Summer Shred 13 Week 3 Recap

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We were hot and humid here in NYC. I spent the majority of my weekend inside with the fan on high! July is right around the corner and if this week's temps are any indication of what's to come, my honey and I must get a new air conditioner pronto. And pronto probably means August to my honey.

So let's just move on to my Summer Shred Week 3 recap, shall we? I cannot believe we are 3 weeks done and started our final week today. Time is seriously flying!

Week 3 was an interesting week for me in regards to my exercising. As you know I am a runner at heart. It's in my blood and so much part of my everyday life. So, it shouldn't be a surprise when I tell you that on Wednesday morning at the track I broke down in tears when I realized I was going to have to take some time off from running.

See, 2 weeks ago I experienced a major calf cramp during my sprint workout. I was able to stretch it out and continue my run, minus finishing my sprints. I have been able to continue running since then, even ran a 10K race, with no return of the cramp. I've just been able to feel a presence in my calf, but nothing that would stop me from running. Until this past Wednesday morning. I was 1.75 miles into my run when the cramp returned. I did my usual of stopping to stretch before trying to continue. That seemed to work until I hit the 2.5 mile mark. The cramp returned with full force and stopped me right in my tracks. I finished walking my lap with tears in my eyes.

After discussing this with my honey, he convinced me this wasn't the "be all end all" I was making it out to be. This was my body telling me I needed to take some time off from running to get the calf completely healed. I know this is all true, it was just hard to accept. So instead of running, I turned to my bike trainer. I have had to modify my Shred workouts to not further aggravate my calf and have religiously foam rolled and iced. I can honestly say that my calf feels so much better today, but it will probably be another week before I attempt to run again.

During all the running drama I created in my head, I still committed myself to clean eating. With burning less calories than I would of with running, I still managed to come in just under my calorie intake each day. I was doing really good with the weight loss (inches lost) during the first 2 weeks of the Shred so I was concerned with how this week would reflect on the scale this morning, since I was burning less calories. Well let me tell you all, sweat is sweat and combine that with clean eating, it still pays off. I have lost another 2 pounds this week, bringing my total up to 7.5 pounds. My hard work and commitment to eating clean continues to show!

Now for the nitty gritty details of the week.

My Meals

Breakfast and Snack:

Lunch:

Dinner:

My Workouts

Monday:
P.M. - Summer Shred Workout #1

Tuesday:
Lunchtime -  Run at the gym.

Wednesday:
A.M. - Run cut short at Astoria Park Track

P.M. - Summer Shred Workout #2 plus Bike Trainer

Thursday:
P.M. -  Summer Shred Workout #3 plus Bike Trainer  

Friday:
P.M. - Bike Trainer

Saturday:
Summer Shred Workout #4 plus Bike Trainer

Sunday - Rest Day

I am really looking forward to seeing what this last week will bring me. Saturday is the final weigh-in for the Diet Bet that I am participating in with some of the other Shredder's. As of today's weigh-in, I have reached my goal of losing 6.2 pounds. So as long as I don't gain any weight this week, I will receive some of the money from the pot. Which would be great because momma needs new pants pretty bad!

How have your workouts been going?  Anything you want to work on this week?
My upper body has slowly gotten stronger and I want to continue my improvement with the push-ups. I started out doing them at an angle standing at my kitchen counter-top, to this week actually doing them on the floor (on my knees) with getting about halfway down before coming back up. This was a huge improvement for me and I am excited to continue it.

Did anyone else sign up for the next Summer Shred with Bobbi?
I decided to continue with the Shredding experience and signed up for her Extreme Shred for July. I am excited to get this next level of plans. While I haven't mastered all the workouts from this month, I have definitely gotten stronger and will have them at my fingertips to go back to and work on things.

Three Things Thursday

Happy Thursday, almost Friday! 

It's time for my favorite part of my blog week, "Three Things Thursday!"

Thing #1:

After I came home from running the Oakley Mini 10K race on June 8, my honey surprised me with this beautiful bouquet of flowers! It's rare I get flowers from him, so this was extra special!

Thing #2:

I recently ordered this bucket load of yarn from Knit Picks. What will it grow up to be? Well there is a baby boy due this September in my honey's family and I thought I could knit a blanket faster than I could quilt one. Stay tuned for details of what I decide to create and just exactly how long it takes me to make it. It would be a miracle if I finished before the baby is born!

Thing #3:

My sister! She saw a photo of me wearing this tank top and told me how much she loved it. Being the loving sister that I am, I immediately ordered one for her and she kindly sent me this pic, so I could then put it out on the interwebs. She's looking like a hot mama these days!

So tell me, what are 3 random photos that you have on your phone right now? 

Any guesses on how long it will take me to start and finish that baby blanket? Last baby blanket I knitted never made it to the finish line. I'm hoping this one turns out better.

Seen any other awesome, motivational t-shirts/tank tops that I could add to my collection? I recently placed my order for this tank in the orchid/pink combo.

Summer Shred 13 Week 2 Recap

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed celebrating Father's Day yesterday. My own daddy is states away so I didn't get to spend it with him, but I did send him my love via the phone, even if he wasn't home and I had to leave a message.

I have officially finished Week 2 of Summer Shred 13 and hit the halfway point! This past week was interesting in the fact that I was sidelined for two days while being sick.

While I could not workout for those two days, I did maintain my clean eating plan. Day One (Thursday) of being sick, I was just trying to eat stuff that would agree with my tummy and was still on my plan. Day Two (Friday) of being sick, was much easier to get the yummy calories in my body and I was starting to get more energy. By Saturday, I was back to my old self and started working out again.

Week 2 presented us with a whole new meal and workout plan. My meal plan for the week ended up incorporating meals from both weeks. I even ventured into making the "Not Really Fried Rice" from the new meals on Wednesday night, so I would have it for lunch on Thursday, but due to being sick I told my honey to eat it so it wouldn't go to waste. He told me it was delicious, therefore, I will have to make it again so I can try it this time.

Here is a sampling of what my meals (breakfasts, snacks, lunches and dinners) were for the week:

My favorites were the "Sunrise Oatmeal" and "Veggie Curry".

Out of the five Shred Workouts for the week, I managed to completed three of them.

Monday:
P.M. - Shred Workout #1 (Warm-up and cool-down was on my bike trainer)

Tuesday:
A.M. - 3 mile run at Astoria Park

P.M. - Major subway issues coming home from work. Had to walk 40 minutes home from the subway in the heat and humidity carrying what felt like a 50 pound backpack because I went to Whole Foods during lunch. So needless to say when I walked through the door I was pooped and already had a workout. No Shred workout tonight!

Wednesday:
A.M. - 3.5 mile run at Astoria Park
P.M. - Shred Workout #2

Thursday and Friday - No workouts. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. Was sick, sick sick.

Saturday:
A.M. - Shred Workout #3 (Warm-up and cool-down was again on my bike trainer)

Sunday:
A.M. - 6 miles run on the trails at Rockefeller State Park Preserve

I love my Sunday runs on the trails! It's the one day of the weekend where my honey and I get some nice quality time together.

This week I ran a total of 12.5 miles. Add that to last week's total and I have run 307.34 miles for the year.

Now that we have hit the halfway point with the Shred, I decided to take my measurements in addition to my weekly weigh-in's. So far, I have lost 5.5 pounds and a total of 4 inches off my body. As you can see by this picture that I posted on Instagram on Saturday, momma needs some new pants. Proof is in the pudding!

My honey and I have discussed at length why I think this is all working for me. I have Hypothyroidism and have struggled with losing weight, and keeping it, in the past, so once this is all over, I will do a post discussing my thoughts.

In the meantime, Bobbi over at Nhershoes is going to be doing one final Summer Shred in July!

I can personally say that yes the workout's will push you like you probably haven't pushed in awhile, leave you cursing like a sailor (I think I did a few times) and have you wiping up your major sweat puddles when all is said and done, it is all totally worth it!

So click here and go on over to sign yourself up if you want to give it a shot. You have until June 26. As for me, I've already signed up for her July Extreme Summer Shred that she's offering to her June Shredders. Call me crazy, but I want more!

Summer Shred 13 Week 1 Recap

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Ours here in NYC turned out to be beautiful after Tropical Storm Andrea passed through here all day and night on Friday. Woke up to sunny skies on Saturday morning and it was perfect the whole entire weekend.

This past week also marked the first week of the Summer Shred 13 that I am participating in and I thought that I would share with you what my week has been like in regards to clean eating and exercising!

Like I said last week, we were all giving a food and exercise plans for the week. I ended up using the food plan as a guide and laid out in nice little table everything that I was going to eat for the week. Which I shared here.

I must say that this was a huge help to me this week and really helped reduce extra stress in my life. I encourage everyone to start using a weekly meal plan, especially if you are trying to watch what you eat. Also, just because it's written down doesn't mean you can't switch things up on it as needed. I pretty much followed what I planned out, but there were a couple times when I need to make a change due to whatever reason. It's not set in stone. It's a guide to help me through my week.

So what did I end up eating?

Every morning I had this delicious oatmeal with strawberries and almonds. I spiced it up with some cinnamon.

Also, if I ran before work, I had a Whey Protein Shake (but half the serving size). In addition, twice last week I also had a fresh green juice.  All of this usually held me until noon time.

By noon, I was always ready for my first snack of the day. I had this delicious Greek Yogurt with strawberries, granola and a little chocolate Whey Protein Powder.

I looked forward to this snack every day!

I generally take a late lunch at my office, so anywhere from 2:00pm to 2:30pm, I will eat my lunch. Below is just a sampling of what I would have.

As you can see there are always lots of veggies involved. This first picture is from over the previous weekend and the other three are actual work meals. By 5:00pm I would have my second snack of the day which was usually a small apple. One day I was still a little hungry so I had a handful of almonds with the apple.

Dinner is usually around 7:30pm. 

While the meal plan provided a wide variety of choices for dinner, Monday through Thursday I generally had the same dinner. I usually eat dinner alone those nights and since I am a vegetarian (with the exception of eating salmon once a week on the night before a long run), I want to make sure I am getting enough protein. So on those nights I would have scrambled eggs along with steamed veggies and either add a slice of toast, a Wasa Cracker or 1/2 an avocado.

My other meals consisted of a simple veggie chili dish with a sweet potato (delish!) and salmon with steamed veggies and brown basmati rice.

For the most part, I skipped that last snack of the day. Sunday is my cheat day so I did allow myself some frozen yogurt. I also had one night during the week where I was still hungry, so I had a cup of cherries.

As for exercise, we were provided with five HIIT workouts to complete Monday through Friday (a different one each day). The plan also allowed for three days of running, but if we ran we weren't suppose to do that day's HIIT.

I managed to complete four of the workouts this week!

Monday:

 Tuesday:

 Wednesday:

 Friday, but doing Thursday's workout:

I got home late on Thursday and didn't really have time to do the workout. I was ok with skipping it since I had run that morning.

Let me just say these workouts were amazing, intense and seriously sweat inducing!

I completed all the workouts at my level, meaning I did have to modify some of the exercises just so I could do them, and that is ok. I know the more I do these exercises, I will be eventually be able to complete them without modifications.

While I may have been cursing through some of the exercises, and my muscles were feeling extra sore, I can honestly say that by the end of the first week I feel stronger!

Of course there was some running this week too. Since I have been a runner for a long time, I didn't really think twice about doing a run and a HIIT workout all in the same day.

I ran twice before work:

 Ran once during my lunch break:

 And of course ran a little 10K race on Saturday morning:

I decided to take Sunday as a complete rest day, so no running on the trails were done. I ran a total of 15.26 miles this week.

Where does that leave me with my Run 1,000 miles by the end of the year goal?

I last talked about my running and mileage here on May 29 through Week 21. My previous total was 270.58.

Add the two new weeks of mileage:
Week 22: 9.00
Week 23: 15.26
New Total: 294.84

Still not back at the 20 plus mile weeks to get me to my goal. I am hoping this week will get me there.

I am so happy that the first week of the Summer Shred is under my belt. I wasn't sure what the week was going to bring me or how well I would fair with it.

I am super proud of myself for all that I accomplished this week along with my fantastic fellow Shredder's!

The clean eating left me satisfied and with more energy. The workouts pushed me to my limits and let me set new ones.

I have also lost a total of four pounds since my start weigh-in! Two last Monday and two again this morning!

I am ready for Week 2!

So tell me, what did you do this weekend? 
I spent a good portion of my weekend recovering and relaxing, of course after all my chores were done.

Anyone else race?  
I will be posting my Oakley New York Mini 10K Race Recap hopefully this week.

What's one thing you could start right now to make a healthy difference in your life?
I started using my Pedometer this week. I bought the Omron HJ-112 Pocket Pedometer from here.

Good May Reading

Good Morning and Happy National Running Day! Even despite all my soreness from this week's Summer Shred 13 workouts I have been doing, I managed to get out to the running track before work and knocked out 3 little miles!

And they were definitely 3 slow miles, but hey, I did a run on National Running Day!

So it's that time of the month again to talk about all the serious, page turning, or you can skip, books I read in May.

16. Thirteen Reason Why by Jay Asher
Finished: May 4, 2013 

"Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier. 

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. 

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers."

I originally put this book on hold back in February when it appeared on some book club lists and received great reviews. When the book became available to me at the beginning of March, I let it pass on to the next person as I wasn't ready to read it. At the end of April I decided to get it out of the library again. Let me say that I thought it was beautifully written. Suicide is such a taboo topic to talk about, but I felt that this book really tastefully gave some insight into why a person, as in this case a young teenage girl, may do such a thing. Even though it's a book of fiction, it is really a fact.


17. The Kill Order (Maze Runner #0.5) by James Dashner
Finished: May 13, 2013

"The prequel to the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series.

Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.

Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive."

After reading the last book in this trilogy, I thought it would be interesting to read this Prequel. Unfortunately, this book was a waste of my time. While it was a tad interesting to read how the flares happened, the book really didn't explore what I had hoped it would. I really wanted the author to elaborate on how Mark and Trina, as teenagers, created the Maze. What were they thinking? How did they decide the Maze was the way to go? It just didn't go there. So while I recommend the trilogy itself, this book could be left on the shelf.

18. Evermore (The Immortals, #1) by Alyson Noel
Finished: May 15, 2013

"The first book in Alyson Noël's extraordinary new Immortals series. Enter an enchanting new world, where true love never dies...

After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact to suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school — but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.

Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head - wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him."

I checked this book out of the library on a whim, The cover and description intrigued me. It's another young adult book that I did really enjoy, as is demonstrated by me reading it in 2 days. You think this book is about vampires, but it's not. Will definitely be reading the next one in the series.

19. Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Taherah Mafi
Finished: May 22, 2013

"Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior."

Can you imagine what it must feel like to have not been touched or even spoken to someone in almost 1 year? Well the main character Juliette does and I was drawn into this book from the very first chapter. I'm excited that this is part of a trilogy and really want to read the in between book before reading #2 as it comes from the perspective of the main character of the Reestablishment. Is he really as evil as the first book portrays him to be? Hmmm.

20. Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test #2) by Aimee Carter
Finished: May 24, 2013

"Kate Winters has won immortality.
But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry's first wife, Persephone."

This trilogy isn't any earth shattering, must read books but it does provide me with some interesting and simple reading that I like every once in a while.  This is technically the third book I read because there was an in between book, which you really don't have to read to understand this book.

21. Pure (Pure #1) by Julianna Baggott
Finished: May 31, 2013

"We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again."

This book was the highlight of my month! I have been recommending it to everyone who likes to read books similar to my tastes. I absolutely loved it! I read it based on my sister's recommendation and from the moment I started reading it, I could not put it down. I am so ready for the next book!

According to Goodreads, I am now 53% into completing my goal of reading 40 books by the end of the year and am ahead of schedule by 4 books.

So tell me, anyone else going to get outside for National Running Day? What has been your favorite book to read so far this year?

Shredding It Up This Month

Hello Hot and Humid June! After this past weekend I can say it definitely feels like summer has arrived here in NYC. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. From reading my favorite blogs, I see lots of racing action happened. I didn't race, but did spend both days of the weekend getting some running in and ended up needing to be wrung out when all was said and done!

Exhibit A (Saturday):

Exhibit B (Sunday):

Saturday also kicked off this little thing called Summer Shred 13. Bobbi over at NHerShoes is putting this on for those of us who want a little butt kicking action for the entire month of June. She had such great success with her May Shred that she decided to do one for June too. As soon as registration opened, I signed right up!

I was super excited to get started. As you all know, my motivation and running consistency has wavered since my brother's death in March, so I thought that participating in this would be exactly what I needed to help get me going again.

I can tell you right now that I am very happy I signed up for this because the support being received from all the other lovely ladies participating has been wonderful! We are all in it together.

So for the entire month of June we are receiving weekly healthy, clean eating meal plans, weekly HIIT training plans (I haven't done my yet for today, but let me tell you I think I am going to be pretty beat up afterwards.), a private Facebook page where we can interact/support each other and have Bobbi available to us for any questions or help we may need.

Plus, there is this little thing call Diet Bet! Win some money for losing 4% of your body weight? Yes please!

Thursday, I spent some time reviewing the weekly meal plan sent out to us and used it as a guide to create what I was going to eat for the entire week starting this past Saturday. Everything on the meal plan wasn't really new to me. I really cleaned up my diet (i.e., green juicing 4-5 times a week, eating organic foods, etc.) when I became a vegetarian three years ago, so I was looking at this as a guide to help me change things up a bit. I'll say it now, I do eat salmon once week when I am really running a lot, like training for a marathon, and it's usually the night before my long run of the week.

I was very ambitious and even created this little table:

I ended up referring to it often this past weekend. I also found it was extremely helpful in making things super easy for me when it came time to eat. I didn't have to waste X amount of time wondering what I was going to make for myself. It also made putting my lunch together this morning a no brainer!

I have tried my hand at meal planning in the past and it never really stuck with me. I have to say that by putting in the effort to create a weekly plan really is worth the payout. I have found that I have been less stressed over the past couple of days about my meals and wondering if I am really getting all the nutrients my body needs.

Now I can focus on getting my exercise groove on!

So tell me, anyone else sweat it out this past weekend? What little changes have you made to assist with living a healthy lifestyle?

Joining the June Shred was one step for me. I also joined My Fitness Pal a few months ago, but am now really using it like I should have been all along. Last Friday I purchased a pedometer because I really wanted to know how many steps I take during the day. I mean, every little bit counts, right?