#GameOnPGH

What's the best thing you can think of when it comes to Spring? For me, it's getting outside to run on the roads and trails.  Starting March 1st half marathon training starts back again and I also get to blog for The Pittsburgh Marathon! This is the second year that I'll be running the half (last year I ran the full) and this will also be the second year that I get to blog for the race.  Over 30,000 people run every year and they chose a small group of people to blog for it and I'm one of them?! That's awesome!

This year will definitely be hard to beat because last year I got to run with Jenna as we completed our first ever full marathons together! Jenna and I didn't know much about each other until race morning but being able to run with someone for that long made the race so much more enjoyable. As beautiful as the city is, by mile 19 we both said we would never run another one but somehow, someway we both decided to sign up for the Columbus full marathon coming up in October.

Jenna and I right before our first full marathon last May

So what does this race season have for me to offer? Blogging will be much different than last year.  This year, I am a spinning instructor and I've signed up for the CrossFit Open so a lot of my blog posts will be more than just running, eating, and asthma.  I will be training for a solid 8 weeks coming up to race day.  I also have my race manager, Hudson.  He's ready to go too. 

Hudson can rock a Pittsburgh Marathon T-Shirt

So here's to the next 8 weeks of training hard for another half marathon! #GameOnPGH

I've Passed!

I am officially Spinning® Certified! 

Back in Novemver I took the Spinning® certification course in a local studio near me. I wanted to take the certification test before the New Year but both of my jobs got in the way. 

As most people know, I've never had just one job. Since I was 17, I've almost always had two jobs with my first job being my "real job" and my second job being one to make the ends meet. As I've gotten older I've decided that my second job needs to be a fun job. I've always wanted to be a teacher of some sort and this is the perfect opportunity! 

So, what's Spinning®? 

Spinning® is a brand of indoor cycle classes. It can be done vigorously or at your own pace. Spinning® instructors like to keep students going at their own pace. A lot of indoor cycling classes have a beginner and advanced class but Spinning® does not. There is one class for all walks of life. That's one of my favorite aspect to the program. It isn't judgmental to the beginner but would prefer someone to have at least two months of fitness under their belt before starting a Spinning® program. 

Why I love indoor cycling

As a child I loved to ride my bike. My very first mountain bike was given to me when I was 10 years old and stuck with until a few years ago when it rusted out on me. With my breathing problems, it seems to be much easier to ride a bicycle (or take an indoor cycling class) than it is to run. I still love running but cycling was my first niche. It also isn't so bad on your knees. I don't have the same knee pain on a bike than I do crushing pavement for 3-26 miles. If you take the spinning class correctly, then it can be very relaxing. 

Indoor cycling is a program that I love and I hope if you've never tried it then you take a few classes to see what it is. 

I can't wait to see what the future holds for this even though it's just a part time gig. 

Have a great Friday, friends! 

Stay Wheezy. (Actually don't. Wheezy isn't fun). 

Why I Don't Diet.

Dieting. Diieeting. Dieing? That's how I feel about dieting. Dieting makes you feel like you're dieing. I don't want to die.  I don't diet. Everytime I hear someone talking about starting their "diet", they seem to be restarting over and over again. There's a certain way they say it that lets you know the hate they have for the verb. Why are you dieting? Why don't you just eat whole foods and stop stressing out over every calorie. Why? 

It has actually been close to four years since I've said the "diet" about myself. If you've followed my Instagram, blog, facebook or Twitter you'll see I'm pretty open about my fitness and food regimen. I eat and I train. Sometimes I eat more than I train. I post workouts and sometimes I post pizza or (my specialty) cupcakes. I don't believe in not being honest with myself. Yesterday I ate grilled cheese, tomato soup and beer at 3pm because I could. 

It was fabulous. I also baked a cake when I got home tonight from work. 

That too was fabulous. (Actually I hate the icing that I put on because it makes me sick so it wasn't THAT fabulous) 

I've learned to love myself and stop criticizing everything that is wrong with me.  There is nothing wrong with me. (And there is nothing wrong with you) Last week I was convinced my hips were getting bigger and for a moment tried to rework a diet plan to lose those. I mean, my pants still fit. Do I really need to change myself? No, probably not, so I'm going to try to love that new curve that I've never had before. 

Now before you think this is how I eat all the time, that's not the case. I eat very healthy 90% of the time. I just don't deprive myself the other 10% of the time. If I want chocolate and beer, I eat chocolate and beer.  Once training season comes back full swing I will not be eating those fun things. I just don't want to die so I don't diet. 

Stop depriving yourself and start loving yourself. 

-Stay wheezy, friends. 

Today I am Thankful.

...and everyday I am thankful. I am extremely thankful for my husband. He works incredibly hard for our little family and though, I let him know how thankful I am that I have him I don't always show it.

These past couple of weeks have been rough. I've been working a lot and haven't really gotten many workouts in. That makes me extremely cranky. I'm exhausted and everyday I think of how much I want to buy a house or how I want a day off to do nothing or really, just how we haven't had a vacation for almost 8 years. 8 years! Our last vacation was right after we graduated high school, our families went together. Adam and I basically came home from vacation and went to college. From there we graduated, got jobs(I lost jobs), then I got more jobs and we moved in together, and got married. After that we got the dog and here we are. Life has really gotten in the way. I really just want to take a honeymoon. I don't think I care where. 

He works so hard for us and I had two meltdowns this weekend because I was tiered and didn't want to go to work. Two!! 

We invested in a nice camera this week and he kept saying how he couldn't wait to help take pictures for my blog and then I go bat-shit crazy on him because I'm sick of working 7days. Seriously? I'm probably one of the luckiest people I know when it came to love. I married my Jr. High School sweetheart that I completely yelled at this weekend. I'm sorry. 

I love you. I'm sorry. You always forgive me when I least deserve it. You keep your mouth shut when you want to fight back. You've stood endless hours to watch me cross finish lines of races that I was no where near winning. I promise, for your sake I'll make it to the gym this week or run a couple miles outside. I will try to control my temper and not blame you for me being the one having to work two jobs through the holidays on you. And lastly, I promise to spend your birthday with you since the past two years were you giving me love and support because Gramma died on your birthday. 

I promise to remember how thankful I am of you and of that day above. Not many people can say they are as lucky as I am. 

I love you. 

 

Life has Gotten Hectic.

Hi friends. How are you? I'm alive, I swear. I've been kind of quiet on the fitness aspect because I haven't had time to do anything. Back in April I lost my job and it took almost two months to find a new one. Once I found a new job, I took a second job to get caught back up. My first job is a sales/HR position at a local trailer manufacture and my second job is a sales associate at American Eagle at a local mall.

 I don't usually get to many hours at my second job but this week I work 6-10pm on Monday,  Tuesday, and Wednesday. That was all on top of working 8:30am-5:30pm. Needless to say, I was pretty cranky by Thursday. I'm incredibly thankful to be working extra hours but I'm just exhausted from it. 

So what else have I been up to? Well, last weekend I went to a class to get my certification in Spinning. Spinning is indoor cycling. I've always had a passion for teaching people so I wanted to try this out. I didn't get certified because you have to take a test and with this past week I wasn't able to study. The class was great! It went from 10am-7pm at a local gym. It was long with 2 hours of cycling so yes, my booty hurt the next day. 

While all this happened, my husband and dog went to Pittsburgh to hang out with a friend all weekend. This gave me a chance to clean because I wasn't sure what my schedule would be like for the holidays. They didn't arrive home until late Sunday night so that also gave me time to hang out with my sister and sister-in-law (little sister...I think the "in-law" stuff is stupid) 

Since my hours were crazy in the coming week from last weekend and I hadn't seen Hudson(the Goldendoodle) he was a little confused. I don't like leaving him but Adam was with him all week. He was the only one up when I got home every night. 

Follow me on Instagram for more way cool pictures of my dog! misslissa825 

Wednesday was my first night off and I finally made it to CrossFit. I was pretty thrilled with that. As much as I love this box, I've decided to take the next month off. It's just not worth it to pay when I can't make it to class. It will be hard but it will go by fast. 

Thursday I had the night off and my husband and I have been wanting a new camera. We agreed that this would be an investment and we wouldn't get each other anything else for Christmas. 

It's unfortunate that I don't have a computer that I can hook it up to so I can post pictures but that will come with time. 

And to finish off my week, Friday we just stayed home.  I didn't really want to go anywhere. This was a busy, hectic week and I hope I can relax a little bit more next week. 

So I am alive, I'm just busy. I'm hoping to be posting workouts again soon. 

Have a great weekend! 

 

Hemp Hearts...No Blender Needed

Sorry for the delay, friends! My Blogger hasn't been working properly. 

I've gotten a chance to try a new product that I want to share with you.  This little bag of goodness is called a Hemp Heart. What's  Hemp Heart? It's a shell hemp seed that is cold-processed straight from raw, live hemp seeds. They have a nutty flavor(I thought they tasted like sunflower seed) You can put it in just about anything you would like. This little packet is full of nutrients. You can learn more about Hemp Hearts Here.

So, What did I make with it?! A pumpkin smoothie. It's fall people, get with the pumpkin. 

My blender broke the other day so I had to use a whisk and it still came out great.  

I eyeballed everything but here's how I made it:

• Vanilla greek yogurt
• Pumpkin (About 1/4 of the can) 
• Milk
• Pumpkin spice
• Nutmeg
• Hemp Hearts

Whisk it away!

This was sooo good and I bet you're wondering how you can get your own, right? Well, Manitoba Harvest is offering a 5lb. bag to one lucky winner.

How to enter:

• Get creative in the kitchen, tag @manitobaharvest, #hemphearts, and  #sweatpink in your Instagram and/or Twitter post and you'll be automatically entered.
• Anyone is eligible for the contest
• Contest deadline: November 30, 2014

Get 20% your purchase using promo code: HHSweatPink14

LucyTown Half Marathon Recap

...So to finish after the 5k that Adam and Danielle finished. 

After the race we went to Tim Horton's for breakfast. I had never been there because in Pittsburgh we don't have them. It was one of the greatest coffee shops ever. I tried the dark roast coffee (which was wonderful) and some breakfast and drove around Jamestown, Chautauqua to see where Katrina's family worked and where she lived during college. Later, when we got back to Katrina's parents we laid down for a few minutes which turned into a 3 hour nap. (Whoops! I guess I was sleepy from watching them run?) I'm not going to lie... I missed my animals but it was nice laying down to nap without having to chase a dog around the house. 

My mom sent this because I missed my babies so much on Saturday night. Note: I will not be leaving them again. 

After waking up, Katrina and her mom took us to the Chautuaqua Insititution to see the lake and take pictures. The Chautauqua Institution is an adult education center and resort that is only open to the public after summer. 

It was so beautiful. 

We took down photos by the lake. 

Then we went to see the fountain where St.Elmo's Fire was filmed. 

We walked around and took more photos because it was so beautiful.

Then we went back to Katrina's parents where they made us dinner. 

Carbo loading for race day. It was delicious. I tried my best to calm Katrina's nerves since this was her first half marathon and she has been sick for the past two weeks. ((And by sick, I mean, sinus infection turning into bronchitis turning into bruised ribs from coughing.))

We ate, hung out with her family and friends, are some more and then got ready for bed for race day. 

Sunday is here! 

It's race day!!! 

I woke up at 6:50am and the first thing I did was a breathing treatment. Once that was done I got dressed and ate breakfast. By this time I could tell Katrina was really nervous so I tried to get everything ready the best I could and take lots of pictures to take her mind off of it. 

On our way! It was a cold 35 degrees and I was wishing I had brought pants. Katrina kept telling me that once we start running it will get warmer so I listened because I made her listen to me all training season. 

It was such a beautiful sunrise. I was feeling really good about this race. 

Then we hit fog and I was a little nervous about running in that. 

About 10 minutes later we arrived at the ice arena where everyone was preparing. 

I can honestly admit that at this time I was not nervous. This was the first time ever before a race that I felt confident in myself and my running partner. I think my nerves were okay because I knew that I had her with me. Someone with me the entire 13.1 miles to keep me from being alone and lost. ((Because, let's face it...I suck at direction and my biggest fear during a race is getting lost on the course)) We got a few pictures taken and headed outside for the national anthem. 

Then out of nowhere I heard Osielle runner, Natalie call my name. I was so happy to meet her! I was looking for her but I'm the worst at trying to find a runner that says wem meet up together. 

Then it all began...

They walk us to start line where "Lucy" blows the horn to start. ((My least favorite part of the race was that they rate you on gun time and not chip time. But I had my Garmin, so it's all good.)) We started. 

About .10 of a mile I looked at Katrina and said,"Welp, there's no turning back now. Next stop..finish line." And we ran. We ran the entire hill as I coached Katrina through it because I only made her run the hills through our town. We ran through parts of her area that she had never been to before. It started to warm up and we had a good pace going. We walked through the second water stop at about 3.50miles. And kept trucking.At about mile 4.50-5, we saw the winner coming back through and he was at about mile 10-11. We talked a little and made sure each other was feeling okay. I think adrenaline got her through the first 5 miles because she kept saying she felt good and I was just rolling with it. ((I had a lot of calf cramping but since she was doing okay I wasn't stopping.)) 

At about 6.5, our second water stop I had an asthma, panick, chocking attack for a second. I could hear myself wheezing and all of a sudden I couldn't stop coughing. (The great thing about running with someone that knows you is that they usually know when you're having an asthma attack and my not be able to help you but can tell you to take yor inhaler) so I listened and walked for a second. After I regained composure we started running again. A few minutes later we saw Katrina's parents and sister. (Our other photographers for the weekend) 

We look pretty good for what just happened. ((This is my favorite race picture of us.)) We kept going and saw them again when we looped around. 

We're doing okay. We made it to mile 10ish were Adam and Danielle were. Danielle was and is our photographer. She takes our action shots and posts them to Facebook so our families know we're alive on the course. 

At this time I thought we were going in for a PR and we were doing really well. They cheered us on and told us to keep going because we were so close. Just about 3 miles left then we could go back to Tim Horton's. At about mile 11 I was losing it. The bottoms of my feet were killing me because my shoes were too tight and I was ready to be done. I started to give up when I realized that I wasn't going to make it to my PR but Katrina kept me going. 

We rounded the last hill and saw the finish line. At exactly mile 13 we saw our family and friends waiting for us and we pushed. 

We kept getting a little closer to the finish line and then we crossed it!

Being that it was gun time and not chip time, our "official time" was just over 2 hours 31 minutes and a few seconds... But I stopped my watch at 13.1 miles and got 2 hours and 29 minutes so we're going to go with that. 

And then we took celebatory photos with "Lucy", our medals and each other. 

The course was beautiful and the race was pretty perfect. If you ever have the chance to visit and run this race..do it! 

I couldn't have had a better running partner. I am so proud of the work that Katrina has put to finish her first half marathon. I'll never forget when I first met her and she thought I was crazy because I love these races. This race wasn't about me. It was about her. I hope I was a good running partner for her (and not too bossy) and I hope she plans on running more in the future (hopefully with me) even though her and Danielle say they have retired. 

This weekend was so great because I got to meet so many new, wonderful people and watch my friends and husband cross the finish line. 

Thank you, LucyTown for having me. It was a great weekend and I hope to be back next year. 

And thank you to Katrina's wonderful parents and sister for putting up with us all weekend, cooking us dinner and welcoming us into their home for the weekend. It was a wonderful trip.