Monday, February 4, 2013

January in Review

Some people have a "happy place", I have a "healthy place"... let's just say I was not there for the past several months. January for me was about getting back to being comfortable in my body, making healthier food choices, finding a renewed motivation.

Total Mileage:  Last Wednesday (Jan 23) was the first day I could work out, so in 9 days I managed to get in 39 miles. What's crazy is that is more miles I've put in 9 days worth since the summer. I'm incredibly pleased with my "new-found"motivation, and for my body at holding up after being sidelined for 5 weeks.
February Mileage: I don't have an exact # I'm going to try to hit, but I would like to be close to 100, every time I hit 100 I get injured, so close to it is good enough in my book.

Highest Mileage week: 29- first 7 days of being able to run. If I would have realized it was going to be 29, I would have attempted another mile or not taken my rest day to get in 30.
FebruaryI will be over 30 and like to hit at least 35 (It may or may not have been well over a year since I've done 35 miles in a week- sad I know) .

Races Planned / Completed: 0/0: Rest month  
February: verdict is actually out right now- I originally had scheduled my first half last week of February, but for reasons I can't disclose just yet I may be pulling the plug. I know I will for sure be doing a race next saturday as there are 3 local ones to chose from- 2 Valentine's themed 5ks, and the Cedar's Frostbite Half that I ran last year. 

Accomplishments for January;

  • Finished Ultimate Reset and lost all my holiday weight and then some
  • Received my bloodwork back from my biometric screening, everything went right in the direction (except HDL went down a little) 
  • Found renewed energy for working out again
  • Actually went to yoga- been saying for MONTHS that I need to go and have failed each time
  • Stretching after EVERY run- may not be immediately after, but i make sure to do it--- this is making a big difference in my recovery and allowing my legs to be refreshed. 


Current Book: "Just a little..." series on Kindle. I wish my brother Eric would just propose to Tracie already so I could call her my sister in law instead of "my brother's girlfriend" (too blunt?) but alas she wrote this short series and it reached #1 in Australia and another country (forget which one) First book in the series is "Just a little Crush" and its permanently free. The series is 4 parts and I must say its fabulous and a quick fun read
Product Details

Current Excitements/ Obsessions:
  •  That I can run again- looking forward to being able to get my speed back as its still not all there yet
  • Gearing up for my first race back so I can see how I do and create my big 2013 girl which will be to break 1:40 in the half 
  • Meeting my new niece for first time-- haven't decided if i'm going to wait till I go home over Easter, or do a drop in before then... stupid 6 hour drive to Columbus. 
Current Treat: What started out as an almond butter fudge infatuation has manifested into the lazy and impatient option of not waiting the two hours for it to harden in freezer... Almond butter covered in shredded coconut. Don't get me wrong I still love the fudge, but this does the trick for something with no prep. I'm a bit obsessed now and I may have gone through 6 jars of almond butter in January, maybe.... I'm open to try other bands, but this is my go to and what is most readily available. Great now I'm craving my almond butter fudge crack as I write this...

Current Goal: Run comfortably and consistently in the 8s on the road (treadmill is much easier for me to control my pace)

For 2013 I'm going to try to do 1 major takeaway each month (good or bad) so that way I can continually learn and grow from my mistakes / accomplishment. 

January Major takeaway: Your diet really is the key foundation to your health. Obviously as a nutritionist I "know this", but it was really driven home this month by watching the changes in my body, and even more confirmed when I looked at my lipid profile (my blood panel is pretty consistent year to year, so even though 2012 to 2013 isn't 'earth shattering', its still a big shift for me)

                               2012                               2013                   
Total Chol                 150                                108
LDL                           73                                   48
HDL                           66                                   53
Trig                            57                                    35
Glucose                      95                                    88
HDL/TC ratio              2.27                              2.04 


HDL dropping was disappointing since you want that number to be high as possible, but considering exercise helps increase that number and I wasn't exercising for 5 solid weeks prior to my blood test, I guess this can be expected.  It's unrealistic to continue eating as strictly as I was, but I'm using this as motivation to keep myself in check when I think I've "earned" something outside of my normal realm of choices. 

How was your January?
Mine did NOT start out great, but ended on a surprisingly good note. I'm pleased with what I've set myself up with so far for the year and anxious to see where my fitness level will be at in 1 month. 

Any Major takeaways?
diet for sure, as well as the power of stretching, can't believe how 'refreshed' my legs feel

12 comments:

  1. Yeah! Tracie has another book? Loved the one you let me borrow. Downloaded this new one just now. Cool!

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  2. I'm so glad you found your motivation again- that's a lot of miles! I am all about almond butter too, my day is not complete without a scoop of some kind of nut butter!

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  3. I don't think I knew you are a nutritionist. I am loving almond and cashew butter right now. January was a bit of a mixed bag, not nearly as much running as I had planned but did have some great runs and I don't feel way off track, just a little bit.

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  4. My January take-away is I am seriously lacking some consistency! Great scott! I might be trying to live up to expectations that aren't my own and it cuts into my motivation. I'm working on this and trying be comfortable with I AM capable as opposed to what I should be capable of...

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  5. You had a great month of nutrition and fitness! My January kind of feels off with no obvious explanation. I love the idea of thinking about a take-away each month, but I'm not sure what mine would be for Jan. Something to think about.

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  6. What a great way to kick off the year! I would say my January take-away was to stop giving myself passes and expect different results! Time to own my stuff!!

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  7. Lots to comment on! Question, do you run more on the treadmill or out on the roads? I run more on the treadmill, especially in the winter BUT I find that I can become a faster runner by running on the treadmill. That's messed up isn't it? You're right though about being able to control the speed better.

    I have a yoga video that I do sometimes at the house but I that's pretty much my only option since i'm a good 30 minutes from a proper yoga studio. I've thought about trying yoga at the YMCA in the little village where I live but I'm almost more afraid of being let down. I've taken some of their other classes and breaking a sweat is almost difficult :/ Shiz.

    The Almond Butter looks divine. I didn't want to scroll down.

    January has been slow but that's how it goes for triathlon training. Everything that I do is suppose to be low heart rate and lifting weights. No wonder my shirts are tight. I feel like I"m getting man chest. HAHAHAHA!

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  8. Ah. The mystery of why you may not be running a race. Now I'm curious.

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  9. i didn't know you were a nutritionist, do you enjoy it? i think you did AMAZING this month and way to jump right back into your running! i've gotta tighten back up on my diet, i made it all the way through the holidays but have slacked off since... i can't put my finger on the cause, maybe increased mileage making me hungry but that's not an excuse to eat crap!

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  10. Great to see how January turned around. I will check out the book - right now! How fun to have an author in your family!!!

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  11. Great job on January and amazing improvements in your bloodwork. I love seeing the benefits of living healthy.

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  12. good to know about the book! i'm traveling so much i have time to read now :) i can't get over the changes and the results you had. excited to see how your running goes this time around.

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