Half Inspired | Week 1

Hello again, loves! Hope everyone is sticking to their New Year resolutions :)

(Pssst - Have you entered my GIVEAWAY yet?!)

My main resolution is to run a half marathon - and so far, I've been sticking to my training plan. Probably because I'm only in the beginning stages, let's be serious. 

For me to stick to the plan, I'm taking some action steps for added accountability.

I'm starting a weekly training series. The title of the series is to be determined - but I think it's gonna be GREAT. And I'm inviting you to follow me on this journey! Every week, I will show you how I trained (and whether or not I stuck to the plan!). PLUS.... I have some other exciting this in the works for this 4 month series, including:

Favorite Workout Gear

Toning Moves

Health & Fitness Business Spotlights (from fellow women! #TIUGirlBoss)

Giveaways

Recipes

& more! 

I'm also hoping to partner with a few businesses - so if you are a company and would like to partner with me, please EMAIL ME! 

I am using the following half marathon training plan. Are you using it as well, or have you used it in the past? Let me know how you like(d) it!

Click HERE to download the plan!

I am currently in the midst of week 2. Week 1 went well, and I did everything as noted! I am also doing the six week Love Your Body Challenge over at Tone It Up, so I'm essentially doing two separate training programs at the same time. I'm also a member of their nutrition plan. My trainers, Karena & Katrina, are SUCH a HUGE motivator for me! Especially Katrina.

More on that later :)

This is the half marathon I am training for. It is on May 3rd, 2015, at 6:30AM (yikes!).

To continue to help me stick to the training plan (obviously I need a lot of motivation!), I am buying myself a reward for each week of training I complete. I have a list of various rewards, ranging from inexpensive to expensive (I increased the price the closer I get to the race!). I'll share those with you each week as well. Last week I started with a BIG reward and got a Polar Heart Rate watch! OMG I love it!

It tracks your heart rate and tells you an accurate calorie burn. I love to take this thing running, but I also wear it when I'm doing toning moves or lifting weights. I had no idea how many calories I was burning until I got this thing. So AWESOME.

Finally... some pictures from previous runs. Mostly so I (and you) can see where I've been, which will motivate towards where I'm going!

Me at a 5k sometime in 2012. 

Me at my FIRST 10k - the Flying Pig 10k, May 2014. I never thought I would be able to do a 10k, let alone a half marathon! See the blog post here.

Okay. That's all for now. More to come at the end of this week! 

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Setting Healthy New Years Resolutions

Hey friends! Happy 2014!

I have some exciting news for you! 

FIRST - I'm being interviewed on The Lifestyle Accountability Show & podcast! Pretty cool. I'm doing the interview on Monday night, and it will go live on FEBRUARY 7TH... so PLEASE check it out when it's posted! You can get it on iTunes as well. I will be talking about healthy living and Passing Daisies!

SECOND - I've decided to participate in a few more runs in Cincinnati. One is the Mini Heart Marathon 5k [March], and the others are the Flying Pig Marathon 10k [May] and The Color Run [August]. This is big for me because 1) I'm not a very good runner 2) one of them is a 10K and I've never done a 10k...I will probably walk most of it, but it's not until May and 3) I haven't worked out in a long time thanks to being unable to afford a gym membership. My LA Fitness account has been frozen for a long time, BUT I'm about to unfreeze it and get back in the game. Thanks to now having a job as a full time nanny (and loving it), I can actually afford some stuff! I'm hoping to move out soon. What a big lifestyle change THAT will be. 

THIRD - I'm happy to announce that I'm writing a book! I hope to finish it by the end of year, and I plan to work on it while the girls I nanny are napping. The working title is "Just Say Yes" and it will be about how saying YES to change can completely change your heart and mind. Sound like something you wanna read? I sure hope so because I'd love for you to buy a copy when it comes out someday :)

The main reason I wanted to write this post was to share four tips for setting healthy New Years resolutions, if you haven't set some yet. It can be hard to set realistic resolutions that you can actually keep, but I'm going to try my best to share what I'm doing with you.

TIP #1: Be Realistic & Specific
I can't stress enough how important it is to BE REALISTIC and VERY specific when setting your resolutions! Too many people get discouraged because they set goals that are too general, like "lose weight" or "give up sugar" or "eat healthy." Better resolutions would be things like "Eat three fruits or vegetables daily" and "Lose 1-2 pounds a week." The more specific the better.

It's also important to be realistic. Can you honestly "give up sugar?" Sugar is in everything! A better resolution would be to "eat dessert once a week"  or "avoid all refined sugar one day a week."

Those above examples are very specific and are easy to break down into steps, which leads me to tip #2...

TIP #2: Break Your Resolutions Into Parts
It's helpful to break your resolutions down into ACTION STEPS so you can more easily keep your resolutions. For example, if your resolution is to "lose 10 pounds," some action steps could look like:
Step 1: Go to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays before work for 30 minutes
Step 2: Eat fruit for breakfast
Step 3: Eat sweets one day a week

Make sense?

TIP #3: Keep Them Visible
It's also helpful to write down your resolutions and put them in a place where you can see them on a regular basis. If they are out of sight, they will most likely be out of mind and you will forget what you even resolved to do. 

TIP #4: Don't Get Discouraged
Everyone falls off the wagon sometimes. And that's totally okay and normal. Just try not to get discouraged and give up! It is never too late to start again and keep going on your journey!

Well, that's all I've got for you for now. Stay tuned for some pretty awesome things, like more guest blogs, book reviews, & product reviews. <3