The Final Countdown

One week from today, we should be moving into our newly renovated apartment.

One week from today, we have furniture being delivered.

The question is, will it be ready for us?

Answer, we hope so. There is still a list of items that need to be done. Some can be completed after we move in. Some have to be done by the 23rd. Let's see how much can be checked off that list.

I thought it would be fun to finally share some pictures of the apartment. These are all the before pictures that I took with my phone. I plan on taking after pictures. I don't know about you, but I love seeing comparisons of the before and after pictures.

So here are our before's...

The living/dining room:

My creative nook area:

The kitchen:

The bathroom that hasn't been changed since 1970 something:

A small glimpse of the master bedroom:

Finally a peek into the smaller second bedroom:

I personally cannot wait for it all to be done. It's been a long process. What started out as a minimal renovation turned into something much more grand as these kinds of things tend to do. In the end, the long wait will have been worth it. I look forward to making this house our home!

First 8 Days

Happy Thursday! Tomorrow is Friday and that means it's almost the weekend! I for one, can NOT wait!!!

I wanted to spend a little time updating everyone about how my personal running challenge is going so far this month. For those of you who haven't/didn't read my last post talking about my May Fitness goals, I decided to run every single day of May. Yup all 31 freaking days! Crazy, I know.

So now that I am a full 8 days into my little challenge, how is it going you may ask????

Well here is proof of Days 1-4 of running:

...and a little more proof of Days 5-8 of running:

All in all, I'd say it's going pretty well!

I'm actually a bit surprised if I must admit it. I have never run more than 5 days in a row, and at the time, I felt that was a bit much for me before giving my body a little rest. And let me just say that while I am "officially" ('cause like this is a real official challenge, lol) at an 8 day running streak, I am really at a 10 day running streak because I did run the last 2 days of April before I started this challenge. So all in all, my body and mind feel great!

It also doesn't hurt when I look at my Garmin Connect calendar and see all this:

Seeing all those blue running entries makes me feel a huge sense of accomplishment. Silly I know, but it really is a motivator for me.

I believe I mentioned in my last post, I am handling my "rest" days by running at least 1 mile, but no more than 2 miles. These miles are going to be slower miles which I think my body will appreciate and I know will help assist in recovery because I'm not pushing my body as hard as I would if it was a normal run day.

So far I have had 3 of those days. The first was last Saturday which was the day before my long run. The second was Monday as it was the day after my long run and I felt I wanted to take it a little easy. Finally, the third was today, because on Wednesday I did a speed/interval run that morning and those runs put a beating on my body, in a good way mind you. An easier run the day after is always nice since I tend to be a bit sore.

I have also returned to my before work running! I started hitting the track back up before work last Friday and so far this week have done it on Tuesday and Wednesday. The only time I am going to run in the gym is if it is seriously raining or if it is my short/recovery run day. I actually prefer to get my run done first thing in the morning, so I am going to try real hard to keep it to outside runs as much as possible. Unfortunately this morning was rainy, so I chose to take my run indoors during lunch today.

So hear's to the next 8 days of my running challenge!!! Let's see where it takes me.

I will leave you today with one of my favorite motivational running tank tops:

Truth! Gotta put in the work if you want the results!

Starting Fresh

It's May and that brings us one month closer to summer. Uh oh, you know what that means? Closer to those warmer temperatures where we'll be baring more of our skin! I don't know about you, but it's time for me to hunker down and shed those seven pounds that winter put on my body.

This month is going to be about getting back to my fitness basics and setting some goals.

Here's a looky loo at what I have in mind:

Running, weight training, meal planning/prepping and drinking a boat load of water are the fitness basics that worked for me last June when I seriously started my fitness journey and lost 30 pounds!

And here's a reminder that a month, or in this case five weeks, can make a HUGE difference:

The only item that isn't really basic is running all 31 days of May. I have never ever ventured into this kind of running. I have always been one to give my body at least 2 rest days a week.

So why am I having a change of heart on this type of running challenge? Because I have seen a few of my fellow fitness peeps complete that 100 days of running challenge and their bodies really transformed.

I'm not crazy enough to commit myself completely 100% to the 100 days of running just yet, but when I thought about what I wanted to achieve in May, I thought 31 days wouldn't be so bad. So my plan will be that the rest days I usually give myself will be replaced with at least 1 mile of running. If I feel better than I expect, then I may log more miles. It's going to be one of those see as I go kind of things. However, the 1 mile run seems doable and I feel it will give my body a nice active rest/recovery day without too much stress.

I'm also not going into this challenge completely unprepared. I have spent the past month running 4 times a week (with the exception of last week because I was sick) and logging between 20-25 miles a week. By doing this, I was able to get not only my mind back in the game, but also my body. I would NEVER attempt this challenge without having built back a basic running foundation first. I feel I have dusted those winter cobwebs off and I am ready to accept this personal challenge!

I look forward to posting weekly updates and seeing how I progress. Maybe I might be able to inspire a few of you to get out there and start moving. It doesn't have to be running, walking is excellent too. Let me know below what you're planning on doing this month and let's make it a positive one together!