Contemplating another race...

Oh how proud I am of these few numbers on this little piece of paper!

Flash back to May, 2013. Erin picked me up and we headed Downtown to go see our husbands finish their first half marathon. Erin and I still laugh when we think about how rough we were looking that morning, but it really didn't matter, we were going to see our men cross that finish line and celebrate! That's what mattered!

We kind of got a little emotional watching them accomplish this huge victory and crossing that finish line! It was then that I decided that I wanted to have a moment like that one day. So the next year, we all geared up and decided to do it together. It.was.freaking.brutal.y'all!! BUT it's one of my favorite memories with our foursome and we loved it (even if I was slower than a group of turtles running through peanut butter)...

...it was slow, it was painful, but this beautiful medal and my sense of accomplishment made it ALL worth it!!

I had never experienced pain like I did those 72 hours after that first race It was really bad that entire evening following, so I basically grabbed everything from our freezer and covered my legs with them. In that moment I pretty much decided I'd never run again....

...so what's the only logical thing to do? Convince yourself it was worth it and run it again the next year! ;) I even cut over an hour off my time!

But the recovery from my second half was much worse, as I didn't train properly. My body just wasn't ready to go from practically nothing to running uphill for 7 miles straight. It was brutal and I could hardly walk for 3 weeks. So much so that I thought maybe I tore something. Luckily, it all felt normal again soon...but I convinced myself there was no way I'd ever run that particular race again. I even questioned if running was "for me". Since then, I haven't gotten as into running as I used to be. I think I started putting too much stress on myself that the thought of running just kind of annoyed me. The comparison game was another issue "I'm not fast enough", blah blah blah.

BUT!

I was so silly to think like that.

Running is for ANYONE who can get off the couch and make themselves endure it. Running is for anyone who puts one foot in front of the other, no matter how slow!

So...now I think I want to run the race again. 

I'm all over the place, I know. I think i'm going to take this week and really pray about the decision. I think it would be fun to run my third half marathon alongside my husband, again! I think it would be a fun challenge to beat my last race time and set a few goals for myself throughout the training process. PLUS it would be a fun excuse to whip out my favorite workout pants! ;)

What about you guys? Any fun exercise goals this year? Any races on your calendars?!

Feeling refreshed + some goals

I'm finally feeling like myself again. This week, I've really started watching the foods I put into my body, I've been focused more on exercise and getting my daily steps in, and I've been cooking nearly every night. Oh, and I cut off 4 inches of hair last night (which I haven't done in years)!

I call this the Claire Dunphey

Something just kind of hit me over the weekend, that all the things I say "would make me happier", I could actually be doing. The only person stopping me, was me.

For instance, I claim to love reading, yet never make the time for it. Caleb and I cannot say no to our local used book sales, and we end up leaving with about 20 new books every time. We physically have no more room on our bookshelves, so they are flowing over into our bedroom nightstands and desk. Yet, what's the point in continuing to buy them if they just sit there?! SO, I'm challenging myself to start/finish a new book this month. I'd ask you all for recommendations but I already have too many to think straight :)

So here are my goals for the month of February:
Curl my hair a few times. I love the way it looks curled yet I never make time for it. So here's to waking up a couple times to practice more!

Exercise. Whether that means waking up before the sun to get in an hour of cardio, walking on my lunch break, running at night, etc., I'm not going to be too selective! Just want to be as active as possible, every day.

Order a new photo book. Well, my FIRST photo book. I really want to make our wedding album. I know, 2.5 years later... blah blah blah. Now that I finally have free time, there's NO excuse.

Cook some new recipes. Pinterest has literally been my BFF this week, and with guests coming over on Monday, I want to step up my game :)

Date the heck out of Caleb. We have so much free time this month and I don't want to let it slip away before its gone. We don't have a wedding until March, and then starting in April it gets a little crazy again. So, I want to soak up every evening/day/etc. that I get with my man!!

Do our taxes. We are so much more prepared than we were last year and I'm ready to pay these silly taxes so we can get on with our debt snowball! We are praying to be out of debt by mid-Spring!

Organize and clean our bedroom. Somehow our bedroom turned into more of a catch-all for all of our laundry, books, etc.! I want our bedroom to feel more relaxing... not stress inducing! ;)

I hope everyone has a great Thursday. SMILE! The weekend is almost here!!

We're turning a new leaf!

Today, I'm really excited.

Last night, Caleb and I made the decision to fully commit ourselves to a better lifestyle overall, in every aspect. It was just a productive evening, and finally an evening at home just to ourselves (almost never happens with our crazy schedules!). We cleaned the whole apartment, did a TON of groceries for an insanely low price, and even made our new budget.

Obligatory photo for blog post ;)

Caleb and I have taken Dave Ramsey's financial peace course 3 times.... THREE TIMES! You'd think it would be drilled in our head by now. However, our whole first year (and 2 months) of our marriage we weren't really living by the principals we knew we should be. We paid the minimum on our debt, or maybe a few bucks over, but not trying hard to get rid of it. We used the cash (envelope) system on and off again, and just were so-so with our savings. Since starting our new budget last night, Caleb and I are back to using cash, hanging up our debit cards on the fridge so we aren't tempted and paying off our nasty debt as fast as possible!! More on that to come.

Exercise...ohhhh exercise. We've been slacking like crazy at the gym (especially me). Correction, to slack at the gym, one must actually BE at the gym...and I hadn't been in weeks. After getting over 8 hours of sleep last night (which never happens), I woke up at 5:45 this morning, and got in 2.5 quick miles. It felt amazing, and I wondered why it took me so long to get back?! We're excited to do something active almost every day. Even if its just a walk after dinner together, its something!

We also agreed we need to eat better. After spoiling our tummy's on vacation with yummy crab legs, lasagna, fruit loops and ice cream bars, we decided it's time to home cook more often. We're committed to doing the best we can to make home cooked meals in our own house. Obviously there will be the occasional treat and pizza night in, cause you need those to stay sane, in my opinion ;)

This is definitely the start of a "new us". After we finished our budget, we even high fived afterward! ;) I can't tell you guys how excited I am. Sure, we'd been doing all of these things before...but I don't think being just alright in these things is okay for us, I want to thrive. We want to thrive! I'm so excited to see where this all takes us. Stay tuned!

R-U-N.

I'm back!!! Caleb and I had an incredible vacation last week...and if you couldn't tell, we really needed it. Life was getting a little crazy, and he and I needed some time away like that. I immediately dove back into photography edits once we returned home, so I don't have any sort of "vacation recap" yet, but that's okay. Baby steps :)

One thing I'm SO happy about, though? I made time to run on vacation. Okay, it was only ONCE. But I got to finally use my new running watch (other than on the treadmill) and omg, I'm obsessed. It had been a good 3 weeks since I'd hit the pavement and thankfully I picked right up where I left off. I could only muster up about 2 miles, because the heat in South Carolina was KILLER that evening.

My only "July" goal for the remainder of this month?

RUN. That's it. I miss it so much. Honestly? June felt like I couldn't really keep my head above water, so needless to say I hardly made time for working out. I'm excited to get back in the gym, and run my little heart out. Not only run...but get back to the weight room.

I'm working on a new running playlist, and trying to incorporate music that makes me think positively, while still having fun. Caleb and I used to run to a ton of really fast rap with quick drum beats, but we left the gym feeling kinda negative from all the crap we listened to for hours. Enter Christian rapper, Andy Mineo. Seriously, dude's talented, and the lyrics to all of his songs are 100x better than the crap Lil Wayne raps about.

One step to a happier Kayla :) 

Get FIT.

Three weeks ago today, my life changed.

Ha! Sounds so dramatic, right? But seriously...it was 3 weeks ago when I sat down with my husband and told him I needed to make a serious life change. I wasn't sleeping well, my skin kept breaking out, I was always tired and had no energy left after work. Not to mention the spare tire that was beginning to form around my waist...gahh.

So what did he do? Supported me 100%. He ran to Meijer to buy me my first protein shaker, as well as my first container of pre-workout AND protein. He also told me we were signing up for the gym together (I was reluctant at first because I didn't want to pay for it -- but it really is too good of a deal to pass up on!), and he'd help me every step along the way. I love that man.

3 weeks later I am proud to say we've worked out 4x each week. I'm not just talking running... Caleb is showing me how to lift, how to work out my abs, and my legs with all these machines that used to once intimidate me. I'm eating cleaner, and my body feels good.

Its safe to even say I'm a little addicted to the gym. Or maybe its the feeling of accomplishment I get once I leave? Either way, I'm loving it. One of my friends said to me last week, "I'm sure that feeling won't last, no one actually LIKES the gym...", uh, I do.

Its just funny to me, how many "attempts" I've made to eat cleaner/workout, but the health kick would never last more than a week. It truly was joining a gym that made me that much more committed. Something just clicked, and I'm excited.

Remember, if you're wanting to make a lifestyle change...no one is stopping you, but YOU! You can do anything you set your mind too. Promise!

Happy Tuesday, friends!