It's been awhile...

Wow, it's been awhile, huh? I'm a terrible blogger these days!  I HAVE become a better Instagrammer though! And I've been posting a lot on @mynestinginstincts about what I'm eating and my workouts, etc there.

But here's a little update on life since I last wrote.  I DID run the 5k on Thanksgiving with my sister!  It was a great experience and I'm so proud I did it still!  I have my bib from the race hanging in my kitchen by my sink so I can see it when I'm doing dishes (which is every 5 seconds, basically) and I love the remind in the place I once ate to cope that I can do anything and be anything and that I've achieved so much!

I also signed up for a half marathon.  It's at the end of April.  I'm REALLY excited.  Training looks like me doing my own thing.  Running a few days a week 2-4 miles and having 1 longer run every weekend (7+ miles).  I ran 10.53 miles this weekend for 2 hours which is both a distance and duration record.  It felt AWESOME!  Except I couldn't move after.  So I took an ice bath.  OMG.  Those things are TERRRRRRIBLE!

Our family's Christmas was wonderful!  BUTTT I kind of took December off of dieting.  I decided I'd just enjoy the holiday and continue to work out.  I did work out a lot and pretty hard and then I ate all those calories burned plus some.  I gained from 160 to 165 the weeks leading up to Christmas and then 165-175 the weeks of Christmas and New Years.  OHHH MY!  I have no regrets and it was good to see I do not yet have the self control I need to resist eating way too much (like these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies).

So January 1st I started Paleo and I did it 12 days.  I'm back down to 168 and am trying to lose 3 more pounds before we go to Disney World, but again, I had the same problems with Paleo… lack of energy!  I focused on eating a lot more veggies and more carb foods like bananas or sweet potatoes but in those long runs I was in the negative calorically by 800+ calories and it was HARD to press on.  I actually paced 11:24 on that 10.5 mile run and then had some pasta Josh made Sunday night and Monday morning I ran 3.5 miles in 35 minutes at a 10:04 pace.  It just makes ALL the difference to eat carbs.  So I'm counting calories on My Fitness Pal, I'm working out hard, and I'm making smart choices.  Yesterday I had bread for a sandwich but ate clean all day.  My snacks were very healthy, my dinner was healthy, my breakfast was healthy… and the day I had pasta for dinner I had eaten very lightly and healthfully in anticipation of that meal.  THAT'S how it's done, I just need to learn to do it!  Tracking helps!

So that's a little update on where I am!  I'm also really loving weight lifting.  I've been doing it about a month on my upper body and have noticed a lot of change.  I also just really enjoy the feeling of focusing on a muscle and feeling what it's capable of.  Very awesome.  My weekly workouts now include a lot of running, intervals for speed (and fat blasting!), a few T25 sessions, an ab day (or 2) and lots of weight lifting.

Hope y'all are doing well!