Commit to Fit

So September 1st fell on a Monday. I feel the best when the first day of the month is on a Monday, especially Back-to-Everything-September. It's like the stars align and the universe is offering you this wonderful fresh start. I took complete advantage of it and made a big commitment to getting fit. I took on very firm goals that I am confident I'm going to uphold for the next eight weeks.  They are:

 

1. drink 64 ounces of water every day

2. drink zero ounces - none, nada, not even a sip, of alcohol

3. work out every. single. day.

4. log 100 miles of walking/running/jogging

5. lose 10lbs of fat

 

And honestly? The past 28 days - four whole weeks - have flown by. I'm down 5lb, I haven't even missed cocktails, and I feel amazing. I've done some form of exercise - yoga, pilates, swimming, bootcamp, running, walking, sprinting up hills, lifting weights - every day for 28 days.  And it shows! I'm firmer and toner and so completely proud of myself.

 

I have a bunch of tools to hold myself accountable like my husband & a close group of friends for support & motivation, my polar heart rate monitor, but my favorite is my fitbit. I LOVE seeing days like this:

 

 

Wanna be friends? Add me.

We can cheer each other on ♥

 

Here's to the next four weeks!

 

3rd Annual Color Run

 

It was actually the Color Vibe this year, but whatevs.

 

Our first year without a wagon! The kids walked/ran the entire 5k and we stilled managed less than 20-min miles.

 

#fitfam ♥

30 Day All Body Challenge

A new month, a new fitness challenge. I've seen the 30-day squat challenges, 30-day ab challenges, etc, floating around the internet but have never done one before. August seems like a good month to start one, might as well spend summer's last month looking as bikini fab as possible. In true me fashion, I couldn't settle on just one challenge, so I'm doing four at once: push ups, planks, squats, and crunches. And I couldn't find a routine that I liked, so I made my own. Feel free to follow along. 

Dating My Kids: Fun Run Date

This is the fourth installment of the Dating My Kids series.

Last year Clay and I signed our kids up for their first 5k. Hell, it was our first 5k! We decided on The Color Run, because, well, it's the happiest 5k on the planet. Can't beat that, right? And honestly, we had such a blast participating that we've made it into our annual thing. Last weekend was our second Color Run and it was every bit as much fun as our first. 

We got blasted with pink, then orange, then blue, then yellow (by yellow Em was over getting her picture taken). 

We still brought our wagon for the kids although they walked/ran much more this year. You can tell they're getting stronger. And although this 5k isn't timed, I swear we finished it faster than last year.

If you've never done a 5k before, you may be hesitant to sign your self up, let alone your children, but trust me, the Color Run is very family friendly. There are a ton of kids participating! It's not timed so you can walk the entire length if you'd like and you can bring strollers and wagons.  The volunteers throwing the color are very considerate of children- they'll throw as much color as the kids (and parents) are comfortable with, and you can always cover your and your children's faces with a bandana.

I promise you will feel amazing when you finish. Your entire family will. Narls kept saying over and over how this was the best day of his life, Em danced pretty much the entire time, and Clay & I could not stop smiling.

So go sign up! There are a bunch of variations popping up all over like Color Me Radd, the Color Vibe, etc. I cannot say if they're as family-friend as the Color Run, but it's worth a look. Your kids will thank you.

Root Root Root for the Home Team

Another season of the kiddos' baseball is over.

I gotta admit, I enjoyed spending the evenings at the ball field, watching Narls and Em hit and catch baseballs with their teams. They improved a ton, although they were pretty damn good last year too.

 

Clay coached Em's t-ball team again this year. My husband is in his element with these kids on this field. I love watching him interact with them; he truly is amazing with children and such a great coach.

This was Narls' second year of coach-pitched hitting and he did AMAZING. So proud of that boy.

I'm seriously going to miss watching them play.

Run Like A Girl

Last weekend, four of my oldest & dearest friends and I ran our first 5K obstacle mud run. 

And seriously, it was amazing. We had an absolute blast.

We've been wanting to do something like this for a while, and decided on the Dirty Girl because it donates a portion of its profits to breast cancer, something that is near & dear to all of our hearts.

None of these six pictures are mine; they're from the Dirty Girl website.

Some of the obstacles were tough, and you have the option to forgo any that seem out of your realm of comfort. I'm proud to say that my group completed each one and we had varying levels of "training"; for example, Kandi just had a baby not even a year ago and Chrissy runs 2-3 miles every morning. Sarah and I were somewhere in the middle. Each one of us loved it and can't wait for next year's run.

If you have a chance to do something like this, I totally recommend it. The energy, comradery, and overall feeling of accomplishment you get when you cross the finish line - or in this case, slide down into some mud, are incredible.

Running 4 Wine

I'm proud to say that I completed another - my second! - 5K. 

Seriously, this one was just as amazing as the first, because you know, WINE.  

I even placed 12th in my age group, which kind of blows my mind. 

Photo taken by Ryan Litwiller from I Run Flint.

Tiny Dancers

Em just completed her first season of dance.

Have I mentioned how she came to be in this dance class?

It's a funny story.

See these three young ladies here? They're best friends.  Charlotte, Em, and Paige.  

They try and arrange sleepovers & playdates (parental approval is overrated), they comment on what the other is wearing, they talk about each other while they're apart. Oh, and have I mentioned that each is ONLY THREE? (I don't even want to imagine them at thirteen. Heaven help us.)

 

Charlotte's mom signed her for poms and she was so excited that she managed to talk both Em and Paige into taking it with her.  They even had it planned how Charlotte's mimi would pick up all three of them from their early preschool class and drive them to poms together.  

THEY'RE THREE.

Luckily the first day of poms fell on Tuesday, when I pick up the kids*. I walk into Em's class and she immediately shouts "MUMMA I'M GOING TO CHEERWEEDING!"  I side-eye the teacher, she explains the whole story, I look back and my daughter's pleading face, and off we rush to the dance school, arriving 15 minutes late.  

*Clay golfs on Tuesdays and if he would of picked up the kids like he does every other day of the week, then this never would of happened. 

He doesn't consider cheerleading a sport.

(Let me know if you'd like his email address for much-deserved hatemail.)

I think these tiny dancers would beg to differ.

The Color Run!

My family just completed our first 5K together, and it was amazing.

If you ever get the opportunity to take part in The Color Run, I 100% recommend that you do. With your family! And/or your friends!

It's not timed, so you don't have to be a committed runner - hell, you don't even have to be a runner - you could walk the whole thing, which is what we (and many other families) did.

With this particular event, the emphasis is on fun. So grab your favorite people and wear bright accessories like fun socks and/or tutus and/or crazy bandanas and DO IT.

You're blasted with a dusting of non-toxic, completely safe color after every kilometer so you look like a human rainbow at the end. Sheer awesomeness.

The best part was seeing how ecstatic Narls and Em were. I love that they're learning early how fun physical activity is. It really is. Especially when you do it together.

A couple tips: "conditioning" isn't necessary for the kiddos in your life to enjoy this run.  Clay & I did nothing more than continue our normal evening walk through the subdivision (which is about a mile), and Narls & Em did great.  Strollers and wagons are permitted, and our kids (5 & 3) did an even mixture of walking and riding.

Definitely bring a change of clothes (and a garbage bag to hold your colored clothes), baby wipes, towels to cover your vehicle's seats for the drive home, and sunglasses and a bandana to cover your (especially any kids') eyes and mouths through the color stops (although honestly, we didn't think the dust was bad; the people throwing the color are great at aiming low and throwing light).

I didn't bother wrapping my iphone (the website suggests putting it in a plastic baggie) and it was fine.  And I had it out a lot snapping pictures.  The only time color is a'flying is at the color stops, so as long as you have your phone/camera tucked away in your pocket (or fannypack or stroller basket, etc) during those short periods, you'll be good. 

My last final tip: just sign up and DO IT.

You won't regret it.