Thank you to Bob's Red Mill and Fit Approach for sponsoring this post. Here we go again: time to kick off training for the Marine Corps Marathon. And Virginia has been doing her best to remind me why I always say I'm done with fall marathons. I mean, who likes to run in 90% humidity? I looked like I'd gone for a swim! But, I ran 17.75 just to get into the Marine Corps Marathon, so you know I won't be dropping now. So, I've cracked open my trusty Hansons Marathon Method book and placed my runs on the calendar. For those who are curious, I've put both the Advanced and the Beginner versions on my calendar. I aspire to complete the Advanced, but I'm a realist and acknowledge the fact that sometimes I get lazy and other times life … [Read more...]
ZOOMA Summer Fitness Challenge
Confession: I've fallen off the running wagon. Life has just been crazy. Not necessarily busier than usual, but just more things from different directions. It's like trying to keep 1000 balloons in the air rather than five balls - they move slower but there are so many more of them! I have, however, been doing an informal strength fitness challenge with friends and I've done great with that. Shocking, I know! But it's time to get back on a more formal program. I'm going to be spending this week getting the Hansons's training plan onto my calendar to get ready for Marine Corps Marathon in October. (Why, oh why, is my favorite marathon a fall marathon??? I hate training in the summer.) But I don't intend to just run this summer. I like … [Read more...]
Making a Healthy Choice on Busy Days
How is it only Thursday? It feels like this week has been a month long. Of course, I've managed to cram a crazy amount of things into the last few days. Seriously, since last week, I've gone on an all day field trip, taken Shoo to soccer practice, attended the RNR DC expo, gone on a tour of the Capitol building, run a half marathon, taken Shoo to two days of a soccer tournament, and attended an event at the White House. Add in normal things like my job, laundry, chores, etc. and I've been feeling a little pressed for time. Just a little. Unfortunately, when life gets crazy, two things fall by the wayside for me: sleep and healthy eating. I tend to go to bed around midnight normally with a 6:00am wakeup. This is just *barely* enough … [Read more...]
Cleaning up my diet + a Kohls Giveaway
We all know that I love to run. And lately (well, until Snowzilla arrived), I've gotten back into my old gym habit of elliptical and weights. But judging by the way my jeans are fitting and the number on the scale, the saying "you can't out exercise a bad diet" is definitely a fitting one around here. It's not necessarily that I'm eating unhealthy foods, it's more that I'm eating too much in general and far from a balanced diet. Marathon training definitely played a role, but what has really brought the issue to a head is being busier in the evenings. Two to three nights a week I am out at dinner time for practices, rehearsals and social activities. I'm eating at odd times and I'm grabbing whatever is convenient, which usually … [Read more...]
Where’d my wagon go?
This past weekend, I fell off the healthy eating wagon in a big way. Now, I'm a big believer in all things in moderation. I also believe that the occasional "eat.all.the.things" day is totally acceptable. In general, I don't diet, I don't restrict foods, I just try to make healthy choices most of the time. There were no healthy choices this weekend. We went out to dinner twice, we went to a cookout, and we went on date night. My meal choices looked something like burger, burger, Mexican food. Add on a few beers and a margarita and guess what? I feel like crap and my shorts are all tight. Ugh. It's time I really focused on my eating. "They" say you can't out exercise a bad diet. Right now, I'm the poster child for that … [Read more...]
Cleaning up my diet
You know how "they" say you can't out-exercise a bad diet? Well, I'm here to tell you it's true. I managed to gain a whole lot of fluff while I was running crazy miles for the five halves in five days. I've managed to keep it on, despite working out more intensely and actually using weights. The problem is not my fitness habits. The problem is what I'm eating: both too much and poor choices. "Hi, I'm MCM Mama and I'm addicted to bread." There. Now you know. While I'm also a big fan of chocolate (and the chocolate stout cake I made this weekend rocked.my.socks.off), bread is the food I have no self control around. It's time to stop the madness. I don't really care what the scale says (although the number is UGLY right now), … [Read more...]
Adventure to Fitness giveaway, Honest Tea Review and WIAW
Whew, that's a lot to throw in one post... Recently I was given a bunch of different Honest Tea products to try. At the same time I was approached by Adventure to Fitness about getting one of their Fit Family packs (and giving one of them to a reader.) Since Adventure to Fitness has partnered with Honest Tea, I figured I'd combine them here. Adventure to Fitness Adventure to Fitness is all about "Inspiring kids to lead healthy lifestyles through imagination, education, and movement." They offer videos that incorporate learning and movement and are, quite frankly, interesting and motivating. The Fit Family pack they sent me included two packages of Honest Kids juice packs, a DVD, and various coloring and art activities. I … [Read more...]
WIAW: No sugar
I've mentioned in passing that I was going to do a sugar detox for a week with Mommy Run Fast and some other bloggers. I LOVE sugar. No really. I'd be happy to eat nothing but sweets. And once I start eating sugar? I can't stop. I'll keep grazing on sweets until I don't feel well. Most of the time, I deal with this by only having something sweet at the end of the day. Eat it. Brush teeth. Problem solved. However, during the five half marathons, I ate animal crackers at every race. And then had a couple of the bite sized Snickers after. And then a Coke with my Subway sub. And a beer or dessert every night. If I'd stopped on Friday when I was done running, I might have been ok, but instead, I kept eating like I was running and … [Read more...]
Simply Bar Review and Giveaway
Recently I was contacted with the opportunity to try out "The Simply Bar." I had heard about them on various blogs and I happened to be attempting to add extra protein to my diet plus eat more frequently. While I was mostly focused on clean, whole foods, I'd had a few instances where I hit "gnaw my arm off" hungry with no healthy options available to me. The Simply Bars sounded like just what I needed to have available in those instances. According to the company, Each bar contains 16 g protein, paired with 2-4g of fat, under 3 g of sugar, 4 g of fiber, and 160 calories or less. Each bar is based on Non GMO soy crisps along organic brown rice syrup. All the cocoa bars are made with organic cocoa mass (we promise this is easy to … [Read more...]
