Hi Kids.

HI! Did you miss me?! I’ve been gone for far too long, I know.

On the bright side, its for good things! We’re only a couple weeks from opening the show, I’ve been going to at least one audition a week, work has been INSANE, the 5k training program that I’m coaching has started, I still train two clients, and, y’know, I try and get my sorry butt in the gym every once in a while.

Actually, I’ve gotta be honest… my butt looks great. I’ve been training hard, not only to try and win the Force Factor Contest, but for the Rock’n’Roll Pasadena Half Marathon that I ran on Sunday!

I finished in 2:15:35 which is nearly whole 15 minutes faster than the half I ran last year. And that one was flat!

I tried to keep my eating in check this time around, although I was a little bloated thanks to Saturday’s Taco Bell lunch run (definitely noticeable in my face). I did a sweet potato and some eggs for dinner the night before, a Think Thin bar and Body Rush (which I won in a Force Factor Mini-Contest) in the morning, & GU Chomps (Mile 7) and GU Gel (Mile 10) during. Post race I got to chill in the Brooks VIP tent for some salad and mimosas. And my NUUN! I’m kind of obsessed with it. We sell it at the store and it’s seriously my new favorite hydration product. Definitely have to get my hands on the “all day” one before I die of a sodium overdose though.

I managed to do something to my knee during the race… I think it’s just an IT strain, but you’ll notice in that last picture I’m pushing pretty hard… my knee hurt so bad, all I wanted to do was get to the finish. So I upped my 9.5/10 minute pace I had been running to 8 for the final mile. Craziness.

I feel off the NROLFW Bandwagon again… instead I’ve been doing heavy squats and deadlifts, some assisted pull ups and dips, and arm/ab circuits I relied on in college. Where I’m so close to the show and really just wanted to tighten at this point, I’d rather just stick to a routine that gets me the results I want, rather than results I’m not sure of. I’ll go back to lifting PRs once we close.

I’ve also cleaned up my diet a lot, slashing about 400 calories a day (since I’m not lifting as heavy), cutting more carbs and adding more healthy fats back in. I’ve also been doing Apple Cider Vinegar and lemon water in the morning before my decaf coffee, and lots of water and herbal tea during the day. It gives me a good excuse to use my Kombucha Extract that I won from Joanna’s contest, since I haven’t had the chance to start growing my own from the boy’s thoughtful Christmas gift.

Speaking of the boy… Valentine’s Day was marvelous. We exchanged cards before work, and then I gussied up for schmancy dinner at Spumante followed by the new Die Hard movie. We know how to do romance RIGHT.

Which is why we’re going on a CRUISE NEXT WEEK for his birthday!!!! I know I’ve mentioned this already, but the closer it gets, the more excited I get. I got a really cute new dress and a super adorable bathing suit (although I somehow bought the top in an X/L so I’ll need to do some exchanging before Monday…) so hopefully we’ll take lots of pictures!!!

Okay, time to get back to planning our training season for the rest of the year. If you’re in the SoCal area and are looking for a new group to run with, definitely check us out! Or at least “like” us… makes me look good 😉

Peace and love. Happy training 🙂