I cannot express the joy I have that the weekend finally came! This week was a long one in mommy world. It started off with a growth spurt and little sleep, then ended with a sick Makenzie. In light of yesterday’s tragedies, I feel silly for concerning myself with such things that are in reality true blessings. I’m still thankful we seem to be over it all now though. And I’m ready for a fun day ahead – including a hair cut and blogger meet up!

This morning I had a desire for some weights, so I went to the gym to get in a great full body strength training session along with my run. I tried something a little different this time. I did my run first and then followed it up with weights. I did my Week 6, Day 3 Couch to 5K workout - warmed up for 5 minutes, then did 25 minutes of running at 6.5 mph (9:13 pace).  Followed that with this full body workout I made up:

I always hear about the benefits of completing your weights first so your body will burn up available energy, then use its fat stores during cardio. I don’t think switching up the order of the workout makes such a noticeable difference. Honestly, I think you should put what you need the most energy for or what you’re focusing on at the start of your workout. Switching up and doing my cardio first, gave me more energy for a great run. I don’t feel like my weight training suffered coming second either. In fact, I may have worked harder during my weights because I felt so pumped from the run! Yet again the moral of the story is you don’t have to follow “the rules” to effectively workout, eat, train for something, etc. Trust yourself and your preferences.

And with that, we move on to this week’s FFF Features! Happy Saturday, y’all!

Featured Move: Something Different

I couldn’t go to the gym in the morning again yesterday, so I had to go in the afternoon. When I glanced at the gym’s class schedule I noticed a Zumba class at 5:30. Then I thought “What the heck?!” I’ve been before but it was only a few times during my competition prep training when I searched for any way to get in some fun cardio. I haven’t been since then, so over a year and a half ago? Wow! It was quite the fun workout. Give something new or that you haven’t done in awhile a shot sometime soon!

Featured Moment: My First Outdoor Run

It went soooo much better than I expected. Loved. Every. Second!

Featured Meal: 5 Layer Veggie, White Bean, & Pesto Strata

I loved this new recipe! If you think vegetarian meals can’t be hearty…think again! Tons of veggies. Tons of flavor. Tons of healthy. Tons of easy thanks to the crock pot.

Featured Quote:

When something robs you of your peace of mind, ask yourself if it is worth the energy you are expending on it.

Featured Cuteness:

I love those chubby cheeks! Now if only I could catch his heart-melting smile on camera!

Featured Reading: Heather @ Heather’s Dish – Letters To Our Baby

I love Heather so dearly and my heart aches for her having to go through her current struggles after a miscarriage. This post shows her heart and beauty so immensely. She is one of the best people out there and one of my closest blog friends. Love you, my friend!

Question – Do you do weights or cardio first when doing both?

PS – I added a separate Fitness tab at the top for detailing workouts and favorite fitness posts. Also, Month 2 Body After Baby progress post coming on Monday!

I did something exciting yesterday…

I’m now officially registered for my first race! My first 5K in just 5 short weeks from tomorrow. FIVE! That will be here in the blink of an eye. It’s already been six weeks on the Couch to 5K program after all.

Over the last 6 weeks I have really grown to love running again. Yes, again. Back in high school I loved to run. I wanted to join the cross country team, but couldn’t because of cheerleading. I would even go on some training runs with friends on the team. Then, I fell off the exercise bandwagon in college and never went back to running when I finally embraced working out again. I never felt like I did it well enough.

Now, I recognize how its all about the personal challenge. I love having that sense of accomplishment with each run because each run brings a new challenge. That’s why I knew I had to get out and try something different for yesterday’s run. So, I donned my 4all by jofit jacket to brace the chill and took my run to the great outdoors!

I had very low expectations for this workout. After all, running outdoors has a lot more going on than on a treadmill. In an attempt to keep it as simple as possible, I first headed to a local greenway trail for a flat, out and back, no thinking required run. Umm, it was closed. I headed to the gym and almost just went in for the treadmill, but had anticipated running outdoors all day. So, I went for it.

Once I got going I felt so good. I actually scrapped the Couch to 5K workout plan because I didn’t want the walking break. I just wanted to run. So you can imagine my surprise when, without even trying, I ended up with 3.2 miles in 29:35!!!

Oh, ^ that ^. Someone in our house *cough cough – Peter* can’t pass up a deal on techy equipment when he finds one. So, I am the proud owner of one of these bad boys despite my original intent to wait for one. I’m not complaining. I think its going to be a very useful tool for me. Plus, its fun to see things like this:

• Mile 1 = 9:10
• Mile 2 = 9:30
• Mile 3 = 9:05
• Mile 3 – 3.2 = 1:50
• Average Pace = 9:15/mile <—I think that comes from a combo of wanting out of the chilly air and having to pee! It’s the only rational thing!

I honestly felt amazing the entire time. I think I had a cheesy smile plastered to my face because it just felt so good. I can’t wait to run outdoors again! 

Although it did make me quite hungry. I cam home and immediately devoured two of the following:

Black beans, corn, cheese, salsa, lettuce, and a bit of our cow-share beef on whole wheat tortillas. Super simple and delicious. I love taco night!

One last thing. I created an account on Daily Mile for workout inspiration and tracking of my workouts.

Click to add me as a friend! I would love to share the motivation. 🙂

And yes, I know I have clearly fallen hard for running. Don’t judge!

Question of the Day – Have you ever quickly fallen in love? How did it turn out? I think I have a good gut knowing whether or not I’ll love something for the long haul. It’s always worked for me – my marriage, deciding to have kids, passion for weight training, blogging, and hopefully now running.