Thoughts and things

Bulleting this and I promise regular posting will resume soon! I am out of town on job interviews while my son enjoys quality time with his grandmother.

• From July 17 until the 22nd I was in Kentucky with my son and boyfriend, visiting my boyfriend's family.
• Went to Mammoth Cave (Over 800 stairs and 4 miles of cave!)*
• Abraham Lincoln birthplace
• Muhammed Ali Museum*
• Louisville Slugger Museum*
• Maker's Mark distillery*
• Had two interviews last week in Austin. I live north of Dallas so instead of putting another 600 miles on my car, I elected to stay an extra week.
• Testing for another job next week with the county.
• This season (the last season!) of Dexter is very different but soooo good. I'm very far behind on True Blood however. 
• I miss the gym! I might have to look for some free passes to local gyms to get my fix. Might as well try them out before I possibly move here! 
• I do have a giveaway coming up since I hit 200 fans on my Facebook page! I'm going to link it up with a review for Vitacost Aro Black Series I think. Gift card and fun stuff included! 

Hope everyone is doing well! Summer seems to make everything crazier. 

*denotes that these will be covered in an upcoming post!

Worst gym experiences

For a few months last year, I was signed up for a local gym. We have big box gym across town but it's always crowded and it's not a 24 hour one like I'd prefer. Instead of YMCA's, we have our own recreation department, and they have about 5 centers around town. The one by me is barely a mile away and pretty small. There's a cardio room with about 8 treadmills, 4 ellipticals, a stair climber, two rowers and stationary  bikes, a room with lockers and bathroom, and the weight room. Plus the gymnasium doubles as a group exercise room where they do BodyPump, Body Combat, Yoga, and a few other things.

I have some equipment at home. An old bench and barbell, adjustable up to 20 pounds dumbbells, dumbbells in #5, and #10, an exercise ball and now non-adjustable elliptical machine. I just wanted out of the house and wanted to use the squat rack, lat pull-down machine, and leg press. I love those areas and it's hard to do at home!

Here come my horror stories. There is only one squat rack and at least 6 benches, plus the Smith Machine. This guy had apparently started a circuit and was CURLING IN THE SQUAT RACK. Huge gym pet peeve. I didn't know he was using the squat rack other than there was a phone sitting right outside of it. He was on the other end of the room on the free weights bench. I started pulling the weights off to add my own and once I was done, he ran over upset that I had taken his weights off after he watched me do it. Then whined, asking if he could finish what he was doing. Seriously? I was mad. There is a curling rack, plus many benches, why couldn't he use that? I don't know. I said fine and reminded him that it was in fact a squat rack, not a curl rack. He was irritated but I was mad.

Another day, a trainer told me that I had made the guys uncomfortable using the squat rack. Why?? Because it was the only way they could use the mirror for their curls. None of them used it for squats. !@#$ This is the same trainer who dresses in 80's clothes, acid washed jeans and crap to work out.

There was one nice guy, an older gentleman, who warned me about some of the guys. He told me to make no apologies, act like I owned the place, and to never leave my water bottle alone. Apparently one of the other guys tried to mess with it and he got on to him. The guy in question was one I had seen staring at me and made me uncomfortable.

This is how that guy seemed to me. He just stared at me and always did his workouts around me. 

Sorry for the swear word, but accurate to the look I gave these guys:

These men didn't dissuade me, just reminded how much more careful women have to be. I will be returning to either this gym, or a new gym, depending on if I move or not. 

Motivational Monday #2

These aren't always going to be directly health and wellness related, some are normal life applicable, or coincide with things going on in my life right now. If you have requests, let me know! 

Moms Run This Town Virtual Race

Sign ups for this race are officially over if you wanted the medal (which I did because it was super adorable!) but you can still register to run it for free if you want. Just click here. You can print out a race bib, sign up, and report your times/runs. I'm doing 13.1 but spreading it out. All times are due by the end of the month so it's doable if you need some extra motivation. And there are prizes! 

Moms Run This Town is a group of women, mom's and some not mom's, who love to run and be active. Many cities have local chapters; I think they are up to almost 500! My city is fairly small and there is one here as well. It's a way for Mom's, and runners, to connect, be kept accountable if you need it, and find out about other races. If you want to find out more about local chapters, click here and enter your zip code.

If you're not interested, but you love running and running gear, on the top of their page is a link of discounts and specials related to fitness. Not just for gear, there are codes for races as well!

The medal is awesome!

Motivational Monday #1

Mondays are rough for many people, so I think I'm going to start using Mondays as a day to post inspirational and motivating images I find online. Hope everyone has a fantastic week! 

Fitness Survey Link-up

So something different! (I promise, my post on Friday will explain my weird absence from my blog).
A survey link up with some of my Sweat Pink sisters hosted by She Cooks Crafts Runs!

1.  What did you eat for breakfast?
    I had protein pancakes and eggs with lemon tea
2.  How much water do you drink a day?
   80 oz or more depending on what my workout is that day
3.  What is your current favorite workout?
    I like variety, but right now, I'm loving dumbbell shoulder presses
4.  How many calories do you eat a day?
     I have no idea
5.  What are your favorite healthy snacks?
     Cucumbers and fruit. Sometimes Ezekiel English muffins with Almond butter. 
6.  What do you usually eat for lunch?
     Roasted chicken with quinoa, or whole grain pasta
7.  What is your favorite body part to strength train?
     Glutes, I am enjoying my new butt!
8.  What is your least favorite body part to strength train?
     Hamstrings. Love the results, hate the pain!
9. What are your “bad” food cravings?
    Dr Pepper and French Fries
10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?
    Yes! Opti-women multi, Glucosamine with Chondroitin and MSM, Fish oil
11. How often do you eat out?
      A few times a week
12. Do you eat fast food?
      Guilty
13. Who is your biggest supporter?
     My boyfriend and my son
14. Do you have a gym membership?
     Not right now
15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
     4-6
16. Do you have a “cheat” day?
     No, I usually do but adjusting to a new program and schedule
17. Do you drink alcohol?
     Every few months
18. Do you have a workout buddy?
   Only if my boyfriend is in town (long distance relationship)
19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a healthy lifestyle?
   My confidence and that my son enjoys making healthy choices and being more active
20. What was the last healthy thing you did?
   Hill sprints!

21.  What are your favorite shoes to work out in?

   Nike Flex Trainer 2

22.  Photo of your favorite workout outfit

  I wish I had one. I'm loving my Old Navy Compression capris, Juno sports bra, and Victoria's Secret Pink racerback tanks (I have 8 in different colors, it's an illness). Actually similar to what I wore to Pretty Muddy, I'm on the left. 

Pretty Muddy Race Recap

Saturday, June 1st was the Dallas Pretty Muddy Women's Run! It was the first time this race had been done in Dallas and it was exciting all around. For this event, Pretty Muddy partnered with Susan G. Komen as their charitable partner, and Old Navy came along as a sponsor and offered a ton of goodies for participants. Breast cancer survivors (250) were offered free entry into the race, and Old Navy gave away free stuff for every participant. A tote bag, a shirt and pair of flip flops.

As a blogger Ambassador for the race, I was given a free entry into the race. Normally it costs $69.50 which seemed like a lot to me. After looking up other 5k's and mud runs, it really wasn't that much more. Plus Pretty Muddy sent out several codes for $10 off or $15 off depending on when you registered or how many people were registering together. For example, Run or Dye is $50, The Original Mud Run is also $50.

When we first arrived, we drove up to Skyline Ranch, saw guys on horses everywhere (I Love Texas!), and paid our parking fee. Were forced to back up park, which I made my boyfriend do because the girl before me did a horrible job and I did NOT want to be laughed at). We saw huge purple tents with Pretty Muddy all over the place on our walk up. Lots of loud, crazy music, and people covered in mud at the finish line. We stopped at registration which took 5 seconds. Handed in our waivers, got our race bibs, and our tee shirt! Part of the race bib had a tear off Pretty Muddy logo that was our free beer ticket.

Back of shirt

Shirts are cute, and pretty comfy. Thankfully my boyfriend was there to be tortured holding stuff for me.

And in the main area: Dancing!!! All of these ladies were in front of the stage, following an instructor and dancing like crazy. 

It was super cloudy at this point but look at them! I'm so uncoordinated.

Next, I had to find the stage. Our Pretty Muddy contact person sent out an email about an Old Navy activewear fashion show. I responded immediately! Mostly for the free outfit they would be providing us. Yes, I love free stuff! As the day got closer, and closer, I started freaking out about the fact that I had to go on a stage and try not to fall. I didn't fall and I had fun and met some wonderful ladies! I also received an awesome tank, a sports bra, and a pair of amazing compression pants! Seriously, I had never really messed with compression pants, but these were amazing. I ended up wearing them for my run and even when coated with mud, didn't sag or feel weighted down. The bra...well, it wasn't made for anyone very well-endowed let's put it that way.

Missing Allison of Running True who was on stage first!

My outfit. In love with the shirt and pants.

None of us fell. We all survived and basically stood there ogling each other's outfit. Most of the other ladies were super friendly and I made a couple of new friends in the area.

Pre Race with my friend Liz

One of the obstacles, and my favorite one! Taken from Pretty Muddy Facebook page.

Post Race. Yes I'm a dork.

It was a lot of fun and all of the other ladies were super supportive. Loved the clothes I received as well as the free stuff pictured below that every participant received! Different items for different sizes.

It was windy and the changing stations blew around a bit, but not horrible. It was all ladies so most of us didn't care. 

Would I do this race again? Yes, but I'd want to put together a bigger group as that seemed to be the most fun. I ended up running/participating with two ladies I met there plus my friend. My only concern was price, but if you register early, it's much cheaper like any race.