Matchstick Challenges

As stated in my previous post, I promised to be more active in my blog postings and updates.  This includes Molly's Matchstick Challenge.  I'm weeks behind, but am going to pick up this week with Challenge #9 while attempting to squeeze in previous week's challenges in order to catch up.

Click the link above to see previous challenges; below you will find Challenge #9.  Join us in the weekly challenges.  Play catch up with us and post your weekly updates!

Matchstick Challenge #9!

Info//Join

Note: If you joined late, post the current week’s challenge instead of going back to the beginning and starting there. You can post past challenges as well, but part of it is the community that we build by working on the same thing together, every week!

Ladies and other ladies, (reader survey says my readers are 98% female) it is time for another challenge! Last week’s posts were really great, and I’ve actually turned them it into a running feature. I’ve posted some “Is It Really Healthy?” posts on this page right here, and will keep updating the list with new reviews that I write and receive from you! Visit the page to find out to have your review featured.

This weeks challenge is another “do” challenge. The last two you could pretty much do from your computer if you wanted to (or even yell from the couch and have a computer or hired slave type down your words for you), but not this week!

This week’s challenge is to make healthy choices more accessible. Think about the reason you eat chips, or candy, or a sugary protein bar.

It’s easy. It’s right there. You can grab it and take a bite in less than five seconds. When I’m hungry, I’m hungry right then, and I want to eat right away (probably why there aren’t any elaborate recipes on this page—I am almost admirably impatient.)

To grab something like, a handful of grapes, you have to get the grapes out, deal with those weird bags they come in, wash them, and put them in a bowl. To get some carrots? You have to get them, peel them, cut them, whatever. It takes work, and when you’re hungry and want something right away, you’re probably going to skip all of that in favor of something quicker (and probably less healthy.)

So this week, let’s flip the tables and make healthy food a little more accessible! Cut up fruits and veggies and have them all ready to go in a container in the fridge. Maybe make a couple mixes, like a container of carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower and sugar snap peas. You could get a little dish with some hummus or something to dip in them all ready and in the container with them, so that’s one less thing you have to do when the time comes. Make eating fresh & healthy foods easy on yourself by taking a few minutes right now.

You could also try to bring healthy snacks or lunches with you, instead of buying them at school or work. I would almost never buy something from a vending machine unless I was super hungry and that was the only thing around. I’ve caved before and went through a drive though just because I didn’t have something healthy with me and I wanted to eat right then. If you have a [healthy!] protein bar, bag of veggies, banana or wrap with you, you can eat that whenever you get hungry, instead of getting junk.

See how many healthy choices you make by making nutritious food more available!

Looking for ideas?
-88 Snacks Under 100 Calories
-Great Take-Along Ideas from Another Lunch

Tag it with matchstickchallenge and link up to this post when you’re done, and maybe do all of these things too. [I’ll stop bossing you now, I guess. Maybe.]

Super Slackers

Between the craziness of the holidays, training for our upcoming half marathon (runDisney's Tinker Bell half is only nine days away!); work, school, and our new love, CrossFit we have failed to stay on top of regular blog updates.  It has been one whole month since our last post. One Month!  That is far too long, and on behalf of both of us, I extend our deepest apologies.  As our title and description so clearly state, the purpose of this blog is to journal our training process for any and all races we sign up for and provide motivation along the way.  Rest assured that we have still been training.  We run, we CrossFit, and we somehow manage to fit life in between.  We have only fallen short on the blogging aspect of our journey.  I am here to tell you that we are going to make a better effort to get back on track as a means to provide motivation for our readers, as well as to continue to hold ourselves accountable.  This is especially important to us given that we have recently had two friends (Stephanie Q., and Stephanie L.) express their interest in joining us in running a marathon this year.

Yep, I said it.  Marathon.  Twenty six point two miles of both pure bliss and pure torture.  We have yet to pick a race, but will be sure to announce it when it has been decided.  I'm thinking a fall race is in order since Danielle and I are both teachers and can ideally train during our summers off.

So please stick with us as we get back on our feet and get back in the groove of things.  Motivational Mondays, Wordless Wednesdays, the Matchstick Challenge, and regular workout updates will work their way back into the blogroll, and perhaps a Tuesday Ten and/or Friday Five.  

Happy running, happy blogging, happy, healthy 2012! 

Diet? What diet?

This last weekend was my family Christmas in Southern California. I was off exercise for 3 days and my diet consisted somewhat of this...

Taco, enchilada, beans and rice
reduced fat turkey bacon breakfast sandwich from Starbucks
Chips and salsa
Beer
Mac-n-cheese
Grilled veggies
Tri-tip
Punch (that was clearly loaded with alcohol because that's how we roll)
Cupcake
Beer
Eggs, hash browns, ham
Crusted calamari
Caesar salad
Garlic bread
Another beer
Cookies

This was all in a matter of 3 days. This morning I went back to CrossFit and all that food I just listed slapped me in the face as hard as it could. I. felt. like. poop. During our brief chat while warming up, I had told my trainer about my weekend. She made sure to remind, while all that food was slapping me in the face, that if I kept that up I was going to be working against myself. I will do anything not to feel that way again. I want to be fit. I want to be strong. I want to be healthy. Time to change what I put in my body.

Danielle

P.S. After listing all of the food I ate over the weekend, it sure does motivate me even more to change my diet.

Motivational Monday

Time to kick ass...

Now that student teaching isn't consuming 10 hours of my day, I need to get caught up. For the last 2 weeks my running was put on hold because there weren't enough hours in the day. There. I said it. I don't belong to a gym and I don't run at night in the dark. When the sun comes up, I'm getting read for work. I've decided to dedicate the next 7 weeks to kicking ass.

I decided to ride Amanda's coat tails by starting CrossFit. My first class was this morning and I had no idea what to expect. The CrossFit gym isn't like your typical gym. You aren't surrounded with weight machines, elliptical machines, and treadmills. It's way better than that. The room is open with options for free weights surrounding the gym. The music, and it's good music, is blasting and the energy from the other CrossFit gurus is contagious. I had people cheering me on and yelling at me to push harder.

My workout looked something like this...

200m run
squats
arm rows
push-ups

reps of 15-12-9

finished with a 200m run

I was done in about 9 minutes, my arms felt like jello, and I was winded. Cannot wait to go back for round 2 tomorrow morning.

While incorporating CrossFit into my training I will continue to run and pick up where my training schedule leaves off.

Here's to kicking the next 7 weeks ass.

Danielle

When Your Legs Get Tired, Run With Your Heart

(quote and photo source unknown)

Matchstick Music

Matchstick Challenge: Week 4

My Running Playlist:

First, I must preface this post by saying that I really only use my playlist for running. The playlist is actually called “13.1”. I don’t warm up or cool down with specific songs; I just set my playlist on shuffle and run. Most of my songs have some correlation to running based on their title or lyrics, others have lyrics that give me motivation based on lyrics, and some just have an amazing beat that make me want to get after it! That being said, I did my best to use my music and put it into Molly’s proposed categories as suggested by Challenge #4. For Matchstick purposes, my list is as follows:

Three “Relaxing” Warm Up Songs:

~P.Y.T - Michael Jackson

~I Run to You - Lady Antebellum

~Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine

Three Power Songs (i.e., songs that put me in the zone and keep me going):

~Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga

~Days Like These - Asia

~Without You - David Guetta ft. Usher

Three “Angry” Songs (I hate “angry” screamo music so these are more “kick it into high gear” based on title and lyrics):

~Let’s Go Crazy - Incubus

~I’m a Machine - David Guetta ft. Crystal Nicole

~Crank It Up - David Guetta ft. Akon

Three Fast Paced Cardio:

~Mr. Brightside - The Killers

~Quiet Little Voices - We Were Promised Jetpacks

~1901 - Phoenix

Three Cool Down Songs:

~I’m Real - JLo ft. Ja Rule

~Arms - Christina Perri

~Fly - Nicki Minaj and Rihanna

One Song Guaranteed To Kick It Up (THIS is my ultimate power song, especially at 1:52):

~Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

Other faves on the rest of my running playlist include more Gaga, and Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha, Rihanna, Galore, Boston, LMFAO, Foster the People, Journey, Swedish House Mafia, Vampire Weekend, The Downtown Fiction, Black Eyed Peas … and the list goes on… Thanks for the challenge, Molly!

(photos source: iTunes)

Superb Sunday Stroll

Today was perhaps my best training run to date.  My goal for the Tinker Bell half marathon on Juanuary 29 is 2:15.  Today I ran 10 miles and was on pace for a 2:10 finish time!  With seven weeks left to train, this gives me the confidence to know that I will at the very least reach my goal, if not surpass it greatly!  (insert fist pump here)

53 DAYS!!!

Matchstick Challenge: Week 4

matchstickmolly:

Matchstick Challenge #4

Guess what? It’s Sunday, and that means it’s time for another Matchstick Challenge! [Info //Join] This weeks challenge is going to post your workout playlist.

We all work out for different reasons, and it’s no secret that emotions can play a powerful role in how hard you work out. Have you ever pushed yourself extra hard because you were mad? Have you ever reached a ‘runner’s high’ and felt nothing but pure happiness? Have you ever gotten an extra burst of energy just because you felt good about yourself?

Sure you have…and the right music can help you harness that energy and use it to your advantage! So this is a little different than just your basic ‘post your workout playlist’ challenge. Take all the songs you normally use to work out and decide which category they fit into—figure out why they help your workout so much! Search your music library to try and fill all the categories!

THREE RELAXING WARM-UP SONGS:

THREE SONGS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL POWERFUL TO BEGIN YOUR WORKOUT:

THREE SONGS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL ANGRY TO KICK YOUR WORKOUT INTO HIGH GEAR:
YOUR TOP THREE FAST-PACED CARDIO SONGS:
THREE RELAXING COOL-DOWN SONGS:
THE ONE SONG GUARANTEED TO KICK YOUR WORKOUT UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL:

 Spice up your post with iTunes screenshots, pictures of your iPod or MP3 player with your favorite song playing, etc. We love pictures!

When you’re finished, link up here!

Please link right to this week’s challenge post, not just your blog.

Friday Five

I just finished making a 30b430 list (30 things I want to do before I turn 30).  Included in that list are five running related goals that I want to accomplish (the rest of the list can be found here).

1. Run a half marathon in 2 hours or less
2. Run a full marathon
3. Be a Running Buddy for Girls on the Run
4. Do a Warrior Dash, Color Run, and Muddy Buddy
5. Run in just a sports bra and look good doing it

Changes...

Wordless Wednesday? More like Word Filled Wednesday...


Monday was my first crossfit class. 


My workout looked like this:


500m row (on rowing machine-duh!)
40 squats (all the way down past parallel)
30 butterfly situps (feet together, legs spread like butterfly/frog, all the way back w/ hands over head touching floor, all the way up touching feet)
20 pushups (chest to floor, hand release)
10 pull ups (up: chin past bar, down: arms fully extended.  I needed a band for assistance as most women do)


Total time: 8:59 (The goal is to repeat this beginning workout every 4-6 weeks and improve your time with each try.) 


I was a little dizzy off the rowing machine headed into squats, and my arms felt like jello after 20 pushups and 10 pullups; but, I didn’t die and I felt great the next day--not sore at all! So there’s that.


I really enjoyed how quickly I was fatigued and how hard I worked in such a short period of time.  I also love crossfitters' bodies, which means that I am absolutely diving head first into this crossfit trend (yes, I said trend and yes, I'm jumping on the band wagon!).  This means that my previously posted training schedule is going to change a bit.  I will still be doing my best to maintain my weekly runs (*I maintain the right to change my daily schedule as needed per life's interruptions); however, all of my strength training workouts that were designated to a NTC, Body Rock, or Women's Health routine will be replaced with crossfit.  I am still not sure about my cross train days, though.  I know that cross training is recommended for runners, but I just don't know if I can justify a second gym membership for two days of spin class per week.  And trust me, I do love me some spin class!  


I'm also hoping that big changes will come in the shape of my body, and my running speed.  Along with having the crossfit body that I love so much on others, my ultimate goal is to create a stronger core and stronger legs as a means to improve my speed for running my next half marathon (and all that follow). 


I shall keep you all posted...

Matchstick Challenge: Week 3

Week 3 Challenge: Meal Makeover: 


"Basically, there are always little things we can do to make a meal healthier overall. A meal makeover is a couple of swaps that exchange unhealthy food for a healthier option. Some examples?

White Bread to Wheat Bread
Soda to Fruit Juice
Fried Chicken to Grilled Chicken
Whole Milk to Low-Fat Milk
Ranch Dressing to Vinaigrette

You can also up the nutritional value of your food by adding fruits or vegetables, like Erica did to her otherwise veggie-less and less-filling pasta. You could add some on the side, or as areplacement for something else (like strawberries instead of candy to top your ice cream).

You can get as into this as you want! You could try buying a meal ready-made from a restaurant and giving it a “Meal Makeover” yourself, or you could do it with something you already eat. I would love to see pictures of the before and after—that’s the most fun part! You could choose to include nutritional info before and after if you’d like.

I’m so excited to see what everyone posts! Be sure to link up with this week’s linky party as soon as you post yours as well [click here for last week’s], I’ll post the link on Wednesday to give people a chance to put up their makeovers."

Slacker Sally

I'll start with my apologies.  I was so excited to start the Matchstick Challenge, but then I forgot to update with progress posts.  I updated over at tumblr, but failed to do so here.  Sooo...

Sorry! Sorry! 100x's, Sorry!

Now, on to those updates (posts coppied from my tumblr blog):

Week One: Try a new fruit or vegetable you've never tried before:   Because I don’t have enough on my plate as it is, I decided to join what seems like hundreds of other bloggers/tumblrs in Molly’s Matchstick Challenge.  This week’s challenge was to try a fruit or vegetable that you’ve never tried before.  I had a hard time finding one that I hadn’t tried and was a bit worried that I’d be a failure in the first week; when last night at dinner, a new veggie presented itself to me: cardoni (or as it more commonly called in Italy, “cardi”).  Cardoni comes from the cardoon plant, and while it resembles a celery stalk in its appearance, it is actually a distant cousin of the artichoke family (and it definitely tastes like an artichoke).  

I had cardoni as an appetizer, served deep-fried.  Not at at all healthy, but all sorts of delicious! Apparently the preparation process is rather extensive, so it doesn’t look like cardi is going to make it on my “things to make at home” list; however, if given the chance, I’d definitely order/eat it again!

(Sadly, my iPhoto still isn’t working, so I wasn’t able to add the matchstick challenge logo or an image of my new veggie.  If you google image search “cardoon plant”, though, you’ll see several celery-like pictures of the delicious Italian vegetable.) 

Bring on challenge number 2, Molly!

Week Two: Walk: As I said in a previous post regarding Molly’s goal for week two of The Matchstick Challenge; I don’t feel safe walking alone where I live.  I would love to be able to live in a town that I feel comfortable walking to the gym, to work, or to the closest Starbucks; but sadly, I do not.  To be quite honest, I live close enough to all three that the task is physically doable, but mentally, not so much.  I get inside my head and convince myself that there is someone following me or a creeper in the bushes.  That just takes the pleasure right out of the walk for me and I’d just rather not do it.  

That being said, I did go on a short walk around the neighborhood with my sister and her two kids after our Thanksgiving meal.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  Such a beautiful day!

(*I realize that the afore mentioned creepers do not disapear simply because I am with another person and two small children, but hey, safety in numbers, right? Right!)

Also, I almost always take the stairs instead of the elevator when I go to my Rick’s place (the almost part being reserved for situations when my hands are full and I can’t manage the stairs in all my clumsy glory).  And, as much as I love finding a front row parking spot at the grocery store, I never troll the lot searching for one.  I don’t mind taking a spot further away and walking a small distance, so if a close spot isn’t available I swoop up a far-ish (because really, how big is a parking lot in the scheme of things?) spot and make the trek!

So, even though I didn’t walk all over town all week long like some other Matchstickers, I’d say that week two of the Matchstick Challenge was a success! I’m ready for week 3! 

And there you have it.  My updates for the challenge.  I promise that I'll do better in the weeks to come in updating all my runners over here in Blogger Land!  Also, if you're following and participating in the challenge, leave your comments.  We'd love to hear from you! 

Constant battle...

Yes, yes it is.

Danielle

Why do you run?

"Running is the only thing I have that is mine... To go sweat, breathe, cry in the rain, and scream or sing in the woods is why I love running." -Christine Orr from Runners World


Danielle

Thursday Thoughts

"Running is beautiful.  It gives you control, it leaves the negative behind.  Hurt, tears, hate, anger, sadness; it all leaves in the form of sweat and something stronger takes its place." -unknown

Tumblr Tuesday (on Monday)

... because I just can't wait until Tuesday!

As you may know, I have a second blog, Pandamonium, over at tumblr.  It is somewhat running/fitness  related (tumblrs call it "fitspo" or a "fitblr" blog), but mostly it's just a random collection of "me-ness".  Over at Pandamonium, I follow a girl named Molly, who writes a blog called Matchstick Molly.  She had this genius idea to bring fitness and healthy life-style bloggers together by doing a weekly challenge geared towards healthy living.  Each week, she'll post a goal/challenge of some sort that we should strive to attain by the end of the week.  To show our participation in the challenge, we are asked to post our progress through a written post or picture throughout the week, or at a minimum at the end of each week.  As a means to mix and mingle, we are also asked to view and reply to the blogger listed directly above and below us on her participants list.  Easy peazy, lemon squeazy.

As a means to expand on this challenge, I am bringing it over here to blogger land and incorporating it into my our (Danielle, jump on the band wagon, will ya?!) running blog, and inviting you to do it with us.  Run with us.  Matchstick Challenge with us.  We don't ask for much around these parts!

This week's challenge: try a fruit or vegetable that you've never tried before.

Seems easy, but given that I love love love fruits and veggies, this actually may in fact be a challenge.  I feel like I've tried them all!  I'm going to have to hit up the produce section and/or farmers market on Wednesday and diligently search for something I've never tried.  Suggestions are much appreciated! 

Motivational Monday: Ben Does Life Edition

This guy.  Holy amazingness!

Wordless Wednesdays

Sadly, Amanda's iPhoto isn't working.  That means, no pictures.  Which means no Wordless Wednesdays from her for a while.

(It also means that if broken iPhoto leads to lost pictures, she's going to go completely bat shit crazy!)

Fingers crossed...