, activities, family functions, weddings coming up, and overall how I am feeling. This week is a week I had to make a little changes. Typically Saturday are a rest day, no running, walking or XT, usually just work. But this Saturday, I won the tickets to the Color Me Rad 5k, so my rest day is not a rest day, it is an extra run day/walk day. It is very hard to make this a full running race because there are 1000's of people, so running a full on 5k is not typical, but it is a great way for extra activity and exercise. AND it is a great amount of fun too.  I am super excited and I get to do it with one of my BFF's. With that being said, I decided to switch my rest day from Saturday till today. I wanted to make sure I still got a rest day in and I was going to do it Friday but today my mind and body were calling it in. I have to close tonight, so I rea...

I love entering giveaways! I hardly if not ever win anything. But I mean what do you have to lose if you don't try. A couple of years ago I entered the Weight Watchers Success Story contest. You could star in a Weight Watchers Ad and   got to spend time in NYC, all this awesome perks, sadly I did not win. But I gave it shot. I have entered in tons of different giveaways for product also and recently I won a pair of tickets to Color Me Rad, which I will be attending this Saturday. Stay tuned for an awesome post about that. So with my luck changing, I figured I would give this next contest a try. While reading my Women's Running Magazine, they featured a Cover Model contest that you can enter. I LOVE Women's Running Magazine and of course their race, which I ran this past November and beat my time! So I am all about WR magazine and what it stands for. At first I didn't think much about it, thinking I could never win anything like that, ever! But then I thought.....