The start of my “Basketball Mom” life….

Seems like FOREVER that I have written a post! It’s really only been 10 days, but that IS forever in the blog world! 😉

Busy doesn’t even BEGIN to describe my life lately. My oldest has begun playing with a travel basketball team. Practices two times a week and then tournaments on the weekends. He’s thrilled…I’m EXHAUSTED! (No really…I’m BEYOND happy for him!). Ahhhh…a new beginning for me…
The life of a “Basketball Mom” (hopefully it won’t be like those Dance Moms…😝).
Let’s look at some Pros and Cons (from MY perspective)……

PROS
1. My son is participating in sport he LOVES and has the opportunity to continue to develop his skills.

2. He’s gets some new teammates and maybe some friends. (I get some new friends, too!😉)

3. Some light traveling. (I secretly LOVE hotels!!)

CONS
1. Practice 2 times a week = NO real gym time for Mom! This “con” has allowed me to run MORE, so I should add this as a “PRO” rather than a “CON”!

2. Time away from races, etc that I want to do because of traveling schedule. (Ehhhhh….I’ll figure something out!)

3. Being home on the weekends –>NO go! (Ehhhh….Refer to #3 from the PROS list)

I’m sure I can think of a few more for either list, but that’s good.

I have been able to run more, as I prepare for the 15k in February (22 days from today!!😁). I am only able to get in about 2.5 during the work week because of the kiddo activities. Not bad…but not great either. It could be worse and I couldn’t run at ALL! I am able to get 4 days of running in and I am working on getting a longer run on the weekends. Even after my upcoming race, I plan on continuing to run before any kiddo activity. Game at 9? Betta get up and run BEFORE!! #keepATit

These were all of my runs this week….

I’m hoping I can do the same (if not more) this week!

I don’t get to CF as much before and that makes me sad. I haven’t seen the inside of my box is almost 3 weeks! 😢
I will be incorporating some at home WODs to do, which is better than NOTHING! But I miss the interaction with other gym members…..
I’m currently pricing some kettle bells to invest in. I’m also shopping for a new DREADmill since the original has gone to heaven to be with the others.

I’m pleased that I have a plan (or a resemblance of a plan) for working out. It CAN be done…just takes a LOT of planning ahead.

WISH ME LUCK! ✌️❤️🏀 (and 🏊,🚴, and 🏃).

You signed up for WHAT……??????

Not to rip off one of my favorite blogs but that’s exactly what I was thinking when I decided to sign up for another race. Not just any race…I slipped and bumped my head and signed up for a 15k!! WHAT????

Here’s the story….Gasparilla is a race in Tampa Bay that I look forward to every year.

I did race last year because of my shin injury, so not surprisingly, I’d sign up this year. Since I fancy myself a 10k’er now (yeah…right!), I wanted to sign up for another one. I’ve usually done the 5k, but I didn’t want to revisit the distance for a few reasons:

1. I want to keep pushing myself. And if I continue to “just do” 5ks, I’ll never be challenged to do anything else, but that distance. I’m not knocking times out the park, or anything. And I am/was quite comfy in 5k land, but my running shorts weren’t! You get it??? (In case you didn’t….I was in a stand still with the weight! ). So…I continue to challenge myself!

2. At minimum there are usually about 9 BAZILLION 9000 (or more) people that run the 5k in Gasparilla every year. This is NOT a race for people, like me, who want to improve SOME time. There are just too many people. It’s fun…and its a workout…but I think I’m looking for more.
Just an idea…LOOK at this! This is a good depiction of the what the 5k looks like…😁

This leads me to the registration page. I’m looking…I’m scrolling…I don’t see it. I see 5k, 8k, 15k, and Half Marathon. WTF happened to the 10k?? Where did it go?? Well, I missed a year and I FORGOT the race GODS replaced the 10k with an 8k. What’s a girl to do???. Well, I figured that doing the 8k would make me FEEL like I was going backwards. This in reality isn’t true because I only have ONE 10k under my belt…..

I guess I was feeling “all proud” of myself because I pulled the trigger…and signed up for the 15k. 😁
What I am I thinking?? I have no experience…I don’t think I have time to train…I don’t think I can DO IT!
That’s the doubtful part of my brain. The other part thinks about the experience…how GREAT it would be to have added a distance to my running resume….how I would be 4 miles from a HALF MARATHON!! It all makes me feel INVINCIBLE!

So…I WILL do the 15k. I WILL fit in some training (to the best of my ability and schedule). I WILL feel like I can do it!

Ever signed up for something that we were SCARED to do?

Back in the SADDLE!

This past weekend was my/our LAST weekend of indulgence. Miguel and I had a SWEET 16 anniversary on January 9th. We went to dinner at Carrabba’s that evening….INDULGED. I had this GREAT NEW appetizer (well….new to ME!) called “Aranici“…which is Italian for “Little pieces of Heaven” (NOOOO….not really but it sound convincing, right??😉).

Sounds like a pretty good App, huh???

BOOM…it IS!!!

Saturday, Miguel surprised me with a little weekend get away (SANS kiddos) to Indian Rocks Beach and Clearwater Beach (FL)….MORE INDULGING! We went to our favorite restaurant Columbia (Interested in my experience? Check it out here).

Then….Sunday, we went to our favorite spot for brunch Island Way Grill.

Seems like all I did was eat and give into ALL of my likes! SADLY
Thankfully, that was IT!! The holidays are over….my anniversary is over…time to get BACK IN THE SADDLE! #noEXCUSES

When we got home…I ran some errands and then I RAN. I felt off…”getting” though the run, but I did it.

My body needs exercise. I CAN NOT go that long without it again. I felt like pure CRAP…HOT garbage! But I did it!

It’s Monday today….
I had a cancelled basketball game for Julian (because of weather), so I came home to run on the DREADmill! HATED it…but I did it!! And of felt good!

Tomorrow…I’ll touch in our dietary changes (that is Miguel AND I).

Ever fall off the “saddle”?
How did you get back on???

What’s UP, 2015?!?!?

HELLO 2015!
I figured it was time (now that I and the kids are back to work and school,respectively) to think about and write down my fitness goals for the year. I did a recap of my 2014 goals and I was pretty pleased with what I accomplished. So what do I do now? What goals can I make for this year? Would it be bad if they were very similar to last year??

1. Plan ahead
This goes without saying, but what exactly do I MEAN by this miraculous statement? I PLAN on nailing down races AHEAD of time instead of waiting for the last minute! From a cash flow stand point…it’s cheaper! From a sanity standpoint….it’s on the calendar and now I’m committed! PLUS- I hate wasting money! If I’ve spent it, I’m DOING IT!! 😉

2. Triathlons
Again, I say that as a plural noun. I made it to 2 last year, so I am hoping to get to 3!! And is it too much to ask to get a better time WITH this goal?? I think NOT!!
SN: #2…please see #1.

3. Change up the Running Distance
I made it to a 10k last year, literally 2 1/2 weeks before the year ended, but I did it! And I liked it, and that means more coming for me. I hope to use that as a plural noun, as well.
Oh…and dare I say…dare I think…dare I put this out in the blog UNIVERSE…I think I may try a half marathon this year. I’m still thinking on that….
SN: #3…give a “shout out” to #1.

4. Eat better
I think I have GAINED and LOST the same 12-15 pounds that I have wanted to lose since I turned 40 (almost 3 years ago….😁). It all boils down to my HORRIBLE diet. Well…it’s not THAT horrible, but it could definitely be BETTER!

#truth

I am on Day 2 of eating better because I am THINKING better. It ain’t rocket science and really isn’t that hard. I’m going to be honest, because that’s the only way to I will change. I have, in some ways, thought I could always workout a bad diet. And getting older just shoots that theory RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER!!
I hope to CRUSH this goal!! Who’s with me??

4. CrossFit
I don’t think I will be competing any time soon but I want to get stronger. I aiming for a little bit more of a commitment (from myself) at my box.

I hope that I can mange to work towards these goals and succeed. Being a mom and professional can be a recipe for the mishaps…but I am UP for the challenge!

What are your 2015 goals?
How can we support each other on our goals?

PS…made it back to my CF box after the Christmas break! I was so happy to see my gym family.

You like the name of the WOD??? Yeah…I did that!

Recharge and Re-evaluate for 2015

Seriously….I have been on a 2 week workout hiatus since the beginning of the holidays. I did manage to get a Christmas Eve morning run in, but haven’t again since then. No excuses (because I run when I’m on vacation) but I DID have my beloved family in from Virginia…my sister, BIL, and their “Army” (THEIR words, not MINE 😉): Ray, Jolie, Marc and Baby Gavin.

Aren’t they all so CUTE??❤️
(Source: Monica A. Vignier…aka my sister)

I’ve promised myself that I am back on track after the new year. I honestly didn’t feel bad about the break. I’ve been off from work, got to sleep in, spend time with family and that’s something I don’t get to do very often. Then, that “thing” that happens…you know that self hating voice that tells you what that you suck and you should get your ASS moving….yeah that STILL happens! Time to sit down and recharge and re-evaluate my new goals for 2015. Before I can look forward, I need to look backwards at my previous goals. I set some goals last year on my first blog post. I thought it would be neat to see what my goals were for 2014 and IF I met them (or not)….

1. 10k ✔️
Yep…I did it! By the skin of my teeth..but I did it! Not like I died, but I just barely made the goal of completing one by 2 weeks. I loved it!! If you don’t recall my love for the 10k, check it out.

2. CrossFit Level I Certification 👎
That didn’t happen, but I’m ok with that. I honestly scaled back on my “intensity” after my last competition. I thought that I can always get the certification later (if I still wanted to) and that I didn’t have to do it by said deadline. Long story short…I’m good with failing at this goal.

3. TriahlonS✔️
I’m going to give myself a check because I DID do more than ONE triathlon in the year 2014. I wanted to do three but could only make 2 this season. I’ll take that….

Tomorrow, I am going to sit down and figure out my goals for 2015.

Happy New Year to you!!! I hope that you have a prosperous and FIT 2015!!!!