End of This Chapter, Onto the Next

Looking back at this week so far I see some progress and some need for further improvement.  Following my juice "reset" I am making better food choices most of the time.  I am aware of what I am putting into my body and I am owning those choices.

Good choices :)

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my workout schedule.  Jess provided a schedule for the week and  I have not been able to commit to it thus far.  However, in my defense, it has been a crazy week that was completely out of the ordinary.

Yesterday they demolished my infamous house in the weeds.  

My house in Time Magazine

Although it had been ripped off the foundation during Sandy, it still existed.  

The last picture of my house "intact"

That was until yesterday.  I watched as heavy machinery ripped through the walls that hubby painted and grabbed everything we owned.  

After almost a full day of work, it was taken away in giant dump trucks.  It was extremely difficult to watch and even harder to realize that it really is all gone.  That said, it is over.  That chapter of my story has come to an end.  There are so many other financial decisions and obstacles, but the house is no more.  

Rest in Peace 103 Kissam Avenue

With that, it is time to move forward, which for me, means one day at a time.  And one workout a day.  I need to get back on track and that means scheduling my workouts in pen.  I will make it happen and you will keep me accountable (if you don't mind.) 

Add more sweating!

It's Like the First Time

A few weeks ago I received an email from Garmin.  Apparently, they saw my story on Another Mother Runner and they wanted to replace the Garmin I lost in Sandy.  I was beyond excited.  When they asked me which one I wanted and I just told them I wanted the one I had before.  However, when they mentioned the new color option,  I thought why not change it up a little?  After a mail snafu and a week of me asking my husband "did it come yet!", I received my white and teal Garmin 610 on Friday.  I was so excited.  I have been running sans knowledge of time for a few months now, so  I was so excited to snap it on and get out there.

I was very excited!

Mini me was excited also.

Almost as excited as when she had strawberry ice cream on Saturday  :)

My first run with my new watch was great.  It was my Sunday trail run with my Killa Beez team.

Pre run shoot of me and my new Garmin <3

Since we run trails with hills and climb up mountains (read=hardcore fun), it was by no means a fast time, but it was great to know my speed, distance and even just what time it is without pulling out my iPhone mid run.  I look forward to tempo and long distance runs with my shiny new friend.  Thank you so much to Garmin for the watch!


I will use it while I train for the (drumroll) Long Branch Half Marathon.

One of my oldest and bestest friends is running it as her first half marathon.  I could go and support her as a spectator, but that's not my scene.  So, I will support her from the course instead and hopefully, bump into Jess, Abby, Ashley and other fellow bloggers running with the Lululemon team.  Plus, it's the day before my birthday so why not celebrate with 13.1.

On another note, today is the anniversary of the Challenger explosion in 1986.  I think it is the "when Kennedy was shot" equivalent for my generation. I asked on Facebook who remembered where they were when the Challenger exploded.  Everyone does.  I was in P.S. 207.  I guess it was the fifth grade.  Sad day.

Sharing is Caring:  Where were you when it happened?  What other events in history will you never forget?  Besides Sandy, the Challenger and 9/11 are those days for me.

Reset Recap

Reset Recap

Day 1:

Morning juice was easy, although I had to remind myself that there wasn't any solid food to follow it.    I drank about a million ounces of water.  Can you say clear pee?!  By lunchtime, I was excited about my smoothie.  Jess gave me a few recipes and I started with the pumpkin spice smoothie.  It was very good and almost filling, for a while.  By the time I got home from work though, I was very hungry and excited about chewing for the first time all day.  I grilled an organic chicken breast and sauteed some spinach.  Also threw in a Trader Joe's sweet potato.  I put some mixed greens and a sliced cucumber on the side because I thought I'd want more food.  I didn't though.  I ate the chicken, spinach and potato, but only picked on the salad.  I made some decaf green tea at 7 pm, but was a little hungry before I fell asleep.

Breakfast, Lunch and Water

Positive Reinforcement from Jess <3

Dinner

Dinner

Day 2:

Today, I honestly woke up wondering if I can get through this next two days?  I was feeling a bit nauseated, but I managed to drink my green juice.  I added some water today, but I think I should have left it thicker.  By mid-morning, I was feeling a bit nauseous.  I looked it out and it seems that it's is normal.  Jess suggested mint tea to settle my belly.  It worked.   I then headed to the gym for a strength.  It wasn't anything too crazy, so I knew I could get it done.  After the gym, I had a mixed berry smoothie.  It was still pretty frozen so it was almost like chewing food.  :)  I kept up with the water all afternoon.  I had almost the same dinner, but I added a little lemon and balsamic vinegar to my mixed greens.  The hubby made pepper steak for the kids.  I just smelled it. I bet it was delicious.  I had a cup of green tea before bed and decided to prep and freeze my smoothie.

Dinner... again

Their delicious dinner :)

Day 3:

I woke up late so I'm glad I made my smoothie the night before.  The bus ride to work was tough.  I was feeling a bit nauseated and a little loopy.  The freezing cold didn't help.  When I got to work, the last thing I wanted to ingest was green juice, but I was hungry.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I drank it and my stomach felt better.  I continued with the water and by 11 a.m., I was looking forward to my smoothie.  In order to keep it fresh, I froze it.  So it literally took me two hours to eat/drink it.  A blessing in disguise.  A longer "lunch" gives me less time to be thinking about dinner.  Once I got home, I was excited that I had made it.  I went to bed somewhat hungry, but satisfied.  I dreamed about my oatmeal for breakfast the next day and it was as good as I imagined!

Frozen Smoothie

Dinner Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Afterthoughts:

Hmmm, I am definitely satisfied that I completed it.  The pressure of knowing that I had already blogged about it helped.  I was sluggish most of the time and wasn't up for a run.  Plus, I was a little loopy a lot of the time, so it would not have been safe.  Many people asked why I did it? I guess I thought I needed it.  Afterward, I am glad that I did it.  Now I am slowly adding things back into my diet.  It is a different process than trying to remove things.  I think before I eat anything.  I ask myself if it is worth it.  I know that sometimes it will be worth it.  But most of the time, I have been indulging in things unnecessarily.  That is a habit that I do not want to go back to.  I do not have unrealistic dreams of getting my entire family to eat clean all the time.  But I can teach by example that if you eat well most of the time, you enjoy the treats even more.

**I am not a licensed dietitian.   I do not recommend that anyone try my "reset."  It is what worked for me.  Everyone is different.

Sharing is Caring:  Have you ever done any type of cleanse?  Thoughts on it afterward?

Three Day Weekend

A three-day weekend can allow you to be more productive or to do the same amount with more time to rest in between.  I went with the latter this weekend, and apparently remained lazy since you are getting a recap now.

Saturday was a day with old friends.  It was one of my BFF's birthday and she had a bunch of us over along  with our kids.  There were good friends and good food.  This year, the theme was healthier versions of yummy treats.  My friend made spicy buffalo cauliflower bites and skinny taco dip.  Both were delicious!  The main course was steak and chicken fajitas.  The cheese and the cupcakes were full fat, as it should be.

I love stinky cheese

And a colorful spread

We got home pretty late and headed up to bed.  The kids were passed out, so I stayed up to catch up on bad television.  I will now officially admit that I am watching "Washington Heights" on MTV.  Between that and "Buckwild", I can be entertained for hours.  Shain is insane and Reyna needs to be the center of attention.

The only productive thing I did on Sunday was attend a Power Yoga for Runners workshop.  It was a two-hour session at 5 Boro Yoga, my favorite yoga studio on Staten Island.  I have been wanting to go for months, but I always seem to have a scheduling conflict.  We started with a discussion about the benefits of running and practicing yoga.  The instructor Paulina was a runner before a yogi and shared her experience with the two disciplines.  We then got down to business. We went through a bunch of helpful inversions.  It is amazing what a different stretch you get when you combine different poses or change a pose just slightly.  The only issue I had was the occasional hard stop and change of pose.  Until now I have only done very basic yoga and it all seems to flow like a Vinyasa.  Overall, it was challenging and I left there feeling good.  I definitely think I will be back since they do this workshop monthly.

I saw the 5 day forecast for the week and decided that if I was going to run outside, it would be Monday morning.  I zipped up my amazing Lululemon Bundle Up jacket and headed out the door for just over 6 miles.  I got to spend the afternoon with my mom, my nephew and my sister.  We had lunch and did some shopping.  We even went produce shopping at the supermarket to prepare for my "reset."  I got kale, spinach and the knowledge that a supermarket visit with 3 kids is always an adventure.

Reset

Sorry for the dead air...  It's been a busy few days.  I will get to some of the details in a later post.  For now, I want to talk about my need for a detox.  The past few months have been insane.  After losing my house to Sandy I also temporarily lost my faith, my fitness and my mind.  I have been working on all three of these things.  For the sake of this blog, let's talk about fitness and how I didn't run for about 6 weeks.  I also ate take out constantly.  No vitamins, no sleep and lots of wine.

Me and my amazing cousin 

And beer too :(

Well, I am on my way back.  I feel like I need to clean out my system.  Plus, several friends have recently done juice cleanses.  So, I spoke to Jess who has been helping me get back to my fitness and health.  She came up with a three-day "Reset" for me.  It involves a green juice for breakfast, a smoothie for lunch and a light dinner of lean protein and steamed greens.  This started today.  

Greens washed and cut for juice

Ready to make a smoothie

 I just finished my juice and I am looking forward to my pumpkin smoothie at lunchtime.  Hopefully, I can live between now and then on lemon water and green tea.  Yes, I know, I'm dramatic.  Still, I feel good about it.  Yesterday Abby posted the following on Twitter:

This got me.  It is so true.  I have been doing whatever I want, regardless of how bad it is for me.  I am hoping that these three days will set me on a better path.  If you feel like you need to kickstart some change in behaviors.  Stop and look at what you are doing.  If it isn't working, stop and RESET!

Thursday Confessional

Confession: I started yesterday with a new green veggie juice and then I literally went to bed last night with a bag of chocolate drizzled Popcorn Indiana.

I know, it's a lot for a Wednesday afternoon.  I apologize for that, but it had to be done.  In defense of the popcorn, it is REALLY delicious.  That said, I am done being wishy washy.  I cannot think healthy and then eat three slices of pizza for dinner.  Barely pulling out three runs a week with not make me stronger or faster.  And to mention it, it won't make me look nice in a bikini.  Yes, that matters to me as well!

My lady Beez love the swim suit look :)

So, where do I go from here?  That is the question.  I am not the kind of person who can start a plan on a Thursday afternoon, so for now, I will figure it out and just make better choices.  Between now and the weekend, I will device a plan to take over the world get strong and healthy and feel good.  It will include a food plan and working/running schedule.  I need to strength train asap as I was reminded by Steph via Twitter yesterday.  Thank you for the accountability. ;)  By the way, I picked up some weights at T.J. Maxx last night since I was close by.

Stay tuned.

Saturday for Solidarity

As I mentioned, Saturday was the Sandy Walk a Mile in Our Shoes walk.

It was a neighborhood organized show of solidarity for the politicians get ready to vote whether to help Sandy victims, or leave us to fend for ourselves.  The whole family was up early for this one.  I was up earlier.  I headed out to meet my Killa Beez teammate Janet for a quick 5K before starting our day.  Whether you are a morning person or not, no one can ever say they don't feel better after a run first thing in the morning.  It's like a guarantee that it will be a good day.

Janet and I post run self-pic

 So, after the run I headed home for a quick shower, and dressed the kids.  We even picked up my good friend Jenn who walked with us.  It wasn't a huge turnout but the emotions made up for the number of people.  We walked past homes that were being fixed and others that had completely collapsed and are now just a roof.  We ended the walk and then there were several speakers including some of the politicians who have been supporting Staten Island through the Sandy aftermath.

Hubby and the boy walking with our next door neighbor.

Hubby and Jen

Some other Staten Island friends came to support us as well.  (Thanks Mandy)

Congressman Michael Grimm

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis

If you do not think we need to spend this money, please come to Staten Island or any of the hardest hit areas.  You will see that things are far from back to normal.

This was someone's home.

On Sunday, we received a call that our foundation will be demolished this week so we went by our street.  We walked as a family across the beach as we had a million times before.  It was so different this time.  The beach was practically gone.  The path was all sand and the flood wall was gone.

They are actually standing on the flood wall which is supposed to protect us from the ocean.

This is where that wall should be.

Just cuz they are cute :)

Walking down my block with not a house in sight.

And because while going through all of this, I am still committing to personal goals... 

Progress on last week's goals:

1. Run 3 days this week for at least 10 miles total (at least 1 outside) - I ran outside twice and once on the treadmill for a total of over 10.5 miles. 

2. Start studying my Personal Trainer Certification materials again - Does it count that I took the book out of the box?  Will start tonight.

3. Find ways to make the apartment find like a home  - I had some friends over on Saturday and Hubby cooked.  That is a huge step.  I am also ordering photos from Snapfish today to frame.

Goals for this week

1. At least 3 runs, including one run at least 5 miles.   I need to build up my mileage.

2. STUDY!  I will make a schedule of hours that I will commit to studying and follow it.

3. At least 2 morning workouts this week.   (Have to buy weights asap)

What are your goals this week?

Happy Friday & Adventures in Juice

Happy Friday!  I am glad it's finally here.  Winter weeks always seem so long.  Who do I need to speak with to get Spring and Summer as the only seasons?  Pipe dreams.

Still, I am looking forward to the weekend.  It is supposed to be warm for this time of year, so that means some running for me.  After an early morning run tomorrow morning, there's the Sandy Walk a Mile in Our Shoes.  There are walks scheduled through NY and NJ.  I know of the ones in Staten Island, Rockaway, Gerritsen Beach, Long Island and Coney Island.  If you are close to any of these areas and free, please come out and walk.  It really is about a show of solidarity to get some real government help for our neighborhoods.  Thanks for all your support.

I definitely try to stay positive, but when someone shows you your house in Time Magazine it can be a challenge to keep smiling.

My house in Time Magazine - Thumbs Down

My princess Mini-Me - Thumbs Up

That said, I am doing my best to stay positive and healthy.  We had a home-cooked meal this week (thanks Hun!) and I managed to make a juice at least 3 days this week.  This morning's combo was kale, pear, carrot and cucumber.  Cucumbers are very dominant in juice.  See? You do learn something new every day.  Hubby even said that if I leave out a glass of drink, he'll drink it.  Hmmm, I'm skeptical, but I left one anyway so I'll see if the glass is empty later.

Juicing Away

Finished product

My Taste Tester

She tried it.  And then gave it back.  Still, she tried. #MommySuccess

I even had oatmeal almost every day this week, except when we had a meeting at the school.  Then hubby and I went out for breakfast at one of my fav local spots, Domenicks.

Challah Bread Blueberry French Toast @ Domenicks = Heaven

Is it 5 p.m. yet?

xox
Jen