GREAT NEWS!! #ffcheckin and an Awesome Workout!

You can save 15% or more on car insurance…

Just kidding! ha! And yes… What you see on my blog is what you get… stupid humor and all! Although I do hold back on my lame jokes quite a bit so that you guys will maybe like me a little bit more and not think I’m a weirdo! ;)

I really do have some awesome great news though! Are you guys ready for this?!  Last year I applied to be a #FitFluential Ambassador and a couple weeks ago I got the official “you’re accepted” email.  I didn’t want to share though until today when I got the official “you’re official” email!  So it’s official… I’m now the newest FitFluential Ambassador!! I’m super excited to be a part of yet another great community!!

Are you a #FFAmbassador??

So, my day today was pretty much amazing and not really for any specific reason… other than I actually got enough sleep for once last night!

**Confession**  I’ve been AWFUL at going to bed at a decent time!!  Most nights I won’t go to sleep til after midnight or 1am! I can blame it on not getting off work til 11pm at my second job, but it’s totally my fault…

Ok, back to my awesome day… I only went to work (educational assistant) for half a day and got off at noon to go to a required training.  Well that training wasn’t supposed to end til 4pm which is when I normally get off work anyways… BUT I got done at 2!!! How awesome right?!  That meant that I got to the gym 2 hours earlier and wasn’t exhausted (in part because I got enough sleep) and got home 2 hours earlier and was able to make dinner when the sun was still shining!

I know some of you are like “girl, why don’t you go to the gym BEFORE work and then you’d be home at 4 every Monday!” lol… well, you may have missed the one few billion posts where I mention I’m a cheapskate frugal, have a bajillion jobs, and don’t even have enough money to fly across the US to Cali this summer which is why I don’t have a gym membership and workout at my college alma mater for FREE… which means my workout window is pretty small as the gym is only open from 10-8.  Such is life and you gotta make the most of what you’ve got, so I’m not complaining! :)

This is the view from where I worked out today… Not too shabby right?!

 

I switched up my workout a little bit… I did a circuit type of workout today…

- Walking Warmup 7min --> .42mi

- Squats (12)(14)(16); Lunges (10ea leg); Wall Sit (30sec); Pushups (10 manly ones) ;)  X 3 repeats

- 30 Day Fast Start with Jackie Warner [Arms only, used 5lbs] (I have it memorized so no need for the DVD ha!)

- Side Lunges (10ea leg); Plank (45sec)(50sec)(1:00); Crunches (20); Bicycle Crunches (16)(18)(20) X 3 repeats

- Run 20:27min --> 2 miles!!! Pretty pumped cuz I’m consistently running 2 miles without any knee pain!!

- Walking Cooldown 8min --> .46mi

- Stretch for 20 minutes

 
Wall Sits!!! (and Nuun Energy!! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!)

No scientifically proven reason why I did any of the things I did in my workout… just did it cuz it sounded fun! ;) And remember, if you duplicate this workout for yourself cuz it sounds fun, I’m not a doctor or trainer or coach, etc… nor do I play one on tv!  It’s just a workout I came up with on my own and doesn’t guarantee you any kind of results except for maybe sore muscles ;)

I’ll leave you a picture of my dinner…

Chicken Quesadilla, Rice, Mixed Veggies, Salad, and Water

And just a reminder to enter my giveaways going on right now!! They both end 3/31 at 11:59pm!! :) (click the pic to go to the giveaway)

 

How was your workout this fine Monday?! ;)
Are you a FitFluential Ambassador?
Are you an Ambassador for a company/program/blog?
What’d you have for dinner?

Whoops! We were supposed to wear GREEN today?!

Ok, PLEASEEEE tell me I’m not the only one that forgot to wear green today?!  BTW, Happy St. Patty’s Day everyone! ha! Completely slipped my mind till I was already at work! I had some gold on my shirt so I told anyone that told me I was going to get pinched that I would indeed NOT be pinched because I was wearing the pot of gold!!  Totally legit right?! ;) Thought so!

Well, if you did forget, here’s a tip for you for next year!  (Don’t worry, I don’t charge 25cents for my advice!)  Here it is:
Grab the nearest tube of Lemon Lime NUUN and accessorize!! Voila! Insta-NUUN ring!! You’re welcome!

Speaking of NUUN, I have a great post coming to you soon!! Keep an eye out!

After almost getting pinched a gazillion times at work today, I headed to the gym and did an amazingly FUN workout!! Seriously… it was the most fun working out I’ve had in a long time and I didn’t even pick up a single weight!! Hopefully I’ll have a blog post up in the next week!!  But for now, I’m gearing up with Tommie Copper and heading to bed!! I’ve got 30 hours of work coming up in the next 2 days, so I need to get some shut eye!!

Goodnight lovelies!

How did your workout go? (You better not have skipped a Monday workout!) ;)
Did you wear green or did you forget?? (it’s ok, you can be honest! This is the blog bubble of trust)

Friday Faves Hosted by Five for Friday

Hello R-Luckies!! Welcome to my Friday Faves brought to you by Five For Friday!! ;)

1. My Workout on Monday was probably one of my favorite workouts this year! Everything was just clicking and I felt great physically and mentally!

I warmed up by walking, then I ran 1.51 miles in 17:45 (11:45/mile)
I also did some other weights and stuff, but I was super happy with how I felt during the run!! I’m coming back people!!

 

I also held my longest handstand EVER!!! No wall!! Check it out on Instagram!!  I’m so proud of my 3 second handstand! haha!
If you’d like to see the video, just click on the picture below!

 

Then I came home and ate a favorite meal… chicken cordon bleu casserole with a salad and cottage cheese
while watching a favorite show… Wheel. of. fortune!!! (read that like they announce it on tv! haha)

  

2. My favorite giveaways right now and I’m not biased or anything lol ;)

3. The weather today is gorgeous!!! You better believe I’m getting out there today!!  My favorite workouts happen outside!!

4. Nuun is my favorite electrolyte drink and they just came out with their new Energy drink!
Why yes… I did just buy a sampler pack lol… I couldn’t help myself!! Look at that awesome bottle!

 

5. My favorite down time right now is watching Lost.  I finished season 1 of and can’t wait to get started on the 2nd season!!  Any Lost fans out there?

 

What are some of your favorites this week/weekend??!!

YES! YES! YES! And Friday Randoms

Hey friends!! I can’t believe it’s been a week since we’ve last hung out!!  Life gets super crazy sometimes!!  Which is why you get a life update in bullet points… isn’t that your favorite?! ;)

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1.  Have you ever had someone you really look up to …. oh let’s say like the upbeat, optimistic person who always wins 1st overall in all the local 5ks… ask you to work out with them??!!  I have!!

At first (I was afraid I was petrified…) I was like:

Then I realized she was serious!

 

Of course I said:

She paid to have me come as a guest to her gym… I’ve never been to an actual gym gym before!  (My old college doesn’t count) So yesterday I met up with her and we did about 1 1/2 hours of arms and abs… IT. WAS. GREAT!!  She was fun to hang out with and it was so much fun to workout with someone other than myself! She kicked my butt!!  I am indeed sore today!

2. I got a couple fun packages in the mail last week… can’t wait to share them with you!! Look for a couple reviews and a giveaway in the next week or two!

 

3. Just in case it is ever in question, I do in fact work hard and earn my pay at work! ;) Yes that IS playdough… why do you ask?! ;)

4.  I made it on to the Top 100 Running Blogs list for 2014!! (I’m #83) Holy Guacamole!! I feel honored to be listed with so many other great bloggers that I look up to!  Who would be on your top 100?

5.  Some seniors at the school at work for came around and handed out these flowers.  The pot says they are Azaleas but one of the other teachers insisted that it was a Geranium… Do any of you have any opinions or know what it is?  I do not have a green thumb…

 

6.  I was invited to be a guest over on Alicia’s Blog, Never Ever Been Skinny.  Go check it out!! :) 

7.  I haven’t watched ANY of the Winter Olympics this year… not even a minute!! Does that make me a bad person?  Go USA! lol.. have you been watching?  What’s your favorite event?

8.  I have some exciting news!! Can’t wait to share an update with you all on my dream becoming a reality!! :)

What are some randoms from your week?

Why I’ve Been Missing and Card Swap Reminder

Wow…

So I’ve been missing AGAIN from blogworld… but I’m not going to apologize…

I just wanted to check in real quick to let you all know that I’m doing ok…I’ve just been super busy!!

60+ hour work weeks, still working out 2-4 times a week, getting sick (thank you preschoolers), spending a couple hours a week with hubby, oh… and I happened to join 4… FOUR… yoga challenges on Instagram! lol… What was I thinking?!

I’ll share a couple pictures of some of the poses I did for the challenges so far (if you want to see all of them then you can go follow me on instagram here):

I really have grown fond of yoga! :)  I believe it’s a really important role in my overall fitness!!  I want to try to find some classes but I think the closest might be 45 minutes away…

How far have you driven to join a fitness class??

Well… there’s a quick excuse of why I’ve been missing… Keep an eye out for some reviews coming up (that are way past due) ..whoops! Also, a knee update and perhaps a blog giveaway hop!

ALSO… Go sign up for the 2013 Christmas Card Swap!!! Sign ups close December 5th, so signup before you forget about it!! :)

Have you ever taken fitness classes?
Do you practice yoga?
How far have you driven to take a fitness class?
When you’re busy do you try to make blogging a priority?

Wordless Wednesday: The Cranky Train

BTW, thanks for making me feel better about almost chopping off my fingers in my last post! ;)

Were you riding the cranky train today?

How’d you turn your frown upside down today?

Are you a morning or evening workout person?

Wednesday Motivation: #itsworthit

If you feel like giving up, don't give in! Push the negativity out of your mind and find your inner strength to keep going because guess what? It's so worth it! This has become one of my personal mantras of sorts as I recover from my knee injury... the finish line is running again... the race (long distance race that is) is getting back into shape so I can cross that finish line! I'm getting stronger and closer to running again because I refuse to give up!

What about you? Are you going to give up or keep going?

Stepping Up To The Challenge (and a winner)

I’m the kind of person that always needs a challenge…

Growing up, I found that challenge in competing in sports…specifically with basketball and a couple years of track.

Even in college I competed in basketball and softball to find that challenge… In my very first blog post ever here on Runner’s Luck I mentioned that I ran out of sports eligibility in college and that’s why I started running… I needed another challenge!

Even within just running itself, I needed a challenge! That’s why I went from running 5ks to half marathons and why I ran a marathon… it was challenging to train for and run each new distance… That’s also why I feel like I need to PR at every. single. race! (Don’t worry, I totally know it’s not possible… I’m not that crazy!) And don’t get me wrong… there are TONS of other reasons why I run… mainly because I just down right LOVE it! BUT… the challenge is still a BIG appeal to me!

Then, I got hurt…and still have yet to go to the doctor. That has nothing to do with a challenge and everything to do with being stubborn, and perhaps a little scared… and definitely a tightwad…(more about the knee in a later post)

The point is, I needed another challenge…

I decided to try yoga… you may be thinking “YOGA? How is that challenging?”  Well my friends… the part of me that needs a challenge can’t settle for not being able to do the splits, or not being able to touch my feet to my head when doing king cobra pose, or not being able to do a simple handstand (more on that later too! lol) It all started as just a fun way to stretch to help heal my knee injury, but then I saw a pose that looked challenging and couldn’t stop thinking about it! So what did I do?  I tried it!

Welcome to Eka Pada Koundiyanasana I Pose

Challenge Accepted!

It’s definitely not perfect, but I've totally made some progress!! 

So, while I cannot run (I’m still working out)… I’ve found a challenge to keep me occupied! Because guess what?  There are more challenging arm balances and inversions I’d like to make progress on! While you may be reading all of my yoga posts lately thinking that it’s a total waste of time and that you’d never try yoga or it’s boring… just you wait!!  I have a post coming up that might just convince you to give it a go! :)

Do you always need a challenge in your life?
Do you practice yoga? How often?
If you don’t, why not? Think you ever will?

 

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Without further ado… the winner of the Run the Race Giveaway is…

Our Internet Guy is Visiting and CrapTON of Pictures

Our internet has been spotty and the internet guy finally showed up to fix it… While he’s doing that I figured I would write a post that doesn’t really take all that much effort because it’s Sunday and I’m kinda feeling like a bum today after working 14 days with 1 day off and a 12 hour shift on Thursday…  I’m not complaining because I truly do feel thankful and blessed that I even have a job! :) Just don’t expect anything inspirational on the blog today! ;)

Anways… here’s the crapTON (real legit unit of measurement) of Pictures I promised… They’re all from the past couple weeks (you can follow me on instagram here so you don’t feel left out)… Enjoy!

Last time I checked in I said I was done with the resting like Harry Potter is done with Lord Voldemort and starting to workout again…

 

Getting off work after 11pm and not getting home til 11:30pm, I wouldn’t expect to see a whole lot of anything in nature… I would be wrong:

I’ve enjoyed a couple softball games and my twin and fur-niece even came to a couple:

                                                              Me and my fur-niece

Some food shots:

Some blog things:

NUUN happened to make it’s way into a couple pictures… I don’t honestly know how that happened other than the fact that I drink it ALL.THE.TIME! :-P

There ya have it… a totally non-inspiring, lazy bum, crapTON of pictures Sunday post for ya! ;)  I hope you have a great Sunday!!  Tell me something you enjoyed doing this weekend!