Quick Weekend Recap

This will be short and sweet just like me!

This past Friday at about 11 am, I decided I couldn't stand to wait another month to make a trip back home to PA.
My homesickness was seriously getting the best of me!
I called my husband in tears and he encouraged me to go.

Royce and I were on the road by 12:30pm and found ourselves in PA by 5:30!

We went straight into town where my brother was going to be walking in high heels.

What?!?! That doesn't sound normal to you??

It was the first annual Men in High Heels walk to benefit a woman in need organization!

There was no way I was going to miss that!

It was actually very encouraging to see so many men supporting and standing up for women in need!

But don't you worry!

Even with a last minute trip home, I still managed to get in my 30 Day Shred.
Sure I had to stream it on my iPad since I couldn't work my mom's DVD player

And I had to contend with my 19 month old thinking ab work was actually crawl and play on mommy time

But I got it done!
#4MChallenge, baby!!

I got to see lots of family which always warms my heart!

And these may have been eaten...

So glad it all worked out!!
Man, I miss "home"!!

How Jillian's been kicking my ass...

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Hey Beautiful People!!
It's Friday!
Also known as Day 3 of the #4MChallenge.

I've gotten up every day so far this month at 6 am and pounded out the 30 Day Shred.
Which also means I've gotten in bed by 9:30 pm and pretty much asleep by 10 pm every night as well.
I've woken up several times each of those nights....and seriously by anticipation of working out.
I actually have yet to wake up to my alarm.
I guess Jillian is in my head at 5:50 am screaming at me to wake up!!
How does she do that?!?!?

This morning, I was awake at 5:45 and laid in bed thinking how maybe I should just sleep and get the workout in later today.
But I had to remind myself how much I've loved the house all quiet and to myself at that 6am hour.
And how frickin' awesome I feel once I've completed the workout...it just sets the tone for my day!

I am loving this challenge, y'all!!
I may be crazy.
And I may be whistling a different tune in a few more weeks.
But right now, I'm totally digging this!

So I've been getting in those workouts in the morning and still sticking to my running "schedule".
And don't forget I'm peppering in that speed work/play/training...

Here's a look at my workout schedule for May:

Yes, I LOVE a schedule.
And I love putting that Gold Star on there once I've completed the days worth of workout!!
"3.1 mi" and "5 mi" are the miles I plan to run on those days.
And I'm not sure how many I'll run every Saturday but it has to be 5 miles or more, so that's why that's written in pencil!!
I'll include this calendar pic in my After pics to see if I get a gold star every day!! :)

Alright my fabulous people...That's all I've got for today. 

Go out and make it a Gold Star day!!

Weigh In Wednesday/Day 1 of #4MChallenge

Remember the time that Pinterest project started out like this:

And turned into this??

And remember last Wednesday when I said I wanted to be in the 140's by the end April?!?

yes, that says 149.6! My scale is dying out on me. :(

Bam!!
Amazing things really can happen when you stop shoveling a bunch of junk in your face!

That number is just what I needed to see to give me that extra push while doing Day 1 of the 30 Day Shred with Ms. Jillian Michaels this morning

#wokeupat5:50cosiwassoexcited

#sweatyface

#4MChallenge

 

Yep, woke up just for a date with the bia!

My game plan for this challenge is to wake up before the rest of my house to get in my 30DS workout.  

(which used to be 7 am, but a certain 19-month-old now wants to wake up between 6 and 6:30...guess who's gotta cry till Mama's done getting her ass handed to her?!?)

And this lady right hurrrrr is a woman that NEEDS her sleep.
So that also means that I am challenging myself to be in bed BY 9:30 pm so I will hopefully be asleep by 10 every night this month!

My super lucky hubby snapped my Before pics that I'll be saving till this challenge is over!
I'll give you a little hint...they're definitely gross sexy!

But you should all know that I plan to go hard these next 30 days.
I want results.
And I want this cross training effort to put some pep in my running step!


In other news...I reached 100 followers!!!
What?!?!
Y'all!! Seriously!! I feel so blessed and encouraged to have each and every one of YOU!!
A giveaway of my favorite things is definitely in the works.
So don't miss those details when they come!!

And just a heads up...for funsies...I have a little giveaway planned for Mother's Day!
Details on that to come next week.
So don't miss that!

Happy Happy Hump Day!!

A Faster Rnner

Hey hey, kids!

Super stoked about all the responses we got from our Jillian Michaels challenge!!!
I cannot wait to see all the results!
Gotta put in the work to get 'em!!
It all starts tomorrow, baby!

Running has been basically the only exercise I've been doing since about August of last year.
Add in better eating choices and I'm down about 40 pounds!

Not only do I now want to tone up some things...
...I want more muscles to make me a better and faster runner!!

You see, I have a 5k planned for June 7th.
It's back in my home town in Pennsylvania and my good friend is the creator/coordinator of the event.
It's a flat and fast course so you all know I want to PR the F out of this baby.
I also want to beat a few certain people.

These are the race results form this same race from 2011.
(The 2012 race was canceled due to whatever Hurricane was going through at that time)
Those times I numbered are 6 people that I know personally that I would LOVE to beat!
Not because I don't like them!
They're all really, REALLY great people!!
(Numbers 2 and 3 were super supportive and encouraging in my first half mary journey)
They're also all runners/skinny/in shape folks.
(Ok, and Number 1 is an ex-boo of mine. Can you blame me for wanting him to eat my dust?!?)

I feel that I've worked hard to lose this weight and to accomplish all that I have through running.
And to beat any of those people and their times would be the icing on the cake
(Mmmmm... Cake!)

Is that Prideful? Rude? Mean? Ridiculous?
Maybe.
But it's honest.

I know they say it over and over again,
"Don't compare your time to others..."
"Your time is your time..."

But does it hurt to have a little motivation?!?
I don't want to compete with these times to say I'm a better runner.

I want to compete with these times for my own personal accomplishments.
I want to compete with these times to say look how far I've come!
Look how hard work and dedication pays off.


I also saw that these were the top two times at this race in 2011 for my age group 30-39

(They only award the top 2 in each group)
And while I don't know if those kinds of time are obtainable for me,
I know I want to live free or die hard trying.
(oh, and just so we're clear, I'm looking at the 24 minute time. This bia ain't crazy in thinking she can even get anywhere near that 20 minutes.)


So, in conjunction with working that muscle with Ms. Michaels, I will also be incorporating speed training into my May workout schedule.
Thursdays will be strictly speed training day.

I've Googled some speed training techniques and tips and found some helpful sites.
You can check those out here, here and here if you're interested. (thanks, Marcia for that last one!)


I found that first article to be the most informative and helpful, so I plan to kind of use that as my basis. 
I plan to start out with the Fartlek method.

"Fartlek?!?"  - This is Swedish for "speed play" and is essentially a series of faster pickups with a recovery interval in between. (Wording directly taken from link posted.)

What really stuck out to me in this article in regards to the Fartlek training was this:

"A mix of short, fast running and longer, steady stretches will tap into your anaerobic system and increase your aerobic capacity, thus improving your ability to maintain a faster pace."

My plan for this Thursday is to warm up with a 0.5 - 1 mile jog. Then work on 1 minute sprinting/fast pickups, recovery time of 2 minute jogging followed by 5 minute fast, steady pace, 2 minute recovery time...and repeat these intervals for 2 - 3 miles. Then end with a half mile cool down jog.

My plan right now is to use this Fartlek method along with some basic track training for these next 6 weeks before the race.




If any of you have played around with speed training work and swear by a particular method, drill, technique, I'd love to hear!

Happy Tuesday!

#4MChallenge

Oh Em Geeeeee!
I am excited to tell y'all something!!

Last Wednesday, I posted my "Woe is me and my lack of dedication/motivation to lift weights and tone, I guess I'll go eat worms" story.
I made the comment, "I do own a copy of the 30 Day Shred, so I think I may just need to buckle down and pull that bad boy out again..."
...knowing full well I was dragging my feet and that that probably wouldn't happen.

Well I was blasted by solidarity from Meredith, then Kate, then Kara...all saying,
"Hey, I'll do it with you. I'll keep you accountable!"
Long story short, a lot of emails were passed around and Team KLM is issuing a challenge!
(Team KLM: Kyra, Kara, Kate, Kristie, Kassie, Leigh Ann, and Meredith)

May Meltdown with Ms. Michaels

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BOOM!!

Most of you know that Operation Red Bikini is RIGHT around the corner.

We've all pushed ourselves to this point.
And we're entering the home stretch, we're in the birth canal, the light at the end of the tunnel, the final countdown...

It's time to Go Big or go home.
Only going home is not an option.
So who better to GO BIG with than Jillian Michaels?!?

For the month of May, we want to challenge you to pick your poison Jillian Michaels workout DVD of choice and commit to GOing BIG with it.
Whatever that looks like for you...

Doing it every day for the month of May.

Doing it 5-6 times a week for the month of May.

Doing 2 of her DVDs simultaneously.

Upping the El Bees on those free weights you use to do a JM workout.

Sweating at least 5 buckets full because you've kicked that much ass during that workout.

Yelling at Jillian Michaels cause she can't keep up with YOU. 

Whatever suits you and your schedule.
But Challenge yourself.
Push yourself.
Go Big.
Go Hard.
Show JM what you got.
ORB, baby!


My personal fave (aka the only one I own) is the 30 Day Shred.
My goal is to do this Jillian Michaels work out DVD EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. in the month of May!
And I'll be upping my free weights to 8 pounders. (Thanks again, Meredith!!)


Every Friday in the month of May, we'll do a link-up so we can all check in to see how everyone is doing in this last ditch effort to ORB and to keep each other accountable and encouraged!

B&A's aren't mandatory but are totally welcome!
It really is a great way to see your progress when you stick to something and put in the time.
And we blog womens LOVE us some B&A's!!

So join us in making this last month really count!
Put in the time and get those results!
Grab that button and link up with us every Friday in May.
And don't forget to blast all your efforts in this challenge on Instagram with #4MChallenge.

And tell Jillian Michaels to BRING IT!!!!

Is This Thing On?

It's official!!
I met one of my BBFs IRL!

(Side note...My IRL BBF asked me a very legit question. How does one pronounce my name? I never thought to give y'all the correct pronunciation...considering it's been a topic of contention my whole life!
My name rhymes with pier...you know the thing at a beach...and add an "uh" at the end.
Or try rhyming it with "mirror" only exchange the "er" at the end with an "uh"
Or you can just watch this awkward as hell video of me pronouncing it real quick-like

Mind blown, right?!?)


Anyway...back to my IRL BBF

Meredith over at Is This Thing On? and her family were on "vacation" just an hour and a half south of where I live.
So Royce and I drove our happy little tails down yonder!

And we are so glad we did!!

Meredith was just as sweet and pretty as you would already assume!!
She greeted me right away with a hug, then Starbucks, then a gift!!!
And all I had to offer were some chocolate chip Teddy Grahams for Zoey!!

Homegirl is so thoughtful and generous...and it's genuine!
She has such a giving heart!
I had mentioned in my blog post on Wedensday that all I had were some 3-pound free weights...
So Meredith got me some 8-pounders!
No excuses now! ;)

We sat and chatted while the bambinos played in the play area at the mall.
Royce only hit about 5 or 6 kids and only escaped the play area about 300 times!
But we still managed to have a nice conversation!
There was never an awkward moment nor a lull in conversation.

After the kids exerted some energy while the mamas drank their energy we took a ride on the little train that drives around a small area of the mall.
$2 per person for a 2 second train ride?!? Totally worth it!! :)
The 5 of us crammed in one of the train cars and I'm bummed there's no picture documentation of that sight.
But, I think Royce and Zoey had a nice first date!

We then headed to the children's section of Barnes & Nobles for a play area change of scenery.
The kids were all so cute looking at the books and such.
And gave us even more time to chit chat!
And Savannah told us all about Pete the Cat.

Lunch time came and so did my number 1 chicken sandwich combo from Chik-Fil-A!
The kids stuffed their faces while we talked some more in between stuffing our faces.
And sadly...all good things must come to an end.
But not before getting in a mini-carousel ride!

We had a great time!!

Weigh In Wednesday

First off, I posted this movement on IG (@kbeavtann) last week and thought it was a great idea!

And here are my 26.2 miles dedicated to you, Boston!

Dedicate your next 26.2 miles and always...Run for Boston!!


And back to it...

I've said it before, I'll say it again!
I ALWAYS seem to plateau at the same last number.
182 wouldn't budge.
172 loved me.
162 was around all through the holidays.
and 152 has lingered around since completing the Advocare cleanse in mid March.

Now let's be honest...
I haven't gotten below 152 for over a month because I have eaten whatever the hell I've wanted to!
Thank God I've been running or I may be closer to the 160's again.
But I've got to reign it back in!

This means eating more but eating cleaner!
Every time I've plateaued before, I upped my calories.
My plan of action is to eat the 1500 calories I'm allotted on MFP as well as eating about half of my workout calories back. (A la Skinny Meg)
My goal is to be in the 140's by the end of April! (And by "140's" I clearly mean 149!!)


I also want to start lifting.
Or working on my legs and arms.
I've taken some of the workouts that Skinny Meg and Mama Laughlin have posted and do them every Sunday.
I don't have a gym membership and the heaviest free weights I own are 3 pounders.
(I know...how I'm not ripped already after doing 1 rep with those 3 pounders is beyond me as well!)
I also don't have extra money at this point in time to go buy some heavier free weights.
So, I'm making do with what I currently have.
Which isn't much, but I'm getting super jealous of seeing all these lovely ladies and their amazing results they're getting with concentrated exercises on their arms and legs.
I do own a copy of the 30 Day Shred, so I think I may just need to buckle down and pull that bad boy out again.
At least that gives me a regimented plan in the direction of toning up some of the flub!

So, I need to hone in on really working and toning my arms specifically and amp up some squats and lunges.
And I need to do this more than just 1 day a week.
And I need a friend personal trainer-like person to come to my house to kick my ass for me and make me do all of this.
I need an Elle Noel or Skinny Meg in my life!


I also want to increase my speed when it comes to running.
For awhile I was seeing average paces like this.

Since my H.A.F. and especially since my 10k just a week and a half ago, I'm seeing more paces like this.

Perhaps my crappy eating is attributing to this.
But I don't like what I'm seeing.
I really started priding myself in running an average sub 9-minute mile.

I have a 5k in June that is a fairly flat and easy course that I want to PR all over.
Like under 26 minutes. (VERY wishful thinking is more like under 25 minutes...)
I plan to really concentrate on speed training.
And by "speed training", I mean, run at a comfortable pace for half a mile, then sprint/run hard the next half mile and so on and so forth for 3 miles worth.
I've also done these treadmill intervals.

I need to research more of how to amp up my speed.
Any of you beauts out there have any speed training suggestions??


To end today, I want to make you all very, very jealous....
In 24 hours I will be hanging out with this little lady

 And her sweet little beauties!

(Stalking your IG pics, much?!?!)