Happy Thursday!  I hope each of you are having a fantastic week and if you’re traveling for work or Spring Break, I hope your travels are safe and fun!

Back in October, I signed up for the Mercedes Marathon.  I was excited to finally commit to my first full marathon.  In December, when I was visiting Nick’s brother in Florida, I started having some intense knee pain.  I went to a Chiropractor and a Knee Orthopedic Surgeon with no relief.  I stopped running altogether and even doing a 1/4 mile caused me to limp.  The Chiropractor helped straighten up my back issues which has created major relief in sleeping and life in general, but even when I would run, there was still pain.  I finally decided that I couldn’t run the marathon, so Nick graciously stepped up in my place and ran his first full marathon.  My next decision was to change shoes.  I figured since it wasn’t my IT band and it wasn’t any other major issue, then it must be my shoes.  My right knee has always been weak since I injured it as a Senior in Highschool, but I don’t believe it’s weakness was the major problem.  I’m still working to strengthen my knee and build it up to support a long steady run, but I purchased some new shoes a few weeks ago.  I haven’t had much of a chance to run lately, but I did a 2.3 mile run in Jamaica and I did a 1.86 mile run last night.

When I was in the midst of my pain and injury, doing a 1/4 mile felt exhausting and frustrating and overwhelming.  I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  Being able to run almost 2 miles is rewarding now!  I’m so glad the new shoes are working out.  I’m still taking it slow and steady and if I feel any discomfort, I slow down to walk.

Yesterday after work, I went straight to the park for a run.  I completed 1.86 miles with little to no pain.  My knee felt uncomfortable from time to time, but again, I know it still needs some strengthening.  I would slow to a walk for a minute, then get back to running.  I’m happy to say that today I woke up without lingering knee pain.  Before I would run a small amount and my knee would ache for a whole 24 hours afterwards.  Not this time!!  I’m happy to say that I’m on my way back to running consistently and I already have the Disney Princess 2016 in my sights.  Nick’s sister-in-law, Kathryn, will be running that race with me and it will be her first half marathon!

I went with Mizuno’s this time.  I haven’t been impressed with my last Newton’s so I wanted something new.  So far so good.  Also, these capri leggings… Sam’s Club!! They’re my favorite pair of workout pants right now – excellent compression, comfortable, stylish, thick, and they have a small key pocket on the top band.  They were only $14.  Seriously!?  Me, Nick’s sister, and his sister-in-law all got a pair when we were in Florida over Christmas.  I think they’ve been just as impressed with these leggings.

After my run, I headed to the gym so I could do some strengthening on my knee, but realized that it was a few minutes before the Pilates Reformer class, so I checked the schedule and saw an open spot available, so I went to the class for an over all toning workout plus solid core work.

21 Day Challenge!

Again, surprise surprise, I’m going for another challenge.  I’m pretty sure I would be extra fat and lazy if I didn’t challenge myself because my mind and body want to be fat and lazy half the time I feel like.  Do you ever feel that way?!  I can’t discipline myself to wake up and go to the gym and if there are free donuts in the office kitchen, I’m probably having 1 or 2, okay 2.  So I have to create challenges for myself.  Nick loves them just as much as I do.  There are a lot of times where we challenge each other and the winner gets a prize from the loser.  This is just my own personal challenge though.

Eat Engine 2 / Health Starts Here Approved for 21 days.  There is some minor flexibility in this – if I can’t get the correct tortilla shells or if I have some left over veggie meat that contains oil in it, then I’ll incorporate it in my meal.  This is to save money.  For the most part though, I’m 100% in this.  I went grocery shopping last night and spent way too much money, except I got a ton of things that are great for me and got me extremely excited for eating right again – so I guess it’s entirely worth it.  I also took advantage of buying in bulk.  When you buy in bulk at Whole Foods, you get 10% off.  I stocked up on Garbonzo beans (for hummus), Red Kidney Beans (for chili), and Pinto Beans (for a quick dinner w/ cornbread).  All of these are the no salt added kind.  I’m very pleased with my overall purchases last night and I can assure you, I will not be eating out for the next week.

I  was starving for dinner, but had a plum to curb my hunger so I could think through what I wanted to make.

This was a delicious plum y’all.

For dinner, I made chili – which has become my go to recipe because you basically just dump everything in and wait.  I saute onions first with the spices (cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder), then toss in diced tomatoes and red kidney beans.  I’ll usually throw in some frozen corn too.  I made my favorite whole wheat corn muffins to pair it with.  I’ll also use these for pinto beans.

The other part of this challenge is working out.  I have to work out 5 days/week for at least an hour.  If I can stick to the Whole Foods diet and work out 5 times per week for an hour, then I’m treating myself to a fitness band/watch.  I really want a fitbit to keep track of my steps, but I want it to include a heart rate monitor.  I also want a GPS watch though, so either way – I’m getting one or the other.  I’m thinking the fit bit first since I’m not heavily running yet, but then this summer, I’ll figure out another challenge to get me the GPS watch.

• Are you challenging yourself right now?
• What running shoes are you using at the moment?  What are your likes/dislikes of that particular brand?
• What is your go-to weeknight dinner?