Monthly Archives:

January 2017

Race Dreaming for 2017

I’m looking outside at the sunshine and 50+ degree weather knowing that this may be the last I see of it until at least March. It’s seemed pretty mild around here this month but I suppose anything would feel mild after 6 Michigan winters. I can’t wait for everyday to be a beautiful spring day! I’m done with winter and it hasn’t even really started.

So in my goals for 2017, I talked about how I’d like to do more running and that this year will be the year I become a runner. Race motivation is usually a pretty good reason to start training and reaching for those goals so I’ve been researching and making mental notes over the last few months about events that might be appealing. Races need to be on Sunday which cuts out around 50% or more of my options, especially locally. I think I’ve picked my big race for the year but there are some other options on the table as well!

The last 2 years in a row I’ve done the Iron Girl Triathlon, once by myself in 2015 and then last year my sister did it as well. It’s not focused on running, but if I was a better runner, I think I’d have even more fun comparing it to previous races since I generally suck at running. This year the race is later in August so it’s pretty much impossible for my sister to do it which is depressing but I’m not sure I’d be able to convince her to do it anyways. The race seems to be getting put on by a different group so I don’t know exactly how that’s going to affect everything either. I’d like to do the race again, but I still can’t afford a bike and if I’m doing other races, I don’t know if I can afford it… I’m thinking a lot about this one and I think I probably will do it but it will probably come down to money more than anything else.

January 25, 2017 by meaganleanne

Exercise, Healthy eating, Running, Yoga

Losing a friend and my weekend

I’m still in shock. I still don’t have any words to express because I still don’t understand. Yesterday, the world lost a bright star. A young man who was going places. Someone who cared, someone who was respected and loved, someone who no one could say a bad word about. He was a high school classmate who I had literally just seen in church the day before and been up in front of church with him only 2 weeks ago. He passed away in his sleep, likely from underlying health conditions he’s had for a long time.

I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of loss and I don’t know if that makes any subsequent deaths easier or harder but this is the first friend of my age to pass away and I’m shaken. Please pray for his family and close friends who are devastated, and also for our whole church community who is really feeling this loss.

At one point, while I was processing the news, I started to feel angry and I really needed to just go for a run. Brady was having a pretty hard time with the news so we didn’t go right away, but we ended up going a couple hours later, just before dark. We’re still dealing with moderate winter temps so it was about 50 degrees and lightly raining when we started to run. It matched the way we were feeling.

January 23, 2017 by meaganleanne

Exercise, Life, Weight loss, Yoga

Weekend Happenings and Should I join the Y?

Happy Monday! For the most part this ended up being a lazy weekend for myself and the hubs but it’s what we needed so I don’t mind. On Friday we wandered around Lake Elkhorn and finished our walk right at sunset – it will always be my favorite part of the day. It had been a grey day so it was especially lucky we got to see this beautiful view.

January 16, 2017 by meaganleanne

Exercise, Running, Weight loss

Starting off on the right foot

So one of my goals for the year is to “become a runner”. The only way to really start on this goal is to start running so yesterday was day one. This is year 3 that I’m starting to run again but this time it’s at the beginning of the year and I’m planning on running all year long and making it a long time habit.

In 2015, I started running in preparation for the first time I did the Iron Girl Triathlon. While I was getting ready for the triathlon, I was also focusing on preparing for the other 2 disciplines and I wasn’t totally dedicated to becoming a runner. I started running again last year as I was prepping for the triathlon but I was in a lot of pain due to my back issues through the training cycle and quickly fell out of it after the race.

So third time’s the charm. To start out running this time, I’m going to be using the same app to train that I used the first time I did the triathlon. It’s the Active Couch to 5K app and it’s a 9 week program to help transition from run/walk into fully running a 5k. There have been a few updates to the app since the last time I used it and I also have a Garmin running watch that will help me see my pace throughout rather than just my overall average pace.

January 13, 2017 by meaganleanne

Exercise, Goals, Healthy eating, Life, Running, Weight loss

My Goals for 2017

We’re almost halfway through January and I’m finally sitting down to write my goals for the new year. Well I actually wrote them down last week but I’m finally getting around to blogging them 😉 Haha. I wanted to focus on some things from different categories other that the traditional, typical, and cliche fitness goals so I really spent some time thinking about the things that would help make me a happier, well rounded person. Since this is the year that *all my health dreams come true*, let’s start with fitness!

Fitness Goals

I’ve spent some time lately thinking about how I wished I’d grown up with more of an appreciation for fitness. I always took it for granted. My mom fed us healthy food, and we were encouraged to spend time being outdoors growing up but it wasn’t ingrained that it was for being fit, it was just fun. I wish I’d started running in high school because I think it’s something I would have really loved back then, even in middle school because I used to outrun all the boys when I was in elementary. Anyways, my point is that this year I’d really like to become a runner. Not just a jogger or I’m training for a tri kind of runner but a “regular” recreational runner.

With this in mind, at some point this year, or possibly early next year, I’d like to run a half marathon. I don’t think I’d ever want to run a full marathon but never say never, right?

January 11, 2017 by meaganleanne

Life

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!!! It’s hard to believe we’re in the new year already but I’m hoping that with this new year and this fresh start, 2017 is going to be a special year. Last year ended kind of rough for me. A few months ago I ended up having to deal with something that was unexpected and extremely difficult. Because of that I’ve dealt with another bout of depression and it definitely affected my health. It’s going be hard for a while to come, but time is healing.

While dealing with this heavy load, life has still managed to do some exciting things. Get ready for lots of pictures!

My husband and I moved into our own apartment in mid-November! Moving day was long but it’s nice to be in our own space again.

One of the nice things about moving is that we’re now living very close to the mall and to Centennial Lake. Living close to Centennial is actually one of my favorite things about the move!

January 2, 2017 by meaganleanne