30 Days Update

Here I am, two thirds of the way through with the 30 day challenges I told you about here. http://longrunlessons.blogspot.com/2014/06/starting-30-day-challengeserrrtomorrow.html So, I thought this would be a good time to catch you up on how it's going. I will take the good news first approach. 

Bar Method Challenge--

Okay, so this has never actually happened to me, but I figure the more I go, the better the odds, right?

You know how they say you don't know how much you love something until it's gone?  Well, my return to Bar Method has worked in the exact opposite of that theory. Being back day after day just reminds me of how much I love it and how much I miss it when I'm not doing it.  I have been going faithfully 5-6 days per week for a few weeks now and it feels awesome. It may sound silly, but I really can feel my muscles coming back to life. I am sure you get sick of me talking about Bar Method (and maybe running for that matter!), but I just love what it does for my body.  Strength training is so important for runners, even though we often forget about it. The Bar Method works and stretches me in all of the right areas for improving running. Now, it's highly unlikely that I will successfully complete the 30 day challenge (I was out of town for all but one class during the first week). I would have to go every day for the next ten straight days, which I promise you, is much harder than it sounds. But, I'm happy with my 30 day results regardless. 

Abs Challenge --

 

Eh. I've been so-so on this one. And more so-so bad than so-so good.  30% complete in about 60% of the allotted time. 

 

I started off strong on this challenge. Especially that first week. Having a fitness app right there on your phone makes working out while you travel very convenient, so that first week was great. From there it went downhill. The ab challenge starts out pretty slow. There are only four exercises and in the beginning the reps/times are really low, so I didn't really feel like it was getting the job done. As it goes on, the ab challenge becomes more intense and I can see where by the end you would see some changes. However, it's been hard for me to be motivated to do the ab challenges on top of my daily Bar Method workouts. There really is no reason why I can't fit an extra 5-10 minutes in to do it, but I've been happy with the abs we do in class, so have mostly only been using the app on days when I can't get to Bar. 

The Eating Challenge--

 

 

Okay, so this is where the wheels have really come off. I have completed exactly zero days of this meal plan. If I'm going to be totally honest (and I am), I have completed exactly zero of these meals!  I promise I had the best of intentions when I found this plan. It looks easy and filling and with the exception of some seafood dishes, it looked like meals I would like. Yet, there the plan sits, perfectly untouched on my home office desk.  I see it almost every day and almost every day I think, "tomorrow I will go to the store and get everything to start the plan."  Well, that tomorrow has yet to arrive. Life just always seems to get in the way (no excuse, I know).  What I can tell you is that as of the start of this week (the beginning of our 30 day countdown until our big vacation), my husband and I have become more aware of what we eat. Each night we take turns making very healthy dinners. I've even cut down on my cookie consumption at work. You know, down from about three to one. Look folks, I'm never giving up cookies. We can just go ahead and come to terms with that one. Do I know that cutting out the sugar would mean weight would start falling off?  Of course. Am I going to do it?  Nope. That's why I run. Okay, that's only one reason out of about one hundred why I run, but it's a big one. So, back to the 30 day meal plan. It just isn't going to happen. But I am committed to spending the next month making small changes in my diet to facilitate change. Just don't take my cookies away.