There are 31 days in January, and I somehow managed to workout 27 of them. And guess what? I didn’t feel like I was overexerting or torturing myself either! hahaha I think in our society there is still the whole “no pain, no gain” mentality… but that is just not the case. It’s more about “slow and steady wins the race”. The race, being your own personal goal of course.

In 2017 I started marking the days off the calendar in the bathroom each morning, as I record my weight. In the corner of each square on the calendar day, I put 5/365 or 10/365 or today, I did 33/365. I use it as a reminder to not waste a single day. Not wasting a single day, is going to mean something different to everyone, but for me currently it means; have a positive outlook, get a workout in, and focus on putting good food into my body. That’s really about it. That is my own personal goal/race. I’m plugging away at it slow and steady. I don’t kill myself with each workout, I balance them out so I have mostly moderate effort and one or two hard effort, and a sprinkling of yoga.

Below are the workouts I did over the past week:

Friday – Upper Body Weights + Indoor Spin (morning)
Saturday – Long Run (12 miles; morning)
Sunday – Yoga (evening; 21 Day Yoga Retreat – Stretch Wk. 1)
Monday – 3 mile evening run; joined by family on bikes and roller blades
Tuesday – Fitness Blender – Kettle Bell HIIT (evening)
Wednesday – 5 mile tempo run (morning)
Thursday – Yoga (morning; Ted’s Yoga | Muscle Recovery)

The past 7 days are a total WIN in my book. Not only was I able to stick to 95% of my workouts, despite a somewhat hectic schedule, I also had my weigh-in and measurement day Monday.

Drumroll please…

I lost 4 lbs. and 3.5″ total between my arms, chest, waist and hips. I was STOKED! I mean, I knew about the weight, cause clearly I just mentioned I weigh myself each morning — but I don’t put a whole lot of stock into weight. But the measurements were exciting! That means I’m toning up and turning some of my fatty parts into toned muscle. That was part of my GOAL! Would a smaller number on the scale be nice? Sure, but I’m more interested in tightening up some things. I am not getting any younger people… the big 4-0 is fast approaching!

Also, I hit 102 miles in January, which is about 46 miles more than December — another number that surprised me! I feel really good right now too. I started to feel some twinges here and there, due to the new strain on my body. But I am making a huge effort to get 7 hours minimum of sleep each night; 8 hours if I can. I also try to allow myself one day where I just sleep in, without an alarm. (But, that only adds an additional 20-30 minutes usually!)

I also started seeing Mr. Zucchini Runner’s massage therapist. She is amazing. Every week, I go in for a visit and it helps to loosen up the tight spots I can’t get with stretching alone. (If you are in the Tempe/Chandler/Ahwatukee area, you should give her a try. Just click the link to shoot her an email, let her know I sent ya!) I should also mention, that I see a chiropractor every 2-4 weeks as well. It occurred to me there are things I take for granted in my every day routine, that are second nature to me, so I never think to share them. But the chiro and massages, and good sleep make a huge impact on my ability to workout so regularly — especially at this stage where it is a new routine. It’s important to reward your body with the necessary sleep and extra care when you implement any new physical activity. Which leads us to the nutrition segment.

I am still using my Be Well Fitness Log daily, and it is REALLY helping me to stay on track. Well, almost. haha As you can see, Tuesday night we made some homemade cookies. They were very low sugar (banana, a little honey, a little maple syrup and very little coconut sugar), gluten-free and vegan so I may have had more than a couple. As you can also see, I ate SUCH a huge (and late) lunch, that I only had hummus, crackers and a grapefruit for “dinner” Tuesday. That might explain the cookies later that night. But as I mentioned last week, I do not aim to be “perfect”, just to focus on plants first and eating high nutrition 80% of the time. This is my life. This is real.

Lastly, I wanted to update you on the Garmin 235. It turns out, I can use my old heart rate monitor chest strap, to ensure I have more accurate HR readings on my runs. BOOM! Besides the watch freezing up a couple times since the purchase, and having to do a force restart, I am loving it! I feel like that is par for the course, for all electronics these days… but maybe I’m wrong. Has anyone else experienced that with their Garmin watch — particularly the 235?

Until next week!
Sleep hard.
Get moving.
Trust Your Gut.