What's Beautiful

Recently, a few friends invited me to join the Under Armour What's Beautiful Campaign. At first I was skeptical of joining the challenge but then I watched this video : http://youtu.be/N6EtyT29fYY. How could I not be inspired to join them in the fun! 

This campaign / challenge is made up of women all encouraging and inspiring each other daily. Everyone that I have come in contact with via this challenge has been supportive and each of them have a different fitness / success story! That's the whole point of the program... EMPOWER, INSPIRE and SUPPORT each other. So often as women we get a bad rap for being caddy and overly competitive! This provides an arena to show compassion for fellow female athletes regardless of their level of training and experience. I have met beginners and professionals, each will make an impact on other women along the way. 

When you join the challenge you set up a profile, including a goal. My current goal is "to be consistent with my workout routine; break 28 mins in the next 5K". I WILL accomplish  both! Once you get the profile set up, you can search the challenges. Some require a video while others are just photos! It's fun, interactive and rewarding! The challenges that I have participated in so far have been a blast. One or two were even outside my comfort zone! Again, that's the point of the campaign. Get out of that comfort zone to see even bigger and better results! 

One of the challenges is to write down or video your thoughts on "What's Beautiful to You". I believe that all women are beautiful from the inside out. I believe that it's important to share the beauty of our faith through our fitness. I can't compare myself to anyone else simply because none of you are me. God made us individuals and that's the beauty of the it all! 

If you are already a member, please look up my profile and connect with me. If you haven't joined yet, what are you waiting on?? 

xoxoxo,
Mitzi 

Update : 13 in 2013

In January I wrote a post about my goals for this year. One of those was to complete the 13 in 2013 challenge. At the time I had hoped to complete 13 half marathons then after an injury I realized 13 races of any sort might be more realistic. I was happy with facing the truth of the matter, I was not (am not) ready to run 13 half marathons in a year! 

Today, a co-worker asked "How many races have you completed this year?". That prompted to me look back at the calendar. I discovered I have completed 15 total races - woah, it's only May!! We are blessed with an active running community in our area. Spring season provides ample opportunity for racing. Some weekends there are multiple 5K's to choose from! 

Here's a quick look at my race calendar since January 1, 2013: 

January 5th - MRTT Winter Runnerland Virtual Half Marathon
               15th - Bradley's 15K
               19th - ZOOMA Florida Half Marathon

February 10th - Rock N Roll St Pete Half Marathon 
                  17th - 26.2 with Donna Half Marathon 

March 2nd - Thomasville Road Baptist Church 5K
             9th - Killearn Methodist Shamrock Scurry 5K
             16th - Doggie Dash 5K 
             30th - FSU's Run for Autism 5K

April 6th - Springtime Tallahassee 5K
           13th - Fallen Officer 5K
           20th - Palace Saloon 5K
           27th - Red Shoe Run 10K

May 4th - Run for Mercy 5K
         18th - Steve Ellis 5K

All of the races, even the local ones, have provided opportunity to spend time with my family and our friends. I have been able to meet a lot of new people and have really enjoyed the early Saturday mornings with everyone. 

Now, as we head into the hotter months of North Florida living, I will not be running as often. I do plan to run one race a month until I hit October. That's when the calendar picks back up again with 2 Half Marathons and a 10K already on the books! 

If you joined us on the journey to 13 in 2013, you might be surprised to see you've reached that goal or might be pretty close to it as well. I will not call this goal "complete". I have not entered all these races into the 13 in 2013 database. This is silly; however, since my original goal was only Half Marathons I'll wait so I can include my fall races, too. 

I'd love to hear from those of you that are working towards 13 in 2013. How is the challenge going for you? 

xoxoxo
Mitzi

Encouragement

I have been struggling with encouragement lately. I wonder sometimes if I ever encourage someone too much or maybe I am not doing enough to encourage them. I also find myself wondering if I am encouraging them to get healthy but only in the physical aspect, could I do more for their spiritual health, too? 

When I use the words "them", "someone", "they", etc.. I am not just talking about my family and close friends I am referring to everyone to I come in contact with on a daily basis. I work on a college campus so I encounter many faces throughout my day, not always the exact same ones each day. 

There seems to be no exact answer to any of my questions. For this Type A girl that's annoying, ha! I do hope that every day I make someone think just a little harder about their spiritual walk or their fitness journey. That's not to say I am not on a perfect path toward either but I am trying! I'm giving it my all and I give him praise throughout the highs and lows. I'm facing each struggle with a smile (even a cracked smile some days) because I know in the end God will bring me through it to a better place. 

As the above picture states "Encouragement is the fuel on which hope runs." I will work harder to be that fuel for others every day! You never know when someone might need that extra little push. 

Here's a few more of my favorite quotes: 

A little side note: for many who follow me on Facebook you may have seen yesterday's post that I shared from Prayfit titled "The Three R's". If you haven't read this yet I strongly recommend that you do. God gave us these bodies to take care of to the best of our ability. That doesn't just mean physically either! Happy reading :- )

xoxoxo
Mitzi

my own surprise

I have recently allowed my son to have his own Instagram account. This was met with some angst from my Husband as well has his Dad. I convinced them both I had this under control! Riley has only crossed the given set of rules one time, it won't happen again or it's gone! Riley is a perfected "liker" on Instagram, rarely comments anything and rarely posts anything. That is until Tuesday night! I found this sweet little surprise on my Instagram account, it's a great reminder of the little things that often count with our children. 

On Sunday I posted the above photo as Scott and I were celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary. This photo is one of my favorites taken during that amazing day last May. I figured Riley wouldn't even see it much less did I expect a comment from him. Well, he saw it and left the sweetest comment for me. ( For those that don't follow him on there, "sports_zone" is his new instragram name, whatever floats his boat!) 

What a sweet little surprise! It's so often that we rush from home to school, school to baseball or running. I feel like we are always in a hurry and always have "big talks" in my car. Moments like this are a good reminder he is watching, hearing and now reading everything! I hope to continue setting good examples for him to follow! 

Mother's Day is a few days away and I feel mine complete with this one little comment! 

Mother's Day - a few days early!

This popped up in my email today. 

I would like to say this describes my Mom perfectly! 

She probably doesn't hear enough from my brother or I, well maybe from him because we all know he's the favorite - LOL! (That's a different post for a different day.) 

My Mom taught to me pray about everything. No, I didn't always take her advice on that topic or many others during the growing pains but I take it to heart now. That's why this picture means so much to me from our wedding ... 

GiGi as she is loving referred to by everyone now that she is a "grandmother", heaven help me if she reads this and sees I called a "grandmother".  GiGi is the best, everyone loves when GiGi comes to town! She is the life of the party! She has the best laugh and the best "you're in trouble look". The girls and I love when GiGi can join us for a beach trip, oh the stories we could tell... right Mom?! 

No worries Mom, your blackmail pictures are safe with me! HAHA! 

Truth be known they were deleted, on accident :-( 

GiGi is also a pretty good personal shopper. I don't have to worry too much when she sends me a text to let me know she has picked up a dress or top for me. I think she missed her calling in her life, monogramming is great but she would've been a killer personal shopper for the famous! 

Proof is the picture, hehe! 

Then there's her life as a grandmother, oh man there's that word again! Riley may not always tell her or show it but he loves his GiGi. To be quite honest, I am not sure he likes the rest of us calling her GiGi, either! 

Riley with GiGi after her first 5K! 

The whole crew at GiGi's first 5K! 

Then there's this, proof that she is awesome... shopping the day after Thanksgiving outside Target at 5:00AM : 

Mrs. Brenda and GiGi were real troopers joining us girls for 

an ALL day shopping adventure! 

So Mom this post if for you! 

 We love you and hope you have a GREAT Mother's day!! 

See you tomorrow, hehe! 

30 days...

First, let me start by saying that writing this post is a little difficult. I told myself on April 1st I would take photos every Monday and post the "success" photos on April 30th. Well, that would be today, eek! I had a goal pictured in my mind and I can honestly say I didn't reach that "pictured" goal. I did reach an unexpected goal of being content with my body, mind and soul. Crazy how that works sometimes, huh?! 

I began round #2 of Whole 30 on April 1st. I struggled with the usual items (no sugar, no dairy) throughout the month but did pretty good overall. Again, I am content with my results of Round #2. There were days when I felt like I could eat everything in sight but didn't! There were also days of emotional stress that made me loose my appetite completely but I still ate, I ate healthy items not comforting items. Moderation is the key, maintaining will be easier for me now. When I started round #2 I was still bummed that I had come up a few pounds short of my round #1 goal. Today I am happy to tell you that I have met that goal, actually a tad under it. I know that the number on my scale fluctuates daily so I will not get on the scale as often. I realize that fat vs muscle can play nasty tricks on the mind when it comes to see the number on the scale. I also realize that my 120 - something will different from your 120 - something because we aren't the same person!

The past 30 days also included a Plank Challenge with our local Moms Run This Town group. At first this challenge seemed easy, well 30 days later I could careless if I ever do another plank. I am just kidding! Planks are good for the abs, arms really could be a whole body workout if you alternate the styles. My goal for this challenge was to learn to hold a 4 minute straight arm plank for 4 minutes. I did it! Last night I even went a little past the 4 minute mark. Proof is in the picture as they say: 

#Proof 

April also provided me with a chance to a run a few 5K's, one every weekend to be exact! By sticking to my food plan and my workout plan not only did I accomplish goals on the scale I  accomplished goals at the finish line. I ran several consistent sub 30 5K's. I also took several minutes off my 10K time missing the sub 1 hour mark by only one minute (1:01:25). 

Finish Line! 

So here's what you've been waiting for the "Success Photos"... 

June 2009   -    April 2013

(A tiny bit sunburned, oops)

April 2013 ... 30 days 

A little leaner - A little stronger - A lot more color - oops! 

Clearly, I got a little sun on Sunday, a little too much sun! This post is not meant to draw to attention to me. It is meant to show that if you step out of your comfort zone so much more can be accomplished! So often we all get stuck in routine whether it be physically or spiritually. Posting this is completely out of the box and I do mean way out of the box for me; however, I want to show that I am not "picture perfect". I do not have a perfect six pack or perfect hips, etc... I am perfectly made by the spirit! As I told someone a few weeks ago "God gave me these hips and I am proud of them".  God made us all different, I encourage you to set a goal for yourself. Keep track of that goal for 30 days and see what happens, you might be surprised by an unexpected accomplishment as well. For me, I will put on a smile my face knowing that I am wonderfully made by Christ and praise him for all my accomplishments! 

Now it's May 1st... what goals can we set to move forward and continue to be content?! Do you want to try a new physical challenge, check out our MRTT Co-Leader Tammy. She has challenged our MRTT group to "Squat it like it's HOT!" : http://gingermantra.com/2013/05/01/may-challenge-squat-it-like-its-hot/