Inspiring Me

Thanksgiving has become such a warm & fuzzy day for my family. We have adopted a new tradition that has held strong two years in a row now.

We call it our "Thankful Gift". It's similar to a secret santa, where we draw a name out of a hat and then we must give this person a gift that demonstrates what about them we are thankful for.

I was excited when I found out my dad had drawn my name.


He has been been one of my biggest supporters throughout my fitness journey (and all things in life I have taken on). He told me that he was proud of all the goals I have accomplished. He explained that he was proud of the way I have been telling others my story through my blogging and how it has blossomed into so much more than just a place to talk about my goals. My passion for fitness and goal setting has started a running group, gotten my brother into running and probably even influenced or inspired people through my fitness journey by blogging about it. He is proud of my excitement & inspiration.

He gave me this gift.


A mirror that was framed by wine corks. He said I have inspired others around me and he wanted me to see the inspiration in myself. A perfect gift indeed.

I then became full of tears.


I do try to take notice of my accomplishments, but more so in a way to gage progress. I have never actually thought about being inspired by my own self. I am so excited to look into the mirror and see me - a girl who only a year ago had low self esteem, couldn't run a mile without stopping, had stopped caring... but now a beautiful exciting passionate inspiring running marathoner-in-the-making spinning kickboxing blogging full of life woman.

I appreciate this gift because every time I look into the mirror I will be inspired by what I see.

Today I see the beginning of 30 days of Shredding! :)


I jumped out of bed at 6:30 am this morning and started Day #1 of the 30 Day Shred.

Day #1: I started on level 1 and plan to do this level for about a week. I was surprised at how hard this workout seemed this morning. I had visited the gym 4 days last week and was lifting over 15lbs in each hand - thinking 5 lbs today would be cake. OH NO it wasn't. It was hard.

My legs are STILL sore from the leg press last Friday, causing pain in my knees when I did certain exercises. But the key is consistency. I am building up my muscles & my endurance a little at a time.

I was not so excited to take my measurements & before photos last night, but I did it as inspiration. I can't wait to see the difference in my body in 30 days.

Happy Shredding, Holiday Bootie Bustering & Piling On the Miles (It has been extended one more month). This gives me a chance to redeem myself and reach my goal of 50 miles!

Thankful Thursday

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I am constantly thinking of what I am grateful for in my life. I have had quite the amazing year and have SO many things to be thankful for. A biggie is the love and support of my family. Though they may not understand why I would EVER want to run 26.2 miles they are there rooting me on the entire way, along with every other life goal I have. They are my best supporters and I have to say thank you for ALWAYS believing in me!

My little brother, me, mom & dad! We were on a bike tour together.


To recap my day…

Kick. Punch. Kick. Punch. Shuffle..shuffle.. shuffle.. shuffle..

I just finished up Body Combat my FAVORITE group exercise class at the gym. I have been attending kickboxing type classes since I was in high school and have always held a special place in my heart for them. Some gyms offer the bags where you can actually punch out your frustrations, but the one I attend gives the opportunity to visualize your punching bag, (aka punching the air).

I find that exercise classes at the gym give you a different kind of workout than what you would do on your own. For me I am pushed to work out for 60 minutes without wimping out. The spirited instructors bouncing around with high intensity and enthusiasm help to get you jacked up and into the work out.

I am a runner now, but there is nothing I love more than a good kick/punch session at the gym! So I like to incorporate at least one day of non-running cardio into my weekly workouts. It helps for a change of scenery and motivation.


Speaking of running, The Pile On The Mile Challenge (POTMC) is still under way. I have 6.8 miles clocked in to date. And a goal to run 50 miles by Thanksgiving and 57 miles by the end of November. Now that I have my NikePlus I am mile tracking fool!

Night Runners - Pile On The Miles

With November being a month that leaves you anxious and sluggish right before the holidays it was a good time to start a new personal challenge. Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point came up with a great way to get out the Thanksgiving Blues... She calls it PILE ON THE MILES Challenge!

The challenge is to literally pile on the miles from November 1st until Thanksgiving. I am super excited for this challenge because I have recently began tracking my mileage and now have a goal to beat.

October Mileage: 47 MILES!

With that I would like to report that today I clocked in the first miles for the POTMC (Pile On The Miles Challenge).




With the clocks turning back it has left the WRFW group with no choice but to tough it out and run in the dark. So tonight we embarked on our first night run!

Tonight's superstar runners included: Bethany, Amy, Nicole, Hannah, Michelle, Courtney, Brooke & The Linz. Our biggest group yet!

We started our run just as the sun was setting. We reached mile 1.5 and it was pure darkness outside. Our plan was to run through the park with hopes that there would be enough light for us to make it though back to the main street. We decided to switch our route up at this point making our run a little farther than planned. We all made it through until we reached the end. It was another great run for the WRFW group!

I'm sorry for the poor quality, my good camera had a mishap over the weekend.


The Running Stats:
Distance: 3.50
Time: 37.58
Cals: 379