Ahhh, It’s August! July Report Card & Goals for This Month!

We’ll skip the whole OMG-let’s freak out-it’s August thing.  Kinda anyway and dive right on in! Here’s how we measured up with our goals for the month of July –

Teal:

1. Read Power of Habit, work on the stupid ”I am just going to stand here and eat random crap while I look for something to eat” problem. 

C- : I am only about half way through this book but I think I get the point, he repeats a lot and gives very long winded examples. I have been so busy that my habit in and of itself has had a hard time existing because I have not been in the kitchen!

2. Get my office ready at my new job. My contract starts July 30th and I would like to be more than set before I start working. I can’t work if stuff is not organized and finished so this is a must. Right now it looks like a war zone and crap is all over the place.

 A: Off ice is ready and as of Monday I am officially back to work. So so so glad I got that done before we started because there would have been no time.
3. Run an avg of 25 miles a week.  This is close to the plan, not every week, but I am trying to still balance what my body decides it will do and my wanting to get faster and have more endurance.
F: I ran 48 miles total last month, so not even 2 weeks worth of what I wanted to do. This would totally make sense if you saw our running funk post.

Beth

1. Read This Is Why You’re Fat by Jackie Warner.

A+: LOVED IT!! Look for a post all about this book soon!

2. Keep up with My Fitness Pal and keep up with Daily Mile. 

C+: I definitely could have done WAY better than I did, BUT it is a far better improvement from where I was all of June!

 3. I have my own monthly challenge I started of doing dips and planks regularly, and have been keeping a record of it on a calendar I printed out.  Here’s to getting in 5 days of those at least each week!  I’ll show you my calendar at the end of the month!
F: Do I have to show you my calendar? 🙁 I started out fine and then it dwindle…..blah!  The calendar might as well be empty, but I am proud of my #powerplankchallenge I completed on Tuesday thanks to Mindy & Holly for hosting it! Planked once every hour for 8 hours!
As far as my trying to run hills weekly – yah, I think I did once last month. Fail!  And in addition to reading This Is Why You’re Fat I also read Names My Sisters Call Me by Megan Crane which was a fun read since I’m wedding planning and the main character as a small back story is planning her’s as well.
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And here is what we plan to accomplish in the month of August –

Teal:

My goals for August are basic because I know that this may be the busiest month I have had in a long long time, if ever. I just want to make it through work and stay running! So here you go!

1. Get through the first month of my new job without having any major breakdowns. I have found out over the last 3 days that this is going to be crazy- in a good way crazy but there is so much to learn and a lot at stake for mistakes.

2. Keep running at least 3 days outside. I don’t like the treadmill but it is about 100 even at 9 o’clock at night and the mornings range in the upper 80’s with the sun still down.

Beth:

My goals are also pretty basic too as the month of August scares me! No free weekends whatsoever and SO MUCH to accomplish!

1. Yoga once a week.  I’ve been trying to do this and haven’t but I think for my stress levels this month I REALLY need to add this one into my routine!

2. Mail ALL wedding invitations!

3. I’m going to be like Teal and say keep up with my running and get in 4 days of running each week!

Joint Goal:

Our marathon training for the Louisiana Marathon will be here in no time and in preparation for training and making a plan we both are going to take the time this month to read Run Less Run Faster. Just want to explore options and get a plan that fits both of us!

Here’s to getting it all accomplished this month!

What are your goals for the month of August?

Five Things Friday

1. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!  So excited yet another weekend is here!!

2. It’s June 29th that means tomorrow is the LAST day of our Tone It Up Challenge for June!!

If you have been participating in our challenge then please send us a copy of your June calendar with all of your push ups and planks no later than Tuesday, July 3rd.  We will announce our big winner of the challenge at the end of next week!!  Good luck and thank you for participating!!

3. We might be a little MIA, but have no fear – we are still here!  Teal is teaching summer school, getting ready for her exciting new school year in a new job and keeping up with her part time job at Mower Medic!

4.  Beth is still doing the 9-5 job she does regular, her little side social media stuff for a business and planning away at that wedding!

5.  Because we can’t help ourselves we shall leave you with this….enjoy!

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In the mean time thanks for bearing with us!  We promise we’ll return to a sense of normalcy around here soon and very soon! Have a great weekend! What’s on your running agenda?

May Report Card & Holy Cow it’s Time for June Goals!!

Yah, yah, yah…we are a little late to get this up, but we are started on June goals already! Have no fear! A lot has been going on over in our parts of the world as we are sure it has been with lots of you too! Anyways, let’s get on with it…

Teal:

1.  Lose 5 more lbs. I have tons of motivation right now because I will be on the beach June 6-11 for one of my best friend’s weddings in the Dominican Republic! C: lost 2-3ish depends on what time you weigh me (don’t you love that) BUT on a side note I am back to where I was before the marathon!!

2. Ok, I’m just going to change this yoga goal. The goal is to go 3 times per week. After looking back on the last 2 months I think this is doable and still a stretch.  I had a 6 time month and a 5 time month so hopefully just 3 a week will be a big enough push that is actually time possible!  B: Close… I went to yoga 9 times. So basically 3 short, not bad for a crazy month!

3. Stop skipping my morning workouts. My gym buddy and I got a little off track due to crazy lives and schedules. The goal is to go all 5 mornings. I had done this for over a year so it’s doable, just need to get back in the routine! I have been going at night more, but it’s not as easy to do and gets in the way of my yoga goal! Domino effect-boooo!!  UMMMMM, not 100% sure how to grade this, I worked out the same and went most mornings, it is just sooo much easier to go at night when I don’t have grad school or something else. I did most of the runs at night but still went about 3 days a week in the morning, PLUS, if you remember from earlier in the year, I wanted to do more weights alone…. DONE!! Feeling so much better about this, well except for the super creepy guy who told me my aura was beautiful. What??

4. Be nicer! I am not evil, but stress has taken over this month with preparing for graduation, looking and interviewing for counseling jobs, planning showers and events, tax season at my dad’s, state testing for schools, blah blah blah. I have NOT been the picture of niceness at all and have become way more annoyed at things than normal. I am not sure how I am going to actually do this or prove it, but I’ll come up with something and let you know how it goes at the end of May!  B-: Ok I was nicer for sure. I did some random things, that at least made me feel nicer including, walking to teacher friends to talk instead of email, putting shopping carts back in the shopping cart thing even if they weren’t mine,  waved at the people in my neighborhood when we passed each other in cars, I never once honked my horn, I bought the lady’s order behind me at Starbucks in the drive through line, and I just got a better attitude about work and stuff like that. Not too shabby BUT I still have a lot of room!

Beth:

1. I’m still chasing those 5 pounds to lose! Ha, one day…one. freakin’. day. I will be able to say I did it so. This goal is sticking! C: I lost two pounds! Haha

2. Survive my first 10 mile race!  I’m currently freaked out by this distance since I’ve never raced it and it is getting hotter down here in Texas!  A+: I DID survive!! It was a hot one, but I did the White Rock ‘n’ Roll 10 miles!

sprintin’ it in!

3. My wedding related goal is super vague, but the goal is to have at least 3 items on my checklist marked off and report back to you what I’ve accomplished them! B-:  I have a CAKE!!! 🙂  I also bought all the supplies for two projects I am working on and while that doesn’t seem like much of a feat, well, it is in my world! Finding time to work, workout and get to stores before they close is hard for me! Ha.  I’ve also done a lot of research into decorations I want to use, so while it would be amazing if I was further along I am proud of where I am!

This isn’t really what my cake looks like – I got more of a simple yet elegant look to mine! 🙂

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4. I want to continue on with my preparing food for the week on Sunday’s goal, but to make it different the goal here is to find two new recipes this month and make them! Must add variety to what I’ve been doing! F:  I did do a lot of food prep in the month of May, however, I only ended up finding one new recipe that I wanted to try and then I didn’t even try it. Ha! I’m not going to make this a goal for next month, but I will make the recipe I have and find at least another to try soon! So help me God!

My extra goals each month – a. Hill workouts weekly! I actually hosted hill runs in the month of May for NTX Runners, but Teal had to cover one of my hill runs because I was sick. :-/  Which means I did 4 hill runs in the 5 weeks of May.  b. Read two books a month.  Well, I actually finished 3 books in May! 🙂  I was a busy reader!  I finished The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust’s Shadow by Krystyna Chiger, Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

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Joint Goal:

We will be participating in #runchat’s May challenge which is pretty much to run a different route, a new trail or try a race you have never done before.  For more information please visit the #runchat site.  Beth & Brent found a trail area by his house to explore during this month.  You might remember it from Wordless Wednesday No. 25

Onward to June goals….How are we in the 6th month of this year?!?

Teal:

1.  Clean out the garage which involves properly deposing of all old paint, chemicals, and random things you can’t through in the regular trash, donating anything that  should have donated a long time ago, if it belongs to my brother it’s going to his house, and then just generally cleaning. Why I pick June to work outside in the heat is beyond me but whatever!?

2.  So I graduated at the beginning of May!! Yay, but I have very annoying things that I have/need to do

  • Consolidate and move all my student loans to one place and get on a better plan to pay off faster. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!
  • Register for the LPC exam and not cry when I pay the $300 to take it
  • Organize all the grad work that I did that I want, toss the old stuff, bind what I am keeping ( anyone have one of those spiral binding things?)
  • Organize, bind, toss, or give away my teaching stuff! I will be moving to counselor next year and have a billion teaching things to go through

3.  Follow my under 2 hour half marathon runkeeper running plan as close to possible! I will eventually run and under 2 hour half marathon if it kills me! Well not really, I want to live, but you get the point!

4.  Eliminate random eating. Raise your hand if you stand around trying to figure out something to eat and you find yourself eating crap in the process! ME!! This has to stop!! It’s not like am eating like crazy stuff, but it is mindless and when I finally figure out what to eat, I’m annoyed that I ate weird random things in the meantime!

Beth:

1.  This time around my weight goal is simply: DON’T GAIN ANY!!! Ha, sounds simple right?  Well, this is my birth month and my parents are divorced so this usually means multiple celebrations with good food, good drinks and dessert.  So it’s a dangerous time of year for me. No weight gain in June!!

2. Yoga 2-3 times a week.  Ever since I finished my goal of completing 200 classes in a year I’ve been kind of a slacker, so let’s get back to yoga goals! It’s soooo good for me!

3.  Finish projects at Brent’s house.  I volunteered his house to host a friend dinner (like this one) towards the end of the month and I haven’t finished some art I started for the walls, since I’ll eventually move in there (you know when we are married) I had already left all of my racing medals, hook to hold them, awesome race bib board my SIL made me over there they just need to be hung up.

4. Finish the two wedding projects I have ALL of the supplies for! 🙂

Joint Goal:

We are doing and have asked YOU to participate with us in our Tone It Up Challenge for the month where we do as many days of pushups and planks!

Hope you all have are working hard on your June goals and have a fabulous month! Check back with you when it’s July!  But July please do not come TOO FAST!

Five Things Friday

1.  In T- 6 days we are going to start a self inflicted challenge, BUT we would like for YOU to join us!  In many parts of the country, our’s included, it might as well already be summer…but there is still time to get some toning of the bod in before summer is over.  With that said we are doing a push up and plank challenge!  The idea is to print out the blank calendar below and keep a record of how many push ups you do and how long you plank each day!  It is as simple as that!  You can do it however many days  you want, BUT…yes there is a but – if you want to win the prize from our Tone It Up Challenge you are going to have to beat your competition!  When June is over you will send us via email, a twitpic, etc. your filled in calendar and who ever planked and pushed up on the most amount of days will win!

You  might be thinking, well, Teal & Beth, what if some of us tie????  Good question! We have an answer! We then take it to who did the most push ups and the longest amount of planks.  For example, if Challenger A did 1,000 push ups and planked for a total of 45 minutes, whereas, Challenger B only did 800 pushups and 41 minutes of planks then challenger A is the WINNER!

So click the link below and print out the calendar…..and June 1st get to work on push ups and planks!  Let’s Tone It Up!

June Tone Up Challenge Calendar

Now you might be thinking, Teal. Beth. What do I WIN???  Another good question we only have a partial answer to that one!  Oops?? We are thinking a gift card…a $50 gift card to the winner!  We haven’t fully decided where this gift card will come from but we are thinking a running store, running company so you can reward yourself with some new stuff!  So join us June 1st for the Tone It Up Challenge! You know you want to! 🙂

2. We joined Instagram, why not? All the cool kids are doing it. We have been on individually for a while and just decided yesterday that Life is a Run needs one too! Come find us!

3.       Tour des Fleurs registration opened Thursday! We love this race for many reasons but perhaps the best is that it really was the kick off to our first ½ marathon training together. Beth ran before as you know, BUT we love it and are excited to run again. Come join us!!  Oh, and an added bonus this year is your race registration gets you free into the Chihuly exhibit currently at the Dallas Arboretum! It looks cool!

4.       We found out that the Dallas White Rock Marathon has officially changed its name to the Dallas Marathon! Check out this press release. We also then realized that this meant we ran the LAST official White Rock Marathon ever. Hey at least it went out with a bang… or crazy ridiculous cold rain.  Check out the mary story if you are confused 😉 Plus registration for that opens June 1st too. You will see us out there for sure but just for the ½ this time because…

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5.       We decided to FINALLY register for our SECOND full marathon.  We will be running the Louisiana Marathon January 20th in Baton Rouge!!

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Welp, that’s all from us! Have a great Friday and please join us in our June challenge!