A couple weeks ago, at a meeting, I was asked if I could give a presentation on anything to teach something (anything!) what would it be.

The first thing that sparked my mind?

How to train for a marathon using social media. 

It was at that moment, where the girl said “I don’t care if you’re lying that’s a great idea.” The truth of the matter is that I get so much of my workout inspiration from bloggers. So many of my healthy recipes that I adore, are from other bloggers that I eventually add my own twist to. My fitness level to this day, is solely based on my social media based interactions.

And that’s the cool thing about social media, is yeah you can do the research but you read reviews, true life “this worked” “this didn’t work” experiences. Research. Try out different methods and training plans. Make a plan that works for you. Not only that, but  share your experiences. Motivate others. Ask for advice  - my 2nd and 3rd marathons collectively shaved off 1.5 hours from my first marathon because I ate better, recovered from long runs better and ran more and modified my training plan because I saw more ideas and could say okay running 3 days a week worked for her, I don’t have time to run 6 days per week so lets try this 3 day a week thing with some cross training built in. Lo and behold, it worked!

The resources from bloggers, twitter, tumblr and facebook are numerous and I can’t even begin to tell you helpful. Google “marathon blogger” or any combination of the sort [runner blogger; blogger half marathon; blogger healthy living...] and you’ll get hundreds of hits and find dozens of bloggers who are inspiring, motivating and informative.

It was through blogging that not only did I refine my training plans, but also I have blogging to thank for finding lululemon which to this day is one of the best working experiences I’ve had (tied with current job).

Utilizing social media can make big changes friends – I’ve completely turned my life around in regards to my fitness level and I’m still working on growing, while it’s still a struggle some days I know if I tweet that I’m not motivated there are going to be 20 people who @ reply me and give me a dozen REALLY GOOD reasons to get off my bum.

So go ahead, find a few bloggers (I’ve got some amazing ones linked on my sidebar!), read their experiences and then go ahead and challenge yourself and sign up for a big race whether your first 5k or your first half marathon. Go outside your comfort zone, find a twitter pal to run with and hold each other accountable. It’ll all be worth it, I promise.

You can thank me later.

What is your favorite benefit of being a social media geek? 

Saw on twitter earlier today that it was National FroYo Day. Confirmed.

Afterwork I ran my 3.4 mile loop – running for a full mile before walking (I think that may have been too much too soon. Will scale back for next run til next week) then BOOKED IT to Menchies to get dinner. Not the healthiest choice but oh so delicious. Not to mention…the best healthy lifestyle? Comes with 80/20. Being healthy 80% of the time and then letting yourself go the other 20%. And despite my ah-hem…partying this weekend, I did NOT gain 3 lbs so Menchies was well earned.

Day 6 {dinner}. #febphotoaday

See here’s the funny thing about goals….

…no one knows what they are, and how to support you if you don’t talk about them. Granted Brian Tracy, whom I became familiar with from my time at lululemon, will tell you that people want to see you fail and to not talk about them. But, I believe the opposite. If you don’t talk about your goals? People won’t be able to support you and help you reach them.

So I talked about them. For the past few weeks I’ve been a big ole mess not knowing if I was on the right path. Not knowing I was going in the right direction. I talked about it at length with the husband. I talked about it to friends. I analyzed, and reanalyzed and contemplated.

I thought I was headed towards something good. I got rejected. Multiple times. I contemplated again and wondered if I would ever have it all figured out. But then I thought about a conversation with my mom recently. My hard working loving mother who had never, in her fifty something years, ever been asked what she wanted to do with her life, was finally asked to set goals for herself. She’s finally working at a company that values personal development and I? Have been blessed to work for two amazing companies that both put a strong emphasis on career development and creating skills that are transferrable.

I realized, my long term career goal hasn’t ever really changed since I finally figured it out. I found my passion (social media and marketing), I know what I’m good at (strategizing and networking through social networks) and I can certainly make money doing both of those things. It’s what I’m meant to be doing.

But the flaw in my system, is that dreams and goals and your dream career just don’t turn up on your door like a Jehovas Witness. You’ve gotta work for them. You’ve gotta be prepared for people to say no. Rejection hurts but in the working world, I’ve learned that you have to have a bit of thick skin to survive. Sometimes, I don’t always have thick skin and sometimes I cry when I get rejected but I’ve also learned – it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to be disappointed. We don’t have to be superwomen all the time.

So yesterday I was in lululemon talking to an old coworker of mine who reminded me – to do it now. Just build a site and start courting clients. Then I realized, the old saying from A Field of Dreams is so true. SO TRUE.

If you build it…they will come. 

So I did. It’s a start while I work on rebranding my blog to focus on not just my passion for healthy living as I study for my ACE certification, but also my social media expertise and general geekery. Because my goals excite me, and make me look forward to my future. But if I don’t put myself out there? They’re not going to happen so now’s the time. Big goals equal big risks and even if I eventually realize maybe I’m not suited to be a super freelance social media consultant, at least I will have tried.

What’s your big scary audacious career goal? 

{words to live by from Kelly Cutrone “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside}

Goals and dreams to me are meant to be challenging. Figure out what works, what doesn’t and don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid to cry a big fat ugly cry while you feel hopeless and lost and feeling like you’re never going to go anywhere. It’s all temporary. All is not lost. You will get there. Don’t fret because your life isn’t perfect at 25, there are 50 year olds who still don’t have their shiz together.

These are lessons I continue to learn and have reinforced every. freakin’. day.

Day 1…

{My view….is of City Dock at night during my run. Perfect weather for running. Only wish it was still light out when I ran – sometimes the sidewalks are hard to see }

Join #febphotoaday here! (So help me, I’m sticking with this one!)

Ran: 
.5 mile warm up @11:00/mi
.25 @ 9:00-8:30/mi
.25 @ 11:30/mi (with some walking to stretch my legs. still adjusting)
repeat 5 times

total: 3.75 miles 45 minutes
avg pace of 12 min/mi (okay maybe I walked a bit more than I thought I did) still though. I went fast. Eventually my goal is to be able to keep 8:30/mi for .25 mi and then 10:30-11:00/mi for .25 mile. It’ll go a bit faster that way (also I’m pretty sure I was stopped for like 3 minutes with my timer still running when I took the above picture….whoops?)

One month down, three to go til Hubs is home from training. I want to say home for good, but the downside of military life is that he will inevitably at some point be deployed. Thankfully his unit recently returned from a deployment so chances are it won’t be any time in the near future.

Recap of Goals for January

So i didn’t actually write out goals for January but I did start my resolutions. Where’m I at 1/12 of the way through the year? I did not work out all 31 days this month.

Goals for February

Photo a day – I saw this on instagram and thought it was an awesome idea #FebPhotoaDay. Since I failed oh so badly at #project365 (will restart on my birthday – that makes sense right? A picture each day of the last year in my 20′s?)  Come play along I’ll have day 1 up by tonight on Instagr.am -( legallyheidi is my username! Follow me!)

{source}

Embrace positivity - Stop beating myself up for not working out, for not loving my job every day. Stop expecting success to come easy. This goes for personal and professional goals. I was super inspired today by  Nicole. She wrote a great post about how bloggers are inherently narcissistic (#truth) and how most likely? People just don’t give a damn. I’ve had too many ugly cries lately over pretty mundane things that I do have control over. Time to embrace positivity and buck it up. While I don’t need to force myself to vomit rainbows and butterflies every day of the week, I do have control over my attitude and my life. More so than I’ve been letting on lately. I need to embrace a better attitude and have a little faith in destiny and that I will get where I need to be someday. Hopefully soon.

Stick with tracking eats I read somewhere that people who track their food see 80% better results in their weight loss goals. Last week? I was not so good. This week? Have been so much better. I also feel better about what I put in my mouth if I track it before hand. In general I only track my food during the week, but i really want to do better about posting foodie friday recipes because I liked that trend on my blog and even if it’s a simple recipe? I think it’s a nice habit and I like sharing. Even if you all don’t give a crap (see Embrace Positivity)

Start training for Half Marathon #4
I’m running the VT Unplugged Half the weekend of my birthday which goes from my hometown of Colchester, Vermont to Burlington. It’s a pretty low key race and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. It’ll also be nice to spend my birthday with my family so I’m super pumped for that since Hubs’ll be out in the field and not able to talk to me himself.  My goal is to start next week, now that I’m back in lust with running thanks to my new sneaks, I’ve got no reason to slack!

No shopping
Since I’ve got my trip to San Antonio at the end of this month, my goal is not to buy anything until after that trip.  Not to mention, I keep fluctuating between 142 and 138 on any given day depending on my eats/workouts so I’m finally down to my size 6 skinny jeans that I got from The Gap as a #gapenthusiast three years ago (#win!) so that’s positive but I don’t want to buy anything else clothing wise until I hit my goal weight. That’s fair and Feb is only 28 days and while I may not

Weigh In Wednesday

This morning? Not a good day. I felt good, my pants are looser (even after coming out of the dryer! WIN!), my tops are all fighting me a little bit better and my tummy is looking a bit flatter. Granted, I’m not so vain to put up progress pictures (mostly because I’m so pasty and pale that I’d blind the interwebs with my whiteness)  and also I’m just incredibly self conscious (not that I think people who put up progress pics are vain, if that’s how you measure that’s groovy, it’s just not my thing but take my word on my personal progress Again, you all prolly don’t care though )

Todays weight: 141.6
Starting weight: 154 (from when hubs left or something – i forgot my exact starting # but the 10 lb challenge? My  starting weight was around 144)
Total loss: ~13 lbsish since October. 

A friend of mine recently saw me at a JLA event and asked if I’ve lost weight, it’s always kind of flattering when people notice your hard work. I informed her that yes, yes I had. Sans the doctor pepper I’m nursing right now.

So even though my loss this week from last wasn’t huge, I felt good that for the most part, at least since this weekend, I’ve stuck with my workouts and that? Is always a good thing no matter what the number on the scale says.

What are your goals for February? How do you reward small accomplishments??

It’s almost spring around these parts. I can feel it. I felt is on Saturday morning when I was running down by the city dock and I felt it even more when I got Lily Pulitzer’s email announcing their new spring line.

But really, I couldn’t figure out what for the life of me my problem is with getting up to run in the morning.

Saturday morning, I got up sans alarm – funny how TWO drinks over four hours on Friday night had me feeling like I felt after a doozy of a night out at Our House East during college. My ole’ liver just ain’t what she used to be which is tempting for me to just cut out drinking all together since I had that hazy, just blah feeling when I get up the next morning after having even a glass of wine.

I digress, so Friday night entailed a little of this…

 {#sealteam6 happy hour @ RFD}

Saturday morning entailed a bit of this….which had me feeling oh so good. 

Still breaking in the new sneaks though this time the stiffness in my calves didn’t last as long. I did 5 minutes running at about a 9:30/mi pace with 2 minutes of walking. I finished 3.25 miles in 40 minutes but man did it feel really good and the weather was beyond perfect. I’ve really come to enjoy my long runs downtown on the weekend followed by my Naval Bagel brunch after.

Then I got my hair highlighted. Much needed. Not perfect as they were partial highlights but it looks a lot better than it did and that’s what matters. I only get this done every like… five months (the last time was over the summer) so I felt okay about spending the money on it.

After that, I went shopping and ran errands. Had a bad bad lunch at the mall that involved me sleeping through both my events of Saturday evening in hopes of quickly sleeping off the icky retaliation of my stomach. I had my bag packed (a mini bag at that!), a plan on when to leave to hit the metro and the gift in the car from my office. Instead, I ended up waking up on the sofa  when I should have been having cake and wine with one of my favorite gal pals. Instead, I was left with some wasted garlic bread that was supposed to be for the dinner I was supposed to attend and not getting to enjoy any of the fabulous looking cake. Hmmmph.

Bedroom upgrade

So I slept in, did not set an alarm, and just tried to recover from the retaliation of my stomach. I decided since I was feeling a bit better that I would take my usual cleaning/project day to a new level. Hubs and I’s bedroom has long been a place of discord – clothes everywhere, disorganized and just not a happy place. So I took about $100 out of our budget for this week and did a lil face lift. To say it looks much better is the understatement of the year. Next step is to simply upgrade the night stands to match the Ikea dresser and then we’ll have a bedroom suited for kings.

I should have taken a before shot but I’m sure you can imagine. There was nothing on the walls. Crap all over the floor and on top of the dresser and just a general haphazard mess. The bedroom should be serene and simple not a mine zone. Next weekend: Tackling the closet.

How I did it…

The mirror I picked up from Bed Bath and Beyond for $20, the picture on the wall from Target for $12 and another set of picture frames from Target for $14. The curtains are actually inspired by Young House Love – I just need to hem the edges but it’s a bath curtain from Target for $20 with the curtain rod for about $15. Total upgrade? ~$75; add on the night stands for $125 and we’ve got ourselves a $200 upgrade. I want to also start looking for a new duvet cover in like yellow or green but that can come later. I love the curtains so much I might find a similar bath curtain to make curtains for our living room! #win.

All in all, aside from my Saturday night fail, it was a super productive weekend. In the future? Weekends do not mean eating crap. Stick with good eating your insides will thank you (I’ve noticed this is common with me especially with fried foods but this time was just exceptionally bad, it happened again Sunday to a lesser extent but there’s nothing fun about feeling like you’re in one of those “gotta go gotta go gotta go right now” commercials /end TMI.  This week I’m trying to eat lots better, I’ve been slipping a little in my leniency to eat out. I need to stop that. Especially on the weekends. This week? I’m eating in and eating clean(er).

This Weeks Workouts

Monday: 3 mile run (10 mins running, 1 min walking)
Tues: 45 mins elliptical
Wednesday: 3 mile run 
Thursday: Strength
Friday: yoga (and blogger book club though I’ve yet to figure out how the eff I’m going to get to Falls Church without driving in the city…)
Satuday: 5 mile run
Sunday: rest

How do you keep your goals in mind on the weekend? 

It was time for new sneaks. I could feel it in my bones and my knees.

So this weekend, I went out and used my LivingSocial deal for Fleet Feet in Annapolis.

First of all, this was by far the best shoe buying experience ever. I mean, I’m sure if I were to go into the Jimmy Choo store in Copley one of these trips up to Boston, I’d get one on one treatment but the Fleet Feet Staff was AMAZING and so informative and explained form and gait and all that fun stuff so well. I knew it all kind of but it was all laid out in layman’s terms so well.

I wanted to try a pair of New Balance Minimus but they showed me a pair Newton shoes and I loved them. Newton’s have a thing called Action/Reaction technology which is super intriguing and based on the thought that:

When using the ultra-efficient Land-Lever-Lift natural running gait of a midfoot or forefoot strike, the technology absorbs and then returns energy back to you. It’s a revolutionary way of building a running shoe based on Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion: “For every ACTION, there is an equal and opposite REACTION.”

The whole light weight natural style running (which is similar to the Vibrams running phenomenon) style does have an adjustment period. I decided to do a run walk workout tonight. I knew I wanted to go for a run after my thing that I had this afternoon, it was good to just clear my head. Not to mention I did notice

Newton has some pretty basic tips to switching over and not injure yourself. You can also find more info about natural running over here.

I ran 2.78 miles in 35 minutes running for 1/2 mile and then walking for 2-3 minutes.

It felt really good. The only pain is in my calves which I think is to be expected since you’re changing your running form and using completely different muscles so they’re a little tight but I’m not going to run tomorrow so that’ll help and while I want to run 7 miles this weekend I might stick with a shorter run so that I can break in my sneaks more over the next two weeks before I officially start training for my next half marathon.

Have you tried anything close to natural style running? Vibrams or other minimalist running sneakers? How did you adjust?

Also of note can we note that every time I think of running, I can’t help but get this song stuck in my head.

All the other kids…

{PS This review is not at all sponsored by Newton nor did anyone ask me to write it. This was written by me. For free with no compensation or any free goods from Newton. I paid the OBSCENE amount for the sneaks (about $40 above my usual sneaker budget) so take that FTC.}

It’s back jack! My weekly accountability post if you will. Huzzah! (Insert confetti here)

This morning I got up super early to get to work super early since I have to leave a bit early. I thought, as I dozed off on the bus that I was on the bus before I usually wake up. If I could do that every day? I could totes get my butt up.

I weighed in this morning at 142.2

Starting weight (10 lb challenge weight): 143 (i think?)
week 1 – 142.2

I’ve been weighing in each morning and I got as low as 138.8 this weekend but then I took two days off, drank a shit ton of  beer Saturday night and haven’t worked out since Sunday.

Sooo there’s that. I did great tracking my food last week. This week? Not so much. I did great about getting all my workouts in last week. This week? I didn’t plan and have had a lot of other things on my mind mainly a couple of very important meetings. We’ll leave it at that.

Dealing with Setbacks…

The past few days are just a couple of minor set backs. Instead of working out on Monday, I Google Video chatted with the husband which really really made my day, week, life. We’re one month out from my trip to San Antonio and I couldn’t be more stoked. All I have to do is just pick myself up, and strap on my new sneaks and break ‘em in! But you know, everyone deserves a break. If you’re not feeling it, you can’t force it (well, you can and 9 times out of 10 you’ll feel way better but sometimes you just need to sleep it off).

The thing with setbacks is that you just need to get up and brush the dirt off your shoulders. It’s a fact of life. There’s going to be setbacks in everything you do – whether it’s a job rejection,

Workouts remaining for this week: 

Wed – Run 3 miles (walk/run to break in my new kicks – post coming soon!)
Thurs – Cross train
Fri – Speed work (6×400 @ 8:43)
Sat – long run (in the AM with Pacers!)
Sun – Cross train

Rewards due…

Earlier this week I rewarded myself, my two very important meetings required me to dress up a bit only for me to realize that I was swimming in all of my dress clothes. I stopped to pick up two new pretty skirts at the JCrew outlet and realized I went down a size! I want to keep this rate going so that soon I’ll slowly be replacing all of the too big clothes in my wardrobe. I mean, let’s be honest, I never felt okay being a size 10 while being only 5’2″. The first time I realized I had gone from a size 2 to a size 6 (then to a size 8 and then to a size 10) I cried. I cried a big fat ugly cry in the fitting room. So going down a size? Was a huge success.

Huzzah!

How do you reward yourself for your successes? 

I’m not perfect. I readily admit that. I’ve got flaws – quite a few of them.

But I really think that this time is different.

What I mean is, that like every other American who vows to lose 20 lbs/workout more/eat better at the start of a new year, I’m really feeling that this year is finally the year. I will not just be someone who sticks with it for the first 3 weeks and then falls back into old patterns and routines.

A lot of healthy living bloggers talk about their healthy tipping point and I’m beginning to realize that hubs joining the National Guard, may have been mine.

My Tipping Point?

Let’s be honest, though I ran 4 marathons, I didn’t train nearly as hard as I could have. We weren’t active people. I tried my hardest to be but we love good food, good wine and good teevee. The problem with so many other people in our sedentary, overweight leaning country.

But I thought about the past few weeks. Talking to hubs every day we each talk about our workouts, how we’re feeling, what we’re eating. I track my food – fairly regularly as of the past few weeks (though less religiously on the weekends, I give myself a break then) and my workouts.

We’re planning trips for the summer like hiking out in the Shenandoahs again, as well as hiking up in White Mountains and in Vermont. Camping on the Eastern Shore and hopefully running hubs’s first Half Marathon this fall. We both really want to be more active. Hubs wants me to get him into CrossFit (huzzah!), and wants to run races with me. It’s super inspiring and I’m pretty sure unlike previous years when we both made this vow, now that he has to do it for the military, it’s going to stick but not just for him, but for both of us.

The most exciting part about this new lifestyle is that we’re both excited about it and we’re excited to do it all together.

It’s kind of bizarre that I function slightly better on my own. We very much fell into old routines when he was home for two weeks over exodus, but it was a different circumstance considering FIVE of those days we were traveling.

But this week for instance? I’ve worked out 4 out of 5 days. I’ve tracked my food all five days this week and most of last week when I got back on the food tracking wagon. I’m hoping that this is really the start of me sticking with everything. Not just for my sake, but because I want hubs to be proud of me and I want to look good on his handsome arm – I mean yeah, I want to be healthy but let’s be honest there’s a slightly vain part in it when your husband drops 30+ lbs.

Borderline obsessive?

It’s weird though, because I was talking to my pal today about how I’ve been tracking and she commented that she couldn’t use her iPhone to track her food, she’d be too obsessive about it. I could see where she was coming from and when I got home, I definitely wondered where the line is. When does tracking become obsessive?

I mean, plenty of healthy living bloggers track their food/habits using their blogs. Many of them attribute blogging to how they reached their goal and tracking their food kept themselves accountable.

Now whether you take pictures of your food obsessively and blog about it, or whether you use a program like MyFitnessPal or LoseIt, there is a line. I’m pretty sure I’m toeing that line, but because I feel that I need to until I make sure I’m not going to slip back into my lazy, sedentary, boozehounding ways. I mean, it’s working. At least for now and if I have to be a little borderline obsessive about my tracking (obviously while still making sure I eat enough) that’s my own ish. Right?

Now do I think there are bloggers out there who are obsessive? Well. Yes. I’ve stopped reading them because while I love recipes, and being inspired and sharing ideas for workouts and meals, I don’t want to see you shove a spoonful of froyo in your mouth to prove to the world that you’re eating. I don’t need to see that you ate oatmeal AGAIN for breakfast. I just..don’t care nor do I find that helpful or healthy. If you feel that you need to take pictures of yourself eating the food you’re blogging about, you probably have a slue of other issues right? Right. But then that’s why I don’t read those blogs anymore. As much as it is their right to blog about that it’s my right to not read it.

{Note: This is why I have never understood trolls – if you don’t like a blog? Don’t read it. There’s no reason to be a jerk.}

I’m not a food blogger though, not even close. I share recipes once in a blue moon, but I’m not a cook really, so my recipes are usually found on other blogs anyhow. I’m just a gal trying to be healthy and share my struggles with a healthy balance. That’s what healthy living is after all, it’s all balance.

I digress, this is the year that I finally stick to my resolutions and accomplish all of my goals.

Related Reading

Resolution Survival Guide (via SparkPeople)
8 apps to make your resolutions stick (via Mashable)
Three Steps to Resolution Success (via LifeHacker)