5k training program

Hiiii you guys!!! I am trying sooooooo hard not to gain weight this month. I’m doing my damndest not to be overwhelmed but I am not really nailing the pre planning thing. More than a few cake pops have found their way to my mouth. So what’s a girl to do?!? Be as active as humanely possible in your extremely limited off time. And that is exactly what I did. Friday afternoon I asked if I could pick up Chase from school. It’s been ages since we had a solo date…and I feel like as a second born myself, time alone with anyone is soooooo valuable. He is the sweetest boy. I came to preschool to spring him early…this shot is blurry but he is packing up his book bag like a grown up!

Then he came out and I said what do you want to do today…to which he responded…I know we probably can’t but how about Marbles…to which I responded…we can do whatever you want which ws met with a squeal!!! My parents made a big deal when we were little about taking us out on solo “dates” and I love continuing this tradition. I feel like my role in their life is to give them time. In their normal lives things are rushed and hurried and get dressed, time for bed, brush teeth, don’t do that, do your homework and all of those things are so important. So when I get them alone I try to never so no. I let them know the time frame we have and if they want to spend the entire time smelling candy then we gon be smellin some candy(this really happened one time). We drove down to Marbles and he told me all about his day and how he has Monday and Tuesday off and how he’s gonna visit GiGi…this boy loves to talk. #mytwinny Then we looked for haunted houses and he wanted me to tell him real ghost stories. Ugh I love him. Then we arrived and it was on. This kid knows what he likes!!!

He bounced all over the place…we made and delivered pizza…

Cooked some more…

Learned about money…

Got our sports and exercise on…

But mostly we posted up in the animal center…this kid is obsessed with dogs…

He named his dog Chase and told me I could have a bunny…we named her Foo Foo….

Then we ADHD’ed out hard…

After three hours of playing and exploring we were sweaty and ready to go! He got some real marbles and a can of Pringles in the gift shop and then this little cutie decided we should hoof it up 5 flights of stairs in the parking deck!!! Ugh, thanks for getting me moving more little bunny.

And what a wonderful view of the city I love…

Then it was time to pick Wyatt up..Chase did not want to go…

So I got another opportunity for some solo time. I walked (more activity points) to go pick Wyatt up from school…

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood…

And I love to surprise this kid. It was so sweet to see him so independent and walking with his fellow 8 year old buddies…

Then he realized he was bleeding profusely from the knee…eek and he started walking like sucha weirdo!

Time for Nana to save the day!

Then it was Monopoly time!!!

And finally Wyatt wanted to show y’all how he prefers to kiss me now…#ihateit

What a fun day with my little nuggies!!!! Oh how I love my family…what could make this day better and more active?! A shopping date with my favorite meatball!!!!???? Jenny picked me up and we headed to Crabtree…talk about activity points…

nothing is sweatier than trying on clothes under florescent lights! H&M here we come!!!

#findthemeatballs #landofcrotches

Then we both tried on our dreams…for me a jumpsuit, for her shorts…

#doublefail #cameltoefortheladies!? We both really struck out tonight…on to the land of age acceptance and a reality check…Forever 21! This is when it got really sweaty!

annnnnd hilarious, I feel like you can hear us laughing!!! Get ready for an ill fitting photo montage!!! Cue clubby music and the judgmental faces of America’s youth…

Obvi we are adverse to stores dressing room policies or ever being apart!!! #excusemeladies

We both really struck out but had the best time doing it!

We were pooped…time to make everyone at Pottery Barn nervous!

Then it was off to bed to prepare for my ultimate activity point of the weekend…My Fleet Feet Raleigh NoBo 5k training program. I decided to stay in the walking group but to push myself to go faster today…plus I really loved my coach Jennifer last week!

So I got bundled up and headed out…

I know it is hard to believe but I get situationally shy sometimes and the first 5 minutes of this class every week I revert to a first grader. I get nervous and feel slightly out of place. But Carrie led us in some dynamic stretching and it wasn’t quite as cold this week so I started to unshy. Then I grabbed my name tag

and we were off and on to a different course today!

We went a mile and a quarter over the Wade Ave overpass…I had never been here and it was lovely!

Almost to the halfway point!!! There were five ladies in our walking group today!!! Everyone was so nice…I love making new friends!

One of these lovely ladies was Laura, a teacher and my new walking buddy! She set a good pace and we had an awesome chat which always makes the time fly!

Before I knew it we were past the hill of death and headed straight for the finish line!

I love how this program makes me feel…I love being in nature…i love making new friends with this amazingly supportive group of people. Fleet Feet, thanks again for this opportunity. I’m learning so much about myself!!!! Can’t wait to see my walkers again! Next Saturday we have our 7th annual Bobbies Gala for Samuel Cole Salon and the Saturday after that I’ll be in NYC but the Saturday after that I’ll be back!!! Love you guys!!! Then amazingly enough I found myself at breakfast with my mom, dad Aunt Deb and Uncle Steve…Steve needed new shoes so we took him to the NOrth Raleigh Fleet Feet…obvi I can’t get enough of this place!

Now I’m really exhausted!!! Time to snuggle with Jenny and discuss all of our problems, what we would like to improve and why I’m so immature in the relationship department…more to come on that later!

What a fun filled, busy weekend…hope yours was the same!!! Love you guys…here’s some inspiration for the week!

I had a lot of revelations this weekend. This is Sara!!! Hiiiiiii! Generally speaking I am a confident person. I don’t generally feel like I limit myself. I feel capable of so much. But, recently I have realized that I’ve gone through life thinking…wow, everyone else really has their shit together and that I was doing alright but def on the struggle bus for a lot of things. Normal life things seemed a little tougher to me. To me, it always seemed like things came very easily to others…like organization, eating healthy, exercising, school, becoming a grown up through the “normal” channels of getting married, having babies, having a pet, cooking, domestic issues, keeping a tidy car, not murdering people who won’t move up in the Starbucks line in a timely manner and finances. But in reality, everyone is fighting their own battles and struggling with their own demons. Most people aren’t as open about things that aren’t going well, bc it’s scary to put things that aren’t perfect out into the world…it’s easier and for sure more fun to talk about what is going right! I think that that is what felt so isolating to me. I always felt upfront about airing my imperfect laundry and when no one else chimed in, I assumed that their silence was further confirmation that these things were not a problem for others and that I was indeed a total mess of a child. But, that just isn’t the case. Which to me is the most freeing thing!!!!! I don’t have to do things in this unrealistic Martha Stewart perfection way I’ve convinced myself is right! I just have to find something that works for me and stick to it…or switch it up when things are no longer working. #freedommmmmmmmmmm Now that I know that everyone struggles, I can shelf that shackle that has been holding me back. I have also realized that my words to myself are very powerful. I have lots of truths that I tell myself….I’m not an outdoors-y girl, I’m not responsible enough for children, I’m a bad driver, I’m not athletic, I’m not very domestic, I’m intimidating, I’m not a runner, I’m not a pet person, Maybe I’m meant to be single…the list of my self evident truths is endless. I don’t want to have limiting beliefs. My boss Joelle always says, if I don’t know how to do something, it’s not that I can’t do it, I just need to learn how. Well….genius. So this weekend I really got outside of my box and signed up for Fleet Feets No Boundaries 5k program. You guys, this sentence includes so many things I’ve always told myself weren’t a part of my life, like leaving my house…before 8 am on a Saturday…. when it’s 25 degrees…to go be outside…for an extended period of time…to exercise with strangers…to learn how to run…3.1 miles. I can’t stress enough how much has changed in a year!!!!!!! I was beyond nervous and soooo ready to bail…especially bc Jenny works Saturdays and she couldn’t be my codependency partner in health. But I went to Target the night before with Jenny and got a new warm hat, gloves and hoodie, went to bed early and told myself, you signed up for it…you have to go. And I did. First I put on every single item of clothing I own. #couldibewearinganymoreclothes!? #iliveforlegwarmers

Then I met my sweet pal Karen…doing something with a friend is genius…you are so much less likely to bail! #meatballsub

And we stood outside learning about all the different training groups for the 5k program! I actually saw a lot of familiar faces from the Ton of Fun event and simultaneously lost all the feeling in my toes!

It was fahhhh-reezing balls…then we met with our mentor, Jennifer. Karen and I being total novices chose the walking group!

And we were off!

Today was just a mile…kind of a get to know the program and each other day! Our mentor Jennifer was so great and inspirational. We walked together and told each other our stories. She told me how she had gone from never running in her entire life to being a mentor for Fleet Feet. She got me really pumped and we did a nice, fast paced mile together and between the conversation and me trying not to become hypothermic , the mile was over in no time! It also gave me the confidence to next Saturday move into the walk to run 2 group! Jennifer…it was the living best meeting you..thanks for motivating me and to help me believe that I can do this!

Karen and I survived!!!! And we had all of our limbs when we came back!

Then it was weigh in time for Ton of Fun!!! Da na Da na Da na!!!

Karen lost 4 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wahooooooooooo!

I gained 1.2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More on that later in the week!!! Haha I love you Karen!!! So glad we are getting healthy together!!! So on my car ride home was actually when I had all of the above revelations. As I was pulling onto the Wade Ave exit I thought…how many other things have you held yourself back from bc you decided before you even tried it that it “wasn’t for you”?! I am notorious for telling people…not with that attitude!!! If you come to me and say I can’t meet my numbers this month I will always say not with that attitude!!!! But you guys, why wasn’t I saying it to myself?! From now on, I’m changing my story and telling myself I can do anything…and if I don’t know how to do it, I simply have to learn. Bye bye shackles…I no longer want to be the one holding myself back from all that life has to offer. Thanks to everyone at Fleet Feet who reached out to these Two Meatballs! Y’all came into our lives at the perfect moment and the opportunities that y’all have given us have motivated and empowered me to feel capable of more that I ever knew possible. So, if you find yourself with a bunch of truths…re-evaluate them!!!!! Maybe you are more than you give yourself credit for. Last lesson of the day…GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY! Love y’all.

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